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si 
 
..jn^tjk"' 
 
 #'^'##=* 
 
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 F R b M 
 
 -'-■?% 
 
 Thomp Lord %1Stdtonj 
 
 
 V 
 
 William Pitt, Earl 6i Qaxm 
 
 • ^Jir. 
 
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 -ir 
 
 '-«l.>' 
 

 
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 )pe 
 

 My LORD, 
 
 TH E hill for the government of Quebec, whilft 
 it engages the attention of the public, cannot 
 biit bring back to our mincls that glorious sera 
 when Canada was added to the Britifh Empire by 
 the fuccefs of his Majefty's arms, as they were then 
 direded by the geniusj> and animated by the vigour 
 of your council s. It has too often happened that 
 national wifdom has flept, while the fpirit of conqueft 
 has been awake ; whilft therefore the fpirit of this 
 ation was filling the veflel to the brim with her trea- 
 j^jfures, the handle in your hand ready to poiir them 
 ut on any foil where your ideas cuuM fuggeft a re- 
 rn of glory, in that feafon, my Lord, it is no won- 
 er that the low and ftill voice of jurifprudence was 
 ever heard ; but, at length, is the time come when 
 fyftem of government is to be iormed for that ex- 
 nlive country, differing from our own in her reli- 
 gion, her laws, her habits, and her cuftoms. Had 
 Ihequeftion once occurred to your Lordfhip how that 
 •|)ught to be done, the poffeflion of Canada might 
 ot perhaps have been the firft object of your care 
 preference to Guadaloupe, Martii\ique, and the 
 ther rich iflands which were reftored to the French 
 ^d Spaniards in the Well-Indies. But it doth not 
 pear that the civil eftablifliment of Canada had e- 
 |pr a place in your thoughts ; becaufe after thirteen 
 ■* ars poffelfion of the country, your mind was fo 
 tirely vacant on this fiibjccl, that 1 dont find your 
 )rdfliip propofcd one idea of your own, either for 
 e framing of any law, or for the amendment of that 
 ,w which has lately received the royal aflent. 
 If ever there was an event on which the public 
 ight demand an opinion, it had a right to yours oii 
 efettlcmcnt of Canada. From your rank an J ex- 
 perience 
 
( 4 ) . 
 
 pcricrice in the (late, your importance in your count 
 try, and, above all, as the atchievement was yours, 
 the manner of maintaining itlhould have been yours 
 ^Ifo. You was the miniftcr, the uncontrolled and 
 uncontrollable minifter when Canada was conquered. 
 'Wh'^n you returned to power a fecond time, you 
 propofed no legiflative acl for its regulation and go« 
 yernment ; mull I then fay to you my Lord, *' Vin- 
 **' cere fcis, vicloria ut nefcis.*— If your abilities are 
 (jonfeffed, who can excufe your ncglecl ? Or, if in 
 this bufineis, either inaccuracy of head, inattention 
 of mind, incorreclncfs of judgment, or infufficiency 
 of reafon, may be imputed to any man, on whom 
 f;aR that charge fall more juftly than upon your 
 Lordfliip ? Why then did you choofe this peculiar 
 moment to brake forth from your retirement ? Sure- 
 ly, my Lord, your condeicenlion is not fuch as to 
 lead you to become the mere harbinger of my Lord 
 Mayor, and his addrefs within the palace, and of his 
 co-patriots ivithout^ who attended his Majefty from 
 St James's to the parliament. 
 
 . The daors pf the houfe pf Lords are fliut, but Lord 
 Chatham's expreflions are not ( nor arc they meant 
 to be) confined. I mean not to comment on your 
 affortment pf the epithets by which you defcribed 
 the a<El of parliament— they were atrocious^ Jhallowy 
 heft. Popery, you faid, was eftabliflied, the prq- 
 teftant church devoted, and the veil of its temple 
 rent afunder ; and that the King's miniftcrs might 
 as well begin to pull down all the proteftant fteeples ; 
 and that thefe minifters had at length thrown off 
 the mafque, and opened their plan ot dcfpotifm. 
 
