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Les diagrammes suivants illustrent la mdthoda. 1 2 3 4 5 6 **, ii> mm mmmmmm atm^ ^A&sLaai^a REPORT OP HIS PROCEEDINGS IN ENGLAND, TO rat BXECVTIYi: COMMITTEB or THE »♦, «» MONTREAL i- Comttittttional ^fmotiutton. i'-"4^^w'^'-:'i:M':^-f'-sm.n; .fiCvi/^V-t riiNTio AT mn notMitti oouribk orrioc. 18S6. # ^■■P X 4?' .-: 'T^ry* •p#«* 6 ' ;* : .a /■ /. V I :; ) ^^■■'^f '•'' T ^^ '^ ^^ f fT '! :•{ *■'* O Vi ^ ? Jf '"i ■■^' ■■?» ■« tr'' V»- -"»: ' -^ 'jr » •■*' ••'■,• >■ •sf -:*i' / 1 W^ri?ft-^'i>>:'~>4?' • ':m:'}'^^?-timn-W ■ :■ I. \ i\ v V. ;> ■,. > / - .. • ;> . /.'(ST *' fc. «» coifirirvTioiiAi* AritociATion ■•r'ii 1^ ! .**J«l« R« i» H' fii ,|(;J. TV-'''- or \ -■1,1,1 -;:^- V MONTREAL. -,«! •:•# it'..«*ji?^ -N*;^' At • tpecitl meeting^ of the EzeentiTO Committee of *h\a A«o. eUtion, held at the Committee Room, on the 1st day of April, 1636, Mr. Walkkr aubmitted the following Report of hia prooeedioge while in England, aa the Agent of thia Aaaociation : — ' ;: ?<>'•'> REPORT. ?. .'iVS^s'-;-,;';'?* TO THE MEMBERS OF THE EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE OF THE MONTREAL CONSTITUTIONAL ASSOCIATION. , I am not surprised to learn that a desire has been pretty generally expressed that I should report to my late constituents the nature of the representations which I had the honor of submitting to Hia Majesty's Ministers whilst in England, and explain to them the principles upon which my advocacy of their interests was conducted. I regret, however, to understand that some dissatisfaction exists in consequence of the expected report and explanation having been so long deferred. Upon this point no blame can, with propriety, attach to me. I reached Montreal on the 9th of January last, and a few days after- wards was appointed one of a delegation to proceed to Quebec, and confer with the Executive Committee of the Constitutional Asso. ciatiun there, upon the steps to be taken in the present conjuncture. I returned to Montreal in the following month of February, under circumstances which put it out of my power for some weeks, to de. Tote any share of my attention, either to my own concerns, or to the business of the Association. I find that Mr. Neilson, sometime after bis return, made a report to the Committee of the Constitutional Association of Quebeo, to which publicity was given through the medium of the prev*. Wbilet that gentleman remained in London, we were seldom apart. Little ^■:U of unj thiDff wat done by one, to which the txMnnni of the other h«d not been provioiulj obtained. If, therefore, the report of thel fentleman doee not embody itll the information which the Member* of th« Aseodation require, I am bound to reg^ard it aa the draft or outline of an ezpoattion which it deTolvea apon mo to amplify and extend. The preparation of this Report has impoaod upon me a labour for which I wan inadequately prepared. Had it accorded with the •entimenta of the Committee, I should have preferred meetinjr my Constituents in person ; and as I ruccivod their confidence at a pub- lic meeting in the presence of thousands, so in a way equally public should I have wished to render up to them the trust by which I was honoured ; and justify to them the manner in which its duties had been performed. "i* '« . i* « .i^ The history and results of our miMioil to England, will be fbuM in the Despatches transmitted by Lord Glenelo to the present Oovernor.in-Chief, and in the instructicne given to tho Boyal Com- missioners. I do not mean to say that it is altogether owing to any arguments or influence of oars, that His Majesty's Government have adopted conclusions upon many of the moat important questions embraced in our instructions, in accordance with the sentiments of the petitioners ; and prescribed to the King's representative in the Province, a course of policy, which, if acted upon with decision and frankness, must secure to the inhabitants generally all the advan- tages of a Constitutional and efficient system of Government. I think favourably of the views of Hia Majesty's Ministers upon all the abstract questions of Government and legislation, which hava been put in issue by the Assembly ; and I entertain no feara that their opinions will bo shaken by the clamours of a faction in the Province, which past concessions, however large and liberal^ hfTS failed to satisfy. > . In submitting the following statement to tho Committee, I am influenced less by a sense of obligation, than by a desire to comply^ with the wishes of those members of the Association, who have not obtained access to the proceedings of the Committee ; for my cor- respondence with the latter body, which was regular and uninter- rupted during the first four months of my sojourn in England, and which terminated in a communication addressed to tho Commit- tee in the early part of September, must have put those members of the Association, who were placed upon the Committee, fully in poeaession of every particular of moment which ooourred during that time, including the substance of the different conforeitces with which we were honoured by Ministers and other public ran; and. )he. views ofC'olontal policy which wore from time to lime disclosed \tf Ui» t*»4uif M«iDb«ra of ^iM two gnat p«rtiM to Paritumtat tmi Ui0 SUte. I now prMent to the CommiUo*, rod throof h tbem to th« Aato. •Ution fenorally, a narratiro of what occurred in Englund. It ia iMoeatfarilj^ iinpsrfect; fur it would b« diffinuit, in th« compaaa of any written or printed conimaDieation, boweTer length/, to eollect together the proceedinga of many roontha — to give a mlation of all that waa done, and of all that waa apoken, by othera or ourteltrea. The arrival at New York, of Mr. NRiLaoN and myaelf, on our way to England, was nearly aimultaneoufl. On our reiipeotive routes, we met accounts from Earo|te, later than any which had been received in the Province; and notwithstanding we had evory reason to confide in the accuracy of the rumour with respect to the ap. pointment of a Royal Commissioner to Canada, to inquire into and report upon the existing difficulties, we determined, — after muoh and anxious deliberation — upon proceeding tu England. - This course was adopted with the less hesitation, under a belief that Ministers could confer no efficient powers upon the Commis- Moner — ^tb&t inquiry would be evaded by that party whose ^rexy in. isrest it was to prolong the present differences — and that much of the information the Commissioner was likely to obtain, would be gathered from sources extremely open to suspicion. We felt it our duty to prosecute our journey, notwithstanding the ramoured appointment, Tor the purpose of urging upon Ministers the propriety of a prompt investigation, and with an impression that an inquiry and determination upon sonie, at leut, of the many questions embraced in the petitions and instructions, would not be deferred until the Royal Commissioner should have mode his Report. We reached Liverpool on the 7tli of May, aflor a passage of twenty days. We learnt for the first time, on our arrival, that the Adminis- tration of Sir Robert Peel had been broken up; but we felt san. guine that Mr. Grant, who had assumed the Seals of the Colonial Department, would prove accessible to the representations of the two Associations. Whilst at Liverpool we were informed that Lord Amherst, who had been selected to replace Lord Canterbury as a Commissioner to Canada, had been on the ove of proceeding upon bia mission ; and would, in all probability, have sailed before our arrival, had not the result of the division upon the Irish Church question introduced Lord Melbourne and his colleagues to the Cabinet. We deemed it expedient to hasten to London, in the hope of in. dacing Ministers to pause, ere they proceeded further with the ap. pointment ; but we were reluctantly detained at Liverpool until the 9th of May, in consequence of difficultira at the Custom-house •TMted by the larf« qatntity of Books aod prinUd p«p«ra iaela^4 io Mr. NeiuoN't lafg«g«i upon which s claim for daty WM ad* Ttootd. Mr. Kenneth Dowib, of Liverpool, was anromittiag ia bia •lertiont; and to hia interference and advioe we wera in aoma meaaure