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THIS PAMPHLET IS EE8PEC TFUJLLY DEDICATED TO HIS EXCELLENCY THE RIGHT HON. SIR CHAS. T. METCALFE, BART., G.C.B., Governor-General of British North America, &c. &c., BY HIS MOST OBEDIENT HUMBLE SERVANTS, ^t ^nbi\3\)tv8. '5rrvT~'i^'-T'[r'Tr7Tf^ TT^^' ■ T^ -^^"""''^^ H l> >UVH*|I>1 ill, i; I 'iiniw|i|'mi" 4" VJPWpwi^^l^iWfil^^fljp^lBppW f^F"^ MESSAGE From His Excellency the Governor General to the T.otrisla- tive Assembly of Canada, presented Friday, 1st December, 1843. C. T. Metcalfe. The Governor General transmits to the Legislative Assembly, in reply to their Address of yesterday's date, Copies of all communications that have passed between him and those Members of the late Executive Council who have ten- dered their resignation, on the subject of those resignations. Government House, Kingston, 30th November, 1843. Mr. Lafontaine, in compliance with the request of the Gover- nor General, and in behalf of himself and his late colleagues, who ha' e felt it to be their duty to tender a resignation of office, states, for His Excellency's information, the substance of the explanation which they propose to offer in their places in Parliament. They have avowedly taken office upon the principles of responsibility to the Representatives of the People in Par- liament, and with a full recognition on their parts of the following resolutions, introduced into the Legislative Assembly with the knowledge and sanction of Her Majesty's Repre- sentative in this Province, on the 3rd September, 1841. " That the head of the Executive Government of the " Province, being within the limits of his Government the " Representative of the Sovereign, is responsible to the " Imperial authority alone, but that, nevertheless, the man- " agement of our local aifairs can only be conducted by him, B 2 Ills EXCELLENCY'S MESSAGE *< by and with the assistance, counsel and information of " subordinate officers in tlic Province," and, "tliat in order " to preserve between the different branches of the Provin- " cial Parliament that harmony, whicii is essential to the *' peace, welfare, and good government of the Province, the " chief advisers of the Representative of the Sovereign, con- " stituting a Provincial Administration nndcr him, ought " to be men possessed of the confidence of the Representatives " of the People, thus affording a guarantee that the well *' understood wishes and interests of the People, which Our " Gracious Sovereign has declared shall be the rule of the " Provincial Government, will on all occasions be faithfully " represented and advocated. " They have lately understood that His Excellency took a widely different view of the position, duties, and responsibili- ties of the Executive Council, from that under which they accepted office, and through which they have been enabled to conduct the Parliamentary business of the Government, sustained by a large majority of the popular branch of the Legislature. Had the difference of opinion between His Excellency and themselves, and, as they have reason to believe, between His Excellency and the Parliament and People of Canada gene- rally, been merely theoretical, the Members of the late Executive Council might, and would, have felt it to be their duty to avoid any possibility of collision, which might have a tendency to disturb the tranquil and amicable relations which Apparently subsisted between the Executive Government and the Provincial Parliament. But the difference of opinion has led not merely to appointments to office against their advice, but to appointments, and proposals to make appointments, of which they were not informed in any manner, until all op- portunity of offering advice respecting them had passed by, and to a determination on the part of His Excellency to reserve for the expression of Her Majesty's pleasure thereon a Bill, introduced into the Provincial Parliament with His Excellency's knowledge and cojisent as a Government mea- TO THE HOUSE OF ASSEMBI.T. 8 sure, without an opportunity hein^ jriven to the Members of the Executive Council to state the probability of such a reservation. They therefore felt themselves in the anomalous position of beinjr, according to their own avowals and solemn public pledges, responsible for all the acts of the Executive Government to Parliament, and at the same time not only without the opportunity of offering advice respecting these Acts, but without the knowledge of their existence, until informed of them from private and unofficial sources. When the Members of the late Executive Council offered their humble remonstrances to His Excellency on this con- dition of public affairs. His Excellency not only frankly ex- plained the difference of opinion existing between him and the Council, but stated that from the time of his arrival in the country he had observed an antagonism between him and them on the subject, and notwithstanding that the Members of Council repeatedly and distinctly explained to His Excel- lency, that they considered him free to act contrary to their advice, and only claimed an opportunity of giving such advice, and of knowing, before others. His Excellency's intentions, His Excellency did not in any manner remove the impression left upon their minds by his avowal, that there was an antag- onism between him and them, and a want of that cordiality and confidence, which would enable them, in their respective stations, to carry on public business to the satisfaction of His Excellency or of the Country. The want of this cordiality and confidence had already become a matter of public rumour ; and public opinion not only extended it to acts, upon which there were apparent grounds for difference of opinion, but to all measures of government involving political principles. His Excellency, on the one hand, was supposed to be coerced by his Council into a course of policy which he did not approve of, and the Council were made liable to the accusation of assuming the tone and position of responsible advisers of the government, without, in fact, asserting the right of being consulted thereupon.,, 1^ :r..V'^ va m.;.; ,>.'-;n-.;; .- --. :/i -r :-tiXA:\ HIS BXCBLLUNCY'S MUSSAOB While His Excellency disavowed any intention of altering the course of adinini.stration of public affairs, wiiich he found on his arrival in Canada, he did not diHguise his opinion that these affairs would be more satisfactorily managed by and through the Governor himself, without any necessity of con- cord amongst the members of the Executive Council, or obligation on their part to defend, or support in Parliament the acts of the Governor. To this opinion of His Excellency, as one of theory, the members of the Executive Council might not have objected ; but when, on Saturday last, they discovered that it was the real ground of all their differences with His Excellency, and of the want of confidence and cor- diality between His Excellency and the Council since his arrival, they felt it impossible to continue to serve Her Majesty as Executive Councillors for the affairs of this pro- vince, consistently with their duty to Her Majesty, or to His Excellency, or with their public and often repeated pledges in the Provincial Parliament, if His Excellency should see fit to act upon his opinion of their functions and responsibilities. Daley's Hotel, 27th November, 1843. The Governor General observes with regret, in the expla- nation which the gentlemen who have resigned their seats in the Executive Council propose to offer in their places in Parliament, a total omission of the circumstances which he regards as forming the real grounds of their resignation ; and as this omission may have proceeded from their not consider- ing themselves at liberty to disclose those circumstances, it becomes necessary that he should state them. On Friday, Mr. Lafontaine and Mr. Baldwin came to the Government House, and after some other matters of bui^iness, and some preliminary remarks as to the cause of their pro- ceeding, demanded of the Governor General that he should agree to make no appointment, and no oftV* of an appoint- TO TIIF. IKH'SK OF ASHKMIU.Y 5 nient, without, proviouHly taking tlio advice of tlio Council ; that the lists of candidates sho\dd, in every instance, he hiid before the Council ; that they sliouhl recommend any others at discretion, and tluit the (Jovemor (reneral, in decidinjr after taking their advice, should not make any appointment prejudicial to their intlnence. In other words, that the patronaj^e of the Crown should he surreiulered to the Council for the purchase of ])arliamentary suj)])ort ; for, if the demand did not mean that, it meant nothiiifr, as it cannot he imfijrined that the mere form of takinj^ advice without re^ardin^ it was the process contemplated. The Governor (ieneral replied that lie would not make any such stipulation, and could not de^nule the cliaracter of his office, nor violate his duty, by such a surrender of the prerogative of the Crown. He appealed to the nund)er of appointments made by him on the recommeiulation of the Council, or the members of it in their dep.irtmental capacity, and to instances in which he had abstained from conferring appointments on their oppo- nents, as furnishing proofs of the great consideration which he had evinced towards the Council in the distribution of the patronage of the Crown. He at the same time objected, as he always had done, to the exclusive distribution of patronage with party views, and maintained the principle that office ought, in every instance, to be given to the man best qualified to render efficient ser- vice to the state; find where there was no such pre-eminence, he asserted his right to exercise his discretion. He understood from Messrs. Lafontaine and Baldwin, that their continuance in office depended on his final decision with regard to their demand; and it was agreed that at the Council to be assembled the next day, that subject should be fully discussed. ' He accordingly met the Council on Saturday, convinced that they would resign, as he could not recede from the reso- lution which he had formed, and the same subject became the principal topic of discussion. 'ilM i I 6 HIS EXCELLENCY'S MESSAGE Three or more distinct propositions were made to him, over and over again, sometimes in different terms, but always aiming at the sume purpose, which, in his opinion, if accom- plished, would have been a virtual surrender into the hands of the Council of the prerogative of the Crown; and on his uniformly replying to those propositions in the negative, his refusal was each time followed by " then we must resign," or words to that purport, from one or more of the Council. After the discussion of this question at so much length, being, as he has hitherto conceived, the one on which the resignation of the Council rested, he is astonished at finding that it is now ascribed to an alleged difference of opinion on the theory of responsible government. In the course of the conversations which, both on Friday and Saturday, followed the explicit demand made by the Council regarding the patronage of the Crown, that demand being based on the construction put by some of the gentlemen on the meaning of responsible government, different opinions were elicited on the abstract theory of that still undefined question, as applicable to a colony, — a subject on which con- siderable difference of opinion is known every where to prevail; but the Governor General during those conversations protested against its being supposed that he is practically adverse to the working of the system of responsible govern- ment, which has been here established ; which he has hitherto pursued without deviation, and to which it is fully his inten- tion to adhere. The Governor General subscribes entirely to the resolution of the Legislative Assembly of the 3rd September, 1841, and considers any other system of government but that which recognises responsibility to the people and to the Represent- ative Assembly, as impracticable in this province. . . - No man is more satisfid that all government exists solely for the benefit of the people ; and he appeals confidently to his uniform conduct here and elsewhere in support of this assertion. . ...> m r/ TO THE HOUSE OF ASSEMBLY. 7 If, indeed, by responsible government the gentlemen of the late Council mean that the Council is to be supreme, and the authority of the Governor a nullity, then he cannot agree with them, and must declare his dissent from that perversion of the acknowledged principle. But if they mean that responsible government, as esta- blished in this colony, is to be worked out with an earnest desire to ensure success, he must then express his surprise at their arriving at conclusions, which he does not consider to be justified by any part of his conduct, and which he conceives his repeated declarations ought to have prevented. Allusion is made in the proposed explanation of the gentle- men of the late Council, to the Governor General's having determined to reserve for the consideration of Her Majesty's government, one of the bills passed by the two Legislative houses, "^hat is the Secret Societies Bill. If there is any part of the functions of the Governor in which he is more than aay other bound to exercise an independent judgment, it mu^t be in giving the royal assent to Acts of Parliament. With regard to this duty he has special instructions from Her Majesty to reserve every act of an unusual or extraordinary character. Undoubtedly the Secret Societies Bill answers that description, being unexampled in British legislation. The gentlemen of the late Council heard his sentiments on it expressed to them. He told them that it was an arbitrary ani unwise measure, and not even calculated to effect the object it had in view. He had given his cc^'sent to its being inToduced into Parliament, because he had promised, soon after his assumption of the 'government, that he would sanc- tbn legislation on the subject, as a substitute for executive neasures, which he refused to adopt on account of their pro- sjriptive character; although he deprecates the existence of societies which tend to foment religious and civil discord. The gentlemen of the late Council cannot fail to remember vith what pertinacity those measures were pressed on him, md can hardly be unaware of what would have followed at 8 Ills EXCELLENCY'S MESSAGE. that time, if, in addition to rejecting the proseriptive measures urged, he had refused to permit any legislation on the subject. Permission to introduce a bill cannot be properly asiumed as fettering the judgment of the Governor with regard to the royal assent, for much may happen during the passage of the bill through the Legislature to influence his decision. In this case the bill was strongly opposed and reprobated in the Assembly, but when it went to the Legislative Council, many of the members had seceded, and it did not come up from that house with the advantage of having been passed in a full meeting Taking these circumstances into consideration, to- gether with the precise instructions of Her Majesty, and the uncertainty of Her Majesty's allowing such a bill to go into operation, the Governor General considered to be his duty to reserve it for Her Majesty's consideration ; as it was much better that it should not go into operation until confirmed by Her Majesty's government, than that it should be discon- tinued after its operation had commenced. In conclusion, the Governor General protests against the explanation which those gentlemen propose to offer to Parlia- ment, as omitting entirely the actual and prominent circum- stances which led to their resignation, and as conveying- to Parliament a misapprehension of his sentiments and inten- tions, which has no foundation in any part of his condict, unless his refusal to make a virtual surrender of the preroga- tive of the Crown to the Council for party purposes, and lis anxiety to do justice to those who were injured by tie arrangements attending the union, can be regarded as wa*- Tanting a representation, which is calculated to injure hin, without just cause, in the opinion of the parliament and th» people, on whose confidence he places his sole reliance fo: the successful administration of the government. Government House, 28th November, 1843. ' ' ■ // ^r«'T('-'""'""*'--"7r^' - ,;)!■' .;:• 1 1 ADDKESSES AND REPLIES. TOWN OF LONDON. To His Excellency the Right Hon. Sir C. T. Metcalfe, Bart., G. C. B., Governor General of British North America, &c. &c. &c. . ,. ; May it. please Your Excellency, We, the Inhabitants of the Town of London, in public meeting assembled, approach Your Excellency with feelings of gratitude and admiration, which we cannot sufficiently express. The measures proposed by Your Excellency's late advisers, and the extraordinary appointments to office made through their means, have caused us for some time to tremble for the fate of this province; we refrained however from giving expression to our fears, and thus agitating the public mind, in the confident expectation that Your Excellency's great abili- ties, and desire to perpetuate the connection between this province and our father land, would point out to you the proper time to put a stop to their democratic proceedings; that time has arrived, and our expectations have been realized to the letter. We therefore now assemble for the purpose of tendering to Your Excellency our heartfelt thanks as loyal British subjects, for the noble stand wliich Your Excellency has made against the unconstitutional encroachments of th. late council; and of assuring Your Excellency that we are prepared to support, by every means in our power. Your Excellency's eftorts to uphold British principles and British supremacy in this pro- vince. j( -t-rt n r-.;' t ■■.\''\i #'.!r;:f;t^-,-i> i ^ ,-- » r' ! >^- -i , ifl; '■:: ! 3 .• ; /V We rejoice to find that "the Sficret Societies Bill," which Your Excellency has justly characterized as " ujiwise and arbitrary," and as being "unexampled in British legislation," lias never received the sanction of Your Excellency. We c 10 ADDRESSES AND REPLIES. cannot but conceive that every thinking man at all jealous for the principles of British liberty, regarded that measure as a foul disgrace to the colony — as calculated if not intended by its originators, to offer insult to individuals of high stand- ing in Great Britain ; and beyond doubt to disgust and coerce many of Her Majesty's most loyal, brave, and devoted subjects in this province. We trust that a better day now dawns upon us: that soon under the firm and impartial government of Your Excellency, we shall enjoy that stability in our institutions to which we are entitled, as a colony of one of the oldest civilized govern- ments in the world; and that we shall no longer be exposed to those rapid changes and disastrous experiments in legislation, which have of late so often disturbed the peace and prosperity of this noble province. London, December, 1843. (Here follow 440 signatures.) ANSWER. Accept, gentlemen, my cordial thanks for the assurances which you convey to me of your loyalty to our Gracious Sovereign, and your attachment to our father land — noble sentiments, worthy of British hearts, — and of your support in my endeavours to uphold British principles and British supremacy in this province, by making my administration of the government beneficial to the country, and just and equal to all races and classes of its inhabitants, without exception or distinction ; a course from which no opposition, founded on artful misrepresentation or blind misapprehension of my conduct and views, shall ever induce me to depart. My warmest wishes for the prosperity of your London, and for happiness on the banks of your Thames, will ever accompany my heartfelt tliankfulness for the confidence which you repose in my honest intentions. TOWN OF COBOURG. May it please Your Excellency, We, the undersigned Inhabitants of the Town of Cobourg, in the Province of Canada, beg leave most respectfully to address Your Excellency, in the present position of our public affairs. '■ We feel ourselves constrained, as dutiful and loyal subjects TOWN OF COBOURG. H of the Queen, to express our hearty concurrence in the sentiments which Your Excellency has recently felt yourself called upon to announce, in vindication of the rights and prerogatives of the Crown ; and to assure Your Excellency of our unwavering support in defence of principles which are implied in our pledged allegiance to the Sovereign, and intimately associated with our best hopes, as subjects of a mighty empire. If it shall be understood to have been conceded, that individuals holding offices of trust and emolument under the Crown ia this colony, and designed to act as advisers to Your Excellency, shall be selected in accordance with the well understood wishes of the people as expressed through their representatives in parliament; we cannot consider that such a concession as this, admitting that it has been made, implies the surrender to that body of all the local patronage of the crown. The admission of such a principle would, we are free to declare, be as contradictory to the meaning of our allegiance, and to the spirit of our constitutional charter, as it would be destructive of the tranquillity and best practical interests of this province. We cordially agree with Your Excellency, that such a demand, as that made by the late Executive Council, "is inadmissible, needless, and ill judged;" and we feel well assured, that the uncompromising maintenance of these sen- timents, in connection with the firm, impartial, and paternal administration of the government, which we have the fullest confidence in Your Excellency's determination to exercise, will meet with a warm response in the loyal affections of a large majority of the inhabitants of this great province, ■ !' ' (Here follow 431 signatures.) ANSWER. I beg you, gentlemen, to accept my cordial thanks, for your loyal address ; and for the gratifying sentiments of concur- rence, which you have expressed with reference to my conduct on a recent occasion. Your generous assurance of support will cheer me in m^ continued endeavours to administer the government of this great province, for the benefit and according to the wants and wishes of the people ; and the manifestation on this im- portant occasion of your devotion to the Crown, and of your attachment to the mother country, confirms the belief which I have always been disposed to entertain, that confident It2 ADnnr.ssEs and nKPMr.s. roliuncc may he plucod on tlie ^ood sonso {itid f^ood fooHiig of the inhabitants of Canada; severed from tlic parent states by the broad waves of tiie Athmtic, but united with her by mutual interests and affections, under the benij^n sway of our Gracious Sovereig-n, and the powerful protection of the British Empire. May the Almighty bless this union, and grant that it be perpetual. My constant efforts will be directed to that object, manifestly beneficial to both countries; and 1 hope that Canada may be the favored land to which the superabundant population ami capital of the British Isles, will unceasingly flow. COUNTY OF FRONTENAC. May It please Your Excellency, We, the Yeomen of the County of Frontenac in Her Majesty's Province of Canada, in public meeting assembled, humbly beg leave to approach Your Excellency in the present important crisis, and to offer our unfeigned approval of the manly stand taken by Your Excellency on the question of Responsible Government as applicable to this province ; and as expressed by Your Excellency in your communication to the House of Assembly of the 29th November last. We tender to Your Excellency our humble, but firm support in the course of policy which you have been pleased to adopt in relation to this important subject; and we feel confident, that, while Your Excellency will ever maintain the dignity and prerogative of the Crown, you will at the same time uphold and protect all classes of Her Majesty's subjects in this province, in their just rights. We shall ever look with indignation upon any attempt made to embarrass Your Excellency in the administration of the fovernment, but we feel confident that Your Excellency's rm and vigorous conduct, will enable you to carry out such measures as will promote the prosperity and happiness of the people, and we confidently hope that Your Excellency will be attended with the same success in this province, which has ever characterized Your Excellency's publi'^ career. We glory in the name of British subjects, we glory in the constitution under which we live, and we glory in the con- nection with the parent state, which it will ever be ourbounden duty to maintain and perpetuate. ! .. . •. , : , .. ,^ , . !)r,tv, }<,M., ' (Signed) Henry Smith, Jun., (S^aznwaw^ , John Dunlap, Sect^etary* . ^ . , | Waterloo, Dec. 13th, 1843. COUNTY OP FHONTKNAr. 