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1 
 
 I 
 
 Ul'PER CANADA. 
 
 EXTRACTS from a Despatch of the 3i»f April 
 1836 from Sir F. B. Head to Lord Glenelg ; — also, 
 COPY of an Address to The King from the 
 H0U8B OF Assembly. 
 
 {Sir George Grey and Mr. Hume.) 
 
 Ordered, by Tlie House of Commons, to be Printed, 
 30 June 1836. 
 
 [^Price Is.j 
 
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1st April 
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 UPPER CANADA. 
 
 RETURN to Two Addresses of the Honourable The House of Commons, 
 dated the 14th and I7lh June 1836;— /or, 
 
 — 1.— 
 
 EXTRACTS from a Despatch of the 21st April 1836 from Sir F. B. Head, 
 
 Lieutenant-Governor of Upper Canada, to Lord Glenelg, with the Enclosures 
 referred to in such Extracts. 
 
 ;. i] 
 
 COPY of an Address to The King from the Assembly of Upper Canada, 
 with the Appendix of Documents transmitted therewith to the Secretary 
 of State. 
 
 Colonial Department,"! 
 21) June 1836. J 
 
 G, GREY. 
 
 V III 
 
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 {Sir George Grey and Mr. Hume.) 
 
 Otdered, by The House of Commons, to be Printed, 
 30 June 1 836. 
 
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 1. "ExTRAOT of Q Despatch from Lieut.-Governor Sir F. B. Head to Lota Glem/i', 
 
 dated Toronto, «t April 1836 
 
 Petition of the House of Assembly to The King 
 
 ■'V 
 
 Ditto 
 
 - ditto 
 
 - to The Commons of the ynited Kingdom 
 
 Copy of u Letter from Captain A. Baldwin to Lieut.-Governor Sir /'. B. Jltatl 
 
 Addresses of tiic House of Assembly to tlie Lieut.-Governor; witli Uepiies 
 
 Speech of the Lieut.-Governor on closing the Session of the Legislative Council 
 
 Addresses from different parU of the Province of Upper Canada to the Lieut.- 
 Governor --.......,_ 
 
 2. — V DDR ESS to The King from the Assembly of Upper Canada .... 
 Report of Committee to Commons House of Assembly ... 
 Schedule of Documents forming an Appendix 
 
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 P- 7 
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 AFFAIRS OF IfPI'EH CANADA. 3 
 
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 UPPER CANADA. 
 
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 EXTRACTS from a Despatch of the 21st April 18'3C, from Sir F. D. Head, 
 Lieutenant-Governor of Uim'kr Canada, toLord Glcnelg, with the EnGlosurcs 
 referred to in such Extracts. 
 
 % 
 
 Extracts of a Despatch from Lieutenant-Governor Sir F. B. Head to 
 'LovAGleiwlg, dated Toronto, 21st April 1836. 
 
 I HAVE the honour to transmit to your Lordship an Address from the House of 
 Assembly to His Majesty, as also a copy of one to The House of Commons," 
 reprobating in unusual language my conduct as Lieutenant-Governor of this 
 province. I have also to inform your Lordship, that the House of Assembly 
 have deemed it their duty to stop the supplies: that in consequence of this 
 proceeding, I have reserved ail tiieir money bills for the consideration of His 
 Majesty, and that I have declined to grant their contingencies. 
 
 I also enclose to your Lordship a copy of my Speech on proroguing the Pro- 
 vincial Parliament. 
 
 The Speech I yesterday delivered on proroguing the Provincial Legislature, 
 will sufficiently explain tiie attempts I have made to carry into effect the reme- 
 dial measutes with which I was entrusted. 
 
 If the sentiments contained in these petitions from the House of Assembly 
 were really the sentiments of their constituents, this province might justly be 
 said to be in a state of revolt ; whereas the fact is, as I stated it to your Lordship 
 in my last despatch, " that a burst of loyalty will very shortly resound from one 
 end of the province to the other; as a more honest, well-meaning peasantry 
 cannot exist than Hii Majesty's subjects in this noble province ;" and as a proof 
 of this assertion, I refer your Lordship to the enclosed addresses I have already 
 received. 
 
 Your Lordship cannot but remark, that for the first time in the history of 
 this province, the supplies have been stopped ; that the whole country has been 
 thus thrown into confusion, and that the period selected for this violence has 
 been my arrival wth your Lordship's instructions to correct all the grievances 
 of the country. 
 
 The Assembly, '1 their Petition to the House of Commons, make their 
 second complaint against me as follows : 
 
 Upon th'B formation of this Council, ahhough R. B. Sullivan, Esq. was sworn in, and ap- 
 peared to the public ns Senior Councillor, upon whom, in the event of tiie absence of his 
 Excellency, might devolve the administration of the government, yet a secret agreement 
 was entered into, written in tiie Council Chamber by liis Excellency himself, by which was 
 to be defeated the apparent succession of the Senior Councillor to the administration of the 
 government. This arrangement was denied by His Excellency to us, in bis answer to our 
 address on the subject ; while, on the oiher hand, the facts so denied are proved by the 
 testimony of K. li. Sullivan, Esq., and the Hon. Captain Baldwin, both of wlioni are still 
 retained by his Excellency in the Council. J'or other instances of his deviation from can- 
 dour and irutli, ;is well as of his utter unaequaintance with the nature of our constitution, 
 and the mode in which it should be administered, we refer to the appended documents. 
 
 If the above statement had been made to your Lordship, I should not feel it 
 necessary to notice it ; bat as it is addressed to the House of Commons, and is 
 intended to conceal the weakness of their own case by calumniating me, 1 will, 
 as briefly as possible, show your Lordship the wilful misrepresentation it 
 contains. 
 
 33,1. A 2 The 
 
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PAPERS RELATIVE TO THE 
 
 Deopntcli from the 
 Lit'ut.-(>overiior to 
 Lord Clenelg. 
 
 
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 The (lay after my late Executive Council resigned, I gazetted Messrs. Sul- 
 livan, Allan, Ilaldwin and Elmsley, in their stead, and appointed a day on whicli 
 they were to be sworn in. On the morning of this day V.t. Sullivan called upon 
 me, and said that he wished to retaiii the place in which his name had appeared 
 in the Gazette ; yet he wished it should be clearly understood, that in case of 
 my death it was his intention to resign. My answer to him was, " When I am 
 dead, you may all do what you like." 
 
 On assembling in the antechamber of the Council to be sworn in, Mr. Sullivan 
 repeated his request, begged that his intention might be committed to writing 
 before they were sworn in, and proposed that some person should be procured 
 to write a memorandum of his wishes. I replied, " Surely any one can write 
 that,** and I accordingly took up a pen and wrote what he desired, which was 
 signed in presence of the other Councillors, and delivered to Mr. Allan before 
 any of them were sworn in. As soon as it was signed, I said, " This had belter 
 not be secret ; it had better be made public ;'', and, accordingly, the following 
 day Captain Baldwin stood up in the Legislative Council, and made public the 
 whole arrangement. 
 
 About ten days afterwards the House of Assembly, at the request of the 
 Committee to whom had been referred my correspondence with my late Execu- 
 tive Council, forwarded to me an Address, requesting that I would lay before 
 their House ** copies of any bond or agreement between your Excellency and 
 any of your present Exenr ive Council, or between any two or more of the said 
 Council, by which it is stipulated in what manner the government shall be 
 administered, or who shall administer the government of this province, in case 
 of the above-named occurrence." 
 
 As I have stated to your Lordship, the paper which was signed in the ante- 
 chamber of the council, and there delivered to Mr. Allan, without any minute in 
 Council being made respecting it, did not stipulate in what manner the govern- 
 ment should be administered *' in case of my death ;' nor did it stipulate who, 
 .in that event "should administer the government of this province." It merely 
 stated Mr. Sullivan's whim or intention to resign, and as that had been 
 "made public in the way I have stated, I knew quite well that the Address of 
 the House of Assembly, asking for my •' bond," was merely intended to 
 insult me. 
 
 I accordingly replied to the Address as follows: 
 
 Gentlemen, — I have entered into no bond or agreement of ary sort with my present 
 Executive Council; and I do not possess, nor does there exist in Councilj^ny document of 
 such n n ature between two o. more of the saui Council. 
 
 This was strictly correct ; for I myself had entered into no bond, nor did 
 there exist in Council any document of the nature applied for. 
 
 It was by the advice of the Council, who read the .issembly's Address to me, 
 as well as my reply, before it was sent, that the above answer was given ; and 
 after it was transmitted I gave Mr. Sullivan permission to go before the 
 Committee (which he did), and explain to them exactly what had taken place ; 
 which he did in the following plain, honest evidence on the subject." 
 
 Questi'in \. Are you the Senior Member and Presiding Councillor of the Executive 
 Council!'— /^Hsroer. Yes. 
 
 Q. a. Is there any written agreement existing between yourself and any of the other mem- 
 bers of the Executive Council, by which it is stipulated on your part in what way the govern- 
 ment of the province should be administered in the event of the death or removal from the 
 province of the Lieutenant-Governor f — A. There is no agreement in existence by which it 
 IS stipulated how the government of the province shall be adminit;tered in the event men- 
 tioned in the question. At the time the Council were about to be sworn in I expressed a 
 wish that it might be understood that, in either of the events mentioned, it was my inten- 
 tion to resign my place as Kxecutive Councillor, as it was not my desire, in any event, to 
 fill the situation of Administrator of the Government. At my request this intention was 
 expressed in writing, and I signed it. 
 
 Q,. 3. Is the instrument you mention under seal, or witnessed? — A. It is neither under 
 seal nor witnessed. 
 
 Q,. 4. Into whose hands did you deliver the document? — A, Into the hands of the Hon. 
 William 'Mian. 
 
 Q. 5. Did any other person know of the existence of the document ? — A. Yes ; it was 
 i)ot intendea .'!'at my intention should be secret. His Excellency the Lieutenant-Goveruor 
 was present when it was read and (lehveredlo Mr. Allan. ^^ 
 
 Q. t). Did his Excellency the Lieutenant-Governor write the document, or was it written 
 
 by 
 
AFFAIRS OF UPPFR CANADA. 
 
 by his Excellency's order ? — A, I proposed tlmt my intention should be expressed in Despatch from the 
 wialitd thai llie^wriliiii; sho' Id be drawn up by some person other thiin I lem-liovernoi lo 
 .... ... L(,f,l Qienelg. 
 
 writing, and 1 
 
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 present, was kind enough to draw it up. 
 
 Q. 7. \ 'as the writing intended to be lej^iilly blndihj? irpoii you .' — A. Certainly not. 
 
 Q,. 8. ^k'hnt was the oiiiict or intention of tiie paper in question, if it was not intended 
 to lie legady binding ? — A, It was intended for my own satisfaction, tbat it might not be 
 said that I had it 'tn view to fill liiu situation of Administrator of the (jovernnicnt. 
 
 Q. 9. Do yon think you could contitiiutionnlly resign in ease of cither of ilie above 
 events, and give place to another who could administer tiie government ? — A. \ coidd 
 transmit ray resignation to His Majesty's Government, and deelnic taking u|)on myself the 
 office of Administrator of the Government. I think it is tlip constitutional right of uny 
 individnal to decline taking otlice upon himself; and us to giving plaoe t« another, ibul is 
 not the act of the person declining olhce, but of the law. 
 
 Q. 10. Do you not think, that in either of the above events taking place, yon would t>« 
 the Admiiiistrator of the Goverament, without being appointed in any way ? — A. The Senior 
 E.xecniive Councillor would, upon taking the oaths of office, bo invested with the admiohK 
 tration of tiie government, without any furtlier appointment. 
 
 (i. u. Do you think, upon your resignation as above stated, the administration of the 
 government eoulo be assumed by any oilier member of tbeCoimcil ? — A. 1 think it could, 
 cither upon my resignation or upou my rei'usal to take the oath of ollice. 
 
 With this explanation before yotir Lordship, I niuHt beg you to refer to the 
 artful and incorrect statements made by the Assembly in their petition to The 
 House of Cominons. 
 
 1st. They say, that a "secret arrangement was entered into," although it 
 had been, as I have stated, publicly procliiimeu •'O the whole couiUrj', by one of 
 the members of the new Executive Council, in his place in the Legislative 
 Council. ^^, 
 
 2d. They say that this arrangetnent was denied " by his Excellency to us in ^.^_^ ^-c^^/^ t^/i ' 
 his answer to our address," Although I denied no such thing ; but stated that l!^.^ ' .././^^/^ 
 had entered into no bond or agreement, and that I did not possess nor did'' 
 there exist iu Council any document of such a nature- It could not matter to 
 me one straw, whether, when I was d^ad, Mr. Siillivaii resigned, or whetiier 
 all the Councillors resigned. I could have no object that Mr. Sullivan's inten- 
 tion to resign should be secret. Ifl had I -should not have recommended it to 
 be made public, atid shotild not have told Mr. Sullivan to go before the Com- 
 mittee and explain his own story. 
 
 
 
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 VZ 
 
 
 
 • .. Enclosure 1, in No. 1. 
 
 PETITION of the House OF AssEMuLY of Upper Canada. 
 To The King's Most Excellent Majesty. 
 Most Gracious Sovereign, 
 
 WE, Your Majesty's dutiful and loyal subjects, the Commons of Upper Canada in Pro- 
 'vincial Parliament assembled, humbly approach Your Majesty with our renewed assurances 
 of loyalty and attachment to Your Majesty's person and (iovernment. ' 
 
 It is with pain we acknowledge how seldom it is we have to address Your Majesty in the 
 unmixed language of gratitude and thankfulness, and we have noticed the difllculiies, at this 
 distance from Your Majesty's immediate care, which attend the fuhihncnt of the most 
 benevolent intentions. 
 
 VVe have now to pray Your 'lajesty's patient and impartial attention to the history of 
 four complaint, agauist a sudden, abrupt, and most ungracious denial by his Excellency, of 
 those indispensable constiituional principles in our local government, the just preservati(m 
 of which is, above all things, calculated to endear Your Majesty to Your Canadian peo- 
 ple, and to strengthen the bond of union between this loyal and valuable portion of Your 
 empire and the parent state. 
 
 The Report of a Select Committee of Your Majesty's faithful Canadian Commons which 
 has, after mature consideration, been adopted by this House, (and accompanies this Ad- 
 dress,) will amply inform Your Majesty upon •^'1 particulars ; and we regret it should neces- 
 sarily contain disclosures to Your Majesty equally injurious to the interests and confidence 
 of the people, and to the character of the royal station in this province. Under feelings of 
 solicitude lest Your Majesty's roy .1 ear should be prepossessed against (B by those who have 
 easier and secret access to Your Majesty and Your Majesty's Ministers, we have prayed 
 the aid of Your Majesty's Imperial House of Commons, as will appear from the accompany- 
 ing copy of our Memorial, in the hope that they will aid Your Majesty in extending to 
 us speedy and effectual measures for the redress of our wrongs, and for the maintenance of 
 
 the honour and dignity of the Crown. ,. ,. 11*^1110 dj 7, 
 
 ° ■' (signed) Marshatl S. Bidwell, 
 
 Commons House of Assembly,"! " Speaker. 
 
 18 April 183G. ] ■' 
 
 Kaclosure 1 , in 
 No.i, 
 
 Petition from 
 House of Assembly 
 to The Kiag. 
 
 J 
 
 39 »■ 
 
 ^ 
 
r 
 
 Enclnturc l, in 
 No. I. 
 
 I'etition troni 
 House of Assembly 
 to Tlie HouRcof 
 Commons. 
 
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 6 PAPERS RELATIVE TO TFIE 
 
 I'llTITlON of ilic House oIAssemulv of Uj'pkiiCanada. 
 
 To tlie Honcurnble tlic Kriiglits, Citizens niul BiirBrsnes of tiie United Kingdom of Cirtai 
 Biilfiin and Ireland, in Pnrliutnent usscniblcd. 
 
 May it please Your Honourable House, 
 
 WE, His MiijiHiy'H dutiful and loyal subjects the Commons of Upper Cnnnda in Pro- 
 vincial Parliiiinent anscnibled, at'rer unavailing struj;u;les for a series of years, to obtain sueli 
 an administration of our local afl'airs as would secure to the people of ibis province, pos- 
 sessing " the very image and transcript of ibc Uritisb Constiliiiion," the blessings of j^'ood 
 goverinnent, arc at length driven to appeal to tlie wisdom, justice, and tnagnanimity of 
 your Honourable House, in llie hope that your powerful intercession with His Majesty may 
 yet redeem us from a condiiiiin every day becoming; more ruinous anil alarming. VVe arc 
 not unacquainted with the overwhelming influence of station and weight of authority wliicli 
 will be brought to bear against our excrtior' to procure redress ; and without the interpo- 
 sition of your Honourable House we entertain a fear, grounded on the experience of the 
 pait, that His Majesty's car will be so abused by secret {lespatelios and personal detractions 
 ns jJmost to set at defiance the best diiccled intentions of (Jiit Majesty to arrive at the truth. 
 And -.vc desire to aild, as a further difiiciilty, an inveterate disposition to adhere to what 
 is called the Colonial System, under which our present condition has been produced, instead 
 of accommodating it as both wisdom and justice ret|uire, to the changing state and in- 
 creasing wealth and population of the country. 
 
 In answer to the Address of this House to His most gracious Majesty, in the late Session, 
 upon the subject of our grievances, we received as our new Lieutenant-Governor, his pre- 
 sent Excellency, Sir Francio Bund Head, who by message communicated to this House the 
 insl'uciions he had received from His Majesty's (jovernment for his guidance. But these 
 instructions leave us under the same unsatisfnetory and injurious system that has heretofore 
 prevailed; ind we practically feel that the institutions ol the country arc so directed, iheii*' 
 operations so abridged, luid public functionaries so protected in niisgovcrnment by their 
 distance from their superiors, as to render illusive and abortive the most promising schemes 
 framed in England for our amelioration. Upon the arrival of Sir Francis Bond Head to 
 represent His most gracious Majesty among the constitutional authorities of the province 
 we were disposed to entertain the happiest expectations, and when his Excellency from 
 the throne invited us to render him " that loyal constitutional, unbiassed and fearless assist- 
 ance, which your King expects, and which the rising interests of your country require ;" 
 and when we saw our often repeated dissatisfaction with the Executive Council removed, 
 and the highest public confidence secured "by the addition of the Hon. John Henry Dunn, 
 Robert Baldwii and John Rolph, Esquires, we fully believed that we were about to enjoy 
 under his Excellency, the full benefit of our Charter, by a wise, impartial and constitutional 
 administration of our ailairs. The reign of universal thankfulness and traiKjuillity under 
 this chinge of things was, we lamctu to state, of short duration. The country had always 
 supposed that the Executive Council of the provi::ce from time to time appointed by His 
 Majesty under the 31st Geo. 3. c. 31, to advise His Majesty and His representative upon 
 the affairs of the proNJncc, actually discharged the important duties assigned to them by the 
 constitution, in consequence whereof all public odium of the mismanagement of our atfairs 
 has been heretofore visited on ihe Executive Council, while every Lieutenant-Governor has 
 been acquitted upon the presumption of his being, as pleaded to us by Sir F. B. Head, 
 " a stranger lately arrived among us," and therefore unintentionally misled by corrupt 
 advisers. But it has .now come to lii^lit that the Executive Council have been almost 
 limited in their duties to a Land B()ard and Board of Audit, while the affairs of the pro- 
 vince, so unsatisfactorily managed, seldom passed under "their review or were submitted for 
 llieir advice. It appears from the appendix to this memorial to which we refer your 
 Honourable House, and to which we curnesily pray a patient, candid and impartial regard, 
 thatthe late Executive Council, composed of the whole Council with the aforesaid addi- 
 tions, after remaliTihg tbree weeks In office under the old but concealed system of withhold- 
 ing fiom tTieTr_ acTvIce the "affairs of tli'e'province, addressed to his Excellencv Sir F. B. 
 Head the confidential representa'troii Iieieto aiinexed, prayiiig^ either that the affairs of the 
 province mighty be systeinatieally submitted for their a dvice, preparafbry to his Excellency's 
 finaTaiVd discretionary action tlrereoji", or that they might be aljo'wed lo^Uabusejhe public 
 respecting the nature and ext ent of the, duties confided to them. And tlie need of this 
 request must have been injuriously felt", from the fact, notorious uf^us and to the country, 
 that every act of his Excellency's administration proved either that the late Council had 
 betrayed public confidence, or that his Excellency followed the advice cf uncertain, un- 
 sworn and irresponsible persons, neither possessing nor entitled to political confidence. 
 
 In the above constitutional, just and reasonable representation made to his Excellency in 
 official confidence under oath, his Excellency made the reply also appended hereto, and 
 concludes, after denying the constitutional origin and duties of the Council, with the 
 assurance to his Council, " that his estiui'uion of iheir talents and integrity as well as his 
 personal regard for them remain unshaken, and that he is not insensible of the ditficuitiea 
 to which he will be exposed should they deem it necessary to leave him. At the same 
 time should they be of opinion that the oath they have taken requires them to retire from 
 his confidence rather than from the principles they have avowed, he begs that on his account 
 they will not for a mcvment hesitate to do so." Under these circumstances, the Council 
 feeling themselves undei the alternative of abandoning cithev their principles or their 
 
 place. 
 
AFFAIRS OF UPPF-R CANAL* \. 
 
 place, lioiiounilily cliosc ilie liaicr. The iirnrcsaid leprejeutation uiiJ reply, liis Excel- Eiicloturti . in 
 Jency's Answer lo us nrrotnpiinying the sum*', niul various oilier popular expliinntions given No. i. 
 
 by his Execiieney to tlie puhlie, with the public proceetlinus on tlie same, together with . 
 
 various ollur documents eimnceted with llie subject, ntui ihi; adopted lli port of a Select ''*''''»» fr""* the 
 Coinmilicc liiereon, are all appended iiereto for tlie more lull information of your Honour- J'""** "' Awembly 
 able House, and the more am| ii; connnunicalion of our wants and views. It is. with p.. , /V •'"*'»«of 
 disappointment and humiliation, we notice the reiterated declaration of his Excellency to 
 
 coniTuct our airairs without the iKivice of tiic txeciitivc Councjl, according to his own 'will t /( , , 
 and pleasure, which liis public ac .8 have already provcJ to be arbitrary and vindictive. And /'* 
 ihix view of his own sole ministerial power and authority witi a nominal responsibility to 
 Downing Street, he has sustaim^il before the public by misstateiiunts and misrepresenta- 
 tions so palpably op(>oscd to candour and truth as lo destroy all hopes of further justice 
 from his government ; all which is more fully set forth in the documents appended lureto. 
 jiiuce the rej;istration of the hilc Council his Excellency has formed anoilier, composed of ' , 
 Robert Baldwin Sullivan, Escj., and the Hon. Williinn Allen, Augustus Baldwin, and John ^ '''' ' 
 Elinsley ; neither enjoying nor entitled to the political confidence of the people or iheii: 
 representatives;^ Upon tlie formation of this Council, although R. B. Sullivan, Esq. was 
 sworn in and appeared to the public as Senior Councillor, upon whom, in the event of the 
 death or absence of his Excellency, might devolve the administration of the government, yet • 
 a secret agreccnent was entered iiito, written in the Council Chamber by his Excellency him- .-vVc*-/' 
 self, by which was to be defeate 1 the apparent succession of the Senior Councillor to ti)e , /^. 
 administration of the government. This arrangement was denied by his Excellency to us * 
 
 in his answer to our Address on the subject; while on the other hand, the facts so derived 
 are proved by the testimony of H. Ii. Sullivan, Es(|. and the Hon. Captain Baldwin, both 
 of whom are still retained by his Excellency in the Council. For other instances of his (/,/.,, a 
 deviation frnin candour and trutli, as well as of his utter unacquaintance with the nature of 
 our constitution aud the mode in which it shoidd be administered, we refer to the appended *" 
 documents, wherein arc also detailed other grievances of an urgent and serious nature, to 
 all of which we humbly pitiy the serious, sp 'y and impartial attention of your Honour- 
 able House. Being denied the beneticial and constitutional operation of our local ijiatitq- 
 tions for the management".. f purTocaj aHaFrs i being tTireatened with the exercise of the 
 xi and vls'e(I7 arbitrary jjoverninent of his Excellency, virtually irresponsible, antTUelng satis- 
 fied that nothing but an o'penj entire and lionourabFc aBahdonment oniTis policy, equally 
 uriconstilutionarand pernicious, will ever restore ou,' peace, VvelHire and good government, 
 we have, injustice to the |)eople, whose civil and religious interests we are solemnly bound 
 fearlessly to vindicate, been obliged, as a last resort, to slop (most reluctantly) the supplies ; 
 and for the nttainmeiit of redress in these and otlitrmattcrs^ contained in tlie appended 
 Report, we pray the aid of your Honourable House. 
 
 And, as by inclination and by duly we are led and bound to do, we shall ever pray. 
 
 T, f/t ■ ' '< »"•' _ 
 
 <^ \J tlAA »•.. ^t . 
 
 
 
 ^ 
 
 .<y. 
 
 Commons House of Assembly,", 
 18 April 183G. / 
 
 (signed) Marsfntll S. Bidwell, 
 
 Speaker. 
 
 lency s 
 
 ! public 
 
 of this 
 
 , un- 
 
 CopT of a Letter from Capt. A. Baldwin to Lieut.-Governor Sir F, B. Head, intended Letter from 
 to correct an error with rtTerence to Ins Evidence before the Select Committee of the Captain Baldwin 
 House of Assembly, into which the Committee appear to have fallen in taking down ^" '''- Lieutenant- 
 his words relative to the Executive Council. Governor. 
 
 Sir. Ruisell Hill, April «6tb, 1836. 
 
 ON looking over the Correspondent and Advocate Newspapci of the Q 1st April, 1 observed 
 a statement of my evidence before a Committee of the House of Assembly on the late 
 change in the Executive Council, as appended to the Report of that Committee, and seeing 
 that the Committee must have misunderstood my answers in some points, and that they 
 are not stated correctly, I beg leave to address your Excellency on the subject, lest any 
 misunderstanding should arise with regard to the facts as they actually happened. 
 
 To the question put to nie, " At whose suggestion was the paper drawn up i"' 1 said " I 
 believed at Mr. Eli nsley's," and not, as stated, " At Mr. Elmsley's." 
 
 t did not state that the paper was drawn up " in the Executive Council Chamber,"_but 
 that'L il ffii wrillen i" tj^ e olfice of the C lerk: ' for we did not go to the Council Chamber " 
 till we were called ' ne by one to bs sworn. 
 
 1 have, &c. 
 
 (signed) 
 
 A. Baldwin, 
 
 ^^/ 
 
 /^; 
 
 
 391- 
 
 A4 
 
 Four 
 
;• 
 
 I ■ 
 
 Enclosure 1, in 
 No. 1. 
 
 Addresses from the 
 House of Assembly 
 to the Lieutenant- 
 Governor. 
 
 
 /^ 
 
 y- 
 
 A ' 
 
 /-X' 
 
 ^ .y^A ^- 
 
 
 /y^' 
 
 / f''" 
 
 
 
 
 ,./'■' 
 
 /L^ 
 
 / 
 
 
 I 
 
 ■/ 
 
 /< '/' 
 
 
 /0 
 
 ...^ 
 
 PAPERS RELATIVE TO THE 
 
 FouK Addresses of the House of Assembly of Uppeu Canada to the Lieui.-Governor 
 for Money on account of the Contingencies of the Session of 1836. 
 
 To his Excellency Sir Fra .Js Bond Head, Knight Commander of the Royal Hanoverian 
 Guclphic Order, and of the Prussian Military Order of Merit, Lieutcnaut-Govcruor of 
 the Province of Upper Canada, Stc, &c. &c. 
 
 May it please your Excellency, 
 
 WE, His Majesty's dutiful and loyal subjects, the Commons of Upper Can.tda in Provin- 
 cial Parliament assembled, humbly request that your Excellency would be pleased to issue 
 your warrant on tiie Receiver-General in favour of tlie Speaker of this House, for 1,000/., 
 in part to defruy the contingent expenses of this House, which sum we will make good 
 during the present Session. 
 
 Commons House of Assembly,! ^''8"^'^> Marshall S. Bidwell. 
 
 10 Feb. 1836. / 
 
 Speaker. 
 
 Gentlemen, 
 I SHALL have pleasure in complying with the request contained in your Address of this 
 
 day. 
 
 To his Excellency Sir Francis Bond Head, k.c.h., 8ic. &c. fee. 
 
 May it please your Excellency, 
 
 WE, His Majesty's dutiful and loyal subjects, the Commons of Upper Canada in Pro- 
 vincial Parliament assembled, humbly req.iest that your Excellency would be pleased to 
 issue your warrant on the Receiver-Genera! in favour of the SpeaKcr of this House, for 
 1,000/., in part to defray the further contingent expenses of this House, which sum we will 
 make good during the present Session. 
 
 Commons House of Assembly,^ (signed) Marshall S. Bidwell, 
 
 10 March 1836. J Speaker. 
 
 Gentlemen, 
 I SHALL be happy to comply with the request contained in your Address. 
 
 To his Excellency Sir Francis Bond Head, Knight Commander of the Royal Hanoverian 
 Guelphic Order, Knight of the Prussian Military Order of Merit, Lieutenant-Governor of 
 the Province of Upper Canada, &c. &c. &c. 
 
 May it please your Exc ;llency, 
 
 WE, His Majesty's dutiful and loyal subjects, the Commons of Upper Canada in pro- 
 vincial Parliament assembled, humbly request that yuur Excellency will be pleased to issue 
 your warrant on the Receiver-General in favour of the Speaker of llie House of Assembly 
 for the sum of 2,000/., to defray in part the further contingent expenses of the present 
 Session, which sum we will make good during the same. 
 
 Commons House of Assembly,"! 
 14 April 1836. J 
 
 (signed) 
 
 Marshall S. Bidwell, 
 Speaker. 
 
 Gentlemen, 
 As the Legislature is to be prorogued on Wednesday next, I regret exceedingly that I 
 cannot deem it advisable to comply with the request contained in thisAddress. 
 
 To his Excellency Sir Francis Bond Head, Knight Commander of the Royal Hanoverian 
 Guelphic Order, and of tlve Prussian Military Order of Merit, Lieutenant-Governor of 
 the Province of Upper Canada, 8lc. &c. &c. , . 
 
 May it please your Excellency, 
 
 WE, His Majesty's dutiful and loyal subjects, the Commons of Upper Canada, in Pro- 
 vincial Parliament assembled, humbly request your Excellency will be pleased to issue 
 your warrants to the Receiver-General of this province, in favour of Grant Powell, Esq.. 
 Clerk to the Honourable the Legislative Council, for the sura of 1740/. 
 
 Of Stephen Jarvis, Esq., Gentleman Usher of the Black Rod, for certain contingent 
 expenses of the Honourable the Legislative Council during tlie present Session, for the 
 8um of 329/. 5s. 
 
 Of James Fitzgibbon, Esq., Clerk of the House of Arsembly, for the sum of 
 5,864/. 1 s. 8 id., to pay the contingent expenses of his office for the present Session and 
 
 late recess. 
 
 y Of 
 
AFFAIRS OF UPPER CANADA. 
 
 •Gtwernor 
 
 .anoverian 
 overnor of 
 
 in Provin- 
 ce) to issue 
 or i,ooo/., 
 nake good 
 
 Idwell, 
 Speaker. 
 
 ress of this 
 
 Of David A. M'Nab, Esq., Serjeant at Arms, for tlie sum of 561 /. 14s. iid., to enabU- 
 him to pay certain contingent expenses of the House of Assembly for the present Session. 
 
 Which au'us His Majesty's faitliful Commons will make gooi| durinj^ the next Session of 
 Parliament. 
 
 „ „ <■ 1 . 1 ^ (signed.) Marshall S. liiduell, 
 
 Commons House of Asseitibly, I ° Speaker. 
 
 20 April 1836. J ' 
 
 Eiiclomire i , in 
 No. I. 
 
 Addressee from the 
 House of AsMrabljr 
 to the Lieui.- 
 (>overnor. 
 
 Contingencies 
 
 „£.8,4q6 is. jd. 
 
 Item. — Of the above conlini»encie3 asked for, 2,700/. were, I have been informed,; *''''* ^' ,/ 
 intended to pay Mr. O'Grady, the Editor of the " Correspondent and Advocate," and other 
 
 presses patronized by the House, for the dissemination of 5,000 copies of their report, and 
 for similar purposes. 
 
 ^ 
 
 Gentlemen, 
 I HEGRET that the course taken by the House of Assembly in refusing to entrust inc 
 with the money for the province for the purpose of carrying on the ordinary afl'airs oi / C€ 
 government for the current year, forbids such a confidence on my part as your request // 
 involves. 
 
 'U ^^ 
 
 'C^ 
 
 ada in Pro- 
 pleaged to 
 House, for 
 
 sum we will 
 
 iidwell, 
 Speaker. 
 
 Hanoverian 
 Governor of 
 
 ada in pro- 
 tsed to issue 
 of Assembly 
 
 the present 
 
 Bidwell, 
 Speaker. 
 
 ingly that I 
 
 Hanoverian 
 -Governor of 
 
 lada, in Pro- 
 sed to issue 
 Powell, Esq.. 
 
 n contingent 
 ission, for the 
 
 the sum of 
 t Session and 
 
 Of 
 
 ^ • ' ' Enclosure 2, in No. 1. 
 
 Copy of Lieutenant-Governor Sir F. B. Head's Speech on closing the Scasion of the 
 Legislature of Upper Canada, on the 20th of April 1836. 
 
 Honourable Gentlemen of the Legislative Council : and 
 • - Gentlemen of the House of the Assembly : 
 
 Befoke I release you from the legislative duties in which you have been respectively 
 engaged 1 consider it necessary to recapitulate the principal events of this Session. 
 
 Ycu are perfectly aware that for many years the House of Assembly of Upper Canada 
 have loudly complained of what they term theii " grievances," and that at the end of your 
 last Session these complaints having been referred to a " Committee of Grievances," were, 
 by the Assembly, " ordered to be printed in pamphlet form." In pursuance of this order 
 a volume, containing 570 piiges, was forwarded to, and received by His Majesty's Govern- 
 ment, as containing the sum total of the complaints of the people of this province. 
 
 Whether the mere order for printing this report of the Committee could be legally 
 considered as sanctioning it wiih their opinions, I have no desire to discuss; because no 
 sooner did the said report reach His Majesty's Government, than it was determined that 
 the grievances it detailed should immediately be eflfectually corrected; and, accordingly. 
 Instructions were drawn out by His Majesty's Secretary of Slate for the Coloniei-, in which 
 each subject of complaint was separately considered, and a remedy ordered for it* 
 correction : and I have only to refer to those Instructions to prove the generosity with 
 which His Majesty overlooked certain language contained in the report, and the liberality 
 with which he was graciously pleased to direct that impartial justice should be adminis- 
 tered to His subjects in this province. 
 
 His Majesty's Government having determined that I should be selected to carry these 
 remedial measures into effect, I waited upon the Colonial Secretary of Slate, (to whom, as 
 well as to almost every other member of the Government, I -.vas a total stranger,) and 
 respectfully begged leave to decline the duty, truly urging as my reason, that having, 
 dedicated my whole mind to a humble but important service, in which I was intently 
 engaged, it was more congenial to my disposition to remain among the yeomanry and 
 labouring classes of my own couniry, than lobe appointed to the station of Lieutenant- 
 Governor of Upper Canada. His Majesty's Government having been pleased to repeat 
 their request, i felt it impossible not 10 accede to it ; and I accordingly received the 
 instructions which had been framed; and having had the honour of an interview with His 
 Majesty, during which, in an impressive manner which lean never forget, he imposed upon 
 ine His royal commands to do strict justice to his subjects in this province, 1 left England 
 will' a firm determination to carry the remedial measures with which I was entrusted into 
 full effect. 
 
 I arrived at this capital on the 23d of January last, and on the 27ih 1 delivered a speech, 
 in which I iiiformed you 1 would submit in a message the answer which His Majesty had 
 been pleased to give to the several addresses and representations which proceeded from the 
 two branches of the legislature duriug the last Session. I added, that as regarded myself. 
 
 Lieut. -Goveinor'* 
 Speech un closing 
 the Session. 
 
 
 // 
 
 r.,.^ ^^ ^'^1 
 
 
 
 C~ 
 
 /' 
 
 
 I had nothing either to |<romise or profess, but that I trusted I should not call in vain upon 
 you for that assistance «vhich your Kin 
 couniry required. 
 
 you for that assistance «vhich your King expected, and which the rising interests of your 
 
 In thus ofhcially coming before the legislature of this country from our gracious Sove- 
 reign, with a full measure of reform, I had expected that my appearance would have been 
 hailed and welcomed by both Houses of the Legislature, more especially by thai, from 
 which had proceeded the Grievance Report; and 1 must own, I never anticipated it could 
 seriously be argued for a moment that I was intruding upon the privileges of either 
 House. 
 
 391. B Harii]g 
 
M 
 
 10 
 
 PAPERS RELATIVE TO THE 
 
 t'lirloKure 2, in 
 No. 1. 
 
 tut.-Oovi-rnor's 
 pecch uu cloging 
 the Sestion. 
 
 
 I 
 
 '' H 
 
 Xt"^ 
 
 .'5- 
 
 <u 
 
 J,.eJ^ (-- 
 
 f^V.^> 
 
 / 
 
 / 
 
 /'' 
 
 ci^-: 
 
 a' 
 
 4 a 
 
 A»- 
 
 i :/ 
 
 ■a 
 
 
 ^y 
 
 ■uy^ n 
 
 
 V^/ - 
 
 /«*.'' 
 
 ^^ 
 
 
 »r- 
 
 
 
 
 Having made myself acquainted wiih the outline of public feeling in this province, by 
 conversinit calmly with the men of most ability of all parties, I communicated the result 
 to J>ord Glenelg, in despatches dated the 5th of F<,-bruary, of which the lollowing are 
 extracts : 
 
 " Under these circumstances I consider that the great danger 1 have to avoid is the 
 slightest attempt to conciliate any party; that the only course for me to adopt is, to act 
 fearlessly, uiulisguisedly, and straightl'orvvarcily for the interests of the country; to throw 
 myself on the good sense and good feeling of the people, and abide a result which I firmly 
 believe will eventually be triumphant." 
 
 " Whatever may be the result, I shall st?adily and straightly proceed in the course of 
 policy I have adopted : I shall neither avoid, nor rest upon any party, hut after attentively 
 listenii .1 all opinions, I will, to the best of my judgment, do what [ think honest and 
 right; Krmly believing that the stability of the throne, the interests of this province, and 
 the confidence of the people, can now only be secured by such a course," 
 
 To the Speakers of both Houses, as well as to many intelligent individuals with whom I 
 conversed, I declared my sincere determination to do justice to the people of this province. 
 It was, iiowever, with dee|) regret I observed, that from the House of Assembly 1 did not 
 immediately obtain the assistance I expected in carrying the instructions of His Majesty's 
 Government into effect ; for I received various addresses requesting papers and inform ition 
 which 1 feared miglit excite troublesome and by-gone discussion. 
 
 On the 5th of February I received an address of this nature, to which, in as conciliatory 
 a tone as possible, I replied at considerable length ; and being now determined to urge, 
 and, if possible, to lead the House of Assembly on towards reform, I concluded my reply 
 in the following words : 
 
 " The Lieutenant-Governor takes this opportunity of appealing to the liberality and good 
 sense of the House of Assembly for consideration; that as a stranger to this province, 
 totally unconnected witli the political differences which have existed in the mother country, 
 he has lately arrived here, entrusted by our most gracious Soveieign with instructions, 
 the undisguised objectof which is, firmly to maintain the happy constitution of this country 
 inviolate ; but 10 correct cautiously, yet etTectually, all real grievances. 
 
 " The House of Assembly is deeply interested in the iniportan'^e and magnitude of the 
 task he has to perform; and he is confident it will, on reflection, be of opinion, that the 
 Lieutenant-Governor of this province had better look steadily forward to its future 
 prosperity and improvement; that he had better attract into Upper Canada the superabun- 
 dant capital and popu ation of the mother country by encouraging internal peace and 
 tranquillity, than be observed occupying himself solely in reconsidering the occurrences of 
 the past. 
 
 " The Lieutenant-Governor does not assert that the latter occupation is totally useless; 
 buf'he maintains that the former is by far the more useful, and that to attend to both is 
 impossible." 
 
 This appeal did not produce the effect I had anticipated; but I received another address 
 from tlie House of Assembly in behalf of eight Indians of the Wyandot tribe; and 1 had 
 scarcely entered this new and questionable ground, when a counter-petition was .'orwarded 
 by eleven members of the same tribe, in which they spontaneously declared, " We have the 
 fullest confidence in the justice and fatherly protection of our beloved Sovereign and his 
 representative the Lieutenant-Governor." 
 
 Another new set of grievances was now brought forward by the House of Assembly, ia 
 the form of an Address to the King on Trade and Commerce, which I immediately 
 forwarded to His Majesty's Government, aliiiough the principal complaints in the Grievance 
 Report still remained unnoticed and unredressed. 
 
 During these discussions I purposely refrained from having much communication with 
 the old supporters of the government; because I was desirous to show those who termed 
 themselves reformers, that I continued, as I had arrived, unbiassed and unprejudiced; and 
 desiring to give iheni a still further proof that I would go any reasnnalile length to give 
 fair power 10 their ,ty, I added three gentlemen to the Executive Council, all of whom 
 were avowed reformers. 
 
 Wiih the assistance of these gentlemen — with His Majesty's instructions before us — 
 and wiih my own determinaiion to do justice to ihe inhnbiiants of this country, \ certainly 
 considered thai the triumph of the reform which had been solicited was now about to be 
 esiablished, and ihat the grievances under which the people of this province were sjid to 
 labour, would consecutively be considered and redressed. Hut, to my utter astonishment, 
 these gentlemen, insiea>l of assisting me in reform, before they were a Ibrtnighi in my 
 service, oftieially combined together ni ari unprecedented endea vour to ass ume the resjjon- 
 sibilijy 1 owen to the" people of Upper Canaila as well as to our Sovereign, and tiiey 
 concluded a formal document which they addressed to me on this subject, by a request 
 that if I deemed such a course not v.ise or aMinissible, they, who hail been sworn before 
 liic to secrecy, might be allowed to addri'ss the people! and 1 must own, that the instant 
 "this deniiind reached mc, I was startled, and felt it quite impossible to assent, to the intro- 
 ■■ diiclion of new principles, which, to my judg:nent, appeared calculated to shake the fabric 
 
 of the constiiiition, and to lead to revolution instead ol' reform. 
 — Wilhoiil disi Nssiiiu: the aruunients ol the Council, I will simply observe, that had [ felt 
 / /L-.^^'*''' s<> much disposed to surrender to them my sttlion <ii Lieuteil inl-Guvernor and to act 
 Kubservienily to their advice; hud 1 felt ever su willing obediently to dismiss fi<iin olfice 
 /X< — <Af»«^'''i— > whomsoever 
 
 
 / 
 
 t^ 
 
 /^. 
 
 
 
 
 \- 
 
AFFAIRS OF UPPER CANADA. 
 
 II 
 
 
 whomsoever ihey should condemn, and to henp patronaj^e and proferment upon whomsoever Kncloaure «, m 
 the)' might recommend ; had I felt it .•idvisable to place the Crown lands at their disposal, No, i. 
 
 and to refer the petitions and personalappiiciitiuns of the inhabitants of the remote counties 
 
 to their decision ; I possessed neither power nor authority to do so. In fact, 1 was no more l-ip"t -Ciovemor't 
 able to divest myself of responsibility, than a criminal has power to di- \ from himself •'^("-•ech on olo*inf 
 upon another the sentence of the law ; and though, under the pretence of athering to what ''"' ''e'*'''"- 
 is called " the image and transcript" of the British Constitution in this province, it was 
 declared that the Executive Council must he regarded as a cabiiiel, I had no more power 
 to invest that body with il. tributes of a cabinet than 1 had pcwer to create myself 
 King of the province— than ". had power to convert the Legislative Council into an 
 hereditary nobility; or than I had power to decree that this Colony of the British Empire 
 should henceforward be a KiNonoM. 
 
 From total inability, therefore, as well as from other reasons, [ explained to my Council, 
 in courteous language, that I could not accede to their views; and it being evidently 
 necessary for the public service that we should separate, I felt it was for them rather than 
 for me to retire. 1 received their resignations with regret; and, that I entertained no 
 vindictive feelings, will be proved by the fact, that F immediately wrote to Lord Glenelg, 
 begging his Lordship most earnestly not to dismiss from their ortices any of these iudividuaU 
 on account of the embarrassment they had caused to me. 
 
 On the day the Council left me I appointed in their stead four gentlemen of high 
 character, entitled by their integrity and abilities to my iniplicit contidence; and with 
 their assistance I once again determined to carry promptly into effect those remedial 
 measures of His Majesty's Government which had been solicited by the Grievance llepori. 
 
 However, a new and unexpected embarrassment was now offered to me by the House of 
 
 'c 
 
 ^ r ct/C 
 
 & 
 
 <l.c _ 
 
 ^.///^ 
 
 f. f 
 
 
 Assembly, who, to my astonishment, not only requested to be informed of the reasons why 
 my Executive Coincil had resigned, but who, I have learned, actually suspended all 
 husiness until my reply was received I 
 
 <><V^ t V' irr 
 
 
 J,. 
 
 
 / 
 
 /* 
 
 Iflf' 
 
 As the Lituienant-Governor of this Province is authorized by His Majesty, in case of 
 death or resignation, to name, pro tempore, the individuals he may think most proper to 
 appoint to his Council, I might constitutionally, and perhaps ought to have declined lo 
 submit to either branch of tlie legislature my reasons for exercising this prerogative ; but 
 actuated by the earnest desire, which I had uniformly evinced, to comply with the wishes 
 of the House of Assembly, 1 transmitted to them the correspondence they desired, ivilh a 
 conciliatory message which ended as follows: 
 
 " With these sentiments, 1 transmit to the House of Assembly the documents they have 
 requested, feeling confident that I can give them no surer proof of my desire to preserve 
 their privileges inviolate than by proving to them that I am equally determined to maintain 
 the rights and prerogatives of the Crown, one of the most prominent of which is that which 
 I have just assumed, of naming those Councillors in whom I conscientiously believe 1 cati 
 cotifide. 
 
 " For their acts I deliberately declare myself to be responsible, but they are not respon- 
 sible for mine, and cannot be, because, being sworri to silence, they are deprived by this 
 fact as well as by the constitution, of all pow^r to defend themselves." 
 
 The House of Assembly referred the whole subject to a Committee, which, contrary to 
 customary form, made its existence known to me by applying directly to me, instead of 
 through the House, for other documents and informations, which I immediately forwarded, _ 
 
 without objecting to the irregularity of the application; and the House, to my great 
 surprise, prematurely passed its sentence upon the subject in an address, in which it ^ y 
 
 declared to me its " deep regret that I had consented to accept the tender of resignation of /■t/'^''^ ■ f'f-' 
 the late Council." . 
 
 The following extract from my reply to this unexpected decision will sufficiently explain ^ y /t, ♦"'«-. 
 
 the amicable desire I still entertained to afford all reasonable satisfaction. / ^ 
 
 " The whole ot .respondence I forward to the House of Assembly, with an earnest desire ^ '^ "^ "^'z ' ' ' , 
 that, regardless of my opinion, the question lAay be fairly discussed." ' /f it,^ t ■ '• <[* 
 
 " In the station 1 hold I form one branch out of three of the legislature; and I claim / A icr C^"> 
 for myself freedom of thought as firmly as I wish that the other two branches should retain 
 the same privilege. 
 
 " If I should see myself in the wrong I will at once acknowledge my error; but if I shoidd 
 feel it my duty to maintain iny opinion, the House must know that there exists a consti- 
 tutional tribunal competent to award its decision, and to that tribunal I am ever ready most 
 respectfully to bow. 
 
 " To appeal to the people is unconstitutional as well as unwise — to appeal to their 
 passions is wrong; bat on the good sense of the House of Assembly I have ever shown a 
 !i8j)osition to rely, and lo their good sense i still confidently appeal." 
 
 Having thus thrown myself upon the integrity of the House of Assembly [ might 
 reasonably have expected that a favourable construction would hav<' been placed upon my 
 words and acts, and that the disposition which I had evinced to afford the most ample 
 information, and to lueet, as far as my duly would admit, the expectations and desires of 
 the Assembly, would have been duly appreciated ; tlie ( vents, however, which soon after 
 transpired, and the addresses which were presented to me in this city and from other places 
 in the vicinity, conveyed to me the unwelcome information that eft'orts were being made, 
 under the pretence of " the constitution being in danger," to mislead the public mind, and 
 lo induce a belief that I, as Lieutenant-Governor, had declared an opinion in favour of 
 an arbitrary and irrespoosible govcrniuent, that I had shewn an entire disregard of the 
 
 29 1. ' B a sentiments 
 
 /»-ri<«.»fv. o 
 
 / 
 
 ''/. 
 
 
 
 ^fy/, 
 
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 'I 
 
 » 
 
 i 
 
 tt< 
 
 PAPERS RELATIVE TO THE 
 
 GncloauFe 7, in 
 No. J. 
 
 Lieut.-Governor's 
 Speech on closing 
 the Seisioii. 
 
 in< "-^. ■- 
 
 
 Governors and of his l*'xecutive Counci 
 x^^ "It appears," say i lie Grievance Committee, "that it is the (!uty of ilie Lictitcnaiit- 
 
 Govenior to take the opinion of the lixccutive Council only in such cases as he shall be 
 f ^ required to do so by his instructions from the Imperial Government, and in such other cases 
 
 
 1 
 
 y 
 
 
 
 77 
 
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 sentiments and feelings of the people whom I had been sent to govern, and that, therefore, 
 
 the inhabitants of this country could never be contented or prosperous under my adminiB- 
 
 tration. Several petitions, purporting to be addressed to the House of Assembly 
 
 and apparently forwarded by members of that Jlouse to individuals in the country, 
 
 with a view to obtain sign'itures, having been returned to the Government Office, 
 
 I had ample opportuni'ies of becoming acquainted witii the fact that there existed an 
 
 intention tc embarrass tl c government by withholding the supplies, and that even the terms 
 
 had been prescribed to i'.e people of the province in which they were expected to iiddress 
 
 their representatives for tiiat object. 
 
 ./^ y >-; — Now it will scarcely be credited that while 1 was thus assailed, while placards declared 
 
 ''' 'r ' ' ^ * ''"*' '^'c constitution was in danger, merely because 1 had maintained that the Lieuienant- 
 
 ^/in C^ Governor, and not his Executive Council, was responsible for his conduct, there existed in 
 
 j^ the Grievance Report the following explanation of the relative duties of the Lieutenant 
 
 A..'~^y- - . ■ . ■ 
 
 jj ^^^^^^^ ,. as he may think fit. It ap[)ears by the following transactions that the Lieutenant-Go- 
 '*- "' ^''' '' . vemors only communicate to the Council so much of the private despatches they receive 
 
 / ^^ >x^/'^*U^-^ hon\ the Colonial Office as they may think fit, unless in ciises wiiere they are otherwise 
 /r»^-' ''^^^...^ -J specially instructed." 
 
 Gentlemen of the House of Assembly : 
 
 Having at your request tra;.Mniited to you the correspondence which passed between 
 
 // /\ / my late Executive Couni I and myself, and having reminded you that there existed " a 
 
 '/,,./ J ^'Kt'''^ constitutional tribunal com petent to award its decision, and that to that tribunal I was 
 
 ' ■' ever ready most respectfu 11 'o bow," it is with surprise I learn that you have deemed it 
 
 necessary to stop the supplh 
 
 In the history of Upper Canada this measure has, I believe, never before been resorted 
 to ; and as I was the bearer of His Majesty's especial instructions to examine and, wherever 
 necessary, to correct the " grievances " detailed in your report of last Session, I own I 
 did not expect to receive this embarrassment from your House. 
 
 The effect of your deliberate decision will be severely felt by all people in the public 
 offices, by the cessation of improvement in yonr roads, by the delay of compensation to 
 sufferers in the late war, and by the check of emigration. 
 
 In the complaints you have made to His Majesty against me (in which you declare that 
 my "ear is credulous," my "mind poisoned," my "feelings bitter," that lam "despotic," 
 '"tyrannical," "unjust," "deceitful," that my conduct has been "derogatory to the 
 honour of the King," and " demoralizing to the community," and that I have treated the 
 people of this province as being " little better than a country of rogues and fools "), you 
 have availed yourselves of a high legislative privilege entrusted to you by your constituents, 
 to the exercise of which I have consequently no constitutional objection to urge, but for 
 the honour of this province in which 1, though unconnected with the country, am as deeply 
 interested as its inhabitants, I cannot but regret that while I was receiving from all direc- 
 tions the most loyal addresses, you, in your legislative capacity, should have characterized 
 His Majesty's Government which lias lately acted towards Upper Canada so nobly and 
 distinterestedly by the expression of " Downing-streei Law." 
 
 Honourable Gentlemen, and Gentlemen : 
 
 Having now concluded an outline of the principal events which have occurred during 
 the present Session, I confess that I feel disappointed in having totally failed in the bene- 
 ficent object of my mission. 
 
 I had made up my mind to stand against the e "emiesof reform, but I have unexpectedly 
 been disconcerted by its professed friends. No liberal mind can deny that I have been 
 unnecessarily embarrassed ; no one can deny thui I have been unjustly accused ; no one can 
 deny that I have evinced an anxiety to remedy all real grievances, that I have protected 
 _ the constitution of the province, and that by refusing to surrender at discretion the 
 ^ ,Vrr patronage of the Crown to irresponsible individuals I have conferred a service on the 
 back-woodsman, and on every noble-minded Englishman, Irishman, Scotchman and U. E, 
 loyalist, who, I well know, prefer British freedom and the Britisii Sovereign to the family 
 domination of an irresponsible cabinet. 
 
 It now only remains for me frankly and explicitly to declare the course of policy I shall 
 continue to adopt as long as I may remain the Lieutenant-Governor of this province, which 
 is as follows : 
 / I will continue to hold in my own hands for the benefit of the people, the power and 
 
 /f^^patronage of the Crown, as imparted to the Lieutenant-Governor of this province by the 
 king's instructions; I will continue to consult my Executive Council upon all subjects on 
 which, either by the Constitutional Act or by the King's instructions, I am ordered so to 
 do, as well as upon all other matters in which I require their assistance. I will continue 
 to hold myself responsible to all authorities in this country, as well as to all private indi- 
 viduals, for whatever acts I commit, either by advice of my Council or otherwise, and will 
 continue calmly and readily to afford to all people every reasonable satisfaciion in my 
 power. 1 will use my utmost endeavours to explain to the people of this province that 
 they want only wealth and population to become one of the finest and noblest people on 
 
 
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 AFFAIRS OF UPPER CANADA. 
 
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 the globe, that utiiun is strength, nnd that partv spirit produces wenknens, that ihey should Knclosurea, in 
 consequently forgive and forget political as well us religious animosity, and consider as their No. i. 
 
 enemies only those who insidiously promote cither; that, widely scattered as tiiey are over 
 
 the surface of this extensive country, they should recollect with pride >he brilliant history of Lieut.-CJovernor'i 
 
 " the old country," from which they sprung, and, like their ancestors, they should (irmly Speech on doling 
 
 support the British standard, which will ever afford them freedom and disinterested protec- ^^ Session. 
 
 tion ; that by thus tranquillizing the province, the redundant wealth of th- mother country 
 
 will irrigate their land, nnd that her population will convert the wilderness which surrounds 
 
 them into green fields ; that an infusion of wealth would establish markets in all directions, 
 
 at well as good roads, the arteries of agriculture and commerce; that plain, piactical 
 
 education should be provided for the rising generation, as also the blessings of the Christian , 
 
 religion, which inculcates " Glory to God in the highest, and oq earth peace, good-will tS 
 
 towards men." 
 
 Taking every opportunity of offering these recommendations to the inhabitants of 
 this province, I snail in no way attempt to enforce them; on the contrary, I shall 
 plainly promulgate that if the yeomanry and farmers of lJp|.er Canada ire not yet 
 sufficiently tired of agitation, if they do not yet clearly see what a curse it '.las been to 
 them, it will be out of my power to assist theni; that if they insist on turning away the 
 redundant wealth as well as the labourers of the mother country to the United States, I 
 shall be unable to prevent them ; in short, that if they actually would rather remain as 
 they are than become wealthy, as they might be, my anxiety to enrich them must prove 
 fruitless. 
 
 On the other side, whenever they shall be disposed to join heart and hand with me in 
 loyally promoting the peace and prosperity of the province, they shall find me faithfully 
 clevotcd to their service. In the mean while [ will carefully guard the constitution of the 
 country, and they may firmly rely that I will put down promptly, as I have already done, 
 the slightest attempt to invade it. 
 
 With inward pleasure I have received evidence of the invincible re-action that is hourly 
 taking place in the public mind, and for the sake of the province rather than for my own I 
 hail the manly British feeling which in every direction I see, as it were, rising out of the 
 ground, determined to shield me from insult and to cheer and accompany me in my progress 
 towards reform. 
 
 I have detained you longer than is customary, but the unprecedented events of this 
 Session have made it necessary to do so. 
 
 
 .6. 
 
 K t^r. 
 
 /I- 
 
 Enclosure 3, in No. 1. 
 UPPER CANADA. 
 
 ADDRESSES from different parts of the Province to Lieutenant-Goveroor 
 . Sir Francis Bond Head, k. c. h., referred to in the accompanying Despatch. 
 
 Signature*. ' 
 
 t. City of Toronto » - - .... 1,640 
 
 2. County of -Hastings - » • -. • • • 716 
 
 3. District of Niagara - • - -'- . - - 754 
 
 4. District of Prince Edward •---.-. 864 
 
 5. Kingston, and vicinity ...--»- 570 
 
 6. Newmarket, and vicinity - » • • • • • 114 
 
 7. Town of Niagara ..-----. c/S 
 
 8. Youge Street -.-.-.-«- 155 ' 
 
 9. Township of Ancaster ---.... 147 
 
 10. Township of Stamford - - • • - - - 193 
 
 11. town, two addresses -•--.-• 281 
 
 12. ' .fnship of Georgina -»-..«. 00 
 
 13. Township of Guelph ----•-.- 167 
 
 14. Peterboro', and vicinity ------- 1,026 
 
 Total - - - 6,782 
 
 Address from 
 the Provincts to 
 LicnL'Gevtrnor. 
 
 and 
 
 —No. 1.— 
 
 To his Excellency Sir Francis Bund Head, k.c.h, &c. &c. &c., Lieut.-Governor of 
 
 Upper Canada, &c. &.c. 
 
