The Sun.
London, England, 1844-05-31 00:00:00

'Med
5 the
y re-
the

IpPealB would be discountenanced and if they ever took
Pik yee th •
i
would very soon cease, whereas, n those
iz..se, which were of very frequent occurence, in which.
,r 6 from the fallibility of human judgment, fell into
Orre.oPou points of law, and in which juries, upon false
f''nsapprehended evidence, fell into error on points of
nbers ties Bill would provide wremedy. Another conse-
ilee would be, that they would no longer have that
r.,°11,e made a tribunal of appeal in criminal cases. No
oll'ititieman who had long been a Member of that Honse,
ehichave failed to recollect a number of discussions
Shad taken place upon complaints made against
airi,i, or upon objections. made in matters of law on
trials. The appeals which were made to that
In:se in the case of Frost, after he had been convicted,
who n
.13,e fresh in the recollection-of the House. P..ersones.
Judges'nought themselves aggrieved by the ruling t
or the verdict of juries, in criminal cases, appealed
itoto ltiat house; and if they could obtain no redress
!kr Rouse, they appealed to the public newspapers,te
airy. e,;,e Canvassed the decision of the judge or h
of ahis was because the law gave them no power
app
k very might state the whole of his measure in
tried few Words. Its effect would be to place persons
tiew'.4'd Convicted in criminal cases in exactly the same
to Loa with regard to the power of appeal to the
tins ee
vag law and the judges of the land as that which..
lad now stated
by persons concerned in civil cases. He
11,}!..1 w stated the measure which he had to propose ;
he f 7.4 endeavoured to meet the objections which might
aleehgerd against it ; he had pointed out the advantages~lie
conceived would follow from its adoption. He
gfelivees that it would be productive of no evil conse-ed whatsoever. It broke in upon no legal
on:?tistitutional principle ; it invaded the rights t
of no
r),lttiviliteraber of the community ; it involved not the est
ie,ed that
°re h one shilling of public money ; and he e-
,
ari,l would tend to the advancement of the
i pure,
o righteous administration of the law n
.this
er
ail; to' ale would now move for leave to bring _in a
kr provide fer appeal in criminal cases.
fac' GODSON seconded the motion. This power was,
is,a ti already possessed by those who eould.pay for it
►ettesril. of ansdemeanour. A criminal matter was cor.i-
-pr0,,,, into a. civil one by writ of certiorari. Surely, in
ilitcrtion to the weight of the punishment, shouldbe
l'stoecaN ill providing against injustice. He would, on
if itt future occasion, be able to adduce other arguments
ttawte°sukr,ef the measure ; but he thought this was un-
lessea 7"e, namely, that the power was already pos-
sir J.,n criminal cases of another description.
Nies GRAHAM said that if a gentleman of lesser
'atm-llce than the Hon. and Learned. Member who had
herlllCed this motion had made the proposition which
te4d brought under their notice, and if that proposi-
the 4 been made in a speech infinitely less able than
wt'lle which they had bad the pleasure of listening to,
',..es'st°ll4l4 not have thought it consistent with his
.duty to
16i111 n" "n Preliminary motion for the introduction of a
,(440„111 this subject. The Honourable and Learned.
,is with his lonce• experience, had said that, ill
me k, the cause of justice and truth, and even of
life
iairequired appeal in criminal cases. Now. he
_had_
''ae with great attention to the speech which had
lahaillade by the on. and Learned Gentleman, an
4°libt; b,eou struckH with one reflection, that raised a
tarp n nis mind with.respect to the policy of this ni,eath
rhe Hon. and Learned Gentleman observed, w
4,to,44"tistrti,ths that the administration of justice in this
e,"„Yt.t°ad raised its character among the nations of
:Qat ; and he remarked also, at the same time,
tNer.;':e utmost attention had been bestowed in efforts
til'ecrl litre the administration of justice generally, and
Goalie Yof Criminal justice. The Hon. and Learne
"„for 1.,1344 had remarked, with truth, that this anomaly
admitted it to' be an anomaly—of the absence
N, Cat,' ilk criminal cases had existed for ceeturies,
'erb;", up to the present time, no law reformer had
,eti,,ll)ssed that there should' be the power of appeal
;44-t'Patt eases. Now he did not say that that fact
't'Pes-lis`ve against the Hon. and Learned G.entlemr.in's
4', but it should certainly inspire him with cautmn,
‘elliehelive'n him from arriving at once at the conclusion
'"e a e had se • • 1 ronounced. Now, he thought
de n positive y.p.
