AfftiztEllantotts.
There was a grand filte at Ravensworth Castle last week, to cele- brate the twenty-first birthday of Mr. Henry George Liddell, the eldest son of the Honourable Henry Thomas Liddell, M. P., and grandson of Lord Ravensworth. Among the company, were the Archduke Ferdi- nand of Austria, the Dutchess of Gloucester, and the Marquis of Nor- manby. In proposing the health of the Archduke, after dinner, Lord Normanby stated, that when Queen Victoria offered the Archduke the decoration of the Order of the Bath for his services in Syria, his Royal Highness, " with a grace which far exceeded that of unqualified accept- ance, professed his desire only to accept that grade of the order which would be bestowed upon officers of the same standing in our service."
The Archduke Ferdinand of Austria left Alnwick Castle, the Duke of Northumberland's seat, on Friday, for Edinburgh.
Lord Ashburton has returned to his country-residence, the Grange, near Basingstoke.
Saturday was the birth-day of the King of Prussia. The Chevalier Bunsen, the Prussian Minister, gave an entertainment in honour of the day, at his residence in Carlton House Terrace.
Dr. Buckland, Dr. Lyon Playfair, the translator of Liebig, and Mr. George Stephenson, the civil engineer, are [October 17th] on a visit to Drayton Manor. Sir Robert Peel invited his principal tenants and the leading agriculturists in the neighbourhood to meet them at breakfast, in order that they might profit by the opportunity of personal inter- course with men of so much eminence. A party of nearly thirty persons was assembled.—Standard.
Archdeacon Stopford, Chaplain to Primate Beresford, has been ap- pointed to the vacant Bishopric of Meath.
Lord Ffrench, a Roman Catholic Peer, has avowed himself a Re- pealer. He is, we believe, the only Member of the Peerage who has done so.—Globe.
The O'Connell Tribute has lost a plumper of 1001. a-year by the death of the late Master of the Rolls. This sum was regularly paid into the fund, with the signature " Anonymous" attached.—Limerick Chronicle.
Admiral Sir Charles Nugent met with a dangerous accident on Mon- day evening : he slipped off the kerb-stone while standing near Spring Gardens, looking at the Nelson monument, and fractured his thigh- bone half. way up from the knee. Sir Charles's advanced age—he is eighty-four—renders his recovery precarious. Sir 'William Geary, who lately cut a branch of the carotid artery by falling on the glass of a broken screen, is slowly recovering. Captain Basil Hall is suffering from paralysis; attributed to too great mental exertion. " The boy Jones," apprenticed on board the Warspite, absconded while that vessel was staying at Portsmouth, and came to town. On Wednesday morning, the Police found him at his father's house in Bell Yard, York Street, Westminster; and he was sent back to Portsmouth.
The Times states that the Treasury have taken into their own hands the investigation into the recent frauds in the Customs. It is reported that some other officers have been suspended. A correspondent of the Morning Post gives the following as a correct account of the " location " of the new Commissioners of Bankruptcy — B ermingharn—Mr. Balguy (Q.C.) and Mr. Daniell. L iverpool—Mr. Skirrow (Q. C.) and Mr. Charles Phillips. Manchester—Mr. Sergeant Ludlow and Mr. Jemmett. Leeds—Mr. M. J. West and Mr. Montagu Bere. Bristol—Mr. Sergeant Stephen and Mr. Stevenson. Exeter—Mr. Sergeant Goulburn.
Newcastle—Mr. Ellison.