indebted for a relaxution of the Cuatom-hoooe pretanrioaa. The mercantila ^ntlenon of that city, immediately eonneetad with Canada, were lavish of attentions ; and their influence ob. tained for ua letters to some distinguished Members of Parliamant, which in the sequel proved highly serviceable. On the 11th of May, the day following our arrival in London, w« addressed a Iciter to the Colonial Secretary, apprising him of the objects of our mission, and requesting an intervievv, which was accorded for the following day. We saw his Lordship alone ; and delivered to him the Monlraal Petition to His Majesty. We then learnt firom him that Mitiistera had not abandoned the intention of sending out a Commissioner to Canada ; but that in the event of any such appointment taking place, the powers of the Commission would be strictly limited to an' ' '- enquiry and report. In this particular, I apprehend thai Miniatera deviated from the course prescribed by their predecessors; for thv powers intended to be conferred upon Lord Canterbury, and after- wards upon Lord Amherst, embraced an authority to determine all or most of the questions at issue, without any further reference to v " , the Home Government. Lord Amherst had been on the eve of calling when the change of Ministry occurred ; and Lord GLSNBLa did not hesitate to inform us that his departure had been deferred in iho first instance, to admit o* the new Ministry being put in posaea. sion of the view^ of their predecessors ; and acquiring such inform, ation as might enable them to judge of the fitness of confirming tba % appointment, or remodelling the instructions already prepared. '^^< Thoy had not scrupled to recall Lord Aylmer, satisfied that ha ■■>.. could no longer meet the Assembly in a spirit of conciliation, and I had proposed associating other Commissioners with Lord Amherst. ^-, That nobleman, however, hud declined the appointment ; and from what fell from the Colonial Secretary upon this occasion, we wera led to infer that no definite lino of conduct had, up to that time, pra. sented itsplf. The interview alluded to, was necessarily abridged, Parliament being on the eve of reassembling, and the Petition and signaturaa from Quebec, being still in the hands of the Custom.house. We were requested to choose our own time for the presentation of this Petition, when Lord Glenelg assured ua be would be pre. pared to hear ua at length, and to enter upon a consideration of the various matters which the Petitions embraced. i.-^x'j^^^r.-mro^i-^'x't)*:' ta t l«tt«r ander dtU of th« 14th of May, addroMod to tbo Exoet. tivo CommittM of the Anociation, diacloainf the porttculara of tbii iptonriow, I intimited that wo should conaidor it a dutj to doprteato ibo appointmant of CommiiaioMra undor tbo then cironmataoooa, •ad (o imprew upon Hia Majoatj'a GoTernmant tba propriotj of ailbrding na an earlj haaring bafore Parliament ot the Privy Coancil —the laboara of the reapeclive Aaaociationa, and the time devoted to the preparation of the Petitiona and inatrucliona enabling oa to afford the most explicit information upon every topic of intoraat eonnected with the Colony. A few daya aAcr oar arrival in London, I received two comma, nioationa from the Secretary of the Aaseciation, the one dated of the 13th, the other of the 14th of April, — the former accompanying a latter to the Chairman of the North American Colonial Aatooiatlon, intended to be aabstituted for the one transmitted to me, before aail- ing from New- Fork ; and tbo other enclosing a resolution expressive of the expediency of my proceeding to England, notwithstanding the avowal of an intention on the part of Ministers, to depute a Commissioner to Canada. These communications did not reach me in time to withhold the original letter addressed to the Chairman of the North American Colonial Association, which I had placed in the hands of that gentleman, immediately after our arrival ; and the contents of which had been divulged to the members of that body. The Committee of this Association, named Mr. Alexandxr GiLi, LiariE, jr., as their agent, to co.operate with Mr. Neilson and my.' ■elf. We met frequently, for the purpose of explaining our rea. pective views, and conferring upon the course to be adopted. I communioated to Mr. Gillespie, the Resolutions of the Executive Committee, which were intended to carry out the principlea of the Petition, and which I was instructed to take as the basis of any representationa I might deem it expedient to aubmit to His Majesty's 6ov4*rnment, together with the letter of instructions predicated upon them. I at thia time considered it not improbable that I might aa- aume the responsibility of submitting petitions to His Majesty and Parliament, enumerating the specific grievances to which the Reso- lationa of the Committee directed my attention, and, if necesaary, •■signing some specific remedies. I was apprehensive that Lord Glcnklq might be led to collect from the Petitions, that a portion of the British population regarded an extension of their weight in the representative branch of the General AssemMy, aa aa adequate guarantee for the redress of exiating grievances. The execution of this intention waa deferred, in the flrat instance, from aa under' ataading thai ae atepa ahould be adopted to bring the Petitioaa oa- der the eeasideratioa of either House of Parliameat, until we 1- put in potiOMion of tb« c«nUni«n'j of Mto'ntar*, i^ad finMj donwl, with ihd aanotion of Mr. Niitjo^, io so:.i><>qurac« of Mrar- •oces from Lord Gucnklo, ihat t very toptQ 'A couiplaiot ahould \m referred to the Commi^aiunar*. The naoeaaitj of delivering the Poiitioua lo Uia Mujeaty and the two flouaea of Parlianieat, from tho Quebec Cooatitutional Amocm* tion, which had been detained at the Cuatoiu.houae for aome daya beyond our arrival, afforded an opportunity to Mr. NuiLaoN and my- aelf, of soliciting another interview with the Colonial Secretary. We accordingly, in company with Mr. Gillkbpik, waited upon Uia Lordship on the 18th of May, and entered at somo length upon the ,; matters, with respect to which wo claimed tho interference of the Homo Governniont. . The difference between tho views of tho two Associations, as ex. pressed in their respective Petitions and Resolutions, and in the in- structions with which Mr. Neilson and myself were respectively furnished, imposed upon me the necessity of intimating to Lord Glknblo, at one of tho earliest interviews with which we were fa> ▼oured, that tho views of the Association which I had the honour to represent, wore not limited to the resumption of the revenue origi* nally placed at tho disposal of tho Crown for defraying the expenses of the Civil Government, and providing for the administration oi justice ; and a new division and creation of counties, with a view of imparting to tho British population of tho Province, an adequate share in its representation. I explained to his Lordship the circumstances under which tlie British and Irish population of the district of Montreal, were con. strained to solicit the interposition of Parliament, upon matter* of <^ grievance, falling properly within the scope of the powers conferred upon the local Legislature ; and I referred to former proceeding! for the purpose of shewing that Parliament with a view to promote the welfare of tho Province, and to supply the deficiencies of the Colonial Assembly, had not scrupled to legislate on matters of in- ternal concern, which a rigorous interpretation of the Constitu- tional Act, might possibly exclude from its consideration. Upon this occasion, we distinctly intimated our opinion tb&t no satisfactory results would flow from sending out Commissioner! to Canada; and in allusion to the representations proceeding from Messrs. Viger and Morin, and the advantages secured to our op- ponents by granting to those gentlemen a hearing before a Com- mittee of tho House of Commons, we expressed a hope that an a matter of justice, independently of expediency, an opportunity woald ba afforded to the two Associations, of giving an authentio exptoai- tion of the aentimenta and wants of the British populatiofi of the Co- lony, »nJ orih* caimm whieb Utd 1«U to tha eiialiiig