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PETITION

FROM

I.OWER CANADA,

WITH

EXPLANATORY REMARKS,

LONDON:
PRINTED BY WILLIAM CLOWES, 14, CHARING CROSS.

. 1835.

t •«

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' ' ' i ■ ., //u.! > ■ ' \ i.: ', i '

* I I . f . i

To the Honourable the Knights, Citizens
and Burgesses, the Commons of the
United Kingdom of Great Britain and
Ireland, in Parhament assembled.

■\

The Humble Petition of the undersigned Members

elected to serve in the Assembly of Lower

Canada, and of the Members forming the

Minority of the Legislative Council^ who

partake the Opinions of the People —

Sheweth :

That during the last Session of the Imperial
Parliament, the Commons of Lower Canada, in the
name of the People, whom they represent, ap-
proached your Honourable House, by Petition, dated
from Quebec, on the first day of March, one thousand
eight hundred and thirty-four, setting forth the
grievances which the People of the said Province
suffered, arising out of the vicious principles upon
which their Political Institutions are based, aggra-
vated by a series of arbitrary Administrations to
which the Province has been subjected.

That the inquiry which was instituted before a
Select Committee, appointed by your Honourable
House upon Canada affairs, on the fifteenth of April,
one thousand eight hundred and thirty-four, induced
i\w People of Lower Canada to hope, that not only

would tlie prayer of their Petition be listened to, bnt
that the grievances therein set forth, which your
Petitioners have reason to believe were fully sup-
ported, would be immediately redressed.

That this hope, A\hich your Petitioners cannot
deem unreasonable, was still further strengthened
by the retirement of His Majesty's late Secretary of
State for the Colonies, the Right Honourable E. G.
Stanley, and the subsequent appointment of the
Right Honourable T. Spring Rice, the more espe-
cially after the repeated declarations of the Right
Honourable the Secretary of State for the Colonies,
that His Majesty's Government was actuated by the
strongest desire to render justice to the People of
this Province, by removing the various abuses under
Avhich they suffer, and affording to them security
against the recurrence thereof.

That your Petitioners, however, regret to state,
that not only does the said Petition of the Commons
of Lower Canada to your Honourable House seem
to have been totally neglected, but that new abuses
have been inflicted upon the People of this Province,
which, if not speedily removed, will tend to increase
to an alarming degree the discontents which have
so long prevailed, and will ultimately alienate the
affections of the People even from the Government
of England itself. ' • - >

That among the additional grievances of which
the People of this Province have to complain, your
Petitioners would invite the attention of your
Honourable House to the fact, that His Excellency

Mathew Lord Ayliner is still continued in the
Government of this Province, after having been
formally accused, in the aforesaid Petition, of " ille-
gal, unjust, and unconstitutional conduct," and after
having borne himself towards the Representatives
of the People of Lower Canada, in a manner in-
sulting to a body clothed with legislative functions,
and destructive of the respect which should be due
to His Majesty's Representative.

That the acts of the Governor-in-Chief, of which
the People of this Province still have to complain,
were, for the most part, enumerated in the aforesaid
Petition to your Honourable House ; that since that
time, the vindictive and bitter feelings, together with
the arbitrary and unbecoming conduct which His
Excellency has displayed towards the People of this
Province, have created an universal feeling of discon-
tent towards His Excellency's Administration.

That among the just subjects of complaint against
the present Administration of this Province, the sys-
tem which is exhibited in the distribution of offices
necessarily holds a conspicuous place ; that the chief
recommendation to office continues to be a display of
marked and bitter animosity towards the majority of
the People of this Province ; that it is seldom meii of
French Canadian origin find their way into office
under any circumstances, but when they are ap-
pointed, it is not until they have alienated themselves
from the sympathies of the People, and allied them-
selves with the factious minority opposed to the
wishes and interests of the country ; and that even

the sacred character of justice has been recently
polluted in its source, by the appointing to the high
office of Judge of the King's Bench, for the District
of Montreal, a man who was a violent and decided
partisan of the Administration of the Earl of Dal-
housie, and the declared enemy of the laws which he
is sworn to administer ; and also by the appointment
of a great number of Commissioners, for the trial of
small causes in different parts of the country, inten-
tionally selected, on the eve of a General Election,
from among the notorious partisans of the present
Administration.

That another cause of complaint which has arisen
since the aforesaid Petition of the Commons of
Lower Canada, to your Honourable House, is the
culpable indifference betrayed by the Governor-in-
Chief on the subject of the frightful ravages com-
mitted by the Asiatic Cholera during the last summer.
That a few days after the existence of the dreadful
scourge in the City of Montreal was ascertained, the
Corporation of the said City, in accordance with its
strict line of duty, passed a series of Resolutions au-
thorizing an application to the Governor-in-Chief for
an extension of the Quarantine Regulations to the
Port of Montreal ; and for an aid for the purpose of
forwarding the destitute Emigrants to their destina-
tion ; that the answer of the Governor was more than
a bare refusal — it w^as marked by coldness and insult ;
that your Petitioners are firmly of opinion that the
virulence which the disease subsequently assumed in
the said City of Montreal, would have been consider-

.^isijaiiriidiili

ably mitigiited, luul the Head of tlie Administration
complied with the prayer of the Corporation ; and
that the People of the Country generally, and more
especially the surviving relatives of the one thousand
three hundred victims who died in Montreal, and of
the thousands in the Province who have fallen victims
to the disease, look upon the conduct of His Excel-
lency as one of the principal causes of their suffering
and bereavement.

