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Les diagrammes suivants illustrent la methods. 1 2 3 1 2 3 4 5 6 imiiBBW-,i.,'i J'W.MiIJ.'i'J\i'j?!!'J'T^^^?^'!!r FIRST ANNUAL REPORT OF THE CONSTITUTIONAL ASSOCIATION OF QUEBEC, PRESENTED 28Trt NOVEMBER, 1835. r ■ WITH AN APPENDIX, -* ,-■ ..' ^ CONTAINING THE DECLARATION, THE STATE OF THE REPRESENTATION, THE PETITION TO HIS MAJESTY AND BOTH HOUSES OF THE IMPERIAL PARLIAMENT, AND THE REPORT OF THE AGENT. QUEBEC: PRINTED BY ORDER OF THE ASSOCIATION, 1835. J*. ^; t ! V' At a General Meeting of the Association and Petitioners, held at the Albion Hotel, November 28th, 1835 : RESOLVED-That the said Report be printed, and transmitted to the Con- stitutional Associations in correspondence with this Association, and other- wise distributed in such manner as may seem proper to the Executive, Committee. R. H. Gairdner, Secretary. rrintcd «tth« Office of The Quebec Oaxette- » REPORT on- ler- tive. It will be recollected that this Association originated last year, shortly after the General Election, whereat the British and Irish electors of the Upper Town, Lower Town, and County of Quebec, were, under public appeals to the national prejudices of the majority of the electors of French origin, accompanied by much excitement and threats of popular violence, both at the hustings and in the streets and public places, deprived of that share in the representation which they had formerly enjoyed. The object of the Association was, to enable the members more effectually to concert and employ constitutional means for the remedy of abuses resulting from the political state of the Province, as set forth in its Declaration, and particularly " to " obtain for persons of British and Irish origin, and others " labouring under the same privation of common rights, a fair " and reasonable proportion of the representation in the Pro- " vincial Assembly," together with such other reforms as are required, — the administration of 1st. In the system of Judicature and Justice. . 2nd. In the Executive Council. 3rd. In the exercise of the Royal Prerogative of calling Members to the Legislative Council, . 4th. To support the connexion of the Colony with the Parent State, and a just subordination to its authority, and to assist in preserving and maintaining peace and good order throughout ! I I the Province, and ensuring the equal rights of all classes of His Majesty's subjects therein. — (Vide Appendix A. and B.) The Executive Committee reported its proceedings in further- ance of these views, to General Meetings of the Association, on the 5th February, lOtli March, and 31st July last, which have been published, and arc now referred to. Up to the lOtli March, fifteen brandies of the Association had been formed and corresponded with in different parts of the Province, besides the Montreal Constitutional Association and the Mechanics' Asso- ciation at Quebec. — Since that time, the only additional branch formed has been that of Metis. — A new Association in the Dis- trict of Montreal communicated with the Executive Committee, but it declined interfering with that district after the formation of the Montreal Association. Immediately after the date of the Report of the 19th March, the Committee was chiefly engaged in preparations for forwarding the Petitions to the King, the House of Lords, and the House of Commons of the United Kingdom, by the Agent appointed at the General Meeting on the 19th March. — (Vide Appendix C.) — They not only had to collect Petitions from distant parts of the country, retarded by the breaking tip of the winter roads, but had to provide funds for the expenses, and also a great multiplicity of written documents a)id provincial publications, in support of the allegations of the Petitioners, all of which were forwarded by the Agent, on the third of April. ,/. ;(;-i'i The Agent arrived in London on the tenth of May. — He corresponded regularly with the Secretary, advising him of his progress and proceedings; and his letters of the 15th April, 8th, 14th, 2-2nd, and SOtli May, 14th, 19th and •29th June, and 6th and I Ith July, are in possession of the Secretary, and may be referred to. — At the desire of the Committee, Mr. Neilson has, in addition, drawn up a Report of his Mission, which is hereunto annexed — (Vide Appendix D.) During the pendency of the Petition in England, the Execu- tive Committee did not think it advisable to tfike any further ;i,'n(T V 'Pf'' '. 'M, . 'I , ..:.iu uui- :;..r< ?:rrsv r'j »" steps in relation to the Petitions forwarded, — which, indeed, embraced tlie principal objects of the Association, — till it was finally known whether the Commissioner to enquire into the matters complained of in the Province, were or were not to come out to Canada. — They confined themselves chiefly to the acknowledgment of the Agent's letters, and transmitting the additional signatures, which had been detained by the unfavora- ble state of the communications at an earlier period. — These were despatched on the 9 th May. The Executive Committee could not but regret that the Petitioners for whom they have the honor to act, were not formally heard, by their Agent in England, with a view to the final settlement of the affairs of the Province, by the authority of the British Government and Parliament, which had been re- peatedly appealed to for that purpose, since 1833, by those of whom the Petitioners have just reason to complain, and from whose acts they are suffering in their property and rights. They regret particularly, that, disconnected as they are with the local Authoritres, and unrepresented in the Provincial Parliament, their adversaries and oppressors should have been heard and permitted to produce evidence before a Committee of the House of Commons, while the Petitioners have been prevented from substantiating the allegations of their Petition before any Authority competent to give relief and redress the wrongs which they suffer; and this, while the pecuniary means derived from their property and industry were pledged, and have been applied to support the pretensions of their adversaries in Eng- land, as well before the King and Parliament as through the public prints, while the personal sacrifices of the money and time of the Petitioners, in support of their undoubted rights as British subjects, are in some measure rendered unavailing. The Executive Committee, however, lost no time after the return of the Agent, on the 25th September last, in taking into consideration the propriety of offering to support the Petitions confided to them before the Commissioners, who had arrived here on the 23rd August. On the 3rd October a Sub-Com- mittee was appointed to roport on this subject, and on the 9th the Secretary tuhh'essed the foliowinjr letter, by order of the Committee, to tlie Secretary of the Royal Commission : — " Quebec, nth October, 1835. •' Sir, — I am dircctoJ l»y the Rxonitivo Committoe of the Constitutional AsHouiution of (jiiubuc to trnnsinit to you the oncloscd Hesolutions and copy of Petition, and to roquoRt that you will bo pleased to lay the same 'jet'oro the Coinmissioiiers