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Laa diagrammas suivants illuatrant la mAthoda. 1 2 3 1 2 3 4 5 6 |V[>rrr^ y^oJj '^jLcy'-'^ > OBIAL UffJVj O/. APR 22 1971 LIVERPOOL PRINTED BY EGEHTON SMITH AND CO., LOED-STREET. f O. 1839. CmtbthrNfUSmdlm y n £L IM li M7^ :^ •^t^ < ■ •yi "•im ■^— .-TT -^1 Ttv^^^' >"J •■ I !»» •■ •>, TO THE RIGHT HONOURABLE THE EARL OF ^ BERDEEN. Mv Lord, That your Lordship (on the exparte statement of a few indi- viduals, greatly inflamed in the " paltry raffle" of colonial faction) should have pledged your high name and character to the riith and justice of the charges which you made against the House o'i Assembly and people of Newfoundland, and reported frora your speech in the House of Lords, on the 2Gth April last, is to we a matter of surprise. During the short period your Lordship pre- sided over the colonies your instructions to the colonial governors displayed an intimate acquaintance with the state of conflicting parties, and were distinguished for a sound, enlightened, and i'beral policy. I am, therefore, the more surprised that your Lordship should be led away by the inflammatory and high-coloured state- ments contained in the petition presented by your Lordship, and which on the face of it carried its own refutation. Your Lordship has preferred a bill of indictment against the House of Assembly of Newfoundland. As one of the humble members of that body, and on their behalf, I plead not guilty to the charge ; admitting, at the same time, that if you can esta- blish a tithe of the chaiges, the people of Newfoundland are not worthy to enjoy the benefits of the free constitution granted by his late Majesty, and that it ought to be abrogated. The Secretary of State for the Colonies, in reply to ycur Lord- ship, stated that there were parties in this country connected ^vith the House of Assembly who denied the allegations made by the petitioners, and offered to come forward at any time to disprove their statements. The persons alluded to by his Lordship must be the Clerk of the House, Mr. Wakeham, and myself, the only parties now in this country connected with the House of Assembly. The Marquis of Normanby permitted me to wait on him at the Co- lonial-office, and, agreeably to his Lordship's wishes, I drew up a short report on the charges made by the Chamber of Commerce of St. John's, and the merchants of London, Liverpool, Bristol, and Poole, against the proceedings of the House of Assembly. Tliis report was written in great haste, and I now submit a copy of it to your Lordship, in which you will observe that I have anticipafed 'osm I -. ..^. ^fi^^ 1 In^ tf. r ^ ^^ y«'^^ Lord^Iup against the Hou.e of Assembly and the nmch-calummated people of Xcvfuundland. I might rest tlie defence of the colony on that plain, simple statement of facts wbch cannot be contradicted, but^hcre is fome new n^att r con! t^tLVlZ^n'"''''' -^-'""-y speech that I shcU pass a r> Jr ^J^f, ^^^^^ t^^t the House cf Assembly have usurped the K Yo.^h "^'f ; Tf'i °^^^ ^^ P^^'^^^ble, loy^inhabi! tents, iLou have stated that the whole fabric of society h ^s been ilung mto concision , that life and property is inseciu-e- that the country is on the eve of rebellion ; Lt^aU^ihes^mXtlu^es hlv^ House of Assembly;" and you call on her Majesty's Government overlw/tb 7 "^TT ^]^*^^ ^°^^^ *° P^°^^^t the loyalTdTo overawe the disaffected ; and, as a cUmax to these fnghtfiil charges, you say the House of Assembly have laid hands on the pubS S,^K ^^^^ ^ ^^^' P°'*^°" °^ '^ between themselves,^ their taimlies, and retainers. I ^ve this summary as a small sample that I have selected from your Lordship's speech The reckless mamier in which Z pefationers haA-e made these charges,-and, pardon me, my Lord, it I say, the hasty and inconsiderate manner in which youx Lord' ship repeated them, maies it an easy task to disnose of and con- trovertthem. Were your Lordsliip not carried away by some of the part)- spint of the petitioners you would, at once, have detected tne gross absurdity of the charges, and have seen that they carried with them their own contradiction. It would be foUowing the rude, coarse example of the petitioners tf 1 said they were one tissue of falsehood and misrepresentation from beginning to end I shaU not say it, but I hope to prove them to be so. Your Lordship must know that in courts of jus- tee presumptive evidence is often more conclusive, and more to be rebed on, than direct evidence. In the present ca.e that doctrine