long and loudly made, for no other reason than that a public officer, not of the highest rank or consideration, had used some casual expression, in which the ultimate views of his Majesty's advisers were inaccurately explained. To the governor application could have immediately been made, for more authentic information ; and, in fact, the tenour of the despatch which had been received by Lord Aylmer, was perfectly well known throughout the province to every person who felt any interest in the subject. The measure has never since been revived; and it must be therefore assumed, that the assembly are less anxious than Lord Ripon supposed, for the removal of this obstruction to agriculture and internal improvement. Be that as it may, the British government are completely absolved from the responsibility thrown upon them by this part of the report of the Canada committee.

Sixthly. That body proceeding to other subjects connected with the wild lands of the province, expressed their opinion that-" It might be well for the government to consider whether the crown reserves could not be permanently alienated, subject to some fixed moderate reserved payment, either in money or in grain, as might be demanded, to arise out of the first ten or fifteen years of occupation." They add that, "they are not prepared to do more than offer this suggestion, which appears to them to be worthy of more consideration than it is in their power to give to it; but that in this or in some such mode, they are fully persuaded the lands thus reserved, ought, without delay, to be permanently disposed of."

In

pursuance of this advice, Lord Ripon directed the sale of the crown reserves throughout the province, as opportunity might offer, precisely in the same manner as any other part of the royal demesne. The system has undergone an entire change; and the crown reserves considered as distinct allotments, left in their wild state to draw a progressive-increasing value from the improvement of the vicinity, have no longer any existence.

Seventhly. Another abuse connected with the wild lands of Lower Canada was noticed by the committee, in the following language:-"One of the obstacles which is said greatly to impede the improvement of the country, is the practice of making grants of land in large masses to individuals, who had held official situations in the colony, and who had evaded the conditions of the grant by which they were bound to provide for its cultivation, and now wholly neglect it. Although powers have been lately acquired by the government to estreat those lands, and although we think that, under certain modifications, this power may be advantageously used, we are nevertheless of opinion that a system should be adopted similar to that of Upper Canada, by the levy of a small annual duty on lands remaining unimproved and unoccupied contrary to the conditions of the grant."

The remedial measure of a tax on wild land, which is suggested in the preceding passage, could, of course, originate only with the representatives of the people, and the house of assembly have not indicated any disposition to resort to that mode of taxation. To such a bill, if tendered by them, his Majesty's assent would have been cheerfully given. Yet the King's government did not

omit to avail themselves of all those remedial powers with which the Crown is entrusted. It is little to say (though it may be stated with the strictest truth), that since the date of the report, the system reprobated by the committee, of granting land in large masses to individuals, has been entirely discontinued. It is more material to add, that this change in practice is the result of a series of regulations established, on Lord Ripon's advice, in Lower Canada, and indeed throughout all the other British colonies. The system of gratuitous donations of land has been abandoned absolutely and universally; and during the last three years all such property has been disposed of by public auction to the highest bidder, at such a minimum price as to ensure the public at large against the waste of this resource by nominal or fictitious sales. This is not the occasion for vindicating the soundness of that policy, which, however, if necessary, it would not be hard to vindicate. It is sufficient for the immediate purpose of this minute to have shown, that on this as on other topics, the ministers of the Crown did not confine themselves to a servile adherence to the mere letter of the parliamentary recommendation, but embraced and gave the fullest effect to its genuine spirit.

Eighthly. The committee sought to relieve the province not only from the evils of improvident reservations and grants of wild lands, but from those incident to the tenures on which the cultivated districts are holden. The following passages on this subject appear in their report:-" They do not decline to offer as their opinion, that it would be advantageous, that the decla

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ratory enactment in the Tenures Act, respecting lands held in free and common soccage, should be retained.” "Your committee are further of opinion that means should be found of bringing into effective operation the clause in the Tenures Act, which provides for the mutation of tenure: and they entertain no doubt of the inexpediency of retaining the seigneurial rights of the crown, in the hope of deriving a profit from them. The sacrifice on the part of the crown would be trifling, and would bear no proportion to the benefit that would result to the colony from such a concession." "The committee cannot too strongly express their opinion, that the Canadians of French extraction should in no degree be disturbed in the peaceful enjoyment of their religion, laws, and privileges, as secured to them by the British acts of parliament; and so far from requiring them to hold lands on the British tenure, they think that when the lands in the seigneuries are fully occupied, if the descendants of the original settlers shall still retain their preference to the tenure of fief et seigneurie, they see no objection to other portions of unoccupied lands in the province being granted to them on that tenure, provided that such lands are apart from, and not intermixed with, the townships."

The British government are again entitled to claim the credit of having, to the utmost possible extent, regulated their conduct by the language, and still more by the spirit of this advice.

No application has been made for the creation of a new seigneurie, as indeed the period contemplated by the committee, when the seigneurial lands would be

fully occupied, still seems very remote. It is almost superfluous to add, that no attempt has been made to superinduce upon those lands any of the rules of the law of England.

The crown also has been prompt to bring into the most effective operation the clause of the Canada Tenures Act which provides for the mutation of tenures. But no lord or censitaire having hitherto invoked the exercise of the powers of the Crown, they have of necessity continued dormant. Respecting the soccage lands, some explanation seems necessary.

The general principle adopted by the committee in the passage already quoted, is that the inhabitants, both of French and of British origin, should respectively be left in the enjoyment of the law regulating the tenures of their lands derived from their different ancestors, and endeared to either party, by habit, if not by national prejudices. It has already been shown that the French Canadians have enjoyed the benefit of this principle to the fullest possible extent. In the anxiety which has been felt to gratify their wishes, it may not be quite clear that equal justice has been rendered to the inhabitants of British descent. The maintenance of so much of the Canada Tenures Act as rendered the soccage lands inheritable and transmissible according to English law, was most unequivocally recommended in the extracts already made from the report. The provincial legislature, however, in their session of 1829, made provision for the conveyance of such lands in a manner repugnant to this British statute. Of course his Majesty could not be advised to assent to a law which directly contravened an