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 ri 
 
 1838.1 
 
 The Canada Question. 
 
 .ill 
 
 LlBHm 
 
 205 
 
 Within an inner room hia couch they spread, 
 His funeral couch ; with mingled grief and love, 
 They laid a crcwn of roses on his head, 
 And murmured, "brighter is his crown above.*' . 
 
 They scattered round him, on his snowy sheet, 
 Laburnum's strings of sunny-colourcd gems, 
 Sad hyacinth and violet dim and sweet. 
 And orange blossoms on their dark green stems. 
 
 And now the hour is come,— the priest is there, — 
 Torches arc lit, — the bells are tolled, — they go, 
 With solemn rites of blessing and of prayer, 
 To lay those dear remains in earth below. 
 
 The door is opened— hark that .niick glad cry— 
 " Carlo has waked— has waked, and is at play !" 
 The little sisters leap and laugh, and try 
 To climb the couch on which the infant lay. 
 
 And there he sits, alive, and gaily shakes. 
 In his full hands, the blossoms blue and white. 
 And smiles with winking eyes, like one who wakes 
 From a deep slumber at the morning light. 
 
 THE CANADA QUESTION. 
 
 Civil war in the British North American Provinces ! This event 
 has come upon the people of the United States with something of 
 apparent suddenness and surprise ; and yet, to those who have at. 
 tentively observed the progress of opinion in the two Canadas, the 
 proceedings of the Assembly of Lower Canada, the discussions on 
 the subject in the British Parliament, and the agitation of the Cana- 
 dians themselves, the actual collision between the mother country 
 and her colonies has been a matter neither strange nor unexpected. 
 Indeed, if there be any thing remarkable in the fact, it has been, 
 that, situated as the British Provinces are, in close contiguity with 
 the United States, and exposed, as they thus have so long been, to 
 the salutary contagion of democratic institutions and democratic 
 principles, they have been content until this time to remain the 
 Bubject colonies of Great Britain. 
 
 While, however, it has been apparent, of late especially, that a 
 
 VOt. I. NO. II. i 
 
306 
 
 The Canada Question, 
 
 [ Jannary, 
 
 change in the relations of Great Britain and her North American 
 Provinces was at hand, it is right to observe that actual hostiliticB 
 were precipitated by the violence of the royalist party in Lower 
 Canada. The Canadians were pursuing reform in constitutional 
 modes. Their House of Assembly had again and again presented 
 the grievances of the colony to the notice of the motlier country. 
 Tliey had refused, as they lawfully and constitutionally might, to 
 make appropriations for the salaries of the officers of the Crown, un- 
 less the reforms, municipal and constitutional, which they deemed es- 
 sential to the colony, were conceded by Great Britain. They were 
 peacefully organizing themselves, as they had a right to do, for effec- 
 tive resistance, — forcible or not, as the case might require, — to any at* 
 tempt of the Crown to coerce them into an abandonment of the objects 
 of reform which the good of the colony demanded. They were dis- 
 cussing these objects in public meetings and in public journals, as 
 they had full right to do. They were preparing to maintain their rights 
 by force if assailed by force. But they did not strike the first blow. 
 They did not explode the train of revolution. This was done by 
 tlie persons and the party attached to the mother country, who as- 
 saulted individuals of an association called ' Sons of Liberty,* — mob- 
 bed tlie printing office, and destroyed the printing materials, of the 
 principal journal of the Canadians, a paper conducted with great 
 spirit and ability, the Vindicator — arrested and imprisoned many of 
 tlieir number on charges of sedition or treason, and thus drove the 
 Canadians to take up arms, and kindled the flame of civil war in the 
 Province. 
 
 There can, we are inclined to think, be little doubt, that it was the 
 purpose of the violent loyalists of Montreal, in those steps, to pre- 
 cipitate the outbreak, the near approach of which was self-evident,— 
 in the belief that the rapidity of action, bravery, and discipline of 
 the regular troops, would probably be able to crush at once the first 
 insurrectionary gatherings, before the depth of the winter should open 
 tlie communication across the St. Lawrence by means of the ice. 
 Matters had, by this time, proceeded so far, the mutual feelings of the 
 two parties had reached such a point of exasperation, and the organi- 
 zation of the Canadians, emanating from the central association of the 
 'Sons of Liberty,' in Montreal, was progressing so rapidly, that, in 
 truth, the course adopted seemed the only one that afforded a chance 
 of nipping flie embryo revolution in the bud. By driving out into 
 overt treason all the leaders,— whose designs were already scarce half 
 concealed, while they puruied them so skilfully as to keep within 
 the line of personal safety, — il was doubtless supposed that the result 
 would either place their persons within the power of Government, 
 as prisoners, or get rid of them as fugitive exiles. 
 
 The immediate crisis was brought on by measures of the British 
 government, adopted in the aim to compel the Canadians to submit 
 
 / 
 
 I ' 
 
/ 
 
 1838.] 
 
 The Canada Question, 
 
 SOT 
 
 ■^ 
 
 I ' 
 
 themselves to the will of the mother country, in respect of the ques- 
 tions of rijrht raised by the House of Assembly of Lower Canada. 
 To 'understand this point, however, and the merits of the controversy 
 generally, it is necessary to ^o back to the former early liistory of 
 the colony, and trace events down to the present day. 
 
 Canada, originally a French colony, it is known, came into the 
 possession of Great Britain by conqaesf, beinir assured to her by 
 treaty in 1763, just at the beginning of the controversy between her 
 and the colonics now constituting the United States. Tlie province 
 contained at that time a small population, less than a hundred thou- 
 sand souls. Being exclusively French, and having for many years 
 been at war, more or less, with the old British Colonies in America, 
 the Canadians did not, at the epoch of the Revolution, sympathize in 
 feeling with the latter ; and, unwilling, perhaps, to incur anew so soon 
 the horrors of war, remained passively submissive to the authority 
 of Great Britain,— governed, without institutions of their own, as a 
 conquered colony. 
 
 But when the French revolution not long afterwards ensued,— -an 
 event, by wliich, from their French origin and language, tlie Cana- 
 dians were likely to be more sensibly affected than by a revolution 
 in the British colonies, though on the same continent, — the British 
 government felt the necessity of anticipating any discontent in Can- 
 ada by the voluntary concession of institutions, and by other mea- 
 sures which might conspire to secure their allegiance. 
 
