^r IMAGE EVALUATION TEST TARGET (MT-3) !X) 11.25 u m Im IIS m u 14.0 2.0 m u mil 1.6 6" ^ '■^ ^; ./ ^ ^ 0> Hiotograjiiic .Sciences Corporation 23 WiSV MAIN STREET VWTfSTFf.N.Y USM (716) >>.'3-4S03 4P> 4^^ >* CIHM/ICMH Microfiche Series. CIHIVI/ICIVIH Collection de microfiches. Canadian Institute for Historical Microreproductions / Institut Canadian de microreproductions historiques Technical and Bibliographic Notes/Notes tachniquas at bibiiographiquas Tha Inatltuta has attamptad to obtain tha bast original copy availabia for filming. Faaturas of this copy which may ba bibliographlcally uniqua, which may altar any of tha imagas in tha reproduction, or which may significantly changa tha usual mathod of filming, ara chackad balow. D D n n n Colourad covers/ Couverture de couleur I I Covers damaged/ Couverture endommag6e Covers restored and/or laminated/ Couverture restaurte et'ou pelliculAe I I Cover title missing/ Le titre de couverture manque Coloured maps/ Cartes gdographiques en couleur Coloured init (i.e. other than blue or black)/ Encra de couleur (i.e. autre que bleue a?j noire) I I Coloured plates and/or illustrations/ D Planches et/ou illustrations an couleur Bound with other material/ Reli6 avac d'autres documents Tight binding may causn shadows or distortion along interior margin/ La re liure serr6e peut causer de I'ombre ou de la distortion le long de la marge intArieure Blank leaves added during restoration may appear within the text. Whenever possible, these have been omitted from filming/ II se peut que certaines pages blanches ajout^es lors d'une restauration apparaissent dans le texte, male, iorsque cela itait possible, ces pages n'ont pas 6t6 filmtes. Additional comments:/ Commentaires suppldmentaires; L'Institut a microfilm* le mrilleur exemplaire qu'il lui a At* possible de sa procurer. Les details de cet exemplaire qui sonr peut-Atre uniques du point de vue bibllographiqua, qui peuvent modifier une image reproduite. ou qui peuvent exiger une modification dans la methods normals de filmage sont indiqute ci-dessous. I I Coloured pages/ □ Pages de couleur Pages damaged/ Pages endommag^es Pages restored and/oi Pages restaurtes et/ou pellicultes Pages discoloured, stained or foxei Pages d6color6es, tachet^es ou piqu^es Pages detached/ Pages ditachdes Showthrough/ Transparence Quality of prir Quality in6gale de I'impression Includes supplementary matarii Comprend du materiel suppl^mentaire Only edition available/ Seule Mition disponibie I — I Pages damaged/ I — I Pages restored and/or laminated/ rri Pages discoloured, stained or foxed/ I I Pages detached/ rTj Showthrough/ I I Quality of print varies/ I I Includes supplementary material/ I — I Only edition available/ Pages wholly or partially obscured by errata slips, tissues, etc.. have been refilmed to ensure the best possible image/ Les pages totalement ou partiellement obscurcies par un feuillet d'errata, une pelure. etc.. ont 6t6 filmies d nouveau de fapon d obtenir la meilleure image possible. T t( T P o fl G b tl si o fi si o T si T N dl ei b( ri{ re ni This item is filmed at the reduction ratio checked below/ Ce document est film* au taux de reduction indiqu* ci-dessous. 10X 14X 18X 22X 26X 30X y 12X 16X 20X 24X 28X 32X The copy filmed hero has been reproduced thanks to the generosity of: Library of the Public Archives of Canada L'exemplaire film* f ut reproduit gt See A la ginirositA de: La bibliothdque des Archives publiques du Canad. 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 cov^n 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 iJlustrated impres- sion, and ending on the last page with a printed or illustrated Impression. The last recorded frame on each microfiche shall contain the symbol — ^ (meaning "CON- TINUED"), or the symbol V (meaning "END"), whiche/er applies. Les images suivantes ont AtA reproduites avec Is plus grand soin, compte tenu de la condition et de la nettetA de l'exemplaire film*, et en conformity avec les conditions du contrat de fllmage. Les exemplaires originaux dont la couverture en papier est imprimte sont film^s en commenpant par le premier plat et en terminant soit par la derniire page qui comporte une empreinte d'impression ou d'illustration, soit par le second plat, salon le cas. Tous les autres exemplaires originaux sont filmte en coiimengant par la premlAre page qui comporte une empreinte d'impression ou d'illustration et en terminant par la derniAre page qui comporte 'jne telle empreinte. Un des symboles suivants apparaftra sur la dernlAre image de cheque microfiche, selon le cas: le symbols — ► signifle "A SUIVRE", le symbols V signifle "FIN". Maps, plates, charts, etc.. may be filmed at different reduction ratios. Those too large to be entirely 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 csrtes. planches, tableaux, etc., peuvent Atre filmfo A des taux de reduction diff Arents. Lorsque le document est trop grand pour Atre reproduit en un seul clichA, il est film* A partir de I'angle sup6rieur gauche, de gauche A droite, et de h*iut en bas, en prenant le nombre d'images nAcessaire. Les diagrammes suivants illustrent la m^thode. 