, ^# V' 1^ IMAGE EVALUATION TEST TARGET (MT-3) A ' L < \^ ^r r/ic "> ^v \> c^r- ff FROM / -^— Containing some observations and strictures on a late Manifesto, published in the News- papers, in a sinister form of an Address * from a Junto of JVIerabers of the Provincial Parliament of LOWER CANADA TO THEIR CONSTITUENTS 5 To ivhich is added an Appendix, consisting of the Speech oi His Excellency the Governor in Chief On proroguing the last session of Provincial Parliament) . '♦^ and the said MANIFESTO. Y// " I hate when Vice can bolt her arguments, And Virtue has no tongue to check her." MONTREAL. Printed at the Montreal Gazette Office. 1827,- #' dUk. TO SBNEX. SIR/ KNOWING you, from your nsLxaa and your public writings, to be the oldest and most in- trepid Patriot that Canada has yet produced^ and one whose name, both real and assumed, will go down to future ages as the best defender of our Constitutional Rights against the ma- chinations of an Ignorant and Factious Party, I am somewhat surprised at not having met you In Public at a period so ciitical to the welfare of the Country, and when so many Wolves, from the troubled domains of Dissention and Democracy, are howling so loudly and daringly around us. I therefore hope you will pardon me for calling, your attention thus' publicly to the state of mat- ters in this unfortunate part of His Majesty's do. minions, and submitting to your consideration a few hasty thoughts which have occured to my- self upon the subject j assured, that, if they will have the effect of once more rousing the spirit of that Old Lion who has so often stood Alone in the breaches made on our Constitu* 'ill TioN, by the enemies of order and good govern, ment, not only to defend them from further out- rage, but to repair them ; the pests of society 1 allude to, will soon slink away into the dens and caves peculiar to such canine, and leave the Citadel to that peace and security which of right belongs to it, and which, sooner or later, it will inevitably enjoy. To t/ou, I trust it will be unnecessary to make any more apology for the following observations. As to Public Opinion, I both despise it, and altogether deny its juris- diction, WHEN not founded in the welfare of society in all that contributes to the main- tenance of those noble, and, I hope. Imperish- able, monuments of civil and moral goveinment which have been so long and so happily esta- blished throughout almost every region of this Great EairiRE. I have just returned from the reading room, where, on perusing the Canadian Spectator of the 28th ultimo, I met with an Address, or ra- ther, a Manifesto to their Constituents super- scribed by the following names : — Z. J". Papi- Tieau, Hugues Heney, J, Leslie, Joseph Valois^ Joseph Perraulty Austin Cuvillier, J, M. Ray- mondy P. A. Quesnel. Not being cither a very diligent or attentive reader of the advertising department of a newspaper, and taking it for granted that so many obscure namt's, wliich I had hitherto been accustomed only to associate with auction billSf cliecsemongcy s advertisameiUs, grocery puffs, and distnss warrants, could be the means of conveying very little news ot im* portance to the public, I was about to put the paper aside, when my curiosity was accidentally excited by a variety of words and expressions which seklom figure in advertisements, however much their authors may sometimes be inclined to strain the tomes of Johnson and Walker to their own petty purposes. It was very fortunate that this was the case^ otherwise it is likely I should have missed one of the greatest treats, in my estimation at least, that this country has ever produced, not even excepting the description of the battle of Chateauguay — the Canadian Thcr- mopyLe— which was givon some years ago at a tavern dinner, set forth in Montreal for the bene- fit of those suhliuie orators and patriots who voted against the union. I had not gone very deep into this extraordi- nary document when I ])iMceived its cue. I found it to have sprung from tliat concentric circle of gross ignorance, factious principles, and anti- British views wliich have so long dis- turbed with impunity the peace of this province, and arrested but too effectually the course of its improvements. 1 found it to have come from men, who, though uni' rtiinately for the conn- !:ll i 6 try, endowed with a public and olticial charac* ter, have entirely renounced the constitutional responsibility of that sacred character, and lent their whole power and influence to the dissemi- nation of erroneous views of the motives which now do, and hare ever actuated the Imperial, as well as the local, governments of this country. I found it to proceed from entire strangers to Bj'itish fi3elings, British generosity, and, above all, to British warmth of heart, good humour and fair-play. I found it to proceed from those whose amorpatrice is confined to the hovels of prejudice, the conclaves of faction, and the brotliels of party. I found it to proceed from mei>, who having little truly worthy of admiration among themselves, and conscious at every turn, of the superiority of Britons, hate those Britons with a hatred, rank as the weeds that grow in their nativ e forests, and whose banishment from a pro- vincc conquered by their blood and arms, would be hailed with a yell of savage triumph worthy of the ancestors of the majority of them. I found it to proceed from those who, strangers to, and grossly ignorant of the first principles of our Constitution, arrogantly seek to grasp executive power, where they can only be recognized as Members of a co-ordinate branch of a subordi- nate provincial legislature. 1 found it had come from men who have devoted their lives to the promotion of anarchy, by endeavouring to de- prive His Majesty of the power and the means of maintaining the civil government of this colony, and of extending those blessings of civilization and improvement to this part of his dominions which are so extensively and manifoldly enjoyed in almost all the other regions of the empire. I found it coming from men who never cease to bawl loyalty ! tot^alty ! while, almost in the same breath, they deny the supremacy of His Majesty in parliament, reject with disdain the deliberate opinion of his law council, and treat the des- patches of one of his principal Secretaries of State with scorn and derision. I found it coming from men who, though protected in their persons and property by laws unparalleled in the world, and to which their fathers were strangers, refuse to place the judges of the land on the same indc- pendent footing with those of the mother coun- try, notwithstanding the overtures made for that purpose by the King himself. I found it to pro- ceed from men who Voluntarily pledged them- selves to defray all the civil expenccs of llie coun- try in a constitutional way ; for as such it could only be accepted of ; but who, the moment they were called upon to redeem their pledge, slunk, like cowards and assassins from the broad glare and sunshine of honour and patriotism, to the tainted shades and corrupt pandemoniums of treachery, democracy, and all their train of par- ty intrigue and factious ambition. I found it to proceed from men, wiiose nitional prejudice being not oi.ly inherent, but as dark and deep as Erebeus, endeavour by all the means in their po\verto fortify these prejudices still stronger in th(* minds of their rude Cmmtrifmeny with the infamous and seditious view of perpetuating a distinction betwixt them and Britons, and thus paving the way to an ultimate separation from the mother country. I found it to proceed from men who, if they love education at all— 'which is very doubtful — love it oiil\' while it is subser. vient to the basest purposes— that of instilling political poison into the minds of their deluded Coimlrtjnien ; and who scruplt^ as little to deceive the ignorant and unwary ar> to insult and deride the informed and respectable. I found it to pro- ceed from men, who, with a view of shewing their contempt of t^e plastic hand of legitimate authority, and their disregard of all decency, order, and good government, have established, by the petty clubbings of a party, a variety of pe- riodical publications in several parts of the coun- try for the express puipose of bringing the Ma- jesty of government and the laws into contempt, and sowing 'le seeds of discord, hatred, and dis- union amongst a people, of all others, the most disj^osed to peace and cordial intercourse ; and n h r la IS 9 who have raised i'rom the ilung hills and purlieus of political wretchedness to be the conductors of those channels of public and pi.'vate libel, men who are not only a disgrace to letters, but who can only exist in the tainted air of insolence, arrogance, and slander ; men on whose tongues " detraction ever l)urns;'* men in whom " Corruption witli corro^ivo smart *' Lies cank'ring on ihcir guilty heart? i\\\i\ men to whom I m\\y safely apply the follow- ing words of Jiivcnal ; *• SlJ quo cccitlit sub crimine ? Quisnam Dt'lalor ? Quihus indiciis ? Quo teste probabit r Nil liorum ! viubosa et grandis epistola venit."^ I fonnd this notable document coming from per- sons who, possessing neither rank, dignity, nor manneis themselves, and being as ignorant ol" the respect due to their superiors as they arc ready to trample upon their equals — for they have no inferiors, and cannot have — daily insult the King himself in the person of his noble re- presentative, whom, with a ferocity pecidlar to themselves and the lanfcrne gentry of the Country of their language, they not only introduce as a private individual into all their discuGsions, buf" set uj), in his public character, as a mark ot' abuse so rancorous, so scandalous, so uiunanlvj so cowardly, that every honorable v,)i\n] in the 10 W' I I country is shot'Ivod, >iul every generous senti- ment outraf';ed. — But In vain malicious tongues assail, Let tnvy snarl, let slander rail, I'roni virtue's shield — secure from \vound<>- Their blunteil venom'd shafts rebound. Oh unwise, unfeeling men ! is this your gra- titude to a country, that found you slaves and made you freemen ! Is this your gratitude to a j)eo|)le who found you destitute of security both of person and property, but who gave you all by the free communication of two of the most noble monuments of human ingenuity — Magna Char- rA, and tlie Habeas Corpus ! Is this your grati- tJide to a country and a j)eo])le, who found you writhing under the lash of tlie Provost Marshal, cruelly tearing your iiesh irom your bones and scattering it in quivering atcmis to the four winds of heaven, but plucked you from his bloody grasp, restoring you to independence, and to that rank in civilized society which Britain ALONF, among all the nations of the earth, is capable of conferring and securing. Is this your gratitude to that Britain who found you the victims of military despotism — the helots of mo- dern Spartans — ;uul the obedient and unrelen- ting assassins of the unprotected aborigines of the soil, and, by snapping your chains, made doubly hea\'y by the rust of ccntujJrv placed 11 ^ou ill a station far above your oppressors, and called you back to Inniianity and reason, by in- spiring you with proper sentiments of freedom, and your high r;nik amongst civilized nations ! Is this >our gratitude toacountiy who found you without law, witiiout legislation, and the power to open your lips in your own concerns, gave you alike law, political conse(pience, and the power to do justice to yourselves in every thing that contributes to the improvement of Society ! Is this your gratitude for the Constitu- tion you so much boast of, and whicii, you say, you would rather die than part with ; but which, I fear, you arc on the higii way to forfeit and cancel ! Gratitude ! O much abused term ! We may find thee in the humble cottage of the peasant whose children have been plucked out of the gaunt arms of famine by the meek but potent hand of charity : we may find thee bu- ried deep in the bosom of unobtriisive genins ; we may find thee forging thy golden chains round thesoujs of truefriendship,and knittinglhem closer and closer in harmony and social intercourse i we, may find thee a never-dying flame in the bosom of the innocent rescued from pollution and infamy : and we may find thee consoling the liberated cap_ tive for the marks left in his limbs by the pressure , of his chains. But, Never, O Never ! shall we find thee micist the polluted haunts of faction, I 'i V2 the dark retired cells of intriguing paity, or m the creed of - " an impious crew Of iren conspiring to uphold their state By worse than hostile deeds, violating the ends For which our Country is a name so dear." But why should I treat the document which has elicited these observations in a mood so seri- ous ? It is not 1 assure you, my dear Sir, be, cause there is any thing in ifself that merits any remarks beyond the most ineffable sneer that contempt can dictate or derision provoke ; but rather because it forms a part of that motley fa- bric of sedition, discontent and insult which the authors have been rearing, like the builders of the plain of Shinar in opposition of supreme authority, to cover themselves ultimately, it is to be hoped, with confusion and ruin. In the present state of this Province, which, to my ima- gination, and, I have no doubt, to yours also, presents in a forcible manner the unhappy rei)re- sentation of a ship deserted by her crew and tossed in the storm for want of a sufficient num- ber of trusty hands to execute the orders of the pilot, it may not, however, be amiss to examine a little more closely the grounds and pretensions of this manifesto, in order to ascertain with some accuracy the real motives and springs of action which gave rise to it. In doing so I shall not trouble you with any account of the rise and 1 l.i irr progress ot" our present difficulties ; these being sufficiently well known to yourself, and having so lately been decided on by his Majesty's go- vernment in England in terms so plain and unequi- vocal, that none but the most obdurate and unre- lenting could hesitate in yielding their assent and obedience to a sentence coming from a quarter so respectable and authoritative ; and your long experience in the world will have taught you, that Pertinacice. nullum remedlum po- Auit Deus^ God has provided no remedy for the obstinacy of men. . Wincing under the stings of wounded con- sciences, and convinced in their souls that there was not a word in the late proroguing speech of His Excellency the Governor in Chief which did not deservedly hold them up to the whole British Empire as the sole, the worst, and most implacable enemies of their native coun- try, the subscril)ers to the manifesto could think of no other method of acquitting themselves, even in their own eyes, of the stigma thus fast- ened on their public conduct, than by an appeal to the tribunal of the Mob; a tribunal whom they knew be entirely subservient to their own purposes, and who would pronounce sentence, not according to law or the principles of our constitution, for of these their general want of knowledge renders them totally ignorant, but u according to those ill-fated principles of decision which, in every age and every country, places the uninformed multitude at the mercy of vulgar declaimers — the timid peasant at the feet of the scurrilous and designing demagogue. It is thus that these inconsiderate railers generally catch the attention of the people ; it is thus that they fill their minds with imaginary grievances, flat- ter their vanity with improper notions of their own importance, call them from industry, use- ful labour and contentment, to idleness, discon- tent and bloody-handed rebellion. It is, howe- ver, somewhat unfortunate for our present de- magogues, that the Jlrst step they took for the accomplishment of their wicked ends betrays in a remarkable manner the real object in view, or in other words, that their pretences belie their actions. For what can possibly be more absurd and ridiculous than a printed appeal to Consti- tuents, not one in a hundred of whom, can either Read or Write ! Nay, more. Not One of whom has ever yet been able either to arrive at the smallest understanding of the differences so long subsisting between the upper and lower branches of the Legislature, or the simplest prin- ciple of the Constitution under which we live and are protected. When an arbiter is chosen, he is generally one who not only understands the rights and pretensions of both, parties, but has an accu- 'iii oil es ar he us ch ey at- eir se- en- ive- de- the 15 rate and extensive knowledge of those genera principles in equity, law, or politics, by which points in dispute are always decided. But, in the present instance, the parties at issue are not so well off. There is, to be sure, a cause in de- pendence, a very import int one, too, and counsel on each side ready to plead it ; but one of the parties, instead of a willingness to plead at the ONLY bar that can legally decide on the matter — at the legitimate bar of that country from whence all its privileges and honours arc derived, flies off with a railing accusation against, not only it equals, but its superiors, to a tribunal illegal in. deed in itself^ but rendered doubly so by the ille- gal mode in which its interference has been solici- ted, and the want of consent of the other party. — Not only so ; but this party, rendered insolent by indulgence, litigious by procrastination, and clam- orous by security, have travelled from the arctic to the antarctic circles, from the torrid to the frigid zones, from the tropic of Cancer, to the tropic of Capricorn, from Dan to Beersheba, and from i>ost to pillar of our political planet^ with the view of evading, like so many Franken- steins, an evil of their own creation and the ef- fects of a decision already pronounced by the legal tribunal on the first and most important points at issue. What can savour more of democracy than this? 10 m l!li What eiin sliow the spirit that is now abioail amongst us, disturbinn^ the peace of fUiniUcs, antl breaking asunder the ties of loyalty and patriotism, more than this unmanly abandonment of every constitutional tie, connection, and principle, in order to enlist blind physical force to the decision of a question which should, and can only be put to rest by constitutional authority ? In the name of all that is good and generous, let such folly be abaniloned ere it be too late. Let the voice of ages, whose echo has not unfrequently been heard even in this distant corner of the world, warn us against the precipitancy of popular influence and popu- lar clamour. For what can be more abhorred than a state of society in which the comfort of private life is interrupted by factious brawlers and intriguing demagogues ; in which the mean tram- ple upon the wise and enlightened, and innocence affords no security against calumny, nor rajiksind dignify against insult and contumely ; where, in public, eminent services are sure to be repaid by eminent ingratitude, and an unjust surmise is al- ways sufficient to cancel the obligation of a life of benefits. The idle mob of Athens, though, perhaps, the most sagacious mob the world iias ever produced, deciding questions of which it had not the slightest comprehension, and clamor- ing for amusements which were to exhaust the resources of the state ; or the more ferocious mob 17 oi Rome, bawling for a division of lands to which they had not tlie smallest claim in justice ; or tlie revolutionary titters of Paris yelling for blood i blood ! to slake their cannibal thirst ; or the crafty republicans of the United states, bartering honor and independence, with an avidity peculiar to themselves, for the places and emoluments of their country, almost equally excite the disgust and horror of the true philosopher. All tower WITHOUT A CHECK IS DESPOTISM ; aud of all dcs- potisni none is so barbarous and hopeless as that of the POPULACE. It is a tyranny without the possibility that the tyrant should ever be good or enlightened ; and will, therefore, be detested utterly by all who feel the genuine love of liberty. Indeed, you are as well, if not better, aware than I am, that the sentiments of all wise and constitutional writers, have been uniform on this head j so much so, that their expressions must be fresh in the remembrance of every candid and unbiassed reader. Here a sentence or two mav nearly embrace them all. The end of Govern- ment is the GENERAL GOOD J all constitutions ought to be permanent means for the attainment and security of that good. If men generally pur- sued what is most conducive to their happiness, certainly those governments who admitted most fully of the operation of the general will, woukl be the best. Men do not generally will that which i u 18 is best for themselves, therefore it is not general- ly expedient for them, that their will should ope- rate. Want of education to give them habits of just thinking and reasoning ; want of knowledge concerning public affairs and the nature of ex- isting causes; want of resolution to forego pre- sent temporary enjoyments, for future permanent advantage, and various other disqualifications, in- tellectual and moral, under which the common people must labour, render it totally inexpedient that the general will should be the rule of Go- vernment. Need I inform yow, that there is no country on earth, enjoying the blessings of civil government, where these wants are more appa. rent than in Lower Canada ; and, consequentlyj that no country can be worse adapted for the species of government which the demagogues are anxious to establish on the ruins of our present glorious constitution, than this province ? Experience teaches us, thatthe wills of men most frequently become worse, from having the power of complete gratification. Those who have uni- formly the power of doing as they please, more fre- quently please to do ill than to do good. The capriciou-^ness of their desires increases with their power. Like spoiled children, they become trou- blesome to all those who come within the sphere of their action, and eventually hurtful to them- selves. Classes of men, as well as individuals* I 19 when their will uniformly operates without re- straint, become capricious and destructive to others and to themselves. As the wills of indi- viduals require the opposing wills of other indi- viduals to check and correct their caprice and extravagance, so do those of classes. In politi- cal establishments, as well as in private compa- nies and societies, the selfish passions of some, restrain the selfish passions of others ; a recipro- cal check becomes a general corrective and con- venience. On this account, the wisest men have always been friendly to a government of check, in opposition to the uncontrouled dominion of any individual, set of individuals, or the people at large. Now, being convinced of the general absurdi- ty of democratic rule, and its insufficiency in se- curing to society that peace and protection so much sought after by all men, what can exceed j.he folly of the demagogues of this province, in their endeavour to introduce this newly exploded mode of government, but the intolerable insolence of the MANNER of doing so j that is, placing them- selves in immediate juxtaposition with the King's representative, and accusing him at the tribunal of the RABBLE for delinquencies which have nei- ther foundation in truth nor so much as a name in the constitution ! I will not stop to inquire, whether it be against the man or the represen- tative that their projects are directed j but, 20 I i: 'll ; III :i: "whichever of these it be, sure 1 am, that both tlie proceeding itself, and the manner of it, are no less (lestjuctive of the peace of society, good go- vernment, and tlic constitutional rights and pri- vileges of Britons, than disgraceful to the pro- jectors themselves. Setting aside the impolicy of the act altogether, what can be more scanda- lous than the terms made use of in reference to His Excellency, and the total disregard and want of respect that are shown to him both in his political capacity, and high rank and dignified station in private society. What, indeed, can be more preposterous, than that Hls Excellency, THE Governor in Chief of British North America, who, besides being of noble dignity and the first blood of the Kingdom, has served his country in every clime, and distinguished himself in no ordinary or common manner, du- ring the last thirty years, in all the splendid the- atres of British glory, should be thus bullied and barked at by a set of curs, who have scarce- ly ever emerged from their own stinking and mangy kennels, and who would be afraid to howl beyond the precincts of their own native dung- hills? It is, in sooth, in my humble opinion, really more than the most sensible part of the community ought to bear, -with any degree of patience ; especially when there is such a wide distinction between the parties, both in their pub- lic and private characters. In his private char- 21 10 o- i- o- cy 11- to id llLS i'jd be actcr Hi: is in the indispiitcd enjoyment ofanamc that will ^o down to future times conspicuous for every virtue that adorns humanity : Their names and their acts of private munificence will be de- posited in the grave with themselves. His acts of'benevolence to the destitute stranger, the un- fortunate but meritorious pilgrim, and the abso- lute mendicant will always entitle him to be rank- ed amongst the most beneficent of men, and en- sure to him the respect and gratitude of society at large : Their, deeds of charity are confined to the protection and maintainance of a few mis- erable wretches, pretending to be men of talents^ and wonderful political research, whom, finding fit instruments for any purpose, they breed in hot-houses oit faction and sedition, in order to disseminate political poison among society when- ever a suitable opportunity occurs.