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TO THE HONORABLE THE KNIGHTS, CITIZENS AND BURGESSES, IN THE IMPERIAL PARLIAMENT ASSEMBLED. THE PETITION OF JAMES KERR OF THE INNER TEM- PLE, BARRISTER AT LAW, AND LATE SENIOR JUDGE OF THE COURT OF KING'S BENCH AT QUEBEC, JUDGE OF THE COURT OF VICE-ADMIRALTY FOR THE PRO- VINCE OF LOWER CANADA, AND MEMBER OF THE EXECUTIVE COUNCIL: MOST HUMBLY SHEWETH, Thai' the Petitioner being deeply aggrieved in character, mind and estate, by sundry changes of late in the Government of Lower Canada, and particuhirly by his removal from his scat as one of the Judges of the Court of King's Bench at Quebec, and Judge of the Court of Vice-Admiralty for the Province of Lower Canada, without the form of judicial proceeding, he begs to approach Your Honorable House with every sentiment of respect, and not without humble confidence, that he has only, with candour and truth, to make known to Your Honorable House, his long and faithful services, and the extent of the injury which he has sustained, to obtain that succour and relief wliich a just and liberal Government is ever ready to alTord to the injured and op- pressed. That in August 1797, the Petitioner accepted the appoint- ment of Judge of the Court of Vice- Admiralty in the Province of Quebec, to which, besides a small salary of Two hundred pounds per annum, annexed to that Office, he became entitled, in common with the Judges of the Courts of Admiralty abroad, to the perquisites anciently belonging, as well in the Prize, as in the !ns!ance Jurisdiction. That relinquishing his prospects at the English Bar, the Petitioner forthwith proceeded to Canada: But in the year 1801, (four years thereafter), it having been found expedient to establish a Prize Court of more extensive Jurisdiction nearer the Naval Station in North America, than Quebec, the Prize Jurisdiction therefrom was tianslerred to Haiii'ux, in Nova-Scotia, wlierelty the Petitioner lost all the Prize Fees which would have, accrued to the the Judge during the War, thereafter, protracted for fourteen years.* That in October 1807, the Petitioner was appointed Judge of the Court of King's Bench at Quebec, with an appointment of seven hundred and fifty pounds per ..nnum, afterwaids increased to nine hundicd, and which office he held in conjunction with the former. That in June 1812,when war was declared by the UnTted States, and Canada was invaded by their forces, the Petitioner was called to the Executive Council, by which he became a Judge of the Court of Appeals or Su|)reme Court for the whole Province, and thereby entitled to one hundred pounds per annum. That in 1819, the Petitioner was selected as one of three Mem- bers of the Executive Council, to audit the Pul)lir Accounts of the Province, and for above eight years, he faithfully exercised the duties of tJiat Office, four of which without receiving any fee or emolument whatever. That in 1821, the Petitioner had conferred upon him a seat in the Legislative Council for life, and during the Session of one thousand eight hundred and twenty-eight, at a time of m^vei^i y.o- litical agitation md excitement in Lower Canada, he tilled the Chair of that House. That in the years 1814, 1813 and 1816, when Chief Justice Sewell had proceeded to England, to answer charges in the Privy Council which had been preferred against him by the House of Assembly, his duties, both as Chief Justice and as one of the Presidents of the Court of Apjieals, ihnolved upon the Petitioner, and though lie was at that crisis of the War with the United States e\|)osed to great additional exjiense from this circumstance, for which he was strongly recommended to he in- demnified, by the Administrator of tlie Government, the Peti- tioner never has received any requital for the saine. That the Petitioner being placed at the head of His Majesty's Executive and Legislative Councils, he felt himself compelled, from a sense of duty, to oppose the measures of the factiously dis- posed in the House of Assembly, and particularly in their attempts to obtain the disposal of the Revenues of the Crown imposed by the 14th George the Third, then yielding nearly forty tliousand pounds per annum, and which were expressly appropriated, by Law^ fcr ♦ Vide Appendix marked A. the support of the Civil Government in the Colony, * and having thereby incurred the displeasure of that Body, the Petitioner, unfor- tunately, for years became the object of their severe persecution, by which means he was most sensibly alfected both in character and estate. That in the year 1829, the Petitioner, with his Brotlier Judges, sustained a loss of sixty-six pounds, being a reduction by the Hnise ol Assembly upon one hundred pounds allowed by the Cr )wn in the year one thousand eight hundred and fourteen, for performing the" Circuits. That in November 1831, the