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Tr~7r: 
 
 '■■: 
 
 A 
 
 DIGEST 
 
 OF IllK 
 
 COMPILED BY DR. BRIDGES, 
 
 AND DELIVERED BY HIM AS A LECTURE AT MANY OF THE PRINCIPAL 
 " ■ ' TOWNS IN UPPER CANADA. 
 
 
 INTRODUCTION. 
 
 During a residence of seven years in Upper Canada, I have 
 l)een led to believe, tliat the Constitution of Great Britain, — so 
 admira])ly and equitably balanced, in nil its relations between the 
 three estates of Sovereign, Lords and Commons, — is but imperfectly 
 understood by a great majority of Her Majesty's Canadian sub- 
 jects. Consequently, it is apparent, an opening has been left for 
 interested misrepresentation to the venomed tongue and sinister 
 running of political speculators ; to which is chiefly attrioutable 
 the estrangement of loyal feeling that has accomplished the ruin 
 o( hundreds of our fellow-subjects, by the past unholy rebellions. 
 My present humble offering is but a " gathering of other men's 
 wai'es," beneath criticism, assuming no merit, except for intent to 
 do good, by an endeavour to direct the unprejudiced mind to a 
 just appreciation of the glorious Constitution of the " little sea- 
 girt Isle," which has " braved a thousand years the battle and the 
 breeze," and now presents a towering pillar, based with adaman- 
 line solidity, — a proud and enviable example to the world, — a 
 manifest and incontestible proof of the superiority of her institu- 
 tions. Long, very long, may she remain so, uninjured by factions 
 at home or abroad. Great Britain displays the perfect model of a 
 free Constitution, adapted, not to an exaggerated theory^, but to a 
 practical acquaintance with the wants of the different grades of 
 society, affording equal protection to the rich and the poor. How 
 beautiful and energetic is Shakspeare's eulogy of our country :— \ 
 
 *' This royal throne of Kings, this sceptred Isle, 
 This earth of majesty, this seat of Mars, 
 
 This other Eden, dcmi-Paradise ; 
 \y .. This fortress, built by nature for herself 
 ■; «" i Against infection, and the hand of war ; 
 ♦ This happy breed of men, this little world 
 
 ♦ • 
 
 '^.- 
 

 This prccjou's stone, set in the silver sea^ 
 
 Which serves it in the office of a wall', 
 
 Or as a moat defensive to a house,* 
 
 Against the envy of less happy htnds ; 
 
 England, bound in with the triumphant sea, 
 
 Whose rocky shore beats back the envious siege 
 
 Of wotery Neptune. 
 
 O, England ! model to thy inward greatness, 
 
 Like little body with a mighty heart, 
 
 What might'st thou do that honour '.vould thee do 
 
 Were all thy children kind and natural." 
 
 The protecting power. of Gceat Britain in favor of her subjects, was 
 equally displayed when mighty wars have waged against her as in 
 the quietude of general peace. How does it sweH the patriotic 
 breast with honest pride when we compare tiie purity and stability 
 of the British Constitution, and superior privileges of the British sub- 
 jects, around which a sacred halo of preservation is drawn, with 
 those of other natio«s. These Ivave stootlthe test oTages, whilst em- 
 pires have been groaning in the whirlwind of contending factions. 
 I do not assert perfectability, or uphold that we have no evils in 
 our Provincial or Imperial legislation, for abuses ever have, and 
 ever will, creep into the best regulated institutions ; but I am pre- 
 pared to maintain, that to remedy those evils, were it possible to 
 destroy the grand fabric of the British Constitution, the united le- 
 gislative wisdom of the WHOLE WORLD could never upon its 
 ruin build a better. 
 
 Let us take a retrospective view of some fifty years, and observe 
 what troubles were wrought in France by the same kind of reform 
 lions, which have for some time past restrained and borne down 
 the energies of the Provinces like an incubus. What mischief it 
 produced throughout the civilised world? France deluged in 
 blood, and war and devastation carried to the remotest regions. 
 Our modern destructives held out to their deluded followers the 
 same sort of inducements to enable them to accomplish their ends, 
 and liberty and reform were the clap-trap expressions ; satisfied 
 to pull doyvn and destroy, and leave to others the labour of build- 
 ing up and regulating, for they knew their own incompetence 
 to effect it. If (hey could but succeed in overturning the existing 
 form of government, and of annihilating i\\e> rights of property, 
 they hoped, that in the general scramble which they expected 
 would ensue, they might be enabled to sei«e upon a larger share 
 of worldly riches and power than tlxey are likely to gain by the 
 practice of morality, whose rules they despise, or of virtuous in- 
 
 • " According to the Welsh Triads," says Southey, *' the earliest name by 
 which Britain was known was Clas Marddtin, the sea-defended spot. Such an 
 appellation may seem to have been prophetic." 
 
 gei 
 
 tai^ 
 sei 
 ffol 
 
 brc 
 
lU 
 
 s, was 
 r as in 
 atriotie 
 tabilily 
 shsub- 
 n, with 
 iUt em- 
 actions. 
 3vils in 
 ve, and 
 ani pre- 
 ssible to 
 lited le- 
 ipon its 
 
