His Majesty to a measure, the principle of which would endanger the foundation of all proprietary titles, and all social rights. The remaining topics embraced in the Address require, on the present occasion, no very lengthened notice, because when attentively considered, that document does not appear to advance any principle respecting them essentially different from those which are admitted or maintained in my Despatch of the 17th of July. Respecting Judicial independence, the Assembly frankly admit the entire coincidence between the opinions of His Majesty's Ministers and their own. With regard to the settlement and management of the uncleared lands, and to all questions of finance, I trust I am not mistaken in supposing that no essential difference in principle exists between the sentiments contained in the Address, and those expressed in my despatch of the 17th July. And now, referring to the preceding remarks, I conceive myself entitled to state, that there did not exist during the last Session any real or substantial difference of opinion between the Ministers of the Crown and the House of Assembly, on any question regarding which His Majesty's Government felt at liberty to take any immediate proceedings. No single complaint had been alleged which had not been either promptly removed, or made the subject of impartial enquiry. No maladministration of the affairs of the Province was imputed to your Lordship. Without any actual controversy with the Executive Government, the House, however, declined a compliance with the proposition to provide for the arrears and for the supplies pending the enquiry. His Majesty does not deny that this is a power which the law has entrusted to the representatives of the people. But he cannot admit that, on the present occasion, the recourse to the exercise of that power can be attributed to any indisposition on the part of His Majesty to accord the fullest measure of justice to His Canadian subjects. On a review of all the circumstances of the case, His Majesty's Government are led to the conclusion, that the course pursued by the House is to be ascribed to the misapprehension of the tenor of your Lordship's instructions, induced by the publication of a few detached passages from them. Your Lordship will, therefore, communicate to the House a complete copy of those instructions, and will renew your application for the arrears now due to the public officers, and for the funds necessary to carry on His Majesty's service, I have the honor to be, my Lord, GLENELG. CXXIV LORD JOHN RUSSELL'S TEN RESOLUTIONS, MARCH 6, 18371 [Trans. Hansard: (3rd Series) Vol. XXXVI. p. 1303.] : 1. That since the 31st day of October, in the year 1832, no provision has been made by the Legislature of the province of Lower Canada, for defraying the charges of the administration of justice, and for the support of the civil government, within the said province, and that there will, on the 10th day of April now next ensuing, be required for defraying in full the charges aforesaid to that day, the sume of £142,160. 14s. 6d. 2. That at a Session of the Legislature of Lower Canada, holden at the city of Quebec, in the said province, in the months of September and October, 1836, the Governor of the said province, in compliance with his Majesty's commands, recommended to the attention of the House of Assembly thereof, the estimates for the current year, and also the accounts. showing the arrears due in respect of the civil government, and signified to the said House his Majesty's confidence that they would accede to the 1 For the circumstances which led to these Resolutions, see p. 398, note, and cfNo. CXXV. application which he had been commanded to renew, for payment of the arrears due on account of the public service, and for the funds necessary to carry on the civil government of the province. 3. That the said House of Assembly, on the 3d day of October, 1836, by an address to the Governor of the said province, declined to vote a supply for the purposes aforesaid, and by the said address, after referring to a former address of the said House to the Governor of the said province, declared that the said House persisted, amongst other things, in the demand of an elective Legislative Council, and in demanding the repeal of a certain Act passed by the Parliament of the United Kingdom in favour of the North American Land Company; and by the said address, the said House of Assembly further adverted to the demand made by that House of the free exercise of its control over all the branches of the Executive Government; and by the said address, the said House of Assembly further declared, that it was incumbent on them, in the present conjuncture, to adjourn their deliberations until his Majesty's Government should, by its acts, especially by rendering the second branch of the Legislature conformable to the wishes and wants of the people, have commenced the great work of justice and reform, and created a confidence, which alone could crown it with success. 4. That in the existing state of Lower Canada, it is unadvisable to make the Legislative Council of that province an elective body; but that it is expedient that measures be adopted for securing to that branch of the Legislature a greater degree of public confidence. 5. That while it is expedient to improve the composition of the Executive Council in Lower Canada, it is unadvisable to subject it to the responsibility demanded by the House of Assembly of that province. 6. That the legal title of the North American Land Company to the land holden by the said Company, by virtue of a grant from his Majesty, under the public seal of the said province, and to the privileges conferred on the said company by the Act for that purpose made, in the fourth year of his Majesty's reign, ought to be maintained inviolate. 