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 1 
 
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 1 
 
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 3 
 
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 5 
 
 6 
 
PROBABLE STATE 
 
 OF THE HOUSE OP ASSEMBLY IN THE UNFrED 
 LEGISLATURE. 
 
 A new Election takes place in both Canadas, this 
 Summer. ? .•, . , t. 
 
 LOWER CANADA. 
 
 The same Members may be returned for this 
 Province that served during the last four years. 
 
 They consisted, as far as I can find, of Frenchmen 40 
 
 of Englishmen 10 
 
 50 
 
 Unfortunately several of the English Members (as, 
 indeed, has generally been the case) were violent 
 oppositionists ; if they should act otherwise, it is easy 
 for the French Canadian population to change most 
 of them at any future Election, as will appear from 
 the national character of the Inhabitants of those 
 places for which Englishmen were chosen. 
 
Countiea. Cathnlicfi. Profedmls. 
 
 T^ I i 1 T 1 nn c%r\n ^ Tht'.se Counties 
 
 Dorchester. . . . 17,189. . .... ^00 \j.^^.^^h entitled to 
 
 Effingham 15,625 300f return two Mem- 
 
 T • i. T-. ^r»-v , ^^)>bers, and they elec- 
 
 Leinster 22,61) j Iw5f twi one f-Vem h 
 
 Quebec 22,e'^31) fJQOO Va"fd'>n. and one 
 
 Lnglishman. 
 
 It is quite evident that the Roman Catholics can 
 in these counties return Frenchmen, if they please, 
 and thus dispose of four of the ten English Members. 
 
 The remaining- six jVIembers are returned, 
 
 1 For Three Rivers, who may be a Frenchman, 
 as the English inhabitants of the Town cannot 
 as yet command the Election. 
 
 1 For William Henry, who may always be counted 
 upon as English and Loyal. 
 
 / Each of these cities return 
 
 2 For Montreal iFour Members, and it has ge- 
 
 Jnerally happened that two of 
 -v J each nation have been chosen, 
 
 2 For Quebec /but whether this courtesy would 
 — ^ > . ^ continue, I cannot determine. 
 
 6 
 
 Should the Union take place, the New Town- 
 ships will return ten English Members of a mixed 
 character ; and not more than sixteen Englishmen 
 can be reasonably expected on the part of Lower 
 Canada, in the joint House of Assembly, which 
 deducted from 60, the whole number of Renre- 
 sentatives leaves 44 Frenchmen. ' . 
 
3 
 
 UPPER CANADA. :• -0 
 
 The House of Assembly of Upper Canada, which 
 has just expired, consisted of 10 members, but by 
 the operation of the law for increasing the Repre-i 
 sentation, tlie number to be elected tnis Summer,' 
 will be 44< or 46; we shall say 46, as the more pro- 
 bable. Of these, three will be Roman Catholics. 
 
 In the last Assembly, the Divisions were commonly 
 as three to two in favour of Government, or 24 to 
 16. On the most favourable supposition, therefore, 
 the New House of Assembly will be 28 to 18. 
 
 Assuming the above, as correct data, the first 
 United Hous? of Assembly will consist of Members 
 
 For Lower Canada 60 
 
 ■ ' " For Upper Canada 46 
 
 a*^>-)fh p3-a «>■, jht'^/?»i^/-"-'3''H -^ ^. - 106 
 
 ';. As distinguished by Religion, 7~ 
 
 Roman Catholics, perhaps 50, but certainly 47 
 
 Protestants of all denominations 59 
 
 *\^y\ih .^ V ^g distinguished nationally,^' ^- '^ '^m'*'^ 
 
 ' "'f '" French Canadians » 44 
 
 Englishmen ............ 62 
 
 Giving a majority of Englishmen of all 
 descriptions 18 
 
* J ! 
 
 This Majority will increase at every Election, till 
 the number of Members for Upper Canada amount to 
 60; thus adding 14 to the former majority of 18, 
 making it 32. 
 
 The number of English Members will increase 
 from other causes. 
 
 First. From the great influx of British Emi- 
 grants. 
 
 Second. From changing the Tenure of land, which 
 will introduce the system of County Registers, 
 and thus deprive the Notaries of half their 
 influence. 
 
 Third. From British Capitalists purchasing Sei- 
 gniories, and thus acquiring an influence over 
 their French Canadian Tenants. 
 
 Fourth. From ordering the Legislature to meet at 
 a place central for the Canadas. The Canadian 
 French have little public spirit ; out of 50, the 
 number of Members in their present House of 
 Assembly, hardly more than 30 ever attend; 
 often fewer ; were the place of meeting, there- 
 fore, convenient for both Provinces, it is 
 probable that very few French Canadians would 
 be regularly present. 
 
 I 
 
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I> i: T T E R 
 
 
 10 IJIS MAJKHrV's UNOUK 
 
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 SECRETARY OF STATE, 
 
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 nESPECTirfO A PLAN FOR A 
 
 GENERAL UNION 
 
 OF THB 
 
 
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 AND ON THE SUBJECT OP THE rilOPOsrJD 
 
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 fW/OiV O/^ THE CANADAS. 
 
