'9TM 
 
 THE 
 
 Quebec Constitutional Question. 
 
 MOTION TO CENSURE THE LIEUTENANT-GOVERNOR. 
 
 Mr. MOUSSEAU : Mr. Speaker, he- 
 fore placing in your hands the motion I 
 gave notice of a few days ago, T desire 
 to ofl'er to the House, and to the coun- 
 try, a few remarks on the 8te[) I am 
 taking, and the motives which have led 
 me to take it. And, in the first place, 
 Mr. Speaker, in order to commend my- 
 self to the indulgence of the House, I 
 promise to do my very best to keej) up 
 to the level of my subject, that is to say, 
 to treat, it with becoming dignity and 
 moderation. The subject is most ini- 
 l)ortant in itself, and vastly so in its con- 
 sequences. There is one thing I desire 
 to say distinctly, at once. I would not 
 have it thought that party spirit has 
 been the motive of my resolution. No 
 man shall charge me with having brought 
 on this great question for party ]tur- 
 poses. I am a party man ; I am a Con- 
 servative, it is true ; and the question 
 involves the censuring, and probably 
 the dismissal, in consequence of such 
 censure, of a Liberal Lieutpnant-Gov; 
 ernor appointed in December, lbXo\ by 
 a Liberal Administration. And «H tlia 
 just at the close of an ele^j'-iop, duria^.^ 
 •which party spirit naturaOj", inn; liigh, 
 These three facts, of which 1 fiilly un- 
 derstand the bearing, render my position 
 a most difficult one, at all events at a 
 first glance and superficially. But this is 
 not the true way for enlightened and 
 thoughtful pereoRS like the members of 
 this House to view the matter. In the first 
 
 1 
 
 place, party spirit does not mean blind- 
 ness, exaggeration, want of patriotism. 
 Such m idea would be the death of our 
 free institutions. TliC object of political 
 parties is not the personal advancement 
 of their leaders and members. No, they 
 have a nobler destiny, a far higher aim. 
 Their end and object is to inculcate a 
 body of ideas, doctrines and principles, 
 social, economical and political, which 
 they believe to be advantageous to the 
 well-being of the people and the country. 
 No ; it is not a party question we are 
 about to discuss. We are to deal with 
 a great political principle, a great 
 national question, which interests every 
 Province in the Dominion. Let us treat 
 it as though we were about to write a 
 page of history to bo recorded in the 
 annals of our country for the instruc- 
 tion of our 8\tcces8ors and of posterity. 
 Through lack of experience and the 
 neces.sary knowledge, I shall probably 
 fall far short of the great task I have 
 undertaken. But one thing 1 believe I 
 pel fectly; well. understand. I can assure 
 thin .Ho'V^.A haY9 ^*^"" grasped the 
 heaving -pf the ccnji^ (Vital of the 2nd 
 March, l87.8, u\\ the dangers, all the 
 tempests it has laid up for us in tlie 
 future, if this first attempt against our 
 liberties bo not firmly repressed, if its 
 author be not severely punished. 
 I naturally regret that this violation 
 of the principle of responsible govern- 
 ment should occur in the Province of 
 
 56716 
 
M 8^7 
 
 3 
 
 Quebec, which I am proud to chiim for 
 my native Province. I regret that the 
 bad example sliould originate there ; hut 
 I must at the sain3 time declare that I do 
 not feel at all humiliated. It was said 
 formerly of a great nation that it was 
 rich enough to pay for its glory. The 
 Province of Quebec, Lord Dufferin tells 
 us — and all who have read our history 
 know that in this his Lordship says but 
 the truth — the Province of Quebec I say 
 was the first of the British North American 
 colonies to ask for responsible govern- 
 ment. If one of its sons, unworthy to 
 rank with the men of her glorious past, 
 lias sought to wrest that system of gov- 
 ernment, to attack it or set it aside, the 
 Province of Quebec may be forgiven, 
 when wo call to mind her heroic strug- 
 gles in the past. Moreover, Mr. Letel- 
 lier is the first, and will probably bo 
 the last of the race of political violators. 
 He will have no imitators, and party 
 spirit, in its most detestable sense, will 
 never be able to find him panegyrists. 
 Mr. Speaker, I now come to the facts. 
 I shall strive to be as brief and clear as 
 possible. But, in oider to have a proper 
 understanding of the subject, we must go 
 further hack than the Session of 1878. 
 The Province of Quebec had long wished 
 for a railway on the north side of the St. 
 Lawrence, in order to develop the vast 
 resources of every kind with which its 
 lands and forests and rivers teemed. 
 From 1852 or 1853 to 18G7, the question 
 was repeatedly discussed j but for lack 
 of means the agitation was fruitless, and 
 confined to the continuing of Acts of in- 
 corporation, and the forming and reform- 
 ing of companies destitute of capital. 
 As will be remembered, our means 
 were all being absorbed by the Grand 
 Trunk, which was enriching the south 
 side of the St. Lawrence and Upper Ca- 
 nada, while doing but little for ihe North 
 Shore, where a numerous, .•hpbtfet^ iiiJltiJJ- 
 trious population wer j ar^k^;i^^ 4W^itii>g' 
 their iron highway. ^ Cpnf<'deYgtipn„ by 
 giving to Quebec tlwl ex'etivail'e 61vrie'ixBiiir)< 
 of the public lands, revived llw?''iTOpes of 
 the supporters of the Grand Trunk of 
 the north. They were eager to participate 
 in the tide of activity, and the great pros- 
 perity which the other railways, like 
 arteries of generous life-blood, distributed 
 in their course. In 18G8 and 1869, the 
 Quebec Parliament passed several Acts 
 
 of incor})oration for a railway from 
 Quebec to Montreal, another from 
 Montreal to St. Jerome, and a third 
 from Montreal to Aylinei-. At first, 
 aid was confined to grants of land, and 
 later in lands and money. When the 
 constr«ction of the Canadian Pacific Rail- 
 way was decided upon, a twofold impe- 
 tus was given to the desire for railways 
 on the North Shore. This was due to 
 the fact that the j)eople of the Province 
 of Quebec understood perfectly well the 
 importance of connecting our railNvays 
 on the North Shore with the Pacific by 
 extending the road further, along the Otta- 
 wa. Having thus the shortest and most 
 direct line, the Province of Quebec hoped 
 to have its share of the profits and pros- 
 perity to result from the trade of the 
 west and of Asia. Nevertheless, in the 
 spring of 1875, the atteuipts to secure 
 loans in England by private companies 
 having utterly failed, other means had 
 to be found to complete the railway 
 already commenced between Montreal 
 and Ottawa, and to build the railway 
 from Quebec to Montreal, which was not 
 yet begun. At that trying moment, the 
 people of Quebec manifested a degree of 
 patriotism and public spirit seldonx 
 equalled, and, setting aside political 
 feeling, unanimously asked their Gov- 
 ernment to assume the position of 
 the piivate companies, and build the 
 railways with the public funds. There 
 was not a dissenting voice in the matter. 
 Liberals and Conservatives alike, in the 
 press and in public meetings, pressed the 
 matter on the Government. On this 
 point I feel sure no one will contradict 
 me. In June and July, the general elec- 
 tions took place for the Quebec House. 
 The DeBoucherville Government ap- 
 pealed to the people on that question. 
 They were victorious, having a majority 
 of 23 to 25 in a House of G5 members, 
 in papport .of their policy. About the 
 ^saibetihre, the Government made ar- 
 J'AngjeJTiants^with ]n-ivate companies and 
 jcoj-^pfotiiDi)-!} which had subscribed or 
 "vdted" 'bonuses, amongst others Quebec, 
 Monti'eal and other municipalities. Mon- 
 treal and Quebec, under certain condi- 
 tions, accepted by the Government, ])rom- 
 ised to pay — as to the first, the balance 
 of its million, and the second, the whole 
 of its million. Fortified by these prom- 
 ises and guaranties, the Government 
 
 h. 
 
8 
 
 went resolutely to work. They l)nilt 
 rapidly, in fact very iii|iully. Wlioii 
 they met the House, on the 17th 
 of January, 1878, they were in this 
 position: They hud ineurred doli^ in 
 order to build rapidly and satisfy the eagtir 
 wiehes of the people ; the line, luitweon 
 Montreal, St. Jerome and Ottawa, was 
 open to the public, but not quite fin- 
 ished, and was not, under tlie contracts, 
 to bo handed over to thera until the 1st 
 August then next; the line between 
 Quel)ec and Montreal, was also already 
 partly in operation, and the rest wa.s to 
 be finlsheil and handed over in the 
 *iiutuiun (1878); the cities of Quebec, 
 Three Rivers and Montreal, and rome 
 other municipalities, refused to pay 
 their subscriptions, giving reasons, for 
 the most part futile, and some not 
 bearing the stamp of good faith. Not- 
 withstanding these notable disadvan- 
 tages, the Government had to meet a 
 deficit of but $81,000. The Govarnment 
 then, without any immediate revenue 
 from its railways, hai to meet the de- 
 ficit mentioned ; and these wealthy and 
 powerful municipalities said, in efl'ect : 
 " Now that we have the railway, why 
 should we pay] Let the Government 
 pay." What was the duty of an honest 
 Goverument under such circumstances 1 
 To compel the recalcitrant corporations 
 and municipalities to pay, and levy a tax, 
 at once light and equitably divided, in 
 order to raeetthe deficit. Strictly speaking, 
 the Treasurer of the Province of Quebec 
 might have done as the Liberals are now 
 doing in Quebec — take the capital set 
 apart for railways to pay the interest of 
 our debt in England. But the Hon. 
 Mr. Chui'ch, a gentleman of high 
 integrity and honour, had already 
 been iu London to secure a 
 loan for the Province of Quebec. He 
 found, when there, that the credit of the 
 Province stood exceedingly high, and 
 si.v.ceeded, without difiiculty, in contract- 
 ing a loan on most advantageous terms, 
 as advantageous as any great nation, en- 
 joying the highest credit in England, 
 could obtain. But Mr. Church under- 
 stands, as everyone understands, for it is 
 nothing but common sense, that the best 
 means for a nation, as it is for an indi- 
 vidual, to maintain its credit, is to pay 
 the interest of its debt with its own re- 
 venues, and not by drawing upon its 
 
 capital and incurring fresh debt in order 
 to pay off the interest of previous in- 
 debtedness. On the 29th January, 
 1878, the r( solutions re.sj>ecting the 
 Quebec, Montreal, Ottawa, and Occi- 
 dental Ifailway — a name sulistituted for 
 those of the private companies — were 
 submitted to the Houses. I r(?ad from 
 the Votes and Proceedings of the Legis- 
 lative Assembly of the Province of 
 Quebec : — 
 
 " Mr. Attorney-General AngerR informed 
 the House that Hi8 Excellency the Lieutenant- 
 Governor, having taken communication of 
 certain resolutions respecting the yiieheo, 
 Montreal, Ottawa, and Occidental Railway, 
 has been pleased to recommend them to the 
 favourable consideration of the HouBe." 
 
 " Mr, Attorney-General Angers, seconded 
 by Mr. TreaHurer Church, moved that this 
 IIoHse do now go into Committee of the 
 Whole to consider the said resolutions."' 
 
