Progress of events in Canada [microform]

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PROGRESS OF EVENTS IN CANADA.

VUOM THE

'LONDON AND WESTMINSTER REVIEW

For January, 1837.

(2 )

PROGRESS OF EVENTS IN CANADA.

IN the second nuir.ber of the ♦ London Review,' published in
July, 1835, we laid before our readers a very Till exposition
of the misgovernment which has so long prevailed in the Canadas,
and of the discontent which has been generated thereby.

After enumerating the manifold evus and abuses which have
sprung out of the system of colonial government, established by
what is called the Quebec Constitutional Act (31 Geo. III., c. 31 —
1791), our article concladed with the following summary of the
reforms demanded by the Assembly of Lower Canada : —

' In this situation of affairs. Lord Gosford and two Commission-
ers are about to proceed to Canada, to inquire into the grievances
of the Canadian people, and report thereupon. What is likely
to be the result of this inquiry ?

' Our answer is, that let the commission make what report it
pleases, one only result can follow ; and that is, the demands of
the House of Assembly m%ist be acceded to.

' 1. An Elective Counci' must be granted to the people, and the
present Legislative Council abolished.

'2. The whole of the revenue mustb*^ placed entirely under the
control of the people of Canada.

* 3. The Judges must be made responsible to the Provincial
Legislature, and not to the King.'

The Commissioners above spoken of reached Canada in the
autumn of the same year, 1835, and in the ensuing winter Sir
John Colborne, the Governor of Upper Canada, who had rendered
himself extremely obnoxious to the people of that province, was
recalled, and his place was supplied by Sir Francis Head.

The object of this article is to detail the principal proceedings
of these personages ; and we think we shall show that they have
not merely failed to allay, but that, aided by the disingenuous —
we had almost said treacherous — instructions with which they
were furnished by Lord Glenelg, they have materially augmented
the discontents which existed at the time of their arrival.

Previous to the departure of Lord Gosford and his follow Com-
missioners*, Mr. Roebuck, in his capacity of agent to the House
of Assembly, laid before the colonial minister. Lord Glenelg, a
full and explicit statement, in writing, of the views and demands
of that House.

• The Commissioners were, Lord Gosford, Sir Charles Grey, and Sir George Gipps.
Lord Gosford was also appointed Governer-in-Chief, in the place of Lord Aylmer, a
Governor so bad, that any change must have been fur the bettvr.

PROG.RKSS OF KVENTS IN CANADA.

3

This document, which has since been printed both in the
colony and in this country *, is in every respect a most able state
paper. The reforms demanded by the Assembly, especially the
abolition of the present Legislative Council, and the substitution
of an elective second chamber, are there insisted upon with great
weight of argument, and Lord Glenelg is warned of the serious
consequences which may result from refusing them.

The hope was at first entertained, and we may say en?ouraged,
that the Commissioners had carried out powers to concede these
reforms. Sir George Grey, it is true, excused himself from laying
the instructions before Parliament, on the ground of respect to
the Canadians, as such instructions should be first laid before the
Assembly. That done, he promised they should be presented to
the House.

When the Commissioners reached Canada, their talk was
everywhere, and at all times, liberal in the extreme. Lord Gos-
ford spoke of himself and his colleagues as the nominees of a
reforming ministry, appointed for no other purpose than to carry
out reforms. Of himself, individually, he spoke only as the
friend cf O'Connell, His previous conduct in Armagh had
tended to produce an impression in his favour. His instructions
he seldom alluded to without expressly asserting their liberality.
* I am convinced,' said his Lordship, in conversation with a lead-
ing member of the Assembly, a few days before the commence-
ment of the session, * I am convinced that my instructions will
satisfy you when they are known. The day after to-morrow will
be the great day of revelations ; the whole country will then know
as much as I know of the intentions of his Majesty. I shall
speak all I know without reserve.' In consequence of this fair
speaking, previous to the commencement of the session. Lord
Gosford gained the good-will, if not the perfect confidence, of the
members of the Assembly, and indeed of the mass of the people.
He gained, also, the bitter hatred of the colonial Tories, whose
journals abused him in terms of the utmost virulence, proving that
they too had been deceived by his professions.