IS exemphfied. Your Lordship has adduced the evidence of the petitioners against the House of Assembly and people of New- toundlana. You charged them with the highest crimes ; with setting her Majesty s courts of justice at defiance; with sedition, bordering on rebelhon , with outrages on persons and property. At the instant your Lordship made these statements, her Majesty's Colomd Minister, whose especial duty it is to watch over her Majesty s Colomes.cooly stated that he was unacquamted with this alarming state ox the colony, but that he would immediately write Sb^ct ^"'°''' *° '"^'^""^^^ ^^^ ^^ '^''''^^ enlighten him on the At the same time, the late Governor-General of the North Amencan Colonies (a few months only returned from the seat o^ his government) acknowledged that he was equally in the dark. Here, my Lord, I shall place my presumptive evidence, the •m 'J PIMBT- porance of the Coloni.l Mini.t.r and tin- Gcnornor-Ciera' of the petmoners the.n.solves. There is ,u, court of ju>tioe in the world but your Lordship's House, that such evidence ^^U d be attended to tor one moment. If the colony of Newfoundland has been so lonj? in this alarmin^r state, unknou-n to the Minister of the Cro^v-n, he has been ^"il"? of great neglect of duty, and should be impeached. Waat has the SlXL^r'"""/ ^'? ^^T ^" ^^'^ ^'"^^ ? ^^ te allowed he AlhlZ "''• '^'''l plans of rebellion without interruption ? Has he not con^municated with her Ma-esty on the subject ' Has he not called for aid to uphold the supremacy of her M^jestV Crcvv-n m her oldest colony ? Either thi Minister and the So.^r! nor have been gu.ltv of the greatest derehction of their duty and ought to be unpeached, or the statements made by your Lordship are gross fabncations. If you believe the statements of X pe i^- Roden He has mipeached the Marquis of Normanby for actin-^ CZ *° ^"- ""'^j ['^^thro^nng open the doors of thi d^4^° for the exercise of the highest attribute of royalty. ° ' as iuMtvT^L M S^^y-tanr the late Colonial IVIinister, is abnost 1^^ . . ' 'u'"^'''' ^^ Normanby. He also threw open the teK^sf '^' '^.PPF^-ed captive. He, in the name^ of hi ^iouthW ;'"''?• '^' J^^e prerogative of mercy almost WL iXcVtLT'^f'"'^^'^^^ ^V^^'^'^ ^^S floated in the mJh't^^ ^^^^ •^^'' ^°'^?^°" fro'" the frozen regions of the c^S^L ^.^JI'^^'"^ °^ :^^ ^°"'^- ^« matter^vhich their thThS^ds of ti/"^ 'l '."" their creed, he wr.sted the lash from the hands of the taskmasters of Jamaica, reeking with the blood of mdhons of the human ra.e ; he pun-'shed judicial delinquencv n victims ot oppression. He is every way worthy to be united with the modern Strafford. Will not t/e saintly CnLaders indude Wm rSSn^%T""^ • ^^^ f ^''y '' ^^^hat they cXoTma^: a Barebones ParUament to complete theii holy work ! Your Lo^! ship must pardoa^s digressi^on. I now clll your attemion To another charge which you made against the House of Assemblv of appropnatmg the public money to their own use andTat of eln^ ' "^^ '''ri'^' .^^^'>'' y°"^ Lordship could not be senous when you made this charge. Wl.at wiU you? Lordship sav when J teU you that the House of Assembly havLota^pSa ed one shilhn^ of the public money that has not met the^Serlte m'Tn Ta°^^' ^°""?^' '^' ^T"^"^' '^"^ ^'' MajeS^t/s Govern! ment? And, for an eloquent defence of the House of Assembly I fero«U°tLf S " ' '-'''-' ^"'^ ^-^ ""'--^^ - Capfain In my report to the Marquis of Normanby f have made somp remark, on the main charge against the Asse^ibly the committal ■^— — -— ' — ^■*- -*' -ll ,l-, , ,Mimit»tmmiiiiitM imm' lof Dr. Kiely for a breach of privilege. The proceedings of the HHouse of Assembly, in this case, involves a great constitutional Inrinciple. I do affirm that the " base" House of Assembly of I Newfoundland is a co-ordinate and supreme branch of the local [legislature, and its right to protect its o\vn privilege's rests upon the same basis as the House of Commons of England. The Queen, [Council, and House of Assembly of Newfoundland are equally Sw^reign and supreme over the Island of Newfoundland, as the lueen, Lords, and Commons are over the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland. The first principles of government require that they should have power to protect their privileges ; I the Newfoundland Assembly would be mdeed a burlesque "and |mcM?kery without it. I ^ The petitioners that your Lordship has taken under your protec- tion modestly ask, first, that the Constitution should be abrogated, I and a Governor and Covmcil