objections to the fe regulations, both of them, in his opinion, of great weight. In all grants of lands made in that country to Catholics, and a majority of the inhabitants were of that perfuafion, one feventh part of thofe grants was to be appropriated to the Proteftant clergy, although they might not have any cure of fouls, or any congregations to inftruct. One tenth part of the produce of this country was affigned, and this, perhaps, was more than one feventh part of the land. He wifhed to deprive no clergyman of his just rights; but in fettling a new constitution, and laying down new principles, to enact that the clergy fhould have one seventh of all grants, he must confefs, appeared to him an abfurd doctrine. If they were all of the church of England, this would not reconcile him to the measure. It might be asked, why should not they have as much as thofe of the church of England? In this country, we had that which fome condemned and others praifed; we had a kind of fhew, but ftill a proportion must be obferved. The greateft part of these Proteftant clergy were not of the church of England; they were chiefly what are called Proteftant Diffenters in this country. They were, therefore, going to give to Diffenters one feventh part of all the lands in the province. Was this the proportion, either in Scotland, or in any other country, where thofe religious principles were profeffed? It was not the proportion, either in Scotland, or in any other ecclefiaftical country in Europe; we were, therefore, by this bill, making a fort of provifion for the Proteftant clergy of Canada, which was unknown to them in every part of Europe; a provifion, in his apprehenfion, which would rather tend to corrupt than to benefit them. The regulations were likewife, in part, obfcure, becaufe, after it had ftated that one seventh portion of the land fhould always be fet aside for the Proteftant clergy, it did not ftate how it fhould be applied. The bill was likewife exceptionable, as far as it reJated to the regulation of appeals. Suitors were, in the first inftance, to carry their complaints before the Courts of common law in Canada; if diffatisfied with the decifions of those Courts, they might appeal to the Governor and Council; if diffatisfied with their judgement, they might then appeal to the King in Council; and next, to the House of Lords. Now, if the Houfe of Lords was a better Court, which he believed it to be, than the King in Council, why compel them to appeal to the King in Council, before they could come to the Houfe of Lords? Why not apply to the Houfe of Lords at once? This could anfwer no poffible purpose, but to render lawfuits exceedingly expenfive, and exceedingly vexatious. Thofe were the principal objections he had to this bill. There had not yet been a word faid in explanation

of it, with all its variety of claufes and regulations. It went through the Houfe filently without one obfervation; it alfo went through the Committee only in form, but not in fubftance. Of all the points of the bill, that which ftruck him the moft forcibly, was the divifion of the province of Canada. It had been urged that, by fuch means, we could feparate the English and the French inhabitants of the province; that we could diftinguish who were originally French from thofe of English origin. But was this to be defired? Was it not rather to be avoided? Was it agreeable to general political expediency? The most defirable circunftance was, that the French and Englith inhabitants of Canada fhould unite and coalefce, as it were, into one body, and that the different diftinctions of the people might be extinguished for

If this had been the object in view, the English laws might foon have prevailed univerfally throughout Canada, not from force, but from choice and conviction of their fuperiority. He had no doubt, that on a fair trial they would be found free from all objection. The inhabitants of Canada. had not the laws of France. The commercial code was never eftablished there; they flood upon the exceedingly inconvenient custom of Paris. He wifhed the people of that country to adopt the English laws from choice, and not from force; and he did not think the divifion of the province the most likely means to bring abaut this defitable end. In his opinion, this bill was alfo objectionable, as far as it related to the Trial by Jury, and the Habeas Corpus act, which the Canadians were faid to enjoy by an ordinance of the province. It was flated, by one of the Counsel at the bar, that either the ordinance which gave the inhabitants the trial by jury, or that which afforded them the benefit of the Habeas Corpus act, would expire before this bill could pafs into a law. If this were true, it was an objection to the bill, and ought to be remedied. He trufted that the Houfe would alfo feriously confider the particular fituation of Canada. It was not to be compared to the Weft Indies; it was a country of a different nature; it did not confift of a few white inhabitants, and a number of flaves; but it was a country of great growing population, which had increafed very much, and which, he hoped, would increafe much more. It was a country as capable of enjoying political freedom, in its utmoft extent, as any other country on the face of the globe. This country was fituated near the colonies of North America: all their animofity and bitterness on the quarrel between them and Great Britain was now over; and he believed that there were very few people among thofe colonies, who would not be ready to admit every perfon belonging to this country into a participation of all their privileges, and would receive them VOL. XXIX. L

