without their consent, by the last-mentioned imperial act.

3d. The Queen's casual and territorial revenue, which arises from her Majesty's landed property; namely, the Jesuits' estates, the Queen's posts, the forges of St. Maurice, the Queen's wharf, droit de quents, lods and vents, land fund, and timber fund.

With respect to crown duties, levied under 14 Geo. III, until they were unwisely surrendered in 1831, they were, with the territorial revenue, controlled and dispensed by her Majesty's responsible servants, while those levied under the imperial act of 3 Geo. IV, and all provincial acts, have always been under the disposal of the legislature. As the crown duties, levied under the 14 Geo. III, had generally, if not always, been inadequate to the support of the civil government and the administration of justice, Sir John Sherbrooke was instructed, in pursuance of the general system of retrenchment adopted throughout the empire, to call upon the legislature to appropriate, out of the provincial duties, a sum equal to the annual deficiency. To this reasonable request they have manifested a uniform repugnance, sometimes granting it, always objecting, and, finally, refusing altogether. They alleged now, for the first

time, that the crown duties were illegal, inasmuch as the statute under which they were levied had been repealed. The reason of their making this objection was, because the proceeds were not under their control, and their object was to make the executive dependent upon them for its support, by an annual vote. The existence of this statute was an insurmountable difficulty, and as they had not the power to repeal it, their only resource was to impugn its legality. The appropriation of the duties was thus provided for in the Act:-

"That all the monies that shall arise by the 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 Majesty's customs into the hands of his Majesty's receivergeneral in the said province for the time being, and shall be applied in the first place in making a more certain and adequate provision towards defraying the expenses of the administration of justice, and of the support of civil government in that province; and that the lord high treasurer, or commissioners of his Majesty's treasury, or any three or more of them for the time being, shall be, and is or are hereby empowered from time to time, by any warrant or

warrants 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 the said expenses; and that the residue of the said duties shall remain and be reserved in the hands of the said receiver-general for the future disposition of parliament."

The statute on which they relied was the 18th Geo. III. The history of that act of parliament you will doubtless recollect. Great Britain had set up a claim to impose taxes, for the purpose of general revenue, upon the colonies (now forming the United States), which, as might naturally be supposed, excited universal opposition-causing at first, popular tumult, and afterwards open rebellion. Finding that this claim could neither be justified nor enforced, it was expressly renounced, in the following words:

"Whereas taxation by the parliament of Great Britain for the purpose of raising a revenue in his Majesty's colonies, provinces, and plantations in North America, has been found by experience to occasion great uneasiness and disorders among his Majesty's faithful subjects, who may nevertheless be disposed to acknowledge the justice of contributing to the common defence of the empire, provided such contribu

tion should be raised under the authority of the general court or general assembly of each respective colony, province, or plantation; and, whereas, in order as well to remove the said uneasiness and to quiet the minds of his Majesty's subjects who may be disposed to return to their allegiance, as to restore the peace and welfare of all his Majesty's dominions, it is expedient to declare that the king and parliament of Great Britain will not impose any duty, tax, or assessment for the purpose of raising a revenue in any of the colonies, provinces, or plantations.

"That from and after the passing of that act, the king and parliament of Great Britain would not impose any duty, tax, or assessment whatever, payable in any of his Majesty's colonies, provinces, and plantations in North America, and the West Indies, except only such duties as it might be expedient to impose for the regulation of commerce; the net produce of such duties to be always paid and applied to and for the use of the colony, province, and plantation in which the same shall be respectively levied, in such manner as other duties collected by the authority of the respective general courts, or general assemblies of such colonies, provinces, or plantations are ordinarily paid and applied.”

That the renunciation of a right to impose taxes hereafter involves a repeal of those in existence, is an assumption which it is not necessary to refute. Indeed, no person did the party the injustice to believe that they sincerely thought so themselves, especially as in that province there was a local act, 35 Geo. III, c. 9, adopting its phraseology, and recognizing its existence and validity, by raising an additional revenue, for the further support of the government, to which purpose this act alone had any reference. It answered, however, the purposes of the party; it disorganized the government, and prevented English emigrants from removing to a colony in which evident preparation was making for a separation from the parent state. It also served to scatter the seeds of complaints, which soon germinated, and ripened into a plentiful harvest. It is the fashion in this country to call every change reform, the exercise of every acknowledged right, an abuse, and every salutary restraint a grievance. In the colonies we have long looked to Great Britain as our model, and we have imported this fashion from her, as well as many other modern innovations. If agitation is successful here, why may not it be so there?-if popular clamour requires and obtains conces