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AVrni A NAKRATIA'K Of HIS ADMINISTRATION IN CANADA. KblTKD BY Ills lil!OTIIi:K, G. POULETT SCROPE, ESQ. M. P. LONDON: JOHN MURRAY, ALBEMARLE STREET. MDCCCXLIIl. 2?Z0S3 LoNnoN : Printed by A. Spottiswoodb, New Street- Square. TO THE RIGHT HONOURABLE LORD JOHN RUSSELL, M.P. &C. &(', &c. Dear Lord John Russell, I HAVE to thank you for allowing some portion of my late brother's private correspondence with you to appear in this volume, and I must also ask you to permit its dedication to yourself. For his successful administration of the affairs of Canada, while you presided at the Colonial Office, he was mainly indebted, as he repeatedly declared, to the confidence which you reposed in him, and to your active and cordial co-operation. To you he looked up throughout his political career as a model and a guide. And I, at least, can never forget the touching tribute paid by him A 2 ■"^ IV DEDICATION, to your exulted character, when, at a moment which puts all worldly considerations out of the question, he exerted the last energies of his failing voice deliberately and emphatically to pronounce you " the noblest man he had ever the good for* tune to know." I remain yours very sincerely, G. POULETT SCROPE. 18. Bcilgrave Square, June 1. 1«43. iioinent of the \ failing ►nouncc Dod for* PREFACE- ROPE. It was a wish expressed by Lord Sydenham, on his death-bed, after the close of the First Session of the Parliament of United Canada, that a Narrative of his Administration of the Government of that Province should be written by Mr. Murdoch, who, as Civil Secretary, had assisted him throughout its proceedings. It appeared desirable that such a publication should be accompanied by a Memoir of Lord Sydenham's Life and Public Career previous to his undertaking the Government of Canada. This has consequently been drawn up by a near rela- tive in possession of hi^ c'Ournals and Correspon- dence. These materials, however, date for the most part only from Lord Sydenham's accession to office in 1830; and, although very copious, it has been found impossible to introduce much matter from them in an original form without a breach of the restraints imposed, when dealing with such very A 3 vi I'REFACE. recent times, by a sense of wliat is due to the feelings of other parties, and the sacrcdness of pri- vate and confidential intercourse, although relating to pul)lic affairs. These considerations have reduced the first portion of the work to a very imperfect biogra- phical sketch, the deficiencies of which the Editor is fully aware of. The second portion, consisting of Mr. Murdoch's Narrative of Lord Sydenham's Canadian Administration, has, however, been illustrated by numerous selections from his private correspondence. And these, although necessarily for the most part but extracts, will be found, pro- bably, not the least valuable part of the volume, as exhibiting the confidential views on subjects of great importance, of a statesman, the accuracy of whose judgment was so clearly proved by the success which followed every thing he under- took. The Editor trusts not to have been misled by feelings of partial afi'ection in believing that the biography of one who exercised no inconsiderable influence over the public history of this country during the important period between 1825 and 1842 cannot fail to be generally instructive and interesting. a rap] 4 of peci con 11 indil sut the grea TREFACE. Vll to the of pri- clating c first biogra- Editor isisting mham's , been private essarily id, pro- volume, ubjects curacy ed by under- fed by it the lerable [untry and and Tlio pul)lic lite of Lord Sydenham, indeed, offers a lurc, perluips an unexampled, instance of the rapid attainment of eminent station by the force of personal qualifications alone. Without any peculiar advantages of birth, rank, fortune, or connexion, by the unaided exertions of liis talents, industry, and tact, lie had, before the age of forty, sat for fifteen years in Parliament — ten of them as the spontaneously selected representative of the great manufacturing capital of the country, Man- chester — had been minister of state ten years, in the Cabinet five, and occupied the station of Go- vernor-General of all the British North American Colonies; being rewarded for his brilliant adminis- tration of this high office by a Peerage and the order of the Bath. Such a career cannot but be well worthy of study, whether by those who themselves are struggling forward in the pursuit of fame, wealth, and honour, or those who are contented to contemplate a& by-standers the busy drama in which the million are toiling for these objects. Still more worthy of close study is such a life, if it can be sho^vn, as in this instance it unquestionably can, that the main- spring of exertions thus arduous and successful was neither barren ambition, nor the vain lust of • •• via I'RKFACE. pojuiljir rcputjitioii, hut a sincere desire to ohtiiiu the means ut" wide-spread usefulness — the anxious wish of a l)enevolent mind to employ all its faculties to advance the welfare of the t^Tcat musses of man* kind whose destinies are influenced by the govern* inent and legislature of Britain. 'm j3 'm to ol)tuiu c juixious 4 faculties s of mail- e govern- CONTENTS. I'AKT I. Lord Sydenham's* Family, Hirtli, and earty Education, 179<) to 181.5 -♦••-.! Enters Business as a Merchant at St. Petershurgh, IHl.lr • #J Travels through South of Europe, 1817-18 • - 7 Returns to St. Pctersburgh, 1821 - - • <) Travels through South Russia and Germany, 1822-.'? • 10 Fixes himself in London, 1824 • « • • il Canvasses Dover, 182.5 - ♦ * •• - 14 Is returned for Dover, and takes his Seat in the House of Commons, 1826 - - • • * VT Mis Speech on the Shipping Interest, May fith, 1827 • 18 on the Silk Trade, 14th April, 1829 « - 2.'i on Taxation, 2.5th March, 18.S() « . 3T Accepts Office in Lord (irey's Ministry as Vice-President of the Board of Trade, November, 1830 . - if Debates on the Budget, 1831 - - * * 44 Negotiates for Commercial Treaty with France » -47 Customs' Duties Bill, 1832 - . • .v .50 Is elected both for Dover and Manchester— selects the latter, 1832 - - - - « * .53 Dinner in Theatre at Manchester — Speech, 1832 . 56 His successive Improvements of the Tariff of Imports • 63 Renewal of Bank Charter — Factories' Regulation Act-^ His Opinions on Banking and Note Issue • • 68 X CONTENTS. Corn Laws, Speech on, of 7th March, 1 834- Becomes President of the Board of Trade, ISS^ Takes his Seat in the Cabinet, April, 1835 His Exertions to obtain Commercial Treaties to modify the Corn Laws - Establishment of School of Design, 1837 General Services at the Board of Trade - Accepts Office of Governor General of Canada and Nor American Provinces, August, 1839 Sails from Portsmouth in the Piqr? 13th September Lands at Quebec, 19th October, 1839 - 69 - 72 - 73 - 76 - 84 - 90 - 9t th - 97 - 101 - 101 PART II. ADMINISTRATION OF LOUD SYDENHAM IN CANADA. Review of the State of Canada previous to 1839, and the Origin of the Disturbances - - . _ Objects of Lord Sydenham's Mission - _ - He reaches Montreal, October 22d, 1839 Obtains the Assent of the Special Council to the Plan of Union ..___. Proceeds to Toronto, and assumes the Government of Upper Canada - - _ _ Excitement on " Responsible Government" — Lord Syden- ham's Views on the Question _ - - . Publishes Lord John Russell's Despatch relative to Tenure of Office ...... Difficulties to contend with .... Opens Parliament 3d December — Speech Resolutions respecting the Union carried, 19th December Undertakes, successfully, the Settlement of the Clergy Reserve Question . - _ _ . Closes the Session, lOth February, 1840 - . _ Returns to Montreal and summons Special Council Ordinances passed by Special Council - . , Closes sitting of Special Council, 27th June Proceeds to Halifax, to allay Irritation there 107 131 133 134 - 139 142 144 147 1 151 1 160 163 1 170 ,1 173 ■1 177 •| loU 182 1 CONTENTS. XI I'ag,. - 69 - 72 - 73 - 76 - 84 - 90 - 91 d North - 97 er - 101 - 104 ANADA. and the - 107 - 131 - 133 Plan of - 134 ent of - 139 Syden- - 142 enure - 144 - 147 - 151 mber 160 lergy - 163 - 170 - 173 - 177 - 180 - 182 Page Changes effected, and Harmony restored - - - 185 Returns to Canada, and visits the eastern Townships - 190 Tour through Upper Canada — Addresses - - 192 Raised to the Peerage, August, 1840 - - - 197 Returns to Montreal and prepares Ordinances in Anticipa- tion of Union . . - . . £00 Municipal System — Its Importance — Omitted from Union Bill — ^^Supplied by Ordinance - - - . 201 Establishment of Registry Offices . . , 205 Union proclaimed, lOth February, 1841 - - - 207 Commencement of Elections, 8th March - - 219 Their Conclusion, and the Result - - . 227 Resignation of Mr. Baldwin - - - . 229 Meeting of Parliament, 14th June, 1841 - - 234 Speech — Address — Amendment defeated - - 235 Favourable Progress of the Session - - - 243 Excessive Exertions of Lord Sydenham — Measures sug- gested and carried by him - - - . 245 District Council Bill, &c., 28th August ... 252 Weak State of Health of Lord Sydenham - - 255 Accident by the Fall of his Horse, September 4th - 259 Close of the Session, and Death of Lord Sydenham, 19th September, 1841 - - - - _ 262 Sensation produced throughout Canada by the Event - 265 Summary of Lord Sydenham's Canadian Administration 267 of his Character and Public Services - - 295 APPENDIX. I. Additional Extracts from Lord Sydenham's Canadian Correspondence - - . - . II. Notices of the Death of Lord Sydenham, extracted from the Public Press of the North American Provinces III. Message of the Governor-General to the House of Assembly of Canada, on the Subject of Public Improve- ments, 20th August, 1841 - . - . 311 327 380 XII CONTENTS. IV. Mi'iiioranduni on the Papor Curronry, suggested for Canada, by Lord Sydenham . - - - V. Speech of C. Poulett Thomson, Esq., in the House of Commons, on the 26th March, 1830, on moving for a Select Committee to consider a Revision of the System of Taxation ...--- VI. Speech on the Corn Law of Marcli, 1831- VIL Speech in favour of Mr. Villiers's Motion for going into Committee on the Corn Laws, 1839 Pnge 392 44-1 479 Pi Fnge gosted for - tisr> House of ing for a « System - 392 - 441 for going - 479 ERRATA. Page 1. lin^ 2. after "child," insert " by his first marriage." 37. 2. for " D'Atnisson," read " D'Anisson." 37. 11. for " limits," read " limit." 37. 12. for « of," read « in." 45. 29. for " palm," read " preference. " 45. 30. for " to," read " over." 47. 17. omit " in conjunction with Lord Durham." .)7. 22. omit " human and." 57. 23. after " natural," insert '• and pardonable." 96. 1. for " 1836," road " 1839." 118. 7. omit « by." 118. 12. for " existence," read " resistance." 226. 9. for " town," read " towns. " 232. 6. for " was," read " would." 319. 18, for " anticipated," read " anticipate." Xll CONTENTS. IV. Mcinorandiini on tlie Papor Currenoy, snfjfgosted for Page Canada, by Loi^d Sydenham - .'{8.1 V. Speech of C. Ponlett Thomson, Esq., in the House of Commons, on the 26th March, 1830, on moving for a Select Committee to consider a Revision of the System U: osted Cor - tisn louse of ng for a System PAKT I. LIFE OF LORD SYDENHAM. I ClIARI (Ion ail isquii §1 Su iicrcai %^liich |heRu |s well I'homs |ianua who y\ family keen f ftiarrie* I acob ( lliildre iorn a nd hi iifeebl LIFE OP LOUD SYDENHAM. Charles Edward Poulett Thomson was the third |on and youngest child of John Poulett Thomson, ilsquire, of Waverley Abbey and Roehampton §1 Surrey, the head of the old and respected |riercantile firm of J. Thomson, T. Bonar, & Co., ihich had been for several generations engaged in Ihe Russian trade, and possessed an establishment Is well in St. Petersburgh as in London. Mr. John Jhomson assumed the name of Poulett by sign jnanual in 1820, in remembrance of his mother, ho was heiress of that branch of the ancient mily of Poulett, which had for some centuries een fixed at Goathurst in Somersetshire. He arried in 1781 Charlotte, the daughter of Dr. acob of Salisbury, by whom he had a family of nine [hildren. Charles, the youngest of this number, was orn at Waverley on the 13th September, 1799, id his mother's health being at that time much feebled, he may be supposed to have derived from 1799. B LIFE OF LORD SYDENHAM. 'A 1804. tliis circumstance the constitutional weakness which in after life occasioned the continued and harassing infirmities to which he was subject, and whicli, aggravated by the incessant fatigues, both bodily and mental, of parliamentary and official business, wore out his frame, and prematurely shortened his valuable life. In his infancy he was remarkable for the perfec- tion of childish grace and beauty, yet attested by the pencil of Sir Thomas Lawrence; and hence, during the sojourn of the younger part of the family at AYeymouth in the summer of 1803, he attracted the attention and became the especial favourite of the good old king, George IIL, then residing there for the benefit of his marme ex- cursions, and whose partiality to children is well kno^vn. His elder brother yet remembers the terror inspired when at their first meeting with the sovereign on the Parade, General Garth was dispatched to bring the children to the presence, and they were subjected to a rapid interrogatory from the impatient monarch as to their names, birth, and parentage. After this the King became so partial to Charles, the youngest, then not quite four years old, that he insisted on a daily visit from him, often watched at the window for his arrival, ran down himself to open the door to let him in, and carried him about in his arms to shoAv all that could amuse the child, in the very ordinary lodging-house then occupied by the royal party, and especially the suppers laid out for the children's ncss which I harassing aid which, loth bodily I business, Drtcned his the pcrfec- attested by and hence, )art of the of 1803, he he especial c III., then marine ex- Iren is well embers the eeting with Garth was le presence, terrogatory leir names, mg became n not quite daily visit ow for his door to let ms to shoAV ry ordinary oyal party, e children's J.lFi; OF LOUD SYDKNIIAM. biills, Avhich their mnjesties frequently gave for the jinmscment of their young favourites. On one occasion, the King being on the pier-liead, {il)ont to embark in the royal yacht upon one of Ills sailing trips, and having the child in his arms, lie turned round to j\[r. Pitt, w^ho was in attendance at his elljow, having probably hurried down from London for an audience on important business, juid exclaimed, "Is not this a line boy, Pitt? Fine boy, isn't he? Take him in your arms, Pitt; take him in your arms: charming child, isn't he?" Then suiting the action to the word, he made the stiff ^nd solemn premier, weighed down as he seemed fto be with cares of state, dandle and kiss the pretty boy, and carry him some minutes in his arms, albeit strange and unused to such a burden. The circumstance, though trivial, had so comical an effect, from the awkwardness and apparent re- luctance with Avhich the formal minister performed his compelled part of nurse, as to make an im- |)ression on the writer, who stood by, though but ^even years old himself, which time has never effaced. Pitt, although no doubt fretted by his tnaster's childish fancy, which exposed him to the Ill-suppressed titter of the circle around, including several of the younger branches of the royal family, to whom the scene afforded great amuse- lent, put the best countenance he could on the latter, but little thought, no doubt, that the infant Je was required to nurse would, at no very distant [inie, have the offer of the same high official post B 2 8 ISOk LIFE OF LOUD SYDENHAM. 1804. which ho thou occupied, the chancellorship oftlif; ~" cxche(pier, and would be quoted us, perhaps, nc.rl to /tint.seffl the most reuiarkable instance in modern times of the early attainment of great public emi- nence by the force of talent alone ; equally purchased, alas ! by premature extinction, at the zenith of a brilliant career. As the youngest and prettiest child of the family. Charles was naturally the spoilt pet of all. This would not be worthy of mention, but that it seems not impossible tlie same course of partial treatment, which usually, no doubt, produces a self-willed and selfish character, may, when acting upon a dispo- sition naturally generous and full of sympathies, have failed in j)roducing its usual bad effects, while the habit thus early permitted in the child, of con- sidering his will to be law with all around, may have had some influence in giving to the man that self-confidence and decision, and that unconquerable determination to excel, which, in after life, became a prominent feature of his character, and exercised no slight influence towards the attainment of the success which so generally attended his exertions. At the age of seven Charles Thomson was sent to the preparatory school of the Rev. Mr. Hanning- ton at Han well, whither his elder brother, George, had preceded him ; and after three years' residence there, was removed to the Rev. Mr. Woolley's at Middleton, near Tamworth, and afterwards to the Rev. Mr. Church's at Hampton, both professing to be private tutors, taking two or three pupils at mos U) i of si fathc direc son, J*etei for rema It no do or ui schoo LIFK OK LOUD SVDKNIIAM. 5 rship of the ;rliaps, 7i('.rf e in inodcni pul)lk' omi- f purclmst'd, zenith of u f the fjiinily. f all. This hat it seems 1 treatment, [f-willed and )on a disi)o- sympathies. ;ffects, while hild, of con- round, may |he man that conquerable [life, became id exercised nent of tlic exertions, n was sent r. Hanning- [ler, George. s' residence oolley's at ards to the Irofessing to e pupils at most at a thnv. With the latter he remained up to tlie sunnner of tlie year IHIT), wlien, at tlie age of sixteen, with the view to his establishment in liis father's liouse of business, then under the chief direction of his eldest brother, j\Ir. Andrew Thom- son, he took his departure from England for St. *l*etersburgh, where one l)ranch of the firm had been for upwards of a century settled, and there he remained for more than two years. It is thus remarkable that his education was in no degree com[)leted at any public school, college, or university, but confined to a small private school, or a tutor. As bearing upon the disputed question respecting the advantages of academical education, this circumstance is worth noting. The jieculiar qualifications which such an education 'is generally supposed to have a tendency to confer, snamely, the spirit of emulation, the habit of pushing fyour way through a herd of jostling competitors, fself-knowledge, and a just estimation of your own Jfaculties, amenity in social intercourse, and a Ipleasing popular manner, the savoir vivre, in short, -of society, arc precisely those qualities for the ^possession of which Mr. C. Thomson was very pe- Icnliarly distinguished. And yet he was not only |not educated, as has been said, at either a public school or university, but the possession of some at lleast of these qualities may undoubtedly, in a great degree, be traced to that very fact, and to his con- sequently being cast upon the busy world itself, [rather than its supposed miniature resemblance, B 3 1807. 6 LIFI-: OF LORD SYUICNIIAM. 1815. (Icpcniloiit only on his own vcsonrcos, at n, time of litb at wlilch young men, acadoniically educated, are usually in a state of [nipilage, watched by pre- ceptors, {issociating only with youths of their own tige, and kept under the control of a strict scholastic discipline. At the early age of sixteen CMiai'les Thomson was initiated into life in St. i*etersburgh, and, while not jieglecting the business he was there to leiu'u, he yet eagerly entered into the amusements of society, to which his connexions and position gave him access, and in which his persomd recommendations soon rendered him a special favourite with those of the Russian nobility and diplomatic corps then resident at St. Petersburgh, who had the good taste to open their doors to the English, It was no doubt in these circles, and especially in the close intimacy which he was permitted at this period to enjoy with several polished and highly cultivated individuals then residing at St. Petersburgh, such as Count AYoronzoff, Count and Countess Sa- bloukotf, (very old friends of his family,) Prin- cess Galitzin, &c., that he began to acquire that peculiar charm of manner, and polished tone of society, which distinguished him through life, and was no mean aid to advancement in his political career. He enjoyed, moreover, the advantage of a very close and valuable correspondence with an affec- tionate and intelhgent mother, whose watchfulness over the physical, moral, and intellectual culture of lier (I tentil inini| ]Mr. year. intc coiU'H Jtine. intims -iA LIFE OK LOUD SYDKNIIAM. :it a. tiiuc y cdiicutt'd, iL'd by pre- their cvvn ;t schulastii; lomsoii was 1, while nut ;o learn, he i of society, gave him mcndations with those corps then ; good taste It was no the close period to cultivated urgh, sucli ntess Sa- ily,) Prin- quire that 2d tone of 1 life, and is political of a very an affec- tchfulness culture of fier chilih'en seemed to increase in anxiety and at- I817. tentlon, the liirther tliey were removed from her iimiu'diate care. With liis former tutors, likewise, 31 r. VV< 'Ih'y and Mr. Church, he kept u[) for some years an afh '•^'•mate, and to him most sjdutaiy, ■intercourse, receivnig from them advice as to the course (*i' his studies, and, in return, connnunicating to tliem the |)rogress he wns making in the acqui- sition of knowledge. In the autumn of 1817, after an illness of con- Biderable duration, which caused nuich anxiety among his friends, it was thought desirable that he pliould spend the coming winter in a milder cli- mate than St. Petersburgh, and he accordingly returned by sea to J^^ngland, which he reached in the beginning of October, his health being much improved by the voyage. On his arrival he found his mother and two youngest sisters, then unmarried, on the point of ■getting off for the Continent, and it was determined that he should accompany them. This he did, and the winter was spent by the party at Nice. The greater part of the next year was passed in a tour through the north of Italy and Switzer- limd ; but in the course of the summer a separation vtook place, the ladies proceeding northwards to Switzerland, while Charles, lor the benefit of his ^ftyes, which were at that time very weak, was left jat the baths of Valdagno and Recoara in the Vicen- |;ine. Here he lived two or three months in close f ntimacy with the amiable and accomplished para- I B 4 I m 8 LIFE OF LORD SYDENHAM. 1817. phraser of Casti, the late Mr. William Rose, and no doubt profited by the society of one so cultivated and refined. At the close of the summer he re- joined his mother, and the family party, increased by the arrival of his elder brother George from England, returned to the south, and passed the winter at Naples. In the summer of the next year tlie two brothers travelled to England together, by a circuitous route, through the south and west of France, visiting the Pyrenees and thu Loire. And his health being now re-established, Charles Thomson once more took his seat in the counting-house, and passed the winter in the ordi- nary occupations of mercantile business. After so long a holiday, spent in the amusement and excitement of foreign travel, it was quite natu- ral that the young man should feel the confinement and dull routine of a London counting-house ex- tremely irksome ; and his letters at this period con- tain many complaints of the kind. His anxious desire, indeed, both then and for some time after, was to exchange the occupation he had so far engaged in for that of diplomacy, for which both his natural and acquired qualifications, as well as the habits of foreign travel, and the society in which he had for some time moved, peculiarly fitted him. He had a remarkable knowledge of many languages, speaking French, German, liuss, and Italian, al- most like a native; and his manner and address Avere courtly, refined, and fascinating. At his earnest soUcitation endeavours were made by his fi'ien in s ^^ccss. :l grati that ter busii LIFE OF LOKD SYDENHAM. ose, and no ) cultivated mcr he re- /■, increased eorge from passed the e next year 1 together, south and ?s and thi; estabUshed, seat in the n the ordi- amusement quite natu- onfinement house ex- ^eriod con- is anxious time after, lad so far vhich both as Avell as y in which fitted him. languages, talian, al- d address At his de by his ■I'riends with a view to obtain employment for him iS2i. Jin some foreign embassy, fortunately without sue- ~ ^cess. It was not long before he had reason to con- Ijrratulate himself on the failure, and to discover that in an age and country of so practical a charac- Iter as this, the knowledge of facts and habits of i business to be acquired in commercial pursuits, by J a mind endowed Avith faculties of a high order, are 1 far more likely to lead to station and power than any familiarity with foreign courts or diplomatic I intrigue. Had his wishes been fulfilled, and his Scarcer consequently changed, he might, and pro- Jbably would have grown grey in the pleasant but I somewhat idle occupation of a charge d'affaires at 'some petty foreign court, without ever attaining one-tenth part of the reputation or poAver, to which his mercantile education and information, gathered in the busy marts of British industry, speedily ele- : vated him. Whether, as yet, any aspirations of this character iitid crossed his thoughts or not, the young mer- chant, at all events, continued from this time to a[)ply himself unremittingly to the study of his business, which his natural quickness of compre- hension and tact very soon enabled him to master. i And after a probation of a year and a half passed I in London, he Avas once more sent out to St. Iretersburgh in the spring of 1821, entrusted with I a share in the conduct, and of course in the profits. pri It of the business. The journey was performed leisurely by the 10 LIFE OF LORD SYDENHAM. 1823. route of Cuxhaven, Berlin, and Riga, and liis journals bear witness to the powers of observation and judgment already exercised by him on the countries through which he travelled, and espe- cially on their commercial resources. On the 4tli of May he reached St. Petersburgh. Here he remained for nearly two years, making the most of his time and the opportunities afforded by his admission to the best society of that capital, in which he was a general favourite, and especially among the diplomatic body. Nor did he neglect the study of books, and his anxiety to store up knowledge appears from entries in his journal of this period, in which he occasionally records as a " lost day," one in which he had been able to add nothing to his previous acquirements. In the winter of 1822 and spring of 1823, he took a journey to Moscow, and thence through the centre of Russia by Kieff and Orel, making a tour of visits to the country-houses of several of the Russian nobility. And on the 1st of August of the latter year he quitted Petersburgh for the last time, on a journey through the eastern and southern provinces of Russia, especially with the view of being present at the great fair of Nishni- Novogorod, which takes place early in that month, and is the principal mart for exchange of the pro- ducts of Europe and Asia. From Nishni he embarked on the Wolga for Astrachan, and descended the whole course of that enormous river, stopping at times to visit several 0f tlj tathj |he A| LIFE OF LORD SYDENHAM. 11 a, and liis observation lim on the and espc- On the 4tli irs, making ies afforded hat capital, i especially he neglect o store up journal of 3cords as a ible to add r 1823, he ) through making a several of of August h for the stern and with tlie 3f Nislmi- at month, " the pro- ^^olga for Hi of that It several IT 0f the Tartar tribes upon the route, as well as the Catholic and Protestant colonies on the banks of the A\'olo'a. After a short stay at Astrachan, he returned northwards as far as Tzaritzin, and thence travelled through the Steppes of the Don by Tcher- kask, Taganrog, Ehaterinodar, the Caucasus, and the Crimasa, reaching Odessa about the middle of November; from thence he travelled by the route of Brody and Cracow to Vienna, where he spent the remainder of the winter of 1823-4. The journals kept during this period evince a Very remarkable spirit of inquiry and desire of in- formation for so young a traveller. They are full of acute and accurate remarks on the manners, habits, and character of the inhabitants of these countries, as well as their resources, (economical and commercial. The spring of 1824 was passed in the fascinating society of Vienna, and indeed it was with some dif- |ficulty that the remonstrances of his friends drew lliim from thence. He left it at the end of April, land reached Paris, where his mother was then con- Mncd by illness, only just in time to receive the last blessing of that most affectionate and devoted parent, whose decease took place on the 18th of play. After the funeral, Mr. C. Thomson returned |to London, where he thenceforward permanently ;|fixed himself^ taking his share in the business of |the counting-house, and occasionally conducting it l^vholly himselt^ in the absence of his elder brother land partner, Andrew. 1824. 12 LIFE OF LOUD SYDENHAM. 1825. The next year was one of an eventful and ex- citing character, and, when all the circumstances of that extraordinary epoch are considered, it will not appear surprising that a young merchant, naturally of a sanguine disposition, then almost for the first time taking his place as a member of one of the most respected commercial firms in London, possessed of a secular reputation, and of almost unlimited credit, should have been exposed to much solicita- tion from those who were blowing and seeking to set afloat the bubbles of that day, and should have been led to indulge somewhat in the brilliant dreams of a rapid creation of wealth by combined associa- tions, which at that period of universal excitement carried away thousands of older and far more ex- perienced heads. Accordingly, into some of the American minhiij speculations set on foot in the spring of 1825, Mr. C. Thomson entered with the energy which was devoted to whatever he undertook. He took an active part in the direction of one or two of these schemes ; and being a bondjide believer in their pro- mised advantages, he, of course, like many others, suffered by the bursting of the bubbles on the ar- rival of " the Panic." His elder brother had throughout remonstrated against any participation in such adventures ; and it was probably owing to his prudent advice that they were not embarked in to a seriously incon- venient extent. As it was, the loss sustained was sufficient to read him a lesson of caution, from LIFE OF LORD SYDENHAM. 13 ful and ex- imstanccs of I, it will not it, naturally for the first of the most 1, possessed it unlimited ich solicita- I seeking to should have liant dreams ned associa- [ excitement ar more ex- Lcan minino- 1825, Mr. which was e took ail kvo of these Q their pro- my others, on the ar- nonstratcd tures; and dvice that isly incoii- ained was tion, from Vhich there can be no doubt that he derived mucli benefit in after life. 4 But the year 1825 was not remarkable only for the general speculative mania. It constitutes more- over something like an era in the history of the commercial policy of the nation. In the course of the two or three preceding sessions, the attention of Parliament had begun to be directed by Mr. Hus- kisson to the faulty character of that system of protective duties which had for many years been acted on for the supposed benefit of colonial and domestic producers ; the navigation laws had been already relaxed; and in this year, 1825, the same statesman, as President of the Board of Trade, carried through a general revisal and simplifica- tion of the Revenue Laws, or Tariff^. Commercial questions were thus assuming a prominence in the debates of Parliament which might well suggest to a merchant entertaining enlarged views on these Isubjects, and conscious of the possession of an ^iimount of knowledge and information which might ibe usefully brought to bear upon their discussion, ;the desire to take part in these debates. It was not difficult to perceive that the time was favour- nble for men of practical experience in commercial laff'airs, not only to obtain a hearing, but even to Icxercise considerable influence in the deliberations of the House of Commons. Mr. C. Thomson moreover entertained strong opi- I nions of a liberal character on the more ordinary olitical questions of the age. These principles 1825. 14 LIFE OF LOUD SYDENHAM. 1825. were entirely self-formed. Those of his family, of his father certainly, were rather of the opposite complexion. But whether acquired by reflection during his residence among the despotic, and con- sequently stagnating states of the continent, or from his course of reading, or from the general bent of his mind, or, as seems most probable, from all these influences combined, certain it is that his political principles were from the first of a very liberal cha- racter, and led him to cultivate the society of those who entertained similar views on questions of public interest. He thus became acquainted about this time, among others, with Dr. Bowring, Mr. Mill, Mr. Warburton, and Mr. Hume, and was occasionally admitted to the hermitage of the eccentric and amiable Bentham. He likewise studied the science of Political Economy with Mr. M'CuUoch, and fre- quented the Political Economy Club then lately instituted. Taking thus a lively interest in the political questions of the day, and more especially in those relative to commercial matter3; it was natural that he should listen with favour to proposals which Avere made to him in the summer of 1825 from parties connected with the liberal interest in the borough of Dover, to become a candidate for its representation at the next election ; and with this vicAV he made several visits to Dover in the course of the winter for the purpose of canvassing, having issued an address to thv- electors on the 15th of September. frino", ^orign Icomp I And Ifor h , licrm ;;at house Mr.T ill a 1 tiring iiitere In I { Charh v^ance, < J family I a2:ains ■i ? I his at Swas d( i fther, i I the po ':: broug " sequel Inexioi Ibelonf interc! [welfar He LIFE OF LORD SYDENHAM. 15 s family, of le opposite ^ reflection c, and con- mt, or from bent of his 1 all these lis political liberal cha- ity of those IS of public about this , Mr. Mill, (ccasionally entric and the science h, and fre- hen lately e political !y in those itural that lals which 825 from ;st in the .te for its with this he course g, having- 15th of In the pursuit of this object he was warmly aided 1825. [by his friends of the Utilitarian school. Dr. Bow- frill ir, who indeed had been the medium of his I original introduction to the electors of Dover, ac- fcompanied him there and assisted in his canvass. ' And Bentham himself had taken so great a liking ifor him, that he broke through all the habits of his licrmit-like existence, actually took up his residence at Dover, canvassed daily for him, opened his house, and allowed himself to be accessible to all Mr. Thomson's friends, and mingled in the contest in a manner which surprised all who knew his re- tiring disposition, but which strongly marked the interest he took in his young friend's prospects. In aiming at a seat in Parliament, however, Mr. Charles Thomson was unsupported by the assist- ance, or even by the countenance and advice, of his family. His father and eldest brother remonstrated against the undertaking, as tending to withdraw ;his attention from the city bushiess, 'o which it j was desirable that he should devote himself. Nei- ther, it is clear, had at this time the least idea of the powers possessed by him, and before long to be brought into active exertion — powers which, ap- plied in the career of public life, enabled him sub- sequently not merely to reflect lustre on his con- mexions and on the mercantile class to which he ; belonged, but materially to benefit the general I interests of British commerce, and advance the I welfare and prosperity of his country. I He himself was evidently gifted with a juster ■i 16 LIFE OF LORD SYDENHAM. 182(). appreciation of his capacities. And here that happy self-confidence which has already been mentioned as one of the main elements of his success, was eminently useful in fortifying his resolutions in favour of a public life against the remonstrances and dissuasions of some of his nearest connexions. That they were in some degree justified in these remonstrances, however, must be conceded ; the pecuniary risks, and even the necessary expences, of the contest into which, so early in life, he was plunging, being considerable, and this immediately follo-sving his losses of the year before in the American mining speculations. The remonstrances of his brother Andrew at times reached a very high tone, threatening even a dissolution of partnership. But pledges had been given to parties in Dover, which were not to be lightly broken : hopes were held out of certain and easy success, of its being unnecessary to bring up outvoters, the chief source of expense, and the negotiations and the canvass still more or less continued, though protracted by the delay of the dissolution of parliament, which had been expected in the summer of 1825, but did not take place until May 1826. The election, as might have been anticipated by all who really knew the character of the borough at that time, was severely contested. It lasted ten days; it was necessary to bring down every out- voter, and though won by Mr. Thomson by a con- siderable majority over ^Ir. Halcomb, the unsuc- cessful candidate, his exj;)enses amounted to at I i LIKK OF LORD SYDKNIIA^I. 17 least oOOO/. : and in a few days it was clear that lie would also have to defend his seat before a coirmiittee of the house against a petition. He had, hoAvever, succeeded in opening- for himself the door of the senate; he had obtained a footing at least on the arena which he was most anxious to tread, and for which he justly considered himself adapted ; and no doubt little regretted the sacriiices it had cost, lie took his seat on the 18th of November 18i26, Parliament being smnmoned at that unusual season for the purpose of passing the Indcnuiity ]3ill. Almost his first vote in the House of Commons showed the decided line he had already taken as an advocate of the freedom of trade and removal of unwise protecting duties. He divided on the IGth of ^[arch 1827, in the small minority of sixteen in favour of ]\[r. Hume's motion on the corn law, Avliich embodied, in fact, the principle of free trade in that staple commodity under a moderate fixed duty, — the very principle svhich at length has ob- tained the adhesion of the entire liberal party, but has not yet been adopted by the legislature, though little likely to be much longer refused. During the early part of this, as in the short pre- ceding session, Mr. Thomson remained an attentive listener to the debates ; but wisely took little part in them, contenting himself with studying the cha- racter of the assembly in which he had a seat, and forming his judgment as to the mode best adapted for acquiring an influence in its deliberations. He spoke, however, very briefly on one or two c 1827. 18 LIFK OF LOUD SYDENHAM. 1827. occasions, when tin opportunity ofTored itself for bringin*!^ to bear ii[)on the cpiestion before the house information of ii practical character, with which his mercantile station had made him acquainted. Thus, in the debate on the corn law, on the Gth of April, he spoke against a clause introduced by Mv. C. Grant into the Corn Bill then under dis- cussion, having for its object to enable the King in council to impose retaliatory duties on corn, the produce of such countries as imposed high duties on our manufactures. Mr. Thomson urged the mischievous effect on our trade with some countries, such as liussia, which would result from the oper- ation of this clause; and his ar;>,uments, being drawn from a practical acquaintance with the subject, obtained considerable attention in the house. The first occasion on which Mr. Thomson de- livered his sentiments at any length or with ap- parent preparation, ^vas in the debate raised by General Gascoignc on the state of the shipping interest, on the 7th of May. This discussion had been adjourned over the Easter recess on account of Mr. Huskisson's ill health ; and the same circum- stance might readily suggest to Mr. Thomson the desire to bring all the assistance in his power to the minister, of whose policy upon this and other economical questions he so thoroughly ajDproved. His speech, which was replete with facts, throwing a strong and convincing light upon the su1)ject, was ably delivered, and received with very general ap- probation from both sides of the house, as one of ii most own sp( to it in " The member nil extr letlge in the coui manner most fav On th( o])ser\^ati liiinientai Avards to wliich wj; gested to In the prudent the notice fovour of mates; ai Regulatio Messrs. I] brotlier w he liad bei obtaining anticipatiu pects. LIFE iW LOUD SYDKNr M. 19 If i'or house which lintccl. be Gth cd by )Y clis- Kiiig m, the duties 3d the mtrics, 3 oper- drawii iubject, rowing !Ct, Avas ral ap- one ut" ii most ])romisiiig nature. Mr. lliiskisson, in his own speech at a hiter period of the deljate, alhuh'd to it in tlie foUowing terms: — " 'I'lie debate lias afforded to iho honoui'able member for Dover an opportunity of manifesting ill! extraordinary degree of acuteness and know- ledge in respect to the commerce and navigaticm of the country, and of statinir his informjition in ii manner which nuist, I am sure, have made tlie most favourable impression on the house." On the 14th of Jinie, ]\Ir. Thomson made a few observations in favour of the vote by ballot in par- litiincntary elections, a proposal which he after- wards took many opportunities of supporting, and Avliich was on this occasion, for the first time, sug- gested to the house. In the ensuing session he pursued the same prudent course of but rarely obtruding himself on the notice of the house. He spoke once or twice in favour of reductions in the navy and army esti- mates ; and, in the discussion of the Passengers' Regulation Act, supported the views advocated by Messrs. Hume and Warburton. A letter to his brother written at this period may show the opinion he had been led to form on the reserve necessary for obtaining parliamentary success, and the modest anticipations entertained by him of his future pros- pects. 1827. c 2 20 I.IVV. OK LOKI) SVDKNIIAM. IS'.'S. " Lomlon, rcbniary 'JHfli, IH2S. " My (Icjir " Tliiiiiks lor your ('oii cjill my success iii pinTisnucnt. I wish it wd'c «4r('jit('r, but still, il' I iini lu'ruiiltcd lo proceed, I (rust I uisiy improve upon it. To tli(! justice of every one ol' your nmxiius I eiitii'ely sub- scribe. Tlie speech Avhich I m.'ide last year, which i>-aiiied me what little credit I huvt', is the best illustrjitiou of the principal one. ;\ mnu who tells the house fitrfa witli which the miijority are uiuic- (pmiuted, is sure to be listened to, and a, reputjition for doini;" so will procure him jittention upon other points on whieh he, i)erhaps, does not deserve it. r)Ut a parliamentary reputation is like a woman's. It must be exposed as little as ])ossible. And J am so sensible of this, that I Avould willingly abstain from openino- uiy mouth more than once or twice in a session. I have latterly been obliged to in- fringe this rule more than 1 wish, but it has only been in committees, which are parliamcntarily sa/is consvquoive. 1 hope to have one or two occasions for a splash, but 1 shall not go out of my Avay for them. This, to be sure, is all sad manoeuvring. But still, it is a means to being useful hereafter and therefore must be submitted to. " I rejoice at the tone of your letter. It would be absurd in me, Avho have taken so different a course, to sing the ' Beatus 'die'! l^ut now and then it occurs to me that some ten or fifteen years hence, when T am broken in health, in constitution, and in ;ilif. ;iiid ill Spirits, :iii(l disappointed in bntli rortnne ;iii(l iinihition, wliicli must Iisippen, I am aware, Ini' who lias not Ikumi? — I sliall envy your position, ji'id re^j^rot tlie useless waste of time, liealth, and Mioiiey of tlie pres(!nt djiy. liut 'rAr .sv/zv/, sftrtt.' " We lijid a trimHjth^ in which I Wiis sin unit, on iiesdiiy. TIk! ^rejiter, that it was wholly unex- |M'ct(!d, lor ministers had inside such exertions to hrin;^- np jdl their troops, tliiit a def'esit of I.ord ,l<»hn Itussell's motion* Wiis considered certain. Peel's opposition was iiiteHii!;il)le, jit least the motive (for tlu; reasons he ^jivc were C(!rtaiiily not so); hut some who jivow themselves friends of reli;i,ious liberty, were pitiful in their conduct. It will be delightful to see men avIkj act so disgracefully resip the just reward of their bjid deeds, for the dissenters will be in arms sigainst them, .and j)ay them off at the next election. God forl)id we should have one just now; but things look ominous. The King has, certainly, been very bad for some time, and those about him begin to jdlow that he is not immortal. God save him! for a general election would be a very ugly thing." On the 20th of !May he introduced a l)ill for the repeal of the Usury Laws, in a speech of great iibility, which made a strong impression upon the house, and the government expressing itself favour- able to the principle of the measure, leave was * For the repeal of the Test and Corporation Acts. c 3 21 / I S'«'H. 22 LIFE OF LOUD SYDENHAM. U '' 1S28. given to l)nng in tlie bill. "When, hoAvever, the seeond reiiding came on, it was found that the country gentlemen, who had always opposed any change in the Usury Laws, under the idea that they kept down the rate of interest on mortgages, evinced so strong a disposition to throw out the bill, that the Chancellor of the Exchecpier advised its withdrawal for that session, which was done. On the 18th of June, j\Ir. Thomson spoke and voted in a minority of twenty-four against a bill for limiting the circulation of Scotch and Irish bank notes ; and on the next day he defended Mr. Hus- kisson's measures for the improvement of the Na- vigation Laws, against the attacks of Mr. Ivobinson and General Gascoigne, and alluded, in terms of indii^'nation, to the scurrilous and mali^'nant treat- ment with which that wise statesman had l)een assailed by portions of the press and hired organs of the shipping interest. On the IGtli of July he divided the house on the question of reducing the duties on Indian silk goods to a minimum of 30 per cent.; and on the 11th and 17tli of the same month, he spoke against the retention of a nominal sinking fund. His votes throughout this session were given, of course, in support of the great principles of civil and religious liberty which he professed to advocate. His name appears in the majority of the 2()th of February, in favour of Lord John Kussell's motion for the i-epeal of the Test and Corporation Acts, by which that great step towards the triumpli of those LIFE OF LORD SYDENHAM. 23 pi'inciplcs was virtually gained ; in the scarcely loss famous minority of the 21st of March in favour of the disfranchisement of East Retford ; in the mi- nority of twenty-seven, on the 27th of April, for Mr. Hume's amendment of the Corn Laws ; and in tlie majority of the 12th of May, on Sir Francis IJurdett's motion in favour of the lioman Catholic claims. On the 14th of April of the next year, 1829, in the adjourned debate upon ^Ir. Tyler's motion for a com- mittee on the silk trade, ^Ir. Thomson delivered a speech of extraordinary power and ability, which, for its eifect upon the house, has been rarely equalled, certainly not by any speech made upon a topic of so dry and practical a question of economical policy. On its conclusion the speaker was cheered from every quarter, and several members even crossed the house to congratulate him on the success he had gained. On this occasion Mr. Thomson had the disadvantage of speaking after Mr. Huskisson, and liad, of course, been forestalled by him in the state- ment of the most material facts bearing upon the subject. Notwithstanding this, he brought to the discussion such an amount of information, of a novel and interesting character, relative to the details of the manufacture, the circumstances affect- ing it, and its actual and comparative condition, — his treatment of the question was so luminous, and he threw so withering a ridicule on those general declauncrs against free trade and " cold-hearted philosophy," avI >o, declaring an abhorrence of all c 4 ISL'f). 24 LIFE OF LOUD SYDENHAM. 1829. theories, tlieiiiselves theorised extravagantly, Init with a total ignorance of and disregard to facts^ — as not only to amuse the house with a dry subject, but to carry conviction to the minds of all who heard him without undue bias, and to produce an effect on the country most favourable to the general recognition of the wisdom of Mr. Huskisson's com- mercial policy.* The latter part of this speech is well worth re- produchig at the present period ; for the general arguments in favour of connnercial freedom have seldoii or con * *♦ Mr. Huskissoii had sagacity to perceive the cause of the inferiority of the British to the French and German silk manu- factures, and courage to undertake tlie introduction of a new system. This was accomplished in 1825, by reducing the duties on raw silk to a nearly nominal amount, and materially dimi- nishing those on thrown or organzined silk ; while at the same time the prohibition against the importation of foreign silks was repealed, and they were allowed to be entered in unlimited quantities for home consumption, on paying an import duty of iJO per cent, ad valorem. This change of system was violently opposed, and many predicted that it would occasion the ruin of the manufacture. But these sinister auguries have proved to be wholly fallacious. The measure, in fact, has been signally suc- cessful. The manufacturers, finding they could no longer de- pend on the wretched resource of custom-house regulations, put forth all their energies ; and having called the various resources of science and ingenuity to their aid, the manufacture has been more improved and extended during the dozen years ending with 1837, than it had been during the previous century. The imports of the raw material, and the exports of the manufac- tured article have rapidly increased. At present (1838) the entire value of the manufacture is supposed to exceed the im- mense sum of 1()..000,()()()/., and we export a considerable amount of silk goods, even to France herself." — M'CullocJis edition of Smith's Wealth of Nations, p. 201. LIFK OF LOUP SYDENIL\M. 25 soldoiii, if ever, been summed up in more eloquent 1829. or convincing phrases. (Muling Tlie aiiufac- 58) the tlic ini- (lerable ulloclis * " Sir, I have thus endeavoured, though, I fear, at much too great a length, to apply myself to the statements whicli liave been made ; I have endeavoured to show the absurd- ity of attributing the present distress to the operation of the law of 1826 ; I have endeavoured to point out the real causes of it. 1 have tried to prove the necessity of a re- duction of duty on the manufactured goods, to enable the fair trader to compete with the smuggler ; — on thrown silk, to enable the British weaver to compete with the French; and I trust that I have clearly shown, that these measures will be attended with no injury to the throwster. I should not trespass for another moment on the patience of the House, but for the very extraordinary assertions which the Honourable Member for Worcester has been pleased to make, on what he calls free trade. The Ho- nourable Gentleman is not content with having so clearly demonstrated all the evils which have arisen to the unfor- tunate silk trade from this little deviation from prohibition ; he is not satisfied with having so admirably illustrated his own love of exclusion, by showing, that under the influence of the unhappy law of 1826, we have raised the consump- tion of i iw silk in this country from 2,000,000 up to 1,000,000 lbs. ; he is not satisfied with proving that our weavers have nearly doubled in number, that our throw- ing-mills are half as many again ; that, in addition to all this, we have imported, as he says, manufactured silks to the amount of 1,500,000/., all which must have been paid for in the produce of British industry, and the employment of British capital ; he is not satisfied with all these evils ill the silk-trade, but the Honourable Gentleman passes an indiscriminate censure, — he vents all his wrath, — he pours out the phials of his indignation — on what he is pleased to call free trade. I really should feel obliged to the Honourable Gentlemen to tell me where he finds free 26 LIFE OF LOUD SYDENHAM. 182f). trade in this country? Alas! I search in vain through your Custoni-House hiws, and I can find no soh'tary in- stance of any article which is either produced or manufac- tured in this country, on which a very heavy duty is not exacted : — free trade, indeed ! why it is ludicrous to talk of it; and on the occasion too, when we are actually debating whether the duty on the article which forms the subject of to-night's discussion shall be 35 or 25 per cent! *'Iwish that the Honourable Gentleman were more cor- rect ; I wish, with all my heart, that we were nearer that monstrous consummation of free trade which he so much dreads ; but though I fear we are still far, far from it, I will grant the Honourable Gentleman that we have made a nearer approach to it ; and I contend, in answer to all his assertions, that in doing so we have conferred an essen- tial benefit, and an incontrovertible one, upon the country. The proof of it lies uj)on your own table, and there too lies the contradiction to the ruin so much talked of by the Honourable Member for Callington. I know of no stand- ard by which the increase or diminution of the wealth of any country can be estimated, except its power of con- sumption. If we find this increasing, its wealth must be also on the increase. If we find it diminishing, its pros- j)erity may be said to be on the wane. If, then, the posi- tion of the Honourable Gentleman be correct, if, since the adoption of these horrible measures by the legislature, the wealth of this country has fallen away, the eflTect must be clearly marked by the diminished power of all classes to consume. This is the test which I shall apply, and by It I wish the House to judge between the Honourable Gentle- man and myself. I have selected, to form this standard, the returns of the principal articles which enter into tlic greatest degree of consumption of all classes in this coun- try. I have taken them for the period of five years. If any of the regulations of the Custom-House have made a nearer approach to free trade, it is since the year 1825 that they have done so. I take, therefore, the two years previou year be the wa_) " An Has th( coiisum prosper contrary tliese a: cxtraorc is worth tlic incr — in cot tailow o tlic misc flcrn the and lam( oil the st " The which \n trade. ' the mos wliilst tl words, tl gument i sensible, nicnt of the Men tliey, ' tc tell us w modities reasoniui cliange, i regulatio the part giving av at least < LIFE OF LOUD SYDENHAM. previous, and the two years succeeding that year, and that year being a year of extreme specukition is taken out of the way. " And let me intreat tlie House to look at the result. Has there been any symptom of the diminished power of consumption which must have been the effect of waning prosperity ? Has there been no increase indicating a contrary effect ? Why, not in one, but in every one of these articles there has been the most rapid, the most extraordinary increase! — in sugar of 7 per cent., and this is worthy of remark, because the duty being the highest, tlie increase has been the least; — in coffee of 90 per cent. — in cotton of 31' per cent. — in flax of 65 per cent. — in tailow of 60 per cent. Here is ruin indeed ! These arc tlic mischiefs of the free trade system, introduced by mo- dern theorists and philosophers — these are the disastrous and lamentable consequences of the measures of those men oil the state of the productive industry of the country ! *' There yet remains, however, one more argument which has been urged by some of the opponents of free trade. They are the most dangerous, because they arc tlie most moderate, and the most specious; — because, whilst they grant the truth of the genei'al principle in words, they depart from it in spirit; — because their ar- gument is at once the most popular, the most apparently sensible, and yet the most fallacious, — I mean the argu- ment of the absence of reciprocity, brought forward by the Member for Kirkcudbright. ' We are friends,' say tliey, * to free trade, — we grant all the benefit which you tell us will arise from an unrestricted interchange of com- modities between dilFcrent nations, — we agree to all your reasoning ; but in order that there should be a free inter- change, it is necessary that the removal of our restrictive regulations should be met by corresponding measures on the part of other nations. If this be not the case, we are giving away the advantage which we possess of suppl3'ing at least ourselves with our own productions, — we throw 27 182.9. 28 LIFE OF LORD SYDENHAM. 1829- open our ports to receive the produce of the industry of foreign countries, whilst they shut their gates to ours : tuul we destroy our national industry in those articles, in the production of which foreigners excel us, without their becoming, in their turn, customers for ours.' The fallacy of such reasoning lies in this — these gentlemen misunder- stand the nature of trade. In order to buy, we must also sell. We may open our ports to the silks and wines of France, to the corn of Germany and Russia, to the drugs of Asia and of India, but we can get no pound's worth of any commodity without giving in return a pound's worth of our own productions. Our manufacturers will give away nothing ; they will not send their goods to foreign ports without getting an equivalent in return ; and I will venture to say that the producers of foreign com- modities, of French silks, and German cloths, with which, according to the statement of these gentlemen, this country has been and will be overwhelmed, are as little likely to make a present to the British consumer of their hardly- worked produce without taking in return the staple articles of British produce. Foreign nations may, as we have seen, and as we are told, be inclined to meet our liberal policy by tightening still more their restrictive system. The effect can only be the prevention of their own export trade, the curtailment of their own commerce, and the suffering of their own people. If by some magic wand the nations of the continent could suddenly surround their dominions with the wall of brass fabled by Bishop Berkeley, — if they could effectually exclude every article of British produce, whilst their ports opened to permit the free egress of all their own, — not a vessel of theirs could find its way to our shores ; or, if it did, its cargo must be made a present of to our people. They would deprive their own subjects of the benefit of mutual interchange, — they would deprive us likewise of it, but they could do no more : — they would imp'overisli and ruin their own country ; — they would injure us in a less degree; — they LIFE OF LORD SYDENHAM. 20 would reduce us to what I consider an unhappy condition, l)ut wliicli the Honoura])lc Member for Coventry, and - tliose who tliink with liini, have described as a happy and a prosperous state, — the necessity of producing witliin ourselves all that we stand in need of. But, thank God ! it is not in the power of governments to carry into effect so desolating, — so pernicious a principle. There is, in economical, as in political affairs, a point beyond which it is not possible to go, — a point at which legislation be- comes ineffectual, and power powerless. Governments may enact laws, but mankind will successfully resist them. Thus it it is with these attempts. The smuggler becomes in such a case the corrector of faulty legislation, and the friend and the defender of mankind. Under his exertions the Acts of the Legislature become void, and the laws of your ports and your custom-houses are dead letters. Do we want the experience of mankind to illustrate the truth of this great principle ? You have it within your own times. The man whose power was never surpassed in modern, and scarcely equalled in ancient times, — he whose career of victory the bounds of Europe could scarce restrain, — whose word was a law, — in vain attempted to counteract this great principle. Buonaparte, when, at the height of his power, he fulminated his decrees from the palace of the Duomo of Milan, which was to annihilate his only rival, thought but little that his orders could be contested, or his will disputed. And yet, what was the result? He, whose armies successively occupied every capital of Europe, — who made and unmade Kings with a breath, — was set at nought by the lowest of his subjects. The smuggler bearded him in the streets of his capital, and set his power at defiance in his own ports and cities. The goods, which he refused to admit, found their way through the Frozen Ocean into the heart of France. I speak from personal knowledge when I say, that an unin- terrupted line of communication was established between Archangel and Paris ; and goods, even the bulky articles 1829. 80 LIFE OF LORD SYDENHAM. 182f). of sugar, cofTcc, and manufactures, were conveyed witli as — much ease and safety, tliougli at a proportionally increased cost, as from London to Havre. Insurances were then as currently effected at Brody and at Leipsic as at Lloyd's or at New York. ** But need we go further than the very trade before us for an illustration of what I say ? Do Gentlemen, who make no difficulty respecting the importation of raw silk (whatever they may think of thrown), know that most of the States of Italy rigidly exclude all our manufactures' from their ports ; and yet we take from them annually the value of ^,000,000/. sterling ? How do we pay for it then ? Their custom-houses are shut to our produce, and the objects of our industry are as strictly prohibited as the works of Voltaire or of Gibbon. I have had the curiosity to endeavour to trace this, and what will the House think of the result ? Upon a careful examination of the bills which are drawn from Italy in payment of this silk, by several houses in the trade, 1 find at least three-fourths of them remittances from Austria and the German States, which have been made to Manchester and Glasgow for British manufacture. It is hopeless, then, for any nation to attempt to exclude the productions of another. They may injure their own subjects by enhancing the price, but exclude they cannot. But the advantage to a country in first adopting the principle of freedom of trade is not merely relative, but positive. Under a system of restric- tion with us, other nations may make and uphold corre- sponding restrictions ; but if we set the example of free intercourse, they may make, but I defy them to uphold them. They may struggle for a time to comply with the wishes of the ignorant and interested producers in their own country, but they cannot do so long. The ruin of their own trade, — the destruction of the property of all those who are not immediately interested in the mono- poly, — the outcry of the whole mass of consumers, will drive them into a better and wiser course. If we wait t( till the) if we gi the serv " Wl No one policy v^ tinue people ; refer to I think system, Honour throwste is quote( worthy petitionc say, * at facture c ilourishci case Stan because own, — I race of c I think 1 course fc tition in lament il try canni because fraught without I will nc cottons taking i does this What d who fin( LII-I': OF LORD SYDENIIA^r. 31 till tliey grant reciprocity, \vc arc the slaves of their will ; if we give free aclinission to their produce, they become the servants of ours. " What is the case with France at the present moment ? No one can more deeply regret than I do the illiberal policy which guides, and, I fear, for some time must con- tinue to guide, the commercial councils of that great people ; and I speak in sorrow, not in anger, when I refer to it. But I am induced to do so, not only because I think it a happy illustration of the errors of such a system, but because I find, if not in the speeches of Honourable Gentlemen, at least in the petitions of the silk- throwsters, especially that from Macclesfield, her example is quoted, and her conduct held up as wise and just, and worthy of imitation by us. ' She continues,' say the petitioners, • wisely her prohibitive laws. Look,' they say, ' at France : under her wise regulations her manu- facture of cotton has increased tenfold, her industry has flourished, her prosperity has augmented.' How does the case stand ? I refer to it with deep regret, — I lament it, because I consider her interests as identified with our own, — because I think that we have run too long the race of competition in the arts of destruction ; — because I think that the time is come, when we should run that course for which nature intended us — the race of compe- tition in industry, in wealth, and in civilisation ; — I lament it, because, from my soul, I believe that one coun- try cannot improve without benefiting her neighbour, — because I feel sure that no gale can pass over France, fraught with wealth, with prosperity, or with happiness, without bearing a portion of those blessings to Britain. I will not speak of her cotton mills — she may raise printed cottons at a dear rate — she may raise iron, instead of taking it from us, at double the cost ; but what effect does this have upon the general industry of the country ? What do those classes of producers say to this system, who find that there is no longer any demand for their 1829. 32 Lino OV LOKl) SYDENHAM. 1829. pvoduco ? Arc thoy satisfied? Do tlicy find tlint otlicr nations can bny their produce of tiieni, when France refuses to take any tlunj^- in return ? Are tliey not, with one voice, besieointi;' tlie doors of the Clianihers to induce them to return to a system less ruinous to their interests? It is a case so comi)letely in point, tliat I cannot helj) referring to it. What is the situation of the wine- growers, — an interest five times as great as any otlier witliin tlie French ch)minions, emph)ying ij,()0(),(){)() of people, and a capital ten times greater tlian any other iu France ? Listen to tlieir hmguage : tlius it is tliey achhvss the Chamber: — ' What,' say thev, ' is the basis of the proliibitive system ? A chimera. To sell without buying. A secret still to be discovered ! If we shut our ports to the productions of other countries, it is good, at least, to know that theirs must be shut on our industry : this kind of reciprocity is inevitable — it is in the nature of things; and what arc the results ? The destruction of the power of interchange, the destruction of all emulation, the obtaining of a worse article at a dearer cost.' And how is this statement supported ? By a document showing that the decrease in the export of wines from Bordeaux and other places has been from 10,000 to 30,000 hogs- heads. They must follow our example. It is no more in the power of governments to uphold for long, than it is for the interests of nations to suiTer, such a system. " I am no rash theorist, — I am not desirous of carrying a favourite principle into operation at the expense of existing interests ; but I maintain that your only course is a gradual, a progressive, but a steady approach to a free system ; and I maintain, without fear of contradiction, that the very essence of manufacturing and commercial industry, is freedom from legislative interference and le- gislative protection. Attempt to assist its course by pro- tective enactments, by fostering care, — you arrest its progress, you destroy its vigour. Unbind the shackles in which your unwise tenderness has confined it, — permit it J.IFIO OK J-Olil) SVDKNIIAM. ;]3 the how wing leaux logs- luore ill it is [Tying ise of lo take unrcstraiiR'd its own course, — expose it to tlie wholesome hree/es of coin|)i'tition, yon give it new life, yon restore its former vigour. Industry lias hccn well likened, in my oj)inion, to the hardy alpine jdant: self- sown on the mountain side, exposed to the inclemency of the seasons, it gatiiers strength in its struggles for ex- istence, it siioots forth in vigour and in beauty. Traiis- pl.iiiled to the rich soil of the parti'rre, — tended hy the fostering hand of the gardener, — nursed in tlie artificial almosphere of the forcing-glass, it grows sickly and en- ervated — its shoots are vigourless, its (lowers inodorous. In one single word lies the soul of industry — competition. The answer of the statesman and the eccmomist to his Sovereign, inciuiring what he could do to assist the in- dustry of his kingdom, was — " Let it take its own course." Such is my prayer. Relieve us from the chains in which your indiscreet tenderness has shackled us — remove your oppressive protection — give us the lair liekl we ask, and we demand no more. The talent, the genius, the enter- j)rise, the capital, the industry of tin's great people will do the rest; and England will not only retain, but showbill take a yet more forward place in the race of competition for wealth and improvement, which, by the nature of tilings, she is destined to run amongst the naticms of the world. Place us in that condition is our prayer — not by any violent change, but by slow and easy transition. Here we shall find security for our enterprise and reward for our labours — Ilic piitct ingcniis campus : ccrtuscjue mcrenti Stat favor : ornatiir propriis industria donis. " For these reasons, Sir, I shall give my decided oppo- sition to the motion of the Honourable Member for Co- ventry, and my earnest, though I fear feeble support to the amendment of my Right Honourable Friend." It may appear to some to have savoured of bold- ness, if not of presumption, in so young a member D 1 8'>'f). 84 LIFIO OK LOUD SVDKNIIAM. iS'jf). SIS y\\'. Tlioiiisoii, to liiiv(^ sck't'tcd Ibr iiis first and iriost stiulicd I'tlorts of I'jii'liiiiiu'iitury display, tli(! pivt'isc (|iK'sti(His on wliicli Mi*. JIuskissoii wjis iiatui'ally expected to make liis iikjsI hrillijint si)eeelies, since tlie entire merit of his system of |)olicy was oil its trial in the two aron He wa circle i liope t and p j>itoL) of the In ai on one up to t confinii topics, coercioi tion of had bee letter cc do what considei cxposin< of the ] motion ^ of the f asked fo by the I and the in SAvelli ting so s On th \i LIFE OF LOUD SYDENHAM. 37 to remove the restrictions of international commerce, such as M. D'Amisson, the Messieurs Delessert, IWon Louis, M. de Broghe, M. cle St. Aulaire, &c. He was admitted frequently to the amiable family circle of the Duke of Orleans, and entertained tlic hope that all the weight of that Prince's influence and power (which has since reached so high a [)itoL) iv^ould be employed in furthering the advance of the same liberal policy. In an early part of the next session Mr. Thomson on one occasion overstepped the limits he appears u]) to that time to liave laid down for himself of confining his speeches to financial or commercial topics, and brought before the House the alleged coercion of the voters of Newark at the recent elec- tion of Mr. Sadler by the Duke of Newcastle, which had been defended by that nobleman in a published letter containing the celebrated phrase, " may 1 not do what I choose with my OAvn?" This he justly considered to afford a favourable opportianty for exposing to public censure one of the worst abuses of the nomination system ; and in this object the motion was eminently successful : even the members of the government, while opposing the committee asked for, appeared to reprobate the system adopted by the Duke, and the sentiments attributed to him; and the debate had undoubtedly considerable effect in swelling the current of popidar feeling then set- ting so strongly towards Parliamentaiy Reform. On the 25th ^larch Mr. Thomson brought before D 3 1830. ;J8 UVE OK LOKl) SVDKNIIAlNr. 1830. the House a motion to a committee on tlie general taxation of the empire, in a speed i of remarkable ability, in which he passed in review the wholi; system of our fiscal policy, and showed how in- consistent it was in almost every particular with ti'ue principles, and even with common sense, lie argued that the pressure of taxatitm did not depend so nuicli on its amount as on its incidence^ or the manner in which it is taken from the pockets of the people. He showed to how great an extent many taxes on tlic raw materials of our industry checked connnerce and tlie creation of wealth, and thus not only impoverished the [)eople, but di- muushed the fund out of wliich taxes nnist be j)aid, to an extent iniinitely exceeding the pro- duce of the taxes themselves. He proved that many taxes were levied in a vexatious, harassing, and awkward manner, causing a far greater loss to the consumer, who ultimately paid the tax, than its mere amount. He contended that other taxes Averc too higli, and consumption thereby checked to a dearee from Avhich the revenue itself suffered, and proved by a long juTay of facts that a reduction of duty in many histances might be expected to improve rather tlian diminish the revenue, besides affording innnense relief to the consumer. He asked for a connnittee to consider the subject, the Finance Committee of the preceding }'ear having been confined to tlie expenditiu'e of the country, Avhile it was equally expedient to LIFH OF l.OJiJ) SYDENHAM. review delilierately and to revise tlic inejins from which its income was derived.* The motion of Mr. Tliomsoii was supported in the subsequent debate by Lord Althorp and Sir H. Parnell, as well as by Mr. lluskisson and Lord rabnerston, wlio chanieterised the speech of the mover as a masterly ex[)osition of the mode of levying the taxes. The Chnncellor of the Ex- chequer concurred in the principles tlierein laid down ; but Mr. Peel resisted tlie motion as one for transferring the functions of the Chancellor of the ]'2xche(|uer to a Committee of the House of Commons ; and the motion, though supported by the great body of the Whig party, Avas of course lost on a division. The seeds, however, were thus sown of an im- proved system of taxation. Li Mr. Thomson's speech are to be found the germs of nearly all the beneficial reductions of taxes, and improvements in the mode of their levy, which were introduced diu'ing the subsequent administration, in which he himself managed the department of the Board of Trade, and Lord Althorp the Exchequer. Through the remainder of the session Mr. Thomson continued to urge on the government a more economical administration of the national resources. He brought forward, or spoivc in favour of, the reduction of the stamps on newspapers, of the duties on Foreign lead, on sea-borne coals, and 1 8.S0. * Sec Appendix. D 4 40 LIFE OF LORD SYDENHAM. 1830. on sugar; and took an active part in tlic several debates on questions relating to the reduction (jf public expenditure, which characterised that session. He served also in the Committee on ihe East India Charter, taking a very diligent share in that im- portant investigation. Upon the dissolution of Parliament, owing to the death of the King, and the accession of AVilliam lY., Mr. Thomson had again to contest his seat for Dover with his former opponent, ^Ir. Hidcomb. The expenses of these frecpient contests were dispiriting, and appear to have led him to think seriously of retiring from Parliament. But his friends were now convinced that the path he had selected for himself was one in which he was well qualified to shine, and they dissuaded him from abandoning it. The interval betAveen the general election in Auffust and the meeting' of the new Parliament at the end of October, was passed by Mr. Thomson in Paris, where events of such extraordinary interest and importance had so recently occurred. During this absence from England tne death of Mr. Hus- kisson having caused a vacancy in the representa- tion of Liverpool, some of the party by wdiich that statesman had been returned, turned their attention to Mr. Thomson, as among public men the best fitted to be his successor. It was, however, found that the personal friends of Mr. Ewart, as resident on the spot, had began so eai^ly and active a canvass, as to make the attempt hazardous, and it was de- sisted from. LIFE OF LORD SYDENHAM. 41 When the division on Sir H. Parneirs motion for inquiry into the Civil List caused the resigna- tion of the Duke of Wellington, and Earl Grey was intrusted by the sovereign with the formation of a new administration, the office of Vice-President of tlie Board of Trade, with the Treasurership of the Xavy, was proposed to Mr. Thomson, and accepted by him. By this time, indeed, he had established for him- self a reputation of no common order. The part lie had taken in the debates of the House, and in the proceedings of its committees, on questions connected with commerce and finance, had proved hiin to possess not only a clear practical acquaint- ance with the details of these subjects, but also principles of an enlarged and liberal character, and powers of generalisation and a comprehensiveness of view, rarely found combined with the former qualities in the same individuid. The loss of Mr. Huskisson liad been severely felt by the public, and especially by those who looked for the further extension of those cidightened principles he had begun to intro- duce into our commercial legislation; and in Mr. Poulett Thomson they thought they saAv (and his further career justified the expectation) one imbued Avith the same enlarged views and liberal principles, with natural sagacity, energy, activity, and habits of business, fully equal to those possessed by Mr. Huskisson, together with an intimate knowledge of connnercial concerns, acquired from op[)ortuiiities of practical insight and Ibreign travel, advantages 1830. 1 I I 42 LIFE OV LOUD JSYJJENllAiM. 1831. which that statesman had never possessed. Added to which there were indications of a firmness and detcrminiition of character, coupled with tact and discretion, the want of which in Mr. Huskisson was perhaps more injurious to his successful career than any of the external circumstances he had to contend against. It was natural, therefore, that in the new ar- rangements Mr. Poulett Thomson's aid should have been called for ; to Lord Althorp, perhaps, chiefly belongs the merit of that just appreciation of Mr. Thomson's abilities and powers of usefulness which secured his valuable services to the public at this critical period. There could be little hesitation as to the department of the government for which he was peculiarly qualified : and his conduct at the Board of Trade for nine years proved the soundness of the judgment then displayed. This appointment rendered it necessary for Mr. Thomson to withdraw from the commerciDl firm with which he was connected, in the business of whicli he had continued to take an active share, even Avhile devoting by far the largest portion of his time to parliamentary labours. A dissolution of partnership accordingly took place in November, and he Avas once more reelected for Dover, this time without a contest. Mr. Poulett Thomson had now attained a position which enabled him to introduce into practice those improvements in the fiscal policy of the government whicli he had advocated while out of oflice ; and to LIFE OF LOUD 8YI)Ei\lIAiM. this task he applied himself "with that remarkable diligence and perseverance which distinguished his character. One of the first steps taken by him, immediately on his attaining office, was the revival of the office of Inspector-General of Imports and Exports, which lirtd been abolished for the sake of a petty economy two years before ; a change of great value to all statistical investigations; and, indeed, essential to a clear and correct understanding of the financial and commerciid position of the country, upon which our system of legislation and taxation is professedly based. He took the earliest possible opportunity to cany into eifect a reduction of the duty on barilla, by which the manufacture of soap was impeded, and its cost greatly enhanced to the consumer, for the supposed object of bolstering up the kelp fishery of the North corst of Scotland, though that branch of industry, which had grown up during the war, when foreign alkalies were almost inaccessible, had no chance whatever of prolonging its existence under any circumstances, the progress of chemistry having superseded the weak alkali made from kelp, by a far stronger one manufactured from salt. The Scotch landlords, however, could not be persuaded that their own product should not still be protected from every other competing article, and Mr. Thomson had very early in the session to resist repeated attacks from this quarter, Avhich were countenanced far more than could well be 1831. I I I 44 LIFE OF LOKD SYDENHAM. 18.^ justified by some of the members of the preceding,' government, {dthougli, in fact, a similar measure to that introduced by Mr. Thomson had been pre- pared by themselves before they left office. When Lord Althorp, as Chancellor of the Ex- clicquer, brought forward his Budget, on the 11th of February, it was very generally supposed (and perhaps not without good grounds for the belief, from the well-known confidence entertained in him hy that high-minded and amiable nobleman) that Mr. Thomson was the author and adviser of some of the principal features of the scheme. And when it turned out that two of the proposals introduced into it, the tax on the transfer of stock and the timber duties, were such as the House of Commons would not sanction, the discredit attached to these unlucky portions of the budget was currently thrown on the shoulders of Mr. Thomson, who had inherited from Mi\ Huskisson, together with his official duties and the task of advocating free trade principles, all tlie hatred and malice of those immerous and loud-tongucd parties among the press and the jmblic, Avho considered every removal of a restriction on commerce as a blow aimed directly at their mono- polies, and resented it as a robbery. The fact, however, we believe to be that for the first of these suggestions, viz. the tax of one half per cent, on the transfer of stock in the funds, he was in no degree responsible, and on the contrary had remon- strated against it. It was otherwise with the im- portant mutation })ro|)osed 1)y Lord Althorp in the LIFE OF LUKD SYDENHAM. 45 mnouiit and mode of collection of the duties on timber, — a proposal which, it was shown on calcula- tions never smce impugned, would, if carried into effect, have improved the revenue by a sum of (»00,000/., (to which extent other taxes were to be remitted) while the consumer would at the same time be greatly benefited by obtaining a better article for his money. The change was successfully opposed by a combination of class interests with tlie party which had been just driven .jm office. The shipowners and colonial interests, uniting with the lando^vTiers, the silk and glove traders, and all others who dreaded the approach of princi[)lcs of free competition in their own cases, proved too strong for even the Reform Ministry, — even for Lord Althorp's influence, — and on a division on the 18th of March the timber duties were lost by a majority of 236 to 100. The justification of the proposal then made is to be found in its repro- duction ten years later, by Mr. F. Baring, in his Budget of 1841. And though even then the same failure attended it as on the previous occasion, from a similar combination of the anti-commercial classes, but especially through the resistance of the powerful agricultural party to the proposed change in the Corn Laws by which it was accompanied, yet the mibiassed opinion of future financiers and of intel- ligent and well-informed persons in general, may not improbably give the palm to this proposed ar- rangement of the wood duties to that which was in its stead carried into effect by Sir Bobert Peel in 1831 46 LIFE OF LORD SYDENHAM. IS.'Jl. 1842, and by wliicli a sum of 600,000/. is anti- ■ cipated to be lost, instead of being gained, (niakiiin- a calculated difference to the revenue of 1,200,000/. between the two arrangements,) whilst as far as can he hitherto seen, the consumer will benefit in no proportionate degree. Mr. Poulett Thomson took little part in the ani- mated debates of this or the succeeding session, on the great question of the Reform Bill. He had ample employment in the preparation, production, and defence of measures of financial and fiscal policy. He felt, notwithstanding, the deepest in- terest in the progress of thut question, and the con- fidential terms upon which he lived with the leading framers of the measure, especially with Lord Althorp and Lord Durham, gave him many opportunities to impress upon them his strong convictions on the subject. Again in the exciting events of the next year, when at one moment the fate of the monarchy appeared to tremble in the balance, the advice and remonstrances of Mr. Thomson were, it is well known, not wanting with his more prominent col- leagues to support them in that course of bold and determined policy, which proved ultimately suc- cessful in rescuing the country from the extra- ordinary difficulties of that trying occasion. Among other useful measures to which at this time he devoted his attention, was the improvement of the mode of keeping the public accounts, by the commission appointed for the purpose in this year, of which Sir Henry Parnell was chairman, and Dr. view are LIFE OF LORD SYDENHAM. 47 L the next ircliy e and well col- and suc- vtra- Ijowring secretary. To the labours of tliis commis- sion Mr. Thomson brought the most valuable as- sistance, and succeeded at length in forcing upon our [)n1)iic offices the mercantile system of double entry, and the general princijdes of a sound accountancy. On the occurrence of the dissolution in April 1831, lie was once more elected for Dover, though as ususil at the expense of a contest. The business of his office, and the preparation of ncAv fiscal measures, occu[)ied liis entire attention during the interval before the as- sembling of the new Parliament in June ; and amongst other matters on which he was thus engaged were the sanitary precautions to be adopted to meet the tlu'catcning scourge of the cholera morbus, which at that period had commenced its invasion of our coasts. In November Mr. Poulett Thomson went to l*aris, where, in conjunction with Lord Durham, he set on foot the preliminary negotiations Avith a view to a new commercial treaty with France. A joint commission was named by the two Governments to discuss the commercial relations between their respective countries, consisting of Mr. George Vil- liers, (now the Earl of Clarendon) and Dr. Bowring on one side, and Messrs. Freville and Duchatel on tlie other. The instructions drawn up by j\Ir. Thomson for the guidance of the British Com- missioners is an able document, in which the state of the question and the considerations to be had in view are most perspicuously set forth.* 1831, * See Dr. Bowring's Report, 18.'54. 4a LII'R OF LUltl) .SVDKNIIAM. 18.32. Thu lalKHirs of this commission, whicli was rc- iicwod and contiiuicd at intervals up to 1835, were not without fruit, tliou«»li tlie intc'ri'stcdo])positioii of particular interests, Avliich happen unfortiuiately to 1h) strongly represented in the Freneh Chambers, has prevented even up to the present hour the definitive arrangement of any general treaty to regulate the ctanmereial intercourse of the two countries. A vast mass of statistical facts were collected for the enlightenment of both governments. Sound principles of international commerce were established and assented to by both parties as the basis of all future ari'angements ; nor have the labours of the commission been devoid of practical results. It has been called an abortion ; but when constituted, the exports of British manufactures to France did not amount to half a million sterling. In consequence of the changes introduced, though of a very minor character compared to what still remains to be effected, the exports were quadruj^led. They amounted in 1840 to more than two millions.* * The principai modifications obtained by the commissioners in the tariff" of France were — Tiie admission of jotton twist of the higher numbers ; The lowering of the duties on English tin ; The removal of the prohibition on the export of French raw silk ; The lowering of the tonnage on English vessels to one-thin! of its previous amount ; The diminution of the duty on coals. The foundation was also laid of the Post Office arrangements since carried into effect between the two countries ; and the first severe shock was given to the prohibitory system in F^-ance, of LIFK OF LOHD SYDKNHAM. In the ensuing session ^fr. Thoinson had to defi'iid oil several occasions tlie alteration in the wine duties, u'liich formed a part of Lord Althorp's iinancial scheme, lie also experienced the most obstinate and continued resistance from the West India interest to the continuance of the Act by which foreign sugars were admitted to be refined in tliis countiy, — a permission by Avhich Hnoland obtains n very valuable carrying trade, and is made the entrepot of much international commerce. In the same manner he had to contend in the next year against repeated motions for continuing exorbitant duties on foreign gloves and silks ; and to defend the policy of Mr. Huskisson's alterations in the navigation laws against the inveterate and persevering hostility of Mr. Robinson, the member for Worcester, and other supporters of the resti'ic- tive system. He moved for and presided over a committee to inquire into the state of the silk trade ; and the Report subsequently drawn up by the committee as the result of their inquiry at length set at rest for ever that long-disputed question, by proving that the abolition of the protective duties, which were declared so essential to the trade, had been pro- ductive of the most remarkable improvement in its condition and prospects. 49 I S.12. which both countries cannot fail before long to reap tlie full benefit in a free and unrestricted exchange of their surplus productions. E 50 LIFE OF LORD SYDENHAM. 1832. He likcAvisc introduced and carried through Par- liament in the session of 1832, a very large alter- ation and consolidation of the Customs Duties, or Tariff. In the summer of this year, Mr. Thomson was called upon for an exertion of moral courage, whicli in many persons in a similar position would have been found wanting. An action was brought against him in the Court of King's Bench by a person of the name of Bushell, an outvoter of Dover, for the amount of expenses falsely alleged to have been incurred by him on Mr. Thomson's account, in the last Dover election. He deter- mined to resist this imposition at all risks, and they will be believed to have been considerable, by those who remember the bitter and malicious spirit in which he and other members of the aaministra- tion were continually assailed by the opposition press, and the eagerness with which every circum- stance in their private conduct which could be laid hold of was tortured into a ground for the most odious and blackening charges against them. The result of his firmness on this occasion afforded u proof that it is far wiser to meet attacks of this kind with boldness and determination, than to yield to them in any degree, from the desire to avoid being brought before the public in a manner which may be open to misconstruction. His Journal ex- presses his gratification at the result of the trial. " 14th July. — A. came from the city to say tliat the cause with Bushell was decided. I have come oil' Avith fl of cour stop2)ec clared i carries to Scar] and to '. A. says John A^ this eve thing cc ceedinffi has mad now rar best CO! days ag( rccommc And yet case of t has cert{ not forof five tales bridge ^^ The ex lie busini liis healtl morn in ir. House, oi more tha successful His Joi LIFE or LORD SYDENHAM. 51 with flying colours. His own witnesses put him out )S32. of court. Scarlett did not call any for ine, and the jury stopped the judge as he Avas going to sum up, and de- clared themselves satisfied. The verdict, of course, carries costs, and is most honourable. I am obliged to Scarlett, who is said to have exerted himself much, and to have spoken of me in flattering terms. This, A. says, Campbell, who led for Bushell, did too. John Williams, whom I met at Tunbridge AVells this evening, was in court, and declares that no- thing could be more satisfactory than all the pro- ceedings. I own I am much pleased. The result has made me feel an emotion, a neiv one, which is now rare. How little are the opinions of even the best counsel to be depended on ! Scarlett, two days ago, was very unfavourable to the cause, and recommended a reference in the strongest terms. And yet to-day he wrote to A., in court, that the case of the plaintiff* was the weakest possible. He has certainly been very friendly to me, and I must not forget it. The jury were seven special and live talesmen. I left town at three o'clock for Tiui- bridge Wells." The excessive application of Mr. Thomson to pub- lic business during this session materially aff'ected his health. Attendance on some committees in the morning, his office, and the night passed in the House, often till tw^o or three in the morning, was more than any constitution could bear, any energy successfully contend with. His Journal, Avhich from about this ])eriod was E 2 52 LIFE OF LORD SYDENHAM. 1832. kept with tolerable regularity, contains occasionally such entries as the following : — " August 28th, Saturday. — A week of the hardest possible labour. I have not returned from the House any day till three o'clock; on AVednesday not till four. It is impossible to stand this ! I find my body quite exhausted, and my mind equally worn out. All this week I have alternated between the bank and silk committees, and then the House. On Wednesday I carried my bill (the Customs Duties) through the connnittee: was at it from five till two in the morning, nine mortal hours !....! passed my bill to-day, thank God ! " At the close of the session, Mr. Thomson made a tour of a couple of months through the manu- facturing districts of Derbyshire, Lancashire, and the west of Scotland, visiting many of the principal factories and establishments, as well as Liverpool and Glasgow, and returning south by Edinburgh and the north road. He had been some time pre- viously requested by a deputation from Manchester, to offer himself as the representative of that borough, in the approaching general election under the Reform Act. But, unwilling to give up the time necessary for canvassing so extensive a constituency, he had declined the proposal. Upon being further urged, he expressed his Avillingness to sit for Manchester, if elected, but refused to take any steps to obtain the seat, and dechired himself a candidate once more for Dover. On his visit to Manchester in August, he met Avith so friendly and i Iiavir towai Jie h{ rated of his profes come cumst alter t went niittee tentior declan withou howev( every for hii judged too hig or ever well-kn former AFhei Poulett at the h( thence, Mancheii elected ill liis a LIFE OF LORD SYDENHAM. 53 and flattering a reception, that he began to regret having put it out of his power to take any steps towards obtaining an honour, the value of which he had never underrated, but which he had over- rated the difficulty of securing. In consequence of his former refusal, another gentleman, Mr. Loyd, professing nearly the same political principles, had come forward as a candidate ; and under these cir- cumstances, it was too late for Mr. Thomson to alter the determination he had avowed. He even went the length of authorising Mr. Loyd's com- mittee to publish a denial on his part of any in- tention to olFer himself for Manchester, and a declaration that he had been posted as a candidate without his authority. His enthusiastic admirers, however, would take no denial, and in spite of cvcrv thing, persisted in canvassing the borough for him; and the result proved that they had judged correctly of their fellow- citizens, who were too high-principled to require a personal canvass, or even an address, from a statesman sufficiently well-known to them by his pul)lic character and former parliamentary conduct. When, at length, the general election came on, Mr. Poulett Thomson attended at Dover, and was returned at the head of the poll. On arriving in London from tlience, he was met by an express forwarded from Manchester, announcing that he had likewise been I'lected for that place by a large majority, and this in his absence, without having solicited a vote or E 3 1832. i1 54 LIFE OF LORD SYDENHAM. 1832. issued an address, nay, without having even given any sanction to his nomination ! This was, indeed, an honour of which he might justly feel proud. Unconnected by business or residence with the district, unkno^vn to the electors personally, kno^vn only to them by his public cha- racter and parliamentary conduct, he had been spontaneously selected as one of their represent- atives in Parliament, upon the first occasion of their exercising the franchise conferred by the Re- form Act, by the constituency of the most important seat of manufacturing industry in the empire. In- stances of such elections, it is said, occasionally occur in France. But in the history of parlia- mentary elections in England, such a mode of selecting a representative, so honourable to both parties, the constituency and the object of their choice, was, we believe, wholly unprecedented. To Mr. Poulett Thomson, the honour thus con- ferred was, from many circumstances, peculiarly gratifying. He had earned it by his own exertions, unaided by rank, station, or influence, without a pledge, without even a promise, beyond that which his past conduct held out. It confirmed, by the unquestionable seal of public approbation, the high opinion that had been formed of him by his friends now in oflice. It amply justified their recent se- lection of him as a colleague. It moreover proved the truth of wliat they had always maintained t]i rough the struggle for reform, as to the worthi- ness of the constituency which their measure LIFE OF LORD SYDENHAM. 55 created; while, at the same time, it imparted to them a new element of moral strength, in the un- solicited support and adhesion of a community capable of making so noble an use of its newly acquired franchises. It was impossible for Mr. Poulett Thomson to hesitate in the choice he had now to make of sitting either for Dover or Manchester. Though he had formed many attached friends in the former place, and could not but feel regret at the dissolution of his connection with them, yet the borough had been too deeply imbued with the vices of the old system of election, not to be always a source of very great trouble and expense to its representative. And, under any circumstances, the representation of Manchester, by far the most important manufac- turing constituency in the kingdom, was a station not to be refused ; a position which would neces- sarily give him an increase of weight and influence, both in the councils of the government and in the House of Commons, of the highest importance to the efficiency of his exertions in the public service. These were motives to which every other consider- ation must yield. And accordingly, in pursuance of them, Mr. Poulett Thomson issued without delay a farewell address to the electors of Dover, and started for Manchester, where preparations were making on a scale of extraordinary magnificence for a public entertainment to the new members. This took place on the 27th December in the theatre, the whole interior of which had been fitted E 4 1832. 56 LIFE OF LOHD SYDENHAM. 18.S2. Up with great splendour, unci was occupied by an assembly of more than eleven hundred persons, comprising a large portion of the wealth, respecta- bility and talent of the town and immediate neigh- bourhood, Mr. B. Heywood, the late member for the county, being in the chair. Mr. Thomson's speech to this assembly was wor- thy of the occasion which called it forth, and may be read with deep interest even yet. Already there had appeared signs of something like differ- ence among the members of the party by which the great measure of the Reform Act had been carried. The Avord finality had been spoken at Lancaster by Lord Stanley. It had naturally grated harshly in the ears of many ardent and conscientious Reformers, who saw plainly that the evils of the nomination system were mitigated, but not eradicated by the Reform Act. These were naturally alarmed, and anxious t^ learn whether the principle of the finality of the Act was to be the common motto of the entire government. On the other hand there were many who feared that no stopping-place could be found in the course of organic change once entered upon, and that the members of the Government themselves would not venture to resist their partisans when urged forward by them to fresh innovations on the established Constitution. The line taken by Mr. Poulett Thomson in his speech at Manchester showed the fallacy of both these anticipations. While repudiating the doctrine of finality, and admitting that imperfections must still remain in our rt might nounc change called rather that 1 princij if broi struct Afte which reformc Board < reform ■with hi lect the decesso] Avhile i commer to the p may pe tural fei and to and am have liv set up 1 pies on realm, j claim tl informec LIFE OF LORD SYDENHAM. 57 our representative system which future legislation might be called upon to correct, he boldly de- nounced the absurdity of frequent and unnecessary change in what is but the instrument of legislation ; called on his friends to look to practical measures rather than theoretical grievances; and declared that he was prepared to resist the adoption of principles or measures, however good in themselves, if brought forward inopportunely, or so as to ob- struct greater and more pressing objects. After passing in review the leading questions Avhich were likelv to absorb the attention of the reformed Parliament, the Vice-President of the Board of Trade naturally turned to those plans of reform which were more immediately connected mth his OAvn department. And those who recol- the inveterate persecution which, like his pre- 1832. lect decessor Mr. Huskisson, he had for years endured, while attempting to carry out the principles of commercial policy which he believed to be essential to the prosperity, and even the safety of the state, may perhaps sympathise with the human and na- tural feeling with which he refers to these attacks, and to the position he then occupied, as his best and ample vindication from them. Those who have lived to the present day, to mtness a claim set up to the early advocacy of these same princi- ples on the part of the highest statesmen in the realm, as the main ground on which they can clann the confidence of the intelligent and Avell- informed classes, may perhaps be sensible of a still 58 LIFE OF LORD SYDENHAM. 1832. warmer feeling towards one whose advocacy of commercial freedom in those early tunes was not such as to leave any doubt on the minds of his hearers; who encountered -willingly, and almost exclusively endured, the odium and hostility of those who thought their interests compromised by the threatened change of policy. In many other points of view likewise, the passage which follows from Mr. Poulett Thomson's speech at Manchester in 1832, is well worthy of perusal at the present time, when the questions ol' which it treats are still subjects of discussion. " Gentlemen, my excellent friend, our worthy chairman, has done me the honour, in proposing my health as one of your representatives, to allude to the particular subject to which I have always lent my best advocacy — the ad- vancement of liberal principles of commercial policy. I feel that allusion under present circumstances in a way which it is vain for me to attempt to describe. I have been for years exposed to all the shafts which malice or ignorance could point against me for the devotion I have ever shown to those principles. I have been marked out by every blockhead — ignorant of the most common prin- ciples of commerce — men whom not one of you would keep within your counting-houses in the most mferior capacity — men utterly unacquainted with an} of those great principles which have been not only so eloquently developed within this country, but whicn have since been put to the practical test of experience, as the butt at which they could aim their pointless sarcasms. I have been exposed for years to every thing which malevolence or interest could suggest in the way of attack or vituperation. I have seen myself accused of being a hard-hearted theorist —a cold-blooded political economist — willing to sacrifice at the country into my portion it: my it has b( felt that has inde( of this the wor — an hoi siiould n( convincir cription. shelter ignorant. You have me impel shield on • Manche: with trep may seek " But ) I have e^ freedom c no restrict sary, upo] sentence, Gentleme great pro Icgislatior long been as indeed — cautiou success h{ shown tha what has LIFE OF LORD SVDENHAM. 