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 Gentlemen, 
 
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 "i 1 ■ i.; 
 
 f There never was a period in the history of Canada 
 when the Representatives of the people were more 
 imperatively called upon to make a stand for their rights 
 m a spirit of honest independence and loyalty to the 
 Sovereign, than the approaching Session, in which 
 you are to enter upon the fulfilment of the solemn task 
 which yoQ have undertaken at the hands of your country 
 trust that the honorable though hacknied title, by 
 which 1 have presumed to address you, embraces within 
 Its exalted category, every man who, under an oath to 
 his Queen and his country, will pass the threshold of the 
 Legislative Hall. ...» ,^'.„.,, .,. ... ■ . 
 
 
 tVitlum^ 
 
 i .'»r;l|^..- 
 
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i 
 
 You asiemble now under an aspect of affairs differing 
 essentially from the usual condition of things at the perio- 
 dical sittings of the Legislature, when public men resort 
 to Parliament impressed perhaps with the importance 
 of a variety of state measures, which may happen to be 
 under contemplation, but without, nevertheless, concen- 
 trating their forces or their energies on any one point, 
 and possibly, without directing their attentions to any one 
 subject in particular. You have been selected to fill 
 your present posts, not in virtue of a common and ordinary 
 election, had upon the expiration of a quartennial Par- 
 liament, but in consequence ot a premature dissolution 
 of the Parliament of your predecessors, and upon a 
 solemn appeal to your constituents, by the Head of the 
 Executive, to determine the merits and demerits of a 
 quarrel between him and his constitutional advisers. 
 You resemble in some measure the Grand Criminal 
 Inquest of the Country, summoned to investigate certain 
 charges preferred against your fellow beings and fellow 
 subjects. You stand in the light of a special jury em- 
 pannelled to try an important state prosecution, and 
 to find a verdict either for the accuser, — a high dignatory 
 and the Representative of Royalty, or for the accused — 
 the humble functionaries of the people. You are about to 
 perform the important functions of a tribunal in the last 
 resort, and to stand in judgment upon the appeal to you 
 by the contending parties, from the sentence pronounced 
 by your predecessors, in the cause of the fautors of 
 irresponsible executive power on the one hand, arrayed 
 against the people's mandatories, — the advocates of the 
 British Constitution, and British Constitutional freedom, 
 on the other. 
 
 The great question of the day is the propriety of the 
 resignation of the late ministry, or in other words, their 
 dismissal from office in the month of November last, and 
 the course to be adopted by you, the new Legiglative 
 Assembly, specially summoned to decide this political 
 controversy. 
 
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ast 
 
 In order to reach a sound conclusion in the 
 matter, a variety of subordinate points, involved in its 
 issue, must be duly considered and determined in con- 
 nexion with the main subject. . 
 
 First: — Whetherthe system of Resposible Government 
 established in this Province, is, in so far as relates to its 
 local affairs, identical with the practical working of the 
 British Constitution in the Mother Country, and the 
 responsibility of Ministers to the majority of the House 
 of Commons. 
 
 Secondly: — What was the real cause of the quarrel 
 between His Excellency Sir Charles Metcalfe and the 
 Ex-Ministers ; and whether, divested of all subtilties, 
 and paltry quibblings as to form, it was not as to the right 
 to be consulted on all appointments to office, claimed by 
 the ministry, and denied by the Governor General. 
 
 Thirdly : — Whether the ministry were constitutionally 
 justified in setting up this right, and the Governor Ge- 
 neral wrong in resisting it, — or vice versa. 
 
 Fourthly : — Whether the mere assertion of the right 
 to be consulted, set up — rightly or wrongly — by the late 
 ministry, implied a design on their part to subvert the 
 authority of the British Crown in the Province ; and 
 whether the manner of asserting it, or their conduct — 
 or that of their adherents, since the resignation, was 
 indicative of any treasonable purpose, or of any other 
 object or design whatever, than the mere enunciation of 
 a constitutional right, which they conscientiously believed 
 themselves to possess ; and whether the co.urse pursued 
 by them in this matter, was not perfectly compatible 
 with the most profound loyalty to their Soverign ; — and 
 whether the Governor General was justified in char- 
 ging them publicly and repeatedly with, disaffection, 
 disloyalty, and a desire to overthrow the authority of 
 Great Britain in Canada. 
 
 Fifthly and lastly: — V/hether,--the ministers being 
 justified in resigning their offices, — ought now to be sus- 
 
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 m 
 
sustained in their position, and the confidence of the 
 Uepresentatives of the people withheld from any other 
 public men accepting olHce in their stead, of whatever 
 party jor politics. 
 
 The third and fifth are obviously the great points to 
 be determined ; and they must be decided with reference 
 strictly to the state of parties at the time of the split in 
 November last, without regard to the subsequent con- 
 duct of either party. But the fourth proposition which 
 has arisen out of the conduct of the Governor General 
 and his partizans since the resi.o;nation, as it assails the 
 characters, as well of the late ministers, as ol" a large 
 majority of the last Legislative Assembly, and of the 
 people of Canada, is essentially connected with the 
 merits of the quarrel, as it now presents itself before your 
 House, and is entided to your most solemn deliberation 
 and decision. 
 
 The concession to Canada, by Great Britain, of a 
 representative form of Government, modelled upon the 
 established constitution of that country, necessarily 
 implied that the administration of its local affairs should 
 be controlled by the people through their representa- 
 tives ; and all the evils which have befallen this unhappy 
 land may be ascribed to the hitherto almost univer- 
 sal error, that this system, in practice, was incompatible 
 with the subordinate relation of the Colonies to the 
 Parent State. This fallacy has been exploded, and is 
 now never heard, save in the mouths of a remnant of 
 that class termed " official," who cling to it for the sake 
 the emoluments which its corrupt practice alone could 
 ^ procure for them ; or of such as are grossly ignorant 
 of the true principles of that great model of popular in- 
 stitutions which it is our pride and our ambition to imitate; 
 
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 tate; 
 
 or of some who, if they happen to understand it, have no 
 feehng in common with the permanent inhabitants of 
 Canada, whom they deem unworthy of the riglits and pri- 
 vileges ot British subjects. 
 
 After an attcnipt — of fifty years duration !— to carry 
 out a representative form of government, regardless of 
 the dechired wishes of the people, which alone could 
 give it vitality, and in diametrical and contemptuous op- 
 position to the daily illustrations of a different practice 
 in the very country whence the system has been derived, 
 the principle of responsibility to the majority of the 
 popular Branch is at last formally and solemnly reco- 
 gnized and established in practice, as well by Her 
 Majesty's Instructions conveyed in the despatches of the 
 Colonial Minister, her constitutional organ, as by the 
 resolutions of the Legislative Assembly of the 3rd Sep- 
 tember 1841, sanctioned by the Home Government, and 
 ratified by their public approval of the administration of 
 Sir Charles Bagot, under whom it obtained its due cons- 
 titutional sway. 
 
 It is certainly matter of pardonable surprise, that at 
 this day such an unqualified recognition of a constitution- 
 la responsibility in the Colonial Ministry to the popular 
 Branch, in relation to mere local afi'airs, should be con- 
 troverted in any quarter, and least of all by Her Majesty's 
 present Representative, whose advent to this country was 
 heralded by an enumeration of the many laurels acquir- 
 ed by him in the advocacy of popular rights, against the 
 encroachments of unconstitutional power ; — more espe- 
 cially when it is considered that his novel pretensions on 
 this head were daily obnoxious to rebuke from the fresh 
 recollection of the opposite and beneficent policy pur- 
 sued by his predecessor. 
 
 In whatever shape the difficulties which have super- 
 vened in this Province since the monf.h of November 
 last, — in whatever guise they may be -presented to pu- 
 blip notice, — be the contending parties who they may, 
 
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 i( is but the continuation of the struggle for constitutional 
 Government — that responsibility ol the Executive coun- 
 cil to the Representatives ol the people, contended lor 
 during half a cenlury, and now happily consumated in 
 the country. The opposition to it is but the last effort, 
 the expiring howl of that nnercenary class, who, by ser- 
 vility, venality an^l corruption, have nnarred the prospe- 
 rity of the Colony, and whom, to our disgrace be it said, 
 that portion of the population self-styled British, have 
 improperly, though perhaps unwittingly supported, by 
 countenancing a schism among the inhabitants of Capada 
 possessing no character of distinction, save the odious 
 one of natural origin, which rendered it the more per- 
 manent by reason of its being lounded on prejudices 
 and the absence of all principle. 
 
 That system in the administration of Colonial aflfairs 
 termed Responsible Government has now, however, 
 been fully conceded, in as much as it is admitted on all 
 sides, — as well by ihe late Ministers, as by the Governor 
 General, and by Viger, Ryerson, MofTalt, &c; and what 
 every body says must be true. But we differ, and have 
 been quarrelling since the month of November last, about 
 its interpretation, caused probably by the want of an ac- 
 curate and settled definition of the principle, it being ex- 
 ceedingly difficult to interpret that which we cannot de- 
 fine. It is somewhat remarkable that a great many poli- 
 tical writers, and newspaper editors, strenuously support 
 the system as undurstood by His Excellency Sir Charles 
 Metcalfe in the month of JVovember last, and as strenu- 
 ously characterise the pretensions of the Ex-ministers on 
 this head, as extravagant, untenable, and even republi- 
 can, and nevertheless wind up their logical pates by 
 terming it " undefinable"! It is always definable^ — when 
 viewed through the medium of a Governor General's 
 understanding ; it is ever '* undefinable", when it obvi- 
 ously and palpably harmonises with the views of the Ex- 
 ministers. 
 