 May it please your Excellency, 
 
 WE, the undersigned inhabitants of the city of Toronto and its immediate vicinity, beg 
 leave to express to your Excellency our deep regret at the difficulties which have recently 
 arisen on the subject of the constitutional duties of the Executive Council of this province. 
 
 We view with the strongest feelings of disapprobation and indignation the efforts which 
 have recently been made and are now making to take advantage of these dithcultics, for the 
 purpose of embarrassing your Excellency in the adiniuistraiiun of tlie government of this 
 
 3^1. B 3 province. 
 
 
 / 
 
i \ 
 
 . 
 
 'i'i 
 
 Eneloture 3, in 
 
 No. 1. 
 
 Addresses from 
 the Provinces to 
 Lieut.-Governor. 
 
 
 J4 
 
 PAPERS RELATIVE TO THE 
 
 yiv .lice, and for the purpose of creating an excitement and digtnrbance in the colony 
 which is calculated 10 produce the most injurious and fatal effects, and to be subversive of 
 the peace, welfare and good government of tlie country. 
 
 We feel the highest satisfaction at the sentiments expressed by His Majesty's Govern- 
 ment on ilie affairs of the colony, as contained in the royal instructions to your Excellency, 
 which were laid before the legislature immediately after your arrival in this city. 
 
 We have the highest confidence in the talents and integrity of your Kxcellency, and in 
 the sincerity of your repeatedly declared desire to carry into effect the liberal intentions of 
 His Majesty's (jovcrnnient towards the people of this province, and we \'.ew with unqualified 
 admiration the candour, the conciliatory manner and the manly firmness with which your 
 Excellency has met the demonstrations which have recently been made to embarrass your 
 Excellency in tlx; administration of your government, and to create an excitement and dis- 
 turbance in tills prosperous and highly favoured country. 
 
 Ardently attaclied to the Government and institutions of the great empire of which these 
 colonies have the advantage of being an integral part, we are determined by all lawful means 
 in our power to preserve and perpetuate the connexion, and to oppose and counteract every 
 effort which may now be making, or which hereafter may be made, either openly or insi- 
 diously, to dissolve or weaken that connexion, and to introduce into the institutions of this 
 province changes which are incompatible with the principles of the British form of 
 Government. 
 
 Convinced that the prerogatives of the Ciown are only a sacred trust for the protection 
 of the rights and liheiiiss (if the people, and that by sustaining the one we arc taking the 
 most ed'ectual means of securing the other, we beg to assure your Excellency that we '^hall 
 make use of all lawful and constitutional exeitioiis to uphold your Excelltncy in the adminis- 
 tration of the government of this province, and to support you in your determination to 
 carry into effect the liberal intentions of his Majesty's Government towards the people of 
 this colony. 
 
 Number of signatures attached to this Address - - 1640. 
 
 —No. 2.— 
 
 To his Excellency Sir Francis Bond Head, Knight Commander of the Royal Hanoverian 
 Guelphic Order, and of the Prussian Military Order of Merit, Lieut.-Governor of the 
 Province of Upper Canada, 8cc. &c. &e. 
 
 WE, the inhabitants of the county of Hastings have seen the correspondence lately pub- 
 lished between the late Executive Council and your Excellency, r.nd have read with pleasure 
 your Excellency's determined, talented and firm arguments in that correspondence relative 
 to the charter of our liberties, our constitutional act, and cannot but express our regret at 
 the premature and hasty resignation of said Councillors, particularly at a nionient when your 
 Excellency was preparing for their consideration measures of reform for the better adminis- 
 tration of good government in this province, and would beg your Excellency still to con- 
 tinue in the same resolution of upholding and supporting the best interests of our agricul- 
 turists and advancing the prosperity of ou;- province. 
 
 Number of signatures attached to this Address - - 716. 
 
 —No. 3.— 
 
 To his Excellency Sir Francis Bond Head, Lieutenant-Governor of Upper Canada, 
 
 8lc. &c. &c. 
 May it please your Excellency, 
 
 WE, the undersigned inhabitants of the district of Niagara, who profess loyalty to our 
 Sovereign, deem it our duty to come forward at the present crisis of affairs in this province, 
 and declare our attachment to the constitution of the country, and approval of the conduct 
 of the representative of our king. 
 
 We have read the document signed by the late Executive Council to your Excellency, 
 and your Excellency's reply. We have also read the Petition of the Council of the City 
 of Toronto to your Excellency, and your Excellency's answer thereto. We now do most 
 willingly and cheerfully come forward to record our approbation of the firmness of 
 character exhibited by your Excellency ; and we are pleased to hear that your Excellency 
 will "maintain the happy constitution of the country inviolate," and will "cautiously, 
 yet effectually, correct all real grievances." We are also pleased to find that your Excellency 
 consults the " interests of the farmer." in preventing the patronage of the province 
 passing into the hands, (which it would do) " of a few families, which might possibly 
 promote their own views to the rejection of the interests of the distant counties." 
 
 We regret that any differences should have arisen between your Excellency and the 
 Executive Council at this time; but we hesitate not to declare, that we approve of the 
 conduct of your Excellency; a;id we believe that if those invested with power would lay 
 aside all private feelings, and "forgive and forget" all political animosity, that His 
 Majesty's wishes, as expressed in your instructions, would be promptly executed. 
 
 Number of signatures attached to the Address - - 754. 
 
 No. 
 
 m:*.fm\ 
 
AFFAIRS OF UPPER CANADA. 
 
 •5 
 
 -No. 4.— 
 
 r.nclofiurc ), in 
 
 No. I. 
 
 tbi- I'roviiices to 
 Litut.-()Overnor. 
 
 ^;.. 
 
 
 To his Excellency Sir Francii Bond Head, k. c. h., Lieutenant-Governor of the Province Aildrew from 
 
 ol Upper Canada, &c. &c. Sic. 
 
 WE, His Majesty's loyal and devoted siibiects, the inhabitants of the district of Prince 
 Edward, in approaching your Excellency, Leg leave to express in the most unequivocal 
 manner, our firm nltachnienl to the king and constitution, and lo the continuance of our 
 connexion with the mother country, a connexion which has raised this province to its 
 present prosperous and flourishing condition. 
 
 We fully coincide with your Excellency in your interpretation of the Constitutional Act; 
 and are convinced had you yielded to the demands of your late Executive Council, and 
 transferred to them the power and respon>ibility which are invested in yourself, you- thus 
 consenting to place the patronage of the Crown in the hands of a few leading individuals, 
 would bring about a change injurious to the best interests of both Crown and people. 
 
 Impressed with these sentiments, v;e rejoice lo know that your Excellency has expressed 
 your film determination to maintain inviolate the constitution of this province, and, at 
 the same time, to proceed in the reformation of any abuse that may exist, and fully 
 relyiug on these your Excellency's determination, 
 
 We have the honour to be, Stc. 
 
 Numbe of signatures attached to this Address - - 864. 
 
 regret at 
 hen your 
 admiuis- 
 to con- 
 ur agricul- 
 
 lanada, 
 
 xcellency, 
 f the City 
 w do most 
 mness of 
 .xcellency 
 autiously, 
 ixcellency 
 province 
 possibly 
 
 :y and the 
 ove of the 
 would lay 
 that His 
 
 No. 
 
 -No. 6.— 
 
 "To his Excellency Sir Francis Bond Head, Knight Commander of the Royal Guelphic 
 Order of Hanover, and of the Prussian Order of Merit, Lieutenant-Governor of the 
 Province of Upper Canada, 8cc. &c, 8cc. 
 
 WE, His Majesty's faithful and loyal subjects, inhabitants of the town and township of 
 Kingston, in tiie midland district, most respectfully crave leave to address your Excellency- 
 at this time ol political agitation. 
 
 Assembled in general meeting duly convened, we beg to assure your Excellency tiiat 
 we view the increase and prosperity of this province as mainly attributable to its con- 
 nexion with the parent state, and that our duly, as well as our interests require that such 
 connexion should be defended at all hazards. 
 
 That we owe allegiance to His Majesty, and obedience to those p erogalives with which 
 the constitution has invested him for the good of the people. 
 
 That while Upper Canada continues lo be a British colony, the Lieutenant-Governor as 
 the representative of, and responsible to His Miijesty, is, by the Act of 31 Geo. 3, 
 made wholly and solely responsible (or the acts of his government, and that it was never 
 contemplated by that Act to invest an Execu'ive Council with such responsibility. 
 
 That while we perceive with regret the differences which have occurred between youf 
 Excellency and the late Executive Council, we cannot but rejoice at your determination 
 to uphold the present constitution, assured that while you preserve the prerogatives of the 
 Crown, you will maintain inviolate the rights an'' 'iberties of the people. 
 
 That during the short period since your Lxcelleney's accession lo the government of 
 this province, your upright manly and uncompromising conduct has been such as to call 
 forth the respect of all classes of His Majesty's subjects in this province, and to assure 
 them, that your Excellency is eminently qualified and manircstly desirous to promote the 
 true si.terests of this rai)iflly rising portion of His Majesty's empire. 
 
 May your Bxcelleiicy long continue to rule over us with ilie candour and honesty, tbe 
 firmness and dignity which has already ciiaraclerised your administration of ilie govera- 
 ment of this province. 
 
 Kingston, 30th March 1836. 
 
 Number of signatures attached to this Address - - jjOk 
 
 
 
 —No, 6.— 
 
 To his Excellency Sir Francis Bond Head, k.c.h., &c. &c. &c., Lieutenant-GoTernof of 
 
 Upper Canada, &c. &c. 8ic. 
 
 May it please your Excellency, ^ 
 
 WE, the undersigned iiihabiianis of the village of Newmarket and the adjacent country, Cy C- • f' <■: , 
 beg leave to express to your Excellency our deep regret at the dilficulties which have 
 recently arisen on the subject of the coiisiitutioiial duties of the Executive Council of this /» iJ^t^/ic /j 
 province. /^ 
 
 We view, with the strongest feelings of disapprobation and indignation, the factious 
 
 efforts which have recently been nrade, and are now making, to lake advantage of those 
 
 difficulties for the purpose of emlmriassing your Excelleiury in the adminislraiion of 
 
 the government of tliis province, and for the purpose of creating an excitement and dis- 
 
 391. 04 turbauce 
 
 /, 
 
 ■% 
 
r«f 
 
 f 
 
 Enclosure 3, in 
 No. 1. 
 
 AHdrrsses from 
 the ProvincGS to 
 Lieut^Governor. 
 
 16 
 
 PAPERS RELATIVE TO THE 
 
 (urbance in the colony, which is calcu'nted to produce the most injurious eflects, and to be 
 subversive of tlie pence, weiCare suul good government ol' tlie country. 
 
 Wc feel tlie highest satisfaction at tiic sentiments expressed by His Majesty's Government 
 on tlie affairs of this colony, ns 'jontained in the royal Instructions to your Excellency, which 
 were laid before the legisluitire innnediately after your arrival in the city of Toronto. 
 
 We have the liighcst confidence in the talents and integrity of your Excellency, 
 and in the tincerity of your repeatedly declared desire to carry into effect the liberal 
 intentions of His Majesty's Government towards the people of this province; and we 
 view with uncjualifieO admiration the candour, the conciliatory manner, and the manly 
 firmness with which your Excellency has met the factious demonstrations which have 
 recently been made to embarrass your Excellency in the administration of your government, 
 and to create an excitement and disturbance in this prosperous and hijjhiy favoured 
 country. 
 
 Aidently attached to the government and institutions of the great empire of which these 
 colonies have the advantage of being an integral part, we are determined, by all lawful 
 means in our ))ower, to preserve and perpetuate that connexion, and to oppose and coun- 
 teract every effort which may now be making, or which hereafter may be made, either 
 openly or insidiously, to dissolve or weaken that connexion, and to introduce into the insti- 
 tutions of this province changes which are incompatible with the principles of the British 
 form of Government. 
 
 Convinced that tlie prerogatives of the Crown are only a sacred trust for the protection 
 of the rights and liberties of the people, and that by sustaining the one we are taking the 
 most effectual means of securing the other — we beg to assure your Excellency that we shall 
 make use of all lawful and constitutional exertions to uphold your Excellency in your admi- 
 nistration of the government of this province, and to support you in your determination to 
 carry into effect ine liberal intentions of His Majesty's Government towards •' . people of 
 this colony. 
 
 Number of signatures attached to this Address - - ti4- 
 
 c 
 
 / 7 ,/ / // 
 
 —No 7.— 
 
 To his Excellency, Sir Trnvcih BondHead, Knight Commander of the Royal Hanoveriao 
 Guelphic Order, and of the Prussian Military Order of Merit, Lieatenant-GoTernor of the 
 Province of Upper Canada, &c. &c. &c. 
 
 May it please your Excellency, 
 
 WE, the inhabitants of the town of Niagara, subjects firmly attached to the parent em- 
 pire, and ap|)rcciating the blessings of the British constitution, beg leave respectfully to 
 address your Excellency at the present political crisis. 
 
 The limited experience we have had of your past administration in this colony convinces 
 us that Upper Canada has acquired in you an uncompromising ic^iresentative of His 
 Majesty, and we sincerely trust that no schism in your Councils, nor undue interference from 
 any quarter, will ever divert you from those defined constitutional principles you have 
 already adhered to for the credit of the country, the lasting honour of yourself, and the 
 dignity of His Majesty's Crown. 
 
 In the present political strife, we consider ourselves called upon as subjects of His 
 Majesty, and firmly attached to liis supremacy, and those principles consolidated in the 
 colonial constitution, to express our undisguised sentiments. 
 
 We have recently had called to our attention the appointment of yoi"' first Executive 
 Council, and we consider thai you correctly exercised the prerogative that u vested in you, 
 and that in accepting their resignation, and calling other individuals to your cabinet, you 
 evinced a discretion and dignity worthy of your exalted situation. 
 
 We are well assured ihat at present there exists no excited state of public feeling in this 
 district, nor, to any alarming extent, elsewhere, occasioned by the proceedings between your 
 Excellency and your Council. 
 
 We sincerely regret that the measures of conciliation suggested, and the unwearied 
 parental forbearance exercised on the part of the British Government, through His Ma- 
 jesty's representatives in both provinces, for our mutual prosperity should have been so un- 
 fortunately misplaced, and those remedial measures recommended for our benefit paralyzed 
 in their effect. 
 
 We ever desire to see the Constitutional Act of this colony upheld by the King, and 
 shielded by the people, from all vital innovations in its original spirit, and transmitted unim- 
 paired to latest posterity. 
 
 In conclusion, we, the inhabitants of this town, the first established in this colony, and 
 suihciently tried for loyally and sufferings, beg leave to express our admiration of that deci- 
 sive course your Excellency has adopted in the recent difliculties you have contended with, 
 in reconciling public opinion, and resistingany improper interference; and we unanimously 
 declare ourselves pledged with our influence and hearts to serve King and country, and per- 
 severe iu maintaining an administration based so (irmly on constitutional principles. 
 
 Numberof signatures attached to this Address - - 96. 
 
 No. 
 
AI TAIUS OF UPPER CANADA. 
 
 (No. H.) 
 
 •7 
 
 Kiiclaiurc :|, la 
 N... 1. 
 
 
 
 To his Excellency Sir Frnticis limid Head, Kiiiglii Coiniiiiindcr of ilie Roysil Hnnovciiiin 
 GuL'l|>liic Order, and of ilic I'lus-iiiin Military Order of Merit, Lieutenant-Governor ol 
 the Province of Upper Ciinadu, 8lc. &c. Stc. 
 
 W C, the loyal inhabitants of Yoiigc Street, senjible of the many distinguished privileges A(ldres>eii fruui 
 we enjoy by our connexion with the liritish empire, be_n leave hereby to tender you our d'e I'rovincei t« 
 mo'.tsincerc thanks for, and approbation of, you:- very independent and fuithfuleonduct since Lieut.-Ciovi'riior, 
 assuming the governineiit of this luip|>y and thrivirg colony ; and particularly for the able, ' 
 clear and distinct manner in wliieh you have elucidated the nature and bearings of oui 
 well tried conrititulion, to the dismay and diseomliinre of a few political partisans, wli< 
 seek to destroy its nicely balanced powers, by making every thing subservient to a domi 
 nant political faction, than the which no <rreater eulamity could befall our adopted 
 conn try. 
 
 Tidly engaged in our various pursuits in ilu' so(;ial inierchangos of private life, and the 
 quiet enjoyment of agriculiural employment, ".iliave neither leisure iiordisposi'"- ■ to take 
 part in all the poiitieal excitement which is kept alive by a few seltish, designing and am- 
 bitious men, for the gratification of private ends ; but possessing an inviolable atiachiiient 
 to the mother couniry, to the genius and spirit of her institutions and laws, and desiring to 
 nee lier exercise a paramount inthience in the administration of our government, we 
 ^firmli/ rtly uron her utroug arm to protect us against all such innovations and changes as 
 would destroy our happy constitution. That you may stand tirmly by it, and with all that 
 promptitude an<l decision you have so fearlessly and manfully evinced, is tlie most fertenl 
 prayer of His Majesty's loyal subjects of Youge Street. 
 
 Number of signatures attached to this Address • • 155, 
 
 
 (No. i».) 
 
 To his Excellency Sir Francis Bund Head, Knight, Lieutenant-G'ofernor of 
 
 [Jp|>er Canada. 
 
 WE, the undersigned freeholders and householders of the township of Ancastcr and it* 
 vicinity, beg leave to assure your Excelleney that we have witnessed with great pain and 
 indip;nation the attempts made to embarrass and impede your Excellency's administruiioii 
 in this province, which, under the wise and paternal instructions of His most graeioiisi 
 Majesty, augured so favourably for its future prosperity. We are convinced that it is but 
 a small number of the respectable inhabitants of this province who would thus interpose 
 to frustrate your Excellency's beneficent intentions, and many of those have been misled* 
 by the unceasing efforts of a lew designing men, who have long endeavoured to distract 
 and agitate this province, and retard its future advancement in wealth, greatness and 
 renown. 
 
 We therefore consider it our imperative duty to assure your Excellency that we sh<itil«l 
 ever strive to uphold, by every means in our power, that happy form of government which 
 Great Britain has guaranteed us by the Constitutional Act, and are determined to luaintaiu 
 inviolate the existing connexion between this province and the paieni State. 
 
 Individually and unitedly we congratulate your Excellency on your arrival among m, 
 and fervently pray that, by the assistance of Divine Providence, you may be the inst'umenr 
 of difl'usiiig throughout the province the blessings of good government and pence, of 
 which your conduct since the commeuceinent of your administration is a happy hurbiflMr 
 and certain pledge. 
 
 Number of signatures attached to this Address • 
 
 M7- 
 
 
 - -c 
 
 ^ 
 
 <^-.. 
 
 No. 
 
 (No. 10.) 
 
 To his Excellency Sir Francis Bond Head, Lieutenant-Governov of ilte Province of 
 
 Upper Canada, &c. Jiie. &c. 
 
 WE, His Majesty's dutiful and loyal subjects resident in the township of Stamford, in 
 the said province, beg leave respeetlully to address your Excellency, to state that we accord 
 with your Excelleney in the desire which you liiive shown to imiiiitain our glorious con- 
 stituiion (the envy of all nations) inviolate; aniieipaiiiig the happiest results wlie.i vour ' 
 Excelleney oliall deem it expedient !» cany into elleet those measures of reform which niav 
 be deemed necessary, and to which you referred in your Excellency's Message to the 
 Lesislature. 
 
 We are aware that there exists a certain faction in this province, whose aim is doubtiess 
 to mutilate or overthrow that constitution, and render nugatory the best inieniions of 
 His Majesty towards the people of this colony ; and for the purpose of those persons ol this 
 township who are attached to His Majesty's Government having an opi)oriunity of ex- 
 pressing their approbation ihereof and your Excellency's conduct^ a meeting was adver- 
 tized for the otii instant, when from the ; idustry of the radical faction bringing together 
 
 391. , C a large 
 
 
 /.'C 
 
 ('f* f t <• 
 
If 
 
 fl 
 
 i8 
 
 PAPERS UKLATIVK TO THE 
 
 M 
 
 1 I 
 
 r.nrlnaure •), in 
 No. I. 
 
 Addrt'iiMCH from 
 the I'lfviiiccn ui 
 Lieat.-Oovernor. 
 
 n Irir^p number of people from oilier towi)'<liip>i, equally (liscoiilfiUeil or ilisnlTected, thrir 
 wIhIica could not ilicii he rcMli/.ed, which parly arc liaiidiu;.; ahoiii p'.'iiiiotis m ihi." present 
 liiiit fur hi^iniilurc, for ihe purpose of ihwartiiiv; llic reprcseiilalivc of His Miijcsiy in uar- 
 r}'ii'g intocHccI iijii anxious wI-^'k'; ''ji ihcir welfire and ha|ipiiies-i. In nucii a crisis as thin 
 wc led ourselves called upon ,o "eslify our loyally and tillachiuciu to our hclovcd Sovereign 
 and our excellent constitulion, and to ex|irc'is our sincere acljiiinvledi^LMni'iils to your lixcel- 
 lency lor the cahn and deliheraic manner in which you have cndcavoincd to convince that 
 faction their views olihe ouisiitiition arc erroneous, and that •my infrin^^cnieiit thereof or 
 .•ilicralion rccpiired hy tlicni (which we have seen in tl)(! public prints), must lend ill, .natcly 
 to militate against the best inttrcsts '«f the inhabitants of ihix [irovince. Wc regret thai 
 in so short n period of your admiiiisleiin!; the t;overninciii of Upper Canada nny dillcrcnces 
 should have arisen between your lixc llency and the late Executive Council, and trust tint 
 when n ihoroujih kno\vledt;e of whai is recpiircd of the present one is enieriaincd, they will 
 cordially and conscientiously aid y.uir Excellency in the discharj^e of the iuiportaiii duties 
 pointed out in His M.iJ(^ty's instrjctions for the government of this province. 
 
 Sinmford, 7th April 1836. 
 
 Number ol' signatures attached to tliis Address, 192. 
 
 I 
 
 i]} 
 
 / 
 
 
 UJ 
 
 (No. 11. A.) 
 
 To Ills Excellency Sir Franch Botid Head, Knipbt Conirnander of the Royal Hano- 
 verian Guclphic Order, and of the Prussian Military Order of Merit, Lieutenant- 
 Governor of Upper Canada. 
 
 May it please your Excellency, 
 1 J / / WE, the undersigned inhabitants of Bytown and ita vicinity, beg leave to offer your 
 
 c/'i^'^ Excellency our sincere congratulations on your arrival in this province,and on commencin!; 
 / the discharge of those high and intportnnl duties attached to the eminent situation in which 
 our revered Sovereign has been pleased to place yon. 
 
 The recent events in your Kxccllcucy'* Council have been received by us with deep 
 regret, as happening at so early a period after your arrival ninongus; and fearing that 
 •ome temporary inconvenience might be felt by your Excellency being deprived of the 
 assistance of those wdio had been deemed qualified to act as advisers in cases where your 
 Excellency might think proper to consult theui. But when we reflect that some or the 
 Council had been selected by your Excellency's predecessors, and that your Excellency hai 
 been pleased to (express y(uir regret that a diftlrence of opinion tthould be deemed uy tliein 
 • sufficient ground for withdrawing their services, it would ill become us, cither in reference 
 to your Excellency's predecessors, (of whose services to the country we entertain a grateful 
 fecollection), or to your own opinions so candidly expressed, to indulge in blaming those 
 members of your Council who have acted as tiiey have thought incumbent upon them to do. 
 We cannot, however, allow this opportunity to escape, without conveying to your Excel- 
 lency our grateful ihaiiUs for the candid, firm and open dcctarntion of (he line oF political 
 conduct your Excellency has been pleased to avow; and we hail the c'^ar und open expo- 
 lition of the principles of our happy constitution which your Excellency has been pleased to 
 «et fortii as the surest pledge we can receive of the senliments you entertain ; ami that under 
 your Excellency's ndininisiraiion those priaciples so dear to ever/ loyal subject will be 
 maintained with unsullied purity. 
 
 With unqualified seiitiinents of approbation of theUae of conduct heretofore pursued bj 
 your Excellency, we beg leave to convey to you at the same time the assurance of our high 
 estimntion of the many jirivileges we enjoy under the protection of the Britisli Government, 
 privileges so dear and jusily appreciated by every well-vrisher of this province, that in their 
 
 , • support, and (if neeil be) in their defence, your Excellency may implicitly rely upon the zeul 
 
 ■ ' and good feeling of the inhabitants of Bytown and its vicinity. 
 
 Number of signatures nttacbed to this Address 
 
 ie'^ 
 
 3)^ 
 
 •> All. 
 
 (No. n.B) 
 
 . To his Excellency Sir Francis Bond Head, Knight Commandor of the Royal Hanoverian 
 Guel,)hic Order, and of the I'russiau Miiiiary Order of Merit, Lieut.-Goveruor of 
 the Province of Upper Canada. 
 
 May it please your Excellency, 
 
 \^"E, the undersigned inhal)itants of Bytown and vicinity, fully appreciating the blessings 
 of ti.e British Coiisiiiution, under which we live, beg leave to address your Excellency 
 at the present eventful crisis. 
 
 The principles of our c^mstitutlon, which your Excellency has so clearly defined, and 
 Ihe firmness Wiiich you uivc exhibited in upholding them, are sources of unmiiiglej 
 pleasure to us; we ac(;ordingly return your Excellency our most grateful thanki, and we 
 curuestly pray that you will never depart from them. 
 
 I 
 
T 
 
 AFFAIRS OP UPPER CANADA. 
 
 Wc tliink we sec in llic cnniliu-t of (Triiiin iiidividiiiil^, whom j"oiir Exnlloriry wii» 
 pl('a!i('(l lo ilc'viiic lo vimr,Ctiiiinil (iicling «» they ii)imilt'<ily <li<l, iiiidc; tli c^iiidiiDcc iil ilic 
 toiidcr 1)1' a |i(>liti('til iiuiinn), siuiis nf iiii iilrciidy d>c|ily iiMitcd t'onspii nry iigiiiiist iliat 
 ri'iiiiie of govci'iiiiient wliii-li has CoHtiMfd and ciicoiirii^cd thi« iiilant colony ; hut we have 
 tlic uliiiosi ('onruhiu'e, tlial hy a c'lmtiiuiatiiMi of ihe derision which your i'Acclh'iicy \\M 
 already cxhil)ilcd, cvincinn us it (h)C.s an miinialc Ion I. now led j^c td our real iiiliiesis, 
 «vc hliall l)c spared IVoiii dciiiociaiic lyianuy, and »iill have the ha|)|iiiieiH to remain a part 
 of the liiitisli I'jiipirc, 
 
 Wi! tleprcealc the cotiduct of iliosc who, pretending; to rcprc<ient lIic ^entimenm of the 
 
 iieople, either IVoiii ignoranci' or Ircaclicry, or lioih, make use (d' lan'jna^c lownids) your 
 ^xcclieiKy, as the Kind's rcpreseniaiive, not only >;ri)»«ly insidtinj; towards His Majesty, 
 but highly degrading to themselves, and abusinir ilieir legislative privileges, l)y dislrihutiiig 
 through tin! province, at the expense of a mueli injured and deceiv-d people, n sediiiouK 
 petition lor bignalnre, calling iipim themselves to stop the supp''i<>; thus more clearly 
 proving the existence of the lonspiracy before refciied lo. 
 
 Your Excelicncv may however he assured that the body of the people will not fail iu 
 their allegiance, should the day of trial arrive; and wi^ pledge oiirsclvi.s to support your 
 Excellency in the mainienance of thcjnsl prerogatives and authority of His Majesty over 
 this province. 
 
 InrliifiirB 3, in 
 No. I. 
 
 AildrMsn from 
 till' I'liiviiicc* to 
 l.iiut.CJ o » WM or. 
 
 Number of signatures altuched to thin Address 
 
 - 70- 
 
 (No. 12.) 
 
 To his Exeellency Sir Frflncis iiont/ Head, Knight Commander of the Royal Ilnnoverinn 
 Guelphic Order, and Khight of the Prussian Military Order of Merit, Lieui.-Qovrrnor 
 of the Province of Upper Canada. 
 
 WE, the undersigned inhabitants of the township of Georgina, beg respectfuFIy to stale 
 lo your Excellency the surprise and regret with wiiich we view the sudden resignation of / .- 
 the late Executive Council, at a period when tlieir services were most recjuired. y^ 
 
 We also beg lo stale the concern wiili which we observe that printed petitions, addressed* /'"^ 
 to the House of Assembly, are in circulation for signatuie throughout the country, praying' 
 that House, in consequence of such resignaiion, to adopt measures unconstitutional in 
 themselves, injurious to the interests of this province, and tending ultimately to its sepa- 
 ration from tin; parent Slate. 
 
 Aware of the rational liberty we enjoy under our present constitution, and of the advan- 
 tages this colony derives from its connexion with Great Britain, we should look with alarm 
 upon sueli attempts of factions demagogues, and their deluded followers, but that we rely, 
 under Providence, upon that steady and fearless execution of your duly, which your 
 Excellency has already shown for the preservation to us of tliese blessings unimpaired. 
 
 Number of sigontures attached to this Address - - 60. 
 
 
 ^^ * >. *«■ 
 
 :.^^'/'. 
 
 (No. 1.3.) 
 
 To his Excellency Sir Francis Bond Head, k. c. h., &c. &c. tic, Lieut.-Governor of the 
 
 Province of Upper Canada. 
 
 WE, His Majesty's dutiful and loyal subjects, inhabitants of tlie township of Guelpk, 
 in the district of Gore, and province aforesaid, 
 
 Respectfully represent, 
 
 That we view with extreme regret the strennons exertions now making by a portion of 
 tlie residents of this province, to embarrass your Excellency's government and thwart the 
 gracMous intentions of our beloveil Sovereisi., as expressed ia your Excellency's communi- 
 cation to the two Houses ,1' the Legislature. 
 
 That we respectfully b g to make known to your Excellency the satisfaction we feel in 
 the determination ex|);'.ssed by your Excellency, to uphold inviolate our excellent consti- 
 tution, perfectly saiislied that it secures to ail classes of His Majesty's subjects that true, 
 equal and perfect liberty which ever emanates from the spirit of the British Constii.uiion. 
 
 That we beg lo assure your Excellency of our firm (l< termination to support, by every 
 means in our power, your Excellency's administration in the enforcement ol llie laws, and 
 the currying into effect His Majesty's most gracious intcniiuns. 
 
 Guelph, 5th April 1836. 
 
 Number of signatares attached to this Address - - 167. 
 
 
 39»' 
 
 c a 
 
II ; 
 
 i) 
 
 ( 
 
 i 
 
 (■f. 
 
 ao . PAPERS RELATIVE TO THE 
 
 (Nu.M.) 
 
 EnclMure 3, in T" "•» I'-KcelU-ncy Sir Franru Bond Head, Knight Coinmaiidcr of ilip Iluyal Hnnovcrinn 
 
 No. I, (iiiflpliic; Order, nnd of tlit Pru«!*iaii Militiiiv Order of Merit, Lieut. -(iciveriior of 
 
 I I Upper Cnnadii, tec. 8lc. 8cc. 
 
 May il please your Excellency, 
 
 Add rf wet from VVE, the uiidei^igiied iiiliahitnnis of Pfterhoro' niid ita vicinity, hog leave 
 
 the I'rovincpi to rc;4pcctrully to approach your I'Acelleiicy, with an ofler of our sincere thanks fc 
 Ijtut. Governor. uncoinproinising, manly and slrainhtforward coiulucl since you assumed the ndminis, 
 
 of the j^overninent of this province; we feel from il n most clieering confidence for tlie 
 
 ^ ^. future, and earnestly hop-.- iliat your llxcclleiicy may see no cause to alter the course you 
 
 — ' have so ably struck out l(»r coiiductitii; the ad'airs of llic government. 
 
 / Wc view with sorrow and disapprobation the vile allenipls which have been made to 
 
 embarrass your Excellency, imkI again thank you, Sir, for the able and firm manner in 
 
 which you iiave met them. We arc perf(ctly willing, and will be at any luomenl ready to 
 
 ^up[)ort your Excellency, whenever it is necessary that our energies should be called forth 
 
 for that purpose. 
 
 Number of signatures attached to this Address - - 1,026, 
 
 most 
 
 •our 
 ion 
 
 / 
 
 f*. 
 
 —2.— 
 
 Copv of an Address to The Kinc. from tlie Assemuly of Upper Canada, with 
 the Appendix of Documents transmitted thcrewitl) to the Secretary of State. — 
 See Api'endi.x (H.), p. 6y, 
 
 % 
 
 
 To the Honourable the Commons House of Assembly. 
 
 Brport nf C'lim- THli Committee to whom was referred the correspondence between his Excellency the 
 
 njittee to Commons Lieutenant-Governor and the late members of the Executive Council of this province, having 
 IJriutcof .■\»seirl)ly. examined the various documents referred to them, and having carefully considered the sub- 
 ject discussed in the correspondence, submit the following Report. 
 
 The Committee are deeply convinced of the truth of Lord Glenclg's opinion, that " the 
 present is an era of more :lifficulty and importance than any which has hitherto occurred in 
 the history of this part ol"IIis Majesty's dominions;" and not less are they convinced that 
 the difficulty has been inctfascd instead of being diminished since the dale of Lord Glerielg's 
 despi tell. It is at such a crisis that we are called to the discussion of a question of vital 
 importance to the people of this jirovince, a question which, in the opinion of the Com- 
 mittee, is no less than this : whetlier we have, as we have been taught to believe, a con- 
 stitution " the image and transcript of that of Great Britain," or have only a mutilated and 
 flegraded constitution. 
 
 The increasing dissatisfaction which has been produced by the mal-administiation of our 
 provincial affairs, under Lieutenant-Governors (»ore, Maiiland and Colborne, has been so 
 well known and so general, that even the Colonial Office seems to have been awakened to 
 a sense of the necessity of iiineliorating our condition, by holding out ihe encouraging pros- 
 pects of relief and reform. Toour comnlaints, too long neglected and unredressed, attention 
 was at length to be paid. Sir John Colborne (.with whose measures, maxims and advisers 
 His Majesty's subjects had long been dissatisfied), was removed, and a Lieutenant-Governor 
 was sent out, to administer the affairs of the province in sucli a way that the people should 
 have reason to be attached to the parent Stale, from sentiments of affection and graiiuide, 
 as well as from principles of duty. As he was a stranger to the province, to its affairs and 
 liistory, to the wants, sentiments and habits of its inhabitants ; nnd as the measures com- 
 plained of under Sir John Colborne's administration had been attiibuted in a. great degree, 
 if not altogether, to evil advisers, much anxiety was felt that the new Lieutenant-Governor 
 should call to the Executive Council persons in whose sound constitutional principles, inte- 
 grity and prudence the country could put confidence. The appointment of Messrs. Dunn, 
 Baldwin and Kolph, therefore, afforded general and lively satisfaction, not unmixed, how- 
 ever, with serious apprehensions that the influence nnd preseuce of the old Councillors who 
 were supposed to have advised Sir John Colborne, would embarrass his Excellency and the 
 new Councillors in the pursuit of a more impartial, conciliatory antl constitutional system 
 of government. The House and the country were not then aware that this Executive 
 Council had been used as a mere screen for the acts of the Lieutenant-Governor; on the 
 contrary, it was generally understood that they were consulted on the affairs of the province. 
 That the principles of the British.Conslitulioii were not put in practice as i t regarded 
 this Council i;i one respect was well known, and had \-^ppn ilm g^l.ijn^.f of earnest complaint 
 on the part of your honourable ffouse ; we allude to the fact that person* Itad been appQJnted 
 or coniinue(Tas Councillors wluise poli.ical opinions or principlesjr£i:eJu_QiUy)sLiiQiLlu_iliose 
 «if the people and their representativeSj^ar.d in many cases to jhe^acpresi wishes and inien- 
 ^x^ ttOlis 
 
 
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 I 
 
AFFAIRS OF UPPER CANADA. 
 
 91 
 
 lions of His Miijesi^'M Government; a% for inilancc, the coniempluuiii treoinirnl givrn to 
 Lord Godpric-li'M dcopiitcli, ih welt ris to iti noble niilhor. Hut the <'ouiUry were i|/iiorniit 
 how niiicli the nfTiiirs of ihc province hud been roiidtictrd by thi; iirbiirury will of the 
 LTeutenanl-Ooveriior himself, with no other founsel thiin the secret nuggestionH and 'ecom- 
 inendniioiia of unsworn, irrcgpniisibk and unknown ndvisen*. 
 
 "Vliieh nnd justly ns the people of ibis province had f)een iIh satisfied with the <'<i.ulitioiiof 
 <> " i)ul)lic ntVnirs, they were nevertheless not aware of the extent to whieh ihc unconstitu- 
 tiuii. ' proceedings of the I.ieutennnt-GovernorH of this province had been carried. 
 
 Every <lav, however, di«eovers new cause of coin|>laint on the one hand, anil tho cou- 
 teniptuous indinVrcnce with whicli all complaints are Tegarded on the other. 
 
 From ilic U.ocunienls referred to the Coniniiltec it pretty plainly uppcurit that iht I^ieute- 
 (t nnt-f iovernor iiad not consulted the Council at all after the new Councillors were sworn 
 in ['Svi' lite representations of the Coinicil hereunto npijcnded, marked (A.);l alib(iut<;h 
 diiriug the interval between that event and their resifrnatiun, tluee. wc^'<s of anxious exprc:ia- 
 tion on the part of the people ajid their representatives had ela[) sed, and JTiring tlint time 
 h[s Exceirency had made various appointments, whicli He could "not make udvanlageously 
 or properly without infuraintion and advice from some one. 
 
 llis Exicllcney also refused to j^ive the loyal assent to u Hill demanded by justice and 
 humanity, nnd passed for more than ten years almost unanimously by repeated Mud dilVereni 
 Houses of Assembly, although, during the present winter, Lord d'osford had informed the 
 legislature of Lower Canada that the royal assent would be given by the King in ('ouncil 
 to a similar Bill which had l)eeii passed by the Parliament of that province, und reserved 
 for the signification of His Majesty's pleasure. Upon this refusal to assent to a Uill which 
 had thus received the sanction and approbation of both Houses of Parliament in I '.>wer 
 Canada, and both Houses of Parliament in Upper Canada^ and been approved of by 
 His Majesty's Government, after deliberate consideration, it is plain that tlie l''xecuiive 
 (Council had never been consniied, and indeed all the measures sul)se(|uently adopted su 
 disappointed expectation, as plainly to indicate either ihal the Council were not consulted, 
 or that the old members, with the umpirage of the Lieutenant-Governor, predominated. 
 
 Your Committee are forced to believe that the appointmeni of the iie>v Couneijiors was 
 a deceitful maiiccuvre to gain credit with the country for liberal feelings nnd inicnti<ins, 
 
 tvporl i>f Com- 
 liitttr to CoiiimoM 
 loiifc of Awruibty 
 
 
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 a (leceiiiui maiiceuvre lo gam ereaii wiiii tne couniry lor noerai leenngs and inicniuins, ' j 
 
 where none really existed ; for it was notorious thai his Kxeelleiicy had really given his yJ. f^ .^ ^A*' */ 
 confidence lo and was acting under the influence of secret and unsworn advisers. Under A C^/^'*-// / 
 
 these circumstances the Council seem to have been led (in conformity, indeed, with a sujij- f i * /^l^A «.«-**•' — 
 cestion of his Excellency himself), to cxacniiie the nature and extent of their duties under /*■ / ' 
 
 the Couslitudonal Act, and having discuss I the subject with his Excellency persouaily at 
 the Council Board, they united, ten days afterwards, in an uuHninious and respectful rcpre- 
 8eii7iTiroTVjin_writinj;, ti> his Excellency, in which, after adverting to the critical state of 
 public affaTrs~a'n"(T the geiitral discontent wiib ihe past administraiion, whichno one can 
 doubt, ibey slate their views of the Constituiional Act, (31st Geo. 3. c. 31), as it respects 
 ihe Executive Council, and draw from it the I'ollowing conclu^ioll: 
 
 " Finlli/. — TJMt there is, according to that statute, an Executive Council. 
 
 " Secondly. — That they are appointed by the King. 
 
 " Thirdli/. — That ilicy arc a[)|>ointed to advise the King Hni\ his representative u|»on 
 ' the affairs of the province.' No particular affairs are specified; no limitiition to any par- 
 liciilar time or subject." 
 
 'l'liey_represent, that, according to our constitution, the Lieutenant Governor should ccm- 
 sult ihe Efxecuiive Council upon the affairs of liie province generally, and not merely 
 occasionally, although (except in certain cases where their concurreiicc is by statute 
 e.\pressiy required), his Excellency woidd slill be al liberty to reject the advice when given; 
 \ and they recommend that, with the exce|)tion of those mailers of so weighty or geiienil a 
 character as not properly to fall under any particular dcpartineiil, and therefore fitted for the 
 delib(M!ition of the Council collectively, the affairs of the province should be distributed into 
 de[iartinents, to the heads of which shall be referred such matters as obviously appertain tu 
 them respectively. 
 
 VVe have been careful to state the exact propositions of the lale Council, as contained 
 in their representation, because it is important to know what are the real point.) in 
 controversy ; and because his Excellency, in various public docuinents, has given (to use 
 the mildest terms) a very erroneous account of these i)ro])ositions. He describes them as 
 atiempting to divcsl him of his responsibility, and of his power and patronage, alihongli 
 nothing was proposed by the Council, except that which we have above slated. 
 
 Your Honourable House will observe that the lale Executive Council, in thei 
 lation to his Excellency, have placed their duties upon the nicst moderate sc 
 merel y proposed that ihe afl'airs of the province should be submiiied for their advice, before 
 Tfie^ Lieuteiiant^ovi. rnor exercises his own discreiionaiy power upon them; ami if the 
 ,general"Biismess were, as recommended, distributed iiiio deparimenis, it would obviously 
 lacilitate the reference of any matter Ijy his Excellency lor information or advice. Yet 
 this simple proposition, in the opinion of your (Joiumitiee so reasoiiiibie 10 a candid, and 
 so acceptable to any well cimslilulcd iidnd, is repelled by his Excellency with steining 
 indignation ; and the Councillors, in a mo;i arbitrary manner, coerced from ilieir oHiee ; 
 and, after their resignation, literally traduced. Upon sucli official condiici (whatever ihc 
 siution Iroin which it comes), your Conimiiiee ciinnot foibcar lieely to animadvert ; for the 
 -country will in vain look for talented and honourable men tu fill llie public stations, and 
 
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 rniiiep iii CDintnims! dicaiio!) liv ilic rcprociiuitivcs of ilic people, wliosu hii'liesi iniercsls ii) tlie Kin"'8 
 House .)f Assembly. Coiiiii'iLs liu v liavi" iiiidfrtiik ii to serve. "' 
 
 It is llirreliiii' Willi piiin vciir Coniiiiillee nolice, in llie <;()iieltisi(iu of liis Execlloiirv's 
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 Hreply to ilie liititJoiiiKil [iieieio iippcnil.fd, ii'.irktd (B.)J. ilic (liscre(liiiil)le alieririiive offered 
 - ^llieiii. It appears from Mr. 11. l$,d'iwiii's letler, ilml when lie and liis colieaj^iies aecepied 
 ihe invitaliiin to join tile Exeeiilive Couiieil, llieir jiolitieai principles were made knouti, 
 mid very I'ully explained to Sir Francis Head; and when jointly wallinir npou liiiii more 
 formally, to receive a united iiivilalion, it_appear.s he accepted their sirvices wiili the 
 4V(nve il rcienlion of the opinions ilu^' iiad liiiherto publicly eiucrtaiiicdliiul acted oij^ even 
 de clarii iji wilii gieat apparent iraiiLiiess ami :nagiianrniiiy7 iTiaT iTiiirTeais ririi^e Coiiiicil 
 Would ad'ord them a bettrr op[)oitiinTFy~of confidi niintly prcscnliilir and urging llieir views. 
 "With such a laliuiTre prolesscdiy uivcn [tiem, it beCnmeThelrduTy.-in theTipinior. of your 
 Commiltee, iijion assiiiiiiiit; their oflice, lo advise his Excellency upon the affairs ol the 
 province, and, in tlieir opinion, as to the eonstitntional manner in which it might be best 
 Jidininisiered, in the lerms of their oath, " for the good of the King and this province, and 
 lor the peace, rest and iriiitiuiliiy of the same." Such is tin; substance of Mr. Baldwin's 
 manly and honnmable letter. 
 
 Animated witii these loyal and patriotic feelings, and conversant with the condition and 
 e.xpeelalion of the eounliy, it aiipears they joined in the represenlalion, dated the 4lh of 
 March 1836 [hereto appended, marked tA.)J, embodying their united views in a manner 
 unreserved, candid aiui respccttul. 
 
 To this representation Sir F. Head sent a reply, also hereto appended [ninrked (B.)], 
 concluding witii the following words : " The Lieulenaiil-fjiovernor assures the Council, 
 that his eslinialion of tlieir talents and integrity, as well as his personal regard lor them, 
 remain unshaken, and that lie is not insensible of the diHicidiics lo which he will be 
 exposed, should they deem it necessary to leave him. At tiic same time, sl-.uiild lliey be of 
 opinion tliat the oaili they have taken requires them to retire from ids conlideiu'e, rather 
 than from xUe piiiicip/es they have uvoweil, he begs that, on his account, they will not for a 
 tnomeni liesiiaie to do so." 
 
 It a|)pears to your Committee that, iiowevcr sensible llie Council niigiit be to the honour 
 of being conlidtniial advisers of the King and his representative in this province, and 
 however anxious to avert the embarrassments his Excellency justly apprehended, yet 
 having entered His Majesty's service witli known principle's, and as a duly communicated 
 them oHicially, they could not honourably retire irom these |)riiieiples, to which, as their 
 representation tcsiilied, ihey propeily aiiaehed so much imporiaiice and truth. Hence, 
 upon this delicate subject Mr. iialdwin nobly observes [Sec his Letter in the Appendix, 
 niaiked (C.)] : 
 
 " Having', in the representation alluded to, but reiterated in a more formal manner, in 
 conjunction with my colleagues, under the sanction of the oath (which I had in the mean 
 ti;;^c taken), the same principles anil opinions which his Excell,T.i:y knew me to eiuerlaili 
 previous to ids honouring ire w iih a seat in his Council, however desirous I might be of 
 giving my best snp|)ort lo his Excellency's government, or of not hastily abandoning the 
 important duties of my situation, which liatl been most unwillingly assumed, I could not 
 for a moment hesitate when the alternative presented to me was the abandoiunent eiiher of 
 my principles or my place." 
 
 . Your Committee cannot hesitate to remark, that ibis proposition of Sii Francis Head, in 
 / the secret Council Chamber, to retain them in his service if iliey would retire from their 
 principles, was highly objectionable, derogatory to the honour of the King, and demo- 
 ralizing to the c anmniiity. 
 
 Among the eriminatiiig views urged by his Excellency against the late Council, since 
 the date of the correspoiulence, will be i'ou:id a complaint against tlieir concluding prayer, 
 as follows, " that should such a course not be deemed wise or admissible by the Lien- 
 tenant-Cioveinor, the Council most respectfully pi ay that they may be allowed to dis- 
 nbnse tlu; piii/lie from a misapprehension o. 'he nature and extent of the duties coniided 
 to them." 
 
 This request mighl, in the opinion of yjur Committee-, have been answered by a frank 
 avowal of the alleged intenlion, " after a few moiiients more afforded for reflection," to 
 consult them to such an exient as to render tlieir prayer " practically useless;" but being 
 in the siraiige misap|)rehension <,f his Exeelicncy " sworn to be dumb," and therefore kept 
 by him religiously mule, fr mi giving liiiu any advice, the late Council appear to your 
 Committee to have had before them only two courses, viz., either to obtain a more 
 cordial and eonstitiilioiial intercourse vviili liis I'^xcelltncy, or discrediiably to keep up the 
 prev.iiling public deception respecting t'';.ir duties. If the Council would liavc .itxaJilsd, 
 and kept the great secret ; viz., that there were 710 sfoe/s— they might, as the reply shows, 
 Iiiive dislijiioerably retained Ins Excellency's coahilence, 
 
 Hut lor what honest purpose could it be tlesired not lo "undeceive the public, wlio had so 
 Jong, under a misapprehension of llie nature and duties of the Council, directed their 
 reproach against them as the presumi'd concurrent advisers of misgovernment ? If it is 
 wrong that the Council should advise upon the " affairs of the province," is it right falsely 
 to make the people ascribe to ihem such duties ? Was i: criminal, as is pretended, for 
 y.4yTliem to a:.k leave to communicale to the public, not any particular matter, or their aiivice 
 / '' upon it, but merely to correct a public misapprehension of the nature and extent of the 
 
 duties confided to tlieiu i Was it gcueruus or just tor his Excellency, under the pretence 
 
 ,Cx 
 
 v/'-^^. 
 
 , * J UUliCS 
 
 im 
 
AFFAIRS OF UPPER CANADA. 
 
 33 
 
 of theontli tlicy Imd l;ikpn, to compel llic new Cdiincillnrs to siiljji'ct lliomsclvc* iiiijimllv Rci >rt of Com- 
 
 fo the same icppojich .'IS IijkI been liciipcil iipnn llie old ones, for siippuscd ;irt'* t'lvy liiid miitoe toCoinmniis 
 
 never doJiP, and I'nr siipposcd iidvicc wliicli had never iiecii a-ked or j;iveii ? W.is ii mag- Hucseot' Asopmbly. 
 
 n<^niIn<)lls or iKinourable tor a Lieiilcnaiit-Govdnor, who piot'fs'ed lo lake upon liiiiiseirall 
 
 rPspon>il)ilily lor idl iiiisinniiai;enit'nt of our art'airs, to screen hiin^ell Iron) censure, by 
 
 allowing it to 1)0 unjiislly iinpiiied to a "dumb" " tlifeiicc/esi" Conncil f Woidd it not 
 
 have lieen more manly to say, " / am I he imli/ respDini/t/e person. You nhall not be 
 
 blamed for my acts ; therefore dhal/usc the public, that Iheij mai/ never chars,e nnainsl you what is 
 
 lohol/i/ changeable ana'niH me'! Hut, on the contrary, liis Kxcellency condeinns them, 
 
 almost as violatois ot ihcir oalll, lor desiring to undeceive llic country, and for Ixliaving so 
 
 much sensitiveness about mere character and reputation, as lo undervalue the honour 
 
 of innocently braving all the odium of his Excellency's unadvised misdoings in his 
 
 government. This is a species of [)olilical gallantry, from whieli the Council seem humbly 
 
 to iiave wisiicr' to bo relieved; a wish, however, which his Kxcellency iiulignaiitly 
 
 resents. ^ / 
 
 Your Committee are unable to discover, in the conduct of the late Council, any grounds </»/■/' '. '••«^-'' '/"'' 
 for the reiterated assertion of his Excellencj', that they wished to deprive linn of liis ^ • 
 responsibility and patronage. ■" ^'^J"~, 
 
 The responsibility of the Governor should, in the opinion of your Coniinittep, consist, f" ' ' ' ' ' 
 
 ^'''^' f't- f/ 
 
 
 ^<-^ 
 
 in a great measine, of selecting good Councillors, and acting with their good 
 
 \ 
 
 rejecting their bad advice. The advice of the lixecntive Council, given in the terms lately 
 proposed by them, would inform the judgment, but not impair the responsibility of Ills 
 Excellency 
 
 A jury are not the less responsible for their verdict, because they hear evidence, the' 
 counsel and the judge. And to your Committee it seems puerile to urge, that sh :)uld an 
 Executive Council give advice to a Lieutenant-Governor, he should have no responsibility 
 in acting on it. 
 
 The same may be said about the patronage. 
 
 This |)atroniige chiefly consists of appointments to all public offices throughout tiie coun- 
 try; and ashis [ixcellency professes himself to your IlonourableHoiisCjto be a sirangerlaicly 
 arrived amongst us, unacquaiiiled oven with the political diirerenccs of the mother coaniiy, 
 and, necessarily (as all his successors from England must be) wholly ignorant of this pro- 
 vince, it seems rational and prudent, thai before making any such appointment to olhce, he 
 should receive the advice of the Council, in conjunction with whom he could make better 
 inquiries and arrive at safer conclusions than by his own unaided judgment. 
 
 When, therefore, his Excellency contends that he will not take advice upon the aflfairs 
 of the (irovLUiciV because ii takt^ uwuy his responsibility, and that he will not consult the 
 Council abcml a|)poiiit:neiits to office, because it will take away his patronage, it practically 
 amounts to a declaration that he will (;arry ('U an arbitrary government; not because it iS' 
 the be.5t calculated lo advance the peace and prosperity of the country, but for the selfish \ ' 
 purpose of dis|)laying the extent of his power ; for it is not protended that the constitution J 
 prevents him from consuliinij with the Uouncil on u'l mailers, if he was only desirous of t 
 (toing^s'o. V 
 
 But the Lieutenant-Governor dehberately declares himself to be rcs|)onsible for his ; 
 Council, as well as himself, to His Majesty's Government in I'^ngland. This kind of re- 
 
 
 ,.,.A7^ 
 
 
 t-/ /. 
 
 
 / 
 
 ^ 
 
 &,/... 'tX^ 
 
 sponsibility (undeniably existing) we have witnessed in the examples of all preceding 1 /■' /' > / f , ^ / ^ '■■y. 
 Governors; and experience, dearly bought, has proved that liability to a pation in Down- / / I •if''^ 
 
 ing Street, 4,000 miles otf, is unavailing for any practical purpose. And even assuming -^ 
 
 I 
 
 A, 
 Jf 
 
 / 
 
 
 '/■ 
 
 this rcspotisibilily to continue, it docs not lessen the manifest expediency and wisdom of /,^ A'. ^ / -. 
 guarding against even iiinntenlional errors in the conduct of our allaiis, by the iiiterveiition ' ,^ 
 of sworn advice from Councillors selected by the Lieutenant-Governor himself, for their 
 talents and inteiiriiy. 
 
 The counsel given would produce here safe and happy government, and instead of 
 destroying responsibility in England, would oidy lessen liie necessity of a frequent appeal 
 to the Throne, and to the British Parliaiueut, for the redress of grievances, even of the most 
 bubordinale kind 
 
 Your Committee cannot forbear lo notice the Lieuienanl-Governor's charge against four 
 of the late Executive Councillors, wlnnn he accuses with " having changed their opinions." 
 Sir Francis Head is the last [lerson who should have promulgated such a rellection against 
 any of ihe late servants, particularly against those to whom he had introduced gentlemen 
 avowing the opinions, which, it is insinuated, they imbibed. How could lliey suppose ihat , 
 
 ^is Excellency^' as an^jrilj o[)posed to the principles he had inlused into ihe CoiinciJ f liut //r'/ " ^< 
 it seeinsTieTormeir the Coum:il of persons who, he thought, entertained opposite and dis- 
 TOfdant sentiments ; and because, instead of quairelliiii; and wrangling among themselves, r/.j.-, . / f^/* 
 iTiey discovered in iheir procee ding s a happy and useful concord in "'piiblic business, he ' , • 
 
 dismisses them for their unanimity, and then ungraciously charges one part with holdinjj -^ 
 
 unconstitutional views, and the other part with being converts to them. And all these 
 attacks are made upon them by his Excellency, who at the same tTiTi'rdecTtires them to be 
 tieftnceless, " because, being sworn lo s.lence, they are deprived by this tad, as well as liy 
 the constitution, of all power to defend thei: elves." Nevertheless, to your Honomable 
 liouse, and in answer to popular addresses, he is coiilinually urging consiruclioiis and 
 and slateuienis iigaiiisl the Council, w liieli ought in fairne.s.., and on every paiicl[)le of 
 honour, to be allowed lu be answered or never to have been made. 
 
 391. C4 Your 
 
 ' ( f f < r r 
 
24 
 
 PAPERS RELATIVE TO THE 
 
 / 
 
 Report of Com- Your Committee feel suppriscd iit llie piiblii; answer of iiis Excellency to tlie address of 
 
 mittec to Comiiioiis the city corporation. Your Committee have procured a certified copy of this address and 
 Honseiif AM»inbly. answer from his Excellency's private secretary, which they liereunto annex, marked D., in 
 'j, which he expresses " astonishment" tiiai those principles " suddenly appear from rt "quarter 
 from which he certainly least expected it," from the Executive Coiiticii itself." It is but just 
 
 '/ 
 
 
 
 /-'/- ''.,/ 
 
 ■ill 
 
 I 
 
 / 
 
 
 ■K' 
 
 
 r, c^ 
 
 'llI^--:, 
 
 p- 
 
 (i- 
 
 to the late Coimcil to rcniaik, that the aniioiincement of such principles from a Council 
 into which his F,xcellency had himself knowiimly introduced them with Mr. Baldwin aiul 
 ills coadjutors, could not, in "candour" be a matter of " astonishment ;" nor can your Coiii- 
 mittee consider it done " snddenlu," after an amicable verbal discussion with him in Councj^l 
 ten days before, or that it could be "ceiiainly least expected" from sworn advisers known 
 to him to entertain these principles, and bound by his I'^xccllency's invitation to the frank 
 interchange of opinions, as well as by every obligation of honour and July, to express them 
 to him. It is therefore [rlain, that the principles are regarded with " astonishment" by his 
 Excelfency, when there was no reason to feel it ; are denounced as obtruded by the late 
 C(!uncil " suddeidy," alter they had been debated for necks; are condemned as emanating 
 from a " cy'""''e'"" into which he hail ///wseZ/knowincly introduced them; and arc said to 
 have been "least expected" from men whom he had himself in Council sworn fearlesslj/ to 
 advise him according to their honest convictions. 
 
