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If, however, we inquire into this condition as an illustration of the English system of colonial government, the matter becomes of a yet more exten- sive interest, and of a more peculiar import to ourselves as a nation. From our endeavours to govern the Canadas after the approved model of colonial administration, we may, if we be {)rudent, gather a salutary experience ; for we may not merely i earn the vices of the plans hitherto adopted, but may also j acquire a knowledge of the system which true wisdom would | devise for the government of distant possessions. At this moment Lower Canada is virtually without a govern- ment. The public officers have for three years been unpaid ; all communication between the various parts of the legislature , has ceased ; and the House of Assembly has passed resolutions j impeaching the Governor. An immense number of temporary acts, absolutely needed for the very existence of society, have this year expired, and have not been renewed ; and the last session of the colonial legislature has been brought to a sudden termination, through disputes between the Governor and the House of Assembly : so that the administration of justice is unprovided for ; the maintenance of the gaols is not voted, and all the civil functionaries are still unpaid. Such is the state of Lower Canada — Upper Canada is fast verging to the same condition, and will inevitably arrive at it, unless a wise policy be adopted, and good government introduced into these unfor- tunate colonies. We shall, iw the present paper, attempt to describe the cir- cumstances which have led to this disturbed and dangerous condition of' the Canadas — (confining our illustrations chiefly to the lower province, however, in order to avoid confusion*) — and shall endeavour to make this single, though not singular case, illustrate the principle which ought to guide a mother country while administering the affairs of her colonies, in their various states of advancement. In the year 1763, the province of Quebec was ceded by France to England. Two matters of great importance to the present subject wore agreed upon in this treaty. The King of * In the progreHs of our remarks, the i)erfect coincidence of evils in both provinces . will, we feel assured, be made apparent tu every one. B n THE CANADAS AND THEIR GRIEVANCES. England bound himself to allow to the people of the ceded country the free exercise of their religion, and the full and un- disturbed enjoyment of their private property. In the liberal spirit of this treaty, the Act of 14 Geo. III. c. 83, was passed, more effectually to regulate the state of the laws in Canada. By this act the criminal law of England was introduced, with the jury system ; and the customs of Paris, in civil matters, were declared the law of the land. The two Canadas were at this time known by the name of the province of Quebec. By 31 Geo. 111. c. 31, however, this large province was separated inio two parts ; that portion lying on the upper part of the river St. Lawrence Avas called tipper Canada — that on the part nearer the sea was called Lower Canada. As the upper province contained, with few exceptions, none but English settlers, — that is, persons speaking the English language, — the laws of England, both in civil and criminal affairs, were introduced into that colony without admixture of any other code. But in the lower province, as the inhabitants were chiefly of French extraction, the law was regulated ac- cording to the provisions of the above-mentioned enactment, 14 Geo. 111. c. 83. When the province of Quebec was thus divided, a new system of government was introduced. The arbitrary dominion of the king was given up, and the regulation of their internal affairs was confided to the inhabitants of the colonies. A Legislature was created for each province, composed, in both cases — 1st, of a Governor to be chosen by the King ; 2nd, of a Legislative Council, the members of which were to be chosen by the king, and for life ; and, 3rd, of a House of Assembly, elected by the people. By the 18 Geo III. c. 12, all power of taxing the colonies, for the benefit of the mother country, had been solemnly given up. This salutary enactment was wrung from the fears of the British parliament, by the disastrous events of the struggle with our colonies, now composing the United States of America. For some years after the establishment of these legislatures, the affairs of both provinces proceeded smoothly and without interruption. Upper Canada was struggling into existence. A very few inhabitants composed its whole population, and these few had all those difficulties to encounter which beset new settlers in a new country, and were too much occupied with the pressing exigencies of their condition to have time or atten- tion for aught else. The inhabitants of Upper Canada were ■ m THK CANADAS AND TIIKIR ORIEVANCliS. 3 1 at that time chiefly loyalist emigrants from the revolted colo- nics. The chio^ men among them composed the local govern- Uicnt, which for a time, in this position of affairs, had no directly evil influence on the mass of the inhabitants. In Lower Canada there was the same quiet, but arising from dif- ferent reasons. The French had been wholly unaccustomed to self-government — had been so long under the dominion of an absolute governor, that the milder sway of England, even when exercised by a single person, was considered as an amelioration of their condition. For the good thus conferred on them the French Canadians were intensely grateful. Their love for England was enthusiastic ; and so strong has been that feeling, that years of subsequent oppression have not yet effaced it. The strength of their affection for the mother country was strikingly evinced during both the wars waged with the United States. The Canadas remained faithful to England in spite of the pressing solicitations of the Americans during their struggle for freedom, and still continued subject to our dominion when the thirteen provinces vindicated to themselves a glorious inde- pendence. Again, during the last war, the Canadians, un- assisted by our armies, repulsed an invasion of the Americans, and gallantly turned out their militia to a man, when inaction alone would have been sufficient to set them free from England. When the Peninsular war ceased, troops were poured into Ca- nada, and the country became one large garrison. The colony was found a profitable possession, containing the means of feed- ing many of our illustrious poor. The soldiery, too, now formed a society apart. They condescended only to mix with the richer merchants and official persons, who could supply them with the expensive pleasures of exalted society. Contempt for the mass of the people became fashionable ; and the bitter seeds of ani- mosity were profusely scattered from one end of the country to the other. We shall now describe the course of events in Lower Canada. The people at length became accustomed to the government which England had conferred on them ; and learned to appre- ciate the power i)ut into their hands. The House of Assembly requested to be permitted to pay their own functionaries.* To * This request was first made in 1810, The mode in which this roqucst was met vividly iUiistrates the spirit of the offii-ial party. We quote, from a work by Mr. Andrew Stuart, now one of the chiefs of the Aiiti-Canadiau junta,— time was when he figured as a Canadian patriot: — "The officiul men, who in colonies constihite a peculiar class, having; been entirely uncontrolled, had obtained a degree of power which overbhadowtd all other classes in society ; and the main object of the hi^^hly piiti iotic individual who introduced this measure originally in 1810, the late Honourable Mr. B 2 4 THi: CANADAS AND THKIU GUIKVANCES. this demand the official people made a furious opposition. In time, however, it was conipUed with. The result intended fol- lowed. The official persons became amenable to the House of Assembly — tlie House of Assembly was but the expression of the people's wishes — and that people these official persona had hitherto delighted in describing as exceedingly contemptible. They now began to reap their reward. It was a galling and humiliating tiling to owe your daily bread to persons whom you despised. Vou had licen accustomed to exclude this vulijar herd from your society, and now they suddenly became your masters. I'he thing being intolerable, means were sought to resist it. Means were at hand ; the evil composition of the government allowing functionaries desirous of escaping from responsibility to fight a harassing and mischievous fight with the people whom they served. Besides the legislative body above described, for the purpose of carrying on the government, a council existed called the executive council. This body is compared with the privy council in England, but in reality bears no analogy to it ; being, in fact, the actual administrative government of the province. The governor sent from England is always ignorant of the country, and usually knows little of the business of go- vernment, being chosen, not because he is fit for the office, but because he wants a lucrative situation. To enlighten his ig- norance, and prevent the evil effects that might result there- from, he is surrounded with a council to advise him. This council is permanent ; he is but a bird of passage. The mo- ment he lands, the first persons he sees are those of the council. They describe to him the state of the country after their own opinions; he r?,turally listens and believes. Besides, he dines and lives with the council. They flatter him ; they relieve him from the difficulties of his position ; and if any body says any ill of him while he is their tool, they are vehement in his de- fence, and describe the offenders as disloyal and impious. Should, however, a governor be strong-minded enough to re- sist these arts, they of the council quickly relieve themselves of his dominion through the influence of the Colonial-office. Thus, in fact, they rule the country. At the time of which we are now speaking, the executive council was not only identical in feeling with the legislative council — one branch of the legislature — but identical in per- Justice Bedard, then advocate at tlie bar of Quebec, was to obtain a check upon the official clabs. As a reward I'ur this patriotic etfurt, this man, distinguished as he was for ability, for singleness of heart, and for a dcvote<1 attachment to constitutional principles, was, with some of his supporters, lodged in the comnvm gavlfor the dittrict of Quebec." I Bwaar"B»^ I THE CANAD^S AND THEIR GRIEVANCES. ft sons. 