The Sun.
London, England, 1838-01-24 00:00:00

THE SUN, LONDON, WEDNESDAY, JANUAIIY 24, 1838.

prosecutions have been conducted. Such, according to a Committee of
the House of Commons appointed on the motion of Mr. Huskisson, was
the mode in which the Tories governed a country for no less a period
than eight years. The petition complaining of these grievances, signed
by no less than 87,000 persons, was presented to the House of Com-
mons. In consequenee of the report of that Committee, Lord Dal.
housie was recalled from Canada, and his illegal, and I will almost say
iniquitous conduct, was recompensed by a high military com-
mand in India. In the same year, Sir George Murray came into
power, and wrote that despatch which my lion. Friends have so praised
for liberality of sentiment, without taking the trouble of examining
whether it gave birth to any liberal acts. He did nothing. Few Colonial
Ministers were ever placed in a more favourable position. He might have
rendered the greatest service to his country, and averted the difficulties
under which this country is now labouring with regard to Canada. In
short he might have merited all the praise my Hon. Friends has bestowed
upon him. The House of Assembly had expressed ahnost extravagant ad-
miration of the Report of the Committee of 1808—all that was then re-
quired was to follow out the intentions of the Committee by passing an
Act of the Imperial Parliament to relieve the Lords of the Treasury from
the duty of appropriating the revenues raised under the Act of 1774, no
one can doubt that all those unhappy dissensions about a permanent
Civil List, and about the independence of the Judges, would have been
easily settled. 1628, 1829, 1830 passed away ; nothing was done by
Sir George Murray. The excuse was that debates in Parliamaelt on the
Catholic Emancipation, the death of the King, and other
events prevented him from introducing the measures required. This
' excuse, if well-founded, is the best practical illustration of the difficulty,
if not impossibility, of governing, with anything like the semblance of
justice, a colony removed three thousand miles from the seat of govern.
ment. But the excuse is an absurd one ; for Honourable Gentle-
men are aware how easily Colonial Bills are hurried through this
House, aid the Act required would have consisted only of a
few lines, and a single clause. Indeed, a similar Act was passed in
1831, during the disputes on the Reform Bill, To the non-passing of
the Act in question, I attribute the present disasters. And for those
evils I contend, therefore, that Sir G. Murray, and his friends opposite,
are to a great degree responsible. The House of Assembly on the one
hand, the Colonial-office on the other, maintain each its right to eontrol
the revenues raised under the Act of 1774. Supply Bills were passed
by the House of Assembly, in which die claims of the Assembly were
indirectly maintained—they were protested against, but ac-
cepted by Sir James Kempt who acted, I acknowledge, in the
most liberal and conciliatory maner, though it appears from
the dispatches of Kr George Murray that his conduct hardly
met with the approbation of the Colonial-office. The Hon. Baronet
the Member fur Devonport said that all the financial claims of the
House of Asserably have been granted—so they are—that proves they
were just claims; but when was justice done? The claims were made
in 1794, a portion of them were conceded in 1831, and the rest in 1838
—forty-two years delay of justice! If, however, tardy justice had been
done in 18e8, that would suffice; but nothing was done. In conse-
quence of the delay to which I have referred angry disputes continued,
producing great and unnecessary irritation ; the expectations of the
people of the province had been greatly excited by the Report
of the Committee of 1828 ; those expectations were disap.
pointed ; deep seated distrust had succeeded to confidence,
and when Lord Grey's Administration came into power,*
they had to contend with the evil effects of more than twenty years of'
Tory misgovernment and tyranny. Their task was a most difficult one,
and I will not even take it upon myself to assert, that with the then
state of feeling' of the inhabitants of Lower Canada, it would have been
possible finally to settle the existing difficulties, without pursuing a
course of policy, which none but men of superior and energetic minds
would have dared to attempt, and which, perhaps, at first would have
found but few supporters. With the removal of Sir G. Murray from
the Colonial Office, the reign of Tory policy in that department of the
state did not however terminate, and I have no doubt that Hon. Gen.
Hemet' opposite will gladly acknowledge that Lord Ripon (who then
became Colonial Secrete! y) belongs to their party. Lord Aylmer was
made Governor of Lower Canada about the same time Lord Ripon,
by the Act of the Ist and ed Wiiliam IV , surrendered at last to the
House of Assembly the revenues raised under the Act of 1774. Ile,
however, most unfortunately, determined to retain the casual
and territorial revenues, which had hitherto been placed at the
disposal of the Colonial Legislature for general purposes. He re-
tained them, it must be observed, in order for the support of the Este.
blished Church of England. A most unfounded charge has been
brought against the House of Assembly with regard to these revenues,
namely that they laid claim to the appropriation of sums of money
to which they had no right whatsoever. This charge was re-
fitted last night by Mr. Roebuck. In reading the message
of Lord Dorchester, in 1794, and •f Sir James Kempt, in 1828,
both of which prove that those revenues s ire generally placed at the
disposal of the Colonial Legislature—indeed in 1799 the House cf
Assembly made a permanent grant of 5,5531. 11s. Id. in return for those
revenues. The Hon. Baronet the Member for Devonport denied that
the message of Lord Dorchester did not place those funds at the dis-
posal of the colony. I contend it did; that the claim of Lord Ripon to
apply them to the support of the Church of England was a most unjusti-
fiable one. I will, ism proof of this position, refer to the evidence of
Lord Aylmer, who in a despatch dated 126th January, 1832, told Lord
Ripon with regard to these revenues, " Here then the Crown and the
House of Assembly are still at issue ; and I cannot conceal from your
Lordship my apprehensions that the latter will never be induced
to forago its pretensions, which certainly derive considerable
weight, from the circumstance of these revenues having hitherto been
placed at the disposal of the Colonial Legislature for general purposes."
Lord Ripon thought proper, however, to divert these revenues horn the
purposes to which they bad heretofore been applieil, in order Is give
3001. a-year to the Bishcp of Quebec, aid to maintain the Established
Churce of England, to which communion about one. tinh of the Protes-
tants, that is about one-twenty-titth of the whole population, belonged.
Aries this act Hon. Gentlemen opposite cannot for one moment
hesitate to acknowledge that Lord Ripon was truly their
own Colonial Secretary.—( Hear, hear, hear.) In consequence
of the disputes about the casual and territorial revenues, the House of
Assembly refused to grant a permanent Civil List. In consequence of
the conduct of the House of Assembly, the Nobls Lord the Member
for North Lancashire brought an accusation against the House of As-
sembly of a breach of faith. He first made that charge in 1834, he has
repeated it almost every year, when he was obliged by my Hon. Friend
Sir. Roebuck to acknowledge that it w4s utterly unfounded;
but so valid was the authority supposed to be upon which that
charge res'ed, being no lees than that of a person who had once
been Colonial Secretary, that it obtained the widest Cheulations, is still
generally credited ; and I find from the newspapers that it was repeated
a short time agoby the " Fidus Achates" of the Noble Lord opposite in
a speech at Carlisle, wherein he proved to demonstration that he had al-
ways been a Tory, and the same charge I see, is repeated in the leading
article of the " Morning Chronicle" of to-day. Great is the guilt of
him who makes unfounded assertions ; and the Noble Lord has much to
answer for in this respect. I will not enter into an examination of the
documents in order to disprove the accusation against the House of As-
sembly ; the documents are to be found in the evidence laid before the
Committee of 1834.—(Hear, hear, hear.) The charge was that
the House of Assembly had promised to grant a permanent
Civil List on the passing of the first and second William IV. Now
I will merely observe that in a despatch dated 15th of March,
1831, Lord Aylmer informed Lord Itipon that the House of Assembly
would not grant a permanent Civil List unless the casual and territorial
revenues were surrendered. This despatch was acknowledged by Lord.;
Ripsn on the 15th May, 1831, and it was not till September of the same'
year that the lit and 2d a William IV. was passed; conse-
quently, Lord Ripon was well aware that the House of Assembly
would not assent to his proposal of a permanent Civil List,
four months at least before this Act was passed. Connected with these
disputes about the territorial revenue and the permanent Civil List, is
the question of the independence of the Judges. The Noble Lord the
Member for Stroud, whilst arrsinging the other night the conduct of
the House of Assembly, complained of their refusing to grant perma-
nent salaries to the Judges. It will hardly be believed after all which
has been said on this subject, that the House of Assembly did pass an
Act granting the permament salaries requited; that the Act was
thankfully accepted by Lord Aylmer ; and that Lord Aylmer
most earnestly requested Lord Ripon to accept it, and if Lord Ripon
had accepted it, the disputes would have terminated, but Lord Ripon
refused the Bill for some inconceivable reason. I will produce the
proof of these assertions. Lord Aylmer, in his Address of the sth De-
cember, 1831, called the attention of the House of Assembly chiefly to
the independence of the Judges, he says, in conclusion, after referring. to
other subjects, " But he is most anxious to see the question of the m_
dependence of the Judges, and of permanent provision for their salaries,
retired allowances, and incidental expenses, finally disposed of by a dis-
tinct and substantive enactment, before bringing the other, and coin ea:.
ratively less important measure, specifically under their consideration."
The House will find in the evidence of the Committee of 1834 the Bill
passed by the House of Assembly, in compliance with the request of Lord
A ylmer.:An objection has been urged against that Bill, that the amount
of salary of the judges was not stated, and that they were to be voted an-
nually ; but the words of the Bill are " that from and after the passing
of this Act, the salaries which are now annually allowed and paid to
the said judges, shall be secured to them in a fixed and permanent man-
ner ;" and Lord Aylmer fully explains the reason for not
mentioningthe amount of the judges' salaries in the Bit ; he tells Lord Ripon in a
despatch, dated the 26th of January, 1e32, " I think it necessary to
mention to your lordship, that in framing my message to the House of As-
sembly upon the independence ef thejudges, I conceived it unnecessary to
make any specific t tetement regarding their salaries and retired allowances,
for it was well understood before hand that the Assembly was fully
prepared to continue the salaries of the Judges upon their present foot.ing, and to make a liberal provision for their retired allowances. The
event has justified this expectation." This Bill received the unanimous
assent of the Legislative Council ; and the following were the terms its
which Lord Aylmer spoke of this measure in his address to the House
of Assembly and to the Legislative Council:—" Amongst the many
important measures adopted this Session, all of which are more or less
calculated to promote the interests of the province, I have (he said)
great satisfaction in noticing the Bill for establishing the indepen-
dence of the Judges. 1 think it necessary at the same time to in-
form you, that although the principle of this Bill coincides altoge-
ther with the views of his Majesty's Government, it contains one or
two provisions which impose upon me the necessity of reserving it for
the signification of his Majesty's pleasure, The passing of the Bill for
securing the independence of the Judges, may be considered as the first
practical effect of the despatch of Viscount Goderich of the 7th of July."
Such were the terms in which Lord Aylmer spoke of this Bill to the
House of Assembly, at the same time he wrote to Lord Ripon, en-
treating him to agree to the measure. Ile says In his despatch of the
2.5 th of January, 1832 :—" I take leave with the utmost submission to
recommend it to the favourable consideration of his Majesty. Once
rejected, it is highly probable that no other from the House
of Assembly at a future period can he expected upon more
favourable terms, or even upon terms equally favourable." Sueh
was the language of Lord Aylmer to Lord Ripon, nevertheless,
Lord Ripon rejected the Bill. Who was tobla-ne ? The Colonial Minister.
There are no other events of any note which occurred during the re-
tnainder of Lord Ripon's Colonial Administration, except that in 1332
tin account of the Supply Bill being reserved for the consideration of the
Home Authorities, Lord Aylmer thought proper to take, without suffi-
cient authority, a certain portion of the public monies. For this act,
however, it must in justice to Lord Ripon be stated that Lord Aylmer
was severely censured. In the year 1833 Lord Ripon was suc-
ceeded by another Noble Lord, whom I doubt not the Tories
will mnst readily claim as their own, and be willing to
bear the responsibility for his acts. That Noble Lord, in his previous
office, had not won the affections of the Irish people, nor, on account of
his Colonial Administration, did the inhabitants of Lower Canada bear
towards him kindlier feelings. The situation of the Noble Lord was
well delineated by the caricaturists of the day, as that of a person who
was leaping out of the frying-pan into the fire. In consequence of the
conduct of the Legislative Council in rejecting the Supply Bill passed by
the Assembly, the House of Assembly became convinced of the impos-
sibility of carrying on the Government in harmony with the other
branch of the Legislature ; they sent a humble address to his Majesty,
praying him to sanction a General Assembly of the people, for the pur-
pose of determining what alteration should be made in the Constitution
of the Province; the reply of the Noble Lord in a despatch which was
laid before the House of Assembly, was in a tone better fitted to the
angry disputes and contentions of this House, than for the reply of a
Colonial Minister to lb eprovincial Parliament.—(Hear, hear.) Arid
the Noble Lord offended the House of Assembly by saying with
regard to the proposed plan, that "on the mode proposed
his Majesty is willing to put no harsher construction than that of ex-
treme inconsiderateness ; to the object sought to be obtained, his Ma-
jesty can never be advised to consent, as deeming it inconsistent with
the very existence of monarchical institutuais. flits language to the
House of Assembly was extremely inconsiderate, if not deserving of a
harsher appellation; the House of Assembly were justly indignant,
and in their famous ninety-two reeolutions of the succeeding year
they denounced the Noble Lord in set termse--(Hear, hear, hear.)
They say,," That it is with astonishment and grief that they have seen
in the extract from the dispatches of the Colonial Secretary, communi-
cated to this Ilouse by the Governor-in-Chief during thepresent session,
that :one at least of the Members of his Majesty's Government in Eng.