 M<i#^i«iiM«Jiii»i 
 
The term " Responsible Government" is, and cer- 
 tainly ought to bo ot" simple solution. If means, and 
 can mean nothing else, than the application of the work- 
 ing of the British ('on.siitutJon,to the administration of the 
 local affairs ol every Colony possessing a representative 
 from of Government modelled on that consUtution, 
 precisely in the same manner, and subject to the same 
 iiabilites and changes as in the Metropolitan Govern- 
 ment, without in the least degree trenching on any ques- 
 tion of an imperial nature, or affecting the general po- 
 licy of the ]:]mpire, or the dependency of the Colony 
 upon the Parent state. In carrying out this system the 
 Governor General cannot, or at least ought not, without 
 previously ConsuUing his Executive Council,-JVIinistry,- 
 Responsible advisers, or by whatever name they may be 
 designated, introduce any measure of a local nature 
 into either Branch of the Legislature, veto any measure 
 matured by them, appoint to any office in the Province, 
 nor do any other act whatever, in the local adminstration 
 of the Government, without observing this constitutional 
 formality. He is not nevertheless bouiid to follow the 
 advice ; and where, on any given occasion, he either 
 abstains from consulting them, or, having done so, acts 
 contrary to their advice, as in the absolute and in- 
 dependent exercise of the Prerogative he most as- 
 surdly may do, the Ministry, if they deem the act 
 of such a character as to compromise those political 
 principles, by force of which they have been raised to 
 office, or that they otherwise do not choose to assume 
 the responsibility of it, may resign their offices. It is 
 manifest that in this particular the independent exercise, 
 by the Governor General, of the Royal Prerogative, is 
 as necessary for the healthy working of the principle on 
 behalf of the people, as on the part of the Crown ; this 
 species of antagonism being the only expedient to which 
 the Governor Geneni can resort in order to rid himself 
 of advisers, whose political influence may be on the 
 
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 wane, and for appointing others more congenial to what 
 he may conceive to be the wishes of the 'majority of the 
 people. It is of course superfluous to add that the term 
 of office of every ministry must ever Pial invariably be 
 determined by the majority of the Assembly, and by 
 them alone, it beinj^ always left to the prudence, discre- 
 tion, skill, and tact of the reigning ministry, and to the 
 admonishing signs of the times, to determine, whether 
 a mere numercial majority can justify their further reten- 
 tion of office. , : , M)i; 
 
 Such is a plain exposition of Responsible Government 
 as adapted to colonial administrations, and which is per- 
 fectly compatible with the subordinate relation of the 
 Colonies to the Parent State, and the general responsi- 
 bility of ihe Representative of the Sovereign to the 
 Home Government ; for when he follows the advice of 
 his Colonial Cabinet, which will in general be almost 
 thrust upon him under the working of the n^w system 
 recognized in the Colony by his Superiors, it is absurd 
 to suppose that he is not relieved, pro tanto, fvom all 
 further responsibily in regard to acts of a purely local 
 character, — notwithstanding the idle vapourings about 
 imperium in imperio-colonml dependency ,-responsibility 
 cf the Governor to the authorities of Downing Street, 
 
 For the information of that class who knit their brows 
 at the mere mention of the term " Responsible" in any 
 shape, I shall make a small extract from a work alrea- 
 dy more than once alluded to, from the pen of the late 
 lamented Andrew Stuart, Esquire, an eminent mem- 
 ber of the Lower Canada bar, and for many years a 
 member of the Provincial Parliament, a man distinguish- 
 ed by his unceasing advocacy of a liberal and enlight- 
 ened policy, highly esteemed by all parties in the Pro- 
 vince, and who, as a statesman or a jurist, has not left 
 his equal behind him. 
 
 (" Review of the Proceedings of the Legislature of 
 Lower Canada in the session of 1831. p. 136'') 
 
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 By the Colonial Constitution, as it stands upon paper, 
 the Executive Council is not only a council of advice, 
 but a council of controul. The Governor cannot grant 
 one acre of ground without their consent. In ail matters 
 of public policy within tlie colony, it is his bounden duty 
 to take their advice ; he is not, it is true, absolutely 
 bound to follow it when given-but when he docs so, he 
 is relieved from all responsibility ; and, on the other 
 hand, when he acts without or against their advice, he 
 acts 8X10 periculo : — Besides the Governor, who is a 
 moveable officer, there are several fixed officers of the 
 colonial government — by whose means, in conjunction 
 with the Executive Council, it seems to have been 
 expected, that that steadiness and uniformity of action, 
 without which no government can long stand, would be 
 obtained. These are — The Lieutenant Governor of the 
 Province, who is unders.ood at the same time to be 
 chairman of the Executive Council ; the Chief Justice 
 of the Province, performing functions somewhat analo- 
 gous, if I may be allowed to compare small things to 
 great, with the duties and functions of the Lord Chan- 
 cellor of England. There is, further — the Secretary of 
 the Province, who was destined to occupy a position 
 in the colonial government, somewhat analogous to that 
 of the Secretary of State in England. To these are to 
 be added — the Law Officers of the Crown, by whose 
 advice, in all law matters, the Governor is absolutely 
 bound ; the Surveyor General, a highly important 
 officer ; the judiciary, and its officers. All these are 
 permanent powers residing within the Colony, and 
 which, the framers of the general instructions thought, 
 would be abundantly sufficient to prevent the Executive 
 Government fro n degenerating into a government of 
 will, or a pure autocracy, which it now is. It will not 
 be uninteresting to look into the causes wb'ch have led 
 to this event. All the offices under the Government being 
 during pleasure, and the British Government, naturally 
 
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 looking to their Governors here, for the selection of fit 
 persons to fill the Councils, they very naturally chose, 
 that the officers of Government who environed them, 
 and of whose flexibility of will and purpose they were 
 duly sensible, should compose them. The Executive 
 Council has accordingly been progressively falling into 
 public discredit. For a long time die Governors con- 
 sulted them as they were bound to do, but of late years 
 this decent ceremony is often omitted ; thus, for instance, 
 there is reason to believe that, from the time of the Earl 
 of Dalhousie, the Governors have not condescended to 
 submit to the Council any of their speeches at the open- 
 ing or the close of the Sessions of the Provincial Par- 
 liament, nor are they consulted upon the general course 
 of public policy within the Colony. 
 
 The Council cannot afford to resent this neglect, 
 because they are all of them placemen, and the Gover- 
 nor is taught to consider himself as the sole spring of 
 all executive power within the Colony. Another cir- 
 cumstance also, which prevents a proper control of the 
 Governor in other public matters, is his sole and exclu- 
 sive patronage of all offices of honour and emolument. 
 Many of the high public functionaries must and do have 
 families and others dependent upon them. The love of 
 office is one of the maladies of this continent, and the 
 men in office are naturally desirous of getting as many 
 of their own family into office as they can. In this posi- 
 tion of things, to expect that each public functionary 
 should discharge his dutj without an eye to the pleasure 
 or the displeasure of the Governor, for the time being, 
 is to expect more public virtue than we have yet been 
 able to find in these hyperborean regions. Again, the 
 Lieutenant Governor in point of practice, has always 
 been a cypher, whether he opposed the Governor in 
 Chief as General Hope did Lord Dorchester, or did 
 nothing at all, as all General Hope's successors in office 
 have done. The Lieutenant Governor thus withdrawn, 
 
11 
 
 Bction of fit 
 rally chose, 
 oned them, 
 
 they were 
 ; Executive 
 falling into 
 ernors con- 
 f iate years 
 for instance, 
 
 of the Earl 
 scended to 
 at the open- 
 ^incial Par- 
 eral course 
 
 lis neglect, 
 
 the Gover- 
 
 spring of 
 
 nother cir- 
 
 itrol of the 
 
 ind exclu- 
 
 jmolument. 
 
 d do have 
 
 le love of 
 
 t, and the 
 
 as many 
 
 I this posi- 
 
 unctionary 
 
 e pleasure 
 
 me being, 
 
 yet been 
 
 gain, the 
 
 IS always 
 
 vernor in 
 
 r, or did 
 
 in ofiice 
 
 ithdrawn, 
 
 his place in the Executive Council came to be occupied 
 by the Chief Justice for the time being. I need not say, 
 that by these means, this last mentioned public officer, 
 came to be too intimately mixed up with the local poli- 
 tics of the Province, and there then came into his hands, 
 a concentration of power not merely adverse to, but sub- 
 versive of all public freedom. 
 
 The manner jn which the patronage of the Governor 
 has been exercised has been highly injurious to the gov- 
 ernment. The power of the Governor ought to be con- 
 troled in some shape or other in the exercise of this 
 patronage. It is not here as it is in England, where a 
 ministry comes in and goes out ; and the mischiefs of 
 this colonial abuse are, therefore, perpetuate^d from 
 governor to governor. The new governor is obliged to 
 use the instruments which his predecessor has left him, 
 and these, sometimes bad enough, selected perhaps by 
 a governor, who with the best intentions in the world, 
 has converted his patronage into an eleemosynary fund 
 for decayed widows, and for men whose only claim to 
 be provided for, is, that they cannot provide for them- 
 selves. 
 
 Such is a picture of the discordant elements of colo- 
 nial Government which have at last subsided into a 
 system admitted on all sides to be feasible. 
 
 It is then undisputable that the system of responsibi- 
 lity of certain public officers in the Colonial Administra- 
 tion, now introduced into this Provicce by the Resolu- 
 tions of 1841 is, in so far as relates to its local affiairs, 
 perfectly identical with the practical working of the Bri- 
 tish Constitution in the Mother Country, and the res- 
 ponsibility of the British Cabinet to the majority of the 
 House of Commons,— thus establishing the first point 
 involved in the ministerial quarrel. 
 
 The next point is to ascertain the real cause of that 
 quarrel. 
 
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 The toUowing is the case announced to the public by 
 the respective pretensions of the parties, reduced to 
 writing and recorded in the Journals of the House, 
 
 Mr. Lafontaine's Note to Sir Charles Met- 
 calfe, Relative to the Resignation of the 
 LATE Cabinet. 
 
 " Mr. Lafontaine, in compliance with the request of the 
 Governor General, and in behalf of himself and his late 
 colleagues, who have felt it to be their duty to tender 
 their resignation of office, states, for His Excellency's 
 information, the substance of the information which they 
 propose to offer in their places in Parliament. .ti' 
 
 " They have avowedly taken office upon the principle of 
 responsibility to the representatives of the people in part ; 
 and with a full recognition on their parts of the following 
 resolutions introduced into the Legislative Assembly, 
 with the knowledge and sanction of Her Majesty's repre- 
 sentative in the Province, on the 3d September, 1841. 
 *^ That the head ot the Executive Government of the 
 Province, being within the limits of his Government, the 
 representative of the Sovereign, is responsible to the 
 Imperial authority alone, but that nevertheless the ma- 
 nagement of our local affairs can only be conducted by 
 him, by and with the assistance, counsel, and informa- 
 tion of subordinate officers in the Province, and that in 
 order to preserve between the different branches of the 
 Provincial Parliament that harmony which is essential to 
 the peace, welfare, and good government of the Pro- 
 vince, the chief advisers of the representative of the 
 Sovereign, constituting a Provincial Administration un- 
 der him, ought to be men possessed of the confidence 
 of the representatives ol the people ; thus affording a 
 guarantee that the well understood wishes and interests 
 of the people, which our gracious Sovereign has declar- 
 ed shall be the rule of the Provincial Government will 
 
public by 
 educed to 
 ouse, 1^ 
 
 LES MeT- 
 •N OF THE 
 
 Liest of the 
 id his late 
 to tender 
 :cellency's 
 vhich they 
 
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 J following 
 
 Assembly, 
 
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 13 
 
 on all occasions be faithfully represented and advo- 
 cated," 
 
 " They have lately understood that His Excellency 
 took a widely different view of the position, duties and 
 responsibilities of the Executive Council from that under 
 which they accepted office, and through which they have 
 been enabled to conduct the Parliamentary business of 
 the Government, sustained by a large majority of the 
 popular branch of the Legislature. 
 " Had the diff'erence of opinion between His Excel- 
 lency and themselves, and as they have reason to be- 
 lieve, between His Excellency and the Parliament and 
 people of Canada generally, been merely theoretical, 
 the members of the late Executive Council might and 
 could have felt it to be their duty to avoid every possi- 
 bility of collision which might have a tendency to dis- 
 turb the tranquil and amicable relations which apparen- 
 tly subsisted between the Executive Government and 
 the Provincial Parliament. But that diff"erence of opinion 
 has led not merely to appointments to office against their 
 advice but to appointments and proposals to make ap- 
 pointments, of which they were not informed in any 
 manner until all opportunity of off'ering advice respect- 
 ing them had passed by and to a determination on the 
 part of His Excellency to reserve for the expression of 
 Her Majesty's pleasure thereon, a Bill introduced into 
 the Provincial Parliament, with His Excellency's know- 
 ledge and consent as a Government measure, without 
 an opportunity being given to the members of the Ex- 
 ecutive Council, to state the probability of such a re- 
 servation. They, therefore, felt themselves in the ano- 
 malous position of being, aucording to their own avowals 
 and solemn public pledges, responsible for all the acts 
 of the Executive Government to Paliament, and at the 
 same time not only without the opportunity of offering 
 advice respecting these acts, but without the knowledge 
 of their existence until informed of them from private 
 and unofficial sources. 
 
