IMAGE EVALUATION TEST TARGET (MT-S) 1.0 I.I ■^ !■■ 111112 2 ^ 14.0 1.25 2£ 1.8 U ill 1.6 •^ O^M "W PhotoOTanhic Scmces Corooration 23 WEST MAIN STREET WEBSTER, N.Y. 14580 (716) 873-4503 CIHM/ICMH Microfiche Series. CIHIVI/ICMH Collection de microfiches. Canadian Institute for Historical Microreproductions/ Institut Canadian de microreproductions historiques rA.v «^ Technical and Bibliographic Notes/Notes techniques et bibliographiques Thee to th( The Institute has attempted to obtain the best original copy available for filming. Features of this copy which may be bibliographically unique, which may alter any of the images In the reproduction, or which may significantly change the usual method of filming, are checked below. □ Coloured covers/ Couvertura de couieur I ■ Covers damaged/ n Couverture endommagde Covers restored and/or laminated/ Couverture restaur^e et/ou pelliculde □ Cover title missing/ Letit itre de couverture manque □ Coloured maps/ Cartes gtiographiques en couieur D D D D D r .'oured ink (i.e. other than blue or black)/ Encre de couieur (i.e. autre que bleue ou noire) Coloured plates and/or illustrations/ Planches et/ou illustrations en couieur Bound with other material/ Relii avec d'autres documents Tight binding may causa shadows or distortion along interior margin/ Lareliure serree peut causer de I'ombre ou de la distorsion le long de la marge interieure Blank leaves added during restoration may appear within the text. Whenever possible, these have been omitted from filming/ II se peut que certaines page.i blanches ajout^es lors d'une restauration apparaissent dans le texte, mais, lorsque cela 6tait possible, ces pages n'ont pas iti film^es. Additional comments:/ Commentaires suppl^mentaires; L'Institut a microfilme le meilleur exemplaire qu'il lui a ete possible de se procurer. Les details de cet exemplaire qui sont peut-dtre uniques du point de vue bibliographique, qui peuvent modifier •jne image reptoduite, ou qui peuvent exiger une modification dans la m^thode normale de filmage sont indiqu^s ci-dessous. □ Coloured pages/ Pages de couieur □ Pages damaged/ Pages endommagees D Pages restored and/or laminated/ Pages restaur^es et/ou p«»lliculees The! possi of th filmii Origl begii the li sion, othei first sion, or illi I T-'^ages discoloured, stained or foxed/ ' ^ Pages ddcolordes, tacheteas ou piquees n Pages detached/ Pages detachees r~~>^Showthrough/ I I Transparence □ Quality of print varies/ Quality inegale de I'impression □ Includes supplementary material/ Comprend du materiel supplementaire □ Only edition available/ Seule Edition disponible D The I shall TINL whic Map diffe entir begii right requ met^ Pages wholly or partially obscured by errata slips, tissues, etc., have been refilmed to ensure the best possible image/ Les pages totalement ou partiellement obscurcies par un feuillet d'errata. une pelure, etc., cnt it6 film^es d nouveau de facon a obtenir \c meiileure image possible. This item is filmed at the reduction ratio checked below/ Ce document est filmii au taux de reduction indiqu^ ci-dessous. 10X 14X 18X 22X 26X 30X 12X 16X :7r 20X 24X 28X 32X The copy filmed here ha', been reproduced thanks to the generosity of: Metropolitan Toronto Library Canadian History Department The images appearing here are the best quality possible considering the condition and legibility of the original copy and in keeping with the filming contract specifications. L'exemplaire film6 fut reproduit grAce A la gAnArosit* de: IMetropolKan Toronto Library Canadian History Department Les images suivantes ont 6x6 reproduites avec le plus grand soin, compte tenu de la condition at de la nettetd de l'exemplaire film6, et en conformity avec les conditions du contrat de filmage. Original copies in printed paper covers are filmed beginning with the front cover and ending on the last page with a printed or illustrated impres- sion, or the back cover whan appropriate. All other original copies are filmed beginning on the first page with a printed or illustrated impres- sion, and ending on the last page with a printed or illustrated impression. Les exemplaires originaux dont la couverture en papier est imprimde sont filmds en commenpant par le premier plat et en terminant soit par la dernidre page qit\ CGmporte une empreinte d'impression ou d'illustration, soit par le second plat, salon le cas. Tous les autres exemplaires originaux ffont filmds en commenpant par la premidre page qui comporte une empreinte d'impression ou d'illustration et en terminant par la dernidre page qui comporte une telle empreinte. The last recorded frame on each microfiche shall contain the symbol —^' (meaning "CON- TINUED"), or the symbol V (meaning "END "), whichever applies. Un des symboles sulvants apparattra sur la dernidre image de cheque microfiche, selon le cas: le symbols -^ signifie "A SUIVRE", le symbols V signifie "FIN". Maps, plates, charts, etc., may be filmed at different reduction ratios. Those too large to be entirely included in onp exposure are filmed beginning in the uppp^* left hand corner, left to right and top to bottom, as many frames as required. The following diagrams illustrate the method: Les cartes, planches, tableaux, etc., peuvent dtre filmds d des taux de reduction diffdrents. Lorsque le document est trop grand pour dtre reproduit en un seul clichd, il est filmd 6 partir de Tangle supdrieur gauche, de gauche d droite, et de haut en bas, en prenant le nombre d'images ndcessaire. Les diagrammes suivants illustrent la mdthode. 