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Those too lerge to be entirely included in one exposure ere filmed beginning in the upper left hend corner, left to right end top to bottom, es meny fremes es required. The following diegrems illustrate the method: Un des symbules suivsnts epperettre sur le dernlAre imege de cheque microfiche, selon le ces: le symbols -^ signifie "A SUIVRE ", le symbols y signifie "FIN". Les certes, pisnches, tebleeux, etc., peuvent Atre filmAs A des teux de rMuction diffArents. Lorsque le document est trop grend pour Atre reproduit en un seul ciichA, 11 est fiimi A pertir de I'engle supArieur geuche, de geuche A droite, et de heut en bes, en prenent le nombre d'imeges nAcesseire. Les disgremmes suivents illustrent le mAthode. 1 2 3 1 2 3 4 5 6 ( ,A yC / ^ ( ,x/i c Scotia, and when the Legislature met for the despatch of business, it was found that the Local Government had two thirds of the members of the Repre- sentative Branch against them. A fair minded Englishman would naturally conclude that the Local Cabinet, by a few official changes and a modification of its policy, would at once defer to the views and opinions of so large a majority of the popular branch. Did it do so 1 No. After a fierce struggle with the local authorities, in which the Revenue Bills, and the appropriations of the year, were nearly lost, the House forwarded a strong address to the foot of the Throne, appealing to the Crown for the redress of inveterate grie- vances, the very existence of which our Colonial Rulers denied, or which they refused to remove. To give your Lordship an idea of the absurd anomalies, and ridi- culous wretchedness of our system up to that time, it is only neces- sary to state, that a Council of twelve persons administered the Government, and at the same time formed the Upper Branch of the Legislature, sitting invariably with closed doors. Only five of these twelve gentlemen were partners in one private Bank — five of them were relations — two of them were heads of Departments — and one was the Chief Justice, who in one capacity had to administer the law he had assisted to make, and then iu a third to advise the Gover- nor as to its execution. To heighten the absurdity of the whole aflUir it is hardly accessary to add, that only nine of these twelve .' 4 ^ were members ofn p.irticular Church, which, however useful or res* pectable, only ombraceJ ono fifih of the whole population of the Province. To the passage of certain measures fur the regulation of our Currency, the derangement of which was supposed tobe pioiita> ble to those who dealt in money, the Bankers were said to have opposed their influence. Any attempt at reduction of the expense of the Kevenne Departments, the heads of which sat at the Board, was not likely to prevail, — while the patronage of the government was of course distributed by the nine Churchmen in a way not very satisfactory to the four fifths of the people who did not happen to belong to that Communion. Such a combination as this never could have grown up in any Colony where the English principle of res- ponsibility had been in operatiou. Indeed there was something so abhorrent to British feeling and justice in the whole affair, that Lord Glenelg at once decided that it was " too bad," and while in Her Majesty's name he tlianked the Commons for the representation they had made, he directed the Governor to dissolve the old Council and form two new ones, free from the objections which the Assembly had urged. Had the instructions given been fairly followed out, there is little doubt that in Nova-Scotia, as in New-Brunswick, the People and their Representatives would have been contented for a time, and would have felt that, in extreme cases, an appeal from their local rulers to the Colonial Secretary would be effectual. The existing machinery of Government might have been supposed to be adequate to the ne- cessities of the country, with perhaps an entire revision and repair, at the hands of the master workmen at home, once in ten years, or when- ever the blunders of subordinates in the Colony had completely clog- ged its operations. But mark the result. The Governor was instructed to call into the new Councils those who " possessed the confidence of the coun- try." Now you in England are simple enough to believe, that when the Whigs have, in a house of 658 members, a majority of eight or ten, they possess the confidence of the country; and if their majority should happen to be double that number, would think it droll enough if they were entirely excluded from political influence, and if the new creations of Peers, and selections for the Cabinet, should all be made from the ranks of their opponents. This would be absurd at home, and yet it is the height of wisdom in the Colonies. At the time these commands were sent out, the party who were pressing certain economical and other Rcibrms in Nova-Scotia, were repre- sented by two thirds of the members of the Popular Branch. The relative numbers have occa.sionally varied during the past three sessions : at times, as on the recent division upon a Delegation, the Reformers have numbered 33 to i 1 in a House of 46 — on some questions the minority has been larger, but two thirds of the whole may be fairly taken as the numerical superiority, on all Political ques- tions, of the Reformers over their opponents. It will scarcely be be- lieved then, in Eng and, that in the new appointments, by which a more popular character was t'> be given to the Councils, six gciUlc- 2 i 10 I I I ! men were taken from the minority, and but two from the ranks of the majority. So that those who had been thanked for making repre- sentations to the duoen, and who were pressing a change of policy, were all passed over but two, while those who had resisted and op< posed every representation, were honored by appointments, and placed in situations to render any such change utterly hopeless. The Ex- ecutive Council — the local Cabinet,or Ministry — therefore, contained one or two persons of moderate views, not selected from the House, one from the majority, and eight or ten others to render his voice very like that of the " man crying in the wilderness." He held his seat about half a year, and then resigned, feeling that while he was sworn to secrecy, and compromised by policy he d'U not ap- prove, he had no influence on the deliberations of the Cabinet or the distribution of patronage. Things were managed just as much in accordance with the Royal Instructions with respect to the, Legislative Cojuncil. The pack was shufBed, the game was to rernain the same. The members of the majority, as I have said before, were all omitted in the new creation of Peers, but one ; while, both from the House and beyond it, some of the most determined supporters of old abuses were selected ; and, among them, a young Lawyer who had shown a most chivalrous desire to oppose every thing Her Majesty so graciously approved ; and who, in the excess of his ultra zeal, had, upon the final passage of the address to the Crown, when almost all his friends deserted him, voted against the measure in a minority of four. Here then your Lordship has a practical illustration of the correct- ness of Lord Durham's observations ; and may judge of the chance the present system offers of good Colonial Government, even when the People have the Queen and the Colonial Secretary on their side. Such policy would wither all hope in the Novascotians, if they did not confide in the good sense and justice of their brethren with- in the four seas. We do not believe thai the Parliament, Press and People of England, when rightly informed, will allow our local autho- rities " to play such tricks before high Heaven," or force us to live under a system so absurd — so Anti-British — so destructive of every manly and honorable principle of action in political affairs. The House of Assembly, as a last resort, after ample deliberation, deter- mined to send two members of that body, as Delegates to England, to claim the rights of Englishmen for the people of this country. Your Lordship's declaration ieWa me that on this point they will be unsuccessful — but paiient perseirerance is a political characteristic of the stock from which we spring You ask me for the remedy. Lord Durham has stated it distinct- ly — the Colonial Governors must be commanded to govern by the aid of those who possess the confidence of the People, and are sup- ported by a majority of the Representative Branch. Where is the danger ? Of what consequence is it to the people of England, whe- ther half a dozen persons, in whom that majority hr re confidence, but of whom they know nothing and care less in.nagc our local affairs ; or the same number, selected from the minority, and whose 11 policy the bulk of the populaliun distrust ? Suppose there was at this moment a majority in our Executive Council who think with the Assembly, what effect would it have upon the fundn ? — would the stocks fall? Would England be weaker — less prosperous or less respected, because the People of Nova-Scotia were satisfied and happy ? But, it is said, a Colony being part of a great Empire, must be governed by different principles from the Metropolitan State. That, unless it be handed over to the minority, 't cannot be governed at all ! That the majority, when they have things their own way, will be dis- contented and disloyal ! That the very fact of their having nothing to complain of will make them desire to break the political compact, and disturb the peace of the Empire ! Let us fancy that this rea- soning were applied to Glasgew, or Aberdeen, or any other town in Britain, which you allow to govern itself. And what else in a Pro- vince like Nova-Scotia, but a small community, too feeble to inter- fere with the general commercial and military arrangements of Hhe Government, but deeply interested in a number of minor matters, which the People to be affected by them only can wisely manage, which the Ministry can never find leisure to attend to, and involve in inextricable confusion when they meddle with ? You allow a million of people to govern themselves in the very capital of the Kingdom, and yet Her Majesty lives in the midst of them without any apprehension of danger, and feels the more secure, the more satisfaction and tranquility they exhibit. Of course, if the Lord Mayor were to declare War upon France, or the Board of Aldermen were to resolve that the duties upon Brandy should no longer be col- lected by the general Revenue officers of the Kingdom, every body would laugh, but no one would apprehend any great danger. Should we, if Lord Durham's principle be adopted, do any thing equally outre, check us, for you have the power ; but until we do, for your own sakes, for you are as much interested as we are — for the honour of the British name, too often tarnished by these squabbles — let us manage our own affairs, pay our own officers, and distribute a patro- nage altogether beneath your notice, among those who command our esteem. The Assembly of Nova-Scotia asked, in 1837, for an Elective Le- gislative Council, or such other reconstruction of the Local Govern- ment as would ensure responsibility. After a struggle of three years we have not got either. The demand for an Elective Upper Branch, was made under the impression, that two Houses chosen by the Peo- ple, would suffi iently check an Executive exempt from all direct Colonial accountability. From what has occurred in the Canadas — from the natural repugnance which the House of Peers may be sup- posed to entertain upon this point — and from a strong desire to preserve, in all our Institutions, the closest rese'^blancc to those of our Mother Country, a responsible executive Council, as recommend- ed by Lord Durham, would be preferred. Into the practicability of his Lordship's plan of a union of all the Colonies under one govern- ment, T do not intend to enter — that is a distinct (jticstion, and 12 \vhenever it is formally propounded to the Local Legislatures, will be gravely discussed upon its own merits; but whether there be union or not, the principle of responsibility to the popular Branch must be introduced into all the Colonics without delay. It is the only simple and sale remeiW for an inveterate and very common disease. it is mere mockery to tell us that the Governor himself is responsible : he must carry on the Government by and with the few officials that he finds in possession when he arrives — he may flutter and struggle in the net, as some well meaning Governors have done, but he must atlasi resign himself to his fate, and, like a snared bird, be content with the narrow limits assigned him by his keepers. I have known a Governor bullied, sneered at, and almost shut outofsoci<;ty, while his obstinate resistance to the system created a suspicion that he might not become its victim — but 1 never knew one, who, even with the best intentions, and the full concurrence and support of the Representative Branch, backed by the confidence of his So- vereign, was able to contend on anything like fair terms with the small knot of functionarie!