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 LONDON : 
 PRINTED HY \V. CLOWES, NORTHUMBERLAND-COURT. 
 
 1824. 
 
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Loudon, lv/ .////y, \H'2i. 
 
 8iu, 
 
 Having been favoured by you vvitli 
 tbc perusal of two papers, tbc one intituled *' Ob- 
 servations on the Policy of a General Union of 
 the 15ritish Provinces," &c., the otiier intituled 
 " Obscivations on a Bill for uniting the Legis- 
 lative Councils and Assemblies of Lower and 
 Upper Canada," &c., 1 would beg leave respectfully 
 to oiler a few remarks on them. The writer, it 
 appears to me, has been under nnsa])prehension, in 
 his view of the subjects treated of, in several im- 
 portant particulars, and has fallen into inaccurate 
 statcmiuits, from which very erroneous impressions 
 might be received respecting the measures referred 
 to. I shall endeavour very succinctly to j)oint out 
 these misapprehensions and inaccuracies. The first 
 of these papers is distinguishable from other sug- 
 gestions of a General Union of the Provinces, as 
 an expedient measure, by a much larger enumeration, 
 than is to be found in them, of the powers and duties 
 of the proposed general government. It is plain 
 that, in making this enumeration, the writer has 
 confounded the powers peculiarly belonging to the 
 local Legislatures and Governments, and of which 
 they could not be divested, with those which might, 
 with propriety, be assigned to a general Federative 
 Government, and has even encroached on the sove- 
 reignty of the parent state, in his allotment of 
 
 Robert IV. HortoUt Esquire, 
 
 His Majesty s Under Sccrdury 
 , of Sfate, «^c. tj-c. <Sc. 
 
f! 
 
 functions to llic l.ittcr ^ovoinmciit. In jjroposinjr, |'oi* 
 instance, to give jiowcr to the general legislature to 
 levy and collect taxes, to pay the debts, and provide 
 for the general peace and welfare, of the dillcrent pro- 
 vinces, without specification of objects, or restriction, 
 the writer would deprive the local legislatures of all 
 authority, and in cflcct transfer it to the general legis- 
 lature : so, in giving power to the latter legislature to 
 regulate the navigation of rivers and lakes common to 
 any province or provinces and a foreign power, he 
 would subject to it a matter to the regulation of which 
 dependant provinces could not be competent, and which 
 could be regulated only by the sovereign power of the 
 state. In authorizing also the general legislature, 
 without restriction, to open internal comnumications 
 for the general advantage, such as roads, canals, &c., 
 the local legislatures would be superseded. The pro- 
 posed establishment of a court of justice incidentally 
 to the general union, with an appellate jurisdiction 
 over the courts in the several provinces, also implies 
 a misapprehension of the nature and objects of the 
 general union which is suggested, is altogether un- 
 necessary in the present state of things, and would 
 1)0 incompatible with the continuc<l existence of the 
 local governments. — Other heads of the proposed 
 constitution arc specified, which, while the provinces 
 continue subject to the parent state, would not 
 re(iu..c to be mentioned, and others which are 
 provided for under the existing constitutions. With 
 these deductions, it will be found that there arc po 
 
 
duties that could be assigned to tlio proposed general 
 legislature reqtiiring so important an establishment ; 
 and upon this head, as well as in respect to the 
 unfitness of a general union to answer the purposes 
 contemplated by a union of Lower and Upper 
 Canada, I would beg leave humbly to refer to (he 
 remarks which I have had the honour of submitting 
 on this subject. 
 
 In the second of the papers above mentioned, 
 the writer admits the great advantages to result from 
 a union of the Canadas under one legislature, which, 
 indeed, are too evident to be denied by any dis- 
 interested person competently informed, but expresses 
 an aj)prchcnsion of difliculties and obstructions that 
 may occur in the practical execution of the measure, 
 for obviating which he otters particular sugges- 
 tions. These difiicultics and obstructions, I shall 
 endeavour to shew, are altogether imaginary, and that 
 the proposed remedies or palliatives may be very 
 well dispensed witf'. , ■ 
 
 As constituting difficulty in carrying the union into 
 effect, it is said that there are three general heads of 
 policy on which the parties likely to compose the 
 legislature will differ, and two on which they will 
 probably agree. Tlie first of the former is said to 
 be the distribution of revenue. A ground of dispute 
 on this subject is anticipated, because the expense of 
 building court-houses and gaols in Lower Canada 
 has been defrayed out of the public trensury, 
 whereas, in Up])er Canada, it has been provided 
 