and entertains towards them feelings of prej: 'co and animosity, and
inclines to favour plans of oppression an revenge ill adapted
to change a system of abuses, the continu....;e of which would
altogether discourage the people, extinguish in them the legi-
timate hope of happiness, which, as British subjects they entertained."
It is not necessary for me to refer to the ni..ety-two resolutions on
the Committee of 1834. The Noble Lord opposite was succeeded by the
present Chancellor of the Exchequer, whose only official act was to take
31,0001. out of the army chest to defray the salaries of the unpaid
officials of the province. Mr. Roebuck, I think stated, I know not
upon what authority, or how trustworthy, probably it was upon the
word of the Chancellor of the Exchequer himself, that a dispatch was
written which would have settled all the difficulties in Lower Canada,
but unfortunately the very day it was to have been sent off, the Melbourne
Administration were dismissed, and no one knows what became of the die-
' patch. The Right Hon. Gentleman was sueceeded by Lord Aberdeen, who,
likewise, according to Borne of my Hon. Friends, wrote a most admirable
despatch, which likewise produced no effect. Up to this period, the
Tories, and the Tories alone, with the exception of Mr. Spring Rice, are
responsible for the Colonial Government, and, as I think I have shown,
there is no reason whatsoever to suppose that their conduct would be
one iota better than that of the Whigs ; they in reality have been causes
of those angry emotions and bitter feelings which have led to the present
disasters. Since that period—since the beginning of 1834, her
Majesty's present Ministers are alone responsible for Colonial mis.
government. They sent out Commissioners to Lower Canada.
The first object of the Commissioners was to deceive--they concealed
their instructions, and pretended that they were unfettered upon every
subject. Now the popular party had come to the conclusion that no ar-
rangement would be satisfactory without a complete ch‘v ge in the Con-
stitution of the Legislative Connell. The House of Assembly had ex-
pressed that opinion in their resolutions, and the Colonial
Office had been repeatedly warned, that without agreeing to
such a change, any attempt to settle the disputes would
be useless : but in the instructions to the Commissioners, the
question of an elective Council was a forbidden one ; this fact the Com-
missioners carefully concealed, and endeavoured by holding out false
hopes to obtain the supplies. The following is the account of this, which
must at least be termed an extraordinary proceedine, given by Sir
George Gipps :—" Had we, on our first arrival (he said) declared that
the question of an elective Council was absolutely a forbidden one, we
should have failed, in limine, with one party, for we have now the best
reason for knowing that there would in such case have been no session
of the Assembly; had we, on the other hand, spoken of our instructions
as more favourable to the democratic party than they were represented
in the Governor's opening speech, we should not only have
sinned against truth but have driven perhaps the English
party to violence. (Hear, hear, hear.) I do not think
we were ever at liberty to pub:ish our instructions in eztenso ; but had
we even done so no good effect would, in my opinion, have been pro-
duced by it. The course which we pursued was so far successful, that
there was every reasonable prospect up to the 9th of last month, that the
arrears of the last three years and the supplies of the current year
would have been granted We have the most complete assurances that
on the 7th of last month such a determination was provisionally
adopted at a private meeting of the persons of most influence in the
Assembly, the question being then to come on in the House on the
1 1 th." Unfortunately, however, for this scheme, Sir F. Head,
the Governor of the Upper Province, published extracts from his in-
structions, which were of a similar description to those of
Lord Gosford. From those extracts the House of Assembly found they
had been deceived, and justly indignant they set aside the question of
paying the arrears, and voted a Supply Bill only for six months, which
was rejected by the Legislative Council. With the exception of the
resolutions of last year, and which were the proximate cause of rebel-
lion, I do not know any other charge which can justly be brought against
her Majesty's Ministers besides that of having placed Lord Glenelg at

the head of the Colonial Department. Every person reading the de.
spatches laid upon the table of the House, or perusing the brilliant and
sarcastic examination of those d 'currents made in another assembly,
must I think acknowledge that the Noble Lord, though by no means
the least competent of her Majesty's Ministers, is wholly incom.
petent for his high and responsible situation.— (Hear, hear.)
Such is the brief outline of the history of the Tory misgovernment of
Lower Canada, and of the financial disputes which have agitated that
province. The persons to be blamed, and the most criminal (for I will
not arraign the miserable tools in the province, but call the chiefs to
account), were the Tory Secretaries of State and for the Colonies—Lord
Castlereagh, Lord Bathurst, Sir George Murray, Lord Ripon, and Lord
Stanley. There are other grievances of the Canadians caused by these
Hon. Gentlemen which require to be mentioned, and can be proved
by the Report of the Commissioners, whose observations apply
chiefly to the conduct of the three lest mentioned Secreteries—Sir
George Murray, Lord Ripon, and Lord Stanley.—( Hear, hear.)
The greatest grievance, next to the financial ones, and the most fre-
quent topic of complaint, was the constitution of the Legislative Coun-
cil. That body bad been framed on tee notion that it should represent
in Canada the House of Lords of this country; but. instead of being
an independent assembly, sometimes siding with the popular party
against the encroachments of official authority, at other times
uniting with the Government against the too rapid extension of popular
principles, it sacrificed its independence by leaguing itself entirely with
tee Government; it became the mere tool of the Government, to use
the words of the Noble Lo:d in his days of juvenile Whiegery.—(Great
laughter.) The conduct of this Colonial Government was equally
impolitic ; instead of perceiving and aeknowledging the importance of
the House of ASf embly as representatives of the people, it relied excel-
siv e.y for support upon the Legislative Council, The Commissioners in
their general Report state, "instead of the Government shaping its policy
so as to gain the confidence of the House of Assembly, it adopted the
unfortunate course of resting for support exclusively on the Legislative
Council. Thence arose feelings of jealousy arid animosity between the
two Assemblies, and frequent and well-founded complaints of the Con-
atitution of the Legislative Council were made by the House of As-
sembly. In 1828 the Canada Committee recommended " that a snore
independent character should be given to the Executive and Legislative
Councils, that the majority of their Members should not consist of per-
sons holding offices at thepleasure of the Crown, and that any other mea-
sures that may tend to connect more intimately this branch of the
Constitution with the interest of the Colonies would be attended with
the greatest advantage. 'As long as the Tories r,mained in the Co-
lonial Oilice, up to the middle of the year 1834, what has been their
conduct? 'The evidence of the Commissioners, which applies almost
entirely to the conduct of Sir George Murray, Lord Ripon, and
Lord Stanley is very valuable upon this subject, and I cannot re.
frain from reading some of the extracts which were made by Mr.
Roebuck. " They ascribe the fact •f no formal demand for
an elective Council having been made before 1833, simply to the expec.
Cation entertained by the popular party, that in consequence of the re-
commendations of the Committee of 1828, very _essential alterations in
the composition of the Colonies were on the point'of being effected. An
alteration was indeed produced in 1832. The Judges ceased to take any
part in its proceedings, and thirteen new Members unconnected with
the Government were added in the course of the year ; but that these
new nominations were unsatisfactory to the Assembly, and that the
'disappointment they felt at the alterations of the Council was the cause
,of their fresh proceedings against it, may be inferred from the fact,
that in the next Session of the Legislature was voted the
first Address, in which a demand for an Elective Council was
put forth." Tee Commissioners state that the popular party expected
that the Legislative Council would be made to harmonize to a great ex-
tent with the House of Assembly. With regard to the appointments
juQt mentioned they say—" We may, we think, venture to say, that
whilst they satisfied the terms of the recommendation made by the
Committee of 1828, as far as the matter of pecuniary independence of
the Crown was concerned, they scarcely produced an alteration in the
political character of the body to which the new members were aggre-
gated." The following is the delicate manner in which the Corn.
missioners speak of the feelings and conduct of the Legislative Council :
" In the course of these protracted disputes, too, it has happened
that the Assembly, composed almost exclusively of French Canadians,
have constantly figured as the assertors of popular rights, and as
the advocates of liberal institutions, whilst the Councils in which the
English interest prevails have, on the other hand, beets made to appear
as tie supporters of arbitrary power, and of antiquated political doc-
trines ; and to this alone we are persuaded the fact is to be attributed
that the majority of settlers from the United States have hitherto
sided with the French rather than the lenglish party. The represen.
tatives of Stansted or Misissquoi have not been sent to Parliament to
defend the feudal system, to protect the French language, or to oppose
a system of registration. They have been sent to lend their aid to the
assertors of popular rights, and to oppose a government by which, in
their opinion, settlers from the United States have been neglected
or regarded with disfavour. Even during our residence in the
Province we have seen the Council continue to act in the same spirit,
and discard what we believe would have proved a most salutary mea-
sure, in a manner which can hardly be taken otherwise than to indi-
cate at least a coldness towards the establishment of customs, calcu-
lated to exercise the judgment and promote the general improvement of
the people. We allude to a Bill for enabling parishes and townships to
elect local officers, and assess themselves for local purposes, which mea-
sure, though not absolutely rejected, was suffered to fail in a way that
showed no friendliness to the principle." And the following is the
still more delicate manner in which the Commissioners of the Govern-
ment reply to the question, whether the Government, that is to say,
whether Sir G. Murray, Lord Stanley, or Lord Ripon, had performed
their duty of following the recommendations of the Committee of 1828.
" If these recommendations are satisfied by the appointment of a large
number of newCouncillors, none of t hem dependent on the Government for
their income, but all living by their own means, and possessing property
or engaged in pursuits connected with the gene: al interests of the coun.
try, we have to report that the advice of the Committee has been fol.
lowed. But if, on the other hand, their words be taken to mean that
a change ought to have been made in the political cha-
racter of the body, we can only repeat what we observed in
paragraph four of our preceding Report car the Council itself—
that there does not appear to have been an alteration effected in that
respect." I think, after this expression of the opinion of the Commis-
sioners, no one can doubt that such alterations have not been made in
the constitution of the Legislative Council as m tight to have been made.
I will not enter into any very minute detail a the evil effects of the
Legislative Council. I will not enumerate t e number of important
subjects upon which they have resister:, the House of Aesem.
we, and upon which they have been reluctantly obliged to
give way. They are stated in tine Fourth Rep.et of the Commissioners.
I will, however, mention a few of them. The. Leeislative Council re.
sisted the right of the Assembly to accuse aid bring to trial public
aficers.—(Hear, hear.) 'Pile Legislative Corr cif refused to permit the
House of Assembly to appoint an agent in England ; a matter which the
House of Assembly considered of the utmost iemortance, on account of
the frequent unjustifiable, and sometimes most unexpected, attempts of
the Colonial Office to interfere with the internal concerns of the pro-
vieees—(Cries of " Hear, hear")—as, for instance, in the case of the
attempted union of the two provinces in 1822—0 f the Canada Trade
Act of the same year, by which as I have already observed, the House
of Commons most unconstitutionally, and contrary to the Declaratory
Act of 1778, rendered permanent certain temporary taxes imposed by
the Legislature of Lower Canada for the purpose of assisting Great
Britain in defending the province during the last Americans war—of the
Canada Tenures Act in 1825, by which the whole civil law of England
with all its incidents was at once introduced into the province. The agent's
Bill has been regularly passed by the House of Assembly every, or
nearly
every, year for the last thirty years, and as regularly rejected by
the Legislative Council, though the Committee of 1828 strongly recom-
mended that permission should be granted to the House of Assembly to
appoint an agent. The Legislative Council likewise long resisted the
right of the House of Assembly to controul their own contingent ex-
omaes. The Legislative Council long opposed the demand of the Assembly
ear the surrender of the proceeds of the Jesuists' estates ; and for the
withdrawal of the judges from political affairs, or from their seats in the
legislative bodies or the executive Council—indeed they have opposed
every measure which would tend to make the judges independent
and liable to impeachment for misoonduot.—(Hear, hear.) Instead of
the judges holding their offices as in thin country during goad behaviour
they hold their appointments during the will of the Crown, and this fact,
coupled with the fact, that on account of the expiration .of the jury laws,
which the Legislative Council refused to renew, the Sheriffs who are
mere tools of the government, can, by selecting the district out of whict
the jury is to bechosen, peek the jury, has destroyed the confidence of the
people in the due administration ofjustice.—(Cheers.) Moreover, Judspie
sit upon thebench who are totally unfit for their office; for instance. Mr.
Spring Rice while Secretary of State for the Colonies, acknowledged that
Mr. Gale was an improper person to be a Judge ; yet Mr. Gale still remains
in that high and responsible situation.—(Hear, hear.) Mr. Thempson
likewise, who was proved to have been drunk on the Bench, and an
habitual drunkard, nevertheless continues to be a Judge.—(Hear, hear.)
To return however to the conduct of the Legislative Council, they re-
jected, in 1826, the School Bill, by which not less than forty thousand
children were suddenly deprived of the means of education.—(Hear.)
They " proved (to use the words of the Commissioners) at least at:oldness
towards the establishment of customs calculated to exercise the judg-
ment, and promote the general improvement of the peoele," by their
conduct towards the Parislt and Townships Officers' 8111. The evil
which they did in rejecting this Bill may be understood from
the following extract from the evidence of Mr, Neilson, given be-