Petitioner, being Chairman of the Executive Council, had the mortification of receiving an official intimation that His Majesty's Government had de- cided that the Puisne Judges should no longer be Members of the same, and the Petitioner being then the only Judge who was a Member of that Board, he resigned l)is seat thereat, which he had enjoyed for nearly twenty years, and together with one hundred pounds per annum, the honour attached to it, of being one of the Presidents of the Court of Appeals. f That at the same lime he received another Letter from the then Governor, acquainting him that His Majesty expected that tho Judges would not take their seats in the Legislative Council, and the Petitioner, in obedience to His Majesty's command, with his Brother Judges, did no longer occupy his place in that As- sembly. That it might naturally be presumed that a change of policy bearing, in cllect, so oppressively on the Petitioner, would encou- rage his political enemies in Canada to accomplish his ruin, and that such was the consequence, he soon had cause to feel and regret, for at die instigation and under the management of Bartholomew • The Erilish Statute 14, Cro. III. cap. 88, by which Duties on Spirits, Tea, &c. are imposed, and directed to be applied to the payment ol" the Salaries of the Governor, the Executive Council and the Judges, produced in the years 1833, 1834 and 1835, £91, -201 Ifls. 3d. The produce of this act was unfortu- nately E^iven to the Leij;islature of Lower Canada, by the Imperial Act 1st and 2d William IV. cap. 23, and the Les^islature of the Province has for the five past years refused to vote any sums for the ])ayment of those Officers. Government has been oblia;ed to apply a small sum arisine; from Seigniorial Du- ties and the sale of Crown Land and Timber for the jiarlial payment of them. The Salaries of the Officers have not been paid for two yeais, and the difficulties in which they have consequently been placed haf^een most dis- tressing'. Question'; affecting the lives, the liberties and the properties of the people are decided upon by an unpaid Judiciary. t Vid« Appendix B. I- I Conrad Augustus Gugy, a Member of the House of Assembly and one of the practising Attorneys of the Court, in which the Petitioner presided, and who was suspended from his functions for misbeha- viour, no less than fifty-one frivolous and vexatious charges were exhibited in the House of Assembly against the Petitione'-, which being referred to a Committee of eigit members, of whom seven were practising Attorneys, superinduced an inquiry into his whole life and conversation ; an investigation which was continued during five succeeding Sessions of the Provincial Legislature, and con- cluded in certain accusations, that v/ere in the years 1832 and 1833 preferred against him, and transmitted by the Governor to His Majesty's Colonial Minister. Of the manner in which this in- quiry was carried on, it is only necessary that the Petitioner should refer to the evidence of the present Attorney General of the Pro- vince, then a Member of the Assembly, as shown in the Appendix, to exhibit with how little regard to justice or decency the same was conducted.* Thrt under circumstances so untoward, the Petitioner deemed he would best consult the tranquility of the Province and his own feelings, by withdrawing himself, lor a time, in order to present himself at the Colonial Office, to vindicate lils conduct and charac- ter against diose Jiccusations ; and he had the honor, in Novr. 1833, after an absence from England of fifteen years, to be admitted to an interview with Lord Stanley, at that time Secretary for the Colonies, wiio on the Petitioner waiting upon him, informed him that ho saw nothing in the ciiarges preferred against him by the House of Assembly, which rendered it necessary to call upon the Petitioner to answer tor his conduct. That ten mondis after this interview with Mr. Secretary Stanley, and the Petiticmer's virtual acquittal from these accusa- tions, he was surprised by the receipt of a Despatch from the Board of Admiralty, dated twenty-fourth September, one thousand eight hundred and thirty-four, acquainting him that it was their Lord- ship's intention to appoint another pcrs-on to the Office of Judge of the Court of Vice- Admiralty in his stead, f and this siyprise was increased by a Despatch, dated a few days thereafter, from Mr. Secretary Spring Rice, then the Colonial Minister, wherein after referring to the intimation made by the Secretary of the Admiralty in the manner described, the Petitioner was authoratively called upon to resign his seat as Judge of the Court of King's Bench at Quebec, in order, as is therein stated, to preserve a due consistency in the Departments of His Majesty's Government. J * Vide Certificate of Mr. Attorney Genrral Ogden, Appendix