Durham and the Canadian authorities. The majority up millions of fresh consumers of our manufactures and in the Commons was so large that the opposition did not venture on a division; and in the Lords the disallowance was carried by a majority of 54 to 36." This result occurred on the 10th of August, and Lord Durham saw the astounding news first in the American newspapers. Lords Melbourne and Glenelg softened the matter to him as well as they could; the former communicated the intelligence with the greatest regret and the deepest apprehension as to its consequences. Lord Durham betrayed his mortification unwisely in a proclamation which he immediately issued. As the banishment was an exception to the general amnesty he had published, he informed the prisoners at Bermuda that Her Majesty, being advised to refuse her assent to the exceptions, the amnesty existed without qualification, and added—"No impediment, therefore, exists to the return of the persons who have made the most distinctive admission of guilt, or have been excluded by me from the province on account of the danger to which it would be exposed by their presence."

Lord Durham at once resigned, and was succeeded by Mr. Powlett Thompson, afterwards Lord Sydenham, who fully adopted his enlightened policy, which was ably expounded in an important report, said to be from the pen of Mr. Charles Buller. It was characterised by profound statesmanship, and was the basis of the sound policy which has made united Canada a great and flourishing state. Sir William Molesworth, a philosophic statesman, who wrote much of colonial questions, had strongly advocated the abandonment of our American colonies, and contended that the advantages of an amicable separation between the two countries would be great. He thought that their proximity to the United States would always make them a source of weakness, the central government of the Union not being able to control the action of American citizens in spreading disaffection. He was correct enough in his views so far as the Union is concerned, but greatly miscalculated the effect of American sympathy upon Canadian loyalty, when he said, "How powerful soever the central government of the United States may be when it goes along with the wishes of the people, it is most feeble when the people are opposed or indifferent to its commands, or when one or more of the sovereign states are desirous of evading its decrees. How anxious soever it may be, from general views of policy, to prevent all interference with the affairs of Canada-all hostilities with this countryyet its people will see in this struggle but a repetition of their own glorious struggle for independence; they will behold in the conduct of England towards Canada the sequel of those despotic and unjust principles which, a little more than half a century ago, caused them to shake off our yoke." Lord Durham and Mr. Buller differed from Sir W. Molesworth in their view of the colonial question. The former considered that 'experiment of keeping colonies and governing them well ought at least to have a fair trial ere we abandon for ever the vast dominions which might supply the wants of our surplus population, and raise

the "

of producers of a supply for our wants. The warmest
admirers and the strongest opponents of republican in-
stitutions, admit or assert that the amazing prosperity
of the United States is less owing to their form of
government than to the unlimited supply of fertile land,
which maintains succeeding generations in an undimi-
nishing affluence of fertile soil. A region as large and as
fertile," said Lord Durham, "is open to your majesty's
subjects in your majesty's American dominions." Events
have completely justified the policy advocated by him
and fortunately adopted by the imperial government.
It would have been well if the home government and
the parliament had not controlled and humiliated him
in the fulfilment of his mission; for in respect to the
rebellion the events which immediately followed his de-
parture vindicated, at least, the prudence of his policy.
He sailed from Quebec on the 1st of November; and the
returned prisoners from Bermuda showed their sense of
the leniency with which they had been treated by im-
mediately re-organising the rebellion. Four hundred
insurgents captured Mr. Ellis, a large landed proprietor,
and carried him off as a hostage. A body of rebels had
taken up a position at Lough-Na-Waga, an Indian
village. The Indians were at church, but hearing
of the presence of the insurgents, they immediately
raised the war-whoop, attacked, and dispersed them,
making seventy prisoners. Four thousand insurgents
had assembled at Napier Ville, under the command of
Wolfred Nelson, Dr. Cote, and others, but in a few days
they retired, having issued a proclamation of independ-
ence, with a republican form of government, the confis-
cation of the crown lands and the clergy reserves, &c.
In their retreat they attacked a much smaller body of
loyalists, who had taken possession of the church of
Odelle, but these brave men repulsed them, killing fifty
and wounding twice that number. Sir John Colborne,
the commander-in-chief, who had, on Lord Durham's
departure, assumed provisionally the government of the
colonies, bore witness, in his despatches, to the humane
and creditable conduct of the insurgents; for, though
they were at first 12,000 strong, and had Mr. Ellis and
nearly 100 loyalists in their power for several days, no
deeds of cruelty were perpetrated, and when the insur-
rection was suppressed, the prisoners were released, and
shown the shortest way to rejoin their friends. The
American sympathisers made an aggressive movement
on the 12th of November, when a body of 500, with
several pieces of artillery, crossed the St. Lawrence at
Prescott, where they were attacked by three armed
steamers, under Captain Sandon, R.N., and Colonel
Young, and compelled to retire, when they took up
their position in a stone house, from which they could
not be dislodged till reinforcements came, with three or
four guns under Dundas. After a sharp contest, the
place was evacuated, the British having taken 159
prisoners, of whom 131 were Americans. Other
attempts were made during the month of December
by the "sympathisers," but they were all defeated, and
before the end of the year hostilities were terminated;