 The late Council are charged by his Excellency, in the last-mentioned document, with 
 resting their claims in the appended representation, very nearly on the following grounds : 
 " 1st. That the responsibility they assume being a popular one, daily increasing, is con- 
 sequently the law of the land." And, 2dly. That though the powers they require are no 
 where expressed in the Conititutional Act, they were eviilenily intended to have becti 
 inserted." 
 
 Your Committee have compared the above professed epitome of the grounds taken by 
 tlic la'e Council with the representation itself, from which it is avowedly deduced ; and the 
 gromids, thus charged by his Excellency against the Council as assumed by them, are so 
 utterly and so obviously at variance v.iih candour as to defy any courteous commentary 
 without injustice to the constitutional (|ueslion at issue. 
 ' In the answer of his Excellency, accompanying the documents between himself and the 
 Council, he states, that •' with every desire to consult my Council, I was preparing for 
 their consideration important remedial measures, which I conc<;ived it would be advisable to 
 adopt, and had they but adbrded me those few moments for reflection, which from my 
 jsudden arrival among you, I fancied I might fairly claim as my due, the question which so 
 iMnnecessarihj they have agitated, woidd have |)roved practically to be useless." 
 . It is singular that this latent intention of his Excellency is not even hinted in his reply ^. ^4' 
 io the Council, but is reserved for disclosure as a means of criminating them after their* 
 /resignation was effected by the alternative of" abandoning their principles or their place." 
 / ' jConsidering the relation which ought to exist between a Governor and the Executive Coun- 
 cil of the province, it was not, in the t)pinion of your Committee, dealing ingenuously v»ith 
 them, to take most iui|)ortant steps without their advice or even knowledge; and it must 
 nave been a humiliating position for gentlemen, distinguished as his Excellency admits, 
 /-^-. for " their talents and integrity," to imagine that liis Excellency was " preparing important 
 ' / 7 .*' .^■^' remedial measures," not in dignified and constitutional co-operation with his highly gifted 
 
 1 '1-*' — ^^ ^/^'j^ Council, but by the aid of unsworn and irresponsible |)ersons unentitled to confidence. 
 
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 uch conduct did not redeem the pledge to the late Council, upon accepting ofliee, of his 
 " implicit confidence ;" and when, after three weeks' merely nominal couneillor.ship, they 
 resign, it is alleged, "had they afforded him a /cm moments for reflection, the question 
 which so unnecessarily they have agitated, would have proved practically to be useless." 
 If such is the truth ^if it was inteiiikd (after a Jew moments for refleciioa) to cojisult 
 the late Council to such an extent as to render their representation "practically useless," 
 why did his Excellency require them to "abandon their principlis or their nlace?" 
 Why did he, in his own language, "drag the question into day-light, in order that 
 it mi glit be o penly, fa irly and coiisliiiitioiially discu>se d,"_ when it was his avowetF 
 intentTqTi'sTiorily to render tlie^ agitation of it " practical ly useless ?" Under such a pros- 
 pect it was InexcusablcTjH/.scM/f to filTiTIe' country witb'^consteniation and dismay, upon a 
 matter respecting which he had the pouer, and professes to have luul the intention, to 
 satisfy public expectation ; and after importuning the Honourable J. II. Dunn, and 
 R. Baldwin, Estp, under an overv\ helming pressure of recent domestic affliction, and 
 Doctor Rolph amidst protessional avocations, in voluntary retirement from public life, to 
 join the Council, in order to aid ihe King's Government, it was most ungenerous to almost 
 expel them his Coiineil, meiely for ofleriiig a suggestion which, after a lew moments more 
 lefleciion, he intended so far to follow as to render their representation " praciically 
 useless." 
 
 It should be paiticiilarly observed that the representation of the late Council was signed 
 by all the Councillors, wjis thi' dclilnrale, utianiinous, coiiscienlious opinion of gentlemen of 
 different |)olitieal parlies, of those who had long been in ofHce, and of those who had just 
 been appointed ; not as 10 a mere theoretical question, but as to a question practically affecting 
 their own duties uiid(;r the constitution of the country ; wa-^ not a movement to serve any 
 political parly, but was ealculaled 'o meet the views and wishes ofall parlies, and that being 
 in writing. Ins Excellency could take his own time to consider it. Finally, as this was a 
 inaticr of no ordinary iinporiance, ami as ilic Councillors hail delivered their views in w riling 
 signed by all (a proper and coiisiilutional proeeeiling on such great quistions in the judg- 
 ment of the ComiP'tiee, and certainly the most respeclful to his Excellency) it would have 
 
 been 
 
 f^ 
 
 1 
 
I dress of 
 Ires3 and 
 ;d D., ill 
 "(juartei- 
 but just 
 
 Cimiicil 
 iwiii ami 
 lur Com- 
 I Counal 
 s known 
 the Crank 
 ■pss ilieiii 
 L" by his 
 
 the late 
 iiiaiiatiiig 
 c said to 
 rlesili/ to 
 
 leiit, with 
 grounds : 
 Z, is con- 
 re are no 
 ave been 
 
 taken by 
 ; and tlic 
 !Ui, are so 
 nmentary 
 
 If and tlie ^ ^ 
 wring for^ ' 'V.^ 
 Ivisable to l^' ' 
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 I which so .. M" 
 
 
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 his re 
 alter ill 
 [ir |)lace 
 
 leir* 
 
 ive 
 
 :o 
 
 Coun- 
 
 11 sly v^ith 
 
 it nuist 
 
 admits, 
 
 mportanl. 
 
 y gifted 
 
 nfidcnee. 
 
 c, of liis 
 
 lip, tliey 
 
 question 
 
 useless. 
 
 co.iisu^lt 
 
 useless," 
 
 place?" 
 
 rdcr that 
 
 avowecf 
 
 h a pros- 
 
 \', upon a 
 
 II I ion, to 
 
 nun, and 
 
 lion, and 
 
 ic life, to 
 
 to nlmosi 
 
 ents more 
 
 )raclically 
 
 I'as signed 
 
 ilienieii of 
 
 had just 
 
 aHecting 
 
 serve any 
 
 that being 
 
 iliis was a 
 
 in writing 
 
 the judg- 
 
 juld have 
 
 been 
 
 AFF.MRS OF UPPER CANADA, 
 
 2.5 
 
 
 1 
 
 / 
 
 /u 
 
 
 been no great stretch of courtesy to the unanimous nml confidential advice of liis Councillors, Heportof Com- 
 
 if, in case he difl'ered from them, he had referred it with his observations to His Majesty's mittceto Commnn* 
 
 Govcriiinent, instead of indulging his arbitrary spirit, and recjuiring iheni to resign for the 1 louse of Asiembly. 
 
 mere exjjressioii to him in confidence of their sentiments. It may be observed that, without 
 
 being obliged to concede the principle maintained by him, or to compromise his characier 
 
 or ills dignity, he might frankly have consiilied iliein in the meantime of his own accord, 
 
 on all important matters, and have obtained thereby advice and information which would 
 
 have been highly usel'ul to liini, and wliieh, in laei, he necessarily must seek somewhere. 
 
 By this uieaus, he would have prevtnied the present excitcumt u , a n d tUe-tiucuAsnin which 
 
 has beeu foJceU upon the country of forms of government and fundamental piiiiciiiles of 
 
 the courtitulion, a discussion which common prudeiice will admonish all settled govern- 
 
 inents to avnwi. That he might liave consulted tlieni ujion all the atlairs of the province, 
 
 even iHii ... ot obliged to do it, there can be no doubt. Such a course, if not enjoinetl 
 
 i.s,5.vljlea' i^forbidden by the con.siUuiion, or by the royal instructions, or by any law 
 
 or auilioriij ..hatever. It is not burrowed from a republican government or republican 
 
 institiitious, but isa Hritish usasje, and according to ITriiiali principles. Tt seems, liowever, 
 
 from Ills own declaration, that he was waiting for an opportunity to lorcc this discussion 
 
 upon the country ; or, in his own language, " to drag this new theory into daylight, in order 
 
 that it might be discussed." The Couimiltee and llie llou-e are therefore " dragged" into 
 
 the discussion of it, not by the Executive Coiinci!, not by any factious or party proceeding, 
 
 but by his Excellency himself, who, it appears, noiwithstandiiig his short arrival in the 
 
 country, rather courted the discussion of it than otherwi.se; for it will be observtil that he 
 
 stated in answer to the corporotion as follows : — 
 
 " I'inding that this new theory was rapidly gaining ground, I resolved ;j offer it no secret ^ 
 opposition, nor in any way to exert my iii/liienci: to oppose it ; but I determined the very ijist ^ 
 time it should come well within my reaih that I would diarr it iniodai/ligbt," &c. ^ 
 
 The Committee cannot hut remark, that hiiherio the lilxecutive Council have sustained 
 the public censures for the misconduct of our afl'airs, u|)on which it has always been sup- 
 posed they have given a concurrent advice, and upon that account past Lieutenant- 
 Governors, as well as the British Government, have sustained their olHce in dignity, and 
 been treated personally with respect. It is therefore with great concern we learn from 
 various public documents emanating from his Excellency upon this subject, that he desires 
 to relieve the Council from all participation of po|)ular displeasure, inevitable in a country 
 with liberal institutions, and to assume it himself. The represenlation of the late 
 Council fully expresses the odium which its members had silently endured ; and it appears 
 to your Committee repugnant to the Ijritish constitution, and inconsistent with the neces- 
 sary preservation of respect for the Kingly office, to bring his representative into personal 
 collision w ith the people in every period of excitement, and render him the ostensible person 
 for accusation and complaint. Should such a doctrine prevail, the royal station in the 
 colony will be seriously impaired in its dignity, and be almost unavoidably introduced in 
 parliamentary debate, and become the point ujioii which will be concentrated every mani- 
 festation of popular inilignation. If all the odium which has been poured upon the old 
 Executive Council had been charged, as his Excellency proposes, upon the Lieutenant- 
 Governors, their residence would not be tolerable, and iheir \eiy authority would become 
 weakened or destroyed. 
 
 Ill the conclusions of the late Executive Councillors, the Committee fully concur, and 
 cannot but express their surprise that his Excellency should not be convinced by the clear 
 and unanswerable argmncnt contained in their representaiioii ti; him. His E.xellency, how- 
 ever, in one of his appeals to popular feeling, broadly declares that the Act of ;^i (jeo. 3, 
 chap. 31, creates no Executive Council, anil says, " If any one tells >>m that it does, read 
 the Act for yourselves." 
 
 In humble imitation of this great authority, we affirm confidently, that according, to IliiU 
 statute there must be an Executive Council appointed hij the King for the u/Jairs of this pro- 
 vince, and to any one who is led by the strong assertions of his Excellency to doubt it, we 
 Bay " liead the Act for yourselves," especially such passages as this [seclion 34] " together 
 Willi such E.xeeutive Council as shall be ajipoinled by His Majesty for the njlhirs of such 
 province;" and such passages as this, [section 29] " with the advice of such Executive 
 Council as shall have been appointed by His Majesty, His heirs or successors, wllhin such 
 jMOvince/or the affairs thereof;' and such passages as this, [section 7] " before such Execu- 
 tive Council as shall have been appointed by His Majesty, his Heirs or successors, within 
 such province for the affairs thereof ;" and such passages as this, " as such Governor, Lieu- 
 tenant-Governor, or ])erson administering the government, shall, wiih theadvici' of the said 
 Executive Council, judge to be expedient under the then existing eircumsiances ;" all 
 of which passages are (bund in the Act. On ibis subject ilie Committee refer to the con- 
 clusive argument of the Executive Councillors in the coinmunication which seems to have 
 disturbed his Lxcellency so much amidst his alleged preparation of " important remedial 
 measures," and conclude that, according to the Constitutional Act, there must be an Execu- 
 tive Council; that they are appointed by the King, and that they are appointed to advise 
 upon the affairs of this province generally, and not merely upon pariicuLir affairs, or upon 
 particular occasions, are propositions wliieh are demonstrable from the express terms, as 
 well as from the spirit aiul evident, intention of that Act i,as has been shown by the late 
 Executive Councillors), and may, moreover, be interred Iroin the absence of every thing of 
 a contrary im|)<)ri in the Statute. 
 
 Ill other Statutes besides thatjust referred to, both imperial statutesand provincial Statutes, 
 the Executive Council is noticed, and their duties are alluded to in terms equally compre- 
 
 3yi. D hensive. 
 
 / 
 
 
 it/A..^ 
 
 /'■ 
 
 ^- {-^ 
 
m 
 
 lH*i 
 
 1, ■ 
 
 r;' 
 
 'i 
 
 I 
 
 if 
 
 A/ 
 
 26 
 
 PAPERS RELATIVE TO THE 
 
 Beport of Com- hensive, [See the Provincial Statute, 34 Geo. 3, cliap. 2, sec. 33, and the British Statiiten, 
 miitee to Commons 6 O'co. .j, chap. 1 14, sec. 30, and the 7ih and 81I1 (ico. 4, chap. ()J, sec. 1.] l-'rom these 
 lloiifoof Assembly. Siatiiies it will be seen that an ExeciiiivL- Council is " the Council of the Province," 
 " appDiiitcd t'cir the affairs iliriedf," and not his Excellency's Council, or appointed (or par- 
 ticular affairs or any particular pur|)osc. They arc not, as he says they are, appointed to 
 serve liim, they are the Council of the province, " appointed for the all'airs of the province." 
 The distinction of Ins l''xeellency between the Council serving him, and not the people, is 
 calculated to awaken niueli concern, and seriously impair thai identity of interest and pur- 
 pose vvliieh (under the presumplion of oui' enjoying the British Constitution) we always 
 supposed to exist between 'I'he King and tiie People. Indeed it has been a universal belief, 
 founded, as your Con)mittee believe, in unerring [jrinciples, that both the I'rivy Council at 
 home and the Executive (^^oiincil in this province tire the servants of, or instruments for, the 
 dispensing of gcuxl j^-ovc-rtmient. Any attempt to |)Ut up any conflicting interests between 
 The King and the I'eople, by creating a iielief, that in serving the Crown, they do not serve 
 the country, is erroneous in theory and mischievous in practice. 
 
 His I'lxcellency repeatedly asserts, that no Executive Council was created by the Britisii 
 Act 31 (leo. 3, c. 31, and says, " as regards even its existence, the most liberal construc- 
 tion which can [)ossibIy be |nit upon the said Act, only amounts to this: that as an Execu- 
 tive Council was evidently intended to exist, the remnant of the old one ouj^iit not to be 
 deemed totally exiinct until its successor was appointed." 
 
 In opposition to this sweeping and positive declaration, the Committee must remark, 
 that there was no such thing as "an old Council" of this province; and though there 
 bad been a Council created for tlie affairs of the old Province of Quebec by the British 
 Act, 14 Geo. 3, c. 83, this Council was called a Legislative Council, and not an Executive 
 Council; and your Committee also deem it worthy of remark, that this Council is spoken 
 of in the same terms in the said 14 Geo. 3, as is the Executive Council of this province 
 in the 31st of the King, viz., " a Council for the Affairs of the Province of Quebec ;" and, 
 moreover, the very first clau';e of 31 Geo. 3, c. 31, repealed so much of the previous Act 
 as in any munner related to the appointment of that Legislntire Council, or to the power 
 given to them ; not " a remnant " of that old Council, therefore, existed ; every vestige 
 of it was annihilated, and your Committee are quite peiplexed to understand how the 
 Legislative Council of Quebec, alter its absolute and unconditional repeal, could sin'vive, in 
 even a remnant (tis his Excellency says) till its successor was appointed. W this is good 
 reasoning on the part of his Excellency, the Legislative Council of Quebec, had no suc- 
 cessor been a|)pointed, would be now in operation; anil, by similar logic, by rescinding 
 the instructions, his Excellency might undertake to revive it. But the last clause of 
 31 Geo. 3,0.31, affords a conclusive answer to all his Excellency's assertions, that an 
 Executive Council was not created by that Act; for it provides, that during the interval 
 between the commencement of that Statute in the province, and the first meeting of the 
 Provincial Legislature, the Lieutenant-Governor, "with the consent of the major part of 
 such Executive Council as shall be aj)i)ointed for the affairs of the province," may inake 
 laws for the government thereof in the same manner as the old Legislniive Council for 
 the Affairs of the Province of Quebec, could have made ovdinances and laws for that pri)- 
 vinee. The Council thus authorized to ass'st in making laws, were an Executive Council 
 not tlicu appointed, but wiiich were to be i',)[)ointed, and were to be appointed before the 
 Jirst meeting of the Provincial Parliantei i ; and were to be appointed, not for tiiat par- 
 ticular puijjcse only, but "/or the affairs of the province" generally. And yet, according 
 to his Excellency's o|)inion, this Statute did not establish an Executive Council at all; 
 while, in his reply to the late Council, he says, "to enable the Lieutenant-Governor ti» 
 perform the arduous duties of his olliee, the constitution has wisely provided him with an 
 E.xeeiitive Council, compt tent to supply him with that local knowledge in which he may 
 be deficient, and to whom he may apply for council and advice." 
 
 The Committee, without hesitation, affirm, that this Act as much creates or require* 
 the appointment of an Executive Council for the affairs of the province, as it creates or 
 requires the ap|iointnient of a Governor, Lieutenant-Governor or person to adminigter 
 t;ic government of thio |)rovince. His Excellency, when he is promulgating and defend- 
 ing the novel doctrine, tiiai he is sole minister as well as representative of Tlie King in this 
 province, would do well to consider upon what law his own authority rests before he makes 
 these rash assertions. The official clunaeter and authority of a Lieutenant-Governor Hie 
 no more necessary under the Constitutional Act, or created by it, than is nn Executive 
 Council for the affairs of the prv)vince ; and if the representative of the King can thus 
 attempt, by such bold assertions u[)on such slight grounds, to explain away an important 
 part of that law, which is the "great charter of our liberties," (from which his Excellency 
 iiiniself, in one of his appeals to the people, tells them, "they should never allow a single 
 letter to be sub>tracied," (your Coniinittee append the Address and answer which they 
 have received, duly certified by his private secretary, marked E.), your Committee can only 
 hope tliiit his example will have as little weight as ids arguments. 
 
 It was in a very dilfereni spirit and with very different views from Sir Franeis Bond 
 Head, that Lieutenant-Governor Siiucoe legarded this great charter of our liberties: that 
 great and good man, whose memory is embalmed in the affections and gratitude of the 
 people of this province, was a ineniber of the British I'ailiainent when our Constitutional 
 Act was passed; and having seived u itii distinguished honour in the colonies during the 
 war, which ha 1 not long before terminated, and having been acquainted with those brave 
 and loyal people who wtre about to seek in this province an asylum under British laws and 
 
 Britisii 
 
AFFAIRS OF UPPER CANADA. 
 
 27 
 
 iiK'is Bond 
 Allies: tliiit 
 iide of ihe 
 nstitiitional 
 
 diiiinj; the 
 iliose brave 
 
 li liuvs and 
 British 
 
 British institutions, he was, no doubt, freely consulted about the form of government to be llcjxirt of Corn- 
 given to theui. iniltccto CommoM 
 
 The following extract from Lord Hawdon's observations in the House of Lords, in the House of Assembly, 
 discussion on the passage of ihe 3ISI of the King, will give an idea of the estimation in 
 which Governor Siincoc was laid. 
 
 His Lordship said, " that the gentleman whom he had heard was to be honoured with 
 the appointment of Governor, was one of ail utliers ilie finest and most lo be wished for 
 by tile country ; his inteilijient mind, liis generous and liberal manners, bis active spirit, 
 and peculiar abilities for that situation, rendered him, in an eminent degree, the properest 
 person that Ministers could have selected for tliai appointment; and certain hi; was, that 
 the choice would redound to their honour and credit. 
 
 " If Canada was to be governed under the present Bill, it would he well for this country 
 and well for Canada, that Colonel Simcoe was the Governor." 
 
 When the British Nation conceded to the United Stales the right of forming a free 
 government for themselves, after their own clioicc, it is scarcely credible that they intended 
 to confer a constitution less acceptable upon the loyalists, who had fought, bled and sacri- 
 ficed their property and homes in defence of the unity of the limpire; and it does seem 
 humiliating to your Committee, after the lapse of half a ccii'ury, to find a new Lieutenant- 
 Governor (Irawing so unfavourable a contrast between our li/cai institutions and those from 
 which they were borrowed, as to Md)jp('t 11^ to his arl)itrary government, by snpersedm^ 
 the functions of that important liraiic li of the Constitution, calleil tlie Executive 
 Council. 
 
 The Government of this province was, in fact, the subject of one of the most interesting 
 and memorable debates ever witnessed in the British Parliament; and while Mr. Fox 
 urged the extension of the elective principle in the new coiistitulion farther than it existed 
 in the British Constitution, no one proposed that the form of fjovcrmnent shoidd be less 
 popular or less free. Governor Simcoe heard the debates on tlie subject, and, in fact, took 
 part in them ; he was the bearer of the Act to this country ; was the first Lieutenant- 
 Governor of the province; and was well qualified, and appears to have been authorized by 
 His Majesty's Government to explain to the people the new constitution which was esta- 
 blished for their benefit. This eidightend British statesman and legislator, who certainly 
 knew what the principles of the British Constitution were, on the very opening of the first 
 Session of the first J'rovincial Parliament, addressed the Legislature from the Throne, and 
 jn The King's name, in the following terms : — 
 
 " 1 have summoned yon together iituler the authorii/ of an Act of the Parliament of 
 Great Britain, passed last year, zc/iick has edablhlwd the Britisli Const itiition, and all the 
 forms which secure and maintain it in this distant country." 
 
 " The wisdom and beneficence of our most gracious Sovereign and the British Parlia- 
 ment have been eminently proved, not oidy in iin|)arting to us the same form of goterii- 
 ment, but also iti securing the benefit, by the many |)rcivibions that guard this memorable 
 act; so lijat the blessings of our invaluable constitution, thus protected and umplificd, we 
 may hope will be extended to the remotest posterity. 
 
 " The great and momentous trusts and duties which have been committed to the repre- 
 sentatives of this province, in a degree infinitely beyond whatever till this period have 
 distinguished any other colony, have originated fmni the British Nation upon a just consi- 
 deration of the energy and hazard with which its inhabitants have so conspicuously sup- 
 ported and defended the lirilish Constitution." 
 
 Still more striking was the following language used by him, as the King's representative, 
 from the throne, in the speech w ilh which he closeil that Session : 
 
 " At this juncture I particularly recommend to you to explain, that this province is siii- 
 gularlij blest, not with a mutilated constitution, but n-ith a constitution nhicli has stood the 
 test 0/ experience, and is the very image and transcript of that of Great Ihitain." 
 
 Such were the emphatic words of this great and good man. Were they, alter all, a mere 
 delusion? ati empty-sounding umneaniiig, mockery? So they are now regarded by his 
 Excellency, who, in an answer to an Address iVom the iidiabitants of the city of Toronto, 
 declares that it would be uni easonab/e to expect that the peo|)le of this province should be 
 rw(wt'd in vainly atiemjitiug to be the " exact image and transcript of the British Consti- 
 tution," and that " the constitution which his Britannic Majesty George the Third granted 
 to this province, ordained no such absurdities." That this is strong language the Com- 
 mittee admit ; but it is language tliey lijive read with pain. The " absurdities" in which 
 his lixcellency's doctrines have involved him, must be apparent to every one, from this 
 " vain at I cm pt" to dc|)reciaie the authority and tarnish the memory of Siincoe, the first 
 and ablest of our Governors, by holding him out, either as being unable, from want of 
 knowledge or discernment, to judge whether our constitution was " an exact image and tran- 
 script of that of Great Britain," or as being an artful and unprincipled deceiver, attempting 
 in the name of the King to palm off on a confiding and deserving people a " mutilated co/i- 
 stitulion," by a mere high sounding tloinisli of swoids. In dcspiii', however, of bis IaccI- 
 Jency's sneers, this testimony of (iovernor Simcoe stands recorded on the journals of your 
 Honourable House, a solenm assurance in the name of the King, llial his suljjects in this 
 province shall have all the blessings of the Britisli Conslitnlion, secured and " amplijied" to 
 them and their children ; a pledge that we trust will yet be maile good lo them, to the 
 disappointment of any Lieutenant-Governor who may (/t/zV/c llieir expectations, and op()osc 
 tlieir wishes and constitutional rights. 
 
 301. D 2 Sentiments 
 
fT'J' 
 
 ■ 
 
 4; 
 
 fi 
 
 rl 
 
 If 
 
 lit- 
 
 *ii 
 
 i 
 
 M' 
 
 1' 
 
 1 
 
 
 
 ' 
 
 28 
 
 PAPERS RELATIVE TO THE 
 
 Report (if'C'iiiii- Seniiinents similar lo tii()->c of Govtraor Siiiicoc havf been expiciscd by siicct'edin;^ Liou- 
 
 mittcc t(i Commons tt:iiiiiU-Cioviiiiois,;iii(l by [)i:rs()ns of all cImsscs and cioeds who liavc uvcr treated on tlio sub- 
 House of Assembly. jp(.(^ akiunigli soini? bavc dfinuried, tliat 'vliilc we vicn- cntiik-d by the 31st of the King to 
 all tlie blessings of llie IJriiish Constitution, Jiat while it was held out to us in theory and 
 by profession, it was denied (in some resjieets) ii, Drnctice, yet all have agreed that it was 
 guaranteed to us by the Constitution ; ni-.d those whi; have heretofore eomplained of the 
 want of it in praciiee, have been eliargi'd with disalfeeiii n, and denouneed as demagogues, 
 grievanee-niongers and dist(Mbers of the public ])eaee by Jjieutenant-Governors and their 
 adherents. The rceords and |)ublie doemnents of the province are filled with ex|)rcssion4 
 (sometimes e.vphcity and at other time's incidentally mentioned) calculated to impre-s tlie 
 belief that we were entitled to the full enjoyment of all the blessings flowing from the Con- 
 stitution of Cireat Britain ; and ulial is peculiarly striking is, that amidst ail this multitude 
 of witnesses in favom' 01 our right to tlie British Constitution, with all its blessini,'s anil 
 beneiits, that not even a hint to the contrary was cvci heard Iroin any of them ; and it has 
 been reserved for Sir Francis Bond Head, in IS36, to discover that our constitution is dif- 
 ferent from the British Cori^tituiion, antl that it would be /oo/i'sA and ruinous lor iis to intro- 
 duce the British Constitution if we could, and that any attempts to do it would be viiiu. 
 Whatever evils we sutler under our present ii(,n(ie3cri|)t constitution, which even .Sir 
 Francis admits are so great and oppressive as to r«quire "important remedial measures" 
 uithoul " dclaij," which " our Sovereign has ordained," and " which he is here to execute," 
 we should console ourselves, according to his opinion, with one animating and delightful 
 reflection, namely, we are not, a.nti cannot he curserd with the British Comtilulion. Ac- 
 cording to his doctrine, the Constitutional Aci ordained no such absurdities, and the Royal 
 Instruction-, were efjually gracious luid careful to protect us from that terrible evil and 
 calamity, the British Constitution. 
 
 It has been ohscrveil by his Excellency in one of his public expositions, that Siuicoe 
 " could not alter the charter commitied to bis cliai'ge," or render it, what his Excellency 
 asserts it is not, the very " image and transcript of the British Constitution." 
 
 Your Committee in imitation will say, Neither can Sir Francis Head, by his detractive 
 assertions, impose upon us a " mutilated constitution," nor has he the right to impose upon 
 Upper Canaila the arbitrarv govcrnnirnt of Russia or Constantinople, in place of the 
 genuine transcript of which Siincoe was the i)earcr. But although Simcoe could not alter 
 the law, and was too great and good a man to do it, yet he never had a successor who had 
 equal pretensions to expound the meaning, elucitlate the provisions, and explain the scope 
 of the new constituiiou. He who fougiit with U. E. loyalists in the American war 
 and knew the worth and claims of the men for whom the constitution was generously 
 designed ; he who sat and spoke in the senate in which the law was passed, who was more- 
 over entrusted with the duty of putting it into operation, .'ind who, from the throne, 
 solemnly declared the magnanimous gift of the British Constitution to those who had been 
 driven by tlnir loyally to seek an asylum under it, was surely better and more competent 
 authority respecting that law and constitution, than a gentleman nearly half a century 
 afterwards, who cannot >ce that the law creates an Executive Council, but can see the 
 vestige of a Legisiative Council surviving its absolute iej)eal, until a successor was ;ii>- 
 pointed; and that " in government, impartiality is better titan knotsledije." The Instruc- 
 tions, indeed, are inhis eyes an important document ; for, according to his lv\cellency's views, 
 the Executive Council was icgularly constituted and declared in" the King's Instructions," 
 and of course coulil not have existed before it wns so constituted. A quotation is made by 
 his Excellency from these Instructions from which he argues, that the Council are only to 
 be consulted occasionally. A copy of these Instructions has been furnished to your 
 Honourable House by the Lieutenant-Governor ; your Committee found with surprise not 
 only that his Excellency had given a grt;Y;/erf extract in his quotation, hut also that these 
 Instructions " in which an Executive Council was constituted and declared," according to his 
 Excellency's o|)ini()n, were actually dated in 181S I 'I'lie Executive Council of this pro- 
 vince was, therefore, in his Excellency's opinion, regularly constituted and declared in '8tS ! 
 
 Upon leferencc lo tiie w hole of these Instructions, however, it will be found they are not 
 less liberal and comprehensive than the Constitutional Act, had they been honoura'blif inter- 
 preted and acted upon. Your Committee deem it important that the Instructions which 
 have been so long kept in secret shoulil be made public, especially as they seem to be viewed 
 by his Excellency to be of as inucli, if not of more, importance than the Constitutional Act, 
 anfl therefore beg to ajipend them to this Report, marked F. 
 
 By section 8, as quoted by his Excellency, it was declared, " that to the end that our said 
 Executive Council may be assisting to you in all affairs relating to our service, you are to 
 communicate to them such and so many of our Instructions, wherein their advice is men- 
 tioned to be requisite, and likewise all such others from time to time as you shall find con- 
 venient tor our service to be imparted to them." 
 
 Upon an examination of the Instructions themselves, it appears that this is a garbled 
 extract ; for in the instructions the words are, " You are to communicate »uch and so many 
 oi' these our Instructions," !ice. Your Committee cannot but notice that the omission was cal- 
 culated to favour the inference which his Excellency was wishing to draw. From this extract 
 it appears that the Executive Council was to be assisting to the Lieutenant-Governor " in 
 all offain relating lo ihe King's service," an expression which his Excellency, in doctrine 
 and practice, has construed to mean " c\ J cic a/fairs relating lo the King's service." 
 
 As the Ouincil were to be assisting " in all affairs," the comtnunicalion to them of the 
 Instructions, or any part of them, coultl not be intended to limit a duty, already so largely 
 
 and 
 
 , 
 
AFFAIRS OF UPPER CANADA. 
 
 ag 
 
 rhled 
 
 and expressly prescribed, espeeinlly ns ilie t'ominunication was to be made, " to the end, that Re|ioii of Cuin- 
 th-ey mai) be assisting in ail affairs" but was merely lo uive the Council sucli and so many miitcc to Cuiuiimm 
 of the King's Instrnctions as were necessary to enable tliem effectually to advise upon those House of Assemfjly. 
 affairs respecting which the King had in His Instructions imparted His precise pleasure; 
 for without sucl) a communiratinn of the Instructions, the Council might, fiom ignorance of 
 them, adopt a coiuse uninlcntionally opposite to iliem. It appears, therefore, to your Com- 
 mittee, that even according lo tiie Insiruciions so illibeialti/ and ttnfuirli/ construed ijy his 
 Excellency against our just rights, the Executive Council were generously intended by His 
 Majesty's Government to advise npon " all affairs," and that the instructions were commu- 
 nicated merely to enable them lo do ii. 
 
 The oath taken by the Executive Comicillors (of which a copy, hereunto annexed, duly 
 certified in ilie Appendix, marked (i.) is equally comprehensive. It is the same as the 
 Privy Councillor's oath. Your Committee would ask, does not the Privy Councillor's oath 
 prescribe his duties ? — Arc theri' any im|(()rtant duties incumbent on him which he is not 
 swum lofullil; Tlicoath being the same, the Executive ConnciMors are therefore boimd by 
 their oath to perform the same duties that the Privy Councillors (including His Majesty's 
 Cabinet Councillors) are bound by their oath to discharge. His Excellency, nevertheless, 
 in one of the communications which he has made to the people of Toronto, and which was 
 jilaiidy intended i\)r poim/ar cff'tcl, says, that it is, in \\\i jmlgmeiit, " an oath oiiion-re^pnn- 
 silii/iti/ to the pcop/e ; so that, iieeording lo his Excellency's views, 7/is Maje'iti/'s Caliinet 
 Cciaicit/urs are sworn not to be responsible to the people! It may be wortl while to notice 
 for a moment the resemblance between the Executive Conned and His Majesty's Privy 
 Council: both are appointed liy the King, and both are removable at pleasure. Tiie nicm- 
 bers of both are indelinite ; the King may inciease or diminish them at His pleasure. I'rivy 
 Couticillors are appointed wiihout iiny commission, merely by notninaiion and taking tlie 
 oiuh of olHi'c ; 90 are Executive Councillors. In some cases the King is required by 
 express etiactment to do certain acts " with the advice of the Privy Council," that is, not 
 contrary to their advice; in like manner the Lieutenatit-Goveriior is expressly required in 
 some eases to act only " with the advice and consent ol' the Executive Council." The 
 Privy Council is appointed for the aflairs of the Kingdom; the Executive Council is 
 iippoitued for tiie r.fl'airs of the J'rovincc. The oath of othce of the Executive Couiieillors 
 is copied from that of the Privy Councillors; so that the former are sworn to perforin the 
 same duties as the latter. 
 
 Finally, the King is no mote bound by any express law to consult the Privy Council on 
 all iiilairs of his Government, than the Lieutenant-Governor is bound by express law to con- 
 sult tile Executive Council on idl affairs of his government: neither is the Kino: anv more 
 forbidden to act without advice or upon the suggestions of secret and irresponsible advisers 
 in the government of his kingdom, than the Lieuteniuit-Govcrnor is forbidden to govern 
 the province upon like advice. And his constitutional advisers, the members of the I'rivy 
 Council, are no more respiiiisible for the advice they give to hiin, than the members of the 
 Executive Council are responsible for the advice given by them to the Lieutenant- 
 Governor. 
 
 \\ here, then, is the difference between the Privy Council in the United Kingdom and 
 the Executive Council here ? h not the advice of such a council as necessary foi- the Lieu- 
 tenant-Governor as it would be for the King, if he were here r Is the representative of sove- 
 reignty so much 7i;iser and better than the Sovereign himself; so nuieli more thoroughly 
 acquainted with the afl'airs of the eountiy in which he is a stranger to its history, and to 
 the habits and opinions, interests and sentiments of the people, than the King is acquaintetl 
 with the people among whom he was born and educated? Has the Lieutenant-Governor 
 who expects after a few years to leave us, and whose future pro.-pects and hopes, as well as 
 past assoeations, give him a personal interest in a distant land, so much more at stake in 
 the welfare of this country, than His Majesty has in the prosperity and haijpiness and 
 affection of His people, and in the honour and dignity of His Crown r In short, do history 
 and experience teach us that a Lieutenatit-Govcrnor, at a distance of more than 4,000 miles 
 from his superiors, is so iinich more immaculate and infallible than his Roval Master ; that 
 he does not require the same councils whieii the constitution considers, and which an expe- 
 riment of ages proves to be necessary for the King himself? 
 
 Even his Excellency admits that His Majesty should, according to the constitution be 
 surrounded by advisers responsible to the country, and that the King must consult them in 
 all the afl'airs of the Kingdom. 
 
 There is not an argument in support of the necessity of such a system that is not equally 
 if not mure, applicable to this colony, where the relative weight and influence of the popular 
 branch upon the government is so small compared with those of the similar body in the 
 jiarent country. 
 
 That the afiairs of the Kingdom should be conducted by the King, with the advice of 
 known and responsible Councillors, is not a rule or proposition laid down in any statute, but 
 is a principle that is an essential part of our constitution, and if that part is destioyed the 
 constitution is materially changed ; it is no longer the British Constitution. This principle 
 therefore has been established by the necessity of tiie cases; and the same necessity upon 
 wliieli it rests in the mother country exists here. 
 
 \ our Committee will admit ihat'this principle (in practice) has been hitherto disre<rarded 
 
 in the governnuiit of this province, and what sort of government have we had r In what 
 
 condition has it put us / Let the records of your Honourable House, the stateuients of 
 
 Executive Councillors of different political opinions, the King's Instructions to Sir JVancis 
 
 39'- 1) 3 Bond 
 
» 
 
 i 
 
 .1 ( 
 
 ^l 
 
 r 
 
 I 
 
 H' 
 
 n 
 
 r. 1 
 
 11" 
 
 »i 
 
 SO 
 
 PAPERS RELATIVE TO THE 
 
 Ucpoitof f'(im- Bond Hcail, and liia own admissions answer. It lias brongiu us (according to ilie Instrnc* 
 mittpc tnC'oniiiions tions) to " an era" of " j^rcat tlilViciilty and ini|)f)rtance ;" and we find even Sir rranci* 
 House of Assembly. Bond Head addressing liic people in liic following ;ernis : " The piievuiice.t of this province 
 must \)e corrected — impartial ;'Ms//n' //(«?< 'oe admiti'ntervd: llic people Inivc asked for it— 
 their Sovereign lias ordnined it ; I am here to exeeule his gracious coiiimaiuh — delay will oidy 
 increase impatience. Tiiosc, however, who have long lived upon agitation, already too 
 <;learly see ilicir danger ; and with surprising alacrity, they are now taking every possible 
 measure to prevent ine tVoni rooting up the tree oJ" abuse, because they have built and 
 feathered tiieir nests in its branches." 
 
 V\'iihont remarking upon his Excellency's style, tiie Committee would observe, that in 
 the estimation ol" the Lieutenant-Oovernor himself, the abuses of the government have be- 
 rome so extensive and deeply rooted, that agitators can aeiually live upon the ex|>osure of 
 them; although, how he would have been prevented from rooting up this tree of abuse, 
 by receiving the advice and assistance uf the council, the Comtniltee are at a loss to 
 perceive. 
 
 It is to perpelnate and defend the system that has produced such effects, lliat his Excel- 
 lency exerts all the energies of his mind, and all the power and iiiHuence of his higli 
 office and exalted station. It is to tliia system that his lixcelicncy has avowed such an 
 ardent and unalterable attachment. 
 
 That a Lieuienant-Govprnor should secretly countenance and cherisii a system which 
 leaves him entirely unchecked in the exercise of almost unlimited power, for wliicii he ii 
 virtually irresponsible, is not surprising; and more than one Lieutena. it-Governor, no 
 doubt, while |)rofessing lo iriaintain amongst us the principles of the Ikilish Consti- 
 tution, has secretly adopted this unconstitutional system, because it extended his power, 
 and enabled him to indulge his arliitrary will ; but that his Excellency, at the very 
 moment he admits and expatiates upon the abuses and grievances which it has produced, 
 should announce his determination to continue it, and should gravely declare that the 
 people of this i)iovince would be ruined, if they attempted to secure to themselves " the 
 very image and transcript of the Jiriliih Coiistitulion," and that such a Constitution " would 
 bt productive of the most vicious effects," is indeed astonishing. 
 
 The views of your honourable House on the right and necessity of a responsible govern- 
 ment, and of our provincial administration being conducted on the principles of the British 
 Constitution, have been more than once clearly and fully expressed, sometimes to His 
 Majesty, and sometimes to the Lieutenant-Governor; sometimes directly, and at others 
 indirectly, as reference to your Journals will amply show; but in the Address to His Ma- 
 jesty, during the last Session [which address is hereto appended, marked (H.)], this principle 
 was again urged; and further, a distinct, but respectful intimation was also made, that 
 the HoiiBe would enforce their rights, by the constitutional nietliud of withholding the 
 supplies for the support of the governmcDt. 
 
 The following Extracts from the Evidence of James Stuart, esq., late Attorney General 
 of Lower Canada, before ii C(.miniltee of the House of Commons, aist.lunc 1834, afford 
 the opinion of an able lawyer, thoroughly conversant with colonial government :— 
 
 Question 1152. The Executive Council of late have practically had very little to do 
 witli the goveniinent of the colony i — Jnswer. It ought to have a great deal more to do 
 with it. The insigniticancy to which it has been reduced, 1 conceive to have been the 
 cause of nuicii mischief in the colon}', 
 
 Q. 1 153. Yon consider it of utility to have a permanent administration i — A. I con- 
 sider it should be placed on the fooling of the Privy Council in this country, and 
 consulted by the Governor ou all important occasions. 
 
 To the following question, put by the same Coniinittee in England to Sir James Kempt, 
 he gave the following answer : — 
 
 Q. 134. If there was no Executive Council, and the Governor were left to govern 
 witliout any such Council, would it, in your opir.ion, remove very inuchof the state of irri- 
 table feeling existing between this part of the Legislature and the King's Government 
 in the colonv ? — A. 1 liave not given my attention sufficiently to this question to be 
 able 10 answer it; but my impression is, that an Executive Council is necessary for the 
 good government of a colony. 
 
 The Right honouralile E. Ci. Stanley, a Member of the Imperial Parliament, and lately 
 His Majesty's Principal Secretary of State for the Colonies, who also spent some time in 
 this province, thus expresses himself respecting the Executive Council, in a letter addressed 
 to Dr. V\'. \V. Baldwin — [The autograph letter is among the records of your honourable 
 House] — " 1 do, however, think that something might be done with great advantage, to 
 give a rcalli/ responsible character to the Executive Council, which at present is a perfectly 
 anoiniiloushody, hardly recognised by the Constitution, and effective chiefly as a source of 
 patronage." 
 
 Mr. Stanley also says, — 
 " The renicdv is not one of enactment, but of practice, and the constitutional mode is 
 open to the people of addiessing for tiie removal of the advisers of the Governor, and 
 refusing supplies, if necessary, to enforce their wishes." 
 
 It will be observed that Mr. Stanley says, " the remedy is not one of enactment, hut of 
 practice ;" that is, the Constitutional Act is suUicient in enactments for every thing 
 
 requited ; 
 
 Cc 
 
AFFAIRS OF ITPPER CANADA. 
 
 V 
 
 required ; sill tliat is necessary is, that the provisions uf the Constitution should be lionestly Up|Mirt <>t' Com. 
 put ill priiclicc, miltvu to Comiiiiiiis 
 
 VVIiilf his Exct'iiency declares that the Exe<:ulive Council have no responsibilities, and House of Assembly, 
 are not, rcfounised by the 31^1 Geo. 3, c. ;}1, Sir John (yoiborne, in 11 Mie>saL'i' to your 
 honourable House, on the '20th February li:;),^, in terms aliiidsl direiilv eontradictinir (he 
 puerile views of his successor, stales, " That the ;»7<ohsiV///(V/V,s under wliieii the Kxieutive 
 Council discliarge their iniponani and conlideniial iluly, depend U|)i)n the /in'/ifi'/i/cs of oi/r 
 Ciinsiiliilioii, and ii/ioii llie law of the IiiihI." 
 
 The i)iil)lic (loeunients and records of the province alound 'vith expressions proceeding 
 from ljiei:ienaui-(v()vernor Sir l'crefi;ine Maiilaud, ree(>_iiisin!j; in ilic fullest manner tlie 
 jio>se?si(iTi, by the people in this province, of llie liiitisli Ciiiisliliitidii. 
 
 Your Conimillee bet; 10 j^ive tlie followinn as a specimen, in answer to .lolin llurston 
 and others, in ihe Newcastle district, published in theCJihcial (iazetle of March -jd, i,S:(i: — 
 "That I may i<'ly on your steady and cordial support in maiiiiaiiiiui; i\m\. uiirkiilh'd ron- 
 Militlioii, of which the excellence has been proved by the experience of agea, ami wliic'h those 
 who can best ajjpreciatc it, as you do, will ever be found ready to vindicate and 
 ilel'end." 
 
 Again, in another reply of the same date, — 
 
 " \'on set, jicntlemen, a just value on your ;)(),ss('ss/o« of a comlitutum, the moU perfect 
 in llie world; and it is no small satisfaction to ine to relied, that with the vivid recollection 
 which you retain uf its blcsiiiigs, in the happy country you have left, your linn and loyal 
 support will never be wantiiii;," iJce. 
 
 Vour Commiitee would alliini, that thv principles of our constitution, as well as the law 
 of the land, alike re(|uire their iiilvice to be given "upon the afiairs of the provinci." 
 
 Your Commiitee have appended to their Uepori [jee Appendix, marked (I.)], the Address 
 passed in the last Sis-ion of the late Parliameiii (with the yeas and nays), to Uis Majesty, 
 against tlii' interminable iiUerferencc from Dosvtiing-street in the management of our local 
 aiiiiiis, which should be conducted by the Lieuleiiant-tJovernor and tiie Executive Council, 
 in harmony with the Provincial Legislature. Although the late Parliament din'ernl from 
 the present in its views and policy, yet it was uiiaiiiiuous in the adop'ioii of tlio above 
 renionsi ranee. These views are corroborated by .1. Stephen, (sq., late Counsel to the Colo- 
 nial department, and now, it is said. Under Secretary of State for the same. In his exami- 
 nation by tiie Canada Company of 182S, he was asked, "Is it your opinion, thai upon 
 all those (juestioiis, complicated as they are with regard to ihe tenure and transmission of 
 pro))erty, the ('olonial Legislature, with the advantages of their local knowledge, are much 
 more competent to decide than the British I.egislatuic r " 
 
 To which he answered: — 
 
 " I cannot suppose any man at all conversant with the subject hesitating respecting 
 the answer to that question ; except there be a well-fouuded distrust of the disposition of 
 the Colonial Legislature to ilo right, no plausible reason ciin, 1 think, be suggested for 
 taking this work out of their haiuls. They arc incomparably better qualified for it than 
 you can he. What should we think of the Canadian Asssembly passing Acts for the im- 
 provement of the law of real properly and conveyancing in this country ! Yet, I suppose, 
 they understand our system of lenures at least as well as we do theirs." 
 
 Now it niu>it be jjiesunied that Mr. Stephen, whose views against the unco'istitutionai 
 interference of the IJritish Parliament with the appropriate duties of our local Legislature, 
 arc so liberal and enlightened, would be equally opposed to any usur[)ation of the duties of 
 the Executive Council ; for assuredly resident genllemen, selected by his Excellcney at 
 pleasure lor their talents, integrity and public estimation, are " iueoin|)aiably better 
 qiialdled for it" than distant strangers, with even the best intentions. It is enough for them 
 in Uowning-strcet to attend to the matters reserved in the 31st Geo. 3, respecting Navi- 
 gation and Commerce. 
 
 These views of the sufficiency of our own institutions, and the expediency of making 
 them subservient, as they wi re intended, to the purposes of our local concerns (with the 
 sole exception of those special inatters, expressly reserved, by the ;^ist Geo. ;?, ibr the para- 
 mount authority of the parent State), are conhrined by the evidence of the llight hon. 
 Edward Ellice, a Member of the British House of Commons. In giving evidence before 
 the Committee of 1828, he was asked, " You have said that your application was referred 
 to the consideialion of the Executive Council ; of whom does the Executive Council 
 consist .' " to which cpiestion he answered, "The Council consist of tlie Chief .Justice and 
 othar \Kriion>i, rvliose dull/ it is lo advise the Governor with reipcct to the administration of 
 the country." 
 
 The ^ame distinguished person, alluding to some difliculties he had experienced in 
 obtaining some change of tenure in property he holds in Canada, says, " It arose probably 
 from a very general cause of diliiciiliy ill that country — a dread on the part of the local 
 authorities to act upon their own responsibility, complaining of defective insirnctioiis from 
 home ; and this, aggravated by perpetual reference backwanis and forwards I'rom the 
 Governmeni to the Colonial Secretary, in the hope that iliey might at last agree upon the 
 means of executing the provisions of the law." 
 
 This transatlantic system, ])opulaily called Douning-slreet lino, to distinguish it from the 
 h'ee and constitutional operation of our local Government, is further condemned by ihc 
 same statesman ir the following illustrations collected Iroiu his evidence before liie same 
 Committee. 
 
 391. D4 Alluding 
 
IK 
 
 II 
 
 ill 
 
 i'! ■■ 
 
 1 
 
 1 
 
 t 
 
 1 
 
 i. ' 
 
 ■ » 
 
 ff! 
 
 II 
 
 'i 
 
 «i- 
 
 'it 
 
 •I • 
 
 hi 
 
 . i; !' 
 
 
 I K 
 
 •! 
 
 ::;? 
 
 H 
 
 32 
 
 PAPERS RETiATTVE TO THE 
 
 Kcpoicof Com- AUiidinc; to i<i: ni.^iosition in Canntln, by the Uritisli Govcrnineiit, of customs dnties, lie 
 
 mittce to Commonii snys, " I am iiwiire tliat llic p;ieatcst possible objections exist in principle to tlieir doing so ; 
 lliiusoc.CA.ispnilily. but I am also aware fliat, in point of Tact, they iiave got over tiiosc objections, and by tlie 
 Canada 'I'luile Act have imposed duties lo an extent (jnite cquHl to ilie expense of tiic 
 civil goverinneiit of both provinces, without considling either of the Provincial Legis- 
 latures. 
 
 " Tiie Canada Trade Aet, for this purpose, hnd been passed tiiree years before the 
 arrangement with tiie Canada Company." 
 
 A'j;ain — '■ Ceriaiidy the Cunudiaiis complain with apparent reason of some part of the 
 conduct of (iovernnieiu. An English re<'eiver is appointed, iiKidHcicnt securities being 
 taken in ['ngland : the As^iembly suggest the regulation of bis olhee, and sid)se(|ueiitly, I 
 understand, Rills were sent up in the terms of a Bill |)nss(d in oilier colonies for this pur- 
 pose: they are told this is an encroachment on the prerogalive of the Crown, and their 
 Bills are rejected. The receiver bad |>reviously failed in dei)t to the public about ioo,non/.; 
 and when they say, ' As you made the appointment yourselves,' took your securities in 
 Enijlai.d, and lejecled our advice, it is t'air you should pay the defalcation, (iovurnment 
 insist upon their laying Irish taxes on their constituc^nts for it. In tiie sami; manner they 
 allege they have sent up Hills for the regulation of tiie olfice of sheriff; that these also were 
 rejected, ami two following sluritl's have; failed ; the one a defaulter of suitors' money to 
 the extent of 97,000/., and another fur a less amount. These are not ibeoretical, they are 
 practical evils, and form just grounds of complaint." 
 
 Again — " The (iovernor was instructed to supjily the want of an Appropri.ition Bill by 
 Ids own warrants on the receivers, to whom the taxes are paid under the provisions of the 
 Canada Trade Act ; but it would be diHicitIt to find out by what law such instructions are 
 sanctioned. This has been the comseof proceeding from 1822 to lSc;S, and it is much to be 
 deplored that Govornmeiit should have persevered so long in measuits which, however 
 much they may plead the excuse of pressing emergency in the first instance, were illegal 
 and offensive to the rights and feelings of the people. If no remedy was obtainable in 
 Canada, an appeal should have been sooner made to I'arliament, ;ind that sore sliould not 
 have been allowed to fester till the English and the French population have been almost 
 brought into collision, and a wider separation between them in opinion and all matters of 
 internal government and legislation been rather encouraged than checked. Assembly after 
 Assembly liave been called together, in which the local atilborities have wisely persevered 
 in attempts to carry their measures by a minority at no time exceeding 10, and seldom 
 half that number, in a body of 50 representatives. And the Committee must always re- 
 collect the continuance of these dissensions lias inflamed trivial diflerences on immaterial 
 points at first into serious additional causes of diU'erence and misunderstanding, which it is 
 not easy now to foresee the means of allaying or removing." 
 
 Again — " I wish to add, that in anything that may have fallen from me in the course of 
 these examinations, I have not bad the least intention of imputing blame to any persons con- 
 nected with the JA-ecutive (iovernmenl in either [)rovince. I believe ihcy have acted under 
 instructions from this country, and that the difHciilties iliey have had to contend with, and 
 the tliscussions in which they have been involved with the Colonial Legislatures, were the 
 inevitable consequences of a determination to persevere in the system of government 1 have 
 described to the Committee, and which could scarcely have been avoided wdiile that system 
 remained unreformed and unimproved." And to the following question, " Do you con- 
 ceive it would be possible to form a representation upon the principle of admitting some 
 of the great towns as independent bodies into a confederation, such as exists in the north 
 of Germany?" To which he answered, " 1 am afraid it is too late to attempt the intro- 
 <liiction c)f new principles of that kind in America. You must either improve lUesi/sleni 
 thai exists on the model of our institutions at home, or copy from the simple forms in 
 practice in the United States. No other method will be congenial to the habits of the 
 English or American iuhabi'ants of Canada." 
 
 The political condition of Lower Canada, as above depicted by the lliglit lion. Edward 
 Ellice, IS loo ap|)licable lo our own country. " It is with grief," as a llesolution of your 
 lionourable House has expressed it, " the country has seen the improvident contract 
 imder which the Huron tract of a million of acres of choice lands has been assumed to be 
 given, ai an almost nominal value, to a Company in London; while the annual instalment 
 paid by iliem is expended by the Provincial Executive without the consent of Parliament, 
 and the large amount realized by the Company from sales at a very advanced price, are 
 withdrawn from the colony, and transmitted to England. Tliis improvident transaction, un- 
 sanctioned by any domestic enactment, ought to be held invalid, particularly as it was a 
 transaction based in no degree upon the good of the Colony, whose lands are thus waste- 
 tully assigned. The Charter and all the Statutes connected with it are a violation of the 
 iStli Geo. 3, and our Constitutional Act." 
 
 The law passed by the liritisb Governvei.t for the sale of our clergy reserves, is a further 
 illustration of tlie system of government over us by a Lieutenant Governor, in uncliecked 
 connexion with Downing-siecl. Under this law, enacted by the British Parliament without 
 our knowledge or consent, more than 60,000 /. have been raised by the sale of clergy re- 
 serves, abstracted from the country, and paid into the military chest, instead of being 
 iipplied to the purposes of education and internal improvement. In a subsequent part of 
 this lleport, this subject will be again adverted to; but at present your Commiilee simply 
 mention the fact, and also that within a short period 57 rectories have been erected and 
 t'tidowed. 'I'he British Act, it is presumed, inserted the condition " by and with the advice 
 
 and 
 
AFFAIRS OF I'PPER CANADA. 
 
 33 
 
 the 
 
 nnd consent of the Ivxccutivc Council " lis a security lo ilic cciuntry ngninit nny abuse Henorlof Cnni. 
 of the power itf^iivi.'; hut sucii a intcmiiioii ii of no |iriiclical avail with an insiitKcicnt mittee tn Common* 
 Executive Council ; and it it plain tliat the I'liove-incntioned outrage upiin the whole com- ilouscofAMeiiibly. 
 miinity could not have occurred had \vc enjoyed what is soiii^ht for and denied, n well- 
 constituted Executive (Joiincil posscssiiifj the confidence of tlie country. 
 
 Now it has been siuiply proposed, adoptini^ Mr, Ellice'ii views, to improve our Hyatem 
 here, on the model of the institutions in hnglaiid, by pioponini; ih/it the I'lxecuiive Council 
 shall advise the Lieutenant-fiovcruor on our aH'airs as freely as Iii> ^Majesty's Council 
 ndviscH the Kini;; but the industrious classes are told by his Excellency that "the 
 wish, if jjratified, would be ruinous," and tliiit the 31st Ceo. 3. " has ordained no such 
 iiO^uulilies." 
 
 In {giving an n^itregate account of the opinion entertained upon the constitutional duties 
 of the Executive Council, by the most thinking men of all politieal parties, your Com- 
 mittee, although desirous of abriilj^inn their IJeport as much as posuible, will not omit to 
 notice a document from Lower Canada, which is headed a " Ucehiraiiori of the causes 
 which led to the formation of the Coiistiiuiional Association of Quebec, nnd of the 
 objects for which it has been formed," in which wc meet with the following pertinent 
 rcinurks : 
 
 " In every wcll-repulaled government it is essential that the executive authority should ' 
 be aided by the ail vice of able and well-informed individuals, acting together and in a i 
 body, by which sound discretion, uniformity, consisleucy and system :uc. imparted to its 1 
 ineasures- Among Colonial Cioveriiu.cnt<i, which are geiieially administered by persons ; 
 labouring under the disadvantages of a deficiency of local inloiination, assistance of this ' 
 nature is iudisjicnsablf for the attainment of llie ends of i^nod govenimciU. This hndi/ of \ 
 advisers ought to lie found in the Executive Cnuncil of the piovince ; but its members are too i 
 few in number, and its composition too defective lo answer the purposes of its institution." j 
 Under the foregoing view, it will be observed ihnt thi; association contemplate, by con- ! 
 stitutional means " to obtain such a composition of the [Executive Council as may impart I 
 to il the clhciency and weight which it ought 10 possess." ' 
 
 The above Quebec " Association " is not composed of the Reformers in I^ower Canada, 
 with whom Mr. Speaker I'apineau's name is usually connccled (aliliough the Ueformers 
 there entertain the same views), but of gentlemen of wealth and inlluince, known by the 
 name of Constitutionalists or Conservators, directly opposed to that party. It is therefore 
 the testimony of persons avowedly determined to sustain the constitution against any of 
 the inodiHcaiions held by the other jiarty to be necessary and expedient. 
 
 Your Committee would here subjoin the following nll-iinporiaiit and liberal views of 
 policy, expresse<l by the Canada Committee of the House of Commons, in the year 
 i8'j8, arising from a thorough understanding of the state and wants of these Colonies, set 
 forth in the voluminous and unc|uestionable testimony of persons best conversatit with the 
 subjects of the Committee's incjuiry: 
 
 " Your Committee lament that the late period of the session in which they were 
 appointed, has rendered a minute investigation into all parts of the subject submitted to 
 their inquiry impossible. They believe too that if the legislative assemblies and the 
 Executive Government of Canada be put on a right footing, that means will be found 
 within the province of remedying all minor grievances. They arc disposed, nevertheless, 
 to recommend that the prayer of the Lower Canadians for permission to aj)point an agent 
 in the same manner as agents are appointed by other colonies which possess local legis- 
 latures, should be granted, and that a similar privilege should be extended to Upper 
 Canada, if that colony should desire it. 
 