* His hospi- tality is extensive, generous and magnificent : Theirs is confined to the club rooms of party, and the tavern-dinners of disaffection and Dis- criminating ToASTs.f He has never been heard ♦ It is not unworthy of remark in this'i>lacc, tliat the name of " L. J, PaPINKAu" is not to be found in the list of those humane individuals who so generously contributed to the relief of the sufferers from the New-Bhuns- wiCK conflagration, though the person bearing that name, enjoys, besides, private property to a considerable amount, a salary of £1000 per annum, as Speaker of the House of Assembly ; a birth as comfortable in this respect, as it is convenient for uttering inflammatory harangues against tlio govern, ment of his country, and rallying the drooping spirits of his coadjutors in opposing, through thick and thin, the most reasonable measures of that go- vernment. ■f I need scarcely call to your remembrance the manner in which the press of the Montreal jimto JusTiT'iEi) the omission of The Governor in CuiEi's health, at a public dinner, given in that place, during his absence in England, it will be fresh in the recollection of every one whose sense of public decorum has not been completely extinguished by fcclingi of pri- vate malice. to have either insulted or abused any of the mean, est of His Majesty's subjects, but to have pro- tected and succoured them on all occasions : — They, on the contrary, not only revile all who ^.ake a side with government, in their private and public character, but insult the head of the Ex- ecutive himself, both as a legislatorand as an indi- vidual ; and if they cannot do so directly, with* out too glaring an infringement on the rules of propriety, they will find Ways and Means — the only species of Ways and Means that they have hitherto discovered— to do so by innuendo. In a public point of view, the parallel will be found to be equally distinct. He, born in a sta- tion which entitled liim to the highest rank, iu the council of the nation, and educated in those principles of virtuous patriotism whicli have ensured to Britain that solid glory and conspicu- ous dignity among empires lor which she has been so long distinguished, soaring far above the tainted and corrupted atmosphere indigenous to party factions, spurns with ilisdain every senti- ment and every act that does not promote the welfare of his country : They, born in plebeian solitude, educated in plebeian manners, with no other worldly hopes than those which generally reward plebeian industry, finding themselves raised a little above their natural condition in life by some accidental piece of good fortune similar to that which some philosophers tell us about the 23 to concourse of atoms ^ forgot, in an evil liour for their country, the source, from whence tiiey <^prung, and vainly imagining, when, in an equal- ly evil hour, they became legislators, that there existed no check upon their actions but the check of self-will and self-satisfaction, foolishly busied themselves in pulling down the fabric of our con- stitution, as established in this Province, in order to clear the area for some Chinese temple of their own, through which true Britons could never find their way, and filling it with oracles at whose un- hallowed shrines Britons would never bend the knee to worship. He, in possession of a commis- sion authorising him to represent his Majesty in all those high powers and prerogatives with which he is invested by the constitution itself, knows too well the dignity and responsibility of his situation, and entertains too exalted notions of his own manly integrity, and the innate ho^ nour of him whDm he officially personifies, than to compromise an iota of the duties entrusted to him, or to , suffer himself to be overpowered by the inroads of envious and insolent faction :— They, without any other authority than the same constitution confers upon them, througii the voice of a few unlearned and uninformed men, who have no opinions of their own, and, conse- quently, no instructions to give, shamefully ne- glect the real interests ol their constituents, and '' ^:ll n ;iii ^ ^4» abandon the ark of their country's safety and prosperity, for the empty prize of personal views of aggrandisement, and the corrupted shout of faction. He, in the exercise of his important functions, is regulated not only by his own per- sonal view of things, by his own individual know- ledge, sense, judgment, and discretion, but by the most pointed instructions, proceeding direct- ly from the King, and corresponding despatches from His Majesty's government : Thky have but the whim of the moment and tlie noxious plea of national jealousies and prejudices to re- gulate their actions. He lias the Constitution and the Laws on his side: They have undue AMBITION and DEMOCRATIC INSOLENCE on thcirs. His motives are pure, upright and patriotic : Theirs are personal, seditious and full oi DANGER to the connection presently subsisting be- tween the mother country and her colonies. His measures have tlie support and countenance of every enlightened mind and every loyal Bri- tish heaxt in the Province : Their insidious machinations are only approved by the dissolute and depraved, the ignorant and jealous, tl;e malicious and cowardly ! 8ir, I do not think there is a man in the coun- try of sufficient boldness and corruption of heart to deny the truth of this statement, if I except ihe Junto of representatives immediately interest- It MS ws of int i ed, and whose pliability of ''conscience*' render them as daring in assertion as they are prone to insult. In considering the subject before us, it will therefore be particularly incumbent upon you and all to weigh well the distinguishing and characteristic features of the above parallel, in order to ascertain with every possible degree of accuracy to which party belongs the palm of patriotic wisdom and the infamous and eternal stigma of factious zeal. If you should be ?f opinion that the King's representative has in the k St overstepped the constitutional bounds of his duty to the country, or placed the rights and privileges of British freemen in jeopardy by any of his actions, why, then, let him suffer the pu- nishment due to his crimes. But, if, on the other hand, you should be of opinion, as I am every way disposed to think you will be, that he has discharged his duty with honour and integrity— with meekness and humanity— with dauntless courage and unswerving resolution ; and that in- stead of meeting on the part of the majority of the representative?, of this Province with that obc- dience to our constitutional laws, that respect due to His Majesty's commands, and that impli- cit coPiidence which has ever been found due to an authorit}^^ so high, his official situation has been held in the highest contempt, his dign'ty insult- ed, his entreaties spurned, his recommeadsjition?* II h^ iji'ilP ISlii 26 laughed at, his explanations misconstrued, and the whole arm of the government, over which he presided shackled and paralyzed by the ignorance of men, or the intrigues of faction, — why, then, I say, let the voice of the law pronounce the on- ly constitutional decision that can be pronounced, and if that fail in its proper effect, let the pow- er that gave us at first that law, resume it, and give us in its place such other constitution of things or machine of government as will send us down tu posterity, the envy instead of the mock* ery of surrounding nations ! 1 will repeat the proposition : Will any honest Canadian, bear- ing in his bosom a spark of loyalty to his King and affection for his country, lay his hand upon that bosom, and in the full view of the parallel I have drawn, and in the full knowledge of the true situation of his country, its moral and political necessities, and the parental anxiety of the mo- ther country for her prosperity and happiness, say that the band now ranking themselves in hostile and menacing attitudes against the go- vernment of the country and its head, are his true and legitimate ** delegates ?" Fully con- vinced that he will not, I shall now lejrve this part of my subject, and proceed to consider as briefly as I possibly can, a few of the most pro- minent features of the Manifesto itself; a pro- duction which, the more 1 reflect on, the more I 27 he ice ien. mourn over the misappHcation of faculties wliich were given by the Great Author of our exist- ence, not to be a curse, but a blessing ; not to spread the brand of misrule and contention among mankind, but rather tiie olive-.branch of peace and security. 1 pronounce the late proroguing Speech of His Excellency a most able and excellent, a most masterly and {tiuopn^psuoa performance.-^ Is it possible that it could otherwise have excited so much clamour. It was too true and too ef- fective not to have stung to the quick those to whom it Wits hitended its terms should apply ; and it was impossible that the junto could refrain irom crying out ; for it is the first caustic that has reached the centre of their stinking sore for many a year. I have no doubt in my own mind but it will penetrate still deeper, and that it will be the means, with the aid and experience of the FAMILY PHYSICIANS, of bringing about a radical change in the he$ilth of the patient, notwithstand- ing his wry faces and restless disposition. No- thing can exceed the solemn grimace and imper- turbable assurance with which the junto blow their penny trumpets towards the commence- ment of their Manifesto, expressive of their as- tonishment that the Governor-in-Chief should dare to refer them to their "constituents" in the ma,nner his Lordship has so justly done, and I p 'I ■ 'J .11 m W i m^ for wliich the thanks of every loyal and patriotio bosom in tlie country is due to him ; just as if this had been the first instance of the kind on re- cord, and that either their memory failed them, the thong had not penetrated deep enough on former occasions, or that the cattle had become more audacious in their pretensions and insults. With your permission, I shall endeavor to refresh their memory a little by calling them back to some periods of our provincial history, when, if the exercise of the prerogative of the Crown, in sending obstinate and ignorant representatives to herd with the troop of blockheads that made them legislators, was unconstitutional in its adop- tion, and illegal and improper in its manner^ and yet passed without incurring the penalty of a Manifesto, the late prorogation, both in form and execution, deserved somewhat more gentle- manly treatment than that which it experienced. But I cannot do so without adding, that the late Manifesto, though a mere piece of tawdry de- clamation, contains something so entirely hypo- critical and peculiar to itself, that it is impossible to read it otherwise than with sentiments of dis- gust and abhorrence ; of disgust because, while pretending to exculpate themselves in the eyes of their constituents from the reflections so just- ly thrown upon their parliamentary conduct by I'lis Excellency's Speech, they have the prcr- 2» )tio this re- ;m, on I sumption to toss their darts ofjjersonal vitupera ^on about them in a way as unjustifiable as dis- honourable ; and of abhorrence, because, hy placing themselves above the law, in daring to place themselves at issue with the Crown, they have openly declared their contempt for the best of constitutions, and, consequently, their disin- clination to be subject for the future to its juris- diction. If they persevere, the propriety of the choice will be best proved by the fate which will inevitably attend it. When, on the 15th of May, 1809, Sir J. H. Craig, in consequence of the wild unconstitu- tional behaviour of the Assembly, who then for the first time began to arrogate to themselves that presumptuous controul over the Executive, which has now entailed so much misery on the country, found it necessary to prorogue and dissolve the parliament, this was his language ; and, I would ask the junto whether the constitutional lash was a whit less severe than when exercised on a late occasion? ** Gentlemen of the House of Asacmhhj, " When I met you at the coninicncement of the present session, I had no reason to doubt your moderation or youf prudence, and I therefore wilh'ngly relied upon both. Un- der the guidance of these principles, I expected from you a MANLY SACRIFICE OF ALL PERSONAL ANIMOSITIES AND IN-, DIVIDUAL DISSATISFACTION, A WATCHFUL SOLICITUDE FOR THE CONCERNS OF YOUR COUNTRY, AND A STEADY PERSEVE- ItANCE IN THE EXECUTING OF YOUR PUBLIC DUTY WITH ZEAL AND DISPATCH. I looked for earnest endeavors to pro- mote the general harmony of the Province, and a carefuI: ABSTINENCE from whatcvcr might have a tendency to disturb 30 I i m m IV; for DUE, and therefore INDISPBNSABL* ATTENTION to the OTHER BRANCHES of the LsGisLATURE, and for prompt and cheerful co-operation and assistance in whatever might con- duce to the happiness and welfare of the Colony. All thit I had a right t) expect, because such was your constitutiok- Au DUTY ; because such a conduct would have been a lasting testimony, as it was the only one sought for by His Majesty's Government, of that loyalty and affection which you have so warmly professkd, and which I believe you to po8~. sess; and because it was particularly called for by the eritical conjuncture of the times, and especially by the precarious sit- nation in which we then stood with respect to the American States. I am sorry to add, that I have been disap- rOINTED IN ALL THESE EXPECTATIONS, AND IN EVERY HOPE ON WHICH 1 RELIED. " You have wasted in fruitless debates, excited by PRIVATE and PERSONAL ANIMOSI TIES, OR BY FRlVILOlS CON- TESTS UPON TRIVIAL MATTERS OF FORM, that time and those talents to which within your walls, the public have an ex" CLUSIVE title; THIS ABUSE OF YOUR FUNCTIONS, YOU HAVE PREFERRED TO THE HIGH AND IMPORTANT DUTIES WHICH YOU OWE TO YOUR SOVEREIGN AND TO YOUR CONSTITUENTS; and yoH have thereby been forced to neglect the consideration of matters of moment and necessity which were before you, while you have at the same time virtually prevented the introduction of such other's as may have been in contemplation. If any farther proof of this MISUSE of your time were necessary^ J have just presented it^ in having been called on, after a session of five weeks, to exercise his Majesty's prerogative rf assent to the same number of bills, three of which were the mere renewal of annual acts to which you stood pledged, and which required no discussion. ''So much of INTEMPERATE HEAT has been manifested in all your proceedings, and you have shewn such a prolonged AND DISRESPECTFUL INATTENTION TO MATTERS SUBMITTED TO YOUR CONSIDERATION BY THE OTHER BRANCHES OF THE LEGISLATURE, that vvMatcver might be the moderation and forbearance exercised on their parts a general good under- standing is scarcely to be looked for without a new Assembly. " I shall not particularly advert to other acts which appear to be UNC4)NSTITUriONAL INFRINGEMENTS OF THE RIGHTS or TH£ SUBJECT, repugnant to the very letter of that statute of ?• Imperial Parliament under which you hold your seats, and i fve been matured by proceedings xohich amount to dereliction oj .-'■• frst principles ofnaturaljustice ; and I shall abstain from any further enumeration of the causes by which I have been induced to adopt the determination which I have taken, be- cause the part of your conduct to which I have already re- ai ferrcd is obviously and in a high degree detrimental TO THE BEST INTERESTS OF THE COUNTIIV, SUCk OS TUlj dutytv the Croxvn forbids me to countenance, and such as cvntpeU me to have recourse to a dissolution, as the onlt/ constitutional meafts by which its recurrence may he prevented" Notwithstanding the peculiar circumstances at- tending this dissolution, and the severity of the lecture thus read to the House of Assembly for its inroads upon the constitution, the measures of the next session were equally, if not much more, at variance with the principles of good govern- ment. But Sir J. H. Craig was not a mart to be trifled with, nor insulted with impunity in the discharge of his duty; and he had, therefore, no hesitation in sending the gentlemen of the As- sembly again to their homes with the following constitutional warning tingling in their eiirs : — *^ Gentlemen of the Legislative Council, and *^ Gentlemen of the House of Assembly, ** 1 am eoiTie down here for the purpose of proroguing the present Parliament. And, upon a, mature consideration uf tiio circumstances that have taken place, I am to inform you of my determination of again referring to the sense of the people, by an immediate dissolution. "Carted again to the unpleasant exercise of one of the func- tions of his Majesty's prerogative with which I am entrusted, I feel it to be again expedient, that I should state to you, and that through you, which is indeed the only channel of com- munication that L have with them, the people may be distinct* ly informed of the motives by whichp I am actuated. •* Whatever might be my personal wislies, or however strong' might be my desire, that the public business should suffer no interruption, I feel, that on this occasion, nothing is left tamy discretion ; it has been rendered impossible for m« to act oth- erwise, than in the way lam proposing. "The House of Assembly has taken uf>ON thbmselves, 1^'thout the participation of the other branches of the Legislature, to pass a vote that a Juclge of his Majesty'g Court of King's !!: •iil M 1:1 M S2 r V Bench, cannot sit, nor vote in their House. However I might cet aside the personal feeh'nj^s which would not be unnatural in me, as to the mode in wliich this transaction has been con* ducted towards ioyselt ; — there is another, and infinitely high- er consideration, ari^^es out of it, which I must nut overlook. " It is impossible fur me to consider what has been done, in any other light, tham as a direct violation of AN act OF THE Imperial Parliament: — of that Parliament which conferred on y(»u the constitution, to which, you profcjs to owe your present prosperity ; nor can I do otherwise than con- sider the House ol' Assembly as having unconstitutional- ly, DisFRANCiiiyEiJ rt /v, (lenllemcn, I have only further to recommend, tliat as in an early part of the session, you, yourselves tool; occasion to observe on the difllculty of the task, you will proportionally exert your best endeavours to do away yii.r. M/ST/iCST .1M) .iXIMdSJTY FROM JMOSO YOU]iSi:LJE.S ; IVIIILE THESE AltE SUFFERED TO liEMJIX, ALL F.XERTIOS FOR THE PLU- I.IC GOOD MUST Bi: PALSIED. No BAR CAN EXLST TO A CORDIAL ryiOX — RELIGIOUS DIFFERENCES PRESENT NONE INTOLERANCE IS NOT THE DISP- SITIONOF THE PRESENT TIMES^^^AND 1 If INC, UNDER ONE GOVERNMENT^ ENJOYING EQUALLY ITS PROTi CTION AND ITS FOSTFRINC, C. RE, IN TII) MUTUAL INTERroURE OF KINONESS AND RENI f'OL' NC , ALL OTHERS WILL RE FOUND TO RE IDEAL. I am earnest in this advice, Gcntletuen. It is probably the last legacy of a very sincere well wisher, who, if he lives to reach the presence of his sovereign, would in- deed present himself with the proud certainty of obtaining liis approbation, if he could conclude his report of his admi- nistration, with saying : I found. Sire, the portion of your subjects that you committed to my charge, divided among themselves, viewing each other with mistrust and jealousy, and animated, as they supposed, by separate interests. I left them, Sire, cordially united in the bonds of reciprocal esteem and confidence and rivalling each cth.cr only in {Hfectionate I 3i> attacliment to your iMajesty's Government, and in generous txcrlions tor llie public good." Tlie manly and decisive administration of Sir J. Craig could not fail in the accomplishment of its ends, which was the cordiality and unani- imiy of the legislature in prosecuting with unre- mitting perseverance every measure calculated to j)romote the welfare and improvement of the province. Yet his Successor, Sir George Pre- vosT, no sooner grasped the reins of govern- ment, than the leaders of that body began to exhibit strong symptoms of that abominable fac- tious spirit which had so long been the bane of the country j so much so, that though »Sir George succeeded in rendering himself a gene- ral favourite in that branch of the legislature, he was under the necessity to terminate the very first session of his administration in the following words : — .' . . Gentlemen of the House of Assemllyy *• 1 cannot but lament, that the course of proceeding adopt- ed by you, has occasioned the loss of a productive revenue bill, and of the liberal appropriations you made for tlie de- ienceofthe Province, and for ameliorating the situation of the Militia, and I regret that in sacrijicing these desirable ob- jects, yon should have been swayed by any considerations ivhich seemed to you of higher importance, than the immediate security of the country, or the comfort oj' those engaged in its protec- tion." Sir Gordon Drummond was not more fortu- nate in meeting the constitutional support and co-operation of the Assembly, who, in the 8es- l!'i) 35 reus IR ent mi- tC(i the RE- rn- to fac- e of Sill enc- urc, very sion of 18 If), plunged 30 deep in refractoriness as to refuse their assent to the solemn decision of tlie Prince Ulgiont with respect to the famous impeachment of the Judges, and were even pro- ceeding the length of bearding His Royal High- ness in Council by a ** Humijle lifprcsentatioH and Petition on behalf of the Commons of \.oy\v.u. Canada, when His Excellency, finding the constitutional path totally forsaken, and deem- ing it neither honourable, courtly, prudent, nor desirable to be anywise accessary to any indioni- ty to the Crown, very properly tlissolved the Assembly ; expressing his regret ** that they should have allowed any consideration to overbear the hespect due to the decision ov His Royal Highness the Prince Regent? The just and the last proroguing Speech of the Duke of Richmond, pronounced on the 24th of April, 1819, exhibits the same melan- choly traces of the unconstitutional conduct of the House of Arsembly, and called forth the marked disapprobation of his Grace, who evi, dently felt disappointed at the contempt of all decent respect manifested to his measures as the constitutionul head of the government and re- presentative of the King. He spoke in the fol- lowing terms. •* I came to tl)is Province to take the Government of His Majesty's Dominions in North America, with a sincere desire of carrying into practice the uitentions and liberal 3b' views or His Royal Hinlinoss tlie IVincc Ilcf^cnt, to pro- lUdtc by fviry |>rncli(al)lr nu'Msiire, tlitir f^nu n I prosperify. to improvo tlicir iiiittii'iil rrsojrccs, and tliu iiulividual huppi- 11088 of Hi'h MiljtHty'H |)t'()plt>. •' A -ciisoiiablc