tUtMoaioo*. by an •xaminatiop of th«ir aganU, alto dopated to tb« aaat of novarn. tnant. I eonaidarad it at Ihia liiii« aa fairljr qurationable, if Miniatara woald paraavara to aandiag out Coinmiaaioiwra ; and I baliaff. ibair final adoption of thia oourw to bara ariaan, partly Croin a raluotanca to purf-*« a leaa libaral and conciliatory policy, tha.t tbal wbieh thair predacaaaora had takan up — 'partly from tha abaorbiof importanca of tbe quaationa than about to ba brought undar tha cooaidaration of Far- liamant, — and partly baeauia thay diatruitad tha prob»bility of obtain, ing the aanction of tha Houao of Commona, to ntaaauraa of a mora dacidad character. I fe«l it my duty, however, to atala, that tha niaaaora of deputing thret ComroiMionara ia auppoaod to have bean auggaatad from quartera with which n-e had no connexion. I am bound to declare tbo viewa of Hia Lordabipupon the varioua points brought under hia notice at thia and tbe preceding interviewa, to have been aatiaractory, and in many rcspoctj in accordance with tboafi of hia diatinguiahed predeceaaor. In order to guard againat any poaaibia miaconeeption of tb« view* entertained by the Montreal Aaaociation, I obtained hia Lordah^p^* permiaaion to lay before him, in the form of an explanatory oomron. nioation, the objecta which I waa inalruoted, if poaaibia, to aeeonif pliab. > On the Slat of May, we waited upon Lord Glknxlo, at bia own requeat, and a convoraation waa held, in which the Under-Secretary^ %y Sir Gcoao for the inveatigetion of chargea preferred againat Public Ofli. cera by the Aaaembly — the ayetem of Judicature unsuited to tho wantc of the country, and oppreasive, front the heavy expenaea and delays incident to the proaecution of civil remedies in the Courts of Law — the defects in the Representation of the Province — the varioua re< forma in the exiating system of Laws, which had operated to retard the Bettlemt..t of the Province, and to check the diifusion of wealth — the establishment of Registry Offices — the questions at issue b». (ween His Majesty's Government and tho Ecclesiastical Corporation of St. Sulpice, with respect to the Seigniory of the Island of Mon- treal — an amendment of the Act of the Imperial Parliament of the 6 €reu. IV., c. 5f , for the purpose of doing away with certain restrictiona imposed upon the Seignior, in order to facilitate tho extir.fitien of fisudal burthens upon lands held a titre de fief et a titre de eens, and tho conversion of those tenures into that of free and common soccage — and the Improvement of the Navigation of the River St. Lawrence within the geographical limits of Lower Canada — successively claimed and received the attention of bis LordHhip and the gentle* men abovementioned. *''' The different questions, as relating either to financial considera. tions — to the organic changes demanded in the constitution of one branch of the Legislature — to local reforms falling properly within the scope of tho powers conferred upon the Pifovincial Legislature —or to those measures of improvement or redress which were clear* ly within the powers reserved to Parliament, were classed and dia. tinguished from each other. Of the latter, I instanced the assump. tion by the supreme Government of the contioul of tho River Saint Lawrence, as tho great higfhway of communication between the two Provinces, and tho channel through which the greater sharo of the trade of the West must eveniualiy flow. The improvements of thia River within the limits of Lower Canada, in cunneetion with the improvements then, and still, proceeding in Upper Canada, elaimed the attention of Hi^ Majesty's Government, with reference to the in. lereata, not merely of the two Ganadaa, bat of the Empire at largv. vc 11 h« lis heV ed I ftMerUd it to be the nearly aaantmooe desire of the British popuU* tion. that the controul of these waters should be assumed by the Itn. perial Gorerument ; and that the desired improrements, as partaking of a strictly national character, should be confided to its direction. The reg'ilation of the commercial intercourse between the two Pre vinces was indubitably within the authority of Parliament ; and the suggested controul of the inter. Provincial navigation was inditpensa. ble to the practical oxurcise of such authority. Under this con. struction, which derived a sanction from the analagous practice of the Congress and Gonorai Government of the United States, in all mat. ters incidental to the regulation of commerce, as one of thoenumera. ted powers reserved to the Federal Legislature, the exercise by the Supreme Government of a controul over the navigable waters, com- mon to both the Canadas, for the object suggested, might be justified. It was, moreover, a measure dictated by considerations of expediency, if not of necosflily, aiising from the peculiar goographical position of Upper Canada, from the restraints imposed upon her commerce and industry, by the want of a sea.port, subject to her own controul, and from her reluctant dependance upon the Jjegialature of another, and, in some respects, a rival Province for those improvements in the na. vigation of the St. Lawrence beyond her own limits, which were es> sential to her rising prosperity. From a Legislature which had postponed the completion of tlie Montreal Harbour to the gratification of personal and vindictive feelings, an improvement of the St. Law. ronce, upon a scale of befitting magnitude, with a view of imparting increased facilities to the commerce of Upper Canada, was hardly to be expected. ' The propriety of acceding to the demand of the Assembly, that the elective principle should be extended to th^ Council, was examined at some length. I had previously availed myself of every opportunity of conversinp with those Members of Parliament, whose standing and connexion entitled their opinions to weight ; and I can safely declare that, with only one exception, the feeling was decidedly a. gainst any alteration in the ground. work of our Constitution. Upon this eccasion Lord Glenelq put the question, if it were notpractica. bin, by raising tho standard of qualification, to set apart a class of the population, to whom the selection of the Council might be sftfely committed. v^i .»■ !*>■-- ^..rv ,ai«.«iiiii '!..^j ■ ,,i.i .. ,^\ *^r*- ^., We told his Lordship that the structure of society in tho Province, afforded no inducen;ont for such a change, and held out no prospect of success, if tho experiment were resorted to — that in the event of the Council being ro^idored Elective, in accordance with the preten. sions of the Assembly, it would be impossible to sot apart any class of persons within the Colony, distinct from those who returned Mem. ban to the lattar bod/, m qualified Electors of the pcraunt bjr wlium «^-lb« Mtta in tiie Council should be filled. — The qualification for the ^ «zerei*e of the Elective franchise with respect to the Ajsembly traa a 40e. freehold, for the Counties ; a freehold of £5, or a lease- hold interest of jCIO, for the Cities, and it would readilj be conceded that in a Countj where every tiller of the soil might appropriate to • himself a freehold estata of 90 acres, with little outlay beyond that •of labor, the class of forty shilling freeholders might safely qualify to an amount, beyond which it would be impolitic to raise the qualifi- cation for electors of the Council. Such a measure would completo the sacrifice of those interests, against which the hostility of tho As. ■•ambly had been unceasingly directed. The commerce of the coun. •try was almost exclusively in tha hands of the British population, ■ who were nevertheless excluded from any share in its representation. The Council was their only feeble barrier against legislative oppres. tion. The majority which returned the Members of the Assembly, were consumers in a very limited degree of those articles, the imposts upon which constituted the bulk of the Provincial revenue. The expenditure of British capital within the Colony, and its advantage, -ons relation to the Sister Province of Upper Cansda, and the noigh. ■bouring States, were the main sources of the Revenue which was placed at the disposal of the Assembly. The native population hi>.d hardly