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I
ARGUMENTS
TO PP9VE THE
POLICY AND NECESSITY
OF GRANTING TO
NEWFOUNDLAND
CONSTITUTIONAL GOVERNMENT.
IN A I.ETTER
TO THE
RIGHT HONOURABLE W. HUSKISSON,
PRINCIPAL SECRETARY OF STATE FOR THE COLONIES, &c. &c. &c. '
y
By p. morris,
AN INHABITANT OF THE COLONY OF NEWFOUNDLAND.
LONDON:
Printed hy A . Hancock, Middle Row Place, Holborn.
PUBLISHED BY HUNT AND CLARKE,
YORK STREET, COVENT GARDEN.
1828.
re ^ ^ /
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TO THE
RIGHT HON. W. HUSKISSON,
HIS MAJESTY'S PRFNCIPAL SECRETARY OF STATE
FOR THE COLONIES. &c. &c. «tc.
Il
;! -
Sir,
Should I be so fortunate as, by the follow-
ing pages, to draw your attention to the neglected
colony of Newfoundland, and the baneful effects of
the system of government hitherto adopted towards
her, by which — settlement and agriculture are dis-
couraged, and the energies of the people paralyzed,
I am impressed with a firm conviction, that England
being so deeply interested in her prosperity, you
will loye no time in recommending his Majesty's
government, to grant her the same constitutional
privileges which havebeen bestowed upon the neigh-
bouring colonies, and v/hich, I trust, I shall be able
to prove, can alone render available to the motuer
country the great internal resources of this
the oldest and most valuable of the British pos-
sessions in North America — the first fruits of the
natal enterprise of England — and the greatest nur-
sery for seamen in the world ; and which can alone
save her from falling, at no very distant period, a
victim at the feet of the young and aspiring re-
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public of America. If, gir, I prove the fisheries of
Newfoundland, which, according to the opinions
of the most able politicians and best writers, and
even of the legislature itself, as expressed in various
acts of parliament, are considered " the best nur-
sery for seamen to man the British navy," are, by
the policy hitherto pursued, converted into a
nursery for seamen, more for the American and
French than the navy of England, it is a subject,
I most humbly subnu't, worthy the serious consi-
deration of those ministers who direct the councils
of his Majesty.
In presuming to address you, I have made the
public press the medium, to afford an opportunity,
if the opinions or facts I shall advance and state are
founded in error or misrepresentation, of refuting
the one and exposing the other ; and, without at-
tempting a compliment, I can assure you, Sir, that
you are the last man in the empire whom I would
attempt to impose on by false reasoning or false
facts, as detection and exposure would be the in-
evitable consequences. My object is, in the first
place, to endeavour to prove that a local consti-
tutional government is absolutely necessary for
Newfoundland, and that it is vain to hope, that the
country can much improve without it. Secondly,
that the want of such a government to foster the
iuternel resources of the country, and to encourage
agriculture and settlement, has caused, within the
last twenty years, not less than from forty to fifty
thousand of our best seamen and fishermen to
emigrate to the United States, carrying with them
all their knowledge and (experience, to enable our
rivals to compete with us in our fisheries, and, in
<^ a.^c ^^f need, io sfipply their fleets with seamen.
• I consider the present to be a most important
crisis in the affairs of Newfc undland. The act,
under the authority of which the present govern-
ment of the country is constituted, expires in the
early part of next year, and it will be matter for
the consideration of his Majesty's government, whe-
ther the present narrow system shall be continued,
or one more liberal and extensive adopted. And
I hope to be able to prove, though there may be
various plans proposed, that no other plan, than a
government founded on the fundamental princi-
ples of the constitvition of the parent country, will
be found dapted to the present exigencies of New-
foundland. All the other early English colonies
have had the advantage of being allowed to ma-
nage their internal afft^irs in the manner they con-
sidered best calculated to promote their prosperity
and happiness. To the provinces of Nova Scotia
and Canada, and the Island of Cape Breton, ceded
by the French soon after they came under the go-
vernment of Great Britain, to Barbadoes, Jamaica,
and all the British West India Islands, not except-
ing even the small rock of Bermuda, were granted
the same invaluable boon ; indeed, I believe there
was no other system of government ever contem-
plated for our American colonies. Blackstone, in
his Commentaries, in the chapter "On the Countries
subject to the Laws of England," observes that,
" with respect to their interior polity, our colonies
are properly of three sorts, Ui, Provincial Establish-
ments, the constitutions of which depend on theres-
pective commissions issued by the crown to the Go-
vernors, and the instructions which usually accom-
pany those commissions^under the authority of which
provincial assemblies are constituted, with the
power of making local ordinances not repugnant
to the laws of England. Second, Proprietary Go-
vernments, granted out by the crown to individu-
als in the nature of feudatory principalities, with
all the inferior regalities and subordinate power*
of legislation which formerly belonged to Counties
Palatine. Third, Charter Governments, in the
nature of civil Corporations, with the power of
making bye-laws for their own interior regulation.'*
The sort of Government adopted for Newfound-
land is one, with which this great constitutional
lawyer was either unacquainted, or for which he
could not devise an appropriate designation.
England, like an indulgent parent, freely gave to
her wandering children, compelled to seek homes
and countries in a new and distant world, a fair por-
tion of their inheritance. She granted them the
greatest boon in he* power to bestow — the liberty
of forming their infant governments on the basis of
her own matchless constitution ; and when we look
back and observe the rapid strides those countries
have made in wealth, population, and imptove-
ment, we may exclaim with Sir James Mackintosh,
that " Liberty is the parent of commerce, the
PARENT OF WEALTH, THE PARENT OF KNOWLEDGE, THE
parent of EVERY VIRTUE."
Unfortunately for Newfoundland, the withering
and blavSting influence of mercantile monopohf pre-
vented the parent government from acting towards
her with the same liberal and generous policy she
did to her other eolonies. I am free to admit that
this was not occasioned by any indisposition on
the part of government to promote the interests of
the country, or the happiness of the people ; the
cause is well explained in a Memorial presented
from Newfoundland to the Right Honourable Earl
Bathurst, under date of the 6th of December, 183^,
from which the following is an extract.
. '* The Committee now beg leave to call the at-
*' tention of your Lordship to the present state of
" Newfoundland, a country of great extent, the
" oldest of the British settlements in America^
placed nearly in the same latitude as England,
with a climate peculiarly favourable to the health
" of its inhabitants, possessing more of the elements
of commerce than any other of the colonies of
North America, and of the greatest importance
" to the paient state, not only as a valuable acqui--
" sition to the commercial interests of the empire,-
" but as the best nursery for seamen to supoort its
" naval ascendancy ; now, after the lapse of near
*' three centuries, being almost in the same slate as
*' when first discovered by Cabot. With a popu-
lation of one hundred thousand persons, without
any certain mode of employment or subsistence,
without a government efficient for any local pur-
pose, without roads, without means of education
'* for the peoplcj without aiiy of those institutions
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" which are necessary for (he gov jrnnicnt of every
" civilized country. The trade and fisheries, hi-
I' therto the chief support of the people, languish-
" ing for want of due encouragement.
" The Committee, in their endeavours to trace
" the causes that have led to the present state of
" things, have observed that it has been the con-
stant and prevailing policy to view Newfoundland
merely as a fishing establishment and a place of
trade ; this policy, so long adopted towards the
country, they do not hesitate to say, was the pri-
Hiary cause.
" From the earliest period, the attention of the
*' settlers, as well as transient persons, was exclu^
" sively turned towards the fisheries, and the com-
" mercial pursuits coiinected with them. They
" were the only source which the inhabitants looked
'• up to for support, consequently they were sub-
"ject to the vicissitudes of such uncertain em-
" ployments ; when the fisheries flourished, the in-
" habitants were enabled to obtain a comfortable
"subsistence; when they declined, they sufi-ered in
"exact proportion to that decline; such has invari-
ably been the situation of the people ; and such
^^ ever will be their state, until they can get more
" certain means of employment than can be aflforded
'I by the fisheries. Merchants will only employ
" their capital so long as there is a fair prospect of
" gain ; if that prospect be reversed, they will with-
^^ draw from the trade ; and it forms no principle of
''^ mercantile economy to enquire how the people
" are to exist, bv whnsplRhnnr ^^^a ;«j. .„*.....•
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* prosperous timjL'9, ihcy gained all their wealth and
"importance. If this mode ot* reasoning be true,
** in reference to trade in general, how much more
** applicable is it to the uncertain trade carri'id on
'* in the fisheries of Newfoundland ?
" From the earliest peiiod, t affairs of New-
*' foundland were mainly influenced by merchants
residing in England, the trp^e and fisheries were
a monopoly in their hands, to preserve which they
" exerted all their influence to prevent the im-
provement or settlement of the country, appre-
hensive that it would be fatal to their monopoly.
They represented the soil as barren and incapable
" of improvement ; the climate so extremely severe
" as to render it uninhabitable; aware that it was
a favourite object with government to inciease
the naval strength of the empire by the extension
" of the fisheries, they stated the moveable fishery
carried on by themselves as the best to promote
that object, and that the sedentary fishery of the
" natives would defeat it
" The parties thus interested in the trade, in-
fluenced government to second all their views ;
everv obstacle was thrown in the way of settle-
ment; a policy was pursued, and laws were
" formed, that had the direct tendency f- ". prevent-
" ing the cultivation of the soil, to which justly
" may be attributed the present wretched state
'^ of the island.
" The government of Newfoundland was in a
" great degree placed in the hands of a few mer-
Jf chants, and it is not at all surprising that they
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were influenced by the same principles which had
invariablj governed merchants, in every age and
country, to sacrifice every other interest to their
own. Their object was to make money, and in the
shortest time possible : the facility they found
during a hng period of a profitable trade and
successful fishery, to realize large fortunes, made
them consider their residence in Newfoundland
merely as a probation for a few years, after which
they expected to be able to retire; and enjoy the
fruits of their prosperous industry in other coun^
tries. Within the last thirty or forty years, a
great number of persons have retired from this
country, carrying with them large sums realized
out of the trade and fisheries. Fortunes of from
fiO, 100, 200, and 3(K),O00^.have been made by
individuals who came to the island without
a shilling, and who are now removed to other
countries. It must appear evident that such a
continual drain of capital must have been most
injurious to its interests : and it was only a coun^
try possessing an inexhaustible mine of wealth
in her fisheries, that could permit such to take
place.
" The adventurers to the other colonies Jiad the
improvement and cultivation of the soil to look
to as the chief source of wealth and commerce,
and even if they were successful enough to realize
a sufficient sum to enable them to retire^ they
could not carry away their improvements along
with them; the country was at least so much
benefited by liiem.
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" The peculiar siete of Newfoundland, where
the labour and skill of the people being exclu-
sively turned towards the fisheries, every other
interest being sacrific" ' to them, permitted the
" adventurer to accumulate a fortune without
" making the slightest improvement. He remained
" in the country only a few months in the summer,
" he had no object in making improvements beyond
" what was necessary to protect his goods from thq
** weather, until they were shipped off. It is well
*^ known that the houses in which many of the per-
*' son$ lived, who made the largest fortunes in New-
foundland, were so mean, that the cottages of
English peasants \vould be considered palaces in
♦' comparison. These kind of houses are the im-
" provements, if improvements they can be called,
•' made in Newfoundland by the most wealthy mer-
•* chants in the trade.*-
I can add nothing to this statement of the Com<-
mittee, more than that the same influence of which
they complain is, as you know. Sir, actively em-
ployed at this moment, in I hope the vain en-
deavour, to induce Government not to follow up
those measiircfi for the improvement of the Colony,
which have been so happily and so successfully
commenced. The party is alarmed — they are
vainly putting f^rth their paralyzed arms to arrest
the progress of justice and civilization — they have
all the wiU to keep m in bondage and barba-
rJAip ; but, thank God, they have not the power,
though they, like so many Hannibals, have sworn
eternal enniity to that country which raised
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their fathers and themselves to wealth and im-
portance. I tell them, and confidently, that the
spell is broken, and that they can no longer bind
Newfoundland in chains of worse than feudal des-
potism. The people are aroused to a sense of their
own rights—they feel the blessings of an equal admi-
nistration of the laws, and the happiness of indepen-
dence; and they knowthey can only obtain emanci-
pation from the bondage of mercantile monopoly by
claiming their rights as British subjects. New-
foundland will no longer be a plantation of the
merchants of Poole, and her people no longer
their slaves.
Fearing, Sir, that my language in reference to
this party may be considered too intemperate, ana
rather emanating from excited feelings, or inte-
rested motives, than warranted by facts, I will
quote *he words of one whose wisdom, learning,
and high character, must give weight to his
opinions and assertions, and who, not having any
personal interest to actuate or influence him, must,
in common candour, be supposed to have given
the subject calm and dispassionate consideration.
John Reeves, Esq. Chief Justice of Newfoundland
m his invaluable History of the Government of
•that country, commences his introduction in the
following words : - I intend to give a short history
" of the Government and Constitution of New-
"foundland. This will comprise the struggles
" ftnd vicissitudes of two contending interests—the
'' planters and inhabitants on the one hand, who,
" being settled there, needed the protection of a
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13
government and police, with the administration
of justice : and the adventiir^^rs and merchants
on the other, who, originally carrying on the
fishery from this country, and visiting that island
only for the season, needed no such protection
for themselves, and had various reasons for pre-
venting its being afforded to the others."
Again, in page 97, he says, " Some hope rnght
reasonably be entertained that the eiitablishment
of a Civil Government, and the appointment of
Justices of the Peace, with proper officers for
executing the law, would have been received hy all
as a desirable improvement in the state of society
in the island ; and it might be expected, that such
an appointment could not fail of its effect. But
the cause which had always operated to prevent
any sufficient authority being introduced into
that place, opposed itself to this new establish-
ment. The western merchants, who had been
silent while this measure was in agitation, were
ready enough to bring complaints of its conse-
quences, \ /hen carried into execution; and we
shall soon see the struggle made to prevent any
lawful authority taking root in Newfoundland."
And, in page 164, he states that "The Governor's
authority, whatever it n. ght be, was actually
carried into effect by an appointment of a Court
of Common Pleas and Judges, in the summer of
1789. This Court of Common Pleas transacted
business during the following winter ; but the
western merchants preferred very heavy com-
plaints against the proceedings of this Court ;
" what ttiey allied against it may be seen shortly
" stated in the representation afterwards made by
" the Committee of Trade, and now printed by
" order of the House of Commons. Their great
"objection, which they do mtMate, hut which 1
" mUtyenture td do for them, w this; that they now
" saw a Court established (as they believed) upon
" good authority, with which they could not trifle,
*' «s they had been used to do with the feeble judi-
" catures before mentioned ,• those inefficient Courts
" they preferred, because they could make use of
" them when they needed their assistance, and couid
" intimidate the Justices, and obstruct their pro-
" ocedings, whenever they themselves were to be
" the objects of aniraadvetsion. They had been in
" the habit of seeing this species of weakness and
" a«archy ever since Newfoundland was frequented,
« imm father to son ; it was favorable to their old
'< impressions that Newfoundlaitd was theirs, and
"that all the planters and inhabitants were to he
" spoiled and devoured <it their pleasure ; in sup-
" port of this, they had opposed, as we have seen,
every attempt at introducing order and govern-
ment into that pUce. It was in this spirit, tfeat
" ihey questioned the king's r%bt to appoint a
" civi? Governor, to appoint Justices of the Peace,
" to appoint ComjiHssioners of Oyer and Terminer ;
" that they explained of the Custom House, and
'^even talked of presenting it as a n lisanoe, be-
" cause erected «n ship's room ; that they treated
" Stat. 15, Geo. HI, as destructive -to the fishery,
'-* becauseit compels the payment of servant's wages;
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'• and that they brought forward a bill in 1785, in
" order to expose the servants once more to iht
" will of their masters, as to the payment of their
" wages.**
The same spirit which actuated the western
merchants at the times alluded to by Mr. Reeves,
still influences all their actions and feelings, and I
am the more anxious to call your attention to the
subject, froni a conviction, that until it is subdued
— eradicated it never will be — neither the govern-
ment here^ nor the government at Newfoundland,
can do much to ameliorate the condition of tlie
country.
An imperative sense of justice having compelled
me thus to speak in terms of reprobation <^ the
conduct pursued by these monopolists towards
Newfoundland, I will now proceed to the more
grateful task of attempting to do jwitice to thenr
merits. In one of the first of the moral duties
vrhich in this degenerate age is, alas ! of too rare
occurrence^ these worthies, to a roan, coo^icuourfy
shine - A strict adherence to the creed and priocipkB
of their fathers, and a piouo observance of all their
wishes and commands as respects Newfoundland.
In filial obedience to which they religiously oppose,
with all the unitod energies of their influence «nd
their little talent, without regard to the trifling
punctilios of truth, of j'jstice, or humanity, everj
species of internal improvement, especially the €idr
tivation of the soil — the educatian of the peopl»^
and the inUroductien of any government or iawo
calculated to irtfrittge upon the prerogatives of the
immi In
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16
iron rule which they have been taught by their
departed sires to consider was, by divine right,
conferred upon their favoured race, over the in-
habitants of Newfoundland. Shall men, who for
ages have been their vassals, the blind, helpless, and
devoted slaves of their omnipotent v^ill, impiously
attempt to shake off the yoke-consider themselves
entitled to the benefits of an equal administration
of justice— or dare to raise food from the bosom of
the earth, when they would bid them starve ?—
No! avarice, tyranny, ignorance, and prejudice,,
the worshipped deities of these monopolists, forbid
such sacrilege !
