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D D D D Coloured covers/ Couve I, 1 f , »*r?lt • FOR ( 'I f AN API" A ..'AT TO THE LEGISLATURE, FOR AUTHORITY TO HOLD .u. -, cony^'nimon of delegates, to draw up a new rONOTUTlON R)U THE UNITED PROVINCES OF BRITISH NORTH AMERICA. -,■'!■' -•.-?*■ TORONTO: PmjSTED AT THE PATIUOT OFFICE, lONGE tiTREET. IS-iU. BltlTlSII AMLltrCAN LEAGUli. SPEECH OF J. W. GAMBLE, Esq. Saturoay Morning, Nov. Srd. Mr. Gambi.k moved hi.s third resolution, seconded by Mr. John Young, of Hamilton, as follows : — Rtiolvtd— Thai while the three remodial mcaauros, Proieetinn, Ketreuchmeut and Union, hold I'orlli by the British American Leagtie. are nianireatly tbuse belt ualculated to effuct the desired change, and restore prosperity to our drooping imerests, it is equally ap- parent that thoic luensures cannot he currind into •uccessful operation, the necessary reforms accom- plished, and a just, wise, and cheap system ol"overn- inent estahlished, without important alterations in our constitution, requiring joint and concerted action with our sister Frovinces, To this end it is expedient to obtain ihe authority of tha Legislature, for holding a General Convention of Ualegates, for the purpose of considering and preparing, in concert with Delegates from those Provinces, a new constituiion, to be attcr- wardt lubmitted for ratification to the people of Canada, and of such of the other Colonies as may decide upon acting in unison with them, preparatory to itt being brought under the cuusideratiun of the Matropolilan Government. 4t their former meeting the convention, artcr Considering the various causes that led to the depressed state of the interests of the pnivinee, and the remedies that most prominently pre- sented themselves, determined thiit they were these: protection to native industry, retrench- ment in the public expenditure, and a u.ion of the Britisli North American provinces. In those measures he most heartily concurred ; he believed then as he believed now, that if these measures were properly and efficiently carried out, they would accomplish the objects the con- vention had in view, and brin^ the country into such a state of prosperity, that when we look on the other side of the lines we shall sec nothing tt» envy. The convention havin;j done that, it seemed to him a proper course for lliem to pur- sue on the present occasion, to show the people the way in wh'cli these remedies can be car- ried out ; it was with that view that lie rnovi.'d the resolution, subsequently witlidrawn ; he trusted, however, that on rellfctinn the mem- bers of the Convention would see the propriety of re-considering that resolution, and adopting it. Rethought that the proper coprse to pur- sue would be, to endeavour to have their views reflected in the Legislature. If public opinion did not coincide with their views it was useless at present endeavouring to enlwice them, — he, lor one, had no desire to adopt other tlian con- stitutional means to attain that end ; ihe good of the country was the sole object he desired, he had no selftsli ends to gratify, — office was no consideration with liirn, he cared not a straw about it ; and though ht- luid discharged many public trusts anil duties li'iitig his life, he had never held an office of profit or emolimient, and he did not suppose he ever shuuld, but what he desired was, that he and those like him who had notliing to do with the laws but to obey them, might not be disturbed in their avo- cations by the bickerings of party, and that tht! laws might be such as to prevent one i)arty when in jMiwer from wreaking their vengeance on the parly out of power. Since the last Coti- vention he had spoken with a \aT 1iad>' of the province to which he would iefer,\vas Uie l4tli (Jeo. 111., which imposed cert a in dutiorted into this colony. For whose benefit was this law enact- ed? Not for the benefit of the people of this country, nor was that advanc«l by paying fid. a gallon nioie for siiirits liecauseit came from a loreign country instead of (ireat Britain. The law was enactetl to foster the tratle of England, to protect the carrv'Mg-trade of (ireat Britain, without any regard had to our interest. Look, then, at the British Possessions Act. That act imposed a duty of 20 per cent, on sugar, the produce of or refined in foreign countries. For whose benefit was it that Ave had to pay 20 per cent, for foreign silk and glass manufactures, while British articles of the same description paid a duty of 2^ only "? It was to secure to fjieat Britain the supplying us with those arti- cles. Next we find a duty of 15 per