4ned et the proposition made by the Hon. and
mat knntleman mainly rested on an analogy
.wh.ich_
~tiatlf'e,;tl was established between civil hnd criminal
,;" "°,ll with reference to appeals. He must say that
rtfff,l4llearned mind that analogy did not appear
't*Lese-'„; lie thought he could see a great difference be-
411t Cl' and criminal cases. Not waving for one in-
ii4seetie question of justice, but coincident with the
efjustice. he thought the prominent considera-
N-' b-",i'Lm,'hat Course in this matter was most conducive
Wrttiv`„,";ulic good. In civil cases it was a matter of corn-
,"`derebi 4ndifierenee to the public whether or not con-
erptlay should intervene before the settlement of
ta,7%. 'tat could not be said, however, Of criminal.
-Ptah -`e Conceived that it was then of the last im-
'lllifkiee to the public that punishment should follow
o%1!441 I'M crime. The object of punishment was
Public example was the real and
1-6ittaiate object of punishment, and punish.
if,itu, a' related to the public, lost its. efficacy
Zittleet ion gdelayed after the perpetration of the
el 4 s i„.",°m, the Hon. and Learned Gentleman said he
1,,'48.14t;:ted that frequent errors were committed in cri-
er,-ea• Tribunals were fallible, and he feared that
jigehell'eehrs had been committed ; .but the conclusion to
15a. and ad come was the opposite of that at which the.
4,40 rt" 1", Learned Gentleman stated he had arrived.
,„"tty,ll'),4 Justice in criminal cases did occasionally mis-
,s he tbelieved that crime rarely escaped, and inno-
-041 a-„reLY suffered. It must not be forgotten that the
Oaf-Light to be established' by the lion. and Learned
ill :411 was in the nature of a double appeal. He ceuld
htumtderstand the arguments in favour of appeal
forY of law b e the decision was pronounced
f°JBlFa`leiteti;judge, ;°°bauntsthe verdict of a ron a met-
al, 'at of as easily and naturally distinguishable. from'
ik,,4l4tte a Single judge upon a matter of law. Upon
LiArtior Of fact there was the concurrence. of twelve
kplritigaT.,en, sworn to do justice, and aided by the
oft7tkred experience of the judge., Many arguments
gt,tl iefee him applicable to an appeal from the dictum
Nh,u_erAii Judge on a point of late, which would alto-
ti,;(llf, when applied to the jury.' Now, some of the
Hon. snd Learned Gentleman
1441;eslialolPhrind bayltotgheether iconsistent with the argu-
ielaf IL he had used. If he understood the Ho-
lt" 'tie t and Learned Gentleman rightly, he was
° depend still on the discretion of the judge.
ag so
th.nrrY that •so important a subject was discussed
:h,8•3 Youse, and he took shame to himself that
~f „) pew prepared to go into a discussion of the
Ole x„-,,estion But there was a very important part
trio bai"4:l_eet to. which the Hon. and Learned Gentle-
se„4llol. `it adverted—the constitution of the appellate
toefe lie thought that where truth. aenrdedj:ustice •
exFnse was not to be
h
hi'l)4.4 Pei late tribunal to be formed onsid
? T pree° nwt
th'i N,
eh .nalges was not sufficient, and it was not, in
(It• Ilkbtnt's Graham's) opinion, expedient to incrFexase.
ti !Ye cr beyond fifteen. He thought that the
11444 R itsv rnWelat had gone as far as it could go in
tau to assent to the bringing in of the Bill. The on.
