IMAGE EVALUATION TEST TARGET (MT-3) // 1" /- I/.. %o U, 1.0 1.1 12.8 lis U6 Iii2 |2j5 12.2 HI ' ^ MS, 12.0 I 1.25,,,, 4 III™ ^ 6" — ► 'm 71 /,. \^- O^j. w /A HiotDgraphifj Sciences Corporalion 23 WEST MAIN STREET WEiSTER.N.Y. 14SS0 (/16) S72-4S03 ^ fV \\ ^ 6^ ^ ^j^ '^ ■^ ■^1 4^ i CIHM/ICMH Microfiche Series. CIHM/ICMH Collection de microfiches. Canadian Institute for Historical Microreproductions / Institut Canadian de microreproductlons historigues Technical and Bibliographic Notes/Notes techniques et bibliographiques The Institute has attempted to obtain the best original copy available for filming. Features of this copy which may be bibliographically unique, which may alter any of the images in the reproduction, or which may significantly change the usual method of filming, are checked below. □ D D D D Coloured covers/ Couverture de couleur r I Covers damaged/ Couverture endommagde □ Covers restored and/or laminated/ Couverture restaurde et/ou pellicul6e I I Cover title missing/ Le titre de couverture manque Coloured maps/ Cartes gdographiques en couleur □ Coloured ink (i.e. other than blue or black)/ Encre de couleur (i.e. autre que bleue ou noire) I I Coloured plates and/or illustrations/ Planches et/ou illustrations en couleur Bound with other material/ Rb\\6 avec d'autres documents Tight binding may cause shadows or distortion along interior margin/ La re liure serr^e peut causer de I'ombre ou de la distortion le long de la marge int^rieure Blank leaves added during restoration may appoar within the text. Whenever possible, these have been omitted from filming/ 11 se peut que certaines pages blanches ajouttes lors d'une restauration apparaissent dans le texte, male, lorsque cela 6tait possible, ces pages n'ont pas 6tA film^es. Additional comments:/ Commentaires suppl^mentaires: This item is filmed at the reduction ratio checked below/ L'Institut a microfilm^ le meilleur exemplaire qu'il iui a St6 possible de se procurer. Les details de cet exemplaire qui sont peut-Atre uniques du point de vue bibliographique, qui peuvent modifier une image reproduite, ou qui peuvent exiger une modification dans la methods normale de filmage sont indiquAs ci-dessous. Thi tol □ Coloured pages/ Pages de couleur D D D n Pages damaged/ Pages endommagtes Pages restored and/or laminated/ Pages restaurtes et/ou pellicul6es Pages discoloured, stained or foxed/ Pages dAcolortes, tachet^es ou piqu6es Pages detached/ Pages d^tachtes Showthrough/ Transparence Th< poi oft flln Ori be( the sio otii firs sio or i I I Quality of print varies/ Quality in^gale de I'impression Includes supplementary material/ Comprend du materiel suppl^mentaire Only edition available/ Seule Mition disponible Pages wholly or partially obscured by errata slips, tissues, etc., have been refilmed to ensure the best possible image/ Les pages totalement ou partieilement obscurcies par un feuillet d'errata, une pelure, etc., ont 4t6 filmtes i nouveau de fapon A obtenir la mailleiire image possible. Th( shi Tir wh Ma difi eni be rig re(| mt 10X 14X 18X 22X 26X 30X y 12X 16X 20X 24X 28X 32X The copy filmed here has been reproduced thanks to the generosity of: Library of the Public Archives of Canada L'exemplaire filmt fut reproduit grice A la g4nArosit6 de: La bibliothdque des Archives publiques du Canada The images appearing here are the best quality possible considering the condition and legibility of the original copy and In keeping with the filming contract specifications. Original copies In printed paper covers are filmed beginning with the front cover and ending on the last page with a printed or illustrated impres- sion, or the back cover when appropriate. All other original copies are filmed beginning on the first page with a printed or illustrated Impres- sion, and ending on the last page with a printed or illustrated impression. Les images suivantes ont tt6 reproduites avec le plus grand soin, compte tenu de la condition et de le nettetA de l'exemplaire film*, et en conformity avec les conditions du contrat de filmage. Les exempieires originaux dont la couverture en papier est Imprimte sont filmte en commenpant par le premier plat et en termlnant soit par la dernlAre page qui comporte une empreinte d'impression ou d'iiiustration, soit par le second plet, selon le cas. Tous les autres exemplaires originaux sont fiimis en commen^aiit par ia premiere page qui comporte une empreinte d'impression ou d'iiiustration et en terminant par ia dernlAre page qui comporte une telle empreinte. The last recorded frame on each microfiche shall contain the symbol — ^> (meaning "CON- TINUED"), or the symbol V (meaning "END"), whichever applies. Un des symboles suivants appara?tra sur ia dernlAre image de cheque microfiche, selon le cas: le symbols — ► signifie "A SUiVRE", le symbols V signifie "FIN". ly/leps, plates, charts, etc., may be filmed at different reduction ratios. Those too large to be entirety included in one exposure are filmed beginning in the upper left hand corner, left to right and top to bottom, as many frames as required. The following diagrams illustrate the method: Les cartes, planches, tableaux, etc., peuvent Atre fllmte A des taux de reduction diffArents. Lorsque le document est trop grand pour Atre reproduit en un seul cllchA, II est fiimA A partir de Tangle supArleur gauche de gauche A droits, et de haut en bas, en prenant le nombre d'Images nAcessalre. Les diagrammes suivants iliustrent la mAthode. 1 2 3 1 2 3 4 5 6 PETITION FROM I.OWER CANADA, WITH EXPLANATORY REMARKS, LONDON: PRINTED BY WILLIAM CLOWES, 14, CHARING CROSS. . 1835. « t •« t--' ■■■'-. . & .. y^- >•■,• / ' ' ' i ■ ., //u.! > ■ ' \ i.: ', i ' * I I . f . i To the Honourable the Knights, Citizens and Burgesses, the Commons of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, in Parhament assembled. ■\ The Humble Petition of the undersigned Members elected to serve in the Assembly of Lower Canada, and of the Members forming the Minority of the Legislative Council^ who partake the Opinions of the People — Sheweth : That during the last Session of the Imperial Parliament, the Commons of Lower Canada, in the name of the People, whom they represent, ap- proached your Honourable House, by Petition, dated from Quebec, on the first day of March, one thousand eight hundred and thirty-four, setting forth the grievances which the People of the said Province suffered, arising out of the vicious principles upon which their Political Institutions are based, aggra- vated by a series of arbitrary Administrations to which the Province has been subjected. That the inquiry which was instituted before a Select Committee, appointed by your Honourable House upon Canada affairs, on the fifteenth of April, one thousand eight hundred and thirty-four, induced i\w People of Lower Canada to hope, that not only r would tlie prayer of their Petition be listened to, bnt that the grievances therein set forth, which your Petitioners have reason to believe were fully sup- ported, would be immediately redressed. That this hope, A\hich your Petitioners cannot deem unreasonable, was still further strengthened by the retirement of His Majesty's late Secretary of State for the Colonies, the Right Honourable E. G. Stanley, and the subsequent appointment of the Right Honourable T. Spring Rice, the more espe- cially after the repeated declarations of the Right Honourable the Secretary of State for the Colonies, that His Majesty's Government was actuated by the strongest desire to render justice to