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 To the Freeholders of the County of Halifax. 
 
 Mr FiiiXKus,— 
 
 Since I have been your RepresenUitiTe. I bav* been in the bibit, 
 M many of you live in remote places, off the Post Roads, of seiidiog you ai timet 
 a xheet or two of political information. The following Speech was called forth 
 during the recent Session, by attacks upon the Government of Lord Falkland. It 
 ^vill give you some idea of the principles, and practical working, of the present 
 Administration ; and, I trust, satisfy you tha; it aims at the public good, and that, 
 in giving it their support, your Representatives are but doing their duty. 
 
 Yours truly, 
 
 JOSEPH HOWE. 
 
 Thb Speaker (the Hon. Joseph Howe) spoke as follows : — Mr. 
 Chairman, as some misunderstanding appears to exist with regard to 
 the principles and objects of the present Administration — as retlections 
 have been cast upon it on several occasions when I was in the Chai. — 
 aad as one gentleman, in this Debate, has insinuated that the Go- 
 vernment expects from the Membersof this House a cringing support, 
 whib another has der'tred, that, though his head be grey, he hopes to 
 see the Country reti :n to its old Constitution, it would app^jar desira- 
 ble that the principles and conduct of Lo.d Falkland's Administra- 
 ti<m should l»e frankly explained to the House and to the Country. 
 On the first day of the Session the Hon. Member from Yarmouth 
 complained ihut the policy of the Government was not more dis- 
 tinctly ind cated by His Excellsncy : that Hon. Gentleman, or 
 any other, has a right to call for the most ample explanations of His 
 Lordship's principles, but these are not to be expected in the opening 
 Speech. Our Institutions differ, in this respect, from those of our 
 republican neighbours. The Government of the United States is not 
 represented in the two Houses of Legislation by those who are the 
 advisers of the Chi"f Magistrate, and therefore elaborate state- 
 ments are made in the Messages serit down to Congress. In the 
 British Parliament, the Crown is represented by its Ministers, who 
 not only preside over important departments, but take the lead in the 
 business of legislation ; and therefore the opening speech is regarded 
 as a matter of form, and a party struggle rarely takes place upon it, 
 except, under peculiar circurasfnnccs, where, (as in a late instance,) 
 it may be nscessary to give the coup de grace to a retiring Govern- 
 ment, worsted by protracted and successful opposition. Though 
 His Excellency, then, may not have gone at large into the general 
 views upon which his Administration has been conducted, wo, who 
 stand here to represent him, are prepared to answer any questions 
 which gentlemen may put, aiid to 4,ive the most ample information. 
 Waiting for such inquiries, I have not thought it necessary to trouble 
 
tm 
 
 ilhe House with a speech, but, when a gentleman rises and states his 
 anxiety to go back to the old practices and modes of administration, 
 which both the past House and the present House have repudiated, it 
 is time to furnii^h explanations and statements of the conduct and policy 
 of the Government, that Members may determine whether they will 
 go on with the Administrstion or go back with the Member for Pictou. 
 I need not now refer to those circumstances which led toliie forma- 
 t"on of the present Government — these were fully explained at the 
 last Session ; and, by the rejection of an attempt to condemn us, the 
 House seemed, by an overwhelming majority, to sanction the course 
 which had been pursued : we have therefore gone on for a year, and 
 now gladly return to the assembled R.epresentatives of the people, 
 to give an account of our stewardship, and to subject every principle 
 and act of administration to the most searching and rigid inquiry. 
 Lord Falkland's Government, likf; any other based on a Representa- 
 tive system, must be judged by its acts of legislation and of admi- 
 nistration: let us then first enquire, how has it discharged 
 its legislative duties ? During the last Session the Government 
 measures introduced were, the Halifax Incorporation Act, three or 
 four Bills, tor adopting, into our Criminal Code, the modern improve- 
 ments of the Mother Country — the Act for abolishing the Inferior 
 Courts and establishing the Judicatory of the Province, and the Act 
 for improving the Court of Marriage and Divorce. All these were 
 passed by both Branches, and, so far, was the legislative action of 
 the Government approved. It is true that one Bill, introduced by 
 Members of Council this Session, has been rejected, or rather 
 deferred to the next Session, but all hostility, in that i -stance, has 
 been denied by most of the majority who postponed the consideration 
 of the Bill. Three or four Bills, introduced by GoverninenU,thia 
 Session, have parsed — some of them praired — but one has been 
 postponed, while every measure of the last Session met the approval 
 of both Houses ; — it is evident, then, that if the Hon. Member from 
 Pictou desires to go back, it cannot be because the legislation of the 
 present Government has been hostile to the interests of the people, or 
 contrary to the opinions of this House. 
 
 Passing to the second branch of ti subject, the administrative 
 duties, I may remark, that these are of a multifarious character, in- 
 volving much responsibility and difficulty, particularly in a Govern- 
 ment constituted like the present. These duties consist, chiefly, iu 
 paying^ suitable respect to the wishes of the people, as expressed 
 through the ordinary channels, and dispensing the patronage of the 
 Country. Before touching upon the mode in which the latter has 
 been distributed, T may be permitted to say, in reference to the form- 
 er, that the humblest individual in Nova Scotia, who, during the past 
 year, has had any thing to bring to the notice of the Executive, has 
 experienced due respect, and met a fair consideration of his claims. 
 , In every matter pressed by this House on the attention of the Go- 
 vernment, the greatest anxiety has been manifested to meet its just 
 expectations, and carry forward its plans. In this spirit the Boards 
 
 6'" 
 
 '\ 
 
3 
 
 of Agriculture and Education, authorised by Acts of the last Session, 
 were framed — the appointments might not be the best, but they were 
 made with an anxiety to do what was right to the whole population, 
 and to meet the wishes of this Assembly. The grant io the Museum, 
 sanctioned by the Legislature, was withheld, 'est a false step might 
 bo. taken, and of that act this House has already approved. With 
 the single exception of the Resolution for paying off rfSOOO of the 
 funded debt, I know of nothing brought to the notice of the Execu- 
 tive which has not received attention : whether, in that matter, blame 
 can fairly attach, remains to be shown — the question has not been 
 raised. 
 
