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Mapa, platee. charts, etc.. may be filmed at different reduction ratioa. Thoae too large to be entirely included in one expoaura are filmed beginning in the upper left hand comer, left to right and top to bottom, aa many framea aa required. The following diagrama illuatrate the method: Lee cartee. planches, tableaux, etc. . pauvent dtra fiimAe i dee taux de reduction diffArenta. Lorsque le document eet trop grand pour Atra raproduit en un seul clich4, il sat film* i partir de Tangle sup4rieur gauche, de gauche k droite. et de haut vn baa. an prenant la nombre d'imegea necaaaaira. Lea diagrammas suivants illuatrent la mAthoda. rc^vf.r 12 3 1 2 3 4 5 6 TO THE KIX(;S MOST EXCELLENT MAJESTY. * ' The PLtition of tlic undersigned Sciiiiiiors, MigiMnitcf, Members of the Clergi/, Ol/ircn of Miliii i. Merchants, Landholders and others. Inhabitants, of the Citj and District oj Quebec, Province if Loicer-Canada. lIlMliLV SUEWETII, THAT your Petitioners liavc learnt \vitl> the greatest satisfaction, that your Majesty lias taken into your Gracious consideration tlie state of tlic Provinces of L'p|)er and Lower Canada, with a vicw^ "to adjust certain ditfercnces rclatinjT to matters of Uevenue roniplained of by the Province of Upper Canada ; and as it appears that your Majesty's CJoverni.ient in the course of its inquiry into the sour- ces of these ditiercnces, lias become sa"tistied of the necessity of some ciiange being made in the Constitu- tions of these I'rovinces, but has postponed the adopiiou of final measures in order to give time t'< the peo- pie thereof to express tlicir sentiments, your Petitioners big leave humbly to apjiroach your Majesty with a Statement of various Kvils under wliieh tluy liave labored for son;e years, and from which they iiavo no hope of relief except by tiie interposition of' Your Majesty and tlie Imperial Parliament. TfiF. experience of thirty years has now demonstrated the impolicy of tlic Act of the Britisii Parliament;! I Geo. III. Cap. 31, bv which' the late Province of Quebec was divided into the Provinces of Cjiper and Low- er Canada. To tiiisdivision your Petitioners .ascribe tiie present inefFecti'e state of their Legislature, anil the want of those necessary measures for d'fliising throughout tlie whole population of the Country fuulings becoming their cliaractcr'as IJritish Subjects, and introducing tliat general spirit of improvement, which encouraged by the ( ommereial System, universally pervades and iiiv-gorates wther liritish Colonics. This divisioi. luas created a difl'erencc of Interest between" the Provinces in matters connected with Revenue highly injurious to both, inevitably producing a spirit "f dissension and animosity, and infusing into the Legisla- turcB principles of a narrow and sc'li.h policy, adverse to the j^encrai deveiope.uent of their lesources, and in an especial manner to the improvement of 'the channels of intercourse between them; and it is essential here to notice, that nearly tiie wiioie of tiie Revenue of the two Provinces arises from duties levied on Merchandize imported at the Port of Quebec, under Laws enacted by the Legislature of the Lower Pro- vince. It has also, from the coiitroiil which the Geographical situation of the Lower Province enables it to exercise over the trade of the Caiiadas, placed the export Trarte of tin- Upper Province at its mercy, being subject to such regulations and restrictions at the Siiijiping Port, as its Legislature may choose to impose : Troui this circumstance, and from tlie feeble attempts maile to improve the grand natural channel of thu Canadas, strikingly contrasted wiiii the enterprizc and energy evinced by the neighbouring State of New- York in the r.apid .r.ation of Canals, together with the indifFerence manifested on this subject b the Leoistature of the Lower Province ; your Petitioners have just reason for alarm, that if a similar system be persisted in, it may tend in a most injurious degree to increase the Commercial Intercourse of tiie Ujiper Pro- vince with the United States, and iii\ert the eiiter])ri/.e aiul trade of its inhabitants into a foreign ClKU-.n'.l, nnd from these causes your Petitioners not only apprehend the immediate loss of beneficial Trade, hut that the gradual etlect would be to interwi'ave the interests of the Upjier Canadians with those of tiie neigh- bouring States, tlicreby alienating their minds from the people of this Province and weakening liiuir atiectiou f ,r your Majesty's Government, notwithstanding their present known and tried loyalty. Tiir Legislature of this Province has fiir along time past been agitated by dissensions, and their delibera- tions so mucli interrupted thereby, tiiat