 I shall not try the ])atience of the 
 House by ;,'oing throu^jh the details of 
 the Bill founded on those resolutions, t 
 shall only say, briifly, that the Govern- 
 ment, by that measure, took a most legi- 
 timate means of compelling payment by 
 debtors of most just debts already in part 
 overdue. These debts the Government 
 had c(jnsidered so good and sure 
 that they set them down as an asset, 
 when, in the fall Session of 1876, they 
 passed the Act to socure the 
 construction of the Queljec, Montreal, 
 Ottawa and Occidentid Railway. That 
 Bill declared in substance that when 
 the Railway should have been completed 
 with all dei)ots, workshops, etc., in ac- 
 cordance with all conditions subscribed 
 to by the Government in the agreements 
 passed between them and the private 
 companies and corporations, competent 
 engineers wi re to report thereon to the 
 Government. On that repoit, the 
 Lieutenant Governor in Council 
 was to decide, if he found it 
 correct, that the corporations were to 
 pay. After demand made, and delay 
 granted, if the corporations pei-sisted in 
 their refusal to pay, the .sheriff would 
 receive orders to collect the amount in 
 the usual way, just as a municipal 
 council is empowered to do in the case 
 of recalcitrant rate-j)ayers. Was this 
 new, odious and retroactive legis- 
 lation as has aeen so broadly itated in 
 certain quarters 1 Not at all. I have 
 never seen nor read that a law Lj called 
 
odious, which is 8ini[>ly intended to com- 
 pel an unwilling or dishonest debtor to 
 pay his lawful debts. Here, in the case 
 we are now considering, it 's not the 
 law that is odious, but the conduct of 
 the corporations and municipalities en- 
 couraged in their obstinacy by Liberals who 
 were ready to do anything to withstand 
 or defeat a Conservative Government, 
 Let it not bo forgotten that the DeBouch- 
 ervillo Government had only engaged to 
 build that railway, bocause it relied ui)on 
 nearly two millions and a half of good 
 8ub3crii)tions, of good promises made by 
 corporations v/hoso previous engage- 
 ments had ensured the construction of 
 that great trunk lino. Tiie Govern- 
 ment loyally fulfilled its promises, 
 and, when it lias com[)leted the roads 
 and calls for instalments to replenish 
 the impoverished public chest, it finds 
 itself openly laughed at and hears 
 adduced conditions which had been for- 
 merly abandoned. Were then all the in- 
 habitants of the Province of Qut bee, 
 to bo subjected to a new tax of 
 two millions and a half to relieve the 
 rich municipalities, who, more than 
 others, reaped the benefit of the railway'? 
 Was it a new law which com|)elled the 
 corporations to abstiiin from wasting 
 their subscriptions and their bonuses in 
 costly long and ruinous suits 1 The 
 Municipal Code of the Province of 
 Quebec contains many similar provi- 
 sions. The Act resfjecting tlie Consoli- 
 dated JNIunicipal Loan Fund contains 
 similar provisions. The Legislature of 
 Ontario, in 1873, passed an Act en- 
 titled " All Act respecting the Municipal 
 Loan Fiitul debts, and respecting certain 
 payments to Municipalities, 3G Viet., 
 Chap, 47." In this Act again we see 
 that the sheriff is substituted for the 
 Courts of Juscice, to compel debtor.s, who 
 ar9 not acting in good faith, to fulfil 
 their engagements. This legislation is 
 based upon an excellent principle, the 
 pul)lic interest, which consists in avoid- 
 ing difficulties, litigation and suits, 
 which, in such cases especially, .always 
 enur«! to the detriment of the 
 people, that is to say, of the 
 greater number who are the least 
 in a position to bear such bui-dens. 
 It has also been stated that the law was 
 decestable, because it was retioa?tive in 
 its nature. In the ordinary vocabulary. 
 
 there are often found certain word» 
 which are, in a way, stereotyped. They 
 are booby-traps. The word in question 
 has been greatly misused, as respectt the 
 legislation which we are considering. A 
 settler leases a lot of land from the Gov- 
 ernment, upon the condition of paying 
 thirty dollars a year for five years, and 
 two hundred dollars at the end of six 
 years, whereupon he is to beconje the 
 absolute proprietor of the lot. At tho 
 end ot five years he has laboured, he has 
 cleared and improved the land consider- 
 ably. He is ready to pay his two hun- 
 dred dollars, and so obtain his final title. 
 Parliament passes an Act compelling 
 him to pay one thousand dollars instead 
 of two hundred dollars. That would be 
 a retroactive law, and an odious one, be- 
 cau.se it imposes a new burthen, onerous 
 to a degree, and in no way ])rovided for 
 in the original contract. But for how 
 long a time hius the term retroactive and 
 odious legislation been applied to a sim- 
 ple law which only compels a debtor to 
 pay a lawful deljt, and one which he 
 long since bound himself to discharge 1 
 On the 31st January, Mr. Church made 
 his financial statement. In his very ex- 
 haustive s[)eech, he announced the poli- 
 tical views of the Government with re- 
 spect to the recalcitrant corporations, 
 as I have just stated them. At the same 
 time, he announced that he proposed to 
 ask the House to impose a stamp duty 
 on certain documents, to raise the funds 
 necessary to meet the deficit. He took 
 special pains to demonstrate the excel- 
 lent financial position of tho Province of 
 Quebec. The tax was to be but a tem- 
 porary one, lasting but one or two years, 
 at the most ; for the Government was 
 certain to receive from its railways, from 
 two hundred and fifty to three hundred 
 thousand dollars a-year. I say that it 
 was certain, because tlie best means had 
 been adopted to ascertain the facts of 
 the case. Tenders had been invited for 
 the leasing of the road. Now, experi- 
 ence has been gained. The best busi- 
 ness men, the most expeiieuced 
 railway men, know that our 
 North Shore Railway will yield to 
 the Government a net revenue of at least 
 three hundred thousand dollars a-year. 
 It is not until the 19th of February that 
 tho famous tax Bill came before tho 
 Houses in the shape of resolutions. As 
 
■with respect to the railway, t^e pro- 
 ceedings were regular and constitutional. 
 We find on page 149 of the Votes and 
 Proceedings of the Legislative Assembly, 
 the necessary announcement : 
 
 " Mr. Treasurer Church, seconded by Mr. 
 Attorney-General Angers, moves, that this 
 House do resolve itself into Committee to take 
 into consideration certain resolutions for the 
 imposing of a Stamp Duty on certain docu- 
 ments." 
 
 •' Mr. Treasurer Church then informed the 
 House that His Excellency the Lieutenant- 
 Governor, having been informed of the subject 
 matter of the said resolutions recommends 
 them to the consideration of the House." 
 
 The resolutions were adopted, a Bill 
 was introduced, discussed and i)assed 
 between the 19th February and the 1st 
 of March. The Bill respecting the 
 Queliec, Montreal, Ottawa and Occiden- 
 tal Railway had been before the House 
 from the 29th January to the 19th Feb- 
 runry. It was on the latter day that it 
 received its third reading nnd was 
 adopted by the House of Assembly. 
 Like the Tax Bill, it had been warmly 
 discussed, ond had given rise to repeated 
 debates. These two measures, therefore, 
 were equitable and considered neces- 
 sary by the Government and the Cham- 
 bers to maintain the credit of the Pro- 
 vinceof Quebec; they had been announced 
 by the Treasurer in his statement of 
 the 31st January; the Lieutenant-Gov- 
 ernor had known all tliis for a month 
 when he wrote to the Hon. Mr. DeBouch- 
 erville the strange letter, the incredible 
 document wliich I shall now read at 
 length, and submit to the consideration 
 of the House : — 
 
 " GovnRNMENT HOCSK, 
 
 " Quebec, 1st March, 1878. 
 "To the Honorable C. 15. DeBoucherville, 
 Premier, Quebec : — 
 
 " The Lieutenant-Governor, taking into 
 consideration the communication made to 
 him verbally (on the 27th F'ebruary) by the 
 Premier, and also taking into consideration 
 the letter which the Premier the.i gave to 
 him, is prepared to admit that there had been 
 no intention, on the part of the Premier, to 
 slight the prerogatives of the Crown, and 
 that there was only on his part an error com- 
 mitted in good faitli in the interpretation 
 that he gave to words used by the Lieutenant- 
 Governor in the interview which they had on 
 the 19th February instant ; words which did 
 not imply the authorisation attributed to them 
 by the Premier. 
 
 " With this interpretation and the instruc- 
 tions given in consequence bythe Premier to the 
 
 Hon. Messrs. Angers and Church, these gentle- 
 men did not, willingly, do anything against th« 
 duties of their oflice. 
 
 "As to the blank, which the Lientenant- 
 Qovernor addressed to him from Riviere 
 Ouelle, the Lieutenant-Governor knew that 
 tuck blank teat to be uitd fur Ou purjxjie of tub- 
 mitliiiij the Entimatei to the IJoute 
 
 " This act was a token of confidence on his 
 part, as stated by the Premier in his letter of 
 the 27t'.i, but it was confidential. 
 
 " The Lieutenant-Governor deems it bis 
 duty to observe that in his memorandum of 
 the 25th February last, he in no way ex- 
 I)resscd the opinion that he thought that the 
 Premier ever had the intention of arrogating 
 to i)iniself the right of having measures 
 passed without his approval, or of slighting 
 the i)rerogative8 of the represcntJitive of the 
 Crown. 
 
 " But the Premier must not lose sight of the 
 fact that, although he had not so intended, 
 the fact remains, as he was told by the Lieu- 
 tenant-Governor. 
 
 "The fact of having submitted several new 
 and important measures to the Legislature, 
 without having previously, in any manner, 
 consulted the Lieutenant-Governor, although 
 without any intention of slighting his pre- 
 rogatives, gives lise to one of those false posi- 
 tions which places the representative of the 
 (!rown in a difficult and critical situation with 
 reference to both Houses of the Legislature, 
 '' The Lieutenant-Governor cannot admit 
 that the responsibility of this state of things 
 rests upon him. 
 
 " So far as concerns a Hill entitled ' An Act 
 respecting the Quebec, Montreal, Ottawa and 
 Occidental Railway, the Premier cannot ap- 
 ply to that measure the pretended general au- 
 thorisation mentioned by him in hia letter, 
 for their interview took place on the 19th 
 February, and the Bill had then iKjen before 
 the House for several days, without the Lieu- 
 tenant-fiovernor having been in any manner 
 informed of it by his advisers. 
 
 " The Lieutenant-Governor then told the 
 Premier how much he regretted such Legisla- 
 tion ; he represented to him that he consid- 
 ered it to be contrary to the principles of law 
 and justice. Notwithstanding this, the mea- 
 sure was pushed on until it was adopted by 
 both Houses. 
 
 " It is true that the Premier gives in his 
 letter as one of his reasons for so acting, 'that 
 this permission of making use of the name of 
 the representative of the Crown had been, 
 moreover, always allowed him by the prede- 
 cessor of the present Lieutenant-Governor, 
 the late lamented Mr. Caron.' 
 
 " This reason cannot avail with the Lieuten- 
 ant-Governor, for, by so doing, he would abdi- 
 cate his position as representative of the 
 Crown — a proceeding which neither the Lieu- 
 tenant-Governor nor the Premier could recon- 
 cile with the duties of the Lieutenant-GoT- 
 ernor towards the Crown. 
 
 "The Lieutenant-Governor regrets being 
 compelled to state, as he told the Premier, 
 that he has generally not been explicitly 
 
inforinod of tlio surcs adopted by the 
 
 Cabinet, allhou>?h . • Licutcndnt-Oovcrnor 
 often KRvo the Premier opporttinitieN to do ho, 
 especially daring the courHe of last year. 
 
 " The Lieutenant-Oovernor, from time to 
 time nince the la«t meeting of the Leginlatiire, 
 drew the attention of the Premier to Heverul 
 mattcrH renpecting the interestB of the ProT- 
 ince of (Quebec amongHt otherH : — 
 
 " 1. To the enormous expenditure occaHioned 
 by very largo 8ubHidieH to several railways 
 when the Province was burdened with the con- 
 struction of the grand line of railway from 
 QuebiH' to Ottawa, wliii h should prevail over 
 all others; and that at a time when our fm- 
 anceH compelled uh to raise loans dispropor- 
 tionate to our revenues. 
 
 " 2, On the necessity of reducing tlio ex- 
 penses of the Civil Government and those of 
 Legislation, in place of having recourse to 
 new taxes, with a view of avoiding financial 
 embarrassment, 
 
 " The Lieutcnant-CJovernor, although with 
 regret, expresses to the Premier the o|)inion 
 that the Orders in Council, for the increase of 
 the salaries of Civil Servici! employes, seemed 
 to him inopportune at a time when the Gov- 
 ernment had effected with the Bank of Mon- 
 treal a loan at the rate of seven per cent, for 
 half a million with powt-r to increase this 
 loan to one million, and, in fact, to-<lay even 
 (I St March) the Lieutenant-Governor was 
 obliged to allow nn Order in Council to be 
 passed to secure the last half million for the 
 Government, without wliicii the Government 
 would be unable to meet its engagemi'nts, as 
 stated to him by the Honorable the Treasurer, 
 by order of the Premier. 
 