1 2 3 1 2 3 4 5 6 m «)..' TO THE KIGHT HON. i0. G. STAIVLEY His ih'itfisty'i Principal Secretary of State for the Colonies, BY AN EMIGRANT. MONTREAL: MAIICH, 1834. i ro With Mr. Thom's respects. MOMTREAt, 23d ArRii., l^»t. Sir, The pre of Lower with coii8( to the colo The con agree in lu to iiail his liament an are respect rally, of inhabitants division, li )le to exc< e found ii '•d{ the tnos arly of lat Thus far ivision is ual compc y examine liflFerent, lumbers a! ipparent ti najority o vhich, unl i definite he symbo ority of t f the Leg f the oti ave a coll Assembly le respecl radical < Ion ; and it, not That lb r TO THE RIGHT HON. E. G. STANLEY, His Majesty's Principal Secretary of State for the Colonies. Sir, The present crisis in tJie poliiioal aflfairs of Lower Canada is confessedly pregnant with consequences vitally important both to the colony and to the empire. The contending parties, which, if they agree in nothing else, have at least agreed to liail his Majesty anil the Imperial Par- liament as the arbiters of their dispntes, are respectively composed, to speak gene- rally, of the French Canadians and the inhabitants of British origin. But this division, like most general divisions, is lia- »le to exceptions. A few Britons are to e found in the Canadian ranks ; and many uf the most respectable Canadians, particu- larly of late years, have joined the jiritons. Thus far will every one admit that the ivision is nominally correct ; but the ac- ual composition of the parties, when close- y examined, will be discovered to be very liflFerent, and to turn the scale as well of lumbers as of intelligence in favour of the ipparent minority. We may consider the najority of the Assembly — an expression, vhich, unfortunately for this province, has definite and permanent signification as he symbol of the one party, and the mi- ority of that body and the great majority f the Legislative Council as the symbols f the other. But as minorities cannot ave a collective opinion, let us take the Assembly and the council as the symbols of le respeciive parties. The former demands adical change in the provincM constitu- on ; and the latter deprecates #very change J it, not dictated by practical necessity. That the latter speaks the sentiments of Montreal, March, Ih3'l. the Britons is a fact, that has neither bet n denied njr doubted; but that the former expresses the wishes of the Canadians is an assertion atVariance as well with exist- ing documents, as with the general cha. racter of that loyal and primitive people- Seven years, Sir, have scarcely elapsed, since eighty-seven thousand petitioners,com- prehendlng perhaps every male adult of French origin in the province, solemnly avowed their inviolable attachment to the provincial constitution in all its parts ; and though the Speaker of the Assembly has since assumed to himself the credit of poli- tical hypocrisy in his share of the solemn avowal, his unblushing baseness has not yet found a mirror in the breasts of his vir- tuous and religious compatriots. There is not the slightest proof that the constituet;- cies, which returned the revolutionary members of assembly, participate in the novel opinions of their representatives ; and it would be truly a reversal of the fashion- able system of pledges to make the will of the electors in all respects subservient to the will of the delegates. When the pro- vincial assembly, which, if not dissolved, must soon die a natural death, was chosen by the suffrages of the people, the proposed changes in the provincial constitution, hav- ing been neither divulged nor meditated, could not have been anticipated by the unsuspecting constituents of the framers of the ninety two resolutions. But the evi- dence is not merely of a negative character. Many respectable individuals and bodies that had pre iously supported the meaMUCR J I of the Assembly, liave publicly disavowod nil participation in the Npirit and principles of the ninety two resohitions ; while not one of all the meetings called to approve the condnct of the Assembly has consisted of any thing more than a miserable minority of the qualified electors of each of the respec- tive districts. So repugnant, indeed, to all change however specious are the contented and happy Canadians, that, if they could but clearly see through the revolutionary designs of their pretei (led friends, they would almost to a man rango themselves on the side of the isupporters of existing instittjtions. Under these circumstances the threaten- ed appeal to physical force, embodied in some of the Assembly's resolutions, be- comes simply ridiculous; and his Majesty's Government and the Imperial Parliament, tinawed by the empty menaces of an ambi- tious faction, will of course follow the great principles of the British constitution, modi- fied by the peculiar circumstances of so valuable a colonv. It is, however, of im- portance to reflect that, though the factious democrats cainiot rouse the peaceable and loyal population to any active measures of a revolutionary character, they will proba- bly, by their unexampled perseverance and by their indifference to the means of victo- ry, retaitj a decided ascendancy in the house of assembly. Where electors cannot be cajoled, the representative of their free choice is seduced. In one county, that of Rouviile, the party has been twice defeated within the past year; but it has cunningly turned its defeat into a victory by enslaving the representatives of a constituency free and indepf.'udent. With these indubitable facts before it, the supreme legislature cannot look with a very favourable eye on the demands of the assembly, embodied in the ninety two re- solutions and in the addresses founded on them ; and if the loyal inhabitants entertain any fears as to the result, they derive them rom the suspicion that the value of Lower Canada, as a colonial dependency of Bri tain, is not fully appreciated by the peopl of the United Kingdom and the Imperia Parliament. anadian s ies would sheries, tl' The lavish generosity of former year '^'"^"» ^'« towards the Canadas, which may seem t( '® oritish belie such a suspicion, has in truth led t( ^^ coast o hasty and erroneous comparisons of tin '® ^^'T ^^ value and the cost of these two colonies " quarters and has gradually engendered among tin '^ '* '^^^^^ economical politicians, opinions adverse t( ^'P'RE ai the retention of the colonies generally bj ^^^ ^^ ^ the mother country. But far higher con. ^^^ ^ ' siderations, than those of a temporary eco- "^nce of ^ nomy, are involved in the question. Witl '"•^^ca i the colonies must fall foreign trade ; with ''"& Brita foreign trade must fall maritime supremacy, e^'haps ^^ for the coasting trade, the only other nurse- '?