N IMAGE EVALUATION TEST TARGET (MT-3) 1.0 1.1 Hf li£ 12.0 I ^ '/a w "y^ ^^^ ^ y / yw Photographic Sciaices Corporatton 23 WIST MAIN STRUT WIBSTfR,N. '. MSW (716) •72-4503 V ^. 4^ CIHM/ICMH Microfiche Series. CIHM/ICMH Collection de microfiches. Canadian Institute for Historical Microraproductions / Institut Canadian da microraproductioni historiquas Technical and Bibliographic Notas/Notas tachniquas at bibliographiquas Tha Instituta has attamptad to obtain tha bast original copy availabia for filming. Faaturas of this copy which may ba bibliographically uniqua. which may altar any of tha imagas in tha raproduction, or which may significantly changa tha usual mathod of filming, ara chackad balow. D D D D D D D Colourad covars/ Couvertura da coulaur I I Covars damagad/ Couvartura andommagtia Covers restored and/or laminated/ Couverture restaurie et/ou pellicula I I Cover title missing/ Le titre de couverture manque I I Coloured maps/ Cartes giograpiiiquas en coulaur Coloured inic (i.e. other than blue or black)/ Encre de couleur (i.e. autrr que bleue ou noire) I I Coloured plates and/or illustrations/ Planches et/ou illustrations en couleur Bound with other material/ RaliA avac d'autras documents Tight binding may cause shadows o> distortion along interior margin/ La re liure serrde peut causer de I'ombre ou de la distortion le long de la marge int^rieure Blank leaves added during restoration may appear within tha text. Whenever possible, these have been omitted from filming/ II se peut que certaines pages blanches ajout^as lors d'une restauration apparaissant dans la taxte. mais. lorsque cela itait possible, ces pages n'ont pas 6t^ fiim^as. Additional comments:/ Commentairas supplimentairas: L'Institut a microfilm* le maillaur exemplaira qu'll lui a AtA possible da sa procurer. Las details da cat axamplaira qui sont paut-Atra uniques du point da vua bibliographiqua. qui pauvant modifier una image raproduite, ou qui pauvant exiger une modification dans la mithoda normala de filmaga sont indiqute ci-dessous. D D n x/ D n D D n Coloured pages/ Pages da couleur Pages damaged/ Pages endommag6as Pages restored and/or laminated/ Pages rastaurias et/ou peiliculies Pages discoloured, stained or foxed/ Pages dAcolor6es. tachatdes ou piquies Pages detached/ Pages dAtachies Showthrough/ Transparence Quality of print varies/ Quaiiti inAgale de I'impression Includes supplementary material/ Comprand du mat6rial supplAmentaira Only edition available/ Seule Edition disponible Pages wholly or partially obscured by errata slips, tissues, etc., have been refilmed to ensure the best possible image/ Les pages totalament ou partieliement obscurcies par un feuillet d'errata, une pelure, etc., ont M film^es A nouveau de fapon i obtanir la meilleure image possible. This item is filmed at tha reduction ratio chocked balow/ Ce document est f ilm* «u taux da rMuction indiqu* ci-dassous. 10X 14X 18X 22X 26X 30X 7 12X 16X aox 24X 28X 32X Thtt copy film«d her* has biMn reproducsd thanks to tha ganarosity of: Library of tha Public Archives of Canada L'axampiaira film* fut raproduit grica k la gAnirosit* da: La bibliothAqua das Archives pubiiques du Canada The images appearing here ere the best quslity possible considering the condition and legibility of the originel copy and in Iceeping with the filming contract specifications. Original copiee in printed paper covera are filmed beginning with the front cover and ending on the last page with a printed or iliuatratad impres- sion, or the bacic cover when app'opriata. All other original copies are filmed beginning on the first page with a printed or illustrated impres- sion, and ending on the last page with e printed or illustrated impression. The last recorded frame on each microfiche shall contain the symbol — ► (meening "CON- TINUED"), or the symbol y (meaning "END"), whichever applies. Les images suivantes ont At* reproduites avec le plus grand soin, compta tenu de ia condition at da la nettetA de I'exempieire fitmA, et en conformity evec les conditions du contrat de filmaga. Lea axempleires originsux dont la couverture en papier est ImprimAe sont filmte en commenpant par la premier plat et en terminant soit par ia darnlAre page qui comporte une empreinte d'impreesion ou d'illustration, soit par le second plat, salon le ces. Tous les autres exemplairas originaux sont filmfo en commen^ant par la pramlAre page qui comporte une empreinte d'impreesion ou d'illustration et en terminant par la darnlAre page qui comporte une telle empreinte. Un des symboles suivants apparaTtra sur la darniAre image de cheque microfiche, seion le cee: le symbols — ► signifie "A SUIVRE", le symbols ▼ signifie "FIN". IMaps, p'ates, charts, etc., mey be filmed at different reduction retios. Those too lerge to be entirely included in one exposure ere filmed beginning in the upper left hend corner, left to righv end top to bottom, as many frames as required. The following diegrems illustrate the method: Les cartes, planches, tableaux, etc., peuvent Atre filmto it des taux de reduction diffArents. Lorsque le document est trop grand pour Atre reproduit en un seul cliche, 11 est filmA A partir de Tangle supArieur gauche, de gauche A droite, et de heut en bas, en prenant le nombre d'imagas nteessaira. Les diagrammes suivants illustrent le mithode. 1 2 3 1 2 3 4 5 6 ^ ."i I Avi'- V.' THE * ■ MACKENZIE HOMESTEAD. .,; .