 "The Premier did not either then or since 
 inform the Lieuteniint-Governor that the Gov- 
 ernment were in so impcx'unious a condition 
 as to require si)eci .1 legislation to increase the 
 public burdens. 
 
 " The Lieutenant-Governor therefore slated 
 ond repeated these facts to the Premier, and 
 now deems it his duty to record them here, in 
 order that they uuiy serve a.s a memorandum 
 for himself and the Premier. It residts there- 
 fore : — 
 
 " 1. That although the Lieutenant-Governor 
 had made miiny representations, in his 
 capacity of represent<itive of the Crown, to the 
 Premier on tnose various subjects ot jiublic 
 interest, bis advisers have taken administra- 
 tive and legislative steps contrary to such 
 representations, and without having previously 
 advised him. 
 
 " 2. That the Lieutenant-Governor has, 
 without evil motives, but in fact, been placed 
 in a false position, by being exposed to a con- 
 flict with the desires of the Legislature, do- 
 sires which lie acknowledges to bis paramoimt, 
 when expressed in a constitutional manner, 
 
 "The Lieutenant-Governor lias attentively 
 read and examined the memorandum and 
 documents which the Premier was kind enough 
 to bring him yesterday. 
 
 " In the record are petitions from several 
 municipal corporations, and from citizens of 
 different localities, addressed to the Lieu- 
 
 tenant-Governor, against the roRoIutiona and 
 the Government Bill respecting the Quebec, 
 Montreal, Ottawa and Occidental liailway. 
 
 " The Lieutenant-Governor was only yester- 
 day in a i»osition to tjike ( ommunication of 
 some of those petitions, inasmuch as they had 
 not been transmitted to him before the 
 record. 
 
 '< The Lieutenant-Governor, after mature 
 deliberation, cannot accept the advice of the 
 Premier in reference to the sanction to be 
 given to the Railway Dill entitled 'An Act 
 relating to the Quebec, Montreal, Ottawa and 
 Occidental Uailway.' 
 
 " For all these reasons, therefore, the Lieu- 
 tenant-ttovernor cannot conclude this memor- 
 andum without expressing to the Premier tho 
 regret which he feels in being no longer able 
 to retain him in his position, contrary to tho 
 rights and prerogativtis of the Crown. 
 
 "(Signed) L. LtTiLLiF.n, 
 
 Lieut.-Governor. 
 
 It is just to 8ay, us an excuse for Mr. 
 Letellier, that he was ashainetl of this 
 first letttT ; he saw all tlie injustice, niul 
 all the uhsiirdity of it. lie understood 
 that a man who calls himself a represen- 
 tative of the C!iown, of Her Most Gra- 
 cious Majesty Queen Victoria, shoultl not 
 write in that way, shotilil not violate 
 the saored princijile which is the basis, as 
 it is the f^uarantee, of the constitutional 
 system, for reasons so futile, so Jevoid of 
 good s(!nse, as those adduced hy him in 
 his letter of dismissal. For some days 
 lie deliboratfcd and puzzled his brain to 
 tiud new means, and being a man of re- 
 source, ho discovered seven or eight, 
 which he collected into a celebrated docu- 
 ment which he addressed to Lord Dutlerin 
 ou the 18th March : — 
 
 " CioVUnsMKNT IIoCSE, 
 
 "QuEiiKC, 18th March, 1878. 
 " To the Higlit Honorable the Ei.nL of Duf- 
 "FiiuiN, K.P., K.Cll., G,C.M.G., 
 " Governor-General of Canada, 
 " Ottawa. 
 
 " Mr Lord, — I have tho honour now to 
 submit for your Lordship'scousidcration docu 
 ments and details which I tould not lay before 
 the public, but from which it would have 
 been more clearly understood that the dis- 
 missal of M. DeBoucherville'n Cabinet was 
 forceil upon me by circumstances. 
 
 " These details are not contained in tho 
 correspondence which I authorized M . De- 
 Boucherville to place before the House, and 
 which are hereunto annexed. 
 
 " From the day that I was, by Your Excel- 
 lency, raised to the position I occujjy at 
 present, all my priv.ate relatione with the 
 members of tho Cabinet, up to the time of 
 their dismissal from office, were, I must ad- 
 mit, generally of an agreeable nature ; but in 
 those of an oflicial character with the Premier, 
 
1 a1mo!)t Invuriably folt that I diil not enjoy 
 that entire conlidumo on his |»urt, whiili in 
 tho chivf elomtint of a cordial undiTHtandinK 
 l)«twe(!n tlio rciircHcntativo of tho Crown and 
 liitt luiviHem. 
 
 "Aftor having Ktudied the Rcnernl Htato of 
 tlie aflfairrt of our I'rovince, after haviiiK he. 
 come convinced tliat lejjiHlalivc and adniinis- 
 trativu chan^^eH were iiecomin^ more anil more 
 necessary, I decided upon UHin^, witli modera- 
 tion, and witli tlie Kft-'ttteiit possible discretion, 
 tiie inlhienco attached tr) my position, in order 
 i>) obtain tin; realisation of tl>:it which I 
 rleemed to be of the greatest advantage to the 
 I'rovince. 
 
 " I regret (o state to Your K.xcellency that, 
 Blthougii M. Denouiherviilo did, on most 
 occasions, take my advice in good |>art, and 
 g(!iieral]y approved of it, ho, ncvertiiele.'^s, al- 
 most always acted as though he had never 
 received it. Nevcrtlieless, far from using !ny 
 authority to obstruct his action in any wa}', I 
 Invariably treated him with great iiululgence, 
 as will appear to Your Excellency by the fol- 
 lowing fai ts ; — 
 
 "1st. — During the Session of 1876, a Rill 
 had been read tliriMj times in one of the two 
 blanches of the Legislature, and only twice in 
 the otlier. 
 
 '•This Bill, bearing all the t ertificates which 
 were necessary to induce me to believe that it 
 ^ad been regularly passed and ado|)ted, was 
 lubmitted to me by the Premier for my 
 ■uiK'tiun. 
 
 •' In conseqence of b<'ing left in ignorance 
 of these facts bv mv advisers, I sanctioned tho 
 Bill. 
 
 •• Not long afterwards, I was informed of 
 the irregularity, and 1 immediately spoke of it 
 to the rremier. 1 made the observation that 
 Slicli an act would entail too serious conse- 
 quenei^s to allow of its being passed over. 
 
 " As a favour to him, howeviir. I passed over 
 this instance of irregular legislation, which 
 was then irreparable. 
 
 '•2nd. — During the same Session, another 
 Bill was submitted to me for my sanction. 
 
 " On examining it. I perceived a blank which 
 had not been tilled w , which I pointed out to 
 the rremier, in the following letter ; — 
 
 "< Private. 
 
 "'QuKiiKC, 27th December, 187'!. 
 
 " ' .My Dear PiiKMii-:n.— A Bill (E) which 
 originated in the Council was passed by *^ho 
 Legislative Assembly, witliout amendment ; 
 upon reading it before adding my certiticato of 
 sanction, I noticed that a blank had not been 
 fllh'd up in the seventh line of the sixth 
 section. 
 
 •' ' Vou followed the usual i)ractice in not 
 fixing the amount of the i)enalty in the Legis- 
 lative Council ; but the matter passed unper- 
 ceived, or the ofticers, through some mistake, 
 omitted to insert tho amount fixed by the 
 House, or it. may have been an error in the 
 proof-sheetB. • 
 
 " ' AVhile on the subject of these mistake.s, 
 ■y'M will lind another in the second section of 
 the same Act, wherein tho word amendnr is 
 
 in tho inflnitiro mootl. I notice this latter 
 inaccuracy, to which I do not attach much 
 im)>ortance, only because I discovered another 
 in an Act in which I had to point out tu 
 y:>u an omission which I consider fatal. 
 " ' Yours very truly, 
 
 " ' (Signed) L. LiETit.Lnn.' 
 
 "The Premier came to me and said that ho 
 regretted the omission ; ho requested me to 
 give my sanction to the Bill in tlu state in 
 which it was. Tho conciliatory spirit which 
 I «h<jwed in g. anting my consent seemed to 
 pleasn him. 
 
 " :»rd. — In March, 1877 {vide Appendix A), 
 my advisers caused me to make on appoint- 
 ment of a Municipal Councillor for the South 
 Ward of the Village of Montinagny, under tho 
 pretext that there had been no tdection, or 
 that if such election had taken place, it was 
 illegal. 
 
 " The whole of tho circumstances connected 
 with this case, I deem it my duty to f xplain 
 to Your E.xcellency, on account of the iuiport-^ 
 ant principle involved therein. 
 
 •' After due personal examination of the i)e- 
 titions and other accompanying documents 
 relating to that election, I called on the Pre- 
 mier, at his own ofHce, to beg of him not to 
 hurry the appointment, which he was asked to 
 make, of a Municipal Councillor for that local- 
 ity, before receiving more ample information. 
 
 " I pointed out to him that it appeared that 
 a municipal election had taken place, and that 
 in such case, as a principle, the Kxecutivo 
 Council should not interfere. 
 
 " 1 added, that from the moment that a legal, 
 or even an illegal election had taken place, 
 tho duty of decidi.ig it rested with the courts, 
 in accordance with the oidinary course of law, 
 of which they are the interpreters. 
 
 " I then intimated to M, DeBouchervillo 
 that I maintained, on principle, that all mat- 
 ters cognisable by the judiciary should be in- 
 variably left to the courts, wliich from their 
 organization are better fitted than the Execu- 
 tive to enipiire into matters of fact and of evi- 
 dence, and that I would never allow the sub- 
 stitution of the powers of the Executive for 
 those of the courts, when the latter had juris- 
 diction. 
 
 '« The Premier admitted that that ojiinion, 
 imd the principle on which I based it, were in 
 conformity with his ideas, and necessary for 
 the proper administration of justice. Ha 
 asked mc if I would consent to si^e Mr. Angers, 
 the Attorney-General, on the subject. 
 
 '• I at once consented, and the Attorney- 
 General was immediately sent for ; the facts 
 connected with that election difficulty and my 
 views regarding them, were then communi- 
 cated to him. He prrmiised that before any 
 appointment should be made by the Lieutenant- 
 Governor he woidd make emiuiry. 
 
 " Shortly afterwards he ^-eported to me that 
 he had made an enquiry into the fat^ts of tho 
 case, and. at his suggestion, 1 appointed Jules 
 Belanger to be Councillor. 
 
 " In the beginning of March, 1877, difhcult- 
 ies and quarrels arose at Montmagny, in con- 
 sequence of that election. 
 
 I 
 
*' After that appointmont, thoHo qiiarrelH 
 broku forth nfrcHh in tho iniini('i|>nl council 
 itaelf, from wliich the Cuiincilior wliom I had 
 thuH been caugett to appoint, was ex|)elled 
 with violence. That appointment I was rc- 
 rommon'led to make, notwitliHtandiuK the 
 fact that an election hiid tJiken i>la<;H ; that it 
 liad been lield and prcHidid over by tho 
 Mayor, tluit Eiigeni Konrnier iiad been returned 
 by acclamation, that hi; Imd I>c)-n Hworn in 
 according to law, and that at Iho very time 
 when the appointment of .Iiiles Belanner wan 
 recommende-i to me, tho perHon thiiH elected 
 hod in tact taken bin seat, liad been Hworn, and 
 had sat at tho said Council, an appears by tho 
 minutes of the Council. 
 
 " When I afterwards learned these fuctB, I 
 communicated them to the Premier, wliom I 
 requested to prepare a revocation oftlie ap- 
 pointment which I had thus been caused to 
 make, contrary to the principles above set 
 forth, and the Justice of which ho hail himself 
 udmitti-d. 
 
 " The Premier aiiswered tiiat the matter was 
 of a very delicate nature, as such a proceed- 
 ing; would be contrary to the recommen<la- 
 tions of Mr. Anders, his Attorney-(}eneral ; he 
 <oniluded by saying that Ik; would get him 
 to pre])arc a report on the subject. 
 