any capital invested in the monied and Banking institutions of the country, or in the associations formed for tho prosecution of public works. There were other and higher objections to any alteration in the Constitution of the intermediate branch of the Legislature. A Coun. cil appointed by the King, was a feature in the Constitution of all the wealthier and more extensive of the old Colonies, now incor. porated under a federal Legislature. Jn those Provinces wherein tho Government and property were in the Crown, the Legislature inva. riably consisted of three negatives — composed of a Governor.in. Chief — a Council appointed by the Crown — and a Commons House of Assembly. In the proprietary Colony of Ma.yland, there were four negatives — the lower Houso of Assembly — the Governor's Council — the Governor — and the lord proprietor. The Government of New Jersey was lodged in tha King, notwithstanding the property was in a certain body of proprietors, and its Legislature consisted of the King's Governor — a Council in like manner appointed by the Iking, and the House of Representatives. Under such forms of Go. vernment, thoso Colonies had attained to an unparalleled degree of prosperity previous to the war of lodependenoe ; and it would not bo difficult to shew that their subsequent advances were ascribable .o .other causes than the Republican character of thoir institutions. — 13 ■i^S>'!- Any d«f«et in Ui« CoDatitattomi of lb* C«loni«« ftlluded to, or Ray vicioa* workioj^ of tho •jttem, were not amongat the provoc4ttone aMig^oed for the •traggle which eTentualiy dieconneeted them from EogUnd. The Conatitationa of the other Britiah North Amerioeo Coloniea were modelled in like manner with that of Canada. In the Lower Provincea, no diaconteot had been eipreaaed. And if, in Nova Scotia, an extenaion of the eleciive principle to the Council bad been mooted, the qaeation had been treatad rather naan abatraot principle which might be introduced, than aa one, the adoption of which waa eaaential to the remedy of a practical grioTance. < 4>>9%' Divided aa were the two pcpulationa of thia Colony, the Govern- ment and Parliament of England were the beat guaranteea for the equU righta of all — and it had not been ahewn that the powera ex- crciaed by the Sovereign with reapoct to the Province, were unnecea. •ary or dangeroua to the portion of authority conferred upon ita Legislature. At this interview, in alit^aion to the reported aeleotion of Coromia. aionora, I frankly declared to the Colonial Secretary, that if Miniatera were deaiuua of a Commiaaion of Inquiry, before recommending to Parliament tn enter upon the conaideration of the variona matter* of complaint which had accumulated upon the handa of the Cabinet, and to legislate with reference to the subjecta to which their atten. tion had been called by the Asaooiations — an intelligent 6overnor-in. Chief, unawayed by the prejudicea of pariy, and clothed with the powera which Ministers proposed to confer upon Commisaionera, would have it in his power to command all the information necetaary to enlighten Government upon the atate of the Colony. Upon this and other occasions, I represented the Petition and Re. solutions proceeding from the Association at Montreal, as the firat aUkbentio expression of the sentiments of the British population of Lower Canada, including its mercantile and manufacturing classes — besides a great majority of the settlers who had emigrated from the neighbouring States, — I also described the struggle of 1838, as one emphatically between the House of Assembly, representing the sen. timents, or supposed sentiments, of a majority of the Canadian nopu. lation, and the Local Administration; to which the people in the Province of Britiah origin were in no shape parties. Neither their interests nor their prejudices had been affected by the policy or prac. tice of the Provincial Government. Whilst their industry was pro. tooted, and the relations of commerce were undisturbed, they were indifferent to the progress of tho struggle ; and they received the Report of 1828, as the determination of a question X isauo between two partiea in the Colony, — the holdera of ofBce, and the Assembly, with neither of which they felt or affected sympathy. / 'li \ ■r t /' I ■ Tb« preaont Ciisis I lUted to bt one whicli demanded a firm en^ . eontroulling eyetero of Government ; and I aeeerted that an ezeroiae •r authority on lae psrt of England would be promptly suetained by the population from wSom tbe appeal proceeded. ^^. An interval of aevoral days having elapsed, without eliciting any •vowal of the courae likely to be pursued with respuct to Canada, we •ddresaod, on the 39lh of May, a joint letter to Lord Glenelo, ox- I pressive of our anxiety to put the petitioners in possession of the views which were entertained by His Majesty's Government upon the various matters brought under the consideration of his Lordship at the previous interviews ; and of the measures to bo taken for en. earing the efficiency of the Executive authority in the Province. An interview was appointed at the Treasury for the following day, where we met Lord Melbourne, the Chancellor of the Exchequer, and the Colonial Secretary. A conversation of some length occurred ; and tbe meeting terminated with an assurance from the Premier, that the subject had already commanded the attention of the Cabinet, ai;d would meet with that serious and anxious consideration w.iicli ii certain!'' disserved. On the 6th of June, we took the liberty of reminding Lord Glenelo of the necessity of promptly adopting some definite course of pro. ceeding : and assigned as one of the reasons for requiring an early and explicit avowal of His Lordship's intentions, that wo had with- held the Petitions to the two Houses of Parliament, from a reluctance J to embarrass Ministers, whilst the matter was under tbe coosiderii- tion of His Majesty's Cabinet. -.._,.. ,' Whilst awaiting the determination of Ministers, we obtained access to several distinguished Members of Parliament, entertaining differ- ent views upon the great questioa^f Imperial policy which at that time occupied the public nr>ind ; but all concurring in opinion with respect to the importance of the Colonial questions, then for the first time brought home to their understandings. We found a reluctance, however, on the part of all, to legislate in the concerns of the Pro- vince, in any one particular, until another opportunity should be af. forded to the Assembly of reinstating itself in the confidence of the Home Government, in accordance with the spirit of conciliation which prompted Sir Robert Peel to adopt the equivocal course of sending out a Royal Commissioner. By more than one, however, this course was denounced as an untimely concession to the clamours of faction — it was conceded that no reasonable limits could be as- signed to the duratioa of the proposed enquiry — and it wap frankly admitted that Parliament was in possession of all the facts whereon to act or to legislate. By most mon of intelligence with whom we {Bonvorsed, whether in or out of Parliament, the conduct and pre- f letuions of tho AMetublj wer« coiiiiD«ote4 upon ia l«riD« of unoMA' iiured MTerily — and an opinion rxprMted thai th« relinquiabment to tbe Colonial Legislature of the Rerenu»a set apart by the Act of the 14 Geo. III., had, under tbe circumttancea dtacluaed, proved fatal to tbe efficiency of the King's authority in the Province, and of the Local Administration in all ita departments. The Cooimission warn vindicated as a measure of conciliation, 6rst suggested by a Tory Administration, which their succensors, however aatisBed of it* inutility, were committed to uphold. The result of the late elections throughout the Province had manifestly created an impression in England, that the majority of the House of Assembly represented the sentiments of the country. That the two classes of its population were so divided from each J other, excited astonishment — and of the existence of a British party in the Province, powerful from its numbers and intelligonre, en. gaged in a struggle to defend the Constitution, and to promote a salutary reform in the Institutions of the