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with open arms. The Governments now established in Nort! America were, in his opinion, the beft adapted to the fituation of the people who lived under them, of any of the Govern ments of the ancient or modern world: and when we had : colony like this, capable of freedom, and capable of a grea increase of population, it was material that the inhabitant: fhould have nothing to look to among their neighbours to excite their envy. Canada muft be preferved in its adherence to Great Britain, by the choice of its inhabitants, and it could not poffibly be kept by any other means. But it muft be felt by the inhabitants that their fituation was not worse than that of their neighbours. He wished them to be in fuch a fituation as to have nothing to envy in any part of the King's dominions. But this would never prove the cafe under a bill which held out to them fomething like the shadow of the British conftitution, but denied them the substance. Where the principles of liberty were gaining ground, which would increafe, in confequence of the general diffufion of literature and knowledge in the world, they fhould have a Government as agreeable to the genuine principles of freedom, as was confiftent with the nature of circumftances. He did not think that the Government intended to be established by the bill, would prove fuch a Government; and this was his principal motive for oppofing it. The legislative Councils ought to be totally free, and repeatedly chofen, in a manner as much independent of the Governor as the nature of a colony would admit. Thofe, he conceived, would be the beit; but if not, they fhould have their feats for life; be appointed by the King, confift of a limited number, and poffefs no hereditary honours. Thofe honours might be very proper, and of great utility, in countries where they had exifted by long cuftom; but, in his opinion, they were not fit to be introduced where they had no original exiftence; where there was no particular reafon for introducing them, arifing from the nature of the country, its extent, its ftate of improvement, or its peculiar cuftoms; where, instead of attract ing refpect, they might excite envy; and as but few could enjoy them, thofe who did not, might be induced to form an unfavourable comparison between their own fituation and that of their neighbours, among whom no fuch diftinctions were known. Even whilft he felt himself perfectly defirous of establishing a permanent provifion for the clergy, he could not think of making for them a provifion fo confiderable, as was unknown in any country of Europe, where the fpecies of religion to be provided for prevailed. It was upon these grounds which he had ftated, that he felt himself juftified in feconding the motion of his honourable friend (Mr. Huffey.)

Mr.

Mr. Chancellor Pitt faid that, although he did not feel Mr. Pitt, himself inclined to oppofe the motion, he could not avoid expreffing his regret that the claufes which were objected againft, had not attracted the attention of gentlemen on an earlier day. At any rate, it was not owing to any fault of his that the bill had not been fully difcuffed in the former ftages of it but, confidering it, as he did, to be of very great importance to form a fyftem for the government of a colony, which, both in point of duty and intereft, they were bound to do, he profeffed himself to be extremely anxious to court all opportunity of receiving every species of obfervation and information which could be obtained upon the fubject; and therefore he acquiefced in the re-commitment of the bill. As to the first objection of the right honourable gentleman against the manner of forming the Affemblies, he must confefs that it was certainly his wifh that the Affemblies in both Provinces might prove numerous enough to answer all the purposes of a popular Affembly, as far as the circumstances of the two provinces were properly qualified for that fituation. But he doubted very much, according to the present state of the colony, and the population in that province, whether the Affemblies could be rendered more numerous than was propofed. The Houfe would, however, have the goodness to confider, that there was not the smallest idea that the Affemblies fhould not be increafed, when the population of the province increased. The Affemblies undoubtedly ought to be extended with the growing population of Canada. He believed that a very numerous reprefentative body was in no respect defirable, and they ought always to bear fome proportion to the circumftances of the country. With regard to the duration of the Affemblies, a Houfe of Affembly for

years would furely prove better than for a fhorter period. In the other colonies, the Council and Affembly were conftituted in fuch a manner, as to inveft the Governor with more influence than would be given to him by the prefent bill. If the Affembly was not properly conftituted at first, it must be recollected that it was fubject to revifion, and that it might eafily afterwards be altered. There was nothing to hinder the Parliament of Great Britain from correcting any point which might hereafter appear to want correction. As to the Legislative Council, he totally and entirely differed from the right honourable gentleman, who thought it would be better if it were to be an elective Council, in the manner which had been lately established in America. He did not think it was the bufinefs of that House to discuss what was the beft conftitution of Government for France, for America, or for any foreign country; and this had been a

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reason why he had always declined making any remarks concerning the affairs of France. Whether France had chofen well for itself, or whether America had chofen well for it-felf, he had no difficulty in declaring, that the English conftitution which we had chofen, was in its principle the best for us; better than any of thofe republican principles. He faid he did not mean to use the word republican as an obnoxious term, but none of thofe republican principles which the right honourable gentleman had defcribed as the confequence of a greater extenfion of learning and light, and which, he had faid, fhone in the conftitutions of France and America, could improve the conftitution of Britain. They did not appear to be fuch as, if adopted by us, or any of our colonies, would be any improvement of our conftitution, but the reverse. An ariftocratical principle being one part of our mixed Government, he thought it proper that there should be fuch a Council in Canada as was provided for by the bill, and which might answer to that part of the British conftitution which compofed the other Houfe of Parliament. With respect to the Proteftant clergy, he wished to make an adequate provifion for them, fo that they might be fupported in as refpectable a fituation as poffible. The giving them a certain portion of land was the moft eligible mode of fupporting the clergy which had occurred to his mind; and as to the proportion of one feventh, whether it was or was not too much, if it turned out to be too much in future, the ftate of the land appropriated to the clergy, like every thing else provided by the bill, was fubject to a revifion. At prefent, he imagined that no man could think that one feventh part was unreasonable; and it was to be recollected that one seventh had almost grown into an established custom, where land had been given in commutation for tythes. One tenth of the produce which took place in England, must be confeffed to be a far greater provifion than one feventh of land. As to the divifion of the province, it was, in a great measure, the fundamental part of the bill; and he had no fcruple to declare that he confidered it as the moft material and effential part of it. He agreed with the right honourable gentleman, in thinking it extremely defirable that the inhabitants of Canada should be united, and led univerfally to prefer the Englith conftitution and the English laws. Dividing the province, he confidered to be the most likely means to effect this purpose, fince by fo doing, the French fubjects would be fenfible that the British Government had no intention of forcing the English laws upon them, and therefore they would, with more facility, look at the operation and effect of thofe laws, compare them with the operation and effect of their own,

and