«, who form the Councils, fill the offices, and wield the powers of the Government. The plain reason is, because, while the Governor is amenable to his Sovereign, and the Afembers of Assembly are controlled by their constituents, these men are not responsible at nil, and can always protect and sustain each other, whether assailed by the representative of the Sovereign or the representatives of the People. It is indispensible then, tothedigni< ty, the independence, the usefulness, of the Governor himself, that he should have the power to shake off tliis thraldom, as the Sovereign does if unfairly hampered by faction, and, by an appeal to the People, adjust the balance of power. Give us this truly British privilege, and Colonial grievances will soon become a scarce article in the English market. The planets that encircle the Sun, warmed by its heat, and rejoicing in its elTulgence, are moved and sustained, each in its bright but subordiuate career, by the same laws as the sun itself Why should this beautiful example be lost upon us ? Why should we run counter to the whole stream of British experience, and seek, for no object worthy of the sacrifice, to govern men on one side of the Atlantic, by principles the very reverse of those found to work so admirably on the other. The employment of steamers will soon bring Halifax within a ten days voyage of England. Nova-Scotia will then not be more distant from London than the North of Scotland and West of Ireland were a few years ago. No time should be lost therefore in giving us the rights and guards to which we are entitled, for depend upon it the nearer we approach the Mother Country the more we shall admire its excellent Constitution — and the more intense will be the sorrow and disgust w^th which we must turn to contemplate our own. I have the honor to be, ^c. &c. &c. i I o LETTER II. My Lord, I HAVE read the speech delivered by your Lordship, on the 3d of June, as reported in the Morning Chronicle, several times ; and beg your Lordship's attention to what I conceive to be the rational solu- tion of the difficulties raised in that speech, to the concession of the principle of local responsibility. Had your Lordship been more familiar with the practical working of the existing Colonial Consti- tutions, and with the feelings of the people who smart under the mischiefs they produce, you would not perhaps have fallen into some errors by which that epeech is disfigured ; nor have argued the question as one in which the obvious, manifold, and vital interests of the Colonists, were to be sacrificed to some vague and indefinite injury that might be sustained by Imperial interests, if Executive power wore taken from the ignorant and given to the well informed — if it passed from the hands of officers to whom but a nominal res- ponsibility can attach, into those of men subject to constant scrutiny, and, whenever they fail in their duty, liable to exposure and disgrace. Lord Durham recommends that the English rule, by which those who conduct public affairs resign when they have lost the confi- dence of the Commons, should be applied to the Executive Coun- cillors in North America. Your Lordship denies the existence of the analogies upon which Lord Durliam'a views are based : " It does not appear to me that yo i can subject the Execu- " tive Council of Canada to the responsibility which is fairly demand- •' ed of the rainistersof the Executive power in this country. In the " first place, there is an obvious difference in matter of form with rc- " gard to the instructions under which the governor of the colony " acts. The Sovereign in this country receives the advice of the *' ministers, and acts by the advice of those ministers, and indeed " there is no important act of the cown for which there is not some " individual minister responsible. There responsibility begins and " there it ends. But the Governor of Canada is acting, not in that " high and unassailable position in which the Sovereign of this coun- " try is placed. He is a governor receiving instructions from the " Crown on the responsibility of a Secretary of Stale. Here then at " once is an obvious and complete difference between the E.xecutive *' of this country and the Executive of a Colony." Now, my Lord, let me beg your Lordship's attention to a few of the reasons why I conceive that such an argument as this ought not to stand in the way of the permanent peace, prosperity and happi- ness, of a million and a half of human beings. " The Sovereign in England receives the advice of the ministers, and acts by the advice of those ministers" — but are there not limits assigned by law within which those advisers are bound to keep? and is not the Sovereign bound to know and to apprize the country when theyoverstpp thetn? 11 B What is the question at issue now hetucen Whigs and Tories? is it not, whether, according to the spirit and practice of the Constitution, Sir Robert Peel had or had not a right to advise the changes in He: Majesty's household, upon which he insisted, before he would con- sent to form an administration 1 Suppose the present Cabinet were to advise Her Majesty to cut off Sir Robert's ears, or to bombard the City of London, would she obey ? or would she not say, gentlemen, you are exceeding your powers, and unless you conduct yourselves with more discretion you must resign ? It is plain, therefore, that there are bounds, beyond which, even in the mother country, neither the advisers nor the monarch can pass; and none who seek Colonial responsibility are so mad as to require, that corresponding restrictions shall not be binding here— that there shall not be a limit beyond which no Executive Councillor can pass, and over which no repre- sentative of Majesty will consent to be driven. These bounds must be clearly defined in the Act of Parliament which establishes the new system, or in the instructions sent to the Governors, to be com- municated to the Legislatures, and which they may, if they see fit, embody in a Bill, that, so long as it exists, shall be to all intents and purposes, the Constitution of the Colony. But your Lordship says : — ** The Governor is acting, not in that high and unassailable position in which the Sovereign of this coun- try is placed." Why should he not occupy a position nearly as in- dependant, and be perfectly unassailable, so long as he does not interfere (as the Sovereign would not dare to do) with maticrs for which others are responsible — nor allow himself or his Council to overstep those boundaries which British subjects on both sides of the Atlantic, for the protection of their mutual rights and interests, have established, and for a jealous recognition of which be, in case bad advice be given him, is alone responsible. The Queen's position is unassailable only so long as she does no act which the Constitution does not permit to be done — the Governor, if assailed, would, in like manner, turn to the Constitution of the Colony committed to his care, and show that, on the one hand, he had neither trenched upon the rights essential to the security of Colonial liberty, nor, on the other, timorously yielded aught which the law3 for the protection of Impe- rial interests had made it criminal to yield. Your Jjordship is mistaken, therefore, in supposing that the Sove- reign is divested of all responsibility — although I admit it is much more difficult to call him or her to an account than it would be the Governor of a Colony. If the Queen were to deprive Sir Robert Peel of his ears, or open a few batteries upon London, an emeute or a revolution would be the only remedy; bu; a Governor, if he consented to an act which shut out British manufactures, or was tempted to levy war upon a friendly state, could be called to account withoui difficulty or delay — and hence, I argue, that the facility and certainty of inflicting punishment for offencesof this sort, would pre- vent their commission, and operate as a sufficient guard to the Impe- rial interests, which your Lordship seems so anxious to protect. If it be said that the People in a Colony may sustain Councillors who give 13 unconslitutior U advice, my answer is, that the. same thing may occur in England. When it does, a peaceful modification ot' the Con- stitution, or a revolution, follows — hut these cases are not so n-equent as to excite alarm, nor is there any reason to believe that they will be more so, in the Colonies, whose power to enforce improper demands is so questionable. " He is a Governor receiving instructian:i from the Crown, on the responsibility of a Secretary of State." This passage suggests some reflections, which I feel it my duty respectfully to press upon your Lordship's attention. One of the evils of the existing system, or rather hap-hazard mode of Government, devoid of all system, is the various readings given to the medley of laws, usages, and Colonial Of- fice Despatches, by which we are at present ruled. An excellent illus- tration of the difficulty of obtaining an interpretation of these, about which there can be no mistake — which he who runs may read — may be furnished, by contrasting the views put forth by your Lord- ship with those acted upon by Sir Francis Head ; and which, after a bloody rebellion, brought on to prove the value of his theoi-y, he still avows in every succeeding edition of his Narrative, with a consistency and complacency worthy of all praise. " The responsi- bility," says your L«rdship, " rests on the Secretary of State." "The responsibility," says Sir Francis Head, in every act of his Govern- ment and every page of his book, *• rests on me." From the moment of his entering into Upper Canada he threw overboard all the in- structions from the Colonial Secretary, (who, according to your Lordship ought to have been obeyed, fur he was alone responsible) he struck out a course of policy entirely new — commenced " putting the padlock on the mind,"* to be followed by some hundreds of handcufTa on the wrists and padlocks on the body; his language to Lord Glen- elg throughout was '^ you must support »je" — " the fear is that / will not be supported at the Colonial office." In fact, from first to last. Sir Francis gave instructions to, instead of receiving them from, the Secretary of State ; and finding that Lord Glenelg would not permit him to try his experiments in Government, and combat the fiery dragon of democracy in the bosom of a British Province, at the cost of a good deal of blood and treasure, and the prospects of a foreign war, without occasionally offering a little advice, the worthy Baronet resigned, and has ever since been publishing his complaints to the V. .