A.D. 1837.]

A NEW CONSTITUTION FOR CANADA.

not, however, without the loss of a number of valuable
lives on both sides, which strikingly illustrated the fact
that there is neither mercy nor humanity in undue
leniency at the commencement of an insurrection.
Vigorous action, and a stern execution of the law, may
save the lives of hundreds, and prevent the horrors of a
civil war.
The government had now to deal with 753
political prisoners, who were British subjects. Of these
only twelve of the principal offenders were ultimately
brought to trial, of whom ten were sentenced to death,
but only two, Cardinal and Duguette, were executed.
The persons convicted of treason, or political felony, in
Upper Canada, from the 1st of October, 1837, to the 1st
of November, 1838, were disposed of as follows:-par-
doned on giving security, 140; sentenced to confine-
ment in penitentiary, 14; sentenced to banishment, 18;
transported to Van Diemen's land, 27; escaped from
Fort Henry, 12. The American prisoners had been sent
to Kingston, and tried by court-martial on the 24th of
November. Four of them were sentenced to death, and
executed, complaining of the deception that had been
practised on them with regard to the strength of the
anti-British party, and the prospects of the enterprise.
Five others were subsequently found guilty and exe-
cuted. The American government, though deprecating
those executions on grounds of humanity, disclaimed
all sanction or encouragement of such piratical inva-
sions, and denied any desire on its part for the annexa-
tion of Canada.

393

he denounced, in strong language, the conduct of your colonial administration. I myself have equally condemned that administration. And if there be guilt in saying that Canada has been ill governed, that grievances have been left unredressed, that her oppressors are men ever cruel and now exasperated, I, sir, am willing to partake of that guilt. Talk to me of being frightened at being called a traitor, at being told that my life is forfeited, at the newspapers setting forth that I am to be sent to the Tower! The government organs and other portions of the press have endeavoured to excite the people against me, and to induce them to believe that I and my friends could desire that which England must view as dishonourable. Do you think that I am to be frightened by such petty warfare? If I be guilty, why are there not some who dare accuse me lawfully? My papers have been seized: let them be produced. I have not run away, because I know that there is a jury in England who will render justice to the accused."

The new constitution was proclaimed in Canada on the 10th of February, 1841; and the admirable manner in which it has worked proves that Lord Durham, its author, was one of the greatest benefactors of the colony, as he had been of the mother country by his labours in bringing about the revolution embodied in the Reform Act. The contrast which he remarked and so well de scribed between the two banks of the St. Lawrence, resulting from self-government on one side, and the want of it on the other, no longer exists. "The superiority," said he, "of the condition of our neighbours is perceivable throughout the whole extent of our North American territory. Even the ancient city of Montreal will not bear a comparison with Buffalo, a