1:3 AN'swr.n, I tliank, you lioartlly, gontloinen, for your loyal iirul public spirited addross. It iis a jj^roat couifort to mo, to rocoivo the assurance of your fervent love for tlie iJritisli CVuistitution, and of your determination to maintain and ])erpetuate your connection with the mother country; for on such feelings and dispositions, the happiness of Canada appears to me to (le})en(l. Under the auspices of this connection, tlie ])opulatio>> of Canada has increased with a rapidity scarcely kiu)wn in any other region. Uy tiiis connection, the superabundant capital and population of the mother country, will brin<^ wealth and strenj^th and prosperity to Canachi; while the millions who will inhabit this province, consuminir the manufactures of the United Kingdom, will return the same benefits to the maternal bosom whence they have emanated. But 1 am wront^ in replying to your loyal address, with cjdculations of profit. Loyalty is not a calculating j)rocess. It is a feeling of the heart; and it is on hearts like yours, that I rely for the safecy and welfare of this portion of the dominions of our beloved and gracious Queen. TOWN AND TOWNSHIP OF ORILLIA. May it please Your Excellency, We, Her Majesty's loyal and devoted subjects, the Freeholders and Inhabitants of the Town and Township of Orillia, in the District of Simcoe, humbly approach Your Excellency with renewed expressions of our unshaken attach- ment to the person and government of our beloved Sovereign, and to your Excellency as Her representative among us. It may be in the recollection of Your Excellency, that on your arrival in this part of Her Majesty's dominions, an address signed by a large majority of the iidiabitants of this Township was laid before you, hailing \/ith delight Your Excellency's having assumed the high office with which our gracious Sovereign had invested you, and placing our entire confidence in your well tried wisdom and experience; at the same time humbly jmd respectfully praying Your Excellency, to dismiss from your councils, the honourables Messrs. B«ildwin, LaFontaine, Hincks, Harrison and Small, having no confidence in their British feelings, or political integrity. Since that 14 ADDRESSES AND REPLIES. period we have had reason to view with greatly increased ahirm, the introduction by tliem of measures, which we con- scientiously believe to he at variance with the best interests of the couitry, subversive of the principles of the British Constitution, and by an insidious yet sure process, under- mining our connexion with our beloved father land; and who with liberality on their li})s, were aiming deadly blows at the liberty of the sui)ject, and of vested rights. We have been particularly disgusted with the studied insult so continually oifered to tiie faithful and loyal of the land, and by the ad- vancement to situations of honour and emolument, of suspected and disloyal persons; the reckless waste of the public money; the introduction of taxes most oppressive in their nature, and ruinous in their consequences, to meet the extravagance of the executive ; the consequent accumulating and greatly increased debt of the province; the attempt to deprive a large and loyal portion of Her Majesty's subjects of their dearest privileges; and the laying violeiit hands on the property of public Dodies, the free gift of the Crown, and held by them by as sacred and enduring a title as that by which we hold our own freeholds. We cannot help therefore giving vent to the expression of our unmingled and joyous satisfaction at the resignation of those gentlemen. We would now beg to express our high satisfaction at Your Excellency's nomination of the Hon. John Beverly Robinson (a name peculiarly dear to Simcoe), as Deputy Governor of the Western Province, placing, as we do, our unbounded confidence in his great talent and unimpeachable integrity. We beg to lay before Your Excellency, the assurance of our humble yet hearty co-operation in maintaining, defending, and perpetuating British feelings, British institutions, and British connection. That He, by whom kings reign and princes and gover- nors decree justice, may guide and direct Your Excellency in the present important crisis of public aifairs; and that He may bless you with a long continued, prosperous, and consti- tutional administration, is our sincere prayer. t , , (Here follow 102 signatures.) ANSWER. I thank you heartily, gentlemen, for the assurance which your address conveys of your unshaken attachment to the person and government of our beloved Sovereign; of your TOWNSHIP OF WAIIVVK K. 15 co-operation in defendinj^, maintaiuinfi^, and perpetuating British feelings, British institutions, and British connection; and of your kind sentiments towards me, as Her Majesty's representative in this part of her dominions. I rely with implicit confidence on your loyalty and good feeling; and trust that I may have your co-operation in cul- tivating harmony and brotherly love with all our fellow subjects, so that dissension and party acrimony may cease, and all be of one heart and mind in loyalty to the Queen, and zealous endeavours to promote the welfare and happiness of the province. The commission to the Chief .Tustice of Upper Canada, which you notice, was a temporary arrangement, connected with the formation of the Court of Appeal, and limited to that object. I entirely concur with you in your high opinion of the admirable qualities of that distinguished functionary; but I have not thought it necessary to delegate to any other hands, the powers which Her Majesty has been graciously pleased to place in mine. TOWNSHIP OF WARWICK. May it please Your Excellency. We, Inhabitants and Freeholders of the Township of War- wick, beg leave to approach Your Excellency as the represen- tative of our most gracious sovereign Queen Victoria, with sentiments of devoted attachment to her person and govern- ment. Gratified beyond measure at the resignation of the members of the late Executive Council, we cannot defer the expressions of our thankfulness to Your Excellency, for your firm and manly conduct on that occasion, convinced that under their auspices, the Province of Canada must sooner or later have been precipitated into a state of disorganization, termi- nating in civil war, and disruption from the mother country. The picture is now reversed, and we look forward with con- fidence to the dawn of happier days, under the fostering care of Your Excellency, and an Executive Council actuated by a sincere love of their country. We cannot regard without sentiments of astonishment and indignation, the attempt to wrest from Your Excellency the prerogative of the Crown, as set forth in your Excellency's message to the Legislative Assembly of Canada, and we congratulate Your Excellency, on the firmness with which you resisted a measure so unwar- rantable, and unconstitutional. Let Your Excellency proceed 16 ADUIIESSKS AND IIEPMES. boldly find eircunis|)tH'tly in tlio carocr you luivo so uusplci- ouwly be^un, in full jisMurant'o of tlio support of evtjry houi'st and loyal subjoct. Your Kxci'lloncy will thereby revive the spirits of all ^ood men and triu', who have rejj^arded the attempted eneroaehments of a faction, aj^ainst their eonstitu- tioiuil principles and privileges, with just abhorrence and indignation. Warwick, Western District, December l.'Uh, 1843. (Here follow 32 sigiiaturea.) ANSWER. I beg you, gentlemen, to aece})t my sincere tliJinks, for your manifestJition of loyalty to our gracious Sovereign, and of devoted attachment to her person aiul goverrnnent. I am cheered by your assurances of aj)probation and sup- port, in the course that I have pursued in refusing to surrender the constitutional prerogative of the Crown, which I am bound to preserve inviolate, as well by my duty to our Queen, as by regard for her good and loyal subjects in this portion of the empire, whose rights and liberties it is her royal pleasure that I should guard with jealous care. With no other object in view, than the prosperity and happiness of the people of Canada, and strengthened by the consciousness, that I am honestly seeking the means of securing those results, no obstacles that may be opj)osed, shall induce me to swerve from the path alike ])rescribed by due reverence for our Sovereign, and affection for my fellow subjects, , * I',. VILLAGE OF BOND HEAD. I i- May it please Your Excellency, ' At a large and respectable meeting of the Iiduibitants of Bond Head, in the County of Simcoe, held on the 9th December, 1843, at 12 o'clock. A. M. — J. W. Dewson, Esq., in the chair : The annexed resolutions were adopted unanimously, ap- proving of the high and constitutional stand Y'our Excellency has made, in accepting the resignation of those individuals of your late Executive, who have used their utmost endeavours to embarrass Y\>ur Excellency, and interfere with the royal prerogative, by surrogating to themselves the disposal of the patronage of the crown for their own political pur[)os<.s, which VILLAGE OF BOND IIRAD. 17 if allowed would tend to interrupt the harmony of the province, and ultimately destroy the hest interests of the country. This meeting hejr to assure Your Excellency, that the attempt of your late councillors to introduce measures such as the Assessment Hill, the renu)val of the scat of jj^overnment, the bill interferinjr with the Kintr's Collet^e, Toronto; and the undue interference with the liberty of the subject, by what is termed the Secret Societies' Hill, iic. i^c, alike meet with our just abhorrence, and we hereby tender our most un- feigned thanks for the ])romptness with which Your Excellency has defeated their objects. (Signed on behalf of the Meeting) J. W. Dewson, Chairman. RESOLUTIONS. Resolved, 1st. — That tliis meeting heartily respond to the Governor General, in accej)ting the resignation of those individuals of his executive, who presumed to render the authority of the rej)resentative of our most gracious Sovereign "a nullity," by arrogating to themselves the prerogative of the crown for party pur[)oses. Resolved, 2nd. — That the inliabitants of Bond Head and its vicinity, fully concur in the view of His Plxcellency the Governor General, believing that the object of his late advi- sers is the separation of this province from the mother country. Resolved, 3rd. — That it is with feelings of indignation, we have noticed the design of the enemies of the Established Church of England and Ireland, to introduce a bill repugnant to the British Constitution, and tending to destroy civil and religious liberty. We therefore strongly deprecate any attempt that may be made to interfere with the Royal Charter of King's College, Toronto. Resolved, 4th. — That the individuals comprising this meeting pledge themselves to the support of His Excellency the Go 'ernor General in carrying out measures, having a tendency to cement the connexion between this and the mother country; and would bitterly deplore, and to the utmost of their power resist, any attempt to separate this from the parent state. Resolved, 5th. — That the following gentlemen be a com- mittee for the purpose of forwarding the address, now read at this meeting, to His Excellency the Governor General, viz.. Major Rose, Edward Tinley, Esq., and 13 others. ' ■ lU ADDItl^SMKS AND IIUI'MKS. Uosolvod, (Jth. — That tho Chalrinuii tlo Hign tho uddroMS on hi'iialt' of this inoctiii^r. RcHolvtMl, 7tl». — That tho procoodinijrs of this inoctiiifjf ho puhlisht'd ill tho 'J'oron/.o Ihrald^ tho Patriot^ tlio Church, and tJjo Sfar nows|)iiporM. Hosoivod, Hth. — That Mr. J)owson K'avo tho chair, wliich l)oinir . . ST. JOHN S AND CIIRISTIEVILLE. May it please Your Excellency, We, the undersigned inhabitants of St. John's and Christi. ville, C. E., anxious to express our entire and hearty assent to the principles advanced by Your Excellency, in the late exposition of your views on the subject of the govern- ment of this province ; and fully concurring with Your Excellency that the course you have pursued towards your late advisers was the only one left you, consistently wj i your duty to our Sovereign and to the country over which it has pleased Divine Providence to place you, we have sought this early opportunity of expressing our loyalty to our Sovereign, our confidence in Your Excellency, and our firm determina- tion to co-operate with you in the furtherance of those prin- ciples and the carrying out of those measures which alone tend to maintain inviolate the integrity of the empire ; to uphold the prerogative of the British crown, and to save this country from republicanism and misrule. May we be allowed humbly to express our entire accord- ance with Your Excellency in the opinion, that to enter into any pledge as to your liiture acts, would be a virtual aban- donment of the admitted principle of irresponsibility on the part of the head o^ the executive government, to others than " the Imperial authority alone ;" would be to d3base in the eyes of Her Majv^sty's subjects the authority of the crown, by subordinating the representative of royalty to the Execu- tive Council ; by binding him, by engagements the most stringent, to affix the seal of Her Majesty to all the future appointments of the ministry, be the individuals so appointed qualified or not qualified, friends or foes to the British constitution. The answer of Your Excellency to a demand so unprece- dented and unconstitutional was well worthy the representa- tive of British royalty, and calculated to inspire all dutiful subjects with confidence in Your Excellency's character, judgment and administration ; and to cause every well prin- TOWNSHIPS OF MELBOURNE, KINGSEY, AND SHIPTON. 21 cipled citizen and every lover of good government, of what- ever creed or nation, to rally round the standard of loyalty, and to declare as one man their fixed determination to support the constitution and the monarchy, and to use every effort to strengthen the government of one who desires to be th? rewarder of merit wherever it exists, and the impartial distributor of justice to all. December 9th, 1843. (Here follow 140 signatures.) ANSWER. Accept, gentlemen, my hearty thanks for your loyal address ; for your favourable opinion of my views and pro- ceedings ; and for your cordial assurance of support to Her Majesty's government. With such support from loyal hearts ; with the application of patronage to the reward of merit, and the efficiency of the public service ; economy in the public expenditure ; and with equal justice to all of every race, creed, class and degree, I will not cease to hope, however incompetent my own humble efforts may be to produce so great a result, that the blessing of the Almighty will grant to this favored land, prosperity, harmony and happiness. TOWNSHIPS OF MELBOURNE, KINGSEY, AND SHIPTON. May it please Your Excellency, We, Her Majesty's most dutiful and loyal subjects, inhabitants of Melbourne, Kingsey, Shipton, and adjoining townships, beg to offer to Your Excellency the unfeigned tribute of our gratitude for the noble stand made by Your Excellency in defence of the prerogative of the crown. We have, since Your Excellency's arrival in the province, regarded Your Excellency's position with feelings of deep interest, a position as difficult as ever occurred in the history of the province ; and tb ^ to a|)})roaeh Your Excflloncy in order to express our entire satisfaction at tlie just and constitutional stand made by Your Excellency, to maintain the lawful and reasonable prero<^ative of the crown in ajipointments to office : And cannot refrain from expressinjr our indignation at the endeavour to coerce Your Excellency to dejrrade that ])reroga- tive into a mere political entwine, for the purpose of keeping the late Executive Councillors in office, and depressing Up])er Canadian interests, and loyal sentiments. That we, in common with Your Excellency, have always objected to the exclusive distribution of patronage with party views, and maintain the principle that office ought in every instance, to be given to the man best qualified to render offi- cial services to the state. , And that we ofter Your Excellency our humble but stren- nous exertions, in supporting this just view of the case, against the unjust demands of the late Executive Councillors. (Here follow 89 signatures.) ANSWER. Accept, gentlemen, my warmest thanks for the loyal spirit which has induced you to address me, and for the gratifying assurance of your strenuous support in defence of the crown. My earnest endeavours will always be exerted, to combine with the due maintenance of the prerogative of the crown the full preservation of the rights of the people, and sincere respect for local wishes and opinions ; and I trust that I shall have the cordial co-operation of all whose loyal hearts, like your own, are attached to the mother country, and appreciate the protection of the British empire. ,, ,,,.;,,, 'i-t. TOWNSHIP OF MOORE. May it please Your Excellency, We, the undersigned. Her Majesty's loyal and dutiful subjects of this distant township, beg to approach Your Excellency with a strong expression of our devoted love to our beloved Sovereign, and deep respect and regard for Your Excellency's person. At this eventful period, we deem it a duty which we owe TOWN OF ST. THOMAS. » to Your ExcpUoncy's manly docljinitioii, openly to come forward and assure Your Kxcollency that it has struck a responsive chord in all our hosoms, and we make bold to say in the bosom of every person who holds sacred as we do Jkitisli principle, British honour, and our ancient and venerable con- stitution, and to ])ledf^e ourselves to a firm, uncompromisintr support of Your Excellency's jjolicy in all cases, and under all circumstances. We have not tamely l)eheld the ])resumptuous attempt to make the viceroy of Her Majesty the controlled aj^ent of a party, and the insult thus offered to our Queen and her hijrh minded representative. And we be^ Your Excellency to receive this brief, but sincere testimony, of our admiration of your conduct, and firm determinntion to stand by you to the last, in the spirit in which it is meant. We know not whether our warm feelings have been clothed in the appropriate and estjiblished lani^uage of addresses, but thus we know, that it would be difficult to express the sentiments of veneration and affection, with which we are Your Excellency's Most faithful and obedient servants. (Here follow 46 signatures.) Township of Moore, 14th December, 1843. ANSWER. I am truly sensible, gentlemen, of the honour conferred on me by your affectionate address, and I rely with confidence on your assurances of support, in my endeavours to maintain unimpaired the prerogative of the crown and the rights of all classes of the people. It is most gratifying to me to perceive, that in your distant settlement you so highly api)reciate the blessings you enjoy, under the protection of the mighty em})ire to which we have the proud fortune to belong ; and that you yield to none, in your loyalty to our gracious Queen, and in love and venera- tion for the British constitution. For the warmth and kindness of your sentiments towards myself, I beg you to except my heartfelt thanks, together with fervent wishes for your prosperity and happiness. ■U:l: TOWN OF ST. THOMAS. May it please Your Excellency, We, the undersigned inhabitants of St. Thomas and its vicinity, in the London District, beg leave most respectfully 44, ao ADDIIESMES ANU UUPLIUM. to tender to Your Kxcellency the expresMion of our uimlter- uMe uttacliiru'iit to ller Majesty's crown and person, and to assure Your Kxeelleney tluit we entertain sentiments of tlie liijf;liest respect towards Your Excellency, us Her Majesty's re])resentative. Tlie connection happily existinj^ between Great Britain and this province we consider essential to our welfare and prosperity, and any change which may disturb this connection we cannot too strongly deprecate. We reg'ard as one of the essential features of the British constitution, that the whole executive power is lodged in the liead of the government, over and above the influence of party ; and any attem})t to deprive Her Majesty's represent- ative cii" such power, merits our just condemnation. The attempt of the late Executive Council to wrest from Your Excellency the undoubted prerogative of the crown, to appoint to office the persons whom Your Excellency may consider the most fit to discharge the duties required of them, would, had it been successful, prove a dangerous innovation on the British constitution. The dignified assertion of British supremacy which Your Excellency has made, in resisting the unconstitutional demands of your late Executive Council, calls for our warmest thanks and highest admiration, and has inspired the loyal inhabitants of Canada with confidence In Y'^our Excellency's wisdom and ability as a British statesman ; and we beg to assure Your Excellency that we will support Your Excellency to the utmost of our power, in your just endeavours to main- tain inviolate the prerogative of the crown. . . : (Here follow 296 signatures.) ANSWER. I highly appreciate, gentlemen, the fervent loyalty evinced in your address, and I cordially thank you for your assurance of support In my endeavours to administer the government of this country to the benefit and contentment of the people. Your feelings of unalterable attachment to our beloved Sovereign's crown and person, and your just view of the essential importance of our connection with the mother country, are worthy of loyal hearts and sensible minds ; such as may be relied on for maintaining that connection unim- paired to the great advantage of both countries. I shall ever be proud to be deemed deserving of the confidence that you generously repose in me. Kif»V^.; ■lit TOWN OF COKNWAI-L. i)\ TOWN OF CORNWALL. May it pleaso Your KxcclU'iicy, We, tlio inhabitants of the town of Cornwall, In the Eastorn District, and IVovinoc of Canachi, in public meeting assembled, avail ourselves of the ojjportunity which the j»re- sent crisis in public aft'airs presents, a crisis involvinjr the question of connection with or separation from the mother country, to tender to Your Kxcellency our hiji^h resj)ect for Your Excellency personally, and cmr ^;ratitude for the firm and decisive stand which Your Excellency has taken, in arresting the unjustifiable encroachments attem))ted to be made by Your Excellency's hite advisers upon the prerojrji- tives of the crown — prerojratives, the existence of which we firmly believe to be essential to the preservation of our liber- ties, and to the proper and harmonious working of that inimitable constitution which has placed England foremost in the rank of nations, and which, in a form modified to suit our circumstances as a colony, we have every hoj)e and confidence Your Excellency will maintain unimpaired, as the only means of restoring to us that peace an. :';..< ?r *;«-.;¥ •^;v:,i; -vs;v^ '■),^^Mia'r^,:'| We beg to assure Your Excellency, that when we condemn the attempt made by your late Executive Council, to exercise and control the patronage of the crown for corrupt party purposes, we would condemn such a course, no matter by what party taken ; acknowledging ihe principle, that the Sovereign is not the Sovereign of a party, but of the nation — the governor not the governor of a party, but of the colony — knowing no distinction in politics, and regarding only worthy ability and loyalty. May Your Excellency be spared to accomplish your best intentions for the peace and welfare of this province, and may you add the pacification of Canada, to the list of obliga- tions already conferred upon your country. Adopted at a public meeting held at Belleville. m Im 5'iiJ (jjgre jyjjj^ i59g aiguatures.) December 23, 1843. ntyy, li'W '•i. ' DISTRICT OF 8IMC0E. ANSWER. I heg you, gentlemen, to accept my wannest thanks for your loyal address. Your approval of my conduct is most welcome, and the generous sentiments which you express, demand my gratitude. I have earnestly endeavoured, and shall continue to endea- vour, to carry on the administration of the affairs of this pro- vince according to the plan of responsible government which I have found practically established; and with good sense and moderation in all parties, whose co-operation is necessary, I do not despair of success ; but if there be any who suppose that the prerogative of the crown is to be surrendered, that the council is to be supreme, the authority of Her Majesty's government a nullity, and the Governor a mere tool in the hands of a party, all such are either blind, or must be aiming at the separation of this province from the mother country. While however, the people of Canada are inspired with the loyal feelings which you express, the honour of the crown, the rights of the people, and the advantages which we enjoy under the protection of the British efmpire, will be preserved unimpaired ; and by God's mercy may be handed down to your children's children from generation to generation. May these and all other blessings be your portion. My heartfelt thankfulness will ever attend the remembrance of this occa- sion of meeting you. " I •■ i - I > ' ; 1 > - '^'- , . 26th Dec., 1843. ^-/uv.,^.! •iif;>v i'? ^-^mni\ %,]. i\diik\^C -•*/: DISTRICT OF NEWCASTLE. 41 .it, ■I I ij ANSWER. Accept, gentlemen, my warmest thanks for the generous assurances and satisfactory sentiments which you have con- veyed to me. ■'''•*■• ' '•'"'' "■■'■'' '' .:'•!">• ■ ;. while the people of Canada entertain such feelings of loy- alty and attachment to our connection with the mother country, I see every reason to hope that the administration of the government of this colony may be carried on with success, to the benefit and contentment of the people, and welfare of the country, without any violation of the principle of responsible government, and without the annihilation of the author' ty of the crown, which was lately attempted. Trusting to the good sense and moderation of the present iParliament, and being unconscious of any act on my part, that would justify obstruction to the operations of Her Majesty's government, I have no present intention of an appeal to the people, and wish to avoid throwing the country into the state of excitement which would be produced by a general election before the period at which the parliament will regu- larly expire. DISTRICT OF NEWCASTLE. . May it please Your Excellency, We, the inhabitants of the District of Newcastle, in public meeting assembled, beg with the utmost sincerity, to assure Your Excellency of our unalterable and unwavering loyalty to our beloved Sovereign, and of our grateful sense of the inestimable blessings which we enjoy under her mild and parental government. > i.-^lr.'r 1 > n; We beg most respectfully to express to Your Excellency, our warm admiration and entire approval of the noble deter- mination which you have avowed and manifested, at once to maintain the constitutional prerogatives of the crown, and uphold the rights and liberties of the people ; we are convinced that a government administered upon these principles, cannot fail to strengthen the ties which bind us to the glorious em- pire of which we are, and ever shall be proud, to consider this country an integral part. We humbly, but unequivocally deny, that the Executive Council which has recently been dissolved possessed our con- fidence, nor do we believe that it endeavoured to administer the government in conformity with the well understood ADDRBSSBS AND REPLIES. wishes of the people; on the contrary we are convinced that an immense majority of the intelligent and loyal portion of our population regarded a great part of its proceedings with distrust, disapprobation and alarm. We beg sincerely to assure Your Excellency, that we are most anxious that our fellow subjects of French origin should share with us all the advantages resulting from a connection with the British empire, but we have a right to expect, and do expect, that they will cordially unite with us in pro- moting our mutual interests, and in supporting that govern- ment by which those interests are fostered and protected. The constitutional authority of our gracious Sovereign, and the integrity of her empire, we pledge ourselves with devoted hearts, and if necessary, which we sincerely hope it will never be, with strong arms strenuously to uphola and resolutely to defead. We fervently pray that He, who is the ruler over all Sove- reigns and governors, will vouchsafe to Your Excellency long life, health and happiness, and that this province may long enjoy the benefits of your wisdom, justice and expe- rience. ' ..:,,, / i. .' (Here follow 4810 signatures.) ANSWER. I thank you heartily, gentlemen, for this assurance of your loyalty to our beloved Sovereign, and of your sense of the blessings which you enjoy under Her Majesty's parental government. «' ^ov«o;;;-:«-*-ft •;:;a.n vhiv :iti^iJM; ;i: Your approval of my conduct, and the confidence which you entertam as to tiiie result of a government administered on the principles of maintaining the constitutional preroga- tive of the crown, and of upholmng the rights and liberties of the people, are exceedingly gratifying; and if I should be an instcnment in the hands of the Most High for strengthening the ties which bihd us to the mother country, and for promo- ting the welfare and happiness of this colony, the most anxious wishes of my heart will be accomplished. I rejoice to see your manifestation of an anxious desire that our fellow subjects of French origin should participate fully, in all the advantages of our connection with the British em- pire. My opinion has always been, that whatever may have been their origin, all Her Majesty's subjects are entitled to equal rights and benefits wiUiout any distinction. I have invariably followed the course prescribed by that conviction^ and notfamg will ever cause me to deviate from it - ^ — TOWNSHIP OF ELIZABBTHTOWN. 43 Your devotion to the British constitution and the integiity •of the British empire demand my warmest gratitude. While tike people of Canada entertain the sentiments wliich you have expressed, I can never despair of her welfare, prospe- rity, and happiness. The kindness of your personal feeline^s towards me, I shall ever remember with pride and thankfulness. ,/\''i;!, ), I I ; TOWNSHIP OF ELIZABETHTOWN. " I i , I' /'» May it please Your Excellency, We, the inhabitants of the township of Elizabethtown, being the metropolitan township of the district of Johnstown, and the largest both in extent and population within the district, beg leave respectfully to approach Your Excellency at the present crisis in the political affairs of Canada, and to renew to our most gracious Sovereign, through Your Excel- lency as her representative, the assurance of our steady and unvarying attachment to Her Majesty's person and govern- ment. For the last few years, this province was rapidly proceed- ing in a career of lavish expenditure, of factious animosity, and of increased taxation. To promote party views and party men our trade and commerce were neglected, emigration was checked, our revenue declined, and tul classes of our people — the merchant and the mechanic — the agriculturist and the professional man — felt alike the stagnation of business and the pressure of the times. To us it is a source of the sln- cerest gratification, that through the wisdom, moderation and foresignt of Your Excellency, our gloomiest hours have passed ; and already beholding, as we ao, the dawn of better days, we now look forward with hope and confidence to that social and political amalgamation of all our inhabitants, which will be the certain forerunner of prosperity, and the only true foundation upon which to rest the happiness of the people, the security of their liberties, and the honour and glory of the crown. '!.'"