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Tous les autras exemplaires originaux sont fiimte en commen^ant par la premiere page qui comporte une empreinte d'Impression ou d'illustration et en terminant par la dernlAre page qui comporte une toile empreinte. Un des symboles sulvants apparaltra sur la darnlAre image de cheque microfiche, seion le cas: le symbols -^ signifie "A SUIVRE", le symbols y signifie "FIN". Les cartes, planches, tableaux, etc., peuvent Atre filmte A des taux de rMuction diff^rents. Lorsque le document est trop grand pour Atre reproduit en un seul clich6, II est filmA A partir de Tangle supArieur gauche, de gauche A droite, et do haut en bas, en prenant le nombre d'Imagas nteessalre. Les dlagrammas sulvants iilustrant la mAthode. 1 2 3 1 2 3 4 5 6 * , 'M. • ■?' *' '"*■ f.« ■ .* REASONS POR COLONIZING ' «">|il4»NMT THE ISLAND OF ■^'i , ■ -■"' *■ > r '•'r. -■;:*# NEWFOUNDLAND, ,.:^ 1 ... i. i % > IN A LETTEIt. ADDRESSED TQ THE INHABITANTS. 'sv-^:"' f *»• WILLIAM CARSON, M. D. JiUhor of « letter to the Members of Parliament of the United Xinffknitf Gksat Bkixaiv and IxMLASOy on the address ofth* Merchants and "» /nhaiitants of SAJNT JOHN'S, in the Island of ' NEfTFOUNDLANE, to the PRINCE REGENT. t 3 '■*■ GREENOCK: Printed by William Scott, *M» aoi-B BT Sir Ricuaiid Phillips, London; alo bt thi looE- 4SI.LKR* or Gkeknogk, G%asoow and Edinbukoh. # 181?. k pfr - Nyggyg^jT.j 'rfyf eisium't&i^m- iwmfft ^WffcTt^Jl'"'*' I' ^-^ :i: ,■«•«*•■■' 1 •*■ - -.f^ ■?ll; .,:^-' I V ? ;-.:* ■■ * Reaso7is, 8^c. '%*■' y^ i X HE subject of this address is of the first im- portance to your interests and happiness ; invol- ving every thing dear to you as men, as husbands and as fathers. I most ardently wish that some individual possessing greater talents, enjoying more personal influence, and whose mind was more free from that care, anxiety, and toil necessarily at- tending tlie exercise of an extensive Medical prac- tice, had come forward in support of your just claims to the rank and character of British sub- jects. Your kind approbation of the address, I pub- lished last spring, to the Members of Parliament, is an ample proof that the weakest abilities when honestly and virtuously directed, are sure to ob- tain the support and approbation of the friends of the genuine interests of this country, and the hap- piness of its people. The pleasure i derived from your kindness, and indulgence has been consi- derably diminished, by the peevish and petulant persecution I have experienced from some high official characters. From men who should have stood forward as the supporters of your just rights, the champions of the Liberties of the press, the abettors of the English law, and the guardians of th^ British constitution ; instead of the wily viola- tors of your liberties, and the panders of arbitra- ry rule. I have been, in consequence of that ad- dress, deprived of the situation of Surgeon to the Saint John's Volunteers, in the most unfeelinjj ( * ) and unjustifiable manner, and in defiance of the unanimous sentiment Qf the corps in my favor. In obsequious imitation of so magnanimous an ex- ample, the doors of the prison house, which I had attended for several years are shut against me as a medical practitioner. Need 1 inform you that after such open specimens of rage and maligni- ty, the same bad passions pursue me into the recesses of my private practice.* In the address to the Members of Parliament, I was not animated by any personal feeling, my object was much more elevated than anything personally connected with these mistaken men. I pity, I compassionate them, in the moments of calm reflection they will, in their own condemnation, experience a punish- ment much more poignant, than any which it is in their power to inflict on me. Though ignorant, they perhaps l^npw, that, under an improved and ameliorated state of this country, men who do not possess the manners of Gentlemen, who are noto- rious for the want Qf even a common education, and who labour under a natural deficiency of talent, will be considered utterly improper, and unfit to fill the first offices of a regular Government, ** ♦ A naval commander accustomed to receive obedience, virhether his orders ** are dictated by justice or injustice, by reason or false prejudice, cannot be ** expected to brook with temper any opposition to his will. The man whose ** duty calls upon him to defend his rights, and the just interest of his family, ** in opposition to the opinion and passions of sprh a Governer, yrill have but » a small chance of success. An act of independence would be arraigned as V an act of mutiny. All the influence of his