*^^^ \a^ ^^.^ IMAGE EVALUATION TEST TARGET (MT-3) A CA 1.0 I.I 1.25 1.4 M 22 lii 1.6 % <^ /}. v: ^J^ oi^ -(g Photographic Corpordtion WEBSTER, N.Y. 14580 (716) 872-4503 CIHM/ICMH Microfiche Series. CIHM/ICMH Collection de microfiches. Canadian Institute for Historical Microreproductlons / Institut Canadian d6 microrep-oductlons historiques \ ^ '^ Tachnical and Bibliographic Notas/Notas tachniquas at bibliographiquas Tha Instituta has attamptad to obtain tha bast original copy availabia for filming. Faaturas of this copy which may ba bibliographically uniqua. which may altar any of tha imagas :n tha reproduction, or which may significantly changa tha usual mathod of filming, ara chackad baiow. D D D n D D Colourad covars/ Couvartura da couiaur r~l Covars damaged/ Couvartura andommagia Covars rastorad and/or laminated/ Couvartura restaur^ at/ou pelliculAe I j Cover ';tla missing/ Le tit" i» couverture menque □ Coloured maps/ Cartes g6ographiques en couleur Coloured ink (i.e. other than blue or black)/ Encre de couleur (i.e. autre qu^ bieue ou noirei I I Coloured plates and/or illustrations/ Planches et/ou illustrations an cculaur Bound with other material/ ReliA avec d'autres documents Tight binding may cause shadows or distortion along interior margin/ La r9 liure serree peut causer de I'ombre ou de la dii torsion le long da la marge intirieura Blank leaves added during restoration may appear within the text. Whenever possible, these have been omitted from filming/ II se peut que certaines pages blanches ajout^es lors d'une restauration apparaissent dans le texte. mais, lorsque cela Atait possible, ces pages n'ont pas iti film^es. Additional comments:/ Commantairas suppldmantaires; L'Institut a microfilm^ la meilleur exampiaire qu'il lui a at* possible de se procurer. Les details de cet exemplaire qui sont peut-dtre uniques du point de vue bibliographique, qui peuvent modifier une image reproduite, ou qui peuvent exiger une modification dans la mithode rormale de filmage sont indiquis ci-desaous. Th tc |~~| Coloured pages/ D D Pages de couleur Pages damaged/ Pages andommagias Pages restored and/oi Pages restaur^es et/ou pelliculde^ Bf9^9t discoloured, stained or foxe< Pages ddcolor^es, tachet^es ou piqudes Pages detached/ Pages ditachees Showthrough/ Transparence Quality of prir Quality inigale de {'impression Includef supplementary materii Comprend du matiriel supplementaire r~~| Pages damaged/ rr~L Pages restored and/or laminated/ r~nj^eet discoloured, stained or foxed/ Liid^ages r~^ Pages detached/ I I Showthrough/ I I Quality of print varies/ nn Includef supplementary material/ Only edition available/ Seule idition disponible Pages wholly or partially obscured by errata slips, tissues, etc., have been rafilmed to ensure the best possible image/ Les pages totalement ou partiailament obscurcies p&r un feuillet d'errata. une pelure, etc., ont ili film6as ^ nouveau de facon d obtenir la meilleure image possible. TV pe of fit Oi bi th sit ot fit sii Of J} sh Tl wl M dii en be riH rm mi This item is filmed at the reduction ratio checked below/ Ce document est filmi au taux de riductioti indiqui ci-dessous. 10X 14X 18X 22X 26X 30X y l«A 2DX 41HA ^OA JlM*««4lUf««*^n.' >. A- W'i'*i*l|t. IN THE PRIVY COUNCIL. ^ IN THE MATTER OF THE COMPLAINT OF THE HOUSE OF ASSEMBLY OF NEWFOUNDLAND, AOAINST THE HONORABLE H. J. BOULTON, ( 'liirf Jiisticf "f S^ftifoundlanil. CASK OF THE CHIEF JISTICE. [FRERE, FOSTEH & CO. W E. I'iiiiter, Printer, '3ti. ritraml. In the Privy Council. CASE '\ v\ OF THE HONOURABLE HENRY JOHN BOULTON, Chief Justice of the Island of Newfoundland, in answer to the Case laid before Her Majesty's Privy Council on behalf of the House of Assembly of Newfoundland in support of an Address presented to Her Majesty by that House. On the 21 St Novembev, 1833, Mr. Boulton received his Commission as Chief Justice of the Island of Newfoundland. The House of Assembly there having, in October last, passed a Vote that an Address should be presented to her Majesty which reflected strongly on his judicial conduct, he obtained leave of absence from the Governor in January, and came to England to meet any charges which might be preferred against him. The Chief Justice received a letter from Her Majesty's Under Secretary i6 Feb. of State for the Colonial Department, acquainting him that Lord Appx.No. i. Glenelg had advised her Majesty to refer the accusation against him for tlie consideration of the Judicial Committee of Her Majesty's Privy Council; and requesting that the Chief Justice would report to the clerk of the council in waiting his arrival, tliat he might receive from the Lords of the Judicial Committee the usual summons to attend before them. I & Feb. Tlio Chief Justice reported himself accordingly, and presented his petition to the Judicial C'ommittee, praying that a copy of the charges against him might be delivered to him. The Judicial Committee was pleased to direct that the persons who 23Fcb.l83.s. api)eared on behalf of the House of Assembly, and who in tlie case are styled Delegates of the House of Assembly, should deliver in a copy of their charges against the Chief Justice within a fortnight, and reported their opinion to Her Majesty that it would be advisable lor Her Majesty to refer the consideration of such charges to a committee of the Privy Council instead of the Judicial Committee. Her Majesty, with the advice of her Privy Council, was pleased to -ii; Fib. order tliat the said Address of the House of Assembly sliould be referred to a committee of the Pi'ivy Council to report thereon. On behalf of the House of Assembly, a case has been lodged, which it '3 Mmvb. A is -^ Appx. ( 2 ) is presumed is intended to be a compliance with tlie declaration of the ChiSjustiJT'"'"^^' ''"'' ^"^ *'''"*^'" ^^'^^ ''^''''^''^ preferred against the In a matter of such high importance, not merely to himself inlivi- tlually but to the colony in which, during four years, he has filled the highest legal office, invo ving as it does the general administration of the laws during the whole ot that time, the Chief Justice of Newfound- land had a right to expect that the charges preferred against him should be o dear and dchnite as to enable him at once to see the misconduct with winch he was charged, and the points to which his defence should be directed This was no more than common justice would have entitled him to, but he more especially expected it, as, on the hearing of iS sa d saj that such charges ought not to be vague and declamatory, but as precise and specific as articles of impeachment. The Chief Justice does with all respect, but most strongly, insist that he accusations as made against him in the case are notsSch as heouS to be called upon to answer, that they are loose and indefinite, and afiord no accurate information of the offence imputed to him and thit general as they are, the evidence adduced in their support is wl oil v h,: sufficient to sustain them; be therefore most eanieslUrotestsi lain t lest t should be supposed he fears investigation, he will endeavour to do what he conceives it was the duty of his accusers to have done, and wht he Judicial Committee of Her Majesty's Privy Council intend Zv should have done, viz: to extract from the confused statement con aS in their case, specific matter of complaint. i-ontained Before, however, he does this, he begs to make a few preliminarv observations. It will be seen, on a perusal of the case, and of theToc7 raents which accomparry- it, that the charges contained in the report of MaiSr"" r 1*^^ *^*"'' °*" ^'"'""^'^y' «" ^^'^-'' the Address t^o Her Majesty ,s founded, are more extended (lian those contained in the Address, and that the charges contained in the Address are morc'ex ended than those on which the advisers of the House of Asson.M, i ultimately thought it prudent to relv in their ca' ntm ' t- re's too not only was there no evidence" before the CommitteeTtKuse of Assembly to warrant the charges, but the testimony of the witnesses examined tended to disprove them. wuutssts As theHouse, in their Address, ( page 14) state that Mr. Boulton "arrive.! in iNewfound and to assume th.. office <,f Chief Jmlge of the Sunrre Court, upon hamnrj hem deprived of his sitmtiou of Attonteu-GeuenUof Lppcr Canada, he feels called upon to state shortly his prci'o^ ' JfJ^ sional career. He comuieuced his le-al studies in rn.J r-Znl ' i '^1 and „)er spoiidms tliw yiurs i,i a solicitor's office in Lond™ wet t„ Oxftnd ,,, ,l,e ycai- IS14, ,|„ittol t],.. li„ivc„ity in ISiO ,°udM litre, in 1818 he was apponited Solicitor-General of Ilnnf.,. r^^ i which office he filled f-or u/^iards of twelve years, and 1 i iT^amS^^^ No .. f,*l7^'y-(-^'H'ral, ami con,inue,l to fill the latter office until the 2.9t pr ^^-^ 1833, when he received a 1,-tter from the Secretary to the (iovcn i^ transmitting the copy of a despatch from Lord (Joderich, then Seciitary of Stat(! / y ( 3 ) State for tlie Colonies, stating that by the accounts he ha.l lately received ot the proceedings of the Legislature of Upper Canada, he liad kirnt tiiat the Attorney and Solicitor-General of the i'rovince had, in their places in tlie Assembly, taken a part directly o{)posed to the avowed policy of his Majesty s Government. And adding, in cimclusion, that from the 'time of the Governor s receivnig that despatch, they were to be relieved from the duties imposed upon them in their res])ective offices. Immediately on receipt of this letter, the Chief Justice requested to W mtormed in what instance he had taken a part opposed to the avowed policy of his ]\tajesty'8 Government, being entirely unconscious of havina- ever so acted. ^ He on the same day received from Cohmel Rowan, the secretary, a a,>„x \, " letter, stating that the political proceeding to which the despatch of the " " Secretary ot State particularly adverted was, that he iuid the Solicitor- General promoted the expulsion of a member of the Assembly, althouoh the constitutional olyeetions to that course had been conveyed to his Excel- eney the Governor, and were, it was concluded, communicated by him to the Attorney-General. '' The case referred to in the despatch was as follows :— Mr M'Kenzie then a member of the House of Assembly, and the same person who was leader of the recent rebellion in Upper Canada, had publislicd a state- ment, which that House voted to be a libel on their proceedings; and they also voted thiit he should be expelled for having made the publication. In this vote the Chief Justice concurred. Mr. M'Kenzie was re-elected, and a motion was then made to read tjje journal of his former expulsion, with a vi(3w to his re-expulsion Tliis motion the Chief Justice opposed, as Mr. M'Kenzie had committed no further offence, and it was negatived. But Mr. M'Kenzie; immediately afterwards repeated his libel, and the motion for his exjiilsion being tlieii renewed, the Chief Justice supported it, and such iviu:w.m1 motion wa^ carried in the afhrmative. The Chief Justice had received no notification from the Governor tliat It was the wish of his Majesty's Government that any particular liiie of conduct should be pursued in regard to Mr. M'Kenzie. Bc.in.v tlnm de- prived of his situation of Attorney-CJeneral, he forthwitli jjroeeeded to l^ngland, and represented his case to Mr. (now Lord) Stanley, then Secre- tary of Stite for the Colonies, who t'xpressed himself pcrfretly satisfied with the Cliief Justice's representation ; and on the 17th Jime," 1833, the Chief Justice received from his Lordship a letter, in which he stated, that \,,„v \„ t as It seemed to be clearly established that the Chief Justice was not suf- ficiently informed of the views of the paiticiUar (nu'stion luider disciissiou wliicli were entertained by the Government at home; and that as he had no intention whatever of embarrassing the Colonial Government, the Kiu" had been graciously pleased to accept, of his further ser\ices iMid that hi'^ Lordshij) had his Majesty's commands to of!er him tlie appointiuent of Chief Justice of Newfoundland, whieli situation had nciiitlv beeoiin- vacant. It was under these cireunistanees tliat the Chief Justice received liis A, appointment, and he has the satisfaction of knowing tluit his ;;p]-,i)int- ni(>tir . >fn 5. • ^ h' ( * ) incnt was en lie was remov iHrelv approved by ti.e Earl of Ripon. upon ^vhose advice >ved from the ofhce of Attorney-General of Upper Canada The Chief Justice feels himself nnder great difficulty in preparin.^ an ^ eZl n ' T ^''"f'- •^""^'^'"^ '""^^^ "*• doelamationf nu.irSe?al a emt.on and comphunt, more of insinuation, and f^w or no d^Sni?' cliiirg'es H ''''" "'P?'^ ""! *':.'' ^«"i'"ittee of the House of Assembly, which forms He groundwork ot the whole proceeding, professes, in^ lu' utset to rrr P^ir.r'^!"?'-^^'"" "fi-^-i ^«t- In the Supre.rSl.': •.^d. In the Circuit Courts. 3d Sup In the Courts of Session. A perusal of it, however, shews, that it does not, in fact fulfil this Ch tf T.,«r f ^^'"^' ^l '|"Proper interference on the part of the of rin;^>?''N l^':7<^»t disclosures, which must have been criminatory leC ipf I ,^«'^^'d«"?«.'«'YWuced in support of the insinuation, and the Chief Justice most distinctly and unequivocally denies it. The Case contains at the outset the following statement :-" The " o tt hs ^^;-^""^r' *'•"" '\''' ^^y '- fir^t presided as Chief Justice " u.V^!t." '^ ^"^' """■*' ''^' ''"""' "' *^'" *^-^^''*^"^''^' ^'■'"^^'^'•y a"J •' Coum^Tn '5^'"'''^''^"* ^•?!' *''«, P'-«^f''^<'^ «f t»'« S"preme and Circuit ^ t,ourts, 11 the eiupaiielhng of juries, and in the forms of legal pro- ^^ teedings, he caused changes to be made, unwarranted by any ai.tliority " i.i'i; i!"/";"'/"' "' ;^''''\ «Pi;»^iti(.n to existing laws.' In the admi- " " i^o : tl 1 ' Y ""^"'•'' "^ "™^''" l»-'^^«'^d^-"ts, setting cpiallv " ian I ?. "' J'^"'f "'"^^^ pronounced by preceding Judges of Newfiuiid- and, a.ui the customs and usage, of the island; whilst in suits between I . tisansh,,, and intemperance of .-onduct, totally unbecoming tl e liio-h situation which he held, and incompatible alike 'with the dignity of the hench and the fair and impartial course of justice." ^ " mJbo^Iw' T'"'" ^"^'«;V'"-^'""^«^ *'"^ ^'^''"'3- --ose from MI. Coultons pjceedings. C.mfidence in the tribunals by which ''•"^^onI^tn^'rt"^'vr^ '" ^''V"""^^ ^>^^'-- facts w4« •' ^:f mSSs^S'of t, -^Is '^^J^fZJTfl "^ : '"^^^• "alnSiclS"' ^'"'"^' ^ ^^^^^ ^^ ^""*"^-- -d "--^-ty •• iVrBoiluon' ' ^ ''' ""•>"''' '"^ ""P^'^P'^'- ^«"d"ct pursued by The /(. ( ) The charges against the Chief Justice, so far as he is able to collect them, arc as follows : — Ist. That previously to his being sworn in, he caused the Sheriff to Case p. 5. summon both the grand and petit jurors in a manner contrary to law, and unwarranted by any authority vested in him as Chief Justice. 2d. That he acted upon rules and orders of Court, promulgated in Cose p. .".. January, 1834, wheroby the existing rules regulating the number of grand jurvmcn, and the formation of grand juries, were rescinded before such new rules were promulgated, and before the period at which they became law. 3d. That he altered the special jury ystem so as to enable persons Case j.. 5. of certain political sentiments, and in a certain class of society, in all causes to which they were parties, to obtain juries embued with the same political and party prejudices as themselves, and having a com- munity of interest in the questions to be tried. 4th. That he rescinded the rule by which each special juror Case p. (i. was allowed one guinea for attendance, and thereby enabled parties vexatiously to bring the most trifling causes before special juries. 5th. That he illegally caused the Sheriff to summon fortv-eight Cnsep.n. petit jurors of the Island generally, instead of eighteen different and successive jurors, who were directed by former rules to attend each day. 6th. That althougb the rules by which these changes in the jury Case p. c system were effected, and, in pait, subsequently legalized, did not become of force till April, 1834, yet that he caused all the trials, both civil and criminal, of the January term, to be had liefore juries sum- rnoned an(l selected under his arbitrary and unauthorised commands, in violation of the existing laws of the Colony. 7th. That he caused the new rules to be signed by two gentlemen, who Case p. T. acted as judges; one of whom can scarcely l)e deemed to have been an Assistant .fustice for so important a purpose, within the meaning of the act constituting the Supreme Court. 8th. That notwithstanding the 58th rule of Court w. n. Cast' 1 1. I: Aj'i'X. .\i ( 6 ) 1 1th. That prt'iudicially to the previously-acknowlwlt-ed nrivik-ges of the fishery, Ik; (lisiinowed tht; system of I'lirreiit, supply ; and dechuvd that the siip|)lyinjr merehaiit had not a superior and prior'cdaini upon tlie pro ceed.s ot the voyage for which he supijhed, to the other, and prior credi- tors of the planter, and thereby materially shook the confidence which induced merchants to afford planters the means of carrying on their fishing voyages. 12th. That he publicly attached himself to one political party, and ceased not to be; a j.arti.san when \n'. acted as judge ; which last charge is alleged to W) efttal)lishe(l by his cliarges to juries, and in the punishments he awarded. In support of this charge, the following cases are adduced as fully suffiront, viz. : — Ist. An action against the " Newfoundland I'atriot," styled Garrett v. Parsons. 2. Carson v. Kielly. •i. The King against Patrick Morris and others. 4. The King against Robert Pack and others. 5. The King against Mackay. n. The Kinf against White. 13th. That he altered the treatment and disci jiline of the prison, and induced a severity in the gaol regulation, towards defendants, when com- mitted to prison, j)reviously unknown, and excluded Roman Catholic Clergymen from attendance at the gaol, except on particular days. 14tli. That disregarding the decorum, if not thi' decency, wiiich ought to characterize a judge, he acted as his own counsel in an action commenced by him. 1 ")th. That he caused the Supi)!y Bill sent up from the House of As- sembly, containing a vote to defray the expenses of the delegates appointed to jn'oceed to England to su))port their Address, to be rejectee! in tlie Legis- lative Counsel. S\'ith regard to so much of the first charge as relates to an alteration of the .system of empanelling juries before the Chief Justice was sworn into office, his answer is that he was sworn in on 21st Novtmiber, 1833, and that tlie fact of his having been sworn in was duly notified in tlu- Royal Gazette on the Tuesday following, and that the precept for summoning the first jury after his arrival was not issiied till 12th December. The (.'hief Justice considering that, thougli not necessary in point of law, it would perhaps be more sijemly as regarded the public, again took the oaths in open court when he first took his seat on the bench. The vi'mainder of tlie matters complained of in the Ist charge, and the whole of the matters complaiued of in the 2d, 3<1, 4th, •Oth, Gth, yt!i, 10th, and 13th charges, thougli represented as the acts of the Chief Justice individiiallv and alone, were, in fact, the acts of the Supreme Court, and had tlie tuU and unanimous sanction and concurrence of /? ( 7 ) of the Assisfant Judges ; and tli.-y lik.-.visc prcsidf;.! as Judges joinflv with the Chiel Ju'-tice in each of the trials, .'xccpt (iarrett «. hirsons,' ineu- t.med or rclerrt-d to w th»! lOfh charge, i.i vvhieli tlie o(.ii(hirt of the Chie .UiMcc IS impugned, fn making tin's remark, the Chief Justice has no wish to shrink from rc^sponsihility, hut hegs to draw t!ie atten.Ion of their Lordsliips to the cireuinstance as an ino. IV., c. 67, s. 17; and by the Charter granted in pursuance thereof, tut Supreme Court of Newfoundland is (Mnpowered under such regulations as after-mentioned, to make and prescrii... sucli rules and orders as may be expedient, touching the forn.s and manner of proceeding in the said Sui,reme Court, and Circuit Courts respectively and the practice and pleadings upon all indictments, informations, actioris suits, and other matters to l.o therein brought, and touchinn- and concerning the appointment of Commissioners to take hail and examine witnesses; the taking examinations of \\knc&sv» de bene esse, and allowinf-- the same as <'vidence; the granting of probates of wills and letter^ of administrititm : the proceedings of the Sheriff and his dei)uties and other mimster.id ofhcers; the summoning As.«essor* for tiie trials of crimes and misdemeanours m the Circuit Courts; the process of the said Coii-ts and tfie mode of executing the same ; the empanelling of Juries, the admisMon of '-:rnsters attorneys, and solicitors ; the fees, poundage, or perquisites to l)e lawfully demanded by any ofHeer, attoruev, or solicitor, in the siid Courts respectively, and all other matters and "things what'jver torohino- the praetici of the said Courts, as may be necessary for the proper conduc't o tlie l)usiness tlM.-rein, and such rules and orders from time to time to alter, amend, or revoke. asm<.v be requisite, provided always that no such rules or orders !,<■ m anywise repugnant to the said Act of Parliament or to tlie Charter ; and that all such rules and orders be pronmhrat(-d in tlii' most public and authentic maimer in the Colony '.br three calemlar months at least before the same shall operate a:ul take eHect. and that the same be by the first convenient oiiportu'iity, transmitted through the (Jovernor or acting Governor, to the King, his heirs and successors, for the signifieati,«n of his or their pleasure, respin-ting the allowance or disallowance thereof JNo alteration whatever m the manner of summoning tin- (Jrand Jury was made at the sessnm of the Supreme Court, in January. \KU, or ^ub^t- ..piently. As to tlu- Petit Jury, although the charter einpowers the Judges of the Snp.