fore the Canada Committee of 1828 :—" In Canada," he said, " we
have been plagued with an old French system of government ;
that is to" say, a G.vernment in which the peopie have nu concern
whatever, everything must. proceed from the city of Quebec and the
city of Montreal, and persons must come to the city of Quebec and the
city of Montreal to do every thing, instead of being able to do for
themselves in their own localities. In the United States they

have the English system, by which every locality has certain
powers of regulating its own concerns, by which means they
regulate them cheaper and much betters whereas, with us a

man must make a journey to Quebec, he must go to a great ex-
pense, ha must.bow to this man and to that man, and rap at this door
and rap at that door, and spend days and weeks to effect a little im-
provement in a road, or something of that kind of common conve-
nience to a district—whereas ail that is done in the United

States, without going out of his own small district." The

object of this Parish and Township Officers' Bill was to re-
medy this great evil, and consequently it was rejected by the
Legislative Council, whose determined hostility to the wishes of the
Representatives of the people are sufficiently proved by these facts

which I have narrated. To these facts I could add a number of others—

to these facts, however, I appeal when I affirm, that the Legislative
Council, up to the latest moment, has been a real grievance to the Cana-
dians ; and the Canadians are justified in asserting either that there has
been the most culpable negligence on the part of th• Colonial
Secretaries in not improving the constitution of that body, or that its
constitution it so radically bad that it ought to be abolished or ren-
_ . .

dered elective. I would wish to show from the report of the Commission.

ers, that the demand of the House of Assembly for an Elective Counci

was not so extravagant a one as some Hon. Gentlemen seem to think.
The Commissioners said, " We will even say that under more favourable

circumstances, at an earlier time, or had less animosity been excited, we
can conceive that good might have resulted from the principle of election."
The chief objection of the Commissioners to an elective Council seems
to have been that they feared that the other party—the anti-popular
_ .

party—would have broken out into ingurreetion. The Commissioners

say, in the same Report, " The concession of an elective council in the
present excited state of public opinion, would afford a triumph to one
portion of the people, which, we say, would be fraught with danger."
It has been argued by some persons that the contest between the Legis-

lative Council and the House of Assembly has not been a contest be.

tween a small party and the representatives of the people, but between
those who are and would be the defenders, and between those who are and
would be still more, the oppressors of the English race.—(Hear, hear.)

Sir, 1 acknowledge that it is in accordance with the generous and
noble feelings of a free people, to be most anxious, and to take care
that wrong should be done to no one connected with themby ties of blood ;

and I foe one shall be ready when it is proved that there is a risk of
injury to the just rights of my fellow-countrymen in Canada to support
any measure duly calculated to protect their interests, and advance their
well-being, and so I am convinced will every Member in this House.
—(Cheers.) At the same time, however, especial oare should be taken
lest under the influence of our national feelings—lest moved by affections
towards those connected with us—we should be induced to sanction the
wicked desires, and gratify the odious passions, of cunning and unscru-
pulous men, whose only object is power, and whose purposes are more
hateful even than those of the Orange faction.—(Cries of " Hear,
_ . .