That since the aforesaid Petition of the Commons
of Lower Canada, your Honourable House, in whose
deliberations, be it remembered, the people of this
Province have no voice, have sanctioned the sale of
lands belonging to this Province, to several indivi-
duals using the title of the " British North American
Land Company," and thereby have taxed this Colony
contrary to the most important and indisputable of
the birth-rights of British subjects, which were more
particularly acknowledged and confirmed to Colonies
with local Legislatures by the faith and honour of the
British Parliament, pledged by the Declaratory Act of
1778, the violation of which principle recognized in
said Act led to the rightful and successful resistance
of the former British Colonies, and to the dismember-
ment of the British Empire. That your Petitioners,
viewing with alarm such an encroachment upon their
political privileges, would fain believe that it has
been made without considering their Constitutional
Rights and the provisions of the said Declaratory
Act ; that your Petitioners, nevertheless, solemnly
protest against this violation of the most sacred rights

of the People of Lower Canada, and pray for the im-
mediate repeal of the Act passed in favour of the said
Land Company. That your Petitioners have reason
to believe that the said tax is now being paid into the
Colonial Chest of this Province, for the disposal of
the Executive, without the sanction and in defiance
of the expressed will of the Commons of Lower
Canada ; that your Petitioners anticipate with fear,
as a consequence thereof, a frightful increase of cor-
ruption in this Province ; that in addition to the fears
generated by this unconstitutional taxation, and the
equally unconstitutional application of the said tax,
your Petitioners foresee, as arising out of the peculiar
powers conferred on the Company in question, the
destruction of the political independence of the people,
who may unfortunately become subject to its control,
and who will be rendered basely subservient to the
said Company, t , m i ;s

<' That the continued dilapidations of the Revenues
of the Province, in direct violation of the Constitution,
are another source of alarm to His Majesty's Cana-
dian subjects ; that after the abandonment of the late
Colonial Secretary's project to seize upon the said
Revenues by suspending an Act which did no more
than confirm to the Commons of Lower Canada a
right previously recognized, without conferring any
new privileges. His Majesty's Canadian subjects did
not expect to be so soon called upon to resist similar
unconstituti nal encroachments and dilapidations ; yet
very recently the indisputable privileges of the As-
sembly have been again violated by the payment of

the Public Servants without the sanction or cogni-
zance of tlie only body authorized to give such
sanction.

That the People of the old Colonies, now the
United States of North America, however much they
were aggrieved by attempts at unconstitutional tax-
ation, had much less to complain of, on the score of
Executive usurpation, than the People of this Pro-
vince ; and the Assembly having repeatedly declared
its fixed determination not to sanction that which it
must ever consider a tyrannical violation of its rights,
and which the People of this Province regard as a vir-
tual dissolution of the Constitution, your Petitioners
cannot answer for the consequences.

That, under these circumstances, your Petitioners
claim for His Majesty's Canadian subjects the pro-
tection of your Honourable House against these and
similar acts of pillage. That your Honourable House
may and ought at once to ascertain, in order to bring
to just punishment, those who authorised so criminal
an assumption of power.

. That, inasnmch as no Session of the Provincial
Parliament has intervened since the date of the afore-
said Petition of the Commons of this Province to
your Honourable House, your Petitioners abstain
from alluding at any length to the insuperable differ-
ences and the ever widening breach between the
House of Assembly and the Legislative Council of
this Province — differences springing out of the very
constitution of the latter body : nevertheless, your
Petitioners cannot avoid reminding your Honourable

House that the aforesaid Petition contained a prayer
that the Legislative Council, as at present constituted,
be abolished, and that the People of this Province be
empowered to elect the second branch of the Legis-
lature in future, as the only means of producing that
harmony, without which internal peace and good
government cannot exist. <t*ri :

That as an evidence that the people at large fully
participate in the opinions of the majority of the
House of Assembly, your Petitioners take leave to
refer your Honourable House to the result of the
recent Elections in the said Province of Lower
Canada, which avowedly turned upon the approval or
the disapproval of the Elective principle, and which
result is almost unanimously in favour of the s.iid
principle. ,. ., , .^. ..,.,>.

^aSSif^ttCtOXtf your Petitioners, expressing the
sentiments of the majority of the inhabitants of
Lower Canada, pray your Honourable House to com-
ply with the prayer of the aforesaid Petition of the
Commons of Lower Canada, dated on the first of
March last, and also with that of the present Petition,
by removing the abuses and grievances set forth
therein, so that full justice be rendered io the House
of Assembly and to the People whom it represents,
and your Petitioners will ever pray.

\i-rmA f

Lower Canada, December, 1834.

(Signed,)

L. J. Papineau,
P. D. Debar tzvh.

P. Le TovTueo-, <>'>

L. G. Dp Tonnancour,

./. B. Meilleur,
Amable Dionne,
P. E. Taschereau,
J. B. Fortin,
L. M. Viger,
J. Bouffard,
A. C. Taschereau,
J. B. Beaudoiny
L. T. Besserer,
Ed. Barnard,
X. Malhiot,
Pierre Amiot,
J. Deligny,
Alexis Mousseun,
V. Guillet,
R. J. Kimber,
Al. Trudel,
Pierre Bureau,

D. B. Viger,
P. A. Dor ion.

E. Bedard,
H. S. Huot,
X. Tessier,
J. Blanchet,

P. C. Marquis,
J. Dessaules,
J. Leslie,
L. H. Lafontaine,
Jarou Dewitt,
J. M. Raymond,

L. R. Blanchard,

A. N. Morin,

Jos. Roy,

Robt. Nelson,

C. S. Cherrier,

J. Picket,

C. Ov. Perrault,

E. B. G'Callaghan,

Sab. De Bleury,

J. B. Tasch^,

J. B. ProuljT,

Ed. Toomey,

J. Dorion,

J. Bouthillier,

J. T. Drolet,

E. E. Rodier,

C. Courteau,

C. La Rocque,

Ls. Bourdages,

J. J. Girouard,

W. H. Scott,

S. Bouc,

J. M. Rochon,

L. Lacoste,

J. N. Cardinal,

C. Archambeault,

C. H. O. Cote,

M. Hotchkiss,

Marcus Child,

F. X. Larue.

EXPLANATORY REMARKS

ON THB

FOREGOING PETITION.

The object of the foregoing Petition is to call the
attention of the House of Commons to the present
unhappy condition of Lower Canada, the result of
the vicious system of Government which at present
exists, and has so long existed in that Colony.

During the last Session of the Imperial Parliament,
the People of Canada ventured to lay their case be-
fore the several branches of the Legislature by Peti-
tion, dated 1st March; but although they have reason
to believe a very clear case of the grievances under
which they have so long suffered was made out before
the Committee then appointed, no measure of relief
had been extended to the Colony up to the close of
the Session and the subsequent dismissal of the late
Administration; on the contrary, new evils had arisen
alarming to the People of the Colony, and which will
be presently more particularly noticed. Under these
circumstances, the foregoing Petition was prepared;
it is signed by such of the Members as could be
reached in the depth of a severe winter, before the
ice had become stationary in the rivers. The signa-
tures are sixty in number out of eighty-five Members
returned to serve in the House of Assembly of the

Province.