-eme Court to make- ruh^s for their practice, the Chief Justice submits that they have no authority to make regulations reimgnaiit to law. Every person charged with felony has a right ro challence 20 Jurors peremi)toriIy. yet by the rules which had been established before the arrival 11 ( 8 ) arrival of the present Chief Justice, 18 jurors only were required to be sum- monod each day. Persons charged with felony were thus deprived of tiieir right of challenge ; to tliis practice the Chief Justice could not assent. The terms of the old rule were simply affirmative, and the Chief Justice represented to the assistant judges, that the rule, so far as it was in derogation of the legal right of challenge, might be considered a nullity ; and as the Supreme Court was a court of C_ er and Terminer and General Gaol Delivery, he suggested that a precept for summoning jurors in a form similar to that i:i use in England should 'ne issued for the future. The matter was discussed, and his representation and sug- gestions met with the full approbation of th? assistant judges, and a pre- cept was in consequence issued under the hand and seal of the Chief Justice and Judges Des Barres and Brcnton ; by virtue of which the sheriff summoned 24 Grand Jurors and 48 Petit Jurors, who were drawn by ballot in like manner as they had previously been. The only change effected therefore was, that 48 Petit Jurors were summoned for the whole term, instead uf having 18 summoned for each day. Ajii.x.No. 7. The reasons which inducedthe Chief Justice to suggest the alteration were fully detr.iied in the first charge delivered by hira to the grand jurv, and although his conduct in regard to this mode of summoning jurors has been matter of complaint in the several petitions against him to His Appx.Xc. 8. late Majesty (,one of which is added in the Appendix), and to the im- perial Legislature mentioned in the Address, yet not only has he never received any notification that his conduct in that respect was considered illegal by any competent authority, but on the occasion of a debate in the Appx. No. 9. Hous(! of Commons, in 1X35, on a similar petition to that set out in the Appendix, it was stated by a member of the government, that with respect to Juries, he thought the Chief Justice had acted very properly, for, in place of having a Mst of only 18 taken alphabeticafly, lie had instituted a system by which 48 names were taken in the same manner as in this country. The Chief Jiistice begs further to observe that although the change was effected more than four years ago, and notwithstanding the several petitions on the sul)ject, no challenge to the array or otherwise, noranv objection to the regularity of any trial upon any such grounds has ever been made by any })risoner or other person whomsoever, concerned in sueli trials, prior to rlie hearing of the case. Casep, s. A motion for an enquiry, on the subject uf the administration of justice, was made in the last House of Assenddy. If there had been any thing illegal or iiiqm)])er in tlie conduct of the Chief pistice, tiiere was then an ()]tp()rtunity for inquiring into it ; but the House thought fit to negative the nu)tion. Tlie petition to His late Majesty from Downey and Malone, two of the prisoners tried at the January session, 1834, which is stated by Mr. Nugent, the chairman of tlie committee of the House of A-^sendilV, and one of the three delegates iiy whom the case is lodged, to have been drawn l)y himself, contains, among others, the tbilowing allegations, viz.: "before " a trial at bar.* the la\>- recjuires that the Sheriff return to the CMirt, by •■ \iitue of a general precept directed to him, a panel of forty-eigl.i, jurors, '• ' LilxivN et legales homines de Vicineto.' Now, your Majesty's ])etitioners •' had a right of perenqitory challenge, which by the 2"2d Henry VHI. c. 14, stands Ail till _ ill .ViwroiiiKiliuid arc I'tui iit liio Imr in Tonn time. Sff cviili-i' ittiClRM! C'u'i' p. 3' t-o ( 9 ) ■as falsely upbraiding the aforesaid Robert John Parsons, the hiji^h-mindcd son of a British naval oflFicer, with ignorance, and a standing in society inferior to him, (the Honourable Judge Boulton,) and breaking down the customs of the country, •jtablished for the protection of the Pishing Ser- vants, customs sanctified by the uniform usiige from time immemorial, and ratified by the undevia- ting practice of the courts, and the uniform decisions of former judges, the custom of giving the servants, no matter by whom employed, a lien upon the jjrocecds of the voyiige in the hands of the supplying merchant, construmg the law as opposed to securing to the (islier his wages, and thereby striking at the very existence of the fishery of Newfoundland. That this rancorous hostility to the interests of the poor has been more sensibly developed by the •same honourable individual in his character of President of the Council, by his successfully exerting himself to throw out a bill introduced into the House of Assembly by petitions of the merchants of St. John's, who were actuated by fears for the conse<]uencLsto the Colony oi these illegal decisions, a bill, having for its object to secure to the fisherman his wages. This bill passed the House of Assembly, a body principally composed of merchants engaged in the fishery ; but it was flung out of the Legislative Council, the (jreat majority uftht members of that hody leinr/ individttah unconnected with the country and not interested in its loelfwe, not si/mpathiziny with the poor, or solicitous for their improvement, but merely persons holding situations under Government, and appointed in England through the influence if the Honourable Judge Bonlton, and that by introducing a law to incorporate ;i bar of unqualified individuals, and ordering that no person should a])proach the court, and that no petitioner memorial should be received by the liench but through that bar, he shut up the avenues to justice against the poor ; that in accordance with this " order," the court at the first term of the Supreme Court in 1H.')4, insultingly refused to take cognizance of a memorial from the Catholic Bishop of Newfoundland, although pres'Mited by that respected Prelate through the Clerk of the Court, who was a member of the bar, alleging it was not presented through the bar ; and although the object of that memorial was for mercy for an unfortunate man condemned to death before the same honourable judge the day before, and who was to have sufl'ered death within forty hours after, although perfectly innocent of the crime for which he was about to suffer, and only condemned through that criminal leaning of the Chief Judge to oppress the humble. Your Majesty's Memorialists humbly and respectfully urge that such a man is not a person in whom a people could ever entertain that confidence that is essential for the due administration of justice, to be reposed in those who hold its balance, and the groaning under these oppressions, and labouring under these grievances, they, your A!njcsty's Memorialists, approach the foot of your Majesty's august throne, they fling themselves with confidence under the ])rotection of your Majesty's sceptre ; they implore your Majesty to direct that iirompt investigation he made jnt(j these violent, these flagrant abuses ; tiiey pray your Majesty to institute incpiiry into the violations of your Majesty's charters, and of the constitution a])ove recited; and if your Majesty shall find, as vour MajestsV Memorialists feel confident yen will, the premises are based on facts incontrover- tible ; tliev, (your Majesty's Memorialists), humbly ;uid respectfully pray your Majesty to jiurify the bench Of justice, to order the removal from the ollice of all those who ^-liall have been found offending: and they finally heseocli your Majesty to assert the supremacy of the law, and vindicate the Royal prerogative, maintaining the inviolability of the Royal charter, by directing that the necessary steps be taken to visit the guilty with due and condign punishment. And vour Majesty's Memorialists, as in duty bound, will ever pray. William Carson, M.D. and M.C.P.; Patrick Morris, J.P.; Patrick Doyle, J.P. John Kent. M.C.P. ; .Tames Douglas: Thomas BecK Patrick Mullowney; John O'Mara; Law. O'Brien; .iolin Dillon. William Doutney ; Timothy Flannery; Simon Morris; John Valentine Nugent. N.B. The above are the only genuine signatures to the iietition. The remainder of the alleged .•jOOO siirnatures are affixed to sundry sheets of paper annexed to tlu' petition, and wliith signatin-es. upon an inspection, will be found to be iilmo>it wholly in the hand writing of a few persons. (No. 9.) EXTRACT FROM HANSARD'S PARLL\MENTARY DKBATES, ISSo. Vol. ;]0, p. (i7--\ Mn. O'CoNNEi-i.— It a]ipeared that in 18"2fi the names of the juries were arrangetl in alpha- betical order, and the jurors were diricted In be called coiiseculi\ely in that order. This was a perfectly fair mode of arranging a jury, without reference to party jjolitics, or religion.— Thi- was the" case till Judge Bonlton was appoinled Chief Jn>tice, and hi< first step wa- to alioli-h the aormer jurv process. Tlu' result as the iH>titioners complained was that, in-load of having ai limpiirtial jiirv, the jurv box was now packed to suit )'aviv ])ur)ioses. c Siii ■l\ { 10 ) «;m Geo Ghey could not but reprct that such a petition should have been presentcd.-WitU r. nort to°he iuries he thought th^t Mr. Boulton ha.l acted very properly, for in place of having a IiryonivlS! Sen alphabetically, he had instituted a system by which 48 names were now taken in the' same maimer as in this country. (No. 10.) MR. RICHARD SULLIVAN, To THOMAS RIELLY, Dr. To overcharge on Spirits £1 ^ \ Washing ^ ^ I Splitting Knives 4 3 Bake pot 1 Court Charges 9 4 Priest I .,- 7 6 20 davs work after the expiratioi of my tune 3 6 » To amount of wages ^". - £•26 '2 4 Cr. By amount your account £4 18 10 Do." Codner and Jennings' account 6 1/ f £,j ^j, ^ o , , £14 5 6 Balance due , Equal to £12 5 Sterling. IN THE SUPREME COURT OF NEWFOUNDLAND. {Thomas Reilly, Plaintiff and R. Sullivan and Codner and Jennings, Defendants. Plea— Non assumpsit. (Signed) W. B. ROW, Defendant's Attorney. 30th December, 1833. COPY. Summons in Assumjysit. WILLIAM the FOURTH bv the Grace of God, of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, King, Defender of the Faith, &c. &c. To the Sheriff of Nevjonndland, and his Deputies, Greeting, TV ,'!^ in ^.in Tol.n's on the first dav'of next term, to shew cause wherefore— ^nv.11 not doit. ^T^::or:ZSio make return of what you shall do upon this Writ, at the tune and place '^^tlt'^'Honourable Henry John Boulton, Chief Judge of the Supreme Court, Saint John's, N.^Sa"d, the 25th day of November, m the 4tli year of Our Reign, 1833. (Bv the Court,)' (Signed) E. M. ARCHHiALD, Signed, Geo. H. Emerson, Attorney. Chief Clerk, Supreme Court, £12 -5 Sterling. NB_A HiU of thr particular, of rl.intitf. .iemand, muu uhvuy, 1,. annexed to thi. Writ at first .s».m,g ; a,,,! a Coi.y of tUe Writ mun he left with tie Uelondiiiu. j^.^ j ^ ^'^ ( 11 ) (No. 11.) Exhaetofa Report of Chief Justire Tuder, and Dea Barrea andBrentun, iu Auf/nsr, 1831. 5. Geo. IV. c. 67, i. 25. Whether those preferences in payment whicli are secured to certaitt classes of" Creditors bv this section, are or are not, conducive to the true interests of the fisheries is a ^^vexataquastio," xmow which the opinion of the merchants is now very much divided. The Chnmler of Commerce did, indeed, about the end of the year 1828, come to a resolution that the nrivilcfo of tii" creditor for supiilies oufrlit to be abolished; and we were led to believe that there was a very .renoral, if not an universal, concurrence among commercial men in all parts of the i-;'and in thfs sentiment: but we have lately had an opportunity of ascertaining that there are some merchants iu this town, of the highest respectability, who are so far from cmncidiny in the vieir which the Chamber of Commerce have taken of this subject, that by them the repeal of the Law of Current Supph/ is regarded as the certain death blow to our fisheries. Under such a contrariety of feeliiKT ainono- persons whose situation in life must have prompted them to investigate this (luction with a inore scrutinizing attention than we have been able to give to it, we wish we could consider ourselves at liberty to decline avy discussion of it. As the Secretary of State wil, however, iirobablv desire to be furnished with our opinion, m order tl.at he may throw the weight of it into one of the scales if an exact equipoise should otherwise seem to ex>st between them, it wi 1 be our aim, in conveyin'r our opinion to his Lordship, to lay before him also the reasons u\-,im vvhicb it is founded, in 'such a manner as will enable him to determine what degree of credit ought to The practice of remaining in this island during the winter, in opposition to the policy of the British Government, had not taken deep root before the merchants on the other side of the water be.T'in to perceive, tliat the lisheries could l)e carried on with more advantage by these residents than it could be either by the Jishinq ships, or bv the bye-boat keepers who annually returned home- and they accordinglv came forward witli great alacrity to advance those residents, (who ■Acnnuvd, probably from their connection with the soil, the denomination of Plaxteus) all the supplies necessary for the prosecution of the fisheries. In a pursuit, however, which is exposed to all the vicissitudes of weather, and to various other casualties, instances of failure must occur very fr"(iuently • and as the planter's ability to pav for the supplies he had received depended wholly upon t'le' success of his voya.re, the nierchaiits wiio had furni>hed those supplies became alarmed the moment they saw any "cause to apprehend that the catch of fisi, would not be a good one. The fears of airtlie creditors of the planter being thus excited, each af them strove to obtain the earliest possible settlement of his account, by seizing all the property of the planter he could any how lav l>is liands on ; and, in their several struggles for the attainment of this object, tliey often lone another, besides ruining the unfortunate pla"*er, by carrying oiVthe iisli before it was properly cured, and by putting an end to the voyage before the chance ot taking more tish had entirely ceased. To "prevent the fatal mischief resulting from such a system, tie rule of hen for wanes, and of preference in payment for Current Supplies, was hrst mtrodiu'ed l.y Custom, and afterwards sanctioned by Law. Nor .mu it be doubted but that in a state of society where, from the absence of all independent and hnparliaU'ourts of Justice, "_/onr iiad usurped (lie of riqkt, and strength had become lord of imbecility," sucli a regulation, whatever cxcep - ' ' " ' '• - ' 1- - those motives priv t ions irmay otherwise be open to, must have proved practically benelicial,hy removing or the enforcement of immediate payment wiiich iiad jiroduced strife md contention. 1, accompanied creditdrs"; exposed the iioor'planter to complete ruin; and inflicted a very severe injury upon tlie general interests of the fisjieric^. Tiie me"chants, however, were not slow eiiiio- that the lien ui)on the catch of the voyage which the servant was md'.iiaed with as a fo with serious loss among the severe in in discov securitv for the pa inent of ids wixges, had a direct tendency to lessen Ins interest ur the success of the enterprise, and,"bv n)nse(iueiice, to relax his exertions, as soon as he had perceived that there w IS fish enouoh caii.rht to pav all the wages : and they stoutly manitaineil, that tlie labour which wis eninlovecrin th" fisheries ought only to be put, in respect of payment, upon tlie same footing with the /;;<>,/ whicli was consumed iu the prosecution of them, as the one was just as essential to them •\s the other Ihit whilst thev protested ;.nd remonstrated against the superior adcantayes winch by ineins of their lien the servants enjoved over them, they did not scruple to push their own vririlenes very much beyond their dn'e and natural limits, by extending those pivferences m piyinent which the Law intended to eoiifue to debts eontruetcd for supplies necessary to the fishery, ',) "debts contracted by the planter/jr articles which had no real convection with it, and by •ipolvin.- a rule wliich could only 1)0 salnttirv where, as in the instance of the planter, it is Requisite to supidy' the want of capital by substituting credit in lieu of it, to the case of the most extensive mercLiu't mA m iaci U> \hai oi even/ class of persons wiio might happen to become nisohrnt m this Is! and In these attempts thev were for a long time assisted by the Courts, which were Jar too feeble to oppose themsehes, even "if they iiad wish. ' to 'lo so, to the united torce of the mercan- tile body aiul accordinglv when Mr. l-orbes was appointed C hief Justice of tins Colony, it had iH'come a' m.neiailv-r.'ceiCed doctrine, tliat the expression •' Curnnt Sea$on," m^s synonynioiis t<. Year ■ that the wo'rd '> supplies" included every article that could be bought and sold ; and that tiie estate 13 ( 12 ) ■estate of every person who was declared insolvent was liable to be distributed according to the law of cKm'n< stt/«./y, whether he had, or had not, been directly engiigcd ni the hshery. lo an understanding onlirjhtened like his, the decisions of the Surrogates, upon which this system had beenbuilt,apiniu..i contrary to the principle by which the rule of current supply ought to be ..ovcrned, and at the same time so injurious to the general interests of the trade of this Island, that he did all in his ijower to reform a practice which was too firmly fixed to admit of its being altogether removed h^\\\m; and, thro' his efforts, seconded by subsequent parliamentary enact- ments, the most prurient and worst excrescences upon the law of Current Supply \)ASii been happily lopped off. Yet even in its present amended state we strongly incline to think, that the evils which spring from it, in conjunction with its twin-born sister regulation of " lien fob wages, ■rreatlv i)reponderate over the ad.'antagos which are supposed to be derived from these preterences m payment. The argument bv which it is attempted to maintain the necessity for their continu- ance "is, that the merchant will' not advance supplies to the planter, nor the fasherman engage m his service, if they should be deprived of any part ot their present privileges ; and that the planter being thus stripped of credit, would no longer be able to prosecute his employment. And assuming that the truth of this proposition cannot be controverted, its supporters at onee proceed to deduce from it, as a necessary corollary, the destruction of the fisheries— \\\f: ertinction of the trade— and the starvation of the inhabitants of Neufoundland. But though we are /"«% sensiMethat the most serious mischief m\jrht be produce({ by the absence of that care and caution which should always be observed in overturning ancient usages, even when thr.g rest upon foundations notorwusly wrong ; and though wc unhesitatingly admit, that the Credit which is the offspring of preferences in payment ought not to be extinguithed unless Credit erected on a firmer basis can instant y l,e substituted for it, wc are at the same time so much persuaded, that such a substitution would take place, if the abolition of the law of current supply, and lien for icages, tccre cnADUAL and pnos- PECTivE, that we have little hesitation in recommending, that for one year from the passing ot another Act of Parliament the privileges of the servant and of the current supplier shall continue on exactly the same footing on which thev now stand by this section— that after the end ot one > ar the Hen shall be taken awav, and the preference of the supplier for the current season over the one of the preceding season" shall also cease and determine— that creditors for wages that may become due in the second year after the passing of a new Act, and for such supplies necessary for the fishery as may bona fide have been furni.^hed to the planter within two years from tie passing thereof, shall rank together in the same class of privileged creditors, and shall be entitled to be jiaid 20* in the pcnnd before any other description of creditor shall be ad- mitted to participate in a dividend of the Insolvent's Estate, provided the Insolvency shall be declared in one of the Courts within two vears from the passing of the Act— and that all debts which shall be contracted by any person after the termination of two yeais shall thence- forward be paid before all debts of an earlier date; but that among the debts that shall be so con- tracted, from the commencenent of the third year, no preference or pnvdego to demands for wages or to claims for turrent supplies shall in any sliajje whatever be granted or allowed. Such notice will tlius, we tiiink, be given of the intention to abrogate tlie law ol preierence ui unvmeiits, and such iirecautioiis used in preparing the way for its extinction, as wdl ' • ■ " ■■ mniliilation ol the Credit formation of another entirely prevent those inconvenitnces which might arise from the annihili which "was Iniilt upon it before Miflicient time had been allowed for the f Ml a safer bottom : and, as the success of all attempts to introduce changes 1 principally depend upon the existence of circumstances favourable to the ! in it, we have much satisfaction in adding, that various events connected description of Credit into an old system i lontemjduted alteration ,,^ .^, ,.^ ,..^,^ ........ - - „, with the t ade of this country have for several years past been so gradually leading to the disuse of the privileo-es of the Current Supiilier, that we are persuaded their ektiiie uepeal may now be effected with perfect ease and sifety, provided a moderate share of ]>rudence and caution is observed in the mode of doing it. The "mere practicability, however, of innovation can never, wc ire fully aware, justify a departure from a loiig-e>tablished system, unless it can ])e clearly proved that the system is of such a nature as to call for a change; and we therefore teel it necessary to advert to some of the most prominent of those pernicious conseciiieiices resulting froiu tlw lien for wa(/es, and the pnferuble puipnent of current supplies, which induce us to desire their entire abrogation. We do not scruple, then in expressing it as our ojiinion, that, through the joint operation of those practiccs,\\\Q following evils have been either wholly produced or materudly increased and aggravated in those instances where their origin may more properly be ascribed :to some othir causes : — 1st.