At length came the promised ' day of revelations ;' but nothing
of the kind expected from the Governor's professions was revealed.
There was a speech from the throne; witbo it it, the beautiful
copy of the British Constitution which prevails in Canada would
not have met with due observance. It was, however, wholly un-
satisfactory to the Canadians. It was silent on all the topics they
deemed most important. If Lord Gosford did ' speak all ha

* See Mr. Roebuck's pamphlet, entitled ' Existing Difficulties in the Gjvern-
mciit of the Caiiachis' (beiuf; a repvint of tlie atiic.le which appeared in this Review,
with additions). The ducuiucnt alluded to ia to bo found in the Appendix of the
pamphlet.

B 2

PROGRESS OF EVENTS IN CANADA.

■

knew,' it was clear he knew nothing. He said nothing of a
change in the constitution of the Council. He said nothing of
giving up the revenue to tha Assembly — reforms which were the
head and front of the popular demands. The consequence was,
that the degree of hope — we cannot call it confidence — to which
Lord Gosford's professions had given birth, was well nigh de-
stroyed.

Still the good-will of the Members of Assembly towards the
Governor was not as yet impaired. The Commission, the As-
sembly did not, in fact, could not, recognize ; but, as Governor,
Lord Gosford was treated with all possible respect.

The instructions being thus, notwithstanding the promise of
Sir George Grey and the statements of Lord Gosford, withheld
from the Colonial Legislature, it became the duty of Mr. Roebuck
again to ask for them in his place in the House of Commons.
This he did on the 16th of February. Sir George Grey, after
acknowledging that ' the House of Assembly had shown they
were actuated by the most honest and ardent wish to promote the
interests of the colony,' urged upon Mr. Roebuck's consideration
that, 'inasmuch as there was now a fair prospect of adjusting
the differences between this country and Canada, he thought that,
while negotiations were still pending, it would be extremely
injudicious, and might lead to great inconvenience if the instruc-
tions given to the Commissioners were to be made publi'^.' Here-
upon Mr. Roebuck, being * determined to let the ministry have a
complete trial on this matter,' consented to withdraw his motion.
At the very moment that Sir George Grey was thus expatiating
on the 'great inconvenience,' the 'extreme injudiciousness' of
permitting the instructions to be made public, they were in every
one's hands in Canada, by means of a diplomatic blunder of Sir
Francis Head.

The Legislature of Upper Canada was in session when Sir
Francis reached the province in February, Accompanying his
first message were extracts, giving nearly all the material part of
the instructions to the Commissioners. It appeared that he had
been permitted to communicate the substance of the Commis-
sioners instructions with his own ; but not having been long
enough in the official ranks to have learned that substance in
diplomatic language means shahir, he committed the irreme-
diable blunder which we have described.

The dislike of Sir George Grey that the instructions shoidd see
the light, and his conviction that their publication would produce
' grt^at inconvenience,' would be ' extremely injudicious,' were now
fully explained on the face of the instructions themselves. In
substance they amoiuited to a refusal of the demands of the As-
sembly, whilst there was some slight shadow of liberality in their

y

■

PROGRESS OF EVTJNTS IN CANADA. 5

tone. Lord Gosford had confined himself to the latter; Sir
Francis Head, as we have seen, blundered in the former.

The object of the Colonial Minister and the Governor in attempt-
ikig to deceive the Assembly and people of Lower Canada, by
dealing in fairer words than their real intentions justified, is ob-
vious enough. The Assembly had refused supplies for some
years, in order to enforce the reforms for which they contended,
and it was thought that if the suspicions of the Assembly could
be lulled, the Execiitive might possibly obtain a vote of money,
perhaps even a permanent civil list, which would render the offi-
cial party independent of the Assembly for an indefinite period.
In this hope, however, they were deceived.

After the disclosure of the instructions, which dashed all the
hopes previously entertained, the House of Assembly determined
to refuse peremptorily all arrears. In order, however, to meet
the Executive in a spirit of conciliation, and to show how unwilling
they were to throw any unnecessary impediment in the way of the
Governor, the Assembly voted a six months' supply, with the con-
ditions they had previously insisted on. The principal condition
was, that individuals holding more than one office should only
draw the salary of one, namely, the most highly paid. This
bill, however, not being palatable to the official party, was lost in
that party's house — the Legislative Council.