 " I received that report some days later. 
 After having read it, I again intimated to Mr. 
 DoBoucherville, that in the interests of peace, 
 and in conformity with the principle that the 
 executive should not b(!8ubstitnte(l for judicial 
 power in matters within the province of the 
 latter, 1 insisted upon the revocation being 
 made. 
 
 "After waiting seveial days for an answer, 
 and not having received any from the Premier, 
 I addressed a letter to him, of which the fol- 
 lowing is a I opy : — 
 
 " QrBUKO, March 14, 1877. 
 
 " ' Private and Conlidential. 
 
 "'Mv Dear DKBoucnKuviiXE, — I have not 
 received any answer on the subject of the ap- 
 pointment of a Councillor at Montinagny. 
 
 •' ' Those who deceived the tiovernment in 
 order to induce me to pcrt'orm an executive 
 act in connection with a(|uestion whicli they 
 then knew to be within the judicial power, do 
 not, in my opinion, deserve consideration, 
 which cannot but be injurious to the Govern- 
 ment and myself. 
 
 " ' Tiie renn-dy is very simple, rescind the 
 appointment ; allow the parties interested to 
 fight it out before the Courts. 
 
 " * Yours very truly, 
 
 " ' (Signed) L. LuTELUBR. 
 
 " If, my Lord, I insistupon this latter point, 
 it is to show Your Excellency I'nat the Prime 
 Minister was then perfectly aware of my views 
 on that point, and should not, in consequence, 
 have introduced during the last Session of our 
 Legislature, any legislative measure, or per- 
 formed any administrative act tending, to sub- 
 stitute executive for judicial jiower without 
 notifying me, und especially without advising 
 me on the subject. 
 
 '* It was easy fcr tho Premier to understAnd 
 from my remarks and tho frec|uent convorsa* 
 tioni which I had with him, that I could not 
 consent to soo Her Majesty's subjects tlespoiled 
 of the right guaranteed to them by Magna 
 Charta — that their property should never be 
 interfeied with, except in virtue of a Judgment 
 rendered by the tribunals of the country. 
 
 " 4th —On the 19th March, 1877, being on, 
 the eve of absenting myself for a few days, 1} 
 wrote to the Hon. Mr. Chapleau ; and in a] 
 postscript I said : ' Please oblige me by telling | 
 the Premier that it ho needs my concurrence, 
 Mr. Uauthier may bring down to me tho docu- 1 
 ments recpiiring my signature.' 
 
 " ' M. DeUoiJchervilhi should hare under- 
 stood from that, that if I was remly to girej 
 hi til my concurrence, it was on condition of] 
 having all documents submitted to me before] 
 signing them. 
 
 '' I leave you, my Lord, to judgo in what 
 manner my views were interpreted. 
 
 " ."ith. — I'nder dute of the Cth of November 
 last, I addressed to the Hon. M. De. 
 Houchervilio the letter of whi( h the following 
 is a copy : — 
 
 " ' QrjiKo, Cth November, 1877. 
 " '(Private.) 
 
 " ' Mv Heir DkUodchervillb, — In tho last 
 Official Gazftte were published, under my sig- 
 nature, two proclamations which I had not 
 signed, 
 
 "'One was for tho summoning of Parlia- 
 ment, which I had reserved in order to confer 
 with you ; the other, which I did not even see 
 appoints a day of thanksgiving. 
 
 " 'These proceedings, the nature of which I 
 shall not characterise, entail, apart from thci: 
 impropriety, invalidities which you will casili 
 understand. 
 
 " ' Yours very truly, 
 
 '• ' (Signed) L. I-btellier. 
 
 " ' The Hon. C. H. DeBoichervillb, 
 " ' Premier.' 
 
 " The following are the notes wliiih I tool 
 of the conversation which I had with M. Dt 
 Boucherville on the subject : — 
 
 " ' M. DeBouchervillo came on the same da 
 he received the letter, to tell me that he n 
 gretted that the thing had occurred, and tlu 
 it was no fault of his. I accepted the excus' 
 and then told him that I would not tolcrni 
 my name being used, when necessary for an 
 duty of my office, unless tlio documents recpii: 
 ing my signature had been previously subrai 
 ted to me, and unless information was affordt 
 to me, which M. UeBoucherville assured e 
 would be the course followed in future. 
 
 (Signed) 
 
 L. L. 
 
 "Gth. — But, my Lord, there is another poit 
 still moro important, which I cannot at 
 longer refrain from mentioning. 
 
 " From the conversations which I have lie- 
 with M*; DoBoucherville, there results a fnc 
 which, if it were known, would, of itself, ha' 
 sufficiently Justified me in believing that! 
 did not possess the confidence of the people 
 this Province, 
 
'• On two (lifTuront occMion*, some time aftor 
 the SnHHiun of lH7t;, I pointeci out to him that 
 millions hail l><-<n vi>tvU tn aid railwayn in 
 KHnercl, nt a tiini^ when our flnanceH did not 
 appear t>> mo to he in a condition to warrant, 
 nil at ciiicc, a laviKh cxpi'nditure in subaidiHing 
 tlii-HO numerous undurtakingH, particularly iih, 
 apart from that, our crt'dit wan no heavily 
 pl((l;{i<l tiiwanlK tho building of the Quebec, 
 Montreal, Ottawa and Onii<l"ntal lUilway. 
 
 " }Iii very frankly avov, ud that theHu grantH, 
 though they wuro for the development of the 
 I'rovincf, had b<,'cn nci'uKsitated by political 
 considcrationH ; that without them, tho Hiip- 
 pi rt of the membcm whone counticH were 
 travcracd by those raiiwaya would cease to be 
 secured to Government ; that there would be 
 no meiins of having a majority ; that those 
 members formed combinations — ' Uings ' — to 
 control the House. 
 
 " M. DeBouchorvillo is not unaware that I 
 thoicupon told him that it was better to save 
 the Province than a Government ; and tliat if 
 his Administration was not strong enough to 
 resist those inthiences, it would lie better for 
 him to form a combiniition of honest and well- 
 meaning men from l)0th sidea of the House, 
 rather than submit ^ the dictations of those 
 'Rings' and to the control of those combina- 
 tions. 
 
 " When he made no attempt to escape from 
 thot deleterious influence, after his own avowal 
 that tho Legislature was controlled by those 
 ' Rings'; when, by liis legislation. besought to 
 favour them anew during the last Si-ssion 
 without having previously advised with m*?, 
 had I not the right, as the representative of 
 my Sovereign, to believe and to be convinced 
 that M. DeBoucherville did not possess a con- 
 stitutional majority in the Legislative Assem- 
 bly ? 
 
 " 7th. — In communicating to both Houses 
 my memoranda of the 25tli February and 1st 
 March last, tho Premier and Mr. Attorney- 
 General Angers, in violation of their duty, 
 overstepped flic authorisation which I had 
 given by my letter of the 4th of March last, 
 for that purpose. They added to that commu- 
 nication a report of pretended conversations, 
 the correctness of which I contest and the im- 
 propriety of which I maintain. 
 
 '' I shall point out, my Lord, one fact alone to 
 prove that incorrectness and that impropriety : 
 the Hon. Messrs. Debouch "•■\ilie and Angers, 
 in their explanations to t' vo Houses, lay 
 great stress on the telegr...^^ which Mr. De- 
 Boucherville despatched to me at Riviire 
 Quelle, to ask my permission to introduce 
 resolutions concerning the finances, and on 
 the blank signature that I sent up in answer 
 to it. 
 
 " But these j;entlemen themselves haa that 
 blank signature filled up by my Private Secre- 
 tary, so as to give to the telegram the meaning 
 which I attributed to it, namely, a request for 
 permission to introduce the supplies. The 
 following is a copy of the message produced 
 with that blank signature. 
 
 " Mr. Treasurer Church presented a message 
 from His Excellency the Lieutenant-Governor, 
 as follows : — 
 
 *' ' L. LCTBLLin, 
 
 "' The Lioiitonant-Govcrnor of the ProTinoo 
 of Quebec transmits to tho Legislative Assem- 
 bly the Supplementary Kstimates for the cur- 
 rent year, an i fur the lls(al year ending .loth 
 June, 1879, which, in conformity with the 
 provisi<ms of the .Mth section of the Britisli 
 North America At t, lHf57, ho recommends to 
 the Legislative Assembly. 
 
 " ' GOVCRHMINT HOCBK, 
 
 " 'Quebec, 30th January, 1878." 
 "My Ministers never had, by their own ad- 
 mission, any other authorisation from me for 
 the intro<liK'tioii of their railway and taxation 
 resolutions, than tht; blank signature abovo- 
 mentioneil, in which not a word is said of 
 them. Besides which, it will be noticed that 
 the railway resolutions were introduced on the 
 'J'Jth January, whereas the messagu is dated 
 tho 30th 
 
 " II is for this reason, my Lord, that I bring 
 to your knowledge) all the faits and detiiils 
 which are connected with the relations which 
 I have had with M. DeBoucherville and hii 
 colleagues. 
 
 " Were the controversy with mo alone as a 
 private individual, I would abstain from any 
 remonstrance against the injustice of their 
 reflections upon the conduct of the representa- 
 tive of the thrown, which they have made in 
 violation of their duty; but in this matter the 
 maintenance of the constitution is at stake. 
 
 "If, wi'.hout any authority from me, pro- 
 clamafiors have been issuecl which I never 
 signed, 's it surprising that messages were 
 comm'.nicated in my name to the Houses, 
 respocting which I had n<!ver been consulted? 
 
 " It is because, as the representative of my 
 Sovereign, I liiive been unjustly and shame- 
 fully dragged before the public, that I make 
 known to you, my Lord, that in the perform- 
 ance of my duty as Her representative, my 
 object has not only been to protect tlie dignity 
 of my office, but to afford to the people of this 
 Province an opportunity of knowing that, 
 under existing circumstances, the exercise of 
 the Royal Prerogative has not been hostile to 
 their constitutional liberties ; but that, on the 
 contrary, it has afforded them the means of 
 freely exercising their judgment. 
 
 " 'i'liere results, my Lord, from what I have 
 now stoted : — 
 
 " 1st. — That, in general, the recommenda- 
 tions which I have miuk: to my Cabinet did 
 not receive the consideration which is due to 
 the representative of the Crown, 
 
 " 2nd. — That my name has been used by the 
 members of the (rovernment in the signature 
 of documents which I had never seen. 
 
 " .3rd. — That a Proclamation, summoning 
 the Legislature^ was published in the Official 
 Gazette without my being consulted or in 
 formed of it, and before my signature had been 
 attached thereto, 
 
 " 4th.— That a like Proclamation, fixing a 
 day of Thanksgiving, was also published under 
 similar circumstances. 
 
 ".5th —That, although I had intimated to 
 the premier, by my advice and by my letter 
 of the 14th March, 1877, my firm determina- 
 
10 
 
 tioii to protect the inlmbilaiits of this Pro- 
 vince H^iiiHt the arbitriiry (iecisioris of thf 
 Executive ill matters witliin the jurisdiction 
 of the Courts of Justice, lie tliouglit propiir, 
 without my participution and witiiout advis- 
 ing me, to propose to both lIouseH, in Icgishu 
 ting for the Quebec, Montreal, Ottawa and 
 Occidental Kailway, ' to substitute tlie power 
 of the Executive for that of the Judiciary.' 
 
 "tjth. — That, without having advised me, 
 and without having received authorisation of 
 any sort whatever from me, the (lovernment 
 of M. DeBoucherville proposed to the Legis- 
 lature a measure of almost general taxation 
 upon the ordinary contracts and transactions 
 of life, transfers of bank stock, &c., while no 
 message from mo had been asked for this 
 object, nor signed by me to autliorise its pro- 
 j>ositlon to the Houses. 
 
 " "til. — That, after its dismissal, tlie Gov- 
 ernment of M. UeBourhervillo again failed in 
 its duty by as.signing reasons for the adjourn- 
 ment of the House from day to day, dill'crent 
 from those agreed on between myself and the 
 I'remier, at the risk of jirejudicing public 
 opinion against the representative of the 
 Crown. 
 