**^" ^'^^ ry of a navy, bids fair to be in a great mea- sighbourt sure superseded by the safer and more ^"^^ &E expeditious system of rail roads. *'''"6» ^^ In a moral view the possession of colo- fospect o nies is inestimable, as holding out peculiar '^"^^ Britf inducements to enterprise and ambition, ^''' -A meri( which becoming contagious preserve the^^^ ^^''» ' national character from stagnation. Aj" , *"3n i country without colonies may be compared to the Caspian, dull and dead for want of an outlet ; while another, more fortunate in the possession of distant settlements, resembles the inland seas of America, feeding in the full flow of pride and majesty the mighty stream that wafts their redun- dant waters to the Ocean. But without entering more largely into the general question, it is obvious that Lower Canada, if not in herself the most valuable of the British colonies, involves in her fate political and commercial conse- quences of incalculable magnitude. A glance at the map is sufficient to shew, that, if Lower Canada be lost, Upper Ca imagine, ates arbit Gcially h ctions m ible line anent set w basis conflictii without requires a proplu . Lawre rior toth ighty sys 1 Britaic she the nada cannot be retained; while thesupposed '^ch as w interests of all parties and the contagious nature of political passions would sooa tempt the lower colonies of New Bruns- wick, Nova Scotia, and Newfoundland to follow in the revolutionary wake of their e speedy d may h ist by thi e perpeti ipire,feri d puwer piidencv of Bri hI by tlie peopl 'anailia'! si;^tprs. Tlip loss of these colo- Lud the Imnerit '^^ would involvt' the loss of the valuable sheries, the most prolific nursery of hardy f)f former vear -^'"*n» ^'"1 would thus not merely deprive eh may seem t( '^ British fleets of a friendly shelter on 1 in truth led toT^ coast of North America, but would sap nparisons of tin '^ ^^^T strength of the Briti ih Navy in se two colonies " quarters of the world. Lowkr Cana- ered amon"- th( ^ '* '•'"''^ Keystone of the colonial nions adverse t( •"^•p'RE and of the maritime supre- ies I'enerally bv^^^ ^^ the United Kingdom. far hii^her con' ^^^ ^ most important political conse- i temporary eco- "^^ce of the independence of British question. Wit! '"•^'ica is that, besides positively crip- sign trade; with ''"? ^'''**'i"> it would negatively do so to itime supremacy, ei(iaps as great an extent by relieving the )nly other nurse- ^"^*^^ States from their only formidable B in a f'reat mea- sighbourand doubling the political strength safer and more • ^^^^^ gigantic republic. The Union, it loads. true, cannot Inst forever, but the very isession of colo- fospect of a speedy dissolution should ing out peculiar ^^^^ Britain cling with tenfold tenacity to J and ambition, ^''' American colonies. When the Union IU9 preserve theM^ ^^'^ t''*^ crash will be much great stagnation. A ' lay be compared lead for want of more fortunate ant settlements, IS of America, iride and majesty \h% their redun- lore largely into is obvious that lerself the most jnies, involves in nmercial conse- magnitude. A ficient to shew, ost, Upper Ca- than unreflecting men are willing imagine. It will be dissolved not into ates arbitrarily and in mauy instances ar- Gcially bounded, but into geographical ctions marked out by the strong and in- ible lines of nature herself; andthe per- anent settlement of the country on this w basis and the thorough amalgamation conflicting interests can hardly be achiev- without the horrors of anarchy and war. requires not the supernatural intelligence a prophet to foresee that the basin of the . Lawrence from the head of Lake Su- riortothe Atlantic Ocean will form one ighty system, federative or consolidated ; d Britain by her power and her influence, she then retain the Canadas, may do hilethesupposed '^ch as well for her own interests as for e speedy adjustment of local differences, d may hold, if not by direct authority, at ist by the moral obligation of gratitude, B perpetual alliance and friendship of an ipire, fertile, extensive, populous, wealthy d puwerfuL i the contagious )n9 would ROOD of New Bruns- ewfoundland to Y wake of their It is prol)able, however, that the econo- mical politicians may attach iHoro impor- tance to the commercial than to the politi- cal results of Canadian independerce. Tho trade of Canada confessedly employs a very large portion of British shipping, and, being susceptible of indefinite extension, will en)ploy from year to year a still larger portion. By an adequate improvement ot the navigation of the St. Lawrence, and by a judicious and liberal system of tolls, the Canadas, without permanently sacrificing a shilling, can concentrate in Montreal, which is destined to be the largest city in the new world, the trade of the whole basin of the St. Lawrence and the lakes. For man^' years at least this trade Avould be carrieif on in the ships of the domestic empire, for vessels, though built and registered ire Canada, cannot winter in the river undei the penalty of being crushed by the forma- tion or the removal of the ice. With the raw materials of shipping, growing almost; as weeds, this country cannot aspire, with- out very lavish expenditure on docks and basins, to stand high among the shipping powers of the world. But were the Canadas independent, they would undoubtedly, like all other nations but England, attach a national importance to the possession of a mercantile navy, and would, from political motives, cheerfully undergo an expense, which^ perhaps on