59 at the shrine of his own fancy the best interests of his country and of liis fellow-citizens. I have had this rung into my ears in speeches, and repeated ad nauseam by a portion of the public press. Still I have stood erect under it: my spirit has quailed, but it has not been broken — it lias been bent, indeed, but I have still resisted. I have felt that the day of my triumph would come at last — it has indeed arrived. The confidence which you, the electors of this great ni?tropolis of the manufacturing industry of the world, have reposed in me, unsought and unsolicited, — an honour which I never hoped to obtain, and which I should never have sought to achieve — is indeed the most convincing and irresistible answer to attacks of that des- cription. You have interposed a barrier under whose shelter I can proudly stand and defy the attacks of the ignorant, or the scoffs and calumnies of the malicious. You have conferred upon me an armour which has rendered mo impenetrable to the weapons of such foes. With a shield on my arm, upon which stands engraved the word * Manchester,' I can encounter, as I did indeed before with trepidation, but now with confidence, all those who may seek to assail me. " But what, may I now ask, are those principles which I have ever thus advocated? They are the most perfect freedom of exchange — a fair field for our industry — and no restrictions, beyond what for fiscal purposes are neces- sary, upon the exertions of our manufacturers ; — in one sentence, to buy as cheap, to sell as dear as possible. Gentlemen, we have made some progress, I will not say a f,n'eat progress, towards removing some of that faulty legislation, by which the industry of this country has so long been oppressed. We began, as we were justified — as indeed we should not have been justified in not doing — cautiously, slowly, and therefore prudently; but as success has attended our efforts, as all our attempts have shown that the removal of prohibitions, the relaxation of wluit has been so falsely termed protection, tends to the 1832. 60 LIFE OF LORD SYDENHAM. 1832. augmentation of our industry and tlie increase of om- weultli, we have a ri<,dit to argue that we may proceed in the same course. And what is that which has so falsely been called protection ? Let any man scan it. Is it any thing but an attempt to do that which no laws but that of nature can do, to adjust the dilferent degrees of advantage enjoyed by dilferent branches of industry — a system for heaping upon what is already burthened an additional burthen — imposing shackles upon the free exercise of talent, and industry, and capital, oppressive to all, and really beneficial to none ? But, say the advocates of this admirable recipe for getting rich by Act of Parliament, protection is necessary to secure our industry from foreign competition. What are the effects it has produced in this respect in this country ? You see it illustrated at home in a manner which cannot fail to have been present to every man's mind long ere this. Let me ask you what protection has been given to that great manufacture which gives em- ployment to hundreds of thousands — nay, to millions I may say — within the great district that encircles your city ? What protection has the cotton trade had ? I answer, none whatever ! Unaided by any legislative enactment — unassisted by the fostering hand of power — unprotected by the Custom-House book — this great manufacture has grown from an infant's condition until it has attained a giant's strength. We see it with one arm encircle the conquests of the new world, and with another shower its productions into the very heart of that country, the vast empire of India, which was formerly its successful rival, and extending and pushing forth the fruits of its industry even into the central regions of Africa, where no European foot was ever yet stamped. This, gentlemen, is the success which has attended a manufacture which was not the pet of the legislature. Let me now mark the course of another manufacture fenced round by protections of all kinds, equally a production of a foreign country — the raw ma- terial equally brought from a distance — and thus afibrding a fit coi was the Were tl — were introduct absolute of iiidust of the C realise tl that that conipetitc like its p hrother ? vigour wi ill spite ties exac even in t tors. In of the fal leave to i your unw but injud capital ai what I s( doubt tha petitors t( " But, narrow a ' presented considerat and devel fullest ext only give foreign co we extend kind may 1 by sympa LIFE OF LORD SYDENHAM. 61 VHI.f, a fit coiiiparisou witli that which I have named. What was the case witii silk i Was protection wanting tliere ? Were there no hiws which restricted i'orei<^n competition — were there no penalties upon those who attem])ted to introduce it i And did all this protection, amounting; to ahsolute and total prohibition, tend to make this branch of industry flourisli and extend itself? Under the auspices of the Coast Blockade and the Search Warrant did it realise the theories of the ])rotectionists ? Was it found that that manufacture, rivalling and outstripping all its competitors in foreign countries, obtained an extension like its poorer and unprotected, but therefore more hardy brother? No such thing — not only did it not attain the vigour which would enable it to reach foreign climes, but, ill spite of your prohibitory hiws — in spite of your penal- ties exacted from the unfortunate smuggler, it was met even in this country at every turn by its foreign competi- tors. In these two branches then we may read the history of the fallacy of protection. My system, then, is this : — leave to industry a full and fair field — relieve us from your unwise protection — remove from us your well-meant but injudicious care — leave us alone, let our talent, our capital and our invention follow their free course, and what I see before me to-day removes, if I ever had, any doubt that we shall then have no rivals to fear, no com- petitors to dread. " But, gentlemen, is this all ? Do I take merely so narrow a view of this great subject as that which I have presented to you ? There are other and more important considerations involved in this question. By extending and developing our industry at home — by giving it its fullest extension as regards foreign countries, (and we can only give it that extension by consenting to receive from foreign countries that by which they are able to pay us,) we extend the benefits of a cominon band of union. Man- kind may be knitted together for a time in various countries by sympathies excited by accidental circumstances, but 1 832. 62 LIFE OF LORD SYDENHAM. 1832. there can l)o no common bond of union between nations but one founded upon a fcolin^ of coinmon interest. Make foreign nations dependent upon you for some of their comforts and their conveniences, encourage them in the prosecution of their industry by becoming their cus- tomers, give to them the products of your own, in an exchange advantageous to botli parties, and you raise iij) mutual feelings of affection and of sympathy, wliich will go farther than any thing else to prevent that which in my mind has been, and is, the greatest curse that has ever afflicted mankind — war. " I have perhaps, gentlemen, advanced a step further in some respects than those who preceded me were willing to go; not in their acknowledgment of the principle, but in the avowal of my willingness to act upon it, and I have not hesitated to do so. I contend, and I have contended, that if we consent to take from foreign countries that which they produce, they must of necessity receive from us in payment our productions. They may raise up libraries of custom-house books — they may surround their territories with custom-house ofiicers — they may fill their seas with cruisers — but, if we are to take any thing from them, they must take from us in return. The principle, tlien, which I have advocated, is to follow out, straight- forwardly, our own course, to remove the unnecessary restrictions and prohibitions from the productions of other countries, and to trust to one of two consequences result- ing ; either a sense of their own folly, which will induce them to adopt a better system of legislation, or to that necessity which I contend must exist — if they wish to take advantage of us — that they should admit, somehow or other, what we can give them in payment." Mr. Thomson's Journal contains but a brief re- cord of this brilliant event, but it is worth tran- scribing. *' Sunday night, 30th December, 1832 This has been a had no the Ky Thursd 1250 p spoke a day dii for ToA) In tl valuable in the lit ion o chievoui reductio in our largely I first tin of all tl At a lat Thomsoi of the di the reve fiscal rej pally, if such as But Mr. tions of ] sound pr these, it afford cj variety o LIFE OF LORD SYDENHAM. 63 been a week of prodigious excitement, and 1 have had no time to set down one word. Monday at the Excliange. Tuesday, Christmas Day, quiet. Thursday, the Dinner, the proudest day of my life. 1250 people sat down, He3rvvood in the chair. 1 spoke an hour and a half, and, 1 think, well. Fri- day dined at Heywood's, and Saturday night left for ToAvn, verif ill. To-day sent for Copeland." In the course of tlie following session, many valuable alterations were effected by ^Ir. Thomson in the customs duties. Besides the entire abo- lition of the duty on hemp, an absurd and mis- cliievous burden on all British shipping, a great reduction was made in the duties on dye-stuffs used in our manufactures, and on medicines consumed largely by the poor. He likewise introduced for the first time a methodical and rational classification of all the customs duties retained in our Tariff. At a later period in several successive years Mr. Thomson carried out still further this simplification of the duties on Imports, and their reduction wliere the revenue would admit of it. The attention of fiscal reformers had hitlierto been directed princi- pally, if not wholly, to a few of the larger articles, such as sugar, coffee, timber, wool, and cotton. But Mr. Thomson saw clearly that while considera- tions of revenue or of party policy might forbid the sound principles of finance being at once applied to these, it was yet in the power of government to afford extensive and very sensible relief, botli to a variety of branches of native industry, and to the 1832. ( I 64 LIFE OF LORD SYDENHAM. 1832. consumer at large, by reduction of the heavy duties imposed on some hundreds of small, and apparently insignificant articles, which brought in little to the revenue, while the high duties on them were a grievous obstacle to their use in the arts or manu- facture, or their direct consumption. In bringing before Parliament these successive measures, Mr. Poulett Thomson, wdth great tact and judgment, avoided any boasting displa}', any- thing like heralding them with a flourish of trum- pets, which he rightly considered would only draw the attention of the combined monopolists, his ha- bitual opponents, to their value, and lead them to thwart his scheme. He always confined himself on these occasions to a very brief and simple statement of the alterations he proposed, printing and laying before the House a schedule of the amended duties. And he thus generally succeeded in disarming op- position, and passing his customs bills without serious difficulty. But, modestly as these cliangcs were introduced, passing almost in silence through the House, — the little discussion they occasioned being confined to the committee on the bill, when the proceedings are rarely at all reported by the public press, — it may be questioned whether the practical benefits conferred in this unassuming and unpretending manner on the public, did not infi- nitely outweigh in real and permanent value, many of those more ambitious and moi'c prominent mea- sures of the same or other periods, the announce- ment and discussion of which resounch^d throu'di both h politica His I of the session, to dispc himself, termine bestowec be made so as to £ and conj amount c provemei the minu upon the * Mr. Pc considerable to a trifling These arti Almonds. Bark for tani Cocoa. Coffee from sions, Indi) Gums. Hemp. LIFE OF LORD SYDENHAM. 65 both hemispheres, and were agitated by every political coterie in the empire. His practice was to ascertain from the Chancellor of the Exchequer, at the proper period in each session, the largest sum that he could be permitted to dispose of for this purpose. He then applied himself, by careful and searching inquiries, to de- termine how the boon could be most advantageously bestowed; — in other words, what reductions could be made in the multifarious articles of the Tariff, so as to secure the greatest benefit to the productive and consuming classes, without risking any larger amount of revenue. The result was an annual im- provement sensibly felt by the public throughout the minutest ramifications of trade ; while the effect upon the revenue was comparatively trifling.* 1833. * Mr. Poulett Thomson reduced the duties — in all to a very considerable extent — in many cases from a prohibitory amount to a trifling per centage, upon 217 Articles of Commerce in 1832 63 - 1833 16 - 1834 3 - 1835 49 - 1836 25 - 1838 373 articles in the whole. These articles comprised, among others, Almonds. Hides. Bark for tanning or dyeing. Furniture Woods, Cocoa. Chemical Oils. Coffee from British Posses- Sago. sions, India, &c. Seeds of various kinds. Gums. Skins of all kinds. Hemp. Fresh Fruits. V GG LIFE OF LORD SYDENHAAI. 1833. Even where financial or political considerations —- stopped him from carrying his reductions further, Mr. Thomson had established principles and set an example of system in the arrangement of our Tariff, which his successors at the Board of Trade have found it necessary to carry on to still further im- provements of the same nature. The records of the Board of Trade, and the evidence of the able officers permanently employed there, such as Mr. Maco-reo-or and the late ]\Ir. Deacon Hume, attest that the more recent enlarged alterations of the tariff effected by Sir Robert Peel and Mr. Gladstone, are, to a great extent, but the realization of projects and the carrying out of prin- ciples laid down by Mr. Poulett Thomson during his official connection witli that board, as desiderata to be secured whenever the government had the power to do so. The main principles, for example, of the abolition of all prohibitions on imports, the reduction of du- Dried Fruits. Wax. Drugs and Dyes — a numerous list. Oils of various kinds. Spices. Currants. Raisins. Figs. Prunes. Woods used in tlie Arts. Cochineal. Indigo. Rice. Pot and Pearl Ashes. Ivory and Teeth. Asphalt. Stone. Canes. Books. Maps. Mineral Water, &c., besides a reduction of one half the duty upon all unenumeratci Goods or Merchandize. ties on a nom: and ob would specific princip] and doc In i\ than on Parliami Ireland TJiomso] House, h his collet sion as p It was undertak he wiseb in that c of the pri him to b( On th( Mr. Robir for indirei witli the And on t length, ai motion up Two gr ♦^manntins LIFE OF LORD SYDENHAM. ties on raw materials employed in manufactures to a nominal amount, and on manufactured articles and objects of consumption to a per centage which would defy the competition of the smuggler, were speciiically laid do^vn by Mr. Thomson as the true principles of our tariff, in more than one speecli and document. i;7 1 833. In the session of 183^3, and indeed for more than one of the succeeding years, the attention of Parliament was chiefly taken up by debates on Ireland and the Irish Church. In these Mr. Thomson took but little part; although, out of the House, his influence was continually exerted mth his colleagues in oflice to obtain as large a conces- sion as possible to the principles of religious liberty. It was, indeed, proposed to him at this period to undertake the oflice of secretary for Ireland; but lie wisely declined the of^er, preferring to remain in that department where his thorough knowledge of the principles and practice of commerce enabled liim to be most useful to the public. On the 20th March, in resisting a motion of Mr. Robinson in favour of the substitution of direct for indirect taxation, he delivered a speech replete with the soundest principles of financial policy. And on the 2 2d April he spoke very much at length, and with equal efitct, on Mr. Attwood's motion upon currency. Two great measures were passed in this session, »^inanating in a large degree from him — the Act F 2 G« LIFK or LORD SYDENHAM. I H33. for the renewal of the Bank Charter, and the Fac- tories Regulation Act. Both of these measures he looked upon rather as compromises, than as settle- ments, of two difficult questions ; in neither of which would the state of public opinion at the time permit sound principles to be fully carried out. On the subject of banking, and note issue espe- cially, Mr. Thomson always entertained very strong opinions. He had paid great attention to the ques- tion, which his practical acquaintance with com- merce enabled him thoroughly to master. He served assiduously on the committee of secresy of 1832, on the question of the renewal of the Bank charter, and in subsequent years attended closely the several committees on joint-stock banks. His opinion was always in favour of the exclu- sion of all paper payable at sight, except the notes of a single national bank issuing paper solely against bullion, and unconnected with banking or private interests. And such a Bank he at a later period attempted to create in Canada ; by means of which he hoped to establish a system of currency in that colony, which should prove a model for other countries. Unfortunately, this valuable project he was prevented, by the pressure of other business, from accomplishing, although a great advance was made towards it, and its plan fully developed. Under such a system he frequently asserted that the exchanges would regulate themselves, panics become impossible, and notes of less denomination than five pounds might be permitted to circulate witho now I in the The labour occupii sequen sion aj allottee Thes Iiis offi mode i tliis con his time ing up sary for returnin month ( ciate th( tween tl Early question upon a moderate or slidin debate, delivered be referr ments wl LIFE OF LORD SYDENHAM. 69 without risk, thereby liberating a very large capital, now unproductively employed as their substitute in the circulation of the country. The arrangement of the act for regulating the labour of children and young persons in factories, occupied much of his attention, as did also in sub- sequent years the superintendence of the commis- sion appointed to carry out that act, which was allotted to the Board of Trade. These subjects, "with the other usual duties of his office, including the difficult question of the mode in which the refining of foreign sugars in this country could best be permitted, fully engaged his time during the session of 1833. On the break- ing up of Parliament, he found change of air neces- sary for his health, and made a tour of the Rhine, returning by way of Paris, where he spent the month of October, engaged in endeavours to nego- ciate the arrangements of a commercial treaty be- tween the two countries. 1834. V Early in the next session of Parliament, the question of the Corn La^v^s came on for discussion, upon a motion of Mr. Hume, in favour of a moderate fixed duty, in place of the fluctuating or sliding scale of the law of 1828. In this debate, on the 7th March, Mr. Poulett Thomson delivered a speech which may yet very profitably be referred to as embodying all the main argu- ments which still continue to be vainly urged by . F 3 70 LIFE OF LORD SYDENHAM. 1834. the advocates of such a modification of the law.* — Events liave since, indeed, most foi'cibly confirmed the opinions and predictions therein contained as to the effect of the continuance of these laws. He showed by a large body of evidence that our re- fusal to take the chief agricultural produce of other countries, and especially of the north of Europe and America, was fast leading them to adopt an equally restrictive policy towards our manufac- tures, and indeed to combine, in the spirit of the continental system of Napoleon, to shut our pro- ducts out from the markets of the world. His anticipations have, alas, been truly fulfilled. He proved from former experience the tendency of a fluctuating scale of duties to produce and aggravate fluctuation in prices, contrary to the express intention of its framers ; and the years that have elapsed since he spoke have remarkably confirmed this argument likewise. He proved that a fixed duty would be as beneficial to the shipping as to every other commercial and manufacturing interest. He showed how seriously the farmer was deluded and injured by a law which he is told was enacted for his benefit, and to keep prices high and steady, but which almost periodically pours into the markets a flood of foreign grain, just at the moment when they are turning against him, and it becomes necessary for him to sell. He showed that Mr. Huskisson's authority, whu^h then, as since, had ♦ See Appendix. LIFE OF LORD SYDENHAM. 71 been repeatedly quoted against a repeal or alter- ation of the corn laws, was quite the other way; that he had found reason to modify his opinions latterly, since in 1830, after two years' experience of the corn law of 1828, he had declared " his un- alterable conviction that this law could not be upheld if the existing taxation, national prosperity, and public contentment were to be preserved, and that it might be wholly repealed without affecting the landed interest, while the people would be re- lieved from their distress." Finally, Mr. Thomson warned the House of the danger of delaying the question until the distress of the commercial classes increased, our national resources were further con- sumed, our commerce perhaps irretrievably injured, and the cry for cheaper food had convulsed the country. In thus giving utterance to his sentiments on this most vital question, he was speaking against the great majority of his colleagues, the government as a body opposing any change in the law. And, indeed, it was only by extreme firmness on his part that he was enabled to obtain the assent of the cabinet to its being treated as an open question. In this year Mr. Thomson introduced some im- portant and valuable improvements in the ware- housing system, in a Bill which embodied all former Acts on the subject, and enlarged their powers, and the fjicilities thereby afforded to com- merce. He likewise brought in and passed an improved Customs Act, carrying out still further F 4 1834. V 72 LIFE OF LOKD SYDENHAM. 1834. the principles of his former measures. When in June the secession occurred of Lord Stanley, Sir James Graham, and others from the ministry, the differences which had so long prevailed in the cabinet relative to the Irish Church having at length reached their climax, Mr. Poulett Thomson became President of the Board of Trade in place of Lord Auckland, Avho was removed to the Admiralty. The subsequent resignation of Lord Grey in July, and the accession of Lord Melbourne to the post of Prime Minister, made no further change in his position. The autumn of 1834 was j^assed by him in the north of England, where he was for several weeks laid up by an attack of gout, which had by this time taken a very firm hold of his system. He was now rarely free from a fit for more than six months together. In November occurred the dismissal of Lord Melbourne's ministry, and soon afterwards the for- mation of Sir Kobert Peel's short-lived ministry. On the dissolution of Parliament at the close of the year, Mr. Poulett Thomson, then of course out of ofiice, went down to Manchester, and was re-elected by a large majority. Previous to the meeting of the new Parliament, Mr. Poulett Thomson took a very active part in preparing for the contest for the Speaker's chair, by which the session opened. It was chiefly through his solicitation that the repugnance of Mr. Aber- cromby to allow himself to be put forward as the Opposit and his success result 1 and the Lord L Sutton, Robert against pelled I ^lelbour Poulett of the P, He w^ this, as party w strength The ei beginnin severe h this time tlie sea a and in 1 able to , holidays. The n through land. It death of Victoria 1 Thomson LIFE OF LORD SYDENHAM. 73 Opposition candidate for the chair was overcome, 1835-6-7. and his utmost exertions were employed to secure success to this move in the game of party. The result proved the correctness of his anticipations, and the choice made by the House of the present Lord Dunfermline, in place of Sir C. Manners Sutton, gave the first blow to the ministry of Sir Robert Peel. The further and increasing majorities against the minister, as the session went on, com- pelled his resignation ; and on the return of Lord Melbourne to power, in the middle of April, Mr. Poulett Thomson resumed his office at the head of the Board of Trade, with a seat in the cabinet. He was again elected for Manchester, though on tliis, as on every former occasion, the opponent party were not satisfied without trying their strength at the poll. The ensuing session was protracted up to the beginning of September, and the consequence of its severe labours was, as ViSual, a fit of gout, which this time lasted nearly two months. Repose and the sea air of St. Leonard's restored him at length, and in November he returned to town, but was able to get to the sea again for the Christmas holidays. The next year's recess was passed in a tour through Wales, Lancashire, and the north of Eng- land. In July of the subsequent year (1837) the death of William IV. and the accession of Queen Victoria having occasioned a general election, Mr. P. Thomson proceeded to Manchester, and Avas elected 74 Lri'K OF LORD svnENiiAi;. I8.S7-8. for tlic filth time in live yeiir.s, the iiiujorities in liis 1' h •(1 at eh tion. vvy successiv On this occasion the numbers were — Thomson - - 4158 Phillips • • y>7M) Gladstone - - 22H1. From thence he crossed the channel to Dublin, and spent two months in a tour through Ireland, the south of Scotland, and Northumberland, reach- ing town in the Ijeginning of November, some time previous to the meeting of Parliament in that month. His tour in Ireland was chiefiy for the purpose of forming an opinion, from actual observ- ation, on the state of the poor there, with reference t«' the question of an Irish Poor Law, for which the government were pledged to bring in a Bill in the ensuing session. "We pass lightly over this period of Mr. Poulett Thomson's life, because from the date of his entry into the cabinet, and indeed from that of his taking office, his conduct on political and public affairs necessarily resolves itself to a considerable degree into that of the government of which he formed an unit. This is a sacrifice required of every public man, s(j long as he holds office. Jle loses his individualit\ to all outward appearance, being obliged to conforni his conduct and even the expression of his opinions to whatever the majority of his colleagues determine upon. What passes in their ])rivate or cabinet con- sultations remains of course unknown, except from occasiom record t for cont( imich, he assured, position nient of abroad, stantial b laws are cxpectatii on their i In tlic ever, he liis own d power he though in not, durin public. 1 liamentar^ Indeed hi? out his c; liament, ii general at paraded of merit or i neverthele any that s ever achie^ consisted i national cc LIFE OF LORD SYDENHAM. 75 lett try :iiig Ill's into lit. so to Drill ions liiic oii- •01 u occasional rumours, since such private notes us may record tliese discussions are necessarily, as data lor contemporaneous history, inviohible. Of this much, hoAvever, all who knew Mr. Thomson will l)e assured, that every opportunity afforded him by his position was made the most of, for the advance- ment of a truly liberal policy, l)oth at home and abroad, for securing to the peo))le all those sub- stantial benefits which good government and good laws arc capable of affording, and for I'ealising the expectations which the ]ieform nunistry held out on their accession to otKce. In tlic extension of commercial freedom, Iioav- ever, he possessed the power, within the limits of his own department, of doing much good ; and this power he exerted, with untii*ing/eal and energy, al- though in an unobtrusive manner. His name was not, during this period, often produced before the public. He took no very active part in the par- liamentary debates on questions of party warfare. Indeed his services to the public interests through- out his career were chiefly rendered out of Par- liament, in a form and manner which attracted no general attention at the time. But, though not paraded ostentatiously, as evidence of statesmanlike merit or subjects of national gratitude, they were nevertheless perhaps as valuable and important as any that statesmen of the highest reputation have ever achieved for the benefit of their country. They consisted in a close attention to the interests of our national commerce in all quarters of the world, — 1831). 1 1 % ^ ^>« ■■^ o^A^^ IMAGE EVALUATION TEST TARGET (MT-3) 1.0 I.I 1.25 Hi 121 ^ Ui |2.2 li u 134 ■■ ilf M£ 12.0 Id WUu lllllm U IIIIII.6 V] y f ^ ^ Photographic Sciences Corporation \ iV #, [V ^ 6^ 23 WEST MAIN STRHT WEBSTER, N.Y. 14580 (716) 872-4503 76 LIFE OF LORD SYDENHAM. I8S9. that commerce on which our wealth, our power, our greatness as a nation essentially rest, — in unceasing superintendance of the important business of the Board of Trade ; in communications with the parties most interested and conversant mth the various matters relating to our commercial and fiscal laws, and the alterations from time to time required in them; in a close attendance on parliamentary com- mittees, and the examination at great length of evidence bearing on such questions. Mention has been already made of his unremitting and successful endeavours to relidve the trade of the country from fiscal burdens and obstructions, and to cheapen the necessaries and comforts consumed by the masses, by simplifying the Tariff and re- ducing the import duties on almost every article in general use whether of colonial or foreign origin. In pursuit of the same great objects, during the long period of his ofiicial service at the Board of Trade he lost no opportunity for endeavouring to improve the commercial relations of this country with the other nations of the globe. Negotiations were set on foot and prosecuted with great zeal and vigour by him, in conjunction with and through the agency of the Foreign Office, — for the ready and zealous co-operation of Lord Palmerston was never wanting in the prose- cution of such objects, — for effecting commercial treaties with, or arrangements for modifying the tariffs of France, Spain, Portugal, Prussia, Austria, Russia, Sardinia, and many other countries. Wit made succeei cial an nature Mr. Tl lull at Pari H. Lai Trade, of Frar Greteri David, examin a view most li tercoun nately s and it t come t French real coi offered Varic results The thi importe( It has s] favoural often-ini ations i LIFE OF LORD SYDENIIA^f, 77 With respect to France, reference has been already made to the commission of 1831 — 1834. In the succeeding years the attempts to establish commer- cial arrangements of a more general and satisfactory nature between the two countries were renewed by Mr. Thomson. In 1838-9 another joint commission was appointed at Paris, — consisting, on our side of the Right Hon. H. Labouchere, Vice-President of the Board of Trade, Mr. Aston, and Mr. Macgregor ; on the part of France of the Baron Freville, Peer of France, M. Greterin, Director in Chief of the Customs, and M. David, Secretary of the Minister of Commerce, — to examine the tariffs of the respective countries, with a view to propose such reductions as should appear most likely to extend their mutual commercial in- tercourse. Ministerial changes in France unfortu- nately suspended the progress of this commission ; and it was closed in May 1839, a conviction being come to by the British commissioners that the French government were unwilling to make any real concessions on their part, in return for those offered by Great Britain. Various arrangements which promised beneficial results had, however, been made on both sides. The threatened increase of duties on linen yarns imported into France was deferred for two years. It has since been imposed. But the prospect of a favourable termination to the long-pending and often-interrupted negotiations for reciprocal relax- ations in the commercial tariffs of England and 1839. :V 78 LIFE OF LORD SYDENHAM. 18.39. France is not yet hopeless; and if such a happy result is ultimately arrived at, it will have been owing in a very great degree to the foundation laid by the persevering efforts of Mr. Thomson. "With Austria, Prussia, and the other German States, Mr. Thomson made frequent efforts to ex- tend our commercial relations. The ZoUverein, or union of the several states of Germany mth Prussia under a common tariff and system of customs laws, in 1833 and afterwards, was never regarded by Mr. Thomson with the apprehension and alarm with which it was viewed in many quarters. On the contrary, he clearly saw that a change which loosened the fetters hitherto shackling the industry of an European population of thirty millions, and gave room for the development of their natural resources, could not be otherwise than eventually beneficial to all neighbouring countries. It did not necessarily follow from a fusion of all the separate conflicting tariffs of Germany into one, that the character of that one should be more hostile to British interests than the medley preceding it; and, on the contrary, it afforded an available open- ing for the negociation, with the representatives of all Germany in a body, of a treaty of commerce offering new benefits to British industry. Mr. Thomson saw and determined to avail himself of this opening. He obtained from Mr. Macgregor, a gentleman fully imbued with his own views on in- ternational commerce, and thoroughly acquainted with the political and material condition of the Germa] on mar sale ani This that t( trade 1 in valu Englan necessa: on the 1 for sira British To p Thomsc British Deputie which ■v^ for the ] The r fectly su German had it b< return u viz., Coi gregor's Mr. Pou Laws in with gei tariff in LIFE OF LORD SYDENHAM. 79 for, a German States, a report on the effect of the " Union" on manufacturing industry in Germany, and on the sale and use of British manufactures there. This report led Mr. Thomson to the conclusion, that to preserve and increase tlie long-existing trade between Great Britain and Germany, which in value is second to none except that between England and the United States of America, it was necessary to propose a reduction in our import duties on the leading articles of German produce, in return for similar concessions bv the union in favour of British manufactures. To pave the way for such an arrangement Mr, Thomson dispatched Mr. Macgregor in 1836, as British commissioner, to attend the Congress of Deputies from the several states of the union, which was held at Munich in August of that year for the purpose of revising the tariff of 1833. The results of this mission would have been per- fectly successful in obtaining large reductions of the German tariff in favour of British manufactures, had it been possible for concessions to be offered in return upon two points of great value to Germany, viz.. Corn and Timber. Extracts from Mr. Mac- gregor's correspondence to that effect were read by Mr. Poulett Thomson in his speech on the Corn Laws in the session of 1839.* The reply he met with generally to propositions for an improved tariff in favour of England was this, *' We are 1839. V I " I * See Appendix. 80 LIFE OF LORD SYDENHAM. 1839. all desirous to trade freely with you, but a re- duction of your Corn duties to a fixed rate must be the preliminary of any understanding as to a reduction on our part of duties on your com- modities." On this essential point Mr. Thomson's hands were of course tied, by the invincible resistance of the supporters of the British Corn Laws. Had there been any possibility of carrying a modification of those laws, such as a fixed duty of 85. or even 10^. per quarter on wheat, it was Mr. Thomson's intention to propose a new treaty of commerce to the States of the Zollverein, which he had every reason to know would have been readily assented to by them, on terms highly favourable to British commerce and manu- factures. The opinion he had entertained from the first of the Germanic Customs' union, was proved to be correct. It is not that union, but our own restrictive commercial legislature, especially our Corn duties, which check and diminish our exports to Germany. In respect to Austria, Mr. Thomson's efforts to obtain improved commercial relations were, how- ever, crowned with success. Mr. Macgregor had been commissioned likewise by him in 1836 to re- port on the resources of that great empire, con- taining a population of thirty-five millions, and to endeavour to lay the basis of a commercial treaty with its government. He found the authorities, especially that enlightened statesman Prince Metter- nich, fully alive to the immense elements existing LIFE OF LORD SYDENHAM. 81 for a mutually beneficial commerce between Austria and Britain, and to the wisdom of the principles of a liberal system of trade between them. The result was the negotiation and definitive arrangement of a commercial treaty between the two governments, which was signed in 1838 by Prince ^letternich and Sir Frederick Lambe. This treaty established an entirely new tarifi" for all tlic Austrian Customs, sweeping away the whole prohibitive system of Maria Theresa and Joseph II., which had been con- sidered by many of the prejudiced Austrians as the palladium of their industry. Its results have al- ready been most beneficial, and must every year become more so, to British industry. To Mr. Pou- lett Thomson is due, so far as the British Cabinet was concerned, the exclusive merit of originating and perfecting this treaty. One circumstance connected with it, and com- municated by Mr. ]\Iacgregor, offers a remarkable instance of the wise decision and boldness with which Mr. Thomson habitually acted on any sudden emergency which required instant determination. An article relative to the navigation of the Danube being considered indispensable by Prince Metter- nich, who entertained ulterior views of the great advantages likely to arise to both Austria and England from the contemplated improvements m the navigation of that river, and Mr. Macgregor having reported that such an article would be in contravention of our navigation laws, the question 1839. V * G 82 LIFE OF l.OllU SVDENIIAJM. i'liji ■|i'! ■i 1831). was referred at a very late period of tlie ncgoti- ations to Mr. Thomson, who boldly took upon liim- self the responsijjility of legalising such an agreement prospectively by Act of Parliament, and authorised Mr. Macgregor to consent to " a stipulation admit- ting Austrian ships arriving with their cargoes from the ports of the Danube, upon the same footing as if they arrived direct with their cargoes from th(^ Austrian ports." The letter conveying this assent arrived but thcj day before that on which the treaty was to be finally agreed to or relinquished; and upon the stipulation thus happily acceded to at the proper moment, de- pended the success of the negotiation. An act was subsequently passed legalising the article in question ; but for which act, not only that treaty with Austria, but that likewise concluded in 1841 with the states of the Germanic Union of Customs, the treaty of the same year with the Hanseatic Republics, and the recent treaty with Russia, would all, in their most important stipulations, have been illegal, or could not have been concluded.* * The importance to our commercial and shipping interests of the treaty of 1838 with Austria, is fully shown by Mr. Mac- gregor in the first volume, now just issuing from the press, of his elaborate and valuable work on " Commercial Statistics." This volume forms a vast storehouse of facts, all combining to teach one great lesson to governments ; namely, that the wealth and strength of every country are mainly determined by the more or less liberal character of its commercial policy. Our been s Mr. Ml procee( ference ^ great ii owing son's in ultimate Nego Thomsc for imp] Portuga incompL most pa: will con the proj( with Tu: In the improve tries he unfortun had oursd had as quished, nations which, 01 merce ha lonial em] teges she LIFE OF LORD SYDENHAM. 83 oOtl- hiiu- mciit insod imit- from ngas Q the It the inally ilation it, ele- ct was 3Stioii ; ustria, states aty of 3S, and their gal, or interests Ir. Mac- press, of ISTICS." nning to e wealth he more Our commercial relations with Naples having been seriously injured by the sulphur monopoly, Mr. Macgregor was directed by Mr. Thomson to proceed to Naples to endeavour to arrange the dif- ference, which, however, was not effected without great intervening loss and interruption to our trade, owing to obstacles beyond the reach of Mr. Thom- son's influence, although the policy he pursued was ultimately successful. Negociations were likewise set on foot by Mr. Thomson while presiding over the Board of Trade, for improving our commercial relations "vvith Brazil, Portugal, Spain, and Italy ; negociations Avhich w^ere incomplete when he left the office, and still for the most part remain so ; but which, it is to be hoped, will come to maturity at no distant period. And the project of a highly practical and valuable treaty with Turkey was considered and proposed by him. In the majjority of these efforts of Mr. Thomson to improve our commercial relations with foreign coun- tries he was unable to attain success, owing to the unfortunate system of restrictive policy which we had ourselves adopted at the close of the war, and had as yet but slowly and by piecemeal relin- quished, and which had naturally disposed other nations to follow our example. The prosperity which, on the whole, English industry and com- merce has enjoyed by reason of her extensive co- lonial empire, and the extraordinary natural advan- tages she possesses, were, through a very common G 2 1839. V 84 LIFE OF LORD SYDENHAM. 1839. error of reasoning, attributed by foreign countries to her restrictive system, wliich existed, it is true, contemporaneously with tliese advantages, but had incalculably checked and narrowed the development of which they were susceptible. And although, since the commencement made by Mr. Iluskisson and ^Ir. Wallace, the government of this country has been gradually relaxing the fiscal obstacles opposed by legislation to the extension of British commerce, the progress has been so slow and apparently timid, each concession has been so reluctantly wrung from the legislature, and so large an opposing party has always existed, composed of classes who have or believe themselves to have an interest in the maintenance of protect- ing duties ; and these have been so loud in declaiming and writing against free trade as inimical to native industry, and in favour of fiscal protections as essential to its prosperity, — that foreigners, who naturally look to us for instruction on questions of this kind, may well be excused for still hesitating between the two opposite opinions which yet agitate ourselves on tliis great question. Above all, until we give up our protecting duties on raw produce, corn especially, it could hardly be expected of the great grain-producing countries of Europe and America, that they should enter cor- dially into arrangements for permitting the intro- duction of our manufactures. So long as we refuse to admit their staple productions on terms of fair recipr* tariffs The vancei] every ( fully c powerf the con ment. throusrl o strance. Ont] of the that he years to founded And, of advoc vote. I supporte section o * Extra son. (transla « I have Corn Lawi question mi are struggli words of L( attempt to saddening truth, the g union of Ei vies : is ges, the And Mr. t of &scal [ision n so . has iture, istcd, selves otect- Iming kative ns as who ons of tating ^itate duties dly be ries of r cor- intro- refuse of fair LIFE OF LORD SYDKNIIAM. reciprocity, at least, they will continue to maintain tariffs of a hostile character toward us.* The important principle of free trade, to the ad- vancement of which ]\lr. Poulctt Thomson devoted every effort, could not, tlierefore, be generally and fully carried out without affecting interests too powerful for a Minister of Trade to touch, requiring the consent and co-operation of the entire govern- ment. And this he failed in obtaining, but not through want of energetic and persevering remon- strance. On the Corn Law question especially, the citadel of the Protectionist party, it can be no secret that he exerted himself to the utmost for a series of years to induce the government to propose a change founded on the principles of a moderate fixed duty. And, individually, he never lost an opportunity of advocating the same principle by his voice or vote. In 1827 and 1828, as has been shown, he supported Mr. Hume and a numerically insignificant section of the House of Commons in denouncing * Extract of a letter from M. Anisson to Mr. Poulett Thom- son. (translated) " Paris, April 12, 1839. " I have followed with great interest your discussions on the Corn Laws, and have seen with pain how little progress the question makes. This is a terrible argument against those who are struggling here for commercial liberty ; and certain recent words of Lord Melbourne do not better our position when we attempt to base it on the experience of England. All this is saddening to those who have only at heart the triumph of truth, the general interests of humanity, and the progress and union of European society." G 3 85 laap. 80 LU'E OF LOKU SYDENHAM. 1839. tlie tliictii{itin«^ scale tht'ii established, and recom- mending a low fixed duty in its place. In 18.30, when called on to acce[)t place under the govern- ment of Lord Grey, he declined it unless with the stii)ulation that he was to be at liberty to speak and vote for an alteration of the existing corn law. In 1834 lie vindicated tlitit right, and in the face of the cabinet, of many of his friends who strongly dissuaded him from the course, and of nmch public and private attack, he spoke powerfully in favour of such a change, in direct reply to his colleague in the government, Sir James Graham. In 1835 he joined the government again on the same condition, and in 1839 he spoke at great length and voted in favour of 3Ir. Villiers's motion for a committee. His two sjieeches of 1834 and 1839, which will be found in the Appendix, contain the most un- answerable arguments upon this question, and in fact will appear, upon examination, to exhaust the subject, comprehending the substance of all that has been since so repeatedly, but never more ably or lucidly, put forward in spoken or "written essays, by the recent and numerous advocates of the repeal of the Corn Law. It was therefore in no degree owing to any luke- warmness or deficiency of zeal on his part upon this most vital question, that the delay took place in its advocacy by the government of which he was a member. That delay may be far more justly imputed, if blame exist any where, to the parties most directly interested in the question, the ma- LIFE OF LORD SYDENHAM. 87 lukc- upon place ch he justly )arties e ma- nufacturing and coninierciul classes, who so long slumbered over it, and could not be roused from their torpor l)y the remonstrances of Mr. Thomson himself, and other more far-sighted members of those classes, until the crisis which he and they an- ticipated had actually arrived, when the diminished demand of foreign nations, prevented by the Corn Law from becoming our customers, had brought on an amount of pressure and distress, threatening the decay and destitution of large portions of our manufacturing and commercial industry, which de- pend for their existence on foreign demand. So long as this torpor existed, so long as the public out of doors appeared careless of the matter, Mr. Thomson could not but yield to the argument of his colleagues, which was based on the indis- putable fact, that to bring it forward was to break up the government; and whilst other matters of great importance to the welfare of the people re- mained unsettled, and could be accomplished only by a liberal ministry, it appeared to him, and to those who agreed in his opinions, right to suspend their determination, and defer the irrevocable step of a ministerial declaration in favour of a great change in the Corn Law. The occasion, as every one knows, arose after Mr. Thomson had left the cabinet and England, and the result was what he and all expected who knew the strong feelings of the agricultural party on the question, and their power over the legislature. Whether the great question has been G 4 1839. 88 LIFE OF LORD SYDENHAM. 1839. advanced by this step cannot, however, be doubted. The very leaders of the opposing party now officially admit that the existence of the present or, indeed, of any Corn Law, is but a question of time. And when its Repeal, as sooner or later it must be, is finally cari'ied, and the principle of free trade thereby esta- blished as the groundwork of our commercial and fis- cal policy, it will be generally acknowledged that for this great conquest of truth and ^visdom over folly and error, the country will have been indebted in a large degree to the perseverance, the energy, the ability, and the tact employed by Mr. Thomson in the slow but sure assault, by sap and mine, of this the last and strongest citadel of the Protectionists.* * The intense interest felt by him, even while absent and engaged in other absorbing occupations, in the struggle making on this question at home is evinced by several passages in his private letters from Canada, — equally remarkable for the saga- city with which they anticipate all that has since occurred. On the 21st of March, 1841, he thus wrote to Lord John II ussell : — " Your finance is what I look to now with most anxiety. I have told Baring that I do not think you will make anything by trying to patch. He may either go to work in downright earne>t with commerr'ial reform, sugar duties, timber duties, corn duties, and thus get a large revenue by throwing over (^if he can) landlords, merchants, West Indians, and Buxton and Co. ; or he may come to a property tax. " In the first case, nothing but a general and decided attack upon all those different monopolies — a sort of commercial reform bill — will give him a chance of success. In the second, the impossibility of doing this, must be his plea for taking that course. I feel satisfied that no little petty shifting of duties on one article or another, will give you anything like the reve- nue you want, and yet the attempt will probably be more troublesome than the greater measure. So, if I did not dare LIFE OF LORD SYDENHAM. by arne>t corn {ifhe \ Co.; attack lercial ;cond, g that duties reve- more t dare One of the valuable measures adopted by Mr. Thomson while he presided over the Board of adopt either the one or the other really efficient course, I should recommend him rather to have recourse to a loan, than attempt such petty patchwork as I see is suggested in some of my letters from home. But I suppose you will have decided all this already." Again, on the 25th of May, 1841, on learning the an- nouncement made by the Chancellor of the Exchequer, Mr. Baring, in bringing forward the budget of that year, he writes thus : — " You have taken a bold step, and I am all impatience to learn the result, which must of course have been ascertained by tn.s time. But, whatever it be, I sincerely rejoice at your having taken your stand with the country upon a great, an intelligible, and, above all, a practical measure of reform. It has every thing to recommend it, in what it touches, and in what it lets alone. It does not meddle with religious preju- dices ; it does not relate to Ireland ; it does not touch on any of the theoretical questions of government on which parties have so long been divided. It is a new flag to fight under, and must prevail eventually, whatever be its success now. The only criticism I should be disposed to pass on your pro- ceeding, is the mode of introducing the question. I think you might have produced a greater effect if you had discon- nected it from the budget ; but, at a distance, it is not easy to judge of tactics, and that might have been impossible." 12th June. — " The last accounts I have make me think that the whole of your plan is likely to be upset by the Tories and the class interests. But, never mind. The seed is sown — and the flag of commercial reform is at last unfurled, and sooner or later it must triumph. The debate of the 18th May (my latest news) tells me nothing of what your course will be ; but I trust, for your own sakes and that of the cause that you will not have abandoned the helm to the Tories upon the mere defeat upon the Sugar Duties, which was of course inevitable. It seems to me that, having once entered upon this new contest, you are bound to proceed with it. If they 89 1839. V 90 LIFE OF LORD SYDENHAM. 1839. Trade, was the institution, in 1837, of the School of Design at Somerset House. The inferiority of beat you on Sugar, give them Timber ; if they beat you on that, give them Corn. The discussions must benefit you, and must injure them. And when beaten on all, and your course of policy fairly before the country, test it with a dissolution, which though it can scarcely be expected to give you a majority, or render resignation unnecessary, will at least have ranged parties under the new banners, both on one side and the other, and enable you to force your measures on another government, should your own not get back." " I consider Lord John's speech on opening the Sugar Duties as the crowning work even of his mind. He stands, indeed, in a glorious position. After having done so much to remove the restrictions upon opinion, and established civil and religious liberty, he now stands forward as the Champion of Commercial Freedom, and has boldly and unanswerably vindicated the rights of the masses against the monopolies of classes. Whether the attempt succeed or fail notv, he will have done for the every-day material interests of the country that which he before did in the interest of freedom of opinion ; and no man before him ever did so much against such fearful odds." To Lord John Russell himself he writes on the same date, " I have read your speech upon opening the debate on the Sugar question with feelings of admiration and pleasure which I cannot describe. The free-traders have never been orators since Mr. Pitt's early days. We hammered away with facts and figures, and some argument ; but we could not elevate the subject, and excite the feelings of the people. At last, you, who can do both, have fairly undertaken it, and the cause has a champion worthy of it. I regret that I am not once more on the Treasury Bench to enjoy the triumph, and lend my small assistance in the fight ; but you do not want it ; and it is most gratifying to me to hear from you that I have been of some service to you here at least." " It seems to me to be an immense point gained to get a new flag under which to fight. The people of England don't care a rush for any of your Irish hobby-horses, and they arc LIFE OF LORD SYDENHAM. 91 our manufactures in the essential quality of beauty 1839. and taste of pattern, to those of the French and not with you upon Church matters, or grievances of that kind. Even the great success of our foreign policy has not touched them the least, and I doubt whether twenty victories would give you a borough or a county. But you have now given them an intelligible principle offering practical benefits to con- tend for ; and though defeated on it, as you doubtless will be, defeat will be attended with reputation, and will make you, as a party in the country, far stronger than you have been of late." Upon learning the commencement of the elections, he writes to his brother, 12th July, 1841, " I am sorry, for your sake, that Lord John quits Stroud ; but I honour and admire him more than ever for throwing himself thus into the thick even of the Election Battle. He is, indeed, a Leader. I wonder how long and often Peel would have weighed matters before he had consented to such a thing I The liberal party ought to buy him an estate, or build him a house, or erect him a statue of gold. As for me, who am in general not given to enthusiasm, I can- not find terms for my admiration of his whole conduct. He seems to rise with every difficulty, and each speech or act seems unsurpassable till the next comes, and you find ii, still superior to its predecessor." And on the 11th August, " The last accounts have brought me the conclusion of your elections, which are worse than I was led to expect. But after all it was impossible to look for much more, with such a host of interest arrayed against you, and only the " unprotected public " for you. Morpeth's defeat in the West Riding is the worst in effect, as it gives the Tories fair grounds for asserting that the manufacturing interests are divided upon your mea- sures. The Yorkshire clothiers and flax-spinners deserve to be ruined for their folly. And they stand a good chance of being so, I am afraid ; for it certainly would appear that betM-een the difficulty of getting returns for goods, caused by our exclusion of foreign articles, and the immense increase of manufacturing power abroad, the depression and distress of trade in England 92 LIFE OF LORB SYDENHAM. 1859. some other nations, had long been acknowledged as ' a great disadvantage in our competition with them, in both the home and foreign market. This in- feriority was justly attributed to the want of some means of instruction in the art of design as adapted to manufactures, open to such persons as were will- ing to apply themselves to this branch of art. Jn France, Bavaria, and Prussia, pubhc schools had long ago been established for this purpose by the respective governments ; and hence the superiority of the continental manufactures in this respect. The public voice has long since acknowledged the great benefits likely to result, and partly realised already, from this institution ; and the friends of art and of our manufacturing industry will no is not likely to be relieved by leaving things alone — the Tory remedy. " I am too much broken in health to take much more than the interest of a spectator in the political struggle, if there be one, next session ; and I shall not be at all sorry for the oppor- tunity of trying by quiet and amusement to save the remains of my constitution ; but I cannot but feel deeply anxious about the country, and I am very gloomy as to its prospects. The evil which ten years ago I predicted, if we did not liberalise our commercial policy, has fallen on it. We have successful rivals everywhere, and friends nowhere. Even the bold and gallant struggle you have made is misrepresented, and attri- buted, not to its true motive, a conviction of the truth of the principles of free trade, but the desire to mislead other nations, and prevent them from following you in yowv (^successful W) policy of protection and prohibition. That, however, is no excuse for the folly and ingratitude of the English people, for which they will pay dearly if I am not mistaken." 0.56. LIFE OF LORD SYDENHAM. 93 doubt always be ready to acknowledge their obli- gations to its founder. The principle of affording a copyright in designs employed in manufactures, (without which, indeed, those engaged in this branch of art could have no prospect of fitting remuneration,) was likewise considered, and would no doubt have been intro- duced by him to Parliament, as has been since successfully accomplished by Mr. Emerson Ten- nent, had he remained long enough at the Board of Trade. He laboured, but in vain, also to per- suade America and France, and other foreign countries, to admit the principle of international copyright. He had "with this view introduced into Parliament, in the session of 1838, and successfully carried into a Law, a Bill for enabling the Govern- ment to make treaties with foreign Powers for this very desirable purpose. His endeavours to extend the warehousing sys- tem, first at the sea-ports, and secondly, to the in- land towns, were constant. Reference has been already made to the acts of the 3 & 4 William 4. c. 56. and 58., brought in by him for the former purpose. The warehousing department has since the passing of these acts become by far the most important in the whole circle of our fiscal ar- rangements. Its importance can best be judged of by the fact, that the duties alone payable on the goods at any time under the Queen's lock in the several bonded warehouses in the kingdom have been estimated at upwards of fifty millions ! The 1839. V 94 LIFE OF LORD SYDENHAM. 1839. attempt to establish bonding warehouses in inland towns has not yet been successful. The enumeration of the public services of Mr. Poulett Thomson while engaged at the Board of Trade might be considerably extended, were it not desirable to avoid details which would be tedious. It was his anxious desire to enlarge and complete the sphere of usefulness of that Board, and to render it, as a ministerial department, worthy of the great commercial empire of Britain. He took measures for placing under its superintendence the regulation of the important internal lines of traffic and com- munication, the Railways of the island, which sprung into existence only during his administra- tion. He established a system for a preliminary examination of the private bills brought before Par- liament ; and especially of the applications for the grant of charters to associations. In conjunction with Lord Auckland, then President, he organized, in 1832, a special department in the Board of Trade for collecting, preparing, and printing digests of the statistics of the empire ; and selected for its conduct Mr. Porter, to whose valuable labours the public are so greatly indebted for these indispensable ma- terials of a correct judgment on all questions of national economics. His views in fact of the proper duties of the office comprised a gene- ral system of supervision and regulation of all the legislative, fiscal, and diplomatic arrangements, that bear upon our foreign, colonial, and home trade, rlie po * Sin followin fuller sts sphere given al these va lous of I "My have dot It would that he \ was enti point on hin, — V Common the Houi legislatioi not a sufl alone ha\ made the dividuals jeeted all wayonth the result ducted ni of the H parties at deemed i harbours time; anc ness of til parts of h I was ahv£ under my LIFE OF LORD SYDENHA^r. 95 trade, and thereby largely determine the wealth, 1839. the power, and the prosperity of the empire.* — — — * Since the above was in type, the Editor has received the following letter from Sir Denis Le Marchant, containing a fuller statement of some of Mr. Thomson's efforts to enlarge the sphere of usefulness of the Board of Trade than has been given above, upon the authority of one who assisted him in these valuable labours with a zeal for the public interests emu- lous of his own. " Harley Street, 4th May, 1843. « My dear Sir, " I have read your memoir with the deepest interest : you have done no more than justice to Lord Sydenham's memory. It would require all the bitterness of political hostility to deny that he was entitled to all the credit you claim for him ; nay, he was entitled to more, for you have but slightly touched one point on which the country is under the greatest obligation to hi n, — viz. his attention to the private business of the House of Commons. He was, I believe, the first minister who awakened the House to a sense of their responsibility in this branch of legislation. He saw that the conflict of private interests was not a sufficient security for the public ; his experience in trade alone having shown him instances where private bills had been made the means of largely and most unjustifiably enriching in- dividuals at the expense of the country. Accordingly he sub- jected all such bills that related to trade, or that bore in any way on the province of his department, to the strictest supervision ; the result of which was, that the investigation previously con- ducted most imperfectly, perhaps dishonestly, by the committee of the House, took place at the Board of Trade, where the parties attended before him, and underwent the examination he deemed necessary. Some of these inquiries, in the case of harbours and trading companies, consumed much of Mr. T.'s time ; and from the discrepancy of the evidence, and the eager- ness of the parties, were, as he often said, the most unpleasant parts of his duty. I can vouch for the truth of this observation, as I was always present on these occasions, and had the department under my own peculiar charge. It was also very disagreeable * G 8 96 LIFE OF T.nnu SVDFNIIAM. 183.9. In the early part of the year l8oG Mr. Poulett Thomson had found his health so seriously affected to him, after satisfying himself of the course which the House ought to pursue in these cases, that lie encountered violent op- position from members, whom the interests of their constituencies had enlisted on the opposite side. Gradually, however, ho ob- tained general support in these debates, even from his political opponents, especially when it was perceived that he allowed no political feeling to influence his decision, the public Mclfarc being his sole object. In fact, his disregard of all personal and politics ' onsidorations in the discharge of his duty was ever most ' iOurable to him. " His attention to private bills did not stop here, — he endea- voured to obtain an alteration of the form in which they are framed; and under his eye his secretary, Mr. Symonds, prepared the valuable and voluminous papers on the construction of Acts of Parliament which were printed by order of the House in 1836. The recommendations of this report have been partially adopted, and have been of great service ; and it was at the sug- gestion of Mr. Thomson, Avhilst engaged in these inquiries, that the Breviates of private bills were introduced, this being only part of the extensive reform he contemplated. " You have noticed his attention to charters and letters patent. Before his time all charters were issued by the Home Office ; and of course that department not having the means of obtaining accurate information on economical matters, they exercised their jurisdiction very loosely. He made the Board of Trade responsible, and took the most anxious care that the public in. terests should receive adequate protection. Many were the applications from banks at home and abroad which he rejected. He framed a set of rules or conditions to be inserted in their charters for security against the misappropriation of the capital, that must have saved the fortunes of many individuals embarked in such concerns from destruction. With the view of preventing unnecessary applications to Parliament for private bills, he brought into Parliament the Letters Patent Act, which he would afterwards have extenaed, but his bill for that purpose was defeated. " Yours most truly, " Denis Le Marchant." LIFE OF LOUD SYDENHAM. 97 fuk'tt ected House jnt op- lencies he ob- olitical wed no welfare nal and as ever ! endea- hey arc rcpared of Acts ouse in partially the sug- ies, that ing only 3HANT. by tlie long night sittings in tlie House of Commons, flint he began to consider the necessity of some cliangc from tlic position he then occupied to one wliich should be more compatible with liis physical powers. The most obvious mode of accomplishing this end was by a removal into the House of Peers, retaining his office. Circumstances, however, for a time put a stop to this plan. But at a later period of the session, when, after the ineffectual attempt of Sir Robert Peel to form a ministry in May, the government of Lord Melbourne had to l)e reconstructed with alterations in its compo- sition, he renewed his wish to make some change hi his own position. And in discussing the idea with his friends, the government of Canada was mentioned as a post that might be open to him. In conversation with Lord Spencer (his oldest and warmest political associate and friend), the latter recommended him to accept this noble task. And Mr. Thomson's private journal quotes one of the expressions he made use of, and which deserves to find a place here, as characteristic of the real motive and spring of the public conduct of both men. " Lord A. said he thought Canada ' the finest field of exertion for any one, as affording the greatest power of doing the greatest good to one^s fellow-creatures.'' I agree with him." It was by this consideration, no doubt, that his determination was guided, when, towards the close of the session, new ministerial arrange- ments being in contemplation (consequent partly H I83y. V 98 LIFE OF LORD SYDENHAM. ■ r i 1839. on Mr. Spring Rice's elevation to the peerage, and appointment to the comptroUership of the Exchequer), he liacl to make choice between the Chancellorship of the Exchequer, and the Govern- ment of Canada, which were offered to him. Either alternative presented disadvantages perhaps of equal force as respected health. The continued fatigue of attendance in the House of Commons was likely to be quite as injurious in the one case, as the se- verity of a northern climate would be in the other. His decision was therefore chiefly influenced by the feeling of where he could make his abilities and energies most useful. The situation of affairs in Canada was perplexing, and the difliculties great in the way of an harmonious settlement of the all-important question of the union of the pro- vinces, and the establishment of an entirely new constitution for their future government. But Mr. Thomson felt confident of being able to surmount these difficulties. He expressed this confidence repeatedly to his private friends. And the result justified his most sanguine anticipations. In truth his character and experience exactly fitted him for the purpose. He possessed the great qualities of tact and judgment in determining the course to be pursued; firmness and decision in the execution of his resolves; great quickness of perception as to the character and capacity of those with whom he had to deal, and a courteous and conciliatory manner which charmed all with whom he can and a] the m( of the timent during tliese perliap; an exj tactics, busines to tlie namely, system, with th ment. charactc he went first anc It wai tion mac sliould t was a mi Thomsoi that nob that he c sanction might an The e: warn hin LIFE OF LORD SYDENHAM. 99 rage, the I the vcrn- lither equal itigue likely he se- other. id by )ilities affairs ; great 3f the 3 pro- y new at Mr. mount idence result ixactly id the Iminiiig sion in Hess of f those ius and whom he came in contact. Added to this, untiring energy and application, habits of business, information of the most extensive kind, and a perfect knowledge of the position of affairs in Canada, and of the sen- timents of the Home Government upon it, acquired during his attendance in cabinet councils where these matters were discussed. Lastly, although perhaps first of all in im2:>ortance, he had enjoyed an experience of many years in parliamentary tactics, and the mode of carrying through public business in a popular assembly, of incalculable value to the particular object of his mission to Canada; namely, the establishment of a new representative system, such as would be likely to work in harmony with the Home Government and Imperial Parlia- ment. His liberal principles and known public character were guarantees also to the people whom he went to govern, that their welfare would be the first and principal object of his labours. It was determined, in the changes of administra- tion made at the same time, that Lord John Russell should take the seals of the Colonial Office. This was a matter of immense importance to Mr. Poulett Thomson, as his confidence in and attachment to that noble Lord were ever unlimited, and he knew that he could depend upon having the support and sanction of his chief under every difficulty that iniojht arise in the execution of his duties. The example of Lord Durham w^as a beacon to warn him of many of these difficulties; and the II 2 ISSf). V 100 LIKK OF LOIM) 8YDKNIIAM. 18.'{{). mass of information collected by that noble Lord, " and the able coadjutors l)y whom he was accom[)a- nied, and embodied in his voluminous Report, oifered him no doubt very material aid in tlie determination of his future policy. AVitli Lord Durham himself liis personal friendsliip had never ceased ; and from him, as well as from Mr. BuUcr, he received wluit- evcr otlier information they had it in their power in private and friendly connnunications to afford. In consequence of the arrangement thus deter- mined on, on the 27th August, the day before the prorogation of Parliament, a new writ was moved for Manchester, on Mr. Poulett Thomson's acceptance of the post of Governor-General of the Britisli Provinces in North America*; and on the same day he issued his farewell address to the constituency between whom and Iiimself so long and intimate a relation had existed; — a relation which had proved a source of reciprocal pride and honour to both the constituent body and their representative. On the 29th of August lie was sworn into his new office before the Privy Council, and on the 5th Sep- tember he had an audience of tlie Queen to take leave, who graciously expressed her conviction that he would be successful in the great object of his * In the terms of Her Majesty's commission, tlie appointment was that of " Governor-General of British North America, and Captain-General and Goveriior-in-Chief in and over the Pro- vinces of Lower Canada and Upper Canada, Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, and the island of Prince Edward, and Vice-Admiral of the same." llio* LIFE OF LOUD SYDDNIIAM. 101 mission, and her desire that he should re-enter her service ut home on his return. On the 13th (his 4()tlibirth(lMy), his preparations hein;^ completed, Mr. Poulett TIk- i^on embarked at Portsmouth in the Picpie tVir^att I'or lii.4 destination in Canada. He a[)peared to keep up his spirits ad- mirably; but some of his relatives who aceonipanied him for a few miles to sea in Lord Ilurliam's yacht, observed and lono- remembered the hist hjoks with which he quitted them, and the expression of his coun- tenance which told the struggle within : a presenti- ment came over them that they saw him for the last time, and it was evident that he shared in the feel- ing. His health Avas, indeed, much shattered at this time by continued attacks of gout, one of which seized him the day after his embarkation ; and the passage, which was very rough and unpleasant, was a period of much bodily suffering. An entry in his private journal, written when on board three or four days, will exhibit his view of the state in which he left public affairs, and of his own prospects. " Saturday, 21 Sept. 1839 I have thought a good deal Avithin the last few days of my position ; and upon the whole I think 1 have done right, both on public and on personal grounds. I have a better chance of settling things in Canada than any one they could have found to go ; and if I had not taken it then, as I could not well have got out of the government, I should have shared in the disgrace next session. It is a great field, too," if I bring about the union, and stay for a year to meet the II 3 1 H.^l). V 102 LIFE OF LOUD SYDENHAM. 1839- United Assembly, and set them to work. On the other hand, in England there is little to be done by me. At the Exchequer all that can be hoped is to get through some bad tax. There is no chance of carrying the House "with one for any great com- mercial reforms, timber ^ corn, sugar, &c. ; party and private interests will prevent it. If Peel were in, he might do this, as he could muzzle or keep away his Tory allies, and we should support him. If he got in and had courage, what a field for him ! But he has not ! " On private grounds I think it good too. 'Tis strange, however, that the office which was once the object of my greatest ambition (the Exchequer) should now be so disagreeable to me that I will give up the Cabinet and Parliament to avoid it. After all, the House of Commons and Manchester are no longer what they were to me. I do not think that I have improved in speaking — rather gone back. Perhaps in Opposition, with more time to prepare, I might rally again ; but I do not feel sure of it. I am groAvn rather nervous about it. The interruption and noise which prevail so much in the House cows me. I have certainly made no good speech for two years. It is clear, iVom what has passed, I might have kept Manchester as long as I liked. But till put to the test by my leaving it, one could not help feeling nervous and irritated by the constant complaints of not going far enough or going too far. The last three years have made a great change in me. My health, I suppose, is at the b( as it i Am ing ai cmine tionab "R melan( he did ought, With i for wa recollc" high ] among diate c life of years ; man. Hollan( and ph an acti the con the pol then n never aristoci hundre been in years a of this LIFE OF LOKD SYDENHAM. 103 long made . is at the bottom of it. On the whole I think it is as well as it is." Another passage may merit extraction, as afford- ing an insight into the secret sources of political eminence, in the estimation of one who so unques- tionably attained it. " Read Life of Sir James Mackintosh. It is a melancholy picture of talents — not misapplied, for he did good — but failing to produce the effect they ought, either for the public or their possessor. With all his powers he never achieved eminence — for want of perseverance. What a lesson! My recollection of him certainly does not justify the high reputation which he seems to have had among distinguished men who were his imme- diate contemporaries. But life, and especially the life of public men, has been far more active of late years ; and his character was not that of an active man. He was more fitted to embellish society at Holland House, when there was time for literary and philosophical discussion, than for the duties of an active statesman in these later days, or even for the conversation of those who now form society in the political circles in which I move, and which he then moved in. It is strange though that I, who never had half his recommendations to the Whig aristocracy, and not a tithe of his talent, nor a hundredth part of his information, should have been in office with him as his superior, and for five years a Cabinet Minister. I believe that the cause of this is to be found in the dependence of the one H 4 1839. V 104 LIFE OF LOUD SYDENHAM. 1839. and the independence of the other. The knowledge that I wanted not office for the sake of money, nor patronage to procure me a seat, has done for me that which his superior talents and knowledge, wanting both, could not do." After a rough voyage of thirty-three days, the Pique anchored under the walls of Quebec ; but the Governor-General was obliged to delay his landing until the arrival of Sir John Colborne from Mon- treal, which was not until the second day. On the 19th of October Mr. Thomson, on landing, was re- ceived with the usual honours, and immediately sworn into office. The reception he met with from the inhabitants was most cordial, and augured well for the success of his mission. This was the more agreeable to him, as circumstances had rendered it not improbable that a contrary feeling should exist in the colony. His appointment to Canada had, of course, been canvassed by the London press, and by that party among the colonial interest which had always been at issue with him on the questions of undue and extravagant differential duties for their supposed protection it had been protested against. The usual weapons of abuse, ridicule, jnd calumny were levelled at him personally ; and aitor he left the country, this continued for some time ; a p-^r tion of the press exerting themselves, to all ap- pearance, to prejudice his chance of succeeding in his mission, and frustrate the great national objects which he went out to accomplish. An address LIFE OF LORD SYDENHAM. 105 even was got up to the Prime Minister, and signed by several of the merchants of London interested in the timber and Canada trade, deprecating Mr. Thomson's appointment. Even some of his soi-disant friends, who feared, perhaps, that their intrigues or private interests might be thwarted by his activity in the province, joined in this illiberal and ungene- rous conduct. The effect, however, of these attacks was exactly the reverse of what their authors probably expected. The papers containing them had, of course, found their way to Canada before the Governor-General's arrival there, and had created rather feelings of disgust at their evident injustice and illiberality, and the assumption displayed in them, than any sympathy with the sentiments they contained. Upon landing at Quebec on the 19th October, he found a very strong impression prevailing in his favour. The great bulk of the inhabitants were prepared to receive him not merely with the respect and honours usually paid to personages occupying so high a station as the representative of royalty, but with a spirit of cordial regard, and a sanguine anticipation of the future results of his policy. The merchants especially, who form a consider- able portion of the higher ranks in Quebec, felt no little pride in receiving a Governor-General who had himself been bred to business like their own. And they welcomed him with an address from their body, expressing this natural sentiment, and their high expectations of the results of his govermiient, 1839. V / /A'^.t. 106 LIFE OF LORD SYDENHAM. 1839. arising from their knowledge of his public cha- racter. Such a compliment had never been paid to any preceding Governor. His first levee, at which this and other addresses were presented, was more numerously attended than on any previous occasion. After a stay of a few days in the ancient castle of St. Louis, he proceeded to Montreal, where, since the second rebellion, the seat of government had been fixed. And here the real business of his Administration commenced. ADIV > i.: V ■; . if:' PART II. ADMINISTRATION OF LORD SYDENHAM IN CANADA. :i ? ADMI Before ham's a to an 1 adopted cisely tc The c and Ltoy the trea gained 1 the date tloment that poii entirely and its t The c under tl Coutumc niaining French ] PxVRT II. ADMINISTRATION OF LOBD SYDENHAM IN CANADA. Before entering upon a narrative of Lord Syden- ham's administration, it will be necessary, in order to an understanding of the measures which he adopted, and the results which attended them, con- cisely to review the state of Canada at this period. The country included within the limits of Upper and Lower Canada was ceded to Great Britain by the treaty of 1763, as the fruits of the victory gained by V;'olfe on the plains of Abraham. At the date of the cession there was scarcely any set- tlement fifty miles above Montreal, and even from that point downwards the settlements were almost entirely confined to the banks of the St. Lawrence and its tributary streams. The country was governed and the lands held under the French law, known by the name of the Coutume de Paris, — a system of which the re- maining traces were effaced in Europe by the French Revolution. By the terms of the capitula- 108 LIFE OF LOUD SYDENIIA^L i: tion of Quebec the inhabitants had been secured in the possession of their property and their privileges, and in the enjoyment of their religion, and imme- diately after the conclusion of peace a proclamation issued, promising the future establishment of a representative form of government, and in the in- terval guaranteeing to the King's new subjects the benefit of the laws of England. At this time the population of Canada did not exceed 70,000 souls; and during the years which immediately succeeded, while, in the absence of all legislation on the subject, the laws of England were in force by virtue of the royal proclamation, con- siderable progress was made towards the introduc- tion of British customs and feelings. Nor were there any complaints at that time of the hardship of such a policy. On the contrary, the people, too happy to be relieved from the iron despotism of France, and grateful for the protection extended to their religion and property, appear to have been prepared cheerfully to accept such modifications of their existing institutions as the British govern- ment might think necessary. Even until a compa- ratively recent period they continued to retain a lively sense of the contrast between the French and the British governments, and of the advantages which they derived from their transfer in 1763 to the latter.* * The following extract of a speech, delivered by Mr. Papi- neau at his election in July 1820 for the west ward of the city of Montreal, will conclusively prove the assertion in the text: — regula '< Noi wo assei now ca opportui calamity reigned became feeling and thoi every ot could it been mai enumeral many ye those wh glance to fathers o their legi French ^ oppressiv stantly n( its depem been conj brity of peaceful military j state of from fa mi coni])anie sonal libe of inhabi homes an( havoc froi Ohio, to IJay. Su change I character. ADMINISTRATION IN CANADA. In 1774 the government was placed on a more regular footing by the act of the 14th Geo. 3., com- " Not many days," said Mr. Papineau, " have elapsed since we assembled on this spot for tlie same purpose as that which now calls us together — the choice of representatives; the opportunity of that choice being caused by a great national calamity— the decease of that beloved Sovereign who had reigned over the inhabitants of this country since the day they became British subjects : it is impossible not to express the feeling of gratitude for the many benefits received from him, and those of sorrow for his loss, so deeply felt in this, as in every other, portion of his extensive dominions. And how could it be otherwise, when each year of his long reign has been marked by new favours bestowed upon the country ? To enumerate these, and to detail the history of this country for so many years, would occupy more time than can be spared by those whom I have the honour to address. Suffice it then at a glance to compare our present happy situation with that of our fivthers on the eve of the day when George the Third became their legitimate monarch. Suffice it to recollect that under the French government, (internally and externally arbitrary and oppressive,) the interests of this country had been more con- stantly neglected and mal-administered than any other part of its dependencies. In its estimation, Canada seems not to have been considered as a country which, from fertility of soil, salu- brity of climate, and extent of territory, might have been the peaceful abode of a numerous and happy population, but as a military post, whose feeble garrison was condemned to live in a state of perpetual warfare and insecurity, frequently suffering from famine, without trade, or a trade monopolised by privileged companies, public and private property often pillaged, and per- sonal liberty daily viohited; when year after year the handful of inhabitants settled in this province were dragged from their homes and families, to shed their blood, and carry murder and havoc from the shores of the great lakes, the Mississippi and the Ohio, to those of Nova Scotia, Newfoundland, and Hudson's Bay. Such was the situation of our fathers : behold the change I George the Third, a sovereign revered for his moral character, attention to his kingly duties, and love of his sub- 109 110 LIFE OF LORD SYDENHAM. :M monly called the Quebec Act, by which a council was appointed, possessing, with the governor, legis- lative powers in all matters except taxation. At the same time the most perfect toleration was se- cured to the Roman Catholic priesthood and laity ; even the oaths of abjuration and supremacy being in their case replaced by a modified form of oatli of allegiance. Had the act proceeded no further all would have been well : the amalgamation which had begun be. tween the two races would have gone on without difficulty or interruption, and the institutions of the country and the feelings of the people would, with- out any severe shock, have been gradually Anglicised. jects, succeeds to Louis XV., a prince then deservedly despised for his debauchery, his inattention to the wants of his people, and his lavish profusion of the public monies upon favourites and mistresses. From that day the reign of the law succeeded to that of violence. From that day the treasures, the navy, and the armies of Great Britain, are mustered to afford us an invin- cible protection against external danger. From thai day the better part of her laws became ours; while our religion, pro- perty, and the laws by which they were governed, remain unaltered. Soon after are granted to us the privileges of its free constitution ; an infallible pledge, when acted upon, of our internal prosperity. Now religious toleration ; trial by jury (that wisest of safeguards ever devised for the protection of innocence) ; security against arbitrary imprisonment, by the privileges attached to tlie writ of Habeas Corpus; legal and equal security afforded to all, in their person, honour, and pro- perty ; the right to obey no other laws than those of our own making and choice, expressed through our representatives : — all these advantages have become our birthright, and shall, I hope, be the lasting inheritance of our posterity. To secure them lot us only act as British subjects and freemen." But al Ainerii cned al had th wise po betwee bourin^ ingly t] already in all t since th the En law alo] arrest t to show instituti which h the sym subjects nections way cou nity of British have an itself th which ^vl The during a large j displaye( crown. ADMINISTRATION IN CANADA. V 1 ouncil I legis- i. At vas sc- laity; ' being oath of d have jun be- vitho\it 3 of the I, with- jlicised. despised But about this date began the discussions with the American provinces; and British statesmen, fright- ened at the independent and democratic spirit which liad there sprung up, seem to have considered it a wise poHcy at any price to raise an impassable barrier between the New England States and their neigh- bouring fellow-subjects of French origin. Accord- ingly the act of 1774, in addition to the provisions already noticed, re-established the French civil law in all the conceded parts of the province in which, since the treaty of Paris, it had been supposed that the English law prevailed. The English criminal law alone remained. The necessary eiFect was to arrest the tendency to assimilation which had begun to show itself — to revive and perpetuate those French institutions which had preceded the conquest, but which had begun to disappear — and to turn back the sympathies of the Canadians from their fellow- subjects of English descent to their ancestral con- nections, subjects of the French crown. No surer way could have been found of preventing a commu- nity of feeling between Canada and the adjoining British colonies ; but, although such a policy might have an ephemeral convenience, it contained within itself the seeds of permanent evils, the results of which we feel at the present day. The constitution of 1774 lasted 17 years; and during the revolutionary struggle, which occupied a large portion of that period, the French Canadians displayed an unflinching attachment to the British crown. But in 1791, still further to secure their 112 LIFE OF LOUD SYDENHAM. attaclunciit, and to leave them nothing to envy in the institutions of the revolted provinees, tlie Impe- rial Parliament consented, in deference to the ap[)li- cations of a portiom of the inhabitants, principally the English merchants who had now settled in Quebec and Montreal, to confer on Canada a legis- lature, framed after its own likeness, jind invested with its own attributes. In imitation of the Par- liament of Great Britain, the Canadian legislature was to consist of its representative Assembly, elected by 40s. freeholders (tantamount almost to universal suffrage), and its Council, nominated by the Cro^vn ; while, to draw still closer the resemblance between the latter body and the House of Lords, the seats in it were declared to be for life, and the Crown was authorised to make them hereditary, and to annex to them hereditary titles. This au- thority, however, was never acted on. It is probable that the British Government did not at first contemplate a division of the province, but merely an extension of the system established by the act of 1774. But such a scheme naturally created much alarm among the French Canadians; who in a memorial presented to the Cro\vn, and dated in December 1778, thus expressed their feelings : — " It is our religion, our laws relative to our pro- perty, and our personal surety in which we are most interested ; and these we enjoy in the most ample manner by the Quebec Bill. AVe are the more averse to an House of Assembly, from the fatal consequences which will result from it. Can we, as Koman Cutlioli the SEE House a time balance we and which 01 have W€ see thos at prese] which tl in propc fear thai sion crej and nour opposite naturally It was some of to concil province ^ at the poi and cons< The coun exclusivel lands hel soccage ; been alre£ the Frencl to each c portion of ADMINISTRATION IN CANADA. 113 7 i»» mpo- ip[)li- pully d ill legis- ostc'd : Par- iiitiirc mbly, ost to :ed by blaiicc Lords, nd the Vitary, lis au- id not c, but by the reated who , dated ?lings : ir pro- most ample I averse lueiices koman Catholics, hope to preserve for any length of time the same prerogatives as Protestant subjects in a House of Representatives ? and will there not come a time when the influeii e of the latter will over- balance that of our posterity? In this case should we and our posterity enjoy the same advantages which our present Constit tion secures to us? Again : have we not reason to dread lest we should soon see those taxes levied upon the estates which are at present actually levied upon articles of commerce, which the inhabitant pays indirectly it is true, but in proportion to what he consumes? Shall we not fear that we may one day see the seeds of dissen- sion created by the Assembly of Representatives, and nourished by those intestine hatreds which the opposite interests of the old and new subjects will naturally give birth to?" It was apparently to obviate these objections, some of which have been remarkably verified, and to conciliate all parties, that the division of the province was resorted to, the boundary being drawn at the point where the grants of the French Crown, and consequently the French settlements, ceased. The country west of that point was to be governed exclusively by English laws and customs, and the lands held on the tenure of free and common soccage ; the country to the east, as far as it had been already conceded, continuing to be held on the French tenure. Thus was apparently secured to each class of the King's subjects, within this portion of his dominions, the free and unrestricted I V 114 LIFE OF LORD SYDENHAM. i: enjoyment of its own peculiar laws, language, and religion. Plausible as were the arguments by which this arrangement was recommended, its defects did not escape the Opposition of that day. They pointed out the impossibility of excluding British settlers from the French portion of Canada, and its impolicy, even if it were practicable. They predicted the war of races which must inevitably arise, and the sense of nationality which would be kept alive by the isolation of the French Canadians. Nor, as they observed, was the scheme even consis- tent mth itself, for while professing to separate the French Canadians from their fellow subjects of British origin, it also made provision for the future settlement of the latter within the French division of the province. The efforts of the Opposition were unavailing, and the bill passed. Experience has since verified the predictions of Mr. Fox and his supporters, and to the legislation of that date may be attributed most of the difficulties which during twenty-five years embarrassed the march of public affairs in Canada. But at first the system appeared to work well. In Lower Canada the French Canadians, a kind-hearted, religious, and hospitable race, but remarkable rather for simplicity and cheerfulness than for the energy and self-assertion of the British colonist, and neither understanding nor desiring self-government, took little interest in politics, and were unconscious of the power which the new institutions placed in their hands. of exp was de no den did th( appear the go rogativ hands - though ment oi In U consists the stru, with th< estates ] party, th in the n( flinching constitut settlers r to the fa sufTerc J ; hers, and losses, a a first neither contests. This s nience ui ADMINISTRATION IN CANADA. 115 !, and h this s did They kitish I, and They /itably »uld be adians. consis- •ate the ects of i future division irs, hands. Their revenue was small, and as any excess of expenditure beyond the permanent appropriations was defrayed out of the British treasury, there was no demand upon them for suppUes, nor consequently did they interfere with financial questions. They appear to have trusted entirely to the good faith of the government, allowing their constitutional pre- rogatives to become worse than a cypher in their hands — powerless as a means of advancement, al- though an obstacle to any innovation or improve- ment on the part of the executive. In Upper Canada the population at this time consisted principally of English famiUes, who during the struggle for American independence had sided with the British government, and to whom, their estates having been confiscated by the victorious party, the British government had offered an asylum in the newly created province. Martyrs of an un- flinching loyalty, and of attachment to the British constitution in the country of their birth, these settlers naturally, in their new abode, clung closer to the faith for which they had so long fought and suffered ; — while, being inconsiderable in num- bers, and wholly occupied in repairing their recent losses, and struggling against the difficulties of a first settlement in a new country, they had neither time nor attention to devote to pohtical contests. This state of things lasted without inconve- nience until the commencement of the second I 2 116 LIFE OF LORD SYDENHAM. I American war. The inhabitants of both provinces, removed from the contests which were desolating Europe, and secured by the navies of Great Britain from foreign aggression, continued to grow in numbers and in wealth, — their attachment to the mother country nourished by pride in her victories, and by gratitude for her protection. Accordingly when the war broke out, no hesitation tarnished their courage, or threw a suspicion on their loyalty. With a self-devotion that has never been surpassed, the in- habitants, whether of French or English origin, flew to arms in defence of their country and institutions. The struggle was short, but in the course of it none displayed a more determined bravery or devotion, joined to a natural aptitude for mihtary service, than the French Canadians. The proof of their courage and military skill is written in the battle of Chateauguay, while to the loyalty and courage of the Upper Canadians the heights of Queenstowii bear imperishable testimony. But events were now occurring in Europe, the remote consequences of which aff^ected most se- riously the Canadian provinces, and which, while they have constituted in great measure the causes of their rapid advance, brought with them likewise those political contests which always attend the progress of free states. Hitherto the population was still small, and was in the course of augmenta- tion only by its natural increase. So long as this was the case there was nothing in either province to alarm the older inhabitants, nor could the compe midab] quarrel brough individ timed c secure employ] monly i which j hitherto governn Canada the lang mother i leading f States. masses o: war, and cultural hitherto country more acti politics. were mai energy, c kiiowledg( hut little nationality been the the pride ADMINISTRATION IN CANADA. 117 nces, iting 'itain w in the ories, lingly 1 their With he in- 1, flew itions. t none iTotion, ervice, ■ their battle ourage istown )e, the lost se- while causes ikewise id the lulation [menta- as this 'ovince lid the competition for place or power become very for- midable. The rising generation were not likely to quarrel with the system under which they had been brought up ; or if a more turbulent and energetic individual at times arose, it was easy, by well- timed concession, to disarm his opposition, if not to secure his support. Even the struggle for official employment, which in a young country is com- monly the source of the jealousies and dissensions which give rise to the earliest discontents, had hitherto been spared to Canada. The choice of the government had been necessarily confined in Lower Canada to the English inhabitants, who alone spoke the language and understood the constitution of the mother country, and in Upper Canada to the few leading families among the refugees from the United States. But when the peace of 1815 let loose those masses of population which had been tied up in the war, and still more when the commercial and agri- cultural crisis which followed forced many who had hitherto held respectable stations in the mother country to emigrate to her dependencies, a new and more active spirit began to show itself in Canadian politics. Among those who emigrated to Canada were many men of excellent education, of great energy, of considerable means, and of practical knowledge of the world. These men who had but little sympathy with that Franco-Canadian nationality which in the Lower province it had been the policy of the Constitutional act and the pride of the • people to maintain, and who I 3 118 LIFE OF LOUD SYDENHAM. brought with them ro innate respect for the exist- ing authorities of the Upper province, naturally looked to acquire in their new country at least an equal, if not a superior, standing to that which they had left. But they soon found that while in Lower Canada their professional prospects were injured and their commercial speculations circumscribed by by French laws and regulations, in Upper Canada they had little chance, mthout local connection, of obtaining either employment or influence. Against such a state of things they naturally protested, and tlie agitation produced by their existence at once broke up the calm which had before prevailed. In Lower Canada the French Canadians took fright at the increase of power which the English minority derived from the numbers and energy of the new comers. In Upper Canada the old settlers foresaw in them the most fonnidable competitors for that station and influence which hitherto had been re- stricted to themselves. Thus was created in both provinces an active opposition to the government, with this diff*erence, that while in Lower Canada the new comers being of the same origin as the office-holders, the opposition consisted of the ori- ginal inhabitants, in Upper Canada it was composed principally of the new settlers. The spirit of opposition once aroused, it was not difficult to find opportunities for its exercise. The Assemblies were suddenly awakened to a sense of their powers and importance, and the change was assisted by the demand which the mother country. ADMINISTRATION IN CANADA. 