country, I believe numbers of public men to have been ignorant op to the time of our arrival. One member of the Administration, but not in the Cabinet, stated to us that ho coincided in opinion with the Assembly upon the pro. priety of rendering the Council elective ; but he frankly admitted that his sentiments in that respect were not participated by his col. leagues. At a conference with the Colonial Minister, in the presence of Sir George Grey and Mr. Stephens, on the 13th of June, we re. coived a confirmution at the hands of His Lordship, of the rumours in circulation with respect to the Commission. Another interview was appointed for the 16th, which was preceded by a meeting of the North American Colonial Association. The propriety of super- seding Lord Aylmbr, and sending out 'hree Commissioners, had been questioned by the Earl of Aberdeen, in the House of Lords, on the preceding evening — and I ventured to remark to Lord Glenelg, that the recall of Lord Aylmer, and the appointment of another Governor.iu-Chiof, afforded to Ministers an opportunity of escaping from the situation in which they were supposed to be placed by the act of their predecessors. His Lordship justified the coarse about to he pursued, by remarks in substance corresponding to those which fell ^■'om him in reply to the observatiiona of the Earl of Aberdeen. -*^Lord Glknklc uuon this occasion repeated to me his assoranee that '.ha various topics of remonstrance and complaint enumerated in tbe Resolutions of the Montreal Association, should be noticed in the Instructions to the Commissioners, and pledged himself onoe wore to refer to them in order to satisfy himself that none of the ^uMlioBt mooted in iUe Reaolotiont and •nUrg«d upoD in lh« differ- ent flonvereatiooa, bad been overlooked. The iiivestiKation would be eet on foot, with a view, if neceeaary and practicable, to futare le^ialation and an adjustment of every aubject in diapute. The promiaed conference with Ilia Lordabip before tbo departure of the Coroiniaaionera for Canada, took place un the 16th of June. I may be in error, — but I then believed, and do atill continue to believe, that His Majeaty'a Miniatera, from all that bad beeii die. eloaed, were not unconacioua of the injury ariaing to the beat inte. reeta of the Colony from untimely conceaaions~— that they felt that an acquieacence in the demanda of the Aasembly would be the forerun • ether demanda, and would not rentoro confidence or produce con« ciliation. The facta from time to time brought under the notice of the Colonial Department, bad aatiafiod Miniatera that there existed in the Province, a power without and above the Government, which aeorned to conceal ita objects by the adoption of eatabliahed forma. That the Aaaembly, in order to overawe the Executive, and to bring ite every act into discredit, had established permanent Conventions of the people, avowedly to overlook ita conduct, and arrogated to themselves many of the attributes of Sovereignty. We endeavoured, and, I trust, not ineffectually, to satisfy His Lordship that this Assembly of men, without dignity — without ex. perience — with a limited property — the majority honest perhaps, but ignorant — had ventured to denounce the Constitution which con- ferred upon them a political existence ; and spurned at the restraints which the wisdom of a British Parliament had imposed for the gene, ral protection of ihe King's subjects in the Colony. The British population had witnessed with alarm, pretensions on the part of that Body which every motive of regard for the public interest and the maintenance of the existing relations of the Province with the Parent State and the other dependencies of the Eoipiret obliged them to consider as injurious to all — as calculated to render the Government diflScuIt, if not impracticable, in the hands of the persons who might from time to time be deputed to represent the Sovereign. Any diminution of the authority or influence hitherto exercised by His Majeaty'a Government in the Colony we averred would place that Government and the British population of the Province at the mercy of a popular body, unchecked and irresponsible. It wouUt produce disorder and insecurity in every department of Adminis. trative Government — render the incumbents of Office dependaiit upon the Legislature, to the exclusion of the authority from which they derived their appointment — and co.operating with inducement* addressed to the hopes and fears of the unprincipled and ambitiou» I t a ! Regarding the interview alluded to as the last official conference in which Messrs. N' ilson and Gillespie would be associated to myself, I, on the IStli of June, addressed a communication to Lord Glenelo, enforcing the leading points contained in the Resolu- tions of the Montreal Association, in the spirit of the instructions furnished to mo by the Committee. " - ' In a letter of the 19lh, to the Chairman of the Association, I no, ticed the absence of any communication from the Committee which might guide my future course ; although its being long known that Commissioners were about to proceed to Canada, ought to have suggested the propriety of my being made acquainted with the wishes of the Association, in so fur as respected any further stay in Eng. land. Mr. Neilson was then on tlie eve of proceeding to Scot, land, whence he would sail for Canada. In the letter alluded to, I slated it to be my then intention to prolong my stay in London until I should learn the wishes of the Association, and with a view to such further communications with the Colonial Department as tho accounts from Canada might from time to time render expedient. ' On tho 18tli of Juno, we solicited an interview with tlio Earl of IJ ' 19 AisaoiiN and Sir RoBtar PaBt^ to aach of whom wa addroaaaJ eopiea of the PnlUiooi? and by whoaa opiniona we wore detiroae of being guided in the coarm to be pursued with respect to the Peti- tion* to the two Houtee of Parliament. Our application waa readily acceded to. The late Colonial Soeretary had etidently taken a correct and Staleiman-liko view of tbo existing disaensioni. His Lordship and Sir Robcrt suggested the propriety of our seek> ing an interview, or putting ourselves in communication with the Royal Commissioners previously to their departure ; from doing so, however, wo abstained, no desire to that effect having been at any time expressed by Lord Glbnelo. Both Statesmen concurred in disapproving of the course adopted by Ministers, of superseding Lord Atlmer, whose conduct was admitted to be free from reproach, and sending out three Commissionors ; the latter measure was par- ticularly objectionable. A difference of opinion, leading to separate reports, might possibly arise, which could not fail to embarrass Mi. nisters and retard a settlement. On the day preceding this interview, I had transmitted to Sir Robert Peel a copy of the Uesolutions agreed to, by the Montreal Association, as the basis of the representations to bo made to Hia Majesty's Government ; and from the tenor of the remarks proceed, ing from Sir Robert and the Earl of Aberdeen, I inferred that the contents of those Resolutions had been carefully weighed. Neither of them, however, hesitated to express his doubts of the com- petency of Parliament to legislate upon matters falling properly under the cognizance of the Local Legislature. It was then ex. plained to both, that the state of parties in the Colony, and the nar. row and exclusive views of the Assembly rendered it improbable that any measures of redress, adequate to the exigencies of the country would emanate from the Provincial Legislature — and that the Peti. tioners, embracing a great majority of the British population of the Province, and of the riettlors from the neighboring States, had reluc tantly appealed to the Imperial Parliament as the source of powers, which had been exercised to their prejudice. , ' .; M *:.,. Subsequently to this interview, wo called upon Mr. Laboucbcrb, to whom Mr. Neilson was desirous of confiding the Quebec Peti- tion.