the People of this Province, by removing the various abuses under Avhich they suffer, and affording to them security against the recurrence thereof. That your Petitioners, however, regret to state, that not only does the said Petition of the Commons of Lower Canada to your Honourable House seem to have been totally neglected, but that new abuses have been inflicted upon the People of this Province, which, if not speedily removed, will tend to increase to an alarming degree the discontents which have so long prevailed, and will ultimately alienate the affections of the People even from the Government of England itself. ' • - > That among the additional grievances of which the People of this Province have to complain, your Petitioners would invite the attention of your Honourable House to the fact, that His Excellency M Mathew Lord Ayliner is still continued in the Government of this Province, after having been formally accused, in the aforesaid Petition, of " ille- gal, unjust, and unconstitutional conduct," and after having borne himself towards the Representatives of the People of Lower Canada, in a manner in- sulting to a body clothed with legislative functions, and destructive of the respect which should be due to His Majesty's Representative. That the acts of the Governor-in-Chief, of which the People of this Province still have to complain, were, for the most part, enumerated in the aforesaid Petition to your Honourable House ; that since that time, the vindictive and bitter feelings, together with the arbitrary and unbecoming conduct which His Excellency has displayed towards the People of this Province, have created an universal feeling of discon- tent towards His Excellency's Administration. That among the just subjects of complaint against the present Administration of this Province, the sys- tem which is exhibited in the distribution of offices necessarily holds a conspicuous place ; that the chief recommendation to office continues to be a display of marked and bitter animosity towards the majority of the People of this Province ; that it is seldom meii of French Canadian origin find their way into office under any circumstances, but when they are ap- pointed, it is not until they have alienated themselves from the sympathies of the People, and allied them- selves with the factious minority opposed to the wishes and interests of the country ; and that even the sacred character of justice has been recently polluted in its source, by the appointing to the high office of Judge of the King's Bench, for the District of Montreal, a man who was a violent and decided partisan of the Administration of the Earl of Dal- housie, and the declared enemy of the laws which he is sworn to administer ; and also by the appointment of a great number of Commissioners, for the trial of small causes in different parts of the country, inten- tionally selected, on the eve of a General Election, from among the notorious partisans of the present Administration. That another cause of complaint which has arisen since the aforesaid Petition of the Commons of Lower Canada, to your Honourable House, is the culpable indifference betrayed by the Governor-in- Chief on the subject of the frightful ravages com- mitted by the Asiatic Cholera during the last summer. That a few days after the existence of the dreadful scourge in the City of Montreal was ascertained, the Corporation of the said City, in accordance with its strict line of duty, passed a series of Resolutions au- thorizing an application to the Governor-in-Chief for an extension of the Quarantine Regulations to the Port of Montreal ; and for an aid for the purpose of forwarding the destitute Emigrants to their destina- tion ; that the answer of the Governor was more than a bare refusal — it w^as marked by coldness and insult ; that your Petitioners are firmly of opinion that the virulence which the disease subsequently assumed in the said City of Montreal, would have been consider- .^isijaiiriidiili ably mitigiited, luul the Head of tlie Administration complied with the prayer of the Corporation ; and that the People of the Country generally, and more especially the surviving relatives of the one thousand three hundred victims who died in Montreal, and of the thousands in the Province who have fallen victims to the disease, look upon the conduct of His Excel- lency as one of the principal causes of their suffering and bereavement. That since the aforesaid Petition of the Commons of Lower Canada, your Honourable House, in whose deliberations, be it remembered, the people of this Province have no voice, have sanctioned the sale of lands belonging to this Province, to several indivi- duals using the title of the " British North American Land Company," and thereby have taxed this Colony contrary to the most important and indisputable of the birth-rights of British subjects, which were more particularly acknowledged and confirmed to Colonies with local Legislatures by the faith and honour of the British Parliament, pledged by the Declaratory Act of 1778, the violation of which principle recognized in said Act led to the rightful and successful resistance of the former British Colonies, and to the dismember- ment of the British Empire. That your Petitioners, viewing with alarm such an encroachment upon their political privileges, would fain believe that it has been made without considering their Constitutional Rights and the provisions of the said Declaratory Act ; that your Petitioners, nevertheless, solemnly protest against this violation of the most sacred rights a of the People of Lower Canada, and pray for the im- mediate repeal of the Act passed in favour of the said Land Company. That your Petitioners have reason to believe that the said tax is now being paid into the Colonial Chest of this Province, for the disposal of the Executive, without the sanction and in defiance of the expressed will of the Commons of Lower Canada ; that your Petitioners anticipate with fear, as a consequence thereof, a frightful increase of cor- ruption in this Province ; that in addition to the fears generated by this unconstitutional taxation, and the equally unconstitutional application of the said tax, your Petitioners foresee, as arising out of the peculiar powers conferred on the Company in question, the destruction of the political independence of the people, who may unfortunately become subject to its control, and who will be rendered basely subservient to the said Company, t , m i ;s <' That the continued dilapidations of the Revenues of the Province, in direct violation of the Constitution, are another source of alarm to His Majesty's Cana- dian subjects ; that after the abandonment of the late Colonial Secretary's project to seize upon the said Revenues by suspending an Act which did no more than confirm to the Commons of Lower Canada a right previously recognized, without conferring any new privileges. His Majesty's Canadian subjects did not expect to be so soon called upon to resist similar unconstituti nal encroachments and dilapidations ; yet very recently the indisputable privileges of the As- sembly have been again violated by the payment of 9 the Public Servants without the sanction or cogni- zance of tlie only body authorized to give such sanction. That the People of the old Colonies, now the United States of North America, however much they were aggrieved by attempts at unconstitutional tax- ation, had much less to complain of, on the score of Executive