-Id, and claiming its sympathy, as a sufferer for conscience sake, in upholding the only correct reading of Colonial Constitutions, and which the Secretary of State, and theWhig Government of which he was a member, did not understand. The Doctors in this case differed — the patient was left prostrate, mangled, bleeding and ex- hausted, listening to their altercations, but suffering from every gash made to convince each other at her expense — and there she lay, until recently, when, beginning to suspect that both had been talking nonsense and trying absurd experiments, she lifted her languid head, stretched out her wounded limbs, and began to flx her eyes upon the only remedy by which health can be restored. * Vide iho Baronei'i •' Narrative." 16 I t! Let lis, In oilier to convince ourselves that the conclusion to which Upper Canada is coming after all her siifTeringti, is a sound one, examine the two prescriptions and modes of treatment, and ascertain whether either contains any thing which ought to rescue it from tho oblivion that invariably closes over the nostrums by which the sci- ence of politics, like the science of medicine, is often disfigured for a time. A Culon^ where the Governor is alone responsible, is Sir Francis Head's interpretation of the system under which we live. It is one very much affected by Colonial Governors every where. Unlimited power, within a wide Province, is a beautiful idea for an individual to indulge ; especially when it in attended with but little risk and only nominal responsibility. Of all the British Colonial Governors, who have wielded this vast authority — plumed themselves upon the possession of these plenary powers, -^and, in the exercise of them, vexed, distracted and excited to disaffection, one Province after another — how many have been tried or punished ? How many have met with even a reprimand from the Ministry, or a cold look from the Sovereign whose authority they had abused ? I leave your Lordship, whose historical reading has been much more extensive than mine, to point out the instances — 1 have searched for them in vain. It is true that debates in Parliament occasionally arise upon such subjects, but these, judging by their practical effect, can hardly be taken into account. A Governor knows well that, so long as he holds office, the Ministry by whom he was appointed will defend him — that their majority in the Commons precludes the possibility ofa vote of censure being passed against him, — while the Duke, under whom he probably served, having a majority in the Upper House, he is perfectly safe, so long as he commits no act so flagrant as to out- rage the feelings of the nation, and which, coming home to the heart of every man and woman in England, would make it unsafe for any parliamentary combination to attempt to protect him. Thus fenced in during his administration, what are his perils when he retires ? The Colonists, too happy when rid of the nuisance to b^ vindictive, and hoping better things from a successor of whom they are unwilling to suspect any evil, cease to complain — His Excellency is removed to another Province, with a larger salary, to act the same farce over there — or, retires to his estates in the mother country, to form one of that numerous body of ex-Governors, who live upon the consciousness of having, once within their lives at least, wielded powers, within a wide space, and over the destinies of many thou- sands of their fellow beings, that are never permitted to be wielded by any individual, however high his rank, or widely extended his influence, without full and ample responsibility, within the British Islands themselves. These men, whether they go into Parliament or not, always sympathize with Governors abroad, acting upon their darling theory; and, as they are often consulted by minis- ters who know perhaps a little less than themselves, they are always at hand to stifle the complaints of the Colonists^ when appeals are made to England. 17 Your LorJship will perceive, the-'efure, that when a Governor de* clares, as did Sir Francis Head, that the responsibility rests on him, he merely meauSj that he is about to assume extensive powers, for three or four, perhaps for eight or ten years, without the shadow of a chance of hie ever being called to account for any thing he may do or leave undone. To enable you to form nome idea of the peace, prosperity, and satisfaction, likely to be diffused over a Province, by a Governor acting upon this principle and exercising these powers, let me request your Lordship to imagine that, after twenty or thirty years of military service, by which I have became disciplined in- to a contempt for civil business, and a fractious impatience of the opinions of all bsneath me in rank. Her Majesty has the right, and graciously deigns to exercise it, of making me Mayor of Liverpool. Fancy that up to the moment when the information is conveyed to me, though I have heard the name of that City several tim^s, and have some vague notion that Liverpool is a large commer- cial port in England, yet that I neither know on what river nor at which side of the Island it is situated — nor have the least knowledge of its extent, population, requirements^ or resources — the feelings, interests, prejudices or rights, of its inhabitants. Within a month, having had barely sufficient time to trace out the situation of the place upon the map, read a book rr two about it — hear an under Secretary talk an hour or two of what neither he nor 1 understand, receive a packet of Instructions, of which half a dozen different readings may be given, and become thoroughly inflated with my own consequence, I find myself in Liverpool, and feel that I am the great pivot upon which all its civil administration — its order and defence — its external relations with the rest of the Empire and the rest of the world, turns — the fountain from which its internal patronage is to flow ; and to which all, for a long period of years, must look, for social and political ascendancy, if they have no merit — and, if they have, for a fair consideration of their claims^ Your Lordship will readily believe, that a man thus whisked away from the pursuits which have occupied his thoughts for years, and plunged into a new scene — surrounded by human beings, not one of whose faces he ever saw before — called to the consideration of a thousand topics, with almost any one of which the assiduous devo- tion of half a life would be required to make him familiar ; and hav- ing to watch over vast interests — balance conflicting claims — decide on the capacity of hundreds, of whose characters, talents and influence, he is ignorant, to fill offices of the duties of which he has not the slightest conception — that a man so situated, must be either very vaip or very able, if he is not appalled at the ex- tent of the responsibility he has assumed ; and must be an Angel of Light indeed, if he does not throw the good City of Liverpool into confusion. This, my Lord, is no fancy sketch — no picture, highly colored to produce effect, but which, on close examination, un artist would cast aside as out of drawing — it is a faithful representation of what occurs in some British Colony almost every year. But it may be said all this is granted, and yet there is the Lcgijs- 3 18 m laturo to influence and instruct. Liverpool sliali stiil serve for iliuS' tration, and we will presently see to whet extent the Representative Branch q'^p ites on the conduct of a gentleman, who assumes the responsibility, and is placed in tho circumstances described. Let us suppose that the City Charter gives me for my advisers, from the moment I am sworn in, ten or a dozen individuala, some of them the heads of departments, enjoying large salaries and much patron- age — others, perhaps, discarded members of the popular branch, and not a few selected by no rule which the people can clearly under- stand, but because they happened to flatter the vanity of one or other of my predecessors, or to be connected with the families, or favourable to the views or interests, of some of those by whom they were advised. This body, be it observed, by usage never departed from, hold their €ituations as Councillors for life : the people have no control over them, neither have I-'-they are sworn not to inform upon each other, nor is it necessary they should, because, as I have assumed the responsibility, and they for their own interest favor the theory, if any thing goes wrong they can lay the blame on me. This body then, which owes no allegiance to the people of Liverpool — which often, in fact, has an interest the very reverse of theirs — which, suspected of usurpation and improper influence, pays back the im- putation with unmeasured contempt ; and hardly one fifth of whose number could, by any possibility, be thus honored if their seats de- pended on popular selection — this body I am compelled to call around me in order that my administration may commence, for without some such assistance 1 am unable to take a single step. They come — an(t there sit, at the first Council Board, the responsibleMayor, who knows nothing and nobody, and his irresponsible advisers, who, if they do not know every thing, and they are seldom greater witches tha» their neighbors, know their friends, a lean minority of the citizens,— from their enemies, the great majority ; and are quite aware that, for their interest, it is necessary that 1 should be taught, as soon as pos- sible, to despise the latter, and throw myself into the arms of the for- mer. Will any sensible man, calmly viewing the relative situations, opportunities and powers of the parties, believe that any act of admi- nistration done, or any appointment made, for the first six months, is my act or n>y appointment T I may choose between any two or three persons whose names are artfully set before me, when an office is to be filled, and if determined to show my independence may select the worst ; but I must choose from the relatives and friends of my advisers, or from the small minority who support them in the hopes of preferment, for to that section of the whole the city patron- age must be religiously contined ; and it is of course so managed, that 1 scarcely know or have confidence in any body else. Can your Lordship believe that such a state of things would give satisfaction to the citizens? Would they not begin to grumble and complain — to warn — to remonstrate — and to expose the machinations and mancEuvres of the monopolists? It would be very odd, and they would be very un-English Englishmen, if they did not. But, as I have come to Liverpool to demonstrate the beauties of this system of h 19 City Government, which I highly approve— a3 1 have assumed ths wlirjie respoiidibility, and become inflated with the consciousness of my extensive powers — and, above nil, as I am taught by my advisers to bok upon every complaint of the system as a libel upon my jndg- mant, and an insult to my administration, I very soon begin to dislike those who complain — to speak anJ write contemptuously of them in private and public — to denounce any who have the hardihood to suggest that some alterations are required, by which the opinions and rights of the majority shall be respected, as men dangerous to the peace of the City, and disaffected towards Her Majesty's person and Government ; until, in fact, Liverpool becomes very like a town, in the olden time, in which the inhabitants generally being hostile to their rulers, the latter retire to the Citadel, from which tliey project every description of missile and give every species of annoyance. By and bye the