 " 8th. — That, at the time of the coin" lunira- 
 tion of the causes which rendered iiecessarj' 
 the dismissal of the Cabinet, in the explana- 
 tions which were given by the rreinier to the 
 Legislative Council, and by the Attorney- 
 General to the Legislative Assembly, both of 
 them referred to pretended conversations 
 which they had no authority whatever to com- 
 municate to the liCgislature, since the I'remier 
 had, by his answer to tht; letter of the Lieute- 
 nant-Govdrnor of the 4th March last, limited 
 his explanations to the communication to 
 both Houses of my memoianda of the 2r)tli 
 February and 1st Jlarcli, and the answers of 
 the Premier of the 27th February and of the 
 2nd and Itli March, instant. 
 
 '• 9th. — That, therefore, the additions and 
 comments made by the Premier before the 
 Legislative Council, iind by the Attorney-Gen- 
 eral before the Legislative Assembly, were 
 contrary to the conditions agreed upon be- 
 tween the Lieutenant-Governor and the Pre- 
 mier. 
 
 •' 10th. — That the Premier and his colleagues, 
 by making use of pretended private conversa- 
 tions to exjilain the causes of their dismissal, 
 in contravention to their duty to the Crown 
 and to -what they had pledged themselves to 
 t bierve with regard to it, have placed the 
 Lieutenant-Governor under the necessity of 
 bringing under the notice of Your ILxccilency 
 all the reasons for that dismissal. 
 
 •' I ha\e the honour to be, 
 " My Lord, 
 
 " Your Excellency's 
 
 •' Most obedient servant, 
 '• (Signed) L. Lktkllikr, 
 
 " Lieutenant-Governor." ' 
 
 His Honour Luc Letellier, Lioiitenant- 
 Governorof the Province of Quebec, puts 
 out ^Ir. DeBoucliervilln because he can 
 no longer " retain him in his jiositioii, 
 
 contrarv to the rights and prerogatives 
 of the Crown." He doe.s not say that 
 Mr. DeBoucherville lias infringed those 
 riglit.s and prerogatives ; nor does he 
 Hay what tliose rights and prerogatives 
 of tlie Crown, rejiresented at Quebec by 
 Mr. Letellier, are. On the contrary, he 
 takes care to ])roclaiin t)ie good faith of 
 Mr. DcBoucIierville, and declaras that 
 Messrs. Angers and Cliurcli did nothing 
 wliieh was not in accordance with tlie 
 duties of their ollice. Why then was 
 the DeBoucherville Cabinet dismissed t 
 From appearances and from the letter of 
 the 1st March, it seems that Mr. 
 do Boucherville and his colleagues were 
 driven from power for the following two 
 formidable reasons : " l.st. That, although 
 the Lieutenant-Governor has made many 
 recommendations, in his position as 
 Representative of the Crown, to the 
 Premier, on the.so dilFerent subjects of 
 piil)lic interest, his advisers have under- 
 taken a course of administrative and 
 legislative Acts, contrarv to those 
 recommendations, and witiiout having 
 ])revious!y advised with him. 2iid. 
 That the Lieutenant-Governor has 
 been placed, without evil intention, 
 but, in fact, in a false ])osition, 
 liy being cxiio.sed to a conriict with the 
 will of the Legislature, which he recog- 
 nises as being, in all cases, supreme, so 
 long as that will is e.x|ires.sed inall consti- 
 tutional ways." This constitutional jargon 
 is HOC very intelligiiile. It certainly 
 proves a dilicrenee of opinion between 
 tlie Lieutenant-Governor and his Cabi- 
 net, in relation to mere natters of ad- 
 ministration, but nothing flu". A strong 
 elfort of tli'^ iniaginatiou was re(]uisite, 
 in order to discover that ^Ir. DeBoucher- 
 ville had acted " contrary to the rights 
 and [irerogatives of the Crown " liy not 
 paying very great attention to these 
 mild eomjdaints. For the present, I do 
 not discuss either tlie intrinsic merits 
 or the truth of the comidaints or re- 
 ]M-oaches; I shall return to them later. 
 I will content myself, fur the present, 
 with calmly examining whether these 
 complaints and reproaches, admitting 
 them to be well grounded, are sufUcient 
 to authorise a constitutional Lieutenant- 
 Governor to turn out :i Government 
 sustained by a nnajority of twenty-one in 
 a Hou.se of sixty-five. These were, on 1st 
 March the only reasons given, the only 
 
11 
 
 reasons known, the only reasons that 
 Mr. Letellier allowed his dismisseil ^Tin- 
 isters to comnuinicatc to the (Jhamhers. 
 Mr. Letellier liasjiidged them himself,and 
 condemned himself when he tried to 
 discover better ones. Let us now see 
 what these new reasons are. Mr. Letel- 
 lier, it is needless to say, was, like the 
 Liberals of Ottawa before the 17th Sep- 
 tember hist, insjiired with pure patriot 
 ism, with unbounded devotion to his be- 
 loved Province of Quebec, and with 
 ])rofound respect for the people's money. 
 "After having," he says, in his letter of 
 the 18th March, " stuilied the general 
 state of the affairs of our Province ; 
 after having become convinced that 
 Legislative and Admini rative changes 
 were becoming more ami more necessar3% 
 I decided upon using with moderation, 
 and witli the greatest possilde discretion, 
 the inlhience attached to my position, in 
 order to obtain the realisation of that 
 which I de med to l)e of the greatest ad- 
 vantage to the Province." He then 
 comjilains l)itterly to TiOrd Dufferin that 
 his Ministers iiad not listened sullicieiitly 
 to him, and, as a proot of their disol)edi- 
 ence, ho comj'lacently sets forth his 
 seven grievances, which I read out just 
 now. Let us examine into them a little. 
 1st. lie says in substance, I was made 
 to sanction a lUU wliich was not passed. 
 A clerical error. So far we do not seo 
 in what respect the rigiits and preroga- 
 tives of tlie Crown were trodden under 
 foot. Let us seek fiwther. 2ud. (A di- 
 gression on comedy). The second griev- 
 ance is more dangerous. Mv. DeBoucher- 
 ville, too much inclined to undermiui; tlie 
 foundations of the rights and lueroga- 
 tives of the Crown, sends to the Lieu- 
 tenant-Governor for his sanction, a Bill 
 sullied by two important defects : a Idank 
 not lllled up and a verb "in the iniinitive 
 mood " instead, I suppose, of the past par- 
 tici[ile. Rarely does history, 1 admit 
 make mention of so dark a consi)iracy 
 for violating the rights and prerogatives 
 of the Crown. Let no one accuse me of 
 endeavouring to cast ridicule upon a State 
 paper. I have quoted literi.lly. Not- 
 Avithstanding the respect wliich is due 
 from me to a Ilepresentativo of the 
 Crown my position as a Ilepresentative 
 of the peoi>le, gives me the right, and 
 makes it my duty, to examine into and 
 to judge the actions and the writings 
 
 of an officer of the Federal Government. 
 3rd. The third new re.ison is the elec- 
 tion, or want of election, of a municipal 
 Councillor in the village of Montmagny. 
 Mr. Letellier complains that the Attor- 
 ney-General oauseil him to make an ir- 
 regular a|tpointment of a municipal 
 Councillor. Tlie Government yielded 
 out of courtesy, and Mr. Ijeteilior did as 
 he liked. He rc'vokeil the a])pointment. 
 It does not yet very ch-arly appear from 
 this in what respect Mr. UeBouchfivillo 
 wished to attack the rights and preroga- 
 tives of the Crown. Uh. On the 19th 
 ^larch, 1877, in a ])ostscrii)t to a letter 
 to the Hon. Mr. Chapleau, Mr. Lilellier 
 instructed him as follows : — -" Please 
 oblige mo by telling the Premier that, if 
 he needs my concurrence, AL\ Gauthier 
 may bring down to me the documents 
 requiring my signature." Mr. Letellier 
 adds that that was a suHicient notifica- 
 tion to place Mr. OeBoucherville upon his 
 guard. With such a ]>ostscript, Mr. 
 Letellier tho\ight that the rights and 
 prerogatives of the Crown were safe. 
 These four grievances all date liack to 
 1877. They are of so little imjjortauce 
 that the raeuteuant-Governor retained 
 liis Ministeis afterwards, ami did not 
 think propi'r to mention them in 
 his letter of the 1st of March. 
 5th On the GtU Noveml)er, 1.S77, 
 Mr. LetcUii'r wrote a severe letter to 
 Mr. Delioucherville, re|)roaching him 
 with having jiviltlished two proclamations 
 whii.'li lie had neither signed or author- 
 ised. He has, himself, destroyed that 
 grievance in his reply to the memorial 
 of Messrs. Clia[ileau, Church and Anger.s. 
 Gtli. The sixtli gromid of accusation 
 against Mr. DeBoecherville has not 
 much to do with tiie rights and preroga- 
 tives of the Crown. Sometime after 
 the Session of I87(t, Mr. DeBouchervillo 
 acknowledged to ^fr. Letellier that his 
 (Government was controlled by liings, 
 dislionest combinations among Conserva- 
 tive members, who exerciseil influence to 
 obtain g- \nts in fivour of railwavs on 
 the South Shore. Tliis is a wholesale 
 accusation ai^ainst tlie Conservative party, 
 an accusation intended to seive the 
 Liberal cause, and which did serve that 
 cause admirably in t!ie local elections of 
 the month of Ajtril last. I shall, in a 
 few moments, treat with stern justice 
 th;\t unqualifiable accusation. And now 
 
12 
 
 I ask you, Mr. Speaker, what tliis mat- 
 ter had to do with the rights and pre- 
 rogatives of the Crown. Whit had 
 these famous imaginary combinations 
 cf 1876 to do with the dis- 
 missal of Mr. DcBoucherville 1 
 Vth. The Srjventh grievance is a repetition 
 cf that mentioned in the letter of the 1st 
 March. Mr. Letellier reproache.s INIr. 
 DeBouchervillo with having misused his 
 telegram from River Quelle, i)ermitting 
 him to lay before the Houses tlie resohi- 
 tions res|»ecting the finances. According 
 to Mr. Letellier, that authorisation could 
 only cover the estimates, and in no way 
 the Tax and the Railway Bills. I must 
 acknowledge tiuit this famous reason is 
 a very poor one. The Lieutenant-Gov- 
 ernor, every morning, receives the pro- 
 ceedings of the evening before. He, 
 therefore, knew at the time that his Gov- 
 ernment had used his name on the 2i)th 
 January, to submit to the House the re- 
 solutions i-especting (he Quebec, Alon- 
 treal, Octawa and Occidental Railway, 
 and on the 19th February the resolutions 
 for imposii-»g a stamp duty upon certain 
 documents. He did not protest, he did 
 not remonstrate, he did not ask his Gov- 
 ernment to suspend or withdraw those 
 measures which appear to afflict and an- 
 noy him so much, so great was his love 
 of the people. At the last hour, when 
 a large majority had adopted andsanctior- 
 ed the political course of the Government 
 he steps into the way and says, what is 
 a correct summary of h's letters : " You 
 were wrong, Mr. DeBoucherville, im be- 
 lieving that my telegram from River 
 Ouelle atithorised you to present your 
 measures respectingtaxes and the Quebec, 
 ^Montreal, Ottawa and Occidental Rail- 
 way. You and your colleagues have 
 acted in good faith. But you place me 
 in a false position, and 1 must show you 
 the door, for I cannot continue to retain 
 you in oflice contrary to the rlrjhts and 
 2)rerogatives of the. Crown." I think, 
 Mr. ^ipeaker, that 1 have given a faith- 
 ful summary of the reasons adduced by 
 Mr. Letellier for the dismissal of his 
 Ministers. He has no reasons, he has 
 only pretexts. Let us see the force of 
 these pretexts, as compared with the 
 great principles which established tlie 
 true doctrine of self-government. The 
 foundation, the corner stone, is that the 
 king reigns but does not govern. The 
 
 Sovereign, the Governor, the Lieutenant- 
 Governor, are all subject to the same 
 rule, to have confidence in and to advise 
 the Ministry which is supported by a ma- 
 jority in the House ; to be loyal, open 
 and sincere with it, and to give it every 
 necessary support, so long as it is hon- 
 oured with the confidence of a good 
 majority in the House. Truly, in this 
 country, we know that beautiful and 
 great system. Responsiljle government, 
 ministerial responsibility, the constitu- 
 tional system, with all these are we 
 acquainteil. We have studied them, we 
 have learned them, we have watered the 
 soil that produced them with our blood. 
 They have been more to us than the Tree 
 of Liberty, they have been the 'I'ree of 
 Salvation. Let us see what this system 
 is ; let us see what part is i)layed in it 
 by him who is called upon to su[)erintend 
 the working of the entire mechanism. 
 He is called King, Queen, Viceroy, 
 Governor-General, or simply Lieutenant- 
 Governor. The name does not signify, 
 because the jjrinciple is the same. Lord 
 John Russell may be considered a res- 
 pf^ctable authority. The following ia 
 what he says, in a despatch to Lieute- 
 nant - Governor Thompson, of Upper 
 Canada, dated 4th October, 1829 : — 
 
 EXTRACT. 
 Lord Brougham, a great 
 on constitutional questions 
 1835, on the subject of 
 missal during the jireceding 
 Lord Melbourne, by William 
 
 says, first, that the King is 
 depository of power. In fact 
 belongs to Parliament. And 
 
 authority 
 
 wrote, in 
 
 the dis- 
 
 vear of 
 IV. He 
 
 but the 
 all power 
 he adds : 
 
 EXTRACT. 
 