119 3xist- irally st an I tliey jower ijured )ed by anada Lon, of gainst d, and t once [1. In friglit Lnority le new oresaw >r that ;en re- both iiment, 'anada as the be ori- iposed ras not The msc of Joe was )uutrv, in the embarrassments consequent on the war, now made for the first time, that they should defray from local revenues such of their expenses as she had hitherto paid from the Imperial Treasury. Dis- cussions arose as to the manner in which the sup- plies thus called for should be voted, and as to the constitutional right of the Crown to certain revenues independently of the local legislature. The discus- sions spread to other subjects, and the representa- tive branch soon found itself in either province at issue with the executive. It would have been natural to expect that in colonies, the constitution of which was modelled on that of Great Britain, the executive government, on finding itself oj^posed by the popular body, would have adopted some course analogous to that by which, in the mother country, the harmony between the Crown and the House of Commons is main- tained. But unfortunately the principle, that the executive government should be in harmony with the representative body, which in the mother coun- try is a truism, had not only never been recog- nised in Canada, but when put forward had been resisted, and denounced as democratic, revolu- tionary, and almost treasonable. The arguments fairly arising from the distinction between the supreme power of the Imperial Parliament and the subordinate functions of the Colonial Legislature had been pushed far beyond their legitimate limits, until the co-operation of the latter with the local executive becmed to be considered a matter almost of indiffcr- I 4 V 120 LIFE OF LORD SYDENHAM. ence, or at any rate not of sufficient importance to be obtained by a sacrifice of predetermined mea- sures or executive patronage. To this result the claims which had grown up on the part of the public servants, and the influence which they had naturally acquired over successive Governors, no doubt contributed in a considerable degree. The tenure of office had been originally, as in England, during pleasure; and it must be assumed that in the first instance the Government selected only such individuals as possessed the good-will and confidence of the great mass of the inhabitants, and were fitted to represent their interests. But as the members returned to the first Assemblies Avere either little fitted or little disposed for official life, and as it was evidently very convenient for the Government to be able to hold out to its servants the prospect of some permanency in their appoint- ments, the tenure during pleasure was gradually converted in practice into a tenure during good behaviour, and the officers acquired a quasi-pre- scriptive right to be protected against loss of place or emolument, so long as neither their capacity nor their conduct could be impugned. But the adoption of this policy had involved another departure from English practice. As soon as it was determined that the executive Government need not be in unison with, or depend upon the support of the House of Assembly, it had followed that the Government should withdraw its officers from that House, or at all events should divest such ADMINISTRATION IN CANADA. 121 n the lowed fficers t such as might have seats in it of all pretension to speak or vote as the organs of its views. To have done otherwise — to have allowed them to speak and vote as members of the Government, yet to have seen them continually defeated and to have made no change, — would have been too anomalous and humi- liating, and could only have increased the violence of the Opposition. Thus while the Canadian con- stitution, unprotected by those safeguards against popular pressure which result from the wealth, the education, and the connections of the members of our representative body, was also deprived of that self-adjusting principle without which our House of Commons, notwithstanding its natural and ad- ventitious restraints, would become the instrument of revolution, the great principle that the battle of the Crown should be fought in the representative body was entirely thrown aside, and the Govern- ment was left "svithout the means of defence or explanation in that body where its defence was all- important. At its first adoption this system had seemed to answer the end of protecting the Executive from popular pressure ; and so long as the distrust of the Assembly was exhibited only in motions of inquiry, demands for papers, or violent declama- tions and resolutions, the isolation of the Crown rendered such proceedings utterly ineffective. But when distrust ripened into hostility, and the As- sembly, chafing at the contemptuous neglect of the Government in carrying out its own policy 122 LIFE OF LORD SYDENHAM. without regard to their opinions or votes, pro- ceeded from words to deeds, and began to pass measures to weaken the Prerogative, and to strengtlien their own hands, it became evident that collision between the Executive and the people must, if allowed to continue, break up the foundations of the Constitution. To avoid this the Government adopted, as its last resource, the fatal policy of employing the Legislative Council as a breakwater between it and the people. The leaders of the Assemblies having adopted ultra- popular doctrines, men were selected for the Legis- lative Council who were known as their most uncompromising opponents. Collision between the houses once established the usual consequences followed. Both parties became heated in the con- test, and the leaders of the popular body, freed from the usual responsibilities of party men — secure against being called upon in power to redeem the pledges made in opposition — proceeded to the most extreme lengths. Measures were passed, with the full knowledge that they must be thro^vn out by the Council, and bills were sent up at such a period and in such a form as to insure their rejec- tion, for the express purpose of casting odium on that body. At last, irritated by their utter impo- tence against the passive resistance of the Govern- ment, and rendered desperate by being placed under a sentence of perpetual exclusion from power, the ]iopular leaders were ready to resort to almost any means to remove tlic proscription under wJiich they appar( first ir Canad supplii public to del] only n The l)rovin( dififerei each. knowle the nei gislativ structec executi nssembl of Low( by a. re month quired election Thest on the their ex( proceedi Lower ( rerd stat the part ADMINISTRATION IN CANADA. 123 pro- pass A to ddent I the ip the 1 this e, the ouncil The ultra- Legis- most sen the uences le con- freed en — edecm to the 1, with ,\ii out such a rejec- m on impo- overn- under ler, the ist raiy h they apparently lay. Thus was the majority pushed on, first in the Lower Province*, and afterwards in Upper Canada f, to the extreme measure of stopping the supplies ; and thus was gradually produced in the public mind that exasperation which induced them to demand a change in their Constitution as the only means of deliverance from their difficulties. The nature of the change sought by the two provinces respectively sufficiently illustrates the difference between the constitutional knowledge of each. While the Lower Canadians, drawing their knowledge of representative institutions only from the neighbouring states, demanded an elective le- gislative council, the Upper Canadians, better in- structed by their English experience, asked that the executive council should be made responsible to the assembly. Both demands were resisted. In the case of Lower Canada the refusal was solemnly sanctioned by a resolution of the House of Commons in the month of March, 1837. In Upper Canada it ac- quired a momentary support by the defeat, at the election of 1836, of several of the popular leaders. These checks did not discourage the Opposition ; on the contrary, they rather tended to stimulate their exertions and to embitter their language. The proceedings of the British Parliament in respect to LoAver Canada were attributed to ignorance of the real state of the case, — to misrepresentations on the part of the British and official party, and to * III J83fJ. t In uy the iission ty of ult to Lis de- scribed the feeUng which appeared to him to prevail on the subiect in Lower Canada.* — "It is," he observes, " my decided conviction, grounded upon such other opportunities as I have enjoyed since my arrival in this country of ascertaining the state of public feeling, that the speedy adoption of that measure (the Union) by Parliament is indispensable to the future peace and prosperity of this province. " All parties look with extreme dissatisfaction at the present state of government. Those of British origin, attached by feeling and education to a con- stitutional form of government, althongh they ac- quiesced for a time in the establishment of arbitrary power as a refuge from a yet worse despotism, submit with impatience to its continuance, and regret the loss, thruugh no fault of their own, of what they consider as their birthright. Those of the French Canadians, who remained loyal to their Sovereign and true to British connection, share the same feelings. Whilst among those who are less well affected, or more readily deceived, the suspen- sion of all constitutional rights affords to reckless and unprincij)led agitators a constant topic of ex- citement. " All parties, therefore, without exception, de- mand a change. On the nature of that change there exists, undoubtedly, some difference of opinion. " In a country so lately convulsed, and where 1839. V * Parliamentary Papers, 1840. K 4 136 LIFE OF LORD SYDENHAM. I8.39. passions arc still so much excited, extreme opinions cannot but exist ; and accordingly, -whilst some persons advocate an immediate return to the former constitution of the Province, others propose either the entire exclusion from political privileges of all of French origin, or the partial dismemberment of the Province, with the view of conferring on one portion a representative system, while maintaining in the other a despotism. "I have observed, however, that the advocates of these widely different opinions have generally admitted them to be their asj)irations, rather than measures which could be practically adopted, and have been unable to suggest any course except the Union, by which that at which they aim, viz. con- stitutional government for themselves, could be permanently and safely established. " There exists, too, even amongst these persons, a strong and prevailing desire that the Imperial Legislature should take the settlement of Canadian affairs at once into its own hands, rather than it should be delayed by a reference to individual opi- nions, or to the schemes which may be put forward by different sections of local parties. '' The large majority, however, of those whose opinions I have had the opportunity of learning, both of British and French origin, and of those too whose character and station entitle thein to the greatest authority, advocate warmly the establish- ment of the Union, and that upon terms of perfect fairness, not merely to the two Provinces, but to ADMINISTRATION IN CANADA. 137 the two races ^vithin this Province. Of the extent to which this feeling with regard to the Upper Province is carried, your Lordship will find a most conclusive proof in the resolution of the Special Council, respecting the debt of Upper Canada. By this resolution, a large sum owing by that Province on account of public works of a general nature, is proposed to be charged on the joint revenues of the United Province. Upon other details of the ar- rangement the same feeling prevails. It would be, however, useless for me to trouble your Lordship with resj^ect to them, until I have had the oppor- tunity of ascertaining the views and opinions enter- tained by the people of Upper Canada. If, however, as I trust, the principle of re-union should meet Avith their assent, I am of opinion that it can only be in consequence of demands of an unwarrantable character upon their part that difficulty will arise in settling the principal terms." Fortified with the concurrence of the only legis- lative body existing in Lower Canada, Mr. Poulett Thomson left Montreal for the Upper Province on the 19th November, and after a few hours' delay at Kingston, arrived at Toronto on the 21st of the same month. The excitement which had been created by the publication of Lord Durham's report still prevailed in all its original force. Writing to the Secretary of State on the 22nd of the previous September, Sir George Arthur had thus described the state of the Province* : — " All the Avicked heads on i83y. V. * Parliamentary Papers of 1840. 138 LIFE OF LOUD SYDENHAM. isnf). both sides arc constantly at work plotting mischief; and many inconsiderate persons, by the course they are now pursuing at the ' responsible government ' meetings, promote the designs of the most criminal characters. The foundations of civil order were broken up by the occurrences of the year 1837, and general mistrust and bad feeling open out a way for the display of the worst passions of the worst men, of which they seem keenly disposed to avail themselves." And again, on the 15th of October, he added — " Upon the whole, I wish it were in my power to give your Lordship a more gratifying account of the feeling throughout the Province, from the impressions made in my own mind, than I have it in my poAver to impart. Your Lordship will observe in the stateinents herewith transmitted, — and the same have been communicated to this Government by many other sources, — that serious disturbances in the Province arc still looked for." The advent of the Governor-General and his as- sumption of the Government of Upper Canada — a measure which nothing but the peculiar circum- stances of the time would have justified — had been looked for with much anxiety, though with very dif- ferent anticipations, by the two parties. While his connection with the Home Government and his pre- vious political career caused the official or " compact" party to regard him with suspicion, as probably inimical to their supremacy, the reform party were naturally disposed for the same reasons to look to him with more confidence and hope. He a vcmber Corporj Trade c address found I * « To h Tlior Coun sions " May i and comn respect du beg leave this city. " Amids of GoveriK of the poli( have create ants, we w< advent of a of our con restore to j; vince, give rage tlie em country to " Having Excellency' government upon the qi vinces of I express our not be pred the inhabita lation who f our nation a ticularly wli ADMINISTRATION IN CANADA. 130 He assumed the Government on the 22nd of No- vember ; on which day also he received from tlic Corporation of Toronto, and from the Board of Trade of that city, congratulatory addresses. The address from the Corporation of Toronto will he found below*, and is sufficiently indicative of the lS3j). \.. * " To his Excellency the Right Honourable Charles Poulett Thomson, one of Her Majesty's most Honourable Privy Council ; Governor-General of all Her Majesty's Posses- sions in British North America, &c. &c. " May it please your Excellency, " We her Majesty's loyal subjects, the mayor, aldermen, and commonalty of the city of Toronto, influenced by the respect due to the Representative of our gracious Sovereign, bog leave to congratulate your Excellency on your arrival in this city. " Amidst the doubts and incertitude which the frequent changes of Governors and Lieutenant-Governors of these Provinces, and of the policy of the Imperial Government with regard to them, have created in the minds of the loyal and well-affected inhabit- ants, we would fain hail the arrival of your Excellency as the advent of a more certain, permanent, and prosperous condition of our commercial, social, and political relations, which will restore to prosperity the commerce and agriculture of the Pro- vince, give a new impulse to internal improvements, and encou- rage the emigration of our loyal fellow-subjects from the mother country to this important appendage to the British Crown. " Having understood that one of the principal objects of your Excellency's visit to this Province, and of your assuming the government thereof, is to ascertain the state of public opinion upon the question of the proposed Legislative Union of the Pro- vinces of Upper and Lower Canada; we beg respectfully to express our conviction that any Legislative Union which shall not be predicated upon the ascendency of the loyal portion of the inhabitants, or which shall give to that portion of the popu- lation who from education, habits, and prejudices are aliens to our nation and our institutions ; and to that part of it more par- ticularly which has been eiigagod in open rebellion or treason- uo LIFK OF LORD SYDENHAM. i8-^*)« Spirit of cxclusivl.sm which that body and their friends were accustomed to advocate. The answer able conspiracy against the government ; the same rights and j)rivileges with the loyal British population of the Provinces, who have adhered so zealously and faithfully at the risk of their lives and property to their Sovereign and Constitution, would be fatal to the connection of these Provinces with the parent country. " Faithful in our allegiance to our Sovereign, and calmly but earnestly determined, as far as depends upon us, the highest muni ipal body in the Province, to perpetuate the connection with the parent state, your Excellency may confidently rely on our cordial support in whatever measures you may think advis- able to adopt, tending to maintain that connection, and to uphold the cherished constitution under which we live, and which we are firndy resolved to the utmost of our power to pre- serve inviolate and unchanged. " (Signed) John Powell, Mayor. " Council Chamber, 18th Nov. 1839." His Excellency s Kepli/. " Gentlemen, " I thank you for your congratulations on my arrival in this Province. I trust that the information which I shall ac- quire during my stay here may enable me to recommend such measures as may promote the agricultural and commercial in- terests of this important Province. Among those measures the re-union of Upper and Lower Canada appears to me the most essential, and you have been rightly informed that one principal object of my mission is to determine in what manner it can most safely and most advantageously be carried into effect. That measure is recommended by her Majesty's Government from a deep conviction that it Mill cement the connection between tlie colonies and the parent state, which it is the firm determination of her Mujij-ty to ma^intain inviolate; but to be of permanent advantage, it must be founded upon principles of equal justice to all her Majesty's subjects. " For this, and for all other measures having in view the advan- tage of these Provinces, I shall confidently rely upon the support and co-operation of the people of Ujiper Canada." returned Union sh portion oi sisting tlj " equal ji the effect antagonisi regard tlu The Pa the 3d oi short time employed and in mi ments of such of t] capital.* * He also for a visit to a private let " I arrive enough : a Cascades, tw can be callet miles; then into Lake O night on the have describ rence I Th( yet what be every two m the job was i suffer; and ADMINISTUATION IN CANADA. 141 returned to it, by repudiating the doctrine that the Union should be based on the ascendency of one portion of the population over another, and by in- sisting that it must be framed on principles of " equ.'d justice to all her Majesty's subjects," had the effect of confirming the feehngs with which the antagonist parties had been originally disposed to regard the Governor-General. The Parliament had been summoned to meet on the 3d of the following month, and during the short time which intervened the Governor-General employed himself in the preparation of his measures, and in making himself acquainted with the senti- ments of the people in general, and especially of such of their representatives as had reached the capital.* It had not been without much delibera- 1839. * He also contrived to steal one holiday from public business for a visit to Niagara, as appears by the I'pllowing extract from a private letter, dated " Toronto, December 3. 1839. " I arrived here on Thursday week. The journey was bad enough : a portage to La Chine ; then the steamboat to the Cascades, twenty-four miles further; then road again (if road it can be called) for sixteen miles ; then steam to Prescott, forty miles ; then road twelve miles ; then, by a change of steamers, into Lake Ontario to Kingston, and thence here. I slept one night on the road, and two on board the steamers. Such as I have described it is the boasted navigation of the St. Law- rence I The weather was cold, but not bad after the first day ; yet what between the journey itself, the receiving addresses every two miles, the guards of honour and military nonsense, the job was a most fatiguing one. However, my health did not suffer ; and as I felt sure that once embarked in business I 142 LIFE OF LORD SYDENHAM. 183.9. tion that it was resolved to call again the existing Assembly rather than resort to a dissolution, and thus submit the question of a union to an Assembly elected with especial reference to this matter. But after the most ample consideration it was thought better not to add the excitement of a general elec- tion to that already existing on the question of " responsible government; " and accordingly the old Plouse, which had been elected in 1836, during the administration of Sir F. B. Head, was called together. The views which, at this time, Mr. Poulett Thom- son entertained on the subject of responsible go- vernment will be best explained by the following- extract of a private letter addressed by him to one of his friends in England, and dated 12th December, 1839. should never get there, I started again on Saturday for the Falls. It is only thirty-six miles across the Lake to Queenston, and then seven to the Falls. So, by starting early in a Go- vernment steamer, which I kept, I did the thing in a day, and returned here to sleep. Then again at Niagara, Queenston, and Drummondville, I had to face addresses and the military ; still I got three or four hours for the Falls, and certainly they beggar all power of description. The day was propitious. A hard frost, which had produced the most magnificent icicles wherever the drip was slow, and a brilliant sunshine to set off the scene. The scenery is nothing ; or whatever beauty there may be is certainly lost in the one absorbing object — the enor- mous volume of water which dashes down. Unlike all the other Materfalls which I have seen, where the water is a mere acces- sory to the picture, here the water is every tiling, — the surround- ing scenery but the frame in which it is set. I can imagine nothing else in nature so awfully grand." AD'MINISTRATION IN CANADA. 143 for the enston, a Go- ay, and enston, litary ; y they |)us. A icicUis set oflP ' there e enor- other magme " I am not a bit afraid of the responsible government cry. I have already done much to put it down in its inadmissible — sense ; namely, the demand that the council shall be respon- sible to the assembly, and that the governor shall take their advice, and be bound by it. In fact, this demand has been made much more for the people than hy them. And I have not met with any one who has not at once admitted the absurdity of claiming to put the council over the head of the governor. It is but fair, too, to say that every thing has in past times been done by the different governors to excite the feelings of the people on this question. First, the executive council has generally been composed of the persons most obnoxious to the majority of the assembly. And next, the governor has taken ex- treme care to make every act of his own go forth to the public on the responsihility of the executive council. So the people have been carefully taught to believe that the gover- nor is nobody, and the executive council the real power, and that by the governor himself. At the same time they have seen that power placed in the hands of their oppo- nents. Under such a system it is not to be wondered at if our argument founded on the responsibility of the governor to the home government falls to the ground. I have told the people plainly that, as I cannot get rid of my responsibility to the home government, I will place no responsibility on the council ; that they are a council for the governor to consult, but no more. And I have yet met with no * responsible government ' man who was not satisfied with the doctrine. In fact, there is no other theory which has common sense. Either the gover- nor is the sovereign or the minister. If the first, he may have ministers, but he cannot be responsible to the govern- ment at home, and all colonial government becomes im- possible. He must therefore be the minister, in which case he cannot be under the control of men in the colony." It has already been stated that heretofore the 18.09. 144 LIFE OF LORD SYDENHAM. isiio. Government had studiously avoided the appearance of having an organ in the House of Assembly, and that the public officers who happened to be members of that or the other house had been in the habit of speaking and voting according to their individual views without reference to those of the Government. Under such a system it was not ordy impossible for the Government to feel sure of carrying out its policy, but it was difficult to persuade the public of the good faith and sincerity with which its mea- sures were brought forward. A better practice was now to be substituted ; and accordingly before the commencement of the session the Governor- General explained fully to the public officers who had seats in either House the views of the Home Government and his own on the measures about to be brought forward, and the course which it would be necessary for them in their official character to pursue; and to prevent all misunderstanding as to the principles on which the Government was in future to be conducted, as far as regarded the re- lations between the Governor and the principal officers of the Crown, he gave publicity to the despatch from Lord J. Russell of which a copy will be found below.* * Copi/ of a Despatch from Lord John Russell to the Right Honourable C. Poulett Thomson. « Sir, " Downing Street, 16th Oct. 1839. " I am desirous of directing your attention to the tenure on which public offices in the gift of the Crown appear to be held throughout the British Colonics. I find that the Governor himself and every person serving under him are appointed during Pie cscenc tli :; royj Governc of the pi the adm other pu positive two last the subo resignatic ing a teni bably, in the liighc tlie time ( amongst ( socurit}' f( tlie least unwilling residence liabit whic possible, there, has alleged in tions of t ferent com communici liereafter c Canada. " You w known, tlia licr Majest tenure duri Hill he call( any sufficie (liei)cy of tl (lovernor m afions whic ADMINISTRATION IN CANADA. 145 He was fortunate enough to obtain the acqui- I839. cscence of all the official members of the legislature Right 1 839. tenure W to be )vernor I during tl, i royal pleasure ; but with this important difference — the Governor's commission is in fact revoked whenever the interests of the public service are supposed to require such a change in the administration of local affairs ; but the commissions of all other public officers are very rarely indeed recalled, except for positive misconduct. I cannot learn that during the present or two last reigns, a single instance has occurred of a change in the subordinate colonial officers, except in cases of death or resignationj incapacity or misconduct. This system of convert- ing a tenure at pleasure into a tenure for life originated, pro- bably, in the practice which formerly prevailed of selecting all the higher class of colonial functionaries from persons who at the time of the appointment were resident in this country ; and amongst other motives which afforded such persons a virtual security for the continued possession of their places, it was not the least considerable that, except on those terms, they were unwilling to incur the risk and expense of transferring their residence to remote and often to unhealthy climates. But the habit which has obtained of late years of preferring, as far as possible, for places of trust in the Colonies, persons resident there, has taken away the strongest motive which could thus be alleged in favour of a practice to which there are many objec- tions of the greatest weight. It is time, therefore, that a dif- ferent course should be followed ; and the object of my present communication is to announce to you the rules which will be hereafter observed on this subject in the Province of Lower Canada. " You will understand, and will cause it to be made generally known, that hereafter the tenure of Colonial offices held during her Majesty's pleasure, will not be regarded as equivalent to a tenure during good behaviour ; but that not only such officers will be called upon to retire from the public service as often as any sufficient motives of public policy may suggest the expe- diency of that measure, but that a change in the person of the (lovcrnor will be considered as a sufficient reason for any alter- ations which his successor may deem it expedient to make in L v.. 146 LIFE OF LORD SYDENHAM. 1839. in the proposed measures, and the assurance of their "~~ support during the session ; but as several of these gentlemen had previously been opposed to the the list of public functionaries, subject of course to the future confirmation of the Sovereign. " These remarks do not extend to judicial offices, nor are they meant to apply to places which are altogether ministerial, and which do not devolve upon the holders of them duties in the right discharge of which the character and policy of the govern- ment are directly involved. They are intended to apply rather to the heads of departments than to persons serving as clerks or in similar capacities under them ; neither do they extend to officers in the service of the Lords Commissioners of the Trea- sury. The functionaries who will be chiefly though not exclii- sively affected by them, are the Colonial Secretary, the Treasurer or Receiver-General, the Surveyor-General, the Attorney and Solicitor-General, the Sheriff or Provost Marshal, and other offi- cers who, under different designations from these, are entrusted with the same or similar duties. To this list must also be added the Members of the Council, especially in those Colonies in which the Executive and Legislative Councils are distinct bodies. " The application of these rules to officers to be hereafter appointed will be attended with no practical difficulty. It may not be equally easy to enforce them in the case of existing officers, and especially of those who may have left this country for the express purpose of accepting the offices they at present fill. Every reasonable indulgence must be shown for the expect- ations which such persons have been encouraged to form ; but even in these instances it will be necessary that the right of enforcing these regulations should be distinctly maintained in practice, as well as in theory, as often as the public good may clearly demand the enforcement of them. It may not be unad- visable to compensate any such officers for their disappointment even by pecuniary grants, when it may appear unjust to dispense with their services without such an indemnity. " I have, &c. ♦* (Signed) J. Russell." Unioi cumsi them which the dc an act reason an ec] has m^ It is the spo with w or cons with w tracts f] vnll sh( culties, surinoui he said, " I hav little tini to pieces opening,' whole I fill the en: hand with more unrt House of " I do newspaper, least our i their these 3 the future ire they ■ial, and IS in the govern- y rather jlerks or ittend to lie Trea- ot exchi- ^•easurer rney and )ther offi- pntrusted also be Colonies distinct lereafter It may existing s country It present e expect- orm; but ; right of tained in ood may be unad- ointmeiit dispense SSELL. ADMINISTRATION IN CANADA. Union, when brought forward under different cir- cumstances, the fact that Mr. Thomson had required them to advocate the views of the Government under which they held office, and that he had promulgated the despatch above referred to, was denounced as an act of unparalleled tyranny and oppression. Un- reasonable as was such an accusation, it yet found an echo in this country, where the same principle has invariably prevailed. It is scarcely possible for those who were not on the spot to understand the extent of the difficulties with which Mr. Poulett Thomson had to contend, or consequently to appreciate the skill and courage with which he encountered them; but a few ex- tracts from his private correspondence of this period mil show his own impressions as to those diffi- culties, and the means by which he proposed to surmount them. Writing on the 8th November he said, — U7 1839. (( I have indeed an arduous task before me, and very little time to do it in; for I suppose I shall be pulled to pieces if I do not get a settlement * ready for the opening.' However, it is a great field — and upon the whole I think I did wisely in leaving Baring to try to fill the empty boxes of the Exchequer, and in trying my liand with the rebels, French or British. They caiHt be more unreasonable than the ultras on both sides of the House of Commons. " I do not despair of getting through my task, 'f the newspapers in England will only leave me alone, or at least our friends pay no attention to what they say, but L 2 \_- 148 LIFE OF LORD SYDENHAM. I839. let me work quietly with the people here. The time is sadly against me. People in Downing Street will expect something for the meeting of Parliament, and to settle the affairs of two distracted provinces, whose capitals arc 600 miles apart, in the depth of winter, which it is here even now, and in three months, is not a very possible job. But I shall do my best." On the 20th November and the Stli December, writing from Toronto, he said, — " I have succeeded in Lower Canada in far less time and with greater ease than I could have expected from Sir John Colborne's account to me of the state of feel- ing, especially in his own council. The fact is, that his council ran riot, and did not know how to proceed. I have given them my opinion strongly, at the same time that I expressed my willingness to hear and give due weight to theirs. This course has shortened business (for there is a strong wish to be guided by the Home Government), and produced unanimity. So far, therefore, as the Lower Province is concerned, I look upon the Union as settled. The decision, too, I have reason to know, gives the greatest satisfaction to the Province generally, and nearly all are prepared to accept the measure, if it can be carried through Parliament, with the utmost cordiality. The fact is, that all parties there are dead-sick of the present state of things, and desire a return to Constitutional Government. Of course the extremes have their different crotchets for arriving at this end. The ultra-French desire an imme- diate return to the old Constitution. The ultra-British the disfranchisement of the French Canadians. But even they have been satisfied, I believe, by a little manage- ment and a good deal of firmness, that both were equally out of the question, and have now joined with the great mass who hold the middle opinion in favour of the Union measure. The * Canadien ' and the * Montreal Herald ' lie do nimity "I will, I despair country Upper best th ten yei for the at pres( oneself probabl; both, ar instituti( could no appears liere is split intc each oth( so much TJie Cons in spite o are more The defic All publi( the provii it was. the depart heing surj only aston much as I have foug fellows, wl to keep uj nient upon ADMINISTRATION IN CANADA. 149 lie IS xpect settle Is are 3 here ic job. mber, iS time cl from )f feel- hat his I have 3 that I ;ight to ere is a it), and Lower settled. es the [l nearly carried he fact nt state nment. lets for imnie- British But nanagc- equally le great Union iHerald' lie down together upon this point. In short, the una- nimity is wonderful. " I have now the Upper Province to deal with, which will, I fear, he a more difficult matter. But I do not despair ; and certainly, so far as all the real interests of the country are concerned, the Union is far more necessary to Upper Canada than to the other. If it were possible, the best thing for Lower Canada would be a despotism for ten years more ; for, in truth, the people are not yet fit for the higher class of self-government — scarcely indeed, at present, for any description of it; and by carrying oneself the measures which a House of Assembly will probably never carry, one might gradually fit them for both, and, at all events, leave them an amount of good institutions which the United Legislature, when it came, could not destroy. But in Upper Canada the case, as it appears to me, is widely different. The state of things here is far worse than I had expected. The country is split into factions animated with the most deadly hatred to each other. The people have got into the habit of talking so much of separation^ that they begin to believe in it. The Constitutional party is as bad or worse than the other, in spite of all their professions of loyalty. The finances are more deranged than we believed even in England. The deficit 75,000/. a year, more than equal to the income. All public works suspended. Emigration going on fast//*om the province. Every man's property worth only half what it was. AVhen I look to the state of Government, and to the departmental administration of the province, instead of being surprised at the condition in which I find it, I am only astonished it has been endured so long. I know that, much as I dislike Yankee institutions and rule, /would not have fought against them, which thousands of these poor fellows, whom the Compact call rebels, did, if it were only to keep up such a Government as they got. The excite- ment upon * Responsible Government ' is great. Not that L 3 1839. V- 150 LIFE OF LORD SYDENHAM. 1839. I believe the people understand what they are clamouring for by that word ; but that they feel the extreme uneasi- ness of their situation, owing to financial embarrassments, and hate the dominant party in the Government with intense hatred. I do not wonder at the cry for Respon- sible Government, when I see how things have been managed. *' Then the Assembly is such a House ! Split into half a dozen different parties. The Government having none — and no one man to depend on ! Think of a House in which half the members hold places, yet in which the Govern- ment does not command a single vote ; in which the place- men generally vote against the Executive ; and where there is no one to defend the Government when attacked, or to state the opinion or views of the Governor ! How, with a popular Assembly, Government is to be conducted under such circumstances, is a riddle to me. I am now more than ever satisfied that the Union affords the only chance of putting an end to the factions that distract the country ; the only means of recruiting its finances by persuading Great Britain to help the Upper Canada Exchequer ; the only means by which the present abominable system of government can be broken up, and a strong and powerful administration, both departmental and executive, be formed. And unless the people will assent to the general outline of it, and Parliament will then carry the details, upon which they would never agree, with a high hand, the province is lost. From all that I can hear or see, I would not give a year's purchase for our hold of it, if some great stroke is not given which shall turn men's thoughts from the channel in which they now run, and give a fresli impetus to public works, emigration, and the practical improvement of the country's resources. " It is indeed a pity to see this province in such a state. It is the finest country I ever knew, even what I have seen of it in a circle of thirty or forty miles from here; and by the accounts I receive the Upper part is even super: pariso facilit Amer: "\^ shall I terms, and o] to thin full shi thing. House willing, hesitati no half The a spee Genera and m^ British which legislat " Honou « Gentlei "In Bri.ish N reign, I h of visiting " I am jesty's fix( sisting be Kingdom, ADMINISTRATION IN CANADA. 151 unng iieasi- nents, ■with jspon- been o half lone — which overn- i place- where tacked, How, iducted iw more chance Duntry ; suading er ; the tern of owerful ive, he general details, nd, the I would e great its from a fresh ractical a state. I have In here; is even superior. Lower Canada is not to he named in com- parison. The climate, the soil, the water-power, and - facilities of transport, finer than any thing in North America. *' Whether in their present state of violent excitement I shall be able to persuade the people to come to reasonable terms, I cannot venture to say ; but I am sure it is the last and only chance. After having brought ■ and ■ to think that the French Canadians ouglit to have their full share of the representation, I shall not despair of any thing. But what I hear, and have as yet seen, of the House of Assembly, is not encouraging. If they are not willing, however, I shall appeal to the people without liesitation ; for the state of things admits of no delay, and no half measures." The session was opened on the 3rd December by a speech from the Throne, which the Governor- General purposely modelleJ rather after the form and manner of the royal speeches delivered to the British Parliament, than the lengthier manifestos which had been usual in addressing the provincial legislature.* His object was of course to avoid * Speech to the Legislature of Upper Canada. " Honourable Gentlemen of the Legislative Council, and " Gentlemen of the House of Assembly : *' In discharge of the duties of Governor-General of British North America, confided to me by our gracious Sove- reign, I have deemed it advisable to take the earliest opportunity of visiting this Province, and of assembling Parliament. •' I am commanded by the Queen to assure you of her Ma- jesty's fixed determination to aiaintain the connection now sub- sisting between her North American possessions and the United Kingdom, and to exercise the high authority with which she L 4 1839. V. 152 LIFE OF LORD SYDENHAM. 1839. introducing topics of excitement likely to arouse prolonged discussion, before the fitting period had has been invested by the favour of Divine Providence, for the promotion of their happiness and the security of her dominions. " It is with great satisfaction I can inform you that I have no grounds for apprehending a recurrence of those aggressions upon our frontier which we had lately to deplore, and which affixed an indelible disgrace upon their authors. " If, however, unforeseen circumstances should again call for exertion, I know from the p&dt that in the zeal and loyalty of the people of Upper Canada, and in the protection of the parent state, we possess ample means of defence ; and to those I should confidently appeal. " I earnestly hope that this state of tranquillity will prove favourable to the consideration of the important matters to which your attention must be called during the present session. " It will be my duty to bring under your consideration, at the earliest possible moment, the subject of the legislative re-union of this Province with Lower Canada, recommended by her Majesty to the Imperial Parliament. I shall do so in the full confidence that you will see in the measure which I shall have to submit, a fresh proof of the deep interest felt by the Queen in the welfare of her subjects in Upper Canada; and that it will receive from you that calm and deliberate consideration which its importance demands. " The condition of the public departments in the Province will require your best attention. In compliance with the address of the House of Assembly of last session, the Lieutenant- Governor appointed a commission to investigate and report upon the manner in which the duties of those departments are performed. The commissioners have already conducted their inquiries to an advanced stage ; and the result of them will be communicated to you as soon as they shall be completed. " I am happy to inform you that her Majesty's Government have concluded an arrangement for opening a communication by steam between Great Britain and the British possessions in North America. In the completion of this arrangement her Majesty's Government have allowed no consider.ition to interfere with the paramount object of conducing to the public advantage arrive ceedec and cot tije par taking ^ " Th, by you the Bill: royal pi "C « Th( early ai credit h essential ment, it pensable enabling defray tli my anxi object; £ calculate this fine by whom contracte shall dire diately si " 'J'he every reg the servic "It is commerci the banks I congrat greater s« circumsta beneficial " I am tlie casua ADMINISTRATION IN CANADA. 153 'ouse had or the inious. I have issions which ;all for alty of parent should 1 prove iters to ession. 1, at the e-union by her the full all have Queen ,t it will [1 which •rovincc address I ten ant- report mts are id their will be • irnment Inieation jiuns in lent her Interfere Ivantage arrived for their consideration. In this he suc- ceeded. The speech was very favourably received, and convenience. I feel confident that the liberality with which the parent state has assumed the whole expense of the under- takinj; will be duly appreciated by you. " The answers of her Majesty to the various addresses adopted by you during your last session, and her Majesty's decisions on the Bills passed by you, but reserved for the signitication of the royal pleasure, will be made known to you without loss of time. " Gentlemen of the House of Assembly : " The financial condition of the Province will claim your early and most attentive consideration. To preserve public credit is at all times a sacred obligation ; but in a country so essentially dependent upon it for the means of future improve- ment, it is a matter no less of policy than of duty. It is indis- pensable, then, that measures should be at once adopted for enabling the Provincial Revenue to fulfil its obligations, and to defray the necessary expenses of the Government. It will be my anxious desire to co-operate with you in effecting this object ; and I feel confident that by the adoption of measures calculated to promote the full development of the resources of this fine country, the difficulty may be overcome. The officer by whom, under your authority, these obligations have been contracted, will be able to afford you every information ; and I shall direct a statement of your financial condition to be imme- diately submitted to you. " The estimates for the ensuing year will be prepared with every regard to economy, compatible with the due execution of the service of the Province. " It is with great satisfaction I find, that notwithstanding commercial difficulties which prevail in the neighbouring states, tlie banks of this Province have resumed specie payments ; and I congratulate you upon the guarantee thus afforded of the greater security and stability of our pecuniary transactions ; a circumstance which cannot fail to be attended with the most beneficial results. " I am commanded again to submit to you the surrender of the casual antl territorial revenues of the Crown, in exchange 1839. 154 1839. LIFE OF LOUD SYDENHAM. and an address founded on it was voted unani- mously in two days, instead of being debated for a week, as had been not unusual on former occa- sions.* for a civil list ; and I shall take an early opportunity of ex- plaining the grounds on which her Majesty's Government felt precluded from assenting to the settlement which you lately proposed. They are of a nature which lead me to anticipate your ready assent to their removal, and to the final settlement of the question. " Honourable Gentlemen, and Gentlemen : " In assuming the administration of the Government of these Provinces at the present time, I have not disguised from myself the arduous task which I have undertaken. The affairs of the Canadas have for some years back occupied much of the atten- tion of the Imperial Parliament, and of the Government ; and their settlement upon a firm and comprehensive basis admits of no further delay. " To effect that settlement upon terms satisfactory to the people of these Provinces, and affording security for their con- tinued connection with the British Empire, will be my en- deavour; and I confidently appeal to your wisdom, and to the loyalty and good sense of the people of this Province, to co- operate with me for the preparation and adoption of such measures as may, under Divine Providence, restore to this country peace, concord, and prosperity. •< Toronto, December 3. 1839." * In a private letter, dated December 3. 1839, he thus de- scribes the ceremony of opening the session : — " I opened my Parliament to-day ; and really the matter was very creditably conducted. The Toronto dragoons are not quite equal to the Life-guards, and Arthur's coach (for I did not bring my equipages up here) not quite so smart as her Majesty's. But I flatter myself that I looked very regal on the throne, with my cocked hat on ; and the hall of the Legislative Council beat the House of Lords hollow. We had all the Toronto ladies, luid heaps of fair Americaners, who came over ADMINISTHATION IN CANADA. 155 in.'ini- d for occa- r of ex- eiit felt I lately ticipate tlement of these I myself s of the e atten- iit ; and admits to the eir con - my en- d to the , to 00- )f such to this hus de- tter was ire not )r I did as her on the pslativc all the \e over A few days after the opening of the session the question of the re-union was brought before both houses in the usual form, by message. * The con- for the sight; and the commons made as much noise, and looked as dirty, as they do in Westminster. So upon the whole; I think my J*rovincial Parliament quite as good as the old one. " The worst part of the thing to me, individually, is the cere- monial. The bore of this is unspeakable. Fancy having to stand for an hour and a half bowing, and then to sit with one's cocked hat on to receive addresses. Poor royalty ! I learn to feel for it. Then the misery of always being on parade 1 When I get over the first blush, however, I hope to remedy this a little." * " In pursuance of the intention expressed in his speech from the throne, the Governor-General desires now to bring under the consideration of the House of Assembly the subject of the re-union of this Province with Lower Canada, recom- mended by her Majesty in her gracious Message to both Houses of Parliament on the 3d of May last. " For several years the condition of the Canadas has occupied a large portion of the attention of Parliament. That they should be contented and prosperous ; that the ties which bind them to the parent state should be strengthened ; that their administra- tion should be conducted in accordance with the wishes of the people, — is the ardent desire of every British statesman ; and the experience of the last few years amply testifies that the Imperial Parliament has been sparing neither of the time it has devoted to the investigation of their affairs, nor of the expenditure it has sanctioned for their protection. " The events which have marked the recent history of Lower Canada are so familiar to the House of Assembly that it is unnecessary for the Governor-General further to allude to them. There the constitution is suspended ; but the powers of tiie Government are inadequate to permit of the enactment of such permanent laws as are required for the benefit of the people. " Within this Province the finances are deranged ; public improvements are suspended ; private enterprise is checked ; 1839. ^. •7. ,•!'"•■■ .'.' '.'i 156 LIFE OF LORD SYDENHAM. 1839. clitions on which it was proposed to base the mea- ■ sure were, — 1st, Equality of representation for each the tide of emigration, so essential to the prosperity of the country and to the British connection, has ceased to flow; while by many the general system of government is declared to be unsatisfactory. " After the most attentive and anxious consideration of the state of these Provinces, and of the difficulties under which they respectively labour, her Majesty's advisers came to the conclu- sion that by their re-union alone could those difficulties be removed. During the last session of the Imperial Legislature they did indeed refrain from pressing immediate legislation ; but their hesitation proceeded from no doubt as to the principle of the measure, or its necessity ; it arose solely from their desire to ascertain more fully the opinions of the Legislature of Upper Canada, and to collect information from which the details might be rendered more satisfactory to the people of both Provinces " The time, then, is now arrived beyond which a settlement cannot be postponed. In Lower Canada it is indispensable to afford a safe and practicable return to a Constitutional Go- vernment ; and, as far as the feelings of the inhabitants can be there ascertained, the measure of the re- union meets with ap- probation. " In Upper Canada it is no less necessary to enable the Pro- vince to meet her flnancial embarrassments, and to proceed in the development of her natural resources. There are evidently no means in this Province of fulfilling the pecuniary obligations which have been contracted, bat by a great increase in the Local Revenues ; but so long ah Lower Canada remains under her present form of government, iieither Province possesses any power over the only source frvjm which that increase can be drawn. Nor even were it possible to restore a representative constitution to Lower Canada, unaccompanied by the union, would the position of this Province be much improved, since past experience has shown the difficulty of procuring assent to any alteration of the Cvstoms Laws suggested from hence. This Province has engaged in undertakings which reflect the highest honour on the enterprise and industry of her inhabitants. The public works which she has completed or commenced have provm amoun been co addition and secij fice: Lc Without done so itself, mi developn of Provi( " Wit) financial complete hilities ; i to establ both, and ing of att —the Uu measure i to the oc( " Thos are a jus the terms the Provi; List for s Executive sary for i Governmc great satii that upon biy had p session ; ai to invite tl effected. mendation Governor- circumstar Imperial I ADMINISTRATION IN CANADA. province. 2d, The grant of a civil list, of which the amount should be settled by the Imperial Parlia- been conceived in a spirit worthy of a successful result But additional means are indispensable to avert the ruin of some, and secure the completion of others. Nor will that alone suf- fice : Lower Canada holds the key to all these iniprovements. Without her co-operation, the navigation for which nature has done so much, for which this Province has so deeply burdened itself, must remain incomplete, and a barrier be opposed to the development of those great natural resources which the hand of Providence has so lavishly bestowed on this country. " With a view to remove all these difficulties ; to relieve the financial embarrassments of Upper Canada ; to enable her to complete her public works, and develope her agricultural capa- bilities ; to restore Constitutional Government to Lower Canada ; to establish a firm, impartial, and vigorous Government for both, and to unite the people within them in one common feel- ing of attachment to British institutions and British connection, — the Union is desired by her Majesty's Government ; and that measure alone, if based upon just principles, appears adequate to the occasion. " Those principles, in the opinion of her Majesty's advisers, are a just regard to the claims of either Province, in adjusting the terms of the Union ; the maintenance of the three estates of the Provincial Legislature ; the settlement of a permanent Civil List for securing the independence of the Judges ; and to the Executive Government that freedom of action which is neces- sary for the public good, and the esiablishment of a Local Government adapted to the wants of the people. It was with great satisfaction, then, that her Majesty's Government learned that upon the question of the Union itself, t!ie House of Assem- bly had pronounced tlioir decided judgment during their last session; and it will only remain for the Governor-General now to invite their assent to the terms upon which it is sought to be effected. That decision was indeed accompanied by recom- mendatiotis to wliich the Government could not agree ; but the Governor-General entertains no doubt that, under the altered circumstances, they will no more be renewed. It will be for the Imperial Parliament; guided by their intimate knowledge of con- 157 1839. 158 LIFE OF LORD SYDENHAM. 1839. ment. And 3d, The equal support of the public debt. In each House the resolutions led to long and in- stitutional law, and free from the bias of local feelings and interests, to arrange the subordinate details. *' The first of the terms of re-union to which the Governor- General desires the assent of the House of Assembly, is the equal representation of each Province in the United Legislature. Con- sidering the amount of the population of Lower Canada, this proposition might seem to place that Province in a less favour- able position than Upper Canada ; but under the circumstances in which this Province is placed, with the increasing population to be expected from emigration, and having regard to the com- mercial and agricultural enterprise of its inhabitants, an equal apportionment of representation appears desirable. " The second stij)ulation to be made is the grant of a sufficient Civil List. The propriety of rendering the judicial bench inde- pendent alike of the Executive and of the Legislature, and of furnishing the means for carrying on the indispensable services of the Government, admits of no question, and has been affirmed by the Parliament of Upper Canada in the acts passed by them for effecting those objects. In determining the amount of the Civil List, the House of Assembly may be assured that the salaries and expenses to be paid from it Avill be calculated by her Majesty's Government with a strict regard to economy, and the state of the Provincial finances. " Tliirdly, the Governor-General is prepared to recommend to Parliament, that so much of the existing debt of Upper Canada as has been contracted for public works of a general nature should, after the Union, be charged on the joint revenue of the United Province. Adverting to the nature of tlie works for which this debt was contracted, and the advantage whicli must result from them to Lower Canada, it is not unjust that that Province should bear a jjroportion of their expense. " On these priiieijiles, the Governor-Cicneral is of opinion that a re-union of the two Provinees may l)e effectr r|, equitable and satisfactory ii> its terms, and beneficial in its results to all classes. He submits them to the consideration of the House of Assembly in the full conviction of their importance, and in the hope that they will receive fhe assent of that ADMINISTRATION IN CANADA. 159 tercsting debates; but in the Council they were carried without much difficulty by a majority of fourteen to eight. Of the minority all but two were inhabitants of Toronto, where the probable effect of the measure on that city, as the seat of government, made it generally unpopular. In the House of Assembly the deliberations were much more protracted. During their previous session that house had adopted resolutions approving of an Union, but on certain specified conditions ; of which tlie principal were, — 1st. That the seat of Government of the United Province should be in Upper Canada. 2nd. That the members returned to the Assembly from each Province should ])c, from Lower Canada fifty, from Upper Canada as at present (/. e. 62, with a faculty of increase with increase of population). 3rd. That after a time, not later than 1845, the elective franchise in counties should be restricted to those holding their lands in free and common socage. 1839. House. Fortified by tho exprossion of tlioir opinion, her Ma- jesty's Govermnoiit and Parliament will be able at once to npply themselves to the full development of the scheme, and to the consideration of the provisions by which it may be carried into effect with the grc atest advantage to the people of both Provinces. If, in the course of their ])roceedings, the House of Assembly should desire any information which it is in the power of the Governor-General to afford, they Vtill find him ready and anxious to communicate with them frankly and fully, and to aid by all the means in his power that settle- ment, on which he firmly believes that the future prosperity and advancement of these Colonies maitdy depend." 160 LIFE OF LORD SYDENHAM. 1839. 4th. That the English language alone should be spoken and used in the legislature and courts of justice, and in all other public proceedings. These resolutions, — which were in exact harmony with the sentiments of the Corporation of Toronto, embodied in their Address, of which a copy has been given, — it was attempted again by the members of the " compact " party to press upon the House. The result, could they have been carried, would have been utterly to strip from the French all poli- tical power of any kind. By the second condition they would, notwithstanding their superiority of numbers, have been condemned to a hopeless and constantly increasing inferiority of representation. By the third they .would in less than four years have been almost entirely disfranchised, the French country being with few exceptions held on the scigneurial, and not the free and common socage tenure ; while by the last they would have been placed under an interdict not only in the Senate, but in their courts of justice, and indeed in every other public assembly. To conditions so unjust and oppressive, Mr. Poulett Thomson determined to give his unqualifii.'d opposition ; and after repeated debates and adjourn- ments, they were rejected by large majorities, and the resolutions introduced l)y the Government carried with only a slight alteration. This, how- ever, did not take place until the 1 Dth of Decem- ber, the liouse having been tlien in debate on the matter for nearly a fortniglit. No time ADMINISTRATION IN CANADA. 161 was lost by the Governor in acting on the re- solutions; and he was accordingly enabled, by the 22nd of the following month, to transmit to her ^lajesty's Government a draft of the bill which seemed to him best adapted for carrying the Union into effect. Writhig at this date, in a tone of not unnatural exultation, he thus expressed his o^vn view of the value of what he had in so short a space of time succeeded in accomplishing : — " December 2^. " This mail will take you home tlie assent of the Assembly to the Union, and to the terms and conditions 1 proposed; and give you besides, by an almost unanimous vote, their full assent that the Civil List, both in its amount, and in tlie offices for which it provides, shall be left to the Government and the Governor-General, when he has to arrange tlie new United Government. You have now, therefore, the full consent of the Legislature of both Provinces to the settlement of this great question, and can announce it to Parliament and the country in your Speech, if the packet only arrives in decent time. The rest is your own affair. But I must anxiously im- plore you to lose no time. After fifteen years of trouble and contest, you have now the golden opportunity of settling the affairs of Canada upon a safe and firm footing, insuring good government to the people, and securing ample power to the Crown, and that with their oivti con- sent, accompanied by a request that no further appeal should be made to them upon the subject. If it be not now seized, I tell you the occasion will never rise again, and you may as well give up the Provinces at once. " It is in\possible to describe to you the difficulties I have had to contend with to get this matter r-ctled as it has hien in the Assembly. I owe my success altogether to M 1839. 162 LIFE OF LORD SYDENHAM. J 839. the confidence which the reform party have reposed in me personally, and to the generous manner in which they have acted by me. A dissolution would have been greatly to their advantage, because there is no doubt that they would have had a great majority in the next Assembly ; and it must have been most galling to them to see me, as well as themselves, opposed by a number of the placeholders without my turning them out. But they gave up all these considerations ; and in this country, where the feeling of hatred to the family compact is intense, they are not light, and went gallantly through with me to the end. The journals of the proceedings in the Assembly, which I send you, will show you the sort of opposition I have had. To the Union itself there are not more than eight or ten out of the whole House who are opposed, — all the family compact ; but these few contrived to propose all sorts of things to which they knew I could not assent as conditions to its acceptance, in order to secure the votes of the placemen, and some few others, who were pledged last session to these foolish stipulations. But the reformers and the moderate conservatives, unconnected with either the compact or with office, kept steady ; and the result has been that on every occasion the opposition were beaten hollow, and all their proposals rejected by large majorities. I had dissolution pressed upon me very strongly, and there is no doubt that with it I could have got over all difficulty ; but then I must have made up my mind to great delay, and I doubt whether the measure would have gone home in time for you to legislate. However, thank God, it is all right at last, though T assure you the anxiety and fatigue have been more than I like. *' I am much wanted at Montreal; but 1 think I shall stay on here for three weeks or a month louger, in order to try my hand at the clergy reserves. My popularity is just now at its utmost height, and it may be possible to use it for that purpose. The House adjourns to-day, and I shall employ this week in trying whether I can biinu people I conf( almost botli i] 'juestie sibJe, h not be greatesi causes scarcely if possil And date of "I hi triumphs And it 1 and ptass been witi nient.. in in good 1 dissolutio through t "Itissom an answei .lust two the Assen chain of a "We tln-ee feet vcjy possi ^I'oes, anc • il my dc/ Hiivin which 1 II ADMINISTRATION IN CANADA. 163 d in they catly they [ihly; le, as alders these ing of •e not e end. hich I ,'C had. or ten family sorts of Lditions of the pd last formers cither result beaten Ijorities ;ly, and lover all mind to lid have I', thank anxiety I shall |m order darity is Issible to [day, ami m bring ■s. people together upon any decent plan of settlement. But I confess I am not sanguine ; for there are as nuuiy minds almost as men, and they are all dreadfully committed, both in the House and with their constituents, upon this {[uestion, for twenty different projects. If it were pos- sible, however, to come to some conclusion which would not be addressed against in England, it would be the greatest boon ever conferred on this province, for it causes a degree of excitement throughout it which is scarcely credible. I will at least make some attempt at it, if possible." And to anotlier corresijiondent he wrote, under date of the 31st Dec. 1839 — " I have done my business. The Union is carried triumphantly through the Legislature of both Provinces. And it now only remains for Parliament to do its duty, and pass the Bill which I shall send home. It has not been without trouble, and a prodigious deal of manage- ment., ill which my House of Commons' tactics stood me in good stead, for I wanted above all things to avoid a dissolution. My ministers vote against me. So I govern through the opposition, who are truly * Her Majesty's.' . . . " It is something to have completed my business before I get an answer to iny announcement of arrival in the country. Just two months from the day of my landing at Quebec the Assembly sent me their final address, completing the chain of assents which I required. " We h&ve now winter in good earnest here. Snow tbree feet deep, and twenty degrees of frost. Still it is veiy possible to walk with worsted stockings over one's shoes, and I get about an hour of it when I can. This is ; 11 my cUIassemcni; so my life is not gay." Having disposed of the princi[)al question with which his mission was connected, the Govern or- M 2 is.'jy. 164 LIFE OF LOUD SYDENHAM. 1810. Goiioral, as he had announced in his private letter, directed his attention to the settlement of the irri- tating and still more difficult question respecting the clergy reserves. This question, which had been in debate in Upper Canada for twenty years, luid produced in the minds of the inhabitants all the soreness and excitement which universally attend religious questions. The debate had ori- ginally been raised by the members of the Scotch church, who regarded it not merely as a question of property, but as involving their i)Osition as an established cluirch. Tlie claim, however, which they put forward in the first instance had since been assumed and insisted on by the other Pro- testant comnmnities in the province; so that the discussion had long enlisted almost the whole popu- lation on one side or the other. It had for many years been the endeavour of the Government to bring this irritating discussion to a settlement, and bills had been introduced in each successive session for the purpose. But hitherto the divisions in the house had frustrated all at- tempts ; eacli party, though too weak to carry its own measure, being strong enough hj uniting with others to throw out what was proposed by its op- ponents. In this way agitation had been kept alive, until, among the causes which led to the discontent that preceded the insurrection, the clergy reserve question was universally beheved to have been one of the most important. But, apart from the general expediency of settling this sider brini: vince Canai all h public stitut tion not future domin cess of land a not bee the ret the sac; There c fail at become J^arliam ^vhile th the time clinatioii or to a temporal ^vantincf the clerc the Unio] that as tl united le AlJMINlSTUATION IN CANADA. 105 ttor, ir ri- oting had rears, tants psally 1 ori- jcotcli cstioii as an which . since p Pro- lat the p popn- ettlin,!! this question at any time, there were speeial con- siderations which made it extremely desir.'ible to bring it to a conclusion before the Union of the Pro- vinces. It was the one great grievance of Ui>[)er Canada, the ever-rankUng wound which forbade all hope of the restoration of a healthy state of public feeling. AV'hatever changes in the con- stitution might take place, so long as this irrita- tion was unremoved, peace and harmony could not be hoped for. But it was evident that the future destinies of Canada, as a part of the British dominions, depended mainly on the immediate suc- cess of the experiment about to be tried. In Eng- land a feeling had of late years grown up, and had not been without its advocates in Parliament, that the retention of Canada was impossible, except at the sacrilicc of all that made its possession valuable. There could be little doubt that if the Union should fail at once in restoring tranquillity, and if it should become necessary again to invoke the interference of Parliament, this feeling would increase and extend ; while those who entertained it would have neither the time nor the means, nor perhaps even the in- clination, to inquire into the origin of the failure, or to ascertain Avhether it were attributable to temporary or permanent causes. Nor were there wanting many who saw, in the unsettled state of tlie clergy question, the most serious objection to the Union itself. Many conscientious persons feared that as the latter measure would introduce into tlie united legislature a considenible body of Roman M 3 1810. s.. IG6 LIl'E OF LOKL) SY1>KN1IAM. 18 K). Catholic members, the interests of the Chun^h of Eii<^kiii(l, and generally of tlie Protestant eoni- munitics, might be exposed to danger. That these fears were groundless it is unnecessary to say to any one acquainted with the French C'anadians, and their entire freedom from the disposition to reli- gious intolerance ; but the objection was phmsiljh-, and both in Upi)er Canada and hi the m(»ther country was likely to have weight with many who, on other grounds, would support the l^nion. Influenced by these considerations, the Governor- General determined to introduce into the Assembly a bill for the final disposal of these reserves. \U was not, as we have seen, unaware of the difficulties which surrounded such a measure, nor of the little advantage which had attended the efforts of succes- sive Lieutenant-Governors of Upper Canada. Kor could he be insensible to the fact that while tlic credit of his administration, at Icjist in Enghmd, Avould receive but slight additional lustre from success, it would suffer a very serious damage from failure. But the result was too important to be affected by any selfish considerations, involving as it did nothing less than the future prosperity and peace of the country. The favourite scheme, with the majority of tin; Upper Canadians, had long been the ai)pUcation ol" the reserves to general education ; and bills for that purpose had been repeatedly passed by the Assembly, but had failed in the Legislative Coun- cil. To such a measure Mr. Poulett Thomson ^v'ns awtjy poses carric dentl fmpc; persoi amon^ after i supj^o resorv nised numb( introd in thf able n pendec Act, u perial tirmati it Avas the su was de visions colonia tioned same o was int Commo althou^' iinmedit ADMINISTUATION IN CANADA. 1G7 ill of com- tlicsc iiy to u, and vlTi- isil)U', J who, crnor- cmMy u lit cult'ns c littk' Kor ilc tlic lo-lmid, ; iVoiu ainaL':<: ant tu olviii;.! pcriiy of the Ition oi" Ills lor jby the Coiiii- lUlllSOll was opposed : first, because it would have taken away the only fund cxtdusively devoted to pur- l)0ses of religion; and secondly, because even if carried in the provincial legislature it would evi- dently not hav(^ obtained the sanction of the fniperial Parliament. Ue, therefore, entered into personal connnuiaeation with the lending individuals among the principal religious communities, and after many interviews succeeded in obtaining their support to a measure for the distribution of the reserves among the religious conununities recog- nised by law, in proportion to their respective numbers. A bill embodying this principle Avas introduced in the Assenddy, and carried botli in that house and in the Council by consider- able mjijorities. Its operation, however, was sus- pended imder the provisions of the Constitutional Act, until it should have been laid before the Im- perial Pjirliament, and have received the special con- firmation of the Crown ; and subsequently, when it was before the Plouse of Lords, a reference on the subject having been made to the Judges, it was decided by that high authority th.at its pro- visions exceeded the legislative authority of the colonial parliament. It w^as accordingly not sanc- tioned by the (^ueen ; but another bill to effect the same object, and embodying the same principles, was introduced by the Government in the House of Commons, and passed by the legislature. Thus, although the law as it actually stands was not the innncdiate result of Lord Sydenham's labours; yet, ]si 4 ISK). >s.. %. IMAGE EVALUATION TEST TARGET (MT-S) A 1.0 I.I -|2i£ 12.5 2.0 1.8 '•25 1.4 IIIIII.6 = = ili^ ^ 6" > m <^ ^a / '^% V /A Photographic Sciences Corporation 23 WEST MAIN STREET WEBSTER, N.Y. 14580 (716) 872-4503 ■1 1G8 LIFE OF LOKl) SYDENHAM. 1840. as its provisions wore based on his measure, and as without the guidance and sanction which that mea- sure afforded it would have been impossible for the Imperial Parliament safely to legislate in the matter, nor indeed would the attempt have been made, the credit of the settlement is justly due to him. The public despatches of Mr. P. Thomson on this subject will be found in the papers printed for Par- liament in 1840 ; but it may not be uninteresting to show from his private letters the importance which he attached to it. With this view the fol- loAving extracts have been selected from among many similar passages. AVriting while the Bill was still before the Legislative Council, he says — " The Clergy Reserves have been, and are, the great overwhelming grievance — the root of all the troubles of the province, the cause of the rebellion — the never-failing watchword at the hustings — the perpetual source of dis- cord, strife, and hatred. Not a man of any party but has told me that the greatest boon which could be con- ferred on the country would be that they should be swept into the Atlantic, and that nobody should get them ; for after all there is little to divide, — there will be nothing, after deducting the charges, for the nexc ten or twelve years ; but the difficulty lay in the settlement. And when to this never-failing source of excitement here you add tlie consideration that by the Union, if you left the (pies- tion unsettled, you would throw the agitation of it into the Lower Province, where, amongst all its ills, the great- est of all, religious dissension, is hitherto unknown, the necessity for a settlement becomes doubly great. Thank God, 1 shall achieve it. My Bill, of which I sent you a copy, has gone through the Assembly by a considerable and as it mca- blc for in tli(j c been clue to on this or Par- resting Drtanco the fol- among iill Avas le great ubles of r-failing of dis- irty but be con- )e swept cm ; for lotbing, • twelve id when oil add e qiies- it into great- 11, the Thank t you a de ruble ADMINISTRATION IN CANADA. majority, thirty to twenty, and I feel confident ^hat I can get it through the Council without the change of a word. " If it is really carried, it is the greatest work that ever has been done in this country, and will be of more solid advantage to it than all the loans and all the troops you can make or send. It is worth ten Unions, and was ten times more diihcult. " You will laugh at me ; but if it were possible to make you understand the state of feeling upon this subject, and the evils which this question has caused, which you cannot do, you would not. I confess, too, that I had little hopes of succeeding in tho Assembly. For fifteen years (.'very Governor has only made the matter worse ; and though I might have got the Council to agree to giving the funds to education, I never thought I could get the Assembly, which for thirteen years has voted for that and against religious purposes, to consent to such a plan. But I told you that I would work to some purpose, and I have done it. Ten members, who had always before voted for edu- cation or public works, voted generously for me this time, though they may lose their seats by it." In a subsequent letter he adds, — " The Council has voted my Bill by fourteen to five. To-day I have received the addresses of both Houses, and the Bill has gone home to you. The Bishop has excited his Clergy to petition against it, so you will have an address moved in the House of Lords. You will remember that it is to Dr. Strachan that we owe this matter being still open. Fifteen years ago he might have settled it, if he would have given any thing to the Church of Scotland. I liave put a history of this question into a despatch, which you can lay before both Houses. If the Lords reject the Bill, upon their heads be the conse- quences. I will not answer for the Government of tlie Province, if the measure should come back. In case there 160 1810. 170 LIFE OF LORD SYDENHAM. 1840. is any blunder made by the lawyers, you must re-eiuicL the Bill in England ; for here it cannot come again with- out the most disastrous results." The session closed on the 10th February, 1840, having exhibited for the first time in Canada the working of a government majority on the same principles on which the parliamentary business is conducted in the mother country. In the course of it the question of Responsible Government had been necessarily brought into debate in the As- sembly ; and an address had been adopted praying for communication of the views of the Home Go- vernment on that subject. The Governor-Genend refused to lay before the House any despatches, feeling that such a course would only give rise to exciting and unsatisfactory debates ; but he stated in his answer, " that he had received her Majesty's commands to administer the government of these provinces in accordance with the well-understood wishes and interests of the people, and to pay to their feelings, as expressed through their represen- tatives, the deference that is justly due to them." This answer, "which, when taken in connection with Lord J. Russell's despatch of 16th October, 1839, conceded the principle of responsibility as far as it had ever been demanded by the moderate reformers, was perfectly satisfa<;tory to them, and secured to the Government their cordial support. In the speech with which he closed the session, the Governor-General expressed his gratification at the improved state of feeling in the province, and night that ADM1N18T11ATI0N IN CANADA. 171 -enact , with- 1840, la the same Less is course it had ic As- raying QC Go- rencriil atches, rise to stated ijesty's these rstood pay to presen- hem." cctioii tober, as far derate , and pport. ession, ion at e, and his gratitude for the attention given to the im- portant subjects which he had brought under the notice of the legislature. He concluded in the fol- lowing terms : — " On your return to your different districts, I earnestly hope tliat it will be your endeavour to promote that spirit of harmony and conciliation which has so much distin- guished your proceedings here. Let past differences be forgotten — let irritating suspicions be removed. I rejoice to find that already tranquillity and hopeful confidence in the future prevail throughout the Province. Let it be your task to cherish and promote these feelings : it will be mine cordially to co-operate with you ; and by administer- ing the Government in obedience to the commands of the Queen, with justice and impartiality to all, to promote her anxious wish that her Canadian subjects, loyal to their Sovereign, and attached to British Institutions, may, through the blessing of Divine Providence, become a happy, an united, and a prosperous people." His private letters expressed the same feelings. " I have prorogued," he says, " my Parliament, and 1 send you my Speech. Never was such unanimity ! When the Speaker read it in the Commons, after the prorogation, they gave me three cheers, in which even the ultras united. In fact, as the matter stands now, the Province is in a state of peace and harmony which, three months ago, I thought was utterly hopeless. How long it will last is another matter. But if you will settle the Union Bill as I have sent it home, and the Lords do not reject the Clergy Reserves Bill, I am confident I shall be able to keep the peace, make a strong Government, and get on well. It has cost me a great deal of trouble, and I have had to work night and day at it. But I was resolved on doing the thing." — " The great mistake made here hitherto was, that every Governor threw himself into the hands of one 1810. 172 LIFE OF Umi) SYDENHAM. 1810. P'irty or the otlier, and became tlieir slave. 1 have let —-— - them know and feel that I will yield to neither of them — that I will take the moderate from both sides — reject the extremes — and govern as I think right, and not as they fancy. I am satisfied that the mass of the people are sound — moderate in their demands, and attached to British institutions ; but they have been oppressed by a miserable little oligarchy on the one hand, and excited by a few factious demagogues on the other. I can make a middle reforming party, I feel sure, which will put down both. " You can form no idea of the manner in which a Colo- nial Parliament transacts its business. I got them into com])arative order and decency by having measures brought forward by the Government, and well and steadily worked through. But when they came to their own affairs, and, above all, to the money matters, there was a scene of con- fusion and riot of which no one in England can have any idea. Every man proposes a vote for his own job ; and bills are introduced without notice, and carried through a/t their stages in a quarter of an hour ! One of the greatest advantages of the Union will be, that it will be possible to introduce a new system of legislating, and, above all, a restriction upon the initiation of money-votes. Without the last I would not give a farthing for my bill : and the change will be decidedly popular; for the members all complain that, under the present system, they cannot refuse to move a job for any constituent who desires it." On the close of the session, the Solicitor-General- ship having become vacant, the Governor-General offered it to Mr. Baldwin, a gentleman who was re- garded as the leader of the liberal party of Upper Canada. Mr. Baldwin had formerly been called to the executive council by Sir F. B. Head, but had almost innnediately retired, on the ground that his advice was not asked in the conduct of the Government, ADMINISTRATION IN CANADA. 173 ivc let lem — id the s they )le are Britisli serable a few middle )oth. a Colo- m into )r ought worked rs, and, of con- ave any >b ; and )ugh all greatest jsible to 2 all, a Vithout md the ers all cannot ?s it. 3neral- kneral ras rc- |Upper to the ilmost idvicc iineiit, 5111(1 that he would, therefore, by remaining, become 1840. responsible in public o[)inion for measures over which he had no control. Since that time he had taken little part in politics ; but, as his excellent pri- vate character and unimpeachable integrity gave him much influence with his party, Iiis accession to the Government promised to bring with it a consider- able addition of strength. Mr. Daldwin accepted the office of Solicitor-General, but was not at this time replaced in the executive council. Having waited only sufficient time to complete those matters which the parliamentary session left in progress, Mr. Poulett Thomson, on the IStli Fe- bruary, left Toronto for Lower Canada, and reached Montreal on the evening of the next day. The dis- tance, which is 3C0 miles, was performed in a covered sleigh in less than thirty-six hours, being probably the most rapid journey ever made in Canada over the ordinary winter roads. In Lower Canada, no less than in the Upper Province, the uneasiness which had heretofore pre- vailed had by this time begun to yield to the feel- ing of security which the tranquillity of the early part of the winter had tended to produce. In a climate like Canada, where, in the winter, military operations are almost impossible, and the Govern- ment, therefore, comparatively defenceless, that sea- son wiU naturally be chosen by those who may pur- pose to disturb the public peace. Accordingly, in the years 1837 and 1838, the month of November had heralded in those outbreaks which had been put 174 LIFE OF LORD SYDENHAM. 1840. down at St. Charles and OdoU Town ; and at tlic return of the same month in the year 1839, ru- mours of projected insurrections, and of attacks from the United States' frontier, had reached tlie Government from many quarters. Those who Avere in Canada at this date will bear witness to the dread with which the winter season was not unnaturally looked forward to, particularly by the rural population ; among whom an impression had begun to prevail that its return would always be signalised by insurrectionary movements within the province, or " sympathizing " outrages from without. Such had been the alarm thus created, that even after the first outbreak many families living near the American frontier had left their homes to seek in a more distant part of the country a securer habitation ; and the second insurrection had naturally tended to increase these feelings. It had therefore become indispensable, at any risk, to break the spell, and thus to stop the alarm which would in course of time have depopulated the frontier districts of the country. It was under such circumstances that the Governor-General had, previously to leaving Montreal in November, 1839, re-enacted the suspension of the Habeas Corpus; and few will be disposed to assert that in the then existing circumstances of Lower Canada, and in defiance of the opinions of those on the spot, Mr. P. Thomson would have been justified in refus- ing to assume the responsibility of that measure, especially when he was about to leave the govern- (C [it the 0, ru- t tacks ;d the ! who ess to IS not by the n had ilways within ; from reatcd, fimilies , their ountry rection rs. It Y risk, which 1 the under xl had, 1839, orpus ; n the a, and spot, refus- asure, lovern- ADMINISTHATIUN IN CANADA. ment in the hands of another. But the tranquillity which prevailed during this winter having removed the necessity for continuing this suspension, the ordinance which had been passed for that purpose was allowed to expire in the spring of 1840, and the administration of justice was relieved from this last evidence of the late disturbances. Following up the principle which had guided liim in Upper Canada, the Governor-General, shortly jifter his arrival in ^lontreal, had summoned the Special Council to meet at that city for the settle- ment of such questions of purely local interest as could not without inconvenience be left for the United Legislature. AYriting from Montreal on the 18th March, 1840, he thus describes the task then before him : — " I have been back three weeks, and have set to work in earnest in this province. It is a bad prospect, however, and presents a lamentable contrast to Upper Canada. There great excitement existed ; but at least the people were quarrelling for realities, for political opinions, and with a view to ulterior measures. Here there is no such thing as a political opinion. No man looks to a practical measure of improvement. Talk to any one upon education, or public works, or better laws, let ilm be English or French, you might as well talk Greek • him. Not a man cares for a single practical measure — the only end, one would suppose, of a better form of government. They have only one feeling — a hatred of race. The French hate the English, and the English hate the French ; and every question resolves itself into that and that alone. There is positively no machinery of government. Every thing is to be done by the governor and his secretary. 175 i 810. 17G LIFE OF LOUD SYDKNIIAM. 18K). There are no lieads of departments at all, or none whom one can (lej)end on, or even ^et at ; i'or most of them are still at Quebec, and it is difficult to move them up here, because there arc no public buildings. The wise system hitherto adopted has been to stick two men into some office whenever a vacancy occurred ; one Frenchman and one Britisher! Thus we have joint Crown surveyors, joint sheriffs, &c., each opposing the other in every thing he attempts. Can you conceive a system better calculated to countenance the distinction of race?" — "The only way, under these circumstances, in which I can hope to do good, is to wait for the Union, in order to get a Govern- ment together ; and that I shall do. Meantime, what I am chiefly anxious about now is to get a good division of the province for judicial purposes, which I shall make fit in with the proposed municipal districts. I hope to get an entirely new system of judicature, introducing circuits for the judges, and district courts for minor civil causes. I have already established stipendiary magistrates ; and a rural police in this district, commenced by Lord Seaton, I mean to extend generally over the whole province in a few weeks by an ordinance. The hand of the Government is utterly unknown and unfelt at present out of Montreal and Quebec, and not the slightest means exist of knowing what is passing in the rural districts. It is with this view that I have proposed, and attach the greatest importance to, the establishment of lieutenants for each municipal dis- trict, who shall likewise preside over the council. This is very necessary in Upper Canada, but indispensable here. You will see that I propose to reserve a power, in my Bill, to appoint one or two deputy-governors or lieu- tenants, with such powers as the Governor-General may see fit to delegate. This is essential. The province is 1000 miles long, and without some one at each end on whom we can confide it will be impossible to manage. Very good men may be got, for 1000/. a-year at the outside, for what I want." A tiou ordii tiitio and \ been — an pice, seigjii The i tw^o comin 1 ratiniii obtain scarce establi dians, Island with se had, sii ferance notwitl their c for the existen< great d were in^ tenants. power defect i in their ADMINISTRATION IN CANADA. 177 whom 111 are I here, lysteiu ! office id one , joint ing he lulatetl 3 only e to do rovern- wluit I sion of lake fit to get circuits causes. i; and a ^aton, I a few ment is Montreal novving lis view ortance )al dis- This is ! here, in my r lieu- al may incc is nd on |. Very de, for Among the other ineaHures occu})ying his atten- tion at tins ))erioLl, and which he proposed to effect by ordinance before the establishment of the new consti- tution, was the incorporation of the cities of Quebec and jMontreal, of which the former ctn'porations had been allowed to expire during the dissensions of 183G, — and the incorporation of tlie seminary of St. Sul- pice, in order to provide for the gradual extinction of seigneurial dues in the city and island of Montreal. The importance of reviving the corporations of the two principal cities of Lower Canada needs no comment, — the necessity and justice of incorpo- rating the St. Sulpice seminary to enable them to obtain an equitable commutation of their dues, was scarcely less imperative. This society, originally established in 1663 for the conversion of the In- dians, and the ecclesiastical superintendence of the Island of Montreal, and endowed by the French Crown with seigneurial rights over the whole of that island, had, since the conquest of Canada, continued on suf- ferance to retain their former possessions and dues, notwithstanding that, in the capitulation of Quebec, their claim to do so had been specially reserved for the King's future decision. But as their legal existence as a corporation was doubtful, they had great difficulty in enforcing disputed claims, and were incapable of commuting their dues with their tenants. It would certainly have been in the power of the Crown to have taken advantage of the defect in their title, and to have supplanted them in their seigneurial capacity ; but such a proceeding N IHM). 178 T.IFE OF LOUD SYDKNUAM. 1840. towards a body instituted purely tor relijj^ious and cliaritablc purposes, and against whose fa'tliful dis- charjrc of their duties not a suspicion eouhl bo breathed, would ]iav(^ been grossly unjust and im- politic. At the same time the continuance of the sei^neurial tenure in a growing conunercial city was exceedingly inconvenient, luid tlie govern- ment h.'ul therefore h)ng been anxious to connnute this temu'e on erpiitable terms. A re[)ort on the subject had been furnished by the Canada conmiis- sioners of 1(S;>(), and a definite arrangement liad been setth'd witli the seminary by Mr. C. Ihdler, chief secretarv to Lord Durham: but tlie limited legislative powers tlu'U [>ossessed by tlie Special Council prevented its being carried into effect ; and it accordingly remained for Lord Sydenham t(^ pass an ordin.'uice for that purpose. In so doing he strictly adhered to Lord Durham's agreement. A strong opposition was got up to the measure by the ultra British party in Lower Canada, and their sentiments on the subject were re-echoed in the House of Lords by the Bishop of Exeter, who, however, was unable to obtain the assent of that house to an address to the Crown against the ordi- nance. Our readers can hardly have forgotten the remarkable debate which then took place, nor the testimony borne by noble lords on both sides of the house to the justice of the claims of the semi- nary. A more exemplary, self-denying, virtuous body of ecclesiastics, it would be impossible to find in any part of the world. They have always been distil Grea was ( to tl been rebel) the h' But, past, i ceptai about desirec some tion. who w solicito explain politica vernme veheme offer, a on a sui afterwa his elecl felt hin easy to recollect and Lor distance ADMINlsrUATlOX IN fANAUA. JTU i and il ais- 1(1 bo (.1 im- icc of H'l'cinl ovcni- iiniutc ^n tlic )iiiiuis- nt IkhI liuller, limited Si)Ocial effect ; [linm to ) doinf»' cement. ure by id their ill the , who, of that lie ordi- ten the or the ides of e semi- irtuous to find lys been distiiinjuislied Ibi- tlicir loyalty and nttaelniient to Great Hi-itain ; siiid din'ln;^- tlie rel)eUioii no effort was omitted on thcii* [)art to brin^ back their flocks to their alleoimice, as no exertion hud previously been wantino; to pi'cveiit the ontbresik. T^p to this time tlie circumstances of the two rebellions had almost entirely excluded irom power the leading members of the French Canadian j)arty. But, anxious if j)ossible to fb'aw a veil over the past, and to pivpare the way for a favourable {ic- ceptance by that people of the new institutions about to be conferred on them, the (jovernor-fieneral desired at this date to associate to his o()vernment some of the principal individuals of that extrac- tion, lie accordingly offered to ]\Ir. Lafontaine, who was considered as the leader of the party, the solicitor-generalship of Lower Canada, then vacant; explaining to that gentleman at the same time his political views and intentions as to the future go- vernment of the country. Mr. Lafontaine, being vehemently opposed to the Union, declined the offer, and the negotiation led to no result. But on a subsequent occasion, more than twelve months afterwards, Mr. Lafontaine having been defeated at his election for the first Parliament after the Union, felt himself justified, on what principles it is not easy to understand, in publishing in the papers his recollections of the conversation between himself and Lord Sydenham, naturally giving to it, at that distance of time especially, the colour of his own \ 2 1840. 180 1840. LIFE OF LORD SYDENHAM. feelings and impressions. Yet, even so distorted, the whole conversation shows that Lord Sydenham was then, as he had always been, desirous to pro- tect the French Canadians in a fair share of poli- tical power, and to maintain their equality with their fellow-subjects. The session of the Special Council continued till the end of June.* AYriting from Montreal on the 27th of that month, Lord Sydenham ^ays, — * The following extract from a private letter will show the close attention of the Governor-General to public business during this interval, as well as the nature of the occasional re- laxations which he allowed himself: — " June 15. 1840. " You ask about my health. It is better than it has been for years, which I attribute to the very regular life I lead, and to the absence of House of Commons atmosphere. Then, to be sure, if it were not for the interest I take in my business, and the quantity of it, it would be a dull life enough. Work in my room till three o'clock ; a ride with my aide-de-camp till five ; work again till dinner ; at dinner till nine ; and work again till early the next morning. That is my daily routine. My dinners last till ten when I have company, which is about three times a week; except one night in the week, when I receive about 150 people, who dance, sing, amuse themselves, and rather bore me. *' I have done myself some good by a little excursion I made last week up the Richelieu, and so round by St. John's and the railroad back ; — three days of air and exercise. The weather was lovely, though very hot, especially for riding. The mode of going about is convenient enough. I took a small steamer, which carried one's horses, so that I could leave the boat when- ever I pleased, and ride into the country to see the different places I wished to visit away from the river. Those counties bordering the Richelieu were formerly the garden of Lower Canada ; the soil rich to a degree ; but they are now used up completely by the abominable mode of cultivation pursued by ment. orted, jnhain pro- f poli- j with ed till on the show the business iional re- , 1840. been for d, and to en, to be ness, and rk in my till five ; again till y dinners e times a bout 150 bore me. n I made s and the ; weather 'he mode steamer, )at when- different counties >f Lower used up rsued by ADMINISTRATION IN CANADA. " I have closed my Special Council, and send you home my ordinances. They have done their work excellently well, thanks to Stuart and my new solicitor-general, who turns out admirably." ....*' I have passed some, but not all the measures which are indispensable previous to the Union. The Registry Bill still remains ; but that I shall get through in the autumn, after it has been for two or three months before the public, which was the course I adopted with the Judicature Bill, and found most advan- tageous. Education also stands over ; for it is impossible to do any thing in that until we get the municipalities erected in the districts." And to another correspondent he writes, — *' I have been very much occupied here making great changes in the laws of the Province preparatory to the Union, and have had infinite trouble ; but I have carried three or four great measures on large and extended prin- ciples, which the people here are not quite capable yet of comprehending, but which they will see the benefits of when they are in operation. Nothing but a despotism could have got them through. A House of Assembly, whether single or double, would have spent ten years at them." Immediately afterwards he left Montreal for Quebec; whence, in a few days, he sailed for Nova the habitans, and present a melancholy picture : the population rapidly increasing, and the people unwilling to quit their neigh- bourhood to settle on new land, until actually starved out. The physical state of the people is, however, even better than their moral condition. Their ignorance and credulity are unbounded, and no wonder they became the victims of the agitators who stirred them up to rebel in 1837 and 1838; for all this district was the focus of the outbreak. To be sure, a miserable out- break it was ; put down with the utmost ease by a single regi- ment." N 3 181 1840. 182 LIFE OF LORD SYDENHAM. 1840. Scotia, the government of which he had received the Queen's commands temporarily to assume, in order to put an end to collisions which had arisen between the Executive Government and the House of Assembly. In Nova Scotia, as in Upper Canada, the popula- tion had gradually outgro^vn the monopoly of power in the hands of a few large families, which seems to be the almost necessary condition of colonies in their infant state. There, as in Upper Canada, the popular branch of the legislature, cha- fing against the passive resistance of the executive, had addressed the Crown in language which, under a better system, would probably never have been heard. They had asked for the removal of their governor, and had not obscurely hinted at the stoppage of supplies. These were evidently the signs of a coming storm; and the Home Government, determining at once to anticipate and arrest it, con- fided the settlement of the difficulties to the Gover- nor-General, leaving him a full discretion as to the measures to be recommended. He arrived in Ha- lifax on the 9tli July ; and having been sworn into office, entered immediately on the task committed to him. After an unrestricted communication Avith the officers of the Government on the one hand, and the popular leaders on the other, he was enabled on the 27th July, a fortnight only after his arrival, to recommend to Lord John Russell certain changes in the legislative and executive councils of the pro- vince, Avhich, having been subsequently carried into ADMINISTRATION IN CANADA. 183 jeived ae, in arisen House opula- )ly of which Lon of Upper e, cha- 3utive, under e been f their Lit the ly the iment, con- Gover- to the n Ha- n into nutted with hand, nabled rrival, langes le pro- d into n effect under the administration of Lord Falkland, have entirely reconciled the previous dissensions. Since that time the province of Nova Scotia has been free from internal disturbance ; and, however distasteful the changes may have been to particular individuals, they have been undoubtedly satisfac- tory to the great body of the inhabitants. Thus by a frank admission of not unreasonable or illegi- timate demands, all those heartburnings and dis- sensions by which other colonies have been dis- tracted, and which no after-concessions have been sufficient to allay, were avoided in Nova Scotia. The principles on which the Governor- General proceeded in this instance cannot be better ex- plained than in his own words. In a letter dated 27th July 1840, he thus writes: — " I will briefly recapitulate the principle on which I think the changes I recommend should be made, and the mode in which I am of opinion they should be carried into effect. '* The defects in the present system seem to me to be, that the Executive Council is composed in a way which, whilst it has created dissatisfaction, has afforded the Go- vernment no assistance or strength whatever; — that we do not derive from our officers that aid in the management of public affairs in the legislature which is absolutely indis- pensable for the conduct of them in the colony ; — that, as a necessary result of this, the Government does not and cannot perform what is in my opinion one of its first duties, viz. propose and submit to the legislature, with the full weight of its authority, whatever measures may appear to be called for for the good of the province, and the very consideration of which would divert men's minds from the N 4 1840. 