> ? :

^M'W'l

r> •

The object of the remurks which follow, is to sup-
port the prayer of the Petition by eniinierating and
exphiining some of the principal grievances of which
the People of Canada now demand redress.

The first grievance of which the People of Canada
complain — a grievance which, in point of mischievous-
ness, ])y far exceeds all others, Avhich in fact is the
parent of a host of complicated evils and abuses —
is the vicious constitution of Legislative Councils.
Theoretically, that body is said to be chosen by the
Crown, (31 Geo. 3, c. 31, sec. 3,) but practically it
is self-elected. A very few words will explain this.

At the period of the American revolution, many
of the Colonial families, who had, by their oppressive
conduct while possessed of power in the old Colonies,
rendered themselves obnoxious to their fellow citi-
zens, found the arms of the Military Government of
the then newly acquired Colony of Canada open to
receive them. As a reward for the great losses which
they represented themselves to have sustained, in conse-
quence of their adhesion to the Government side in the
struggle which they themselves had been mainly instru-
mental in generating, most of the offices which were
created or fell vacant in the Colony were bestowed
upon them, so that gradually they became a petty-
local aristocracy, filling up all the administrative and
judicial offices. In this state was Canada (then called
the Province of Quebec) found when the constitu-
tional Act, commonly called the Quebec Act, (31
Geo. 3, c. 31,) came into operation. . .

This Act provided, among other things, that Ca-

nada should have a Local Legislature, consisting of
two branches; an Assembly to be elected by the
People, and a Legislative Council to be chosen by
the Crown : besides the Legislative Council, the old
Council was recognized (sec. 34) as an Executive
Council, which was, and is presumed to be, a type of
the Privy Council of Great Britain.

The two Councils were chosen exclusively out of
the great office-holding class just described — a class
necessarily endowed with interests and sympathies
distinct from those of the great mass of the Peo})le.
The consequence of this opposition of interests has
been, that agreement never has existed, and never
can exist between the two branches of the Legisla-
ture. A short description of the manner in which
these bodies renew themselves will justify the state-
ment which has been made, that practically tliey are
self-elected. , . • .

One of the duties of the Executive Council is to
advise the Governor. The Governor, on his first ar-
rival, is presumed to be ignorant of the condition of
the Colony. The Executive Council is his board of
instructors. When an office becomes vacant, the
Governor applies to his ** Privy Council ;" their own
class is naturally represented as containing the only
persons eligible or qualified to fill the office. From
this mode of filling up all offices, the two Councils,
the judiciary, and the office-holders, have become
identical, not merely in point of interest, but in point
of fact. The Executive Council, for instance, con-
sists of eight members : two are Legislative Coun-
cillors ali«o; and all are lucrative place-holders, with

the exception of two, uiitl of these two, one enjoys
the distinction of independence, only in consequence
of having been dismissed from the office he did hold
for malversation thereof *. .

Abuses of the Legislative Council.

The Legislative Council consists of thirty-five
Members, a large proportion of whom hold lucrative
offices, whilst others have paid themselves for the
trouble of governing ill by procuring large grants of
land ; three of the Judges, of whom one is Chief
Justice and Speaker, the Bishop, the Sheriff of Mon-
treal, and other office-holders, have seats for life in
the Legislative Council ; two of the Legislative
Councillors are Executive Councillors also ; and to
complete the community of interest between the two
bodies, the Honourable Members of one Council think
it no degradation to become the servants and receive
the wages ol the other f. Now it is this vicious
constitution of the Councils which has, in practice,
produced the disastrous results of which the People of
Canada have complained, (Petitions of ist March y
1834,) and it is a conviction that no partial remedy can
be applied, which dictated the prayer "that the Legis-
lative Council as at present constituted be abolished^
and that the People of this Province be empowered
to elect the second branch of the Legislature in

* Montreal Almanac for 1834. See also Parliamentary Paper,
24th March, 1834, No. 149, (Mr. Hume mover).

t The Honourable W. Smith and C. de Lery, are Executive
Councillors and Clerks of the Legislative Council; the Honourable
H. W. Ryland, a Lepslative Councillor, is Clerk to the Execu-
tive Council.

future as the only means of producing that harmony,
without which internal peace and good government
cannot exist." (Petition, ante page 10.) The several
grievances '"hich have sprung out of the vicious
constitution of the second branch of the Legislature
are inconceivably numerous. A few examples may be
here stated : —

I. The Laws which are conceived by the People
to be necessary for their common welfare are re-
jected by the Council. (Petition of 1827.) Such was
the language of complaint in 1827: that the evil is
not only unmitigated, but considerably augmented,
let the following statement shew; that it will remain
so, while the present Council lasts, is the firm im-
pression of the Pec ole of Canada.

STATEMENT of the Number of Bills, which, having originated
in the House of Assembly, were either rejected by the Legis-
lative Council, or amended so as to procure their final rejection
by the Assembly ; exhibiting the obstructive character of the
said Council.

Year.

Rejected
by the Council.

Amended
by the Council,

Total.

1822

1823

1824

1825

' 1826

1827

No Session.

1828 \

1829 1

. M-^,

1830

le;

«4

1831

^ '%%" \

- m

18.S2
Total .

122

169*

Parliamentary Paper, 24th March, 1834, No, 149, moved for by Mr. Hume.

Ot* the Laws tliua rejected, some were deemed by
tlie People of vital importance, and were of provisions
60 wise and salutary, that it would be difficult to com-
prehend in what respect they displeased the official
party. The subject matter of a few will be suffi.^
cieut to illustrate this observation : —

1. An Act to regulate the office of Receiverf-
general. (The People had already been robbed by
one Receiver-general, Sir J. Caldwell, and desired
security for, the future.) ^. « . rt.,,,.. »» ...?♦ ...i r ,.♦...;

2. Acts, without number, for the Extension of
hducation.

3. An Act for taking a Census of the Population, i

4. An Act for establishing Jjocal Courts. ,jj,^|,^ ^j.;.

5. An Act for the Relief of destitute Emigrants.
(Afterwards obsequiously passed by order of the

Colomal office!) ,; .m.^/. to ■• u^.ii -.dr ni

: 6. Prisoners' Council Bill. '''-'": •' " ' ' ' '^^ ■''

7. Acts for re -printing the Provincial Laws in force.

8. An Act to incapacitate the Judges from sitting
and voting in the Legislative and Executive Coun-
cils, and to secure the independence of the Judges. *

9. An Act for building County Court-houses and
Gaols., f t ^. ''^ ^

10. An Act for vacating the seats of the Members
of the Assembly accepting offices of profit, or be-
coming accountable for public money. , :.si I

IL Numerous Dissenters' Relief Bills. ■^!'}^\ \

12. An Act to erect a Marine Hospital. ^

13. Apts for incorporating the Cities of Quebec
and Montreal. (Frequently rejected ; but afterwards

passed by breakmsj down tlie powers of the CoqK)-
ration to those of mere street-sweepers.) ^*"'^ ui^ri!"