— .This office was declined by that gentleman in consequence of the relation in which he stood towards Parliament and the coun- try, as Vice-President of the Board of Trade, and the Petition to the Commons was accordingly placed in the hands of Mr. Evelyn Di- Nisox — that to the Lords was committed by Mr. Nbilson to the Earl of RiPON. Having been taught to appreciate the necessity of preserving a distinction between the objects of the two Associations, I availed \' myMlf ofaii introdaction to Lord Samuon, to lolicit tLa co-optntioa of bif Lordahip. The relation in which that Nobleman atood towarda the Borough of Liverpool, which more than any other City of the United King, dom waa intereatod in the maintenance of the connexion between the Coloniea of North America and the Empire, and hia acknow- ledged independance of party, indicated him aa the individual to whom the Petition could, with the greateat propriety, be confided. I accordingly waited upon hia Lordahip and placed the Montreal Petition in hia bandr, with a atatement at conaiderA'ni.e length in ex. planation of the objecta of the Aaaociation, and of the viewa of the Britiab population connected with the different mattera alluded to in the Resulutiona. On the following day, I tranamitted to His Lord- ahip a letter from the Committee of the 27th of May, encloaing copiaa of a Correapondence with the Roman Catholic Biahop of Quebec, referring to certain obaervationa ascribed to Mr. Roebuck, in a Parliamentary debate of the 6lh of April, with a request that hia Lordahip would make auch uae of the contents as the intereata of truth might appear to require. ■ ■'•;•. ^ ' .r . . ^v,;^:.! The Duke of Richmond most readily took charge of the Montreal Petition to the Heuse of Lords. I delivered to his Grace a series of remarks of a tendancy aimilar to thoae aubmitted to Lord Sandon. n:-'^ On the day preceding the presentation of this Petition to the House of Lords, I met his Grace and the Earl of Ripon — they had pre. vioasly communicated with Lord Sandon — and concurred in opinion with him, that it would be inexpedient at that time to provoke any diacuBsion in Parliament of the subjecta treated in the Petitions. The Petition to the Commons was presented by Lord Sandon, on the 29tb of June. Consulting what appeared to bo the wish of Ministers, and following the suggestions of the two Noblemen al- luded to, he abstained in presenting it, from entering at length into the contents of the Petition, stating hia reaaons for doing so, and hia hope that the Government Commission might be the meana of allaying those unhappy differences which had distracted an other- wiao flourishing and happy country. He had not received the cor- respondence with the Roman Catholic Bishop of Quebec, till the discossion bad concluded ; but he informed me afterwards that he did not much regret that circumstance, inasmuch as the assertion to which the correspondence alluded, as to the grievances under which the Roman Catholics of Lower Canada laboured, if really made by Mr. Roebuck, of which from recollection his Lordship had some doubts, certainly did not make much impression upon the House — being notoriously ineonsistont with the facts. :/X 91 Hufiof notiooil about thit tim*. tho Urnit uMd io tb« ofleul intimaUon of tb« CommiMion having i«cei7«d the Royal mnctioo, I addreaa«d • note lo iho Under Secreiarj, Sir G. GiiiT, directing bit attention to the authority Mtated to have been conferred upon the Commiaaionera, — i. «. ** To invettigale all grittance* ttffteling Hit Maje$ty*$ auhjeett in Loxofr Canada^ tn vkat related to ike adminie. tralion of the Oovernment," at tho asme time obaerving, that the aubjecta of complaint, which aa the Agent of the Montreal Poti. tionera, I had been inatructed to bring under the conaideration of Hia Majeatj'a Miniatcra and of Parliament, had little or no connec- tion with any auppoMd abusea in the Adminitlratum of the Ootem- ment. They involved many questions ficcal and judicial — a consi. deration of the exiating aocial and political rolationa of tho country —and an examination of ita System of Lawa and Legal Institutiona, with reference to a comprehensive measuro of Reform in all the partiuulara enumerated in the kistructiona which iiad been aubmit- ted to the perunal of Lord Glbnelo. Apprehensive that the terma of the official notice might tend to mislead the parties in Canada, whose interests I was deputed to represent, I requested of Sir Gkorge to apprise mo, if, in taking it for granted that an enquiry 'into all the matters alluded to, would fall within the scope of the proposed investigation, I had drawn a correct inference with respect to the intentions of Hia Majesty's Government, and the powers of the Commissioners. The answer of the Under Secretary was satiafiictory. The terms used were a transcript of the official notice of the previous appoint- ment of Lord Amherst — but he had been instructed by Lord Glb- nelo to assure me that every point to which hia Lordbhip's attention had been called, either by Mr. Neilson or myself, would form a sub. ject of Enquiry before the Commissioners. On the 6th of August, I received from the Committee additional signatures, to tho number of some hundreds, apparently from tho Townships of Sherrington and Lacole and ihe County of Beau, harnois. The two Houses of Parliament having prescribed it aa an invariable rule that no Petition should be received in a printed form, I was under the necessity of causing copies of the Petitions attached to the respective Schedules to be engrossed upon Parchment. I had it in contemplation to confide them to the Noblemen already alluded to, in order that they might also be presented during the then Ses. aion of Parliament ; but yielding to the opinions of others, I placed them in the hands of Mr. Gillespie, to bo brought under the conai. deration of Parliament at ita present Session, should he and the other gentlemen of the North American Colonial Association be so ad. vised. \\\ Mr. Nbilmm left Londun for HeolUnd about lli* aad ofJulj — ftnd bjr UtUra from him wbiUt at Glasgow, 1 learnt that ha had raada arrangamenta to tail about tbe 7lh of August, llowavar desirooa of beiog the companion of hia voyage, I did not consider myself at libertj to leave England at that time without tbe sanction, ezpraaa or implied, of the Committee. Many of the gentlemen in London connected with the Canadas were desirous that I ahould await tba receipt of intuUigence from the Province, announcing the arrival of the Commissioners, and the course likely tu bo adopted ; a letter from tbe Committee under date of tho 35th of June, had failed to riilieve ray anxiety upon this head ; and the Packet of the 8th of July brought me Canada papers to the 3d, bat no loiters. I think it right to montiuii that whilst in London my attention had been oflon drawn to certain articles upon Cannda, and tbe different questions at issue, which appeared in tho periodical press. Although awaro that those writings had oxcrcisod little or no influence upon public opinion, I imagined that a temperate exposure of their mis- aiatomente, through the medium of tho press, n)i{;ht be considered as a duly imposed upon mo by the position in which I was placed, and I accordingly took tho opinion of those who were the best enabled to judge of tho propriety or effect of such a course of proceeding. I found it to bo the general impression amongst members of Par- liament and others tliut tho Commission of Enquiry had withdrawn tho subject, for a time al least, from public discussion ; and that until the Report of the Commissioners was brought under the consider- ation of Parliuincnt or the Cabinet, or that circumstances suggest, ed another courso of policy, it would be impossible to attract to the subject a degree of public attention al all coromensurato with ita importance. These gentlemen concurred in deprecating any further agitation at the moment, as likely to prove fruitless, if not prejudi- cial. In a letter addressed to the Committee on the 14th of August I informed them that I had deferred presenting the Petition with the additional signatures under an impression tha.t further communica- tions from the Association might justify me in soliciting a personal interview with tho Colonial Secretary. That if circumatances ahould render it probable that the Assembly would decline to recog- nise the