C. j Vide Appendix H. J Vide Appendix marked E. 5 ! That the Petitioner, under circumstances so appalling, felt it incumbent on him, before taking any step to compromise liir, repu- tation, to request that he might be favored with tlie reasons which had induced the Lords of the Admiralty to remove him from office, but this favor was refused to him : However, in answer to a like solicitation mfide to Mr. Secretary Rice, he was informed, in a Despatch bearing date the 24th October, one thousand eight hun- dred and thirty-four, that the grounds for tlie Petitioner's removal might be collected from his own letters to Sir James Graham of the 26th of November 1833, to Sir G. F. Hampson, of the 20th of May, 1826, and to the Honorable James Stuart, ofthe 25th No- vember, 1833, and transmitted by the Board of Admiralty to the Secretary for the Colonies. That the sum of one thousand one hundred and ninety pounds, mentioned in the letters so referred to (retained on account of four thousand and eighty-eight pounds eighteen shillings and one penny due to the Petitioner, for so much received by the Judge of the Ad- miralty at Halifax, and paid in by him to the Treasurer of the Navy in the year one thousand eight hundred and fifteen) was actually paid by the Petitioner to Mr. Callander, Receiver General of the Droits and Perquisites of \dmiralty, on his arrival in London in March one thousand eight hundred and thirty-four, nearly eight months previous to the intimation being thus given by Mr. Secretary Rice, and before any demand was made upon the Peti- tioner for the payment ofthe money,* and these circumstances being known to the Minister, he could not conceive that this would have been received as a ground for his dismissal either from the one office or the other ; But after waiting eighteen months in England, in the hope of obtaining redress, he found that his oifice of Judge of the Court of King's Bench had, upon an Address of the House of Assembly of Lower Canada being presented to the Earl of Gosford, Governor in Chief, in February 1836, requesting him to appoint a person thereto, been conferred upon Mr. Elzear Bedard, a Par- tizan Member of that Body, who had in his place, in March 1834, proposed a series of Ninety-two Resolutions against the Government, having for their object the subversion of the Con- stitution as established by Law ; and on the Petitioner arriving in Canada, in October thereafter, he ascertained that the Office of Commissary of the Court of Vice-Admiralty had only been filled on the 18th day of September last, thereby revoking the Commis- sion granted by your Petitioner, in virtue of his office, to the Honble. * Vide Copy of Receipt, Appendix F. 8 Francis VV. Primrose, anil unilor wliicli that gentleman had acted as his Deputy and Surrogate, from the month of October 1833, to that date. That before any condemnation could be used against the Peti- tioner, he had reason to expect that his whole case would have been referred to His Majesty's Privy Council, under an Act passed on the 14th August, one thousand eight hundred and thirty-Uiree, wherein full latitude of defence and explanation would have been allowed him. That had such course, a course wliich the natural principles of justice prescribe, been followed, tl>o Petitioner would have been permitted to show circumstances extending over the whole scope of the Enquiry, from which innocency of intention would have been inferred, such as, the equity ef his claim on the Crown to the extent of Four thousand and eighty-eight pounds ; his having acted throughout the wliole transaction without concealment ; his hsiving furnished unreservedly, the only evidence which has been adduced against him ; his actual and voluntary payment of the mone} on the 12th March, one thousand eight hundred and thirty-four, neffr^2/<'*5''^' months previous to his removal from olilcc being contemplated, and without any demand being made upon him ; and his integrity of character, his long and faithful services, extending over a period of nearly forty years ; * the fact of the whole question having been before His Majesty's Government for many years ; and the Petitioner having reason to believe from a communication to the following effect, made to him by the Secretary of the Treasury, in the year one thousand eight hundred and twenty-six, — " that their Lordships '' would not feel themselves at liberty to entertain his claim until " the Eleven hundred and ninety pounds were paid in, and cer- " tain information referred to was furnished", that his claim for compensation had been admitted to be founded in equity ; and his having had actually due him by the Government for salary in the two offices of which he has been deprived, a surn far exceeding the Eleven hundred and ninety pounds, (a part of which, about Fifteen hundred pounds has only