 This plan of dcfpotifm, my Lord, is the fubftituti- 
 on of an acl of parliament in lieu of a government 
 by proclamation ; a proclamation which at firft was 
 didated, has been often varied, and till this time has 
 
 fubfiflcd 
 
 Cubi 
 
T count 
 
 yours, 
 :n yours 
 lied and 
 iquered. 
 me, you 
 and go- 
 , « Vin- 
 iities are 
 )r, if in 
 ittention 
 ifficiency 
 a whom 
 on your 
 ; peculiar 
 It ? Sure- 
 iich as to 
 my Lord 
 nd of his 
 efty from 
 
 but Lord 
 ey meant 
 
 on your 
 defcribed 
 y, JhaUowy 
 
 the pro- 
 is temple 
 rs might 
 
 fteeples ; 
 
 irown oft 
 
 tifm. 
 
 ubftituti- 
 
 ernment 
 
 jSrft was 
 time has 
 fubfiftcd 
 
 ( 5 ) 
 
 fubfifted by the mere will and pleafure of the crown! 
 it was imperium hominis that has governed the Canadi- 
 ans fince the peace ; it is imperium legis that is to go- 
 vern them hereafter. Is it neccflary for mc to ex- 
 plain to your Lordihip which is a ftate of liberty, and 
 which of tyranny ? Converfant with the hiftory and 
 [fate of nations, your Lordihip knows that allthofe 
 [unhappy people who have loft their liberties, havefeeii 
 thofe liberties end precifely where the government 
 of will begin. But your Lordfliip is pleafed to re- 
 Iverfe this propoiition ; and you, who in your love of 
 paradoxes formerly told us that Canada was conque- 
 red in Germany, now tell us that this lame Canada 
 18 inflaved, becaufe it is no longer to be governed by 
 proclamation, but by law. 
 
 Let us ftop for a moment, to fee what t'^c govem- 
 ent of Canada was, under the proclamation which 
 u wifli to perpetuate, — it comprehended Eaft Fiori- 
 , Weft Florida, and the Granades, together with 
 nada, countries as different in their eftablifliments 
 ||s in their foil, and in their climate ; various there- 
 Jbrc were the inftruftions given to their fevcral go- 
 yernors, and afterwards changed according as info»'- 
 ination and experience pointed out new fyltcms. In 
 IJanada the French laws alone prevailed till 1764, then 
 ^Ibe Engliih laws got fome footing. The governors 
 ind officers of juftice always doubtful which to take 
 flir their guide, fometimes prefering the Engliih, 
 l^metimes the French laws, as each feemed applicable 
 to the cafe before them — One year a proclamation, 
 ibother year an inftru<^on to a governor, another 
 ar a local ordinance, changed the principal, and 
 ried the courfe of their jufticiary proceedings. -In 
 is ft ate of fluduation, no man knew by what right 
 could take, or give, inherit, or convey, pofleCs, or 
 ijoy property j or by what mode or rule he coul J 
 
 bjino: 
 

 
 '( 6 ) • 
 
 biing his right to a trial. One neceflary confequence 
 was a frequent refort to the crown for amend men t, 
 explanation, and decifion ; "cujus eft condere, ejus 
 " eft interpretari.**— And what lefs than defpotifm 
 is the power of the crown, when it can create or in- 
 terpret, eftablifli or dcftroy laws, by virtue of its 
 own mandates ? 
 
 The condition of thefe wretched people under this 
 government, is defcribed by Lord Coke in the very 
 motto which he chofc for his works, " mifera eft fer- 
 « Vitus ubi jus eft vagum aut incognitum.". I need 
 not tell yoiir Lordlhip that the parliament of Henry 
 Vlll gave the Kin^*s proclamations the power of the 
 law ; It muft give iome comfort to all fober people to 
 fee the parliament of^this day annul the force of a 
 proclamation, in order to eftablifli law.— If therefore 
 I can agree with you, mv Lord, in thinking tl>e King's 
 minifters are fo atrocious as to have formed any plan 
 of defpotifm, I muft agree with you alfo, that they 
 iire more inept and Ihallow in the execution, fince 
 they have let go the very power which you fay they 
 grafp at ; and if, my I^rd, there could ever be a pro- 
 per time to infult the King's perfon with a cry of ar- 
 bitrary power, furely,my Lord, there could have been 
 no time lefsfeafonable than that, when he was goinp- to 
 give his affent in parliament to reilorc to the Canadi- 
 ans their birth-right m thtir lav/s, and to relinquiih 
 that very power which conqueft had put laJiis hands. 
 This proclamation, however, we are told with the 
 treaty, and other acts of royal authority, was con- 
 fidcred as an engagement, under which the colonifts 
 embarked their perfons, and tl;e merchants their for- 
 tunes for Canada, and that the national faith was 
 plighted to form a government as near as may be a^j-rce- 
 able to the law:^ of England ; for it is faid, that none 
 would have embarked or traded thither, wiciiout the 
 