usurpation, than the People of this Pro- vince ; and the Assembly having repeatedly declared its fixed determination not to sanction that which it must ever consider a tyrannical violation of its rights, and which the People of this Province regard as a vir- tual dissolution of the Constitution, your Petitioners cannot answer for the consequences. That, under these circumstances, your Petitioners claim for His Majesty's Canadian subjects the pro- tection of your Honourable House against these and similar acts of pillage. That your Honourable House may and ought at once to ascertain, in order to bring to just punishment, those who authorised so criminal an assumption of power. . That, inasnmch as no Session of the Provincial Parliament has intervened since the date of the afore- said Petition of the Commons of this Province to your Honourable House, your Petitioners abstain from alluding at any length to the insuperable differ- ences and the ever widening breach between the House of Assembly and the Legislative Council of this Province — differences springing out of the very constitution of the latter body : nevertheless, your Petitioners cannot avoid reminding your Honourable 10 House that the aforesaid Petition contained a prayer that the Legislative Council, as at present constituted, be abolished, and that the People of this Province be empowered to elect the second branch of the Legis- lature in future, as the only means of producing that harmony, without which internal peace and good government cannot exist. . ^aSSif^ttCtOXtf your Petitioners, expressing the sentiments of the majority of the inhabitants of Lower Canada, pray your Honourable House to com- ply with the prayer of the aforesaid Petition of the Commons of Lower Canada, dated on the first of March last, and also with that of the present Petition, by removing the abuses and grievances set forth therein, so that full justice be rendered io the House of Assembly and to the People whom it represents, and your Petitioners will ever pray. \i-rmA f Lower Canada, December, 1834. ^v (Signed,) L. J. Papineau, P. D. Debar tzvh. P. Le TovTueo-, <>'> L. G. Dp Tonnancour, 11 ./. B. Meilleur, Amable Dionne, P. E. Taschereau, J. B. Fortin, L. M. Viger, J. Bouffard, A. C. Taschereau, J. B. Beaudoiny L. T. Besserer, Ed. Barnard, X. Malhiot, Pierre Amiot, J. Deligny, Alexis Mousseun, V. Guillet, R. J. Kimber, Al. Trudel, Pierre Bureau, D. B. Viger, P. A. Dor ion. E. Bedard, H. S. Huot, X. Tessier, J. Blanchet, P. C. Marquis, J. Dessaules, J. Leslie, L. H. Lafontaine, Jarou Dewitt, J. M. Raymond, L. R. Blanchard, A. N. Morin, Jos. Roy, Robt. Nelson, C. S. Cherrier, J. Picket, C. Ov. Perrault, E. B. G'Callaghan, Sab. De Bleury, J. B. Tasch^, J. B. ProuljT, Ed. Toomey, J. Dorion, J. Bouthillier, J. T. Drolet, E. E. Rodier, C. Courteau, C. La Rocque, Ls. Bourdages, J. J. Girouard, W. H. Scott, S. Bouc, J. M. Rochon, L. Lacoste, J. N. Cardinal, C. Archambeault, C. H. O. Cote, M. Hotchkiss, Marcus Child, F. X. Larue. EXPLANATORY REMARKS ON THB FOREGOING PETITION. The object of the foregoing Petition is to call the attention of the House of Commons to the present unhappy condition of Lower Canada, the result of the vicious system of Government which at present exists, and has so long existed in that Colony. During the last Session of the Imperial Parliament, the People of Canada ventured to lay their case be- fore the several branches of the Legislature by Peti- tion, dated 1st March; but although they have reason to believe a very clear case of the grievances under which they have so long suffered was made out before the Committee then appointed, no measure of relief had been extended to the Colony up to the close of the Session and the subsequent dismissal of the late Administration; on the contrary, new evils had arisen alarming to the People of the Colony, and which will be presently more particularly noticed. Under these circumstances, the foregoing Petition was prepared; it is signed by such of the Members as could be reached in the depth of a severe winter, before the ice had become stationary in the rivers. The signa- tures are sixty in number out of eighty-five Members returned to serve in the House of Assembly of the Province. > ? : ;i ^M'W'l r> • 14 The object of the remurks which follow, is to sup- port the prayer of the Petition by eniinierating and exphiining some of the principal grievances of which the People of Canada now demand redress. The first grievance of which the People of Canada complain — a grievance which, in point of mischievous- ness, ])y far exceeds all others, Avhich in fact is the parent of a host of complicated evils and abuses — is the vicious constitution of Legislative Councils. Theoretically, that body is said to be chosen by the Crown, (31 Geo. 3, c. 31, sec. 3,) but practically it is self-elected. A very few words will explain this. At the period of the American revolution, many of the Colonial families, who had, by their oppressive conduct while possessed of power in the old Colonies, rendered themselves obnoxious to their fellow citi- zens, found the arms of the Military Government of the then newly acquired Colony of Canada open to receive them. As a reward for the great losses which they represented themselves to have sustained, in conse- quence of their adhesion to the Government side in the struggle which they themselves had been mainly instru- mental in generating, most of the offices which were created or fell vacant in the Colony were bestowed upon them, so that gradually they became a petty- local aristocracy, filling up all the administrative and judicial offices. In this state was Canada (then called the Province of Quebec) found when the constitu- tional Act, commonly called the Quebec Act, (31 Geo. 3, c. 31,) came into operation. . . This Act provided, among other things, that Ca- 15 nada should have a Local Legislature, consisting of two branches; an Assembly to be elected by the People, and a Legislative Council to be chosen by the Crown : besides the Legislative Council, the old Council was recognized (sec. 34) as an Executive Council, which was, and is presumed to be, a type of the Privy Council of Great Britain. The two Councils were chosen exclusively out of the great office-holding class just described — a class necessarily endowed with interests and sympathies distinct from those of the great mass of the Peo})le. The consequence of this opposition of interests has been, that agreement never has existed, and never can exist between the two branches of the Legisla- ture. A short description of the manner in which these bodies renew themselves will justify the state- ment which has been made, that practically tliey are self-elected. , . • . One of the duties of the Executive Council is to advise the Governor. The Governor, on his first ar- rival, is presumed to be ignorant of the condition of the Colony. The Executive Council is his board of instructors. When an office becomes vacant, the Governor applies to his ** Privy Council ;" their own class is naturally represented as containing the only persons eligible or qualified to fill the office. From this mode of filling up all offices, the two Councils, the judiciary, and the office-holders, have become identical, not merely in point of interest, but in point of fact. The Executive Council, for instance, con- sists of eight members : two are Legislative Coun- cillors ali«o; and all are lucrative place-holders, with 16 the exception of