 " At an early period of their investigation, your Committee perceived that their atlen- 
 tion must be directed to two distinct branches of inquiry: I'irst, to what degree the 
 enibarassmeiits and discontents which have long prevailed in the Canadas, have arisen 
 from ilefects in the siptem of /aas and the conslilulious established in these colonies. 
 Second, how I'ar those evils were to be attributed to the manner in which the existing system 
 has been administered." 
 
 " Your Committee have clearly ex|)rcssed their opinion that serious defects were lo be 
 found in that system, and have ventured to suggest several alterations that have appeared 
 to them to be necessary or convenient. They also fully admit that from these, as well as 
 from other circumstances, the task of government in these colonies (and especially in the 
 Lower Province) has not been an easy one ; hut they feel il their duty to express their 
 opinion that it is to the second <ji' the causet alluded to that these embarassments and discon- 
 tents are 'u\ a great measinc lo be traced. They are most a/a joms to record their cym/j/e/e 
 conviction that neither the suggestions they have presumed to make, nor any other improve- 
 ments in the laivs and constitutions of the Canadas, will be attended with the desired 
 eft'ect, unless an impartial, conciliatory and conttitutionul system of government be observed 
 in these loyal and important colonies." 
 
 The remedy here |)roposed as an antidote to the evils existing in the government of the 
 Canadas, emanates from a spirit breathing Ibrtli the purest patiiotism, the result of a 
 thorounji understanding of all the bearings of the subject-matter of inquiry, and is at once 
 an appeal to the best feelings of our nature. 
 
 Had there existed any defects in the system of our laws anil constitution, the Com- 
 mittee would at once have recommended an amendment or revision of them ; but aware 
 that nothing was wanting but an open, ingenuous and ccj'iltable administration oi' those 
 
 391. E statutes, 
 
34 
 
 PAPKnS RKLATIVK TO TIIK 
 
 I 
 
 ftrport orCoiu- atatutm, lliey urc brought lo llie only pluiii aiici obvious conclusion that could be 
 
 niitlre to Ciiniimiris uttaineii. 
 
 Houtc ul'Aui'iiibly. All culoniiil iniiiisttrii, kincc liic diilc of lliiit l(('|i<irt, Imvc iimtV'.'isi'd im intciitioii lo bu 
 guided by iisi re(.'oiiiin< iidutionx ; the liiinoui IJ)"4|iatcli ol' liord ('odcricli, of Stii Novcinijer 
 1832, i'< |irol('ss('(lly ba^cd upon ii, and his jireiciU EicdUnci/ has it puiiiled out lu him ai 
 OIK itf hit text Imikt. 
 
 It is to your (Juniuiitlt'c passinp; strange that, notwitlistntulin)^ the above |{i'|ioit is licld 
 t'orili to UN, HuiK'lioiit'd by hiicIi antliuriiy, a temerity of cindiici, bordering on a rciik- 
 leltsnl'^H ol coiiHc(|iicnc.(s, sboiild be allowed by ilK noble [jobscitiior (o ijive eaUKc (or 
 suspicion and disiniht lowardH the ititcnlions ol His Majesty's Cioverninenl. Had bis 
 l^xeelleney, in>tead i<( llie ((iiir-e be lias been pleased lo pursue, been ini|)lieilly iriiided 
 by llie rceoniniendalions eoiilaiiu'd in ibe above extract, be bud then estabiisbeJ eon- 
 fideiice, and an assinnnee of e(piiial)le administration ; but wlieii, instead ol vvbieb, be has 
 taunted llie pioviiice upon iis inlani condition, uixl appears, in llie iliwratioiH lie lius 
 {,Mven, to liuve bad in his iiiind'* eye tlic table ot the young- Iroj^ and the ox, what 
 assurance have we, ilial jjoverned in 'he " manner" we are, we shall ever arise froiii our 
 prrNent dc^'radeci conilition i 
 
 And your Cutiiiiiitiee are led to the cunclusion, rnun a careful observation of things, 
 
 that the policy apparently iniended lobe pursued by the present head of our government 
 and that of Itehoboani, as recorded in the 121I1 chapter of the First Book of Kings, to be 
 vei V similar. 
 
 The Executive Council therefore are established by law, under constitutional responsi- 
 bilities, to advise " upon liie aii'airs of the province," and to be assisting to the Lieutenant 
 Governor " in all aflliirs relating to the King's service ;" and in favour of this proposition 
 we have, in whole or in pari, the concurrent lesiiinony against his lLxc(?llency of the above 
 overwhelming authorities, viz. — 
 
 1. 'J'he Constiiuiional Act. 
 
 2. Various lirilish and Provincial Sialiiies referring to and recognizing the Executive 
 
 Council of ibe |>r(ivinee " appointed for the aii'airs of the province." 
 
 3. Governor Simcoe, and succeeding governors, 
 
 4. The Koyal Inslrnetions. 
 
 5. The Privy Councillor's Oath. 
 
 6. The general reseniblaiie(^ between His Majesty's Privy Council and the Executive 
 
 Council of ibis province. 
 
 7. The nature and genius of our government, and the general principles of the 
 
 C(aistiiiiiioii. 
 
 8. The IKiiise of Assembly. 
 
 9. James Sluarl, Escp 
 
 10. Sir James Keiiipl. 
 
 11. 'Ibe Kiglit llonoiiiable Lord Stanley. 
 
 12. His Excellency Sir F. Mailland. 
 
 13. His Excellency Sir John Cujliornc. 
 
 14. Tiie late Exeeiiiive Couneillors. 
 
 15. 'J'he Hepoit of the Canada Committee of 1828. 
 
 16. I'iie Kiglil Honourable Edward Ellice. 
 
 17. T. Stephen, Esq., late Counsel to the Colonial Office. 
 
 18. The Quebec Association. 
 
 19. The ub.-.(iue of any express provision of law or authority forbidding it. 
 
 20. The iinivi rsal admission of all classes, parties, creeds and orders from 1792 until 
 
 the arrival among us oi Sir F. B. Head. 
 
 21. Liciileniint-Ciovernor Hunter. 
 
 22. The debates in the British I'arliament on the passage of 31st of the King. 
 
 In reference to ihc objection of His [Excellency that " it must be evident to every Kell- 
 intislitutcd mind, that in an inliint state of society it would be impossible practicalli/ to 
 secure a suflieicnt nnniber of impartial persons to effect a change of ministry as often as 
 it iiiig.'t be iK(es>ary lor the interests of the people to do so," (by the above, it will be 
 observed that iiis LA^!>llciicy, as in many other instances, has abandoned the constitutional 
 object, and is endeavouring to sustain his |)ositions on the principle of expediency) your 
 Coniiiiittie would slate, that on general principles, the interests of the neople could only 
 rcfpiire the rcir.ovnl of a eimneil when there were other and better pt jOiis ready to fill 
 their plaeis; and until siieh ollur and better persons could be found, it is evident neither 
 the people nor iluir iiitcresis would require or look for a change. 
 
 The moral and intcllietual resources o'i this country are sailed to its wants, and not- 
 withstanding his Exeelleiiey's sneers, would lose nothing by a comparison with any other 
 country; and in the <)|iliiioii <,, \ lur Coniniittee it would be even easier lo form councils 
 from among the inhabitants ot mis province, adequate to its exigencies, than in England 
 itself, for the vaster atfairs of the empire. A really great man in this country would soon 
 find the means 10 organize our instiiuiions for the piaetical purposes of good government 
 and peace of society. 
 
 Your Comniiitee deny the |)releiulcd all-sufricicney of the Governor's liability to 
 impeaehmeni for niisnuiiuin;( nienl ot our allairs, for the tollowing reasons : 
 
 isl. B(eaus( ahhoiigh such imiieaehmeni iiiighi be a punishment for maladministration 
 afltr it was t'uiie, yet it affords no daily check or guard against it by means of advice or 
 
 caution i 
 
 m. 
 Co 
 to 
 an^ 
 
 to 
 mil 
 
 C: 
 up(| 
 
 A 
 doz 
 
 I'y 
 
 wh, 
 
 III 
 
 a J 
 
 1 
 
 hac 
 coil 
 dee 
 luic 
 Mr. 
 
AFFAIRS OF TI'PER CANADA. 
 
 35 
 
 until 
 
 hilily 
 
 to 
 
 cniition ; nnd il seems to your Cominitlec ilmt the iinpcnrliinent i«li()(il(l at moot he only Report nf Com- 
 renortrd lo af'tiT a Governor had acted wroti^, wiih every local means uirordfd linn lo do inittt."«« loCoinmnni 
 what wan right. Hou«e of Awembly. 
 
 2(1. Hecatiac the inipenchnicnt or complaint mast he made hy the injurivl person at a 
 great disiance, recpiiring a delay, expense and waichfuinesi, out of ilie ri'aeli of the power 
 or means of ihe sutferer, who (if hel()n;iinf; to " the industrioa* elaisea,") minhl m.ike ')ut 
 In writing a very infornial or insnihcient ease, liowever clear its merits, or he unahle to 
 retain counsel and agents here and in I'^nglaiKJ to conduct his suit. Ijinitation to nuch it 
 remedy would prnctieally he a denial of jiistiec. 
 
 ;(d. Heeause the complaint would he made to a Minister in Downing Street, who is the 
 patron of the (ioverni.r accuised ; and hesides, the (ioverni>r has numerous friends on the 
 spot to rxcrciso every inHuence and interest in his hehalf. 
 
 'l"he weight of this reason is increase<l hy tlii* ditliculty of proviiii^ any act to have hecn 
 done from corrupt motives. Even if a pusumptive I'ase could hi; made out against a 
 governor, it would he contended that a elear and positive one must ht? cstahlished hefore 
 the consequences of impeachuient eoiild he visited on the accused ; and how very many 
 nets of inisgovernnunt there are, in their nature vexatious and injiiri.nis, against wliicn it 
 would he dilhcult lo tix the charge of corrupt motive, while it was palliated, evaded or 
 explained away as an error of judgment, the deeepiive a-'surances of others, a misappre- 
 hension of circumstances, a mistaken policy, or the like. For iii-.taiiee, it would be in 
 vain to proceed against ;hc executive authorities for the erection (as hereiiialier mentioned) 
 of 57 rectories, and cert .in corrupt exchanges of lands, although oppo-^ed to the well-known 
 sentiments and interests of a vast majority of the rehgious community. It would he e(|uallv 
 vain to attfinjii to institute such proceed'-'is for many appoiniineiiis to oHiee, as Suiveyor- 
 Genernl, Colonels of M ilitia, the Comnii .si<)ners of tlie Courts of Ue(|iiests and other oIKces. 
 It would therefore ohviously place the country in a desperate condition, if the un/j/ hope of 
 preventing xernii!! being dune, was founded on an institution of an inip' acliment for it nfler 
 it was (lone, before a patron of the wrong-doer, 4,000 miles oH', defended hy a person 
 intrpnched in power here, and sustained at home hy family eoiinexioiH, and the preserva- 
 tion of what is called l/ie Colonial Ki/stem. The Mouse of Assembly of Lower Canada 
 instituted a complaint of this nature against Lord Aylmer in a must solemn manner, and 
 with great unanimity, for most arbitrary and iinconstltulional inisg(iv<'riiment ; but it only 
 ended in his promoiioii to a higher post of honour. Alilioiigh therefore an iin|)eaehment 
 might be resorted to in extreme cases, yet it by im means supersedes the necessity of all 
 local and constiiutional cheiks, calculated to prevent cause for so ddlieiilt, painl'ul and 
 undesirable a course. This precaution against the oeemrence of evil, instead of merely 
 contriving how it can he punished hy iinpeaehment 4,000 miles otF, is the more needed 
 from the fact that this iinpeaehment would yii Id no redress 10 ilie persons iiijiire<l, even if 
 it punished the persons in)nriiig them. If all our local governors were impeached, and all 
 their estates contiscnted, it would not rejiair the injuries of the most notorious nature; 
 besides thousands of just complaints miirimired only in seer(;t, and either endured with 
 patience, because the remedy proposed would he worse than the injury, or because, what 
 18 notoriously true, to prefer a complaint, however just, against a governor, ensures a black 
 mark against his name as a troublesome, a factious, e.r undeserving man, whose future 
 hopes are blasted, and his oppressions multiplied at every favourable opportunity, in 
 vaiious ways, that elude all proof and conviction. What could he done to leneein the 
 injustice against (jourlay, Willis, the late Robert Randal, l'"r,ineis Collins, and oihers? 
 And if an insiilKcient blustering pretender to learning shoidd be made a Judge, and an 
 innocent person be convicted thereby and executed, he could not by iinpcaelnneni he 
 restored to lil'e. Your Commiticc therefore desire again U> reiterate their conviction that 
 this alleged liability to impeachment for misgovernment, was never intended, and ought 
 not, to supply the place of an efficient suite of these institutions, wisely provided bylaw, 
 not to punish but to prevent wrong; a course as desiralile for the parent Stale a* for the 
 Colony; and although his Excellency has been pleased to slate lo the citizens, in answer 
 to their address, his unwillingness to he deprived of" the only consolation which supports 
 any honest man in an arduous duty, viz. the reflection that he is ready to alone for every 
 error he commits, and that he is subject to arraignment if he otlends ; yet ihi> consideration, 
 either as a motive or a remedy, is so false in morals and so puerile in political allairs, as not 
 to need further commentary. No belier guard against both corrupt and unintciiiioiial 
 misgovernment can be tleviscd with our present constitution, than an elfieient Executive 
 Council, composed of persons of established character, to advise the Lieutenaiit-(iovernor 
 upon public attairs. 
 
 4th. Because there are such changes of Colonial Ministers, that there might be half a 
 dozen i.i suecessicm before a suit could be conducted to a conclusion ; and the justice done 
 hy one Minister is often undone by another, i'or instance, in Loner Canada, iMr. Gale, 
 who gave such evidence before the Canada Coininiiiee of i8'28 as 10 oblige the Uiijht 
 Honourable Mr. Spring Rice to pronounce him until for any oflice of trust, was appointed 
 a Judge hy Governor-General Aylmer, whose active [lartisan he had been. 
 
 When the news of tliis appointment reached England in the autumn of 1S34, Mr. Kice 
 had become Colonial Secretary, who addressed a despatch to Lord Aylmer, saving lie 
 could not conlirm Mr. Gale's aj)pointmeiit. Mr. Rice was soon succeeded by Lord Aher- 
 <leen ; and therefore Lord Aylmer, disregarding the coininaiuls ot Ex-mini^tir Rice, and the 
 known sentiments of the people and their representatives, procured from the successor of 
 Mr. Rice a confirmation of Mr. Gale's appointment, who is still on the Lower Canada 
 
 391. E2 lieiicn, 
 
i| 
 
 36 
 
 PAPERS RELATIVE TO THE 
 
 ReportofCom- Bench, although Mr. Spring Rice, on the 91I1 March 1S35, lieing again in power, in a 
 niittfcc to Commons gpeccii in the House of Cfiniiiions, reiterated the deniuiciution of Mr. Gale as an improper 
 Houseof Assembly, person to occupy that station. 
 
 Your Connniltce find the saine doinu; hy one Minister and undoing hy another, in the 
 affairs of our own province, wliicii is unhap|)ily misgoverned by the same policy under the 
 same Constituiional Act; for instance, the late Attoruey-(»eneral iind Solicitor-General 
 were dismissed from oitice, according to Lord Godericii's despatch, because ihey opposed 
 the avowed policy of His Majesty's Government in making certain concessions to the 
 wants and wishes of the people; nor did his Lordship seem at ail to notice tiic personal 
 indignity they had audaciously offered to himself even as a Minister of the Crown ; but 
 no sooner was Lord Cioilerieh succeeded by Lord Siaidey, tliiin the decision of the former 
 in favour of the rights and liberties of the people, was by the latter cancelled, and the 
 Solicitor-Gencial put b.iek again into oflice, to the ereat dissatisfaction of the country, and 
 the Attorney-General sent as Chief Justice to Newfoundland 10 create new scenes of 
 trouble and disiiension there. 
 
 5th. Because when, in the year 1831, His Majesty suggested a further provision for the 
 Civil List, which the Colonial Minister required to be made /or scre/i i/eats ur for the life of 
 the King, the terms of the proposition were not candidly submitted to the House of Assem- 
 bly, but were suppressed for the pur(iose of securing a keen bargain ; and for his boasted 
 adroitness in managing it, his lale iixceliency was officially commended. This undue and 
 impolitic concealment, so unworthy a great and magnanimous government, was practised 
 with the aid of executive influence to carry a measure injurious to the constitutional 
 liberties of the people; but the uselessness of any complaint against a government for 
 such unworthy policy is apparent when we see, as in this case, that such liberal instructions 
 are violated, and the mischief accom[)lished with impunity, although it merits disgrace. 
 
 Your Committee cannot, therefore, regard <as satisfactory our mere nominal right to 
 appeals to Downing Street, where the justest decisions in favour of our rights by one 
 Minister, are witli seeming indifTerence and impunity reversed by another. 
 
 6th. Because this pretended responsibility to Downing Street has been in full operation 
 for nearly half a century, and we have therefore against its sufficiency the uniform testi- 
 mony afforded by our misgovcrmnent during nearly the whole of that period. 
 
 By this system we have been slript of the public lands and resources, and reduced to our 
 present condition, and having tliu' suflered in the past, we cannot look for better in the 
 future, if we submit to a continuance of the same system as has brought such a visitation 
 upon us. 
 
 7ih. Because although liis Excellency professes to be responsible to I 'owning S'.eel for 
 the Executive Council as well as for himself, yet it is, according to his Excellency, " un- 
 reasonable that one man should have to bear another person's blame." 
 
 The professed responsibility of his Excellency for the acts of the Council, in case of 
 default on iheir part, is novel indeeil. Your Committee can understand well enough how 
 the adviser becomes responsible for the acts of the advisetl; but how the actor can become 
 responsible for the advice on which the act was founded, is beyond their comprehension. 
 
 A comparison of om* constitution with that of the parent Slate justifies the language 
 used by Simeoe lespecling it. In Lngland they haver liing; in Canada we have his 
 representative. In England they have a House of Lords cieated by the King; in Canada 
 we have as a substitute a Legislative Council created by the King. In England they have 
 a House of Commons elected by the people; in Canada we have a House of Assembly 
 elected by the people. In England the King has a Privy Council to advise him upon the 
 affairs of the empire; in Canada he has an Executive Council to advise him and his 
 representative upon the afl'airs of the |)rovince. 
 
 This is emphaticj'.lly the "very image and transcript of the British Constitution." But it 
 becomes a mutilated constitution, and a sorry one indeed, when Sir Francis Head obliterates 
 the Executive Council, or makes it, in his own language, "mute," "defenceless," "irre- 
 sponsible," "sworn 10 be dumb." That the King, Lords and Commons, and Cabinet 
 Council perfortn certain acts in England tiiat are notauthorized to be done by the Lieutenant- 
 Governor, Legislative Couucil, and House of Assembly and the Executive Council of the 
 f)rovince, your Conniiittee do not deny; for instance, the i'arliament of Great Britain 
 egislaie for the empire, and for the regulation of trade and commerce, &c. with other 
 nations, and the Cal)inet Council advise the King relative to the negociations going on 
 abroad, as well as for the welfare of the local affairs of the kingdom, and the appointment 
 of certain iiigh and important offices; while in Canada the legislative duties of the Parlia- 
 ment are more of a local nature; and so with the matters to be advised and consulted by 
 the Executive Council, it must be clear that it no more follows, because the Executive 
 Council are not lo be advised on precisely the same matters that pass under the revision of 
 the Cabinet Council, that they are not to advise at all, than it follows that the legislature 
 here are not to legislate on any matter because they are not allowed to legislate on all, or 
 precisely the same mailers that are considered in the British Parliament. 
 
 It will be observed iliat his Excellency allows that " if the Lieutenant-Governor stood in 
 the place of the Sovereign," an Executive Council, or some such body, would be " evidently- 
 necessary, and should be appointed," with whom he should advise ; he further states, that 
 "this is not the case," but that "llie Lieutenant-Governor is therefore the responsible 
 minister of the colony," if, as his Excellency says, he is the responsible minister of the 
 colony, " it must be evident to every well-constituted mind" (on the principle of a respon- 
 sible Ministry in England) that he ought ere this to have retired from hit othce, for nothing 
 
 is 
 
 till 
 
 th; 
 
 arc 
 Cc 
 ai-i 
 ins 
 an 
 
 hafl 
 
 hi 
 thr 
 of 
 it; 
 
 hei 
 
AFFAIRS OF UPPER CANADA. 
 
 37 
 
 is more clcnr than tliat he d les not possess llie confidence of tlie people's representatives* 
 Theresponsible minister in England would be disgraced by attempting to continue in oflicc 
 ibrone single day after losing :lie confidence of tiie House of Commons; so if he be merely 
 a Minister. i)e does not «lo ns oilier ministers do ; but it is beyond contradiction that he is 
 something more than a minister. Whoever heard of a minister in England doinj^ and per- 
 forming the acts that the Lieutenant-Govrnor is authorized to do and perform liere, IJoth 
 by the 31st of the King and the Iloyal Instructions f By reference to the Instructions it 
 will be observed that the Government of the Province is spoken of as the Government 
 under the Lieutenant-Governor no less than five times ; in section p, the words " in i/our 
 Goveriime'it "are used; in seciioii 45, the words " thrunghout your (lovemment" are used; 
 in section 62, speaking of both provinces, the words " their respective Governments " are 
 used; section 63 is as follows: " ^\n(l you arc upon all occasions to send to us by one of 
 our Principal Secretaries of State, a particular account of ail your proceedings, and of the 
 condition of afTairs toitliiii your (jovernment." 
 
 The above most surely supposes discretionary power in the administration of the aflliirs 
 of the province, for if nothing was to be done but what was contained in instructions sent 
 out from home, there would be no use of transmitting a particular account of proccediuirs, 
 as they would kno'v for months before they could be performed ; but the 5Qth section is 
 quite conclusive on the [loir.t, and goes clearly to sl"ow that the l^ieutenant-Governor is 
 something more than a mere minister, and which clause ought in common fairness to have 
 been (pioted by his Excellency with those he did quote in answer to the Council. By it, 
 then, his Excellency, luilh the advice of the Executive Council, may take order, do and per- 
 form all such matters and things as are for the peace, welfare and prosperity of the country ; 
 in short, may even declare antl commence uar. It is as follows : " If anything shall happen 
 which may be of advantage or security to our province under i/our Government, which is not 
 here contained (or by your commission provided for), we do hereby allow unto you, with 
 the advice and consent of our said Jixccutive Council, to take order for the present therein." 
 
 It will be observed that no minister is even autiiorized to do what his Excllcncy may dc; 
 he calls together the Parliament, and opens and closes it with a most gracious speech from 
 the throne ; he prorogues or dissolves Parliament ; he gives the Iloyal Assent to Bills, by 
 which they become laws ; he appoints to and dismisses from various offices ; no petition or 
 remonstrance is received and acted upon by the King (not even from the House of 
 j\ssetnbly) except transmitted through him ; he may even declare and commence ivar. 
 
 Your Committee will not believe that any one possessing " a well-constituted mind," 
 will deny that he stands in need of the best advice possible to be obtained, to enable him 
 "impartially" to perform all those duties, and which the Constitution has wisely 
 provided. 
 
 It was recommended, as a remedy for prevailing and increasing grievances, that the 
 Exec'.itive Council should be allowed to advise the Lieuteiiant-Cioveruor upon public 
 affairs before he acted on them ; and this might be hoped to be a remedy, because if good 
 advice were given, it would (it must be prcaumed) be adopted ; and if bad advice were 
 given, it would be rejected or corrected. This doctrine is pronounced by his Excellency 
 to be so unconstitutional, vicious and theoretical, as to prevent his retaining the late Council 
 in his confidence, unless they retired I'rom such principles. Your Committee, in giving a 
 free and frank report ujjon this inrportaut question, are obliged to express their belief, that 
 liis Excellency was not so much shocked at the doctrine, as he was averse to its practical 
 / bearing against his own arbitrary pleasure; and they have come to that conclusion for the 
 ( following reasons : — 
 
 1st. Because his Excellency compares his late Council to "a sterling fund, upon which 
 he can constitutionally draw whenever embarrassmeiit requires it." 
 
 The objection, therefore, is not made so much against having councillors, as against taking 
 their counsel till driven by embarrassment to do so ; of which embarrassment he claims to be 
 the sole judge; ■.Ithough it does seem to your Committee inexpedient and unreasonable 
 that his lixcelleiicy should pursue his own unadvised pleasure in every thing in government 
 that is graeiouj, acceptable and popular, and only bring liis Executive Council into the 
 field whenever the pursuit of such unadvised pleasure has produced embarrassment, odium 
 or difficulty. 
 
 2d. Because the Lieutenant-Governor admits, that " to enable him to perform the 
 arduous duties of liis office, the Constitution has wisely provided him with an Executive 
 Coui^cil, competent to supply him with that local knowledge in which he may be deficient, 
 ai>d io whom he may apply for counsel and advice." Thus he admits the wisdom of the 
 insiiuilioti, and the purposes for which it was provided ; but he avowedly wishes to make 
 an experiment (at the expense of the country) of the extent to which he can carry on his 
 government without their aid. 
 
 3d. Because he admits " the advantage of such a Council to a Lieutenant-Governor is 
 so self-evident, that he must be weak and self-sufficient indeed who does not continually 
 have recourse to it." 
 
 Thus the advantage is fully admitted ; but his obvious repugnartce is against availing 
 himself of tliat advantage oftener than he may please ; and with his late Council, for the 
 three weeks tiiej' were in office, he did not please to do it at all; he admits the advantage 
 of such a. help, but he repels the preposition to receive it before "embarrassment requires 
 it," when it might be too late to remedy the evil. 
 
 4th. Because he admits that the Executive Council "strengthens his judgment ;" but he 
 J)eirays repugnance against the proposition to strengthen his judgment when he happens to 
 
 391. E 3 think 
 
 Report of Com- 
 niittfo to Commonii 
 House of Asseinlilv. 
 
38 
 
 PAPERS RELATI'VE TO THE 
 
 II 1 
 
 ' I 
 
 ) ■ 
 
 I'' 
 
 
 V\ 
 
 lUpovt (il Com- think it strong enough without it, or to confer rlignity on his proceedings wlien he thinkt 
 mitiee to Coininons them dignified enough without it ; but he wishes tlie strength to be reserved until embar- 
 Ilouseof Atseiiibly. rassinent requires it.' 
 
 5th. Because he slates that tiic Executive Council should constitutionally " serve him 
 (the Lirutenant-CJoverno:), not them" (the people). 
 
 Ihit ihe repugnance betrayed ii against being served by them in the public affairs until he 
 thinks "embarrassment requires il." 
 
 61I1. Because he had promised his late Council "to treat them with implicit confidence ;" 
 but his repugnance is against its being so implicit as to be received upon public affairs 
 before " embarassment requires it." 
 
 7th. Because his Kxcellency mentions the willing approval by the late Council of the 
 very first suggestion he made to tliem, namely, " that no important business should be 
 commenced in Council until they, as well as the Lieutenant-Governor, had become mutually 
 acquainted with their respective duties." Thus, important business, it is admitted, was to 
 be commenced, but the complaint is that it was commenced too soon, viz. " before embar- 
 rassment requires it." 
 
 Sth. Hecausc in his answer 10 the citizens he says, respecting the present E.vecutive 
 Council, " 1 shall consult them as unreservedly, a-i I had |)romised to consult those who have 
 just resigned." 
 
 Thus it appears he had promised to consult ihem unreservedh/, but he claims the reser^ 
 valinii to consult them only at his pleasure, viz. " when embtirraBsment requires it," 
 
 plh. Because his Excellency asks the citizens, " Why then should my Council, whose 
 valuable udvicc (if it vveie not forced upon me) I should be most anxious to receive, be 
 required to demand of me my responsibility.'" Thus it appears that the objection is not 
 against a Council, but against their advice being "forced upon him," when he thinks he 
 needs it not; viz. before "embarrassment requires it." 
 
 From all which your Committee are obliged to report their belief, that his Excellency was 
 not so much shocked at the doctrine of the late Council, as he was averse to its piactical 
 bearing against his own unadvised arbitrary pleasure, to draw upon their sterling fund only 
 when " embarrassment requires it." 
 
 His EJ.Ncellcncy, in his reply, objects to the views of the late Council, because " il would 
 be evidently unjust towards him that he should be liable to impeachment for any acts but 
 Ills own." But in the representation of the late Council, furnished your Honourable House 
 by his Excellency; there is nothing which places things on such a foundation; they merely 
 proposed to give advice upon public affairs preparatory to his Excellency's discretionary 
 action upon those affairs. The acts of his Excellency would not be the less his own 
 because he received good iidvice before acting; nor would he, under such advice, be less 
 liable to impeachment, while he certainly wouhl be less likely to deserve or incur it. 
 
 Your Committee regret to notice in his Excellency's answer to the city corporation, that 
 he charges them with " begging leave to name for him other individuals for the station" 
 (the Executive (Jouncil), because when so exalted a public t'unctionary as the representative 
 of His most Gracious Majesty is betrayed into misquotations or misrepresentations, mani- 
 festly not justified by the document from which they arc professed to be taken with candour 
 and truth, it is calculated to impair the weight and dignity of the high station, and induce 
 by its pernicious example a laxity on such subjects in the public morals; for it is plain the 
 City Council in their Address (,in tl'c Appendix marked D.) name no individuals, but leave 
 liis "Excellency in the free exercise of the Royal prerogative to select any suitable Coun- 
 cillors from the province at large. 
 
 In the same public document his Excellency further remarks, " The members of the late 
 Council rest their claims very nearly on the following grounds, that the responsibility they 
 assume, lieing a popular opinion daily increasing, is consequently the law of the land; 
 and, secondly, that though the powers they require are nowhere expressed in the Consti- 
 tutional Act, they were evidently intended to have been inserted." Yonr Committee are 
 obliged to report that the above extract, given as the grounds assumed by the late Council 
 in their represtntation, is neither candid nor warranted by facts. 
 
 The late Council plainly deducertlieir duiii ■■ from the 31st Geo. 3, even without reference 
 to the less desired, but not less forcible priiieiplcs of constitutional right and civil liberty. 
 How then can they be truly said to make the law of the land the consequence of popular 
 opinion, or that their powers wcie only intended to be inserted in the statute, when they 
 quote the statute in which the power;-, are actually inserted ? 
 
 In the answer to the citizens of Toronto, his Excellency says, " With respect to my late 
 Council, I regret, quite as much as you can do, their resignation ; but before they took the 
 oath of secrecy (which appears to my judgment to be an oath of non-responsibility to the 
 people) I addressed to them a note which clearly forewarned them, as follows: — ' I shall 
 reli/ oil your giving me ijoiir unbiassed opinion on all su/ijects respecting which I may feel it 
 adcimbic to require it.' '' 
 
 Your Committee here notice, 1st, an alleged regret, 2nd, an alleged arrangement. 
 
 It seems impossible to reconcile this alleged regret on the part of his Excellency at their 
 resignation with his own act obliging their, to resign. The late Council were called upon 
 " 1(1 retire from his confidence" if tlicy did not " retire from their principles ;" but they 
 could not retire from their principles, and were therefore obliged to retire from his confidence. 
 To |)ieseiit to the late Council a dishonourable condition upon which to remain in the King's 
 service, and then allege regrci at their tleclining that condition, by tenilering their resigna- 
 tion, obliges yonr Committee to report their belief, either that his Excellency really felt no 
 
 such 
 
AFFAIRS OF UPPER CANADA. 
 
 39 
 
 0111 • 
 
 DTiiinons 
 
 him 
 
 such regret as is alleged, or tiiat he did not feel the repugnance honourably expressed by Report ipfC 
 Mr. Baldwin " lo the al)aridonnient of principles Cor the sake of place." mittsc to Cn 
 
 2d. There is an alleged arrangement. Now jour Cununittec cannot but noticii a want Hoiiseol'Asocnibly, 
 of candour in this matter. The terms ''011 all subjects re3|)ecting which I may feel it 
 advisable to require it" (advice), are obviously indefinite, and could not, your Gominiltee 
 think, have been anticipated by any to mean " no advice at all." If his Excellency 
 intended the above as a mental reservation, enabling him to converl his Coimcil into ciphers 
 or mutes, he should not have coupled it with expressions implying the reverse ; for in the 
 letter from which this alleged arrangement is deducted, his Excellency iiasures them of his 
 " implicit confidence." Hut it appears to your (lommittee that the circumstanc(! of adding 
 three new councillors, with the assurance to them of his ■' implicit confidence," amounted to 
 an arrangement, a declaration of an intention to advise with them freely. " Implicit con- 
 fidence'' cannot be maintesled by placing iKMie; and when his Excellency's letter to Mr. 
 Baldwin was publicly read by a Member in both Houses of Parliament, no one construed it 
 to mean an arrangement not to consult the Council at all. Instead, therefore, of admitting 
 that the late Council, as alleged by his Excellency, " altogetlier in a body disputed the 
 arrangement," your Comniittte ccnisider that they hi. i rather cause to complain that the 
 arrangement was broken by him; for the detention of them three weeks unconsulted in the 
 Council in the most urgent season of business, was a palpable violation of the promise to 
 repose" implicit confidence." 
 
 In his reply to the same address he adds, "I shall consult thetii (the new Council) as 
 ■unreservedly as I had promised to consult those who have just resigned." This language 
 shows that " he had promised unreservedly lo cousidi his late Council," and such the public 
 universally understood to be the casi'. But as his Excellency accepted the services of the 
 late Council, and " with pleasure" promiseil to give iheni his " implicit confidence" and to 
 " consult iheni unreservedly," your Committee notice with pain llie inconsistency of such 
 declarations with the attempt to criminate tfie late Council by misre|)resenting them as 
 having first voluntarily entered into an opposite airaugement, and ihtti altogether in a body 
 disputed it. 
 
 Your Comtnittee addressed a letter on the subject to Mr. Robert Baldwin and Dr. Uolph, 
 both of whom thev have alro examined. (See Appendix marked F.) 
 
 From the letier and evidence your Committee collect that no " such arrangement" as is 
 alleged by his Excellency to have been " since disputed" ever was made, (" to give advice 
 oidy when required") ; that no such " forewarning" was given them, or professed to l)e given, 
 or expressed, or implied ; but on the contrary, that the Councillors were told that his Excel- 
 lency's doors were open for them to give advice on any subject at any time, that the letter 
 now construed by his Excellency into such a limitation, was not the same in words or sub- 
 stance as the one arranged ami promised 10 be given; that allkowj^k it is dated the dai/ befure 
 the Coiincillurs xere szcorii in, it uas mil delivered till afterwards, wlicn the changed i'eatuies 
 of the letier appear to have struck w ith surpi ise the persons to whom it was addressed, and 
 which letter, from motives of delicacy explained in the evidence, was not returned, as its 
 disingenuous application was not anticipated. 
 
 That the proposition out of which the Iftier grew was not made till the iiegociation was 
 over, and the tliree new Councillors attended, by previous desire 01 Ills Excellency, to receive 
 
 formal united invitation, and that it then originated not with his Ercellenci/, but with Mr. 
 Jialdwin. 
 
 The statement, therefore, of his Excellency, appears in the same discreditabli; light, as 
 the discrepancy between fiis denial to your llonourabic House of any agreement between 
 any members of the present Council respecting the contingent administration of the 
 government in case of the Lieutenant-Governor's death or absence from the province, and 
 the admission of the facts s<j denied by two of his present Councillors, Robert B. Sullivan, 
 Esq. and the Honourable Captain IJaldwin. Indeed it is, if possible, worse, because the 
 mistake is intended to criminate the late Council after tlieir tlisinissal. 
 
 Your Committee feel bound to notice one other of his Excellency's reasons, by which he 
 attempts to show that we would be ruined if we had the image and transcript of the British 
 Constitution impaited to us. His Excellency, when replying to tlie citizens of Toronto, 
 asks with apparent triumph," supposing it were to be argued that four-lif'ths of the mem- 
 bers of your House of Assembly ought immediately to be dismissed, because, in proportion 
 to the population of G'eal I5i ilain ..ud Ireland, there exists five limes as many members 
 here as in the English House of Commons, would you tiol think it very irrational that this 
 tioble but thinli/ peopled colony should be made the exact image and transcript of the Ihitish 
 Constitution merely because Colonel Simcoe happened lo use these words." &c. Without 
 remarking en the strange idea of his Excellency making the people of a colony into a con- 
 stitution, your Cor.i'nii;ee ',eg merely to give an extract from ific remarks of Lord Uren- 
 ville in the House of Lords in the illscuasioii on the passage of the Act 31st (Jeo. 3, as 
 a reply to ilie remarks of his Excellency, and the application: 
 
 " riiey did not mean to give Canada exactly the same Constitution, as for instance, 
 558 representaiives. That was impossible in the nature of things ; but their great object 
 had been lo adhere as nearly as possible to the purity and principles of the F^nglisli Consti- 
 tution in every part of the Bill." 
 
 His Lordship also said, " It was undoubtedly a mistake to suppose ihut any government 
 was free only as it approached lo democratic pri^iciples. Absolute monarchy, alisolule 
 aristocracy, absolute democracy, had, in the history of mankind, been tiied in ihe scale of 
 experience, aud had been found waiiiiug. Our own Coiisliluliou, which was compounded 
 
 39>- 
 
 £4 
 
 of 
 
40 
 
 PAPERS RELATIVE TO THE 
 
 
 Ill 
 
 ''■'HI i 
 
 I 
 
 f i 
 
 
 Report of Com- of iliese three, wns tlie first in tlie world, and the envy of every surrounding nation. It 
 
 niittcQ i()Comirions was for liiat nason liiat llity were now about to communicate tlie blessings of the Englisli 
 
 House of Atsembly. Consiituiion lo tlic subjects of Canada, because they were fully convinced that it was the 
 
 best in tlie world. 'I'lie Legislature of Canada consis'ted of three part representing that of 
 
 this country." 
 
 It is sai(i in the reply, that " in government, impartiality is better than knowledge, and it 
 niiist be evident to every well-constituted mind, liiai in an infant state of societyj it would 
 be impossible practically to secure a sufficient number of impartial persons to effect a 
 change of ministry as often as it might be necessary for the interests of the people to 
 do so." 
 
 Upon the truth of this maxim, "in government impartiality is better than knowledge," 
 your Committee forbear to olTer any extended commont ; biit they cannot conceal their 
 disgust at the oflensive manner in which it is applied against the moral ciiaracter of the 
 people of this province, lie appears to your Connnittee to have assumed the government 
 with most unhappy prejudices against the country; for he alleges, certainly with very 
 limited means of personal observation, that there is a lack o{'" impartial persons" to form 
 a new Council on any occasional change; and your Committee lament to hear that his 
 Excellency is surrounded by, and gives his credulous ear to, irresponsible and unworthy 
 advisers, who poison his mind against the moral and intellectual merits of the ])eople he is 
 appointed lo govern. In his reply to the address of the citizens, he expresses his estimate 
 of the knowledge and taste of the public by condescending to "plainer and more honiel\' 
 language" (and both plain and homely enough it i>) ; but besides thus reflecting upon 
 Canadian understandings, his Excellency further impeaches their good morals, by declaring 
 there are not " w;)r/rt/V// ;;c7'sohs" enough in the country to enable him to seek adequate 
 changes in the Council. It thus goes to England with the highest official authority, that 
 this is little better than a country of rogues and fouls. In Canada his Excellency, with the 
 temerity of a stranger and the assurance of an old inhabitant, presumes to testify that 
 there is not a sufficient number with heads and hearts yielding knowledge of impartiality 
 to aid the good management of our owt> local an(' internal affairs. Should the history of 
 tills colony be ever collected from the secret desf itches in Downing Street (of which we 
 have had frequent specimens), posterity will form a very erroneous iind unjust estimate of 
 the talent and virtues in the country ; low indeed are we placed in the scale of huinaa 
 nature. 
 
 While engaged in preparing this Report, the attention of the Committee has been sud- 
 denly called to the documents referred lo them on the 4th of April, respecting the erection 
 and endowment of parsonages throughout the province, and the exchanges of different 
 portions of the clergy reserves for other property, (which are hereto appended, marked P.) 
 
 From these documents it appears, that, within the past year fifty-seven rectories or par- 
 sonages, " according to the esiablisliment of the Church of England," have been constituted 
 in this province by the Government under the Great Seal of the province, and have been 
 endowed out of the clergy reserves, in each case varying in general from 400 to 800 acres 
 of highly valuable land, chiefly in old townships, and in some cases within towns. 
 
 To these rectories or parsonages ministers have been or are to be presented, as are their 
 successors in future, by the Government, and they are, according to the thirty-ninth clause 
 of the Constitutional Act, " to hold and enjoy the satne and all rights, profits and emolu- 
 ments thereunto belonging or granted, as fully and amply, and in the same manner, and on 
 the same terms and conditions, and liable to the performance of the same duties, as the 
 incumbent of a parsonage or rectory in England ;" and the next clause of the Act provides 
 for the exercise of" spiritual and ecclesiastical jurisdiction and authority," " according to 
 the laws and canons of the Church of England;" under which clause of course Ecclesias- 
 tical Courts will be established, as no others can fully exercise such "spiritual and eccle- 
 siastical jurisdiction." 
 
 Upon an examination of the instruments by which these rectories or parsonages are corr- 
 stituted, it appears that power is reserved to the Government of " hereafter erecting 
 and constituting one or more parsonages or rectories" within the respective townships in 
 which they are now by these instruments constituted. 
 
 According to the Act, the Governtnent ntay endow these parsonages "from time to time " 
 so that if the bold experiment succeeds wliich is now attempted, we may expect that the 
 present parsonages will receive further endowments, and tiiai the number of these par- 
 sonages will be multiplied amongst us beyond all present calculation. 
 
 It furtlier appears that different clergymen of the Churcii of England have received 
 from the Government, in exchange lor their own private property, large quantities of the 
 clergy reserves ; for instance, the Rev. James Coglan surrenders 36 acres of lands in the 
 township of Hope, with a messuage or dwelling-house, and receives in exchange 1,020 
 acres, 400 of which are in the township of Hope, 300 in Cavan, 100 in Emily, and 220 in 
 Seymour. 
 
 The Rev. Benjamin Cronyn surrenders four acres of land, with a dwelling-house, 
 outhouses, offices and buildings, and receives in excliane;e 1,892 acres, of which 1,396 are 
 situate in the township of London, and the remainder in Nissouri. 
 
 The Rev. Francis Evans surrenders 50 acres of n clergy reserve, and 50 acres in Wood- 
 Iiouse, without any house or building, and he receives 8ro acres in Walpole. 
 
 The Rev. Philip Meycrhoff'er surrenders the rear part of Lot No. 17, in the fifth con- 
 cession of Markbam, containing 70 acres, without any house or building, and he receives 
 Lot No. 10, in the same concession of the same townshii), containing; 2qo acres. 
 
 All 
 
 cor 
 
 int 
 coi 
 
 exj 
 
 thi 
 th( 
 cl( 
 
 IlU 
 
 J" 
 
 to 
 pc: 
 
 . 
 
AFFAIRS OF UPPER CANADA. 
 
 41 
 
 vc received 
 lilies of the 
 iiids in tlie 
 atige 1,020 
 and 2 20 in 
 
 All 
 
 All comment njinn such tiansaciions is stipnfliioiia. Piiit most astonishinir of all. Rear- Report of Com- 
 Adinir;!! \'iinsittarl has lic(n pcrniiltuil to siiarc in these u;oo(l things for the l)tuefit of the luiitee to Commons 
 chinch, and has rccuved in cxchance for a house, two acris and two lo of land in House of Assembly- 
 Blandlbid, and q6 acics in Oxford I'ast ; 3,690 acres of valuahic land! 
 
 The land thus conveyed to them in exchange hecoines their own |iro|)ert_v, and will not 
 belong to their successors. 
 
 And all these endowments, and all these grants in exchange for nicssuuges and lots of 
 land, are in addition to tiie large regular allowance that is annu dly [)aid to them by the 
 government out of jiublic moneys of the province, without the knowledge or consent of 
 the people and their representatives ! 
 
 'J'hus, in one year, in contempt of all our humble remonstrances and earnest protestations 
 against Chuieh Esiabhshmcnis and Governmer.t patronage of religious bodies, y//?(/-stUf;j 
 Goieriivictit Purwiis have been established in this province, and ..iidowed out of the 
 clergy reserves, established and endowed under the Great Seal lo give it peculiar solemnity, 
 and if possible to make it irrevocable. 
 
 In this way has the Government opened a new source of political influence and power, 
 and not only esiahlished a State Church amongst ns, with " spiritual and ecclesiastical 
 jurisdiction and authority," hut a Slate Church of which the Government is the universal 
 and sole |)atron, having the exclusive right of making the piesentations or appointments of 
 the ministers of these dillerent parsonages. 
 
 It is with dillicidly that the Committee suppress the strong feelings of disgust, indig- 
 nation and aslonishmcnt, which these practices and proceedings of the Government are 
 calculated to excite. 
 
 Year after year have the people of this province, and their representatives, been straining 
 every nerve to procure the appropiiation of the clergy reserves to some useful public 
 purposes, in which all His Majesty's subjects might impartially iind equally participate. 
 Year after year have they solemidy and indignantly protested against the establishment of 
 any State Church in this province. 'I'lie people, from one end of the province to the other, 
 again and again have petitioned the Provincial Parliament, the King, and the Imperial 
 Parliament on the subject. These petitions proceeded not only from tiie peo|)le indis- 
 criminately and repeatedly, but also from dillerent public bodies. The explicit and distinct 
 representation on this subject of the Methodist Conference, in 1S31, in their Address to His 
 Majesty, cainiot be forgotten, in;isiiiueh as it producetl a most oft'ensive reply from Sir John 
 Colhorne, which caused much excitement and dissatisfaction at the time; and inasmuch as 
 the obseivations containeil in the Address on the subjects of ap|)lying ])ublie funds to the 
 support of religious bodies or teachers, and of appropriating the clergy reserves to purposes 
 of general interest, were distinguished for wisdom and truth. 
 
 And so late ;is 18:52, petitions were transmitted to England, expressing similar sen- 
 timents on these subjects, subscribed by more than 18,000 oi' Ilis Alajesty's subjects in this 
 province. In fi.ci, all parties and all denominations on this matter have been agreed, and 
 nave so remained, with a unanimity and perseverance that is retdly surprising. 
 
 Equidly decided and uniform have been the exertions of your Honourable House to 
 effect the same object ; and this has been the case, not only when one party prevailed, but 
 also when its op|)outni had the ascendency. They htive repeatedly add.essed His Ma- 
 jesty; they have also repeatedly excneised the powers given to them by the Constitutional 
 Act, to repeal those parts of it which relate to the appropriation of the clergy reserves; 
 although these bills, like many otlurs ardently desired by the country, have been con- 
 temptuously rejected in the Legislative Coiuicil. So numerous and urgent have been these 
 representations to His Majesty's Government, that the appearance, at least, of a favourable 
 disposition on this subject was at length obtained iVom the Cabinet Minister. 
 
 In 1832, the House of Assembly were informed by his Excellency Sir John Colhorne, 
 in a message, dated 25th January 1832, that he had His Majesty's communds to make to it 
 the following communication : 
 
 " The representations which have at different times been made to His Majesty and His 
 Royal Predecessois, of the prejudice sustained by His faithful subjects in this province, 
 from the appropriation of the clergy reserves, have engaged His Majesty's most attentive 
 consideration. 
 
 " His Majesty has, with no less anxiety, considered how far such an appropriation of 
 territory is conducive either to the temporal welfare of the ministers of religioti in this 
 province, or to their spiritual influence. Bound no less by his personal feelings than by the 
 sacred obligations of that station to which Providence has called him to watch over the 
 interests of all the Protestant churches within his dominions. His Majesty could never 
 consent to abandon those interests, with a view to any objects of temporary and apparent 
 expediency. 
 
 " It has, therefore, been with peculiar satisfaction, that, in the result of his inquiries into 
 this oul)ject. His Majesty has found that the changes sought for by so large ii proportion of 
 the inhiibitiints of this province, may be carrieil into ell'ect without sacrilicing the just 
 claims of the Established Chuiehes of England and Scotland. The wa»te lands, which 
 have been set apart as a provision for the clergy ot those venerable bodies, have hitherto 
 yieldtd no disposable revenue. The period at which they might reasonably be expected 
 to become more productive is still remote. 
 
 " His Majesty has solid grounds lor entertaining the hope that, before the arrival of that 
 period, it may be found practicable to all'orti the clergy of those churches such a reasonable 
 
 391. F and 
 
42 
 
 PAPERS RELATIVE TO THE 
 
 1 
 
 n 
 
 Kcpori of Com- <""' mo'Ierate provision as may be necessary for enabling them properly to discharge tiieir 
 
 mittcc to Commons sacred functions. 
 
 Houstof Asuembly. " His Majesty, therefore, in«i7es the House of Assembly of Upper Canada to consider 
 how the powers qiven to the provincial I.ej^islature, by the Constitutional Act, to vary or 
 repeal this part of its provisions, can be called into exercise most advantageously for the 
 spiritual and temporal interests of His Majesty's faithful subjects in tiiis province." 
 
 Surely this was a pledge of no ordinary solemnity on the part of the Government not to 
 proceed in opposition to representations which had at different times been made to His 
 Majesty " by so large a proportion of the iidiabitants of this province." 
 
 To establish and endow these nctories, in opposition to these representations, was as 
 flagrant a violation of good faith as I'an well be imagined. 
 
 In Lord Glenelg's Instructions to his Excellency, it is distinctly intimated, that the 
 disposal and appropriation of the clergy reserves are to be left, for the present at least, to 
 the Legislature of the province. Under these circumstances, how can the ])roceedings of 
 the Government in the formation and eniiownient of these rectories, and the exchange of 
 land.< (evidently a system of jobs) be reconciled with a decent regard to good faith and 
 justice, to the interests of the province, or to the well-known and often declared wisiies 
 of the people? The reflections which such a question suggests are painful and inor- 
 
 Measures most deeply affecting the peace and happiness of tlie people, their opinions 
 and feelings, are adopted, not only without their consent, but in opposition to their known 
 and unanimous wishes. To continue our complaints seems equally wearisome and 
 useless. 
 
 Lord Gleuelg declares, in his Instructions to his Excellency, that" Parliamentary legis- 
 lation on any subject of exclusively internal concern, in any British colony possessing a 
 representative assembly, is, as a general rule, unconstitutional ; and that to withdraw from 
 the Canadian to the Imperial Legislature the question respecting the clergy reserves, would 
 be an infringement on that cardinal principle of colonial government which forbids 
 parliameniary interference, except in submission to an evident and well-established 
 necessity." 
 
 These are the professions of the Government, but what has been its conduct ? 
 
 In 1827, an Act was passed by the Imperial Parliament, without even a pretended 
 necessity, and without the consent or knowledge of the people of this province, or their 
 representatives, authorizing the sale of a part of the clergy reserves in this province (not 
 exceeding one-fourth), and withdrawing from the Canadian to the Imperial Legislature 
 the (juestion respecting the application of tiiese funds to other purposes than their original 
 object, such as the support of education, &c. 
 
 The same Act also authorizes the Government to accept in exchange for any part of the 
 clergy reserves, from any person, any lands of equal value. 
 
 Under this Act more than sixty -one thousand pounds, abstracted fiom the small amount 
 in circulation, to repay the hard-earnings of the people of this province, liave been raised 
 by the sale of land, and paid into the military chest, over and above all the expenses of selling 
 the lands, &c., as appears from the official statement of llie Hon. Peter Robinson, the 
 Commissioner appointed by the Crown for these sales ; an evil so great and palpable, that 
 it was foreseen and pointed out by the Uiglii Hon. Edward Ellice in 1828, who, in his 
 examination before the Committee of tlie House of Comntons on the Affairs of Canada, 
 after describing the general and deep feeling which exists in this province, about the appro- 
 priation of these reserves, says, •' Surely the framers of that Act must have overlooked the 
 additional objection of draining, from the small capital of the country, any part of it for 
 this invidious purpose." 
 
 Notwithstanding this cautinn, and although the law was a plain infringement of the 
 principles of our constitution, recognised and admitted by them, the present Ministry are 
 acting upon it, not only in selling these services, and " draining from the small capital of 
 the country for this invidious purpose, annually," a large sum, but also in making these 
 exchanges. 
 
 What practical commeiitaiy is this upon the professions of a Colonial Secretary! Did 
 the writer of Lord Glenelg's Instructions suppose titat the people of this province were 
 destitute of coininon sense and discernment? 
 
 Tiie whole of the transactions to which we have adverted, respecting the clergy reserves, 
 and the erection and endowment of parsonages, prove the necessity ot having a responsible 
 Government, and illustrate the importance of the great constitutional principles, for which 
 ilie people and their representatives for a long time, and the Executive Council more 
 recently, have been contending. 
 
 Your Committee [lave deemed it proper to notice this matter in the Report, as being a 
 true commentary on the effect and working of the system heretofore acted upon, and now 
 , clung to by his Excellency, as if his very existence depended upon it, and who unblush- 
 
 ingly declares, that without that system we are ruined, Now your Commiiiee would ask, 
 will any ninu pretend to say, that the endowing these parsonages was in accordance with 
 the feelings, wislies and interests of the people, or will they pretend to say that our Execu- 
 tive Council, possessing the confidence, and iiaving an identity of interest v'iih the great 
 body of the people, would have advised such a step? A few seasons more of as favourable 
 picking, and the remaining clergy reserves in the province will not be worth the asking, let 
 alone contending for. 
 
 Until 
 
lider 
 
 not to 
 to His 
 
 was as 
 
 hat the 
 '.;\-,t, to 
 dings of 
 ange of 
 th and 
 wishes 
 d mor- 
 
 Until 
 
 AFFAIRS OF UPPER CANADA. 
 
 43 
 
 / T'ntil the repirsentaiivc of tlie King in tiiis province shall he surrounded by advisers Ftpurt ol ( i.m- 
 sharing tiie views and possessing liic confidence of the people, and their representatives, Biittfu to (;i)niniiin!« 
 and shall freely and candidly and cordially consult tiiem upon the nlTairs of the {)rovince, House ul'Aiseinbly. 
 we must expect the same evils and the same grievances wliich have only increased from 
 year to year, amidst the complaints of the people and the promises and professions of the , 
 administration. The necessity of insisting upun a constitutional and responsible govern- 
 ment must be apparent to every candid man. 
 
 Your Honourable House lately addressed his Excellency on liic subject of a supposed 
 understanding or arrangement between two or more of the Members of ilie present Execu- 
 tive Council, as to the administration of the government in the event of his Lxeeliency'« 
 death, which Address and Answer are hereto appended, niaiked (K.); in which answer his 
 Excellency was pleased to intimate rather indignantly, that he knew of no such agree- 
 ment, and in fact that no document of such a nature existed, 'i'he Hon. Robert IJuldwin 
 Sullivan, the jiresiding Member of the Executive Council, and the Hon. Captain 
 Baldwin, however, informed the committee, as will appear by the minutes of their evi- 
 dence, marked (L.), hereto appended, that a paper had been signed, whereby Mr. Sullivan 
 liad declared his intention, in the event of hi> Excellency's death, not to administer the 
 government, although by the Hoyal Iiistriietions, in such a case, the administration would 
 devolve upon him, as presiding Councillor; but to resign his oflice, in order to avoid the 
 adn.inistration of the government, and that litis paper was not only in existence, but was drawn 
 np hij his Excellency himself in the Council Chamber, signed and delivered to .Mr. Allan 
 (the next senior member), in the presence of his Excellency and the whole Council. 
 
 The respect which your Committee feel for his Excellency's high office, '"orbids their 
 dwelling upon the mortifying subject of the contradiction between liis Excellency's 
 answer and those gentlemen's testimony; and they will oidy say, that it must of course 
 destroy all confidence in future in his Excellency's assertions, especially as his Excellency 
 retains Mr. Sullivan as his principal and confidential adviser, notwithstanding the evidence 
 So giv>.n by him. 
 
 jVeither do tiiey tliink it necessary to dwell upon this arratigemeni, to biirgain :iway, 
 contrary to the Royal Instructions, the future government of this province; for such it 
 evidently was, notwithstanding Mr. Sullivan's attempt and natural anxiety to cx|)lain it 
 away; an arrangement as unconstitutional and delusive as could have beeti proposed; 
 for, in the event of Sir Fraticis R. Head's death, the government would necessarily devolve 
 on the presiding eouucillor, and he eould not have resigned to any one but His Majesty. 
 To resign to !\is inferior would have been " a new theory." Neither could he have released 
 •limtelf from the government by refusing to take the oath of office. The Committee observe 
 that such an oaili i- not required by the 31st of the King or the King's Instructions, and at 
 all events the power to administer the government, in the event ol his Excellency's death, 
 docs not depend (Jii it, for if it did, we might be for a linie without a government; and if 
 one could decline taking an oaih, all might, and we might in such an alternative be left 
 without a government. An arrangement so inconsistent with the rights and honour of the 
 Crown, and with the safety and protection of tlie people, was probably never before 
 thought of in a British colony, and is a striking evidence of the strange notions entertained 
 by his Excellency and the present Council about our constitution. 
 
 In some of the old colonies, the people chose their own governors, but never before was 
 a successor to a governor then living chosen by tlie Council; that very Council who, in 
 liis Excellency's estimation, is siieh a mere ciphei, such a mute and irresponsible body. 
 
 To obtain a fuller elucidation of this humiliating subject, your Committee were desirous 
 of obtaining the further evidence of the Honourable Mesrss. Allan and Elmsley.and although 
 the Legislative Council, in compliance with the Address of your Honourable House, grau'e;! 
 permission to these honourable gentlemen to attend your Committee, yet they have refused 
 to do so, under excuse of some informality in addressing them; although in an executive 
 matter, so materially affecting their characters as councillors, your Committee had hoped 
 all miimr considerations v\ould have been discarded. But Mr. Sullivan's statement needs 
 no confirmation, and the participation of the others in this singular and unconstitutional 
 proceeding reiiiains uuccntradietcd, with an op|)ortuniiy afforded thein, if innocent, of 
 exculpation. This cond.ict jusiif :s, in point of fact, the declaration by your Honourable 
 House of an entire want of confuience in the present Executive Council, communicated 
 by adtlress to His Excellency. It is to your Committee a matter of profound regret that 
 when his Excellency was surrounded by the late Council, with every means of conducting 
 his administration in a manner etiicient and satisfactory, calculated to allay all existing 
 discontent, and preserve the |)eace, welfare and good government of the province, he 
 should so hastily, rashly and wantonly disappoint public expectation, and till the province 
 with greater distress and apprehension than ever prevailed from the alien question. 
 