14. Acts for establishing an Agent of the Pro-
vince in London; • -I

15. A Bill for preventing tlie appearance of armed
troops during Elections, &c. &c. &c. ' v** '^"'" ■' *'•

The above list, taken [ilmost at random out of
upwards of 160, will fully shew the obstructive cha-
racter of the Council, the justice of the People's
complaints, and the utter uselessness of any remedy
short of abolishing the Council or permitting the
People to elect it."'" ^^^ i"* ' '

II. Another grievance, complained of as arising
out of the composition of the Council, is the fostering
of national animosities and distinctions to which their
exclusive dealing gives rise. In an address to His
Majesty, dated the 1st of April, 1833, the Legislative
Council pretended to be specially appointed to pro-
tect one class and not the whole body of the People.
In the wording of this address, such was the inde-
cent language made use of, that the Secretary for the
Colonies felt himself called upon to express " his
regret that any word had been introduced which
should have the appearance of ascribing to a class of
His Majesty's subjects, of one origin, views at vari-^*
ance with the allegiance which they owe to His
Majesty." One of the many modes in which this ex-
clusive feeling shews itself is by the influence the
Council exercises in appointments to office ; sons and
cousins of the ruling families, without number, iare

recommended and received ; and the Petition com-

. . B 2

•20

plains " that it is seldom persons of French Canadian
origin find their way into office under any circum-
stances ; and when they are appointed, it is not until
the^ have alienated themselves from the sympathies
of the People, and have allied themselves to the fac-
tious minority opposed to the wishes and interests of
the Country." ^ k . n • » t.f < / • i'''

'' ' Abuses of the Judiciary. '

The grievances connected with the administration
of justice are severely felt, and have been repeatedly
complained of by the People of Canada. > i

L The Judges are appointed to hold office, not
during good behaviour, but during the pleasure of the
Crown, which practically means, during the pleasure of
the official party to which they belong. No means of
impeachment, in case of bad conduct, exists, and all
attempts to render them independent of the Crown,
and amenable, in case of ill conduct, to some tribunal
have been rejected, as we have seen (page 18) by
the Legislative Council, of which some of them are
members. One case, some time since, may be men-
tioned here : one of the Judges (Fletcher) was
accused of conduct in the partial administration of
justice, (which is injustice,) which should, if proved,
have incapacitated him from office; inquiry was
however quashed by the Executive, and he was
merely removed from the district of St. Francis to
that of Gasp^. The People of St. Francis were thus
quieted by the infliction of injustice upon the People
of Gaspe.

I. n

' II. The Judges are selected out of the official class
or their partisans, and not from among those mem-
bers of the Bar in whom the People have confidence.
The foregoing Petition complains (.page 6) " that
even the sacred character of justice has recently been
polluted in its source, by the appointing to the high
office of Judge of the King's Bench, for the District
of Montreal, a man who was a violent and decided
partisan of the Administration of the Earl of Dal-
housie, and the declared enemy of the laws he is
sworn to administer.** The person thus alluded to is
Mr. Samuel Gale, who came to England in 1827, for
the purpose of supporting and defending the noto-
riously-oppressive and obnoxious Administration of
Lord Dalhousie. He gave evidence before the Com-
mittee which sat in 1828 — evidence which was
marked by bitter animosity towards the People of
Canada, and towards the laws which he is now
called upon to enforce. {See Report of 1828, Evi-
dence of S. Gale,) Is such a man fit to be a Judge ?
Can the strong language in which the Petitioners clothe
their complaints excite surprise ? Of the eleven Judges
three only are of French Canadian origin ; several
of them were educated in the mother country, and
consequently could not be presumed to be well ac-
quainted with the Civil Law ; and several, including
the above-named Mr. Gale, are of the old Colonial
stock, who were the principal cause of the loss of the
colonies to which they belonged.
* III. The appointment of the Commissioners for the
trial of small causes is conducted on the same plan
(Petition, page 6). The Mne^istracy i? essentially

partisan in its chunieter ; anil the nierti issuing ol
a warrant to apprelieiid the officer who lin^tl upon the
People on the 2 1st May, 1832, as a necessary step
towards a Judicial incpiiry, produced tlie immediate
dismissal of the Magistrate who merely did his duty
by signing the same. .^.^^,^,.. ^^^ ^^^ ,,,^y^,,,,j

^, • IV. The powers of the Legislature are usurped by
the Judges of the Court of King's Bench, and by the
Executive Council, in the levying of exorbitant fees
upon the Administration of Justice (Petition of' \st
^larch^ 1834), whereby injustice is perpetuated.

V. The Judges are illegally called upon to give
their opinions secretly, on questions which may be
publicly argued before them {Petition of \st March,

lo04). , ■ . I ^w- -» : «

VI. The Sheriffs are all creatures of the Executive
Government ; and one, the Sheriff of Montreal* sits
in the Legislative Council. The Sheriff" of Quebec is
sou of the Chief Justice of the Province, who is also
Speaker of the Legislative Council. It is notorious
that when the Crown is a party Juries are shame-
lessly packed. The Jury law provides that the Sheriff"
shall prick for Juries out of lists of the several Pa-
rishes included within a certain arrondissement. Yet
the Jury empannelled to try the authors of the
Massacre of the 21st May, was pricked from the
single Parish of Lachine, inhabited almost exclu-
sively by partisans of the Administration. So fla-
grant is this practice, that the Grand Jury of the
Court of King's Bench for the last September term
actually presented the improper method of summon-
ing Juries, as demanding the cognizance of the Court,

iiU(], through their i*ecomrnen(Ijition, of the* Provinciui
Legislature. Futile preseiitnieut ! how is it possible
to expect redress where all is partisanship and irre-
sponsibility ? . .

