The Sun.
London, England, 1838-01-05 00:00:00

07- s-fra_ga,
,/,.,{...2
s..
__/,...(.7
Jo e
yo poor—and to deprive a kindred people of their
rig is?—(Hear, hear.) What advantages can you derne,
I ask, from going to war at great expense, and for such
purposes ? The cost will be paid out of your pockets, and your
blood will be shed in the contest.—( Hear, hear.) And then
think of the shame—the national shame—when defeat comes.
But I recollect Cobhett used to say that there was " no-
thing national but the debt."--( Hear, hear, and a laugh.)
Well, you have already paid 20 millions for the so-called eman-
cipation of the blacks, and now you are going to pay twenty
millions more for the enthralment of the whites—(Cheers)
and if you succeed to the utmost, you will only gain a dis-
contented population of seventy thousand persons. —( Hear,
hear.) But it is said that the discontented are French. No
' such thing. Upper Canada is not French. But is Up-
per Canada contented?—( Hear, hear.) Is Prince Edwara's
Island French, and is there no discontented there ?—( Hear.)
The fact is that Upper Canada and Prince Edward's Isla id
make the same demands,and the discontent is spreadine from ! 1, ke
Huron to the Atlantic Ocean. And if a war should take
place with America—which God forbid--what will be your
condition then ? Suppose America should take advantage of the
troubles in Canada, and should press our Ministers to settle
the boundary question—suppose America should say, if you (lo
not settle the boundary question as we like, we shall have
Canada—do you think that in that event the boasted great.
ness of England might be bowed or laid prostrate before the
proud republic ? Remember what occurred in 1798, when
the misgovernment of Ireland caused us to tremble before the
the French Directory, and if Ireland had now a friend wi o
knew what ought to be done, might we not hear the Irish say
t, the aristocracy of England—the people of Canal's
are not very quiet, and we do not see why we also
should not have our grievances redressed.—(Cheers.)
In truth, I believe that this war will be an ulcer in our sides,
and reduce this nation to the condition of the emaciated body
of one dying by inches, and corrupt before he goes to tl.es
grave. The Hon. Gentleman concluded amidst vehement
cheering, upon the subsiding of which, a person in the
crowd called for " three cheers for Roebuck," which we, a
given with enthusiasm, followed by one cheer more.
Sir WILLIAM Moeeswonen next came forward and said—.
I feel most deeply the responsibility, which weighs upon
the representations of the people at the present moment, and
the importance of being able to form a calm and delihera as
judgment of the state of political affairs; for this country is :n
danger of one of the greatest calamities which can beret a fsee
and powerful nation, it is on the verge of a civil war with A
colony. Lower Canada feels itself aggrieved, and thinks that
its greivances arc of sufficient amount to induce it to attempt
to cast off our dominion. I will not enter into any detail ~f
the complaints of the Canadian people. In another Assembly
I have stated my opinions on this subject—my feelings wielt
regard to the conduct of the Canadians. There, likewise, I
expressed my hopes and my fears with reference to this struggle
if unhappily it should take place; and for so acting, my Ho a.
Friend, your i epresentative and myself, have been assailed wi.tia
that torrent of unmitigated abuse, which all persons who act
upon their conscientious convictions, must expect in the fulfil-
ment of their duty, must boar with patience, and endure with
equanimity. Not one sentiment which I uttered, not ono
word which I made use of, do I reject or retract. I sail
maintain that the grievances of the Canadians are reel
ones, and that they have acted, as Englishmen have actee,
and would act in similar circumstances.—( Hear, hear, hear. )
I will not enter into any examination of those grievances, be.
cause they are questions which require much study, labour, and
time fully to understand, and which I would not lay before you
in detail without trespassing many hours upon your patience;
the fact that it is so difficult to acquire accurate information
with regard to the affairs of a distant province, and that it is so
rare to possess that information, must convince you how ardte-
ous a task, if not almost an impossible, it is to govern welt
and justly a powerful and remote colony with complicated
interests ; but unacquainted as the people of the mother
country must necessarily be with those interests, it is still more
impossible to enforce anything:like effective reponsibilitge on the
Home authorities for the manangement of Colonial affairs ; and
where responsibility is wanting, the experience of all ages and all
countries proves that abuses will exist, abuses which pass un.
heeded in a colony, till they reach that magnitude which
tempts the oppressed to rebel. These undoubted facts ought
of themselVes to incline us to the belief that grievances have
really existed in the Colonial Government of Canada, and
that belief ought to amount to the firmest conviction, wien it
is known that year after year the freely chosen Represienta.
tives of the people have reiterated, in the strongest and
most determined language, their complaints of grievances.
Whilst I speak of the Representatives of the Canadian
people, let me remark upon a wicked attempt which huts
been made, and is daily made, to excite odious national
prejudices; to persuade the people of this empire that flan
struggle in Canada against misgovernment is in reality 'a con.
test of races ; a contest between French and English, and that
the true representatives of the people are nothing but the thole
of a French faction, whose only object is to oppress our Br 1.
tish fellow-subjects in Canada. This I declare to be a wicke 4
falsehood ; and the falsehood is rendered most apparent by th is
fact, that in the counties inhabited almost entirely by perm ss
of British origin, one-half of the representatives, at least, have
sided with the popular party, and have proved by their condi see
that they think the grievances complained of are real ones..