 Harrison, in a work published in 1 875, 
 states, in relation to this power of the 
 Sovereign : 
 
 EXTRACT. 
 
 Disraeli, explaining in the English 
 Commons, the formalities of the change 
 of Government, says : 
 
 EXTRACT. 
 
 Bagehot, in his work on the English 
 Constitution, says : 
 
 EXTRACT. 
 
 Bagehot, after having spoken of the 
 dismissal of Lord Melbourne by William 
 IV., concludes by saying : 
 
 EXTRACT. 
 
13 
 
 The same author also says : 
 
 EXTRACT. 
 Could anything more appropriate, more 
 powerful, more well-foumlec, to demon- 
 strate and develop the constitutional 
 principle, and to show how Mr. Letellier 
 violated and slighted it, possibly be 
 found ] Let us now hear Lord Dutferin 
 upon tlie duties of Uovernors. In his 
 speech at Halifax, in 1873, he spoke as 
 follows : 
 
 EXTRACT. 
 
 I again quote Lord Dufr«;rin. On the 
 22nd February last tiie English Reform 
 Party gave a dinner at the lleform Club, 
 in honour of our last Governor-General 
 the Earlof Dufterin. TheEarlofGrenville 
 occupied the chair, and the Marquis of 
 Hartington, the leader of the Wliig 
 party, was pi-esent. Tlic chaiiman, pro- 
 posing liord Dutt'erin's health, compli- 
 mented him highly on the good which 
 he had done for Canada during liis term 
 of otlice. Loi'd Duficrin, true as ever, 
 to the great principles of responsible 
 government, replied to that part of the 
 Earl of Grenville'.s eulogy in these 
 words : — 
 
 EXTRACT. 
 
 That is what the English Liberals ap- 
 plauded not throe weeks ago. Evidently 
 Mr. Letellier did not draw water from 
 that spring. He is himself a Liberal, 
 but not in the style of yreat Liberals 
 such as these. Lord jNIetcalfe, Governor 
 of United Canada from 1843 to 1845, 
 •wished, like Mr. Letellier, to institute 
 personal Government. Like him lie 
 wished to hand over the power to the 
 minority, and turned out the Lafontaine- 
 Baldwin Cabinet, which was sustained 
 by a large majority of the House. 
 Lord Elgin was charged with the duty 
 of repairing his fault. The instructions 
 given to him by Lord Grey are strikingly 
 applicable at the present time. Among 
 ether things, he says to him : — 
 
 EXTRACT. 
 Bagehot says also, 
 
 'RACT. 
 
 A little farther on Bagehot says : 
 
 EXTRACT. 
 
 This is how the head of the Government 
 sums \\[) and estimates the authority in 
 question : 
 
 EXTRACT. 
 
 I have reserved one last quotation, the 
 most important of all. I i)ropose now, 
 Mr. Speaker, to shew you Mr. Letellier 
 of 1873, boxing the ears of Mr. Letellier 
 of 1878. 
 
 On the 13th August, 1873, Lord Duf- 
 feiin, listening to the advice of his Min- 
 isters — who, iu the Session of tli< spring 
 of that year, had been sustained by a 
 large majority in tlx^ House of Com- 
 mons — prorogued Parliament. The Op- 
 j)Osition of the chiy, tiic Liberals and the 
 Grits, were irritated tliat the minority 
 could not control the action of the Gov- 
 ernor-General. After the proroga- 
 tion, the Liberals met iu Committee, 
 and adopted the following motion : 
 
 " It was proposed by Mr. Canchon, Kccondccl 
 b\' Mr. Mills, and resolved : — That, in the 
 opinion of this meeting, tlie prorogation of 
 Parliament, by not alTording to the House of 
 Commons an oijijortunity of carrying out the 
 enquiry wliich tiioy had undeitaUi'n, was a 
 revolting violation of tlie privileges of the 
 Independence of Parliament, and ot the rights 
 of citizens." 
 
 Inflanmiatory sfieeclies were made. Mr. 
 Lettellier deliverel himself of one, — 
 here it is : — 
 
 " It is desirable, under the present tivcmn- 
 stances, to speak with all the calmness possi- 
 ble, in spite of the popidar ehullition, which 
 is a national ebullition. The question to ex- 
 amine is to ascertain whether the Exeeutivo 
 can interpose the prerogative of the Crown 
 between itself and Parliament, and in this 
 way hinder the free exercise of the popular 
 will. This prerogative ought not to he em- 
 ployed in overthrowing the freedom belonging 
 to the people (cheers), but should follow the 
 course of events and remain in conformity 
 with the interests of the peojjle. Were it 
 otherwise, Parliament might Ite dispensed 
 with, and the {)eople wouhl be obliged once 
 more, by means of the rod, to ohey the Crown, 
 without regard to other rights. * • The 
 Committee ajjpointed by the House could not 
 be dissolved by any external power without 
 a gross violation of its privileges. ' 
 
 A few minutes btsfore this Mr. Letellier 
 had applauded the following words of 
 the Hon. Mr. Caucbju, used when mov- 
 ing his resolution : — - 
 
 "If I had been alone,] would bave gone 
 further than others have done, and I would 
 have said that neither the Crown nor its repre- 
 sentatives have the right to nie(l,lle with the 
 privli.i^csof Parliament.' (Appluu.se.) 
 
 Our Lieutenant-Governor was irritated 
 
 by the fact that liOnl Duircriii tlid n(jt 
 wish to follow llie minority. What 
 would he have done had the Governor- 
 
14 
 
 Genenil acted as he did, in opposition to 
 the wishes of tlie lUiijority 1 Ho woukl 
 evidently liave shoiiklered his musket. 
 The Oonsorvatives in Quebec were not 
 BO rea-hot. IMr. LetcUier put thein out 
 of doers, witliout rhyme or reason ; and 
 they only asked for him to ho censured, 
 •while waiting for his dismissal. F have 
 placed, Mr. Sjieaker, before the House, 
 a statement of the facts as repre- 
 Bented by JVIr. Letellier, and the 
 true principles whidi ajiply to the case. 
 I am not afraid to state that not a 
 single member of this House, not a 
 single inhal>itant of our country, having 
 any ideas I'especting the constitutional 
 princii)les by which we are governed, 
 would have ventured to liave 
 defended the conduct of j\Ir. Letellier. 
 He has committed two grievous 
 mistakes ; the first was the putting out of 
 doors a Government sustained by a large 
 majority. In face of the authorities 
 ■which 1 have just cited, the leasons 
 ■which ho advances in his letter to Mr. 
 DeBoucherville, of the 1st March, are 
 not worth the pa])er on ■which they are 
 written. Even supposing, as I have 
 already said, his motives to have been 
 sincere, that the facts which he adduces 
 ■were true, at the most it but proves a 
 mei'e ditlerence of opinion. His opinion 
 ought not to pj-evail, for he is not 
 a])pointed adviser by the constitution. 
 He knew everything, and allowed every- 
 thing to take its own course. Instead 
 of ■warning and remonstrating, instead of 
 suggesting a change of policy at the time 
 of the introduction of the two measures 
 of which he complains, he waited until 
 they were passed, and made use of them 
 as a pretext for dismissing his Ministers, 
 at the very moment when he had no 
 longer the right to interfere, because the 
 Houses had decided the question by a 
 large majority. The second fault is a still 
 more serious one. Forgetting his duties as 
 an impartial Governor, he wrote to the 
 Govt;rnor -General, in order to excuse 
 himself, a letter-, in which he made use 
 of new reasons, and in which he brought 
 against his old Ministers small, absurd 
 and paltry accusations, not one of which 
 can justify his coup d'etat of the 2n(l 
 March, 1878. 1 must say, before pro- 
 ceeding further, that this was to us, in- 
 habitants of the Province of Quebec, a 
 sorrowful spectacle. We had for many 
 
 years made heroic struggles to secure the 
 application to Lower Canada of the great 
 l)rinciple3 of constitutional liberty, 
 which have established the honour, the 
 glory, and the prosperity of England. 
 (Confederation had affixed the seal to, 
 and placed the crown upon, our long and 
 glorious struggles, by assuring to us 
 political liberty and our self-government 
 as a nation. These considerations, Mr. 
 Speaker, are an explanation to us of the 
 patriotic indignation of the people of the 
 Province of Quebec, when they learned 
 that the first blow struck at our liberties 
 was given by a French Lieutenant-Gov- 
 ernor. The aiiair was so astonishing 
 that even our adversaries who were not 
 in Mr. Letellier's secrets, refused to be- 
 lievethatthe DeBoucherville Cabinethad 
 been dismissed. The Montreal Herald 
 of the 5th March, 1878, refuse<l to be- 
 lieve in the dismissal. It alleged that 
 Mr. DeBoucherville had resigned because 
 Mr. Let(dlier wished to reserve for the 
 Governor-General's pleasure the Quebec, 
 Montreal, Ottawa ami Occidental Rail- 
 way Bill. It could not believe, it could 
 not even entertain the idea that Mr. 
 Letellier had dismissed iMr. DeBoucher- 
 ville for a mere diflereuce of opinion. 
 I think that I have, Mr. Spt^aker, suffi- 
 ciently shewn that jNIr. Letellier deserves 
 more than censure, even if he is judged 
 by his own allegations. It remains for 
 me to fulfil a painful, delicate and emi- 
 nently disagreealde task ; it is that of 
 shewing to tlie House and to the country 
 that the giievances he had against the De 
 Boucherville Cabinet, were, to make use 
 of a polite and Parliamentary expres- 
 sion, purely imaginary. Not only 
 does Mr. Jjctellier, in order to justify 
 his coup d'etat, set out puerile motives, but 
 thesemotives even, in fact, have no founda- 
 tion of truth. For my own satisfaction, 
 and for the satisfaction of the House, I 
 wish on this point to be methodical and 
 categorical. ' 1st. Mr. Letellier alleges 
 that Mr. DeBoucherville had made an 
 improper use of his telegrams from 
 Rivi(ire Ouelle. On the twenty-eighth cf 
 January Mr. DeBoucherville had sent to 
 him atPiiviere Ouelle the following tele- 
 graphic despatch : " Can you send rae 
 aiithority for the resolutions in the 
 financial matters." The next day, the 
 'J9th January, the Lieutenant-Governor 
 replied in English : " Blank mailed 
 