hPtier,aeril"d Member had referred to the case of a
% a (nlitnitted in Surrey nine years ago, respecting
, tit klittY spierpBe°, ia„lndia had declared himself to be the
tos soleC". It was, however, to be borne in mind
`4lte ers abroad had sometimes strong inducements
ttp trieriej_graordinary steps to be brought home, acid
of
orrot taes which frequently- charged themselves as guilty
they had never committed for the sake
1>ef111,1,%44ii, 'tome. He would not oppose the motion for
the Bill, but he must say that it reqnire,d
nre \-;3deration than he had yet been able to give it,
111)(4t ec'uld pledge her Majesty's Government to
4f,„ it.
lob vq•
ring-i11 t"' words from Mr. KELLY, leave was given
It the Bill.
kout. i 1 STATE OF GAOLS.
tri(4lf '''‘INNON postponed till Tuesday next his
401t,ur a Select Committee to inquire into the state
p
141 the it'C),It'LAWS—GILBERT'S ACT.
tong, ef4t?..tion of Sir JAMES GRAHAM, the
.fol-
NlOair ;40011 were appointed a Select Committee
41/.1, the '4O the state of those parishps which are
eoeiLkiareeh(Veration of what is called Gilbert's
Ift Sir;-; Captain Pechell, Mr. Thomas S. Dun-
tilL4eeit Heron, Mr. Colaile, Sir Wm. Heathcote,
rif benison, Mr. Wrightson, Viscount Bar-
-111,; 'sh alb
41 Manners Sutton, Mr. Strutt, Viscount
`L'oe, ' r. Labouchere, Mr. Wakley, and Mr. pro-
Ptaio
e't's •L'ORELL observed that the people ender
tide%tit Act •
Wes were comparatively happy, and he hoped
loor‘;eiln.acit the object, and would not be the result, of
Sia eittee to bring them all under the control of the
JA\itit!ilalissioners.
ta,c•ethid t,() 84 GRAHAM said it was impossible for
'4itte weetalv, oat the course to be taken by the Govern-
ue until they received the report of the Corn-
WAip,
111Crttw, f `J'aR JAMES gave notice that he would
'et outs °' the presout session, his motion on the
poor-the
ws-
kttiltpe.
r,cla:..ileienalstly.edkaßGED PRISONERS.
tett abort
or obtained leave to bring in a Bill for the.
israeltnumpsrftsoerht.he reception of desti-
tq) th the SUPPLY CANADA.
of e Dortdir,h 6, of the order of the day for bringing
hi air ,„.41.1,43/„.'";.,,t,0e Committee of Supply,
nollsr, Said that he had to call the attention
laf,4lllt that '0 every important subject, and it was not
ht'eht, Hi, there wa2
so small a number of Members
hrtrieoest e Wished to warn the Noble Lord opposite of
t6,1'441111de? ces of the policy which the Government
-riettne- .4 reference Pto the most important of our
10,v- sun posse,
In order to overcome what had
I.llld Was Pass to be the French interest in Canada, a
th tleirt Ised for the union of the two provinces.
(14.4 tl.l law the French Canadians had been used
tldost• • that alike discre-
as u"e the e-ar—a rigour was
u "verunaeut and those who represented it.
Th,-strieriel'a(ih which the Noble Lord opposite had split
!iltd; °4IY than, democracy, which was now most potent.