•/ ^Jf'^ ';: ,! ^. i ■"( -■■.:> r'j MINUTES OF PROCEEDINGS ■i. ;ii..i' VI AT TWO MEKTlSGf HELU IN TORONTO, PRHPABATOBT TO AN APPEAL BEINO MADE TO TUE PEOPLE OV CANADA, ON BBHALr OF AN OLD, FAITHFUL, AND TALENTED PUBHO 8EBTANT, '<^v'^limr^ti■: U%>i>tnHmMil::. ,!•• u fs;v WILLIAM LYON MACKENZIE, ESQ., M.P.R; .!» .iiA ">■', ^'.Im-:- ' ..i,i-a<:^ :'.:.' , -IM*--.* 1 a«f „^. WITH TUB „ , . .. ... ADDRESS OF THE CENTRAL COMMITTEE.' /fi«lil«(? TORONTO: :,. £ >?>'i';a'i Fat2fTEi> for THB CBNTBAL COMMITTBB. jr, ," I •;• '1 -ite AmI ^ 1856. , -V- ;- ^- .^-h ' - * ■ * jT ..if. , * . .-•.t, v \ f' I' 'jVt.:? IX. B.— Parties friendly to the olfjeot are requested to organise an active Committee in every city, town, village, or township, and to make retnms to the Treasurer in Toronto, as soon as they have completed their canvass. MACKENZIE HOMESTEAD. PUBLIC MEETING. At a Meeting held at Mr. John Piatt's Inn, Nelson 8treet, Toronto, on Wednesday Evening, March 19th, to take into consideration the providing a Homestead for W. L. Mackknzik, Esq., M.P.P., as a Token of gratitude by the People of Canada, for his unswerving integrity and consistency during a long period of use- ful Public Life — Jamp:s Lksslii:, Esq., was called to the Chair ; and Mr. A. A. IliDDEL was requested to act as Secretary. Moved by Mr. S. Walton, seconded by Mr. R. Stkwart — That a Committee be formed to draft an Address on the subject respecting which this meeting was convened ; and that the Committee call a General Meeting of those friendly to the object, at which meeting said Address shall be presented for consideration. Moved by Mr. D. Campbell, seconded by Mr. J. P. ClIERUY — That said Committee consist of Messrs. Jas. Lesslie, H. II. Brett, W. McDouuall, C. Durand, John Platt, S. Walton, and A. A. Riddel. J. Lesslie, A. A. Riddel, Chairman. Secretary pro tern. At a meeting held at the Mechanics' Institute, Toronto, on Friday evening, April 14th, to receive the Report of the Committee appointed to draft an Address to the People of Canada, on the subject of providing a Homestead for W. L. Mackenzie, Esq., It was moved by C. Durand, Esq., seconded by R. Stewart, Esq. — ^<^ V?' J. That James Lesslie, Es^ , take tho Chair — Carried. Moved by S. Walton, seconded by J. McNab, Esq. — That Mr. A. A. Riddel act as Secretary — Carried. Tho Chairman opened the proceedings by stating the objects of tho meeting. He gave a brief review of the services Mr. Mackenzie had rendered tho country, and urged his claims to its gratitude. He then calVd upon \V. McDougall, Esq., as a member of the Cora- iitittee, to read the Address. Tho Address having been read by Mr. McDougall — The Rev. J. Riciiardson moved its adoption, and Mr. French of Brantford, seconded the motion. Moved by John Hameron, Esq., seconded by Robt. Maitland, Esq. — That the following gentlemen form a Central Coui- niittec, with power to add to their number — namely, Messrs. James Lesplie, R. II. Brett, W. McDougall, John Platt, John Doel, A. McGlashan, S. Walton, Rev. J. Richardson, John McIntosh, Jos. Sheard, John Gibson, and C. Durand. Committee to appoint a Chairman and Secretary, and to solicit tho coopera- tion of friends throughout tho Province. Moved by John McNab, Esq., seconded by Alex. McKiNNON, Esq., of Hamilton — That Jas. Lesslie, Esq., act as Treasurer — Carried. Moved by R. Maitland, Esq., seconded by R. II. Brett, Esq. — That each Committee formed for tho purpose of raising subscriptions, nominate a Delegate ; and that the Delegates so nominated meet at Toronto when notified by the Secretary of the Central Committee, to elect five Trustees, who shall dispose of any funds that may be collected in the manner provided for in tlie Address adopted this evening. . , . , J. Lesslie, A. A. Riddel, .< . Chairman. Secretary jpro tcm. P. S. — At a meeting of the Central Committee Mr. Lesslie was requested to act as Secretary as well as Treasurer. .-• ..,! ..> .i - ■ >.. !■■■':.■■ ;'■.. « ;,. ,_-. f-r ,- TO THE PEOPLE OF CANADA. Fellow CofNTRVMEN; At a time of Prosperity like the present — when Religious and Political Liberty is so largely enjoyed, — it may bo well to look back a few years to a noriod when Prosporitj was unknown in our country, and when Lib- erty may be said to have had no existence. In that retrospect, we shall find ourselves impelled by a sense of duty and of justice to acknowledge our gratitude to those to whom we are chiefly indebted for that Pros- perity, and by whose exertions and sufferings that Liberty has heen secured. Foremost among those to whom the people of Canada are thus indebted, stands that old and faithful Public Servant, that consistent, yet much maligned and perse- cuted Champion of Popular Rights and Honest Govern- ment- — tVil/ium Li/on Mar/cenzir. It may be asked by some. What are the claims which he presents to the gratitude of the people of this Province? It may be answered : If by long years of mental and physical labour, by the contribution of every shilling that the most frugal economy could spare, by the sacrifice of every domestic comfort, of every opportunity of wealth, of even the chance of competence ; if by submitting to the scorn of the proud, the oppressions of the powerful, the insults and bludgeons of ignorant mobs, and often the peril of life itself, in the cause of Freedom, a man can entitle himself to a People's gratitude; then has Mr. Mackenzie a claim upon the people of Canada, which it should be no less their duty than their pleasure to acknowledge and redeem. Let us take a brief glance at the condition of our country prior to his appearance on the political stage, and then note a few