cent, on all oils, the produce of foreign fi.sherie8. For whose benefit was this 1 Was it not for tlie purjxise of encouraging the fishery trade of (jJreat Britain '{ But to come down to later times — the repeal of the corn laws, the sup|)o- sed causo of all our troubles. In 1825, the legislature of Great Britain passed an act, ad- mitting the importation of grain from Canaila at a fixed duty of 5s. per cpmrter. In 1841, an agitat ion was commenced in Canada, to accom- plish the free admission of our llour and grain into (ireat Britain. Gentlemen might remem- ber the petitions to the Queen and the lmj)erial legislature, that were signed by almost all from one end of the jirovince to the other, it wa.s in Lord iSydenham's time, and he forwardeil the niovement. In 1843, we obtained our re- quest ; but was it obtained because it was Ihoiigiit necessary for us, as likely to benefit us j, — or had our interests anything to do as a pro- curing cause of that measure >. Nosuch thing. It was granted because Sir Robert Peel felt that it was necessary to adopt some other system ai:ainst the fuliin.', besides that adopted in the iiiodilied corn bill of 1842, that the grain of the weslern States of America might lie introduced through ihe " liack floor of Canada," as it wiis styled by Mr. Cobden. It was not done with a vi(;vv to our benefit, but to meet 1 heir own ])articular emergency ; they felt that it was necessary to let liiod into England in some way, and they thought this a good one, and they invi- ted lis to join in it. Two or vhree years after, they determineil to do away with the corn laws altogether — did they consult our interests then'} — did they do us common justice 1 He wouM ask any gentleman acquainted with the trans- actions of that period, if they did us common jiisticf! l Whs it not perfectly competent for Sir Robert Peel, at the same moment that he did away with that protection on our products, to have done away also with the distinctive du- ties here in favour of British manufactures'? But whilst our protluce had no protection in the British market, these duties remained in force here, until the Canadian legislature at last re- pealed them. Common justice required, that wht'ii the corn laws were repealed, they should liavi; repealed these distinctive duties also, and he would go further and say the Navi- gation Laws as far as related to our sea- jKirts. |Mr. (ramble then read an extract from an anicle in the London Efonomist, 4- BRITISH AMfmiCAN LEAGUE. i admittiniG; that the British Govcrnmont had been guilty of a breach of t'ailh on the oc<"a.sioii lie re- Icrred to ; that Canada had rontriicleil a debt lo Iniild the St. Lawrence Canal on the I'uith that jnolection wonlil be continued. It was all very well alter this to lalk about " the Ibsterini,' Lc;;- islaliou of the Imperial Government." Tlutt he l)elitjved was the phrase, used in the Address adopted at the lost Convontioii, which hi; had the honor of reiK)rtin:i from the Comnittec. al- though he disaj)prov('d of the expression. To liim these acts appeared not the losterinsj; \cgis- lation of a wise )uiiH>rial (ioveniment, bii'. the acts of an luniatural parent whose intense selhsh- nes.s has bejjj^ared her otlsprinj;;. (Cheers.) — The great nn'stake whi"h has been made in this country and which tenils to lessen its produc- tion, is fbrcing too much labour into one chan- nel. The particular channel into which labour has been thrust is the productien of wheat; we pnxluce more wheal in projxJitiou lo oin- num- bers than other jieojile, and the consecjuence is that the whole production of the .country is wonderfully diminished. In support o( iliis he •would just reler to statistics pubushed by autho- rity. The whole jiroduciion of wheal in the U/iitwl States in t)ie year 1817 was U l,2-l,j,a()() busliei-j, or ."j busliels and M) parts to each hi- habitaut. At the same timi; in 1817 the quan- tity ofwhe.T.1 inoduced in Canada was 7,558, 77.S or U) bushels and -)5 parts lo euch iidiabitant. Thir. was vaultuiyly jiut forward, asshewiui: that Canada, in proportion to its extent and popula- tion, was a more agricultural country than tlie United Stales, and coidd exiwrt one half the produce yielded by its .soil. Now mark the re- sult of thus forcing our people to liecome agri- culturists — groweis of wheat. That same year, 1847, the whole (juantity of grain and potatoes grown in tlie United States was -l(i busliels anil rVii" ''^'" '^'^'■'^ inhabitant, while in Canada it was only 32 bushels and -f^-,f lor earh inhabitant. Many, many were the evils that llovved from this system of compelling |)cople. whether