for their information. ' ' > - • ' " I have the honor to bo. Sir, Your most obedient humble servant, (Signed) " R. H. Gairdner." •' Thursday, 8th October, 1835. " Resolved, I. — That the Executive Committee of the Constitutional Association of Quebec will continue to urjjo to His Majesty's Government, by all Just and lawful moans, the necessity of speedy relief from theg;rievan- ces whereof complaint is made in the Petitions of divers inhabitants of Lower Canada,). raying to be maintained in their ri<<;'hts as British subjects, presented to His Majesty and to the two Houses of the Imperial Parliament in the present Session thereof. • " 2. — That the Committee is prepared, on behalf of the petitioners, to support the alk> " Quebec, 12th October, 1835. " Sir, — I have received and laid before the Commissioners your letter of the 9th instant, conveying to them the readiness of a Committee of the Constitutional Association of Quebec to support before the Commission the allegations of the Petition to His Majesty and both Houses of Parliament, of which a copy accompanies your letter. " The Commissioners desire me to thank you for the communication, and to state that they have it in contemplation to request some one or mor« to • was 7 inemborH of the Cuiistitutiumil Atisociation of Qiicboc to ^Mve lli«>ni inronna- tion on certain pointti ot tlio Potitiuii, but that at the iircsunt inotuent they arc engaged in. a brunch of in(|tiii'y which rcr|nitcH thuir iiioru ininiudiuto attention. "I liavc tho honor to be, .Sir, Your obodiunt hiinibln servant, , (.SijfllUll) " TlIOMAH Fbkdeuk Ki.uot." On the 15tli tlie Committee took into considoriitioii this) answer, but came to no decision upon tlie form and manner of conveying to His Majesty's Government, tiirou • ,>i '.•;.) ■' 'J' I '' ' ■ r I'.'i'i t . ! i 'I' ( . . . '. : -♦ : :.' :;• > . , ■,.. )^'';,;: .M ■*"* A, ' l' -^ •>) ., .>;'»■: i '.! - ' ';:i'i • i mu- ll-:. !.' .-. .'uii y--:•■->'; I A PrKNDIX. [A.] DECLARATION OF Tin: cAUsr.s wiin ii i,i:i) to thk toiimation or the constt- TUTIONAI. ASSOCIATION OF JJUKHFC, AND OF Till: OUJECTS FOIl WHICH IT HAS jm:i;n' fo».mi:i>. The political evils uiulor which Lowcr-r^unada lias long laboured, have recently been increased in so alarming a degree, that the subversion of Government itsel*" is to be apprehended, with the consequent disorders of anarchy, unless the progress of them be arrested, and an eft'ectual remedy applied. Under the influence of a party in the Assembly of the Pro- vince, labouring by every means which they could devise to concentrate political power in their own hands exclusively, national distinctions have been fostered and established, the administration of the local Government has been pevseveringly obstructed and impeded, its authority brought into contempt, and public and private security essentially impaired and en- dangered ; whilst the just subordination of the Colony to the Parent State has been openly questioned, and resistance to its authority, if not avowedly inculcated, certainly covertly pro- moted. ' In prosecution of the views of the party to which those evils are mainly ascribable, that portion of the population of the Province which has been by them designated as " of British or P^oreign origin," has virtually been, and now is, deprived of the privilege of being heard in the Representative Branch of the Government, in support of their interests and views. The portion of the population thus proscribed, amounts to about one ID I liuiulred and fifty tlioiisancl souls, or one fourth of the whole, and eomjjrises nearly all t:.e Merchants, the principal Members of the Learned Professions, a large body of skilful and wealthy Artlzans and Mechanics, and a great number of respectable and industrious Agriculturalists, possesses extensive real estate, and holds by far the greatest portion of the capital employed in the pursuits of trade and industry, all which interests are liable to be burdened, and in fact have been injuriously affected, in con- sequence of the proceedings of the said party and of the majority of the same origin, by whom they have been supported in the Assembly of the Province. The class of persons by whom Members of the Assembly are almost exclusively returned, — that is, the inhabitants of French origin, who form the majority, and whose character is in other respects most estimable, — has shewn itself peculiary liable to be acted upon by ambitious and self-interested individuals, who, by exciting the latent national prejudices of the majority against their fellow-subjects of a different origin, can, as appears from late events, lead them astray by specious though perfectly unfounded representations addressed to their prejudices and passions. ■■ i •; . ■ - ;.■■'■. in i "■ By these means the party in the Assembly already alluded to, lias acquired a dangerous ascendency over this class of the popu- lation, and the result of the late elections evinces that they will use it for the purpose of securing the return of such persons only as will act in subservency to them. Upon that occasion, it is notorious, that no other qualification was asked or required from candidates, than an implicit acquiescence in the views and wishes of the party as expressed in the Resolutions of the As- sembly to be presently adverted to. "While the Representation of the Province continues on such a footing, with the concentration of power incident to it, expe- rience has shewn that there can be no hope of a fair and impar- tial administration of the powers of Government, and there is too much reason to apprehend that in a body so constituted, the public and general interests of the Province, Commercial and Agricultural, will continue to be overlooked and neglected, or subjected to injurious regulations, its improvement obstructed and retarded, and the whole internal Government of the Pro- vince deprived of the Legislative superintendance and provisions which are necessary for its efficiency, and the promotion of the general welfare. II such The political evils arising- from the constitution and composi- tion of the Assembly have been greatly increased and aggravated by the Act of the Imperial Parliament placing at the disposal of the Assembly, absolutely and unconditionally as is understood by that body, the important Revenue by means of which the Civil Expenditure of the Province was previously defrayed. By this increase to the power derived from great numerical superiority in the Assembly, have been superadded the irresisti- ble weight and influence necessarily conjoined with the exclusive power of appropriating the Revenues absolutely and indispensa- bly requisite for defraying the Civil Expenditure of the Pro- vince, by means of which the Executive Government has been rendered entirely dependent on the will and pleasure of the leaders in the Assembly for its very existence, and public authority, both administrative and judicial, from the Governor in Chief and the Chief Justice of the Province to the most humble individual in the scale of office, has been subjected to their interested, partial, vindictive, or capricious