An address was presented to Lord Palmerston, at his residence, on Tuesday last, by a numerous deputation from the British and Foreign Anti-Slavery Society. The address began by stating that the Commit. tee of the Society, widely as they differed from Lord Palmerston on some not unimportant questions, felt themselves called upon publicly to record their high sense of the eminent services which he had rendered to the Anti-Slavery cause when Foreign Secretary. The chief points which they enumerated were, that Lord Palmerston recognized and affirmed the great principle, that no British functionary of any class, residing in the countries where slavery and the slave-trade exist, should either hold or hire slaves for any purpose whatever ; that he had in- structed the Queen's representatives at Foreign Courts to urge the adop- tion of that principle on the Governments to which they were accre- dited; that be had "recognized and affirmed the principle, that British functionaries in slave-holding countries should represent the well- known views and feelings of the Government and people of this country on the subject of slavery and the slave-trade,"—alluding particularly lo a correspondence between Lord Palmerston and the Spanish Govern- ment respecting the appointment and conduct of Mr. Turnbull as Bri- tish Consul in Cuba ; and that he had demanded the liberation of Africans who had been unlawfully introduced into the Spanish colonies. Lord Palmerston expressed himself highly gratified by the address, and said that the Committee did him but justice in believing that he took the deepest interest in every thing that could tend finally to extinguish slavery and the slave-trade. The Viscount's reply contains some curi- ous admissions-
" I am afraid that it is impossible to hope that the slave-trade can be entirely, or at least permanently abolished, until the condition of slavery shall itself have ceased to exist ; because, so long as slavery anywhere prevails, there will be a great temptation held out to unprincipled men to carry on that criminal traffic. Bat, nevertheless, if all the Governments of Christendom would sincerely com- bine to hinder their own subject3 and citizens from carrying on the slave-trade, and would also agree to an interchange of assistance to prevent their respective laws against the slave-trade from being violated, I verily believe, that the slave- trade might be reduced to an amount Infinitely small as compared with its pre- sent extent; and that so long as due vigilance was executed by land, and an active police was maintained on the sea, that trade would be almost entirely sup- pressed."
Therefore was it an object of unceasing solicitude with the late Go- vernment to multiply treaties conceding the mutual right of search-
" It is no doubt true, as has been asserted by some, that the very measures which have been adopted for the suppression of the slave-trade, have aggravated the sufferings of those Negroes who in spite of all our endeavours have annually been carried off from the coast of Africa; because our measures have driven the slave-traders to resort to all those contrivance for despatch and concealment which necessarily belong to an illicit trade, and those contrivances inevitably increase the misery of those wretched Africans who are the victims of them. But this circumstance, so far from being a reason for relaxing our efforts, ought rather to stimulate us to increase them, because if we could altogether prevent the trade, these sufferings would altogether cease with it. Now, there can be no doubt that the measures which Great Britain has for many years past taken for the abolition of her own slave-trade, and for the extirpation of the slave-trade of other nations, have greatly narrowed the extent to which the slave-trade would otherwise have been carried."
[The logical sequence of the several propositions in the foregoing extract is worth noting. The very measures at present used and still advocated by Lord Palmerston and his friends halve aggravated the sufferings of the Negroes : if the trade could be altogether extirpated, those sufferings would cease, (an identical proposition); and the trade has been " narrowed" in extent, compared with what it might have been : ergo—Lord Palmerston does not state what he meant for the con- clusion, and his premises do not lead to any at all.] He took credit for having prevented what " would " have been— "It is possible, as some persons have thought, that the number of Negroes now annually carried across the Atlantic may be equal to the number that were so carried at the time when Great Britain first took this great matter in hand; but, to judge of the effect of our preventive efforts, we must compare the num- ber of slaves now clandestinely carried over, in spite of all the vigilance and efforts of our cruisers, with the number that would be so carried if no obstruc- tion were offered to the trade, and if, on the contrary, it were a permitted trade and free. And we must likewise compare the limited demand for slaves now arising from Cuba and Brazil, with the demand which would have existed at this time, if all the colonies of Great Britain, of France, of Holland, and Den- mark, together with Brazil and Cuba, bad continued to import without impe- diment or restraint an unlimited supply of slaves." [How can he contrive to find the data for those statistical comparisons ?l
Therefore, in the existing state of things he saw every motive for strenuous perseverance in " our efforts."