incidents in his remarkable career. Such a review is not needed for the information of the old residents of the country, for with them his name is a household word, and his public services a familiar story. But it may serve to shew to young Canadians and to those who have recently settled in the coun- try, how many wrongs have been redressed, how many evils removed, how many advantages gained, how many rights acknowledged, through the efforts and sacrifices of a few patriotic men, among whom Mr. Mackenzie has always held a preeminent place. The war of 1812-15, left Canada in great distress: — her trade interrupted — her industry diverted from its natural channels — her government in the hands of un- sympathising strangers and corrupt placemen — the just claims of her most loyal inhabitants disregarded — her Parliament a political nonentity, having neither the desire nor the power to protect its constituent! or redress the public wrongs. British laws which were appli- cable to the Colonies, and were wisely adapted to promote, the settlement and prosperity of the Province, were boldly abrogated by the Executive, without refer- ess: — om its of un- le just 1— her r the edrcss appli- ted to jitice to Parliament; and the enrly immigrants were exposed to incredible hardships by the mode adopted for laying out and granting the public lands. The state of tlio country at that time is thus described by a cole- lirated British writer of the day, and may b«; considered anything but an exaggerated picture. "The management of Upper Canada from the first settlement to the present day, has been wretched. iVIismanagement in Canada has cost the country (Great Uritain) full thirty millions of money, to say nothing of lives by the thousand. Where is madness to end? Shall we lose hold of an immense dominion from mere weakness ? Shall we drive the most loyal people of the Empire to revolt, and to curse us for ever: or calmly set about investigation, the due ordering of business, and the discharge of honorable and imperious duties?" Such being the state of affairs, need we wonder that men who had freely sacrificed their property and poured out their blood on the field of battle, should evince discontent and demand redress, even at the foot of the throne ? In 1818 public meetings were held in nearly all the settled Townships of Upper Canada, at which resolutions were passed condemnatory of the corrupt practices and arbitrary acts of the Executive authority, and demanding, as the only remedy, a cliango in the system of govern- ment. An address to the Crown was agreed upon at these meetings, in which the local officials were charged with having " long converted the trust reposed in them to purposes of selfishness," and alleging that the restric- tions which the Home Government had found it neces- sary to impose upon them, " did not remove the evil." The people told their Sovereign " that a system of Eatronage and favoritism in the disposal of the Crown lands, altogether destructive of moral rectitude and virtuous feeling in the management of public affairs, still exists;" that "corruption has reached such a height in this Province that it is thought no other part of the British Empire has ever witnessed the like ; "that it is vain to look for improvement till a radical change be effected." They declared that "Upper Canada now pines in comparative decay ; discontent and poverty are ex- perienced in a land supremely blessed with the gifts of nature ; dread of ' arbitrary power prevents the free exercise of reason and manly sentiment ; the laws have been set aside," &c. &c. The arrival of a new Governor, Sir Peregrine Mait- land, inspired hopes of reform. A meeting of Dele- gates assembled at York (now Toronto) agreed to post- pone the address to the Crown, and adopted a petition to the Lieut. Governor, in which the public grievances were stated, and he was rcque?ted to dissolve the then Parliament. He was assured that "notoriously bad characters would no longer be chosen to represent the M people;'* that " rcspectablo men," who lintl hitluTto (liNilainod to sit in a degraded House, " would come forward ;" and the petitioners '• hoped a better era would ronimence." Tho Governor refused to receive the petition, insulted those who waited upon him, and recommended, in his speech to tho Lc((islature, •• a law of l)rcvention" apainst meetings of delegates and "attempts i(» excite discontent." Tho dejfraded i'lirliament re- sponded to His Excellency's request. They passed a law entitled *» An Act for preventing certain Meetings within this Province," popularly known as tin; "Gag- ging Law," which made all assemblies of the people to (liscuss public affairs, and to adopt means for their improvement, "unlawful assemblies," and declared those who should presume to publish a notice of such meet- ings guilty of a "high misdemeanor," and liable to fine and imprisonment. ' Robert Gourlay, an ho>iest, intrej)id IJriton, who had generously aided tho people to miike known their wrongs, and of whom Mr. Mackenzie may be considered the antitype, was arrested and tried for sedition. An lioiiest Jury ac(juitled him; but he was subsecjucntly banished the Province, without trial or conviction by any iegul tribunal. Hy this high-handed stretch of Executive power tho complaints of the people were stifled, and their opposition to the misdeeds and oppres- sions of the (?ovefnment for the inonnMit subdued. (.)ffi- cial corruption and Executive tyranny grew bolder from this apparent