time arrives for the Legislative branches of the City Government to assemble : — one of these, being elected at short pcriodi, under a low franchise, which includes the great body of the independent citizens, may betaken as a fair reflexion of all their great interests, their varied knowledge, passions and prejudices. The other is a body of life Legislators, selected by my advisers from among their own relatives and friends, with a few others, of a more independent character, to save appearances ; but in which they always have a majority of faithful and determined partizans. The business commences — the great majority of members in the Representative Branch, speaking the matured opinions of the people, complain of the system, and of the advisers it has placed around me, expressing^ the fullest confiJence in me, whom they cannot suspect of wishing to do them harm, but asking my co-operation towards the introduction of changes without which they assure me the city never can prosper. But my advisers, having a few of their adherents, also in this body, they are instructed to declare any change unnecessary — to throw every obstruction in the way — to bully and defame the more conspi- cuous of those who expose the evils of the existing system, and to denounce them all as a dangerous combination, who, with some covert design, are pressing, for factious objects, a series of frivolous complaints. Of course, as the minority speak the sentiments which I hive imbibed, and put themselves forward as my personal cham- pions on all ozcasiuns, they rise in my esteem exactly in the same proportion as the other party are depressed, until they become especial pjts; and, from their ranks, as opportunities occur, all vacancies are supplied, either in the list of irresponsible advisers who in my name carry on the government, or in the number of life Legislators who do their bidding in the Upper Branch. r respectfully beg your Lordship to ponder over these passages, which 1 assure you are true to nature and experience — and ask yourself, after bringing home such a state of things to the bosom of any British City, how long it would be uncomplainingly endured ? how lon<: any Ministry, duly informed of the facts, would allow or it to continue ? Look back, my Lord, and you will find in every 20 iti I: ! lit rotten Corporation, swept away by the iminortnl Act of which your Lordship was one oftho ablest defenders, n resemblance to our Co- lonial Governments, as they at present stand, too strong to be mista- ken — and, let me venture to hope, that the man who did not spare corruption ho near the- national centre of vitality, who did not hesi- tate to combat these hydra headed minorities, who, swarming over England, every where asserted their right to govern the majorities, will not shrink from applying his own principles — the great princi- ples of the Constitution— to these more distant but not less impor- tant portions of the Empire. Your Lordship will, perhaps, urge, that Sir Francis Head succeeded in pleasing the people, and getting the majority on his side. Admitting the full force which the worthy Baronet gives to this case, it is, after all, but the exception to the general rule. The true history of events in Upper Canada, 1 believe to have been this : a small, but desperate minority, had determined on a violent revolution ; this party might have contained some men so wicked, that a love of mischief and desire for plunder were the governing principles, and others, moved by attachment to Republican Institutions—but, small as it was, the greater number of those found in its ranks, had been driven there by the acts of another equally smalt and equally desperate minority, who had long monopolized, and, under the present system, may and will monopolize, for a century to come, the whole power and patronage of the Government, dividing among them the revenues of the country. The great mass of the people of Upper Canada belonged to neither of these bands of desperadoes. They were equally determined, with the one, to uphold British connexion, and as equally determined, with the other, to get rid of a wretched .system of irresponsible local administration, under the continuance of which they well knew the Province could never prosper. When Sir Francis Head arrived, he entered the Colony, if we are to believe his own account of the matter, almost as igno- vantas my imaginary Mayor of Liverpool. Sir Francis admits his ignorance, but denies the consequences that must be deduced from it — that he was led and influenced, in the first acts of his adminis- tration, until the Compact found him ripe for their own purposes, and embroiled even with the moderate men on the other fide. Then commenced that extraordinary flight of proclamations, addresses and declamatory appeals, which, winged with the ready pens of a profes- sional author, and shot from the long bow of the Family Compact, cre- ated so much false excitement, and carried so much misrepresentation into every corner of the Province. In these the great question at issue in Upper Canada, which was one between the interests of the family compact and the principles of the British Constitution, was winked out of sight ; and the people, not only of that but of the surrounding Colonies, were made to believe that they were to choose between British and Republican Institutions — that Sir Francis and the fa- mily compact (ArclideacOn Strachan, with the Clergy Reserves, one seventh of the Province ; and Attorney General Hagerman, with the corrupt patronage and influence of administration^ under their arms) 21 represented the former — and McKcnziennd his bandofdefiperndoes the latter. Thus appealed to, the British population every where, as the cunning men at Sir Francis' elbow well knew they would, said with one voice — if that is the question, then we are for the British Constitution, and hurrah ! for Sir Francis Head. McKenzic wan an outlaw in a week ; his small band of desperadoes was scatter- ed by the energy of the people, the great mass of whom never dream- ed of breaking the connexion with the Mother Country. Then came the period in which the compact gloriBed themselves and Sir Francis — the fever of loyal excitement — in which the miserable mino- rity of officials, feeling strong in the success of their manoeuvres, and still stronger in the strength of British thousands profuoely spent^^ Regiments of militia to be officered, equipped, and paid — began to wreak their vengeance upon every man who had been known to be hostile to their monopoly ; and to identify opinions, not more ex- treme, when thoroughly understood, than those held by the most moderate section of the Whigs in England, with " privy conspiracy and rebellion." But the period was fast approaching when this un- natural excitement was to subside — when hundreds of thousands of British subjects, looking stendily through the mists that had been raised around them, were to ask of each other, has this case been de- cided upon the true issue? teas that the question ? For evidence of the solemnity with which this enquiry has been put, and the all per- vading unanimity with which it has been answered, I refer your Lord- ship to the meetings which have been held in every section of the Province- -to the opinions boldly expressed by every Newspaper, with a few, chiefly venal exceptions, printed in Upper Canada — to the bold and determined stand taken by many of the bravest and ablest men who crushed McKenzie's rebellion, and beat back the sympa- thizers upon the frontier — to the extraordinary union of Orangemen and Catholics, Methodists, Baptists, Churchmen and Presbyterians, whose watchwords are British connexion and British responsibility, and down with the Compact, and the absurd idea cherished by Sir Francis Head, of a government in which the whole responsibility rests upon the Governor. If your Lordship doubts the utter explosion of your theory even in this Province, where, for a time, I admit it seemed to flourish, the approaching general elections will furnish evidence enough — and even Sir Francis, if he were to come out again with another sheaf of Proclamations and Addresses, to preach this unitarian doctrine of responsibility, would no longer be listened to by the Upper Canadians, who have embraced n higher and purer faith. Having, as I conceive, then, shown your Lordship that the idea of a Colony in which nobody is responsible but the Governor, while his responsibility is only nominal, however delightful it may appear in the eyes of those who have been or hope to be Governors, is one that never can be a favorite with the Colonists, and has been repudiated and rejected by those of them among whom, for a limited period, and under a system of delusion, it seemed to flourish — let me turn your Lordship's attention for a few moments to the doctrine main- i w 22 M tainod by Lord Gleneljj against Sir Francis Head, and now put forlli by your I^ordsliip in op|)osition tu the Karl of Durham — that the Colonial Secretary is iiloiie responsible, nud tlial the Governor is nil agent governing the Province by instnutionsfrom him. Whatever new readings may yet be given of our unwritten Con- stitutions, thid is the one which always has been and always will be the favourite with Colonial Secretaries and under Secretaries, and by which every Clerk in Downing Street, even to the third and fourth generation yet to cornc, will bo prepared to take his stand. And why ? br'^puse, to deprive them of this much talked of responsibility, which means nothing, would be to deprive them of the power to which they cling — of the right of meddling interference with every petty question and every petty appointment, in 30 diflurent Colonies. While things remain as they are— the very uncertainty which reigns over the whole Colonial system, invests the Secretary of State with a degree of power and influence, the dim and shadowy outline of which can scarcely be measured by the eye, but which, from its al- most boundless extent, and multiform and varied ramifications and relations, possesses a fisciiiation which few men have been born with the patriotic moderation to resist. Though a Secretary of State may occasionally have to maintain, in a particidar Province, a doubt« ful struggle, for the whole responsibility^ and the tchole of f he power, with some refractory Governor, like Sir Francis Head, — yet even there he must exercise a good deal of authority, and enjoy a fair share of influence ; while in all the others his word is );iw, and his influence almost supreme. A Judge, a Crown ofBccr, a Secretary or a Land Surveyor, cannot be appointed without his consent — a silk gown cannot be given to a Lawyer without bissonc- tion, while bis word is required to confirm the nomination of Le- gislative Councillors for life, and irresponsible Executive Councillors, in every Province, before the Queen's mandamus is prepared. The \ery obscurity in which tlie real character of Colonial Constitutions is involved, of course magnifies the ini]:ortancc and increases the in- fluence of the gentleman who clui(ns the right to expound them. Mon-e than one half the Colonists who obtain audiences in Downing Street, are sent t,here by the mystification in which the principles of the system are in'^M^ed ; while the other halfare applicants for ofiices tvhich, under a system of local responsibility, would be filled up, as are th€ civic ofRces in Manclicster and Glasgow, by the parly upon whose virtue and ability the majority of the Inhabitants relied. Adopt Lord Durham's principle, and, above all, give to each Colony n well deflned Constitution, based upon that principle, and embodied in a Bill, and " the Orlice" will become a desert. The scores of worthy people, with spirits weary of tlie anomalous and cruel absur- dities of