This body, so ridiculously defended as the representative of the
aristocratic principle, when it represents nothing but a few over-
bearing bureaucrats, now vented its rage by a wholesale rejec-
tion of the measures of the Assembly. All the Bills which the
Assembly passed for the internal improvement of the country
were rejected, except one ; and that (a Bill to construct a rail-road
between Lower Canada and New Brunswick) was reserved for
the royal sanction by the Governor-in-Chief. The Elementary
School Bill and other Education Bills were among those rejected
by the Council. In consequence of this it became necessary to
shut up no less than 1,6G5 schools, established under provincial
Acts, thus depriving uo less than 40,000 scholars of the means of
iiistriiction.

' The party of the Legislative Council,' says Mr. Roebuck, ' are
usually \mconimonly pathetic in their lamentations over the ignorance
of the Canadian poj)ulation. The true worth cf their hypocritical
whining is here made manifest. They talk of ignorance, and deprecate
it, so long as such talk forwards, or seems to forward, their paltry
purposes. They willingly do all they can to foster and continue
Ignorance, the moment that by so doing the same vile ends may be
served.' — Existing Difficulties, p. 39.

The rix Months' Supply Bill (a measure worthy of occasional
imitation in the Imperial Parliament) was carried or. the 23d of

f» rwoonKss ov events in tana da.

robruary. ngainst a counter-proposal to vote arrears. When this
Tt>sult was nnulo known, murmurs of applause were heard in the
srallorv r.nil helow the bar of the House, which were with diffl-
iiihy Vhtvkotl. The people could not restrain their feelings.

Vnm\ this time to the close of the session, the House was
chiotly occupied in receiving reports from the standing committee
on grievances ^^chiefly on the conduct of delinquent public-ofticers),
in discussing a Bill for the reform of the Legislative Coimcil, and
lastly, in carrying an address to the King, and both Houses of
Parliament, reiteratuig their grievances, and remonstrating against
the conduct we have just detailed.

The otlicial personages whose conduct was inquired into and
condemned by a committee of the Assembly, and subseqtiently by
the whole House, were Judges Gale, Thompson, and Fletcher;
Sheritl's Gugy and Witchcr, INIr. Felton, Commissioner of Crown
Lands, and some others.

Judge Gale was appointed by Lord Aylmer for no other reason,
it should seem, than that he was hateful to the popular party. Ho
had been objected to on the groxnid of his having been a violent
partisan of the obnoxious Lord Dalhousie, and the declared
enemv of those laws which he was called to administer. The
objection was abtmdantly sustained, and was pronounced to be
valid by Mr. Spring Rice, who, when Colonial Minister, dis-
allowed the appointment. Lord Aylmer disregarded Mr. Rice's
instructions, and continued the man in his ottice, where, to the dis-
honour of our colonial administration, he still remains.

Malversatiijus in office have been brought home to Judge
Fletcher; Judge Thompson has been proved to be an habitual
and notorious drunkard ; and yet these persons are s«ill permitted
to hold their offices*.

11

* We cannot avoid citing one case, to give the reader an idea of the kind uf justice
which i» dispensed by judges who hold office during the |)leu8ure of the Crown,
that is, of the colonial executive: —

In Decenabtr, 1835, a man perished of cold in the gaol of Montreal. The matter was
investigated by the Assembly, and culpable neglect was (iroved against the Sheriff,
Gugy, and his officer the jailor. An Address was accordingly voted, praying for
their dismissal. This was not complied with ; but the Attorney-General (another
during-pleasure official) sent a bill ol indictment for murder against the jailor, to the
grand jury. This jury was nominated by Gugy, the sheriti', an implicated party, and
uf course the bdl was not found.

The whole proceding was regarded a'» a mockery of justice, and Lord Gosford's
jiopularity was much damaged by it. But the most important part of the case is to
come. A newspaper, called ' La Minerve,' called the jury a • packed jury.' The
jury took immediate cognizance of the libel, pnsented \t to the Court as such, and
the Attorney-(ienur.il moved at once that a writ of attachment sh>)uld issue against
the jirintir, Duvernay ; and for what, does the reader imagine ? — for contetupt of
Ciiurl! The Court, without hearing evidence even t) the fact of ihe vnbliration,
granted the attachment, aim the printer gave bail. The next tirm the deffndant
was seived with interrogatories. ' Are you proprietor of '• La Minerve P" ' ' Did you
publish the article in (pies'.iua 'f Duvernay, being on his oath, was obliged to uu-