 pioipcd 
 
( 7 ) 
 
 rpe6V of Engliih laws, and of Engliih juric. How 
 
 the real engagements has been kept, and whether 
 
 ly part of the laws of England, that could be exe- 
 
 Ited, have been with- held, we fhali criquire bve and 
 
 re ; but firft let me appeal to your Iord(hip*sknow- 
 
 Ige, and the knowledge of every man, M'hether it 
 
 inecefl'ary there fhould be a trial of jury, wherwcr 
 
 ir merchants export their manufadures ? In all our 
 
 Ireat foreign markets there arc no juries : in Amai- 
 
 therc are juries ; but if you will alk the merchant 
 
 lethcr he expels a iurer payment from Hamburgh, 
 
 U. or from Boilon, 1 don't believe he wilj anfwcr 
 
 the Boflonians. It would be impertinent, my 
 
 ^rd, to introduce what I fhall take the liberty to Jay 
 
 m juries, with any panegyric upon that blefied 
 
 ^itution.— Its praifcs are writ ten in our hearts : but 
 
 conflitution of juries may be compared to a fa- 
 
 s, where every minute material is effentially nc- 
 
 iry to the fafety, ufefulnefs, and beauty of the 
 
 )le. Permit me then jufl to mention what an 
 
 tliih jury is, before I aik what a Canadian jury 
 
 be* 
 
 England, the iheriiFina public manner takds the 
 
 les out of the lift of freeholders, as chance has pla- 
 
 them. He may return fix panels, which are fe- 
 
 ^ty two jurors, and he cannot return lefs than four, 
 
 Ich are forty-eight at every affize ; and that thefe 
 
 >rs may not become hackened in their office, or 
 
 rked for fedudion, none are to be returned, but 
 
 have not ferved for two years before (except in ^ 
 Idlefex, where the law has been altered, perhaps; 
 the worfe, for Middlefex juries though better 
 Coifed, are 'not better than other juries ;) and in* " 
 rkfhire, becaufe of the largenefsof thecounty^ fred- 
 Iders cannot be retvracd but once in four years. 
 
 Thus, 
 
. Thus, my Lord, the uncertainty of who fhall U\ 
 jurors, and the nature of the office itfelf commcnct 
 ing inftuntly, and ending inflantiy in public fourtj 
 gives no poini/ility of previous folicitation or fedudi. 
 en f but itill thcie follows a right of challenge, to| 
 exclude every man againft whom a iufpicioix lies of. 
 partiality or prejudice, whether from affedlion, affi.j 
 nity, or intercd. 
 
 Let us now, ray Lord, fee what is the fund for 
 
 an EngHjbjury in Canada j the nun^ber of freeholders 
 
 ( I do not fay there arc none ) is fmall indeed ; there i 
 
 irc about three hundred Engliflimen, who are houfe. 
 
 keepers, and of thcfe, perhaps thirty or forty arc of 
 
 the rank of merchants and tradcfttien ; the reft are '! 
 
 diibanded foldiers, moil of them futlei*s ; and it is a 
 
 Mclaacholy coniideration that their chkf traifick is 
 
 in fpintuous liquors, of which they (hare pretty 
 
 largely with their cuftomers th6 confiAion foldiers. 
 