What would be the delight of their venerated
ancestors, the Fishing Admirals, from which honor-
able stock they proudly trace their descent, and to
following whose worthy example they owe their
wealth and fancied importance, could they rise
from their graves, and behold all the virtues and
wisdom for which they were so eminently distin-
^ished still animating, i„ dl their pristine force,
the bosoms of their faithful descendants? How
would they applaud their present worthy endea-
vours to preserve inviolate the despotic heritage
which they bequeathed them ? But, let them not
be wafted on the wings of the eastern gale across
the Atlantic, for what would be their horror to
behold the apostacy of the present degenerate race;
to see them sinking from their former state of
happy ignorance and barbarism, into one of intel-
lectual improvement ; to see some of them skilled
in the cabalistic art of writing, impiously daring
(
i
^^
-.ft" ■_
to read over their merchant's accounts, und pro-
farnoiy questioning their correctness. Instead of the
hoops, nailed to the table, out of which they spa-
ringly eat their cod*s heads and sound bones* with
more than Spartan temperance, to see them regaling
themselves on fish and bang, off the plate of Staf-
fordshire'; and, in place of the ancient boat's kettle,
whose well besooted sides bore ample testimony to
its long and useful services, to see in the centre of
the table a dish of the same precious material as
the plates ; to see them despising those useful
organs with which kind Nature has supplied them
for conveying their food to their mouths, and which
alone they ever used for the purpose, and substi-
tuting in lieu knives, forks — and even spoons!
All ihh would bo horrible, X)ery horrible ! ! — ^but
should an unpropitious breeze convey them to the
capital, or some of the other principal towns, there
still greater horrors would await them — there they
would behold the merchants and respectable in-
habitants, instead of the once blue flushing jacket
and trowsers, economically besmeared with pitch
and tar, and fish slime, to preserve their nap, and
the soap-saving checked shirt, the quondam uniform
of these Admirals, dressed in coats of the finest
produce of the western looms, with shirts of the
purest white, evidently no strangers to the washer-
woman's tub ; and appearing in the character to
which their education, their principles, and their
station entitle ihem—the character of Gentlemen.
If they entered their houses, they would see them
* These narts. not beinff cured, are now used for manurCi
, t
i,'j
''a
18
furnished with chairs, sofas, and ottomans, instead
of inverted butter firkins and deal benches ; the
well carpeted, instead of the dirt-covered flooi .
Thejr would see cleanliness, order, and all the ele-
gancies of refined life, instead of Hottentot filth
and the want of common comforts and conve-
niences ; they would sec them sitting down sur-
rounded by their friends to a table spread with a
cloth of the finest damask, ard supplied with every
delicacy, instead of a board covered with a bread
bag, on which they might perhaps, once in each of
their lives, have committed the heinous sin of hog-
pit&.ity, by regaling their friends with a piece of
salt pork. They would see the finest wines of
Portugal and France sparkling in rich cut de-
canters and glasses, instead of spruce beer and cal-
Ubogus,* in black tea Settles and tin cans. In the
Courts of Justice they would see the leato they once
filled on the judicial bench, to decide their <rwn
causes, usurped by disinterested, learned, and en-
lightened judges,patiently listening to the statements
of the parties, and the testimoay of their witnesses,
and delivering luminous and impartial charges to
intelligent and upright juries. They would see, oh,
degenerate age! the poor man standing as a suitor
on equal grounds with his wealthy opponent. They
♦ A fevorite beverage with the Fishing Admirals, composed
of spmcebeer, new rum. and molmeut in jvhich, though in
England th«y wm^t good protestants, they were «ccH3tomfid io
their hours of revelry, to drink the impious to^st of, " The
Pope and ten donar8."-Hi8 Holiness being the patron saint
•f the fishery, and ten dollars being vhat they considered •
»avm^ price for a quintal of fish.
!
would see the streets thronged with elegant equi-
pages^ and beautiful and accomplished females,
dressed in the newest costume of the British Me-
tropolis, instead of ignorant, homely dames, clad
in linsey woolsey of gothic shape. Throughout
the island they would see churches and chapels,
with their spires and towers pointing to the
heavens; schools crowded with the rising genera-
tion, eagerly availing themselves of the advantages
which the prejudice and avarice of their oppressors
denied their forefathers ; nay, they would even see
the foundation of a college ! They would see the
germ of cultivation bursting, as it -yere, through
the matted woods, and requiring but the beneficent
hand of a liberal government to train it to future
universal luxuriance. In short, they would see
the glorious light of education and civilization dis-
pelling the dark chaos of ignorance and barbarism,
and plenty and independence supplanting famine
and slavery. Should they venture into the presence
of our beloved Governor, who their hopeful des-
cendants have endeavoured to defame and vilify,
by the " magic" influence of whose liberal and
enlightened mind all these wondrous metamor-
phoses have been even still more fostered and en-
couraged, they would find him surrounded by all
the lovely of the one sex, and the wise and the
good of the other ; all looking up to him with
reverential gratitude for the blessings he has show-
ered on the country ; whilst, with courteous hospi-
tality, he supports the dignity and honour of his
Royal Master. All this they would see — and know
u
P^f
I m : i
that the despotic rei^ of monopoly tottered to its
very foundation ; they would retire to their silent
graves, ..nd— rest if they could.
As a proof that the present generation of Poole
i& worthy of their renowned sires, I beg. Sir, most
respectfully to call your attention to a pamphlet
bitely published there, entitled " A View of the
Rise, Progress, and Present State of the New-
foundland Fishery,'' and dedicated by the author
to " Benjamin Lester Lester, Esq. M. P. with
great personal esteem^ and a high regard for the
zeal and ahilltt/ with which he has uniformly en-
deavoured to promote its interests."
This admirable production has been gratuitously
circulated through all the principal towns in Eng-
land, Scotland, and Ireland, connected with New-
foundland, and no doubt the Colonial Department,
as well as the members of the Finance Committee,
have been favoured with copies also. It is a work
of great promise, and the author, though not a
"mighty magician/' must be a mighty oracle, ^s
he scarcely condescends to give itny authority for
his assertions but his own ipse dixit. In the com-
mencement of his -View of the Rise and Progress
of the Newfoundland Fishery,*' he states "that the
imperfect information of official men, whose transi-
tory acquaintance with the place, acquired during
their limited periodical residences, does not qualify
them to take an " enlarged view" of the subject."
This, I naturally conceive, *o be an implied promise
by the authur himself to do so. I can assure you.
Sir, it wa« to me, acquainted an Inm wifh ih^
m
I
history of the island, a most amusing idea to think
of the oracle of the Pc 1e merchants taking " an
enlarged view" of the state of Newfoundland ; and
if yoi^ Sir, should think it worth the trouble, and
will only glance over Reeves's or any other History
of Newfoundland, you will gain a relish for a part
of the joke yourself. Indeed, from tlie title of the
production, and the absurdities and incongruities
80 liberally dispersed through it, I am inclined to
consider the author a facetious wag, who, under
pretence of espousing the cause of his pure and im-
maculate fellow burgesses, has roguishly endea-
voured, and successfully too, to expose its irra-
tionality and weakness.
But, before I take further notice of his "enlarged
view" I will just point out one statement of his, to
shew how extremely correct has been his informa-
tion respecting Newfoundland, and which will
prove how little faith his theoretical opinions are
entitled to when he betrays such gross ignorance of
facts.
In page 1 5, he states that " an act was passed in
1792 by which power was given to the Governors,
with the advice of the Chief Justice, to institute
Courts of Civil Jurisdiction, &c., and that in this
way the judicature of tbe island was conducted
until the year 1824." ^-
Now it happens that the act of 1792 was repeal-
ed by the act of the 49th of the late king, under
the authority of which the country was governed
till the promulgation of the act of 1824. The au-
thdr vf the "enlarged view" must have been, like
i'
22
Rip Van Winkle, in a profound dose during these
seventeen years ; and, like the renowned Dutchman,
he appears confounded at the wondrous changes
which had been effected during his longs'umber.
The avowed object of this " enlarged view,"
whatever might be the real intention of the writer,
is to impress on his Majesty's Government,
First, ** TLat the new form of Government lately
establi^'^ed under Sir Thomas Cochrane is on too
expensiive a scale. That a Vice Regal Court,
with ill: splendour of sovereign authority, are
highly objectionable ; that the house now building
for the use of the Governor is on too magnificent a
plan ; and that the old system of an Admiral Go-
vernor was much less expensive; that while he
maintained, with becoming dignity, the honourable
station in which he was placed, he still avoided all
unnecessary display, as being inconsistent with the
government of a iishr^Mir town."
Secondly,** That th ni'j^ewt admiv -'s^ration of jus-
tice, under a Chief Justice and otheit duly qualified
judges and law officers is equally objectionable ;
that the summary justice of the naval surrogates
would be best adapted ibr a ^fishery, and certainly
less expensive/*
Thirdly, ** That the agricultural improvement of
Newfoundland is a wild chimera ; that cultivation
to any important profitable extent is opposed by na-
tural obstacles, which are insurmountable; a thick-
ly wooded country, and a scanty soil, every where
encumbered with huge rocks , that would never re-
pay the enoraiuus labour and expei e of clearing.
23
and a cUmate uncongenial for the production of
the fruits of the earth."
There are some other matters in this pamphlet
on which I may possibly make some remark8,€n pas-
sant, but these being the chief ones, I 8^uU confine
my principal observations to them. With espect
to' the first objection, the expense of the govern-
ment, I hope to be able to prove that the former
gov srnmeiit, if it could be called by such a name,
was knuch more expensi ' 3 than the present. The
Admiral Governor was allowed salary as Gover-
nor, pay as an Admiral and Commander in Chief
on the station, allowancos for his table, servants,
with other followers (not speaking of the great pa»
tronage he had of promoting his friends and r*?-
taiuers to j\\ vacancies in the fleet), amounted from
about 3,800/. to 4,000/. per annum. What were
his services for these great allowances ? Why he
came to Newfoundland in the month of July or
August, sometimes in September, and left on the
25th of October, so that I may safely say these go-
vernors, on an average, were not more than four
months in the year at the seat of their government,
for which they were paid at the rate of from 11,000/.
to 12,000/. per annum.
Our present governor is allowed, I understand,
about 4,000/. per year ; out of which he has to sup-
port the splendo'jr of "vice regal authority," a large
retinue of servants, entertain tae principal inhabit-
ants of Newfoundland at his table, and all strangers
wh^ visit the seal of his government ; to subscribe
11 1.1-. _1 :j.! „«.4 ^no4t4ii4irkne A OTf^at
CO aii IlUOiiC CiiaiiiivB »«« i»i3V4«.wv»v-.-i. - — ^j
24
i;-^i
11}
part of his income h expended in the country r so
^'lat if the author of this pamphkt only just takes
an " enlarged view" of the subject, he will find
that he was egregiously in error in supposing that
bis &,Yourite Admiral Governor was a cheaper
Governor, for it appears that the matter of
pounds, shillings, and pence, is his only criterion of
judgment. If a comparison be made between the
relative systems, with refercjice to the benefits con-
ferred on Newfoundland, the difierence will ap-
pear more striking ; our present governor has been
*ince bis arrival improving the condition of the
couiitry and the people, and though I do not mean
to say that he is a "mighti/ magician," still I main-
tain that he has done more real good to the co-
Ipny, since his appointment, than all his predecessors
put together. He has, as far as his limited authority
permitted him, given every encouragement to the
cultivation of the soU, and himself shewn the ex-
ftinple; he has encouraged every measure calcu-
lated to promote the internal resources of the coun-
Uf I he has made roads, some of them at his own
QXpense ; he has been the patron of education for
jthe poor ^nd the rich, and he had scarcely landed
on our shores when he recommended the estahlisk-
mmt of a University for the education of our
respectable youth, to prevent the necessity of
seeding them to the United States and other
pwte; in short, he has felt a sympathy for the
l^untry and the people beyond what was ever felt
by any of his predecessors, and the country feels
gratefu? to him for it j an^ in proportion as the gra-
titud^ of the people of Newfoundland has in<*reiasecl
towards him for honestly and impartially administer-
ing the high trust placed in his hands, to the honour
of his royal master, the benefit of his country, and
the advantage of the people over whom he presides-,
so has increased the hatred of those who are inimi^
cal to the true interests of Newfoundland ; they
never will forgive him for what he has already done;
their hatred will be as lasting as it is deadly ; they
attempt to prevent the finishing of a house for his
residence, not so goodas is enjoyed by many private
merchants in this country, who accumulated their
wealth in Newfoundlar.d.
In speaking in these terms of eulogy of the pre-
sent governor, I am sure neither the distinguished
individual himself,nor any person who knows me at
Newfoundland, will suspect me of giving him un-
due praise. I never did, nor ever will, a«k a favour
from him or any other governor for my own benefit';
and the greatest favour he can confer on me is to
continue ic do justice to the people over whom he
is placed by his sovereign.
I now come to the second objection of this wri-
ter, where he mourns the downfall of the system of
justice which in the halcyon days of monopoly pro-
duced such " beneficial" results to the monopolists.
I shall just prove his unblushing effrontery in as-
serting that the naval Surrogate System was less
expensive than the present. I believe the present
allowance to our Chief Justice is 1,200/. per year;
700/. per year each to the other assistant judges,
with the salaries of the Lttorney general and the
m
26
other law and mi isterial officers, not speaking of
the expense of hired vessels to convey them to their
respective districts. Now, by referring to page 3^
of papers relating to Newfoundland, laid before the
House of Commons, on the 25th February 1824,
on the motion of Mr. Hume, and ordered to be
printed, we find the following charges for Chief
Juatice and Surrogates; viz. —
Francis Forbes, Esq. Chief Justice . £.1,000
John Toup Nicholas, Esq. Surrogate,
Captain of H. M. Ship, Egeria. . 60
David Buchan, Esq. Commander of H.
M. Ship, Grasshopper 60
James Murray, Esq. Captain of H. M.
Frigate, Valourous 60
Charles A. Baker, Esq. Commander of H,
M. Ship, Little Drake 60
, William Minchin, Esq. Comrapnder of
. H. M. Ship, Pelter 60
William Martin, Esq. Commander of
H. M. Ship, Clinker 60
George Holbrook, Esq. Commander of
the Surveying vessels ..... 60
Robert Carter. Esq ,60
With which was a Supreme Surrogate 100
Clerks of Arraigns .,,.... 150
£.1730
To this is to be added, the cost of two fri-
gates, two ships of war, and two gun-brigs : this
I aia not sufficiently acquainted with the naval
service to calculate; but if we say that the ves-
I
27
sels employed in conveying the surrogates, cost
government, one with another, after the rate of
5,000/. per month, it would amount, for the six
vessels, to 72,000/., making the cost of the adminis-
tration ofjustice just 73,730/. per annum ; to which
is to be added the loss of two or three of his Majes-
ty's ships, one of them, the Little Drake, Com-
manded by the lamented Captain Baker, who, to-
gether with the greater part of his officers and
crew, met with a watery grave. But the author
of the " enlarged view" will say, what was the ex-
pense of ships, or the loss of vessels or lives to us ?
the parent country, not the fishery, had to bear the
burthen. Having disposed of the matter of ex-
pense, I shall now make some remarks on the be-
neficial effects of the system, the loss of which he
so feelingly and so sincerely deplores.
The judges, on uls favourite system, were the cap-
tains, lieutenants, and sometimes sailing masters in
the navy, and other persons, who, from their doubt-
ful character and subservience to the monopolists,
were much more objectionable. The gentlemen of
the navy are educated from their youth in a system
of their own, apart from the civil institutions of
the country, and necessarily less conversant with
those institutions than any other class of his Ma-
jesty's subjects ; yet to such men the administration
of justice was intrusted— and justice according to
the laws of England. The absurd, and ridiculous,
and often unjust and arbitrary proceedings of the
surrogates are so well known, they have been so
fully exposed in parliament and in Newfoundland,
$!-!'
mi
■ I
if
ii
28
and so long since consigned to the tomb of all the
Capulets, without even a hope of resurrection, (for
I would just as soon expect that the Inquisition
would be established at Newfoundland as the sur-
rogating system restored) that I do not think it ne-
cessary to make any further observations on the sub-
ject ; at the same time I can duly appreciate the
motives of the writei of the "enlarged view"
whilst lamenting over the downfall of that sum-
mary justice under the authority of which the poor
inhabitants of Newfoundland were plundered and
oppressed lor centuries, and a few individuals en-
riched by the ?noil, whilst the best interests of the
parent countrj were sacrificed, and the people kept
in ignorance, and the country in barbarism. Par-
don me. Sir, if I should in the warmth of my zeal
against the monopolists seem to forget the respect
due to the dignified individual to whom I am
addressing myself, and which no man feels more
profoundly than myself; but I have seen so
many acts of cruelty and oppression committed
at Newfoundland under the authority and pre-
tence of summary justice, that I lose all pa-
tience even at the very mention of its being re-
established. I am ready admit that summary
justice would be the best of all justice, if, along
with being summary, it would be really just ; but
what goes under the name of summary justice, is, as
far as I have had an opportunity of judging of it at
Newfoundland, the per/ec^eow of injustice. Sum-
mary justice may answer in the first rude stages of
society, ciiiiOiigst
11
29
or J '^ wandering tribes of Arabia ; it i i an admira-
b e E^ *em with a Persian Satrap or a Turkish Ba-
shaw ; but. Sir, I hope you will not allow it to be
established even in the most distant colony of
this great empire. I am grossly in error if it is not
opposed to the fundamental principles of our glo-
riousc onstitution, which throws Ihe mighty shield
of its protection over the cottage of the peasant
as well as the palace of the prince ; its privileges
and protection are the natural right of every Briton
throughout England's wide domain, wherever her
proud flag floats in the breeze, as a proof of her
dominion and supremacy.