control. If a.iy doubt could heretofore have been entertained as to the design and tendency of the proceedings of these men, that doubt must have been removed by the Resolutions passed in the Assembly on the 21st day of February, 1834, containing divers false and scandalous imputations, of so general a nature as not to admit of answer or investigation, against the character and conduct of His Majesty's Government in this Province, — aga'iiSt the whole body of its Officers, Civil and Military, — against the Judiciary and the second Branch of the Provincial Legislature, — against a large portion of the Inhabitantj of the Colony en- gaged solely in the duties and pursuits of private life, and against the British Government generally as respects this Province since the Cession of Canada to His Majesty by the Crown of France. These Resolutions passed by a majority of 56, of whom 51 were Members of French origin, against 24, of whom 17 were not of that origin : They formally class and enumerate His Majesty's subjects in this Province as persons of " French origin" and of " British or Foreign origin," the former of whom are erroneously stated as consisting of 525,000 and the latter of 75,000 souls. The Address to His Majesty and to the two Houses of Parliament, wherein these Resolutions are embodied, and which have been transmitted to England, claims a revision and modifi- cation, by the majority of the people of this Province, of the I It Constitutional Act ; an extension of the elective system contrary to the prerogative of the Crown and tlie British Constitution, for the purpose of vesting the appointment to offices of honor and profit in the said majority of the people ; the election of the second Branch of the I^egislature, now appointed by the Crown for life, in virtue of the aforesaid Act; threatening at the same time the British Government and Parliament with the example of the late Colonies now the United States of America, and ins: ting upon being supported in the demands contained in the said Resolutions, that the people of this Province " may not be " forced by oppression to regret their dependence on the British " Empire, and to seek elsevvliere a remedy for their afflictions." In furtherance of the views of the framers of the said Reso- solutions and Address, the said Resolutions were, shortly after the close of the last Session'of the Provincial Parliament, printed and distributed in great numbers throughout the Province at the public expense; and certain Committee were therein invited to be formed, to aid in giving effect to the same, under a pledge of the honor of the Representatives of the People, to reimburse the expenses of the said Committees to them, or to such persons as might advance money to them. . The party already referred to, composed of certain Members of the House of Assembly, of French origin, has for several years past, as already stated, and as is well known, taken ad- vantage of every opportunity, — 'both by speeches delivered in the House of Assembly and elsewhere, and through means of newspapers under their eontroul, to excite the ancient national prejudices of the inhabitants who are of French origin, against their fellow-subjects who are not of that origin ; and particularly by the aforesaid Resolutions, printed and distributed as aforesaid^ and by Meetings and Committees in support thereof, they have in fact so operated upon the prejudices of persons of their origin, as to excite a great number of them to frequent public expressions of hatred, and threatened violence to those not of the same national origin. In consequence of these machinations and others connected with and resulting from them, it has come to pass, as might have been looked for under such circumstances, that at the late General Election, (as the Poll Books kept of record according to Law will shew,) majorities consisting of persons of French origin have chosen nearly the whole of the Members who are to compose the House of Assembly for the ensuing four years, of persons of that origin who have publicly approved of the said Resolutions, or pledged themselves to their support. 18 As subordinate to the grievances now stated, but contributing- materially to the political evils of the Province, other Def)art- inents of the Government may be mentioned as to which mea- sures of reform are urgently called for. The system of Judica- ture as now established, it is universally known, is altogether insufficient and unsuited to the present state and condition of the Province. From the great extension of the Settlements, and the increase of population in diflferent Districts, the Courts of original Jurisdiction have become inaccessib'e to the Inha- tants at a distance from them, otherwise than at a ruinous expense, involving in many cases a denial or failure of .Justice; while the Court of Appeals from its peculiar constitution is unfit for the exercise of the powers with which it is entrusted. That a system of such vital importance to the public welfare, and yet so inju- riously defective and inadequate, should have continued without alteration or improvement, is among the striking evidences of the imperfect exercise of powers entrusted to the Provincial Legislature. In every well regulated Government, it is essential that the Executive authority should be aided by the advice of able and well informed individuals, acting together and in a body, by which sound discretion, uniformity, consistency and system are imparted to its measures. Among Colonial Governments, which are generally administered by persons labouring under the dis- advantage of a deficiency of local information, assistance of this nature is indispensable for the attainment of the ends of good Government. This body of advisers ought to be found in the Executive Council of the Province; but its Members are too few in number, and its composition too defective to answer the purposes of its institution. ,.-. .,,, / , . •., Whilst the greatest importance ought to be attached to the selection of fit persons tor Seats in the Legislative Council, it is indispensably necessary for the stability of the Government {IS now constituted, and for the security of His Majesty's Sub- jects within the Province, that the power of appointing Mem- ber to that Branch of the F^egislature should continue to reside exclusively in the Crown, but subject to such regulations as may be deemed proper for ensuring the appointment of fully quali- fied persons. Under the foregoing view of the political state of the Pro- vince, the object of the Constitutional Association of Quebec will be. By Constitutional means — ''^^ ^ ' 1st. To obtain for persons of British and Irish origin, and others His Majesty's subjects labouring under the same priva- % I II ■m 14 turn of common rlt>lits, a fair and reasonal)le proportion of the Representation in the Provincial Assembly. •2nd. To obtain such reform in the system of Judicature and the A iministraiion of Justice as may adapt them to the present state of the Province. Ord. To obtain such a composition of the Executive Council as may impart to it the efficiency and weight which it ought to possess. 