G 
 
 for by local taxation. There has been a reason for 
 this dirterence, which would not operate alter the 
 nnion. In Lower Canada the administration of 
 justice has not, hitherto, as in Upper Canada, been 
 conducted by means of circuits, requiring a great 
 number of court-houses and gaols at different places, 
 hut by courts stationary in the principal towns of 
 Quebec, Montreal, and Three Rivers, and at Gaspe. 
 In consequence of the small number of these juris- 
 dictions, and the great extent of territory compre- 
 hended within them, it was found reasonable and 
 convenient that the expense of building court-houses 
 and gaols, of which only four have been required, 
 should be defrayed, not by local taxation, but out 
 of the general revenue, to which the whole province, 
 including these particular places, contributed. When- 
 ever local jurisdictions or circuits may hereafter be 
 established in Lower Canada, requiring in the 
 several counties the erection of court-houses and 
 gaols, there can be no doubt that, even if the pro- 
 posed union should not take place, the correct 
 principle of taxation in such case, that is, local 
 assessment as practised in Upper Canada, would be 
 resorted to. This principle must of cc.irse obtain 
 alter a Union, and no person would expect that the 
 expenses which are now defrayed in Upper Canada, 
 by means of local taxation, would be defrayed in 
 any other way in Lower Canada, after the adoption 
 of that measure. The writer, in apprehending this 
 difficulty, has probably not been acquainted with. 
 
or adverted to, the local circumstances peculiar to 
 Lower Canada now mentioned. It is perfectly 
 plain that these circumstances, when explained, fur- 
 nish no ground for his apprehensions, and, indeed, 
 there can Be no doubt that, in the United Legis- 
 lature, the reasonable principle of providing for 
 local wants by local taxation would be universally 
 assented to. 
 
 The second point on which the representatives of the 
 two provinces, it is said, will disagree, is commerce. 
 This anticipated difficulty is to be referred to mis- 
 apprehension and error. The writer seems to sup- 
 pose that the laws of Lower Canada, with 
 respect to commerce, are essentially different 
 from those of Upper Canada, and absolutely irre- 
 concileable with commercial enterprise. In this 
 respect he is altogether mistaken. The laws of 
 France, which prevail in Lower Canada, and the 
 laws of England, which prevail in Upper Canada, 
 are substantially the same in commercial matters, 
 with the exception of some positive enactments of 
 the French legislator which do not obtain in the 
 former province, and some particular provisions 
 of the English law, such as those relating to 
 bankruptcy, which are not in force in the 
 latter province. The writer has imbibed pre- 
 judices on this subject, which are without any 
 foundation. He refers, however, with great reason, 
 to some of the evils which have furnished just cause 
 of complaint to Upper Canada ; but these were not 
 
8 
 
 !' 
 
 the effect of any difference between the laws of 
 the two provinces in commercial matters, nor of 
 any want of English feeling in the English part 
 of the community, as he asserts, but of the 
 establishment of two legislatures where one only 
 was required, which gave occasion to the improper 
 exercise of power by the legislature of Lower 
 Caiidda, to the prejudice of Upper Canada, by 
 taxing her exports, &c. ; and to the same cause is to 
 be referred the complaint as to the La Chine Canal, 
 and the neglect lo open roads between the tw o 
 provinces ; for which, as well as for other grievances 
 consequent on the present divided legislative autho- 
 rity, and the separate interests and jealousies thereby 
 engendered in these provinces, a remedy can only be 
 found in the proposed Union. •: j. ,;.. . v ..f,*-.. 
 The third point on which a difference of opinion 
 is apprehended, it is said, regards the laws generally 
 of Lower Canada. The people of that province, 
 it is to be observed, are satisfied with their laws, and 
 prefer no complaint respecting them : — they have 
 been confirmed and guaranteed by two Acts of the 
 British Parliament, and no person expects that any 
 change is to be made in them, except such as the 
 local legislature may, from time to time, see fit to 
 adopt. Upper Canada, by the proposed Union, 
 will retain her laws unimpaired, and in their full 
 vigour. What cause, then, can the people of the 
 latter province, or their representatives, have for 
 difference with their fellow-subjects of Lower Canada 
 
 -i 
 
1) 
 
 
 respecting their laws ? It is impossible to foresee 
 any ground of tlisputo on this head, as the provinces 
 will respectively retain their laws : and no other 
 alteration in them is to be anticipated, than such as 
 takes place with respect to the laws of England, 
 Scotland, or Ireland, when the Parliament of the 
 United Kingdom, in its wisdom, from time to time, 
 deems it necessary to make alterations in them. 
 The character ascribed by the writer to the laws of 
 Low^er Canada, and his statements respecting them, 
 must have originated in a total want of acquaintance 
 with the subject, and cannot be passed over in 
 silence. He has evidently imbibed prejudices against 
 that part of those laws derived from France, which 
 for many years obtained in Lower Canada, but 
 which gradually abated in that province, as the 
 knov/ledge of the laws became more generally dif- 
 fused, and a better administration of them was 
 afforded, and which may be said to be now nearly 
 extinguished. The laws of Lower Canada, although 
 composed of parts of different systems, are sufficiently 
 defined, and do not admit of the uncertainty imputed 
 to them. At this period, the writer is altogether 
 mistaken in supposing that judges refer ad libilum 
 to English Law, or Equity, or that property is less 
 secure in Lower than in Upper Canada. Indeed, 
 the language of the writer must have been taken 
 from repr .sentations made soon after the conquest, 
 when law and government were both in an extremely 
 unsettled state ; hut it has not, at the present time, 
 