From a recently published correspondence between Mr. Charles Buller and Miss Martineau, it appears that, before vacating office, Lord Melbourne, through Mr. Buller, offered Miss Martineau a Civil-list pension of 1501. a year. She declined the offer, for the following among other reasons- " Such services as I may have rendered them—[the working classes] are un- consciously received by them ; but 1 cannot accept reward at any expense to them. If this provision be not designed as recompense, but as aid, as a pure gift, I cannot take it ; for they who provide the means have no voice in the appropriation of it to me personally. Whenever we obtain a just system of taxation, the time may perhaps follow when, among other considerations, some plan may be discovered by which the People's Representatives may exercise the power of encouraging and rewarding merit and services, working through the press; and even then, the most scrupulous, with no better view of their own claims than I have, may be happy to receive, in their time of need, aid from the public purse. Meanwhile, I seriously and truly feel, that I had rather, if need were, (to put an extreme case,) receive aid from the parish, and in the workhouse, where I could clearly read my claim, than in the very agreeable manner proposed, where I can see no excuse for my own indulgence. If it be true that, in the case of gifts, we do not nicely measure the grounds of elate, surely there is an exception in the one case of gifts from the public purse." The operation of the Tariff induces the collection of reports from the several cattle-fairs about the country ; and the following brief review is condensed from several such sources.
There was a large show of cattle at Mahon Michaelmas fair, but little business was done. The same was the case at Howden and Red- ruth. At Axminster the supply and sale were both small. Stock was abundant at Braintree, but the demand was small and prices were low ; and so it was at Bolton and Ross. Torrington, Hull, and Leicester fairs were well supplied, and prices were satisfactory. At Brough Hill cattle-fair, the first market in the North of England, the graziers lost " not only their year's keep, but in some cases their travelling-ex- penses." The Carnarvon Herald tells an anecdote of unsuccessful graz- ing speculation- " A gentleman farmer, not two miles from Aberystwitb, purchased at Lledrod fair, in October 1841, nine head of cattle, and kept them well with turnips, hay, &c., during the winter, and on excellent grass through the summer ; and at the last Lledrod fair, held on the 7th instant, sold the nine, and had only realized to his pocket for their excellent keep the sum of I ls." The story does not materially differ in Scotland. At St. Ninian's fair, sales were not easily effected, and prices were fully 6s. a head lower than last year. There was but little business done at Sligacban cattle-tryst. At Jedburgh Rood-day fair, sellers stood out for higher prices than the buyers would give ; but being at length obliged to sub- mit to a considerable reduction, business proceeded pretty briskly. At Ayr and Calder the supply was not large; and business was flat. The show of cattle was great at Michael fair, Kinkel! ; but little was done.
At the great Irish fair of Ballinasloe, the fall in prices was greater than was expected—from 40s. to Ns. a head. Bullocks, which during the preceding years had gradually risen from 131. 108. to 171., started up to 181. and 18/. 10s. Heifers, ranging in the previous years from 141. to la., went up to 161. 10s. and 161. 168. Both have more suddenly dropped back again to their former level : in 1842, prices have fallen from 151. 10s. to 15/. as. for first-class bullocks and heifers. The prices at Boyle fair have proved " most disheartening." Com- paratively trifling sales were effected at Lisburn fair, owing to " the curious feeling at present existing between the farmer and the dealer." The fair at Orchard " ruled dull, owing to the continued prevalence of distemper as well as the Tariff; both contributing to keep back buyers." The supply was good at Nenagh, but prices were low. At Skreene the reduction of prices was very great, 31. to 31. 10s. on cattle, as compared with last year. A good share of business was transacted at Clonmell fair : the prices were remunerating, and not so low as some persons anticipated. The fair of Craigue was very thinly attended. Kilcallen fair was well attended: "good stock of every description (says the Carlow Sentinel) brought remunerating prices—the consequence of a subsidence of the panic, which injured the markets, and only served the Dublin butchers and Government contractors." It was much the same at Tralee and Enniskillen.