recently been paid him, whilst the ba- lance. Twelve hundred pounds, is still wrongfully withheld) are all circumstances which could not have failed to carry their due weight, id the Crown would have received such opinion and advice as would have been conducive to His Majesty's honor and interest. * Vide Appendix G. 9 The desire of ))ro.servinj< consistency iiie;ed by Mr. Secretary Rice, as the reason for romovini; (hn PctiiioritT from his siliiaiion of Judge of the Court of King's Bench (ahliougli no complaint against him in that ollice has ever been pretended, e\c(;i)t by thcAs- semblv of Lower Canada,) would not have governed the Lords of the Privy' Council in summing up tlieir Report. Their Lordships would not have failed to observe upon this, that the stability of a Govern- ment does not depend u[)on consistency alone, l»ut when that con- sistency accords with truth and justice ; and the Petitioner would not now have had to complain, as the thirteen nnitcd States of America in their memorable declaration of independence did, " that the King had made Judges dependent on his will alone for the tenure of their offices and the amount and payment of their salarics.^^ May it therefore please Your Honorahle House to institute an Inquiry into the whole of the Peti- tioner's conduct, and after reviewing all the circumstances herein disclosed, with a just and indulgent spirit, to grant to him such succour and relief in the premises as with due regard to his advanced age of seventy-one, and to all circumstances of his case during nearly forty years of public service, may appear to Your Ho- norable House to be consistent with Colonial Policy, and with the honor, dignity and justice of the Crown. J. KERR. Quebec, 20th October, 1836. /i^/^.l ^> '- t^^<^ 91^^ !; APPENDIX. I I APPENDIX. COPY. TO THE RIGHT HONORABLE THE LORDS COM- MISSIONERS OF HIS MAJESTY'S TREASURY. THE PETITION OF JAMES KERR, OF THE INNER TEMPLE, BARRISTER AT LAW ; HUMBLY SHEWETH, That your Lordships' Petitioner was on the 19th of August, 1797, appointed by Commission under the Broad Seal of the High Court of Ad- miralty, Judge of the Court of Vicc-Adminilty at Quebec, to which there had been granted in the year 176!t, a Salary of ii-itiO per annum. At the time of this appointment, the Court w.s invested with a Prize Jurisdiction, and as the War subsequently extended itself, other Commissions of Prize were granted to tiic Pctiticner. Tliat tiie Petitioner solicited and accepted the Oirice and relinquished his prospects at the Kny^lish Bar, in the perfect confuh-nce that he would enjcy the Salary, Fees and advanta,ii;es which were then annexed to the Oilice, and whicli were supposed to yield at that time A'tOO per annum : But in the course of tliree years afterwards, it being found inconvenient to the public service to have the Couit of Prize, so fur removed fiom the Naval Station as Quebec, a ntw Court of Prize, with more extended Juris- diction, was by a Statute passed in the 41st of King George the Third estab- lished at Halifax, and the Prize Commission withdrawn frun, Quebec. That Judge Crokt, afterwards Sir Alexander Croke, was appointed to i)rcside in this"'new Court, and his Salary was fixed by the Act at £20(30 per annum, besides which he was allowed "to take Fees to the extent of £-2000 more. That the abolition of the Prize Court t Quebec, could not fail to be a great disappointment to the Petitioner, for though his Prize Fees v;ere then inconsiderable, yet the Canada Market for Prize Ships and Goods, became at that time- known to be so considerable, that a great proportion of the Prizes would, if the Prize Jurisdiction Imd been continued, have been sent to Quebec. 14 'Hiat from a letter of Mr. Eraser, of Lincoln's Inn, a Solicitor of emi- nence, dated in November, 1833, the original of which was transmitted to the Treasury, it appears, so early as April 1802, (not six months after the suppression of the Prize Court at Quebec) he, at the Petitioner's desire, made application to the Treasury for indemnification for the loss he had sus- tained ; But Mr. Secretary Harrison then recommended that he should waii, until a fund was provided, oxit of which compensation could be granted; and Mr. Harrison observed to him, could not be better applied than to indemnify those who had suffered by the suppression of their Courts. That the Petitioner from having been thirty-four yoars abroad after his appointment, found it extremely difficult to obtain a knowledge of such facts as could enable him to follow up his claim with effect. In the year 1818, when he was in England, he heard that Dr. Croke paU large sums of surplus fees to the Treasury, and this induced him to renew his claim soon after his return to Canada, which was in the year 1820, and on the 7th of January, 1826, he received an answer from the Secretary of the Treasury, in