— Idleness and drunkenness among the labouring classes: f ■! i 2nd.— Loss to the merchant, and ruin to the planter, from the means which thpy have turmsliec to the latter of carrying on the businos of the fishery upon credit founded on a false and destructive principle: , i • i •, Ud.— Extensive litigation; accompanied wilii all the bad feehngs and heart burnings which A uewir fails to engender : Y ( 13 ) duced by such a state of society are further increased by the fact, that the latter class of persons are mostly of a different religion from the former. The society of the Chief Justice is necessarily that of the educated part of the community ; but in no respect whatever has he attached himself to any party. He now proceeds to the consideration of the different cases in which he is charged with having shewn partiality. GARRETT v. PARSONS. The Chief Justice protests against having isolated passages alleged to have been noted down by a bystander, as forming part of a charge deli- vered by him years ago, to which his attention was not called at the time, and to which no objection was made by the parties interested, im- puted to him as misconduct. The action in question was an action for a libel. The Chief Justice's charge was necessarily oral, and occupied a considerable time in the delivery, and it is impossible for him now to recollect the exact expressions he used. But he has no doubt he told the jury on that, as he has on other occasions, to do as they would be done by, though in what precise words he amplified the sentiment, he does not pretend to describe. This, however, he can safely say, that the expressions alleged to have fallen from him are not fairly represented, and that the effect of his observations to the jury was, that they were to consider the words complained of as they understood them before they were sworn, and as people in general would understand them, and tliat there was nothing magical in their oath to make tliem interpret the words differently to what they would have done Ijefore. CARSON V. KIELLY. This was an action for defamation, both parties being medical prac- titioners in the town of St. Johns. The language complained of was alleged to hav^e been used by the defendant witli relation to the delivery of a poor woman, named Antle, by the plaintiff and Dr. Rochfort, who attended her as accoucheurs. Mrs. Toole, a midwife, attended Mrs. Antle in the morning of otli January, and found her very weak ; and as her ])aius did not increase, advised her to send for a doctor ; and accordingly, about five o'clock in the afternoon, the plaintiff, Dr. Samuel Carson, was sent for, and came, and gave orders that he should be sent for in about an liour's time, if no alteration took place. At the appointed time, her husband wtnit for the plaintiff; but his apprentice, by his order, said he ivas not at home, though, in fact, he was so. It was also proved that plaintiff said the labour was likely to be a difHcult one, and that having recently recovered from a severe fit of illness he did not wish to go. However, on a ftirther application, he sent to Dr. Rochfort, and they ultimately went together.. Dr. William Carson, the plaiutirt"s fatiicr, and who is one of the delegates of the House of Assembly, by whom the case is lodged, proved that the observations of Mr. Kielly had obtained currency, and actions were talked of; that he went to the house of Mrs. Antle, on 14th February, and examined her person. He detailed a very disgusting examination which he and a young man. Dr. M'Ken, made, both inter- nally and externally, during which she expressed, as he stated, excessive pain. He said that the examination was had in conseciuence of his son's stating that some reports had gone abroad injurious to his character, and D that a ^ ( 14 ) that his son had requested him to make the examination to sr-tisfy him. That liu (lid not go as a matter of practice, but simply to be enabled to'give an opinion on his son's conduct. When he had finished his evidence, which occupied a long time, the Chief Justice thought it right to ask if it (lid not occur to him that it was a very indelicate, as well as improper thing for him to go to the poor woman, and make such an examination, and to give groat pain, merely to satisfy his son ; and that in his (the Chief Justice's) opinion, he should at least have informed her why he came, in order that she might have exercised her judgment whether she would submit to an examination for such a purpose ; and that he had no riglit to go .and examine a female, as a carpenter might the workmanship of a house, respecting which there might be a dispute. The trial lasted the greater part of two days, and t}ie plaintiff's counsel idtimately recommended his client to become nonsuit, before the de- fendant's case was gone into, which he did; and the Chief Justice then made observations to the effect that he felt it to be a duty he owed to the public, and particularly to that portion of it who were poor, ignorant, and helpless, to express the strong sense he entertained of the conduct of Dr. Carson, the plaintiff, in denying himself when sent for, and that according to his (jwn appointment, considering the dangerous condition in which by his own account he had left the patient ; and the Chief Justice proceeded to point out the danger which medical men, more than most others, ran, in being guilty of negligence in the performance of their duty. That all persons, whether professional or not, who undertook to perform any act, whether science were requisite or not, engaged to use proper diligence and to bring an ordinary degree of skill to the accomplisliment of their un- dertaking ; and he alluded to several decisions, and particularly those of modern date, upon the subject of misconduct by medical men, and pointed out that tlie medical profession were not merely liable to actions for damages, but that in the event of death ensuing from their misconduct, thev miuht be indicted for homicide. Api'x. Nos. 14. I.">. A]i]ix.Ni'.lC These observations were made withotit premeditation, hypothetically, and as a warning to medical men generally, and also to inform the poor of their rights and nnuedies; and the Chief Justice so expressed himself at the time, but he did not recommend any action to be brought in this particular case, or otherwise express any opinion upon its merits ; and the Chief Justice denies having used the expressions mentioned in the case. AMien he had finished these observations, the jurv expressed their full concurrence in the propriety of the remarks. The Assistant Judges also perfectly coincided in the view the Chief Justice had taken of the case. Stress is laid on the fact of Mr. Kielly being the medical attendant of tiie Chief Justice's family. His opponent. Dr. Carson, attends Judge Brenton's family, and that of Mr. Thomas, the Foreman, and either he or Mr. llochfort attended the family of every oth(;r juryman, if such circumstances deserve consideration. In the ensuing term of the Central Circuit Court, Antle and his wife brouglit an actiijn on the case against Dr. Carson and Dr. Roehfort for tlieir alleged niiseoiiduet, and when it was at issue, a motion was made to j)ostpone the trial and to transfer the cause to the Supreme Court, which might be done under the law of the Island, on account of the ab- sence of material witnesses, and which would have had the effect of |)utting off the trial till the autumn. These witnesses were represented to be nii'dical men, residing at about a day's journey from St. John's in the ad'oiniiiii ^ ( 15 ) adjoining district. The Chief Justice felt himself bound to refuse the application, they being merely re(|uired to give opinions upon the science of midwifery, and consequently were not, in the Chief Justice's judgment, that description of material witnesses, on account of whose absence trials were put off. The defendants, Carson and Rochfort, then moved for a special jury, and the cause was set down, hy consent, for Friday, the last day but one of the term. Ou that day they made another motion to put off the trial, upon the ground, that Mrs. Toole, the midwife examined in the former case, was sick, and expecting to be confined, and that her evidence was material ; and although the defendants refused to consent that her evidence, as previously given, should be read, the Chief Justice put off the trial. The Chief Justice had a duty to perform — the administration of justice equally to the plaintiffs as well as to the defendants. Had he allowed himself to have been influenced by the fear of being regarded as partial if he decided against Carson and Rochfort, and on that account been led to determine in their favour, without attending to the rights of Antle and his wife, lie would have l);'on guilty of a dereliction of duty which he cannot now charge himself with. This case stood again on the docket for trial at tiie last Central Circuit Court, in November last, when the Chief Justice referring to the application that had been made in the spring, said, that as the Supreme Court would sit in a few days, he would now transfer the cause to that court, at the instance of either party, as a short delay could not be material. No application, however, was made, and the cause was tried before him in the Central Circuit Court, and a verdict given for the plaintiffs. Appx. ir, & Nos. 18. REX «. MORRIS AND OTHERS. After a special jury had been struck, and summoned, a motion was made on behalf of the defendants to change the venue, and was refused, the court having no power to grant it. Mr. Morris, who is another of the delegates of the House of Assembly, by whom the case is lodged, had been, together with the other defendants, indicted for an unlawiul assembly. The allegation in the indictment, that the meeting was on the Lord's-day, cannot be considered as made with the intention of charging a substantive offence. Mr Kent, one of the defendants, quoted some book to shew that it was not an offence to hold a meeting on a Sunday, to which the court assented. The defendant. Power, keeps a grocer's shop, and is a man of moderate property, and the coiu't were unanimously of opinion that he should pay a fine of £2o, The Chief Justice, in pronouncing the judgment of the court, took the opportunity of ]ioiuting out to the defendants and the public, the indecency of thus desecrating the Lord's-day, and he read some passages from the works of a Roman Catholic Bishop, whose opinions, he thought, would infiuenc(! the numerous body of persons of the Roman Catholic Religioii present, to sliuw, that however exempt from temporal punishraint such conduct might be, yet, that it was cletirly repugnant to the divine commandment. The n ( 16 ) The Chief Justice believes that the whole proceeding has had a salutary effect, as public meetings have si ace, as he is informed, and believes, been much less frequent at the chapel doors, and other places, on Sundays. THE KING V. PACK AND OTHERS. As to the defendants, Haydon, Meany, and Quirk, the Chief Justice is eharged with having openly " vitiated" the verdict of the jury by directing the word " unlawful" to be substituted for " tumultuous" in the endorse- ment of the verdict on the indictment, and with having said to the jury that an assembly to be tumultuous must be unlawful. This complaint, like most of the others, wants the foundation of truth. The jury returned a verdict of " Gxiiliy of a tumultuous assembly," but the clerk of the court, conceiving that the correct and technical mode of recording it was "guilty of an unlawful assembly," made the latter endorsement on the indictment without any previous communication with the Chief Justice, or the Assistant Judges. Immediately afterwards he shewed the indorsement to the Chief Justice, who, supposing that to have been the meaning of the jury, intimated his assent merely by a nod ; and the clerk of the court, thereupon desired the jurj- to hearken to the verdict as the court should record it. The record is not considered perfect until the jury have signified their assent to the verdict as entered on the indictment. When the clerk read the verdict " guilty of an unlawful assembly," some individual jurors stated that they found the defendants guilty of a tumultuous assembly. The Chief Justice, thereupon, read to the jury that part of the indictment which charged the defendants with unlawfully, riotously, routously and tumultuously assembling ; and asked if they intended to find them guilty of that part of the indictment? And he also read to them from " Russell on Crimes," which happened to be lying before him, a definition of a riot, rout, or tumult. There seemed to be a difference of opinion among the jurors, and the court in consequence, desired them to retire and make up their minds as to what they really did mean. They did so, and on their return theirforeman returned a verdict of "guilty ofa tumultuous assembly;" and that verdict was recorded without the slightest objection. All the defendants were subsequently brought up for judgment, on 5th January, when the Chief Justice entertained doul>ts whether a party was legally liable to punishment for a mere tumult, unless found to be unlawful, and intimated his doubts to the Assistant Judges, who concurred therein. No sentence was, in consequence, passed on the defendants Hayden, Meany, and Quirk, but th"y were discharged on entering into their own recognizances to appear for judgniont when called on. They were so discharged, not on ar application of their own, but at the instance of the Chief Justice, in consequence i;f the doubt so suggested by him. The Court, at the same time, informed the Attorney-General that he might apply whenever he thought proper to have the defendants brought up for judgment, but that the Court, before it could make any order for that purpose, must l»e satisfied that the offl'nce as found by the jury was indictable. The Attorney-Ciuneral never made any such application. Part of the punishment of Thomey Harding and Sanders was remitted by 2^ ( 17 ) by her Majesty. The Chief Justice is willing at all times to pay due deference to tlie opinion of her Majesty's advisers ; still he cannot help retaining the opinion, that under the circumstances of the case, the punishment awarded by the Court was not disproportioned to the offence. For the reasons by which the Judges of the Supreme Court were guided, Appx N0.20 he refers to their Report on the subject to the Governor. Lord Glenelg, in a despatch to the Governor, dated the 12th of January, 1837, expressed himself as follows: — " The impunity which has " hitherto attended the open violation of the laws at the late elections, " and the forcible rescue from the civil power of the persons who had " been arrested to answer for that offence, would become evils of the " greatest magnitude, if they should be acquiesced in as irremediable. " The effect would be to give to mere violence permanent authority " in the colony, under your government. " You will, therefore, leave no measure unattempted for bringing to " punishment the authors of these illegal acts." ii THE KING «. MACKAY. The complaint against the Chief Justice, for his conduct in this case, may be divided into three branches : — First, That he stated that the question of assault was not a point for the decision of the jury. Second, That the original verdict of " Not Guilty," ought to have been taken without objection. Third, That he caused to be recorded a verdict different from that ac- tually delivered, and in this case the fine imposed is complained of as exorbitant. The first part of the complaint is not true in fact ; the Chief Justice did not tell the jury that the question of assault was not one for their consideration. In summing up the case, after stating the law on the subject of assaults and batteries, he added, that it was for the jury to say whether they believed the defendant had done the acts sworn against him; but that whether such acts did or did not amount to an assault was a question of law ; and the Chief Justice gave it as his opinion that if they believed the witnesses, the facts proved amounted in law to a battery. As to the second part of the case. The jury, in the first instance, brought in a verdict of not guilty gene- rally, which was directly contrary, not only to the evidence, the truth of Avliich there was no reason to doubt, but to the implied admission of the counsel for the defendant, who, when the cause was called on for trial, and in the presence of the jury, offered on behalf of his client to wiviidraw his plea of not guilty, and plead guilty, if the Attorney-General would wait till the defendant came into court. The case, on the part of the prose- E cution, ''1 ( 18 ) cution, was most clearly proved ; and tlie Chief Justice and Assistant Judges, therefore, thought that the jury must have either misunderstood the explanation the Chief Justice had given of the law, or have been obstinately bent upon acquitting the defendant ; and the Chief Justice tliereupon asked them the reason of their verdict, and if tliey were of opinion tliat the defendant did spit in the prosecutor's face, and some of them answered that they did not consider spitting in a man's face any insult and that it was not intritional. The Chief Justice then read to them evidence which had been given of a positive threat to do it, which the defendant had uttered, and restated to them the law of assault, and directed them to reconsider their verdict. They did so ; and, upon the second occasion, brought in a verdict of guilty of spitting in the prosecutor's face, while acting as constable. This verdict the Court thought, and the Chief Justice still thinks, amounted to a general verdict of guilty. The offence was of an aggravated character. The defendant's conduct was calculated to bring on a general affray, and at a time when the street was much thronged, and the troops had been called out in conse- (luence of the disturbed state of the town. The constables had been much beaten, and the Court thought it necessary to put a check on such tumultuous proceedings. ■ ^"^^ P- 10- THE KING V. WHITE. This case, like the rest, is grossly misrepresented. The Chief Justice was ignorant that either White or the prosecutor was a voter. There had been an altercation between them, in a field belonging to the defendant, m which he was at work getting in his crop. It was clearly proved that the defendant struck the prosecutor more than once, and had knocked him down, but it was doubtful on the evidence whether the latter had not begun the altercation, and the Chief Justice requested the jury to state which party they considered to have commenced it. The jury thereupon found the verdict mentioned in the case. The Court, under the circumstances, thought the offence of a very trivial character, and passed a sentence accordingly. In justice to himself, the Chief Justice has thought it right to enter into these details. At the same time, he protests most strongly afminst having his judicial conduct sul)mitted to inquiry in the manner adopt^ed bv the House of Assembly and their delegates. Thirteenth Charge.— That he altered the treatment and discipline ot the prison, and induced a severity in the gaol regulations towards defendants when committed to jirison, pre- viously unknown, and excluded Roman Catholic Cler- number of visits by clergymen of the Protestant and Roman Catholic * " "-' religion, for the years 1836 and 1837, during which period tiie majority of prisoners were generally Roman Catholic. He believes the prisoners generally made no complaint as to their Appx Nov. treatment. 