Such are some of the grievances- doiAected with
the Administration of Justice in Lower Canada. It
will be easily seen that they t»re the result of the pre-
sent Colonial system, and that they admit of remedy
when once the several branches of the Legislature
are brought to agree, by rendering the Council re-
sponsible to the People by means of the principle of

. \> .. 1 ' ' f

; , i.-.'-m ' J

Election. ^'^ *

ai 'V;'iw

Abuses of the Executive.

» ;■}!

1 hn\

The vicious system of administration which has
so long prevailed, and is still fostered in the Colony,
is the parent of a host of evils of the most grievous
and oppressive character. ;.>,.. li * s,t.i •>,);

I. When the head is unsound it is not likely that the
several members will be healthy. The People attri-
bute many of the abuses which they suffer to the
fact that military men are sent to rule over them :
they would therefore hail the appointment of a Civil
Governor as a prelude to a better state of things. It
is, unhappily, seldom that Governors are appointed
for any knowledge they maj be presumed to possess •
of the business they are about to undertake; some-
times they are appointed because they have a relation .
a Minister ; at others, because they have gained credit i
in the field; occasionally, their good fortune may
be tmced to a less honourable origin.. Unfortunately
for the People of Canada, the emoluments, of the :

office are sufficiently large to offer a tempting bait to
the connections of the English aristocra/^y, and the
happiness of the People is held as nought. The
country is unscrupulously Jinded over to the tender
mercies of an ignorant soldier.

The education of military men renders them posi-
tively incapable of governing a free people, A mili-
tary nobleman may g out with the best intentions ;
yet, as forbearance is not a military virtue, on the
first slight he receives, the most bitter animosity is
created in his breast against the People, or those who
are considered to speak their voice. The People of
Canada are of opinion that a Civil Governor would
not be so likely to give way to such petulance; in
this opinion they may be wrong, though their expe-
rience favours the supposition that they are right.
With talents certainly not rising above mediocrity,
the late Sir Francis Burton was popular; his man-
ners were bland ; he was accessible to all ranks ; and
above all, he recognized the constitutional attributes
of the Assembly, which last disposition the People
of Canada believe to reside in the breasts of most
Englishmen educated in civil life ; hence they de-
mand a Civil Governor, with powers to conciliate.

II. The most conspicuous grievance springing out
of a bad administration, intimately linked, as hath
been shewn, with those who hold the Judicial and
a portion of the Legislative powers, is the con-»
tinned dilapidations of the revenues of the Province. .
(Petitiony page 8.) The Petitions presented to the
House in 1827, complained of the application of
money without the consent of the Legislature. The

Petition of 1st March, 1834, states the evil to be un-
redressed (64th and 70th Resolutv ns), and recently
the abuse has been carried to an extent to place the
liberties of the People in the most imminent danger.
A few words will explain this ; —
,^,/rhe Declaratory Act of 18 Geo. 3, (1778,) gua-
ranteed to all the Colonial Assemblies the full control
of the proceeds of all taxes raised within their respec-
tive Provinces ; this guarantee was confirmed by an Act
of the 1st and 2a of the present reign. Tlie Assembly
of Lower Canada, exercising the constitutional power
thus confirmed to them, are in the habit of enforcing
strict economy in their annual Supply Bills. Now, as
the Council and the families of its Members receive
most of the salaries, of course that body has always
resisted the Assembly's good intentions. To provide
against this wholesome control a remedy, which should
be in strict accordance with the views of the salary-re-
ceiving class, Mr. (now Lord) Stanley (when Colonial
Minister) proposed to procure the repeal of the last-
named Act, intending probably to violate that of 1778.
When Mr. Stanley went out of office, the motion for
the repeal in question was not pressed ; subsequently,
during Mr. Rice's continuance in office, both Acts
were violated, the money-vote of the Assembly was
dispensed with, and it is believed about £30,000 was,
in December last, seized by Lord Aylmer, and distri-
buted among the officials {Petition^ page 9). Thus
are the rights of the People and their Representatives
trampled upon by an irresponsible Governor and
Council. Englishmen acquainted with and respect-
ing the constitutional functions of the House of Com-

iiioiis, will fephapshave'diiHcuity ill believing Hiis atro^
eious usurpation of power ; a question to the Colonial
Minister, or to his predecessor, will set the matter at
rest.'**^> t««'-'5JMt' ■ Hlqr^Ovi atlJ lo %o

If it be thought that some of the officials suffer
hardship, it should be remembered that the As-
sembly are contending for n principle ; that they
have ever shewn liberality in the appropriation of
monies ; and are now ready to vote the salaries, pro-
vided that principle is recognized. Take as an
example the case of the Judges. They now hold
their offices during pleasure. The Assembly passed
a Bill ; granting them permanent salaries with the
condition that they should hold office during good
behaviour. The Council rejected the Bill; at the
Council's door, therefore, must their distresses be laid.

III. The granting of large masses of the Public

Lands to Legislative Council' ors and their families is

another grievous evil (7th clause of Resolution 84) .

Take the following specimens : — i K' v-''^*'^

. . ■ , '^^^^■^*''

William B. Felton, Esq. . .^ . , !a ^a*

Children of Ditto : — / . ,

■ William Locker Felton .*= ?!* "'f r^^f }^^ji£^

Ehza
' Charlotte
, Fanny
- i Maria
, Matilda

Louisa

ACRES.

»y«.jv,

Octj:

iivia

14,141

nil aiiiiu'i H M.'iili .i M - :j 200

:ii.^^tii,|^iiii.^ii#^.. ; 1,200

... . .]^»:Ju^<Uino 1,200

..... ; *(}>>f:jf^i 1,200

. .♦,/.;i , . . 1,200

23,541*

* Sessional paper, 24th March,l^34, 149, moved for ])y Mr. Hnme.