offiee, all the arts of his satellites ** would be marshalled to effect his overthrow. Accustomed to use force to ♦♦ knock down opposition. Force being the power he knows best how tp *' direct, the toils of investigation, dehberation, and judgement, are seldom ••had recourse to by a Nayui Governor." Sec Dr. Carson's Letter to t}ie l^emberi of Parliament. ( 5 ) Under such a just and luminous conception, what they have done may be as natural as the love of existence. I shall not in this address engage your atten- tion by an historical account of Newfoundland. The rery imperfect records of the transactions of its Governors, and the decisions of its judicial courts, generally ill administered, would neither be gratifying to your feelings, or tend to enlarge the sphere of your knowledge. Since the peace of Utrecht, the Island of New- foundland has been considered of the greatest importance to the vital strength of the British Em- pire. When the commercial advantages of this Island are duly estimated, and the naval power flowing to the mother country is fully appretiated, it becomes a subject of just surprise, that so little respecting it is Known, and that so little progress has been made towards colonization and regular government. The inhabitants appear to have been considered, either as a race of savages un* tameable by civilization, and which could not be restrained by any regular code of laws, or as Angels descended immediately from Heaven, pure and perfect, possessing minds which did not require instruction, and passions that needed not the control of terrestrious institutions. The Law Courts are not prepared to decide whether the wives in this Island are not concubines, and whether the children, in the Law Courts of England, would be recognized as legitimate off- spring, entitled to inherit the property of their ( 6 ) li fathers. The inhabitants are prevented cultivate ing the land of their nativity, although their children are calling to them for bread. Children of as comely aspect, ^nd possessing minds as promis- ing as exist in any country. Does not one hundred thousand people, so situated, call loudly for their civil rights? In the preamble to Act 10 and 11 of William III. the commercial advantages of this Island, and its consequence as a nursery for seamen, appear, by the English Legislature, to have been fully known and appretiated. The subsequent laws, and the general policy of its ever changing Go- vernors, have not been calculated to enlarge its consequence, or promote its interests. The people have obtained but little increase to their civil rights. Population has been cheeked by restrain- ing laws : by the prevention of agriculture the necessaries of life have at all times been dear ; and sometimes difficult to be procured. The ju- dicious parent has beheld in emigration to the States of America, a more promising prospect of substantial comforts for an increasing family. The natural advantages of this Island are so great, the enterprise of the people so active, that not- withstanding the artificial restraints, population has increased, commerce extended, and wealth accumulated, so as to require, in the establish- ment of a civil constitution, a better security for persons and property. It would be diificult to convince those unac- quainted with Newfoundland politics, that there t- ir ;n s- id jir ( 7 ) could exist a class of men so Uevoid of reason as to contend, that, a civil Government is not ne- cessary for this people, that the appropriation and cultivation of the lands, and a voice mthe forma- tion of their lawi would tend to their ruin and destruction. It would perhaps be still more diffi- cult, to bring conviction to the rational British mind, that, the Governors and their adherents should rank those men dangerous and disaffected, who knowing should wish for the blessings of a British constitution. It is most devoutly to be wished that, that race of Governors had passed by, and it is most conscientiously believed that their satellites will follow the attraction of any other planet, however dissimilar may be its elementary partSt The numbers of those opposing coloniza- tion are rapidly decreasing. They are the rem^ nants of the same faction, who opposed the ap- pointment of a Governor, Justices of the peacb, 'i Custom-house and a court of civil jurisdiction. They principally reside in England, migrating to this country during the summer mouths. They therefore, in justice, ought to have no voice in the arrangement of a civil Government for the safety and happiness of a resident people. The lesson taught to Great Britain, by the revolt and subsequent independence of the United States, should