24, :>5,& •jc. Fourteenth Charge. — That disregarding the decorum, if not the decency, which ought to characterize a judge, he acted as his own counsel in an action commenced by hjm. The Chief Justice, in acting as hia own advocate in his own case, did what is, no doubt, unusual, and what he liimsolf would not have thought it necessary to do in this country. Where there is an ample bar, and where the diff"erent branches of the profession are separated, the mm from the other, the exigency of no case can retjuin; a suitor to plead his o.vn cause. But in a smaller community, where a diff'erent course of practice prevails, a diff'erent line of conduct may be adopted without any breach of propriety. In Newfoundland, the same indi\ iduals i>ractiee in"^tlie double capacity of barrister and attorney. At St. John's the practitioners (including the Attorney-General, who conducts nothing but official business,) do not exceed five in number, three of whom engross nearly the entire business in Court. The Chief Justice had reason to believe the Assistant Judges entertained doubts ■){ ( M ) duubts of their jurisdiction in a case to which he was a party, and being prochidcd from Htutinfr liis opinion to them in private, anil Ix-ing at the »ime time, desirons of an opportunity of making known the reasons which influenced him on the (piestion of jurisdiction, he thought the more correct and manly way of proceeding was to take the course he did. lie had perfect confidence in the integrity and firmness of the Assistant Judges — a confidence which the result proved to be well founded ; and was satisfied that deference to him would not bias their decision. Even supposing the cause to have proceeded to a trial, and that the Chief Justice had not left it to the ordinary practitioners, it Avould hav been by no means unprecedented in the colonial courts. During the time he filled the office of Solicitor General in Upj)er Canada he appeared as counsel for the jdaintitt' in a cause in which tlic Chief Justice of that province was- defendant, and acted throughout as his own counsel ; nor did the circumstance of his so acting excite any remark as being indecent or indecorous. The speech of Mr. Morris which the Chief Justice complained of as being libellous, contained the following, among many others passages, A])px No.2'i some of which will be found in the Appendix : "Judge Boulton has totally subverted the ancient laws and customs of "the country ; has set aside the decisions of all former courts and judges. "This is a statement I have frequently made for the last three years. I "have made this statement frecpiently at public meetings ; in published "sj)eeches; in published letters. When 1 could not claim the privileges "of a member of this house, I made these charges op<3nly and publicly, "against the course adopted by Judge Boulton. I was determined to "abide the conseqaences. No punishment would be too severe for me, "if I had, without foundation, made these charges. The proof of their "truth I think I might rest altogether in the simple fact tnat they have "never been denied, — the judges did not deny them, — the lawyers, who "owed Judge Boulton so mucli for giving them a monopoly, did not "stand forth in his defence, — no man has been found publicly, either in "the courts, or tlirough the press, to defend him : the facts are notorious "and undisputed." Mr. Morris here avows that the Chief Justice had been the object of his continued attacks for three years ; and because the latter hvl hitlierto for- borne to notice his slanderous statements, he assumes that the. wer-j true. The speech was jirinted by order of the House of Aosci;it)ly. Mr. Nugent and Mr. Kent are active mendjcrs of that house, and their names will be found affixed to most, if not all the j)etitions, which have been presented, containing similar calumnies. The Chief Justice believed he liad it in his power to bring home the publication of that speecli to both of them, as well as to Mr. Morris ; yet when he at last determined to take the only mi .).':S in his power of vindicating his character, the delegates of the hc«u:5ii ': best qualified to judge of his professional acquirements : " The Judge did not untie, he cut the Gordian knot : he flung away " with contempt the system which so long prevailed in the courts. He " adopts his own system, his own practice, his own rules, his own princi- " pies. The Judges and the bar are ' ordered ' to obey. He gives the word, " ' left about, wheel !' No military evolution could be more promptly or '• more silently obeyed ; no voice was raic'^d against the iniiovation by his " learned brothers or the bar ; they have l)een silent on the subject. M'liat " the Judge says is the law, is received by the bench as proofs from holy " writ. The faith of tlie bar is equally strong in his judicial infallibility." The concluding part of the case contains an insinuation, that the Chief lusticehas been instrumental in adopting measures for the purpose of F preventing A|)()x. N(i«. '-'i), 30, 31, .'12. ^3 ( ii2 ) provciitiiifr the Dflcoatos from {)rocco(liiig to Enuland, in cxt'cution of tlif roiimiissioii intrusted to tiieni by the Assembly. ' Tliere is not the sliglitest foundation for this insinuation. As the Chief Justici! has always felt per- fectly conscious of the integrity of Lis conduct, and had the f'uUest con- fidence in her Majesty's justice, he has never shrunk from the most com- plete investigation of that conduct, nor has ever sauctioiuxl any measure which could obstruct such an investigation. i'nder ic foregoing circumstances, the Chief Justice trusts that their lordships wdl advise her Majesty to dismiss the charges against him, as being frivolous aiul groundless. WILLIAM IU!RGE, .1. n. MONRO. y APPENDIX. APPENDIX. Sir, (No. 1.) Downing-Street, ICth February, 1838. I am directed by Lord Glenelg to inform you that his Lordship has received from the delegates appointed by the House of Assembly of Newfoundland, an Address from that House to the Throne, complaining of various acts done by you in your judicial character. Lord Ulene g has also received from Captain Prescott, the copv of an Address presented to hm» by the Assembly of Newfoundland, charging you with a breach of their privileges in the prosecution for libel ot cer- tain members of that house. , »t j. n j u ■ The accusations thus preferred against you by the Assembly of Newfoundland, bemg con- nected with the discharge of your judicial office. Lord Glenelg disclaims for her Majesty's lixecutive Government any right to decide on the questions involved in them. His Lordship has therefore advised her Majesty to refer those accusations for the consideration of the Judicial Committee of her Privy Council ; and her Majesty having been pleased to approve of that advice, 1 am to request that you will report to the clerk of the Council in waiting, your arrival, and your address in London, in order that you may receive from the Lords of the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council the usual summons to attend before them. I have the honour to be. Sir, Your most obedient humble servant, H. J. BoMlton, Esq. GEORGE GREY. Sir, (Copy— No. 2.) Downing-Street, 6th March, 1883. By the accounts I have lately received of the proceedings of the Legislature of Upper Canada, 1 have learnt that the Attorney and Solicitor-General of that Province have, in their places in the Assembly, taken a part directly opposed to the avowed policy of his Majesty s Government. . ,, tt i i i As members of the Provincial Parliament, Mr. Boulton and Mr. Hagerman arc of course bound to u-t upon their own view of what is most for the interest of their constituents and of the Colony at large • but if upon questions of great political importance, they unfortunately difler m opinion from his Majesty's Government, it is obvious that tliey cannot continue to hold conhdential situa- tions in his Majesty's service, without either betraying their duty as members of the Legislature, or bringimi the sincerity of the Government into (question by their opposition to the policy wliuh his MaFe i has been advised to pursue. . r . r His Maiesty can have no wish that Mr. Boulton and Mr. Hagerman should adopt the first ot these' alternatives, but on the other liaiul he cannot allow the measures of ins Government to be impeded bv the opposition of the Law-OtVicers of the Crown. In order, therefore, that these gen- tlemen maV be at full liberty, as members of the Legislature, to follow the dictates of tlicir own iud.rnient, I liave received his Majesty's commands, t,) inform you, that he regrets that he can no lonrrer avail himself of their services, and that from the time of your rcceiymg this despatch they are to be relio\eil from the duties imposed upon them in thoir respective offices. Yon will transmit copies of this despatch to Mr. Boulton and Mr. Hagerman. I have the honour to be. Sir, Your most obedient sonant, Major-Gencral Sir John Colborne, K.C.B. (iODERICH. ^ L-> ( 2 ) (No. 3.) Government-House, 29th April, 1833. Sir, I have the lionour to acquaint you, in reply to your letter of this day, that the Lieutenant-Governor understands that the part of your political proceedings to which the despatch nf the Secretary of State particularly adverts, is, that you and the Solicitor-General promoted the repeated expulsion of a member of the Assembly, although the constitutional objections to that course had been conveyed to his Excellency by his Majesty's Government ; and were, it is con- cluded, communicated bv him 1) vou. Henry J. Boulton, Esq., &c., &c., &c. I have the honour to be. Sir, Your most obedient humble servant, VVM. ROWAN. Sir, (No. 4.) Downinp-Street, 17th June, 1833. Your return to England has enabled me to afford you an op])ortunity of submitting such remarks as you were desirous of making, on the despatch addressed by my predecessor to Sir .John Colborno, on the 6th of March last, in which the Lieutenant-Governor was directed to signify to you, that in cou-equence of the course which you had taken as a member of the Assembly in Upper Canada, in certain recent debates, his Majes'ty had thought fit to dispense with your senices as Attorney-General of that Province. liaving considered your explanation with the attention which it deserves, and with the most anxious desire to find sufficient grounds for recommending your case to the favourable considera- tion of his Majesty, I am happy to announce to ycu, that as it seems to be clearly established that you wore not sutlicii'iitly informed of the views of the particular question under discussion which were entertained by the Government at home, and that you had no intention whatever of embarras- sing the Colonial (jovernnient. The King has been graciously pleased to accept of vour further services; and I have his Majesty's commands to offer you the appointment of Chief Justice of Newfoundland, which situation has recently become vacant. 1 have the honour to bo. Sir, Your most obedient humble servant, H. J. Boulton, Esq. &c. E. G. STANLEY. (No. Putney-Heath, August 20th, IS'So. I have the honour to acknowledge the receipt of your letter of the 20th instant, enclosing a copy of one v.hicli you had addressed to Sir George Grey, upon the subject of a change in your present judicial situation in Newfoundland. I can easily conceive that tiie peculiar circumstances of that Island, and of the condition of its socit 'y, may impose upon any one called upon to administer justice there, difficulties of no oidinarv kind ; and that neither irreproachai)le conduct, strict integrity, nor talent fully adequiUe to the dis"- charge of high juilicial functions, can secure the iiidividuarujjon whom the discharge of those functions has devolved, from the effects of those vehement and bitter controversial feelintrs, by which small communities are at least as much agitated as the largest and most civilized coimtries. Tt is therefore by no means unnatural that after what lias passed in respect to yourself in Newfound- land, you sliould >cek to be removed to some other judicial situation in which" your duties could be discharged with more comfirt (perhai)s I might say safety) to yourself and advantage to the public, than can well he expected in Newfoundland. When Lord Stanley placed you in the situation of Chief Justice of Newfoundlaml, he did so with my entire concurrence, which 1 gave because 1 was satisfied that your personal character, your legal attainments, and your professional experience, iiualified you for such a post; and altliou'di in the discharge of my duty I had tlionglit myself compelled to recommend to his Majesty "to place another gentleman in the situation of Attorney-General in Upper Canada, that ste|') was not taken by me upon any ground which involved a disqualification on your part for judicial eniployment, and I am sure that the withdrawal of olViciid confidence from a person holding, as yon did, an office during pleasure under the ( 'rown, would never be considered in this country, as a bar to professional advancement, where the connection of the (Joverninent and the party concerned would not be of the same character. I am bound to adil th.at although (he explanations which you gave upon your return to Ein'land did not. in my judgment, alter the facts upon which I had advised a cliiuiije" in your situation,'"thev did all'ect the inference; which had been drawn from those facts. " W,!, 5> ( 3 ) You are at perfect liberty to make any use you please of this letter, and I am most willing to add, that I am sure that if you are placed in so.ne other judicial situation more suitable to vour convemonce and comfort the lubiic will be well served, at the same time that your individual mterests will be promoted. ' I have the honour to bo. Sir, u T D 1. T- ^'°"'" ^°^*' obedient humble servant, H. J. liouUon, Esq. RIPO\ „. (^'o. G.) St. John'g, 15th September, 1837. •II I u ^"'^'''■'''^"'''ng that it is your intention to visit Great Britain this year, whore vou will liave the opportunity, as well as the amplest means, .,f reftitinfr the base and libellous misre- presentations which have been so unceasingly made for several years past of your public conduct, by a party alike charactcrizod by their malevolence and their utter disrcnird of truth ; we cannot separate for the circuits, without conveying to you the assurance of our sincere repitable character of the people has hitherto shed a charm over the rurr,red- ness ot the In N, and where to love one another seems to have been the leadin.r principle of action, the sudden irruiitior. of those vindictive and malignant passions which have"produced the awtu catalogue of crimes which are now become the subject of deliberation, must be trulv appalling. Belore ontering, however, upon the consi.K-ration of the particular crimes enumerated in the calendar, I think it right to say a few words upon a subject deeply aU'ecting the interests of tho«e who are to lie brought t) trial duriiiij: the present session of this court. Amo.ig the vaiious institutions of the Parent State, none stand more i)rc-eminently the Mibjccf of universal adnmation, than the trial by jury, which has been justly styled the Palladium of Eiudi.li liberty; and, m the numerous c.donies which she has planted, this inalienable guarantee of Bntish freedom essentially distinguishes her hardy and enterprising .lescendants from the less-favoured mhaliitants ot those settleuieuls which have been founded by the other state^^ of Euroiie The excellency of this mode of trial in civil proceedings has been universdly felt ; and so scrupulouslv desirous v.ere our ancestors to guard their fellow subjects against unfounded accusations before the cruninal tnbuiuil.-, that in all ielonies the strong and two-fold barrier of a presentment and a trial by jury has been wisely placed between their liberties and the prerogative of the crown. To t pay for their liberty in more substantial matters, and that though begun with the best intentions, and in matteVs to the superficial observer, of little consequence, the precedent may gradually increase and spread, to the utter disuse of juries in questions of the most momentous concern. It is plain, that if eiahtecn jurors only lie summoned, it will be quite impossible for a prisoner to exercise his ri"ht of "challenging twenty ; and as there are upon the present occasion no less than thirteen persons charged in the Calendar with capital offences, I have deemed it my bounden and imperative duty to see, that such a sufllcieiit panel of jurors be suininoiied as will aliord the opportunity to'those who shall be capitally arraigned, of exercising that absolute riglit of challenge winch the common law of the land has assured to them. To gentlemen of your inti'Uigence, I feel that it is unnecessary for mo to add any further remarks ; and, indeed", 1 >li(nild not have detained you so long wilii the consideration of a subject not particularly connected witii your duties, had I'not felt solicitous to exj)laiii the grounds upon which I have thus earlv found it necessary to make so important an alteration in the practice of the court, in order that every person in any way affected by it might see that the change which has lieen iiitroduced has proceeded solely from an anxious desire on my i)art t() advance the ends of iu-lice, and ijreserve inviolate the most valuable ciiarter of public liberty— trial by jury. (No. 8.) ? ( 5 ) (No. 8.) TO THE KING'S MOST EXCELLENT MAJESTY. The respectful Memorial of the undersigned Inliabitants of His Majesty's Island of New- foundland. Most Humbly Sheweth, That beneath the sceptre of your Majesty there is not a people more distinguished at all times for their loyalty, for their love of the laws, their respect for the constituted authorities, and their firm attachment to the constitution of Great Britain, than the people of Newfoundland ; and that they regard as the fairest pillar of that constitution, those laws whidi, by the Act of Settlement, the 12th and 13th William HI. cap. 2, are declared to be " the birth-riffht of the neoDJe of England." ^ ' ' thev regard his late Majesty's most gracious charter conferring upon them a Supreme Court, to be holden by a chief judge and two assistant judges, as a lasting monument of His Majesty's desire to secure to His Majesty's loyal subjects of Newfoundland the blessings of impartial justice. That in the Royal charter last alluded to, extended to this country by your Majesty's Royal Predecessor, of happy memory. King George the Fourth, is embodied a provision empowering the Supreme Court "to make and prescribe such rules and orders, touching and concerning the forms and manner of proceeding in the said Supreme Court, and Circuit Courts respectively, the empanelling of Juries, &c., as to His Most Gracious Majesty, his Heirs or Successors, shall' seem meet, for the proper conduct of the business in the said Courts." That your Majesty's Memorialists always regarding this provision with deep feelings of gratitude, enabling, as it does, a local tribunal to suit its practice to the circumstances of the^countrv, wiiile they consider the accoinpanyiiiglimitations and (pialitications, whercbva "public and autlien"tic pro- mulgation for three calendar months at least before the same shall operate and take efToct," is made necessary; and by which is also required the ajiproval of His Most Gracious Majesty, his Heirs or Successors, to ratify the same. Your Majesty's humble Memorialists consider 'these " limitations and qualifications" as calculated to secure' the' public from hasty, capricious, ill-advised or malcmlmt changes in matters of such vital importance. That in accordance with these provisions of the Royal ("ii;uter of your Majesty's Roval Prede- cessor, of happy memory, a charter founded on, and granted bv auth'oritv of a British S'tatute, the Honorable Richard Alexander Tucker, first Chief Judge, and 'Aiigustus'Wallet Des Baires, Esq. and John William MoUoy, Esquirs, the first Assistant Judges ni tlie Supreme Court, at the open- ing thereof, on the 2d January, 18-J(;, did publicly proiuulgato certain rules, denominated " General Rules and Orders of the Supreme Court of Newfouiuliaiul," and did, in compliance with the other provisions aforesaid, after the promulgation thereof, immediately adjourn that Court, in order that the intervention of three calendar months between that day and the next sitting of the Court. miglit render their operation legal. That the I'itli April following was the first day of the tirsi term of the Supreme Court, and on that day were promulgated certain other rules and orders denominated » General Rules and Or(lt>rs of the Circuit Courts of Newfouniiiand," wliicli otiicr niit-s and orders were not permitted to take effect for the space of three calendar montlis ; and that from some of tliese rules and orders before recited, the approval of His Most (iracious Majesty was wilblield, while the others were ratified by the Royal sanction; and tiiat thus these rules a'nd regulations thus publicly promulgated for three calendar months before the same were ])('rniitted to operate, and tho.-^ ratified bv His Most Gracious Majesty's approval, as reipiired by the charter, by virtue and under the authoritv of the ."rth Geo. IV. chap. 07, were renik: .-d v'irtwdli/ tlio act'of tlie Britisii Legislature, and mi//// that of His Most Gracious Majesty in ("ouiicil, and of tlie Suprenie (Jouit of Xewfoundland. That amongst these rules and orders, wore certain rules directing the manner in wiiich Juries "should" be empanelled, viz.: from the 2t)tli to tiic ;)i)tii inclusively, re(|uiriiig the sherifl' to ha\.' his several panels of the jurios arranged alphabetically, and to slrik'e each jnrv consecutively tV.)iii the corresponding panel, beginning for each new jury at the name next foUo'wing the last iif tin.- last jury; thus rendering it impossilde for a corrupt sherill" to pack a jury ; and that these rules continued in full force and operation until the close of the year 18:J3, to the entire satisfaction of all classes of the community. That in the prepamtion of these rules and orders much time was taken to delibcnite ; the jud»e- HO ( 6 ) C'liipf Jiiflfro, a man, wlin by liis sound knovvledjre of the law, liy his peculiarly protective watch- fuliH'-s of tlie intort<-ts of liio poor, nud hy liis eijuitable adjudications, jrenerally commanded the |)ul)iic conlidcnce; and though a high Tory in principle, sat upon the bench the idol of a Whig peo))lo. That all those bulwarks of Ihitish law, and all these barriers erected by your Most Gracious M.ijostv's Roval I'ri'ilccossor, of happy memory, to guard the lives and liberties, the dearest inte- rests of your Alajoty's loyal suhjt'cts, from danger, liave been rendered nugatory by the most fla- grant and outrageous violation of your Majesty's most gracious charter. That on tho .'ilst December, 1833, the Honorable Chief Judge Boulton was sworn into office, and that immediately afterwards upon reciting his charge to the grand jury from a manuscript, he announced, that at some time prior not only to that day on which he had been sworn, but antece- dent to the (lay on which the several juries 'had been summoned, " he" had ordered a.'i alteration to be made in the manner of empanelling juries heretofore practised in this Court. That the first intimation the ])ul)lie had had of an alteration in their jury system was this ;)Oif facto announcement of the learned judge, and not only had there not been a public and authentic pronudgation for three months of a rule of such importance, not only had the approval of your Most Gracious Maje>,ty not been solicited subsequently to such jirom'ulgation, and previously to the operation of such rule, but such " alteration" as actually and professedly effected at a time when unit/ one sii-ornjuih/e holding your Majesty's Royal Commission or Patent was in the Island at the tinie, and consequently at a time when no Supreme Court existed, and made too by an Hmwnrn individual, whose Commission had not even yet been opened. That this was the time selected for making an alteration so violent, an alteration so hasty, in the jury system hitherto in practice in the Courts of Newfoundland, an " alteration" of a system formed after much deliberation, embracing what was most valuable of Peel's Jury Laws, the "Jury Laws of England offected in an instant, before the public had intimation of the fact, an "alteration" made by an individual totallv ignorant of the customs of the country, unacquainted with the circumstances of its inhaliitants, and utterly inexperienced in the workings of the system altered ; of a system formed by an honorable judge from long experience, well acpici()n, and made b'y him before the public had even the solitary security of his single oath, that his alteration wjisnot iWnded to deprive them of that great shield that had protected their lives and their liberties under the administration of former judges. That subsequent to the carrying into effect of this " alteration," in the jury system, one rule of the Supreme Court was made, viz. : — No. 1 of the new rules on the plea side, rescindimr all the f.)rnier general rules upon the subji'ct ; but although a similar violation of the former general rules of the Supreme Court for the establishment of a . imilar system in the Circuit Courts, had also been elVected, no rule of the Supreme Court has ever sincebeen pronudgated to rescin(l the former rules for these courts; and juries, notwithstanding, continue to be empanelled, and property to be conveyed, and the liberty of the subject restricted, u])on the alteration principle, infamously and notoriou>ly packed to suit party purpi That your Majesty's Meniori Majesty's late Predecessor's anxiety to throw the jirotectivo shield of the law round the pid|iertv, the liberty, and the lives of your ^iajesty's loyal subjects of Newfoundland, than that provision in the same Royal charter, which, while il requires the annual ap])ointment of a sheriff, for the due execution of the laws, gives the people the security of an annual oath, and an animal recognizance of nine thousand pounds, for the honest, t'le impaitial, the legi.l discharge of his duties; '"but vet, that n(^t\vith.