4th. To resist any appointment of Members of the Legisla- tive Council otherwise than by the Crown, but subject to such regulations as may ensure the appointment of fit persons. 5th. To use every effort to maintain the connection of this Colony with the Parent State, and a just subordination to its authority. 6th. To assist in preserving and maintaining peace and good order throughout the Province, and ensuring the equal rights of His Majesty's subjects of all classes. Now WB, whose names are undersigned, taking the premises into our serious consideration, do hereby form ourselves into a Constitutional Association for the purposes stated in the fore- going Declaration, and for mutual support in the discharge of the duties of our allegiance to His Majesty, as lawful Sovereign of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, and of this Province, dependant on and belonging to the said Kingdom. Declaring that we wish for no preferences or advantages over our fellow subjects of whatever national origin, nor for any in- fringement of the rights, laws, institutions, privileges and im- munities, civil or religious, in which those of French origin may be peculiarly interested, and to which they are entitled, or which they enjoy under the British Government, and the established Constitution; desiring merely for ourselves the enjoyment of equal rights with our fellow subjects, and that permanent peace, security and freedom for our persons, opinions, property and in- dustry which are the common rights of British Subjects. And in furtherance of the purposes aforesaid, to the utmost of our power, we hereby pledge ourselves to each other, and to our fellow subjects throughout the Empire. Quebec, December, 1834. :il in- 15 List of Counties, Towns and Borou;i;Ii9 sendinof Members to the House of Assembly under the Kepresentntion Act, sanctioned by the King' in Council, 17th Aii;fust 1820, with the numbers sent by each, shewinif the probable Population of " French oriifin" and "British or Foreiffu origin" in each, founded on tlie Returns of Rcli;rions Denominations in the Census of 1H3I : the number of Members elected in 1830 and ISSl, who acted with the Leaders of the majority in the Assembly of French origin, or who are pledged to act with that majority, and also the num> ber of Independent Members. •»• Qunliflcaiions of Electors, by the Conslitiitional Act. 7> Geo. III. c. ,'^1,— 4ns. I''rtftfholders in the Country ; in the Towns, real piuperty £o ycaily value, and iluusu- holders paying ^10 yearly rent. By UepVe«entation Act; Counties hnving lOUO population, and under 40UO, send one Mvmlier; 4000, and upwards, two. I'OJ'UI-ATlON.j MKMHEKS ELECTED .•.■:.'? -J- ■: ;■'*":':'■ 14MP,(»7 1830 1 l5en Members.— t)np of them i« pledged to the French leaders, and two, mnking three in all, are supposed to be favorable lo their views. Where the two riasseii of the population are neatly equal, those of " French origin" have the majority, by reason of those of ' British origin" being many of them but new settlers. The Statement of the Population of the different Counties is founded on the Census of 1831. The Population not of French origin is taken from the Return of Protestants; there being none of tha\; denomination of French origin in Lower Canada. — To the Protestant population returned in the French Counties, is added in those of them where there are British or Irish settlements an equal number for Irish Catholics, which by actual enumerations made, are known to surpass in number the Protestants of the new Settlements, in these Counties. There is an omission of 33,748 in the religious denominations of the Census, which probably consists of persons not of French origin; as the Census in the French Counties, was generally made by French Canadians, who knew that their countrymen are all Catholics, and would return them as such. If all Roman Ca- tholics, returned, were of French origin, the population in 1830, would stand Of French origin 403,472 Not of French origin 108,445 But it is certain that a great many of the Irish Catholics have been included in the Returns of the Catholic Population, and ought to be deducted and added to the Population not of French origin. "Where no Returns of the Religious denominations are made in the Census of 1831, such as Rimouski, &c. the Population not of French origin, is taken from the tesmtiony of persons ac- quainted with those Counties, and the British and Irii^h Settle- ments in them. It will be observed that the Statement of the Population in the foregoing Table refers to S831. — The increase since, of persons not of French origin, has been much more rapid than that of French origin, in consequtjnce of Emigration. The present Population may be taken at, in round numbers: Of French origin Not of French origin , .400,000 .150,000 This ought to give the latter twenty-four Members of their otvn choice, even taking Population for the sole basis of Repre- sentation. — They have only fourteen, eight nominally not of French origin not being of their choice, but chosen by a ma- jority of !L.iectors of French origin, and pledged to the leaders of that party. N. B. — The words " French origin" and " British or Fo- reign origin," have been used, as being those of the 75th Reso lution of the French majority in the Assembly, of the 21st February 1834. Quebec, December, 1834. ' , f r r XT :> ,v\):}':'\'-'iii .\ .lb :;i:ni -bti h •;'■ ;;-/i :i .«»#:-*i^ 'lin^h / v}t't«f- 'j.'fe:'>f' ^;;,i^i. " •l I f.l ,1 7. >'■}• CC] ( ; • ■ t < 1 1 '. ' ' •' V . : -', 4 ' , • - J .... ' 1 j'*< . Mi' < •» . TO THE KING'S MOST EXCELLENT MAJESTY. iriM L •;■,> THE PETITION OF THE UNDERSIGNED INHABITANTS OP LOWER-CANADA, Humbly shevvetli, <:Ji' ,■ ut^V I,? That Your Petitioners, deeply sensible of their obligations as Subjects of Your Majesty, and of the many and important ad- vantages which they enjoy in common with their fellow-subjects in this Province, are devoted to the maintenance of its connexion with Great Britain and Ireland, and the Empire of which it is their pride and happiness to form a part. That among the advantages to be derived from this conne;xion, there is none which they more highly prize, than that settled Government, Constitutional freedom and security of person and property, which the experience of ages has proved pre-eminently to distinguish the British Constitution of Government, firmly supported as it has been, by the intelligence and wisdom of a public spirited and patriotic People. That the gratitude of Your Petitioners is justly due to the British Parliament for the Act passed in the thirty-first year of the Reign of His late Majesty George the Third, for making further provision for the Government of this Province. That it was manifestly intended by the said Act, to secure to all Your Majesty's Subjects therein, the benefits of the British Constitution of Government, in so far as the circumstances of the Colony would permit, and as was consistent with its depend- ance on the Parent State, and a just subordination to its au- thority. That it is with the deepest regret Your