 [ observe 
 )f reform 
 ne down 
 ischief it 
 luged in 
 
 regions, 
 fvers the 
 eir ends, 
 
 satisfied 
 of build- 
 npetence 
 > existing 
 property, 
 expected 
 eer share 
 in by the 
 rtuous in- 
 
 st name by 
 . Such an 
 
 "dv.stry, whose restraints they abhor. The flimsy texture of the 
 veil with which they would have covered their designs, has been 
 easily seen through, and self-aggrandizement, glaringly prominent, 
 stands confessed, the true intent of the pseudo patriots — their all 
 absorbing object of attainment. Such fnends of the people seek 
 their own exclusive benefit and gratification, reckless of the over- 
 whelming vortex that swallovva up the interest of the many, 
 sacrificed to their mercenary and cold-blooded policy, which they 
 pursue with avidity, rega'-iless how they trample on the rights or 
 outrage the feelings of others. Thank God ! a very great majority 
 of Her Majesty's Canadian subjects entertain a just appreciation 
 of liberty, and consider that every man has enough liberty in 
 l)eing permitted to do what the laws, alTecting equally the high 
 and low, have not proscribed, resting satisfied that such restralntrt 
 are necessarily placed for the v^rell regulating of society. How 
 beautifully has Addison apostrophized liberty : — 
 
 " Liberty, ihou goddess, heavenly bright, 
 Profuse of bliss, and pregnant with delight ; 
 Eternal pleasures in thy presence reign, 
 And smiling plenty leads thy wanton train, 
 Eas'd of her lead, subjection grows more light, 
 And poverty looks cheerful in thy sight ; 
 Thou mak'st the gloomy face of nature gay, 
 Giv'st beauty vto the sun, and pleasure to the day. 
 Thee, goddess, thee, Britannia's Isle adores ; 
 Hoiv has she oft exhausted all her stores, 
 How oft in fields of death thy presence sought, 
 Nor thinks the mighty prize too dearly bought." 
 
 With regard to real, or imaginary grievances, which are said to 
 affect us in the Provinces, so much has been written or said, that I 
 shall merely, en passant^ observe, (metaphorically,) it were folly to 
 cut the head olTto cure its aching; equally unwise to endeavour 
 to bring about separation from the parent country, to effect any- 
 salutary changes that may be desirable in our provincial legisla- 
 tion. It is a question I shall not enter into, determining to steer 
 clear of party in this little offering ; but on the remedy by separa- 
 tion, I would observe, it must be apparent to, and be admitted b^ 
 all but the ambitious and unprincipled demagogue, who, with 
 connorantic rapacity, seeks self-aggrandizement alone, amid the 
 general wreck he would create, tfiat it is morally impossible any 
 good can result therefrom. We possess not the great essentials, 
 population and wealth, in a sufficient degree to enable us to main- 
 tain an independent position in the scale of nations. In the al>« 
 sence of internal resources, if once cut adrift from the parent stem, 
 from whence we have derived all our past and present good, if 
 brought about by revolt, we may naturally conclude, that the very 
 
IV 
 
 great aJvantngi^s we derive in ourcommercinl rclntioiis wiiii Greai^ 
 Britain will not then, in nn equal degree, be available to lis. I 
 am not permitted within the circumsrril'od limits of this little work 
 to enter at large into the (lue.stion ; but I ibrvonlly hope, thnt when 
 the day of separation shall arrive, (and no one can doubt but it ]^ 
 destined at some time,) that it may be like a child leaving its 
 parental hearth, starting into life on its own responsibility, the 
 parting in peace — both determining on reciprofity of good net?. 
 But situated as we are at present — in ceasing to be a bright iieni 
 in the British diadem, we are compelled to become a contenincil 
 and humiliated cyph'M*, appended to the star-??pang]ed banner of 
 the United States' Republic. I am convinced it would not be for 
 our good, and I pray Heaven that mo mny escape the vulture 
 fangs, and sordid and corroding ambition, that would prompt to 
 such suicidal foil v. 
 
 AN OUTLINE OF THE BEAUTIES AND BE;.IEFITS 
 01^ THE BRITISH CONSTITUTION. 
 
 to lav this CoMstitutiof/ 
 
 '* It Is the duty of every expounder of our Laics, to lay 
 before the student, in its true and genuine lij;ht, il is llic duly oi' every s;(hiiI 
 subject to understand, to revere, and to defend it.'- — Hale. 
 
 The Constitution of Great Britain is divided "into three estates. 
 The regal, or first estate, — the aristocratical, or second estate. — 
 the democratical, or third estate. 
 
 By the first, or regal estate, is meant the King or Queen, " for 
 it matters not to which the crown descends, but the person entitled 
 to it, whether male or female, is immediately invested with all the 
 ensigns, rights, and prerogatives of sovereign power," as is declar- 
 ed by statute — {\st Many, stat.3, c. 1.) — who is more properly 
 the King o/, than a King ovei; the people, united to them, one ( t' 
 them, and' contained in them ; at the same time that he is ac- 
 knowledged the head of their body, he is their principal minister, 
 being the deputee of their executive power. 
 