liopo 11 nd cxpcctntlon was entertained by m \ in ac-ciptin^ tliiii cominntid that I nliould niett in tlioHc piirsuiit*, with the cheerful Bupport of every well informed person, who could appreciate in his own mind my motives in undertaking; the charge. " With these impressions on my mind, ond with full eojifi- dence in your zeal, your loyalty, and your local knowledfje of the Dublie and private interests of the country, I met you on your legislative !on^ to you l>y llie Constitution, yon niny be (<(|iially curc- j'li! oroiicroac'liinf; on rach othir, and n-spi-ctivi'Iy pay a (hio reguni to the rightH of tlie Crown. I hhall lay hclorr His .Majesty's Ministers the proceechngs of the Session and the general state of the Revenue, the Kxpcntes, Agriculture and ('oi)unerco of the IVovince, and request instructions on Ruch points un may lie neeessary to he more fully understood, that difference of of)inion amongst those who ought to have only one object in view, niny as much as possit)le be avoided." I shall not in this place trouble you with a recapitulation of the untoward aiitl heartburning circumstances ^\llich have invaiiably attended every ])rorogation aiul dissolution which have taken place from the day on which the above speech was pronounced to this, though it is a period well calculated for the elucidation of my subject. Indeed, their effects are too legibly written on the face of the country, and on the character, the conduct, the principles, the senti- ments, and the feelings of the inhabitants to merit any particular observations from me. I shall at once approach that part of the late speech of the Earl of Dalhousie, which forms so complete 'a counterpart of those of His Ex- cellency's preilecessors, and which, it is sincere- ly to be h^ped, will form the ne p/us uLra of this species of instruction and warning. ^^ Gentlemen of the Assembli/y " It is painful to me, that I cannot speak my sentiments to you in terms of approbation and thanks. The proceedings of this Session impose upon me a duty, of which, however ht :* 3S r* unpleasant, I will acquit myself as a faithful Servant of the Kin<^, and as a sincere friend of the Province. "Mar.y years of continued discussion on fiyims and accounts have proved unavailinj; to clear up and set nt rest a dispute, which moderation and reason might lia\ speedily terminat- ed. It is lamentable to see, that no efForti or concessions of His Majesty's Government have succeeded in reconciling those dilierences of opinion in the Legislature; but it is in- finitely more so, that di{Ferer?es on one subject should cause a rejection of every other measure wi/ich Ilis Majesty's Go- vernmt-nt recommends to your consideration. " The duties expected of you in this Session were not diftt- cult ; among the first was an exar^ination rfthe Public Ac- coi'.nts of last year, and a report upon them, whether of ap- proval or ntheru'ise ; has that duty been done so that y ur countrv can know the result? " Have you considered the Estimated Expenditure for the current year, and grar.ted the supply required in His Majes- ty's name ? or have reasons been assigned for the refusal of them, that can be known and understood by the country? " Have the Messages from His Majesty's Representative been duly acknowledged, and answered according to the rules aad forms of Parliament, or according with the respect which is due by each branch of the Legislature to the others ? " Have the Rules or Orders of proceedings in the House of Assembly been duly attended to, in so far as they attect and recognize the Prerogative Rights of the Crown ? *' "These are q lestions, Gentlemen, which you are now to ask yourselves individually, and answer to your constituents on your return to them. •* These are questions which you are to answer to your owiji consciences, as m^n who are bound by Oaths of fidelity to your Country Had to your King. " In my administration of this Governmer% I have seen se- ven years pass away without any conclusive adjustment of the public accounts; thus accumulating a mass for future inves- tigation, which must lead to confusion and misunderstanding. In the same years I have seen tlie measures of Gi.vtrnment, directly applicable to tiie wan^s of the Province, thrown aside without attention and without my reason being assigned. I have seen the forms of Parliament utterly disregarded ; and in this Session a positive assumptmn of Executive authority, instead of that of Legislative, which last is alone your s)-,arc in the conr^titution of the State. " The results of your proceedings in this Session have been, the refusal of the Supplier necessary for the ordinary 59 die of ing in- usc \o- ffr- c- ap- ur expenses of Government, the loss of the Militia Bill, the fai- lure of all provisions for the maintenance of Prisoners in your Gaols and Houses of Correction, for the support of In- sane and Foundlings, and for the establishment of Education and Charity, and a total obstruction of local and public im- provement " In this state of thinj^^, and with this experience of past years, it is now no longer consistent with a proper discharge of the high trust committed to n)e, to entertain hopes of a return to better reason in the representative branch of this Parliament; but it is still my duty to call upon you as public men, and to call upon the country, as deeply interesteu in the result, to consider seriously the consequences of perseverance in such a course. " I shall conduct the Government with the means in my power, and with an undiminished desire to do good ; but while I must submit myself to the interruption of all public improvement, under the authority of the Civil Government, I will declare my deep regret at such a state of things : I think it right to convey to the Country, a free and unreserved ex- pression of my sentiments upon these public misfortunes ; and I will leave no doubt on the public mind of my determi- nation lo persevere firmly in the path of my duty, with a faithful ri'gard to the llights of my Sovereign, with which are also combined the best interests of the Province. " It only remains for me now, compelled by existing cir- cumstances, to 'rorogue this Parliament, whatever may be the inconvenience resulting from such a measure. Now Sir, I again beg leave to ask you — I ask, fearlessly ask, the whole country — I ask every HoNEsr Canadian in it, who is capable of dis- tinguishino nis right hand from his left — whe- ther this Concatenation of Disapproval — de- clared, spi ken, and writ^^en Censure — on the part of Every individual who has represented the King of Grrat Britain and Ireland in this province for the last Twenty years, of tlio measures pursued by The House of Assembly, or, in other words, those callinc: themselves i li 40 The Faithful Representatives of the Peo- ple, be not a most convincing })ioof ot the exist- ence of some serious errop, if not cuimixal WRONG, on t'le part of tliese Repri:sentatives ? How dare these individuals, distinguished as ihey were by biith, education, and rank — iiay, by the countenance of the king hiinscll— so far to tram- ple under foot all the decencies and cl.aritics of society, all tiie privileges and princi|)lGS of our constitution, as to call our Assemblies before them, and thus tell them to their faces, that they WTC little less than villains and scoundrels in presumirjg to arrest, as they did, every principle of good gov^jrnment and improvement, unless the lav\'s pu' them in possession of some autho- jity for doing so, and unless the conduct of those reprimanded, ana so frequently dismissed to their constituents with such a load of disgrace and contumely on their backs, justified the unparal- lelled severity of such proceedings? How dare these individuals leave this ])rovInce and ap- proach the august presence of their king, and the tribunals of a country, where, of all other countries, the conduct of public ofliccrs is most canvassed and scrutinized, with the same senti- ments upon their lips, if they were wrong and feared to be called in question for them ? How dare they take their seats in the Senate of the parent state — that Assembly where the genius 41 li:o- ist- AL iS? lev the m- of onr ore of LiBBRTY i3 personified, and the spirit of Jus- tice presides ao triumphantly— if their legislative conduct in this country was contrary to law, or if they dreaded the most thorough investigation of it? How dare they cro^s the sea, carrying the execrations of the representatives of half a mil- lion of Baitish subjects on their heads, if they feared ;o abide the consequence, or, rather, were not convinced, that the People, so far from par- ticipating in the sentiments of their ^ifaift/iU de- legates*^ did not even so much as know that any disputes existed betwixt them and his Majesty's goveri) "^ and this, too, at a time when we are told, in ihe brutally malicious and insulting lan- guage of the pestiferous oracles of the Assembly, *Hhat the Governo) of fh^ province partrkes no more of the King's inviolability, than any ether of his representatives',^* that '*/ie is one of the King's officers, and no more ; " that '• he is not even one o/ his ministers, " but *^ is subordinate to the Minister s\ '* that he can be ^'cashierrr' ** * 'rebuked/* an^^ '''^ y' a de person allg responsible in a court of law jx •.iti. act of administration^ and subject to a vndict of twelve ci/izens.*'* Yet we find tlie distinguished peisonages in question it- lurning to their native country eve»y other year *See the Editorial mud, if, by any means, you can wade your u-ay through such mi ,: )f that glorious luminary of sedition, faction, ant Tu!j|ar »ituj)eruti<, , Ira Caiuitlian Sjicclat'" »i"lhe 4tU of April, lt"-7 4'^ with an account of their Stewardships, without a charge having ever been brought against any of : them, except two, who were found fault with, not for fulfilling their duty to their King — not for exercising too rigidly the rights and prerogatives which the constitution has vested in his Majes- ty, in order to check the tumultuous incroach- ments of popular assemblies — but, on the other hand, for tamely and unconstitutionally giving up the rights of their master to a clamorous and insiduous faction ! Which ':?se personages, so much condemned, insulted id traduced in this country, has been brought to trial for his delinquencies, or against whom even a complaint was laid at the foot of the throne ? Which of them was ever attempted to be brought to any bar, except that of vituperative Faction, where instead of that impartiality, justice, generosity, and humanity, so characteristic of British LAWS, they have, one and all of them, experien- ced the bitterest abuse, the grossest insults, and the most unmanly and cowardly treatment that the lowest and basest miscreants of Africa have ever heaped on their petty tyrants when placed in their power. It only wanted the dagger or the club to finish the parallell ; and, were it not for the immeasurable distance which the dignity of correct conduct and the satisfaction inherent in every noble, well-adjusted mind at the pro per discharge of it^ duties, places betwixt it and ^7 )uta ly of nth. It for tives lajes. [ach- kher 48 the pestilential breath of vulgar defamation, sure I am, that any individual of feeling would prefer the loss of his life to the poisonous sting of brawl- ing demagogues and contentious factions. If then, I say, the governors of this province have really committed any wrong — rif they have really been guilty, I will not say of any gross vi- olation of the laws, but of an^ the least vio- lation of them — why, in the name of justice, de- lay a moment in bringing them to trial ? The courts <>( law are open, and the highest tribunals of the state are accessible to the meanest and the lowest subject, who is supposed to know his rights as well as the highest individual in the kingdom. Why else this clamour and uproar against thcj pro- ceedings of our governors : why this flood-tide of abuse— this calling of names — these epithets of Thief and Rogue — these yells of vulgar defama- tion, that are daily rung around us, if there be no real cause of complaint — if there be no fault but in the perturbed imagination of luc or two fran- tic demogogues who have set themselves up as both the accuser and judge in matters in which they have no cognizance, and on men over whom they hold neither authority nor jurisdiction. But the fact is, that there is not now and never exist- ed any grounds of complai !t to justify such pro- ceedings ; otherwise, it is more than probable, that the malicious and cold-blooded hearts that ii. mm. <• are now rending the air with the shouts of disap- pointed ni.ilignity. would carry the daggers of their revenge into the bosoms of their country and the objects of their hatred. You very well know that, wiih the exception of two individtials whom I shall afterwards point at more conspi- cuously, there is not a British or an Irish bom subject in the whole province who has joined in this ab§urd clamour raised by a few discontented spirits in the Assembly against the measures of the government. And will any man in^is right reason, however biased or prejudiced, pretend to tell us, that Natives of the United Kingdom —educated, and well educated too, in the spi- rit offi'eedom of that country — in the knowledge and practice other laws, both civil and pohtical, —and, as it were, at the very feet of the Gama- liel of her rights and privileges — are not as capa- ble of judging of the public measures of our go- verors, and as wilHng and ready to bring them to condign punishment, if necessary, as their Ca- nadian fellow subjects ? How long, 1 should be glad to know, has thp Canadian become so sensitive to his rights and privileges as a British subject, and the J^nglishman so dull and phlegma- tic to them ? How long since the sun of free, dom has gone down on poor John Bull and ri- sen with such accumulation of splendour on the long benighted Jeam Bapti&te ? How Y%i is long since me ensign of liberty has be- come so dazzling in the eyes of the Cana- dian, and can no longer rouse the ancient hero- ism of poor John ? How long since the chains of ignorance and prejudice have been snapped from the minds of the children oi' Canada, and riveted BO fast round those of Englishmen ? How long- since tfiose have became such adepts in decypher- ing every letter of the British Constitution, and thfise have forgotten them all, the moment they lost the hist sad glimpse of the land which gave them mutual birth ? How long since the timid yelping of the bear and the beaver of the iurest has drowned the growl of the Lion of England ? How long since Neptune has resigned the trident of the Ocean into the hands of the Naiads of the Saint Lawrence ? How long since all this has taken place, and then I shall endeavour to tell you how it has happened, that the Canadians are so vociferous in crying vengeance ! vengeance I on the heads of our governors, and British born subjects stand looking on the scene with meins so placid and countenances so unruffled ? But let me bear down a little more closely upon the Manifesto, which, as I am of opinion it is the only species of trial to which our governors shall ever be called, 1 shall endeavour to discuss and fet aside as briefly and effectually as possible. I believe I have already given you a sketch of I . II 46 ll ■; ; * - the character of this famous documeut, I shall", therefore, in this place, endeavour to finish the picture by a few strokes which, I trust, will be found to be as legible as they are true. It is then, an unconstitutional document which has no precedent but in the blood-stained pages of sedition and open rebellion. If the ob- jects which it has in view are not thwarted in time by the strong arm of legitimate authority, it will inevitably lead to anarchy and ruin. It has its foundation in a factious spirit of discontent and design, whose end is democracy and popular rule, totally at variance with the principles of our present glorious constitution. It is founded in error, reared in corruption, and published in de- fiance of all order, decency, and justice. It is a tissue of the grossest falsehoods from begin- ning to end. It does not contain a single hon- ourable or manly sentiment. It is the production of fools and the palladium of haters of their country. It is a brand thrown by a malignant arm midst the shrines and the altars of domestic peace and social intercourse. It is calculated to throw the whole of this province into confusion, and to deprive it of the mild sway and stable protection of the mother realm, in order to place them in the hands of men, who seek power that they may exercise it without controul, and ty- ranny, that they may practice it with impunity. 47 i It will entail eternal disgrace on the names and the character of its authors, and will send them down to posterity as the first and worst enemies of that harmony which has so long subsisted be- tween this province and the parent country, and in the rank of those incarnate demons who prefer to gorge the blood of their country than cultivate those principles of arts and morals which lead to distinction and happiness ! The exordium of this infamous production is one of the most extraordinary specimens of manu- factured insolence I have ever seen ; and I con- fess to you, that I ieel at a loss whether to treat it with ridicule or silent contempt. But let me introduce these gasconading demagogues chew- ing the cud of their own very eloquent and ve- racious expressions : — " We, the undersigned, Meitibersof the House of Assembly, residing in fche City and District of Montreal, having ta- ken into consideration the Speech pronounced by His Ex- cellency the Gorernor in Chiet on proroguing the Provin- cial Parliament, in which his Excellency refers us to our Constituents, conceive it a duty to evince in a public and solemn manner, both the respect which we bear to our Elec- tors, and the noble pridk which we feel for having in difficult titnest discharged our duties towards them with fideli- ty and in a manner worthy of those who had chosen us for their Delpgatea. Representatives of subjects obedient, ho- nest and devoted to the British Government, our line of con- duct seemed perfectly traced out for us : Representatives of free born English subjects, our duties were clear and evi- dent ; and we appeal with confidence to our Constituents ; it belongs to them to judge of our conduct. "In other times and under other circumstances, we should not consider it necessary to enter into any discussion, well 48 Msured at wc are ot' not having done any thing which could lo«eusthe esteem and the contitleiice of our C'Diiatituenta, the recompence of our labours ; but accused of a body, in a grave manner, but by a public document, which at the same time that it accuses all of us, takes from us the powjpr ofanswer- ing as a body, *e consider it to be our duty, not to exculpate ourselves (lor this, we are sensible, is not requisite) but to put it in the power of our constitueuts to judge with greater certainty of the accusitions urged against their Ueprcsentaiives." Here, you will readily perceive, that the poor solitary Oct avians who issued this Appeal be- tray no hesitation in taking upon themselves — lor I find none else in the freld-— the whole bur- den and respon-^ibility of the misconduct laid to the charge of the Whole House of Assembly INDISCRIMINATELY AND WITHOUT ANY DISTINC- TION ! Truly the responsibility is not to be en- vied them. Yet such is the fact ; and, like so many assassins, instead of being asliamed of the deed, and exhibiting contrition for the black cri- minality of its intentions, they openly avow and declare the " Noble Pride which they fieel for having, in difficult times^ discharged tlieir du- ties to tiieir constituents with Fidelity, and in a manner worthy of those wholiad chosen them for their delegates." Does this piece of intoler- able assurance not put you in mind of the lan~ guage of Zanga ? — , Know, then, 'twas- I. I forged the letter 1 disposed the picture- I bated, I despis'd, and I destroy." 49 Seeing, then, but eiohT obscure individuals, out of an Assembly consisting of Fifty members, ta- king upon themselves the heavy responsibility of entering the lists with armour, neither justified by cir cumstances nor authorized by the constitu- tion, and setting the civil and political authori- ties of tfie country at defiance, we may in rea- son suppose, as I have already partly done, ei- ther that they give utterance to the sentiments that are peculiarly their own, or that they stand forth in the capacity of double delegates repre- senting the constituents whom they addressed and the remaining members of the Assembly who generally vote with them. Which of these capacities the Octavians are most anxious to be recognized in, I leave you and the public to de- cide. But for my own part, from the well known influence which these fellows have gained amidst the majority of the House of Assembly, 1 have no hesitation in asserting to their face, that the lan- guage, made use of, on this and every other oc- casion, betrays an anxious solicitude on their part to be considered as the sole channel throucjh which the feelings of the country can be uttered, Havingthus constituted themselves the champions and oracles of the people, they vainly think that no blow can come amiss from their arms, and no unwise or unreasonable precept from their tri' pods J and we consequently meet them at every 50 corner brandishing t.