triumph, and for a season justice held th»' scales with eyes unbandagcd, and villainy, sustained by power, stalked through the land. The people, however, would not tamely surrender their lights as Hritish subjects. The same Parliament tiiat passed the infamous Gagging Law was obliged, in view of a general election, to repeal it. A large majority of can- didates in opposition to the Provincial Government was returned. Resolutions were passed and addresses voted to the King, against the arbitrary conduct of tho Execu- tive, but no redress could be obtained. The Royal ear was poisoned by official slanders and falsehoods, and the Executive, holding otfico without responsi- bility to Parliament, laughed at the pcopltj's complaints, and defied their opposition. At this daik period of our history William Lyon Mackenzie appeared in the field. To recount all his public services, or to enumerate those only which all impartial men even now admit have produced a marked and decided influence for good upon the destinies of our country, would be to write its political history for the last thirty years. In the year 1824 Mr. Mackenzie commenced his career as a politician. His first newspaper, the Colonial Advocate, was issued at Cluecnston, and subsequently at York. By his bold and vigorous exposure of official cor- ruption he became a terror to tho " Family Compact," then in the hey-day of its power, and an attempt was made in 1826 to silence and crush him, by the destnic- ! - .•I lion of his Press and Types, wliich wore thrown into F^nkc Ontario by the sons and dependants of thof.o whoio dishonest conduct he had brought to light. But this outrage only added fuel to the tiru that burned in the public breast ; it confirmed those who had previously doubted the purity of th»< (Jovernment, and provoked tlioMc who had witnessed its corruption, and felt its oppressions, to a more determined opposition. Mr. Mai- KKNZiK appealed to the law; a verdict against the destroyers of his property was the result, and his newsj)ttper vas soon on its accustomed round, every day eiiliirgiiig the circle of its influence, (n 18!!£7, when the attempt was made to disfranchise a large portion of the population of Upper Canada by the infamous Alien Bill, Mr. Mackenzie took a promment part in the measures th(!n adopted to secure its defeat. By his advice that cruelly-persecuted patriot Rodert Randall, was quietly sent off to England before the Government were aware of the movement; and armed with the remonstrances of a wronged and indignant people, he happily secured its defeat by the veto of the King. In 1H38 he entered the Legislature as one of the representatives of the County of York, and there labored with the same untiring energy as at the press, for the public good. His faithful and vigorous exposures of corruption and maladministration of public affairs led to his being violently expelled from the Assembly no less than five times, but in every case he was again returned tiy overwhelming majorities. It was during this year that the warfare in Canada against Ecclesiastical usurpation and intolerance may be said to have commenced. The attempt to lay broad and deep the foundations of a State Church, by the crafty circulation of false information, relative to the numerical strength and the character of the religious denominations in the Province, among the members of the British Cabinet and Parliament was discovered and exposed. Upwards of fifty witnesses were examined before a Com- mittee of the Provincial Legislative Assembly upon this subject, many of whom were intelligent Episcopalians, and their testimony gave the lie to Doctor Strachari's pre- tended " Ecclesiastical Chart of Upper Canada," and a correct chart was that year transmitted to London, ac- companied by a loyal address from the Assembly, to which no reply, if received by the Upper Canada Execu- tive (of which Doctor Strachan was a member), was ever communicated to the House. Mr. Mackenzie took a very active part at this period in thus endeavoring to arrest the progress of Ecclesiastical intolerance, and to establish universal religious liberty and equality, and his zeal in defence of the cause has never abated during a long and weary warfare of nearly thirty years. Thousands of the inhabitants of Canada are not aware that up to this period (1828) no religious community, except the Church of England, could legally hold a piece of ground as a site for a church or a burial-place, and 8 J Jf.' n 7.. 'f ■ ii tlmt for years afterwards, thr ripht to solemn! zomarriace was denied to all but the ministers of that churrli. Cases are indeed on record of Methodist and Presby- terian ministers havinp been banished from Upper Canada, as dangerous criminals, for simply nnirryinfr members of their own reli>,Mous community! In 1829, Mr. Mackenzie, as ('hairman of the Com- mittee of the Assembly oti I'ost-office Reform, rendered essential service to the country. The department in Canada was then managed entirely by and for the Im- perial Government. Its revenues were kept secret and were grossly misapplied. The local Jjerrislature could not even obtain infornuition deemed necessary for the public welfare. The measures suggested and brought forward by Mr. Mackenzik led the Imperial ( Joverntnenl not only to furnish the financial infornuition rennired, but to ])ass an Act to authorize the re-modelling of the entire system. The draft t)f a Hill was sent out to bi* passed into law by the Upper Canada I'urliament, but althougli