appointed to replace it. They also require that the Governor should be dismissed, the two senior Judges superseded, and a military force sent out to protect the loyal inhabitants. This modest request reminds me of an anec- dote, related I believe in Lord John Russell's boo'< on the British I Constitution : — A gentleman got displeased with his mansion, and he applied to an architect to improve it, who said, " th.it the foundation of the house should be removed, and the bed of the river changed." The only remark I shall make to your Lordship on this head is, that if the Government comply with the first part of their request, I would strongly recommend them to comply with the last, establish despotism in the form of Governor and Council in Newfoundland. You must uphold it by military force, and then, my Lord, to use the words of Burke, ■' your rule will not be government, it will be war against the people." You will find in my memorial to Lord Normanby that I have made some remarks on the overcharged statements respecting the , influence of the Catholic clergy in Newfoundland. To prove how utterly unfounded that charge must be, I have only to mention the state of the Newfoimdland constituency. In Newfoundland we have household suffrage. In the districts of St. John's, Fery- land, Placentia, and St. Mary's, there are 4,139 houses, 5,799 Protestants, 22,839 Catholics, who retxirn six members to the As- sembly. The districts of Conception Bay, Bonavista Bay, Burin, Fortune Bay, Fogo, and Trinity contain 6,G86 houses, 30,512 Protestants, 14,060 Catholics, and send nine members to the House I of Assembly. It therefore clearly appears that the Protestants send nine members, and the Catholics only six. What then be- comes of the charge against the Catholic priests and Catholic supremacy ? I shall pass over the coarse personal attacks made on the Mem- bers of the House of Assembly. Posterity will judge of that House from its acts, not from the misreDresentations of its euc- *■ ■«-r- Ai"» W'5 '7/-:-, : — Firstly, — That society in Newfoundland is m a disorganized state, — life and property insecure, owing to the violent acts and proceedings of the House of Assemblv. Secondly, — That the members have held treasonable correspond- ence with the leaders of the rebels in Upper and Lower Canada, and have endeavoured to propagate amongst the people principles of sedition and disaffection to her Majesty's Government. Thirdly,- That the Catholic clergy are the chief advisers and promoters of these violent proceedings, — that they exercise un- bounded influence over the Housl of Assembly and the electors, who are mere instruments in their hands. Fourthly, —That the House of Assembly have squandered the public revenue, — involved the country in debt, and have greatly injured the interests of the country. Fifthly, — Tliat tht proceedings of the electors and their repre- sentatives in the House of Assembly, since the establishment of a M II -'11 «^>«MJ»» mittmatmuttauiSm -Si 10 local legislature, lui^ proved the people of Newfoundland uniit for the enjoyment or exercise of the representative government granted to them by his late Majesty William the Fourth. Under these heads may be classed the various charges brought against tne colonists by the Chamber of Commerce at St. John's, and the merchants engaged in the trade residing in London, Liverpool, Bristol, and Poole ; and the objects of the prayer of their petitions and memorials are,— that her Majesty's Government would, in the first place, send out an adequate military force to protect the lives and property of the loyal and peaceable ; and further, that the present Constitution should be abrogated, and that a mode of government, to consist of a Governor, assisted by a Council, to be named by the Crowii, should be established in its place. If the respectable merchants on this side of the water, and the Chamber of Commerce at St. John's, had, instead of these general and sweeping charges, only stated some of the particular facts where life and property have been endangered, they would be more likely to gain credence with her Majesty's Government. They have not done so ; and I shall, as the humble advocate of the people of Newfoundland, at once meet them, and with a reply equally general, by saying, without fearing contradiction, and after an intimate^ acquaintance with the people for upwards of thirty years, that in no part of her Majesty's dominions are life and pro- perty more secure than in her