 The courts of jullice fit once a week* The number 
 
 of the better fort of Englifh will not afford one legal 
 
 panel in the whole year, and infufficient to do Uie 
 
 bufinefs of juries, even fuppofing them to give up 
 
 their time, and every other occupation to that fer- 
 
 vice only : Mr. Maferes therefore admits that the 
 
 burthen of attendance would be intolerable without* 
 
 pay ; and he propofes five ihrllings a head for everyj 
 
 time they ferve : thus the office of jurymen would 
 
 become a trade, a trade indeed, that none of the 
 
 better fort will follow, but mufl fall of courfe upon 
 
 thoie veterans who have left the army for the gin-. 
 
 (hop ' fuch mufl be the Englifh jury in Canada, 
 
 without freeholders, without chailenge, without 
 
 change, and in (hort without one attribute of an 
 
 Englifh jury. Corruptto optimiJU peffima, is a true old ) 
 
 adage, and I fpeak it as a proof of the perfection of. 
 
 an Englifh jury, that in an imperfeft flate it wouldj 
 
 be the worit way of trial upon earth. But itmay| 
 
(' 9 ) 
 
 ifaici thcr^ are above an hundred thoufand Canadt- 
 
 qualificd to fcrvc upon juries ; why not take youj- 
 Lo) from them ? Bccaufc your Lordihip will hard,- 
 Inift the property of your countrymen to a jury 
 [Canadians only. But the juries may be niixcd,-r 
 'what proportion ? If you take an equal number of 
 ^glifli and of Canadians, how are they to decide at 
 J Or take an uneaual number, and decide by vote, 
 
 in courts martial) then if the majority of tlie ju- 
 be Canadians, the vcrdiA will be the fame as if the 
 iqle was Canadian, or if you throw the majority on 
 
 ifide of the EngliOi, where is the impartiality, on 
 lich the Canadian can depend ? 
 
 Jefides, the civillaw of France, and the trial by ju- 
 in L. ;land, are fo diflbnant, that the forms of one 
 
 never be blended into proceedings of the other ; 
 
 rules in refped oF tenures, alienations, ck)wers» 
 
 inhciitances are quite dilT'crcnt ;.--how could the 
 
 go on in the two dilFerent languages ? If the CW- 
 ]ian fhould have a caufe to try, how can his ad- 
 
 Ue prepare the proceis for an EngliJJi jurv'f Or if 
 fgoes to an Englifli attorney , how i^ the latter to 
 tie a proceeding according to the laws of Paiis ? 
 [But in Grimhml lazv the cafe is different ; for tQ 
 
 fad of giiilt or innocence, one man is as compe- 
 |t as another ; and in our own courts, it is the 
 tual practice, where a foreigner is to be tried, to 
 T a jury de medieUte lingucj^ one half Engjiili, one 
 fforgigners. 
 
 mean not, my Lord, a general defence of the cri- 
 nal laws of England, as they are of late years mu^ 
 Pied and extended. For if a moiety of thofe who 
 
 condemned were to fuffer death, their blood 
 >uld cry out for vengeance ; and lam pcrfuaded. 
 It the frequency of pardons, even where n;crcy is 
 le, gives rile to nine in ten cf the thefts and robbc- 
 fs that are committed. But the French law of tor- 
 
 B - ture 
 
( 10 ) 
 
 V- 
 
 tuic to prccure confeffion, is tons unkhown. On th<j 
 contrary the accufed perfon is, or ought to be, warn- 
 cd from injuring himfelf by his own confeiHoh. It 
 is but modern law that any man could be convicted 
 on his own confeffion^ and even now confeffiofts 
 ought not to be admitted without thegreateft caution/^ 
 
 Jo us is unknown likewife all cruelty of puni(li.| 
 ment ; no racks, or wheels, or inftruments of barbari. 
 ty and tyranny are to be feen in our executions. 
 From thefe appendages of defpotifm are the Canadi- ^| 
 ans now delivered, and may live protected in their 
 fortunes, their honours, and their lives, under what 
 I trufl will ftand for ever, the inpregnable fortrefs of 
 an Englifli jury. 
 
 Tn the courfe of all the evidence that has been laid 
 before the public, we find that the Canadians have 
 expreffed one conftant uniform wifh to be governed 
 by their own laws, and that the Engliih liave as fire- 
 vently dcfired to be governed by the laws of England. 
 The Canadians are above one hundred thoufand, the 
 Engliih not more than two thoufand men, women, 
 and children. The legiflature was therefore to con- 
 iider whether the law iisd government ought to be 
 adapted to the many or thcfezv. 
 