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 " When the members of the late Executive Council 
 offered their humble remonstrance to His Excellency 
 on this condition of public affairs, His Excellency not 
 only frankly explained the difference of opinion existing 
 between him and the Council, but stated, that from the 
 time of his arrival in the country he had observed an 
 antagonism between him and them on the subject, and 
 notwithstanding that the members of the Council re- 
 peatedly and distinctly explained to His Excellency that 
 they considered him free to act contrary to their ad- 
 vice, and only claimed an oppotnnity of giving such 
 advice and of knowing before others His Excellency in- 
 tentions; His Excellency, did not in any manner remove 
 the impression left upon their minds by his avowal that 
 there was an antogonism between him and them, and a 
 want of that cordiality and confidence which would en- 
 able them in their respective stations to carry on public 
 business to the satisfaction ol His Excellency or of the 
 country. The want of this cordiality and confidence had 
 already become a matter of public rumour and public 
 opinion, not only extended it fo acts upon which there 
 were apparent grounds for difference of opinion, but to 
 all measures of Government involving political prin- 
 ciples. His Excellency, on the one hand, was supposed 
 to be coerced by his Council into a course of policy 
 which he did not approve of, and the Council were made 
 liable to the accusation of assuming the tone and posi- 
 tion of responsible advisers of the Goveinment, without, 
 in fact, asserting the right of being consult*»d thereupon. 
 While His Excellency disclaimed any intention of al- 
 tering the course of administration of public affairs 
 which he found on his arrival in Canada, he did not 
 disguise his opinion, that those affairs would be more 
 satisfactorily managed by and through the Gover or 
 himself without any necessity of concord amongst the 
 members of the Executive Council, or obligation on 
 their part to defend or support in Parliament the acts of 
 
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16 
 
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 v^e Council 
 Excellency 
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 the Government, To this opinion of His Excellency as 
 one of theory, the members of the Ex'^^'utive Council 
 might not have objected, but when on Saturday last 
 they discovered that it was the real ground of all tiieir 
 difference with His Excellency, and of the want of con- 
 fidence and cordiuiity between His Excellency and the 
 Council since his arrival ; they felt it impossible to con- 
 tinue to serve Ker Majesty as Executive Councillors, 
 for the affairs of ihis Province, consistently with their 
 duty to Her Majesty, or to His Excellency, or with their 
 public and oft repeated pledges in the Provincial Par- 
 liament, if His Excellency should see fit to act upon 
 his opinion of their functions and responsibilities. 
 Daly's Hotel, Nov. 27, 1843. 
 His Excellency's Reply to the Above. 
 " The Governor observes with regret, in the explana- 
 tion which the gentlemen who have resigned their seats 
 in the Executive Council propose to offer in their places 
 in Parliament, a total o^nission of the circumstances 
 which he regards as forming the real grounds of their 
 resignation : and as this omission may have proceeded 
 from their not considering themselves at liberty to dis- 
 close those circumstances, it becomes necessary that he 
 should state them. 
 
 " On Friday, Mr. Lafontaine and Mr. Baldwin came to 
 the Government House, and, after some other matters 
 of buyiness and some preliminary remarks as to the 
 cause of their proceeding, demanded of the Governor 
 General that he should agree to make no appointment, 
 and no offer of an appointment, without previously tak- 
 ing the advice of the Council : that the lists of candi- 
 dates should in every instance be laid before the Coun- 
 cil : that they should recommend any others at discre- 
 tion, and that the Governor General in deciding after 
 taking their advice, should not make any appointment 
 prejudicial to their influence. In other words, that the 
 patronage of the Crown should be surrendered to the 
 
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 16 
 
 Council for the purchase of Parliamentary support : foi , 
 if the demand did not mean that, it meant nothing, as it 
 cannot be imagined, that the mere form of taking advice 
 without regarding it, was the process contemplated. 
 
 The Governor General replied that he would not 
 make any such stipulation, and could not degrade the 
 character of his otiice nor violate his duty by such a 
 surrender of the prerogative of the Crown. 
 
 He appealed to the number of appointments made 
 by him on the recommendation of the Council, or to 
 the members of it in their departmental capacity, and 
 to instc ".es in which he had abstained from conferring 
 appointments on their opponents, as furnishing proofs 
 of the great consideration which he had evinced towards 
 the Council in the distribution of the patronage of the 
 
 He at the same time objected, as he always had done, 
 to the exclusive distribution of patronage with party 
 views, and maintained the principle that office ought, 
 in every instance, to be given to the man best qualified 
 to render efl cient service to the state, and where there 
 was no such pre-eminence he asserted his right to exercise 
 his discretion. 
 
 He understood from Messrs Lafontaine and Baldwin 
 that their continuance in ofKce depended on his final 
 decision with regard to their demand : and it was agreed 
 that at the Council to be assembled the next day the 
 subject should be fully discussed. - '. ....>4, i^ ,r^(.v-. -■ 
 
 He assordingly met the Council on Saturday, convin- 
 ced that they would resign, as he could not recede from 
 the resolution which he had formed, and the same subject 
 .became the principal topic of discussion, im^rl-*!* >iitn ''' 
 ,3^^) J'hree or more distinct propositions were made to him 
 over and over again, sometimes in different terms, but 
 aiming at the same purpose, which in his opinion if 
 accomplished would have been a virtual surrender, in to 
 hands of the Council of the prerogative of the Crown, 
 and on his uniformly replying to their propositions in 
 
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 the negative. His refusal was each time followed by 
 " then we must resign," or words to that purport, from 
 one or more of the Council. 
 
 After the discussion of this queston at so much length, 
 being, as he has hitherto conceived, the one upon which 
 the resignation of the Council rested, he is astonished 
 at finding that it is now ascribed to an alleged diffe- 
 rence of opinion in the theory of Responsible Government. 
 In the course of the conversations which both on Friday 
 and Suturday followed the explicit demands made by 
 the Council regarding the patronage of the Crown, that 
 « demand being based on the construction put by some 
 « of the gentlemen on the meaning of Responsible Govern- 
 « ment, different opinions were elicited on the abstract 
 " theory of that still undefined question as applicable to 
 « a Colony, a subject on which considerable difference 
 « of opinion is known every where to prevail. But 
 « the Governor General during these conversations pro- 
 u tested against its being supposed that he is practically 
 « adverse to the working of the system of Responsible 
 tt Government which he has hitherto pursued, without 
 « deviation, and to which it is fully his intention to adhere. 
 xt The Governor General subscribes entirely to the 
 tt Resolutions of the Legislative Assembly, of the 3d Sep- 
 tembre , 1841, and considers any other system of Go- 
 vernment than that which recognises responsibility to 
 the people and to the representative Assemb{v as im- 
 praticablein this Province. 
 
 No man is more satisfied that all government exists 
 solely for the benefit of the people, and he appeals 
 confidently to his uniform conduct here and elsewhere 
 in support of this assertion. 
 
 If indeed, by Responsible Government the gentlemen 
 of the late Council mean that the Council is to be su- 
 prenae, and the authority of the Governor a nullity, then 
 he cannot agree with them and must declare his dissent 
 from the perversion of the acknowledged principle. 
 
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 But if they mean that Responsible Government, as es- 
 " tablished in this colony is to be worked out with an ear- 
 " nest desire lo ensure success, he must then express his 
 ** surprise at their arriving at conclusions which he does 
 " not consider to be justified by any part of his conduct, 
 " and which he conceives his repeated declarations ought 
 " to have prevented. Allusion is made in the other propos- 
 " ed explanation of the gentlemen of the late Council, to the 
 " Governor General having determined to reserve for the 
 « consideration of Her Majesty's Government one of the 
 <« Bills passed by the two Legislative Houses — that is the 
 « Secret Societies' Bill. If there is any part of the functions 
 «< of the Governor in which he is more than in any bound to 
 « exercise an independent judgment it must be in giving 
 « the Royal assent to acts of Parliament. With regard to this 
 « duty he has special instructions from HerMajesty'sSecre- 
 «< tary to reserve every act of an unusual or extraordinary 
 «« character. Undoubtedly the Secret Societies' Bill answers 
 « that description, being unexampled in British Legislation. 
 ft The gentlemen of the late Council had his sentiments on 
 (t it. He told them that it was an isrbitrary and unwise mea- 
 « sure, and not even calculated to effeot the object it had 
 c< in view. 
 
 tc He had given his consent io its being introduced into 
 « Parliament, because he had promised soon after his as- 
 « sumption of the Government that he would sanction le- 
 (c gislation on the subject as a substitute for Executive 
 cc measures which he refused to adopt on account of their 
 « proscriptive character, although he deprecates the exis- 
 (c tence of societies which tend to foment religious and ci- 
 te vil discord. The gentlemen of the late Council, cannot 
 « fail to remember with what pertinacity those measures 
 « were pressed on him, and can hardly but be aware of 
 t( what would have followed at that time if in addition to 
 « rejecting the proscriptive measures urged, he had refused 
 « to permit any Legislation on the subject. Permission to 
 : introduce a Bill cannot be properly assumed as fettering 
 
19 
 
 int, as es- 
 than ear- 
 ^press his 
 i he does 
 * conduct, 
 3ns ought 
 'r propos- 
 icil, to the 
 v^e for the 
 fie of the 
 that is the 
 functions 
 bound to 
 in giving 
 irdtothis 
 >^*sSecre- 
 iordinary 
 1 answers 
 gislation. 
 tnents on 
 ise mea- 
 ct it had 
 
 ced into 
 
 r his as- 
 
 tion le- 
 
 cecutive 
 
 of their 
 
 le exis- 
 
 and ci- 
 
 cannot 
 
 easures 
 
 ware of 
 
 tion to 
 
 •efused 
 
 ision to 
 
 ttering 
 
 the judgment of tlie Government with regard to the Royal 
 assent, for much may happen during the passage of the Bill 
 through the Legislature to influence nis decision. In 
 this case the Bill was strongly opposed and reprobated 
 in the Assembly, but when it went to the Legislative 
 Council, many of the members had seceded, and it did 
 not come up from that House with the advantage of hav- 
 ing passed in a full meeting. Taking these circumstan- 
 ces into consideration, together with the precise instruc- 
 tions of Her Majesty and the uncertainty of Her Majes- 
 ty's allowing such a Bill to go into operation, the Gover- 
 nor General considered it to be his duty to reserve it for 
 Her Majesty's consideration, as it was much better that 
 it should not go into operation until confirmed by Her 
 Majesty's Government, than that it should be disconti- 
 nued after its operation had commenced. 
 