ancient colony of Newfoundland. I shall not content myself with this general statement, but I shall demonstrate the peaceable and moral conduct of the people of New-foimdland by the strongest proofs, .which wUl defy contra- diction. I have first to call your Lordship's attention to the dutiful and loyal address of the House of Assembly to her Majesty, which I had the honour of moving at the close of the last session of the Legislature, Tliat address is only an echo of the universal feelings of the people. After expressing their devoted loyalty and attach- ment to her Majesty's person and Government, and claiming for their constituents a moral and religious character not inferior to that ot the peo|)le of any other portion of her Majesty's dominions, it states, " That Newfoundland is nearly as large as England ; the inhabitants are settled in various harbours along the coast, far dis- tant from the capital and from each other ; surrounded by the unimproved wilderness, there is not, except in St. John's, a fort, "famson, or soldier ; and the civil force to preserve the peace in ;hese distajit settlements does not exceed one or two constables, ind, in many harbours, not even one constable ; yet, notwith- tanding, a civil or criminal process issuing froui her Majesty's Court fat St. John's can be executed in the most distant and most popu- lous districts in the island. As an example, we humbly beg to call your Majcstv's attention to one case amontrst others, wlsirh occurred during the heat aiid excitement of the contested elections of -t^ ■ jj-M^B^u. » wa - 11 1836 A niiinber of persons were cliarged with a riot at the elec- tion that took pL.e at Harbour Grace in Conception 3ay. War- S^r^'^'^^vf " ^"', V'"; ^PP'-^l^^'"-^'"" of the parties arc u..d. wIT^? ^ proceeded from St. John's, arrested'^all the parties, where they were deUvered over into tiie hands of justice." rJr. ^f ?^' ^7T^i ^y t^« '"^S^^ constable were two of the representatives of the district and some of the principal inhabitants disturben f^^'r^""'^'' then, and now represented to be in a SP .^.Jl fil ^."^^ P^*^"' ^'^'^ tried before special juries were acn„ri S°^^.'''"^ ^l'"^ "P?"'^'^ *° ^h^™' ^ost of them ZID^ '■ ^""^ ^^°'^ '''h° '''^"^ ^"^'^ guilty and sentenced to Glen2 '™^"'°°^i!'''l' ""7^ ^^''""'^^ ^y the order of my Lord a^aSh^m!"'' '^ particulars of the charges exhibited AdSrl'^ f ?[. ^^^' ^^ notorious facts ; I repeat them from the Aadres3 of the House of Assembly; I adduce them to prove the autnonti-.. I shall now give your Lordship recent proof of the feTs:sKTt^-"V7' '' ''^ inhabitants' In No'vember last Sessions of Lhev^ircuit Courts were held in St. John's, and the other judic.a! districts of the island; the newly c^poi^ted and much respected Chief Justice Bourne presided^n ?he CenJr^ ■ BltTrf ^Ti "^ ^'r ^hn's. Judge Desbames m the Scmthern Distnct, and Acting Judge SiUey in the Northern Circuit. I thfnk I can fairly refer to the state of the criminal calendar In the"e ^urts a. a fair test as to the general conduct of the people ; to these they can refer as theu: best defence. Some two or three Jases of assault and petty larceny came on for trial in the court of St ^lan/' "il "V""' ^", equal number in all the other districts of the ' island; the electoral district of Conception Bay, containing un wardj of twenty-three thousand inhabitants, did /ot af?oTa"iX case for trial, and for the greater pa^t of th^ year the gaol did not contain a single person charged v.fth a criminal offence immediately after the close of the Circuit Courts, a session of the Supreme Courtw.s held at St. John's. In this court alone can cap tal offences be tried. Your Lordship must have been anxious t mquire how many of the turbulent! disorderly, and ^sioja Zp L of Newfoundland were held over for trial before this hiih JouT • how many for treason and rebellion-for illegal and trea.on"b J meetings-for seditious ^vritings or sp:eches-for felonioiir^t i t on hfe. person or property-l .r murder or manslaughter. The grosaamount of capital offences brought under the consideration of the Supreme Court were three : one man. a servant of the Honnur- ^ nlH w ^P^'^^"' ^har^f'^ wUh setting fire to his master's stable • an old woman, charged with an attempt to set fire to her <,wn house • rjl^/.t-S^^^ill"'^^.*^ ^^<--' charge/with the mun. - of her Ts: ^^ — ^..w w»w».,»uic», ^mcr Uie particular, . ction of the ! 