 There can be no rule for the compofing of laws* 
 but the fentiments and inclinations of thole who arc 
 to be governed by them. 
 
 In a Hate of nature, liberty knows hO bound but 
 that of fuperior force. 
 
 '^ Jura inventa metu injufti," and that portion of 
 liberty which each man is willing to give up for the 
 convenience, fafety, and protedion of individuals, of 
 families, of focieties, and of Hates, is the firft principle 
 of law. It is true, the multitude do not compofe 
 the form, but it muft be framed to correfpond with 
 their genius and temper, fo that their underfiandings 
 may be prepared to meet, and their hearts ready to 
 cinljracc it The habits, culloms, and manners of 
 
 •.lites 1 
 mci 
 
Bm. On th(!i 
 
 be, warn. 
 
 feifioh. It 
 
 : convitled 
 
 confeffiofls 
 
 :eft caution, 
 of punifli. 
 of barbari" 
 
 executions. 
 
 :he Canadi. 
 
 ed in their 
 
 inder what 
 
 : fortrcfs of 
 
 s been laid 
 adians have 
 J governed 
 ave as fre- 
 tf England, 
 mfand, the 
 ;n, women, 
 )re to con- 
 ught to be 
 
 ig of laws* 
 lie who are 
 
 )Ound but 
 
 portion of 
 up for the 
 /iduals, of 
 I principle 
 t compofc 
 ond with 
 riiandings 
 ready to 
 anners of 
 
 '^ 
 
 ( «« ) 
 
 people, are the mirror in which alone thejr general 
 ii'pofition may be feen ; even regard mufl be had to 
 eir prejudices and their weaknefs j for law inujl he 
 ded ( as Grociushas exprefled it) "cum fenfu hu- 
 anae imbccillitatis/' When Solon was compliment- 
 on having given good laws to his counti-ymenj his 
 ply was, *' rhcy are only fuchas the Athenians are 
 capable of receiving." Even the lav/ of God, as 
 ropofed by Mofes, was fubmit ted to t he iud ;;inent of 
 e people before it was adopted by tl.cni. " 
 But ifithefe rules are indifpenfable in iUcfirmafion, 
 ey apply much more forcibly to the actual eftablifh- 
 ent of law. If nothing but violence can impo/e law, . 
 would be dill greater tyranny to rob a nation of 
 t law which they approve upon experience, and 
 ich is endeared by habit. Allov^'ing then that the 
 nadians prefer a worfe law to a better ^ven that bad 
 oice is decifive upon the conduct of Great- Britain, 
 ey yielded themfelves up to our proted:ion and our 
 th. How then can we deprive them of the fidl: 
 ights of human nature ? 
 We are now come to that part of {;he bill which rc- 
 tes to their religion ; and knowing, my Lord, how 
 uch you ate an admirer of civil liberty, and canrc- 
 efent it with fo many graces and advantages, I 
 ould have been glad to have heard that your Lord- 
 ip, with equal [:;race and dignity, hadfupported the 
 ufe of religious liberty. But it f'eems you declared 
 at no true Proteftant could fupport this bill.— No 
 l^ue Proteftant, my Lord, can be a perfccutpr'; dq 
 j|rue Proteftant can harbour any fuch idea as thiit of 
 *^ablifhing religion by force. Is the Spaniard in Mcx- 
 o to be an example for a Proteftant Icgillature ? 
 Religious liberty is nearer to the heart and confci- 
 nee than civil liberty ; for why are Roman Catho- 
 ics deemed enemies to ourconftitution? Not bccaulc 
 
 » illCY 
 * Exodus. 
 
I 
 
 12 
 
 ) 
 
 they don't love liberty, (\vc owe Magna- Charta {i 
 theni) but beciiife, witliout iiibvcrtiug tlie confiitn 
 tion and the law, tht: iloniilh religion can never b: 
 rcfioi'cd. 
 