184 LIFE OF LORD SYDENHAM. 1840. agitation of abstract points of government such as we have seen raised here. " The principle on which I would proceed is, first, to compose the Executive Council in such a way that it should comprise only the leading official servants of the Govern- ment, and a few of the most influential members of either House — but especially those of the House of Assembly ; and, next, that the law officers of the Crown, and any other public servants whom it may be desirable to make use of in that way, should be required, when necessary, to be- come members of the Assembly, as well as of the Executive Council, in order to afford their assistance there ; and that their whole undivided time and talents should be at the disposal of the Government. *' Acting upon this principle, I have proposed to remove from the Executive Council all the gentlemen who are not members of either House ; to take in the Attorney-General, and to add to it some influential members of the Assembly or Council. The gentlemen who would go out would not feel themselves personally aggrieved, as they are ex- cluded only because they do not fulfil the conditions of the appointment. Their honorary distinction may be left to them as a mark of respect. I have also recommended that the collector of customs should cease to be a member of the Council. On the other hand, I shall suggest that Mr. * * * be reinstated in the Council, and Mr. and some other member from that party be added to it. I should myself have been glad to replace Mr. ; but I understand objections are entertained to this, and I there- fore would not wish to press it. Some other member, however, of that party should be substituted. The declar- ations publicly made by Mr. * * *, with respect to his former agitation of responsible government, entirely re- move all objection to him which existed on that score. " I next deem it indispensable that the Attorney-General should give up the chair, and should devote his whole time and talents to tlie duty of the office and support of (( ADMINISTRATION IN CANADA. 185 e have irst, to should overn- either iiiibly ; y other use of to be- ecutive nd that at the remove are not reneral, ssembly would are ex- lons of 3e left nended lember st that — and it. I but I there- ember, declar- to his ly re- re. eneral whole port of the Government in the Assembly of which he is a member. This he is willing to do ; and it would be very desirable that the Solicitor-General should also become a member of the Assembly, if his health permitted it. " In the Legislative Council I think that one or two additions should be made from the popular party, in order to remove the imputation of an exclusive character now attached to that body. But I am not prepared to suggest the persons. *' With these changes I feel satisfied the Government will acquire the necessary strength in the Legislature ; and if the proper direction be given to their labours, and due firmness evinced in controlling them, the Council will prove a very useful and powerful engine in the hands of the Governor. They will afford no triumph or victory to either party ; and I am satisfied they will meet the views and wishes of the Government at home, because they carry out the wishes expressed by Lord John Russell, that such modifications should be made in the Executive and Legis- lative Councils as might bring those bodies more into harmony with the general opinions of the popular branch of the Legislature, and introduce into them some of those who exercise influence there." To Lord John Russell he wrote at the same time as follows : — " Halifax, 27 th July, 1840. " My dear Lord John, " I have put matters quite right for you for the present in Nova Scotia. Except a few persons without the slight- est influence in the Colony, all is now peace and harmony. I read people, parties. Assembly and all, a good lecture in an answer I gave to an address, of which I hope you will approve.* At least the people here do so as fully as I * The Address and Answer referred to are as follows: — " To His Excellency the Right Honourable Charles Poulett 1840. 186 LIFE OF LORD SYDENHAM. 1840. could wish, and I have not the least doubt that tiiere is no colony in the British dominions that can be governed more easily than this. Thomson, Member of Her Majesty's Privy Council, Go- vernor-General in and over the British Provinces of North America, &c. " We, the inhabitants of the town of Halifax, offer our con- gratulations to your Excellency on your arrival in Nova Scotia, and beg leave to express the high sense we entertain of the manner in which you have discharged the im|)ortant duties of (lovernor-Genoral of the British Provinces of North America. " The impartial consideration of all subjects connected with the prosperity and social advancenuMit of these Provinces, which has invariably characterised the CJovernment of Great Britain, demands an expression of gratitude ; and we should ill represent the feelings of Nova Scotians, if we did not assure your Excellency of our high respect for you as the Represent- ative of our Sovereign and the head of this Government. " It is our pride to belong to a nation rendered so conspi- cuous by the commanding influence she possesses throughout the world ; and, while we cherish the hope that affection and attachment for the person and Government of our Sovereign will secure for us and our children a continuance of the blessings we enjoy under our unrivalled Constitution, we feel assured that the wise provisions of your Excellency, in the Go- verinnent of the Colonies committed to your care, will cement those ties which now bind us together, contribute to our welfare and prosperity, and remain a lasting testimonial of your ability and experience." Answer. " Gentlemen, — I beg you to accept my warm acknowledg- ments for your address. " In obedience to the Queen's commands, I have visited Nova Scotia ; and although my stay within this Province must neces- sarily be short, and is not unaccompanied by the sacrifice of other duties, I shall consider myself amply rewarded if my presence here shall tend to your future advantage, by enabling me to reconcile differences which unhappily appear to have ADMINISTRATION IN CANADA. 187 [1 Nova neces- ifice of if my labling ** I have told you in a dispatch, as fully as I can in such a document, the causes of this mighty storm in a very - prevailed, and to remove misunderstandings, in which alone I feel satisfied they have originated. " You have been pleased to express your approbation of my discharge of my duties since I have assumed the Government of British North America. My earnest endeavour has been to put an end to personal and party feuds, and to lead the people of these Colonics from fruitless and idle disputes upon theoretical points of Government to the consideration of their real and personal interests — the amelioration of their laws — the ad- vancement of their commerce — and the improvement of their country. " It is the anxious desire of the Queen that her British North American subjects should be happy and prosperous — that they should enjoy that freedom which is the birthright of Britons, and bless the tie which binds them to her Empire. *' Her commands to her Representative are, that he should consult their wishes and iheir feelings — that he should promote their interest by well-considered reforms — and suit his admi- nistration of affairs to the gro\ving importance and varying circumstances of each Colony ; that, whilst it should be alike his interest and his duty to listen respectfully to the opinions which may be offered to him, and to seek the advice of those who may be considered to represent the well-understood wishes of the people, he can devolve the responsibility of his acts on no man, without danger to the connection of the Colony with the Empire, and injury to the best interests of those whose welfare is committed to his care. " It is in obedience to these commands, and in the spirit of the declarations of her Majesty's advisers, and of myself, that I have humbly endeavoured to discharge my duty to the Queen and to these Colonies. " I feel confident that the people of Nova Scotia, distin- guished for their loyalty to their Sovereign, and proud of their connection with the British Crown, will yield to no attempt to inspire them with other feelings, or to lead them to demands Incompatible with these principles. " My acquaintance with your affairs has deeply impressed 1840. 188 LIFE OF LORD SYDENHAM. 1840. small ocean, and the mode I have taken to quell it, as well as what I recommend to be done There are me with the conviction of the injury which must be inflicted upon your real interests by the contentions which we have to deplore. " I find in Nova Scotia all the elements of prosperity. You possess an overflowing Treasury, under a system of taxation which may well be envied by your fellow-subjects at home ; you enjoy liberty equal, if not superior, to theirs ; industry may find on your shores not merely a bare return, but an ample reward ; the Crown has conferred on you, by your Constitution, the most ample power for securing good laws, and in the exercise of its controul it seeks your advancement and your interests alone. " It is to the right use of this power, and to the improvement of these advantages, that I would earnestly draw your attention. That much may be done by yourselves for your own benefit is obvious. The imperfection of your judicial system — the ne- cessity for municipal government — the abuses which disgrace the administration of those resources which you believe to be devoted to public improvements — these and other subjects are matters of vital importance to you. " Permit me, then, to take this opportunity, through you, to impress on the people of this colony these my honest convic- tions. It is the duty of the Representative of the Crown, and of those who are responsible to him in the administration of your affairs, to lead the way in improvement, and to submit for adoption whatever may be calculated to remove abuses or pro- mote your advantage ; and the Queen will expect from him a faithful discharge of these duties. But upon your co-operation must depend the success of his endeavours, and his efforts can fail or succeed, only in proportion to your readiness to support and assist him in the task. " Whether charged with the immediate administration of your affairs, or called on only for more remote superintendence and advice, I shall ever be ready to offer my best assistance in ad- vancing these objects ; and to whomsoever these duties belong as the Representative of our Sovereign, you may confidently rely upon his carrying out her beneficent wishes for the pros- perity and contentment of her people within this Province." ADMINISTRATION IN CANADA. no parties here before the public in the way we under- stand them, or as they exist in Canada. At least five- sixths of the Assembly care nothing about politics, and think only of their roads and bridges. There are half a dozen men of some ability on both sides, who have unfor- tunately all been alienated instead of conciliated to the Government. The Crown officers are excellent men, liberal and popular, but no power was given them, and their advice neither taken nor sought .... so that in the Assembly the Governor has lately possessed not even one solitary friend to stand up for him, or affect to do the Government business. In this state of things it is not surprising that the Assembly ran riot, or that the disap- pointed ambition of a few individuals led them into extreme measures. •' But I have calmed all this for the present. The leaders on both sides (I mean of course the parliamentary leaders, for I can recognise no others) are entirely satisfied with my recomposition of the Council, and I should have proceeded to carry it into effect myself, if I had not found the people perfectly reasonable, and willing to wait. I have therefore thought it best to do nothing myself, and to leave you the opportunity of sending out directions to make the changes I have proposed." * 189 1840. * In order to facilitate the changes suggested by Lord Sydenham to the Colonial office, Sir Colin Campbell, then the Governor of Nova Scotia, to whom probably it would have been personally unpleasant to carry them into execution, was removed to the Government of Ceylon, and replaced by Lord Falkland in the month of October, 1840, under whose manage- ment the affairs of that colony still continue. The following passage of a letter from Lord Sydenham to Lord Falkland in the following year will explain some of the difficulties in Colonial administrations with which his experience in Canada had made him acquainted, and the temper in which he was accustomed to nieet them : — 190 LIFE OF LOT^l) SVDKNIIAM. 1840. Having paid a short visit to New Brunswick, and spent two days with its kind-hearted and lios- pitable T/icutenant-Governoi', Sir John Harvey, the Governor-Cjicneral i*eturnod to (Janada; and shortly <* Moiitmil, 12tli May, 1H4-1. " I liave watched your proceedings with great anxiety, and am most gratified at the result. I tliink it in the highest degree creditable to your tact and judgment." '* I enter completely into the difficulties of which you s))cak in carrying out improvements, Jiotwithstamling your (rovcrnmciital ma- jority, as they term that sort of thing in Franco. It is the mis- fortune of all popular governments in our colonies. The people are made legislators, before they have either intelligence or education to know how to set about their work; and as, under such circumstances, selfishness and a preference of their little local jobs to any views of general advantage must prevail amongst them, the progress of practical improvement cannot but be slow. But do not despair. You have certainly no grounds m hatever to do so, for you have achieved a vast deal even in this your first session ; and your power and influence will daily become more and more consolidated, especially when it is seen, as I know it will be, that you are most cordially sup- ported at home. That is, indeed, nine-tenths of the battle. Your colonial ultra-Tories will soon give up their violence when they are satisfied of this. And the ultras of the opposite side may be kept in order. When I find myself getting gloomy at the opposition of little petty interests to great improvements, and by the dijficidty of making peo])le understand what is really for the general benefit, I turn back to my oivn recollection oftvhat teas the condition of the House of Commons not many years ago, with reference to all the great improvements tvhich we have either carried or raised to a position in tvhich they must be soon carried ; such as Parliamentary Representation, the Poor Laws, Municipal Reform, County Administration, the Tithe Question, both in Ireland and England, Slavery, Free Trade, Sfc, and I become very merciful towards these poor Colonists. So advance steadily, and depend upon it you will succeed in your objects ulti- mately." ADMINISTHATION IX CANADA. 191 afterwjirds made a tour through the eastern town- ships, a country unsurpassed by any part of the con- tinent of America in beauty of scenery and fertility of soil. Hitherto a fear of the len<;th of its winter has deterred emigrants from settling there ; but as the seasons become moderated by the advance of cultivation, there can be no doubt that this most delightful portion of Canada, already settled almost exclusively by a population of IJrirish descent, will become a favourite resort of the emigrant. In his progress through these townships, Alr.Poulett Thom- son was everywhere welcomed with enthusiasm, and received addresses of congi'atulation from all par- ties.* By this time the Union Act had passed the 1840 ] * Extract from a private letter of 6th August: — " These toM nships when? I now am are really worth seeing. They are the only really valuable part of Lower Canada, out- side the towns of Quebec and Montreal. But they are splendid I It is the scenery of the Wye and of Westmoreland ; only finer than either or both. Hill and valley, mountains in the back ground, beautiful streams and lakes, and forests of hard wood, not pines, in the greatest luxuriance. The district is separated from the flat and sterile, though thickly inhabited banks of the St. Lawrence, by a strip of 50 or 60 miles of ugly country ; and there this paradise (m summer') begins. But it is not susceptible of great improvement, because there is no water communica- tion ; and the produce therefore cannot be brought to market, except the cattle which can ivalk. Settlement, therefore, pro- ceeds slowly, and will not advance much, especially with Upper Canada (which has all the luxuriance and the best water com- munications besides) bidding against it in the market of labour and settlement. The farms, however, are good ; and the people (generally Americans or English) industrious and intelligent. My reception, to be sure, has been enough to put me in good humour with them ; for I have done nothing for two days but 192 LIFE OF LORD SYDRNIfAIVf. 1840. Britlsli Mouse of Commons, and there was every reason to expect that it would very shortly become law. In the montli of August, anxious to make him- self acquainted with every part of the province under his government, he prepared for a tour through Upper Canada. He left Montreal on the 19th of that month; and passing up the St. Law- rence to Kingston, and thence by Hamilton and Niagara to Lake Erie, made the voyage up that Lake, and finally returned to Montreal by way of Toronto and the Rideau canal.* It is unneces- pass under triumphal arches, and receive addresses of thanks and praise. I have done a good deal for this part of the coun- try in the way of law-making, and they are proportionately grateful." * Extract from a private letter of 27th August, IS^O, dated Drummondville (the Falls): — " Here I am on my road to the West, and with the windows and balcony of my rooms facing the most magnificent sighj; on earth, with beautiful weather; and, if they would only give me a minute's respite from business and show, very much disposed to enjoy myself. I arrived on Sunday, and mean to complete my week nearly. As for attempting to describe the Falls, it is im- possible to convey any idea of them. Vulgarly they are only two great milldams, and in painting they can only appear so ; but the effect they produce on the mind from their magnitude is indescribable. " We have a host of Yankees, either in the house, or arriving daily from the opposite shore, a gun-shot off, to see Mr. Governor Thomson. You never saw or can imagine such a set of people ; but they are great fun. I gave them a review yesterday of the 93rd, a Highland regiment in kilts, M'hich delighted them not a little I guess. I overheard one of them say * I guess these Britishers do it a'most as handsome as the Buffalo Citizen Militia!' Another said to me to-day, meaning, ADMINISTIIATION IN CANADA. 1D3 every ecoine 1 him- ^vince i tour Dii the . Law- n and p tliat way of ineces- [' thanks le coun- ;ionately 0, dated 'indows light on Ive me a )osed to plete my it is im- [re only )ear so ; [gnitude luse, or to see le such review M'hich \i them as the waning, siiry to say inoiv of this progress tlian tliat in the i«to. course of it he entered into personal communication with people of all ranks and polities in every part of the 1 Province, and that he every where received the most cordial um\ oratifying reception. A num- ber of addrc'sses were presented to him apj)roving of the i)uiiey whicli he had followed, and of the provisions of the Union Act. Even at Toronto, where on his first arrival his reception, as will be re- membered, had been the op[)()sitf' to friendly — and where, since his death, his memory has been most violently ass.ailed by a section of the inhabitants — a very com})limentary address was adopted and pre- sented to him unanimously. AVliatever might be the motives of this address, — whether it proceeded from a sincere conviction of the benefits of his policy, or was dictjited, as some have asserted, by a desire to conciliate his favourable consideration to I presume, to pay me tlie highest compliment, ' I opinionate that you are very like our old Hickory' (Jackson) — ' youdowiis them everlasting locusts of place-goers, and wo'nt stand no up but your own ; ' — pretty true, by-the-by. Yesterday on the bal- cony a Yankee lady was walking with her little girl ; the child said, * Manniia, I can't bear this.' Upon which mamma looked daggers at her, and said, ' How can you talk so before the Governor? You should say, I can't tolerate this.' Such is their (lolicacy of language. What it is, practically, you may imagine from the circumstance of my bed-rooms opening on a balcony that is common to the house ; and there is not a young lady in the hotel who does not walk up and down staring into the window of the room, which is about 8 feet square, every morning whilst I am going through all the processes of my toilet." 194 LIFE OF LORD SYDENHAM. 1840. their claims to be the metropolitan city, — it is well worthy of notice. A copy of it is accordingly sub- joined, together with the Governor's answer.* * Address of the Inhabitants of Toronto. " To His Excellency the Right Honourable C. Poulett Thom- son, Member of Her Majesty's most Honourable Privy Council, Governor-General in and over the British Pro- vinces of North America, &c. &c. &c. " May it please your Excellency, — We, the inhabitants of the City of Toronto, beg to congratulate your Excellency on your return to Upper Canada, and to renew the expression of our devoted loyalty and attachment to her Majesty's Person and Government. " We entertain a high sense of her Majesty's care for the welfare of her subjects in British North America, in having selected a statesman of your Excellency's superior attainments and abilities to administer the Government. " We beg further to express our concurrence in the declar- ations which your Excellency has made of the principles upon which the Government of the Colonies shall be conducted. " It has been a source of great gratification to us that your Excellency has personally visited the sister colonies of her Majesty on this continent, and that your Excellency has also mide a tour through a great portion of this Province. In this we perceive an anxiety on the part of your Excellency to be- come acquainted with the position, climate, productions, and resources of the several Provinces, and from personal observ- ation to ascertain not only their value to the British Crown, but at the same time to 'earn the wants of the people. " We cannot permit the present opportunity to pass without expressing our thanks to your Excellency for the exertions which your Excellency has used in effecting those important changes in the regulation of the Post Office Department, and in the Tea Trade, as affecting these colonies, which have re- cently been concurred in by the Home Government at your Excellency's suggestion. *' Since your Excellency's assumption of the government of British North America, changes in the constitution of this ADMINISTRATION IN CANADA. 195 well sub- Thom- 1 Privy ih Pro- tants of ency on jssion of Person for the 1 having ainments e declar- )les upon ited. ;hat your of her has also In this icy to be- jions, and l1 observ- Crown, Is without 1 exertions Important lent, and have re- at your [•ninent of of this A tAvelvemonth had not yet elapsed since Lord Sydenham had landed at Quebec, and already all Province and of Lower Canada have been effected, of such vital importance as will materially influence our destinies. During the progress of these proceedings various opinions have agitated the public mind, and approbation or opposition has been freely and openly given, as the parties agreed to or dis- sented from the great questions under discussion. " The Imperial Parliament having enacted that a Legislative Union between Upper and Lower Canada shall take place, we trust that, whatever may have been the opinions of individuals upon the policy of so vital and important a change in our con- dition, all classes of people in either Province will, since our destinies have become united by the law of the land, bring into the discussion of all questions arising under this new con- dition of our affairs that spirit of loyalty, unanimity, and good feeling, which are so essential to the prosperity of every country. (Signed) " John Powell, " P. Paterson, Jr., Secretary." Mayor. Reply. " Gentlemen, — I beg to thank you for your Address, and I am anxious at the same time to convey to the inhabitants of your city my warm acknowledgments for the kind reception they have afforded me on my return to Toronto. " I receive with great satisfaction the expression of your concurrence in the principles upon which my administration of the affairs of these Provinces is conducted. These principles, opposed alike to the opinions entertained by extreme parties, I am determined firmly to maintain ; and to exercise the power confided to me by the Queen in accordance with what I feel to be the real interests of the people, and what I believe to be also the deliberate and well-considered desire of the vast ma- jority. " I am gratified to learn that the Fiscal Measures which I have felt it my duty to recommend for the benefit of these Provinces have met your approval. You may rely upon my omitting no oppoi'tunity of urging upon her Majesty's Govern- O 2 1840. 196 LIFE OF LORD SYDENHAM. 1840. the principal objects of his mission had been ful- filled. The details of the Union Act had been ar- ranged and carried in the Imperial Legislature — the Clergy Reserve question had been settled — and throughout the Colony peace, good feeling, and hope had taken the place of agitation, dissension, and despondency. The description given by the Lieutenant-Governor of Upper Canada of the state of feeling in that province in September, 1839, has ment, or the Imperial Parliament, any measures falling under their control which may conduce to the advantage or improve- ment of the Canadas. " I have indeed derived the greatest pleasure from my visit to the various districts of Upper Canada. It has afforded mc the means of making myself personally acquainted with different parts of the Province, and will, I trust, enable me to advance their interests ; but above all, that visit has been most gratifying to me, as it has amply shown the feelings of the great majority of the inhabitants — their desire to conciliate differences — their determination to address themselves to the real interests of the country — and the confidence they are pleased to repose in the humble but honest exertions which I havp made, and shall con- tinue to make, for the improvement of this portion of her Majesty's dominions. I trust that the inhabitants of Toronto will emulate the general feeling of the Province by discarding violent party and personal feeling, and lend their willing assist- ance in the great work which is before us. " Confident in the support of the people, whom I believe no less sincerely desirous of attention to their practical interests than they are opposed to renewed agitation upon theoretical points of government, I shall pursue the measures which appear to me calculated to promote the prosperity and advance the in- terests of the Colony ; and my utmost ambition will be gratified if, through the blessing of Almighty Providence, I can see these fine Provinces take that station in the mighty empire of Great Britain to which they are justly entitled." jcn ful- >een ar- ,ture — ttled — ng, and sension, by the he state 839, has ling under r improve- m my visit fforded me th different [to advance gratifying at majority ices — their rests of the jpose in the i shall con- ion of her of Toronto discarding lling assist- believe no lal interests theoretical lich appear ance the in- gratified in see these Ire of Great ! ' ' I ADMINISTRATION IN CANADA. been quoted on a previous page ; the change which had by this time taken place was testified by every address presented to the Governor-General during his progress in Upper Canada and through the eastern to^vuships, and especially by that from the people of Toronto. Nor were there wanting other and more substantial evidences of this change in the stimulus to trade and emigration which had been produced by the existing tranquillity.* On his return from Upper Canada, the Governor- General was met by the gratifying intelligence that, in acknowledgment of his services, the Queen had been pleased to raise him to the peerage by the title of Baron Sydenham of Sydenham in Kent and Toronto in Canada. Another triumph had also been prepared for him, which, however, the weak state of his health pre/entod. The citizens of Montreal, — those whose correspondents had twelve months before petitioned the throne against his appointment, and who were notoriously opposed in politics to the party to which in the mother country Lord Sydenham had belonged, yet, sensible of the benefits which they had derived from his adminis- tration, and anxious to repair the mistrust which * There can scarcely be a surer test of the prosperity of such a country as Canada than the amount of immigration into it. The numbers who have arrived by the way of the St. Lawrence in the last five years were as follows:— 1838, 3266; 1839, 7439; 1840, 22,234; 1841, 28,046; 1842, 44,374. In the two latter years there was also a considerable immigration from the United States. o 3 197 1840. 198 1840. LIFE OF LORD SYDENHAM. they had at first evinced, prepared to give him a public reception on his return. He was obliged, however, to decline this honour, having been at- tacked during his tour by his old enemy the gout. The following extract from a private letter, dated Bay of Quinte, 18th September, 1840, shows his own feelings in respect to the country through which he had passed, and its prospects at that moment : — " This tour has indeed been a triumph — a series of ovations. You can conceive nothing more gratifying than my progress through Upper Canada, especially in the west : nor, indeed, with one exception, any thing more fortunate ; for I have had beautiful weather and good health, and have been able to keep my time very exactly at the diiferent places, so as to receive all intended honours, and satisfy and please the people. " That exception was Lake Erie. The Government steamer in which I embarked was altogether the filthiest and vilest concern which ever floated on water. Admiralty, not Provincial, of course ; and my patriotism prevented me from hiring a Yankee steam-boat instead, which would have conveyed me safely and comfortably. We had a storm on the lake, and got very nearly lost ; and what was as bad, I could put in no where to see the coast, but was obliged to run for Amherstburg. The same thing happened on Lake Huron, where the sea runs as high as in the Bay of Biscay ; and, to complete the catastrophe, in running up the river Thames to Chatham away went the rudder and tiller, both as rotten as touchwood. So I abandoned * the Toronto ' to cut a fresh rudder out of the woods, and was right glad to get the rest of my tour by land. " I had a carriage on board and plenty of saddle-horses ; and as the roads are not impassable at this time of year, on horseback at least, I made it out admirably. ■J I I s th ADMINISTRATION IN CANADA. 199 give him a as obliged, g been at- the gout, itter, dated shows his •y through ts at that —a series of itifying than ially in the thing more ;r and good very exactly ded honours. Government the filthiest Admiralty^ prevented hich would We had a d what was st, but was g happened in the Bay in running the rudder abandoned woods, and hd. [dle-horscs ; me of year, (( » '\ Amherstburg, Sandwich, River St. Clair, Lake Huron, Goderich, Chatham, London, Woodstock, Brantford, Simcoe, the Talbot Road and Settlement, Hamilton, Dundas, and so back to Toronto. You can follow me on a map. From Toronto across Lake Simcoe to Penetan- guishine on Lake Huron again, and back to Toronto, which I left again last night for the Bay of Quinte. All parties uniting in addresses at every place, full of confi- dence in my government, and of a determination to forget their former disputes. Escorts of two and three hundred farmers on horseback at every place from township) to township, with all the etceteras of guns, music, and flags. What is of more importance, my candidates every where taken for the ensuing elections ; in short, such unanimity and confidence I never saw, and it augurs well for the future. Even the Toronto people, who have been spend- ing the last six weeks in squabbling, were led, I suppose b^ the feeling shown in the rest of the province, into giving me a splendid reception, and took in good part a lecture I read them, telling them that they had better follow the good example of peace and renewed harmony which had been set them elsewhere, instead of making a piece of work about what they did not understand. " The fact is, that the truth of my original notion of the people and of this country is now confirmed. The mass only wanted the vigorous interference of a well- intentioned Government, strong enough to control both the extreme parties, and to proclaim wholesome truths, and act for the benefit of the country at large in defiance of ultras on either side. " But, apart from all this political effect, I am delighted to have seen this part of the country ; I mean the great district, nearly as large as Ireland, placed between the three lakes — Erie, Ontario, and Huron. You can con- ceive nothing finer! The most magnificent soil in the world — four feet of vegetable mould — a climate certainly the best in North America — the greater part of it ad- 4 1840. 200 LIFE OF LOUD SYDENHAM. 1840. mirably watered. In a word, there is land enough and capabihties enough for some millions of people, and for one of the finest provinces in the world ; the most perfect contrast to that miserable strip of land along the St. Law- rence, called Lower Canada, which has given so much trouble. " I shall fix the capital of the United Province in this one of course. Kingston will most probably be the place ; but there is every thing to be done there yet, to provide accommodation for the meeting of the Assembly in the spring." Lord Sydenham returned to Montreal in the close of the month of September, and immediately ad- dressed himself to the preparation of those ne- cessary ordinances which still remained to be passed in the Special Council before the Union could be safely brought mto operation. Among these the most important Avere the ordinance for the esta- blishment of municipal institutions, and that to provide for the registration of incumbrances on real property. The former it had been intended, in the first place, to provide for in the Union Act, and clauses for that purpose had been framed and sent home by Lord Sydenham ; but when the bill containing them came to be discussed in Parlia- ment, they were opposed by some members con- nected with Canada; and there being reason to fear that the great bulk of the Opposition might take the same view, on the ground that there was not sufficient local information in England to enable Parhament to legislate safely ^m such details, the Government, anxious to obtain the unanhnous ADMINISTRATION IN CANADA. 201 enough and lie, and for iiost perfect he St. Law- Mi so much incc in tliis B the pUice; , to provide mbly in the ntlie close liately ad- those 11 c- ) be passed L could be these the the esta- d that to ranees on intended, nion Act, amed and n the bill in Parlia- bers con- on to fear light take e was not to enable tails, the naniirious assent of Parliament to the chief measure of the Union, agreed to leave out the clauses, and the sub- ject was accordingly remitted to the provhicial authorities. The importance which Lord Sydenham attached to the establishment of this municipal system at the same time with the Union, and his extreme disap- pointment on learning the omission of the clauses in which it had been embodied, appear in every letter written by him about this period. An ex- tract from one may suffice. 1840. " No man in his senses," he writes, " would for a moment of the Union without its being think accom- panied by some sort of Local Government, in which the people may control their own officers, and the executive at the same time obtain some influence in the country districts. " Without a breakwater of tins kind between the Cen- tral Government and the people. Government with an Assembly is impossible in Lower Canada, a'ld most diffi- cult in Upper Canada; and it is absurd to ex -ect that any good system can or will be established by the Provincial Legislature, even if time admitted of its being proposed to them. No colonial legislature will divest itself of the great power it now possesses of parcelling out sums of money for every petty local job ; and although by the Union Bill the initiative of money votes will be confined to the Government, this provision will become null, be- cause the moment that the executive is called upon to provide for all these local expenses, with the details of which it cannot be acquainted, it must renounce the task, and leave it in the hands of the members themselves. A distinct principle must be laid down, that all purely local expenses be borne by the localities themselves, settled and \ 202 LIFE OF LORD SYDENHAM. 1840. voted l)y tlicm, and that only great works be paid for out of tlie al funds iC provmcii _ [or is it only with reference to the Canadas that it was all-important for Parliament itself to have laid down the principle and details of Local Government. Since I have been in these Provinces, I have become more and more satisfied that the capital cause of the misgovernment of them is to be found in the absence of Local Govern- ment, and the consequent exercise by the Assembly of powers wholly inappropriate to its functions. Members are every where chosen only with reference to the extent of job for their particular district which they can carry. Whoever happens to lead a party in the House, of twelve or fourteen members, may at once obtain a majority for his political views by jobbing with other members for votes upon them, or by rejecting their jobs as the penalty of refusal oust them from their seats. This, indeed, is ad- mitted by the best men of all parties, and especially of the popular side. But it is equally admitted that they cannot of themselves change the system. In both Nova Scotia and New Brunswick I was told that if Parliament laid down a system of Local Government for Canada, then it was likely that in these Provinces too the Assembly would adopt it ; but, without that, it would be impossible to get it done. So, by this step, if Lord John has really been forced to take it, not only has all chance of the Union Bill working well been destroyed, but also the hope of a change of system throughout all the Provinces. Last year, if you remember, we made it a sine qua non to the Union ; indeed, our scheme was altogether based on it. The establishment of Municipal Government by Act of Parliament is as much a part of the intended scheme of Government for the Canadas as the union of the two Legislatures, and the more important of the two. All chance of good Government, in Lower Canada especially, depends on its immediate adoption." ADMINISTRATION IN CANADA. 203 )aid for out aclas that it I laid down ;. Since I more and government al Govern - ssembly of Members the extent can carry. !, of twelve lajority for embers for ;he penalty leed, is ad- specially of I that they both Nova Parliament nada, then Assembly impossible has really ice of the also the Provinces. jud mm to ased on it. jy Act of scheme of the two two. All especially, \\ It is only necessary to look at the map of Canada to understand Lord Sydenham's feelings on this subject. Extending on a line nearly 1500 miles, comprising within its limits a great variety of climates, and inhabited by persons of different origins, it is impossible that the wants and interests of each separate locality should be properly un- derstood or decided on by an authority oerma- nently fixed at any central spot. Yet, without the power of local taxation for local purposes, no work, whether important or inconsiderable, could be undertaken except by the assistance of the central authority. In respect to the main roads and bridges in Lower Canada, an imperfect au- thority was, it is true, vested in the Grand Yoyers, and the ecclesiastical buildings in the Roman Ca- tholic parishes were maintained by the contri- butions of the community ; but these were the only substitutes for local poAvers, and it is evident how small a portion of the wants of the people they Averc sufficient to meet. Under the old system, all applications for pecuniary assistance had been ad- dressed directly to the House of Assembly; and every Governor, no less than Lord Sydenham, has borne testimony to the fact, that the power of granting or refusing them had been made an in- strument of political influence by the leaders in that body. But under the Union Act, Avhicli placed the initiative of money votes in the CroAvn, it Avould have been for the Government to exercise this power ; and it is easy to perceive that an at- 1840. 204 LIFE OF LOUD SYDENHAM. 1840. tribute which in the hands of the popular body had been a means of strength, would to the ex- ecutive power be a cause of weakness. No man nor set of men, however upright or indefatigable, could bear up against the odium of having to de- cide upon the innumerable demands for assistance from every quarter of the province. No office which could have been established would have been competent to collate and determine the conflicting claims from every spot, from Cape Gaspe to Sand- Avich ; nor, if it could have been done, would there have been a possibility of satisfying the rejected applicants of the justice of the decision. Under such circumstances, it became indispens- ably necessary to relieve the. Government from this invidious duty, and to provide for the growing wants of the province. Nor was it less an object to educate the people in habits of self-government, and thus to prepare them for the exercise of those more important Ic gislative duties which under the Union Act would be devolved upon them. But feeling, as we have seen from his private corre- spondence, the great difficulty of persuading a popu- lar assembly to divest itself of powers so extensive, and fearing that even if this could be accomplished it would be impossible to attach to the measure those securities which are indispensable to a monarchical form of government, he now determined, on the loss of the clauses in the Imperial Parliament, to in- troduce into the Special Council of Lower Canada a bill for the establishment of municipal authorities 4 \ ADMINISTRATION IN ( VADA. 205 )pular body to the cx- i. No man idefatigable, wing to dc- r assistance No office d have been ; conflicting pc to Sand- would there :he rejected c indispens- nt from this he growing IS an object government, ise of those L under the :hem. But vate corre- ing a popu- ) extensive, complished asure those fionarchical \ ed, on the nent, to iri- ver Canada authorities 1 in that part of the province ; trusi g th it when once established there, they might be tjikv n as a ^ lodel by tlie United Legislature for similar institutions in tli»^ other part of Canada. This expectation, as we sh: afterwards see, was verified in the first session . '" the United Legislature ; but in the mean time their omission in the Union Act had disturbed the entire plan of the Governor-General, and occasioned great delay, loss of time, trouble, and anxiety.* The second ordinance, to which allusion has been made, that for the establishment of registry offices, had long been called for by the great body of the English inhabitants of Lower Canada. The * In a private letter of this period Lord Sydenham describes the inconvenience thus occasioned. " The rejection of the Local Government clauses has ruined me quite. For although I shall institute off my own anvil all that I want for this Province in that waj', I shall have to get it for the other from the Legislature — a difficulty the more where there are already too many to contend with. But above all, the necessity of getting the laws passed here for this and other pur- poses causes a delay which is most mischievous. Could I have dissolved at this time, or a month ago — which I should have done had I had the power of making the arrangements after the Union by proclamation, as was proposed — I should have had plenty of time to organise the Government, and get things in order under the Union before the Parliament meet. Now, I have all these laws to make before the proclamation of the Union — am compelled, therefore, to delay that, and conse- quently the elections also, till January or February, and then shall have little or no time left for the organisation of the Go- vernment or the preparation of measures before I must meet the Parliament. My scheme was a perfect whole ; but by pulling out one of the principal pegs, the whole machinery has been deranged, and my calculations all routed." 1840. 20G LIFK OF LORD SYDENHAM. 1840. want of it, and the indetorininatc character of mortnragcs (/ij/pofhA/ues) or claims having the effect of mortgages, had made it unsafe either to buy land or to lend money upon it, and had thus operated as a drawback to the advancement of the country. According to the French Canadian law, there is scarcely a pecuniary obligation which a man can incur, whether by his own act, by the sentence of a competent court, or by his social position, which does not form a hypotlt^que on his property. Nor was there any means of discovering these incumbrances ; for while the law imposed on notaries an obligation of secrecy in respect to such as were executed before them, there were others called " tacit hypoth^ques," which could only be ascertained by an intimate acquaintance with the social connections and obligations of the proprietor. Many attempts had been made before the rebellion to remedy these inconveniences, and bills had re- peatedly been introduced for that purpose into the legislature. But, although some progress had been made towards a better system, the most serious of the evils remained uncorrected. As this was a question altogether of a local nature, and to the solution of which the Upper Canadians could bring no assistance, it appeared peculiarly desirable that it should be settled before the Union was pro- claimed.* * The following extracts from some private letters written at this period, relating to this and other subjects then engaging Lord Sydenham's consideration, may be interesting to the \\ I ADMINISTRATION IN CANADA. 207 The discussion on these and the other ordinances isio. ])rotracted the session of the Special Council till reador ; especially those passages which contain his opinions on the cliaracter and extent of emigration for which Canada oHers an opening. « Montreal, November 23, 1810. " I have got my Special Council together, and am hard at work at the legislative oven. One great coup at least I hav«! achieved. I have got a registry bill, the * Asses Bridge * of the Province for the last twenty years, which meets with nearly universal assent from both French and English. It will be law in a few days, and will be really a miracle. A simple tiling enough, you would think, unless where you have, as in England, all the attorneys to fight you on it; but, in truth, a most ditii- cult job here, where we arc cursed with all the old French law of before the Revolution, ' Hypotheques tacites et occultes,' Dowers* and Minors* rights, * Actes par devant Notaires,' and all the horrible processes by which the unsuspecting are sure to be deluded, and the most wary are often taken in ; yet still ' vested rights ' — that terribly delicate thing to deal with, and about which one feels the more delicate in proportion to the power one possesses of dealing with them. ♦< The only things I cannot manage here, which I should like to deal with, are education and emigration. The first I can do nothing in ; first for want of money, and next that I cannot get the priests to agree to any feasible scheme. They pretend to be in favour of something, but are in reality opposed to teaching the people at all, being weak enough to think that so long as they are ignorant they are under their control. The rebellion ought to have taught them better, for then the masses all left the priests for the agitators. " For emigration I have done here nearly all that is possible, and little enough it is ; yet I do not see how to do more. Wake- field's plan of bringing out labourers by the sale of lands is utterly impracticable in these colonies. Land is worth nothing except through the labour that is bestowed upon it ; and that is barely remunerated, even putting out of the question the cost of transport. The whole land revenue, arising from sales, of the 208 LIFE OF LORD SYDENHAM. 1841. the month of February, 1841, and delayed the "~~ proclamation of the Union, which it had in the in two Canadas does not reach 20,000/. a year — which might bring out 2000 or 3000 people. This year we have 23,000 by voluntary emigration, and shall have probably double next year I To talk of an emigration fund from land, then, is ridiculous. The only thing to do is to encourage voluntary emigration by affording all the assistance in one's power to forwarding and placing the people when they arrive, and either locating them or getting work for them. This I have done. I have despatched above 7000 to the Upper Province at the expense of Govern- ment, who would not otherwise have been able to get on ; and as many from Quebec to this place (Montreal) besides. For here again is one of the capital blunders made in England upon this subject. You treat Quebec as Canada — think that when you have thrown a shipload of poor starving emigrants under the rock there, you have placed them in a situation to provide for themselves. On the contrary, they have to go four or five hundred, many eleven or twelve hundred miles further, before they can do so. And this is expensive, dilatory, and difficult. But suppose them arrived at their destination, what is to become of them ? Land they cannot purchase ; and if it is given to them it is of no use, for they must starve for a twelvemonth till it yields a crop. Besides which, Irish and English labourers know no more of clearing and settling a forest than they do of the longitude. It would take them a day to cut down a tree, which a back-woodsman will do in three minutes. Well then, they may labour for wages. But few people ca' afford to pay for labour. Labour must be valuable according to the value of what it produces; and the farmer here can no more give a dollar a day, with his prices, than he could a guinea. This is the fact. It is true there is a great outcry for labourers, and more labourers ; but when it comes to the point of hiring them, unless it be during the harvest, every farmer in Upper Canada will tell you that he cannot pay them. Even this year one half of my 22,000 emigrants must have been unemployed, or have gone to the States, but for the public works I was carrying on. " This is a bad picture of the chance for emigration on a 3la3''ed the lad in the ADMINISTRATION IN CANADA. first instance been intended to fix for the begin- ning of the year. But its labours at last drew to 209 1841. which might ve 23,000 by lie next year I is ridiculous, migration by •warding and locating them re despatched e of Govern- get on ; and besides. For ]in gland upon ik that when igrants under on to provide o four or five irther, before and difficult, is to become It is given to slvemonth till lish labourers ,n they do of |down a tree, Well then, fFord to pay the value of nore give a ea. This is Ibourers, and [hiring them, )per Canada ear one half ed, or have arrylng on. ration on a large scale, of which you talk so loudly in England. But although I consider it impossible to frame any great plan such as people seem to look for, and which has been hinted ( I at but never explained in Lord Durham's report, I by no means despair of good. I shall send Dr. Rolph to England j i again to agitate, and if possible promote the sending off people ; by themselves, their landlords, or their parishes ; and in this way I have no doubt of getting at least twice as many next year as this. I shall devote all my means on this side of th° water to settling them either with people who may be able to afford to pay for labour — of which there are some, though not many — or to locating them in parts of the country tvliere public ivorhs are being carried on, so as to combine settletnent with wages. Tiiis, by the by, I have already done to great advantage this year; but not by sticking the emigrant himself there, who knows nothing of clearing, or 'life in the bush;' but by making a place for his labour, by transplanting an old woodman further into the forest. Lastly, by undertaking as many public works as I can possibly get through — where the emigrants can be sure of employment — may save money — become accustomed to the country, climate, and hardships of bush life, and eventually ])rovide for themselves as settlers. By directing all my resources to these objects, and combining them, I believe that much good may be produced in five or six years ; thirty or forty thousand a-year being introduced, of whom probably two thirds may remain and make good workmen. But to attempt to do more, in this colony, is a mere delusion. " And now to pay you for all this story I Avill recommend you, whilst on the subject of settlement, a little work by an American woman, which contains by far the best account of life in the bush I have read ; equally applicable to Upper Canada as to Michigan — of course putting aside the sentiment and the poetry, which is thorough ' Broadway.' Get it, and it will amuse you. It is called 'Home in the West; or, Who'll Follow?'" On the same subject he writes, at a later date — P 210 LIFE OF LORD SYDENHAM. 1841. a close, and the necessary proclamation was issued, fixing the day of Union for the 10th of February. "I have sent home a long Report on Emigration*, which some of yon won't like because it tells the truth, and declares that to throw starving and diseased paupers under the rock at Quebec ought to be punishable as murder. Send me out good stout English peasants who know what toork is ; give them the means of getting up the country 600 or 700 miles where it is to be had ; and I will take as many as you can get, and promise them independence. Or give me some yeomen with a few hundred pounds each, and let them take prudent advice — buy cleared farms — not throw themselves into the bush, where they are as helpless as they would be in the Great Desert; and I will secure them comfort and perfect independence at the end of a couple of years — but not money. That is a thing never to be mentioned. Pigs, pork, flour, potatoes, horses to ride, cows to milk ; but you must eat all you produce, for devil a purchaser is to be found. However, the man's chief wants are supplied, and those of his family ; he has no rent or taxes to pay, and he ought to be satisfied. But send me no Irish paupers; nor young gentlemen with 500/. or 600/., who fancy that upon that they may be idle, and are hardly used because they cannot get 200/. or 300/. a-year income in return for it. The Province abso- lutely teems with persons of this character — lawyers, broken- down merchants, clerks, soldiers — who have come out here to farm ; lost their money through their ignorance of the business ; or have been unable to brook plenty without the enjoyments of civilised life — the lot of those who succeed best; and all these are applicants for places, of which there is one perhaps to one hundred candidates. So you see competition is nearly as rife here as in the mother country." And again, at another date, he writes — " I told you in my last that Wakefield's doctrine won't do in * This Report was laid before Parliament by Lord J. Russell, and is reprinted in the Appendix for the information of those who take an interest in Emigration. Cam ditie man these field grant iinnie witlio even i comm Wake came to nia M'liat \\ land-jc indeed people compai North setilemc land-jo stead o; have ad to com be pure ■ selves, homo, the colo adopted namely, ,])ower o ftliey got ■jobbers : and by n tivatcd 1; a; ras issued, February. , which some dares that to ck at Quebec it good stout em the means re it is to be promise them , few hundred but/ cleared re they are as t; and I will t the end of a ng never to be ride, cows to vil a purchaser ts are supplied, to pay, and he )ers; nor young upon that they annot get 200/. Province abso- iwyers, broken- ,me out here to of the business ; e enjoyments of ; and all thest perhaps to one is nearly as rife , rine won't do in I Lord J. Russell, Imation of those I ADMINISTRATION IN CANADA. It is not difficult to understand the reasons which pointed out this day as peculiarly appropriate. Canada. To force concentration here is the greatest of absur- dities. There is no fear of people spreading too much. No man will go far into the woods if he can help it. The evil of these Provinces — or rather of the Upper, which is the only field to be thought of for colonization — has been the improvident grants of land to individuals, who have become possessed of immense tracts, three fourths of the country, which they hold without doing any thing tc them, and preventing any settlement, even in their neighbourhood, by their refusal to make roads and communications. So far from a high price being essential, as Wakefield has it, I would willingly give land to settlers who came botid fide to establish themselves, and would engage to make roads, &c. But there is, alas ! none to give, except wliat is rendered valueless by the neighbourhood of these cursed land-jobbers, who cut off all access to it. Talk of a high price indeed ! I could buy any number of thousand acres of these people at 25. per acre. The worst evil of all is the grant to companies — such as the Canada Company, and the British North American Company — unaccompanied by conditions that Mtlement should be carried on by them. They have become land-jobbers also ; spent their capital in buying more land, in- stead of improving and settling what was granted to them ; and have added to the other nuisance. The first step, therefore, is to compel thv holders of lands to bring them into the market to be purchased by bond fide settlers — or to improve them them- selves. I would willingly have suggested a tax to be laid on at home, as Lord Durham does in his report ; but I do not think the colonists would like legislation of this kind. So I have adopted a course which I know will prove equally eflficacious ; namely, to give the inhabitants in their district councils the power of levying a rate for roads, bridges, &c. The moment they got the power they will use it; and then good-bye to the jobbers: for the inhabitants feel the cause of their suffering; and by making the tax equally heavy on uncultivated as on cul- tivated land, they will very shortly bring these gentlemen to p 2 211 1841. 212 1841. LIFE OF LORD SYDENHAM. The anniversary of the marriage of our Sovereign, it was also the anniversary of the conclusion of the treaty which in 1763 ceded Canada to the British Crown ; and of the assent to the Act of the Imperial Parliament which in 1838 had deprived Lower Canada of its former Constitution. The public voice had already designated it as the day best adapted for the solemnity before the Official Pro- clamation made its appearance. On that day accordingly the Commission of Lord Sydenham, as Governor in Chief of the United Province, was opened in Montreal in the presence of the Commander of the Forces, the Judges of the Court of Queen's Bench, the Heads of the Civil and IMilitary Departments, and a considerable body of the inhabitants. At the same time Lord Sydenham issued a proclamation explaining and vindicating the objects of the Union Act, and urging on the inhabitants of the now United Province a sincere co-operation with the mother country in the mea- sures necessary for their advancement and happiness. This proclamation concluded in the following terms: — ** Inhabitants of the Province of Canada ! Hence- forward may you be united in sentiment as you are from this day in name. Who can visit, as it has been my good fortune to do, the extensive regions which are now unite li book. Employment will in the mean time be found for thou- sands of emigrants upon the roads and communications thus to be made, and allotments of land given them, or purchased bv them where they find work." m vai coi em her citi you sub any tage opei ofi 1 clian '■ thei subje i peroi Gove soug] handi you May that t ness that annoi Im writs serve begar violei any ^ most Frenc Carrie ADMINISTRATION IN CANADA. 213 Sovereign, iision of the the British he Imperial ived Lower The public be day best Official Pro- mmission of j 3f the United the presence Fudges of the the Civil and rable body of .rd Sydenham d vindicating ro-insc on the nee a sincere y in the mea- bud happiness. Ihe following hada ! Hence- las you are froiiil \s been my goodF are now united found for tliou-l inications thus toj or purchased by in one common denomination, and fail to acknowledge the vast resources they present lor all that can conduce to the comforts and happiness of man ? A part of the mighty empire of England — protected by her arms — assisted by her treasury — admitted to all the benefits of trade as her citizens — your freedom guaranteed by her laws, and your rights supported by the sympathy of your fellow- subjects there — Canada enjoys a position unsurpassed by any country in the world. " It is for you its inhabitants to cultivate these advan- tages — to avail yourselves of the new era which now opens upon you. Our gracious Sovereign, and the people of England, watch with anxiety the result of the great cliange which has to-day received its completion. It is the first wish of the Queen to rule in the hearts of her subjects, and to feel that they, are contented and pros- perous under her mild and just sway : her Parliament and Government, in conferring on you new institutions, have sought only your happiness and advantage. In your hands now rests your own fate ; and by the use which you will make of the opportunity must it be decided. May the all-wise Disposer of events so ordain your acts that they may tend to the promotion of peace and happi- ness amongst you, and may He pour his blessing upon that Union of which it is my pleasing duty this day to announce to you the completion ! " Immediately after the proclamation of tlie Union, writs were issued for the election of members to serve in the first House of Assembly ; and now began, in Lower Canada at least, a struggle more violent and acrimonious than had perhaps marked any previous election in that province. It is al- most unnecessary to say that the great mass of French Canadians were averse to the Union as carried out in the act of the Imperial Parliament. V 3 1841. 214 LIFE OF LORD SYDENHAM, 1841. They looked upon it as a measure intended gra- ■ dually to obliterate those remains of nationality, " their language, their laws, and their institutions," to which they clung with the tenacity of despair. They entertained some fears, not very clearly de- fined, that it would involve danger to their reli- gious rights, and to the possessions of their church ; and they regarded it as the triumph of their old opponents the " British Party," and the establish- ment of a " British Ascendency " interest within their own country. Nor can we be surprised at these fears. Unacquainted with the inhabitants of Upper Canada, they could not but look upon them as the natural allies of their fellow-countrymen in the Lower Province ; and with no information as to their sentiments beyond the public journals, they could not forget the language which had been used towards themselves in the Legislature of Upper Canada by the once dominant party of that province — the resolutions on the Union which less than twelve months before Lord Sydenham's arrival that party had carried, and which in his time they had attempted to renew — nor the manner in which the Corporation of Toronto, claiming to be " the highest municipal body in the province," had in- sisted on the '' ascendency of the loyal portion of the inhabitants," and the subjection of the French population as " aliens to our nation and our insti- tutions," as the terms on which alone they could acquiesce in the Union. Nor, more than all, could they forget the sufferings which their fellow-couii- ADMINISTRATION IN CANADA. 215 tended gra- iiiitioniiiity, Qstitutions," ' of despair. 7 clearly de- their reli- leir church ; of their old he establish- erest within surprised at [habitants of i upon them mtrymen in formation as lie journals, ch had been gislature of arty of that n which less lam's arrival is time they ner in which to be " the 3e," had in- il portion of the French id our insti- they could m all, could fellow-couii- a trymen had undergone at the hands of the Volun- teers from that part of the province during the rebellion. These natural fears on the part of the mass of the people had been cherished and fomented by their leaders ; many of them, no doubt, sympathizing to a great extent in the alarms of their less in- structed fellow-countrymen, and all of them feeling, certainly, that with the extension of the theatre on which they were hereafter to act their own import- ance, and with it their power, would be curtailed. To give effect to this hostility, a committee had, as far back as the month of October, 1840, been esta- blished by Mr. Neilson at Quebec, for the purpose of procuring the return of members who disapproved of the Union. In the address to the electors of Lower Canada put forth by this committee, it was strongly urged that " no consideration whatever should induce us to vote for any candidate who does not disapprove of that Act, and its iniquitous provisions ; for, in voting for such a candidate, we should give our consent to the Act, and approve of those who have advised it ; we should proclaim our own dishonour, and dishonour our country, in stretching forth the neck to the yoke which is attempted to be placed on us, till it be repealed or amended, so that the injustice which it authorizes shall cease. But it will not be sufficient not to vote for any approver of the Act to reunite the two provinces : every elector who will suffer such a candidate to be chosen by staying away from the p 4 1841. 216 LIFE OF L01{D SYDENHAM. 1841. place of election, or not voting against him, will be equally guilty." The address concluded by giving detailed directions as to the mainier in which the elections might be most effectually perverted to a means of defeating the Constitution under which they took place. This document was published very extensively throughout Lower Canada, — it was posted up in the most conspicuous places, and was read and ex- plained to the people in the French parishes when they assembled, as is their practice, round the church doors after mass. They were at the same times addressed by itinerant orators, who stimu- lated their fears, and held out to them the hope that by a strong demonstration on their parts, the Im- perial Parliament might be compelled to repeal the Union. The effect of these proceedings was soon evident. The French Canadians became united too'ether throuf^hout the Province in a firm and avowed determination to return only such members as should render the working of the Union Act impossible. While such was their policy, the opposite party were not less active. As the opponents of the Union comprised almost every French Canadian, so among its supporters might be reckoned, with few exceptions, the whole of the British inhabitants of Lower Canada. Nor was the distinction of race, which for so many years had envenomed every contest in Lower Canada, as unmeaning in this instance as in others. The favour which the hn, will be by giving I which the 'orted to a idcr Avhich extensively sted up in jad and ex- .'ishcs when round the it the same who stiinu- ic hope that rts, the Im- repeal the rs was soon inie united a firm and ;h members Union Act losite party 3nts of the anadian, so d, with few labitants of on of race, »med every ng in this which the ADMINISTUATION IN CANADA. measure found in the eyes of the British party was fully as natural as the dislike of the French Canadians. ~ Averse, from habit and associations, to an arbitrary form of government, the British party had borne with Impatience the deprivation of those free institutions to which they had been accustomed. Nor, so long as they were deprived of all influence over the Executive, did they feel secure against a return on the part of the Government to that conciliatory policy of which they had so loudly complained before the rebellion. Still any measure for the re-establishment of Re- presentative Institutions in Lower Canada alone, however guarded or restrained, must have had the effect of replacing them under the power of those whom they had for years been accustomed to consider their enemies, and against whose open re- bellion they had recently been in arms to assist the Queen's troops. It would have been a sub- jection of the victor to the vanquished, — of the loyal to those who had fallen from their allegiance, to which they never would have submitted, and which had it been proposed would have provoked a resentment and resistance far more formidable than that of the French Canadians. The Union alone pro- mised an escape from these difficulties. It ensured to them the restoration of their suspended privileges, — it put an end to all fear as to the future pohcy of the Government, — and it brought with it the means of obtaining such arrangements as were required for the advancement of the commercial prosperity of the country. Better acquainted than their 217 18H. 218 LIFE OF LORD SYDENHAM. 1841. fellow-colonists with the temper of the Upper Canadians, they knew that in the mass of that people they should find as enterprising a spirit, and as eager a desire for the development of the natural resources of the country, as actuated them- selves. They were therefore determined to meet the preparations of the French Canadians with equal exertions, — to contest every place where they had a chance of returning a member, — and to vote for those only who were prepared to give the Union a fair trial, and to support, as a general rule. Lord Sydenham's Administration. Nor can it be doubted that other and less ex- cusable motives mingled with these reasonings. The French Canadians, the mortification of their defeat and the triumph of their opponents still rankling in their memories, looked to the elections as an opportunity for retorting on the British a portion of their own recent humiliation. The British, on the other hand, at all times inclined to regard "svith something of contempt their less ener- getic fellow-colonists, and deriving a still stronger impression of their own superiority from the events of the last few years, saw the fruits of their victory in danger of being wrested from their hands by the mere numbers of their opponents. Thus, a feel- ing of revenge on the one hand, and of contempt on the other, contributed to exasperate the senti- ments Avith which, on other grounds, each party regarded the Union. These feelings were of course reflected in the daily ADMINISTRATION IN CANADA. 219 he Upper ,s of that a spirit, mt of the ited them- id to meet lians with ace where lember, — repared to )port, as a ;ration. d less ex- reasonings. »n of their nents still le elections he British on. The nclined to ' less ener- 11 stronger the events leir victory hands by hus, a feel- contempt the senti- each party n the daily press, which for many weeks before the elections was filled with little else than this all-absorbing topic. But when men have been long in the habit of re- garding each other as natural enemies, and have had their passions continually excited by inflam- matory language, it can be matter of no surprise that their feelings should at last force a vent, — that violent deeds should su iceed to violent words, — and that each should endeavour to compass the defeat of his opponent by the readiest and most effectual means. Anticipating the possibility of such occur- rences. Lord Sydenham, in issuing writs for the election of the Assembly, accompanied them by a proclamation, calling on the magistrates and other officers of the Government, and all individuals of every rank, to exert themselves for the preservation of the peace. The elections connnenced on the 8th of March : the watchwords of either party may be anticipated. While the French shouted for equality of repre- sentation, and the maintenance of their privileges, the English assumed to be supporters of the British connection, of the Union, and of the policy of the Government. Thus the Government became in- evitably, and without any action of its o^vn, mixed up with the contest, and was, as usual, held respon- sible by its opponents for whatever extravagance or violence its supporters might commit. In the district of Quebec but little opposition was at- tempted to the French candidates ; but in Montreal, where politics had always been more violent, many 1841. 220 LIFE OF LOUD SYDENHAM. 1841. I>rltish candidates were in the field. The first victory gained by them was at Beauharnois, where Mr. Dunscombe, a Britisli merchant, defeated Mr. Dewitt, a gentleman of American origin, who had formerly voted with Mr. Papineau. This success gave intense satisfaction to the British party, and encouraged them to redouble their exertions in the remaining counties. The result was, that members who advocated the Union were eventually returned for the French counties of Montreal, Rouville, Terrebonne, Vaudreuil, and Chambly. There is no doubt that at those elections a good deal of violence occurred, and that without it the result might in some instances have been different. Each party threw on its opponents the responsi- bility of having been the assailants ; and in the midst of the conflicting assertions maintained by each it was impossible then, and would be still more impossible now, to decide with confidcice on tliis point. It is probable, however, that the blame might not unfairly be divided. Thus at the election for Montreal county, the French Canadians on the first day took possession of the poll, and in the struggle of the British party to record their votes, two Irish electors were struck do"vvn, one of whom died on the spot. His body having been brought into the city, the most violent excitement was naturally produced among his fellow-country- men, and on the following day the English and Irish voters having flocked in great numbers to the poll, the French Canadians, apprehensive of ADMINISTRATION IN CANADA. 221 The first ois, where bated Mr. ,, who had lis success party, and ions in the t members y returned Rouvillc, 3ns a good lout it the 1 different. i responsi- nd in the itained by d be still fide ice on the blame IS at the Canadians oil, and in cord their ^vn, one of ving been xcitement v^-country- glish and imbers to tensive of the consequences, abandoned the struggle, and their isn. member retired without furtlier contest. Here at least the first violence appears to have been on the part of the French Canadians, although the triumph was eventually with the British party. Again at Terrebonne M. Lafontaine, who admitted that the great bulk of his followers had come from their homes armed with cudgels, and that those who had not had halted on their way at a wood to provide themselves, withdrew without polling a vote, because he found that his opponents, though, according to his own showing, not more numerous than his followers, had seized what ap- peared to him the more advantageous position for a fight. In this instance no collision took place at the hustings ; but as the French Canadians showed themselves at least as much prepared for a conflict as the English, there is no ground for imputing to the latter any greater disposition to break the peace than to the former. The conse- quence, however, having been the return of the English candidate, he and his friends were of course denounced as having brought about this result by violence and intimidation. It is, indeed, probable that at both these elections, and especially at Terre- bonne, where, as was afterwards shown, some of the French Canadians had armed themselves with bayonets and knives, a fierce contest, not without bloodshed, must have ensued had both parties stood their ground. Fortunately for all parties the French Canadian candidates declined 222 LIFE OF LORD SYDENHAM. 1841. to do SO. They contented themselves with pro- testing against the proceedings of the returning officers, and with charging upon the Government, or rather upon Lord Sydenham personally, the whole blame of these transactions. No story was too absurd or extravagant to be denied currency at such a moment. Lord Sydenham was accused of having hired bodies of rioters to proceed from county to county to interrupt the elections, and of having contributed large sums of money from the public treasury to the expenses of the En- glish candidates.* The impossibility of such ac- cusations did not interfere with their credibility. The defeated party were determined to recognise nothing short of some extraordinary agency in their defeat, and easily persuaded their followers into the same belief; yet, in truth, nothing occurred that might not be explained on the most reasonable grounds. To any one who had watched the state of affairs in Lower Canada during the preceding five or * In a recent London paper a story was published, under the signature of an " English Traveller," to the effect that Lord Sydenham had taken 20,000/. from the Jesuits' estates for elec- tion purposes. This is a fair sample of the trash that passes current in steam-boats and bar-rooms, and which is picked up and retailed with an air of authority by credulous " English travellers." The story is about as rational as would be an assertion that the Prime Minister of this country had drawn an equal sum for similar purposes from the Education Fund, or the Crown Land Revenues. Even had Lord Sydenham been disposed so grossly to abuse his trust, which it is absurd to believe, every body in Canada knows that it would have been purely impossible for him to do so. ADMINISTRATION IN CANADA. 223 with pro- returning irernment, nally, the story was currency s accused jeed from ions, and )ney from the En- ' such ac- redibility. recognise )y in their s into the rred that easonable le state of ng five or , under the that Lord es for elec- that passes picked up « English 3uld be an i drawn an »n Fund, or nham been absurd to have been six years, and who had especially adverted to the ex- citing and violent language used on both sides imme- diately before the elections, it was necessary to look no further for a sufficient cause. Each party, re- garding the Union with the feelings which have been described, felt that on the result of this election de- pended the success or failure of that measure, and each jjaxly was resolved to carry his own point by K every means in his power. The matter at issue was no transitory question of party politics, — it was the Constitution of 1791 or 1841, — the maintenance of the Union, and with it British connection, or a re- turn to the old Constitution, and with it a speedy separation from the mother country. And when it is recollected that only two years before the same parties, animated by the same feelings, had been ar- rayed against each other in civil warfare on the same spots, it is rather a matter of surprise that no more deadly and sanguinary struggles should have cha- racterised these elections, than that the disturb- ances which did occur should have taken place. But it has been said that the Government might have anticipated the occurrence of riots, and have prepared against them. It has been already shown that Lord Sydenham did take every precaution le- gally in his power, by issuing a proclamation calling on the magistrates and others to preserve the peace. Further than that he could not go. In the case of Montreal alone would it have been possible, even if it had been considered legal, to have inter- fered after the election had commenced. In that 1841. 224 LIFE OF LORD SYDENHAM. 1841. case, the returning ol.cer applied on the evening of the first day, after the riot in which a British voter had been killed and his countrymen driven from the polling place, for a body of troops to be stationed on the following day at the hustings. His application was not supported by the magistrates, nor did it appear that any effort had been made by the civil power to put doAvn the previous disturb- ance. Under these circumstances Lord Sydenham, after consulting with his law officers and such of his executive council as could be got together, came to the decision, it is to be presumed on their advice, that, in the absence of any proof that the civil powers were insufficient to the occasion, and with- out a formal demand from the magistrates, he could not legally station military at the polling place, in anticipation of the possibility of a riot. This de- cision was not adopted until after many hours' anxious deliberation, protracted till a late hour at night. In the case of the Terrebonne election no op- portunity was given for interference. No one fore- saw, or could have foreseen, what then took place ; and unless the Government had two days before the election despatched troops from Montreal to be stationed in the vicinity, it would have been impos- sible to have interfered vrith any effect. The same was the case in the other elections. But it is scarcely necessary to point out the position in which the Government would have placed itself, or the reproaches to which it would have been subjected, had it on the plea of the possibility of disturbance ADMINISTRATION IN CANADA. 225 le evening a British len driven oops to be tings. His lagistrates, n made by LIS disturb- Sydenham, ad such of jther, came leir advice, t the civil , and with- }s, he could pg place, in This de- any hours' ate hour at ;tion no op- o one fore- ook place ; ays before itreal to be een impos- The same But it is In in which If, or the subjected, isturbance surrounded the various polling places with bodies of troops. There can be no question that so un- constitutional a proceeding would have excited the indignation of the whole country, and would have vitiated every election where it occurred. Yet if any blame be attributed to Lord Sydenham in the matter, it must be for not taking such a step as this ; since for the neglect of the civil authorities, if neglect there were, he cannot be considered responsible. He had done every thing in his power by reminding them of their duties, and calling upon them to perform them ; the rest depended on themselves. But there is another point connected with the elections which has been vehemently attacked by the opponents of Lord Sydenham, and on which some explanation is necessary; viz. the electoral limits assigned by him to the cities of Quebec and Montreal. By the Union Bill, as originally intro- duced into Parliament, only one member was given to each of these cities ; but Sir R. Peel having suggested that with a view to ensure a greater representation to the commercial interest certain commercial bodies should be created, in whom the right of representation should exist. Lord John Russell, in order to meet this suggestion, gave two members instead of one to Montreal and Quebec. When Liie Union was proclaimed it was quite evident that if the electoral limits of those cities were made the same as their municipal limits, the increase of their members would not only not attain the object Q 1841. 226 LIFE 01 LORD SYDENHAM. 1841. contemplated by Parliament, but would place the - commercial interests in a worse position than before ; because the numerical superiority of the suburbs would enable them to return both members, and thus to increase the French representatives in the House. Convinced that such would be the result, Lord Sydenham determined in discharging the duty imposed on him by the 21st clause of the Union Act, so to define the limits of the town as to carry out the intentions of both parties in the House of Commons, by thromng the suburbs into the counties. He was well aware that in so doing- he exposed himself to attack, and that he would be accused of having disfranchised a body of voters for purposes of personal ambition ; but he was " not to be deterred by the fear of such misrepre- sentations from doing what he conceived to be his duty with reference to the expressed intentions of the Imperial Legislature, and to the essential interests of the province. Had he shrunk from this responsibility, the commercial interests of the country would, in a house of eighty-four members, have had no representative : the eiFect of the course which he pursued was to secure the return of four English members, — three of them connected with the trade of the country ; the fourth the Judge of the Vice- Admiralty Court at Quebec, a gentleman whose private and professional character stand equally high. At the end of May Lord Sydenham left Montreal for Kingston, at which place the Legislature had been summoned to meet on the 13th June. Tho J'lJ^ ADMINISTRATION IN CANADA. 227 place the lian before ; iic suburbs mbers, and iives in tlic I the result, arging the ause of the he town as irties in the uburbs into in so doing it he would dy of voters but he was 'h. misrepre- ;eived to be |d intentions fhe essential hrunk from ;rests of the Lir members, >f the course urn of four luected with ;he Judge of I o-entleman 'acter stand ift Montreal islature had Ijune. Tlio unusual length of the winter, and the period of the assizes in Upper Canada, had made it necessary to put off the meeting till that time ; but had it even been otherwise, the state of Lord Sydenham's licalth would have prevented an earlier session. It has been already mentioned that from his first arrival in Canada he had been subject to attacks of gout; which, however, severe as they were, had never hitherto interfered with the discharge of liis duties. But in the month of April of this year he had been seized with an attack far more violent and alarming than any he had before had, the gout having flo"svn to his stomach and placed his life in imminent danger. From this attack he continued slowly but gradually to recover until the middle of the month of May, when the disease re- appeared in his right arm and hand, and confined him to liis bed for several days. Under such circum- stances it would have been impossible for him to leave Montreal before the end of that month. The elections had all been concluded early in the month of April; when the numbers, as far as a judgment could be then formed, were as follow : — 1841. Government Members French Members - Moderate Reformers Ultra Reformers Compact Party Doubtful - Special Return Double Return 24 20 20 5 7 6 84 Q 2 228 LIFE OF LORD SYDENHAM. 1841. Of these parties the two first could alone be ex- pected to act as firm and consistent bodies ; the one in support, the other in o2:)position to the mea- sures which might be brought forward by the Governor-General. The moderate reformers would generally be found in support of the Government, the ultras almost always in support of the Oppo- sition. The line which would be taken by the compact party could scarcely be predicted; but it seemed very improbable, looking to the prin- ciples generally professed by them, and to their former language respecting the French of the Lower and the ultra reformers of their o^vn Pro- vince, that they could be found acting with either. Adverting, therefore, to the large proportion of the moderate party, and to the wide differences by which the other parties, with the exception of the French and ultra reformers, were separated from each other, there was every reason to suppose that during the apj)roaching session the Government would find no difficulty in carrying its measures in the House of Assembly. Still there were cir- cumstances which made it difliicult to calculate with certainty on this result ; and among these was the composition of the moderate party, and the course which several of its members had pursued in previous Parliaments of Upper Canada. Hitherto they had been constantly in opposition ; and having a single and distinct object always before them — viz. to popularise the administration of the Government, and to remove the influence which had, in their ADMINISTRATION IN CANADA. 22U me be ex- odies; the the aiea- •d by the ners would )vcrnment, the Oppo- en by the icted; but ) the prin- d to their ich of the • o^vn Pro- with either. )rtion of the ferences by Dtion of the irated from appose that government ts measures ^e were cir- to calculate [fr these was y, and the ad pursued la. Hitherto and having ithem — viz. tjovernment, ad, in their opinion, interfered with the right working of the con- stitution — they had had no difficulty in preserving their cohesion. But it seemed questionable whether, as supporters of the Government, they would have consistency and resolution enough to hold together for any length of time; and whether they wo aid be able to resist the taunts and reproaches of the more violent men, with whom they had been at one time united in the pursuit of a common object; and, more than all, it remained to be shown whether they would be proof against the mania which from time to time appears to possess almost every poli- tician on the American continent — of opposing the Government for the simple purpose of showing his independence of executive influence. The necessity of giving up minor points for the sake of unanimity, and of avoiding a hostile vote for fear of damaging a government whose general policy is approved, is a lesson seldom understood by juvenile politicians, and had certainly never been taught in Canada. It remained to be seen whether the moderate re- formers in the Assembly would in this respect bo apt scholars or not. The near approach of the session brought with it many rumours of intended attacks on the Govern- ment, the assailants being understood to be the ultra reform party of Upper Canada, supported by the French. The motives of each were different ; the former aiming at a greater extension of popular influence, the latter desiring only to embarrass the working of the Union. Many were the projects (^ 3 181.1. 230 LIFE OF LOUD SYDENHAM. 1841. started; but tlicir very variety, and the imprac- ticablc nature of most of them, showed the want of any fixed plan or decided leader. This want was at last supplied from a quarter whence the Government had the least right to look for oppo- sition ; but in order to a full understanding of Avhat followed, it will be necessary to go back a little in the order of events. It will be remembered that before leaving Toronto at the close of the session of 1839-40, Lord Syden- ham had appointed Mr. Baldwin Solicitor-General of that Province, but without a seat in the Executive Council. On the Union, Lord Sydenham having decided, with a view of carrying out the new princi- ples of Administration, to constitute the principal officers of the Government the Executive Council, informed Mr. Baldwin, in the month of February, 1841, that he had recommended him to the Queen for that appointment, and apprised him at the same time of the names of his colleagues. Mr. Baldwin accepted the appointment, on the ground, as he stated, of his confidence in Lord Sydenham per- sonally; but took the opportunity of writing to four of his colleagues to protest against being sup- posed to feel any political confidence in them. He then went to his election as an officer of the Government and member of the Executive Council ; and in the month of April, having come to Mon- treal, Avas sworn into office in the presence of some of those very colleagues whom he had denounced. Nothing further occurred till within two or three ADMINISTRATION IN CANADA. 231 vo or three I days of the session, wlien Mr. Baldwin, still rctuin- ing his office and scat at the council board, entered into communication with such of the French mem- bers of Lower Canada and ultra liberal members of the upper part of the Province as had reached Kingston, relative to the course which they intended to pursue in the coming session. The result of these communications was a proposal from him to Lord Sydenham, within forty-eiglit hours of the opening of Parliament, to change certain office-^" of his Government, and to substitute for them several French Canadian members. This proposal Lord Sydenham at once rejected: 1st, On the ground of the time and manner in which it had been brought forward ; and, 2nd, On account of the unqualified opposition of the French Canadian members to the principle of the Union Act. Further correspondence passed; and eventually on the day of the opening of the session Mr. Bakhvin, though still professing liis confidence in Lord Sydenham, resigned his office. He had previously assisted at several meet- ings of the reform party, at which it had been pro- posed to bring forward a vote of want of confidence in the Administration. Mr. Baldwin is a man most honourable and con- scientious in his private capacity, and the readiness with which, on this and a former occasion he gave up office, makes it impossible to attribute to liim any interested motive ; yet it seems equally impossible to reconcile with the principles of po- litical honour by which British statesmen are go- H 4 isti. 232 LIFE OF LORD SYDENHAM. 1841. verncd the conduct which in this instance he pursued. It cannot be denied that his entering into communication with those who were avowedly hostile to the Government of Avhich he was a member, not for the purpose of bringing them over to support the Government but, as it was ap- pear, of concerting with them the means by which their hostility could be made most effective, and the Government coerced into a compliance with their demands, was fair neither to the Governor- General nor to his colleagues. Nor had he even the excuse, such as it might have been, that the Opposition were irresistible, and that he was there- fore, in reality, serving the Government and the country, by compelling the adoption of such mea- sures as would anticipate collision. The event showed that so far from being irresistible, the actual Opposition was not even formidable, and that it could have been made so only by a general adoption of Mr. Baldwin's views. Nor is it easy to explain why, if Mr. Baldwin had been content to acquiesce, with only the protest which has been mentioned, in the formation of the Government during four months, he should have become so strongly impressed with its defects at the very moment when his secession from it would be most injurious. There can be no doubt that an attack of this nature, from such a quarter and at such a moment, was calculated very seriously to embarrass Lord Sydenham ; but he was saved by his oAvn firmness and courage, and by the honest straight- ADMINISTKATION IN CANADA. 233 stance lie entering avowedly he was a jing them it was ap- i by which ictive, and ance with Governor- d he even n, that the was there- it and the such inea- The event stible, the dable, and y a general is it easy en content h has been overnment become so the very Id be most an attack at such a embarrass y his own >t straight- I A forward generosity Avith which the moderate re- formers came out in his support. There were " many among that party who did not like the com- position of the Executive Council, and who would liave desired to see the introduction into it of some French Canadian members; but confiding entirely in Lord Sydenham's own intentions, and in his desire to administer the government with justice to Jill parties, they refused to entertain any questions Avliich could throw obstacles in his way, or put to hazard the success of his policy. They gave him credit for sincerity in his professions, and admitted the impossibility, so long as the French Canadians persisted in uncompromising hostility to the Union, of confiding to them a share in the working of that measure. Accordingly, when ^Mr. Baldwin separated himself from the Government, he did so to reunite himself not to the large body of mode- rate reformers who represented the majority of the people of Upper Canada, but to the four or five ultra members whose politics bordered very nearly on democracy. This transaction, looking to the character of the gentleman who was the principal actor in it, and to the manner in which he con- ducted his negotiation with the representative of the Crown, illustrates more clearly perhaps than any thing else the ignorance at that time prevailing, even among the leaders of political parties in Canada, as to the principles on which a system of responsible government can alone be carried on. 1841 2U l.ll-U OK LOUD SYDKNIIAM. 18 n. The TTousc met on tlie 14th June*, and elected as its Speaker, uiumiinously, ^Ir. Austin Ouvillier, M. P. P. for tlie eounty of lluiitinc- i8H. sides these measures, he arranged with the Legis- ~ luture the application of the liberal assistance of tlie Home Government to the establislnnent of the public credit, the completion of their public v>'orks, and the opening up of the vast regions at present almost impossible of access; — works which, were all else forgotten, would of themselves constitute the practical and most enduring monument of the benefits Avhich Canada derived from his admin- istration.* ^lany other acts of great importance relating to the judiciary, to the settlement of emi- grants, and to other subjects of a local nature, were brought in by the Executive and passed ; and on the subject of " responsible government," which question was again dragged into discussion by Mr. Baldwin, Avith a view of putting the sincerity of the Government to the test, he introduced and carried unanimously a series of resolutions in oppo- sition to those proposed by Mr. Baldwin, distinctly recognising the irresponsibility of the Governor to any but the Imperial authorities, and placing the doctrine on that sound and rational basis which he had ever maintained. These resolutions, which may be considered as embodying his views and those of the then House of Assembly on this important question, will be noticed hereafter. It would be tedious to follow the course of the * For a ful'or explanation of tlie scheme of these works, see the Message to the Assembly of 20th August, 184-1, printed in the Appendix. R 4 248 1841. LIFK Ol' LUUI) NVDKNilAM. session minutely ; it is enon^j^h to say, that witli tlie execution of the French Mh'ction Bill and one other measure the Government was successful in every thing that it brought forward, and was almost invariably supported by considerable majorities. That other exception was a proposal for the esta^ blishmcnt of a government bank of issue, which was evidently a question not of a political cha- racter; nor, considering the extensive influence of the private banks in Canada, can its failure be mattei' of surprise.* * Adverting to this measure, Lord Sydenluiin thus writes on the nth of July : — '* There is one of my Canadian measures on tiie anvil now in which you will feel an interest, and wish me success, I am sure. IJut as it involves private and class interests, and not political questions, upon which I am sure of my majority, I do not feel certain of getting it through ; but if I can, I shall rejoice more than at any other work which I have been able to ))erform ; for it will not oidy be goood to you Tor tlie rod riband, but a jj^rcat deal more for tlic kind manner in winch you reconnnonded it. *' You will have seen tiiat I was determined to do all my husiness before cominj^ away ; and a pretty session it will he. Every measure will have been trlutnphantly carried. Though 1 could not get the Hank through, it must succeed another year. The House o^ As^embly wished to defer it for the session ; but in the mean time they have taxed the issues of private banks, which will insure its passing. My successor, therefore, will have little of legislation even left for him. " I wish I had managed my own matters as well. But a week ago my horse fell with me, broke the bone of my leg, and made a large hole above the knee. The accident is very painful, especially as the gout, which coward-like always takes one at a disadvantage, has stepped in to add to my sufferings ; and, under any circumstances, I fear that I must have three weeks or a month of bed. The doctors, however, tell me 1 am sure to be in a state to be moved by water to Quebec in time to get off this autumn. You will understand from this account of myself why I write, or rather dictate, to you as little as possible. Believe me yours, &c. " Sydenham." He wrote likewise to Lord Falkland at the same time, requesting him, if possible, to send the Pique to Quebec to take him home. '• I should very much like (he said) to have that frigate sent for me. She brought me out, and 1 should rather like to go home in her. Besides which I shall probably be able s 3 1841. "?u '^^. •V*'. s^^%% IMAGE EVALUATION TEST TARGET (MT-S) ///// /^ ^,% 1.0 I.I ■ 50 ""^^ llfflsSI t ^ Ilia - «£ ill 10 18 1.25 1.4 III ,.6 ^ 6" » h e /a ^>> ->■ Hiotographic Sciences Corporation 23 WEST MAIN STREET WEBSTER, N.Y. 14580 (716) 872-4503 %^ \ :\ \ ■'•^'^^"^0^ ^♦.V^.^ ■P:^ '4^ 262 LIFE OF LORD SYDENHAM. 1841. to do Captain Boxer a service, if he manages to come to Quebec, which I sliould he desirous of doing. " Mv ParHament will be finished next week. They have done all their business, and only missed one tiling- T wanted them to do — a bank of issue; but that will come. ** Adieu, my dear Lord Falkland. I am at my sixth day, and neither fracture nor wound improve upon ac- quaintance — which you must receive as my apology for not writing to you more fully. " Yours very truly, '* Sydenham." The anticipations of his return home contained in these letters were not destined to be fulfilled. Indeed, in the shattered state of Lord Sydenham's constitution, fears might reasonably have been en- tertained from the first that his system had not strength sufficient to bear the shock, or to repair the internal mischief occasioned by it. Gout, too, as we have seen, supervened, adding to the suffer- ings and weakness of the patient, and diminishing the chances in his favour. On the ninth day it became evident that no pro- gress had been made towards the knitting of the fractured bone, and alarming symptoms began to manifest themselves in cramps, commencing in the leg and extending gradually to the stomach and throat — yet still the medical men considered hhn in no immediate danger. The prorogation of the Legislature had been first fixed for Wednesday the 15th of September, but at the request of the As- sembly had been postponed to Friday the 17th. Up es to come CL'k. They cl one tliint>- It that will at my sixth v^e upon ac- apology lor fDENIlAM. e contained be fulfiUed. Sydenham's ,ve been en- nn had not or to repair Gout, too, the suffer- diminishing :hat no pro- Itting of the lis began to icmg in the Itomach and isidered hhvi ktion of the jdnesday the It of the As- lelTth. Up ADMINISTRATION IN CANADA. to Thursday night there was no apprehension of a fatal result ; and during the whole of that day Lord Sj'denham was occupied in deciding on the bills sent up to him by the Legislature, and in dictating the speech with which he proposed to close the session. On Friday morning he corrected his speech, and con- tinued to transact public business ; but he was evi- dently worse, and the prorogation Avas therefore postponed — in the afternoon of that day his medical attendants fearing that delirium might come on, he was advised to depute General Clitherow, the senior military officer on the spot, to prorogue the Houses. In the night between Friday and Saturday the 18th a change took place, which for the iirst time thoroughly aroused his family to his imminent danger, and showed that his sufferings were fast approaching to a fatal termination : all his symp- toms were in those few shoi't hours fearfully aggra- vated, — the spasms by which for several days he had been tortured became more frequent and in- tense, and his strength was evidently fast failing. Those who had hoped most were now forced to allow that hope was no longer reasonable ; and the only question was, how many hours he might still linger in agony. He became very soon aware of his own state ; yet even in those trying moments, when all worldly prospects were fast fading from his sight — when the reward of success and the discredit of failure were becoming alike indifferent, his sense of duty s 4 263 1841. 