^eir weapons and proclaim- ing their dogmas, just as if the happiness and prosperity of the country were alone centered in their views and projects. It is thus we discover the dangerous lengths to which the self-constitu- ted impeccability of the Octavians would lead us : it is tims that we trace their real aim, however much they may endeavour to disguise it: audit is thus that the crafty and designing are generally entangled in their own sn«re. I know not \vhether the coadjutors of the Oc- tavians IN the Assembly approve or disapprove of the late step. If we did not know the high- handed influence which prevails in that Assembly, this would be a point worth while inquiring into. But as matters stand, I cannot do otherwise than express my fears, that a sentiment of approbation is far more general in that quarter than disap- probation. Whence else the grave- like silence which prevails among that majority on the subject under consideration? Whence else that taciturn sneer to be found on every face, the moment the subject of the Manifesto is introduced ? I suppose the channels of public communication are as op- en to them as to the Octavi \ns. Why not make use of them then, to say which side of the impor- tant question they are on ? They too, have ** Constituents," to consult and explain their conduct to, and why therefore not do so, and say u I 'A Oc whetlicr they plead guilty or not guilty to the charge brought against them by the head of the government ? It is very true that, whether they do ao or not, their conduct in the Assembly has uniformly placed them under the same ban with the OcTAviANS 'y but according to their senti- ments witli respect to the Manifesto, wo should have to decide as to thc^ar/e^/^of the influence al- luded to, and the value and character of that con- fidence which thu;} serves to constitute so great a proportion of the representatives of a free peo- ple, the dupes and mercenaries of a few unprin- cipled demagogues ; or, in other words, enable us to decide at once how far the better informed part of t' ^ people is bound to suffer wrongs so unboun and alarming, from those who seem to care not a single dollar about the prosperity ofthe province, provided their own petty ends bo attained. The OcTAViANS then say : — "Representatives of free born English subjects, our duties were clear and evident ; and we appeal with confi- dence to our Constituents : l£ behngs to them to judge cfowr conduct,*' It belongs to thbm to, JUDOE OP our conduct I This I deny in the most positive terms » because in the first place, being a direct appeal to popular decision of a more constitutional question which has been a phtori^ decided by the constitution itself, the ''! I ll X 52 people, of such, have no earthly jurisdiction in the matter ; and, in the second place, if they had and were the ultimate resort in this question they must of necessity, not only be so in every other question of a similar nature, but we must rcr nounce at once our present system of govern- ment, which is Monarchy and Democracy, sr* as to produce the most regular and splendid effect ever contemplated by the imagination of man, and adopt that of Democracy alone, which is the "wildest and most dangerous species of govern- ment that can possibly exist. * I need not tell you what Democrats are, and what the voice of history has declared them tc be in every age, I have said something already upon this subject j buc I mav here add, that Democrats are inconstant in all thpir ways, and their can be nr stability in their relations to each other ; since none of them acts uniformily or consistently, nor remains long * |t may not be amiss tc giveiri this place Aristotle's description of tljC, different forms of Government. " There are three just forms c^ g3veriiment, eacii of which is liable to deviate into a corrupt form, which is a counterfeit resemblance of the former. Tlie just forms are royalty, aristocracy, and what may be called tiraocracy, vhich last most writers distinguish by the general name of polity or a rcpuu- iic. It is the warst of all legal goverunjcnts, as royalty is the best. Tyranny i< the corrupt resemblance of royalty, Timocracy naturally degenerates into democracy, which is nearly akin to it ; since whenever men of limited for- tunes are entitled to share the government, power will have a natural tendency to fall into the bands of the people. Democracy is but a trifling deviation from a republic. The paternal authority is the model fpr that of Kings, for children arc their father's dearest conoern. Whence Homer addressed Ju. pitc-r by the appellation of father, denoting the near affinity between royalty and the paternal power. Domestic authority is the best model for aris- tocracy. Timocracy resembles tbe equal commonwealth of brothers, among >vhom th?re is do other distinctioi; than that made by a slight diifcrcnceof age." 53 like ^o himself. Their friendship is but a league in villainy, which, for the most part, ends when it ceases to be profitable. What is said by Black, stone with respect to the powers by the People in cases of this kind is worthy of attention as proving my position. " It must be owned," says he, " that Mr. Locke, and other theoretical writers, have held that, there remains still in- herent in the people, a supreme power to re- move or alter the legislative, when they find the legislative act contrary to the trust reposed in them : for when such trust 3s abused, it is there- by forfeited and devolves on those who give it. But however just this conclusion may be in theo- ry, we connot practically adopt it, nor take any legJ steps for carrying it into execution, under any dispensation of government at present actual- ly existing. For this devolution of power, to the people at large, includes in it a dissolution of the whole form of government established by the peo- ple ; reduces all the members to their original state of equality ; and, by annihilating the sove- fe'gn power, repeals all positive laws whatsoever before enacted. No human laws will therefore suppose a case, which at once must destroy all law, and compell men to build afresh upon a new foundation j nor will they make a provision for so desperate an ^"ent, as must render^all legal provisions inefTectua'.." But what is the question di 5*. atissuc? However much obscured by the heat an4 animosity of the party-spirit discovered by the House of Assembly on all occasions when it came to be discLS8ed,and liowever much it may have di- verged into minor points of actual disputes and. jealousy, it is simply and solely thia — Wfiether^ mi soliciting supplies in aid of thefimds already at the disposal of the Crown, the government of this province have a right to insist upon these supplies being voted in a Constitutional way before they accept of them from the legislature ? Now, the House of Assembly ha\ing difiered with the TWO higher branches of the legislature upon this subject, and not only deny the right of the Executive to insist upon supplies being granted in the same constitutional way that they are vo- ted in the mother country, but adopt a new and unheard of mode of their own in granting these supplies, which would at once constitute them into a second Executive and place every civil officer of the Crown at their sole disposal, claim- ing, as thv^y do, the annual granting of each officer's salary, as well as the amount of it, — I shall be glad to know what the People liave to do with the decision of such a question as this, and where is the section of the Constitution which, in a dispute of form and privilege of this kind, constitutes them as the tribunal where it is to be decided ? This, then, being a mere consti- 55 tutional qiiestion, the People have no right to judge in it. In truth, they have ti right neither of judging nor deciding in any question. Theii' constitutional capacity extends only to the right of electing representatives, whose duty it is to judge for them, and see that their interests are attended to in a constitutional way in common %vith the other classes of society. If any dispute arise between these representatives and the other branches of the legislature, an appeal, such as that now lying before me, does not immediately lie to the people. This, besides making them judges in their own cause, would instantly super- cede the powers of the representatives, who should themselves endeavour to decide the matter without any reference to the people, to whom our constitution has given no voice whatever, except one — that of Election ; and it would be absurd to maintain, that they enjoy the capacity of decision in conjunction with election. This would be Democracy in its utmost bounds. It is very true, that, when any disputes arise be- tween the different branches of the legislature, witliout any probability of their amicable adjust- ment by the mutual concessions of the parties, the King steps in with his prerc^tive and dis- solves the parliament, and, consequently, their legislative capacity. But, then, this is not done with the view that the pjeople should decide and 'iij.^ 36 iettle the question at issue. Nor do the peopk ever presume to do so, and their interposition is never solicited, and cannot be constitutionally. They only elect new representatives, leaving the question still undecided, and, of consequence, to be taken up, if necessary, by the new legisla- ture. Besides, even if the people, by inflammatory appeals to their passions and their powers, as has been done in the case before us, should, in an evil hour, be induced to decide in any legislative dispute, and instruct their representatives to carry their judgment into parliament and decide accordingly, such is the unparalleled wisdom and beauty of our Constitution, that these represen- tatives are not bound by the decisions or instruc- tions of their constituents. They are, indeed, their representatives individually, but they are at the same time their representatives in parliament which is a deliberative body, where every man decides according to his conscience and judgment, and not as they do in federative assemblies of states distinct from each other. For instance, Mr. Papineau, the great Apollo of the Facti- onists of this province, is elected and sent into parliament, however injudiciously, by the West .Ward of Montreal ; but when he goes there, he is not a member for the West Ward of Montreal, but a member of parliament^ where he is bound to vote as his conscience and ability may direct lyj him, an^ not as his Comtituenlt may instruct him, though he has most absurdly and most un- constitutionally appealed to them for their deci- sion. On this point, I think all our constitutional Writers are agreed ; but in case I may not have explained myself so satis&ctoriiy aa I could wish, I will give you the words of a man whose autho- rity on almost every «ubjact on which Le has treated, it would be dangeroua to dispute — I mean the immortal Burke. *• ParUament," says he, ** is not a Congress of ambassadors from dif- ferent and hostile interests ; which interests, each must maintain as an agent and advocate, against other agents and advocates, but parliament is a deliberative assembly of ^m nation, with one in- terest, that of the whole ; where, not local pur^ poses, not local prejudiees ought to guide, but the generai good, resulting from the general rea- son of the whole. You chuse a member indeed ; but when you chuse him, he is not member of Bristol, but he is a member of parliament. If the local constituent should have an interest, or should form an hasty opinion, evidently opposite to the real good of the rest of the community, the members of that place ought to be as far, as any other from any endeavour to give it effect.** Blackstone, who is no less authority, speaks to the same effect, and says, ** every member, though chosen by one particular district, when elected : t ■ ^ rl sand returned, serves for the whole reajjn. For the end of his coming thither is not particular, ■but general ; not barely to advantage his consti- tuents, but the common wealth, to advise his ma- jesty, as appears from the writ of summons *^ de ^ommuni consilio super neg&Uis guibusdam < tution, you, with so much good reason boast of> directs. When you buy a piece of land or take a farm for your children or others committed to your care and authority by the law, nothing, sure* \y^ can prevail upon you to conclude a bargain unless you receive a good legal title and are put in the peaceable possession of your purchase. How, then, can you expect that the nobleman who represents your King in this country should accept from you or your representatives those supplies which are necessary for carrying on the operations of the laws amongst you, unless you convey it by a good title, such as that prescribed by the same constitution which confers upon you the high distinction of giving away these supplies. Yet this I assure you, is what those men calling i 65 themselves your Faithful Rbprbsentativia, do. They leave tou entirely in the dark as to the nature of the dispute so long subsisting be- twixt them and government ; and endeavour to impress upon you the wicked and false notion, that government, by soliciting supplies in a con- stitutional way, wish, in the first place, to impose upon you, and them, to tyrannize over you. Ca- nadians ! do not believe them. They have private objects of their own in view with regard to which they have never consulted you and which, in the innocence and simplicity of your lives, you are unable to comprehend, if they did. See therefore to this matter. Do not let yourselves be ir^ posed upon, and your fin6 fertile country ruiiicd by the false representations of men who pretend by their words to be your friends, but who, by their actionis, are your worst and bitterest enemies. Do not let the hands of that government whose fostering care and pro- tection of every tie and institution dearto you on earth, you have been experiencing for nearly seventy years, be longer tied up for want of the funds necessary for rendering you permanently happy. Question these representatives — the real authors of all this mischief — when they come next before you. Ask them if all that I have now told you be true. If so, discard them from your presence, and elect such men as will meet 9 Ih m government without prejudices or private ends of their own in view, and who, while guarding those rights which undoubtedly belong to you, wili manfully and impartially acknowledge those of government, and lend every aid in their power to strengthen its bands and confirm its authority. Be not deceived any longer, Canadians ! It is YOUR COLLECTIVE HAPPINESS which is now at stake, and not that of any other individual or order of individuals in soc'ety! Do not, therefore, I entreat it of you, again put it in the power of the men who at present so unfortunately represent you, any more to -^buse your confidence, or to insult, as they have hitherto been accustomed to do, the highest and most dignified members of the state. Nothing, Sir ! can be more absurd than the REASONS which the authors of the Manifesto have been plepsed to assign for the refusal of the House of Assembly to grant the supplies de- manded by the Government. " In order, " say they, '* that tiie public mifht be enabled to know their reasons, they have declared that they wotdd PERSIST in thti resolutions and addresses made and passed by the House on the subject^ as they are recm'ded on their Journals »* What reasons and reasoning for withholding the necessary sup- plies for carrying on the civil government of the country, and supplies, withal, which they had cy themselves voluntaiil)' tendered ! Because, for- sooth, the Journals of the House of Assembly, as if these records of faction and intrigue, like the laws of the Medesand Persians, which could liof be altered, or like the Bulls of the Pope^ which no man dares to gainsay, are immaculate and iiifaliible evidence of the Truth of their own contents ! Well may we parody the sentence which closes the paragraph fi-om which the above quotation is made, and retort upon the Octaviansi whether a refusal to comply with a just constitutio- nal demand constitutes a right not to comply with it? Journals! God forbid, they should ever become the palladium of the rights and privileges of any class of his Majesty's subjects in this Province. Journals ! God forbid that they should ever be made the source of reference of any point calculated to promote the glory or hap- piness of mankind Journals ! God forbid that posterity should ever open them; for instead of a blessing, they will entail the curse of faction and division on the country that gave them birth. Journals ! Well do I know what they contain ; well do I know what they record. They have of late become the manuals of dissension, the insti- tutes of prejudice, and the text-book of clamo- rous abuse and personal vituperation. They have of late become the shield of obstinacy, the pollu- ted instruments of slander, and the prostituted i|: 68 m vehicles of insult to the highest oflScers of the state. They have of late become the pandects of usurped authority, the rolls of blind and par*, tial decisions in matters of the highest politic^ importance to the country, and the charters of every unconstitutional privilege and prerogative, if I may use the term. Yet these are the records which are now held up as full and sufficient evi^ dence of the right of the House of Assembly to ** Persist," in their refusal to grant the supplies in the terms solicited by His Majesty through his representative in this province ! * But let us hear a little more of these rights. " If" says the manifesto, ** supplies have not been granted, it is because they have been re- quired IN SUCH A MANNER, that your represen- tatives could not grant them without violating your interests and their duty. But they have of- fered to pass a bill similar to the act of 1825, which was sanctioned and carried into execu- tion. This they are still disponed to do." One does not know which to admire most, the solemn sophistry of this passage and position, or the barefaced impudence of its authors in endeavour- ing to palm an insolent and most notorious falsehood upon the public. Who can command patience to reason with such men ! They have no objection to pass a bill similar to the act of 1825, which was sanctioned ! The act of 1825 69 WAS NOT SANCTIONED. How, therefore, could they expect a similar act would be accepted of? But it would appear, that, in their estimation, words constitute reasoning, and that bold asser- tions and positions are tantamount to right. So far was the act of 1825, — the great model of all perfection in the estimation of these people, — from being " sanctioned" that it was absolutely and positively disapproved of, censured and REJECTED by the King him,.?lf, whose rights and prerogatives, both as a branch of the legislature, anil as head of the government, it so obstinately and violently usurped. I know not whether I way for once trust to the journals of the House of Assembly for proof and justification of this fact; but sure I am, that the clamour raised in that venerable senate by the patres conscripti of which it was composed, when the following do- cuments were laid before them, will long be re- membered by the whole country as one of the most capital instances of the mock-heroic that disappointed ambition has ever exhibited. PROVINCIAL PARLIAMENT OF LOWER-CANADA, (House of Assembly, Tuesday, 14th March, 1826.) " Mr. Secretary Cochran delivers the following Message froin the Governor in Chief, with accompanying dispatches from Lord Bath urst. v , Dalhousie Governor. " The Governor m Chief considers it to be his indispensable duty to lay before the House of Assennbly, Copies of two dis- patches from Earl Bathurst, datedi 24»th November 1824, and. 4th June 1825. '!M 70 1 ( I' lit I if". '• These Dispatches, addressed to His Excellency Sir Tran- •cis Burton, during the short absence of the Governor in Chief in England, convey the sentiments and the instructions erf His Majesty's Government upon a subject which has long oc- cupied the attention of the Provincial Parliament. " Anxious as the Governor in Chief has been to remove the cause of that difference of opinion which has for years past attended the discussions of that p irticular subject, he ob- tained special permission to lay these papers before the House, and he no V in the most earnest manner recommends them to their serious and deliberate consideration. Castle of St. Lewis, Quebec, 14th March, 1826. (Copy.) Downing Street, 4th June 1825. Sir, " I have received your two dispatclies of the dates of the 24th and 30th March ultimo. '< In the first of those dis|)atrhes, you state that, you inform me I'ith infinite satisfaction, that the differences which have so long subsisted between the legislativj bodies on financial matters have been amicably settled ; and that I shall perceive by the draft of a bill which you enclose, that the Assembly have decidedly acknowledged the right of the Crown to dis- pose of the Revenue arising out of the 14th. Ge-^. HI., &c. " I regret that it is not in my power to consider this ar- rangement as in any degree satisfactory. The special instruc- tions which had been given by His Majesty's command to the Governor General, in my dispatches of the 11th Septem- ber 1820 and 13th September 1821, liad imposed on him the necessity of refusing all arrangements that went in any de- gree to compromise the integrity of the Revenue known by the name of the Permanent Revenue ; and it appears to me, on a careful examination of the measures which have been adopted that ihey are at variance with those specific and po- sitive instructions. " The Executive Government had sent in an Estimate in which no distinction was made between the Expenditure charge- able upon the Permancn?: revenue of the Crown, and that which remained to be provided for out of the Revenues raised under Colonial Acts. *' In other words : had the whole Revenue been raised un- der Colonial Acts, there would have been no difference in the manner of sending in the Estimate. " The Estimate was given in at £65,000 sterling of which the Assembly appear to have Toted £58,074, as " amount of votes," and £3537 specially provided for by Provincial Acts ; 71 and they refuse to incur any expenditure for i,',^'J90 for dii- ferent items. Instead of the King's rernianent Revenue having certain fixed charges placed upon it, of which the As- sembly were made cognizant, that Revenue was pledged, to- gether with the Colonial Revenue, as the ways and means for providing for the cxpences of the year. The Assembly having calculated the amount of the Permanent Revenue and of the Taxes received under Colonial Acts, proceeded to vote from the unappropriated Revenues * such sum or sums as might be necessary to make up and complete a sum not exceeding £58,074; sterling, and the extent of which must necessarily depend on the amount of the Taxes received Irom the Perma- j;ent Revenne. The consequence of this arrangement is, that the Permanent Revenue will not be applied for the payment of such expences as His Majesty may deem fit but on the contrary for the payment of whatever expences the Colonial Legislature may think necessary, and the only money to be raised under the King's Revenue being thus appropriated, no means remain for the liquidation of those expenses formerly charged on the King's Revenue, and many of them especially authorised by His Majesty, which have been rejected by the Assembly in this instance. The appropriation of the Perma- nent Revenue of the Crown will always be laid by His Majes- ty's command before the House of Assembly, as a document for their information, and for the general regulation of their proceedings. They will therein see what services are already provided for by the Crown, and what remains to be provided for by the Legislature; and they will be thus assured that the proceeds of the Revenue of the Crown, (whether more or less, and from whatever sources derived,) will exclusively, and in- variably be applied under the discretion of the Kings Govern- ment, for the benefit of the Province. *« With respect to the items rejected by the Assembly, I sliall feel it my duty, after having given attention lo each' in- dividual article, to give special instructions to the Governor General on his return, to direct the payment of those which it may be thought expedient to continue. " As the Bill is limited to one year, 1 shall not think it ne- cessary to recommend to His Majesty to disallow it, but con- fine myself to instructing His Majesty's Representative in the Province of Lower- Canada, not to sanction any measure OF A SIMULAR NATURE. I have the &c. &c. ' - • (signed) BATHURST." To Lt. Governor. Sir Francis Burton, &c. <•'. 7« Wl (Copy) " Downing Street, Sith November 1824. My Lord. — " 1 have the honor to transmit to your Lord- ship by direction of Lord Bathurst, the Copy of a Dispatch addressed to Sir Francis Burton, conveying the opinion of His Majesty's Law Officers on the refci'ence made to them of your Lordship's Dispatch of the 28th April 1823, relative to a question raised by the Assembly of Lower-Canada, as to the right of Government to apply the proceeds of the Revenue arising from the 14th Geo. Ill, Cap. 88, towards defraying the expences of the Administration of Justice and the sup- port of the Civil Government, without the intervention of thQ Colonial Legislature." , I have the honor, &c. (signed) R. W. HORTON. To Lt. Genl. The Earl of Dalhousie, G. C. B. (Copy) Downing Street, 23d November, 1824-. " Sir, — Having referred to the consideration of His Ma- jesty's Law Officers a Dispatch from the Earl of Dalhousie> dated 28th April 1823, enclosing a report made by the Assem- bly of Lower-Canada, upon the Provincial Accounts: in which a question is raised as to the right of Government to apply the proceeds of the Revenue arising from the 14th Geo. IIJ^ Cap. 88, as they invariably have been since the passing of that Act, towards defraying the expences of the Administra- tion of Justice and the support of the Civil Government un- der the authority of His Majesty, without the intervention of the Colonial Legislature. I have now to acquaint you that by the 14th Geo. Ill, Cap. 88. the duties thereby imposed are substituted for the duties which existed at the time ef the surrender of the Province to His Majesty's Arms and especi- ally appropriated by Parliament to defraying the expences of tlie Administration of Justice and the support of the Civil Go* vernment of the Province. This Act is not repealed by the 18th Geo. Ill, Cap. 12, the preamble of which declares that Parliament mil not impose any Duty, &c. for the purpose of raising a Revenue, and the enacting part of which states that j^rom and offer the passing of this Act, the King and Parliament of Great Britain will not impose, &c. ; the whole of which is prospective, and does not affect the provisions of the Act of the 14th Gqo, III, Cap. 88th. The Act of the 18th Geo. 73 J?c III, cannot affect the appropriation of the Duties imposed by the l+tliGeo. III. Since the I8tli Geo. Ill, is confined to duties thereafter to be imposed, and irnpi-8td,also for purposes different from those which werecontemplijted hy thi Lej^islnture in pas- sing the 14th Geo, III, viz : the regulation of commercealone, the Act of the 14th Geo III, Cap. 88, is not repealed or af- fected by tlie 3l8t Geo. Ill, Cap. SI. It is clear that it is not repealed. If the Act had been repealed, the duties must im- mediately have ceased ; and as to the appropriation of the Du- ties or the Controul over them, notlnng is said upon ihe sub- ject either in the 46th and 47th Sections, or in any other part of the Act of 31st Geo. Ill, Cap. 