i i i kingston 1 chronicle nec rege nec populo sed utroque vol x saturday januabyio 1829 no xxviii poetky faith and hope earths loveliest flowers may wither her sky be clouded oer her fairest promise broken yet heaven beams bright before and many a cheering heacoa to faiths uplifted eye by hope and truth enkindled are blazing oer the sky there beams the cross that saves us from ruin and the tomb the bow of heavenly promise tbatgilds the stormy gloom and there that star of glory thai first on bethlehem shone whose beams shall guide thee safely to tby celestial throne then speed thee onward pilgrim with steady upward aim unawed by doubt or danger unbent by fear or shame on on and trust thy father who calls to thee from heaven tifl he who guides aod keeps thee a ud whispers thourt forgiven extract from pelham or the adventures of a gentleman chap iii thus hoes a false ambition rule ns thus pomp delude and folly fool us shenstone an open house haunted with great resort bishop halls satires i left cambridge in a very weak state of health aod as nobody had yet comu to london i accepted the invitation of sir lionel garrett to pay him a visit at his country seat accordingly one raw win ters day full of the hopes of the reviving influence of air and exercise i found my self carefully packed up iu three great coats aud on the high road to garrett park sir lionel garrett was acharacter very common in england and in describing lam i describe the whole species he was of an ancient family which had for centuries resided on their estates in nor folk sir lionel who came to his majo rity and his fortune at the same time went up to london at the age of twentyone a raw uncouth sort of young man in a green coat and lank hair his friends in town were of that set whose members are above ton whenever they do not grasp at its pos session but who whenever they do lose at once their aim and their equilibrium and fall immeasurably below it i mean that set which i call the respectable consist ing of old peers of an old school country gentlemen who still disdain not to love their wino and to hate the french gene rals who have served in the army elder bro thers who succeed to something besides a mortgage and younger brothers who do not mistake their capital for their income to this set you may add the whole of the baronetage for i have remarked that baronets hang together like bees or scotch men and if i go to the baronets house and speak to some one whom i have not the happiness to know i always say sir john- it was no wonder then that to this set belonged sir lionel uarrett no more the voutn in a green coat and lank hair but pinched in and curled out abounding in horses and whiskers dancing all night- lounging all day tbir favorite of the old ladies the philander of the young one unfortunate evening sir lionel garrett was introduced to to the celebrated duchess of d frona that moment his head was turned before then he had al ways imagined that he was somebody that he was sir lionel garrett with a goodlooking person and eight thousand a year he now knew fchat he was nobody unless be went to lady gs aod unless he bowed to lady s disdaining all import ance derived from himself it became ab solutely necessary to hi happiness that all his importance should be derived solely from bis acquaintance with others he cared not a straw fiat he was a man of fortune of family of consequence be must be a man of ton or he was an atom a nonentity a very worm and no man no lawyer at grays inn no galley slave at the oar ever worked so hard at his task as sir lionel garrett nthis ton to asingle man is a thing attainable enough sir lionel was just gaining the envied distinc tion when he saw courted and married lady harriett woodstock his new wife was of a modern and not very rich family striving like sir lionel for the notoriety of fashion but of this struggle he was ignorant he saw her admitted into good society he imagined she commanded it she was a hanger on he believed she was a leader lady harriet was crafty and tweutyfour had no objection to be married nor to change the name of woodstock for garret she kept up the baronets mistake till it was too late to repair it marriage did not bring sir lionel wis dom his wife was of the same turn of mind as himself they might have been great people in the country they prefer red being little people in town they might have chosen friends among persons of respectability aod rank they preferred being chosen as acquaintaice by persons of ton society was their beings end and j taattiriisnr whicl brought them pleasure was the pain of attaining it did i not say truly that i would desxibe indi viduals of a common species is there one who reads this who does not recognise that overflowing class of the english popu lation who would conceive it an insult to he thought of sufficient rank to be respecta ble for what tbey are what take it as an honour that they are made by their ac quaintance wiio renounce the ease of living for themselves for the trouble of liv- mgfor