Hear, hear.") Such, however would be the disastrous effect of being
guided in our conduct towards Canada by persons who assert
that the. House of Assembly does not represent the wishes of the. Ca.
nadians both of French and English origin. A few simple facts which I
will now state from the Report of the Commissioners, with regard to
the representation, will prove the contrary. For some time previous
to the year 1829, just complaints were made that the town-
ships were not represented, and that the whole system of
representation was very unequal. When the Constitutional Act of 1791
was passed, the then Governor, Sir Aland Clerk, was entrusted with
the power of dividing the Province into electoral districts : he took as
the sole basis of his calculations the nu rerical amount of the
population, and divided into counties as mach land as contained a certain
number of inhabitants; consequently at that time a small district on the
(comparatively speaking) thickly-peopled banks of the St. Lawrence was
found to suffice, whilst inanore distant parts vast territories were compre-
hended in one county. After a certain interval, the representation, by
the progress of emigration and the increase of population,became very un-
equal ; persons of the British race settled in the remoter counties were
hardly represented at all in the House of Assembly, while the French
population contained in the seigneuries of the small counties on the
banks of the St. Lawrence had an undue preponderance, in the popular
branch of the Legislature. Complaints were justly made by the town-
ships ; Bills were brought in and passed by the House of Assembly,
but were rejected as unsatisfactory by the Legislative Council ; such
was the origin of the complaint that the Biotish, or more properly speak_
ing the township population were unrepresented. I would here
observe that for ordinary purposes the township population may be con-
sidered as of the British or Anglo-Saxon race—that is to say, either
composed of emigrants from this country or of American settlers,
who cannot be distinguished from one another, and who would
unite together entirely, if the supposed (though highly impro-
bable) contest of races were to take place. The seigneurial
population is almost entirely French. Now the complaint of the town-
ships of the undue preponderance of the " seigneuries" in the House of
Assembly is no longer well-founded.—(Hear.) In the year 1821) a Bill
was passed by the House of Assembly for amending the represen-
tation in proportion to the population ; this Bill, however, was greatly
altered in the Legislative Council, and the alterations such, that, ac-
cording to all expectations, said the Commissioners, would
have caused the Bill to be lost in the House of Assembly. "The ge-
neral effect," said the Commissioners, " of the alteration made by the
Council is, as far as we can judge of it, to give six representatives to those
counties in which a township (that is to say British) population prevails
more than they would have had under the Bill as it left the Assembly, and
five less to those which are inhabited by French Canadians.' And in ano-
ther portion of theirreport the Commissioners state that according to the
census of 1831, " in the counties composed exclusively of seigneurial
population, or containing a majority of that description of inhabitants,
the proportion of people to each representative was in the former,
6,9.01 ; and in the latter, 6,883; and that in counties containing
a majority of population settled in townships, or composed exclusively of
such inhabitants, the proportion of people to each representative was
3,394, and 3,543. Thus the inhabitants of counties in which the town-
ship predominated, had nearly twice as many representatives in proportion
to their numbers as the inhabitants of counties entirely seigneurial."
Thus, by the amendments of the Legislative Council, the British popu-
lation have twice as many representatives in proportion to their num-
bers as the French population. The Bill thus amended was adopted
by the House of Assembly without opposition. After these facts I can
hardly conceive hose any impartial man can deny that the British por-
tion of the community have their fair share of the representation of the
province. It is true that some of the persons who call themselves the
English party were not satisfied, and made the following moderate
proposal to the Commissioners, that there should be one representative
to every 2,600 British, and one to every :24,000 French; that is that
the British should have ten times as many representatives, in proportion
to their numbers, as the French.—(Laughter.) This is not a bad sample of
the moderate views of the so-called English party —the Commissioners
very fairly observe, with regard to this proposal, that " they are forced
to come to the conclusion, that it is one which they cannot recommend."
It being evident, I think, that the House of Assembly fairly represents
both races, what, I ask, has been the conduct of the British Representa-
tives ? Dees it bear out the position that the views of the British po-
pulation are opposed to those of the French ? I find that Ottawa, ales-
sisquoi, Shefford, Stanstead, Sherbroke, Drummond, and Megantie are in.
habited almost entirely:by persons of British origin. These counties con-
taining a population of forty-one thousand in 183'1 returned twelve repre-
sentatives, one half of whom, representing a population of
twenty-three thousand, are invariably to be found on the
popular side. Many persons of British origin are returned by French
constituencies ; but according to the Commissioners more than one-half
of the representatives of British origin in the House of As-
sembly are in the constant habit of voting with the
popular party ; and they have stated, likewise, in their
general Report that " the majority of settlers from the United States have
sided with the French rather than the English party," and Sir George
Gipps allows that " so long as the contest can be made to appear
as one not of nationality, but of political principle, the Americans and
a portion even of the British will be on the democratic side." These
facts, I think, prove that, up to the present moment, there is no real
contest of races in the province Lower Canada.—(Hear, hear.) In
that province there is truly a so-called English party, whose only
characteristic similarity to the majority of our fellow-country-
men, I believe, and I trust, consists in the fact of their speak-
ing the English tongue.—(Hear, hear, hear.) They are a small
faction whose object is power, who, for that purpose ap-
peal to disgraceful national antipathies, and dare to make
the extravagant demands to whioh I have referred, and
claim as their right a tenfold share in the representation
of the province—an odious and monopolizing clique, the
source of all evil, the origin of all the disputes which have so
long agitated that unfortunate country.—(Cries of " Hear, hear.")
The organs of the Tory party have most correctly proved the simile.
rity between this so-called English party in Lower Canada, and the
Orange faction in Ireland.—(Hear, hear, and cheering.) Every
odious sentiment, and every hateful principle—every mis-
chievous prejudice which is characteristic of the one belling likewise
to the other faction—(Hear, hear, hear)—and I trust the people of this
empire will show as little sympathy for the one, as it ought to feel for
the other.—(Hear, hear, hear.) But if on the grounds of being
dissimilar in race, and of speaking a different language, you are
to accord dominion to this party in Canada, then tenfold is the claim
of the analogous party in Ireland to supremacy over a people whose
native language is tar more dissimilar to our tongue, and who spring
from a stock far less akin to ours than that of the French.—(Cheers.)
I own that I feel ashamed and humiliated that in this, the nineteenth
century, I should have to combat and denounce antipathies arising out
of the difference of race. Every effort has been made to excite such
antipathies.—(Hear, hear, and cheering.) To one attempt of this
description I would wish most particularly to allude. The
Canadians have been represented as a bigoted and ignorant people,
stupidly and slavishly attached to ancient and barbarous feudal customs'
and privileges. Such was the language of the Noble Lord (the Member
for Stroud) when quoting Montesquieu, he said, "He who
pays eess is a serf—he who does not is free." Such has been
the language of Hon. Gentlemen, because the Canadians prefer
seigneurial tenure to that which has been attempted to be introduced
by an Act of the Imperial Legislature. Now, I contend that they
are justified in their preference of the eeigneural tenure and
for the purpose of proving that they are in the right, I will
appeal again to the Reports of the Canada Commissioners.
The Commissioners state that "the feudal tenure as it was first in-
troduced Into Canada appeared to them to have been it same particu.
Lars adapted to the settlement of a new country," and comparing the
incidents of the two tenures, namely, of the feudal tenure and of that
in free and common soccage, they say, " the modes of con-
veyance under the French customs are simple, expeditious, and cheap,"
and " the French rules of descent are much preferred to the law of
primogeniture by the people of all origins on this continent," and
they recommend tie application of the French modes of conveyance
and descant to the tenure in free and common soccage. Undoubtedly
there are inconveniences attached to the feudal tenure ; the heavy fines
on the transfer of property, and the other obstacles to its
free transmission, arising out of the feudal tenure, have an in.
jurious tendency. But those evil effects are beginning
to be generally acknowledged ; and," say the Commissioners, " in the
views now expressed by leading Canadians of French origin there is no
desire whatever to perpetuate the onerous parts of the tenure, and the
people have been moved in some cases to represent the inconvenience."
The patriotic meeting in the county of Vaudreuil demanded a relief
from feudal burthens ; and the Commissioners state likewise " that a
ittin 1834, in a report which they made, ex.
iim o
ed aee of Assemblyfeelin feeling very favourable to the extinction on reasonable
Committee
terms of tne burthens of the seigneurial tenure." The French Cana-
dians, therefor:, are not blindly arid foolishly attached to the mischie-
vous effects of time feudal tenure; but they do object to the conduct of
this country in attempting to interfere with a matter which ought to
be one of internal arrangement—(Hear, hear)—and they object for this
reason to some Acts of the Imperial Parliament, for instance to two,
especially to the clauses of the Canada Trade Act (3d Geo. IV. esp. 111),
sec. 31 and 32), and to the Canada Tenures Act, (6th Geo. IV. cap. b 1).)
Now, with regard to the two laws which I have just mentioned,
the Commissioners state that complaints have been made on the follow-
ing grounds :—First, " that the subject of tenures is one of internal ar-
rangement, in which the Imperial Parliament ought not to interfere,
and on which it could not possess sufficient knowledge to legislate,
without falling inta error." With regard to this complaint the Commis-
sioners say, " We think there is reason for it, and that the interference of
the Imperial Parliament in matters of this nature ought, if possible, to be
avoided. As an example of the inconvenience which it is liable to create, we
may state, that, most probably from an insufficiency of local knowledge, it
has been found lawful to commute, for the unconceded parts only of
seigneuries, in two cases out of three that have occurred under the
Tenures Act." The second objection is, " That tine Act of 1825,
in a part of it purporting to be declaratory, established a law
different from what had prevailed in practice, and unsettled
various rights of property." The Commissioners say, " The

second objection was also, in ou opinion, well founded. We con-
ceive that rho untumlitlNl introduction of Lhe FnFlitth law of rest nrn..