I come now to the third objection, that the soil
and climate of Newfoundland present insurmount-
able obstacles to agricultural improvements— the
author of the " enlarged view," after denouncing
the soil and climate, with all the zeal and virulence
of a false prophet, sneers at, ard gives us the fol-
lowing quotation from the Public Ledger :
" Newfoundland (hitherto considered barren and
" sterile) is soon likely to become a great agricul-
" tural country, under the auspices of the present
" governor, who having himself put the plough in
« requisition, has by the force of his example so
'^ stimulated others, that there are now to be seen
on every hand corn fields springing up, as if by
magic, in the place of woods and forests."
" Those acquainted with the country," says
the author of the " enlarged view," " know such
" representations to be altogether fallacious, and
" consider them to be mischie .3. That tiie
((
ft
\m
■K;-,
1 ii^<»jiBij^""i'rriii iTrmr|njfa
tt
tt
ft
30
" governor may have promoted and encouraged
" the cultivation of the soil in the immediate vici-
" nity of St. John's, is, perhaps, not to be disputed;
" but that within the short period of his govern-
"ment such extraordinary changes have taken
*' place, as those represented in the statement al-
" luded to, is not the fact; and it is well known
" that, for many years previous to the appointment
" of the present governor, individuals had at great
" labour and expense devoted their utmost skill and
" attention in vain, to attain the object which the
<' Newfoundland Public Ledger endeavours to
make the public believe had been accomplished
in the short space of two years by this mighti/
magician."
After this tirade against the soil, the climate, the
governor, and the Public Ledger, he triumphantly
asks, " If more unquestionable proofs are wanting,
^' the unfitness of Newfoundland for the purposes
" of cultivation might be inferred from the cir-
" cumstance that it never has been cultivated— if
' the soil and climate are so well adapted for cul-
" tivation as the Newfoundland Public Ledger
« would have us believe, how has it happened that,
« with a population of 90,000, dependent on
« other countries for food, cultivation has never
*' been resorted to as a source of supply — the inha-
" bitants of Newfoundland are not insensible to
" the advantages of a productive soil, and are as
" much alive to their own interests and comforts
" as the people of any other country ; and it is a
" known fact, that there have been individuals
i
t€
tt
tt
II i
31
''who have in vain endeavoured to obtain sub-
" sistence for themselves and families from the soil,
" in preference to the pursuits of the fishery."
The memory of the author must be very treacher-
ous indeed, to have forgotten the sole cause why
the soil v.as not cultivated, when he had so satis-
factorily before stated it himself in his « enlarged
view/'— In page 7 he says,---
- In the early stages of the fishery, a few simple
" local laws or regulations were sufficient for its
- o-overnment, and to preserve the relation betvveen
« master and servant ; and although they may have
- been, and probably were, rude and barbarous m
« their construction and operation, still the u«hery •
« prospered and increased; and we find little or no
< legislative notice of the island until nearly two
- hundred years after its discovery, when the act
" of 10th and nth William III. to encourage the
" trade to Newfoundland was parsed. This act was
^< founded on the ancient poliet/ of discouraging
« residency, and considering Newfoundland to be a
ship fishery ; and, notwithstanding the evidently
increasing population, the same views influenced
the legislature nearly fourscore years after, in
passing the act of 15th Geo. III. the object of
which was also to discourage residency; and, m
'fact, the same principle has in some measure
" prevailed in all the legislative acts on the subject,
« almost to the present day; and this discordant
« policy has naturally been attended with a want
*' of permanency and consistency in the measures
^' 07 govcrnTuerit.
<(
tt
t(
tt
tt
tt
:i I
32
He first tells us that the laws discouraged resi-
dency, and were rude and barbarous in their con-
struction, and, a few pages after, asks, Why the soil
was not cultivated ? That the laws were rude and
barbarous is the only truism in the whole " enlarged
view;" and the construction put upon them by ihe
Fishing Admirals, their only interpreters and
administrators in the island, was more rude and
barbarous still. By the western charter no in-
habitant was allowed to live within six miles ot the
sea, and might, under its authority, be driven out
of the country. When the poor inhabitants built
houses, OF stages for curing their fish, or cleared a
little spot of ground for cultivation, the houses
were burnt or destroyed, and the ground wrested
from them.
By the statute of the iOth and Uth of William
and Mary^ the Fishing Admirals assumed uncon^
troUed dominion over the country, and prevented
the people from cultivating the soil. They dreaded
pothing more than cultivation, as they supposed it
WQuld interfere with their monopoly in supplying
the people with provisions. If a poor man cleared
9. spot of ground, the iOth and llth of William
^d Mary was immediately put into operation in a
mannei never contemplated by the legislature:
under pretence oC its authority outrages revolting
io humanity were committed by those vandals ; {«
gfeen bough was stuck on the offending soil, the
seed was torn up, and the ground, as a punishment,
covered with a fish flake. The Admiral Governors
were scarcely less opposed to the improvement of
m
the country, or the cultivtion of the soil, without
casting the slightest imputation on them for what
they did. They came out to the country only for
a few months in the summer, and their instructions
were dictated by thct influence of which I hr;*e
before spoken. The governors went so far as to pre-
vent people not alone from cultivating the soil, but
they absolutely prevented them from building
houses on their own g round, building new chimneys,
or even repairing old ones. I have frequently wit-
nessedhousesbelonging to some of the first merchants
of St. John's razed with the ground, and any man in
those days that would attempt to cultivate the soil,
without special leave, which was confined to a few
favouicd individuals, was shipped off by the first
vessel to whatever part of the world she was sailing.
It was not till the government of Sir Richard
Keats, in 1813, that leases of small plots of ground
were granted, (with the exception of some trifling
lots that were cleared by suff'erance before) but clog-
ged with many restrictions ; and even waste lands
were subject to annual rents, from 2s. 6d. to 20s. per
acre. It is only so late as the year 1824, that a
clause was introduced into the act of 5th Geo. IV.
chap. 51, sec. 15, authorizing the governor to
make grants of land, " any thing in any charter
« granted by any of His Majesty's Royal Predeces-
« sors, or any Act of Parlianvent to the contrary
« contained in any wise notwithstanding." I believe
I may take the liberty of saying that this clwse
was introduced at my r ecommendatron ; I made
^.,^u ^ -.^,x^a* */^ *Ih» Ritf-Wt Hon. R. W. HortoH,
liu
■r
Ji- 1'.
r >
' I >
Kl
^i !
i|!
34
and soon after this clause appeared in the act be-
fore mentioned. And here I may be allowed to ex-
press my feelings of gratitude to that Right Hon
Gentleman for the great benefits which he conferred
on Newfoundland, and for the consideration he
gave to the very humble individuals to whose xe-
comnoendation he was pleased to attend.
I think I have shewn sufficient cause for the want
of general cultivation in Newfoundland, without
placing it to account of the soil and climate. As
•I shall have occasion to revert to this subject be-
fore I conclude, I shall take no further notice of
the opinions of the writer of the " enlarged view"
•upon it. Having already expended much more of
mv time upon this publication than its palpable
absurdity rendered necessary, I shall take no notice
of his objection to Roads, Hospitals, Public Mar-
kets, and, what makes his hair almost stand an end,
'** in due time, perhaps, an University !" What
dark age was this man born in ? What materials
must his mind, his body, or his soul be composed
.of? What kind of a head or heart must he possess,
who can attempt to throw the slightest obstacle
in the way of such noble objects ? The opinions
of this man of " enlarged views," and those of
whom he is the mere mouth-piece, remind me of
a nation of savages, who inhabit the banks of a
remote river of Africa, they adore darkness as
their deity, and on the approach of night they
assemble to offer incense at their infernal shrines
— but as soon as the dawn appears, they set up
the most dreadful bowlings and yells, to frighten
35
of
away the approach of light, and on the rising
tli€ blessed sun they fly affrighted to their dark
and filthy caverns.
The best apology I can make for this digression
from the subject I commenced with— the proving
the ne<;esBity of a Constitutional Government for
Newfoundland— is, that I owe to the wise men of
the West, on the part of that colony, a debt of
gratitude, and the sooner it is paid off the better.
I shall now proceed to meet the objections that
have been made to the establishment of such t
government at Newfoundland, and conelude by
endeavouring to prove that it would promote Ihe
welfare of the parent country, a* well as that of
tke cdonj.
The objections arc. First, by those who admit the
principle, but say that the country is not ripe for
such a government, and that there would be a di«*
Gultyin finding at Newfoundland persons suffieieirtly
qualified or educated to constitute a represcntAtivi^
Secondly, That the country could not raise a
sufficient revenue to pay the charges oi a Consti-
ttttional Government, which ''ould be much more
expensive than the present system.
Thirdly, That it is only for a stationary agricul-
tural population that such a government is required;
that Newfoundland is only calculj^ti^d for a place
of trade and a fishery, and that the soil and climate
present such insurmountable obstacles to cultiva-
tiott, that the idea of making agricultural improve-
™^^*„ „4 \r«».f/^inHli«id is wild and visionary.
irrciiis res' i.T\-rT "
F
!:n
li
'■f
Hi
I )
36
Fourthly, That if such a government was esta-
blished at Newfoundland, in consequence of the
prevailing influence of the mercantile body, par-
ticularly in the out ports, that an assembly would
be almost entirely composed of persons elected
through the mercantile influence in this country,
which has been so inimical to the internal im-
provement of Newfoundland.
. Fifthly, That Colonial Assemblies have been
found troublesome and inconvenient, in conse-
quence of the great differences which have arisen
between the Assemblies and the Governors.
• I shall endeavour to reply to these Objections in
the same order that I h-ve stated them.
As respects the ripeness of Newfoundland for
such a government, I am at a loss properly to un-
derstand what is meant by the term ripeness. It
occurs to me that those who make this objection
want to invert the order of human events. In the
vegetable world, before the fruit can arrive at matu-
rity, the seed must be sown, the plant must be nur-
tured, when the p .^'^uce at length crowns the
anxious care of th bandman. In the progress
of infant countries, to the maturity of civilizatt* ^n
and government, the same order prevails; audit
would be just as reasonable to expect fruit or ripe-
ness without the germ being planted, in the one
case as in the other. This point will be better il-
lustrated in the language of Mr. Baring, on present-
ing a petition from the inhabitants of the Cape of
Good Hope for f Constitutional form of Govern-
ment, in renlv in iht^ Hi H/^p W ViT U^-*^,, ,..u^
J '
37
stated that there were other English Colonies that
had not a Representative Government ; — I made use
of thes^ opinions of Mr. Baring before, and to en-
force a similar object, but they are so much to my
present purpose that I think it necessary to repeat
4|iem: —
" The^ight Hon. Gentleman had said that there
" were other Colonies in v/hich the same system of
" Government prevailed. That was true, and dis-
*' graceful it was to this country. But the Colony of
" the Cape of Good Hope was difterent in its cha-
" racter from the Colonies to which the Right Hon.
" Gentleman had adverted. It was not inhabited by
" the stewards of individuals, who themselves, per-
h. ,ps, resided in Portman-square. It was settled
by Engl'GQ firmers, by men of English habits
" and feelings. It was not circumscribed in extent
*' like a West India island. Its population might
" eventually be augmented to many million^. The
" cases, therefore, were wholly dissimilar. The
" Right Honon ble Gentleman talked of the Cape
" not being rip for the enjoyment of free institu-
" tions. J.t never would be ripe unless these insti-
" tutions were introduced. The same had been
•* said of South America. It was with a country
" as with a child. Unless a child were placed on
'- its legs, it -icver would be able to walk like a
" man. Unless free institutions were introduced
" into a country, it could never become capable of
" enjoying them imbecility must continue to be
" the characte ^^ any country not inoculated
" with the principles of strength.'
t<
<i
m
38
^ I!
I may possibly form too high an estimate of the
inhabitants of Ne^vfoundland^ but I have led myself
into the greatest delusion, if there are not at this
present moment at that colony as many men of
intelligence^ integrity, and general information^ as
would be necessary to constitute a respectable i^
presentation for the Island. For the wsm/: of those
Institutions which would foster and draw forth
talent, they remain in comparative obscurity j but
let a representative body be once fornaed, and it
will soon be found that in no colony in its neigh-
bourhood will there be less difficulty in procuring
men of ability, information, and integrity. It would
induce many persons who now, when they have
accumulated a capital in the country, emigrate to
the United States and other places, to remuin where
their property, and their talents would be sure to
gain for them that consideration and importance
to which they are entitled, and where they could
make themselves more eminently useful than in a
strange country ; in which they would have to form
new connections, to conform to new manners and
customs, and where it would require a residence of
years before they acquired that importance they
possessed in Newfoundland. A representative go-
vernment and a constitution sound very high, but
let a not be forgotten that the representative body
would not have any very difficult subjects to legis-
late on, further than the propriety of making
roads and bridges, and other useful local improve-
ments, and affording due encouragement to the
trade, fisheries, an<l agriculture of the country.
•
39
I again repeat that tliere would not be the slightest
difficulty in procuring a sufficient number ; an4,
without pretending to a spirit of prophecy, con-
temptible as the fSng may appear to those who
endeavour to degrade Newfoundland in the esti-
Bftation of persons not acquainted with the coun-
try, tbit there would be no lacx of highly res*
pectable candidates to fill the honourable situations
of representatives.
I shall now say a few words respecting the charac-
ter of the people who would be electors. They
would be principally the natives of the €(mn«ry,aU
descended from the free born subjects of Bri-
tain, who carried with them all their rights and
privileges as British subjects, which neither thsy
nor their descendants ever forfeited ; and the with^
holding from them those privileges which were
freely granted to other colonies of less importance in
the neighbourhood, and nt)t more deserving of sup*,
port from the parent country, is a violation of the
fundamental principles of the constitution, and for
which they have every right to petition, to remon-
strate, and just cause to complain. The native in-
habitants of Newfoundland, as well as those who
have emigrated there, are as regular and orderly,
and possess as much good sense and information as
people of the same class in any other part of his
Majesty's dominions. Scarcely since the present
enlightened judges have dispensed the criminal
justice of the country have they failed, when open-
ing their courts, to compliment the industrious
classes on their peaceable and general good con-
V
Ill
■il'f*.
I-.:!
40
duct. This part of my statement may be easily
proved to be correct or otherwise, by a return of
the cp'ninal convictions and a report of the differ-
ent charges of the judges. I lUll appeal to them
as proud testimonials of the superior character of
the industrious and labouringclassesof the inhabit-
ants of Newfoundland. The aexi qualification for
electors is property. In that the people, even
amongst the labouring classes, are not deficient;
and but for the immense failures amongst the mer-
chants in 1814, 1815, nd 1816, which swept away
their savings for a great many previous yeai.^,
there would not be at this moment a part of his Ma-
jesty's dominions where there would be mere pro-
perty amongst even the most humble class of the in-
habitants. In consequence of there being no encou-
ragement for investing money in the improvement
of land, or in other solid security, the poor people
placed the hard earned fruits of their industry in
the hands of the merchants, who speculated upon
them, and in one fell swoop carried away from them
from three to four hundred thousand pounds in
the years I have mentioned. Notwithstanding
these, and the great losses by fire, the resident in-
habitants of Newfoundland are rapidly increasing
in wealth, and I question whether there is another
population of equal extent, where property is more
generally diffused. Since the people have turned
a little of their attention to the cultivation of the
soil, a? rn auxiliary— and the best auxiliary— to
the fir e- y, they are making rapid advances in
proper^ rid independence.
41
I hope I have not been altogether unsuccess-
ful in proving the weakness of the first objection,
and I shall now proceed to the second : As to
the revenues of the country being inadequate to
the additional expenses which would be entailed
on it by the establishment of such a govern-
ment. I confess it does not appear to me how
the addition of a few persons to represent the
general interests of the country can add to the
expenses of the government ; in my own opinion
it can not. All the great expenses of the civil
government are incurred already, in the pay-
ment of salaries to the governor and other officers ;
it may be said, the assembly will be i rising money
to make roads and bridges, and other improve-
ments ; but, surely it is not necessary to use
much logic to prove that money laid out for such
purposes would not be lost to the country, but,
on the contrary, form its best capital. The lands
on the margins of the roads would, I am quite sure,
in a little time pay all the expense of making them,
and leave a revenue to the crown. Roads are the
first steps to ci ilization : they would prove the
best capital of the country; and any man of com-
mon understanding must be satisfied that money
jadicioulsy laid out in such and other useful ob-
jects, so far from being sunk or misapplied, would
revert back to the community with manifold ad-
vantages. Mr. Burke, I believe, states, what any
reflecting man must be convinced of, " that it is
not taxes, but the injudicious appropriation of them
that is an injury to a country." The people of
w
**
42 .