 Accordingly, in 1791, an act of Parliament was introduced and 
 passed by Mr. Pitt, which is commonly called the ' Constitutional 
 Act;' and by which the colony was divided into two governments, 
 Upper and Lower Canada. The idea was, to organize each after the 
 model of the constitution of Great Britain itself: answering to the 
 King, a Governor,-— for the Cabinet, an Executive Council,— -for the 
 House of Lords, a Legislative Council, — for the House of Commons, 
 a Representative Assembly. The colony was divided, in order to 
 have that part of it called Upper Canada peopled by emigrants from 
 Great Britain, so as to balance the French colony of Lower Canada. 
 
 To this organization of the Canadas very serious objections were 
 made at the time ; which objections have, in the progress of events, 
 been fully verified. First, it was objected that, by the separation, 
 Upper Canada would be insulated in the interior of the continent, 
 being accessible to maritime commerce only through Lower Canada, 
 or through the United States. Then, it was objected that the theory 
 of the * Constitutional Act ' was radically defective, inasmuch as 
 Canada had not, and no American colony could have, an hereditary 
 aristocracy of sufficient number and weight to correspond to the 
 peerage of Great Britain ; and therefore the Legislative Council 
 would either be nugatory, if it did not exercise its functions inde- 
 pendently of the Assembly, or on the other hand, if it did, would 
 
 I 
 
The Canada Question. 
 
 [ January^ 
 
 / 
 
 become odious to the colony, as the mere instrument of the Crown, 
 by whom its members were appointed. 
 
 Out of this inherent vice of the * Constitutional Act ' a multitude of 
 evils have flowed. As the Canadians f?rew in numbers and intclll- 
 gcnce, they naturallv desired to meliorate the condition of their 
 country, in confunnity with the spirit of the age. But the Legisla- 
 tive Council proved to he a perpetual drawback on all reform,— a 
 standinjrcon^icrvator of every abuse. , ,t . j 
 
 Thus matters went on, until the war of 1813, between the United 
 States and Great IJritain, at which time, as before in 1774 and 1791i, 
 the government of Great Britain took pains, by politic conciliations, 
 of one sort or another, to enlist the Canadas on their side, and 
 against the natural allv of the Canadians. 
 
 Since that period, however, the discontents of the Canadians have 
 been gradually growing to a head; until, in 1833, the supply bill, 
 passed by the Assembly, was coupled with conditions of the reform 
 of various gross abuses of the colonial administration ; which the 
 Government not consenting to reform, the supply bill was lost. 
 This event was the beginning of the end ; for tlie next year the 
 House of Assembly set forth solemnly the grievances of the colony, 
 in the celebrated " Ninelvtwo Resolutions." This document has 
 not, that we are aware, been published in the United States; and its 
 great importance at the present time, as a formal exhibition of the 
 claims of the Canadians to redress, will justify us in transferring some 
 of the more material parts of it to our pages. 
 
 Resolutions of the House of Assembly of Lower Canada, dated 
 
 Quebec, Friday, list Fcbruanj, 1834. 
 
 I. Resolved, That Ills Majesty's loy^U Subjects, the People of the Province of 
 Lower Canada, have shewn the strongest attachment to the British Empire, of which 
 they arc a portion; that they have repeatedly defended it with courage, .n Umc of 
 war, that at the period which preceded tlielndependence of the late British Col^ 
 nies on tins Continent, ihey resisted the appeal made to them by those Colonics to 
 
 ioin their confederation. - , • t» .• — k.o 
 
 ^ 4 liesolved, That this House, as representing; the People of this Province, has 
 shewn an earnest zeal to advance the general prosperity of the Comitry, by securing 
 the peace and content of all classes of its Inhabitants, without any «if '"^ '«"J« 
 origin or creed, and upon the solid and durable basis of unity of interest, and equal 
 confidence in the protection of the Mother Country. ^ . „ , <« „ •„ p,^^. 
 
 6 molm!, That in the year 1827, the great majority of the People of this Prov- 
 ince complained, in Petitions signed by 87,060 persons of serious «"d numnrouB 
 abuses which then prevailed, many of which had 0-n existed for a great number of 
 vears, and of which the greater part still exist without correction or mitigation.^ 
 
 7. Resolved, That the complaints aforesaid, and the grievances which gave rise to 
 them,being submitted to the consideration of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, 
 occasioned the appointment of aCommittee of the House of C'ommons, "f ^hi^h the 
 Honorable Edward Geoffrey Stanley, now His Majesty's Principal Secretary of 
 State for the Colonial Department, and several others who are now Members of H s 
 Majesty's Government, formed parti and that after a careful mvcstigation, and due 
 
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 I 
 
 S 
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 of 
 [is 
 ue 
 
 1638.] 
 
 I%e Canada Question, 
 
 209 
 
 deliberation, the said Coramittcc, on the 18th July, iB2B, cama to the following very 
 
 J"fX"'"Thrrth^. embarrassments nnd discontents that had long frovM i„ the 
 Canada^. h'\ nmm iron, serious J.focts in the system of Laws and the Constuu- 
 tiftnH <-stabUsUcd in those Culoniis." ., . . .t. 
 
 Slir''That tlu-sc end,avmss,nents were in great tnr.surcto be attributed to the 
 manner in which th'.- cxlstin- system had been administrred. ' 
 
 3dly "Tl.at tUeykul a complKc conviction, that neuher th. su-e.t,nns wlu h 
 .l.eyL made, nor any other improv.-mnntH in th. Laws anJ Const.uuousof the 
 Conn las will he attcn.Ld wit!, th. dosirad elVect, unless au .npamal cou.Mhal.ng, and 
 con'stitutional system of Government wore observed in these loyal and tmportant 
 
 ^tl^lv.1, Tl,at since the period aforesaid, the Constitution of thi* Province, with 
 its Serious d.f^^cts, ha. continued to be admhilstered in a manner caleuhit.d to mult.- 
 r l" cmbarras;»,ents and diseontents wiu.h have lun^ prevadcd j and tha the re- 
 commendation, of the Committee of the House of Comn.ons have not been followed 
 bv effective measures of a nature to produce the desired t ilcct. 
 