le tZtls new was to deal with the French Ca-
efffet berld‘• lie would show that the Government was
evil, of what of those who were not aware of the
tl4, ed their " was about to be done • they had suiscon-
-4,l;',wd to 11°,3citimi, and di the done;
the determined
Drei;"43 the 1,-,,'°"11- After House had
der, et into fi° Provinces it was necessary to carry that
atte,ta„N thee,,,"bet- In order that the House might un-
tou,:'"ll, h ~"-leet he Was about to bring under its
eotot-`trY at that°att. he
a little into the history of the
eoet,!'Y evr: time, Lord Durham went out to that
wsqence of the
vv• it 14
jag • "at had report of a Committee
h st twent ueen demanded b bth colonies
„141 red 4)so acts hYe3' ear. • Then came Lordsydenham,
the that .xobeja'd not agree. The course pur-
'ttad wit.3lloioa or the
to Lord showed that the whole
Nvo Canadas was based on fraud,
t(111 the C.: e4lettlated
thtir ,itattadians and had led to great injustice
ot; hights,imis teeenPortirthe French Canadians._ In
0,4 r ,-uth;.- Plngplato were, by orders fronl
m°11) the.' render aceu at such distances from each
eottro :t impossible for many to poll ;in
•
be.°ll -Pursued justified the

hostility of the French population to the union. But
not content with fraud, Lord Sydenham imported into
the elections violence and corruption. That violence,
corruption, and fraud, could be clearly shown by the
agents of the Noble Lord, and especially one man; whom
he had brought over from Ireland. Lord Sydenham was
now no longer Governor of Canada, he was dead—ho
died at the very moment that-would save his reputation,
because the proceedings of which he had been
guilty would have been made clear and brought
to light.—(Hear.) Sir Charles Begot' was then
appointed Governor, and then came a change in the Ad-
ministration of the affairs of the country which he would
call to the attention of the House. Sir Charles Bagot,
adopting a resolution of the House of Assembly, declared
he would govern Canada upon the provisions of that
resolution, and that the people should have a respon-
sible government. , Sir Charles Bagot acting upon the
resolution, selected from the House of Assembly persons
having their confidence for his Executive Council, deter-
minins•at the same time that his course as regarded the in-
ternale' policy of the country should be regulated by he
advice of the Executive Council. Those individuals had
shown themselves ty unflinching friends of Canada.
It was astonishing to see how the people of Canada re-
joiced at the establishment of the new government ;
they had- been hitherto hunted 'by the soldiery,
their property destroyed, and their wives and
children either murdered, or turned out to
suffer the inclemency of a Canadian winter.
Yet the very persons who had seen all this misery, when
sickness fell upon the Governor, and he was in pain and
danger of death, put up a sincere and ardent prayer to
God for his recovery. These were the much calumniated
French Canadians. At length Sir Charles Begot died,
and was succeeded by Sir Charles Metcalfe. The educa-
tion of Sir Charles Metcalfe was unfortunately far from
fitting him for a system of representative government
However learned he might be, however well accustomed
he might be to the management of men, he was not well
calculated to preside over a representative system of go-
vernment. He did not take the view of affairs that Sir
Charles Begot had clone. By a representative govern-
ment, Sir Charles Bagot meant what he had already de-
scribed. Sir Charles Metcalfe said he meant something
else. But from that hour to the present he had never
explained what it was he did mean. He said be intended
to govern in a responsible manner, but he. had never
taken the trouble to explain in what that responsibility
consisted. But before he went into this, he would call
the attention of the House to an extract from the pub-
lished life of Lord Sydenham, for it was right that the
Noble Lord should know what power the subordinates
of his own office possessed. Mr.- Murdoch, stating
the events that' took place after the death of
Lord Sydenham, and, in commenting on them,
remarks :—" No one , at all aware of what
has passed, and is still passing there, can doubt
that by, this appointment the Home Government
has incurred a fearful responsibility, and their embar-,
rassments have now accumulated.to such a degree as to
threaten a recurrence of the events of 1839." Now he
wanted to know if that was the Noble Lord's opinion—
whether he thought that Sir Charles Bagot took a wrong
view of responsible government. He was anxious that
he should declare in face of the House of Commons,
what he understood by this somewhat mystical phrase.
ology. He also begged to call the attention of the House
and of the Noble Lord, to what was the state of the Bri-
tish colonist when he went to Canada, if he had 'not that
which he (Mr. Roebuck) required for him—responsible
government. They must 'recollect, that every English-
man, leaving England' and going to Canada, had all the
objects of ambition here entirely cut off from him—all he
could expect in that country was the sort of advancement
which the local government could afford; and he wished
the Noble Lord to bear in mind what country the
colonist would compare Canada with. A ri-
ver only divided him from America, where the
government, the army, and the navy, were
all open to him. He would say, " Were lan American
citizen there is nothing at which I could not aim—no
object of ambition I might not hope for ; but here I am
crippled in a colonial settlement, subjected to an irre-
sponsible Governor, who has the supreme control. I
have no representatives who I can hope will sympathise
with me. I am, in reality, the mere offspring of colonial
sufferance— the mere wretched dependent of colonial
dominion.v That was the sort of comparison he would
make ; and if they confined him to that interpretation
of responsible government, he asked them, taking warning
by what had passed, and looking with the eye of states-
men to the future, what would be the effect of such com-
parisons made by the -English colonists with their inde-
pendent neighbours on the other side of the St. Lawrence?