 In turning to the appointments by which the Executive must be 
 mainly judged, 1 may be permitted to remark, *o Members who, in de- 
 bate, have expressed dislike to a coalition Adm.nistralion, and who see 
 anomalies in carrying on the Government by a junction of two par- 
 ties, that they may be assured that none have felt the inconvenience 
 of the position more thaki those who were at the Council Board ; 
 they have found the fact continually pressed on their minds, and the 
 deliberations of the present hour constantly influenced by the ties, 
 obligations, passions, and prejudices of the past. To throw our- 
 selves upon one party, and outrage the feelings of another, would 
 haiie been a comparitively simple course, but we have chosen a more 
 difficult task: one which,* however it may for a time weaken the Go- 
 vernment in some respects, will ultimately secure for it a broad founda- 
 tion in the confidence of thi» House and in the affections of the people. 
 To do justice to all— to surround the Governor with the best talent in 
 the Province — to elevate to posts of importance men of experience and 
 ability only, who were entillq^ to public confidence — and to break 
 down those barriers of sociaLfipd political exclusiveuess, by which 
 large classes of the commu^y were shut out frMi the favor of, and 
 dil.en into opposition to, the Government, has b^n our aim: this is 
 the key to the dispensation of pnJionage — the leading principle run- 
 ning through a!;, the appointments made since the <irnval of Lord 
 Falkland. Whether this course be right or wrong i^ Can this Assem- 
 bly to decide ; but 1 may be allowed to express my belief, that, in dis- 
 charging this portion of his duties, His Lordship has been guided by 
 a sincere desire to give satisfaction and to do justice. The first ap- 
 pointment of any consequence was that of the Hon. Mr. Bell, to a 
 seat in the Lesfislative Council. I am aw^re that some Members 
 think, and I entirely ?.gree with them, that the rural districts are 
 not yet sufficiently represented i;i that branch — but Mr. Bell had 
 been twice i-eturned to this House by the electors of the capital, and 
 the appointment was an indication, to a large partofihe Assembly and 
 of the population, who had been hitherto too much excluded, that 
 the Governmelit was anxious to do what was right, and fjxtend fair 
 consideration to all. The next appointment was that of the present 
 Master of the Rolls, and I think I may challenge any man to say, if, 
 in selecting to preside over the Chancery Court, a gentleman who 
 had long held the highest Crown Office, and who had sat at the head 
 
of this House for nearly twenty years, the Governor did not do that 
 which public opinion approved. In referring to the appointment of 
 the Attorney General, I need not say to the House, and to the Pro- 
 vince, that the gentlenoao selected stood at the head of the Bar, dis- 
 tinguished for talents, and eloquence, and qualities of various kinds ; 
 and although, in the discussions of former times, that gentleman 
 sometimes was opposed to a majority of the Assembly, yet, 
 from his weight of character, no man in the House will say 
 that the Executive could have passed him over. The Solicitor Ge- 
 neral's was another of the new appointments, and his claims, also, 
 were of i nature which could not be overlooked. The House 
 had, for many years, borne testimony to his talents, information, and 
 eloquence, and knew the value which any Government should place 
 on his services. The appointment of Provincial Secretary, for the time 
 being, was another act of the Executive. The selection of the gentle- 
 man who performs the duty, and who preserved the confidence of all 
 parties in this Assembly for a series of years, formed an evidence o^ 
 the anxiety of His Excellency to surround himself with men of ability 
 and experience, and gave to the House an assurance of just and 
 equitable government. The elevation of Mr. Justice Haliburton to 
 the Bench of the Supreme Court, was another of the more im- 
 portant appointments. To this some of my own friends h»?e object- 
 ed, because, it was said, the gentleman belonged prominently to tho 
 other side. In making this appointment, so far as politics were con- 
 cerned, the House had tied up the hands of the Executive, by making 
 it compulsory to select one of the Judges of the Inferior Court, and 
 all of them had acted with the former Administration. 1 do not 
 wish to draw invidious distinctions, or to contend that the gentleman 
 selected was the best fitted for the situation, I am but giving the 
 answer to some of my own friends, by whom political objections have 
 been raised. Looking to uher appointments, one was made to the 
 Customs atWindsor, with the approbation of the iate Member, although 
 the politics of the gentleman and hisown were not tho same. A similar 
 appointment at Digby was complained of on 3. former day, and a few 
 words of explanation may be necessary upon that point. There had 
 been in this Province a party Government, one side being in, and the 
 other carefully excluded, for a series of years. It became necessary, 
 at the commencement of the new Administration, to convince the 
 party excluded, and whose good wishes it was wise to conciliate, ihat 
 the middle wall of partition was broken down, that men of all parties 
 were eligible to appointments under the Government, and that the 
 path was open for all to aspire to and share tho patronage of the Pro- 
 vince. The appointment showed, to a large portion of the people, 
 that Government sought active useful men, and that politics were 
 hereafter to form no ground of exclusic^i from office. I need not re- 
 peat the reasons given on a former evening in justification of the em- 
 ployment of Mr Wightman. 
 
 Turning to the Executive Council — may I not claim for the 
 Lieutenant Governor the most anxious desire to remedy, what, on his 
 