264 1841. LIFE OF LORD SYDENHAM. still kept alive his interest in public matters. With a calmness and tranquillity most astonishing to those who witnessed it, he continued between the paroxysms of pain to devote his attention to such public matters as required immediate decision. His faculties remained unimpaired ; and early in the day he executed his will, in which, among other legacies, was one " in token of his friendship and esteem" to Lord John Russell. AYlien this part of his will was subsequently read over to him, he repeated twice in a firm and emphatic tone, " Ke was the noblest man it was ever my good fortune to know." Among the many testimonies which during his public life Lord John Russell may have received, none can have borne more deeply the stamp of sincere attachment and admiration than these few words from the dying lips of his friend and fellow- statesman. In the afternoon Lord Sydenham invited all the members of his family to unite with him in receiv- ing the Holy Sacrament. After the administration of that sacred ordinance he took leave of them in- dividually, addressing to each some words of kind remembrance, accompanied by some token of his regard. He then desired to be left alone with his chaplain; and during the night he continued con- stant and fervent in prayer, and in preparation for the awful change about to take place. No murmur at his untimely fate ever escaped his lips, but in his death he evinced the same firmness and strength of mind which in life had been his distinguishing ADMINISTRATION IN CANADA. characteristic. Throughout the night his suffer- ings continued unabated, and repeatedly those who watched thought that his last moment was come ; but it was not until seven o'clock of Sunday the 19th that he breathed his last. 265 1841. Lord Sydenham's death naturally created the most intense feeling throughout the Province. Until within the last twenty-four hours no one had .contemplated the probability of a fatal result ; and the news of it came therefore on the public with the force of an unlooked-for and sudden shock. Nor could any one fail to be struck with the peculiar and melancholy circumstances which marked this event. He had just reached the term proposed by himself to his labours ; he had accom- plished every object for which he had been sent out; he had struggled against and overcome difficulties by which a less resolute and persevering character Avould have been vanquished ; and he had received from the hands of his Sovereign the most distin- guished tokens of her approbation and confidence. His fame was at its zenith, and he was on the point of returning to his native land to enjoy the honours which he had so laboriously won, when the prize was snatched from his hands, and his career brought to an untimely close. Never had a more impres- sive lesson on the vanity of human life and the worthlessness of its ambition been read to the world. No words that the moralist might use could equal 266 LIFE OF LORD SYDENHAM. 1841. tho reflections to which the facts themselves gave — rise. But Avhile to Lord Sydenham's immediate friends his death was a cause of poignant grief, to the great majority of the people of Canada it came in the light of a public misfortune. The great complaint which had been on the li^^s of all, the source to which they attributed the misgovernment of former years, was the ignorance which, whether rightly or wrongly, they considered to prevail in the Home Government as to their real wants and wishes. They had looked to Lord Sydenham to supply this deficiency ; and had trusted that in his place in the House of Lords his personal experience and local knowledge would prevail with whatever party might for the time be in power. Every man, whether his supporter or opponent, was willing to acknowledge his energy, his talents, his peculiar aptitude for business, his quick apprehension, his indefatigable industry. Nor when they saw him toiling day and night in the public service, through good repute and evil repute, in sickness and pain no less than in health, could any refuse to give him credit for the interest which he ever expressed in the welfare of the country. To all who had looked to his future career with such hopes and feelings, his death appeared like another link in that fatal chain of accidents which had constantly deprived Canada of its ablest friends at the moment when their advocacy would have been most effective. These sentiments naturally found an echo in the ADMINISTKATION IN CANADA. 2G7 3lvcs gave ate friends ) the great me in the complaint source to ; of former rightly or the Home 1(1 wishes. ;upply this IS place in rience and ever party very man, willing to s peculiar msion, his saw him e, through and pain ) give him pressed in lad looked d feelings, that fatal deprived lent when ictive. 3I10 in the public press, which from one end of the Province to the other gave utterance to expressions of sincere regret over tlie untimely fate of their late gover- nor. With scarcely a single exception, the public journals exhilnted on this sad occasion tlie most creditable feeling — they laid aside for the moment their personal and party politics, and united in one general testimony to the services which Lord Sydenham had rendered, and to the loss which the Province had suffered. These tributes were after- wards collected by a member of the Assembly, at one time Lord Sydenham's most uncompromising and ablest opponent, but latterly (from a convic- tion of the wisdom and rectitude of his policy) his sincere eulogist and supporter; and some selections from them are presented to the reader in the Ap- pendix, as affording the most unquestionable and satisfactory evidence of the feelings to which Lord Sydenham's death gave rise at the time. Nor, indeed, when we look back at the effects produced by his short but vigorous administration, can we be surprised at the unanimity which pre- vailed on this occasion. He had found the Provinces staggering under the effects of the two rebellions ; their inhabitants divided against each other, their improvements arrested, their exchequers empty, their credit annihilated, each man mistrusting his neighbour, and all looking to the military force as the only security against renewed violence and ultimate separation from the mother country. In less than two years the picture was reversed. He 1841. 268 LIFE OF LORD SYDENHAM. 1841. left the Provinces in the most complete security and repose; safe not only against foreign aggres- sion, but against intestine discord : liope and con- fidence revived in every bosom, the public works again in progress, credit re-established, and the union with the mother country cemented and placed on a broader and more secure basis. In the addresses which greeted his successor on his arrival no circumstances formed so frequent a subject of congratulation as the profound tranquillity whicJi then prevailed, and the revival of hope and con- fidence. Comparing these testimonies with the account of the Upper Province given by the Lieu- tenant-Governor one month only before Lord Sydenham's arrival, it is impossible not to recognise at once the wonderful effects of his policy. To produce this extraordinary alteration Lord Sydenham had had recourse to no organic change in the constitution, but had brought it about merely by adopting a more liberal system of administering the Government, and by enlisting the sympathies of the people and their representatives on the side of the Executive. Up to his time it had been practically the custom to consider the popular and executive branches of the constitution as naturally and ne- cessarily antagonist to each other; and thus had grown up on the one hand a jealousy of encroach- ment, and on the other an impatience of opposition, which made co-operation between the two purely impossible. To such an extent had these feelings been carried, that at the commencement of the ADMINISTUATIUN IN CANADA. 2()9 ke security gn aggrcs- e and con- blic works I, and the 3ntcd and is. In the his arrival subject of Llity wliicli e and con- with the I the Lieu- fore Lord D recognise ition Lord iiic change out merely ninistering ipathies of side of the practically executive y and ne- thus had encroach - )pposition, wo purely 3e feelings it of the session of 1839-40 in Upper Canada, an attempt was made to prevent connnunication to the (Jo- vcrnor of the daily proceedings of the Plouse of Assembly; and some members even complained of the presence of individuals of the Governor's house- hold among the crowds who daily attended the debates, lest they should carry to the Governor's ear the proceedings of the House ! The moment of Lord Sydenham's arrival was peculiarly favourable for the introduction of a better system; indeed had he been himself less anxious on the subject, it would have been forced on him by the circumstances of the time. The dis- cussion of the " responsible government " doctrine had roused every man's attention to the principles of representative government, and to the manner in which those principles had been carried into effect in Canada ; and there was a general feeling, both among the supporters and opponents of that doctrine, that the time was come beyond which it would be no longer possible to postpone a declar- ation of the views of the Government upon it. ]3oth parties Avere eager for such a declaration; but it was by the "compact" party th-. the subject was first brought formally into disc :>]sion in the House of Assembly, in the hope of eliciting from Lord Sydenham some answer unfavourable to the popular party. That answer, as we have already seen, avoided the snare by abstaining from all argument, and simply enunciating the broad prin- ciple that the Government was to be conducted in 1841. 270 1811. \ MKH OF LOKl) SYDKNIIAM. litirmony with tlie well-iiiKk'rstood wislies of tlic jKiople; or, in other words, that the attempt to go- vern by a minority woukl be abandoned ; and tliis dedaration was received by all moderate men as sufficient. Jt was, liowever, far from ecjually sjitis- factory to tlic "compact" party, who were anxious to push the Governor to more specific propositions, which tliey well knew would give occasion to cavil and argument, and might possibly bring about an eventual rupture between him and his supporters. But in this attempt they were foiled by Lord Sydenham's prudence. In truth no one under- stood more perfectly than he did the impossibility of defining a principle of government by precise terms, and the consequent danger of making the attempt. Even in the mother country, where the practice has been so long established and so well understood, where the theoretical anomalies are less striking, and where there exists no extraneous authority to be consulted, who would venture to define the exact limits of the prerogatives of the crown, or the responsibility of ministers, or lay down any invariable rule as to the circumstances which should justify their retention or lead to their resignation of office? How much more im- possible, then, to do so in a society where both practice and principle had been hitherto alike un- known, — where party feelings were much more intense, and where, therefore, there would naturally have been much greater disposition to push the theory to its extreme results? Accordingly, on th ADMINISTWATION IN CANADA. 271 lies of tlic il[)t to ^o- ; and this Ltc men as iisilly satis- re anxious 'opositioiis, on to cavil r about an ipporters. 1 by Lord ine undcr- ipossibility by precise Halving tlie where the lid so well •malies are extraneous Id venture )gatives of ers, or lay umstances )r lead to more ini- diere botli ) alike un- uch more naturally push the lingly, on this first opportunity, Lord Sydenham confined himself to such general terms as were sufficient to meet the hnniediate object of putting an cud to angry discussion. But on the next occasion that ottered itself, namely, during his visit to Nova Scotia, he entered more at large into the subject; fortified, no doubt, by the experience which he had acquired during the intervening period, and anxious before the new constitution came into operation in Canada to leave no question as to the course which he meant to pursue. Upon this occasion, tliere- fore, he expressed himself, as wc have already seen, in the following terms : — " It is the anxious desire of the Queen that her British North American subjects should be happy and prosperous, — that they should enjoy that freedom wliicli is the birth- right of Britons, and bless the tie which binds them to her empire. '* Her commands to her Representative are, that he should consult their wishes and their fjeelings, — that he sliould promote their interest by well-considered reforms, and suit his administration of affairs to the growing im- portance and varying circumstances of each Colony ; — that whilst it should be alike his interest and duty to listen respectfully to the opinions which may be offered to him, and to seek the advice of those who may be considered to represent the well-understood wishes of the people, he can devolve the responsibility of his acts on no man, without danger to the connection of the Colony with the Empire, and injury to the best interests of those whose welfare is committed to his care. *' I feel confident that the people of Nova Scotia, dis- tinguished for their loyalty to the Sovereign, and proud of 18H. 272 LIKK OK LOKI) SVDKNIIAM. I',.; 18H, their connection with tlic British Crown, will yield to no attempt to inspire theni with other feeling's, or to lead them to demands incompatihlc with these princii)les." The tliird jukI last occasion on wliicli ho lui- nounced his views on the subject was in the lleso- hitions brou«^ht forward by his Council in the United Legislature, in substitution for those i)ro- posed by Mr. Baldwin, and carried luianiniously. These Resolutions were as follows: — " 1. That the head of the Executive Government of the Province bein<^ within the limits of his Oovernment the representative of the Sovereign, is responsible to the Imperial authority alone ; but that nevertheless the ma- na^^ement of our local affairs can only be conducted by him, by and with the assistance, counsel, and information of subordinate officers in the Province. ** 5i. Tliat in order to preserve between the different branches of the Provincial Parliament that harmony which is essential to the peace, welfare, and good government of the Province, the chief advisers of the representative of the Sovereign, constituting a Provincial Administration under him, ought to be men possessed of the confidence of the representatives of the people ; thus affording a gua- rantee that the well-understood wishes and interests of the people, which our gracious Sovereign has declared shall be the rule of the Provincial Government, will on all oc- casions be faithfully represented and advocated. " S. That the people of this Province have moreover a right to expect from such Provincial Administration the exertion of their best endeavours that the Imperial autho- rity, within its constitutional limits, shall be exercised in the manner most consistent with their well-understood wishes and interests." ADMINISTHATION IN CANADA. 273 ic'Ul to no or to li'iul iplc's. ;h he aii- tlic lleso- ;il in thu those \n'i}- Liihnously. 'eminent of jlovernment iible to the ess the m'dvty bias, or a too ^reat seeking of popularity in sueli matters. It may no doubt be argued that collisions will ai'ise between tlie (iiovernor and the majority in the House of Assembl}^, and that in tliat case the Gover- nor Avill almost invariably be compelled to give way. Admitting the truth of this argument, it nmstalso ho admitted that the existence of such collision would be a prima facie evidence of unskilfulness or want of knowledge on the part of the Governor. In- vested as that officer is Avitli the disposal of the Avliole patronage of the colony, and fortified as wc nnist assume him to be by a knowledge of political affairs and an accpiaintance with the management of mankind as superior as his rank, his influence ought to be, and must be, only not conclusive with his council. With the power of immediately changing that body, the range of his policy would be circumscribed only by limits which not only his existing council, but which any council likely to obtain a majority in the actual Assembly, or in one to be elected on a dissolution, would refuse to overstep. If such a case should indeed arise, who Avill pretend to say that the Governor ought not to give way ? To invest him with power to resist the almost unanimous voice of the people in matters relating to their own internal concerns, would be to establisli an Executive despotism, — a proposition to which few Englishmen would be prepared to accede. Cases, of course, may be imagined in which the ADMINISTRATION IN CANADA. cxtrt'inc use of their power cither 1)y the executive or tlie le«^islature would bring the (joverniiient to a (lend lock ; but this is a defect inherent in every system of mixed government, and indej)endent of the mode of its administratiim. It is, however, sometimes further argued that a colonial legisla- ture, anxious to carry some o])ject beyond their jiu'isdiction, might, in order to compel the Ciiovern- mcnt to give up the point, embarrass its march in matters which fall within their jurisdiction. If such should be the case, — if a colony should really pervert its constitutional powers to a weapon of offence against the authority from which it derives its constitution, the remedy is to be found, not in a despotic administration of the government, but in a curtailment or deprivation of the powers thus a])used. The argument goes far beyond the case to which it is applied : it goes to prove, if it prove any tiling, the inappropriateness of representative government to a colonial society, — the impossibility of establisliing such a constitution without laying the foundation of an early separation from the parent state. Nor is the argument of those less unreasonable who maintain that if a collision should arise between the imperial and the local authority, the former would by the concession of responsible govern- ment have been deprived of a portion of its power to enforce obedience. Can it be supposed that the mother country would speak with less influence when it could appeal to a long course of liberal T 4 279 1841. 280 LIFE OF LORD SYDENHAM. 1841. treatment, than when by a system of unreasonable opposition or restraint it had chafed the temper of the colonial population into fury ? Or is it pos- sible to believe that such opposition can produce any other effect than irritation and contempt, in place of submission and respect? In point of fact, the feelings caused by a system of needless and unrea- sonable obstruction are much more dangerous to the power of the mother country, and the permanence of the connection, than a dozen isolated acts of straightforward authority. In short, it is a mere truism to say that a representative legislature, wherever established, must influence the conduct of the executive go- vernment, and that if it is not allowed to act in a regular and legitimate manner it will act by con- vulsion. But the success of responsible govern- ment, or, if that name be objected to, of constitutional government, under a representative system, must depend in a colony, as in the mother country, on the discreet and forbearing use of the powers vested in the several authorities which together constitute the state. If one of these make an extreme use of its powers, the equilibrium will be destroyed, and confusion must ensue. The Imperial Government, in the first place, must forbear from exercising capriciously or unnecessarily its undoubted right to control the local policy of the Governor, — the Governor must abstain from using the prerogative of the Crown in contempt of or opposition to the well-known feelings of the people; and they on ADMINISTRATION IN CANADA. 281 their part must not attempt to push popular theories 1 84i. beyond the legitimate limits of a mixed govern- ment, or to coerce the Governor into measures in- consistent with his duty to his sovereign. But to carry out this system, it is evident that almost every thing must depend on the Governor himself. He must possess the confidence of the Home Go- vernment to secure his independence of action and the consistency of his policy. He must be fitted to obtain the respect of the people, that he may arrest any tendency on their part to extreme mea- sures ; and he must be endowed Avith moral courage, firmness of mind, and extensive knowledge, that he may direct the councils of his ofiicial servants, and take the lead in the introduction of those measures which are required for the public advantage. These qualifications were united in an eminent degree in Lord Sydenham. His position as a cabinet minister, and the change by which simul- taneously with his appointment to Canada Lord John Russell took charge of the Colonial depart- ment, were an earnest to all the world that he would be sure of the support of the Home Govern- ment. He was thus invested, from his first landing at Quebec, with an influence which no previous Go- vernor had possessed, and which every succeeding day tended to confirm. It was observed that Lord John Russell not only affbrded him the most prompt and generous support, but took every opportunity of proclaiming that support in the most public manner — that in every series of papers laid before 282 LIFE OF LORD SYDENHAM. 1841. Parliament this fact was brought prominently for- ward, and that sometimes papers were published of whicli this was apparently almost the whole object. These documents being immediately copied into the Canadian newspapers, no inhabitant of the Province could fail to know the terms of mutual confidenoe and respect which subsisted between Lord John Russell and Lord Sydenham. The authority which he derived from this circumstance formed an es- sential element of his success, since it was felt that he was clothed "vvith the full power of the British Government ; that in what he decided his decision would be final; and that his promises or threats were equally sure of fulfilment. P>ut his personal character and previous political career were also exactly suited to assist him in his task. AVhile as the son of a merchant, and himself at one time engaged in trade, he possessed an authority with the mercantile community which probably no other man could have obtained, his intimate connexion with the liberal party in Eng- land, was a security to the Reformers of Upper Canada against his falling into the hands of the " Compact." And thus while the merchants of Quebec and Montreal, on the one hand, were pre- pared to support a Governor who, for the first time, understood their commercial schemes and interests as well as themselves, — who was always ready to enter into communication -with them on such sub- jects, and who was scarcely less anxious than they to foster the advancement of the country, the Re- ADMINISTRATION IN CANADA. 283 formers of Upper Canada willingly abated in his favour a portion of the jealousy with which they had been accustomed to regard their successive Governors ; and which, however unwise, was under the circumstances not unnatural. Had his political ch.iracter and habits of business been less known, it is not improbable that the indifference of tlic commercial body of the Lower Province and the jealousy of the Upper Canada Reform party might have induced them to stand aloof, until he had given some unequivocal pledge as to his intended policy ; and thus the success of his mission would have been at least postponed, even if it had not been permanently endangered. But the most useful of all his qualities, — those without which neither he nor any other Governor could at such a crisis have succeeded, — were his moral courage, indomitable energy, and intimate acquaintance with parliamentary tactics. It is im- possible attentively to consider his career, or to read the extracts which have been given from his private correspondence, without being struck with his ad- mirable decision and energy. His courage appeared ever to rise with the emergency, as if the difficul- ties which would have affrighted others did but add a zest to the excitement which he derived from the struggle. It was- the possession of these qua- lities which enabled him to take that decided line in the session of the Upper Canada Legislature which breathed consistency into the unsteady councils of liis supporters, while his knowledge of parliament- 1841. 284 LIFE OF LORD SYDENHAM. 1841. ary proceedings .showed him how to turn their num- bers to tlie best possible account. The same quali- ties enabled him to brave the virulent attacks of the French Canadians and their adherents, and finally to discomfit the unexpected hostility which burst upon him at the opening of his last parliament, from a quarter which, up to that moment, he had considered friendly. Had he at that conjuncture evinced any wavering or despondency, ^Ir. Baldwin and his party would probably have triumphed, and the working of the Union Act might have been seriously impeded. Lord Sydenham's resolution saved that measure from at least the ill omen of a bad beginning, and thus secured for it a success which admitted neither of dispute nor qualification. Had Lord Sydenham's administration in Canadji been prolonged, there is good reason to believe that of those who had been his most inveterate opponents during the first session of the United Legislature, many would have been brought over to a less uncompromising opposition, if not to actual support. Even among the French members, symptoms of a change were visible, of which Lord Sydenham had not been slow to avail himself. To several of that party he had promised appointments, which he did not live to bestow on them, but which they received from the hands of the Commander of the Forces after his death. These members would naturally have supported his government ; and there were so many reasons why the great mass of that people should range themselves on the same side, ADMINISTRATION IN CANADA. 285 that it seems scarcely probable that they would long have continued blind to the falsehood of the representations which charged Lord Sydenham with hostility towards their race. That he was actuated by a feeling the very opposite to this, is shown by every act of his administration. Had it been otherwise, how completely might he not have annihilated the political power of the French j^arty at the time of the passing of the Union Act ! No one will deny that in the year 1889 there was in England a general dislike to the restoration to the French of any share of political power. Nor was this feeling unnatural. In his Report * Lord Durham had described in the following terms the sentiments of the two races in Lower Canada. " Removed," he says, " from all actual share in the government of their country, they (the French Canadians) brood in sullen silence over the memory of their fallen countrymen, — of their burnt villages, of their ruined property, of their extinguished ascendency, and of their humbled nationality. To the Government and English they ascribe these wrongs, and nourish against both an indiscrimi- nating and eternal animosity. Nor have the English inhabitants forgotten in their triumph the terror with Avhich they suddenly saw themselves sur- rounded by an insurgent majority, and the incidents which alone appeared to save them from the un- checked domination of their antagonists. They 1841. * Page 20. 286 LIFK OF LOUD SYDENHAM. 1841. find tlicmaclvcs still a minority in the midst of u hostile and or^uniscd pC'oi)lt'; jq)[)ivli(.'nsions of secret conspiracies and sanguinary designs haunt them unceasingly; and their only liope of safety is supposed to rest on systematically teri'ifying and disabling the French, and in preventing a majority of that race from ever again being predominant in tmy portion of the legislature of the province. I describe in strong terms the feelings which appear to me to animate each portion of the population ; and the picture which I draw represents a state of things so little familiar to the personal experience of the people of this country, that many will pro- bably regard it as the Avork of mere imagination ; but I feel confident that the accuracy and modera- tion of my description will be acknowledged by all who have seen the state of society in Lower Canada during the last year. Nor do I exaggerate the inevitable constancy any more than the intensity of this animosity. Never again will the present generation of French Canadians yield a loyal sub- mission to a British Government ; never again will the British population tolerate the authority of a House of Assembly in which the French shall pos- sess, or even approximate to a majority." — In a subsequent part of his Report he again expressed himself on the same point in words scarcely less im- pressive. " I have already described," he observes, " the state of feeling which prevails among each of the contending parties, or rather races ; — their all- pervading and irreconcilable enmity to each other ; ADMINISTIIATION IN CANADA. 287 tlio entire and irrcmeduible disafl'ection of the whole French population; us well us the suspicion with Avhich the English regard the Imperial (jiovernnient ; and the determination of the French, together mth tlie tendency of the Fnglish, to seek for u redress of their intoleruhk' j)resent < vils in the cliances of a separation liorn Great IJritain." And in sunnning up his report he hud reconinieiidcd that " in order to prevent the confusion and danger likely to ensue from attempting to have populnr elections in dis- tricts recently the seats of open rebellion, it will he udvisuble to give the Governor a temporary power of suspending by proclamation, stating specifically the grounds of his determination, the writs of electoral districts, in which he may be of opinion that elections could not safel}^ take place." Such opinions, coming from so high an authority, appeared to justify the fears which had been before produced by the insane proceedings of the French ; and accordmgly when the first Union Bill was brought forward, the general objection urged against it was the danger of entrusting political power to men whose disaffection was so notorious. In England, therefore, Lord Sydenham could have anticipated no difficulty, had he thought fit to throw the weight of his personal experience into the scale against the French. Nor had he more to fear in Upper Canada. We have seen that on his first landing in the capital of that province he was met by an address from the corporation of Toronto, the self-styled "highest municipal body in the pro- is n. 288 LIFE OF LORD SYDKNIIAM. 18 ti. viiico," in which the asocndcncy of the British, and ^ the subjection of the "jiliens," i.e. the French, was strenuously insisted on. We have also seen that in the session of 18^58-9, tlie Assembly of that province had adopted resolutions on the subject of the Union which would have placed the French in a hopeless minority, and have proscribed their lanmiaij:e and their laws. What could have been easier for Lord Sydenham, had he really been hostile to that race, than to have acquiesced in the passing- of similar resolutions in the session of 1839-40? No direct action would have been necessary on his part; he had but to withhold his opposition, and the former resolutions would again have been placed on the journals of Upper Canada. It was his stre- nuous opposition alone, — his uncompromising deter- mination, notwithstanding the timidity and reluc- tance of some of the local authorities, that defeated that proposal, and secured for the French the ample share of representation which they now enjoy. Had he taken the opposite course, and cither seconded Lord Durham's suggestion, that the Government should be vested Avith a discretionary power to suspend writs in French counties ; or supported the resolution of the Assembly of Upper Canada, that the Lower Province should return but 50 while the Upper Province returned 02 members, — there can be no question that, so supported, these provisions would have been incorporated by the Imperial Parliament into the Union Bill. In that case the French might really have complained of ADMINISTHATION IN CANADA. 289 itisli, 1111(1 [inch, WHS seen tliiit yr of tluit subject of Freucli in ibcd their have been (oen hostile lie passing 1830-40? sary on his on, and the )eeii \)hiced as his stre- ishig detev- and relue- at defeated ii the ample ijoy. Had r seconded noverniueiit power to supported »cr Canada, |rn but 50 embers, — ►rted, these ed by the In that iiplained of lu'ing depriv(!d of a fair share of re[)r('Scntation — a complaint wliich at present is quite uin*easonablc.* jhit how does Lord Sydenham's conchict towai-ds tlie French after Ids return from Tppcr Caiiachi l)i'ar out this accusation, so often and so confidently repeated that at last it obtnined currency, if not l)elief ? One of his first measures wjis to offer M. lijifontaine the a[)pointment of Solicitor-general, wliich Avould of coui'se have led to liis havini*- ji, seat ill the Executive Council, with the avowed object, ;is M. Lafontaine himself declared, of reconciling tlie French to the Covermuent, and of dispelling * Tlio wliol(> population of United Canada is about 1,150,000, of whom about (J.'jOjOOO arc in Lo\v(m- Canada, and 50(),(K)0 in tli(! ll|)i)(>r I'rovincc. Of the 050,000 in Lower Canada |)ro- bably 500,000 arv. Fn^ncli ; but as almost the whole stream of I'liiit^ration passes through Lower Canada to the U[)j)('r Province, and as the number of emigrants during the year 184-2, including those from the United States, w^as upwards of 50,000, and will in the present season be probably greater, it is evident that in a very few years the balance of population will be in favour of Upper Canada, and against Lower Canada. If, then, the pro- portion of representatives from each Province had be|^>ortion{ uly severe when this hope was destroyed l)y his pre- Hiature and melancholy dissolution. Nor, whatever sincere respect we may entertain for the abilities of those who now hold the fore- most rank in that noble contest into which he, Avith them, would have so warmly entered as into liis natural element, had his life been spared, can it l)e gainsayed that no one individual among his survivors unites so many of the peculiar quali- fications which he possessed for successful service in this particular cause. His comprehensive and liberal views of commercial policy were founded not upon book-learned theory, caught up from the sugges- tions of pamphleteering economists, but upon exten- sive practical acquaintance with commerce, and an experience gained in the superintendence through many years of the whole range of the commercial interests of this mighty empire : with this, an in- timate acquaintance with finance — habits of order and business — indefatigable application — the confi- dence of practical men built upon a long intercourse — and, moreover, the tact, judgment, and prudence taught to a mind of great natural sagacity by a long and intimate acquaintance with parliamentary tactics and ministerial responsibility. Possessing these acknowledged qualifications, had Lord Sydenham returned to this country with the additional reputation acquired by his brilliantly successful administration of Canadian affairs, where. 300 LIFK OF LOUD SYJ)i:NlIAM. being isolated from all others, liis individuul ubilities liud been Immfj^ht out tlie more conspicuously, it cannot be questioned tiiat he would have com- manded a hif^h position in public opinion, and nmst liavc taken a very prominent and valuable share in the discussions that have been, and are yet goin^r on, upon the absorbing questions of the day relative to commercial legislation. These speculations are perhaps useless at present ; but not so, it may be hoped, this attenq)t to record and present to the public a review of the acts and opinions of one who did so much, Avliile living, to jidvance the prosperity of the country by giving ireedom to its industry, and whose authority may yet have some influence in guiding the current of public opinion, now setting so strongly, and, as it would appear, irresistibly, in the direction which for so many years he laboured to give to it. Nor, it is hoped, will the portion of this memoir which relates to his Canadian administration be devoid of a similar value. It may serve to teach a lesson of great practical value with respect to the treatment of Colonial dependencies. The time is gone by when the important task of representing in them the sovereign authority can be safely en- trusted to unskilful or inexperienced hands. The peace of the empire, the progress and future des- tinies of great nations, can no longer be jeopardized in this manner. It requires a mind of no ordinary vigour and capacity to encounter successfully tlie ever- varying difficulties of such an office — above LIFK OF LOHO SYDKNHAM. aoi :ill, where tlie Colony possesses an indi'ponclent lo«^islature, and perhaps no lengthened experience in the exereise of sueh an institution. I»y executive misuianagenient a colony may be very easily ruined iind 1 )St, or the parent state weakened and dis- tressed by its forcible retention. A mere <^lanee lit the history of Canada durin<^ the last few years, will inply demonstrate to the most casual observer that such a colony is only to be preserved and ren- dered a real source of strength, power, and wcaltli to the mother country, through the rapid develoj)- nicnt of their common resources by a cordial union, when the sovereign power within it is delegated to some statesman who, like Lord Sydenham, can temper conciliation with firmness, mildness with decision, — who, without trenching on the freedom of representative institutions, knows how to maintain the supremacy of the imperial authority, and whose personal influence, prudent skill, and practical knowledge of mankind may enable him so to work upon the discordant materials he has to deal with, as to obviate those shocks and collisions to which new and popular institutions are ever liable, and which at a distance from the central supreme autho- rity are more than ordinarily hazardous. Such a governor as Lord Sydenham is, indeed, not to be always obtained. Perhaps one so hap- pily fitted for the task will never be again seen. But he has afforded a high standard towards which to approximate in our estimate of the qualificatior.s required for such an office. 302 LIFE OF LORD SYDENHAM. Canada has, certainly, no less reason than this country to deplore his loss ; since, even though absent from her, he might have been relied on to watch over her destinies, with which so much of his own future fame is embarked, and advocate her cause on every opportunity in the Imperial Councils. But it may be reasonably hoped that the great institutions and large schemes of public economy which were founded by him, will survive the embarrassments that mismanagement or party ^ dissensions may for a time occasion ; and that this Province, of which the natural resources are so vast, may long continue incorporated with the glorious Empire of Britain, growing in wealth, power, and prosperity into the mighty and ulti- mately independent nation which it is, no doubt, destined hereafter to become. For this prospect both countries will, it is confidently anticipated, ever consider themselves in a large degree ni- debted to the wise resolves and vigorous action of Lord Sydenham's administration of the aifairs of Canada in the years 1839, 1840, and 1841. The public character of Lord Sydenham has been anticipated in the narrative of his public career. Little remains to be said but what would be mere repetition. His mind was of a class pe- culiarly fitted to deal mth the necessities of the bustling and practical period in which he lived, and that was the secret of his early and rapid success in the arena of politics. His was not, however, a parhamentary reputation of the usual LIFE OF LORD SYDENHAM. 303 n than this ^en though relied on to so much of id advocate he Imperial hoped that les of public will survive ent or party md that this [irces are so ed with the r in wealth, ity and ulti- s, no doubt, his prospect anticipated, e degree m- ous action of ihe aiFairs of 841. denham has his public what would If a class pe- Isities of the ;h he lived, and rapid |is was not, >f the usual stamp, acquired by oratorical display, or gladia- torial powers of debate. He seldom attempted iiiiy flights of eloquence, though in some of his earlier speeches there are passages which cannot be read, and certainly were not heard, witliout creating strong emotion. His voice, however, in speaking was not well modulated, and this is well kno^vn to be essential to successful oratory. The subjects to which he exclusively confined him- self in addressing the House of Commons werc; moreover, necessarily dry and unentertaining, full of details of facts and figures, usually of the most uninteresting character to such an assembly as the House of Commons. On the exciting party ques- tions of the day he rarely opened his mouth ; and hence his services to his party were liable to be undervalued by those who look rather to the de- 1)ates in the House, than to the principles on which the government is carried on, or the mode in which it conducts the affairs of the country. In fact he ever disliked and avoided speaking, vmless when the commercial or financial interests of the country, to which he devoted himself, required the exposure of some abuse, or the suggestion of some legislative improvement, or when the business of his office rendered defence or explanation necessary. His fame must rest, as has been noticed in an earlier part of this memoir, not so much on what he did or said in Parliament, as on what he did and proposed to do out of it, — on his consistent, and to a great degree successful efforts, to expose 304 LIFE OF LORD SYDENHAM. the fallacy of the miscalled " Protective System,'' and gradually but effectively to root it out of the statute-book, and thereby to free the universid industry of Britain from the mischievous shackles imposed, and yet partially maintained, by an igno- rant and mistaken selfishness — to allow the de- velopment of its inherent energies, unincumbered by the officious patronage of the legislature — to permit it to make (as under such circumstances it is sure to do) that vigorous, rapid, and healthy progress, which must secure to all engaged in it a continually increasing remuneration, and to the nation at large a corresponding increase of her power, her strength, and her prosperity. His Canadian administration may be looked on as a brief though brilliant episode in his public life, which, while it confirmed the high opinion ever entertained of him by his friends, convinced those who had under-estimated his powers before of their extent and variety — convinced every one that in all the great qualifications of intellect, temper, habits, and acquired information that constitute a statesman, few have been so rarely gifted as the lamented subject of this memoir. In private life Lord Sydenham was universally loved and esteemed. His amiable disposition and pleasing manner excited the warmest attachment among those who were admitted to his intimacy, and in every circumstance that affected their happi- ness he always appeared to feel the liveliest personal interest. In the midst of his unceasing occupations LIFE OF LORD SYDENHAM. 305 ) System,'' out of the universal Ls shackles )y an igno- )W the de- ncumbered lature — to mstanccs it ^nd healthy aged in it a and to the ease of her r • e looked on s public life, opinion ever niced those sfore of their one that in ct, temper, constitute a ;ifted as the universally [position and attachment lis intimacy, their happi- liest personal occupatioiis he never failed to find time for any work of kind- ness or charity that offered itself, and even for the attentions required by the forms of society.* His assistance was always promptly and eagerly af- forded, whenever he could oblige a friend or confer a favour on a meritorious object. His integrity and sense of honour were of the loftiest character, and his disinterestedness carried to an excess. The remuneration, indeed, for his arduous public ser- vices in office, with which he was contented, was far inferior to that of any other official of equal station, and much below (be it said in passing) what a just and wise appreciation of the importance of the post would assign to it. But never having married, his wants were moderate, and his private fortune more than compensated the exiguity of his official salary. That he remained single may per- haps be partly attributed to an early disappoint- ment ; but chiefly to his incessant occupations and failing health. The friendships he formed with individuals of either sex were both strong and lasting. Indvjed few men were more fitted by nature to captivate and enchain affection. His person and countenance were singularly prepossess- ing: : his manner full of charm and refinement, and his address frank, manly, and courteous : his dispo- • In a letter to an idle friend >vho had been remiss in corre- spondence, he says, tersely and truly, " You have no time of course — no one who has nothing to do ever has." 306 LIFE OF LORD SYDENHAM. sition obliging : his regard to the feelings of others exquisite. His mind was amply stored with varied information, acquired from books, from frequent foreign travel, from an acquaintance "svith the leading characters of the day, and a special inti- macy with the subjects of paramount interest in these bustling times. His remarkable aptitude for foreign languages made his conversation as pleasing and his society as much sought after by foreigners as by his countrymen. Few men were more gene- rally popular in the circle in which he moved, and this was ever the highest and most intellectual of whatever place he inhabited. He was a sincere Christian, and the account given of his last hours by the reverend gentleman who fulfilled the last painful duties towards him, as his chaplain, is at once aifectiiig and consolatory to his intimate friends and connections, among whom his loss created a void which can never be supplied. It is not, however, in his private capacity, but rather as a public benefactor, that it has been the object of this Memoir to record him, and it may safely be concluded by the expression of an opinion, that the annals of no country can produce an in- stance of one, who, in a spirit of truer patriotism, during the brief period permitted to his earthly career, more nobly, ardently, devotedly pursued, in defiance of ridicule, obloquy, and the most odious misrepresentation, through good repute and through bad, and at the sacrifice of his own ease, health, ir d LIFE OF LORD SYDENHAM. 307 )f others ii varied frequent nth the cial inti- terest in itude for ; pleasing breigners Lore gene- oved, and llectual of a sincere last hours d the last blain, is at late friends created a pacity, but as been the md it may an opinion, iuce an in- patriotism, his earthly pursued, most odious ,nd through sase, health, and even life itself, the one great object which was ever uppermost in his thoughts to the last moment of his existence, — namely, the increase of the happiness of his fellow-creatures, by all such means as are within the reach of those gifted statesmen who wield the supreme power of Im- perial Britain. None knew better than he the amount of that power, — the influence which Great Britain, at the head of the advancing energies of the civilised world, exercises over the destinies of mankind. And the task which he laid do^vn for himself, on arriving at manhood, and assiduously laboured through the remainder of his life to accomplish, was, in truth, the highest, the noblest, the most godlike, which it is given to man upon earth to undertake. Time and power were not afforded him to give full effect to his exertions, or bring them to maturity. Nevertheless, those who here- after review the events of the age he lived in will, it is believed, see reason to assign to their impulse no inconsiderable share of the beneficial progress which is now generally making towards a right understanding and a practical exemplification in this country, followed as she is sure to be at a distance by other states, of the great problem how human institutions can best secure, and least inter- fere with, the spontaneous development of man's ingenuity and industry in the production and just distribution of all the material comforts and enjoy- X 2 308 LIFE OF LORD SYDENHAM. 11 ments of existence, which a gracious Providence has abundantly placed within his reach. This, and the impress of his influence on the future history of our North American Colonies, will form Lord Sydenham's most enduring and appropriate monument. 'rovidence ce on the Colonies, iiring and APPENDIX, X 3 APPENDIX I. EXTRACTS FROM CORRESPONDENCE OF LORD SYDENHAM. The following passages from Lord Sydenham's private correspondence, whilst in Canada, relating to matters of general interest, not having found a place in the body of the Memoir, are here appended, under an impression of the value attaching to his opinions on such subjects. As Governor-General of the entire North American Provinces, he had the responsibility of directing such mea- sures as became necessary from time to time for checking the continual encroachments of the people of Maine within the disputed territory — encroachments which threatened the absolute invasion and dispossession of our early settle- ments on the Madawaska, and the occupation by the Americans of the entire country in dispute, pending the determination of the question of right between the two Governments. The following passages from letters written in 1840-1, evince Lord Sydenham's determination no longer to tolerate the continuance of these one-sided en- croachments. The decisive steps taken by him of posting troops in the Madawaska settlement, probably more than anything else contributed to dispose the people of Maine to assent to a final arrangement of the question, by putting an end to their chance of gaining any further advance in the unauthorised mode in which they had hitherto been permitted to appropriate the territory. In the late parliamentary discussions on the Boundary Question and Ashburton Treaty, blame has been cast on the Government of Lord Melbourne for permitting these X 4 312 APPENDIX 1. encroachments. It will be seen that there was no hesitation at head-quarters as to the course to be pursued in this matter, and that, if blame is due anywhere, it must rest with the inferior functionaries. (( Toronto, 12th September, 1840. I am sorry to hear of a fresli dispute between Sir Colin Campbell and Sir John Harvey ; but in this case the first seems to me to be clearly in the wrong. I told him most distinctly and emphatically that I would not permit a gun to be removed, or a soldier withdrawn (unless in sub- stitution) from the American frontier, and he assured me that it should not be done. If his guns are in more danger now than they have been for the last eighteen months, he may send a force to protect them. Of that I am no judge ; and the military authorities can best decide the question. But my instructions are, and I have told Sir Colin I should see them followed, that things should remain in statu quo upon the American border ; and that I would not consent to a cartridge being taken away. I am the more resolved on this after the conduct of Sir John Harvey, in having permitted Colonel Parke quietly to take a census of the Queen's subjects in Madawaska, instead of arresting him instantly, as he ought to have done. The fact is we owe all that has happened in the disputed territory to his mis- management. First, his " convention" with General Scott, in which he was completely outwitted by the New En- glander; next the occupation of Fort Jarvis, which he ought never to have allowed ; and, lastly, a series of en- croachments crowned by this last proceeding at Madawaska, all of which would have been checked, if a company had gone there last winter as 1 directed.'* TO LORD PALMERSTON. U. C. 5th September, 1840. ** I earnestly hope you will adopt my plan of having the territory kept pending the inquiry that must precede a EXTRACTS FROM CORRESPONDENCK. 313 esitatioii I in this nust rest er, 1840. ween Sir i Ccise the told him '. permit a 3S in sub- isured me )re danger lonths, he no judge ; question, n I should statu quo ot consent e resolved in having us of the '.sting him e owe all his mis- |eral Scott, New En- which he ■ies of en- adawaska, ipany had Iber, 1840. [having the precede a settlement, l)y regulars on both sides acting under com- missioners. That will be our only security. In such a country (I wish you could see it), the Civil Posse, a fellow armed to the teeth, and who can put a riile ball through the ace of hearts at one hundred paces, is a far more dangerous sentry than a United States' soldier — and he is under no control whatever. The officers of the reffu- lars will do all they can to keep order and put down the predatory attempts of the civilians ; and they pride them- selves on keeping up a good understanding witli our troops. I have had many instances of this good feeling lately along the frontier, especially in the west, where they go even so far as to refuse to receive our deserters. But some temporary arrangement must be come to this autumn, or Maine will 'go a-head' again in the spring. Think of the impudence of the people, or, as it is now said, of the central government, in sending to take a census of the Madawaska settlement. Harvey was weak enough only to protest, and my order to arrest Mr. Parke arrived too late of course." Montreal, 24th November, 1840. *' The Maine people at the Fish River have recom- menced their operations, and now pretend to exclusive jurisdiction up to the mouth of the Madawaska River, thus, in fact, cutting off our communication with New Brunswick, or, at least, commanding it. This is, of course, not to be tolerated, and 1 have ordered a sufficient force into the Ma- dawaska settlement to support the civil power and protect the Queen's subjects, if the Fish River people proceed to carry their threats into effiict. I consider this to be, under the circumstances, an indispensable measure of pre- caution, though I dare say it will be made much of at Washington, and complained of as one of aggression. I entertain little doubt myself that these fresh encroach- ments are the result of a fixed plan of policy, consisting in a determination to delay all settlement of this question, ai4 ArPKNDIX I. and in the mean time to push forward point by point, a little at a time, hoping that each new move may be con- sidered in itself too unimportant to lead us to go beyond a 'protest.' But be it weakness only or treachery on the part of the Government, it is quite clear to me that our only course is to resist any move, whatever it may be, and show by our acts, not merely by our words, that we will support such resistance. 1 am of opinion, likewise, that by adopting that course, the Central Government will be more likely to come at last to some arrangement leading to the final adjustment of the question, than if they found their advantage in its delay, as they have done now for three or four years. " What will be the effect of the Presidential vote upon this question and others in the States ? I shall be very glad to hear your opinion. Will there be a suo^jension of all great questions during the remainder of Van Buren's reign ? That seems merely the necessary consequence of such a form of Government. Imagine a Ministry at home under a notice to quit that day six months ! " Government House, Montreal, 26th December, 1840. " I now know my ground as well as my men pretty well, which I did not last year when I had just arrived We owe every thing that has happened to the course that has been pursued in the disputed territory. The object of the Americans is delay ; and no wonder, for it has been wonderfully profitable to them. Four years ago they never pretended even to jurisdiction north of the Mars Hill ; scarcely north of Houlton. Now they have got the whole valley of the Restook, all the southern bank of the St. John except our settlement, a fort at the Fish River, and claim and exercise jurisdiction over the Mada- waska settlement, north and south banks, down to the Madawaska River ! They have got away from us all the best territory, 10,000 square miles; they are filling it rapidly with settlers and lumberers. The warden. EXTRACTS FROM C'ORRESrONDENCE. :nr) r point, a y be con- ro beyond \chcry on me that it may be, s, that we , likewise, overnment rangcment >n, than if have done 1 vote upon all be very .^^jension of an Buren's sequence of Ministry at hs ! " M'Laughlin, who was liero the other day, dare not sliow his face to the south of the river ; and this is, after all, the only land that is good fin- any thing, all to the north being, as Professor Ren wick truly said to me, not worth the ex- pense of his own survey. This they have done by the *' go-a-hcad " principle on their side, and the "protest" principle on ours. But it is really time that some check was put to this system, or I have no doubt that next year they will walk into Canada and establish themselves there likewise. I know of no means of doing this but at last drawing a line, and showing, not telling, them, that they cannot pass it. Then, and then only, will they stop ; and finding that nothing is to be made by further delay, they will probably negociate at last upon reasonable terms. For this reason I shall now keep my troops at Madawaska, and persevere in my line of policy according to my in- structions, unless the Government choose to take it out of my hands. " I have written to Lord John to carry into effect the Duke of Wellington's plan of colonising the valley of the St. John's. I could throw five or six hundred families into it next year ; but I want money for it, as the land that is left to us is bad, and the expense will be considerable. However, it is well worth doing, and I wish you to con- sider it." The following strong opinions on the effect of the poli- tical institutions of the United States upon the national character may, perhaps, have been something coloured by the annoyance experienced, both before and during the administration of Lord Sydenham, along the entire frontier of our North American Provinces, from the aggressions of the lawless bordering population of the States — aggres- sions which for a long time kept a portion - f the inhabit- ants and the Government of those provinces in a state ap- proaching to hostility with large bodies of the people of the Union, whom their own Government appeared to have 316 APPENDIX I. no power to control. But, after making every allowance for the unavoidable influence of such feelings on Lord Sydenham's mind, the picture here presented by the hand of one who, throughout his life, proved himself an ardent advocate of the freest institutions which are compatible with civilised society, is painful to the contemplation of those who have hitherto witnessed, with deep interest, the great experiment of self-government now for half a cen- tury going on in North America : — " As far as I can judge from hearsay and the observation which, as a neighbour, and having pretty important busi- ness to do with them, I can make, I should say that Marryatt is only too lenient to the Yankees in his second series. I do not mean in his criticisms upon their social habits. Spitting and chawing, eating with their knives or bolting their meals, or sleeping three in other people's beds, are all disagreeable in their way, but regard only themselves or any unfortunate traveller ; but I mean in greater matters. Their government seems to me the worst of tyrannies — that of the mob, supported by the most odious and profligate corruption. No man who aims at power dare avow an opinion of his own. He must pander to the lowest prejudices of the people, and in their parties (the two great ones which now divide the Union, the Loco- focoes and the Whigs), the only object of the leading men of either is to instil some wretchedly low sentiment into the people, and then exploiter it for their own advantage. *' There is scarcely a statesman of either who would not adopt the most violent or the basest doctrine to-morrow, if he thought that he could work it to advantage with the majority. If you remember the character of the news- paper editor in Cooper's novel of * Homeward Bound,' you have the type of the whole people, high and low. It is the corruption of Walpole's House of Commons ex- tended over a whole people. Peculation and jobbing, the only objects ; delusion and the basest flattery of the people, the means. The joke is, that we in Europe are apt to EXTRACTS FROM CORRESPONDENCE. 317 allowance on Lord the hand an ardent ;onipatible plation of terest, the lalf a cen- :)bservation rtant busi- d say that his second their social ir knives or ler people*s regard only I mean in le the worst y the most ho aims at Lust pander heir parties k, the Loco- eading men timent into [advantage, would not ■morrow, if ;e with the the news- ,rd Bound,' d low. It imons ex- ibbing, the [the people, are apt to fancy that the Government is a cheap one, the patronage little, the means of corruption small, and the people care- ful of their own interests as opposed to the attempts of their rulers : this, all because we find the President getting only 5000/. a-year ! The reverse of ail this is the fact. I will venture to say that there is more jobbing and dirty work in one State of the Union, than in all Downing Street and Whitehall. Every place is the object of party contest, uHu '/.ley are innumerable in each little Govern- ment of each State. The people being the direct be- stowers of all, if not immediately, at least indirectly, are adulated in the most disgusting and degrading way ; and the trash from which an educated minister or borough- monger in England would turn with disgust, is greedily swallowed by them. The result, of course, is general de- basement. Those who aim at place and power are corrupt and corrupters. The masses who bestow them are igno- rant, prejudiced, dishonest, and utterly immoral. You will naturally say, under such circumstances, how is it that they advance so rapidly and so steadily ? It is the mil- lions of acres of good land alone that does this. Exhaust the means by which all their unquiet spirits and ruined speculators now find a fresh field, and the bubble will burst at once. If they drive us into a war, which, how- ever, I do not think likely, the blacks in the South will soon settle all that part of the Union; and in the North I feel sure that we can lick them to their heart's content. " A Republic could answer in former times, in countries where there was no people or few — the bulk of the popu- lation helots and slaves ; but where there is a people, and they really have the power, Government is only possible by pandering to their worst passions, which makes the country unbearable to a man of any education, and the central Government itself a bye-word amongst civilised nations. I hope that we may live long enough to see this great bubble burst ; and I do not believe that we need be very long-lived for that." 318 APPENDIX I. On the occurrence of the outrare at Lockport, when the mob forcibly prevented the liberation of Macleod, on bail, he writes : — 24th February, 1841. " Was tliere ever such a state of society in a country calling itself civilised ? The judges of the land getting out of bed to render an account of their conduct on the bench to a committee chosen by the mob in the streets ! and not an effort made by the civil power to maintain order. It quite justifies Madame Roland's last saying. Unless we settle this whole question now with the American Government, we shall have nothing but trouble all along the frontier, for the Yankees will take to arresting people as a good speculation. I trust therefore that Palmerston will insist on reparation being nicidc, and on a distinct understanding being arrived at, that when the two governments nego- ciate, the matter is to be settled by them, and not by the separate states, with whom we cannot deal." *' There never was such a trumpery affair as that nigger business at Chippewa The complaint made by Stevenson is only a pretence to serve as an electioneering manoeuvre, and leave an embarrassment the more for the party coming into power. The administration, press, and their public men are now using all their power to raise a cry against England. You will have seen of course that wonderful Report of the Committee of Foreign Affairs. This, however, will do us no harm, for every thing being ' party * in America, the more the Locofocos abuse us, the more will the Whigs, who govern after the 4th March, cling to us." Montreal, 12th April, 1841. " No man can say how the feelings of so mobile a people as the Americans may be upon any point six months from the time he speaks. But at present, I am satisfied that they have no desire for war with England. They are too calculating a people, and fight not for glory, EXTRACTS FROM CORRESPONDENCE. 319 rt, wlien :leod, on y, 1841. country tting out I bench to lid not an It quite we settle krernment, 3 frontier, Eis a good will insist erstanding ents nego- not by the :bat nigger : made by ;tioneering are for the press, and r to raise a course that fTii Affairs, hing being abuse us, 4th March, \pril, 1841. o mobile a point six esent, I am h England. )t for glory, but plunder, which they know they cannot now get in Canada. You must not in the least heed their speeches or declarations in their popular assemblies. They are such a set of braggadocios, and there is such a submission on the part of their public men to the claims of their ex- travagant vanity and self-sufficiency, that their language is always in tlie superlative. But their acts will be very dif- ferent. Mr. Pickens, in explaining that his Report was a peaceable one, blurted out the whole character and conduct of his countrymen, when ho said that he did not mean war — all he wished was to frighten us by big words and Billingsgate. " In two or three years I hope we shall have a good hold on the vastly increasing population of the Western States by their interest through the St. Lawrence ; indeed we liave some now. The eastern sea-board is certainly with us, and the south have their cotton interest as well as their slave-fears, so that I really anticipated no cause for alarm of war being rashly entered upon through the ambition or restlessness of the people, if we once put an end to these border-feuds, which have now endangered the peace, and will inevitably do so again unless brought to a close by a distinct arrangement between the respective governments that they will not permit it to be jeopardised by individual acts of violence and outrage." On the subject of emigration. Lord Sydenham wrote thus : — " I consider any scheme for paying the expense of the passage of emigrants by the sale of land, utterly inappli- cable to these colonies. " This expense, therefore, must be borne either by the individual emigrants themselves, or by companies inter- ested in the settlement of their lands here, or by the pro- prietors in England or Ireland who combine for the purpose of sending them out. Neither is it in my opinion just or expedient that mere paupers should be transported, 320 APPENDIX I. to be landed under the rock of Quebec, vvitliout means to transport themselves to where labour is in demand, and utterly unfit, both from want of capital and of the neces- sary knowledge of the mode of clearing heavy-timbered land, to become settlers. To be of service to the colony, and to succeed themselves, emigrants should consist of two classes — either of hardy, well-disposed labouring men, with or without their families, possessed of sufficient means either of their own, or provided by others, to enable them to reacli the interior of the province, and subsist themselves tolerably until work can be obtained, that is, perhaps, for a few weeks, without claiming any pecuniary assistance here, or being exposed to the demoralisation and disease which are produced by loitering about the towns or sheds near them ; or else of industrious families, possessed of moderate capital, and accustomed to farming pursuits, who can either purchase and clear a new settle- ment, or, what is far more advantageous to them, buy out the old settler, who is generally inclined to emigrate further into the forest, and who performs the work of pioneer at half the expense and labour which it would cost the others. Emigrants of either of these classes may come out with the greatest advantage to the province, and with a certainty of attaining, if well-conducted and indus- trious, a degree of independence and comfort for them- selves and their descendants, which are quite beyond their reach at home. " I am well aware that these opinions do not meet the view of those who are very sanguine of producing, by some not very well-defined means, what is called a great emigration ; but they are the result of the best consider- ation I have been able to give on the spot, and after visit- ing nearly every part of these two provinces. Neither do I think that the great object of relieving Great Britain in those localities in which there is a redundant population, or that, still more important in my opinion, of introducing here a British population, will be unduly limited by acting KXTllACTS FKOM COHRESPONDENCE. 321 neans to and, and ic neces- timbcrcd - colony, st of two ing men, sufficient to enable d subsist 1, that is, pecuniary n-alisation ibout the 5 iauiilies, ;o fanning icw scttle- 1, buy out emigrate ; work of it would lasses may |vince, and ,nd indus- for them- ond their meet the (vicing, by id a great consider- lafter visit- leither do Britain in population, itroducing by acting on them. It is not too mucli to expect, that when landed proprietors are desirous of rendering their })roperty more valuable by clearing their estates, or parishes seek to relieve themselves from heavy charges, they should be called upon to defray all the expense of transporting these poor people, and providing them the means of maintaining themselves, which is all that we seek ; and on the other hand, it is right that those who voluntarily emigrate with a view of settling, should clearly understand that it is useless to attempt to enter upon the bush without capital. But under these conditions, I am satisfied that the Canadas could take off with ease 50,000 or 60,000 persons annually for a very considerable time to come." ON THE MISREPRESENTATION OF CANADIAN AFFAIRS IN ENGLAND. 18th April, 1841. ** I got yesterday a paper with a report of the Bishop of Exeter's speech on the St. Sulpice seminary ordinance. I wish I were strong enough to send you a despatch on one or two points. The greater part of his facts are pure inventions, and well might Lord Melbourne say that " he could not be instructed on some of them." It is impos- sible to guard beforehand against such efforts of imagin- ation: his main charge against me is that I attended the deliberations of the council on this ordinance, which he says was unprecedented, unusual, and even reprobated by myself. By the by, he mis-quotes my despatch in order to prove this last position. But the others are equally untrue, and he ought to have known it, because the mode of conducting business in the council was perfectly well known to those whom he calls his informers. I always at- tended all the deliberations in council, on measures of any importance — a practice which was of the greatest use to the council, as well as to myself. " But the Duke of Wellington seems to have out-heroded the bishop himself, for his charge is that ' this ordinance Y :\22 APPENDIX I. ^-» was proposed by mc, and not by any member of the special council.' Could not any noble Lord have referred his Grace to the Act of Parliament, in which he would have found that nothing of any description could be con- sidered by the council except it was proposed by me. That no councillor had power to originate any thing : and that whether the measure were great or small, it must equally emanate from the Governor. " Pray thank Normanby for his speech from me, as 1 cannot write ; but after all it is amusing that Nicolet, the point on which it seems the whole question turned with you, is really no precedent at all. However the noble Lords who did not know that the Roman Catholic religion was an established religion in Canada, may well be excused for not understanding the difference between a lay and ecclesiastical corporation." On the question (which appears to have been lately re- opened) relative to the choice of the seat of Government for the United Province of Canada, Lord Sydenham writes on the 9th April, 1840: — " I shall certainly make the seat of Government in the Upper Province. Toronto is too far, and out of the way. But Kingston or By- town would do. The people, the soil, the climate of the Lower Province are all below par. All are excellent above. Marryatt has not said a word too much of Upper Canada. It is the garden of the whole North American continent, and is in fact the source of all the wealth and trade of the Canadas. The Lower Province, except the eastern townships, is nothing but a fringe some seven or eight miles deep along the St. Law- rence, with two cities, Montreal and Quebec, which, being the shipping ports for the whole of Upper Canada, have become wealthy and populous. But the source of their prosperity even is all in the Upper Province. The wheat, the timber, the cattle, all come from them. Lower Canada will not even now support itself with bread. The soil is EXTRACTS FROM CORRESPONDENCE. 323 eferved would je con- by me. ig: and it must ne, as I olet, the icd with he noble c religion 3 excused a lay and lately re- 3vernment lam writes eitlier exhausted, owing to tlie ignorant system of agricul- ture pursued by the French Canadians, or the cultivation of wheat altogether put a stop tc by a Jly, which for the last eight years has destroyed all the crops, and caused its culture to be abandoned. The townships are different ; but there they are a grazing country, and want water communication for other produce. A rail-road may even- tually open them up, perhaps. All our efforts ought therefore to be directed to Upper Canada, and I shall turn mine all that way as soon as the Union is through. There is some pleasure in working with and for an intel- ligent and enterprising set of men ; none at all in dealing with fellows who only think of cutting each other's throats." And at a later date, viz. lltli July, 1841, he writes: — '* I have every reason to be satisfied with having selected this place (Kingston) as the new capital. There is no situation in the province so well adapted for the seat of Government, from its central position ; and certainly we are as near England as we should be any where else in the whole of Canada. My last letters reached me in fifteen days, from London ! So much for steam and railways." (( ON THE ST. JOHNS RIVER, AS A BOUNDARY. Montreal, December 28th, 1840. I wish you would give me the means of settling a few hundred emigrants next summer, along the St. John's River. I will have the line surveyed by the ordnance in the spring, and allotments made directly after, and 1 could get plenty of good people for the purpose. But the good land is, melancholy to state, all to the south of the river, and, therefore, settlement will be expensive. However, a line of road with good defences might be marked out, and these parties established to make it, and settle upon it. Pray think of this, and give me some authority if you can. It would be money well laid out." V 2 324 API'KNDIX I. TO SIR GEORGE ARTHUR. Ifith August, 184.0. *« If practical benefits are felt by the Upper Canadians, they ought to be in good humour, since I have got them their letters delivered for a halfpenny, instead of from four to eight shillings, and their tea cheap from the United States. But, I suppose, as generally happens, they will care little for these boons when they have got them." THE RED INDIANS. Montreal, 23d April, 18tO. " Catlin is probably correct enough in his description of the Indians in their prairie, or forest life. But I wish he had exhibited them in their demi-civilised state, in which I have the honour to be ' their Great Father,' as you probably have seen in the newspapers. They are ten times worse than when wholly savage. It has been a great mistake to attempt to settle or christianise them. Whether baptism alone will save their souls and send them to Paradise instead of their own traditional hunting grounds, I cannot determine, but certainly their works will not. They have acquired the most disgusting vices of civilised life, and none of its refinements or advantages. They should be amalgamated with white men, and not separated, if they are not to remain in their wild state. I have a village of them eight miles from here, a perfect pest, and the most debauched, idle, and quarrelsome set of men and women in the country. The attempt has failed every where." STEAM NAVIGATION OF THE LAKES. " As the admiralty did not choose to try the Archimedean screw here, I have built a boat myself on the Ericson's propeller principle, which I am expecting from Montreal daily. I am told that it works admirably. I have called her the * Union,* and as soon as she arrives I shall despatch her into Lake Erie, in order that she may, if it answers, EXTRACTS FROM CORRESPONDENCE. 325 , 1840. ot them of from } United hey wiU ril, 1840. ription of ,t I wish state, in ather,' as ey are ten IS been a lise them, send them 1 hunting works will y vices 01 idvantages. , and not 1 state. I lerfect pest, set of men ■ailed every rchimedean He Ericson's Bn Montreal have called all despatch it answers, solve the problem of a steam-boat really going from Quebec to Michigan. " I very much like your idea of sending the materials of iron steam-boats from home in packages, which may travel up the canals, as they now do to India. In case of a war we might launch a fleet of such upon any of the lakes in an incredibly short time." The following passages show the lively interest wliich Lord Sydenham took in the exciting state of our Foreign Relations, consequent on the signature of the celebrated treaty of July, 1840, and his cordial agreement in the de- cisive policy pursued by Lord Palmerston on that critical occasion : — 12th September, 1840. " They seem rather disturbed in England by the aspect of French affairs ; but I am convinced it is all bluster, which will only make the people there ridiculous, and end in smoke ; but not that of gunpowder. I highly approve of the Quadruple Treaty. The whole diplomacy of France has been one continued series of trick, intrigue, and en- croachment for the last three years, and it was quite time to let Louis Philippe know that we would unite with Austria and Russia, without his concurrence, if he chose to be unreasonable and treacherous. I was most anxious for this before I left England; but Palmerston was ham- pered with his Spaniards. That affair, however, being settled, he has done it, and wisely too." 5th October, 1840. ** Are you going to war with Louis Philippe? Really all this bluster looks a little like it. But, in spite of their anger and their boasting, I am delighted that the Quadruple Treaty draws us off from the French, who have been intriguing against us for the last three years in every quarter of the globe. The Austrian and Russian alliances have long been desiderata with me, though I scarcely Y 3 326 APPENDIX I. hoped that Palmeraton would carry them into effect. I give him the greatest credit now for having done it. His course has been prudent at first, and vigorous at last, both in arguments and in acts." 24th December, 1840. '* I congratulate you sincerely upon the result in Syria. You know my opinion on the treaty and the policy ; and, therefore, you will understand how truly I rejoice at the brilliant way in which effect has been given to it. I could not guess how Thiers was to excuse himself ; but I really could never have believed that he would not have made a better defence. I have the most sincere pleasure in crow- ing over the anti-July-treaty people hereabouts, who pre- dicted all sorts of mischief. Even the high Tories are compelled to confess that England never stood higher in the scale of nations, either for the power she has dis- played, or the justice and moderation with which she has used it." 26th January, 1841. ** You are certainly most wonderfully successful in your foreign undertakings. I suppose Pekin will have fallen long before this, and the St. George will have assumed his proper place over the Dragon with six claws. Shall we found a new dynasty vice the Tartars? But what is the use of all this glory if your seats slip from under you ? What an animal John Bull is ! gorged with glory in all parts of the earth, and yet ready to turn upon the authors of it ! I am afraid that the possession of power is making me terribly inclined to despotism ; for 1 am thinking of planting my cabbages rather under the shadow of Metter- nich or the Czar, than in the midst of Chartists or Sans Culottes." a27 APPET^DIX II. NOTICES OF THE DEATH OF THE LATE LORD SYDENHAM BY THE PRESS OF BRITISH NORTH AMERICA. ones are [The publication from which the following extracts are taken was printed at Toronto shortly after the decease of Lord Sydenham, at the press of the Examiner Office. The notices were collected by Mr. Hincks, at that time Editor of the Toronto Examiner, but now Inspector- General of Public Accounts for the Province of Canada, and a Member of the Executive Council.] {From the Official Gazette.) Kingston, Monday, September 20. 1841. Province of Canada. Sunday, 19th September. It has pleased Almighty God to call to His Mercy his Excellency the Right Hon. Charles Baron Sydenham, of Sydenham in the county of Kent, and of Toronto in Ca- nada, one of Her Majesty's Most Honourable Privy Council, Governor General of British North America, and Captain General and Governor in Chief of Canada, Nova Scotia, and New Brunswick, and of the Island of Prince Edward, &c. &c. &c. His Excellency expired this morning at 5 minutes past 7 o'clock, at the Government House in this town, after an illness of fifteen days. Y 4 328 AITENBTX II. Cur readers will perceive by the following comniuni- cation that the mortal remains of his Excellency Lord Sydenham are to be consigned to the tomb on Friday next. We understand that tho chancel of St. George's Church is selected as the place of interment, Hull of the Common Council, Kingston, September 2\. 1841. The following official communication, addressed to his Worship the Mayor, was laid before the Council : — Government House, Kingston, 20th Sept. 1841. Sir, — I have the honour to inform you that it is in- tended that the funeral of his Excellency the Governor General should take place on Friday next. The pro- cession will leave Government House at 1 1 o'clock a. m. precisely. I have the honour to be, Sir, Your most obedient servant, T. W. C. Murdoch. His Worship the Mayor. Whereupon the Common Council passed the following resolution : — " That Friday next, the 24th instant, being the day appointed for the funeral of his Excellency the Governor General, the Common Council do recommend to all the inhabitants of the town to observe that day as a day of mourning, with every suitable solemnity, and that all shops and places of business be closed, and all trading and mechanical operations cease during the day. " J. Counter, Mayor." NOTICKS OF THE DKATH OK LOUD SYDENHAM. 1^21) niuni- Lord Friday eorge's ungston, I to his Kingston, I. it is in- jovernor rhe pro- ock A. M. ant, URDOCH. Ifollowing the day iGovernor lo all the a day of that all [l trading [ayor." {From the Kingstu ArrKNDix II. them were directed to tlio pjreat national and cardinal point of cultivating' tiie resources of the province ; of lay- mp; the foundation of free and liheral institutions, which, if administered in the spirit in which they were conceived, cannot fail to render it happy and prosperous ; and of perpetually cementing its welfare and its interests with those of the mother country. Above all, the deep inter- est, the unquenciiable zeal, the patriotic ardour, the firm- ness of purpose, and the undeviating resolution and per- severance which, at all times and on all occasions, were exhibited by his Lordship, in carrying into effect the grand healing measure of the reunion of the provinces, justly entitle his memory to the lasting gratitude and reverence of his countrymen both at home and abroad, and his tomb to be inscribed with the word " Union," as a beacon to direct a people, still somewhat divided, from the shoals and quicksands of jealousy and dissensicm. In his official and private intercourse with the people of this province. Lord Sydenham was of easy access, of un- affected manners, affable in conversation ; which, without the least show of undue assumption or arrogance, he always, and almost instantaneously, directed to the leading topic of business or discussion. As a practical man of business, it may safely be said that he had few equals. With these and other excellent qualities, which we stop not to discuss at the present moment, the death of Lord Sydenham will be sincerely and generally lamented in this province. The administration of the government now devolves on his Excellency Sir Richard Jackson, Commander of the Forces in the province, until further instructions shall have been received from home. {From the Montreal Courier.) Lord Sydenham is dead. — The energetic mind from whose labours Canada has received so much, and to NOTICKS OF rilK DKATH OF LORD 8VDRN1IAM. 'Al]f) whose untiring gonins and skill she yot looked to re- ceive so much more, is stilled cand powerless. The lips which dictated the wisest policy this country ever knew, are mute and motionlesb. The high intellect which could comprehend the most intricate questions, and unravel as l)y magic the entangled interests of the country, has ceased to exist; and all that belonged to the man has been swal- lowed up by death, leaving enough to cause us ever to re- gret that intentions so vast, designs so important, deter- minations so firm, talents so transcendant, should thus pass away, as it were in the face of their own glory. We can scarcely bring ourselves to write the words that announce this event. It has come on us like a thunder- clap. It is the saddest conclusion to a mighty triumph that the imagination can picture. Wolfe conquered and died — his was the victory of the soldier. Lord Syden- ham has done no less — but his is a peaceful victory, and yet his fate is the same. If there was ever a man who I'ell a martyr to his prin- ciples, that man was Charles Poulett Thomson. Canada has had the best of him — his last parting energies were exerted in her cause — his last breath yielded for her. It is not three months since that he told Colonel Prince he would " die in harness and in carrying out those measures which he deemed essential to the salvation of this country J" — Canada should remember this. It should be recorded on liis tomb — on the monuments that we should raise to his memory, now that he has departed from amongst us. It is now two years since Lord Sydenham arrived in Ca- nada to carry out the plans which Lord Durham had done little more than suggest. Since the moment he set foot on our shores he devoted himself to the task with an energy which his weak state of health rendered it quite impossible he could sustain for a long period of time, and which lat- terly had reduced him to the last stage of weakness. Still he would not desist; and even had the state of political parties allowed him some time to unbend from the severe 336 APPENDIX IT. duties of his office, it is possible that the man would have rejected the opportunity. None was less inclined to trust to others what he could do by himself than Lord Syden- ham. He combined in himself all the qualities of the man of business and the statesman ; and had his bodily vigour been as powerful as his mental, nothing could have with- stood him. Lord Sydenham's name is for ever connected with the fortunes of Canada. The Act of Union was in a great part his work, and the success which has hitherto attended its practical oj)erations all his. The reward of nobility which his conduct drew from the sovereign could not have been better deserved. It was purchased with his life. His Lordship has not been in one respect more fortu- nate than the meanest of his fellows ; he could not escape slander. His enemies will now perhaps observe the motto — *' De mortuis nil nisi bonum;'^ but their shafts could not touch him ; and his policy, which will survive his body, offers the best defence to his memory. {From the Montreal Herald.) A special messenger, who left Kingston about nine o'clock on Sunday morning, the 19th, arrived in town yesterday afternoon about two, with the melancholy in- telligence of the decease of his Excellency the Governor General. This unexpected event has thrown a gloom over the whole community. Whatever shades of political or party feeling may have existed, and in all enlightened commu- nities such will always exist, they appeared to merge into one full and only feeling of deep, heartfelt sorrow. Every one spoke and felt as if a personal benefactor had been re- moved from among them. The decease of his Excellency we look upon as the greatest public calamity, whether we regard it as being, in the meantime, deprived of an energetic governor, or of an intelligent and powerful advocate afterwards in the NOTICES OF THE DEATH OF LORD SYDENHAM. 837 ould have (d to trust rd Syden- )f the man lily vigour liave with- d with the in a great ;o attended of nobility Id not have lis life, nore fortu- [ not escape e the motto ts could not 3 his body, about nme led in town ancholy in- e Governor 11 over the [cal or party led commu- merge into low. Every ^ad been re- hpon as the las being, in ^rnor, or ot lards in the House of Lords. His administration, whatever may have been its faults, has been characterised by a comprehensive conception of the interests of Canada, and an untiring as- siduity to promote them. The province will continue to advance from the impetus which it has received, when the head that foresaw and the hand that directed it are lying coid in the grave. If mistakes have been made, it will not be without advantage to party to reflect, when most disposed to violence, that all of us, those whom we praise and those whom we censure, are alike liable to the same errors, as we all are to the same accountability for our actions to Almighty God, our great and final judge. {From the Canada Timea.) We regret to announce the tidings of the decease of Lord Sydenham, Governor-General of British North America, which event took place at Kingston on Sunday morning last, at seven o'clock. The immediate cause of his death was iufl:anmation, which terminated in lock-jaw. This ensued from the fracture of his leg, about a fortnight since, by a fall from his horse. His constitution was in a delicate condition, he having but a short time ago recovered from a severe attack of the gout. The return of this disease, since the unfortunate accident, could not be resisted by his en- feebled frame, and he gradually sunk under its effects. We must candidly confess that language fails us when we approach the mournful subject of Lord Sydenham's death ! So suddenly has the effect of the intelligence we yesterday received come 'upon us, that if a thunderbolt had fallen at our feet, we could not have been more com- pletely astounded. Party feeling was, of course, thrown aside — forgotten! We thought only of the ?naw, — yes, the NOBLEMAN, who but a few days since presided over the destinies of Canada. We had looked forward to Lord Sydenham's adminis- tration as one which would not only have been the means Z 338 APPENDIX II. of ultinuitely softening down tlie asperities that have for a long time goaded tlie ]nibh'c of this province ahiiost to desperation, but wliich would also have tended p^reatly to the advancement of the country in the moral, the politi- cal, and the intellectual scale. {From the Christian (iffardiau.) It is with the deepest sorrow we fifive publicity to the ofR- cial announcement of the death of his Excellency the Go- vernor General. A solemn and depressinpf u,loom is over the province, and an inscrutable Providence arrests and disap- points our attention, and we involuntarily ask, Why is it? That such an event should take place at the present junc- ture of Canadian affairs, when, after deep anxiety and much deliberation, extensive plans have been devised, and only remain to be carried out — that such an event should take place when, at the close of the first session of the Parliament of United Canada, the entire community are looking forward with the liveliest expectations for days of unprecedented civil, commercial, and religious prosperity — that at the very moment when his Lordship is about to enter on a splendid career for the achievement of what his wisdom designs — we say at such an eventful and interesting mo- ment to have our hopes prostrated, is to be resolved into the actings of a sovereignty which befits Him only who is " Lord of lords." How fugitive are sublunary anticipa- tions, and how soon the brightest day may be overcast ! Verily, O God, " thou turnest man to destruction ; and sayest. Return, ye children of men. For we are consumed by thine anger, and by thy wrath are we troubled." Wise shall we be if in the present melancholy exigence Ave learn without forgetfulness the lesson of our mortality , and wiser still if we desire and prepare for '* life and immortality." The country has sustained an irreparable loss. As a gentleman. Lord Sydenham was distinguished for his urbanity and condescension of manner : easy of access, and politely attentive to the poorest person who might seek an NOTIfES OF THE DEATH OF T.OUD SYDENHAM. iVi^ liave for a almost to greatly to the politi- to the ofli- cy the Go- 1 is over the i and (lisap- Why is it? •esent .ji"ic- auxiety and devised, and 3vcnt should ssion of the iinnunity are 3 for days of prosperity — l)out to enter Lt his wisdom [cresting mo- ■esolvcd into only who is tary anticipa- le overcast! [ruction; and ive consumed ^bled." Wise jnce we learn |ity, and wiser imortality." loss. As a jhed for his f access, and light seek an interview witli Inm, he was beloved by all, and will long be remembered. As a statesman, he had a clear ))ereep- tion of the extent and bearings of a subject, and was over comprehensive in his views, ample and correct in liis plans, practical in his purposes, and in the j)rosecution of his measures evinced ** the stern exaltedness of zeal." As a governor, his mind was ex|)ansive, taking in every object which claimed his consideration. The people whom he ruled were his caro, and their concerns he disinterestedly made his own. Sel.'lshness was incompatible with his elevated station, and was a sin unconnected with his ad- ministration. It becomes not us to state what there was to perplex and conibund a common spirit when he assumed the functions of his dignified oflice ; but gratitude forbids our shunning to declare, that at his death he left harmony where there was discord, and brilliant hopes where brooded black despair. His fame as the Governor General of British North America will be transmitted to the latest posterity ; and if faithfulness to an important trust be the crowning virtue of a representative, royalty itself will deplore his loss. The Christian churches of the province are his debtors, and not the least so the Wesleyan Me- thodists, for the valuable services he rendered them. The youth of our country have been deprived of a father, and the lovers of civil and religious freedom of a conscientious and noble advocate. To say no more — the magnificent public improvements his Excellency projected, and was about to see accomplished, have rendered his illustrious name indelible in the hearts of a grateful, but now, alas ! a bereaved people. Be this his highest eulogium : — Lord Sydenham died as he lived — the Friknd of Canada ! TO THE EDITOR OF THE CHRISTIAN GUARDIAN. Kingston, Sept. 27. 18+1. My dear Sir, — I left Toronto on Monday, the 20th instant, on board the Niagara steamer. A little west of Coburg we met the St. George steamer, from Kingston, z 2 340 APPENDIX II. vvliose flag, half-mast high, told us that " a prince and a great man had fallen." Though the mournful intelligence was fully expected, this silent announcement agitated my whole frame, and prompted the involuntary exclamation, ** For the sake of my country, would that I could have died for thee ! " The countenance of almost every person in Kingston bore testimony to some public calamity. The assemblage at the funeral was immense ; the solemnities of the melancholy occasion were appropriate and deeply affecting. You will receive accounts of them in Kingston papers. This is a mournful conclusion of the first session of the first Parliament of United Canada ; and it is ren- dered still more afiecting by the recent publication of the speech with which the late Governor General had intended to prorogue Parliament, characterised by the natural and simple elegance of his fine taste, the sentiments of which are noble and patriotic, and the conclusion of which breathes a suppliant effusion of the heart, which one cannot but wish the lips might have been permitted to utter. Unlike the cloie of any session of the legislature which was ever held in either province of Canada, the termination of the late session will produce throughout Canada the opposite feelings of grateful joy and melancholy grief. The same post which conveys to the people of Canada the tidings of the harmonious and happy conclusion of a session unprecedented in the productiveness of compre- hensive and valuable measures for the general improve- ment and social and intellectual elevation of the province, conveys to them the appalling announcement that death has terminated the earthly career of the noble mind which conceived those improvements and originated those institu- tions which will form a golden era in the annals of Cana- dian history, by laying the foundation of Canadian pros- perity and greatness. While blessings are multiplied upon us, the agent of those blessings is removed from us; and our country is, at the same moment, thrilled with joy and consternation, and on the same day vocal with thanks- NOTICES OF THE DEATH OF LORD SYDENHAM. 341 ce and a telUgence tated my ilamation, ould have 3ry person nity. The nnnities of nd deeply 1 Kingston irst session it is ren- tion of the id intended natural and ts of which 1 of which 1 one cannot ) utter. ature which termination Canada the choly grief. Canada the ;lusion of a of compre- ■al improve- ;he province, It that death mind which hose institu- ;als of Cana- Luadian pros- ■e multiphed [ved from us ; lied with joy with thanks- givings and clothed in sackcloth, luminous with hope and involved in mourning. Thu> do the strokes of providential ch.istisement accompany the out-beamings of providential nuuiificence ; and tlic brightest picture of human life is shaded with disappointment, sutfering, and bereavement. It is in heaven only that death is unknown, that pain is never felt, and tears are never shed. Utterly incompetent as I am to offer an appropriate tribute to the merits of Lord Sydenham, I should violate the obligations of gratitude, and be dead to the emotions ol patriotism, were I noi to express my deep sense and profound admiration of the priceless value of his labours, and the generous ardour of his feelings for the welfare of my native country. Lord Sydenham belongs essentially to Canada. His nobility was fairly earned in her service ; the ripest fruits of his experience and acquirements are embodied in her institutions ; his warmest and latest sympathies are blended with her interests ; his mortal remains repose, by choice, among her dead ; and his name is indelibly inscribed in the affectionate esteem and grateful recollections of her inhabitants. Plutarch mentions it as the misfortune of Phocion, that " he came to the helm when the public bottom was just upon sinking." Tliat which was the bad fortune of the Athenian general has, by superior skill, been made the good fortune of our late Governor General, as well as the salvation of Canada. The " public bottom" of our best interests and last hopes was, indeed, visibly and rapidly sinking when Lord Sydenham " came to the helm ;" but his Excellency has not only saved the sinking sliip, he has piloted her safely amid the rocks and shoals of party selfishness and ignorance, and made adverse winds tributary to the progress of his voyage. It is not easy to determine which is most worthy of ad- miration, the comprehensiveness and grandeur of Lord Sydenham's plans, the skill with which he overcame the obstacles that opposed their accomplishment, or the z 3 U2 Al'l'KNUlX II. (lUL'nchk'ss ardour and ceaseless industry with which he pursued them. To hiy the foundations of public liberty, and, at the same time, to strengthen the prerogative — to promote vast public improvements, and not increase the public burdens — to i)rovide a comprehensive system of education upon Christian principles, without interference with religious scruples — to promote the influence and secu- rity of the Government by teaching the people to govern themselves — to destroy party faction by promoting the general good — to invest a bankrupt country with both credit and resources, are conceptions and achievements which render Lord Sydenham the first benefactor of Canada, and place him in the first rank of statesmen. His Lordship found a country divided, he left it united ; he found it prostrate and paralytic, he left it erect and vigorous ; he found it mantled with despair, he left it blooming with hope. Lord Sydenham has done more in two years to strengthen and consolidate British power in Canada by his matchless industry and truly liberal conservative policy, than had been done during the ten previous years by the increase of a standing army and the erection of military fortifications. His Lordship has solved the difficult prob- lem, that a people may be colonists and yet be free ; and, in the solution of that problem, he has gained a triumph less imposing but not less sublime, and scarcely less im- portant, than the victory of Waterloo ; he has saved mil- lions to England, and secured the affections of Canada. In the way of accomplishing these splendid results, the most formidable obstacles opposed themselves. At the foundation of these lay the hitherto defective theory and worse than defective system of colonial goveriunent, — a system destitute of the safety-valve of responsibility, of the attributes of freedom, and of the essential materials of executive power — a system which was despotic from its weakness, and arbitrary from its pretences to represent- ation — a system inefficient in the hands of good men, and withering in the hands of mistaken or bad men. There NUTICK« OF TlIK DEATH OF LOUD SYDENHAM. Ml\ were the wron^rs, and abuses, and public bankrupicy whicli had ^M-()\vu out of tliis system ; tlierc were 'he party interests and the party combinations and iiostillties wliich this system iiad Ibstered ; tiiere were the prejudices of one portion of the popuhition and tiie fears and suspicions of another ; there were the prescriptive assumptions of long possessed power, and the clamorous demands of long ex- clusion from power ; and, worst of all, the conflicting claims of ecclesiastical pretensions; there was the absence of public confidence, and the absence of any one man or body of men able to command that confidence. To lay the foundation of a government adapted to the social state and character of a population thus depressed, divided, and subdivided ; to provide for the efficient administration of all its departments ; to create mutual confidence, and in- duce united action among leading men of all parties, with- out sacrifice of principle on the part of any, was a task difficult and hazardous to the last degree, and for even attempting which Lord Sydenham has been frequently ridiculed by persons of reputed knowledge and experience. It has often been said of his Lordship, as it was said of the Earl of Chatham, that he ** had made an administra- tion so checkered and speckled; had put together a piece of joinery so crossly indented and whimsically dove-tailed; a cabinet so variously inlaid ; such a piece of diversified mosaic, such a tessellated pavement without cement ; here a bit of black scone, and there a bit of white ; j)atriots and courtiers ; king's friends and republicans ; whigs and tories ; treacherous friends and enemies ; that it was indeed a very curious show, but utterly unsafe to touch, and unsure to stand on." But Lord Sydenham's acute discernment dis- tinguished between the former and present state of things; he knew that a difference of opinion or of party under the former constitution of either Upper or Lower Canada did not necessarily or fairly involve a similar difference under the new constitution of United Canada ; he possessed the requisite energy and patriotism to act upon his convictions, z 4 344 APPENDIX II. and coiiiinuuced the illustration of his advice to obliterate the differences of the past, by selecting his advisers and public officers according to individual fitness and merit, irrespective of former personal opinions or party con- nexions. The individuals of widely discordant parties who opposed Lord Sydenham's government upon the ground of former party associations, have been signally disajjpointed in their plans and expectations, whilst his Lordship's success equally redounds to his own honour and the public benefit. Few administrations of government in any country have acted so harmoniously and cordially on so great a number of important measures as the new admi- nistration formed by Lord Sydenham. An old writer has quaintly but truly observed, " If a man should see a large city or country, consisting of great multitudes of men, of different tempers, full of frauds, and factions, and animosi- ties in their natures against one another, yet living toge- ther in good order and peace, without oppressing and in- vading one another, and joining together for the public good, he would presently conclude there were some excel- lent governor, who tempered them by his wisdom and preserved the public peace, though he had never yet beheld hi.a with his eye." Never was the maxim of a great statesman more strikingly illustrated than in the government of Lord Sydenham, that " The wisdom of government is of more importance than the laws." By extreme partizans of all shades Lord Sydenham has been the object of unsparing abuse ; but, as Burke has beautifully remarked, *' obloquy is a necessary ingredient in the composition of all true glory ; and it was not only in the custo'7.1 of the Romans, but it is in the nature and constitution of things, that calumny and abuse are essen- tial parts of triumph." Lord Sydenham's government was instinct with arties who ) ground of sappoiiited Lordship's . the public It iu any iially on so new adnii- L writer has . see a large of men, of ind animosi- living toge- ing and in- the public some excel- isdom and never yet Inaxini of a ;han in the wisdom of Idenham has Burke has ingredient Ivas not only |; nature and are essen- irnment was Id by impar- Pericles is irers, t( You none of n»v fellow-citizens was ever compelled through any action of mine to assume a mourning robe.'" Lord Sydenham has, indeed, left Canada clad in sackcloth and mourning, yet not for any act of his government, but for the sacrifice of his own life in it. Lord Sydenham had finished the forty-second year of his age on the Sunday before his decease. The death of such a man at such an age would, under any circum- stances, be a mournful event. He had lived just long <;nough to develop his great powers, while there seemed, according to all human calculations, enough of life re- maining to aflbrd ample space for their matured exercise. " The tree was old enough to enable us to ascertain the quality of the fruit which it would bear, and, at the same time, young enough to promise many years of produce." But the peculiar circumstances under which we have lost him, — at such a time, so unexpectedly, when so much was still expected from his future eflbrts, and so much gratitude felt for his past efforts, — add to every feeling of regret, and make the disappointment more severe and poignant to all thinking minds. But '* the Judge of the earth will do right," although " His ways are in the great deep, and his paths past finding out." To genius Lord Sydenham possessed no pretensions ; but what has been said of Charlemagne was true of hi.