 He is called to govern the people, according to the laws by 
 which they themselves had consented to be governed, to cause 
 justice and mercy to be dispensed throughout the realm, and to 
 hia utmost to execute, protect j and maintain the laws of the Gospel 
 of God, and the rights and liberties of the people, without distinc- 
 
"kioiu And this ho i;^ sworn ;o ohsorvo. Ami thus, as all others 
 <nvo nlhe^iance to the King, the Kinj; hini.ielf owdk allegiance to 
 the Constitution, 
 
 The existence of a King, as one of the three estates, is inynii- 
 table, indispensable, and indefeasible. The Constitution cannot 
 subsist without a King. But then his personal claim of possession, 
 and of hereditary succession to the throne, is, in several instances, 
 defeasible. As in case of any natural incapacity to govern, or in 
 case of any attempt to sap, or overthrow, a fundamental part of 
 that system which he was constituted and sworn to maintain. 
 Though the claim of a King to the throne of Great Britain, is a 
 limited claim, yet ilic world canajfmtl no rival, in power or glory, 
 to thf Constitutional Sovertign of England. 
 
 His arc not the mere ensigns or external show of regency, but 
 he is invested with powers much more real than if they were 
 absolute. 
 
 There are three capital prerogatives, with which the King is 
 entrusted, which, at first sight, appear of dangerous tendency, and 
 which must infallibly end in arbitrary dominion, if they were not 
 counterpoised and counteracted. 
 
 His principal prerogative is to make war or peace, as also 
 treaties, leagues, and alliances with foreign potentates — 
 
 His second prerogative is to nominate and appoint all ministers 
 and servants of state, all judges, and administrators of justice, and 
 all officers, civil and military, throughout the realm — 
 
 His third capital prerogative, is, that he has the whole execu- 
 tive power of the government of the nation, by his said ministers 
 and officers, both civil and military. 
 
 I might also have added a fourth prerogative — a power of 
 granting pardon to criminals. Had this power, however, been 
 unrestrained, all obligation to justice might be absolved at the 
 King''s pleasure. He is restricted in protecting his ministers, when 
 they have effected, or even attempted any thing militating against 
 the Constitution. He is also limited in appeals brought by the 
 subject for robbery or murder. But on indictments in his own 
 name for offences against hia proper person and government, he 
 is at liberty to extend the arm of mercy, " forasmuch, as there are 
 many cases so circumstanced, so admissive of pitiable or palliating 
 circumstances, that summum jus, or strict justice, might prove 
 summa injuria, or extreme injustice." All pardonable offences 
 are distinguished by the title of" crimina Imce majestaiis^^ sins 
 against the King. All unpardonable offences are distinguished 
 by the title of " crimina Icbscb libertatis^^ sins against the Constitu- 
 tion. In the first case the injury is presumed to extend no fur- 
 ther than to one or a few individuals, in the second it is charged 
 
if 
 
 ri 
 
 as a sin against the public, against the collective body of the 
 whole people. Of the latter kind are " attempts to change the 
 nature or form of any one of the three estates, or tending to vesi 
 the government, or the administration thereof, in any one, or any 
 two of the flaid estates, independent of the other, or tending io 
 raise armies, or to continue them in time of peace, without the 
 consent of Parliament, or tending to give any foreign estate an 
 advantage over Great Britain, by sea or by land." 
 
 The King hath abo annexed to his dignity many further very 
 important powers and prerogatives. He is first considered as the 
 original proprietor of all the lands in the British dominions, and he 
 founds this claim as well on the conquest by William the Norman, 
 as by the Kings or leaders of our Gothic ancestors. Hence it 
 comes to pass, that all lands, to which no subject can prove a 
 title, are supposed to be in their original owner, and are therefore 
 by the Constitution vested in the Crown. 
 
 On the same principle also, the King is entitled to the lands cl 
 all persons convicted of crimes subversive of the Constitution'. 
 His person is constitutionally sacred, and exempted from all act« 
 of violence or constraint. As one of the estates, also, he is con- 
 stituted a corporation, and his written testimony amounts to a 
 matter of record. He also exercises the independent province of 
 supplying members to the second estate by a new creation, a very 
 large accession to his original powers. Bishops are appointed and 
 nominated by the King. His is the sole prerogative to coin or 
 impress money, and to specify, change, or determine the current 
 value thereof, and for this purpose he is supposed to have reserved 
 from his original grants of land, a property in mines of gold and 
 silver, which are therefore called royalties. 
 
 ** But though mines of gold and. silver belong to the King, yet 
 mines of copper and tin belong to the subject, and herein in olden 
 times has been a great question, namely, whether, if the mine of 
 copper or tin contained gold or silver, as they often do, whose it 
 should be, the King's or the subject's, and the judges made a very 
 CKtended construction, and held, that gold and silver, being the 
 nobler and more valuable metals, should attract the less valuiible, 
 and belong to the King ; as likewise for the following reasons — 
 that the King's property cannot be held in jointure with the sub- 
 ject, and that precedence and priwity of claim belong to the 
 Sovereign. — ( Vide Bacon^s Abridgment of Statutes.) But by the 
 1st of Will. & Mary, stat. 1, chap. 30, sect. 4, it is enacted, " that 
 no mine of copper, tin, iron, or lead, shall be adjudged a royal 
 mine, although gold or silver may be extracted out of the same. 
 But the crown has the privilege of possessmg the ore extracted, by 
 paying for it within thirty days after it shall be raised, at a price 
 fixed by statute." 
 
of ihe 
 
 jge the 
 to \e»i 
 [or any 
 ling io 
 jut the 
 Itatc an 
 
 r very 
 as the 
 and he 
 orman, 
 nee it 
 )rove a 
 icrefore 
 
 
 
 The King hath alw> thfe right of isauing patents Inr special and 
 "personal purposes. He is also entrusted with the guardianship of 
 the pc^ons and possessions of idiots and lunatics. 
 