'J'hus the executive council not merely divoctcd the ad- ministration of the country, but really interfered with tlie whole business of the legislature. Various were the schemes for avoiding responsi])ility ; and it will be found that all the disturbances which have arisen in Canada have had this wish to escape from responsibility for their cause ; and that the persons who have entertained and acted on it have, solely through the interference of the Co- lonial-office, been enabled to stir up a commotion that threatens the loss of these important possessions. The Colonial-oifice, no matter who has happened to be at its head, has invariably sympathized with the officials hating control, and not with the people seeking to make them useful and responsible servants This sympathy has guided the Colonial-office in most of their jroccedings ; but where by chance they felt right, and wished to act so, the gi'oss ignorance which prevailed within that Augean precinct has abvays paralyzed their efforts, and made them go wrong, spite of tneir passing desire to go right. Various, we say, were the schemes adopted to free the official gentry from a disagreeable responsibility to the people : a few of these notable plans deserve to l)e recorded. The first of these specimens of official ingenuity was the demand, on the part of tne colonial government, that all the civil expenses should be voted in one sum — en bloc, as it was termed ; the next, that the Civil-list should be permanent. The House of Assembly, after the fashion of plain men of business, care- fully inquired into each individual office, asked why it was needed, and who filled it — and having learned what was the service, determined what it was worth, by apportioning to it a salary. This evidently was disagreeable — it was, in colonial language, exceedingly pitiful — it war anti-monarchical — it was republican — none but traitors would have conceived so despicable a method ; therefore the colonial government desired of the House that they would not trouble themselves about items, but give them a round sum, and promised that they, the government, would see to its ]n*oper distribution. This preposterous proposal was very properly refused. The refusal raised an amazing outcry, and England was persuaded that the colony was in an exceedingly bad way, and that a strong handed governor was needed. The late Duke of Kichmond was therefore dispatched to keep in order the unruly province. Hardly a person in the pro\nnce had ever seen a duke — the first and last that had appeared among them was the Duke of Kent — and this apparition, from having been short and frequently talked of, rather enhanced the worth of a duke in the abstract. It was no unwise policy, on 6 THi; CANADAS AND THKIR ORIEVANCKS. the whole, therefore, to send a person possessing so sounding a title as duke. The Duke of Richmond came — he was sup- posed to have extraordinary powers — he was to dazzle the Assembly into compliance. With gi'eat pomp, and with the firing of many guns, which broke many windows, he opened the session of the provincial parliament. He was surrounded by his sons and daughters, and they were lords and ladies, by courtesy at least. He had a gay and brilliant procession, and the plam and simple burghers of Canada looked on, wondered, and quietly asked who was to pay for the show. The theatrical pageant failed — the House of Assembly refused, even to a duke, the demand of the official servants, who were employing him as their tool. The wonder and the outcry were immense. This surpassed all former atrocity. So great a man to have so small an influence ! a great man bearing not merely the king's commission but the king s arms, and that, by some manoeuvre, without the bend sinister ! The whole matter was dreadful, and exceedingly puzzled the persons who had contrived the pageant and the plot. Still they hoped much from the ])owerful duke. These hopes were disappointed by the unexpected death of the G overnor- General. The Colonial-office sent out in his place Lord Dalhousie. Now Lord Dalhousie was a soldier — he was the friend of the Duke of Wellington, he was poor, and had to be provided for, therefore he was a fit man to be the governor of a province placed in exceedingly difficult and delicate circumstances. He came, made the same demand as his predecessor, and got the same answer. Then came the other notable scheme : one that is still pressed, and which has been the immediate cause of the dis- tractions now existing. On the accession of George IV., a new demand was made, viz., that the Assembly, after the fashion of the House of Commons, should grant a Civil- list for the life of the king. This, and wisely too, the House refused, there being no analogy between the two cases. In England a quid pro quo is given — a revenue is granted to the king, because he gives up certain hereditary revenues. This plan has never been tried with the Canadians. The whole revenue has never yet been given up to the province, nor the House of Assembly made the paramount purse-holder of the country. Again, it should be observed that the Civil-list in England forms but a small item of the whole expenses of government ; so that by granting it, no real control is given up by the people. This is not the case in Canada — by giving a permanent Civil-list, the House of Assembly would be rendered nearly powerless. It y p V \ the the the by and ed, ical a mg iisc. so THli CANADAS AND THEIR GRIEVANCES. 7 should bo remembered also, that in Canada the soldiery is be- yond the control of the House. There is no Mutiny-bill to be passed annually ; the House of Assembly therefore has not the ])eculiar power possessed by the House of Commons, a power which of itself renders that House necessarily predominant in the state, and which makes it incumbent on the ministry to call them together every year, however painful it may be to meet the representatives of the people. This demand of a permanent Civil-list was also refused.* While these disputes were going on between the official tribe and the House of Assembly, political knowledge and foresight were gradually being acquired by the represen- tatives of the people. 1 he persecutions in Ireland have pro- duced O'Conncll, the misgovernment of Canada (which, as will quickly appear, bears a strong resemblance to the fate of that unfortunate coiintry) has produced its O Connell also in the person of M. Papineau. For nearly twenty years he has directed the proceedings of the House of Assembly, and for the greater part of that time has been its speaker. As he has steadily adhered to the cause of his countrymen, and has mani- fested great talent in the direction of their political efforts, he has been furiously assailed by the loyal persons in Canada, and by the hireling press which is at their command. If any of our readers, therefore, who interest themselves in colonial politics, should find one M. Papineau constantly spoken of, and often vehemently abused, and should desire to know who and what M. Papineau may be, we would say to him, that M. Papineau has steadily, warmly, successfully, and with great ability fought the fight of the people of his native country ; that by that !)cople he is beloved as their benefactor ; that by their enemies le is hated, feared, and consequently abused. Through his endeavours, the effectual stand has been made against the faction who have endeavoured to farm out the province to their own benefit ; by him the efficient opposition to their attempts, which we are now about to describe, has been or- ganised, sustained, and rendered ultimately successful. Wc need no further explanation of the bitter hatred which is mani- fested towards him, or of the virulent abuse by which he has been and continues to be assailed. The House of Assembly was, at the period of Lord Dal- housie's government, a body possessing feelings very different from those entertained by their early predecessors. The lead- ing men in it thoroughly understood the value of the political * The subsequent pruceediiigs respecting the Civil-list will be described in u luter portion of this paper. 8 TIIK CANADAS AND TIIKIU GRlliVAMKS. instrument placed in their hands by the government of Eng- land ; they perceived moreover the many mischiefs which were produced by the actual government of the province, and they determined to use the constitutional powers of the House of Assembly as instruments to eradicate the evils that still existed in their political system. The use of these powers to this end has raised the furious outcry that is now being made by the official tribe — and we shall now proceed to show the nature of the evils complained of, and the method pursued by the House to root them out. 1. The first class of evils related to finance. The repre- sentatives of the people complained, that the resources of their country were employed by persons not responsible to the people ; that the money of the people was therefore s(juandereu ; that they, the representatives, were unable to obtain accurate ac- counts either of the receipts or the expenditure of the govern- ment; and that the people were taxed without the consent of their representatives. 2. The second class of evils related to the administration of justice. The representatives of the people complained of the perfect irresponsibility of the judges to any one excejjt the English Colonial-office. They asserted, moreover, that this responsibility was in fact a farce, as the Colonial-office placed implicit confidence in the Executive Council, and this Executive Council was composed in a large ])art by the judges, and had interests and symj)athies identical with theirs. Many and flagrant instances of injustice were specified and complained of. Moreover it was stated, that suspicion must ever attach to political judges ; that the judges of I^ower Canada, by being members of the I^cgislative and Executive Councils, were of necessity political judges, and were, in fact, sup])osed by the people to be improperly biassed by their jiolitical opinions. It was also asserted that justice was too dear — that, espe cially in a poor and new country, struggling with the great difficulties which attend necessarily upon a people in the situa- tion of the Canadians, justice should not only be cheap, but at every body's door. The representatives complained, that many salutary laws passed by them, who knew the wants and wishes of the people, had been rejected by the Legislative Council, which was ignorant of the wants of the people, and careless respecting their wishes. It was further urged as matter of complaint, that, under the then jury system, the sheriffs were able to compose a panel as they desired; that these sheriffs, being salaried officers, de- pending for their possession of office on the mere will of the exi bel j"( col sei wll S» thl cf c( ot| thl mtm THl-: CANADA8 AND THKIR OUIKVANCES. e of stcd end r tlio o of ousu f I executive, were, in fact, subservient tools to the executive ; and being suspected, and that often but too justly, they poisoned justiro at the fountain, and spread dismay throughout the country.