have fixed indelibly on the minds of those managing its official concerns, the danger of vexa- tious, arbitrary and unjust measures towards dis- tant colonies. The intercourse between States is similar to the intercourse between men. Harmo- nsant^ jws ( 8 ) ny and good will can only be promoted, and pre- served by mutual confidence, and reciprocal acts of kindness. If my neighbour in consequence of possessing rank and power, uses his superiority towards my annoyance ; necessity or a strong feel- ing of my present interests, may compel me to submit to his unjust assumption ; but I will most anxiously ?ook forward to the moment of my e- mancipation and independance. There is not a colony belonging to Great Britain, in which the people do not feel a pride in being subjects to the King of England ; In which they do not cherish sentiments of fond attachment to the Mother coun- try, its constitution, customs and laws. But if they are doomed perpetually to experience from Governors, and other high officers, an insulting and contumelious disregard of their rights and pri- vileges, admiration will be converted into con- tempt, affection to animosity, and submission to revolt, ! The war with the States of America renders the situation of Newfoundland of peculiar importance to Great Britain : British subjects on the continent of North America, are in general well attached to the mother country ; but it is far from being an attachment purely loyal— It is not hallowed by a just moral feeling. The inhabitants of New- foundland have as yet acquired no fixed charac- ter, being English Scotch or Irish or their imme- diate descendants, they participate of the peculi- arities of their respective countries. The dangers and fatigues of the occ!ipation of ( 9 ) a fisherman, with the variability of the climate, have given a hardiness and activity to the people of this country rarely to be met with in any oth« cr. The inhabitants of Newfoundland may be characterized as a hardy race, fearless of danger^ and capable of undergoing the greatest corporeal exertion. They have no strong antipathies, vio« lent prejudices, or unjust prepossessions; they have that fondness for liberty which all men possess, that are not subdued by fear, or unseduced by the illusions of vice. Their love of liberty is chastened by a sentiment of just subordination, and a respectful demeanor towards those in su« perior situations. The natives while young pos- sess as strong an attachment for their native har« hours, as the Scotch and Swiss do for their native mountains As they advance in life this sentiment gradually subsides, and in mature years is often obliterated. The fisherman unless powerfully con- nected by the ties of friendship, or personal in- terest, loses that attachment to the spot of his na- tivity possessed by the tiller of ground and the feeder of flocks, which is in these the source of patriotism, r^ v ^sj h^,- The boundless ocean being the element of the fisherman, caprice or the slightest disappointment will often induce him to shift his station. , - %i"« k The emigration of the feathered tribe is known to arise from natural causes, the emigration of the human species is subject to similar laws, a few may be actuated by moral sentiments, but phy- sical causes operate in the mass of the people. ( 10 ) 1 1 ■/' * If the causes of emigration are so powerful, in Great Britain and Ireland, as to be beyond the control of a free Government, the emigrating propensity ought to be directed to the colonies and Ihere by wise laws and kind treatment, Govern- ment should endeavour to give a permanence to the settlers. So laudable and so political an ob- ject would be best effected by giving as much as possible *o all an interest in the soil. The system ofgiying extensive grants to individuals, who are not resident, is found to be highly injurious to the interests of young colonies. If all fishermen on f)roducing a certificate of faithful services, for a «pecified number of years, were to obtain a grant of a small spot of land, not one in ten of those emigrating to the States of America would leave this Island, and Newfoundland instead of being a «tepping*stone from Ireland to the States of Ame- rica would afford to Irishmen leaving their native country a secure and a permanent residence, with- •out violating their allegiance. The farmer of- ten sells his flocks and removes to distant coun- tries. The landed Proprietor seldom, unless coin^ pelled by dire necessity, deserts his paternal fields. The causes which have Conspired, most power- fully to retard the improvement of this country, will be found to exist in the nature of its Govern- ment. The