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Scotia, New Brunswick, and the Island of Prince Edward, and Vice-
Admiral of the same.

May it please your Excellency,

We, Her Majesty's dutiful and loyal subjects, the Special Council for the affairs of Lower Canada, at a meeting convened by your Excellency, under the authority and in pursuance of the statute in this behalf provided, beg leave respectfully to return to your Excellency our thanks for your considerate care of the interests of this province, in having called our attention to Her Majesty's gracious message to both Houses of the Imperial Parliament, relative to the reunion of the provinces of Upper and Lower Canada, upon which important subject your Excellency has been pleased to desire the opinion of the Special Council.

In conformity with the desire of your Excellency, we have applied our deliberate consideration to the various complex interests and objects involved in the measure of reuniting the two provinces, and we most heartily express our humble gratitude to Her Majesty, for having granted her high sanction to a measure, which from our local knowledge and the experience , we have had of the government of these provinces, and of their past and present political state, we deem to be essential to their future peace and welfare, and for the good, constitutional, and efficient government of them, under the protecting care and authority of Her Majesty, and the adoption of which we are intimately convinced has become of indispensable and -urgent necessity.

In considering this contemplated measure, we have directed our attention to a few of the more prominent and important provisions, fit, as we conceive, to be embraced in it; and the views entertained by us on them, as well as on the measure itself, we have embodied in certain resolutions, which we have now the honour humbly to submit to your Excellency, as containing our opinion on the important subject, respecting which it has pleased your Excellency to consult us.

Special Council, Montreal,
14th November, 1839.

(Signed) J. STUART, Chairman.

ENCLOSURE II

Special Council, Wednesday, 13th November, 1839.

Resolved-That under existing circumstances, in order to provide adequately for the peace and tranquillity, and the good, constitutional, and efficient government of the provinces of Upper and Lower Canada, the reunion of these provinces under one legislature, in the opinion of this Council, has become of indispensable and urgent necessity.

Resolved-That the declared determination of Her Majesty, conveyed in Her gracious message to Parliament to reunite the provinces of Upper and Lower Canada, is in accordance with the opinion entertained by this Council, and receives their humble and ready acquiescence.

Resolved-That among the principal enactments, which, in the opinion of this Council, ought to make part of the Imperial Act for reuniting the provinces, it is expedient and desirable that a suitable civil list should be provided for securing the independence of the judges, and maintaining the executive government in the exercise of its necessary and indispensable functions.

Resolved-That regard being had to the nature of the public debt of Upper Canada, and the objects for which principally it was contracted, namely, the improvement of internal communications, alike useful and beneficial for both provinces, it would be just and reasonable, in the opinion of this Council, that such part of said debt, as has been contracted for this object, and not for defraying expenses of a local nature, should be chargeable on the revenues of both provinces.

Resolved-That the adjustment and settlement of the terms of the reunion of the two provinces, may, in the opinion of this Council, with all * confidence be submitted to the wisdom and justice of the Imperial Parlia

ment, under the full assurance that provisions of the nature of those already mentioned, as well as such others as the measure of reunion may require, will receive due consideration.

Resolved-That in the opinion of this Council, it is most expedient with a view to the security of Her Majesty's North American provinces, and the speedy cessation of the enormous expense now incurred by the parent state for the defence of Upper and Lower Canada, that the present temporary legislature of this province should, as soon as practicable, be succeeded by a permanent legislature, in which the people of these two provinces may be adequately represented, and their constitutional rights exercised and maintained.

CXLVI

POULETT THOMSON TO A FRIEND

[Trans. G. Poulett Scrope, Memoir of the Life of the Rt. Honourable Charles, Lord Sydenham, (2nd Edn., London, 1844.]

Toronto, November 20th and December 8th, 1839.

I have succeeded in Lower Canada in far less time and with greater ease than I could have expected from Sir John Colborne's account to me of the state of feeling, especially in his own council. The fact is, that his council ran riot, and did not know how to proceed. I have given them my opinion strongly, at the same time that I expressed my willingness to hear and give due weight to theirs. This course has shortened business (for there is a strong wish to be guided by the Home Government), and produced unanimity. So far, therefore, as the Lower Province is concerned, I look upon the Union as settled. The decision, too, I have reason to know, gives the greatest satisfaction to the Province generally,and nearly all are prepared to accept the measure, if it can be carried through Parliament, with the utmost cordiality. The fact is, that all parties there are dead-sick of the present state of things, and desire a return to Constituional Governmen. Of course the extremes have their different crotchets for arriving at this end. The ultra-French desire an immediate return to the old Constitution. The ultra-British the disfranchisement of the French Canadians. But even they have been satisfied, I believe, by a little management and a good deal of firmness, that both were equally out of the question, and have now joined with the great mass who hold the middle opinion in favour of the Union measure. The "Canadian" and the "Montreal Herald" lie down together upon this point. In short, the unanimity is wonderful.

