The Statesman.
London, England, 1809-07-18 00:00:00

To

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ir,...„.4......„...4,.. N. .„.r as to split Vit
weresnareh to Lipkin tbesesetriti tote
a life, Lthey ammo. in debate detiverthent-
dui *lib lb!! eine, Aid iliti tae sante /feet as La their as-
kr*
' Althtiugh we cannot doubt tbeproficiascy at a
great majiltity Of the Britith House of Commons,
and of the Getitienten of the Long Robe, in the
French Langtiage, a knowledge of which is now
become an eueiitlal branch of esen ordinary eds.
cation, we should feel eitlemely dij/ideni in has.
ing our Constitutional Claims defended in the
House of Commons, or tier Citil Bights before a
British Jury, by an English Member or a Bar.
rister, in the French Language, if his dppotlent
were gifted with the native volubility of Oche who,
from infancy, have been accustomed td the Freda
as their vernacular language.

But the language of the Debates in the No*.
(Lail Parliament is nut the most curious eirEorh.
stance relative• to that enlightened Assembly ; fdh
if the following description is founded in truth,
the general aspect of such an Assembly must be
curious beyond the weak conception of an Eng-
lishman :...for, however venal and corrupt he
may suspect his Representative to be, he has
rarely found him so illiterate as to be destitute of
those elementary principles of knowledge...the
arts of reading and writing.

" Is it clear that the British fare ssf Goverment is fine*
for Canada. nod th-it the Catudiams are in a slate lobe bene-
fited by being allowed a share is the Govenimeot ? Does their
knowledge, their education, or the whole train and directive
e$ their ideas, prejudices, and passion., fit them for being
legislators How can those men attain a knowledge of the
principles of Government, and of civil and religions
who can neither reed nor write, which k the case with the
peat mass of the people; and, however strange It may ap-
pear, is the case with memo of the Members of tit: House of
4ssembig? This must seem incredible, but is, however.
strictly true, and is of itself a most convinciag proof that it
was too soon to give thee a share in the Governateut. The
state of the coular. so lots as to arts oat !otter;, that it is
Lorpsnihk to om the counties, and even &sometimes in the
earns. new Its any respect, are capable of tateg a
part iu the Icii,lature."

Can this description by any possibility of belief
be accurate ? What, can there be admitted into
that Assembly, which is to giro laws to so impor.
Cant &Colony as Canada—the head of our North
American Colonies, Members who can neither read
nor write ? %Veil nay Mr. Gray sly, the, there
is a great deal of misapprehension in Britain Ma.
tire to Canada; for it is probable that, until his
work appeared in this country, the British Public
did not suspect the existence of ignorance so gross
in any established Colony of the British Empire.
Even Botany Bay might blush at the comparison.
Incredible as this description appears, Ur. f: ray
is before Me public, and if be has mis-stated thy
fact, it will he the duty of those who can correct
him to step forward and convince the public that.
his assertions are unfounded. The general style
and tenor •f his narrative and observations are,
however, such, that we see not ally reason to sits.
pea that he would hazard a statement that could
nut be substantiated.

Mr. Gray has omitted to inform as on the sob.
jcct of that regulation, by which the correspon.
deuce of the Members of the British rarliament,
is exemptel from the payment of postage. Per.
haps the Canadian flanks a Letter by his mark!
That they arc unmindful of this important prisi.
lege of a Legislator, it is nut reasonable to sus-
pect, as they seem to be no strangers to Parlia-
mentary habits, as will appear by the following
anecdote :
" Near the end of the Sessions many of the Canadians have
obtained leave of absence, so that it has happened 'kat just
so many were lett as would make a quoiam—of whom about
half were English and half were French. When the latter
found that the English were likely to Larry a question, a
Canadian has been known to step outside of the har, and
t.Cre Ilia, while another member stored an adjuurnmeut,
fur want of the pretence eta talitkielll number of members."

The want of space precludes our giving any
further extracts at present from this interesting
work, which certainly contains much valuable
information on the subject of one of our most ins.
portant colonies, the real state and important coin.
otercial advantages of which, appear to be but
imperfectly known in this country.

The King of Bavaria has ordered another con.
scription to be enforced throughout his territory.
All males between the years of 17 and 60 are to
be taken. The reasons assigned for this measure
are, the loss which the Bavarian Regiments has
sustained in 15 engagements, and the increasing
boldness of the Tyrolcatis.
Gets. Am.Ende raised, in the Saxon territories,
a corps of 1500 men, for Whom Ire obliged the
city of Dresden to furnish uniforms. lie also
loaded 110 waggons with ammunition and, military
stores from the arsenals, which ho dispatched to
Prague, in Bohemia.
The Austrians have thrown a bridge over de
Danube near Wolfsthal, one post station fawn
Presttrgb, and fortified it with a redoubt on the
right bank, awl erected 5000 batteries on the left.
The King and Queen of Bavaria left Munich on
the 14th ult. for their summer residence at Nym.
phenburgh, Their departure was hastened in con..
sequence of an alarm created in the capital by the
advance of a body of Tyrolean' along the mown.
tains extending from Hob= to Schongau, and who
penetrated to Steinberg, only 30 miles distant from
Munich, before they were discovered.
A private letter from Guttenberg!' says, "
hear that our Minister, Mr. FOSTER, expects to
quit Stockholm very soon. lie did not attend
the nomination of the new King, nor was he pre.
sent at the Coronation. His absence &Irma, the
Swedes. The farmers refused to sign the New
Constitution until they were allowed 50 per cent.
more for their horses when posting, and they now
make the Nobles furnish horses fur the roads in
their turn. The inhabitants of Norway are in a
deplorable state, and unable to pay the taxes.
Some privateers are building at Drain,.Christiatis-
burg, and other plants.
A great number of new.shorn sheep perished in
different parts of Derbyshire last week, owing to
the unusual Inclemency of the weather.
The 30th sat. was observed at Dinkel(' with
every demonstration of joy, being the Duku of.
Atholl's birth-day, who then completed his 54th
year. A number of gentlemen assembled to an ex-
cellent dinner, and all his Grace's servants and
workmen were liberally entertained.