* 3. The next class of evils related to education. The repre- sentatives of the people complained, that among the revenues which the Crown had possessed itself of, were certain large and growing estates belonging to the late order of Jesuits ; that these estates had, before they came into the possession of the Crown, been dedicated to the instruction of youth ; but that the Crown had taken the whole of the estates, and applied them to other purposes, and, furthermore, had converted the College of the Jesuits at Quebec into a soldiers' barrack. They also complained that no attempts bad been made by government to spread education among the mass of the people; but that, on the contrary, the Legislative Council, which was wholly under tlic control of the executive, constantly rejected many salutary bills passed by the House of Assembly to further the education of the people in the rural districts. Connected with this subject was the complaint respecting the j)vovisi<)n made for the clergy of the Church of England. Among a population four-fifths of whom were Catholic, one- seventh of tne whole lands of the country was set apart for the clergy of the Church of England. This appropriation was bitterly complained of, first, as an attempt to introduce a church establishment in opposition to the opinions and feelings of the people; and, secondly, as a direct robbery of a fund which ought to be aj)plied to the education of the whole people, with- out reference to sect or origin. 4. 'I'he next class of evils complained of related to attempts made by the English Parliament to alter the laws regulating the internal affairs of the colony. 5. The last class of evils to which we shall allude, as com- ])lained of by the Canadian representatives, related to the gene- ral administration of the government. They complained that the whole administration was a scheme of favouritism ; that, in order to secure the lucrative offices in the hands of a small set of families, attempts were constantly made to sow dissen- sions among the different classes of the people ; that merit, if '*' This jury systim has siiiuu beun changed, but much of the evil complained uf remains. The art oi pacfdttn juries is nut peculiar tu England. We have taught it to our colonial suhjectN. The sherifiH of Canada tire still officers dependent imme* diately on the executive, and when ordered, have not scrupled to act in direct opposi- tion to the new jury law. VVitncHs the conduct of the hheiiti'ot' Montreal, in packing the jury which had to determine on the bills uf indictment preferred against the parties* concerned in the too notorious massacre of May, 1833. 10 THE CANADAS AND THEIR GttlEVANCES. evinced by one not of the family party ruling in Quebec and Montreal, was wholly neglected ; that, by this means, constant heartburnings were raised among the educated classes, and great evil done to the community by the employment of com- paratively inefficient and useless functionaries. From tins catalogue of grievances, it will at once be evident, that the sum of the complaints was, that the people had not themselves the control of their own government. Whether the representatives then saw that this was the real grievance, we cannot pietend to determine. It is certain, however, that they then proposed no plan of more effectually placing the control over the government in their own hands, but merely confined their demands to matters which could only temporarily alleviate the evil. In other words, they then scuglit only for the re- moval of obnoxious officers, and not for organic changes in their goveriiment. When the House of Assembly, in addition to its sturdy re- fusal to grant a permanent civil-list, as well as to vote the whole in one sum, continued loudly to complain respecting the list of grievances above mentioned, the case began to appear desperate in the eyes of the official party. A remedy was therefore sought equal to the occasion. Hitherto Upper Canada had showed no symptoms of complaint. A majority of the House of Assembly in that province voted with the executive govern- ment, and all was apparently peace and comfort among the official party there. I'hc official party in Lower Canada, seeing two countries, in situations apparently so similar, pursuing courses so opposed, were perplexed, and sought a solution of the difficulty. They fancied they had discovered it in the differ- ence of origin. It was believed that the Lower Canadians were turbulent, because they were French ; and that the Upper Cana- dians were quiet, because descended from Americans, English, Scotch, and Irish. This explanation of the phenomenon sug- gested a remedy for the evil which afflicted the Lower Cana- dian executive. They fancied that if these two bodies of people could be united, and placed under one government, in whicli care was to be taken to secure a majority of votes in the House of As- sembly to the quiet, viz. Upper Canadian portion, all their dis- tresses would immediately be relieved. In thir:, notable opinion originated tl e plan of uniting tlie two provinces. The Colo- nial-office, as usual, was ready tc act as the Executive Govern- ment desired; and a bill was brought into Parliament to effect a junction of the two provinces. This was done v;ithout the slightest appeal to the people of either colony ; and the pro- posers of it hoped that it might be smuggled through the H an fe I? THE CANADAS AND THEIR GRIEVANCES. 11 Jc and nstant and com- ident, d not lether ce, wo they ontrol fined I.' House. Unfortunately for them, it was opposed by Mr. Hume and others. Time was given to the colonists to express their feelings respecting it, when so unanimous were both provinces against the union, that the plan was necessarily abandoned. During the disputes which were carried on respecting the grievances complained of on the part of the House of Assembly, and the demand for a permanent civil-list on the part of the Executive Government, the various officers of the country were in danger of being unpaid. The House of Assembly was in- duced to refuse the supplies from a variety of causes ; the most immediate and pressing, however, was the state of the treasury of the province. As the circmnstances connected with this su bject illustrate, in a remarkable manner, the general system of our colonial policy, and as the matter is one of the most crying cases of abuse complained of by the Canadian people, we shall relate the history of the whole affair son.ewhat at length. The receiver-general of the province is an officer appointed by the Crown ; he is responsible also to the Crown, giving secu- rity in case of default to the executive alone, that is, to the government of England. This receiver-general receives all the revenues of Canada, as well that jjortion over which the House of Assembly is allowed to have control, as that which the Exe- cutive Government claims to have solely within its own power. The late receiver-general, Sir John Caldwell, succeeded his father in this situation. Both the one and the other were vehemently suspected of having appropriated the monies of the province to their own private use. In order to ascertain whe- ther these suspicions were well founded, and also in the pursu- ance of their ordinary duty, the House demanded of the receiver- general an account of tlieir money in his i^ands. Will it be believed that Sir John Caldwell not only refused to render such an account, but that the Executive Ciovernment of Canada sup- ported him in his contumacy? Further yet than this, the Colo- nial-office, the ever-ready and powerful engine of the colonial executive, looked on calmly while such a flagrant act of dis- obedience and dishonesty was performing. Lord Dalhousie, who was asking in a haughty manner of the House that they would confide in his honesty and prudence, and relieve him and his government from responsibility, was the protector of this public officer while refusing what every honest man would have voluntarily offered. The House, indignant at such conduct, were determined to settle the matter between themselves and this rebellious servant. They appropriated no monies to the public service, leaving the governor to get what he could out of the chest of the receiver-general. Thus driven, the governor. ■P 12 THIi CANADAS AND TMKIR (iKIlVANCllS. who, while it suited his purpose, shielded the receiver-general, drew bills on him now that he coxdd get nothing from the House. The result justified the suspicions and the conduct of the House. The receiver-general was found to be a defaulter to the amount of 100,000/. It appeared that his father before him had employed the money of the people, and had bequeathed the debts and the situation to the son. The son, well knowing his father's insolvency, nevertheless took the office, and, instead of diminishing, greatly increased the debt due to the state. He lived in a sumptuous style, such as was befitting a great person in Quebec; he bought estates, and foreseeing that some day his bankruptcy must be known, he craftily liad all his father's estates entailed upon his son. llie government, under the ])ressure of the House of Assembly, sued him for the money, and got judgment against him. And now was seen the exquisite machinery by which justice is administered in Canada. Tiic son of the defaulter claimed tlie estates of his grandfather under the entail. He lost his suit, but he has been able, by appeals from one court to another, and at last to the privy council in England, to stave off the evil hour of restitution. To this moment the debt remains unpaid.* The governor was now driven into great straits. He had no chest to draw from, and he had a clamorous set of officials. They and he devised a plan (these people are famous for their plans). He divided the various officers into two classes, the necessary, and tlie urgently necessary, and proposed to pay the latter out of the funds supposed to be under the control of the executive. The revenues of Lower Canada arise from the following sources — 1. The Jesuits' and other estates. 2. The land and timber fund. 3. Fines and dues resulting from seigneuries. 