 The King hath also the prerogative of a negative voice in the 
 legislature, as Am the right to call the other two estates to Parlia- 
 ment, and duly to continue, prorogue and dissolve the same. 
 
 Privy Councillors are made by the King's nomination, without 
 "eitlier patent, or grant, and on taking the necessary ontlis, they 
 Income immediately Privy Councillors during the life of the King 
 that chooses them, but subject to removal at his discretion. The 
 duty of a Privy Councillor appears from the oath of office, which 
 consists of seven articles, as follow : — 
 
 1 — To advise the King according to the best of his cunning and 
 discretion, 
 
 2 — To advise for the King's honor and good of the public, with- 
 out partiality, through affection, love, meed, doubt or dread. 
 
 3 — To keep the King's counsel secret. 
 
 4 — To avoid corruption. 
 
 5 — To help and strengthen the execution of what shall be there 
 resolved. 
 
 G — To withstand all persons who would attempt the contrary, 
 and lastly, in general, 
 
 7 — To observe, keep, and do all that a good and true Coun- 
 sellor ought to do for his Sovereign. 
 
 Next to the Lord President of the Council, the Lord Privy Seal 
 sits in Council, the Secretaries of State, and many other Lords 
 and Gentlemen, and in all debates of the Council, the lowest 
 tlelivers his opinion first, and the King declares his judgment last, 
 and thereby the matter of debate is determined. — (4 Inst. 55.) 
 
 The King, with the advice of his Council, publishes proclama- 
 tions binding to the subject, but then they are to be consonant to, 
 ^nd in execution of, the laws of the land. 
 
 Here then we find that a Sovereign of Great Britain is constitu- 
 tionally invested with every power that can possibly be exerted in 
 -acts of beneficence and public good. 
 
 In treating of the second and third estates, I come naturally to 
 -consider what those restraints are, which, while they are preserv- 
 <ed inviolate, have so happy a tendency to the mutual prosperity 
 of King and people. 
 
 THE ARISTOCRATICAL, OR SECOND ESTATE. 
 
 The nobility, or second estate, in the Constitution of Great 
 Britain, was originally representative. The members were enobled 
 by tenure, and not by writ or patent, and they were holden in 
 serv'ice lo the crown and kingdom for the respective provinces, 
 
I 
 
 m 
 
 Vlll 
 
 counties, or baronies, whtise name tliey bore, and whicli they re- 
 presented. 
 
 A title to he a menihcr of this second estate, was from the be- 
 ginning lieriditary. The King could not anciently cither create or 
 defeat a title to nobility. Their titles were no* forfeitable, except 
 by the judgment of their peers, upon legal trial. 
 
 Till Horny the Seventh the nobles were looked upon ns bo many 
 pillai-s, whereon the people rested their rights; accordingly, we find 
 that in the grand compact between John and the collective l)ody 
 of the nation, the King and the people jointly agree to confide to 
 the nobles the superintendence of the execution of the great chart- 
 er, with authority to them, and their auccessors, to enforce the duo 
 performance of the covenaRts therein comprised. Such a prefer- 
 ence must have proved an unremitting incitement to the cultiva- 
 tion of every virtue, and acts embracing the general v/elfare. The 
 crown did not at once assume the independent right of conferring' 
 nobility. Henry the Third first omitted to call some of the barons 
 to Parliament, who were personally obnoxious to him, and ho 
 issued his writs, or written letters, to some others who were not 
 barons, but from whom he expected greater conformity to his mea- 
 sures. These writs, however, did not ennoble tlie party till he 
 was admitted, by the second estate, to a seat in Parliament, neither 
 was such nobility, by writ, hereditar}'. To supply these defects, 
 tjic arbitrary ministers of Richard the Second invented the method 
 of ennobling by letters patent, at the King's pleasure, whether for 
 years or for life, in fee simple, to a uian and his heirs at large. 
 ►This prerogative, however, was, in many instances, declined and 
 discontinued, more particularly by King Henry the Fifth, till, moot- 
 ing with no opposition from the other two estates, it has successively 
 descended from Henry the Seventh down to our present gracious 
 Queen Victoria. Next to their Sovereign, the people have al- 
 lowed to their peerage several privileges of the most illustrious dis- 
 tinction. Their Christian name.-s, and the names that descended 
 to them from their ancestors, are absorbed by the name from 
 whence they take their title of honor, and by this they make their 
 signature in all leUers and deeds. Every temporal peer of tho 
 realm is deemed a kinsman to the crown. Their deposition ow 
 tiieir honor is admitted in place of their oath, except^ where they 
 personally present themselves as witnesses of facts, rind also their 
 obligation of allegiance, supremacy, and abjuration. Their |)ersons 
 are at all times exempted from arrests, except in criminal cases. 
 During a session of Parliament all actions and suits at law against 
 peers are suspended. In presentments or indictments by gran^l 
 juries, and on impeachments by the House of Trpimons, peers are 
 to be tried by peers alone, for in all crimiosL • ..^es they are pri- 
 