 Q lillmi, That the most serious defect in tl>e Constitutional Act,-Us radical 
 (huit.-the most active principlcof evil and discontent inthc Pv.»vmcc,the most pow- 
 erful and most frequent cause of abuses of power,-<.f the infractions of the Laws,- 
 of the waste of the public revenue and property, aceoinpanud by mipuu.ty to ihe 
 r^verninij party, and the oppression and conseciuent resentment of taei^-overnod -is 
 t.t injudicious Imactment. the fatal results of which wuy foretol hy the ^^A^}\^^^ 
 Charles Jumcs Fox. at the time of its adoption, wloeh lov.^sts the Ci>>wn w.tli tUa 
 exorbitant power, (incompatible with any Goveinur.ent duly balanced and founded 
 on Law and Justice, and not on force and coercion) of selecting and eomposuv.. wuh- 
 out any mle or limitation, or any predetermined nuulificaliou, an entire branch o the 
 Lf.nsJature, supposed from the nature of its attributions to be md.pendent, but intu- 
 ♦ablvthe servile tool of the authority which creates, composes and decomposes it, 
 and can any day modify it to suit the interests or the passions of the moment. _ 
 
 10 lirJrat, T\nxi with the possession of a power so unlimited, the abuse of it ,» 
 inseparably cx.nnected, and that it has always been so exercised m the s(;lecticm of 
 the Members of the Legislative Council of this Province, as to favor the spirit of mo- 
 nopoly and despotism in the executive, judicial, and administrative departments of 
 Government, and never in favor of the public interest. 
 
 21 mdccd, Tliat .lie Lej;islative Council of this Province, has never been any 
 tlnn''t!sM,ut an impotem screen between the Governor and the people, which, by 
 cnabhn-'the one to maintain a conflict with the other, has served to perpetuate a sys- 
 tern of discord and contention; that it has unceasingly acted with avowed hostility 
 to the sentiments of the people as constitmionally expressed by the House of Assem- 
 blv that it is not right, under the name of a Legislative Councd, to impose an aris- 
 tocraey on a country which eomains no natural materials for ihecompos.tion of such 
 a boilv • that the Parlimnent of the United Kingdom, in granting to His Majesty* 
 Canadian Subjoct. the power of revising the Constitution under which they hold 
 their dearest rights, would adopt a liberal policy, free from all considerations of for- 
 mer interests and of existing prejudices; and that by this measure, equally consist- 
 cnt with a wise and sound policy and whh the most libera and extended views, the 
 Parr-miem of the United Kingdom would enter into a noble rivalry with the United 
 States of America, would prevent His Majesty's subjects from seeing any thin? 
 to envy there, and would preserve a friendly intercourse between Great Britain rJid 
 this Province, as her Colony, so long as the tie between us shall continue, and «s lier 
 Allv whenever the course of events may change our relative position, ^ 
 
 37 Ii,v,haf That the political world in Europe is at this moment agitated by two 
 (Treat parties, who in dltferent countries appear under the several names of Servilos, 
 Rovalists. Tories, and Conservatives, on the one side, and of Liberals, Constitutioo- 
 alslBepublicans, Whigs, Reformers, Radicals, and similar appellations ou the other; 
 
II 
 
 810 
 
 Vie Canada Question, 
 
 I January^ 
 
 that the former party in, on this continent, without any wriirht or influence, except 
 what it dtrive» from its European suiiportfrs, and' from a trifliiKj nmnbcr of persons 
 who iKCcnnethcif deiH-jititnls for the sak« of pcrstmal Rnin, and of others who from 
 ogeor habit din? to opinions wliich arc not partaken l)y nny nuni» rous cluss; whilo 
 the second party overspreads all Amrrica; and thiu tht* Colonial Secretary is mistak- 
 en, if he btlicvcs that live exclusion of a few salaried Officers from thfi Lfqislative 
 Conncil could suffice toniab^ it hanuoniw with the Mauts, wisli«'«, and opinions of 
 the people, as Ion? as the Colonial Gtivtrnors retain the power of preserving in it a 
 nwjority of MeniinTS rendered 8»'rvili' by thiir nntipottiy to every liberal idia. 
 
 41. A'cWm/, Thcitllis MajrMty'aSecr*::aryofStatef(.irtl)f Coh.nial Department 
 has ackiiowledfred in his De^^palchcs, that it has ficqurntly been admitted that the 
 People of Canada on-ht to see nothinj: in thn Instifuiions of the Juiijhbnrinj; States 
 which they could reg:ard with envy, and that he has yet to Uarn that any such feel- 
 ing now rxists amon^ His Mnjesty's subjects in Canada: to which this House an- 
 swfvs, that the neii^'libourijii; States have a form of Government very fit to prevent 
 abuses of power, and very etVective in repressiii? tlitm: tiiat the reverse of this* order 
 of thiuu'shas always prevailed in Canada uuder the present fonnof Government: that 
 tlx're exists in the nei,;hbouiinj,' States a strcn^i^er and nioic general attachtnent to the 
 national institutions, than in nny otlwr country ; and tluit there exists also, in those 
 States a guarantee for the progressive advance of their political institutions towards 
 perfection, in the revision of the same at sliovt and determinate intervals-, by cou?- 
 »entions of the Peoj)le, in order lliat ihcy may, without any shock or violence, bo 
 adapted to the actual state of things, 
 
 41. Ifesolrcd, That the unanimous consent with which all the American Suites 
 hare adopted and extended the Elective system, shews that it is adapted to the wishes 
 manners and social state of the Inhabitants of this Continent; lluvt this system pro- 
 saiU among those of British and those of Spanish origin, altliongh the latter, during 
 the continuance of their Colonial stale, had oeen under tlie calamitous yoke of igno- 
 rance and al isolutism ; and tliat we do jiot he ?itate to ask from a Prince of tlie House 
 of Brunsv.-ick, and a reformed Parliament, all the freedom and political powers 
 which the Princes of the House of Stuart and their Parliaments granted to the most 
 favored of the Plantations formed at a period when such grants, must have been less 
 favorably regarded than they would now be. 
 
 47. Ii(:xoh\u!, That the fidelity of the People and the protection of the Government 
 are correlative obligations, of which the ono cannot long subsist withovU the other; 
 tJjat, by reason of the defects which exist in the Laws and Constitution of this Prov- 
 ince, and of the manner in which those Laws and that Constitution have been ad- 
 ministered, the People of this Province are not sufficiently protected in their lives, 
 their property and tiieir honor; and the long aeries of acts of injustice and oppres- 
 sion of which they have to complain, have increased with alanviing rapidity in vio- 
 1 :nc» and in number, under the present Administration. 
 
 73, Resolved, That it was anciently the practice of the Housft of Commons, to 
 whiihold Sui>pUes until grievances were redressed; and that in following this course 
 in the present conjuncture, we arc warranted in our proceeding;-!, as well by the most 
 approved precedents as by the spirit of the Constitution itself. 
 