two, uiitl of these two, one enjoys the distinction of independence, only in consequence of having been dismissed from the office he did hold for malversation thereof *. . Abuses of the Legislative Council. The Legislative Council consists of thirty-five Members, a large proportion of whom hold lucrative offices, whilst others have paid themselves for the trouble of governing ill by procuring large grants of land ; three of the Judges, of whom one is Chief Justice and Speaker, the Bishop, the Sheriff of Mon- treal, and other office-holders, have seats for life in the Legislative Council ; two of the Legislative Councillors are Executive Councillors also ; and to complete the community of interest between the two bodies, the Honourable Members of one Council think it no degradation to become the servants and receive the wages ol the other f. Now it is this vicious constitution of the Councils which has, in practice, produced the disastrous results of which the People of Canada have complained, (Petitions of ist March y 1834,) and it is a conviction that no partial remedy can be applied, which dictated the prayer "that the Legis- lative Council as at present constituted be abolished^ and that the People of this Province be empowered to elect the second branch of the Legislature in * Montreal Almanac for 1834. See also Parliamentary Paper, 24th March, 1834, No. 149, (Mr. Hume mover). t The Honourable W. Smith and C. de Lery, are Executive Councillors and Clerks of the Legislative Council; the Honourable H. W. Ryland, a Lepslative Councillor, is Clerk to the Execu- tive Council. 17 future as the only means of producing that harmony, without which internal peace and good government cannot exist." (Petition, ante page 10.) The several grievances '"hich have sprung out of the vicious constitution of the second branch of the Legislature are inconceivably numerous. A few examples may be here stated : — I. The Laws which are conceived by the People to be necessary for their common welfare are re- jected by the Council. (Petition of 1827.) Such was the language of complaint in 1827: that the evil is not only unmitigated, but considerably augmented, let the following statement shew; that it will remain so, while the present Council lasts, is the firm im- pression of the Pec ole of Canada. STATEMENT of the Number of Bills, which, having originated in the House of Assembly, were either rejected by the Legis- lative Council, or amended so as to procure their final rejection by the Assembly ; exhibiting the obstructive character of the said Council. Year. Rejected by the Council. Amended by the Council, Total. 1822 8 8 1823 14 3 16 1824 12 5 17 1825 12 6 17 ' 1826 1# 8 27 1827 No Session. No Session. No Session. 1828 \ 1829 1 . M-^, .8 24 1830 le; 8 «4 1831 ^ '%%" \ t - m 18.S2 Total . 14 8 22 122 47 169* Parliamentary Paper, 24th March, 1834, No, 149, moved for by Mr. Hume. B 18 Ot* the Laws tliua rejected, some were deemed by tlie People of vital importance, and were of provisions 60 wise and salutary, that it would be difficult to com- prehend in what respect they displeased the official party. The subject matter of a few will be suffi.^ cieut to illustrate this observation : — 1. An Act to regulate the office of Receiverf- general. (The People had already been robbed by one Receiver-general, Sir J. Caldwell, and desired security for, the future.) ^. « . rt.,,,.. »» ...?♦ ...i r ,.♦...; 2. Acts, without number, for the Extension of hducation. 3. An Act for taking a Census of the Population, i 4. An Act for establishing Jjocal Courts. ,jj,^|,^ ^j.;. 5. An Act for the Relief of destitute Emigrants. (Afterwards obsequiously passed by order of the Colomal office!) ,; .m.^/. to ■• u^.ii -.dr ni : 6. Prisoners' Council Bill. '''-'": •' " ' ' ' '^^ ■'' 7. Acts for re -printing the Provincial Laws in force. 8. An Act to incapacitate the Judges from sitting and voting in the Legislative and Executive Coun- cils, and to secure the independence of the Judges. * 9. An Act for building County Court-houses and Gaols., f t ^. ''^ ^ 10. An Act for vacating the seats of the Members of the Assembly accepting offices of profit, or be- coming accountable for public money. , :.si I IL Numerous Dissenters' Relief Bills. ■^!'}^\ \ 12. An Act to erect a Marine Hospital. ^ 13. Apts for incorporating the Cities of Quebec and Montreal. (Frequently rejected ; but afterwards M # 19 passed by breakmsj down tlie powers of the CoqK)- ration to those of mere street-sweepers.) ^*"'^ ui^ri!" 14. Acts for establishing an Agent of the Pro- vince in London; • -I 15. A Bill for preventing tlie appearance of armed troops during Elections, &c. &c. &c. ' v** '^"'" ■' *'• The above list, taken [ilmost at random out of upwards of 160, will fully shew the obstructive cha- racter of the Council, the justice of the People's complaints, and the utter uselessness of any remedy short of abolishing the Council or permitting the People to elect it."'" ^^^ i"* ' ' II. Another grievance, complained of as arising out of the composition of the Council, is the fostering of national animosities and distinctions to which their exclusive dealing gives rise. In an address to His Majesty, dated the 1st of April, 1833, the Legislative Council pretended to be specially appointed to pro- tect one class and not the whole body of the People. In the wording of this address, such was the inde- cent language made use of, that the Secretary for the Colonies felt himself called upon to express " his regret that any word had been introduced which should have the appearance of ascribing to a class of His Majesty's subjects, of one origin, views at vari-^* ance with the allegiance which they owe to His Majesty." One of the many modes in which this ex- clusive feeling shews itself is by the influence the Council exercises in appointments to office ; sons and cousins of the ruling families, without number, iare recommended and received ; and the Petition com- . . B 2 .1 •20 plains " that it is seldom persons of French Canadian origin find their way into office under any circum- stances ; and when they are appointed, it is not until the^ have alienated themselves from the sympathies of the People, and have allied themselves to the fac- tious minority opposed to the wishes and interests of the Country." ^ k . n • » t.f < / • i''' '' ' Abuses of the Judiciary. ' The grievances connected with the administration of justice are severely felt, and have been repeatedly complained of by the People of Canada. > i L The Judges are appointed to hold office, not during good behaviour, but during the pleasure of the Crown, which practically means, during the pleasure of the official party to which they belong. No means of impeachment, in case of bad conduct, exists, and all attempts to render them independent of the Crown, and amenable, in case of ill conduct, to some tribunal have been rejected, as we have seen (page 18) by the Legislative Council, of which some of them are members. One case, some time since, may be men- tioned here : one of the Judges (Fletcher) was accused of conduct in the partial administration of justice, (which is injustice,) which should, if proved, have incapacitated him from office; inquiry was however quashed by the Executive, and he was merely removed from the district of St. Francis to that of Gasp^. The People of St. Francis were thus quieted by the infliction of injustice upon the People of Gaspe. I. n 21 4 ' II. The Judges are selected out of the official class or their partisans, and not from among those mem- bers of the Bar in whom the People have confidence. The foregoing Petition complains (.page 6) " that even the sacred character of justice has recently been polluted in its source, by the appointing to the high office of Judge of the King's Bench, for the District of Montreal, a man who was a violent and decided partisan of the Administration of the Earl of Dal- housie, and the declared enemy of the laws he is sworn to administer.