4. Certain duties imposed bv the imperial legislature ; 5. And duties imposed by the provincial legislature. The money accruing from the first four sources was at that time deemed under the control of the executive. But as this sum was not sufficient to pay the whole expenses of the govern- ment ; and as the Assembly was called upon to furnish the re- * We may relate the remaiutler of this aifair in a ncte. Sir John Caldwell is still a legislative councillor. He pays the governmt'nt 2000/. a jear out of an estate worth 5000/. a year ; thus depriving the pi'ople every year of some .3000/. Ilis debt and interest now amount to 150,000/., and no means have been taken by the govern- ment to pay Canada one farthing. A judgment has I tely been obtained in the Privy Council against the sun ; liiat is, aome fii'teen ye-us after the acknowledgment of the default ; but the debt is still unpaid. &- ^ THK CANADAS AND THKIR GRIKVANCKS. j;} of I I mainder, they thus virtually became supervisors of the whole. This is now always admitted. At that time a different doctrine was promulgated : it was then attempted to confine the power and the inspection of the House to the sum which the House itself specifically afforded. Having divided the civil-list as above stated, the governor determined, without the permission of the House, to pay the urycntly necessary officers out of the funds supposed tv be under the control of the executive. The Assembly, justly indignant at such a proceeding, determined to complain to the general government : the governor, on his part, commenced a system of pitiful vexations. He put affronts on the Canadians, that is, the French Canadians, as distinguished from persons speaking English. He dismissed certain officers of militia, f t having voted in a manner contrary to his Lordship's desire. He in- duced the government of England to interfere with the internal legislation of the country ; and by an ordinary, but by no means honest proceeding, he and his party smuggled into a bill for the regulation of the trade with America, a provision for a change of the law relating to the tenure of lands in Canada. His offences towards the people amounted now to a formidable and intolerable sum. He had throughout his government vexed and insulted the people personally : he had endeavoured to unite the two provinces, in the hope of crushing the liberal party in Lower Canada : he had illegally seized upon and ap- propriated the monies of the people : he had endeavoured to screen a great public defaulter : he had unjustly treated a large body of the militia — had surreptitiously endeavoured to meddle with the laws of the people, thus eventually leading to the intro- duction and enactment of the Canada Tenures Act, in 182(j* — and, finally, had fought a disgraceful fight with the House of Assembly, for a permanent civil-list, in order to ensure the irresponsibility of the official persons by whom he was sur- rounded, and by whom he was made a subservient tool. By thus linking himself with this official party, he plainly showed the people that his sympathies were with their oppressors, and they therefore determined to be rid of his dominion. The whole people were roused, and petitioned the Parliament of England to remove him. They also set forth a detailed account of their grievances, and prayed that they might be effectually remedied. The consequence of these petitions was the appointment of a committee by the House of Commons, to inquire into the griev- ■* This subject will be more fully trea. i hereafter. We shall have to speak of the (liitputes r«)«|iectinff the tenure of land, and the reader will then see why the Caaudiau (wople were iadignaut at thin proceeding on the part of the governaieut. 14 THK CANADAS AND THKIR GRIEVANCKS. J \ ances .alleged. This committee allowed that all the more im- portant assertions of the petitions were proved : they allowed also, that the system of government was a bad one ; and they thereupon made certain suggestions — all mere palliatives, which served in the end to increase instead of alleviating the mis- chief. Lord Dalhousie was recalled ; and a sy&tem of concili- ation was attempted. Sir James Kempt, by behaving with common civility, gained the good will of the people. He saw, however, that the causes of evil were beyond his power, and he wisely, after a short experience, retired from the government. It was at this period that the home government made certain modified proposals to the House of Assembly respecting a per- manent civil-list. The original demand was, that the whole of the civil servants should be ])ermanently provided for; now, however, the home government having taken up the matter, far less was required. It was proposed that the governor, or person acting in the place of governor, his secretary, and the judges,* should alone be included in the permanent civil-list; ar.u in order to induce the House to gi'ant this, the government pro- mised to fulfil an engagement made on the part of the British government some time previous to the end of the last century, and still left unperformed. They agreed to pass an act of Par- liament, placing at the disposal of the House of Assembly cer- tain duties levied under acts of the Imperial Parliament. The House of Assembly agreed to this arrangement. At this time Lord Aylmer was appointed governor. The promised act of Parliament was passed, and the House of As- sembly passed the permanent civil-list. The bill passed the legislative council, was sanctioned by the governor, and its con- firmation tvas refused by the home government, upon a point of form which many have attempted to explain, but as yet the world cannot understand it. Shortly after this Mr. Stanley succeeded to the seals of the Colonial-office, aiid all hope of amicable arrangement quickly disappeared. The governor got into disputes and quarrels with the House of Assembly ; the Legislative Council, taking advantage of the confusion, exercised its privilege of rejecting bills passed in the Assembly far more freely than was consistent with the welfare of the people, and also quarrelled with the House of Assembly. * There is a curious fatality, it would Bceni, in these matters. lu our disputes with our old American colonies, this precise demand was made and indignantly re- fused — the colonists UNsigniiig, as the reason of their refusiil, that they liked to have their own servants under their own control. In one case a judge, who on the stoppage of supplies received his salary from the executive, was impeached by the colonial legislature tor so doing. The precedent is not a bad one, and might upon occasion be usefully followed. f I THE CANADAS AND THEIR GRIEVANCES. 15 I At this period, also, arose the demand of the people for an elective council, in place of the present legislative council ap- Sointed for life by the Crown. The House of Assembly ad- rcssed the Crown on the subject. They stated the grievance, and proposed the remedy ; but suggested that, with regard to so great an alteration of the constitution, the wishes of the people should first be carefully inquired into. They therefore proposed that a convention should be called, to ascertain the feehngs of the people ; and that, if this convention should decide in favour of an elective council, an act of parliament should be passed to alter the present fc^m of their government. Lord Stanley, in answer to tnis address, read the Assembly a lecture, and put a false construction on their demands, calling the convention proposed a national convention, thus conveying unjust insinuations by means of an unpopular phrase with which were associated ideas of revolution and massacre. This conduct raised a flame that still burns, and which vnW continue to burn, until every evil be redressed by England, or the Canadas withdrawn from our dominion. The House of Assembly passed, on the receipt of his despatch, their famous ninety-two resolu- tions ; they expunged the despatch from their journals ; they formally declared the governor guilty of crimes deserving of impeachment, and they petitioned the Imperial Parliament to grant them redress. Mr. lloebuck presented their petition, and moved for a committee to inquire into the defects existing in the form of the Canadian governments. Lord Stanley opposed this motion, on the ground that Upper Canada had nothing to complain of, and that she did not complain ; and moved as an amendment, that a committee should be appointed to inquire whether the recommendations of the committee of 1828 had been carried into execution. This was granted. In the midst of this committee's labours Lord Stanley left office, and Mr. Spring Rice succeeded him. The new Secretary entered into negotiations with Mr. Roebuck and the Canadian agents, holding out fair promises, in order that he might begin his government undisturbed by the inquiries of the committee. Previous to the appointment of this committee. Lord Stanley had given notice that he would bring in a bill to repeal the late act of the Imperial Legislature, passed according to the ar- rangement made with tiie House of Assembly. He did this, in reality, because the House had stopped the supplies, and thus liaa driven the government to extremities.* He wished * Lord Stanley foutul i'uult with the House for fullowing this course, though he himself had recommended such a course to the House of Assembly of Upper Canada. This recommendatioa certainly was made while the noble lord was out of oiBce. 16 TIIK CANADAS AND THEIR GRIEVANCES. to get back into his power some portion of the revenue, so that he might not be dependent on the House of Assembly for the means of carrying on the government. The reason, however, which he assigned for this proceeding was that the House of Assembly had not performea their portion of the engagement. Lord Dalhousie, when in the same position, had actually taken the money out of the provincial treasury and applied it as he liked. Lord Stanley nad too often and too publicly inveighed against this proceeding, to be able to follow the example. He endeavoured to gain the same end by different means ; viz., by the assistance of Parliament. Mr. Spring Rice made a voluntary offer to desist from this plan of Lord Stanley, and solemnly condemned the conduct of Lord Dalhousie. This offer to the agents, and to Mr. Roebuck, was the basis of the negotiation which followed. It was acknowledged that the constitutional mode for the Assembly to attain its end was stopping the supplies. In his constitutional ardour, Mr. Spring Rice further saicf, that he would be no party to any attempt to deprive the House of this proper and constitutional check upon its ser- vants. He therefore declared that he would do nothing to pay the public servants ; he would not pursue either of the only two modes open to him ; viz., would neither seize the money after the fashion of Lord Dalhousie, nor apply for an Act of Parliament after the mode intended by Lord Stanley. He would, he said, trust to the Assembly. He knew nothing of the question as yet ; he was young in office, and sought time to learn his