Out of these troubles arose a new state of things, a new era of peace and prosperity. Lord Durham saw that disaffection and disturbance had arisen from the animosity of race and religion, exasperated by favoritism in the government, and the dispensation of patronage through "a family compact." He recom-creation of yesterday. There is but one railroad in all mended a liberal, comprehensive, impartial, and unsectarian policy, with the union of the two provinces under one legislature. It was a revolution quite unexpected by both parties. The disaffected French Catholics feared, as the consequence of their defeat, a rule of military repression; the British Protestants hoped for the firm establishment of their ascendancy. Both were disappointed-the latter very painfully, when, notwithstanding their efforts and sacrifices for the maintenance of British power, they saw Papineau, the arch-traitor, whom they would have hanged, attorney-general in the new government. But Papineau was backed by a strong party of radical reformers in the House of Commons, and Mr. Roebuck, who acted as agent for the Canadians, was his ardent advocate. In one of his vehement speeches on the Canadian question, he said, "Sir, I am not one of those who have been in the habit of deserting a friend in need. In his most prosperous days I have thought myself honoured by the friendship of Mr. Papineau; and when I review the political career of that man, raised, as he has been, to eminence by the sole power of his intellect, without the employment of one single disgraceful proceeding, I look in vain through the whole of that career for one act which deserves reprobation, True it is that

British North America -that between Lake Champlain and the St. Lawrence-and it is only fifteen miles long. The people on the frontier are poor and scattered, separated by vast forests, without towns or markets, and almost destitute of roads, living in mean houses, and with no apparent means of improving their condition. On the American side, on the other hand, all is activity and bustle. The forest has been widely cleared; every year numerous settlements are formed, and thousands of farms created out of the waste. The country is intersected by common roads; canals and rail-roads are finished or in the course of formation. The observer is surprised at the number of harbours on the lakes and the multitude of vessels they contain, while bridges, artificial landing-places, and commodious wharfs, are formed in all directions as soon as required. Good houses, mills, inns, warehouses, villages, towns, and even great cities, almost seem to spring out of the desert. Every village has its school-house and place of public worship; every town has many of both, with its town. ship buildings, book-stores, and probably one or two banks, and newspapers; and the cities, with their fine churches, great hotels, great exchanges, court-houses,

*Annual Register, 1838, p. 39.

and municipal halls of stone and marble, so new and fresh as to mark the recent existence of the forest where they now stand, would be admired in any part of the world."

This contrast between the effects of the two forms of government was almost sufficient to justify the insurrection; and upon the heads of the parties who resisted the reform of the old system of colonial misgovernment, rests much of the guilt involved in the destruction of life on both sides during the struggle.

sacking; their chief article of diet was rye bread, almost black, and not over-abundant, with an indefinite quantity of boiled butter-milk. They were permitted to work at certain rates of wages, with which they purchased coffee, tobacco, gin, &c. On entering the day-room, the visitors beheld a motley scene. Some paupers were working at the looms, or at other occupations. Here, a group of men were seated at a table, playing cards; there, another group playing at draughts; and a third at hazard; while others were idly sauntering up and down the room. The women's day-room presented a scene of similar disorder. The Belgian workhouses were superior, in their internal arrangements, to those of Holland.

On the 1st of December, shortly after the opening of Parliament, Lord John Russell introduced another question of great urgency—the relief of the Irish poor. After going through, and commenting on, the several recommendations of the Inquiry Commissioners, and The visitors found that the condition of the peasantry noticing the objections to which they were all more or and small farmers in Belgium presented a striking conless open, he explained, by way of contrast, the prin- trast to those of Ireland. In his report, Mr. Nicholls ciples on which the present bill was founded, much in said:-" Small farms of from five to ten acres abound the same manner that he had done on the first intro- in many parts of Belgium, closely resembling the small duction of the measure. The statement was generally holdings in Ireland; but the Irish cultivator is without well received, although there were some marked excep- the comforts and conveniences of civilised life, whilst tions in this respect; and the bill was read a first time the Belgian peasant-farmer enjoys a large portion of without a division. It was, in like manner, read a second both. The houses of the small cultivators in Belgium time on the 5th of February, 1838; but, on the motion are generally substantial, with a sleeping-room in the for going into committee, on the 9th, Mr. O'Connell attic, and closets for beds connected with the lower strongly opposed it, and moved that it be com- apartment, a dairy, a store for the grain, an oven, a mitted that day six months. The amendment was, how-cattle-stall, piggery, and poultry-loft. There are geneever, negatived by 277 to 25, a majority which made the rally decent furniture and sufficient bedding, and, passing of the measure in some form pretty certain. although the scrupulous cleanliness of the Dutch may On the 23rd of February, the question of settlement was not be everywhere observable, an air of comfort and again very fully discussed, and its introduction op- propriety pervades the whole establishment. In the posed by 103 to 31, the latter number comprising all cow-house, the dung and urine are preserved in the that could be brought to vote for a settlement law of any tank, the ditches are scoured, the dry leaves, potatokind. The vagrancy clauses were for the present with- tops, and offal of every kind are collected for manure, drawn from the bill, on the understanding that there and heaps of compost are in course of preparation. The would hereafter be a separate measure for the suppres- premises are kept in compact order, and a careful attension of mendicancy. The bill continued to be considered tion to economy is everywhere apparent. The family in successive committees until the 23rd of March, when, are decently clad, none are ragged or slovenly, although all the clauses having been gone through and settled, it their dress may be of the coarsest material. was ordered to be reported, which was done on the 9th universally wear the blouse, and wooden shoes are in of April. On the 30th April the bill was read a third common use by both sexes. Their diet consists chiefly time and passed by the Commons, and on the day fol- of rye bread, milk, and potatoes. The contrast of what lowing was introduced and read a first time in the is here described with the state of the same class of Lords.