'JA. " With respect to any inference to be drawn from what may have taken place in Canada within the last few years, as to these duties, it may be observed that the Duties having been imposed by Parliament at a time when it was competent to Parliament to impose them, they cannot be rcpeah d or tlie appropriation of them iu any degree varied, except by the same authority." I have the honor to be, &c. &c. (Signed) BATHUIIST. The Honorable Sir Francis Burton." Here, then, are two despatches from one of His Majesty's principal secretaries of state; the one declaring in terms as clear, positive, and de- cided as language could render them, that ** tJie act of 18*2 'J," which the manifesto daringly main- tains to have been sanctioned, and a bill ** si- milar" to which the Assembly have no objec- tions to pass, could not be considered as " in ANY DEGREE SATISFACTORY*," but, on the Con- trary, that its author, whom we are bound to believe as expressing the sentiments of the King himself, would give iNSTRUcnoNS to *' His Ma- jcstrfs Representative in tlie Province of Lower Canada not to sanction any measure of a 10 74j SIMILAR NATURE !** And the other intimating in equally clear and decided terras, that the claims so urgently and incessantly set up by the House of Assembly to the entire disposal, controul and ma- nagement of the WHOLE REVENUE of the province, were entirely illegal and unconstitutional, and that the duties which constitute this revenue " having been imposed by parliament at a time when it was competent to parliament to impose them, they cannot be repealed, or the appro- priation of them in any degree varied, except by the same authority.** Now, with such docu- ments before their eyes, documents so plain and explicit that nothing but the most perverse adhe- rence to the system of a faction, could resist the force of their evidence, and documents, withal, e- manating from the highest authority in the stat^— what could seduce the authors of the manifesto so far from the path of honour and integrity, as to declare, in the face of the country, that * ij aup^ plus have not been granted^ it is because they have hern required in such a manner, that your represent tatives could not grant tliem without violating ymir interest and their duty?" In order, in some measure, to account for the brutal and malignant spirit in which the authors of the manifesto have presumed to stab the character and conduct of the Governor in Chief, I would willingly suppose that his manner of demanding supplies was at W^ 74 variance with the constitution and the rights of the people. But when we find, that not only is this not the case in point of fact, but that the impe- rial government in approving of his measures, and INSTRUCTING him to persevere in them, CENSURED and CONDEMNED that line of conduct which the Assembly so much laud, and which they are so desirous of imitating by passing a bill of supply " SIMILAR to the act of 1825", I positively feel at a loss whether I should not la- ment the evils which uniformly attend the wick- edness and folly of our nature, rather than blame the obstinate infatuation which self-interest and ill-directed ambition, are sure to entail on the votaries of faction and political intrigue. Every man endowed with reasonable faculties will readi- ly suppose, that, after perusal of the above public documents, neither the Governor in chief, nor the House of Assembly would be so foolhardy as to deviate any more from a system of government so deliberately considered and distinctly pro- nounced. Yet, it does not follow, as a matter of necessary consequence, that because the one party have been so outrage, usly mad as to break the rule, the other party should do so likewise. The Assembly have broken the rule, but His Excellency has not; and besides the mental consolation incident to the performance of a le- gal duty prompted and directed by instructions 76 I," ■ '« '■■ from antliority, it is no tloiibt most gratifying to His KxcelltMicy to listen to the expressions of ap- probation and gratitude poured forth by every ■wellaflTccted person in the province for his man- ly intrepidity in arresting the progress and sub- vertinsc the schemes rf a faction which threatened to undermine liis government and plunge the country in ruin. Dia they suppose, that I lis Majesty's |/rijicipal secretary of state, for the Co- lonies, FORGOT orDELAViiD to transmit to " His Mf-J'Sh/'s representative in Lowcr-Cfiriada^** the INSTRUCTIONS to which he alludes at the close of the despatch of the 4th of June, 182.0? He did not foj get nor delay ; and well do tlie As- sembly know, that these instructions were acted upon, when the\ were desired to go about their business, and consult their consciences as to the propriety and integrity of their behaviour. But even had the case been otherwise, and these in- structions had never been penned, did they sup- pose that His Excellency was so grossly ignorant of the principles of the constitution and had so treacherous a memory as to forget the instruc- tions of the nth September, IS'jO, l;^.th Sep- tember, 18*^1, addressed personally to himself, and those contained in the despatch of the 4th of June, 18^25, addressed to the Lieutenant Go- vernor as to betray his duty to his King and country by yielding up his integrity to the cla- morous dictates of the Assembly? They entirely 77 and inlstook the character of the man if they thou^^ht so for a moment; for however lon 78 gross ignorance of the good faith, liberal senti- ment, extensive knowledge, and high integrity of the people of England, that any interests can possibly be superior to their own petty cavilings about they know not what, and that their fellow subjects in the mother realm, are as callous to their rights and liberties, as they are lavish of their money in currying on the administration of the country. I can, however, tell them, that the good people of England are as careful ot their rights and economical ol their cash as the llou&c of Assembly, on whom the light of liberty has only dawned within the last half century, can possibly be. Yet they give liberally and spontane- ously whatever may be necessary for carrying on the business of the state, without either calling in question the rights of others or assuming new and unconstitutional powers to themselves. — They know the constitution, and cheerfully obey its dictates. They have a higher respect for it than ever to attempt to destroy the beauty of its harmony in order to bestow upon anv branch of the legislature a power which does not of right belong to it. They know their duty and perform it manfully. They love their country too much to destroy it by squabbles about pretentions which they cannot enjoy without entirely forfeit- ing their rank in civil government. They know, that their government will be no more, either h'H when the Crown shall become independent of the nation for its supplies, or when their Repre- sentr ives shall begin to share in the Executive authoiity. They therefore know that the ma- chine of government depends upon them for its propelling powers ; but they never allow it to stop, as is done in this province, in the hope of becoming masters and directors of its operations, as well as the nuwing power. The one is enough for them ; and while they hold that, they need not be afraid that any undue advantage can be taken of them. In particular, a custom has for a long time prevailed at the begining of every reign to grant to the King a revenue for his life ; a provision which, with respect to the great exer- tions of his power, does not destioy the influence of the commons, but yet puts him in a condition to support the dignity of the Crown, and affords him, who is the first magistrate in the nation, that independeuce which the laws insure also to those magistrates who are particularly entrusted with the administration of justice. But a generous and constitutional provision of this kind, the As- sembly of this province spurn at. They have no objection, to be sure like so many driving bar- gain speculators, to consider annually the value of the legal and physical labour given by the magistrates, and other public officers, for the a- inount of salary accorded them ; and to allow 80 » /u ir ; Mr. Justice A. ao much, and Mr. Justice 13. so much, just according to the f'ancv and prejudices Oi the * Committee of supply ;" but as to phicing into the hands ot I lis Majesty during hfc a sum for this purpose, or in aid of this purpose, to be given by iiim as the reward of an independent and indust'ious discharge of ])ublic services, is a Ihing which their narrow minds can ne\cr ap- proach, without calling up the worst feelings and passions of their nature; exposing the King him- se'fandhis Representative to insult, and the con- stitution to encroachments, which nothing but the grossest ignorance of its forms and excellence could justify. 1 hey have no idea, after the noble patriotic example of His late Majesty, of looking " upon the independence and uprightness of the judges, as essential to the impartial administra- tion of justice; as one of the best securities of the rights and liberties of his subjects; and ?s most conducive to the hunour of the Crown." 'They have no notion of lionour because they cannot confer any. They camiot eiulure public offices or officers, except such as derive their being from tUemsclves, i hey cannot endure that any pow- er, however, constitutional and agreeable to law, shouUl stand between them and the servants of the public ; thus setting aside entirely the just and hitherto acknowledged prerogatives of the crown, which is tiie only fountain, in our system of go-. T 9 81 vernment, at once of justice, of honour, of office and of privilege. The dignified notion which they entertain of the crown, is, that though the constitution says otherwise, it cannot be a safe deposit for its own revenue, and that it cannot give away either offices or the rewards of offices, without corrupting. They must therefore be- come their own bankers and their own paymas- ters. They must keep their own books, and have a per centage on all the salaries in the gift of the crown. They have no objections, indeed, that the crown should be distinguished by the high honour of being " General Ayent and correspon," dent for the House of Aisemhly of Lower- Cana- da,' with full powers annually to remit to the public servants of the country the salary allotted to them for the services of the past year, and to take their receipts accordingly, and lay them in due form before the next session of the Assem* bly. But greater privileges or prerogatives they cannot grant. The following may serve as the form of the letter prescribed by the Assembly for the crown or its representative in this pro" vince, in remitting the annual stipends to the different judges, magistrates and servants of the crown throughout the country. Castle of Saint LoidSf Quebec, 1st May, 1 827. Siry — I have the honor of endosiny d^-— ^be- ll \\ ;.' 1- 82 ing the amount of salary voted to you hy the JHousfi of A ssemhfy for the by gone year. J regret that tke amount is jf ^00 less than that voted for the SAME SERVICE the preceding year ; hut ytm must he aware that though the privtleye of appoin* tit:g to s ttmttons is still left in the hands of the Crown, the Assembly, by depriving it of the old p/erogative of fixing the amount of salary^ and rendering it uniform^ are the best judges of the VALUE of your services. As, therefore that re* spectohle and constitutional body have assum* ed to themselves the right of conxmssing yearly the usefulness as well as the propriety of your ptib* lie duties, I hope you will not take it unkind of me to inform you, that, for the future, you are bound to consider them, and not the crown, as your SOLE supreme patrons and authority, and the crotvn only as the nominator to situations. I have the honour to be, ^c. ^c. Governor in Chief, and General correspond* ing Agent for the Hou^e of Assembly. Believe me. Sir, the imagination has no part in making this represent tion ; and that, if the House of Assembly were permitted to pursue their ends without the appHcation of those salu^ tary checks and interruptions which the convSti- tution has wisely prescribed, such would be the li.,9 83 actual state of matters ; and we should soon feel whether a monarchy or a democracy should most prevail in this province, and whether that loyalty and patriotism so much boasted of at present should find its way across the Atlantic or be confined to the banks oi the Saint Lawrence — Even if what the manifesto says of the Execu- tive and its chief were true, as thank God ! it is not, we should then find which is worst one wild beast or many. But let them beware, for they know not what they do. Nothing can be more at variance with the fundamental principles of our constitution than the assumption of executive power by a branch which is so^^^', legislative, and nothing can be more dangerous or attended with more deplorable consequences. " It is highly necessary,** says Blackstone, " for preserving the balance of the constitution, that the executive power should be a branch, though not the whole, of the legislative. The total union of them would be productive of tyranny; the total disjunction of them, for the present, would in the end, pro- duce the same effects, by causing that union a- gainst which it seems to provide. The legisla- tive would soon become tyrannical, by making continual encroachment 4, and gradually assum^ inq to itself the rights oftlie Executive pou^er,--^ Thus the long parliament of Charles the first, while it acted in a constitutional manner, with if! i 84. the royal concurrence, redressed many heavy grievances and established many salutary laws. 13ut when the two houses assumed the power of legislation, in exclusion of the royal authority, tlipy sooji after assumed likewise the reins of ad- Tiiinutration j and, in consequence of their urdted 'pawers^ overturned both church and state, and established a worse oppression then any they pre- tended to remedy. The legislative therefore can-r not abridge the executive power of any rights ivhich it now has hg laiv, without its own consent; since the law must perpetually stand as it now dues, unless all the powers will agree to alter it. And herein indeed consists the excellence of the English government, that all parts of it form a mutual check upon each other. In the legisla- tive, the people are a check upoh the nobility^ and the nobility, a check upon the people ; by the mutual privilege of rejecting what the other has resolved : while the King is a check upon both, ivhich preserves the executive power from en^ croachmeats," In what manner, then, has this constitution continued to find a remedy for evils which from the very nature of men and things, seem to be irremediable? How has it found means to oblige those persons to whom the peo- ple have given up their power, to make them ef- fectual and lasting returns of gratitude ? those who enjoy the exclusive authority, to seek the m T 85 advantage of all ? tliose who make the laws, to make onl}' equitable ones ? It has been by siib^ jecting themselves to tkosc laws, and for that pur- pose excluding them from all share in the execu- tion of them. Thus the parliament can establish as numerous a standing army as it pleases ; but iminediately another power comes forward, which takes the absolute command of it, which fills all the posts in it, fixes and regulates the pay of every individual composing it, and directs its mo- tions at pleasure. The parliament may levy new taxes ; but immediately another power seizes up- on the prCv'luce of them, and alone enjoys the advantages and glory arising from the disposal of it. The constitution has not only excluded from any share in the execution of the laws, those in whom the people trust in enacting them, but it has also taken from them what would have had the same pernicious influence on their delibera- tions — the hope of ever invading that executive authority and transferring it to thernsplves. This authority has been made in England on§ single indivisable prerogative ; it has been made for ever the inalienable attribute - ^* one perso7i, marked out and ascertained beforehand by solemn laws and long established customs,and all the active for- ces in the state have been lefl at his disposal. The power of conferring and withdrawing places and employments has also been added to it, and am- 86 bition itself has been thus interested in its defence and service. The King is the only self existing and permanent power in the state. The generals and ministers of state, are so only by the continu- anceof hispleasure. He can dismiss the parliament themselves if they should ever entertain danger- ous designs; and he need only say one word to disperse every power in the state that may threat- en his authority. Those men to whom the peo- ple have delegated the power of framing the laws, are thereby made sure to feel the whole pressure of them. They can increase the prero- gatives of the executive power; but they cannot invest themselvet with it: they have it not in their power to command its motions, they only can unbind its hands. * ** WhQWQwer parliament ** says Burke, '• is persuaded to assume the offices oi' executive government, it will lose all the confi- dence, love and veneration which it has ever en joyefl w)ii|e it was supposed the corrective and Pi^Uflvfij til ti}^ ffctiuf/ powers of the state. This wdtilil ue tii^ ti/eiii l/iQUgh its conduct in such a perversion of its i'uiiciions should be tolerably just and moderate ; but if it should be iniquitous, violent, full of passion, and full of faction, it would be considered as the most intolerable of all the modes of tyranny" " To the province • De Lolme. «7 of Executive government,** adds this great man, «' I wish parliament always to superintend — ne- ver TO ASSuMf ." Seeing therefore that my ob- servations, with respect to the usurpations of the Assembly, are borne out and supported by law, policy, philosophy, nature and reason, it appears to me to be quite unnecessary to extend them to greater length. It would be a happy circum- stance if any thing I have said should meet with due consideration in the proper quarter. In this case, I flatter myself the country should not much longer have to lament that extreme dull- ness and desolation which the improper conduct of the Assembly, like a winter's cloud, has spread over every region of it. But I have despaired so long on this subject, that hope is almost banished from my bosom. I shall do my duty, however, and stand by my post till the last moment of my existence. My arm, indeed, is feeble, but my heart s firm, and my resolution^ at least, uncon- querable. I therefore, on this subject, in par- ticular, warn the country to its duty. Society cannot exist unless the laws be obeyed, and due respect paid to those who are entrusted with their execution. Society cannot exist unless a con- trouhng power upon will and appetite be placed somewhere ; and the less of it there is within, the more must be without. It is ordained in the eternal constitution of things, that men of in- ss temperate minds cannot be free. " Their passi- ons forge their fetters.** In one word, thtn, if the Assembly be permitted to pursue their usur- pation of executive authority, in the manner that they have done for the last ten years, they will not stop till they make the same declaration made by that House of commons, which, on the 4th of January, 164*9, passed a vote, "that what- ever is enacted or declared for law by the com- 771071S in parliament assembled hath the foice of law ; and all the people of this nation are con- cluded thereby, although the consent and con- currence of the King, or house ofpcersbenot had thereto/' The sequel is obvious. It has already been recorded in the annals of anarchy and bloodshed ! I cannot pass on to the consideration of the mi- nor and collateral topics oi the manifesto, with- out pausing in this place for the purpose of making a few observations with respect to thc^ PARLIAMENTARY TRIVILEGES with which tllC CON- STITUTION has invested the governor of this pro- vince as the REPRESENTATIVE of His Majesty; and thus be able to ascertain how far an indivi- dual or any body of individuals our of parlia- ment are entitled to call in question any act or deed done by that distinguished personage in PARLIAMENT. I do not tliiuk the House of As- sembly will be prone to admit that they are them- I Si Iff selves destitute of all constitutional parliamentary privileges. On the contrary, they not only claim in their fullest extent those secured to the House of Commons by the first of William and Mary, which declares it as one of the liberties of the people, ** that the freedom of speech and debates, and proceedings in parliament ought not to be impeached or questioned in any court or place out of parliament," by demanding all necessary privileges and f\'eedom of speech from the Go- vernor in person, by their speaker, at the open- ing of every new parliament; but have commit- ted various overt acts declaratory of their title to these privileges. So early as the second session of the first provincial parliament, they resolved ** that a member had been arrested in direct vio- " olation of the rights and privileges of the house, ** and that the persons who had caused the arrest " were severally guilty of a breach of privilege." On the 1 !th of March 1800, the late respectable Editor of the Quebec Mercury was ordered to be taken into custody by the Sergeant at arms, **fbr undertaking in his paper of yesterday to give an account of the proceedings of this house." In the session of 181 J<, the Governor in Chief, Sir George Prevost, having thought it inexpedient to suspend the two chief justices of the province from their offices " upon an address to that effect from ONE branch of the legislature alone, founded 12 90 on articles of accusation, on which the Legislative Council had not been consulted, and in which thc\ had not concurred," the Assembly resolved, ** that his Excellency the Governor in Chief, by his said answer to the house, hatii violated THE CONSTITUTIONAL RIGHTS AND PRIVILlLGES OF THIS HOUSE.** I could adducc several other instances wherein the House of Assembly c-.iimed and exercised a right to privileges ; but this is sufficient to establish a claim to them, at least, in their own estimation. Surely therefore, there can exist no hesitation on the part of this branch of the legislature to acknowledge and recognize a light so similar as privileges on the part of the other branches of the legislature, especially on the part of the first and highest, as enjoying, so far as they can possibly be enjoyed in this pro- vince, all the political attributes of the King. In a word, if t!ie Assembly claim and enjoy all the privileges of the corresponding branch of the British legislature, surely the Governor in Chief may be permitted to do the same thing. As the one have modelled their privileges on those of the (\)mmons, so must the other model them upon those of the King, and with greater rea- son, for he represents the King; but the Assem- bly do not represent the ( 'onnnons. It is by tracing the parliamentary rights and pri\ileges of the Comipo.ns tliat the Assemblv have been \ 9A able to ascertain the extent an'i nature of their own; so it is only by tracing the pailianientury privileges and prerogatives ol the King that we can ascertain tiiose of the Governor. Of the great political corporation ol" the kingdom, the King is said to be cnpui^ pi incipiam tt finis ; and without him, or some person to represent him, the parliament can neither meet nor separate.