authority of the Royal Commisfioners, it might be consi- dered advisable that the Agent of the Petitioners should again put himself in communication with the Colonial Department. I stated that I looked forward with much anxiety to the next arrivals from New York for such an expression of the wishes of the Commjtleo as would determine my future proceedings. -> ■? ; ^i^w^f**.. No further communication wos received from the Committee, \: 3d antil a short lim* prtvioual/ to my fioal dcpirturt from EngUod } and takiof it for franttd \hat tho AMocution looktcl forward to 4 niiafaotorj adjuatment of tho oxiatiug diflieullioa by rroana of Uto Enqairy to b« ml on foot by tha ConimiMionerat I determinod on roturning to Canada ; and mada inj arrangementa for aailiiig about tha lOlh of September. Thia intention I communieatad to tlia Commlltoa in a letter from Liverpool, forwarded in the earlj part of that month. I proceeded aflerwarda to Scotland and tha North of Ireland. On my return to Liverpool I waa induced to roviait London, in the hope that further advices from Canada would ba awaiting me there, from which i might collect the intantiona of tha Aaaociation. I had received files of Canada journals to tha 25th of July ; and their contents had led mo to b€r>e''a that tha party in the Province, hostile to government, would not recognise tho authority of the Commiaaioners ; and that tho Enqui.-y would ba referred back to England. Under this impression I prevailed upon Mr. Nbilson's Agent to defer shipping to his address at Quebec, a variety of documents which that gentleman had brought with him to England, to be used in tho event of the Petitions being referred to a Committeo of Parliament or the Privy Council. The leUor of tho first of September was tho last -communication which I had the honor of addressing to the Committee. On reaching London, I un. derstood that the arrival of Lord Aylmer was hourly looked to ; and yielding to the earnest romonstrancos of some members of tho North American Colonial Association, I consented to defer my de. parture until his arrival. About tho close of October I had tho honor of meeting with his Lordship, and learnt, to my great satisfaction, that in different interviews with the leading members of Iho Cabinet, he had gone so largely into the different questions, and given such explanations of his own conduct and course of policy, as could not fail to advance the interests of the Petitioners. 1 lefl his Lordship with the impression tl:at any further advocacy of the objects of my mission might be safely ccmmitted to him ; and a few days afterwards, in opposition to the wishes of many gentle, men in London, who had taken a lively interest in the business, I sailed from Liverpool upon my return. I entertain no fears that the rights of the British population will be sacrificed to the demands of a faction in the Provu^co. I have confidence in the intentions of the present Ministers — they stand high in the estimation of the people of England — *hcir personal character is clear — their integrity above suspicion or reproach — and among their claims to public confidence, is a long and uncom, promising adherence to those principles of civil and religious liberty 34 «n4 of tenijwrato ruform, whioh it appears to be the object of the Awoeifttion* in this Prorince to conflrm and diflTute. I am free to admit that the fluctuation of Councils, and the freqaent changes of Ministers in England, have been productive to those Colonies of any but salutary efiects — but wiiiUt in that coun« try, I was enabled to coltect that the opinions of eminent men of the two loading divisions of the State, with respict to the line of policy to be pursued towards this Pro"'- .e, differ in no important particulars — that Lord Glenelo is following up the views of Lords RiroN, Stanley and Aberdken — and that any delay is not ascrib. able to timidity, nor to a desire on the part of one Minibter to de> viate from or impeach the system of his predecessor, but to the obligation which is imposed upon every statesman, for the first time placed at the head of a great jnublis department, of making hici- self acquainted with all the hearings of the subject in controversy, before incurring tho risk of acting wrongly upon system, or commit, ting himself to any peculiar plan of action. I am conscious of no act on my part, by which the effect of the representations proceeding from the British population of the Pro. vinco was i'^paired. I sought to guide, not govern myself, upon all occasions,* by the instructions of the Association — and I venture te hope that it will now be conceded to me that I Aeilher misconstrued my instructions, nor betrayed my trust. . ^ I ought not to omit informing tho Association, that no allusion was made by Ministers to tho intention at ene time entertained of uniting the two Provinces ; ur to the annexation of the Island of Montreal to Upper Canada; and confining myself to tho instructions of the Committee upon these heads, I, in consequence, abstained from urging either of then upon Ministers. The latter measure I apprehended lo be opposed to the sentiments of the Constitutionalists of Quebec — of the people of the Town, ships — ivnd of the population of British origin, settled in the upper part of ihe District, not within the limits of the territory proposed to be assigned to Upper Canada ; and I knew that it would be resisted by Mr. Neiison. I have no foars that the effect of ihe representations which we made to Ministers in England, will be impaired by an Address to His Majesty and the two Houses of Parliament, on the state of tho Pro«iuL^e p.dopted by the Assembly in the last Session. To misrepresent the principles of their opponents, is common to all parties ; but the falsehoods and treasons of this dqcument are peculiar to the faction whose sentiments it conveys to the Throne. (t spaaks of the incor'islable rights of the peoph ; forgetrul that ^ ^ the ri^jbU which they posacM, flow from the ^ponUnooui libertlitj of a British PArlitment. Id the caM of tho native popalation of the Province, that Parlia. ment was at liberty to exerciao tho rights of conqaest, and thoee rights gave a Legi Mature authority. Whatever might be the claims of tho conquered Colonists, to be preserved in the enjoyment of their civil iostitutioDS, legislative privileges, such as enjoyed by the poople of England, wore communicable at pleature. It is not impossible that the necessitioB of tho State msy require that this cmntry should bo governed by morb vigorous metns than those now in force ; and tho mojority of the Assembly will then be taught that in seeking to pt«.. serve a Freach nationality, and to absorb into their own hands all the powers of Government and Legislation, they have deceived their people and themselves. This address declares that the people of the country, loithout di$2 tinetion, regard the Legislative Council, as at present constituted, to be factiousiy opposed to its institutions, its state of society, its cha. racter, and its wants — as hnving been, and as being, necessarily, the strong hold of oppression and abuse. Assertions so general, echoed by those who are unable to estimate their malignity or falsehood, require no confutation ; but the Assem. bly are unhappy when they describe the power given to the Crown by the Act 1791, of creating Legislators for life, to be an unfortunate experiment, entirely foreign to the British Constitution. If tho As. sembly are right, then history is a fable, and English statesmen *fo ^Z- '/y^\ bound to refer themselves to Canada for initructions in the^cience^/J ' — ^1 of Legislatioij. That tho inhabitants of tho Province of er«ry creed, and of every origin, are satisfied with the sharo which they have in the Provincial representation, and that thr> subjects of tho less numerous origin, in particular, ackiiowlcgo tho spirit of justice and brotherly love, in which the Assembly have endoavourod to assure to all the inhabitants of the country, a participation in its natural and political advantages, can only be credited by ihf^ meanest and grossest of tho people. If an overwhelming majority o f that portion of tho population, whoso habits, pursuits, eduaatioii, and station in life, can give weight to opinion — if th'? .