habits necessarily formed hy the suc- cessful prosecution of a naval life, are so dis- • similar to the usages of civil Government, tha^t an able Admiral, and ?. j 'dicious Governor^ aro $U3- ( 11 ) 111 the quisitions seldom to be found in the same indi« vidual. A Governor of Newfoundland holds hn commission for three years, and during that period he resides in the island nine months. It is not probable that during that short space, he can be^ come acquainted with oui^ laws, customs, charac- ters, or interests. It has too often happened, that those encircling the chair of Government, have taken very good care that the knowledge of Governors, \t\ these respects, should not be ac- curate. It has nearly uniformly happened^ that the Governors, during the short period they' have ' swayed the sceptre of power, have been envelo{)ed in ignorance and misrepresentation ; the pitiable sport of wavering and discordant counsels ; the counsels of men whose minds have not been en«- larged by a liberal education, and whose hearts have not been softened by the intercourse of an enlightened civilization, actuated alone by pers- onal feelings or private jnotives, secure from the usual restraints against bad actions, the dread, of temporal punishment ; they have had it in their power to indulge the evil propensities of their natures, sale and invisible through the organ of a Governor. » I am far, very far indeed, from wishing to impugn the motives of tY' Governors. 1 km even disposed to allow, that they have been, for the most part, actuated by the best intentions. It is the habits of Naval Commanders, generat- ing a fondness for arbitrary rule, and thereby re- quiring a passive submission to their will, utterly B. 2. ( 12 ) unfiting them to ^^mide at the head of a Govern* ment, not possessing the usual necessary restraints. It is the undertaking a high situation, with the duties of which they cannot be acquainted, that I wish to expose and deride, as inconsistent with just moral conduct, derogatory to the character, and hostUe to the privileges of Britons, The in* habitants of Newfoundland are truly loyal, and ^^ttached even to enthusiasm, to the glory and interests pf the British nation. They are uni- formly desirous of obtaining the good opinion, lind the good will of their Governors. This fact Jias beeii strongly manifested, on the arrival of .«ach succeeding Governor ; but, no sooner did they biBcome entangled in the gothic system of pulling down fences, «taged$ and houses ; no sooner 4id they commence the blasting system of favoritism and proscription, than all hopes of inn- provemient were dissipated, ^id the mind recoiled intoglopm^ d^pondency,i^^^i9^jiivt.§j^4?{n^#4 . ^ « So oy the coijrse of the revolving tpnc *'' f Whene'er a neur discoyered star appears^ ^ ' * Astronomers with pleasure, and ama^fCi A, tr>^/*ff?^**^ 1^ Upon the in|fiai)t lMm|nary jga^e. o < J^r" k -hi'H -i'l • Tncy find their Heaven enlarged, and wait from thence * Some bles't, some niore jthan common injiaence ; /• f Put $uddenlf ahs ! the fleeting light i:t mJ f Retiring, jeayes their ))opes involved in endless night.' k^' The only remedy pgainst the evils flowing from jthe present system, will be found in giving to the people, what they most ardently wish, and what }S unquestionably their rij^ht, a civil Government| leres, , .^ . ,. >ii i u ( 13 ) consisting of a resident Gorernor, a,. Senate House, and House of Assembly. I shall as briefly as possible, endeavour to point out the advantages that would flow to this island, and the mother country, from the establishment of a civil Government^ and from the appropria>- tion and cultivation of the lands. In doing this I shall have to combat some prejudice, and some error. The island of Newfoundland has^ been represented as destitute of soil ; the atmosphere as unfriendly to vegitation ; agriculture as injuri- ous to a fishery ; and the country colonized as contrary to the interests of the British merchaaii, and incompatible with the policy, of the oiother country. -.^,^^i,iii^;:^.-^.^!f ...i._.iK*.;.«^i4i.vi'.j!