The Sun.
London, England, 1828-05-03 00:00:00

known for the last ten years. In Upper. Canada, the people I
were much much disappointed by the immense grants of
land made to the Church of England, and the reserves
kept for it are for a Church which is not of the religion
of the majority of the people. Such endowments may be
held sacred when long made, and where the law has long
known them ; but I do not see the propriety of now mak-
' ing such endowments for a Church that is not of the reli-
gion of the people ; nor do I understand the regula-
tions which have been made for the New College of

Upper Canada. I see with astonishment that in this
country, where the majority of the people do not
belong to the Church of England, the Professors
must all subscribe the Thirty-nine Articles; so that
if Dr. Adam Smith were alive, he could not fill the
Professor's Chair of Political Economy; and if Dr. Black
were alive, he would be excluded from the Chair of Che-
mistry. In short, these regulations would have excluded
all the great teachers of the last age, had they been then
in existence. Ido not know what will be the conse-
quence; but a great part of the settlers in Canada came
from the United States of America—from that land of
liberty in which the intrusion of law into the domain of
religious liberty is never suffered. It is a bad augury, I think,
for the Administration of the Colony, that opinions, preva_
lent at the distance of some thousands of miles, should be the
foundation of the Charter of the New College; and•it is
still worse that if those opinions be only the opinions of a
faction, we cannot interpose to correct the injustice. I
have not formed a final opinion—l am not bound to any
form of proceeding ; but I ars satisfied that the maxims
of general Colonial policy I have stated must he acted on,
and they are consistent with reason and national policy as
well as justice. [The Right Hon. and Learned Gentle-
man sat down amidst considerable applause].
Mr. WILMOT HORTON said, that the last part of
the Right Hon. Gentleman's speech furnished a convincing

argument for going into the Committee. He complained
of the Church reserves, and they could not be otherwise
appropriated without altering the 31st of the King. The
Right Hon. Gentleman had complained of the measure for

a Union in 1822 ; and the Right Hon. Gentleman, said
the Canadians: were taken by surprise. But the measure
for the Union was not brought forward unexpectedly ; and
though certainly opposed when brought forward, he had
reason to think beforehand that it would not be. He would
then advert to a circumstance such as he had never before