tile temptation was held out by the IinperiaKfovernment that Mr. Mackenzie should be Head of the Depp.rtment under the new system, he strenuously opposed the jneasuro because it failed to meet the wants and ex- pectations of the country. This was a noble act of disinterested patriotism, and the people may trace to the action tlien taken by Mr. Mackenzie the wide-spread benefits of our present Postal System. Finding, however, that all efforts to secure reformation through the local Legislature failed; that maladministra- tion continued; that tlie public grievances remained unredressed; and that there was no certainty that the complaints of the people would ever reach the Imperial Authorities, Mr. Mackenzie determined in 1H38 to visit London (England) in person; and as the representative of the people, formally submitted tlieir petitions to the British Cabinet and Parliament. These embraced one to the Iloiise of Commons, with 11, (MX) signatures, besides nearly fifty to llis Majesty King Wm. IV. He was received with much respect and consideration ; and through the aid of the late Joseph Hume, that noble champion of honest government in Britain, notwithstand- ing the opposition of the then Provincial Parliament and Executive, he obtained access to the official records of the Colonial office, the secret financial returns of the Government of Upper Canada, and the Journal of its Executive Council, and by his representations of misrule and corruption, led to some attempts at reformation. By his influence, the Attorney and Solicitors General were dismissed from office by order of the Crown- But these attempts of the Imperial Government were not continued with vigor, and were soon rendered abortive by the powerful oligarchy then ruling the Province. The following extracts illustrate the character and mr nitude of Mr. Mackenzie's labours during that im- portant period: — ' ,i V "_ i' Ii i t' n visit tativ*' to thf one to sides was and noble tand- it and rds of f th.' of its srult^ By were these inued y the and at im- il5 ■A nr.Hr.vTcn oif i.on» oodgricii to iin joiin cotnoiiNa. I > owning Strut, 8is abuse was sanctioned and practised by high legal gentlemen. Mr. M<^ckonzio printed ut his own expense 20U copies of the folio journals of the House, and distributed them at his own cxpcnso all over the province. One copy ho sent to Mr. Morris, who acknow- ledged its receipt, and hu.s this a.^y and on other occasions shewn much feeling against him. A motion was brought on in the House, and Mr. Morris voted him guilty of a breach of privilege for doing tliiR For this act Mr. Mackenzie had deserved the esteem, com- mendation, and respect of tlie country. By seeing in what way their roprcscntatives acted, the freeholders would bo butter able to judge of their fitness to represent them. Mr. Mackenzie has never been cspnllcd fur anything he has done or said on the floor of this House. No one act of his as a member, no one speech, sen- tence, or exprofsion has been condemned or found worthy of expul- sion. I do think it the most cruel proceeding ever witnessed that we expel a member, and harass and vex a great county, and yet, bring no charge againsi him. Mr. Mackenzie was not punished hero ns a member of this House, but as the editor of a newspaper; and in that capacity shall it be said that we will attempt to dictate to him what he should do and what he should not ? You uU know that Mr. Mackenzie was distinguished mors than many other raeni- bcrct'of this Mouse for the great quantity of political information he brought into it, for his diligcnco in searcaing ou*. abuses, and for his strict attendancp to the important duties ho had undertaken to perform for his conijtitucnts. He was expelled on the bank ques- tion. On tlie evoniiij; of tlie 6th no vote could be got on it ; next day the menibur fur Wciitworth (Mr. John >Villson) stopt his iu(iuiry by a motion foK expulsion. The moment he (Mackenzie) brought forward the siuno motion after hia reelection it was the signal of new persecutions, and he was again expelled. His unwearied zeal for the good cl" the country has been acknowledged even by his iipponents. Does over-zeal in the people's service cause disqualifica- tion ? Ho was here early and late ; our journals bear ample proof of liis usefuhicss anil fitnebs fur the place ho held. I have kuuwn Mr. Mackenzie, when I held the oflico you now fill, Mr. Speaker, sit night after night till twelve o'clock, examining the petitions of the people and other public documents of this House, in order that he might the butter ijualify himself for a faithful perform- ance of his duty to the people. To such an extent did he carry this practice, that at length the messenger of the House made a formal complaint to me that he was vrorn out sitting up waiting on Mr. Mackenzie while poring over and examining the business of the legislature. iSeldom has such a complaint been made. The people of York were here on tho spot; tliey saw his untiring zeal— they beheld him always at his post, up early and late — his only recom- pense, his sole reward, their esteem and regard. And now, Mr. Speaker, we punish them for their attachment to a representative whose only fault is, that he has tho same opinion of the public con- duct of a majority of the members of this House as his constituents. The resolution (Morris and McNab's), after reciting the old stories, tells us tliut Mr. Mackenzie is hereby expelled — not before, but now. As in ^ViIkes's case, the expellers depend on