M ^>- r J

Vlatthtnv Bell, Esq., ^yater-lots, containing 11,900
, t> f »f ditto .., ^ . ,; 3,125

oik; i>»«l(|, VAil|. ihid ^i ,.„ jiiU ^ ^/J'jir) ill , U'lj-

^^; ' • - '' ' 28,140 /r»d

The said Water-lots being in a situation wJiere

gome sold at 5s. and even more per foot : thus, these

feetoi laud are more valuable than acres elsewhere.

ly. The accumulation of dficers in the same per^-

spns and families gives another frightful picture of

the system pursued in the Colony. { Petition of Mavah^

1 . Jonathan Sewell, Chief Justice 7 ,^'r'A^ j \ ,500 sterling.
Jm^alltHiO^(^^ :i ' Speaker . ^^^■^<^p^. 900 ,i.\{\vs
^v K r f r »> for Circuits &^v i .t. 50

2. William Smith Sewell, son of No. 1,1

Sheriff of Quebec .. . . .]

3. E. Sewell, son of No. 1, Missionary!

and Chaplain to the Bishop . . j

4. John Sewell, son of No. 1, Usher of|

Black ^od . . '. . . . j

Post Master of Quebec

5. Robert Sewell*, son of No. 1, Readingl

Clerk to the Legislative Council . )

6. Montague Sewell, son of No. 1, extral

Writing Clerk of Council . . . j

, '..v. The high salaries of public functionaries fre-
quently for very trifling service are another abuse
complained of. The public officer receives frequently
three, four, six, and even ten times as much as the

* Since dead.
' t The same state of things prevails in Upper Canada, where
the Bolton family usurps about six or eight places. Nova Scotia
has its Cochranes.

1,500 to 2,000
200 or more.

180 about. ^

300
200

•«

:5, i

ordinary and average run of incomes derived from
professions and from commerce ; and although they
may not seem large to those who compare them with
the incomes of Great Britain, still they place the
servants of the public at a dangerous eminence-
above the rest of society.

VI. The misappropriation of the funds of the
Jesuits* estates, and the refusal of the Executive to
render any account to the Assembly, has been com-
plained of in every Petition from Canada, and still
remains unredressed. The Jesuits held considerable
estates in Canada, and occupied a very extensive
College in Quebec, where they afforded a very good
education on easy terms. The School has been turned
into a Barrack ! and the estates squandered among
the officials. In 1800, the Assembly asked for cer-
tain papers connected with these estates; the Governor
refused them, and told them he should consider them
wanting in respect to the King*, if they renewed
their demands. "The House has certainly been
wanting in respect (says a Canadian author, writing
of his country,) on several occasions since that
period, if renewing its demands in the most sub-
missive and respectful terms deserves so to be con-
sidered." The people of Canada consider the rents
and immunities of these estates diverted from their
lawful application, and under any circumstances they
look upon the violation of the rights of the Legis-
lature as an executive usurpation.

* It is a favourite Colonial theory, that the dignity of the Crown
is damaged by any attempt to abridge the profits of the officials.

i
.a

./,

VII. The defalcation of the late Receiver- General,
Mr. (now Sir John) Caldwell, is a most atrocious
case. His chest had been long suspected to be defi-
cient ; but the then Governor resisted the demand of
the Assembly for investigation, on the ground that
the Receiver-general was the officer of the Imperial
Government, and not of the Colonial Assembly.
Subsequently the chest had not money enough to
honour.a Warrant ; and a disclosure, so long resisted,
became unavoidable. The plea of the Governor was
now taken up by the Assembly. " If he be the
servant of the Imperial Government, they must
answer for his misdeeds, and must restore us the
money he has robbed us of;'* but no. Sir John
Caldwell is still protected : he is one of the brightest
ornaments of the Castle of St. Louis, is a Legislative
Councillor, and is instinctively strenuous in procuring
the rejection by the Council of a Bill for the security
of Money in the hands of the Receiver-general."
As a reward for this loyal conduct, as it is styled in
the Colony, he enjoys the immense estates which were
formerly his, at a rental '^^ £2,000 a year, though
they are supposed to be worth three or four times as
much. Sir John is supposed to have grown rich
since his " misfortune," as it is called by his class.
No wonder Sir John gives capital dinners*.

VIII. The people complain generally of the refusal
of the Executive to submit accounts and papers to the
inspection of the House, though repeatedly demanded,

leaves upwarcis of

* A balance
600,000 dollars against the lat

struck in February, 183

Receiver-General

(67/A Resolntmi), eH\)eciii\\y those connected with
expenditure. ; '. r, c* r»it>«vihi»^^ \ii*i«y«. 'ii-r^ ♦.'.».* .t-a
IX. Also of the refusal of subordinate public
functionarieg to appear before them (67th Resoliction).
The grounds of refusal in both cases are the same as
those assigned by Lopd Dalfaousie, in the case of the
Receiver-genieral Ckldwell. They are officers of the
Crown, and not subject to the will of the- Assembly.
Th«' enormity of this pleaniay be conceived, by sup-
posing a similar refusal to acknowledge the authority
of the British Parliament on the part of a public officer.
It would and ought to be met with instant dismissal*

:>iX.; Want of control over the Post-Office de-
p«ii*tment is another source of evil, and conse-
quently of discontent. A Bill introduced by Lord
Stanley, in the early part of last Session, gave
up the surplus revenue to the Colonial Legislatures.
Still they have no control over the department ; and
the' Postmaster-general of the Colony, and his depu-
ties imitating him, refuse to answer the questions of
the Assembly, on the plea set up in other cases. The
postage on newspapers, in some cases 45 per cent,
on, the cost, is an arbitrary tax levied by the Deputy
Postmaster-general for his own especial use. Its
amount must be enormous, as there are about 50
Newspapers published in Canada alone.

XI. The wanton massacre of the People during
an election on the 21st May, 1832, is still under
investigation by the House of Assembly. Previous
to this event the People of Canada considered the
Agents of the British Government merely ignorant,

«>/i.

imeskW

iirbitiaiy, and tyruiiuicul ; they now regai'd them
and their party as bloodthirsty and cruel. The
partisan character of the Magistracy, mentioned,
at page 20, has recently been put beyond a doubt.
In 1832, the People fired upon were those who
huzzaed for the popular side. The mob was small,
and it was during the day. In 1834, a mob of
1,200 (some say 1,500) paraded the streets with
impunity; but then they huzzaed for "the right
side." They beat those who were obnoxious, to
to them, put the night-watch to the rout, broke thc'^
windows of the leading People on the popular side-
in short, had possession of the town. A Magistrate,
when asked what they intended to do, said, " What •
can we do? — they are respectable People." .