IX 
 
 Tl 
 
 llicy re- 
 
 tlic bo- 
 
 reatc oi 
 
 except 
 
 u) many 
 
 we find 
 
 c body 
 jnfide to 
 It chart- 
 
 tljc clue 
 I prefer- 
 
 cultivn- 
 •e. The 
 mferritiy 
 D barons 
 
 and he 
 were not 
 his mea- 
 ty till he 
 , neither 
 
 defects, 
 I iiietljod 
 ether for 
 at large, 
 ined and 
 II, meot- 
 cessivelv 
 
 gracious 
 have al- 
 rious dis- 
 escended 
 me from 
 ake their 
 r of tho 
 )sition oti 
 lere they 
 also their 
 r i)ersons 
 al cases. 
 ,v against 
 )y gran-i 
 peers are 
 J' are pri- 
 
 vlli g.nl from the jurisdiction of infori(>r courts, excepting on njipeal.i 
 tor murder or robbery. Peers o'-o also exempted f/om serving on 
 inquestH, and in nil civil causes (I believe) there must be two (>r 
 more knights impannelled whore a peer is plaintiif. 
 
 The bishops, or spiritual lords', have the privileges of Parliament, 
 but have not the privileges of personal nobility. 
 
 All the temjioral or spiritual nobles who compcise the House of 
 Lords, however dillerCnt in their titles and degrees of nobility, are 
 (tailed jiecrs (p(/rcs) or equals, because their voices are admitted as 
 of equid value, and the vote of a bishop or baron is equivalent to 
 that of an archbisho[) or duke. 
 
 The capital prerogative of the House of Peers consi»l«i in their 
 l)eing the Supreme Court of Judicature, to whom the final de- 
 cision of all civil causes is confided, in the last resort. This ron- 
 stitutionul primlpfjre is a weighty counterpoise to tho Sovereign''^ 
 sccorid prcrou;ntive of appointing the. administrators of justice 
 throntg/umt the realm, forasmuch as judges (who are inuucdiatcly 
 under the inflncnce of ihe c»ov.'n) arc yet restrained from infringirg 
 by any sentence the laws or Constitution of England, while a judg- 
 ment 80 highly superior to their own impends. 
 
 The second great privilege of the House of Peers consists in 
 their having the sole judicature of all impeachments commenced 
 and prosecuted by the Commons. And this again is a very weiglity 
 counterpoise to the Sovnrigji''s third prerogative, of the executive 
 government of the nation by his ministers, since all ministers are 
 amenable to such a tribunal. 
 
 The third capital privilege of the House of Peers consists in their 
 share or particular department of rigiits in the legislature. The 
 confirming or negativing all bills sent u|) from the Coiimions for 
 the purposes of government, reserving always to the Commons 
 their incommunicable right of granting taxes or sul»sidies to b« 
 levied on their constituents. This negative power rX the Lords 
 Ibrms a happy counterpoise to the power both of Kiiig and Com- 
 m/m^, should demands on the one part or bounties on the other 
 exceed what is requisite. 
 
 THE DEMOCRATICAI-, OR THIRD ESTaTE. 
 
 The election of commoners to be immediate trustees and repre- 
 sentatives of the i)eople in Parliament is the privilege of the people. 
 " The House of Comnu)ns was instituted by the crown as a ba'ance 
 tr> the barons, who were grown very opulent and numerou-', and as 
 .ippears by their wars, very uneasy to the crown ; hence we find 
 that upon the escheat of any barony for want of issue, or ))y for- 
 '^eiture, the crown parcelled it out into emaller districts, and this 
 
Ijegot the distinction between the baroncs majores and the harone4 
 tainorrs. These barones mtnores, held by knights' service, and 
 !jeing t'w numerous to be all called to Parliament, were allowed to 
 ?tit by repre^ntation. This matter was set on foot as a matter of 
 the greatest service to the crown, both for the balancing of the peer- 
 see, and for more conveniently taxing of the people." — {BacorCs 
 ^Abridgments, vol, l,/>. 568.) " At the first instituting a House 
 of Commons, the representatives of knights, citizens, and burgesses 
 Were only looked upon as trustees to manage the affairs of the'i* 
 principals, and, therefore, in former days it was held reasonable 
 that they should be recompensed by their principals for the expencc 
 and trouble they were at in manai^ing the trust reposed in them* 
 Hence the fee of every knight of the shire was four shillings per 
 diem, and that of a citizen or burgess, two shillings per diem." — ■ 
 (4" Institute, 46.) The persons of commoners, or the representa- 
 tives of the people, daring their session, and for a limited time be- 
 fore and after every meeting, adjournment, prorogation and disso- 
 lution of Parliament, are equally exempted with the persons of 
 peers from arrest, and duress of every sort. Whether founeen or 
 forty days, is t\, question mooted, and remains at issue between the 
 Lords and Commons.— (Bacon's ^Abridgments, vol* 4, p. 233 — 
 Cotton's Record, lOi* — JenHn^s, 1 18.) They are also during the 
 session to have ready access to the King or House of Lords, and to 
 address or confer with them on all occasions they may require. 
 