 1 
 
1 
 
 acBuming the Government, was folt to be the main faiiU in its con* 
 struction. A seat was ofl'ered to the Hon. Member from Yarnioiuh, 
 who, I have always regretted, felt himself constrained, by strung 
 opiiiions on a particular measure, and strong feelings towaids par- 
 ticular individuals, to decline it. But his Lordship did not stop there: 
 the recent appointment of the learned Member for Inverness, must 
 have shown to the Members of the old majority, that there is 
 no desire to retain old feelings and antipathies among the Members 
 of the present Government, but that the wish is to act for the generul 
 catisfuction and benefit of the Province at large. Let me now glance 
 over ho small but necessary appointments which pervade the Coun- 
 try. Many of these yield little or no emolument — but they confer 
 honor anu influence in the different Cuuntiea, and they may be 
 made in a way either to wound the feelings of large clusses of 
 the people, or to convince the popuhuiou that they havtj 
 been distributed by a just and paternal Government. In dwel- 
 ling for a moment on this branch of the duties of the Executive, I 
 think I mry dec'are at the outset, that no new Administration, com- 
 ing into oto( o rtHh new principles, ever dealt more leniently wiili 
 tbcie licldi .^ h.'gii officia' or subordinate situations, 'than did the 
 fiove ir'JiK Ci Lord Fai'.lar.ii Of ell those who had been crowded 
 into pvery p.^st and commission tiuring « party Government of half a 
 co«!iu.y — bat four or five Atagisi'riftes, and theso for particular resi- 
 sot'i which ii'^od rtvi bo gone ii-ii> viow, hd'.e been displaced, in 
 ti'q,y, tti'/i; Eno'itlis, b/ the Licittnant Governor. Whether this con- 
 dLot w#-re wise ^-r unwise, loobcing merely to tlie ordinary modes of 
 atrenf,'thening a new /^drainititrfition, it ought to prove to the party 
 whose friends have thus been left in possession, that there has been 
 no desire to act harshly, but a generous determination to do what 
 was right and conciliatory, even to those whose ancient monopoly had 
 been broken up. With respect to appointments, the rights and du- 
 viesof the Executive, and of the Flonse, ought to be distinctly under- 
 stood. In receiving >om Members of the Legislature suggestions 
 and information, with respect to appointments, the Government ex- 
 ercises but a just discretion. The utmoi=t weight has been, and will 
 ever be, given to the opinions of those who represent and live among 
 the people ; but it must always be borne in mind, that all these of- 
 fices, as also the highest in the land, are in the gift of the Queen's 
 Representative, and that the free exercise of the prerogative, even in 
 the most remote settlement of the Colony committed to his care, 
 in the distribution of patronage, as in the protection of the sub- 
 ject, is a duty which Lord Falkland is determined conscientiously to 
 discharge. In seeking suggestions and information, from those whose 
 opinions are best entitled to respect, the advisers of His Excellency 
 have only done their duty to the Queen's Representative in the man- 
 ner most likely to give satisfaction — they have never asked that the 
 prerogative should be surrendered into their hands, much less into 
 the hands of Members of this House. But they are here to defend 
 its exercise — to shew tliattl'm Nobleman at the head of the Govern- 
 
6 
 
 ment, while lie has pieserved the prerogative with a jetilous and sen- 
 mitive regard to the rights uf the Crown — appointing and removing at 
 pleasure — has used it with the utmost deference to the rights and 
 feelings of the people. With these explanations, let me now answer 
 the question, how has this power been exercised in the different 
 Counties ? We are bound to give an answer to this question in the 
 House, because, although none have made sweeping charges here, 
 ihey have been made elsewhere, and reiterated by the designing and 
 malicious from one end of the Province to the other. Here, on the 
 floors of this House, is the place where charges, either against a Go- 
 vernment or any of its Members, should be made, if they can be made 
 at all. Here, if a man tells an untruth, it can be probed, his subter- 
 fuges torn to pieces, and he made ashamed, befor6the a'ssembled Re- 
 presentatives of the people whom he seeks to mislead. Here a man can 
 stand up and defend his conduct, and contend fairly for his princi- 
 l)les, and though I may disregard the covert slanders which are hourly 
 cast upon the Government, it gives me pleasure to stand here in ite 
 defence, because I know that its acts and its policy are defensible. 
 In seven Counties of the Province, Halifax, Cape-Breton, Queen's, 
 Lunenburg, Sydney, Shelburne, and Inverness, every appointment 
 throughout the year has been feiiher made in accordance with the 
 suggestions of the gentlemen who represent them, or in such a man- 
 ner as I have reason to know meets their approval. This is a wjde 
 departure from the old system, a substantial concession from the 
 Crown to the People : and yet the rights of the Crown are studiously 
 guarded, for I ot one of those appointments would Lord Falkland 
 have made, unless, in his deliberate judgment, he approved of the 
 auggestious. Let me run over the other Counties, and see how mat- 
 ters stand." In Richmond every local appointment, but two, was 
 made at the suggestion of the Members, and those two were recom- 
 mended by the gentleman who formerly represented the County. In 
 Hants and Colchester all that were asked were given, with others 
 which were satisfactory. In Digby, where there has been a division 
 of sentiment, the claims of botli parties were respected. In Yar- 
 mouth some awkward mistakes occurred in the appointment of the 
 School Commissioners, in which, perhaps, the Government were to 
 blame ; yet the error arose from no desire to annoy, but from the want 
 of that minute local information, which, however desirable, cannot 
 always be had in the capital. The Magistrates given to Yarmouih 
 were approved, or, if there was any fault, more good ones were ap- 
 pointed than were asked or expected. In Cumberland two -parties 
 exist, the one represented here by two Members, and the other by one, 
 yet the aim of the Government has been to do justice to both, to se- 
 lect men of influence and respectability from each, and to draw the 
 population together by a course of conciliation and justice. An- 
 napolis was a County peculiarly situated. One party, there, a small 
 minority, had for a long time held dominant sway over the other, 
 which embraced much of the wealth, intelligence, and productive 
 industry of the County. Without, then, disturbing the minority in 
 
 

 the offices they enjoyed, the policy of Lord Falkland has been to do 
 justice to the majority — to sweep away the old rule of exclusion, and 
 to let every man within the County fee!, that, if possessed of cha- 
 racter and intelligence, he was entitled to fair consideration frofti the 
 Government. Differences of opinion existed in Ouysborough, and 
 severe charges, backed by the Members from that County, were pre- 
 ferred against an individual there — nn investigation was given, and 
 the explanations being satisfactory, the prerogative, instead of being 
 tamely surrendered, for purposes of oppression, was extended for 
 the protection of an humble individual, against popular clamour, until 
 a Jury of his countrymen should pronounce upon his guiit or inno- 
 cence. Complaints have been made here respecting somo appoint- 
 ments in King's County, but the Member of Council from that County, 
 who WHS regularly summ.oned, not having attended, the Lieutenant- 
 Governor is scarcely to Uame for errors which might have been cor- 
 rected hud that Gentleman been at the Board. I am well aware that 
 a good deal of dissatisfaction is felt by one party in Pictou, but the 
 state of that County must be taken into account. The Pictou Aca- 
 demy has, for many years, been a source of discord in that part of 
 the Province. The population are nearly all Presbyterians, divided 
 by some lines of demarkation, which in the Old Country may be suf- 
 ficiently distinct, but in this are scarcely discernable. As, howevet, 
 the nearest of kin are often the most bitter opponents, so it has been 
 with the good people of Pictou : — having had little to quarrel about, 
 their enmity has been irreconcilable. The party represented by the 
 Hon. Gentleman who complains of the Government, and his col- 
 leagues, we are bound to believe is the largest, from the fact of its in- 
 fluencing the representation, — but the other is nearly one half, com- 
 posed of intelligent, industrious and valuable Novascotians ; and 
 could the enlightened Nobleman at the head of the Government sur^ 
 render the Queen's prerogative to the Hon. Gentleman and his friends, 
 that a body like this should be irodden down by its religious, rather 
 than its political, opponents ? In distributing local patronage, justice 
 and every courteous consideration have been given to the party who 
 are represented here, but the minority has had justice also. In exer- 
 cising the prerogative firmly, the feelings of one party may have been 
 excited into undeserved hostility ; but His Excellency would be un- 
 worthy to preside over the Province; and the Members of his Govern- 
 ment would be unworthy to stand in this House, as his advisers, if, 
 knowing the numbers, property and intelligence, of that body, they 
 allowed their opponents to ride over them, rough shod, without any 
 attempt made for their protection. This is the answer to the Hon. 
 Member from Pictou. 
 