XII. The continuance of the present Governdi*,'
Lord Aylmer, in office (Petition, page 4) after he
had rendered himself obnoxious to the People is
the last grievance which will be noticed under
tlus head. Even were it the opinion of the Secretary
of the Colonies, that no one single act of Lord Ayl-
mer's is sufficient to warrant his dismissal, the detest*-
ation in which his Lordship's Government is held by »
the People should be enough to cause his removal.
That this detestation is not without foundation, let :
the following complaints extracted from<the Petitions :
of 1834 and 1835. show:— .,^ .: . . . ■.. .;.t

, The House ,complains,^-r . "

. 1st. Of the seizure of the Provincial Funds by the .
Governor, witliout the sanction of the -Assembly . >
{Petition, page S.) .....■>

2. Of his refusal to communicate the information
asked for on various occasions by the House. {Reso-
lution 84, clause 15.)

3. Of his refusal to advance monies for sanitary
purposes during a time of pestilence, though on a
former occasion cheerfully indemnified by the Assem-
bly ; and of his having answered the request of the
municipal authorities, though couched in respectful
terms, in a tone of insult. {Petition, page 6.)

4. Of his zealous perpetuation of all the abuses of
previous administrations. (84 th Resolution.)

5. Of his having thanked the officers who com-
manded the troops on the 21st May, 1832, when the
citizens were shot dead at an election.

6. Of the withholding despatches, or communi-
cating them to the House in a mutilated state. (84th
Resolution, clause 11.)

7. Of withholding the Royal Assent from neces-
sary Bills.

8. Of having refused to sign a writ for the election
of a representative to fill a vacancy which happened
in the Assembly, and having thus disfranchised a part
of the population of the Province. {Resolution 85.)

9. Of having refused the prayer of the Assembly
to oflFer a reward for the discovery of an unknown
soldier who stabbed a man during a disturbance
on the race-course. (Report of a Committee of the
Assembly, 1834.) — As if in derision of the People,
a reward of £100 was immediately afterwards
offered for the discovery of the supposed incendiary
of a barn !

Such are among the grave objections against Lord
Ayhner; added to which, his tone and bearing
towards the people is such as to oppose an impene-
trable barrier against all communication between the
governor and the governed. . <./ m-iif

Abuses of the interferei^ce of the ; ,.
Imperial Parliament.

In addition to the numerous evils incidental to the
general system of irresponsibility just described, the
People of Canada protest against the legislative
interference of the Imperial Government in matters
relating entirely to the internal concerns of the
Colony. Within the last few years three cases of
such legislative interference have occurred of a
character to create almost universal discontent in
the Colony. Taking the most recent case first : — ,

I. The Act of last Session of, the Imperial Legis-
lature, granting a charter to a company of speculators
styled the " British American Land Company," is
objected to, as a violation of the Articles of Capitula-
tion and of the Declaratory Act of 1778, and as a
measure in itself repugnant to the institutions of the
country, and odious to the people thereof. i>ii,t ir.

Throughout North America the public lands afford

a ready means of raising wherewith to supply the

exigencies of the Government without inflicting

any, the slightest burthen upon the people. In the

United States not only are a large portion of the

expenses of the States' Governments paid by land

sales ; but a fund is created for education by annual

Sales of a portion of the public lands set apart for

that purpose. 3y this species of indirect taxation
direct taxation, and also indirect taxation of a more
obvious kind, are avoided. The obnoxious Act robs
the people of Canada of this resource, and compels
them to find other modes of supplying the public
exigencies. But this is not all : even the moderate
price agreed to be paid by the Company is unlawfully
disposed of.

The first instalment has been received and paid
into the military chest, which is always understood
to be under the control of the Metropolitan Govern-
ment, instead of being paid into the civil chest, and
placed at the disposal of the Legislature. Thus in
two ways is the Act of 18 Geo. 3 violated ; firsts
by taxation against the statute ; and, secondy by
placing the proceeds of the tax out of the reach of
the Local Legislature. .^ . s,.i^

The animosity of the Assembly and of the People
to this Act is therefore just, and not, as those in-
terested in the Company declare, '* factious" and
" seditious." As a fair picture of the feeling towards
this Act, take the following paragraph, extracted
from a Montreal newspaper, edited by a member
of the House of Assembly, and considered as the
representative of the opinions of the liberal portion
of the British population : — ' "

" As this is the season that old country people
generally write to their friends and relations, and
invite them to emigrate to this country, it is well that
they should put them on their guard against pur-
chasing any of the public lands from the Land Com-
pany established in this Province, as it is most

probable that the House of Assembly will declare
the Company's title to those lands null; and the
earliest opportunity will no doubt be taken to con-
fiscate the lands in whose possession soever they may
he found. Emigrants ought, therefore, to be warned
against the certain risk they run in purchasing pro-
perty, the title of which is so uncertain and so liable
to be disturbed.

** We hope the above warning will not be thrown
away. It will spare much trouble and discontent
nereaiter. iryM'.n .-u 4y, ; r>

Now, the above is not a mere idle threat of a
newspaper. It is a just picture of the popular
feeling. No jus occupationis will hereafter be
recognized. No circumstances of alienation or time
elapsed will prevent the Province resuming the lands
whenever they may gain the power of so doing, j. ;{j
It was said that the Bill was smuggled through
the House through the agency of an honourable
member who has a direct interest in the speculation.
The people of Canada regard not the manner of its
passage; they object to the Act itself, and to its
, principles, and they pray its immediate repeal. ;^.; ^
);^i II. Another Act passed by the British Parlia-
ment, and obnoxious to the People in the highest
degree, is the Canada Tenures Act, (6 Geo. 4).
The alarm created by this Act was one of the great
exciting causes of the Petitions of 1827. ,i,^
-is.This nefarious Act, for such it must be called,
disturbed rights which had been in existence upwards
of forty years — minors' rights, the rights of dowered
women, sheriffs' titles, hypotheques executed upon

:MJ

laiitl — all these have been swept away by the Act
of the 0th of the hite King. {Evidence of Mr.
Viger before the Cmnmittee of 1828.) It may be
remarked, among other things, that the Tenures Act
introduced, with the other "blessings" of the English
tenure, the law of primogeniture, which is repugnant
to the spirit of the Civil Law, and to the state of
opinion in Canada. It is equally odious to the in-
habitants of those parts of the country where soccage
tenure prevails, namely, in the townships, which are
chiefly peopled by Americans, where the law of
primogeniture has been abolished, and is, moreover,
viewed with great abhorrence.