** The person thus alluded to is Mr. Samuel Gale, who came to England in 1827, for the purpose of supporting and defending the noto- riously-oppressive and obnoxious Administration of Lord Dalhousie. He gave evidence before the Com- mittee which sat in 1828 — evidence which was marked by bitter animosity towards the People of Canada, and towards the laws which he is now called upon to enforce. {See Report of 1828, Evi- dence of S. Gale,) Is such a man fit to be a Judge ? Can the strong language in which the Petitioners clothe their complaints excite surprise ? Of the eleven Judges three only are of French Canadian origin ; several of them were educated in the mother country, and consequently could not be presumed to be well ac- quainted with the Civil Law ; and several, including the above-named Mr. Gale, are of the old Colonial stock, who were the principal cause of the loss of the colonies to which they belonged. * III. The appointment of the Commissioners for the trial of small causes is conducted on the same plan (Petition, page 6). The Mne^istracy i? essentially 22 partisan in its chunieter ; anil the nierti issuing ol a warrant to apprelieiid the officer who lin^tl upon the People on the 2 1st May, 1832, as a necessary step towards a Judicial incpiiry, produced tlie immediate dismissal of the Magistrate who merely did his duty by signing the same. .^.^^,^,.. ^^^ ^^^ ,,,^y^,,,,j ^, • IV. The powers of the Legislature are usurped by the Judges of the Court of King's Bench, and by the Executive Council, in the levying of exorbitant fees upon the Administration of Justice (Petition of' \st ^larch^ 1834), whereby injustice is perpetuated. V. The Judges are illegally called upon to give their opinions secretly, on questions which may be publicly argued before them {Petition of \st March, lo04). , ■ . I ^w- -» : « VI. The Sheriffs are all creatures of the Executive Government ; and one, the Sheriff of Montreal* sits in the Legislative Council. The Sheriff" of Quebec is sou of the Chief Justice of the Province, who is also Speaker of the Legislative Council. It is notorious that when the Crown is a party Juries are shame- lessly packed. The Jury law provides that the Sheriff" shall prick for Juries out of lists of the several Pa- rishes included within a certain arrondissement. Yet the Jury empannelled to try the authors of the Massacre of the 21st May, was pricked from the single Parish of Lachine, inhabited almost exclu- sively by partisans of the Administration. So fla- grant is this practice, that the Grand Jury of the Court of King's Bench for the last September term actually presented the improper method of summon- ing Juries, as demanding the cognizance of the Court, 23 # iiU(], through their i*ecomrnen(Ijition, of the* Provinciui Legislature. Futile preseiitnieut ! how is it possible to expect redress where all is partisanship and irre- sponsibility ? . . Such are some of the grievances- doiAected with the Administration of Justice in Lower Canada. It will be easily seen that they t»re the result of the pre- sent Colonial system, and that they admit of remedy when once the several branches of the Legislature are brought to agree, by rendering the Council re- sponsible to the People by means of the principle of . \> .. 1 ' ' f ; , i.-.'-m ' J Election. ^'^ * ai 'V;'iw Abuses of the Executive. » ;■}! 1 hn\ The vicious system of administration which has so long prevailed, and is still fostered in the Colony, is the parent of a host of evils of the most grievous and oppressive character. ;.>,.. li * s,t.i •>,); I. When the head is unsound it is not likely that the several members will be healthy. The People attri- bute many of the abuses which they suffer to the fact that military men are sent to rule over them : they would therefore hail the appointment of a Civil Governor as a prelude to a better state of things. It is, unhappily, seldom that Governors are appointed for any knowledge they maj be presumed to possess • of the business they are about to undertake; some- times they are appointed because they have a relation . a Minister ; at others, because they have gained credit i in the field; occasionally, their good fortune may be tmced to a less honourable origin.. Unfortunately for the People of Canada, the emoluments, of the : ^4 f) office are sufficiently large to offer a tempting bait to the connections of the English aristocra/^y, and the happiness of the People is held as nought. The country is unscrupulously Jinded over to the tender mercies of an ignorant soldier. The education of military men renders them posi- tively incapable of governing a free people, A mili- tary nobleman may g out with the best intentions ; yet, as forbearance is not a military virtue, on the first slight he receives, the most bitter animosity is created in his breast against the People, or those who are considered to speak their voice. The People of Canada are of opinion that a Civil Governor would not be so likely to give way to such petulance; in this opinion they may be wrong, though their expe- rience favours the supposition that they are right. With talents certainly not rising above mediocrity, the late Sir Francis Burton was popular; his man- ners were bland ; he was accessible to all ranks ; and above all, he recognized the constitutional attributes of the Assembly, which last disposition the People of Canada believe to reside in the breasts of most Englishmen educated in civil life ; hence they de- mand a Civil Governor, with powers to conciliate. II. The most conspicuous grievance springing out of a bad administration, intimately linked, as hath been shewn, with those who hold the Judicial and a portion of the Legislative powers, is the con-» tinned dilapidations of the revenues of the Province. . (Petitiony page 8.) The Petitions presented to the House in 1827, complained of the application of money without the consent of the Legislature. The *- 25 Petition of 1st March, 1834, states the evil to be un- redressed (64th and 70th Resolutv ns), and recently the abuse has been carried to an extent to place the liberties of the People in the most imminent danger. A few words will explain this ; — ,^,/rhe Declaratory Act of 18 Geo. 3, (1778,) gua- ranteed to all the Colonial Assemblies the full control of the proceeds of all taxes raised within their respec- tive Provinces ; this guarantee was confirmed by an Act of the 1st and 2a of the present reign. Tlie Assembly of Lower Canada, exercising the constitutional power thus confirmed to them, are in the habit of enforcing strict economy in their annual Supply Bills. Now, as the Council and the families of its Members receive most of the salaries, of course that body has always resisted the Assembly's good intentions. To provide against this wholesome control a remedy, which should be in strict accordance with the views of the salary-re- ceiving class, Mr. (now Lord) Stanley (when Colonial Minister) proposed to procure the repeal of the last- named Act, intending probably to violate that of 1778. When Mr. Stanley went out of office, the motion for the repeal in question was not pressed ; subsequently, during Mr. Rice's continuance in office, both Acts were violated, the money-vote of the Assembly was dispensed with, and it is believed about £30,000 was, in December last, seized by Lord Aylmer, and distri- buted among the officials {Petition^ page 9). Thus are the rights of the People and their Representatives trampled upon by an irresponsible Governor and Council. Englishmen acquainted with and respect- ing the constitutional functions of the House of Com- 26 iiioiis, will fephapshave'diiHcuity ill believing Hiis atro^ eious usurpation of power ; a question to the Colonial Minister, or to his predecessor, will set the matter at rest.'