 In this manner, then, has the Government of Lord Falkland been 
 conducted: whenever His Lordship has interfered to guide the Le- 
 gislation of this House, it has been his aim toe::tead popular rights — 
 ^improve the criminal laws — renovate, or consolidate, existing institu-^ 
 tions, and supply such machinery as may be required for an eflfective 
 and responsible Administration ; when he has been called on to 
 
mmm 
 
 8 
 
 Hispense either general or local pairorage, hia aim has been ti correct 
 past errors, to nllny o'd animosiMes, to call men of ability into ihe 
 cervice of the Country, and to make every man of worth and taleM 
 feel that he hao but to command the confidence of the people, to at- 
 tract the notice of the Wovernment. To make this intel'igible to the 
 Country, in th* short space of a year, has required mucf\ labour, and 
 patient c'onHideraiion. The Governmei.* of this Province differs in 
 some important particular* from thpt of Canada : there the Admini- 
 stration is composed of Heads of Departments, each Member draw- 
 ing a large Salary. Only two Members of Lord Falkland's Council 
 receive any emoluments,— so that, if every trifling detail of Admini- 
 stration has not beea as perfect as might be desired, the labour-* 
 of those gentlemen have not as yet brought much reward, although 
 they have spent many anxious hours in the public service. 
 
 Charges have been made, and reiterated from lime to time, against 
 myself, of which I have taken little noticp, but to which it may be 
 as well now to give the answer. It has been said that, by the exer- 
 cise of undue influence, the patronage of the Government has 
 flowed into my family. F here stale, in presence of this Com- 
 mittee, and of the Country, and I challenge denial from those 
 who represent Jhese slanderers, that Lord Falkland has never given 
 patronage, to the amount of a single pound, to myself or to any of 
 •ny famil", since he assumed the Gcver.iment. My Father enjoyed 
 an office many years ago. and, according t.i the good olu rule of in- 
 herilance, his Son succeeded, and has held the appomtment since 
 his death. The present Deputy Post Mister General has given sub- 
 ordinate offices, of which he possessed the palronage, under the 
 sanction of the Post Master General in England, to memoers of h s 
 family. These have been bestowed independent.of the AJministra- 
 tion,— one of them under the Government of Sir Colin Catnp- 
 bell. During the last year, one of these si'aations, after having 
 beea twice offered to voung gentlemen of 'he town, and refused, was 
 given to a member of my Brother's family, who '..eld a place un- 
 der Government, nearly as good as that which he accepted to the 
 Post Office Department, and which he immediately resigned. This 
 is my answer to my personal assailants, and let any man here coii- 
 tradict my assertions if they are not correct. But, it may be said, if 
 the Hov es do not get every thing, the McNabs do. A few words of 
 pxnianation will set this matter right. The seat enjoyed by orie of 
 t're McNab.o, in the other end of the B'lilding, was given by Sir Pere- 
 frine Maitland,— and the seat in the Executive Council, by Sir Coiin 
 
 Campbell. ' , l • * 
 
 Mr. Huntingdon said a trifling error had been made on that point, 
 the appointment alluded to was by Sir Colin Campbell, but it was 
 not confi'-med until subsequently. » j w lu 
 
 Hon. Mr. McNab.^The Mandamus was oat before Lord Falk- 
 land's arrival. , n • 
 
 The Speaker.^The Mandamus was received in the Province 
 while the Governor General was on his visit to New- Brunswick, and 
 
■p^ar^ 
 
 Mr. McNa J was sworn m, by Sir Colin, before he returned ; on ihe 
 arrivs) of Lord Faiklan!, he stood in the came situation as 
 other Membera, and, being ejected by the people, could not have 
 been fairly displaced. So far, ihen, it is clear that Lord Falkland 
 cannot be charged with these appointments, or with having done any 
 thing, by my advice, for the specin! benefit of the Howes and Mc 
 N;;bs. I have been long enough in pul/lic life »o know thai false, 
 lioods may circulate through nocieiy, ns the hiduon thorn festers 
 in the flesh, the answer and the remedy being easy, when the 
 cause of the irritation can bo traced. In this House 1 im 
 always ready to rnee* misrepresentations — to grapple with false- 
 hoods, and put them down by the force of truth and candid dealing. 
 1 make tne^e explanations here, becauro here are gentlemen from 
 every part of the country, who can contradict me if thsy arj untrue. 
 Lord Falkland has given a young friend of mine an honorary siti-a- 
 tion on his per.ional staff, which yields neither emolument nor inHu- 
 ence, but leads yo some expense. The situalio " Provincial Aid 
 is a household, not a political, appointnient, and > , eneraiJy given to 
 genteel good looking young men, of respectablo families in the Town. 
 Though well aware that it would be unfair, to his Lordship, to at- 
 tempt a defence uf ouch an appointment h^re, " may say thus much 
 for my young relative, that he has had a liberal education, has mani- 
 fested as much judgment and industry as his neighbours, and has 
 travelled over more of Europe and America than half of those who 
 are snarling at his heels. 
 