 Your Committee, while on tlii< humiliating subject, (eel bound also to remark on the 
 ositive contradiction between t ■ ■ evidence of the honourable Mr. Sullivan and the 
 Kmourable Captain Baldwin, ai, lelerence thereto will prove; while Mr. Sullivan ex- 
 pressly affirms that the writing was diaw'i up solely at his own request, Captain Baldwin 
 stated that it was at the suggestion of the Honourable Mr. Ehnsley. 
 
 The Committee beg leave also to remind your Honourable House again of your Address 
 to His Majesty during the last Session, hereunto appended, marked (H.), respectfully but 
 earnestly urging that the principles of the British Constitution, respecting the advisers and ( 
 confidential officers of the Government in this province, might be cnforceil, and intimating ' 
 an intention on the part of the House, if these just and reasonable wishes \vei«? longer dis- ' 
 
 391. F 2 regarded. 
 
 I 
 
 ,* 
 
44 
 
 PAPERS IlELATHE TO THE 
 
 I 
 
 Report of (Com- 
 mittee to Commons 
 House of Assembly. 
 
 'j: 
 
 I rc^nrdcd, to wiililiold the su|)|ilie3 from n governnicMit conducted in sncli n innnncr and by 
 i such oiHccis. Your lldnoiirahk' Iloiisp Ims ili-tinctly but rcspccifiiily dechucd to his 
 Excclliiioy its rogrct at llie icmoval of llie laic Ivxi'diiivc Council, and its entire want ol" 
 fonfideiiee of the present members of it, and lias liinnl>ly re<inesie(l liiin to lake innnediate ' 
 steps for llieir removal. Nevertheless llicy are rt tained, and the wishes of llie represen- 
 tatives of the people, constitntionally expressed, arc disregarded. No alternative is left to 
 the House, in the ojiiiiioii of the Cominiitce, but to abandon their privileges and honour, 
 and to betray their duties and the rights of the jieople, or to withhold the supplies ; the 
 constitutional right of which is clearly acknowledged in Lord Henley's despatch, and also . 
 in his Excellency's reply to ihc laie Council ; and in ihe language of Lord Staidey, on the 
 very subject of procuring a removal of advisers in this province, '* it is the constitutional 
 mode of enforcing our wishes." All thai we have done will otherwise be deemed an idle 
 bravado, contemptible in itself, and disgraeciul to the House, and ahhough, in consequence 
 of the law granting a perpelual Civil List, w liich was obtained by Sir John Colborne's with- 
 holding a ilespaieh that he had been directed to eommiinicaie to the Legislature, showing 
 tliat llie governnicnl only wanted the grant (or seven years, or during the life of the King, 
 which act received the apfiiobation of His Majesty's (jovcrinnent, tlie refusal of the sup- 
 ))lies cannot have its just constitutional influence, yet it will testify the feeling and the 
 determination of the House more forcibly to His Majesty's Government, and will avail more 
 than any thing else. It becomes the more necessary when it is observed that Lord Glenelg , 
 assumes in his Instructions to his Excellency, that until the last Session there generally / 
 "subsisted a spirit of amicable co-operation between the Executive Government and the) 
 Legisluture ;" although so far from any such harmony subsisting, the majority of the i 
 House of Assembly, in both the ninth and tenth I'arliaments, were denounced by the adhe- ; 
 rents of the provincial Administration in unmeasured terms of abuse, and were represented j 
 as being o|)posed with even indiscriminate hostility to the arrangements and institutions of I 
 the Government. I 
 
 Your Committee, therefore, distinctly recommend to your Honourable House to with- 
 hold the annual supplies. 
 
 His Excellency, in answer to the Address of your Honourable House respecting the pre- 
 sent Executive Council, observes, " 1 might say that I had hoped the House would have 
 refrained from any such decided expression of its opinion on the subject until it had 
 received the Report of the Committee to whom the subject was referred, and for whom the 
 Government office is now occupied in furnishing the documentary evidence they desire; 
 but I am tinwilling to discuss the (juestion." 
 
 Your Committee hope there is not now, and never will be hereafter, another such a direct 
 and violent breach of the privileges of tiie Commons' House of Assembly; indeed, the 
 assumption of jiower to chide the whole House for not awaiting a report from a select com- 
 mittee, can meet with a parallel only in the very worst periods of English history. Surely 
 such conduct was ntver intended, and will never be countenanced by the British Govern- 
 ro'' Observing the marked forbearance of your Honouraule House, your Committee 
 
 di ,ss this painful and huniilialing subject, simply referring to the recent case of u similar 
 nature in Jamaica, whieli is set forth in the following coniniunication to Ills Excellency the 
 Governor of that island, during its last session. 
 
 " May it please your Excellency, 
 
 "We are ordered by the House to wait on your Excellency with the accompanying 
 resolutions, which have been agreed unto by the House : — 
 
 " 1. Resolved, That tlie first message of his Excellency the Lieutenant-Governor, of yes- 
 terday, is a direct breach of the privileges of this House, inasmuch as the subject-matter of 
 that message was then pending between the other branches ol'the Legislature. 
 
 "2. Resolved, That this House cannot, consistently with its own dignity, or with due 
 regard to its own riglits and privileges, which are the firmest bulwarks of tlie liberties, 
 franchises and immunities of the people, proceed to do any other business until reparation 
 shall be made for this breach of privilege." 
 
 This, your Committee conceive, is a just illustration of the resentment which such conduct 
 deserves, and generally receives. 
 
 The attention of your Committee has been recently drawn to a political address from the 
 grand jury at the present assizes in this city to his Excellency, and his Excellency's answer. 
 (See certified Copies in the A|)pendix, marked U.) This grand jury, selected by Mr. Sheriff 
 Jarvis, holding ofHce during the pleasure of Sir Francis Head, style themselves " Grand 
 3utoTs representing the Home District !" There is no known law or constitutional usage 
 under which the above gentlemen can claim the representative character; and it has ever 
 been a subject of grievance and regret that the Executive Government have gi'-en a coun- 
 tenance to the political pretensions and sycophantic offerings of grand juries in thiscountry. 
 While they mix up with their judicial duties the party feelings of the day, and present to 
 the Lieutenant-Governor, with evident acci'ptabiliiy, their |)olitical oblations, there can be 
 no prospect of that cool, dispassionate and impartial contluct towards all classes of the 
 people, required by their oath, and prescribed by the law. The mixture of such matters in 
 the public ordinances of religion, or in the public administration of criminal jusiice, must 
 be revolting to every " jic/l-constituted mind," and is certain to eontaiuinaie what the dearest 
 interests of society require to be pure and untainted. The imposition of political duties 
 upon the Chief Justice as Speaker of the Legislative Council, against the repeated remon- 
 strances of the people and their representatives, ia felt to be itself a practical evil, and has 
 
 no 
 
I 
 
 AFFAIRS OF I IM'Ell CANADA. 
 
 4.5 
 
 led > 
 of 
 
 mduct 
 
 m the 
 iswer. 
 lierifF 
 J rand 
 usage 
 ever 
 coun- 
 nntry. 
 tilt to 
 an be 
 )f the 
 
 Iers in 
 must 
 carest 
 duties 
 ?inon- 
 id has 
 no 
 
 no doubt also rontiiljulcd to drstroy tlint decorum in other branehes of the Juilieiary, which Ilcporl of Cnni» 
 might tilherwii-e kiep them aloof iVoui vohir.lniiiy hieii(hii^ |'»rly |)ohlies wilh ihe (hilies of niitf'e In ("numioM 
 llic grand jury room. \\ ilh the grand Jury originate inchelments for tilleged pohtieal House of Assembly, 
 otViiu-es, and the practice of tampering witli tiieir own eoiiscienee,-. by inflaming tiieniselvcs 
 villi sucii unsea^onabU- discussions, is culcuhitcd to revive the sccnc!> acted in the adminis- 
 tralion of Sir l\ JMaitland. 
 
 It is a striking fact, that the foreman of iliis grtmd jury, selected by Mr. Siierifl" Jarvis, is 
 n military gentieniap on full pay, on a temporary leave of abjenee, and wiio, aliliongh a son 
 of the late Dr. Macaulay, is personally known only to a (I'W as an occasional visitor from 
 iniliiary service. Your Commitlce, witliont memiing anv pirsoiud rellei'iion upon that gen- 
 tleman, caiiiiol but remark upon the condiiei of Mr. Sheiilf .larvis in making such a selec- 
 tion, which appears to have been done to second the avowed inleiitions of the Lieutenunt- 
 Uovernor to n|>poinl him Surviyoi-Cieneral, with the further plan of introducing him into 
 the Legislative and Executive Councils. The same gentleman, it a|)pears, has recently pre- 
 sided at |iolilieal meetings in this city; and, as a military man, he seems anconscicjus of the 
 imi)ro|)riety of re-aciing the same scenes in the sphere of a grand juror. 
 
 llis Bxcclleiiey's answer welcomes the adulation of the grand Jury, and outstepping the 
 limits of the Address, he descants against " the ignominious tyr.'iiiny" of the Executive 
 Council of the province, which he styles " a secret Metropolitan Cabinet;" thus deriding 
 and vilifying the institutions of the country, while in obvit)Us allusion to those who tlitfer 
 from liim upon this " great constitutional (|uestioii,"he boasts of having " repelled eiicmivs.'' 
 Affairs assume a serious character when the representative of His Majesty arrays against 
 himself as " enemies" whom he has " repelled," the great body of the ])cople, who have loi)t» 
 sou,<2lit for a better constituted and more elHcienl Executive Council for the practical ends 
 of government. 'JIksc hostile and inimical feelings indulged by his Excellency against so 
 numerous a class of the coiliinuiiily, blast all our hopes of that impartial and conciliatory 
 policy and constitutional system which have been promised by the Uritish (iovernnient. 
 
 The Couimitlec have been obliged unavoidably, iliougli reluctantly, to extend their Re- 
 port to a great, perhaps an inconvenient, length. They think the sul)Ject one of vital 
 niterest, and the present era an all-important crisis in our affairs. The despotic unconsti- 
 tutional principles announced and defended by Sir Francis Bond Headland his avowed 
 determination to adhere to them ; the tyraiiiiieal and unjust conduct |)ursued by him 
 towards the late Council, the bitterness of feeling which he is known to entertain towards 
 all who think it their duty to oppose him ; the intention which his public acts evince to 
 perpetuate and aggravate the system, and lo cheriah and favour the party, so nuich com- 
 plained of, yet so much fostereil, under his predecessor, destroy all hope that his adminis- 
 tration of the government can be just, satisfactory or useful to the country, or conducive to 
 the honour and interests of the Crown, and make it, in the opinion of the Committee, a 
 necessary though most painful duty on the part of your Honourable House, respectfully 
 but most earnestly to |)ray that llis Majesty's Government will seriously consiilerour situa- 
 tion, and afford us such relief as the exigency of the case requires. Kespect for the Crown 
 requires that this object sliouki be sought in the ordinary way, liy an address to His 
 Majesty only ; but considering the usual manner in which our re|)resentations have been 
 viewed and treated at the Colonial Ollice, v,e recommend that a Memorial should be also 
 addressed by your Honourable House to the House of Coniinons; n body who understand 
 and feel the value and importance of those principles for wliich we are contending. The 
 Committee have prepared an Address to the King and a Memorial to the House of Coui- 
 mons in conformity wilh these views, which they beg leave most respectfully U, submit 
 herewith; and recommend that a copy of this Report, with tlie Appendix and Memorial 
 to the House of Commons, be presented lo his Excellency with the Address, and a request 
 that he will be most giaciously pleased to transmit the same lo His most Gracious Majesty 
 the King. 
 
 They submit the whole with a deep and solemn sense of the great responsibility which . 
 now rests upon the House of Assembly. The stale of our public affairs, apparenllv growine 
 worse insiead of being improved; the dissatisfaction and anxieiy of the people; the deter- 
 mination of the Government to defend and enforce arbitrary principles, and to oppose the 
 application and llie operalion in this province of acknowledged and essential principles of 
 the British Constitution, and the comparisons which are every day made beiween our con- 1 
 dilion on ihe one hand, and on the other hand the prosperity of all classes, the aclivity of \ 
 business, and the improvements of all kinds in the adjacent couniry, are considerations 1 
 
 ! which cannot he disregarded. Blessed wilh a fine and healthy climate, a productive soil, ' 
 unequalled natural facilities for internal couimunieation, and an industrious and enterprising 
 population, wc ought to see the country flourish and improve at least as much, and the 
 people as happy, prosperous and contended under the Uriii^h Coiistiiniion (if we were per- { 
 
 I milled to enjoy it in its full and beneficial operation), as could be realised under a different ' 
 
 j form of governmenl. 
 
 The Commiitee arc not willing to believe the contrary; but that a system which has long 
 rendered unavailing the natural aiidvantages of ihe country and paralyzed its youthful ener- 
 gies, should now oT a sudden prodi;ce eontriiry eflecls, is not to be expected. 
 
 Great as is the constitutional question for which the couniry contends, it is simple in its \ 
 nature. We have, under the 31 si Geo. 3, an Executive Council, const i luted by theUoval In- j 
 structions; this Executive Council we desire to see discharging the duties belongiii"- to | 
 such a Council; as it is >''e duty of Parliament lo legislate, so it is the dutyOt the 
 Executive Council to advise. It has been simply proposed that our public atfulis should 
 391. F3 pass 
 
 iBi 
 
I 
 
 46 
 
 PAPERS RELATIVE TO THE 
 
 Report nf Com- 
 mittee tn Commons 
 House of Assembly 
 
 pass under iheir review prcpurntory to tlie final and discretionary aciion of the (lovernor 
 upon tlicm ; and assuredly the people, upon whose iifliiirs and highebt interests iho advice 
 is given, should be allowed to see the representative of the King surrounded by men alike/ 
 possessing iiis confidence and tiiat of the country. ; 
 
 The great question now before your lluuourable House and the country, is not whether 
 
 I we are to luivc the constitution and form of govcrniuent of the United States introducctl 
 and eslabjislied among us, but it i; simply wheliier we (His Majesty's subjects in Upper 
 Canada) shall enjoy acknowledged pinciples of the British Constitution. 
 \ Whether we shall have the same rights and privilege^* that are enjoyed by our fellow 
 subjects in the United Kingdom, and which has always heretofore been admiite din theory. 
 but denied in practice ? 
 
 Whether the advisers of the Lieutenant-Governor, the Executive Council, are to be gcn- 
 
 whoin they are sworn to serve as well as His Majesty, or to be persons unknown, unsworii 
 and irresponsible, and consequently under no restraint or accoutitability for the advice they 
 give, or means (honourable or dishonourable) they use to accomplish their cuds f 
 
 If we liave at the head of our local affairs, not a representative of the King, but a mere 
 minister, culpable for all misdoings in our government, there is no reason why he should 
 longer be held (as heretofore) above the law of the land. If, on the one hand, we ask for 
 the benficial operation of the Executive Council, the answer is, " I am onlj in the place of 
 a minister, answeiable for my own acts and iliose of my Council into the bargain." And 
 when, on the other hand, you desire to proceed against him for any wrong, the character 
 is shifted from a mere minister into a representative of the King, who can do no wrong, 
 and is above all law. One day he is a minister in order to assume power and act wrong- 
 fully; another day he is the representative of the King, to oust the courts of justice of 
 their jurisdiction ; he assi les one character for licence, ••\m\ another (or defence. 
 
 Your Committee desire to remark, that our other institutions have often in limes past 
 been subjected, like the Executive Council, to similar attempts to cripple or abridge their 
 constitutional rights and character. Your Honourable House was at one time denied the 
 privilege which necessarily and constitutionally appertains to I'arliainent, viz., the right 
 to inquire into public abuses; and they were not established on their present broad, firm 
 and acknowledged basis, without appeals to England and litigation in our courts of law. 
 During the ninth Parliament, occurred the arbitrary outrage upon the rights and property 
 of Mr. Forsyth, by Governor Maitland, with military force, under the legal advice of the 
 Attorney-General (since promoted to the Chief-Justiceship of this province), atid supposed 
 to have been under the advice of the then Executive Council. This flagrant wrong became 
 the subject of inquiry before a Committee of your Honourable House ; and Messrs. Givens 
 and Coffin were attempted to be sustained by Governor Maitland in their refusal to obey a 
 summons to give evidence ; in fact they had his express orders not to attend. Thus, in 
 illustration of the alleged sufficiency of Downing-street responsibility by Governors, it 
 appears tliat an outrage is pepelrated first, and then Executive uuihority, influence and 
 power exerted to prevent investigation. Nor was lliis all; lor Sir P. Maitland further 
 tried to poison what justice might be expected from His Majesty, by writing a secret 
 culumniating despatch, giving a bad character to Mr. Forsyth, and traducing as factious 
 the Assembly that interposed in his behalf. The ninth Parliament proceeded to the arrest 
 and imprisonment of the refractory officials; and although Sir George Murray, then Prin- 
 cipal Secretary of State for the Colonies, rebuked Sir P. Maitland lor his long and artful 
 despatch against our Parliamentary privileges, yet he was never disgraced or punished ; 
 and even in the tenth Parliament the Attorney-General (since Chief Justice of Newfound- 
 land) reacted the same dispute of the privileges of the provincial Parliament ; and it was 
 not until the present Speaker of your Honourable House was prosecuted for his warrant, 
 and that an adjudication of the Court of King's Bench, after elaborate argument, had placed 
 the question out of the reach of further denial, that the right was acknowledged. When 
 therefore it is considered with what trouble and vexation, and against what Executive 
 influence and culuinny llie privileges of Par'iament have been asserted and maintained, it 
 is less surprising that the constitutional duties and functions of the Executive should 
 facliousiy be denied. The privileges of Parliament were not more obvious and certain, or 
 more iinportant than the duties and functions of the Executive Council for the peace, 
 welfare and good govertiment of the country ; and it only needs, on the part of the people 
 and their representatives, the same firm and constitutional exertions to ensure the same 
 success in the present all-important contest. 
 
 All which is respectfully submitted. 
 
 Committee Room, House of Assembly,"! 
 14 April 1836. / 
 
 (Truly extracted.) 
 
 (signed) Feter Perry, Chairman. 
 !/'. D. Morrison, 
 John P. Roblin. 
 Hiram Norton. 
 Charles Duncombe. 
 
 James FiUgtbbon, 
 
 Clerk of Assembly. . 
 
 mm 
 
AFFAIRS OF UPPER CANADA. 
 
 47 
 
 uceu 
 
 APPENDIX. 
 
 SCHEUULL', of Documents forming Appendix tu Report. 
 
 (A.) Rf.pp.b»ent.«tiok of Executive Council to LieutPnant-liovernor, 4tli March i8n6 . p, 4s 
 (B.) Reply thereto, 5tii Murch 1836 -•-.-.,.,„.„ 
 
 (C.) Robert Baldwin's Letter to Peter Perry, 161I1 March 1836, with Copies annexed of N.tefrom 
 Lieutcnant-Covi'riior to Robert Baldwin, 19th February, and lattei's receipt thereof, 
 20tli February -•.... ....,.pr> 
 
 (D.) AddressfromCommonCounciltoLieutenant-Governor, and His l':xcellency'8 Reply therein, p.55 
 
 (E.) Address from Pn.blic Meeting, Toronto, Q5th March, and His Excellency's Reply . p. 56 
 
 (T.) '1 lie King's Instructions •••-.....,,,-f, 
 
 (G.) Oath taken by Executive Council • . .. . . . . . - p, 60 
 
 (H.) Address from House of Assembly to the King on the subject of Legislative Couii«il anu 
 responsible Governments, 15th April 1835 p, (jg 
 
 (I.) Address from House of Assembly to the King, against Interference with our Local Affairs, 
 ad March 1834 p_ ^, 
 
 (K.) Address of House of Assembly to Lieutenant-Governor on Subject of an Agreement between 
 New Councillors as to Seniority in certain Events, and His Excellency's Reply - p. 72 
 
 (L.) Evidence given before Select Committee of House of Assembly by R. Baldwin Sullivan, Esq., 
 28th March 1836, and Honourable Augustus Baldwin, nth Apiil 1836 - - p. 72 
 
 (M.) rtddress, House of Assembly to Lieutenant-Governor, on the Subject of the Resignation of 
 Executive Council, I4ih March, and His Excellency's Reply thereto - . - p- 73 
 
 (O.) Address, House of Assembly to Lieutenant-Governor, to remove the New E.xecutive Council 
 from Oflice, and His Excellency's Reply thereto, March 1836 - . . - p. 74 
 
 (P.) Schedule of late Endowments of Parsonages and Rectories in this Province, 5th I'ebruary 
 •^3*^^ p.7.5 
 
 (R.) Letter from J. Joseph, Private Secretary, to P. Perry, Es.j., on Subject of Rejoinder from 
 Citizens, 4tli April 1836 -p. 79 
 
 (S.) Rejoinder from Citizens of Toronto to the Reply of Lieutenant-Governor {see E.) to their 
 Address of asth March „-„ 
 
 (T.) Letter from Robert Baldwin, Esq. to Peter Perry, Esq., relative to His Excellency's Remarks 
 to the City Corporation, 12th April 1836, and Evidence of Robert Baldwin, Esq. and 
 Doctor Rolph ------------n. 84 
 
 (U.) Address from the Graml .lury to the Lieutenant-Governor, and His Excellency's Reply p. 86 
 
 391 
 
 f 4 
 
48 
 
 PAPERS HELATIVE TO THE 
 
 Appcnclix. 
 
 l{eprci»niuti(>ti of 
 KxaniitiiiiK Council 
 to l,k'ut-(ii)Vfriior. 
 
 (A.) 
 
 TO Hi« I'xci'llcticv ^if Francis lluml Iliad, Ktii^lit Cotnmnixkr ot'tlio Uoyiil I 
 vciiiir (iiiil|iliic OkIci', Kni^lit i)ttlic I'riis>iiiii Miliiary Order of ISlcrit, Lieiitc: 
 Govi.nior ut the I'luviiicc ul Upper Caiiiuin, t!(u. tk.c. Sic. 
 
 lllllU- 
 
 nani- 
 
 hv I 
 
 Miiy it [ilcasc Your Kxcclli'iicvi 
 
 E.M'ciitivr Coiincil Clinmbcrat Toronto, 
 I'riday, 4 IMnrcli iH;)6. 
 
 THI'^ Executive Council, impressed wilii tiic oath liiey have taken to discharge the 
 duties necessarily resuliinn (loni their appoiiuinent " to ailvinc the Khig and his represen- 
 tative in the government of this province," in the terms of the Consiituiional Act, "upon 
 the affairs of the province," deem it incinnhent iipun them most lespeetlully to submit the 
 following representation ; — 
 
 The Executive Council recognize the truth of the opinion expressed by Lord Gleneig, 
 tiiat " till' inesent is an era of more difliculty and importance than any which has hitherto 
 occurred in the history of this part ot (]is Nlajesly's dominions." 'i'his unhappy condiiion 
 tliey ascribe, in a very great degree, to the hitlierlo miconstitutional abridgement ol' ihe 
 duties of the I'^xccullve Council. It appears from the proceedings of the Mouse of 
 Asseiiibly and from the reiiera'ion of established opinion in the country, that neither will 
 public expectation l)e saiisfied, nor contentment be restored, until the system of local 
 government is altereii and conducted according to the true spirit and meaning of the Con- 
 stitutional Act. The delay of this just and indispensable course has ahea'ly excited in the 
 great mass of the people a lann niable je.'dousy and distrust, and has also induced the dis- 
 cussion of conslitniional clu.nges; the desire lor wiiieh, unless speedily arrested, by atfordinj; 
 the unrestricted operation of the 31st Oeo. 3, c. 31, will not only become more fixed, but 
 rapidly increase to a greater and irretrievable extent. 
 
 The policy and measures wiiich have led to the present condition, seldom passed under 
 the review of the Executive Council, or were subn)itied for their advice. Nevertheless, its 
 members have been undeservedly subjected to the heaviest rcpioneh throughout the coiuitry, 
 from a prevalent belief that they have been called upon to I'uKii the duty imposed upon them 
 by the Constitution, as advisers upon public alfairs. Hut amidst the obloquy thus thrown 
 upon them, they have studiously avoided any aitern|)t at exculpation, by disavowing in their 
 defence any participation in the conduct of the ali'airs which they were erroneously sup- 
 posed to have approved. Tiie C()nse(|uence of this silent endurance of |)olitical odium, has 
 beer '■'■ perpetuation of the misiielief that the Executive Council are conversant witii the 
 aff -■ province, upon which they are appointed to advise; and although an opposite 
 
 » i generally prevailed between former Lieutenant-Governors and their Council, 
 
 i ever been notoriously contrary to the stale of things presumed by the community 
 ,sl. 
 
 x'ublic opinion respecting the Executive Council and their duties, has been founded upon 
 the terms of the 31SI (jeo. 3, c. 31, to which statute the peojile used to express a firm 
 attachment; an atiaelunenl which the Council believe never would have been impaired had 
 the Constitution been administered either aeeoriling to its letter or its s|)irit. 
 
 In several clauses of 31 Geo. 3. c. 31. the Executive Council is mentioned in general 
 terms. In the 34tii clause the terms are, " together with such Executive Council as shall 
 be appointed by His iMajesly for ilie aflairs of such |)rovince;" and not as it would other- 
 wise have been expres^ed, " together with such Executive Council as sliall be appointed by 
 His Majesty ybr t/iat piiipnse." In the 38th clause the terms are, " with the advice of such 
 Executive Council as shall have been ap[)ointe(l by ills Majesty, his heirs or successors, 
 within such province, for the affairs thereof;" and not, as it would otherwise have been 
 expressed, " with the aiivicc of such Executive Council as shall have been appointed by 
 His Majesty, his heirs or successors, within the province, /rjc t/ia/ purpose." 
 
 The same mav be said of similar terms used in the latter part of the seventh clause. 
 
 With resp ) which clauses it may be further remarked, tiiat had it been contem- 
 
 ])lated that ti Executive Council were to act only in the matters therein specified, the 
 words " on the affairs of such |irovince" might have been omitted, without in the least 
 impairing the legal effect. In the construction, therefore- of this statute, tiie above 
 expression cannot be treated as surplusage, but must be taken to impose the duty whicii it 
 imports. 
 
 From the latiguage of this statute, therefore, it appears, 
 First. That there is an Executive Council. 
 Second. That they are appointed by tiie King. 
 
 Thirfl. That they arc appointed to advise the King and his representative upon 
 " flie affairs of lite province ;" no particular affairs are specified ; no limitation to any 
 particular time or subject. 
 
 As the Constitutional Act prescribes to the Council the latitude of "the affairs of t!>e pro- 
 vince," it requires an equal authority of law to nariow those limits, or relieve the Council 
 from a co-extensivc duty. 
 
 Every representative of the King, upon arriving from England to assume the government 
 of this country, is necessarily a stranger to it, and the law his provided for a local Council 
 as a source of advice, wiiich when given, is followed or not aec(uciing to his discretion. 
 
 In certam eases specified in the 38di clause of ilie 31st Geo. 3. c. 31. the concurrence of 
 the Council is required to give effect to certain Executive acts. But these exceptions 
 
 prove 
 
 in 
 
 tut 
 
 rep 
 
 as 
 
 wh 
 
 dev 
 
 ren 
 
 eve 
 
 Ho 
 
 in 
 
 of 
 
 coll 
 
AFFAinS OF rpPER CANADA. 
 
 49 
 
 upon 
 a lirin 
 
 jcl had 
 
 prove ilic j»ciu'rnl rulf, viz., llmt wliik; llie advice is to be given upon ilic ufTaiis of tlie pro- Appendix, 
 
 vince generally, it is only in tlic particular ciiscs that it must liaruioni/c wiili liic pleasure of — .- 
 
 the Crown, to give that pleasure etVect. Indeed, if the law could he construed to limit the llrprcscnlation of 
 advice to the particular cases, it would follow that the Councd could not legally and consli- Kxcoutivc Council 
 tutionally advise upon any otheis; a proposition which, hesidis its manifest repugnance to '" 'Jeut.-Govcrnor. 
 the terms of the Ael, is contrary to received opinion and usage. 
 
 Hut while the (/"(institution has assjiijiitd to ihe Council this duly, it is only to n very 
 suhoi'dinate and limited extent llial they have lierelolbre had an opporliinily alVorded them 
 to perforin it. It is siihinitted, (hat the exigency of the statute can only he answcMcil by 
 allowing ihe affairs of the province to puss uiuler ilieir n view lor such advice as their con- 
 sciences may suggest, preparatory to tlic tinal and discretionary action of the King's repre- 
 sentative u|ion those atfairs. 
 
 'Ihe Council nuciing once a we<?k upcui land matters, while the afl'airs of the i;onnfry uro 
 withheld from their consideration and advice, is as iinpcrfeci a fulfilment of the Constilu- 
 lionnl Act as if the I'rovincial Parliament were summoudl once a year, to meet the letter 
 of the law, and immediately prorogued upon answering the speech from the throne. In 
 both cast's the true nuaning and spirit of the Conslituiional Act require, that the I'arlia- 
 nient sluiuld have a general and practicable opportiiniiy to legislate, and the I'lxccutive 
 Council to advise, upon the alTairs of the conntrv. In the former case, the representative 
 of the King can wiihhold the royal asjent from Uills, and in the latter, reject ihc advice 
 ottered ; hut their respective proceedings ciumot he conaiitntionally circumsci ihed or denied 
 because they need the expression of the royal pleasure thereon for their consummation, 
 
 The extent and importance of the nfTairs of the country have necessarily increased with 
 its po|)ulation, wealth and comuieree, and the Constitution has anticipat((l the diflieulty, 
 by a division of latiour and Jesp(nisibility from the active attention of the Executive 
 Council to their duties. With the exception of those matters of so weighty or gene- 
 ral a character as not properly to fall under any particular department, and therefore 
 fitted for the deliberation of the Council collectively, it is recommended, that the 
 iitt'airs of the province be distributed into departments, to the heads of which shall l>c 
 referred such matters as obviously a|>periaiii to them respectively. Upon this princij)le 
 (recognised by the existing Constitution of this province and of the mother country) 
 the people have long .-md anxiously sought fur the administration of their government 
 under the rcprcsentaiive of the King; and the Council most respectfully,' but at the same 
 time earnestly reptesent, that public opinion upon the subject is so fixed, and becoming sp 
 impatient, as to preclude the possibility of denying or delaying the measure, without 
 increasing public dissatisfaction, and leading to the final adoption of other views, as already 
 too universally manifested, uncongenial to the genius of the Constitution, and most danger- 
 ous to the connexion with the parent State. 
 
 The remedy, it is feared, is now proposed too late for all the advantage desired ; but the 
 longer it is withheld, the more alienated and irreconcilable will the |)ul)lic mind become. 
 The present comparative calm and thankfulness arise from a belief that the Council will 
 second this exigency, in establishing a system of goverinnent according to tlie principles 
 recognised by the Charter of the liberties of the country — an expectation which the 
 Councd arc most anxious to realize. 
 
 Should such a course not be deemed wise or admissible by the Lieutenant-Governor, the 
 Council most respectfully pray that they may be allowed to tlisabuse the public from a 
 misapprehension of the nature and extent of the duties confided to them. 
 
 (signed) 
 
 Peter Jiol/inwit. 
 fj'eori^e H. Markland. 
 Joseph II ells. 
 John II. Dunn. 
 Robert lialdwin, 
 John liolph. 
 
 tlie pro- 
 Council 
 
 rernmcnt 
 Council 
 
 (B.) 
 
 REPLY of His Excellency the Lieutenant-Governor to the Comniunicntion of the 
 
 Executive Council. 
 
 Tke Lieutenant-Governor transmits to the Executive Council the following observations Reply to Represen» 
 in reply to the document which in Council they yesterday addressed to him : — tatiun of Executive 
 
 " 'I'lie Constitution of a British Colony resembles, but is not identical with, the const!- Council, 
 tutionofthe mother country; for in England, beiides the House of Commons, wliicli 
 represents the people, there exists a hereditary nobility, the honours and wealth of which, 
 as well as the interests of the Established Church, are represented by a House of Lords, 
 while the [sovereign (who by law can do no wrong) is surrounded by .1 Ministry upon whom 
 devolves the entire responsibility of the measures they suggest, and who are consetiuently 
 removable at pleasure. But in the colonial portion of the British Empire, which, how- 
 ever rising, is, generally speaking, thinly inhabited, the people are represented by their 
 House of Assembly, which is gifted not only with the same command over the supplies as 
 in England, but which possesses within the colony most of the powers of the British House 
 of Commons. Tlie Legislative Council is intended, as far as the circumstances of a young 
 colony can permit, to resemble the British House of Lords; and if the Lieutenant-Governor 
 
 391. G of 
 
50 
 
 PAPERS RELATIVE TO THE 
 
 Council. 
 
 i 
 
 Ap|Kn«i>;, q( n colony slooti in llie place of llie Sovereit^n, ami if, like His Majesty, lie could ilo no 
 
 ~T7~ wrong, it would evidently he necessary that u ministry, executive council, or some other 
 
 Reply to Kepresen- i^j^j. ^j' should be appointed, who uiicht be responsible lo the country for their 
 
 tetion of Executive i . ' i k » a i j 
 
 conduct. 
 
 " This, however, is not the case; His Majesty delegates His sovereign protection of His 
 colonies to no one ; but he appoints a Lieutenant-Governor, who is res|)onsible to Him for 
 his behaviour, who is subject to impeachment for neglecting tlie interests of the people, 
 and who is liable, like the English Ministry, to immediate removal; an<l the history of ti>e 
 British Colonies clearly shows, that there is no class or individual of His Majesty's subjects 
 , to whose representation, prayer or [lelitiou, the King is not most willing to attend. 
 
 "The °ulenant-Governor is therefore the responsible minister of the colony; and as 
 not on._ ..i character, but his continuance in ollicc, dejtend on his attending to the real 
 interests of the people, it would be evidently as unjust towards him that he should be liable 
 to impeachment for any acts but his own, as it would be unjust towards the peo])l(! that 
 a responsibility so highly important to their interests should be intangible and divided. It 
 IS true, his knowledge of the country is not equal to that of many intelligent individuals 
 within it; but in government, impartiality is better than knowledge; and it must be 
 evident to every well-constituted mind, th;it in an infant state of society it would be 
 impossible practically to secure a sufficient number of impartial persons to effect a change 
 (jf ministry, as often as it might be necessary for the interests of the people to do so. 
 
 " Tiiis difference between the constitution of the motiier country and tliat of its colony 
 is highly advantag<!ous to the latter; for, as in all small communities private interests and 
 party feelings must unavoidably be conflicting, it is better, as well as safer, that the people 
 should he enabled to appeal in person, or by petition, to the Lieutenant-Governor himself, 
 whose duty it is to redress their coin[)laLnts, and who is liable to dismissal if he neglects 
 them, than that they should appeal to a series of provincial ministries, composed of various 
 individuals. 
 
 " To enable the Lieutenant-Governor to perform the arduous duties of his office, the 
 constitution has wisely provided him with an Executive Council, competent to supply him 
 with that local knowledge in which he may be deficient, and to whom he may apply for 
 counsel and advice. 
 
 " Before he entrusts himself to these gentlemen, they are, by order of His Majesty, 
 required solemnly to swear, not only to give to the Lieutenant-Governor their best counsel 
 and advice, but they are also sworn to secresy. 
 
 " Their individual opinioni can never be divulged, even to the Kimj : and as a proof that 
 His Majesty does not hold them responsible for the acts of his Lieutenant-Governor, 
 they can retain, and often do retain, their office of sworn advisers, although Governor after 
 Governor may have beiMi dismissed. 
 
 " The advantage of such a Council to a Lieutenant-Governor is so self-evident, that he 
 must be weak and self-suflieient indeed who does not continually have recourse to it ; but 
 althongli it streng'liens his judgment and confers dignity on his proceedings, yet it in no 
 way shields him from disgrace, should his acts be found contrary to the interests of the 
 people. In such a case, it would be vain as well as unconstitutional for a Lieutenant- 
 Governor to attempt to shield himself from res|)onsibility by throwing it upon his Council; 
 for by his oath he cannot even tlivulge which of his advisers may have misled Iiim. 
 
 " Supposing, for instance, that with the concurrent advice of his Council, he was illegally 
 lo eject by military force an individual from his land, the Lieutenant-Governor would be 
 liable to arraigament ; and whether he had acted by the opinion of the law officers of the 
 Crown, by the advice of his Council, by information derived from books, or from his own 
 erring judgment, it has been wisely decreed that the injured subject should look to him, 
 and him alone, for retribution, and that he, and he alone, is answerable to his Sovereign for 
 the act of injustice which has been committed. 
 
 " Being therefore subject both to punishment and disgrace, it is absolutely necessary, as 
 well as just, that the Lieutenant('ovcrnor of a colony should have full liberty to act, 
 t though at his peril,) in every case as he may think best for the interests of the people, 
 according to the commands of His Majesty, and of His Majesty's JMinisters. 
 
 '• lo consult his Council on the innumerable subjects upon which he has daily to decide, 
 would be as ulterlj' impossible as for any one but himself to decide upon what points his 
 mind required or nech'd not the advice of his Council. Upon their sterling fund he must 
 therefore constituti uially draw whenever embarrassment requires it; and on their part, if 
 they faithfully honour his bills, '.however often he may present them, they conscientiously 
 fulfil to their Sovereign, to him, to their country, and to their oath, the important duty 
 which they have sworn in secresy to perform. 
 
 " Having concluded the above outline of the relative responsibility of the Lieutenant- 
 Governor and his Executive Council, as it regards His Majesty's colonies in general, it 
 Tuay be observed with respect to this province in particular, that when His Majesty, by 
 conquest, first obtained possession of the Canadas, the government thereof devolved upon 
 its military commander, until, by an Act passed in the 14th year of Geo. 3, a Council was 
 appointed for the atf.drs of the province of Quebec, ' to consist of such persons resident 
 therein (not exceeding 23, nor less than 17,) as his Majesty, his heirs and successors shall 
 be pleased to appoint, which C».uncil so appointed and nominated, or the inajor part 
 thereof, shall have power and authority to make ordinances for the peace, welfare and 
 ^'ood government of the laid province, ti'ith the consent of his Majesty's Governors.' 
 
 " This 
 
 tB I 
 
AFFAIRS OF UPPER CANADA. 
 
 5» 
 
 " This 
 
 " This power of tlic Council was furtiier restricted by certain itnportnni limitations. Appendix. 
 
 specified in clauses 13, 14, 15, lO and 17 of the said Act; however, in ihe year 1791, a 
 
 new Act was passed, commonly called ' llic Constitutional Act,' because it settled the Ueply to Rtpreseo 
 constitution of the Canadas, which were then divided into the Upper and Lower tatidtiuf I'.xecutivt 
 Provinces. Council. 
 
 " By this Act, the military dcmination of tiie General and his Council was changed for 
 a new and better system; and as evidently both could not exist together, the very first 
 clause in tii.3 Act <lcclnrcd, " That so much of the late Act 14 Geo. 3 as in any inanner 
 relates to the appointment of a council for the affairs of the said province of Queber, or 
 to the power given by the said Act to the said Council, or to the major part of them, to 
 make ordinances for the peace, welt'aie and good government of the said province, with the 
 consent of his Majesty's Governor, Lieutenant-Governor, or Commander-in-Chief for the- 
 time being, shall hv and t/ie same is repealed,' 
 
 " The Act then proceeds 10 state, that there shall be within each of the said provinces 
 respectively a Legislative Council and an Assembly, the duties and privileges of wiiicli are 
 minutely declared in 33 consecutive clauses; but in no part of the said Act was an 
 E.xccntivc Council directly or indirectly created. Nevertheless a vestige of the ancient 
 one was, for the purpose of a court of appeal [Viile Clause 34], recognised, with an 
 expression which seemed to intimate that an efficient E.\-ecuiive Council would very shortly 
 be created. 
 
 " For instance, in section 38 the Governor is, by authority of Ilis Jlajerty's Governuienti 
 and with the advice of the K.xecutivc Council. ' empowered to erect parsonages and 
 rectories;' but in section 3L) no mention whatever is made of the Executive Council, but, 
 on the contrary, it is declared, that the Governor or Lieutenant-Governor, or persorj 
 administering the government, should present the incumbent ' to every such parsonage or 
 rectory.' 
 
 " In the 50 clauses of the Act in question, the Executive Council which, in section 34, 
 is merely described as ' such Executive Council as shall be appointed by His Majesty,' is 
 scarcely mentioned, and, as regards even its existence, liie most liberal construction which 
 can possibly be put upon the said Act only amounts to this: that as an Executive 
 Council was evidently intended to exist, the remnant of the old one ought not to be 
 deemed totally extinct until its successor was ajjpointed." 
 
 " However, this latent intention of His Majesty to create a Council for each of the 
 provinces of His Canadian dominions, was soon clearly flivulged in a most important 
 document, commoidy called ' The Kiti<:'s Instructions,' in which an Executive Council was 
 regularly constituted and declared, as follows: ' \\ liureas We have thought fit that there 
 should be an Executive Council lor assisting you, or the Lieutenant-Governor, or 
 persons administering the governmeni of the said province of Upper Canada for the time 
 being. We do, by these presents, appoint the undermentioned persons,' !Scc. ticc. 
 
 " In subsecjuent clauses it was equally precisely defined upon what allairs of the [)rovmce 
 the Lieutenant-Governor was to act ' Tiith the advice of the Execidive Council;' tiut with 
 the view distinctly to prevent the new Council being what the old one had been (which 
 inileed under the new constitution was utterly imiiossible), in short, to set that question al 
 rest for ever, it was declared in section 8, ' that to the end that nur said Executive Council 
 may be assisting to yon in all affairs relating to our service, yuu are to communicate to 
 them such and so mani/ of our instructions wherein their advice is mentioned to be re(juisite, 
 and likewise all such others from time to time as you shall Jind convenient for our service 
 to be ini] ted to tlitni.' 
 
 "The ...leutenant-Governor having now transmitted to the Executive Council his opinion 
 of their duties, in contra-distinction to that contained in their communication to liini oi 
 yesterday's date, will m • express the feelings of regret with which, under a heavy pressme 
 of business, he imexpecedly received a document of so unusual a nature, from gentlemen 
 upon whom he liad only recently placed his implicit and unqualified reliance. 
 
 " i5ut he feels it incumbent upon liim frankly and explicitly to state, that to the opinions 
 they have expressed he can never subscribe. On the contrary, that so lontr as he shall 
 continue to be Lieutenant-Governor of this province, he will never allow his ]:;xecutive 
 Council oiFicially to assume that heavy responsibility which he owes to his Soven igii, 
 as well as to the people of this province, to whom he has solenndy pledged himself to 
 maintain the happj^ constitution of this country inviolate, but cuutiousli/, yet effectually, In 
 correct ail real grievances, 
 
 " The Lieutenant-Governor maintains, that the responsibility to the people of tliis pro* 
 vince, (who are already represented by their House of Assembly) which the Council 
 assume is unconstitutional, that it is the duty of the Council to serve him, not them: 
 and that if upon so vital a principle they persist in a contrary opinion, he foresees embai- 
 rassmenis of a most serious nature; for as power and responsibility must in common 
 justice be inseparably connected with each other; it is evident tt) the Lieutenant-GoveiiKii 
 that if the Council were once to be i)ermitted to assume the latter^ they would immediatelv. 
 as their right, demand the former, in which case, if tlie interests oi' the people should- be 
 neglected, to w hom cv)uld they look for redrc^s ;' For in the confusion between the 
 Governor and an oligarchy composed of a few dominant families, shielded by secresy, 
 would not all tangible responsibility have vanished .' 
 
 " The Council cannot have I'orgotten, that previous to their first meeting in the Council ' 
 
 Chamber, which happened only a few weeks ago, the Lieutenant-Governor hud assured 
 
 3()l. G 2 tliLin 
 
52 PAPERS RELATIVE TO THE 
 
 Appendix. them in a note (tvliicli was even publiely read in tlie House of Assembly), that although 
 
 he hiid no prcliininni y eonditions to aceede to or require, it was his intention to treat 
 
 Reply to ltepresen> them with implieit eonfidcnce ; and the Council must alsc remember how willmi»ly they 
 tation of Executive approved of the very first sugiiestioii he made to them, namely, that no important 
 Council. business should be commenced in Council until they, as well as the Lieutenant-Governor 
 
 liimself, had become mutually acquainted with their respective duties. 
 
 "The Lieutenant-Governor assures the Councd, that his estimation of their talents and 
 integrity, as well as his personal regard for them, remain unshaken, and that he is not 
 insensible of the difheultics to which he will be exposed, should they deem it necessary 
 to leave him. At the same lime should they be of opinion that the oath they have taken 
 requires them to retire from his confidence, rather than from die principles they have 
 avowed, he begs that on his account, they will not for a moment hesitate to do so. 
 
 "Government House, "> ,» n » it ■ ■> 
 
 Torento, March 5. 1 836. f ^- *• ^^""'' 
 
 Letter from Robert 
 Baldwin, Esq. to 
 Peter Perry, Esq. 
 
 (C.) 
 
 Dear Sir, Front Street, 16 March 1836. 
 
 Myself and my collca'^ue? having felt it our duty to tender our resignations, and the 
 Lieutenant-Governor hav'ng been pleased to accept them, I waited on his Excellency to 
 request his permission to make public, in the usual parliamentary way, the steps which led 
 to the formation of his Excellency's late Cabinet, and the circumstances which occasioned 
 its dissolution ; to which his Excellency, in the handsomest manner, frankly accepted, most 
 graciously assining me that his confidence in me jjcrsonally was such, that he presented 
 me with a c/iarle blanche to sale the whole, froin the commencement of the negociations to 
 the acceptance of our resignations. 
 
 None of the members of the late provincial administration having the honour of a seat in 
 the Commons, I know of no way in which such information can be more respectfully com- 
 municated, than in a letter addressed to you, for the purpose of being read in your place, or 
 of the House being put in possession of its contents in whatever other way your more in- 
 timate acquaintance with parliamentary forms may suggest. 
 
 I therefore beg leave to slate, that his Excellency, having done me the honour to send 
 for me, explained the position in which he found himself placed on assuming the govern- 
 ment of the province, and declaring himself most anxious lo do the best he could to insure 
 to the province good and cheap government, expressed hiinself most desirous that I would 
 afford him my assistance by joining his Executive Council, assuring me that in the event 
 of my acceding to his proposal, I should enjoy his full and entire confidence. 
 
 I informed his Excellency of my extreme reli.etance lo again embark in public life, and 
 proeeedetl to stale that, uoiwithstanding such reluctance, and reserving to myself the option 
 of declining to accept the seat which his Excellency had tendered to me on private grounds 
 merely, 1 yet felt thai as his Excellency had done me the honour of sending for me, I 
 would not be performing my duty to my Sovereign or the country, if I did not, with his 
 Excellency's permission, explain fully to his Excellency my views of the constitution of 
 the province, and the change necessary in the practical administration of it; particularly 
 as I considered tiie delay in adopting lliis change as llie great and all-absorbing grievance, 
 before which all others, in my mind, sunk into insignificance; and the remedy of which 
 would mosi efl'eclually lead, and that in a constitutional way, lo the redress of every other 
 real grievance, and the finally putting an end to all clamour about imaginary ones ; and 
 that iliese desirable objects would thus be accomplished without in the least entrenching 
 upon ihejust and necessary prerogatives of the Crown, which 1 considered, when adminis- 
 tered by the Lieutenant-Governor through the medium of a provincial ministry, responsible 
 Jo the provincial Parliament, to be an essential part of the consliiulion of the province. 
 That these opinions were not hastily formed, that they were, on the contrary, those 
 which I had imbibed from my father, who, though now for some years, as well as myself, 
 unconnected with public lile, had formerly held a much more distinguished position in the 
 politics of the country than 1 could pretend to, smd that they were opinions which the ex- 
 perience of every year nad more and more strengthened and confirmed ; that 1 felt con- 
 vinced that the prompt adoption of those views was tlie only means of consolidating the 
 connexion with the Mother Country, to the preservation of which no one was more (ievo- 
 ledly uttaclu'd or ready lo make greater sacrifices than myself. That they were nothing 
 more than the principles of the British constitution applied lo that of this province, and 
 which 1 conceived necessarily lo belong as much lo the one as the other. That the call for 
 an Elective Legislative Council, which had been already formally made from Lower Canada, 
 and had been taken up, and appeared likely to be roaponded to in this province, was as 
 distasteful to mc as it could be lo anyone; as all that lo me appeared necessary or desir- 
 able, was the constitution as it stood, fully and fairly acted upon. And that I was con- 
 vinced that had such a course been adopted some years ago, we should not now have had 
 the public discussing the expediency of an alteration in ihe constitution by the intro- 
 duction of a provision for an I'lkctive Legislative Council. That 1 feared it might not be 
 too late; but as 1 was not siitliciently aware of the exact slate of the question to speak deci- 
 dedly, 1 siiicerelv hoped that by the prompt adoption of a responsible provincial administra- 
 tion, under ihe King's reprcsenlalive, thequesiion mighteven yet be set at rest; and in reply 
 to an objection of his Excellency, that the adoption of such a course would be placing the 
 Lieutenant-Governor in a position similar lo that of the King, which was inconsistent with 
 
 the 
 
AFFAIRS OF UPPER CANADA. 
 
 53 
 
 the fad of his tOBponsibilily, I explained, that as far as regardc'l the interna! affairs of tiie Aiipfiidix. 
 
 province, the Li^"'«nnnl-Governor was, mi point of fact, as far as this province and its Par- 
 
 liament were coi.v-erned, as completely irresponsible as the King iiimself; as there cer- Letter from llnljcrt 
 tainly neither existed, nor, in my opinion, ought lo exist, any legal or constitii'ional means Baldwin, Ksq. to 
 of calling him to account in this country for any act of liis government. That his re»|)on- " ^"•' I" 
 sibility was to the King and Parliament of the Empire ; and was perfectly proper and 
 necessary for the preservation of the paramount authority of the Mother Country, utid liie 
 protection of her interests in matters properly and constitutionally belonging to tiie exercise 
 of that authority. Hut that what the constitution required was, thatthep' sliouhl be persons 
 within this country itself who could be made responsible to the provincial Parliatneni 
 liere for the administration of the internal att'aiis of tlie province. 
 
 To another objection of his Excellency, that the adoption of my views would deprive 
 the Lieutenant-Governor of all power, and convert him into a cipher, I distinctly denied 
 any such as a consequence of my princi[)l£'s ; as I fully admitted the Lieutenant-Ciovcrnor 
 to be constitutionally clotl'.ed, as the royal representative, with the same |)owers within 
 the province, with respect to its internal affairs, as those possessed by the King himself 
 with respect to tlie affairs of the Empire at large, which appeared to me to be fiTl 'lat he 
 could desire, and at all events all that the constitution had given him. That he had always 
 the same constitutional right to accept or reject the advice of any of his Executive Coun- 
 cillors, and that, as in England, the only alternative for them was to resign, when they and 
 the Lieutenant-Governor (lirtered on any point which they conceived of sufficient impor- 
 tance to call for such a step; mi which event the Lieutenant-Governor was perfectly free 
 to call to his Council whom l;e pleased 
 
 His Excellency very candidly tleclared his entire dissent from such views and opinions; 
 lie nevertheless, with the tnost gracious expression of satisfaction at the very full and can- 
 did manner in which 1 had opened iliem to him; renewed his solicitaiion for my accep- 
 tance of a seat in ilie Executive Council, suggesting, as an inducement for such acccptatice, 
 the increased facilities which, by my place in the Executive Council, would be afforded 
 towards the more efficiently representing and urging my views. His lExcellency declaring 
 that his doors should at all times be open to me, and that be should be most happy to 
 listen and give his most serious consideration to any subject which 1 might at any time 
 think it iniporiaiit to lay before him, his Excellency always reserving the right lo decide 
 for himself; his Excellency at the same time remarking, that be had no objection to the 
 Council, each continuing to entertain and urge his individual ojiinions, as tlie opinions of 
 one would be neutralised by those of another. 
 
 I then informed his Excellency, that upon the principles which I had opened to him there 
 were two grounds upon which 1 could not consistently comply with iiis Exc(?llency'8 
 wishes; first, that no provincial administration would, in my opinion, be capable of afford- 
 ing his Excellency tliai assistance and support which his government would rc(|uirL-, unless 
 sufficiently possessed of the confidence of the provincial Parliament to insure majorities in 
 it; and that I did not feel that that confidence could be obtained wiilicnit further assist- 
 ance: and, secondly, that allhougli in private life I was on perfectly good teinis with all 
 the gentlemen who then composed his Excellency's Executive Council, and on most 
 frienc-lly terms with one of them, yet that, as public men, 1 had in tliein no confidence what- 
 ever, and liad formerly, when in public life, denounced them, and iliose with whom they 
 acted, as politically unworthy of the confidence of the country; and therefore that I felt 
 that 1 could not take office with them. 
 
 At iengtli, after a consultation, held, by his Excellency's permission, with Dr. Holph and 
 iny father, I finally, on the two grounds above mentioned, dc lined to accept a seat in the 
 Executive Council. 
 
 It is proper that I should here remark, that though these principles were fully opened to 
 Ills Excellency at my first interview, some parts of the conversations above adverted to 
 (though 1 believe none that could be consiclered essential to the full exposition of the prin- 
 ciples themselves), passed during the subsequent interviews which 1 had the honour of 
 having with the Lieutenant-Governor in the course of the negotiation. 
 
 Having been subsequently again sent for by his Excellency, and requested lo state more 
 explicitly what the assistance was to which I had before alluded, 1 replied, that I considered 
 the assistance of Dr. Uolph. Mr. Uidwell, my father and Air. Dunn, in ihe Executive 
 Council most desirable, and that ol' Dr. Kolph as absolutely necessiny, to insure that public 
 confidence in his Excellency's government, without which I was convinced his Excellency, 
 with the best intentions in the world, would fail to accomplish those desirable objects which 
 li« liad in view. 
 
 His Excellency, after an interview which he informed me he had had with Mr. liidwell, 
 again opened the negociation by a renewed lender of a seal in the Executive Council, 
 giving me at the same lime to understand, that, if accepted, he was prepared to afford me 
 the assistance of Dr. liolph and Mr. Dunn, should these gentlemen iiave no objection to 
 join me. 
 
 Upon this, with his Excellency's permission, 1 again consulted with Dr. Uolpii, 
 Mr. Bidwcll, and my father, and I feel it due to the two latter to lake this opportunity of 
 stating, that 1 received the fullest assurance of tluir most cordial support to a cabniet com- 
 posed of Dr. liolpli, Mr. Dunn and myself, and the expression of their opinions that, in the 
 liresent conjuncture of public aH'airs, their being taken into the cabinet ought not to be 
 further urged ; which disinterested course on their part, so consistent with the po^itiua 
 which they hold in the public confidence, the country, I aui persuaded, cannot iail lu uppre- 
 
 391. t; 3 ciate. 
 
 h 
 
m 
 
 .54 
 
 PAPERS RELATIVE TO THE 
 
 
 Aiipeiidix. ciatt. 'I'his lenewiil of tlic negotiation was, however, ultimately closed by my agaii) tinnllv 
 
 clecliiiiiig lo accept ofticc, in consequence of his Excellency uot feeling himself juslifietl in 
 
 Lctitr from Uobert consenting lo the lemoval of those gentleniea who were already in the Council, 
 naldwin Esq. to Upon this, his Excellency sent lor my father, to whom he made a similar tender of a seat, 
 
 Peter Perry, Esq, in the Executive Council, and his fullest confidence in tlie event of his accepting it ; and I 
 am authorized to say, that J)r. UuliUvin, on that occasion, informed his Exeellencv, that his 
 views and principles were similar to those which had been already fully laid "before his 
 Excellency by mc; and that he felt it impossible to take office in conjunction with the 
 three gentlemen who then formed his Excellency's Executive Council. 
 
 His Excellency then sent for Dr. Rolph, to whom he made a similar tender of his con- 
 fidence. Dr. l{olph having obtained his Excellency's pirmission to consult Mr. Bidwell, 
 Mr. JJunn, my father and myse'f, it was in the course of that consultation |)ressed upon me, 
 that as the principle of res])onsibility, although long before the public, had never yet been 
 practically acted upon, and that taking it for granted (as it was but justice to his Excellency 
 to do) that his Excellency, although mistaken in his views of the constitution of the 
 country, might yet be sincerely desirous of governing according to that constitution, and 
 that in that case all that would be found necessary was to convince him thai the views and 
 principles which I had opened to him were just anil constitutional to insure their adoption, 
 or the procurement of his Excellency's influence to obtain their adoption; and that, not- 
 withstanding what his Excellency liad said with respect to the opinions of one member of 
 the Council being neutralized by those of another, which appeared to arise more from a 
 want of sufficient practical acquaintance with the working of the political machinery of 
 government, which lime and experience would necessarily correct, than from anv other 
 cause ; it would perhaps not be performing our duty to his Excellency, or the countr}', were 
 we, after his having gone thus far to meet our views, peremptorily to refuse all concession 
 on our part. To this reasoning having given a most reluctant consent, I empowered 
 Dr. Rolph, in accordance with the course deemed by him most respectful to his Excellency, 
 to state to the Lieutenant-Governor that I was willing, with his Excellency's permission, to 
 re-consider his Excellency's proposal, and to consider the negotiation re-opened, upon the 
 footing on which it stood ))ievious to its having been last closed with me; to which his 
 Excellency having at once acceded, and the negotiation having been thus re-opened, after 
 some further consultation upon the subject with Mr. Uiinn, his Excellency was finally 
 informed, tliat Mr. Dunn, Dr. Rolph and myself had, though reluctantly, consented, in 
 comjilianec with his Excellency's wishes, and as a meie experiment, and one which we 
 feared would fail, to accept seats in his Excellency's Executive Council, without the retire- 
 ment of the three gentlemen who were already members of it. 
 