the which are the following words : " My Lords think it right to apprize " you that they should have great difficulty in admitting any claim to com- *' pensation preferred so many years after the loss is alleged to have been *' sustained, witliout any satisfactory reason having been assigned for such *' delay, and without any information whatever being afforded as tc the actual " amount of the fees received in Prize causes, during the period which elapsed " from the date of your appointment until the establishment of the Prize « Court at Halifax.'' The exact amount of Fees the Petitioner has not been able to ascertain ; but he found that the Judge (Sir Alexander Croke) in the year 1813, received in fees alone £8040 10s. 7d., from which, after deducting £4000, (bis stipu- lated income) he in 1815 paid over to the Treasury of the Navy, the snrplus fees amounting to £4040 10s. 7d., and in the year 1814, the surplus fees amounted to £48 7s. 6d. : thus in these two years alone making the Fees to exceed his income £4088 18s. Id. That in November, 1833, your Lordship's Petitioner gave into the Trea- sury three letters from the Honble. Messrs. Irvine, Bell and Stewart, all gentlemen then deeply concerned in trade, in which it was stated that in their opinion, if the Commission of Piize had been continued longer to the Judge at Quebec, the Prizes carried into that Port would have been equal to one-third or one-fifth of those carried to Halifax. .And it cannot be presumed that it ever was in the contemplation of the Government to raise a revenue by Fees of Office, the Petitioner therefore now presumes to hope, that out of a fund so created he will obtain compensation ; and if the whole fund were granted to him, it would only be giving back to him what the Statute of the 41st Geo. III. took from him. May it therefore please your Lordsiiips to direct that the said sum of Four thousand and eighty-eight pounds eighteen shillings and one penny be paid over to the Petitioner, and the Petitioner shall &c. &c. J. KERR. London, March 10th, 1834. 15 CASTLE OF ST. LEWIS, November 19, 1831. DEAR SIR, His Majesty's Government having decided that the Puisne Judges are no longer to have seats in the Executive Council, your retirement from that Body becomes a matter of course ; but being extremely desiro>is that this should Ve effected with every possible mark of respect towards you indi- vidually, a'i well as officially, and in such a manner as to shew to the public that it is ti:» result of a general principle equally applicable to all Puisne Judges who might be found under similar circumstances, I request you to favor me with your wishes, as to the mode of effecting your retirement from the Executive Council. I avail myself of this opportunity to express the sense I entertain of J 'our services as a Member of the Executive Council, and my regret at the OSS that Body is about to sustain by your retirement from it, and I feel confident that in expressing these sentiments, I am at the same time echoing those of His Majesty's Government. I have the honor to be. Dear Sir, Your very obedient humble servant, The Honble. Mr. Justice Kerr. AYLMER. ST. LEWIS HEIGHTS, 20th November, 1831. MY LORD, 1 have just had the honor to receive Your Lordship's letter of yesterday, acquainting me that His Majesty's Government had decided that the Puisne Judges are no longer to have seats in the Executive Council, and after such intimation from so high an authority, I do not hesitate to resign the seat which I have enjoyed at that Board for twenty years. The delicate manner in which your Lordship has conveyed this informa- tion to me, and the terms in which you are pleased to express yourself of my services as an Executive Councillor, are very gratifying to my feelings ; and 16 indulging a hope that your Lordship will he so kind as to transmit a Petition to Lord Viscount Goderich, which ' shall take the liberty of laying before your Lordship, on the subject of my claims aiid long services, I have the honor to be, with great respect, My Lord, Your Lordship's Most obedient bumble Servant, His Excellency Lord Aylmer, Governor in Chief, &c. &c. J. KERR. SIR, CASTLE OF ST. LEWIS, NOVEMBEH 21, 1831. I have the honor to acknowledge the receipt of your Letter of the 20th instant, (in answer to mine of the 19th instant, marked private) conveying the tender of your resignation as Executive Councillor of the Province of Lower Canada. This proceeding being in accordance with the intentions of His Majesty's Government to withdraw the Judges from the Executive Council, and to abstain in future from appointing gentlemen, holding the office of Judge, to be members of that Body, I do not hesitate to accept your proposed resigna- tion ; and in making this communication, I beg of you to believe that I am truly sensible of the valuable