Newfoundland cannot hope the country can be
improved without expense ; and I am sure they are
not so unreasonable as to expect that it will be de-
frayed by any but themselves. The evils of taxa-
tion i» a favourite theme with those who want to
prevent the improvement of Newfoundland, and
they wish to impress on themikids of his Majesty's
government thrt the coiony is so miserably poor
that it cnmaot bear a slight rate of taxation : they
raise the cry, not from any feeling towards the
resident inhabitants, but from an apprehension thai
it would reduce their own fate of profit. They
usually charge froiti 33-^ to 100 per cent. o»
their goods, but when they hear of a small ta,x
for the improvemfwt of the country they exhibiif
aff that " ignorant impatience of taxation" vritli
which the people of anotlier country were unjustly
charged by a minister of the crown.
A more flimsy and ridiculous argument cannot
be well imagined, than that Newfoundland i» not
€u\\j competent to pay all the expenses of her civit
government; this being a tangible subject, it can^
be grappkd with by the simple rules of vulgar
arithtnetic ; figures will prove more than words on*
the occasion : the value of imports tO' Newfound-
land is now, in the depressed stat^ of the fisheri«9,.
close upon a million sterling annually ; the exports
are the same; in 1813 and 1814, the exports
were worth nearly three millions, but, estinn^ing
&em at the lesser sum, surely it is not too much< to>
suppose t^at a small rate can be imposed on arti-
cles of luxury, quite sufficient to meet all necessaiiy
43
expenses. From the papers published on Mr.
Hume's motion, by order of the House of Com-
mons, it appears that —
A duty on rum of 6rf. per gallon, for ten years,
from 1813 to 1822, produced £85,368 11 0
On brandy and gin, Is. 6d. ditto 19,982 18 0
On wines from British ports, at
10s. per tun 938 10 1
Ditto from Foreign ports, at £7 do. 2,386 10 I
£ 108,676 9 2
^ A duty of Is. 6d. on rum, at this
average, would give, awwMfl% 25,610 11 3
On br mdy and gin, at 3s. per gallon 3,996 117
On wine, 221 tons, 56,576 gallons,
at 3s. per gallon . . . 8,486 8 0
A moderate impost on other articles
of luxury 20,000 0 0
' £58,093 1010
To which may be added rents of lands, licenses,
and many other sources of revenue.*
This would be quite a sufficient revenue for all
the purposes of the country. It appears that the re-
venue of the neighbouring colony of Nova Scotia
comprising a duty on spirits and wine, and a
duty of f:om 3| to 5 per cent, on importations,
(extracted from a statement now before me)
amounted for the year 1 822 to 39,940^. 18s. bd. By
' * My object in making this statement is merely to prove
that the people have the means, if they possessed the constitu-
tional power, of raising a revenue. .
I
W
I"f
looking over the History of Newfoundland you
will find it a favourite system with those opposed
to its improvement, to misrepresent the resources
of the country; to prove that I am not singular
in the opinion which I have given, that Newfound-
land is capable of raising a moderate revenue, I
beg to call your attention to an extract from a
Memorial of the inhabitants of Newfoundland,
presented to the Right Honorable Earl Bathurst,
under date of December 6th, 1822.
" It has been said, that the people of Newfound-
" land are not in a situation to pay the expenses
" necessarily attending a local government. The
" Committee have no hesitation in saying, that such
" is not the case ; and have not the lightest doubt
" of the competency of the country, even in its
present depressed state, without inconvenience,
to bear all the necessary expenses for that pur-
" pose. It has been a favourite object with inte-
" rested persons to throw a cloud of misrepresenta-
tion on everything connected with the country;
its resources were little known, except to those who
*' were making them subservient to their interest.
" If Newfoundland has not possessed the means
of paying the expense of a civil government, it
must appear extraordinajy that so many persons
" who came there without a shilling in their pockets
" were able, in the course of a few years, to realize
" fortunes, to retire from the island, and live in
" splendour in other countries. The Committee
can point out to your Lordship individuals re-
siding in London, Poole, Dartmouth, Bristol,
ct
ft
ti
tt
(t
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t(
St
45
" Edinburgh, Greenock, Cork and Waterford, and
" other parts, not alune of the United Kingdom;
" but even in the United States of America, who
" made their properties in Newfoundland. If in-
" dividuals could in a few years realize from the
" labour and industry of the people sufficient to
" enable them to retire from Newfoundland to live
" independently in other countries, surely it is not
" too much for the Committee to say, that the same
" people can pay the expenses of their govern-
" ment which would revert back on themselves
'* with manifold advantages.
" To prove the ability of the inhabitants to pay
" the expenses of their government, the Com-
" mittee beg to state a few well known facts: The
" town of St. John's is the capital of the island,
and the principal depositary for the supplies and
" productions of the fishery ; the ground on which
the stores, wharfs, and dwelling houses are erected,
is chiefly owned by persons residing in Great
" Britain, whose ancestors gained a title to it
" merely by occupying it ^or the purposes of the
fishery ; in consequence of the great increase of
trade and population, the ground has become va-
luable, and the rent now charged for that situate
" at the waterside of St. John's, is from 20s. to 40s.
" per foot, per annum, on which large sums have
" been expended by the tenants in making the le-
" cesaary erections ; a sum not less than £20,000
" is annually remitted from the town of St. John's
for rents; can it then be doubted that a people
who pay such large sums to absentee landlords.
(S
(€
it
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tc
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tt
it
5 7
If
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46
" who do not contribute in the slightest degree to
•' the support of the country, could pay the expenses
" of a civil government?
" It is well known, that the mercantile houses
which accumulated all their capital in this trade,
have, in prosperous times, made profits of from
20 to 30,000 pounds in one year, a sum more
than adequate to the support of a civil govern-
" ment."
The clamour raised against a fair rate of taxation
for the improvement of Newfoundland, comes with
a bad grace from a few merchants on this side the
water, the ])atrons of the able work of which I
took some small notice in the former part of this
letter. The opposition to the improvement of New-
foundland comes exclusively from them. The great
body of the merchants residing in, and connected
with the country are favorable to any reasonable
plan of improvement, and, I trust, that any expres-
sion of mine will not be construed as having any
reference to them ; these expressions are only in-
tended for those who want to raise an insuperable
barrier to all improvement, I say that opposition to a
fair assessment comes from them with a very bad
grace indeed, when the great advantages which
have lately been conferred on the trade and ship-
ping interest, is taken Into consideration. I do
not hesitate to state, that an advantage has been
conferred on the trade and fishery of not less than
<£200,000 per annum, by the liberty of importing
pork, bread, flour, and other provisions, for the
use
.f ih^
iu:
liiis sum
47
may appear large, but when it is taken into account,
that pork can be purchased at New York for 35».
per barrel, suitable for the fishery, and that 70s.
should be paid for it at Liverpool, and that biscuit
can be had at Dantdc and Hamburgh at dt. and
10«. which would cost 18«. at Liverpool ; the large
sum I have stated, and even a larger can be easily
proved to be gained by the trade and fisheries, or
rather by the people of Newfoundland. Along with
this great boon, the fees of customs have been taken
off vessels in Newfoundland, which, I should con-
ceive, amounted to 6 or 7,000/. per annum.
. Here, Sir, may I be permitted to make a slight
digression f m the subject I have under consider-*
ation, for the purpose of proving that the charges
that have been so frequently brought against you
by the shipping interest, for throwing open the
trade of the colonies to foreigners, is without the
slightest foundation ; and that, instead of being an
injury, it has been a benefit to them. Since the
passing of the act, not one foreign European vessel
has entered the ports of Newfoundland, nor any
of those of our neighbouring colonies; nor, as
far as I am capable of judging, is it likely they
will. I am sure the nature of the Newfoundland
trade is such, that though it may be permitted to
foreigners, it will, and must be, carried on by
British shipping only.
I shall now proceed to state what has been the
ruinous consequences to the British shipping :«^
We arc obliged to give from 30s. to 40si per 'ton
to
i
A_ V.-:
I J
«**«^ ^%^\m^wm
VI^BSUIS W ILIiiilg VUlf UUI UiCI^U, auu vi.uct
!f
>■:*■
provisions from Dantzic and Hamburgh^ when,
if we were not permitted to get our supplies
from those places, and obligated, as under the
old restrictive system, to purchase them at Liver-
pool, and other ports in England and Ireland, ves-
sels would gladly take them out at lOs, or 12s. per
ton freight. Since the opening of the trade from
the north of Europe I have had every year to char-
ter vessels to take out supplies for my trade, and
have given the freights I have mentioned, whilst I
had vessels of my own going out from ports in
Britain, in '»* " h I had sufficient room to ship
them. If they could have been procured at the same,
or even near the same rate, in British ports.
If I have taken a correct view of the subject,
the shipping interest have been gainers, not losers,
by the change that has been madein the colonial sys-
tem; and for the mere offer of acting liberally on the
part of our government, of which foreigners have
not, nor do I think it likely they will, take advan-
tage, a great and substantial benefit has been con-
ferred on the shipping interest of this country. It
may appear a species cf knight errantry on my part
to shiver a lance of straw in your defence, on this
subject, when it is recollected that you wielded the
thunder of Jove against your opponents on the even'
ing of the 7tb May last, when General Gascoioe
brought forward his motion, in the House of Com-
mons. Notwithstanding your splendid defence on
that occasion, which made those who came to curse
remain io pray, you must have observed that you
are stili the object o\ attack from persons who ate
•
49
determined not to be convinced, however clear the
proof, however lotrong the argument.
1 shall now endeavour to reply to the third ob-
jection, That Newfoundland presents insurmounta-
ble obstacles to agricultural improvement; that it is
viewed more as a fishery and a place of trade, and
that, consequently, it does not require a local repre-
sentative government. — I am at a loss to understand
the logic of those who object, on the ground of
Newfoundland being a place of trade and fishery.
Trade and fishery require the aid and support of
good laws and g-overnment as well as any other
interests. This truth is b. clear, that it would be
an insult to the most common understanding to use*
arguments to prove a proposition, so evident in it"
self; I shall therefore confine myself to replyirg to
the objections brought against the soil and climate,
for if, as it has been attempted io be proved, they »
present insurmountable obstacles to cultivation, or
if I cannot prove that the soil can be made a
source of profitable employment, it would be the
extreme of folly to attempt it.
The advocate for Newfoundland is called on to
prove, on every occasion, that white is not black, and
black is not white ; and I can assure you. Sir, it is a
more difficult task, than at first appears, particularly
when people are determined ot to be convinced.
I think that any man, taking the map of New-
ibundland, and looking at its geographical situa-
tion, will be Csiivinced, from its great extent, that
there must be land capable of cultivation, particu-
i__i.. 1 L _ .'_ '—x? 1 j.i-_i j._"__ 1-. J:
iiil'iy WliCU iiC i!S$ iiliOi iiiUU Uiui COUiitriwa VHiy Ui-
I
^!!i|-
50
vided from it by a few leagues of sea, abound
with rich soil ; that in the interior there are tribes
of native savages who have no intercourse with ci-
vilized man, and who support themselves by hunt-
ing and fishing ; and that there are thousands of
deer, and other wild animals in the country, that
subsist there both summer and winter ; it must re-
move all reasonable doubt from his mind that if the
savages and wild animals can support themselves
from the spontaneous productions of the eaith,
tLat the same country would give far greater
facilities to the subsistence of civilized man, when
agricultural improvement is brought into active
operation, so as to incr***"^ and multiply the pro-
ductions of the earth. These being my own spe-
culations, which I do not presume to offer as
authoritie8> I shall state fact& aad opinions, both
of ancient and modern date, which I hope wilt
be sufficient to convince any mind not impervious
to the rays of reason and common sense, that the
prejudice that has been riised against the soil and
climate of Newfoundland is uiyuit and unfounded.
Captain Hayes, second in command to Sir Hum-
phrey Gilbert, who made a voyage to Newfound-
land in the year 1583, writes in
" A brief e relation of the Newfound lande, ana
" the commodities thereof,
" That which we doe *;all the Newfoundland,
and the Frenchmen Bacalaos, is au Hand, or
rather (after the opinion of some) it coosisteth of
" sundry Hands and broken lands, situate in the
North regions of America, vpon the gulpL and eu-^
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trance of the great riucr called S. Laurence in Ca-
nada. Into the which, nauigation may be made
both on Oie South and North side of thin Tjand.
The land l^'eth South and Nortl. containing in
length betweene three and 400 miles, accounting
from Cape Race (which i^ in 46 degrees 25 minuts)
vnto the Grand bay in b)i degrees of Septentri-
onall latitude. The Hand round about hath very
many goodly bayes an ^ harbors, safe roads for
ships, the like not to be found in any part of the
knowen world.
" The common opinion that is had of iirtempera-
ture and extreme cold that should be in this counr
trey, as of some _ ^rt it may be verified, namely
the North, where I grant it is more colde then
in countries of Europe, which are vnder the
same eleuation : eueu so it cannot stand with
reason and nature of the clime, that the South
parts should be so intemperate as the bruit hath
gone. For as the same doe lie under the climatt
of Rriton, Aniou, Poictou, in France, betweene
46 and 49 degrees, so can they not so much differ
from the temperature of those countries: vnless
vpou the out coast lying open vnto the Ocean
and sharpe windes, it must in neede be subject to
more colde, then further within the laude, wher'^
the mountaiues are interposed, as wallcs and bul-
warkes, to defende and to resiste the asperitie and
rigor of the sea and weather. — Some hold opinion,
that the Newfoundland might be the moresuiect
to cold, by how much it lyeth high and neere
Vflto the middle region. — 1 grant that not in
m
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52
Newfoundland alone, but in Germany, Italy, and
Afrike, euen vnder the Equiuoctiall line, the
mountaines are extreme cold, and seeldome un-
couered of snow, in their culme and highest t >ps,
which commeth to passe by the same reason hat
they are extended towards the middle region:
yet in the countries lying beneth them, it is found
quite contrary. Euen so all hils hauing their
discents, the valieis also and low grounds must be
likewise Lot or temperate, as the clime doeth giue
in Newfoundland : though I am of opinion that
the Sunnes reflecticji is much cooled, and cannot
be so forcible in the Newfoundland nor generally
throughout Amerin, as in Europe or Afrike : by
how much the Sui le in his diurnall course from
East to West, passeth ouer (for the most part)
dry land and sandy countries, before he arriueth
at the West of Europe or Afrike, whereby his mo-
tion increaseth heate,with little or no qualification
by moyst vapours. Where, on the contrarie, he
passeth from Europe and Afrike vnto America
ouer the Ocean, from whence it draweth and
carrieth with him abundance of moyst vapours,
which doe qualifie and infeeble greatly the
sunne's reuerberation vpon this countrey chiefly
of Newfoundland, being so much to the North-
ward Neuerthelesse (as I sayd before) the cold
cannot be so intollerable vnder the latitude of
46. 47 and 48. especiall within land, that it
should be unhabitable, as some doe suppose, see-
ing also there are very many people more to the
North by a great dcale. And in these South
ts
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53
" partes there be certain beastes, Ouaces or Leo-
" pards, and birdes in like manner which in the
" Sommer we haue scene, not heard of in countries
" of extreme and vehement coldnesse. Besides as
" in the monethes of June, July, August, and Sep-
*' tember, the heate is somewhat more then in
England at those seasons: so men remaining
vpon the South parts neere vnto Cape Rece^
" vntii after Hollandtide, haue not found the cold
" so extreme, nor much differing from the tempe-
" rature of England. Those which have arriued
*' there after Nouember and December haue found
" the snow exceeding deepe, whereat no maruaile,
" considering the ground upon the coast, is rough
" and vneuen, and the snow is driuen into the
" places most declyning, as the like is to be scene
" with vs. The like depth of snow happily shall
"■ not be found within land vpon the playner coun-
" tries, which also are defended by the mountaines,
" breaking off the violence of the winds and
" weather. But admitting extraordinary cold in
those South parts, aboue that with us here : it
cannot be so great as that in Swedland, much
" less, in Muscouia or Russia ; yet are the sfirov^
countries very populous, and the rigor of cold
is dispensed with by the commoditie of Stoues,
warme clothing, meats and drinkes: all which
" neede not to be wanting in the Newfoundland,
" if we had intent there to inhabite.
" In the South parts we found no inhabitants,
" which by all likelihood haue abandoned those
" coastes, the same being so much frequented by
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Christians: But in the North are sauages alto-
gether harmlesse. Touching the commodities of
this countrie,seruing either for sustentation of in-
habitants^ or for maintenance oftraffique, there are
and may be made diuers : so and it seemeth Nature
hath recompenccd that only defect and incommo-
ditie of some sharpe cold, by many benefits : viz.
With Incredible quantitie, and no less varietie of
kindes offish in the sea and fresh waters, as Trouts,
Salmons, and other fish to us vnknowen: Also
Cod which alone drawetli many nations thither,
and is become the most famous fishing of the
world. Abundance of whales, for which also is
a very great trade in the bayes of Placentia, and
the Grand Bay, where is made trane oiles of the
whale. Herring, the largest that haue been heard
of, and exceeding the alstrond herring of Nor-
way: but hitherto was neuer benefit taken of the
herring fishing. There are sundry other fish
very delicate, namely the Bonito, Lobsters, Turbut,
with others infinite not sought after: Oysters
hauing pearle but not orient in colour : I tooke
it by reason they were not gathered in season.