PROGRESS OF EVENTS IN CANADA. 7

The case of Felton is one of peculiar atrocity. The evidence
of his having defrauded the government — that is, the public — of
some thousand acres of land, was made so clear, that the delin-
quent Commissioner could no longer be screened, and he was
suspended from his office. Mr. Spring Rice, however, when
Colonial Secretary, admitting the enormity of the offence of
which Felton appeared to be guilty, actually directed the Governor
to compromise the affair by requiring merely the payment of the
value of the lauds of which he had reason to believe the public
were defrauded ! Of Fulton's guilt there cannot be much doubt ;
but whether guilty or innocent, suspension, except during the pro-
secution of an inquiry, must always be injustice. If he be guilty,
suspension is no punishment for his crime ; dismissal from office,
the refunding of hi>^; ill-gotlen gains, and punishment, should have
been at once enforced ; if, however, he be not guilty, suspension
becomes an act of gross injustice to the individual. It is, in fact,
a lazy expedient worthy only of a British Colonial Minister — an
expedient wliich is nearly certain to end in impunity to the delin-
quent official, and injustice to t)'e piiblic, and, therefore, productive
of disgust and discoulent, to the suffering people of the colony.

All the above cases, including those of Sheriffs Gugy and
Witclier, were such as to call for the immediate interference of
the Colonial Office : yet they have been, and we have no doubt
will colli inue to be, allowed to drag on until the evils of colonial
misrule shall be carried beyond the endurance of the people — a
consummation which we take to be rapidly approaching in both
provinces.

The last legislative act of the Assembly was to embody their
demand for an elective Legislative Council in the form of a Bill,
which passed the House by a very large majority. A preliminary
objection to this Bill by the official party was, that it proposed to
repeal a portion of an imperial statute, which a provincial and
subordinate legislature is not competent to do. But to alter the
constitution which the Act created, by a law passed in the forms
wliich the Act itself prescribes, is neither a repeal nor a violation
of it. The Act in question has already been amended without
the aid of the Imperial Parliament. The Act constituted a House
of Assembly of fifty members; in process of time parts of the
couuii-y became thickly inhabited, v/hich, when the Act first came
inio operation, were uninhabited wastes. A Bill, repealing so much
of the Act as related to the Assembly and the division of the

8wer ' Yes.' On this confession he was sentenced to thirty days' imprisonment,
and to pay a fine of 20/. The judge remarked that the pruceeding was one of
peculiar mildness, fur it was lefl to the defendant himself to say whether he was
guilty or not ; from which, if it were not a mere clap-trap, nothing could have been
inferred but that the man was punished because be woidU not perjure himself.

8

rRO(iRES!S OK KVUNTS IN CANADA.

^'■■l

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fil

•i

province, and making a new division, and adding to tlie numbtT
of members returned, was accordingly passed, first by tho
Assembly, next by the Council, subseqijently received the
(irovernor's assent, and is now part of the Canadian constitution.
No objection was made to this local amendment at the time ;
why then should objections now bo made to the principle? 1'ho
answer is easy. In the former case the local oligarchy conceived
themselves likely to be benefited ; in the more recent case they
see prospective ruin.

With the present Legislative Council the preliminary objection
need scarcely have been raised, as they are not very likely to pass
a Bill for their own destruction. Without their destruction, how-
ever, the pacification of Canada is impossible; and as the King
has the prerogative n peer-making, under another name, there
as well as hero, the readiest and least troublesome way of render-
ing the Council elective would be to furnish the King's represen-
tative with a sufficient number of blank mandamuses, to enable
him to give a majority in the Council to the views of the Assembly
and of the people at largo. Thus might imperial legislation —
always an evil where a local legislature exists — be avoided.

The alteration in the Legislative Council has been objected to
on various pretexts, some of which are curious, as exhibiting tho
shifts to which the enemies of responsible colonial governments
are occasionally driven. One of the Commissioners, in conversa-
tion with one of the liberal party, hinted that a strong objection
to granting the reform in question was, that the majority demand-
ing the change, though overwhelming, was composed chiefly of
persons of French origin, whilst the minority opjjosed to the
change consisted chiefly of person of British origin. If the
population had not been of mixed origin, said the Commissioner,
there could be no objection to the proposed change. Well, then,
was the reply — try the reform in Upper Canada, where it is prayed
for by a large majority, all of British origin. And how, reader,
do you think the Commissioner got out of tliis awkward dilemma ?
By replying, that although of one origin, the people were not so
unanimous as in Lower Canada. Here are hard conditions of
reform indeed — uniformity of origin and unanimity of opinion ;
the alternative being no other than to give complete effect to the
will of a contemptible minority !

