But without the intervention of the Imperial Parliament, conferring on the Governor, and Council the Powers of altering the existing division of the Counties, and making a fresh one in proportion to the increasing numbers of Inhabitants, it will be impossible to effect even this measure; no consideration could I am convinced be offered to induce the present House, or any House that can be formed, to entertain, the proposal for a moment.

Short of the decisive step of taking away the House altogether, one or other of these two measures either of reuniting the Provinces, or of forming a new division of the Counties seems to offer the only option, from which a hope can be entertained of rendering that House less capable of doing mischief; when I say this, I mean as offering the only expectation of ever effecting a Balance, to the Canadian Party, but under any shape in which it may be thought proper to continue the House, the enactment of a qualification with respect to the Representatives seems to be indispensably necessary, It really My Lord appears to me an absurdity, that the Interests of certainly not an unimportant Colony, involving in them, those also of no inconsiderable portion of the Commercial concerns of the British Empire, should be in the hands of six petty shopkeepers, a Blacksmith, a Miller, and 15 ignorant peasants who form part of our present House, a Doctor or Apothecary, twelve Canadian Avocats, and Notaries, and four, so far respectable people that at least they do not keep shops, together with ten English members compleat the List; there is not one person coming under the description of a Canadian Gentleman among them.

The qualification that I think best adapted to the circumstances of the Country, would be one hundred pounds Currency, clear annual revenue arising from Land actually the property of the person presenting himself, for twelve Calendar Months previous to the day of election, or two thousand pounds Currency in personal property clear of all debts or demands.

With respect to a qualification for the Electors, tho' I am clear that such would be advantageous, and that the present one as established by the Constitutional Act is of little use, yet I feel much greater difficulty in proposing an alteration, forty shillings yearly value of their lands, scarcely excluded one farmer in a thousand, in fact, nearly every head of a family possesses a farm, and every farm is of a value exceeding that amount; the farms in general run so nearly of the same value, or vary only on account of being in a more or less favorable part of the Province, that any qualification under the general average, would bear the right of suffrage very near where it now is, and if it were established at a higher rate, it might perhaps narrow the right below its fair limits: It undoubtedly would be desirable that the very lower class should be excluded, but I think the number is not yet so great as to induce the risk of what would be a greater inconvenience, to effect their exclusion, for I should consider as such the reducing the number of Electors within too narrow bounds.

In the meantime however an opportunity appears to me to present itself by which much may be done towards keeping the House itself within proper bounds; by shewing it, that its proceedings are watched, and that it will not be suffered to outstep those limits by which its subordination to the Imperial Parliament is established, while it would tend to manifest that subordination to the people, and perhaps lessen the confidence they may possess in their leaders, by shewing them that they are not all powerful, and that they may be in the wrong.

The House by rendering a certain class of His Majesty's subjects ineligible to a seat, by a vote of their own, has clearly violated the Act of the British Parliament by which they themselves exist, and should this assumption of theirs be submitted to, they will successively vote every class of His Majesty's servants to be ineligible, I do not speak this hypothetically My Lord, as what they may do, I mean it Literally as wha I firmly believe they will do. I have not a doubt that much good would result from a retaliatory act of the Imperial Parliament forbidding the

Governor to permit the House to proceed to any business, of any sort whatever, and directing him to prorogue, or dissolve them, as he may see occasion, whenever they attempt to proceed to any vote, or any other motion, except that of rescinding their resolve, and expunging it from their Journals, It would be done without a moment's hesitation, It would teach them caution in future, and it would make them view their situation in a different light from what they do now.

This correction proceeding from Parliament would certainly be the most effectual; If however from reasons which are beyond my competency in judging, it should not be thought advisable to move such a measure in the Imperial Parliament, It might perhaps be nearly as affectual, if I were authorized to recommend it in His Majesty's Name, should His Majesty in His wisdom permit me so to do, In this case I presume the message to be delivered would be prescribed to me, otherwise, I should express His Majesty's confident hope and expectation that they would see the expediency of proceeding immediately, and in the first step to a measure required of them, upon every principle of Justice to the people, and of deference to the Imperial Parliament, and in the event of their attempting to enter on any other business whatever, or even admit of a motion other than what might be necessary for the purpose of carrying His Majesty's recommendations into effect, I would immediately prorogue them, and should they show the same spirit of resistance a second time, which is not to be expected, I would dissolve them again. Should I adopt this course as of myself, under His Majesty's instructions tho' without His name, I fear it would produce infinite confusion and an endless controversy; they would certainly resist it in the first instance, how far they would carry their resistance it is impossible to say-but tho' they might comply at last and probably would, they would accompany that compliance with resolutions and proceedings that would only tend to keep us at variance, and to impede all public business; and after all, the effect upon them, and upon the people, would fall infinitely short of what might be expected in either of the other ways to which I have alluded.