merely commercial principles, would be scouted as unprofitable and unproductive. Not merely does Canada employ the ship- ping of the mother country, and that portion of it too, which is unfit for any thing but the timber trade ; but by that trade she supplies the United Kingdom with navul stores, the sinews of its security and ita grandeur. Much has been spoken and written against the encouragement of the timber trade, in regard to its bearing botk on the mother country and the colony. So far as the mother country is concerned the objections are purely economical, and if admitted in their full force, cannot be V,- V: 6 ■ •llowod to ovei>»lia(low tlie hvfore mention- ed political advantages. Self-preservation i.s tlie first hW of tlie body politic as well an of the body natural. Tlie objections against tbe timber trade, as it bears on the colony, are cbicfly of a moral character. It is not to be supposed that wood cutters are paragons of tempe- rance andcliastity : but if every department of commerce, that has an immoral tendency, is to be abandoned, a dangerously wide jsap will be made in the trade of the world. The argument against the lumber trade is neither more rior less than the fallacious principle of the temperance society, that of confounding a thing with the abuse of it. On the subject of the timber trade I have been, perhaps unnecessarily diffuse from a sen$ic of its vast i.Tiportance in promoting the agricultural interests of the Canadas and in relieving the United Kingdom from the pressure of a redundant population IJeing the only kind of manufacture, if I may so speak, it gives rise to consumers of agricultural produce, and being pursued on the farther verge of civilization, carries a market to the doors of the remotest settlers. Being almost the only species of rural em- ployment, that can afford to bear the l)igb wages of hired servants, it has enabled many an industrious emigrant to accumu- late the means of clearing and cultivating a farm of his own and of thus extending the triumph of art over the wilds of nature. — But the most important feature in the timber trade is that by raising the bulk of the homeward freights far beyond that of the outward ones, it gives a large majority of vessels the alternative of losing half the Atlantic trip in ballast or of carrying emi- grants at an almost nominal charge. Thus are almost realised the ancient fables of Deucalion and Cadmus, for forests are endowed with vitality, and slain frees are converted into the living limbs of human beings, free, industrious and hapj)y. The timber trade furnishes the finest and most ratifying illustration of the beneficial in- fluence* of commerce. Men and tree«, which are actually drugs in their respective soils of Britain and Canada, Ix'come. when exchanged, the conquerors of unreclaimemmerce Such b( ng conn( id to th iportanc innexion iperial ] anada. ma and k 'n and trpps, heir resppctivo I)d foreign ser- th her present nearly nominal the connexion inently ad van - olemn guaran- lat their privi- or their insti- is an undeni- 1 privileges and r wrong, souml h little sympa- "F ihy and little indulirence from a legislature composed as the majority of any federative legislature would f)e, of colonists of i^ritish extraction. That the nationality of the French Canadians should bo rendered sys- tematic and permanent, is neither to be loped nor expected; but it is highly desirable that, if it is to dwindle away, it shouhl be silently and slowly absorbed, and not violated by any sudden and unhallowed interference of contemptuous brethren of a lifferent race and of different habits. Of ill his Majesty's subjects the Canadians, vho are sincerely attache J to the laws aud he religion of their forefathers, are bound )y interest to be the most loyal and most "aithful. Nor are they bound more strongly )y interest than by gratitude — havinji, been lelivered by the /British arms from intole- able thraldom, and raised to the rank, for high rank it is, of a jBritish colony. How ir have the colonies of /Britain outstript in ommercial and political prosperity those f any other nation. Tne second state in le world is a confederation of British co- mies ; and it is a proud boast for England lat, while the far older colonies of Spain nd Portugal were pining in unhealthy ifancy, the American plantations had been pened and hardened into mature and vi- orous manhood. Nor are the Australa- an colonies and Upper Canada less ho- orah'e to the national character; and if ower Canada has not drunk of the same ill tide of prosperity, she has to blame her 'alous and systematic ejtclusion of British dll, capital and enterprize. But yet in bspite of herself has she prospered, having creased more rapidly in population and >mmerce than the neighbouring republic. Such being the advantages of the subsis- ng connexion both to the mother country id to the colony, it is a matter of vital iportance that the continuance of that iimexion should form the main object of iperial legislation in regard to Luwer inada. Any proposition, however spe- ms and beautiful, that may tend to dis- solve or weakt^n that connexion, ehonld be unhesitatingly rejected. It cannot, Sir, be necessary to apprise one who has read the absurd and almost rebellious resolutions of the assembly, that the concession of the demands of that body would lead to the dismemberment of the empire. The fra- mers, it is true, threaten a revolt in case of a rejection of their unreasonable and un- constitutional demands; but this, as I have attempted to shew, is a ridiculous bravado, and the real danger arises not from rejection but from concession. Tiie substitution of an elective council, of which the majority would be identical in principle and conduct with the majority of the assembly, must necessarily concen trate a double portion of legislative power in the hands o'' the present dominant party and leave the British population defenceless. Of this I shall hereafter speak more fully ; and I now enter on a brief review of the more recent proceedings of the assembly with the view of considering whether they have been such as to make it a safe depositary of a double share of legislative authority. This body was constituted by act of the British Parliament, and by that act alone must its powers and privileges be regulated and defined. On this point, Sir, you have, in yourlate admirable despatches, mad<» 3ry dangerous concessions by seeming to ac- knowledge an analogy and equality be- tween the privileges of the Assembly and those of the House of Commons. 