15 
 
 to-day. If prespncfi necessary telegraph ; 
 return Friday." Mr. DeBouclierville 
 believed in good Taith that this authority 
 covered their three linancial mpasurcs, 
 the Ustitaates, the Railway IJill, and the 
 Tax Bill. Tiie first use that was made 
 of it was on the 2'Jth January, the 
 day on which the telegram was re- 
 ceived, and after it had been received. 
 I have alrea ly stated to this honour- 
 able House, that it was on this 
 day that they made use of Mr. Letollier's 
 name for the introduction of the Railway 
 resolutions. Mr. Letellier know of this 
 by the Votes and Proceedings, and on 
 the third day by the financial statement 
 ot Mr. Church. He maintained silence 
 for one month. Did he do so in good 
 faith, or did he wish to set an odious 
 trap for his ministers 1 The House and 
 the country have the rigiit to |)ut this 
 question. 2nd. During the Session of 
 1876, in which they made him sanction 
 a Bill which had not [)assed — he com- 
 plained of this, and adds : "a .short time 
 afterwards I was informed of this irregu 
 larity, and I at once spoke about it to 
 the Premier. I remarked to him that 
 an act of this nature carried with it con- 
 sequences of too serious a character to be 
 passed over in silence. To oblige him, 
 however, I made no grievance of this act 
 of irregular legislation, which had now 
 become irremediable." I hold in n:y 
 hands i)roof to the contrary. The Bill 
 in question related to the formation of 
 companies formed for making roads 
 and destroying noxious weeds in the 
 country. The clerk, by mistake, put 
 the draft of thi.? law in the list of 
 Bills to be saTictioned. The hou. Mr. 
 Angers, Attorney -General at the time, 
 at once discovered the mistake, when 
 the Bills sanctioned were read, and told 
 Mr. lietellier of it, in the room of the 
 Speaker of the Council, on the very day 
 of ))r()i-ogation. Mr. Angers jjrejiared a 
 report which I\Ir. Lotollier signed, and 
 himself sent to the Secretary of State, to 
 be forwarded to tlie jVIinister of Justice ; 
 — in this rejiort he requested the latter 
 to disallow this Act. Mr. Blake replied 
 that the Bill was a dead letter, and that 
 it was not necessary to <lisallow it. 
 This answer i)assed through the hands of 
 Mr. Letellier. The famous Bill was not 
 even includt;d in the Statutes containing 
 the laws passed in the Session of 1876. 
 
 This is the big affair with which Mr. 
 Letellier reproaches his Ministers as 
 being an out'ag) against the rights 
 and j>r('rogatives of the Crown. 
 If there were nothing in this butabsurdity, 
 I would say nothing abnit it. But it has 
 its serious and sad aspect ; and that is to 
 see a Lieutenant-Crovernor writing to 
 the direct representative of Her Majesty, 
 the Earl of Duflerin, things which hs 
 him.self, bet^^r than anyone else, knew 
 were not correct. Why talk of irregu- 
 lar and irreparable proceedings, when 
 he himself knew that irreparal)lo legis- 
 lation was not even recorded in the 
 Statute-book. 3rd. Let us say a word 
 more aliout the famous Bill with the 
 little blank not tilled up, and an infinitive 
 badly placed. This was in December, 
 1876. Mr. Letellier tells Lord Duflerin 
 how he had paternally admonished Mr. 
 DeBouclierville. He then adds :— " The 
 Premier came to tell me that he re- 
 gretted this omission, and asked me to 
 sanction this Bill in the condition it then 
 was. Tlie spirit of cunciliation with 
 which T agreed to this seemed very 
 agreeable to him." In his zeal for the 
 rights and privileges of the Crown, so 
 vilely outraged by this infamous Bill, ]Mr. 
 Letellier forgets that he sanctioned, at 
 the same time as this informal Bill, an- 
 otner Bill, which amended and conqileted 
 it. This is to be seen in the Statutes of 
 1876, chapter 19 and chapter 20. But I 
 have never been able to find out what be- 
 came of the infinitive which hor- 
 rified his conscientious scriq)les so much. 
 ■lUi. Wo now reach the municipal elec- 
 tion of iNIontmagny. The ])erson named 
 N, Bernatchez, IMayor of his village, is 
 an important ])ersouage in the south 
 ward of the village of Montmagny. 
 A devoted liberal, ready to sacrifice ever}'- 
 thing for his party, he knows his value, 
 and steps over the heads of Ministers to 
 address the Lieutenant-Governor directly, 
 not in Council, but jK'rsonall}'. In the 
 official papers submitted to the House at 
 Quebec, in July, 1878, w*; find a very 
 interesting letter from the aforesaid 
 Bernatchez. The following is that inter- 
 esting document : — 
 
 " Mo.NTMAONY, lotli March, 1877. 
 
 " To Hi.s Excellency 
 
 '• The Honoin-able Litc Letki.liku de St. Jost, 
 '' Lieutenant-Governor of the Province of 
 Quebec. 
 
16 
 
 "Mav it rr.KASB Your Exoellencv : 
 
 "I t(ik<j the liberty of reispectfiilly informing 
 you that on the I'.tth day of February last, 
 Eugene Fournier, of the Village of Mont- 
 mugny, was elected by acclamation Municijial 
 Councillor for tin; South Ward of the said Vil- 
 lage of Montmagny, at a meeting of the 
 municipal electors of Haid Ward, held in ac- 
 cordance with a judgment rendered by the 
 Magistrate's (.!ourt f(jr the county of Mont- 
 magny, dated the Slst January, eighteen hun- 
 dred and Heventy-seven, as ap|)ear.s by a copy 
 of the minutes of the said meeting, which I 
 have the honour to enclose herewith. 
 
 " That the said Kugene Fournier Ins been 
 duly sworn in as Municipal Councillor, and 
 that ho has already exercisc^d, and still exer- 
 cises the duties of the saidotHce. 
 
 " The Council learns with regret that Your 
 Excellency has been deceived and led into 
 error, and that in conseipir^nce of false rei)re- 
 Kentati(tns, Vour Excellency being under the 
 impressiiia tiiat the said seat was vacant, has 
 appointed ,Julcs lielangi^r as the piMson to till 
 tlie place of Municiiial Councillor for the said 
 Wan I. 
 
 " Under the circumstances, we respoctfidly 
 hope that, in consideration of tiie facts else- 
 where set forth, Vour Excellency will be 
 l>leased to cancel the ai)pointment of the said 
 Jules Belniiger, so as to avoid the inevitable 
 trouble to which this conflict of authority will 
 give rise. 
 
 " I have the honour to be, 
 " Your Excellency's 
 
 '• ^'ery humble servant, 
 " (Signed) N. lifatNATcuKz, 
 
 " Mayor." 
 
 Mr. Letellicr, always jealous of the rights 
 and prerogatives of the Crown, but a 
 little forgetful of the rights and pi-eroga- 
 tives of his Ministry, and of Parliament, 
 causes himself to be advised by the 
 ]\Iuyor of IMontmagny ; and, strong in 
 that adviser so distinguished in the 
 south ward of Montmagny, he forces 
 upon his own responsible Ministers the 
 opinion of Mr. Jjernatchez, who was 
 himself resjionsilile only to the 
 the south ward of the ViHage ot 3Iont- 
 niagny. Attorney-Gi'iieral Angeis was 
 of opinion that Mr. Eug(Mie Fournier was 
 not elected ; because, in fact,therc had bte:i 
 no election. A former election having 
 been contestfsd, and aunidled, a new elec- 
 tion was ordered by the judgment ; our 
 municipal code re(]uires that notice of 
 that election should be given under pain 
 of absolute nullity. The frienils of 
 Messrs. Bernatchez and Jjelellier, wish- 
 ing to have an election to their taste, 
 I suppose, avoided giving the necessary 
 notice. The election was consequently 
 null, or rather thcn^ was none. Mr. 
 
 Angers. n|)oa these facts, made a report 
 to His Kvcellency, who a])pointed Jules 
 Belanger. But Bernatchez had not 
 spoken. He said his word, and at once 
 Mr. Letellier takes his advice instead of 
 the advice of his Ministers. Mr. Angere 
 lias the reputation of being an eminent 
 advocate, but his legal attainments will 
 never equal those of Bernatchez. That 
 was Mr. Letellier's opinion, and because 
 Bernatchez advised liim, Mr. DeBouch- 
 erville, by that vei-y fact, attacked the 
 rights and prerogatives of the Crown. 
 But we should forgive Mr. Ltstellier, in 
 view of the greatness of the motive 
 which inspired him. He repudiated 
 the action of his Ministers, because they 
 wished to substitute the iutervention of 
 the Kverutire for judicial action. 
 Last year, Mr. M artel, member for 
 Chambly, in the Local Legislature, had 
 the misfortune to displease Mr. Letellier 
 by his votes. He had been elected a 
 Municijial Councillor and Mayor of 
 Chambly in February or March, 187H. 
 He hail forgotten, however, to qualify 
 himself. But he had hcv-n Mayor for 
 four or five years and was known to be 
 a man of means. Some weeks 
 subsequent to the Session in July 
 last, Mr. Letellier appointed in 
 place and stead of Mr. Martel, a 
 Councillor to suit himself, on the ground 
 that Mr. Martel had filed his qualifica- 
 tion pa])ers a few days too late. Of 
 course Mr. Letellier did that in order to 
 " suli.stitute the action of the ju<liciary 
 for the intervention of the Executive, and 
 for the better protection of the rights and 
 prerogatives of the Crown." 5. A word 
 only as to Mr. Letellier's complaint 
 about the two proclamations, inserted in 
 the Official Ga:,ctte without his know- 
 ledge and consent. Messrs. Chapleau, 
 (JIuirch and Angers furnish a reply to the 
 charge, which places Mr. Letellier in a 
 most humiliating jiosition. He says that 
 one of the proclamations was for the 
 calling of the Legisl-iture. The official 
 |)apers laid before the Quebec Assembly 
 in July last, prove that Mr. Letellier is 
 wrong. It was n)erely the fornuil calling 
 of the Legislature, not for the desjtatch 
 of business, which takes place every forty 
 days, and is done by an ordinary cleric. 
 We find, moreover, by those oflicial jiapers 
 that the Order in Council, in relation 
 to that luoclamation and the proclania- 
 
u 
 
 linu itself honrs the signature of Mr. 
 'Lotcllier liimseif. Mr. Letrllifr iii.so 
 si^iifil tlie Order in Council and tlio jiro- 
 tlamation nlatingto Thanksgiving l>ay. 
 -Mori'ovcr, it was lie hinisclt", acting on 
 a letter lioin the Dominion Prime Min- 
 i.ster, the liun. memlier for Lanihton, who 
 liad asked Mr. DeDoncherviile to pre- 
 ]jare the Order in Council and prccLmia 
 tiau respecting the Tlianksgiving Day. 
 'L'hese facts are jjainful to state ; unfor- 
 tunately they are true. ^Ir. Lcfcllier 
 must have heenKnrlly in w.nntofarguments 
 to justii'y the dismis.sul of Lis Ministers 
 ■when lie lias recouisu to suth iiiaccuva(;ies. 
 ft, 1 now come to the most delicate point 
 ill my task. Mr. Letellier sojeinnly 
 asserts that Mr. DeBouchcrville admit- 
 ted to him that his Governntont could 
 not do any good, because it was cuii- 
 trolled by " Kings," that is to say, by 
 odious combinations among Conservative 
 niembei'S who wanted to get their hands 
 into the public chest. This serious charge 
 IS not founded on fact. But I shall answtn- 
 it with the respect and dignity character- 
 istic of Air. DeBouchervilie's rej)ly. He 
 might well have said : " j\lr. Letellier, 
 you are wrong in making such a charge 
 on the eve of a general election ; you 
 know in the first place it is not true, in 
 the next you know what harm such an 
 accusation over your signatuie svill wurk 
 to the country and to a powerful party. 
 ypull of respect for the rights and prero- 
 gatives of the Crown, which you have 
 utilized to cover your political naked- 
 ness, I respect them too much in your 
 person to qualify your accusation as it 
 rightly deserves." Mr, DeBoucherville 
 refrained from saying that, and ho did 
 •well. But ho lespectfuUy submitted to 
 Mr. Letellier a crushing truth of far 
 greater weight. He said to Mr. J.ctellicr, 
 I cotild not have made such an admission, 
 the thing is simply impossible, for the 
 best of reasons, namely, that my Govern- 
 Xnent never experienced the pressure of 
 "Kings," for railways on the South 
 Shore, and that since i came into power, 
 in ltt74, I have not increased liy one 
 single cent the grants to those i-aihv.'iys. 
 There has been what was called a doulil- 
 ing up of grants, that is to say, that one 
 railway company which shortened its 
 line, renounced a portion of its giant, in 
 order to apply the remainder to the part 
 Ifi the road already begun or constructed. 
 