/.>• 1',.\ '"''■. 'rV.'. '.) In the attempts recently made by certain members oi' Your Excellency's late Council, to wrest from your hands those time-honoured and well defined prerogatives which were committed to Your Excellency's keeping by our beloved Sovereign, we recognized in Your Excellency's conduct those noble and characteristic attributes of a truly British 44 ADDRB88RS ANT) RRPLIRS. heart — fidelity to the rights of the crown, justice to the opinions of the people, liberalii:y to all, oppression to none. To us it is a source of deep regret and mortification, that two of the members of the legislative assembly representing this district, should have so far neglected their duty and forfeited the trust reposed in them by their constituents, as to league themselves with those who have sought to embarrass Your Excellency's administration ; but we trust the day is not now far distant, wh( i the voice of the people will enable them to correct the evil which we regret, and to aflford in the legislative assembly for the future that support to Your Excellency's government, which we view as not less essential to our own contentment and prosperity as a people, than to the permanent connection of this great province with the parent state. That Your Excellency may be long spared in health to govern this colony, and that when you eventually retire from Its administration, the union of the people and the prosperity of the country may best attest the wisdom of your policy and 'he blessiligs of your reign, is the fervent prayer of the inhabitants of Elizabethtown. • • -tf'^ • (Signed) Jas. Beatly Powell, Chairman. • ' ' '' Thomas R. HoRTON, Tbiim C/ct-A. I I ! ; ANSWER. • 1 M I { < t ill I beg you, gentlemen, to accept my hearty thanks for the assurance conveyed to me in your loyal address, of your steady and unvarying attachment to our most gracious Sovereign, and of your support in my administration of the government entrusted by Her Majesty to my charge, as well as for the kind wishes which you express personaUy towards me. ,;^,,,. It is highly satisfactory to me to learn that my defence of the prerogative of the crown against unconstitutional demands has your approval : and as the prerogative of the crown exists only for the good of the people, its maintenance will I trust ever prove conducive to the protection and preservation of the rights and liberties of the subject, with equal justice and advantage to all races, classes, creeds and parties. ^^ ..,.. „.l While the people of Canada breathe the sentiments which you entertain, I shall not despair of the prosperity and happi- ness of this province, under the powerful shield of tne British empire. fii^ki'iil TOWKSIIIP OF WHITBY. 45 TOWNSHIP OF WUITBY. May it please Your Kxcelleriey, We, Her Majesty's dutiful aiul faithful subjects, inhabi- tants of the township of Whitby, in the Home District, bej^ leave most resnectfully to submit to Your Excellency this our address, containing the expression of our sentiments and feelings, in reference to the principles which have been expressed by Your Excellency, as to the nature and practical working of the constitution of this province. That while we highly approve of the noble sentiments ex- pressed by Your Excellency in Your Excellency's public declarations, that Your Excellency fully and entirely sub- scribes to the resolutions introduced into and adopted by the House of Assembly, with the knowledge and consent of Her Majesty's representative in this province, on the 3rd Septem- ber, 1841, and that the government of the country can only be successfully and harmoniously carried on, by a due regard to the principles of those resolutions, and while we disclaim most emphatically any desire or wish to entrench, in the least degree, upon the just and necessary prerogatives of the crown, or prescribe to Your Excellency any line of conduct in the management of our local affairs, we as subjects of a British colony, possessing the powers of self government given to it by the parent state, in order to prevent the exis- tence of any antagonist opinion between Your Excellency and us, in reference to the obvious meaning and practical working of those principles of responsibility in the manage- ment of our local affairs, as guaranteed and secured to us by the constitution and fully recognized in those important resolu- tions, the first of which in express words declares " that the " head of the Executive Government in this province, being " within the limits of his government, the representative of *' the Sovereign, is responsiole alone to the imperial authority, " but nevertheless the management of our local affairs can " only be conducted by him, by and with the assistance, ** counsel and information of subordinate officers in the pro- " vince," beg leave plainly, but respectfully to submit to Your Excellency, that it is our humble opinion, and we believe it to be strictly in accordance with the true intent and spirit of those resolutions, that the head of the Executive Government in this province, should be surrounded by a council composed of " subordinate officers" in the province, being gentlemen of sound and patriotic principles, known to 46 ADDRBSUBS AND RBPLIBS. and posscMsing tlie confidence of the people, uiid of a majority of their representutiveH in purliuinent ; to whom should be sub- mitted by the representative of the crown here, for their *' assistance, counsel and information" thereupon, every offic'al act of the government connected with the administration of our local atfairs, before its final consummation; and who nhould alone be immediately resuonsible to the people for every act of the government, while in office ; and that any gentleman who would consent to accept the office of Executive Counsellor, without the full enjoyment and free and un- restricted exercise of the right and privilege to advUe the head of the government in the administration of all our local affairs in this province, violates the fundamental principles of our constitution, and can never possess our confidence. John Campbell, Chairman, T' I ANSWER. I receive, gentlemen, the expression of your sentiments and feelings conveyed to me in your address, with the respect which I shall always consider to be due to the declared opinions of any portion of the people of this province. It is on their good sense and good feeling, that I ' V for the suc- cessful administration of the government • litted to my charge by Her Majesty the Queen. It is gratifying to me to learn that my conduct, in expres- sing my entire concurrence in the resolutions adopted by the House of Assembly, and introduced with the knowledge and concurrence of Her Majesty's representative in the province on the 3rd September, 1841, has your approval. I anticipate no difficulty in acting on those resolutions to the satisfaction »of the people, provided that it be not attempted to reduce the .Governor to the condition of a mere tool in the hands of a party ; for every such attempt must tend to produce dissension *and agitation, obstruct the course of public affairs, and en- danger the stability of responsible government, by rendering its working impracticable. - «- .. >"■•«.<:;;«■':?) '-MW fi,Ti! ,,?(»{■>;•#,;. TOWNSHIP OF DUNN. ■^•'«''lt'.)/!i -jw..? May it please Your Excellency, We, the inhabitants of the township of Dunn, in public meeting assembled, beg most respectfully to state to Your Excellency our m^alterftble s^urances of devotion to our TOWNSHIP OP DUNN. beloved Queen, and deep conviction that the future prosperity and greatness of this country depend, humanly sneaking, upon its intimate connection and harmonious union with Great Britain. Such being our opinions, we have viewed with dismay the tendency of the policy pursued by your late advisers, which, in our opinion, evinced a systematic endeavour to sap the foundations of all British feeling and institutions amongst us, by an arbitrary and unsound legislation, and even renoer the crown subservient to their party purposes. The wisdom of Europe, and the experience of ages, have concurred in declaring the British constitution to be as free from the controul of popular licentiousness on the one hand, as from the tyranny of arbitrary power on the other, and that the people living under its protection are secured in the enjoyment of every practicable freedom, cons' ^'ii'^ with the well-being of the community. Therefore we trust, that the good sense and loya't} >l the people of Canada will support your Excellency in the stand you have taken for their liberties, in declining to establish the precedent that they are to be trampled on as slaves, by what- ever party may be in power. We therefore tender to Your Excellency our humble but most cordial support; and viewing the just prerogative of the crown as inseparable from the true liberties of the people, we most respectfully approach Your Excellency, to congratu- late you on the constitutional opposition you have evinced to insidious advisers. (Here follow 99 signatures.) Port Maitland, 28th Dec., 1843. ANSWER. I beg you, gentlemen, to accept my cordial thanks for the gratifying assurance conveyed to me in your address, of your unalterable devotion to our beloved Queen, and of your con- viction that the prosperity and greatness of this country depend on its intimate connection and harmonious union with the United Kingdom. Such feelings and sentiments will tend to perpetuate that connection ana union, and I trust that by God's blessing they will be unassailable ; and that the people of this colony will be proud to support the prerogative of the crown, as the crown will assuredly uphold the liberties and rights of the people. For the personal kindness which you evince towards me, I cannot sufficiently express my acknowledgments. 49 ADDRESSES AND REPLIES. V" TOWNSHIP OF COLCHESTER. ,.i\t '*.»/ '''i.j h. May it please Your Excellency, We, the undersigned inhabitants of the township of Colchester, in the Western District, cannot at this peculiarly eventful crisis refrain from respectfully giving vent to our Lamble but warm admiration of the noble stand lately made by Your Excellency, in behalf of the inalienable prerogative of the crovm on the one hand, and the just rights ana true interests of the people on the other; and to assure Your Excellency of t^^e hearty concurrence of the inhabitants of this remote section of our noble province, in the truly enlight- ened and statesmanlike view taken by Your Excellency, of the only course of responsible government suited to a loyal integral portion of the British empire. Such being our sincere conviction, we feel it also our grateful duty to express our unbounded confidence in the wisdom and discretion of whatever measures Your Excelle.icy may, as the highly revered representative of our gracious Sovereign, be led to adopt for the benefit of the country ; and to assure Your Excellency that as in no oiiarter has Her Majesty more loyal and devoted subjects than in the remote Western District, so there are naturally none more so than the inhabitants of " the loyalist settlemerU " of the township of Colchester. _... ii ^^WER. .;u- I thank you heartily, gentlemen, for the generous senti- ments which you have expressed. An address from the Loyalist Settlement of the township of Colchester, brings to mind those days of severe trial, when the ancestors of many of you, with devoted loyalty, sacrificed ever)^ worldly advantage in order to maintain inviolate their allegiance to the British crown. It is cheering to see their descendants rejoicing in the same devotion, and determined along with the other loyal inhabitants of the country of Canada, to preserve unimpaired our connection with the mother country. .:'.-■ ;j ;r . .- m ui. /k..« . ,.: I ^ With a population so disposed it will be delightful to me to co-operate for the prosperi^^'^ of the colony, the contentment of the people, and the welfare and happiness of all classes ; and among my most pleasing recollections of such feelings, I sliall nev er forget the pleasure; that I have derived from this TOWNSHIPS OF LEEDS AND LANSDOWN. 49 address from the loyalist settlement of tlie township of Colchester. " ; TOWNSHIPS OF LEEDS AND LANSDOWN. > , May it please Your Excellency, " *' ' • ' • We, the inhabitants of the townships of Leeds and Lansdown in front, in the Johnstown District, desire to avail ourselves of the opportunity of being assembled in our annual township meeting, to address Your Excellency with the respectful assurances of our loyalty and attachment to our gracious Sovereign, of the high respect that we entertain for Your Excellency, and of our entire confidence in the disposi- tion of Your Excellency to administer the government of this province solely with a view to its benefit. • ' •'■ ' We recognize the prerogative of the crown as forming an essential part of our glorious constitution, and feel that we should be unmindful of the blessings that we enjoy under it, did we fail heartily to support Your Excellency in resisting all attempts to circumscribe the constitutional exercise cf the high duties committed to your charge by Her Majesty in this province ; and we sincerely hope that the finn stand *aken by your Excellency upon a recent occasion, may lead to the formation of a provincial administration, possessing alike the confidence of Your Excellency and of the people of this vast province. Here follow 157 signatures. i. _ ANSWER. i I thank you cordiallyj gentlemen, for your loyal address. ; The assurance of your attachn ent to our gracious Sovereign is worthy of British subjects. -i/ mI; jm r>M >;!•!>;. u^ The confidence which you are pleased to repose in me is most gratifying, and does me great honour. Your support in my endeavours to maintain unimpaired the prerogative of the ci own, and the constitutional duties of my office, is of the greatest value, and will I trust conduce to the security of our happy relations with the mother country, to the welfare and prosperity of Canada, and to the strength and glory of the great empire of which this province is a splendid portion. r . * i ' «• > ^ My earnest endeavours continue to be directed, not without hope of success, to the formation of a council which may pos- sess the confidence of all classes of the people of this country. H dO ADDRESSES AND REPLIES. !(■ I 't TOWNSHIP OF MALDEN. May it please Your Excelleiicv, We, the undersigned Inhabitants of the township of Maiden in the Western District, beg leave to approach Your Excellency with professions of loyalty to our Sovereign, and respect and esteem for her representative in this province; and to express to Your Excellency our entire concurrence in the views on the subject of responsible government, as ex- pressed in Your Excellency's communication to the House of Assembly. The firm stand taken by Your Excellency to main- tain the prerogative of the crown — well assured at the same time, that Your Excellency's government will be carried on> according to the well understood wishes of the people, and upon that principle (so happily alluded to by Your Excel- lency) which will give to merit its reward, and at the same time render equal justice to all Her Majesty's subjects — meets with our warmest admiration and support; and we confidently rely upon the good sense of the people to support Your Ex- cellency in maintaining inviolate the prerogative of the crown, and carrying out that policy which will unite us still more strongly to the mother country, and which will ensure lasting benefits to the country; and Your Excellency may rest assured of the support of the loyal inhabitants of this district> should an appeal be made to the voice of the people. (Here follow 123 signatures.) ANSWER. 1 1 eg you, gentlemen, to accept my cordial thanks, for the assurance conveyed to me in your address, of your loyalty to our gracious Sovereign, of your kind feelings towards me, of your concurrence in the views which I have expressed to the House of Assembly, and of your determination to support Her Majesty's government. !»' You may be assured of my anxious desire and intention to carry on the administration of affairs according to the well understood wishes of the people, to reward merit, and to render equal justice to all Her Majesty's subjects ; and it is highly gratifying to me to be informed by you, that the good sense of the people will uphold me in main mning inviolate the prerogative of the crown, and in striving to unite this pro- vince more strongly to the mother country, by a sense of lasting benefit. 'nrrj n ^u f{(i;;^;;rfrim ^'-^tot ..: ^•-■i'j-ixu^^i\-i '^rfim It is my wish to avoid the excitement throughout the SOUTHERN DIVISION OF THE TOWNSHIP OF ADELAIDE. 51 country, which an appeal to the people and a general election before the regular period would probably produce ; trusting that the present parliament, from a conviction of my honest intentional, will give ♦^^heir aid to such measures, as with the advice and assistance of the Executive Council, I may adopt or ^propose, for the welfare and prosperity of the colony ; and I anxiously hope that all parties may lay aside their political animosities, and live together in peace and harmony ; rival- ling one another only in charity and brotherly love. INHABITANTS OF THE SOUTHERN DIVISION OF THE TOWNSHIP OF ADELAIDE. May it please Youi* Excellency, ' ' ' We, the said inhabitants, viewing the many inestimable advantages which the people of this province enjoy under Your Excellency's mild and efficient administration of the government, and on the occasion of Your Excellency's dis- allowing the late Executive Council to assume to themselves the prerogative of the crown, independent of Ymr Excel- fency's pleasure as Her Majesty's representative, in the nomination of persons to fill public office, an assumption which this meeting reprobate as imconstitutional. And while we are led to reflect on the cause which has influenced Your Excellency's determination in this respect, we have much reason to cong ulate ourselves on the happy results which have arisen to tin province ; and we turn mi" expecta- tions to Your Excellency's wisdom in the selection of a new council, to be formed of gentlemen who will respect the high office which Your Excellency holds as Her Majesty's repre- sentative, the exercise of the prerogatives of tb > crown, and the rights and privileges of Her Majesty 'n Canadian subjects. This meeting takes this opportunity uf conveying to Your Excellency the assurance of their devotion to Her Majesty's person and government; their determinatio to support by every means within their power Your Ex iiency's adminis- tration of the government, unshackled from unconstitutional interference; of veneration for the established provincial insti- tutions under which we live, and of the beneficial prospects which await us from the public improvements now in progress in this district, emanating from Your Excellency's benevolent desire to render this province an important portion of the British empire. 52 !J' 1 M'/ ADDRESSES AND REPLIES. M '/^-.iMVi U'i m We respectfully desire to convey to Your Excellency our heartfelt gratitude for the stand Your Excellency has taken in the ai&irs of this province, in preserving inviolate the prerogatives of the crown ; our wishes for your health and happiness, and that you may live long in the continuance of the administration of the government, and in the sway of the destinies of this province. '^ -"-^rHjij m i. tn -iinii /i^nuj/ni; i ... * i ."'" (Signed on behalf of the meeting) oi tii;: •'••** , Christopher Beer, Chairman. ' Richard Browne, Secretary, Katesville, 26th Dec, 1843. ;>!';• "!<• t ANSWER. f r "A ! > ! / / V ' \[T> Gentlemen, your generous confidence in my administration of the affairs of this province demands my gratitude. It was my bounden duty to resist an attempt which if successful would have rendered a party supreme, and the authority of the crown a nullity. Such an assumption you justly denounce as unconstitutional. ,, \y^-^^ jiv<:ui(r The prosperity of Canada is the sole aim of my endeavours. Relying on the co-operation and support of loyal and honest hearts, and with the advice and assistance of a council respect- ing alike the prerogative of the crown and the rights of the people, and possessing the confidence of the country^ I shall not despair of attairing that righteous end. ,.,: ...f,. ,,^, ,j;,i» J thank you cordially for the assurance of your devotion to Her Majesty's person and government, and of your support in the course which I have taken, and which it has been incumbent on me to pursue. I rejoice to learn that you anticipate beneficial results from the public improvements now in progress in your district, and I truat that they may aid in developing to your comfort and advantage the vast natural resources of this important portion a. TOWNSHIP OF ANPERDpN. .i}n.r,iM !/!; .. .1 ... '\- May it please Your Excellency, We, the inhabitants ot the township of Anderdon, in the coijnty of Essex, in the Western District, in public meeting assembled) beg leave to otFer to Your Excellency assurances of our cordial approbation of the course Your Excellency has pursued, in accepting the resignation of the late Executive TOWNSHIPS OF BRISTOL, CLARENDON AND LITCHFIELD. 53 of the Council, and to offer to Your Excellency the acknowledg- ment of loyal hearts for the determination evinced by Your Excellency to maintain inviolate the prerogative of the crown ; we rest assured that the moderation and firmness which has characterised your Excellency's conduct with icspcct to the resignation of the late ministry, must meet with the entire support of every well-wisher of the country. Warmly admiring the candid statement made by Your Excel- lency of the differences which led to the resignation of the late Executive Council, we beg to assure Your Excellency of our warmest support, should an appeal be made to the suffrages of the people. . . , ; , (On behalf of the meeting) :; i, Alex. Bow ERMA^, Chairman, James Foetier, Secretary, ':;.)'• "!.: ANSWER. I thank you cordially, gentlemen, for your loyal address, for the assurance which it affords me of your support, and for the sentiments which you express, relating to my acceptance of the resignation of the gentlemen who have recently retired from the Ex^. utive Council. The only alternative offered to me, was to subscribe to the extinction of Her Majesty's government, and surrender my- self as a tool into the hands of a party, a position which I never can consent to occupy. ',)!»'i - i'f!! it •;^,.rf ,, ., Determined to carry into effect the plan of responsible fovernment established by the resolutions of September, 1841, trust that the moderation and good sense of the parliament and th i people, will enable me to do so, with benefit to the interests of all classes of the inhabitants of Canada. I beg you to accept my grateful acknowledgments, for the frank and manly manner in which you have come forward to sustain the British crown. •' n-Af TOWNSHIPS OF BRISTOL, CLARENDON AND I- ( . „ , , ^ , , LITCHFIELa : May it please Your Excellency, We, the undersigned inhabitants of the townships of Bristol, Clarendon, and Litchfield, beg leave to address \ our Excellency on the very important matter which has led tQ the resignation of Your Excellency's late advisers. ,,[ i - i f m ADDRESSES AND REPLIES. • ' f M '.' ,'• f ■ P^ As British subjects, strong in our attachment to the princi-' pies of the British constitution, and entertaining a due regard for the rights of the crown, we cannot refrain from expressing our warm admiration and entire approval of the noble stand taken by Your Excellency, in opposition to the unconsti* tutional attempt of those advisers to coerce Your Excellency to surrender to them the prerogative of the crown, for the furtherance of their own party purposes. We respectfully tender our humble support to Your Excel- lency, under the conviction that you will continue to uphold and maintain unimpaired Her Majesty's prerogative, as well as the rights and liberties of her loyal suojects in this- province. « • • > ^: ; '^ }, ' (Here follow 578 signatures.) District of Sydenham, C. E., ' ^)ec. 22nd, 1843. ANSWER. I thank you, gentlemen, sincerely for the loyal feelings manifested Dy your address. Your expressions of strong attachment to the British con- stitution, and of due regard for the rights of the crown, are worthy of British subjects, and your assurances of support and approval of the course which I have taken in resisting an unconstitutional demand, encourage me in my endeavours to promote the public good. It will be my constant care to maintain unimpaired the prerogative of the crown, and with it the rights and liberties of the people of this province, which are still more dear to our gracious Sovereign, who regards as her greatest prero- gative, the power of confering benefits on her subjects. ,, .,,.. :V' fi'M' f ;. ^ U'l' / I iiU V-T TOWNSHIP OF NICHOL. May it please Your Excellency, We, the inhabitant householders and freeholders of the* township of Nichol, assembled at our annual meeting, seize the opportunity of humbly approaching Your Excellency to* congratulate you on the commencement of a new year, and to- renew our expression of loyalty to our gracious Queen and constitution, to Your Excellency as Her Majesty's represen- tative, and our devoted attachment to the connection existing betwixt this province and the mother country. . ...u " ' ?<»^ TOWNSHIP OF NICHOL. On looking to the proceedings during the late session of parliament, we observe with the greatest satisfaction the de- termined stand Your Excellency nas made against the illegi- timate use of responsible government, and your determination to support the same in a constitutional manner, together with the prerogatives of the crown and its dignity. We expected nothing less, from the high character Your Excellency ha» maintained in the various situations of public trust which Your Excellency has filled; and we have no fear for the future, so long as we have the advantage of a head capable of deserving ana of modifying the extremes of party spirit, and securing tJbe well being of the province. We are also happy of the opportunity this meeting affordi^. to record the high esteem we feel for Your Excellency's cha- racter ; to assure Your Excellency, that at all times we shall be ready to shew our sincere attachment to the ccnnectiorii which exists with the mother country, and give our support to such men as Your Excellency may call to assist you in the government of the province. Praying that the blessing of Him who cannot err may direct you in the selection. (Signed in name, by appointment, and in presence of the meeting at Fergus the 1st day of January, 1844)) M. Dingwall Fordyce, Chairman, , . James McQueen, Chrk. ANSWER. I thank you, gentlemen, cordially for your congratulations on the commencement of a new year, and for the assurance which your address conveys of your loyalty to our gracious Queen, and your devoted attachment to the connection exist- ing between this colony and the mother country. I thank you also for your favourable appreciation of my determination to maintain responsible government. Those are in reality the worst enemies of that system, who, by insisting on the degradation of the representative of the crown to the condition of a tool in the hands of a party, would render the attainment of their professed object imprac- ticable, consistently with the preservation of our connection with the United Kingdom, and of our allegiance to our beloved Sovereign. I thank you again, gentlemen, for your personal kindness towards me, and for your promise of support to such gentle- men as I may call to assist me in the government of the |- I ADDRESSES AND REPLIES. }l province. In those who are at present members of tlie council I have entire confidence, and I trust that they, and those whom I may select in addition, will be deemed to merit the confidence of the parliament and the people, and aiford efficient aid in promoting the welfare of the country, ifjji" < i »" (■; }i| / ; T r r . / -Jii; '»• If (l<> • I ' 1 r 1 / I ( »'.J ' ' I " ^ '. .ti.Uiii.lK • * I .!i I )>. •><•> 1 11-/ 1 . 