 Afterwards, on our all wailing on his Excellency, previous to our being sworn, I pointed 
 out and insisted upon the necessity, that, lest con)pr«mise of principle might be imputed to 
 us, in consequence of the course we had taken, whieli in the public eye must necessarily 
 appear equivocal, son]e aimouncement should be made of the unfettered terms upon which 
 his Excellency was pleased to receive us into his confiilence, which, at his Excellency's 
 suggestion, was finally arranged to be in the shape of a note to that efi'ect, to be addressed 
 to me (as the person first sent for) by his Excelleticy, and of which 1 was to be at liberty 
 to make any use that 1 might deem necessary or proper, which note was, at my request, in 
 accordance with the gracious permission which I liad received, read publicly by a member 
 of each House of Parliament in his place, this being the only manner in which it appeared 
 to me the information which it was necessary that the public should be in possession of 
 coidil be communicated consistently with the respect due to a communication from the 
 representative of the King. 
 
 Copies of this note, and of my acknowledgment of the receipt of it, I subjoin. 
 
 Tliese negotialioiis, partly retarded by my absence in the country, were in progress from 
 the 8th until the •201I1 uliinio, on which day we were sworn into office. 
 
 Having thus explained the circumstances which led to our appointment, I have only to 
 add with respect to our retirement from office, that the |)rinei])les, the facts, and the views 
 which were afterwards embodied iti the formal representation of the Executive Council, 
 were (at least ten days before being thus formally presented to liis Excellency) at very con- 
 siderable length amicably discussed between the members of the Executive Council and 
 his Excellency, and afterwartls continued ihe subject of deliberate consideration among the 
 menibers themselves for another week, when, on the 4th of this month, the formal represen- 
 tation alluded to was unanimously adopted and presented to his Excellency, with respect to 
 which 1 shall only add, that the course of local Governineiit, and the reasons for it set forth 
 in the representation from the Council, were thus oflicially suggested to the more formal 
 consideration of lii.; Excellency, from a solemn conviction that it was the only system which 
 would operate " for the good of the King and of this province, and for the peace, rest, and 
 tran(|uilliiy of the same," 
 
 To this represetiiation the Executive Council, on the following Thursday, being the next 
 regular Council day. received his Excellency's reply. 
 
 in this reply his Excelletiey having intimated his wish " that should the Executive 
 Council be of opinion that the oath which they had taken required them to retire from his 
 Excellency's confidence, rather than from the principles they had avowed, they would tiot 
 on his account for a moment hesitate to do so," the members of the Council, on Saturday 
 last, waited on his Exeelleuey, and tendered their resignations, which his Excellency was 
 graciously pleased to aceejjt, with respect to which 1 woidd here take the liberty of remark- 
 ing, tiiai, having in the representation alluded to, but reiterated in a more forinai manner, 
 
 in 
 
AFFAIRS OF UPPER CANADA. 
 
 55 
 
 in conjunction wiih my c()ilen<;nes under tiie sanction of tlu' oath wliifii 1 had in the mean- 
 time taken, tiie same principles and opinions which his Excellency knew me to entertain 
 previous to his honouring me with a seat in his Council, '.lowevcr desirous I might be of 
 givin2; my best support to his Excellency's Government, or of not hastily abandoning; the 
 important duties of my situation, which had been most unwillingly assumed, I could not for 
 a moment hesitate, when the alternative presented to me was the abandonment either of 
 my principles or my place. 
 
 .\p|)enilix. 
 
 Lelliir Irom 
 
 R. Hiildwin, Ksq. l«« 
 
 Peter Perry, E«q. 
 
 Peter Perry, Esq., JM.P. 
 
 1 have the honour to be, dear Sir, 
 
 \'our most obedient, humble servant, 
 
 (signed) Ruber t Balduin. 
 
 Dear Sir, Governnie' i House, Feb. ip, 1836. 
 
 I HAVE great pleasure in learning thai you, Dr. Uol|)li and Mr. Dunn accept the iuvila- 
 lion 1 havi: made to you by joining the Executive Council. 
 
 The confidence I shall repose in you will be implicit; and as I have no preliminary condi- 
 tions either to accede to or require From you, I shall rely on your giving me your inbiassed 
 opinion on all subjects respecting which I may feel it advisable to require it. 
 
 I remain, dear Sir, your's faithfully, 
 R. Baldwin, Esq. " (signed; F li. Head. 
 
 Mn.RoDr.nT Baldwin has the honour to acknowledge the receipt of his Excellency's 
 the Lieut.-Governor's note of the 19th inst., and will transmit a co|>y to Mr. Dunn and 
 Dr. llolph without delay. 
 
 Front Street, 20 Feb. 1836. 
 
 CD.) 
 
 Address of the Common Council of the City of Toronto. 
 To His Excellency Sir Francis Bond Head, k.c.h., &c. &c. &c. 
 
 May it please your Excellency, 
 
 \Vk, His Majesty's dutiful ai ioyal subjects, the Mayor, Aldermen and Commonalty of Adiiroi^s iVoin 
 tl.e city of Toronto, most respectfully beg leave to state, that at the present most diflicult Comuinn Council 
 and important era in the history of this province, when tliis council had fondly hoped that to Lieiii.-Gcivfrnor. 
 the appointment of your Excellency to the government of this country, with the accession 
 to the Executive Council appointed for the affairs thereof of gentlemen of integrity and 
 talent, known to possess liberal constitutional principles, would have secu''«-d to its inha- 
 bitanls thai wise, just and liberal policy so imperiously demanded, to strengthen the bonds 
 of union between the Mother Country and this colony; this council have with extreme 
 regret and surprise witnessed their just anticipation destroyed by the dissolution of the late 
 Executive Council, and the appointment of another in their stead, composed of gentlemen 
 who, however worthy in their individual private capacity, are incapable, from their well- 
 known political views, of giving satisfaction to the people, and that this council, as the 
 representatives of the inhabitants of the capital of Upper Canaiia (from this as well as 
 other causes not necessary to be here explained on iiceount of their general notoriety) have 
 no confidence whatever in the present provincial administration, not deeming them com- 
 petent to advise with the representative of our most gracious Sovereign upon the peace, 
 welfare and prosperity of the province. 
 
 We therefore most humbly pray your Excellency to be pleased to dismiss your present 
 advisers, and call to your Councilgentlemen possessing the public confidence, as the only 
 measure in the opinion of this Council calculated to insure the traiujuillity of the province > 
 
 at the present crisis. 
 
 His ExCELLIiNCY's UepLY. 
 
 Mr. Mayor and Gentlemen : — The particular interest which I take in the welfaie of this 
 capital, of wliich I am myself an inhabitant, induces me to reply at some length to the 
 Adilress I have just received from you, in which you state, 
 
 1st. That you have no confidence in what you term '' the present provincial administra- 
 tion ; atid, 
 
 2dly. That you beg leave to name for me other individuals for that station. 
 
 With respect to a " provincial administration," although no sucli power exists in this or 
 any other colony of the British Empire, 1 may remark, that very shortly after the late addi- 
 tion to the Executive Council, 1 observed that great efibrts were making to delude; and per- 
 suade the public mitul that the new Council were entitled to claim the responsibility, jjower 
 and patronage of the Lieutenatit-Govcrnor, and that such an arranuemetit would be highly 
 advantageous to the people. 
 
 Finding that this new theory was rapidly gaining ground, 1 resolved to ofl'er it no secret 
 opposition, nor in any way to exert luy influence to oppose it ; but I determined the very 
 
 39^' 04 firgt 
 
 Kepi. 
 
 Lieut 
 C'uni! 
 
 V (it 
 
 Ciiiveruur t(i 
 nun (.'ij'nitil. 
 
56 
 
 PAPERS RELATIVE TO THE 
 
 .1:1 
 
 I', 
 
 Appendix. first time it sliould come well within my reacli, tli.it I would drag it into dayligiit, in order 
 
 that it might he openly, fairly and constitutionally discussed. 
 
 Jteply of From several places I subsequently received Addresses on the subject, which I did not 
 
 Lieiit..(jnvernor to d^gp, ^ advisable to notice, but to my astonishment iherc suddenly appeared From a quarter 
 Common Council, f^^^ which 1 certainly least expected it, namely, from the E.xecutive Council itself, a 
 document (a copy of which had been inscribed in the minutes of the Executive Council, 
 signed by ail the six Councillors) openly dec... mg, that what had secretly been promul- 
 gated respecting the powers of the Executive Council, was actually the law of the land ! 
 
 Tlic question being fairly before me, I deliberately opposed it, accepted the resignation 
 of the six Councillors, and, at the request of the Assembly, I laid before that House the com- 
 munication I had received from the Council, with my reply. 
 
 The subject was thus formally brought before the public; and having performed this 
 duty, I felt comparatively indifferent as to the result; for if the power and patronage of this 
 province, which have hitherto been invested in the Lieut.-Governor, really belong to his 
 Council, I consider that ;vitboul reluctance they ought at once to l)e delivered up. and 
 secured to them. 
 
 The House of Assembly, however, cannot alter the Constiutional Act of this province, 
 neither can I ; aad as regards popular meetings, I need hardly observe, that if the inhabi- 
 tants of the whole province were simultaneously to petition me to alter a single letter of 
 that solemn Act, i have neither power nor inclination to do so. 
 
 If it should prove that the practice which has hitherto been pursued is erroneous, I will 
 not for a moment hesitate to acknowledge it; and in that case 1 should feel it my duty at 
 once to recall to my Council the six members who have resigned ; but I cannot be blind to 
 the fact, that the Constitutional Act, which is open to every body, does not create any 
 Executive Council at all. 
 
 The members of the laie council rest their claims very nearly on the following grounds :— 
 
 1st. That the responsibility they assume, being a popular opinion daily increasing, is 
 consequently the law of the land; and, 
 
 '2(\. That though the powers they acquire are no where expressed in the Constitutional 
 Act, they were evidently intended to have been inserted. 
 
 I conceive that these argumenis do not even require to be refuted; and, with respect to 
 what General Simcoe, or any other Governor, may have asserted, I must also be permitted 
 to assert, that the rights, liberties and property of the inhabitants of this province would 
 be insecure indeed if they rested on any such declarations. 
 
 The constitution of this province is the sacred charter of the land ; and it is no less my 
 duty, than the interests of its inhabitants, that I should firmly maintain it, as I ever will, 
 inviolate. 
 
 Jf that charter constitutes a " Provincial Ministry," it need only be shown to ine 
 to be secured ; but I deliberately repeat, that it contains the creation of no such a 
 power, and in my opinion, were it now to be created, it would be productive of the most 
 vicious effects ; for, if the power and patronage of the Crown were to be delivered over to a 
 tribunal sworn to secresy, they would very soon fall into the hands of a few metropolitan 
 families, who might possibly promote their own views, to the rejection of the interests of 
 the distant counties; whereas, while these powers continue invested in the individual ap- 
 pointed by His Majesty to be the Lieutenant Governor of this province, he (being a 
 stranger) can have neither interest nor inducement to abuse them. 
 
 No one can be more anxious than I am that this plain constitutional cj estion should be 
 gravely and calmly discussed, for it will be impossible for me to attempt to correct the 
 grievances of the country, until I can prevail upon the legislature to follow me cheerfully 
 in the noble object we have in view; and 1 certainly do feel most deeply, that, for the sake 
 of the people, those who are invested with power ought manfully to determine to lay aside 
 all private feelings — to forgive and forget all political animosity, and to allow His Majesty's 
 wishes and my instructions to be promptly executed. 
 
 With respect to the want of confidence you express in the Council I have just selected, 
 1 will only observe, that in my judgment they appear to be sensible steady men of business, 
 of high moral worth ; and I cannot but recollect that one of these gentlemen was, only a 
 few weeks ago, actually the mayor of your own city, selected by yourselves as being pecu 
 liarly entitled to that public confidence which you now declare is denied to him. 
 
 With this moral before your minds, you surely cannot but admit, what a political tetnpest 
 would continually exist, how the interests of the farmer would be blighted, were the power 
 and patronage of this thinly peopled province to be transferred from His Majesty's Lieu- 
 tenant Governor into the hatids of what you term a " Provincial Ministry" at Toronto. 
 
 Address from 
 Fublii' iMectiii[5 to 
 l.iout.-Govunior. 
 
 (E.) 
 
 Address from a Public Meeting held in the City Hall. 
 
 To His Excellency Sir Francis Bond Head, k.c.h., &c. &c. &c. 
 
 May it please your Excellency, 
 We, His Majesty's dutiful and loyal subjects, the inhabitants of tiie city of Toronto, 
 assetiibled under the authority of the mayor of the city, beg respectfully to submit to your 
 Excellency this our Address, containing the expression of our sentiments and feelings in 
 
 reference 
 
 m 
 
 mi 
 
AFFAIRS OF UPPER CANADA. 
 
 57 
 
 reference to tlie late ciianges in ilie Excculive Council, and of the opinions which huve been Appendix. 
 
 expressed by your Excellency us to the nature of the constitution of this province. 
 
 That Colonel Sinicoe, the first as well as the ablest and most enlightened Lieutenant- Addros from Public 
 Governor of this province, who was a Member of the Parliament of Great Britain when the ^'"-'""K '•> Lieut.- 
 Stalute 31 Geo. 3. chap. 31, eonimonly called the Constitutional Act, was passed, was the fJoveruor. 
 bearer of that Act to this Colony, and was authorized, undoubiedly, by Ilis Majestv* 
 Government to declare to His faithful subjects in this province, the nature of the Cotistii'u- 
 tion then about to be put into operation for their benefit, and who assured the peo|)le of 
 this province from the throne, on the opening of the first Session of the Provincial i'arlia- 
 mcnt, that the said Act had " established the British Cumtiliiliun, and all the forms which 
 sec.veand maintain it in this distant country," and " that the wisdom and beneficence of 
 our most gracious Sovereign and the British Parliament has been eminently |)rovcd, not 
 only in imparting to us the same form of government, but also in securing the benefits of it 
 by the many provisions that guard thai memorable Act ; so that the blessings of an invaluable 
 constiiution thus protected and amplified, they might hope would he extended to the re- 
 motest posterity;" and that the same Governor, upon closing thai Session, especially enjoined 
 upon the membersof the Legislature Irom the throne to explain to the people of the country, 
 " that this province was singularly blest,not with a mutilated Constitution, but with a Con- 
 stitution which has stood the test of experience, and was the very image and transeri|)t of 
 that of Great Britain." 
 
 That it is an essential and inalienable feature of the British Constitution thus assured 
 to us, that the King shall be assisted in all the afl'airs of government by the advice of 
 known and responsible councillors and officers who possess the confidence of the peo|)le, 
 and of the majority of their representatives, and that our fellow subjects in the United 
 Kingdom would indignantly resent any attempt to deprive them of this part of their con- 
 stitution, as an infringement upon their most sacred rights and liberties, and a step taken 
 to degrade them to the condition of slaves. 
 
 That the recent appointment by your Excellency of the Honourable John Rolpli, Robert 
 Baldwin and John Henry Dunn as Executive Councillors, gave universal gladness ind 
 satisfaction throughout the province, those gentlemen having been long known, beloved 
 and respected for the talents, acquirements and virtues which adorn their characters, the 
 liberal and patriotic principles that they entertain, and the important services which they 
 have respectively rendered to the people of this province, and that the selection of them 
 by your Excellency, as your advisers, disposed His Majesty's subjects to hope that a new 
 and happy era had at length arrived in the history of this province. 
 
 That we have learned with surprise and sorrow, that those gentlemen, together with the 
 former members of your Excellency's Couneif, have Ibund themselves under the necessity 
 of resigning their seats ; and that your Excellency appears to ns to have taken oflTencc for 
 no other reason than the respectful expression of an opinion in favour of the government 
 being conducted on the acknowledged principles of the British Constitution; an opinion 
 supported by unanswerable arguments, and which they were bound by every obligation of 
 honour and duty, as faithful Councillors, to express to your Excellency. 
 
 That our most sincere respect and gratitude are due to those gentlemen and their late 
 colleagues in your Excellency's Council, for the noble eflTorts which they made in the 
 honourable and u|)right discharge of their duties, to secure to the people of this province 
 the practical benefit and faithful application of constitutional principles of the highest im- 
 portance to their liberty and prosperity; and that we are solemnly called upon at such n 
 crisis to declare our firm and unalterable determination to resist every attempt to mutilate 
 and deform our constitution by the denial of those principles, or the refusal of the full 
 benefit and practical operation of them, and that the people of this |)rovinee will never, in 
 our humble opinion, be content with a system that is only a mockery of a free uin\ respim- 
 silile goverinncnt. 
 
 That we feel it our bounden duty to declare to your Excellency, that the gentlemen 
 whom your Excellency has called to your Council, since the resignation of your late Coun- 
 cil, do not in any degree possess the confidence of the people of Upper Canada. 
 
 We further liumby express our disappointment and regret at the remarks which ycjur 
 Excellency has, by evil and unknown ativisers, been induced to animadvert uj)on the cir- 
 cumstances under which your Excellency caused your late Council to resign ; and that 
 respect which it is equally our duty and inclination to pay to the repiesentativeof our most 
 gracious Sovereign, forbids our ilcclaring on this painful occasion any other feeling than 
 that of an earnest hope that the persons, whoever they may be, who have been guilty ol such 
 au abuse of your Excellency's confidence, may be for ever discarded by yotn- Excellency. 
 
 In conclusion, we beg leave to state to your Excellency, that, as subjects of the British 
 Etnpire, we claim all the ri;i;hts and privileges of the Biitish Constitution ; and, as subjects of 
 a British colony possessing the powers i,f self-government, given to it by the parent State, 
 we claim our right that the Representative of the Ciown shall be advised in all our afl'aiis 
 by men known to, and posseesing the confidence ol the people; and, as the true friends of 
 His Majesty's Government, and U) the permanency of our connexion, with the parent stale, 
 we earnestly entreat your Excellency to regard our opinions and remonsiranees (firmly, 
 though we hope respectfully, expressed), and to adopt measures to calm the present exira- 
 ordinary state ol' public excitement, aggravated by the high hopes created in the |)ublio 
 mind by the removal of Sir John Colborne, and the appointment of your Excellency to the 
 
 head of the administration. „ , ,■ .■ ti, . 
 
 By order ol the Meeting, 
 
 Toronto, March 25, 1836. (signed.) T. D. Morrison, Mayor. 
 
 James Lesslie, Secretary. Chairman. 
 
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 Appfiidix. 
 
 Hi* I'.xfellency's 
 Reply to AddrcFu 
 from Public 
 Meeting, Toronto. 
 
 PAPERS RELATIVE TO THE 
 
 Hi8 Excbllency's Reply. 
 
 Gentlemen, — Having reason to believe that the Meeting from which you are deputed, 
 was composed principally of tlic industrious classes, and bein<; persuaded that thchberiil priii- 
 ciple of the British (iuverninent, in whntevercliuiateit may exist, is tlu; welfare and happiness 
 ot the people, I shall make it my duly to reply to your Address with ns much attention as 
 if it had proceeded from cither of the hrnnches of the Legislature, although 1 shall express 
 myself in plainer and more homely lani^uage. 
 
 1st. I have no wish tadeny "thai Colonel Simcoe was the first as well as the ubiest and 
 most enlightened Governor of this province; that he was a Member of Parliament when 
 the Statute 31st Geo, 3, chap. 31, commonly called the Constitutional Act, was passed; 
 and that he was the bearer of that Act to this colon}." Hut I ask you, Can this possibly 
 alier the solemn Act itself.' for surely your own plain good sense will tell you, that Colonel 
 Simcoe had no more power, cither during his voyage or on his arrival here, to alter the 
 charter committed to his charge, than 1 had power to alter the instructions which I lately 
 delivered from His Majesty to both Houses of your Lei»;islature ; and so, if Colonel Sim- 
 coe, instead ofsayiiiji that the constitution of this province "was the very image and 
 transcript of that of Great Britain," had thought proper to compare it to the arbitrary 
 governments of Jiussia or Constantinople, it would in no way have injured your liberties, 
 or have altered one single letter of the written chiirter of your land. 
 
 2d. I have no wish to deny " that in the British constitution the King is assisted in all 
 the affairs of Eovernment by the advicf of known and responsible Councillors, and ofHcers 
 who possess the confidence of ihe people," and who form His Majesty's Cabinet; but 
 Colonel Simcoe, who yourselves state " was authorized undoubtedly by His Majesty's 
 Government to declare to His faithful subjects in this province the nature of the consti- 
 tution," created no such Cabinet, nor any cabinet at all ; and from his day down to the 
 present hour there has never existed any iiiiiiistry in the colony, except the Governor, who 
 is himself the responsible minister of the Crown. 
 
 Supposing it were to be argued that four-fifths of the members of your House of Assem- 
 bly ought immediately to be dismissed, because, in proportion to the population of Great 
 Britain and Ireland, there exists five times as many members here as in the English House 
 of Commons, would you not think it very irrational that this noble but thinly-peopled 
 colony should be made " the exact image and t."anscript" of the British constitution merely 
 because Colonel Simcoe happened to use these w irds ? Would you not immediately appeal 
 to your Constituiionul Act on the subject? 
 
 Would you deem it just that a young rising province like this should be afflicted 
 with the same expensive machinery requisite for the government of the Mother Country, 
 4,000 miles off? 
 
 Would you not very fairly argue, that as the whole population of this immense country 
 exceeds only by one-third that of the single parish of St. Mary-le-bone in London, and as 
 the whole of iis revenue does not equal the private fortune of many an English commoner, 
 it would be unreasonable to expect that the people of this province should be ruined in 
 vainly attempting to be the " exact image and transcript" of the British Constitution ? 
 
 But the Constitution which His Britannic Majesty George the Third granted to this 
 province, ordained no such absurdities; and you ha'e only to read that Constitution, to see 
 quite clearly the truth of this assertion. 
 
 The yeomen and industrious classes of Upper Canada should never allow a single letter 
 to be subtracted from or added to this great charter of their liberties; for if once they 
 permit it to be mutilated, or what may lie termed improved, they and their children become 
 instantly liable to find themselves suddenly deprived of their [iroperty, and, what is better 
 than all property, of their freedom and Independence. 
 
 By this Act, yoi. are of course aware that a House of Assembly, a Legislative Council, 
 and a Lieutenant Governor are appointed; but it creates no Executive Council ; and if 
 people tell you that it does, read the Act, and you will see the contrary. 
 
 Isow as regards the House of Assembly, you must know, I'nt being your representa- 
 tives, they are of course answerable to you for their conduct; and as regards the Lieutenant- 
 Governor, I publicly declare to you, that I am liable to dismissal in case I should neglect 
 your interests. 
 
 But, contrary to the practice which has existed in this or in any other British colony, 
 contrary to Colonel Siincoe's practice, or to the practice of any other Lieutenant-Governor 
 who has ever been stationed in this province, it has suddenly been demanded of me, that 
 the Executive Council are to be responsible for my acts; and because I have refused, at 
 a moment's warning, to surrender that responsibility which I owe to the people, whose real 
 interests J will never abandon, 1 find that every possible political effort is now making to 
 blind the public mind, and to irritate its most violent passions. 
 
 But I calmly ask, what can be the secret reason of all this? Is it usual for one person to 
 insist on bearing another person's blame.' or for a body of men lo insist on receiving the 
 punishment incurred by an individualsuperior to ihein in station f Why, therefore, should my 
 Couneil, whose valuable advice, if it were not to be forced upon me, I should be most 
 anxious to receive, be required to demand fiom me my responsibility ? What reason can 
 exist for attempting to deprive me of the only consolation which supports any liouest man 
 in an arduous duty, namely, the reflection that he is ready to atone for every error he 
 commits, and that he is subject to arraignment if he offends? Why should it be declared 
 that responsibility woidd be more perfect with my Council ihau with me f Are they purer 
 
 from 
 
AFFAIRS OF UPPER CANADA. 
 
 59 
 
 letter 
 ; they 
 
 i'roDi party feelings, or less entangled with their fumily connexions than I am ? How can Appendix, 
 
 gentlemen who liiive sworn to lie (I lunl), be responsible to the yeoiniinry und people of this j~ 
 
 rising province? How could they possibly undertnke to administer this government with ! , '"^*!*!|f''* 
 
 mouths sealed bv an onth which forbids them to disclose to any one the valuable advice .. ' -Vn- "^ 
 
 they may conscientious y impiirt to me r ., .•. „ 'i'„„,„i„ 
 
 rh, ■' , ■' < ■ 1 ■!-., I- • I I I'll I • .Mi'ctinc, loronio. 
 
 1 he answer to these questions is very short. 1 he political party which demand responsi- 
 bility for my Council know perfectly well that the power and patronage of the Crown 
 are attached >o it; and it is too evident, that if they could but obtain this marrow, the 
 empty bone of contention, namely, responsibility to thepeopie, they would scmjii be too happy 
 to throw away; and from that fatal moment would all those who nobly appreciate liberty, 
 who have property to lose, and who have children to think of, deeply lament that they had 
 listened to sophistry, liad been frightened by clamour, and had deserted the representative 
 of our gracious Sovereign, to seek British justice from his mute, but confidential advisers. 
 This supposition, however, I will not permit to be realized ; for never will I surrender 
 the serious responsibility 1 owe to the people of this province: and I have that reliance in 
 their honesty — I have lived so intimately with the yeomanry and industrious classes of 
 our revered Mother Country, that I well know, the more 1 am assailed by faction, the 
 stronger will be their loyal support; and that if intimidation be continued, it will soon be 
 made to recoil npon those who shall presume to have recourse to it. 
 
 The grievances of this province must be corrected — impartial justice fnaa^ be administered; 
 the people have asked for it : their Sovereign has ordained it. 1 ain here to execute His 
 gracious commands; delay will only increase imjiatience. Those, however, who have long 
 lived upon agitation, already too clearly see their danger; and with surprising alacrity 
 they are now taking every possible measure to prevent me from rooting up the tree of 
 abuse, because they have built and leathererl thri nests in its branches. 'I'hey asked, how- 
 ever, for the operation, and to amputation they must very shortly submit; for "what's 
 worth doing, should always be done well." 
 
 I have come here for the avowed purpose of reform, but I am not an agitator; and by 
 command of our gracious Sovereign, I will maintain the constitutional liberties of His 
 subjects in this province, and at the same time encourage, to the utmost of my power, in- 
 ternal wealth, agriculture, commerce, peace and tranquillity. 
 
 With respect to my late Council, 1 regret, quite as much as you can do, their resig- 
 nation ; but before they took the oath of secresy, (which appears to my judgment to be an 
 oath of non-responsibility to the people), 1 addressed to them a note, which clearly fore- 
 warned them, as follows : — " / shali rely on your giving me your unbiassed opinion on all 
 subjects respecting ivhich I may feel it uHvisable to require it," 
 
 Three weeks after they had joined the Council, they altogether, in a body, disputed this 
 arrangement ; and accordingly we parted on a matter of dry law. ^ 
 
 No one can deny that my view of the subject agrees with the practice of Colonel 
 Simcoe, and of all the succeeding Governors of this province, down to the day of Sir John 
 Colborne's departure; but that is no proof whalp" r that the practice has been right; and 
 if you would prefer to form your own opinion of i .aw, read the Constitutional Act. 
 
 With respect to my new Council, whose high moral character 1 cannot but respect, I shall 
 consult them as unreservedly as I had promised lo consult those who have just resigni.d; 
 arid if any competent tribunal shall pronounce that they are responsible for my conduct, no 
 one will be a greater gainer than myself by the decision. 
 
 In the meanwhile I shall deal openly and mildly with all parties ; and I trust that I can 
 give you no better proof of my own intention to be governed by reason than the ex- 
 planation I have just offiered to yourselves, the citizens and industrious classes who 
 attended the Toronto Meeting. 
 
 (True Copies.) 
 
 (signed) J. Joseph. 
 
 ■ 
 
 I 
 
 I 
 
 George P. R. 
 
 In the Name and on the behalf of His Majesty. 
 
 INSTRUCTIONS to our right trusty and right entirely beloved Cousin and Coun- The King's 
 cillor Charles Duke of Richmond, Knight of the Most Noble Order of the Garter, Instructions. 
 General of our Forces, Our Captain-Geueral and Governor-iii-Chief in and over 
 Our Province of Upper Canada in America, or, in his absence, to the Lieutenant- 
 Governor or Commander-in-Chief of Our said Province for the time being. Given 
 at Our Court at Carlton House, the ninth day of May i8i8, in the fifty-eighth year 
 of Our Reign. 
 
 Charles Duke of Richmond, k. g. 
 (Instructions.) 
 
 1. With these Our Instructions you will receive Om Commission, under Our Great 
 Seal of Our United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, constituting you Our Captain- 
 General and Governoi-in-Chief in and over Our Provinces of Upper Canada and Lower 
 Canada, bounded as in Our said Commission is particularly expressed. In the execuiion 
 therefore of so much of the ofKce and trust We have reposed in you as relates to Upper 
 
 39^- H 2 Canada, 
 
00 
 
 PAPERS RELATIVE TO THE 
 
 Appendix. 
 
 The King's 
 InRtructiont. 
 
 Cnnadn, you are to tflke upon you the ociminiatration of the Government of the said pro- 
 vince, and to do nnd execute nil things belonging to your command according to tho 
 •evernl powers and authorities of Our said Comminsion, under Our Great Seal of Our United 
 Kingdom of Great Britain nnd [reland, nnd of tiic Act pnsHcd iti tlic thirty-first year of Our 
 reign therein recited, nnd of these Our Instructions to you, nnd according to such further 
 Powers nnd Instructions us you shall nt any time hereafter receive under Our Hignet and 
 sign manual, by Our order in Our Privy Council. 
 
 2. And you are with nil due solemnity before the members of Our Executive Council 
 to cause Our said Commission to be rend and published, which, being done, you shall then 
 take and also administer to each of the members of Oursnid Executive Council the several 
 oaths, and subscribe to the declarntion therein required. 
 
 3. You shall also administer, or cause to be administered, the oaths mentioned in Our 
 said Commission to all persons, except ns hereafter mentioned, that shall be appointed to 
 hold or exercise any office, place of trust, or profit in our said province, previous 10 their 
 entering on the duties of such office, and you shall also cause them to make and subscribe 
 the aforesaid declaration ; but in cases where any such office, place of trust, or profit in Our 
 said province of Upper Canada, shall be conferred on any of Our subjects who may profess 
 the religion of the Church of Rome, you shall, so often as any such person shall or may be 
 admitted into any such office, place of trust or profit, administer, or cause to be admi- 
 nistered, to him the oath prescribed in and by an Act of Parliament passed in the four- 
 teenth year of Our reign, intituled, "An Act for making more effectual Provision for the 
 Government of the Province of Quebec in North America ;" and klso the usual oaih for 
 the execution of such office, place of trust or profit in lieu of all other tests nnd oaths 
 whatsoever. 
 
 4. Whereas We have thought fit that there should be an Executive Council for assisting 
 you Oor ur Lieutenant-Governor or person administering the government of our said pro- 
 vince of Upper Canada for the time being; We do by these Presents nominate and appoint 
 the undermentioned persons to be of the Executive Council of Our said province of Upper 
 Canada, viz., William Dummer Powell, Esq., Our Chief Justice, or the Chief Justice of Our 
 said province for the time being, Jacob Lord Bishop of Quebec, James Baby, Samuel 
 Smith, the Rev. John Straciian, D.I)., and William Clause, Esq. : And whereas by an 
 Order passed in the province of Quebec, the Governor and Council were constituted a 
 Court of Civil Jurisdiction for hearing and determining appeals in certain cases therein 
 specified: And whereas by an Act passed in the thirty-first year of Our reign, it is 
 declared, that the Governor, Lieutenant-Governor, or person administerini^ the government 
 of the snid province, together with such Executive Council, shall be a Court of Civil Juris- 
 diction within Our said province for hearing and determining appeals within the same, in 
 the like cases and in the like manner, and from and subject to such appeal therefrom as 
 such appeals might have been before ihe passing of the above recited Act, heard and deter- 
 mined by the Governor and Council of Quebec; in order, therefore, to carry the said Act 
 into execution. Our will and pleasure is, ihatyou do in all civil causes, on application being 
 made to you for that purpose, permit and allow appeals from any of the Courts of Common 
 Law in Our said province unto you, and the Executive Council of the said province of 
 Upper Canada in manner prescribed by the above-mentioned Act; and you are for that 
 purpose to issue a writ s nearly in the accustomed manner before the passing of the above- 
 mentioned Act in respect of such appeals as the case will admit, returnable before yourself 
 and the Executive Council of the said province, who are to proceed to hear and determine 
 such appeal, wherein such of the Executive Council as shall be at that time Judges of the 
 Court from whence such appeal shall be so made to you and to Our said Executive 
 Council as aforesaid, shall not be admitted to vote upon the said appeal; hut llioy may 
 nevertheless be present at the hearing thereof to give the reasons of the judgment given by 
 • hem in ihe causes wherein such appeal shall be made: Provided nevertheless, That in all 
 such appeals the sum or value appealed for do exceed the sum of 300/. sterling, and 
 that security be first duly given by the appellant to answer such charges as shall be awarded ; 
 in case the first sentence be affirmed, and if either party shall not rest satisfied wiih the 
 judgment of you and such Executive Council as aforesaid, Our will nnd pleasure is, that 
 they may tlien appeal unto Us in Our Privy Council, provided the sum or value so 
 appealed for unto Us do exceed 500/. sterling, and that such appeal be made within 
 fourteen days after sentence, and good security be given by the appellant, that he will 
 effectually prosecute the same nnd answer the condemnation, as also pay such costs and 
 damages as shall be awarded by Us, in case the sentence of you and the Executive 
 Council be affirmed : Provided nevertheless, where the mauer in question relates to the 
 taking or demanding any duty payable to Us, or to any fee of office or annual icnts, or 
 other such like matters or things where the rights in future may be bound. In all such 
 cases you and the said Executive Council are to admit an appeal to Us in Our Privy 
 Council, though the immediate sum or value appealed for be of a less value. And it is 
 Our further will and pleasure, that in all cases where by your Instructions you are to admit 
 appeals unto Us in Our Privy Council, execution shall be suspended until the final deter- 
 mination of such appeal, unless good and sufficient security be given by the appellee to 
 make ample restitution of all that the appellant shall have lost by means of such decree or 
 judgment; in case upon the determination of such appeal, such decree or judgment should 
 be reversed and restitution awarded to the appellant. You and Our Executive Council 
 nre also to admit appeals unto us in Our Privy Council, in all cases of fines imposed for 
 misdemeanors, pruviued that the tine so imposed amount to or exceed the sum of too/- 
 
 . : ,» sterling. 
 
 
 I I 
 
AFFAIRS OF UPPER CANADA. 
 
 61 
 
 sterling, the appellant firit giving good security thai he will cnecluully prosecute the tnnie, 
 And ancwer the rnndemniition if the icntence hy which the Bnc was imposed in your 
 government shiill he confirmed. 
 
 5. And (hat we may be always informed of the names and characters of persons fit to 
 supply the vacancies wiiich may happen in Our said lixccuiive Council, you are, in case 
 of any vacancy in Our said Council, lo transmit to V» through one of Our Principal 
 Secretaries of State, tiie names and charncicrs of such three persons, inhabitants of Our 
 said province of Upper Canada, whom you may esteem best qualified for fulfdling the 
 trust of such Executive Council. 
 
 6. And in the choice and selection of such persons proposed to fill such vacancy in Our 
 said Executive (Council, as also of the chief officers of justice, you are always to take care 
 that they be men of good life, well affected to Our Government, and of abilities suitable 
 to their employment. 
 
 7. And whereas We are sensible that effectual cure ouahi to be taken to oblige the 
 members of Our Executive Council to a due attendance; it is Our will and pleasure, in 
 order to prevent the many inconveniences that may happen for want of n quorum of the 
 -Council to transact business as occasion may require, that if any of the members of Our 
 said Executive Council residing in Our said province shall hereafter wilfully absent them- 
 selves from the province, and continue absent above the space of six months tosjeiher, 
 without leave from you first obtained under your hand and seal, or shall remain absent 
 for the space of one year without Our leave given them under Our royal signature, their 
 places in the said Executive Council shall immediately thereupon become void. And We 
 do hereby will and require you that this Our royal pleasure be signified to the Hcvcral 
 members of Our said Executive Council, and tliat It be entered in the Council Books as a 
 standing rule. 
 
 8. And to the end that Our said Executive Council may be assisting to you in all affairs 
 relating to Our service, you are to communicate to them such and so many of these Our 
 Instructions wherein their advice is mentioned to be requisite, and likewise all such others 
 from time to time as you shall find convenient for Our service to be imparted to them. 
 
 9. You are to permit the members of Our said Executive Council to have and enjoy 
 freedom of debate, and vole in all affairs of public concern which maybe debated in the 
 said Executive Council. 
 
 10. And whereas by the aforesaid recited Act, passed in the thirty-first year of Our reign, 
 it is provided, that the seats of the members of Our Legislative Council shall become vacant 
 in certain cases mentioned in the said Act , it is Our will and pleasure that if any member 
 of Our said Legislative Council shall at any time leave Our said province and reside out of 
 the same, you shall report the same to Us, by the first opportunity, through one of Our 
 Principal Secretaries of State, and you are also in like manner to report whether such mem- 
 ber of the said Council is absent by your permission or by the permission of Our Lieute- 
 nant-Governor or Commander-ln-Cliief of the said province for the time being; and you 
 are also in like manner to report, if it shall come to your knowledge, iliatany such member 
 shall at any time take or have taken the oath of allegiance or obedience to any foreign 
 prince or power, or shall be attainted for treason in any Court of Law within any of Our 
 dominions, that We may take such measures thereupon as We shall think fit; iind you are 
 to take especial care that the several provisions of the said Act respecting the several cases 
 in which persons may or may not be entitled to receive writs of summons to the said 
 Legislative Council, and to hold their places therein, shall be duly executed. 
 
 11. And for the execution of so much of the powers vested in you by our said Commis- 
 sion, and by virtue of the said Act, as relates to llie declaring that you assent in Our name 
 to Bills passed by the Legislative Council and House of Assembly, or ihatyou withhold our 
 assent therefrom, or that you reserve such Bills for the signification of Our royal pleasure 
 thereon ; it is Our will and pleasure that you do carefully observe the following rules, direc- 
 tions and instructions: —viz. 
 
 That the style of enacting all the said laws, statutes and ordinances be by Us, Our heirs 
 and successors, bv and with the advice and consent of the Legislative Council and Assembly 
 of Our province of Upper Canada, constituted and assembled by virtue and iiiulcr the 
 authority of an Act passed In the Parliament ofGreut Britain, intituled, "An Act lo repeal 
 certain parts of an Act passed in the fourteenth year of Ijs Majesty's reign. Intituled, 'An 
 Act for making more effectual provision for the Govern-iient of the Province of Quebec in 
 North America,' and to make further privislon for the Government of the said Province," 
 and that no Bill in any other form shall be assented to by you In Our name. That each 
 dlfl"cient matter be provided for by a dlfTerent law, without Including in one and the same 
 Act such things as liave no proper relation lo each other. 
 
 Tha: clause be inserted in any Act or Ordinance which shall be foreign to what the 
 title ol . nports, and that no perpetual clause be part of any lenipoiaiy law. 
 
 That !■-> law or ordinance whatever be suspended, alieied, continued, reviewed, or 
 repealed in general words, but that the title and dale of such law or ordinance shall be par- 
 ticularly mentioned in the enacting part. 
 
 That in case any law or oidlnance respecting private property shall be passed without a 
 saving of the right of Us, Our heirs and siicessors, anci of all persons or bodies politic or 
 corporate, except such as are mentioned In the said law or ordinance, you shall declare that 
 you withhold Our assent from the same; and if any such law or ordinance shall be passed 
 without such saving, you shall in every such case declare that you reserve the same lor the 
 signification of Our royal pleasure thereon. 
 
 Appendix. 
 
 The King's 
 Instruction*. 
 
 
 39>- 
 
 H3 
 
 Thai 
 
iWV 
 
 6a 
 
 I'APEUS RELATIVE TO THE 
 
 Appendix. 
 
 1'lif King's 
 Irxtructioni. 
 
 |. i 
 
 I 
 
 ^f 
 
 Thai in nil iaw!) or ordinnnccg for levying iiumey, or imposing (inn, forfciUires or 
 prniiltic'R, cxprcHH iiirntion lie made tlint the *nme in grniilal or reserved lo Vn, Our lioim 
 and siit'<'(>KorH, tor ilie piililic u*i'* of ilic i-niil province and ilie support of lilt* goveriiiiicnt 
 lliereof IIS by ihennid law !sliidl he direelcd; and llial a clause be inscried, declaring (hat the 
 due appliention of such money, pursuant lu the directions uf hucIi law, iiIimII be uccrounted 
 for uiilo I's tlirougli Uur Coniniisbioners of Our 'I'reasury for the lime being, in hucli niaa> 
 tier and form ns we shall direct. 
 
 12. And whereas We have by Our saiti Commission given you full power and auiliority, 
 subject as therein is specified and to these Oar instructions in that behalf, to issue writK of 
 ■ummons and cliclioii, and lo call together the Legislative Council and Assembly of Our 
 said province of Upper Canada; and for the purpose of electing the Members of the A ssrinbly 
 of Oiirsnid province of Upper Canada, have also given you full power anti authority lo issue u 
 pruelamatiun, dividing our said province of Uppir Canada into districts or couniies,or circles, 
 nnd towns or townships, and declaring and appointing the number of representatives to 
 be chosen by encli n( such districts ur counties, or circles, and towns and towiishi|>s ; Now 
 Our will and |ileas;irc is, that yon shall issue such proclamation as soon us may be, allowing 
 nevertheless a re.isoiinble time l>etween the issuing thereof and the time of issuing the writs 
 of summons and election above mentioned. 
 
 13. That all laws assented to by you in Our name, or reserved for the signification of Our 
 royal pleasure shall, when transmitted by you, be fairly abstracted in the margins, and 
 accompanied with very I. '1 and particular observations upon each of them; iliat is to say, 
 whether the same is introductory to a new law declaratory of a former law, or does rejical a 
 law then before in being; iiikI you are also to iransmit in the fullest inanncr ihe reasons 
 and occasion for proposing such laws, together with fair copies of the journals and iiiinules 
 of till! proceedings of the said Legislative Council and Assembly, which you arc to require 
 from the clerks or other proper officers in that behalf, of the said Legislative Council and 
 Assembly. 
 
 14. And whereas in the said Act it is provided thot in certain cases Acts passed by the 
 Legislative Council and Assembly of the province shall, previous to any signitieutioii of Our 
 assent thereto, be laid before both Houses ot Our Parliament of this Kingdom ; and 
 whereas it is also provided in the said Act, that in certain eases provision may be made by 
 the Acts of the Legislative Council and Assembly of the province, assented to by Us, Our 
 'leirs and successors (thereby reserving the power of giving such assent to Us, Our iieirs and 
 ■uccessors only), you are lo take especial care that in every such case you are to declare 
 that you reserve such Bills for the signification of Our pleasure thereon ; and yon will like- 
 wise reserve for such siuuification every other Bill w hich you shall consider to be of an extra* 
 ordinaty or unusual nature, or requiring Our especial consideration and decision thereupon, 
 particularly such as inay aHect the properly, credit or dealings of such of Oar subjects as are 
 not usually resident within Our said province, or whereby duties shall be laid u,)on British 
 or Irish shipping, or upon the produce or manufaciurcs of Great Britain or Ireland. 
 
 15. And whereas laws have been formerly enacted in several of Our plantations in 
 America for so short a time that Our royal assent or refusal thereof could not be had before 
 the time for which such laws were enacted did expire, you shall not assent in Our name to 
 any law that shall be enacted for a less time than two years, except in cases of imminent 
 necessity or immediate lem|)orary expediency ; and you shall not declare On assent to any 
 law containing |)rovisions which shall have been disallowed by Us, without express leave for 
 that purpose first obtained from Us, u[)on a fall representation by you to be made to Us, 
 througli one of Our Princijial Secretaries of State, of the reasons and necessity of passing 
 such law. 
 
 16. Whereas We have thought fit by Our Orders in Our Privy Council to disallow certain 
 laws passed in some of onr colonics and plantations in America for conferring the privileges 
 of naturalization on persons being aliens, and for <livoicing persons who have been legally 
 joined together in holy marriage ; and whereas Acts have been passed in others of Our said 
 colonies to enable persons who are Our liege subjects by birth or naturalization to hold and 
 inherit lands, tenements and real estates, although such lands, tenements and real estates 
 had been originally granted to or purchased by aliens antecedent to naturalization ; It isOuir 
 will and pleasure that you do not upon any pretence whatsoever give your assent to any Bill 
 or Bills that may hereafter be passed by the Legislative Council and Assembly of the said 
 province under your government for the naturalization of aliens, nor for the divorce of per- 
 sons joined in holy marriage, nor for establishing a title in any person to lands, tenements or 
 real estates in Our said province originally granted to or purchased by aliens antecedent 10 
 naturalization. 
 
 17. You are to give wcrrants under your hand for the issuing of public monies for all public 
 services, and Wedoparticularly requite you to take care that regular accounts of all receipts and 
 payments of public monies be duly kept ; that the same from time to time be duly audited by 
 our Executive Council, and that copies thereof, attested by you, be transmitted every half- 
 year, or oftener, if there should be occasion, to Our Commissioners of Our Treasury or to Our 
 High Treasurer for the time being, and duplicates thereof by the next conveyance ; in which 
 accounts shall be specified every particular sum raised or disposed of, to the end that We 
 may take such measures as We may deem necessary for the examination of the said 
 accounts, and that We may be satisfied of the right and due application of the revenues of 
 Our said province of Upper Canada, and with the probability of the increase or diminution 
 of it under every head and article thereof. 
 
 i8. Whereas 
 
 . 
 
AlFAIRS OF UPPl'.R CANADA. 
 
 63 
 
 18. VVherens by nn Act of the Parliament of Great Dritiiin, pasied in the fourth year 
 of Our Ttttin, inllluled, " Aii Act to nrcvent I'liper HiHh of Credit herenlter to be iHiued in 
 nny of iliit Mnjesty'ii ColonifH nnd I'liiiitiilions in Americu from btin^ decliired to bo a 
 le^riil 'I't'iider ill pitytnent of Money, mid to prt^vent llie lo){ul Tender of iiuch HilLs ns are now 
 Hubsifitiii<r from lieiii^ piolonKcd beyond thi^ Periods limited for callini; in and Hinkiiig tho 
 fiame," it iH enacted, thut no paper bills or bilU uf credit hIiouI(I be crciited or isHiit-d by an 
 act, order, reholutioii or vote of Assembly, in any of Oiircolonicit or plantation)) in America, 
 to be a U'fjal tender in payment ; and tlint any such act, order, repoluliou or voto for 
 creatinir or Issuing sucli paper bills, or bills of credit, or for prolont;ii) ' the legal tender of 
 any such then HiibsiHtiiit; and current in any of the said coloineH and plantations, should bo 
 null and void ; and whereas by another Act of (Jar said Parliament, passed in tin- thirteenth 
 year of Oui n.i|^ii, intituled, " An Act to explain and amend the above recitt'<l Act," passed in 
 the fourth yeiir of t)ur reiijn as aforesaid, it is enacted, that an^ certilicates, notes, bills or 
 debentures which shall or may be voluntarily accepted by the creditors of the public withiii 
 any of the colonies of America as security for the payment of what is due aud owing to tho 
 said public creditors, may be made and enacted by the ("'Ciieral Assemblies of the said 
 colonies respectively, to be a tender to the public treasurors in tho said colonics, for tho 
 discharge of any duties, charges or debts whatsoever, due t(< and payable Pt or in the said 
 public treasuries of the said colonies, in virtue of laws passed witliin thu same, and in no 
 other case whatsoever : It is Our will and pleasure, that you Jo in all things conform your- 
 self to the provisions of the said recited Acts, doth with respect to the not assenting to any 
 bills which may be presented to you for the purpose of issuing or creating paper bills or 
 bills of credit to be a legal tender in payment ; and the assenting to any bills by which such 
 certificates, notes or debentures which may bo voluntarily accepted in payment by the 
 public creditors, shall be made a legal tender to the Treasury for taxes, duties and other 
 payments to the public treasury. 
 
 19. You shall not remit any fines or forfeitures whatsoever above the sum of 10/., nor 
 dispose of any forfeitures whatsoever, until, upon signifying unto the Commissioners of Our 
 Treasury or Our High Treasurer for the time being, the nature of the oftence and the 
 occasion of such fines and forfeitures, with the particular sums or value thereof, which you 
 are to do with all speed, you shall have received Our directions thereon; but you may 
 in the mean time suspend the j)ayment of the said fines and forfeitures. 
 
 20. And you are on every occasion to transmit to Us, through one of Our Principal 
 Secretaries of State (with all convenient speed), a particular account of all new establish- 
 ments of jurisdiction, courts, offices and officers, powers, authorities, fees and privileges, 
 granted and settled within Our said province of Upper Canada ; as likewise an account of 
 all expenses (if any) attending the establishment of the said courts and offices. 
 
 21. It is Our further will and pleasure, that all commissions to be granted by you to 
 any person or persons to be Judge, Justice of the Peace or other necessary officer, be granted 
 during pleasure only. 
 
 22. You are not to suspend any of the Members of the said Executive Council, or to 
 suspend or displace any of the Judges, Justices, Sheriff's or other officers or ministers within 
 Our said province of Upper Canada, without good and sulRcienf cause; and in case of such 
 suspension or removal, you are forthwith to transmit your reasons for the same to one of Our 
 Principal Secretaries of State. 
 
 23. And whereas frequent complaints have been made of great delays and undue pro- 
 ceedings in the courts of justice in several of Our plantations, whereby many of Our good 
 subjects have very much suffered, and it being of the greatest importance to Our service 
 and to the welfare of Our plantations be every where speedily and duly administered, and 
 that all disorders, delays, and other undue practices in the administratien thereof be effec- 
 tually prevented, We do particularly require you to take especial care that in all courts 
 where you are authorised to preside, justice be impartially administered; and that in all 
 other courts established within Our said province, all Judges and other persons therein 
 concerned do likewise perform tho several duties without delay or partiality. 
 
 24. You are to take care that no court of judicature be adjourned but upon good 
 grounds, as also that no orders of any court of judicature be entered or allowed which hhall 
 not be first read and approved of by the Justices in open court ; which rule you are in like 
 manner to see observed with relation to all proceedings of Our Executive Council of Upper 
 Canada, and that all orders there made be first read and approved in such Council before 
 they are entered upon the Council Books. 
 
 25. You are to take care that all writs within the said Province of Upper Canada be 
 issved in Our name. 
 
 26. You shall take care, with and by the advice and assistance of Our Executive 
 Council, that such prisons as may at any time be necessary be erected, and that the same or 
 any other already erected be kept in such a condition as may effectually secure the 
 prisoners which now are or may hereafter be confined in them. 
 
 27. You shall not suffer any person to execute more offices than one by deputy. 
 
 28. You shall not, by colour of any power or authority, hereby or o'.herwise granted or 
 mentioned to be granted unto you, give, grant or dispose of any place or office within Our 
 said province, which now is or shall be granted under the Great Seal of this kingdom, or to 
 which any person is or shall be appointed, by warrant under Our signet and sign manual, 
 any further than that you may. upon the vacancy of any such office or place, or upon the 
 suspension of any such officer by you as aforesaid, put in any fit person to officiate in the 
 interval till you shall have represented the matter unto Us, through one of Our Principal 
 
 • 391. H 4 Secretaric* 
 
 App<>ndix. 
 
 Ill)' King'* 
 Iie-triictiunii. 
 
 
 
Tfi 
 
 64 
 
 PAPERS RELATIVE TO THE 
 
 Appandix. 
 
 The King's 
 Instruction*. 
 
 m 
 
 Secretaries of State, which you are id do by tlie first opportunity, and till the said office or 
 place is disposed of by Us, Our heirs or successors, under the great seal of this kingdom, 
 or until some person shall be appointed thereunto, under Our signet and sign manual, or 
 until Our further directions be given therein. And it is Our express will and pleasure that 
 you do give reasonable support to the patent officers in ti\e enjoyment of their legal and 
 established fees, rights, privileges and emoluments, according to the true intent and mean- 
 ing of their respective patents. 
 
 29. And 'vhereas several complaints have been made by the officers of Our customs in 
 Our plantations in America, that they have frequently been obliged to serve on juries, and 
 personally to appear in arms whenever the militia is drawn out, and thereby are much 
 nindered in the execution of their employments; Our will and pleasure is, that you take 
 especial care and give the necessary directions that the several officers of Our customs bo 
 excused and exempted from serving on any juries, or personally appearing in arms in the 
 militia, unless in cases of absolute necessity, or serving any particular offices which may 
 hinder them in the execution of their duties. 
 
 30. And whereas nothing can more effectually tend to the speedy settling of Our said 
 province of Upper Canada, the security of the property of Our subjects and the advancement 
 of Our revenue, than the disposal of such lands as are Our property, upon good and reason- 
 able terms, and the establishing of a regular and proper method of proceeding, with respect 
 to the passing of grants of such lands; It is Our will and pleasure that all and every 
 person or persons who shall apply for any grant or giants of land, shall, previous to 
 their obtaining the same, make it appear that they are in a condition to cultivate and im- 
 prove the same ; and in case you shall, upon a consideration of the circumstances of the 
 person or persons a])plying for such grants, think it advisable to pass the same, you are in 
 such case to cause a warrant to be drawn up, directed to the Surveyor-General, or other 
 officer, empowering him or them to make a faithful and exact survey of the lands so peti- 
 tioned for, and to return the said warrant within six months at farth'- it from the date 
 thereof, with a plot or description of the lands so surveyed thereunto annexed ; and when 
 the warrant shall be returned hy the said Surveyor or other proper officer, the grant shall be 
 made out in due form, and the terms and conditions required b^' these Our Instructioan, be 
 particularly and expressly mentioned theiein. And it is Our wdl and pleasure that the said 
 grants shall be registered, within six months from the date thereof, in the Register's office, 
 and a docket thereof be also entered in Our Auditor's office ; copies of all which entries shall 
 be regularly returned by the proper officer to Oir Commissioners of Our Treasury. 
 
 31. And for the further encouragement of Our subjects, it is Our will and pleasure that 
 the lands to be granted by you, as aforesaid, shall be laid out in townships, and that each 
 inland township shall, as nearly as circumstances will admit, consist of ten miles square, 
 and such as shall be situated upon a navigable river or water shall have a front of nine 
 miles, and be twelve in depth, and subdivided in such manner as shall be found most ad- 
 visable for the accommodation of the settlers, and for the making the several reservations 
 for the public uses, and p ticularly for the support of the Protestant clergy, agreeably to 
 the above-recited Act, passed in the 31st year of Our reign. 
 
 32. And because great inconveniences have heretofore arisen in many of Qui' colonies in 
 America, from the granting excessive quantities of land to particular persons, who have 
 never cultivated or settled the same, and have thereby prevented others more industrious 
 from improving such lands; in order therefore to prevent the like inconveniences in future, it 
 is Our will and pleasure that you observe the following directions and regulations in all 
 grants to be made by you as aforesaid, (that is to say) : 
 
 That no town-lot shall be granted to any one person being master or mistress of a family 
 in any township so to be laid out which shall contain more than one acre ; that no park-lot 
 shall be granted to any one person being master or mistress of a family in any township so 
 to be laid out which shall contain more than 24 acres ; that no farm-lot shall be granted to 
 any one person being master or mistress of u family in any township so to be laid out which 
 shall contain more than 200 acres. 
 
 It is Our will and |)lcasuro, and you arc heieby allowed and permitted to grant unto every 
 such person and persons such farther quantity of land as they may desire, not exceeding 
 1,000 acres over and above what may heretofore have been granted to them; and in all 
 grants of land to be made by you as aforesaid you are to take care that due regard be had 
 to the quality and comparative value of the different parts of land comprised within any 
 township, so that each graniee may have as nearly as may be a proportionate quantity of 
 lands of such different quality and comparative value, as likewise that the breadth of such 
 tract of land to be hereafter granted be one-third of the length of such tract, and that the 
 length of such tract do not extend along the banks of any river but into the main land, that 
 thereby the said grantees may have each a convenient share of what accommodation the 
 river may aflbrd for navigation or otherwise. 
 
 33. And as a further accommodation to Our subjects who shall become settlers as afore- 
 said, it is Our will and pleasure that the said townships and the respective allotments within 
 the same, together with the lands to be reserved as aforesaid, shall be seen and laid out by 
 Our Surveyor-General of Lands for the said province, or some skilful person authorised bv 
 him for that purpose, which surveys, together with the warrants and grants and the respec- 
 tive allotments, shall bo made out for and delivered to the several grantees free of any 
 expense or fee whatever other than such as may be payable to the different officers accord- 
 ing to the table of fees established upon grants of land made in the said province. 
 
 34. And 
 
AFFAIRS OF UPPER CANADA. 
 
 65 
 
 And 
 
 34. And in order to prevent any persons disafTected to Us and Our Government from Appendix. 
 
 becoming settlers in Our said province of Upper Canada, it is Our will and pleasure that 
 
 no warrant for surveying lands be granted by you or the Lieutenant-Governor, or person The King's 
 administering the government for the time being, unless the person or persons so applying Instructions, 
 for the same do, at the time of making such application, besides taking the usual oaths 
 
 directed by law, also make and subscribe the following declaration in your or his presence, 
 or ir the presence of such person or persons as shall by you or him be appointed for that 
 purpose (that is to say); — , 
 
 " I, A. B., do promise and declare, that I will maintain and defend to the utmost of my 
 power the authority of the King in His Parli'' ut, as the supreme legislature of 
 this province." 
 