Alluding to Ballinasloe fair, the Dublin Evening Mail does not attri- bute this year's fall of prices to any effect of the Tariff : " it certainly had nothing to do with the rise, and is insufficient in its effects to have produced more than a very slight acceleration in the fall "- " The rise seems attributable to the steadily increasing demand of the English market, joined to the readiness with which the holders of stock have been able to procure bank-accommodation. The fall seems a natural consequence of a system of false credit beginning to be felt concurrently with-a fatal epidemic among cattle, and extensive disturbances and consequent interruption of sales in England. • • • Taking all things into consideration, we think the agricultural interest ought to be satisfied that the fair has substantially turned out so well. There never, perhaps, was a conjunction of circumstances so ad- verse : Manchester idle ; cattle dying of the distemper on the very fair-green ; the Tariff just coming into operation, with all the exaggeration of novelty to aggravate any mischief it might do; and bills upon bills coming round with in- creased stamp-duties on their renewal. The wonder is that, with so many inducements to part with stock for any thing it would bring, our graziers have been able to procure the reasonable prices they have done. The crisis, how- ever, is past. Manchester is returning, though slowly, to work ; the distem- per will vanish at the approach of winter ; the Tariff panic is rapidly subsiding; money is abundant beyond precedent. We have weathered the point, and may expect more sea-room, or, to speak plainly, may look for better times every day..
Hamburg and American corned beef and pork have been selling at 3d. and 4d. a pound, at Falmouth, Bedford, Worcester, and other places.
The Acadia steamer arrived at Liverpool on Friday night, with in- telligence from Montreal to the 27th of September, and from Kingston to the 24th : but it reached London too late for our first edition, and for our second we could but indicate the nature of the advice'. They told of no additional events in Canada beyond those related in the papers received by the Great Western ; but they supplied some in- teresting explanations. We begin with the letter of the Colonial Gazette correspondent, in continuation of the series from which we have already quoted-
'• Kingston, 231 September 1892.
" At the close of my last communication, I expressed a hope, that if Sir Charles Bagot would but persevere in his offer of justice to the French Cana- dians, he would not have cause to repent of the bold endeavour to obtain their confidence, in which he had failed for the moment That hope has been com- pletely realized. The causes of the temporary failure are explained in the accompanying paper, which has been written by an English traveller totally unconnected with Canada, but enjoying peculiar opportunities of communica- tion with the leading men of all parties. You will see from this narrative, that the Governor-General's proposal to Mr. Lafontaine was declined by that gen- tleman chiefly because he doubted its having been made with a sincere wish that he should accept it. As was almost inevitable, reflection convinced him that he had misjudged Sir Charles Begot. When the terms offered became known, the supporters and friends of Mr. Lafontaine urged upon their leader the propriety of his accepting such large concessions ; the Governor-General consented to remove two trifling objections to the plan of a new Administra- tion, which had formed the ground of Mr. Lafontaine's refusal of his Excel- lency's offer ; and then all difficulty was removed. The result is, that a Government has been formed which has commanded on the first testing-vote a majority of 55 to 5 in the House of Assembly. "Even I, who so long ago as the 12th of last month ventured to foretell that the policy which has been pursued by Sir Charles Begot would produce the most happy results, am surprised at the absolute success that has attended it. Though but a few clays have elapsed since Mr. Lafontaine was sworn in as At- torney-General, the Union of the Provinces, heretofore utterly distasteful to the bulk of the inhabitants of Lower Canada, is already spoken of by their