In adverting to the little means of influence that the Governor possesses, I am at a total loss how to propose any (except in the obvious instance to which I shall shortly allude) by which it may be increased. The Militia furnishes little or none, the great body of the officers, that is those of the Country Companies, is composed of Habitants, but a Shade removed above the others in intelligence, tho' they are chosen from the most respectable among them. They are generally speaking the first to whom the Agents of the Party address themselves, and they are represented to me as among the most disaffected of the Province, as Credulous as their Comrades they listen to, and believe what is told them, while under the same infatuation of mistrust of every body of an Order higher than themselves, there are no means of disabusing them; I am certain if I were to dismiss every officer against whom information has been given me, I should change one third of the Militia of the Province.

Unfortunately My Lord, the great source of not only the most extensive but also of the most powerful and useful influence is in the hands of an individual who is himself as I am assured, (and that from no bad authority) at this moment a Suffragan of an Archiepiscopal See in France; I have already adverted to the power exercised by the Bishop in the appointment and removal at his pleasure of the Clergy of this province.

Upon careful enquiry into the subject, I find that previous to the Conquest, the Bishop did exercise the right of appointment, In 1667 a Royal Edict gave the right of patronage to the Seigneurs or founders of the Church, but a subsequent Edict of 1699 gave it to the Bishops, but in Order to render this matter more clear I shall enclose a Memorandum given me on the subject by the Chief Justice'.

His Majesty's Right to the nomination is clear and incontestable, so much so that were a Habitant to refuse to pay his tythes, The Church

might excommunicate him, but for want of that nomination, it is held that the Curé could not in any of His Majesty's Courts of Law compel him to pay; The resumption of this right appears to me to be indispensable to any hopes that may be entertained of retaining the dominions of the Colony, and this I confess seems to me also to be the moment for affecting that resumption; It may be accomplished now, twenty years hence it will be more difficult if not impracticable, but the truth is the danger presses, this influence is universally believed and I believe it myself, to be now silently working against us; I do not know that the proposed change would turn its current, but I am sure it would lessen the force of it very much.

The Person who at present exercises the Episcopal functions', is not I think of a turbulent disposition, but he is a Man of great ambition, and some art, I doubt whether the former is not such as to preclude any great hope of succeeding with him by a negotiation voluntarily to resign the Post he now holds, I am inclined to believe that he himself would prefer that his submission should bear the appearance of an Act of necessity, under the power of an Act of the Imperial Parliament, or of the just exercise of His Majesty's Right, at the same time however, if whether it be accomplished by negotiation, or otherwise, He comes into it with a good grace, I Imagine it will be thought reasonable that his allowance should be increased, He has now only £200 a year, it would not be amiss to hint to him, that his Salary would be increased to the extent that His Majesty in the exercise of His Liberality might think proper to permit. On this very important subject, permit me My Lord to refer to a letter from Sir Robt. S. Milnes together with a Memorial from the Bishop, copies of which I enclose; From some circumstances that occurred at that moment, no instructions were sent here in consequence, otherwise there is no doubt that the measure might have been effected.

As to the Curés themselves, it is understood that they are at present rather uneasy at the power exercised over them, and the obvious amelioration of their situation, would I think soon reconcile them to the change; It would be proper to give them a free hold in their livings, of which they could not be deprived unless it were in consequence of the sentence of the Bishop, who on a complaint against a Curé referred to him by the Government, should be empowered to call into his assistance his Grands Vicaires, and to examine into it, from which sentence however, the party should have his appeal in His Majesty's Courts (it is thought that it would be dangerous to give him the right of enquiry into Complaints without their being referred to him by the Government, the removal from a living to a better, to be of course at the pleasure of the Crown. It must be recollected that the appointment of the Grands Vicaires, must also rest with the Crown, at present they are named by the Bishop without even the Ceremony of presenting them to the Governor.

The resumption of the Lands held by the Seminary at Montreal would in like manner tend to an increase of the influence of Government, and would to a certainty lessen that of the self created community, in whose possession they now rest, the right is incontestable, and they are so sensible of it, that they make a rule of dropping all claims by which the discussion might be brought into Court, The Majority of the present Members of the Institution are french emigrant Priests, and are not amongst the least dangerous persons in the Colony; the Person at the head of it particularly is of that description, a very able, but a very artful designing Man, whose predeliction for France is not doubted: the Estate under proper management would probably produce ten thousand pounds a Year, and four would be an ample allowance to them to carry on their Establishment; The Seminary of Quebec is also in the possession of large property, to which they have an undoubted Claim, and the two together, form an ample provision for the Education of their Youth.

I will not detain your Lordship any further by a word more of apology 1 Mons. Plessis.

for the extreme length of this dispatch, the occasion has seemed to me to require it, and I am yet sensible of the very deficient manner in which I have treated the subject, which I have felt it to be my duty to undertake; to remedy this deficiency, I have confided my dispatch to Mr. Ryland my Civil Secretary, this Gentleman has been in office here seventeen years, during the greater part of which, he has been in the Station he now holds under my administration. He possesses my entire confidence and I am persuaded is most perfectly qualified to give every Information that your Lordship may desire, my motive indeed for sending him is that your Lordship may have a more perfect, and detailed account than it is possible to convey in a letter however long it may be.

I have the Honor to be,

My Lord,

Your Lordship's most obedient humble Servant.