'Now the Assembly by the constitutional act is invested simply with legislative powers, precisely similar to those of the co.orf its legislative 3 rein and then i career. The Canada enjoys notion sufiici' >f seems gradu- ;eral a meaning OB. The con- i British one ; t'le parallel of e council of the jovernor of his isions must all are all equally hich the assem- id various. So surpations of a permitted, that confined itself isive privileges I, and has even lent itself, ixercises, by its ice of tne con- pelling trouble- ome associates. Like that august body it las exalted its own resolutions to the rank f laws, thus denouncing the Upper House 8 useless if not dangerous. Like that ugust body it has grasped the executivo owera of government, by presuming to ismiss meritorious and unpaid public ser- ants. Like that august body it has pre- umed to sit in judgment on the chief ma- istrate of the country. Like that august ody it has virtually dethroned its sovereign y giving him the choice between a volun- iry and a compulsory renunciation of is supreme power. With regard to the assumed power of cpulsion, the argument, if the constitu- onal act is to be our guide, is a very brief le. That act provides for the filling or a icancy, caused by death or promotion to le Upper House, and has not anticipated cpulsiou as a cause of a vacancy. If erefore the power of expulsion be for the ,ke of argument conc:eded, ihe constitu- onal act would leave the seat empty for le remainder of the parliament ; and thus r the fault, real or supposed, of a mem- sr, a constituency might be disfranchised r the space of four years. It is not ne- issary to enter into the merits of the ge- jral question ; it is sufficient to show that e privilege, so far from being sanctioned r law, violates the only law that has any ferenco to the subject. Why the Gover- )r has issued any writs in defiance of the )nstitutional act, it is not my purpose to quire. Connected with the sulyect of ex- ilsion, as proceeding from the same wan- n tyranny of a majority over a minority, the more important subject of a quorum. ere again the despotic majority has acted )t merely without the sanction of the con- itutional act but in violation of its express '■ovisions. That act positively declares at every question shall be decided by a ajority of those who shall be present — eaning, of course, those who shall be esent at every meeting called according ordinary forms. Can any thing be more explicit than this ? I take the law as I find it, and can discover no authority for saying that twenty or thirty or forty members are nut competent to act. But if we look at the abstract merits of the case, the necessity of a quorum is not very obvious, for tho triple check in each of two separate branches, tho decision of the governor and, if deemed necessary, the subsequent decision of hi** Majesty form altogether an ample guaran- tee against the carrying of any measure by surprise. Tiie quorum in the House of Commons is merely nominal, being rather less than a sixteenth part of the wholo body ; while in the assembly it amounts to more nian the half of the effective members. The aim and end of such a restriction are quite consistent with tho general spir:* ot the dominant party. It paralyses ^ijc iti- nority, encroaches on the legislative coun- cil, and usurps the governor's prerogative of prorogation. When the terms majoriU/ and minority are almost as distinct as the terms assembly and council, the majority in order to render every effort of its oppo- nents or rather of its victims piactically pow- erless, has merely to determine that the quorum shall be one more than thd double of the minority — a compendious method of expelling the minority in a block. If the dominant party were reduced to forty five out of the eighty eight, there is not the slightest doubt that they would declare eighty seven to be a quorum. The quorum, moreover, seriously affects the independenct' of the Council, and pro tanto renders it a registrator of the decrees of the assembly. As many bills as possible are kept back till the approaching close of the Session ban thinned the Lower House below the re- quired quorum ; and the council has no choice between passing them as they are oi incurring the odium of entire rejection by the slightest amendment. The approaching close of the Session alluded to might be supposed to depend on the Governor ; but it is really and truly fixed by their high mightinesses of the dominant faction. 10 Some eiglit or ten membpi's of it go liome, to break up the House anH, that their motives may not be misunderstood, they uniformly resistall the previous attempts of the enslaved minority to reduce the num- ber of the all-powerful quorum. The past Session was literally broken up not by the Governor but by the dominant majority of the assembly. But not merely has the dominant party thus endeavoured to paralyse and annihilate the minority of the Assembly, and to se- cure to itseif the whole of the legislative power of that body. It has, also, endea- vonrad to grasp the corresponding powers of the co-ordinate branches of tbe legisla- ture. By the arbitrary and factious de- termination of a quorvm, we have already shewn that it has negatively encroached on the constitutional rights of those other bran- ches ; and you are well aware. Sir, that its encroachments have not been merely of a negative character. After having often at- tempted in vain to liave a law passed for sen(linle," the fifty 'u\ d pronounce ex mi> ^ i * n u • » •! » . ^. . 