the system, and sincerely labouring to remove them, now daily lingering in the anti-rooms, would be better employed elsewhere, in adorning and improving the noble countries which gave them birth, and whose freedom they are labouring to establish — while at least an equal number of cunning knaves, whose only errand is to seek a share of the plunder, had much better be transferred to the I • 25 open arenas, in wliicii, niidcr n system of rcHponsiliility, public l)o« tinrs nnd ofliciul eiuolumciit could only ho won. But then tliu otllce of Coionhl Secretary woiud be sliurn of niucli power, wliicii, how* ever unwisely exercised, it is always deliglill'ul to possess— the dim but majestic forms of authority, which now overshadow half the world, would bo chastened into reasonable compass, w-ih boundic ries, if less imposing and picturesque, for nil practical purposes more simple and clearly defined — nor would under Secretaries and Clerks have so many anxious and often fawning visitors, soli* citing their patronage — listening to their twaddle — wondering ot their ignorance, and yet struggling with each other for their smiles. The Mother Country would, it is true, hear less of Colonial griev- ances — Parliament would save much time, now devoted to Colonial ijuestions — and the peoplo of Englanund, in every important act of his administration, to ask the direction of and throw the responsibility on another indivi- dual, who never saw the City— who knows less about it even than himself— and who resides, not in London, at the distance of a day's coaching from him, but across the Atlantic, in Halifax, Quebec, or Toronto, and with whom it is impossible to communicate about any thing within a less period than a couple of months. Suppose that this gentleman in tl:'> distance possesses a veto upon every important ordinance by which the City is to be watched, lighted and improved — by which docks are to be formed, trade regulated, and one third of the City Revenues (drawn from sources beyond the control of the 24 !!B l^i^ ,. popular branch), dispensed — and suppose, that nearly all whose talents or ambition lead them to aspire to the higher ofiices of the place, are compelled to take, once or twice in their lives, a voy- age across the Atlantic, to pay their Cw t to him — to solicit his patronage, and intrigue for the preferment, which, under a belter system, would naturally result from manly competition and eminent services within the city itself. Your Lordship is too keen sighted, and I trust too frank, not to acknowledge, that no form of government could well be devised more ridicu- lous than this — that under such no British City could be ex- pected to prosper ; and that with it no body of Her Majesty's Kiibjects, within the British U inds themselves, would ever be content. Yet this, my Lord, is an illustration of your own theory — this is the system propounded by Lord Normanby, as the best the present Ca- binet can devise,— and may I not respectfully demand why British Huhjects in Nova-Scotia, any more than their brethren in Liverpoolj should !.'e expected to prosper or be contented under it, when expe- rience has convinced them that it is miserably insufficient and de- ceptive— repugnant to the principles of the Constitution they revere, and but a poor return for the steady loyalty which their forefathers and themselves have maintained on all occasions '' One of the greatest evils of the Colonial Constitution, as interpret- ed by your Lordship, is, that it removes from a Province every des- cription of responsibility, and leaves all the higher functionaries at liberty to lay every kind of blame at the door of the Secretary of State. The Governor, if the Colonists complain, shrugs his shoul- ders, and replies, that he will explain the difficulty in his next des- patch, but in the mean time his orders must be obeyed— the Execu- tive Councillors, who under no circumstances are responsible for any thing, often lead the way in concentrating the ire of the people, upon the Colonial Secretary, who is the only person they admit their right to blame. It is no uncommon thing to hear them, in Nova-Sco- tia, sneering at him in public debate— and in Canada they are accused of standing by while Lords Glenclg and Melbourne were hanged in effigy and burned, in the capital, encouraging the populace to pay this mark of respect to men, who, if your Lordship's theory is to be enforced, these persons, at all events, should have the decency to pardon, if they cannot always defend. I trust, my Lord, that in this letter I have shown you that in con- templating a well defined and limited degree of responsibility to attach to Executive Councillors in North America, 1 have more strictly followed the analogies to be drawn from the Constitution, than has your Lordship, in supposing that those officers would neces- sarily overstep all bounds— that, in divesting the Govsrnor of a vague and decepUve description of responsibility, which is never enforced, and of a portion of authority which it is impossible for him wisely toexercise; and yet holding him to account for what does fall within the scope of his character as Her Majesty's Representative, the constitutional analogy is still preserved— his dignity lefl unimpaired, and the difficulties of his position re.noved. I trust also that I have 25 j^roved to your Lordship that the Colonial Constitutions, as they at present stnnfJ, are but a medley of uncertainty and confusion — that those by whom they are administered do not understand them — and lastly, that whether Sir Francis Head's interpretation or your own be adopted, neither offer security for good government, — the contest between them merely involving a difference of opinion as to who is to wield powers that neither Governors nor Secretaries can usefully assume, and which of these officers is nominally to bear ihe blame etty offices, and discharge functions manifold and various, within the Colony itself. The people of Eng- land have no knowledge of these matters, nor any interest in them, to give them the right to interfere — interference does much mischief to the Colonists, and can do no good to their brethren across the water. If British Statesmen would let these things alone, and it is over these only that toe claim to enforce rcsponsihility, and confine themselves to those general arrangements affecting the whole Empire, of which we admit them to be the best judges, and in the conduct of which we never ask to take a part, it would be impossible to conceive how such a case could arise, as that supposed by your Lordship — or how the Governor could be charged with " a measure" which his Executive Council would not dare "to propose?" Ad- mitting that there might be some subjects, requiring discussion in the Provinces, bin which the Colonists were not prepared to adopt, surely an Executive Councilor could be got, even if he were opposed to the views of Ministers, to submit ihe measure and explain those views to the popular Branch — or might there not be "open ques* tions" in the Colonies as at home i The conclusion at which my mind arrives, then, after the best attention that I can give to this branch of the subject, is, that if the duties and responsibilities of Government are fairly and judtcionslv divided between the Imperial and Colonial authorities, no such case as that assumed by your Lordship can occur — and, if it should, surely tlie good sense of all parties concerned may safely be trusted, to avoid any violent or unpleasant collision. But did it never occur to your Lordship to enquire, whether the very evil anticipated, as an insuperable objection to the new system, does not disfigure and an- nually occnr under the old ? What else were the Executive Coun- cillors in Upper and Lower Canada doing for a series of years but "pro- posing certain measures," to be as certainly rejected by the popular hranch ? What else are they about now in Newfoundland I What but this were they do* ' in New-Brunswick, down to the close of Sir Archibald Campbell's administration? In all these Provinces a state of constant collision between the Executive and the popular branch, which could by no possibility arise under the system I con- template, would answer the objection, even if the difBculty suggest- ed could be fairly taken into account. If it be said that the Coun- cillors now do not refuse to propose measures, T answer, but if the Legislatures invariably reject them, does Government gain anything, or is public business advanced by the system ? What a figure did the Executive cut in Nova-Scotia, in 1638, when the Councillor I I i I'ii, 27 wfio brought down from tlie Governor a grave proposition, led the opposition against it? and how stand things in this Province now—* are not all the Councillors selections from a lean minority of the Commons, in which body almost every debate terminates in a vote of implied want of confidence in thorn ; and where the Governor they surround has, on several occasions, only been saved from an insult- ing vote ot censure, by the good temper and moderation of the majority ? This is a state of things too ridiculous to be long con- tinued. To me it seems essential that Her Majesty, in every Colony, should be represented by an Executive, not only willing " to at- tempt" but *' able to carry" any measures that it may be necessary to propose. The next objection taken by your Lordship to the introduction of Provincial responsibility, one eminently calculated to have weight with the body you addressed, and to alarm the timid every where, was draw.i from an application of the principle to the manage- ment of 'I i 30 m if cause your beautiful mode of Government lias produced such a state of things in a British Province, that the Ministers of the Queen dare not bring the man charged with this high offence to trial. Un- der a system of responsibility, by which the population were left to manage their domestic aiTairs, I hold that no such violation of law would be likely to occur ; and, (hat if it did, investigation would be as safe, and punishment as certain, as though a crime had been com- mitted in Middlesex or Surrey. I have thus disposed, my Lord, of the Military questions; and, as I have left Her Majesty and her Representatives in full command of the Army and Navy, and of the Militia force of British America, and have asserted no claim of the Colonists to interfere with foreign treaties, and diplomatic arrangements affecting the Empire at large, I think, if peace be not maintained with foreign states, and punish- ment, for offiMices strictly military, be not awarded, the blame will not rest with the Executive Councillors, who are f j exercise no ju- risdiction over these matters, and cannot be responsible if others fail in their duty. Let me now turn to another class of objections, arisin;; out of our Colonial and Foreign Trade. " Again," says your Lordship, " nei- " ther could this analogy be maintained with regard to trade between " Canada and the mother country, or Canada and any other " country ; how then can you adopt a principle from which such " large exceptions are to be made l If you were to do so, you " would be continually on the borders of dispute and conflict ; the " Assembly and the Executive on the one hand requiring a certain " course to be pursued, while the governor on the other hand would " be as constantly declaring that it was a course he could not adopt ; " f>o that, instead of furnishing matter of content and harmony in " these provinces, you would be affording new matter for dispute and " discontent if you were to act upon this supposed analogy." Now, my Lord, I feel it my duty to state, that you 'may take from any part you please lo select, of England, Ireland, or Scotland, 200,000 persons, and among them you will not find a larger