-i ^*i^B.ix^f^ yafCi The surface of the island of Newfoundland, is upwards of 37,00Q square miles, being 8000 square miles larger than Ireland. There are not more than ten square miles cultivated in« the island. The interior is entirely unei^lared. The only parts known are the barren ridges, ex- tending along the ^^ cpast, fr(>iQQnie harbour to another. The tow and fertile lands being cover- ed with wood, and intersected with lakes and rivers, are avoided by the traveller. In the neigh- bourhood of St. John's tbere are about I606 acres of land in cultivation ; but, being the eastern extremity of the island, and the promontory of a Peninsula, it is much exposed to the bank fogs during summer, and during the spring months to the floating ice, which encircles two thirds of the promontory; rf^frigerating Uie atmosphere and i 1* ) blasting the tender plants ; but this is only felt ort the eastern shore, and only for a few miles into the country ; yet the cultivated lands in the neifi^h- boulrhood of St. John's, yield as plentiful a crop of hay, as the best cultivated grounds in the vi- cinity 6f London. Potatoes and turnips arrive at the greatest perfection, and iti the sheltered spots oat§ and wheat ripen. Annually large flocks of leati cattle, from New England, Nova Scotia, &c, are fattened in the woods round St. Johns. Deer j congregating to the number of many hundreds^ fcave been seen in all the explored parts. Thes^ !^cts must be considered as sufficient proof of the capability of Newfoundland to become a pastoral and agricultural country. It lies in lat. 46, 40^ to Si, 40, North. The northern extremity is neatly as far south os the southern extremity of England. The sun^s power is sufficient to ripcri all those grains, roots, and fruits, which arrive lit perfection in Britain. The power of the sum- mer isun is greater, and the winter's cold more severe, but, are mollified by similar causes in both countries, though not to the same extent. The severity and duration of the winters are not so great as on the continent of America, in latitudes much further to the south. Ploughing, and the other operations of thefieJd, are seldom obstruct- ed before Christmas, and the lands are open to t-cceive the plough early in April. , ■r,^i.p-.r - ' In the neighbourhood of all the fishing harbours, a considerable quantity of excellent manure may be proccrred froUn the sea weed, cod's heads, and m C 15 ) the refuse of the seal blubber. In a coiintiry so unexplored, it is impossible to say what are its stoves of manure. The number of its rivers, and the general situation of its lakes, are favourable for the purposes of irrigation. The soil and climate of this island, areas well adapted for the purposes of agriculture, as the soil and climate of (lova Scotia, and part of the Canadas, from whence k is proposed to feed the inhabitants on reasonable terms. The present war has shown the fallacy of these pretensions, and exposed the delusion which prevailed upon this subject. The Canadas and Nova Scotia, are not much more than able to supply with their own growth j their. internal de»> mands. The inhabitants of these oountriesi, may carry on a lu<;rative commerce, between this and the States of America, in the articles of beef, bread, and four ; but the profits of our fisheries had much better be directed to the cultivation of the lands in •this country, and thereby creating, and nourish- ing a nuijierous peasantry, than in purchasing the produce of agriculture at an enormous expense ^ from our enemies. Onehundired and forty thousand quintals of bread and flour, are required for the support of the people in this island, which at the present cost to the inhabitants, amounts to more than L.500,000, The sums paid for beef and pork, amount nearly to as mruch. There is, there- fore, at the present price of provisions, as much expended for food, as the total produce of the fish- ^ eries. It is, therefore, impossible, that the people •tan long support their . present situation. P9rk, i:i| :; ii ( 16 ) one of the first necessaries of the country, is not to be procured. Bread costs from L.4 to L.5 per quintal. Flour, L.8 per barrel. Fresh beef, 16d. Mutton, Is. 9d. per lb. Milk, 8d. per quart ; an egg is worth a shilling. Symptoms of approaching famine, are strongly marked. Yet, even under these circumstances, a Pro- clamation was issued last October, to prevent inclosing and cultivating the lands ! ! Three or four hundred thousand pounds are annually paid by the inhabitants for provisions, a great part of which come, directly or indirectly, from the States of America. The accumulation of so large a sum for a few years, would convert the wilds and morasses into corn fields, and cause towns and cities to arise, where the untameable savage now. rears his wigwam. On the first commencement of the fishery, and when those peculiar laws were framed, calculat- ed to render it a free and a moveable fishery. T^ie fertile territories on the continent of North America, weresubjecttothe Crown of England. In the western world, there was no hostile power to obstruct the progress of her commerce. The pro- duce of these fertile districts, were wafted to New- foundland, at a smaller expence, than they could be reared in a climate less congenial. The in- habitants were but few, and the greatest part of them migrated to England during the winter months. The fishery was principally carried on by adventurers from the west of England, who repaired to this country es^rly in the ^pring^ ( 17 ) ^}U'i bringing with them every thing necessary for tha\ voyage Circumstances have changed, the fertile districts of North America, are become independ-;^, ent States. The frequent wars in which Great i^ Britain has been engaged, have, by endanger- .