persons who care not a pin for their existence who are wretched if they are dictated to bytbers and who toil groan travail through the whole course of life in order to forfeit their independence i arrived at garrett park just time nougb to dress for dinner as i was des cending the stairs after having performed that ceremony i heard my own name pro nounced by a very soft lisping voice henry pelham dear what a pretty name is be handsome rather distingue than handsome was the unsatisfactory reply couched in a slow pompons accent which i immediately re cognised to belong to lady harriet gar rett can wo make something of him re sumed the first voice something said lady harriett in dignantly he will be lord gleomor- ris and he is son lady frances pelham ah said the lisper carelessly bm can he write poetryand play proverbes ed this is in my opinion the real test of perfect breeding while you are enchant ed with the effect it should possess so little prominency and peculiarity tbatyou should never be able to guess the cause pray said lord vicent to mr worm wood have you been to p this vear no m was the answer i have my lord said miss taflbrd who never lost on opportunity of slipping in a word well and did they make you sleep as usual at the crown with the same eternal excuse after having brought you fifty miles from town of small house no beds all engaged in close by ah never shall i forget that inn with iu royal name and its hard beds 11 uneasy sleeps a bead beneath the crown ha ha excellent cried miss taf- fordwbowas always the first in at the death of a pun yes indeed they did poor old lord belron with bis rheumatism and that immense general grant with his asthma together wirh three single men and myself were safely conveyed to that asylum for the destitute- ah grant grant said lord vin cent eagerly who saw another opportuni ty of whipping in a pun he slept there also the same night i did and when i saw his unwieldy person waddling out of i said totem- the door the next morning no lady harnett said 1 advancing p well thats the largest grant j ever hut permit me through you to assure i saw f the oovm lady nelthorpe that he can admire those who do so you know me then said the lis per iseewe shall beexcellent friends and disengaging herself from lady harri ett she took my arm aod began discussing persons and things poetry and china french plays aud music till i found my self beside her at dinner and most assidu ously endeavouring to silence her by the superior engrossments of a becltamelle de poisson i took the opportunity of the pause to survey the little circle of which lady har riet was the centre in the first place there was davidson a great political eco nomist a short dark corpulent gentle man with a quiet serene sleepy counten ance which put me exceedingly in mind of my grandmothers arm chair beside him was a quick sharp little woman all spar kle and bustle glancing a small grey pry ing eye round the table with a n oat rest less activity this as lady nelthorpe af terwards informed me was a miss traf- ford an excellent person for a christmas in the country whom every body else was dying to have she was an admirable mi mic an admirable actress and an admira ble reciter made poetry and shoes and told fortunes by the cards which came ac tually true there was also mr wormwood the nolimetangere of literary lions an author who sowed bis conversation not with flowers but thorns nobody could accuse him of the flattery generally imputed to his species through the course of a long and varied life he had never once been known to say a civil thing he was too much disliked not to be recherche whate ver is once notorious even for being dis- i very good said wormwood gravely i declare vincent you are growing quite witcy do you remember jekyl poor fellow what a really good punster fte was not agreeable though particularly at dinner no punsters are mr davison what is that dish next to you mr davison was a great gourmand salmi dt perdreux oux truffes truffles said wormwood have t you been eating an 7 yes said davison with unusual energy and they are the best i have tasted for a long time very likely said wormwood with a dejected air i am particularly fond of them but 1 dare not touch one truffles are so very apoptetic you i make no doubt may eat them in safety wormwood was a tall meagre man with a neck a yard long davison was as i have said short and fat and made with out any apparent neck at all only head and shoulders like a codfish poor mr davison turned perfectly white he fidget- d lbo s a far a p ation what an excellent commentary in the house it is quite unnecessary for the learned gentleman to give himself any trouble in preliminary explanation of the nature and object of his measure the mere recital of his resolutions is quite enough mens minds are now more sen sitive and penetrating than before they intuitivelv perceive an ohject without the oldfashioned aid of any explanation or reasoning whatever oratory has now become toooldfashioned a commodity to be thrown