number than are to be found in Nova-Scotia, well informed as to the ujgree of authority in matters of Trade, which, for the good of the whole Em- pire, and the preservation of the advantages in which all are ;o par- ticipate, it is necessary to confide to the care of the Sovereign and the wisdom of the Imperial Parliament. The great Corporations of London, of Bristol, and of Liverpool, do not presume to interfere with these, except by petition and remonstrance, neither do we. Each of these Cities has the right to levy small duties within their own limits, for matters of internal regulation or to aid public im- provements, and these rights they exercise, in common with us, when they do not contravene any British Statute, necessary for the protec- tion of the Trade of the Empire. But, if it can be shown that a law bears unequally upon London or Halifax, and that a flagrant case of hardship exists — or if the industry of any portion of the Peo- ple, either in England or the Colonies, is taxed, while no corres- ponding advantage is reaped by any other portion,— or that, if 31 reaped, it is an unfair and illegitimate advantage, — an nppeal is made to Parliament : we have hitherto been contented, although not di- rectly represented in that Assembly, to abide the result of that appeal ; or to pass Bills, taking our chance of their being assented to in England. The same thing would occur, even if the Executive Council was responsible, for, upon this point, there is no part of our population prepared to set up absurd or irrational claims. If Par- liament should undertake to legislate directly againt*t our interests — to cut up our commerce, and prevent the growth of domestic indus- try, and, after fair notice and ample proof of injury, were to persist in such a course, why then a state of things would arise which simi- lar policy produced elsewhere, in other times, and upon the results of which either responsible or irresponsible Councillors could exer- cise but little influence. But, as political economists, at home, are every day becoming convinced that the more liberty they afford to the Colonist to conduct his commercial operations, the greater will be his demand for British manufactures, — and as, under the guidance of this enlightened policy, thelaws of Trade and Navigation are an- nually becoming less restrictive, it is not probable that difHculties, which were never insuperable, will all of a sudden admit of no ra- tional remedy ; or that the boundaries of Colonial and Imperial authority, now so well understood, and the recognition of which is so easily enforced, will often be called in question on either side. If the Colonists assert rights which do not belong to them, and persist in their contumacy, disturbing solemn Treaties and setting Acts of Parliament at nought, why then they have broken the social com- pact, it is a case of rebellion, and they must be put down. Let us reduce the difRculty to practice, for the purpose of illustra- tion. Suppose that both Branches of the Legislature pass a Law by which a t:davy duty is laid upon British broadcloths, and those from the United States are admitted duty free ; and that the Execu- tive Council, being responsible, advise the Lieutenant Governor to assent to it. Such an absurd piece of bad faith as this could never be attempted in the Lower Provinces — for public opinion would never sanction any interference with the general laws, not intend- ed to remedy abuses, or that struck at Colonial without promoting British prosperity ; nor would any changes be popular, which violated the fraternal comity, by which British subjects every where are bound to encourage and protect each other. But I have supposed the law passed and presented : the Governor would say in this case, as he now invariably says — as your Lordship admits he must say, if urged to provoke a foreign war — Gentlemen, you are exceeding your powers ; to legislate for your own advantage is one thing ; to legislate directly against your brethren at home, for the advan- tage of foreigners, is another ; this Bill must either be modified or rejected, or reserved for Her Majesty's assent before it can go into operation. If the parties urging it persisted, a dissolution might be tried, and an appeal to British subjects, in a case where the Governor wa« clearly right, and his advisers wrong, would never be made in vain ; particularly when aided by the Constitutional op- 52 \Q ' position, which, under a system of responsibility nnd manly comp^' lition. would exist in every Colony. But if it failed — if such an iilmost impossible thing were upon the cards, as that a majority could he found in Nova-Scotia, to sustain such an act, or any thing bear- ing a resemblance to it, then a case would have occurred for thd interference of the Imperial authorities, who should say to us frankly, if you will come into unnatural and hostile collision, the weakest has the most to^fear. Had your Lordship been ns familiar with the mode of dealing with such subjects as most Colonists are who have watched the pro- ceedings of Colonial Assemblies, you would have been satified that no danger was be apprehended from violent collisions about matters of trade. When a new duty is proposed in Nova-Scotia, or a re-* duction suggested, the first question asked on all sides is, will the proposition Violate the letter, or does it even run counter to the spt* rit, of the Imperial Acts? If it does, in eight cases out often, the person bringing the measure forward drops it, on being assured of^ the fact — in the ninth case, where a doubt exists as to the policy and wisdom of Iniperial legislation, it is found, on enquiry, that the clause which seemed to press upon us, originated in a wide view over the whole field of commerce, which British Statesmen, oflen better than others whose positions afford fewer advantages, are enabled to t&ke, and that its repeal would inflict an injury and not confer a he-i nefit. The tenth case is perhaps one in which the Imperial Parlia- ment, either from haste, or prejudice, or insufficient information, has committed an error in political economy, or inflicted a wound upon Colonial without benefitting British industry. In this casCi (and they only occur once in a great while) no one ever dreams, that, as your Lordship expresses it, the Imperial Legislature is to be " overruled" by that of the Colony : we never doubt but that an ap* peal to the good sense and justice of our brethren over the water, will be successful. A Bill is passed, perhaps, to meet the difficulty ; and an explanation of the facts and reasoning in which it originated, is sent with it, in the form of an Address to the Throne, and in most cases is found to be successful. This is the mode at present : what reason is there to suppose that it would be much changed, if we had an Executive Council, whose powers and responsibilities did not extend to matters of general com- merce, already provideu for by Imperial Legislation ? If we are so fond of violent conflict and factious opposition, what hinders us from indulging our propensities now ? Shall we be less considerate the more kindly we are treated ? Shall we have less respect for Impe- rial legislation, when we that see it leaves us the entire management of our domestic affairs, and only deals with those great interests which transcend our authority and are beyond our control ? Suppose twelve Novascotians, who are not responsible to any authority under Heaven, are made accountable to the rest of their countrymen, shall we have a man the more for forcible resistance than we have now— or a gun, a pike, a bomb, or a barrel of powder ? I have thus, my Lord, gone over the arguments urged by your 1 a a a V c ii c < i f t t F I r l«;1 Lordship in the speech of the 3d June. I have omitted none that appear to me to have the slightest bearing upon the great question at issue, and I trust I have given to each a fair and satisfactory answer. I have written not only under a solemn sense of duty, but with the full assurance that sophistry, woven around this question, either on one side of the Atlantic or the other, would be torn to shreds in the conflict of acute and vigorous minds now engaged in its dis- cussion. Had your Lordship, in announcing the decision of the Cabinet, forborne to state the reasons upon which that decision was founded, I might, like counsel at the bar under similar circum- stances, have felt myself compelled to acquiesce in a judgment, nei- ther the justice nor the policy of which I could fathom. But when the arguments were stated, and when I saw a question involving the peace and security of six extensive Provinces, and the freedom and happiness of a million and a half of British subjects, disposed of by a mode of reasoning which I knew to be deceptive and unsound, — when I saw, in fact, that this parties claiming their rights were to be turned out of court, with all the argument and all the evidence upon their side, — I felt that to remain silent would be to deserve the so- cial and political degradation which this unjust decision was to entail on my countrymen and myself—- to earn the Helot mark of exclusion from the blessings of that Constitutional freedom, which our forefathers struggled to bequeathe ; and which we should never cease to demand, as a patrimony that runs with our blood, and cannot be rightfully severed from our name. , > 1 have the honor to be, &>C. &C. &'C^ LETTER IV. Mi Lord, The business of factious demagogues, of all parties, is to find fault with every thing — to propose nothing practical — to oppose whatever is suggested — to misrepresent and to defame. The object of honest and rational politicians ought to be to understand each other —to deal frankly, abhoring concealment, that mistakes may not be made about facts, terms, or intentions-- to deal fairly, giving credit for a desire to elicit truth, and a wish to weigh in a just balance both sides of every question. Having put before you such evidence as 1 hope will lead your Lordship's mind to the conclusion, that the system by which the North American Colonies are at pre- sent governed, must be abandoned, it is not improbable that your Lordship may enquire what it is that we are desirous to substitute for that system ? The demand is a reasonable one — the party who 5 m\\ 34 teek this change are bound to prove that thejr have a safo, and in- telligible remedy, for the evils of which they complain. If I cannot ehow to your Lordship, that, without endangering the authority of the mother country over her Provinces, weakening the Constitu- tional powers of the Crown, or trenching on the high privileges and wide range of duty assigned to the Imperial Parliament, a better form of Government than that which I am anxious to overturn—' one more nearly conforming to the practice and spirit of the Constr* tution, as understood at home — to the wants and peculiar situation of these Colonies, and less repugnant to the feelings and prejudices of Englishmen every where, can be established —then I must quit the field of argument, and cannot complain if your Lordship adhuros to your old opinion!. .; ;. v. . The Queen and P€urUamcnt. From what has been already written, it will be seen that I leave to the Sovereign, and the Imperial Parliament, the uncontrol- led authority over the Mi}itary aiid Naval force distributed over the Colonies — that I carefully abstain from trenching upon their right to bind the whole Empire, by treaties and other diplomatic arrange- ments, with foreign States — or to regulate the trade of the Co?o> nies With the mother country, and with each other. I yield to them also the same right of interference which they now ex- ercise ever Colonies, and over English Incorporated Towns, whenever a desperate oase of factious usage of the powers con- fided, or some reason of state, affecting the preservation ot peace and order, call for that interference. As the necessity of the case, the degree and nature of this interference, would always be fully discussed by all parties concerned, I am not afraid of these great powers being oflen abused, particularly as the temptations to use them would be much lessened if the internal administration were improved. The Colonial Office. The Colonial Secretary's duties should bo narrowed to a watchful supervision over each Colony, to see that the authority of the Crown was not impaired, and that Acts of Parliament and public treaties were honestly and firmly carried out ; but he should have no right to ap> point more than two or three officers in each Province — and none to intermeddle in any internal affair, so long as the Colonial Govern- ment was conducted without conflict with the Imperial Government, and did not exceed the scope of its authority. This would give him enough to do, without heaping upon him duties so burthensome and various that they cannot be discharged with honor by any man, how- ever able ; nor with justice or safety to the millions whose interests they affect. His respcmsibility should be limited to the extent of his powers ; and, as these would be familiar to every Englishman, exposure and punishment would not be difficult, in case of ignorance, incapacity or neglect. 