 The reformation was not the work of force.— Rd 
 cnce had begun to dawn, and to diipel fupcrftition, 
 'J he tyranny of Rome was become hateful, and hci 
 authoj'ity contemptible, when that great event took' 
 place. The deiircs and opinions of the people co-in* 
 cided with thehufnours of the King : ;fnd the mo-fl 
 ment parliament had cibibliflicd the Prqteftant rcli- 'i 
 *gion, it became not the voice only, but the acVof the 
 whole nation. 7 he cafe of Canada is totally diiFe- 
 vent. The people there adhere to their religion^ and 
 did notfurrender without a llipulation and folemn en- 
 gagement for the free exerciie of it. Your Lordfbip 
 w as Miniftcr when the capitulation was granted by 
 Sir Jeffery AmhurR, and you f()und no lault with I 
 that able General for that prudent and Irumane con- 
 ceilion. This freedom was again infured at the peace, 
 approved and confirmed by parliament ? nor did 
 your Lordfhipi in your long difplay of eloquence * ' 
 ()n that occalion, once blame that part of the treaty. 
 But you arc now pie:- fed to call themcafure atrocious^ 
 Jhallcr^. and inept^ Ix^caufe it has fccurcd to the clerg)- 
 their property, and bccaufe it has fubftitiited an oatli 
 of allegiance inftead of that of fupi omacy as required 
 Ijy the I ft of Elizabeth. The belt defiinclion I know- 
 between eftablifliment and tollerationi;,, thatthe grea- 
 ter number has a right co the 0:10, and the leffer to 
 the other. The public maintenance of a clergy is 
 inherent to ejiabiijhnicnt ; at the leformation, there- 
 i ore, as much of the church cttates as were thought 
 neceifary for its fupport^wcre transferred to the pro- 
 teftant church as by law cilablinied. Surely then, 
 when the free exerciie of the national religion was 
 
 given 
 * Lcrd Chatham fpclte three hours and a half againft the peace 
 
C «^ ) 
 
 Iven to the G;inadian nation, itcorld never be un- 
 jrftood that thcy were to be dc;; i ed of ther cler- 
 ; and if not, a national proviliOi* for that clergy 
 Hows of courfc. 
 
 It has often been afferted, thut the Proteflant reli- 
 
 )n has "been rooted out of Canada by this bill. The 
 
 rerfe is the truth ; for no mar who is, or may be- 
 
 ime a Proteflant, is to pay tythe^ Or a ^y church 
 
 tes to the Romifh eflablifhmeht, but the money is 
 
 pii to be colleded, in order to conflitute a fund for 
 
 le railing and fupporting of a Proteflant church idl 
 
 mada. 
 
 ^Some have doubted whether thofe claufes of the 
 
 lliz. v/hich eflablifh the oath of fupreniacy, extend 
 
 any of his Majefly's prefent dominions but fuch 
 
 [belonged to the crown when that memorable fla- 
 
 e was made/^ If this confbrudion is a true one, 
 
 Canadians were not obliged to take the oath of 
 
 >remacy; and the new oath which the Quebec bill 
 
 eftabliflied, is fo far an acquisition, and advanta- 
 
 >us to the caufe of proteflantifm, as it adds to the 
 
 imoa oath of allegiance, and obliges every Catho- 
 
 of Canada, who fhall henceforthexcrciicaPiy func- 
 
 )n,civil or religious to renounce all pardom and d'lfpen-* 
 
 Honsfrom any power or perfon iv ho^upe ucr contrary to 
 
 \at oath* But if wp are to luppofe the abovementi- 
 
 led conftrudion to be falfe, and that every part of 
 
 I ft of Eliz. extends to all his Majefty's prefent db- 
 
 [nions, I will venture then to afTert, that the Ro- 
 
 m Catholic religion would not have had in Cana- 
 
 even the advantage of a toleration, if the oath of 
 
 5remacy had not been repealed. For no houefl 
 
 >man Catholic Piieft could have taken that oath in 
 
 ie true fenfe of the words in which it is exprer^ 
 
 H ; and if he ventured to exercifc any ecclefiaftical 
 
 Sn6lion without having taken it, he would have been 
 
 tbjcwl to all the penalties and difabilities which the 
 
 , y^ law 
 
 
( 14 ) 
 