Petitioners have perceived, by the experience of the forty-two yeprs during which the said Act has been in force, that various causes have 19 come into operation, which have materially diminished, and now threaten to destroy, the benefits intended. ■ > / . . When Canada was ceded to the British Crown by the Treaty of Paris in 1763, it contained a population of about sixty thousand souls who had been Subjects of His Most Christian Majesty. In virtue of the Capitulation of Canada in one thousand seven hundred and sixty, this population became British Subjects, and were maintained in their property, and by the Act of the British Parliament of tl.e fourteenth George the Third, chapter eighty- three, the laws, usages and customs of Canada were contmued to them ; and, in other respects they have become entitled to the enjoyment of all rights, liberties and franchises which belong to or have been granted to the Inhabitants of this Province. That the said Inhabitants, formerly Subjects of His Most Christian Majesty, and their descendants, under tae protection of the said laws and privileges, have since increased to the number of four hundred thousand souls, and retained every characteristic of a distinct people ; while those of Your Majesty's subjects who have come into ond settled in this Province from other parts of Your Majesty's dominions, as well as their des- cendants, now amounting to about one hundred and fifty thousand souls, having retained a character equally distinct. In such circumstances. Your Petitioners humbly conceive, that under whatever form of Government the Colony might have been placed, the utmost discretion, liberalit}'^ and mutual forbearance, were necessary to prevent the ordinary competi- tions of life from disturbing the harmony of society, endangering the public peace, and injuriously affecting the general welfare. Your r*etitioners cheerfully bear testimony to the excellent character of the great body of their fellow-subjects of French origin ; to their tried fidelity to the British Government, and their just claims to Your Majesty's gracious favour and protec- tion : But when to the unavoidable sources of collision afore- mentioned, were added those inseparable from the contensions of popular Assemblies, and the ambition of their leajJing mem- bers, depending for their political existence, personal import- ance, and the effecting of their views, on the suffrages of the majority of the people, the danger of excitements and collisions between the two populations beforementioned became imminent. It had besides unfortunately happened that the French Col- onists of Canada had no share or influence in its Legislation and Government while it belonged to France. Their descendants 20 were not therefore trained by experience, education and habits for a Government of a more popular form. They were witliout a sufficient rumber of men of cnlargi,>d and liberal views em- bracing all interests in the Colony and its relations with the Parent State, to discharge the high and important functions of Legislators ; and the events of war had left among the people feelings and prejudices, apprehensions and jealousies, r^ot easily to be eradicated under the Government of a people with whom they had so frequently been involved in hostilities. In consequence of these circumstances, and the liberal pro- visions of the aforementioned Acts of the British Parliament, the Constitution of the Representative Branch of the Govern- ment of the Province entirely depended upon the majority of the population of French origin, and the whole powers of that Branch inevitably fell into their hands, or rather into the hands of the leading men amongst them, who, in many instances, par- ticipated in the popular prejudices, jealousies and suspicions against the population not of their origin. The evils arising from this state of things, have been greatly increased and aggravated by the Act of the Imperial Parliament placing at the disposal of the Assembly, absolutely and uncon- ditionally, as it is understood by that body, the important Revenue by means of which the Civil Expenditure of the Pro- vince was previously defrayed. By this increase to the power derived from great numerical superiority in the Assembly, have been superadded the irresistible weight and influence necessarily conjoined with the exclusive power of appropriating the Revenues indispensably requisite for defraying the Civil Ex- penditure of the Province, by means of which the Executive Government has been rendered entirely dependent on the will and pleasure of the leaders in the Assembly for its very exis- tence, and public authority, both administrative and judicial, from the Governor-in-Chief and the Chief Justice of the Pro- vince to the most humble individual in the scale of office, has been subjected to their interested, partial, vindictive, or capri- cious control. Your Petitioners have seen with sincere regret and alarm, that tlie powers of the Assembly have been exercised by the leaders in that body, with a spirit of decided hostility to Your Majesty's Government, of disregard for the peace and welfare of the Pro- vince, and with ill disguised projects of exclusion and proscrip- tion against Your Majesty's Subjects not of their national origin, and even against those of their own origin, who were not disposed to support them in their unjust and pernicious views. i s^ Vour Potitiuiiers humbly represent, that at the late General Election this spirit of exclusion and proscription has been carried to the extent, that ulthoujj;h the po)>ulation not of French origin, amounts to more than one fourth of the popuhuion, it han not been able to return more than fourteen Members of the choice of the Electors, or representing^ their views and interests, out of a House composed of ei^hty-ci^ht Members, and that the whole of the population not of French origin in the Cities and (lounties of Quebec and Montreal, although they nearly equal the French population in number, have not been able to return one Member of their choice, out of twelve. This result, which in fact leaves a population having great and permanent interests in the Province, and contributing a very large {)roportion of the Public Revenue, without even the power of >eing heard in the Legislature of the Country by any person of their choice or responsible to them, has been facilitated by an unjust and faulty distribution of the elective franchise; by in- cluding the new and growing Settlements of persons not of French origin in Counties where that origin predominates, and where their votes are lost ; and by the incessant and systema- tic efforts of the leading characters in the House of Assembly of French origin, to depress and vilify the population not of their origin, with a manifest tendency to subject their persons and property, and the whole country, to the arbitrary rule and con- trol of these characters, through the instrumentality of a majority acting and held together under the impulses of national preju- dices and feelings. \ It is with the deepest regret and and alarm that Your Peti- tioners have witnessed the progress