petty was at any tete not suited to the cirauesseancee or to the wishes us ,
any class of the people." The third objection is, that the. Act of 1825
as far (Co favourable to the seigneur, whilst it did very little for
ithe censitaire—that is to say, that it was very advantageous to the
great landlord, but not to the small tenant; this objection likewise
say the Commissioners, "is we think founded in fact." Thus I con-
sider that I have shown, from the Report of the Commissioners, that
the people of the province have had good reason to complain of the
Tenures Act. I would observe that the Government is to blame for the
small number cf voluntary commutations of tenures between seigneures
and censitaires. The censitaire is only entitled to demand a commutations
of tenure when the seigneur has previously commuted with the Crown.
Now the Committee of ISeS recommended that the Seigneurial rights of
the Crown should he given up, and the droit de quint, which is a fine
on the transfer of Seigneurial property, should be remitted in order to
facilitate voluntary commutation between Seigneurs and Censitaires
under the Act of 1825. This recommendation of the Committee of 1 89.
has not been attended to by the Colonial Office, and for this inattention
the Colonial Office is justly deserving of blame; for, say the Commis-
sioners, " if the impediment which is presented by the droit de quint
were thus surmounted, nothing would be more easy than the arrange-
ment of voluntary agreements between seigneurs and censitaires for
the discharge of lands from the dues and services of their actual tenure," .
and for these reasons they recommended the droit de quint should be given -
up.
In short the Commissioners fully and completely allow the validity of
the complaints of the House of Assembly, with regard to the Tenures
Act : and in the conclusion of their report, they state, "we have no hesita-
tion in saying that in our opinion the Tenures Act of 1e25, and the clauses
in the Trade Act of 1822, which relate to tenures, should be repealed."
Thus, Sir, I have assigned my reasons for deciding that not the House
of Assembly, but the Colonial Secretaries, most especially the three,
Sir George Murray, Lord Ripon, and Lord Stanley, are to blame ;
and thus, Sir, I have enumerated a series of grievous wrongs inflicted
on the Canadian people by the tools of the Colonial Office, and for .
which the Ministers who have presided over that department
of the state ought to be held strictly responsible. But it
should be remarked, that of all the high functionaries the Colonial
Secretary is the one least exposed to effective responsibility, because
the people of a mother country are necessarily uninterested and unac-
quainted with the affairs of their remote dependencies ; therefore it is
only on extraordinary occasions that the public attention can be diverted
from matters of nearer interest to colonial concerns: it is rarely
that the Colonial-office can be made to feel the weight of public opi-
nion, and to fear censure and exposure; where, however, responsi-
bility is wanting, the experience of all ages has proved that
abuses will exist and must continue to exist unredrsssed, until
at last they reach that amount which induces them no longer to trust to
prayer, and humble petition, but raise the cry of war, and have recourse
to arms.—(Hear, hear.) Such has been the case of Canada. In that
Province for the last thirty years, acknowledged abuses -
have existed ; acknowledged by Committees and by Members
of every party in the House of Commons.—(Hear, hear.) Great
changes had taken place in the Government of this country, yet no
change has taken place in the adrainiatration of Colonial affairs. •
—(Hear hear.) - The same odious system of Colonial misgovernment
which was pursued by the Tories, has been acted upon by the Whigs.__
(Hear, hear, hear.) The causes for the continuance of the same
colonial system under Ministers of the most adverse principles
are easily to be explained. The Colonial Secretary seldom remains
long enough his office to become acquainted with the concerns of
the numerous Colonies which he governs.—(Hear, hear, and laughter.) •
In the last ten years there have been no less than eight different Colo-
nial Secretaries.—(Hear, hear.) They have seldom, therefore, the time, "
and still more seldom the inclination—(Hear)—to make themselves
acquainted with the complicated details of their office—their
necessary ignorance renders them merely tools in the hands
of the permanent Under-Secretaries and other Clerks.—(Hear, hear.)
Sir, it is in the dark recesses of the Colonial Office—in those •
dens of peculatiun and plunder—it is there that the real and ir-
responsible rulers of the millions of inhabitants of our colonies
to be found. Men they are utterly unknown to fame, but
for whom, I trust, some time or other, a day of reckoning will come,
when they will be dragged before the public and punished for their
evil deeds : these are the men who, shielded by irresponsibility and hid.. ..
den from the public gaze, continue the same system of misgovernment
under every party which alternately governs the destinies of this empire:,
By that misgovernment they drive our Colonies to desperation—( Hear)—
they connive at every description of abuse, because they profit by
abuse; they defend every species of corruption, because they gain by -
corruption : these men I now denounce as the originators and perpetrators
of those grievances in Canada, the evil effects of which this country has
already begun to experiense. I trust the experience thus gained will
convince the people of the necessity of a sweeping reform in the Colo.
nial-ollice.—(Hear, hear.) There remains, Sir, for me- one other
Canadian grievance to mention—the great, the master-grievance of all ;
and for this grievance not only is the Colonial-office responsible, but
the whole of her Majesty': Ministers, and even, unfortunately, the •
imperial Legislature of this country; that grievance consists in
the resolutions passed last Session by Parliament.—(Hear, hear.)
Those resolutions virtually destroyed the Constitution of Lower Ca-
nada ; it was the grossest absurdity to call together last autumn the .
House of Assembly, for the purpose of informing them that the
Imperial Legislation had deprived them of their roost valuable ' -
rights ; and I contend that the conduct of the House of As-
sembly was on that occasion most praiseworthy, and consistent with
the spirit and determination which they have always evinced. It is for-
tunate that her Majesty's Ministers can find one individual fit to be islet •
to Canada who taok no share in those wicked resolutions; for if Lord ,
Durham had either assented to, or approved of, or in any way directly or
indirectly participated in the conduct of the Government on that occa.
sion, not the slightest confidence, not the smallest reliance, could be
placed in him, and his mission to Canasta would without doubt be •
a complete, a miserable, and a disgraceful failure.—(Loud cries of
" Hear, hear.") These fatal resolutions were the proximate Ckllilt•
of the present revolt ; and though I must deeply lament that blood has
been shed, still if the insurrection should, by sending Lord Durham
to Canada, tend to bring the unhappy affairs of that province to a
satisfactory settlement, I for one shall not consider that on the whole there
will be much reason for deep sorrow and regret, on account of late events.
With regard to the issue of the struggle which is now taking place in our
North American colonies, I have already expressed what are my hopes, my
fears, and mywishes. For so doing I have been held up to public indiguatioyi,
and received unmeasured abuse. But whether I am denounced as traitor Or
rebel in the courteous though somewhat wearisome tones of the Noble
Lord the Member for South Lancashire, or in the snore energetic vi-
tuperations of interested orators, is a matter to me of utter indifference.
Not one expression which I used, not one opinion which I uttered,
not one word which escaped from my lips with regard to
this question do I in any way regret or retract—(Loud cries of
Hear, hear, .hear)—and if Ido not at the present moment reiterate
those sentiments, it is partly out of respect for the feelings of this As-
sembly, partly because I cannot find terms strong enough to embody my
sentiments, and partly because I wish no longer to trespass upon your
patience.— (Cheers.)
Mr. S. O'BRIEN, although he did not wish to intrude long upon the
intention of the House, was anxious to say a few words on the question
under consideration. He had last year, although he was in a minority,
opposed the resolutions proposed by the Noble Lord respecting Canada, '
because he anticipated the consequences which had resulted from them.
After contemplating those results, he felt that he should never cease to
rejoice at the course which he had been induced to pursue, because he
felt that he should have participated in a woeful responsibility. In now,
however, corning to a decision on the subject, he could take only one
view of the case. He could only inquire what course was most calcu-
lated
to avoid the shedding of blood, to restore tranquillity to Canada,
and to bring back those relations which ought to subsist between a colo-
ny and the mother country. Under these circumstances he was bound
to declare that in his opinion no measure could be better calculated to
effect objects so desirable than the Bill proposed by the Noble Lord on
the Treasury bench. People talked of the suspension of the Canadian
Constitution. Why, the Constitution of 1791 was at the present mo-
ment virtually repealed. It was nonsense to talk of the House
of Assembly being at present competent to any purpose of
effectual legislation or Government. What he felt, therefore, that he
had to choose between was, martial law, or the plan proposed by the Noble ,
Lord. He certainly approved of the plan to send an able Statesman to
Canada for the purpose of endeavouring to reconcile the differences.. -
which had unhappily occurred in that country. The character of the--
Noble Earl selected for that important mission, afibrded a perfect gua-
rantce that under any arrangement the rights of freemen and the Tiber.
ties of the people would be respected. On these grounds he felt bound
to vote for the measure before them. While he did so, however, he
was desirous, if possible, to indicate to the Colonial-office on the one
hand, and to the colony on the other, the course that was expected
from them. It was expected that all which had passed should be con-
signed to oblivion, and that all the future should proceed on a principle 's
of mutual forbearance and kindness. For his part he was persuaded, •
that if the Canadians had not revolted, if they had confined themselves
to constitutional representations of their grievances, they must have
eventually succeeded in obtaining the objects at which they aimed. The
Hon. Gentleman proceeded to enumerate the various points at issue.
He confessed that the conduct of the Government towards Ca-
nada, had, in some instances, astonished him. The feelings of the ;
majority of the people of the colony appeared to have been wholly
neglected, and the wishes of a small minority only considered.—
(Hear, hear, hear.) That was not the way to rule a country.-
If the majority of the people could not be trusted, the Con
stitution should at once be abrogated, and a different form of Govern-
ment established. The Hon. Gentleman then adverted to the proceed-
ing which had been taken by the Local Government in Lower Csmada in
respect to the public meetings which took place in the province in con-
sequence of the Resolutions passed by the Imperial Parlianaent last
year. He thought that these proceedings were characterised in too
many instances by an undue severity. Instesd of upbraiding the Ca-
ludas for past conduct he thought that the best and most beneficial
course that the Imperial Parliament could take would be to apply the
whole of its wisdom and experience to the formation of a new Consti-
tution for those important and valuable provinces. The Hon. Member '
for Bridport (Mr. Warburton) had contended that the best policy of,
Great Britain would he to dissociate itself ftom its colonies. From that
doctrine he (Mr. S. O'Brien) entirely dissented. Colonies, if mis.
governed, would no doubt become an expense to the parent State; s
but well and wisely ruled, they were the sources of the greatest and.
most valuable advantages. When, beneath the fostering care of la
wise parental State, they had attained to sufficient strength to hoist
an independent place among the nations of the world, they should
undoubtedly be admitted to that freedom, which sooner or lute:
they would be sure to attain). In no point of view, indeed, did, tare
grandeur of England appear to be so great as when she was regard.ed, as
the parent of independent nations. He thought that the wishes, of the .
great majority of the Canadian people should be acceded to. If they
demanded a responsible Executive Council, he would give them that
also. He implored the House, now that a new reign was commenced,
to apply itself seriously to the redress of all grievances of which the
majority of the empire complained, whether in Canada or in Ireland.
Mr. W. WILLIAMS regretted that he felt himself called upon to
oppose that Bill, but he did so upon the ground that it contained an
enactment which he thought would tend to aggravavate the already
existing feeling of discontent amongst the people of Canada. He con-
sidered that the resolution to take the public money of the province, cola-
trary to the express wish of the House of Assembly, was a great vio-
lation of the rights of the Colonists, but he considered the Act suspend—
ing the Constitution a still greater violation of their rights. He'
would beg the House to bear in mind the statement made by Lord North'
in 1775, when he brought his celebrated motion before the House. He' e
then stated that disaffection not only existed in one of the thirteen pro-.
vinces. But whet was the result ? No sooner was the intelligence re-
ceived in America than the whole of the colonies there broke out into.
open rebellion, and in a very short time after the battle of Lexinga-
ton was fought. He (Mr. Williams), moreover, had heard no real pea- ,
son to justify the suspension of the Constitution. His opinion of sleets a
proceeding was, that it would tend to produce so strong a feeling, sea deep
a sense of the insult, that the people as a body would become Ms:effects d
to the mother country. The only reasons which he hkd heard used wee''
that there were certain Local Acts which would expire in the course of
this year, and only affecting a particular district in the country ; and
that it was requisite that the Legislature should be summoned each year-
Thesa reasons did not appear to him to have any weight, for all objection
might be obviate:l by deferring till the last possible moment the pre
ceeclings contemplated by the Bill. It was also very important to cone
side: the statement in the Speech of the President, and the evident
prepermions for war which it recommended. He (Mr. Williams) would,
however, confess that he could not see that statement, and regard the
,present situation of Canada without apprehension. In the event of a
ware if the United States were to obtain possession of Canada, hove '
would it be possible for this eountry to retain its other colonies in
that part of the world—Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, and the
islands in the Gulph of St. Lawrence ? If the Noble Lord (Durham)
went out as a pacificator, but carrying with him the suspension of the
Constitution, all his efforts would be worse than useless. But he (Mr_
Williams) would like to know what loss this country would have sus-
tained if it hall granted an Elective Legislative Council 29 years ago
Thinking, therefore, that this Bill would exasperate the feelings of the

■

I

k.