 In conclusion, the Governor General protests against 
 the explanation which those gentlem.en propose to offer 
 to Parliament, as omitting entirely the actual and promi- 
 *< nent circumstances which led to their resignation ; and 
 « as conveying to Parliament a misapprehension of his 
 « sentiments and intention which has no foundation in any 
 «< part of his conduct, unless his refusal to make a virtual sur- 
 «« render of the prerogative of the Crown to the Council for 
 « party purposes, and his anxiety to do justice to those who 
 it were injured by the arrangements attending the Union, 
 <t can be regarded as warranting a representation which is 
 <( calculated to injure him without just cause in the opinion 
 « of the Parliament and the people, on whose confidence 
 it he places his sole reliance for the successful administra- 
 <• tion of the Government. > j' » • 
 
 (c Government House, > ^ -^ - 
 <c November 28th 1843. J '.:. f " • '^ '" 
 
 Making allowance for the usual quantum of misun- 
 I derstandings and discrepancies to be found in state- 
 ments of a controversial character, the foregoing suffi- 
 ciently discloses that the unfortunate schism between 
 
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 20 
 
 His Exc6llency Sir Charles Metcalfe and his ministel'S 
 in November last, had its origin, substantially, in the right 
 claimed by the latter, to be consulted by the former, up- 
 on all appointments to office, and that this right was 
 then strenuously and pertinaciously denied by the Gover- 
 nor General, as witness his emphatic language, — " it 
 " cannot be imaginedy that the mere farm of taking ad- 
 " vicey without regarding it, was the process contempla- 
 '*ted:' 
 
 The controvers}', as disclosed by their respective 
 statements, is marked with a positive assertion of a fact 
 on the one side, and its equally positive denial on the 
 other ; and there was therefore no expedient left to re- 
 lieve the Governor General, and his partisans, frora their 
 dilemma, than to fall back upon shadowy points of lorni; 
 and this, s.range to say, after a full exposition of the 
 pretensions of each on the real merits of the dispute. 
 It is argued by the Governor General and his party, that 
 it was attempted, on e part of the ministry, to extort 
 from him a formal and irrevocable declaration, or stipu- 
 lation, as it has been called, that he would not for the 
 future name to office without their coment ; — and that he 
 should divest himself of the exercise of the Prerogative 
 of the Crown in favor of his councillors. This is deni- 
 ed on the other side, and the public, who have no other- 
 evidence to refer to, can only determine the truth of ei- 
 ther assc i'tion by weighing the probability of the affirma- 
 tive statement, and its necessary consequences, if true. 
 It is at the least improbable, that men who certainly pos- 
 sessed some constitutional knowledge, and had among 
 their body lawyers of eminence, should require the 
 Governor General to surrender into their hands, that 
 which they must have known he had no power to grant. 
 The folly and absurdity of such a demand afford the best 
 refutation of the assertion that it was ever made, and 
 in truth stamp it as incredible. 
 
 The system of responsibility had been recently intro* 
 
 IL. 
 
/ 
 
 II 
 
 ninistefd 
 the right 
 mer, up- 
 ght was 
 3 Gover- 
 ;e,— " it 
 king ad- 
 ntempla- 
 
 spective 
 )f a fact 
 on the 
 t lo re- 
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 dispute, 
 rty, that 
 extort 
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 flirma- 
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 \y pos- 
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 grant, 
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 ^ and 
 
 intfo* 
 
 duced into this Proviuce. Both the Governor and his 
 Council professed to act upon it in practice ; while the 
 former committed frequent violations of it, as understood 
 by the latter. Important appointments were made by 
 His Excellency, without the knowledge of his Council ; 
 and under such circumstances, it is matter of no great 
 surprise that an interview (as ? said,) should take place 
 between the Governor and some of his Councillors, in 
 order to ascertain what really were the views of the for- 
 mer in regard to Responsible Government. Such a 
 course cannot perhaps be defended as constitutional, for 
 the reason already given, — that the prerogative may pos- 
 sibly be thus exercised, adversely to the views of the 
 Council, for the express purpose of producing a dismis- 
 sal. But under a new system, to which both parties de- 
 clare their adhesion, there was nothing extraordinary nor 
 unreasonable in endeavouring to obtain some eclaircisse- 
 ment as to the views of each, while there was apparent 
 good faith on both sides. But such a species of pour- 
 parler, if it did occur at all, cannot assuredly bear out 
 the assertion, (though possibly couched in figurative 
 language,) — that the Governor General was called upon 
 to enter into a formal agreement, and to put his hand 
 and seal to an instrument, surrendering the prerogative of 
 the Crown into the hands of his Provincial Cabinet. 
 The conclusion, then, is irresistibly forced upon us, that 
 there is, in this statement, an uncertain and unmea- 
 surable portion of exaggeration. 
 
 Another count of the plea of exception as to form is 
 predicated upon the assumed fact, that the ministry did 
 not make a stand on any one given objectionable ap- 
 pointment, according to the admitted usage in such 
 matters, but that they justified their secession from the 
 Council Board, upon the acts of the Governor General 
 in relation to several appointments. Drowning men 
 catch at straws. This objection as to form possesses 
 this remarkable feature, that the reason upon which it is 
 
 
23 
 
 i:i 
 
 ; i 
 
 I 
 
 based, has nothing of form in its character ; but that it is, 
 on the contrary, pregnant with substance, and virtually 
 enhances the propriety of the conduct of the ministers, 
 by an allusion to facts shewing an aggravation of the 
 unconstitutional conduct of the Gc/ernor General, and 
 an unexampled degree of moderation in men, whom their 
 enemies were pleased tp charge with juTogance ai^d 
 dogmatism. - , *, . ,•; •^t- 
 
 But it is idle and stupid, and an insult to our unders- 
 tandings, to discuss questions of form, after such objec- 
 tions have been entirely superseded by a full disclosure 
 of facts, and a definite issue upon the abstract merits of 
 the subject matter of the dispute. The patronage of 
 office, practically speaking, was indisputably the real 
 bone of contention, in whatever shape brought out. 
 The retention of the fat offices at the disposal of the 
 Crown, by the Governor General, and the insignificant 
 clique within his own little curtilage, apart from, and 
 independently of, the responsible madatories of the 
 people, was, in the opinion of every man of candour or 
 sense, the game played by the Governor General and 
 his party. This cloven foot stands out in bold relief in 
 Mr. Higginson's conversation with Mr. Lafontaine. 
 The pretension of His E:5£cellency, and his European 
 satellites, is based upon the arrogant assumption, b} the 
 minions of Downing Street, of an innate metropolitan 
 superiority over the inhabitants of the Colonies ;— a pre- 
 tension utterly unfounded, and not to be brooked by any 
 right minded colonist, it is one which inspired the late 
 revolted Colonies, (now the United States of America,) 
 with an unnatural and implacable hatred to their brethren 
 of the British Isles. That emulation of every thing 
 noble and virtuous, which animates the inhabitants of 
 Great Britain and Ireland, is a distinguishing and laudable 
 trait in the national character, and one which has contri- 
 huted largely to the present exalted rank of that country 
 among the nations of the earth ; but it is a mistake to 
 
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 that it is, 
 '■ virtually 
 ninisters, 
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 eral, and 
 lom their 
 ance and 
 
 ' unders- 
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 nerits of 
 3nage of 
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 jnificant 
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 iats of 
 iidable 
 jontri- 
 juntry 
 
 23 
 
 suppose that every empty — headed pate which crosses 
 the Atlantic, possesses this degree oi excellence embo- 
 died in his own person. It is a matter of daily occur- 
 rence to hear these notions of superiority put forth by 
 adventurers, in various stations and professions, into 
 Canada, from the other side of the water, but who, when 
 pitchforked into office through some sinister influence, 
 betray such a degree of incapacity as to disqualify them 
 from caiTying grub to a bear. ui. n, t; >, > -.Mrr.i ?... . 
 
 ' The attempts to retain the Patronage of office solely 
 and absolutely in the Head of the Exec t live, in defiance 
 of :|he principle of Colonial Responsible Government, 
 was the last plank of the wreck of official domination in 
 Canada. That the public men enjoying the confidence 
 of the people, and possessing, each in his own section, 
 a knowledge of our local affairs, must be the best judges 
 of the fitness, or unfitness, of all applicants for office, is 
 a proposition too ser-evident to be called in question. 
 Tha; they could carry on the Government, without this 
 powerful auxiliary, or with its influence exerted against 
 them, is an opinion which can only be entertained by 
 men absolutely opaq-^e as to the working of the British 
 Constitution, or by such as make their political princi- 
 ples subserve their own private interests. But that the 
 Public Functionaries should be responsible to the Le- 
 gislative Assembly for acts of the Government, made 
 without their participation or knowledge, and the first 
 intimation of which they had the humiliation to receive 
 from news-mongers in the streets, — is a doctrine adapted 
 only to the judgment of babes,or the pericrania of madmen. 
 It has thus been incontrovertibly brought home to the 
 judgment of every just and candid mind, and in truth 
 no one now ventures to deny, that the antajonist notions 
 of Hii> Excellency and his minister'i, upon &e exercise 
 of the Prerogative in regard to the patronage of office, 
 Vt^ere the real cause of the quarrel. And further that the 
 views entertained by the Ex-ministers on this head were 
 
 I 
 
 
h 
 
 I 1^ 
 
 24 
 
 strictly conformable to the practice obtained in England, 
 and that they were justified in setting up the right 
 which they claimed, and the Governor General wrong 
 in resisting it. The stand, therefore, made by theLafon- 
 taine — Baldwin Cabinet was perfectly constitutional and 
 praiseworthy, — thus establishing the second and third 
 points involved in the quarrel. . , ^ 
 