away in our publick delibera tive asembyies for nothing and one short resolution is worth twenty long speeches so no doubt thought mr neilson at least so he acted when on the fifth of the present month of december in the year of our lord 1828 he submitted his famous reso lutions in reply to his excellencys mes sage this gentleman knowing from long and successful experience the mute and passive disposition of his fellowrepresen tatives drew his resolutions from his pocket and with a confidence worthy of his knowledge silently presented them to the house wrapping himself carelessly up in the mantle of what mr stuart hap pily denominated a predetermined ma jority he condescended merely to solicit the concurrence of the house as a matter of course it ought to he well observed and ion remembered that among the fify individuals who constitute the house of assembly of lower canada there were only six who spoke on oaeorm muv momentous questions that ever occurred in the deliberations of a colonial lcgisl ture this question being in reality how ever much it may be attempted to be d6 guised whether this province is longer t endure the legislative supremacy of t mother country three of those six b it observed were on either side of the de bate as to the rest balaams ass was a prince among orators a very demosthp nes a cicero a chatham a burke in comparison with them for the honest brute spoke most rationally and to t e question when knocked on the bead a experiment which we are sure migjt frequently be essayed to no purpose in tw assembly these silent gentlemen the mute automatons came there to act npt to prate to vote not to speechify it is ndt at all requisite that they should be well- informed as to the proceedings of tte house they are sent there by three hun dred thousand electors who can neither read nor write and they are fully satisfied that one speaker or leader for every buft- ih brief ed about in his chair cast a look of the most deadly fear and aversion at the fatal dish he had been so attentive to before and muttering apopletic closed his lips and did not open them again all diu- dertirae mr wormwoods ohject was affected two people were sileoced and uucomfor- tahle and a sort of mist hung over the spi rits of the whole party the dinner went on and off like all other dinners the la dies retired and the men drank and talk ed indecorums mr davison left the room first in order to look out the word truffle in the encyclopaedia and lord vincent and i went next lest as my companion characteristically observed agreeable is sure to be courted in eo- that d d wormwood should if we gland opposite to him sat the really i stayed a moment longer send us weeping clever and affectedly pedantic lord via- 0 our beds cent one of those persons who have heeu yromuing ymttig ma sii theif fe who are found till four oclock in the af ternoon in a dressing gown with a quarto before them who go down in the coun try for six weeks every session to cram an impromptu reply and who always have a work in the press which is never to be published lady nelthorpe berselfl bad frequently seen she had some reputation for talent was exceedingly affected wrote poetry in albums ridiculed her husband who was a foxhunter and had a great penchant pour les beaux arts tt les beaux hommes there were four or five others of the un known vulgar younger brothers who were good shots aod bad matches elder ly ladies who lived in rakerstreet and liked long whist and young ones who never took wine and said sir i must however among this number except the beautiful lady roseville tbe most fascinating woman perhaps of tbe day she was evidently the great person there and indeed among all people who paid due deference to ton was always sure to be so every where i have never seen but one person more beautiful her eyes were of the deepest blue her complexion of the most delicate carnation her hair of the richest auburn nor could even mr wormwood detect the smallest fault in tbe rounded yet slender symmetry of ber fi gure although not above twentyfive she was in that state in which alone a woman ceases to be a depeodaotwidowhood lord roseville who had been dead about two years had not survived their marriage many months that period was however suficieutly long to allow him to appreciate her excellence and to testify his sense of it the whole of his unentailed property which was very large he bequeathed to her she wa9 very fond of the society of lite rati though without the pretence of belong ing to their order but her manners con stituted her chief attraction while they were utterly different from those of every oneelse you could not in the least minu- tia discover in what tb difference consist- ror the kingston chronicle the lower canada watchman no vi pro patria 29th december lt28 meeting of the provincial parliament- message resolutions declaration of independence c continued the present house of assembly have a manner as well as matter in all their pro ceedings which is peculiar to themselves they are men