 law has in fuch cafe inflicted ? and that there arc per. ' 
 fons in Canada ready to commence profecutions a- 
 gainft every offender of this kind,wecan hardly doubt, 
 when we recollect that one grand jury thought it 
 their duty to make a public prefcntment of every Ro- 
 man Catholic of the province ; and muft. therefore 
 have cbnfidered them not only as perfons not undci* 
 the protection pf the law, but as offenders againft it. 
 But tho* the legiflature has thought fit to repeal the 
 oath eftabliihed by the ift Eliz. and to fubftitute ano- 
 ther oath in the place of it, which in truth is no more 
 than what has been frequently done before ; yet the 
 King's fupremacy is not on that account in any dan- 
 ger, as has been ignorantly and abfurdly fuppofed. 
 The C^iebec bill, inflead of giving up his Majefty's 
 fqpremacy, afferts it as eftabliihed by the ift of Eliza- 
 beth ; that is, in all cafes, ecclefiaftical as well as civil ; 
 no ecclefiaftical officer or minifter can excrciic in Ca- 
 nada any authority or jurifdicHon that is not derived 
 from the crown : and if any man fhall hereafter pre- 
 fume to exercife therein any powers derived fi om any 
 foreign authority, or jurifdiction whatfoGvcr, or fliall 
 malicioufty and unadviiedly endeavour to advance or 
 fuppoi t the claims or preterifions of the Pope, or ot 
 any foreign prince or ftatc, he will fiill be fubjed to 
 the lame penalties to which he would have been H^ 
 ble if the Quebec bill had never pafl'cd ; and the l^vv 
 of England has ftill in ftore punifhrnents fully fuilici- 
 ent to deter the moft zealous Catl>oliG of Canada 
 from the commiflion of fuch an offence. 
 
 Since then your Lordftiip has been fo very fcvcn 
 in your ftridures on (his part of the Quebec bill, let 
 me again implore you to tell us what plan you your- 
 felf would recommend : Would you now conftrue the 
 free exercife of reIi^{rion to be lefs than the Canadians 
 tliOLight it when they threw tlicmfelves upon om 
 faith ? Would you now become their perfecutor ? Oi 
 
 
C'5) 
 
 ^ould you ftill fufFer them to enjoy their religion^ 
 
 rith its confequential property ; but enjoy it not by 
 
 ^e conftitutional authority of an Tick oF parliament. 
 
 It by virtue of an aflual exercife of a difpeniing 
 
 )wer in the crown ? 
 Your Lordfhip is faid to have aiTcrted thefe two 
 
 lings i that the bill was intended to raife a ftrength 
 Canada, in order to intimidate other parts of Anae- 
 
 :a ', and then, that the bill was injurious to the Ca« 
 
 idians. 
 'he imputed injury is,that the law of France which 
 
 ►defpotifm, h entailed^ and the law of England which 
 
 ^ecdom^ annulled, 
 
 iThere is a diftindlion to be made between the law 
 ^ance, and the government of France, 
 •he^ne «, the other is not defpotic. The law of 
 mce originated in freedom. The Franks were a 
 )ple of Germany, who came and fettled at Gaul : 
 Sr Kings were elective j and their power fo limited, 
 all their authority was derived fiom their merit 
 virtue. * They preferved their liberties till the 
 th century, when they were deftroyed by the con- 
 
 Ivance Engeraurd de Marigny, the minifter of Phi- 
 the fair. 
 
 I At this period the dcfpotifm of France began ; from 
 •ice may be dated the fluchiations in the admini- 
 ition of their juftice, the inft ability of property, the, 
 liihments of their parliaments, together with their 
 ters de cachet, none oi which, my Lord, are the 
 bitutions of the law, but the excefl'es of that pow- 
 which has arifenupon the demolition of law. What 
 jlorious and happy revolution Would France expe- 
 tnce, could you at this moment rellore her ancient 
 rs free from the controui of power ! 
 