 Thus far the reasons and arguments advanced have 
 been restricted to the merits of the quarre/a^ the time of 
 its occurrence. There is one more argument, however, 
 which has an important bearing upon the subject at the 
 present time, and which, in justice to the Ex-ministers, 
 must not be overlooked, although it may be deemed ob- 
 jectionable by reason of the proof required to strip it of 
 its character of extreme improbability in point of fact, 
 and because it detracts materially from the proverbial 
 candour and manliness of an Englishman, and the di- 
 gnity of an English Statesman. The misunderstanding, 
 as it has been shown, arose out of the right 
 to be consulted claimed by the ministry. The Go- 
 vernor General, not acquiescing in such a pretension, 
 accepted their resignations in November last. The coun- 
 ty has since been agitated by himself and his partizans, 
 in order to create a majority adverse to the Ex-ministers, 
 ,and the Provincial Parliament has been dissolved in oraer 
 to a final appeal to the whole constituency of Canada 
 upon this head. Will it be believed, that notwithstanding 
 this hot and violent agitation, prejudicia/ to the peace of 
 the Country, and damaging to its best interests, one of 
 the parties, and the aggressor in the quarrel, has long since 
 succumbed on its main and sole cause, and has publicly 
 and solemnly announced, "that he would never dream of 
 " carrying on the Government of the Province without 
 ** consultmghis constitutional advisers ; — thus sanctioning 
 the principle contended for by the Ex-ministers ; and — 
 that notwithstanding such an unqualified recantation, he 
 persists in refusing justice to the Ex-ministers, and in 
 
 rl 
 
 tl 
 
 11 
 
25 
 
 !ngland« 
 e right 
 wrong 
 ^Lafon- 
 nal and 
 1 third 
 
 i have 
 time of 
 >wever, 
 
 at the 
 [listers, 
 ,ed ob- 
 ip it of 
 f fact, 
 v^erbial 
 the di- 
 nding, 
 
 right 
 
 Go- 
 nsion, 
 coun- 
 izans, 
 sters, 
 oraer 
 mada 
 iding 
 ce of 
 le of 
 5ince 
 
 licly 
 mof 
 hout 
 ning 
 Id— 
 
 , he 
 d in 
 
 ruling the country by a batch of incapables, notoriously 
 without any political influence, instead of replacing mat- 
 ters in statu quo ante helium, and thereby exhibiting a 
 moral courage, and a sense of justice, becoming his exalt- 
 ed station. 
 
 You have next to consider that important feature in 
 the present controversy which is predicated upon the quo 
 animo of the ministerial opposition, and imputes to them, 
 and the majority of the late House, and their adherents, 
 motives dishonorable to them as men, and subversive of 
 the supremacy of the Mother Country. (''ir'-iH (i;)!: 
 
 In bold and disreputable contrast to the course which 
 ought to have been followed, the victims of defeat sought 
 a refuge amid the seeds of discord, and the Province of 
 Canada, during the nine months which followed the un- 
 fortunate schism, has exhibited a spectacle to the world 
 unexampled in constitutional countries. The Represen- 
 tative of the British Sovereign, and as such — the repre- 
 sentative of the Fountain of justice, of order, decorum, 
 moderation, impartiality, and of every virtue and quality 
 which indicates a dignified seclusion from party strife 
 and politics, — the chief magistrate of Canada, and the 
 Governor General of British North America, — has been 
 agitating ! — incessantly agitating ! ! — emitting volumes of 
 calumnious and inflammatory " Answers to Ad... sses" 
 charging the Ex-Ministers, and their adherents, with a 
 design factiously to agitate the country in opposition to 
 him, — (the very off'ence, like the Wolf in the fable, of 
 which he himself was guilty,) and imputing to them a de- 
 sire to subvert the authority of the mother country in Ca- 
 nada ; while the whole Province, and Lower Canada in 
 an eminent degree, was in profound peace, not exhibit- 
 ing the slightest indication of discontent, disaff'ection or 
 disloyalty, — and while the agitation — if it deserve the 
 name, — in Upper Canada, was confined to the discussion, 
 peaceably and constitutionally, of an abstract principle in 
 the practical operation of the British Constitution,— a 
 
 \t 
 
 +« 
 
 i 
 
 1! 
 
f 
 
 T 
 
 26 
 
 right indisputably inherent in the humblest subject of the 
 Crown, and perfectly compatible with the most devoted 
 loyalty to the Queen, who is the living and honored em- 
 blem of the Constitution whence these inestimable rights 
 
 flow. • ' ■ .;^i^ '• 
 
 Your views, and these of all the constituencies of Ca- 
 nada, have been attempted to be diverted from the real 
 merits of the contest, by representing it as one in which 
 the loyal portion of the inhabitants were arrayed against 
 the disaffected and the rebellious, and which involved 
 in its issue the further connexion of this Colony, and of 
 all the British North American Possessions, with Great 
 Britain. The object of this nise was to intimidate a cer- 
 tain class of the inhabitants, by an allusion which recalls 
 the late wicked and disastrous struggle to extort from 
 the mother country certain concessions, which, justly or 
 unjustly, she had expressed her determination not to 
 yield, and thereby to characterise the present peaceful 
 contest, as one of a similar sinful stamp, and calculated 
 to produce a similar baneful effect. Of all the weak 
 inventions of a weak enemy, this is the weakest and the 
 basest. It is worthy of a hireling press, the toady eulo- 
 gists of the Rump ministry of the day, whose clamo- 
 rous zeal is ever in the inverse ratio of the sanity of its 
 pretensions. This villanous game, worthy of a villanous 
 cause, has been practised to a large extent in Upper 
 Canada, and the honest loyal yeomanry of that country 
 have been duped into the belief, that the late ministers, 
 and their adherents, are a faction banded together to 
 dissolve our connexion with Great Britain ; — and dis- 
 affection — disloyalty — treason — rebellion, have been in- 
 cessantly dinned into their ears, until it has resulted, in 
 two monster lies, namely : — That the advocates of Res- 
 ponsible Government, according to the principles oi die 
 British Constitution, are a " Revolutionary party !" and 
 the followers of Sir Charles Metcalfe, to wit, — the Tory 
 .CT>mpact of Upp^r Canada, and the servile official fac- 
 
 til 
 wl 
 
 ta 
 
27 
 
 't of the 
 devoted 
 red em- 
 e rights 
 
 ofCa- 
 he real 
 I which 
 against 
 ivolved 
 
 and of 
 I Great 
 
 a cer- 
 recalls 
 t from 
 stly or 
 
 not to 
 jaceful 
 ulated 
 
 weak 
 nd the 
 ' eulo- 
 ;Iamo- 
 
 of its 
 anous 
 Jpper 
 mntiy 
 isters, 
 ler to 
 i dis- 
 n in- 
 !d, in 
 Res- 
 n the 
 ' and 
 Tory 
 
 fac- 
 
 tion of Lower Canada — the " Constitutional party !" — by 
 whose chivalrous, — disinterested devotion to Great Bri- 
 tain, that connexion is to be maintained. 
 
 These madmen have been permitted, nay incited to play 
 off their demon antics in the broad face of day, & to impair 
 the character of the inhabitants of Canada for peace and 
 loyalty, as well in the eyes of Great Britain, as in those of 
 the whole world, and this at a time when the quiet of the 
 church yard reigned throughout the land, and while every 
 man in the frenzied ranks of their calumniators, frr i the 
 highest to the lowest, knew, felt and believed in his 
 craven heart, that the country never was more peacable, 
 more loyal, nor less disposed to throw off the powerful 
 and protecting arm of Great Britain, and to transfer its 
 allegiance to another Power, — the necessary and inevi- 
 table consequence of such a step. We have every 
 thing to gain by remaining united to the freest and the 
 most enlightened nation of the globe, — every thing to 
 lose by fleeing her banner. Under the shield of British 
 power, law and order are supreme throughout her widely 
 extended dominions. Impartial justice is meted out to the 
 lowest criminal, and the condemned felon yet feels the 
 rights of a British subject in being protected from the 
 bloody hands of the mob. There no "equal" son of Adam 
 treads the ground, the pinioned — degraded slave of his 
 fellow man, and no ruffian hand dares apply the torch 
 to the peaceful sanctuary of female piety, nor the fiend 
 of intolerance disturb the worship of the Creator, under 
 whatever creed, or by whatever form, conscience may 
 direct its exercise. Such are the inestimable blessings 
 which we enjoy as a dependency of that mighty empire, 
 and we do not the less appreciate them, no: are we less 
 worthy of them, by demanding our full righis as British 
 subjects. The charge of disloyalty, then, we indig- 
 nantly repel as being false, and utterly unfounded, and to 
 him who may still persist in the calumny, we answer, in 
 brief english, — " He lies in his throat." The loyalty of 
 
 I 
 
 1 
 
^^tw 
 
 \m 
 
 
 'III 
 
 28 
 
 all those who advocate the doctrine of Responsible Go- 
 vernment, and maintain the party of the Ex-ministers, 
 stands unimpeached ; and their regard for their Sover- 
 eign and the British Constitution, is immeasurably su- 
 perior to the c?nt of that pharisaical tribe, who, utterly 
 reckless as to the fate ot their country, cr the honor of 
 their Sovereigu, have loyalty for ever in their months, 
 as the ever ready incense which they offer up to every 
 successive Governor, whatever his party or his politics, 
 and which would be obsequiously lavished on a Baboon, 
 were he decked in the official uniform of Downing street. 
 In addressing the Legislative Assembly of Canada, I 
 of course must submit my reasons and arguments to the 
 judgment of an Assembly, composed, like every other 
 political body, of heterogeneous materials. I assume 
 that to whatever parties in politics you may be subdivid- 
 ed, — whether reformers on the ex-ministerial side, or on 
 that of Sir Charles Metcalfe ; — whether Tories of the 
 Upper Canada family compact, or of the Lower 
 Canada official class ; — whether uncompromising 
 supporters of the Responsible Government question, or 
 moderates,- — disposed to steer your course accord- 
 ing to the tide of affairs, or to whatever other shade 
 or hue in politics you may belong ; — I assume, and 
 believe, that you are all imbued with a spirit 
 of profound loyalty to the Sovereign of that country, 
 which has ever been the foremost in the cause of ra- 
 tional freedom, and from w^ence you derive that bright 
 inheritance which enables you now to battle,freely and in- 
 dependently, for the supremacy of those principles which 
 you conscientiously believe to be most conducive to the 
 permanent peace and welfare of your conntry. Many of 
 you have given substantial proofs of your devotion on 
 this head, and there are others among you whose loyalty 
 no one would dare to impugn, for you have loudly pro- 
 claimed it to all the winds of heaven, and, in the ardour 
 of your professions, have charged with disloyalty all those 
 whose powers of vociferation have been unequal to 
 