 35. Whereas the reserving of such bodies of land within Our province of Upper 
 Canada, where there are considerable growths of timber fit for the use of Our royal navy, is 
 a matter of the utmost importance to Our service ; it is Our will and pleasure that no grants 
 whatever be made of lands in any district or tract of Our said provnice of Upper Canada 
 until Our Surveyor-General or his deputy, lawfully appointed, shall have surveyed the same, 
 and marked out as reservations to Us, Our heirs and s'-ccessors such parts thereof as shall 
 be found to contain any considerable growth of masting or other timber fit for the use of 
 Our royal navy, and more especially upon the rivers ; and you are hereby intrusted to direct 
 Our Surveyor-General of Lands iu Our said province from time to time with all due 
 diligence to complete the surveys and mark out the reservations as aforesaid, in the most 
 convenient parts of Our said province; and you are from time to time to report the number, 
 extent and situation of such reservations ; and you are further to direct Our Surveyor- 
 General not to certify any plots of ground ordered and surveyed for any person or persons in 
 order that grants may be made out for the same, until it shall appear to him by a certificate 
 under the hand of Our Surveyor-General of Woods, or his deputy, that the land so to be 
 granted is not part of, nor included in, any district marked out as a reservation for Us, 
 Our heirs and successors as aforesaid for the purpose hereinbefore mentioned ; and in order 
 to prevent any deceit or fraud being committed by the persons applying for lands in this 
 respect, it is Our will and pleasure that in all grants to be hereafter made for lands within 
 Our said province of Upper Canada, tlie following proviso and exceptions be inserted ; 
 that is to say, " And provided also, that no part of the parcel or tract of land hereby 
 granted to ihe said and his heirs, be within any reservation heretofore 
 made and marked for Us, Our heirs and successors by Our Surveyor-General of Woods or 
 his lawful deputy; in which case this Our grant for such part of the land hereby given and 
 granted to the said and his heirs for ever as aforesaid, and which shall, 
 upon a survey thereof being made, be found within any such reservation, shall be null 
 and void and of none effect, anything herein contained to the contrary notwithstanding." 
 
 36. And wher'^as it is necessary that all persons who may be desirous of settling in 
 Our said province should be fully informed of the conditions and terms upon which lands 
 will be granted within Our said province of Upper Canada in the manner prescribed in and 
 by the said Act passed in the thirty-first year of Our reign ; you are therefore, as soon as 
 possible, to cause a publication to be made by proclamation or otherwise, as you shall in 
 your discretion think most advisable, of the said terms and conditions respecting the 
 granting of lands; in which proclamation it may expedient to add some short description 
 of the natural advantages of the soil and climate, and its peculiar convenience for trade and 
 navigation. 
 
 37. And it is Our further will and pleasure that all the foregoing Instructions to you as 
 well as any which you may hereafter receive relative to the passing grants of land, in con- 
 formity to the said Act passed in the thirty-first year of Our reign, be entered upon record 
 for the information and satisfaction of all parties whatever that may be concerned therein. 
 
 38. And whereas it haih been represented to Us, that many parts of the province under 
 your government are particularly adapted to the growth and culture of hemp and flax ; it is 
 therefore Our will and iure that in all surveys for settlemenis the Surveyor be directed 
 to report whether there are any or what quantity of lands contained within such surveys 
 for the production of hemp and flax. 
 
 39. And whereas it has been represented to us that several ])arts of Our said province 
 of Upper Canada have been found to abound with coals ; it is Our will and pleasure that in 
 all grants of land to be made by you a clause be inserted reserving to Us, Our heirs and 
 successors all coals and also all mines of gold, silver, copper, tin, iron and lead which shall 
 be discovered upon such lands. 
 
 40. You shall cause a survey to be made of all considerable landing places or harbours 
 in Our said province, in case the same shall not already have been done, and report to Us 
 by one of Our Principal Secretaries of Slate how far any tortifications be necessary for the 
 security and advantage of the said province. 
 
 41. Whereas the cslablishinent of proper regulations on matters of ecclesiastical concern 
 is an object of very great importance, it will be your iinlispensable duty to take care that no 
 arrangements ni regard thereto be made, but such as may give lull saiisl'aciioii to Our new 
 subjects in every point in which lliey have a right to any indulgence on that head ; always 
 remembering that it is a toleration of ihc free exercise of the religion of tiie Church of 
 Rome only to which they are entitled, but not to the powers and privileges of it as an 
 established church, that being a |/ielercnce which belongs only to the Protcniunt Cliurch of 
 England. 
 
 391. I ^ 4a. And 
 
 I 
 
 Is 
 
66 
 
 PAPERS RELATIVE TO THE 
 
 Appendix. 
 
 The King's 
 Instructions. 
 
 42. And upon the principles, tlierefore, nnd to tlie end tiiat Otir just supremacy in all 
 matters ecclesiastical as well as civil may have its due scope and influence ; 
 
 It is Our will and pleasure, First, that all appeals to a correspondence with any foreign 
 ecclesiastical jurisdiction, of what nature or kind soever, be absolutely forbidden under very 
 severe penalties. 
 
 Secondly, That no episcopal or vicarial power be exercised within Our said province by 
 any person professing the religion of t!ie Church of Rome, but such only as are indispensably 
 and indisputably necessary to the free exercise of the Homish religion ; and in those cases 
 not without a license and permission from you, under the seal of (Jur said province, for and 
 during Our will and pleasure, and under such limitations and restrictions as may correspond 
 with the spirit and provisions of the Act of the fourteenth yea'' of Our reign, " for making 
 more effectual provision for the Government of the Province of Quebec;" and no person 
 ■whatever is to have holy orders conferred upon him, or have the care of souls, witliout a 
 license for that purpose first had and obtained from you. 
 
 Thirdly, That no person professing the religion of the Church of Rome be allowed to fill 
 any ecclesiastical benefice, or to have and enjoy any of tiie rights or profits belonging 
 thereto, who is not a Canadian by brith, (such only excepted as are now in possession of any 
 such benefices) and who is not appointed thereto by Us or under Our authority; and that all 
 right or claim of right in any other person whatever to nominate, present or appoint to any 
 vacant benefice, other than such as may lay claim to the patronage of benefices as a civil 
 right, be absolutely abolished ; no person to hold more than one benefice, or at least not 
 more than can reasonably be served by one and tiiesauie incumbent. 
 
 Fourthly, That no person whatever professitig the religion of the Church of Rome be 
 appointed incumbent of any parish in which the majority of tiie inhabitants shall solicit the 
 appointment of a Protestant minister; in such case the incumbent shall be a Protestant, and 
 entitled to all tithes payable within such parish; but, nevertheless, the lioman Catholics 
 may have the use of the church for the free exercise of their religion, at such time as may 
 not interfere with the religious worship of the Protestants; and in like manner, the Pro- 
 testant inhabitants in every parish ivlierc the majority of the parishioners are Roman 
 Catholics shall notwithstantling have the free use of the church for the exercise of their 
 religion, at such times as may not interfere with the religious worship of the Roman 
 Catholics. 
 
 Fifthly, That no incumbent professing the religion of the Church of Rome appointed to 
 any parish shall be entitled to receive any tithes ft . ds or possessions occupied by a Pro- 
 testant, but such tithes shall be rtceiv2d by such persons as you shall appoint, and shall he 
 reserved in the hands of Our Receiver-General as aforesaid for the support of a Protestant 
 clergy in Our said province, to be actually resider' within the same, anj not otiierwise, 
 according to such directions as you shall receive from Us in that behalf: .md in like manner 
 all growing rents and j)rofits of a vacant benefice shall during such v-".eancy be reserved for 
 and applied to the like uses. 
 
 Sixthly, That all persons professing the religion of the Church of Roine who are already 
 
 f)0S3essed of, or may hereafler be appointed to, any ecclesiastical benefice, or who may be 
 icensed to exercise any power or authority in respect thereto, do take and subscribe before 
 you in Council, or before such person as you shall appoint to administer the same, the oath 
 required to be taken and subscribed by the aforesaid Act of Parliament passed in the four- 
 teenth year of Our Reign, intituled, " An Act for making more efi'ectual provision for the 
 Government of the J'roviiiee of Quebec in North America." 
 
 Seventhly, That all incumbents of parishes professing the Romish religion, not being 
 uniler the eeclebiastical jurisdiction of the Bisliop of Quebec, shall hold their respective 
 benefices during their good behaviour, subject, however, in case ot' any conviction for cri- 
 minal offence, or upon due proof of seditious attempts to disturb the peace nnd tranquillity 
 of Our Government, to be dejirived or suspended by you. 
 
 Eighthly, That such ecclesiastics as may think fit 10 enter into the holy state of matrimotiy 
 shall be released from all penalties to which they may have been subjected in such cases by 
 any authority of the see of Rome. 
 
 Ninthly, That freedom of the burial of the dead in the churches and churchyards be 
 allowed indiscriminately to every Christian persuasion. 
 
 Tenthly, That the Royal Family be prayed for in all churches and placesof public worship, 
 in such manner and form as is used in this kingdom, and that Our Arms and insignia be put 
 up not only in all such churches and placesof holy worship, but also in all courts of justice, 
 and that the Arms of France be taken down in any such church or court where they may at 
 present remain. 
 
 4;^. You are to permit liberty of consrcience and the free exercise of all such modes of reli- 
 gious worship as are not prohibited by law to all persons who may inhabit and frequent 
 the province of Upper Canada, provided they be contented with a quiet and peaceable 
 enjoyment ot the same, without giving offence or scandal to the (iovernment. 
 
 44. It is Our will and pleasure to reserve to you the granting of licenses for marriage, 
 letters of administration and probates of wills, as heretofore exercised by you and your pre- 
 decessors, and also to reserve to you and all others to whom it may lawfully belong, the 
 patronage and right ot presentation to benefices; but it is Our will and pleasure that the 
 person so presented shall be instituted by the Bishop or his commissary duly authorised by 
 him. 
 
 45. You are to take especial care that God Almighty be devoutly and duly served 
 tl'iuughout your goverumeut, that the Lord's day be duly kept, and the services and prayers 
 
 appointed 
 
I 
 
 AFFAIRS OF UPPER CANADA. 
 
 6? 
 
 rsliip, 
 )e nut 
 
 appointed by and according to the book of Common Prayer be pnblicly and solemnly per- Appendix, 
 formed throughout the year. 
 
 46. You are to take care that the churches which are or may be hereafter ertcted in Our The King's 
 said province of Upper Canada be well and orderly kept. Instruction* 
 
 47. You shall recouiniend to the Legislative Council and General Assembly of the pro- 
 vince of Upper Canada to settle the limits of parishes in such manner as may be deemed 
 most convenient. 
 
 48. You are to use your best endeavour that each minister be constituted one of the 
 vestry in his respective parish, and that no vestry be held vvitiiout him, except in case of sick- 
 ness, or that after notice given of a vestry he omit to come. 
 
 40. It is Our will and pleasure that you recommend to the Legislative Council and 
 Assembly of Our said province of Upper Can.ida to make due provision for the erecting and 
 maintaining of schools where youth may be educated in competent learning, and in know- 
 ledge of the principles of the Christian religion. 
 
 50. And it is Our further will and pleasure that no person shall be allowed to keep a 
 school in the province of Upper Canada without yorr license first had and obtained ; ia 
 granting of which you are to pay the most particular attention to the morals and qualifica- 
 tions of persons applying for the same; and in all cases where the school has been instituted 
 or appointed for the educalioTi of membersof the Church of England, or where it is intended 
 that the schoolmaster should be a member of the Church of England, you are not to grant 
 
 •such licenses except to persons who shall first have obtained from the Bishop of Quebec or 
 one of his commissaries a certificate of their being properly qualified for that purpose. 
 
 51. And it is Our further will and pleasure that in order to suppress every species of vice, 
 profaneness and immorality, you do forthwith cause all laws made against blasphemy, pro- 
 faneness, adultery, fornication, polygamy, incest, profanation of the Lord's Day, swearing 
 and drunkenness to be strictly put in execution in every part of the province of Upper 
 Canada ; and that for this purpose you do direct that the constables and churchwardens of the 
 several parishes do make presentment upon oath of any of the vidcs before mentioned to the 
 justices of the peace in their session, or to any other of the temporal courts ; and you are 
 earnestly to recommend to the Legislative Council and Assembly to provide effectual law* 
 fertile restraint and punishment of all such of the aforementioned vices against which no 
 laws are as yet provided, or in cases where the laws already made are found to be insufficient ; 
 and in order to discountenance vice and promote the practice of virtue to the utmost of your 
 power, A\'e do hereby strictly command and enjoin you to appoint no person to be a justice 
 of the peace, or to any trust or employment, whose notorious ill Ife or conversation may 
 occasion scandal. 
 
 52. You are not to present any Protestant minister to any ecclesiastical benefice within 
 Our said province, by virtue of the said Act passed in the 31st year of Our reign, 
 and of Our commission to you, without a i^roper certificate from the Bishop of Quebec, or 
 his Commissary, of his being confornuable to the doctrine and discipline of the Church of 
 England. 
 
 53. And you are to take especial care that the table of marriages established by the 
 Canons of tlie Church of England be hung up in all places of public worship, 'ccording 
 to the rights of the Church of England. 
 
 54. It is our intention tliat the peltry trade of the interior country shall be free and 
 open to Our subjects, inhabitants of any of Our colonies, who shall, pursuant 10 what was 
 directed by our Royal Proclamation of 1763, obtain trading licenses from the Governor of 
 any of Our said colonies, under penalties to observe such regulations as shall be made by 
 Our Legislature of Our province of Upper Canada for that pinpose. These regulations, 
 therefore, wlien established, must be made public throughout all our American possessions ; 
 and they must have for their object the giving every possible facility to that trade which 
 the nature of it will admit, and which may be consistent with just and fair dealing towards 
 the native Indians with wiiom it is carried on. The fixing stated times and places for 
 carrying on the trade, and adjusting modes of settling tariffs of the price of goods and furs, 
 and above all, the restraining the sale of spirituous liquors to the Indians, will be the most 
 profitable and effectual means of ansvvenng the ends proposed. 
 
 55. And whereas it is expedient lor Our ser?ice that we should from time to time be 
 informed of the state of the trade and fisheries as well as of the population of the said 
 province of Upper Canada; it is Our will and pleasure that you do transmit to Us through 
 one of Our Principa', Secretaries of Slate, and to Our Committee of Our Privy Council for 
 Trade and Eoreign Plantations, for iheir information, yearly and every year, a full and 
 particular account of the state of the fur and peltry trade; the nature and extent of the 
 several fisheries carried on by Our subjects or others, either on the lakes or rivers of the 
 said province; the stale of the cultivation, particularly specifying the quantity of grain, 
 hemp and ilax produced; and of any other important branch of trade which may in your 
 opinion be undertaken and advantageously carried on by Our subjects; the number of 
 inhabitants, distinguishing them under the difi'ercnt heads of men, women and children; 
 inserting in such account the number of persons born, christened and buried, and any 
 extraordinary influx or emigration from our said province, specifying at the same time the 
 number of slaves and the number of Our subjects capable of bearitig arms in the militia; 
 the nuinber and tonnage of shipping and craft employed upon the lakes and rivers in or 
 contiguous to the province of Upper Canada, together with any information on these or 
 any other points of the like nature which may be proper to be communicated to us. 
 
 391- 12 56. And 
 
'^1 ' 
 
 J' 1 1 
 
 ' A' 
 
 68 
 
 PAPERS RELATIVE TO THE 
 
 Appendix. 
 
 The King's 
 Inttructions. 
 
 r> 
 
 II 
 
 mii 
 
 56. And whereas you will receive from Our Commissioners for executing the office of 
 High Admiral of Our United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, and of the plantations, 
 a commission constituting you Vice-Admiral of Our said province of Upper Canada; you 
 are required and directed carefully to pjt in execution the several powers thereby granted 
 to you. 
 
 57. Whereas it is absolutely necessary that We be exactly informed of the state of 
 defence of all Our plantations in America, as well in relation to tiie st'-res of war, that are 
 in each plantation, as to the forts and fortiRcations there, and what rr jre may be necessary 
 to be built for the defence and security of the same. You are from time to time to 
 transmit an account thereof with relation to Our said province of Upper Canada, in the 
 most particular manner ; and you are therein to express the present state of arms, ammu- 
 nition and other stores of war belonging to the said province, either iij any public maga- 
 zines or in the hands of private persons, together with a state of all piaces either already 
 fortified, or that you may judge necessary to be fortified, for the security of Our said 
 province; and you are to transmit the said accounts to Us by one of Our Principal Secre- 
 taries of State, and also duplicates to Our Master-general or principal officers of Our 
 Ordnance; which accounts are to express the particulars of ordnance, carnages, balls and 
 powder, and all other sorts of arms and ammunition now in Our public stores; and so,- 
 from time to time, of what shall be sent to you or bought with the public money, and to 
 specify the time of the disposal and the occasion thereof, and other hke accounts half 
 yearly in the same manner. 
 
 58. And in case of distress in any oilier of Our plantations, you shall, upon application of 
 the respective governors to you, assist them with what aid the condition and safety of Our 
 said province under your gi/vernment can spare. 
 
 59. If any thing shall happen which may be of advantage or security to Our province 
 under your government, which is not herein or by your commission provided for. We do 
 hereby allow unto you, with the advice and consent of Our said Executive Council, to take 
 order for the present therein; provided, nevertheless, that what shall be done be not repug- 
 nant to Our Commission or Instructions, and to the said Acts passed in the fourteenth and 
 thirty-first year of Our reign ; giving unto Us by one of Our Principal Secretaries of State 
 speedy notice thereof, that you may receive Our ratifica'.ion, if We shall approve the same; 
 Provided always, that you do not, by colour of any power or authority hereby given you, 
 commence or declare war without Our knowledge and particular command therein, except 
 it be for the purpose of preventing or repelling hostilities, or unavoidable emergencies, 
 when the consent of Our said Executive Council shall be had, and speedy notice given 
 thereof to Us by one of Our Principal Secretaries of State. 
 
 60. And whereas great prejudice may happen to Our service and to the secuiity of Our 
 said province by your absence or the absence of the Lieutenant-Governor for the time 
 being; you shall not upon any pretence whatsoever come to Europe without having first 
 obtained leave for so doing from Us, under Our signet and sign manual, or by Our order in 
 Our Privy Council. 
 
 61. And whereas we have thought fit by Our Commission to direct, that in case of your 
 detithj)r absenceTroiii Our said province^and in "case "there be at that time no person 
 commissIoneJ7)r~appbinled by Us to be Our Lieutenant-Governor, or appointed by Us to 
 administer the government within the province, in the event of the death or absence of you 
 and of Our Lieutenant-Governor of the said province, the senior member of the Executive 
 CoiinciJ^wJio shall be at the time of your death or absence residing within Our said 
 province of Upper Canada, subject to such other nomination and appointment by you 
 iinder Hie great seal of Our said province, as in Our said Commission is in that behalf men- 
 tioned, shall take upon lum tj^ie administration of the governmeiit^ and execute Our said 
 Commission and Instructions, and the several powers and authorities therein contained, in 
 the manner hereby directed. It is iievtrtheless Our express will and pleasure, that in such 
 case the person so administering the government shall forbear to assent to any acts but. 
 what are immediately necessary For the welfare of Our said province, without Our particular 
 orders for that purpose ; and that he shall not take upon him to dissolve the Assembly then 
 in being, nor to remove or suspend any of the members of Our said Executive Council, 
 nor any judges, justices oitlie peace or other officers, civil or military, witiiout the advice 
 and consent of the niajority of the said Executive Council; and he is by the first opjiortu- 
 nily to transmit to Us, by one of Our Principal Secretaries of State, the reasons of such 
 alterations, signed by him and the Council; and Our will and pleasure is, that the above 
 Instructions with respect to such senior Councillor shall also be equally observed by and 
 binding upon such other Executive Councillor as may be nominated and appointed by you 
 under the great seal of Our said province, by virtue of Our said Commission in thai 
 behalf. 
 
 62. And whereas by our different Commissions we have appointed you to be Our 
 Governor and Commander-in-Chief of Our Provinces of Upper Canada and Lower Canada; 
 Our Province of Nova Scotia ; Our Islands of Prince Edward and Cape Breton, as well as 
 of Our Provitice of New Brunswick ; and it is Our intention that the Lieutenant-Governors 
 commanding in Our said Provinces of Upper Canada, New Brunswick and Nova Scotia, 
 and the Islands of Prince Edward and Cai>e Breton, should have and enjoy the full salaries, 
 perquisites anil cmolumenis, granted to them and arising from their resjiective governments, 
 in as full and ample a manner r.s if the said governnienis were under distinct governors in 
 chief. It is therefore Our will and pleasure that yon shall not at any time or times, when 
 you shall be resident and commanding in chief in either of Our said provinces of Upper 
 
 Canada, 
 
 ci 
 ai 
 b 
 
 Ci 
 
 Y 
 
 it 
 sn 
 1' 
 
 I 
 
AFFAIRS OF UPPER CANADA. 
 
 69 
 
 Canada, Nova Scotia or New Brunswick, or the Islands of Prince Edward and Cape Breton, 
 linve or receive any part of tlie said salaries, perquisites or einoluinents ; but that tlie same 
 shall continue to be paid and satisfied to the Lieutenant-Governors of Our said Provinces 
 and Islands respectively, in the like manner as they usually are during your absence 
 therefrom. 
 
 63. And you are upon all occasions to send to Us, by one of Our Principal Secretaries 
 of State, a particular account of all your proceedings, and of the condition ofatiuirs within 
 your government. 
 
 (A true copy.) 
 
 (signed) J. Joseph. 
 
 Appendix. 
 
 The King's 
 Instruction!!. 
 
 (G.) 
 CovY of the Oath taken by every Member of the Executive Council. 
 
 You do swear, that so far forth as cunning and discretion sufticeth, you will justly, truly Oath taken by 
 and evenly counsel and advise the King and his representative in the government of this Executive Council, 
 province, in all matters to be communed, treated and demeaned in the Executive Council, 
 or by you asi the King's counsellor, without partiality or exception of persons, not leaving 
 or eschewing so to do, for affection, love, meed, doubt or dread of any person or persons. 
 
 You shall keep secret the King's counsel, and all that shall be communed, by way of 
 counsel in the same, and shall not discover it by word or writing, or in any otherwise, 
 to any person out of ihesiinie Council, or to any of the same Council if it touch him, or be 
 parly thereof. 
 
 You shall not gift, meed good, or promise of good, by any man, 01, by promise of any 
 other person, accept or lake, for any promotion, favouring, letting or hindering, any matter 
 or thing to be treated or done in the said Council. 
 
 You shall, with all your might and power, help and strengthen the King's said Council 
 for the good of the King and this province, and for the peace, rest and tranquillity of the 
 same. 
 
 You shall withstand any person or persons, of whatever condition, estate or degree, that 
 should attempt or intend the contrary ; and, generally, you shall observe, keep and do 
 all that a good and true councillor ought to do unto his sovereign lord, or his representative 
 in this province. 
 
 (signed) Jvhn Beikie, 
 
 Clerk, Executive Council. 
 
 (H.) 
 
 Address to His Majesty on the subject of the Legislative Council. 
 
 To the King's most Excellent Majesty. 
 
 Most gracious Sovereicn, 
 WE> your Majesty's most dutiful and loyal subjects, the Commons of tapper Canada, Address to the 
 in Provincial Parliament assembled, humbly represent, that we have applied ourselves with King, 
 the greatest diligence during the present Session of the Provincial Parliament, to various 
 subjects of great interest to our constituents ; and alihiiugh our proceedings have been 
 unavoidably interrupted, to a degree altogether unprecedented, by the trial of controverted 
 elections, and although many of the members of this House have laboured under the disad- 
 vantage of having been without parlianieniary experience ; yet the necessary measures on 
 the subjects- to which we have alluded have been brought to a satisfactory conclusion, and 
 completed as far as depended on this House, and hvae been sent to the Legislative Council. 
 It is with no ordinary mortification and regret, however, that we find our exertions during 
 a most laborious session, rendered unavailing in respect to most of these measures, by the 
 rejection of them by the Legislative Council. Among such as have shared this fate, are Bills 
 to protect the agricultural interests of this Province from a ruinous foreign compclitioii ; — to 
 provide for the just and equal distribution of the property of persons dying intestate; — 
 to secure an impartial trial by jury, and to take from the sheriffs, who hold their offices 
 during pleasure, the power which they now possess of packing juries; — to relieve an 
 excellent and meritorious class of yo: / subjects from burdens and pijnalties which are 
 imposed by the Militia Laws of this Province, and which are oppressive on them, and 
 which in time of peace are altogether unnecessary ; — to improve the system of our common 
 and district schools, and to increase the public funds for their support ; — to amend the 
 charter of King's College, in couforiniiy with Your Majesty's gracious recommendations, 
 and with the wishes '.vhich have at different limes been strongly expressed to Your Majesty 
 by your faithful subjects in this province, so as to put that institution into operation on 
 just and liberal principles ; — to provide for the sale of the clergy reserves, and the appli- 
 cation of the monies arising therefrom to objects of common benefit and gnat utility to 
 Your Majesty's subjects in this province, in accordance with Your Majesty's gracious 
 invitations, aiul with tlie well-known and often expressed wishes of Your Majesty's 
 subjects ; — to promote the peace, freedom and independence of elections of Members of 
 Parliament, by adopting the mode of voting by ballot;— to grant 100/. per annum for five 
 .391. 13 years 
 
 P 
 
w 
 
 4 
 
 I 
 
 ' 
 
 Appendix, 
 
 Address to the 
 King. 
 
 70 
 
 PAPERS RELATIVE TO THE 
 
 years to the Prantliam and Batli Academics, institutions of education estabiislied by the 
 voiuntiiry contribution of the people, and on liberal principles. 
 
 All these measures, and others which we will not trouble Your Majesty with eDumeratinfi;, 
 have been rejected by the Legislative Council without atnendment, and the labours of this 
 House, during a session which we think we may justly declare has been distinguished for 
 unprecedented diligence and a|)plication to public business, almost entirely baffled and 
 rendered useless by the course pursued by the Legislative Council. If there were any 
 reason to hope that these difficulties could be obviated, or materially diminished in future, 
 we should not trouble Your Majesty ; but the experience of years convinces lis, that on 
 many subjects of great and general interest there is such a disagreement of opinion between 
 the Legislative Council, as now constituted, and the representatives of the people, as to 
 bring us to the conclusion, which indeed the Legislative Council itself has expressed in 
 relation to one of the most deeply interesting of these subjects, namely, that the Legis- 
 lature of this [irovince cannot concur in any measure that will be satisfactory to Your 
 Majesty's subjects in this piovince. We are aware that Your Majesty has been officially 
 informed by his Excellency Sir John Colborue, that " composed as the Legislative 
 Council is at present, the province has a right to complain of the great influence of the 
 Executive Government in it; that it consists of seventeen members, exclusive of the 
 Bishop of Quebec; that of these, from accidental causes, not more than fifteen ever 
 attend to their legislative duties; that thus, out of the members generally present, six are 
 of the Executive Council, and four hold offices under the government; and that his 
 Excellency had therefore intimated his intention of recommending to Your Majesty- to 
 increase the Legislative Council." And it was no doubt with a desire to remedy this evil, 
 equally felt by the people and his Excellency, that Your Majesty has since added to their 
 number, liut it is our duty to assure Your Majesty that this change has not abated the 
 evil of which we have such serious causes to complain, while it has, on the contrary, 
 produced that further division of responsibility amongst its members which lessens the 
 consciousness of individual accountability, without establishing any community of feeling or 
 sentiments of respect between them and the people. 
 
 Wc do not wish to advert to this unpleasant and mortifying condition of our public 
 aflairs, in language that shall be disrespectful or offensive to the Legislative Council ; nor 
 do we presume to prescribe to Your Majestj' what expedient should be adopted to afford 
 relief in the premises to Your Majesty's dutiful and loyal subjects in this province, who, we 
 are confident, desire that Your Majesty's attention should be called to it, and that we 
 should humbly leave it to Your Majesty's wisdom to apply a suitable remedy. 
 
 In connexion with this subject, we feel bound to represent to Your Majesty, that it is 
 the earnest desire of Your Majesty's faithful subjects, that Your Majesty's Government in 
 this province should be conducted by the advice of those who should be actually and 
 practically responsible for their proceedings, and who would, as a consequence, be likely to 
 recommend and favour such public measures as maybe most desired by Your Majesty's 
 subjects, and in their opinion most conducive to their interests. We behold Your Majesty, 
 in the administration of the ahairs of the great Empire which Providence has committed 
 to Your Majesty's hands, graciously consulting the wishes of your faithful people, as 
 expressed by their representatives, in the choice of responsible advisers, to manage, under 
 Your Majesty, the affairs of the Government ; and we have been accustomed to regard it 
 as an essential and invaluable feature of the glorious constitution of our Mother Country. 
 The same principle we wish to see applied in the practice of our colonial government: 
 until that is done, we cannot expect that the administration will give satisfaction to Your 
 Majesty's subjects, or that there will be any real and permanent harmony between the 
 Government and the representatives of the people. It is true, that we might withhold the 
 annual grant for the support of the Government as a mark of our dissatisfaction with this 
 state of tilings, and as a means of procuring redress ; but being anxious to evince our 
 forbearance, and desire to avoid as long as possible contention and difficulty, as well as to 
 show our confidence in Your Majesty's paternal regard for your faithful people in this 
 province, and gracious attention to their constitutional rights ; and being reluctant to resoft 
 to a measure which we are aware must greatly embarrass tlie Government, until all other 
 constiiutional means of seeking redress have been tried and proved unavailing, we have 
 preferred thus to appeal to Your Majesty for Your Majesty's gracious and effectual inter- 
 ference in our behalf; and have, notwithstanding our just dissatisfaction with the existing 
 state of things, anil notwithstanding the pecuniary distress which prevails in the province, 
 granted, for the present year, the necessary supplies for the support of the-Government, in 
 the confident hope that effectual steps will immediately be taken for the removal of these 
 obstacles lo the peace, welfare and good government of the province. When it is con- 
 sidered that the ministers who, sometimes in rapid succession, fill the Colonial department 
 under Your Majesty, are strangers to our province, and too distantly situated lo acquire, 
 through channels, often contradictory and interested, a true and correct knowledge of the 
 wants, wishes and genius of Your Majesty's Canadian people, the practical need of local 
 responsibility becomes more apparent and imperious. 
 
 (signed) Marshall S. Bidxuell, 
 
 Speaker. 
 
 Commons House of Assembly,! 
 15th day of April 1833. J 
 
 On 
 
 ai 
 
AFFAIRS OF UPPER CANADA. 
 
 71 
 
 On pasLiiiig the above Address, the Yeas and Nays were as follows: 
 
 Yeas. — Alway, Bruce, Chisholm, lilunconilK- df Oxford, Duncouibe of Norfolk, 
 
 Duranil, Gibson, Gilchrist, Lount, Macintosh, Mackenzie, .MacMicIing, Moore, 
 
 Morrison, Park, Perry, Roblin, llynial, Shaver, Shibiey, Smith, Thorburn, 
 
 Waters, Wells, Wilson and Yager --------- 
 
 Nays. — Brown, Caldwell, MacCrae, MacDonell of Glengary, MacDonell of 
 Northumberland, MacLean, MacNab, Mcrritt, Morris, Richardson, Robinson, 
 Rykert, Solicitor-General, Walsh, V\'ilkinson ------- 
 
 .Appendix. 
 
 ' A(i(lre»s to the 
 Kini;. 
 
 >5 
 
 On 
 
 (I.) 
 To THE King's Most Excellent Majesty. 
 
 Most gracious Sovereign, 
 
 WE, Your Majesty's most dutiful and loyal subjects, the Commons House of Assembly 
 of Upper Canada, in Provincial Parliament assembled, in full assurance of Yo'.ir Majesty's 
 earnest desire to promote the welfare of your people, beg leave humbly to address our- 
 selves to Your Majesty upon a matter of the deepest interest to your faithful subjects in 
 this province. 
 
 We learn with extreme apprehension and regret, that at the instance of the fiOrds 
 Commissioners of Your Majesty's Treasury, Your Majesty has been advised to entertain 
 the intention of disallowing two Acts of the Legislature of this colony, which were passed 
 more than two years ago; the one for increasing the capital stock of the bank of Lpper 
 Canada, and the other for incorporating a second bankinj,' association in this province 
 under the name of the Commercial Bank of the Midlai-d District. 
 
 Wc humbly represent, that, although the disallowance of these Acts may appear to be 
 authorized by the letter of the Statute of the British Parliament, passed in the thirty-first 
 vear of the reign of Your Majesty's Royal Father, intituled, " An Act to repeal certaiix 
 t'arts of an Act passed in the fourteenth year of llis Majesty's reign, intituled, 'An Act 
 for making more elVectual provision for the Government of the Province of Quebec, ia 
 North America,' anil to make further provision for the Government of the said Province ;" 
 yet it is contrary to its spirit and meaning and the principles of a free government. We 
 believe that this provision was intended to remedy any evil which might be occasioned by 
 the Royal Assent being given in the colony to a provincialjAut, that should be found incom- 
 patible with the rights and interests of other portions of the empire ; but we cannot think 
 it was intended to give the power of interference with our internal affairs; against such 
 an interference we respectfully, but plainly and solemnly protest, as inconsistent with those 
 sacred constitutional principles which are essential to a free government; since it is mani- 
 fest, that if Your Majesty's Ministers, at a distance of more than four thousand miles, and 
 not at all controllable by or accountable to Your Majesty's subjects here, and possessing 
 necessarily a slight and imperfect knowledge of the circumstances of this country, the 
 ■wants, and habits and feelings of the inhabitants, and the mode of transacting business 
 among us can dictate a dirterent course, in relation to measures affecting ourselves only, 
 from that which the peo])le by their representatives, and with the concurrence of the other 
 branches of the Provincial Legislature, have chosen, we are reduced to a state of mere de- 
 pendence upon the will and pleasure of a Ministry that are irresponsible to us, and beyond 
 the reach and operation of the public opinion of the province ; and no one can rely upon 
 our provincial laws, although ilicy may be constitutionally and deliberately formed, but the 
 most unhappy unceriainty and want of confidence will prevail and e.\tend their disastrous 
 influence over all our business transactions. 
 
 We respectfully claim the same right in behalf of Your Majesty's subjects in this pro- 
 vince, to be consulted in the making ot laws for their peace, welfare and good government, 
 which our fellow subjects in Great Britain enjoy, in respect to the laws to which their obe- 
 dience is required ; and although, from the necessity of the case, power must be granted to 
 the head of the empire of preventing colonial laws being adopted and enforced, which are 
 incompatible with treaties between Your Majesty's Government and foreign states, or with 
 the just rights of any other of Your Majesty's colonies; yet, with these exceptions, we 
 humbly submit, that no laws ought to be, or rightfully can be, dictated to or imposed 
 upon the people of this province, to which they do not freely give their consent 
 through the constitutional medium of representatives chosen by and accountable to 
 themselves." 
 
 The force of our humble and dutiful remonstrance against the principle of an inter- 
 ference of Your Majesty's Ministers with our internal affairs, we are not willing to dimi- 
 nish, by insisting upon the inconveniences and evils likely to follow from the exercise of 
 the power, which the letter of the British statute, before quoted, gives to Your Majesty to 
 disallow the provincial Acts which we have mentioned; but we cannot refrain from de- 
 claring our painful and settled conviction, that the disallowance of these Acts, after they have 
 been for a long time in operation, so that the most I'requent and ordinary, aj well as the most 
 extensive and important transactions of business in the province depend upon their continued 
 existence, would be atleniled with confusion and distress beyond description, without any 
 benefit to the province, and M'ithout any advantage whatever to any portion of Your 
 Majesty's dominions. 
 
 391. 14 We 
 
 I 
 
 i- 
 
 • i 
 

 I]' 
 
 n 
 
 
 r.i 
 
 I: 
 
 ij 
 
 ii^i 
 
 Appendix. 
 
 Address to the 
 King. 
 
 Address of Com- 
 mons House of 
 Assembly. 
 
 72 
 
 PAPERS RELATIVE TO THE 
 
 We therefore respectfully iintl humbly pray, that Your Majesty, taking these matters 
 into your favourable considerution, will he graciously pleased not to disallow these provin- 
 cial acts, and not permit Your Majesty's Ministers to interfere with our internal affuiis, but 
 to leave the same entirely to the discretion and control of the Legislature of this province. 
 
 We beg to renew our assurances of entire devotion to Your Majesty's person and 
 Government. 
 
 F.viritnce before 
 Select Committee 
 of House of 
 Assembly. 
 
 Commons House of Assembly,") 
 3 March 1834. J 
 
 Archibald M' Lean, 
 
 Speaker. 
 
 Yeas :— Berezy, Uidwell, Boulton, Buell, Burwell, Campbell, Chisholm, Clark, Cook, 
 Crooks, Duncombe, Elliott, Fraser, A., Fraser, D., Hornor, Howard, Jarvis, Lewis, 
 MacDonald, A., M'UonaUl, D., MacNab, Mcrritt, M«rris, Perry, Randal, Robinson, 
 Samson, Shaver, Van Roughnct, Willson, J., Wilson, W., - - 31. Nay :— Mr. Krtchum. 
 
 (K.) 
 
 TO his Excellency, Sir Francis Bond Head, Knight Commander of the Royal Hanove- 
 rian Guelphic Order, Knight of the Prussian Military Order of Merit, Lieutenant- 
 Governor of the Province of Upper Canada, &c. &c. 8cc. 
 
 May it please your Excellency, 
 WE His Miijesty's dutiful and loyal subjects the Commons of Upper Canada, in 
 Provincial Parliament assembled, beg leave to request that your Excellency will cause to 
 be laid before this House, with as little delay as possible, an entire copy of what is generally 
 termed " The King's Instructions" to the Gavernors of Upper and Lower Canada; and also 
 copies of any other instruction not heretofore laid before this House, touching the duties or 
 responsibilities of the Executive Council of this province; as also any instructions from 
 His Majesty's Government, touching the administering the government of this Province by 
 any Executive Councillor, in the event of the death or removal from the Province of the 
 Governor, Lieutenant-Governor, or person administering the Government; and also copies 
 of any bond or agreement between your Excellency and any of your present Executive 
 Council, or between any two or more of the said Council, by which it is stipulated in what 
 manner the government shall be administered, or who shall administer the government of 
 this province in case of the above-named occurrence. 
 
 Commons House of Assembly,! 
 23 March 1836. ' / 
 
 Marshall S. Bidteell, 
 
 S[)eaker. 
 
 Gentlemen, 
 
 I herewith transmit as much of the information desired by the House as [ possess. 
 
 I have entered into no bond or agreement of any sort with my present Executive 
 Council, and 1 do not possess, nor doe s j^hcre jexjst iji CqutKil^n^' document of such a 
 nature between two or more of thesaidCouncil. 
 
 (L.) 
 
 Committee Room, House of Assembly. 
 Monday, 28 March 1836. 
 
 Present: — Messrs. Perry, Chairman. 
 Duncombe. 
 Morrison. 
 Roblin. 
 Norton. 
 
 Robert Baldwin Sullivan, Esq., called in, and interrogated. 
 
 Question i. ARE you senior member and presiding Councillor of the Executive Council? 
 — Answer. Yes, 
 
 Q. 2. Is there any written agreement existing between yourself and any of the other 
 members of the Executive Council, by which it is stipulated on your part in what way the 
 government should be administered in the event of the death or removal from the province 
 of the Lieutenant-Governor ? — A. There is no agreement in existence by v.hich it is 
 stipulated how the government of the province shall be administered in the event men- 
 tioned in the question. Aj_the time the Counci l were about to be sworn in, I expressed 
 a wislijhiit it mi ght be understood t hat, in cither of TFc~ eve nts irientioned, it was my 
 Intention to resign my glace as^ ExecutTve CouncnTor, as it was ngt p iy desire , jii any e vent, 
 td'fill tfiFsttuatibn oF a di n 1 iTTs 1 ra tqro t h e governme nt. At_j ny request this mtention" wa s 
 expre^5?^TH~wngnj;,'a lKrrsiari"ed it. 
 
 Q. 3. IsUfe mstrument you mention under seal, or witnessed ?— It is neither under seal 
 or vitnessed. 
 
 Q. 4. Into wliose hands did you deliver the document ? — A. Into the hands of the Hon. 
 William Allan. 
 
 Q. 5. Did 
 
 fm 
 
iiwi v«vi^ 
 
 n} 
 
 AFl-AIRS or UPPER CANADA. 
 
 73 
 
 Q. 5. Did !iny otlicr person know of the existfiice oF ihe dnciimrnt ? — A. Yes, it vvns not 
 intoiicied llial niv intention should be secret, (lis lilxcellency the Lieiiten.int-Ciovernor 
 was present when it was read, and delivered to Mr. Allan. 
 
 Q. 6. Did his Excelleiiev the Lieutenant-Governor write the document, or was it ^!['5y' Committee 
 
 V*. vy. IJUl Ills HiXCelletley the i-4iuui»;iitiiii-\j»jvL'iiii'i **iinj mi: utiuuiuciii, ui ^1 na li 
 
 written by his E.xcelleeny'g order? — A. I proposed that my intention should be expressed "' "o"' 
 in writing, and I wished tiiat the writing should be drawn up by some person other than "■''"'''>■ 
 myself; upon which his Excellency, being present, was kind enough to draw it up. 
 
 Q. 7. Was the writing intended to be legally binding upon you ? — A. Certarnly not. 
 
 Q. 8. What was the object or intention of the paper in (luestion, if it was not intended to 
 be legnlly binding? — A. It was intended for my own satishiction, that it might not be said 
 that I had it in view to (ill the situation of administrator of the government. 
 
 Q. 9. Do you think you could constiiuiionally resign in case of either of the above events, 
 and give place to another who could administer the government .' — A. I couhl transmit my 
 resignation to His Majesty's Oovernment, and decline taking upon myself the office of 
 administrator of the government. I think it is the constitutional right of any individual 
 to decline taking oliice upon himself; and as to giving place to another, that is not the act 
 of the person declining office, but of the law. 
 
 Q. lo. Do you not ihink that in either of the above events taking place, you would be 
 the administrator of the government without being ai)pointed in any way ? — A. The 
 senior Executive C'ouncillor woidd, upon taking the oaths of office, be invested with the 
 administration of the government without any further appointment. 
 
 Q. n. J)o you think that upon your resignation, us above stated, the administration of 
 the government coidd be assumed by any other member of the Council? — A. 1 think it 
 could ; either upon my resignation, or upon my refusal to take the oath of office. 
 
 Committee Room, April u, 1836. 
 Hon. Avgustiis Baldtchi, called in ; and Examined. 
 
 Question 1. ARE yon one of the present Executive Council ? —Answer. Yes. 
 
 Q. 2. Have you any knowledge of a paper signed by Mr. Sullivan in relation to the admi- 
 nistration of the government in the event of the death or absence from the province of the 
 Lieutenant-Governor; and were you present when such paper was executed ? — A. I was 
 pteseoLvvhen a paper was signed by Mr. Sullivan for the purpose of Mr. Allan's becominjr 
 Senior Councillor in the event aljuded to. 
 
 Q. 3. At wliose suggestion was the paper drawn up and signed ? — J. Mr. Elmsley's. 
 
 Q. 4. Into whose liands was the paper, after execution, delivered ? — A. I think it was 
 into Mr. Allan's hands. 
 
 Q. 5. Who drew it up? — A. Sir Francis Head drevy jt uj). 
 . Q. 6. V\'hat was the tuiderstood purpose of the paper? — A. Thfit the administration^ 
 might not devolve upon Mr. Sullivan in case of either of the above evemSi 
 
 Q. 7. What obieciiori was tliere to Mr. Sullivan's administering the government thus 
 referred to ? — A. I know of none other than Mr. Allan had preferable claims froini his age 
 and long standing in society. Mr. Sullivan made no objections when the thing was sug- 
 gested, but immediately said he would acquiesce. 
 
 Q. 8. Are the Committee to understand that the agreement or paper alluded to was 
 drawn up at the Government House? — A. No, it was drawn up in the Executive Council- 
 Chatriber. We went there to meet the Governor before sworn into office. 
 
 Appcndi.x. 
 
 Evidence licfore 
 Select Cumniit 
 of I iouae of Al 
 
 (M.) 
 
 To his Excellency Sir Francis Bond Head, Knight, Commander of the Royal Hanoverian 
 Guelphic Order, Knight of the Prussian Military Or.l.ir of Merit, Lieutenant-Governor 
 of Upper Canada, &c. gcc. &(.. 
 
 May it please your Excellency, 
 WE, His Majesty's dutiful and loyal subjects, the Commons of Upper (Canada in 
 Provincial Parliament assembled, humbly beg leave to inform your Excellency, that this 
 House, considering the appointment of a responsible Executive Council to advis<! your 
 Excellency on the affairs of the province, to be one of the most happy and wise features 
 in the constitution, and essential to the form of our government, and one of the strongest 
 securities for a just and equitable administration, and eminently calculated lo insure the 
 full enjoyment of our civil and religious rights and privileges, has lately learned with no 
 small degree of surpri«e and anxiety, that the Executive Council, so recently formed for 
 the purpose above stated, (as we presume) consisting of six members, did, on Saturday, the 
 I2tli instant, unanimously tender lo your Excellency their resignations; and that your 
 Excellency was pleased lo accept the same ; and humbly to request your Excellency 10 
 inform this House, without delay, whether such are the facts, and al to communicate to this 
 House full information relative lo the cause of disagreement between your Excellency and 
 your said late Executive Council, as far as lies in your Excellency's power to make known; 
 as also to furnish this House with copies of all communications between your Excellency 
 and your said late Council, or any of them, on the subject of such disagreumeut, and 
 subsequent tender of resignation. 
 
 Commons House of Assembly,) 
 14th March 1836. J 
 
 391. K 
 
 Address of House 
 of Assembly 
 lo Lieutenaut-G 0- 
 vcrnor. 
 
74 
 
 PAPEUS RELATIVE TO THE 
 
 I: 
 
 
 Aiipc'iidix. 
 
 ]<eply ut llouio of 
 Amenibly to 
 Licut.-GovRrnor. 
 
 Hii Excellency's Reply. 
 
 Grntlemen, — Nothing can njipcnr more iciisonable to my mind tlian t!ic surprise niul 
 anxiety wliieii llie House of Assembly express to ine iit tiie mteili^eiu'o they have reeeived 
 of the siiildeii resignation of tiie six members of tiie Exeeulivc Conucil; for ^v it h both 
 lliese feelings I was myself deeply impressed, when firmly relying on the advice, assistance 
 and cordial eo-operation of my Coinicil, £ une xpectedly recei ved fioin them the embarass- 
 injf dricuiiient which, with my Reply thereto", FiTow, at the renuesl 6rtTieTTouse oFAssenibly, 
 willingly present to you. 
 
 With every desire tlT consult my Council, I was prcjiaring for their consideration im- 
 portant remedial measures, which I conceived it wouicf be acrvisiible to ad()|)t, anJ had 
 they but alFordcd me tliose few nionicnts for reflection, wliicli, from my sudden arrival 
 among you, I fancied I might fairly have claimed as my due, tlie miestion which %'S 
 unnecessarily tliey ha've agitated, would have proved practically to bejiseless. 
 "HaJ they chdsennrlnTViTverballjr submitted to me in Comicil, that tTTel^esponsibility, 
 and consef|uently the |)ower and patronage of the Lieutenant-Governor, ought hence- 
 forward to be transferred from him to them; had they even in the usual form of a written 
 petition, recommended to my attention, as a new tlieory, that the Council, instead of the 
 Governor, was to be responsible to the people, 1 should have raised no objection wliaiever 
 to the proceeding, however in opinion I might have opposed it; but when they simul- 
 taneously declaied, not that such might to he, but that such actually wiis the law of the 
 land, and concluded their statement, by praying that a Council sworn in secresy to assist 
 me, might be permitted, in case I disapproved of their opinion, to communicate with the 
 public, I felt It my duty calmly and with due courtesy to inform them, tliat they could 
 not retain such principfc-s together with my confidence, and to this opinion I continue 
 stedfastly to adhere. 
 
 I feel confident that the House of Assembly will be sensible, that the power intrusted 
 to me by our gracious Sovereign, is a subject of painful anxiety; that from the patronage 
 of this province 1 can derive no advantage; and that I can have no object in retaining 
 undivided responsibility, except that which proceeds from a just desire to be constitu- 
 tionally answerable to His Majesty, in case 1 should neglect the interests of his subjects ia 
 this province. 
 
 With these sentiments I transmit to the House of Assembly the documents they have 
 requested, feeling confident that I ciin give them no surer proof of my desire to preserve 
 their privileges inviolate, than by proving to them that 1 am ecjually determined to 
 maintain the rights and prerogatives of the Crown, one of the most prominent of which 
 is, that whii'h I have just assumed, of naming those Councillors in whom I conscientiously 
 believe I can confide. 
 
 For their Acts I deliberately declare myself to be responsible, but they are not respon- 
 sible for mine, iind cannot be, because, being sworn to silence, they arc deprived by this 
 fact, as Well as by the conslitution, of all power to defend themselves. 
 
 (0.) 
 
 To His Excellency Sir Friims Bond Head, Knight Commander of the Royal Hanoverian 
 Guelpliic Order, Knight of the Prussian JMilitary Order of Merit, Lieut.-Governor of the 
 Province of Upper Canada, Sec. &c. Sec. 
 
 May it please your Excellency, 
 
 Adarcss of House We, His Majesty's dutiful and loyal subjects, the Commons of Upper Canada, in pro" 
 of Assembly to vincial Parliament assembled, humbly beg leave to inform your Excellency, that we have 
 
 Lieut-Governor. with deep regret learned that your Excellency has been induced to cause the late Executive 
 Council to tender their resignation to seats in the Council under circumstances which still 
 enabled your Excellency to declare that your estimation of their talents and integrity, as 
 well as your personal regard for them remained unchanged, and that under the present 
 excited state of public feeling in this colony, occasioned by the recent proceedings between 
 your Excellency and the late Executive Council, and the appointment of a new Council 
 (as appears by the Gazette Extraordinary of Monday 14th iVlarch instant,) composed of 
 Robert Baldwin Sullivan, John Elmsley, Augustus Baldwin, and William Allan, Esquires, 
 this House feel it to be a duty they owe alike to His most gracious Majesty, and to the 
 people of this Colony, whose representatives they are, to avail themselves of the first oppor- 
 tunity to declare at once to your Excellency the entire want of confidence of this House 
 in the last-mentioned appointments, and deep regret that your Excellency consented to 
 accept the tender of resignation of the late Council, and humbly : "• t your Excellency 
 to take immediate steps to remove the present Council from such their situation. 
 
 Commons House of Assembly,'] 
 24 March 1836. J 
 
 (signed) 
 
 Marshall liidwell, 
 Speaker. 
 
*'"'» 
 
 AFFAIRS OF UPPER CANADA. 
 
 75 
 
 (Answer to the foregoing Address.) 
 
 Ap|>en(lix. 
 
 Gentlemen, 
 
 In rr _>ly to your Address, I assure you I vury siucerely regret that the Home of Assembly Reply of I.icut.- 
 should .^ntcrtaiii a want of confidence in the Council I n|)|K)intcd on the l.}th instant, as (iovornor to House 
 I faithfully declare, that under the circumstances in which I was placed, I made every of Assembly, 
 exertion to select gentlemen that I thought would be most acceptable to the House and to 
 the people. 
 
 I can assure the House, that no one lamented more than I did the resipination of the 
 late Council, three of the members of which, namely, Messrs. Dunn, DaUlwin and llolplii 
 I had myself especially selected. 
 
 With respect to the request " that I should take immediate steps to remove the nreaent 
 Council from such their situation," I mit^ht say that I had hoi)ed the House would have 
 refrained from any such decided expression of its opinion on the subject, until it had 
 received the report of the Committee to whom the subject was referred, and for whom the 
 
 foveniment office is now occu|)ied in furnishing the documentary evidence they desire, but 
 am unwilling to discuss that question. 
 
 With respect to the " present excited state of public feeling in this colony, occasioned 
 by the recent proceedings," I feel guiltless of being its cause, inasmuch as to the House of 
 Assembly, as well as to people of all classes who have adrlressed me ou the subject, I have 
 done every thing in my power to assure them of my d sire that the question should be 
 calmly settled, according to the spirit of the Constitution, and consequently according to the 
 interests of the people. 
 
 I can assure the House that, far from entertaining any determination to maintain my 
 opinion merely because I have uttered it, 1 should be at this moment happy to abandon it, 
 if the duty 1 owe to my Sovereign and to the people could permit me. My mind invites 
 rather than repels conviction ; and hoping that the House will on a subject which must 
 surely occupy the attention of the whole country meet me with a desire to be governed by 
 reason and truth, I will concisely once again submit to it my view of the case. 
 
 From the time of General Simcoe to the departure of Sir John Colborne, the practice of 
 every Lieutenant-Governor of this province has been to consider their Executive Coun- 
 cillors as advisers, sworn not to respond, or, in other words, not to be responsible to the 
 people. 
 
 On my arrival here, finding this had been the practice, I also pursued it ; but on pre- 
 paring to add three popular members to the Council, one of them, Mr. R. Baldwin, with 
 the sincerity which forms his character, tells me he thinks my Council, in spite of their oath, 
 should respond to the people. 
 
 To this project I refuse to accede, a long argument ensues, and at last I write to Mr. U. 
 Baldwin a note, of which the following is an extract : — 
 
 " I shall rely on your giving me your unbiassed opinion on all subjects respecting which 
 I may feel it advisable to require it." 
 
 After receiving this distinct statement of my intention not to alter the old practice, Mr. 
 R. Baldwin sends a copy of the same to Dr. Rolph and to Mr. Dunn, and they, knowing 
 my sentiments, all three join my Council. 
 
 After sitting in the Council three weeks, Mr. Baldwin's conscientious opinion again 
 appears, convinces the other members, old as well as new, and the subject in a most formal 
 manner is officially brought before me, with a request that if I disapprove of tiie opinion, 
 the Council may be allowed to address the ])eople. On referring to the constitutional Act, 
 I am unable to comprehend their reasoning, and we consequently part on the same good 
 terms on which we met ; I retaining my unaltered opinion, while at least four of the Coun- 
 cil have (since my arrival) changed theirs. 
 
 The whole correspondence 1 forward to the House of Assembly, with an earnest desire 
 that, regardless of my opinion, the question may be fairly discussed. 
 
 In the station I hold, I form one branch out of the three of the legislature, and I claim 
 for myself freedom of thought as firmly as. I wish that the other two branches should 
 retain the same privilege. 
 
 If I should see myself in the wrong, t will at once acknowledge my error ; but if I should 
 feel it my duty to maintain my opinion, the House must know that there exists a consti- 
 tutional tribunal competent to award its decision, and to that tribunal I am ever ready most 
 respectfully to bow. 
 
 To appeal to the people is unconstitutional, as well as unwise — to appeal to their passions 
 is wrong ; but ou the good sense of the House of Assembly 1 have ever shown a dispoaitioQ 
 to rely, and to their good sense I still confidently appeal. 
 
 39'- 
 
 K 2 
 
76 
 
 PAPERS RKF.ATIVE TO THE 
 
 i 
 r 
 
 (P.) 
 
 UPPER CANADA. 
 
 SCHKDIJI.K of Patents for Land, congtituting Knduwmenth to the Church of England in this Province, 
 
 tliat have been completed. 
 
 Nn 
 
 NAME 
 
 of the 
 
 M I N I S T K R. 
 
 Name of llie Porsnnaxr 
 
 and 
 
 Situation. 
 
 LAND 
 
 FOKMINO THE ENDOWMENT. 
 
 
 Number 
 of 
 
 
 Ut. 
 
 Con. 
 
 Tswnihip. 
 
 Acrci. 
 
 1. 
 
 Tlie Hon. and Vcner-l 
 obleJolinStrnchon, 
 
 D.D., &C. - -J 
 
 City of Toronto 
 
 r 6, 9 -1 
 
 33 j 
 
 I '7 
 
 3 
 3 
 
 , 
 
 York, from the Bay 
 
 - 
 
 800 
 
 3. 
 
 Rev. C. Matthews - 
 
 York, E. Y. S. 
 
 H 
 
 3 
 
 
 York, E. Yongc-stroct 
 
 300 
 
 3 
 
 Rev. T. Phiihps, d. d. 
 
 Mimico, in Etobicoke 
 
 f .V^ 4 "I 
 W' p' 3 J 
 4 
 
 1 Rg"^ 3 
 2. 3'Sc4 1 
 
 Etobicoke - 
 
 - 
 
 205 
 
 4- 
 
 Rev. A. N. Uethune - 
 
 Cobourg - 
 
 r Part 15 
 
 i«5 
 
 •^7 
 
 I E. i 3 
 
 B. 
 A. 
 
 G 
 
 7 
 
 1 
 
 Hamilton - 
 
 - 
 
 ("About 
 I 400 
 
 B- 
 
 Rev. M. Horrig 
 
 Perth 
 
 f »7 
 I 4 
 
 7 
 
 1 
 
 
 Bathurst 
 Drummond 
 
 :} 
 
 400 
 
 6. 
 
 Rev. R. F. Grout - 
 
 Grimsby 
 
 f 11,13 1 
 
 I 13. 14 J 
 
 6 
 
 
 Grimsby 
 
 
 400 
 
 7- 
 
 Rev. R. H. D'OIier - 
 
 Peterborough - 
 
 r 17 
 1 40 
 
 ) 15, ic 
 .. 4 Town lots 
 
 3 
 
 13 
 3 
 
 "1. 
 J 
 
 Smith • - - 1 
 
 Monaghan (Park Lots) 
 Peterborough - -J 
 
 About 
 420 
 
 8. 
 
 Rev. F. Evans - 
 
 Woodhouse 
 
 r *' 1 
 
 ] Part (5 
 I 10 
 
 3 
 
 1 
 4 
 
 1 
 
 J 
 
 Woodhouse 
 
 - 
 
 403 
 
 9- 
 
 Rev. John Anderson 
 
 Waterloo (Bertie) - 
 
 n&7 
 
 5&6 
 
 
 Bertie 
 
 - 
 
 400 
 
 10. 
 
 Rev. Wm. Bctteridge 
 
 Woodstock (Blandford) 
 
 r 3 
 
 L iG 
 
 1 
 5 
 
 
 Oxford West 
 „ East 
 
 . r 
 
 400 
 
 11. 
 
 Rev. John Miller 
 
 Ancaster 
 
 39.40 
 
 5 
 
 
 Ancaster 
 
 - 
 
 400 
 
 13. 
 