^ggrogato of rll those interests in society, which con- stitute national strength, and conduce to national greatness, are not truly the people, in tho acceptation which attaches to that idea in every country \n which the political powers of individuals bear a proportion to tho slake whtcii they bold in society, the twenty thou- sand bigners of tho lule petitions to Ilis Majesty ; the representatives of ne^jy one hundred and fifty thousand of thr inhabitants of the Prcvince, of a large sharo of its landed and nearly the whole of iln m i 96 eoronMreial wealth, majr ii«v% ^eMM reler io Um part whioh Umj bare taktn, and the lUitade they have awomed, to tefate the oahim- ny of the Aeeembly in thU reapeot, w-lhout its beinf Mipposed that ^iMf thoin were the repreeentatijgB of a $ma\l oumbcr of individuale aup. porting the abueee of paet Adminiatratione. In requiring that the Ezecntive Coancil ahould be made directly responsible to the repr /«entativea of the people, thus confirming the impreMion which their pant conduct hae created, that all power which ie not dependent upon their piouure, is to be subrerted, the Assembly have made some assertions which it would be difficult to substantiate, and adopted some inference* which have not been carefully weighed. In assuming this position, the Assembly indirectly claim for the Rxecutive Cruncil, a concurrent power of Administration with the King's representative. The functions of Government would be vest- ed ostensibly in the latter, but subject to the cootroul and co-operation of his counsellors. A plurality in the Executive, under any modifi. cation whatever, is inconsistent with the unity of purpose which is essential to a atraight-forward and efficient exercise of the powers of Government. If those powers are to be shared by two or mere per. sons, there is always danger of a difference of opinion leading to dif. sensions, and frustrating the most important measures of the Govern, ment in times of critical emergency. Such dissensions would weaken the authority and distract the operations of those whom they divide. They would counteract those qualities which are the most necessary V, ingredients in the composition of an Executive — unity of purpose^ promptitude and vigour. These objections are equtk!ly applicable to 't--''^'' a divided Government, or to the project of a Council, whose con. currence is made necessary to the operations of the ostensible Ezecu. tive. In either case censure would be divided or evaded, and re- sponsibility destroyed. Such a division of power would deprive the people of two of tho greatest securities they can have for the faith, ful exercise of a delegated trust. The restraints of public opinion, which lose thoir efficacy as well on account of the diffusion of the censure, as by reason of the uncertainty on whom it ought to fall ; and the moans of bringing home to the culpable agent or advisers, the misconduct which should lead to removal or punishment. In Eng. land the person of the Sovereign is sacred, and he is accountable to none for his Administration. The Constitution, therefore, has an. i)P\ed to him a Council, who are responsible to th<> country for the ad. vice which they give. But, in this Province, the Representative of the Sovereign is the Chief Magistrate, and is personally responsible for his behnyiour in office. Th& eason which dictates the necessity of «, renponsible cabinet in England, operates against its establish, moiit hera. In tho constitutional practice of Great Rritnin, it fur- *«."; \ ** ■■*w. ',fllMsi.mVtmt^ \ St niabM, u hu been jaatlj obMnred, ■ rabttitot* for th« prohibiUd r*. j ■ponaibilitjr of the Chief Megietrate, triMTeerree in some degree ea ^ ^^^^^ a boMage to the national Juetiee for hie good behavioar. In tbia Pro* vinee, under the existing relatione with the Parent State, it woaU eerve to destroy, or would greatlj diminish, the intended and necea- eery responsibility of the King's Delegate. — •' A Council to a magie* trate, who is hiioseif responsible for what he does, are generally nothing hotter than a clog upon his good intentions — are often tw|^, instrument or accomplices of his bad — and are almost always a clods to bis faulU." These views the Assembly might have collected from the example, of the neighbouring Union, whose Chief Magistrate is only restrain, ed by the Constitution — and by the negative of the Senate, when it acts as a Council of appointment. Such a principle the Assembly wonld iKit have contended for, un- less satisfied that a Council, clothed with such extraordinary powers, would be chosen from amongst their adherents, or themselves. I believe that littl^ Jiore can or ought to be said. The civility and respect which we experienced in England — the marked attention given by Ministers to the affairs of the Province, during a time of great public excitement, and whilst Ml^ engaged in an eventful struggle with powerful ^ponente — ^it would be un. grateful to omit. ''•'" ■' Of the gentleman associated with me in this important mission, I find it difficult to express myself in terms of adequate commendation. I consider it fortunate for the interests of the Petitioners generally, that Mr. Neilson was induced to proceed to England. I found hii opinions to possess a weight with Ministers, derived from a previous acquaintance with his talents and character — from his long caieer of public usefulness in the Province — and from the prominent character assigned to him in the Parliamentary investigation of 1838. It has been broadly insinuat«)d,^JBI not by the Committee, thac much of my attention whilst absent from the Province, was devoted to objects unconnected with the views or interests of the Association, and that a part of my time was spent in the pursuit of enjoyment from foreign travel, which might and ought to have been devoted to more laudable purposes. It has also been assorted, that my stay in England was prolonged for some months after the departure of Mr. Neilson, at the expence of the Association; I should scorn to re. ply to loose libels of this description, even though assured that their refutation would prove useful to my interests. To those who can attach credence to such things, H would be fruitless to offer explana. tions. I have been long aware that the distinction which is raised upon popular attachment may bo forfeited without any demerit what. i ir 1^ m e?er ; I am not so WMkly Mn»iblR u to become impilient of libel*, whioh the whole tenor of my conduct tioce I boc«iine a candidate for the eoaddenee of the Aeaociation, ought to diapro? e. I tmat that I can lire down the calumnies of malice, and the judgment* of igno- rance, without entering upon a tedious detail of the daily application of my feeble abilities, whilst absent upon their service. In conclusion, I would beg to offer somelaitig in the nature of a tition, which is, that if in what I have stated, there shall be found thing offensive — in what I have done, any thing deficient, tbo elation will put upon it the most favourable construction — that they will accept of my intentions — and aid them by a generous in. terpretation. I have tho honor to be, Gentlemen, your obedient and faithful servant, '■"'';;'■'*'■■■■•''■ W. WALKER. Montreal, March 20. 1836. '' -*''-' ^ I ,!l ir Reaolved, on motion of Mr. Holme!*, seconded by Mr. Ross, That the Report now submitted by Mr. Walker, be received and adopted by this Committeov and that the same be ordered to be published. ^^,r, ST' / ' i. ,i . >;..v G. MoFKATT, Chairman. - ; . r»v;«'- .• ? .*>hf> J. GvTHKtB Scott, Secretary. H *:. >-.!! i'i.-.-/! ;.v.v -»»•-' ■;;-<(; i,i.r*i.-"rfUiit& H^r ti^ ! inn' '■<.):■' ,v, . ■; -•-''.- -. ' :' -. ■■■ '■'. .-iH -iu-,' ■,;(■! 1. '■?».:■. , : ' ,• ^ , ;, .,,/ c' ■^■ .1: ; ■■, ;■ j,-,4^ :>' Hm^lu^, . "' ,.- •-':.i;' ,'!,•■::• ■, '::,'. o:'- ^. '1 , "-'•ir'w-'; y^-'j^-i;::':\i> 'v'l •■ y':-, !■,.;:. ..>u: .li-i - ■ ■;.■"'' ,•;.•"'■' a'v».»/^'ifr!:^)^>M M I'.'" I ■;•)..;..:■, >^.' v:;i ..,•>■..?-:■ .-a .,:;; J ■.$.?"■. te'of4i-^>'': ' ■ i;.'.v-;! ..;,<'i;i;i t! f '■■'■■■■ .'t^ .< »'; :i.. ^iy 'j^ii'li 'Jat)^j'l-i*; ■■ iti . 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