If men had gained the confidence of their fellow-citizens
they ought to enjoy the privileges that confidence gained
for them; and he asked which system was to be followed,
—that of ruling by means of the Governor, or a complete
system of administration, leading on the people step by
step, and accustoming them day by day to that system
of self-government which would make them friendly to
the connection, or lead eventually to to a cordial sepa-
ration from the mother country, instead of a hostile one?
Sir 'Charles Metcalfe came into power, and pursued a
course of policy at variance with the opinion of the peo-
ple and the Legislature. In appointments affecting the
polity of the colony he never consulted them, and this
was especially seen in the appointment of the Speaker to
the Upper House of Legislature. That appointment was
offered to one of their bitterest opponents. He should
like to see how the Right Honourable Baronet at the
head of her Majesty's Government would look if he was
told that Lord Cottenham had been appointed Speaker
of the House of Lords. The cases were quite parallel,,
and it was perfectly fair to make the comparison. When
remonstrated with, the answer of Sir C. Metcalfe was
that he still intended to pursue that policy, and he said
he would not surrender the prerogatives of the Crown.
That was the very question in dispute. The ministers
of the colony immediately said if such were the views of
the Governor, they could not any longer act as his
ministers, and therefore begged to resign their offices.
Sir Charles Metcalfe accepted their resignations, and
from that to the present the country had been without
an administration. There was a Governor, but there
was nothing else ; there was nominally a President of
the Council—an individual for whom he had the highest
respect, a gentleman who had suffered most bitterly
under the Government, who had been imprisoned with-
out cause, and released without inquiry, but who, in his
old age, wishing to conciliate all parties, consented to
act as President. But he would not accept the office—
he had taken no oath, and therefore was not actually the
President •f the Council at all. Another individual,
Mr. Daly, was in office before these differences, and he
stuck to his office still. But the Receiver-General, the
Chief Commissioner of the Crown Lands, the At-
torney-General and the Solicitor-General of Upper
Canada, the Attorney-General of Lower Ca-
nada, and the Inspector-general of Accounts had
all retired. Of the three individuals who still acted
in an official capacity not one was responsible. At the
present moment the Receiver-General did not exist—the
duties of the office were performed by a chief clerk, who
gave no securities. What made him bring this state of
things under the consideration of the House was, that it
afforded an irrefragible proof that the Governor had
utterly failed in all his attempts to form an administra-
tion. The local law of election bad settled this point.
At the end of the present year, when the Parliament
would necessarily cease to exist, they would have to go
to a fresh election, and the majority against them would
be larger than it was at present. The Government
would then have arrived at that happy consummation
which was prophesied at the time they brought in their
precious Bill. They had formed one united Parliament,
which was now so powerful that they could not
hope to oppose it. They could not succeed in
sowing disunion- among the people. They could only do
one of two things; however painful, must be the alterna-
tive—they must either yield to the desires of the people,
or they must govern them by the bayonet. At the pre-
sent moment Sir Charles Metcalfe was the sole governor
of that country. Now he would ask if that was a state
of things which the-Noble Lord Contemplated as a con-
tinuance? He wanted to know, if that was the Noble
Lord's construction of responsible government? Was
it one of responsibility to the Home Government alone,
or a Government to be chosen out of those who had the
confidence 'of the people? There was no medium—it
must either' mean government through Sir Charles Met-
calfe, or a responsible administration ; it could not be
described as a sort of hybrid, which meant neither one
nor other. All through Canada at the present moment
the people were animated by the same spirit. There was
no middle course for the Government to take; and, if
they attempted to
.do so, they would only bring upon
the people direful misery. Ever since the resignation of
the Canadian' Ministry in November, 1843, Sir Charles
Metcalfe had been unable to select a single per-
son for any responsible situation in that coun-
try. He was not able to call the Parliament together,
because he knew what would be the consequence of doing
so. -And the English party would be found Just as Ca-
nadian in feeling as the French, and just as strongly
calling for a responsible Government. Nay, of the two
they would find their most formidable opponents among
the democrats of Upper Canada. It was the rough de-
mocrat of Upper Canada who would be found the greatest
oppiment of England, while they had lost the friendship
which they might have secured from the quiet and sub-
missive,andfar more polished inhabitants of Lower Canada.