I have now the Upper Province to deal with, which will, I fear, be a more difficult matter. But I do not despair; and certainly, so far as all the real interests of the country are concerned, the Union is far more necessary to Upper Canada than to the other. If it were possible, the best thing for Lower Canada would be a depotism for ten years more; for, in truth the people are not yet fit for the higher class of self-government— scarcely indeed, at present, for any description of it; and by carrying oneself the measures which a House of Assembly will probably never carry, one might gradually fit them for both, and at all events, leave them an amount of good institutions which the United Legislature, when it came. could not destroy. But in Upper Canada the case, as it appears to me, is widely different. The state of things here is far worse than I had expected. The country is split into factions animated with the most deadly hatred to each other. The people have got into the habit of talking so much of separation, that they begin to believe in it. The Constitutional party is as bad or worse than the other, in spite of all their professions of loyalty. The finances are more deranged than we believed even in England. The deficit, £75,000 a year, more than equal to the income. All public works suspended. Emigration going on fast from the province. Every man's property worth only half what it was. When I look to the state of Government, and to the departmental administration of the province, instead of

being surprised at the condition in which I find it, I am only astonished it has been endured so long. I know that, much as I dislike Yankee institutions and rule, I would not have fought against them, which thousands of these poor fellows, whom the Compact call rebels, did, if it were only to keep up such a Government as they got. The excitement upon "Responsible Government" is great. Not that I believe the people understand what they are clamouring for by that word; but that they feel the extreme uneasiness of their situation, owing to the financial embarrassments and hate the dominant party in the Government with intense hatred. I do not wonder at the cry for Responsible Government, when I see how things have been managed.

Then the Assembly is such a House! Split into half a dozen different parties. The Government having none—and no one man to depend on! Think of a House in which half the members hold places, yet in which the Government does not command a single vote; in which the placemen generally vote against the Executive; and where there is no one to defend the Government when attacked, or to state the opinion or views of the Governor! How, with a popular assembly, Government is to be conducted under such circumstances is a riddle to me. I am now more than ever satisfied that the Union affords the only chance of putting an end to the factions that distract the country; the only means of recruiting its finances by persuading Great Britain to help the Upper Canada Exchequer; the only means by which the present abominable system of government can be broken up, and a strong and powerful administration, both departmental and executive, be formed. And unless the people will assent to the general outline of it, and Parliament will then carry the details, upon which they would never agree, with a high hand, the province is lost. From all that I can hear or see, I would not give a year's purchase for our hold of it, if some great stroke is not given which shall turn men's thoughts from the channel in which they now run, and give a fresh impetus to public works, emigration, and the practical improvement of the country's resources.

It is indeed a pity to see this province in such a state. It is the finest country I ever knew, even what I have seen of it in a circle of thirty or forty miles from here; and by the accounts I receive the upper part is even superior. Lower Canada is not to be named in comparison. The climate, the soil, the water-power, and facilities of transport, finer than anything in North America.

Whether in their present state of violent excitement I shall be able to persuade the people to come to reasonable terms, I cannot venture to say; but I am sure it is the last and only chance. After having brought-and -to think that the French Canadians ought to have their full share of the representation, I shall not despair of anything. But what I hear, and have as yet seen, of the House of Assembly, is not encouraging. If they are not willing, however, I shall appeal to the people without hesitation; for the state of things admits of no delay, and no half measures.

CXLVII

POULETT THOMSON'S MESSAGE TO LEGISLATURE OF UPPER CANADA

[Trans. Christie, op cit. Vol. V.]

December 7th, 1839.

In pursuance of the intention expressed in his speech from the throne, the Governor General desires now to bring under the consideration of the House of Assembly, the subject of the re-union of this Province with Lower Canada, recommended by Her Majesty in her gracious message to both Houses of Parliament on the third of May last.

For several years the condition of the Canadas has occupied a large portion of the attention of Parliament. That they should be contented and

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prosperous-that the ties which bind them to the parent state should be strengthened that their administration should be conducted in accordance with the wishes of the people, is the ardent desire of every British statesman-and the experience of the last few years amply testifies that the Imperial Parliament has been sparing neither of the time it has devoted to the investigation of their affairs, nor of the expenditure it has sanctioned for their protection.

The events which have marked the recent history of Lower Canada, are so familiar to the House of Assembly, that it is unneccssary for the Governor General further to allude to them. There, the constitution is suspended, but the powers of the Government are inadequate to permit of the enactment of such permanent laws as are required for the benefit of the people.

Within this Province the finances are deranged-public improvements are suspended-private enterprise is checked-the tide of emigration so essential to the prosperity of the country and to the British connexion, has ceased to flow-while by many, the general system of Government is declared to be unsatisfactory.