1 2 3 1 2 3 4 5 6 I ^ TRACTS FOR THE PEOPLE BY AUTHORITY OF THE REFORM ASSOCIATION OF CANADA NO. I. THE RESIGNATION ov THE LATE MINISTERS TORONTO: PRINTED BY GEORGE BROWN, YONGE STRKET. 1344. 'r i i IV. F T* ;;';'« -i \ ni^^ PREFACE. With the view of laying clearly before the pubUc the causes of difference between the Governor-General and his late Ministry, and the unjustifiable manner in which the affairs of the country have been conducted since the resignation of the latter, the Reform Association of Canada have resolved to publish a Series of TRACTS on the leading principles and disputed points of the whole controversy. The following pages constitute No. I. of the Series, and the others will succeed it with as little delay as possible. Toronto, August 19, 1844. a2 \\ fx TRACTS FOR THE PEOPLE. BY AUTHORITY OF THE REFORM ASSOCIATION OF CANADA. No. I. THE RESIGNATION OF THE LATE MINISTERS. Brother Reformers : In this [remarkable crisis of your affairs, when the attempt in made to assailjyour liberties more by the indirect iniluence of calumny and misrepresentation, than by an open denial of your right to enjoy them, we think it important to keep steadily before you the principh.'ij upon which your claims to actual and practical Responsible (Government rest. There is a material dillerence in the character of the present from all your former struggles. Formcily, you claimed the revotjnit'um of your right to influence the exercise of executive power : — that right having been recognised, you now claim the practice as it exists in the people under aH free constitutions. Formerly, you contended for a theory, and were met by the objections, that it was vague in principle, incn[)able of definition, and incon\patible with Colonial dependence : — now, you are struggling for the plain meaning and spirit of your written and guarant<'ed constitution. Formerly, your claims were distinctly and sternly denied : — now, they are evaded in practice under a plausible recognition of the theory of your constitution. What that constitution is, and in what material respects its invasion and infringement led to the resignation of the late Ministers, it i.s our present purpose to explain. 6 ,-j If, before the union of the Pro\inces, the notions that existed of the principles for which Canadian Reformers contended were vague, no doubt could be entertained of the nature of the evil for which remedy was sought. The peoph^ of Canada complained that while their Representative histitutions were modelled upon those of the Mother Country, the principle of responsibility to the people, which in England gives vitality, vigour, and harmony to the administration of the govern- ment, was withheld. The remedy proposed was sufficiently simple, but was distorted into so many hideous shapes by the admirers of arbitrary rule, that it gradually obtained the chaiacter of an undefined theory tven among Ihojse who very loudly condemned the causes of complaint. The principle contended foij was, that the Crown should consult the wishes of the people in reference to the selection of its servants, and that the responsibility of those servants to the people should extend over every department of the administration. But the remedy, although simple, was sufficiently powerful : for \a hile it gave to the people a guarantee for the fitness of those servants for office in their possession of popular confidence, it also effectually guarded the Royal Prerogative f'om subsorviencv to faction and intrisnie. Another admirable effect was expected from the recognition of this pjinciple — that of removing from the Colonial population all cause of dissatisfaction with the Imperial Government : for, by placing the administration of our local affairs in the hands of individuals acceptable to a majority of the people of this country, it took away the necessity for interference by the Imperial GovernmtMit with matters which did not immediately relate to Imperial interests. That interference which had been too often dictatetl by ignorance of our aff*airs being withdrawn, in the recognition of the responsibility of the Provincial Ministers, it could not be renewed without an obvious infringement of our Constitution ; while in the responsibility of these ministers the people of Canada were in possession of every useful check on the administration of their Govermnent. , , ., ^ . ., .. . ...^.., Such were the principles recognised in the Resolutions, moved and II I of the »ue, no remedy e their Mother Sngland govern- ple, but :rbitrary I theory iTiplahit. suit the and that nd over ilthough people a )ssession rogative 1 of this cause of sing the )table to 3sity for did not lich had •awn, in it could titution ; da were of their ved and pftlfed in the Legislative Assembly, on 3rd September, 1841, under the Mnction of Lord Sydenham, and afterwards confirmed by the Imperial authority, and which resolutions were intended to define and settle the practice of Responsible Government. These resolutions declare, " that the Representative of the Sovereign in the Province is responsible to the Imperial authority alone, but that, nevertheless, the management of our local affairs can only be conducted by