1 his remark naturally bnngs us to consider peop e w ^jjg assembly's assumption of judicial pow- mate y expressed r ', , . ^c- <• n . •^ ' . jrs. I would again, Su-, respectfully urge m Its represenla- ,. ".■ i ^ . / & .' . J )a your notice the danqrerous, rp. pndency of a mixture of legislative powers ny means of "le- y kind or degree lisloyal and most Such mental ty- enmlation of an , . . J ^.. j»,-. notice the danp:erou8, the fatal i;al maxim ^ ^i\ A Vl" ^'*'' ^"y other powers whatever. Legisla- ^** '® ^ ^ ive powers of themselves, when unmodified ind unchecked, verge so closely on despot- sm, as implying a superiority to the law tself, that the aim of a people, zealous for he freedom of itself and its posterity, jhould be to hedge and fence them within P°** . jhe narrowest limits. In all well regulated ;e8sary to P'^J^^^Lvernments accordingly, these powers rations the tact t^^ ^^gg^^ ^j^j^j^j ^^^^^ different bodies; r become things. ,,j ^j^^. ^^^^ ^^ the executive, as the natural n o the assom- u^rdian and representative of the law, has Ly the monstrous ,ai,ectly subjected to the law even the t It may be ne- Ugjature itself. If in Great Britain time a very plausible ^^ sanctioned and hallowed the intermix- ded on a miscon- ^^^ ^f legislative and other powers in the presentative i ^^ ^^^^^^^ ^^ Parliament, it is not at all subject slightly ; ^ggssary that an example, confessedly bad I impressed by a ^ p^.j„j.ij,^ ^i^^^,^, ^^^ introduced into a consequences m ^^ country and under a new constitutipn; influence on this ^^f j,,^ ^^^^ dangerous of all possible I must crave your L^^j^j^^j.gg^ that of the judicial and lonalooservations.Ljgj^jj^g powers, should be studiously the extension oF^ij^ J j„ l^^^^. q^^^^^^ Not merely from a special {^,^,^1 g,^^j^ jn, and m thus 1 intermixture alarmingly , icrease the powers of a factious democracy sembly not merely juitwouldultimately afTectthepurityofju. •the constituents, ^-^^^ decisions and the soundness of leiris- tive enactments.The two branches of pow- would ultimately become so commingled. rpart of them m rhe assembly, ac- 8 of tlie coiistitu- ^^ ^ gyg^gjj, ^f ^^ p^^^ ^^^^^^ jj^^g^ -^^^ ive organ of the „ „» «„„« ^e ♦i,^ ;.wi":„:„i „.,.i i :„i„.:.. srnor is an cxecu- if King's bench a g at once of the judicial and legislative laracters, would gradually fix its roots nong our headstrong revolutionists. The t arrogate to itselt ^^^^ ^p Commons is here again pleaded privileges of the ^ model <>f our assembly; but the argu- int is d juUiy defective, for that privilege the former body, having sprung from its privileg Bty, than a consta- epresentative, can Dating judges an(i ante-legislative functions, cannot be claimed by a body purely legislative, and being preparatory to a solemn trial by the Hous& of Peers, can have no place in our assembly till our council is erected (which God avert) into a court of impeachments. The assumption of the power of judicial investi- gation by the assembly is in truth subver- sive of the principles of natural justice, for what can be more iniquitous than to com- mence an inquiry which cannot be finished and thus to keep hanging over the head oi obnoxious persons an accusation, from which they have no opportunity of clearing themselves. If it shall ever unhappily please the Imperial Parliament to erect the legislative council into a court of impeach" ments, then and not till then may the assembly claim, with some shadow of propriety, the right of p>'eliminary investi- gation. In these remarks I allude particu- larly to the assembly's mode of conducting the inquiry into the riots of 21st May, 1832. The matter had been previously decided by the proper authorities ; and the assembly had not any more right to revise their decisions than they would have had to criticise and subvert its legislative pro- ceedings. Yet so powerful is habit, even when opposed to reason, law and justice, that a lawyer high in ofHce within the colony, spoke, in thecommencementof the unconstitutional inquiries, of the Assembly as "the Grand Inquest of the country." If the general argument against the confu^^ sion of legislative and judicial powers were weaker than it is, the mode in which the assembly has conducted that famous inquiry is quite conclusive as to the impolicy of conflding to the assembly of Lower Canada any kind or degree of judicial powers. — Divii.; and govern is an old and excellent maxim ; and so long as Great Britain desires to retain the govemrcent of these colonies, she will act wisely particularly when backed by sound principles, to divide, the provincial powers among as many in* dividuals and as many bodies as possible. u ) X 1 < 1 4 V ( t t t C F V t tl 8 tl Thus lias it l)cen shewn tluit the majority the danger of committiug to an anibitioi of the assembly has usurped judicial pow.ers, and insatiable faction any discretionary pr and the legislative privileges of the minority vileges beyond those indispensably essentii of its own body, of the co-ordinate branches to the discharge of legislative functions? of the colonial legislature and of the Impe- Language, it has been ingeniously an rial Parliament itself; and it is now my forcibly remarked, was given to us to cot |nupose to expose its encroachments on the ceal our thoughts ; but though our demc provincial executive. In granting a sum of (irats, as Mr. Speaker Papineau has ui money for the improvement of Montreal blusliingly owned, long acted on this disir harbour, it imposed on the executive the genuous principle, they have at last dii mdition of dismissing unblemished and played a more honest disposition, and rnadl^^^^^^ isuspected commissioners from political their words a counterpart of their actioni ^j , , otives— being thus guilty of the double The ninety two resolutions, if compare j^^^ icroachment of tackinsir adventitious clauses with the assembly's proceedings of the \m ' , c e n t4 S( o I. tl a h fr o\ cl •>l df w 8(1 di iSl tic &x\ ed i(J| iwi Itic m at ei ivmce b id of cc mtry ant their os onial le, mid nev( ony subj verand the m( uld dicta priety o condition of dismissinff unblemished and plaved a more honest disposition, and madl . 