I ■■'^■"--("-■'^' -^ 
 
 i i 
 
 10 
 
 the slightest application. Englishmen, ami their 
 descendants in Lower Canada, would unquestionably 
 have preferred English Laws, and have repeatedly 
 struggled unsuccessfully to obtain them : but they 
 are not insensible to the merits of the system they 
 possess, and do not seek to disturb that system as 
 now established, and for the continuance of which 
 the faith of the Imperial Parliament has been twice 
 pledged. But be the merits or demerits of the laws 
 of Lower Canada whatever they may, the inhabitants 
 of Upper Canada sustain no inconvenience from 
 them, and cannot have the slightest cause for appre- 
 hending, as the writer seems to suppose, that any 
 part of the French laws will be ingrafted on their 
 system. Any such consequence of the Union must 
 be considered visionary in the extreme, as the effect 
 of that measure will be to render a majority of the 
 United Legislature, from its first formation, English ; 
 and no person can suppose that such a majority will 
 be disposed to extend the sphere of French Laws. 
 Indeed the solicitude of the writer for a melioration 
 of the laws of Lower Canada, and to prevent their 
 extension, however benevolent, is really not called 
 for ; and his suggestion of this ground of difference, 
 with the statements to justify it, are absolutely 
 without any reasonable foundation. The writer has 
 no doubt been led, from some sources of information, 
 to entertain the opinions expressed ; but not being 
 an inhabitant of Lower Canada, and probably not 
 conversant with its laws and institutions, he has made 
 
 < 
 
11 
 
 the suggestion under the most erroneous impressions : 
 his very errors, liowever, arc calculated to shew 
 how expedient it is that the inhabitants of the two 
 provinces should be made better acquainted with 
 each other by a Union. A few years' experience 
 under a United Legislature would most happily 
 undeceive him, on this, as well as other points of 
 anticipated difficulty. - <., « ?\ 
 
 The grounds of apprehended difference in the 
 United Legislature being evidently imaginary, it 
 would seem to be unnecessary to offer any observa- 
 tions on the palliatives or remedies that are suggested. 
 Without passing them over wholly in silence, it is 
 proper to observe on the first of these, namely, " the 
 holding of the sittings of the Legislature altogether, 
 or alternately, in Upper Canada," that this is a point 
 on which the inhabitants of the two provinces are 
 not likely to concur in opinion. Personal and local 
 interests (from the influence of which the writer 
 himself may, perhaps, not be wholly exempt) must 
 be expected to bias too much the minds of individuals, 
 to admit of considerations of public interest having 
 due weight with them in determining where the 
 sittings of the joint Legislature ought to be heM. 
 By the proposed Bill, this point is withdrawn from th'^ 
 operation of Colonial prejudices, it being left to the dis- 
 cretion of the Government to fix the piaces for holding 
 the Legislature ; and this is evidently expedient, not 
 only for the reason just given, !)ut because it is the 
 undoubted prerogative of the crown to determine 
 
IS 
 
 this point. The power of convening the Legislature 
 at such place as may he raost convenient, heing 
 lodged in the crown, it is too soon to raise dicussions 
 on this subject before the Union-Bill is passed. After 
 the measure has been adoj)ted, it will be quite time 
 enough, it is presumed, to submit to His Majesty's 
 Government considerations which may influence its 
 determination in this particular. Some intermediate 
 place between Quebec and York will, no doubt, 
 hereafter be deemed most convenient for holding the 
 sittings of the Legislature : but, in the first instance, 
 and until suitable accommodations can be provided 
 elsewhere, it is presumed, the sittings must be held 
 at Quebec. The second suggestion of a remedial na- 
 ture, viz., the raising of the qualification of electors, 
 (although not called for by the apprehended difficul- 
 ties) I readily admit is deserving of consideration, on 
 other grounds ; and I humbly think that a higher quali- 
 fication than is now required, for electors in the town 
 and country might, with great propriety, be established. 
 Another change proposed to be made in the exist- 
 ing Constitutions, I should dissent from, as not being- 
 called for by the considerations offered by the writer, 
 and as being in itself, under present circumstances, 
 altogether inexpedient. I allude to that by which it 
 is proposed to extend the duration of the Provincial 
 Parliament from four to seven years. Whatever in- 
 clination of opinion there may be in England in favour 
 of Septennial Parliaments, as they obtain in the present 
 advanced state of society, and have been sanctioned 
 