Moreover, the very Commissioners who were sent by the Whit;
Government to examine. into those grievances, themselves as-
sert, that the American settlers, and a large portion of the 'per.
sons of British descent, belong to the popular party,' ane. in an
cases of political principle they would join with the F rench ;
and lastly, the same Commissioners, that more than on' a half of
the representatives in the House of Assembly, wb o are of
British descent, invariably vote with the popular par's. Now
I ask you, is it not too absurd to suppose, that if t his were 4
real contest of races, a struggle between French and English,
if the real object of the popular party were injury to th e property
and danger to the person of the British settlers, is it not, tasks
you, too absurd to suppose that your fellow-countrymew
would join cordially with their future oppressors, and exert
themselves by every means in their power to further the sinister
objects of those who are termed the French party ? It well
becomes the generous spirit of the people of this great empirte
to take especial care that injustice should never be done to
those who arc connected with them either by the tit :s of blood,
or allegiance ; but at the same time care should be taken that
under the specious pretext of preventing injustice , cunn4
and unscrupulous men should not, by appealing to your•
kindlier feelings, obtain power and dominion for a party
more execrable than the Orange faction in Ireland—.
a party so furious in its opposition to all liberal prin-
ciples, that according to the Commissioners, wheso incli-
nations are evidently in favour of their party, any impor-
tant concessions of a popular description would have drivels
them to acts of violence and outrage. Now, this being the
state of affairs, is it likely that the grievances of the: Cana-
dians are entirely imaginary ? It is argued by some that the
Canadians must be exempt from all grievances, bees .use they
are well fed, well clothed, well housed, and little taxed.
So they are ; but does all happiness consist in this, and in
this alone ? If so, how miserable mist be tbe condi.
lion of the labouring millions of this empire, iU house el
in consequence of the Canada timber-duties ; ilk fed, o a
account of the aristocratic Corn-laws ; ill clothed, i n
consequexce of low wages and wan't of employment.; heavilor
taxed already on eccount of past 'ears ; still more heavily no
be taxed if they consent to this most unjust and unholy
struggle; but neither taxation, nor the want of the comforts
of life, have constituted the grievances which have produce('
those memorable and long-enduring struggles for freedoe a, tha
history of which we still read t ith the profoundest admi ration a
these are not the grievances which induced mento peril th eirliv es
and to endure every suffering till their object was attained—.
these are not the feelings which have given birth to nhome il-
lustrious achievements, which will be handed down to latest
posterity, and which enoble humanity. The great deeds of
the human race have been occasioned by sentimen'o akin no
those by which the Canadians are now animated—ls), the cage r
desire of freedom and independence—by the feedings of me a
who (to use the memorable words of Burke) t‘ think th, t
they ought to be free, and think that they are 'not." That is
are, however, persons so immersed in their selfish and sense it
interests—so beset, I say, with the desire, of sordid gab 1,
thatso long as they can indulge in their bo.se and brute grati-
fications, they cannot sympathise with... _nay, they mock ai el
laugh to scorn those who sacrificed 'every thing for libert s-
These are men fit to become eitherlaves or tyrants, to f),
oppressed, or to oppress—these are the men who now mob t
vehemently call aloud that the. Canadians should be put doveos
by armed force, and m' de to submit to a miserable and op -
pressive minority—UT falaehoods and by intrigues they no; e
seek to obta'n their selfish views ; but I cannot refrai is
from 'she urger hope—aye, from the belief—three
the 'area and intelligent people of this country will not be i es.
(I'..,C:d to commit a disastrous and disgraceful deed by such nag(
artifices. I say I will not stay now to inquire whether. the
grievances of the Canadians are real or imaginary—l will no:
discuss whether their conduct in taking up arms agr.inst our
sovereignty be right or wrong—but I will ask you what will
you gain by putting them down by force ? I -del not meatt
pecuniary gain—fur on that subject there ',ran be little,
dispute. Canada costs us many hundred thousands a year for
its government, and several millions have been expended in
canals and fortifications; the less of so expensive a province
would indeed be a great pecuniary gain if this were a niers,
question of finance, ; but I ask what moral advantage will t 7311
country reap by such a civil war? What addition will it rneAe
to its honeers Or to its dignity ? What esteem will it acqt tire
amongst, the nations of the earth ? No one attaches gre. Ater
inter:eta:ice than I do to the real honour, to the true dignity,
and to the high estimation of my native country. And 'ax, is
an individual, nothing should be dearer than an untainted rt...,
putation, so should a great nation preserve its moral rept.de,
by acting fairly and justly towards all with whom it is con.
netted. But, again, I ask you what moral advanaage wit
you, a free people, gain by this struggle agabitet freedom,
by disclaiming, with regard to your own colreaites, those pritt.
ciples upon which you have acted with regard to the colonies, f
every netien in Europe ? No one can dossot, if this great empis e
put forth its enormous resources, it onn crush our revolted sub-
jects in Canada. No one, can. doubt that if the British
Government determine, eaul the British people consent, ovr
troops can take and retain military possession of that pro.
vince, destroy its Cegistitution, and establish, in place of hull
institutions, a military despotism. In short, that if it wit
enact on a smaller scale in the North of America the. lama
atrocious cruelties, the same bloody tragedy Which the vlespe t
of Russia performed in Poland—iii condemnation. 0£ which
these walls have oft resounded with the eloquent execraticLi
of renowned orators, and the sympathing shouts of indign: I, t
multitudes—(Cries of Hear)—what will be the advantage?
expenditure of our own blood, destruction of a portion of :.1
innocent people, vast treasures squandered first in conqugrii g
Canada, then in retaining it, then perhaps in reconqueri,ng it
again; for the moment when, in consequence of any seeas-twig
tianquillitv, a considerable portion of the occupying army is
removed, a fresh rebellion will burst forth from the ernte era of
the preceding one, as to the memory of past grievances • will ea
added the bitter hatred, and the deep revenge, which a co i..,