But if the question of an elective Council were left to the deci-
sion of the people of British origin alone, it would be carried in
the affirmative by a large majority. The township -counties,
inhabited entirely by persons of British origin, for the most part
return members favourable to the elective principle; and in one
of the counties for which opponents of the principle sit, they
only prevailed over their adversaries bv a small majoritv. Esli-

I

PnOORFJS OF EVENTS IN CANADA.

ir

mating the whole population of British descent in Lower Canada
at 150,000, the persons represented by members opponed to the
wishes of the majority do not exceed 40,000 — a misera^e mino-
rity out of a population exceeding 600,000 ; yet it is to the will
of this minority that the present system gives effect.

It is urged that ai. -elective Cfouncil would weaken, and ulti-
mately destroy, the connection between the colony and the mother
country. We assert, that the maintenance of the present system
will not merely ultimately, but even speedily, destroy that con-
nection. The Council is the great cav««e of discontent. The chief
complaint of the Cajpadians against the Imperial Government is,
not that it is itself directly and immediately oppressive, but that
it maintains and supports the Legislative Council. And well
may this monstrous institution be offensive to the colony. There
may be ditlcrences on the question, how much of the government
of the colony should belong to the colony itself, and now much
to the mother country ? — but most people will allow that all the
power ought to belong either to the mother country or to the
colony. The colony exercises its powers through its representa-
tive body. The mother country exercises its powers through the
Governor ; and, by means of Parliament and the Colonial Office,
can hold him responsible for whatever he does in the exercise of
them. But here is a third power, co-equal with these two, and
representing neither the mother country nor the colony, but a
band of jobbing officials solely : not only frustrating the wishes
of the colony, but superseding the authority of the mother
country, since the Bills which embody the demands of the people,
being rejected in the Upper House, never come regularly before
the Governor or the Colonial Minister at all.

Mr. Roebuck, in his pamphlet, shows conclusively that an
elective Council would tend more than any other measure to pre-
vent a rupture between the colony and the mother country. We
regret that we have not space to transfer to our columns the
vvliole of his close and logical reasoning ; but we cannot resist
the temptation of presenting to the reader the concluding para-
graph : —

' If (says Mr. Roebuck) ' the separation be to take place violently,
it will be a matter of no moment, that it is opposed by the present
Legislative Council. Rather, indeed, would such opposition aid any
measure of separation. The decisions of the Council have no moral
force with tlie people, while the House of Assembly completely repre-
sents the whole population. The Legislative Council represents no part
of them. Whenever the time for violent separation may come, if come
it must, the assent of the Council will neither be needed nor looked
for. On the other hand, if the Council were elected, and represented
either the whole or a portion of the people, then its co-operation would
be looked for and would be needed. There is greater difficulty assuredly

10

PROGRESS OF EVENTS IN CANADA.

u

in gaining the assent of two separate bodies to «o dangerous a pro-
ceeding— one involving so awful a responsibility as a revolution — than in
gaining that of one only. If the second Assembly were composed of
older men, or of persons elected for a longer term, the difficulty would
be materially increased. In no way could the breach between the
mother country and the colonies be hindered by the existing Council,
while in many and important ways it might be delayed by an elective
one. The true friends, therefore, of English dominion, ought to desire
the change now so eagerly demanded by the Canadians themselves.' —
Existing Difficulties^ p. 52.

The last measure of the Assembly — their address to the King
and the two Houses of Parliament — was passed by a majority of
55 to 7, on the 26th of February of the present year. In it the
Assembly dwell upon the expectations which had been raised by
the conduct of the Governor, and the disappointment caused by
the disclosure of the instructions to the Commissioners : after
which, in the most temperate, yet in the firmest language, they
reiterate their previous demand for —

1 St. An elective Coimcil.

2d. The repeal of the Tonures' Act, and the Act creating the
British-American Land Company.

3d, Complete Parli.^^^ientary control over the wUoie of the
lands belonging to the colony.

4th. Complete control over revenue and expenditure.

The address also contains an explicit declaration, that the redress
of grievances volvl^X precede any permanent appropriation of money.

The firmness of the House of Assembly has since been put to
another test, and they have sustained it most nobly.