But to return to the local management of the colony. A
British North American Bank -had been established
during the administration of Lord Sydenham by charter,
which was made a bank of issue in Canada. The
Canadians refused to listen to Lord Sydenham's plan,
and they passed a resolution in the House of Assembly,
protesting against the charter, and interference in their
internal affairs. Then a North American Colonisation
Company was established by Act of Parliament, for the
purpose of acquiring land in Canada. He (Mr. Roe-
buck) had been informed that advantage had been pur-
posely taken- of his absence to pass the Bill, that it
might not come to his knowledge. Now they required,
and it was rational, that no Bill should be passed by this
Parliament without due notice being given to the
colony. All of those things went to exasperate the
people of Canada. They were now about to impose a
permanent civil list on the colony. This would be a
cause of discontent and quarrel. The colonists claimed
the power of taxing themselves; and appropriating those
taxes as they pleased. They were now on the brink of
another quarrel. What he asked on the part of the
colonists was simply this, that they should be allowed
to govern themselves as far as related to their internal
policy ; but that when anything arose which concerned
both this country and Canada, ' that the in-
terests of this cs.aintry should bind the colony.
What ,was the objection to that ? What had they
gained by interference with the people in their local
affairs and municipal concerns ? If they denied the
people of Canada the right of governing themselves,
they would either make them separate themselves into a
democratic republic or add to the desire of uniting with
the States of America. No person who looked to that
grasping republic could for a moment doubt that it was
her desire to penetrate to the Pacific through Texas, and
sweeping round the Oregon, to include Canada within
the union. When America had accomplished this,
Frpnoe or Btssls need no longer trouble them, America

would be their most dangerous rival, for she would have
the will and the power, and the opportunity of meeting
them in other parts of the globe. They shoulttgain the
good will of the people of Canada, and not exasperate
them. Let them not, turn any ill-feelings that might
exist at present into bitterness and gall. He begged of
the Noble Lord to look to this. Let him be their good
governor, and he would make the people of Canada
attached to this Government. . _ _

Lord STANLEY said he certainly anticipated that
the statement of the Hon. and Learned Gentleman would
be followed by some specific motion, on which the sense
of the How would be expressed. The importance of
the question and of the principle involved in it, and of
its bearings on the future possible relations between this
country and Canada, could not be over estimated. lie
had no reason to complain of the tone and manner of the
lion. and Learned Gentleman, or of any want of frank-
ness or candour in the mode in which he'stated his own
view. His objection was to the principle as laid down
broadly by the lion. and Learned Gentleman, in which
he stated, that if they wished to avoid American demo-
cracy they must introduce the principle of self-govern-
ment. His objection to that, which would draw a dis-
tinction between what the Hon. and Learned Gentleman
called the Government at home and the Government
abroad, was simply this, that however true the principle
might be with regard to an independent republic, it was
inconsistent with the existence of monarchical govern-
ment, and with the relations between a colony and the
mother country. Admitting to the fullest extent
the importance of that upon which the Ho-
nourable and Learned Member laid so much stress,
of treating the people of Canada•with kindness, of using
no exasperating language towards them, and of confiding
the administration of local affairs to the friends of the
people, he was yet prepared, on the part of her Majesty's
Government, to express their unhesitating and cordial
approval of the course pursued by Sir Charles Metcalfe,
on the two matters made the ground of accusation
against him. What were those two points ? They were
not left to conjecture on the subject, for the Governor-
General stated publicly, and he was uncontradicted by
he mouth of one of those who adhered to the Govern•
ment, in opposition to the Executive Council, that the
ground of resignation was this, that persons came, on
the part of the Council, with those demands—that he

(the Governor) should consent to mike no agreement
without the advice of the Council—that the list of can-
didates should be laid before them—that they should
have the power of recommending others—and that the
Governor-General should make no appointments preju-
dicial to their interests. This was one ground.; the other
was that the patronage of the Crown should be given to
the Council for Parliamentary support. They wanted,
that the Governor-General should bind himself to this
by an instrument, under his hand and seal. Sir C.