adverted to, and such as he hoped never again to advert to.
But an Hon. Gentleman, not then a Member of that
House, but now Member for Coventry, assured me in
writing (said Mr. Horton), that he and all the Members of
his political opinion, would not oppose the measure, and
would not do any thing to prevent its being carried. I still
possess in writing these assurances, and they are most ener-
getic ; and I consider that no man was ever worse personally
used than I was. It was as great an instance of baseness as
ever was shewn. Ido not say this in my own judgment,
bat on the declaration made to me by others—(hear)—
and I therefore stand acquitted. The Right Hon. Mem-
ber then went on to say, that Upper Canada having no
seaport, could receive no supplies but through Lower
Canada, and that in the project for making Upper Canada
independent, this was forgotten. There was a necessity
to lay down some principles for the government of the Co-
lonies, so that the House and country should see uniformity
in the plans. It was his wish to see all the Colonies
gradually Anglicised; and he was not ashamed to confess
that he thought that would he the best means of preserv-
ing them. The Right Hon. and Learned Gentleman ad-
verted to three points, which he hal treated rather with
wit than argument. The question was, whether the
French law spread over the whole surface of the Colony ?
One Hon. Gentleman might he of opinion that it ought to
extend over the whole Colony—another might be of a
different one ; but the settling of this question was one of
the principal difficulties that now presented itself, and one
on which hie Right Hon. Friend: had come to: ask the as-
sistance and advice of that House, in bringing it to a satisfac-
tory adjustment. Another great difficulty on the subject
of property arose from the number of Public Notaries in
Canada. There were 250 Public Notaries in Lower Ca-
nada ; and such was the present state of the law, from the
secrecy which the Notary was obliged to keep, and from
the general defects of the law itself, that any person might
execute a mortgage, without the mortgagee being able sa-
tisfactorily to ascertain whether or not the mod gasor had
any property to warrant him in executing the mortgage.—
This led to great confusion, and was a subject that requirA
attentive revision and alteration. He did not blame the
Canadians for adhering to the system of laws to which I
they bad been lo'ng accustomed ; but the British Govern-
ment had an interest to consult, and a duty to perform, in
endeavouring to introduce—as far as with propriety and
safety could be done—the principles of the British Consti-
tution and of British law. He deprecated any disposition
to separate the native inhabitants from the English settlers,
and was desirous to see the benefit of impartial law ex-
tended to the whole Colony. But he must express his dis-
sent from a proposition which seemed to receive the sanc-
tion of the Right Hon. and Learned Gentleman (Sir James
Mackintosh), namely, that the Mother Country should not,
as was complained of in the petition, impose any tax upon
the Colonies : he could not assent to such a position.—
Again, with respect to the complaint that the Assembly
of Lower Canada had not a sufficient controul over the
expenditure of the Revenue—that they had not a suffi-
cient cognizance of the appropriation of the money. This
he could not admit. Ihe whole of the accounts were laid
before the Assembly in the fullest detail. There was a
reservation of an appropriation of a sum of money for the
maintenance of the Civil List. This was the only portion
of the expenditure, reserved by a former Act of Parlia-
ment, over which the House of Assembly had not a certain
controul; and because this was not also submitted to their
controul, they doggedly refused to exercise their constitu-
tional superintendence over the other items of the revenue.
The sajary of the Judges was a payment, and the renewal
of it from year to year might be very agreeable to the feel-
ings of Members of the House of Assembly, as it afforded
an opportunity of removing Judges whose conduct may
have been obnoxious to the wishes of that body; but it
appeared to him more consistent with sound justice, that
the Judges should be permanent, and their salaries fixed.
This was a subject, among many others, which might
well engage the attention of the Committee, for which his
Right Hon. Friend had moved, and which he readily sup-
ported. He concluded by expressing his earnest assent to
the proposition of his Right Hon. Friend.
Mr. STANLEY said, that after the clear and highly
satisfactory statement of his Right Hon. Friend (Mr. Hus-
kisson), and after the able, comprehensive, and Statesman-
like commentary of his Right Hon. and Learned Friend
(Sir J. Mackintosh), there was but a very narrow ground
for observation afforded to him. The subject was one of
as great importance as could well occupy the attention of
the Legislature. The occasion was one of no less im-
portance than this-,s.that his Majesty's Ministers thought it
expedient to appeal to the House of Commons of England
as arbitrators in a case in which the Crown was a party on
one side, and the people a party on the other. His
Majesty's Government appeared anxious to divest itself of
the responsibility that attached to it, and to transfer that
responsibility to Parliament. This was the purport of
the proposition which the Right Honourable Gentleman
(Mr. fluskisson), the Minister especially eatrneted with
the charge of the Colonies, made to the House that night,
The iron. Member proceeded to advert to the events which
occurred in at the first cession of Canada, and the
subsequent ACts of 1774, and 1791, in the last of which
years it might be said, that Canada received the charter
the
1w which she claimed the advantages and privileges,
pf avhich formed some of the grounds of ceroPi3int
The
contained in the r titions presented to the House.
Hon. Gentleman next adverted to the differences between
the English settlers at the eariy SePtielnent of the
Colony under the British Government, and read
a passage from a letter addressed by a Monsieur
Pelier, who teak a leading part on behalf of the ancient
French inhabitants of Canada, to Sir Malcolm Fraser, who
this
took an interest on behalf of the English Settlers. In
letter a curious description of the state of the Colony at
this period wail given, and it contained a propesal that two-
thirds of the House of iesembly should be composed of the
ancient inhabitants ; and he assigned as a reason to justify
this peoppeal.-,a very curious one—namely, that the abilithty
and the talents of the Englishmen were so soperior, at
they would easily win over the eutifrages of the eemaiping
portion of the Assembly.--(A laugh.)--,Having detailed
the various proceedings which took place in the early esta-
blishment of the Colony, the Hon. Member stated that the
Noniets now applied to the British Legislature as the
sunamum jug, fee the redress of the evils which had grown
up under time system whli4l We had given to them
the representation, the state of 'the law ;*elic!cting
property, and the financial mismanagement of the revenue
of the Colony—three points of the utmost importance.--
Ii a the whole subject would he fully discussed
in the Comusit!xe ; for, if he understood the scope of the
Inquiry, it was to go ietu 111 the questions affected by the
Act of 1791. He would not enter farther into it at the
•
present moment, except to express 1. els hope, that; the
lloese would carefully guard Canada against the evils
which religions dissensions already-had produced in this
country—(hear),—and in Ireland—(cheers),---where they
had examples to teach them what to shtin.—(Cheers.)--
If ever the Canadas separated from this country,
as they
mmt some day or other in the ordiniry course of things,
it was in our power still to 'retain their friendship ; but on