-,fanding that pro\;>ion, no sheriff was appointed, or re-appointed (luring the vear 18."33. No sheriff ^vas sworn, nor did any individual, as re(iuired by the Royal Charter, lodge recognizances to any unwunt in th^ Supreme Court. That uevertheless, the •• alteration" before alluded to, so made, and at such a time, was carried into rialists are of opinion, that nothing can more forcibly (levelo]>r vour 'f( ( 7 ) into execution by David Buciian, Esquire, Royal Naw, prelcndinjr to act as sheriff, althouffh with- out an appointment, without an oath, anil without a recognizance. That hef()re juries thus sununoncd, by in unsworn sheritr, upon the authority of the dictum of an unsworn judge, several individuals have been tried for their lives, convicted, condemned tc die act M sheri?'""^ ''''""""^ '"^" ''^'''''"''"" ^^' "'^ '■if'^''''^'"^' 1^»™1 lii«=»'an, Esquire, pretending to That it is provided by the said Royal Charter, that upon the departure from the Island of the 8 leriH, another ^herilT shall be aopointed by the Governor, shall be sworn, and shall enter into the aforesaid recognizances, but that although the said David Buchan did, early in the year 1834 leave this Island, and go to Great Britain, yet not only was another sheriH'not appointed nor sworn, but an unsworn sub-sheriff continued to act for the aforesaid David Buchan, Esquire, and writs were executed, professing to be signed by the said Davi.i Buchan, and even by the said un- sworn sub-sheriir, a man who has acte.l for years in succession, (as your Majesty's Memorialists believe, contrary to law), in the same capacity of sub-sheiiir, without an f.ath, by such officer, pro- tending to be a sub-sheriff, when no such otKcer any longer existed as liLdi sheriff. By such a man was the capital sentence of Mie Supreme Court, passed in consequence of the verdict of the juries before alluded to, earned into execution. That your Majesty's Memorialists regard the charters of their King as the palladium of their liberties, that they always looked upon their provisions as fixed and immutable, save only by au- thority of the Parliament of Great Britain. That thinking thus, they felt their liberties secure, and approached with conhdence the bench of justice, but that they look upon the alteration of the jury system by the Honorable Henry John Ijoulton, as a violent and radical subversion thereof, and as presumptuously substituting his capricious will for the wis.lom of the British Senate, the Council of the King, the Supreme Court of Newfoundland, and the Monarch of Great Britain. Ibat during the administration of Judge Boulton, no acting judge appointed in the absence of Assistant-Judge Uej Barrcs, has been permitted to retain bis commission, save only during- each term or sessKjn of the Supreme Court, and that conseciuentlv all the functions by koyal Charter permitted to be fulhlled only by the Supreme Court, the granting administrations or probates the appointing of guardians, &c., &c., have been fulhlled by an unauthorized tribunal. And that your Majesty's Memorialists therefore feel' that under such a system— if the long e*- tablislied rules of the courts can be broken without an instant's notice ; i"f the functions of the teupreine Court can be usurped by one or two individuJs ; if public officers cjin be permitted to act othcially without those guarantees for good and honest conduct, which the laws reouire if Junes can bo summoned by persons not under the obligation of an oath; and if life can be al)- stracted under co our of law, by parties whom the laws recognize not as qualified, your Majesty's liumble Memorialists feel that lii)orty is uncertain, pmieitv insecure, and life ii^ peril. Your Majesty sMemonalistsfeel that if those extnioniinarvcii-ciim^tances are permitted to be enacted to- day, tlioy iiiav again be enacted to-morrow, and those proud institutions intended to promote the happiness, and insure tb.. prosperity of your Majesty's loval subjects, bo made to the darkdesigns of those who forpur|,oses llic^ most corrupt, would feign subvert the constitution 1 fiat further your Majesty's Memorialists are of opinion, that it is peculiarly the duty of a iud"™ ^i "'e Honorable Judge most loathso^ne .lunUn of the comZrgad aJil'onlvS Z^^ "''!!''" T^'^ '" '^' sterling for an alleged contempt of the Cen ralC c lirCo . i '. T^ ■' ''"'' "^''^'^ P"""'^^ paper, commenting upon a most uncnsf^n In I i H . ' f '"^''>*-'l '" " paragraph of that that high-minded youL victim by ffiS a'^er .,1 te""^'' f *•'"' ''""•""•••^''l« gentleman although and that in every^step^t^ikr in that cat 1 flmn r..H ' !""°f "? °' I*'*' '^''"^«?'«' "^ ^""'^mpt ; party leaning, but a cruelly vi mliSe de ;rmL tZ o oS^^^^ t'''"P''^ ","' ""'y ""^ ^"•""f''^«» .nore elTectually to secure tie subju^.'tiorof^free ,eopl ""'*^ "" '^""''"^ ^"'''''^ >'"^'' ' ''« ^^»r '^sr ;z^ SSi A ~ ^T-'' 1^ -'"^^™ «' '^« Parsons, for an alleged libel, as proprieL aXSJ nf L P ^^«™" r.r^tw Douglas and judge having used tTie folloJing Sssion ^-"^'of arf /L .^ 1 ^',7 r^^^'P^P)'"-' »»'« honourable "sactly the same feelinas as mmrJaardT,Pi,n,, ,h ^ l^' of that paper (the Patriot,) with an oak here doei not llt'r eZZ" Zl imni vh?? '^ "*tf ^-"'^ -• your havin\ak^ that the juror's oath to return a ^erchct^rSr^P 7^ 1"^ ^W^i^\ memorialists 'believe, the best {criterion whereby to est^^te U.rvlTof , ht Z^^ "'^'^ ""' ^V^?^^^-^^ but thaJ excited and exasperated-feeling cXdupC^^^^^^ charge, on the subject of ascertainin.' dmrs tblTL' II • ^ "' "''''* ^'"■"""" "" »»'« same //«e«mo««f «/./«mV.i'«««r7i"L„rf rX /w remarked, «/« comidern^ you individually paL\ ithls caZe iTnorLtZ"^'' "' -f '^'""^'^ """'^ '"/'"■'«*^^. ""^^ defendants, butZh damages a you JuU^^^^^^^^ pou stood i^n the position of the situation of the plaintiff." "^ "unhjair fyou stood in the calm and dispassionate to the aivinced pLitL. of C f JuJle i n S^n.nd 3^^^^^ upon landing upon the shores of this cirv co.nmp' "^^^^ ' "" '"""'"•■■^l^'e individual, who. before he was Lorn, thus depriving ^5;! s "XS t^^^^ subverting the Jury Laws Constitut on, whose second act was to 1 in'' a slur 1, tf.e d ",S^^^ 'if -'"^'^'''T' "^ ^'"^ ""'*>*»' from the bench the only remaining one of tlfis? .,.,"' «f the Supreme Court, by >■ the honourable judge as an in- Des Barres's) seat,''a„ individua the cirk o 1 l ^o ^^^T1'''.•'"^ '^"^' '^''^^^^*"'"° l"^ (•'"'!?« other character than as the serva to he ben h s hoolLl in . ""'"'' l''^- '" ''"' ^''"^^ '" •'■"y and not content with this, but still f.-llowi^ . he ^rs ution ^^^^^^^^^^^ ^' ^f "'" °^ V'*' ''''"'' Barres by an unconstitutional private intiuis^tiS n tL?,K.W 'l . '''T A^«>«tant-Judge Des before your Majesty, in the office of yo Ma e tv's R S^^^^ """"''" "^ «'"^'h "« an honourable individual, who, in vi.,E io„ oHh ^l^l: rr''*'"^ ^ "^ ""-' Colonies; the public to approach the courtse e f^th > mm n^ ' f" ','■ • '''"'" '^>- /"""er j.uijres, forbade a bar, not possessing public coi fide fc^-. J^^^ E^ '^'' ""'""gh "'e members of parties convicted wiThout sufficient eSonceiny'Z^^^^^^^ ^ F' '"'""^' '""''^'"^'^ "*" '^♦^^'>"' "P"" tion by individuals not legally authoH S .nd i wl^^^^^^ m •="""'="""^ »» ''e carried into execu- in prison on suspicion of muider, S mut h" i 1 f -n/ " 'f ' '""" ''I *=""'"""-' f"'-^^'" "">•"»>« i"'lividuul remai'kable in his ove weer il S;. ""''clment preferre.l against him :-an altered the constitution of the L h is £V Cou^ T. * 'T"" '';:"'^''^''' "' \nn..Ai i.y having u. be of that number, and exhiwK | illv^of ni.ov "I*" 7' '"/""" '' '•"""""' '""' ''imself .lent of the Council to that of Set „ il clr ' '"^'! """'■'"^' •'»-• "'"'"-^ "<" '••« Presi- since .efusing to adopt the rtiVS tiHo ! 7'' '' '""'' ^^^J^-'^V's Government, and even signinghinisdf Honr'vJolmZ .1,' ,;t^^ ^'- «-- "^ Assembly me'rei; icting in the three-fold capacity oillZuLTr T ^h"t-^<>ever:-an honourable individual .lay recommending the eni^.^of h^^.?' e „ ,t S ?"'"^"'"? -"' •'-'.-' "- execution, an.i a fourth passing iu(|.n„entTn u- J^^^^^ ? ' f "" "'/™h'ct.«n, then advising their dual distinguishets, approach the f)ot of your Majesty's august throne, ihey fling "themselves wit'ii conlideiice under the protection of your Majesty's sceptre; they implore your Majesty to direct that prompt investigation be made "info these violent, these flagrant abuses ; they pray your Majesty to institute in(|uirv into the violations of your Majesty's charters, and of the conslitutiea above recited; and if your 'Majesty shall find, as your Majesty's Memorialists feel confident you will, the preinl.sert the sui)reniacy of the law, and vindicati- the Royal prerogiitive, maintaining the inviolability of tiie Royal charter, by directing that the necessary steps l)e taken to vi>it tia' guilty 'vith due and condign punishment. And your ^lajesty's Memorialists, as in duty bound, will ever piav. William Carson, M.D. and M.C.P.; Patrick Morris, J.P.; Patrick Doyle, J.]', John Kent. M.C. P.; .lames Douglas ; Thoirnis Beck. Patrick Mullowney; .lohn O'Maia; Law. O'iirien ; John Dillon. William Doutney ; Timothy Flannery; Simon Morris ; John \'alentino Xuaent. N.B. Tiio above are the only genuine >it;natui'es to the petition. The remainder of the alleged 5000 signatures are atlixed to Muidry sheets of pai)er annexed to the petition, ainl which sinnatures. upon an inspection, will be found to be almost wiioily in tli;' hand writing of a few persons, (No. 9.) KXTRACT FROM HANSARD'S PARLL4>n':NTARY DEBATKS, lSa->, WA. ;}(). p. (57-J Ml!. 0'CoNNELi,—R appeared tliat in IH-Jli the names of (bo juries were arranged in alpha- l)etical Older, and the jurors were diricled to be called consecutively in that order. TU's was a perfectly fair mode of arranging a jury, without reference to paity "])()litics, or reli"ion.— Thi? was the case till Judge Boulton was ap))ointed Chief Juslice, and his tirst step was to aboli-ii the aormer jury process. The result as the petitioners complained was that, instead of having an impartial jury, the jury box was now packed to suit party purpijscs. < Sjii «1 ( 10 ) Sir Geo. Grey could not but rc2TY~4 Or. By amount your account £4 18 10 Do. Codner and Jenninffs' account 17 9 £n_i6^7 Balance due £14 5 (> Equal to £12 5 Sterling. IN THE SUPREME COURT OF NEWFOUNDLAND. Between < ( R. Sullivr Thomas Reilly, Plaintiff and livan and Codner and Jennings, Defendants. Plea — Non assumpsit. (Signed) W. B. ROW, Defendant's Attorncv. 30th December, 18.33. COPY. Summons in Assumpsit. WILLIAM the FOURTH by the Grace of God, of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, King, Defender of the Faith, &c. &c. To the Sheriff of Ni. ••fonndland, and his Deputies, Greeting, Command Richard Sullivan and Codner and Jennings, of St. John's, that justly and without delav, they keej) with Thomas Reilly the promise made by the said Richard Sullivan, and Codner, and Jennings, with the said Thomas Reilly according to'the force, form and olTect thereof; and if tJiey shall refuse to pay the same, then summon they to appear in Our Su])rcme Court of Judicature, in Saint John's, on the first day "of next term', to shew cause wherefore will not do it, and you are commanded to make return of what you shall do upon this Writ, at the time and place above mentioned. Witness, the Honourable Henry John Boulton, Chief Judge of the Sujircme Court, Saint John's, Newfoundland, the 25th day of November, in the 4tli year of Our Reign, 1833. Signed, Geo. H. Emerson, Attorney. £12 5 Sterling. (By the Court,)' (Signed) E.M.ARCHIBALD, Chief Clerk, Supreme Court. N.B — A Bill of the partieiilats of Plaintiff's demand, must always be annexed to this Writ at first issuinir - anrf « Copy of the Writ must lie left with the Defendant. N. II. ^i ( 11 ) (No. II \ '•''''''"'"'/« "(-/WW ^('Ai>/ 7tt#<<(r Tucker, aiiit De.i Harrei anf/nri-nlnn, iti AvrpiDl, 1831. 5. Gto. ly. c. 67, f. 25. Whether thole preferencet in payment whicli are sopiircd to ccrtaiik cUmC!) (if t'rc'ditor!* hy tliis section, are or arc not, conchicivo to the true interests of the fisheries is a " vexntn t/uwutio," upon whicli tlio opinion of the merchants is now very nuiiii divich-l. The Chamlxr of Commerce ^\u\, indeed, idunit the end of the year IH2H, come to'a resohifion that flic privileifeof the creditor for supphes otifrht to be ahohshed ; and we were led to believe that there was a very jri.ncral, if not an universal, concurrence ainon^r commercial men in all parts of the island in tins M-ntiment ; hut we have lately had an opportunity of usccrliiinin^ that there are tomr mirchantu in this town, of the hii/hesl rcspectabiliti/, who are so far from colHciiliiu; in the view which Ike. Chamber of Commerce have taken of this iuhjeet, that by them the repeal (f the Law of Current Supply is reyarded as the certain dkatii iii.ow to our fisheries. Under such a contrariety of feelinfj anionir persons whose situation in hfe n^l^t have prompted them to investijjate thi« <|uestion with a more scrutini/in;r attention than we have been able to ;rivo to it, we wish we could consider ourselves at libei.'y to decline any discussion of it. As the Secretary of State will, however, jirobably desire to be furnished with our opinion, in order that he may tTirow the weii'ht of it into one of the scales if an exact equipoise should otherwise seem to exist between them, it wilfbe our aim, in conveyinj,' our opinion to his Lordship, to lay before him also the reasons upon which it is founded, in such a manner as will enable hun to determine what deCTee of credit ou-dit to attach to it. " The practice of remainiufr in this island duriiip; the winter, in opposition to the policy of the British Ciovernment, had not taken deep root before the merchants on the other side of tlie water bejTiin to perceive, that the lisberies could be carried on with :,I()he advantage by these residents than it ciudd be either by the ./w/iiH// .s/i(/;.s-, or by the bi/e-bont keepers who annually returneil home; and they accordin>r|y camo forward with great alacrity to advance those resident.'-, (who iicqmnHl, probably from their connection with the soil, the denomination of I'lanteus) all the supplies iiecessary for the prosecution of the tisherie.s. In a pursuit, however, which is e.vposed to all the vicissitudes of weather, and to various other casualties, instances of failure must occur very frcquiMitly; and as the planter's ability to \y,i\ for the supplies he had received depended wholly upon the success of his voynjre, the merchants who had turnislied those supplies became alarmed the moment they saw any cause to apprehend tiiat the catch of lisli would not be a fjood one. The fears of all tiie creditors of the planter lieiiij^ tluisj'xcited, each of them strove to obtain the earliest possible settlement of his account, by seiziiiir all the property of the planter he could any how lav his hands on ; and, in their several struirj from such a system, the rule of lien fir wiif/cs, and of preference in payment fir Current Supjdirs, was first iiitroducinl by Ciislom, and afterwards sanctioned by Law. Nor can it bo douiited but that in a state of society where! from the absence of all independent and imiiartial t'ourts of .Ju>tice, ^^ force had usurped the |)rivileph/, \K\mhcr he had, or had not, been directly enfraged in the tishery. To an ntiderstamhiifr enhohtcncd like his, the decisions of the Sinror/ofrs, upon which this system had l>een built, appeared contrary to the princii)le by which the rule of current supply ou'frht to be iroverned. and at the same tniie so injurious to the poneral interests oi the trade of this Island, that he did all m his power to reform <; pnictire which was too firmly fixed to admit of its beimr alfoz/H/irr removed by hnn ; and, tiiro' his clforts, seconded l)v subsoipient parliamentary enact- ments, tlio mo.-,t prurient and loorst rxcresccnies upon the law of Current Supply \\a\o been happily hipjied oil. \ pt even in its present amended state we strongly inc'ine to think, that the evils whicli spring from it, m conjimctioii with its t'ein-born sister r-giihition of " lh:\ tor wages," greatly preponderate over the dvanta^rcs which are sui)posed to be derived from these preferences m payment. The argument l.y which it is attempted to maintain he necessity for their continu- ance IS, that the merchant will not ..dvance supplies to the planter, nor the fisherman engage in lis service, if they siionld be deprived of any part of their present privileges ; and that the planter beirg thus stnpp.cd of cm///, would no longer be able to prosecute his employment. And assuming that the truth of tin- proposition cannot be controverted, its supporters at once i)roceed to deduce from it, as a iiecr^siry coroll.irv, the destrnrtion of the fisheries— {\\c ertiuetion of the trade— am\ the starvation of the inhabitants of Xewfonndhind.' But tiioiioh we are fully sensible that the mostserw/is mischief m\^ht be produced by the absence of that care and caution which should always be observed in overturninir ancient usages, even irlien the// rest iiponfnindatlons notoriously wrony ; and though we uiihesit,.-,ingiy admit, that the. Credit irhich is the offsprinti ofpreferenees m payment ouyht not to be e.vtinynished unless Credit ereeted on a Jirmer basis 'can ins'tantli/ be substituted for It, we are at the same time so much persuaded, that such a substitution wouhftakc place, if the abolition of the law of current supply, and lien for wages, were umadv \i. and pnos- PECTivE, that we have little hesitation in recommending, that for one year from the passimr of another Act of Parliament the priviK.ges of the servant and of the current supjilier shall conlmne on exactly the same footing on wiiich tliev now stand by this section— that after the end of one year the hen shall be taken away, and the preference of' the supjiliei' for the current season over the one of the jireceding season shall also cease and determine— that creditors for wa-es that may become due m the second year after the passing of a new Act, and for such supplies i7ecessary tor the h-hery as may bona fide ]ia\e been furni>hed to the planter within two years from the passing- thereof, sliall raiik toyether in the same class of pririleyed creditors', and shall be entitled to be jiaid 20s in the pound liefore any otlier descrijition of creditor .-hail be ad- mitted to participate in a dividend of the Insol'rent's lUtotr, yroudcd the Insolvency shall be declared in one of the Courts within two vcars from the pare all debts of an earticr date ; but that among the debts tlSat shall be so con- tracled, from the coinniencenent of the third year, no iireference or jirivilege to demands fur u-ayes or to claims for turrcnt supplies shall in any shape whatever be granted or allowed. feiich notice will thus we think, bo given of the "intention to abrogate the law of luefeience in payments, and -uch precautions used in preparing the way for its extinction, as will entirely prevent tllo^e inconveniences whiiJi might arise from the" aniiihilation of the Credit which was built upon it i)efoiv Milllcieiit time had been allowed for the formation of another description of Credit upon a safer bottom: aiul, as the success of all attempts to introduce changes into an old system inu-t principally depend upon tlie existence of eireums/ames favourable to the contemplated alteration in it, we have much satisfaction in adding, that various 'events connected wth the trade of this country iiave for several years past been so gradually leading to the disuse of the ].rivileges of the Current Supplier, that we are persuaded their iiNTiiir. iu;ei:Ai, may new i.^ efTected with perfect ea-^e and ^afety. provided a moderate -hare of i>riideiice and caution is obsLwnl in the mode of doing it. The mere practicidiility. ho\\e\er. of iiino\atioii can never, we are fully aware, justify a departure from a long-e>taldi>hedVystein, uidess it can be clearly proved that the >y-teni is of such a nature as to call for a change;" and we therefore feel it iiec;'>siry to advert to some of the ino//;^ operation of those praef ices, i\H' foll.iwing evils have been either irholl,/ produced or mulc'nally increased and agyravaied in iho^e in.