representatives in Parliament as the main cause to which they are indebted for having received for the first time at the hands of the British Government a large measure of justice. It is acknowledged by all who converse with them, that their opposition to the principle of the Union has already ceased. But Sir Charles Begot has accomplished even more than this. By proving that he was resolved to give effect to the representative principle by attending to the wishes of the majority, he has led the French Canadians to understand, for the first time, that singular part of the British constitution which has here got to be called by the name of "responsible government." Hard to believe as it yet is, there can be no doubt that the leading men of Lower Canada have adopted the Union of the Provinces and the plan of seeking for justice for their race, no longer by means of a dogged opposition to every thing, but through the in- strumentality of the principle on which Sir Robert Peel recently took the place of Lord Melbourne when the House of Commons desired the change. " Excepting only those Lower Canada British and Upper Canada Tories, who could not muster more than five votes in the Assembly against the address of thanks to the Governor-General for the course he has pursued, the whole population of Canada in both divisions of the Province now feel that good government has been assured to them. Disloyalty is extinct ; and Sir Charles Bagoi's Government is not only the most popular, but the strongest ever known in Canada. It is commonly said by men of all parties here, excepting only the small minority represented the other day in the Assembly by five votes, that Sir Robert Peel may safely withdraw the greater part of the troops. " Two features in the present aspect of our politics are worthy of remark. In the first place, the news of a great measure of justice towards the French has been received with calmness even by the most violent of the British party in Lower Canada. Their especial organ, the ferocious Montreal Herald, speaks tamely and even reasonably on the subject; thereby admitting, that what has been done was unavoidable, and showing that it has been done effectually. Secondly, every French Canadian that one meets is a preacher of moderation, ahnost a pleader against the supposition that the new Executive Council will advise hasty or extreme measures. The lion and the lamb seem equally ready to lie down together in peace. This signal revolution of sentiment has been produced by the thoroughgoing nature of Sir Charles Bagot's act of justice and policy. If he had tried a half measure, or still more a sham one, the great end in view—the settlement of men's minds into a tranquil feeling of confi- dence as to the future—would most assuredly not have been attained. Let us note for his glory, that he is the Governor of Canada who first tried upon the French Canadians the tranquillising influence of real justice. ‘• It will perhaps be represented in England by persons here, who have hitherto, whether for importance or money, made a trade of the troubles of this country, that Sir Charles Begot has been guilty of causing a revolution : and
true it is that the change is as great as it was sudden : but it is a change from disaffection to loyalty in the people, and from weakness to strength in the
Government. And by what means has this revolution, if so it must be called, been produced ?—By the simple method of acknowledging that representation has natural consequences, and that the chief of these is respect for the voice of the majority. Hitherto, as regards both the Provinces down to last year, and Lower Canada at all times, the consequences of representation have been de- nied : the Executive has sided with the minority; and the British constitu-
tion has been a sham. Sir Charles Begot has done no more than apply to this country the representative system of England, as it was expounded last year in the House of Commons by Sir Robert Peel.
" I rejoice in being able to acquaint you, that even among the few to whom the new policy of this Government is distasteful, there is not one whose opinions deserve any weight with anybody that pretends to assert that the gravest evils for Canada and the empire could have been averted by any other course than that which Sir Charles Begot has pursued. Ask of whom you will, what could have been done except combining the natural majority of the whole Province and giving them influence in the Executive ; and the answer is. Prorogue the Parliament, appeal to England, and look out for a Newfound- land constitution, with a large accession to the armed force. This is just what some madmen here would have liked; and these are just the men whom Sir Charles Begot has put down. The thanks of England are his due, still more for what he has prevented than for his excellent performance. We have had, indeed, a narrow escape from dangers which will never be known at home, but which were obvious to every reflecting person on the spot. Even now, though 1 hear on all sides only expressions of satisfaction, I am troubled with a rem- nant of the fears which dictated my last communication."