duty, and hoped the House would grant him the opportunity. They could do so only in one way : they could grant supplies, as during Sir James Kempt's administration, under protest. They would thus still retain their constitutional power over their servants, and yet give him a fair opportunity of amicably settling the matters complained of. He asked fur- ther, that the agents and Mr. Roebuck would agree to close the committee. This was agreed, upon the understanding that nobody should be inculpated, and a mere formal report agreed upon. The committee closed its labours by making such a report, and the agents returned to Canada with the impres- sion that Mr. Rice was about immediately to recall Lord Aylmer ; to call together the provincial parliament early in November, in order that the servants of the public might then be paid ; and that he was about to adopt a liberal and en- lightened policy as respected their country. Mr. Roebu'*k also wrote to the leaders of the popular party to the same effect, and advised, that they should forbear for the present, and give the minister an opportunity of voluntarily doing justice to ha ui Ci :M Tlir. CANADAS AND TllKlU GUIKVANCF.S. 17 so that for the lowever, louse of gement. ly taken it as he veighed e. He viz., by ►luntary olemnly to the otiation tutional ing the further ive the its ser- ^ to pay he only money I Act of y. He hing of it time im the y could tration, utional rtunity ed fur- 3 close ig that agreed juch a npres- Lord rly in it then d en- k also effect, 1 give ;ce to # -V 1 J Canada. The leaders acquiesced, and all was now apparent harmony, and men looked ibrward to a change of measures and men. What, then, was the surprise and indignation of the Canadians, when they found that the whole proc(>cding', on the part of Mr. S. Rice, was a manoeuvre to jrain time, and to got rid of an immediate and pressing difficulty ! It was evident that he never had an intention of satisfying the expectations he had designedly raised. Lord Aylmer was not recalled ; the servants of the public were paid by the authority of the colonial minister,* and a furious partisan of the official party was raised to thcf bench. Nothing, in short, was changed ; Mr. S. Rice, after all his fair promises and fine words, following in the footsteps of his predecessors. Fortunately, Mr. Rice was somewhat too hasty in evincing the spirit which was to govern his councils. His proceedings were discovered before the general election, and mainly served to fill the Assembly with members pledged to the princij)le of an elective coimcil. Mr. Spring Rice Inid, among other things, promised to call the provincial parliament togetlier (^arly in November ; but before he could perform this promise, Lord ]Melbourne's ministry was dismissed. Mr. Ric(> declares, that on the very day on which this occurred, he was to have submitted his matured plans for the future government of Canada to the cabinet. It was unfortUiiate for Mr. Rice that his good inten- tions were so long delayed. Judging from what he had already done, the public were not inclined to augur well of his future acts. Of the benefits that he desired to confer on Canada we have no evidence but his own declarations, — and as these are in direct opposition to his former conduct, they do not carry with them that confidence which should at all times attach to the state- ments of persons in powerful and exalted stations. * The House of Assembly of Lower Canada, by a p.titiou to tlie Imperial Parlia- ment, a;;ree(l to February 28, 183,5, and iiiesenti'd this session, has thus expressed its opinion ol" this proceedinfj : ' The contiiuied dilapidations of the revenues of the pro- vince, in direct violation of the convlitution, are another source of i)lan)e to his M;i- jesty's Canadian subji'cts. After the abanduiniu'nt of the late colonial secrelarv *s project to seize upon the s'.'il revenues, by suspending an act which did no more thuu confirm to the (!onimons of Lower ('anacl.i a ri>{ht previously reco;.'nised, without con- ferring aiiv new privileges, his Majesty's ("anadian 8id)ject8 did not expect to be so soon called upon to resist similar unconstitutional encroachments and dilapidations ; yet very recently the indisputable privileges of the Assembly have been again vio- lated by the p.iyment of the public servants without the sanction or cognizance of the only body authurized to give such sanction. That the people of the old colonies, now the United Statis of North Ami rica, however much they were aggravat< d by attempts at tmconstitutioual taxation, had much less to complain of on the score of executive usurpation than the people of this province — the Assembly having repeatedly declared its fixed determination nut to sanction that which it must ever consider a tyrannical violation of its rights, and which the people of this province regard as a virtual disso- lution of the constitution, and for the consequences of which your petitioners cannot answer.' q 18 Tin; CANADAS AND THEIR GRIEVANCES. Wlicn Lord Aberdeen succeeded Mr. Rice he found every tiling in confusion, and the difficulties of the question far greater than when it was first submitted to Mr. Rice. On the \)i\i of March Mr. Roebuck presented a petition from members of both houses of the provincial legislature, praying for redress of grievances. Sir Robert Peel then declared, that it was the intention of his government to send out a commission to Canada, to see what could be done, and to do it.* Shortly after, his ministry left office, and the Whigs returned. They took advantage of Sir Robert Peel's plan, and determined also to send a commission. Their commission, it appears, is only instructed to inquire. If this be so, it is only a pretence, as the evidence needed is already before the Government ; and all that they have now to do is, to declare explicitly the conces- sions they have determined to make. The present demands of the House of Assembly include one item not mentioned in the year 1828. At that time they sought to palliate evils, not to eradicate them. Finding that even these moderate demands were not acceded to, they have wisely proceeded further; and now seek a radical reform in their constitution. They sec whence all the mischief arises, and direct their chief attention to that point ; they see that the official party have been able to resist the wishes of the people by means of the Legislative Council. This Legislative Council they therefore seek to change, and now demand of the Home Government to constitute it in such a manner as to make it express the feelings of the great body of the popula- tion. They very properly declare, that the only mode of making it such an expression of the popular voice is to render it elective. This now forms the first and chief of the demands of the House of Assembly. In other respects the complaints now made arc the same as those which the Assembly made in the year 1828. The grievances which then existed are still unredressed ; and little, perhaps we might more correctly say, no advance has been made towards relieving the people from the burthen under which they labour.f * Sir Hubert Peel said, that advices of this intention had been sent out to Canada six weeks before that day. From the despatches, however, it appears that it was three, and not six weeks. f It is asserted, indeed, by the opponents of the House of Assembly, that the griev- ances originally complained of have been redressed ; and we are told that French Cana- dians have been admitted into the Li-gislative Council, and some further portions of the revenues placed under the control of the House of Assembly. As to tlie first assertion, it neeil only be said, that the Canadians who have been admitted are still in a powerless minority ; and tliat many of them, before they were made councillors, had given unequivocal proofs of subserviency to the executive, and were looked upon by the people as renegades. As to the second statement, the answer is, that the prin- ciple of the right of the House of Assembly to supervise all the funds is still denied , ^ <1 every stion far On the members r redress was tlie ssion to Shortly They ned also is only ence, as nt; and p conces- include me they ing that icy have form in f arises, see that s of the L^islative d of the !r as to popula- iiode of > render emands iplaints nadc in ire still tly say, le from Canada lat it vas the priev- ch Cana> ^rtiuns of the first are still incillors, :ed upon the prin- i denied, < TIIK CANADAS AND THEIR (iRlKVANCKS. 19 M It thus becomes necessary that we should briefly refer to the conduct of the Committee of the House of Commons appointed in lN2H, and remark upon some of their recommendations. In the (rue spirit of English legislation, that committee temporized with the evil ; they treated the symptoms of the disease as if it were the disease itself, and thus left the cause untouched, while they were trying to administer remedies to some of the more glaring effects of an evil deeply seated. They saw, for example, that a pernicious distinction had been made by the Executive Government between the Canadians and the English of Quebec and Montreal ; and they fancied that they themselves had done their part as legislators, when they recommended that this evil proceeding should be dropped. That assuredly was not the right remedy ; neither was the attempt made in the right place. They perceived that the people were discontented; they perceived that this discontent arose in consequence of the conduct of a small party who had got possession of power in the colony ; they saw, or ought to have seen, that this party were endeavouring, first, to enjoy exclusively the good things which this power j)laced within their reach ; and, secondly, to make themselves completely irresponsible. In the furtherance of the tirst object, tliey necessarily excluded the people at large ; viz., the Canadian people, from all places of power and profit : in furtherance of the second, they used the legislative as well as administrative authority they possessed, to prevent the people's representatives, viz., the Assembly, from prying into then* proceedings, or in any way controlling them. The cause, then, of the evil, that is, such cause as a Legislature could deal with, was the power, the irresj)onsible power they possessed. The exclusion of the Canadians from office, the peculation of the public money, the rejection of useful measures, and the refusal to give accounts of monies received and ex- pended, were all results of the same system, symptoms or effects of the same disease, viz., irresponsible power. The committee appear to have had a glimmering oF this fact, and therefore recommended that the Legislative Council, which gave this pernicious power to the Executive Government, should be liberalized ; that is, that a certain number of Cana- dians should be admitted into it. A more futile scheme could not have been devised. How easy to obey the letter of this law, and completely avoid its spirit ! — in other words, to change and to this hour is acted on ; while one of the most important funds, viz. the laud and timber funds, together with parts of the Jesuits' estates, and the dues of the crown, are still wholly within the power of the executive. While things remain thus it is idle to speak of grievances redressed. c2 1$ 20 TIIK CANADAS AM3 Till III (JHIKVANCKS. some of the persons of llie Council, and yet leave tl\c com- position of the Council in n^ality the same. 1 go out of the Council myself, but jjIucc in my stead a friend, havinj^ precisely the same I'eeling-s and the same interests as myself. 