**^> t««'-'5JMt' ■ Hlqr^Ovi atlJ lo %o If it be thought that some of the officials suffer hardship, it should be remembered that the As- sembly are contending for n principle ; that they have ever shewn liberality in the appropriation of monies ; and are now ready to vote the salaries, pro- vided that principle is recognized. Take as an example the case of the Judges. They now hold their offices during pleasure. The Assembly passed a Bill ; granting them permanent salaries with the condition that they should hold office during good behaviour. The Council rejected the Bill; at the Council's door, therefore, must their distresses be laid. III. The granting of large masses of the Public Lands to Legislative Council' ors and their families is another grievous evil (7th clause of Resolution 84) . Take the following specimens : — i K' v-''^*'^ . . ■ , '^^^^■^*'' William B. Felton, Esq. . .^ . , !a ^a* Children of Ditto : — / . , ■ William Locker Felton .*= ?!* "'f r^^f }^^ji£^ Ehza ' Charlotte , Fanny - i Maria , Matilda Louisa ACRES. »y«.jv, Octj: iivia 14,141 nil aiiiiu'i H M.'iili .i M - :j 200 :ii.^^tii,|^iiii.^ii#^.. ; 1,200 ... . .]^»:Ju^>f:jf^i 1,200 . .♦,/.;i , . . 1,200 23,541* * Sessional paper, 24th March,l^34, 149, moved for ])y Mr. Hnme. 27 M ^>- r J Vlatthtnv Bell, Esq., ^yater-lots, containing 11,900 , t> f »f ditto .., ^ . ,; 3,125 oik; i>»«l(|, VAil|. ihid ^i ,.„ jiiU ^ ^/J'jir) ill , U'lj- ^^; ' • - '' ' 28,140 /r»d The said Water-lots being in a situation wJiere gome sold at 5s. and even more per foot : thus, these feetoi laud are more valuable than acres elsewhere. ly. The accumulation of dficers in the same per^- spns and families gives another frightful picture of the system pursued in the Colony. { Petition of Mavah^ 1 . Jonathan Sewell, Chief Justice 7 ,^'r'A^ j \ ,500 sterling. Jm^alltHiO^(^^ :i ' Speaker . ^^^■^<^p^. 900 ,i.\{\vs ^v K r f r »> for Circuits &^v i .t. 50 2. William Smith Sewell, son of No. 1,1 Sheriff of Quebec .. . . .] 3. E. Sewell, son of No. 1, Missionary! and Chaplain to the Bishop . . j 4. John Sewell, son of No. 1, Usher of| Black ^od . . '. . . . j Post Master of Quebec 5. Robert Sewell*, son of No. 1, Readingl Clerk to the Legislative Council . ) 6. Montague Sewell, son of No. 1, extral Writing Clerk of Council . . . j , '..v. The high salaries of public functionaries fre- quently for very trifling service are another abuse complained of. The public officer receives frequently three, four, six, and even ten times as much as the * Since dead. ' t The same state of things prevails in Upper Canada, where the Bolton family usurps about six or eight places. Nova Scotia has its Cochranes. 1,500 to 2,000 200 or more. 180 about. ^ 300 200 •« ^ :5, i ordinary and average run of incomes derived from professions and from commerce ; and although they may not seem large to those who compare them with the incomes of Great Britain, still they place the servants of the public at a dangerous eminence- above the rest of society. VI. The misappropriation of the funds of the Jesuits* estates, and the refusal of the Executive to render any account to the Assembly, has been com- plained of in every Petition from Canada, and still remains unredressed. The Jesuits held considerable estates in Canada, and occupied a very extensive College in Quebec, where they afforded a very good education on easy terms. The School has been turned into a Barrack ! and the estates squandered among the officials. In 1800, the Assembly asked for cer- tain papers connected with these estates; the Governor refused them, and told them he should consider them wanting in respect to the King*, if they renewed their demands. "The House has certainly been wanting in respect (says a Canadian author, writing of his country,) on several occasions since that period, if renewing its demands in the most sub- missive and respectful terms deserves so to be con- sidered." The people of Canada consider the rents and immunities of these estates diverted from their lawful application, and under any circumstances they look upon the violation of the rights of the Legis- lature as an executive usurpation. * It is a favourite Colonial theory, that the dignity of the Crown is damaged by any attempt to abridge the profits of the officials. i .a ./, 29 VII. The defalcation of the late Receiver- General, Mr. (now Sir John) Caldwell, is a most atrocious case. His chest had been long suspected to be defi- cient ; but the then Governor resisted the demand of the Assembly for investigation, on the ground that the Receiver-general was the officer of the Imperial Government, and not of the Colonial Assembly. Subsequently the chest had not money enough to honour.a Warrant ; and a disclosure, so long resisted, became unavoidable. The plea of the Governor was now taken up by the Assembly. " If he be the servant of the Imperial Government, they must answer for his misdeeds, and must restore us the money he has robbed us of;'* but no. Sir John Caldwell is still protected : he is one of the brightest ornaments of the Castle of St. Louis, is a Legislative Councillor, and is instinctively strenuous in procuring the rejection by the Council of a Bill for the security of Money in the hands of the Receiver-general." As a reward for this loyal conduct, as it is styled in the Colony, he enjoys the immense estates which were formerly his, at a rental '^^ £2,000 a year, though they are supposed to be worth three or four times as much. Sir John is supposed to have grown rich since his " misfortune," as it is called by his class. No wonder Sir John gives capital dinners*. VIII. The people complain generally of the refusal of the Executive to submit accounts and papers to the inspection of the House, though repeatedly demanded, leaves upwarcis of * A balance 600,000 dollars against the lat struck in February, 183 Receiver-General 30 (67/A Resolntmi), eH\)eciii\\y those connected with expenditure. ; '. r, c* r»it>«vihi»^^ \ii*i«y«. 'ii-r^ ♦.'.».