 Rev. H. Patton 
 
 - - Kemptvillc, Johns- 
 town District. 
 
 r 15. iC 
 I 16 
 
 1 
 
 <3 
 
 1 
 
 J 
 
 Oxford, J" D' - 
 
 - 
 
 450 
 
 13- 
 
 Rev. S. Armour 
 
 Cavan ... 
 
 I 10 
 
 4 
 10 
 
 } 
 
 Cavan 
 
 • 
 
 400 
 
 H. 
 
 Rev. G. Mortimer - 
 
 Thornhill (Home Dist') 
 
 N.J 37 
 
 1 
 
 
 Vaughan - 
 
 - 
 
 105 
 
 15- 
 
 Rev. W. Macaulay - 
 
 Picton f Prince Ed. D') 
 
 N. E. p' bik. 
 
 D. 
 
 
 Sopliiasburgli 
 
 - 
 
 400 
 
 i6. 
 
 Rev. R. Blakey 
 
 I'rescott ... 
 
 r 18&19, 
 
 and Commons 
 [ between. 
 
 } ' 
 
 
 Augusta 
 
 - 
 
 450 
 
 17- 
 
 Rev. W. H. Gunning 
 
 Elizabeth Town 
 
 19, 30 
 
 5 
 
 
 Elizabeth Town - 
 
 - 
 
 400 
 
 i8. 
 
 Rev. F. Mack - 
 
 - - Wellington .Square, 
 Nelson. 
 
 I 10 
 
 2 
 4 
 
 J 
 
 Flambro' East 
 
 - 
 
 400 
 
 19- 
 
 Rev. J. Coghlai\ 
 
 Port Hope 
 
 f Part 9 
 
 27 
 
 1 
 4 
 8 
 
 } 
 
 Hope - 
 - ditto 
 
 - 
 
 36 
 400 
 
 so. 
 
 Rev. B. Cronyn 
 
 London (Township) - 
 
 r Part 15 
 I 1'' 
 
 3 
 
 / 
 
 3 
 
 1 
 
 J 
 
 London 
 
 ,1 - - 
 
 - 
 
 375 
 4i 
 
 31. 
 
 Rev. B. Cronyn 
 
 London (Town) 
 
 [Part of Town P 
 of England now 
 L 12, 13 
 
 lot of Lond 
 
 stands 
 
 c. 1 
 
 on, on which the Church"! 
 London (Township) - 
 
 4A 
 400 
 
 32. 
 
 Rev. V. P. Meyerholl'er 
 
 Markham 
 
 I '9 
 
 5 
 9 
 
 
 Markham - 
 Vaughan - 
 
 -1 
 -J 
 
 400 
 
 No. 
 
 as- 
 
 34. 
 
 36. 
 
 27. 
 38. 
 
 30. 
 31. 
 3*- 
 
 33' 
 
 34. 
 
 35' 
 
 36. 
 
 37- 
 38, 
 
 39- 
 
 U 
 
 40. 
 
 D 
 
 41- 
 
 D 
 
 42. 
 
 D 
 
 43. 
 
 D 
 
 44. 
 
 D 
 
ArFAIllS OF UPPER CANADA. 
 
 77 
 
 375 
 4i 
 
 4rj 
 400 
 
 400 
 
 Schedule of Patents for Land, constituting Endowments to the Church of England, kc.—cunlinucd. 
 
 No. 
 
 93. 
 
 84. 
 as- 
 
 26. 
 
 27. 
 38. 
 
 30- 
 31- 
 3'2- 
 
 33- 
 
 34- 
 35' 
 
 36. 
 
 37- 
 38. 
 
 39- 
 40. 
 
 41- 
 42. 
 43. 
 44- 
 
 N AMK 
 
 III' the 
 
 MINIS'!' i;u. 
 
 TheUev.G.O.Stunrl,] 
 Archdeacon of Kings- J 
 ton • • _ .J 
 
 UcT. Thomas Creen • 
 
 Uev. John Cochrane - 
 
 Rev. G. Archbold - 
 
 Rev. J. RadclifF 
 Rev. S. Givens 
 
 Rev. D. E. Blake - 
 
 Rev. James Ciarii 
 
 Rev. J. Short 
 
 Rev. R. Rolph 
 
 Rev. Job Deacon 
 
 Rev. W. Leeming 
 Rev. A. Palmer 
 
 Nrnnr uf the I'ariuiiagf 
 
 mid 
 
 Siluuliun. 
 
 No Minister yet ap- 
 pointed. 
 
 Ditto - 
 
 Ditto - 
 
 Ditto - 
 
 Ditto - 
 
 Ditto - 
 
 Ditto - 
 Ditto - 
 Ditto - - - 
 
 Kingston 
 
 Niagara - 
 Belleville 
 
 V* 
 
 Cornwall 
 
 Warwick 
 Napanee 
 
 Adelaide 
 
 St. Catherines - 
 
 Beckwilh 
 
 Amherstburgh 
 
 ') 
 Adolphustown 
 
 Chippewa 
 Guelph - 
 
 Broken 
 Tliorold - . . 
 
 Louth ... 
 Fredericksburgh 
 Bath (Midland Dist<) 
 Williamsburgh 
 Richmond (Bathurt D') 
 
 Clarke - 
 
 Darlington 
 
 Town of Barrie Home 
 District. 
 
 r JC. 17. 
 Part 4 
 
 LAND FORMING THE ENDOWMENT. 
 
 Lot. 
 
 Con. 
 
 I Elk. C. adjoining Kingston (Town) 
 
 J >4 /I * 
 
 43 3 
 
 lafi, 127, 1 
 128, 130 / 
 
 I 3 1 
 
 I 
 
 f 
 
 ȣ). i 38 
 
 8 
 
 Tuwiubip. 
 
 Kingston (Township) -l 
 
 Ernest Town - -J 
 
 Niagara (Township) 
 
 Thurlow . . . 
 
 Cornwall (Township), 
 
 Also a strip of land between the Town of Cornwain 
 and I lie second Concession of the Township of> 
 .Cornwill. J 
 
 1 Warwick 
 
 if,, i'5 
 15. '<' 
 
 f 
 
 L 8&9 
 3 
 
 r >7 
 
 \ N.E.J 31 
 1. W. i 2(i 
 
 80, 81 
 24.25 
 
 (;, 7, 8 
 6,7,8 
 
 4 Itichniond - 
 
 1 Adelaide (N'l' Egr' K'') "j 
 1 ,, (South ditto) \ 
 
 Front street , 
 
 Nuiiilicr 
 
 ol 
 Acre*. 
 
 5& 6 
 
 North of ' 
 3d street 
 South of 
 4th street. 
 
 72, 88 1 
 89, 106 Jl 
 
 C. Div" A. res" lot be-i 
 ■; tween C. and River Speed, I 
 [14, 15, Div" A. - -J 
 
 fCentie part of St George's-"! 
 \ square - - - -J 
 
 R' 2, 3, 4 10 1 
 3.4 >1 J 
 
 r 98. 99 "l 
 \ 100, 121 J 
 
 II, 12 
 12 
 
 9,10, 11 
 
 r i 12, 13 1 
 
 I i 14 ; 
 
 18, 19 
 
 r 24 
 I 17 
 
 [ 20, 27 
 
 j Part 34 
 
 2.5. 3» 
 fSix town lots 
 
 \ 28 
 
 I 10 
 
 4 
 5 
 
 2 
 4 
 
 4 
 
 5 
 
 9 
 2 
 
 2 
 
 8 
 
 13 
 14 
 
 J 
 
 (Village) 
 Grantham • 
 
 Beckwith - 
 
 Maiden 
 
 Adolphustown (Township) 
 
 Stamford - 
 
 Guelph (Township) 
 
 Guelph (Town) - 
 
 Puslinch ... 
 
 Thorold ... 
 
 Louth ... 
 
 Fredericksburgh - 
 Ernest Town 
 
 I Williamsburgh 
 
 Goulborn . - .1 
 Fitzroy - - -/ 
 
 Clarke 
 
 „ given by S. Wil-"1 
 mot, Esq. -J 
 
 Darlington ... 
 Barrie " ' "1 
 Innisfil . - -J 
 
 18 
 70(1 
 
 400 
 418 
 
 410 
 
 400 
 400 
 
 400 
 
 400 
 
 400 
 
 400 
 
 1C4 
 400 
 
 8(; 
 
 f Perches 
 
 I 54H 
 
 320 
 
 400 
 300 
 
 2jO 
 400 
 400 
 400 
 400 
 
 400 
 420 
 
 Secretary and Registrar's Office, Toronto,") 
 5 February 1836. J 
 
 39»- 
 
 D. Cameron, 
 
 Sec>' Hi Reg'. 
 
 • 
 
 K 3 
 
,1 
 
 i'i, 
 
 78 
 
 PAPERS RELATIVE TO THE 
 
 I 
 
 
 
 Appendix. 
 
 Scliedule uf late 
 Endowments of 
 Parsonages and 
 Rectories. 
 
 The following Rectories have been endowed since ihe receipt of the foregoing Statement- 
 
 No. 
 
 45' 
 46. 
 
 47- 
 
 48. 
 
 49- 
 50. 
 
 51- 
 
 52. 
 53. 
 54- 
 
 55- 
 
 NAMES. 
 
 Rev. John Gamble Geddes, 
 
 Hamilton (Gore District.) 
 
 Rev, John Grier, Ameliasburgh 
 
 Rev. J. G. Beek, Lindsay, VVil- 
 iiamsburgh. 
 
 Rev. Edward J. Boswell, Carle- 
 ton-place. 
 
 Rev. Mark Burnham, St. Tho- 
 mas. 
 
 Rev. A. H. Burwell, Bytown - 
 Rev. J:;.nes Magrath, Toronto 
 
 Rev. James Padfield, Marcl' - 
 Rev. Robert Lugger, Brantford 
 Itev. Richam Flood, Delav, are 
 
 Rev. William Johnson, ?9nt'- 
 wich. 
 
 Parish Church in Chatham 
 
 :} 
 
 - - Lot No. 6, in 13th Concession, and lot No. 2 
 in 14th Concessioi, of East Flamborough 
 
 - - No. <)C> and 102 in t'e 2d Concession of Ame 
 lisaburgli . - . . . 
 
 - - Par*- jf the ccntrn Commons in 1st and ad] 
 Conccf^ion; Williamsbi'rgh, 37} acres; the 
 centre Commons between 18 and ig, in 1st, 3d ^ 
 and 4th Concession of Matilda, 1G3 acres; lots 
 No. 19, in 6th Concession, Matilda 
 
 - - No. 2(1, in 2d Concession, and No. 2, in 7th "1 
 Concession, of Ramsay .....' 
 
 --Lot 9, ill 1st Concession, and 17, in 4th") 
 Concession, Township of Southwold - -/ 
 
 - - Lot 17 and 18. in 1st Concession, on the 
 Ottawa, in Glou'et'-cr ... about 
 
 - - Lot 23, in 2d Concession, and lot 29, in 4th 
 Concession, East llurontario-strcet, Cliingua 
 cousy .--.---. 
 
 - - Ng. 2 and 32, in 4th Concession, on the") 
 livdf au, Nepean - - . . . .j 
 
 - - No. 3, in 2d Concession, and No. 9, in sd") 
 Concession, of Burtord - - . - -J 
 
 - - No. 22, in 1st Range, North of the Long 
 wood Road, and No. 16, in 1st Concession 
 Carradoc ----- 
 
 - - No. 3, East, of River au Puce; front half,"] 
 No. 1, between River Puce and River Peche, [ 
 in Maidstone; and lot 8, broken front. Tilbury I 
 West ab( ut J 
 
 - - Lots 8 and 15, in 1st Concession, of Tilbury"! 
 West, and lot 2, between Belle River and River J 
 Ruscum, in the Township of Rochesiur - aboutj 
 
 ong-l 
 sion, \ 
 
 ACUES. 
 
 400 
 
 400 
 
 400 ^ 
 
 400 
 400 
 400 
 
 400 
 
 400 
 400 
 
 435 
 400 
 
 i 400 
 
 RETUltN of Property surrendered by certain Clergymen of the Church of England, and 
 others; showing the Value of said Property, with the Lands granted in lieu thereof, intended 
 as Endowment. 
 
 '1 ' 
 
 N A M E. 
 
 
 
 . 
 
 .'\crcs. 
 
 
 
 
 
 Received in lieu: 
 
 
 Rev. James Coghlan 
 
 - - I'art of Lot No. 9 in the ist 
 
 Lot No, 27. 2 Con 
 
 Hope - 
 
 200 
 
 
 Concession of Hope, 3fi acres. 
 
 27 8 „ 
 
 ,, 
 
 200 
 
 
 with messuage or drfelling-house 
 
 2-9 „ 
 
 Cavan - 
 
 200 
 
 
 surrendered ; value 1 ,oGo /. C *. ^d. 
 
 S-iO-O .. 
 
 - ditto - 
 
 100 
 
 
 
 E.KKJ.s „ 
 
 Emily - 
 
 100 
 
 
 
 S.E. ip'' " 
 
 Seymour 
 
 150 
 
 
 
 nndN.T ^ 
 part f-^' " 
 
 ditto - 
 
 70 
 
 
 1,020 
 
 Rev. George nortimer - 
 
 - - N. i 27, West side Yonge- 
 
 14-3 ,. 
 
 Puslincli" 
 ditto - 
 
 
 
 street, in the ist Concession of the 
 
 R.nfi.3 „ 
 
 a.'^o 
 
 
 Township of Vajgliar, 105 acres ; 
 
 .•io.i „ 
 
 ditto - ) 
 
 
 
 value 750/. 
 
 i2.13 „ 
 
 27. ci 
 
 Innisfil. - 
 
 200 
 
 
 
 18. 7 1 
 12.8 " 
 20,8 
 
 Essa 
 
 800 
 
 
 1,336 
 
 ^ i^ 
 
1 
 
 Acres. 
 
 200 
 
 200 
 
 200 
 
 100 
 
 100 
 
 150 
 
 70 
 
 1,020 
 
 ] 33C 
 
 200 
 
 800 
 
 i.:j3fi 
 
 AFFAIRS OF UPPER CANADA. 
 
 79 
 
 Retukn of Property surrendered by certain Clergymen of the Church of 
 
 England — continued. 
 
 N A ]\I P S 
 
 
 
 Acres. 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 Received in lieu : 
 
 
 Rev. Benjamin Cronyn - 
 
 - - Part of Lot No. iC, in the 3d 
 
 Concession of London, containing 
 4 acres and 3+ poles, with mes- 
 suage or dwelling-house, out- 
 houses, offices and buildings; 
 value 1,180/. 
 
 12. a 
 
 part 15. 3 
 
 31- 3 
 
 15-11 
 
 30.12 
 15.13 
 
 Con, London 
 
 1,39(5 
 
 
 - - S. W. i of Clergy Reserve, 
 Lot No. 2 in the 3d Concession, 
 50 acres, and the South part of 
 No. 1 in the 3d Concession, Wood- 
 house, 50 acres; value 600/. 
 
 15-15 
 12. B 
 
 2. 7J 
 20. 2 
 3C. 2 
 
 > „ Nissowri 
 
 496 
 
 
 Lots a"! 
 
 9> 7 ,.1 
 i6j I W,ipoIe 
 
 38 „1 
 
 1,892 
 
 Rev. Francis Evans 
 
 800 
 
 Rev. Philip Mayerhoffer 
 
 - - Rear part of Lot No. 17, in 
 the 5th Concession of Markham, 
 70 acres; value 250/. 
 
 Lot 19. 5 „ Markham 
 
 200 
 
 Rear Admiral Vansittart 
 
 - - A liouse, two acres and two 
 lots of land in Blandford, and 2C 
 acres in Oxford, East, value 
 935 '•, for the Church at Wood- 
 stock. 
 
 1 
 ■ ■ 3fiQ0 acres in the Township of 
 Bexlsy, District of Newcastle. 
 
 1 
 
 Appendix. 
 
 Schedule of late 
 Endowments of 
 Parsonages and 
 Rectories. 
 
 (R.) 
 
 Sir, Government House, 4th April 1836. 
 
 I HAVE laid your letter of the -id instant before the Lieutenant-Governor, and have the Letter frnni 
 honour to forward to you, by liis Excellency's command, the document therein applied for. ,). Joseph. Esq. to 
 
 I think it right to add, for the information of the Committee, that a rejoinder to the J, Perrv, Esq. 
 Lietenant-Governor's answer to the Address of the Citizens of Toronto was left at the 
 Government-House in a sealed cover, and returned unread to Mr. George Ridout, who had 
 brought up and read to his Excellency the Address ; that gentleman, however, disclaimed 
 all participation in the Rejoinder, and forwarded it to Mr. Jesse Kctchum, one of the sub- 
 scribers. 
 
 I have the honour to be, &c. 
 Peter Perry, esq., M. P., (signed) J.Josejih. 
 
 Chairman, &c. 
 
 oni 
 ronto 
 Rt|ily of Licute- 
 .il-Cioveiiior. 
 
 (S.) 
 
 Rejoindeii to the foregoing Reply, which has tiiis day beei laid before His Excellency 
 
 May it please your Excellency, 
 WE thank your '^.xc'.ency for replying to our Address, " principally from the industrious lUjoimlci rior 
 classes of the ciiy,' with as much attention as if it had proceeded from either of the Citizens of 'I o 
 branches of the legislature ; and we are deeply sensible, in receiving your Excellency's re 
 
 ''your Excellency's condescension in endeavouring to expressiyourself in plainer and h.^n; 
 
 .omely. language, presumed by your Excellency to be thereby brought down to the lower 
 level of our plainer and more homely understandings. But we beg leave, in justification of 
 those classes, to assure your Excellence', that any comparison which may have passed in 
 your Excellency's mind between them and the -^^.e unfortunate and less favoured in the 
 parishes of the parent State, is by no means founded in truth. The industrious classes of 
 this city have for many years been scriousb impressed with the duty and importance of 
 acquiring knowledge, for the general difl'usion of which they have, by their own efforts and 
 at their own expense, (with the aid of generous and patriotic friends,) so far successfully 
 laboured as to be able to appreciai good writing and fair reasoning. We desire respect- 
 fully to inform your Excellency, in the plain and homely language of industrious men, that 
 any supposed necessity for th'-* great condescension of your Excellency, could not have 
 existed, in any degree, had not past administrations sadly neglected our claims to the 
 blessings of general education. Lest your Excellency should doubt our sutHcient appre- 
 
 1^ 
 
 J91- 
 
 K4 
 
 hciisiun 
 
7\ 
 
 io 
 
 PAPERS RELATIVE TO THE 
 
 f 
 
 f!F 
 
 lii 
 
 'i 
 
 1' 
 
 Rejoinder from 
 Citizens of 'I'oronto 
 to Reply of Lieu- 
 lenant-Governor. 
 
 Appendix. hension of tlie matter (though we have practically felt and suft'eretl from the evil,) we 
 
 humbly refer your Kxi ellency to the language of our honest and honoured representatives at 
 the opening of the present Session of our Parhament : — " We have also been anxious in past 
 years to make the means of education general and easny available, but it has only lately 
 become known to tiie legislature that a bountiful provision in lands was made by the Crown 
 about <)0 years ago, though since deteriorated by a recent secret unfavourable exchange for 
 inferior lands. The University of King's College was grounded on Royal Charter, sought 
 for and granted in 1826, upo 1 principles so exclusive and sectarian, as to render it 
 deservedly unacceptable to the great body of the peo])le for whose benefit it was professedly 
 intended ; and although the most reasonable modifications were suggested by a series of 
 Resolutions in 1829, yet it is nov, for the first time, that your Excellency has been enabled 
 to announce from His Majesty's Goven ment any specific proposition respecting it. Nor 
 ought we to fail to notice, that large appropriations nave been made out of the University 
 fund, not to the district and township sen jols, undeservedly neglected, but to sustain Upper 
 Canada College in this city, in which the sons of all the wealthiest fiimilies are educated, 
 and which ought, therefo: j, to be supported without so questionable an encroachment on 
 public funds." 
 
 To this statement we can add the untiring efforts of our representatives for the sale of the 
 clergy reserves, and the appropriation of their proceeds to the purposes of general education, 
 have hitherto proved unavailing ; and although a philosophical apparatus, purchased out 
 of the taxes gathered from the people in the year 1800, has ever since been unused, 
 mouldering and decaying in a garret in the Hospital, yet when the industrious classes, 
 after cleaning and repairing it, humbly solicited his late Excellency, Sir John Colborne, for 
 the use of it in their Institute, it was peremplorily refused. 
 
 We therefore hunbly pray your Excellency, under these mortifying and humiliating cir- 
 cumstances, to accept the above painful facts and extracts from the records of our Par- 
 liament as an apology for any alleged necessity for your Excellency's gracious condescension 
 in using plainer and more homely language for the level of our understanding. 
 
 But it is because we have been thus maltreated, neglected and despised in our educa- 
 tion and interests, under the system of government which has heretofore prevailed, that 
 we arc now driven to insist imon a change, which cannot be for the worse. In the further 
 language of our Commons House of Assembly, we can aver that " the uniform experience 
 of nearli/ half a rentitry, has forced the conmctiun, confirmed hi) the history of nations, 
 that no richness of' soil, or salubrittj of climate, no wealth in piihlic lands or industry and 
 economi/ among a deserving people, can insure their peace, zcelfare and prosperity, without the 
 possession of those suitable institutions which will yield cheap, honest and responsible govern- 
 ment.'" 
 
 Now, your Excellency is pleased to answer us, on this occasion, by declaring, that the 
 system of government which has prevailed from the time of Simcoe, is the best for us, 
 although it has, by its vices, reduced us to so deplorable a condition of grievances, that 
 even your Excellency recognizes it, this day, in the following just and sententious language 
 to us : " The grievances of this province must be corrected — impartial justice must be admi- 
 nistered — the -people have asked for it ; their Sovereign has ordained it ; I am here to execute 
 His gracious Commands: delay n:i/l only increase impatience." Thus is the exigency of our 
 affairs frankly admitte^. by your lixcellency in both the civil and judicial departments ; 
 and surely it is the province of wisdom not merely to relieve the present exigency but to 
 remove the causes which have produced it in the past, and will, if sufl'cied to continue, 
 reproduce it in the future ; for the like causes will ever produce tli like effects. However 
 much, therefore, we might commend the intention of your Excellency to see that " the griev- 
 ances of this province are redressed, and impartial justice administered," we are determined, by 
 means of institutions better organized and directed, to prevent the re"urrence of such wrongs; 
 because it is wiser to prevent evil, than to hazard the correction of it after it has arisen, or 
 has, perhaps, become inveterate. 
 
 Your l'"xcellency is pleased to say, ' I am here to execute," &.C. But yo'" Excellency's 
 predecessors throughout the history of this country have made similar professions, yielding 
 however nothing but bitter disappointment. The issue of the Administration of a Gore, 
 a Maitlan 1, and a Colborne, has been equally disastrous; each in its commencement 
 holding fo th expectations as flattering as those from your Excellency, but each finally 
 arrgravajng our need for "grievances to be redressed, and impartial justice to be admiiAslered." 
 But the very fact, that your Excellency has begun like your j)redecessors, is a reason for 
 apprehending the same result ; for it would be offensive to your Excellency to assume that 
 they were less wise, impartial and honourable than any who may ever succeed them. The 
 hopes of amelioration from each successive Governor have been uniformly delusive; and 
 candor obliges us to assure your Excellency, that, r- ->n in this early period of your 
 government, our condition has' become more deploral 'lan ever, and tho very nature 
 and staliiiity of our institutions invol ^d in alarming ui, tainty. 
 
 While our condition has been thus growing worse, under a succession of new Governors 
 from England, they have been responsible to the Minister in Dowiiing-street. With ou' 
 plain and homely understandings, we cannot compreliend how a responsibility to Downin^- 
 Btreet having failed of any good with all your predecessors, should be all availing in your 
 present <;overuincnt ; for it is the same responsibility in nature and degree; it is regulated 
 by the same instaictioiis ; it is rendered to the -aine distant Government, 4,000 miles off, 
 and guarded by such a system of secret Despatches, like a system of espionage, as to keep 
 
 ia 
 
AFr.MRS or UPPER CANADA. 
 
 »i 
 
 in utter darkness the very guilt, the disclosure of which could alone consummate real and Appendix, 
 practical responsibility. 
 
 Dalhousie and Aylmer in Lower Canada, and Gore, Maitland and Colbornc in Tapper Rejoinder from 
 Canada, have severally misjroverned their respective provinces. The two former have been Citizi'na of Toronto 
 impeached by the people, ihroutjh their representatives, and their very crimes, instead of J? "ep'y «' Lieut.- 
 meeting punishment, have raised them to higher honours. And althou;j,h the three latter governor, 
 have severally retired from our country after misconducting our aft'airs, under a nominal 
 responsibility to Downing-street, till they had engendered an imperious necessity " for the 
 correction of our s;rievances, and the impartial administration of justice," yvX in every case 
 they have been promoted higher, in direct proportion to the complaints of tiie people, with- 
 out any redress lor their wrongs, or even censure of their oppressions. We do not mean, 
 in our plain and homely statement, to Ije discourteous, by declaring our imalterabie con- 
 viction, that a nominal responsibility to Downing-street, wliich has failed of any good with 
 the above gentlemen of high pretensions to honour, character and station, cannot have any 
 magic operation in your Excellency's administration, which, should it end, as it has unhap- 
 pily begun, might make us drink the cup of national misgovernment to the very dregs, 
 without (as experience proves) redress on our [jart, or retribution on yours. " Facts are 
 stubborn things." It is a mockery to invite us to rest our future hopes on an iiieflectual, 
 merely nominal responsibility, that has proved a broken reed, which, it would be folly ever 
 again to rest upon. Your Excellency has been ])leased solenmly and publicly to declare, 
 that being determined to hold an irresponsible, or, more strictly speaking, an acceptable Exe- 
 cutive Council, you hold yourself responsible for their acts as well as your own ; and, consi- 
 dering tlie sort of Council you have about you, we cannot foresee the magnitude to which 
 your Excellency's responsibility may extend. On your Excellency's account, therefore, as 
 well as our own, we do humbly and heartily desire to see you surrounded by confidential 
 servants, not likely to involve your Excellency or dissatisfy the coimtry. We do not, how- 
 ever, understand how the Council can be called "«o«-;fs;)o;(S(7>4'," when your Excellency 
 voluntarily places yourself as a substitute, answerable for their misdeeds to the Minister at • 
 jDowning-street. But who can avail himself of this responsibility, in order to seek any 
 redress ? Can it be reasonably required, that one of a community, " nliase uhote nxaiue 
 does not equal the private fortune oj vmuy an Eiif^/ish comimmer," shall carry his complaint 
 4,000 miles off, transmit the evidence, rebut any unjust offence, fee lawyers and agents, in 
 a long, tedious, protracted litigation, in Downitig-street, worse than a suit in Chiincery, 
 where, before the matter can be investigateil, one Minister succeeds another so rapidly as 
 to defy continuous inquiry ? 
 
 This responsibility to Downing-street has never yet saved a single martyr to executive 
 displeasure. Robert Gourlay still lives in the public sympathy, ruined in his fortune, and 
 overwhelmed in his mind, by oflicial injustice and persecution; and the late Captain 
 Mathews, a faithful servant of the public, broken down in spirit, narrowly escaped being 
 another victim. The learned Mr. Justice Willis struggled in vain to vindiento himself and 
 the wounded justice of the country ; and the ashes of Francis Collins and lioljcrt Kandall 
 lie entombed in a country in whose service they suffered heart-rending persecution and acce- 
 lerated death. And even your Excellency has disclosed a secret Despatch to the Minister 
 in Downing-street, (the very alleged tribunal for justice,) containing most libellous matter 
 against William Lyon Mackenzie, Esquire, M. P., a gentleman known chiefly for his untiring 
 services to his adopted n.nd grateful country. We will not wait for the immolation of any 
 others of our public men, sacrificed to a nominal responsibility, which we blush to have so 
 long endured for the ruin of so many of His Majesty's dutiful and loyal subjects. 
 
 It is easy to say, when wrong is done by the Executive Council of the I'rovince to any 
 individual or individuals, the Governor is responsible for them to the Minister at Doimhiy- 
 street; but for all practical ends, it might as well be said at ouv ant ipodfx. Your Excel- 
 lency asks us, with reference to your late Council, " Is it usual for one person to insist on 
 bearing another person's blame?" It seems, may it please your Excellency, to hav<H)ecn 
 usual to do so; for you insist upon being answerable tor the acts of your Council against 
 their will. But, inasmuch as it appears tc your Excellency, as well as to our plain and 
 simple minds, unreasonable for " one man to insist on bearing another person's l)lanie," we 
 the more earnestly insist that the Executive Council should bear their own blame, and not 
 saddle it upon your Excellency, however graciously disposed your Excellency may be to 
 assume it. Your Excellency is pleased to say, that " the political party which demands 
 responsibility for my Council know perfectly well that the power and patronage of the 
 Crown are attached to it; and it is too evident that if they could but obtain this marrow, 
 the empty bone of contention, namely, responsibility to the pecjple, they would soon be 
 too happy to throw away." Respecting these strictures cjf your Kx'ellency, on the purity 
 of their motives (which we deem most patriotic and honourable) we torbear to offer ;uiy 
 remark. " Charity thinheth jio evil." Hut, confining our viev>:; to what can be gatlured 
 from the representations of your late Council, we had ratlitT •! at tlie povi r and patronage 
 of the Crown were exercised bv your Excellency, after recjiving the •unscienlicius advice 
 ni your sworn advisers, known and acceptable to the people, than by yciur I'^xcclleiicy's 
 unadvised and arbitrary [ikasure ; and we think the case rendered even worse by the inter- 
 ference of a Minister 4,000 miles off, too distant from the scene of governmenl, und too 
 unacquainted with our complicated localities, to form a judgment upon which hv ou^iht to 
 decree, or with which the |jeople intetested ought to be satisfied. What your I'Accllency 
 is pleased to call " the marrow of the bow," is constitutionally intended to nouriali, enrich 
 and benefit the -'industrious classes," and the whole community; and your lilxcellenuy's 
 candour will, no doubt, paidoa our rdutluncc wholly to confide (witlioul the advice of yom- 
 ;5()l, t, Council) 
 
II. 
 
 1l 
 
 82 
 
 PAPERS RELATIVE TO THE 
 
 I 
 
 1(1 
 
 Appendix. 
 
 Rejoinder from 
 Citizens ofToronto 
 to Keply of Lieut.- 
 Governor. 
 
 Council) to your Excellency, as " a stranger lately arrived among us, ignorant even of the 
 political ditf'ercnces of the parent State, and avowedly unacquainted with the wants and 
 condition of this province." 
 
 Wc beg leave to assure your Excellency, that tlio " lioiie " to which your ]'/.\cellency 
 alludes, has been in the keeping of successive Governors responsible to the Minister in 
 Downiiig-street, and at OTie time it abounded with " marnnv," and was even the nucleus 
 for much solid and valuable nutriment, all intended to form a source of national wealth, to be 
 improved, husbanded and ap|)!ied for our peace, welfare and good government. It is with 
 profound, and, we greatly fear, with unavailing regret, we inform your Excellency, that 
 while subject to the above custody and responsibility, the " bone" had been picked so bare, 
 as to leave little besides the " marrow" behind. 
 
 Under these circumstances, wc hope your Excellency will commend the " industrious 
 flasse.s" and others for so far, learning wisdom from woeful experience, as no longer to con- 
 fide their best present and future interests, their civil and religious liberties, and all that 
 endears a man to his country or to the world, to a succession of Governors, nouinally 
 responsible at Downing-street, to a succession of ever changing Ministers: it is unreason- 
 able to expect it; we should betray our country to consent to it. 
 
 We cannot altogether agree with your lixcellency, that " the only consolation which 
 should support an honest man in an arduous duty is the reflection that he is ready to atone 
 for every error he commits, and that he is subject to arraignment if he ofl'ends.'' The 
 highwayman and the pirate might and often have pleaded the same, have even been ready 
 to make atonement by restitution, and after " arraignment " expiated their crimes according 
 to law. But a Statesman, a Governor or a King is presumed to be influenced by higher 
 motives and by more exalted principles. The discharge of even an arduous duty cannot and 
 ought not 'o be satisfactory to us, if performed in an unconstitutional way. In some coun- 
 tries, the end gained, however valuable, raieht be so tainted by the means as to make it 
 treason. We desire not only to be governed well, but to be governed constitutionally ; at 
 the very least, according to the present charter of our liberties. The fear of personal 
 liability to " atonement" or "arraignment" is a very subordinate protection against the 
 abuse of power ; when the complaint is made against a person, entrenched in authority and 
 armed with patronage, whose very breath confers influence and office, or takes them 
 away, whose liability is to the very Minister, who is his patron, and is naturally disposed 
 to view even his aberrations with a favourable and excusing eye. On that account, 
 among others, wc desire in our government some higher security than a disposition to 
 atone, or a liability to arraignment, in its nature and c cumstances almost impracticable, 
 and almost always unsuccessful. 
 
 It is on this account, may it please your Excellency, 've desire to see every Governor 
 surrounded by confidential advisers, who, from their local knowledge, can supply with 
 sworn advice, as the surest means of preventing error, or trie humiliating necessity of 
 "atonement" or "arraignment" for it. According to Holy Writ "in a multitude of 
 councillors there is safety ; " it is, therefore, natural for us rather to wish to see the 
 management of our affairs by your Excellency with the aid of an acceptable Council, 
 than oy your Excellency alone. Your Excellency must take advice upon assuming a new 
 government in a country in which you are a stranger ; and it has been to us a source of 
 painful mortification and disappointment to find that your Excellency was consulting 
 irresponsible individuals, neither possessing nor entitled to political confidence, even to the 
 humiliating exclusion of your sworn advisers, provided by law and selected by yourself. 
 Hence it is that there has scarcely been a single act of your administration satisfiictory to 
 the community your Excellency perhaps intended to serve. 
 
 It is against ourselves and our friends engaged in the common cause of constitutional 
 government that your Excellency seems to direct the charge of [..eventing your " rooting 
 up the tree of abuse, because they have buitt and feathered their nests in its branches." In 
 this "tree" many indeed have "built and feathered their nests;" but, heretofore, 
 reformers have never been allow ed even to perch upon its branches, repose in its shade, or 
 partake of its fruit. The ultra tories, who have unhappily held your Excellency's ear and 
 confidence, have enjoyed a complete monopoly; and it is an historical fact, that our 
 Governors, among the rest, have built "and feathered their nests," and then carried their 
 accumulated weiillh, with themselves, out of the country. We trust your Excellency will 
 feel on this subject how unjust it is that a community (us your Excellency observes) whose 
 public revenues do not exceed the income of many a commoner in England, should be called 
 upon to pay for the administration of <.ven an irresponsible government a sum almost 
 equal to that received by the President of the iJnited Stales, Wktli a transcendent wealth 
 and power that put our comparative condition '.o shame. 
 
 We are surprised at the information your Excellency gives us, that the Executive 
 Council of the province is " stiorn to he dumfi ; " for we always thought they were 
 sworn to advise the King and h's representative upon our affairs; supposing your Excel- 
 lency were so far to unseal their mouths as freely to receive their ailvice, wo see no 
 difliculty in its being given secretly, yet responsibly. In England ministers give their 
 advice under an oath of secresy, and are still responsible. There can be, therefore, no 
 greater inconsistency in such a relation subsisting between youp Excelk.xy and your 
 Council. Actions often indicate more strikingly than words; and although your Coun- 
 cillors cannot revi 1 what they mi/, the whole country can see what is done. 
 
 We care not liow J iinb they are out of the Council, if their mouths are not sealed in it; 
 and the Province is allowed to fetl and enjoy the manifest fruits of their counsel, without 
 
 knowledue 
 
AFFAIRS OF UPPER CANADA. 
 
 83 
 
 Governor, 
 
 knowledge what it was. The Council should be responsible for tlivin^ good advice, while Appendix. 
 
 your Excellency would retain enough of responsibility by deciding upon it. We should _ 
 
 not the better esteem a Judge who refused to ii>teii to an argument before he gave a Rejoinder from 
 judgment, or a jury who sealed their cars against the charge of a Judge, in order to Citizens of loronto 
 manifest their self-sufficiency in giving a verdict. The Judge condescenus to hear the 'o "*P'y 0' '''^u'-- 
 argunient of a counsel, the jury listens to the Jud;^e's charge, and your Excellency 
 should, as seems to our " plain and homely " minds, listen on all subjects to the con- 
 scientious advice of the sworn advisers, selected by yourself for their " talents and 
 integrity." 
 
 We have carefully read, as your Excellency recommended, the Constitutional Act, and 
 although your I'Acellency assures us that by it " a House of Assembly and Legislative! 
 (council and IJeutenant-(iovernor are a|)pointed, but that it creates no Executive Council," 
 yet we read so clearly, in three several places, almost the very same comprehensive 
 words, viz. " with the consent of such ]:lxecutive Council as shall be appointed by His 
 Majesty. His heirs and successors, within such province, for the atlairs thereof," that 
 We must believe some evil and irresponsible advisers have put into your Excellency's 
 hand a mutilated copy of our constitution. We cannot reconcile your present declaration 
 with the reply to your late I'.xecutive Council, in which your Excellency dictinctly admits 
 that the most liberal construction wliich can possibly be put upon that Act amounts to 
 this, " that as an Executive Council was evidently intended to exist, the remnant of 
 the old ought not to be deemed totally extinct, until its successor was ai)poiuted. How- 
 ever, this latest intention of His Majesty to create a Council for each of the provinces of his 
 Canadian dominions was soon clearly divul^;ed in a most important document, commonly 
 called " TheKing's Instrmtions," in which the Executive Council was regularly constituted 
 and declared as follows : " Whereas W'e have thought fit that there should be an Executive 
 Council for assisting you, or the Lieutenant-Governor, or person administer' ;t the govern- 
 ment of the said province of Upper Canada," •****" and to the end that 
 our said Executive Council may be .issisting to you in all affairs relating to our service, 
 you are to communicate to them such and so many of our instructions, wherein their 
 advice is mentioned to be requisite, and likewise all such others from time to time as you 
 shall find convenient for our service to be imparted to them." 
 
 It is therefore as plain as law can be written, tliat the constitutional Act provided for the 
 appointment, by HisMajesty, of an Executive Council, and that the King has accordingly 
 created such a Council, " to the end that, they might be assisting to your Excellency in all 
 nfi'airs relating to His Majesty's service." This Council, so organised, is now as nuicli a part 
 of our constitution as the {'real Council of Parliament. The law allows the people to elect 
 the House of Assembly, and gives the King the power of summoning whom he pleases to 
 the Legislative and Executive Councils: all are alike created or provided for by this Act, 
 though it does not specify by name the particular individuals to constitute either of 
 them. 
 
 We welcome the concession of jour Excellency to the merit of the able and enlightened 
 Simcoe, to whose mejnory we would cheerfully erect a monument. We never said that 
 that justly revered representative of the King either did or could alter the law. But we siill 
 think that an able and enlightened man, who assisted in passing the law, amidst all the 
 debates tipon it, and who was fiist commissioned to put it into operalicMi amongst us, was of 
 all men best qualified to explain that law, and its intended scope and application. Simcoe, 
 with all his per.-o lal knowle<lge about the law and lawgivers, declared that it whs 
 intended to yive lis, not a mutilated constitution, but one " the very image and transcript 
 of that ol Great Britain." Your Excellency, on the contrary, after the lapse of nearly 
 half a century, asserts, that neither the law nor the lawgivers (of whom Simcoe was cue) 
 ever gave, or intended to give what Simcoe, in the name of the King, solemnly announced 
 from ihe throne. 
 
 In England, our fellow subjects have a King, with his Executive Council (commonly 
 called his Privy Council), a House of Lords and a House of Commons. In this country 
 we have corresponding institutions, viz., a representative of the King, with an Executive 
 Council, a Legislative Council and a House of Assembly. \\'e only ask that these 
 institutions should he put into operation in a niann( 1 corresponding to what is practised in 
 England; iind, consequently, tliat ilie Exicuiive Cuuneil, under oath, should as fully and 
 freely advise your Excellency on atfairs here, as the Privy Council, under oath, advise His 
 most gracious Majesty. This is what the Coiistituiiouid Act implies; it is what .S/wifon 
 aunounced ; it is what <>iir liberties require ; and what nething, witliou' our own consent, 
 can lawfully abridge or takeaway. 
 
 If your Excellency will not govern us upon these principles, you will exercise arbitrary 
 sway, you will violate our charier, virtually abrogate our law, and justly forfeit our sub- 
 inibsion to yuur authority. 
 
 We have the honour to be. Sir, 
 
 Your Excelleucy's obedient humble Servants, 
 
 (signed) Jesse Ketrhum, Timnlhi/ Parsons, 
 
 James U. Price, fVm. Laslic, 
 
 James Lesslie, John Mills, 
 
 Andrcio Mucdlushcn, K. 'I'. Henderson, 
 
 Jiiines Shauiiou. John Duel, 
 
 Robert MacKai/, John E. 'I'inis, 
 
 M. MacLclbni'. IVm. ,/. O-di.tdt/, 
 
 3!)' 
 
 I, 2 
 
84 
 
 PAPERS RELATIVE TO THE 
 
 '1 
 ' I 
 
 > 
 
 I' 
 
 It 
 
 :;m 
 
 m 
 
 (T.) 
 
 Appendix. sir^ l'rontSlrcet,l2ll) April 1836. 
 
 Letter from ^^ answtr to your letter of this dny, in vviiicli, ai'icr rct'erriii'; to a |)araj;rii|)h in tlie 
 
 R. Ualdwin Esq. to Lieutenant-Governor's Reply to the Address IVoin the citizens of Toronto, you add, " us 
 Peter Perry, Esq. you and your late colleagues are eharged with having first entered into an arrangement 
 clearly fbrewarnini^ you of the extent to which you would be counselled, and then 
 altogether in a body disputing it, I write this coniiniiniciiion, that you may give any 
 justification of your ccnduet you may desirfi," 1 beg to state, that the expressions to 
 which you allude, seem to be understood by the Committee in a sense much more exten- 
 sive than could have been intended by the Ijeutenaiit-Governor, for though, as stated in 
 my letter to you of the i6ih ultimo, his Excellency frankly avowed his dissent from my 
 views of the constitution, so far from his givitig me the least reason to suppose that 1 was 
 never to offer my advice, except when called ujjon for it, or that my view of the practical 
 administration of the Government under the constitution was not again to be recurred to, 
 he himself " suggested. an inducement to me to accept of a seat in the Council, the 
 increased facilities which, uy my place in the Executive Council, tconld be aforded loteards 
 the more efficientli/ representini:, and urging my views, his Excellency declaring that his 
 doors should at all times be open to me, and that he should be happy to listen and give his 
 most serious consideration to aiiij subject which / might at anif lime think, it important 
 to lay before him," And indeed the whole tenor of my olficial intercourse with his 
 Excellency was inconsistent with tlie presumption that my advice was never to be given 
 except it was asked. 
 
 Another circumstance, which would seem to show that a sense has been put upon the 
 Lieutenant-Governor's words which they could scarcely have been intended by him to bear, 
 is, that his Excellency alleges " that we parted on a point of dry law," he could not there- 
 fore intend to impute to us the breach of any agreement, either express or implied. 
 
 Again, his Excellency more than once declared that he should not have been at all 
 surprised had the representation proceeded from me. Whereas, had it been any breach of 
 a suj)posed previous understanding, I was as much a party to that understanding as either 
 of my colleagues, Mr. Dunn or Dr. Rolph, and of course equally involved in the conse- 
 quences. 
 
 But not to multiply reasons, I need only add, as finally conclusive upon this subject, that 
 his Excellency's words, understood in the sense alluded to, would be wholly inconsistent 
 with the fact. It was never understood previous to our being sworn in, nor did any thing 
 whatever transpire previous to that period which could have given his Excellency any ground 
 for supposing it to be understood by us either that we were not to offer our advice whenever 
 we thought it proper to do so, or that the subject of the adoption of my views of the con- 
 stitution was to be dropped. 
 
 In fine, I can safely assert, that had his Excellency given me the slightest hint that he 
 expected that I was never to offer my opinion except when required to do so, I should have 
 unhesitaimgly rejected the proposal to join the Executive Council on such terms ; but the 
 whole tenor of the conversations which I had the honour of holding with his Excellency 
 previous to my being sv/orn in, to say nothing of the express assurances above alluded to, 
 excluded such a supposition from once suggesting itself to my mind. I therefore feel 
 bound to state, that any other construction put upon the terms on which t accepted office, 
 than such as is to be gathered from the statement contained in those paragraphs of my 
 former letter above quoted, is wholly erroneous. 
 
 I have the honour to be, Sir, 
 
 Your obedient, humble servant. 
 To P. Perry, Esq. Roht. Baldwin. 
 
 Chairman of the Committee, &c. &c. 
 
 Evidence of 
 R. Ualdwin, Esq. 
 
 Committee Uoom, 13th April 1836. 
 Robert Baldwin, esq. called in, and Examined. 
 
 Q. 1. On what day were the Hon. John Henry Dunn, Dr. Rolph and yourself, sworn 
 intooflice as executive councillors ? — A. On Saturday, the ioth of February last. 
 
 Q. 2. Was the Lieutenant Governor's note to you, a copy of which you appended to your 
 letter to Mr. Perry of the iGth of March last, received by you previous to your being swom 
 in '? — A. It was not. 
 
 Q. 3. When was it received? — A. At ten o'clock in the evening of the day on which wc 
 were sworn in. I$ut I was given to understand that an accidental circumstance had occa- 
 sioned its not having been delivered at an earlier period on the same ilay. 
 
 Q. 4. is it such a note as you had reason to expect from the conference mentioned by 
 you in your letter to Mr. Perry, in which it was settled to i)e written '.' — j4. I conceive not ; 
 I cannot pretend to recollect the exact terms of the draft written by his Excellency on that 
 occasion, and th« n read to us; but I do not hesitate to say, that it materially diHt;red from 
 the note I afterwards received. Dr. Kolph happened to be with me at the time I received 
 the note, and I at once expressed ni; entire dissatisfaction with its contents, and proposed 
 taking it ba k to the Lieutenant Governor, and refusing to receive it. I was, however, 
 persuaded by Dr. Rolph and Mr. Dunn, whom I called to see upon the subjec: on the 
 Monday after, that is it could not be that his Excellency intended any thing disingenuous 
 
 by 
 
AFFAIRS OF UPPER CANADA. 
 
 8.1 
 
 by 
 
 by us; ami ns the public would, no doubt, put, a liberal construction upon the letter, il was Appindix. 
 butter, more particularly as we had been actually sworn in, to let it pass without further .. . . T 
 
 difficulty. I must, however, add, that when the draft was read over to us by his Excellency, i>* n*ij'';n £« 
 as he did not seem quite satisfied with the wording, it was understood tuat he was at liberty ' ' ™' 
 
 to alter its phraseology, retaining, of course, its tpirit and substance; and I certainly attri- 
 buted the difference between the draft read to us and the note which 1 afterwards received, 
 entirely to his Excellency's being unable, from his want of practical acquaintance with ' 
 
 political life, fully to comprehend the difRculties which I fcU in yielding to his request to 
 join his council, and not to the slightest desire on his part to deviate from the spirit of the 
 understanding. Such was certainly my impression at the time ; but had I supposed it possible 
 that such application of the unexpected terms in which his E.vcellency's note was couched, 
 as is now attributed to his Excellency, could have been intended, I should certainly have 
 returned the note, and insisted oii such a one as I had reason to expect ; or if this had been 
 refused, have resigned on that ground alone. 
 
 Q. 5. In what respect do yon conceive the draft read 'i you and the note afterwards sent, 
 to differ? — A. The draft was more explict as the unfettered terms upon which 1 took office; 
 and although I could not say it contained no declaration of the confidence his Excellency 
 would place in our advice when " required," it was by no means the prominent feature in 
 the draft; and I can safely say could Jonly have been understood both by myself and my 
 colleagues merely as a general expression of confidence, and not as a limitation of the duties 
 expected of us; and I feel convinced that his Excellency could have used it for no other 
 purpose, because he had no reason to suppose tliat we could have understood it in any other, 
 and to imagine the contrary would be to attribute to bis Excellency that he made use of 
 terms to us to which he applied one sense at a time when hf. knew us to receive them in 
 another, without explaining the sense in which he intended them to be understood. 
 
 Q. 6. It appears from his Excellency's answer to the Address of the House of Assembly 
 of the 20th of March, that the note which he wrote to you, of which the following is an 
 extract, " I shall rely on your giving me your unbiassed opinion on all subjects respecting 
 which I may feel it advisable to require it," was -vritten during the negociaiion bet'^^een his 
 Excellency and the Council previously to their taking office, and, in fact, was part of the 
 negociation, and imp'ies that it contained the conditions cf their taking office, and that they 
 took office after the communication of that note. Is that the case, and is that the true 
 inference according to your understanding ? — A. For the facts I refer to my previous an- 
 swers and my letter to Mr. Perry of the l(3th ult., and as to *he inference, it is of course a 
 matter of opinion ; but I cannot for my own part suggest any construction of the passage 
 referred to consistent with those facts. 
 
 Q. 7. Were any stejjs taken having a tendency to guard against the divulgeraent of the 
 proceedings in Council upon this matter? — A. The oath of office was administered to the 
 under clerks in the council office, it having been ascertained on inquiry that they had not 
 previously been sworn to secresy. 
 
 Q. 8. It has been alleged that his Excellency, in his reply to the city corporation, 
 intended to be understood as referring to the late Council, when he represented tiiat the 
 new theory respecting the powers of the Executive Council " had been secretly promul- 
 gated." Is such a charge warranted by the fact ? — A. As far as regards myself, I dis- 
 tinctlp assert that it is not the fact, and I have no doubt that it is not the fact as respects 
 any of my former colleagues. 
 
 Dr. Rolpk, called in ; and Examined. 
 
 Question 1. ON what day were the laie Executive Council, of which you were a member, Kvidencfi of 
 sworn in ? — Anstver, On the aoth of February last. Dr. Uolpii. 
 
 Q. Have you any knowledge of a letter addressed by his Excellency to Mr. Robert 
 Baldwin, relative to the terms on which you and jou, colleagues took office? if so, stale 
 what you know ? — ^i.I was present with Mr Robert !5aldwin and the honouiable Mr. Uunn 
 on tiie 19th of February last, at the Government House, wlieii Mr. Robert Haldwiu uilbrmed 
 his Excellency that we were desirous before joining the Executive Council to receive a 
 written assurance from his Excellency of the utifetti red terms upon which wc ciitei'^d into 
 office, lest it should be supposed by the public thai in doing so we had compromised the 
 principles which we have heretofore avowed and acted on. To this suggestion his 
 Excellency acceded, and drafted a ncte to that effect, adding, that as the phraseology might 
 be improved, fie would witliout delay prepare and transmit it to Mr. Baldwin, who would 
 send copies to me and Mr. Dunn. We were sworn into office in the afternoon of ihe 
 following day, and 1 hearil nothing more of tliis letter (except the uneiisiness of Mr. B.ildwin 
 at not having received it) until 10 o'clock at night, when I was in company with Mr. Bald- 
 win, and the letter was received. Upon reading it, Mr. Baldwin immediately noticed, as 1 
 did myself, the unexpected change, not only in the language, but in the substance of the 
 letter, and Mr. Baldwin would have returned it, had I not expressed my reluctance to 
 question the ingenuousness of the Lieuteiiaiit-Oovernor, and unter upon a discussion which 
 might seriously interfere with the harmony of the Council. Had i suppo.sed that the word 
 "require "could have been interded to abridge the gieat and unlimited latitude before 
 given by his Excellency, I should certniiily not have consented to be sworn into office hiul 
 the letter been received on the Hjth, and I shouhl have resigned 011 rcc-iving a copy of it 
 on the 'i-id from Mr. Baldwin. The sole object of the letter, and it wa.s intended to em- 
 brace, Was the admission liiut we joimd the Louncil without changing our principles. 
 
 3yi. L3 W-S. 't 
 
86 
 
 PAPERS UELATIVi: TO THE 
 
 Appendix. 
 
 EviHpiire of 
 Dr. Uolph. 
 
 *!!l 
 
 Address ftom 
 Grand Jury to 
 Lieut.-Governor. 
 
 Q. 3. It appears from his Excellency's answer fo the Address of the House of Assembly 
 of March ■2()ih, that the note 'Thich he wrote to Mr. Haldvvin, of which the followin;^ is an 
 extract — " I shall rely on your i^ivino- me your unbiassed opinion on all subjects rcspectiui; 
 which I may feel it advisable to require it," — was written during the negotiation between 
 his Excellency and the Council previonsly to their taking ofhce, and in fact was part of the 
 negociation, and implies that it contained the condition>^ of their taking office, and that they 
 took office after the communication of that note ; is that the case, and is that the true infer- 
 ence according to your understanding? — A. I confess I understand the passage given me to 
 read to mean that the letter sent to Mr. Baldwin wo.s the conclusion of the negociation on 
 the part of his Excellency, and intended to convey to Mr. Baldwin, for the information of 
 himself and his colleagues, the terms upon which his Excellency would accent our services, 
 and that after the receipt of thiit letter we went into olHceon those terms and then disputed 
 them. But such certainly was not the case: tlie letter in question was wholly independent 
 ot the negociation, and not even mentioned till it was so far concluded that wo waited on 
 his Excellency on the i()th merely to receive a more formal and united invitation to his 
 Council. We did thun receive such an invitation, and the object of the letter was then sug- 
 
 fested by Mr. Baldwin, and promised by his Excellency, for the simple purpose of enabling 
 Ir. Baldwin and his colleagues to repel any presumption of abandoning their principles on 
 taking office. 
 
 Q. 4. Were any steps taken having a tendency to guard against the divulgement of the 
 proceedings in Council upon this matter? — A. 1*116 junior clerks were sworn to seciesy, as 
 It had not before been done. 
 
 Q. 5. It has been alleged that his Excellency in his reply to the City Corporation, intended 
 to be understood as referring to the late Council, when he represented that the new theory 
 respecting the jiowers of the Executive Council " had been secretly promulgated ;" is such a 
 charge warranted by the fact ? — yl. It is wholly unfounded as regards myself, and every 
 thing which passed between me and other members of Council satisfies me that it is as 
 equally unfounded as respects them. 
 
 (U.) 
 
 To His Excellency, Sir F. B. Head, Knight, Commander of the I^oyal Hanoverian 
 Giielphic Order, and of the Prussian Military Order of Merit, Lieutenant-Governor of 
 the Province of Upper Canada, &c. &c. &c. 
 
 May it please Your Excellency, 
 
 WE, the undersigned grand jurors, representing the Home district at the Spring Assize 
 now holding, respectfully beg to assure your Excellency that the lii)eral policy desiii'ned to 
 be pursued, and the paternal solicitude manifested by His Majesty's Governiuent towards 
 this province, as communicated to the Legislature soon after your arrival here, have been 
 hailed by us as the harbingers of our prosperity imd happiness. 
 
 We greatly regret that a system of political excitement hath of late years been organized in 
 this province, engendering bitter animosities in the breasts of those whose welfare and hap- 
 piness imperiously require that they should dwell together in amity; and producing party 
 feuds too frequently ending in breaches of the peace. ^Ve are well aware that the prevalence 
 of this system has already produced results uniavourable to the development of our internal 
 resources and to the introduction among us of the redundant wealth and jiopulation of Great 
 Britain ; but the recent expressions of confidence in your Excellency's administration which 
 we have heard, and in which we cordially concur, lead us to hope that the people will not 
 long remain blinded to tlieir own interests, but will be convinced that the most effectual 
 mode of serving themselves consists in upholding the constitution, and directino- their 
 attention to the improvement of the land we live in, rather than to the consideration of 
 abstract questions of government, and of theoretical changes in our constitution ; changes 
 in which very many well-educated members of tiie conmiunity discover no eleiuents of 
 good, but discern, on the contrary, the seeds of discord and confusion, producing in duo 
 season the dismemberment of this colony fi'>"' the parent State, and tiie establishment 
 therein of demociatic institutions, uncongen i.i to the habits and sentiments of its British 
 population. 
 
 We would have felt a difficulty, particularly as our especial duty is of a judicial character 
 only, in thus expressing our opinions to your Excellency, were we not confident that they 
 are participated in by a numerous body of the freeholders in the district we reprcseijt. 
 
 J. S. Macaulay (Foreman). Thomas D. Harris. 
 
 /E. Moodio. Alexander Burnside. 
 
 William Crookshank. Thomas Cooper. 
 
 Andrew Mercer. Williaiu Campbell. 
 
 (j. W, Thomson. W. Lauiihton. 
 
 Francis Boyd. George Gurnett. 
 
 John EUah. George B. Willard, 
 
 Silas Burnham. E. O. Gapper. 
 
 (A true Copy,) J. Joseph. 
 
 Is 
 
•^^mmr 
 
 
 AFFAIHS or UPPER CANADA. 
 
 . V- His Excellency's Reply. 
 
 87 
 
 .-^ 
 
 Appendix, 
 
 Gentlemen, 
 
 If the important object I have in view were to obtain applause, nothing could be more Reply of Lieut.- 
 gratifying to my feelings than the approbation of so well-educated a body of gentlemen Oovornor tu 
 as the grand jury of the Home district; but, without offence, 1 must declare that the strict tirurnl Jury, 
 performance of my duty reciuires that 1 should neither be stimulated by popularity nor 
 (jeterred by clamor. In maintaining the liberties of the inhabitants of this province, but 
 little has been left by our Sovereign either to my judgment or discretion, and if it be true, 
 "that the recent expressions of confidence in mv administration which you have heard, 
 and in which you cordially concur, lead you to hope that the people will not long remain 
 blinded to their own interest," this happy effect has proceeded from no exertions of mine, 
 but simply from my having repelled our enemies l.y pointing to the constitutional Act of 
 this province. 
 
 If that noble charter had not existed, there can be no doubt but that the representative 
 of His Majesty would have been overcome, and that the inhabitants of Upper Canada 
 would now be under the ignominious tyranny of a secret metropolitan " Caoinet ;" but 
 your Constitution has proved to be impregnable, and at this moment no people bewail the 
 fact more keenly than those who have lately been nearly crushed in their endeavours to ' 
 undermine it. *"*•' 
 
 (A true Copy.) J. Joseph.