Canadians, he could not help both expressing his regret, and condemning
a. .1P 724 ; he seas :eel
that in the Ministerial plan twenty persons were to be elected as a
Council from the inhabitants of both Provinces.
Mr. E. EULWER entirely approved, not only of the measure be-
fore the House, but also the whole conduct of her Majesty's Ministers
respecting the unfortunate disputes in Canada. tie thanked them per-
sonally, as an Englishman, for their desire to support the interests of
the country and to maintain the integrity of the empire. He thanked
them, also, for their determinatior. to .redress the grievances of the Ca-
nadians, and to bestow upon them the blessings of a free and improved
Constitution. It appeared to him, however, that the Government had a
curious variety of arguments to answer. The Hon. Member for Wor-
cestershire said that the Ministers were deeply responsible, and the
ground on which he founded this responsibility was, that they
had not bestowed a sufficient stipend upon the Bishop of Quebec. The
Noble Lord the Member for South Lancashire, after condemning the
policy of Lord Gosford, went on to say that that Noble Lord ought not
to have been removed, because, having exhausted all the arts of conri.
liation, he would naturally be .thos best man to carry coercive measures
into effect. All that was very wise, and very politic too ; but it was
not at all practical. According to that theory the Right Hon. Baronet
the Member for Tamworth, who had opposed the Reform Bill in a'l itt
stages, should have been called on as the fittest to pass it for that reason
en the resignation of Lord Grey. There was a great cry of imbecility
against her Majesty's Ministers; and that cry came from two extreme
parties, as opposite to each other in political opinion as it was possible to
be; but when he heard it he could not help remembering the keen and
forcible observation of Swift—" When intemperate men of opposite
parties unite together for the purpose of assailing a third, and calling it
imbecile, depend upon it that it is a sure sign of the wisdom and mode-
ration of the party assailed." The Learned Gentleman who had been
heard at the bar of the House the last night had made as much of his
case as he could, in a speech of two hours' duration ; but to the flourish
of trumpets with which it was announced, and the threatening ex-
ordium with which it was commenced, there never was a more " lame
and impotent conclusion." The Learned Gentleman had on that occa-
sion entered into a long history of the early condition of Canada ; but
that had no more to do with the question at issue than the history of
the Deluge could have with the overflow of the St. Lawrence.—(A
laugh.) One of the Learned Gentle Men's charges against the Govern.
anent of the country was that acknowledged grievances still existed in
Canada; but whose fault was- that but that of the Canadians them-
selves P The Legislature of Great Britain would nom be employed in
examining into and redressing them, if they had not turned their pe.
tition into a declaration of war. The next charge of the Learned Gen.
tleman was, that, as the Government had acknowledged the existence
of grievances in Canada without redressing them, that was a justifica.
lion for a revolt on the part of the people. Now, the contrary was the
ease ; for in July last the speech of the Noble Lord the Member for
Sroud had been called conciliatory and satisfactory as regarded the main
grievance complained—the Legislative Council—by Mr. Roebuek him-
self. The Canadians, in fact, cut away the ground from them.
selves, and left not a single argument in their own favour.—
(Hear, hear.) The Learned Gentleman and those who supported
bins desired to throw the whole blame of the rebellion on
the Government. Now he (Mr. Bulwer) believed that the Govern..
rnent, on the'aontrary, were Wholly ipnocent. He believed that not
folloviing up the'recommendatiOns of the Committee of 1823 contri-
buted something to bring about the present state of things. But
Many people in Canada, as well as at home, thought that inflammatory
speeches and writings, of which that Learned Gentleman knew more
than he (Mr. Bulwer) did, were more instrumental in causing the revolt
than anything else.—(Hear, hear) The Learned Gentleman, who was
so fond of charging others, should take the beam out of his own eye
before he sought the mote in that of his neighbour. But the
Learned Gentleman's conduct in that respect forcibly reminded him
of the observation of a celebrated Protestant Divine, in reference
to another individual—" Souse people would never take the beans
out of their own eyes unless they could sell the timber."—(Loud
laughter.) The Learned Gentleman had said that the measure
before the House was merely a measure of punishment ; but he
(Mr. Bulwer) could not in history recollect any case of greater
kindness or more generous conduct towards a disaffected people
in a state of rebellion than that of her Majesty's Government.
They granted a general amnesty, and, as a guarantee o . their
good intentions in regard to the future freedom of the Pro.
wince, they were about to send out Lord Durham, with power
to frame a new Constitution for it. That Noble Lord's name had never
yet been identified with coercion, but, on the contrary, was almost too
Much mixed up with concession to the popular feeling of the country.
And, as he was on the subject, he could not help admiring the self-sacri-
fice of that Noble Lord in undertaking the office, for to a man in his
high station, enjoying the consideration of the Court, and the affection
Of the country, it was a sacrifice of no ordinary magnitude to go to such
a Place, on such a mission. It was charged on the Government that
the advisers of the Noble Lord were not likely to give satisfaction to the
People of Canada; but who werethey ? Were they not Canadians teem-
'Macs —the majority of them too to be chosen from the House of Assem-
bly, in the character of delegates of the people of that Province? If a new
Constitution for the colony was to be considered even under the
most favourable circumstances, who could be better advisers than
these individuals ? The Constitution, it was complained, was sus-
pended in Canada; but who were those that made the outcry now ?
They were the very same persona who in recent times, within the
'walls of that House and without, declared that the Constitution was
"the greatest practical grievance" of all that afflicted Canada, and
w called on the Legislature of the country to do what it was
about-to do at present—to overthrow it altogether, or to remodel
another in its stead It was not, however, the British Government
'which suspended the Constitution of Canada; for three years and a half
it had been virtually suspended by the conduct of the House of Assem-
ble—(Hear, hear, and No, no, from or two voices.) And the quarrel in
which this country was now involved wzs not, as the Learned Gentle.
Man had stated, for " Money, money, money I" but for the maintenance
of peace and social order, and the clue administration of legal justice.
The Hon. Gentleman who spoke last had intimated a suspicion that the
Bill before the House would fail in the effect it was intended to pro.
duce; but if it did he (Mr. Bulwer) felt bound to say that it would be
from •he too great liberality of the mother country, and not from her too
great severity. He (Mr. Bulwer) thanked her Majesty's Govern-
ment for the measure, as well as for their whole conduct towards Ca-
nada since the passing of the Resolutions of July. The Right
Mon. Member for Tamworth suffered from them, no doubt, and
thought that in sending out those Resolutions troops should be
seed out along with them; but, in opposition to the opinion of that
Right Honourable Baronet he (Mr. Bulwer) would take leave to place
that of the Noble Duke the leader of the party to which he
belonged.— (Cries of " No, no.") Did that cry mean that the Noble
..Duke was not the leader of the party?—(Cries of " No, no.") Well,
"en, that Noble Duke, the leader of the Opposition party, had, in
the other House of Parliament, completely exonerated her Majesty's
Government for not sending out troops along with the Resolutions.
Who was the sole and single accuser of her Majesty's Government in
that House? A Noble and Learned Lord, who, after having coquetted
'With all parties, seemed now about to— (Cries of" Order.")
The SPEAKER called the Hon. Member to order.
Mr. BULWER—WeII, at all events, he (Mr. Bulwer) thanked the
Government for not having sent out troops; for though they might un-
questionably have carried the Resolutions by force, they would have en-
listed on the side of the rebels the sympathy of a large portion of the
kllghsh people. Every day proved the wisdom of such generosity_
sever) hour brought intelligence of the satisfactory result of their for-
bearance. That very (lay's paper proved it by the accounts received from
Canada. A separation of the colony from the mother country was spoken
Of by some lion. Gentlemen as the only panacea. At some very distant
Period, perhaps, when the interests of the French and the English popu-
lation could be proved to be identical, and when all circumstances
should concur in giving guarantees for the future capability of
effective selegovernment—then he might feel disposed to listen to the
6,oggeStioll ; but not until then. Those who now advocated separation
~hould look at the intelligence of the parties in Canada who alone wished
it. They should candidly tell the people of the country at the Crown
and Anchor meetings, and at the meetings held elsewhere on the sub-
-3 ct, that they are and have always been the most bigoted opponents to
thee extension of trade and commerce in the colony, and that M. Papi-
' e? and his followers are by no means attached to the enlightened
s of this country, but, on the contrary, revere, and would
perpetuate, the worn-out fallacies of the feudal system of four centuries
duce .. And
the Hon. Member for Bridport, who, he (Mr. Bulwer) be-
eailed himself a philosophical Radical, should bear in mind, in
t"i" teal for separation, that a great proportion of the eleotoral popula-
,ee 'h Of the Lower Province could hither read nor write, and that even
o`ne foreman of a jury could not s eel in the issue because he was
Ileient ins those necessary requisites.—(Hear, hear, hear.) Were
hl9 se
ese
a people he (Mr. Lytton Bulwer) would ask, fit to be esta-
hed
vs_ as an independent State ?—(Hear, hear.) The first thing
eY would do would be to throw themselves into the arms of the
tsnited States; and, by their absurdities in legislation, after disgust.
i the civilised world with Republics, end in a Jacobin tyranny.
f„flare 'was one remark of the Noble Lord the Member for South
ncashire in his speech of the last night which touched on the dif_
~ences and connexion of the Government and the Radical party.
w
t`h he (Mr. Bulwer) wished, in reply to that remark, to point out to
° House of Commons and the country that it was the same small
Atm
ee gentlemen who, on the first night of the Session, declared such
`ter hostility to the Reform Bill and the Reform Government that
‘'.,°‘V sought to enlist the. sympathies of the people of England in the
use of the guilty insurgents in Canada.—(Hear, hear.) He (Mr.
ua
vela did not know whether this small knot of gentlemen called
,sthse'"aelves Radicals or not; but, if they did, they should find another
,Lanse for themselves without delay, as the great body of the people of
a'so_ogr and repudiated them under that title. The great majority of the
'a! tile of England were proud of their country, gloried in its success,
:grieved for its reverses ; and he rejoiced to see that feeling partici-
ted in by the House, who seemed now resolved to save Canada from
her own factions, and to preserve the commencement of this reign from
4 melancholy and inauspicious retrospect.
Mr. G ROTE had scarcely exeected in a speech on the general prin-
ce
Ple of a Bill for the establishment of good government in Canada to
have heard a sweeping and unmeasured denunciation of what the Hon.
elalher for Lincoln had called "a small knot of gentlemen ;" and he
~?uld not help thinking that it was a denunciation aeuncalled for as it
al:1 wholly undeserved and unnecessarily severe. When the Honour-
'Member called his (Mr. 1-ote's) Hmeant it, non. Friend, the Member for
" a philosophical Radical" he o doubt, as a re_
°aeh ; but lie should have remembered, in making use of it, that it
I„asitl at least as respectable a term " a liter try Whig," which might
equal, perhaps more, justice to be applied to others.—(Hear, and
autg,htet.) But, to pass to the question before the House, he (Mr.
,rt rote) could not at all agree with the Hon. Member for Lincoln in his
a,Pre"len of gratitude to the Government for their conduct toward
j:on,.eadaa save in one or two instances; those were, the appointment of
.7 Durham as Pacificator, and their declared intention of treating the
de people with clemency. When he said that, he said all the good
tee,"°l(l say of them—and all the good which he believed they designed
• Ile did not by any means consider the Bill calculated to harmo-
:e with these really good proceedings. The allegations on which it
founded went to assert the impossibility of calling together the
(Ruse of Assembly without danger to the peace of the province.—
svaear, hear.) But that had never beers clearly established. There
slets danger, in fact, now than ever in calling it together, for the
popularsaa leaders had fled, and the remainder would be rendered more
tonaßeable by the success of the Queen's forces. He could not, there-
%lseon see the slightest necessity for suspending the Constitution of the
1),,,,Y• The Noble Lord had, on a fernier occasion, stated his reach-
st,si to amend the Legislative Council ; but, whether by accident or
gn, the names of the new members he intended to infuse into it did
istr` arrive in time for the meeting of the House of Assembly its Septette.
tail,' Was that giving them a fair trial ? He (Mr. Grote) had per.
ed a strong wish on the part of a very respectable minority of the'
.tzonne
Of Assembly to go on even with the Legislative Council as it
aorattedi until a better could be obtained. Why not give them an op-
ts, "itY of expressing their opinions on the new Council ? If.
exPeriment failed things could not be worse than they were at
tent; it. not, it would allay all the irritation that now existed, and was
e.:IY long to exist, ins that province. The Constitution might be im-
la:" as much as possible, but the old one should be kept until the
sititrone was inn operation. But, perhaps, the most important con.
In abort connected with the Bill before the House, was the question
how far it would facilitate or retard the proceedings of Lord Dur-
op.!4 towards a general pacification of the colony. In his (Mr. Grote's)
i°n it would' add greatly to the difficulties and embarrassments of a
eil!,4ton already surrounded by them on every side. These difficulties
embarrassm. ents arose solely from the discontent and distrust which
evaded the Could anything be anticipated from that Bill province.
Serioirs • ggravation of those already too great evils ? The House
4'14 own despatches that many
a, CO the authority of Lord Gosford's
1401,05 wholly unconnected with local politics on all former occasions ,
'Jeers induced to engage ins them now in consequence of the resolit-
taci"' Chf the Noble Lord the Meseber for Stroud. How could even the
people so cireumstanced,
na,,e,hts ef Lord Durham operate to content a
such causes of exasperation in active existence. 'The success
otaa?rd Dutham's mission depended entirely on the conciliatioin of
--lon in Canada in favour of it ;c but valet had he to show in proof of

the good intentions of the Government but the Bill before the
Hou, ssso seseeeb of the Nob'', 'Lord. It wax on the:::
that all expectations of the return of peace were founded.
and they were by no means of a character likely to render
him (Mr. Grote) confident in the happy result. He (Mr.
Grote) objected to the Bill in regard to the convention of delegates as
representatives of the people of Canada. If there was danger in calling
together the House of Assembly there should also be danger in co.ivok_
ing a convention of delegates, freely elected. If they were the true
representatives of the public feeling, there was then equal objec-
tion on the ground taken by the Bill, to calling them together
there was to calling together the House of Assembly. If there were
not, their assistance and tier efforts would have no weight with
the colonial community.—(Hear, hear.) He (Mr. Grote) had be-
fore then expressed it as his cpnion—whether right or wrong—that
a separation of the colony from the mother country would be the most
desirable thing that could happen for both ; but although in that opinion
he found no ostensible support from her Majesty's Government, he
could not help thinking that few things which could occur had a
greater tendency to effect it than the mea'ure under considera.
tion. He differed entirely from the Honourable Member for Lin-
coln in believing that the first act of the colony, on separation,
would be to join with the United States ; bit he was convinced
that if the present course were persevered in by the Govern-
ment that would be the leiu:t, if such a case occurred. There
existed a natural syrmiat.iy and fraternity of feeling between
the people of Canada and of the United States, which should never
be forgotten by England. They might wish it to be otherwise;
but, however they might fear its effects, it would always exist and be
powerfully influential. He knew that considerable apprehensions were
entertained on this side the Atlantic that the seeds of the tree of liberty
proposed to be planted in Canada might be blown over here.—(Hear.)
But all our fears and wishes could not remove the natural coincidencies
and consequences of things as they were in North America, and the
Noble Lord the Member for Stroud should ever remember, in his at-
tempts at legislation, that it was three thousand miles from England, and
close to the United States.—;Cheers.) He felt assured that, if the Noble
Lord had fully considered all these things, ere he committed himself in
resistance to the wishes of the people of Canada, he would not have
resisted the introduction of reforms into the Executive and Legislative
Councils. The late Member for Bath was certainly mistaken when
he spoke of the Noble Lord's willingness to aid in any necessary
or satisfactory modifications of the Constitutions of these Councils.
On the contrary, the Noble Lord had expressly declared he could do
nothing in the way of minor modifications respecting the personal ap-
pointments to the Executive Council, and therefore it was not to be
hoped that he would willingly concede greater alterations. This ob-
vious indisposition to reform and conciliate made him him almost de-
spair of any good arising from Lord Durham's appointment. The Ca-
nadians had told them plainly what only would satisfy them, and Mi.
sisters had, with equal openness, declared that they would not comply
with their wishes. What, then, could Lord Durham do in the way of i
conciliation ? It appeared to him (Mr. Grote) that the most probable
termination of the Noble Lord's mission would be, not the bringing of
the House of Assembly into harmony with the Legislative Council, but
thebringing the Legislative Council into harmony with the House of