Ui 
 
 by long usage there, u diiTeronce of circumstances, 
 and of usage in all the Colonic^, would, I apprehend, 
 prevent *^'ic application of the same limitation in 
 Canada. To say nothing of the different state of 
 society in the two Countries, and the beneficial in- 
 lluence derived from an enlightened public opinion in 
 the former, rendering frequency of Elections less ne- 
 cessary, which, for a long period cannot be eiqiected 
 in the latter, it is sufficient, I presume, on this head, 
 to observe, that the eminent Statesmen who gave the 
 Canadas their present Constitution, admitted that a 
 different regulation was required in the two Countries, 
 by prescribing four years as the duration of the Ca- 
 nadian Parliaments; and after this regulation has 
 been acted upon for upwards of thirty years, to the 
 satisfaction of the Inhabitants, it would seem to re- 
 (piire much more cogent reasons than those that are 
 offered, to give occasion to so material an alteration 
 in the Constitution. Among the motives for giving 
 the Canadas the free Constitution they enjoy, it was 
 expressly stated, as being one, that it was desirable 
 they should have nothing to envy in the institutions of 
 tlie adjoining States. This policy would not be ob- 
 served, if the proposed alteration were adopted, and 
 the difference between Annual and Septennial 
 Elections, as obtaining on the one and the other side 
 of the line of division, could not fail to be striking. 
 If any alteration should be made on this point, I> 
 should humbly conceive, on principle, as well as on 
 the ground of a reasonable and politic regard to the 
 
II 
 
 IcMjlings and vvislics ot (lie people to he aflccted by 
 this rei»ulation, the increased duration of the Pro- 
 vincial l*arlianient should not be carried beyond Five 
 Years, as proposed in the Bill of \H22, In fixinjij 
 tills duration, a medium between two extremes would 
 be adopted, obviating the objections to Triennial Par- 
 liaments as being too short, and those to Septennial 
 Parliaments as being too long. 
 
 The first of the points of policy, on which, it is 
 said, the United Assembly will agree, is the as- 
 sumption of the civil list. — With respect to the pay- 
 ment of the whole civil expenditure of the government 
 of the two provinces, from their own resources, no 
 difference of opinion is likely to occur, as it is in itself 
 reasonable and just, and the means of the provinces 
 arc fully adequate to the burthen to be assumed. The 
 conduct of the Assembly of U])per Canada is by the 
 writer advantageously contrasted with that of Lower 
 Canada, and increased difficulties are apprehended on 
 this subject after a Union. Any facilities which may 
 Imve been experienced in Upper Canada on this head, 
 and to which the writer refers, would certainly afford 
 no ground for calculating on a continuance of them 
 in that province, even without a Union ; for, up to the 
 present period, materials for dispute have not been 
 afforded : no difficulties could possibly occur there, as 
 hardly any portion of the Revenue has been raised 
 under the authority of the provincial legislature, and 
 the sums in question have been too insignificant to be 
 made the subject of dispute. This, however, is ^^^ 
 
 f , 
 
15 
 
 >••» 
 
 longer the case: uikIci* the Canada Tiailc Hill, tiie 
 (Hnisfut of the Assembly of Upper Canada to the 
 unposition of new duties to be levied at Quebec has 
 become necessary, and a larger and i)ermancnt revenue 
 is placed at its disposal. A bone of contention is now 
 furnished, and no person acquainted with the present 
 comi)osition of the Assembly of Upper Canada, and 
 the character which it is reasonable to expect will 
 belong to that body, without a Union, could, it is 
 presumed, be of opinion that its dispositions would be 
 altered for the worse, by uniting it with the Assembly 
 of Lower Canada. The supposition, therefore, that 
 any increased difficulties would be incurred, as respects 
 Upper Canaxla, after a Union, is altogether gratuitous. 
 The principal causes of the untractableness of the 
 Assembly of Lower Canada are to be found in the 
 foreign character of its members, and the absence of 
 all communion of feeling with the other branches of 
 the Government, arising as well from this foreign 
 character, as from the exclusion of persons of property, 
 weight, and influence, from that branch of the Legis- 
 lature^ which obtains under the present system. After 
 a Union, these causes would cease to operate : — an 
 English majority would give a new tone to the feelings 
 of the joint Assembly, and the introduction into it of 
 persons of wealth, weight, and intelligence, would 
 serve to connect it with the other branches of the 
 Government,, and thus strengthen the executive power, 
 and give consistency and unity of character to the 
 public measures.— -In such an Assembly, in which 
 
11 
 
 
 \r> 
 
 much more of intelligence, and of the weij^ht ami 
 intluence of property would be found, than in the 
 present separate Assemblies, it is certainly quite 
 reasonable to cx})cct tliat more enlightened views of 
 the public interest would be entertained, and a mort 
 liberal and cordial support given to the efficient ad- 
 ministration of Government. There is, indeed, every 
 rational ground for supposing that the causes of the 
 present embarrassments and difficulties in Lower 
 Ciinada would not only be effectually removed by a 
 Union, but that, by tliat measure, a common national 
 character would also be given to both provinces, in 
 which the Englishman and Frenchman would be 
 blended, distinguishing them from the adjoining States, 
 and serving to connect them more intimately with the 
 Mother Country. So far, therefore, from auguring 
 unfavourably, respecting the civil list, from a Union, 
 a beneficial change for the better might be anticipated 
 from that measure ^ and this transition is certainly the 
 more necessary, as it is impossible things can be on a 
 worse footing than they now are in Lower Canada, 
 on this subject. It is somewhat singular that the 
 writer of the Observations should suggest, as the means 
 of rendering the United Assembly more tractable, and 
 of infusing into it a better disposition, that the con- 
 stitution should be altered in a most material par- 
 ticular to their prejudice, by an abridgement of their 
 privileges, and the enlargement of the power of the 
 Legislative Council, in what respects money-bills. 
 As the sole power of giving would still belong to the 
 