 7.'>, /.VWrf.v/, That the number of the Inhabitants of the country being about 
 600,(XX), those of Fr?nch origin arc atmut 5-2:>,(K>0, and those of British or other origin 
 75,000; and that the cstaljlisluuent of the Civil Government of Lower Caniida, for 
 the year 183-J, according to the yearly Returns mi(de by the Provincial Administror 
 lion, for the information of the Briti J» Parliament, contained tlie names of 157 Offi- 
 cers and others receiving Salaries, wlio are apparently of British or Foreign origin, 
 and the names of 47 who are, a]iparcntly, natives of the country, of French origin; 
 that this statement docs not exhibit the whole disproportion which exists in the di.stvi- 
 butioti of the public money and power, the latter class being, for the most part, ap- 
 pointed to the inferior and less lucrati^' ■ offices, and most frecjuently only obtaining 
 even them, by becoming the dependents, of those who hold the higher and the more 
 
 1 
 

 1839.) 
 
 JUe Canada Question* 
 
 by the law. «m l.y «"J l^'l^'^iXw ■ .h.Ma«commU.io«of thef. .ccU>u'd 
 
 ^'fir^i,'!;';;"j Tlvvt Ucsldo. the (?rlcvanrc» and al^usrs btTor«a«r.t5o..rd, tl«Tc exist 
 nHt^I^l^^-^<'^-^^^^^ p.rt of which c.lst..d)K.fove t . co.j. 
 
 „,c«c.u«m «^<^ "• J^' ' '^';i,,;,,,,,,^ U.i« House nsrrv,,, to its.lf th. 
 
 Sn?'S n- ^-'^ -I'-^i""' '^"'^ ^^"^ .-^- of which IH u. 
 ^!illwoSrbei«,cnu»KraUdhcrc: that this House po.nt.out as mnong 
 
 ^^ttSri'Ic intorrucddllnj; of mcm)>cr3 of the Lr^ishuivc Council in the r.l..>ctlan, 
 «f tt'^^^.m onuai^sof th« r^''l>l^. i'^'f "'« imrp.>se of inn«cnri.„' and conuoUmij 
 In bvCr anTth ll-ctL fr;.iu.m n..d.uf raurnln, olHors fur the jnuTu* 
 S s ourin-M 'e Z.. pam.l and corrupt ends ;-thc int..f vencc of the pns.nt Gov- 
 1^ r^;; f hims.lf in the said elections; hi« approved of the '"'-"-^'f '^'^^^* 
 TaW Le^iskuivc councillors \u ih. said election* ; th« partuvU-y wUh win. h. c^- 
 !. « 1 ;n,l.pJudl.-id i.ror.->cdin.>s connm.d wiih the said eliTtions, for the purpose 
 
 «n" u^^^^^^ th. indepe uhnco of the Judicial Power; and the "Il'l'^"!'-^'!";! ' «' 
 : Smnul r of tile foLs, he bestowed upon the suu^^uinary cuculiun of the cuucns 
 
 '';>;h;^' m^'hucrf-r.nen of th. annod mlUt.ry n,rcc at such f ^tion, thrnu^ 
 w . tln-ec peaccabl. citir.on., whose exertions were necessary to 'l-.supp.vr of tlu.r 
 f m il^s and who were stran.;ers to the ngitati.-n of the eleetion, were saot de.^1 m 
 S^;t.\sh! applause hestowed by the Governor-in-chief and connnander of the 
 ?oro ,«•:•" tors of this sanguinary military execution (who h.d not b.en ac 
 quSed by u petty jury) fortJ^c firmness and diseiplinc disph.ycd by them on U»at 
 occasion. r v 
 
 We have selected only a part of these Resolutions, because of the 
 great number and length of the whole ; but what we have gtven will 
 sumcivntly illustrate the nature of the grievances of «'hich the Lana- 
 
 dians complained. . . „„,„ 
 
 In consequence of these and other proceedings, commissioners 
 were sent from Great Britain to investigate the affairs of Canada on 
 the snot; which commissioners at length made report, m accord, 
 ance, of course, with the instructions and wishes of the Government 
 by which thcv were empl(.yed,-thc Canadian House of Assembly 
 continuin<r to'refusc the supplies,— and on the Gib of March, 1837, 
 Lord John Russell introduced into the House of Commons the foW 
 lowing resolutions, by way of answer to, and decision upon, the 
 complaints of the colony. 
 
 « 1. That since the 31st day of Oetohor, in the year 183-2, no provision has been 
 made by the Lci^islemre of the Province of Lower Canada for defruyms the charges 
 Of the administration of justice, and for the support of the civ; S«^-"^"^«"^' ^J^^'^ 
 the said Province; and that there will, on the 10th day of Aprd now next et^mng, 
 be r.cptired for defraying i.i full the charges aforesaid lothat day, the sumof 1».,100/. 
 
 "'V'That at a session of the Le^^islaturc of Lower Canada, holdei* at the cUy 
 of auebec, in the said Province, in the months of September and October. 183fl, 
 the Governor of the said Province, in compliance with las Majesty's commamb. 
 
 I 
 
an 
 
 J%e Canada Question, 
 
 [Januaiy, 
 
 \t 
 
 fccommended to the attention of tho House of Assembly thereof, the estimates for the 
 current year, and aJstj the occounts, sliowinj* tixt. amount due in respect of the civil 
 government, and sii^nificd to the said House his Mftj» sty's i onfid»;i.ce that they woulc! 
 accede to th« application which lie liad hern commantlfd to socure, for tho payment 
 of the arroar9du!;on aitcount of the public service, and for the funds necessary to 
 carry on the civil t,'ovovnmf*nt of the Province. 
 
 '3. That the sitid ll<msc of ARscmhIy, on t!ic 3d day of October, IR.'Mi, by an ad> 
 dross to the Governor of the said Province, declined to vntc a supply for the purposes 
 aforesaid, and by the said adilr*>sf», atttr referring to a former address of tho said 
 House to the Governor of the said Province, declared that the said House ptrsiatwi, 
 amoni^.st other thin^, in the dtiniind of on elctivc Lr.,'islntivc C<'uncil, and in do- 
 mandins; the repeal of o certain Act, passed by tho Pariiamrni of the United King- 
 dom, in favor of tho North American Land Company ; and, by the said address, th* 
 said HoHse of Assombly furtlier adverti:d to the demand made by tliat Hguse of ths 
 free exercise of its control over all tho branched of the Ext^utivc Government; and 
 by the said addrc.o.i the said House of Assembly further declared, that it was incum- 
 bent on them, in the present eonjimcture, to adjourn their dclilwrations until his 
 Majesty's Government sliould, by its acts, especially by rendcrjnj; the second branch 
 of liie Lfijisluturc conformable to the wishes and Wants of the people, have commenced 
 Ujc great work of justice and reform, aitd created a confidence, which alone could 
 crown it with success, 
 
 •4. That in tl»c existing; state of Lower Canada, it is unadvisablc to make the 
 Le;i:is!ative Council of th:\t Province an elective body; but that it inexpedient that 
 measures be adopted for securing to that branch of the Legislature a greater dcgrw 
 of public confidence. 
 