Assembly, for one of those natural changes and coalitions is the history
of nations which are so frequently brought about by the tricks and turns
of those in authority, whose selfishness and folly often lead to the very
results they are so anxious to avoid.—(Cheers.) What good could be
achieved by Lord Durham in Canada, of which he knew nothing Y
He was not acquainted with a single influential person of the
popular party. All his intimacy was confined to a few offi-
cials there, on whom he must, in the present state of parties
necessarily depend for information, and the consequence would be that,
while they were ostensibly governed by him, he would in reality be
working in the shackles of the Colonial Office.—(Hear, hear.) In short,
he could not, on his arrival, use his own reason to judge of the propriety
of the measures he might adopt, and, therefore, he (Mr. Grote) despaired
of any benefit arising front his mission. Had they been content to ap-
proach the Canadians years ago in the spirit of conciliation, unmixed
with coercion, they might have effected some good, for, after all, they
must depend on the good feelings of the Canadians alone for any satis-
factory result ; but from the speech of the Noble Member for Stroud,
he feared that nothing of concession or conciliation need be looked for
by the Canadians. If they would have and keep Canada a colony
for their aggrandisement, they must first solve this difficult problem—
to maintain the supremacy of England, and still give satisfaction to the
Canadians.—(Cheers.) Until they did this it was useless to speak of
the details of its Government. They were in the habit of speaking of
the injurious effect produced on the minds of the Canadians by the
speeches in Parliament oft hose they termed" the contemptible minority"
there, and spoke of so lightly, that he wondered they took the trouble of
replying to them ; but he could tell them that the speeches which did
most mischief to the cause of the mother country in the minds of the Ca-
nadians were those which were made against their claims by Hon. Gen_
men opposite. There could not be anything more likely to inflame
them to resentment and active opposition than such extracts as the No-
ble Lord had read from Montesquieu, and applied to the question, as if
we were dealing with a nation of serfs.—(Hear, hear, hear.) He con.
sidered such speeches more injurious to the cause of the mother coun-
try, and the all-desired object, conciliation, than those of the most vio-
lent Radical.—(A laugh.) He should recollect in the midst of the in-
sulting language indulged in, the possibility of future disputes with the
United States, respecting boundaries and tariffs, and various other de-
bateable points—that we have 1,000 miles of border, with dissatisfied in.
habitants—(Hear, hear,)—and that in the event of a war, Canada, in-
stead of being our strength, may become our weakness.—(Hear, hear.)
He thought this Bill would do far more to provoke revolt than to sup.
press it. He had abstained on a former occasion from voting with the
Hon. Member for Middlesex, having heard that Ministers were prepar-
ing to send out Lord Durham with full powers to make a conciliatory
and satisfactory arrangement, but now he found that the liill under
which he must act was one of severity and coercion, and lie had there..
fore arrived at the painful conclusion that it was more than anything
else calculated to defeat the objects of his mission, and prolong the un-
fortunate struggle in which the mother country had engaged with one of
the moat important of her cclonies

Sir E. SUGDEN said, it was with great surprise that he found that
in the speech of the Learned Gentleman the most important parts of the
case were kept altogether out of sight—either as not being important in
his opinion, or that he felt there was a prudential necessity to hide
them.—(Hear.) The principal omission respected the French Cana-
dians, of whom he (Sir Edward Sugden) had not the slightest wish to
speak disrespectfully. Such an argument would be the last to be list-
ened to in that House, as it had always been the policy of the British
Government to keep the French people of Lower Canada a distinct co-
lony, for political purposes, and to carefully protect the rights they had
been guaranteed at the time of the conquest. He therefore regarded
them as British subjects, and should speak of them with all possible re-
spect and consideration. In the framing of the Constitution of 1791
there was a great fault committed in leaving them possessed
of the old feudal tenures.—(Hear.) The Noble Lord had truly
said that it would have been a difficult task to have ingrafted tree
institutions upon the droits des seigneurs, and the most. able men
of this country had signally failed in arranging the affairs of that
Province. There was almost an impossibility in 1791 of finding a re-
sident class of persons sufficiently numerous and fit to assume seats in
the Upper House. He was convinced that the revolt had been caused
by the House of Assembly, and would explain how. The Constitution
of 1791 had been framed in imitation of that of this country as nearly
as possible, but the House of Assembly are not satisfied. They claim
to have a Legislative Council, obedient to, and virtually chosen by,
themselves. They desire us to break in upon and open their charter,
and have, what the mother country has not, an Upper House elective.
They want to have the power of impeaching the Governor and the
members of the Executive Council, and to have the judges removable
by them. They should recollect that England had the right of domi-
nion over Canada by conquest, by treaty, and by possession, ere they de-
manded such things. When the revolt broke out they disclaimed at
once the authority of all the ordinary Courts, and erected family
or friendly tribunals in lieu, proceedings which clearly indicated
either that the Canadian Courts of law were very bad, and ought
to be amended at once, or that the people did not know what jus-
tice was. It might be said that the Canadians were the best judges
of what suited themselves ; but that was a popular fallecy, which might
be disproved. in abundance of cases, by any intelligent looker-on. As
to the right to the local revenues of lands, and which Lord Dorchester
had in 1774 committed to the management of the Honse of Assembly,
they were clearly vested in the Crown by conquest, and (although ap.
propriated to the supply of the wants of the colony) belonged to it as
justly and completely as the property of any private gentleman. was
so expressly declared in the treaty of 1774, and so provided in the Con-
sLitution cf 1791, which kept alive the original right in the most spocific
terms, declaring that, before anything could be altered, a Bill should be
introduced into the House of Assembly, confirmed by the Legislative
Council, approved by the Governor, and transmitted to England, to be
submitted to both Houses of Parliament, with a stipulation that if either
House petitioned the Crown against the allocation no Bill should be passed.
Let Canada only consider that the duties established in that colony were
dedicated to the payment of the civil officers of the establishment. As to
the Act of 1531, that Act was granted under the impression that Canada
would agree to the payment of a Civil List. Before that Act thosefunds did
not belong to the Crown; but by the Act of 1774 they were dedicated
to the payment of the civil Government. The Act of 1631 did not re_
peal the Act of 1774, but only corrected it, and made further provi.
sions, by the consent of the local Legislature. Under the Act of 1774
the proper application of the funds was the payment of the Civil List.
He would not hesitate to repeal the Act of 1831 ifthe local Legislature
consented to the payment of the Civil List. He was rejoiced to hear so
many Members speak upon and take an interest in the question, because
he should consider it a disgrace if a Bill of this nature were sufrered to
pass, as a matter of course.—(Cheers.) He would agree to the passing
of the Bill as the only mode of saving a Constitution for the people of
Canada. He was desirous that every real grievance which the Cana.
dians had to complain of should be remedied, and especially that arising
out of the law of common soccege. It was not the practice of the
House of Commons or of the British Constitution to stop supplies.
This was the exception—not the rule. By that Act the House of As.
sembly had at once destroyed the Constitution of Lower Canada, and
had rendered the present measure not only justified but necessary.
Mr LABOUCHERE had listened with great satisfaction to the
Right Hon. and Learned Gentleman who had just spoken its a manner
worthy of his high profe;sional reputation, and of his character as a
British Senator, in liberal, large, conciliatory, and just language.—
(Cheers.) Nothing could be more unjust, on the other hand, than
what had fagen from the Hon. Member for the City of London (Mr.
Grote), who stated that the most harsh language had been used towards
the people of Canada from both sides of the House. Now the contrary
of this was, in Isis judgment, the fact; for he was bound to say, and he
said it with great satisfaction, that all the Gentlemen who had spoken
expressed their opinions upon the subject with the utmost calmness
towards the colonists. He should for the present only say, that any
Constitution given to Canada, to be effective for the purposes of
good government, must be founded upon broad principles of liberty.
—(Loud cheers.) He drew a wide distinction between the destruc-
tion and the suspension of a Constitution, and he looked upon it as the
most valuable part of the present Bill, that it gave to the Cana-
dian people the guarantee •of the House of Commons and the Go-
vernment, that it was intended to revert to a Constitutional Govern-
ment. Although he looked upon Canada in many points of view as
a highly valuable colony of the British empire, yet if he thought that
it could not be maintained upon the principles of a free Constitution
and Government he would rather give it up than continue to govern it
on unworthy principles.—(Cheers.) The conduct of every successive
Government in this country he viewed as conciliatory rather than
harsh or vigorous towards Canada, and this was confirmed by the events
that followed. Much had been said as to the effects of the revolt in
Canada on the United States of America, but it was impossible to value
too highly the conduct, thelauguage, and the actions of the Government
of that great republic on the occasion. They saw that Great Britain
had taken an honest and a just course, and they would, he was sure,
view with indignation the names of Washington or Franklin used as in-
citements to revolt by the people of Lower Canada,—(Cheers.) While
he concurred in the suppression of revolt, he could not but feel that
Canada must be governed upon free and liberal principles.—(Cheers )
Mr. GLADSTONE said that lie could not refuse his acknowledge-
ment of the fair, open, and consistent mariner in which the Honour-
able Member for London (Mr. Grote) had expressed his opinion upon
this subject on several occasions. A month ago that Hon. Member was
in favour of separation, and so he was now. How strangely did this
consistency come in contrast with the conduct of the Hon. Genilemen'
who sat behind the Hon. Member.—(Cheers.) Before the recess the
lion. Member for Leeds (Si: W. Molesworth) spoke of and antici-
pated nothing but the total defeat of the British troops ; but now all
his fond anticipations, he confessed, had vanished, because the reports
in the newspapers said that the British troops were successful. Some
Hon. Gentlemen had accused the Government of vaci:lation ; but those
who didso had better look at home. The lion. Member for Leeds had
said that the Judges in Canada would have been independent
had not the Colonial Secretary at home rejected a Bill passel
fur that purpose by the House of Assembly; but the fact was, that
the 'Bill in question only made the Judges nominally inde-
pendent, making no provi: tea whatever for the payment of their sala-
ries ; and, besides this objection, the Bill went to give the House of As.