" Concerning the inland commodities as wel to
be drawen from this land, as from the exceeding
large countries adioyning : there is nothing which
our east and northerly countries of Europe doe
yeelde, but the like also may be made in them as
plentifully by time and industrie : Namely, rosen
pitch, tarre, sope ashes, deel boord, mastes for
ships, hides, furres, flaxc, hempe, corne, cables,
cordage, linneu cloth, tnf^Ha,l», and many more.
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" All which the countries will aford, and the soyle
" is apt to yeelde.
" The trees for the most in those South parts,
are Firre trees. Pine and Cypresse, all yielding
Gumme and Turpentine. Cherrie trees bearing
fruit no bigger then a small pease. Also peare
trees, but fruitlesse. Other trees of some sorts
'to us unknowen.
" The soyle along the coast is not deepe of earth,
' bringing foorth abundantly peason small, yet
good feeding for cattel. Roses, passing sweet,
' like vnto our muske roses in forme, raspascs, a
berry which we call Harts, good and holesome
" to eat. The grasse and herbe doth fat shecpe in
" Tery short space, proued by English marchants
" which haue caried sheepe thither for fresh victuall
" and had them raised exceeding fat in lesse than
" three weekes. Peason which our countreymen
'* haue sowen in the time of May, haue come vp
faire, and bene gathered in the beginning of
August, of which our General! had a present ac-
ceptable for the rarenesse, being the first fruits
" coming vp by art and Industrie, in that desolate
" and dishabited land.
'* We could not obserue the hundredth part of
*' creatures in those vnhabited lands : but these
« mentioned may induce vs to glorifie the mag-
" nificent God, who hath superabundantly reple-
«' nished the earth with creatures seruing for the
" vse of man, though man hath not "vsed the fift
" part of the same, which the more doth aggrauate
" the fault and foolish slouth in many of our nation,
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" chusing rather to Hue indirectly, and very miae-
" rably to Hue and die within this realrae pestered
*' with inhabitants, then to aduenture as becommeth
*' men, to obtaine an habitation in those remote
lands, in which Nature very prodigaUy doth
minister vnto mens endeauours, and for art to
" worke vpon."
Mr. Chief Justice Forbes, in a Statement ad-
dressed to the Colonial Department, under date of
the 14th of August, 1822, writes—
'•' As a general remedy, whatever tends to revive
" the fisheries must also have the effect of relieving
the people. It were desirable that with the view
of opening some auxiliary employment to the
"inhabitants of Newfoundland, every restraint
" upon the cultivation of the soil should be re-
*' moved, and 'every encouragement given to the
breeding of sheep, cattle, and other live stock.
" The necessity of cultivating the soil, as an
auxiliary to the fishery, is not disputed, nor is
" there any existing law which prohibits it ; but
" there is none to encourage it; and there is still
^' maintained in the island an ancient opinion, that
it is against the policy of Government— as if that
could be called policy, which, in a country over-
stocked with people, and distressed for food,
would prohibit so plain a dictate of natural law
" as that of raising subsistence from the earth.
" This cannot be, is not, the policy of the British
** Government ; and nothing is wanting but a fair
" apprehension of the case to induce its enlightened
" rulers, not only to remove every shadow of ob-
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57
" struction from the cultivation of the soil, but to
" encourage and protect it by every means in their
*' power. To preserve the transient fishery has
" been found impracticable ; to attempt to revive
" it \vo"ild be to shut our senses against the light of
" rem n and the lessons of experience. As a broad
" proposition, it may be maintained that if the
" fishery were to be taken up as it is, de facto j and
" a system adapted to the present state of things,
" openly avowed and directly pursued by the local
" authorities, Newfoundland would become, what
" it ought to be, a prosperous settlement, subsisting
itself by internal resources, drawing its manufac-
tured supplies from the mother country, and re-
" paying her care by a valuable trade, and a nume-
rous race of seamen, trained for her service, and
ready to attend her first call in the di:fence of
" the empire."
The Committee of the Inhabitants of Newfound-
land in their Memorial to Lord Bathurst, dated the
6th of December, 1823, state tl^ —
". Having endeavoured to trace the principal
" causes that have led to the present state of New-
ii foundland, they now beg to recommend to your
" Lordship such measures as they confidently hope
" if adopted, will lay the foundation of its future
** prosperity, and make it a more valuable append-
" age to the empire.
" It is admitted by every person conversant with
** the affairs of Newfoundland, that the trade and
" fisheries are not capable of affording employment
** and subsistence to the large population that has
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** grown up in the country. If not, it becomes a most
" important question. How are they to be supported ?
*' In reply, the Committee state, the soil affords
" ample means, and that it is only by its more ge-
*' neral cultivation the present population can be
**. maintained in the country. In Newfoundland
*l there are millioni of uncultivated acres, capable
*' of producing food for a population much greater
''than it now contains. If agriculture were more
^* generally encouraged, the country would afford
'" a comfortable settlement, not only tc the present
population, but to a great proportion of those
persons who now find their way to the United
** Siiates. The Committee are aware a very general
*' opinion has prevailed^ tliat the produce of the
soil is not adequate to the labour and expense of
*' the cultivation, than which nothing can be more
" illfounded; as every day's experience most fully
** disproves it. In no one instance where skill and
*' industry have been employed in improving or
" clearing the 8oil» have they failed amply to repay
^^ the cultivator, in oppc^ition to the greatest ob-
" stacles, fine farms have been cleared and success-
" fully cultivated in the neighbourhood of St.
" John's, in Conception Bay, and in several other
** parts of the island; manure can be obtained in
** the country with very little trouble ; the offal of
" the fish mixed with the earth is found to answer
*' for all the purposes of husbandry ; at present, in-
stead of its being used for that purpose, the greater
partis thrown baek into the sea. With proper
''attention, inost of the natural productions of
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" England can be brought to perfection in this
" country. It is only on the margin of the coast
" that cultivation has been attempted, the interior
*' remains unexplored, and there can be but very
'* little doubt, that there are many parts of the in-
** terior more favourable to agriculture : it is found
" that the soil at the head of the large bays, which
run a considerahle distance into the country, is
" much more luxuriant and productive than that
" close to the ocean. As a proof of the advantages
" of cultivation, the Committee would only refer to
" the respective situations of the labouring classes ;
" the few, who even in he present backward state
" of agriculture, attended to their little farms, are
" in a comfortable situation, at least beyond want ;
while those who exclusively turned their labour
towards the fisheries are very little removed from
" pauperism.
" Persons most obstinately opposed to the possi-
" bility of advantageously employing the soil of
" Newfoundland for the purposes of husbandry, ad-
"mit that it is particularly favourable to the
" growth of potatoes and other esculent roots ; an
" increase from tv/elve to twenty fold is the usual
** produce from the cultivation of the potatoe, and
" the quality not inferior to that of any other
'' country. With proper encouragement a suffi-
** cient quantity could be raised, which, with the
" abundance of fish to be had on every part of the
" coast, would supply the labouring classes with a
'' wholesome nutritious food, which being a pro-
" duce of their own labour, would make them inde-
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" pendent of foreign supplies, at least for the neces-
" saries of life.
" The causes which operated in the early stages
of the fishery to prevent the cultivation of the
soil, have long since passed av^^ay, and it is now
"as much the interest of the merchant, as it is of
*f the more resident part of the community, that
" every just encouragement should be given to the
improvement and cultivation of the soil. The
" interest of all classes are the same ; the prosperity
" of the one naturally leads to the prosperity of the
" other.
" If the great body of the people of Newfound-
" land remain ii: their present state of beggary
" and want, it is an illusion if the trading part
" of the community expect to be much better in
" their condition. To enable the people to buy
" and pay for their goods, a proportion of their
" labour must be turned into some more produc-
"' tive channels than the fisheries can afford. The
' experience of the last eight years ought to be
" sufficient to convince the few merchants who re-
" main in the country, and who were able to stem
" the overwhelming torrent which brought de-
" struction on so many respectable houses, that the
"trade and fisheries of the country are not alone
" adequate to the support of the people, and if they
" follow up the old system of supplying in the
*' fishery, their ruin is equally certain.
" To enable the merchants of Newfoundland to
" cope with their rivals in foreign markets, fish
" must becatched at much less expense than hither-
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" to, which cannot be done as long as every thing
*' necessary for the maintenance of the people must
" be imported from distant countries. By the more
" general cultivation of the soil, the people would
" be enabled to raise a great proportion of their
" food ; it would afford profitable employment for
that part of the population which cannot be era-
ployed in the fishery ; and it would be far the
most eff'ectual and best auxiliary to it. It is well
" worth the trial.
"The Committee, therefore, recommend this
" most important subject to the consideration of
" your Lordship ; and they again repeat, that it is
by a more general cultivation of the soil alone,
that the present population can be supported in
"the island."
The honourable Judge Des Barres, at a public
dinner, given to him at Harbour Grace, in Novem-
ber 1827, in returning thanks to the company, on
his health being drank, adverted to the internal im-
provement of the country in the following words :
« I approve of agriculture, as forming one of
''the best auxiliaries tothe trade and fisheries; the
« soil and climate seem good, and not inferior to
" those of Scotland, for it has been abundantly
proved that wheat can be raised amongst us with
much facility. If agriculture were extensively pur-
"sued, not only would population increase,but also
« would the price of labour be enhance : ; those,
" therefore, who advocate the improvement of the
"soil are our best friends, and likely to produce the
most permanent benefits. If," said the honorable
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judge, " my opinion be asked, I nuiRt say, make
"roads, and give free grants of land: flic former
*' might be easily aceomplished, if the inhabitants
" would resolutely co-operate."
The opinion of the learnv^J and honorable judge
is entitled to great consideration. He was born in
one of the neighbouring colonies, of which his fa-
ther was the governor, where he not only rendered
important services to the crown, but also essentially
promoted the agriculture and internal improvement
of the country under his jvovernment, as well as the
neighbouring colonies ; in which the learned judge
is the proprietor of extensive estate? ; and, conse-
quently, no man is better qualified to form a cor-
rect judgment on the relative qualities of the soil
and climate of Newfoundland,compared with them.
The opinions of his Excellency the present
Governor of Newfoundland, are no doubt for-
warded to the office for the Colonial Department,
and I have little doubt but they are in substance
the same as the opinions that I have stated. It is
rather a curious " coincidence," that the represen-
tations of the present day are in effect the same as
those which were made by almost the first persons
that visited the island ; but it is easily accounted
for, when it is considered that those representations
were made by persons whose judgment was not
warped or influenced by cupidity or monopoly.
But, Sir, if there was not one opinion on the
subject, I have facts to bring forward that must set
the matter at rest ; for one fact proves more
than a thousand ojiinions. Large farms have been
I
63
successfully cultivated in all parts of the island,
north and so th in St. George's Bay, in Fortune
Bay, in Placentia Bay, in r\ Mary's Bay, in
Trepassey Bay, and Ferryland, near all the har-
bours between Ferryland and St. John's, in the
neighbourhood of St. John's, all along to the north
of St. John's, very extensively in Conception Bay,
in Torbay, Bell Isle, and in every other part of the
island, where population has increased; and I do
not hesitate to state, that in no single instance,
where industry and care have been employed in
clearing and cultivating the soil, has it failed in
amply repaying- all the labour and trouble employed
upon it. All this cultivation has grown up in
Newfoundland, not under the fostering protection
of the laws, but in direct opposition to them, for,
until the commencement of the new era, and under
the present Governor, the restrictions on the im-
provement of the soil were almost equal to a pro-
hibition, as I have before proved.
Last year, H. Thomas, Esq. of St. John's, cleared
from the wood and cultivated eighty acres, and had
an excellent crop of turnips off forty acres. There is
a farm to the south west of St. John's, where the
proprietor feeds upwards of forty head of horned
cattle, and a great many sheep and horses, and cuts
upwards of 120 tons of hay, yearly ;* and such is
* It has becu said, by the author of the " enlarged view,"
that it is only round St. John a, the capital, that any thing like
cultivation has taken place j now the fact is, that the farms in
the outports are many of them far superior to any near bt.
John's, and for this reason, that the soil is generally better.
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the richness of the soil, tliat he has no occasion to
use manure for his meadows. There are in other
parts of the island, farnis on a very large scale, and,
I am assured from indisputable authority, thai *hc
land in St. George's Bay is naturally so excellent
as scarcely to require manure.
The last example I shall give of the advantages
of cultivation is, that after the ruinous years of
1815, 1816, and 1817, which brought many of
the mercantile houses to bankruptcy, and caused
those merchants who were able to stem the ruinous
torrent which rushed upon them after the treaties
with the French and Americans came into opera-
tion, by which far the best portion of the fish-
eries were ceded to them, to reverse the system
which themselves and their ancestors had pursued
for centuries, of supplying the people with food,
clothing, and every necessary ; they found that the
produce of the labour of the people waL inadequate
to repay them for their advances, and at once shut
the door of their warehouses, refusing them even
bread; and no other alternative appeared to the un-
happy people but to abandon the country of their
forefathers, Oi starve. At this mome^it of horror, a
few benevolent individuals came promptly forward,
soothed the despair of the p^^ople; pointed out to
them that their calamities might be averted, and
a future recurrence of such misery prevented by the
cultivation of the soil. They not only gave them
the advice, but also the means of carrying it into
effect, by liberally subscribing to procure seeds, and
implements. The " Society for the Improvement of
65
the Condition of the Poor" at St. John's, and an-
other Society, of both of which I am proud io say I
have the honour to be a member, were amongst the
foremost upon the occasion. The poor people, in
consequence, returned to their homes, animated by
tl ..if hopes, and witli a firm determination to de-
pend in future on their own industry, and not on the
capricious will of tiiose, who, after having glutted
themselves on their labour, deserted them in the
hour of need.
That benevolent hand which " tempers the wind
to the shorn lamb," crowned their labours with suc-
cess. Those who attended to the advice are now
in a state of independence ; and instead of being
compelled to receive, in return for the produce of
their fishing voyages, slops, and often unwhc ;
provisions, at whatever price the merchant,, -ui-
posed upon them, they now demand and receive
payment mcflsA, with which they are enabled to
purchase necessaries at the lowest rate, and are
as independent as the merchants themselves.
I possibly cannot illustrate the truth of the doc-
trine I am endeavouring to support more forcibly,
than by relating the case of an oM man, who emi-
grated to Newfoundland from Somersetshire up-
wards of seventy years ago, and over whose head up-
wards of a century has now pasjed, he informed me
that he was mov/ing in a field in England with his
father when they receiv . the news of the great
Battle of Fontenoy, and he was at that time up-
wards of twenty-one years of age. It is unneces-
sary for me to repeat the vicissitudes he experienced
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60
during his long sojourn in NewfoUiidland. The
fishery appeared to be the barometer which regu-
lated his happiness or misery; if it was successful,
he rioted in profusion — if the reverse, he endured
misery and want. At the period I am now
speaking of, he was, with a grand-daughter, and
a number of her small children, reduced to a
state of the greatest misery and distress. He
disclosed his situation to a gentleman of St. John's,
who gave him at once relief for the immediate
necessities of himself and family, and at the
same time asked him if he had not a small
grant of land from Sir Richard Keates, auv^
why he did not endeavour to cultivate it ? The
eld man replied, that he had the land, and
though old, was still pble and willing to work,
but he had not the means. The gentleman im-
mediately to'd him he would provide him the
means of doing so ; he gave him a barrel of po-
tatoes, and procured him another from the bene-
volent Irish Society. The old man procured one
more by some other means. He planted them on
his land, and after using a considerable quantity of
the produce during the autumn, he put into his
cellar forty-five baireis for his winter support, a
part of his family were enabled to prosecute tha
fisher}^ by which means a sufficient quantity offish
and other little necessaries were procured, and
from that hour famine and necessity have been
strangers to his humble cottage ! — I am not at
liberty to mention the gentleman's name, but he
alone knows the heartfelt gratification he expe-
67
Fenced when passing by the cottage of this good
old mail ; be beheld him cheerful and happy, sup-
ported by bin grand daughter, surrounded by lier
children, basking in the sunshine of comfort and
of plenty, with a moral certainty of never again
suffering those dreadful calamities to which they
had so nearly fallen victims. If I can form a just
estimate that gentleman's feelings, he would not
barter the delight he t .periencedon witnessing thti
happiness he bad Cicated, for all the wealth of all
the monopolists.
I understand there are now five hundred appli-
cations for land on the governor's list, which he
has not yet had tii.^e to attend to, so numerous
were the previous ones ; and I have no hesitation in
otatii. r, that if one or two main roads were made
through the country, that the applications for land
would increase in a ten-fold proportion and that
in less than twenty years the populatio vi'ould in-
crease almost in the same degree.
It is vvithin the recollection of myself, and many
respectable gentlemen now in this country, and
cotemporaries of mine at Newfoundland little
more than ten \ears ago, that if a piece of fresh
beef or mutton was required to " smoke upon the
board" on a Sunday, or some other gala day, that
we had tc^ solicit the butcher some days before it was
wanted, to oblige us with it as a favour, and when
he was kind enough to do so, we had to pay at the
rate of from 28. 3(1. to 2s. 9d. per pound. Milk,
vegetables, potatoes, &c. were equally scarce, and
more than proportionally dear. I have known half-
^•
M •,
■iiiiili
^-aypB-cta^apfg^
68
ill '!