1 !.:_ r ..^i:*;„„i Ii. J_ „ i „...,o..» ^f ♦1.^;,. o/.t;»nl"i6nan motives- encroachment or tackmgaaventiiious Clauses WHO me assemoiys prucueuiugs ui mc •"'Jqj ^Jj^ to money bills and of dictating to the execu- four years, are an eminently honest avowi j^ e^^^j ^ live. Connected with this subject are the of practical principles. Their spirit, whe ^' ^^^j^ declarations of the dominant party, em- compendiously expressed, is to this eflfec '^^^^ .^ bodied in some of the famous resolutions, that the majority of the assembly, as iden f^^-^ that the assembly had a right to call before tical with the majority of the people, k^^ f^^ it also the miliary servants of the crown under heaven absolutely and uncontroUabl ^J^ , 1 within the colony, over whom the colonial omnipotent. The same principles had bee , J > legislature, even ' as a whole, has no more previously promulgated by writers in news ^^ ^^ ^ control liian it has over the man in thfl papers and by individual members o ^ ^^ ^ ^ ' moon. assembly ; but never before had the assem ,j 1 From the same spirit of unconstitutional bly in its collective capacity given utterance ^^ g.^ ' encroachment have sprung the difficulties to so treasonable imbecillities ; and to th .^| ^^^' t of the civil list. Financial supplies have framers of the famous ninety two resolution/ .^ ^^ j been .^ystematicplly withheld, not because the loyal inhabitants are deeply indebted, foi ^^.^^^^ « the executive was unreasonable in its pe- having expressed their principles in j ^^^^^^^^^ 1 cuniary demands, but because it would not tangible and visible shape, and for havinj ' .^ 1 in all respects place itself under the feet of brought down to the level of the meanesi ^^^^1 ^ i the dominant faction. The motive is not capacity the revolutionary and treasonabh ^j^^^^ 1 less certain than the fact, for the party has designs of the dominant faction. Actions ^^ ^^^ t vauntinirlv threatened to starve the Govern- which are to the thinking man more elo , . . " "^ 1!.- ._l 1... .1 l„ .w..,„.. «^«..«;o«.,nf*ittoit.i "* "' '' t jnent into an unconditional surrender. ) Thus has it been shewn that the assem (juent than words, never exercise unfetterec influence over uneducated minds. jnous ( ithout *. bly of Lower Canada, which is invested by What are the means by which the assemi ^ ^^^^ I the constitution merely with a share of le- bly of Lower Canada proposes ^^ .»^'="*"" ^tema] sgislative power, has assumed to itself the plish its undisguised aims? The entire con-^ ^^ ^ (whole of that power to the prejudice of trol of the civil list, and the substitution ^^ ^^^ ! all other bodies legally invested with similar of an elective coundl. These two conces- ^^^^^^^ es the ed a tl charac 'illl UliIICL UUUico icf^oiijr »U»».OIiCVl .. IVI. a......u. ■"• *... ■^m^^w..^ ~ ---- • powers, has trampled on the very people sions are quite sufficient for its purposes, tin whom it lives, moves and has its being, the former subjecting to its caprices the Uias scorned and defied the imperial legis- imperial government in the persons of the flature, has encroached on the functions of provincial officers, and the latter **"""V\"^|dom, < cthe executive and has usurped the peculiar under its feet the whole of the British ^ ^^ apowers of his Majesty's courts of law ; population of the province. The executive ' tand can any stronger proof be oifered of functionaries, being the servants not of tht I ig to an anibitioi r discretionary pr spensnbly esseiiti itive functions ? n ingeniously an riven to us to cot i; )vince but of Britain, and being the id of connexion between tlie mother mtry and the colony, should, at least as their oxistence, be independent of the onial legislature. Such a principle mid never be violated, particularly in a ony subjected to a faction ambitious of though our dem( '^^ ^"^' .i^«'""« «^^° «f any interference the mother country. 'J'he principle uld dictate to the imperial parliament the priety of making permanent appropria- tis out of the colonial revenue for the Papineau has ur acted on this disii have at last dif iposition, and madl ^ r i • -i , t of their actionl"^^"^"^^ ""^ *''« "^'^ government, and ;ions, if compare int the bonds of connexion between tl.o ;her country and the colony. ntly honest avow. 1°"^ ^^'^^f «/5 »" ^l reckoned the foreign Thmr RnirJt whe ^» ^"" ^'' *'""g^ *"^* administer to that eedings of the lat ntly honest avowi Their spirit, whe . . . . . ,. 1, is to this eflfec ^' '^"^*' ^« *•'« imposition of cusioms assembly, as idei. ^^'^ ^mprovemerit of harbours, for if of the 'people, i.,f°^«^S^».*''^.'^«'^«?" any degree subject and uncm.troUabl ^f P^^'n^-^^l legislature, Great Britain principles had heel ' ^^, '^P"y ^^c\m\eA, as she was pro by writers in news'' by the emigration tax bil , from the dual members „ es of a country purchased by her own ^ore had the assem ,f ^""^ ^^' r". V^^^"''^- ^itygivenutteranc''^!?.'"^ pnnciple. moreover, suggests illities ; and to th '«' ^J'*' ^"'"f observations on the new ,ely two resolution ^°\' *^« /fg"latioa of the colonial post leeply indebted, fo ^ J" JSritish America, lo the reduc r principles in , of the rates of postage, though they are ^e and for bavin' generally higher than at home, and to vel of the meaneJ 'PP'opriation of the surplus revenue, iry and treasonabh ^«^" ^"' not as a right, to colonial faction Actions "'^'"^ ^^""^'^ be any practical objec- ing man more elo ^^ "^f']" ^^'S^*' ^^^ ^^ .^^e colonial • exercise unfetterec '«! ^^ ^^'^ ^^^?