On the 22d of September the Assembly was called together to
receive Lord Glcnelg's answer to their address. The answer was
only a reiteration of the instructions — thy demands of the Assem-
bly being once more refused. Upon this the Assembly addressed
the Governor, repeating the determination they came to at t)ie
close of the session of 1835-0 : namely, that the redress of
grievances must precede a vote of supphes. This address was
carried, in committee, by majorities varying from 58 to 6,
and 54 to 9 ; the majority also threatening to retire to their
homes, and to leave no quorum. The House was dismissed, after
a session of about a fortnight.

We must now turn to the sister province of Upper Canada, in
order to show the progress of discontent under Sir Francis Head.

Sir Francis, like Lord Gosford, began with liberal professions ;
but after his first blunder he was not slow to embroil himself with
the House of Assembly. One of his first acts had been to call
to the Executive Council (a species of privy council, one of tiie
duties of which is to advise the Governor) several very popular
men. Tiiis heljHjd to confirm the impression whicii his professions

PROGRESS OF EVENTS IN CANADA.

11

had generated — namely, that he was appointed to carry into effect
those reforms for which the Assembly had prayed. Not long
after, however, on the Council's making an attempt to exercise
what had always Ijeen deemed the function of that body — namely,
to advise the Governor — Sir Francis turned round upon them,
and told them, that he being responsible, and not they, he should
not for the future consult them. Hereupon the members of the
Council resigned in a body.

If the matter had stopped here there would at least have been
no inconsistency in the proceeding. But no sooner had the per-
sons who enjoyed tire confidence of the people resigned than the
Cjovernor called to his Executive Council a new set of men, nearly
all of whotti were of the Ultra lory party, and moreover ex-
tremely obnoxious to the pi^O]ile. This at once destroyed all
confidence in Sir Francis Head's professions of reform, and loud
expressions of dissatisfaction poured in iVom all quarters. The
House of Assembly, the Mayor and Corporation, the citizens of
Toronto, the Alliance (an extensive reform society), all carried
addresses to the (jovinnor, remonstrating in the strongest terms
against the course he had piirsned, and declaring their want of
confidence in the men he had chosen. In his replies he merely
adhered with the most jHTtinacious ohsliuacy to his first point,
declaring that an Executive Council, as it had been understood,
was no part of the constitution; that he alone was responsible ;
and that therefore ho alone would hold the power. If this be
really Sir Francis Head's oj)inion, why appoint a Council at all?
To appoint a Tory Council was an uncalled-for insult to the
people.

In his answer to the address of the citizens of Toronto, Sir
Francis Head commenced by stating, that as he j)resumed several
among those who addressed him were of the industrious classes,
he should adapt his languag(» to tlieir capacity, and speak in
the ]>lainest manner of which ho was capal)le. Now, \uuler any
circu)nstances, tjiis would have evinced great want of tact. If it
was Sir Francis's o[)inion that other than plain language would
have bet'U unsnited to those whom he addressed, he was quite
right in adopting ' plain language ;' but to tell them that he
shoidd do so was in tlie highest degree injudicious. It turned
out, however, that Sir Francis Head's condescension was quite
out of place. The ' industrious' citizens treated Sir Francis with
a rejoinder, which must have interfered considerably with his self-
complacency. They tell him, that being sensible of the import-
ance of knowledge, they have, * l)y their own eftbrts and at their
own ex})ense, so far successfidly laboured, as to be able to appre-
ciate good writing and /air reasoning.' They then, ' lest his
Excellency shouhl doubt their sufficient apprehension of ihe mat-

12

PROGRESS OF EVENTS IN CANADA.

ter/ proceed to expose both Sir Francis's writing and reasoning
in the most perfect manner conceivable. They sho'.v that neither
in ' good writing' nor • in fair reasoning* wh? the pompous and
foolish Governor a match for them.

From this time forward but little harmony existed between the
Governor and the House of Assembly ; and an occurrence which
came to light, in the highest degree discreditable to Sir Francis
Head, almost put a stop to all con munication between them.
The facts are these : —

In some way or other the Assembly got an intimation that
some pffreement had been entered into between the Council and
Sir Francis Head, to the effect that, in case of his demise or ab-
sence, the government should devolve on a particular member of
of the Council in preference to the rest. The House accordingly
addressed the Governor to know whether such bond or agreement
had been entered into. To this address Sir P^rancis replied —

• I have entered into no bond or agreement of any sort with my pre-
sent Executive Council, and I do not possess, nor does there exist in
Council, any document of such a nature between two or more of the said
Council.'