services rendered by you in the discharge of your duty as an Executive Councillor. On the receipt of the Petition alluded to in your letter, I shall have much satisfaction in forwarding it for the consideration of His Majesty'* Government. I have the honor to be. Sir, Your very faithful humblr servant, AYLMER. Hon. Mr. Justice Kerr. I c r t V V n V 17 c. HOUSE OF ASSEMBLY, 16th March, 1831. Committee Room, No. 10. This day, Mr. Gugy proceeded to examine Mr. Chaloup, a Witness by him produced on the subject matter of his complaint against Mr. Justice Kerr, without the presence of a Member of the Committee. I exhibited the above to Mr. Gugy, and asked him if it was true. After reading it in presence of Charles Turgeon, Charles Drolet, and the Witness, he said it was, and that ho so proceeded by directions. (Signed) C. R. OGDEN. NoT£.— Mr. Gugy was not even a member of the Assembly at that time. D. COPY or A LETTER TO THE HONBLE. O. ELLlOt, M. P. ADMIRALTr. SIR, BLENHEIM PLACE, Edinburgh, I6th Octr. 1834. I lately received a Despatch from Mr. Secretary Barrow, dated the 3d instant, in answer to my request to be favored with the reason that Induced My Lords Coininissioners to sujiersede the Commission which I held as .ludge of the Couit of Vice Admiralty at Quebec, for a period of 37 years, wiiereiu Air. Barrow acquaints me that My Lords « do not on this « occasiou feel called upon to give any reasons for tile decision which they had " come to." In a matter so deeply involving my character and fortune, I should fail in what I owe to myself, niy family and the public, were I not to submit my complaint to My Lords Commissioners of the injustice which has been done me. Sir, It cannot but be thought extraordinajy that in my individual instance their Lordships should so far have departed from the course of proceeding, winch the immutable laws of justice prescribe, as to remove me from office witliout previously intimating to me the grounds of accusation, and aflbrding me an opportunity of defending myself. How dill'erent from my treatment was that of the Judge of the Admiralty of Ireland ! Sir Jonah Harrington, 18 Aiough he was previously minutely conusant with the charges preferred against him, " was afforded the most ample latitude of defence at the Bar " both of the House of Lords and of the House of Commons, not only before " they addressed His Majesty for his removal, but before either House " adopted any resolutions inculpating his character ;" such was the language of Lord Goderich in his Despatch of the I2th of April, 1832, to tlie Governor of Canada, when the House of Assembly of Lower Canada addressed His Excellency to suspend me from oflice, and I am quite sure that had the tenor of that Despatch been made known to their Lordships before they proceeded to adjudge in a matter involving the character and office of a judicial functionary, a similar just and liberal course of proceeding would nave been adopted. Their Lordsliips may have been led to consider my case as distinguishable from that of Sir Jonah Barringtons, in as much as his appointment was duriug good behaviour, whereas my Commission under tlie Broad Seal of the High Court of Admiralty in common with those of other Judges in the Colonies, was granted during pleasure. But I take leave respectfully to submit that the discretionary power so reserved by tlie Crown is always understood to be, nnd actually is, exercised by the observance of ])rescribe(l Rules, and never without giving the party a previous citation and hearing ; and in •^u])port ot lliis position I beg to adduce the case of Chief Justices Sewell and Monk, in the year 1813, impeached by tiie House of Assembly, who where heard in the Privy Council at great length in their defence. If, Sir, their Lordships had been pleased in depriving me of OfTice, to obtain for me a compensation in any shape, no suspicions would be enteitaincd unfavorable to my reputation. However at the advanced age of ti'J, after holding Oilicc in their Lordships department for so long a period of my life, situated as I now am in being deprived of my Office and a large portion of my income, without any opportunity given me to defend myself, or even knowing the cause of my removal, I cannot but sensibly feel that I have been treated with unme- rited injustice and severity. I have the honor to be, Sir, Your most obedient humble servant, (Signed) J. KERR. E. €OPT or A LETTER FROM MR. SECRETARY SPRING RICE. DOWNING STEEET, 13th November, 1834. SIR, I am directed by Mr. Secretary Spring Rice to acknow- ledge tho receipt of yonr Letter of the '28th ultimo. I am also desired to 10 acquaint you that he has received your Lettci of the 8th iustaiit, and that he regrets its contents since they impose upon him once more the task of recumn' to that part of your *-ase which he would willingly avoid if