sembly the right to dispose of the hereditary revenues of the Crown,
The object of the Bill was to vote the salaries of the Judges year after
year; but by no means to establish their independence. Mr. Roebuck
had said at the Bar that he was the sole advocate of the House of As_
sembly for Lower Cannda—but where did he leave the Hon. Member
for London, Leeds, Westminster, Finsbury, and, above all, to come to
the climax, the Hon. Member for .Kilkenny?—(A laugh.) Tie Hon.
Member for Kilkenny had spoken upon the question every night, even
the very last night, when he rose to state that he had nothing to say.—
(Laughter.) Mr. Roebuck had not made out that the Legislative
Council had rejected any measures that it would have been proper for
them do have sanctioned. In any of the grievances whieh were so loudly
complained of he had not been able to discover any grounds to deter
the House from the course it was proposed to pursue. The Honour.
able Baronet the Member for Leeds had alluded to cases of enthar.
reseed Judges; but, let him ask, although he had beard of no extra-
ordinary cases of this nature, were not such embarrassments the natural
results of that policy in pursuance of which the House of Assembly had,
year after year, withheld from those Judges their well-nierited and
hard-earned salaries ?—(Hear, hear.) With respect to the large
amount in which the Receiver-General had been a defaulter, that
could not fairly be made the groundwork of any charge against the
Government. Again, they heard much of the offence given to the
Canadians by the resolutions which had passed that House; but it
should not be overlooked that if the Legislative Council was wrong
before they were passed, those resolutions could not set it right, and
that the Acts of the Legislative Counbil were all backed by the Go-
vernment at home. Many appeals had been made with reference
to the similarity of the present case of Canada and that of Ame-
rica in her struggle for independence. But, in his opinion, those
cases were in no way similar.— (Hear, hear.) In the case of America
there bad been nopovrerful neighbour to hold out to her the example
of anything to be gained by a separation from the mother country;
and if there had been one thing more than any other which the Ameri-
cans at the period alluded to stood in need of, it was a Legislative Coun-
cil, which might have served them as a rallying point—(Cheers)—and
have served thorn, in some measure, to counteract the successful attempts
which were made to assert their independence.—(Hear, hear.) But it
had been said that Canada had been crippled and restricted in her trade
and commerce by her connection with this country, and they had been
told of the rapid advances in commerce and general civilization which
America had made since the period when she obtained the recognition
of her independence. But to this might be opposed the extraordinary in_
crease in the trade and commerce of America during almost a century
prior to that event, and while she was attached to the British Crown,
and he would especially mention the increased prosperity of Philadel-
phia among other places. But let the House compare the immense in.
crease in the population of Canada with that of America, rapid as it
has been since she became independent. Let them not forget that
tile population of Lower Canada had, since the year 1775, pulti_
plied itself tenfold —(Hear, hear, hear.) Some Honourable Gen-
tlemen on the Ministerial side (though he would except from
that number the Honourable Member for Taunton, who spoke
last) had spoken unfavourably of the conduct of some of the •
former Administrations with regard to Canada. Canada, it should be
recollected, began her existence as a French Colony, but as much had
been urged as to what had and what had not been done to her by this I

country since she had belonged to it, he would read to the house the
words of M. Papineau himself in his address to the electors of Montreal
in July, 1820—(Hear, hear) —a document of great importance, when it

was considered bow great had been the course of conciliation which sue.
cessive Governments had adopted towards Canada ever since that period.
M. Papineau said—

" Each year of his long reign has been marked by new favours
bestowed upon the country. * * 4° Compare our present
Irlppy situation with that of our fathers on the eve of the day when
George the Third became the legitimate Monarch. Under the French
Government (internally and externally arbitrary and oppressive) the
interests of this country had been more frequently neglected and
mel_administered than those of any other part of its dependencies.
George the Third succeeded Louis the Fifteenth. From that day the
reign of the law succeeded to that of violence—from that day the trea_
sures, the navy, and the armies of Great Britain, are mustered to afford
us an invincible protection r•.gainst external danger ; from that day the
better part of her laws became ours, while our religion, property, and
the laws by which they are governed, remain unaltered. Soon after were
granted us the privileges of its free Constitution ; an infallible pledge,
when acted upon, of our paternal prosperity. Now religious toleration
—trial by jury—that wisest of safeguards ever devised for the protec
tion of innocence—security against arbitrary imprisonment by the pri-
vil-ges attached to the writ of habeus corpus—legal and equal security
afforded to all in their persons, honour, and property—the right toobey
no other laws than those of our own making and choice, expressed
through our own representatives—all these advantages have become
our birth-right, and shall, I hope, be the lasting inheritance of our
posterity. To secure them, let us only act as British subjects and
freemen. '

From whom did these words proceed ?—(Hear, hear.) He had not
quoted them as coming from the mouth of a Governor of the Prov:nce,
but from the same man who was now the agitator and promoter of re-
volt—(Hear, hear)—and he would put it to the House whether, coming
from such a source, they did not °Mr a most useful lesson and atliwil
most impaAant information.—(Much cheering.) But, again, he had
heard resemblances drawn between the cases of revolt in Lower Canada
and that which led to the independence of America. But it appeared
that America had many real and practical grievances to complain
of when she, took up arms. It appeared from a petition sent to this
country from the Congress in October, 1774, that, among many others,
the principal grievances complained of were the following:—
`0 I. Judges appointed during pleasure.
" 2. Councillors during pleasure.
" 3. Commerce restricted.
" 4. Duties imposed.
"-5. Stoppage of agents' salaries.
" 6. Trial by Jury abolished in many civil cases through extension
of the jurisdiction of Admiralty Courts."

These were grievances of some importance, but there was still another
of which they more especially complained, relative to the Quebec Act,
and which they described in the petition as follows :

" 7. Act for extending the limits of Quebec, abolishing the English
and restoring the French laws, whereby great numbers of British free-
men are subjected to the latter, and establishing an absolute Govern-
ment and the Roman Catholic religion throughout those vast regions
that border on the westerly and northerly boundaries of the free Pro.
tiestant English settlements."

This the House would remark, was a complaint of a very different nature
from that of the Canadians, who said that they were aggrieved because
they were Catholics; whereas the Americans complained, on the
contrary, of the predilection that hail been shown to the Catholic
Canadians, by their being established on the borders of a Pre-
te•tant State. With regard to another point, the appropriation of
the revenues of the province by the mother country, they had the
authority of Dr. Franklin—(Hear, hear)—for its having been perfectly
justifiab!e in the prevent instance. Dr. Franklin was examined before'
a committee upon matters relating to the Stamp Act, in 1766, and
in the appendix to the Report were to be found the following
sentiments of that eminent man and others upon this subject :
" They could not suppose such a case as that the Assembly would
not raise the necessary supplies to support its own Government. An
Assembly that would refuse it must want common sense, which cannot
be supposed. If an Assembly could possibly be so absurd as to refuse
raising the supplies requisite for the maintenance of Government
among them they could not long remain in such a situation—the dis-
order and confusion created by it must soon bring them to reason."
But in the course of that examination this question was put to Dr.
Franklin :

Q. `• But if it should (i. e., in the case of America), ought not the
right to be in Great Britain of applying the remedy?

A. " A right to be used only in such case I should have no objection
to ; supposing it to used merely for the good of the people of the co-
lony."—( Great cheering.)

They had, then, the opinion of Dr. Franklin on an express case, and
with his reason and authority they might be satisfied upon that point.
Ile looked forward with confidence to the result of the contest. In the
breach they stood; and he cared not for the allusion to tile " time
when the last British ship" should be seen to leave the Canadian coast,
(Great cheering.) He apprehended, however, that no such case would
ever yet occur. He should be glad to have it shown that they had
caused the stoppage in the course of justice which had taken place in

Canada. He could not consider that the fault rested with the Noble
Lord opposite am' his Government.—(Great cheering.) It had been
en some former occasion suggested that the Constitution of 1831
should be repealed, and it appeared to him that, with ordinary vigilance
on the part of the Executive, all the blood which had been shed might
have been spared.—(Hear, hear.) What had been the course Lord
Go ford hadadopted ? He was ready to own that that Noble Lord had

been in a difficult position.—(Cries of " Hear, hear.") He further
complained that the Noble Lord had sent home the most contradic.
tory statements.—(Much cheering.) In his despatch of the 2d of
September Lord Gosford placed two of these contradictory statements
side by side in the same letter. The Noble Lord there said "I do not
conceive there is any ground for alarm ;" and four lines below—" I am
disposed to think you may be under the necessity of suspending the
Constitution.• —(Cheers and laughter.) Now it appeared to him (Mr.
Gladstone) impossible that boils these positions could be maintained. In
his despatch of the 6th of November Lord Gosford for the first time
stated the existence of any real disturbance ; but long before that period
there had been a letter from Sir John Colborne, in which the decided
character of the revolt was made known.—(Hear, hear.) lie was asto.
nished that correspondence had not been sent to the Home Government
--(Hear, hear)—and could not find words to express his surprise that
no pains had been taken by the Government at home to ascertain from
other authorities, the real circumstances in which the colony was placed.
It had been said by a Noble Lord on the other side, that "soldiers could
not put a stop to the making of speeches and the passing of resolu-
lutions" at political meetings, but it appeared that certain marchings and
drillings had taken place—(Hear)—and he must say that they ought
to have beets prevented by the interference of a military force.—(Cheers.)
It was no matter to him whether there were 20,000 or 50,000 soldiers
in Canada, if they were not used; and no one had yet said that Lord
Gosford employed even the force which he had at command to suppress
the preparations which were se notoriously making for the outoreak.—
(Hear, hear.) It was possible that the three which lie had at his dis.
posal was quite sufficient to put a stop to drillings, which tended to
nothing but violence and revolution. But had Lord Gosford used that
force for any such purpose 1' He had not. It was a fact undeniable
that illegal practices had been permitted—that violence had been sus-
tained by the peaceful inhabitants of the province—and set Lord
Gosford neither interfered himself nor sent information on this
übj ec t to the Government at home, until he was obliged to 84
that such illegal practices were going on every Sunday, and had
been going on for some time.—(Hear, hear.) He believed he way
justified in saying that her Majesty's Gohrnment had made themselves
responsible for the acts of Lord Gosford. They had done so in the dis-
patch in which Lord Glenelg accepted the resignation of Lord Gosford,
and in which the singular remark occurred that Lord Gosford had been
" so mixed up with the previous events" that his retirement was de-
sirable. If this argument applied to Lord Gosford, he (Mr. Gladstone)
must say that it applied with tenfold force to Lord Glenelg himself. He
would now return to the question of the necessity of the present mea-
sure. Some might question the propriety of suspending the Constitu-
tion of Canada ; but he had no such scruples, because virtually the Con-
stitution of Canada was already suspended. Evidence of this fact was,
singularly enough, afforded by the insurgents themselves, inasmuch as
it was at one of their public meetings resolved, " That it is the opinion
of this meeting that the Provincial Legislature exists only in name, and
that it is nullified in fact." This being the case, it became them to
provide for the Government of that Colony ; and therefore it was that
he was ready to make such a provision by giving his assent to the present
to the present Bill- He was surprised at the reception which the Radi-
cals had given to the announcement of the Bill, when he looked beck
to what had occurred at the time the Irish Coercion Bill was intro-
duced —(Heer, hear.) '1 hey now had a Bill ten-fold more arbitrary
in its object and provisions than the Coercion Bill, and yet there were
scarcely six men in that House—all of them disavowed by Mr. Roebu
out of it—who objected to the measure. The name of Lord Durham
seemed to operate on the minds 4 of H on. Members opposite with a magi-
cal influence. His apparition, like the twin star of old, when it shone
out, seemed to subdue the tempest which the Hon. Members opposite
had raised against the granting of arbitrary power—
" Concidunt venti, fugiuntque nubes."
When arbitrary power was placed in the hands of one of their own
party they had nothing to complain of, and in their estimation it then
was nothing snore than wreaths of flowers.—(Hear, hear.) This Bill
conferred more arbitrary power than any measure which he recollected,
but still ho objection was made to it by the Ilonourable Members on the
other side of the House. 'That was not the proper time for entering
into the details of this Bill, and, therefore, he should at present cen-
tent himself by hoping that its provisions would be modified in the Com-
mittee.

The CHANCELLOR of the EXCHEQUER said that there was no
Individual Member of that Government who was not disposed to be re-
sponsible for every act which Lord Gosford had done.—(Hear, hear )
The Government stood pledged to every application of the powers which
they had placed in Lord GoslJrd's hands; and no one felt more pleasure