— In this capacity the King is incapable of doing wrong, and the law ascribes to him absolute per- fection. " Yet still," says Blackstone, ** not- withstanding this personal perfection, which the law attributes to the sovereign, the constitution has allowed a latitude of supposing the contrary in respect to both houses ok parliament; each of which in its turn, has exerted the ri^ht of re- inonstrating and complaining to the King, even of those acts of royalty, which are most properly and person lly his own; siuh as messages s' ^ned by himself, and speeches (I'livercd frow the throne. And yet, such is the reverence which is paid to the royal person, that though the two HOUSES have an undoubted right to consid* tlicse acts of state in any light whatever, and accord- ingly treat them in their addresses as j)ersonal!y proceeding from the prince, yet among them, selves, (to pret-ervc the more po« -'^ct decency, and for the great freedom of deb it i ; they usual- ly suppose them to flow from the ;;dvicc of the ^< »! IMAGE EVALUATION TEST TARGET (MT-3) 1.0 i.l m U2^ 12.5 Ufi Bii 122 £t US, 12.0 L25 III 1.4 m Photographic Sciences Corporation 23 fit MAIN STREET WEB&ttR.N.Y. MSM (716)872-4503 *f •■ #,<° > administration. But the privilege of canvassing thus freely the personal acts of the sovereign (either directly, or even through the medium of his reputed advisers) belongs to no individu- al, BUT IS CONFINED TO THOSE. AUGUST ASSEM- BLIES: and there too the objections must be pro* posed with the utmost respect and deference.-— One member was sent to the Tower for suggest- ing that His Majesty's answer to the address of the Commons contained ** high words to fright the members out of their dutyj" and anotler for sayingthat apart of the King's speech " seem- ed rather to be calculated for the meridian of Germany than Great Britain, and that the King was a stranger to our language and const'tution." Now, let us apply this doctrine in the same manner as we have done with respect to the House of Assembly, to whom we have allowed every attribute and privilege, established by law to belong to the House of Commons. If such then be the rights, attributes, privileges and pre- rogatives of the King in reference to the Impe- rial Parliament, most unquestionably, such, or similar to these are the rights, attributes, privi- leges and prerogatives ol his kepresentativf, in reference to the provincial parliament. He who v/ill deny this, and still maintain the privileges of the Assembly, is incapable of entertaining pro- per sentiments of justice, or just principles of m reasoning- He who will do this, is incapable of arbitrating in the simplest question of equity. — He who will do this, would degrade the consti- tution, and attribute to it principles of injustice and partiality which could never belong to such a masterpiece ol human invention. How, then, is it possible sufficiently to reprobate the conduct of those members of the legislature, who, forget- ting their own station and characters as members of a constituent part of that legislature, and re- gardless of t][ie privileges and prerogatives of a co- ordinate branch of the same corporation, dared, as INDIVIDUALS OUT OF PARLIAMENT to canvass,by an infamous libel, and base, scurrilous, seditious, and in^s^mmaiory Manifesfo,the personal and constitu- tional acts of His Majesty's representative in arp- J.IAMENT ? Conduct, like this, shows somewhat more than a disregard of the ordinary decencies of private or public intercourse and the respect due to rank. It marks a spirit of innovation at vari- ance with e\ery principle of justice and our glo- rious constitution, and betrays the authors into an act which I hope will be damned to fame as one of the most desperate attempts ever made to plunge a happy, peaceful and contented people into ruin and misery. — 1 his Manifesto is, indeed, a document which is as erroneous in its princi- ples as it is noxious in its tenets ; and I trust tliat no man of the least decency of character will bfi 94* ii m' 'ir lit t found to embark in the scheme, of which I have every right to conclude, it is the precursor. It is as mischievous and cruel in its probable effects, as it is manifestly illegal in its principles. It not only strikes at the best refuge of society— the constitution, which binds it together— but, in doing so, encroaches upon the rights and privi- leges of the first person of the state in a manner that would deprive him of every political attri- bute hitherto guaranteed by that constitution and recognized by every wite man \iving under its auspices. But waving every other considera- tion, it amounts, at all events, to a direct and positive VIOLATION of the parliamentary privi- leges and prerogatives of the Governor in Chief, which, if the provincial parliament be intitled to any privileges at all, must be held as sacred with respect to him, as any other branch of the legis- lature. * If the Assembly claim privileges, so may and ought the Governor. If the Assembly punish, as we have seen they have done, a breach of their privileges ; so may and ought the Go- vernor ; and I trust that those who, under the fldse pretence of maintaining their own rights and privileges, have encroached upon the prero- * It is n standing rule of both houses of the legislature, " That in ^11 un- provHled cases, resort shall be had to the rule?, usages and forms of parlia- MFNT, wliich shall be followed until this House shall think it fit to make «' rule applicable to such unprovided cases." 95 lave It .'cts, not the in nvi- iner ttri- tion der era- arid rivi- fiief, d to with 'gis. I so ibljr ach ■^^ jrO- the htg gatives of others, will not escape the punishment which the law prescribes ; and that their names will be thus handed down to posterity, no less as the infringers on the rights of others, than the wretched destroyers of tiieir own. 1 had scarcely finished the last sentence when through the medium of that organ of faction, to which I have already more than once had occa- sion to refer, a circumstance came to my know- ledge, to which I cannot help soliciting your par- ticular attention. I allude to what has been false- ly and most insidiously termed a " constituti- onal PUBLIC MEETING of the princtpul inhabit tnnts of St. Ili^ac'mthe,'* held on the I2th of April, Who the principal inhabitants of St. Hyacinthe are, I know not ; as little do 1 know any thing of Monsienr Porlier, their secretary, though 1 am bound to presume that he is some great philosopher or pohtician, some miglity de* mi-god, well known and properly esteemed in those parts. But one thing I know, that this same meeting at St. Hyacinthe, as if emblematical of the plant of that name, which is one of the ear- liest of spring flowers, is the Jint fruit of th.nt se- ditious document which I have all along been considering. The icsolutions of these AmphiO' tyons of St. Hyacinthe are as perfect an echo as you can well conceive of the manifesto ; and could I once be certain that the dome of the 90 »■' Bonsecour cliurch of Montreal, * like tlie whis- pering gallery of St PaiiPs, was capable of reper- cussion, I should have little difficulty in identi- fying them, so very much alike are they in all tlieir tones and modulations, and so completely are the pipes of St Hyacinthe attuneil to the harps of* the sweet suigers of Deinocracy of Montreal. However, be all this as it may, the evil effects of the manifesto are now bcgining to show themselves, and we may easily know the tree by its fruit. 'J he great impulse has been given to the ball of discord ; and unless it ? stopped in time by the yet ui. nerved arm of au- thority, we shall soon find, that it will gather such strength and force in its progress as will ultimately render it irresistable, and that deeds of infamy will be inscribed in the comparatively obscure volume of*Canadian history, which no chemic power can ever efiUce. You will perceive, that the burden of the song of St. Hyacinthe, as well as of the overture of Mo itreal, is the Governor in Chief, and his au- dacity in proroguing the late session of the pro- vincial parliament J so unconscionable are both parties of the dignity and political privileges of that personage ; and so anxious are they to level down to their own base and tainted sphere every * Tlie Apollo of the Alanifeatoers rcM'dcs in the immediate virinity of thie edifice, and, in a street beuring the same name, holds some property.^ 97 thing calculated to withhold from their grasp that unlimited power which they have so long and so urgently sought after. You never hear any thing like a cool and plausible argument to prove the misdeeds or the misrule o^ gmernment. You ne- ver see a charge of delinquency attempted to be brought against the government. You never see that section of the constitution pointed out, which the government have compromised and rendered ineffectual, either by any misapplicntion of their authority, or any undue usurpation of power.— You never hear it asserted that the Provincial go- vernment have deviated from the line of conduct chalked out for them by the Imperial government. We often hear it vociferated, that the one is amenable to the other j but we never hear of a meeting being called to appoint deputies for car- rying a list of grievances to the foot of the throne, and to the two houses of parliament, the sole and true judges when any grievances do actu- ally exist. JNo, you never do ! Such things are perfectly irrelevant to the purposes of the Oc- tavians and their satellites. But you often hear of i\\Q governor. He is the man. He alone is the ob- ject of attack ; and could he once be pulled down from the strong-hold in which he is fortified by the constitution, all would be well The breach would then be practicable, and the fortress of Id- (^itimate government, would then be stormed 13 '98 f i'.t ^^ IP midst the yell of demagogues, and the itriumpli of a ferocious band of execrable wretches who, to gain their own ends, would sacrifice the dearest ob- jects of human wishes. Oh miserable ambition i ** Dark demons lead Thy hurried steps o'er sh'ppcry heights astray, When furies urge, and spectres point the way, To many a foul and ruthless deed, While to each blast that howls along the sky Unfurled by Death's own hand, thy crimson banners fly." Yet such has been the way that the enemies of social order have always commenced their operations. They first endeavour to bring per-. SONS of authority in the state into contempt. — This once accomplished, the path that leads to the overthrow of the laws of which these persons are the best guarantees and supporters, is short and easy. Their physical and visible outworks being dismantled, the laws themselves, are look- ed upon as a mere chaos of words and terms with- out meaning or object, and are scattered to the winds in order to clear the area for a new edi- fice of their own imagination, but which was ne- ver yet found to be either a sound or durable one. From the mode, therefore, in which the demagogues of this province carry on their ope- rations, I think I am justified, on every princi- ple of analogy and action, to conclude that their views are at once dangerous to the country and destructive of their ultimate happiness, in all the sacred and combined characters of men, hus- bands, fathers, anfl friends. Were thev to allow •99 me to reason with them in these hallowed cha- racteja, I think, weak and tender as my powers of reasoning be, I could appeal to them with 8ome degree of success. As MtN, 1 could tell them, that nothing has entailed greater misery on mankind, than a restless discontented spirits goaded on by the fa'sc glare of power and am- bition in pursuitofachane of government, when that under which they lived was capable of secur- ing to them the full enjoyment of all the rights -and comforts of society ; and that tlie day on which this province, by the vice or folly ol a few of her own ill advised children, shall forfeit the British constitution, and the protection of British laws and arms, from that day may we date its ruin, and subjugation to another state little ca- pable of prolonging our present prosperity and happiness. As husbands, I could tell them, that, if they still love the mothers of their children — if they still cherish feelings of tender affection for those bosoms on which they have so often leaned for consolation in the hour of distress, and which they swore at the altar to protect, they will not involve them in troubles, the end of which they cannot foresee; expose them to in- juries at which the virtuous soul shudders ; nor familiarize their minds to crimes which would soon dissolve every sacred tie, and completely de- -stroy every generous sentiment, by further pursu • ¥ '■''■ 100 ing a course which is every way calculated to foste? such awful consequences. As fathers, ],|COuld tell them ol* their duties to their offspring, and how forcibly the laws of God and man combing in enjoining all parents to secure to their children all those means of moral and political happiness which the institutions of society afford; and whichj if they do not exist under the British Constitu- tion, thev are no where to be found on this side of heaven. As friends, I could tell them, that no» thing is so destructive of the confidence and ia- tegrity which, in civilized society, one man finds it necessary to repose in another, as the course they are now pursuing ; and that nothing is more destructive of true friendship than political usur^ pation ; for, says Cicero, '* Non enim solum ipsa fortuna aeca est, sed eos etiam plerumque efficit ccscoSf quos complexa est.** Friendship ! hallowed name! In youth, thou hast been my only preser- vative against irreparable errors ; in poverty my best and sole refuge ; in danger the bower an- chor of my destiny; in manhood the best auxilia- yy in the execution of my duty; and in retire- ment my best and most stable companion. Let me not live to see thee discarded or anywise sul- lied in this remote province of a great empire, where I have been long cherished by thee and known thee best ! 3ut as they will not suffer me to reason with 101 them in this way, I must appeal to the constitu- tion and the Jaws, and tell them candidly, that public meetings of the above description, arc ifOT constitutional; that public meetings, call- ed in obedience to a manifesto, breathing ven- geance against the executive of this province, and hurling insults and defiance at his majesty's representative, as the head of it, are most illegal in themselves and dangerous in their conse- quences ; that public meetings, called ibr the ex- press purpose of drawing a parallel between the conduct of one branch of the legislature and ano- ther ; and raising one branch of that legislature into popular esteem and admiration to the pre- judice of another, are altogether at variance with the principles of our constitution, and subver- sive of every dictate of law, justice, equity and decency. Respect mus£ be shewn to those in authority ; and unless that be done, the whole fabric of our constitution will fall to pieces. — The basis of our government is founded in sub- ordination ; and if that rock of social order be undermined, the entire structure must give way. Nothing therefore can be more infamous and intolerable than the disrespect which has all along been shown to His Majesty's representa- tives in this province ; but, in particular, nothing can be more foul and indecorous than those pe7\ sonal insults which have been of late offered to 10^ in f r 1^1 'M His Majesty's present representative ; whom, "take him all in all," I am firmly persuaded, is the fittest representative that our beloved and most gracious sovereign could possibly nominate. But, has the constitution set no bounds to the vituperation of vulgar declaimers and seditious malcontents ? To be sure it has ; to be sure it should. No man dare approach the King with indecorous language or abusive epithets. His person is sacred ; his title is sacred ; and his pre- rogatives are defined and unassailable. •* For though," says Blackstone, whom, I trust, I have already quoted with some effect, ** a philosophi- cal mind will consider the royal person merely as one man appointed by mutual consent to pre- side over many others, and will pay him that re- verence and duty which the principles of society demand, yet the mass of mankind will be apt to grow insolent and refractory, if taught to consi- der their prince as a man of no greater perfection than themselves. The law therefore ascribes te the King, in his high political character, not only large powers aud emoluments, which form his prerogative and revenue, but likewise certain at- tributes of a great and transcendent nature, by which the people are led to consider him in the light of a superior being, and to pay him that aw- iul lespect. which may enable him with greater rase to carry on the business of government." 103 ' And shall it be said, that any individual bear- ing the CONSTITUTIONAL imprcss of His Majesty; that the Governor in Chief of this province, no- minated and appointed by the crown to discharge its functions and superintend its interests ; that the highest, the most honourable, the most dura- ble, and most dignified branch of tlie legislature ; that the head and administrator of the govern- ment of this province, has no participation in the rights and privileges of the King, the source whence all his Excellency's legal attributes eman- ate ? Shall it be said, that his personal preroga- tives, as well as his parliamentary conduct, is amenable to every brawling demagogue who chooses to call it in question; and that the ignoble vulgar, the beasts of the people, are by law inti- tied thus to herd together for the purpose of bringing a character so distinguished in himself) and so much exalted and protected by the laws, into contempt in order to bolster up the usurpa- tions of a few deluded wretches in the House of Assembly, and otherwise, instituting an order of things in this province to -vhich we are, or at least ought to be, by nature, at once strangers and enemies? Never! The laws forbid it. The con- stitution positively and emphatic??! ly debars it. — Let us not therefore be so mad — so entirely lost to every sense of respect for others, and to every sentiment of attachment for ourselves and 104, M K'i: '?"" V*:' ' ii':;: our posterity, as to burst through every barrier that stands between us and ruin, or pull dowa upon our heads a fabric consecrated by ages to the maintenance of civilized society. What would the wise in England think, if pubHc meetings were held there for no other purpose than to make inflammatory speeches and frame resoluti« ons derogatory of the parliamentary prerogatives and conduct of the King, and laudatory of the proceedings of the House of Commons, however unparliamentary, indecorous or dangerous ? — Why, the law must take its course ; and we should soon see the insulters of royalty and the disturbers of the public peace bending to the ground before the majesty of the constitution, and hiding themselves in caves, dungeons and brothels from the destroying sword of justice ! Let the gentry of St. Hyacinthe, and s;.;ch as may be disposed to follow their example, look to this. The^ have no right to destroy the coiU stitution. Let them therefore reflect well be* fore they proceed further in a course so fraught with evil consequences, and whose end is inevit- able destruction to the present most happy and most enviable prospects of this magnificent coun- try. Every blow given to the constitution is a stab at their own happiness. Every inroad upon the constitution is a deviation from the path to fame and glory. Every mark of disrespect shewn m io tiie constitution is a thrust at the genius of li« berty. And let them not suppose, that the free- dom of insulting, as they daily do, the Governor in Chief, and otheis in authority in this province, has either part or portion in genuine liberty; which does not consist in the permission to do ant/ thing that a man tliinks proper — a permis- sion in which even the savages do not partici- pate — ^but in securing the freedom and exercise of just and lawful actions. The great fabric of our government, as established in this country, is S'lpported by those three main pillars — the Governor, the Legislative Council and the House of Assembly. Pull down one of these, and the whole edifice will fall in pieces. What then must we think of those who are straining every nerve to undermine the first ot these pillars with the view of transferring its strength, powers, and ornaments to one of the remaining two ,not to di- vide these between them? They are certainly mad! Do they not already see the structure ^tending and trembUng in the storm! I can only add, let them desist, or be crushed in the ruins ; and let all prudent and sensible men escape for their lives. I cannot refrain from regretting in this place, that our constitution has not defined more legi- bly the rank and station of the King's represen- tatives in this country, and assimilated more 14. ■• id6 S'ilii W-''i Pi i strongly and closely the public functions of the Governor with those of His Majesty, The King is never seen nor heard of, but in the execution of a gracious action. So far is this from being the case with respect to the Governor, that he i« seea and heard, on '^er^ public occasion ; and I ques- tion "'hether his name is not introduced into every petty transaction and communication that emanates from the focus of government. Now, this is absurd : at all events, it is impolitic. It lowers his Excellency into a petty officer of the government ; and makes him the channel of cor- respondence in all its transactions. It brings him in contact with the rabble, and every minion that faction or party chooses to set up against him. The consequence is, that his rank as a man, his station as a public officer, and his digni^ ty as representative of the King and admini&tra- tor of the government, by being daily and hourly before the people in all the variety of shapes and characters that the faithful discharge of public duties requires, are brought down far beneath their proper sphere of action, and his name made familiar as household words. The rude and ijr- norant vulgar are taught to associate his name with the commonest transactions, and to enter- tain no other notions of respect for him than be- longs to the ordinary functionaries of govern- ment. -This should not be; and Itrust, when lOT the Ling >nof the seen ues- oar constitution comes to be remodelled — a pe« riod, which, from the untoward aspect of our affairs, I cannot conceive to be very distant— this degrading blemish will be corrected. '1 he communications emanating from government, except, in some cases of importance necessarily demanding the interposition of the Governor, might always be made in the name of the Exe* cutive Council, to whom all communications and references should be addressed as well in re- turn as originally. This would shed a ray of •splendor and majesty round the person ot the administrator of government, which is absolutely necessary in such a polity as ours, and without which the vulgar will ever be making encroach- ments unsuitable to the state, and destructive of their own happiness^ In a word, the situation of the Governor should be rendered as complete a counterpart of that of the King, as circumstances and the laws can admit of; and indeed, unless this be done in this province, few men of influ- ence and rank, who prefer the blessings of re- tirement to the bustle and stuLning noise of fac- tion and party, will be found to embark in so in- secure and crazy a vehicle as the state barge of Lov/er-Canada. ' Having thus fully discussed, and I hope, com- pletely overthroTvU, to the satisfaction of all rea. sonable men, the most material points so arro., lOd i.i.i m- 10- V', ■■si gantly set forth and contended for in the inani* festo, it becomes necessary to refer, with a simi. lar view, to those minor and collateral positions which are always found suspended, either as pro- tection or ornament, around political party work$ of this kind. In doing so, it will be useful, if not amusing, to call your attention to the modet and the character of the instrument, by which the manifesto was ushered into the world in the lan- guage of Britons, It is by the friendship and companionship formed in life, that the public gain aknowlege of our principles and sentiments: it is by considering the channel through which the communication in question, was sent into the world, that its true character and purposes cart be traced. I know not whether the Canadian Specfafoh, the oracle I now allude to, be known beyond the boundaries of Canada ; but, in our domestic circles, it is not only well known, but is looked to in all the various characters, conjured up in our nurseries for the purpose of checking the wild sallies, and more passionate outrages of out juvenile heroes and heroines. Some of our more compassionate and antiquated dames, are disposed to make use of it in no other light than as a sim- ple personification of poor Wamba, in the story of Ivanhoc, who to the humble destiny of swine*' herd, added the more laborious and important 109 mi* mio ons pro. 3rk$ 'not and the I lan- and ublic ents: j^rhich to the ;s can leyond mestic looked up in ng the of out ir more isposed s a sim* story of swine*' iportant duties, as he thought, of wearing a collar round his neck, as the emblem of slavery, and making sport to strangers, while he acted the fool in obedi- ence to his taskmasters. Others took it for the gi- ant Gulliver; at all events affirming that,as it came from the same country, it could not be otherwise than a near relation of Gulliver's j for nothing could be more sublime than its imitations of that renowned hero's prowess in the land of pigmies and Lilliputians ; tearing up by the roots whole forests of abuse and misrule — extinguishing im- mense conflagrations of tyranny and despotism, sinking whole navies of usurpation and slavery, and breaking asunder the strongest cords of ini- quity and falsehood. Some more sentimental ma- trons would frequently identify it with Harley's guide and instructor in Bedlam, who, never dreaming that he was a fit inmate of such a place himself, pretended, with great accuracy of know- ledge and information, to point out the errors and miserable condition of others; ■• . " From Macedonia's madman to the Swede;" l.; and then, by way of convincing the visitor of his claim to consideration, and his right to the cha- r?c ' 2r which he assumed, concluded by declar- ing himself to be no less a personage than the Cham of Tartary ! Others, of a more poetical turn, metamorphose it into the ant of Gay, " whose forward prate Control'd all matters in debate; Whether he knew the thing or no, ** ' no i m ! f <>} His tongue eternally would ^o ; ' j^ u,^^ , «, For he had impudence at will, > * And boasted universal skill. Ambition was his point in view."