1 put in a very small minority of |)ersons opposed to me and my friends; as all our decisions are by niajoritics, what is this liberal infu- sion but a mere mockery ? 'J'he acts of the Council will be the same, spite of the apparent chanjjfo in its composition. To any one at all conversant with the state of Canada, — to any one instructed in the ways of men who would look at the case with an impartial eye, it must have been evident, that these recom- mendations ot^ the Committee would raise expectatie)ns only to have them disappointed ; and that the discontent which it was intended to allay, would be {j^reatly and justly increased. Such has been tlie result. Lord Stanley pretended that the Council had been thus changed. What is really the fact ? A few Canadians are now in the I.e(:;islative Council; but so con- vinced are they of their utter uselessness, because they are only a small minority, that they have of late abstained even from api)earing at Quebec. But what cor.ld have been the cause which induced the Com- mittee to deal thus gently with so glaring an evil ? The cause was partly their peculiar leanings and opinions respecting go- vernment in general, and partly their ignorance respecting the situation of Canada. The House of Commons is essentially an aristocratic assembly ; its committee, in this case, represented fairly its general character. The House of Assembly was be- lieved by them, and correctly, to be a democratic body — a body fairly representing the wishes and feelings of the whole people. Its complaints were therefore looked upon with su8])icion, and all its recommendations distrusted, as supposed to tend to the direct increase of popular power. On the other hand, the Legislative Council and the oflicial party were supposed to constitute an aristocracy ; and the fight that was going on in Canada was supposed to be the same as that which was at that time, and is now also, so furiously raging between the aris- tocratic and democratic princi])les in England. It was thought then, and is thought now, that this sup])oscd aristocracy is the link which binds Canada to the mother country. The official party have been extremely anxious to create and maintain this opinion, well knowing that powerful and steady would then be the support they would receive from England, Nothing, how- ever, could be more incorrect than this conception of the nature and utility of this Legislative Council and Company. They are not an aristocracy like that of England, powerful by its I I Tin; C ANAOAS ANn TIIKIIl OKII.VAiNCI S. 21 the ooiu- ut of the precisely put ill a iriends ; ral infu- ill be the 1 o any any one aso with rec'om- s only to L'h it was 1. Such Council A few so con- ure only len from he Coin- le cause ^tin'»■ no- 'tin«f (he itially an resented was be- -a body ' ])eoplc. ion, and d to the md, the osed to v^ on in > at that he aris- tliou^j^ht y is the ! official ain this then be g, how- nature They by its wealth and its larj^e landed possessions. This supj used aris- tocracy of Canada are a set of luinj^ry officials, ])oor and rapa- cious, and possessed of no landed ])ropcrty, but such wild lands as they have (granted to thelnselve^5, and which {generations yet unborn may see as wild as at jn'osent.* 'I'hey therefore cannot pretend to any of that species of iiiHucnce which an aristocracy like that of linn-land is, by its admirers, supposed to exercise, They arc^ not the lords of the soil — they have no tenantry — they have no inlluence over the House of Assembly, — here, in truth, in one view, we have in practice something like the thatnj of the En^^lisli ccmstitution. The Tlouse of Assembly, and J.ej»islative Councils, are two com])letely separate, ecpial, and checkiui^ bodies : and the result o!' this e\(piisite machinery is, what phil()soj>hers have predicted would be the fate of the cnnstitution of lOni^land, if its ])ractice were made to conform to iis tlieory ; vi;;., both parties have so effectually checked each oilier, that the government is at a stand-still, and nought remains but to destroy one body or the other. But this independence ol' llie House of Assembly must make it a[/parent to every one, that a coin})avison betwei'n what is called the Uj)])er House in Canada, and the I'pjier House in England, is simply ridiculous, 'i'he official party in Canada are actually, as far as regards some of their interests, in opposition to the aristocracy of England ; but they have, not unskilfully, kept this view of the subject from the governing powers in England. The odicial ])arty have not mori* jjlaces in Canada than are suulclent lor themselves : they not only exclude the Canadians, therefore, but strive their utmost to exclude the retainers of the En say, his s<)ii. has or had a si'iKiu'urie, hoiifrht with tlie siioils of the iit'ojiU', and which, it is hoped, will he soi.iii sold for the people's benefit. 22 Tin: CANADAS AND TIIEIU ORIEVANCEfi. iii entertained towards tlic mother country, and a desire to main- tain connexion with her kept fresh and strong. This feeling would be common to the mass of the population, would be trans- mitted from one generation to another, and inculcated much in the same way as the religion of the community. It is evident that, at the present moment, the reverse of this has taken place, pi'eciscly by the deeds of the Legislative Council and their partv. The people see that the evils of their government spring directly from the Legislative Council, and that this council is main- tained solely by the influence of England. The connexion with England is therefore looked upon as an evil — and every day i» strengtheninn^ the desire of the people to be completely relieved from it. If this party be allowed to exist but a few years longer, all attachment to England will be utterly destroyed, and a separation will immediately follow. It is e(j[ually clear, that any commercial advantage derived by the colony from England cannot residt from the Legislative Council and party. Mercantile intercourse subsists, because it is for the interest of the individuals between whom it exists. This interest is in no way dependent upon this sup])osed link between England and lier colony. Abolish the cowncil to- morrow, and the Canadian merchant will recpiire the same shipments from England. The people will still demand her cheap fabrics, and if England be wise she may buy the cheap corn of Canada — if she be foolish she may continue to buy her dear and inferior timber — but neither the one demand nor the other depends upon the Legislative Council and the hungry tribe of official hirelings by whom it is surrounded. In what way, then, does this Council maintain the connexion between England and Canada ? It may indeed be said, that the Council serves as a counter- poise to the democratic opinions prevalent in America, and may thus be supposed to favour tlie dominion of England. On the contrary, however, by confounding the small otiicial body with aristocracy generally, the ill-feelings which arise against the one arc extended to the other. At a distance, and exercising but a small and unimportant influence, the English aristocracy might have been held in honour, and viewed with respect and deference — but the petty, paltry, and mischievous aristocracy (so called) which rules Canada is so near to the people, and so evil in its influence, and, at the same time, derives so much of its power from England, that it strengthens, in place of weak- ening, the democratic feeling, and has created a sharp and virulent hatred of all aristocracy. In this way, therefore, the Council cannot be the connecting link so much talked of There was, however, still another argument in favour of this .n it 1? TIIK CANADAS AM) TIJKIU ORli;VAN( !>. 2i to mam- is feeling' be trans- much in evident en place, |cir party, directly 18 main- [xion with Ty day i» relieved s longer, h and a frivcd by 'j^islativo ecause it it exists. 3sed link i-incil to- be same land her he cheap ' buy jior I nor the ' hungry In what between countcr- md may On the •dy with the one iing but Jtocracy ect and itocracy and so luch of " weak- pp and re, the of this n ji •■4V ,1 4 ¥ body, which hud a powerful influence with the C'oniuuttee, and induced it to ])alter with the evil rather than mani'ully graj)ple with it. It is generally supposed by those who know little of Canada, that the whole population is separated into the two classes of Kiujlish and FivihIi. The English party, allowed to be a small minority, are supposed to be represented and pro- tected by the Lejnslative Council; and the French party, the innnense majority of the people, to be re])resented by the House of Assembly. The persons who have made this divi- sion proceed further, and attribute certain designs and wishes to the French party — the most formidable of which is, an intention to obtain supreme power, and then to use it in op- ])ressing ami harassing the Lnglish minority ; the next is, a (leterminatiuhition, nt, that csscd — ssed. ihihm^s onlica, ; e would )ulation ig their 111011 to iiig this i" ig-no- avo, we lis have I order persons . But II took iere in ch the 1 rcso- l)y (he h one, tMiipls. sivc of fielieve, linst the if^norinl >w, as 11 i»d thi'ir We are mild l)e tdians. Mi ■§ the ([uesliou respecting an English and a French party. It is ,; clear, if there were such a division, that (he townships would % have returned members inimical to the resolutions of the IIoii!?c ''I: of Vssemhly. 'I'he anti-liberals, who calKd themselves Enghsh, ■f A\ ere furiously opposed to these resolutions, and called upon the ■^ I'^nghsh to join in their o])position. Did they so? IJid not a large p(n*tion of the townships return firm adherents to the Assembly and its resolutions ? Did not Stanstead, the largest of tlie townships, not merely return two such members, but also invite M. Papineau to a public dinner amongst them, at which they avowedly disclaimed the attempted division of the people into Enjilish and French !