^ Lordship : — he possessed '* a great understanding, a great heart, and a great soul." His mind was enunently prac- tical and habitually active ; he was a shrewd observer of men and things ; his knowledge- was various and extensive, and always ready for practical application; and he descended to the minutest details of public business with astonishing quickness and accuracy. The interests of the country which he governed engrossed all his care, ar.il seemed to form the element of his daily being. His plans were bold, comprehensive, and energetic; and, having been delibe- rately adopted, he would not suffer prejudice or clamour to turn him aside from the pursuit of them. Hj valued 34f> APPENDIX II. prerogative only as the means of protecting and promoting public liberty and happiness. His dispatches to the Se- cretary of State for the colonies explaining the principles and objects of his measures, breathe the most ardent and generous feeling in behalf of the civil and religious free- dom and growing happiness aud prosperity of the people of Canada. The publication of them will furnish the best eulogium upon his motives and character, while the oper- ation of his magnificent jilans will form a lasting monu- ment of his wisdom and patriotism. What Mr. Fox remarked of his friend the Duke of Bedford, may be said of Lord Sydenham, — *' He died, it is true, in a state of celibacy ; but if they may be called a man's children whose concerns are dear to him as his own — to protect whom from evil is the daily object of his care — to promote wiiose welfare he exerts every faculty of which he is possessed — if such are to be esteemed our children, no man had ever a more numerous family." I have time to add no more, nor to correct what I have written. When I commenced this unpremeditated and hasty sketch, 1 intended nothing more than to give vent to the feelings of my heart in a couple of paragraphs. But the subject has grown upon me — rather has overwhelmed me ; and what I have said seems but a passage where there might be a volume — but a sickly ray, when there ought to be meridian splendour. Lord Sydenham's political con- duct belongs to history ; and 1 rejoice to learn that a most suitable and able historian has been selected by his Lord- ship himself in the person of his chief secretary. At the commencement of his Lordship's mission in Upper Canada, when his plans were little known, his difh- culties lorn)idal)le, and his government weak, I had thi- pleasing satisfaction of giving him my humble and dutiful snp|)ort in the promotion of his non-party and provincial objects ; and now that he is beyond the reacii of human praise or censure — where all earthly ranks and distinc- tions are lost in the sublimities of eternity — 1 have the NOTICES OF THE DEATH OF LORD SYDENHAM!. 347 iromoting o the Se- ll rinciples rdent and rious free- i\\e people li the best ! the oper- Ing monu- ; Duke of He died, it be called a as his own )ject of his •y faculty of teemed our mily. what I have ditatcd and (>ive vent to aphs. But (verwhelmed I where there Jere ought to lolitical con- that a most )y his Lord- • mission m |vn, liis dilli- I had the I and (Uitiful id provincial |i of human land distinc- I havr the melancholy satisfaction of bearing my liumble testimony to his candour, sincerity, faithfulness, kindness, and liberality. A few days before the occurrence of the accident which terminated his life, I had the honour of spending an even- ing and part of a day in free conversation with his Lord- ship ; and on that, as well as ou former similar occasions, he observed the most marked reverence for the truths of Christianity — a most earnest desire to base the civil insti- tutions of the country upon Christian principles, with a scrupulous regard to the rights of conscience — a total ab- sence of all animosity against any persons or parties who had opposed him — and an intense anxiety to silence dis- sensions and discord, and render Canada contented, happy, and prosperous. I am told that, the day before his la- mented death, he expressed his regret that he had not given more of his time to religion. Ills mind wa*- per- fectly composed ; he was in the lull possession of his ra- tional powers until he " ceased at oi .je to work and live." He transacted official business in the acutest agonies of suffering, even "when the hand of death was upon him." The last hours of his life were spent in earnest supplication to that Redeemer, in humble reliance upon whose atone- ment he yielded up the ghost. Those who were most inti- mately ac(j[uainted and connected with Lord Sydenham are most warndy attached to him, and most deeply deplore their loss ; and few in Canada will not say, in the death of this lamented nobleman and distinguished governor — 1 have lost a friend. Yours very truly, E. Ryerson. {From the Christian Guardian.) LORD Sydenham's dying prayer for Canada. " May Almighty God prosper your labours, and pour clown upon this })rovince all those blessings which in my heart 1 am desiious that it should enjoy." — The conclu- sion of the late Ciorernor-Gencra/\- last public document. ;U8 A1TK^'D1X II. Ill another column will be found a letter from T. W. C. Murdoch, Esq., Chief Secretary, to the Speaker of the Legislative Council, witk a most interesting document ac- companying it — " the speech which had been prepared by the late Governor-General, to be delivered on the pro- rogation of the legislature, but which his lamented ill- ness prevented." The secretary's letter is beautifully simple and touching ; the speech produces a powerful emotion ; and the conclusion of it is perfectly irresistible, dictated as it was ** at a time wlien the hand of death was upon" the noble writer. If it be true, that the ruling passion is strong in death, our distinguished, but departed, Governor-General loved Canada ; and this speech, which he dictated, but did not, could not, deliver, is remarkably confirmatory of the opinion we expressed last week — *' Lord Sydenham died as he lived, the friend of Canada." Canada was on his Lordship's heart. Two years ago he left his native land, at the command of our beloved sovereign, and arrived in the colony at a time when the aspect of affairs was repulsive rather than attractive ; and we believe it is beyond the power of any person to allege, that he did not live resolved to please his sovereign and benefit her Canadian subjects. A difference of opinion has been expressed on some of his Excellency's measures, of the merits of which it is not our province to speak ; but only one sentiment can be uttered respecting his Excel- lency's unreserved devotedness to our interests — a devoted- ness which no obstacles could dishearten, no bodily afflic- tions limit, and which death only could terminate. And when this was inevitable, his request was, that he might be buried in Canada — the land of his attachment, the land of his undying solicitude, the land of his glorious deeds. He died blessing Canada. Undisturbed be his ashes till the morning of the resurrection ! — Canada was in his Lordship's i^laiis. It is even a hackneyed saying, ** the Governor-General attempts too much for the country." The truth is, he thought much, and was ever occupied NOTICES OF THE DEATH OF LORD SYDENHAM. 349 1 T. W. C. ker of the cument ac- n prepared on the pro- mented ill- beautifully a povverful irresistible, id of death i the ruling ut departed, oech, whieh remarkably ast week — of Canada.'' ears ago he our beloved le when the ractive ; and m to allege, ivereign and [ opinion has jnieasures, of speak ; but T his Excel- a devoted- lodily afflie- linatc. And at he might hment, the his glorious Irbed be his Canada was lyed saying, he country." cr occupied with projects intended for our good. A catalogue of tlie bills which have been passed in Eastern and Western Canada under his administration, with the reasons which led to their adoption, and the results which have followed, or are likely to follow their adoption, would say much in favour of the greatness, originality, and wisdom of his mind ; and all he did, he did for our country. — Canada was in his prayers. ** May Almighty God .... pour down upon this province all those blessings which in my heart I am desirous that it should enjoy!" What *' all those blessings" were we may without mistake suppose from his lofty and liberal official course — blessings civil, commercial, educational, and religious, for the old and the young, the poor and the rich, the untaught and the accom- j)lished, the pious and the profane, to latest generations — blessings which we believe it was the desire of his heart should be universally diffused. This then was our dying chief ruler's prayer, when the heart was ceasing to beat — when the hand had nearly forgotten its cunning — when earth was receding — when the veil of eternity was being drawn ; in that dread moment he remembered — Canada. Never did patriotism utter language invested with a deeper pathos, or breathe a spirit more befitting the bed of death ; and of the regretted intercessor, and all like him whose stupendous public acts are their triumph and their praise, we affirm, '* They never fail who die In a great cause." To his Lordship's last prayer we say Amen : and from the Atlantic to the Huron, in every human dwelling, and deep in every British heart, and loud on every fervent tongue, will be heard the solemn response. {From the Examiner.) It is with feelings of the deepest regret that we give publicity to the announcement of the demise of the Go- 350 APPENDIX II. vcriior-Genoral of British America. The sufferings en- dured by liis Excellency since the occurrence of the late unfortunate accident have been intense, and were borne with the greatest fortitude. We understand that he was in the full possession of his faculties to the very last. On the morning of his death he took an affectionate leave of all his friends, who were most sincerely and devotedly at- tached to him. Whatever differences of opinion may have existed on particular measures of Lord Sydenham's ad- ministration, wc feel assured that his Lordship's name will long be held in grateful recollection by the people of United Canada. His Lordship assumed the government of these provinces at a period of the greatest difficulty ; and when we compare the present state of public feeling with that which then existed, we are bound to admit that his administration has on the whole been an eminently successful one. The result of the first session of the United Legislature, which we have elsewhere referred to, must have been in the highest degree satisfactory to his Lordship, confirming, as it has d(me, the hopes of some, and dispelling the fears of others, as to the working of that union, which it was the especial object of his mission to carry into effect. His Lordship was on the eve of his de- parture for England, where he would doubtless have been rewarded with fresh marks of the favour of his sovereign, when the accident occurred by which he has been cut off in the prime of life and in the full vigour of his intellect. Well may we join in the common exclamation, " Sic tran- sit gloria mundi !" We feel but little inclination at present, either to review the general policy of the distinguished nobleman whose loss we have now to deplore, or to specu- late on the disasters which may befal this couitry in con- sequence of his death. We shall defer these topics till a more fitting opportunity offers. At present we shrll con- tent ourselves with joining our coteinporaricr,, and the public at large, in expressing those feelings of sincere sorrow which, we are well assured, pervade all classes of NOTICES or THE DEATH OF LORD SYDENHAM. 3')! wrings 011- f tlie late ere borne lat he \v«as last. On te leave of votedly at- 1 may have iham's acl- j name will people of Tovcrnmcnt difficulty ; blic feeling I admit that , eminently sion of the referred to, ctory to his es of some, ving of that mission to re of his de- s have been s sovereign, jeen cut off lis intellect. '* Sic tran- at present, istinguishcd or to spccu- itry in con- topics till a e shrll con- , and the of sincere 111 classes of society. In this city, most of the principal merchants show tlieir feelings by partly closing their windows. We presume that there will be due regard paid to the event in all our churches next Sunday ; and are pleased to hear of one clergyman who intends to deliver a discourse upon the subject on the evening of that day. {From the Examiner.) We have copied elsewhere, from the Kingston Chronicle^ an account of the funeral of the late lamented Governor General, and w^e have alsc, transferred to oiu* columns some of the notices of his Lordship's death by the cotem- porary press, In this section of the province political hos- tility seems to have been entirely forgotten ; and there is one general acknowledgment from all quarters, not only of the great talents of the deceased nobleman, but of his un- wearied exertions for the interests of Canada. It was oin* misfortune very frequently to be compelled to dissent from the line of policy adopted by Lord Sydenham, more espe- cially from that followed in the eastern section of the pro- vince ; but we have been ever readv to make allowances for the difficulties with which he was encompassed, and we should be ungrateful indeed were we to withhold our humble acknowledgments for the many essential services which he has rendered to our adopted country. During his Lordship's brief administration, the union of the Ca- nadas was matured and carried into full operation. True, the Union Bill is far from perfect in its details ; but we are justified in asserting that public opinion has quite sufficient influence in the House of Assembly to insure the amend- ment of all objectionable provisions, and that too at no very remote period. The principle of responsible go- vernment has been fully recognised. The members of the Administration, all of whom were heads of departments, distinctly avowed, on the floor of the House, their re- sponsibility to Parliament for the measures of govern- ment. They acted together in perfect harmony and con- 352 APPENDIX IT. cert witli ropfard to those measures ; and, althouj^li there were occasional deviations from British practice, yet that practice was always acknowledged as their rule, and a more strict adherence to it in future may he anticipated. Whatever political differences there may have been in the House, it was felt by every one that there was an admini- stration, and that its existence depended on the support of a parliamentary majority. Were we to pause here, we feel that we should have said enough to prove that the name of Lord Sydenham should ever be held in grateful remembrance by the people of Canada. But we are bound further to acknowledge, that we are indebted to the energy and practical talents of his Lordship for the most important measures of last session, more particularly for the mag- nificent scheme of public improvements, and the favourable arrangements relative to our debt. It is not, in all proba- bility, at the present moment that full justice will be done to the administration of Lord Sydenham, although, as far as the press is an indication of public opinion, there has never, we believe, been a more general expression of re- gret for the loss of a public man. Widely extended, how- ever, as is that feeling, it will, we are assured, be much more so after the lapse of a few years. The existing po- litical asperities will then have entirely subsided, and Lord Sydenham will only be remembered as the founder of our constitution, and as the individual who brought into prac- tical operation that sound British principle of responsible government, by means of which alone the connection between the colony and the parent state can be pre- served. {From the Toronto Patriot.) It is with feelings of no ordinary regret and solemnity that we have to announce the untimely death of the repre- sentative of our sovereign, the Governor General of British North America. This melancholy event took place on Sunday morning at seven a. m. NOTICES OF THE DEATH OE T.ORD SYDENHAM. ^!>o ugl\ there ?, yet that lie, and a nticipatcd. )cen in the an admini- support of e here, we re that the in grateful e are bound , the energy 3t important ,1- the mag- ic favourable in all proba- will be done lough, as far n, there has 3ssion of re- tended, how- 3d, be much existing po- ed, and Lord mder of our it into prac- responsible connection can be pre- id solemnity lof the repre- Iral of British pok place on His Excellency's health, which iiad never been strong, was rapidly improving up to the happening of the accident by which his leg was lately fractured. The eflect produced tliereby on his weak constitution was fatnl. Two or tiiree days siiice, the spasms of his old disease again attacked him, but until Friday no positive alarm for his life was felt ; all that night his strength rapidly failed, and on Saturday his death was hourly looked lor. His own physician, Dr. Farndon, Dr. Sam])son, and Dr. "NVidmer were in constant attendanci'. Towards noon, the hour lixed ibr the prorogation of Parliament, he continued to sink with fatal swiftness. The Rev. Mr. Adamson, Chap- lain to the Legislative Council, attended him almost with- out intermission, and administered to him those last con- solations of our holy religion, which we are assured by a constant eye-witness of the melancholy scene v/ere deeply and sincerely appreciated by the dying sufferer. On Satur- day evening he received the sacrament in company with most of his household, and a])peared calmer and better after that holy rite. During the night his sufferings are described to have been of the most agonising and trying description, and his fortitude under their cruel pressure remarkable and determined. A few minutes past seven on Sunday morning he was released by death from his agonies. He was perfectly sensible and collected to the very last moment. The Rev. Mr. Adamson, by his espe- cial desire, never quitted him to the last. Thus died, in the prime of life and the full vigour of an active mind and strong intellect, the Governor-General of British North America. Throughout the vast dominions that he governed, the occurrence of such an event cannot fail to give rise to feelings of no ordinary nature. His so- journ amongst us has been marked by unprecedented and marvellous changes. His name has little prospect of being forgotten ; and to another period, and perhaps another generation, may be devolved the task of writing the epi- taph of the departed representative of royalty. A A 'MA APPKNDIX II. We believe his lixcelleiicy expressed a desire to be buried in Canada. (From the Church.) Lord Sydenham breathed his last at Alvvington House, near Kingston, on the morning of Sunday last, the 19th September, at five minutes past seven o'clock. His Lordship came to this country with a shattered constitution, and even had not tlie accession of Sir Robert Peel to power entailed upon him the necessity of return- ing to England, the severity of the climate would not have permitted him to remain. Accordingly he had prepared for his departure on the close of the session, and liad even heard of the arrival of the frigate at Haliffix which was to convey him home. His health, which not long before had suffered a severe shock, was gradually improving, when the fate I accident occurred, which, from the first, gave rise to uneasy apprehensions, and ultimately terminated his existence Such a melancholy termination to a splendid and pros- perous career of human greatness, must excite a deep and general sympathy ; and the most determined opponent of Lord Sydenham's administration will, if he be worthy of the name of man, bury all personal animosity in his tomb. We do not ask any one to suffer emotions of compassion to overpower his judgment, and alter his conscientious opinion of his Lordship's character as a statesman ; but we trust that his memory will be treated with that forbear- ance which is consistent with a love of truth, and with that gentleness and pity which the circumstances of his mournful departure suggest. Far away from his native land, with few of his kindred about him, in the very hour when success had crowned his administration, and when he was about to return home, and, for the first time, take his seat in the noblest and most august legislative assembly in the world, the House of Lords, death came, and, in a NOTK'KS 01- rilK DRATH OF LORD SVDKNHAM. o5.J Bsive to be ttnv days, levelled to the ground the fabric of prosperity and grandeur wliich had just received its completion. jton House, St, the 19th a shattered ,f Sir Robert y of return- )uld not have iKid prepared and luid even which was to ng before had .roving, when first, gave rise jrinmated his did and pros- te a deep and opponent of be worthy of in his tomb. ,f compassion conscientious man ; but we that forbear- lith, and with [Stances of his »m his native the very hour ,on, and when irst time, take Ltive assembly Ime, and, in a {From the British Colonist.) It becomes our painful duty to convey to our readers the melancholy intelligence of the lamented death of his Excellency the Right Honourable Lord Sydeidiam, Go- vernor General of British North America, who departed this life at Alwingtou House, near Kingston, on Sunday morning last. The memory of Lord Sydenham will always be nvered by the people of Canada, and no tribute of respect which they can show to his departed worth can express the debt of gratitude which the country owes his Lordship. From the period of the first arrival of the late Governor Gene- ral (then the Right Honourable Charles Poulett Thomson) at Quebec, in October, 1889, to the day of his death, he not only evinced the greatest anxiety for the welfare of the country, the government of which he had been charged with by his sovereign ; but even when labouring under severe bodily affliction, his government was distinguished by a degree of vigour and energy unusual luider former administrations, and which did not fail to unite the great hody of the people in his support, and to call forth the marked approval of his sovereign. Looking back to the first proclamation issued by the late Governor General, on his assuming the government at Quebec on the 19th Oc- tober, 1839, we find that his most anxious wish was declared to be to promote to the utmost of his power the welfare of all classes of her Majesty's subjects — to recon- cile existing differences — to apply a remedy to proved grievances — to extend and protect the trade, and enlarge the resources of the colonies entrusted to his charge — and above all, to promote whatever may bind them to their mother country, by increased ties of interest and affection. Tiie progress of his government from that period to the AA 2 ^ ^^^M ...A* ^ .n%, IMAGE EVALUATION TEST TARGET (MT-3) // 1.0 !|i^ 1^ I.I 1.25 s ^ E 1^ 1^ If lis III 2.0 WUi. ||||m U IIIIII.6 VQ ^^ A e^M ' .V ^ ^- y /A Photographic Sciences Corporation 23 WEST MAIN STREET WEBSTER, N.Y. 14S80 (716) 072-4503 \ iV •sj :\ \ % 6^ ^ 1* 356 APPENDIX II. N.^ close of the first parliament of the province at Kingston, is tlie best evidence that can be pointed to, to sliow the faithfulness of his adherence to his first announcement ; and that, too, amidst difficulties and obstacles which few could have summoned the courage to contend against, far less the ability to overcome. The tranquillity and contentment which now prevail throughout the country, are in striking contrast with the unsettled state of the provinces of Upper and Lower Canada, when the late Governor General first assumed the government ; and were there nothing further to be grateful for than the progress that has been made in recon- ciling differences, that is of itself sufficient to endear to the Canadian people the memory of their departed ruler. On the first arrival at Toronto of the late Governor General, addresses of congratulation were poured in from all parts of the province, and these were conveyed and presented by deputations from the various districts. The last session of the U. C. Parliament followed, at which that great and important measure, the Union of the Pro- vinces, was agreed to ; and afterwards his Excellency having visited all parts of the countr)', the addresses that were presented to him by the people confirmed their former declarations of confidence in his goverimient, and conveyed their perfect acquiescence in the measure for a union that had been adopted. The best proof of the suc- cess, and of the beneficial effects to the country of that change, is to be found in the many valuable measures that have been passed by the Parliament just prorogued, and the great good which, by proper management and care on the part of the people themselves, must inevitably result from them. To Lord Sydenham the people of Canada are greatly indebted for the establishment of those local municipal councils which place the management and control of their affairs in their own hands. This, under proper directions, and by the exercise of a prudent judgment on the part of NOTICES OF THE DEATH OF LORD SYDENHAM. 357 at Kingston, to shoNV the louncement -, ;s which few d against, far now prevail :rast with the r and Lower first assumed further to be nude in recon- to endear to ^parted ruler, late Governor lOured in from conveyed and districts. The wed, at which on of the Pro- lis Excellency addresses that lonfirmed their jvernment, and measure for a •oof of the suc- lountry of that measures that prorogued, and iut and care on levitably result ida are greatly llocal municipal Icontrol of their [oper directions, It on the part of the people, is the greatest boon that has ever been con- ferred on tliem. His Lordship drew a broad distinction, between the works that ought to be undertaken by the province and those which ought to be performed by dis- tricts, for which latter purpose these councils liave been established. This he thus explained, — ** I am of opinion that works of general utility should be undertaken by the province, and are subjects for deliberation by the execu- tive and the legislature ; but it is no less necessary that upon all the lesser matters affecting their interest, the people should acquire habits of self-dependence, and that means should be afforded them in each separate district, of effecting themselves that which they consider for their own interest." The District Council Act may be regarded as a legacy from a great ruler to a grateful people ! But in these cursory remarks it is not our purpose to review the government of Lord Sydenham, nor even to allude to the great leading measures of his administration ; but we have been led imperceptibly into the foregoing statements, which we trust may not be considered inap- propriate. Lord Sydenham, like all mankind, had his enemies as well as his friends ; but, in this province, the former were few in comparison to the latter. His great care has been to advance the public welfare ; and that he should have had to encounter in the performance of so arduous a task, personal or even the most bitter sectional opposition, is only what might have been expected. Under his Lord- ship's auspices, the government of the country has been placed upon such a basis, as that, hereafter, to be success- fully carried on, it must be cherished and supported by the people — it must find a place in their affections. His Excellency having expressed a wish to be buried in Canada, we have been informed that the funeral will take place on Friday next, and that his remains will be depo- sited within the episcopal church at Kingston. Lord Sydenham is dead ! In peace rest his ashes ! He has A A o 358 APPENDIX II. ~- -*■ been a benefactor to Canada, and no true patriot can deny the fact ! The administration of the government devolves upon Lieutenant General Sir Richard Jackson, commanding the forces in Canada. {From the Kingston Herald.) All is finished ! — Parliament is prorogued, and the Go- vernor General is no more ! — *' Sic transit gloria mundiJ" Let us now be caUn, and reflect on these occurrences as men and Christians. The first Parliament of United Canada has ended well — well beyond all expectations —and much good has been achieved. The labour was arduous, and could not possibly be completed in one session ; but the main positions of the new government have been sustained, and some of the most essential measures of reform effected. Conflicting opinions have not been carried out to injury in any way, and all have parted in good humour. What most concerns the people's liberty — the insti- tution of district councils — is secure ; and secured, may be amended. The board of works is established, and an improved system of education will be introduced. Fiscal regulations of a critical nature are very properly suspended till well adjusted in all their bearings. We say this much merely to proclaim our feelings on the eventful occasion, reserving, for the future, details and strictures. The death of Lord Sydenham, when it happened, seems as if the Almighty decreed that matters so momentous should be sealed with the utmost solemnity. No sooner had the hand of his Excellency performed its most im- portant offices, subscribed his will, and superscribed all the instruments of the legislature, than it ceased to move ; and there was but time for the effusion of affec- tionate feeling, thoughts of a better world, and for admi- nistering the holy sacrament to the dying man before his spirit returned to him who gave it. NOTICES OF THE DEATH OF LORD SYDENHAM. 359 iot can deny volves upon manding the , and the Go- loria mufidi.'' scurreuces as IS ended well good has been d not possibly ositions of the some of the 1. Conflicting i-y in any way, y — the insti- secured, may ilished, and an [luced. Fiscal erly suspended say this much ntful occasion, res. Ippened, seems |so momentous No sooner its most im- iperscribed all it ceased to fusion of affec- , and for admi- man before his The death of Lord Sydenham, thus strikingly marked, can leave but one impression on the public mind — sub- mission to the All-wise Disposer of events, and a humble trust that God will never abandon those who are worthy of liis regard. As an instrument, Lord Sydenham will be looked back to as specially appointed and singularly efficient. In busi- ness he was indefatigable ; and what he accomplished in this way must have been great indeed. As a statesman, he was undoubtedly wise and prudent ; for however some, who have heretofore basked in favour, may complain of neglect to them, and of promoting others whom they looked upon with prejudice, yet sure we are nothing else could have secured peace ; and, peace secured, this noble province needs but time to be prosperous and happy. — So be it. Lord Sydenham came to this country charged with the execution of a commission of surpassing difficulty and delicacy. During the two years that he laboured inces- santly through good and evil report, and through the an- guish of a sick bed, he met and conquered every obstacle that rancorous political prejudice and self-interest, super- added to the insidious workings of secret political con- spiracy, could present to the attainment of his object. His experience in the great world of imperial politics armed him at all points — he was never unprepared. He knew too well human nature, and the springs of action and mo- tives of public men, to be taken unawares by any event or combination of influences calculated to thwart his mea- sures or drive him from his course. If to this experience we add those rare personal qualities known to all who la- boured with Lord Sydenham — a firm and settled pur- pose, unswerving resolution, indefatigable application to business, and, sustaining all, an inconceivable energy in promoting the execution of his plans, we shall have the secret of his mastery over men and over events. All who have marked the recent progress of public affairs in this A A 4 360 APPENDIX II. country will be impressed with the conviction, that hud the directing mind been endowed with qualities of any lower grade — had the " man at the helm" possessed a less firm hand, than were displayed in the administration of the nobleman whose melancholy decease we have just wit- nessed, the Union would not have weathered the storms and rude buffets to which it has been exposed. {From the Brockville New Era.) Could our pen supply words expressive of one half ol the pain and sorrow with which this melancholy event has filled us, we might find some slight relief from the con- sciousness of having at least unburthened ourselves of a heavy weight of mingled duty and affliction ; but never more than at this moment did we feel the absolute inade- quacy of language to depict the unaffected grief of the soul. The news of the death of Lord Sydenham — of the first, the greatest, man who has practically legislated for this country — has, in defiance of the knowledge we pos- sessed of his recent complicated sufferings, burst upon us with a startling solemnity we could not have believed it possible the event could inspire ; and our whole being seems as it were enshrouded in an atmosphere of stupor, in which we are alive but to one bewildering consciousness — one continuous and melancholy wailing cry of ** Lord Sydenham is dead."" In truth, our reason, not less than our feeling, is stultified ; and we look upon the fatal ter- mination of the days of the highly gifted statesman and nobleman, not only with that deep regret which is due to him in his public character, and which will be shared by the whole country, but with a profound personal sorrow, for the existence of which we can only account, by attri- buting it to the power and influence of that private respect for his character which his Lordship's public acts have had a direct tendency to command in the minds of all reflecting men. And if thus sincere be our regret for the sad de- mise of liord Sydenham, with whom we have never had NOTICES OF THE DEATH OF LORD SYDENHAM. oG 1 that had the of any lower ed a less firm •atioii of the ave just wit- d the storms d. ) >f one half of loly event has rom the con- ourselvcs of a 11 ; but never bsolute inade- d grief of the iham — of the legislated for ledge we pos- urst upon us ive believed it whole being ere of stupor, consciousness cry of ** Lord not less than the fatal ter- statesman and hich is due to be shared by rsonal sorrow, lount, by attri- private respect acts have had if all reflecting ["or the sad de- ,ave never had tlie honour of more than a single interview, and our opinion of wliom has been formed wholly from the public conduct pursued by him in this country, what must not be the poignancy of grief of those who have been honoured with his private confidence and friendship ? and who have had ample opportunity of observing the intricate and powerful springs of the master-mind which, in the space of a few short months, and amid difficulties the most dis- heartening and discouraging, had achieved so much for this country ? Alas ! what is hvmian life but vanity i what the most brilliant imaginings and deeds of the most talented and the most mighty, but so many idle and evanescent dreams, which a passing breath, a casualty of the moment, may wholly overturn and destroy? High in the reputation which he had gained by his own profound talent for diplo- macy — rich in the approbation bestowed upon his un- ceasing and successful labours by his sovereign — con- scious of having merited the good will and opinion of the people of this country, whom he had ruined his health to benefit — Lord Sydenham was already preparing to return to England, to repose for a period (long or short, as the political changes in the Imperial Government might in- duce) from the toils and sufferings, bodily as well as men- tal, inseparable from his difficult government, when an accident savouring of fate — of destiny — occurs, which puts an end, not only to the high hopes formed by the country, but to all his own fair expectations of enjoying in tem- porary quiet the reward of his successful public life. There is something so painfully affecting in the manner of Lord Sydenham's death, or rather in the causes which have led to it, that the bereavement comes upon us with a suddenness — a shock we should not have experienced under any ordinary dispensation of Providence. Had his Lordship even perished solely by a natural return of that malady which had already so grievously aflflicted him since his arrival in the country, the mind, being prepared for its 'M\'2 AITKNDIX II. possible recurrence, would have been in some degree armed tor tlie stroke, which would have fallen less heavily upon it ; but, knowing as we do that the disease, which has ter- minated in death, has been brought on wholly by the de- plorable tissue of circumstances to which we have relerrcd, it is impossible (puerile though it be) to prevent a feeling of deep bitterness, not only against the vile road, the stumbling horse, but all the concurrent and adverse causes which have contributed to the catastrophe, from mingling with and increasing in a tenfold degree the sorrow which, however profound, would have been in a measure subdued by a knowledge that the immediate and chastening hand of God had alone inllicted the blow. Is there not some- thing melancholy in the thought, that, with conunon care and with common prudence, the valuable life of Lord Sydenham might have been spared, not only to the people of this country, for whom he has already done so much, and for whom he intended so much more, but to his own personal friends and accjuaintance ? Is there not some- thing painfully agonising in the very natural assumption that his Lordship himself, even while in the act of in- dulging in anticipations of an honourable future in his own beloved country, after having raised this to dignity and consideration, was cut short in his visionary speculation by the warning and outstretched finger of relentless death, who had already marked him for his own ? Is there not something inexpressibly heart-rending in the reflection, that the ill-fated statesman and nobleman, whose departure for England it had been rumoured would take place on the 22d of September, lies on the 22d of September a cold and inanimate corpse in Alwington House, freed alike from the pains and the pleasures, the vain aspirations and fluctuating desires of this poor and transitory exist- ence — and heedless as well of the sincere regret of his warmest admirers, as of the affected condolence of those who, while paying a forced tribute of regret to the man, can but ill conceal their deep exultation at the final re- NOTICES OF THK UKA'l'H OF L(.)HI> SYDKNII AM. .'Jli.'l iiioval of the Governor i U' tl»ese things do not tend to impress ns with the uhsolnte nothingness of tliis life — the vanity of all human distinction and power — we know not through what more o})propriate ehannel the lesson can reach us. Ours is no hollow praise tendered at the footstool of power — no heartless tribute to the merit of one who has the ability to reward it. Alas ! Lord Sydenham is power- less to do us good, or to do us harm. While living, no fulsome panegyric, no personal praise (deeply impressed though we were with a sense of his extraordinary firmness of character and high political attainments) ever escaped our pen. If we noticed his Lordship (//en, it was only through his public acts, which, we hesitate not to say, have been unequalled in benefit by any thing ever hitherto done for any country in the same limited time, and will never be surpassed. But now that death —the melancholy death we have already noticed — has removed the barrier a sense of delicacy would not permit us to overleaj), we feel that we can, without fear of our motive being mis- understood, give vent both to our admiration of his Lord- ship while living, and to the imfeigned grief with which his most unfortunate demise has oppressed us. Yet where- fore do we write as though we were alone in our lament- ation ? At present the astounding event has bowed many a noble heart in the silence of sorrow ; but there speedily will be a reaction, when the voice of the people will be loud to proclaim the magnitude of the evil they have sus- tained. As long as these mighty waters shall flow — as long as these noble forests shall remain — so long shall en- dure the mingled regret and gratitude of a people for the memory of the noble and disinterested ruler, who sacrificed health and life for the promotion of their good, and who, with incomparable resolution — with a grandeur of mind wonderful beyond estimation — devoted even the last mo- ments of his existence, and these marked by extreme bodily agony, to them and to them alone ! Lord Syden- 3G4 Ari'KNDIX 11. ham's name and acts, like the name and acts of his equally nohle-iniiided predecessor iiord l^iirham, to whose com- prehensive pUuis he was destined to give practical eflect, must for ever live in the page of Canadian history, and he identified with the advancement of Canadian [)rosperity. The length and ])ersonal character of our remarks wholly j)reclude the introduction into our ])resent number of matter bearing more fully upon the lamented Statesman's public conduct since his arrival in this country, but we shall take an early opportunity of passing this in review in the manner it deserves. {From the Hamilton Journal and Express.) Such is the brief announcement which conveys to an afflicted people the mournful intelligence of the death of their best friend. Prepared as they were for the blow by preceding accounts, yet the reality was received as a shock; and deep are the feelings of regret which pervade every class of the community, eschewing party politics for the time, and mingling in one lament at the loss of a great man, and the humbling reflection of the mutability of all human aspirations. Lord Sydenham's administration of Canada will form a theme for the historian's pen, and in other times and by other men justice will be done to his great abilities and labours. His arrival in this province, hailed as it was by the reformers with anticipations of the most cheering nature, was the precursor of a happy and prosperous era for Canada, that fully justified the confi- dence the people were ready to award him. Combining statesman-like talents of the highest order with great practical experience, and much personal industry, he was the very man among all others best suited for the arduous and responsible duties of Governor-General over the most important of Britain's colonial possessions. Lord Dur- ham's report, that admirable theory of political govern- ment, was the text book by which Lord Sydenham was guided ; and the pecuHar sagacity with which he applied XoriCKS OK rilK DF.ATll nI' LORD SVDI'.MIAM. M'u) princijiles, liitliorto coiisidcri'd as adapU'd only to British practice, in tl)o administration ol' Canadian (jovcrnnient, entitle him to a pliice in the catal()<^ue ol' the benefactors of tliis province, superior to all that have j,n)ne befoie him, and, we believe, not inferior to any that may follow. The great principle of responsible ^t'overnment, so liberally conceded to this province by tlu' Hritisii Ministry, al- thouf^h evidently necessary to the administration of Ca- nadian afTairs, still recjuired much j)atient and earnest attention to ensure its peaceable and successful application. For harassed as he was on the one hand by the violent opposition of the factious, the disappointed, and the bigoted, and but feebly supported on the other by those who, although every consideration of duty and interest should promj)t them to active exertion, remained in sloth- ful apathy, Lord Sydenham had difliculties to contend with at the commencement of his career in this province which few men but himself could have surmounted. All these obstacles gradually vanishing before bis cool deter- mination and indomitable perseverance, the late Governor- General was rapidly consummating those extensive and beneficial schemes which he had hitherto so successfully directed, when the abrupt stroke of death terminated alike his mortal career, and the progress of that extensive poli- tical system which would ultimately have redounded so greatly to his own honour, and have resulted in so much advantage to the country. That Canada has reason to mourn so severe a loss is too painfully apparent to require argument. And in England a blank will be left in the political circle which will with difficulty be filled. It is melancholy to reflect, that at the very time when Lord Sydenham, purely by the power of his own tran- scendent talents and indefatigable industry — by his nim- bleness of intellect and political integrity — by his vast practical knowledge and business-like habits, had elevated himself first to a prominent political position and high ofiicial estimation in i.ngland, — then to the no less ho- 'in I' AIM'KNDIX ir. iioui'fibic, and far inoi'carduDUH, appointment of pacificator to u valuable colony, agitated by inteinal dissension and threatened by lorei<,ni aj^gression ; with its commerce de- pressed, ])ublic ini])rovement at a stop, and property every day depreciatinpf in value — an apjxMntment in wliich the success that crowned his endeavours procured lor liim Ins Sovereign's approbation and the gift of a peerage : — wc say it is melancholy to reflect that at that period when, in all human probal)ilityi he had many years of useful activity, or honourable retirement, to pass through, Pro- vidence should, in its wisdom, have seen fit to cut him oil' from among those \vhv> had watched his progress, and would hav(! rejoiced in his triumj)h. It is no insignificant testimony to the j)urity of inten- tion, the integrity of conduct, and the sagacious foresight which characterised Lord Sydenham's administration, that even those who, when he first came to this province, were the most violent in their opposition, and the most rabid in their abuse, afterwards moderated in their opinions, and idtimately became his warm supporters. It speaks much for the liberality and honesty of his policy ; it says much for his watcliful attention and earnest anxiety to promote the welfare of the province, that out of the most discord- ant elements he managed to evolve harmony in action ; that with a legislature composed of every shade of political complexion, he was enabled to pass measures of vital im- portance to the country. The circumscribed limits of a newspaper notice are in- sufficient to reconsider even briefly the various incidents in the career of this gifted and distinguished nobleman ; but we could not announce his death without expressing what we are sure will be echoed by all our readers — our un- feigned admiration of his talents, our sincere regret for his sudden and premature decease, and our deep sense of the loss Canada has sustained by this melancholy event. NOTICKS OF TMr. DKA IH nl" LoUD SVUKMIAM. IU\7 d' pacilkatov )mnK'rci! de- roperty every in which the I fov him his i-erajife : — wc period when, ars of useful through, Pro- ;o cut him ofl" progress, and nity of inten- ious foresight listration, that province, were ( most rabid in I opinions, and spcaiis much it says much ty to promote most discord- )ny in action ; ade of political s of vital im- notice are iu- us incidents in obleman ; but pressing what ers — our un- ! regret for his sense of the event. (From the Canada Inquiror.) 'J'here are events occasionally occurring in the world which for the moment so absorb and overawe the heart of man, as to render him indilferent to every thing save the engrossing feeling which then engages him. The death of his Kxcellency Lord Sydenham, (jovernor-General of British North America, is one of these events. The fever of political excitement, the bickerings of party, the hopes and fears, the joys rnd sorrows of a pvd)lic, subside into one subdued and overpowering feeling of regret that a no))le sj)irit has passed from amongst us; that he who so lately ruled the destinies of our land, with honour to him- self and advantage to the j)eople, has been cut off in the zenith of his glory, and in a few short days been doomed to change the pomp and pride of state, the trappings and blandishments of earthly })ower, for the cold and lonely habitation of the grave. It is honourable to the memory of his Excellency, that this regret is as universal as it is sincere ; and it would be strange indeed, if a man who lias finished a career like his was not universally lamented, for even the blindest and most bigoted of his political opponents must admit that his life was alike distinguished for the unimpeachable honour and sterling integrity of his character, as it was adorned by the commanding talents and unwearied energy which he possessed; and lliat the great efforts of his life were expended in securing the happiness and prosperity of his fellow-men. Canada, which formed the scene of his last and noblest exertions, and has been the means of securing him his greatest and most signal honours, has been destined to receive his last mortal remains, to witness the climax and decline of a life which has added vigour to her institutions, and placed her government on a basis best constituted to secure her rights and happiness. Equal justice to all was the motto on which he started his administration in 1839, and on that principle it has been nobly conducted. Whc- 308 AIM'EN'DFX II. ther wo regard tlie great measures of his policy, tlie imiou of tlie provinces, the principles of responsibility to the people he recognised, the Municipal Council Bill, or look to the minor details of his political course, we are struck with the firmness and energy of purpose — the persever- ance, the toil and trouble it cost him ; and although sometimes he deemed it necessary to conceal the ends of his policy that he might the better mature its execution, yet these ends were generally a[)])r()ved of when known, and spoke the wisdom and sagacity of the statesman who carried tliom into operation. His views of the govern- ment of Canada were founded on shrewd observation and deep reflection, and whoever his successors may be, we are confident they cannot adopt a better chart for their guidance than mav he gleaned from the course he has taken, and the instructions he may have left. A system of government based upon less liberal views will never succeed in Canada. But we cannot now digress into poli- tical discussion — our object is to pay a passing tribute to the memory of departed worth ; yet how can we in a few short sentences record our opinions of a man whose life has been an ornament to the world ? That life is now no more — peace to his ashes ! Lord Sydenham is gone ; and we are sure tliat his memory will live in grateful re- collection, so long as there are hearts to feel and heads to appreciate the goodness and greatness of his character — the wisdom of his public, and the kindness, urbanity, and refinement of his private life. {From the Woodstock Herald.) We promised in our extra of Wednesday to advert more fully to the subject of Lord Sydenham's lamented and untimely death ; and we now proceed to fulfil that promise. We are not of those who fear that the prospects of Canada can now be buried in the grave of any one man, however great ; but if the measures of liOrd Sydenham NOTICES OF THE DEATH OF LORD SYDENHAM. 3G9 y, the union >ility to the Bill, or look ^e are struck he pcrsevcr- ,ul although the ends of ts execution, A-hen known, tatesnian who [ the govern- )servation and •s may he, we hart tor their course he has At. A system 2WS will never o-ress into poli- sing tribute to an we in a few nan whose life life is now no ham is gone ; n grateful re- ;l and heads to is character — urbanity, and ) Isday to advert liam's lamented to fulfil that Le prospects oi any one man, lord Sydenham were, in general, sucli as held forth a reasonable prospect of future prosperity and greatness to this gigantic colony — and few, comparatively, despaired of their ultimate efficacy — there is deep reason to deplore the sudden re- moval of the master spirit that had triumphed over so many obstacles thrown in the way of their accomplishment by the fiercest party malignity, and had gathered assist- ance and support from among the most discordant mate- rials. Though there is not the slightest probability of a change in the general policy of the provincial government, — d(.'sired by one party and feared by another, — still there is danger of failure, to a certain extent, from inca- pacity on the part of the successor of the original architect. There may be more of listening to interested counsel, and there may be also an injudicious intermeddling with de- tails at the outset, that may create alarm, from its being mistaken for a subversion of principle ; to say nothing of the obvious difficulty that one mind, however acute in its perceptions and comprehensive in its grasp, must natur- ally encounter in carrying out the designs of another. But, after all, delay and temporary embarrassment will, we trust, be the worst consequence to be anticipated from the sudden death of Lord Sydenham ; for we feel as well assured that the new ministry in England will not revert to the old folly of appointing an inexperienced man to this important trust, as we are that they will not send out one to undo what has already been done in the way of effecting a mighty change in the whole system of govern- ment in Canada. Lord Sydenham's successor must be a statesman, to be able to comprehend and follow up the measures already in progress. No doubt many of them may require modification, but they must not be touched by the hand of an apprentice. Some of them are daring and hazardous experiments ; but to check them in their incipiency now would not only insure the evil which is dreaded from them, and which might be averted by skilful management, but would accelerate the advance and ag- B B 370 APPENDIX II. gravate the amount of that so much deprecated evil — revolution. It is not our purpose, however, to speculate on the pro- bable success or ftiilure of the measures of Lord Syden- ham, farther than to acknowledge that the palpable good already produced by their partial development, in our opinion, gives an earnest of their ultimate complete suc- cess, which we once dared not to expect. Our object now is to offer a brief but sincere tribute to the memory of the distinguished nobleman now no more. And this we can- not better do than by a simple allusion to the all but miraculous change which has come over the political spirit of Canada since his arrival among us, and a passing glance at the mighty — we had almost said mysterious — influence which one intellect has so visibly exercised over the myriad- minded public in so short a time. Such is the change wrought within two years, chiefly by the agency of one man, that the country almost seems to be inhabited by a different race of people. Two years ago, men regarded each other with suspicion, jealousy, and hatred. Society was split up into factions, having apparently in view no object in common but to annoy and crush each other. The general good was merged in the strife of party — one powerful faction clinging convulsively to the time-worn prejudices out of which its ascendency had grown, and with the conservation of which the maintenance of that ascendency was felt to be identified ; and another faction, strong in numbers, clamouring for some change in the name of reform, and in that of equal privilege, grasping at a transfer of exclusive supremacy. The spirit of compactism was all-pervading ; for though the compact of each locality may each have had a different shibboleth, it had a monopoly of power and patronage in its own locality. Here all but the natives of one country, or the professors of one creed, and there those not of another country or creed, were, or considered themselves to be, the subjects of proscription, and consequently of oppression. It was, perhaps, this NOTICES OF THE DEATH OF LORD SYDENHAM. 371 ecated evil — ,te on the pro- Lord Syden- palpable good iment, in our complete suc- Dur object now memory of the id this we can- to the all but 3 political spirit a passing glance ous — influence aver the myriad- li is the change I agency of one 3 inhabited by a men regarded 'atred. Society ntly in view no ush each other, of party — one the time-worn liad grown, and itenance of that another faction, ange in the name grasping at a it of compactism t of each locality t had a monopoly Here all but irs of one creed, creed, were, or of proscription, .s, perhaps, this real or imaginary exclusion of certain classes from all chance of preferment to office, more than any other cause, out of which one rebellion had arisen in Upper Canada ; and, from the same cause, aggravated by conscious dis- comfiture on the one part, and unseemly triumph on the other, there were strong indications and gloomy fore- bodings of another and a fiercer outbreak, when the late Governor-General arrived with a message of hope, and a promise of ** equal justice" from the Queen. Simulta- neously with the deliverance of that message and that pro- mise, the fierce bowlings of party rage began to subside ; and for once the people of Canada were found forgetting " past differences," and rallying round the representative of their sovereign, for the purpose of cheering him on in the pursuit of the great and good purpose of his mission. Unanimity succeeded discord, and hope took the place of despondency. It is true that some of the ultras of the two ultra parties stood aloof, and a few still continue to stand sullenly by ; but the people were no longer arrayed under party banners against each other. It is also true that a miserable outpost of each of the two conquered fac- tions, composed of men unable to view the public good as a thing altogether independent of and distinct from the gratification of their paltry personal ambition, or the pro- motion of their exclusive personal interests, still maintains its original ground of opposition to the restoration of har- mony ; but such men are only holding themselves up to the contempt and derision of the people. We come, now, to speak very briefly of the influence which he who is now no more exercised over all who came within his reach. With one or two exceptions, all bowed at once before the mighty magician, and joined hand in hand, though in bitter opposition before, in assisting to carry out his policy. The intellectual wealth and the moral worth of the land had only to approach him, and they were at once enlisted into his service. They who had shunned each other, as if each had con- BB 2 372 APPENDIX II. sidered the other tainted witli leprosy, met together in his presence, and went away arm in arm, communing with one another on that mysterious influence which had brought tliem together and made them brothers. It is a base mind only that can find no other than base mo- tives for extraordinary conduct ; and on a dispassionate review of the wonderful drama that is just closed, we cannot help attributing the whole of its astonishing shift- ings to the mastery of a superior intellect. If it was not so, the history of the world furnishes no such accumu- lation of instances of gross dishonesty and servile syco- phancy as is presented in that of the bygone session of the Provincial Parliament. But we do not believe that all this subserviency was a matter of bargain and sale ; it was an involuntary homage to the resistless power of a great and energetic mind. The light of that high intellect has been suddenly withdrawn by the hand of death, but its influence will long continue to be felt on the destinies of Canada. If the successor of Lord Sydenham shall follow in his footsteps, though at an humble distance, Canada may say in his own parting words when he heard that the Parliament was prorogued, " Then all is right." {From the Nova Scotian.) In taking up our pen to fulfil our promise, by giving to the people of the Lower Provinces a view of Lord Syden- ham's Canadian policy, there are two reflections which make the task sufficiently painful, — he has recently met with an accident, which, to a person worn down with labour as he was when we saw him last, may be a serious infliction, and he is about to retire from his government. One cannot turn to the topics which must be embraced by such a re- view without feeling that his lordship can scarcely afford the slightest further inroad upon a constitution already sufficiently delicate, and that Canada can but ill spare the master mind which has grappled so vigorously with her difliculties, and reduced in an incomparably short space of NOTICES OF THE DEATH OF LORD SYDENHAM. 373 together in commvining :e which had ,thers. It is an hase tno- dispassionate St closed, we )nishing shift- If it was not such accumu- servile syco- session of the ve that all this lale ; it was an rer of a great ;h intellect has death, but its he destinies of am shall follow istance, Canada heard that the ;ht." _5e, by giving to of Lord Syden- ons which make tly met with an th labour as he is infliction, and It. One cannot by such a re- scarcely afford :itution already lut ill spare the rously with her short space of time the most chaotic materials to something like cohesion and order. We are well aware that, in attempting to do justice to the Governor-General's character and policy, we shall have to differ with many worthy persons in Canada whose interest and feelings have been crossed in the onward march of his government ; but these will, we trust, do us the justice to believe, that while we are prepared to defend the full exercise of strong executive power in the extra- ordinary condition to which the Canadas were reduced, we have neither the information necessary, nor the wish, to vindicate every act of authority, or every measure of the Government ; and that, while we approve in the broad outline the general bearing of Lord Sydenham's policy, no man in the colonies more sincerely mourns over the de- plorable events, the gross blunders of rulers and people, which left no alternative but vigorous measures, or the separation of these colonies from the British crown. To those who raise the cry that Lord Sydenham has sub- sidised the press, we would merely say, that he acquired his influence over ours by means which reflect no discredit upon his character nor upon our independence. By the exhibition, throughout our personal intercourse with him, of talent which we had rarely seen possessed by colonial governors, he won our respect ; by a course of invariable frankness, courtesy, and justice towards ourselves, and by his gallant bearing in the midst of trials which might well have put the highest qualities of statesmanship to the proof, that sentiment has been, perhaps, deepened into something like personal attachment ; and while we feel conscious that no power he possesses could compel us to an act of political subserviency, we are happy to be able to prove that all the malignity of his enemies cannot pre- vent us from expressing, after the closest observation of his career, and while power is passing from him, our almost unqualified approval of his Canadian administration. It is in the highest degree gratifying to us, who, since his visit to Nova Scotia have expressed full confidence in his BB 3 374 APPENDIX II. views, and done our best to strengthen his hands, to find that those who petitioned against and denounced his ap- pointment, and who, both here and elsewhere, have never ceased to misrepresent his acts and foretcl his failure, have been covered with mortification and disappointment, that almost every act of his government has been crowned with success, and that the more important objects of his mission have been completely accomplished. In order to understand the value of the service which Lord Sydenham has rendered to her Majesty and to British America, it is necessary to recal for a moment the state of things which his lordship had to encounter. Did he succeed to political inheritance, so wisely husbanded, and so fairly established, that even bad management could scarcely lessen its value or disturb the security of the pos- session ? Did he take the helm of state when the vessel was tight and sound, with perfect instruments, a fair wind, a clear sky, and a crew well disciplined and well disposed ? Was not the estate wasted by years of bad management, until the tenants were at war with the landlord or with each other, and even the title of the property was drawn into angry controversy ? Was not the ship tempest-tost, shat- tered, and almost unseaworthy, with ignorant vacillation or eccentric severity on deck, and mutiny below, without an instrument that could be relied upon, or a blue spot in the heavens to admit of an observation ? The state of Canada when Lord Sydenham assumed the government might well have appalled any man not desirous to wreck his reputation. A long course of maladministration, or, rather, of administration often well meant, but based upon no principle which the people could understand or respect, had prepared the way for open insurrection, and aroused foreign interference in both provinces, to be followed by the suspension of the constitution, and the establishment of despotism in the one, and in the other by a state of things which, perhaps, was a great deal worse ; the forms of civil government being retained, but affording rather a NOTICES OF THE DEATH OF LORD SYDENHAM. 375 shelter from which a fragment of the population might insult and annoy the remainder, than any real protection to the people. Lord Durham's mission, although of im- mense value, because it laid bare the real causes which convulsed Canada, and shadowed forth the remedies, had been so brief, so disastrous, so unproductive of practical results within the country itself, that, however invaluable that volume in which the experience and principle of his lordship and his able coadjutors was embodied might have been — and no man estimates the report more highly than we do — still, until reduced to practice, it was ^ut a book, a theory, the value of which the enemies of colonial freedom might altogether deny, and which its fondest admirers might well be excused for doubting, until expe- rience had demonstrated the applicability of the new prin- ciples to the exigencies of colonial society. The task of consummating the union which Lord Durham had pro- nounced to be indispensable, of grappling with those evils which he had fully exposed, and of applying the principles of representative government indicated in his report, devolved then upon Lord Sydenham ; and it is rare that a statesman so firm, so sagacious, and indefatigable follows in the wake of a projector so bold. He left the shores of England under no very favourable auspices. The timber merchants of London had denounced him, and the cue was taken up by their dependants and correspondents in the colonies ; the Tories viewed him with suspicion, and the Liberals who had embraced Lord Durham's theory feared that he would be less liberal, and might not carry it out. When he arrived in Canada the country was boiling with strong passions. The murders of Weir and Chartrand ; the burnings of St. Charles and St. Eustache ; the courts martial and military executions ; the border invasions and incendiarism, with the marches of troops and the raids of Glengarries, — were all so fresh in the minds of a population who had recently passed through scenes so deplorably exciting, that there might be said to be few families B B 4 376 ArrENDix II. which had not cause of mourning for some injury done or loss sustained, or in whose circle some strong personal an- tipathy or political predilection did not almost overpower respect for the law, and smother the better feelings of our nature. In both provinces the mass of the population were denounced as disloyal ; and while one of the parties who had invoked the bayonet held it to be the only safe instrument of government, the other sullenly and sulkily kept aloof, lending no cordial support to legitimate autho- rity, as though biding its time to excite fresh trouble and pre' 'ce additional embarrassment. Property was depre- ci" S ; business unsafe ; and the tide of emigration setting from, instead of to, the provinces. We think that no man will deny that this is a faithful picture of the state of Canada when Lord Sydenham landed at Quebec. That the country presents a very different aspect now, we be- lieve to be equally undeniable ; and although there is a vast deal yet to be done, we can scarcely — contrasting Canada as it was two years ago and as it is — believe that in so short a time so much has been accomplished. Lord Sydenham's first care was to endeavour to calm the excited feelings of all parties, to satisfy the disloyal that it was in vain to attempt to uproot the Queen's authority, and to assure those who had loyalty in excess that that authority was quite sufficient for their protection. This done, his next task, and a difficult one, was to call around him a Special Council, and frame a body of ordi- nances to meet the present necessities of the Lower Pro- vince, in which there had been a total lapse of legislation, and where martial law had for years taken the place of the ordinary law of the land. He had then to meet the assembled Legislature of the Upper Province ; and here one of his chief difficulties arose, from the strong convic- tion that must have forced itself upon him, and which the sequel proved, that the House — although to dissolve it would have been hazardous — did not truly represent the people. His position in the Upper Province for a long NOTICES OF THE DEATH OF LORD SYDENHAM. 377 time Ccalled for the exercise of the utmost prudence and circumspection. The Reformers distrusted him because he denounced responsible government by that name, and the Tories began to suspect that his mode of administering representative government was wide as the poles asunder from that which had obtained under the reign of the Compacts. In spite of all the obstacles which beset him, he succeeded in carrying the Union Bill and several other important measures through b' th branches of the Legisla- ture in the Upper Province, and through the Special Council. These measures passed, an anxious period succeeded, in which they were to be reviewed by both Houses of Parlia- ment. No man who knew what that ordeal was, who felt how deeply the peace of Canada and his own reputation were committed, and who had Lord Durham's recent ex- perience of the inconsiderate violence of English party warfare before him, could have slept on a bed of roses from the time that the Union Bill. and Ordinances crossed the Atlantic until they returned, sanctioned by the highest authority in the realm. A part of this interval was spent by Lord Sydenham in visiting Nova Scotia, and conducting the investigation into her affairs which led to the entire change of that disastrous policy, and the repudiation of those principles which had for years embroiled the people with their government, and brought, at last, the legisla- ture and the executive into open and violent collision. The Union Bill having been sanctioned, then came the period of its proclamation, — of the arrangement of the electoral districts, — and of the return of the members of the first Parliament. This was a season of much labour and of intense anxiety, drawing upon the Governor-Gene- ral's firmness, sagacity, and knowledge of the country almost every hour. Whether the charge of direct inter- ference in elections be well founded or not, and it appears to rest upon slight evidence, one thing is very clear, that a person situated as his lordship was who could be indif- 378 APPENDIX II. fereiit to the course of the elections, and who did not take every proper precaution to secure a working majority dis- posed to support liim, and give the Union Bill a trial, must have been lamentably deficient in conmion sense and practical statesmanship. There was, in fact, no alternative but to secure his majority, or throw aside all that had been done, and go back to the old evils, to be followed by fresh outbreaks, and a further resort to the bayonet. "We are far from approving of any open violence in the conduct of the elections ; but we do think that it would have been most unwise for the Governor- General, having the power in his hands to change and alter the electoral divisions, to leave the franchise so distributed as to render certain, or even at all probable, the return of a body of men who would have voted the Union Act a nullity, repealed his ordinances, and, perhaps, commenced anew that course of obstructive policy which had ended in open insurrection, and the establishment of arbitrary power. {From the same.) It becomes our melancholy duty to turn from tracing the beneficial effects of Lord Sydenham's administration to record the particulars of his death and burial. A great man has gone down into the tomb, and we must be occu- pied for a time with his obsequies, reserving for some more fitting opportunity the less painful task of discussing his measures and explaining his policy. The news of Lord Sydenham's death did not much surprise us. It seemed to us from the first almost a necessary result of an acci- dent so severe operating upon a frame so delicate. We were disposed to hope almost against hope ; for we could not bear the thought that a man so young, with a mind so active, was to pass so suddenly from the elevated sphere to which he had attained, that all his information and expe- rience was to be lost to the legislative body in which he was soon to have taken his seat, and to the governments to which, no matter what their politics, it would have been NOTICES OF THE DEATH OF LORD SYDENHAM. 370 did not take 1 majority dis- n Bill a trial, non sense and no alternative [ that had been lowed by fresh )net. We are the conduct of 3uld have been ring the power ral divisions, to der certain, or ly of men who y, repealed his that course of n insurrection, freely imparted. Our fears rather than our hopes were to be realised. Lord Sydenham is no more ; but it is satis- factory to find, now that there is nothing to be gained or lost by the free expression of opinion, that almost every Canadian paper speaks of his lordship in terms even more respectful and complimentary than those we employed last week. It must be highly gratifying to the great body of the people of Nova Scotia, who have nobly seconded Lord Sydenham in his efforts to regenerate their country, to find how universal the testimony is to his worth, and how many there now are compelled to praise who did not so early appreciate his character, nor so cordially assist him. fn from tracing [ministration to irial. A great must be occu- for some more discussing his news of Lord |us. It seemed lult of an acci- delicate. We for we could with a mind so vated sphere to ion and expe- Ly in which he e governments ould have been 380 APPENDIX III. MESSAGE OF THE OOVERNOR-OENERAL TO THE HOUSE OF ASSEMBLY ON THE SUBJECT OF PUBLIC IMPROVEMENTS. [20th August, 181-1.] SYDENHAM. In pursuance of the declaration contained in his Speech from the Tlu'onc, the Governor-General solicits the at- tention of the House of Assembly to the Public Im- provements which it may be desirable to carry into effect within the Province, and to the means by which these works may be safely and successfully undertaken. It has appeared to the Governor- General of great im- portance that Parliament, as well as the Executive, should have distinctly brought before them, in one general plan, the whole of the different Works which arc demanded by the public voice, and appear likely to tend to the increase of trade, and to the advantage of the country. Such works as the Legislature shall decide upon adopting may thus be conducted upon one uniform system — having re- ference as well to eacli particular work as to the whole ; and great advantages will result, both as regards their execu- tion and in making provision for the funds necessary for the undertaking. The Governor-General accordingly directed a Report to be prepared upon the subject by the President of the Board of Works ; and that Department having now been estab- lished by law for the whole Province, he transmits this document for the consideration of the House of Assembly. This Report will be found to embrace all the great im- provements which appear at all desirable for some time to come, or that afford promise of rendering a return for the capital to be expended upon them ; viz. MESSAGK ON PUBLir IMPROVEMENTS. .'i81 niE HOUSE OF PUOVEMfiNTS, 1 in his Speech solicits the at- le Public Im- arry into effect >y which these taken. al of great im- ecutive, should [C general plan, demanded by to the increase ountry. Such I adopting may m — having re- the whole ; and is their execu- necessary for ted a Report to it of the Board low been estab- transmits this le of Assembly. II the great im- Ifor some time return for the The completion of the Wtlhind Canal — The opening tlie communication between Kingston and Montreal, by tJje River St. lyavvrence, for Scliooners and Steam-boats — The improvement of Lake St. Peter, and the naviga- tion between Quebec and Montical for vessels of largo burthen — Opening the River RichelieJJ, so as to perfect the navigation through that river by the Cliijiii])ly Canal — The construction of Slides it;!* Timber, and other works on the Ottawa — The improvement "f the Inland Waters of the Newcastle District — The construction of a Povl and Light Houses on Lake Erie, and the improvement of Burlington Bay Harbour — The establishment or improve- ment of great lines of Road from Quebec to Amherst- burgh and Port Sarnia, from Toronto to Lake Huron, and between Quebec and the Eastern Townships — and the improvement of the Metis Road, and of the communica- tions near the Bay of Chaleurs. The total cost of all these works thus enumerated would involve an expenditure of about 1,470,000/. Pro- vincial Sterling, to be spread over a period of five years necessary for their completion. Whether the whole or any part of these works shall be decided upon by Parliament, it is clear that in the present Financial state of the Province, whatever is required for their construction must be provided by drawing on the Public credit. The statement of the Provincial receipt and expendi- ture, submitted to Parliament, although exhibiting, after the payment of the charges for the public service, a con- siderable surplus in proportion to the revenue, affords nothing from which, as capital, the cost of works of any importance can be defrayed. Parliament must therefore provide the means for rais- ing the Capital required for the execution of those Public Works which it may determine to adopt, and at the same time afford such security as may be necessary for the an- nual interest upon the money to be borrowed, as well as 382 APPENDIX III. for the gradual extinction of the debt, until the works themselves become productive. If the whole of the Works specified in the Report are determined upon, the charge for interest upon the total sum required, calculated at the rate of interest usual in this Province, would be between 80,000/. and 90,000/.— a charge which it would be difficult to impose at once upon the country. Means however exist by which such an increase of the charge upon the Revenue of the Province may be mate- rially reduced, whilst the Capital itself may notwithstand- ing be provided. The reduction of the interest of the Public debt through the assistance to be afforded by the Imperial Parliament will probably reduce the present charges upon the Provin- cial Revenue by a sum of between 15,000/. and 20,000/. per annum, which will thus become available security for any fresh loan. There will remain, after effecting this conversion, a surplus of from 250,000/. to 300,000/., still farther to be raised under the Imperial guarantee at a low rate of interest, by which an additional saving will be effected of about 6,000/. a year. A very considerable amount of the Capital required might be raised without any charge whatever for interest, by the assumption by the province of the issue of paper, payable on demand, which is now enjoyed by the private Banks, or by individuals, without their being subjected to any charge whatever in return for the power thus accorded them by the State. If that power were •''esumed to the fullest extent, a capital representing a revenue of not less than 35,000/. a year might be provided. But even under such arrangement as would afford great advantages to the various Banks at present issuing paper, as a compensation for their being in future deprived of that power, a revenue of not less than 15,000/. or 20,000/. might safely be re- lied on. The union of the two provinces has now placed within iAFESSAGE ON PUBLIC IMPROVEMENTS. 883 til the works he Report are ipon the total crest usual in md 90,000/.— mpose at once increase of the may he mate- r notwithstand- Lc debt through rial Parliament )on the Provin- )L and 20,000/. ble security for r effecting this 1 300,000/., still guarantee at a saving will be apital required er for interest, issue of paper, by the private ng subjected to thus accorded esumed to the nue of not less Jut even under vantages to the compensation >wer, a revenue it safely be re- placed within the control of the Parliament the regulation of the Cus- toms Duties, which under the separate Legislatures was attended with so much difliculty, and a wise and prudent re-adjustment of some of those duties will render the revenue far more productive than at present, and easily furnish, without any injury to the trade of the country, or any pressure on the People, what may be further re- quired to provide for the remaining charge. There is also one of the works to which, although great importance is justly attached to it, it will, in the opinion of the Governor-General be just, as well as possible, to affix a condition by which the annual charge above sub- mitted for the whole may be diminished — The navigation of the St. Lawrence involves the expenditure of nearly one half of the whole sum calculated on. That work is undoubtedly highly desirable — but it scarcely justifies so great an expenditure at present, unless some diminution of the annual charge for interest upon the sum to be raised can be obtained. Nor is such a diminution to be unhoped for. Many Capitalists in England are interested in the promotion of this work, and especially in seeing the com- munication between Lake St. Louis and Lake St. Francis established on the Southern side of the River St. Lawrence. The Governor-General has reason to expect that assist- ance will be afforded upon this condition — and he would not therefore recommend that this undertaking should be sanctioned, unless as a condition, the greater part of the capital required for it can be raised at a low rate of interest, not much exceeding that which the province would have to support for such part of its debt as will be guaranteed by England. Entertaining these opinions, the Governor-General has therefore directed measures to be submitted to the House of Assembly embodying them, which he recommends to their favourable consideration. However large the expenditure may appear, to which the improvements recommended by the Board of Works 384 APPENDIX III. will amount, the Governor-General feels that it is his duty, looking to their vast importance, to submit them to the judgment of the Country, and a measure will there- fore be presented to the House which comprises the whole of them. If they are undertaken, it is no less the bounden duty of Parliament and of the Executive Government, to take care that means sufficient for their completion are pro- vided, and that the credit of the Province shall be sus- tained in any engagements which are rendered necessary for raising funds for that purpose. He has therefore directed that, simultaneously with the proposal for the works themselves, measures should be submitted to the Assembly for the conversion of the debt — for the esta- blishment of a Bank, and for the regulation of the Customs — and he desires to express his anxious wish to concur with the Assembly in whatever decision they may arrive at, by which objects of so much importance to the welfare of the Province may be obtained consistently with that due regard to the interests of the People, to Public Cre- dit, and to the maintenance of engagements, without which it would be alike unjust and impolitic to attempt to carry them into execution. Kingston, August 20th, 1841. The Message was accompanied by memoranda respecting the various public works here recommended, showing the ultimate cost of their completion, and the amount of the appropriations proposed to be appointed thereto for the several years respectively, prepared and sub- mitted for the consideration of His Excellency the Governor-General by Mr. Hamilton Killaly, Chairman of the Board of Works. 385 that it is his ibmit them to ire will there- Ises the whole bounden duty iment, to take ;tion are pro- I shall be sus- ered necessary has therefore •oposal for the bmitted to the for the esta- of the Customs wish to concur hey may arrive e to the welfare ently with that to Public Cre- ents, without llitic to attempt knda respecting Inded, showing Ind the amount jointed thereto ired and sub- [ixcellency the laly, Chairman APPENDIX IV. MEMORANDUM ON THE PAPER CURRENCY SUGGESTED FOR CANADA, BY LORD SYDENHAM. The questions of the standard and of the currency must be considered. The standard is different in Upper and in Lower Canada, and it is desirable to assimilate them, which may be done either by simply raising the standard of Upper Canada, or vice versa, or by adopting a new standard generally for the whole province. The latter plan might be the best ; and the course which was followed lately in the West Indies, the details of which are in the possession of the Government, may be adopted, or what would be prefer- able, if it were possible, a dollar standard might be taken. It does not, however, appear absolutely necessary to make application to the legislature upon the point of standard, as I apprehend that it should be regulated under the prerogative, by order of the Council at home, as was done in the case of the West Indies. This, however, must be considered. But the question of currency, namely, of the issue of paper money representing coin, is one the settlement of which admits of no delay. The charters of the banks of Lower Canada expire at the end of this session, and application will be made for their renewal. The charters of the Upper Canada banks are near their expiration also, with one exception, and all these banks even are applying for additional powers, either to extend their term or increase their capital. It is absolutely necessary, therefore, that the principle upon which the issue of paper money, payable on demand, shall be conducted should be decided at present ; and this may be done in one of two ways. First, by intrusting C C 386 APPENDIX IV. to private individuals or to joint stock companies, under charter, the powder to issue, subject to certain regulations. Secondly, by the State keeping in its own hands that power, and establishing a bank of issue, upon fixed prin- ciples determined by the legislature. The evils attending the first system are various. Le- gislation must be conducted on this subject, not with a view to good and sound banks properly managed, but in order to control the possible abuse of the powers granted by ill-conducted banks, and to avert the mischief which their operations necessarily produce on society ; and it is next to impossible to devise any conditions by which this can be effected. The Treasury with this intent have laid down certain rules and conditions, to be observed as a sine qud non to a consent of the crown to any new charters or the renewal of the old ones. These conditions cramp mate- rially the action of the chartered banks, and are loudly complained of, as was seen last year in the discussion upon the renewal of the charter of the Upper Canada bank and others, especially that provision which deter- mines that no notes under four dollars shall be issued. Yet even these provisions are utterly inadequate to the ends sought, namely, the establishment of a sound paper currency, convertible at all times, regulating itself with reference to the real demands of the country, and not exposing the value of every man's property to be sud- denly increased or diminished by fluctuations arising from over-issue at one time, and rapid contraction at another. No conditions of any kind can prevent numerous banks of issue in competition one with another, and in great igno- rance of each other's proceedings, from at one time flooding the country with paper, and at another being compelled, if their notes are made convertible, suddenly to withdraw all accommodation, and reduce the general circulation far below its natural limits. No conditions can effect this, even though the number of banks of issue to be chartered were very much MEMORANDUM ON THE PAPER CURRENCY. 387 )anies, under n regulations, n hands that m fixed prin- various. Le- ct, not with a Luaged, but m )Owers granted mischief which nety ; and it is i by which this id down certain a sine qud non charters or the ns cramp mate- 1, and are loudly k the discussion Upper Canada jon which deter- shall be issued, ^adequate to the ,f a sound paper lating itself with [ountry, and not ,erty to be sud- lons arising from ;tion at another. Linerous banks of d in great igno- jne time flooding being compelled, iy to withdraw all lulation far below this, even though d were very much confined ; but it would also be found impossible so to limit them, especially in a country like this. The legislature would never be able to refuse a charter to a bank at London, at Sandwich, at Perth, or in any small district, upon the ground, either of their capital being too small, or the wants of the district not requiring such an establish- ment. If they complied with the conditions of a certain proportion of notes to capital, or of bullion to notes, which might be laid down as generally applicable, there would appear to be no reason whatever for refusing their demand. Tne adoption of the principle of confiding the issue of paper money, payable on demand, to chartered banks, must, therefore, necessarily lead to a vast extension of those establishments, mismanaged no doubt in a greater degree as their numbers increase ; and no security what- ever could be afforded that in the course of a few years we shall not arrive at the state of things we have seen in the neighbouring States. It can hardly be supposed, either that the State should consent, if called upon to adopt this principle, and devolve upon individuals the so- vereign power of coining, to do so without obtaining at least some return for its own advantage. In England, where this system has been partially followed, as relates to country banks, and where the exclusive privilege of issue within certain local limits is given to the Bank of England, a price is paid for it in the shape of stamp duties upon the notes issued, and a very considerable revenue is received by the country in return for the power of which it thus divests itself. Here this has not been the case ; but it can scarcely be expected that the State will again consent to make so large a sacrifice as would be implied by pur- suing the old plan. If it be deemed necessary to con- tinue the system of issue by joint stock banks, it is clear that they ought to contribute at least some portion of that profit which the State would itself make by reserving the power in its own hands. "Yet even this arrangement, although it would benefit the public purse, and greatly (^ C 2 388 APPENDIX IV. diminish the desire of banks to continue their issues (as has been found to be the case in England, where numerous joint stock banks, having the power of issue, have found it the best policy to repudiate it, and to use the notes of the Bank of England, confining themselves to the real business of banks of deposit), all the other inconveniences and disadvantages of such a system would remain unre- medied. It is most desirable, therefore, to adopt the second system which has been alluded to, and this country affords greater inducements for doing so than are to be found in any other in the world, whilst the time is equally propitious. First, there can be no doubt that under such a system as will be proposed upon this principle, in the course of a very short time, it is probable that a large proportion of the circulating medium of paper in those States of the Union which border upon Canada would be supplied by the notes of such a bank. Secondly, as nearly all the charters of existing banks of issue are expiring, the way is open for such a change without any injustice to individuals or bodies of men. The plan suggested would be the establishment of a Provincial Bank for issue only, under the direction of three Commissioners, acting upon fixed rules laid down in the Act. A prohibition of the issue of all notes payable on demand by any but the Provincial Bank. The Provincial Bank to issue a given amount of notes of any denomination not less than one dollar, and after that amount to issue further notes only upon bullion or coin, or in redemption of its own notes, if by desire of the holder. N. B. It may be assumed that the average circulation of Canada is at the present time in notes about 1,000,000/. This then may be taken as the amount which might safely be issued, provided a reserve of bullion or coin vhk kept against it to the extent of 250,000/. It would not MEMORANDUM ON THE PAPER CURRENCY. 389 tjir issues (as ere numerous ;, have found ! the notes of 3 to the real ^conveniences remain unre- to adopt the to, and this ig so than are Ist the time is such a system the course of a 5 proportion of 3 States of the be supplied by xisting banks of such a change [ies of men. iblishment of a Tection of three lid down in the |tes payable on >ount of notes of r, and after that bullion or coin, 3y desire of the Lge circulation of oout 1,000,000/. Jint which might [lion or coin '>^i^ ll. It would not be possible for the circulation to be reduced below that difference, say 750,000/., without such a fall of prices as must inevitably bring in bullion, and again extend the paper circulation. If the million were found inadequate to the wants of the country, as it probably would in a short time, the fact would be made apparent by notes being demanded of the bank in return for bullion over and above that sum. The bullion or coin being thus increased, and the proportion which it bore to the paper in circulation thus greatly augmented, it would become manifest that a larger amount than the million might be kept in perma- nent circulation, and that at the end of one or two years, when this might happen, the fixed amount might be varied by the legislature: 1,500,000/. or 2,000,000/. might be issued as that amount, with only a reservation of bullion equal to one fourth, as in the first instance. One fourth then of the given amount to be invested in bullion or coin. The other three fourths to be employed in public works under the authority of Parliament, or in redemption of the provincial debt. Powers to be provided to enable the Provincial Bank either to establish branches at the three great cities, for the exchange of its notes for bullion or coin, or to make arrangements with banks of deposit there for the use of its notes, on condition of their doing this duty for it. A prohibition on the Commissioners from engaging in any transaction of the character of a bank of deposit, and strictly confining them to the issue of notes for bullion or coin, or in exchange for their own notes. The advantages of such a system would be the following. First, a paper currency would be established perfectly secure of convertibility into the value which it represented. It would be subject to no fluctuations except those which the greater or less amount of the real transactions of the country demanding a circulation imposed on it. It would effectually prevent all those most injurious fluctuations in CO 3 390 APPENDIX IV. the value of every man's property which arise from the over-issues and sudden contractions necessarily attending the issue of paper by a number of conflicting bodies. Secondly, The whole profit of the issue, in other words of the power of coining a cheap currency, would belong to the State ; at the lowest calculation equal to 30,000/. or 35,000/. a year, and capable, for the reasons above stated, of increasing to double or treble that amount. Thirdly) a large sum, not less than 750,000/., would be at once placed at the disposal of the State for the prosecu- tion of public works, without the necessity of going into the money market to borrow, and thus increasing the rate of interest which the Province would have to pay for the large loans it may be called upon to contract. Draft of Resolutions to be proposed to the House of Assembly of Canada relative to the Currency. 1. That it is expedient that a Provincial Bank of Issue, under the management of commissioners, be established by legislative enactment, to which shall be confided the sole power of issuing paper payable on demand. 2. That the Bank shall issue notes of 1 dollar and upwards to the extent of 1,000,000/. currency, and no more, until otherwise provided for by legislative enact- ment, except in redemption of its own notes, or in ex- change for bullion or coin. 3. That the said issue of 1 ,000,000/. shall be made one- fourth against bullion or coin, and three-fourths against government securities, purchased by or paid in to the bank ; and that the interest arising from all such securities shall be carried to the public account of the province, after deducting the expense of management, and of any pay- ments specially charged by parliament, as hereinafter provided. 4. That from and after the 1st of Marc h^ 1843, it shall MEMORANDUM ON THE PAPER CURRENCY. 391 not be lawful for any bank or individual to issue any promissory note made payable on demand. 5. That each of the banks now issuing paper payable on demand throughout the province shall make a return of the average amount of its circulation of such paper during the years 1840 and 1841, and of the amounts of bullion and coin in its coffers during the same period. 6. That to every such bank whose charter would be unexpired on the 1st March, 1843, there be made an al- lowance by the Bank of 2^ per cent, per annum on the amount of the difference between such circulation and the bullion or coin in its coffers, for the term of years for which such charter shall be unexpired, provided such term exceed ten years ; and if such charters have expired, or have less than five years to run after 1843, then for the term of ten years. Each such bank to have deposited government securities approved by the Commissioners, or bullion or coin to the extent of such amount with the bank of issue, having received its notes in exchange. 7. That the charters of banks now in existence in the Province which expire before the 1*^ of March, 1843, be renewed, with power to issue paper payable on demand up to that date, when such power will cease by law ; but that any facility for increase of capital, for suing and being sued, for limited liability of shareholders, &c., be given to such banks for such time as they may desire the same, subject only to such cessation of issue. c c 4 392 s. APPENDIX V. SPEECH OP MR. C. POULETT THOMSON, IN THE HOUSE OF COMMONS, ON THE 26tH OF MARCH, 1830, On moving " That a Select Committee be appointed to inquire into the Expediency of making a Revision of the Taxes, so that the means of paying the Sums voted by the House, and all other Charges, may be provided with as little Injury as practicable to the Industry and Improvement of the Country." Mr. Labouchere having postponed a notice, in order to allow precedence to this motion, Mr. Poulett Thomson rose and spoke as follows : — Sir, — In rising to make the motion of which I have given notice, I have to acknowledge the courtesy of my honourable friend in postponing his very important no- tice, a courtesy and kindness which I should never have thought of demanding upon personal grounds, but which the vast importance, as well as the nature of the motion which I have the honour of bringing under tl.'e consider- ation of Parliament, may fairly claim ; especially when, as I am happy to remark from what has passed in previous debates, the subject has already attracted so much atten- tion. It is painful to me at any time to solicit the indul- gence of the House on my own behalf, and that feeling is increased upon the present occasion, when the importance of the subject of which I propose to treat renders me more than usually sensible of my own incompetency to do justice to it, and when I shall be compelled by its nature to trespass upon the patience of my hearers for a more than usual length of time. The deep conviction, however, which I entertain that no subject was ever submitted for deliberation of greater importance than this, whilst it sup- SPEECH UN REViaiON OF TAXES. 