-tances where (heir origin may niote properly be a>cribed 'o some cthir causi.s : — " i i . Isl. — -Idleness and drunkenncv- among the lalKuiring classes: '2nd.— Loss to the mercliant. a. id ruin to the planter, from the means which tlv.>y have fmni-hed !o the latter of carrying on the busine-s of the fishery upon credit founded on a fil.-^e aitd dfstruetive principle : ' ikl — Extensive litigation; accominmied with all the liad feelinir'^ and never fails to eni;eiider : Icart hin'iiinas wliicli U v> 11 { 13 ) 4th. — Numerous insolvencies : 5th.— And, as 7^ general comequtnce naturally flowing from tlie several particular effects alreadv .pecihed, the most serwvs wjnrrj to th,' fisheries ami trade of the Island "^ ' ,r?nT"^'V Z'"'^''''"''"^'' ""'"''' '"""'r '""""" '"^'"n'^' ^''^'•« '' "'"luc-stionablv Hone so universal or o powerful as ski f-,nterest; and ac-ordinfjly the exertions of mankind in any .nven , ur u w. mvanabiv be n, the drect ratio of the force u-ith uhieh this feeling is connected LK . SS- men of the object proposed. -H^nce ,t .s obviously desirable, that it shoul.i, as much as pos^iblT Im ^r TVri ""? ""^° '? ■''"* unrenuttinfrly, in every departn.ent n life, from t e li'J t offices n, tae btate to the most humble situation in which human ajrencv can be employe -bu there are .«//*. occ«;,«^,o„, which demand that a ./,W „.r/ imn,ediate- interest in theiJ .u ccc" should be presented to the view of those engaged in them .ith an intensity of oper<,Z vvl ih i^ hazardons-xi it be attended with the privation of many conforts~Mu\ if those «)„, have the direc- lon .y^M possess Mle authority over , he snhordinate ayents-a ,eu.o of their own in ere ts co,'- mnally act.ng on their m.mls can alone excite these agents to those efTorts which n ' e sarilv co t them considerab e pain. And tins is so precisely the character of tlie>/,..,V. that it «een ' to u nipossibe that they can be earned on in the manner they ought to be, unless the tisherinan shall be stimulated, by the conscousness that he has a direct share /« the proceeds of the vo,p„e, ^rendr rtasproduetweas he possibly can. In the sea..-,.-,.heuv, indeed, it is .leneralK^d! ,w^d "nt every person engaged in it must have a share of the seals caught bv him ; a^ul th di t le n^u dangers to which the persons who follow that branch of the'^tishe'ries are exposed, may nSket^ pla,, of service upon wages still more unsuitable to it than it is to the Cod-lishery, t .^r i e suthcient resemblance between the two branches, in several material points, to conv tu-e thosiwho look into the subject with strict impartiality, that a system .Inch would be altooether faSto e one, must also be, to some extent, injurious to the 'other. But the cupiditv:>f ii oweve^- the Cod-, si en ^^th imed servants, so long as men who have no capital, and conscm.entlv nothing urrS ii ' i I '; l'"'"; "''''''"^' ""' '" '""* "'^^'""^' "!'"" *'- -•-"' -'-■•' "-• 1- "f Z. n.o'' -n r 7 f"'.r^'^^^.' now secures to them; and at the same time the fislier- n. n, m.tead of beu.g furnished with an incentive to industry, by an interest in the fruits of his toils and ibours ,s actually encouraged to idleness by an ass.iru.ice that it si..uilie> not a ,, t to h m whether the catch be great or small, provided the a.uount of the proc-eds ot' the vuva..'--' hal le^ on y large enough to pay the wages that are due out of it. \or does an interest in The success d ie^.rce-'''for': ''''V" '''^l'" -xtent of covering the wages, act upon each individual with due tone for as ea.'h man in a boat has the same hen upon the fish caught by his comrades as pon that winch ,s ,ak,.n by himself, those who are idlv disposed will be pmne o rely le mo , he.r own exertions than upon the ed'orts of those wl.oin their own bad e'an.ple will h ive a st ng tn . ncy to corrupt ; and thus the law. by giving to the idle n,an an i.:,e,.st in the lahour of the mdustnous one, confirms the one m h.s idleness, and te.npis the otiu-r to imitate if. But in this country, where rum is so excess.vely cheap, .irunkennos i's, among the lower onlers. (he insepa a- and theieiore whatever has a tendency to create the one must likewise produce the other. t it be true, as it certainly is, that the evils which take place in all transacti.ms between man and man, from the absence of intei:rity on either side, can never be eirectnallv ..revnted hv ans reg.dat.ons which the acutest a.ul most sharp .i^htcd genius can c. :nt^i^e. it nJ.st follow il.at a syste.u which lessens the attention that .,u.ht always to be paid to cha.acter, bv substitntino- „re- ' ' ■ 1 "• H. mc-cbant : ami .t the fact that the law of cur.ent supplv has done so cm. be esta bl.-he,l b t be exper.c.ce of those who have trusted to it, since the monopoly of the lish- marke s w m. 1. ins country enjoyed du.iiig the war has ceased, we a.'e convi.ued, that, i., a ureal 1^1 So', /''T"' f" "'"'vli^-'its who have advance.1 s,.ppHes el,i..th on the s..curi,v ^luch that . w p.ofesses to confer o.. the.,., have ha.l deep cause to .egret tbr conlidc.ce thev leposed m t. But whatever OSS ,t u.ay have occasioned to the .ne.-cbant:., ti .• planle.s, taken i.. a bodv mus have hee.. Mill greater sulle.e.N iiom it : for by cabling persons, who a.e i.. .,o .•espect nua- hfied to susta... the cl.a.-acter of an ..seful pla.,te,-, to obtain supplies, a.,d to hi.e serva.lts, it has kept the p,-.c.. of th.. ln..u,e,-, and the wag.s of the latte.', s,, much bevo.ul what the fishcies m.der t...Mr p.VM.nt .■uc,..n>ta..ces can bear, that many of then, who have a"n.ass,-d lai-e sums of n.ouey mthegoldendaysofthesefisher.es, are already ve.'y ..ea.lv .'educed to pove.tv ; whilst othcs, whoso unds were ...o.^e l.n.ited a.'e altogether s...,k i.. hopeless ,un.. In sho.t. 'the plante.-s who destitute of cap.tal, devo..l of knowledge-, and dell.ient u, principle, have sp.n.ng up wh„llv bon. the law o p.-efe.v..ce u. pay...ents, have .Icstnnvd thnso ,dante,'s who, together with a co.uVeteut sha.v of knowle, ige a,„l expe.-.ence in the conduct of the lishe.ies, possess-d also some p.m.ertv — jusl as I haraoh s lean k.iie ate up the fat ones. i i . It is so obvious that all privileges conferred on particular classes of creditors must tend to pro- tuce w ( 14 ) duce controversy between them and those who are exokided from the same privileges; the one ^ternally stnvm.r to push them mueli bej^ond, and tlie other as zeah.uslv endeavourin.r to confi e them as far >v>thm tlu-.r le^.tnuate oounds : that we shall refer to the records ,.f the courts of Newtoundland for the sake ot she^v.ng how mnnerous the pretences are which in-renuitv, j,oa.led hyintcM-est hasdev,se,lin heconlhcts which these privile-rcs in respect to payment L.ve birth o, rather than fr,m. any idea that it can be necessary to oHer proof of a .proposition which must be regarded as an a.vwm. It ,s, indeed, curious to observe how this law of 'preference has en- tered into, and blended itself with, the greater part of the cp.cstions that hate come before he courts, in such a manner that the largest portion of those bitter waters of legal strife which have liitherto so much abounded in this colony has manifestly been " ex hoc fonte derivata " The most singular property of the law of Current Supply is, that it at once tends to 'crm^e credit and desro^ it ; or as the preferenc^ in payment Vc^isions an issue of supplies in Zy <:ases where they ought to be denied, so the fear of losing this " vantage-ground," by ne — -• - .y^ .,^,.1.,,.. ....u.,j, a iiumi wmcn, oi laie years, tias inven 1 ise to the expression of divers opinions, viz.,-Privileffed claim, of Debt. When Newfoundland ^vas altogether, or f.,r the most part, a transiton- fishery caHed on by ships, then these distinctions g -owing out of maritime law were well aj.plied. But I conceive that as the principal reasons on which they were originallv founded no longer prevail as a general rule undt.r the altered mode of trade that It would benefit the commumty at large to ahrn,,atc pnvil.^ed debts and claims of this Jt altogether, as well m respect to fisherman and other s.Tvants in the fisherv, as to the merchant or the current su]iplier. I have refiected much on this point, and my h)ng experience in the clony has I think <.nnl>ln,l i«e to es^tmiate lustly the degree of goo.l and evil produced bv the law a^ ,t now c'xists du i t the course of the ast twenty vears And my opinion is that these distinctions have been prodi^ctive of more evil than of good. I heir abrogation would leave untouched any nrioritv of cl,i„, or ■election ot parties to sue, which seamen, a, such, possess under the inaritime law of Fnolmd {"ishermen and other fishing servants douiiting tlu; character or responsibility of the hirer w.'.u'.I have the election of hiring on the shares (in lieu of wages) ; ;uid good mast'ers and M„od Irvrn't' would acquire a better and more just station than that now held under the inesent'"rile-' ind ... a so would It prove von recently tried in the Sup«,me Court, between tiie petitioner afp ainSff and M Keilly in which I was one of the counsel for the defendant; and as my name i menti" led i n the petition and assertions are made therein which I happen io know are Lorrec iTi but^da that I should contradict some of those allegations which 'are, within my own k oSge lu^^ ue^^ As regards that part of the ptjtion which alludes to a visit made to a man nanied mTX' 1 can only say, that I know not such a person. I never visited, in company with thrihl See a person answering the description given of Mulcaby and his family, ami "l never heard the Cl^ef Justice make any such examination as Dr. Carson says he heard of, and believes With respect to the observations which are stated bv Dr rnr=,>n «,> i,o..„ i i • ^^ the ChiJf Justice after he (Dr. C.) had elect^^l^etn™" •'; rh s'l t"on ti'nst'^r Red y I must say, th.at none such were used. I was in court durii,..- the whole of E it i ,l' which asted nearly two days The Chief Justice animadverted in '^strong erm?upon f f^^ which the plaintiff established against hmiself by his own witnesses ; and he exnlaiS t e W .abilities to which all profossional men, attornieLnd others, but especially IS IILS hemselves m case ot negligence „r gro>s unskilfuhiess ; lu.t, certainly, he did S us h anguage attributed to him by Dr. Carson or any of a similar meaning an nipor T 1 oEerv ions were such as, I apprehend, any judge in Knghuul under ^innlar circunLtances w n,l ue felt himself cons rame, to make : the Assistant Judges appeare.l to acmie^ce in what f e C ^f Justice said : and the Spocal Jury, who had heard the plaintiir's si.le ,f the se ,d td,„ 1 d not ,uitte-'r^ Supi^me and the latn-r in the Ontral Circuil ^.^rt!' .m;;' f±J\:^'t ^^TZ^:^ t the defen.iant n. he farmer ca-i.e, nnd sole coun.il for the plnintTti's in the la tit .iL 1 to the Chief Justice to offer, through you, the follouuio- ,,,„;I,ks upon it •_ ' ' *'"" n reference to the action, Carson r. Keilly, it is alleged in tlu 'p.tilion that the plaintiff h-id called for a nonsuit m conse.,u,Muv of Mrs. Wix. a witness on Inl lu-half n t LC . i ' superscription ..f the l...ter in wiud, the ailegvd hbel w.as contained, and that the Ciofu.tie did after the nonsui, had been so calle.l for, m open court, profess that he at I I o . :; ,f Mr . An le from her delivery to the pn-sent time, and that it was bis intention, had Mr. t „ u died, to have bills of indictment sent to the Crand.lurv, an.l tin. tl„.v sb„„l,l ) . ' i ,he wotdd have the parties tried and h.-mgcd for the J^^^ " '""''' '' *'""'^'" ""^^^:^ s'-^^ ( 16 ) ro.nain.ler of tlu.t .lay, a.ul until a late T , r o the u^ t^t ^^. n ' ' '■ "'"' ''^'''^''''^' '^'^ witnos.sosf„r the plaintifi; a,ui that it >vas ot nnf '"^V'">'/?''^ "'''^'T'^l '! '"■t"''")- '■"mmencod speaking,) thatJutlleohservations^SirtheChiHusL^^^^^^^^ ""'* ',^'" '1'"'^ '^^^^^ the ahove expressions imprte, to hin ,v 1 1 o o i '""'" " '".' '^"^^t" '""^ke, he did not use mistake of tlVM-etitiono ca o / ^ c^- tt'^^^f H *'™'' '"'l'"^^ '^ ^^^ the time. " -ictounted for by the fact of his not having been in court at security lie had proposed m court to oive, he refusc.l to si^n it ; an.l concerning M . T '1. , «as informed by my client she had l,ecn seen out of doors the da the rd'as\u?!^^ that I have otherwise heard she .as not confir.e.l until a considerable time afteitmi; ' ' ""* I am, Dear Sir, \ our obedient servant, E. M. Archibahi, Esq., ChieK'lerk of the Supreme Court. '^- ^^" ^^^^'• (No. 16) ^ Letter from Mr. nomas. Foreman of the Jury in Carson v. Keilly. I have been piven to understand tinf ; oS,'"', ^'^"■^"""^'''^n'i' 20'1' .'uly, 1 K']7. Government by Doctor Rod.fort, pravi'r la , Vcr'h d ', "'/'''" ^""'''''"^''^ '" f'"' "'"">' issue between him and a person n mcd A^, e | ' ,7^ T" , " "''''?"'"• '" ^'-^ " -"■^^' =" eehn,,. had been oxhibitell bv vou in a p,. ou ■ id o ''•;,'" 7"'"'" ''^""'''"^ '»• I""-tv D.H.or Samuel Carson, was plaintili; anil D.i K 'lU £ In''' "" "'"■ '"'""■■•• "' ^''-f' Having been one of the jnrv in the case Cnv„n v k" i . , "pinion of that jury, actinjr'in'the capacitv\d' fo „ V,, I f n'V'""" '''"'''' "" »'> ^'^P^-'^s the !-th to the bench and to the jurv, if i fn dei '.',,"'''' i ^"r' T'^ "=^'""'^' " ' "'v diUv brother jurors and myself on that trial. ' '' •^"•' ""' *^'^'l"'«^ and convictions'of „,v I went to that jury without aiiv previous knowledn-e of ||.,. f,,f. ,.,.,•,, '^'d. to p„ber my mformation oil the subject c.tirdv f o ,| ! , '•" "'".'■"■'I. "'"' ""• .^um'. an.l >avm^r iK-en cxa,r,ined. ]}oih the Court L\ ill '•..!' ! "h' J> lauU.II > evulcues, none oMmm- Sir, Living been cxa.nined. "■•]^;,h ,i;;/r;,.;r'n;h|"'- 1"^ "'"" ""'•''^ ..nh,g to^tl. most sickenin, aiui; .U;;;::;;' '^^^.r" '""'•"■'' "^""'^ . two whole (lavs in li^. l'f>lia|)s were ever exposed in a'court of justice; the most patient attention, (as far as I coul.l i ,,''''''' '''7'' '"'i''"''-"'' '" '» '^•""•t of titration both by the bench and bv the jurv and dVl o ,. I *' T"'T^ '" ''^" 1""'' '^ ^''^" i''^^'- .:). by the plaintilf in openn,;, and .ietai^^,: 1 is .^ 2 , "^ '•'"''■'''■""■v lenj^th of ,in,e taken surticient to tire ordinarv listeners, yet .1 i- mV red ,''''' "^^ f?"'' 1'="^ "^ '«" 'lavs, was ..rethm.that.,fi,,ve;ti,a,in,.hiinatte;a:Kh ';:,^'^^ I particularly noticed tluU vou read over sentence bv .,mt "i •""" ''""" ""' ''^"''-'.ce. nesses,an,l atterwards repeated the whole !,fhi!"vlLe he' 1" "^ '""^""'f^."'' "- -'■mrt and un- tie second .•eadinn,you corrected Doctor lioc^lifort's ..vi.loM, , ""'!'':'=?•,"' "!' """ occasion, on "' ■r£s'S,;lS::::;;i;' I: i;;t^^ -7-^ ^- '^t^:S'J:. " - practitioner; but -^ ( 1" ) Keilly carrioc w tli tlicm, in t'le minds .,f tl,o ,„7, ', ,^Y •;"'" tlio expressions of Doctor delivered as he omened ^o.„ t S^kt^llf £,,£ ^^iClXS ""' '^^"^ of Mrs. Antle; and i^ J not u^U tt ^^Lw^ delivery own apprentice, Alexander, that ti.o jury were cnvc,^ If tl u ...^ "'e planU.H s witnesses, his Doctor S. Carson, in denvinffhimself to An In / i ^T"' misconduct on the part of fortunate woman unaidS ITSe a„r .ml ^.^U ^""1'' '''' '"'."" ' '^''''^>y '^'^^'"f^ ^he un- her husband mightrve procu'-er£ i Ic ' ""t '"■ 1 "1'^ f'"' I"^'^'^"' "^^'■^'""^'' «'"«•> plaintitr, who h^d seen he'^- once a. ha p im d to ^ "" |''« ^^'-" '^^ t'- Such was the state of the tria , when the laimi f -a ! . i I f "1' T'- ""-"" "■""•^''• to retire to obtain some refreshment and o. Z lumT I ^ '''\ *''? '^'^^ '''''^ permitted advised him to accept a nonsuit "' '"'''" '""'■*' ^''« I'''"'"'^'^ ^"'"-ney had the^.^^ft;:'^:? :i;:t^r;^sSe tif s f ^^-^"-^ "r"^ '-• "-- •^-^^^i-^ ■- female in ti.e humbler walks of life Lt for , I'een proved to have been taken with a affliction, but for the ba'e purposeof stIbS lit'anTr.: """?'"'"^ 'T ''^''^ '" '"^'- "^^^'^ -"^ cent hnestiRation ; that vou a luded to thi r It .^n f ^T'"' '' "'"' P''-^'"''''""^'-. by such 'inde- people of their rights, and tlmt no one tjfw^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ iibe'rties. You ttn advertedio th n Sr it Tt'hr,?lShr ' " TfV'^^'T "" *'>^'^ case, and then denying himself and desclti.rirr k uino- 1' i undertaking the woman's of almost certain death, although 1 e la pr vi ou K Z.^^^^^' ^ ""'^ ''' ^'''''1'''' not having consented to go to her or to 1 m?..!^. ^"'' '^'"'^ f , '' ^'"'frerous one ; he found to be at Home, by^Mr. C. VV^iton^ "' "''"'""'"' ""*'' ''^ ^'^'^ ''''"^l »"' ""J suldng together,'they -m^SJ^'x^ ll^^^ Unl'dl^^^rS^ir"''' '"'^^ r''^^ ^""^ sentiment that had fallen from you respecting ,|,e .ll. u t , I [ sf h^ J IT^'i '" T-^' your recollect on, that I was suited JnW in fl, '" p "^ , '•' .l",^t /'Iom'.!. It maybe still m eligible situation for o, s It niMiy L" i ^- , ' 3! if ' '" ^7'^ '"'"^•'.'' '"'^^ ^^■^"•'-''■"- "' -' however, seated nearest the bjm h ,r , eoilcvt.ng ihcr op„„ons. One gentleman party to'tlieconsultadlbuule'ni that winch I had offered on behalf of the jury expiessed a similar opinion to npSsrt;;-,ji:^;:?sS 1 'i-iS t:- ^''^"'^"• ^^'-'' ^^""^- «-'"^'- ii satisfied tli the L4o:;:^':;;tem'r'^:^;:;^.;;''^:;r ;!'"■'''" ""^ '"•"^■■^^^ -^ "'" -- -"' I have the honor to be, Sir, your most obedient servant, WM. THOMAS, Foreman of the si)ecial jury in tlie ca^^e of . " Carson v. 'Keilly." (No. 17.) IN THE SUI>RE.^H•: COURT, XEWFOrXDLAND. The Honourable Henry John IJoultoii, Plaintiff, I b i^ ( 18 ) l..m to he Queen. And this deponent sakh ' t W H To *^'"''°"' ''"'•»=''*^d to a petition frlm Cou, d„,n^ ,„v part of the timi thlf t £ ^id le nnt' ^ ''""^"'••' ^'',-"1 ^"^ ""' P-"" " that the sa,d Samuel Carson liavino- cas,,allv mPMlf; i '"'' T"'^'-' '^J' "'«' ^'^id plaintiff- and renmrked to deponent that he .nnle S fhe sa nl '':'t "/ '1' ""^ '''''' °" '''« lay foLin/ *i^r=r:::;::;:fzrf;r-" ivj.\, (Assistant Judge, Supreme Court.) IN THE SUPREME COURt'of XEVVTOUNDLAVD Cause] ^'enry John Boulton, /7a/«/,j; (Patrick Morris, John Kent, and John Vilentin X H.e .nstanceof theclefendant comi edL f ll"" ' '" '" '^"' '"°"''' of June L^ air': Pisiliiiiiii eS h"r'' ""'^' '^^^' °^ "•"■■•l^ tL mreS^^'^t, '"r"7^ -i'' 1'^ would conS^W S W„ before mo a, St. J„l,tf,. ,|„ ,„ ,h, „, p W. li. Roiv. tommiMioner for taking .IBdaWt. i„ i|,e gitpreme boun .53 19 (No. 19) :;ewfoundlaxd-in the supreme court. Between] '^''^ ^^°"' "•^"7 J"l'n Boulton, Plainlifr; I Patrick Moms, John Kent, and jSL Valentino Nucrenf n /• / of men, on any occasion aw lie c And this deponent further saitb tl>nt 1, i u • course of which he hath visited nil .ho . ','"f* '"'^^'"■"^'^^^ f''"'" the No hem rirr.n,V • .. that in all these places tiusS^Jf ^ ESS"" '" "'^ ^-^'-" DistrJ!^^ £ ^ " n5 NICHOAS STABB, Sworn to at Harbour Grace, this 09,,, davTf d""? ""^r!!"" '''^'''^' °^ ^Newfoundland. -JtU day of December, A.B. 1837, before JOHN STARK, Commissioner of Affidavits, Supreme Court. (No. 20.) JUDGES' CHAMBERS. Sir, St. John's, 17th Feb. 1807. .0 us by your Ex^n:;;,^^^!- ^t'l; -i;!: ;i';:;?"'- ^^^^^^ Hardi..,, transmitted pruyer: a.ul we now have the honour to 1.71^" e v. .K ''l'""'-" "f>""' t-omplvin-.^S ? inliuenced us m rocon.mendinir that the iud nent of .ll ^ Y'^""'""-'' ^'"-' '■^•»^«'" Vhu^h lave The not of which the petitioner anlCo other „, '""'"' ''V'-'f""'! '"'" ^^'^^^^- by a special jury upon the'dearotand .^^S^^^S^ "''" ''"? ^-"-"^-' --e conv.cted so far from no evidence bavins been •idd,,,.,., ^ cudcnce, was of no ordinary char-i.-tor . armed for, are actively participal! .^ hi ^ ^'^ .t'tK*:''":/'"'"^^' " "'"' ''^ -- "^w ^t were armed with clubs, and' wer^ in t^A:J^^:^^TT^'^T'^'^^^^^^ unarmed and peaceable people who were in tl c> tc'rS oHI I'r' "''" """'" '''*^ ''"••'^'k "po 'e IS true the actual conflict did not continue ZZlCl t "l^I^-^nents at the election. ' of he witnesses, and four or live as state, \uVTIH °'' ^^'""'^ """"'•-'« ■'^•^ ^^tated bv some violence of the onset, when so much 1,1 is, 1 an ,0 . •'"' '"'"'* ""'y to shew the ex, emo t>me. After the conllict was over, or X . n r J , '"J"'"'^ '''"' c-'onmiitted in so shor, ' eeedod, and the voters on the oth -r i e n V': [d^^ ''f '^'"^^' ''^'^'^ the attack had 1 fear of further violence from coming t!^ uZ^SZt "'? i^''^"" f ^"y' -' ^ preve 1 1 fo" a very respectable and intelligent mi^ristrate '.id to , ,. 5' "^"'^'/l^ "^ ^'eir choice, Mr. J cob I ( 20 ) were supposed to l.o cl.ietlv a v " o , d . ^ Lf i \ ' '"'' "^ .'^" ""^ (^^''^•'•<' »'"-" I"'^'I'lc HanliMi: the petitioner re.liet'^ie io "t t^r 1 'Tr ' ^T''""''H •'"" "'".'"" f"^^'' "" ^ -^'" = n.un.l the Hay 'with us•^v Lich ex, rest, .o,L ' ;''\''' '"">'"t •^"""ar.halle.l me>. to ,r„ when ju.lg„J„t was p, ssed u on 1 im ■ . ?r. '" T ""^'n"-^""^t'"" i "'tl.ov.,:. petitioner, vote over again ; J that hi J , ot i e nv t , l'?'; "'"\^'"''' '" f^" ■•""'"' ^'"^ ^'^^v to places appointed for l.ol.lin r t e n , 1 S vi - ' 'I l" 1'^ "'""P f''"'" "'"" ■■""'"' '" ♦'''^' •>'»"^'- daS^.:: th:!"?:t;s;:;^;!;;^,:i:i^;:K;^ /^^ ^'- ']7' ^^•"^ g^ve no provocation havin, no sticks o? weapo ^of ^ ' " ^ V" ! Z:!!.!'''"'^'^ V!^'!^J^-^'<^ ''^ --•• an assault, haviiijT 1,0 sticks or we form no otiier o on the same day ten Is to pme til ,1. w' """' T''^ '7'^'"- ""^ "^ ^""^'a-- ^'""^uct the intention ot^H-titioner'a.Tt o4 c i^^^^^^ 'T^ T '''"^''^ "" ^""'^^ '''at such was -".1 we have no Jouht co, e y om.i^h f 1 e / ll"' " '"" '" ^"' ^^Pf ^'^"ted at the trial and respectable nmn in his s Un i m of'.- o^^n " , n "'"" a-j^'^tation of the term, an honest and we 1. behaved n.nn, but i "' lin ." T ^"tSI I rh;;;;"rV^''^^ ordnmHly he is a peaceable "ounced, his respectable standin.r n d I i .i the tune ot ju.l-ment being pro- and we can percl^ivJ n ^rm ' JfX i;S^3t '';;; '"""• r""""t "', t'-'^ '-ncath^Ln, associates of a superior sLion'sl o^, 1 olr, od I f 1 1'"'"-^'""'^^"' "^ a day labourer while his above him, at whose instio-atioV "e oner m 1 i -f ^'f '"""' 'f • ''f I'^f"'""^'--' an.l those still instead of excite such cond e m re 1 1 . « ' iT ''^ *? "'" 'n".'"