The matter, however, was referred to a committee of the As-
sembly ; and before this committee the two executive councillors,
supposed to be parties to the paper in question, were examined.
They were compelled to state that there was such a paper or
agreement (they would not call it a bond, because it was not in
legal form) ; and that it was drawn vp by the Governor himself.
Hereupon the committee reports : —

' The Honoural)le R. B. Sullivan, tlie Presiding Member of the Exe-
cutive Council, and the Honourable Captain Baldwin, informed the com-
mittee, as will appear by the minutes of their evidence, marked and
hereimto appended, that a paper had been signed, whereby Mr. Sullivan
declared his intention, in the event of his Excellency's death, not to ad-
minister the government, although by the royal instructions in such a
case, the administration would devolve cm him us presiding councillor ;
but to resign his office, in order to avoid the administration of the go-
vernment, a7id thai this paper was not only in existence^ hut was
draicn vp hy his Excellency himself, in the Council Chamber, and de-
livered to Mr, Allen, the next senior member, in the jtresence of his
Excellency and the whole council.'

Tlie committee then adds, with a dignified delicacy of lan-
guage :—

* The respect which your Committee feel for his Excellency's high
office forbids their dwelling upon the mortifying subject of the contra-
diction between his Excdleney's answer and those gentleme:i's testi-
mony ; and they will only say, that it must of course destroy all con-
fidence in future in his Kxcellcncy's ai^sertions.' * * «

In a despatch io Lord Glenelg, dated '21st A])ril, 1830, Sir

\i

i

m

I*

PROGRESS OF EVENTS IN CANADA.

13

i

i..

Jb*rancis Head attempts to explain the matter, but his explana-
tion is a tissue of miserable quibbles. He does not deny the fact,
but contends that the dcc'jraent was not * of the nature applied
for :' and concludes by saying ' I denied no such thing ; but' —
reader, pray thee mark the but — * stated that I entered into no
bond or agreement.' What is this but a denial ?

From this time forward Sir Francis Head's language and con-
duct were characteristic rather of a madman than of a person in
sane nund. He threw himself completely into the arms of the
Toriesj forgot all his previous professions of reform, and indulged
in the most oifensive language towards the reformers, whom he
designated as revolutionists, rebels, &c. &c.

The Assembly in the mean time, got through their business
with all possible dispatch ; and to mark their sense of Sir Francis
Head's conduct, they refused supplies. Hereupon the Governor
did in Upper Canada what the Council did in l40wer Canada — he
withheld the royal assent from all the Appropriation Bills which
had been passed by the two Houses. He afterwards thought
proper to attribute to the rejection of the Supply Bill, amounting
to only about 7000/., the whole of the distress and inconvenience
which arose from the loss of all the money Bills.

At the end of May the Governor dissolved the House of As-
sembly. The new elections took place at the end of June and the
beginning of July ; the result was, that a House, consisting of
forty or forty-one Tories and twenty Reformers, was substi-
tuted for a House containing forty Reformers to twenty Tories.
This extraordinary result astonished the whole country. How
it was brought about we shall briefly explain.

In Upper Canada the Executive possesses extraordinary means
of corruption. In the first place, the Governor has at his dis-
posal an almost infinite number of small places — the tenure of
which is * during pleasure ' — all over the country. These innu-
merable petty offices not merely enable the Governor to command
the votes of the incumbents and their families, but render sub-
servient to the will of the Executive all those (including that
numerous class, * fathers of families ') who view office with a long-
ing eye. !t is fearful to contemplate the extent of demoralization
in Upper Canada arising from this single cause. One single office
may stand as the bait for a dozen hungry expectants, and were it
not for the existence of a numerous and independent yeomanry, it
would be difficult to say where the evil would end.

The next source of political corruption is the system of dis-
posing of waste lands, for a price payable by instalments. The
Land Company and other large landholders are in the habit of
selling lands at a price payable in four or five annual instalments.
The industrious settler, ever eager to possess land, no sooner saves

14

PROGRESS OF EVENTS IN CANADA.

:'!:.:

MSj;
iiii

enough money to p»y an instalment than he purchases a lot. In
a ma.joritv of cases the purchasers fall behind-hand with the
second or third instalment, when their independence is for the pre-
sent destroyed. The agjnts of the Land Company are members
of the colonial oligarchy, so that we may bo sure they are not
slow to profit, for political purposes, by the fears of tliese de»
pendent debtors. Any actual exertion of their ultimate power is
seldom, perhaps never, necessary.