1 ( May it please Your Excellency, >>ni /iiiv.nn ii» }.ij.: v"; ri >' >!* We, the freeholders and inhabitants of the county of Leedsv in public meeting openly and fairly convened by requisition from the High Sheriff, avail ourselves of the opportunity of declaring our firm attachment to the person and government of our most gracious Queen, and our nnal' terable determination at all hazards, and upon all circum- stances, to maintain unimpaired the happy connection of thi» colony with the parent state. .'f>[v. -. ■ lu ji? jfiwiij k/ j 1} As loyal subjects, it is to us a source of the deepest regret and mortification, to find that there is yet in this colony any portion of its inhabitants so ungrateful to Her Majesty, so unjust to her representative, and so forgetful of tneir own allegiance and duty, as to require from Your Excellency any stipulations with respect to the undoubted prerogative of the crown in the appointment to office, or to attempt to coerce Your Excellency, by requiring the royal sanction to acts of proscription and party malevolence. The people of the county of Leeds will ever sustain Your Excellency in the maintenance of the just and undoubted prerogatives of the crov;n, believing them now to be, as- experience has proved them at all times to have been, the surest guarantee for the liberties of the people. .. .v/v .i -.Mir We assure Your Excellency, that in resisting the demands lately made by certain members of Your Excellency's late Council, your Excellency's conduct most justly merits, and most cordially receives our full concurrence and approbation. We beg further most respectfully to inform Your Excel- lency, that we regard all loyal and good subjects as fully and fairly entitled to participate in all the honours and emolu<- ments of the state, without reference to their national origin, or their opinions, political or religious ; conceiving as we do that no wise or paternal government would countenance party distinctions among its subjects, erect legal barriers to their onward course in the career of honour and usefulness, or dis- ,1 COUNTY OF LEEDS. 57 qualify or degrade any portion of them from the enjoyment of any office to which their merits, their loyalty, their inte- grity or their talents might entitle them ; and which offices ought never, in our opinion, to he prostituted to party pur- poses, but held forth as a reward to the virtuous and deserving of all classes. For ourselves, we seek no right, privilege or immunity, beyond what is common to every loyal and good subject in Canada ; we are opposed to all monopoly, to every species and description of exclusion and partuility ; our aspirations are to see office and honour made the reward of merit, not of party — we desire the ascendancy of none, the equality of all ; and, in the glorious task of political regeneration and magna- nimity in healing the wounds of our distracted country, and in uniting all our population in the bonds of brotherhood and affection, we beg to assure Your Excellency that you will ever find a cordial concurrence in your sentiments, and an unfaltering support in your endeavours, from the intelligent and loyal inhabitants of the county of Leeds. We embrace the present opportunity of expressing to Your Excellency our desire, that a dissolution of the present ^ ir- liament should take place, because in our opinion the majority of the present Legislative Assembly have most justly forfeited the confidence of their constituents. Sincerely praying that Your Excellency may be long spared by an all-wise Providence in health and happiness to rule this noble province, and to dispense equal justice to all classes of the people. We remain Your Excellency's most obedient servants. Done in open meeting, assembled at Farmersville, in * the said county, this 8th day of January, 1844. J) AVI lEL SnuRWOOiy, Sheriff and Chairman. ANSWER. I thank you cordially, gentlemen, for your loyal address. It is highly gratifying to me, to receive the assurance of your firm attachment to the person and government of our most gracious Queen, and of your determination to maintain unim- paired the happy connection of thir colony with the parent state. '". I rejoice to hear, that in resisting unprecedented demands for stipulations regarding the royal prerogative, my conduct has your approval ; and I am happy to express my entire con- currence in the sentiments which you have stated against all acts of proscription and party malevolence, and all monopoly, ■J i : i! 58 ADDRBSHRS AND RRPLIRH. exclusion, partiality, and aacen'>".»««» •• i TOWN AND T0WN8mP:oF SANnWICll. 59 ANSWEIl. I he\r yoii, jrontlomon, to accept my vviirmost thanks for your loyal addrcMs. It is liijrhly jrratifyinjr to ine to learn that the principles on which I have acted, in relation to the great question recently agitated, have your approval and con- currence. Your attachment to our most gracious Sovereij^n, and your desire to perpetuate the connexicm of this colony with the mother country, are worthy of loyal subjects of the crown; and I am gratefully sensible of the value of those feelings which have led you t(» assure me of your support in my endeavours to promote the welfare of this noble portion of the British empire. TOWN AND TOWNSHIP OF SANDWICH. May it please Your Excellency, We, the undersigned inhabitants of the town and town- ship of Sandwich, in the Western District, beg leave most respectfully to .approach Your Excellency with the expression of our continued loyalty and attachment to our most gracious and beloved Queen, and the tender of our heartfelt gratitude to Your Excellency for the noble stand Your Excellency has taken in defence of the just prerogative of the crown. We are fully convinced that the surrender of that prerogative to ani/ political party, for party purposes, would prove the first step to a separation from our glorious and fostering mother country; an event deprecated by every loyal inhabitant of the province. • ' . Fully satisfied that Your Excellency will continue to administer *\ie government with a due regard to the rights and liberties of the people, upon the principles of constitu- tional responsibility, and with a firm determination to protect and maintain the sacred prerogative of the throne, we beg leave to tender Your Excellency the assurances of our cordial and unwavering support. i, (Here follow 130 signatures.) Sandwich, January 1, 1844. , , I • ANSWER. I derive, geiitlemen, heartfelt satisfaction from your assur- ance of your continued loyalty and attachment to our most \ 60 ADDRRSSRfl AND RRPLIRfl. gracious and beloved Queen, and of your approval of my conduct in defendinf( the i)reroi(ativc of the crown a^^ainNt the asHaultH of a party, i entirely concur In your opinion that the surrender of the preroj^ativc to a party, for narty pur- pones, would be a step towards a separation from tlie mother country, which the loyal inhabitants of the province must deeply deprecate, and will never I trust permit. Lully determined to administer the government with a devoted regard to the rij^hts and liberties of the people, on the principle of constitutional responsibility, 1 accept the [)romi8e of your cordial and unwavering support with pride and gratitude. ■ II ' '1 COUNTY OF GRENVILLE. May it please Your Excellency, We, the freeholders of the county of Grenville, assembled in public meeting by the high sheriff of the district, beg leave to approach Your Excellency, assuring you of our entire approval of the principles enunciated in Your Excellency's correspondence with the members of yoni- late Executive Council, wherein the principles of responsible or representa- tive government are fully admitted, while the preroi^aJves of the crown are equally secured from invasion. ' The people of the county of Grenville, ever jealous of popular rights, can never sanction an encroachment upon the rights of others, and least and last of all, upon the rights of their Sovereign ; and we assure Your Excellency, that the representatives of the people in the Legislative Assembly of this province, in voting the confidence of parliament to the members of Your Excellency's late Executive Council, because they persisted in requiring Your Excellency, as the representative of the crown, to enter into conditions as to the future exercise of the royal patronage, have forfeited the con- fidence of their constituents, and are not to be understood as representing their sentiments. We have further to communicate to Your Excellency, in this public manner, our decided opposition to all laws of a proscriptive nature ; we deem them unjust in principle and unwise in policy. We conceive all loyal and good subjects entitled to equal ri(jhts, and we view with abhorrence all attempts that may be made by the executive to raise up party disqualifications in the colony. In the late war between Great Britain and the United TOWNSHIP OF MOZA. 01 States of America, in the yeur^ \HV2 and IHIO, no county in Canada was more conHi)icuouM tor loyalty or more diMtin- ?uiHlied for fidelity to the lirltish crown, than the county of irenvllle ; itH inhal)ltants liave not Hince faltered in their allegiance to the Sovereijj^n of Hritain ; and in now rallying around Your Excellency, ax the representative of that sovereitfii, they feel that they are hut pcrforminj^ a sacred duty which in days of greater peril they did not shrink fnmi fulhllin^, aiul a duty which they will feci a pride and pleasure in discharging, whenever called by Your Excellency to it8 performance. On behalf of the inhabitants of the county of Grenville, assembled in public meetin|r at North Augusta, in the said county, this 9th day of January, 1844. (Signed) John L. Read, J. P., Chairman. Robert Heaulam, Secretary. ANSWER. I receive, gent\»men, with a high degree of satisfaction, the expression of your approval of the principles by which I have been guided in defending the prerogative of the crown, and adhering to the system of responsible government, of which the essential character can never be departed from without public injury. But when it is attempted to reduce the Governor to the condition of a tool in the hands of a party, not only is the essential character of responsible government thrust out of sight, but the system itself is brought into jeopardy by its operations being rendered impracticable. Loyal hearts like yours, gentlemen, feel that the rights of the crown and the rights of the people go hand in hand, and support and uphold each other. I fully concur in your opposition to all laws of a proscriptive nature, and all party disqualifications, as unjust in principle and unwise in policy, being of opinion with you, that all loyal and good subjects are entitled to equal rights. I shall ever cherish the remembrance of your approved loyalty and devotion to your Queen and country, with heart- felt thankfulr^ess. 'iiM^ (I TOWNSHIP OF MOZA. May it please Your Excellency, We, the undersigned resident freeholders and house- holders of the township of Moza, in the district of London, 62 ADDRESSES AND REPLIES. ■ H I and province of Canada, be^ leave most humbly to approach Your Excellency with renewed assurances of devoted loyalty to our beloved Sovereign the Queen, and ardent uitachment to the British constitution. ' . , ,t ,. We beg respectfully to tender to Your Excellency our heartfelt thanks, and to express our unqualified approbation and admiration of the firm and constitutional resistance made by Your Excellency, at^ahist the late insidious attempts of the m<«iority of your late Executive Council to wrest from Your Excellency, as the representative of our Sovereign, the universally admitted prerogative of the crown to appoint its own servants. . ^ We are satisfied that to defend the recognized prerogatives of the crown is, in other words, to maintain the rights and privileges of the people ; seeing that the prerogatives of the crown are exercised for the benefit of the people. We there- fore most cheerfully tender to Your Excellency our cordial though feeble aid and support, for the manly and noble stand you have taken to defend our rights and liberties, by main- taining the undoubted prerogative of the crown ; and we have no uoubt that Your Excellency's refustil to concede such unconstitutional demands, will be hailed with delight by an overwhelming majority of the inhabitants of this province. We unhesitatingly concur with Your Excellency in the view you have taken and the course you have pursued m refusing" the royal assent to the " Secret Societies Bill," whicii you have aptly designated as an " arbitrary and unwise measure." There were several other measures proposed by the late Executive Council of which we highly disapproved ; and many of their recommendations for appointments to offices of trust, honour and emolument, were dictated more by political par- tizanship and parliamentary support, than the fitness for office of the persons so recommended. .! . We hail with deep satisfaction Your Excellency's declara- tion that you are resolved to govern this province on British principles of impartiality and justice, without distinction of races or political party ; and that the patronage of the crown is to be exercised without regard to party or parliamentary influence. It is our earnest prayer that Your Excellency, from your well known impartiality, firmness and wisdom, may under Divine Providence be enabled fully to accomplish the humane and patriotic object of your mission to this province ; and be equally successful as you have been elsewhere, in restoring VILLAGE AND TOWNSHIP OF 8ARNIA. 63 the tranquillity to its inhabitants, — too long torn and distracted by political differences and party rancour. And we confi- dently trust that, under Your Excellency's just 5>»id upright government, they will become a prosperous, happy and con- tented people, — firmly and unalterably attached to British connection and monarchical principles. (Here follow 92 sigDatures.) Moza, Ist January, 1844. ANSWER. I receive, gentlemen, with great satisfaction your expres- sion of the loyal and constitutional sentiments conveyed in your address, and I thank you cordially for the generous assurance of confidence and support which it contains. I shall persevere in my endeavours to promote the welfare of Canada ; and rely for success on the good sense and good feeling of all who, like yourselves, estimate our connection with the mother country as fraught with benefits and blessings to this province, and who desire that it may continue to be an integral portion of the British empire, in allegiance to our gracious and beneficent Sovereign. VILLAGE AND TOWNSHIP OF SARNIA. May it please Your Excellency, We, the undersigned. Her Majesty's loyal and devoted subjects of the village and township of Sarnia, beg most humbly to approach Your Excellency at this important crisis, and renew our assurances of deep confidence in your policy. We pledge ourselves to support, to the utmost of our limited power, the constitutional stand Your Excellency has taken against the would be usurpation of a party. British connection, British honour, British principle, the British constitution, are the extent of our fondest wishes, the source of our pride and glory. For them and for you, the representative of Her Majesty, the supporter and promoter of all we have above expressed, we are now ready and ever shall be to devote our best and firmest energies. May we beg Your Excellency to rely upon the firm and uncompromising support of all those who here do with deep respect declare themselves Your Excellency's faithful and obedient servants. (Here follow 32 signatures.) Port Sarnia, 3rd January, 1844. 64 ADDRESSES AND REPLIES. ANSWER. I receive with great satisfaction, gentlemen, your loyal and hearty address, and thank you cordially for the assurances of support which you convey to me. The truly British feelings which you express, and the generous confidence which you manifest, will not I trust be entertained in vain. It shall be my constant endeavour to give you the best return in my power, by devoting myself to your welfare and happiness. TOWNSHIP OF PLYMPTON. May it please Your Excellency, We, the inhabitants of the township of Plympton, Wes- tern District, in annual township meeting assembled, beg leave to approach Your Excellency, to express our admiration at the well timed and manly stand taken in defence of our revered constitution, on the attack recently made upon one of its first principles. Glorying as we do in the name of British subjects, we cannot but feel indignant at any attempt to embarrass Your Excellency's administration of the government, or loosen the bonds of unity between us and the parent state. We hail with unfeigned satisfaction Y^our Excellency's express de- termination to "devote yourself to the service of this province ; " to endeavor to promote the prosperity and happiness of " every class of its inhabitants, and to advance the welfare of the people;" such intentions on the part of Your Excellency command our gratitude and claim our confidence; while thus constitutionally governed, the dignity and prerogative of the crown maintained on the one hand, and the just rights and privileges of the subject on the other, it will ever be our pride — as it is our inclination and duty — to tender our humble support, with the assurance of a firm determination to uphold the administration of Your Excellency, as the representative of our beloved Queen. Distant as this hitherto neglected township is from the present seat of government, we feel deep regret at the pro- posed removal of it to a still greater distance, but trust to see the evil averted by the wisdom and justice of the imperial government. That circumstances over which Your Excellency had no TOWNSHIP JF SCARDOllOUGH. 6$ controul, should have prevented the completion of the new " Municipal Bill," is a disappointment to our hopes ; feeling confident that it was calculated to advance the present improvement and future prosperity of this township, and all others similarly circumstanced. (Signed) Robert Watson, Chairman. John Fisher, Tovm Clerk. Errol, 1st January, 1844. ANSWER. It is a high satisfaction to me, gentlemen, to receive the expression of the loyal and generous sentiments conveyed in your address ; and 1 thank you cordially for the assurance which it aifords of your support in my administration of the government. It is my earnest desire to promote the comfort of the people and the welfare and happiness of the province, and my best endeavours will be unremittingly devoted to those ends. On the question of the seat of government, to which you allude. Her Majesty's government having declined to deter- mine that question without the advice of the Legislative Houses of this province, and having received that advice, and afterwards decided, I should, I think, deceive you, were I to hold out any expectation that the decision so formed can be otherwise than conclusive. I join you in regretting, that the late session of the pro- vincial parliament closed without the completion of the Municipal Bill. I did all in my power to prevent an abrupt termination while any measure desired by the country was pending ; but as you are aware, I was unsuccessful. Accept my fervent wishes for the improvement and pros- perity of your township, and for every other benefit that you can desire. TOWNSHIP OF SCARBOROUGH. May it please Your Excellency, We, the loyal inhabitants of the township of Scarbo- rough, have unanimously agreed to address Your Excellency, on the subject of the late resignation of the Executive Council of this province, and not only to express oui* approval of your conduct in accepting the resignation of the aforesaid Executive Council, but we have likewise to congratulate Your Excellency as well as the province on that happy event. 66 ADDRESSES AND REPLIES. ^■■i for clear definitions produce mutual understandings. At the same time, we beg leave to assure Your Excellency, that we are truly sorry to hear of any political disagreement that may- have a tendency to destroy the harmony so necessary to the prosperity of Canada. We had fondly imagined that the politi- cal dissensions were drawing to an end, that have so long and so violently agitated this portion of British North America. But as the inordinate love of power appears still to be one of the most restless qualities of the human mind, agitation is likely to continue to operate as perniciously as formerly ; therefore we, along with others who like ourselves wish for peace, can only bewail the evil consequences of political agitation. In the mean time, we beg leave to express to Your Excellency our entire approbation of your conduct in maintaining your prerogative as the representative of the British crown, in resisting the unconstitutional claim of the late Executive Council of Canada in their presumptuous attempt to dictate to Your Excellency, or in plain language, in their attempt to usurp and monopolize the patronage of the crown. Our reformers, as they call themselves, have long and broadly declared that a model of the British constitution here in Canada is all that they ever contended for, and with that boon txiey have said they would rest contented. Now every individual at all acquainted with the principles of the British constitution must know, that the execution of the laws, as well as appointments to every official situation under the British government, is directly or indirectly the gift of the crown; and in bestowing those official appointments the crown or the Sovereign may or may not consult the ministry ; that is clearly understood to be a matter of choice which rests entirely with the Sovereign, and we have yet to learn, that any ministry of Great Britain ever laid claim to the patronage of the crown. We likewise beg leave to assure Your Excellency, that we are happy to see the royal clemency extended to all those who, in their unreflecting moments, had joined a conspiracy against the British government, the evil consequences of which they very probably did not fully comprehend. Great Britain is powerful ; she can afford to be generous, and she ought to be so ; to pardon the guilty who repent of their crimes is meritorious, and in unison with the dictates of humanity as well as of Heaven. Much has been said about Your Excellency's reconciling party animosities in this agitated province, a task which we do not think will be a difficiiit one, j^r with those men who conspired against British dominion in TOWNSHIP OF SCARBOROUGH. 67 Canada we have not, nor ever had, any private quarrel. They may be, and frequently are, otherwise worthy men and good neighbours, although they did not think politically like us. We opposed them in obedience to the call of the govern- ment of this province, because they as rebels marched in arra)r against the supremacy of Great Britain, under which we lived contented, and which we consider it our duty to defend. The rebellion was a quarrel between the rebels and the British Government, in which we, the loyal party, were innocently involved, and afterwards strangely treated ; and if the government of Great Britain believes that we acted unconstitutionally, they have only to say so, and we will perhaps be more careful in future. We have no wish to make a merit of our loyalty ; we did no more than we conceived to be our duty, and we are willing to forgive the past and forget it, if we can ; but we are unwilling to see the prerogative of of Your Excellency usurped, and public patronage distributed as it lately has been, for party purposes. That the patronage which of right belongs to Your Excellency has of late throi^hout this province been made subservient to party purposes, is a luminous fact, which no darkness can veil and no sophistry can obscure. We are therefore happy to see that Your Excellency has ultimately made a stand against future encroachments on your prerogative. We further beg leave to assure Your Excellency, that we are not in the habit of using those stereotype expressions of applause so frequently bestowed on persons in power, but we offer Your Excellency our dutiful respect as the representative of our Sovereign, ever ready and ever willing to the extent of our power to support you in constitutionally admbiistering the laws of this British province. Finally, we beg leave to assure Your Excellency, that you may rely on our unalt arable devotion to the British connexion, because Great Britain contains the birth-place of many of us, the homes of our kindred, the graves of our fathers, and the scenes of our early amusements, the remembrance of which is too deeply written in our hearts ever to be effaced. (Signed) John Torrence, Chairman. Scarborough, Idth January, 1844. ANSWER. I have received, gentlemen, with great satisfaction your loyal address. It is highly gratifying to me to be assured of your ap- proval of my conduct. 68 ADDRESSES AND REPLIES. With you I deeply deplore the existence of any political disagreement that may tend to disturb the harmony which it was the most anxious wish of my heart to see established. Not only was I reluctant to come to a rupture with my late council, but I forbore much in order to avoid it. Your complaint of the distribution of the patronage of the crown for party purposes, during the time when the gentle- men of the late Executive Council were in office, bears testimony to the extreme attention which, whether I was right or wrong in so doing, I paid to their recommendations ; and yet, strange to say, while I have been accused of subser- viency to their party exclusiveness, the alleged ground of their resignation was, that I presumed to exercise my own discretion in the exercise of that branch of the royal preroga- tive ; and on that pretence alone they and their partisans have since endeavoured to excite the people to personal hostility against me, by unfounded assertions of my denial of that system of responsible government, to which I have repeatedly declared my adherence. While, however, the people of Canada entertain, as I trust they generally do, the loyal and patriotic feelings which you cherish, I cannot suppose that they will allow Her Majesty's government to be obstructed, and the good of the country to he sacrificed, by the influence of such gross and palpable misrepresentations. I rejoice to learn, that you advocate the extension of the royal mercy to those unfortunate men who were formerly engaged in rebellion against the crown. It has always been my anxious desire that the recollection of past offences should be obliterated; and I have been incessantly engaged since my arrival in Canada in promoting that good work, either by my own act, when it was within my competency to pardon, or by forwarding applications to Her Majesty's government when the case was beyond my own reach. Her Majesty delights in the twice blessed exercise of mercy. Every petition hitherto submitted has been successful; and I have no doubt that in a short time all the advantages that could have been obtained from a general amnesty will be realized in both sections of the province, by the individual pardons granted to those who were transported to the penal colonies, and by their happy return to their families and homes. While I earnestly exert myself to bury in oblivion the recollection of offences, I see no rational ground for forgetting the loyalty of those who stood forth m defence of their Queen and country in the hour of need, and I shall ever TOWNSHIP OF MONO. regard such services as entitled to gratitude and honourable reward. Accept, gentlemen, my cordial thanks for the assurance of your support ; and my sincere admiration of your devotion to British connexion, aiul of your unalterable attaclnnent to the land of your fathers. of TOWNSHIP OF MONO. May it please Your Excellency, We, the inhabitants of the township of Mono, in the district of Simcoe, being assembled at our annual township meeting, do take this opportunity of publicly expressing our sincere thanks to Your Excellency for the loyal and manly stand which Your Excellency has mjide against the unconsti- tutional encroachments of the late Executive Council ; such encroachments are looked upon by the inhabitants of this section of the country as the forerunner of a separation of this country from the parent state, which most probably would soon be the case had Your Excellency submitted to their unreasonable demands. We assure Your Excellency, that the inhabitants of this township are Britons both by birth and principles, and zeal- i. isly attached to our most gracious Sovereign the Queen and her government ; and will, as long as the blood flows in our veins, retain our connexion with the parent state, and will always be ready at any emergency to rally round Your Excellency's person and government so long as Your Excel- lency will maintain inviolate the prerogative of the British crown against foreign aggression, or domestic dissension and rebellion. Geo. McManus, Chairman, ' ' Samuel Atkinson, Township Clerk. Mono, 2nd January, 1 844. ANSWER. I rejoice, gentlemen, with great satisfaction in the loyal sentiments expressed in your address, and thank you heartily for your generous confidence and support. It shall be my study to render you comfortable and happy; and while Her Majesty our gracious Sovereign has subjects in Canada, animated by the feelings of which you are justly proud, I cannot doubt that our connection with the mother ■! 