We subjoin extracts from a letter on " The Crisis in Canadian Af- fairs, by an English Traveller," alluded to in the foregoing communica- tion— " Negotiations commenced, which ended by an offer to Mr. Lafontaine to the following effect. Mr. Lafontaine to be Attorney-General of Lower Canada, in the room of Mr. Ogden, with permission to recommend• a person of British origin as Solicitor-General. Mr. Girouard to be Commissioner of Crown Lands, in the room of Mr. Davidson. with a seat in the Executive Council ; Mr. Morin or Mr. Parent, to be Clerk of the Executive Council, and Mr. Baldwin to be Attorney-General of Upper Canada, in the room of Mr. Draper. A pension was to be promised to be supported in the Assembly for Mr. Ogden ; a provision to be promised for Mr. Davidson; and the place of the Solicitor- General of Upper Canada was reserved in consequence of the absence of Mr. Sherwood. A letter to Mr. Lafontaine should have reached him before eleven o'clock on the morning of Tuesday the 13th instant. It miscarried, and was not delivered until less than an hour before the meeting of the House of Assembly at three o'clock. Mr. Lafontaine, upon receiving it, waited upon his Excellency the Governor; when the letter containing the proposal was delivered to him. On reading it, Mr. Lafontaine made three objections—one, to the pension to Mr. Ogden, upon the ground that he did not think the House would grant it, which he might most reasonably doubt; that a provision for Mr. Davidson ought not to be a condition ; and that there should be no question of the office of Solicitor-General of Upper Canada becoming vacant. As there was no time for discussion or correspondence, the proposed arrangement was treated to be at an end. Mr. Lafontaine went to the House, having had no direct communication with the members of the Administration, and believing that the letter of Sir C. Begot would be considered as private and confidential. After the address to the Governor in answer to his speech on opening the session had been moved, the Attorney-General, Draper, rose and read the letter containiniug the proposal which had been made. His speech was excellent in its temper, and in its expression of a real desire to preserve the peace of the Province by removing the cause of great sectional differences. He said that he bad been of opinion, in Lord Sydenhatres time, that it was ne- cessary to admit the representatives of the majority of the population of Lower Canada to share in the Government, and that papers in his office would prove it. He well estimated the nature of the connexion between Mr. Baldwin and the Canadian party, and bad most willingly offered to resign his office in order to accomplish the proposed arrangement. He regretted the offer had failed.
hatever opinions Mr. D.'s personal enemies may now express, when the im- portance of what he did shall be understood, be will, without doubt, obtain the approbation to which he is entitled. Mr. Baldwin followed, and proposed an amendment to the address, including iu it an expression of want of confidence in the Administration. Mr. Lafontaine expressed his surprise that he had not been informed that the letter would be read, having considered it to have been a private communication. There then followed a bitter recriminatory debate ;
into which many threw themselves, without, apparently, having the slightest conception of the great public interests their speeches endangered. On the
adjournment of the debate, the Union appeared to be at an end. The forma-
tion of a party in the House of Assembly sufficiently strong to support an Administration seemed impossible. The only events which might be considered
certain were, the recall of Sir C. Begot in the space of some six weeks, the reestablishment of a military government, and in about eighteen months the experiment of a Newfoundland constitution. " In the Legislative Council, the Honourable Mr. Sullivan, on the same evening, communicated the offer made to the Canadian party. He stated that they were not invited to join the Government by ones or twos, in the cha. racter of a purchased people, in order to brand them afterwards as traitors to their opinions, but in a capacity that would give them real weight with the Government, and leave them nothing to complain of subsequently. They wished to place them in a situation which would give them real and substantial justice, and desired the people to accept it immediately from the hands of their representatives. The policy of the offer could not have been better expressed. "The next day, Mr. Lafontaine explained the nature of the objections which he had made to the proposal; which he bad not refused. He was bound in honour not to have accepted it as it stood, knowing that he had no power to make any agreement with respect to the pension. Had he assented to the pension, and afterwards been defeated upon it, how loud would have been the reproaches he would have beard. Nor could be have assented to the arrangement respecting Mr. Sherwood's office without forgetting his obligations to Mr. Baldwin : if acting alone, upon his own judgment, the honour of Mr. Baldwin was in his keeping: if acting, as he no doubt did, with the concurrence