* .t-a IX. Also of the refusal of subordinate public functionarieg to appear before them (67th Resoliction). The grounds of refusal in both cases are the same as those assigned by Lopd Dalfaousie, in the case of the Receiver-genieral Ckldwell. They are officers of the Crown, and not subject to the will of the- Assembly. Th«' enormity of this pleaniay be conceived, by sup- posing a similar refusal to acknowledge the authority of the British Parliament on the part of a public officer. It would and ought to be met with instant dismissal* :>iX.; Want of control over the Post-Office de- p«ii*tment is another source of evil, and conse- quently of discontent. A Bill introduced by Lord Stanley, in the early part of last Session, gave up the surplus revenue to the Colonial Legislatures. Still they have no control over the department ; and the' Postmaster-general of the Colony, and his depu- ties imitating him, refuse to answer the questions of the Assembly, on the plea set up in other cases. The postage on newspapers, in some cases 45 per cent, on, the cost, is an arbitrary tax levied by the Deputy Postmaster-general for his own especial use. Its amount must be enormous, as there are about 50 Newspapers published in Canada alone. XI. The wanton massacre of the People during an election on the 21st May, 1832, is still under investigation by the House of Assembly. Previous to this event the People of Canada considered the Agents of the British Government merely ignorant, «>/i. M imeskW 31 iirbitiaiy, and tyruiiuicul ; they now regai'd them and their party as bloodthirsty and cruel. The partisan character of the Magistracy, mentioned, at page 20, has recently been put beyond a doubt. In 1832, the People fired upon were those who huzzaed for the popular side. The mob was small, and it was during the day. In 1834, a mob of 1,200 (some say 1,500) paraded the streets with impunity; but then they huzzaed for "the right side." They beat those who were obnoxious, to to them, put the night-watch to the rout, broke thc'^ windows of the leading People on the popular side- in short, had possession of the town. A Magistrate, when asked what they intended to do, said, " What • can we do? — they are respectable People." . XII. The continuance of the present Governdi*,' Lord Aylmer, in office (Petition, page 4) after he had rendered himself obnoxious to the People is the last grievance which will be noticed under tlus head. Even were it the opinion of the Secretary of the Colonies, that no one single act of Lord Ayl- mer's is sufficient to warrant his dismissal, the detest*- ation in which his Lordship's Government is held by » the People should be enough to cause his removal. That this detestation is not without foundation, let : the following complaints extracted from {Petition, page S.) .....■> 2. Of his refusal to communicate the information asked for on various occasions by the House. {Reso- lution 84, clause 15.) 3. Of his refusal to advance monies for sanitary purposes during a time of pestilence, though on a former occasion cheerfully indemnified by the Assem- bly ; and of his having answered the request of the municipal authorities, though couched in respectful terms, in a tone of insult. {Petition, page 6.) 4. Of his zealous perpetuation of all the abuses of previous administrations. (84 th Resolution.) 5. Of his having thanked the officers who com- manded the troops on the 21st May, 1832, when the citizens were shot dead at an election. 6. Of the withholding despatches, or communi- cating them to the House in a mutilated state. (84th Resolution, clause 11.) 7. Of withholding the Royal Assent from neces- sary Bills. 8. Of having refused to sign a writ for the election of a representative to fill a vacancy which happened in the Assembly, and having thus disfranchised a part of the population of the Province. {Resolution 85.) 9. Of having refused the prayer of the Assembly to oflFer a reward for the discovery of an unknown soldier who stabbed a man during a disturbance on the race-course. (Report of a Committee of the Assembly, 1834.) — As if in derision of the People, a reward of £100 was immediately afterwards offered for the discovery of the supposed incendiary of a barn ! 33 Such are among the grave objections against Lord Ayhner; added to which, his tone and bearing towards the people is such as to oppose an impene- trable barrier against all communication between the governor and the governed. . <./ m-iif Abuses of the interferei^ce of the ; ,. Imperial Parliament. In addition to the numerous evils incidental to the general system of irresponsibility just described, the People of Canada protest against the legislative interference of the Imperial Government in matters relating entirely to the internal concerns of the Colony. Within the last few years three cases of such legislative interference have occurred of a character to create almost universal discontent in the Colony. Taking the most recent case first : — , I. The Act of last Session of, the Imperial Legis- lature, granting a charter to a company of speculators styled the " British American Land Company," is objected to, as a violation of the Articles of Capitula- tion and of the Declaratory Act of 1778, and as a measure in itself repugnant to the institutions of the country, and odious to the people thereof. i>ii,t ir. Throughout North America the public lands afford a ready means of raising wherewith to supply the exigencies of the Government without inflicting any, the slightest burthen upon the people. In the United States not only are a large portion of the expenses of the States' Governments paid by land sales ; but a fund is created for education by annual Sales of a portion of the public lands set apart for c 34 that purpose. 3y this species of indirect taxation direct taxation, and also indirect taxation of a more obvious kind, are avoided. The obnoxious Act robs the people of Canada of this resource, and compels them to find other modes of supplying the public exigencies. But this is not all : even the moderate price agreed to be paid by the Company is unlawfully disposed of. The first instalment has been received and paid into the military chest, which is always understood to be under the control of the Metropolitan Govern- ment, instead of being paid into the civil chest, and placed at the disposal of the Legislature. Thus in two ways is the Act of 18 Geo. 3 violated ; firsts by taxation against the statute ; and, secondy by placing the proceeds of the tax out of the reach of the Local Legislature. .^ . s,.i^ The animosity of the Assembly and of the People to this Act is therefore just, and not, as those in- terested in the Company declare, '* factious" and " seditious." As a fair picture of the feeling towards this Act, take the following paragraph, extracted from a Montreal newspaper, edited by a member of the House of Assembly, and considered as the representative of the opinions of the liberal portion of the British population : — ' " " As this is the season that old country people generally write to their friends and relations, and invite them to emigrate to this country, it is well that they should put them on their guard against pur- chasing any of the public lands from the Land Com- pany established in this Province, as it is most 35 probable that the House of Assembly will declare the Company's title to those lands null; and the earliest opportunity will no doubt be taken to con- fiscate the lands in whose possession soever they may he found. Emigrants ought, therefore, to be warned against the certain risk they run in purchasing pro- perty, the title of which is so uncertain and so liable to be disturbed. ** We hope the above warning will not be thrown away. It will spare much trouble and discontent nereaiter. iryM'.n .