lilted or not for the employment, to become farmers. The artizan on reaching Canada, linding no em- ployment in that pursuit to which he has been brought up, either leaves the country lor the States or aUemi)ts lo farm ; ignorant of agri- cult\ire, and unaccustomed to lariii labour, his utmost exertions tail in procuring sufiicient for himself and lamily; little by little his means decrease, till, having exhausted all he brought with hinri; discouraged and desixinding, lie too frequently becomes a druid.ard, then an inmate ,ot the gapl and Penitentiary, unless indeed lu- nacy or jfremature death anticipate that event. We have ample means of becoming wealthy and independent, but capital will not accumu- late with us without manufactures. The reason is plain. The material used in cotton and wool- en manufactures doubles and trebles in value fronti the time it leaves the hand of the producer till it is returned to him in the .shape of cloth. The quantity of cotton consumed by the B.itish manulacturers in 18 17, estimatwl by McCidloch, was .')OU,(H*),()()() of poiuids, costing in Britain ,•$4.5,000,01)1), ibr which the planter received $35,000,000; four-finhs of this was American. The value of British cotton manuliicture in that year was iJt2,(KK),000; and the number of operatives employed .540,000. The amount of capital employed and the annual product i sj estimated to be about the same. This .shews, that alter deducting the cost of the material, the miinutacturer produced $11.5,000,000 worth of] gotxls, or $"2(56 per hand. The planter with an in- vested capital of $1 7(),0()0,00() and 250,000 hands produced $35,000,(M)0,or $1 40 per hand, she wing that |)roducing the material yielded $122 per hand le.'^s per annum ihan'manufacturing it. He had made a similar ealcidation from data ob- tained in the Provincial Statistics, which shew- ed that while the average product of each hand emi)loyed in agriculture for the year 1847 was about .iJ22 lis. 6d., that of the wool-manufac- turing o])eratives was at the rate of jEI 2(5 15s per hand. Having said this nnich. heshould now pass on to the (piestion of a union ol the Provinces, and before entering into the sid)ject itself he would say a few words with regard to the report of ! the meeting ol Delegates in Montreal, that had been laid on the table^last evening, and for which considerablt- blame wiis thrown u])on some one : lie (Mr. G.) did not deny that blame existed, but he woulil take the opportunity of saying that none of it belonged lo hiin, althougli he was one of the committee appointed at the Kingston Convention, ft would be recollected that at the tinii! he strongly urged u{)on the gentlemen to whom the matter was entmstrtl, the absolute necessity of writing to New Bnui-swick, Nova .Scotia and the other provinces, to obtain all the statistical information possible, in order that they might have .something to act upon ; he urged that the Delegates from the other provin- ces should be re(|uested to bring such statistics as they could get of their Inuh;, resources, and othi!r matters which should have formed part of the re}V)rt now laid on the table. From the time ho left Kingston he heard nothing of the meet- ing of Delegates till he received a notice on the evening of the lOlh of Oct., that the meeting was to take ))lace on the 12fh. He immediately set out, and reached ]VIontreal on the morning of the 1.3th, when the meeting was over ; the gentlemen did him the kindness to re-assemble and talk the matters over, but they had agreed to the proi)ositions thai had been submitted to tjie Convention, and he (Mr. (r.) assented also after hearing them read, but was not satisfied that the matter should end there. He went down prepared to see what arrangement could be made, but he found that the gentlemen from New Brunswick had no authority to agree to anything. He for one could not see any insurmountable difficulty in carrying out such a union as that proposed, a federal union, hut he could see vast benefits that would arise to all parti<.s out of a close and intimate union. These provinces .might Ibrm the nucleus of a great and mighty nation. When he looked to the vast extent of territory, and natural resour- ces that the connection would give us, the inex- haustible treasures of coal, the fisheries and tim- ber ol the other provinces, he was convince^ SPEECH OF J. W. GAMBLE, ESQ. IS Americnn. nutacture in the number The amount il prfKltipt i Bl This shews, material, the •00 worth of r with an in- :50,()()() hands land, she wiiijo; ed $122 per uriiijj it. He om data ob- which shew- of each hand ar 1817 was (X)l-mannfac- £120 