 yo^ 
 of 
 
 COl 
 
 fori 
 
 Bril 
 
 pre 
 
 pai 
 
 yoi 
 
 cla^ 
 
 or 
 
 and 
 
 and 
 
 and 
 
yours. And as to that numerous, influential, and en- 
 lightened portion among you, who, amidst a host 
 of calumnies continually reiterated against you, have 
 contended patiently, peaceably and constitutionally, 
 for the development of the genuine principles of the 
 British Constitution, evincing at the [same time the most 
 profound respect for the majesty of the law, and the 
 paramount authority of the empire, — he who impugns 
 your allegiance, however high his rank, and to whatever 
 class, creed or country, he may belong, is but a coward 
 or a knave, unworthy the name of a British freeman, 
 and whose loyalty is but a filthy garment, the fashion 
 and colour whereof are ever changed to suit the caprices, 
 and the alternate and adverse politics of a Durham, 
 a Sydenham, a Bagot, or a Metcalfe, w / , !^<ii; ' 
 Such of you who may conscientiously believe, that the 
 great question upon which the Provincial Parliament has 
 been dissolved, is in the slightest degree tinged with re- 
 volution, are bound in duty fairly and honestly %o enquire 
 into this accusation, as sl preliminary point, ere you en- 
 ter upon the one absorbing topic of the day. If upon a 
 cool and impartial retrospect of the conduct, and avow- 
 ed principles, of the Ex-ministers, and their supports, 
 you come to a decided conclusion, that Sir Charles 
 Metcalfe was justifiable in d'^nouncing them, to the 
 people of the Province, and to the world at large, 
 as traitors to Her Majesty's government ; — if you are sa- 
 tisfied that the hue and cry of "Connexion or no connex- 
 ion," " Revolutionary party," &,c., raised against them 
 among the fanatics of Upper Canada, was well founded, 
 and that in truth the advocacy by them of Responsible 
 Government was but a cloak, a stalking horse — under the 
 mask of which they were bent upon producing a renew- 
 al of the disastrous scenes which lately afflicted this coun- 
 tiy, — then it becomes your duty, one and all, to express 
 your abhorrence of such designs, and your unqualified ap- 
 probation of the stand made against them by the Gover- 
 nor General, with a view to crush such a w icked pur- 
 
 ii 
 
 1 1 
 
 : 
 
30 
 
 
 
 'iv; (i 
 
 : 
 
 pose in its inception ; and this you are bound to do^ 
 without regard to the correctness or incorrectness, in the 
 abstract, of the principles upon which he took his 
 ground ; — for better by far the domination of a Special 
 Council, if backed by the protective arm of British 
 power, even though administered under the galling sway 
 of rapacious officials, than the horrors of civil discord, 
 and the transfer of our allegiance to a Power, under 
 which anarchy and mob caprice, with the violation of 
 every civil contract, hold perpetual sway under the 
 colour of constitutional government. 
 
 But I put it home to the conscience of every one of 
 you, as men of honor, sitting in judgment upon the deeds 
 of your fellow men, bound to find a verdict, under your 
 oaths to your country and your God, conformably to the 
 dictates of truth and justice, unbiassed by the smiles 
 of greatness, and undeterred by the threats of its impo- 
 tent displeasure ; — if, after a calm and dispassionate in- 
 vestigation of the conduct of the ministers, you find these 
 calumnious charges, so publicly and so unscrupulously 
 levelled against them by Sir Charles Metcalfe, to be 
 unsupported by any proof, or any presumption of guilt ; 
 and that in the act of resignation there was a total 
 absence of any nefarious design ; — that while the Go- 
 vernor General was fulminating libel upon libel against 
 them, he could not lay his hand upon a single act, word 
 or deed of theirs, to shadow the vile detraction ; — that 
 in stead of factiously and seditiously agitating the country 
 in opposition to Her Majesty's Government, he — the Re- 
 presentative of Her Majesty, constituting in his own per- 
 son, a co-ordmate branch of the Provincial Legislature, 
 was descending to the pernicious game of sounding, false- 
 ly, the tocsin of dissaffection and rebellion, and impugning 
 the motives, as well of his late advisers, as of an over- 
 whelming majority of your predecessors, — another 
 co-ordinate branch of the same Legislature, entitled to 
 respect at his hands,— and that he was appealing to 
 
id to do, 
 ss, in the 
 took his 
 I Special 
 f British 
 ing sway 
 . discord, 
 ;r, under 
 )lation of 
 uder the 
 •'. '.' 'I ■ 
 
 one of 
 be deeds 
 ier your 
 ly to the 
 le smiles 
 s impo- 
 )nate in- 
 ind these 
 julously 
 *, to be 
 f guilt ; 
 
 a total 
 the Go- 
 
 ao;ainst 
 :t, word 
 
 —that 
 country 
 the Re- 
 ivn per- 
 slature, 
 J, false- 
 >ugning 
 
 over- 
 mother 
 tied to 
 ing to 
 
 91 
 
 odious prejudices, and stirring up the worst elements of 
 our nature, to further his own tortuous policy ; — if such 
 should be the result of your deliberations upon this pre- 
 liminary question of the loyahy or disloyalty of the Ex- 
 ministerial party, — then, and in that case, are you bound, 
 in honor and in justice, to find upon the fourth head of 
 enquiry, that " the mere assertion of the right to be con- 
 sulted, set up — whether rightly or wrongly, — by the 
 late ministry, implied no design on their part to sub- 
 vert the authority of the British Crown in this Pro- 
 vince, and that neither their manner of asserting it, 
 nor their conduct, or that of their adherents, since the 
 resignation, was indicative of any treasonable purpose, 
 or of any other object or design whatever, than the 
 mere enunciation of a constitutional right which they 
 conscientiously believed themselves to possess ; and 
 that the course pursued by them, in this matter, was 
 perfectly compatible with the most profound loyalty 
 to their sovereign, — and, as a necessary consequence, 
 that the Governor General was not justified, but on 
 the contrary, highly reprehensible, in charging them, 
 publicly and repeatedly, with disaffection, disloyalty, 
 and a desire to overthrow the authority of Great Bri- 
 " tain in Canada.*' 
 
 Having reached this sound conclusion, it is super- 
 fluous to say that you must discard from your minds 
 any preijudicial impression which may have been made 
 upon you, and that you must approach the main question 
 of the day, your judgment freed from the poisonous 
 colouring which these accusations may have imparted to 
 it ; and that although returned by constituencies suspi- 
 cious of the views of the late ministry, you must do, 
 precisely what they, in the honesty of their hearts, would 
 do themselves, if disabused of the vile imposition prac- 
 tised upon them, — you must, like true Britons, give the 
 Ex-ministers a fair and impartial British trial, upon the 
 abstract merits of the question of their resignation. 
 
 « 
 
 tc 
 
 it 
 
 (t 
 
 « 
 
 (t 
 
 tt 
 
 (t 
 
 tt 
 
 tt 
 
 tt 
 
 tt 
 
 tt 
 
 t< 
 
 tt 
 
 tt 
 
 
 H 
 
32 
 
 according to the sound principles of the British cons- 
 titution. 
 
 Having thus disposed of the four first points involved 
 in the quarrel of His Excellency and his late ministers, 
 it becomes necessary now to enter upon the considera- 
 tion of the fifth and most important point for your deli- 
 berations upon the commencement of the present Session 
 of Parliament, namely — Whether, — the ministers being 
 justified in resigning their offices, — ought now to be sus- 
 tained in their position, and the confidence of the Repre- 
 sentatives of the people mthhddfrom any other public men, 
 accepting office in their stead, of whatever party in 
 politics. 
 
 It is possible that there may be among your body a 
 certain number disposed to admit the fairness of the con- 
 duct pursued by the late Ministry, and the soundness of 
 the principles, contended for by them, who — yet — are 
 indisposed, or do not see the necessity, to force mat- 
 ters to such a pass, as would ensure a triumph to one 
 party, or a marked defeat to the other. This class does 
 not deem it necessary to disturb the present order of 
 things, provided the Head of the Executive consent to 
 administer the Government according to the interpreta- 
 tion of the system of Responsibility advocated by the 
 Ex-Ministers, and are of opinion that it is immaterial for 
 the interests of the country, by what set of men the reins 
 may be held. This is a fatal error. As the controversy 
 now stands between the Governor and his discarded mi- 
 nisters, a principle is involved in the very persons of the 
 latter, that being the sole remaining point which the pu- 
 blic declarations of the former still leave unsetded. 
 
 If the Governor be sustained by you in his present po- 
 sition, a precedent will be established which will give 
 him a veto as to the appointment of men, in whom the 
 country may have expressed its confidence, and thus the 
 
 ei 
 ai 
 pr| 
 vii 
 
 pa) 
 thi 
 
 If 
 
 su] 
 
 sh] 
 
 it 
 
 th( 
 
 an< 
 
33 
 
 sh cons* 
 
 involved 
 ninisters, 
 )nsidera- 
 our deli- 
 t Session 
 TS being 
 be sus- 
 he Repre- 
 tblic men, 
 party in 
 
 r body a 
 ' the con- 
 idness of 
 yet — are 
 ce mat- 
 to one 
 ass does 
 order of 
 msent to 
 erpreta- 
 by the 
 erial for 
 he reins 
 roversy 
 ded mi- 
 ls of the 
 the pu- 
 id. 
 
 jent po- 
 ill give 
 om the 
 thus the 
 
 entire phalanx of the popular branch may be anihilated, 
 and the responsible system itself virtually neutralised in 
 practice. In every instance of a disruption of the Pro- 
 vincial Cabinet, the appeal must be to the country, both 
 parties being amenable to public opinion, as expressed 
 through the representatives of the people in Parliament. 
 If upon the reasons assigned, the Governor General be 
 supported in his views, the ministry are forthwith to be 
 shelved. If, on the other hand, their course be approved, 
 it would be blind policy and rank cowardice to abandon 
 them. This is the great principle involved in the last, 
 and all important head of enquiry. 
 
 This notion of indifference as to the particular per- 
 sons to whom the reins of government are to be confided, 
 is a point which will be pressed upon you in order to 
 sustain the present Ministry. It is a ruse of the enemy 
 which must be defeated, for although a shallow one, it 
 is nevertheless fraught with more danger to the perma- 
 nent establishment of true Responsible Government in 
 the colonies, than any other. i . 
 