 Having thus disposed of the misrepresentations aimed nt mytslf 
 personally — which I know have made but little impression in this As- 
 sembly, where the facts are known, but which have been industriously 
 circulated elsewhere ; let nie pew invite your attention to the objection* 
 urged against the Government, not for its acts, bui on account of its 
 composition It has been said by many. We have no specific com- 
 plaint to urge — we approve of the general principles announced by 
 the Ad^pinistration — its appointments are satisfactory, but wo dislike 
 it because it is a coalition. I think 1 may say, with all sincerity, 
 that if gentlemen out of the Government have felt any difTiculiies 
 pressing upon them from this circumstance, those \vi»hin have 
 had their share. I believe I express but the common Reeling of my 
 colleagues, when 1 acknowledge that the old party ties, and feelings, 
 and perhaps prejudices, which beset our path at the outset, and which 
 are now fe|t lo offer almost the only obstruction to the harmonious 
 and satisfactory action of the Government, b^ve added materially to 
 the obstacles with which we have had to contend. I had read of 
 coalitions, but, until recently, knew but liltle of their peculiarities, 
 or of the varied passions and suspicions they are calculated to arouse ; 
 now, when 1 lake up a volume of English History, I can enter info 
 the spirit of such times most intimately, and can -inderstand how new 
 combinations of p«(ties are attended with many difficulties, trying to 
 the minds, and absorbing to the feelings, of those by whom they are 
 formed — and who, though they may be looking with a single eye to 
 
10 
 
 t>ic public interest, and yielding to the pressure of circumstances 
 which cannot be controlled, must yet bear, for a time, the annoy- 
 ances incident to connexions that success may finally justify, but 
 which are never forgiven should they fail. If, then, some of my old 
 friends, and the friends of my colleagues, have been displeased with 
 the anomalies presented by tb coalition, we have felt them at every 
 step. But a coalition, particularly in a new Country like this, has 
 its advantages as well as its evils; and, as the House seemed to think 
 so, and as Tt sanctioned the connexion, after a full explanation of 
 the circumstances under which it was formed, we have felt bound to 
 go on, giving to Lord Falkland our best assistance, whatever might 
 be the sacrifices which public duty called on us occasionally to make 
 of our personal feelings. It is not my intention to go again into the 
 question of whether it was wise or necessary to form the coalition ; 
 1 wish only to show that, being formed, it has acted fairly and honorably 
 towards those to whom it appealed for support. It has been said that 
 we hold our places on sufferance— this i^ true, but the same may be 
 said of any Administration. In England a Government has no lease 
 for a term of years— it holds on until theopposition are strong enough 
 to displace it, and wntil a combination of able meri, acting upon an- 
 tagonist principles, are prepared to take possession : cur duty xo 
 ca'ch other, and to the Nobleman at the head of the Government, 
 compells us to do the same— and it is to ascertain whether the oppo- 
 sition which has met us here, and which we have no desire to shrink 
 from, has either the strength or the settled principles of action likely 
 to embarrass u?, that we now make explanations, and court discus- 
 sion. Our anxious desire has been to forget the past, and to make 
 the coalition, into which circumstances forced us, a source of benefit 
 and adva'ttage to the country. Our wish is, to reflect truly to this 
 House, and 1o the Province at large, the enlightened views and prin- 
 ciples upon which we ^re directed by Lord Falkland to conduct his 
 Government : a man more sedulously devoted to the interests of this 
 Country— possessed of a clearer head, and a better heart, and more 
 deeply concerned in the success of the great experiment which the 
 Mother Country is trying on this Continent, is not to be found in 
 Nova-Scotia, even among those who drew their first breath on the 
 soil. His Lordship is desirous to give to this House every power and 
 privilege which the Commons, in a British Colony, having a Repre- 
 sentative Constitution, ought to enjoy : but, at the sarne time, he is 
 determined duly to guard the prerogative committed to his charge, and 
 the wise application of which is one of the first duties of a statesman. 
 The Government of the Country, then, is not one looking to particular 
 interests and parties, but one which regards all the people as members 
 of a great family, who should be drawn together by a system of con- 
 ciliation and justice. There may be times wh?n all that is desirable 
 cannot be accomplished, but we have endeavoured to do the best we 
 could u'lder the difficult circumstances in which we were placed ; 
 and, notwithstanding the spirit of hostility evinced in certain quarters, 
 I think I may safely appeal to the House, and ask if there are many 
 
11 
 
 here who, upon reflection, disapprove of our principles, or of the 
 tnode in which the Government is now conducted. The Hon. Mem- 
 ber from Pictou said that he did. 
 
 Mr. Holmes. — I proved the contrary. I supported the Govern- 
 ment last Session, and assisted to keep it in its present position. 
 
 The Speaker. — I am glad of it. The Hon. Gentleman, then, only 
 disapproves of certain acts, and, I hope, when he has heard our ex- 
 planations, he will have little occas'on to do even that. I think I 
 may appeal to others, who formerly belonged to the same party, and 
 ask whether they have not good cause to be satisfied — they have six 
 gentlemen in the Government who formerly acted with them, while 
 their opponents have but three. Looking to tha mere numbers in 
 the Executive Council, my old friends would appear to have the most 
 cause of complaint, but I am prepared to shew that both have re- 
 ceived justice at the hands of the Administration. The reason of 
 this is clear : we all have acted, not upon any preconceived opinions 
 which were entertained, or upon any party connexions which may 
 have existed, but, on principles and views laid down by Lord 
 Falkland for our guidance, and to v.'hich we are expected to ad- 
 here so long as we are connected with his Government. These may 
 be taken to include the obligation, on our part, to preserve the confi- 
 dence, and cordial co-operation, of the Legislature, and to do sub- 
 stantial justice to the great body of the People. The scope of my 
 argument, then, with reference to appointments, is intended to show 
 that this hcs been done. If the old administration party complain, 
 I turn to the Counties of Lunenburg and Queens, whose Members 
 formerly stood opposed to me, but who, representing, apparently, a 
 united constituency, have had every deference paid to their recom- 
 niendations and suggestions. No general rule can be applied to such, 
 matters, and it would be folly to pretend that errors may not have 
 been committed ; but I claim for the Government, that it shall be 
 judged by its general course of conduct, and, in the main, I am sa- 
 tisfied that those who formerly acted with my learned friend from 
 the County of Cape Breton, have no cause of complaint. 
 
 Turning to my own friends and supporters, I am prepared to show 
 that the present Administration has evinced an anxious desire to win 
 their confidence, not by the sacrifice of their former opponents, but 
 by a fair and just consideration. In endeavouring to reconcile those 
 who looked to a party government — in bearing up agai.ist the absurd 
 opinion of some, that 1 could only be useful in opposition, I have had 
 some trials of temper, but have been amply rewarded by the returning 
 confidence of old friends, and the cordial union of the constitutional 
 party, every where, in support of the present Government. 
 
 3fr. J. K. Dctvolf. — Do you endeavour to satisfy them ? 
 
