act of parliament. Such, however, was the anxiety of the King's ministers to avoid every needless cause of jealousy, that a bill (1 W. IV, c. 20) was introduced into parliament by Lord Ripon, and passed into a law, in order to relieve his Majesty from this difficulty. The Canadian Act was then accepted. Nor was this all. Striving to multiply, to the utmost possible extent, every proof and expression of respect and confidence towards the provincial legislature, the government intrcduced into the British statute, which has been last menmentioned, a further enactment, of which the effect was to absolve the Canadian legislature in future from every restraint laid upon them, by any act of parliament regulating the various incidents of the soccage tenure in the province. The barriers erected for the defence of the British settlers by the caution of parliament in the years 1791 and 1826 were thus overthrown, in order that there might be the fewest possible exceptions to the principle of confiding to the Canadian legislatore, the regulations of the internal interests of Lower Canada. No one will deny that this unsolicited concession was made in the spirit of the most large and liberal acceptance of the advice of the Canada committee, so far at least as the views and interests of the dominant majority of the house of assembly are concerned.

Ninthly. The next is the subject of the Jesuits' estates; in reference to which the views of the committee of 1828 are expressed as follows:-" With respect to the estates which formerly belonged to the Jesuits, your committee lament that they have not more full information. But it appears to them to be desirable

that the proceeds should be applied to the purposes of general education.

Far indeed beyond the letter of this advice did the concessions made by his Majesty, on the advice of Lord Ripon, proceed. Not only were the Jesuits' estates

applied to the purposes of general education," but the provincial legislature were authorised to determine what specific purposes of that kind should be preferred, and the proceeds of the estates were placed for that purpose unreservedly under their control. No suggestion has been made impeaching the fulness of this concession, except as far as respects certain buildings occupied for half a century past as barracks. Even if a rent should be payable by the Crown for the use of those barracks, (the single question admitting of debate,) it would be idle, on that ground, to deny either the importance of the concession made, or the almost unbounded confidence in the house of assembly, perceptible in the form and manner in which the crown renounced to them, not merely a proprietary right, but even an administrative function.

Tenthly. To the positive recommendations which have already been considered, succeeds another, of which the end is rather to dissuade than to advise the

adoption of any specific measure. "The committee (it it said) are desirous of recording the principle which, in their judgment, should be applied to any alterations in the constitutions of the Canadas, which were imparted to them under the formal act of the British legislature of 1791. That principle is to limit the alterations which it may be desirable to make, by any future British Acts,

as far as possible, to such points as, from the relation between the mother country and the Canadas, can only be disposed of by the paramount authority of the British legislature, and they are of opinion that all other changes should, if possible, be carried into effect by the local legislature themselves, in amicable communications with the local government.

So rigidly has this principle been observed, that of two acts of parliament which, since 1821, have been passed with reference to the internal concerns of the province, the common object has been so to enlarge the authority of the provincial legislature as to enable his Majesty to make with their concurrence, laws to the enactment of which they were positively incompetent. The acts in question are those already noticed, by which the revenues of Geo. III. were relinquished, and the regulation of soccage tenures was transferred to the governor, council, and assembly.

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Eleventhly. The committee" (again to borrow their own words) recommended, for the future, that steps should be taken by official securities, and by a regular audit of accounts, to prevent the recurrence of losses and inconveniences to the province, similar to those which had occurred in Mr. Caldwell's case," and " as connected with this branch of the enquiry, they recommended that precautions of the same nature should be adopted with regard to the sheriffs."

In reference to these suggestions, Sir George Murray proposed to the house of assembly, and Lord Ripon repeated the proposal, that the public accountants should pay their balances, at very short intervals, into the hands

of the commissary-general, tendering the security of the British treasury for the punctual re-payment of all such deposits. The scheme embraced a plan for a regular audit, and for the punctual demand of adequate securities. Sir James Kempt and Lord Aylmer were successively instructed to propose to the legislative council and assembly the enactment of such a law. The proposal was accordingly made to the assembly in the year 1829, and was repeated in the year 1832. On each occasion it was the pleasure of the house to pass it by in silence. That they had good reasons for their conduct, it would be unjust and indecorous to doubt. Those reasons, however, remain to this moment completely unknown to the executive government, who, having exhausted all their authority and influence in a fruitless attempt to give effect to this part of the Canada committee's recommendations, cannot, with any reason, be held responsible if they still have failed to produce the advantage contemplated to the province at large. *

Twelfthly. A further recommendation of the committee

* The executive government have not, however, abstained from such measures as were within their own power. They have established a fire-proof vault, with three keys, held by three separate officers of high rank, all of whom must be present whenever it is opened; and they have provided that the receiver-general shall not hold in his hands any balance exceeding £10,000 without depositing it in this vault; and that once at least in every year the contents of the vault shall be inspected, or reported on, by five persons named by the governor for the purpose. They have also taken security from the receiver-general to the extent of £10,000, with two sufficient sureties, and have required him to render statements of his accounts on the 1st January, 1st April, 1st July, and 1st October, in every year.

is conveyed in the report, in the following terms: "Your committee also beg leave to call the particular attention of the government to the mode in which juries are composed in the Canadas, with a view to remedy any defects that may be found to exist in the present system."

Here, again, the government pressed upon the house of assembly the importance of giving effect to the views of the committee; and, in fact, a law has received the royal assent, having for its object the improvement of the jury system—an object which has been pursued by those methods which the house of assembly themselves devised or adopted.

Thirteenthly. The report proceeds to recommend, "that the prayer of the Lower Canadians for permission to appoint an agent, in the same manner as agents are appointed by other colonies which possess local legislatures, should be granted."

His Majesty's government have accordingly repeatedly authorised the governor to assent to any bill which might be passed for that purpose. No such bill has, however, been presented for Lord Aylmer's acceptance. The assembly, in opposition to the advice of the committee, that the habits of other colonies should be followed as a precedent, have chosen to nominate, by resolutions of that house alone, gentlemen deputed to represent them in this kingdom, but who have not, as in other colonies possessing legislative assemblies, been appointed by an act of the entire legislature.

Fourteenthly. Upon the most careful perusal of the report of 1828, no other recommendations can be found addressed to the King's government, although the com