7. That it is expedient, that so soon as provisions shall have been made by law, to be passed by the Legislature of the said province of Lower Canada, for the discharge of lands therein from feudal dues and services, and for removing any doubts as to the incidents of the tenure of land in fee and common soccage in the said province, a certain Act made and passed in the sixth year of the reign of his late Majesty King George IV., commonly called "The Canada Tenures Act," and so much of another Act passed in the third year of his said late Majesty's reign, commonly called The Canada Trade Act," as relates to the tenures of land in the said province, should be repealed, saving nevertheless to all persons all rights in them vested under or by virtue of the said recited Acts. 8. That for defraying the arrears due on account of the established and customary charges of the administration of justice, and of the civil government of the said province, it is expedient, that after applying for that purpose such balance as shall, on the said 10th day of April, 1837, be in the hands of the Receiver-General of the said province, arising from his Majesty's hereditary, territorial, and casual revenue, the Governor of the said province be empowered to issue from and out of any other part of his Majesty's revenues, in the hands of the Receiver-General of the said province, such further sums as shall be necessary to effect the payment of the before-mentioned sum of £142,160. 14s. 6d. 9. That it is expedient that his Majesty be authorised to place at the disposal of the Legislature of the said province, the net proceeds of his Majesty's hereditary, territorial, and casual revenue arising within the same, in case the said Legislature shall see fit to grant to his Majesty a civil list for defraying the necessary charges of the administration of justice, and for the maintenance and unavoidable expenses of certain of the principal officers of the civil government of the said provinces. 10. That great inconvenience had been sustained by his Majesty's subjects inhabiting the provinces of Lower Canada and Upper Canada, from the want of some adequate means for regulating and adjusting questions respecting the trade and commerce of the said provinces, and divers other questions, wherein the said provinces have a common interest; and it is expedient that the Legislature of the said provinces respectively be authorised to make provision for the joint regulation and adjustment of such their common interest. CXXV GOSFORD'S SPEECH TO THE LEGISLATURE, AUGUST, 1837 [Trans. Christie, op. cit.] Gentlemen of the Legislative Council, The Reports of the Royal Commissioners on the several subjects which came under their investigation during their stay in Lower Canada, having been laid before the two Houses of Parliament, a series of resolutions, ten in number, were shortly afterwards introduced by the Ministers relative to the affairs of this Province, copies of which I will communicate to you in the usual way at the earliest opportunity. The principal objects of these resolutions are to declare: 1st. That in the existing state of Lower Canada, it is unadvisable to make the Legislative Council elective, but that it is expedient to adopt measures for securing to that branch of the Legislature a greater degree of public confidence. 2ndly. That while it is expedient to improve the composition of the Executive Council, it is unadvisable to subject it to the responsibility demanded by the House of Assembly. 3rdly. That the legal title of the British American Land Company to the land they hold under their Charter, and an Act of the Imperial Parliament, ought to be maintained inviolate. 4thly. That as soon as this Legislature shall make provision by law for discharging lands from feudal dues and services, and for removing any doubts as to the incidents of the Tenures of Land in free and common soccage, it is expedient to repeal the Canada Tenures Act, and the Canada Trade Act, so far as the latter relates to the Tenures of Land in this Province, saving, nevertheless, to all persons, the rights vested in them under or by virtue of those Acts. 5thly. That for defraying the arrears due on account of the establishment and customary charges of the Administration of Justice and of the Civil Government of the Province, it is expedient that after applying for that purpose such balance as should, on the 10th day of April last, be in the hands of the Receiver General, arising from the hereditary, territorial and casual revenues of the Crown, the Governor of the Province be empowered to issue, out of any other monies in the hands of the Receiver General, such further sums as shall be necessary to effect the payment of such arrears and charges up to the 10th April last. 6thly. That it is expedient to place at the disposal of this Legislature the net proceeds of the hereditary, territorial and casual revenues arising within the Province, in case the said Legislature shall see fit to grant a Civil List for defraying the charges of the Administration of Justice, and for the maintenance and unavoidable expenses of certain of the principal officers of the Civil Government of the Province, and Lastly, that it is expedient that the Legislatures of Lower and Upper Canada respectively, be authorized to make provision for the joint regulation and adjustment of questions respecting their trade and commerce, and of other questions wherein they have a common interest. Having thus laid before you an outline of the measures contemplated by the resolutions which were passed after full discussion in the House of Commons by large majorities, and in the House of Peers without a division, I proceed, in obedience to the Royal Commands, to assure you that it was with the deepest regret and reluctance that Her Majesty's Government yielded to the necessity of invoking the interference of Parliament, in order to meet the pressing difficulties which other_resources had failed to remove in the administration of the affairs of the Province. But with a view to abstain, as much as possible, from any interference which is not imperatively demanded by the force of existing circumstances, Her Majesty's Ministers have determined not to submit to the present Parliament the Bills to be founded on the resolutions of which I have just spoken. Yet as they cannot overlook the necessity of making immediate provision for the discharge of the debt from the Civil Government of this Province, they have resolved to propose to the House of Commons that a vote of credit should be passed for the advance, by way of loan, from British Funds, of the sum required for the payment of the debt. Gentlemen of the House of Assembly, The accounts showing the payments that have been made since the close of the Session in March, 1836, out of the revenues at the disposal of the Crown, in part liquidation of the large arrears then due in respect of the civil establishment of the Province, shall, as soon as possible, be submitted to you, with every explanation that you may desire, and I can supply. I have, likewise, in obedience to the injunctions I have received, directed that an account of the balance of arrears owing on the 10th April last for official salaries, and the other ordinary expenditure