Metcalfe rejected those propositions, and he was right.
—(Hear.) The Hon. and Learned Gentleman made no
distinction between the Governor of a province and the
Sovereign. Admitting that there was an analogy, he
would say that these demands were such as no constitu-
tional Minister eder made. But he denied the analogy.
The constitution of Canada might be formed upon the
model of the British Constitution ; but it was impossible
to give it the life and energy of the British Constitution.
Now what was the British Constitution? What were
the functions of the Sovereign ? It was this, that the
Sovereign was irresponsible for his acts, and that the
responsibility centred in the confidential advisers of the
Sovereign. They were responsible to Parliament and
the people for they advice they gave the Sovereign. But
though they existed by the will of the Sovereign, he
admitted that no Minister could long:hold the reins of
power who did not possess the confidence of the popular
branch of the Legislature. But the Crown not being
responsible personally, exercised no political powers,
and the exercise of political powers without responsibility
would not be more dangerous, to the liberties of
a country than the exercise of a responsibility
without power would be absurd and ridiculous.
This theory was well understood, and practically fol-
lowed. Every Minister, in making recommendations to
the Crown, except where urgent necessity demanded
otherwise, always considered it his duty to pay defer-
ence to the personal wishes of the Sovereign ; and, on the
other hand, the Sovereign, in sanctioning such recom-
mendations, often sacrificed personal considerations to
public advantage. In this country the Crown was here-
ditary, and the people were attached to the Crown and
to its functions from a principle of loyalty. The here-
ditary peerage exercised no unimportant influence
directly through the House of Lords as a branch of the
Parliament, but they also exercised an influence over pub-
I lie opinion through their rank and station, their wealth,
their territorial possessions, and hereditary titles, which
gave to the peerage of the country an influence, each in
a separate locality. Now, compare this with Canada.
There was there a House of Representatives, fairly
chosen by the people ; but where was there anything
corresponding to the House of Lords ? They found a
Council there possessed of some functions, but they had
no rank nor station. They had no territorial or here-

ditary claim to influence,- and they held their offices
from the Crown only during life. There the Governor-
General only exercised a delegated authority, having
an income which was only moderate for a country gen-
tleman in this country. He was personally a stranger to
a country the Government of which he administered.
He had no means of personal influence, and on his first
arrival he had no personal connexions. Such a state of
things, where a Governor was compelled to act, in every
respect stripped of all real power and authority—subject
to act under the control of whoever were the ruling
party—would constitute in Canada that which, but for
the influence of the Crown, and but for the influence of
the Peerage, would be the result in this country, if a 'ne-
cessity was imposed on the Prime Minister of this coun-
try to possess alone the confidence of the House of Com-
mons, a republican and not a monarchical government.
Such a state of things was inconsistent with monarchical
government, and it was inconsistent with colonial depen-
dence also. It was overlooking the distinction .which
must exist between an independent country and a co-'
Cony subject to the mother country. The Hon. and
Learned Gentleman might wish that Canada should
shake off her dependence, but let him say so. Theazgu-
ments which he used, if pushed to their legitimate
extent, would lead to the independence of the colony.
