The Sun.
London, England, 1838-01-22 00:00:00

SPIRIT OF THE PUBLIC JOURNALS.

There was an unpleasant rumour circulated in some
quarters towards the afternoon of Saturday relative to the
issue of Sir John Colborne's attack upon Grand Brule, but
it could not be traced to any definite source, and we trust
will not be found to have rested on any foundation of truth,
as, according to the opinions of those who were best in-
formed, it had none in probability. The ostensible leaders
of the rebellion having fled, as the Duke of Wellington ex-
pressed it, " the moment that danger approached their per-
sons," there can most likely be none but individuals of
slight influence now attempting to hold together the rebel
cause, unless, indeed, its force still in arms be conducted by
foreigners, of which we have heard something, which, if
true, would imply a breach not only of friendship, but of
faith, in those to whose good offices England has earned for
herself no small or questionable title. But, suppose the
immediate insurrection to be put down, even while we are
writing or before, what then ? Is the difficulty or embarrass-
ment ended ? Is the provision against the renewal of such
dangers, or worse dangers, an easy one? Certainly, the most
complicated and perplexing portion of its task only now be-
gins for the British Government. The proposal of Minis-
ters is to meet the exigency by a Bill for continuing, through

the authority of Parliament, that suspension of the repre-
sentative Constitution in Lower Canada, which has already
in fact, been caused by proceedings whereof Parliament
has had no intentional participation, but which have taken
place in utter defiance of it. A copy of the Bill was pub-
lished last Saturday in this journal. It sets cut with a se-
ries of recognitions cr " whereases." lit that the House
of Assembly could not now be called together without
detriment to the interests of the said Pros ince" of
Lower Canada. 2d. that nevertheless it is expe-
dient that the said Province "should be permanently
governed on constitutional principles." 3d. That in
order to the preparation of such measures as may be de-
sireable for iinpros ing the constitution cf both Provinces
of " Upper and Lower Canada," and for settling divers
questions in which both Provinces are jointly interested
—Her Majesty has authorized the Governor-General
of " her Provinces in North America" to summon a
meeting, consisting of the said Governor-General and of
certain persons to he appointed on behalf of her Majesty,
and also of certain other persons representing the interests
and opin'.ons of leer Majesty's subjects inhabiting the said
provinces. And 4th, that it is in the mean time necessary
that temporery prosision shall be made for the government
of Lower Canada :—be it enacted that the Act 31 Geo.
111. shall be repeoled in so far as its provisions have gone
to constitute a Legislature for Lower Canada. Now,
without any silly affectation of legal knowledge, or of pre-
tension to any faculty beyond that of every-day common
;.:nee, it does strike us that such a menstroite jumbleurent
in,otisistency, centraeliction, mystification, rind confusion
was never yet heaped together or imposed upon the notice of
mankind underthe nickname of an Act of Parliament—albeit
there ere things called Acts of Parliament which come near
perhaps, though tiny cannot equal, this wonderful con-
eoction of Queen Victoria's Attoincy-General, the Right
Honourable " /stain John Campbell." We find that it is
in Isewer Canada, and Lower Canada only, that detri-
ment would arise from calling the Assembly together ; very
nett ; and that it is in relation to Lower Canada only, tl.e
31st George 111. is ter be repealed or suspended until No-
vember, 1840. But then comes an intliiect avowal of a
meditated improvement in tire Cenetituiion " Upper"
Ceriada likewisel province of villtich. sew/el-Leics.'s, so far
es lee can guess from the Bill, the existing Constitution is
not by its proeisioes at isiest to be suspended at all. There
ere. moresver, smotre questions to be regulated, " in
vs. ich both Provinces are jointly interested." Then see
what a mess they base made of the machinery,
whereby such improvements, or chaneee are to be effec-
Ile new Governor-General is to appoint certain
persons, of his CPNII authorYey, to aitise him. He is
also to call together other persons reel-ea:min; the in-
terests and opniens of both province,. What sort of as-
erriblage ie thus indicate !, we le.g leave to a,k ? Bole is
that porton of it which h repsesents the interests and
opinions': of Litiver Canada ta be got. together ? The
terms employed achn:t eo other con truetion, but that they
ere to be elected. Elected ? By who:n ? The Bill (1--
c:ares th it the eon.stittieticy shad Tema n unchanged. Wliv,
nen, feese advisers of the Governor-General for the affairs
tit Lower Canula ;:re to be chosen by the tad electere__
they are to be precisely the same dtec.iption of persons
whojoined Papine et in his factious' warfare against the
frown of England. They are to constitote a miniature like-
ness of that intractable and disloyal body the HCIIS. of As-
sembly of Lower Canada, wham the very preamble of the
Bill declares that it would be " seriously (ietrimental to the
interests of the provlnce to call together ?" Was there ever
such rubbish as thie collected by any dustman from the
ieennel ? Then how is it with the prosioee of Upper Ca-
nada ? The Bill s ivs not a word ahoet sespeudiag the
Constitution of the Upper Province. Yet there, too, the