11.' 70 ADDRESSES AND REPLIES. country will be a lasting source of mutual benefit and profh perity. God bless you all. GORE DISTRICT COUNCIL. May it please Your Excellency, W •<: - t Having viewed with feelings of dismay and apprehension, the arduous struggle which Your Excellency has bad to sus- tain against your late Executive Council, in the attempts to usurp the prerogative of the crown, placed by the Queen in your hanas; to force through the legislature, for partisan purposes, bills subversive of the dearest rights and liberties of the people, and odious and inquisitorial in character ; it is with intense delight, we have seen you assert the dignity of your high station, in successfully resisting the unconstitutional en- croachments of the late members of your Executive Council, and your noble assertion of British supremacy within the limits of your government. We beg to assure Your Excellency, that tlie definition of the doctrme of responsible government, expressed in your message to the House of Assembly, on Wednesday, the 29th of November last, has our decided approbation, tna we would declare to Your Excellency our unaltered confidence in your administration of the government of this province, as well as of the principles by wliich you have been guided in conduct- ing that government. : Firmly convinced, that it is on tbe loyal and conservative body of the people the royal authority can safely rest, in this country, we hail with deep emotions of joy and gratitude Your Excellency's declaration to the yeomen of Frontenae, that " It is a comfort to you to receive the assurance of their ** fervent love for the British constitution, and of their deter- *^ mination to maintain and perpetuate their connexion with " the mother country ; for that on such feelings and disposi- « tions, the happiness and prosperity of Canada appear to you " to depend ;" and further, that " loyalty is not a calculating *< process, but a feeling of the heart, and that it is on such " hearts that Your Excellency relies for the safety and " welfare of this portion of the dominions of our beloved and " gracious Queen." Such hearts are ours ; to those noble sentiments we give our unanimous and unqualified assent. We humbly tender to Your Excellency our sincere support in your efforts to nuiin- tain tbem, and we feel confident^ that Your Excellency's wise and vigorous conduct will, under Providence, enable you to effect thfi great object of your mission to our shores, and to OOm DIBTRIGT. 75 carry out every measure calculated to promote Uie happiness of the people committed to your care. Our most fervent and confident hope is, that your Excel- lency will proceed in the course of policy you have avowed, with that dignity, moderation, and ability, for which, us a statesman, you are so eminently distinjjruislied ; we are satis- fied, that in maintaining the preroyrutive of the crown, you will ever consider it a sacred deposit, held in trust for the benefit of the people, and that Your Excellency will at all times protect every class of her Majesty's loyal Canadian subjects in their just rights and privileges. In the support of these principles and opinions, the loyal men of Gore will always be found, as they always have been in more perilous times, " Ready, aye ready ;" they will rally round the royal standard of the glorious empire of which they are proud to form an integral part ; they will follow that standard in Your Excellency's hand, wherever you will lead them, and then may " God defend the right," and save the Queen. (Signed) E. Cartwrioht Thomas, Chairman. Hamilton, Jan., 1844. ANSWER. I find it difficult, gentlemen, to reply in adequate language to the glowing sentiments of loyalty and devotion to our fracious Sovereign, which pervade your animated address, can only say, that I value them most h Ighly ; that my heart fully responds to them, and that I am grateful to you tor the noble feelings which you entertain. I receive most thankfully your assurance ol' support in my endeavours to carry out the plan of responsible government, established in this colony by the resolutions of September, 1841, in a practical manner ; so as to combine in concordant unison and preservation the prerogative of the crown, the privileges of parliament, and the rights, liberties, and interests of the people. You may always rely on my considering the charge con- fided to me by tne crown as a sacred trust for the benefit of the people, and for ike equal protection of Her Majesty's loyal Canadian subjects. I should incur Her Majesty's high displeasure, and be a most unworthy representative of her love for her people, were I to do otherwise. On my part 1 shall rely on your steady co-operation in maintaining the union of Canada with the United Kingdom, 76 ADDRESSES AND REPLIES. and in promoting the welfare of tliis province, and the happi* ness o£^ its inhabitants, by all means in my power. If more active measures were needed, your gallant and heroic conduct in times of peril would prove to me that I might confidently depend on your undaunted courage and devoted spirit for every effort that the energy of man is capable of producing ; but God forbid, that I should live to see the peace and har- of this province disturbed by the hateful tumults of war mon' and discord. 1 hope and trust that the only contest we shall ever have to sustain together, will be the pacific one in which we are now engaged, in defence of constitutional government and British connexion ; and that the good sense and the good feeling of this country will soon terminate that by unanimity in a righteous cause. Again, gentlemen, permit me to express my unbounded thanks for your generous assurance of confidence and support. MOHAWK INDIANS OF THE BAY OF QUINTE. Father, Our fathers have told us that after the treaty between the Six Nations Confederacy (of which we Mohawks formed a part) and the crown of Great Britain, it was the practice of our chiefs to wait upon th(^ Governors, on their arrival in America, to exchange assurances of mutual friendship and protection. At that time our nation was powerful and war- like, and oar friendship was worth having ; but now, like small fragments of ice floating in the lake at the mercy of the winds and waves, which are rapidly wasting us, we claim our ancient privilege of approaching you, — not as of old to offer you the hand of protection, but to ask it of you. We know. Father, it is not our business to meddle in poli- tics, or to condemn any party among our white brethren, but when we see what is taking place around us, we cannot help feeling concerned for the safety of ourselves and that of the country. The question which occupies the minds of our white brethren, seems to be simply this — Is this country to remain under the protection and government of the Queen, or is it to become one of the United States ? In this question no people are more interested than ourselves — the helpless chil- drei! of the soil, — and we hope we wiil not be considered oifficious in addressing you on this subject, before you remove far away from us. MOHAWK INDIANS OF THE BAY OF QUINTR. 77 ; t- A few of those who were driven from their pleasant homes and fruitful corn-fields in the valley of the Mohawk yet sur- vive, and their sufferings and losses are too fresh in our minds to require a repetition. Yet it would seem the object of so.^rie thoughtless and discontented people among us to bring about similar troubles, — and unless, Father, you can soon put out the kindling flame, we fear the Red men will again be driven from our loved homes to seek a new place of refuge ; but where is that now to be found on this side of the grave ? One of the subjects which has lately disturbed the Province has been the removal of the Great Council Jire from Katarocque to some hundred miles nearer the sun's rising. We would not wish to interfere in any arrangement that is thought good for the country, but. Father, it makes us sad to see you removing from the heart of the country to the sea shore, lest it should happen as it did w former times, — wearied with the troubles of the country, you should haul down the Queen's flag, and sail away from us altogether. We have also heard with sorrow that some of our white brethren wish to tie up the hands of our gracious Mother the Queen in this country. If we may be allowed to s^ ak on the subject we would say to them, — Where will you find a fentler hand to hold the reins ? Do not tie up even her little nger — let both hands be free, that she may busy them in heaping benefits upon us. Father, — Under the protecting care of the British govern- ment, we and our kindred tribes are beginning to enjoy the blessings of religion and civilization, and it is our earnest wish that these benefits may be increased to our children. What- ever our white brethren may think, we feel assured that our only hope "safety, lies in the connection between this country and Great Britain. It rejoices us therefore to hear that you. Father, are determined to do all in your power to continue that happy connection. We implore our white brethren of all parties to reflect upon past misfortunes, to lay aside their jealous feelings before it is too late, and, joining hand and heart, assist you in your benevolent endeavours to make this a prosperous and loyal country. We pray the Great Spirit long to spare our gracious Mother and yourself to govern us, and we beg to assure you that we love you both, and are at all times devoted to your service. Tyendenaga, 16th January, 1844. ^)|II;J(||.I1H|W '■^IWWl"' 78 ADDRESSES AND REPLIES. ANSWER. I receive, my children, your affectionate address with feel- ings of great pleasure and satisfaction. Your love and attachment to our gracious Queen are such as loyal And faithful hearts delight to entertain ; and you may be sure that they will be fondly estimated in her maternal bosom. I trust that there is no ground to fear that you will ever lose Her Majesty's powerful protection, or be in any danger of being driven from the abodes which you now occupy. The past misfortunes of your race, and your loyal devotion and constancy, must interest every generous and grateful feeling in your behalf. You have, I hope, ages of happiness before you, and God forbid that it should be disturbed. Continue with confidence to apply yourselves to the im- provement of your possessions, and the moral and religious instruction of your children ; and the Almighty Father, who looks with favour on the meek and the good, will bless and reward you. Your kind thoughts towards me, I shall ever cherish with thankful recollection. TOWN OF NIAGARA— FIRST ADDRESS. May it please Your Excellency, The inliabitants of the town of Niagara, in public meet- ing assembled, beg leave respectfully to address Your Excel- lency on the subject of the causes which led to the resignatWn of Your Excellency's late ministry, which we, in common with our fellow subjects throughout the province, regard as involv- ing cufrtititutional principles of vast importance and deep intert'gt to the people of Canada. We unhesitatingly tender to Your Excellency our un- feigned aj/|>iol)Htioii of the noble stand taken by Your Excel- lency in maintaining the prerogative of the crown on the occasion of tl*<' resignation of the late provincial administration; and wliilc we readily attribute to Your Excellency the purest and most worthy motives in the course which Your Excellency saw fit to pursin' in exercising your undoubted right, as the representative of our unmt gracious Sovereign, with reference to the governmeiii /jatronage, we at the same time feel called upon to express to Your Excellency our conviction i TOWN OF NIAGARA-FIRST ADDRESS. 79 that Your Excellency acted under a misconception of the great constitutional principles laid down in the resolution adopted by the House of Assembly, on the third day of Sep- tember, 1841. We assure Your Excellency, that we recognize to the ful- lest extent the propriety of Your Excellency's assuming to yourself the right to judge and act according to your dis- cretion upon all occasions, and in all matters calling for the exercise of the royal prerogative, whether it be as to the fitness of any candidate fr)r office, whose claims may be brought under the notice of Your Excellency, or in any other of the numerous circumstances that must necessarily arise connected with the government of this province. But we must nevertheless, with equal firmness, assert our determina- tion to maintain as far as in us lies, the right of the Executive Council (for the time being) to be consulted by Her Majesty's representative upon all appointments to office, as well as upon all questions affecting the interests of the province. Your Excellency may rest assured that it is our earnest desire to see the government of this province conducted in strict accordance with the acknowledged principles of the British constitution, which by preserving inviolate the rights and privileges of the crown and people respectively, will insure to the government that degree of confidence and sup- port, which can alone render permanent the connection between this colony and the mother country, and conduce to the happiness and prosperity of this portion of the British empire. (Signed) T. Butler, Chairman. Niagara, 30th December, 1843. ANSWER. I receive, gentlemen, the sentiments which you have addressed to me with the respect due to every expression of public feeling. No government can be successfully conducted without the confidence and support of the people, and T have never thought of pursuing any course that could justly deprive me of those essential aids. It is gratifying to me to learn that you approve the stand which it was recently my duty to take in defence of the pre- rogative of the crown, and that you recognize to the fullest extent, the propriety of the Governor's judging and acting according to his discretion on all occasions, and in all matters calling for the exercij^e of the royal prerogative. This being admitted, no difficulty would arise on the question of consult- 80 ADDRESSES AND REPLIES. ing the Executive Council ; for although it is physically impossible, consistently with the despatch of public business, that every act of the Governor in this colony couhl be made the subject of a formal reference for the advice of the Council, there can be no doubt that it will be the inclination as well as the duty of the Governor to consult the Council on all occasions of adequate importance. But when a systematic and overbearing attempt is made to render the Governor a mere tool in the hands of a party, then resistance in defence of the royal prerogative becomes indispensable ; because it is impossible that Her Majesty's government can ever permit the Governor of one of Her Majesty's colonies to reduce himself to that condition. The particular mode of carrying out responsible government established in this province is new in a colony, and to be worked successfully must be worked carefully ; with honesty of purpose for the good of the province, without party animosity and exclusiveness, and with good sense, good feeling and moderation on the part of those engaged in the undertaking. My part of it shall be faithfully performed with an anxious (lesire to render the system conducive to the prosperity and happiness of Canada, in allegiance to the British crown, find under the protec- tion of the united strength of the British empire. TOWN OF NIAGARA— SECOND ADDRESS. May it please Your Excellency, We, the undersigned inhabitants of the town of Niagara, as dutiful and loyal subjects of Her Majesty, beg to thank Your Excellency for the firm and constitutional course you have lately pursued in resisting the attempted usurpation of the prerogative of the crown, and to express our sentiments on a subject so vitally important to the welfare of this colony, and its existence as an appendage to the British crown. The principle of " responsible government," as expressed in the resolution of the Legislative Assembly of the province of Canada, on the 3rd of September, 1841, having been con- ceded to this colony by our gracious Sovereign and the Imperial Parliament, and Your Excellency having expressed your determination " to subscribe entirely to the resolution" in question — we, as British subjects firmly attached to British institutions, most cordially approve of that constitutional .and unequivocal declaration of Your Excellency, and concurring ^i! TOWN OF NIAGARA— SECOND ADDRESS. 81 in the words of tlie resolution which declares " that the liead of the executive jrovernment of the province, being within the limits of his j^ovemment the representative of the Sove- reign, is responsible to the imperial authority alone ;*' we emphaticjilly maintain that Your Excellency, under such responsibility, is the constitutional and only guardian of the prerogative of the crown. We would further represent to Your Excellency, that as the provisions of the Union Act contemplate that the inte- rests of the sister provinces should become identical, and that the inhabitants of either should have no reason to regard them- selves otherwise than British subjects, equally participating in all civil rights and the enjoyment of the same constitution, we confidently anticipate that Your Excellency, in constitut- ing a succeeding Provincial Executive, will entertain the claims of our fellow colonists differing from us in laws, lan- guage and institutions, and extend to that population a fair participation in the administration of the government; a policy which the inhabitants of Niagara deem in accordance with the dictntes of equal justice, and which cannot fail to promote contentment and unanimity among all classes of Her Majesty's subjects. With these sentiments, we proffer Your Excellency our humble and sincere support for the strict maintenance of that policy you have advocated, and depending upon the rectitude of your actions and your firmness and ability to carry out your policy, we are eneouragod to hope that nothing short of extraordinary considerations will induce Your Excellency to dissolve your connection with the government of this colony, whilst the honor of Her Majesty's crown and the prerogative are unconstitutionally assailed. ANSWER. 'ssed It is highly satisfactory to me, gentlemen, to learn that my conduct in maintaining the prerogative of the crown against usurpation, has your approval. I have no doubt that the principles of responsible govern- ment, as expressed in the resolutions of the House of Assembly of September, 1841, can be carried into effect to the benefit and contentment of the province, with good sense and good feeling on the part of all engaged in that work, without any sacrifice either of the prerogative of the crown or of the rights and liberties t*f the p< ople. To those principles and resolutions I nIxiII stepdfnsdy adhere. 1 rejoice to see the sentiments which you express rcgard- M 82 ADDRESSES AND REPLIES. ing our fellow subjects of Lower Canada. Those sentiments correspond with my own, and I shall always act upon them. The inhabitants of both provinces are equally entitled to participate in the administration of the government, and in every other advantage that the state can afford. Accept my erateml thanks for the assurance of your sup- port, and for the wishes you kindly convey to me regarding the continuance of my connection with this colony. Had I foreseen the difficulties with which a Governor whose whole heart is devoted to the welfare of the province might be beset, owing solely to attempts to reduce the authority of Her Majesty's government to a nullity and render the Governor a tool in the hands of a party, I might have hesitated to undertake an office so embarrassed ; but being here, and having duties to perform, I will not shrink from any obstacles; and while I am honoured with the confidence of our gracious Sovereign, I will not spontaneously separate myself from Canada as long as there are any difficulties to be surmounted. AMHERSTBURG FIRE COMPANY. May it please Your Excellency, We, the undersigned members of the Amherstburg Fire Company, having heard with surprise and indignation, of the proceedings of the late Executive Council, in trying to obtain a surrender into their hands of the prerogative of the crown, beg leave to assure Your Excellency, that we repose unlimi- ted confidence in Your Excellency's administration of this province; and while guided by so good a Governor, entertain no apprehonsions as to the result of any contest into which we may be plunged by the wickedness of Your Excellency's late Executive. We therefore consider it our duty, having enjoyed the purest freedom under the British crown, to come forward as a body, and tender to Your Excellency our services and our lives, on behalf of our beloved Queen, in vindication of her outraged rights. (Signed by the officers and members of the company) A. H. Wagner, Secretary. ANSWER. I thank you heartily, gentlemen, for your spirited, loyal, and kind address. TOWNSHIP OF ORFORD. 83 I trust there is no danger of our being involved in any contest, and that we shall ail be able to live together in perfect peace and harmony; but I have no doubt that if there should ever be need o^ your services in defence of your Queen and country, Hei Majesty's government may confidently rely on your gallajitry and devotion. TOWNSHIP OF ORFORD. May it please Your Excellency, We, the freeholders of Orford, in the Western District, beg leave to express our cordial approval of the stand taken by Your Excellency in order to vindicate the rights and pre- rogative of the crown, and to maintain the just and impartial administration of the government for the good of the people. We feel confident that Your Excellency will adopt such measures as will promote the welfare of the country; and that you will shortly gather round you such loyal and right hearted men as will have no other object in view than to increase the wealth, strength, and prosperity of Canada. We therefore tender to Your Excellency our cordial sup- port, and feel assured that you will receive the warm and firm support of the great body of the inhabitants of this colony. (Here follow 70 signatures.) ANSWER. I thank you cordially, gentlemen, for your loyal address, and for the generous confidence and support which you offer. No endeavours shall be spared on my part to meet the just wishes that you have expressed; to administer the govern- ment for the good of the people, to adopt such measures as will promote the welfare of the country, and to have as my advisers, loyal and right-hearted men, who will have no other object in view than to increase the wealth and strength, pros- perity and happiness of Canada. It is a great comfort to me to see reason to hope that in this course I shall have the support of the great body of the inhuoitants of this country. May every good attend you. 84 ADDRESSES AND REPLIES. DISTRICT OF DALIIOUSIE. May it please Your Excellency, We, the inhabitants of the District of Dalhousie, in fmblic meetinjr assembled, he^r leave to renew to Your Excel- ency our assurances of devotion and loyalty to our beloved Sovereign, and warm attachment to the British cjonstitution. The firm stand taken by Your Excellency in upholding the undoubted prerogative of the crown, and the regard evinced for the preservation of the rights and liberties of the people of this favoured portion of Her Majesty's dominions, call upon every person desirous of maintaining inviolate the con- nection with the mother country, and every lover of the free working of our glorious constitution, to support Your Excel- lency in your earnest endeavour to preserve to us those blessings. And we now, in common with Her Majesty's loyal subjects of United Canada, respectfully beg leave to tender to Your Excellency our most cordial support, and to assure you of our determination to render to Your Excellency our humble assistance in carrying out such measures as will be beneficial to the province, and. pleasing to our most gracious Sovereign. We earnestly hope that the sincere desire of Your Excel- lency to render us a contented and happy people, may, through the aid of Divine Providence, be crowned with suc- cess ; and that the impartial administration of the government of this province by Your Excellency, and the faithful dis- charge of the duties assigned you by our beloved Sovereign, may meet with their due reward ; and we express our honest conviction, that Your Excellency can confidently rely on the good sense and unwavering loyalty of the people of this district. ANSWER. Rejoicing in the sentiment which you express, I hail, gen- tlemen, with great satisfaction this presentation of your loyal address, and thank you all most cordially for the assurances which it conveys of your devotion to our beloved Queen and warm attachment to the British constitution, and of your support and assistance in carrying out measures beneficial to the province ; and which on that account will be sure to be pleasing to our most gracious Sovereign. It is a great comfort to me to know that I may confidently rely on the good sense and unwavering loyalty of the people of your district; and if ^ •' .i-^J J K-. to ^'ortuuate as to see the I COUNTY OF HURON. 