 I 
 
 h 
 

 !7 
 
 Ills, 
 the 
 
 Assembly, with this proposed iilteratioii, it seems 
 singular to expect tlmt their (lis])osition to give would 
 be increased by conferring on the Legislative Council 
 the power of controlling such acts of benevolence, 
 and of adding to, or diminishing their amount. A 
 most important addition would certainly l)e made to 
 the constitutional powers of the Legislative Council, 
 but without any benefit whatever to the Executive 
 Government, and certainly to the extreme dissatis- 
 faction of the inhabitants of both provinces. As to 
 the speculative expediency of any such alteration, it 
 would bo presumption in me to offer any opinion. 
 I would only beg leave to observe, that the inhabitants 
 of the Canadas have been favoured with the consti- 
 tution of the parent State, as far as their dependent 
 condition would permit, — are perfectly satisfied with 
 its excellence, — and seek no improvements, even from 
 the adjoining soil of liberty, to which allusion is made. 
 In referring, however, to the power given by the 
 Constitution of the United States to the Senate, the 
 writer ought not to have overlooked the important 
 circumstance that the members of that body are not 
 appointed, as the members of the Legislative Councils 
 of the Canadas, by the executive Government, for 
 life, but are elected by the people for short periods. 
 So that there is no analogy between the Senate and 
 the Legislative Councils, in the nature of their Con- 
 stitution, or in the source from which they derive their 
 authority ; and a power which it might be expedient 
 to grant to the Senate, under the Constitution of the 
 
 c: 
 
IS 
 
 United States, it might be altogether inexpedient lo 
 grunt to a Legislative Council, under the Constitution 
 to be given to the Canudas. '' ' '^ '*' ' 
 
 The last point, on which dilficultics and dangers 
 arc appreliended by the writer, is one on which his 
 apprehensions arc in the highest degree imaginary ; 
 80 much so, that persons personally acquainted with 
 the Canadas must feel surprise that they should be 
 entertained by any person. He supposes Religion 
 to be a subject on which the Roman Catholic and 
 Sectarian Members of the joint Legislature would con- 
 cur in measures, to the prejudice, if not to the sub- 
 version, of the Established Church. To exclude the 
 supposition of any such danger, or of any hostile at- 
 tempts against the Church, by means of any such 
 combination, or otherwise, it is sufficient to observe 
 that, by the present Constitution, which, in this par- 
 ticular, would continue after the Union, no enact- 
 ments affecting the Church, or the rights of any of its 
 Members, can become a Law, without the previous 
 approbation of the Imperial Parliament ; and it 
 would be quite preposterous to apprehend danger to 
 the Church, when, beside this security, the sanction of 
 His Majesty, whose disposition, as well as duty, must 
 concur in disposing him to give every support to the 
 Church, is also required to give effect to any such 
 enactments. In Lower Canada, out of fifty Mem- 
 bers of the Assembly, as now constituted, there are 
 not more than six or seven Members belonging to the 
 Church of England ; the rest, with the exception of 
 
19 
 
 two or throe Members who are Dissenters, heiiifi; 
 Uoiiiaii Catholics. Yet the Church continues in in- 
 violable security, and no person certainly entertains 
 any apprehensions for its safety. The ellbcts of a 
 Union will be to introduce into the joint Assembly, 
 probably, forty or fifty Members bclonjring to tlie 
 Established Church, — to give an English character 
 to Lower Canada, — to increase rapidly the number 
 of Churches of tlie Established Religion of the Stale, 
 as a consequence of the increase of English popula- 
 tion, and certainly, under the protection of the 
 Government, to augment the influence and power 
 of that Religion. Assuredly, under such circum- 
 stances, the Church must be a gainer by the Union, 
 and find itself much more advantageously situated, 
 with that measure, than without it ; acquiring at the 
 same time a much larger sphere of usefulness and 
 influence. The writer gratuitously supposes that the 
 Roman Catholics and Sectarians will unite against 
 the Church. There are certainly few sympathies 
 between these two descriptions of persons to produce 
 Union, and many causes of antipathy to prevent it. 
 If however, they had any common interests to pro- 
 mote, such a supposition might be less improbable ; 
 but they have no interests in common. The Roman 
 Catholic Religion may be considered as an esta- 
 blished Religion in Canada, and those who profess it 
 have no interest in advancing the views which Sec- 
 tarians might entertain : on the contrary, so far as 
 interest is concerned, the Roman Catholics might be 
 