-''^* '^'^'^'•''""^ '" 1'"' ''""" commit such outra.res, and w^ar^rr efov i ""' ^^ '" '''''"'>' *" ^ay the leas! „f it, ,n -Hi ought not to be p on«l m t: Ir^ho dTr'l "' l"-'"*'""^^'- '^ ""^- "^ the „u,s, ..„lpable, those who have been cLnviS or^lmii;- otnces ''"""'^ '" *^™"* " «""^'-''^' P^''"" '" all thoS;:^.SS;£S;,:,!^;:;'S:;:;;!';;r^ f ^vhich hehas been committed, the most frivolous- such t • h,^ 7 ' , IT' 'i^"'"^."'^^'. an.l to excuse himself upon grounds in^ been indicted J^^nlj'^SScl'ii.^S :,;:;' "If r '" ^'^"*'-""a-l "^ '--s ha v! doubt in the mind of any n.an, hoveve i S; t vL '^'V^'^'-^P'-^'v.ously a n.attor of serious armed with c^ ' and 1,™ 1 os wlwl h ' ^^^^^^^ P^"'"'""^ "">''t properly to ^'itlior of poli. J el in 'n, they conce.ve.l to be oppos..,! to them u,;,n anv subject wrong whin joinin^i'Sa c, . S'^^f '"l^b 't ' 1^' tf "" '"' ''''''rP.^'- <<■>- ho was £^ law of recent enactment, pmlnS^^, . S't !.■! , '1^ ^'l ""T'" ''i"' ?"':?> t,-ansgressed somf justly besaid upon tin- ha'sln e ?p^ , ! ; " ^31:^^ "'""'^ '""•^'' '"'^''t possd,ly be ign.M.„t of the change ilnch lllul e , nSS ' l^^.^^ , ^T'"' ^'"' ""^''^ life, knows that it i. wrong to beat his unolfending nei.rhbmir "' '""' ""-^" '" ^''^''^^ ha^ti;ii:;itel;';.rSSi^^^^^^ -l'--^ -.- ..whatthev Sr;L;i;:;±;^--^^^^^ consideredthewholecircu, a 1 fS We, of en ,rse, we redected upon ,he stat ' ot e cVlt'rtul tl 'e I 1 rr^^a':''"ll''c pumshnu.nts to be inllicte.i the almost utter contemi.t r \\\ '' P "''"''' "•^"''"'-dn.ation had arriv.Hl, and an.bo„eur,andwei:;;;eE,iitr;:±r t "^'U't'T "' ''"'"""• ^'^^ -' have been awarded to them in othe'- ,. ,i i ^^ r 1 ^ Pn-n.-;hments as we believe would and we see no reason pecu , to . S, VI ' '"" ';''""' '"'■^'\ ^""''"'- ''i'-'^'anstances, His Excellencv the Governor. UV t.... .i i ' "C tiave the honour fo be, Vour most obedient bumble servant-^ !'• i; r'.IV.l'''"'*'^'' ^'f'i^'.fnstice. h.}. l>HK\TON, As.t. .bulge. (JLO. LILLY, A'st. .Jud-o. " /3' Sir, ( 21 ) Report of C. J. Boulton to the Govcnior on Prison Discipline. (No. 21.) St. John's, April 8, J 8.%'. Excellency'. aiSn:tSn;ti;eUnT;™:rr^ "" '\^ ^i^"' "f 'an„.ry hvvonr »i)on to make respocti„.r ti,e ™Ss im . . ' whul, your Lxcelloncv ha.i i.een •.■a-lk..| and in co.nplianciwith'Vo^'gxcdiv^U :::;'';, t'^^ '"^^•''•''''" '" "^ -'"'^ matters inij^ht induce me to oiler I h.vr t. • ^"WfT''- "".'s winch my experience in snch respective l^uestions herc^v^l.tuVn . ^ S.l '"i: th I'T ,""••!--- annexed to ,he mere speculative opinions, I have thought it ml isal t if f I '"'„"""-V'''"«'^'« ""•" the con.htion in wl.ich I foun.l the -nof f ^-S i • ' *'"■ •'"'!'' ''■''^•<""c>"7 « information, to classificat on. Tlie colls were so pv,.,., ,i;„?rv « ""'•ti^cn n a cell, and with lift e rein:n;e;:Cem;r;;;''s :;;';;;,;;' ;;^-- '-y y-'"-ion, ti;:.; , heen out of the question. There was no yard and , 'V , ' *"''' """"'"'' '^""''' '"'ve except through the jjaoler's kitchen a,^ Sc'evil e^;^J''■'"''r^ '° ^^^ '" *''^" P"^>' nature n> pails with lids to then, in ti.eir respm " ' s t^J ' , £31 1 ""' "'"TT'^^ "'"^ "^ a practice was as offensive to decency -, ;, „„. ,., , . «'"■" bemg m a crowded state, such Tl.ese pails were occasion ly^ht",^ Eo Z 'ki;"!"' '""V"'" ''^'1"!""^ '" ''^"1(1,. wh.du lH.ing connected with -the doo^ of L , I ' s 1. ^^ T^ .^^^ T "" r^^ duII^^dS;^J3^l:r'l;sit:l!^S"2^:ir:^ '"t-- - -^---" ." bed or lounne.! upon their l^nnnockstloe or r,f,£^^*^; "to^vT- ''"'""'"^"' (liavm^ meat or fish every day), ami alfhouoh the s el o th^;eT ^ /r*"' '"7 ^'"^^ endurance to any except the lowest and mo.T ,!.>, ...v, / f ""'*' offensive beyond n<.twantinaof p,^rsonsLnn,ittr etly ofei/^^^^^^n^ " 1"""" '"'"'"^' y'' "'^fances were that they mi.h[ be lodged a J' ^^l^I'^-^L v^e i:/"^ ""'"T"""' t'J'^''^"^''^^ of depravity for low persons to co„..re,r e m/l s "d o' I '^ "f' '^''"'^''''' " ''*'''" It was ooked upon by m'lov •.< ■, J ,.1 . i ""'*7' "' ''eing a terror to tfie vicious -unkenness. ^a^y ^fT£ t,.,'l .:::'' v.^^":''"'' """'7 '''"''' '^^ ^l-ndered ni "■.injured in tlu-ir health- tlu^, ily , .. f " » i "'' ""'^^^ '''"">' a"d there were f..w almcit any other clinn e ;. a .t f hi h in ""r r""! [" "" T- ''"" "'"> ^^-° '''*-• '" gaolfeve,-: there were sonu- 1 ,t -oul n t ta d n vl'^'^ a c,,„,l,t>on „hm have pro.luced a open air., hey v-ereahnostoventl,.;"^^ ''^"' "'^■"' ''^"'I^l" "'" i-to the «ith a ,,un,p in it, use.l by the she i' -uul ,. .'Ir i . i "T " f""' >'"''' ''^'''''>'' »•'« cells ..o access to it from the n,\ol ^ '' ' * '"" ^"'' '""' """'■■ """.«^ i"' but there was Although the whole buii.iing is exceedinnly ill contrive.l for the eonrt hou^e. nevertlu-less o, ^1 t , S^ ,, ce ' l" '"' ^'"'^"^'^ ,"' '^'""^^ " ^"ol or with a few trifling and obvious in n u ,e tV n^ ^ T'' comparatively s,nr, and c/.„«/y pnvy,Iorderedthecoveredwa Ti ; b mmeliS^^^^ "'.'-Vf ^""" ^'•™' "- tunnel which led the bad air .liVectly i to hi, lit "a ""' ?'";''■ ''> ^'"""'" ""' ""• 'l-'arter. Con>i,lering it (-sscntia tv ttlu >■ 1 • ■ '""'">ance from that air', and particularly That in ' la i u 1 "ol " T' /"fr-'-a , ^tccess to the open ..rdinarycallsofnaiure,Iconv lc he el ,r ^^^V' ,"^ ""':'• '"'■'"' '" pcform tl'.eir into it, and a place to be ere h1 er ^ wh .1 1 ''' '"■'',''""' '^"''''''^ '^ '•"'"• '" l'^' ^'"^ be (pute snlh.aent to preserve good health. oac':pS.;!:'ti'';;;i;;r:!:N:;;;;!;,::;.l::;:l i;;,;;'"^''" ^'" '•;■>,> |'..-i.-ceiis, have directed ti,. .. shall not be returned nti e ! . , 1 ? H ?"""n '"''T" "■"'^*^^^* *'* ''^' '"'■'-•'' and that of the day for ventilation. "'""^"""«' •""'"'■'' '''e window, be kept open dining a great pan co,!;;r;::;ed'i.il:an;r;o'':i;';rp;;:::;.;\jiT'i:Ti'-^ r '""; '''"^" '"'; '-••■^'- "^•- ■» . have caused three smaller ... be \i;:d:rV;'lh:'s,r:/';! ';;:;;:; "^ ^T' "V"' ''T "'"^ -m [i.i-.,i^(, in wnicli not more than oiK- very reason penitentiaries in America, would J prisoner v^ priKoner is conliiiod at a time, if the state of the {raol will permit it ; more than two however, hare iierer been (Mmruu'il in citluT of them. I havt^ also (lesireked to go to work. I (uiite concur in opinion with tho>e who have said that labour in a prison should be regarded as a relaxation and an indulgence, rather than as part of the punishment where the prisoner is in solitary confinement. (No. '22 i Extract of a despatch from th.' Secretary of State for the Colonies, addressed to his Excellency Captain Prescott, and dated Dnwning-Street, Idlh June, 18;3(i : — " 1 have perused with iniudi gratiKcation the report on this subject, drawn up by the Chief Justice. Tlie regulations which he has introilnced in the gaol of St. John's for removing or mitigatiiio- the evils which had previously existed in ttiat establishment ai)j)ear to have been jndici- ou.ily devised, and to have lieen carried into ell'ect with energy and decision. The diminution in the number of prisoners — the improved state of their health — and the reduction of the expendi- ture of the "iiol, are lestiiiii.iiies of the wisdom and the humanity of Mr. Houlton's measures. I feel confident that he will not relax in his vigilance in enforcing ihem, and in securing, to the iitmjst of his power, a sound svslem of prison discipline, than which nothing is more essential to a just and merciful administration of the . " 96 s;^ ( No 3.1. ) Memorandum of the Dnya on whicli the Prisoners in confinement inthe Gaol of Snint Jolin'n, were Tisited by the Clergymen ' do do '• Mr. Murphy " Mr. Bridge '• do Monday do Wednesday ' do Thursday do Friday do Saturday do Sunday do Monday do Tuesday do Wednesday do Thursday do " Mr. Falconer Friday Mr. Bridge Saturday do Suadav do No. of Probi. No. of R. C. 4 4 .") 7 X 7 s 9 8 fi 7 9 11 16 13 r;-, 15 20 19 1» 12 24 Tlie Rev. Mr. Briil^jp, Protfstnnt, " Kiilc'oiier, do. " Trov, Roninii Catholic, " Wiililroii, do. The Rev. Mr. Clcnrv, Roman Cailiolic, " Murjihy, ih). " Hiriiic, Uo. " Dohoii, do. Uridfict Hairo, a Roman Cotliolic. committed to gaol 7th August, on a cliarge of murder, tried 8tli Dec niid tent to Harbor Grace Gaol, tlie 20th of same month. Oc.rge Avorv, a Protectant, committed to tlie >;uol on a charge of murder, the •2:kl Nov., and tried the 02.1 Dec, found gudtyot manMlaii;,'iiti'r. .John Morrisy, committed to trial on the i)tli Nov., 1837, where he remained until the I Nth Dee follow ing, although Ins triends repcatcd'v offered to bail him out, which he would not permit. The foregoing is a correct copy of the book kept by me of the visits of clergymen to the Gaol of St. .lohn's' •>d Jan. 1838. U q gAUHETT, lliyh S/„rif. Cause. < (No, 24.) IN THE SUPREME COURT OF NEWFOUNDLAND. The Hon. Henry John Boulton, Pluintiff, V. Patrick Morri-s John Kent, and Jolm Valentine Niifrent, Defenaants. I a I This deponent, Elizubetli Currie, wife of John Currie, eaolcr of Harbor (irucc, maketh oath and .saith, that shorty after Hardino, 'I'honioy and Saunders had been released from Sau.t Johns Gaol where they had been conlined under a judgment of the Sm.renie Court for a Riot at the election, Wdlian, Hardin-, one of the above named parties, in tlie kitdu.n of this deponent in the Court House, said that the dietary he had received in the .raol at Sair-t .lohns had afjreed very we 1 with him, and that he expected to live twenty years lon-er for it- VVilham Hanlmjr had called to see one Dennis Malion, a prisoner in jjaol, wliere he communicated the foregoing to this de|K)iieiit. « . . .1 , r. , • . , T. ELIZABETH CURRIE. Sworn to at Harbor Grace, this 29th December, 1H;37, before .lOIIN STARK. Commissianer of Affidavits, Supremo Court. Cause (No. 25.; IN THE SUPREME COURT OF NEWFOUNDLAND. I" The Honourable Henry John Boulton, Plaintiff, {_ Patrick Morris, .John Kent, and .lohii Valentine Nugent, Defendants. ,fohn Munn. of Harbor (Jrace, in the northern (li>trict. merchant nnkotb ,...fl. i • . , shortly after the liberation of Mr. William Hardin,., ot Carbon'' f" u n , | ' ^ and sai.h, ,l,af where he had been contlne.l for riot, during the election "rH b, r • it ? ^ I "f U ^^t'^' whilst walking in the town of Harbor G nice, with otlu-r .-e n 1 m •/ h me^^t^ Harding, who voluntarily entered into a statement of th.- t v • 1 vl / r .''"" .^^'"""" ,ind said that he coul.l tind n., fault with the sherill, - u 1 ■, u . u t ■ '"'"' "' "/""T'"''' that his health had been remarkably good, and thj p..::' iu.:; hail ll^rZllThif I "' ." ^ onceduringhi-coMfmenient there was no (,alnieal to make bur-roo and br.-wl /i- ' lieu thereof,wluch he di.l not like so well, and on c.mnlau.in.r to U.e H /sj'l'.r iV T ^T" '" at once said, if there was a ■'-■1 of oatn.eal in the^ount?^ it t.lhf ^^'^^^^^^^^^^ reason for preierring burgoo was, that he was more regular in his body whilst usimr , ,' in strong terms of the general treatment of the gaol, and said his bed vn ^^^ i V^"" whilst there, mud. more so than .ince he had leh it, owmg to his hvm^'l ";!;;£ '"^"^^ "'- He i;onchi(led by statuig th.it he could not desire a better olace to ouThi. .„■. t I' i provi.led it was not for any crime. ^ ' '"' '"" *'"" '' t"''lvomontli, Sworn to at Harbor (Jrace, this 2!)th day of December. A D \h-\j \ )^^'^^' JOHN STARK, Connnissioner of Allidavit>, Supreme Uurt.' '•' 'V ( 25 ) William I'utilon of Huilior Oraco in the nortliorn tlistrict, inorcliant, niakpth ojilh .111.1 siiKh. ijint lie was al.-o piVM-iil aiiii lusir.l tli.« l.cfoiv n'ritod stiitcinciil nf William Hanlinjf, rtilatin; l(. Ins tri-atim-ni whilst in the St. John's (Jaol, nmdo hy the said William Hurduig. WILLIAM I'UNTON. Sworn at Marlxmr (Jracf, thin 29th day of Docembtsr, A. D. lH07, before lOHX STAKK, CoHiiiiissioncr of Affidavits, Siipreme Court. Jctween < (No. 26.) NEWFOINDLAND-IN THE SUPHKiMF, COl'RT. The Hull. Henry .loliii Boiiltoii, Pluintlff; and ^ Patrick Morris, .Fohii Kent, and John Valentine Nugent, Drfhidanls. Kiihard IVrclianl, of St. John's in the Central District of Newfoundland, keeper of her Majesty's giuA at St. John's aforesaid, inaketh oath and saith that he hath been the keeper of the said jraol for about sixteen years— that sinee the refrulations established for the said I'aol wen- put in operation in the year I8.'14, the prisoners confined therein have been remarkably free from disease. That William Ilardinnr, William .Saunders, and Uoner Tliomev, in iiarticular, who were confined in the said fjaol (liiriiij>' the winter of the mesent year, upon a' con iction for ri.)t, enjoyed >rood health dnriiiir the period of aiiout six nioiiths that tl'iey were so confined. And this deponent further saitli that the said William Hardinfr stated to this deponent that althou«rh the confinement was uni)leasaiit and annoyiiiir to him. as a man with a family, vet that as regarded his health he, the said William HHidiiij:, had not had such fjood health tor "seven vears before, !is whilst so in contniement— that he said the improvement in his health was owiiiir to the burifoo wliK'h was part of his diet while in giiol, and which he considered very wholesome,and further, that when he returned home be would cause it to l)e used in hisfaniilv, and inore especially that lie himself would use it, since he had found while using it that his health" was better than it liaci been for seven years before— that the said William Harding hath often while in conlinement made use of similar exi)ressions and observations to this deponent and to other persons in his presence— and that also he i)ften expressed himself to this deponent perfectly satisfied with his treatment while in' gaol, saying that it was clean and wholesome, and altliough"he said the continement was irksome, he had' not otherwisi! any complaint to make. And aitb tlmt no visitor, ever at any time went in to see the prisoners, except in company with this deponent, who was present, also, at and during the whole of everv conversation which was had with the said prisoners, which conversations moreo\'er were held throutrli a grating in the cell door. And this deponent also saith that the said prisoners, nor any one "of them, ever gave any instructions or directions wbatever, fo: preparing any petitiim from them complaining of their treatment, or fur any ai-.lnict trom Ins opinions as a politician . he never became a partisan— loved by the ( 'atlioli-. venerated by the i'rotestant, respected by the Whig and the 'I orv, he preserved the sacred , nnlne ot justice without spot or siaui: ;ind be di,l not |.ernnt " rich" men to rule the lav,, orlaus to grind the poor." Justice was not only administered pure, but it wa> lii-li abov-< su-Mcion. This Sir. is a correct report of the stale of t!ie adininislralion .-f ju-lice in Ne«loii,. .,a'uh and which It would be vain to contradict, at the period when the Ijcuevoient 'iucker so ill-ad\i'i lilv as far as hiniscit' ^r { 27 ) himself was concerned, and so unfortunately, as far as the country was concerned, resigned the high station of Chief Justice of this Island, and was succeeded by the present Chief Justice Boulton: the degradation of the Judges and, as a natural con'sequence, the prostration of justice commenced with tiie prosecution, or rather persecution, of Jud.re Dos Barre>; • this extraordinary prosecution, it was sa.d, was commenced under the advice of^Jud-e Boulton" and immediately preceding his accession to the bench. The particulars of that ca"e must be fresh in the recollection of every honourable member in this house ; but, its the proceedincrs here this day on the important question now before the house, will liave to be jud public? is it by indivi.lual suitors in tli.> no, the charire is made bv one iudon ■inniiwi ili.> other; ' ' "' court, no, the charge is made by one judge against the other; it is admitted bv the Cohmial Minister, it is sanctioned by the governor of the Island, who has to appoint a newjiid,.v to trv tiie judges tliemse'.es-the ministers and the gov.Muor, bv adniillino- the possibility of tliis parl'ialitv on the part of the bench, weir them.-elves the liist to" .Icgrade the character oHIk' jiidoes in th"e eyes ot \\w p; ,.ple, and no verdict of a jury on .hidge Des li.irres could l,e more severe irsenU>nce on htm than this act on the part of tlic Minisl.Mand the (Jover.ior with respect to the other jiul-.e.. Judge Des Barn-s had to pa^^s through the orileal of another trial by jniv. and iindor a jud.v Kiamdactured for the occcasion ; after a long mid patient trial he was' not "only aciuitted. bin the slii'iitesi f^ ( 28 ) ^liglitest slmdnw of doui)t diil not ivnuiin on flm n-yinA ^t ■ ..■ ^ ... wa; the „>ost,„onstrou. and unfcum ed hS erZ™!^ ^Tf T"' ^^^/^e whole charge not to bo wondered at that the peoX ,o Id not hav^^^ After tins ca.e it was administration of justice. This'^eXoS v pro.ecm^ ft "'-'."'"V^ "" P'""" ''""'^ °^ **>« Hrst of thecauses that shook theTonMence JfK T, I h. th ^'. f"'* ?'™f' "^ ''"'""^'^ '^' ...the, accn„.,ated in rapid success.:^ U^^'^l^t ^ll^CStjerri^S the lives and liberties of hi loyal and faithful subiectforNeSoSS.S. ' """ ^'"^ '^ ""'" and ;i"at ii::Hi'ff ^"T"'?""' '^'^;"" f'\Cl-f Justice Boulton was sworn into office, ana that mimeiiia ely afterwards when reciting the charge to the grand jury, he announcP.l thl i: IT" Sd :r;£i::' • t;:7'r' '7 •-•.-^-^denAo the da^.^aJb::;;r^l il'tWs coul-t." '"''" '" "^^ •"'"'"^'' "^ '^'"panelling juries before practised 3rd. That the first intimation the public had of the altentinn in »l,„ ;.,„.. . .1 • announcement of the learned judge, aild not only I J there noTS an. c 1 ^aSniron^ If gallon of a rule of such importance-not only had the ai)i,rovil of hiVvr.ioc v '""" k P ,•"" . subsequently to such promllga.ion and provif,usly%o it?J Slkt , tt'lSLt:^^^^^^^^^ him before he was sworn mto office, and at a time that there wL only one S JudTe Bren- ton) noidinghis Majesty's Commission Judge Des Barres being at the tLe u£ suspe.SLn 4th. That since tins arbitrary and illegal change in the jury system, thrseleS, and Jum r;;;^;^;::;::^iii:-:;s;rStSS-;r°^^''^^'-^^ totally inappli..able to the pecilliar circumstan^esTNtida "^ '^'"''''' '"'"''""^^^ bill. 1 hat the Chief Justice Boulton has, since his accession to the bench tofillv suhverte.l th. tl,y 1jj„(]_ •' " ' uiLium nas netome the uncertain and varying law of ta Ste^^ t; hHoi^Je t^birh^^^ '""''"'f' '""' "IH'o^ed to the common law, contrary to the sta ute law, to the long otabhsiied u>ages and customs, to the decisions of all former judo-es and courts, and most injurious to tiio interest of this oreat fishery '' ^ Htn. That the courts of j'ustice are virtually cfosed against the people by the excessive char^res .n the Supreme Courts and Courts of Sessions, and more particuLly by the monorolv of Tfcw his'iliiudicii;: Sifleri SssS ;:' t:s ;rr;s~£^^r ^-tv °i '"^ '-' ^ ajitrary, and illegal; opposed to the mild al^i ':::^£'^J^£^t, o^I ^rio'lSS Horn the promulgation of the law and the charter, down to "the peri'od of the retirement of ...dge lucker, in no part .,f l„s Majesty's dominions could a ri.Lnan or a poor . a obN^n jast.ce, cheap and ..npart.ai j.ist.ce, ...ore speedily than in hi. Majesty's Courts f New" n ■ n " bince, though the laws re..,a.., unchanged, though the King' (;iiarter remans u.ardi people excUnn w.th one .^„e that they have not ti;; advantag^of thJ ne, n e X^oi.^ the other ; they exclaim that the.r lives, their pi-operty, and 0,0.,. liberties lie at tl.e':i;^nS::n of When "Judge Tucker a.i.l the 'other ju.iges promulga"ted the' Charter, an.l" established thci .supj'eme Court, they for.ned rul.-s for the Snp.-eme and ('i.-cuit Co.irts. Bv llc^of t he c auses o the Cham.,-, they were t,.,u.,d .0 publish 'then, th.ee n.o.,ths before he^ ^^^rcp.U in ^ ope.a.ion. 1 hcjy accordinnl, ,ajourne,l the Co.u.t for three months for that pu.ise 'll y 1. 3 to for..., under the law a ju,. sys.e.n; they n.ade no sec.cet of the source fro ."whence . ev-foik It ; .t was tonnded on the Imper.al Law then recently pas>ed, co,..,.,o..ly called IV I' . .'<• I Tw Tnd theCharter. ^ . '" ^'^'^'^ ''^'^'^ "P t" the spirit and letter of the law SfiJS '^II'-' v."(!^!!l"'. "',. '"r" "' "'^ "'^""'^f"'^'^'' "f Newf;,undland w.luld adnnt. B.ii this was not ...I . pMifitng by the dutates of experience, the great oonstilutio.ial lawyer bv tw or three subsequent rules, brought his system L near to perLtio.. air h,;m!.n;^^ have <3 ( 29 ) have been expected to arrive, merely bv the siihstitnflnn nf tk» k ii » * .1 arrangement. Before .Fudge Boulton^nd^d^lff Wh^bete'h ^wa^U rn fnttffi"' before he had any legal power to exercise the fiinrtinn« nf rK;„Vr *■ '''^'1!^°'^" '"to office, utterly destroys this ';piid )^n-y 'Xn of T T„cke?^^l^^^^^^ Imperial Logi'sl.turo. I„ his tlr' t addre.rto he oVand Jur; t f1 T? .'" '"''. "^ '^' altcration.to bomade in the n.anner of en,paneLgjur?erbtfol7;e fcedt'^t Cott "^^^^^^^ '1 contend, is a gross violation of the Kiri,m,r,n„ i Z ' ; 7f '""''"«' arrauy,- sailori to he jurors, under that rule ;mA Xc^hS am/c/n,TT "''''"•' "^fi^X'^^ht Boulton disposedof the jury system of Mr Tucker a-^ritT^?^^^ ""'Ii '" '''"'='' -^"^^^ The lives, and property,' ai liberty of 1 is uSy-; sTblects of NWoon'n *''f , •^°"«fl"«"'=e^^? than onco c.posedJo tKe mercy of juries ^^^^nS ;:^':^J'^^X: ^l^^ his Majesty s dominions, under this new urv system, a selection has bpen ,,v.T f ^ ^l- ■ , party for the purpose of trying individual oV another pomLalV-irtvTnH*? ""' P°'""=^' those prosecutions took place the last year vvhen .iv of K^^^^^^ Under this jury sy.tem clergyn'ien, a number of '^otlier nu, rS.ect lo i nbitints E^^^^^^^^^ ^-e people, two convicted, who had to remain in a gloom iu,.. En '^ ,^"'^'^, f 'J'e'n unjust punishment by almost the last act 'of o,u- late 1 Zn*.