nlovernor-General is to proceed with the Lusiness of ap-
pahating some persons of his own authority, and summon-
ing others who will represent the interests and opinions of
the people, to be elected, like their brethren in Lower Ca-
nada, by the existing constituen-y of tie province, and to
;form part and parcel of the new Privy Council, to a quo-
rum of which is committed by the Act, the power, of making
temporary laws, Bat all this while, the Constitution of
Upper Canada not being suspended, for aught appears on
on the face of the Dili now to be brought forward, there
is another authority still to remain in full force and
vigour clothed with legislative functions for that im-
portant province—viz., the present House if Assent-
lily, which, by the unrepealed Constitution, must be
summoned and hold Session every year. Hero, again,
we have a precious complication of simultaneous autho-
sities. Is the present. House of Assembly to exercise its
legislative functions or is it not, while the Governor-General
takes counsel about the best way of legislating for tile
affairs of " both provinces" with his motley domestic
&smite ? Are the two authorities to be concurrent ?
suppose, by possibility, they should be conflicting 1 What
Novision does the Bill make against such a risk? What
,s bed of roses does all this disjointed balderdash prepare
fir the Earl of Durham'. Again, we cannot find out from
the Bill whether the summoning together of advisers nomi-
nated by the Governor-general and of advisers elected for
him by the people is to be optional or peremptory ;
.daether it invests with a power which he may exercise if
be thinks proper, or imposes on him an obligation which he
eanrot decline. If the Governor-Generel be authorized to
net alone, and resort to auxiliaries at his free discretion, he
will bear the responsibility of his own deliberate asid
uncontrolled measures, and to that course, in so obvious
an emergency, we do not see that much fair objection could
be urged. But if Lord Durham be compelled to summon
as his counsellors, and to be clogged by the votes of men
who are not of his own choice—men returned by such elec-
tors as returned M. Papineau to the Assembly—and at the
same time to be held responsible for measures forced upon
this adoption by such untoward allies, we arc bound to say that
a more unjust infliction upon any public functionary, or a
more cruel position wherein to place him, was never ima-
gined by the most tyrannical or heartless of mankind. Why,
there are no materials in Lower Canada out of which to
insure a safe return of those who, it appears, would have to
co-operate with the Governor-General,or, at their pleasure,
to oppose him, in the capacity both of Executive and of
Legislative Councillors. The Governor-General would be
worried in his own Cabinet. He vrouldhaveto sustain respon-
sibility without power,mortification with little hope of credit,
and danger with no chance of escape. It is impossible that
such a machinery could work otherwise than for mischief,
and equally impossible that any man of the smallest fore-
eight should accept so thankless a task as that of its direc-
tion. In difficult cases, especially one like that of Lower
Canada, where the evil has sprung immediately from the
division and consequent collision of powers, the part of
wisdom would be for a time, and for a definite object, to
concentrate them as much as practicable in one hand, and
leave upon one head the risk and blame of their misma-
nagement. It is not for us to offer a prediction of what
fate may attend this ill-considered and childish RI But
it is every way worthy of its despicable authors, and in our
judgment it can never, in its present form, become a law of
the British empire, without involving both Houses of Par-
liament in irretrievable disgrace, and the Queen's north-
western colonies in ruin.—Times.
If Lord Brougham's bitter and unsparing sarcasms
upon the " Noodle and Doodle" correspondence between
the Canadian Government and the Colonial-office had no
other effect than that of thoroughly awaking Lord Glenelg,
and restoring him, for a time, to a sensitive condition of
existence from a state of suspended animation, his speech
cannot be said to have been powerless. Indeed to ac-
complish such a feat, it must have had the force of an
electric shock, or rather the power of an electrical battery,
fr,lving a succession of shocks to the lethargic patient,
which would have roused the most somnolent. secretary
under the sun, or moon either, from any sleep that was
not his final one. Lori Brougham's speech did awaken
.Lord Glenelg, who:n the preparatory din of arms, and even
the shrill clarion of civil war, tailed to recall from a state
of torpidity. That was a triumph of the Noble and Learned
Lord's eloquence, if it achieved no other. Be it remem-
bered, that five days after we had published the first ac-
counts of the actual breaking out of rebellion in Canada,
Lord Gleneig seemed still to dream ef e state of perpetual
peace, for his answer to a question put by Lord Brougham,
as to whether an iesurreetion lied commenced in Canada,
or not, was, "her Majesty's Government have not received
e.ny official information on the subject," when, exhausted
try the effort of communicating, such important intelligence
to the House, he resumed his state of revise. • The power
of music in produeine, or dispelling sleep has been cele-
Lrated by Dryden. in his magnificent ode on " Alexender's
:'east." It has been said, that Homer nods sometimes,
rand we have the authority of almost as sublime a poet as