of the various attempts made in the House of Assembly, tending to the aforementioned purposes, as recorded in the Journals of that House : They have refused or neglected to co-operate in the gracious and beneficent intentions of Your Majesty's Government, for the redress of grievances, the remedy of abuses, and for the ad- vancement of the public prosperity ; they have vilified and endeavoured to destroy another and co-ordinate Branch of the Legislature, established under and in virtue of the authority of the aforementioned Act of the British Parliament ; promoted and countenanced tumultuous and riotous assemblies and pro- ceedings; endeavoured to bring the Administration of Justice into contempt; diverted the privileges of the Assembly en- trusted to them for the protection of popular rights, to the destruction of these rights ; they have, avowedly, in their Le- gislative capacity, acted upon distinctions of national origin among Your Majesty's Subjects; have sanctioned these dis- S2 tinctions by their Resolutions of the twenty-first of February, ono thousand eight hundred und thirty-four ; invited the forma- tion of Committees and Conventions ; authorized them to con- tract loans on the eve of a General Election ; pledged the honor of the Representatives of the People to pay tlie expenditures of these Committees und Conventions out of the Public Monies ; and publicly threatened to apply elsewhere, than to the consti- tuted authorities in the Province, and to the supreme authority of the British Parliament, for a remedy of alledged grievances. Your Petitioners further represent that these proceedings have already entailed heavy losses on Your Petitioners and the Country, by the diminution of confidence in the security of properity and its consequent depreciation in value; by the interruption of useful undertakings; the suspension of public improvements; the decrease of employment; the continuance of various abuses, and the spreading of hatred and ill will, threatening long and fatal dissentions, dangerous to the peace, freedom and prosperity of the Province, and prejudicial to the interests and character of the British Nation and Government. Suffering under and exposed to so many evils, Your Petition- ers cannot even look for consolation and protection to an inde- pendent and well organized administration of justice, which is so essential to the well-being ef every society. The Judges are held in a state of dependence on the House of Assembly for their subsistence, notwithstanding Your Majesty's gracious con- cession that their Commissions should be held during good be- haviour, on their Salaries bein^j permanently provided for. The system of Judicature established by Act of the Provincial Legis- lature in one thousand seven hundred and ninety four, is still maintained, although it has become manifestly unsuited to the present state and condition of the Province. From the exten- sion of the Settlements and the increase of the population, the Courts of original Jurisdiction have become inaccessable to the inhabitants at a distance from them, otherwise than at a ruinous expense, involving in many cases, a denial or failure of justice; while the Court of Appeals, from its peculiar constitution, is unfit for the exercise of the powers with which it is entrusted. Your Petitioners observe with regret, in the present state of the Province, that the Executive Council, both as respects the number of its members and its composition, is too defective to answer the purposes of its institution. In every well regulated Government, ifour Petitioners most humbly conceive, that the Executive Authority should be aided by the advice of able and well-informed individuals acting together in a body, by which 23 sound digcretion, uniformity, consiHtcney and Mystem urc impart- ed to its measures; niid that among Culonial Guvurnmcnts, wliic!i arc generally administered i)y persons labouring uiulcr the disad- vantage of a deficiency of local information, assistance A 'iiis nature is indispensable to the ends of good (rovernmei«t. Whilst the greatest importance ought to be attached to the selection of fit persons for Seats in the Legislative Council, it is indispensably necessary for the stability of the Oovernment and the security of His Majesty's Subjects within the Province, that the power of appointing Members to that Branch of the Legis* lature, should continue to reside, exclusively, in the Crown, out subject to such regulations as may be deemed proper, for ensu- ring the appointment of fully qualified persons. Your Petitioners, confiding in Your Majesty's wisdom and paternal regard for all Your Majesty's Subjects} Humbly pray : ;. •: That Your Majesty would be graciously pleased to take the premises into consideration, that justice be done therein; and, particularly, that they be secured in their just right of a fair and equitable Representation in the Provincial Assembfy» and otherwise protected in their rights as British Sub- jects, and in the full enjoyment of Constitutional Government. And Your Petitioners, as in duty bound, will ever pray. Province of Lower-Canada, 1835 J -':'4' f ■'1 A 11 ■f . \i'-A [D.J TO THE EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE OF THE QUEBEC CONSTITUTIONAL ASSOCIATION. ifij. Tho undersijifnod, appointed at a public meeting of the members of the Constitutional Association of Quebec, on the 19th March iRSt, Agent for ' the Petitioners to the Kinsf and the two Houses of Parliament of the United Kii '^dom, praying for a redress of grievances, and to be secured aud protected in their just rights as British Subject^; and who was also charged vJth divers other Petitions, from different parts of the Province, entrusted to the said Association, submits the following REPORT: That he proceeded from Quebec on the 3rd April last, by the Kennebec Road, in the intention of meeting at New- York William Walker, Es^ui ^, appointed Agent to the Petitioners in the District of Montreal, to sail 4ur Liverpool in the packet-ship of the 16th April. He was much delayed by the state of the roads at that season, by the circumstance of his being obliged to hire extra carriages for three heavy cases of papers, books, and documents, furnished by the Committee : — He, however, arrived at New- York in time for the sailing of the packet, and haying learned by the newspapers that a Commissioner was appointed in England to proceed to Canada, he held a consultation with Mr. Walker, the result of which was that they had no discretion to exercise on such infor- mation, but that they ought to proceed to England, according to their instructions, aud present the Petitions with which they were entrusted. The Agents on their arrival at Liverpool on the 8tb May, lost no time in clearing their luggage at the Custom-IIouse, and proceeding to London; but they found it expedient to leave the three cases containing the Quebec Petitions, books, and printed papers, to be forwarded under the Custom House seal to London, in the hope of obtaining them without the heavy duty payable on books and printed papers. The Agents arrived in London on the 1 0th, and the next day, after com- municating with the Chairman of the North American Colonial Association, (with any Agent which the Association might appoint they were instructed to co-operate,) they addressed a letter to Lord Glenelo, the r^^cently ap- pointed Secretary of State for the Colonial Department, requesting to be informed when it would be convenient for his Lordship to receive them with the Petitions with which they were entrusted. He fixed the next day, at half-past one o'clock, when the Agents attended, with the Montreal and Ottawa Petitions, that of Quebec being still at the Custom House.