II
»-crown paid for a cabbage ! In ihc year 1816,
English potatoes were sold after the rate of 35s. per
barrel, equal to 'bout 20s. per 1001b.!! What
is the state of the case at present? Beef, veal,
mutton, and lamb, will be contracted, to be de-
livered, at from 6d. to Id. per pound, all the year
round ; and at some seasons fresh beef is not more
than from 4rf. to bd. per pound. Potatoes of the
best description, the produce of the island, are
freely offered by the farmers at 4s. and 5s. per bar-
rel. Fresh butter, eggs, poultry, and other farm
stock, is nearly as cheap at St. John's as in many
parts of Ireland, and at least 25 per cent, cheaper
than in London.
I possibly cannot close this chapter upon the
agricultural capability of Newfoundland in a more
convincing manner, than by relating an anecdote of
a late governor of Newfoundland ; and as it was told
me by a gentleman who sometimes resides not a
hundred miles from the Colonial Office, I can refer
you to him for its correctness ; he is a gentleman
o^ really " enlarged views" respecting the colonies.
His Excellency being in the habit of frequently
seeing this gentleman, and often conversing with
him about the climate and soil of Newfoundland,
which he represented as incapable of producing
the fruits of the earth as the flagged pave-
ment of a London street, so often, that at length it
became an *' oft told tale." One day he enter-
tained him with an account of a dinner he had
given at the government house, in honour of some
public day, to the officers, civil and military, and
69
the principal merchants of St. John's. He gave a
most favourable account of the richness of the beef,
the delicacy of the veal, the venison-like fla-
vour of the mutton ; and the fatness of his ducks,
geese, and turkeys, and affirmed that his green peas,
and cauliflowers, his melons, grapes.and other fruits,
were most excellent. *' And where did your Ex-
cellency procure all these luxuries, the very thoughts
of which are enough to distil water from the mouth
of f* London alderman", enquired the gentleman ?
*' Why from my own farm yard and garden, to be
sure," replied the governor. *'And is this the
country your Excellency has so often represented
as barren, and incapable of bringiijg forth the most
common productions of the earth I I could not
provide my table better from the London Markets **
His Excellency did not again, in his subsequent
visits, favour this gentleman with any more accounts
of the barren nature of the soil of Newfoundland.
The fourth objection, comes from the friends
to improvement in Newfoundland, who are ap-
prehensive that if a representative body was es-
tablished that the mercantile interest would pre-
ponderate, and that the evil of mercantile influ-
ence would be increased. — I. think a little calm re-
flection will be sufiicient to convince those persons
that there is no ground whatever for their appre-
hension. There is no doubt but in any assembly
that could be collected at Newfoundland, there
would be a preponderance of mercantile influence ;
merchants, or persons connected wiih trade, would
no doubt form five-sixths of the whole body ; and
II f
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70
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their first object would be to foster and encoun.gc
the trade and fisheries ; this would be a paramount
consideration; but does it follow that they ire to in-
jure the other interests of the country by doing so ?
Far from it. The interest of trade, and the true in-
terest of agriculture, go hand in hand, and I think
it can be made appear as clear as that two and two
make four, that any measure calculated to improve
the trade and fisheries must, as a matter of course, be
equally advantageous to agriculture, and every
other interest conr. acted with it. If there are men
whose minds are so constituted, as only to see
that they cannot improve their own condition
but by sacrificing the interest and happiness of
others, they are only fit for ages long gone by ; they
should domicile themselves under the happy sway
of the " beloved Ferdinand," or, if they wish to
go further, they may become denizens of the
Cham of Tartary, or the Dey of Algiers, for I am
quite sure they will not find a community of feel-
ing amongst the subjects of our enlightened and
beloved sovereign. But admitting, for the sake of
argument, that the persons sent forward to the as-
sembly wculd end'^avour to sacrifice the other in-
terests of the country, would they have thv power
to do so ? Certainly not. All the harm they could
do would be of a negative quality; they may prevent
good, but they cannot do evil. It is not to be sup-
posed that any partial measure, passed by them,
would receive the sanction of the Governor and his
council, or of his Majesty's Government. But, as
as I stated before, (here will bo no cause for alarm ;
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71
when people meet together for the public good,
there is no doubt but there will be a preponderance
of good feeling and sound principles, to overrule
any petty particular interests. It has been objected
against the House of Assembly at Nova Scotia, that
the greatest portion of the members are landed pro-
prietors and farmers ; yet, notwithstanding, we find
those persons passing laws for encouraging the trade
and fisheries of the province, as they plainly see that
by doing so they promote their own interest. By
the last packet from Halifax we find the local as-
sembly busily employed p^issing laws for the en-
couragement of agriculture and roads, and at the
same time, granting out of the revenue of the
province the sum of 5000Z.as a bounty to the curers
of merchantable fish, that is fish of a superior qua-
lity, suitable for the South American market, and
which the merchants of Halifax have been in the
habit of purchasing at Newfoundland. The legis-
lature of Nova Scotia, though chiefiy agriculturists,
have the good sense to perceive that they cannot
more efi'ectually promote their own interests than
by giving every encouragement to trade; they
know, what every reflecting man must be convinced
of, that agriculture could not advance beyond the
pastoral, or first stages, were it not for the support
of trade— it gives value to the produce of agricul-
ture, and agriculture, in return, gives life and
animation to trade— the former is the body,
the latter the soul. If this act of the colonial
legislature of Nova Scotia, coupled with tne
advantages which the Americans and French
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enjoy by bounties and other means, do not open
the eyes of the merchants and others interested
in the prosperity of Newfoundland, and prove
the necessity of a similar authority to foster our
own resources, which only want fair play, their eyes
must be obscured with a darkness more fatal to
that colony than the darkness of the grave.
The case at present stands thus ; — The French
have the best part of the coast of Newfoundland
to fish on, ceded to them by treaty ; they have the
advantages of cheap labour, and cheap supplies.
The French government grants a large bounty for
every quintal of fish caught, and for every man em-
ployed in the fishery. The Americans have a common
right of fishery with the English, with cheap sup-
plies, and also a bounty from the government.
The fishermen of the neighbouring colonies have
also the advantage of fishing on our coast; they
are supplied with the produce of their own farms,
along with which the local governments give boun-
ties. What a contrast does Newfoundland offer ?
obliged to iinport from distant parts of the world
nearly all the supplies necessary for the fishery;
without bounties or other encouragement from
the Parent Country, and without a local govern-
meiit to afibrd its fosterin-p; protection. Is it, I ask,
in the nature of things, that Newfoundland can
resist such fearful and powevhil competitors ?
I now come to the Jlftl , nd last objection,
TJbat Colonial Assemblies have been found trouble-
some and inconvenient, from the contentions be-
tween them and the Governors, and that it is pro-
73
blematical whether Local Assemblies have been ad-
vantages or evils wliere they have been established.
These are arguments that mean a great deal, or
they mean nothing. While men's minds are con-
stituted as they are at present, and until they arc
changed by a fiat of the Deity, they will be influ-
enced by the passions tliat agitate them ; their in-
terests and prejudices, and I hope a desire to promote
the happiness of mankind w^ill direct their con-
duct. So long as these various motives govern the
minds of men, so long will they come in collision j
and there is, in my opinion, no remedy for the evil, in
a general sense, but for mankind to throw themselves
at the feet of absolute despotism, and submit with-
out murmur or complaint to its capricious will :
this is a state of degradation that few would be
induced to submit to ; and I am sure the angry
strife between authority grasping at additional
power, and the people endeavouring to restrain it,
is a state of things, with all its inconveniences,
much to be preferred It has always been the com-
plaint of power, that the people were infringing on
its prerogative ; but a very little acquaintance with
the history of the world must convince the most
transient observer that, in the struggle, the people
have, with very few exceptions, '* few and far be-
tween," been the vanquished party. At length
they are obtaining the vantage ground — "the
School-masters are abroad" — and men in authority
will not, in the present c' «y, *' play such tricks before
high heaven" as they Uid in the days of chivalry,
which, thank God, are gone by, and for ever.
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There is no science so essential to the happiness
of mankind as the science of legislation; and
none in which less improvement has been made ;
but the rapid advances in every other, has
dragged along even that sluggish science on the
high road to improvement. Whether the establish-
ment of local representative Governments have
been an improvement in legislation, or an advan-
tage to the people oi the colonies, they are them-
selves the best judges, and I think it would be
difficult to convince them to the contrary ; and if
we put in the opposite scale, the evil of the many
differences that have unfortunately arisen, I am
sorry to say too frequently, between the colonists
and the governors, there can be little doubt which
would preponderate. I am quite certain that in
the differences that have existed, and do still exist
between the colonists and the governors, there has
been, and are, faults on both sides. At the same time
I do not hesitiiLC to lay it down as a broad propo-
sition that if the governors of his Majesties colo-
nies, of the present and former days, only evinced
the same desire and anxiety to do justice to the
peoph under their respective governments, as bis
Majesty's ministers do to promote the interest and
happiness of the people of these countries, that
those colonies which are now separated for ever
from the British crown, would form a component
part of the empire, and a murmur of complaint
would not be heard from any of the others.
I am fully of opinion that it was the influence of
the local assemblies on the colonies that eave vi-
75
goiir and life to the respective governments, and
which laid the foundation of their improvement and
prosperity on a solid basis. The animating and
vivifying breath of the peopl.; is as necessary for the
health of the political body, as air is to the natural
body— death ensues if you stop the current of the
one, and what is a thousand times worse than
death, despotism and arbitrary power ensue if you
stop the current of the other. It is the extreme of
folly to suppose that until the people of Newfound-
land have a legitimate share in its government that
much progress cnn be made in improvement. I
will not go so far as to say, that if a local assembly
is formed in Newfoundland, circumstances may
not arise to cause differences between the assem-
blies of the people and the government, but I will
say that the same elements of strife do not exist at
Newfoundland as in other colonies.
I think, if it should please his Majesty's govern-
ment to establish something in the semblance of a
legislative assembly, that by appointing, perma-
nently, the salaries of the Governor, the Judges,
and other principal Officers of the Crown, one
chief cause of the bickerings in the other co-
lonies would be prevented, and all danger of
disputes on private grounds, which too often
are the secret springs, would be as much as
possible done away with. Tlie present revenue of
the country could be established on a permanent
footing, and I believe it would be quite adequate for
that purpose ; and let the assembly have power, in
the usual way, to raise and expend money for the
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general improvement of the country. In new coun-
tries, where there are not those hereditary props to
the just authorilvo^the crown, it would be desirable
to make it properly independent of the other au-
thority, and I approve of it the more because I
think it would afford much greater security to the
people; I am one, that at the same time that I am
enthusiastically attached to the people's rights, am
of opinion that the constitutional prerogatives of
the crown is one of their greatest bulwarks. I am
as strongly opposed to democratic tyranny as to any
other. Despotism in whatever shape or form it
may appear, is equally to be abhored ; no matter
whether it appears in the form of the thirty tyrants
of Athens, the ten of Rome, or the five hundred of
France '; in the deep toned cruelty and hypocrisy of
Cromwell, or in an attempt to establish those prin-
ciples which caused the contemptible race of the
Stewart's justly to be hurled from the throne. If I
should unfortunately be driven to a choice of ty-
rants, I shall prefer the tyranny of the one to the
tyranny of the many ; humanity may possibly in-
fluence the former, but it never moves the bowels
of the latter.
The inhabitants of Newfoundland are desirous to
give every support to the prerogative of the crown,
for they have often had much cause to seek protec-
tion under its wing — to " fly from petty tyrants to
the throne." It possibly would be worthy of con-
sideration, whether, if the legislative council that
would be necessary under the constitutional system,
should not, instead of being appointed by the go-
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vernor, be elected by a certain class of the people;
The mode proposed by Mr. Fox, when Mr. Pitt's
Canada Bill was discussed in the house of Com-
mons, May 11, 1791.
" Property," Mr. Fox said, •' was and had ever
" been held to be the true foundation of aristo-
cracy ; when ho used the word aristocracy.he did
not mean it in the odious sense of aristocrat, as
it had been lately called, with that he had no-
" thing to do. He meant it in its true sense, as an
" indispensably necessary part of a mixed govern-
**ment, under a free constitution. Instead, there-
*' fore, of the king's naming the council at that dis-
tance, in which case they had no security that
persons of property, and persons fit to be named^
" would be chosen — wi ' 'ng, as he did, to put the
'' freedom and stability Oi the constitution of Ca-
" nada on the strongest basis — he proposed that the
" council should be elective. But how elective ?
" Not as the members of the House of Assembly
" were intended to be, but upon another footing:
" he proposed that the members of the council
" should not be eligible to be elected unless they
" possessed qualifications infinitely higher than
" those who were eligible to be chosen members of
** the House of Assembly ; and in like manner the
electors of the members of Council must possess
qualifications also proportionably higher than
'f those of electors to representatives in thellouse of
" Assembly. By this means," Mr. Fox said, ''they
*' would have a real aristocracy, chosen by persons
*' of property from among persons of the highest
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*' property, and who would thence necessarily pos-
" 8C89 that weight, influence, and indepcndcncyi
*' from which alone could be derived a power of
'f guarding against any innovations that might be
** made either by the people on the one part, or the
i' crown on the other."
This recommendatioLi of Mr. Fox laiay appear at
first sight as interfering with the prerogative ; but
I am much in error if it would not give i more
healthy vigour. According to the present system,
throughout the colonies, I believe the legis'ative
couDcila are virtually appointed by the governors ;
they, not having an opportunity of knowing much of
their character, very often appoint incompetent per-
sons, who, being in some degree their creatures,
imagine it to be their duty to support every measure
that the governors may wish to propose; they
are not sufficiently independent, and they are so
diametrically constituted to the popular branch,
that I think it is out of the course of things ihat
they can act in unison. And I question much whe-
ther the present plan of appointing the legislative
councils throughout the colonies is not the real secret
why so many disputes have arisen between the gover-
nors and the assemblies. I do not presume to oflfer
this plan to supersede the present ; I merely state
the opinion of Mr. Fox on the subject, and I can-
not help thinking that it is an opinic: worthy jf
that great and good states.nau.*
* Mr. Fox, during the discussion on the Canada bill, strongly
recoinniended that (Tppcr a?id Lower Canada should be placed
under one government, but hn was opposed by Mr. Burke,
with his chivalry and icudalisu^. Had this measure been
79
HaviIl^ endeavoured to reply to the principal
argu •fc.iis raised against the establishment of a
constitutional local government at Newfoundland,
I shall conclude by endeavouring to prove the
justice, the necessity, and the policy of the mea-
sure.
adopted, it would have been a bene'at to both, and would, no
doubt, have been submitted to by the Canadians without hesita-
tion } but what was then wisdom, under existing circum-
stanced would be the extreme of folly to attempt. The
measuie, in the abstract, may be on sound principles, but if op-
posed, even by the prejudices of the Canadians, it would be un-
wise to press it; for, as far as I am capable of judging, there is
no portion of his majesty's subjects, in the colonies, more loyal,
or attached, from principle, to the British Government, than
the French Canadians ; and they gave so many splendid ex-
amples, during the last American War. of their loyalty and at-
tachment, that I think there cannot be a reasonable doubt on the
subject. The governor of that day, to whom, I verily believe,
the preservation of Canada is to be attributed, acted on the
very reverse of the system of the present government ; he
attached himself to the prevailing interest of -he country he
governed, and, in return, the people rallied round him, and
bravely fought in defence of their kin- and their country. If
I was asked to account for the infatuated conduct of the
executive in Canada, for the last few years, judging from
their measures, 1 should say that instead of being paid fe>r
doing the king's business, they were bribed for promoting
what the Americans vainly atteuipted by their arms. I am
far from attributing much of the blame to the distinguished
officer who now goveras that country. Whilst governor oi Nova
Scotia, he was both a wise and a popular governor, and that pro-
vince is mn-h indebted to him for its agricultural aad other im-
provements. In consequence, I shall be .low to attach much of
the odium of his unsuccessful government to him, but I shall put
the saddle ou viie right horse, and say at once tVat it was the
council w!)^ led hira into error} they cannot see a jot beyond
their own petty, paltry, interests, and, i verily believe, they are
not capable of acting wisely, even by mistake.
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I am not at all apprehensive ihat those who are
acquainted with the history --f Newfoundland, down
to a very late period, will think my language too
strong, when I say, that the distant provinces of
Rome in her worst days, and under the most bar-
barous of her piietors, were not treated with more
injustice than Newfoundland has been for centu-
ries. The whole course of her unhappy history
presents a scene of oppression and petty tyranny I
sincerely and honestly believe not to be paralleled
in the history of either antient or modern despotism.