 You will be told, with an air of great earnestness, 
 that there is in reality no diflference between His Excel- 
 lency and the late Ministers, about the practical opera- 
 tion of the system, and that he has always professed him- 
 self favorable to the most liberal interpretation of it. In 
 short you may be prepared to hear, that when he decla- 
 red, in his written answer to the explanation of the Ex- 
 Ministers laid before Parliament, that, — " it could not be 
 imagined that the mere form of taking advice, without re- 
 garding it, was the process contemplated" — he meant, 
 what he afterwards publicly announced, — " that he w ould 
 never dream of carrying on the government of the Pro- 
 vince without consulting his Council." It will possibly 
 require all the ingenuity, and all the eloquence, of all 
 the eminent men of his present Council, to persuade 
 you, that there is not in these two declarations, an irre- 
 concilable repugnancy, and that however conscientiously 
 
 D 
 
 
 I 
 
 i 
 
:m 
 
 he may have at one lime iiphehl th<; doctrino contained 
 in the first dechiration, — the [)ronuilg;iti()n oi l\m second 
 one contains irrclVagable proof of his ab;uKh)nment ot" 
 the first, and Lliat he has virtually capitulated upon the 
 main cause of the quarrel, and that his pertinacious and 
 continued hostility to the cause of the E\'-Ministers pre- 
 cludes any charitable supposition, that his first position, 
 though erroneous, was maintained in good faith, or sans 
 
 connaissance dc cause. • • ■ '■'''-• •* - •■ .Min 
 
 It will be attempted, as one of the wiles of the enemy, 
 under the tuition of Lord Stanley, whose object is to 
 burke the invaluable boon conceded to this country un- 
 der the auspices of the Earl of Durham, and reduced to 
 practice under the administration of Sir Charles Bagot, 
 (whose memories you will allow to be unstained with a 
 single act or thought inimical to British supremacy in the 
 colonies ;) — every art will be put in requisition to im- 
 press upon you, that the Responsible Government con- 
 tended for by the Lafontaine — Baldwin administration is 
 inconsistent with the subordinate relation of the Province 
 to the Parent state ; — that it is an imperium in imperio ; — 
 that it is absolute and unqualified independence, and 
 that from the moment of its full and final concession, as 
 now insisted upon, the colonies are gone for ever. — 
 Fudge ! — Believe it not. Draw a clear and distinct line 
 of demarcation between questions of an Imperial, and 
 those of a local nature, and the problem is at once sol- 
 ved. In regard to the management of the latter, we are 
 entided to have a ministry — a st;itg Cabinet — holding 
 ofiice as long as its members command the confidence 
 of the Legislative Assembly, and working the machine 
 of local administration, precisely in the same manner as 
 in the metropolitan Cabinet. I could not more strongly 
 fortify this viewof the subject,than by invoking the publicly 
 pronounced opinion of a distinguished member of the late 
 Legislative Assembly, well known to you all, and to the 
 whole Province, as an eminent Constitutional lawyer, and 
 
35 
 
 out." whose loyally and atiaclimcnl, as well to his So- 
 verign,as to this tlio land of his birlh, are undoubted, and 
 with respect to the lionesLy and independence ol' whose, 
 opinions there is not an individual in either section oi' 
 tlic Province, of whatever origin or party, who enter- 
 tains the shadow of a suspicion. Upon a requisition 
 being addressed to him to conic forward as a Candidate 
 at the late Election, based upon his already declared 
 views on the "general principle of Kesponsiblelity, and 
 his refusal to take otlice under the Viger — Draper 
 Cabinet, in the following terms; — . • . i . ., 
 
 " The undersigned, J:]lectors of the City of Quebec, 
 " assuming, as well from your a])proval, in the late Le- 
 *• gislative Assembly, of the right insisted upon by the 
 " late Ministry, of being consulted by the Head of the 
 " Executive upon all matters touching the administration 
 " of the local affairs of the Country, as from your refu- 
 *' sal to take office under the present Administration, 
 " that you are disposed to carry out the system of 
 *' Responsible Governmcnl recognised in this Province, 
 ** and to advocate its practical application to the local 
 ** affairs of the Province upon the same principles upon 
 " which it is adhered to in the Me^iopolitan Cabinet, 
 ** coupled with a due regard to the dependency of the 
 " Colonies towards the Parent State, and reposing the 
 " highest confidence in your integrity and abilities, and 
 *' in your regard for the inalienable rights of the People, 
 " and the just Prerogatives of the Crown, hereby res- 
 " pectfully request you to come forward as a Candidate, 
 ** at this important political conjuncture, to represent 
 " them in the Provincial Parliament, in conjunction with 
 ** Jean Chabot, Esquire, Advocate." ,, ,; ,,,„. ,{ ,^, „,.., 
 •ti); uiiiH I'i^at Gentleman rtplied ; — ,j^^]; 
 
 " The opinions I am known to entertain in relation to 
 ** a constitutional responsibility of the advisers, ministers 
 " and officers of the Sovereign within the Colony, are 
 ** such as must, I think, be generally recognized as in,- 
 " volving the only principles- upon which the Colonial 
 
 ..-;- 
 
 ir 
 
 i 
 
■i i 
 
 36 
 
 
 « 
 
 (( 
 
 (C 
 
 l( 
 
 « 
 
 ft 
 
 it 
 
 ** administration can be conducted. I cherish the confi- 
 dent hope that they u ill prevail and ultimately secure the 
 peace and prosperity of all the Br""5h North American 
 possessions. Firmly convinced ol the indispensable 
 supremacy of the Paii)nt State, and of the importance 
 of drawing closer the bonds of our union with that 
 great Empire, I feel persuaded that nothing can con- 
 tribute more to this important end than assimilating the 
 administration as uearly as possible to the practice 
 and spirit of tke wise and enlightened government 
 " which it enjoys." 
 
 The votary of Responsible ijovernment, who could 
 pronounce such an answer to such a requisition, as not 
 sufficently embodying all that we are now contending 
 for, is an exalte whose theoretic ardour surpasses his 
 discretion ; and the orthodox supporters of British con- 
 nexion, the consistent legitimists of St. Peter street, who 
 could approve Sir Chailes Metcalfe's Responsible Go- 
 nernment code, and yet take umbrage at this answer, is a 
 'i'ory of the most odious stamp, wanting the usual recti- 
 tude of that class of politicians, and ever ready to adopt 
 any system, — even a democratic one, did it proceed from 
 the mouth of a despot. To such a subservient class, the 
 mere discussica of political rights is offensive, and the 
 most arbitrary Special Council would be distasteful, be- 
 caise of its semblance to a deliberative body. '-^ '^^ » % ^'■■ 
 
 There is another point v/hich though not connected 
 with the question of the day, may yet not be un: orthy 
 of notice. If credit is to be given to rumours which are 
 afloat, without being traceable to any distinct paternity, it 
 would appear that persons belonging to the reforia 
 cause nave it in contemplation to moot the repeal of the 
 Union of the Provinces. There is no one subject which 
 could be broriched in the House at the present juncture; 
 calculated to exert a more baneful effect upon the main 
 question of the day, and the general course of events, 
 than the re-opening of such a vexations point. It is to be 
 
 5 » 
 
 II 
 
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 confi- 
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 rtance 
 h that 
 1 con- 
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 as not 
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 hoped that no individual member will introduce any mea- 
 sure or subject, having a tendency to embarass the great 
 question of the day, or the general policy of the reform 
 party. Let it be remembered that it is now the lavr 
 of the land, and that the late confidential Ministers of the 
 people, whose cauj?e we i^ll suppoi't, have solemnly 
 ratified the Act of Union, by the permanent establishment 
 of the Seat of Government in the City wherein you now 
 hold your deliberations, and that any attempt to disturb it 
 new, would have the twofold eflfect of weakening that 
 cause, and of giving a color to the slanderous imputa- 
 tion which the enemy of that cause has never ceased to 
 promulgate against the Ex-ministers and every man 
 who dares to defend them. It would afford him and his 
 supporters a handle, the preponderating and damaging 
 effect of which would be irretrievable. Besides let it be 
 borne in mind that the Union, (without giving any opi- 
 nion as to the policy of that measure before its enact- 
 ment,) has brought in its train at least two precious 
 gifts, — the concession ot % free constitutional system 
 of government, and a coalition between the inhabitants 
 of the tvo cotintries holding the sam.e political principles, 
 under the benign sway of which the t)tupid — hateful 
 — damnable destinctions of national origin are fast fading 
 away; and that when the stringent enactments of the Union 
 Act respecting the apportionment of the representation, 
 and the provisions of the Civil List, shall have been 
 modified or expunged, its future working may conduce 
 more to the peace of the country, and to the cause of 
 civil liberty, than many of us may have reason at pre- 
 sent to anticipate. 5 i*-^^ ■ -« / >?: i^i^ : i 
 To return •, His Excellency Sir Charles Metcalfe has 
 placed himself in that awkward dilemma that his policy 
 must be subjected to your stern review, with reference 
 to two separate and distinct branches of it ;— the one 
 involving the propriety of his treatment of the Ex- 
 ministers, and the other the constitutionality of the 
 
course pursued by him since the month of December 
 last. Should the result ot your deliberations exonerate 
 the late ministers from all blame, then your endeavours 
 must be directed to reinstate the bark of the constitution 
 in that healthy course which she was pursuing, when the 
 blasting winds of official interference paralyzed her 
 energies, in order at once to establish on a permanent 
 basis, those principles of colonial responsible government, 
 which have been imprudently invaded by the Governor 
 General, and to prevent the country being again con^ 
 vulsed for the purpose of upholding, in an unjust perso-» 
 nal quarrel, one of the contending parties, long after he 
 himself has cried peccavL . 
 
 Should the majority of you, however, find negatively 
 upon the various points now brought under your consi- 
 deration, and throw its weight into the scale in favour of 
 the inculpation, by Sir Charles Metcalfe, of the members 
 of his late cabinet, no doubt can possibly remain that 
 after having come to such a sane conclusion, that 
 Tp jority will tender its ready approbation of the policy 
 of the Governor General since the resignation, and of his 
 present advisers, as well as of any others whom it may 
 please him to honor with his confidence. mI '^tU 'mbav 
 o; The present enquiry is directed chiefly to the cause 
 of the Ex-ministers, as it stood in November last, 
 because in that cause a great principle is at stake, and 
 subsequent events are only entitled to consideration in 
 so far as they extenuate or aggravate the conduct of the 
 belligerents, and thereby reveal the quo animaoi cither^ 
 at the time of the split The wisdom displayed by His 
 Excellency in the choice of his present counsellors, and 
 the policy which they have followed, come not within the 
 immediate scope of the present enquiry. They have 
 both received a sufficient quietus in the fact of their 
 unqualified condemnation by all parties in the Province, 
 of whatever sect or party, , 
 ,,The resignation of the late ministry is an act which 
 
 ; ! 
 