—' They explained the difference between tht Montreal and Quebec Petitions, and mentioned, briefly, the state of affairs in the Province referred to in the Petitions. They offered to substantiate, bv authentic documents, all the allegations of the Petitioners. His Lordship informed them that after considering the Petitions he would be able to speak more fully on the subject. 25 lEC ■1*1 1 of th« gent for t of the 1 to be t9; and !0t parts Lennebec £sc||ui \ » sail iur I, bj the ee heavy ce : — He, ;ket, and Dinted in LKER, the ich infor- to their sted. no time London ; e Quebec Custom Bavy duty ifter com- isooiation, instructed cently ap- tingr to be sive them the next Montreal House. — Petitions, 1 to in the ts, all the that after ly on the On the 13th May the Agents attended a meeting of the Committee of the Korth American Colonial Association, when Alexander Gillespie, Junior, Esquire, their Chairman, was appointed to act with the Agents, as represent- ing the interests of the persons in London engaged in, the trade of the Colonies. The Quebec Petitions and documents were received from the Custom House on the 15th May, on paying the duties, which course was deemed best, to avoid further delays; — on the I8th, Mr. Gillespie, Mr. Walker, and Mr. Neilson waited on Lord Glenelg, by appointment, to present it. On the 2l8t they waited on his Lordship, by his desire, and n^ain on the -22nd. Sir George Grey and Mr. Stephens, Under-Secretaries of State, were present at these interviews, and the Agents entered generally into the contents of the Petitions. They urged strongly on his Lordship, that the party of which the Petitioncis complained, had for several years past appealed to the Imperial Parliament for the settlement of the affairs of the Province, — that they had been heard, and produced evidence before a Committee of the House of Commons ; — that those whose Petitions were before his Lordship, had not l> '>n heard, or any one on their part; — that they formf' a large portion of the industrious inhabitants of the Colony, oniy desirous of being protected and secured in their just rights as British Sub- jects, under the Constitution as by law established, in the Colony, with quiet and good Government, and the advancement of the public prosperity ; that they were now prepared to substantiate all the allegations of the Peti- tioners, and submit to the final decision of the British Government and Parliament. That if further delay was deemed necessary, they demanded as their right, in the mean time, an efficient Colonial Government under the King, and an independent administration jf justice. Lord Glenelg intimated that he would see them again with some of his colleagues. On the 1st June the Agents met Lord Glenelg, by appointment, at Lord Melbourne's office. There were present Lord Melbourne, (Prime Minister,) Lord Glenelg, and Mr. Spring Rice, (Chancellor of the Exchequer.^ The Agents again entered, generally, into the contents of the Petitions, as at the interviews at the Colonial Office. Lord Melbourne informe.i them that their decision would be made known by the Colonial Secretary. On the 12th June it was announced by Lord Glfnelo in the House of Lords, in answer to a question by the Earl of Aberdeen, that Government had decided to follow up the measure of their pt edecessors in office, by sending out a Commission, to enquire into complaints from the Colony. Similar information was communicated to the Agents on the 13th by Lord Glknelg, at an interview at the Colonial Office, and it was added, that such being the case, it was not deemed necessary to enter into a formal enquiry in London, but that the complaints of the Petitioners would be enquired into on the spot. The Agents again insisted upon an efficient Government and an independent administration of justice in the Colony in the mean time. — They also intimated that they might have occasion for a further interview, which his Lordship fixed for the Tuesday following, the I6th, at two o'clock. One of the objects for which Messrs. Walker and Neilson had requested this interview, was to ascertain, after consulting with some friends, whether Government would countenance any proceedings in Parliament on Canada affiiirs before the Commission had reported. When they attended, according to appointment, they put the question to His Lordship, and his answer was, that Government would not. Mr. Neilson then mentioned to Lord Glenelc several matters not coming directly within the prayer of the Petitions, but on which the prerogative and influence of the Crown might be exer- cised for the welfare and security of the North American Colonies, parti- 26 cularly. Ist — The removing; of all obstacles and facilitating; the settlement of the Waste Lands. 2nd — Bringing' the boundary question to a speedy conclusion. 3rd — Extendiu^ the facilities to the trade of the Colonies tvith each other and with the adjoining States. 4th — Guarding against the danrror of the introduction of a depreciated Currency, which had become im- minent from the late regulations and measures in the United States. 5th— Extending protection to the remains of the Indian Tribes within His Majesty's North American Dominions. Gth — Quieting.aU apprehensious of interference with the institutions of Lower Canada as secured by the Act of 1774. In the whole of the intercourse of the Agents with the Co'onial Se- cretary, they found him, as well as the Assistant Secretaries, disposed to do justice to the Colonists without distinction of party or class, and it appeared to thorn that the first fiOrd of the Treasury and the Chancellor of ta*s Exchequer entertained similar feelings. The Agent cannot express this part of his report more exactly than in his letter to the Secretary of the Committee, dated, London, 19th June, \8o5 :— " At this interview Lord Olenelo met us alone, and as has been the case " throun^hout, he listened with great apparent attention to what we had to " say; but has maintained the utmost reserve as to the opinions of Gov- *' etnment on the differences in the Colony, and we have not thought it " proper en our part, to put any question having a tendency to affect that " character of impartiality which it is, no doubt, the wish as well as the " duty of the Government to maintain, pending the enquiry." The Agents acquainted Lord Glbnelg at this interview, that till the course of Government was known, they had deferred presenting th«;ir letters of introduction to several Members of Parliament, but that now they would deliver these letters, and take steps to have their Petitions presented to both Houses, without, however, wishing in any degree, to thwart the measures of the Governmeat. In accordance with the opinion given to Mr. Gillespie by his constituents, the Agents addressed a note to Sir Hobeut Peel, (late Premier,) and Lord Aberdeen, (late Colonial Secretary,) with copies of the Petitions confided to them, requesting an interview. It was fixed at Sir Robert's house, for the 8.Srd June, at eleven o'clock, when all the Agents attended. Sir Robert and Lord Aberdeen expressed a warm interest and the most liberal views, with reg'ard to Canada and the Colonies generally. They approved of pre- senting the Petitions, without any view of opposing the Government.