The New York herald. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1840-1920, 1854-08-11

Churches are to be Treated-Poliey of the
Home GOpernment-WiH England I,nore
Her Colonies?-Working Of the .hesc Con-
stitution.
The Parliamentary elections in this country
have produced two declarations of remarkable
character on the par, of the government-the
one from Mr.. Hincks, the Prime Minister Of the
country, the other from the Sol citor General for
the Eastern section Of Canada. The frs. declares
that the government ought TO secularize the
property of the English Church in this Province
The second is q long manifesto from "Mr. Soil
citor," explaining to the Roman Catholics that
their property is not endangered In the least
by the measure in question. He admits in this
long, but scarcely even plau sible document,
that seven Bishops OF the Roman Catholic
Church have demonstrated against the measure
but says the government are determined to
carry it. In or Ter, however, to Cancellation,
be says the Roman Catholic and Angl can pro-
perties are not at all on the same footing for
that the former are chiefly private grants-the
latter public grant; and draws distinction
between the two species of donation, which does
not seem to strengthen his case, let alone that
he does not account for the balance Of the Ca
tholic property. That the power W lich can deal
with land reserves, can also legislate for tithes,
(now collected by law from the Catholic
peasantry for the priesthood,) is an obvious
truth which cannot have escaped either Mr..
Solicitor General Ross or hishearers. The clergy
of Rome in this country have always taken
a widely different view of their position from
that of Mr.. Solicitor General. They have always
said, "YOu, the people. cannot legslate for
the property and claims possessed by us at the
time Of the cession of the country; it is secured
by treaty tetween the kings Of France and
Ensland, and l. under the guarantee Of the inn
perial authority" But Mr. Ross says" We
will legislate on every subject, though more in
accordance with your wishes than you appear
to expect" Here, then, is antagonism at once
between the church and democracy; and if the
Roman clergy is SO alarmed when prelacy is
attacked, what may We not expect when the
contest comes still nearer to themselves! AT
all events, it shows that the attempt cannot
much longer be made to fuse together Pro-
teetant democracy and Catholic hierarchy.
A much more important element in this ques-
ticn Is the attitude of the English home gov
eminent They are quite willing to leave the
whole matter to the people Of Canada aud the
London Times and Globe are strong for the
policy OF doing SO. Now, consider the former
of these journals to be virtually ministerial
organ, though pretending, like Jove on the
Olympian heights, to view with calm serenity
''the puny strife Of mortals here below" As
for the latter it was always (when was in
England and believe is still reported to be
Lord Palmerston's personal organ, aud takes
in substance the came view as the Iimes. No
English cabinet can ever have been ignorant
that elective Institutions, with an endowed
hierarchy, virtually amounts to q theocracy.
They must have known that Lower Canada
would give the virtual direction of affairs to
the French Canadian race-hitherto this has in
the main been the case. The monetary advan-
tages Of the union Of the Provinces have been,
on the whole, ! am inclined to think decidedly
in favor Of Upper Canada; but if 50, they are
simply the price paid for the political power
welded by Lower Canada.
From the whole aspect Of the case,
l conceive the design OF the British
government to involve other sonsdera-
tions than the mere desire to hear as little Of
the colonies and be able to ignore their exist
ence as much as possible, and l think slight
retrospective glance at ODE most important
item in The history of the New World will show
this to he the case When America declared
her Independence, Pitt conceived the idea Of
erecting an hereditary aristocracy in this coun-
Try. and of making il in all respects as com.
pletely anti American as possible What was
then contemplated by means Of arstocracy is
now conceived more easy Of accomplishment
by theocracy: and the object of British policy
is doubtless based on the maxims which in
duccd Cardinal Richclieu to support that faith
in Germany which he prosecuted in France.
That the good faith Of the mobiles Of Britain,
in granting 10 Canada what they have refused
everywhere else. seems more than question
able is what think every candid inquirer viii
readily admit. If responsible government
j. G., the elective system-be of universal
. benefit, which the whig lords who backed the
plan for Canada actually had the inconsistency
vi nj 10 :
do they refuse the same system to the char
! lists Of England, to the repealers of Ireland,
to the millions of India? The new elective
council bill, for instance, in effect vests the
whole power of the country in the hands Of the
House Of Assembly; for though The qualii-
cation is a trifle higher for the Legislative
Council than for the Assembly, and following
the plan Of the Roman Senate in requiring
certain age in the Pufres Conscripfi yet these
distinctions amount in substance to just no
thing; because the qualification in elector and
candidate if higher in amount is similar in
kind, and the same classes idcntica!ly are hold
crs OF both amounts. The plan, however, is
capital one to induce the legislators of a coun-
try in which class is caste and Hgrcat gulf
divides the Lazarus and Dives" to conceive
they are instituting distinction where
the bounty of providence has not allowed
them to make difference" based OH the Old
World "warfarc between the houses Of have
and want Neither is q qualification as TO
age material, where mans opinions are formed
on the fixed basis of race and hereditary creed,
and arc rarely, if ever, changed from any mo-
tive save selfinterest.
II is obvious. them that the new constitution
Of Canada is practical absorption of the powers
of the Stale by one chamber, with, il is true, u
shadow to IL substance. Now, would the Bril-
tish cabinet have been so anxious to bear down
the opposition Of the Earl of Derby il they h.
lcved that democracy would be the fruit OF the
nea ure and an as imilatios take effect between
an actual little republic ia Canada and tn, M
del rIutlic of Canada On the contrary, it
appears 20 me that every concession to the rep
rcseniaiiye principle has been given BY Bril-
tain. under the conviction that the clergy of
tic French Canadian race would take the sting
cut Of il, or, in other words, reduce IL to a null
lily. An important circumstance, which must
not be overlooked, in reference 10 the calcula-