 No member of the House of Commons, any more than the House 
 of Peers, can by right be questioned or compelled to answer in any 
 place whatever, touching any thing said or done by himself or 
 others in Parliament, in order that perfect freedom of speech and 
 action may leave nothing undone for the public weal. They have 
 also during the session, ''n equal power to punish any who shall 
 presume to traduce their dignity, or detract from the rights or pri- 
 vileges of any member of their house. The Commons form a 
 a court of judicature distinct from the judicature of the House of 
 Lords. Theirs is the peculiar privilege \q try and adjudge the 
 legality of the election of their own members. They may fine and 
 confine their own members, as well as others, for delinquency or 
 offence against the honour of their house. But in all other matter? 
 of judicature, they are merely a court of inquisition and present- 
 ment, and not a tribunal of definitive judgment. 
 
 In this respect, however, they are extremely formidable. They 
 ore considered the grand inguet'' of the nation, for which they are 
 supposed to be perfectly quali6« d by a personal knowledge of what 
 has been transacted throughout the several shires, cities and towns> 
 from whence they assemble, and which they represent. Over and 
 above their inquiry into all public grievances, all ministers, nriagia* 
 
 
m 
 
 xi 
 
 ii 
 
 trtites, judgen, and justiciaries, who sell, deny or delay justrc^^ 
 who attempt or devise the subversion of any part of the Constitu- 
 tion, with all euch as are above the reach of inferior courts, comt 
 under the particular cognizance of the Commons, to be by them 
 impeached and presented for trial at the bar of the House of Lords. 
 And these inquisitorial and judicial powers of the two houses, from 
 which no man under the crown can be exempted, are deemed a 
 fufBcient allay and counterpoise to the whole executive poioer of the 
 King by his ministers. The legislative department of the powers 
 of the Commons is in all respects co-equal with that of the peers. 
 They frame any bills.- at pleasure for the purposes of government. 
 They exercise a right, as the Lords also do, to propose and bring in 
 bills for the repeal or amendment of old laws, as well as for the 
 ordaining of new ones — and each house hath alike a negative on all 
 bills that are framed and passed by the other. 
 
 But the capital, the incommunicable privilege of the House of 
 Commons, arises from their being empowered to take from the 
 people a small portion of their property, in order to restore it three- 
 ibld, in the advantages of peace, equal government, and the en- 
 couragement of trade, industry, and manufactures. This power, 
 once given to the people, could never after be wrested from them, 
 and tlie Commons, the immediate organ of the people, have ever 
 Ijeen exceedingly tenacious of their privileges, and have justly con- 
 sidere I that to suffer the superior peerage to infringe them, would be 
 the highest breach of trust they could be guilty of. By this funda- 
 mental and incommunicable privilege, the Commons have the sole 
 power over the money of the people, to grant or deny aids, accord- 
 ing ae they shall judge them either requisite or unnecessary to the 
 public service. Theirs is the province, and theirs alone, to enquire 
 into and judge of the several occasions for which such aids maybe 
 required, and to measure and appropriate the sums ^o their respec- 
 tive uses. Theirs also is the sole province of framing all bills or 
 laws for the imj)osingof any taxes, and of appointing the means for 
 levying the same upon the people. Neither may the first or second 
 estate, either King or Peerage, propound or do any thing relating to 
 these matters that may any way intt>rfere with the proceedings of 
 the Commons, except by their assent or dissent to such bills when 
 presented to them. After such taxes have been levied and diipoaed 
 of, the Commons have the further right of examining into the ap- 
 plication of them, of ordering all accounts relative thereto to be laid 
 bdfore them, and of censuring the abuse or misapplication thereof. 
 
 The royal assent to all other bills is expressed in Norman French, 
 by the terms *• le Roy le veut,^^ " the King wills it.'" If the King 
 refuse his assent, " le Roy si avisera^^ ^^^^c King will advise upon 
 

 xu 
 
 ii 
 
 ml 
 
 i ! 
 
 tV.'' But when ihe Commons present their bills ofaidXo the So- 
 vereign, it is answered, " le Roy remercie ses loyaux sujeis et nirui 
 le vcutf^ " the King thanks his loyal subjects and so willcth ;" an 
 express acknowledgment that the right of granting or levying monies 
 for public services lies solely in the people and their representatives. 
 This capital privilege of the Commons constitutes the grand coun- 
 terpoise to the Sovereign's principal prerogative o{ making peace cr 
 vxir, for no v/ar could be undertaken without the sinews thereof — 
 moneys and the granting of which is immeaiately vested in the peo- 
 ple, through their repreaentatives in the House of Commons. Both 
 Houses must be prorogued together, and dissolved together, for one 
 cannot subsij^t vvithont the other. 
 I now come to treat of them collectively as 
 
 THE THREE ESTATES IN PARLIAMENT. 
 