— Another of the same school said it must he the Monkey, who, , J; - : " to REFORM the tinies>. Resolved to visit foreign climes ;*" and a third likened it to that vixen-tongued Xail- tippe, who drove her husband to distraction with perpetual scolding: — " Good Gods ! 'tis like a rolling riveri f - That murmuring flows, and flows for ever ! *»• • Ne'er tir'd perpetual discord sowing. Like fame, it gathers strength by going." Those who have worshipped at the shrine of A- von's immortal bard, say it is no other than Mai" volio hjmselfi with his yellow stockings and cross garters ; and that no other human being could thus ** read politic authors*' and ** baffle Sir Toby" so naturally and effectually; that n© other could so completely become the dupe of his own pride and vanity, than the tool and play- thing of the dissolute and brawling Knights of Illyria; that none but a madman with yellow stockings and cross garters, " let his tongue tang ARGUMENTS OF STATE*' in the manner the Spec- tator does J and that no other existing thing but itself could thus be " made the most notorious geek and gull, That e'er invention played on."— But other Mirandas of a more virtuous, and su- Ill perstitious cast of mind, maintain it to be the de- formed and savage Calihan himself; for that none else could with equal facility cast off the gratitude due to nn old master and protector, and transfer his services to another in order to induce him to ** knock a nail into his head," for no other reason than that he might sing, ** No more dams TU make for fish ; Nor fetch in firing " ■ ' Atrequirkig, . t . '• ,; . Nor scrape trencher, nor wash dish ; ' 'Ban 'Ban, Ca— Caliban Has a NEW master — Get a new man. Fheeoom, hey-day ! hey-day ! Freedom \ hey-day Free- bom!" This is the table-talk throughout the province with respect to this arch democrat and vile libel- ler: my own sentiments, being less poetical, arc somewhat different, and, perhaps, founded on bet- tor data. The Canadian Spectator is the monstrous off- spring of an impure and deformed parentage. — It was conceived in faction and brought forth in sedition. Corruption was its nurse and demo- cracy its guardian. Ever since that Golden pe* riod when a base and insidious party was formed in the House of Assembly in this province to thwart by every possible means, the measures of government, with the view of acquiring the sole executive power, every facihty that the press could afford to the laudable and patriotic under- taking, was greedily resorted to ; and in the i )tfil liL'.i: course of a few years, as will be seen below, • no less than eleven different newspapers have risen and fallen, like so many Gothic usurpations, de- claring their own ignominy and incapacity to ac- complish the object for which they had been brought into existence. The Spectator is one of those papers that still remain to bewail theloss,and sing the requiem of their fallen comarades j but which is likely, at no distant date, to share the same melancholy fate, and be buried in the same dreary tomb of everlasting oblivion. It vegi- tated in the contemplation of the union of this province with Upper-Canada, and was reared to its present gigantic strength and maturity by the discussions which took place on that salutary pro- ject, and by opposing every thing that tended to its re-introduction. It had been long contem- plated to establish a paper of this description in the English language, with the praiseworthy Titles. Commenced. Ended. Principles. Fie Canadien, Nov. 22, I80a. Feb. 17, 1810. Fepub. or Democrat* lie Vrai Ca- nadien, March 10th, 1810. March 1, 1811. Moiii^rchica], Courier doi Quebec, | January 3,... 1 807. Dec. 3, 1808. Monarchical. Ti(> Spectateur May 27, 1813. May 23, 1815. Democratical. Le SpecUteurj Car-adisn,.... ' May 29 1813. • •••«••••■••••#•••••••• Democratical. L'.vurore j March 10,. ..1317. Aug. 23, 1818. Democratical. L'AbeilleCa-j nadloune,.....: August 1,...1813. Jan. 15, 1819. Monarchical* Ije Courier del Ras-Canada,. October 9,... 1819. Nov. 27, 1819, Democratical. Le Canadien,! January 12, 1810. Rcpub. or Democrat. Le Canadien, 1 August 17, 1825. Sept. 21, 182J. Repub. or Democrat. L' Argus, 1825. .-.1825. Democratical. •■■■' »■ view* not of combating unjust principles — not of scouting undue and unconstitutional niyahures — not of lashing vicious men and manners — but of galling Britons with abuse which they could not fail to understand, and otherwise creating a, disgust in thtir minds ot tlie political state of this province, which should induce them either to a- bandon it altogether, or lend tlieir aid to that re- nowned NATION and PEOPLE, THE CANADIANS, aS they are fond of calling themselves, in carrying- on their operations against the system ol' govern- ment so long and so happily established in this country. But unfortunately, no tool could be found sufficiently blunted in his feelings — suffi- ciently lost to shame and decency — sufficiently corrupted in soul and body — sufficiently lost to the love of country and fame — sufficiently blind- ed by faction and party — sufficiently the dupe of intrigue and violence-^suflicientK willing to abuse and libel the great and the good — suffi- ciently bold to outrage all the harmony and cha- rity of social government — sufficiently abandon- ed to every principle of political justice and in- tegrity — sufficiently ready to prostitute every fa- culty and talent, to a band of disturbers of the public tranquillity— sufficiently ready to forsake the humble and peaceful shades of life, and the happiness of domestic society, for the froth of party fermentation and the plaudits of an igno- 15 lU li'. ¥1 i IS I' rant and debased rabble— nor sufficiently plastic to receive any impression that his taskmasters chose to make upon him — to take upon himself the charge and conduct of such a publicatioii.— At last, however, a happy conjuncture ol cir- cumstances occurred, which gave to the suppor- ters of the Spectator, all that they desired, and the present conductor of that great champion of freedom, honour and good government, was du- ly installed the guardian of the people's rights; and no one, who has witnessed the manner in which he has performed his important functions, can deny but he is the most faithful of slaves and the most obsequious of minions. He has left no stone unturned to gratify the wishes of his masters: he has been their devoted servant by night and by day: no work is too foul for his hands, nor indignant to his feelings: and such are his ardour and iridefntigability, that I am firmly persuaded he would cut throats merely to please them. But let me turn to the thing itself and speak of it as it is. It may be consi- dered as a sort of reverse to the prophesies of Cassandra; it never tells truth on the subject of the financial concerns of this province, and is yet believed in the circle of its own admirers. The enemies of the country, as you must have part- ly seen from the late United States journals, are certain Iv much oblii^ed to it. It is the real U5 ivory gate ofintelli^ence, ** ftfsa adcoehim mitetis insomnta,** and you iniglitas well look ibr facts in the Arabian Nights Entertainments. No en- gine of mischief can perform its functions better. It never ceases to defame and inwult, in the most gross language, all the respectable characters in the country who may be concerned directly or indirectly in the admiuistiatioii of public af. fairs, and, in the same breath, gives every virtue to the vilest The spirit of those incarnate hell hounds, Marat, Danton and Robespierre, seems to pervade its columns. Every day. it calls the Governor in Chief a tyrant and despot, and the judges and other public officers of government, villains bought with tlie public money ot the peo^ pie to betray their interest. Such of his Majes. ty*s ministers, as may have occasion to corres- pond with the government of this province, it calls knaves and blockheads. It spares no pains, it neglects no artifice to subvert the supremacy of Great Britain, in this countrv. It calls aloud on all the other colonies to join the noble enterpn'ze. There is no shape which sedition, the arch-fiend of society, can assume to effect this destructive purpose, but it embraces, Proteus-like, it va- ries its form with the greatest facility. Now the daring demagogue, defying the laws, braving the government, and courting prosecution — then the wily incendiary, inflaming the passions of the 116 'i:;i }h :l ignonant, (Icludincf the simplicity of tlie young and iiiuv.iry, and infusing by every channel that ni;dici')iis ingenuity can discover, restlessness and di:^contcnt; next the specious reformer, profess- ing an enthusiastic regard for both the Lnperial and Provincial Constitutions, but calHng for re. form, with a view to subversion ; and anon the bold innovator, displaying the ideal forms of spe- culative perfection to ensnare the harmless and innocent people of this province, to quit their present solid hold of substantial policy. Yet such is the channel through which those, styling themselves ** thi; representatives of THE P£Oplh", give their wishes and sentiments to the public ; and such is the instrument which tliey employ on all necessary occasions to blow tlieir MANIFESTOS, RESOLUTIONS and other pu- blic documents into notoriety! It is impossible therefore to mistake the object of the following eloquent proem in the Spectator^ on publishing the maiiil'esto : The Address of certain Members of Parliament to their Con- stituents. *' The puMic will read with great pleasure this exceeding- ly iuterestin.^ document. With singular neatness and accura- cy of aim, it {)ick:i out each and every aileiration in the speech, v\ hic'i His Excellency made, in an evil hour, and under very bad advice, and completely settles the husiness of each and every one of them. I'here is nne passage in this document uhick isaperfct instance of the sublime; •voe question wii ether De- MciTHKNES AMID>)T MIS At ENIANS COULD HAVE UTTERED A BETTER. The brevity of the expression, and the tender 117 and ess- ;iial re* the spc and thei^ And noble feel inps wl I ii'h this l)i id' t'xprcRsion inRt»a!itaMfOU« \y cxcitCA, uiul liy vvliicli it swelU nnd «>levut(>s the iiiiiul to the highcHt pitch, pro('iu;o tlmt powfifii! rlFoct uhich is truly sub- lime; it i^ n poui'itul reeling und a powerful nr^iimetit, t<>r virtuous feehnfj; iitid sound reiison ure closely uUied. 'i'hrrc is no breast su cullou^i tliiit will not aekuowkdgc tlie passage." •* We question wiii.tiierDi:mosthenes amidst HIS A-rniiNiANs could iiAvii uttered a ket- ter!!'* Gods! what extreme bigotry of devotion to superior rule! What shivish adoration of su- preme authority ! What folding of the Ijands — what bend'ng ot the knees, nay what absolute crawling antl prostration in the dust docs this man exhibit in the worship of his Baals, in order to raise tlieir miserable drivelling into an equa- lity with the sublimity of the first profane O- rator the world has ever produced ! Who will now say, that slavery has ever been exercised witli such unmitigated seventy over physical, as it is impossible to extend to intcllectuai man ? Are not these the chains of the direst and most abject mental slavery ! Do you not perceive in every word of the above passage a writhing un- der the lash of mental despotism ? Do you not imagine that you hear the howling of the poor wretch, when compelled by his torture to pro- claim a few ignorant and obscure Canadian de- magogues as the rivals, if not the superiors, of Demosthenes himself? Let us turn from the dis- gusting and degrading scene, and endeavour to draw a more just and adequate parallel. It is 118 liiii- 'If; i well known that the manifesto was written by Mr. Papineau. He has accordingly, in the o^ pinion of his friends and admirers, entirely su« perceded the rivalship of Cicero with Demos-^^ thenes, and assumed to himself the palm of elo- quence next to that immortal Orator. Longinus drew a parallel between the ancient orators ; and compared the eloquence of Cicero with a wide- spreading conflagration, and that of Demosthenes to irresistible lightnings. There is now no harm in inquiring how far Speaker and Orator Papi- neau will stand the test of a similar comparison. In doing so, 1 think it proper to adopt local si- milies, that the parallel may be better under- stood. The eloquence of Demosthenes, then I. hold, to be like the New-Brunswick conflagrati- on : that of his modern rival, the gr^at and pa- triotic Papineau, like fire by which a miserable hut situated in a remote corner of Bonsecour street of Montreal, and full of poverty and ver- min, was burned to the ground a few srmmers ago The eloquence of Demosthenes is like the St. Lawrence, deep, wide and overflowing ; now gUding calm and serene ** o'er its peboly bed'V then expanding into immense lakes, whose boun- daries extend far beyoird the human sight, and anon approaching, like an angry monarch, the brink of the precipice, determined to be avenged oi his enemies, and then rushing furiously along. 119 involvinpf every thing in its way in one common and Irresistible scene of destruction: that of his modern rival, the great and patriotic Papineau, is like the mud and filth which, dissolving into a polhited liqtiid, gurgles its way through the sew- ers of the aforesaid Bonsecour street, and finding a subterraneous passage, slowly winds its setperi' tine way to the Saint Lawrence, corrupting not only the purity of that noble river, whenever they meet, but every other stream that comes in con- tact with it on its dreary passage. Oii ! ye re- nowned and hitherto unparalleled shades of Cice- ro and Caesar, and Cato and Pliny, and Taci- tus, and Chatham, and Pitt, and Fox, and Burke, and Erskine, '* hide your diminished heads," and permit the great and patriotic Papineau to pluck from your brows, the palm of eloquence, and place it on his own, there to flourish and bloom in everlasting verdure, the pride of his race, ar.d the glory of far famed Canada, now the land of unrivalled heroes and orators 1 Cedile^ Ro' mani, Canadiensi ; cedite Graiu But, for a variety of purposes, it may be pro- per to introduce, in this place, the whole of the ** SUBLIME** passage alluded to by the Spectator ^ as placing the great and patriotic Papineau on tne same level with Demosthenes. Here it is: " His Excellency tells us : These are the questions which you are to answer to your own consciences, as uiea who are uo H'i'i u p. %i. ^A bound by oaths of fidelity to their country and to their King;.. *' As for the oath of fidelity to their King; there is not a person in th " Province, be his situation what it may, who would dare to say of member of that Assembly, that he failed in k. The people of this Provinee, the Electors, know too well what loyalty is, they have given too many convinc* ing proofs of it, to permit any one to suppose that they would choose for Representatives, men doubtful on this point. *' As to the oath of iidelity to the country — who has ever licard any man speaking of an oath of fidelity to his native country? " Ilortje ! Home ! that single word is enough." i. " as for the oa*n of fidelity to the King, there is not a person in the province, BE HIS situation WHAT IT MAY, WHO WOULD DARE, TO SAY TO ANY MEMBER OF THE ASSEM- BLY, THAT HE FAILED IN itI!" No indeed? What have I been sayuig all this time? I do not esteem myself a more daring/ mon than my neigh- bours ; but I think I have more than once dared to give the lie to this empty and swaggering bra- vado ; if not, I dare to do it xiow, and to assert, that not o)ily have the majority of the members of the Assembly failed in their fidelity to the King, but have for years been in the daily prac- tice of subverting His Majesty's authority in this Province ! What is fidelity to the King ? Is it the pertinacious refusal to comply with his instructi- ons to his representative, in this province ? Is it to disobey his despatches with respect to these matters which, by the party-intrigues of the As- sembly, have oj long kept this province in one uninterrupted scene of ferment ? Is it to deny. llSi a Iho Jhe low u* ley int. Ivrr five in the person of hisrepresentatlvej the privileges and prerogatives of the crown ; and to usurp his authority by refusing to maintain his government, except in a way destructive of the couLtitution ? If it is, I have no hesitation to admit that he is as intrepid as the Octavians can wish him to be, who will dare to say that " any memher of the As» sembly" has failed in his fidelity to his King. I for my part, confess, that I have no desire to inlist in such service ; neither have I any ambition to become a Martyr to daring^ at the risk of forfeit- ing my veracity and integrity at the same time* My wish is to serve under banners whose device is Truth, and whose cause is Peace : not under those which pervert the one and disturb tlie o* ther. " Be his situation what it may!"— This is a curious distinction. When we sptak of persons in the ordinary ranks of life, we sel- dom allude to their situations, unless they be hangmen, libellers, or rebels j but when men are exalted in station and dignity, the case is otner- wise and we refer to their situation either as proof of their innocence, security from their in- solence, or guarantee of their promises. Now, it is very evident to me, that the manifesto, in coin- ing the above foolish and childish appellative, had no less a personage than the nobleman hold- ing the situation of Governor in Chief in view, whom, with a cowardice of speech peculiar to 16 • ' \^ 1 >!! i!^! W/i ■ faction without power, the authors dared to the assertion of their infidelity, as if that personage had passed the fearful ordeal already, and been a man to hesitate to dare where his duty called him. Poor miserable men, how low and grovol- hng must be their estimate of human nature, whd could thus insult situations and dread those who hold them! How unworthy of men— how truly unworthy of legislators I II. '* The people of this Province, th« Electors, know too well what loyalty i^ they have given too many convincing proofs of it, to permit any one to suppose that' they would choose for representatives MEN DOUBTFUL ON THIS POINT !" I shall not io- ins lit the people of this province by calling in question either their general knowled.ofe of loyal- ty, or the practical proofs they have given of it. But as, in the present instance, the Representa- tives whom they have chosen, have been made the criterion of their loyalty, they must pardon me, if I question the soundness of the loyalty of the people, which, upon the whole, I believe to be steady and uniform. What I mean to say, is, that if that loyalty were to be judged of, as we are here desired to do, by the sentiments of their Representatives, I should be at no loss how to estimate the general loyalty of the country, and to prepare for the consequences. For, if thwart- us the lage »eeii illed ►vel- wh^ Ihose 'how ing in peace and war the measures of goverr* ment— if the perversion of the clearest dictates of the constitution— if to insult and vilify, in and out of parliament, His Majesty's Representative j if to refuse to comply with His Majesty's com- mands — if to deny him the means of carrying on the public business of the cwmtry — if to usurp Ihe executive authority, be loyalty then I say there is not a spark of genuine unsophisticated loyalty in the country, and that the sooner the PEOPLE exhibit a new and different criterion of their loyalty, the sooner will the public happi- ness that awaits them convince them of the po- licy of the measure* The people ought to see and feel, that it is a very ungenerous and un- grateful return for the confidence reposed in their Represenlatives, thus to measure t/ieir loy- alty by the conduct of these Representatives.— The people ou^ht not to learn their loyalty from their Representatives ; but, on the contrary, teach their Representatives what true loyalty i», and if there be any untoward or unwilling to be taught amongst them, to deprive th^m of their authority, and place others in their stead more willing to obey them and promote the best inte- rests of the country. If the people be the stem ©f our tree of loyalty, let them not be corrupted by the rottenness of the branches; but rather let these branches be lopped off, and deprived IH II bt all power to pollute where pollution is so cott^ tagi< us. Let not the purity of the fountain be poisoned by the stream; nor the atmosphere tainted by exhalations from the putrid c£^rcasset of faction and sedition. III. *' As TO THE OATH OP FIDELITY TO THE COUNTRY,— WHO HAS EVER HEARD ANY MAN SPEAKING OF FIDELITY TO HIS NATIVE COUNTRY.' Home ! Home ! that single word is enough II This is mere bombast, fustian, froth, and sophis.