39^ HE HOUSE OF 1830, I to inquire into 3o that the means ler Charges, may the Industry and 36, in order to ilett Thomson ' which I have curtesy of my important no- ild never have ids, but which |of the motion r tl.»e consider- cially when, as d in previous much atten- licit the indul- that feeling is he importance at renders me petency to do by its nature Irs for a more tion, however, submitted for whilst it sup- ports me in the task which 1 have undertaken to perform, gives me ground to hope that I shall not ask in vain for that indulgence, whicli this House is never backward in extending to tliose who claim it upon sucli grounds. Sir, I am aware that in introducing so large a subject as that of a great part of tlie taxation of this country to the consideration of Parliament, I may expose myself to the charge of presumption. I may be told, that I am under- taking a task whicli does not become a member of this House unconnected with official station, and holding no responsible situation ; that I am trespassing upon the pro- vince of the Right Honourable Gentleman opposite, the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whose immediate dut)' it is to regulate the financial concerns of the empire ; but I trust that the nature of the motion which I have in view will serve to acquit me of such an accusation. I do not ven- ture to propose to the House any plan of financial reform, any positive proposition of change ; I am conscious that to do so would not become my situation : all that I shall venture to do will be to endeavour to lay before the House such a statement as I trust may induce it to think that it becomes it to turn its attention seriously to the slate of the taxation of the country, to take the matter into its own hands, and through a committee of its own to insti- tute such an inquiry as will lead to relief, if it appear that an alteration in the system can effect any ; or, if it shall not, at least satisfy the people that no such relief can be afforded. Neither can I admit, that what has occurred during the last fortnight is any argument why 1 should relinquish the purpose I have in view, and leave in the hands of Government the inquiry which I propose. On the contrary, although 1 am fully sensible of the import- ance of the reductions which have lately been announced, they rather furnish me with an additional motive to per- severe : for whilst I give the Government credit for the full value of the sacrifices they have made, I cannot but regret that the principles which were announced by the .'U)4 APPENDIX V. Chancellor of the Exchequer in proposing thein, to which J entirely assent, should not have been more fully acted upon ; and that instead of contenting himself with a mere reduction of taxes, he should not have endeavoured, by a much more extended review of our whole system, to re- lievo tliis country to an infinitely greater extent without any greater sacrifice of revenue. The partial adoption, therefore, of measures similar to those which I imagine would be recommended by the conniiittee which I propose, confirms me in the opinion of the propriety of urging its appointment, and at the same time relieves me from the possibility of being suspected of bringing forward this motion from party or interested motives. Far from being actuated by any such feelings, my sincere wish is to sup- port and encourage ministers in the views which they pro- fess to take, and to render them the assistance which 1 think they require to carry them into effect ; I mean the concurrence and the reconnnendation of a committee of this House : and I may add, that I greatly rejoice that I am able, in introducing the statement which I shall have to submit, showing the extremely injurious nature of a portion of our system of taxation, and the absurdity and unfitness for the end it proposes to have in view of a great part of it, to be able to congratulate the Government upon having admitted the principle, and of having done something at least to remedy the evil. It seems to me, Sir, that the object of this motion is one which in any times can hardly fail of being a njost desirable one. No man will deny that when a revenue is to be raised at all, it should be raised in that manner which will take as little from the pockets of the people, and allow as much of that which is taken to pass into the coffers of the Exchequer as possible ; nor will any one assert, I presume, that in any country, and at any time, there can be so perfect a system of finance as to make any inquiry into the mode of collecting the national income needless. Under any circumstances, then, and in any state 8PKKCH (»N REVISION OF TAXKM. 39:) leiii, to which re fully acted f with a nicvo avo lived, by a system, to re- xtent without tial adoption, ich I imagine lich I propose, y of urging its J me from the r forward this Far from being wish is to sup- Anch they pro- stance which 1 ct; I mean the a committee of r rejoice that I ch I shall have is* nature of a absurdity and view of a great le Government if having done this motion is being a most [n a revenue is manner which lie people, and pass into the will any one at any time, IS to make any itional income Lnd in any state of things, such an investigation as 1 propose to entrust to u committee would In* one of the most important, and one of the most useful, which any legislative body could de- U'gato to a portion of its members. But if this be the case, how much more inonu-ntous is sucli an inquiry at the present time, and under the present circumstances i Let any man look impartially upon the condition of this coun- try at the present ni< ment, and say, if he can, that such an inquiry is not impeiatively called for, that it is not un- avoidably necessary. It is nothing more than an act of justice to those who pay the taxes, and of justification to those who impose them. And how stands public opinion upon the point ? It is curious indeed to observe, that there is only one single subject upon which all parties in the country without the least exception are agreed. Whe- ther we look to the petitions on our table, or consult the opinions of public writers, or consider the debates in this House, we shall find a diversity of opinion upon all sub- jects but one. Some consider a greater reduction of ex- penditure necessary. Some deem further retrenchment impracticable. Some believe that relief might be afforded by a depreciation of the standard, by an issue of paper money ; others condemn such a proposal as the most in- jurious that could be adopted. Some look to a parlia- mentary reform as a remedy for our distress. Some are opposed to any change of the kind. Many attribute the sufferings of the people to the system called free trade : the more enlightened and more reasoning part of society reject such an idea as absurd. In short, upon all these subjects a difference of opinion exists. Upon one only, whether you read the language of public opinion conveyed to you through the press, whether you listen to the voice of the people expressed at county meetings, or their pray- ers brought up to the table of the House, on one subject only is an opinion common to all ; and that point is — that the system of taxation requires revision ; that our imposts press too heavily upon the productive industry of the country. 396 APPENDIX V. I am not one who am prepared to yield obedience to any opinion because it happens to be popular ; but when I find one prevailing sentiment upon a subject of deep importance, I feel myself bound — I hold the legislature bound to consider it with more than connnon attention. 1 have endeavoured to do so ; and all the consideration which I have been able to give — all the investigation which I have been able to make, convince me that the opinion so universally expressed on this subject is not less just than it is general. In explaining the grounds upon which I have come to this conclusion, it is not necessary that I should venture upon any lengthened review of the state of the country. After the protracted debates on this subject which have within these few days occupied the attention of the House, and in which every possible topic connected with it has been discussed, it becomes needless for me to do so. It has scarcely been denied, in- deed, by any one, that taxation is one of the main causes of the sufferings under which we labour. The honourable member for Essex, indeed (Mr. Western), has stated his disbelief of this doctrine. He thinks that because a heavier amount of taxation was borne during the war, the present reduced amount may be supported without inconvenience during peace ; and his conclusion is (and an erroneous one I believe it to be), that therefore a relief from taxation will not be a remedy for the existing distress. I will not now stop to inquire whether the reduction talked of has been a real or only a nominal one. I will admit, for the sake of argument, that there has been a reduction of our burthens ; but admitting this, I differ entirely from the honourable member for Essex, and I am perfectly con- vinced that the greater weight then pressed less heavily on the industry of the country than the lessei amount does at present. Are there no circumstances to account for this result? Does it follow that becr.use this country sustained greater taxation then, she is r>ov/ able to support even a diminished pressure? What was our condition SPKECll 0\ REVI.SIUN OF TAXES. 39' obedience to ir ; but when bject of deep he legislature 1 attention. 1 consideration ! investigation ^ me that the ject is not less grounds upon not necessary review of the 2d debates on days occupied every possible jd, it becomes een denied, in- he main causes ^he honourable has stated his ;ause a heavier ar, the present inconvenience an erroneous from taxation ss. I will not talked of has admit, for the duction of our irely from the perfectly con- less heavily on |i amount does to account for |e this country ble to support o'jr condition dunng the war ? Was the state of our industry the same ? Was it not indeed quite peculiar ? Owing to the disco- veries of science, to the genius of an Arkwright, a Har- greaves, and a Watt, our industry had been developed in a manner and with a rapidity unparalleled in the history of man. Owing to the unsettled state of the world, the advantage of these discoveries was turned almost exclu- sively to the benefit of England. Our command of the ocean gave us the monopoly of the commerce of all the universe ; our ships were alone the carriers of every na- tion ; our passport alone was respected throughout the globe. There was a depreciation in the standard which rendered our taxation comparatively light ; but above all, the same circumstances which gave us the monopoly of improvement and of commerce, not only confined our capital to our own shores — not only prevented it from migrating to seek employment elsewhere, but made Eng- land the rallying point, where alone the capital of other countries could find a profitable and secure investment. No wonder if with these advantages we suffered less severely from the pressure of taxation ! To the state of this country during the war may be applied with greater truth what was said by Mr. Pitt of its condition during a previous struggle — '* Per damna per caedes, ab ipso Ducit opes, animumque ferro." With the peace all these advantages have passed away, and we have to meet the new state of things under the languor to which immense exertion must leave either an individual or a country subject. We enjoy no more the exclusive use of machinery. We possess no longer the monopoly of commerce. Our currency is again at its standard value. We have all the world for competitors in arts, in industry, in improvement. Our prices can no longer regulate, they must follow those of other coun- tries ; but above all, not only does the capital of other nations no longer seek investment with us, but our own 398 APPENDIX y may find employment in other parts with equal security and greater advantage. Nor is it our capital only, but the skill, the industry, the intelligence which have been raised at home, which constitute our wealth and form our power, if oppressed here, will emigrate elsewhere ; and we have to meet, not the competition of foreign industry alone, but that of our own native soil, transferred to climes where its scope is less controlled, and its exertions less oppressed. This is the danger we have to dread ; and how are we to avoid it ? I have said that our prices must follow those of other countries ; prices, I need scarcely say, are made up of profits, of wages, and of taxation, which falls upon the one or the other. Wages are, I fear, reduced to their necessary rate. Taxation then must fall upon profits, and so it is. We see the rate of profit un- duly reduced, and the necessary result must be, that our capital, unable to compete with that of other countries less burthened than our own, will seek employment where it can find it unrestrained. How then can we hope to preserve it, and to support our industry, but by removing or reducing those burthens ? If we refuse to do so, we force the capital, the skill, the ingenuity, which we have raised with so much care, to seek another field, where they can put forth their powers unmolested and unimpeded. We sacrifice the natural advantages we possess in our insular position, in our mines of coal and of iron, the ac- quired advantages of our accumulated capital, our skill, our priority of industry and of art. We must sink in the scale of nations. Nor is this idle speculation. The history of the world reads us a lesson not to be disdained. No one can have studied this subject even but a little, without being struck with the similarity of the circumstances in which this country is now placed, and those of Holland during the last century. Whoever will take the trouble attentively to peruse that admirable work of M. de Luzac, " La Richesse de la Hollande," will there see the operation of SPEECFI ON REVISION OF TAXES. 399 an erroneous system of taxation on the industry and con- dition of that country. Holland was formerly situated nearly as we are now. It had emerged from lengthened and expensive wars with a heavy burthen of public debt. It had not a numerous poor, but their place in its expen- diture was supplied by the necessity of keeping up the dykes. From the foremost place in commerce and manu- factures amongst the nations of the world, its industry declined gradually, but steadily ; and by that writer, as by all who have discussed the subject, that decline was accu- rately traced to one cause — oppressive taxation. So great was the anxiety of the Dutch Government to ac- quire information on this important subject, that various commissions were appointed for the express purpose : one of the most interesting reports from which was that made by a commission appointed in 1751, in the reign of Wil- liam IV., from which I shall, with the leave of the House, read the following extract, so applicable does it appear to me to the condition of this coinitry at present. The ex- tract is from a report of a committee appointed to inquire into the best means of amending the commerce of the republic. It says, '•' The oppressive taxes which have, under various denominations, been imposed on trade, must be placed at the head of all the causes that have co- operated to the prejudice and discouragement of our com- merce and manufactures ; and it may justly be said that it can only be attributed to that, that the trade of this coun- try has been diverted out of its channel, and transferred to our neighbours, and must daily be still more and more alienated, unless the progress thereof be stopped by some quick and effectual remedy." This was the language of those who inquired most closely into the subject in Hol- land. Let us at least guard ourselves in time from the chance of being called upon to institute similar inquiries some years hence, and of receiving a similar explanation. But I may perhaps be told, this is all very true : taxation is clearly an evil : we know it ; but we have en- 400 AITENDIX V. tered into engagements — we have plighted our faith. It is here that I wish to meet my opponents. I agree witli wliat was said by tlic honourable member for Callington on a former night, upon the necessity of maintaining in- violably the pu))lic faith. I entirel}^ concur with him. T go further ; for I should say, although you are oppressed by this heavy responsibility, I am not only ready to main- tain that amount of revenue which is requisite to support it, which may be necessary to uphold all establishments conducive to the dignity, safety, and honour of this coun- try ; but I am prepared to assert, that under a good sys- tem all these burthens may be rendered light, and not only the existing engagements of the country religiously adhered to, but that she may be placed in a situation to make further exertions, if necessary, and wield a greater power than ever she did before. It is not of the amount of revenue that I complain — it is not of the extent of taxation. It is not the sum of money which passes into your treasury : it is the manner in which you raise it, which checks your industry, destroys your energy, and must leave you at last to ruin and poverty. It is not by the amount of taxation that the injury which it inflicts is to be measured : it is by its efTects. It is the incidence of taxation to which we have to look. This is the only standard by which we can mea- sure the taxation of any country ; and this has been the concurring opinion of all who have studied the subject. We find it in our own country : we find it in others. I have already referred to the state of Holland; I might appeal to Frjmce and Spain. All the writers upon Spain, Ulloa, Usteritz, and others, concvir in opinion that the decline of that country was more to be attributed to the imposition of the Alcavala, the most odious tax ever im- posed in any country, than to any other circumstance whatever ; and the flourishing condition of Catalonia and Valencia, where it did not exist, amply confirms this view. Sully, Vaubanc, Turgot, and others, agree in attributing SPEECH ON REVISION OK TAXES. 401 ur faith. It I agree with jr Callington .iiitaining in- with him. I ire oppressed :ady to main- ite to support stablishments of this couri- er a good sys- light, and not ;ry rehgiously a situation to ield a greater I complain — ^ot the sum of is the manner lustry, destroys |t to ruin and jation that the : it is by its which we have ;li we can mea- s has been the |d the subject, in others. I and; I might vs upon Spain, ,nion that the [ributed to the Is tax ever im- circumstance Catalonia and rms this view, in attributing the miserable condition of France to tlie system of taxation more than to any other cause ; but to tlie incidence, and not to the amount. Sully showed, that in order to raise a reveiuie of 80,000,000 francs, 150,000,000 were actually taken from the people. When M. Turgot came into the administration, he had an exact calculation made of the expense required for keeping up the roads. He found that it would amount to 10,000,000 francs; whilst it ap- peared that by the system of Corvee the execution of repairs was carried on at an expense of 40,000,000 to the people. Turning to English authorities, I find that on the importance of the incidence of taxation, Adam Smith has the following passage, with which I must trouble the House : — '• Every tax ought to be so contrived as both to take out and keep out of the pockets of the people as little as pos- sible, over and above what it brings into the public trea- sury of the state. A tax may either take out or keep out of the pockets of the people a great deal more than it brings into the public treasury, in the four following ways: — First, the levying of it may require a greater number of officers, whose salaries may eat up the greater part of the produce of the tax, and whose perquisites may impose another additional tax upon the people. Secondly, it may obstruct the industry of the people, and discourage them from applying to certain branches of business which might give maintenance and employment to great multitudes. While it obliges the people to pay, it may thus diminish, or perhaps destroy, some of the funds which might enable them more easily to do so. Thirdly, by the forfeitures and other penalties which those unfortunate individuals incur who attempt unsuccessfully to evade the tax, it may frequently ruin them, and thereby put an end to the benefit which the community nnght have received from the employment of their capitals. Fourthly, by subjecting the people to the frequent visits and odious examination of the tax-gatherers, it may expose them to much unne- D D 402 APPKNDIX V. cessary trouble, vexation, and oppression ; and tliough vexatioji is not, strictly speaking, expense, it is certainly equivalent to the expense at which every man would be willing to redeem himself from it." Let the House but examine our present system, and say how far it agrees in almost every respect with the descrip- tion of that kind of taxation which Adam Smith so justly deprecates. How are the taxes raised in this country, in which it should be our peculiar care to throw no impedi- ment in the way oi" the productive employment of our capital and of our labour ? Let gentlemen look at the returns upon the table, which show that 6,000,000/. of taxes are levied upon raw materials, and upwards of 2,000,000/. on your own manufactures.* Nor is it surprising that our system should be faulty. If any one feel astonishment, let him consult the history of British taxation, and he will cease to entertain any. By far the greater part of our taxes were imposed during a period of excitement and of disturbance, whilst we were struggling for our existence, and only thought how to meet the exigency of the passing hour. In the year 1 793 the whole revenue raised was only 17,000,000/., and this amount was carried rapidly in the course of a few years by successive taxation to the enormous sum of 70,000,000/. No wonder, then, that true principles should have been lost sight of, and that the system then adopted upon the pressure of the moment should have been faulty in every respect. Let me not be told that Mr. Pitt gave the sanc- tion of his name to such measures : I know he did : but it was in defiance of his own principles, and in contradiction of his own recorded opinions. I know that, yielding to the necessities of the times, urged on by a desire of pro- viding means for a war every year of which he believed would be the last, he departed from the principles which in better times had guided his policy. But it is to those times, from 1788 to 1793, that I would appeal. Were * See Pari. Pap. 1829, p. 172. SPKECH ON RKVJSION OF TAXKS. 408 and though it is certainly man would be system, and say th the descrip- Sinith so justly :his country, in row no impedi- loynient of our en look at the ; 6,000,000^. of md upwards of lould be faulty, nsult the history entertain any. ; imposed during , whilst we were thought how to [n the year 1793 10,000/., and this e of a few years li of 70,000,000/. tould have been ..opted upon the |n faulty in every tt gave the sanc- ,w he did : but it in contradiction [that, yielding to a desire of pro- iich he beheved principles which ,ut it is to those appeal. Were Mr. Pitt now alive, 1 would call upon him to support my proposition upon the principles which he himself then laid down when he carried those measures into execution, upon which, now that the spirit of party has died away, his fame as a financier (and as a financier only do I speak of him) is acknowledged to rest, — his two great measures, the commutation act and the commercial treaty with France. Fatal, indeed, has it been to this country that events interposed to prevent him from following up such policy as this. But if the sound judgment of Mr. Pitt yielded to the pressure of the great struggle in which we were engaged, no wonder if his successors should have committed similar errors, and that we should see each succeeding Chancellor of the Exchequer wield his power without regard to any principle or any interest. It was reserved, indeed, for Mr. Vansittart to show by his ad- ministration the soundness of Swift's remark, that the arithmetic of the exchequer is not like the arithmetic of common life : for him it was reserved to despise the prin- ciples of philosophers and statesmen, to disregard the ex- perience of all previous times, and assume as a mathe- matical proposition that by doubling his rates of duties he would double his revenue. But 1 shall not stop to blame the minister, and still less to impugn the parlia- ment who could sanction his measures. It is easy, indeed, to believe that the statesman who could gravely propound the astonishing proposition, that the one pound note and a shilling were worth the guinea, which was currently sold at twenty-seven shillings, and the House of Commons which could sanction such a monstrous absurdity, should not have been difficult in coming to an understanding upon other matters of finance as preposterous and as ridiculous. My wish, however, is not to find fault with the minister or with the parliament, but to expose the errors of both, and apply a remedy. It is only necessary, indeed, for the House to make itself acquainted with the subject, to see thepropriety of reviewing it. The manner DD 2 404 Al'l'F.XDIX in wliicli, ill the days to wliicli I allude, taxation was treated is truly ludicrous. The le«^islature seemed to treat taxes as an amusinj^ game ; and the House will scarcely believe the various changes, the tricks, the ex- periments ol' all kinds to which, in the course of a lew years, the taxation of the most important articles of our consumption have been repeatedly subjected. Let mc just state a few of them. I find that the tax upon tobacco, one of tbe most important articles of revenue during thirty-five years, from 178J) to 1825, has been changed eight times. Tt was once 350 per cent. ; it was let down to 200 per cent.; it was raised again to 1200 per cent.; and let down again to 800 per cent. Wine, during the same period, was changed ten dillerent times in England, eleven in Ireland. Foreign spirits in twenty years were altered eleven times ; sugar in thirty years seventeen times ; tea seven times ; and glass five times. Surely here we have proof that our taxation has been imposed without much consideration, and upon no very definite principles. This is wli.c I propose to con- sider. In proceeding to state my views, and the course which I should recommend to be taken, I shall I fear have to enter into a detail of figures, which 1 trust the House will pardon ; but it is by figures and by facts that this question must be decided, and not by rounded periods or by eloquent sentences. I propose to divide the taxes, which I shall have to consider, into two branches. First, those which press most injuriously on the raw materials used in our manu- factures or on the manufactines themselves, and which ought to be repealed altogether ; and, secondly, the class of taxation which is the principal object of my motion, and to which I wish to call the particular attention of the House, — those taxes of which the rates are far too high, and a great reduction in which will, I shall be able I hope to show, be followed by no reduction whatever of re venue o SrEECU ON KKVISION OF TAXES. 405 taxation was re seeniecl to u> House will ricks, the cx- Durse of a few articles of our ctecl. Let me the tax u})on ;les of revenue 8'25, has heen 2r cent. ; it was again to 1200 ir cent. Wine, dillerent times jign spirits in sugar in thirty and glass five ur taxation has 1, and upon no jropose to con- and the course , I shall I fear lich 1 trust the nd by facts that rounded periods I shall have to »se which press d in our manu- ves, and which |ondly, the class of my motion, [attention of the ire far too high, |l be able I hope whatever of re I begin then, Sir, witli the taxes upon such articles as I consider in the liglit of raw materials or manufactures, and which press hard upon the industry of the country ; many of them unfit to be objects of taxation at all, in my judgment ; and others exposed to such obnoxious, and harassing, and expensive regulations as to make them, in a national point of view, not worth the trouble and ex- pense of collecting. 1 shall instance but a few, but these the most injurious. To begin with timber. The nett revenue from that is about ! ,500,000/. ; an enormous sum to be levied on an article which necessarily enters into our buildings, our ships, and nmst be of first necessity in the industry of the country. But I do not find fault with its amount : my objection is to the manner in which it is imposed. By the papers laid upon the table of the House it is clearly shown that by our impolitic exclusion of the timber of the Baltic, except at a scale of duty amounting almost to a prohibition, we tax the consumers of this country to the extent of 1,500,000/. more for the sup- posed benefit of a j)articular class, but which is in reality as much a dead loss to the country as if it were thrown into the sea.* Nor is this the only evil ; for whilst you force the consumer to pay an exorbitant price, you make him take an inferior article, quite unfitted for the purposes for which he requires it. This 's one of the blessings we owe to Mr. Vansittart's administration, who by his pro- ceedings in 1809, 1810, and 1813, on the vain pretext of ensuring a supply and rendering us independent of foreign aid, imposed this tax upon the country, forced a bad article upon the consumer, and destroyed a trade which gave employment, in 1809, to no less than 428,000 tons of British shipping, or one fourth of the commercial navy of the kingdom, f I shall not, however, dwell upon this article, because I am aware that there are political con- siderations, however futile in my opinion they may be, * 8ee Pari. Pap. 1828. f See Lords' Report on Foreign Trade. D D 3 -lor, APPENDIX V. which are involved in its discussion, and because the sub- ject is of such nuij^nitude, and of sucii importance, as to be vvortliy of a separate discussion ; and J cannot beHeve that it will not soon obtain one. 1 sliail only atlirm \uy belief, that by clianf»'ing the system, by reopening the trade to the Baltic, you have it in your power to relieve the con- sumer to a great extent, and to inerense your revenue at least one half. The next article to which I come involves purely financial considerations. It is hemp ; the duty on which amounts to only about 70,000/. The rate is about 4/. 1 3s. per ton, or about 16 per cent. The House will recollect that I last year called their attention to this subject. The duty levied on this article is at once the most absurd and the most monstrous of any in your customs; for whilst you tax an article in its raw state, not produced at home, of the first necessity for the greatest interest of this country, your marine, you admit it in a manufac- tured form to be used in your shipping, if purchased and manufactured abroad. You hold out a premium to the manufacturers of foreign countries, whilst you deny to your own even an equality of position as regards the raw^ material, which might give them a chance of fair com- petition. This is hideed breaking not only every sound principle, but even those principles which have hitherto guided your policy, and the result, I need scarcely add, has fully proved the wisdom of your law ; your marine suffers, your importation has declined one half, and your own manufacturers are ruined. I come next to soap, the gross duty on which I find to be, in 1828, the last year I have an account of, 1,414,954/. ; the nett only 1,210,754/. The duty on hard soap (and the revenue on soft soap is next to nothing) is 3d. per lb., or 110 to 130 per cent., or in some cases even more. This is a large sum, and I must fairly own that I do not think it at all an unfit object of revenue. But it is clear that the duty is far too high to answer the SI'KKCH ON REVISION OF TAXES. 407 jausf tlie sub- •tance, as to be at believe that irm iny belief, r the trade to lieve the con- ;)uv revenue at iivolves i)urely duty on which s about i'l. 13s. ic will recollect ) this subject, he most absurd r customs ; lor lot produced at test interest of in a manufac- purchased and kremium to the •it you deny to [regards the raw ;e of fair com- iily every sound \\ have hitherto d scarcely add, ; your marine half, and your U which I find m account of, le duty on hard [t to nothing) is in some cases lUst fairly own ject of revenue. Ih to answer the purpose, and the regulations for collecting it lead to frauds of the grossest description. There is no duty in Ireland, and it is notorious that a large quantity of soap is smuggled back again from that country into England. There is no fixed rule for the collection of the revenue : there (ire no less than seven different modes of levying it : in London there is one way, in Liverpool another, in Hull a third, and so on. This is meant to avoid fraud, and the result is to invite it, and of course to l.-irass the fair trader. I know of two houses who avail themselves of some of the existing regulations to carry on an extensive business entirely with the capital of the government. I will shortly explain how. There is a drawback on the exportation of soap to Ireland, which is paid innnediately, whilst the duty is not required until the expiration of six weeks from the manufacture of the soap. Two houses in Liverpool, exporting their soap to Ireland, immediately after it is made receive their drawback, which exceeds in amount the value of the soap, and which they ha^ e not to pay in the shape of duty for nearly five weeks, during which time therefore they hold in their hands the capital of the government, and actually trade with it. But there is no end to the various frauds which arise under this svstem. I should tire the House were I to enter into a further detail of them. I will only remark, that I am satisfied if the duty be reduced to 60 or 70 \)vr cent, at the outside, if it be levied equally over the United King- dom, and, above all, if the regulations be simplified, your revenue would rather increase than diminish. But if I pass by this duty so easily, I cannot do so with the next article I come to, one which enters largely into the manufacture of soap, barilla, the duty on which was, in 1828, 59,21-9/. ; at a rate, in spite of late reduc- tions, of 100 per cent. That duty was avowedly imposed for the exclusive benefit of a few families in Scotland, who vainly hoped to protect the manufacture of kelp. This plan has completely failed : for whilst the manu- I) D 4 I OH AIM'KM)IX V. facturer has been oppressed, the producer of kelp lius (juitc lost his market, shice lie has been met by the introduction of a factitious alkali, or what is called sonde factice, which has conii)letely undersold hini. Is it to be borne that, for the sake of protecting nominally a few individuals, or to raise such a miserable duty, you should oppress one of your most important branches of manufacture ? I may be told perhaps that this is a trifle. Not so, how- ever, is the next article to which I shall allude ; that of sea-borne coals, the nett duty on which, in 1828, amounted to 833,072/. It is quite impossible to justify the con- tinuation of this tax for one hour. Since its imposition circumstances have entirely changed ; and whoever will refer to the debates which tool: place so often u[)on this subject, will find that the groiuids on which it was de fended are completely different from those of the present day. At the various periods at which this duty was im- posed, — for instance, during the early periods of the war, — coals were principally used for fuel ; and although the tax fell heavily on individuals, and affected their comforts, it did not operate on the manufactures of the country. But now, when that article has become so important in this respect, is it politic, is it just, to compel manufac- turers to establish themselves in inland parts, where they can obtain coals at a cheap rate, and to prevent them from fixing their works on the coa^t or in the capital ? On what principle of equity or of justice can you call on the manufacturer of Norwich or of London to pay a duty on an article from which you exempt his neighbour at Man- chester or at Paisley ? Whoever will inquire but briefly into this subject, will see the injurious effects of this duty. In the glass manufacture, for example, it has completely driven the manufacturer of the metropolis from the coai^ser to the finer kind of goods. Under the general use of steam-power, which prevails more or less through every branch of industry, it must seriously injure almost every manufacturer who comes within its operations. It is, I SPKECII ON WKVIJSION (>F TAXK.s. K)(» t' kelp has (^uitc he introduction . soucU' fnctice, it to ho home few individuals, uld oppress one [icture ? 3. Not so, how- allude; that of 1828, amounted justify the con- e its imposition id whoever will often ui)on this r'hich it was de e of the present lis duty was im- riods of the war, [ud although the their comforts, of the country, so important in mpel manufac- rts, where they vent them from e capital ? On you call on the pay a duty on ;hbour at Man- uire but briefly cts of this duty, has completely rom the coai'ser general use of through every •e almost every Itions. It is, I maintain, utterly indefensible; and I should proposi; its removal with as little delay as mav be. I shall not trouble the House with any more remarks upon the taxes on raw materials. I hold in my hand a list of J307, many of which could, in my ()i)inion, be most advantageously dispensed with, and others essentially re- duced ; but I shall call its attention to the taxes on those articles of manufacturing industry which arc peculiarly ()j)pressive, and peculiarly deserving of incjuiry — I allude to those on glass, [)aper, and printed calicoes. The gross duty on glass for the year 1828 amounted, in Great Britain (1 exclude Ireland, as it is a mere trifle, only 20,000/., and has been lately imposed), to 95;3,2r)7/. ; the nett duty to 577,725/., the difference being either re- turned or sacrificed in the collection. And here I would entreat the House to remark, that, for the sake of such a sum as half a million, a charge of collection on nearly a million is incurred. The duty is Gd. per lb. on flint, but equal to 7d. from the mode of its collection — in other words, upwards of 100 per cent. ; the glass, when made, selling for l.v. to l.s-. 2d. This, too, is a very much reduced duty from what it was : and here the House will observe an admirable illustration of the effect of heavy duties on con- sumption, and consequently on revenue. In 1794, the last year in which the duty was 2 l.v. 5d. per cwt. for plate and flint, and other kinds in proportion, the quantities paying duty were as follows : — Flint and Plate. Broad. Crown. Bottle. Cwt. 67,615 20,607 83,940 227,476 The duties were successively raised to 49a'. ; and at last by Mr. Vansittart, in pursuit of his favourite theory, in 181.3, to 98*. ! And let us see the result: in 1816 the con- sumption had declined to Flint and Plate. Broad. Crown. Bottle. Cwt. 29,600 6,140 3o,502 135,595 In 1825, Government saw a part of their error, and re- 410 AITKNDIX V. (luct'd tlie duty by one half, still leavinj^ it too high. But mark tho cfU'ct : in I8'i8, the last yi-ar lor which I have the returns, the eonsuuiption rose to Flint and Plate. Broad. ('rown. Bottle, Cwt. ()H,i;{| ()!>.W fH),(;()3 22I,H()4 Still, however, only about the same as in 1794. It ap- pears, therefore, that, notwitlistanding the iiicrease ot" po- pulation and general luxury, the consumption has been ke])t down by your imj)rovident system, and is actually now less than it was livc-and-thirty years ago. But here again the duty is far from being the greatest evil. Let any one turn to the; Act, he will find thirty two clauses of regida- tious, ])enalties, prohibitions, all vexatious to the manu- facturer, and all to be })aid for by the j)ublic. I have said that the duty on Hint glass is ChL j)er lb., the glass when made selling for l.v. JUit the excise officer has the power of imposing the duty either when the gluss is in the pot at Sd. per lb., or after it has been turned out at Vul. ; the glass when turned out gaining 100 per cent. It is found more advantageous to the revenue to exact the duty on glass in the pet at od. ; and in this way the duty is raised to Id. Nor is this all : the manufacturer is driven by this method into the necessity of producing fre([uently an ar- ticle which he does not want. He makes the fine glass from the middle, the coarser from the top and bottom of the pot. He frequently wants only fine glass, and he would remelt the flux of the coarser parts if he had not paid duty upon it ; but of course he is unable to do so. All the glass manufacturers whom I have consulted agree that the wln)le cost of the excise to the consumer, besides the duty, which is 100 per cent., is 25 per cent. ; ar.d be- sides, there is great inconvenience and oppression from the frauds which are daily taking place. And observe the ef- fect which is produced upon your trade both at home and abroad. A manufacturer, who has lately travelled through France, the Netherlands, and Gernuiny, has assured me, Sl'EKCIi ON ULVISION Ul I'AXKS. ill too \\'\{i;h. But )!• wliicli I have Bottli'. I 1794. It ap- ; increase of po- rtion has been II is actually now IJut here a^ain il. Let any one uuses of regula - s to the nianu- lic. I have said , the ^'lass when L'r has the power s is in the pot at out at ()f/. ; tlie nt. It is found act the duty on |he duty is raised is driven by this ie([uently an ar- s tlie fine gUiss and bottom of e ghiss, and he Is if he had not unable to do so. consulted agree insumer, besides |r cent. ; ai;d bi- ression froni the ll observe the ef- th at home and ivelled through Ihas assured me, that our manufacturers could advantageously cope with foreigners, were it not for the duties imposed by the go- vernment. Labour is as ciieap in this country, our inge- imity is greater, and mat(;rials are also as cheap; it is, then, the vexatious, onc;rous duty alone, that gives the foreign manufacturer the advantage over the J^nglish. lint the edect of the duty goes further ; it operates to prevent all improvement in the article, because, to im])iove, ex- periments must be niac< • it a man, vvitli a duty (>f 12.> per cent, over his head, is not very likely to make many experiments. This argument applies especially with re- spect to colours. A manufacturer has assured me that he has never been able to produce a beautiful red, b(;cause the duties have prevented his trying the nc^cessary experi- ments without his incurring a great risk or loss. Thus a miserable duty, amounting to only .500,000/., and upon which a charge of 10 per cent, is made for collecting, is allowed to imj)ede our native industry, to put a stop to all improvement, and be a source of endless oppression and fraud. 1 really cannot believe that tlwi Legislature will resist such an appeal as the manufacturers of this article could make to them, or refuse to relieve them from the gratuitous injury which is inllicted on them. [ now come to the duties levied on paper, the gross produce of which for IH2H, (Ireland again excluded, where the duty only amounts to 23,900/.) 1 find to be 7 1'3,422/., the nett amount 099,541/. ; from which the charge of col- lection remains to be deducted. The duty is on some kinds of paper 1^^/., on others 2^6/., on others 3d. per lb., varying from 50 to 150 per cent, on the different kinds of paper ! Surely 1 need scarcely press upon the House the utter impolicy of taxing to such an extent an article of such infinite importance to this country. It is, in fact, a tax u])on science, upon knowledge, on the diffusion of edu- cation and of useful information. But here again tlu' amount of the tax levied forms but a small part of the expense to which the public must necessarily be put to 412 AITENDIX V. repay the manufacturer for all the trouble and nnoyanee to which he is subject by the regulations of the law under which he carries on his business. The vexatious nature of this act is almost incredible. I must trouble the House with some slight description of them in the words of the manufacturers themselves. One of them, upon whose accuracy and honour I can rely, writes to me thus : — " We are bound to give twenty-four or forty-eight hours' notice (according to the distance the exciseman lives) before we can change any paper, and to keep it in our mills for twenty-four hours afterwards before we send it to market, unless it has been re-weighed by the super- visor ; to have the different rooms in our manufactories lettered ; to have our engines, vats, chests, and presses numbered ; and labels pasted on each ream ; should we lose one label the penalty is 200/. I generally write a request for 500 labels to the excise at one time, and should any person get into my mill and steal or destroy them the penalty would be 100,000/. I believe there is not any kind of paper pays more than 20s. per ream duty. If the penalty were iOs. it would be quite sufficient to answer every purpose for the security of the revenue. We are obliged also to take out a yearly licence ; and a mill with one vat pays as much as one that has ten." Another says, " It is no slight aggravation of the evil, that the laws are so scattered and confused as to render it almost impossible for anybody to have a perfect knowledge of them ; and frequently what is a great annoyance to an honest man, is no check to a rogue. It is true, the excise laws are seldom, or perhaps never, acted upon to their ut- most rigour ; but still they confer almost unlimited power on those who have the administering of them, over the property of all who come under their influence ; and I am persuaded that they never could have existed if they had affected the whole of the community." This last observation I think well deserving the serious consideration of the House. It is, in fact, the real gricv- SPEECH ON REVISION OF TAXES. 413 and nnoyance f the law under 2xatious nature uble tlie House le words of the 0, upon whose iC thus : — or forty-eight the exciseman L to keep it in before we send i by the super- r manufactories sts, and presses am; should we generally write a time, and should estroy them the lere is not any m duty. If the dent to answer enue. We are and a mill with tion of the evil, as to render it rfect knowledge mnoyance to an true, the excise pon to their ut- mlimitcd power them, over the ;nce ; and I am :ed if they had ,'ing tlie serious the real griev- ance of your excise laws; and I can safely affirm, that if there be a law under their influence which requires re- vision, it is that which we now have before us. But I now turn to the last tax of this description on which I shall think it necessary to dwell. The subject has already been partially brought before the House during the last session, b\' my honourable friend the mem- ber for Montrose, in moving for some returns of which I shall avail myself — I mean the tax on printed calicoes. It is matter of surprise to me, that this most impolitic im- post should have been allowed to continue, especially when it was declared by the committee of 1818 to be " partial and oppressive, and that its repeal was most desirable." Who, indeed, can examine it, and not feel the truth of this observation. Is it credible, that, in order to raise a nett revenue of 599,669/., a gross tax sliovdd be imposed of 2,019,737/. ? and yet this was the return according to the paper on your table for the year 18^28! And these figures are still far from showing us the real cost of the collection of this tax. That nuist be taken upon the gross produce ; and, supposing the rate of collection for the excise to be 5 per cent., which is less than it really is, you have a cost of 20 per cent, on the nett produce of this tax for charges. In addition to this, from all the inquiry I have been able to make, the increased cost to the manufacturer is fully 5 per cent, upon the whole quantity made, so that you have thus two sums, of each 100,000/., levied on the public for the sake of exacting a duty of 600,000/. But the revenue is again in this case far from being the mea- sure of the injury you inflict. The inequality of the tax constitutes its chief objection. The duty is levied upon the square yard at 3^c?. per yard. Thus the piece of calico which sells for Gd.^ duty paid, contributes equally with that which is worth 5s. per yard. You levy an onerous and oppressive tax of 100 or 150 per cent, upon the poor, who are the purchasers of inferior cottons, whilst the rich, who buy only the finest kinds, pay but 10 or 15 per cent. 414 Al'l'KNUIX V. I have thought it necessai'}', Sir, to tlttail these taxes to the House, as those relating to this branch of my subject, which I consider most injurious, and the repeal of which 1 should most earnestly recommend, as soon as it can be done consistently with the revenue required for the wants of the country. They amount after all to but a moderate sum ; but the gain to the public from their abolition is not to be measured by their pecuniary amount, although that would considerably exceed any loss to the Exchequer. For convenience sake I will just repeat what in my opinion would be the amount of both. I take iiemp at 70,000/., barilla at 69,000/., coals 800,000/., glass 577,000/., paper 699,000/., printed calicoes .599,000/., making a total of 2,814,000/., but which, deducting the charges of collection upon the gross duties respectively, cannot produce to the Exchequer more than about 2,600,000/. The gain to the public, however, by the removal of this amount, I think J am fairly justified in taking at a sum of at least 3,600,000/., even if we only look to the positive pecuniary saving by their having no longer to defray the increased cost of every article which is subjected to these onerous duties, and the vexatious regulations which attend their exaction ; but the real gain would be infinitely greater, if we take into ac- count, as we ought, the new employment for capital, the skill, the improvement in art which would at once be brought into action, if the various branches of industry which now languish under the pressure of these taxes were set free. If I b(; asked what substitute 1 propose in the place of those taxes which I desire to see reduced, I should reply, that a very large proportion of their amount, if not the whole, might be supplied by a reduction in the expendi- ture of the country ; but should that not be found prac- ticable, there are certainly various sources of revenue to be found, infinitely less burthensome to the community. The bounties on the fisheries, the bounties on linen, both useless and mischievous, should be abolished, and would Sl'KKCll ON KKVISION OF TAXKS. ll.-i these taxes to 3f my subject, eal of which 1 as it can be [ for the wants )ut a moderate ibolition is not although that le Exchequer, in my opinion ip at 70,000/., (7,000/., paper :ing a total of es of collection produce to the rhe gain to the ount, I think 1 ist 3,600,000/., liary saving by ;d cost of every duties, and the iction ; but the J take into ac- br capital, the d at once be es of industry f these taxes in the place of should reply, |nt, if not the the expendi- )e found prac- |of revenue to le community. Ion linen, both Id, and would constitute a considerable sum. Various plans have already been suggested, and more could undoubtedly be found, of raising so small a sum in a way much more advantageous to the industry of the country. One, for instance, has been suggested by Mr. Humphreys (I mention it only be- cause every thing which comes from him is worthy of attention), of equalising the duty upon stamps and trans- fers, and applying the legacy duty to real property, as well as personal estate ; the last item alone he calculates would yield 1,500,000/. I do not mean to say that I am by any means friendly to the adoption of such a measure ; on the contrary, I should be adverse to it in the way he proposes it; but I merely advert to it, or to the plan suggested by my honourable friend the member for the Queen's County, to show that if ever the attention of a committee were drawn to the whole subject, I have no doubt that means would be found of supplying whatever might be required, without taxing productive industry to the extent which the taxes I have enumerated do. And here, Sir, I take the opportunity of saying a word on the great question introduced the other night by my right honourable friend the member for Liverpool into ^lis speech, — T mean the question of a great mutation of tax- ation, and the substitution of a direct tax upon income for a large portion of our indirect taxes. T thinkit but just to myself, and but fair to the House, to declare my concur- rence in the view which he takes upon this subject. I agree with him in thinking that, under proper regulations and with sufficient securities, such a change would be bene- ficial in the highest degree to the industry and improve- ment of the country : but having said thus much of my own individual opinion, which I should be ready at a pro- per time to justify and support, I must declare that the consideration of such a plan forms no part of my present motion, and I feel myself therefore by no means called upon to discuss it. ik; AITENDIX V. I sl)all now tlieretbre pass to the consideration of tlic second brancli of my subject, by far tbe most important part of it; the second class of taxation which I propose to consider, namely, of those articles in which a considerable reduction of rate may, in my opinion, be clTected without producing any falling ofl' in the revenue. It is to this important point that I am anxious more particularly to direct the attention of the House, as it is upon this sub- ject that I think a connnittee would be eminently useful. The more I have considered this branch of our revenue, the more convinced I have become, that we have within our own power the means of greatly diminishing the pres- sure upon the people, and of ailbrding them increased means of enjoyment without injuring in any important de- gree the income of the state. If, Sir, there be one principle more clearly established than any other in financial science, it is the axiom of Dr. Swift, that in the calculations of revenue two and two do not always make; four, but much more frequently only one — in other words, that there is a point in taxation, where, by increasing the amount of your duties, instead of increasing your revenue, you defeat your own purpose ; and that, on the ':ontrary, by lowering duties which have been unduly raised, you not only augment the means of enjoyment of the consumers, but you increase the actual amount of your revenue. Wherever we turn in the his- tory of our own taxation we find this doctrine amply illustrated. Unfortunately we have too many examples of the one principle, that increased taxation does not in- crease revenue ; but we have likewise proof enough of the other, that augmented revenue may follow diminished duties. The history of Ireland affords the most striking illustration of the first of these rules. A case is there established, which is written in characters too legible not to serve as a guide to future financiers, — one which ought to bring shame upon the memory of its authors. The re- venue of Ireland, in the year 1807, amounted to 4,378,000/. SPEEril ON REVISION OK TAXES. 417 tration of the lost important h I propose to a considerable fected without It is to this particidarly to u})on this suh- inently useful, f our revenue, ve havt^ within shing the pres- hem increased J important de- rly established i axiom of Dr. two and two do frequently only t in taxation, duties, instead own purpose ; ies which have the means of lase the actual urn in the his- oc trine amply lany examples 1 does not in- oof enough of ow diminished most striking case is there ^oo legible not \q which ought lors. The re- I to 4,378,000/. Betwoeji that year and the conclusion of the war, taxes were successively imposed, which, according to the calcu- lations of chancellors of the exchequer, were to produce 3,400,000/., or to augment the revenue to the extent of 7,700,000/. What was the result ? Why, that in the year 1821, when that amount, less about 400,000/. for taxes afterwards repealed, ought to have been paid into the Exchequer, the whole revenue of Ireland amounted only to 3,844,000/., {)eing 533,000/. less than in 1807, prr-'ious to one farthing of these additional taxes having been imposed. Here is an example to prove that an in- crease of taxation does not tend to produce a corre- sponding increase of revenue, but, on the contrary, an actual diminution. The contrary principle, that for which I contend, is equally well illustrated in the later periods of Irish financial history ; but it is singularly well exem- plified upon the largest possible scale by that of the United Kingdom within the last few years, and to that I propose to refer. By the papers laid before the Finance Coimnittee, it was shown, that, between the years 1823 and 1827, taxes were repealed which should have pro- duced a loss to the revenue of 9,182,571/. But what was the nett loss? only 3,308,316/. ; the enormous difference of 5,874,255/. being made up by increased consumption. With such examples before us, with such facts staring us in the face, can we doubt for a moment, tiiat by acting in a similar way we may confidently look for similar results ? Let us examine, then, how far our system of taxation affords us the oppiu'tunity of following out this principle. When we come to this consideration, it is curious indeed to observe the ample means we have of doing so. I shall have occasion by and by to advert to some duties of minor importance; but I would first draw the attention of the House to the five great branches of indirect taxation in this country, all taxes levied upon articles in most general use amongst all classes of society in this country, amount- ing to no less a sum than upwards of 15,000,000/. These E E 418 APPENDIX V. five great sources of revenue were as follows, in the year 1828, the last I have the accounts of, for the United Kingdom. Net produce of Sugar Tea - Tobacco Foreign Spirits Wine £5fl0'ifi00 3,177,000 2,793,000 2,921,000 1,699,000 ^15,592,000 Now it is plain, that if we can, by diminishing the rates of duties on these articles, at the same time not only not diminish, but perhaps even augment the revenue, on articles so essentially necessary to the comforts of all classes of society, we shall be effecting a most important service, and conferring a vast benefit upon the country. And yet. Sir, I am prepared to assert, that not only would that be practicable, but that such a result would be in- evitable. I am prepared to show, that in doing so the House could scarcely be said to be trying an experiment, or risking anything whatever ; for we have only to go through the history of the taxation of every one of the articles that I have mentioned, and we shall find that each affords the clearest possible illustration of the truth of what I affirm. This is what I propose now to do ; and although I shall, I fear, have to trespass much on the patience of the House, I rely upon their indulgence for being allowed to produce so interesting a case. I begin, then, with the article of wine. And here 1 must allude to an opinion which was delivered by the right honourable gentleman opposite, the Chancellor of the Ex- chequer, in opposing a proposition of my rigl.t honour- able friend the member for Inverness-shire, last year, for a reduction of the duty on sugar. He contended that an increase of consumption and of revenue might follow the reduction of duty on an article of luxury, but would not, to the same extent at least, in articles of general consump- SPEECH ON REVISION OF TAXES. 411J , ill the year r the United ,00'-i,000 ,177,000 ,793,000 ,921,000 ,099,000 ,,592,000 hing the rates le not only not le revenue, on comforts of all most important m the country, not only would It would be in- |n doing so the an experiment, ave only to go very one of the lU find that each of the truth of now to do ; and ;s much on the indulgence for lase. And here 1 tred by the right Lllor of the Ex- ky rigl.t honour- ?, last year, for a itended that an light follow the lut would not, to ^neral consump- tion. From that proposition I dissent; and I maintain directly the reverse. Still, as wine may be considered partly an article of luxury, and partly of necessity, I trust that I shall obtain the concurrence of the Chancellor of the Exchequer, who maintains his principle, as well as of those who agree in mine, which I believe to be more cor- rect. Indeed, it is only necessary to refer to facts, to be convinced that the application of this principle to the duties on wine would lead, not to a diminution, but an in- crease of the revenue. The House will not be a little surprised, I am confident, hy the extraordinary effects which have followed the duties that have, from time to time, been laid upon this article. A century ago we con- sumed in this country, up«)n an average, annually, 14,000 hogsheads of French or Bordeaux wine. It appears that we now only consume, with the present high rate of duty, 1400 hogsheads. The right honourable gentlenuui oppo- site seems to doubt this statement, but 1 can assure him that it approaches as near as possible to accuracy. But it is not my intention to refer to such nmote periods ; I come to a calculation as to the duties levied, and the effect of their imposition upon this article, since the year 1786. It is to be borne in mind, that at that period Mr. Pitt took infinite pains to carry into effect a commercial treaty with France, and witli that view, and for the purpose of facilitating tiie execution of that treaty, he lowered, to a very considerable extent, the duties upon French wines consumed in this country. That system of commercial taxation then introduced by Mr. Pitt, had it been perse- vered in, would have conferred great and lasting benefits on this country and upon France. Now the average annual consumption of French wines in Grcnt Britain, separately from Ireland, from 1791 till 179^3, amounted to 270,000 gallons ; the duty was then but 3.?. 9d. per gallon, the average amount of duty was 52,0001. : the annual average consumption of all foreign wines for those three years amounted to 7,500,000 gallons, and the total amount E E 2 420 AITENDIX V. of duty levied thereon to \ ,V2ti,()0i)/. In the year 1813, when tlic duty had been raised iiilO per cent., the con- sumption of French wines in tliis country declined from Ji70,00() to ,'J(),880 j,adlons ; the revenue by the increase of duty only rose to 73,000/. from 5^,300/. ; and thus, though the duty had been increased from 3.v. J)r/., which it was in 1791-3, to l(>.v. 5d., that is, though the duty upon French wine had been in this manner actually quintupled, there had been only an increase of one-third in the re- venue. I will now refer to the duties raised in 1820 and 1822. At that period the duty had indeed been lowered from 16.V. Cid. to 11*. M. upon French wines, but it remained at 7«. 8c?. upon other wines ; the consec^uence was, that the annual consumption of French wines had increased to 171,000 gallons: the duty increased to 102,000/., yet the total annual consumption of foreign wines amounted to only 5,000,000 gallons ; the total revenue raised to 1,803,000/. Here is a complete proof of the truth of the principle for which I contend. The increase of the duty had been followed by a great diminution in the consump- tion of wine, but by only a trifling addition to the amount of the revenue as compared with 1791 : for though at this period — I mean 1820 and 1822 — the duty was lowered from 16«. 5d. to 1 l.y. 5d. on French wine, which had therefore increased, it remained the same on other kinds, and the total consumption of foreign wines in this country had falh*n off from 7,500,000 gallons, which it was when the low ri.te of duty existed in 1791, to 5,000,000 gallons, and the revenue was only raised from 1,122,000/. to 1,803,000/., though the duty had, in the interval that elapsed between those two periods, been raised 320 per cent. Now, what was the effect of lowering the duty ? In the year 1825 the duty on French wine was reduced to 6s. per gallon, and the duty upon other foreign wines to 46'. per gallon; the consequence was, that the consumption of SI'KKCII ON KKVISION UF TAXES. 421 he year 1813, ent., the ctm- dccHned from )y the increase [)l. ; and thus, .v. \)(L, which it the duty upon illy quintupled, third in the re- ,820 and 1822. n lowered from It it n^mained at ce was, that the lad increased to )2,00()/., yet the les amounted to | ;venue raised to the truth of the use of the duty ill the consump- ^11 to the amount for though at this uty was lowered ine, which had on other kinds, [es hi this country hich it was when ,,000,000 gallons, 11 1,122,000^. to the interval that n raised 320 per |g the duty? In vas reduced to 6s. teign wines to 4s. le consumption of French wine increased to, in 1828, 550,000 jrallons, pro- ducing' a revenue of 13(>,()0()/., and tlie total consumption of foR'i^ni wines rose to 7,580,000 gallons, producing a revenue of 1,50(),000/. Thus, though the duty was lowt'rt'd 50 per cent., you had a positive increase of re- vt-nue from French wines of 35 per cent., with an increased consinnj)tion of 300 per cent., and, taking all foreign wines, the revenue was only diminished 12 per cent., whilst the consumption was augmented 45 per cent. This was the case with the duties on wine in England. I will now refer the House to Ireland, where the eli'ect of an increase of duty is still more remarkable. In Ireland, in the years 1789 and 1790, when the duty upon French wine was SSI. 7.V. per tun, the average annual consumption amounted to 490,000 gallons, producing a revenue of 02,000/. The duty upon other foreign wines was then 22/. 4.9. per tun, and the total consumption of foreign wines at that period in Ireland amounted to 1,400,000 gallons, producing a re- venue of 135,000/. From that period the duty was suc- cessively raised to 44/., 54/., G4/., 75/., 87/., and 105/., and at length it was raised by Mr. Vansittart to 139/., and thus the duty remained until 1814, when the rates were assimilated to those in Great Britain. What was the efi'ect of this increase of duty ? A gradual decline, until, in the years 1820 and 1822, when the duty had been raised to ll.y. 5d. per gallon on French wine, and to 7s. Sd. on other foreign wines, the consumption of French wine in Ireland amounted to no more than 21,500 gallons, pro- ducing a revenue of 12,300/. ; and the total consumption of foreign wines in Ireland amounted to only 566,000 gallons, producing a revenue of 188,000/. Thus, there- fore, though in this instance the duty had been raised 500 per cent., the revenue upon French wine, compared with that produced in 1788-90, had been reduced one- fifth part ; the total revenue upon the consumption of wine in Ireland had been only raised 30 per cent., and the con- sumption had been diminished 60 per cent. In the year E E 3 422 Ah'l'KNDlX V. LSJi5, wlieii, as ill this country, a still greater reduction was made in the duty on wine in Ireland, the consumption of French wine increased tliere, in 18Ji8, to r>r>,()()() gallons, proiluciiiff a revenue of Hi, TOO/. ; and tlu' total consump- tion of foreign wines in Ireland increased to 1 ,00.'J,00() gallons, producing^ a revenue of lf)iJ,(K)0/. Thus, tliongli the duty had been, in this instance, reduced 50 per cent., the reveniu' had actually increased (> per cent., and tlu? consumption had increased 50 ])er cent. Jiut still the consumption of wine in Ireland is less by one-third than if was in ITfK), though the population in that country has iiiore than iloubled since that time.* These facts are sullicirnt to prove the utility and pro- priety of a])plying the ])rinci])Ie of reduction to the duties upon these articles. 1 will ask, after such instances, whe- tlier, if the duty were now reduced to ',i,s. per gallon on French wine, we should not still be likely to collect a revenue equal to the present? It may he said, however, that there is a treaty in the way, between this country and Portugal, to prevent us proceeding; further with such reductions, and that it would not be right to do any thing in that way now. I do not want to have any thing done hastily. I do not want tlie Government to make a sudden alteration in the system, but I sincerely hope that our interests will not be sacrificed to the miserable idea of keeping up a connection with Portugal, and that no such consideration will prevent us from taking our neighbours' produce when they can give it us good and cheap, it being quite obvious that they must afford us a market in return for our own. France, it is said, w^ould not take our goods in return for her wine ; but that is absurd. If we take her wine, she must take our produce in return, or some- thing for which our produce has been exchanged. I now proceed to a most important article — I mean tobacco. Tobacco has become an essentially necessary ar- ticle of consumption amongst the lower classes of society * See Pari. Pap., article Wines, September, 18-20. Sl'KliCH ON KKVISION OF TAXK«. 423 ill this country. It may he considered by lionourable gentlonicn us u luxury, but anion{,'st tlie lower chissis in tliis country it has become an article absolutely necessary to their comlort; and there is none upon which the im|)o- sition of hice of 4,000,000 t in 1794. It population ot ith a consump- of 3,000,000, icle being, then, rs in that coun- ast extent must ertainly myself pon this article, r cent, upon it, temptation to laid before the article in Eng- presenL to the slated — and I hal numbers ol vessels are constantly leaving the ports of Flushing, Os- tend, &c., carrying contraband tobacco to this country. It is a fact which was established in evidence before a com- mittee of this House, that seventy cargoes of tobacco containing 3,644,000 lbs., were smuggled in one year on the coast of Ireland, from the port of Waterford to the Giant's Causeway alone.* In Scotland, the smuggling in this article is also carried on to a great extent. There is no doubt that the only mode of meeting this system of snmggling, and effectually putting it down, consists in fairly reducing the duty upon this article. 1 think that if the duty upon it were re 1 need to I*, or \s. i)d. per lb., the revenue would be greatly served, and smuggling put down. The next article to which I shall advert, is that of foreign spirits, which again affords the most convincing proofs of the principle in question. In the years 1789 and 1790, the average consumption of brandy and gin in Great Britain was 2, 1 1 3,000 gallons ; that of rum 2,21 7,000 gallons ; the duty on brandy and gin was then only 5a'., and the duty on rum only 4a'., and the revenue produced amounted to 1,000,000/. In the years 1816 and 1817, when the duty on brandy and gin had been raised to 18a'. 9c/., and the duty on rum to 11«. 6d., the consump- tion of brandy and gin amounted to 900,000 gallons, and that of rum to 2,87 1 ,000 gallons, producing a revenue of 2,470,000/. Thus though the duty had been increased nearly 400 per cent, upon brandy and gin, and 300 per cent, on rum, the revenue had been only a little more than doubled, and the consumption had fallen off, notwith- standing an increased population, by one fourth. But there is a still stronger case, in reference to the mode in which those articles have been taxed. In 1801 and 1803, when the duty was 9a'. 5d. on brandy and gin, and 7a'. 6d. upon rum, the total average consumption amounted to v5,799,000 gallons, producing a revenue ol 2,408,000/. In * St'c Revenue EiKjuiry. 426 APPENDIX V. 1816 and 1817, when the duty upon the former spirits had been raised to 18*. 9d., and on the latter to 11*. 6c?., the total consumption amounted to only 3,771,000 gallons, producing a revenue of 2,470,000/. Thus in this case, though the duty on brandy and gin had been doubled, and that upon rum raised 50 per cent., the revenue was only increased 2,000/., instead of being increased by 2,000,000/. as might have been supposed. I shall now advert to the reduction of the duties upon those spirits, to show how it has acted in increasing the revenue. With regard to rum alone. From the year 1822 till 1825, the average consumption was 2,757,000 gallons, producing a revenue of 1,544,600/. ; in 1826-28, when the duty was reduced to 7*. It/., the average con- sumption of rum increased to 4,314,000 gallons, and the revenue produced amounted to 1,537,000/. Thus, though the duty liad been reduced one-third, the revenue still con- tinued the same. That I take to be a case in point. But perhaps it will be said that the increased consumption of rum was owing to a falling off in the consumption of other foreign spirits. No such thing. The total consumption of brandy, gin, and rum had increased from 4,237,000 gallons, the average amount in 1822-1825, to 5,994,000 gallons in 1826-1828, and the revenue had risen from 2,993,000/. to 3,123,000/. ; thus proving that a reduction of duty had been followed by an increased consumption of all kinds of foreign spirits, and by a corresponding in- crease of the revenue. Perhaps it will be said that I do not make a sufficient allowance for a falling off in the consumption of English, Scotch, and Irish spirits, occasioned by the consumption of foreign spirits. I am prepared with an answer for that objection ; and here again I will show, that a reduction of duty has been attended by an increase of consumption and of revenue. It will be found that in 1821 the spirits made in Scotland amounted to 2,229,000 gallons; the duty was 5*. 6d., and the revenue produced was 727,000/. SPEECH ON REVISION OF TAXES. 427 former spirits :ter to \\s. 6c?., 71,000 gallons, us in this case, en doubled, and venue was only I by 2,000,000/. the duties upon I increasing the From the year was 2,757,000 n. ; in 1826-28, he average con- Cfallons, and the Thus, though evenue still con- e in point. But consumption of miption of other tal consumption from 4,237,000 ?5, to 5,994,000 had risen from hat a reduction ,cd consumption rrcsponding in- take a sufficient Ition of English, lie consumption answer for tliat it a reduction of [onsumption and 821 the spirits )0 gallons; tlic was 727,000/. In 1 828, after the duty had been reduced to 2s. per gallon English, the consumption increased to 5,716,000 gallons, and the revenue produced amounted to 809,000/. In Ireland, in 1821, the amount of the consumption of spirits was 2,649,000 gallons, the duty was 5s. 6d. per gallon, and the revenue produced was 912,000/. In 1828, after the duty was reduced, the consumption rose to 9,937,000 gallons, and the revenue increased to 1,395,000/. Here, permit me to say, are instances which admit of no miscon- ception, which require no arguments to support them ! It was given in evidence formerly, before a Committee of this House, and previous to the reduction of the duty upon spirits in Ireland, that 10,000,000 of gallons were consumed in Ireland, and that 7,000,000 of that was con- traband spirits. I quote that fact to show how a fair and moderate rate of duty tends to put an end to that system which is created and maintained by an immoderate and excessive rate of duty. But it may be said that the re- duction of the duty on spirits tends to the diffusion of immorality and drunkenness. Now that I take to be a very idle and silly objection. I think that nothing can be more absurd than an attempt on the part of the legislature to control by law the dispositions of the people, as to what drink they shall take, and what they shall not take. I will refer those who make suggestions of that kind to what took place in 1743 or 1745, when the gin act was brought in, and when a heavy penalty was imposed upon any one who dealt in gin. Yet it was proved that, in spite of that, 6,000,000 of gallons of gin w^re consumed in Lon- don alone. There are tv.o articles more to which I shall advert, namely, sugar and tea. Before I do so, I wish to observe, that by the reduction of duties upon tobacco and spirits, we shall not only increase the revenue, but that we shall he thus enabled to put down the system of smuggling, which high duties encourage and maintain, and we can then dispense with the expensive coast blockade guard, 428 APPENDIX V. which it is necessary to keep up at present. By doing so, by reducing the duties upon spirits and tobacco, we shall equally serve the revenue and promote the morals of the country. From the evidence of Mr. Dean, an officer of the government, before the finance committee, it would appear, that the smuggling in these articles alone renders the maintenance of the preventive establishment abso- lutely necessary ; and that for this purpose only is the country called upon to bear an expense of nearly 700,000/. I need scarcely urge upon the consideration of the House the great advantage that would result to the country from getting rid of the whole of that system, and of the de- moralizing practices of which it is the unavoidable cause. It is well known that all along the coast smuggling pre- vails to a great extent — it is equally certain that it arises from the causes which I have stated, and that the esta- blishments for checking it, which they do but imperfectly, are scarcely a less evil than the offence against which they are directed. I now come to the article of sugar, and upon this I shall not feel it necessary to say much ; both because the subject has been already so ably discussed in former de- bates, and because I really think that my case has been almost admitted. No one surely will be found to deny, that if without any sacrifice of revenue we can assist that very suffering interest, the great body of West India pro- prietors, it is our duty to do so. But when, in addition to that, we can benefit so essentially the great body of the people of this country, who more or less all consume sugar, I really cannot express my astonishment that some reduction of this duty should not already have taken place. What does all the evidence of past experience, both of your accounts and of your own officers, say? Why, that a reduction of duty is unavoidably followed by in- creased consumption and even of revenue, and that of course the opposite result follows an opposite course. Lot us take the consumption of sugar in 1801, when the SPEECH ON REVISION OF TAXES. 429 . By doing so, )bacco, we shall e morals of the n, an officer of mittee, it would es alone renders blisliment abso- pose only is the nearly 700,000/. on of the House ;he country from and of the de- mvoidable cause. ; smuggling pre- tain that it arises d that the esta- , but imperfectly, minst which they and upon this I both because the [?d in former de- my case has been le found to deny, /e can assist that West India pro- irhen, in addition le great body of less all consume liment that some have taken place, erience, both of TS, say Why, followed by in- Lue, and that of Lsite course. liOt llHOl, when the duty was 20s. : it then amounted to 2,77.'3,000 cwt. In 1821, twenty years afterwards, when your population had increased in Great Britain from 10,000,000 to 14,000,000, it remained stationary, nay, it had rather fallen off, for it amounted only to 2,(376,000 cwt. ; and why was this ? The price had increased from natural causes, and you had raised your duty to 27.v. During the few past years, the natural price of sugar has fallen materially, and the effect is visible in the increased consumption, which in 1828 amounted to 3,285,000 cwt. But what would be the case if you were to diminish your duty to I8s. or 20a'. ? Is it not to be supposed, that with a population of 17,000,000 in Great Britain, and above all with one of 7,000,000 to 8,000,000 in Ireland, rising in wealth and in means of purchasing every day, your consumption would rapidly augment, and your revenue with it ? The Chancellor of the Exchequer, in arguing this question last year, sup- posed that a reduction of duty to 20*. would be followed by a loss of revenue of 400,000/... allowing for an in- creased consumption of 500,000 cwt. I am of opinion, that a far greater increase of consumption would really take place, and I may refer him to the evidence of Mr. Irving, in his Letter, laid before the Finance Committee, for a proof of what I say. I have not the slightest doubt, that if the duty were reduced to 20s. the revenue would be a gainer and not a loser by the transfer. But I shall not go at any further length into this article, and I pass to the next. I mean tea. I certainly am not for proposing a reduc- tion of the duty upon this article as long as the monopoly of the East India Company continues, for that 1 believe would only be taking money out of the pockets of the public to put it into those of the company. But the trade ought to be thrown open, and the enormous duty reduced at the same time. I wish too more particularly to allude to tea, because the history of its taxation furnishes the most striking example of the effects of various duties upon 430 APPENDIX V. it, and serves to illustrate and confirm in the clearest man- ner the principle for which I am contending. In 1745 the duty was 4.?., and the consumption amounted to only 750,000 lbs., and the revenue was 151,000/. In the following year the duty was reduced to 1*. per pound, and the immediate result was, that the consumption in- creased to 2,000,000 lbs., and the revenue instead of fall- ing off actually amounted to 243,000/. From 1748 to 1783 succeeding Chancellors of the Exchequer, disregard- ing the experience of what had then taken place, suc- cessively raised the duty to 119 per cent, at whicli it stood in 1783, when the consumption was only 5,857,000 lbs., and the revenue 700,000/. At this period Mr. Pitt intro- duced his celebrated commutation act, by which the dutv was reduced to 12^ per cent., and let the House mark the immediate effect. The consumption rose in 1787 to 10,692,000 lbs., and the revenue raised was 343,000/. Thus, though the duty was reduced to one-tenth part of what it was, the revenue only fell off one-half. The duty was again changed, but it still remained moderate in 1799 at 25 per cent., when the consumption had gradually in- creased to 24,853,000 lbs. Since then unfortunately a different system has prevailed ; the duty has been suc- cessively raised to 96 and 100 per cent., and let us observe the effect. In 1828, the consumption only amounts to 26,000,000 lbs. ; so that although we have increased in population nearly to the extent of doubling, the amount consumed remains but what it was thirty years ago. Can any thing be more striking than these facts ? And wliat is the necessary inference ? It must be, that as the con- sumption of what is called tea has increased far beyond that extent, the article passing under that denomination must be an adulterated one. By the reduction, therefore, of the present enormous high duty on tea, we should not only benefit the revenue, but we should benefit the consumer, by promoting an in- creased consumption of the genuine article, and by getting SPEECH ON REVISION OF TAXES. 431 e clearest man- • ption amounted 151,000Z. In , Is. per pound, ;onsumption in- instead of fall- From 1748 to quer, disregard- tken place, suc- tt which it stood ' 5,857,000 lbs., 1 Mr. Pitt intro- r which the duty House mark the ose in 1787 to [ was 343,000/. »ne-tenth part of half. The duty loderate in 1799 lad gradually in- unfortunately a has been suc- nd let us observe )nly amounts to e increased in ing, the amount years ago. Can ';ts? And what that as the con- ased far beyond t denomination resent enormous lefit the revenue, jromoting an in- ', and by getting IV rid of the adulterated article that is now so common. It was given in evidence before the Committee of Smuggling, in 1783, that 4,000,000 lbs. of spurious tea were sold in this country, although tlie consumption of duty-paid teas was only 5,000,000 lbs. If thai was the case then, what must be the fact now ? We have, before tl\e East India Committee, the evidence of a gentleman, a foreigner, well acquainted with tlie tea of other countries and of this, who declares that he does not believe that what is called ** tea," which he meets with in inns and shops in the in- terior of the country here, has the slightest infusion of the real plant ; that, in fact, it is all composed of sloe leaves. [ should certainly not desire to interfere with the home manufacture ; but, seriously, such a system of fraud and adulteration ought to be put an end to. I conceive that a reduction of the duty on this article would tend mate- rially to increase the revenue ; and I scarcely think that any one can doubt that such would be the result. 1 should apologise to the House for the length of time that I trespass upon its indulgence ; but I consider it ne- cessary to state the grounds upon which I seek for the appointment of this committee. I make no specific pro- position ; I merely call for a Conmiittee of Inquiry. If I obtain that committee, I should like to see these reduc- tions made in the duties I have spoken of; a reduction in the duty on tobacco to I*. Qd. per lb,, — in that on foreign spirits to 10*., — in that upon tea to 50 per cent., — in that upon foreign v/ines to one half its present amount, and in that upon sugar to 20s. These reductions, I am satisfied, would be followed by an increased revenue. I shall now advert to the article of stamps. I moved, some time ago, for returns of the amount of stamp duties upon sea policies, fire insurances, and the stamps upon newspapers and advertisements. The stamps paid upon sea policies, in the year 1816, amounted to 282,000/. ; and the ships entered inwards and outwards for all parts of the world, in that year, amounted in tonnage to 432 APl'KNDIX V. .'i,954,()(K) tons. Now, in tlie year 1826, tlu? last for which 1 liavi' the returns, the amount of stamp duties paid upon sea policies amounted only to 219,000/., and the amount of tonnage of the ships entered outwards and inwards in that year was 5,154,000/. ; thus showing an increase of business to the amount of 1,100,000 tons, or one fifth over 1810, and a diminution of duty of two fifths. Whence could this arise but from our high rate of duties, which drove insurers to make their policies in the United States or Holland, where they could insure at a cheaper rate ? I know of my own knowledge that such has been the case, and that policies are daily entered into in the United States, in Holland, in Germany, in other countries, instead of being made here, in consequence of the diiference of the stamp. Can it be otherwise in these times, when a difference in price of one quarter or one half per cent, is sufficient to influence the destination of commercial business, and is of material consequence in the present low rate of profit ? Now, if we reduced to a reasonable extent this tax, we should bring back this business to ourselves, and at the same time increase the revenue by the change. If his Majesty's Government persevere in this pernicious tax, they must send all insurers across the water. With regard to fire insurances, the case is yet more flagrant. The premium in the fire insurance offices in London, in cases of common risk, is calculated at Is. Gd., and upon that 3s. stamp duty must be paid to government. This tax of 200 per cent, obviously prevents many from insuring who would otherwise insure. Many who would be anxious to insure their property at the expense only of 1*. 6d. per cent, are deterred from doing so when they reflect, that upon that insurance they must pay a duty of 200 per cent, to the government. What has, in fact, been the consequence of this high rate of duty ? A man having one house, with valuable furniture, may even under this duty insure it ; but does that hold good with respect SPEECH ON liEVISION OF TAXES. 433 1, tho last for np duties paid KM)/., and the outwards and us showing an )0,000 tons, or ,f duty of two a our high rate their policies in could insure at ledge that such ily entered into nnany, in other consequence ol herwise hi these quarter or one lie destination of ^sequence in the e reduced to a bring back this ime increase the y's Government send all insurers ase is yet more urance offices ui dated at Is. Cc?., to government, ents many from any who would expense only ot ,g so when they ist pay a duty of ias, in fact, been .uty ? A man may even under ,od with respect to the great proportion of risks ? Even in those cases in which there is but one insurance to be effected, the pos- sessor of property will be little inclined to pay three times the real value of the risk incurred to secure him- self; but of course whenever that risk can be divided, as is the case in farm buildings, in cottages, in many houses belonging to the same owner, in all those cases in which, hy the division of the chances of fire, a proprietor may become his own insurer, he will see tiiC advantage of doing so, and abstain from applying to an office at all, and of course from contributing any thing to the revenue. Does not the amount of insurances clearly show that something is defective in the system? In 1806, when the duty was 2s. 6d., the capital insured in Great Britain was 262,716,000/., in the ten years ending 1815, it had in- creased to 402,360,000/. The duty was then raised to .3.V., and in the eight following years, the last for which I have returns of the capital, in 182i3, it had only increased to 420,804,000/. ; and the revenue, which under the low duty had increased in ten years from 266,000/. to 518,000/. or doubled, only rose from 592,000/. to 631,000/., or between seven and eight per cent., though no doubt there has been an immense increase of capital and property in this country during that period. If the government duty were reduced one fourth upon fire policies, I am sure the revenue would be, in that instance, materially increased. I shall now direct the attention of the House to the stamp duties upon newspapers and advertisements. My noble friend near me has already adverted to that subject. But I would go further than my noble friend, who has re- commended that the present duty of 4c?. upon newspapers should be reduced to 2d., for I would reduce it to Id., and I am sure the revenue would benefit by the reduction. We can only judge of the effect of these stamp duties by comparing the state of our newspapers and their circula- tion with those of other countries. The inhabitants of the United Kingdom lay a high claim to superior intelli- F F 434 APPENDIX V. gence, and to a high literary character. Now let the state of the newspaper press show liow the matter really stands. I hold in my hand a return made to Parliament in 18;31, with regard to the newspapers in Great Britain and Ire- land. It appears from this return, tliat there were then thirteen daily papers in London, with an average circula- tion of 2,200 each, making a total circulation of 36,000. By this return it further appears that there were 334 news- papers altogether in Great Britain and Ireland, of which twenty were daily papers, to wit — sixteen in London, and three or four in Dublin. Strange to say, Scotland, with all its wealth and intelligence, has not a single daily paper. The total amount of the circulation of these papers was 27,827,000, with a population of 23,000,000. Now if we look to the United States, we shall find that with a population of 10,000,000, the number of papers is infi- nitely greater. It is stated by Cooper that there are 800 newspapers in the United States, that of these fifty are published daily, and that the total circulation of them amounts to 64,000,000; thus establishing the fact, that the United States has five newspapers for its population in proportion to one in the British Isles. France esta- blishes equally well this important fact, tlie bad effect of our stamp duties in preventing the circulation of news- papers. There are four daily newspapers in Paris, the rrrculation of which amounts to 50,000, and the total daily newspaper circulation in Paris is estimated at 80,000, while the circulation of papers in London averages only 36,000. Yet in this country, according to the calculation of Mr. Colquhoun, there were in 1812, 123,000 heads of families, with an income of 800/. per year, a number now probably amounting to at least 140,000; double or treble what exist in France or the United States. It would be also most desirable that the duty upon ad- vertisements should be reduced ; it is at present a most unequal tax, for the same duty, namely, 3*. Gd. is charged on an advertisement of one line or of fifty lines. This Sl'EKCH ON KKVISION UF TAXKS. 4;i5 ,v let the state- really stands, .rnent in 18^1 » ritain and Ire- tere were then vcrage circula- . of 36,000. By vere SS^! nevvs- Aand, of winch in London, and , Scotland, with [igle daily pap^^r. besc papers was 0,000. Now if ftnd that with a f papers is infi- lat there are 800 .f these fifty are ulation of them ig the fact, that n- its population iS. France esta- :he had effect of ulation of news- ,rs in Paris, the nd the total daily .ated at 80,000, ^n averages only to the calculation ll 23,000 heads of Lr, a number now double or treble s. le duty upon ad- ,t present a most 35. Gd. is charged afty lines. This tax is a great obstruction in the way of advertising. Un- doubtedly hononrable nieinbers who have a double number of The Times hiid iqxm their table in the morning, may be led to imagine, from seeing the crowd of advertisements in that inmiense sheet, that no such obstruction exists; but I would merely refer them to the United States, to show how nmcli more advertising is resorted to where no duty upon advertisements exists. It appears from a state- ment upon which 1 feel disposed to place the fullest reli- ance, that the yearly number of advertisements in the United States amounts to 10,000,000, while the total number of advertisements in the United Kingdom only amounts to 9().3,()()0, or about one-tenth of the number that is published in the United States. We have but to look to the walls of this metropolis to be convinced, that no indisposition exists on the part of the people here to advertise, and to perceive that the check upon their doing so consists in this duty. I should, therefore, be for re- ducing the duty, as 1 am sure its reduction would encou- rage advertising, and increase the revenue. I have read a letter on this subject from the able and intelligent editor of the Scotsman, an Edinburgh paper ; and I quite concur with the writer in his views. I would recommend the pe- rusal of that letter to the Right Honourable Gentleman opposite (the Chancellor of the Exchequer). I have ex- amined the statements vvhicli he makes, and I find no flaw in them. He proves, I think, incontrovertibly, that the reduction of the dutv on advertisements would increase the revenue, and that if the duty were lowered upon news- papers to one penny, we should have newspapers sold for twopence-halfpenny instead of sevenpence, as at present. I am for removing all obstructions against tlie diffusion of knowledge, intelligence, and useful information. Sir, I have now endeavoured, very imperfectly I fear, to bring the system of taxation of which I complain, before the House. I have attempted, in the first place, to point out such taxes as appear to me to be worthy of consider- F F 2 -lao AITENDIX V. ation, for tho purpose of cfTt'ctinj? tlieir entire repeal. T trust that I have been able to show to the House, that the amount wliich they yield to the Treasury is far from compensatin*,^ for the eharj^e of their collection, for the barriers which they oppose to improvement, and for the injury they inflict on the industry of the country, and the fair increase of that class of manufacturing skill on which they press. At the same time, I am far from proposing to lop off even such an amount of revenue as they con- stitute, — as I have said, about 2,600,000/, — at once, without that deficiency being supplied, either by reduction of expenditure, by the removal of some improper boun- ties, or by the substitution of some other impost. But still I desire that the subject should be fully considered ; that the nature of these taxes should be narrowly inquired into, in order that they may be gradually removed as we are in a condition to do without them, or to obtain their amount from sources of taxation less injurious to the community. Such an inquiry surely is deserving of the attention of a Committee of this House. But should there exist any doubt upon this point, it appears to me that there can be none as to the second branch of my subject ; namely, the propriety of reviewing the duties upon the great articles of consumption which T have enumerated, in order to ascertain whether their pre- sent state does not defeat the very object you had in im- posing them ; and whether, by reducing their scale, you may not even augment your revenue, at the same time that you relieve the burthens of the people. I have been obliged to trouble the House very much at length on these branches of revenue ; but I trust that I shall be forgiven, when I remind them that each of the articles to which I have been obliged to refer them, furnishes the most apt illustration of the principle for which I contend, in both its bearings. Each of these articles to which I am now anxious to apply my principle has already put it to the test. In each we have seen, that an increase of duty SrEECH UN REVISION OF TAXES. 437 iro repeal. T 2 House, that •y is far from ction, for the t, and for the untry, and the skill on which rom proposing o as they cou- )0/,— at once, sY by reduction mproper houn- impost. But illy considered; rrowly inquired removed as we to obtain their njurious to the eserving of the n this point, it to the second ty of reviewing mption which I ther their pre- ou had in ini- ;heir scale, you the same time I have been length on these ,all be forgiven, tides to which I !S the most apt lontend, in both hich I am now ly put it to the crease of duty beyond the bounds of moderation, has invariably produced a diminished consumption, and a but slightly augmented revenue; that, on the contrary, a diminution of duty has greatly increased the consumption, and has been attended seldom with any considerable falling off, frequently with even an increase of revenue. Am I not justified, then, in maintaining that this would be the consequence now ? Am I not authorised to hope, that what has been shown by experience always to follow, would now also ensue? But above all, have I not a right to call upon this House to inquire into the case, and to apply the princij)le, if it be satisfied of its correctness? That it would satisfy them that it is in their power to afford substantial relief to the people, with but little in- jury to the revenue, — 1 entertain not the slightest doubt. I hold in my hand a scale of future duties and consump- tion, which I have submitted to many who are best ac- quainted with this subject, and who agree in believing that I have rather underrated both the revenue and the probable consumption ; — and yet, by adopting the duties I propose, — gradually of course, — a relief might be afforded to the people of between 6,000,000/. and 7,000,000/., at the cost of less than 1 ,000,000/. to the Exchequer. If, then, we have it in our power, by the reduction of duties, to yield relief to the people with perfect security, and without doing more than a temporary injury to the revenue ; I do not think it possible for any man to object to our adopting such a line of conduct. Undoubtedly, Sir, I am not aware of the course which his Majesty's ministers intend to pursue upon this subject. I have already disavowed any hostile intentions, or any but the most friendly feelings to them, in bringing it forward. In proposing that the whole taxation of the country should be taken into consideration by a select committee, as was done in the year 1783, and as was the intention of the Finance Committee, as I think is manifested in their fourth report, — 1 protest that 1 am actuated by no want of con- F F 3 438 APPENDIX V. fideiice in his Majesty's advisers. My object, Sir, is far different ; it is to arm them with greater power to do good, and to assist them in the praiseworthy object, which they have already commenced, of reducing the burthens which press upon the people. My object, in short, on this subject is to give them that power which they cannot exercise effectually, as I conceive, without the assistance of a com- mittee. Sir, I am not sanguine enough to expect that the alterations which I have taken the liberty of proposing, can be made without produciiig some deficiency in the revenue in the earlier stages of their operation ; a tempor- ary deficiency, and temporary is all that it could be, might perhaps occur during the first year of reductions, and for this some expedient would be requisite. Supported by a committee, and carrying into execution its recommenda- tion, the Government might fairly ask from Parliament a vote of credit for this purpose ; and that, permit me to say, with much greater confidence, than if they wen- acting merely upon their own responsibility. There is another reason which I consider to be a justification for asking to go into this conimittee, and which induces me to prefer this course. Tl;ere are a great variety of interests deeply concerned in this subject ; all of which may be fully heard in the committee, and their different claims impar- tially decided on. We should have an opportunity, amongst other things, of examining into the extent of smuggling, and into the various frauds on the revenue, occasioned by the impositioii of high duties, — subjects which could be brought before a committee with a chance of obtaining a much fuller investigation than they could by any possibility obtain from the members of Government, who are necessarily engaged "ath many other various and important occupations. Whatever the determination of Government may be upon this motion, Sir, 1 trust that the tone and temper of my observations may make them sensible that \ am only SPEECH ON REVISION OF TAXES. 439 desirous to carry that object which they and I equally profess to have at heart — I mean, the reduction of such duties as press most heavily on the productive industry of the country. What the determination of his Majesty's Government may be on this subject, I repeat, I shall not presume to augur ; but 1 trust that, be the decision of the Government what it may, the House will support me hi the motion which I have made for nominating a committee for the purpose of inquiring into this subject, and of having it laid open before them. In calling for an inquiry into the system of taxation, I appeal for support to those, who, on a late occasion, voted for the Honourable Baronet's proposal for a committee to inquire into the extent and causes of the national distress, and to report whether any, and what remedies could be applied for its relief. I offer them here a motion which goes practically to the object which they had in view. In this committee they will have an opportunity, which they ought not to lose, of gaining that information for which they have recently expressed such strong anxiety. I appeal also for support to those honourable members who opposed that proposition, conceiving that it was too vague and general in its terms, and that no good could be derived from acceding to it. Here they have a definitive proposition — here they have a motion for inquiry into a specific object for the relief of the people. I appeal like- wise, Sir, for support to all those, who, in the course of the present session have presented petitions from the people, complaining of the severe distress under which they are suffering. Here they will see a prospect, at least, of affording their constituents that relief to a great extent, without doing any injury to the revenue ; and 1 cannot conceive how those honourable members can face their constituents, who are daily sending up complaints of the severity of taxation, and calling for some alteration in the mode of collecting it, if they refuse to enter into an inquiry, out of which no liarm can come, and from which V I 4 440 APPENDIX V. some good, perhaps, may arise. On the one side, if you grant this inquiry, you prove to the people that you are anxious to alleviate their distress, by affording them the articles most necessary to their subsistence and comfort at a cheap rate, — to the country, that you desire to afford this relief, but at the same time to meet the claims of the national creditor, and to preserve inviolate the public faith, — and to the world you will present the spectacle of a legislative body fulfilling its highest duty, occupied in the attentive consideration of the interests of those from whom it derives its power, and anxiously endeavouring to remodel its system so as to meet the necessities of this situation. On the other hand, if you refuse this inquiry, it can only be for reasons which I can scarcely conceive ; you can only do so under the notion that Parliament is incompetent to conduct it ; and, allow me to say, in doing so, you will abandon the most important portion of your duty, and send the people discontented and dissatisfied away. For these reasons, and upon these grounds, I put my motion, with confidence, into the hands of the Speaker, gratefully thanking the House once more for the indulgent ativ^.tion with which it has listened to my observations. I beg leave to move, Sir, that "a Select Committee be appoint- ed to inquire into the expediency of making a revision of the taxes, so that the means of paying the sums voted by the House, and all other charges for the public service, may be provided for with as little injury as practicable to the industry and improvement of the country." 