 •5, That while it is expedient to improve tho composition of the Executive Coun- 
 cil in Lower Canada, it is unadvisablc to subject it to tho responsibility demanded 
 by the House of Assembly of thai Province. 
 
 •6. That the le^al title of the North American Land Company to the land holden 
 by the said compaay by virtue of a grant from his Majesty, under tho public seal 
 of the said Province, and to the privileges confcri'ed on the said company by the act 
 fi)r that purpose made, in the fourth year of his Majesty's rci^n, ou^ht to be main- 
 tained inviolate. 
 
 «7. (Relates to ' The Canada Tenure Act,' and ' The Canada Trades Act.'J 
 
 •8. Tliat for defrayin;j the arrears due on account of the cstablislied and customary 
 diarrcs of the .ndmiiiistration of justice, and of the civil govurnmenf of the said Pro- 
 vince, it is expedient, that, afti;r applyin:» for that puqiose such balance ns shall, OQ 
 the said lOthday of April, l8o7, be in iu the hands of the Receiver General of the said 
 Province, arising from his Majesty's hereditary, territorial and casuiU revemie, tho 
 Governor of the said Province l>e empowered to issue from and out of ai»y other p trt 
 of his Majesty's revem.'?, in tlie hands of the Receiver General of the said Province, 
 aich further sums as shall be necessary to effect the payment of the bcfltre-mentioncd 
 sum of I-i-^.lGOi. Mi. 6d. 
 
 *9. That it is expedient that his Majesty be authorized to place otthc disposal of 
 the Legislature of tlia said Province, the nett proceeds of his Majesty's hereditary, 
 tfnitoiial and casual revenue arising witliin the same, in ease the said Legislature 
 ahall see fit to grant to his Majesty a civil list for defraying the necessary charges of 
 tlie administration of justice, and for the maintenance and unavoidable expenses of 
 certain of the principal officers of the civil government of the said Province. 
 
 * 10. (Relates to the trade between Lower Canada and Upper Canada.) 
 
 These resolutions, were introduced by Lord John Russell, in a 
 upccch which betrays throughout a halting between two opinions; 
 a reluctance to drive things in Canada to the last resort, and a con- 
 viction that still matters were evidently and irresistibly tending^ 
 tiuiher. Indeed, Lord Stanley, in the subsequent debates, very 
 
nsft] 
 
 7^ Canada Question, 
 
 213 
 
 justly characterized the resolution* as ioo weak for coercion, and too 
 ■trong for conciliation. The Ministcvs were warned by the opposi- 
 tion that this was the old question between the tliirleen colonies and 
 the mother country ; tliat tliinK» had been going on in the same train 
 In Lower Canada now, as in Massachusetts Bay formerly; tliat Ca- 
 nada had precedents to refer to, and act by, in the history of the 
 tliirteen colonics, for any puWic contingency of her own case; 
 that, in general, a populous and powerful colony could not be re- 
 tained by Great Britain, without the consent of the colotiy itselfj 
 that esppciuUy the Canadas could not, being in tlie vicinity of the 
 United States, imbued with democratic opinions by contact with n 
 democratic people, and sure of being able to draw resources tiuuH 
 and find refuge in, the American republic ; and that the Mmistere 
 had but one course to pursue,— to grant at once the reforms prayed 
 for by the House of A«scmbly of Lower Canada. Accordmgly, Mr. 
 Leader moved, as a test iiucslion, by way of amendment of Lord 
 Johu llusscirs motion,—* that it is advisable to make the Legislative 
 Council of that Province an cleciive council.' The main position 
 upon which Lord John Hussidl rested the resolutions, was, that 
 the ministers of Great Britain could not conduct the affairs of 
 Lower Canada if the Lcgisl ilive Council was elective. Which sim- 
 ply means, of course, that an elective legishtlivc council would, na- 
 turally, be in the interests of the colony,— while the Legislative Coun- 
 cil, as at present constituted, of nominees of the Crown, was sub- 
 servient to the interests of Great Britain, as adversary to those of 
 the colony. Indeed, ho expressly says :—♦ I do not suppose that 
 these colonies will persist in their demands; but, if they do still 
 hold out, wc have not the means of carrying on the government of 
 them here, in continual resistance to their assemblies.' Mr. O'Con- 
 nell, Mr. Leader, Mr. Roebuck, and others, very justly replied:— 
 • You cannot hold the Canadas at any rate, if you adopt and act upon 
 tlicse resolutions,- perhaps you may, if you grant their demands; 
 but to undertake to coerce them is, of itself, to make sure of their 
 separation from the mother country.' However, the Ministers per- 
 sisted, and the resolutions were, from time to time, after more or 
 less of debate upon the more important of them, passed in the House 
 of Commons, by decisive majorities,— being finally disposed of In 
 that body on the 2 Ith of April. 
 
 On the 9th day of May, the resolutions were taken up m tt» 
 House of Lords, discuss'ed and passed,— being opposed only by 
 Lord Brougham, who, in addition to speaking against them, entered 
 the following protest on the journal of the Lords. 
 
 Dissentient, — 
 
 1 Efca»9« these resolutions, cmbradn- a gr^t vamxy of important subjects, uptm 
 which different opinions nwy be entertained by the same persons, were all passed fl» 
 ZZtln once, i^n a House of not a tenth part of the members that frequeml/ attend 
 When questions affecting iV^ interests of political panics or even liidiviuuais stead 
 for discussion. 
 
 I 
 
214 
 
 1%e Canada Question. 
 
 [Jaiiuaiyt 
 
 2. Because, though some of these resolutions are justifiabl<?, there arc others, and 
 
 especially the eighth, which set all considerations of sound policy, of <jeiHTOsity, and 
 justice, at defiance, and will most likely be regarded as indicating a design to crush 
 whatever spirit of opposition to the Executive Government may at any lime and fbt 
 any cause show itself i.i any portion of North American provinces. ^ 
 
 3. Because it is the fundamental principle of the British Constitution which wafl 
 intended to be established in Canada by the aci of lTa»,— and was finally promuJp 
 gated in 1831, that no part of the taxes levied upon the people shall be applied to any 
 purpose whatever without the consent of tlicir Representatives in Parliament ; and 
 this control ought in ai. especial manner to be vested in the people of the Colonics, 
 seeing that it never can give them the same unlimited influence which it confers on 
 the people ot the parent Slate; for, if supplies arc withheld by the Commons of Eng- 
 land on account of grievance, the Crown has no other resource, and the grievance 
 must hercdr.ssed; whereas, if the Commons withhold supplies for the like reasons, the 
 Crown cannot by this proceeding be obliged to redress the grievance as long as the 
 Parliament of the mother country is willing to fur ■ sh the funds required. 
 