their majorities, and seek to avoid discussion. Yet the House of Commons eventually condemned and expunged its own resolutions declaring Wilkes unfit and disqualified, because it was admitted to be unconstitutional in the House tn dictate to the people who they should and who they should not elect, and because the free choice of reprssentatives re- mains in the people. Who are we, that we should dictate to the people of York, or any other county, who they should and should not make choice of? Tho mere servants of the people, to whom for a limited time a limited and delegated authority is committed. The right to sit and vote in this House is as well secured to every quali- tied ir 'ividual as his right to hold and enjoy his property which he has bought, earned, or inherited; the former right is the most ft'. rTt^^BQI 12 : 1? '0. important of tho two. It is not pretended that Mr. Mackenzie is not a just man, and punctual, honest, and upright in his dealings ; neither in this House nor out of it has tho breath ot slander assailed his private character ; he is tho free and unanimous choice of tho greatest, most populous, and wealthy county in the ProTinco : lot him take his scut. We are going to bo asked for a large vote of money to the WcUand Oocal, for a still larger sum to tho St. Law- rence ; and is it not right that the county of York should bo repre- sented in such a case '! Had the Executive Qovcrnment been sincere in its expression of a desire to remove the difficulty that exists, it would, I think, have found the means of doing so before now. ISut I fear there is a secret influence here that counteracts all the good intentions and professed anxiety for our constitutional rights ex- pressed in England. Had Mr. Mackenzie exerted himself in favor of the views of the government in tho same way in which ho has sought the reform of abuses, ho would have been covered with the honors of tho government. It is the same with the minority on this floor — their only recompense is found in a sense of having faithfully performed an unpleasant duty to the country." In 1834 a general election changed the character of the Legislative Assembly. The liberal Despatches from the Imperial to the Co- lonial Government on the subject ol" tho grievances brought to light by Mr. Mackenzkie were published by order of Sir John Colborne, the then Lieut. Governor of Upper Canada, and gave general satisfaction to the people ; but, at the instigation of the faction then ruling the country, His Excellency ignored the Iloya! Instruc- tions, and committed acts directly in opposition to the Imperial will and authority. Among these was the establishment of the Rectories secretly, and on the eve of his departure from the Province — an act of ofiicial iniquity the like of which was never perhaps j)erpetrated in a British Colony. The foundations of a State Reli- gious Establishment were thus laid in darkness, and its superstructure has since been reared by treachery and violence, in opposition to the well-known sentiments and desires of our population. In 1835, Mr. Mackenzie's labours in the public service might well be designated as herculean and invaluable. As Chairman of the "Committee on Grievances," h«' produced a voluminous Report embracing a mass of in- telligence never before submitted to Parliament or the people. He carried to maturity important reforms of the law — one of which — an Act to prevent more than one action on Promissory Notes — effectually arrested the hand of the oppressor. During the whole year, after the prorogation of Parliament, he laboured as Commissioner in the investigation of the affairs of the Welland Canal, and rendered incalculable service to the country. His capacity to unravel the complicated financial blunders or villanies of the Company being denied, two accountants were called to inspect his charges, one of whom was Mr. Hincks, and he published, under his own signature, that were he on oath, he could not say whether, as Mr. Mac- KENiiiE had affirmed, the greater number of entries in the companies books w^re true or false! For his year's services he was voted £250 in 1836, but the supplies not being voted that year it remained unpaid until 1851, 18 and was then paid, but without interest. A Select Com- mittee of the Assembly in the same year recommended unanimously a grant of £500 to indemnify Mr. Mac- KKNziR for the actual expenses of his mission to England in 1832-;J3, but it failed from the same cause, and has never since been paid. In ISim, initiative movements to secure the benefits of receiving and shipping goods for Canada through American ])orts, in bond, were made by Mr. Mac- KENzir, who drafted the petition to the American (iovernment, and addresses to the Crown, which resulted in the concession of this important improvfc- ment to our commerce, and laid the foundation of the benefits now enjoyed under the late Act securing Reci^ procity of Trade. He, this year, carried also the first measure through the Assembly to secure Township Elections, but it was quashed by the Legislative Coun- cil. During the same session the House expunged from the Journals the disgraceful record of Mr. Mac- kenzie's expulsions as unconstitutional, and the memor- able struggle for Responsible Government took place. Sir Francis B. Head repudiated all responsibility to any power in Canada, and declared his purpose to govern the Province without respect to the advice of his Council. Mr. Mackenzie moved and carried an Address upon this vital