 The Speaker. — My object is to show that the Government has been 
 such as ought to satisfy both parties. If any gentleman thinks that 
 justice has not been done, he should state his charges to the House. 
 It has been said, by some of my friends, the Reformers have but three 
 Representatives at the Council Board : this is true, if the term is 
 
n 
 
 confined to those who acted with the majority of the last Housfe; but 
 there are others who, on a great variety of questions, are as liberal as 
 any — vvho are every way entitled to the respect of large bodies of 
 the population, and whose wish is to do justice to all. The spirit 
 of past conflicts is not heard in the deliberations of the Council, hut 
 the desire of its Members is to forget old feuds, and to tnake Lord 
 Falkland's ncme the rallying point for the better feelings of the Coun- 
 try : in doing this, the policy and vi( ws of the Government rnust be 
 regulated by the aspect of the whole Province, not by the prejudices, 
 or unreasonable desires, of any particular County. J f dissatisfaction 
 has arisen, because Lord Falkland has had the firmness to disregard 
 local importunity, and resist local faction, it will not be by the assem- 
 bled R,epresentatives of the whole Provuice that he will be condemn- 
 ed. Petitions have sometimes been sent, asking for appointments, on 
 the ground that the Government was pledged to act according to the 
 well understood wishes of the People : this is absurd, if the phrase 
 is applied to a majority in any particuhr District or County ; as un- 
 derstood, and acted on, by the present Administration, it means the 
 well understood wishes of the Province at large — as represented in 
 this House. With this the liberal party appear to be satisfied, and 
 well they may be, when they look back and contiast their present 
 position with what it was. Although their representation in the Go- 
 vernment is limited, and although they may not have accomplished 
 all that seems necessary for a complete party triumph, they have won 
 all that the Country requires to ensure good government hereafter — 
 British Representative Institutions, carrying with them Executive 
 influence. Under the old system, twelve gentlemen, who, during a 
 quarter of the year, discharged, in secret, the functions of a Branch 
 of the Legislature, held during their lives a monopoly of Executive 
 power ; the Governor could not turn them out, neither could the Peo- 
 ple ; they ruled both, and acknowledged responsibility to neither : 
 very different is the position of Lord Falkland's Government, is 
 every Member of it has avowed. 
 
 Mr. Huntington.— They avowed, last Session, that they would con- 
 tinue to support the minority if they were out of^ the Administration. 
 The Speaker.— }f out of the Administration, gentlemen would 
 probably act with old friends, or take any course they pleased — but 
 while in it, they are bound by the principles upon which it is formed, 
 and there is not a Member of Lord Falkland's Council who would 
 hot bow, constitutionally, and after the deliberate opinion of the coun- 
 try was fairly ascertained, to the decision of this House. That every 
 fair attempt has been made to give the majority representation 
 at the Board, is shown by the fact, that a seat vVas oflbred to my Hon. 
 friend from Yarmouth, and that one has been conferred on my learned 
 friend from Inverness; indeed the general conduct of the Administra- 
 tion has shewn that a rule of fairness has been substituted for the old 
 one of exclusion : I may again refer to the different Counties in proof 
 of that. 
 
 Mr. /fMnfiV^rfon.— Satisfaction has not been given in Yarmouth. 
 
13 
 
 The. Speaker.— \ admitted before thai some .nisialte had occurred 
 in the School Commiasious, although 1 believe the other appointments 
 were satisfactory. In the recent Commissions of the Peace, nearly 
 eighty liberal Magistrates were appointed, and tin equal number iver6 
 included in other County Commissions throughout the year : more 
 than had been appointed for the last twenty years. But it might 
 be said by each side of the House — if we had A strictly party 
 government, we might have all ; this is true, but one side only could 
 have it. Whatever may be the evils of a coalition, it has this ad- 
 vantage — that, if generously sustained by the friends of those who 
 form it, it can act fairly towards both. Under a party govern- 
 ment, those in power must keep all the patronage to themselves, to 
 strengthen their position. This is the natural course of things. It 
 is clear, then, that under such circumstances, whatever one party 
 gains the other must lose; \/hile the Country, looking to it as a 
 whole, without reference io party connexions, woald not have so equal 
 and fair an Administration, under either, as it has now. Serious 
 doubts are entertained, whether either of the parties which formerly 
 divided this Province could form and carry on a Government in le- 
 pendent of the other. The o'.d Administration party certainly could 
 not, for they form the minority in this House and throughout the 
 Country. The other party could try the exi)erinient, and it might 
 succeed, but, the moment it was attempted, able men, whose talents 
 are now employed to conduct the Government in harmony with the 
 wishes of the people, would be driven into opposition, and compelled, 
 perhaps, to combine with those who hold more extreme opinions, 
 to embarrass and obstruct rather than to accelerate the introduce 
 tion of a rational system. As far as I am personally con^^ern- 
 ed, I am free to acknowledge, that, if either party were prepared 
 to carry on the Government respectably, in defiance of the other — if 
 there were, as there are in England, a sufficient number of able 
 men in each to fill every important office, and if great public ques- 
 tions formed broad lines of division between them — it would be i.nore 
 congenial to my feelin^^'s to serve in such a Government, or in con- 
 Btitutional'opposition to it, than in a coalition; but, situated as parties 
 wero when Lord Falkland came to this Country, as they are now, 
 and probably will be for some years to come, my conscientious belief is 
 — that the Province will derive more advantage from the combined ac- 
 tion of able men, whose main grounds of difference have been swept 
 away by the recent Colonial improvements, than it would by splitting 
 them into factions on minor political points, or mere personal predi- 
 lections. 
 
 In this opinion tlie House concurred last year, and I do not believe 
 that there is any large party disposed to disturb the broad founda- 
 tion upon which the present Government rests, or to throw the Coun- 
 try into confusion, merely for the purpose of testing or abusing the 
 great powers which the present system inc' les: this Assembly un- 
 derstands its high duties too well, — but we cannot shut our eyes to 
 the fact that there is, beyond these walls, an unreasoning, irreclaima- 
 