The system proposed by the Hon. Gentleman was incon-
sistent with the opinions which had been propounded
by every British Colonial authority who had ever en-.
tered upon the question of responsible government in
the colonies. The Hon. Gentleman had traced the his-
tory of the Constitution of Canada from the period when
Lord Durham had made his report down to the present
time. He had looked carefully through Lord Durham's_
report respecting the principles of responsible govern."
ments ; but although he found there many principles
propounded, of which he did not approve, he did not find
that Lord Durham had anywhere recommended that
species of responsible government which had been pro-
pounded by the Hon. Gentleman. Undoubtedly Lord
Durham recommended that:all officers except the Gover-
nor, should be responsible to the Legislature, and that the
responsibility to the Legislature should be secured by all
the means known to the British Constitution; that the
Governor should carry on the government by
means of the heads of parties in which the
Legislature reposed confidence.—(Hear.) Lord Durham
laid it down that the adthinistration of the internal affairs
of Canada could not be carried on properly while the per-
sons administering those affairs held office nominally
during the pleasure of the Crown, but were really for
life, and were not changed with every change in the Go-
vernment. The internal Government of Canada, ac-
cording to Lord Durham, ought to be conducted by
giansd"
lhaetaudr
es
foufr dtehpear tme
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dn
ut se,t eachef h
ia answerablewn d e
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that if such head of a department was no longer sup.
ported by the Legislature, that then he ought to re-
sign. To that principle, so limited, he bad not heard
that, from the days of Lord Sydenham to those of Sir G.
Metcalfe, the slightest objection had ever been made.
In order that there might be no doubt as to the under-
standing of the Government of this country on the sub-
ject, at a later period than that of Lord Durham's mis-
sion to Canada—at the time when Lord Sydenham was
sent out to carry out Lord Durham's views—he would
quote from the dispatch which had been written by the
Noble Lord the Member for London to Lord Sydenham,
in which be stated what were the views which
the then Government entertained as to the sys-
tem under which the affairs of Canada were
to be administered.—(The Noble Lord here read
various extracts from the dispatch alluded to, in
which Lord Sydenham was recommended to refuse
any explanations which might be construed to imply any
acquiescence in the prayers of the petitions on the sub-
ject of responsible government ; for, although it did not
appear that the petitioners attached any definite meaning
to thelerm, yet its very vagueness might occasion much
future embarrassment, should anything like an acquies-
cence in their demands be hinted at. The dispatch then
went on to dilate on the difference in position of the
'Executive Council in a colony, arid that of the Minister
of the Crown in England. The power, fox the exercise
of which the Minister was responsible, was not his own
power ; it was the power of the Crown ; and, to show
the inconvenience of the Governor of Canada acting
always solely by the advice of the Executive Council,
the dispatch went on to suppose a case in which the
Executive Council had recommended the Governor to
pursue one course of conduct, which was at direct va-
riance with the instructions which he had received from
the Queen. If h e obeyed the instructions from England
he would be acting'contrary to the principle that he was
to be guided in all things by the advice of the Executive
Council, and if he followed the advice of the Council,
be would cease to be a responsible officer of the
Crown, and would be in fact an independent sovereign.)
He (Lord Stanley) concurred entirely in the principles
laid down by the Noble Lord in that dispatch. But,
said the Hon. Gentleman, the theory of responsible co-
lonial government is not to interfere with the responsi-
bility to the local Legislature, where the internal rela-
tions of the colony alone were concerned ; but to inter-
fere only in those questions which affected metropolitan
as well at local interests. But who was to draw the line
of distinction between these two subjects ? The Noble
Lord, in the dispatch from which he had been quoting,
answered, as if by anticipation, the question of the Hon.
Gentleman. He put a case in illustration, which was
this—at the time that M. Papineau ruled the Assembly
*of Lower Canada, it was his aim to discourage all
who did their duty to the Crown, and all those
who wished to introduce British population, British
habits, or British customs into Lower Canada. It would
have been untossible for a Ministry in the Parliament
Of the United Kingdom to justify the measures
of a Papineau Ministry in the colony. British
officers punished for doing their duty—English mer-
chants pillaged—British emigrants oppressed—would
apply to Parliament for protection, and it would be im-
possible, if that principle were sanctioned, to prevent the
affairs of the colony falling into inextricable confusion.
The Noble Lord (J. Russell) went on to say _that, while
IT saw insuperable obstacles to the adoption of the prin-
ciple as stated, be saw none to the adoption of the grin-
, ciple recommended by Lord Durham. The Queen's
, Government, he said, had no desire to thwart the
Assembly of Canada, and he wished to give to talent