subject, but Sir Francis set the Legislature at de- fiance — ihe supplies were stopped, and the House was suddenly dissolved. The exasperation created by the misrule and treachery of the Colborne Administration was only thus increased under that of Sir Francis Bond Head. Like his pre- decessor, he set Imperial instructions and authority at defiance, became the willing tool of the *' Family Compact," and finished his political career by lighting the flames of a civil war. Mr. Mackenzie at this era evinced his sincerity, if not his wisdom, in attempting to remove those evils by force, which moral and consti- tutional means had failed to redress. The rising of 1837-8 was less a revolt of the people against the Crown than against a perfidious Executive, entrenched in power, enriched by plunder, and ruling in utter con- tempt of human rights, and in violation of every principle of constitutional government. The property which Mr. Mackenzie had acquired by constant application to business, and the exercise of a most rigid economy, was wantonly destroyed by the authorities of that day, and he himself driven from the country in whose cause he had suffered so much, and for whose welfare he had labored so long in the midst of privations, sacrifices, and dangers. Whatever some may think of the events of 1837, it must be admitted that the political commotions of that period produced beneficial results. A distinguished, high-minded, and liberal British statesman, the Earl of Durham, was appointed Governor General. His Report on the affairs of Canada, as well as the testimony of Lord * 9 iil t1 14 Sydenham at a subsequent period, justified the charpcs made against the reigning compact, and showed the necessity of introducing a healthful responsibility into ihe management of our public affairs. During twelve years of political exile Mr. Mackenzik luid the satisfaction to see the great principles for which he had contended fully recogniaed, if not wliolly carried out. The Executive was made responsible to Parlia- ment ; the Legislative Council was purged of partizan judges and plotting ecclesiastics; municipal institutions, with all their advantages, were obtained ; the public credit was established; freedom of election was secured, and numerous other reforms accomplished — which, had ihey been conceded a few years earlier, would have pre- vented the revolt, and secured for the government the gratitude and confidence of the whole people. Since his return again to the sphere of his early labors and trials ho has labored with the same assiduity for the public good. His measures to protect the poor man in distress from ruin or starvation by securing |)roperty to the value of twenty-five pounds to his fan»ily, and by his Homestead Exemption Bill, — his labors to secure the freedom and safety of Banking, — his luminous and ta- lented exposures of financial corruption and mismanage- ment in the public accounts, — and his efforts to establish a Decimal Currency, with numerous other measures which cannot be detailed in this Address, place him in the highest rank of the patriotic men who liavo labored for the freedom and prosperity of the Province. The high estimate set upon Mr. Mackknzik's services on behalf of (.Canada by that eminent friend of liberty and justice, Mr. Hume, is thus expressed in a letter to him in 1851 :— " I was a witness to your indefatigable labors when you were a member of the Assembly in Upper Canada, and could bear testimony to your persevering exertion in this country when deputed to explain to hia Majesty's ministers the real situation of the Province of Upper Canada. I attended you to the Colonial Minister that he might learn from you the misrule that existed iu Cannda by the family clique which then enjoyed the confidence of Downing-street, where every statement from any other iiuarter than the Governor and family clique was repudiated and disregarded. I can fearlessly state that if the representations you then made of the general dis- content of the Canadians — that discontent caused by very gross misconduct of o£ficials in that Province, and by the neglect of the Government at home of the repeated and powerful petitions for redress from both Provinces — had been listened to, the misfortunes and rebellion in Canada would have been avoided and prevented. — Earl Grey has of late years, " bit by bit," granted all the reforms that you and I advocated for Canada twenty years ago. Sound policy, and;the best interest both of the Mother Country and the Province of Canada, required at that time all those reforms which have now been made. Those persons who had the power to grant, but refused to yield all these just demands of the Canadians, ought now to be ashamed of their past conduct, and take upon themselves the cause of the rebellion that took place." But while we congratulate the country that concessions and progress have been made through the labors and ivi 16 sacriiicos of such men as Mr. MArKENziB, ^vo arc con- strninod to acknowledge a universal fact — that commu- nities and nations, like individuals, are weak and fallible; they can never hope lo reach that Utopia of perfection in which all is honest and pure, and when po- litical reforms are no longer necessary. It has been well said, that "the price of Liberty is eternal vigilance." The Institutions of the country, though somewhat ameliorated by the introduction of a defective system of Responsible Government, are by no means perfect. Official corruption is still widespread and