of mode as well as of action the ancient method of going about busi ness and performing their work they des pise the march of intellect has made extraordinary progress and wrought mar vels amongst them innovations have been made on the most simple operations an axe for the future must not be ta ken by the handle but by the edge of the weapon itself a saw must be grasped by the steel and the wood severed with the frame every fashionable table must be furnished with the shovel and tongs in stead of knives and forks the tail of every beaus coat must be worn upwards and every fashionable lady who has any regard for her reputation must wear rings on ber toes instead of her fingers and in her nose instead of her ears not less ri diculous certainly are the innovations al ready introduced and abeut to be introdu ced into the proceedings of our house of assembly whenever a member wishes to carry a favourite measure or to pass what he may conceivo to be a most ex cellent law he has nothing to do but sim ply perform the necessary operation in his own mind on some given preceding night write down his law or his resolutions- carry them in a corner of his pocket up to tbf assembly stand up barepated in bis phne read them and presto the busi- nira is done tho ears of the sage and pirriutick gentleman is immediately and clamorously assailed by the cries au- glice kcas of almost every individual on mr huskissons story of the crosses the petitions of grievances the truth n and it is high time the truth should re known that there are not six menibeia on the major side of the house who cau dis course for ten seconds with any ration portion of judgment oo the simplest question of our constitutional laws and we will bet a rump and dozen that there is not a devils dozen in ihe whole house who can tell the difference betweeo a mo narchical anddemocratick government or between the british constitution aod that of the united states of america yet these are the individuals who not only ar rogating to themselves the wisdom and dis cretion of an enlightened legislative body but the possession and control of all the executive powers of government have re duced this province into a state of anarch awuiioibiy persist by tuwiirmjngho- raoce in rejecting every measure calcula ted to restore the peace of the province and save the people from impending ruin let no man tell us that all this is mere de clamation we utterly 6corn the mean alternative our observations are found ed on truth selfevident and undeniable truth and that they are so we have only to refer to the sentiments and opinions set forth in tbe resolutions under considera tion the first of these resolutions states that the house derived the greatest satis faction from the gracious expression of his majestys beneficent views towards this pro vince yet as if sorry aod ashamed that a- ny complimentary expressions even to their sovereign should have passed their lips the majority of the house iu their se cond resolution hasten to declare that they bave nevertheless observed with great concern that it may be inferred from that part of the message whid relates to the appropiiation of the revem that the pretension put forth at the commencement of the late administration to the exposal of a large portion of the revenue of tkis province may be persisted in this is extraordinary language both as to style and sentiment to be held forth to a constitutional sovereign wto has aod who can have no other object to use his own words than the welfare of his faithful canaoian sdbjects and whose present communication to the le gislature of this province is founded not only on the general constitution of the empire but on solemn acts both of tbe imperial and provincial parliattents the style however we pass over with that si lent scorn and indignation becoming the loyal subjects of one of the greatest aud generous of sovereigns thanking our stars we have been reared in he convic tion that the sternest of publkk duties is not incompatible at once with dtcent man ners and tbe language of sobriety and res pect as to the sentiments having some what to say to them and being convinced that the example of history is tlg best pos sible mode of instruction if not of convic tion also we shall here enter into a on historical detail of the permanent revenue of the province by this means we hope to be able to say with unerring certainty on which side the pretension really and truly lies when greaf britain conquered canada plucked it from the tyrannical and des- potick grasp of old france rescued the fathers of the house of assembly from feudal hondaje and slavery and restored them to the freedom and independence of the british constitution it was found that certain duties imposed upon the importa tion aod exportation of merchandize were the principal means existing for the sup port of the government of the colony these finances which perhaps did not ex ceed seven oreight thousand pounds ster ling per annum were at the entire dispo sal and administration