14 
 
 ble faction, disposed to go the whole Jongth with the Hon. Member 
 from Pictou — to move the state coach back to the ohl road — to undo 
 what the constitutional party has accomplished, and to make the 
 name of the present Administration, and the principles upon which 
 it is founded, disliked by the people of Nova-Scotia. I appeal to 
 those who have hitherto acted with me, both here and elsewhere — to 
 those who have been the tried friends of the Constitution and the 
 Country, and ask, will they, upon any small pretext, for any trifling 
 difference of opinion among themselves, play the enemy's game, and 
 put it in their power to grope back to the old and exploded system ? 
 The constituency of Nova-S:otia will never consent to that. You might 
 as soon persuade them to adopt the costume of their great grandfa- 
 thers, tr dres3 their wives in the hooped petticoats their grandmothers 
 wore. Those Political Rip Van Wrinkles have been slumbering so 
 !ong in the sleepy hollows of ultraism, that they seem scarcely con- 
 scious of what has been passing around them of late years, and fancy 
 that they can get the people back to the old principles. If they do, 
 it will be without the aid of any of those who are in the present Ad- 
 ministration, and who are determined to move steadily on, upon the 
 beaten paths of the Constitution, and to keep clear of the old slough 
 of despond. Between the smali faction, who wish to retrogradcj and 
 the present Government, there is a gulf, wide as the poles asunder. 
 They cannot take my hon. and learned friend from Cape Breton, or 
 myself, or any of the men who surround Lord Falkland, back, or prevent 
 us from paying to the Assembly that deference and respect which 
 the Representatives of the People have a right to claim from those 
 who Compose the Executive Council. These worthies put me in mind 
 of the old woman in Edinburgh, who lived in one of the highest flats 
 of one of the oldest mansions, and was, to her dying day, a zealous 
 adherent of the Pretender. She mourned over the elevation of the. 
 House of Brunswick, and, after two or three of the line had sat on 
 the Throne of the United Kingdom, she still toddled on, with pattens 
 on feet, and a little dog by her side, denouncing the new principles, — 
 and sighing for the good old times. She and the Stuarts have gone 
 to their final account, but some of her lineal descendants must 
 have emigrated to this Province, and mourn here, as she did at home, 
 over improvements they cannot retard. There was an Americari 
 projector, during the last war, who invented a machine, called a tor- 
 pedo, which was to swim under water, and blow up the British Navy. 
 It raised great expectations, but something always went wrong, and, 
 except when the inventor blew himself up occasionally, no other mis- 
 chief was done. A similar result generally attends the schemea of 
 the ."mall party to whom I refer — they plot below, and sometimes, 
 make a ripple on the surface, but rarely do any harm, except to them- 
 selves. They often remind me of an old verse of a nursery song, to 
 the tune of Yankee Doodle : 
 
 Silas took a mapla log, and filled it full of powder, 
 It made a crack like Father's gun, only little louder. 
 
IB 
 
 Tlie opposition make noise enough in all conscience ; most of tlieu- 
 heads beir.cr as sappy as maple logs, the explosion is often tremen- 
 dous—but the aim is seldom true. If the friends of constitutional 
 government, in this House and throughout the Country, act as they 
 ought, against the unreasoning, unjust spirit, which these people exhi- 
 bit, the ' will be altogether powerless, and can nevur hope to force 
 back the 'ohtical Institutions of the Province to what they were five or 
 six years ago. 1 put the question to ihe Members of this House— are 
 you wiUmg to give up the substantial power you now possess, and go 
 back to the condition in which you were at the commencement of 
 J836 ? If you are, the People of Novn-Scotia will never go back 
 v/ith you, to become laughing stock to al! British America. 
 
 Novascctians are regarded by their neighbours as public spirited, 
 and well intbrmed,— having political right?, and possessing loyalty 
 not to be impaired by the free action of their Anglo Saxon spirits upon 
 their own affairs, through Institutions analogous to those of their 
 Mother Country, .^sk such a People to go back to the wretched sys- 
 tem of Administration which they have so recently, and so con- 
 temptuously, cast aside ! you might as well ask the Rivsr, whoso 
 broad expanse reflects the vault of Heaven, and on whose' bosom 
 Navies ride, to go back to the narrow gorges and pe^it up channels 
 by which its head waters were confined. Ask the Author— who 
 hangs over the last page of the volume which is to immortalize his 
 name, to blot out each noble thought, and go back to the first line ; 
 ask the Sculptor to aash to pieces the statue, born of his imagina- 
 tion, and fashioned by his hand, just as its linibs become instinct witJj 
 majesty, and its features beam with expression ; but ask not my 
 countrymen to give up the high privileges they have acquired, or go 
 back to the soul-repressing, vexatious, and un-English system from 
 which they have escaped. 
 
 These are the views I take of the pre.-ent position of our affairs, 
 and I give them here, that I may invite discussion, and ascertain 
 from the Representative Branch whether the policy and principles of 
 the present Government are, or are not, acceptable to the People. I 
 am also desirous, that if any man has a complaint to make, or a charge 
 to urge against the Government, it should meet us here— here where 
 
 the advisers of the Lieutenant-Governor stand ready to answer 
 
 here where a Jury of fifty gentlemen, gathered from every section of 
 the Provirce, sit to try its merits, and where neither a false accusa- 
 tion nor a lame defence can for a moment be sustained. 
 
 One complaint, sometimes made against Lord Falkland, deserves to 
 be noticed, for its novelty— it is one not often urged either against 
 the Sovereign or those who represent her in the Colonies : it has 
 been said th.it his Lordship has been guilty of the high offence of 
 surrounding himself with men of abilitj, and of endeavouring to com- 
 bine in his Administration as much of talent and experience as he 
 could get. This is certainly a strange ground of opposition. It is 
 one rarely resorted to by public men in England. Sir Robert Peel 
 never thought of bringing such a charge against the Whigs. The 
 
16 
 
 complaint, in the late struggle, was not that they had too much talent, 
 but thnt they had not enough. „ . , , , ,, 
 
 Mr. J. R. JDm-o//'.— Would Sir Robert Peel take from the House 
 of Commons all tho talent of both parties, to form his Governrtlent ? 
 The Speaker,— In the House of Commons tliere are always men 
 enouah to form two or three Cabinets— but even there, if circum- 
 stances compelled Sir Robert to form a coalition Administration, he 
 would take the best men he could get ; and if, in a Colony where the 
 ranee of selection was limited, gentlemen who formerly differed upon 
 absfract points of politics could be induced to combine for the com- 
 mon good, when those points were settled, he Mould run the risk o 
 javin^ himself open to the charge of giving his confidence to men of 
 talen" But, while the people get the benefit ot the counsel wliich 
 men of ability give to a Governor, do they run any risk from his be- 
 incr so surrounded ? The Government of England, vvith Us enor- 
 mous patronage, extending through every ramification of diplomacy, 
 of the Army t»ie Navy, and the Church, cannot purchase the Repre- 
 sentative Branch, or prevent it from dismissing a Ministry that the 
 people disapprove of; and, in this Province, I deny that the elevation 
 of any eight or nine men, however eloquent or able, can stifle the 
 Dublic voice, or trammel the independent action of this Assen>biy-- 
 such an assertion is a slander on the Legislature, and on the People 
 of Nova-Scotia. The events of the present winter have showri that 
 this House will always pursue an independent course, irrespective of 
 any Government. I knew before the House met that such a slander 
 would be repudiated. On questions where the majority conscien- 
 tiously differed with the Administration, they took their own course. 
 The Members of Government thought they discovered feelings at 
 work which were not avowed, but when convinced there was no hos- 
 tility but that the votes were given from opinions on the merits of the 
 measures, they were content to go on in the course wl.ich they had 
 chosen, feeling that the House had the spirit, and the power, to sup- 
 ply a corrective whenever the Government was wrong. 
 