The feeling of insecurity of property generated by
this Act imperiously demands its inunediate repeal,
for which the people of Canada have repeatedly
prayed. (Petitions of 1827 and 1834.)

III. The Canada Trade Act is also objected to,
partly on the same gi'ounds as the above.

The very oppressive nature of the whole system of
Colonial rule which prevails in Canada will be
apparent from what has gcmi before. It only re-
mains to state that the People merely pray for —

1st. The repeal of certain Imperial Acts just
specified; *

2d. The recognition of the principle of non-
interference, to obviate future misunderstandings ;

3d. The production of unanimity between the two
branches of the Legislature, by introducing the prin-
ciple of election in the choice of the Council; and

4th. The appointment of a Civil Governor, with
directicms tc adopt a conciliatory line of conduct, as
recommended by the Committee of 1828.

In uskiiig this, they merely ask to be placed on
the looting of the Charter Governments of the old
Colonies, reminding the Imperial Government that
it was not one of these Colonies, but a Royal Colony
(New York), which first set the example of dis-
obedience to an Act of Parliament. Hence, the
People of Canada " do not hesitate to ask from a
Prince of the House of Brunswick, and a Reformed
Parliament, all the freedom and political powers
which the Princes of the House of Stuart and their
Parliaments granted to the most favoured of the
plantations, formed at a period when such grants
must have been less favourably regarded than they
would now be." {4^th Resolution.) i..iJ^ h.

v.b

i,' y

».-... f,,

.; .> Hii I

rr y.

A v J

«%

RECAPITULATION. i ..^.. l .

Abuses arising out of the Constitution of the Council.

1 . Vicious Constitution of the Legislative Councils,
and of the executive and virtual identity of both

; with the Local Oligarchy. {Resolution 9th : see
ante page 16.)

2. The rejection of useful Bills by the Legislative
Councils to the extent of 169 in 'en years : the
rejection of each Bill inflicting an abuse upon the
People. Complained of in 1827— not yet re-
dressed. {See ante page 17.)

3. The fostering of national animosities and dis-
tinctions by the Councils, and the creation of

- discoj:^ among the People. {VMh Resolution,
ante page 19.)

Abuses in the Administration of Justice.

1. The Judges hold office not (luring good behaviour,
but during the pleasure of the Crown, that is prac-
tically, of the Local Oligarchy. Case of Judge

ih Fletcher, v/bere inquiry into alleged ill conduct
ti was quashed, and the complaining People silenced

by the removal of the Judge to another district..

{•dnte page 20.) ^

2. Selection of Judges out of the partisan class, and
not out of the Members of the Bar, in whom the

>j People have confidence. Out of eleven Judges
three only French Canadians; some ignorant of
the Civil Law, from the fact of their not having
been educated in the Colony. Case of Judge
Gale, a factious partisan. (Ante page 2L)

3. The Commissioners for the trial of small causes,
selected on the same principle. {Ante page 21 ;

, Petition, page 6).

4. The vicious composition of the Executive Council,
the Members of which are Judges of AppeaL

'- (Resolution 84, clause 1, ante page 22.)

5. The Magistracy, a partisan Magistracy. A Ma-
gistrate was dismissed for the conscientious dis-
charge of his duty when the act performed was

« obijoxious to the Executive. (Ante page 22.)

6. The Dependence of the Sheriffs — Packing of Ju-
ries. {Ante page ^.)

f u

-di ' > Abuses of the Eocecutive.

1. The appointment of a Military Governor, unac-
quainted with the business of governing, and dis-
posed to rule arbitrarily. (Ante page 23.)

.^1■:

The application of Monies without the authority
of the Legislature, the only body authorized to
give such sanction. {Ante page 24.)

3. The granting of Jarge masses of Land to indivi-
duals connected with the Government, — 23,000
acres to one family. {Ante page 26.)

4. The accumulation of offices in one family, and
sometimes in one individual. Case of the Sewell
family. (Ante page 27,)

5. The enormous salaries bestowed on Public Offi-
cers, twice, thrice, and pven ten times the ordinary
incomes derived from professions; must not be
compared with incomes in the Mother Country.
(Ante page 28.)

6. The misapplication of the Revenue of the Jesuits'
Estates, which should be devoted to the education
of the People. (Ante page 28.)

7. The defalcation of the late Reoeiver-general to
the extent of 600,000 dollars, and the refusal of all
relief. (Ante page 29.)

8. The refusal of Public Functionaries to account to
the Assembly. (Ante page 29.)

9. iiiid to appear before the Asisembly and give evi-
dence. (Ante page 30.)

10. The irresponsibility of the Postmaster-general of
Canada to the Colonial Legislature, and the want
of control over the department generally. (Ante
page 30.)

11. The wanton firing upon the people during an
election on the 21st May, 1832. (Ante page 30,)

12. The continuance of the present Governor in office

after having rendered himself obnoxious to the
People in various way^, namely: {Ante page 31 :)
i . By seizing the Revenue of the Province.
2. By refusing information to the Assembly.
( 3. By refusing an advance of money to miti-

gate a pestilence, though reimbursed on a for-
mer occasion.

4. By perpetuating the abuses of former
Administrations,

5. By thanking the Officers who commanded
the Troops when they fired upon the People on

u ; the 2ist of May, 1832, during an Election.

6. By mutilating and withholding Dispatches
which should be communicated to the Assembly.

7. By withholding the Royal Assent to use-
r ful Bills.

8. By refusing a Writ to return a Member
to fill up a vacr^ncy in the Assembly,

!■; 9. By refusing to offer a reward for the ap-
prehension of an unknown soldier who stabbed
a citizen.

Ahme9 arising out of the Legislative interference of
the Mother Country,

\. The Act to ini^prpprato ^ Company of Speculators,
^^lUndet tlie titlQ of th0 British American Land
yClompanV. {Antf p^^ZZ.)

2. The Canada Tenures Act, which rendered pro-
{ :;peirty irweeu^e. (-^»*« />«^e 35.)

3, The Canada Trftde Act. (Ante page 36.)

London :— Pxinttd by Wiluam Clowi^, 14, (.'htring-CroKs.

mm§

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