possi- ble, beiu» aware of the distressing consequence which must follow from your removal from your present office. I must explain to you that the question for Mr. Spring Rice is not whether the Lords Commissioners of the Ad- miralty have come to a sound and just determination in removing you from the appointment which you held under that Department. On this point Mr. Spring Rice is satisfied, and he has only had to consider in what manner least disagreeable to your feelings he could execute the painful duty which in consequence of the decision he has felt called on to perform. Mr. Spring Rice conceives that tlie course whicn he took of suggesting to you the propriety of resigning the Judicial situation held by you in the Court of King's Bench of Lower-Canada, was the most considerate which could be adopted ; and he trusts that you will come to that conclusion on reflexion, since in case you should persevere in declining to pursue the course pointed out to you, Mr. Spring Rice will have no other alternative than to consult the law authorities as to the proper mode of dealing with your case. J. Kerr, Esqr. I am, Sir, &c. &c. (Signed) R. W. HAY. Extract from Mr. Spring Rice's Speech in the House of CommonSf on the 9th March, 1835 : " There was another case, that of Judge Kerr. He had been a Judge of the Admiralty, and Chief Justice of the King's Bench. These were two appointments that were incompatible. In consequence of certain accusations brought home against him he was dismissed from his sitiiation as Judge of the Admiralty Court ; and as he was then from misconduct removed from one office, he (Mr. Rice) did not think him fit to fill the other, and he accordingly ordered his suspension (hear, hear.) With respect to the Admiralty Court he (Mr. Rice) should say that he thought the Office of Judge of the Admiralty ■bould be filled by Englishmen rathev than by Frenchmen. " F. Received 12th March, 1834, of James Kerr, Esquire, Judge of the Vice- Admiralty Court, Lower-Canada, the sum of Eleven hundred and ninety pound* •ix shillings, the amount of Droits of Admiralty paid into the Registry of the taid Court, in the years 1815 and 1819, and condemned to the Crown. £1190 6 (Signed) A. S. CALLANDAR. Receiver Genl. of Droits of Admiralty, 20 MY LORD, DALHOUSIE CASTLE, 13th Jamvary, 1835. The Honble. Judge Kerr, one of the Judges of the Court of King's Bench at Quebec, and Judge of the Admiralty in that Province, han informed me of the various communications he has had with the Colonial De- partment, and having now occasion to renew his application to your Lordship, requests me to address to you a letter expressive of my personal acquaintance with him. I comply with his desire without any delay, and beg to state to your Lordship that I consider his case an unmerited and cruel one. During the eight years in which I held the situation of Governor in Canada, Mr. Kerr \«s a Judge of these two Courts, as also a Member of the Executive and Legislative Councils, esteemed and honored as such in Society ; and his opinion and advice in Council always consistent, constitutional, upright and decided, as such, I frit it my duty as my inclination to honor him ; and in the latter period of public life, I do not hesitate to reconiiiicnd him to your Lordship as deserving in every way to receive the reward due to a man who has ably and faithfully served his King and Country. I am happy in having this opportunity to express my sentiments of him to one so able to appreciate them. I have the honor to be, My Lord, &c. &c. (Signed) To the Earl of Aberdeen. DALHOUSIE. SUPPLEMENT. SUPPLEMENT. QUEBEC, 22nd OCTOBER, 1836. MY LORD, I have to acknowlcrige the receipt of the warrants issued for my salary as Judge of the Court of Kind's Bench, from 1st January, 1834, to till' -inil April, 1835, anil of Judge of the Court of Vice-Admiralty to the 'iltii fcioptcmbcr, 183 1. At the same time, I am to express my surprise that my salary for tlie former oliice has not l)een paid up to the 'i'2nd of February last, the period when your Lordship by appointini: Mr. Bedard to it, supcr- S( >U'd niy Cummi,^:':'>n, and until which date all the Writs of the Inferior Court were tisted in my ;iame, as appears by the Certificate of the Protho- notaries of the Couit of Kini^'s Bencii, which 1 have the honor to transmit. I am equally surprised that your Lordship should not have issued my salary as Judi!;(! of the Court of Vice Admiralty to the 18th September last, when my Commission was suptiseded by the i^ppointment of Mr. Black. You are aware, my Lord, 1 slumld juTsiime, that Mr, Primrose in exercising the functions of the Jud^^e of tlie Couit of Vice-Admiralty to the 18th of September last, acted under a surio;j;ation granted to him by me. My Lord, I say nothing of my'hiMiig removed, by a most cruel and high- handeifact of jiower