^ <« ■ i'"" ^^'^ whether such an instance could be found in the bistorv of i.uli w •> ^''' ' *^""^' facts are notorious and nndispMt...i. The nuestion tb<.,vf m r ' ' ! u T"" • ^^'^ proposition :-Is Mr. Bonbon' ju^iliod m i^l^^^t^C^'L^^^r ^"^ '"to tins simple f...H.,,,y .,,,..,,« .,„,,.,,,, o,,v;;vl',/i;';,t;:i\:;s-;;y::r,^^^^^ (tould not. without a violation nf bis dutv as a .lud-re, dcviUe from if Th T, ' commercial ( 30 ) oommercial laws of the country. He swept away, root and branch, the laws and customs that regulated the various relations between merchant and planter, fisherman and servant. At this moment I defy any man in the country — the Judges, the Lawyers, the most experienced merchants ; the oldest and most intdlif/ent planUrs, to state what principles govern the judges in their adjudications on tlie property and industry of the country. The beacon-lights have been extinguished ; the landmarks of the law have been removed ; chaos and confusion have succeeded to order, iaw and justice; the people have been thrown upon a trackless ocean without helm or compass ; and in many instances they have been obliged to take the law into their own hands to secure to themselves their just rights. The peculiar laws and cu-sioms that regulated the trade atid fisheries of Newfoundland, were adapted for a fishing cou.Ury. Newfoundland was first settled by British subjects, and has continued purely British from the reign of Henry VH. down to the present day. The customs and laws of Newfoundland, therefore, were as much the laws of England as the peculiar laws and customs of Kent or Cornwall, or any other county of England. The laws first introduced into Newfoundland were formed upon the maritime laws of Europe, and were in accordance with the maritime law of England. The great policy of these laws was to give protection to those engaged in the hazardous employment of the fisheries. The object of these laws and customs may be Lomprised under two heads — protection to the merchant who gives supplies to the boat-keeper and fisnerman to carry on the fishery, which is understood under the name of the Lav. of Current Supplies ; the other is the law which secures to the fishing servant and seamen their wages, by giving them a preferable claim on the proceeds of the ^ voyage. I contend that these were the laws of Newfoundland since the establishment of a fishery. I contend that' they are the laws of Newfoundland at this day. I contend that they must remain the law until they are altered by an act of the legislature. Judge Boulton ha.'i disregarded these laws ; he has sunk the judge ; assumed legislative power ; and this is the main question at issue between hiin and the country. It has been said by high authority, that it could not be disputed that Judge Boulton was a good English lawyer. I say. Sir, if he under- stood the first principles of English law, the laws and customs of Newfoundland should be his sole guide, on presiding in the courts of Newfoundland. It is the great perfection of the British Constitution and laws, that they can bo adapted to the peculiar circumstances and situation of the people in every quarter. They are founded upon those leading and general principles common to men in every age and country. The British constitution gives security and protection to all, without distinction, who may take refuge under its wide-spreading branches. These are the opinions of every man who understands the British Constitution and British law. It is useless to accumulate further arguments to prove what must be well known to every member of this House, and to every man acquainted with the history of the trade or the practice of the fishery, that the laws that regulated the preferable claim of the merchant for his supplies, and the seaman or fisherman for his wages, were the laws of Newfoundland from the earliest period — from the commencement of the fishery itself. These laws have been violently changed by the late unauthorized decisions of the Courts— ruin and desolation have followed to the industrious classes of the community in every part of the Island where those ancient laws have been violated. The advantages to the trade and fisheries, of the laws of current supplies and servants' wages, are so well explained by the various decisions of all former Judges, and more particularly by Chief Justices Reeves, Forbes, and Tucker. They are so well known to everv member of this house that it is quite unnecessary for me to say one word upon the sui)ject ; but as our proceedings on this inijjortaiit intjuiry may have to be judged bv jiersons not so intimately acquainted with the trade and fisheries of Newfoundland as the hon.inembers of this House, 1 shall refer to a few familiar examples out of hundreds to which I could refer, of the desolating consequences to the poor planters, boat-keepers, fishermen, seamen, and servants, that have followed the hasty decisions of ti.e Court wliicli deprived tluMU of the protection which tlie laws had so long ad'orded them. By the ancient laws no attachmcnf would lie gratited by the Courts, against the person, Ijoats, craft, or flat es of the ])lantcr or fisherman, during the fishing season : this regulation alTorded auqile protection to the planter and the fisherman; during the fishing season he could not be interrupted; under the new system the person, the boats, nets, and craft, and the fish and oil of the ulanter or fisherman may be attached in the midst of the fishing season, not only f(»r a debt due to the men-hant who supplied for the then current season, but even for a debt of old standing; tliis interruption of the planter and the fisherman completely destroys his means of paying either the new or the old delit. It i> known that nianv cases have liing season having been made upon beat-keepers and planters, and vvliicli caused innnedialc ruin to these unfortunate people. Tlu! petition presented by the lion, member for Conception Bay, from one of his conslittuMits, fully explains the great hardships inflicted upon the unfortunate fishermen and planters of this Island. This individual, it appears, was supplied by a merchant in Conception Bay with all neccs.-aries for carrying on the lisliery: he had commenced his voyage, and after some time his supplying iiicrcliaiit had uiliii:aiiwii lliai it v.u.s i!ie iiilcnlioii of a jicrson to wiiom riie planter was iiiilobletl for supplies, is>ued in a previous year, (o get an attachment against his property; when the sujiplying ( 31 ) supplying merchant ascertained this, he hastily took from him the little fish that he had caught, and m the mean time the attachment came and was laid upon his boat ; the voyaffo was com- pletely destroyed ; the sharemen and servants were discliarged, and the unfortiinat'e planter was thrown mto prison. I shall state another case. A merchant carrving on business in this town the last summer, suspended payment; he had supplied in the fishery, and amongst other* he had given supplies to a large Western-boat, which before his failure had made one or two successful trips to the Westward ; the boat, after landing hr , .sli, hml come to St. John's to get som« additional supplies for prosecuting the voyage, but instead ofgctting supplies the trustees for the insolvent estate seized on the boat. The fishermen who weio engaged on the shares for the season, and who had engagements to be employed for the whole of "the soiison, were summarily thrown out of employment, and before they could get their own share of fish that was caught in the boat, they had to take law proceeding to recover it : the oxpensos were so great that the poor men got scarcely any thing for their summer's work, and thev had no remedy. Under the old system such a case of hardship could not occur, so cauticiis were the courts fhat in the verv writs of attachment an exception was always made of boats, ikHs, craft, and every other properlV connected with the fishery. This will more clearly appear h\ tiie blank foiin vhich I now hold m my hand. Under the old form, previous to the late cliangcs, boats, crafts, nets, &c., were excepted in all attachments ; in the form in the new niles of Court this exception is left out; the exception was agreeably to the law and custom of tlie fishery time out of mind. Who will say that It was not a good, just, and wholesome custom? What is this Newfoundland custom after all, but an extension of the principles of English law to the fisheries of Newfoundland? By law the tools of the artizan and mechanic are secured to him from attachment, the principle may be traced back as far as Magna Charta itself, which save, to the hushandnian his imi)lements of husbandry : it is a security absolutely necessary for the protection of the planter and fisherman to enable them to prosecute the fishery. Under the old system the supplying merchant for the current season had a preferable claim for his supjdies for that season ; this was a security to the merchan? ; it was a protection to the planter. The connection between merchant and' planter is not unlike the connection between landlord and tenant : that connection which so long subsisted between the merchant and the planter, has been rudely severed. Any person now having a claim against the planter or boat-keeper, real or imaginary, may now step in and carry away the fish and oil of the planter, which he was enabled to catch 1 v the supplies and assistance which he received from his supplying merchant. Those only acquainted with the nature of the Newfoundland fisheries, and with the heart-rending scenes which have occurred within the last two or three years, can judge of the groat injustice and hardships that have been inflicted on the wretched planters of Newfoundland, by the violent change that has been made. The planters are not the only sufferers— the seamen and fishermen who compose so large and 50 valuable a portion of the community, have been altogether sacrificed. Generally speaking, the planters who hire the servants have no means of paying them but by the fish and oil, the produce of their labour; if this be taken out of the handsof the planter, and the merchant receiver not bound to pay the wages, it may be said that the servant has no security whatever. In most instances he is shipped from May until October — his wages do not become due until the end of his servitude — in the intermediate time the fish is caught, it is cured, and transferred to the warehouse of the merchant; the planter has no means whatever of paying the servant his wage> if the merchant do not do it. Under tlu; old system, if the merchant received as much fish and oil as the wages amounted to he was bouiiil to pay the servant's wages before he could receive one penny for his own supplies ; under the existing system, the scpvant cauimt recover from the merchant — he is tlierefon; placed in this predicament, he must either take the law into his own hands, arrest by main force the fish and oil on the planter's room, even before bis wages become due, or most likely he will lose it altogether. In numberless cases reference was made to myself, by servants placed in this predicament ; I advised the servants invariably to secm'e themselves. and as the law that protected them was grossly violated by the .ludges of the countiy, f/mf tlin/ should take the Inxi itilo tloir turn //«,;ul)inil to the more just claim of the servant. The most singular circumstances connected with the extraonlinarj \iiiiatinns and inrio\atioiis of the long established laws an Inipoiial' Parliament, The industrious classes of the conununity have huidly complained — tiie planter, the fisherman, the seamen state-, and truly state, that they have been ruined and besxuared by the unjust and illegal adjudications of the bench. .Ministers of the Gosiiel, mem- i)ers oi the learned jjrofe-ions. Of high-standing, magistrates, old and respectable citizens of various countries and of various creeds, have united in their complaints against the administration of justice, and have sotenmlv ajjpealed to Almighty God for the triilli of their allegations. His Majesty's Secretary U slate for the Colonies, with tlio King',-, (joverii.ir of Newfoundland, strongly iiiipc^ach the Tribunals of Justice in the case of Judge Des Barres. In the High Court" of Parliament the injustice of the Chief Judge of XewfoMnilland was proven in the case of Mr. Parsons, the printer of the Palrint newspaper, and adniittt^d by his Majesty's Govern- ment, who ordered the remission of the infamous and unjust sentence in that case. The gross injustice of the bench was lately proven and admitted in the case of Harding, Tliomey and Saunders: the moment this case w.i > made known, even hscxpurte statements, the King, Wdliani the 34 (No. 27) Members of the Council on Mr. Boulton's arrival in Newfoundland, in 1833: — The Hon. The Chief Justice, The Hon. W. ThoinjLS Merchant, Commandant, Attorney General, ... Collector of H. M. Customs, Colonial Secretary, W. Haley, retired Lt. Col., since dead, John Dunscomb, Merchant, .Fohn Bin{i;ly CJarland, Merchant .since resigned, John B. Bland, Merchant. Appointed in 1836. John Sinclair, Merchant. MEMBERS OF THE ASSEMBLY IN NEWFOUNDLAND. .Va;w of Member. William Carson, John Kent, Patrick Morris, J. P. Peter Winser John Valentine Nugent, Patrick Doyle, J. P. Henry Butler, William B. Row, Place Represented. Saint John's, do. do. Ferryland, St. Mary's & Placentia, do. Burin, Fortune Bii *y, Peter Brown, Conception Bay, .lames Power, do. John M'Carthy, do. Anthony Godfrey, do. Thomas Fitzgibbon Moore, Trinity Bay, Hugh A. Emerson, Bonaviiiia, Edward J. Dwyre, Fogo, Calling of each Member. Medical Practitioner. Auctioneer and Commission Agent. Supplying Merchant. Planter and Dealer. Retailer of Small Wares, lately kept a School. Was formerly Master of a Vessel — at present carries on no particular business. Formerly in a small business, but failed — pre- sent occupation unknown. Barrister and Attorney — has declined taking his seat. Dealer and Shopkeeper. Dealer. Planter and Dealer. Dealer Fisherman — was a constable when elected. Solicitor-General. Fishennan. No. -JJ 95 (No. 29) Sir, Commercial Room, St. John's, Newfoundland, 9th April, 1835. We, the Commercial Society of this town, having observed with indignation and regret the attempts which have been lately made through the medium of tlio Patriot newspaper, to ))rejiidiee the public mind both here and elsewhere against you, by attributing to you in your judicial capacity, cruelty, partiality, and injustice, and being fully sensible how necessary it is to the safety of the lives and projjerties of the in- habitants of the Colony, that the laws should bo fearlessly and conscientiously administered, and that those who honestly discharge their duties should he resolutely supported in the same— deem it in- cumbent upon us, aswellfrom a principle of justice to you. Sir, as to ourselves and to the com- munity in which we live, to stand forth in vindication of your conduct and character, and unecpii- yocally to expre.ss toyo.., .lud to the public, our thorough conviction of the utter falseness of every imputation thus raised against you. Indeed so notoriously are they devoid of foundation, that were they not to bo carried beyond our own shores, it might be c.onsidored an useless expenditure oftimo to take any notice of them, but when we recollect that those calumnies may reach other countries where they might possibly obtain some credit from beinir sufiered here to pass uncontra dieted. pas And when we remember how vitally essential it is to the ends of justice, and to the welfare of society, that the judicial bench should remain not merely free from' pollution, but from the sus- picion of taint ; we feel ourselves called upon, on the present occasion, as an influential part of this mercantile community, to give expression to our sentiments. We beg, Sir, to assure you, that the ability, integrity, and firmness which have characterized your judicial and personal conduct since your'arrival amongst us, have procured for you the res- pect and confidence of this society ; and whilst you continue so to discbarge the onerous and respon- sible functions of your high ofliice, you may calculate with certainty upon the approbation and support of the independent and thinking portion of the inhabitants of this colony, and you will assuredly eiijoy that invaluable reward which power can never give; nor can change take from you the peace-giving commendations of an approving conscience. I have the honour to be, Sir, your very obedient, humble servant, WILLIAM THOMAS, President of the Chamber of Commerce. Honourable II. .1. Boulton, Chief Justice of Newfoundland, &c., &c., &c. <> (No. 00.) Sir, St. John's, Newfoundland, June 10th, 18.'35. Having learned that it is your intention to proceed shortly to England, we the undersigned inhabitants af St. John's, taking into ronsiiioration the present state of this Colony, but more espe(riaily of this town, mid observing the attempts that are daily making to excite an unjust prejudice against you; feel it a duty we owe to you. Sir, to the public, and to ourselves to embrace! this opjiortunity of expressing our assurance of the regard and esteem we entertain for vour |)ul)lic character. We know, Sir, that we are blessed in the possession of wise and merciful laws sufficient to protect us in the enjoynient of ail rational liheily, and comiictcnt to furnish a remedy for every wrong. But we also know, and recent events have not tenili'd to diniiiiisli the force of our conviction, that firmness and doti'iinination in carrying those laws into ellbct, are indispensably requisite to ensure the contideiu'c of the piililic. A few weeks only have elapsed, Sir, since! the Commercial Society deemed it necessary to pre- sent an address to you expressive of the high sense that body entertaineil of the ability, intc"'ritv, and firmness of purpose which have invariably characterized your judicial conduct. Keferriiio- to those sentiments e' ''' P^P''''''^^ '''^^■'y ^'"=''^'1 'o riot and disturbance, p^^;2r;i-:-fr-2^rLrt^ Mlstv's"rnMn ?'" fr/'""\^H^'^^-^^^Sonrnd^mT^Uon at vour conduct as President of her "hat measu ? hV :.h\ w V '^""^""•'•"'? *''''' |''e pnnc.p es which actuated your opposition tf til iSr;;,uirell """''' *''"^''-'''" " ^^■'^'" '""1 P^'tnotic legislator, and such Is theVnterests of bemlinr'tl^i"f '^r"''' ::?''/""•'■ '^'■"''•^ '"^*^' ^"d f"'- the firm administration of the laws without bendmg them to the will of a p;irty, your lordship has drawn down the violent hatred ofThe mem- bers who have gone as ,le ofjates from th.. House of Assembly, to lay their alleged grievances al Rot I if r*" ^"'"*-l ' ♦'"•"■"^'-"'P''""^^ against your lordship form nga prlinent|rofSem Bu whilst democracy has shewn itself i„ almost open rebellion in a noi Jibouri.rCo ony aS innaDiwnts ot this island, we should liope their representations will have no effect ureiudiciil to The l^""se of Assembly, as at present constituted, composed of men, for the most nirt possessed of little interest in the country, and less ability to legislate for itX o chLen byThe unbiassed voice of the eh-ctois. but forced on the country by the inHuence of he Catholic Priesthood • supported by mobs of non-electors, i,, opposition to the wishes of the wealth intelli! ad;!n;a£ a'^l' oj' ^ur^it!;;:!^'' '""'''' ^^ '''' ^'''"^'^^ ''''"'' "P°" ''''"'' '''''^'^ ^■•'- ^ We trust that your absence from this country will be but of short duration • and that you vv.ll return t.. resume the duties of your officJ with the marked approbation of o , ino^ gracious Queen ; an event which will be hailed with proud satisfaction by the wliol ntd lie ISibefirelLl"^,''"''^''''- ^'^'"""''^ 'y """' -orethanbythosJwhohave.hehonou;,.; \ . ''^^HN SNOWBALL, Weslevan ^Missionary. llarhoMi- (nace, l!)t|i I)oceiiil)er, 1837. " ' William Funtoii, Merchant, (ioorge 'i'horne. Merchant. John Miinn, Merchant. Nicholas Stabb, Deputy Sheriff, .lohn Stark, Magistrate, .lames Bayly, Magistrate. OH Tliomas Uunsoii, Magistrate. W. Stirling, Magistrate. Alfred Mayiie, Barrister at Law Richard Anderson, Barrister at Law. Thomas Ridley, Merchant. James Pitts, Merchant. Joseph Soper, Merchant, Mark Parsons, Merchant. William Parsons, Planter. Thomas Godden, Shopkeeper. Alexander Prole, Shopkeeper. William Lejeates, Accountant. John Charles Nuttall, Merchant. William Dow, Surgeon. Robert Lee Whiting, Carpenter. Thomas Kitchen, Mason. John Currie, Farmer. Samuel Bennett, Smith. Robert Parsons, Planter. Ambrose Parsons, Planter. Archibald Munn, Aciountant. George P. Tillard, Merchant. Georijo Hipiiisley, Accountant. Levi Pike, Planter. Jacob Moore, Householder. John Kingwell, Newfoundland School Society Teacher. E. 1 . Brown, Her Majesty's Customs. James Sharp, Constable. Henry Webber, Planter. Samuel Elliott, Storekeeper. H. Cjt. Clow, Barrister. William Henderson, Merchant. y/ LETTER FROM DR. CARSON, SPEAKER OP THR HOUSE OF ASSEMBLY, AND ONE OP THE DBLEOATES, PwliiheJinthe Neicfuundkmd Patriot, of the \Gth of December, IH37, ON THE EVR OV HIS DKI'AKTI'RK POR KNOI-ANU. TO THE HOUSEHOLDERS OF THE ISLAND OF NEWFOUNDLAND. Gentleme;;, , ., .. „ ».T ,. , '^^''"■'.V '''ifty years I have advocated vour Interests your Liberties. Compare New oundlan.l i„ IHOH ^i.f. Newfoundland in IKB^ History t .u,t record a revo nt.on n. so short a period, so complete so satisfactory. The sword ha -never been drawn-one drop of i.iood has ,.ot been she.l-yonr hberties havi, been achield dl bv the undev.atH,fr. advocacy of Truth and .lustice, 'your Franchises which is that of ee^ riousehoder, are founded u. Justu-e-yonr Parlian.ents are Hn.ited to four years. In rehS the vohn.tary system is niost complete-you have no donununt Church-no Cieri Reserves Se ambitiou. tyran alone blasts your happiness, and pandv/es the patriotic exerti.ms of '",. ' repi^! sentatives, o whom you have con ideJ your interests: from solne hidden mystery, tl.e executSe -.hoouditto be the protcH^tor of your chartered rights, appears to be an ally The pjtie Judjreslie has cimmed to lus chariot wheels. The Executive and Legislative Counci s, a e tie servi les creatures of his w. 1. The l,ar are obedient to his nod. The Special Jurie by a man f h,s own creation, are selecte, pohtu-al partisans. He has lately aimecl a deadly blow ,i E he usefulness and resnectabihty of the medical profession. Through his ascendancy mth« Councils and on the Judicial Bench, he has endeavl.ure.l to burke th^ ri^ht; a pHvle" <^^^ t .0 people. At he advance.l ,ige of sixty-seven I embark for England, at "this iucleLnt'!L„ ot the year, for the sole purpose of averting arbitrary power, the despotism of an indivi