35 The Governor. I have shown, in the illustration dra^tn from (he City ofLivcrpool, that most Qoveritors come out to Colonies so ignorant of tlieir geo- graphy and topography, climate, productions, commerce, resources and wants— and above all, of the parties, passions and prejudices, which divide them — and the character, talents, and claims, of the men by whom the population are influenced and led, that for the first six or twelve months they are like overgrown boys at school. It is equally clear that while the business ofGovernroent must move en, and the administration commence from the day on which the new Governor arrives, the Schoolmasters, from whom all his facts are derived — his views of internal affairs — and his impressions, not only of different par- ties, but of individuals of each party, gathered, are the irresponsible EzecutiveCouncillors, whom the present system calls around him— and who, possessed of such advantages, rarely fail, before he can by any possibility escape from their toils, to embroil h*m with the popular Branch of the Legislature, and the mass of the people by whom it is sustained. Now let us suppose, that when a Governor arrives ia Nova-Scotia, he finds himself surrounded, not by this irresponsible Council, who represent nothing except the whims of his predecessors, and the in- terests of a few families, (so small in point of numbers, that but for the influence which ofiice and the distribution of patronage gives them, their relative weight in the country would be ridiculously diminutive) — but by men, who say to him, " may it please your excellency, there was a general Election in this Province last month, or last year, or the year before last, and an administration was formed upon the results of that Election — we, who compose the Council, have ever since been steadily sustained by a majority in the Commons, and have reason to believe that our conduct and policy havo been satisfactory to the country at large.' ' A Governor thus ad- dressed, would feel, that at all events he was surrounded by those who represented a majority of the population — who possessed the confidence of an immense body of the electors, and who had been selected to give him advice by the people who had the deepest inter- est in the success of his administration. If he had doubts on this point — if he had reason to believe that any factious combination had obtained office improperly, and wished to take the opinions of the People— or if the Executive Council wished to drive him into measures not sanctioned by the Charter, or exhibited a degree of grasping selfishness which was offensive and injurious, — he could at once dissolve the Assembly, and appeal to the People, who here, an in England, would relieve him from doubt and difiiculty, and, fighting out the battle on the hustings, rebuke the Councillors if they were wrong. This toould be a most important point gained in favour of the Governor — for now he is the slave of an irresponsible Council, which he cannot shake off ; and is bound to act by the advice of men, who, not being accountable for the advice they give, and 30 having often miicli lo gain and nothing to lose by giving hnd advice, may get him into scrapes every month, and lai/ the blame on him. The Governors would in fact liave the power of freeing th«;mselvcs from thraldom to the family compacts, which none of them can now escape, by the exercise of any safe expedient known to our existing Constitutions. It will be seen, too, that by this systenr whatever sections or small parties might think or say, the Governor could ne- ver by any posibility become, what British Governors have of late been every where, embroiled with the great body of the inhabitants, over whom he was sent to preside. The Governor's responsibility would also be narrowed to the care of the Queen's Prerogative— the con- servation of Treaties— the military defence — and the execution of the Imperial Acts : the local administration being left in the hands of those who understood it, and who were responsible. His posi- tion would then be analogous to that of the Sovereign— Ae could do no wrung in any matter of which the Colonial Legislature had the right to judge, but would be accountable to the Crown, if ho be- trayed the Imperial interests committed to his care. The Executive Council. Extcutive Councillors now are either Heads of Departments — or Members of the two Branches who are generally favourable to the policy of these, and disposed to leave their emoluments intact. One or two persons of more independent character, and slightly dif- fering with the others ui^K)n n few points, are sometimes admitted ; hut a vast preponderance in favour of the views of the official com- pact, is always, as a matter of course, maintained. The Heads of Departments are always very well paid for their trouble in governing the country, by the enormous official salaries they re- ceive ; their colleagues either are looking to office, or have means of providing for their relatives and friends; da, and it was said that the Earl o^ Juiham at first inclined to the opinion, thought it might be abol'ihed. 1 think there is no necessi- ty for this — first, because it would <'^stroy the close resemblance which it is desirable to maintain between our Institutions and those of the mother country, — and again, because a second legislative chamber, not entirely depenf^"^:! upon popular favor, is useflil to re- view measures, and check undue hastf^ or corruption in the popular branch. Besides, I see no difHculty iu naintaining its independence, and yet removing from it the character of annual conflict with the representative body, by which it has been every where distinguished. The main object of the Executive Council being the preservation of a system by which they enjoy honors, office and patronage, un- V jntrolled ana uninHuenced by the people, — and they having the no- mination of Legislative Councillors, of course they have always se- lected a majority of those whose interests and opinions were their own, and who could help tuem to wrestle tvith audjight off the popular brunch. Hence the constant collision, and the general out- cry against the second chamber. The simple remedy for all this ap- pears to ')e, to introduce the English practice : let the people be con- sulted in the formation of the Executive Council, and then the ap- pointments to the Legislative will be more in accordance with public sentiment, and the general interest, than they are now. I should have no oi/jection to Legislative Councillors holding their seats for life, by which their independence of the Executive and of the People would be secured, provided they were chosen fairl" by those to whom, from time to time, the constituency, as at home, en- trusted the privilege — and no*, as they are now selected, to serve a particular purpose, and expressly to wrangle, rather dan to harmo- nisf, with the popular hranch. The House of Lords includes men selected by all the administrations which the Peopie of Briti.iu have called into power — the Houses of Lords in the Colonics have been created by all the administrations which the People nevir could injluence or control. Some members of the second Branc't should of course have seats in the Executive Counf,il, because in that Chamber also the acts and policy of the Government would require to be cxplai-^d — but here, as in England, though very desirable, it would not be essen- tial, that tiie administration should always be su&tniuud by a majority in the Upper House. ■39 21ic Commons part in governing a Pro- Then, these disreputable would be dosed, and the One of the first effects of a change of s'sieni would be a decided improvement in the character o" all tiie Colonial Assemblies. The great centre of political power tnd indue .ce uould, in the Provinces, as at home, be the House of Commons. Towards that body the able, the industrious, the eloquent and the wealthy, would press with ten times the ardour and unanimity which are now evinced — because then, like its great prototype in Britain, it would be nnopen and fair arena, in which the choice spirits of the country would battle for u share in its administration — a participation in its expenditure — and in the honor and influence which public employment confers. Now a bon vivant, whocan entertain an Aid-dc-camp — a good look- ing fellow, who dances with a Governor's Lady— or a cunning one, who can wheedle a Clerk or an under Secretary in Down- ing Street, may be calletl to take a vince, for the period of his natural life. and obscure channels of advancement country would understand the reason and feel the necessity for every Buch appointment ; and the population would be driven to cultivate those qualities which dignify and adorn our nature, rather than de- base it. Now, any wily knave or subservient fool, feels that his chance is as good as that of the most able and upright man in the Colony, andyitr better, if the latter attempts to pursue an indepen- dent course — then, such people would be brought to their proper level, and rnade to win their honors fairly before they were worn. /^lOther improvement would be, the placing the Government of a Colony, as it always is in England, in a majority hi the Commons — *vatched, controlled, and yet aided by a Constitutional opposition. Under the present system the governmeiil of a Colony is the oppo- sition of the Commons, and often presents in that body the most un- seemly and ridiculous figure. Numberless instances might be given of *his. The three Executive Councillors who sit in the Assembly ofNova^cotia,hav6 been rcsisting,in miserable minorities, on a dozen divrlons during the Lst two sessions, votes by which the Commons recorded a want of confidence in thctn and their party — and, in fact, the Government, instead of taking the lead in public measures, with the energy and ability which should belong to a government, can- not take a single step in the Assembly without the sanction of its opponents. Every emergency tnat arises, and for which an adminis- tration ought to be secure of a majority, presents some ab»urd illus- tration of the system. When the border diiiiculties with the State of Maine occurred last winter, the Government of Nova-Scotia had not the power to move a single man of the militia force (the laws having expired) or to vote a single shilling, until the majority came forward, as they