He was

Mr. Nicholls (afterwards Sir George) was desired to proceed during the vacation to Holland and Belgium, with a view of ascertaining whether there was anything in the institutions of those countries that might be turned to account in constructing the Irish system. accompanied by Dr. Kay, afterwards Sir J. Kay Shuttle worth, then one of the Assistant Commissioners, who devoted his attention chiefly to education, on which he made an interesting report. With regard to a provision for the poor, they found little worthy of imitation. At Amsterdam the dirt and disorder of the day-rooms were very offensive. In these rooms the inmates took their meals, without any attention to regularity or propriety. Both men and boys were clothed in a coarse kind of

* Nicholls' "History of the Irish Poor Law," p. 210,

The men

persons in Ireland is very marked. Yet the productive powers of the soil in Belgium are certainly inferior to the general soil of Ireland, and the climate does not appear to be superior. To the soil and the climate, therefore, the Belgian does not owe his superiority in comfort and position over the Irish cultivator. The difference is rather owing to the greater industry, economy, and forethought of the people."

The bill was read a first time in the Lords on the 1st of May. Many of the peers, whose estates were heavily encumbered, were alarmed at the threatened imposition of a poor-rate, which might swallow up a large portion of their incomes. Those who were opposed to a poor law on economic principles, appealed to their lordships' fears, and excited a determined opposition against the measure. On the 21st of May there was a stormy debate of nine hours' duration, Lord Melbourne

A.D. 1838.]

DEBATE ON COLONIAL ADMINISTRATION.

CHAPTER XLI.

395

Our Colonial Administration-Sir William Molesworth's Motion-Lord Palmerston's Defence of the Colonial Secretary-West Indian Slavery -The Slave Trade-Lord Brougham's Oration-Horrors of the Middle Passage-Negroes thrown Overboard-Lord Minto's Defence of Naval Officers-Portugal a Standing Nuisance on the OceanIniquities of the Apprenticeship System in the West Indies-Eleven Females murdered by a Flogging and the Treadmill-Attempt to establish Slavery in British Guiana-Coolies-Lord Brougham's Resolutions on the Subject-The Roman Catholic Oath-Mr. O'Connell's Interpretation-The Bishop of Exeter-Lord Melbourne on Oaths of Office-The Pope's Disapproval of the Roman Catholic Oath-Conservative Banquet to Sir Robert Peel-His Exposition of his PolicyIrish Questions-The Church Establishment and the CorporationsSir Thomas Ackland's Resolution on the Appropriation ClauseAlleged Breach of Faith on the part of the Conservatives-Denied by Lord Stanley and Sir Robert Peel-Scene in the Commons-Settlement of the Irish Questions-Preparation for the Queen's Coronation-The Marquis of Londonderry-Earl Fitzwilliam-The Procession to Westminster Abbey-The Ceremonial-Return of the Procession-Public Festivities.