him, by and with the assistance, counsel, and information of subordinate officers in the Province," — and that "the chief advisers of the Repre- sentative of the Sovereign, constituting a Provincial Adniinistiation under him, ought to be men possessed of the confidence of the people — thus affording a guranlee that the well-understood wishes and interests of the people, which our Gracious Sovereign has declared shall be the rale of the Provincial Administration, will, on all octAsioNi?, be ftilili- fully represented and advocated." The constitution thus introduced into Canada with the approval of Lord Sydenham, was successfully carried into practice under the administration of his immediate successor. Sir Charles Bagot. And among the first fruits of this purely British and harmonious system, we may pause to contemplate the universal contentment and tranquillity of the Province — the bonds of an affectionate connexion drawn more closely between the Mother Country and the Colony — the distinctions of races, that perpetual plague-spot on the Canadian Government, blotted out — the springs of industry and prosperity opened uji — Canadian credit sustained above the shock of American fraud — and peace and harmony every where prevailing to an extent unexampled in our history. Prospects so cheering for our country, immediately succeeding a state of feverish excitement and dissatisfaction were readily attributed to the fair and healthy operation which was given by all parties in the Govern- ment to the new principle that had been introduced into the Constitution. How far that principle has been maintained or violated under the administration of Sir Charles Metcalfe, it is your duty as well as your inte^st to enquire. hi i\ 8 On hio arrival in this Province, in March, 1843, Sir Chtrles Metcalf* fttuvKl fhp udniiniatration of the Government in the hand-* of the CouncUlon Jby whom it had boon successfully conducted under his lamented prede- «c«i*sor. During the n(?xt eight months the Government wais adminiitered aj*));urntJy in harmony with the principle:^ contained in the Kesolutiond -of I.S4K On the 25th of November, 1843, in the middle of the Parliunienfary Session, Sir Charles i\retcalfc suddenly, and for the first tun '1, stated to his Council, that "from the time of his arrival in the t!,onntry, he had observed an antagonism between him and them on the :sii}iject of Responsible Government." To arrive at a precise understanding of the " antagonism" referred to, Mf call your particular attention to the words used by the parties in their .ces|ieclive explanations. In ibe explanation made by the late Ministers to Parliament, and *».'hieli wjis previou.sly submitted for his Excellency's information, the «5r,-)"ou)j(ls on which they felt it to be their duty to tender a resignation of vjrtiee, are thus stated : They allege " that his Kxc(>llency took a widely »dilU:!n.'nt view oftJie position, duties, and rrsponsibilitiesof the Executive t'ouncil, from that under v.hieh they aceepted oflicc ;" and that that «^j(l/'ti'nce of opinion was not simply theoretical, and "has led not merely ijt» ap])('intiijenl,s to olTieo against the.ir advice, but to appointments, and jiropo.suJ..-; to make appoint ments, of" which thr^y were not informed in any *'))ann.i'r, u)Uil ali o])])ortuntLy oi' oiii^ring advice respecting them had paK-:ed by." In his Excellency ""s mossjii^e to tlic House of As.sembly, no denial of nUe fads staled by the Minisl'Ts is made, but his Excellency observes '^'.u total omission of the cireumsfances vvliieh he regards as forming the .f<>al grounds of their resignation." h\ the absence of contradiction, we *re at liberty to assume that the facts stated by the Ministers were true — -ttnd, in ordinary circumstances, the justification of their resignation wouM be found in the incompatibility of those admitted facts with the tivvwle and form of proceeding laid down by the Resolutions of 1841. ■ l'<*urtesy, however, to the Head of the Government, may extend to hi9 D ciipUnation of M hat Ae re 4/ar«f^y a» the cau.so of resignation, that con^i- deration which strict ^ustlce couUl not chiim for it in the absence of an/ denial of the lucts alleged hy the Ministers. He ol)serv»«s, that " on 'Friday, Mr. Lafontuine and Mr. HaUlwin came to the (lovernnient House, and ajicr some other mnltcni of bimnfUH, and some prcUminary remarks as to the cause of their proceeding, demanded of the Governor that he should agree to make no appointments without previously taking the advice of the Council ; that lists of candidates should, In every instance, be laid before the Council : thut they should recoinmond any others »t discretion, and that the Governor (Jen«'rai, in deriding aft»*r taking their advice, should not make any appointment prejudicial to their influence. In other words, that the palronar/e of the Crown should he surrendered to the Council for the purchase of I\irHamcntar}/ support ; /or, if the demand did not mean that, it meant nolhinr/^ as it cannot be imarjined ' that the mere form of taking advice vithont regardinr/ it is the process Contemplated. The Governor-General replied that he would not make any such stipulation." If " the mere form of taking advice"» wa.