12 Learned Chief Justic e, \v< f „ i .. . ,, ;- •■^^'^ acquitted, and t\w latter w,,s only LthTh:-;clild ^^ """ ^'■'°"' '"'^"^^^' ^'^^ concealment of th'e Being a niacristrate, and a member of the grand jury, I pledge ""^Ynnr T '^' '^^'^'^^'^ «f ^hese statement in eier^'.XTj. fj -.^^l^^'^ """'* ^^ ^"^' ^^^"^'y ^ reconciling these facts .nth the statements so often and confidently repeated. My Lord Aberdeen, in his place in Parliament, at the close of the last 7^ZY "^ presenting a petition from certain parties, stated (no doubt from information he had receivea) that iJeNvfoundland was m a^ bad a state as Upper or Lower Canada. Charges of a similar nature were made not only by the Tory but ^e Liberal pre.s both m England and L-eland. The merchants of London, Liverpool, Bnstol, and Poole have called on the Govern- ment to send out an adequate military force to overawe the rebel- bous colonists, and the Chambei of Commerce at St. John's re- peat all the charges and ask Her Majesty to iniiict on the un- bending colonists the highest punishment within the range of Her Majesty s power, even when acting with the other branches rf the Legislature, to subvert their Constitution and deprive them ot their nghta and privileges as British subjects. The Chaniber of Commerce in these petitions to the Queen at- tribute the illegal conduct of tlie people to the "atrocious" and unprmcipled acts ci the House of Assembly. If the charge against the people falls to theCTound for want d' proof, the charges against the House of Assembly must meet the same fate, setting aside the vague and general allegations against the House, which I shall endeavour to reply to by and by. The only clear and tan-n- ble charge brought against the Assembly arises out of the com- mittals fi^)r breach of privileges of Mr. Kiely, Acting Judge Lilly and the Sheriff. It must be admitted that the House of Assembly in these cases, exercised power which should not be used except m ■cases of extreme necessity ; it has created a prejudice against the tlouse of Assembly in this country difficult to remove The ■opponents of free representative governments, in Newfoundland and elsewhere, have seized on it with avidity, and made the most «t It. It IS to be lamented that the House of Assembly should have found it necessary, in defence of their privileges, to act as they thd ; whether they acted vnsely or judiciously, or othenvise, is not the (question ; it is whether they were legally authorized to com- mit tnese persons for what they considered a high breach of their pnvileges. Your Lordsh.p will admit, that after taking the first step, it was difficult for them to recede ; tlu-tr privileges were questioned, not only in these cases, but in a variety of others ; everj- species of con- tumely and insult were heaped upon thom. It appeared to be the opinion *«f (.he Hoiik » th.lt th." tivar- A.-r.-/ -••■.ti-.:^ -.il-.".- '.: . lo asst^t their p.rix il.>ges in the committal of the partierbcfore 1 - — • ■r'.S...J:'j~:' ...- .U4n„j^ Bm p im mm,. 'u ■aifei iMttMiriialkMMM ■te^i ' I 13 mentioned It is to be regretted that tliev sh.mld have come in contact uith the judicial and executive officors of the Government • but even here the Assembly were not the aggress,,,-... With scarcely the form of inquiry, the Acting Judge, on the writ of Habeas Cor- pus, summarily decided a question of great importance, involvin-k^ 18 squandered in the most profligiitt- manner, with the exception of St. John's, where it \va:s expended under the direction of tlie able Surv yor-General, Mr. Ncad, who acted as Chairman of the Board of Commissioners at St. Joh'-'s. The present House of Assembly took every precaution against jobbing and peculation. The Governor was authorized to appoint a Board of Control at St. John's, to superintend the expenditxu-e for public works tlurough the island ; and vmtil they were fully satisfied that the work was done agreeably with the lowest tender, the Governor was not authorized to issue his warrant for the pay- ment. I have no hesitation in saying, that no colony in British . North America can produce an act where the expenditure of the public money for the making and repairing of roads is guarded with so much care. I now come to the fifth, and which T shall make the last charge brought against the House of Assembly and people of Newfound- land ; — iv is, " that they have proved themselves unfi*" for the exer- cise of the privileges granted to them by his late Majesty." The Chamber of Commerce of St. John's say " that the ignorant, be- sotted Catiiolics, irom the