 •" "' k-'- 
 
 ,1' «< 
 
 c 5^ 
 
20 
 
 expected to resist any further extension of privileges 
 to them, and, on that head, feel a community of in- 
 terest with the established Church of the State. 
 There is besides such an opposition in manners, 
 habits, and modes of thinking between the Roman 
 Catholics of Lower Canada and the Sectarians to be 
 hereafter found in the joint Legislature, that a coali- 
 tion between :hem for any purpose, even from this 
 cause, is rendered improbable in the extreme. It 
 seems quite unnecessary, therefore, to canvass con- 
 jectures as to the relative proportion of Members 
 in the joint Legislature, to be furnished by Roman 
 Catholics, by persons professing the Religion of the 
 State, and by Sectarians. Under the salutary pro- 
 visions of the Constitution, no advantages can be 
 gained in the joint Legislature by one religion at 
 the expense of the other, and least of all can any ap- 
 prehension be entertained for the interests of the 
 Religion of the State. That it is not difficult for the 
 writer to come to such conclusions, as he is desirous 
 of establishing, is exemplified, when he proves that a 
 majority of Protestants (which it is admitted will be 
 obtained by the Union) will become a minoritv, by 
 assuming that all the Roman Catholics will attend, 
 and only a part of the Protestants will be found in 
 their places. On such grounds of reasoning, it would 
 be difficult to satisfy the person entertaining them 
 respecting securities. The assumption, however^ 
 that there will be greater diligence and assiduity on 
 the part of the Roman Catholic, than the Protestant/ 
 
^l 
 
 members, in tlie discharge of their legislative duties, 
 is not conformable to experience. On the contrary, 
 in' Canada, the former have always been less exact in 
 their attendance, and have exhibited less zeal and 
 perseverance than the latter. The writer has afford- 
 ed proof of this, in asserting elsewhere that of fifty 
 members for Lower Canada, seldom more than thirty 
 have given continued attendance. ' 
 
 Under the head of causes :: '"' danger to the Church, 
 and with a view to a modification of the present 
 Constitution for its safety, it is alleged, " that the 
 ** state of the two Churches is very different; the 
 '* Provincial Legislature have nothing to do, either 
 " directly or indirectly with the Romish Church, but 
 " the same Legislatures may vary, or repeal, or 
 '* modify, the thirty-first of the King, in as far as 
 " respects the Church of England." In making this 
 assertion, the writer has laboured under a mistake : 
 the Roman Catholic Church has no such advantage, 
 as he supposes, over the Church of England ; on the 
 contrary, both Churches stand precisely on the same 
 footing with respect to the power of the Provincial 
 Legislatures over them. These are competent to 
 acts of Legislation, as to both, but subject to the 
 same restrictions, which ensure the safety of both 
 Churches, and the rights of their Ministers. To be 
 convinced of this, it is only necessary to refer to the 
 35th, 41st, and 42d Sections of the 31st Geo. III., 
 Cap. 31, which it is proposed to re-enact in the Union- 
 Bill. The policy of the provisions in these clauses is 
 
22 
 
 too evident to require any (Observation; and the 
 writer has been lamentably mistaken in supposing that 
 he would benefit the Church of England, and add to 
 its security, by a simple repeal, as he proposes, of the 
 41 8 1 and 42d Sections of the Act last mentioned, in 
 so t*ar as the same relate to the Church of England, 
 as the effect of such repeal would be to leave an un- 
 restricted power of Legislation, in the hands of the 
 Provincial Legislature, over the Church of England, 
 while the Roman Catholic Church, and even Sectarians, 
 would enjoy the benefit of the restrictions imposed by 
 the 35th and 42d Sections. The writer has also 
 laboured under misapprehension in his observations 
 respecting the 25th clause of the printed Bill of 1822. 
 This claui^e does not, as he supposes, establish the 
 supremacy of His Majesty in Canada. This was done 
 by the introduction of the public Law of England, as 
 one of the effects of the Conquest of Canada, and by 
 the express provision of the Act 14th Geo. III., Cap. 
 83d, Sec. 5th. Having, on a former occasion, re- 
 spectfully submitted an opinion respecting the Clause 
 now referred to, I forbear to make any further ob- 
 servation respecting it. In noticing the want of a 
 well-constituted Court of Appeals in the two Pro- 
 vinces, and suggesting the establishment of one, the 
 writer has, I apprehend, connected with the proposed 
 measure of a Union, a question somewhat foreign to 
 it : and althou h the establishment of such a Court 
 on proper principles might be highly useful, and be 
 very desirable, I humbly conceive that it is a matte*' 
 
wl'ich it would be expedient to leave to the discretion 
 of the future joint Legislature. Of the expediency of 
 repealing the provisions contained in the Canada 
 Trade Bill, which were intended to settle the dif- - 
 ferences respecting Revenue and Imposts, I humbly 
 think no doubt can be entertained. The cause of the 
 evils intended to be remedied by these provisions 
 will be removed by a Union, and it would be highly 
 inexpedient to leave them in force, though no longer 
 applicable, as a source of conflicting claims, and of 
 contention, in the joint Legislature. -obwov/ 
 
 ' I have to apologize for the great length to which 
 this letter has become extended, and for which I can 
 only expect to find an excuse in the great importance 
 of the subject in question, and in my anxiety to pre- 
 vent erroneous impressions respecting the proposed 
 Union of the Canadas, the adoption of which mea- 
 sure I feel convinced is alike necessary for the interest 
 of the parent State, and for the securitv and prosperity 
 of those Colonies. 
 