 This 
 
 : Reges ex nobilitate ; duces ex virtute fumunt ; nee regtbus infinita 
 [ libera poteftas Et duces exemplo potius quam imperioprxfuat Tac. 
 
i^ 
 
 ( '6 ) I 
 
 i 
 
 This IS the very bleiBng in wh*n:h the Quebec bill in, 
 dates the Ganadians, not torn from the chureh, but! 
 feperated from the ftate of Rome \ they are in pofidHi. J 
 on of the law which they love, under a goverment 
 that muft take that law for its guide, where the mi, 1 
 niiters of the crown can neither illue a general war- 1 
 rant, nor impi iibn by a lettre de cachet^ but every il. ] 
 legal or opprefllve ad that would be impeachable and 
 punifliable againft an Englifhman, will be equally cri- i 
 minal, in refpect of the Canadians. I 
 
 One word to the policy of this bill, and 1 have done. 
 I do not mean to confider the generjJ policy, whether 
 England had better have refted upon her natural in* 
 nate ftrength, or have become the head of a divided 
 empire, over different nations of different faith. Her 
 former flate, as in the days of Queen EUzabeth, was 
 the theme of poetical rapture. ^ 
 
 Oh England model of thy inward greatnefs^ I 
 
 Like little body with a mighty heart, 
 
 Shakespeare. 
 Was the fame poet to celebrate your adminiftrati- 
 on, he woujd fpeak of England as, 
 
 ■■ — Bejhciding the worlfi 
 
 LikeaColoJfus. ••- «*^ 
 
 But my Lord, whomever we preteiid to govern, 
 whether natural-born fubjecls or adopted ones, ihis* 
 is certain, that that policy is befl, which is beft cal- 
 culated to unite them all ia one common bond of 
 intereft, affedion, and duty. 
 
 Here5my Lord, let me alk>what was your oWedin \ 
 actptiring^ what in retaining Canada, but that France 
 might not have at her command a body of men, ci- 
 ther to attack our American fettlements in time of 
 war, or harafs them in time of peace, by inciting the 
 native Indians to invade them ? Would you wifh, my 
 Lord, to fpoil the fruits of your own conqueft in the 
 wofft manner poffible f Which would be, to keep 
 / • the • 
 
 
 i 
 
^Wi 
 
 rpverment 
 
 :re the mi* 'M 
 
 have done, 
 y, whether 
 latural in^ 
 f a divided 
 faith. Her 
 ibeth, was 
 
 SPEARE. 
 
 iminiftrati- 
 
 to govern, 
 I ones, ihis' 
 is beft cal. 
 a bond of^ 
 
 urobjedin 
 that France 
 of men, ci« 
 i in time of 
 nciting the 
 u wilh, my 
 queft in the 
 )e, to keep 
 ■ ^ ^ th€! 
 
 V 
 
 hearts of the Canadians devoted to France, wheh^ 
 fhe might call them to arms, 
 ut there is another confideration which makes' 
 afFe<5lion of the Canadians dill more defneablc. — 
 ould be afraid to mention it if your Lordlhip 
 not proclaimed it already j it is the prefent ftate 
 Boilon : Should, my Idrd, (which God avert) a 
 1 neceflity arife, (as your Lordfhip has been too 
 both to prognofticate, and to advife) to ccerce A- 
 ica;do you wilh in that melancholy eVent, to 
 bine the heart of the Canadian with that of the 
 onian ? Was Canada now in the poffeflion of 
 ce, and fliould the Boftonian refoive upon re- 
 n, there can be no doubt whither he would 
 for fupport, and for encouragement. But ihe 
 of that hdp^ tnay happily difpofe him to better 
 ghts. 
 
 theh, my Lord, the CJuebec bill is founded in 
 firft principle of all law, the concurrence and ap^ 
 ation If the people, and if its end is that, for which 
 koyemtnent ought to be iiiftituted, the hafpinefs of 
 pverned^ then will this bill which you?; Lordfhip 
 ght atrocious y /hallow^ ^nA inept ^ appear confonant 
 uice, wifdom, benevolence, and policy ; and the 
 ature of thb country will have followed an il- 
 ous example of antiquity in making fuch regu- 
 ns for the Canadians ; " ut in iua ripa legibufque 
 is, mente animoque nobifcum dgant." 
 
 : .' -A • <• » ^ • • * • .» - • • * • ' • • • 
 
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