^^ ing, destroyed the Bank Fishery ; a very small , proportion of the lishery carried on upon these^ shores, belongs to adventurers. A numerous population has arisen, who carry on the principal part of the fishery, who have no immediate con- nection with the United Kingdom, and who purchase from the merchants in Mewfoundland^ every thing necessary for their comforts, and evea their luxuries, paying in fish, oil, and bills of ex« change. The produce of British agriculture, i&, wanted for its own population, and would be much more advantageously appropriated to the main- tenance, on reaf^onable terms, of its commerce and manufactures, than the vain effort to nourish dist- ant i^olonies* .v^-s ^^^^fvi- . •*«. ''« What arguments can be adduced against the colonization of this island, and the appropria- tions of its lands, I am at a loss to discover. It is difficult to argue against prejudice, and the un- qualified assertions of the ignorant. < The system of a moveable fishery is now ex- tinct, and ail human powers are insufficient to ((ause its resuscitation. New circumstances have arisen, which require new Laws, and a new Gov- ernment. The resident population of this coun- try is large, and sufficiently ample for carrying ^ its extensive Cod, Salmon, Mackereli Herring, C ' n I ( IS ) and Seal Fisheries ; the latter is become rery val li- able, and can only be conducted by a resident people. To support its growing consequence, and increasing advantages to the Empire, generally ; it will be neces-^ary to secure the people from the danger of famik j. To attach them to, by giving them an interest in the soil. To prevent disaffec- tion, by wise Laws and a just Government. To enable them to meet their rivals in trade and com- merce, on equal grounds, they must be enabled to procure the first necessaries of life, on nearly equal terms. The appropriation and cultivation of the lands, would tend in a high degree, to secure these advantages. i\griculture, instead of being injuri- ous to the fisheries, would prove to be their best support. The small progress which it has made, is sufficient to illustrate this argument. Planters, who have dedicated that period of the year, which cannot be occupied in the fishery, to agriculture, are independent, and perhaps, the happiest people in the island. Fishermen are engaged by the Planter, from the beginning of May to the ^Oth of October, as they have no general means of employing themselves during the remainder of the year, they are obliged to obtain as much wages for six month's servitude, as will support them twelve. If a Planter had a farm, he would engage his servant for twelve months, for the same, and even smaller wages, than he now pays for six months. There are many days, during thefish- ing season, on which the fishermen cannot be em- ployed, but which are well adapted for the opera* ( 19 ) tions of husbandry. Seed time has passed, before the fishing season commences; October and No- vember, are here the harvest months. Thus the Planter could conduct the operations of a farm, at even a smaller expence, than the farmer could do in those countries, where the cheapest labour is to be procured. He would be enabled to feed his servants on a wholsome diet, at one half of the sum it now costs him. The advantages vvould not only flow to the planter, but would produce tc the servant incalculable benefits. The fisherman, on the 20th of October, is free ; if a single man, and if he has not been extravagant; he may hare L.30 to receive for the balance of his wages ; one half of this sum he is obliged to pay for his board during the winter, and the remainder is spent in drinking, and nocturnal dissipation. If the strength of his constitution, enables him to weather his winter's voyage, each succeeding season, the same scene is acted over, till at last he falls a premature victim. This is the fate of a great number of fishermen ; annual servitude would tend, very considerably, to prevent so melancholy an evil. Salt, and dry provisions, on which the people of this country are principally fed, have the same deleterious effects on the constitution, which ardent spirits