85 accomplishment of my earnest desire to render the commu- nity of Canada prosperous, contented and happy, 1 shaUl be deeply jrrateful to Almljrhty God for permitting me to he instrumental in that blissful work. *^ COUNTY OF HURON. May it please Your Excellency, We, Her Majesty's loyal subjects of the county of Huron, in public meeting assembled, desire to offer to Your Excellency that support which, at this crisis. Your Excellency has every right to expect from those whose privileges Your Excellency has protected. Occupying as we do the shores of Lake Huron, not many years since untrodden by civilized man, the strife of party may be supposed too distant to engage our attention ; but our population being composed chiefly of those whose pride con- sists in claiming, not merely their parentage but their birth from Great Britain, we have watched with intense interest the late proceedings of the Provincial Parliament, and cor- dially join in the hearty tender of our thanks to Your Excel- lency for the means adopted by Your Excellency to arrtot the progress of measures unprecedented in the annals, of British legislation. And that Your Excellency may long remain in a situa- tion to exercise with justice and equity the power vested in Your Excellency by our most gracious Sovereign, and to assert the supremacy of Great Britain in this extensive por- tion of her North American dominions, is the prayer of Her Majesty's most devoted and attached subjects and servants. (Signed) H. HyndxMan, Sheriff, H. D. ANSWEIl. It is delightful to me, gentlemen, to receive from the shores of Lake Huron the loyal address which you have transmitted, and to find that in that remote border of Canada there are true British hearts glowing with the love of our country, and with devotion to our gracious Queen. Accept my heartfelt thanks for your support and kind wishes ; and be assured that my best endeavours shall always be excited to promote the welfare of Canada as an integral portion of the British empire, under allegiance to the British crowii. •■•■■' ■'■ ■' ^'-^ 66 ADDRRSHRH AND REPLIP.S. VILLAGE OF KEMPTVILLE. May it please Your Excellency, We, the undersigned inhabitants of the village of Kempt- ville and its vicinity, desire to approach Your Lxcellency at this particular juncture, with the expression of our unalter- able feelings of devoted allegiance to our gracious Sovereign, and our earnest desire that the happy connection should be per- petuated, which unites our destniies with those of Great Britain, the queen of the nations of the earth. We desire also to offer to Your Excellency the spon- taneous assurance of our entire confidence in the purity of your motives, in your ardent desire to advance the best inte- rests of the country, and in your patriotic and disinterested efforts for that purpose. We admire the manly dignity, the moderation, good temper, and withal the noble firmness dis- played by Your Excellency in resisting the imconstitutional attempts made by your late council to wrest from the repre- sentative of the crown those rights which the constitution has wisely vested in it, to be exercised for the good of the whole community, and not be diverted from this beneficent and legitimate purpose to forward the selfish ends of any par- ticular party or faction. The generosity of Your Excellency's character (the fame of which preceded your arrival,) and the many distinguished acts of liberality 'lisplayed during your yet brief residence amongst us, alike forbid the remotest suspicion that in seeking to manitain inviolate the just prerogatives ol the crown. Your Excellency can have been actuated by any base desire of personal interest or self aggrandizement. How far this sus- picion may, however, be justly attached to the characters of those who sought to control the whole patronage of the crown for the purchase of parliamentary support, or, in other words, for the maintenance of themselves in office, it perhaps becomes us not to say. We cannot permit ourselves to believe, that our gracious Sovereign will ever consent, nor do we think that any true lover of his country should desire, that every office of honour or emolument in the province is to be regarded as so much political capital, so many political pounds, shillings and pence, with which to tamper with the integrity of our representatives, to purchase votes at elections, or to reward the zeal of poli- tical partizanship. For ourselves, we repudiate the idea; while from our hearts do we cordially respond to the exalted VILLAOR OF K«MPTVIU,F. 87 and patriotic sentiments of Your Excellency, that "office onjifht in evrry instu/ice to Ix' ^iven to the man best qualified to render etticient service to tlie state." Britons by birth or descent, and fondly chorishinj^ in our hearts the sacred flame of liberty, the heritage bequeathed us by our forefathers, we are jealous of our constitutional rights, and are j)re|)ared to del'en 4 v\ ^m mmm m S^ o^ f k'l 88 ADDRESSBS AND REPLIES. our political existence ; and that when at length you return to the home of your fathers (and far distant be the time) to receive, as we trust you will, the approbation of your Queen and country, the blessings of a grateful people shall lullow you ; while the fervent pray(.^rs of many thousands shall ascend to heaven that your declining years may be spent in peace, comfort and happiness here, preparatory to the enjoymtnt of eternal bliss hereafter. ANSWER. Accept, gentlemen, my grateful thanks for your loyal, kind and affectionate address. It is most gratifying to me to receive this testimony of your approval and confidence, and «uch a manifestation of your devoted allegiance to our gracious Sovereign, and of your desire that the happy connection which unites our destinies with those of Great Britain may be perpetuated. It is also highly satisfactory to me to observe that you concur in the opinion which I have expressed, that office ought in every instance to be given to the man best qualified to render efficient service to the state, and not to be prosti- tuted for party purposes or the purchase of influence. Like British subjects who have never been slow to defend their rights and liberties, and who would never bow to despotism, you are equally ready to sustain the prerogative of the crown and constitutional government of Her Majesty in this portion of her dominions, and reject tyranny and oppression from whatever quarter and in whatever guise it may appear. Of your favourable sentiments towards me and your kind anticipations in my behalf, I shall ever retain a lively thank- fulness ; and if I should be instrumental in promoting the welfare of Canada, I shall go down to the grave deeply grateful to the Almighty for this addition to the numerous mercies which he has deigned to shed on an unworthy servant. COLBORNE DISTRICT. May it please Your Excellency, We, the inhabitants of the Colborne District, in public meeting assembled, beg to address Your Excellency in the present state of affairs, and to express our attachment and respect to Your Excellency's person and government. Composed exclusively of natives of the British Isles, we are warmly attached to those principles and institutions which COLBORNB DISTRICT. 89 have raised Great Britain to the rank she now occupies among the nations of the earth, and to that connection which now so happily exists between her and this province. Impressed with those opinions, it is with heartfelt satisfac- tion we have witnessed the noble stand made by Your Excel- lency against an infringement of the prerogative of the crown, and against the appointment of persons to office, whose only qualihcation was, that they belonged to a party inimical to that connection and those principles we are so much at- tached to. Confident that whilst Your Excellency will zealously guard the prerogatives of the crown, with v/hich our beloved Sove- reign has entrusted you, you will also preserve our rights and privileges as British subjects, we rejoice that Your Excel- lency has appealed to the people for support, and we are sure that the appeal will not be found to have been made in vain. ANSWER. I thank you cordially, gentlemen, for your kind expressions of respect and attachment. It shall be my constant aim to deserve such feelings. I regard your devotion to British institutions and British connection as the surest foundation for the safety and welfare of Canada. It is highly gratifying to me to learn that my resistance to the attempt of the late Executive Council to usurp the prero- gative of the crown for party purposes, and to reduce the authority of Her Majesty's government to a nullity, has your decided approval. You may be sure that I shall be anxious at all times to preserve inviolate the rights and privileges which you enjoy, and proudly cherish, as British subjects. It is the happy union in the British character of devoted loyalty to the crown, with a determination to maintain the liberties of the subject, that has carried the glory of the United Kingdom to the exalted elevation which it has attained. It is a source of heartfelt satisfaction to me to know that the inhabitants of the district of Colborne retain the national character in full force, and that I can confidently rely on their loyalty and love for our mother country. TOWN OF PERTH. 't f! May it please Your Excellency, We, the inhabitants of Perth and its vicinity, in the District cf Bathurst, beg respectfully to offer to Your Excel- N . . ,.. ...r. ; I am grateful for your determination to support me in the course that I have pursued. , ,- ,, ,, . :,.:!.;:,. i ■!■ , f-. TOWNSHIPS OF EAST AND NORTH GWILLIMBURY. May it please Your Excellency, We, the inhabitants of the townships of East and North Gwillinlbury, in public meeting assembled, beg to approach Your Excellency with the purest feelings of devotion and TOWNSHIPS OF EAST AND NORTH GWILLTMBURY. 91 attaclimcnt to our most gracious Queen, and to assure Your Excellency of our readiness and willingness, on all occasions, to support and uphold Her Majesty's authority and preroga- tive in this portion of the empire. Entertaining these feelings of attachment to our beloved Sovereign, we cannot but approach Your Excellency with the most lively expressions of our admiration at the firm and noble stand .nade by Your Excellency, against the machii^a- tions of your late Council. . ,. '• Hitherto we have avoided troubling Your Excellency with ary expressions of our sentiments against the appointments of individuals to the magistracy, &c., who were engaged in the late unhappy rebellion, and whose loyalty may be justly questioned, because we traced in the principle " to forget and forgive" — advanced by Your Excellency — a desire on the part of Your Excellency to merge party differences, and assuage the rancour of party feuds and jealousies. Notwithstanding our dtiiire to join Your Excellency in this Your Excellency's laudable effort to soften the rancour of party animosities, we cannot shut our eyes to the fact that very many of the supporters and advocates of Your Excel- lency's late council — residing in this section of the country — are notoriously opposed to the principles of our glorious constitution. .,, ; ,-. ?i . ' .. . • As subjects of our most gracious Sovereign, we thought it our duty now to assemble and offer Your Excellency our humble support and congratulations at the firm and manly stand Your Excellency has taken against the encroachments of a party, whose ultimate intentions are the overthrow of our revered and time-honoured institutions. Viewing the resistance Your Excellency has made to the unconstitutional demands of your late council, as best calcu- lated to inspire the loyal inhabitants of this fine colony with the utmost confidence in Your Excellency's wisdom and ability as a British statesman, and best calculated to secure the power with which our gracious Sovereign has invested you, we beg to offer you our warmest thanks, and to assure Your Excellency of our firm determination on all occasions to vindicate and support Your Excellency's measures, i ,, /,! (Signed on behalf of the meeting) ., ;: ..(,,,. , , ^ M, Arad Smalley, Chairman, ANSWER. ■ I receive, gentlemen, with sentiments of high satisfaction and cordial thankfubiess, your loyal address, expressive of Mr ADDRB8SES AND REPLIES. your attachment and devotion to our most gracious Queen ; and of your determination to support me in my endeavours to uphold the constitutional prerogative of the crown, for the protection of the rights and liberties of the people, and for the promotion of the welfare of Canada, as an integral portion of the British empire. If there be any who, as you intimate, are opposed to the principles of our glorious constitution, the only way to con- vert tnem is to make them feel that they enjoy every privilege and advantage that any constitution in the world can afford. With respect to those formerly engaged in unnatural rebel- lion, it has always appeared to me to be most desirable that we should forgive and forget, and bury in oblivion all past political offences, and let those who have escaped the penalty of their crime, enjoy the full benefit of pardon, including freedom from the reproaches of their fellow countrymen. Thus all may ultimately unite in advancing the interests of the province, without the heartburnings of party dissension. While I advocate this doctrine and avow that it has formed the rule of my conduct, I do not the less prize the loyalty and true-hearted spirit of those who stood forward manfully and devotedly to defend their Queen and country in the time of danger ; for by such loyalty and devotion, Canada was protected and preserved; and on the same my hopes for the future confidently rest. I wish it were in my power adequately to shew my sense of the gratitude due to such services. TOWNSHIP OF COMPTON. , May it please Your Excellency, We, the undersigned. Her Majesty's dutiful and loyal subjects in the township of Compton in the district of St. Francis, desire in the present important crisis to strengthen Your Excellency's administration of government by an ex- pression of confidence and respect. Your Excellency may possibly remember, that when during the course of last autumn you honoured us by passing through our township, we ventured to approach you with an expression of our confidence. V/e would now assure you that the con- fidence we then expressed is not only unshaken, but greatly increased. We then confided in you because we had heard of the blessings which the Most High had made you the instru- v,,..,^-l.„J. ■-,).,* TOWNSHIP OF COMPTON. 9a tnent of conferring upon others — we now confide in you because of those things we see you doing among ourselves. We are sensible that disunion and party strife have hitherto been two of the greatest evils under which, as a people, we have labored ; while therefore we have viewed with gratitude your unwearied efforts, directed as they have been by wisdom, prudence and forbearance, to make us a united people — we cannot but regard with indignation the recent factious attempt that has been made by your late Executive Council not only to defeat those your gracious efforts, but also, by the proposal of an unexampled pledge, to force Your Excellency to de- scend from your high position as the representative of our beloved Sovereign to all her Canadian people, and become the mere organ and agent of a party. We are also sensible that the hindrances to success that oppose you are all but insurmountable, but we trust that the same beneficent Providence that has elsewhere crowned your labour with success, will so crown them here, that you may long be remembered among us as the Governor who calmed our political strifes and made us what we wish to be — an united people. ANSWER. I beg you, gentlemen, to accept my warmest thanks for your kind assurance of approval and confidence. Most fervently do I sympathize with you in your pa- triotic wish that political strife may be calmed, and the people of Canada oe an united people. My anxious endea- vours were exerted with that view from the moment of my assumption of the government, but I have been thwarted and disappointed, and instead of being able to allay party spirit, have oecome personally the object of its bitter and unqualified hostility. I shall nevertheless persevere in my endeavors — I). I. .*! "'Tis not in mortals ** To command success. But we'll " Do more, Sempronius, we'll deserve it." And if by the blessing of the Almighty your affectionate desire be realised, and Canada rendered harmonious and happy through the instrumentality of my Administration, great will be my joy and triumph, and unbounded will be my humble gratitude to the Omnipotent Giver of all Good. >n'.!J> • y4 ADDRESSES AND REPLIES. ■■(•(' COUNTY OF MISSISKOUI. M' ■ t'.l to ■ 1 1 .• . /.' I fiy it ploase Your Excellency, We, the magistrates, clergy, militia officers and others, inhabitants of the county of Missiskoui, in the district of Montreal, in a public meeting convened without reference to party distinctions, beg leave to approach Your Excellency with sentiments of unshaken loyalty to our beloved Queen, and firm attachment to that constitution of government under which we have the happiness to live, and under which our parent state has hitherto grown and prospered beyond all ancient or modern example, because it regards the welfare of the people as a whole, their protection and preservation in wealth, peace and happiness. It was not without much anxiety we heard of the difference that had arisen between Your Excellency and your late Executive Council, on points in which our rights and liber- ties are deeply involved ; but it gave us great satisfaction to find, that, as the Sovereign is not the head of a party in the state, but the common parent of the people, so Your Excel- lency, as the representative of the Queen, in refusing to be either the head or the servant of an exclusive party, has evinced a noble determination to carry on the administration of the government in a constitutional manner, equally true to our Sovereign, as watchful over the rights and liberties of the people committed to your charge,— a determination which meets our decided approval, and demands our cordial support. (Signed in behalf of the meeting) Hy. Dyer, Chairman, Frelighsburg, February 3, 1844. ANSWER. 7 r I beg you, gentlemen, to accept my cordial thanks for the sentiments conveyed to me in your address. I receive with the highest satisfaction the declaration of your unshaken loyalty to our beloved Queen, and ot your firm attachment to the constitution under which we have the happiness to live, to which the British empire owes its great- ness, and by which the rights and liberties of the people are protected and secured. You justly describe the duty of Her Majesty's representa- tive in this colony, when you say that he is not to be either the head or the servant of an exclusive party, but ought to administer the government for the good of all, in obedience TOWNSIUP OF HULL. 93 to the will of our gracious Sovereign, who is the parent of har people. It is flattering to n\e to rtnd that you appreciate my conduct, as havinjr been guided by those j)rinciples ; and I am proud of the assurance of your confidence and support, which no effort on my part shall ever be wanting to deserve. 'I' I TOWNSHIP OF HULL. May it please Your Excellency, We, the undersigned inhabitants of the township of Hull and neighbourhood, beg leave to address Your Excellency on the very important subject which has led to the resignation of Your Excellency's late advisers. As British subjects, stron«>- in our attachment to the principles of the British constitution, and the rights of the British people under the same, but entertaining a due regard for l;lie rights of the crown, we cannot refrain from expressing our entire satisfaction and warm admiration of the noble stand taken by Your Excellency in opposition to the late unconstitutional attempt of those advisers, to coerce Your Excellency to surrender to them the f)rerogative of the crown, for the encouragement and accomp- ishment of their own party designs. Weak and humble as may be our support, we respectfully tender it to Your Excellency, in the assurance, that Your Excellency will continue to uphold and maintain unimpaired Her Majesty's prerogative, as well as the rights of her sub- jects in this province. ANSWER. 1 receive, gentlemen, with high gratification the assurance conveyed to me in your address, of your approval of the resistance which my duty has compelled me to oppose to the attempt recently made, which you describe, and I believe very justly, as unconstitutional, to extort from Her Majesty's representative the surrender of the prerogative of the crown. I still more rejoice at your union of regard for the rights of the crown with your attachment to the rights of the people ; for it is the happy union of their respective rights, the one sustaining the other and both co-operating for the public good, that forms the beauty of the British constitution. 1 should not value the prerogative of the crown, if it did not conduce to the preservation of the rights of the people ; and I shall ever be fully as anxious to maintain the latter as the former. I accept, with sincere thanldulness, your tender 96 ADDRESSES AND REPLIES. of support, and with greater satisfaction, from the conscious- ness that I shall always endeavour to deserve it. SEIGNIORIES OF LACOLLE AND DELERY. May it please Your Excellency, We, the undersigned inhabitants of Lacolle and Delery, approach Your Excellency with the expression of our warm concurrence in the course adopted during the late session of the Provincial Parliament ; but more particularly would we tender our cordial support to the conservative principles upon which the late advisers of the crown were met, at a moment peculiarly embarrassing, and under circumstances where a temporizing course of conduct would inevitably have entailed irremediable evils upon a country already sufficiently dis- tracted by the turmoil of party spirit. It is with unfeigned satisfaction that we car now address Your Excellency upon a subject in which no distinctive party feelings are involved, and where all races and all political grades may unite upon one common ground of sincere attach- ment to the fostermg and happy influences of British con- nection, and in the expression of admiration at Your Excel- lency's firmness in defending the prerogative of the crown against the unconstitutional encroachments of Your Excel- lency's late advisers. With every confidence in Your Excellency's firmness and prudence, we would express our warmest hopes that a boun- tiful Providence may long continue to this country the ad- ministration of one who has shown himself ready and compe- tent to stem the tide which too long threatened to overwhelm the political and social interests of this portion of Her Majes- ty's dominions. ANSWER. ' Accept, gentlemen, my hearty thanks for the expression of your concurrence in the course which it became my duty to adopt in defence of the prerogative of the crown, and against assailants who would reduce it to a nullity. It affords me the greatest satisfaction to find that you regard the question at issue in its true light, that is, as one in which no distinctive party feelings are involved, but one in which all races and classes who desire to maintain our connection with the British empire, may unite on common ground in its support. mr> TOWNSHIP OF CHATHAM, C, R. 97 The kindness of your personal feelings towards me de- mands my grateful acknowledgments. TOWNSHIP OF CHATHAM, C. E. May it please Your Excellency, We, the undersigned clergy, magistrates and freeholders of the township of Chatham, beg leave to approach Your Excellency with our sincere congratulations upon Your Excellency's having relieved this country from the baneful influence of the larger portion of those persons who lately composed Your Excellency's Council ; and we trust that the honourable intentions of Your Excellency in the management of the affairs of the colony may have full scope, feeling entirely persuaded that if Your Excellency's wisdom, gleaned from long experience, should not be crowned with success, Canada has but little to expect for the future. Wherefore Your Excellency may count upon our devoted attachment to your person, and loyalty to our Queen, for the utmost support we can give under every exigency. (Here follow 116 signatures.) Chatham, C. E., January, 1844. ANSWER. Accept, gentlemen, my grateful thanks for the gratifying sentiments expressed in your address, and for the generous assurance of support which it conveys. It is my duty to endeavour to govern Canada for the pros- perity of the country and contentment of the people, accord- ing 10 the system of responsible administration which I have found established ; and I shall not relax in my unremitting exertions to carry that system into effect, relying for success on the good sense and good feeling of the community, and on the loyalty and attachment of those who, like yourselves, duly appreciate the advantages which this province enjoys, in connection with the great empire of which it forms a part, and in allegiance to the gracious Sovereign, whose happiness consists in the welfare of her subjects. SEIGNIORIES OF NOYAU, FOUCAULT, SABREVOIS AND BLEURY, C. E. May it please Your Excellency, We, the undersigned inhabitants of the seigniories of Noyau, Foucault, Sabrevois and Bleury, anxious to express our hearty o 98 ADDRESSES AND REPLIEH. anf your bravery and (h'votion, and am sure tiuit if ever the oceaNion shouhl arise, you would he ready to display them again in the cause of your great mother. IJut I am haj)py to assure you, that the rumours which you hear are devoid of foutulation. I am not aware of any proba- bility of the approach of strife ; I trust that it will ever be far from us, and that von will continue to enjoy undi8turl)cd repose, in the cultivation of the arts of i)eace. Hely on my grateful remembrance ot your fervent zeal and faithful attachment, and on my earnest desire to promote your welfare auc.H mark the procccdin^H of popidar hodicM, would have been annihi- lated; and noisy dema^o^ues would too fre(pie>«tly have nNur^)earty purposes; and that as public offices sl.ould )e created solely because the public service requires them, HO persons should be selected to fill them on account of their capability to discharj^e their duties with benefit to the public at larji^e, and not to advance the interest and influence of any particular political party. We, who now take the liberty of returninfj^ thanks to Your Excellency for the noble stand you have made aji^ainst an attempt to wrest the royal authority from the representative of the crown, \h'^ at the same time to assure you, that we yield to none of Her Mmesty's subjects in our attachment to rational liberty ; it is because we deem it most securely guarded by the principles of our mixed government, that we rejoice at the firmness you have displayed. It is with great pleasure that we have witnessed a similar determination to preserve Her Majesty's subjects from the evils of a party government, evinced by the noble Lord who exercises tlie royal authority among us; we have no doubt that the approbation of our gracious Queen will be bestowed upon her representatives, both in Canada and Nova Scotia, for their resolution to exercise her authority for the benefit of all her subjects ; and we trust that the day will never arrive when we shall see the prerogatives of the crown usurped by designing men, who would doubtless use all the patronage of the government to perpetuate that po' • '^ which they had thus obtainod. . " ' ; (Signed by over 600 individuals.) > i /-' ANSWER. I beg you, gentlemen, to accept my warmest thanks for the honour conferred on me by your address. It is highly gratifying to me to be assured that my conduct in resisting unconstitutional demands has your approval. A compliance with these demands would have reduced the authority of Her Majesty's government in this colony to a Q 114 ADDRESSES AND REPLIES. nullity, and would have rendered the Governor a mere tool in the hands of a party. Such a subversion of the constitu* tional government conferred on this province could not be effected without the total destruction ot the supremacy of the mother country, and can never therefore under any circum- stances be submitted to by Her Majesty's representative. It is cheering to observ that an abundance of loyal feeling' Sfevails t^'oughout the North American portion of the Iritish empire, which will it may be hoped maintain those ties of affection that bind the mother country and the colonies together, notwithstanding the extreme views of independence partially entertained in Canada, which would utterly pros- trate Her Majesty's government, and obviously tend to sever a connection that is replete with mutual benefit, and in which the perfect liberty of the subject, provincial legislation and administration adapted to the interests, wants and wishes of the people, and every privilege compatible with allegiance to the 13ritish crown, are combined with the fostering care and powerful protection of imperial supremacy and strength It is lamentable that these real advantages should be Drought into jeopardy by aiming at an object involving the extinction of Her Majesty's government, v/hich can only be attained at the sacrifice of the connection that produces those blessings. In addressing these sentiments to you, I am confident that I am communicating with gentlemen who are as determined as any in the world to maintain the just rights, liberties -".nd interests of the people, and who value and uphold the prero- gative of the crown as conducive to that end. It is the happy effect of the operation of the British constitution, that the true friends of the people are also the most loyal supporters of the crown. ' CORPORATION OF ST. JOHN, NEW BRUNSWICK. • 'i '■'• ■ ■ -' '■ ■■■' May it please Your Excellency, We, the Mayor, Aldermen and Commonalty, of the City of St. John, in Her Majesty's province of New Brunswick, in common council convened, having witnessed with deep interest, the constitutional stand taken by Your Excellency in upholding the prerog£ lives of the crown, which led to the resignation of Your Excellency's late advisers, beg leave on behalf of ourselves, and our fellow citizens, whom we have the honour to represent, to record our admiration of the truly British principles which have been promulgated by Your CORPORATION OF 8T. JOHN, NEW BRUNSWICK. 