from these otfices, after nearly forty years of faithful service, by a ministry who sacrificed me to conciliate the House of Assembly of this Province, as "this will be the subject of an application to the Imperial Parliament, when I trust that my case will meet with that consideration which it merits. I have the honor to be, My Lord, Your Lordship's Most obedient humble Servaut, To the Right Honble. the Earl of Gosford, Governor-iii-Chicf, &c. Sw. fee. J. KERR. 24 PROVINCE DU BAS-CANADA, DISTRICT DE QUEBEC. DANS LE RANC DU ROI. Nous Soussignes Protonotaires de la Cour du Banc du Roi, pour le District de Quebec, certifions A tous qu'il appartiendra que tous les writs 6manes pour les affaires dt Termes Inferieu*^ ont ete testes du nom de L'Honorable James Kerr, nn des Juges puisnes, jusqu'au vingt deux Fe- vrier, mil-huit cent trente-six. En {A et temoir.age de quoi nous dits Protonotaires ^7 Cy? avons signe le present et appose le sceau de la •^' *-^^' dite Cour, ce quinzieme jour de Novembre, mil huit cent trente-six. (Sign6) PERRAULT Si BURROUGHS, P. B. C. SIR, CASTLE OF ST. LEWIS, QOEBEC, 21th OCTR. 1836. I have been directed by the Governor in Chief to ac- knowledge the receipt of the Letter you addressed to him on tiie 22d inst., wherein you express your surprise that your salaries as Judge of the Couit of King's Bench and Vice-Admiralty had not l)e( n paid uj), llie one to the 22nd February, and tlie other to the 18lh Septcmbev last ; and His Excellency has desired mc to acquaint you in reply, tliat it a])pears from a Despatch recently reccivoil from tlie Secretary of State for tiie Colonies, that your tenure of the "lornicr situation is considered t)y His Majesty's Government to liave terminated on the ^Jinl April, 1S:55, and of the latter on the 21th Septr. 18;M. In this clrcnnistanco, His E.\cell>ncy has only to observe, that it is not usual to pay tlie Salary of any Public Servant beyond tiie period when he ceases to hold ofiice. I have the honor to be. Sir, Your most obedient humble Servant, To the Honble. James Ketr. S. WALCOTT. Civil Secretary. 25 OBSERVATIONS. Notwithstanding tue Commission of Mr. Kerr as Judge of the Court of King's Bench, was not superseded until the appointment of Mr. Bedard on the 22nd Feb. 1836, up to which period all the Writs of the Inferior Term of that Court were tested in Mr. Kerr's name, it is intimated lo him that he shall not receive his salary beyond the 2nd April, 1835. His Majesty by his public acts shews who are liis servants, and can it be legally contended that the writs issued in Mr. Kerr's name to the 22nd February, 1836, arc to all intents and purposes void V If thev are void, then all proceedings in respect to the same are void also. Again, the appointment of Mr. Kerr under the Seal of the High Couit of Admiralty of the 19th August, 17!>7, to be Judge of the Admi- ralty (pretended offence in which office lir.s been the cause of his re- moval from the King's Bench) was not filled up till th.e 18th September last, nearly two years after the 2'Uli Scptcmlicr, 1834, when it was inti- mated to him tluit it was (heir Lordship's inlcniion to appoint anolhcr person to that office. He had reason to expect th;it so situated, the salary would be paid to him so lonaj as he continued in the said office, that is to the 18th September last. But the Hon'ile. Mr. Primrose, wlio only acted r.s Mr. Kerr's Deputy and Surrogate, was found entitled to receive the sum oi X'396 14s. Id. ; that is to say, all the salary that belonged to the office.* It may be cbserved, that it was anciently holdcn that the King's Commission decided who had the right to receive the salary annexed to the office : But in this cai e, tiu' Commission of the Crown is set ajide to make way for the determini.ilon of the Minister. Tiiere is now tine to Mr. Kerr, from both officfs, to tlie lime at which his Commissions were al)solutely revoked, nearly £1200 ; lint this is an inconside- rable share of tlic losjj he hu> sustained by ills removal from both offices. Mr. Kerrbelievfs it to be unjirecedentcd for a Jud^re of a Supreme Court to be turned outation (enrolled in the Register of the said Court,) given by the Worshipful James Kerr, Esqr-, late Com- missary of the said Court, to the Honorable Francis Ward Primrose, under and by virtue whereof, the said Honorable Francis Waul Primrose, as the Deputy of the said Worshipful James. Kerr, performed the duties of Judg ■ and Commissary of the said Court, from the thirtieth day of August, one thousand eight hundred and thirty, three, to the Esqr. as Commi Quebec, 12th December, 1836. W. POWER, RfgiMrar. rom ine iniriieiii u»y «ii .-iii^usi, iiiie iiiiiu.''uuu eigiii uuiiurru hiiu iiiiriy. day of the date of the Commission of the Worshii)ful Henry Hlark, nmissary of the said Court, to wit, the twenty-first day of Septr. last. i;