« ^^ P^^^^S^ ^^^'^ are ve- , . , mous obiections. ed minds. \. - J- of the generally received maxim as to IS-' The entire con-f'*^*""*^ taxation of colonies, I am dis- ,d' the substitution 1 "'^ J^« g''"""^^ to deny its applica- These two conces-' ^l *'f P^^^.^^ ^^^^e- ^^ "^^l ^^''^Y ,t for its purposes, ''"bted, whether under any circum- to its caprices the > the persons of the the >le fe. The executivef servants not of tht ,y which the assemJ^t)'""^ *^^"'"? »» question the sound- roposes to Becom- es the postage of any letter can be ed a tax ; but, whatever may be the latter throwingtf «^^*^*f ?\ PO«t«S« \ f'f United of the British ' <^olonial postage, which is daily d, and that openly, by stages and steamers, must be considered as the natu- ral result of a voluntary contract. Taxa- tion and smuggling are correlative terms, where there is no smuggling in the penal sense of the term, there can be no taxation. It may, moreover, be doubted whether the colonial postage, if admitted to be a tax, is strictly an internal one, according to the provisions of fhe new bill. British A- merica, Sir, has not in a political sense a collective existence : and the nolitarv in- stance of fiscal connexion between the two Canadas has not been so productive of har- mony and economy as to render the exten- sion of the system from the custom-house to the post oflice either desirable or prudent. Unconnected with each other as aie the provinces of British America, the epithet iritemal can apply only to the several colo- nies ; and internal postage, therefore, must mean merely the charge of transmitting let- ters, whatever may be their ultimate des- tination, within the limits of each particu- lar colony. If the general maxim as to in- ternal taxation be deemed sufficiently va- luable to overbalance the absurdities, the difficulties and the dangers of such an ap- plication of it, let it by all means be carried boldly into effect. From so legitimate a result of the principle, the new bill shrinks. In the true spirit of modern expediency, it contents itself with the lesser evil of pre- supposing the perfect unanimity of uncon- nected and mutually independent legisla- tures, and decrees that each colony shall receive a share of the surplus revenue pro- portioned to the gross receipts of the de- partment within its limits. Thus the bill, in so far releasing the colonies from their dependence on the mother country, makes tiiem dependent on each other — establishing a mutual relation without any common tribunal for defining and regulating it. Nor will the principle on which it divides the surplus revenue give universal satisfaction. So far, moreover, as I can understand the provisions of the bill it extends to the t t ( c I \ < 1 <: 1 t t 8 t: c e n tt 8' O h tl a li h .0 V cl n o| (ii b w tl sc g' •di w :si al ti( P< an in «?d h£ ■,c. lal ,wi th ItUPo nj ani •ai po9 toffice a princip/e so fatal to the exe- cutive in Lower Canada, and so subversive of the mother country's supremacy, that of making his Majesty's servants dependent for their maintenance on the colonial as- semblies. In the United States a sounder system, precisely our present one of an imperial post office, is found bene6cial and neces- sary. The new bill, in short, is based on the sophistical misapplication of a dubious maxim. In regard to the elective council, there cancc't be any diflFerence of opinion among rational men. The argument, to which the assembly so triumphantly appeals, is fatally decisive against the conclusions of that body in favor of an elective council. If the assembly, as it pretends, is backed by a large * majority of the people of this province,' the majority of an elective council must manifestly be identical in principle with the majority of the assembly ;. the decision of the one would echo that of the other ; and the Governor, unsupported by any constituted body, would have to withstand the influence of two harmonious emanations of the same ambitious faction. Of two similarly constructed legislative bodies one must be pernicious or, at least, utterly useless; and even in the United States, where the homogeneous character of the population renders a majority and minoritj/ terms of a more fluctuaj acceptation, the identity of the two legi tive bodies has been ax oided, as far as fundamental principles of republican inst tions would permit. Since then the concession of the dema of the assembly is altogether imnractica and since some change is necessary to em the government of the colony to be rou from its present paralysis, we must rely the wisdom and justice of the impe parliament for sound and perman modifications. If a humble individual n be allowed to offer any suggestion to Majesty's Colonial Secretary, he wo recommend as the remedies of the provini disorders permanent appropriations for mair.tenance of all the bonds of connex with Britain, the restriction of the legii ture within the limits of its legislative c racter, the determination of a quoruml each house, the exaction of a pecunil qualification fr.,m the representatives! . counties, the abolition of the indemnity! members of assembly, and, as temponj measures at least, the registration of votj and the residence of the representatij within the limits of their respective eon«| tuencies. I have the honor to be, Sir, Your most obedient, Humble servant, AN EM][GKANT. et a more (Iuctua| ity of the two legi Ei\oided, as far as} of republican insti BSfiion of the dema )gether imnractica I is necessary to eoi B colony to be rou rsis, we must rely ice of the impe id and perman umble individual a ny suggestion to Secretary, he wo ledies oftheprovini ippropriations for e bonds of connex riction of the legii of its legislative c ation of a quorum ction of a pecuni he representatives d of the indemnity yr, and, as temper^ registration of vot{ f the representatif beir respective conej r to be, Sir, obedient, )le servant, iN EMIGKANT. I