of the local Government, be made and laid before you, with an estimate for the current half year, and in recommending as I do most earnestly these matters to your early and favorable consideration, I am commanded to express to you, at the same time, the anxious hope that the Governor of this Province may not be compelled to exercise the power with which the Imperial Parliament has declared its intention of investing him, in order to discharge the arrears due in respect of public services, for the payment of which the faith of the Crown has been repeatedly pledged. The chief object, therefore, for which you are now called together, is to afford you an opportunity by granting the requisite supplies of rendering unnecessary, on the part of the Imperial Parliament, any further action on the 8th of the series of resolutions to which I have alluded; and it will, I can assure you, be to me a matter of unmixed satisfaction, should you resolve to concede to the united voice of the British people, as expressed through the several branches of their Legislature, that which you have not thought it expedient to yield to the solicitation of the Executive Government alone. Gentlemen of the Legislative Council, Gentlemen of the House of Assembly, I am further commanded to express to you the earnest desire of Her Majesty's Government to co-operate with you in the removal of every obstacle to the beneficial working of the existing Constitution, and in the correction of every defect which time and experience have developed in the laws and institutions of the Province, or in the administration of its government; and I am, also to assure you of a prompt attention on the part of Her Majesty's Government to every representation which may proceed from you, tending to effect improvements of this nature, calculated to strengthen the connexion subsisting between Great Britain and Lower Canada, by the promotion of the welfare and interests of all classes of Her Majesty's subjects in this Province. At the time the summons was issued for assembling you on this day I had every reason to believe that it would have been in my power to announce to you, as effected, those alterations which you may gather from the resolutions of which I have spoken, it is intended to effect in the composition of the Executive and Legislative Councils, but the interruption occasioned by the demise of His late Majesty, to the progress of public business in the Imperial Parliament and the prospect of its early dissolution, have prevented the Ministers of the Crown from at once perfecting the measures they have in contemplation. These measures, there fore, are not forsaken, but only unavoidably suspended for a session, and I trust I shall, at no very distant period, be enabled to appeal to the changes introduced into the two Councils, as well as to other salutary arrangements, as a proof of the sincerity with which Her Majesty's Government are disposed to carry into effect the intentions they have expressed on these points. CXXVI ADDRESS OF ASSEMBLY OF LOWER CANADA, AUGUST, 1837 [Trans. Christie, op. cit.] May it please Your Excellency. We, Her Majesty's faithful and loyal subjects, the Commons of Lower Canada in Provincial Parliament assembled, humbly thank your Excellency for your Speech from the Throne at the opening of the present session. We assure your Excellency that at whatever season we may be called upon to perform the duties entrusted to us by the people of the Province, no personal inconvenience will prevent our labouring, as our first and most important occupation, to ensure the liberties and happiness of our fellow subjects, to remove the evils which have pressed, and still continue in a more aggravated form to press upon them, and to protect them against the system which has corrupted the Provincial Government, and has been sufficiently powerful not only to cause the Mother Country to refuse all justice to the people with regard to their demands and ours for the improvement of their political institutions, and for the reform of abuses, but to urge on the highest metropolitan authorities from whom we looked for justice and protection, to acts of violence, to a violation of the most sacred and best established rights of the Canadian people and of this Legislature, and to the destruction of the very foundations of Government. We are, then bound by our duty, frankly to declare to your Excellency, under the solemn circumstances in which we are placed, and after full and calm deliberation, that since the time when we were last called to meet in Provincial Parliament, we have seen in the conduct and proceedings of the Metropolitan Government, and of the Colonial Administration towards this country, nothing which could re-establish in the people the confidence and affection which the long and fatal experience of the past has almost destroyed; but that, on the contrary, every recent event has tended to efface what remained of these feelings, and to consolidate, in opposition to the liberties, interests and wishes of the people, the Colonial Oligarchy factiously combined against them, and the hitherto unbridled and uncontrolled sway of the Colonial Ministers in Downing Street. The avowal which it has pleased your Excellency to make to us, that the disposition of the authorities and of Parliament with regard to us, and the oppressive and unconstitutional measures which have been the result, are the consequences of the recommendations made by certain pretended authorities known by the name of the Royal Commissioners, has convinced us of the correctness of the opinions we have hitherto expressed with regard to this Commission, which, constituted and acting under no law, and without regard to law, and bound beforehand by its instructions to the partial views and narrow policy of the British Ministry in the government of the colonies, could not possibly co-operate in doing justice to the inhabitants of this Province, and in establishing their institutions, their liberties and their prospects for the future, on the solid basis of their wishes and their wants, as well as on the principles of the constitution. We were therefore in nowise astonished at discovering in the productions of this pretended commission nothing but preconceived opinions, prejudices at variance with its mission and its duty, ideas of government founded on data utterly foreign to the country, or at finding it fomenting divisions and national distinctions, forgetful of constitutional principles, calumniating 1 This Address is the reply to No. CXXV. |