15s per mid now pass 'r(>vinces,and ,'ir he would the report of •oal. that had and for which lon some one : amn existed, lily of saying liou^h he was the Kingston ected tiiat at he gentlemen I, the absolute swick, Nova obtain all the in order that >ct upon ; he other provin- such statistics resources, and ormed part of ^rom the time of the meet- notice on the the meeting ' iaimediately the morning [is over ; the i re-assemble ■y had agreed submitted to assented also 5 not satisfied ;. He went rement could i gentlemen authority to ould not see carrying out etleral union, would arise mate union, nucleus of a le looked to iiral resour- us, the inex- ries and tim- s convinced [wit nothing but a wise system and policy was kecessary to make us a great and pr<»spfMdus heople, and if we could only draw rioselyai nuid ns the bands of union, we sho^ild soon b«! cna- pled to stand on our own feet, and maintniii our x^sition and rights among the nations ot the vorld. He would carry out the proposed union on Jhe veiy principle on which the new Municipal let is based — that same a(!t alluded to and con- ilemned by two gentlemen of the ('onvention as uncalled tor anil useless ; those gentlemen, how- 5ver, had admitted nevei- having read il — the katne act that, when notice was given of it in pe Legislature, he himself, with the rest of tlie !:!ouncil ol this District, had declared against, as not required by the people, and which he feared Ss emanating Irom those deemed visionaries, [ind imjmicticable — that same act, having now closely examined, he felt convinced was the greatest Xumn ever conferred u|)on Canada by Its Legislature — it was based upon the great principle of concentration as opposed to centra- lization, the foiuidation of good and lasting gov- ernment ; a government that could never break flown, because it would be nwted in the hearts of th(! people ; the power of governing theirown ^ocal affairs is fully conceded to the people by that act. Although he believed it to be a little In advance of the times here, he was satis/ieil [hat nothing but goml could redoumi from it. — This was the principle on whit'h he would base ^le projK)st'd union, and he would state to the convention, as briefly as possible, the general outline of the plan upon which iie proposed to ftccomplisli it. The act he had mentioned found khe |M'0]ile of this Province desirous ot associat- ing in little communities for purjioses in which ill were interested, and it gave them the power lo associati; i()r those purj)oses : enter, for in- Btance, one of the farm-houses in the township from whicli he came, and what will you find Jhere 't The owner of the household turning his ey^s inwards ; his wife, his children , his farm, lis cattle, and his house stfind first in his thoughts, ill these he finds his happiness ; bui if from wliat appeared such selfishness we con- clude that man incapable of associating with his "allows, because his thoughts were concentrated upon home, we would be greatly mistaken ; he Jiscusses with his immediate neighbours the Baying out and improving of roads, the institu- of schools, required by his children, the ar- mgement of the little village, and the necessary Icontributions for those purposes: then he com- |bines with more distant neighbours for main- taining roads he sometimes uses, the support of Igrammar schools, the maintenance of security Ito person and property, the settlement of differ- lences, and the regulation of matters of general jiriterest, by which he may at times be affected. [First, there is the home, then the home of the llitlle community, then the home of the several [communities — two more swec'ps of the circle, leach time with increased diameter, and you (have the home of the Province, and then the I home of several Provinces ; witli each step the [tendency to luiion will ho found to spread. Tn ;the event of a federal union, Canada might bo divided into three Provinces — East, Central, and West (Canada ; tlien we should have New IJiuiiswick, Nova .Scotia, Newfoundland, and Prince Kdwaril Island, in all 7 provinces, unitwl in one confederacy. Such an union he felt sat- isfied would contribute to the welfare of the whole, and enable us at the same time to con- tinue the connexion with Great Britain, and have the British flag still waving over us. Kach province should exercise sovereign power with- in itself, except 'n those cases where it is ex- pressly specified. With Great Britain should remain the jiower of legislating on those sub- jects, which concern the honour of the Empire, namely, allegiance to the Crown, treaties with any foreign