* Moreover, did not the immense majority of the Irish of Montreal vote for INI. Papincau ? Arc not these things sud'cient to show that the supposed division is altogether a pure invention.'' 'tl.^'e is another curious cir- cumstance connected with this assertion. It is said that the majority of the inhabitants of (Quebec and Montreal are Eng- lish, and (hat almost all the wealth and intelligence of those towns belong to them. If these assertions be true — and if it be true that t' e English are AvhoUy opposed to the House of Assembly— how has it hap])ene(l, tliat, in the strong-holds of this ])seud()-English party, tlie members returned have been -^ warmly allached to the cause of the Assembly !* The truth is, that the division of the people is not into l^nglish and French, but into Iriends of ])opular government, and friends of govern- ment by a small body of place-holders. This last ])arty is con- teni])tible as to numi)ers, and power over the ])e()])le ; their sole •^ strength lies in the mischievous sup];ort of an iil-iuformed Colo- nial-olHce situated in Downing-street. Tlie former l)arty com- g j)reheiKls almost all the French Canadians, and all srch of the 1^ I'jiglish as are unconnected with the ofKcial tribe. 1'he richer nierclianl.> of Quebec and Montreal have joined the ollicial party. 'I'lie dinner giving and dinner-receiving gentry herd together; and as ( ',ie oiiicial ])arly have made an exclusive society, and have % gracicnisly admitted (he ricli merchants within the magic circle, (lie heads of (hese f(..)lish (ratlers have (hereby been turned. They fancied that they had suddenly become exalted mortals, and, lilvc ail such great men, tliey quickly learned to des])ise the vnhjjr peo])le. All this is very natural and was to be expected —but the lolly of these merchants must not be su])i)osed to be common to the yeomanry of the townships. They (the yeomen) do not dine at the chateau, and walk arm-in-arm with a chief- justice,* but are hard-worki.ig farmers, desirous of having a * Tin.' i'(IL'i-t 111' this Milt i.i' |i I ci'i'iliiiij; LMu easily In' estim.ittd liy any Diie Ci ii- vi'i'sanl w th Kiii^la:ul uad l^iij,'li.vh .sue-nlj'. A iiK'ivh.uii".") clerk jjo.suu! to CdtKuhi 2'} Tin: CANADAS AND TIlKlll (JRIEVAMJKS, ii i .:«! hard-working and useful government. They side naturally with the peojDlc, without aslving whether they he French or English. So much, then, as to this division of the people into English and French parties. We now proceed to disprove the assertions respecting the oppressive designs of the Assembly. These assertions, when explained, mean a very different thing from that which people would commonly suppose them to mean. The petitions of the Canadian people complain of the unjust exclusion of persons of French Canadian extraction from all offices of honour and profit. This complaint was, and is still, well-founded, and it is sup- posed that if the Canadians were once in power they would practise the same exclusion. We have no positive evidence of what their conduct in this case would be, but we may draw con- clusions, perhaps not altogether unfounded, from their conduct at present. The Canadian leaders and people do not at this time herd together in the same exclusive style as the English party. They associate freely with the English, and quickly give them their confidence and respect. One of the great leaders of the Canadian liberal party, up to the present year, was a Scotsman. It is true that, having ratted, he was at the last election, after more than twenty years of confidence, ignomi- niously expelled from the rejjresentatiou of the county of Quebec. His history proves the willing and steady confidence, as well as the ready justice," of the people. At the present time, many of the members of the Assembly, chosen by the French Canadians, are Englishmen, and these Englishmen enjoy (piite as much of the coiiiidence and respect of the people as the French Canadians. These facts, we think, plainly show that this dread of exclusion at the hands of the 1? ,nch Canadians is unfounded. The truth is, that a popular government would quickly make, as in the United States, a complete fusion of the people. There French, English, Dutch, Germans, Spaniards, have all become one people, and Louisiana is as free from divi- sions arising from origin as Pennsylvania. Such would quickly be the case in Canada, if this division were not sought to be perpetuated by the mischievous intrigues and supercilious bear- ing of the official faction. They, in their pride and glory. as a merchant. In England, this merchant's clerk might as soon think of walking with the Grai-'l Turk as with a Chief-justice — or of ilif.iiig witli his Majesty as with a member of t? Upper House. With the immense tlistance between him and the leading men of his own country IVesh in his miml, he suddenly is transported to Quebec, and actually finds himself on speaking and dining terms with Chief-justices, Attorney-generals, and perhaps the Governor hunself. Who, in his senses, would expect this merchant's clerk not to be overwhelmed by such a contact i* How could he resist being the devoted adherent of the ruling powers ? M. .* 1 THIC CANADAS AND THEIR CiKlKVANCES. 27 iturally 3nch or )le into ing- the |s, when people of the 'sons of \ profit, is sup- would ence of aw con- conduct at this English quickly g-reat nt year, i at the ignomi- ^uebcc. as well i\ many French >y quite as the :)w that iiadians t would I of the niards, m divi- ][uickly t to be 3 bear- glory, walkiiiij is with a and the lortt'd to •justices, s, wuuld >w could I ^■ separate themselves from the people, and style themselves English. They are striving at this moment to introduce reli- gious differences in the hope of making a breach between dif- ferent sections of the peo])le, and are fostering an Established Church, for the purpose of creating a means of livelihood, and also an engine to divide and oppress the population generally. The danger of division and exclusion does not arise from tha people, but from their oppressors. But it is said the Canadians are blindly attached to their old French customs, and that by this unwise adherence to anti- quated usages they mil prevent the improvement of the colony — and it is therefore assumed that, notwithstanding they consti- tute the majority, their wishes ought to be overruled, and made to yieL- to what others conceive to be more in accordance with their views of this enliglitened age. We object entirely to this doctrine ; yet shall not at [)rescnt wait to refute it, but pro- ceed t*^ examine the matter of fact. When we endeavour to learn what these old French customs are, which so muoh offend these enlightened friends of Canada, they resolve themselves entirely into the tenure of land now existing there — and it is the su])pos{'d attachment to this tenure \Yhich has given rise to the extraordinary outcry regularly raised when the subject of Canada is mentioned, either within or without the walls of Parliament. The French Canadians wish, it is as- serted, to preserve the mischievous tenure of lands, called the tenure en Jitf ct sriijiwiiric, and this renders it absolutely neces- sary to ])erj)etuate bad government in their country, because such a wish is wholly incompatible with the enlightened spirit of tlio present age. — Such are the supposed facts, such the argument. It would be well, in the first ])lace, to understand what the tenure complained of really is; and, secc'^ 'H', to ascertain the truth as to the w ishes of the Canadians respeciing it. Lord Stan- ley, with tluiti)eculiar precision and accuracy which distinguishes liiui. asserted, that there existed in Canada a feudal and barbarous system ; whereupon, without doubt, his hearers fancied that the system prevalent in Europe in the fifteenth and sixteenth cen- turies now exists in Canada. The tenure en fief in Canada signifies nothing like it — meaning only that the seigneur, like a h)rd of the manor, possesses an estate, which in Canada is called a seign<'urie, much like that which in England is called a manor, the difference behig in some matters favourable to the I nder tlit; seigneiu* there are certain tenants. seigneurie*. * Tlie si'ij^iii'ui- hiis no jurisdiction of aiiykind, like tlie lord of thi.? manor, though Lord Stanley Btuiiu-d to bup^dse that hu was stdl a jmlge as wull as landlord. ii'i! 23 TIIK CAN ADAS AND THKIU Gi;iL.V ANCLS. called cemitalrcs. The seigneur, holding of the king, pays him certain dues and fines ; the tenant, liolding of the seigneur, pays him a rent. Now, respecting this rent there is no com- plaint. The obnoxious incidents of the tenure are those of which we are now about to spealc. Upon every trans- mission by sale oi the censitaires lioldimj, to use an English hiw phrase, a fine is due to the seigneur, much in the same manner as in England is the case with copyholds. The fine is one-twelfth of the purchase-money : this fine is termed Jods et venlc.s. Besides this, the seigneur, if he pleases, may himself take the land, paying the whole ])urchase-money : this is called his droit dc refra'l. Furthermore, the parens (relations) in certain degree of the censitaires have also the power of prevent- ing the estate going out of the family, if they please, by them- selves purchasing it : this is called th.e rclrdlt lUjiuiijir. The seigneur, also, within his seigncurie, has the exclusive right, \mder certain conditions, of grinding the corn of his tenants. This last power exists in many ])laces in England. Now, that this tenure is a bad one we acknowledge: the Canadians acknowledge the same. It is chieily bad for the same reason that tithe in England is bad; it taxes improve- ment. 13ut because the tenure is a bad one, that is no reason for robbing tlie seigneur, by depriving him of his rights without a i'air compensation ; neither woidd it justify the interference of ])ersons ignorant of the laws of Canada, who, by their ill-judged endeavours to remedy the evil, would create one yet more mis- ciiievous. The Canadians, by their rej)resentatives, say that they are exceedingly desirous of rendering the tenure of land a beneficial tenure: they are willing, and even desirous, to devote their liest endeavours to that end ; but they most strenuously depreciae the interference of the imperial legisla- ture in such matters, and assert, that by the ignorant attempts of our legislators on this side of the Atlantic, they have been deprived of the power of effe 'ting the end desired. The case of the tithes in England is one precisely analogous to tliis of the tenure en fief in Canada. TJic English people demand a change of this property ; the legislature desire to change it ; but