115 ave on e have e truly r Your Excellency on that memorable occasion, and to expiess our unanimous opinion that any departure from the sound views entertained by Your Excellency on the subject of colonial government, must in the end lead to the disseverance of British connection, and the consequent establishment of an unbridled democracy. We appreciate too highly the inestimable blessings which we enjoy under our glorious constitution, to hazard experimen- tal theories, irreconcileable with our position as colonial sub- jects, nor would we desire to live under a government where Her Majesty's repvesentative should be so fettered in exer- cising the patronage of the crown, as to be subservient to the dicta of any party, whereby, to suit political purposes, he might in many cases be ;" -evented from bestowing office upon those most worthy and capable. Attachment to their King and the British constitution, induced the American loyalists of 1783 to seek an abode in this then wilderness country ; and the same principles which actuated them, are warmly cherished by their descendants. — They therefore, with all those of British descent who have cast their lot in this province, are desirous of preserving invio- late the connection with the mother country. We feel it therefore incumbent upon us to make known our sentiments, when we discover an attempt made to deprive the crown of its prerogative, having a tendency thereby to establish a democratic government in these Her Majesty's colonies. By order of the common council. i •' •: (Signed) S. Donaldson, Mayor. January, 17, 1844. ANSWER. I beg you, gentlemen, to accept my cordial thanks for the address with which you have honoured me. It is highly gratifying to me to learn, that the conduct which I pursued on a recent occasion, and the principles which I have advocated, have your approval and concurrence ; and it is beyond measure delightful to me to receive the communi- cation of the loyal and patriocic sentiments which you have expressed, and which are worthily inherited by the descendants of those loyalists of 1783, who spared no sacrifice to retain their allegiance to the British crown, and their connection with the mother country. While such feelings predominate, the welfare of the colo- nies and the integrity of the British empire will, under 116 ADDRESSES AND REPLIES. Divine Providence, be secured and perpetuated. Both will be endangered, whenever those trustworthy dictates of honest hearts and sound minds give way to wild speculation and a fretful agitation for extreme objects, that cannot be attained consistently with the preservation of those united blessings, which I r< joice to see you fervently and justly appreciate. May the continuance of these and all other benefits be vouchsafed to you by our Almighty Father. CITY OF ST. JOHN, NEW BRUNSWICK. The address of the undersigned magistrates, merchants, and others, inhabitants of the city of St. John, in the province of New Brunswick. . , i . May it please Your Excellency, It would ill become the inhabitants of the chief com- mercial city of New Brunswick, a province founded by Ki» late Majesty King George the Third as an ** Asylum for suffering loyalty," and remarkable for the devoted attachment of its inhabitants to the crown and constitution of England, to be silent spectators of the great struggle now going on for maintaining the monarchical principle, in the important pro- vince committed to Your Excellency's immediate govern- ment by our most gracious Queen. It affords us the grec.test satisfaction to find a Governor- General publicly declaring, that he will not " degrade the character of his office, nor violate his duty, by a surrender of the prerogative of the crown into the hands of the council for party purposes ;" at the same time acknowledging, that " while it is his duty to maintain the constitutional prerogatives of the crown, it is no less his duty to uphold the rights and liberties of the people ;" and we sincerely hope that Your Excellency's noble efforts in defence of the crown may be attended with crmpletc success. (Here follow 1031 signatures.) :: I ":■ ANSWER. I thank you, gentlemen, heartily, for your expression of the sentiments which your address conveys. It is a high gratification to me to learn that my conduct in resisting an unconstitutional demand has your approval, and that you are sensible of my deltermination to uphold the rights and liber- ties of the people, not less than to maintain unimpaired the SECOND Rinmo OF THE COUNTY OF YOllK. 117 prerogative of the crown. It is the heauty of the British constitution, that the power of tlie crown is exercised for the protection of the people, and that the peo])le delight in sup- porting the crown; so that an affectionate sovereign and a loyal people act together in perfect harmony. The feelings which you entertain are in unison with those happy relations, and are wortliy of men wlio justly a])preciate the privileges that they enjoy under the free institutions of a limited monarchy. SECOND RIDING OF THE COUNTY OF YORK. May it please Your Excellency, We, the electors of the Second Riding of the County of York, in public meeting assembled, beg to renew to Your Excellency our assurances of feelings of the deepest devotion and attachment to our most gracious Sovereign, and at this important crisis in your government, feel it a solemn duty spontaneously to express to Your Excellency, our entire approbation and grateful satisfaction at the policy you have pursued, in firmly resisting the unhallowed attempt of the late councillors to degrade and destroy the royal prerogative in this portion of the dominions of our Sovereign. We have naturally felt a deep and anxious interest in the important question at issue between Your Excellency and your late councillors, and in all that has transpired since their abandonment of their situations, and highly and most heartily approve of the noble stand Your Excellency has taken against the unconstitutional demand m^'' upon Your Excellency by your late advisers, that you should enter into a stipulation with them as to the manner in which Your Excellency would thereafter exercise the patronage of the crown, as such a stipulation would not only be unconstitutional in the repre- sentative of majesty, but would have proved highly detri- mental to the best interest of the colony. ' ' ' We feel that the grateful thanks of the community are due to Your Excellency, for the clear and distinct enunciation in Your Excellency's answer to the address of the sixteen district councillors of the Gore District, of the principles upon which you have administered and still intended to administer the government of this colony, feeling satisfied as we do, that such principles are strictly in accordance with the usages and practice of a representative form of government ; and are grateful for the firm avowal of Your Excellency, that you 118 ADDRESSES AND REPLIES. 1' ' if Pii ht will never be tlie traitor to sign the death-warrant of British connection. It has indeed aiforded us the greatest satisfaction and delight, to witness the prompt and energetic manner in which our fellow subjects have come forward in all parts of Upper Canada to declare their strong approbation of the course which Your Excellency felt it your duty to pursue, and that your conduct has met with the most unqualified approbation of our most gracious Sovereign and of her government, feeling convinced that such combined support cannot fail to carry Your Excellency triumphantly through the difficulties with which a few ambitious and designing men have sur- rounded Your Excellency ; at a time, too, when the interests of the country required the united exertions of all parties to establish prosperity and contentment. As the faithful subjects of an empire, not only the greatest and most just, but whose constitution and government is the best and freest on earth, we cannot withhold from Your Excellency the expression of our condemnation and abhor- rence at the policy of the late councillors, in their attempt to pervert and prostitute the great principles of responsible government to their own selfish and factious purposes, and which sneeringly stigmatizes loyalty (the grateful and natural principle of every honest subject) as a reproach, and charges upon the colonist as a total disqualification for office, and a stigma, that in the hour of his country's need he had been true to his allegiance and faithful to his Sovereign. As one of the numerous instances that may be adduced of the dishonesty of their pretensions, we may mention the bill relating to the customs, which they themselves declared was at o::ce absolutely necessary, and would save thousands of pounds annually of the public money ; and yet they not only thwarted and prevented that measure from becoming a law, but from a factious spirit of odious partizanship, in every way in their power impeded the whole business of the country. Their policy, too, since their retirement, can only be calcu- lated to poison the contentment of the people, and to sap the very foundation of British authority, by sev:^ing its strongest ties, the affection and respect of the colonist for the mother country. The avowal of Your Excellency, not to uphold aiiu favour any one class of the community to the unjust exclusion of their fellow subjects, but to govern with equal justice to all, of whatever party or creed, awarding merit according to its deserts ; and your endeavours to soften and allay the violence SECOND RIDING OF THE COUNTY OF YORK. 119 of party, which has so deeply wounded the interests of this young colony, and to unite all classes in harmony and peace, are sentiments which find an echo in our breasts, in common with every well-wisher of our country. The prompt action of the home government, and the soli- citude shewn by them when difficulties beset this country, and their entire sanction and approval of the patriotic conduct of Your Excellency, we hail with gladness, as the assurance that Canada will not be lost or given away; but that with British hearts and liberal measures, its inhabitants will yet become united, prosperous and happy. In conclusion, we beg to assure Your Excellency of our entire confidence in Your Excelh jy's government, and to tender to Your Excellency our warmest thanks and gratitude, for the cheering assurance " that you will not spontaneously separate yourself from this province, while difficulties remain to be surmounted," as we feel assured that every man not blinded by party, must now see that Your Excellency's cause is the cause of his country. Words are indeed inadequate to express our feelings towards one, who with utter disregard for self, at the price of his own peace, and at the risk of being un- successful in his government, willingly braved every thing for our welfare, shewing by his watchful care and anxious solici- tude, feelings and sentiments as the representative of the Sovereign, which now endear him to us as the protector and father of the people. That Your Excellency may long so continue, and that success may crown your honest efforts, Is our sincere prayer. (Signed on behalf of the meeting) Thomas Wright, Chairman, B. SwiTZER, Secretary, Chinguacousy, Feb. 17th, 1844. ANSWER. I receive, gentlemen, with the highest degree of satisfaction,, the assurance of your devotion to our most gracious Sovereign,, and of your approval of the conduct which it has been my duty to pursue, m order to pr ^sprve in allegiance to the crown,, this portion of the vast empire over which Her Majesty- reigns with the love and admiration of her people. I acknowledge with heartfelt thankfulness, the sentiment* of personal feeling towards myself which you have expressed with a warmth and generosity that demand my cordial grati- tude. lUO ADDRESSES AND UEPL1E8. I came to Canada in order to devote myself to its welfare. I foi'nd I fine country, rich in natural resources, and capable of great prosperity ; seeing or conceiving that dissension was the great bane of the province, it became my anxious desire to unite all parties in the bonds of peace, conciliation and brotherly love. A counteracting spirit prevailed in the quarter in which I ought to have been most zealously aided. 1 could not consent to conduct the administiation of the government on exclusive party principles — on principles of proscription which precluded equal justice to all, and instead of concilia- ting, could not fail to irritate a large portion of Her Majesty's subjects, and to perpetuate animosities and party strife. Neither could I assent to the degradation of the office of representative of Her Majesty to the condition of a mere tool in the hands of a party, with a view to those party purposes which could not otherwise be accomplished. Hence a cry has been raised accusing me of hostility to responsible government, although responsibility to the people has influenced me in every act, and notwithstanding that I had pursued and was pursuing, to a degree unknown in any other colony in the world, the mode of responsible govern- ment which I had found but recently established here. If any proof were wanting of my anxiety to carry on the government according to the system of responsibility, it would be found in the delay which has taken place in the completion of the Executive Council, owing solely to my desire to form such a council as, possessing my confidence, would also be likely to obtain that of the representatives of thepeople. Tlie unfounded cry raised against me has partially accom- plished its purpose with the party disposed to uphold those from whom my duty compelled me to differ ; and not only have I been unscrupulously charged with denying that which I have affirmed, but what is an infinitely greater evil, the good of the country has been sacrificed to party purposes, and measures have been crushed by party power which were declared to be necessary for the welfare of the province, by the same party that first introduced and then destroyed them. Every effort has been and is being made to embitter the people against me personally, to persuade them that I am opposed to their rights and liberties, and thereby to obstruct Her Majesty's government ; to substitute collision in lieu of co-operation, and consequently to impede the progress of prosperity in the colony, and endanger our connection with the mother country. HOUSE OF ASSKMBLY OF NEW BRUNSWICK. 121 I trust that these attempts will fail, and that the good sense of the great majority of the people will perceive that there is in reality no question at issue which could warrant opposition to Her Majesty's government, or the withholding of that support which all loyal subjects are hound to ai!ord when there is no just cause for the contrary. It has been most gratifying to me to receive from nume- rous quarters, addresses similar In spirit to the one which you liave presented, all assuring me that my honest intentions for the welfare of the province and the administration of the government are appreciated and approved, and that I shall be supported in my endeavours to promote equal justice to all races, classes and creeds, the extinction of party feuds, the establishment of harmony and mutual good will, the reward of meritorious service to the state, the oblivion of political offences, economy in the public expenditure, the advancement of useful works, and the adoption of every just and liberal measure tending to the prosperity and happiness of Canada, in connection with the British empire, and with equal regard to the prerogative of the crown and the rights of the people ; which instead of being at variance, are main- tained in unison for the general good. HOUSE OF ASSEMBLY OF NEW BRUNSWICK. May it please Your Excellency, We, the rppresentatives of the people of New Brunswick, in parliament assembled, deem it a duty we owe alike to Your Excellency and the loyal constituency of this province, to express our high admiration of the constitutional principles promulgated by Your Excellency in the recent memorable conflict with Your Excellency's late advisers. If this had occurred in a colony unconnected with British North America, we might have abstained from a declaration of our sentiments, but considering ourselves as a portion of Your Excellency's government, we cannot refrain from offer- ing an assurance of our firm determination to uphold Your Excellency in maintaining the prerogatives of the crown, invaded as we conceive them to have been by the extraordi- nary claims of your late council. We appreciate too highly the inestimable blessings we enjoy under our benign government, where the rights and privileges of all are well known and defined, to disregard any R 122 ADDRRS8KS AND REPLIES. attempt at iiifrlrififemcnt, whether it be aimed at the crown or the people, and we tlierefore Iiesi^ate not to express our firm belief, that if the extrava/rant demands ma(le upon Your Excellency had been granted, monarchical institutions on this continent must soon have ceased to exist. We indulge the confident expectation, that the noble stand Your Excellency hiis taken will meet the approbation of our most gracious and beloved Queen ; and that the loyal people of British North America will be found ever ready to rally round Her Majesty's representative, in maintaining principles, BO conducive to the ha})piness of the subject, and the safety, ];u)nour <^nd dignity of the crown. .1, (Signed) J. Weldon, Speaker, ANSWER. Gentlemen, — I receive with the highest satisfaction your loyal and patriotic address, and thank you cordially for the assurance which it conveys of your determination to uphold me in maintaining the prerogative of the crown, against the attempt of certain members of the late Executive Council of Canada, to extort stipulations which would have prostrated the authority of Her Majesty's government, and destroyed monar- chical institutions in this province. It is the peculiar advantage of the British constitution, that the honour and dignity of the Sovereign are in unison with the rights and liberties )f the subject, and that no true friend of the people seeks the degradation of the crown. ''"' '' I hail the sentiments expressed in your address with the greater gratification, because I am sensible that they are poured forth from British hearts, which would resist any invasion of the liberties of the people, as firmly as they now reprobate a daring attack on the royal prerogative; and I sJiould receive with shame the support which you afford, were I not conscious that in defending the prerogative of the crown, I am no less resolved to uphold the rights of the sub- ject, and to maintain inviolate the institutions established in this province, with an anxious desire to see them accomplish the welfare of the community. , . ,,.. , , , , ; ,. jir r- JUi'-il.- 1 ! -th '3 is ; .• i COUNTY OF CHARLOTTE, NEW BRUNSWICK. /'*(■-'. ■ t . .4 ., .^..-1 , I'* J May it please Your Excellency, \Mi. We, the undersigned inhabitants of the county of Char- lotte, in the province of New Brunswick, beg most respect- BROCK DISTRICT-WAnDEV AND COUNCILLORS. I2d that fully to express our high p^ratification at the manly and constitutional course recently pursued by Your Excellency towards the members of the Lxecutive council in the province of Canada, a course which we believe to be so well calculated to put down the spirit of faction, and to inspire confidence in the breasts of the loyal and well-disposed subjects of Her Majesty in that province. While we, as British subjects, desire to see the government of a colony conducted on liberal and enlipjhtened principles, we would strongly deprecate a policy which would sacrifice the just and undoubted prerogatives of the crown to the interested and ambitious views of a faction ; and therefore feel rejoiced that Your Excellency has so nobly evinced your determination to maintain those prerogatives, and at the same time to secure to the people their just rights and liberties. (Signed) Thos. Wyer, (And 95 others.) ANSWER. I beg you, gentlemen, to accept my warmest thanks for the sentiments conveyed to me in your loyal address. It is highly gratifying to me to learn that my conduct in resisting unconstitutional demands has the approval and sympathy of so many of my fellow subjects ; and I rejoice at this the more, because I am confident that their support pro- ceeds from their doing me the justice to believe, that the same sense of duty which guided me in that instance, would make me at all times a stedfast supporter of the rights and liberties of the people. • •. .. i ,- Yi7:^ BROCK DISTRICT— WARDEN AND COUNCILLORS. , May it please Your Excellency, We, Her Majesty's most dutiful and loyal subjects, rti^ Warden and such of the Councillors of the Brock District whose names are subscribed, not in council assembled, avail ourselves of the opportunity afforded us by being collected together for the performance of our official duties, to assure Your Excellency of our devoted attachment to the person and fovernment of our most gracious Sovereign, and of our anxious esire to maintain inviolate the connection existing between this colony and the parent state — a connection based upon mutual interest, affection, and confidence. It was with no ordinary degree of satisfaction and gratitude that we learnt that her Majesty's government had selected, as 124 ADDRKSSRS AND RRPLIP.8. i I ; ) in a successor to our lute Governor General — the ever-to-be-* lamented Sir Charles Ba^ot — an indiviiluul po8.seNMin|^ the high and honourable distinction that Your Excellency has no long sustained as a statesman, in the manner in which you have conducted the government of some of the most impor- tant colonies of the British empire. Our confidence and satisfaction were increased, and the permanent tranquillity of the country seemed about to be secured, by the liberal and enlightened character of the legislative measures which were introduced to Parliament under the auspices of Your Excel- lency's administration. But, we regret to stiite, that these cheering prospects have been dissi|)ated, and an unwonted degree of melancholy disappointment spread over the minds of the people, by the unfortunate misunderstanding which has arisen between Your Excellency and your late advisers, upon the subject of responsible government — a question which we fondly hoped had been for ever at rest, in as far as Canada was concerned. Permit us respectfully to express our belief, that Your Excellency has been deceived and misled as to the true state of feeling in the country with regard to the conduct of your late Executive Council; and that this misapprehension in Your Excellency's mind has been produced by the misrepre- sentation of a small but active party in the community. I rom the intimate knowledge we possess of the views of our con- stituencies, we beg confidently to assure Your Excellency that, at whatever time the people of the District of Brock may be appealed to on these important matters, they will emphatically corroborate the assertions we now make. ' ' In the absence from Your Excellency of advisers in whom the country have confidence, we have thus freely expressed our opinions, believing thai Your Excellency only requires to know the real state of public opinion, in order to conduct your government in such a manner as will be for the prosperity of the country, and the true dignity of the empire, of which it is our happiness to form a part. .*. Ua .,: :*vv tt»it «v<#i*!i • In conclusion, we fervently pray that your Excellency may be guided bv an over-ruling Providence, to pursue such a policy as will redound to your own fame, and secure the approbation of our most gracious Sovereign, and the deep and lasting gratitude of her Canadian subjects. ' Dated at Woodstock, this 16th day of February, 1844. ij (Signed) Solomon Lossino, Chairman, T' iiJ ; ■ • i...' ;. •« : ' "t: (And 10 others.) tU M'ti'>'. i>f,t! tM^^ . ('ti ''■// Hill liHorK nisTn!rT-WAin)F.N Avn fotrNrrij.oH.s. 125 ANSWr.U. .•,;.t I rt«C(MV(», ^( iitloitUMi, with y^rcat ^ratifii-atioii, flit* assurance conveyiMl in your address, of your ral oloi-tion, wliielt I hope will n<»t bo nt'coH- sury before the time ap|)ointe- 'v,^ .> ,. ■ , '.^.:.:i.^/ ^, ;,■ .ir^ ^r. TOWNSIIII' (>|- TIIOKAII. 1*27 TOVVNSllll' OK TIIOIIAII. Miiy it |)K'aHi' Your Kxi'dlcncy, VV(>, t\w uiidcrsi^^iKMl iiiliultitaiitH of tlio towtiHliip of Tliorali, ill tlio Iloim> District, uiul pniviiu'c of Ounadu, l>o^ l(!uvt> inoHt iimnhly to approach your Kxccllcncy with tiie UNNuruncc of (h'votod Uiyalty to our htdovod Sovorid^ii the Queen, ardent attachment to the Jiritish couHtitution, und earneNt (h>Nirc to perpetuate thu connexion between thi» coh)ny and the mother country. We deem it, at thin important crisiM, to he our duty moHt rcHpectfuliy to tender to Vour KxceMency, our humi)ie hut firm Nupport in the courNC of |)olicy you have been pU>aHed to udopt HI rehition to tiie Nuiiject of responsil)U> government, l»ein^ well satisfied, that to defend the prerogatives of the crown is in other words to muintuin thu rigiits und privileges of the people. We hail with feelings of satisfaction Your Hxcellency's declaration, that you are resolved to govern this province on British principles of impartiality and justice ; that the patron- age of the crown is to be exercised without distinction of races or political party ; and that office ought in every instance to be given to the man best qualified to render efficient service to the state, and not to be prostituted to party pur- poses or the purchase of influence. We fervently pray *or the success of Your Excellency's exertions to allay the asperity of party spirit, and promote the best interests of all classes of Her Majesty's subjects; that you may enjoy uninterrupted health, und that this province may long prosper under the auspices of your administration. ANSWER. I receive, gentlemen, vi^ith high satisfaction, the assurance of your devoted loyalty to our beloved Sovereign, of your ardent uttachment to the British constitution, and of your earnest desire to perpetuate the connexion between this colony and the mother country. I thank you cordially for your tender of support in the course which it has been my bounden duty to adopt, in resist- ing unconstitutional demands, of which the object was to extort the surrender of the prerogative of the crown into the hands of a party, for party purposes. You most truly remark. 