 The Sovereign, Lords and Commons, in Parliament assembled, 
 have the legislative power ^ and when so assembled form the great 
 representative of the whole nation. The institution, repeal, and 
 amendment d*laws, together with the redress of public grievances 
 and offences are not within the capacity of any of the three estates, 
 •distinct from the others. 
 
 The three estates originally when assembled in Parliament sat 
 together consulting in the open field ; accordingly at Runnamead, or 
 Runnimeile, on the 15th June, 121.% in the seventeenth year of 
 his reign. King John passed the great charter, (as therein is ex- 
 pressed,) " by the advice of the Lords spiritual and temporal, and of 
 several commoners, [et aliorvmjidelium) and of others of his faith- 
 ful people." Andinlbe twenty-first clause df the said charter, he 
 covenants that " for having the common council of the kingdom to 
 assess aids, he will cause the lords spiritual and temporal to be sum- 
 moned by his writs, and moreover he will cause the principal com- 
 moners or those who held from him in chief, to be generally sum- 
 moned to said Parliaments by his sheriffs and bailiffs." 
 
 In th« said assemblies, however, the concourse becfame so great 
 and disorderiy, and the contests frequently ran so high between the 
 .several eshtes in assertion of their respective privileges, that they 
 judged it more expedient to sit apart a,id separately to exercise the 
 offices of their respective departments. 
 
 One of the greatest benefits conferred by the British Constitution, 
 vind which is an essential part of it, is the trial by jury, and which 
 nray be traced to very ancient origin, Mr. Hume hrs given an 
 opinion that the first lineaments of English jury displayed itself in 
 the fertile mind and wise actts of the great Alfred. But the trial by 
 jury, in civil and criminal causes by twelve men, appears to have 
 
XIU 
 
 l)een first placeJ on tangible fooling hy William the Conqueror, and 
 made permanently perfect by the famous Act of the 12 Charles 
 the Second, from which data we may reckon the re-establishment 
 of church and monarchy. By that net Chirle., removed all the 
 slavish tenures and disabilities, the badges of foreign dominion. 
 And the greatest security, by the Fame monarch, was thrown 
 around the liberty of the subject, by that great bulwark of our Con- 
 Btitution, the Habeas Corpus Act ; which is of inestimable value, and 
 even more beneficial than the magna charta. unwillingly conceded 
 by John at Runnimede. 
 
 By the 6th Will, and Mary, cap. 2, it was enactetl that Parlia- 
 ments could not continue longer than three years; but by the 1st 
 Greo. I. Stat. 2, cap. 38, it was enacted that Parliaments may 
 respectively have continuance for seven years, except by demise 
 of the crown, or by exercise of the prerogative of the Sovereign in 
 dissolving the Parliament. 
 
 In all steps of national import the Sovereign is to be coiKiucted 
 by the direction of the Parliament, his greut nntional council, a 
 council on whom it is equally incumbent to consult, for the Sove- 
 reign, with whom they are connected, as for the people, whom they 
 represent. 
 
 Thus the Sovereign is constitutionally to be guided by the sense 
 of his Parliament, and the Parliament alike is t(t be constitutionally 
 guided by the general sense of the people. Now while the three 
 estates act distinctly, within their respective departments, tiiej 
 alfect and are reciprocally aflected by each other. For instance, 
 the Sovereign has the sole prerogative of making war, but the 
 w^aws are in the hands of iho people and iheir representatives. 
 Again, to the Sovereign is committed the xvhole executive pon'cr ; 
 but then the ministers of that power are accountable to a irikunnt 
 from which a criminal has no appeal. Again the Sovereign hath 
 a negative voice upon all bills whereby his own prerogatives are 
 guarded from invasion. 
 
 But should he refuse the royal assent to bills tending io the 
 general good of the subject, the Commons can also withhold their 
 bills of assessment, or annex the rejected bills to the bill of aids. 
 Again to the Sovereign is committed the cognizance of all causes. 
 
 But should his judges or justiciaries nervert the rule of riglit 
 and strict justice, an inquisition, impeachment and trial impends, 
 trom whose judgment the judges cannot be exempted. 
 
 
 XX,I' I'; 
 
 
'■ I ' Ulf ll 
 
 XIV 
 
 DEDUCTIONS. 
 
 i» I 
 
 While the Sovereign is thus controlled by the Lords and the 
 Commons, while the Lords are thus controlled by the Commons 
 and the Sovereign, and while the Commons are thus controlled 
 by the other two estates from attempting any thing to the prejudice 
 of the general welfare, the three estatiis may be justly compared 
 to three pillars divided below at equidiidtant angles, but united and 
 supported at top merely by the be^nng of each pillar against the 
 other. Take but any one of these pillars away and the other two 
 must inevitably fall ; but while all act on each other, all are 
 eciualiy counteracted, and thereby establish the general frame. 
 
 HONI SOIT QUI MAL Y PENSE. 
 
 , CONCLUDING REMARKS. 
 