 The forlorn hope of the faction to which I have alluded, is the 
 chancre of Government in England— they, a contemptible minority of 
 our population, think that the statesmen who claim their places be^ 
 cause they are the leaders of the majority at Home, will violate their 
 own principles, and those of common sense and sound co.onial policy, 
 for the purpose of bolstering up a fragment of a party here, who have 
 neither the talent, the numbersnor the influence to conduct a Govern- 
 ment and who make a wretched opposition. These people forget 
 that the new colonial system is not a party question m England. 
 Whi^s and Tories approved of Lord Durham's Report, and ot Lord 
 Sydenham's policy. The Canada Act received the cordial concur- 
 rence of Sir Robert Peel, as well as of Lord John Russell— the only 
 important amendment moved giving power to the colonists to con- 
 struct their own municipal councils : a concession which proves that 
 the Conservative party in England has no desire to fettei us in the 
 conduct of our domestic affairs. Both the great parties in England 
 
 i- 
 
 J k 
 
 ft' 
 
n 
 
 
 are, then, pledged to the present system— pledged to give to British 
 North America the rjghts ol British subjects; the Sovereign, whose 
 name has been solemnly used— the Parliament, before which every 
 document has been laid, are pledged to it—and so are the People 
 who know no reason why the British Constitution, in all ila strength 
 and all its beauty, may not exist on one side of the Atlantic as well 
 as on the other,— and who are weary of wasting millions to please 
 the cliques by whom alone the old system is attempted to be upheld. 
 Are those who sigh for the good old times mad enough to believe' 
 because there is a change of pfrties, in England, upon a Corn 
 Law or a Tithe question, that therefore every Colonial Governor ia 
 to be withdrawn, every Council dismissed, every Assembly defied 1 
 Porish the Nova Scotian who would uphold such a doctrine ! The 
 duties of the maternal government are high and important— but the 
 local affairs of these Colonies are confided to Representative Assem- 
 blies, whose confidence is an essential element of the Executive Ad- 
 ministration, and whose action, within certain defined limits is 
 equally essential. Ask Sir Robert Peel, who recently moved that 
 memorable resolution, declaring that Parliament could not proceed 
 to business until Her Majesty was surrounded by advisers who pos- 
 sessed Its confidencQ, to blame Lord Falkland for calling round him 
 men who poss3ss yours, or for governing a British Province on Bri- 
 tish principles I Will he damage his reputation by violating the prac- 
 tice of the Constitution ? And for what inducement ? To re-estab- 
 lish the old Council of 12, who legislated with closed doors, and held 
 Executive power for life-r-who governed Governors and People, with- 
 out being responsible to either. The idea is ridiculous, and those who 
 entertain it can know very little of the Premier or of his principles. 
 When in England, some time ago., I heard men of all parties 
 discuss Colonial questions,— and although there was a want of local 
 information apparent at times, there was a spirit of justice and fair- 
 ness, which argued well for the establishment of sound liberty in the 
 Colonies, and the perpetuity of British connexion. There is no dan- 
 ger, then, of external influences marring the harmonious conduct of 
 our domestic affairs. The people of this Province have acquired a 
 new power over the Government— they know their rights, and the 
 Nobleman, whose administration I am proud here to defend, knows 
 how to respect them. The new Colonial system confers substantial 
 advantages, and there is no disposition, either in England or in Ca- 
 nada, to abridge them. The true guards of rational liberty, sanction- 
 ed by centuries of experience, are treasured in the heads and hearts 
 of our population,— and my belief is, that we have the cordial sanc- 
 tion of almost all the leading minds of England, to the temperate but 
 firm exercise of them in the management of our domestic affairs. In 
 conclusion let me observe, that those who opposed the former Admi- 
 nistration came forward in open debate— affirmed principles or de- 
 feated measures, but never descended to personal attacks upon the 
 Governor. That gallant old officer left the Province, feelir'» that he 
 
 had been in a Doiitical battle, which haH ho^n h 
 
 
 
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 18 
 
 with weapons of cdustitutional warfare, and perhaps most respecting 
 those by whom he had been most opposed. Those who dislike the 
 present Government .«houid follow the example. I have gone thus 
 fully into the coaduct and policy of <he Administration, that those 
 who make sweeping charges elsewhere, may, if they have any repre- 
 sentatives herj, make them before the House and in presence of tbo 
 country, wH^re they can be met, answered, or explained. This is the 
 place in which a Government, if it does wrong, should expect open, 
 manly opposition. For that we are prepared. If the House really 
 disapproves of the Coalition — if it dislikes the principles avowed, or 
 the mode in which the Administration has been conducted, let it re- 
 cord itp decision, and then our course is plain. Until that is done, 
 we shall go on temperately, and, I trust, wisely, endeavouring to ral- 
 ly rourid Lord Falkland men of all parties, by doing justice to all, — 
 aiding him to obliterate party feelings by foi'getting our own, — and 
 proving, by his example, how easy it is, in Nova Scotia, to maintain 
 the p-uthority of the Queen in harmony with the feelings of the Peo- 
 ple. 
 
 [A three days* discussion followed the delivery of the above, at the end of which 
 the subjoined resolution, moved by Gaius Lewis, Esq. and seconded by S. Chip. 
 man.Esq. was adopted, in committee of the who'e House, by the overwhelminff ma- 
 jority of 40 to 8 :—] * 
 
 Resolved, As iV opinion of the Committee, that the prmciples and 
 policy of the present Administration, as explained by the members of 
 Government, are satisfactory, — and, if adhered to, will entitle it to 
 the approbation and support of the Legislature and People of Nova 
 Scotia. 
 
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