south-west of Ireland, are so bound by the magic ipell of Popery, that they are quite incapable of pro- perly exercising political power." If, for the sake of argument, I admit the truth of all that has been said of the degraded state of the Catholic;^, surely that is no reason why the enlightened Pro- testant majority from England and Scotland, and the native inha- bitants of the country, should be deprived of their constitutional rights. The Catholics from the south-west of Ireland do not con- stitute a tentl' of the population. To make their conduct a pretence for taking away the Constitution of Newfoundland, is so monstrous a docvrine that it merits no reply. The charge, after all, is not so much against the Catholics as it is against the people of Newfoundland ; and I cannot avoid expressing my astonishment, that any body of British merchants could deliberately state, in a memorial to the Queen of England, that Englishmen, Irishmen, Scotchmen, or their immediate descendants, residing in the oldest colony belonging to her Majesty, iinder no possible circumstances, could be fit or worthy to enjoy the blessings of the British Con- stitution. The Chamber of Commerce honestly state in their Tiemoiial to her Majesty, that public opinion is against them, and must continue so under every change of circumstances. " They so- lemnly assure her Majesty of their fixed conviction, a conviction equally entertained by nineteen-twentieths of all in the colony capable t.f judging, that no conduct of the Members of the Assembly, however unprincipled and atrocious, would render their return again a matter of ihe least doubt." Nothing could more clearlv nrnvp thsir wealcn'^s?. and utter mcaoacitv to covem the countiy than this candid acknowledgment on their part. --TE? ' J pi 'w i i rLTA »ii*^ i -f...kiilV i ,^ 19 Observe, my Lord, the dilemma tlicy have placed tliein.^elvci in. It is as much as if they Pf'j. that their views of governiiKiit are so much opposed to the English and Protestant majority of electors of Newfoundland, that they have given up all hope of obtaining their E'lffirages to represent their interests in the third branch of the Legislature. My Lord, the Chamber of Commerce stated that the people of Nc^/foundland are unfit for self-government, and have petitioned iier Majesty to establish a despotic government. I have to inform your Lordship, that, however ignorant the people of Newfoundland are, and particularly the " Roman Catholics from the south-west of Lreland," they will never exhibit their ignorance of government to such an extent as to join in the prayer for the establishment of despotic power ; — they may submit to such a government, they never will consent to it. Here I would ask your liOrdship, is there no portion of her Majesty's dominions, no matter how remote, where an Irish Roman Catholic can sit down under the shade of England's laws and constitution, without an offshoot from a certain party in England outraging their feelings as Irishmen and Christians ? The Chamber of Commerce of St. John's, and the merchants in England, have not established a single charge against either the people or their representatives. There, is, therefore, no just cause why they should be deprived of their constitution. The mode of government proposed by them to supers&de the present ^is abhor- rent to the British Constitution ; and until the people of New- foimdland are proved guilty, no power can justly deprive them of their present free Constitution. A Governor and Council with legislative powers is the most objectionable government that could be inflicted on a free British colony. When such a government was established in Canada, immediately after the Conquest, it was denounced by the great. Lord Camden as " a ci'-il despotism, in which the inhabitants of thai immensely extended province were to be perpetually deprived of all share in the legislative power and support, in life, freedom, or property, to the arbitrr y ordinances of a Governor in Council, appointed by the dependents on the Crown." Your Lordship is not the Minister that will advise such a government for the piost ancient and loyal colony belonging to Her Majesty. J have the honour to be, ' My Lord, , « < ' Your Lordship's humble and obedient Servant, r\ PATRICK MORRIS. London, 72, Croten-tlreet, (J/ y,-^ s4 C| j ^(j lilarcA "-"0, I'.-oJ. Ha --^ — -' y. m. uara and oo., miMTiaa, loao-mmwt, uTcapooL. i pi|jtff i tu»,j i llini^ r -! i Ji^ ' - yy mwmg wmnmmm' vmmm ' >*' i'^ .-