39 
 
 icembef 
 [onerate 
 eavours 
 stitution 
 hen the 
 :ed her 
 •manent 
 rnment, 
 overnor 
 ain con- 
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 after he 
 
 gatively 
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 policy 
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 it may 
 
 e cause 
 er last, 
 ke, and 
 ation in 
 t of the 
 either, 
 by His 
 >rs, and 
 thin the 
 have 
 of their 
 ovince, 
 
 which 
 
 redounds to their infinite honour. It triumphantly refute,^ 
 the bugbear of the worshippers of Special Councils and 
 arbitrary Government, — that we have no materiel in this 
 Province for a Responsible Government, and a Colonial 
 Cabinet removeable at the will of the Assembly. The 
 first ministry under the new system have furnished a 
 brilliant example of public men, who prefer public virtue 
 and principle, to oiiice or emolument, notwithstanding 
 the ravings and the calumnies of a hireling press, who 
 ascribe their conduct to mercenary views. To impute 
 sordid motiv»^s, and a love of office, to men as a reason 
 for resigning lucrative offices, is a contradiction in terms, 
 and so palpably absurd that the judgment of the accuser 
 must be irrecoverably warped by the dishonesty of his 
 own purpose. Such a charge deserves to be placed 
 m :uxta position with that one which characterises 
 il' .,]^onsible Government, i. c. — the free working of the 
 British Constituiion as practised in England ! — to be but 
 another name for an " Elecdve Council,"— i. e. — an or- 
 ganic change in the constitution destructive of its system 
 of checks and balances, and savouring strongly of repu- 
 blicanism, and the insane demand for which, by tjie late 
 Lower Canada Assembly, led to revolt and all its 
 concomitant miseries. It is deplorable that men of 
 standing in the community should be rendered so rabid 
 by opposition and defeat, as not to know that sound 
 moralists i ive long since discarded the flimsy dis* 
 tinction r> .v een private and political integrity, and 
 private a^i ^jolitical turpitude. To charge a large 
 majority oi* ilro people of Canada with treasonable 
 designs, without offering one substantial ground for the 
 accusation, is a flagitious act which ought to be held up 
 to public reprobation, and must be taken as evidence of 
 no earthly object, save a desire to produce the very mis- 
 chief which the chief accuser, and his lackey press, 
 affect • : deprecate. "It is hardly fair" wisely observed 
 the ^t ;N.3stor of Canadian politics," "to ascribe to the 
 
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 ; 1 
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 (( 
 
 Execittwe Councillors, who resigned^ other motives than 
 those which they avow" I ! — as witness his own hand, 
 in his Gazette of the 22nd December, 1843. » v v.».u; j;. 
 In vain will be your acquiescence in all the points pre- 
 viously submitted to your consideration, if they fail to 
 produce that determination upou the fifth head of discus- 
 sion which would seem to be the inevitable consequence 
 of the others. To be of opinion that the Responsible 
 Government of Canada, in the management of its local 
 affairs, is the counterpart of the practical machinery of 
 the British Constitution in the Cabinet of Downing 
 Street : — and that the late ministers surrendered the 
 reius of Government, and their lucrative appendages, un- 
 der a high aud imp ^ative sense of duty, confirmed by 
 the approval of the v. * ^y and the confessions of their 
 adversaries : — and thai their conduct and their mo- 
 tives have emerged scatheless and unsullied from^the ini- 
 quitous crusade, and the war of detraction, which they 
 have endured at the hands of an unscrupulous enemy : — 
 to coincide in these views, and at the same time to 
 withhold, from the Ex-Ministers, that sentence of appro- 
 val, which the injured ever command at the hands of the 
 just, and from their opponents,that rebuke, which is the 
 reward of the aggressor and the slanderer, — is to hold 
 an opinion which is utterly valueless ; it is to deny the 
 sanction which is due to right, and to offer a premium 
 to the wrong-door ; — to refuse justice to the " good and 
 faithful servant" and to applaud the oppressor; it is 
 telling the sinner that he may sin with impunity, and 
 repent without restitution : — it is exhibiting to the world 
 the spectacle of a public Body, presumed to be the con- 
 centrated wisdom and patriotism of the land, conscious 
 of the rectitude of their accredited public servants, and of 
 the jnstice of the sentence pronounced upon them by 
 their former masters ; — yet lacking the moral courage 
 to act upon that opinion, and preferring the unenviable 
 course of sacrificing the honor and independence of pu- 
 
T 
 
 )e8 than 
 n hand, 
 
 tits pre- 
 vail to 
 'discus- 
 iquence 
 jonsible 
 its local 
 inery of 
 downing 
 red the 
 ges, un- 
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 of their 
 )\r mo- 
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 emy: — 
 time to 
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 to hold 
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 ty, and 
 B world 
 lie con- 
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 , and of 
 lem by 
 jourage 
 nviable 
 I of pu- 
 
 blic men, and stultifying the acts of their predecessors^ 
 to a high-minded and impartial discharge of their duty, 
 irrespective of every influence and consideration, save 
 the dictates of justice and the honor of their country. 
 . Remember the golden rule ! The non-observance of 
 it no A will entail endless difficulties upon the country 
 and its well wishers. Should your decision be adverse 
 to right, the lesson will be recorded in indelible charac- 
 ters in the history of your proceedings. In the face of 
 such an example, and after such a disastrous issue to a 
 meritorious struggle for the maintenance of your rights, 
 what man among you, or in all the Province beside, 
 will have the hardihood to take the helm of aff'airs ! The 
 destinies of your country may be hereafter assailed, in 
 perilous times, by political adventu;. jrs clothed with im- 
 perial authority, and the utmost fortitude of which hu- 
 man nature is capable, may be put to the test to enable 
 public men to stand in the breach, in order to frustr^^ite 
 the designs of tyranny. — ^Let the page of history which 
 recites the deeds of the Legislative Assembly of Ca- 
 nada, for the present eventful session, furnish an example 
 that the public men who did not swerve from their duty 
 to the country, were not forgotten nor contemned iu tne 
 hour of trial, and that the eternal dictates of right and 
 jusiicc were not permitted to succumb to selfish consi^ 
 derations of human expediency, or the pressure of poli- 
 tical intrigue. .{ . ..u.,i4 V .4 ,; J., i_ . 
 . It is impossible now to foresee at what period of the 
 session, or in what shape you will be called upon to in- 
 scribe that vote upon the Journals of the House which 
 will record your finding upcn the points now submitted 
 to you. But come it must, — and your judgment must 
 inevitably be that the late Ministers, — havtng been jus- 
 tified in your eyes, must be upheld in their constitutional 
 stand, and your confidence vnthheld from tho • e who have 
 accepted affice in their stead, of whatever party in 
 politics ;ind every man among you must then be prepared 
 
 I ^ 
 
i 
 
 1 
 
 42 
 
 to submit the reasons of his judgment to the tribunal of 
 public opinion, which, sooner or later, will reach with 
 Its avenging hand, every culprit who deserts his country 
 in the hour of trial. 
 
 To that enhghtened and independent portion among you 
 whom no earthly consideration can deter from the perfor- 
 mance of the high duty which now devolves upon you,the 
 present address is a work of supererogation. In wtiatever 
 shape & whatever time the first decisive demonstration of 
 friendship or hostility to the late ministry is made, you 
 will be found at your posts, and "your judgment will be 
 such as to ensure you, to your latest hour, the approval 
 of your consciences, and the applause of your country. 
 To such of you as may have taken your stand among 
 the hostile ranks, under a conscientious belief of the 
 correctness of your course, and whose motives and cha- 
 racters are above suspicion, (for many such there are,) 
 an earnest and solemn appeal is made, and the only 
 Oh which propriety, and a due regard for your integrity 
 and independence will permit, namely, that you will 
 make up your minds after a fair and impartial considera- 
 tion of the case, stripped of every foreign and sinister 
 influence, and render that judgment which you yourselves 
 would expect at the hands of others, were you placed 
 in similar circumstances. 
 
 But to those among you who are ever found marshalled 
 on the side of authority, by whatever hand the sceptre 
 may be wielded, — whose loyalty and whose patriotism 
 take their tone from your official Master, whose life is 
 but a tablet stereotyped in acts of servility to the 
 *• powers that be," — and whose souls are impervious to 
 the anathemas of public opinion, (for some such 
 there are,) — to you I say, hold on inflexibly your 
 undeviating course of tergiversation upon every 
 measure and principle, save your single — eyed alle-^ 
 giance to the automaton of the hour, Beware that you 
 do not betray the caiise of the " Comp?^'*^ " and of your 
 
 ^m 
 
43 
 
 patrons — the tories, officials and fanatics of both sec- 
 tions of the Pro /ince, by a deviation into the paths of 
 truth and independence, but prove ye yourselves ever 
 worthy of your hire. Above all pollute not the cause 
 of freedom, nor transform an honorable defeat into an 
 ignominious victory, by a union with her ranks ; for 
 better by far to her cause the most humiliating failure, 
 than a triumph obtained by such a damaging coalition. 
 To one and all: — Remember that the eyes of the 
 whole Province, — of all the North American Provinces, 
 are fixed upon you. Should you, under the influence of 
 motives of false delicacy, permit the liberal policy which 
 has recently been adopted towards Canada, to be super- 
 seded by the caprice, or the stolidity of the nominees of 
 Downing street, and the intrigues of chronic provincial 
 place-hunters, you will mar the prosperity of that 
 country, of which the guardianship, in an evil hour, 
 will have been confided to your hands, and you will re- 
 commit its destinies, irretrievably, into the hands of the 
 underlings of the Colonial office. Whereas by a firm and 
 independent stand for your political rights, you will 
 establish permanently in Canada, a Colonial cons- 
 titution, possessing, like its revered prototype, all the es- 
 sence,without the vices or the impurities of a democracy, 
 giving the Colonies their legitimate preponderating voice 
 in the management of their affairs, and under the anti septic 
 influence of which, the Colonial Body-Politic will ac- 
 quire health and stability ; and you will thus effectually 
 consign the whole calumnious rebel tribe of Tories,officials 
 and Compact men, to the Tombs of all the Capulets, there 
 to expiate their sins of treason to their country, commit- 
 ted underthe mask of loyalty to their Sovereign. You will 
 mature that spirit of constitutional freedom, intermixed 
 w?th sentiments of loyalty to the Queen, and of gra- 
 titude to the British people, — the fruit of their enlight- 
 ened policy, — which has just begun to dawn upon the 
 British Colonies, prophetic of their future prosperity, and 
 
 H 
 
44 
 
 III 
 
 I ■ 
 
 If '« 
 
 •1- 
 
 II 
 
 their permanent and happy connexion with the parent 
 state. You will re-establish the credit ot the Province 
 of Canada, on that high footing which every man 
 of probity within its limits is conscious that it merits, and 
 you w^ill rescue its peaceful moral inhabitants from the 
 character for turbulence which their enemies have re 
 cently, and most foully, been labouring to affix upon them 
 in the eyes of the whole world. All this you will assuredly 
 accomplish by an upright, straightforward line of con- 
 duct, consonant alike to the dictates of sound loyalty and 
 genuine patriotism, and inflexibly pursued, without fear 
 of censure or hope of reward. And may the eternil 
 prfnciples of truth, honoi and justice overrule your 
 deliberations* 
 
 ZENO. 
 Quebec, 28th Nov. 1844. 
 
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