moved the second reading in a judicious speech, that the system had been brought into working order in which he skilfully employed the best arguments before the potato failure of 1846, as it contributed in favour of a legal provision for the poor, stating materially to mitigate the horrors of the famine. that this measure was, in fact, but the extension to Ireland of the English Act of 1834, with such alterations as were adopted to the peculiar circumstances of that country. It would suppress mendicancy, and would abate agrarian violence, while relieving the destitute in a way that would not paralyse the feeling of energy and selfreliance. Among the most violent opponents of the measure was Lord Lyndhurst, who declared that it would lead to a dissolution of the union. The Duke of Wellington, on the contrary, contended that the bill, if amended in committee, would improve the social relations of the people of Ireland, and would induce the gentry to pay some attention to their properties, and to the occupiers and labourers on their estates. He objected, however, to a law of settlement as leading to unbounded litigation and expense. Owing chiefly to the support of the Duke, the second reading was carried by a majority of 149 to 20. On the motion that the bill be committed, on the 28th of May, a scene of confusion and violence was presented, surpassing anything that could have ON the 6th March, Sir William Molesworth, with a view been expected in such a dignified assembly. The Irish to bring the whole colonial administration of the empire peers especially were in a state of extreme excitement. before the House of Commons, moved that an address The discussion was adjourned to the 31st, and, after a be presented to Her Majesty, expressing the opinion of debate of eight hours, the clause embodying the principle the House that in the present critical state of many of of the bill was adopted by a majority of 107 to 41. The her foreign possessions, "the colonial minister should be bill was considered in committee on the 7th, 21st, 22nd, a person in whose diligence, activity, and firmness, the and 26th of June, and was read a third time on the 6th House and the public may be able to place reliance; of July. It had now passed the Lords, altered, and in and declaring that "Her Majesty's present Secretary of some respects improved; although, in the opinion of its State for the Colonies does not enjoy the confidence of author, the charge upon electoral divisions approximated the House or the country." The honourable baronet too nearly to settlement to be quite satisfactory. It was made a speech of two hours' duration, which was a disnot, however, till the 27th of July that the bill was sertation on colonial policy, containing a survey of the ready for the royal assent, which was given on the 31st, whole of Her Majesty's dominions in both hemispheres. and thus a law was at length established making pro- He disclaimed all party considerations in bringing forvision for the systematic and efficient relief of destitu- ward his motion, or any intention to make an invidious tion in Ireland.* attack on Lord Glenelg. But as the colonies were so numerous, so diversified in races, religions, languages, institutions, interests; and, as they were unrepresented in the Imperial Parliament, it was absolutely necessary that the colonial administration should be vigilant, prompt, sagacious, energetic, and firm. Lord Glenelg was wanting in those qualities, and the colonies were all suffering more or less from the errors and deficiencies of this ill-fated minister, "who had, in the words of Lord Aberdeen, reduced doing nothing to a system." Lord Glenelg was defended by Lord Palmerston, who regarded the attack upon him as an assault upon the cabinet, which would not allow one of its members to be made a scapegoat. He declared that Lord Glenelg's administration had produced satisfaction and contentment in the colonies, where formerly disaffection had prevailed. The effect of the motion, he said, would be the resignation of ministers; but were the Tories ready to take office in conjunction with the Radicals; or did the honourable baronet think that when they had triumphed, he and Sir Robert Peel would meet upon the field of victory and divide the spoil? In conclusion, he said he should meet

Armed with their Act of Parliament, the Poor Law Commissioners who had been appointed to carry it out, hastened to Ireland for the purpose of forming unions, providing workhouses, and making all the necessary arrangements. Mr. Nicholls was accompanied by four Assistant Commissioners, Mr. Gulson, Mr. Earle, Mr. Hawley, and Mr. Voules. They assembled in Dublin on the 9th of October, where they were joined by four Irish Commissioners, namely, Mr. Clements, Mr. Hancock, Mr. O'Donoghue, and Dr. Phelan. The erection of workhouses was proceeded with without loss of time. Reports of the progress made were annually published, and in May, 1842, the whole of Ireland had been formed into 130 unions; all the workhouses were either built or in progress of building, and eighty-one had been declared fit for the reception of the destitute poor. Mr. Nicholls left Ireland in 1842, his functions being delegated to a board consisting of Mr. Gulson and Mr. Power. It was a most providential circumstance

* Nicholls" "History of the Irish Poor Law," p. 220.