power, commercial treaties except- ed, political intercourse between any foreign |)ower and the (-oloiiy, employment, command and discipline of her .Vlajesty's troops, and ships within the (/olony, and defence of the Colony from trueign aggression, including the command of the militia and marine in time of war, and whatever relates to the crime of high treason. To the confederation he would cede the power to levy duties, which duties should be uniform throughout Ihe confederation, and be divided ain(;iig th(! several |>rovinccs in proportion to Ihe amount payable upon the articles subject to su(;h duties im|K)rted into each respectively — to borrow money on the credit of the confederation — to legulcite commerce with Great Britain, foreign nations, and among the several provin- ces — to establish unilbrm laws of naturali/.ation and of bankruptcy — to coin money, regulate its value and that of foreign coin — to provide for the punishment of counterfeiting the coin or securities of the confederation — to fix the stand- ard of weights and measures — to establish jiost offices and post roads — to provide for the issu- ing of patents — to provide for the punish- ment of piracies and felonies committed on the high seas, and offences against the law of natior.s — to provide for calling out the militia to execute the laws of the confederation and sup- press insurrection — to make regulations affect- ing emigrants from Great Britain and foreign countries, and to impose a tax thereon — legislate on all subjects relating to the internal commu- nication of Canada, by its lakes, rivers and ca- nals, and to establish a tribunal for the decision of questions arising from alleged infringements of the rights reserved to either party, somewhat similar to the Supreme Court in the Unitetl States. These matters provided for, he could see no difficulty about the plan — each part of the confederation would be able to make its own laws, to carry out its own views, and pursue the course it deems most for its interest, with Free Trade between all the provinces. A union of this kind would leave the people nothing to desire from annexation, because, in a few years, this country would be in quite as prosperous a state as the other side of the lines ; by this means we should be securetl from that which is no longer to be endured. Downing Street rule ; whether it was want of inclination or want of knowledge, the results to us were alike, our interests were neglected, the ignorance of th BRITISH AMERICAN LEAGUE. I H! Ii ; Oolonial Offirp wtm provorbi;.!— it m as not an jiffair ofytsl^^rduy. H«' it;in('inl)i'i<'(l an an»'c- dolf, reconled l»»'li)n' Im? was lM)rn : — An Kn;{- lisli gentleman (lesirt<ii<;s to I at it' iiiiscs IIS t i,iriis(!s iiitol o lilies cvi'iyl ill III niak-l iioic liistin;; ;| to our l)i'stl lii^hlcsL pros- 1 to iiiiike man DM i'iirth, and I uii u principlf .>*j)h(!rf'8, and | aiL' provided. ])i(iirn'HS, as a I (I .soul, every d tliosc jinitlo-j ) \\[i' pro.si.'iit I sort of (ixt'd vcrdtipart , un!] Wv iimst inakf stiiiiccs (il iht' liist of lli(;se itil'y th(! piT.-joii the iiiti'icsus ir,h divine right ofi of the country j icessary. The t constituted, is j le Legislature, o. He wished be secured due itivo tendency ; SPEECH or J. W. GAMBLE, HStJ, Lr while hu desired to go forward luid jiiogress Jith the spirit of the iigi', he also desired ih.itthat [tirit might be kept Irom riiiiiiing rampant hy lose. checks common to free iiislitiilions. 'That ^as tilt! object lit! suiighl toiiviiiiiie.iuidthey who jreed with him would go tor an elective Legis- tivt! Council. LChiMMH.) There wfMe other M'orins mii(;h ni'eded — those ol (iiuuict! wen; |i»t the only ones re(|uired, and none moie so fian with reijard to the legal pr.ifessioii. [Hi'ar. r'ar. ] For a long period, a large propoiiion ol le Legislature Ims been composed of the meiri- ursofthat jirofessioii, and lh,;y have iK.'dged it Dund in such ii way ;is lo foriu a perfi.'cl mono- j|y; they have appropriated large sums of the iblic money l()r the purpose of b(;iie(ittiug hose at the head of the profession, that when tieir members have got worn out in the service, (ley may have a comlbrtable shlitical friends, and that the amoiini of money ex|M>iuled in this way wim very great. Kor his \miI, being desirous of iisceitaiiiiiig the truth (ti thes| tons, of which -^OOU.UUU belong to Great Bri{ tain, and 3,(M)(),()()0 to the United Statea, th other 3,0(KMXK) are owned by tlie various otlieJ nations of the world ; now of the 4,UU(),000 toii( that l per annum, he would give him $2,000." ■i I ■' If < r , •' ,;.:«.* t ■ ', !, '. ' > .