always have done, in the most honorable man- ner, and, casting aside all political differences, passed laws for embo- dying the militia, and granted c€100,000 to carry on the war. But, will your Lord.ihip believe, will it be credited in F.iglaiid, that those Hi III I 40 i wi lia who voted that money — who were reaponsible to their constituents for its expenditure— and, without whose consent, for they formed two thirds of the Commons, a shilling could not have been drawn, had not a single man in the local Cabinet by whom it was to be spent, and bi/ whom, in that trying emergency, the Governor would be ad- vised. Nor are things better when the Legislature is not in session. In consequence of the establishment of Steam Navigation, a despatch was sent out this spring, after the House was prorogued, requiring the Governor of this Province to put the main Roads in thorough repair. Of course he had no means to accomplish the object, nor could his Executive Council guarantee that a single shilling thus ex- pended, wouid be replaced, or that z vote of censure would not be paf)'^^^ every man in the County knows, that his influence is worth riUwh more than that of the other three— that/ while one can obtain any favour he wants for a friend or partizan, the others cannot, unless by the barter of a corrupt vote, or the sacrifice of principle, even obtain justice^ Now, if besides these nine hun- dred offices, about five hundred commissions, for the expenditure of the Surplus Revenues of the Country upon roads, bridges and in'er- nal improvements, were given over to be disposed of in the same way, the hands of the 'Jompact would be so much strengthened, that it "^oM be still more easy to create a party in a county, to endanger thb 3< ;t of any member who ventured to give an independent vote. To obviate this risk, which was seen at an early period to menace the independence of the Commons, it was determined that the members from each County should recommend the Commissioners for the ex* 6 42 i III W penditure of monies within it, and this being acquiesced in by the Governors, for some time before its poiitical bearing was much re- garded by the Compacts, has grown inta usage, which they have not ventured openly to attack — although, as they still contend thai tim right of appointment is in the Executive, they seldom fait to show their powet, and vent their feelings, by petty alterations almost every year. The advantages of this arrangement are, that the majority of the constituency, and not the minority, as in every other case, distri^ bute the patronage under this branch of expenditure — and, as the Members who name Commissioners have a great deal of local know- ledge, and are moreover responsible to the people, they can' be called to account if they abuse this trust. But still, from the very nature of things, it is liable to abuse. Road Commissions may be multiplied, and sums unwisely expended, to secure votes at the next election, or to reward, not a trood road maker but a zealous partizan. The Executive has not the control ' \ 'ould have if these men were select- ed by the Government — and t ( ^^islative power, which should be used to unmask corruption, is jtimes abused to afford it shel- ter. The remedy which our Compdot always sitggest, like all their remedies for political discrepencies, aims at the extension of their own influence, and the firmer establishment of their own power. They are loud, upon all occasions, in denouncing the corruption of the road system — the minority in the Assembly are eloquent on the same theme ; while, through the cc^umns of some newspaper in their pay, they are always pouring forth complaints that the Roads are wretchedly bad, and will never be better, until the expenditure is placed in their hands. It will be perceived, however, that to follow their advice, would be to make, what is admitted cm aU hands to have its evils, a great deal worse ; because, if these nominations are taken from those who possess local information, and given to men who have little or none, who will not be advised by th^e who have, and who can be called to account by no power known to the Con- stitution, besides a great deal more of blundering being the result, ihe partial respitusibilityi, which now makes the system barely tole- rable, would be entirely removed. Political partizans would still be rewarded ; but, instead of all parties in the country sharing the pa- tronage (for members of the mmority as well as of the majority make these appointments) it would be conhned to those only who support- ed the Compact ; and who, however imbecile, ignorant or corrupt^ would then be, as every other officer in the Colony is now, indepen- dent of any description of popular control. If any doubt could be entertained as to whether the public would lose or gain by the change, evidence enough might be gathered ; for some of the vilest jobs, and most flagrant cases of mismanagement, that disgrace the history of the Road Service in Nova-Scotia, have been left as monuments of the ignorance or folly of the Compact, whenever they have taken these matters into their own hands. But, make the Governor's advisers responsible to the Assembly, and the Representatives would at once resign to them the manage- ment of such affairs. It would then be the bujsiuess of the Execu* 43 be ( r live, instead ofleaving the Road service to the extemporaneous 7eal or corrupt management of individuals, to come prepared, at the com- mencement of each Session, with a general review of the whole sys- tem ; and, supported by its majority, to suggest and to carry a comprehensive and intelligible scheme, embracing the whole of this service — accounting for the previous year's expenditure and appoint- ments, and accepting the suggestions of Members as to the plans of the current year. We should then have an Executive to which every Commissioner would be directly accountable — to which he could apply for instructions from January to December ; and which, being itself responsible, would be careful of its proceedings; and yet, beirj more independent than individual members are in dealing with their own constituents, would be more firm and unyielding where it was right. This is the simple, and 1 am satisfied the only safe remedy, for the abuses of the Road system. To take the distri- bution of commissions from fifty men, possessed of much local know- ledge, and partially responsible, to give it to twelve others, having less information, and subject to no control, would be an act of mad- ness. Fortunately, in this as in all other cases, we have no occa- sion to seek for new theories, or try unsafe experiments ; let us adnpt the good old practices of our ancestors and of our brethren — let us "keep the old paths," in which, while there is much utility, there is no danger. My Lord, there is an argument used against the introduc- tion of Executive responsibility, by Sir Francis Head, which it may be well to notice, because it has been caught up by shallow thinkers every where, and is often urged with an air of triumph, that, to those who look beyond the surface, is somewhat ridiculous. It is said, if this principle had been in operation, Papineau and Mackenzie would ha^e been ministers in the respective Provinces they disturbed ! But, do those who urge this objection ever stay to enquire, whether, if there had been responsibility in the Canadas, either of these men could have assumed so much consequence, as to be able to obstruct the operations of government, and create a rebellion, in a British Pro- vince ? Nothing made a Dictator tolerable in ancient Rome, but a sense of com.non danger, arising out of some unusual and disastrous posture ofaiTairs, which rendered it necessary to confide to an indi- vidual extraordinary powers — to ra'.je one man far above all others of his own rank — to substitute his will for the ordinary routine of administration, and to make the words of his mouth the law of the land. When the danger passed away, the Dictator passed away with it : power, no longer combined in one mighere their's for life, or as long as they preserved their majority. Possessed of honors and sobstantial, power, (not made to feel that they who could most efiectually serve the Crown, were excluded by a false system from its favor, that others less richly endowed might rise upon their ruinsj wouJd these men have madly rushed into rebellion, with the chance before them of expatriation, or an ignominious death I You wcfll know, my Jjord, that rebels have become exceedingly scarce at home, since the system of letting the majority govern has. become firmly established — and yet they were as plenty as black- berries, in the good old times when the Sovereigns contended, as Sir Francis Head did lately, that theu only were responsible. Turn back, and you will find (hat they began to disappear altogether, in England, about ]68d, and that every political change, which makes the Executive more completely responsible to the Legislature, and the Legislature to the country at large, renders the prospects of a new growth " small by degrees and beautifully less." And yet, my Lord, who can assure us, tiiatif the Sovereigns had continued, as of old, alone responsible -^if hundreds of able men, all running the same courseof honorable ambition, had not been encouraged to watch and control each other — and if the system of go cruiog by the mi* 45 nority ami not by the majority, and of excluding from power aii who did not admire the mode, and quarrelled with the Court, had existed down to the present day — who, I ask, will assure us, that Chatham and Fox, instead of being able ministers and loyal men, might not have been sturdy Rebels ? Fho can say that even your Lordship, possessed of the strung attachment to liberty which distinguishes your family, might not, despairing of all good government under such a system, instead of using your influence to extend, by peace- ful improvements, the happiness of the people, be at this moment in the field at their head, and struggling, sword in hand, to abate the power of the Crown? So long as the irresponsibility principle was maintained in Scotland, and Viceroys and a few Bishops and Cour> tiers engrossed the Administration, there were such men as Hume and Lindsay, and such things as Assemblies in Glasgow, General Tables in Edinburgh, and armed men in every part of that noble country, weakening the Government, aud resisting the power of the Crown ; and up to the peripd when Lord Normanby assumed the government of Ireland, and it became a principle of administration that the minority were no longer to control the majority, and shut them out from all the walks of honorable ambition, what was the at- titude in which Mr. O'Connell stood towards the Sovereign ? Was it nut one of continual menace and hostility, by which the latter was degraded, and the former clothed with a dangerous importance ?— • and what is his attitude now ? Is it not that of a warm hearted supporter of a Queen, whose smiles are no longer confined to a faction but shed over a nation, every man of which feels that he is free to obtain, if he has ability and good fortune to deserve, the highest honors in her power to bestow ? Daniel O'Connell, (and {>erhaps it may be said that his tail suggested the comparison) is na onger a political comet blazing towards the zenith, and filling the terror stricken beholders with apprehensions of danger, aud a sense of coming change; but a brilliant planet, revolving in an orbit with the extent of which all are familiar, and reflecting back to the source of light and honor the beams which it is proud to share. Who any longer believes that O'Connell is to shake the Empire and overturn the Throne ? And who doubts, had he (/e5pazVe r ' \' «S>'-, ip tU ' \ \: 'km lit •! r *-*! •> ^y s 11