— After this interview, the Agents severally applied to Lord Ripon to present the Quebec Petitions to the Lords, and to Mr. E. Dennison, Member for Nottinghamshire, who was of the Canada Committee of 1828, and formerly travelled in Canada, to present the same to the Commons. The Duke of Richmond and Lord Sandon, Member for Liverpool, and also of the Canada Committee of 1828, were applied to for the Montreal Petitions, and all the Petitions were presented accordingly. These gentlemen were separately supplied with memoranda, stating the number of signatures and the pre- cautions which had been taken, by circulating printed notices, not to admit of any 8igne"s under the militia age. The whole number of Peti- tioners, (with those subsequently received,) expressing nearly the same sentiments, inci..ding Ottawa and Beauharnois, (presented before,) amounted to about twenty thousand, in the Cities and Counties of Quebec and Mont- real, the Town of Three Rivers, the Borough of William Hen.y, and in Settlements in almost every County of the Province, excepting in the District of Gaspe. I 27 The Agent for Quebec was called before the Committee of the House of Commons, sittinff on the Timber Trade, by a notice from the Board of Trade. No contemplated alteration of the Timber Duties was positirelv known at Quebec, when he was despatched on the 3rd April. Several notices of motions bv Mr. Roebuck, Member for Bath, were on the Books of the House of Commons, when he arrived in England, for equalizing the Duties on Canada and Baltic Timber, but they were di opped, and linally a Com- mittee was appointed on motion of Mr. C. Poulbtt Thomson, Presidert of the Board ot Trade. Mr. Neilson appeared before the Committee 0.1 the 30th June and 1st July, and he had no hesitation in giving in to the Com- mittee, documents relating to the capital and property depending on the Trade in Lower Canada, with which he had been furnished, in support of the Petitions of which he was the bearer, besides giving such other information regarding the extent and character of the Trade, as was within his knowledge. On the 10th July, he addressed a letter to Lord Gi.enelg, Secretary to the Colonial Department, and to several Members of Parliament whom ho had seen, and were known to take much interest in the welfare of the Colonies. From the before-mentioned letter, the following is an extract : — " I beg leave, at present, more particularly to call your attention to the Timber question, now before a Committee of the House of Commons* " It was not expected when I left Quebec in the beginning of April last» that this question would be agitated this Session. We thought the last alter.'ition of the duties, after the general peace in Europe, wac 4 i^sj-ri «.»r" *' In truth, the inhabitants of Lower Canada, nine-tenths of whom are agriculturalists, have always depended for a supply of every thing but food and some coarse clothing of family manufacture, on exports produced by some other employments. In early times it was hunting and fishing ; latterly, getting out, preparing and shipping timber and lumber. " This country has suffered the United States' people to occupy the fisheries, and an Act of Parliament passed some years ago, turned the fur trade to Hudson's Bay. " An alteration of the duties now, would leave the inhabitants of the British North American Colonies in a worse situation than thosr of the United States. It is a fact, that lumber brings a higher price in the American seaports than at Quebec, and that the wages of labour are higher in the adjoining States than in the Canadas. This* is a state of things which British subjects in the Colonies ought not to see increased. 86 *< It is hardly neeeaaary for me to point out to you the importanco of the Korth American Provinces to this country. As a commeroial position, they afford an inlet to British manufactures and trade to the United Btatec, independent of that power ; as a naval station, they command the trade to Europe of nearly all America, for the trade winds and *:he n^ulf stream will alwBvs force this trade to pass near Nova-Scotia and the Banks of New- foundland. The possession of the Colonies by the United States would give them harbours, coal and timber, in which they are deficient, and enable them to command the trade of nearly all America to Europe, and engross the Newfoundland fisheries. England would become dependent on foreign powers for timber, and lose an important nursery for seamen, without which she would be reduced to the rank of a secondary power, after having been so long the dread and envy of them all. ** I should flatter myself that the interests of the Colonies and the power of England will not be sacrificed to a spirit of innovation, or of theories which ought rather to be tested by experience at home, under the eye of the legislators, than in the Colonies, who are not represented in Parliament, and whose sufferings cannot directly reach those who make the experi- ment. " An alteration in the timber duties, which would diminish the competition with foreigners and the quantity in the market, could hardly benefit the consumer in this country, as it would assuredly raise the price of the article." The Agent cannot close his Report without acknowledging the ready attention of all public men in England to whom he had occasion to apply on the business of his mission, the zealous and able co-operation of Alexander Gillespie, Junior, Esquire, Chairman of the North American Colonial As- sociation, appointed to act with the Agents from Canada, and the ready aod friendly assistance of every person connected with the Colonies with whom he had any intercourse, in London and the other great marts of trade in the three kingdoms. He has also to acknowledge the valuable and cordial co-operation of.WiLUAM Walker, Esquire, Agent for the Montreal Association. The Agent has delivered to the Treasurer of the Association, Alexander Simpson, Esquire, a statement of his disbursements during his mission. Their actual amount, for all expenses, is £329 Ms. Id. sterling, out of the j£624 sterling, which was put at his disposal. He drew or received JE384 sterling, £36 14«. 5d. of which was left in London, to be accounted for; and he has repaid to the Treasurer £17 8<. the balance of cash in hand. All which k humbly submitted. Carovge, 25th Notbmbbr, 1835. J. NEILSON. 4i\ ■VHVN