-u 4y, ; r> Now, the above is not a mere idle threat of a newspaper. It is a just picture of the popular feeling. No jus occupationis will hereafter be recognized. No circumstances of alienation or time elapsed will prevent the Province resuming the lands whenever they may gain the power of so doing, j. ;{j It was said that the Bill was smuggled through the House through the agency of an honourable member who has a direct interest in the speculation. The people of Canada regard not the manner of its passage; they object to the Act itself, and to its , principles, and they pray its immediate repeal. ;^.; ^ );^i II. Another Act passed by the British Parlia- ment, and obnoxious to the People in the highest degree, is the Canada Tenures Act, (6 Geo. 4). The alarm created by this Act was one of the great exciting causes of the Petitions of 1827. ,i,^ -is.This nefarious Act, for such it must be called, disturbed rights which had been in existence upwards of forty years — minors' rights, the rights of dowered women, sheriffs' titles, hypotheques executed upon :MJ laiitl — all these have been swept away by the Act of the 0th of the hite King. {Evidence of Mr. Viger before the Cmnmittee of 1828.) It may be remarked, among other things, that the Tenures Act introduced, with the other "blessings" of the English tenure, the law of primogeniture, which is repugnant to the spirit of the Civil Law, and to the state of opinion in Canada. It is equally odious to the in- habitants of those parts of the country where soccage tenure prevails, namely, in the townships, which are chiefly peopled by Americans, where the law of primogeniture has been abolished, and is, moreover, viewed with great abhorrence. The feeling of insecurity of property generated by this Act imperiously demands its inunediate repeal, for which the people of Canada have repeatedly prayed. (Petitions of 1827 and 1834.) III. The Canada Trade Act is also objected to, partly on the same gi'ounds as the above. The very oppressive nature of the whole system of Colonial rule which prevails in Canada will be apparent from what has gcmi before. It only re- mains to state that the People merely pray for — 1st. The repeal of certain Imperial Acts just specified; * 2d. The recognition of the principle of non- interference, to obviate future misunderstandings ; 3d. The production of unanimity between the two branches of the Legislature, by introducing the prin- ciple of election in the choice of the Council; and 4th. The appointment of a Civil Governor, with directicms tc adopt a conciliatory line of conduct, as recommended by the Committee of 1828. 37 In uskiiig this, they merely ask to be placed on the looting of the Charter Governments of the old Colonies, reminding the Imperial Government that it was not one of these Colonies, but a Royal Colony (New York), which first set the example of dis- obedience to an Act of Parliament. Hence, the People of Canada " do not hesitate to ask from a Prince of the House of Brunswick, and a Reformed Parliament, all the freedom and political powers which the Princes of the House of Stuart and their Parliaments granted to the most favoured of the plantations, formed at a period when such grants must have been less favourably regarded than they would now be." {4^th Resolution.) i..iJ^ h. v.b i,' y ».-... f,, .; .> Hii I rr y. A v J «% RECAPITULATION. i ..^.. l . Abuses arising out of the Constitution of the Council. 1 . Vicious Constitution of the Legislative Councils, and of the executive and virtual identity of both ; with the Local Oligarchy. {Resolution 9th : see ante page 16.) 2. The rejection of useful Bills by the Legislative Councils to the extent of 169 in 'en years : the rejection of each Bill inflicting an abuse upon the People. Complained of in 1827— not yet re- dressed. {See ante page 17.) 3. The fostering of national animosities and dis- tinctions by the Councils, and the creation of - discoj:^ among the People. {VMh Resolution, ante page 19.) 38 m Abuses in the Administration of Justice. 1. The Judges hold office not (luring good behaviour, but during the pleasure of the Crown, that is prac- tically, of the Local Oligarchy. Case of Judge ih Fletcher, v/bere inquiry into alleged ill conduct ti was quashed, and the complaining People silenced by the removal of the Judge to another district.. {•dnte page 20.) ^ 2. Selection of Judges out of the partisan class, and not out of the Members of the Bar, in whom the >j People have confidence. Out of eleven Judges three only French Canadians; some ignorant of the Civil Law, from the fact of their not having been educated in the Colony. Case of Judge Gale, a factious partisan. (Ante page 2L) 3. The Commissioners for the trial of small causes, selected on the same principle. {Ante page 21 ; , Petition, page 6). 4. The vicious composition of the Executive Council, the Members of which are Judges of AppeaL '- (Resolution 84, clause 1, ante page 22.) 5. The Magistracy, a partisan Magistracy. A Ma- gistrate was dismissed for the conscientious dis- charge of his duty when the act performed was « obijoxious to the Executive. (Ante page 22.) 6. The Dependence of the Sheriffs — Packing of Ju- ries. {Ante page ^.) f u -di ' > Abuses of the Eocecutive. 1. The appointment of a Military Governor, unac- quainted with the business of governing, and dis- posed to rule arbitrarily. (Ante page 23.) .^1■: 39 % The application of Monies without the authority of the Legislature, the only body authorized to give such sanction. {Ante page 24.) 3. The granting of Jarge masses of Land to indivi- duals connected with the Government, — 23,000 acres to one family. {Ante page 26.) 4. The accumulation of offices in one family, and sometimes in one individual. Case of the Sewell family. (Ante page 27,) 5. The enormous salaries bestowed on Public Offi- cers, twice, thrice, and pven ten times the ordinary incomes derived from professions; must not be compared with incomes in the Mother Country. (Ante page 28.) 6. The misapplication of the Revenue of the Jesuits' Estates, which should be devoted to the education of the People. (Ante page 28.) 7. The defalcation of the late Reoeiver-general to the extent of 600,000 dollars, and the refusal of all relief. (Ante page 29.) 8. The refusal of Public Functionaries to account to the Assembly. (Ante page 29.) 9. iiiid to appear before the Asisembly and give evi- dence. (Ante page 30.) 10. The irresponsibility of the Postmaster-general of Canada to the Colonial Legislature, and the want of control over the department generally. (Ante page 30.) 11. The wanton firing upon the people during an election on the 21st May, 1832. (Ante page 30,) 12. The continuance of the present Governor in office after having rendered himself obnoxious to the People in various way^, namely: {Ante page 31 :) i . By seizing the Revenue of the Province. 2. By refusing information to the Assembly. ( 3. By refusing an advance of money to miti- gate a pestilence, though reimbursed on a for- mer occasion. 4. By perpetuating the abuses of former Administrations, 5. By thanking the Officers who commanded the Troops when they fired upon the People on u ; the 2ist of May, 1832, during an Election. 6. By mutilating and withholding Dispatches which should be communicated to the Assembly. 7. By withholding the Royal Assent to use- r ful Bills. 8. By refusing a Writ to return a Member to fill up a vacr^ncy in the Assembly, !■; 9. By refusing to offer a reward for the ap- prehension of an unknown soldier who stabbed a citizen. Ahme9 arising out of the Legislative interference of the Mother Country, \. The Act to ini^prpprato ^ Company of Speculators, ^^lUndet tlie titlQ of th0 British American Land yClompanV. {Antf p^^ZZ.) 2. The Canada Tenures Act, which rendered pro- { :;peirty irweeu^e. (-^»*« />«^e 35.) 3, The Canada Trftde Act. (Ante page 36.) London :— Pxinttd by Wiluam Clowi^, 14, (.'htring-CroKs. mm§ »'