J. H. CRAIG.

LXXIV

OBSERVATIONS OF CHIEF JUSTICE SEWELL ON THE UNION OF THE PROVINCES

[Trans. Doughty and McArthur.]

May it please your Excellency.

You have been pleased to call for my sentiments upon the present situation of Canada, and I have now the honor to submit them to your consideration and superior Judgment.

The Political Evils which we labour under arise in my apprehension from two principal causes, 1st From French predilections in the great Mass of the Inhabitants, and 2dly From want of Influence and power in the Executive Government, írom the former, arises that distinction between the Government and the People, which is daily and too visibly productive of mutual distrust, jealousies, and even enmity, and from the latter a total inability to produce the means by which the effects of that distinction may be counteracted. What must be the result, if things remain as they are is obvious, No hopes can be entertained, that French predilections can be obliterated from the minds of His Majesty's Canadian Subjects, and if they be not counteracted, they will continue to augment until by some crisis, force will be required and the future state and condition of Canada will then be decided by a recourse to arms.

The great links of connection between a Government and its subjects are religious (religion) Laws, and Language, and when Conquerors possess the same religion, and use the same Laws and the same Language as the Conquered, the incorporation of both into one political body is easily effected: But when they are at variance on these points, experience seems to have demonstrated in Canada, that it cannot at all be effected while this variance subsists. Obedience may be rendered by conquered subjects under such circumstances, but it is the obedience of a Foreigner to a Government which in his estimation is not his own, and as he views it as an alien power, there is no attachment, no affection in his mind towards it, and consequently no disposition to unite with those who constitute the Government or its natural subjects. Every favor conferred is considered to be no more than what is due to them, or as a matter obtained from persons who would not have conceded so much if it had been possible for them to retain it. No Confidence exists, and he is in a continual belief, That more is meditated by the Government, in every of its measures, than meets his Eye. At the conquest of Canada, the conquerors were Englishmen and Protestants. They spoke the English Language and no other, they were attached to the English Laws, and fostered in their minds a natural antipathy against Frenchmen. The English Subjects of the present day who are settled in Canada, having no cause to be dissatisfied with the

religion the Language or the Laws of their Mother Country, and having no cause to be better pleased with France than their Forefathers, are now precisely what the conquerors of Canada were; on the other hand the People of Canada at the Conquest were Frenchmen, and Roman Catholics, They spoke the French Language, and no other, they were attached to French Laws, and fostered in their minds a National antipathy against Englishmen, since that period. By the Statute 14, Geo. III. c. 83' the Laws of France have been enacted, and declared to be the Laws of Canada. And the Roman Catholic Religion has been established in the Province, and as it has not been thought adviseable, by any Act of Parliament or other means to attempt the general introduction of the English Language, The French Tongue universally prevails, even in the Courts of Justice and in the Legislature, the Canadians therefore in those several Respects, are also precisely what they were at the conquest. They are still Frenchmen, their habits (the fruits of their Religion, and their Laws) are still the habits of Frenchmen, and so much in opposition to the habits of our own people, tho' there is no intercourse between them; I fear I may add with truth that the antipathy of Canadians, and English Subjects against each other, is mutually as great as ever.

It seems, Sir, to me, impossible that the incorporation of two such Extremes can ever be effected, and to this I add, that no change in the Laws or religion of the Country can be even expected until the Majority of its inhabitants are Englishmen, in principle, and that while the number of English settlers remains so small in comparison to that of the Canadians, a change in Language, cannot be looked for. Yet the Province must be converted into an English Colony, or, it will ultimately be lost to England.

I am led from these considerations in the first instance to conceive it indispensably necessary to overwhelm and sink the Canadian population of (Sic) English Protestants, and this I believe to be practicable; I do not mean that subjects can or ought to be procured from England to the extent required for this purpose, but they may, and I think ought to be procured from the neighbouring States, For although it may be feared by some that they would not be good Subjects, I have myself no such fears; I believe that once settled in the Province they would have no wish to return to their former system of Government, an expectation justified by the conduct of those who are already settled in the country. It is besides only in the case of a War with the Northern States of America that the disaffection of such settlers is to be dreaded, and this is an event to be contemplated probably as a remote contingency. We should also remember that the great fear of the Northern States is the Existence of a nation of Frenchmen upon their Borders, and that in all probability the introduction of other settlers by appeasing this apprehension, by increasing our connections with them, and particularly our commercial intercourse, would have a tendency to pursue the good understanding which subsists at present for a longer course of years than otherwise might be expected, and possibly until the original Settlers shall be succeeded by a new Generation of British Born Subjects; But let the weight of these observances be what it may, such settlers it is certain would be the descendants of Englishmen, profess the same religion, and speak the same language, and would therefore be more easily assimilated, and become better subjects than those which we now possess, and if to people the Country with such Characters is to incur a risk, the risk incurred will be less than that which we must incur by suffering the Province to remain in its present state.

The Waste Lands of the Crown afford sufficient means for the accommodation of a much greater number of Settlers than is required, But their dispersion through the settled parts of the Country is desirable upon many accounts, and to effect this would require the aid of Parliament. All the Grants of the French Government were made under the feudal System,

1 See No. XXV.

2 Obviously for "by."