128 ADDPP.SSKS AND REPLIES. that the defence of the prerogative of the crown was in reality the maintenance of the rights and privileges of the people. I am happy to learn that you concur with me in the opinion that the patronage of tlie crown ought to be exercised with impartiality and justice, witl. .t distinction of races or parties, and in order to secure the employment of the men best quali- fied to render efficient ser/Ice to the state; and that it ought not to be prostituted for the purchase of party influence. The fervent prayers with which you conclr.de your address demand my warmest gratitude. You justly appreciate my anxious desiie to promote the best interests of all classes of her Majesty's subjects; and exceedingly should I rejoice, if I saw a more contain prospect of being able to allay the asperity of party spirit, and ioi'^ tin hearts in harmony and union for the general welfare. Late events hav(.» not tended to encourage me in such a hope; but I cannot reproach myself for my disap- pointment. It is owing to those who, prominent in influence, and possessing, in a degree unexampled in this colony, power to do good, would not avail themselves of it ; would not be satisfied v.itliout trampling Oii . le crown; and, failing to ex- tort my submission to that purpose, wantonly endeavoured to throw the country into f^gitation, on a false pretence, without either jus*" cause or rational object. With this view they have engaged in unceasing misrepresentation of my conduct and motives in difficulties which are of their own creation, excit- ing the people, and in some portions of the province stirring to organise them in opposition to her Majesty's government, reckless of the extent to which it may proceed, and well knowing that every repetition of such excitement must tend to loosen the ties which hold this colony and the parent state together in aflectionjite union ; unable all the while to adduce one single act on my part that is injurioT'S to the rights and liberties of the people, or that merits, in tne slightest degree, the aspersions that they scatter abroad to produce disaffection against me. By the blessing of the Almighty, there are a host of men in Canada of sound constitutional principles, true friends and supporters of civil and religious freedom, who will, I trust, duly estimate the conduct of my assailants, and mine, and do justice between us. , , .., ,.,.,<, :• :•{ EASTERN DISTRICT. 12d ,1 ■' t(V,l ',i\\ t \ ,. . ,' EASTERN DISTRICT. •ft f. fi ■' •;!! t M) It ii f May it please ifour Excellency, ' ' ' • ' '•' '• • We, the undersigned freeholders and inhabitants of the Eastern District, be^ 'eave to approach Your Excellency as the representative of our most j^racious Queen, with senvi- inents of devotion and unalterable attachment to her person aad ffoveri:ment —of our earnest desire to maintain inviolate the rights and privileges of her crown, and of oar firm deter- mination to maintain and perpetuate the happy connexion of this colony with the parent state. ; : '^ •«. :,;«'. We desire to offer to Your Excellency the assurance of our entire confidence in the purity and singiencsn of your inten- tions, in your anxious desire to secure tlie welfare of Canada, and the integrity of the British empire, and while it is to us a source of deep regret that there is yet to be found in this province, a portion of its inhabitants so deluded as to require from Your Excellency stipulations in regard to the exercise of the prerogatives of the crown, vv'hich vre consider unconsti- tutional, and tantamount to a virtual demand for the surren- der of those rights into the hands of a party for party purpo- ses, which the constitution has wisely vested in you as the representative of our Sovereign for the good of the whole community— -we cannot but admire the noble stand which Your Excellency has taken in resisting those unjustifiable demands— demands wliich if conceded, would reduce the authority of Her Majesty's government to a mere nullity, and as a, consequence sever that connection with the mother coun- tey which we so dearly prize. We cannot bring ourselves to believe that it is the desire ef tlie people of this province that all offices of honour and euiolument, are to be regarded as so many bribes, with which to purchase the parliamentary support of our representatives, and we trust that the day is far distant, when a system will prevail in this province, so republican and anti-British, as that of ejecting all officials, from the highest to the lov/est, in order to make room for the needy partisans of each and every faction, which may happen for the time to be in the ascendant — ^ system to which we fear the attempts of your late coun- cil were but the introductory steps. For ourselves, we repu- diate such a system, and from our hearts we respond to the declaration of Your Excellency, " that office ought in every instance to be given to the man" best qualified to render efficient service to the state. s 130 ADDRBSSBS AND AEFLIES. We doubt not but Your Excellency will be enabled to form an administration composed of men, who will enjoy the con- fidence of the moderate of all parties, and whose object will be to do equal justice to all, and to advance the true interests of the province by prudent and cautious legislation, instead of abusmg power by rash and hasty experiments, by the intro- duction of novel and impractic: ble measures alien to the feel- ings of the people, unequal and unjust in their operation, and odious and inquisitorial in their character. n :r'v !• v If those who address Your Excellency have not been among the first to tender to Your Excellency their unqualified sup- port, the undoubted reputation for loyalty which has ever distinguished the inhabitants of the Eastern District, will the^ trust be a sufficient assurance to Your Excellency that it has not been because they were on this occasion wanting to themselves, or forgetful of the blessings which the Sovereign Disposer of events has vouchsafed to them under the mild and beneficent sway of British rule. For the noble and patriotic sentiments enunciated in th^' manly and straightforward reply of Your Excellency tr 'h.-- Warden and Councillors of the Gore district, we cordially thank Your Excellency : they met with our warmest appro- bation; and, we feel assured, that the loyal and well disposed throughout the length and breadth of the land, require no more themselves, and will never sanction the demand for more in others. Approved, as we are gratified to hear that Your Excel- lency's course has been, by your Sovereign and all classes of our fellow subjects at home, and supported as we feel assured you will be by the wise and the good in this province, we con- fidently hope, that Your Excellency will safely guide the vessel of state through the break'^rs with which the wiles of de- signing men have surrounded it; and that through Divine Providence, your administration may form a bright era in our annals; and that when the weight of declining years shall force Your Excellency to resign your high trus^ you may return in triumph to the beloved land of our fathers, there to spend the evening of your days, followed by the prayers of grateful thousands in this and other climes, and cheered by the recollection of having, upon all occasions, and under all circumstances, faithfully performed your duty to your Queen and country. •I...!' •>(t I 'I'. OTTAWA DISTRICT. 131 ANSWER. The assurance, gentlemen, which you convey to me, of your devoted and unalterable attachment to the person and government of our most gracious Queen, of your earnest desire to uphold inviolate the prerogatives of her crown, and of your determination to maintain and perpetuate the happy connection of this colony with the parent state, afford unquali- fied satisfaction, and demand my grateful acknowledgments. Her Majesty relies with confidence on the love and loyalty of her Canadian subjects, of which abundant proofs have been afforded in times past, and are likewise manifested in the numerous addresses which late events in this province have elicited. My warmest thanks are due to you for the affectionate sentiments and wishes which you have expressed towards me. My constant aim will be to merit such feelings, by showing in every act of my administration, tl;at I have at heart the welfare and happiness of this country. Long may it be one of the most splendid gems of the British crown ; long may it flourish a land of liberty, loyalty, industry, and enter- prize, increasing daily in population and wealth, a place of refuge and comfort for a large portion of the superabundant numbers which the genius of Britain sends forth to fertilize and civilize the untenanted regions of the earth. Long may the happy connection of the United Kingdom and this colony in i;he voluntary bonds of mutual affection, be an unfailing source of benefit and prosperity to both ; and long may Canada re- joice in aiding and upholding the grandeur, might, and integ- rity of the British empire. In these aspirations I shall, I am sure, have the hearty con- currence of the inhabitants of the Eastern District, who yield to none in loyalty and devotion to their Queen and country. '.[■.■ ■ ■■'.-■'. I ., WARDEN & COUNCILLORS OF THE OTTAWA DISTRICT. May it please Your Excellency, We, her Majesty's dutiful and loyal subjects, the under- signed Warden and Councillors of the Ottawa District, (comprising the counties of Prescott and Russell, in Canada West,) would very respectfully repeat to your Excellency our unaltered attachment to the Royal pers6n and crown of our most gracious Queen, our steadfast adherence to the British K1 132 APDRESSES AND REPLIES. (Constitution, and our most cordial wishes for an indissoluble connexion between Canada and the British Empire. On this earliest occasion of our assembling to|;rether since the resignation of your late Executive Councillors, we feel impelled no less by duty to the royal representative, than by a sense of sincere gratitude to your Excellency for your uncompromising firmness at that conjuncture of our public affairs, to give the at jve assurance, and at the same time to express our united unqualified approval of your Excellency's magnanimous defence of the prerogative of the crown from the unconstitutional restrictions then attempted to be put upon it, followed by your able and dignifiecl vindication of that act, in face of the many formidable misrepresentations and previous misapprehensions which the occasion gave rise to. We, in common with all other loyal subjects of her Majesty in r '♦^d Canada, can wish for no other greater freedom than ' itended so freely to follow from the time- tried constitution of the parent state, in which the prerogative of the sovereign is so important and active an element, and the free exercise of which prerogative, in honouring the merito- rious, and rewarding the deserving, irrespectively of party considerations to guide it, is so generously fostered by a free and mighty people there. And while we consider the principles of that constitution, carried out by the careful hand of practical experience as far as these can safely and usefully be adapted to our condition as colonists, to be altogether sufficient for our perfect freedom and security, and our advancement in prosperity and hap- piness, we cannot too strongly deprecate any encroachment or innovation on that noble fabric, which has proved itself at once so acceptable and suited to our habits and predilections, and is so dear to our affections and feelings as being handed down from our forefathers. To these expressions of our sentiments your Excellency will permit us to add those of our heartfelt esteem and good wishes for you personally. We feel a well grounded confi- dence, from your extensive and signal success as a statesman, that under Providence you will be enabled to conciliate all classes in Canada to a just appreciation of our enviable privileges as British subjects, and by removing every obstacle to our public affairs being administered on the sound monar- chical principles of the British constitution, favourably modified to the circumstances of our state as colonists, you will be successful in establishing the government of united •OTTAWA DISTRICT. 133 Canada on a well defined and permanent basis: and for these objects your Excellency may be assured of our humble, yet sincere confidence and support. -'i.''r,.. (Signed) Court House, L'Orignal, 13th February, 1844. Chas. a. Low, Wardcih^ O. D. Chauncy Johnson, AllCHIBALI) PeTUIE, William Edwards, : • Thomas Hiooinson, , ,, . Neil Stewart, James Conway, , Hugh M'Niel, Edwin M'M aster, DoND. M'Donald, (F.) D. C. answer. I receive, gentlemen, with the highest satisfaction the expression of your u. alterable attachment to the royal person and crown of our most gracious Queen, of your steadfast adherence to the British constitution, and of your most cordial wishes for an indissoluble connection between Canada and the British empire. These are sentiments worthy of loyal subjects, and it must gladden the heart of our beloved Sove- reign, to know that they are warmly cherished by the people of this Province. I thank you gratefully for the kind feelings towards me which your address conveys, and for the judicious opinions which it contains on the subject recently agitated. You seize the true point for consideration when you notice your con- dition as colonists. The principles of the British constitution are fully established here : and the practical working of it has been adopted as far as that is possible consistently with the connection of a colony with the mother country. The Legislative power is vested in the crown and the two houses of parliament. The executive power is in the crown, represented by a governor, who is aided by a council of advice, consisting of heads of departments, and responsible to the people and their representatives for executive measures. The government is conducted for the good of the people, and according to their wishes. This is the constitution of Canada; and with good sense, moderation, and honest co-operation for the public welfare, it may be successfully worked. But supposing the Executive Council to be supreme, and the Governor to be merely an instriuneut for putting the sign 134 ADDRESSES AND REPLIES. manual to their dictations — ^which is the sort of constitution aimed at by a party — the authority of the crown would then be a nullity. The council would usurp all the Executive authority; all the prerogative of the crown; all the distribu- tion of patronage. The Executive Council would nominate the Legislative Council, and would wield all the powers of the House of Assembly, whether they were the leaders or the servants of that body. All the power and functions of the government would be monopolized by the Executive Council, or the House of Assembly, as the case might be. In such a constitution where would be the crown ? Where the supre- macy of the mother country? This is not the constitution of a limited monarchy. This is not the British constitution. Neither is it the constitution of Canada. It is not, I believe, the constitution of any state in existence; for even in the most republican constitutions the powers of government are more carefully distributed among diiferent authorities. Those must be blind who do not see the manifest difference between an independent state and a colony; between an old and a new country; between one overflowing with capital and population, and one needing both; between one in which a wealthy aristocracy possesses great influence, and another in which no such influence exists; between a country in which the practical mode of governing Is regulated by a nice balance of counterpoising influence, and one in which the means of producing the same balance are wanting; between the existence of a state of things in one country which have been the gradual work of ages, and the attempt to transfer the same state of things by word of command to a country in most respects widely opposite ; in short between the United Kingdom and Canada ; differences which would render what might be the same thing in name very different in reality in the two countries. What is the inference to be drawn from these differences? Not that the people of Canada are less free than those of the mother country. Not that their rif;hts and liberties are less sacred. Not that the measures of the government will be other than liberal. Not that responsible government is denied or Impaired, but that It must be conducted consider- ately and carefully for the public good, and not to the exclu- sive domination of a party. It is as much the duty of the friend of the people, as it is of the servant of the crown, to . resist the tyranny of an oligarchy which would trample on ' both. ■ ^5*^. It would make me beyond measure happy if I could realize COUNTY OF TWO MOUNTAINS. ia5 tlie prospect wliicli you present, and be enabled to conciliate all classes in Canadii, and establish the government on a well defined and permanent basis. Whatever nwiy be my fortune in that respect, 1 shall not cease to devote my earnest efforts to promote the welfare of the Province, and the happiness of its inhabitants, considering it to be equally my duty to guard the prerogative of the crown, and uphold the rights of the people. COUNTY OF TWO MOUNTAINS. May it please Your Excellency, We, Her Majesty's dutiful and loyal subjects, the inhabi- tants of the seigniory of Argenteuil, and of the township of Wentworth and the Gore of Chatham, in the district of Two Mountains, beg leave to approach Your Excellency, for the purpose of adding our testimony to that of the many thou- sands of our fellow-colonists, whose addresses have declared their approval of Your Excellency's conduct in the adminis- tration generally of the government of this colony, and par- ticularly under the trying circumstances under which Your Excellency was placed during the progress of recent political events. In reviewing the history of those events, the first and most interesting point presented to our notice, is the claim put forth by the late Executive Council to the exclusive disposal of the patronage of the crown. It is unnecessary to allude in this address to the obvious consequences that would result from the concession of that claim; we shall confine ourselves, therefore, under this head, to the simple declara- tion, that the stand taken by Your Excellency upon that occasion, was in our opinion not only strictly constitutional, but absolutely necessary for the protection of our rights and liberties as British subjects. While we are sincerely desirous that the principle of government conceded to the people of this province under the administration of the late Lord Sydenham, and known as responsible government, may exercise its legitimate influ- ence, we are not willing that that principle should be allowed to interfere with the spirit of monarchy inherent in the con- stitution. ';' r ;}/ \ ; "' Among the feelings and motives that have prompted this demonstration, we beg to assure Your Excellency, that the spirit of party or of nationality finds no place ; and we devoutly trust, that under the able and impartial government 136 ADDRESSES AND REPLIES. of Your Excellency, assisted by a council of approrefl patriot- ism and ability, the ]>eople of this colony, ot every race and of every shade of politics, will be brouj^ht to feel, that national prosperity and happiness can be secured only by the peaceful and united efforts of the whole. That the Almij^hty Disposer of events will be pleased to make Your Excellency the instrument of great and perma- nent good to this colony, and that He will grant to you health, length of days, and that peace which the world cannot give, is the sincere prayer of the subscribers. (Signed, with the exception of about 20 persons, by the whole male population, amounting to upwards of 700. -Ill ♦M-' ANSWER. Accept, gentlemen, my cordial thanks for your public- spirited and kind address. It is highly gratifying to me to learn, that my conduct in resisting uucoustitutionul demands, has your approval and support. ,j[j ,|J .i'»!»''f!..-i >i',.' iicT-' . '! rv'\': iUHfUtA) Ihe system of responsible government established under the administration of Lord Syoenham, is the recognised form of administration in this colony. No one in the slightest degree acquainted with that nobleman's administration of the government, or with his public and private correspondence, since given to the world, can for an instant suppose that ii; was his' intention, or that of Her Majesty's government, that the authority of the crown and the supremacy of the British nation should be reduced to a nullity, and the governor, repre- senting both, be rendered a mere tool in the hands of a party. It is against that monstrous perversion of the admirable principle of responsible government that I have been <;Qn;^ tending, and I rejoice to find that you concur with me, « , 4 ,' Ever since the events which threw the country into a state of agitation and apprehension, I have been endeavouring to form a council, on whose advice and assistance I can rely in conducting the administration of the governnnent according to the interests and wishes of the people, and with the confidence and support of their representatives. My wishes in this respect have hitherto been only partially effected ; but not- withstanding the obsttuctions studiously (M)posed to me, the completion of that desirable object will, I trust, be accom- plished. rrmuihi^>jf^^ im t #!i«r«f^B ol \^d %w Wiit^timimiVih •nij o*r wMfft yjihmmUtii *h> 'fo yfsmi in Jrn /ir- bilimfttii: iHrn'Ma -mS^ if,'kun MM jiMf^ f^myrMt COUNTY OF RUSSELL. 137 a ir. {i-ii TOWNSHIP OF AMHERST ISLAND. May it please Your Excellency, We, the inhabitants of the township of Amherst Island, assembled in public meeting, beg leave to approach Your Excellency with an assurance of our high admiration of the course adopted by Your Excellency in dismissing from the councils of Her Majesty the late Executive. V^e are thank- ful that at this juncture it has pleased Providence to place Your Excellency at the head of affairs, in whose wisdom and experience we feel unlimited confidence. We hope and believe Your Excellency has truiy judged the people of Canada — for ourselves, permit us humbly to tender our sincere and grateful support. (Signed on behalf of the meeting) ■^j( John L. Cummins, D, C., Clmirman, I : ANSWER. I thank you heartily, gentlemen, for your generous assur- ance of confidence and support. I trust that you will never see reason to withdraw them, for my earnest desire will ever be to advance the welfare of the people of Canada. Whatever difficulties may arise, that will be steadily the object of my endeavours; and on the loyal feelings by which you are animated, I rely for ultimate success. ; : , ^M; I! m!'. [The Publishers have used their best endeavours to include all the Addresses which have been presented, but it is probable that some have escaped observation. The follow- ing Replies are given alone, the Publishers not having been able to procure copies of the Addresses to which they refer.] ,,, , . ,;.,; ,, ,) •'" •'')ii'»iir»i!.'i"| ANSWER To the Address from the Freeholders and other Inhabitants of the Cowity .;.' of Russell, Ottawa District. .,!: >,. .1 I thank you, gentlemen, cordially, for your loyal, patriotic, and constitutional address. ' ' : At a time when an insidious attempt is made to prostrate Her Majesty's government in Canada to an unexampled condition of subserviency, which would be tantamount to its overthrow, it is highly satisfactory to observe the public sj)irit and generous zeal with which those who rightly appreciate 138 ADDRES8K8 AND IIKPLIKH. tlje connection subsisting between tbis colony mid tbe Dritisli empire, come forward in Hiipport of Her Majesty's repre- sentative, in bis endeavours to maintain tiiis province in true allegiance to our jrracious Sovereijrii, and to render it pros- perous and bappy as an integral portion of Her Majesty'^ dominions. -, . Tbe objects of tbe party wbo are bent on obstructing" tbe government, and wbo are actively engaged in exciting dis- affection against me by tbe most unscrupulous misrepresenta- tions, are now disclosed beyond tbe probability ot miscon- ception. It is manifest tbat tbey aim at tbe following state of tbnigs : Tbat tbe autbority of Her Majesty in tbis province should be a nullity ; tbat tbe Governor sboidd be a subser- vient tool in tbe hands of tbe Executive Council; tbat tbe Legislative Council should be elected by tbe Executive Council ; tbat tbe Executive Council should be in reality nominated by tbe House of Assembly. The autbority of tbe Crown and of tbe Legislative Council being tbus annihilated, and every balance In tbe constitution destroyed, tb^ wbole power of tbe state would be usurped by either tbe Executive Council exercising undue interference over tbe House of Assembly, or by the House of Assembly eJcercising unlimited interference in the Executive Adminis- tration. It would be either a despotic and exclusive oligar- cby, or an absolute, unqualified democracy. Tbis, tl .'y pre- tend, is tbe responsible government granted to Canada by Her Majesty's Ministers. It is neitber tbe one nor the other. The British constitution is a limited monarchy, or a balance of tbe monarchical, aristocratic, and democratic powers, with- out tbe exclusive ascendancy of either ; the work of ages, progressively formed to suit tbe gradual changes in tbe social relations of the community; and the constitution granted to Canada is the same, as far as tbe same can be practically carried into operation in a colony. The constitution, as established by tbe arrangements of Lord Sydenham and by the resolution of September 1841, I am using, and shall continue to use, my anxious endeavours to work, through responsible heads of departments, for the benefit and contentment of the people of Canada, with the advice and co-operation of an Executive Council which will I trust obtain the confidence of the provincial parliament ; and if this cannot be done successfully, the blame will be justly due to those who, in the pursuit of unbridled power, have sought to destroy the constitution which they pretend to uphold, and are doing their utmost to obstruct the formation i TOWN OF KINOSTON. 139 of any rosponsiMo pfovoriimcnt, while their unfojmdod outcry is, thiit it \H iiitcntiuiitilly avoi(U' AN8WEU 1 1 , •■•|( To the Addrena Jrnm the M(tfri.sfrntcs^ FrccholdcrH, and oihiT InhahUaiUM of the Countji of Prcscott, Ottawa District. I bejr you, jrentlemen, to acce])t my cordial thanks for the loyal, patriotic, and constitutional 8entimcnt» conveyed tu me in your address. ' '• • , With such feelings predominant in Canada, the continuance of affectionate connection with the parent state is, humanly speaking, secure; and the reciprocal benefits which attend it nuiy be perpetuated. The prospect of pros|)erity to this country, under the protection of the British em])ire, is bound- less. I derive great encouragement from the assurance of )ur support in my endeavours to .administer the government r- ding to the principles of the Ikitish constitution, which unite inseparably a due respect for the authority of the crown, and a sincere regard for the voice of the people, whose welfare is the sole legitimate object for which any government exists. — To this object, my efforts wili be unceasingly directed. }; ti> ••" ANSWER 'ti ')V To the Address from the Freeholders and Inhabitants of the District of [ » Brock, in Canada West. I beg you, gentlemen, to accept my cordial thanks, for the assurance of concurrence and support conveyed in your address. I feel most deeply your concluding prayer, that I may succeed in crushing every attempt, however disguised, to separate this noble colony from the parent state. It is by the loyalty and good sense of the people, that such attempts, whenever made, will be crushed, as they heretofore have been, by the same means. The design of separation is not BOW avowed, and I should be loth to impute it to any one who denies it. The secret intentions of men's hearts are Iq^own only to the Almighty Seer of hidden things. The y niHTHUT OF nnncK. 141 ohjpcts Jif prosont manifestly {iIfikmI at, by Hr« p.irty who arc t'Xfitiiipf ohstriictioii to llcr Majesty's t;ovt'rmiH'iit, an*, tliat. tlio uutliority of the iTown sliall Uo a iiullity, fliat the (iovcr- nor Mliall ho n tool in tli(;ir hands, and that idl tin* powers of ovcry branch of the constitntion shall be nsinped and mono- j)oli/ed by an olijrarchy, who by any misrepri'sentation or iniNcoiiccption can obtain the su|)|)ort of a majority in the UouHc ot Assembly; so that there shall not be a vestiii;e of the royal prcroj^ative, or of any balance of p(»w«'r in the government. It is aj^ainst these extravagant and monstrons pretensions that I am now c()ntendin TUOMl'SON, PlUNTJiBS, TORONTO. jKiO. jfrvi'i.H/.i PAGE •• t y ... 50 ... 21 1 ... 91 ... 28 ... 69 ... 61 ... 78 ... 80 ... 114 ... 121 .... 116 ... 41 .... 54 .... 100 .... 112 . .. . y I . ... oo . ... 1 u ... 131 .... 89 .... 64 . .. . At t )m. 140 .... 40 .... 108 m . 137 .... 20 > • . • • ^t7 I . ... 0\j ..... 63 65 101 * 39 18 35 36 127 22 24 . • . • 1 Oti 37 15 ..... 45 58 117