deepseated, and it would seem as if there were no adequate means to repress the evil or punish the delinquents. The vast field opened for peculation, corruption and bribery by our gigantic railway schemes and other public undertak- ings, and the opportunities afforded the unprincipled supporters of the government of the day to speculate in the Crown lands and public securities, have exercised an injurious influence upon the prosperity of our country. Throughout the whole of our public departments, there is a want of integrity, and a proneness to peculate, that cannot be contemplated without alarm. Our public men, unable to withstand the golden inducements i)resented to them, have become fearfully contaminated ; the country is startled by the glaring frauds of those in power, by the extravagant waste of the public wealth, by the mal- administration of its afiairs, and the recklessness with which it is being plunged into bankruptcy and vuin. Amidst all this venality and corruption, Mr. Mackknzik still maintains his integrity, and with the same manly firmness that he displayed in former years, seeks ear- nestly, however ineffectually, to secure for Canada the full benefit of those groat and popular principles which he so ably advocated in the earlier period of his life. As the natural consetjuencc of his untiring zeal and devotion to the public service, he has always drawn upon himself the most bitter hostility of Government. While numer- ous servile creatures, in Parliament and at the Press, have been sustained and enriched from the revenues of the country, Mr. Mackenzie has been left entirely to the precarious support derived from the publication of an independent newspaper. Possessed of superior talent for mercantile pursuits, in the conduct of which he might long en. this have acquired an independency for life, he felt called upon by a sense of duty to his country to abandon those pursuits and undertake the arduous duties of an editor, animated, we believe, by an honorable ambition to promote the liberty, prosperity and happiness of his country. The long and unwearied labours of Mr. Mackenzie in the Legislature and through the Press, — his intelligent and bold advocacy of popular rights in the most gloomy period of our history, — the benefits which have been derived from his eminent services, both in Canada and in England — all tending to elevate and bless the Pro- vince — demand some tangible expression of regard and sympathy. Let the people show, by the hearty manner rr^srssmmm i! Ill I'-i 19 in which tUey respond to this Appeal, that they are not insensible to his clainis, and that those who labour faithfully and diligently in their cause, and are*spcnt in their service, shall not be allowed to pass away unhon- oured and unrewarded. If three individuals, strangers from a University in England, and now occupying lucra- tive places in one of the institutions of learning in this city; who have never rendered one iota of service to the country; whose very names are generally unknown to the people of the city or Province, (and one of whom, after four or five years residence, has returned iigain to England) have together received, very recently, about ?00,00() from the public revenue, by the scheme of Reserve Commuta- tion, for alleged services to the community, what estimate should be set, by the friends of Civil and Religious Liberty, upon the services of such a tried public servant as Mr. Mackenzie ? It too often happens that the lot of the sincere Patriot is poverty during life, and fame, or a monument, after death. The gratitude of a people would be more fitly expressed by a substantial testimonial to the living man, than by unprofitable eulogies or monumental erect'<^ns after he has left the field of his labors and his trials. To shed around the aged veteran who has devoted the best energies of his life to the public service, the bless- ings of substantial independence, and the comforts of a fireside which he can call his own, would be to pay but a small portion of the debt justly due him by the inhab- itants of Canada — a slight acknowledgment by the people of the eminent services he has rendered to the Province. It is therefore proposed by the friends of Mr. Mac- kenzie — who has nearly reached the ordinary term of man's days upon the earth, and who has no adequate pro- vision laid up for a season of personal infirmity, or the support of his wife and children in the event of his death — that he should be presented with a comfortable HOMESTEAD, as a gift from the Freemen of Canada. To accomplish this object in a manner worthy of the people, and in some degree commensurate with the sacrifices Mr. Mackenzie has made in their behalf, it is proposed that a Committee be formed in each City, Town and Township in Upper Canada, and in each of the principal Towns and Cities of Lower Canada, to take charge of Subscription Lists and Contributions in their own localities — these Committees to be in correspon- dence with the Committee in Toronto, and the amounts forwarded to be published from time to time for the in- formation of the Committees and the satisfaction of Contributors. Any sums received will be at once depos- ited in Bank, subject to the order of the Trustees, to be employed by them in the purchase of a comfortable Homestead,, in such place as may be selected by them- selves and the parties interested — the balance (if any) to be invested, and the annual proceeds to be applied for the benefit of Hr. Mackenzie and his family.