it is said that there are great difiiculties connected with the subject, and therefore delay has arisen. The case has been precisely ^o same in Canada. The tenure or fief, be it re- membcrec' s not obnoxious on the additional ground of being a tax for bei\ ice, which in sonu> cases is not desired, and in others not rendered ; therefore, in this case, there is not that strong and pressing reason for immediately changing it which exisrj in the case ol' tithes. Moreover, the great body J .w: ■jik ■^ •% of the people are willing that their repi\'sentativcs should act with care, and without haste — they do not press them to hurry on a change; they are willing to wnit untii all precautions shall have been taken to render the diange efficient and be- neficial. IJut suppose that some ox\c rliould state that the delay on the part of the English Parlhiin'.'nt respecting tilhe was a proof that they weie attached to old and mischievous institutions — that they were wholly behind the present enlight- ened age, and that therefore we should solicit the asisistance of the Congress of the United States to did us in legislating on the matter of tithe. Such a pro])osition w juld very properly be scouted, and on the same grounds so ought to have been the interference of the English Parliament in the matter of Cana- dian tenures. While the peculiarly enlightened friends of Canada are com- plaining of these tenures, and attem])ting to remedy the evils arising from them, they have by their attempts introduced a greater mischief than any that could result from the existence of th(! old law. By introducing the law of England, they have produced so great a confusion in the law, as to render every title insecure ; and further, they have introduced the right of primogeniture. This right is contrary to the prevalent feel- ings of tin' peo])le of America: it is contrary to all the institu- tions of the land, and creates disgust amongst all classes of the people. The House of Assembly, therefore, feel themselves justiiled in resisting the interference of England, and are not fairly chargeable with bigoted adherence to then* own customs, because they will not consent that persons ignorant of their in- stil utions and circumstances liould attempt to improve them The religion of the peopl" of Canada, of French origin, is Catholic; but no one is compelled to pay a Catholic priest who is not of that creed. The , "iest has a tithe (not a tenth, how- ever) ; but this tithe is seldom, if ^ v<'r, imposed against the will of the farmer. The pricbtood iue an exceedingly inoffen- sive and e\em])larv race of U!"'k TI.^mx; is no religious animo- sity existing among the ])eople ; aii", iis is the case in the United States, Jews, Catholics, Proti'^tants, Presbyterians, Methodists, Shakers, Quakers, &c. &c., all live together in per- fect amitv and "-ood feelino'. No one v;ho knows Canada dreads any religious intolerance at the hands of the Canadian people. Now then, if we consider the situation of the Legislative Council — if we recollect that it is unconnected with four- fifths of tlie population who are of Canadian origin — ifwere- mend)er also that it has no connexion with the English popu- lation living in the townships — that, moreover, the members of :jo THK CANADAS AND THEIR ORIEVANCK.S. the Council arc not large landed proprietors, it must be plain to us, that they arc not in any way connected with any large or im- portant class of the population. The Legislative Council is a small collection of'p'U'sons, who, with their own families, and the official persons who live in Qtiebec and Montreal, form a party. Their power consists in the negative voice they have in the legislature, and the support of the Coloniai-otfice. Deprive them of the first, and they would be without a hold in the country. They would sink at once, and be forgotten. The potent aid of Downing-street would be wholly incapable of giving them strength or inlluencc. If we exclude the consideration of the peculiarity of the h.\\ respecting tenures, the situation of the people of Upj)er Canada as respects their government is precisely similar to that which Ave have here described as the situation of those of Lower Ca- nada. Lord Stanley, indeed, vehemently denied this. The House of Assembly of Upper Canada shall answer him. They also have had a committee of grievances, and the catalogue is the same as that framed by the House of Assembly of J^ower Canada. The following are extracts fi'om the seventh report of a select committee, a])pointed by the House of Assembly to inquire into grievances. * It appears, tlierefore, that the Legislative Council, as at present con- stituted, hiis utterly tailed, and never can he made to answer ihc ends for which it was created ; and the restoration of legislative liarmony and good government requires its reconstruction on the elective principle. ***** * The affairs of this country have heen ever, against the s})irit of the constitutional acts, subjected in the most injurious manner to the inter- ferences and interdictions of a succession of colonial ministers in Eng- land, who have never visited the country, and can never possibly become acquainted with the state of parties, or the conduct of ])ublic function- aries, except through official channels in the province, which are ill calculated to convey the information necessary to disclose olKcial delin- quencies, and correct public abuses. A painful experience has ])roved how impracticable it is for such a succession of strangers beneficially to direct and control the affairs of the people 3000 miles off; and being an impracticable system, felt to be intolerable by those for whose good it was professedly intended, it ought to be aboHshed, and the domestic institutions of the province so improved and administered by the local authorities, as to render the people happy and contented. ' Such a[)pears to have been the constitutional liberty conferred upon us by the31 Geo. III. c. 31, by which the British legislature enabled us to preserve "the peace, welfare, and good government of the province," reserving to his Majesty, as the head of the empire, the power of disal- lowing any colonial act iiicom])atible with national treaties, with the rights of any other colonies, or with the commercial or general interests THK CANADAS AND THEIR GRIEVANCF.S. ;u of the empire. Such a system of government, securing to the people inestimable blessings, would rather durably enlarge than inqjair the commercial relations with the parent state, in exchange for which we receive protection ; and could in nowise prejudicially all'ect any benefits now yielded to her, except the loss, if loss it can be called, of that pa- tronage, the partial and impolitic distribution of which has ever proved unsatisfactory and injurious to the colony. * * * * iit ' The history of all colonics shows that there has been too much inatten- tion in the British government in the selection of governors, it being consi- dered a matter merely of patronage with the colonial minister in Downing- street. Men, from the too long possession of lucrative power, whatever at first might be their relative stations, soon acquire a community of interests, and thus identified in the purpose of sustaining each other in office, they have, in this province, made common cause against that redress of our grievances, and that conciliation of the public mind, and that economy of the public wealth, which are equally dictated by justice and wisdom. * /Uhough the members of the Executive Council seem, from their own accounts, to render no benefit to the country, receiving, however, a salary from it, yet a very different duty is imposed upon them by the 31 Geo. III. c. 31, called the Constitutional Act, from which it appears they are appointed expressly to advise his Excellency upon the affairs of the province. This they have never done satisfactorily. As far back as the first session of the tenth Provincial Parliament, the House of Assembly expressed their dissatisfaction to his Excellency, Sir John Col- borne, in the most constitutional mode of doing so, at the opening of the session of the Legislature; and in the following year the same senti- ments were again frankly conveyed to his Excellency, in the answer to his Speech from the Throne, by a solemn declaration, that the Executive had long and deservedly lost the confidence of the country. In the hope of their just constitutional wishes being attended to, the people patiently waited for relief; but the relaxation of their vigilance, which some remaining confidence in his Excellency unhappily j)roduced, has only served to bring disappointment, and to afford a further opportunity for the accumulation of the abuses which pervade all our institutions. « « « « « « ' It is not this act alone of which we complain, though it may serve to illustrate our condition ; but the whole system has so long continued virtually in the same hands, that it is little better than a family com- pact. Abuses have grown up so as to be interwoven with every thing ; and these abuses arc concealed, or palliated, excused, and sustained, by those who are interested to uphold them, as the means of retaining office, for their private, and not for the public good.' In this situation of affairs, Lord Gosford and two commis- sioners are about to proceed to Canada, to inquire into the grievances of the Canadian people, and report thereupon. What is likely to be the result of this inquiry ? li 32 Tin-: CANADAS AND THFIR GRIEVANCKS. Our answer is, that let the commission make what report it pleases, one only result can follow ; and that is, the demands of the House of ylssemblij must be acceded to. 1. An Elective Council must he ji^ranted to the people, and the present Lcg-islative Council abolished. 2. The whole of the revenue must be })laced entirely under the control of the people of Canada, 3. The Judges must be made responsible to the Provincial Legislature, and not to the King. If these things be done, we may keep the two Canadas for some time to come ; if they be refused, our dominion will cease within a very few months after the people sliall have become convinced that the government of this country has definitively determined not to grant them. A province situated like Canada, by the side of a flourishing Republic, is not to be held as Ireland is, by the force of our armies. Ireland is close by our side — she is surrounded by the sea — has no powerful neighbour near. But Canada is 3000 thousand miles distant ; America is at her side, and one short campaign would be sufficient to drive the English army into the sea. Let our rulers ponder on these things, and beware how they resist the just demands of an excited and powerful people. J. A. 11. g ir le 10 rt to re w