 Thus, I have endeavoured to place before you, condensed in a 
 small form, the Constitution of the country to which we in com- 
 mon owe allegiance. It is for you to judge between the sophistry 
 of tlie unprincipled demagogue, who would blind your judgment 
 by clamour and exaggeration, and the plain matter of fact present- 
 ed for your consideration. I have not deluded you by false reason- 
 ing; but have placed for your acceptance incontrovertible truths. 
 I am prepared to hear the republican Cantwell exclaim : — It may 
 be all true that you have pointed out, but give us a transcript of 
 the British Constitution ! Had I time and limit I think I could 
 convince you, (not him,) that we have a transcript of the British 
 Constitution, or as closely assimilating with it as may be compatible 
 wiUi the real interests of the colonies and the parent country collec- 
 tively considered. A diffeience however in some respects must 
 arise from the subjection of the colonies to the mother country ; 
 that power being subject to no other. I reiterate, that I assert 
 not perfectability in our legislation at home nor in the colonies, 
 and I am a warm advocate for the redress of any real grievance ; 
 point out its existence, and the practicability of its removal, -mihr 
 out producing a greater, and I shall most happily employ with 
 you every constitutional and legitimate means to ^ect i remedy ; 
 but do not ask me to attempt it by spilling the blood of my fellow 
 roan ! Do not ask me to f^ound the tocsin of war in array against 
 
XY 
 
 tSic much revered institutions of my country, — for I dare not ! 
 I could not meet the frown of an angry God, should I be fated to 
 fall in the unnatural enterprise ! And I am too selfish, should I be 
 certain of surviving it, for I mupt live to respect myself, which I 
 could not do were I to forget all the sacred obligations of a Chris- 
 tian and a man, to my Creator and my country. 
 
 I cannot omit this opportunity of impressing on the minds of 
 parents and guardians, that it is a duty which they owe to those 
 under their charge, to make them acquainted with the history and 
 laws of their country. It is an unquestionable obligation that 
 every member of society owes to himself and his fellow men, to 
 *' read, mark, learn, and inwardly digest'' tliat very useful lesson. 
 Had this been more generally observed, I am satisfied the convic- 
 tion, consequent upon such inquiry, showing the inestimable pri- 
 vileges and benefits conferred upon us by our happy Constitution 
 — the pride of Britons, and admiration of the world — ^would have 
 prevented the consummation of wholesale misery, which has 
 overtaken so many of our fellow subjects during the past twenty 
 months. For a brief time a disease, a mania, spread itself more 
 fell and desolating than cholera or the plague ; indeed the term 
 mania appears very just in its application, when we reflect tliat 
 hundreds who were living in independence, in command of all 
 that could be desired to make themselves and their dependants 
 happy, have madly risked so much good in possession, to gain 
 what 1 Alas ! I know not ! I cannot perceive any good that 
 could possibly have resulted to the country from the visionary 
 scheme to overthrow the existing government. The ambition of 
 a few, seeking place and power, might have been gratified, and 
 your real interests offered up as a sacrifice. 
 
 I cannot better sum up all that I have endeavoured to convey 
 to your minds, than by quoting a paragraph from an excellent 
 siermon delivered at Montreal by the Reverend Robert Alder, 
 Wesleyan Minister, on the occasion of the late Duke of York's 
 death — *' Of all the c\v\\ Constitutions under Heaven, the British 
 is demonstrably the best. It has been long tried, and has stood 
 tlie rudest test. The lapse of ages tends only to invigorate, and 
 render it more effective. It is through ita excellence, under God, 
 that an inconsiderable island has acquired the resources, energy, 
 and strength of the mightiest continental empire. It is the object 
 of God's most peculiar care, because it is most like His (mm ad- 
 ministration. It is an honor to be born upder it, a blessing to 
 live under it, and a glory to defend and support it." I would for 
 a moment direct your attention to an honourable example set us 
 by oUr honest, right-hearted Indian brethren: — ^^Vhat eay our 
 
XVI 
 
 l)rave companions!, who were with us in the hour of nocd 1 " Wc 
 have not a radical or rebel anionj! us." Thus to a man tiiey 
 venerate and support the country that knows hov/ to appreciate 
 their worth. And our colored friends, also, shew they estimate 
 its value. Their conduct throughout the late troubles has tcstifieil 
 it. To them the British Constitution has said — ^ , 
 
 
 
 " TUy chains arc broken ; Africa be frcu, 
 Thus said the Island I — Empress of the fca, 
 Thus aaith Britannia— O yc winds and waves 
 \Vaf» Lhe glad tidings to the land of slaves." 
 
 It is not unlikely that this little endeavour may ftill into the 
 hands of some (I hope they' may be few) who were predetermined 
 upon a jKjrtinacious and wilfully blind opposition to the British 
 Government ; with such I commune not. You, my brave fellow 
 subjects, born under the British flai;, no matter whore, and whf» 
 proudly boast of your allesiance, I will exhort in t-ho words of t!ie- 
 ]K)et Rums: — 
 
 Be Britons still to Britain true, 
 
 Amang oursels united ; 
 For never but by Britons' hraids 
 
 ?.'Iust British wrangs be righted." 
 
 if'A- 
 
 Montreal, SerTEMBER, lS39i 
 
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 JOHN LOVELL, IRI^TEE, ST. KICKOLAS STREET. . 
 
 

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