of the intknoant an officer in the french government who by his commission was authorized toex- eicise fully and freely all those powers of appropriation and control which at pre sent constitute the primary ambition of the assembly the powers ofthe in- tendant indeed were such as we should not like to see engrossed by any oneindi- vidual branch of our government free and mixed as it is he not only enjoyed the right of collecting and disposing hut of le vying and imposing it also in any mode and manner most suitable to his wishes aod inclinations not to the circumstances fm4 jjwulwill f iilw tftqnu who until the conquest were considered as mere mi litary slaves and feudal vileyns without a voice in tbe government or influence in the state as soon as the definitive treaty of paris had been signed the british go vernment appointed a receiver- general and collector of the royal patrimony rents revenues farms taxes tythes duties imports profits and casualties arising within the province of quebec with potcr to apply the monies which should come into his hands of the said duties and revenues in the first place for and towards defraying the necessa ry expence of government and the neccssa ft charge ofinannging the revenue under his care remitting home by good bills of ex change the surpluses of the monies which from lime to time should remain in his hands after payment of those expenses in srder that the same might he applied to ie reimbursing the publick here in great britain the monies that had been necessarily advanced for that purpose by reason tbat the aforesaid duties aod taxes had not been levied within the two years last past in this way the above duties continued to be levied collected and ap propriated or applied till the year 1774 when the celebrated act 14th geo iii cap 88 was passed by the imperial par liament this act is entituled an act to establish a fund towards further defraying the charges of the administration of justice and support of the civil government within the province of quebec in america by this act all the duties which n ere imposed on goods imported into or exported from this province under the authority of his most christian majesty were discontinu ed from and after the 5th day of april 1775 and in lieu thereof the several rates and ulrica therein mentioned were order ed tube raised levied collected and paid unto his majesty his heirs and successors for and upon the respective goods hereinaf ter mentioned which shall be imported and brought into any part of the said province war tand uduvb aii iihs itthfr autttviowpuy- able in the said province by any act or acts of parliament it was then enacted that all the monies that shall arise by tbe said duties except the necessary charges of raising collecting levying recovering answering paying and accounting for the same shall be paid by the collector of his majestys customs into the hands of his majestys receivergeneral in the said province for the time being and shall be applied in the first place in making a more certain ona adequate provision to wards defraying the expenses of the civil administration of justice and of the support of the civil government of the said province and that the lord treasurer or commis sioners of his majestys treasury or any two or three of them for the time being shall be and is or are hereby impowered from time to time by any warrant or war rants under his or their hand or hands to cause such money to be applied out of the said produce of the said duties towards defraying tbe said expenses and that the residue of the said duties shall remain aud be reserved in the hands of the saiu re ceivergeneral for the future disposition of parliament by this law the lords commissioners of his majestys treasury became fully in vested with the uncontrolable power of ap plying or appropriating the duties imposed in virtue ofits enactments towards defray ing the expences of tbe administration of justice aud of the support of the civil go vernment of the province so far as the a- mount of these duties could admit of such appropriation but these commissioners have always delegated their authority to the governors of the province every one of whom in the execution of such autho rity and in obedience to the concurring commands and instructions of his majesty has always appropriated the revenues in question for the purposes described in the act itself without being subjected tothecon- troul of any authority whatever in the pro vince indeed until the passing of the thomas mills esq was the first ap pointed to this office and his commission is dated the 10th of july 1765 constitutional act in 1791 there existed no power or authority in the province which had the right to call into question these ap propriations and even inn as will pre sently be seen the new constitutional bo dies created by tbat act neither arrogated to themselves as some of litem have since done nor received from parliament iuy the smallest right to interfere with the delegat ed powers of the lords