It was not one cruel prsetor, that at each period
ruled the country ; every Jittle town, every little
settlement, had not one, but twenty praetors, with
all the ferocity of more dignified tyrants, and even
with a more keen scent for prey and vengeance —
the consequence of having unlimited power, united
with irreclaimable ignorance. These persons ex-
ercised their power under the authority of the Star
chamber— of Charters without number — Orders in
Council — Rules and Regulations, and additional
Rules — and, lastly, under the Act of the 10th and
1 1th of William and Mary : the cry for justice
was continually raised by the unhappy people of
Newfoundland!, but it was drowned it* the deep
bosom of the ocean, before it reached the quar-
ter where hunu nity and justice are presumed to
dwell! •
In 1615, Captain Richard Whitburne was sent
out with a commission from the High Court of Ad-
miralty, authorizing him to impannel juries, and
make enquiry upon oath of sundry abuses, and dis-
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orders committed every year, among the fishermen
upon that coast.
In the year 1650, the Council of State gave a
commission to John Treworgay, merchant, who was
then in the island, to order affairs there for the
best advantage of the state; which commission was
renewed in 1653. A commission was also obtained
in 1655 by Sir David Kirk (who had been one of
the grantees in the charter of 1628), together with
John Claypole, John Goffe, and others, but it does
not appear that any thing was done thereupon.
In 1667 the fishery of Newfoundland underwent
a more mature discussion than it seems before to
have received. In August of that year several
petitions were presented to the Privy Council from
the merchants, owners of ships, and other inhabi-
tants of Totness, Plymouth, Dartmouth, and places
adjacent, concerned in the trade. They stated that
several persr s, upon specious purposes, and for
sinister ends, were endeavouring to establish a
governor, which had always been pernicious to
the fishery."
In 1669, Captain Robert Robinson petitioned for
a governor.
In 1675 we find another petition '' for a governor
and government," but the merchants, and owners
of ships in the west of England, protested against a
settlement, together with what the petitioners could
allege in behalf of a colony. It was further stated
by these antient worthies, *• that besides the charge
'* of forts and a governor, which the fish trade
'* could not support, it was needless to hare any
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*' such defence against foreigners, the coast being
'• defended in winter by the ice, and in summer by
" the resort of the king's subjects ; so that unless
" there were proper reasons for a colony there
*' could be none for a governor"
From these representations, their lordships pro-
posed, " That all plantations in Newfoundland
" should be discouraged, and that the western char-
" ter should be put in execution, by which all plan-
*« ters were forbid to inhabit within six miles of the
*' shore, from Cape Race to Cape Bonavista."
In 161^5 we 6nd Sir John Berry denouncing the
conduct of the adventurers, and most strongly re-
commending to His Majesty's Government the
establishment of a colony at Newfoundland.
In 1676, John Downing, an inhabitant of New-
foundland, petitioned the King against the ad-
venturers for pulling down the houses, and burn-
ing the stages of the planters, in order to drive
them out of the country.
In 1677, to bring this matter (a colony) into
full discussion, it was ordered by the King that
both the adventurers and planters should be heard
by their counsel, and thus was the questior. of the
convenience and the inconveniences solemnly ar-
gued before the Council. I shall pass over a great
variety of petitions and remonstrances, all tc the
same effect, and opposed by the same interest, and
shall confine myself to a very few, which, I con-
ceive, bear more immediately on the subject.
Mr. Reeves remarks—" In the year 1711, 1 find,
" what is called, a record of several laws and
re
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83
** orders made at St. John's for the better disCt-
*' pline and good order of the people, and tr cor-
recting irregularities committed contrary to
good laws, and acts of parliaments, all which
" were debated at several courts held, wherein were
" present the commanders of .nerchant's ships,
" merchants, and chief inhabitants ; and witnesses
" being examined, it was brought to the following
" conclusion between the 23rd day of August and
" ^rd day of October, 1711. Then follow fifteen
" articles of regulation, that must have been very
" useful ; and it is worth considering whether such
" a local legislature, which the people seem in
" this instance to have created for themselves,
" might not legally be lodged somewhere, for
''making bye-laws and regulations, as occasion
" should require. The commander Captain Crowe
presided at this volunta,.^ assembly. His suc-
cessor, it seems, followed his example, and held
i meeting of the same sort. These assemblies
'' were somewhat anomalous, a kind of legislative,
" judicial, and executive, all blended tog'e^^he. ;
*' anu yet perhaps not more mixed than I ^ iiro-
" ceedings of parliaments in Europe, in very early
*' times."
About the year 1728, we find a ^^ood govern-
ment for Newfoundland recommended, " so that
" the people may be governed as Biitcas, and not
*' like a banditti, or forsaken people."
I have quoted a number of authorities, but if.
Sir, yv J have a taste for antiqmiif's oi this descrip-
tion, you have only to re>iir to the archives of the
.*
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Colonial Office, and, 1 think, scarcely a year has
elapsed for the last two hundred, that some repre-
sentation or another has not been made respecting
Newfoundland.
I sha'l now call your attention to some few re-
commendations and petitions, that have been made
at a much later date, for something like a Colonial
Local Government, on the principles of Represen-
tation. John Reeves, Esq, Chief Justice of New-
foundland in 1793, whose invaluable and impartial
History of its Government I have had so often
occasion to refer to in the course of this letter, and
who, you know. Sir, has not been celebrated for
recommending much extension of popular privi-
leges, suggests, whether '' a local legislation, which
" the people seem, in this instance, to have created
" for themselves, might not legally be lodged some-
" where for making bye-laws and regulations, as
" occasion should require."
Mr. Chief Justice Forbes, in 1823, recommended
something similar, in a communication to the Co-
lonial Office.
In 1821, petitions were presented by Lord Hol-
land in the House of Lords, and by Sir James
Mackintosh in the House of Commons, praying
for the same, out o^ which has arisen the late very
beneficial change iU the administration of justice.
In 1822, a Memorial was presented to Lord
Bathurst for the same object, from a Committee of
the inhabitants.
In 1823, another petition was signed by the in-
habitants, and the heads of a Bill drawn up at
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85
Newfoundland, which was lodged in the Colonial
Office.
In the Act of 18^4 a clause was introduced,
empowering his Majesty to create corporations in
the principal towns in Newfoundland, which com-
pletely admits the principle. After a great deal of
discussion, and various meetings at St. John's,
for forming a plan of a local Government for that
town, which was opposed by many, in conse-
quence of being confined to that place alone, and
not including the whole island ; one was ulti-
mately arranged, and forwarded, through his Ex-
cellency the Governor, to the Secretary of State for
the Colonies, with his recommendation. Notwith-
standing which, no measures have been adopted
to carry it into eflfect by his Majesty's Govern-
ment.
On a review of these facts, I think. Sir, it must
be admitted that; if Newfoundland has not been
well governed, it is not for want of remonstrc*nces,
representations, and petitions from the inhabit-
ants. We find various measures recommended,
every one has his own nostrum. Do, Sir, for the
sake of justice and humanity, put an end to this
quackery; like a good physician, infuse a little
of the wholesome blood of the Constitution into
the government of that neglected country; let it no
longer be the theatre of experiments. If Mr. Ma-
ryatt had cause, and just cause, to complain in
the House of Commons, a few evenings since, of
the manner in which Trinidad has been treated, with
how much more justice has an advocate of New-
! ;
'if
86
foundland cause to complain ; and to nse the words
of the Hon. Member, I shaii say, let Newfoundland
" in future be a field for improvement, and cease to
be a field of experiment." And, Sir, great as your
fame is, important as the advantages are that you
have conferred on your country, and on mankind,
and it is only future ages that will be able to form
a just estimate of them. The giving to the people
of the oldest colony belonging to his Majesty, the
most faithful and the most important, the rights and
privileges of British subjects, will not be amongst
the least of the claims which you will have on
the applause and gratitude of posterity.
The expediency of granting to Newfoundland
any privilege calculated to draw forth into action
all the dormant energies of the country, must ap-
pear not only advantageous to the country itself,
but equally so to the parent state. This is a pro-
position laid down by yourself, in your Speech on
the Colonial Policy of the country, March 21st,
1825, wherein you say, " and I feel myself equally
" warranted, in my next inference, that whatever
** tends to increase the prosperity of the colonies,
** cannot fail in the long run to advance in equal
** degree the general interests of the parent state."
If the truth of the doctrine is admitted, in reference
to the coloni^'S generally, surely it will not be
disputed, as respects Newfoundland, individually.
The trade, fishery, agriculture, and other interests of
the neighbouring colonies and countries, receive the
greatest support from their respective governments,
and they have prospered. It is not too much to say.
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tbat the same causes would lead to the same effects
in Newfoundland. The trade and fisheries, as well
as agriculture, require the aid of local laws, and
how, I would ask, is agriculture to improve
in a country, no matter how rich the soil, or
favourable the climate, without roads; yet at
this time of day, after three hundred years of
the mockery of legislation, there is not any
legal power in the governor, the magistrates, the
juries, or in any other authority i»i the island, to
make roads, or any other local improvement or
regulation. The improvements that have taken
place, have almost been effected by stealth, and in
opposition to the government. But the greatest part
of a country, competent to give employment and
support to millions of inhabitants, still remains in a
state of useless waste. The injury is not alone felt
by that neglected country, but it also reverts back
upon the parent state, and is in its consequences
more ruinous and alarming than, I fear, I shall be
able to make you. Sir, believe. But the facts that
I am about to state, and the conclusion I am about
to draw from them, can be easily enquired into ;
and if false or erroneous, can be exposed, with
very little trouble.
I state as a fact, that has appeared clear to every
intelligent man in Newfoundland, who ever gave
himself the trouble of making observations on the
subject, that that colony is a stepping-stone to the
United States of America; that in consequence of
the difficulties in the way of making settlements in
Newfoundland, the fishermen and other emigrants^
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in a short time direct their course to the United
States, carry with them often the fruits of their
labour at Newfoundland; but always, what is
more important, the experience and knowledge
which they have gained from their employment
in the cod and seal fisheries ; thereby giving the
Americans all the advantages of men nursed in
our fisheries to prosecute their own, and, in case of
need, to man their navy. I am prepared to prove
that, for the last fifteen years, the great bulk of.
our fishermen, not less than from forty to fifty
thousand, have emigrated to America. In former
periods, the fishermen generally rcHirned to Great
Britain and Ireland ; but the tide has turned the
other way, and at present scarcely any return
to the parent country, except old or disabled per-
sons, to add to the mass of human misery and dis-
tress already existing.
The only remedy, and I think it is worth the
trial, to prevent our seamen and fishermen from
proceeding from Newfoundland to America, is to
give them the means of battlement by encouraging
the internal resources of the country,which can only
be done by giving due encouragement to agricul-
ture and roads, the first necessary step to improve-
ment in cultivation.
Khis Majesty's go\ ernment does not soon direct its
attention to this important subject, Ibeg to recom-
mend to them a preamble for their next Act of Par-
liament for Newfoundland, and instead of com-
mencing in the words of the 15th Geo. III. " That
the Newfoundland fisheries have been found to be
89
the best nurseries for able and experienced seamen,
always ready to man the royal navy when occasion
requires, and it isof the highest national importance
to give all due encouragement to the said fisheries,"
substitute the following:" That the Newfoundland
fisheries have been found the best nurseries for sea-
men to man the British navy, but as they are no
longer required for that purpose, be it enacted
that the advantages be now transferred to the
United States of America/'
Whatever appearance of reason there was at an
early period, and whilst the other provinces in
America remained true to their allegiance to the
British crown, to prevent cultivation and settle-
ment in Newfoundland, it exists no longer; it was
then unjust ; but at present, madness and folly is
added to injustice. No sooner was the flag of in-
dependence raised in America, than it was the ob-
vious interest of England to reverse the course of
her former policy towards Newfoundland ; to en-
courage settlement, to encourage agriculture, to
encourage the trade and fishery, by which means the
foundation of a naval power could be laid there su-
perior to any other that could be formed on that side
the Atlantic. Newfoundland is a country as large
as England, is situated nearly in the same position
with reference to the continent of America, as Eng-
land is to the continent of Europe ; it is an island that
can always be defended by a superior naval mrce ;
her shores are indented with harbours, some of the
finest in the world; with an iron-bound coast, is
the key of the St. Lawrence, and could command
i'
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j^mt
a great part of the American coast ; possessing more
of the elements of commerce than any other country
in North America, her fisheries the greatest in the
wcrld (only limited by the means of consumption),
the produce finding a market in every quarter of the
globe; her situation, placed midway between the old
and the new world, evidently points her out as the
porper emporium for the productions and commerce
of both, with a soil capable of giving sustenance to
millions of inhabitants, and a climate possibly more
favourable to the health of the human species than
most others on the face of the globe. With such
advantages, is it, I ask, too much for me to say,that
under the fostering care of a local government,
under the mighty shield of England's protection,
Newfoundland would in a short period become the
Holland of America. [^Note 1.]
The policy of granting to Newfoundland a con-
stitutional government I shall prove, chiefly from
authorities which the country looks up to, and
I trust ever will, with veneration and confidence.
My first shall be that great and good man, that
" statesman, yet friend to truth," whose name and
character is the property of posterity, and now,
when the political and angry contention of the
eventful period in which he lived has subsided,
no man will be found in this mighty empire
who has one spark of the Promethean fire of
the constitution animating his breast, who will not
mention his name with gratitude and respect. —
My second shall be yourself; and I do it with the
greatest* pleasure, as I find the statesman of 1625^
91
thougli belonging to a different party in the state,
uttering the same sentiments which brought down
upon the statesman of 1791 the obloquy, not only
of his political opponents, but of his oldest and his
dearest friend : but though those men in high
stations who make undeviating principle the guide
of their conduct, may be misrepresented and ma-
ligned by the corrupt and interested, yet their pure
and honourable motives will sooner or later shine
with redoubled splendour. I believe it is Sir
James Mackintosh who says that " in politics, as
well as in morals, there is a stern undeviating
principle which admits of no relaxation, that, in
politics, as in morals, a breach of a part is a
breach of the whole." A little reflection must
convince every man that the observation is as pro-
found as it is generous and noble.
During the first discussion on Mr. Pitt's celebrated
Canada Bill, Mr. Fox expressed himself as follows.
" He agreed with the Right Honorable Gentle-
" man, that it was impossible to concur in any
" plan like that proposed, until the Bill was be-
" fore the House, but he was willing to declare
" that the giving to a country, so far distant from
'^England, a legislature and the power of go-
"verning for itself, would exceedingly piepos-
" ses8 him in favour of every part of the plan.
"He did not hesitate to say, that if a local legisla-
"ture was liberally formed, that circumstance
" would incline him much to overlook defects in
"the other regulations, because he was convinced
" that the only means of retaining distant colonies
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" with advantage,wa3 to enable them to govern them-
" selves."
On the llth of May, he further said —
*' He trusted that the House would seriously con-
sider the [^articular situation of Canada ; it was
not to be compared to the Wes^ Indies, it was a
country of a different nature ; it did not consist
of a few white inhabitants, and a number of slaves,
" but it was a government of great growing popu-
" lation, which had increased very much, and which,
he hoped, would increase much more. It was a
country as capable of enjoying political freedom,
in its utmost extent, as any other country on the
face of the globe. This country was situated near
" the colonies of North America; all their animosi-
" ties and bitterness on the quarrel between them
" and Great Britain was now over, and he believed
there were very few people in those colonies who
''Vt^uld not be ready to admit every person belong-
ing to this country into a participation of all
their privileges, and would receive them with
open arms. The governments now established in
" North America were, in his opinion, the best
" adapted to the situation of the people who lived
" under them, of any of the governments of the an-
" cient or modern world ; and when we had a colony
*' like this, capable of freedom, and capable of a
" great increase of population, it was material that
" the inhabitants should have nothing to look to
" among their neighbours to excite their envy. Ca-
" nada must be preserved in its adherence to Great
" Britain by the choice of its inhabitants, and it
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" could not possibly be kept by any other means ;
'* but it must be felt by the inhabitants that their
*' situation was not worse than that of their neigh-
" hours. He wished them to be in such a situation
" as to have nothing to envy in that part of the
" king's dominions. But this would never prove
" the case, under a bill which held out to them
•' something like the shadow of the British Consti-
" tution, but denied them the substance ; where the
principles of liberty were gaining ground, which
would increase in consequence of the general dif-
•' fusion of literature and knowledge of the world*
they should have a government as agreeable to the
general principles of freedom as was consistent
" with the nature of circumstances. He did not
think that the government intended to be esta-
blished by the bill would prove such a govern-
ment, and this was his principal motive for op-
posing it."
With respect to the mode of appointing the
council^ Mr. Fox said—
" That he would throw out generally his ideas as
" to the means of substituting what he could not but
*' conceive to be a better mode of appointing a
" council than the mode adopted in the clause as it
"stood. First, he laid it down, as a principle
" never to be departed from, that every part of the
" British dominions ought to possess a government
in the constitution of which, monarchy, aristo-
cracy, and democracy, were mutually blended and
*' united ; nor could any government be a fit one
*' for British subjects to live under which did not
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" contain its due weight of aristocracy, because that
" he considered to be the proper poise of the consti-
" tution,the balance that equaliaed and ameliorated
f the powers of the other two extreme branches, and
gave stability and firmness to the whole. It be-
came necessary to look what were the principles on
" which aristocracy was founded, and he believed it
would be admitted to him thatthey were two-fold;
namely, rank and property, or both united. In
" this country, the House of Lords formed thearis-
" tocracy, and that consisted of hereditary titles
in noble families, of ancient origin, or possessed
by peers, newly created, on account of their ex-
" tensive landed property. With regard to foreign
" colonies, he was of opinion that the power of the
" crown ought to be kept low. It was impossible
" to foresee what would be the fate of distant colo-
" nies, at a distant period of time ; but in giving
" them a constitution, his idea was, that it was our
" interest, as well as our duty, to give them as
** much liberty as we could ; to render them happy,
" flourishing, and as little dependent as possible.