441 3 side, if yow that you are ffording them ce and comfort lesire to afford I claims of the le public faith, spectacle of a iccupied in the ose from whom ring to remodel : this situation, iry, it can only J ; you can only incompetent to g so, you will your duty, and ed away, mds, I put my the Speaker, or the indulgent observations. 1 littee be appoint- a revision of the ms voted by the ic service, may •acticable to the APPENDIX VI. SUBSTANCE OF THE SPEECH OF THE RIGHT HONOUR- ABLE C. POULETT THOMSON ON THE CORN LAWS, MARCH 2. 1834. [From Hansard's Parliamentary Debates, vol. xxi. third series.] Often as it had fallen to his lot to address the House, which he always did with feelings of great anxiety ; yet he could unfeignedly assure it, that he never rose to address it under stronger feelings of trepidation than those which he experienced at that moment. He had the mis- fortune to differ in opinion upon this subject from many of those friends with whom he was in the habit of acting, and, above all, he had the misfortune to differ from his right honourable friend, the First Lord of the Admiralty. It would, however, be unworthy of the little character which he trusted that he had been enabled to obtain — and he should be unworthy of representing that great con- stituency which, unsolicited, had done him the honour of sending him as its representative to the House of Com- mons — he should be a traitor to the opinions which he had always expressed, and the votes which he had always given upon this subject, if he did not, unhesitatingly, but still with great diffidence, proclaim the views which lie entertained upon it. " I must first," said the right honour- able member, " correct a statement made by the noble Lord who has just sat down. That noble Lord has stated, if I understood him correctly, that he had withdrawn his amendment, because it was the desire of the Government that the motion of the honourable member for Middlesex should be lost in as small a minority as possible." 1 deny tliat. The circumstance of my being here as a member of the Government, and yet voting with the honourable mem- hcr for Middlesex, iss at once an answer to the statement A'hicli the noble Lord hits made. 442 APPENDIX VI. The Earl of Darlington: On what uthority does the right honourable member deny my sta: .ment? Mr. Poulett Thomson : The authority upon which I deny the statement is this — that it is an open question in the Government, for the truth of which 1 appeal to my noble friend sitting near me, and it is on this ground that I. am iierc as a member of liis Majesty's Government, though not in the Cabinet, advocating the opinion, and voting for the motion of the honourable member for Middlesex. The Earl of Darlington: What I said was this : I said that a communication, sent as an appeal to me to withdraw my amendment, came from a high quarter in his Majesty's Government. I had it, in point of fact, in writing from one who is not only a member of the Government, but also a member of the Cabinet. Mr. Poulett Thomson : If that be all the statement of the noble Iv \ ^9> V 23 WEST MAIN STREET WEBSTER, N.Y. 14580 (716) 872-4503 6^ f/ ■-. i"Orfa-rt -Kitii- 450 APPENDIX VI. borrowed from his right honourable friend, whicli he gave to the argument his right honourable friend had borrowed from Mr. Oliver. Upon the subject of the general Interest, it was true his right honourable friend had boasted of the discovery of some new machinery, some •* vicious circle," as he had called it, by which, sup- posing the people of this country to have the power of purchasing their corn as they could get it cheapest, they were somehow or another to find themselves getting from bad to worse, and that at last in consequence of this odd hocus pocus, which he knew not how to describe, except as the " vicious circle " mentioned by his rigiit honourable friend, they were to find themselves ruined and starved in consequence of a perfect plethora of good things. To this point, however, he would return. He would now pass to the point he had first alluded to — viz. what benefit tlie present Corn -laws conferred on the agricultural interest, on the landlords, the tenants, and the agricultural labourers. He did not wish to advance any further argument to prove the negative of the proposi- tion, that the Corn-laws have been beneficial to the landed interest, than that contained in the book before him, the Agricultural Report itself, framed in the year 183."}, after eighteen years' experience of the operation of the Corn- laws. This report told a tale — would to God it were any other ! — a tale of ruin to the agricultural interest, which he, for one, most sincerely lamented, and would most anxiously (and he believed never more than by the vote he should give that night) seek to remedy. In that report, to which he wished to pay all possible respect, (though he was bound to say that he did not think it was absolute wisdom) he found a description of the declining interests of those engaged in agricultural pursuits. He found it stated, that the capital of the fanners had diminished since 1821. Now, the Committee of 1821 had previously declared, that prices did not give remu- nerating returns for capital; but it was hoped, that the savings which had been effected might enable the farmer SPEECH ON THE CORN LAWS. 451 1, which h»' i friend had bject of the arable friend V machinery, y which, sup- fe the power t it cheapest, selves getting quence of this V to describe, , by his right iiselves ruined nhora of good d return. He : alluded to — )nferred on the le tenants, and vish to advance , of the proposi- al to the landed before him, the ^ear 183.S, after ,n of the Corn- to God it were Liltural interest, ted, and would )re than by the medy. In that (ossible respect, lot think it was of the declining 1 pursuits. He le farmers had imittee of 1821 not give remu- hoped, that the tnable the farmer to go on, and eventually regain what at tliat time he was losing. In the report of last year he found a regret ex- pressed, that these flattering hopes had not been fulfilled — that the capital of the farmer had been expended and lost — and that his condition now was infinitely inferior to what it was in 1821. Further, it was said, that the pro- ductiveness of the soil was diminished; but, in this last inference, he (Mr. Thomson) did not agree ; he thought he could controvert it ; but he would take it merely as the declaration of the Committee, which would stand in favour of his argument. The Committee of 1821 had declared their opinion, that the produce of the country was sufiicient for its consumption, except, perhaps, on extraordinary occasions, and that it was therefore unwise to depend upon foreigners for the supply of corn. But twelve years had been sufficient to sweep away all the conclusions which the Committee of 1821 had come to, for the last Committee expressly said, that, in ordinary seasons, the produce of our own soil was not sufficient to render us independent of foreigners for a supply of corn. The law had sought to establish that independence ; and, after eighteen years of suffering — eighteen years of decay — eighteen years of privations and vicissitudes — what was the result ? Why, we had become dependent on foreigners, while, by our exclusions, we told them not to grow us a supply. The report of the Committee of 1833 gave a lamentable de- scription of the condition of the small landed proprietors ; it drew a picture of the distress of the smaller yeomen which needed not to be represented to the House, but which no man who felt an interest in his country's welfare could do otherwise than lament. To this, then, they were come, after eighteen years' experience of the operation of the Corn-laws, — of those laws which they were now again told were indispensable to the interest of the landlord and the tenant. Here was a report made by a Committee of the House, after mature deliberation, which declared this fact, — that our produce was diminished, that our yeomen G G 2 452 APPENDIX VI. were suffering deeply, our farmers ruined, and that our boasted independence of foreigners in the supply of grain was at an end! Upon this representation, he would take his stand as an argument, if he had no other, against the existence of the Corn-laws. Eighteen years had elapsed since they were established ; and it appeared, from evidence, that the state of the agricultural interest had been, during that time, retrograding from bad to worse — from com- parative prosperity to absolute ruin. Try, then, he would say, another system, — try the system, which, as he would presently show, had been found to operate well for the landlord, for the tenant, and the labourer ; and, at least, do not persevere in a course which experience showed had been attended only by increasing misery, and increasing wretchedness to the very interest which you were anxious to protect. Nor was the extent of the baneful influence of these laws discerned when their effect on the agriculture alone of the country was considered. What, let him ask, had been their effect on its commerce ? He meant to con- sider the question of the restrictions on the importation of foreign corn as a general one, and to show how it had operated in depressing our manufactures and commerce. What were its effects in 1815, when, though peace was declared in Europe, the different states, harassed by a long war, were distracted in their internal arrangements, and when the United States were still engaged in war ? What were its effects then, when, from one end of England to another, the powers of steam were developed, — when spinning-jennies and flax-frames were in active motion, — when, in short, all those different arts for which this coun- try had been so much distinguished, and which we had then carried far towards perfection, were utterly unknown to the greater portion of the natives of both hemispheres ? Above all, there were few restrictive laws in the different states, — none of those prohibitory tariffs which now en- circled every frontier. We had then a field for our industry and enterprise. The advantage we had maintained in Europe was entirely owing to our success in manufactures, and that SPEECH ON THE CORN LAWS. 453 and that our ipply of grain le would take 31, against the rs had elapsed from evidence, 1 been, during ; from com- then, he would ;h, as he would :e well for the ; and, at least, nee showed had and increasing u were anxious ineful influence 1 the agriculture at, let him ask, :e meant to con- e importation of liow how it had and commerce, pugh peace was rassed by a long ■angements, and in war ? What ;nd of England eloped, — when Lctive motion, — which this coun- which we had [utterly unknown .th hemispheres ? in the different •s which now en- for our industry jtained in Europe Ifactures, and that might have been preserved. We were at least fifty years in advance in all that could render manufactures success- ful ; but we neglected the opportunity ; we failed to seize this advantage, and in lieu of it imposed the Corn-laws ; and continuing in this course of policy, we obliged the other nations of Europe, in self-defence, to manufacture for themselves, — to turn their ingenuity and skill, rude as it was, to the cultivation of mechanical arts, in which we then alone excelled. — To turn their ingenuity and skill, did he say ? To form those qualities newly, for pre- viously they possessed none. We obliged them to enter into competition with us, to make those articles for them- selves which we would not suffer them to purchase from us, because we refused to receive in exchange those com- modities which they alone could give in exchange. Thus, by rapid steps, we forced them to be our rivals, when they would gladly have become our friends and dependents. He would pause for one moment, to observe on an expres- sion which had been used in this debate by the honourable member for Middlesex, and which he did not think had been very correctly appreciated. The honourable member for Middlesex said, that he felt inclined to treat this ques- tion as a European question. Though he was disposed to assert, that it was a European question, inasmuch as it in- volved the prosperity of other nations, and their commercial relations with us, still he did not urge that view of the case. He was prepared, on the contrary, to consider the question as a British question alone, and did not wish to consider it in any other light. But let it be recollected, when British interests were talked of, what were the interests invested in, dependent upon, and living solely by, foreign trade. It was easy to say, that foreign trade should not be en- couraged, and that British manufactures should be upheld ; but the last was dependent on the first. British trade was a trade with foreigners. He would tell those who wished to check foreign trade that they were thirty or forty years too late. He would not go into any statement with regard GG 3 454 Ari'ENDIX VI. to population : he would not ask whether 960,000 familieis were dependent on the agriculture of Great Britain, or 1,400,000 on manufactures and commerce; for he did not wish to separate their interests, to support one interest at the expense of another ; but he would ask, of what worth would the land of the country be, — where would be the market for its agricultural produce — without its manu- factures ? What was the relative position of the two classes ? The cultivator of the soil readily found a market at home ; he was not obliged to go to foreign climes to seek a market for his produce, nor was he compelled to regulate the cost of his commodities according to the price they obtained in other countries. He could get the very best price for them, which the competition at home, or the diminution of the means of the manufacturers and consumers enabled him to secure ; and the legislature com- pelled the manufacturing and commercial classes, against whom a monopoly was created on behalf of the landowner, to give almost whatever price he might demand. Now, what, on the other hand, was the condition of the com- mercial and trading interests ? Were honourable gentle- men aware that our exports varied from 34,000,000/. to 36,000,000Z. annually, the produce of our manufactures and industry. But could the British manufacturer regulate his prices by the demand at home ? Could he obtain the equivalent of his labour valued by the equivalent of labour at home ? No ; he was obliged to send his produce to distant climes, to contend with the natives of those coun- tries who laboured for almost nothing a-day — to despatch them to find a market even in the interior of Africa, and in the most distant regions of the globe. Was it not, when the two interests were compared, a sufficient advan- tage on the side of the agriculturist ? — was it not sufficient that, for ali the produce of the soil which had to be sold to the consumer, the agriculturist had the priority of that market in which the manufacturing and commercial classes were the principal customers ? Even if the restriction were taken off the importation of corn, the agriculturist SPEECH ON THE CORN LAWS. 455 [)00 families Britain, ov r he did not e interest at f what worth would be the ut its manu- of the two iind a market ;igu climes to compelled to g to the price I get the very 1 at home, or ifacturers and gislature com- lasses, against he landowner, mand. Now, n of the com- urable gentle- 4,000,000/. to manufactures turer regulate he obtain the alent of labour vis produce to of those coun- — to despatch of Africa, and Was it not, ifficient advan- it not sufficient had to be sold jriority of that imercial classes the restriction tie agriculturist would have only to contend with the foreign grower, after he had been saddled with the different charges for freight, insurance, transfer-commission, and merchants' profit. Our manufacturers could not effect their sales under such advantageous terms, but had to submit to all the charges he had mentioned before they could produce their com- modities in the market. There was, then, on the one hand, an almost unlimited market for the produce of agri- culture close at hand, while the market for the manufac- turer was at a distance, and his near agricultural neighbour had all the advantages of the expense it would cost the manufacturer to send his goods abroad. To his sales there was a bar in the expense of transport ; to the sales of the farmer there were no such bars. There was, in the nature of circumstances, a great advantage in favour of the agriculturists ; and why should they not be con- tented ? But, with regard to the effect this restrictive system had upon industry generally, his right honourable friend had said, " How were your complaints warranted, when the fact was, that in spite of this restriction, the trade of the country had increased, and the export of manufactures had been increased with those countries whence corn comes, and you had not to complain of any loss of trade ? " He entirely agreed with his right honour- able friend's qualification, when he asked whether an aug- mentation of manufactures, and an increase of exports, could be considered inconsistent with a system of restriction on the importation of foreign corn. Who said it was so ? But when the vast amount of raw material imported into this country was considered — when it was recollected, that Great Britain was in a manner the manufacturing workshop of the world — it would easily be seen that the question resolved itself into one of degree. His assumption was, that had it not been for the restrictive laws on corn immediately following the peace, British ma- nufacturing industry would have taken a flight unequalled even in the days of Arkwright or of Watt, and supplied G G 4 456 APPENDIX VI. without competition the whole of the world, instead of be- ing, as now, scarcely able to compete with foreigners. It would bo easy to refer to documents in proof of this assumption. His right honourable friend (Sir James Graham) had, in his observations, merely repeated the arguments made use of by a noble friend of his (Mr. Thomson's) in the other House of Parliament — arguments which he should be ashamed of himself, if he did not refute, because they were calculated to involve the question in mystery. His right honourable friend had said, that in order to show that our exports had gone on Increasing to those countries from which we imported corn, he would read a statement of either the official or declared value of our exports, whichever the House pleased ; neither were par- ticularly called for, and his right honourable friend read a statement of the official value. He wished, instead of the official value, that he had given their declared value, be- cause the question was not exactly one of the quantity, but of the value of exports. By the statement of his right honourable friend, it appeared, that some increase in ex- ports had taken place between 1828 and 1832; but he had had the curiosity to ascertain what his right honourable friend had not stated, the declared value, not only during that period, but also during the years 1818, 1819, 1820, 1821, and 1822. During those years, there was some corn imported, but not near so much as in the period selected by his right honourable friend. This was the re- sult of his inquiry. The total declared value of the exports from this country of British produce and manufactures only, during the years quoted by his right honourable friend, viz. from 1828 to 1832, was 82,425,000/; while in the five years he had referred to, viz. 1818 to 1822, the declared value of the exports was 92,312,000/., showing a diminution of 9,887,000/. It might be, however, objected to this argument, that it embraced a period in which the influence of alterations in the currency might have pro- duced extraordinary results. But he would say, that put- SPEECH ON THE CORN LAWS. 457 nstead of be- ireigners. It proof of this (Sir James repeated the of his (Mr. — arguments lid not refute, e question in I, that in order iasing to those would read a ; value of our ther were par- 3 friend read a instead of the ared value, be- ' the quantity, 3nt of his right nerease in ex- ]2 -, but he had ht honourable ot only during 8, 1819, 1820, ere was some in the period Ihis was the re- of the exports manufactures ;ht honourable ,000/ ; while in 8 to 1822, the lO/., showing a ever, objected in which the ght have pro- say, that put- ting the question of currency aside altogether, would any honourable member answer in the negative to this propo- sition, that under a freer system of trade, instead of a di- minution, there would have been an immense increase in the declared value of the exports ? He had stated, and he would repeat, that few men could really judge of the extent of mischief and injury which had been inflicted upon trade, first, by the imposition of the Corn -laws, and secondly by a continuance in them. While those laws re- mained unchanged, what did the House think we were to say to those countries, against whose commercial restric- tions we were constantly protesting ? What, if the United States of America passed an almost prohibitory tariff upon British manufactures, if Prussia attempted to establish a commercial supremacy over the whole of Germany, if Russia refused to open her ports to our manufactures, — what answer must we expect from those countries to our remonstrances ? They would say, " Can you ask from us the adoption of a more liberal system while you close your ports against the only article we produce ? Can you, with any show of justice, call upon us to revise a system which we have adopted in deference to your example, and which we hope to follow with equal success ?" Were we, indeed, to preach up to those people the true doctrines of trade, and tell them, that restrictive duties were bad while we ourselves continued to enforce them ? [Hear .'] He ac- cepted that cheer ; it did not shake him in his view of the case ; and if any thing could convii- . lim of its soundness, it would be that which was alluded tL> last night, and which was received almost with a sneer — the present commercial state of France. The condition of France at the present moment exhibited a state of things which was an illustra- tion of what he had always contended for, that, let tlie disposition of the Government be what it might, if one people exchanged with another the articles of their re- spective produce, — if it were their mutual interest to be each other's customers, — they would be found, as in 458 Al'l'ENDlX VI. France now the vast proportion of the people were found, absolutely knocking at the doors of the Legishiture, with u force not to be resisted, and demanding the accjuiescence of the Government in measures of free connnerciai inter- (jourse. This might, ere long, be the case in other coun- tries, and niiglit eventually happen in them all. The progress might be slow ; it might be attended with diffi- culties ; but perhaps it was not the less certain ; nor would it be less wise in the Legislature not to oppose itself to that course. Why not, then, follow the plain and direct course, and get rid at once of those restrictions on trade, which were the only impediments to social intercourse ? and why give an opponent a handle, by professing one thing and doing another ? He would not trouble the House with reference to many papers on the subject ; but he hoped, at the same time, he might be permitted to read one which touched on this very point. It was an extract from a paper published not many years ago; and from it would be seen the kind of spirit which had been excited upon the Continent against us, and how much we had lost by our obstinate perseverance in those laws of restriction. The paper was dated in the year 1 829 ; and it came from Berlin. [Mr. Baring : Is it a newspaper ?] No, a private communication ; and if he were to mention from whom it came, it would receive the respect of the right honourable gentleman opposite. The right honourable gentleman then read a paper, which stated, " that the liberal part of the public press in Germany was calling clamorously upon their Governments to adopt means to break down the commercial ascendency or monopoly, as it was termed in these writings, of England ; that the Allgemeine Zeitung, the paper which had the most extensive circulation and influence of any published within the confederacy, had taken the lead in these declamations, and was publishing a series of articles, in which it was expressly stated that the commercial advantages of England must be reduced, and her prohibition of importation be met with correspond- SPEECH ON THE COKN LAWS. 4 .59 were fouiul, slature, with ac(iuiescence iicrcial inter - other coun- m all. The ed with diffi- n ; nor would 30se itself to L in and direct 3ns on trade, intercourse ? rofessing one t trouble the '. subject; but mitted to read vas an extract ; and from it been excited ;h wc had lost of restriction, it came from No, a private from whom it it honourable gentleman iberal part of clamorously break down it was termed neine Zeitung, rculation and federacy, had as publishing ly stated that be reduced, li correspond- ing restrictions by the States of the Continent ; tiiat it would be ibund necessary to establish a second ' Conti- nental system,' and to exclude British manufactures from the markets of Germany until the ports of England were opened for the agricultural ])roduce of the Continent." The writer proceeded to say, *' that he was aware the A/lgemeine Zeitung was not to be considered the official organ of any of the German Governments ; but that it spoke the lan- guage of a very powerful commercial party in Germany ; and that when the proprietor of that paper was consulted by their majesties of Bavaria and Wirtemberg before any negotiations of connnercial intercourse were commenced, it was impossible for these anti-English feelings not to find their way into the Councils of the States." He read this as a proof of the feeling which existed on the Continent on the subject of our restrictive system. He instanced this as evidence of the sentiments entertained. The honourable member for Essex (Mr. Baring) might rest assured that the paper just quoted came from the hand of no mean authority ; and it was no trifling matter, for the prosperity of a large portion of the people of this country depended on it. He would now come to the question more immediately before the House, as to the mode of settling the question of the Coni-laws, by refer- ring the point of a fixed or a fluctuating duty to the consideration of a Committee. He found, that all the arguments he had heard alleged against such a course re- solved themselves almost entirely into one. The argument made use of by the Committee in their Report, the argu- ment of his right honourable friend (Sir James Graham), that of the noble Earl the member for Shropshire (the Earl of Darlington) were all meant to show, that a fluctu- ating scale of duties produced a fixity of prices. He found that the noble Lord (the Earl of Darlington) had withdrav/n the Amendment of which he had given notice, and which vas to declare, that a fluctuating scale of duties was better than any other scale of duties that could be framed. He 4G() APPENDIX VI. (Mr. C. V. Thomson) was glucl to find that tlie noble Lord liad done so. He did not believe that the House would have been induced to assent to such a Resolution ; but W it consented to such a Resolution, it would fairly be entitled to be put on a looting with that House of Com- mons that declared that a one-pound note and a shilling of a depreciated currency were equivalent to a guinea, which was selling at the time for 27.v. or 28*. The noble Lord's Motion had been withdrawn ; and he begged to recal the attention of the House to what the question be- fore them really was. It must be considered to be this, and nothing else : was the present scale, as applied to corn, preferable to a fixed duty ? He agreed with those who said, that the object of the honourable member for Mid- dlesex was not to impose a precisely fixed duty, but the principle of his proposition rested upon that basis. It cer- tainly was true, — and he wished to call attention to the fact, — that the honourable member for Middlesex did not desire, in affirming his Motion, to pledge the House to the imposition and continuance of any fixed duty. The exact terms of the Motion were these : — " That the House do resolve itself into a Committee of the whole House for the purpose of considering the Corn-laws, (9 George IV., cap. 60.), and of substituting, instead of the present gra- duated scale of duties, a fixed and moderate duty on the import, at all times, of foreign corn into the United King- dom, and for granting a fixed and equivalent bounty on the export of corn from the United Kingdom." Now that, he would submit, was not to be considered by any means as binding the House to any particular amount of duty, to any rate or mode of imposing such duty, or to any scale according to which it might be increased or diminished ; all these considerations were very properly left to the Committee ; they were now only called upon to decide between a fixed and a fluctuating duty. Having thus far proceeded with the question, he should beg leave to ask honourable members, as well on the one side of the House Sl'KKCn ON TFIi; COIIN I-AWS. 401 .IS on tl)o other, what constituted tlic ninin nr^'Mnu'nt in support of tlu' pr(>s(Mit system? It was founded iipon tins: — tiint the vary in j( scale of duty produced fixity of prices. If there was any tliiiifj^ whicli couUl !){> said in an especial dej^ree to form the great, and, as it was esteemed, the conclusive argument, in support of the system, it was this; yet he believed there was not a man living who, possessing an ordinary share of understanding, and apply- ing his mind, free from prejudice, and with an earnest desire to ascertain the truth, who would not candidly de- clare, that the facts did not support any such conclusion. For his part, he found it impossible to avoid giving the flattest denial to the assertion, that the operation of that varying scale was to produce fixity of price. His right honourable friend, in arguing this point last night, had made a quotation from a letter of Mr. Huskisson's. He (Mr. C. P. Thomson) had cheered him, not for the reason that his right honourable friend then supposed, but on an entirely different ground. His right honourable friend quoted the opinion of Mr. Huskisson, with the view of show- ing that that distinguished statesman approved of the Corn- law of 18^8, whereas the letter had reference to the Corn- law of 1827. He (Mr. C. P. Thomson) should have been much surprised if the late Mr. Huskisson had expressed himself in such terms of approbation of the Corn-law of 1828; and if he did so, he must have changed his opinion at a much later period. For the memory of Mr. Huskisson he entertained the profoundest respec t : unconnected, as he was with him in politics, he (Mr. Huskisson) had been to him an object of admiration; but honoured as he had been, when a very young man in parliament, by his kindness and advice, he became one of esteem and attachment ; and he (Mr. C. P. Thomson) should be most ungrateful, did he not speak of him with the highest respect, in terms of the sincerest regard. When looking to the sentiments ex- pressed by that distinguished man, the circumstances under which they were delivered ought to be borne in 462 APPENDIX VI. mind. Mr. Hiiskisson was, at that time, defending him- self before his constituents, for not having gone the length of a total prohibition. On such an occasion, surely it was natural that he should use the most specious arguments that presented themselves. He did not mean to imply that he insincerely used them ; but it was unfair to bind a man to certain opinions he had expressed, if he had subsequently honestly withdrawn them. He should, there- fore, call the attention of the House to what were the later opinions of Mr. Huskisson, when he had arrived at maturity in his opinions, and at independence ; and when he was no longer looking to the attainment of the same objects he had in view when he wrote that letter. The Earl of Darlington asked if the right honourable gentleman meant to cast an imputation on the character of Mr. Huskisson ? Mr. Poulett Thomson said, he would be the last man in that House to throw the slightest imputation on the cha- racter of Mr, Huskisson ; and he had no doubt whatever but that he entertained the opinions expressed in the letter at the time he wrote it. The opinions of Mr. Huskisson, which he should quote, were expressed on the 25th of March, 1830, two years after the Corn-law of 1828 had come into operation, and were as follow : — " It was his unalterable conviction, that they could not uphold the existing Corn-laws with the existing taxation, and increase the national prosperity, or preserve public contentment ; that those laws might be repealed, without affecting the landed interest, while the people would be relieved from their distress, he never had any doubt whatever." Here, then, was the answer he should give to the declaration of Mr. Huskisson, quoted by his right honourable friend. It was the opinion of the same statesman, when it might be considered that his sentiments on the subject had been more matured. But what, after all, did the letter of Mr. Huskisson state ? It found fault principally with the alter- ations that had been made in the policy of the country in SPEECH ON THE CORN LAWS. 463 fending hini- ne the length surely it was us arguments ean to imply nfair to bind id, if he had should, there- irhat were the lad arrived at ce ; and when t of the same etter. ht honourable I the character ;he last man in on on the cha- oubt whatever ed in the letter VIr. Huskisson, n the 25th of of 1828 had — "It was his ot uphold the n, and increase contentment ; ; affecting the relieved from tever." Here, declaration of durable friend, when it might bject had been letter of Mr. with the alter- the country in 1765; and it declared, that, for a long time, the country had been pursuing a vicious course of policy. It stated, that a free trade in corn would be detrimental to all interests, by producing fluctuation, and rendering this country de- pendent upon foreigners for its supply. Now, how far Mr. Huskisson had changed his opinion on the subject, he (Mr. C. P. Thomson) had already shown. But he would bring against Mr. Huskisson another authority, who had answered him so completely, and had referred to so many facts, and had gone into such exact calculations, and had adduced such important arguments on the subject, that it would be unnecessary for him (Mr. C. P. Thomson) to do more than request the attention of the House whilst he referred to a few passages. They were from a work that he would recommend to the attention of every honourable Member in that House ; and he was sure that his right honourable friend would not be inclined to undervalue it. The book he alluded to was entitled " Free Trade in Corn the real Interest of the Landowner and the true Policy of the State i' by a Cumberland Landowner. He (Mr. C. P. Thomson) was anxious to refer to that work, because he found his own opinions and sentiments expressed in much better language, and in a much more forcible manner, than he could put them. With respect to the alteration made in the year 1765, he found this passage : — " Since the year 1765, at which time a great alteration was made in our Corn-laws, the supply of British corn, cattle, &c., and of almost every other sort of merchandise, has increased most amazingly." Further on, he found the same writer proceeding to say, — " We have, then, the most conclusive evidence, founded on facts and experience, that neither an extraordinary increase in the supply of labour, nor of corn, has been followed by a fall of prices ; on the contrary, they have been nearly doubled ; and were more than doubled between the years 1780 and 1806, when the trade in foreign corn was most free, and our foreign commerce most prosperous." He (Mr. C. P. Thomson) could not ■■■s^fes 464 APPENDIX VI. "v. help saying, that he had been delighted to find, when he wanted an answer to Mr. Huskisson's letter, that he could refer to so able an authority as the writer of that book. When he had such weapons at hand, he did not want any other armoury to go to. He would read another extract from the pamphlet, in answer to Mr. Huskisson's remark, that a free trade in corn would be detrimental to all in- terests. " To propose to enrich a nation by forcing a permanent scarcity of corn, and by obstructing the natural course of trade, is, indeed, at variance with common sense. The consequences cannot be mistaken : — the embarrass- ment of our shipping, mercantile, and manufacturing in- terests, — want of employment, and desperate poverty among the labouring population, — an increase of crime, and a tendency to emigration, — a loss of our currency, and a fall of the prices of labour and of corn, — a diminu- tion of the public revenue, and a derangement of the public finances, — and, more than all, the certain eventual ruin of the agricultural interest itself; — these are the bitter fruits of a blind and selfish policy, rapaciously grasping at undue gain, and losing hold of advantages placed within its power." In another place, this writer contrasted the state of Poland with that of England in these terms : — " When England, the land of marine affairs and of com- merce, and the best workshop or manufactory in the world, attempted to sell corn in opposition to Poland, a country in want of these advantages, she perverted the natural order of trade ; she sold that which it was most profitable for her to buy ; and, destroying the means of her natural customers to buy what it was most profitable for her to sell, she artificially lowered the prices of every description of merchandise throughout the long period of sixty -four years. So much for the crusade against the natural order of commerce. No sooner, however, was a sound system of trade in corn adopted, and large importations made, than the medium price of middling corn again rose most rapidly. As a proof how remarkable the freedom of the SPEECH ON THE CORN LAWS. 465 lid, when he hat he could )f that book, lot want any )ther extract ion's remark, tal to all in- by forcing a ig the natural ommon sense, he embarrass- Afacturing in- erate poverty ease of crime, our currency, jj — a diminu- it of the public 1 eventual ruin are the bitter sly grasping at , placed within contrasted the |hese terms : — .•s and of com- :y in the world, [and, a country ;d the natural ,.ost profitable of her natural ible for her to :ry description of sixty-four natural order sound system frtations made, igain rose most freedom of the corn trade had a happy re-action on the general commerce and manufactures of the kingdom. Dr. Adam Smith has observed, — that ' the Yorkshire manufacture declined, and its produce did not rise to %vhat it had been in 1755 till 1766.' " But the author of the pamphlet did not stop here : he was not satisfied with Dr. Adam Smith's observ- ations, and he proceeded to say, — " So far Dr. Smith simply notices the fact, but he appears to have overlooked the cause. He points out the revival of our trade, and fixes the date of this amendment ; but he has failed to recognise its precise coincidence with the change in our Corn-laws, and with the commencement of the free import- ation of foreign grain into this country. Till 1815 the corn trade was free, and commerce prospered. In that ill-fated year the prohibitory system became operative ; and as in 1766 trade and manufactures revived precisely at the moment when the restrictions on the import of foreign corn were removed, so, in 1815, when these re- strictions were again imposed, commerce languished, manu- factures failed, and universal distress overspread the land." Before he laid down the pamphlet, which he then held in his hand, he should say, that it contained the most satis- factory answer both to the quotation from Mr. Huskisson's letter, and to the speech delivered last night by his right honourable friend. It might be matter of taste ; but he confessed he should much rather take the opinions of the Cumberland Landlord than any thing that might proceed upon the subject, even from Mr. Huskisson himself. He would now proceed to the question of fluctuations. Now, how did that matter stand ? He would ask, whether there had really been, as had been asserted by almost all the honourable gentlemen who had opposed the Motion, that there had been less fluctuation in the price of corn under the last Corn-bill than at any former period ? [** Hear/""] To what period did the noble Lord who cheered refer ? Were they, in imitation of the Report of the Agricultural Committee, to refer back only for a period of fifteen years ? H H 4(;() APPENDIX VI. What fair comparison could they possibly institute within that period ? The noble Lord perhaps would say, that he (Mr. Thomson) ought to take years of peace. His right honourable friend (Sir J. Graham) was interrupted yes- terday by an honourable gentleman, who said, that a comparison could not be made between years of war and peace. His answer was — that he would then take periods before and after 1827. That was no answer at all ; for in the year 1827, in his opinion, though not in that of the honourable member for Essex, they had a worse C(n'n-law than at the present time. He thought, therefore, honour- able gentlemen could not institute any comparison between the present time and any period in which the Corn-law of 1815 was in operation. Then to what period must they go back — to 1797 ? But that would carry them into the difficulty before referred to, for, with one slight exception, the whole period between 1790 and 1815 was a period of war. He would, therefore, go back to the period of peace, when the trade in corn was almost free. He was aware, that it was stated in the Report of the Agricultural Com- mittee, that there were no accurate returns of the average prices of corn previous to the year 1790. There were, however, some returns of the price of corn, which would lead to tolerably correct conclusions. He confessed that he was surprised to see it stated, in the Agricultural Re- port, that there were no returns previous to 1790. Did the Committee look to the Act of 1770? Were they ignorant of it ? He knew that under that Act the averages were not struck in so perfect a manner as they were then, or as they were even in 1815 or 1792. At the same time, how- ever, under the Act he had just referred to, some important averages were made. By the Act of 1770, the average price of corn in the London market, should be published in the Gazette at fixed periods. He would take, therefore, the average price of corn for a number of years then, and compare it with the averages for a similar number of years from 1829. He found, that taking the five years from SPEECH ON THE CORX LAWS. 467 titute withiu I say, that he e. His right erruptecl yes- said, that a u's of war and u take periods r at all ; for in in that of the vorse Corn-law rcfore, honour- ,arison between he Corn-law of viod must they y them into the light exception, was a period of period of peace. He was aware, rricultural Com- s of the average There were, irn, which would e confessed that agricultural Re- ,1790. Did the re they ignorant \e averages were were then, or as isame time, how- some important 70, the average lid be published take, therefore, years then, and number of years five years from 1829, tlje higliest average price i>f wheat for any year was G6s. 4niething more proportion to d, just as the or continuing price of wheat ml 2s. Wd.to of from 8a'. to n could at all r at a moderate ;e and the con- ttention of the upon our ship- ore the average without loss of lit the porta of ssion of foreign )Y the purpose, r proportion ol s reached this ms ; but would •e not in being ? ,y he was justi- ost injuriously witnesses ex- of last year, take the same rd to the ship- ping interest, and whose opinion he would, therefore, the more readily quote upon this particular point, gave the following evidence : Mr. Young was asked — " Do you think that having a larger proportion of the carrying trade of corn would be beneficial to you?" — *' Yes, it would; if there was a fixed duty upon corn, 1 have no doubt it would be beneficial to us, for, at the pre- sent time, if the ports are opened, orders go out to the foreign ports ; the foreign ships are at home and get freighted ; and, before the English ships can get out, the principal part of tlie orders are filled up, and the freights get lower ; we are, therefore, disappointed when we get there." ** Do you consider that the alteration from a fluctuating to a fixed duty would be the means of giving additional employment to the British shipping ?" — "Yes, it would." Mr. Hedley, another witness whom he questioned on the subject, gave evidence to the same purport. Mr. Hedley was asked — ** Do you think the shipping interest would be benefited by an alteration of the Corn-laws ? " — "I think, if there was a fixed duty, it would give very great increased em- ployment to British shipping, instead of foreign, in the early part of the year. At the present moment, when any prospect of bad weather occurs during the harvest, or even in the spring of the year, the orders are sent out so quickly, that there is not time to send English vessels out, and the foreign vessels are taken up forthwith. Now, if there was a fixed duty, there would be none of that speculation, and we should have a supply of corn of a superior description ; there would be a regular import instead of a fluctuating one. I think, if there were a fixed duty, British shipping would become the carriers of nearly all the corn." " You have stated that you think the English shipping interest would be benefited materially by the change in the Corn-law you have mentioned ; would not that depend upon the comparative expense at which ioreign and British H H 4 472 Al'l'KNDlX VI. ships could be navigated ^" — '• 1 tliinlc that Britisli ship- ping could he navigated as ciieap as foreign ; and even if it could not, I should prefer Mritisii shi|)ping in bringing corn ; you have no dependence upon the foreigner bringing corn ; he perhaps runs into foreign ports, and you have nothing but trouble aiul vexation with him ; a great nuiny of them have run into Norway, &c." He came now to the efiect produced by this fluctuating law on trade, and that was his principal objection to it. He had already stated, that he did not give in to the de- lusion, that if the Corn-laws were repealed or modified to the extent of the present propositicm, corn would be much cheaper. He did not expect any such thing ; but his opinion was, that the price of wheat, under such circum- stances, would be much more ecpiah Now, it was appa- rent to common sense, that their object should be, if they were obliged to take large supplies of corn, such as they did at present, from foreign countries (and the report of the Agricultural Committee stated that we depended on foreign supplies in ordinary years) — their object, he re- peated, should be to make the most of wliat they were obliged to take. Now, under the existing Corn-laws our trade in corn with foreign countries, owing to the fluctu- ations and the irregular demand, was looked upon by them as an absolute nuisance. When a rise in the price of corn took place here, the consequence was a sudden demand from this country for corn from foreign countries, so as to disturb their prices to an incredible extent. The demand came so suddenly, and was to such an extent, that the effect of it was to derange their system, and completely unsettle their markets. It appeared from an article that was recently given in a paper published by authority in Germany, that the demand from England for corn came generally so suddenly there, and so greatly disturbed all their internal operations, that it was considered by them rather as an injury than a benefit. But this was not all. Did our present trade in corn with foreign countries, large 81'EKl'H ON THE CORN l.AWS. 473 British ship- ; and even if f in bringing jrner bringing »ncl you have a great nuiny lis fhictuating )bjection to it. 3 in to the de- or niodilied to vouUl be much :hing; but his r such circvun- iv, it was appa- 3uld be, if they n, such as they id the report of e depended on object, he re- vhat they were Corn-hiws our r to the fluctu- upon by them le price of corn ;udden demand in tries, so as to The demand xtent, that the and completely an article that by authority in \ for corn came [ly disturbed all lidered by them [his was not all. .countries, large as it was, induce them them to take Knglish goods in return ? Did it tend to produce among them a taste for Kn^Mish manufactures ? No sucli thing. There was no doubt that a trade, un(U'r an e({ual and fixed duty, and a constant conununication, would produce such an eflect. Could then; be a doubt that such would be the case, con- sidering that during the last five years we had iinj)orted an amount equal to (),()()(),()()() (piarters of wheat from foreign countries i Could it be denied, that if such a trade were carried on u])on ecpial and steady princi|)les it would tend to diffuse a taste for, and to promote the consumption of, English manufactured goods on the Continent of Ku- rope ? lUit, as the existinj^ law stood, foreign corn came to us at rare intervals, and at a high price. Mow much of that price which was eventually paid for foreign corn in this country went into the pockets of the producers of it ? After the charges for warehousing, for interest of money, for insurance from fire, were deducted from the price which it fetched, it would be found that a very small pro- portion indeed of the total sum paid for it went into the pockets of the producers of the corn. Now, that was one of the main objections to the existing system of Corn-laws. With the present fluctuating duty, while we had to pay a high price for foreign corn, the revenue did not gain by the increased price. The producers of the corn were not gainers by it. In fact, a great proportion of that price was money actually lost. He would appeal to honourable members whether the interest that was necessarily charged for corn laid up in the warehouses of Dantzic for three or four years, and then deposited in the warehouses in London for two or three years, was not lost to those who had pro- duced that corn, as completely and entirely as if it had been money thrown away ? As he had said before, a great proportion of the various charges to which foreign corn was subjected, must be regarded as money thrown away. When he was connected with business, the calculation was, that kiln-dried wheat could not be kept for less than 474 ArFENDlX VI. Ss. or iOn. u quarter Hiinuully. Therefore, there was a positive loss to that amount — replaced by nothing — con- ferring advantage on no one — whicli might be saved by an alteration of these laws. But then they were told, that if the present system were altered, they would depend too much on foreign countries for their supply of corn. Now, in reply to that argument, it was only necessary to refer to the Report of the Agricultural Committee, which showed that, at this moment, we were dependent on foreign coun- tries for a very large supply of corn, and that supply too obtained under all the disadvantages incidental to the fluctuating duty at present in existence. Was it not rea- sonable to suppose that if that duty were a fixed and e(j[ual one, though that supply might be obtained much cheaper, it would be obtained on fairer and juster terms ? The advocates of the present proposition had been taunted with the supposition of placing this country at the mercy of foreign countries for its supply of corn in time of war. He was surprised to hear his right honourable friend last night repeat that taunt, and quote Mr. Huskisson, to the effect, that Europe, under such circumstances, might shut her ports against us. What was the fact ? — and fact was in this case a thousand times better than theory — why, that in the middle of the last war, when the greatest efforts that were ever resorted to were made to shut us out from the Continental markets, we actually imported a larger quantity of corn than we had ever imported at any previous period; no less in amount than 1,400,000 quarters were imported into this country at a time when we were at war, and when, according to the extract read by his right ho- nourable friend from the pamphlet of Mr. Huskisson, this country would sink under the opposition of the Continent. His right honourable friend, the First Lord of the Ad- miralty, had shown last night, that the fluctuation at Rot- terdam, under a system of free trade in corn, was still greater, within the last three years, than in Great Britain, wheie the trade was fettered by restrictions. But the Sl'EECH ON THE CUKN LAWS. 47.-i there was » )thing — coii- t be saved by rere told, that Id depend too f corn. Now, L>ssary to refer which showed foreign coun- lat supply too dental to the ^as it not rea- Rxed and ec^ual much cheaper, • terms ? The 3n taunted with t the mercy of in time of war. able friend last iiskisson, to the ces, might shut — and fact was theory — why, greatest efforts lUt us out from ported a larger at any previous quarters were e were at war, ly his right ho- uskisson, this the Continent, .rd of the Ad- uation at Rot- corn, was still Great Britain, ons. But the cause of tlie changes in Rotterdam might in a great mea- sure be traced to our Corn-laws. That market, from its proximity and convenience, was immediately alfected by our murk '. and being the theatre of speculation, prices were more afh-cftMl there than even here. 'Ihen they had been told, that even if u fixed duty should be imposed upon thf imporf«ti(m of corn, the prices would not be lower than fhey were at present. His right honourable friend, while tin whole of his aii^iiments went to show that the adoption of such a duty would be the ruin of the agriculturists, had also contended that, under such circum- stances, the prices would not be lower than they now were. His right honourable friend showed that the average price of wheat in Volhynia and in Ireland was almost precisely the same. Was not that circumstance a sufficient answer to those who said, that if a fixed scale were adopted, the landlords would be ruined, and the farmers severely in- jured ? If prices were the same in Volhynia and Ireland, the preference would be sure to be given to the corn from Ireland, because of the necessary charge of 10*. or 15.y. per quarter on the transport of Polish corn. Now, for his part, he knew not how his right honourable friend could reconcile his statement, that prices would not fall in con- sequence of the adoption of a fixed rate of duty, with that ruin to the farmers and landlords which bo ^ad so con- fidently predicted as the inevitable result of such a mea- sure. They had been told that the landowners were entitled to peculiar protection, as the land had peculiar burthens to bear. He was not the person to object to what was fair and right ; and if it could be shown that the landowners were subjected to greater burthens than other classes, he would say, that they should be protected. He was well aware that the doctrine he was about to pro- pound was one that was not calculated to render him popular; but he would not for that reason shrink from declaring his sincere opinion of what he conceived to be just. He agreed with his honourable friend, the member 476 APPENDIX VI. for Middlesex, that as this law had only existed since 1815, the landowners liad no legal claim on the country for com- pensation, but he thought they had an equitable claim. He would not dispute that the landowners had a claim to a certain degree of protection. He would give them com- pensation for it. Let them make out their bill of costs ; and he for one would pay it with a great deal of pleasure. He would say, let the landowners be remunerated for any charges to which the land might be specially subject. His right honourable friend had referred to Mr. Ricardo, as being of that way of thinking. He knew that Mr. Ricardo was ; but what did that gentleman say besides ? He had calculated those charges, and had said, that a fixed duty of 10.9. was nearly double the amount that was required to compensate the landed interest. His right honourable friend had quoted Mr. Ricardo as if he were with him, and against the imposition of a fixed duty ; but he would find, that the authority of Mr. Ricardo was against him on that point. Mr. Ricardo proposed the adoption of a certain fixed duty, as being a full and suflficient compen- sation to the landowners. Let them adopt that plan, and do not let them throw away the various sums which he had shown were thrown away in the shape of different charges under the existing system. By the adoption of such a plan as that of a fixed duty, there was no doubt that the revenue would be a gainer ; and, under such circum- stances, he would not object to appropriate the amount of duty thus received towards aflfording that relief to the landowners to which they should prove themselves entitled. He feared that he had rather trespassed on the time and attention of the House ; but he was sure that the great importance of the subject would be a suflicient excuse with the House for going so much into detail with regard to it. He had endeavoured to go through, and he hoped with some success, the arguments which had been urged on the other side of the question. The argument of time alone had been touched upon, and upon that he would SPEECH ON THE CORN LAWS. 477 ed since 1815, antry for coin- suitable claim, had a claim to ive them com- f bill of costs ; lal of pleasure, lerated for any y subject. His ^r. Ricardo, as lat Mr. Ricardo ides? He had a fixed duty of was required to (rht honourable were with him, ; but he would ^vas against him e adoption of a fficient compen- t that plan, and sums which he ape of different the adoption of las no doubt that [er such circum- ;e the amount of ,t relief to the Imselves entitled, on the time and that the great ufficient excuse jtail with regard ih, and he hoped |had been urged irgument of time that he would only observe, that if ever there was a time for making such a change as that now proposed, properly and beneficially, it was the present. They had heard it much dwelt upon, that the price of corn was now at 48*., and that it could not fall much below that. He would answer for it, that any importation which could take place at the present moment, more especially when he looked at the state of the south-east of Europe, where corn was almost as dear as it was here, and where the Government was actually marching the population to the corn, because, to do so, cost less than it would to carry the corn to the population. He would answer for it that any quantity which could be sent in now would not disturb the existing price in England. As the only argument which had been adduced against a change was that arising from a fear of a fall in that price it was clear, that now was the time to effect a change. But there was another powerful argument for it : — They could legislate now with calmness, with deliberation, and with wisdom. Let them wait till the price of corn should rise — let them wait until one of those fluctuations should, under the dispensation of Providence, occur, through a failure of the harvest in this country, with a failure also of the harvest in France (a prior customer to us in the markets of the Continent) with those markets not abundantly stocked, hardly sufficient, in fact, to supply their own de- mands, — let them wait till that time should arrive ; and then a change in the Corn-laws would be called for in much less respectful language than he should wish ever to see addressed to that House. They could now legislate, holding the balance equally poised between all the different interests connected with this great question. Let them but legislate wisely on this subject now, and they might secure that continental market for their manufactures which delay might deprive them of; let them but adopt this proposition now, and they might meet effectually that continental combination which was at that moment arising in different parts of Germany to shut out English manufactures from 478 APPENDIX VI. their markets. Let them postpone vvliat must eventually be done with regard to the Corn-laws, and that combination would have spread so widely, and become so deeply rooted, that it would be inaccessible to argument and impossible to be overturned. Above all things he would say to the House — " Act now." Let them act now, in order to answer that notion, which, in his opinion, arose from igno- rance or mistaken ideas, namely — that, in the first place, very cheap bread would be the result of such a measure as that now proposed, and that, in the next place, the effect of the existing law was to deprive the people of food. That feeling, however mistaken it might be, existed, and they might depend upon it that it was diffusing itself generally throughout the country. Such an opinion could not be put down by argument; and the only effectual means of putting it down — the only effectual mode to convince the public of the fallacy of the notion, consisted in the House resolving to resort to a different system. He, for one, would submit cheerfully to the decision of that House, whatever it should be; but he would not answer that such would be the feeling out of doors. He was afraid that he could not doubt what that decision would be. They would, most probably, pronounce in favour of the existing system ; they would, most probably, declare that that system was the right one ; but he could not conclude without expressing his opinion, in the words of Lord Liverpool, that, in spite of any decision they might come to, a restriction on the food of the people could not endure. 479 st eventually combination eeply rooted, id impossible dd say to the , in order to ise from igno- he first place, 1 a measure as ice, the effect ople of food. !, existed, and liffusing itself opinion could only effectual ctual mode to tion, consisted ferent system, he decision of le would not doors. He that decision pronounce in nost probably, but he could in the words on they might »ple could not ) APPENDIX VII. SUBSTANCE OF A SPEECH DELIVERED BY THE RIGHT HON. C. POULETT THOMSON, ON MR. VILLIERS's MOTION FOR GOING INTO A COMMITTEE OF THE WHOLE HOUSE ON THE CORN LAWS. 1839. I SUPPOSE it is not likely that the present debate will terminate this night, but I rise for the purpose of address- ing the House, because I shall not be able, I fear, to take another occasion of doing so on the present subject, in consequence of the indisposition under which I labour. I therefore must, however late in the evening, throw my- self upon the indulgence of the House, but in return, I will endeavour to compress my observations, and the argu- ments I mean to bring forward upon the present occasion, into the smallest possible compass. It would, indeed, be extremely difficult now to say anything new upon a matter which has already been so much discussed, and which has been canvassed so frequently both in and out of this place. Before I proceed, however, I must say that I rejoice that this question is at last brought before the House, in the manner in which it has been introduced by my honourable friend; that it has been discussed on those grounds on which I think it ought alone to be discussed, with reference to the general interests of this country, and not of any par- ticular class. I have never disguised my own opinion from those gentlemen, many of them friends of mine, who have, much to their credit, agitated this question — I have never disguised my opinion from them, that they rather injured their own cause, and the objects they seek to accomplish, by narrating the grounds on which they press their claims. I am not surprised that, feeling as they must naturally do, their own interests deeply involved, affected as they were in their own pursuits and their own business, they should 480 AITEXDIX Vir. have so narrowed the grounds upon which they stood ; but, for my part, I confess, I never wished to treat the subject in any other way than with reference, as I have before said, to the general interests of the country. I was glad to find that my honourable friend, the member for the North Riding of Yorkshire, had at first been inclined to meet the question, now under our consideration, in an equally fair manner. That honourable gentleman has, however, yielding to the advice of others, which no doubt he has reason for doing, flinched from the proposition which he himself announced — he has retreated from his own position, and now means to meet the motion with a negative, and not to press the resolutions of which he has given notice. I own I can understand very well why he does so with regard to the first resolution which stands on the Notice Book ; I have thought that but very few sup- porters would probably be found for that resolution which my honourable friend originally meant to propose. It was too absurd to find friends! But with regard to his second resolution, although he withdrew it, I can see no reason why it should be withdrawn, unless my honourable friend is prepared to vote with me. I know no grounds on which it is possible to refuse to go into a committee of the House, unless we are prepared to agree to what my honourable friend had at first intended to say, namely — that the lav^r as it at present stands is good, has worked well, has answered its purpose, and ought to be maintained. Now I am prepared to contend for the exact reverse of that proposition, to say that these laws are injurious to the general interests of the community, and it is for that reason, and with a view to change them, that I agree to the pro- position of the honourable mover. It has been stated, that it is the object of my honourable friend, the member for "Wolverhampton, in making his present motion, to repeal totally and immediately the actually existing Corn-laws. Now I have heard nothing to that effect fall from my honourable friend. I know the SPEECH ON MR. VILLIEKS's MOTION. 481 J stood ; but, , the subject have before I was glad nber for the n inclined to lation, in an iitleman has, lich no doubt e proposition ;ated from his motion with a ' which he has y well why he hich stands on ; very few sup- solution which ) propose. It regard to his , I can see no ny honourable iw no grounds committee of |e to what my ;ay, namely — id, has worked le maintained, act reverse of ijurious to the for that reason, le to the pro- ly honourable In making his lediately the ird nothing to I know the opinions which my honourable friend entertains, yet, when he goes into conmiittee on the subject, it does not follow that the House will be bound to assent to them. If I was asked whether it would, in my opinion, be beneficial to this country to abolish the Corn-laws, my answer would be that it would. If I were asked whether it might not be better to have even a free trade in corn, I would reply in the aflirmative also. But when I state this I am perfectly aware that there are considerable and weighty interests to be looked into which cannot be lightly treated ; and that they should be all fairly considered and equitably dealt with, and time given gradually to effect a change. I am therefore taking a practical view of the subject, ready to go into a committee upon it, in the hope that we shall be able to introduce such a practical change in the existing system of laws as may prove really beneficial to all parties, and which will not injure any interests whatsoever. I therefore contend that those who are not inclined to sup- port my view of the alteration requisite, and who yet do not go the whole length of maintaining that the law has worked well, and is the best which can be established, are nevertheless bound to go into committee, and there they will have full and ample opportunity of opposing or sup- porting the propositions which may be submitted to them. There they may propose their own schemes if they please. I would ask my noble friend (Lord Stanley) who cheers, if, according to the forms of this House, it is possible to introduce any change in these laws in any other manner than by going into committee ? There, and there alone, we should be fully able to discuss the various expedients which may be deemed necessary in this instance, and there I shall be prepared to submit to them my own particular plans, to be adopted or notj as the House thinks fit. But having said thus much, I feel bound to assert now that there are parts of the speech of the honourable mover with which I am not prepared to agree, particularly with refer- ence to what my honourable friend had stated, about the I I 482 APPENDIX VII. price of corn. To these slight differences, however, it is not necessary particularly to allude. The question has been put fairly, in this simple way, who is for, and who is against, the present system of Corn- laws unaltered, as they stand. The first point then is, what is the present law ? and here I agree certainly with the honourable member for the North Riding, who has made no real difference between the law of 1828 and that of 1815, or 1822. Whatever might have been the intention practically the effect has been the same. My own argument is, that the two laws are practically the same. The present law professes to afford a remedy for the fluctuating prices which had been found so injurious to the different interests in the country, and it accordingly proposed a fluctuating scale of duties, instead of the prohibition up to a certain price, and free admission afterwards, as fixed by the law of 1815, and the law of 1822. Its object was, to a certain degree, to place the corn trade something upon the same footing as the other branches of trade in the country, and to allow the importation of corn, not merely at the price where under the former law prohibition ceased, but at a price far below that point. Now, that result has not been obtained, for, although it professed to allow corn to come in at a lower rate, yet the result has not answered expectations, and, in this respect, matters stand nearly in the same position with respect to the import of foreign corn as under the old Corn-law. The corn of foreign countries is not brought into the market when the price is such as the present law contemplated. It is only when the price is such as would have permitted foreign corn to be sold under the old law that foreign corn is brought into the market. This is clearly proved by a document I hold in my hand. Since the law came into operation in July, 1828, up to the 31st of December, 1838, there have been 6,788,000 quarters of corn imported. Now, we have i. id frequently corn c.t very high prices in this country, and if the law had operated SPEECH ON MR. VILLIERS's MOTION. 48a lowever, it is J simple way, item of Coni- ;ent law ? and lember for the rence between \2. Whatever the effect has Lt the two laws iw professes to vhich had been in the country, scale of duties, price, and free ,f 1815, and the degree, to place footing as the ,nd to allow the ,ce where under price far below n obtained, for, ,e in at a lower ;tations, and, in same position •n as under the [s is not brought Ithe present law |s such as would ,der the old law ,rket. This is ^y hand. Since up to the 31st 8,000 quarters iquently corn ft w had operated according to what tlie framers of it at the time expected from a moderate duty (the price of 70*. being considered by the law of 1822 as the famine price), it would be sup- posed that a considerable quantity of corn would have come in at a lower price ; whereas, of the 6,788,000 quarters of corn, 5,089,000 quarters came in paying a duty less than 6s. Sd., the duty when the price was 71«., the rate at which prohibition ceased under the old law having been 70*. So that under the present law 75 per cent, of all corn imported came in at a price above 70*., and only 25 per cent, came in at a lower price. It stands to reason that it should be so, for it must be known by any one who watches the operations of the corn-market, that when corn begins to rise, all persons holding corn in bond do not bring out their corn, paying 16*. or 20*. duty; but what they do is this, they wait, and operate on the market, till at last the price rises to 73*., and corn comes out at 1*. duty. Is this a benefit ? But before I come to this point I turn — having stated the effect of the law — to the honourable members opposite, and ask what were the intention and views of the framers of it ? What was the declared object of the committee of 1821 ? The great object to be secured was to obtain a steady price for corn ; a p^ice free from fluctuation. The admirable report, framed by the com- mittee of which Sir Thomas Gooch was chairman, was written by Mr. Huskisson, and introduced under the aus- pices of the chairman — that admirable report, setting out with a statement, clear and convincing as to what the law should be, required above all things that prices should be steadied and fluctuations prevented ; and I am astonished that in the corn bill of 1827, or the law of 1828, the recommendation of that report has not been followed up, and that the fluctuating scale has been introduced. I hold in my hand a document which will prove, beyond a possi- bility of doubt, that the object contemplated by the framers of the present law was the prevention of the fluctuation in the market and I shall take the liberty of reading that II 2 484 APPENDIX VII. document to the House. 1 hold in my hand an extract from the speech of the author of the bill of 1827; and what did Mr. Canning say in introducing that bill ? ** It seems to me desirable, that if there is to be a trade in corn at all, it should be ccmducted as far as possible on the principle of other trades, in a sober regular course, and not by perpetual jerks and impulses, arising out of extra- ordinary emergencies. I am persuaded, that if importation be always free, taking sufficient security against an inun- dation of the home market, it will flow in a regular equable current, supplying the real wants of the country without overwhelming it ; instead of rendering the trade, as now, under the principle of prohibition, a perpetual scries of alterations between a drought and a deluge. I think this project will tend to equalise the prices, and keep that equalisation of prices steady. The market will, indeed, assume such a steadiness, that, instead of a fluctuation between ll2s. at one time and 38.9. at another, the vibra- tions will probably be found to be limited with the small circle of from about 55s. to about G5s. The plan will provide against the mischief arising from sudden gluts in the market at one time, and sudden dearths compelling us to legislate occasionally in contradiction to our general system of legislation at another." * Now, what I ask is, whether these expectations have been fulfilled ? Can any man, who has attended to the prices of corn in this country, pretend that such has been the result ? I hold in my hand a statement of the highest and lowest prices of corn in each year, from 1828. In 1828, the highest price of wheat was 76*., the lowest, 51*. : the difference, 49 per cent. In 1829, highest price '75s., lowest 55s. \ the difference, 37 per cent. In 1830, highest price 74*., lowest 55s.', difference, 35 per cent. In 1831, highest price 75*., lowest 59*.; the diflference between the highest and lowest prices was 27 per cent. In 1832, * Hansard's New Series, vol. xvi. p. 770. SPEECH ON MK. VILLIERS S MOTION. 485 i an extract f 1827; and bill ? to he a trade ,s possible on ir course, and out of extra- if importation tinst an inun- igular equable untry without trade, as now, etual scries of I think this and keep that it will, indeed, f a fluctuation ther, the vibra- with the small The plan will iudden gluts in compelling us o our general jectations have jttended to the It such has been It of the highest Ifrom 1828. In |be lowest, 51s. •• lest price 75s., [n 1830, highest [;ent. In 1831, )ce between the jnt. In 1832, 1 770. highest price 63s., lowest 51s., 24 per cent. In 1833, highest price 56s., lowest 49s., 14 per cent. In 1834, highest price 49s., lowest 40s., 22 per cent. In 1835, high- est price 44s., lowest 36s., 22 per cent. In 1836, the liighest price was 60s., the lowest 36s. ; the difference 68 per cent. In 1837, highest price 60s., lowest 51s. ; difference 17 per cent. In 1838, liighest price 78s. lowest 52s.; difference 49 per cent. Between 1836 and 1839, there was a difference of 116 per cent, between the highest and lowest prices. I ask whether the object, as explained in the passage I have read from Mr. Canning's speech, has been attained ? I can show, by returns with which I will not now trouble the House, that under another state of the law, dissimilar to that which exists at present, the fluctuations during ten years were never half so much. But my honourable friend has said that we must look to other considerations, with reference to other interests — tenants, labourers, and others. I am ready to examine the question upon that ground, and I am prepared to con- tend that, as the law stands, it is most injurious to all these interests. But, before I go on with this part of my argument, I call upon the gentlemen on the other side to say, why corn should have a duty different from all other articles. There are not fluctuating duties upon wine, or timber, upon silk or cotton ; why then upon corn ? On what principle is it that, after the system laid down by Mr. Canning has so signally failed, we continue to apply a different law to corn from that applied to other articles ? For whose interest then I ask is all this done ? for the tenant ? who can deny that fluctuation of price must be most injurious to him ? He can never tell what he ought to pay for his land, what return he ought to get for his capital. To the uncertainty which already exists in all farming operations, you superadd an additional amount of uncertainty, and you call that a good law for the tenant. With regard to the landlord, instead of entering into an II 3 486 APPENDIX VII. argument to show how, on theory and on principle, the law must be injurious to him, I must be permitted to ad- vert to a document, respecting which there can be no dis- pute, which will be a good test of what the agriculturist has experienced from the law. If the law be what it has been represented by its advocates, we have a right to ex- pect that its effects on agriculture will be beneficial ; but I find, from the records before me, that since 1828, there have been no less than five king's speeches in which refer- ence was made to the depressed state of agriculture, and which called the earliest attention of parliament to the subject, with a view of devising relief. Upon the ^th of February, 1830, his late majesty, in his speech from the throne, said — " His majesty laments that, notwithstanding this indi- cation of active commerce, distress should prevail among the agricultural and manufacturing classes in some parts of the United Kingdom." But that, however, was not considered strong enough, and an amendment was moved by the right honourable baronet opposite (the member for Kent), the tendency of which was, to describe the distress which prevailed in more forcible language. In 188i, upon the 6th of December, the king, in his speech from the throne, said — " I deeply lament the distress which still prevails in many parts of my dominions ; and for which the preserv- ation of peace both at home and abroad will, under Divine Providence, afford the best and most efficacious remedy." In 1833 there was no mention of the subject, but com- mittees were appointed to inquire into the state of trade and agriculture. In 1834, the king's speech contained the following paragraph : — " I have to lament the continuance of distress amongst the proprietors and occupiers of land." In 1835, the speech from the throne said — " I deeply lament that the agricultural interest con- tinues in a state of great depression." SPEECH ON MR. VILLVr- S MOTION. 487 listress amongst ll interest con- In 1886, his majesty said — " I lament that any class of m} subjects should still suffer distress, and the difficulties which continue t< he felt in many important branches of agriculture may dc . ve your inquiry, with a view of ascertaining whether ti. re are any measures which parliament can advantageously adopt for the alleviation of this pressure." There were five king's speeches, and a committee of the House in one year when the subject was not mentioned in a king's speech, within a few years, all indicating an increased or continued distress amongst the agricultural class : and after that we are told that the present system works well, and that the law requires no change ! Really, I know not how posterity may read history, but I think it must seem hereafter that those gentlemen who so recently complained of their condition, and then boasted that the law under which they suffered was the best that could be enacted, must have comtnitted some great mistake. As to the labourer, I cannot understand how he can be otherwise than benefited by a change of the law. The only thing which he can bring to market is his labour, and the price which he obtains for it depends upon the ratio which the supply bears to the demand in the market. Whatever increases the demand for labour raises his wages — whatever diminishes it reduces them. I do not advert, of course, to what may be the case in some agricultural districts, where, owing to the difficulty of transporting labour, and the effect of the Poor Law, the labourer is reduced to the mere minimum of subsistence ; but in a healthy state of society, and generally through this coun- try, no one will deny that my position is correct. How does your Corn-law then operate upon him ? By dimi- nishing the means of employment it lowers the wages which he receives. By raising the price of food it makes those money wages of still less value to him. T may be told, indeed, that he would lose employment by so much British corn ceasing to be cultivated ; but if so (which I do II 4 48« Al'l'KNDlX Vir. not Ix'lievc to \)c the rase), a p;roat('r (luantity of foreif^ii would coinc ill hcu'ause it was cliraper, and it must hi' paid lor hy soiiu'tliin^, tlic produce of tliis country, wliicli would absorb tlic labour thus displaced. If foreign corn were, therefore, atbnitted, it would be tnaiiifestly for his benefit. If corn became cheaj) the labourer's waj^es would be of more value, and the effect wou! I be, to increase the de- mand for labour, wliilst it decreased the price of tlu; labourer's food. Hut above all, a fjfrcater c(iuality of prices would ensue, which would have a tendency to benefit the labourer, inasmuch as he is always a sufferer from the fluctuation of prices. If any man, indeed, more than another, has an interest in the alteration of the Corn-laws, with a view to avoid fluctuations, it is the labourer. It is well known that the vvajj^es of labour do not rise or decrease as rapidly, and in the same proportion, as the price of provisions, and it is this fact which makes the present system inflict great injury on him. In I8{J5 and 18i}(>, when the prices of corn were low, the wages of labourers in the agricultural districts, where there is often a supply greater in amount than the demand for lid)our, were de- creased to match the price of corn ; and when an increase, and a rapid increase, took place in the price of corn, there has not been a corresponding increase in the amount of the labourer's wages, so that he has merely the same amount of money to receive for his labour when the price of corn has been doubled; therefore I contend that no class of persons are more interested in the subject than the labour- ing class, nor is the condition of any class more influenced by the Corn-laws. My honourable friend said that one of the objects which would be achieved by a change in the law would be, to reduce the wages of labourers to 4*. per week, and in this resolution he included manufacturing as well as agricultural labourers — I utterly deny that! Now what are the demands of the labourers ? They say they want employment — they want the means of getting a live- lihood — they want to be placed in a position which will Sl'KKCII ON MU. VIIJ.IEHSS MOTION. 480 [y of rorcij^M imist bo paid whicli would n corn weru, »r Ills benefit, would be ol' •ease tlie de- price of tile dity of prices o benefit the rer from the I, more than be Corn-laws, bourer. It i« ise or decrease the price of s the present V,i5 and 18;J(i, IS of labourers ften a supply )our, were de- n an increase, of corn, there |he amount of same amount price of com t no class of n the labour- lore influenced said that one change in the rers to is. per ufacturing as y that ! Now hey say they getting a live- on which will enable them to earn their bread. That is oiii- reason why I feel that a change is necessary, because I am convinced that if the Corn-laws wiire changed there would be an increase in the demand for workmen, and the rate of wages would be; increased with the increased denuuid for their labour. The next point to which my honourable friend (Mr. Cayley) adverted, was the ell'ect a change in the present system would have upon the trade of the country. It is not n>y intention to follow my honourable friend through the minute calculations into which he has gone, with regard to the prices of cochineal, indigo, cotton twist, and other articles: for to attempt to compare the variations in the prices of conunodities of that kind, which depend upon so many various and conflicting circunistances, with the price of the great necessary of life, seems to me to be quite beside the (question. All the conunodities to which my honourable friend has alluded are subject, in consequence of the modc;- rate amount of supply, to speculation in the market to a great extent ; they are subject to the chances of different markets in Europe far more than corn can possibly be. But my honourable friend has said — and here 1 venture to differ from him very considerably — my honourable friend has said, ** Why, your home trade is the only trade you have got to look to, and I would not see the country sacrificed for the sake of a foreign trade." Now 1 must tell my honourable friend that it is a little too late to talk of this nation being independent of other countries ; my honourable friend might have said such was the case one hundred, or at least seventy or eighty years ago ; but the time is past, and now England has a large population de- pendent entirely upon her foreign trade. I do not say that the home trade is not beneficial to this country, but I cannot conceive how the home trade is to be lost, nor has any attempt been made to show that it would be ; but now that millions and millions of the population of Great Britain are dependent upon the foreign trade, I beg to 490 APPENDIX VII. ask honourable gentlemen who cheer nie, whether it is not too much to talk lightly of that trade, which supports so large a proportion of the population of the country. Do honourable gentlemen know the amount of the exports from this country — do they know what the foreign trade is? Why the country scarcely imports anything but raw materials; it imports of them to the extent of between 25,000,000/. and 30,000,000/. for the purposes of home consumption or for manufactures to be sent away again. What I complain of in the existing Corn-laws is this, that this country has, by those laws, raised against it many of the other nations of the world, not because we do not take corn from them, but on account of the uncertainty which is thrown into the trade with them, in consequence of our system of duties, which, declaring that England shall never apply to foreign- ers, if slie can possibly help it, has done every thing that is possible to shut the markets of Europe and America against the British manufactures, and have induced na- tions to adopt hostile policy in commercial matters, which would never have occurred but for these laws. Do I speak without book when I state this ? An honourable gentle- man behind me has moved for the production of whatever correspondence has taken place between the Government of this country, and those of other nations, on the subject of the Corn-laws, or for any propositions made, or notices given by foreign countries, willing to trade with this country, provided the present system of Corn-laws were done away with. Those documents J shall produce to my honourable friend and the House ; but I must at the same time mention, that they are a class of connnunications which do not generally take place in an ofiicial form ; they are more generally the result of private letters, and there- fore the information contained in them is not so full as I could desire. But some time ago a gentleman, Mr. M'Gregor, was sent to Germany, to inquire into the con- dition of the German League, and I have with me let- ters I have received from him, bearing on the subject SPEECH OiN MK. VILLI ERS S MOTION. 491 now before the House, and which I will retid. This is dated in 1836. •* I am perpetually told, that England must reduce her own tariff before she can reasonably expect Germany to do so." And in reply to Mr. McGregor, the foreign minister for Wurtemberg thus expresses himself. " I am opposed to anything like particular protections given to any branch of industry, being convinced that such protection is a general tax on the community. *' We have few articles besides coarse linens and natural produce, as corn, and cattle, and probably some of the wool, which we send by the Neckar and Rhine to Hol- land, that would find their way to your markets at re- duced duties ; but, settle the preliminaries of a commercial treaty with Prussia, and I presume there will not be much difficulty in Wurtemberg adhering to it." I will read another extract in relation to our commerce with Prussia: — " M. Kuchne, the Prussian Commissionary, is a gentle- man of intelligent views, and seems fully to comprehend the importance of a commercial treaty with England, but argues our Corn-laws are the supreme obstacle. He is at the same time said to be the most skilful member of the Congress." And again — ** Baron Smit, the Wurtemberg minister at the Bavarian Court, the projector of the Germanic Union, tells me, that he can discover no objection whatever in meeting the views of foreign states, to a reasonable extent, in reducing the high duties in the Germanic tariff, provided that such states will act with something like reciprocity towards Germany ; but he also contends that the British tariff ranges much higher than the Germanic tariff as twenty to thirty per cent, compared to ten per cent., and on linens, and every article from Germany, as wood, corn, and some other natural produce much higher." 492 APrE>JDlX VII. On the 14th July M. Kuchne said, — *' If any arrangement be entered into, you must begin at Berlin, and a reduction of j cur corn duties to a fixed rate must be preliminary to any understanding as to a re- duction on our part of duties on your commodities. " Without saying how such an arrangement could be effected, I alluded to the proposed reduction of the duty on timber, and such as would probably be made on some other articles, as linens, Nuremburg wares, mineral water, 8cc. ; but he took his stand upon corn, saying the other reductions were but of little consequence." Those extracts with which I have troubled the House will show how foreign trade has been affected by the Corn- law system, which has been said to work so well that no system can be better devised. So much with regard to their effect. But we have been told that some protection is necessary. I would not, if such were the opinion of the House, object to a fair protection ; but what I object to is, the present mode of administering this protection, and I contend that it produces no advantage. I do not object to that fair protection being given which may be demanded by those additional burthens which it is supposed the land pays. I wish for protection to that extent ; but what we quarrel with is the mode in which the law gives the present protection, which I contend is of no advantage to this country, while it is a detriment to others. At the same time my honourable friend has made a most exaggerated statement of the amount of that pro- tection, in consequence of what he has been pleased to call the burthens on land. He has estimated the value of capital engaged in land to be 690,000,000/. ; but I confess I cannot follow my honourable friend's calculation, so as to be satis- fied with the correctness of that statement. I am, how- ever, willing to admit that there have been burthens which press exclusively upon land ; many of tliem, however, have been redressed, and I should therefore like to examine into them in committee; and if the grievance be substan- SPEECH ON MR. VILLIERS S MOTION. 493 i tiated, then to give a fair protection. The burthen whicli has chiefly been alluded to is the poor rate. Now the returns for the year 1833 showed the propor- tions of all burthens on land and other property ; and of the poor-rate and high-way rate, land paid, it appeared, 65 per cent, and houses and other property paid 35 per cent. Now, taking the same proportion in 1838, the whole amount of poor-rate, highway-rate, and other im- posts, was about 5,186,000/. of which land paid 3,275,000/., and other property paid 1,911,000/. or again taking the poor-rate alone, it amounted last year to 4,123,000/., of which land paid 2,604,000/. and houses and other property paid 1,519,000/. I state this to show that those burthens do not exclusively fall upon land, and that other property pays very considerably towards them ; and must remark, that when a balance comes to be made out of the account on both sides, the probate and legacy duty of 2,284,000/., which is paid exclusively by other interests, must be taken into account and set against the other charges. It has also been said that the malt tax is a burthen on land. I regret that the right honourable baronet, the member for Tamworth, was not in his place to answer that assertion when it was made — answer it he could, for I have h ;ard the right honourable baronet make a speech on the subject of the malt tax (and I have voted with the right honourable baronet in consequence of that speech, and the doctrines therein laid down), in which he esta- blished irresistibly that the malt tax was not a tax on land, but a tax paid by the consumer. Undoubtedly, by limiting consumption, it affects the distribution of crops, and is a grievance to that extent, but to that extent only. Then I must ask, why it is that the House refuses to make any alteration in the existing Corn-laws. Is that refusal from a fear of lowering the price of corn ? My own opinion is (and I do not state it now for the first time), that by a change the prices, on an average of years, 494 APPENDIX VII. v/ould not be much lower than at present ; it is my firm belief, that wheat could not be imported to be laid in at 30*., 32s., or 33s. per quarter, as has been most errone- ously asserted — that is, in my judgment, perfectly out of the question ; if there were a regular demand for it, and the supply was steadily taken, it would be impossible, from any calculation that has been made, that wheat could be brought into this country under 40*. or 50*. per quarter. The House ought to remember, that this country has this circumstance to contend with, that the farther from rivers or the sea shore, or other means of communication, we go to procure our supplies, the greater will be the expense ; and not only a greater expense ac- cording to common progression, but according to an infi- nitely increasing progression. In my travels I have known, in a province of Russia, for instance, wheat sell at 5s. per quarter, but such was the expense of carriage and the charges of transport, that it could not be carried to a neighbouring province at a less price than 20s. and 25s. It is not many years ago since, in that very country, which forms such a bugbear to honourable gentlemen opposite, I mean the south of Russia, when the crops failed it was found to be cheaper to send the population to the food in a distant province, than to transport the food to them ! But if honourable members are so afraid of lowering the price, I must be permitted to ask them to go back, and see how little their fears on other subjects have been justified by the events which have ensued. I will, as an instance, take the article of Wool. Honourable members will re- member the debates which took place, when a proposal was made to admit foreign wool into this country, and when it was declared by a noble friend of mine in another place, that the sheep farmers of this country would be utterly and entirely ruined, that it would be impossible for them to compete with those flocks which produced wool so cheaply abroad. Now, what was the result ? Why, that the sheep farmer in this country now receives a higher SPEECH ON MR. VILLIERS'S MOTION. 495 price for his wool than he did before the change took place. This will appear from the following statement of the average prices of Leicester long wools from the years 1821 to 1838 inclusive, per tod of JJ8 lbs. : — Average price in 1821, 32s. 6d. ; in 1822, 29s. ; in 1823, 26s. ; in 1824, 2av. in 1825, 40*. 6d. ; in 1826, 28*. ; in 1827, 26*. ; in 1828, 24*. ; in 1829, 21*. 6d. ; in 1830, 21*. 6d. ; in 1831, 30*.; in 1832, 30*. 6d. ; in 1833, 38*. 6d. ; in 1834, 46*. ; in 1835, 39*.; in 1836, 41*.; in 1837, 37*.; and in 1838, 38*. The high range of prices for the last six years is to be ascribed to the increasing export. Although the trade was thrown open in 1826, it was some time before the ex- port was sufficiently great to affect prices. It was the speculation induced by the over-issue of paper in 1825, previous to the panic, which occasioned the high prices of 1 825. If the export of wool were prohibited, as formerly, it is the opinion of well-informed persons, that the price of Leicester long wool would not exceed 25*. per tod ; the free trade in wool has, consequently, given the agricultural interest a clear advantage of 15*. per tod for the last six years, on the whole of the long wool growth of the king- dom, which is estimated at 300,000 packs of eight tods each, or equivalent to 1^ million sterling. And this great advantage was literally forced on the agricultural interest, who anticipated from free trade in wool, the absolute ruin of the wool grower. This, then, was the result of their apprehensions — this was the effect of throwing open the trade in wool. But I now come to the last argument which has been urged by my honourable friend, viz. — the dependence of this country upon foreigners, in case a change were made in the present Corn-laws. I must repeat, that it is now too late to urge that argument, for, according to the report of the committee of 1834, this country is even now depend- ent upon foreigners in this respect ; and the question really is, in what a state does this country stand now, i»ii' >mm\mi msm 49G APPENDIX VI r. under the present condition of the law with respect to this point? Why, this country has found tluit foreigners were inchned to shut their ports to prevent the export of corn, because Great Britain is not a steady regular customer — that foreigners find they can carry on no beneficial trade with her, and that her demand is inconvenient instead of advantageous to them. This is one of my main arguments for wishing to change the present law. I contend that foreigners may be made as much dependent on England for the sale of their corn as England is now dependent on them for the supply of that commodity. I contend, that if a regular, fixed, and steady trade were established with them, they would be no more able to prevent their corn from coming to the British market, than the Americans are able to prevent their cotton. Is not this country de- pendent now upon America for cotton ? It is true cotton is not a necessary of life, but still there are 1,500,000 people in this country dependent for their bread upon the cotton trade. I again repeat, that if there is not that mutual interest raised which will make each country de- pendent on the other, then there will be as much danger from the situation of a population, engaged in all the great articles of foreign produce brought here for manufacture, as ever there could be from being dependent on foreign nations for a supply of corn. But the fact is, that at present, foreigners look on the demand made on them by this country for corn rather as a nuisance than otherwise; occurring only at seasons when corn is scarce, it deranges the whole of their markets by its irregularity. Corn may be grown by them in expectation of some demand from here ; it may be sent to the ports, where it sometimes lies for years, at heavy charges for warehouse rent, and loss of interest on the capital locked up all the time, until a sudden demand comes, and it is taken perhaps at a loss to the grower, the additional price being merely for those charges of rent and interest on capital. But what does the English purchaser pay ? Why, because he wants the SPEECH ON MR. VILLIEHS's MOTION. 497 ■spcct to this •eigners were port of corn, • customer — iieficial trade nt instead of in arguments contend that t on England dependent on contend, that :ablished with int their corn he Americans is country de- is true cotton are 1,500,000 read upon the e is not that 1 country de- much danger n all the great manufacture, nt on foreign ct is, that at e on them by an otherwise; e, it deranges larity. Corn some demand it sometimes use rent, and he time, until •haps at a loss rely for those ut what does he wants the corn in a time of necessity, he must pay those additional charges, and the extra price is tlius just as much thrown away, as if so much of the corn were tlirown into the sea from the ships which transport it to this country. On the otlier hand, foreign countries themselves sud'er from the sudden rise of prices. All their relations are disturbed, the price of corn, perhaps low, is suddenly converted into a high price, and their own population sufler from the eifects of the demand from this country. How different, however, would be the position of both, if a regular steady trade were established! I will not trouble the House farther ; I have, imperfectly I fear, but as well as I am able, expressed my opinion with regard to the existing Corn-laws. I have contended, that the law in its present state, is injurious to the land- lord, inasmuch as it produces uncertainty to him — I have contended it is injurious to the tenant, inasmuch as he never knows what he is about under the great fluctuations in prices — it is injurious to the labourer, because it deprives him of the employment he would otherwise have ^ and it is injurious to the manufacturer, because it fetters his industry and promotes foreign competition. This is my view of the case ! It is upon these grounds that I recommend the House to accede to the motion of my honourable friend. I will not attempt to use further argument ; but I will venture, in conclusion, to address you in the words of one, my right honourable friend, the member for Pembroke (Sir J. Graham), and I beg particu- larly to address them to those who, acting under a fear of those prices, pretend to seek protection for our corn. His words are these : *' The public opinion must be hostile to the present Corn-law. The receivers of rent are a very small body. Backed by public opinion, they are almost omnipotent — in violation of public opinion, they cannot long retain an exclusive advantage. The contest is fearful, for on what ground will it be decided ? On the very topic which K K H)8 AITENDIX VII. inflames to inadiit'ss, tliat luingor, wliicl) breaks tlirougli walls, will be armyed against thom. The barriers of society will be broken down, and estates, distinetions, honours, swept away in one resistless torrent. Let those who seek high prices at all risks, remember the words of Tacitus : * Vulgus ad magnitudinem beneficiorum aderat, stultis- simus quiscjue pecuniis mercabatur ; apud sapientes cassa habebantur, quae neque dari neque accipi salva republica poterant.' " In conclusion, I would say, that I only ask the House to go with me into Committee, and I shall then establish my case. I ask you to let me propose, in that Committee, the alteration 1 think beneficial ; and I implore the House not heedlessly to reject a motion on which, 1 believe in my conscience, depend the welfare and the stability of the material interests of this country." 11 ii: KM). London: I'liiilc'd by A. Si-ottiswoodk, Xow- Street-Square. WORKS LATELY PUBLISHED BY MR. MURRAY. LIFE OF THE LATE Sill SAMUEL ROMILLY, written by Himself^ with his Lettkus and Political Diary. Edited by his Sons. 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