 4. Because the taking possession of the money placed by the British Parliament at 
 tlie disposal of the Colonial Councils, with, ut their consent, is wholly subversive of 
 the above-named fundamental principle, and directly contrary to the wise and salu- 
 tary provisions of the act passed in 1831 ;— nor does it at all signify that this is said 
 only to be done upon the present oc.-.asion, and that the rights of the Colonial Parlia- 
 ment are represented as left unimpaired. 
 
 Tlie precedent of 1837 will ever after be cited in support of such oppressive^ pro- 
 ceedings as often as the Commons of any Colony may withhold supplies; how justi- 
 fiable soever their refusal may be, or in whatever designs the Executive Government 
 may be engaged. 
 
 5. Because the constitution of the Council, having been tried for nearly half a CMV- 
 tury, has not only failed to produce the advantages expected from it, but, after occa- 
 Bioning the most serious evils, has ended iu bringing the Legislative operations of ll« 
 Colonial Parliament to a close ; and there seems good ground to hope the evils now 
 complained of may be remedied by introducing the elective principle into the consti- 
 tution oftliis body, under due modifications. But the -Ith resolution seems to piedg« 
 Parliament against ever introducing that principle, since it is not posrsible to conceive 
 any circumstance justifying its introduction if the existing state of things does not. 
 
 G. Because the spirit in whie.h these proceedings were conceived is avowedly ad- 
 vci-sc t(. the opinions and desires of a vast majority of the inhabitants of Lower Ca- 
 nada, aad the no less plainly avowed object iu bringing them forward is, by tl»8 
 authoritative df^fl -ration of Parliament to put down the principles and thwart the 
 inclination so generally prevailing among the people of that Province. 
 
 7. Because these proceedings, so closely resembling th' fatal measures that severed 
 Uie United Slates from Great Britain, have their origin iu principles, and derive their 
 support fi'om reasonings, which form a prodigious contrast to the wliolc grounds, and 
 the only defence, of the policy during later years so justly and so wisely sanctioned 
 by the Imperial Parliament, in administering the iiffairs of the mother country. Nor 
 is it easy to imagine, that the mhabilants of cither the American or the European 
 branches of the Empire should contemplate so strange a contrast wit'nout drawin? 
 inferences thereform discreditable to the character of the Legislature, and injurious to 
 the future welfare of the State, when tiiey mark with what di(Te(-ent measures we 
 mete to 000,000 inhabitants of a remote province unrepresented inPtu-liament, and to 
 6,000,000 of our fellow-citizens nearer home, and making themselves heard by their 
 Representatives, the reflection will surely arise in Canada, and may possil^ly find its 
 way into Ireland, that the sacred rules of justice, the most worthy feelings of national 
 generosity, and the soundest .principles of enlightened policy may be appealed to in 
 vain, if the demand of the suitor be not also supported by personal interests and party 
 view's, and political fears among tlirsc whose aid he seeks, while all men, perceiv- 
 ing that many persons have found themselves at liberty to hold a course towards an 
 important but remote rrovince, wliich tiicir constituents never would suffer to be 
 
1838.] 
 
 The Canada Question. 
 
 1215 
 
 mirsucd tow.ird3 the most inconsiderable boroush of the United Kinsdom an «.. 
 session will be inevitably propagated most dangerous to the mamtenance of ColonisJ 
 dominion, that the people can never safely entrust the powers of Govcrmnent to uny 
 EDpfcmc authority not residing amongst themselves. BaoOGHAM. 
 
 Our readers can now judge for themselves what arc the merits of 
 diU ffrcat controversy between Great Britain and the Canadas. Wc 
 gay the Canadas, because, though Lower Canada has bceti foremost 
 m the dispute, and though it was upon the resolutions of the Assera. 
 bly of Lower Canada that parliament acted, and though the Bntish 
 party is much stronger in Upper than in Lower Canada, yet the pub- 
 lie question is the same in both, and the one must follow tne fate of 
 the other, so far as regards their ultimate relation to Great Britain. 
 Our readers, wc repeat, can judge for themselves, as to the merits 
 of the question,— but vhcrc arc two or three points m it, which we 
 desire to present in relief from the others. 
 
 First, it must be admitted, that the Canadians have had ampte 
 cause of comjdaint; grievances enough to justify them in demand. 
 \m redress, and in persisting until they should obtain it. The min- 
 ist'ers of the Crown confessed this in the very resolutions tney 
 olTercd; Parliament confessed it; and it is a fact undemable upon 
 Uie record; proved by authentic state papers, of which wc have 
 given some idea in the preceding pages. ^ 
 
 Secondly, those grievances were of a kind which seem to be of 
 Uie very essence of a colonial government. The remoteness of an 
 American colony from its European metropolis; the diverse and 
 conlrariant interest wliich of necessity grew up in such a case ; the 
 fact of bein.r governed by olFicers, civil and military, sent trom a 
 forei<ni couutvy-thesc, and a multitude of other considerations, 
 which the colonial history of the United States renders familiar to 
 all, tend to show that a colony on this continent, when it arrives at 
 maturity, and acquires the feelings of self-respect belonging to ma- 
 turitv, cannot be satisfoctorily governed, or well governed, by a Co- 
 lonial Secretary in Europe. Lord John Russell might well say, 
 tliai he and his colleagues could not govern Lower Canada, withoui 
 reprcssin.^ the demands of its House of Assembly. Certainly he 
 could not'rovern it under such circumstances, without the perfornv- 
 auco of ac^ts, which, as propev.y averred by Lord Brougham, if ap 
 plied to the internal administration of England itself, would be de- 
 nounced and resisted, as tyrannical in principle and insupportable m 
 
 fact. 
 
 Thirdly, it is the right of every people, which possesses the itt- 
 cll« ation and phvsical power, to remodel and reform its institutions 
 at will. This is\he fundamental principle of the institutions of the 
 United States, and cannot be denied or controverted, without im- 
 peachment of the wisdom and virtue of our fathers of the Revolor 
 Uon, nor without the renunciation of every thing which is peculiar or 
 
216 
 
 The Canada Question. 
 