* try, and what Cicero, should he not be confound* ed by the sublimity and splendour of eloquence that has for ever deprived him of all rivalship with the father of oratory, might be tempted to call artifices officiorum. But this fine tropCT— thi? wonderful prosopopoeia— rthis extraordinary mvir id Minervd, besides "being false in taste,and meai]i and contemptible in rhetoric, is entirely without foundation in point of fact. The passage in His Excellency's speech here animadverted upon i^ as follows:-^ ** T/iese are gtiestions which ymi are io answer t^ your own consciences, as men who are bound by Oaths of fidelity to your country and to your Kivg*^ ^Jow, what are the intent and meaning of those oaths which are prescribed by the constitution of this empire? It was discovered from the beginr fling, that society could not exist without som^ solemn appeal to the great Ruler of the universe, 125 be lere Lsses » declarative of the engagements of the people to maintain the order of things instituted amongst them. It is true, that, with us, there is a natu- ral allegiance due from all men bom within the King's dominions immediately upon their birtli, which is in every respect, as binding upon them as if, at that instant, they had been capable of taking all the oaths appointed by law. •* For,** says our great constitutional writer, " immedi- ately on their birth, they are under the King's protection ; at a time too when (during their in- fancy) they are incapable of protecting them, selves. Natural allegiance is therefore a debt of gratitude ; which cannot be forfeited, cancelled, or altered by any change of time, place or cir- fsumstance, nor by any thing, but the united con- currence of the Legislature." But, besides this natural allegiance, the law has determined, that there are express engagements which we-must en- ter into ; for the oath of allegiance must not only be taken by all persons in office, trust or employ- ment, but may be tendered to all persons above the age of twelve years. The King himself, though by the very descent of the crown, bound to all the duties of sovereignty, is obliged to take an oath, by which he solemnly promises to govern the people according to law. It is]]there- fore evident, that these reciprocal engagements imply some contract from which sundry great 1«6 if I 1 , M'f U i advantages are to be derived. The simple ques- tion, then, comes to be wfio benefits by these ad- vantages ? Is it not the country ? Let us listen no longer, then, to' such idle and profane rhap* sody about oaths of fidelity to ♦.he country. No honest man who loves and values his country wilt hesitate to take any lawful oath prescribed by law ; nor will he ever dream of applying such an oath to any other purpose, than to the welfare and happiness of himself, his family, his friends, his neighbours, and consequently liia country f Certainly, in order to have a country, it is in the first place necessary to have a «* home ;** but is the mere circumstance of possessing a *• home** all that is requisite to constitute a good citizen ? 1 fear not ; and wonder if the venal orators of Athens, who sold their country to Philip of Ma- cedon, had a home ! I wonder if the Syllas, the Marii, the Caesai-s, the Catalines, the Gracchi, the Antonies, the Clodii, the Bruti, the Cassii, of Rome, had a, home! I wonder if those fiends of hell and scourges of earth, who sipped with cannibal ferocity, the blood of Antoineita, the most lovely and beautiful woman of her age, and than whom, to use the sublime language of Burke, there " surely never lighted on this orb, which she hardly seemed to touch, a more delight* ful vision," had a home/ I wonder if the Piche- grus, the Joiu*dans, the Santerres, the Rolands, the Brissots, the Goras, the Robespierres, the Carnots, the Tallions, the Dantons, the Fayettes, the Noailles, the Perigords, and the long et cetera of the perfidious sans cullottes of France, had a home ! I wonder if the butchers of Lyons, had a home ! I wonder if Cromwell and his train-band of Roundheads, had a home! I wonder if the au- thors and executioners of the massacre of Glen- coe, had a home / I wonder if the Fitzgeralds, the O'Connors, the Emmets and the Rocks, of Ireland, had a home ! I wonder if the Mohawks of Boston, the villagers of Lexington, the sons of Liberty of New- York, the Adamses, the Frank. Uns, the Jeffersons, the Hancocks, and the Wash- ingtona, of America, had a home I Yes ! they all swore they had a '* home** and a countryy too.— But what was that in their estimation, in com- parison of the grand projects of political reform, revolution and rebellion ? Did it prevent them throwing aside their oaths to their country, or spilling a single drop of blood less than they o- therwise would have done ; or even less than the wildest savage that wanders in the forest without either a home or a country would have done in similar circumstances ? Shall we, then, believe, that because the Reformers and Demo- crats of Canada, tell us they have a ** home,** they are more honourable and virtuous men than those 1 have been describing ; and that their patriotisnx 1^ I m is itioie pure, and their passions more under tfi^ controul of reason! Others may do as tlieyHkc; for my part, I cannot in conscience favour them one jot more than their predecessors, in anarchy and desolation. They are all animals of the same tiger species that can gorge no food unless hu* man blood is mixed with it. Yet all the guaran- tee that the Octavians give us of the contrary, is the parrot-repetition of the monosyllabic ^^homef home/** Sir, upon the whole, I am of opinion, that I cannot be more zealous for the welfare of this Province, more friendly to the happiness of the people, than by imploring them to beware of the machinations of these demagogues, who, I am firmly persuaded, have no other motives to lead them on in their iniquitous career, than personal aggrandizement, and the foulest ambition that can contaminate the human breast. If they gain their object, which is the sole executive power of this Province; thoy will bring inevitable des« truction on their country ; and when Canada is involved in ruin, do these ambitious and ill-ad- vised men, imagine that they can escape the more dreadful blaze of public indignation ? As VOR us, WE AHE FOR THE CONSTITUTION I I have the honour to be, Sir, Your most obedient servant, v DELTAS 30th April, 1827. I I ' ' 1 ; •■ POSTSCRIPT. It was my intention before concluding the fore- going letter, to have presented you with a Bio- graphical Cartoon of those mighty and intre- pid spirits of freedom who have signed the Mani- i'esto; but the discussion of their conduct having been extended to a greater length than I could possibly have anticipated, I have been under the necessity, though reluctantly, of postponing this interesting portion of my subject till a more con- venient season. The public may be assured, how- ever, that 1 shall at no distant period avail myself of my original intentions, that posterity may not be deprived of so interesting a piece of informati- on as the Lives and Characters qf those distinguish- ed Individuals rvho have restored the Liberty of Canada to her pristine purity. Indeed, when you consider the vast mass of Materials which I shall have to encounter and examine in the execution of this task; such as University Diplomas^ for \ believe ev^ry one of them can boast the first rate 16 19D classical ediiiation,— ^/^orw«y Brieves^ HtpofU of Auction Marts t Commercial Invoicei^ and Ge* neraland Private Stock Books^ I am sure you will be of opinion, that I could scarce!^ have accom* plished my purpose in so short a time as has e« lapsed since the commencement of this epistle, and that there is a chance of its being better per* formed by taking a proper allowance of time to complete it. D£LT4i APPENDIX- wr(9 Ge- will om« ds e* stle^ per. e to ' i ' ■s Provincial parliament of lower-canada. LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL, Wednesday, 7th March, 1837. This day, at three o'clock, \\\% Excvllency the Governor in Cliief came' down in Slate to the Lvgiklativv Council Cliamber, and being seated on the Throne, the Gentleman U»lier of the Ulack Uod wot nent to command the yretence of th« Atiemhly, which being come up. Hit Excellency was pleated to give the Royal Aucnt to nineteen BilN, passed by the Legisia-' five Council and Assembly. Two other Bills were reserved for His Ma* j«sty's pleasure. Gentlemen of the Legislatiitc Council, and Gentlemen of the Asiembly, I come to close this Session of the Provincial Parliament convinced by the state of your proceedings, that nothing likely to promote the public in* ttrcsts can be now expected from your deliberations. To you« Gentlemen of the Leginlative Council, who have attended your duties in this Session, I olFer my thanks on the part of His Mitjesty, as au acknowledgement of the regard which by your presence, you have shown to the welfare of your country, and also of that proper rcbpect, which you bave manifested for the 8uverei4;n ftotQ whom your honours arc derived. Gentlemen of the Assembly, r It is painful to me, that I ciinnot speak my setttinnents to you in terms of approbation and thanks. The proceedings of this Session impose upou me a duty of which, however unpleasant, I will acquit myself as a faith* ful servant of the King and ti sincere friend to the Province. Many years of continued discussion on forms and accounts have proved unavailing to clear up and set at rest a dispute, which moderation and rea« son might have speedily terminated. It is lamentable to see, that no ef* furts or concessions of Ilis Majesty's Government have euccec-igned. I have seen tl.'S formx of Parliament utterly disregarded, and in th'S Session a positive as. sumption of Executi Authority, instead of that of Legiblalive, which last is alone your share in the Con'-.titution of the State. The results of your proceedings in this Session ' ive been, the refusal of the supplies necessary fo 'ho ordinary expences ot Government, the To',b of the Mili'la Bill, the failure of all provisions for the maintenance of pri- soners n your goals and houses of correction, for the support of the in- sane and foundlings, and the establishments of edncatir^n and charity, and a total obstruction of local and public improvement. In this state of things and with thi» experience of past years, it is now no longer consistent with a proper discbarge of the high trust committed to me, to entertain hopes of a return to belfjr reason in the Representative branch of this Parliament, but it is still my duty to call upon you as public men, and to call upon the country, as deeply interested in the result, to consider seriously the consequences of perseverance in such a course. I shall conduct the G>}veinment with the means in my power, and witl» an undiirinis/ed desiie to do good ; but whi^e I must submit myself to the interruption of all public improvement, under the authority of the ci- vil Government, i will declare my deep re^et at such a state of things. I think it right to convey to the country a free and unreserved expression of my sentiments upon these public misfortunes, and I will leave no doiil . on the public mind of my determination to persevere firmly in the path of my duty, with a faithful regard to the rights of my Sovereign, with whirn are also combined the best interests of the Province. It only remains for me now, compelled by existing circumstances, to prorogue this Par1iament| whatever may be the inconvenience resulting from such a measure. THE MANIFESTO. TO OUBCO^STIITIENTS. \Vr the tmde.'sJgned, Members of the House of Assembly, residing io the City and District of Montreal, having taken into consideration the Speech pronounced by Hs Excellency the Governor in Chief on p-oro- ginng the Provincial Parliament, in which His Excellency refers ns to our Constituents, conceive it our duty to evint'' io a public anc*. solemn manner, both the respect which we bear to our Eiectors, and the noble f ride «hich we feel for having, in difiicull times, discharged our duties to» wards tlvim with iiaclity and in a manner worthy of those who bdd choser) Xl-I !inbly rogs- r 11$ for their Dell jaten. Representatives of subjects obedient, iionest and devoted to the Briti h GoverFiment, our line of conduct seemid perfectly traced out for us: Ilepifsentatives of tree born English subjects, oi:r du- ties were clear and cvidepi j and we appep.l with confidence to our Con- stituents : It belongs to tliem to judge of our conduct. In other times iind in oiher rircutnstciices, we should not consider it ne- cessary to enter into any discussion, uell assured as wo arc of not havinj done any Jim^jr which could lose us the esteem and the confidence of our Constituents, the recompense of our labours ; but accused in a body, in a grave manner, by a public document, which at the same time that it ac- cuses all of u", takes from us the power of answering as a body, we con- sider it to be our duty, not to exculpate ourselves, (for thi we are sensi- ble is not requisite) but to put it in liie pow ^ of our Constiluenti to judge with certainty of tbe accusations urged a^iuiM their Representatives. His Excellency declares to the whole Province that the difficulties ex- isting on a single point have occasioned the rejectim of all otiier measures, which His Majesty's Government has submitted to our ccnsideraiion. The IIou e of Assembly sat about thirty days, during which seventy nine Bills were introduced, sixty of which were passed. It is not possible that among so many Bills, tlivre should not have been one relating to soma measure recommended l)y Government, uiiiess we suppose that the House and t!ie Council were occupied with » multitude of measures, of public or privitte utility, none of which the Government thought proper to support by its recommendation. Might it not be said with more accuracy, that it IS painful to sec that, upon the refusal of the House, to vote the supplies in the form required, His Excellency should have considered himself obliged to exercise the Rfiyal Prerogative, and to prorogue the Parliament, with- out giving it time to discuss the measures recommendeii by His Excellen- cy, or which interested the whole Province though not recommended by His Excellency, and the delay or loss of wliich His Excellency has with 60 much sensibility lamented. His Excellency reproaches us for not having giving a suitable attention to the public accounts of the last year, for not Ik! ing approved or disap. proved of them by such a report a» would enable ttie public to judge of the result. We have given to those Accounts a suitable attention. We have been delayed in our investigation by multiplied difficulties which different public functionaries m^de to answer the questions of the spi .ial Committee, without the permission of His Exceller.cy. The special Jcmmittee having proposed some questions to Messrs. Perceval and Gore, the pritici>jai offi- cers of the Customs, received as the only answer, that these Gentlemtn had submitted die questions of the Committee to His Excellency the Go- vernor in Ch'ef. The C()minitt?c, by that a one, was prevented from re- porting on that part. But in spite of aU these obstacles, it did report ; tbe report is printed, and every perc-on can have cognizance of it. His Excellency ,»sks us if we have considered tbe estimates for the pre. sent year and granted the supplies required in His Majesty's name, and if our refusal has been accompanied by reasons that c^m be known and understood hy the Country? His Excellency seems to desire very much that the public and our Con- stituents should be informed of what has taken place in Parliament; this desire we share with frankness and honesty. We examined these docu- ments ; we were immediately convinced that they were in direct opposition to the principles whicli the Mouse has followed ever since 1818 ; that they ^ere opposed to the essential rights ef our Cons' itocnts j that freo men IV II- r f ; if worthy of enjoying the benefits and advantages of a Constitution, medell- cd on that of En(;land, could not accede to them without sacrificing their dearest rij^hts : Tiie Ilepresentativos of sucli men were in duty bound to refuse such demands : they have done so ; and in order that the public nii-jlit be enabled to know their reasons, they have declared that tliey wouk! |7vrvist in the resolutions and addresses made and passed by the House on this subject, as they are recorded in their Journals. Electors ! it is for you to jtid^e if the reiterated demand of an unjust tiling can constitutv! a right to obtain it. His Excellency asks if we hate given proper attention to tho Message of His AJajest^'s J.tepresentativ?s ; ifwehavo received them, if we have answered them, according to the rules and forms of Parliument, or ac- cording to tiie respect whicli each branch of the Legiuiature is bound to observe towards the others. His Excellency admits that there ouglit to exist a mutual respect among the different branches of the Legislature : The Speech of His Excellency, wmint it admits the principle, dues nut in our opiaionj seem a very con* Vinring instance of its application. Tlic^e questions are too general : It appears to us that it would havu been of more avail, to direct our attention or rather that of the public to such or such a particular IVlessage, in order to give us the opportunity for explaining ourselves. Fur from neglecting such messages in general wu havu even proceeded on messages of former Sessions, and if v. j have not taken them all into consideration, it must not be forgotten that His £x<> cellency is the solo Judge respecting Mie duration of Parliament, and that to him alone it belongs to terminate its Sessions when such is his pleasure. His Excellency found :'t proper to prorogue the Parliament after a Sessioa of some weeks, at?, time when there was still before it a great deal of bu« sinessand when the House of Assembly still counted nearly forty ntembera present. But if this rcproash refers to our not having voted an address of thanks to His ExcelitMicy for each of those mcuagee, wa avow the fact ; but it is the usage of die House not lo lessen the merit of those Addresses by multi> plying them without necessity ; they are reserved for important occasions which require the expression of public thanks. If the HouhO have not more frequently voted such Addresses, it is unfortunately because an op- portunity for doing so has not been afforded ; it is not exactly its fault. His Excellency tells us : These are die questions which you are to an- swer to your own consciences, as men who are bound by ouths of fidelity to their Country and fo their K ng. As for the oath of fidelity to the Kin^ : there is not a person in the Pre- vince, be his situation what it may, who would dare to say of any Mem- ber of that Assembly, that he faikd in it. The people of this Province, the Electors, know loo well what loyalty is, they have given too many convincing proofs of it to permit any one to suppose that they would choo^i$ i'vr 'iepresentatives men doubtful on this point. As to the oath of fidelity to the Country — who has ever heard any man spi-aking of an oath of fidelity to liis native Country ? Home! Home! that single won! is enough. His Excellency tells us: th?t we ha\e refused the neces'iary supplies ; (hat the iMilina lJi>l lias not bien passed, that no provision hits been uiadQ for the maintenance ol' prisoners, of the insane, of foundlings, for educiition, for estalilislinients of eharity, and that public and local improvements havu been obstructed. ♦ Electors ! It is a disagreeable duty for us to assure you Uiat there arc Klellv their nd to lUblic irouk! se oil IB for tute a gSwre as many errors as accusations. If the supplies have 4J0t been granted It is because tl)ey have been required in sucli a manner that your llepresen* tatives could not grant tlicm without violating your interests and their duty. But tliey have offered to pass a Bill similar to that of 1826, and similar to the Act of 1825, which was sanctioned and carried into execu» tion.— This tliey are still disposed to do. The Militia Bills had been coninued for two years. The House had inserted in the Bill of this year a Clause wliich ar nulled the Act of the S7th, inasmuch as it provided for the pay of the Militia Staff. It had re- vived, on the 7th of February, a Message from His Excellency concern- ing the subject; as well as the contingent expences of the Militia, and the appropriation of a certain sum to furnish arms to the Militia in certain •ases. The HouSe wished to make that Message the object of a separate xneasuse for wliich it only wanted time. But the Council was pleased to amend the Bill which continued the Militia Acts, and to strike out the Clause which annulled the Act cf the fTth which seemed to have the ef- fect of re establishing the pay cf the Militia Staff. This amendment was inadmifisible. We were disposed to take efficacious measures to supply the loss of that Bill ; but wc were prevented by the precipitate prorogation of Parliament. The House passed a Bill for the insane and foundlings as usual. Con- trary to all parliamentary usage, the Council amended that Bill. Unable, according to rule, directly to coniiider tiie amendments made by the Coun- cil to a Bill of supply, and unwilling, nevertheless, that the unhappy ob- jects of public coramisseration should, on this account, suffer, the House passed a second Bill incorporating the amendments of the Legislative Council, and sent it back there on Tuesday the sixth March. There it has since remained. Wc might be disposed to think that time alone was wanted to the Council for pat^ng the sccoud Bill ; but the House sent the day after, tliree otiier Bills to the Council at eleven o'clock in the fore- noon : these Bills were examinea and passed before three o'clock in the afternoon, and were sanciioncd or reserved by His Excellency on tlie same day. As f«r what relates to Education and to charitable establishments, we appeal with conSdence tc :he proceedings of the House of Asscubly, It has vof"d about £15,000 for Education: if the Bills that were to can y into execution these votes, have not beer issed, if they have remain- ed 'AitLiout effect in the Legislative Council, >. it was not possible to per- "Ctthem in the Assembly, is it the fault of that House? It has done ail &!':'. v' iia its power, and it would be supremely unjust to render it re*- f :: ;^' »lc Por thcacti of the other branches of the Legislature. 1. t lOse in fault bear the burthen between them, they will diminish the weigiit iy dividing it. As for charitable establishments the House has not neglected thein either ? it provided with lilierality for foundlings, for the insane, for the sick and infirm in t\\e different Districts, for the support of the Ho>e ivho apjpeal to it against w, are not above its reach ; in the present 0«use, we re^pert ii without fearing it. L J. PA PINE A U, JIUGHKS HENEY, J LESLIE, JOSEPH VALOIS, JOSEPH PEIIRAULT, AUSTIN CUVILLlEtt, J. M. RAYMOND, V. A. QUESNEL. P t m f H 1 •Uf i PUBLIC MEETING AT St. HYACINTHE. At a meeting of the principal inhabitants of St. Hyacinthe held on the i'ifh Ajir'", tile following resolytions wt-re unauimously adopted. Joseph Bi'todeau i •■•'•e in tlie chuir: ltesolved,~-That t.i. -t-t of liit- Hou^e of Assembly composed of the Kepresentatives of this l ice always firm and coustani in maintainirg our privileges, has produceu wi the heart of every good Canadian sentiments of gratitude which never will beeiT'uced. Uesofved, — That the House by declarng that it would grant suppl'esonly in the manner provided by the act of 18'J5, lias proved to our entire ratsfac- tion that, although always d sposed to t^iant supplies necc&sury for the sup- port of the Government it would never ceubs to protect the r.gbts of the people of Canada. Kesolved, — That among the numerous B:ll$ wh'ch received the'r origin in the House of Assembly during the ]a<'>t session, there were many which tlie situation of the country for many years imperiously required, and that the Province has been deprived of the valuable benefits which these billa would produce, by the sudden and uiiL-npootod prorogation of the Provin- cial Parliament. Resolved,— That the province and especially the cmnyy parts which were HO lately calculating tlie know' dgeand huppiness tlnn the inliabitant^ would have acquired by the liberal grant of the ReprcNentatives lor thepur- pose of promoting education, have been cruelly disappointed in their eipec^ tation that so -.ecessary a Bill would meet with no obstacles. Resolved,— That we have seen with surprise the House of Assembly of (fiiix Province seriously accused in the speech of his Excellency the Gover- nor in Chief of having failed in its duly to its country. Kesolvfcd,— Tliat although we have the greatest respect for every thing that emanates from superior authority, it is impossil>le for us to cease repo* ting c-ontidence the most entire in a body composed of Canadians, attached to the happiness of the country by the closest ties and whose patriotism has been ^^o eminenily distinguished on many occasions, but particularly during tlie short continuance of the late session. Resolved,— That the foregoing resolutions be published. 13y order of the Meeting. Jiu PORUSB, Secretary, ERRATl'M. In pane 17, 9th h fit, the woi-d '•^ cuvstitutional y has in a few imprc^- H^Hs tnljjf baj/i unuccouniab/j/ reverted' ■H wmmmmitfmil m ii «v ^9l. '«