commissioners of the treasury in 1795 however four years after the passing of the constitution al act it was discovered that the perma nent revenue created as above by the act of 1774 was inadequate to the purposes for which it had bico raised and tl e pro vincial legislature of that day not wishing like the present that the arms of the government should be shortened or any of their powers dissolved passed an act of which this is the title an act foi grant ing to his majesty an additional and new duties oncertain goods toares und merchan dizes and for appropriating the same to- wards furthek defraying the charges of the administration of justice and support of the civil government icithin this province and for other purposes therein mentioned the sum consigned annually into the hands of his majesty by this act was five thousand pounds sterling and its authors imitating the words aud intentions of its imperial predecessor of 1774 ordained that the due application of alt such monies pursuant to the directions cf this act shall he accounted r mlfyflpjbt9 cfssors through the loros commission ers of bis majestys treasury in such manner and form as his majesty his heirs and successors shall direct it will here he observed that the legis lature of 1795 so far from claiming the inherent right of appropriating the re venue created by the imperial act of 1774 added by a free and voluntary enactment of their own a considerable sum toil to be applied and accounted for in tie same manner as the original act ofthe supreme legislature thus not tacitly nor con structively hut openly and spontaneously declaring their own incapacity to inieilere with the rights of their sovereign is it possible to adduce stronger or mote con clusive evidence ofthe absurdity and in justice ofthe claims ofthe prestnt assem bly than this abstinence from executive in tervention on the part of their prede cessors of 1795 the assembly of that time were io possession vf the snie legal and constitutional rights that cn posiby be enjoyed noxo aud surely we cannot thiuk so meanly of them as to believe that if they really possessed any authority over the crown revenues they were destitute of sufficient courage to chum and exercise it the act of 1774 was tltn as much in force as it is now and tbe provisions of the subsequent constitutional act of 1791 were then as extensive and as well under stood as they are now his majesty was therefore left in the peaceable enjoyment and disposal of his revenue which he aug mented still further by the casual and ter ritorial revenue ofthe crown and fines and forfeitures making together as stated in the message of the 29th ofnoveuber last the sum of 38100 this far then it is pretty clear that the pretension put forth to the disposal of a large portion of the revenue of this province was not the act of the late aomin1stration towards the year 1810 another spirit and more dangerous principles were infus- ediiito the hbuse ol avseinbty by the in troduction of uew members pretending to have wiser heads and more courage ous hearts than any of their predecessors these genilemen instigated by a longche rished conviction that uo harrier remained between them aud tbe entire possession of all the powers uf government as well ex ecutive as legislative except the right to control and apply the whole public revenue of the province prevailed upon the house of assembly to make an offer to the king of tfte necessary sums for defraying the civil erpenses ofthe governmtnt of this pro vince this step having been taken of a sudden by a dark and intriguing majority ofthe assembly without any notion or suggestion of the crown or the concur rence ofthe legislative council its uncon stitutional aspect was perceived by all men while but few were able to penetrate into the ulterior aod real objects of this major ity his excellency sir james henry craig was one of these few and the an swer of this stem but constitutional go vernor to the assembly when they ap proached him with their novel offer can never be sufficiently admired his excel lency 6rmly and candidly told them that their offer was not constitutional inasmuch as the usage of the imperial parltan ent forbade all steps on tbe part ofthe people towards grants of money which were not recommended by the crown and that al though by the same parliamentary usage all grauts originated in the lower house yet they were ineffectual without the con currence of the upper house for these reasons his excellency conceived the ad dresses brought up by the assembly to be unprecedented imperfect m fokm and being merely founded on the resolutions of that house without the sanction or con currence of the legislative council must be ineflectual his excellency thought it right however to apprize his majesty of their present proceedings and offer howe ver imperfect iu form and unconstitutional iu matter considering the views ol the assembly it may he easily imagined tbat this answer acted upou them somewhat si milar to the offects of a first discovery upon