 [ January, 
 
 
 valuable in the constitutions, whether of the United States, or of the 
 indivitlual States. It is a right, which belongs to every people ; and 
 it belongs to a European colony in America, not less, but more, 
 than to any other description of people. The Canadians have all 
 these groimds of right to reform their government, and to institute a 
 new one, in such form as may best promote their own happiness ; and 
 lliey have another, which is equally sacred,— they are a conquered 
 people. Great Britain acquired her dominion over them by force ,• 
 they do not owe allegiance to her as an original colony of hers ; and 
 sorely, if there be any case in which a people may of right throw off 
 the authority of those who govern them, it is when these last are 
 foreign conquerors ; and which is the precise relation of Great 
 Britain to the Canada?. 
 
 We do not propose to look at this question in any bearings which 
 it may be presumed to have upon supposed interests of our own. Our 
 aim has rather been to consider it as a question of political right. 
 Wc look with solicitude, personally, to the issue of the event, be- 
 cause the triumph of the people will be a triumph of liberty 
 —of democr'itic principle — of the right of self-government ; but 
 at all events, it must be the duty, and of course the detcrmimilioa 
 and the endeavour, of the United States, to avoid any compromise 
 of its neutrality, by taking sides either with the colonics against 
 Great Britain, or of Great Britain against the colonics. 
 
 On a calm view of the whole subject, no one can, it appears to us, 
 entertain the preposterous idea of the possibility of the continuance 
 of the colonial relation between the Canadas and Great Britain. It 
 is utterly contrary to the spirit of the age. Thank God, the period 
 of force, of armed violence, is passing away from the world, at 
 least, from those countries enlightened and liberalized, — as England 
 ha3 been preeminently,— by the influ^ace of the genius of Com- 
 merce. The idea of an armed struggle for dominion over a power- 
 ful colony, by England, at this day, is too absurd. A large propor- 
 tion of the party now in the ascendency in that country, has long 
 been utterly opposed to the whole system of foreign and colonial 
 policy, maintained by England under the auspices of those anti-libo- 
 ral principles which are now fast passing away in the mother coun- 
 try itself. A majority of the people of the Canadas desire to be free, — 
 to govern themselves on the pure representative principles of which 
 they have so glorious a model perpetually before thrfir eyes ; and 
 they are so unreasonable as not to feel contented to go down to the 
 sea shore* to greet rulers sent to them from across an ocean three 
 thousand miles wide I It is enough. They must become free when- 
 ever they will it. 
 
 The question is of no importance to us. There is nothing to be 
 desired by us in the prospective annexation of the Canadas to our 
 Union. That event mav happen, — or those provinces may maintain 
 
 • Paine. 
 

 1838.] 
 
 The Canadft Question, 
 
 217 
 
 a friendly independence. Wc have no material objection to the 
 English neighbourhood. Any serious disturbance of friendly rela- 
 Uons between the two commercial sister countries, Great Britain and 
 our Union, is an event not less impossible, now, or hereafter, than 
 it would be to roll back the lapse of time, and resuscitate the passed 
 end buried centuries. Nor is there any thing to be cither desired or 
 deprecated in the proximity of a kindred republic on the banks of 
 the St. Lawrence. !t could not inlluencc, in the slightest degree, 
 either our safety or prosperity. Nor would there be any benefit to 
 them in a participation in our federal union,— at least no greater be- 
 Defit than would attend a sovereign independence, provided they 
 should follow, which would doubtless be the case, our great princi- 
 pies of republican freedom at home, and peaceful commerce abroad. 
 And yet we are not haunted with that idea, which wc hear so fre- 
 quently expressed, of » the danger of extending our already over- 
 grown territorial limits.' This is one of those false ideas which 
 has been bequeathed to us by the Past,— that Past which was termi- 
 nated when the American experiment first dawned upon the worid as 
 the commencement of a new era. That idea is evidently correla- 
 tive to the one of strong central governmental action. A strong 
 central government cannot, indeed, maintain the cohesion of extended 
 territories, of diversified peculiar interests, beyond certain limits. 
 They follow the mathematical law of all radiating forces— the strength 
 of their action diminishes in inverse proportion to the square of the 
 distance ; beyond a certain circular limit it must be inoperative, ex- 
 cept by such convulsive effort as must derange and disorganize the 
 whole system. Such a territorial dominion, is then ' overgrown 'and 
 unmanageable. But those terms can have no proper applicability 
 to a federal republican system, on the principle of diffusion of power 
 on which ours is based. The peculiar characteristic of our system, 
 —the distinctive evidence of its divine origin (that is to say, its 
 foundation on those original principles of natural right and truth, 
 implanted by the Creator, as the first moral elements of human na- 
 ture )— is, that it may, if its theory is maintained pure in practice, 
 be extended, with equal safety and cfhciency, over any indefinite 
 number of millions of population and territory. In such a federa- 
 tive system,— in which every individual portion is left free to its 
 own self-government, and to the cultivation of its own peculiar in- 
 terests, with the sole restriction, of respect for the equal rights of 
 other portions, and under the protection of a federal union, of 
 strictly defined powers, to give some degree of uniform national or- 
 ganization to the whole mass, in its relations with foreign powers,— 
 every part has an equal interest in the maintainance of the system, 
 and its great principles. The vitality is not forcibly propelled from 
 the centre to the extremities, but is diffused equally throughout all 
 the parts ; and it is only necessary for the latter to contribute a suf- 
 
!n8 
 
 The Canada Question. 
 
 [January, 
 
 ficient degree of the vital energy toipards the centre to keep alive 
 the general unity of the national body. Such a system is, from its 
 nature,— if its great principles arc only preserved sound and pure,— 
 as applicable on a large scale as on a small one ; and we can see no 
 reason why, at some future day, our » experiment' should not be in 
 successful operation over the whole North American continent, from 
 the isthmus to the pole. 
 