produce. By the constant and excessive stimulus of salt provisions, an ir- ritable and exhausted state of the stomach, with difficulty of digestion, and lowness of spirits, as often arise, as from habitually drinking ardent spirits ; and the desire for ardent spirits, is tod C2 ■ t m .:( ( 20 ) pften induced by the state of the stomach, arising from the constant iiseof salt provisions. The span of human existence is considerably shortened, and if hut seldom happens, that a native obtains a large size, or arrives at an advanced age. While the fishery would produc not avraken the jealousies of the politicians of the present day. ■ ■ , If these observations should contribute, in the slightest degree, towards the attainment of a civil resident Governor, and a Legislative Assembly, in imitation of the British Constitution, I shall experience a high reward. I shall see your hap- piness and prosperity as a people, established and secured. You will then walk erect, under the; dispensation of a dignified and enlightened justice. Under the fostering care of a Government who will know you ; a Government founded on the secure basis of defined laws, free from the blast- ing influent of unjust favoritism, and ill founded antipathy. , i ,1 have the honor to subscribe myself, the Inhabitants of Newfoundland's obliged, and obedient servant, WILLIAM CARSON. P. S. During the month of October last, the Manager of the Merchant's Hall, summoned the inhabitants of St. John's, to meet at the Hall, for the purpose of taking into consideration, the propriety of applying to Parliament for a Local Legislation, through the interest of the Governor. At that meeting, the Manager detailed a plan, which he stated, had the sanction of those in office; it was disapproved of. A Committee of seven gentlemen were chosen by ballot, to prepare a plan for a Local or General Legislation ; and ( 25 ) tlieijr were directed to submit tlie result of their' deliberation, to the inhabitants, in a general meeting. 1 had the honor to be placed second ir* the Committee by the suffrages of my fellow townsmen, I shall feel much pride and pleasure^ in doing all in ray power towards the promotion of their laudable views. I have submitted the following as my sentiments, to a number of my friends, and 1 am happy to find that they meet with the approval of a great number of the in- telligent and independent inhabitants. W. C The following are the sentiments of a Member of the Committee of Legislation, for the town of St. John's, in the island of Newfoundland ; That all the rights and privileges, claimable by British subjects resident in Great Britain, are the rights and privileges of the people in New- foundland. That it is the Hght of the people in Newfound- land, to possess a distinct civil Government, of similar powers and privileges to the British Government, That the head of the Government ought to be a resident Governor, appointed by the King, and removable at his pleasure : that the Governor should possess all the powers and prerogatives in this inland, which are known and defined to be prerogatives of the King, in the United King- dom. That there ought to be Judicial Offices and D m ( 26 ) Courts of Justice, having powers and jurisdio tions as full, and as ample, as those possessed by the Courts of King's Bench, Common Pleas, and Exchequer, in England ; and that the officers should possess similar qualifications. That the Judges should be appointed by the King, and removable only by the House of Lords, on an impeachment prefered by the Colonial Assembly. That there ought to be a House of Assembly, consisting of not less than fifty members, chosen by the entire householders. That the House of Assembly should possess all the privileges of the House of Commons. That there ought to be a Senate House, con-» sisting of the Commander of the King's forces, if a General Officer. The Judges ex officio* The Chief Magistrate of the town of St. John's, ea: officio ; and twenty other Senators appointed by the Governor, from the Members of Assembly. The vacancies to be made up by a new return. All vacancies in the Senate House to be filled up by the Governor, from the House of Assembly. That the Senators shall be for life, office, or during their residence in the island. The Senators in their congregate body, should possess all the privileges of Lords of Parliament. . That a Legislature, consisting of a Governor, Senate House, and House of Assembly, should possess the sole power of making laws, for the in- ternal Government of this island, and for the appropriation of its lands. F 1 I^ 1 S. ^.•, " ."-ki?''- .w ■•/■''■■v: •>ft; '-?<■" «:'/:^'A'- ,y^'-..: V •^