Another fruitful source of corruption is the power of the Go-
vernor so to regulate the disposal of waste lands as to create votes,
by creating small freeholds. This power Sir Francis Head is
stated to have employed to an enormous extent, and the statement
is supported by an abundance of cvidt nc-o.

When a settler acquires land ol" ih<> Crown in Canada he re-
ceives what is called a location -1 id et. litis empowers him to go
upon the lot of land ; but before lie can dbtaiu a good title, it is
incumbent upon him to perform what tuv called the settlement-
duties, which consist of clearing a certain small portion, and
erecting a log-house. The Assembly decided that the possession
of a location-ticket did not confer a v<.)to, and s ) it was held till
lately. Votes however have, at the present election, been re-
corded on this qualification, and as the Assembly is the tribunal of
decision, it is not likely a Tory Assembly will decide the point
against the Executive. It is stated, and the statement is supported
by much evidence, that at least 5000 votes have been created on
small, chiefly quarter-acre, lots. Now it is more than ])ro-
bable that 1200 or 1500 would have been quite sufficient, aided
by other expedients, to turn the elections in Sir Francis Head's
favour.

The former House, as we have stated, had forty Reformers ;
the present contains oidy twenty. Each county returns two mem-
bers, so that it would oidy be necessary to overwhelm ten cotnities
witii"TLiiese new-made voters, and the object would be attained.
The average number of voters in each county does not certaitdy
reach 1000, and perhaps not 800; hence 150, or even 100 obe-
dient Tory votes, added to the constituency of each of ten
counties (making 1500, or even 1000 on the whole;, would be
adequate to the effect. Now it is currently stated in Upper
Canada, that 5000 — a number probably exaggerated — of such
votes were made : and yet this is called a re-action !

Several minor, but almost equally unjustifiable expedients were
resorted to. The polling-places were arbitrarily fixed in parts of
the counties likely to be most conv(;nient to the Tory cr.ndidates.,
The day of election, for places where a Tory retiun was tolerably
certain, was fixed several days in advance of the other elections,
in order that such returns might depress the Liberals, and encou-

PROGRESS OF EVENTS IN CANADA.

15

rage and stimulate the 1 ories. In addition to all this, Sir Francis
went about the country playing the part of an agitator ; receiving
addresses, and answering them in the most highly-wrought and
inflammatory language.

Now the evil which is to b^ dreaded from the results thus

Generated is, that Ministers will, in their future conduct towards
Jpper Canada, act as though there really had been a re-action of
opinion in that province. If they do act on such a fallacious
assumption, they will commit a grievous and irreparable error.
The tone of the people at tlieir public meetings — the extensive
organization of reform societies — the constant discussion of the
question of national independence — all utterly preclude the idea
of re-action. A large majority of the peojAe of Upper Canada
sympathize with their Lower Canadian brethren in their desire
for a responsible government ; and any neglect or indignity, any
denial of justice, or infliction of injustice on the one province, will
be resented by both.

Although the people of Upper Canada are now, through the
press and otherwise, freely discussing the means of establishing
their independence, neither they nor their brethren of Lower
Canada desire independence as an end, but merely as a means, to
good government. Give them a responsible government — that is,
responsible to themselves — and we shall not hear of independence
for many years to come. Deny what they ask, and who will ven-
ture to predict the result ?

Under the supposition of a struggle, the people of both the
Canadas have not neglected to examine their means and position.
The public lands have been passed in review as an adequate in-
ducement to the riflemen of Ohio, Kentucky, and Micliigan, to
engage in their ca\ise. They expect no assistance from the
American government ; but they feel sure of it from the American
people. The great jealousy between the northern and the southern
parts of the American Union would also operate favourably to the
Canadians. The province of Texas is very likely to become
another state of the Union. Siiould that be the case, the non-
slave-holding states will desire an addition, to preserve their pre-
sent proportion of power. Should the Canadas at that moment
step in, and ask admission into the Union, who can doubt what
would be the reply ?

Let \is earnestly hope that the Government will not force upon
the Canadians the alternative of misgovernment or independoice.
Good government they assuredly will have ; by what means, de-
pends wholly on the Ministry and the Parliament.

H. S. C.