Trade, Agriculture, Education and other olijects of general inter- est have been neglected There exists no Law for tiie IJcgistry of Lands and Mortgagee, so necessary tor security in Commercial transactions, no Insolvent Debtors Act, and your Petitioners have looked in vain for a Law te provitle lor tlie unrepresented state of ihe Townships, a fertile and valuable jiortioii of this Pro- vince, settled by Inhabitants of IJriti.ih origin ; of these Legislative Enactments and many others necessary to (luickeii the enterprizc and industry of Commercial Country your Petitioners entertain little hope, un- til a Reunion of the Provinces shall h' ve weakened the influence which has hitherto prevented their adopti- on in our statute book. The existr.iec of this influence. Your Petitioners chiefly attiibuteto the impolitic division of these Provinces, whiei' instead of rendering it the interest, as it is the duty of every Indi\idualof the community to concur in measures to assimilate the whole ])opulation, and to allay the jealousies naturally existing between the several classes, has unavoidi My presented to the indi\ uliials, who first attained a ma- jority in the Legislature, a temptation to perpetuate their own power liy aih-, ing a course directly opposite. To the same influence, may be traced the small encouragement which has been held out to the settlement of the vacant Lands of this Lower Pro\ ince by liritish Population, and consequentlv, that npwr.rds of eiulity thousand souls (a number cipial to one foui tii of tiie actual Eiencli Pojiulation) wlio since tlie last American war have emigrated to this Province from Greac Britain and Ireland, scarcely one twcticth part remain with- in its limits. Your Petitioners have observed with gratitude, the disposition which your Majesty's Government has evinced bv the Act of the present year of your Majesty Ca|). 1 l!t, to apply a remedy to the existing jiolitical evils of tfiese Provinces, but it is their liinnble opinion that the provisions thereof are insufficient ; that nu- merous circumstances concur to reiuler vain any attemjit permanently to regulate to the satistiiction of botii Provinces the division of liie Revenue collected at tiie Port of Quebec, unless united under one Eegisla- tnre ; and further they humbly beg leave to express their fears, that some of the provisions of this Act al- though dictated by the necessity of legul.itiiig the conflicting claims ot'tlic two Prcninces, may aiiiird a pre- text lootlicrs for imputing to tiic Imperial Parliar.u'iit u disposition remote from the iuicntions ami views of your Majestv's Ciovernmeiit. IIavino thus stated till evils under which they have suffered. Your Petitioners feeling the t'ullest conti- dence in the Justice and wisdom of your Majesty's (.iovernment, and being satisfied that the subject will re- ceive the most serious and deliberate consideration, would hav,' feh much hesitation in ])ii'suiniiig to sug. gest remeilies ; but, as the Reunion of the two Pro\inces has been proposeil in the !m|ierial Parliament, they beg leave to e:.|nes^ Uieir entire aenuieseence in the ailoiition of that measure, upon such priu.iples ion as sliall secure to all classes ot voiir Majesty',-; Subjects iii tli. j Proviuce-, tlicif j.i>t iij;Iits, ami irotcct llie whole in tile enjoyment of existing Laws and their Keligiou as guaranteed — sucli a IJnio'i would iti tho o])i. nion of vour Petitioners allbrd the most etl'ectual remedy tor c \isting e\ ils, as it -.vouKl tend gradually to as- similatethe whole population in opinions, habits and feelings, and atlbrd a reiisoi'ahle liopethat tiie wisdom of the I'nitcd Legislature would devise a svsteni of (iovernnient vl' more toii.-isleiiey and unity, and of j^'rcater liberality to all classes th;.n h;.s hitherto been experienced. A I'nion on the Kquitablc Priiici|)les humbly suiri^ested by your Majesty's Petitioners, will necessarily in- elude a rejiresentation proj)ortionate as near as |.o >lc to the numbers, wealth, ind resources of the differ- ent classes of Iidiabitants of these Provinces, will require no innovation i,i the Laws or Jlcligion of the Country, nor proscription in Debate or Motion in tlie Legislature, of the language of anv portion of the Juiiabitants, in every class of wiioni, bravery anil loyalty have been evinced as fellow soldiers in defence of the Provinces. May it therefore graciously please your Majesty, that a r>ill for tlie Union of tiie two Provinces of I'p. per and Lower-Canada, on tfie equitable terms prayed for by your Petiticneis, do pass into Law, and the Constitution establis'ied thereby be preserved inviolate to your Petitioners and their posterity. And your Petitioners as in duty bound will ever pray. Quebec, December IS'22. y\