 Yet in this supposed gradual extension of the federal union,— if 
 such should be the tendency of future events,— the benefit of every 
 successive accession enures not to the main body, but to the new 
 member added ; the former has no interest in it. 'xhe natural dis- 
 trust of the future and tlie unknown, however clear probabilities 
 may seem, might mako it rather the part of prudence to decline the 
 accession which cannut add any material benefit, and may, possi- 
 bly, do harm. In discussing freely, therefore, the question of the 
 relations between the Canadag and the mother country, we shall not 
 be suspected of a hankering after an extension of our own territory. 
 We look upon the subject only in the liglit of general principles,— 
 and may, without impropriety, and without violating the spirit of 
 perfect neutrality, express ourselves with entire freedom upon it. 
 No American, sincerely and understandingly imbued with American 
 principles, can refrain from feeling a deep sympathy in a cause so 
 closely analogous with that of our own Revolution ;— and feeling, 
 there can exist no consideration to chock the free expression of it. 
 At the same time, we hold all actua, participation in the contest, 
 whether by individuals or bodies of men, to be highly improper, and 
 equally a violation of our national neutrality (which the individual 
 citizen is as much bound to hold sacred as the organized govern- 
 ment) and inconsistent with a philosophical view of the principles 
 involved. If the Canadian people will to be free from their de- 
 pendence on a foreign country, they have but to arise in their strength 
 of mass and say so ; — they need no assistance of money or volun- 
 teers from us. If it is not the will of the people,— or if that will is 
 not sufficiently strong to carry them through the ordeal of revolu- 
 tion,— we ought not yet to desire it. In neither case ought we to 
 exert any other interference, than that moral influence of sympathy 
 and approbation, of which no human power can rightfully restrain 
 the expression. This has been freely done on many former occa- 
 sions—witness the struggles for freedom of the Greeks, the Poles, 
 or, still more applicably, of the several Republics which have suc- 
 cessively risen to independence in the New World. We shall not, of 
 course, be understood as comparing the British dominion over the 
 Canadian colonies, to the illiberal and brutal tyranny against which 
 the rights of man were struggling for emancipation ir. those cases } 
 yet that does not touch the question. If freedom is the best of 
 satioaal blessings, If seif-governmeat U the first of national rights, 
 
 t 
 
\ 
 
 1839.] 
 
 The Canada Question, 
 
 219 
 
 / V 
 
 and if the » fostering protection* of a * paternal government* is In 
 reality the worst of national evils — in a word, if all our American 
 ideas and feelings, so aidcntly cherished and proudly maintained, 
 are not worse than a delusion and a mockery — then arc we bound 
 to sympathize with the cause of the '""nnadian rebellion, with the 
 most earnest hope that success may, with as little effusion of blood 
 as possible — why should it ll<-w ! — crown it as a Revolution. What 
 may be the immediate issue of the contest, none can presume to 
 prophecy. Dut even though the present unprepared rising should be 
 crushed, it is evident that the liat of separation has gone forth be- 
 yond recall. The breach already existing, and stretching wider 
 every day, can never again be closed and cemented. Least of all 
 can it be rationally expected, that the fire and sword, as they are 
 reported (we hope without truth) to have been tried at St. Charles, 
 can effect that object. The end is at hand ; and it would far better 
 become the noble nation which would itself be the first to dare and 
 sacrifice all in such a struggle, to resign at once, with magnani- 
 mity and mercy, an unnatural dominion which it will cost seas of 
 human blood to attempt to retain. In fiict, we look with not less 
 deep interest to the news from England, than to the events of the 
 contest in the Provinces. May she be true to her own best interests 
 and highest glory ! 
 
 But one more remark in connection with this subject. One of the 
 ♦signs of the times,' which must strike foreigners, and even liberal 
 members of the anti-popular party among ourselves with surprise, is 
 the disposition which is manifested by many citizens, and not a few 
 respectable presses, of the United States, to frown upon the infant 
 revolution — to disparage the efforts of the Canadians, and the 
 character and principles of the able and respectable men, who, like 
 tlie Otises, the Adams, the Henrys, and the Franklins of our own 
 Revolution, happen to be placed, by their patriotism, and the confi- 
 dence of their countrymen, in the front of affairs, as the auspicious 
 champions of the cause of liberty and independence, — and this in 
 tlie United States, — a government four) Vd on colonial revolution, 
 and of which the vital principle is, the rigat of every people to have 
 such form of government, and such governors, as it may in its 
 supreme discretion choose! But there is nothing in it that cx^^ites 
 our surprise. There has always existed among us a party, respect- 
 able in numbers as well as in wealth and education, entertaining an 
 inveterate distrust of, and dislike to, the people and popular princi- 
 ples. And here recurs the broad line of demarcation between our 
 parties, which we can trace on every question that arises. We 
 might point to several leading Whig papers, whose sympathies in 
 every case arising, involving a collision between popular and anti- 
 popular principles, in the affairs of foreign nations, flow, invari- 
 ably because naturally, in behalf of the latter. It is in fact one of 
 the best tests to apply to the professed republicanism of Americans,— 
 
 I 
 
 I 
 
220 
 
 Sonnet* 
 
 (January, 
 
 to ascertain whether it is a sound and pure principle, understand- 
 ingly believed, and feelingly cherished,— to put them on foreign 
 ground, and observe the side, in the struggles of the two causes 
 there perpetually in progress, their sympathies incline to. This is 
 a test which does not often fail. We by no means intend to apply 
 Uiis reproach to the whole Whig party, or its entire Press. Far 
 from it. There arc many variations in degree in the anti-popular 
 bias of sentiment which is, as a whole, their general characteristic ; 
 and a large proportion of them are soundly democratic at heart, if 
 Uiey but\ncw it, and are only excited to oppose a democratic Ad- 
 ministration from adventitious causes, and by deceptive appeals to 
 the very principles which ought to make them its earnest supporters. 
 With respect to the Canadians, we are glad to say, that the num- 
 ber of tlie papers from which they have to experience this illiberality, 
 is comparatively small. As a whole the people of the Union mani- 
 fest a warm interest in their cause. We are bound, morally bound, 
 to sympathize, in this, as in every other question, with that party 
 which has the weight of natural justice on its side. And as Amen- 
 cans, as the citizens of a country elevated to greatness by virtue of 
 the very claims to self-government which the Canadians assert, U is 
 impossible to repress the emotion of candid good will towards them, 
 and of ardent aspirations for the honorable success of this new family 
 of worshippers at the holy Shrine of Liberty. 
 
 SONNET. 
 
 Written after reading the translation, from the Greek Anthology, of Meleagcr's 
 epitapL on his young daughter, published in the United States Magazine and 
 DeinocraUc Review, for October, 1837. 
 
 And was this all, fond sire, thy faith could say, 
 
 O'er the sweet flowret torn from thy embrace, 
 »* Yield, mother mild, a soft and kindly place, 
 
 And gently lie upon her mouldering clay !" 
 Cold, joyless creed ! Oh how beyond compare, 
 Our heav'n-taught hope excels thy utmost art, 
 To fill with balmy peace the broken heart, 
 
 And cheer the soul, by calm, confiding pray'r ! 
 
 "The precious dust we give, in tears, to thee. 
 Earth, safely keep," the Christian parent cries, 
 »• Till the glad hour when all the dead shall nse ; 
 
 And, FATHEn, grant, that then my lot may be, 
 To join my lov'd one in her native skies, 
 And there forever dwell with her and Thee I" ^