^ all that the Ministers demanded, then the parties are cleavl v agreed upon th(; essential facts ; and were the Resolutions of 1841 out of the w;ty, the only real diflfer- ■ once between the Governor-General and the Ministers would be as to effect and policy of admitting such a prnclici' into the ridminiotration of ; the Government. But as the form of taking, or at least of offering advice had existed ever since the jNlinisters hud come into oflice, and as the alleged appointments and offcM's of appointmonls without advico had been made; only a short time previous to the resignation, and .is the '' demand" to tnko r.dviee was made on thi' day before the resignation, it is very obvious that his Excellency must have seen in " the mere form of taking advice" that antagonism which existed between him and his Council from the time of his arrival in the country. It is not alleged in his Excellency's explanation that a " stipulation" was demanded by the Ministers or refused by the Governor-General until the 25th of November, 1843 — and yet in the previous month of May, a few week^ I I :< I Hi 10 after he had assumed the Government he thus states to Lord Stanley in vrhat the anfiMjfowiwi consisted :— - .. ,. > " I am required to give myself up entirely to the Council : to submit absolutely to their dictation : to have no judgment of my own : to bestow the patronage of t!>e Government exclusively on their partii.ans : to proscribe their opponents : and to make some public and unequivocal declaration of my adhesion to these conditions, involving the complete nullification of her Majesty's Government." ' • .♦ r _ ^.•.. to submit own : to lartiLans : equivocal complete to office, lent, why I treason- ers ready nconsist- e by him vhich he 3, as fur- to wards )vernor- e words eatedly ed him mitit of inten- In the bly on as his nment e had lenied n his I vain \3 not if Iheir wish to direct or controul his measures, but merely that he nvould consult them before hand, so as to give them an opportunity to express their opinion upon these measures for which they were accountable.*' . Now, as the difference between the two statements am.ounts to nothing in regard to the fact that " the form of taking advice" was required, the real difference between his Excellency and his late Ministers must be found in the inference which accompanies his statement and which is not admitted by them — namely, that the mere form of taking advice would involve " a virtual surrender into their hands of the patronage of the Crown." And as the Resolutions of 1841 require that " the man- agement of our local affairs can only be conducted by the Representative of the Sovereign, by and with the assistance, counsel, and information of subordinate officers in the Province," and as Sir Charles Metcalfe professes to adhere tt these Resolutions, and yet makes appointments and offers of appointments without the knowledge and assistance of his Councillors, it follows that in declining to take that " assistance, counsel, and information," in appointments to office, he considers appointments to office not embraced by the terra " local affairs." Let us see how far his Excellency's understanding of the term is consistent with the position of the Executive Councillors and with his subsequent declarations. Sir Charles Metcalfe has repeatedly declared, that " he is not prac- tically adverse to the working of the system of Responsible Government which has been here established." Before the Resolutions of 1841 were introduced into the Assembly, Lord Durham had pointed out the evils which were caused by the unconstitutional administration of the prerogative. He also proposed the remedy in the adoption of British practice. " Since the Revolution of 1688," his Lordship observed in his Report, "the stability of the English Constitution had been secured by the wise principle of our Government which has vested the direction of the national policy, and the tkstribution of the patronage^ in the leaders of the Parliamentary ; i 12 majority,'* — and he further observes, that "to produce vigour aa4 regularity in the administration, it needs but to follow out con8istentI;)r the principles of the British Constitution, and introduce into the Gov* ernment of the Colonies those wita provisions by wliich alone the working of the representative system can in any country be rendered harmonious and efficient." In the discussions which took place between Sir Charles Bagot and Mr. Lafontaine, previous to the latter joining the administration, it waa expressly understood, that " according to the Resolutions of 1841, no appointment to office should take place without the Council's knowledge and advice." On that understjinding, therefore, did the late Ministers retain office, and on a faithful observance of that understanding was Sir. Charles Bagot 's administration successfully conducted. But Sir Charles Metcalfe does not deny that under his administration, appointments and proposals to make appointments were made without the knowledge, assistance, and counsel of the late Ministers — on the contrary, he