 ..u w.i'% r,o •J^.^•},\ an I so r-v- 
 i l*>ill of t!i:.t iiit"r,>. whieli 
 
 I '!'!i.i; lo.'i^! 1 
 cell •ll^ tlia: 
 had l)e,-i'. i:i!i<Klui-i-:l by {]■,.• |) f.-.-..^',,.!.. 
 ville Adininisliaiiuii. ;:•. tli wi-i-ci- ••■>• 
 tion of 1878, vas carried ili digh, ufi m- 
 the dismissal of that .Administration, l)v 
 tiie Joly Cabinet, with the sanction df 
 Mr. Ji( telli<r himself. This is tlio 
 same Bill that served Mr. Letellier us 
 a pretext for thwarting the DeHoueher- 
 ville ^linistry as toils Bill relating to 
 taxes, and its Bill resjiocting the Q. M. 
 O. it O. Railway. I trust, theretbro, 
 Mr. Speaker, that Mr. LetflJi.T'.s conduct 
 will bo censu'-ed, and that that censuro 
 will he lullo.ved l>y practic.il oonsp 
 ipienccs. Three jiowerlul motives of 
 pulilie interest imiieialively d' iiiand tliac 
 solution. It is of vital importance that, 
 in the liisl, sta^cof our histoiv. as a Con- 
 
 feileraiiu;., 
 
 We 
 
 d 
 
 ri'pi'iliat", \vi» 
 should repel, wo siK.ui 1 :„••); uise HilV 
 attem[it at persiuial gove;niiieiii. Wr 
 have based our ivw sysiej;; ,;:i the IJiit- 
 ish Constitution, tiie gra lue.st, the most 
 liberal under the .sun. i^et us maintain 
 it intact, and let punishment pro|)or- 
 tioned to the heinousness of the offence, 
 be inflicted on tlio tirst who dares to vio- 
 late it. Let us establish at once, in tho 
 apt words of the right lion, tho leader 
 of the Government, a salutary and last- 
 ing in-ocedent, a precedent which may- 
 serve as a warning and a lesson to future 
 generations. In the second j)lace, Mr. 
 Letellier has rendered himself unworthv 
 of the high olUco beholds; his mode of 
 acting towards his .Ministers, his treat- 
 ment of a powerful party in the country, 
 the numerous iniiacui'acies of which he 
 was voluntarily guilty in his otlicial cor- 
 resfomlunce on the sulyect, not only ren- 
 der him unworthy of his position, Imt 
 must bring di.scrnilit on the Royal auth- 
 ority, and thereby iufiict an injury on 
 monarcliial institutions in this countrv. 
 But there is another, and a still gi-eater 
 danger. !Mr. Letellier, by openly declar- 
 ing war against a powerful party in the 
 l'roviiie'3 of Quebe;', l>y insvdting it as ho 
 has done in his letter of the 18th of 
 March, to Li>rd Dutierin, has rendered 
 any adiiHiiiNtration ly him impossible in 
 the Province of t^uebL'c. By identifying 
 himself with a party, as Lord Metcalfe 
 dill, lit! compels tin; opjiositiou to strike, 
 not merely at the adverse parly, hut ac 
 the representative of authority. He hw, 
 
19 
 
 tliei-efoi'P, ronderetl impossiblo any co- 
 operation between liiiiiKclf and tLo 
 majority in tlie Proviiico of Que- 
 bec, in carrying on I lie jiublie busiiu>ss. 
 And now, wliat reply is tbere to all these 
 accusiitions ajiainst Mr. T.ctellier. I do 
 not pretend to a monopoly of tlie Iciiow- 
 ledge and virtue of justice ; but wliat re- 
 ply is there to this? T ask in what way 
 certain subsequent acts can be 
 adduced in favour of Mr. Letel- 
 lierl It may. i)eiha}»s, be said that, 
 durino; last ^(i.ssion, we tri^d l\[r. 
 Letcllier, and that ho was acrpn'ttcd. Mr. 
 S]ieakc'r. theie are eei-tain crimes in thu 
 caseof which neither til J^lcii, of alreadv 
 trieil nor prescription can ever be ad- 
 vanced. And, in tlie tir.st i)laceasa mat- 
 ter of fact, he did not iind'.T'^'o his tri:d ; 
 he was not jiidLjed. The motion of cen- 
 sure, made last vear, was not rfject d 
 npon its merits. Di'siwt(! tlie docile and 
 jiowerful majoi ity whicli the hon niem- 
 ler for l/inibton Olr. Alackenzie) then 
 had, he did not choose that the debate 
 slioul<llmexhanstcd upon tlienierits of tlie 
 Li( utenant-(!i)Vernor's conduct. On the 
 contr-ry, he had recourse to a subterrus;(\ 
 He entered a dilatory jilcu fur the de- 
 fence, lie denrindi'd that ^he cause 
 sh(Mild be put off until the time when the 
 iudirmiMit of the jyefiph' should he frix'cn. 
 The writs had breu is'-ued, the local 
 flections wer(^ soon to taki; place, and it 
 was said : I.ct us leave it in the 
 hands of the people ; let tlit^u) 
 decide. I did not approve of tliat judg- 
 ment ; it cannot V)e revoked now ; it was 
 not only one of the rights of the 
 Federal Parliament, but ;dso one of its 
 duties, generally, to superintend all per- 
 sons employed by the Crown. It has a 
 right to say in such a case, or in such 
 circumstances, an employe has misbe- 
 haved him.self ; that is what we did ; we 
 had a right to do it, anil, in England, 
 the thing has been done over and over 
 again. I am aware that Mr. Letellier, 
 in answer to ^fessrs. Chapleau, Church 
 and Angers, says that, after all, he was 
 right, and that his Ministers did not 
 ])ossess the public contidence. He quotes 
 \ictoriously the cafie of my hon. friend 
 from Missisquoi (Mr. Baker). It is 
 true that the hon. Ptovincial Secretary 
 for Quebec, for the time (the 
 member for Missisquoi) was defeat- 
 ed, but it was a defeat that docs little 
 
 Iionour to the party wlilch Mr. Lelelll-n' 
 wished to bring into prAver. Every ore 
 knows the enormous iiifr.iy. the terrifu 
 outriti,''', liy iii'-auH of whirh Mi'. Maker 
 wa.s defeated. On th" eve i|' the eii;ctiulis, 
 the sert'ices nf ;; .■ •• la Ihr wen- s.'cur^d, 
 who v.i',/:i ill ji ni'w.spaper infa- 
 uiuus state nents Hgninst Mr. IJakor, 
 ji'isurd and impossible statement", but it 
 was too hito to refute them in time to 
 prijvent the evil which they were to do 
 during the election. By means of this 
 conspiracy —the foulest and the vilest, 
 p»rhai)S, which has come to light for 
 years and years — they succeded in crush- 
 ing a (listinguislu;d man, nnc' wore able 
 to .siy that he had been diffati'd, and 
 consequently that the conp il'i:tiit had 
 been ratified by the people. The news- 
 paper which pu'olished those infimousj 
 Statements against my friend, .Air. Biker, 
 was lirought l)ttfor<i a criminal court, and 
 some time* after, retracted fully, apolo- 
 gised an 1 pai;l the costs. Many defeats 
 have lieen occasioned by similir means, 
 and if it is wished to plead .such a vic- 
 tory as a justitiLMtidu of 3Ir. Letellier, 
 I think tint the less he Iwasts of it the 
 I letter tir his honour. In fict, it app.?irs 
 that tiiat Govuriimeut had a majority at a 
 given period of its existence, hut it was 
 not upon the constitutional question, oix 
 which the elections had been held. Tfc 
 was ilefeated, it was censured at the 
 oppuing of the House ujton the 
 very vote on the Address in reply 
 to the Speech from the Throne. 
 Later, by means of those of 
 " human devices." of which JMr. Letel- 
 tier has the secret, the Joly Government 
 obtained one vote more, but it was the 
 purchased casting-vote of the Speaker of 
 the House. A law was passed there, but it 
 was only^ passed by the casting vote of the 
 Speaker. It was reserved for the de- 
 cision of the Imperial Government, and 
 then it was declared that it must be dis- 
 ajiproved and not allowed, because it 
 was passed by the casting vote of the 
 Speaker. By the quotations which I 
 have made, we have seen that that 
 chaijge of Government, that scandal by 
 which the representative of the Sove- 
 reign proceeded without authority to 
 biing a minority into power, are 
 always deserving of rebuke, are 
 always blamable. We have always 
 the right to blame the means whicli h* 
 
10 
 
 Employed to give the power to r. min- 
 ority which hinl it not. ami to drive from 
 ])ower ii majority wliiili possessed piihiic 
 confiilt'iice, us well as that >)f the House. 
 It ha.s also Itcon saiil, ami, I su,)iiose, that 
 the same reason will lie acMmeil with 
 great viijour, that Mr. L:'t('!li"i's cimr.ie 
 was ii|i|iroviMl, hecatise tlio sni'ulies 
 were vote d to the Govi'rmnent of his 
 selection. But. Sir. that would he 
 a Sid ari,'iiment. It wouM bo a very .severe 
 imiiisliiiieiit to inflict on all those de- 
 voted, intcUisjent, and patriotic men 
 who preferred the juiMic interc't to their 
 own just resentment. We had, in the 
 I'rovince of Quebec, very important 
 works under way ; we had to construct a 
 railway and we required money to pay 
 the contra';tors, and we had to meet our 
 enga«cements. The Conservative party 
 might refuse the sup])lies, it might have 
 thrown the Province into great con- 
 fusion, and done great injut-y to its 
 credit, but tint party preferred to sacii- 
 iice its political rancour, and its just mis- 
 trust upon the altar of its country ; ami 
 now can it be brought foi-Wiiixl as a re- 
 proach against our Cons 'rv'ative friends 
 who did thereby a great act of devotion, 
 rather than punish those men who so 
 justly deserved it ? It oidy now remains 
 for me to thank the House heartily for 
 the attention with which I have been 
 listened to ; with me, the House 
 understands the importance of the 
 
 subject. If T liave gone too far 
 in mv allusions to certain actions, 
 I ask pardon. Pint I think I 
 have <lone what I proposed to do. 
 I \vi?ihi-d to do two thing-i, — to prove, 
 before tiie House and before the country, 
 •that the reasons adduced by Mr. Letel- 
 lier for having dismissed his .Ministers 
 and so eminently respectable a leader of 
 the Government (.Mr. UelJoucherville) 
 that these reasons 1 say were not 
 sutlicient, even supposing them to be 
 well founded, to justify his action. I 
 furthei' wished to prove that thost; reasons 
 were alisolutely valueless because they 
 were characteiized i)y very serious errors 
 and incorrectness, if not .something 
 worse. The motion which 1 am abovit 
 to submit is word for word the same as 
 that l)rought forward in April last by 
 tlie right hon. the leader of the 
 Government. Every one will under- 
 stand why I present the sanu' motion : 
 it is for the purpose of obtaining more 
 easily the puiiislnnent reserved f u' the 
 fiiult or the crime of Mr. Letellier, 
 riie motion is as follows : 
 
 • 
 
 Resolved : — That tlio dismissal by tlio 
 Lii'iitcn;int-Qovcrn(ir of (jiieliec df his Minis- 
 ti'is, on the second day of Murtli, 1878, was 
 under the ciuumstaiucs, unwise anil suhv.T- 
 sive of the position accorded to the ndvisiTsi of 
 the <'rown since the concession of tlie princi- 
 pie of Responsible Government tu the Britisli 
 Is'ortli American Colonies. 
 
 I 
 
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