After the most attentive and anxious consideration of the state of these Provinces, and the difficulties under which they respectively labour, Her Majestys' advisers came to the conclusion, that by their re-union alone could those difficulties be removed. During the last session of the Imperial Legislature they indeed refrained from pressing immediate legislation, but their hesitation proceeded from no doubt as to the measure or its necessity. It arose solely to ascertain more fully the opinions of the Legislature of Upper Canada, and to collect information from which the details might be rendered more satisfactory to the people of both Provinces.

The time then is now arrived beyond which a settlement cannot be postponed. In Lower Canada it is indispensable to afford a safe and practicable return to a constitutional government, and so far as the feelings of the inhabitants can be there ascertained, the measure of the re-union meets with approbation.

In Upper Canada it is no less necessary, to enable the Province to meet her financial embarrassments, and to proceed in the development of her natural resources. There are evidently no means in this Province of fulfilling the pecuniary obligations which have been contracted, but by a great increase in the local revenues. But so long as Lower Canada remains under her present form of Government, neither Province possesses any power over the only source from which that increase can be drawn. Nor even, were it possible to restore a representative constitution to Lower Canada, unaccompanied by the union, would the position of this Province be much improved; since past experience has shown the difficulty of procuring assent to any alteration of the customs laws suggested from hence.

This Province has engaged in undertakings, which reflect the highest honour on the enterprise and industry of her inhabitants. The public works which she has completed or commenced, have been conceived in a spirit worthy of a successful result. But additional means are indispensable to avert the ruin of some, and secure the completion of others. Nor will that alone suffice; Lower Canada holds the key to all those improvements. Without her co-operation, the navigation for which nature has done so much and for which this Province has so deeply burthened itself, must remain incomplete, and a barrier be opposed to the development of those great natural resources which the hand of Providence has so lavishly bestowed on this country.

With a view to remove all those difficulties: to relieve the financial embarrassments of Upper Canada: to enable her to complete her public works and develop her agricultural capabilities: to restore constitutional government to Lower Canada: to establish a firm, impartial, and vigorous government for both; and to unite the people within them in one common feeling of attachment to British institutions and British connexion, the union is desired by Her Majesty's Government; and that measure alone, if based upon just principles, appears adequate to the occasion.

Those principles, in the opinion of Her Majesty's advisers, are, a just regard to the claims of either Province in adjusting the terms of the union -the maintenance of the three estates of the Provincial Legislature;-the settlement of a permanent civil list for securing the independence of the judges and to the executive government that freedom of action which is necessary for the public good, and the establishment of a system of local government adapted to the wants of the people.

It was with great satisfaction then that Her Majesty's Government learnt that upon the question of the union itself the House of Assembly had pronounced their decided judgment during their last session; and it will only remain for the Governor General now to invite their assent to the terms upon which it is sought to be effected. Their decision was indeed accompanied by recommendations to which the government could not agree; but the Governor General entertains no doubt that, under the altered circumstances, they will no more be renewed. It will be for the Imperial Parliament, guided by their intimate knowledge of constitutional law, and, free from the bias of local feelings and interests, to arrange the details of the measure.

The first of the terms of re-union, to which the Governor General desires the assent of the House of Assembly, is equal representation of each Province in the united legislature. Considering the amount of the population of Lower Canada, this proposition might seem to place that Province in a less favourable position than Upper Canada; but, under the circumstances in which this Province is placed, with the increasing population to be expected from immigration, and having regard to the commercial and agricultural enterprise of its inhabitants, an equal apportionment of representation appears desirable.

The second stipulation to be made is the grant of a sufficient civil list. The propriety of rendering the judicial bench independent alike of the Executive and the Legislature, and of the furnishing the means of carrying on the indispensable services of the government admits of no question, and has been affirmed by the Parliament of Upper Canada in the acts passed by them for effecting those objects. In determining the amount of the civil list, the House of Assembly may be assured that the salaries and expenses to be paid from it will be calculated by Her Majesty's Government with a strict regard to economy and the state of the provincial finances.

Thirdly, the Governor General is prepared to recommend to Parliament, that so much of the existing debt of Upper Canada, as has been contracted for public works of a general nature, should, after the union, be charged on the joint revenue of the United Province. Adverting to the nature of the works for which this debt was contracted, and the advantage which must result from them to Lower Canada, it is not unjust that that Province should bear a proportion of their expenses.

On these principles, the Governor General is of opinion that a re-union of the two Provinces may be effected-equitable and satisfactory in its terms, and beneficial in its results to all classes. He submits them to the consideration of the House of Assembly, in the full conviction of their importance, and in the hope that they will receive the assent of that House. Fortified by the expression of their opinion, Her Majesty's Government and Parliament will be able at once to apply themselves to the full development of the scheme, and to the consideration of the provisions by which it may be carried into effect with the greatest advantage to the people of both Provinces.

If in the course of their proceedings, the House of Assembly should desire any information which it is in the power of the Governor General to afford, they will find him ready and anxious to communicate with them frankly and fully, and to aid, by all the means in his power, that settlement on which he firmly believes that the future prosperity and advancement of these Colonies mainly depend,

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