dis- tinctly alleges that to agree to take advice on appointments would be a surrender of the royal prerogative. In what respect, then, is the prac- tice, under his administration, consistent with the system of Responsible Government here established by the Resolutions of 1841 ? If Sir Charles Metcalfe be right in his interpretation of the Resolu-- tions of 1841 — if he be right in saying that the patronage of the Crown in Canada is excluded from our local affairs — and that a Governor who . would submit to thy form of taking advice from his Councillors in refer-- ence to appointments to office, would be virtually surrendering the prerogative of the Crown, then the Government which he found esta,-., blished in the country must have been wrong, and Sir Charles Bagot must have degraded his office by permitting a practice which " involved the complete nullification of her Majesty's Government" — and by a parity of reasoning, the principles of Sir Charles Metcalfe would be compatible with the Resolutions of the Assembly. But unfortunately for this early interpretation of the Resolutions, we have been favoured with a more modem exposition of Responsible Goyernmeut from tlie ■. 13 ;our an4 Mistently the Gov- ilone the rendered agot and n, it waa 1841, no owledge Ministers was Sir Charles ents and 'wledge, y he dis- uld be a le prac- )onsible iiamc source which must seriously detract from your admiration of his Blxceliency's consistency. In his answer to the Address of the Gore District Council, his Excellency said ; — " If you mean that the Govern- ment should be administered according to the well understood wishes* i tinim The late Ministers resigned on account of no such differences. They resigned because they honestly believed that the distribution of patronage was a part of our local affairs, and that as such it was embraced by the Resolutions of 1841. They resigned because, while by these ResoIti> tions they were responsible to the people of Canada for the manner in which the patronage was dispensed, by the administration of Sir Charles Metcalfe they were excluded from the opportunity of giving advice upon appointments until after they had been made, and because that exclusion was attempted to be justified by the declaration of an unconstitutional principle. They resigned because the condition on which they retained office had been violated, and because by remaining longer in office under an aflected responsibility tliey would have been playing the part of deceivers towards those who had given them their confidence. Were the Ministers in circumstances so destructive of their constitu- tional influence and so ruinous to their charater to remain in office, and to shield the Governor-General in the exercise of irresponsible and unconstitutional power ? Were they to be attacked for appointments which they never heard of — dismissals which they never advised — ^and to be thus continually exposed to the loss of popular and parliamentary support ? Were they tamely to submit to the ruin of their power by means of government patronage bestowed by the secret advice of their opponents ? Were they to hear of act**, supposed to be advised by them, stigmatized as weak on the one hand and wicked on the other ? And were they to submit to this load of odium and disgrace under which no ministry could exist for a month in a free country, on account of the itfbitrary acts of a Governor who arrogates the unconstitutional pow«r of acting without advice, and who, in learning to despise a parliamentary majority under the affectation of doing equal justice to all, must inevit^ ably become the weak tool of a faction. ' ' -Jsra^-jc^, "We recognize appointments to office as a prerogative of the Crowii, \ 15 which by our ConstUulion is vested in the Governor; but as by that Constitution responsibility to the people of Canada for these appoint- ments lies upon their Provincial Ministers, we think that a just confi- dence should subsist between them and the head of the Government — that they should be informed of the Governor's intention before being acted on, so that they may have the opportunity of tendering advice, if necessary — and if that advice be not acted upon in matters of importance to the country, that they should have an opportunity of withdrawing from the responsibility before the appointments arc made. We do not object to the Governor exercising a sound discretion in making appoint- ments ; but, according to our Constitution, that discretion must be exercised after the advice has been received. These are the principles upon which the British Government has been conducted for nearly two centuries, and will it be pretended that what does not dishonour and degrade the crown in England must neces- sarily do so in Canada ? But if you, the people of Canada, wish to exercise no controul over your Government in matters of patronage — if you think that such matters will be best entrusted to the prudence and moderation of your Governors — if you think that your Governors would derive better information and advice from parties whose interest it is to undermine the influence of your constitutional and responsible minist UM