 I will only beg leave further to trespass on your 
 attention, by subjoining a short statement, exhibiting 
 the probable future composition of the joint Assembly. 
 
 I have the honor to be, with great respect. 
 
 fj3*:&Cf<^*!: 
 
 Sir, 
 
 oJ ii-^idio? it- Your most obedient, humble Servant, 
 
 iimO ^d:^m ic j. STUAllT ^ 
 
 od hm '.^A'/Mr. 'fin; t^nVj (^>if|l:)fihq t^qoi(| no 
 
 I'MUm , , ,. l;:rii 'j'iiTir^'t'j- vMtmWil ,'iUiinmh rt^f'/ 
 
24 
 
 STATEMENT exhibiting the probable future corn- 
 position of the joint Assemblt/, after a Union, 
 
 The number of Members in the Assembly of 
 
 " Lower Canada, as now constituted, is 50 
 
 This number will be increased under the proposed 
 Union-Bill 10 
 
 Making the entire number of representatives for 
 
 Lower Canada 60 
 
 Of this number it will be in the power of the 
 English population to return twelve without con- 
 test, including in that number the Members for 
 William Henry and Gasp^, in the election of 
 whom no French interest can be exerted. The 
 towns of Quebec and Montreal now return, each, 
 two English Members, and the town of Three . 
 Rivers, one. Although this might be prevented 
 by unanimity in the French Canadians, ii is not ^^ 
 likely this unanimity will be manifested, and it is v 
 probable that, with the increased exertion of the 
 English influence after a Union, the present 
 number of Englishmen may be returned for those 
 parts of the province, in which the French popu- 
 lation is the most numerous. 
 
 The number of Representatives for Upper 
 Canada, in the joint Legislature, taking the re- 
 presentation of that province as it stood when the 
 Union-Bill was introduced in 1822, will be ... . 40 
 
 Making the entire number of representatives in 
 
 t the joint Assembly, after the Union 100 
 
95 
 
 This number will, under the above supposition, be 
 composed of ^ 
 
 French Members for Lower Canada 39 
 
 English Members for ditto 2[ 
 
 English Members for Upper Canada 40 
 
 Affording an English majority of . . . - 22 
 
 But if the French interest should be exerted, ,^ 
 
 so as to exclude English Candidates altogether, ^ 
 
 throughout the Province of LowerCanada, where ?i^^ 
 that interest prevails, then the numbers would 
 
 stand thus. — .... 
 
 English Members returned by places inhabited 
 
 by Englishmen in Lower Canada 12 
 
 English Members returned by Upper Canada. . 40 
 
 French Members returned by parts of Lower 4.^ 
 
 Canada, inhabited by French and English . . 4$ 
 
 -■&,•■ ■ ■ : — ^ 
 
 .:: .100 
 
 Affording an English Majority of ...... , ; .^ . . 4 
 
 This latter supposition is altogether improbable, 
 and it is more likely that the English majority would 
 be from ten to fifteen in the first session of the joint 
 legislature, after a general election. 
 • That this majority woiild be increased after all 
 future elections there can be no doubt, as the causes 
 
of national prejudice would fast wear away after a 
 Union, and a rapid increase of the English population 
 in Lower Canada would take place from immigration, 
 with an augmentation of influence from increased 
 numbers and the acquisition of real property. 
 
 Ths English majorities above stated would also 
 be increased, if Upper Canada should be permitted 
 to benefit by the increase in her representation since 
 1822. Considering, however, the advantageous 
 terms, in what respects the number of her represen- 
 tatives, on which it was proposed to admit her into 
 the Union, by the Bill of that year, and the unrea- 
 sonably rapid increase in her representation which 
 her present laws authorize, it may, perhaps, be 
 thought reasonable and proper that her represen- 
 tation should be taken as it stood in 1822, without 
 admitting into the joint assembly the representatives 
 who may have since been added to the number of 
 her members in the present assembly. 
 
 It is to be observed that elections are now going 
 forward in Lower and Upper Canada. If the same 
 number of Englishmen should be returned for Lower 
 Canada for the next, as for the late Parliament, 
 which is probable, and if the joint assembly should 
 be permitted to sit before a future general election, 
 then, by adding to the present representation of 
 Lower Canada the ten members who may be re- 
 turned immediately, under the authority of the Go- 
 vernor, as provided in the Union-Bill, an English 
 majority of twenty-two would be obtained as a 
 
-^mmmrn^ 
 
 27 
 
 matter of certainty, without the hazard of election, 
 even though the number of representatives for Upper 
 Canada should be limited to forty, as proposed in 
 1822. 
 
 ft*?. 
 
 VT" 
 
 London, 1st July, 1824. 
 
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