** We should make the free spirit of our own con-
" stitution applicable, wherever we could render it
" so ; and if there was any risk or danger, he was
*' persuaded the danger was not greater on one side
'f than on the other ; indeed, he thought the more
*' despotic the constitution we gave a colony^ the
more we made it the interest of that colony to
get rid of such constitution ; and it was evident
the American States ha: revolted because they
\' did not think themselves sufficiently free."
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In t/our speech on the Colonial policy of the
country, March 21st, 1825, in speaking of the
North American Colonies, you say —
" There you have a white popul ation; all free,
prosecuting their various pursuits and avocations
of life, for their own benefit and happiness, many
*' of them born in the country, and almost all
" looking to it as their home, and as the home
" of those by whum they are to be succeeded.
" That population, taking all the Provinces, is
" not sh»^» ;, perhaps, at this moment, of one million
of people, and their numbers increasing very ra-
pidly. With the fertility of the soil in many of
" their districts, with their natural productions,
" their harbours, and extent of coast, both upon
'' the ocean and their internal lakes, with their
" fisheries, and other advantages, I cannot doubt,
" that without any other encouragement than
" freedom of trade, and a lenient administration,
" these Provinces will, henceforward, make the
'* most rapid strides towards prosperity ; that con*
" necting their prosperity with the liberal treat-
" ment of the Mother Country, they will neither
*' look with envy at the growth of other States on
" the same Continent, nor wish for the dissolution
" of old, and the fokmation of new political con*
" nections. "With a tariff of duties, accounted for
" to their own treasury, and moreover far lighter
" than those paid by their neighbours, — with a
" trade as free, — with their shipping in possession
*' of greater privileges, — themselves in the enjoy-
'* ment of the same civil rights, — they will not
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be easily moved to acts by which all these ad-
vantages may be placed in jeopardy or danger.
Such a course is not in human nature. At any
rate, let us, as the Parent State, fulfil our duties
with all proper kindness and liberality. This is
true wisdom, affording us, on the one ha:id, the
best chance of perpetuating a solid and useful
connexion, and on the other, the best hope if,
(which God avert) in the progress of human
events, that connexion is ever to be dissolved,
that the separation may not be embittered by
acrimony and bloodshed ; and the certain con-
solation that, however brought about, it will not
have been hastened or provoked by vexatious in-
terference or oppressive pretensions on our part."
And again you say —
" Contemplate the p'^ssibility of another set of
Provinces, emancipated from commercial thral-
dom, but firmly maintaining their political con-
nexion ; — their commercial marine a part of our
commercial marine, — their seamen a part of our
seamen, — their population a p?rt of our strength.
Consider whether it be not worth while to at-
tempt a course which promises, both to those
Provinces and the Mother Country, all the com-
mercial benefits of a free trade, together with all
the political advantages of our continuing part
of one great Empire, and enjoying alike, under
the sway and protection of the same Sovereign,
all the rights and privileges of British subjects.'*
When speaking on the Revenues, you say,— ■
" The importation of foreign goods into the Co-
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" lonJes, I propose^ should be made subject to mode-
" rate duties, but such as may^be found sufficient tor
'* the fair protection of our productions of the like
" nature. The particulars oii these duties will be
" found in the Resolutions. They will, of course,
" form part of the revenues of the respective Colo-
*' nies in which they may be collected,upon the same
" principle, and subject to the same system of ap-
" propriation by the Legislatures of those Colonies,
*' as the duties already collected under the Acts
"of the 3rd of the King.
" It is for the Colonies that the benefit of these
" arrangements is intended, the duties will form
" a revenue which will be theirs, and will be car-
" ried to their account. They can, therefore, have
" no jealousy of the new system, as one likely to
" trench upon their constitutional privileges in
" those respects."
Though you were addressing the House of Com-
mons on commercial subjects, and Mr. Fox on con-
stitutional ones, you have incidentally introduced
sufficient of the latter principles in your speech, to
confirm the general principles laid down by him.
All that is asked for Newfoundland, is the exter.-
sion of your own principles to her.
Have they at present the control over their own
revenues, which the other colonies have, so as not
" to trench on their constitutional privileges in
" those respects?"
Have they, " under the sway of the same sove-
" reign, all the rights and privileges of British
" subjects ?" '
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98
Have they no cause to " look with envy at the
' ' grovvrth of other States on the same continent?"
The colonies and other states in the neighbour-
hood of Newfoundland are making rapid strides to
Vvealth, population, and prosperity ; though some
of them are on^y of yesterday, and not possessing a
ty the of her advantages, they have already out-
stepped her, and left her at an immeasurable
distance behind. Out of many examples I shall
only adduce one, the small island of Bermuda,
which, with a population of not more than 5000
free inhabitants, has, under the protection of its
local government, become a place of great import-
ance, having the carrying trade of the West Indian
Islands, and possessing large capital. Natives of
the country filling some of the most important
situations in the empire ; some in the army, some
in the navy : — at this moment, the important situa-
tions of Chief Justice of Bermuda, Newfoundland,
and New South Wales, are held by natives of that
island. Many of them hold high situations in the
colonies, as well as in this country ; which proves
the correctness of the opinion of a distinguished
and noble individual, whose invaluable and unos-
tentatious labours in the cause of the constitu-
tional liberty of his country, will add fresh laurels
to those which must ever bloom around the illus-
trious name of Russel— that, "Half a century of
" Freedom, within the circuit of a few miles of
" ROCR, BRINGS to PERFECTION MORE OF THE GHEAT-
" EST QUALITIES OF OUR NATURE, DISPLAYS MORE
'• FULLY THE CAPACITY OF MAN, EXHIBITS MORE EX-
t<
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" AMPLES OF HEROISM AND MAGNANIMITY, AND EMITS
" MORE OF THE DIVINE LIGHT OP POETRY AND PHILO-
'' fWi:f, r::AN t?»cusand9 of years, and millions
op people, collected in the greatest empire in
the world, can ever accomplish under the
*' Eclipse of Despotism."
I liave expressed opinions in the course of this
letter, which a more cautious man possibly would
have thoug'ht it prudent to restrain ; but I hope^
Sir, I have e:ipressed no opinion that an honest
man need be ashamed of. I know there are
drones that buzz and flutter round the ears of great
men, that may attempt to misrepresent my princi-
ples ; but, conscious of the integrity of my motives,
and the ardent purity of my loyalty, and that my
object is ni< :e firmly to cement the connexion be-
tween Newfoundland and the Parent State, to pro-
mote the interests of the one by adding to the
power and glory of the other, I shall find myself
perfectly at ease under their imputations ; and if
they should threaten, if they should denounce, I
shall only reply in the words of the Athenian,
" Strike, but Hear ! "
I have the honour to be.
Sir,
With the greatest respect und veneration.
Your obliged and obedient Servant,
PATRICK MORRIS
Somerset Hotel, Strand,
April 26th, 1828.
f: -A
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KX)
Note 1, page 90.
When I state that Newfoundland, under the
fostering care of a local legislature, aided by the
mighty protection of the parent state, would be-
come the Holland of America, I know that I shall
be sneered at by those who are always misrepre-
senting Newfoundland and its resources, and that
many of the friends of the country will think that
I am pushing the thing too far ; as to the censure
of the former 1 am perfectly indifferent, but before
the latter pass a final judgment, I have to request
that they will consult the History of Newfoundland,
from the earliest period, and remark the great ad-
vantages that have been derived, not alone by
England, but by France and other countries, from
trade and fisheries; let them also consult the
opinions of some of the best writers and greatest
men of England, France, Holland, and America,
on the great importance of Newfoundland, and if,
afterwards, they say that I am in error, they must
acknowledge that I have erred in right noble good
company. It is an error most people fall into
when speaking of Newfoundland, that they do not
give themselves the trouble of considering that the
British fishers are only a portion, and by far the
smallest portion, of the Newfoundland fishery:
the French have by far the best part of the
101
coast of Newfouudland, from Cape Ray to Cape
John, with the sovereignty of the small islands
of St. Pierre and Miquelon : the subjects of the
United States of America have a common right
of fishing ; and the British subjects of the other
colonies have very justly the same privilege. In
estimating the extent of the Newfoundland fishery,
we have to take into view the American, and Anglo-
American fisheries, as well as those carried on by
British subjects immediately connected with New-
foundland. It is quite impossible to make ii
correct estimate of the fisheries carried on by
foreigners; but when it is considered that the
French grant large bounties, not only for the fish
catched on the coast, but also for every green
man employed; that the Americans also grant
large bounties, and that the Colonial legir.lators
of the neighbouring colonies are following their
example, it cannot be surprising that the fisheries
must be extensive, and increasing in magnitude
every day. From all the information that I have
been able to collect on the subject, I have come to
this conclusion, that the fishing carried on at New-
foundland by the French and Americans is .bout
two-thirds of the whole, and that the residents of
Newfoundland, with those who annually arrive
there from Britain, carry on the remaining one-
third. There is one branch of our fisheries at New-
foundland, the growth of the last twenty or twenty-
five years, which has not as yet been encroached
on by foreigners, and which bids fair to become
one of the greatest magnitude and importance ; I
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103
mean the seal fishery, which gives employment to
about 350 sail of vessels, of from 60 to 120 tons
burthen, manned with about twenty men each.
This fishery is chiefly carried on in the months of
March and April, and is over before the cod fishing
commences; and it is, in my opinion, like the cod
fishing, capable of being extended to meet any
amount of consumption.
Colquhoun, on the Wealth and Resources of the
British Empire, gives the following statement :
Tnhabi-
Ship
Ton-
Men
Exports
tantB ping
nage
'» Canada, Up-
per & Lower
300,000
661
143,893
6,610
1,302,827
New Bruns-
wick
60,000
410
87,690
4,100
713,987
Nova Scotia . .
100,000
SIS
42,222
3,280
607.330
Cape Breton . .
3,000
7
948
70
9,302
Piince Edwd's
Island ....
6,000
32
5,917
320
111,434
Newfoundland
18,000
495
61,543
4,950
705,594
Imports
1,180,000
579,148
492,634
7,326
94,445
572,338
" Aggregate value.
" Upper and Lower Canada ^3,413,360
New Brunswick 4,726,000
Nova Scotia 9,803,000
Cape Breton 493,000
Prince Edward'i, Island 1,022,500
Newfoundland 6,973,000
" Newfoundland gives employment annually to
495 vessels, measuring 61,543 tons, navigated by
4950 seamen, besides 2000 fishing shallops, uieasur-
ing about 2900 tons, which may employ at least
6000 men more, taking 600,000 quintals of fish
which, at 1 5s. per quintal, together with salmon,
cod oil, and seal oil, amount at least to jS500,000 :
this fishery, viewed as a capital, may be fairly
103
valued at £500,000, inasmuch as the fish taken an-
nually cannot amount to less than a sum equal to
legal interest on that amount. £250.000, and a like
sum for labour and extras; and it may be remarked,
that if the fishery was carried on ' its utmost ex-*
tent, there is no dcubt but it would yield three
times that sum, or, indeed, to any -mount for which
consumption could be found."
He is perfectly correct in the general view he
takes of Newfoundland, he states that her fisheries
can be carried on to any extent for which consump-
tion can be found; though his calculations res-
pecting the produce of the fisheries at Newfound-
land, must have been made on false representa-
tions. I shall give, on his plan, a statement of the
fisheries and present productions of Newfoundland,
adding to it what 1 suppose the production of the
fisheries carried on by foreigners, in the proportion
of one-third for the former, and two-thirds tor the
latter.
Inhabitants Vesseh. Tonnage. Met.. | Exportg, Imports.
100,000 Shipping 800.. 88,000.. 5,800, 1,000,000 1,000,000
Seal ShipsSSO. .24,500. .7,000
Shallops
& Boats7,50O. . 10,000..30,000
42,800
Deductfor Men employ-
ed in the Seal fishery,
afterwards in the Cod
fishery 7,000
35,800
To which are to be addod, the productions of the
French and American fisheries, which, if I calcu-
late them on their increased value in these coun-
tries^ I mav safely put down at two millions. If the
1
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estimate is a correct one, the productions of the
Newfoundland fisheries are worth, annually, three
millions, which is six times as much as Colquhoun
puts down for them ; so that, according to his cal-
culation, the fisher) must be i^alued as a capital
equal to thirty millions. When he estimated the
value of the other colonies, he took into considera-
tion the value of all the various productions of
those countries which have had every opportunity
of developing themselves; but in Newfoundland
it is only one branch of her resources, that has been
calculated; the agricultural, and other resources
of the country, remain dormant. Is it then too
much to say, that if Newfoundland had a govern-
ment that would bring her great resources into
operation, that she must become " what she ought
to be, a great commercial country, subsisting her-
self by internal resources, drawing her manufac-
tured supplies from the mother country, and re-
paying her care by a valuable trade, and a nume-
rous race of seamen, trained for her service, and
ready to attend her first call in the defence of the
empire?**
I have observed, with no email degree of interest,
a report of some discussions that have taken place
in the House of Commons, respecting the new form
of government for New South Wales. If I un-
derstand the object of Mr. Huskisson, it is to ap-
point a governor, and council, nominated by the
governor, or recommended by him, with legal pow-
ers to rule that colony. I must say, if there is one
mo:^.e of govsrnraent mere objectionable than an-
:^i'
105
other for the colonies, it is that of a Governor and
Council ; and I do not hesitate to say, that a more
effectual way could not be taken to make the peo-
ple of any colony discontc- ^ed. Such a govern-
ment was proposed for Newfoundland in 1824, and
a clause to that effect introduced into the bill of
that year, but from the remonstrances that were
made to the Right Hon. R.W. Horton, by Lord
Holland, Lord Darnley,* Sir James Mackintosh,
Sir John Newport, and Mr. Hume, he was in-
duced, with that consideration which has marked
his proceedings, as regards Newfoundland, to with-
draw the clause respecting a legislative council.
If Mr. Huskisson knew the characters of the per-
sons ^hat the governors of colonies generally ap-
point as their consellors, iie would not give them
the government of the small island in St. James's
Park. It is a mode of government unknown to the
constitution — it is a monster in legislation — and
it will not, nor can it produce any thing but mon-
sters more hideous than itself. If Mr. Huskisson,
in legislating for the colonies, is guided by any
othei chart than the chart of the constitution,
stupendous as his talents are, were they ten times
greater, he must not expect any thing but ship-
wreck. By avoiding Scylla, he is sure to run upon
Charybdis.
H
\\M
; i.
Mi^
* In 1834, I was, in conjunction with another
gentleman, appointed by the inhabitants of New-
foundland to attend to the bill passed that year for
If' h
i
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106
the government of t^at colony. In consequence,
we had frequent occasion to wait on Lord Hol-
land, Lord Darnley, Sir James Mackintosh,Sir John
Newport, Mr. Hume, and Mr. Wilmot Horton.
We were always received by these distinguished
individuals with the greatest courtesy and atten-
tion ; but I consider I owe on my own part, and
on the part of the inhabitants of Newfoundland, a
particular debt of gratitude to Earl Darnley, for the
great trouble he took to forward the views of the in-
habitants, and for the uncommon kindness shewn to
myself when I had the honour of waiting on his
Lordship. It made an impression on me that can-
not be effaced to the latest hoar of my existence,
and the only return I can make to his Lordship is,
thus publicly to acknowledge my obligations to
him, and t'^ say, that I shall not lose any opportu-
nity of proclaiming to the people of Newfoundland
that he has been one of their greatest — noblest
benefactors ; that they are indebted to him, in a
great degree, for the first and greatest boon that
has been conferred on them — a pure administration
of justice, which must cause the people of that
country, as well as those of another, to bless his
name to the latest posterity.
i
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109
To W. Carson, Esq. M. D. St. John's; Henry P.
ThomaS; Esq. St. John's ; Mr. James Pitts, Bell
Isle, Conception Bay, Nerofoundland.
Somerset Hotel, London,
April 26, 1828.
Dear Sirs,
I have taken the liberty of sending, by thjs
opportunity, 500 copies of a small pamphlet I have
published, on the State of Newfoundland, which
you will be pleased to hand over to Mr. Winton,
for srle. The proceeds you will please dispose of
in small premiums to such persons as you may think
have made the greatest improvement in agriculture
throughout the island. I am induced to give you
this trouble, with the hope that it may tend to the
establishment of an Agricultural Society, which is
much wanted iv Newfoundland,
It is said by an eminent writer, that the
man who makes two blades of grass grow where
only one grew before, is a benefactor to mankind.
Then how stronr your claims are on the gratitude
of the people of Niiwfoundland ; you have the me-
rit, more than any other individuals I could men-
tion, of breaking down the prejudices which exist-
ed against the soil and climat< of the country;
you have made frightful inroads on barbarism ;
under your auspices corn fields and meadows have,
as if by magic, superseded woods and forests.
I have the honour to be, Gentlemen,
Your faithful Servant,
Patrick Morris.
1 i i'
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London s Printed ky A. Hancock,
Middle Mow Place, Holborn.
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