of Mr. Baldwin, it was impossible for Mr. Baldwin, having any regard for his character, to have allowed any doubt to exist upon the subject. The result was,
that these objectionable parts of the proposal were moat properly and wisely abandoned, and the arrangement took effect. Mr. Lafontaine was sworn in Attorney-General for Lower Canada, and Mr. Baldwin for Upper Canada. " Upon Monday the 20th, Mr. Johnston moved for a return respecting a reward of 500L which bad been paid to Mr. Simpson, M.P.P., to whom Mr. Girouard voluntarily delivered himself, during the rebellion. To the credit of the House, he was not even seconded, and the motion was lost. The subject bad been alluded to on a previous evening, when several members spoke in terms of great praise of Mr. Girouard. On the 20th, also, Mr. Dunscomb moved an address to the Governor, expressing the satisfaction of the House with the course he had pursued, 'it being persuaded, that in order to place the Government of the Province upon a firm and permanent basis, it was abso- lutely necessary to invite that large portion of their fellow-subjects who are of French origin, to share in the government of their country, and thereby to carry into effect the wise and just designs of the Imperial authority ; and that the House hailed the event as being calculated to heal the dissensions by which Canada has been prevented from advancing in a career of prosperity commen- surate with the advantages which Providence has placed at its disposal, and offered to his Excellency its heartfelt thanks for having, by his wisdom and firmness, opened so bright a prospect to the loyal and now contented people over whom he is called upon to rule.' fhis address was carried by a majority
of 55 to 5, out of 84 members. Three members of the Cabinet were by accident absent at the division ; three members of the Cabinet have vacated
their seats ; and twelve members, nearly all in favour of the address, were absent from Kingston. A few days before, the majority against the Adminis- tration was about 16. The minority was composed of Sir A. Macnab, Mr. J. Johnston, Mr. Moffatt, Mr. Cartwright, and Mr. Neilson, formerly a member of Sir J. Colborne's Special Council. The address, as it was at first proposed, expressed an approbation of the ' changes' which bad been made; but as this word appeared to imply a censure of Mr. Draper, who had advised the change and retired to effect it, and whose conduct had been very honourable and manly, Mr. Dunscomb consented to omit it. In the majority were Mr. Black and Mr. Burnet, the members for Quebec, the former, Judge of the Admiralty Court, and the other a merchant ; Mr. Holmes, M.P. for Montreal, of the Montreal Bank ; Mr. Dunscomb, M.P. for Beauharnois, a merchant of Montreal ; and several members of the townships of Lower Canada."
The English Traveller concludes thus- " The most creditable feature of the debate was the unanimous desire to act upon friendly terms with the Canadians, and the disclaimers of any wish to treat them offensively or discourteously. They are entitled to this mark of respect. It was the loyalty of the Canadians which preserved the Province to the British Crown 'at the time of the American rebellion. Had they then exhibited any hostility to a British connexion, this great field of British en- terprise, British capital, and British emigration, would have been lost. They did not expect justice from the United States, but relied upon the justice of the
English Government. In 1814, they again showed their fidelity to the English Crown, repulsing the Americans from the frontier, and voting the necessary supplies to carry on the war; almost the only dissentient to their liberality being Sir James Stuart, Bart. In 1836, their opposition to the law was not a dislike to British connexion, but to the misconduct of provincial authorities. They desire justice. Let this be granted, and the conduct of Sir C. Bagot promises that they will receive it, and all frontier disturbances are at an end ; moderation will preside in the Councils of the Canadians, and their loyalty and their attachment to the Government will again be conspicuous. The restoration of peace to Canada will not be the least of the measures which will distinguish Sir Robert Peel's Administration at home, through the support which he will, no doubt, heartily afford to Sir. C. Begot."
The Morning Post gives a letter from Kingston, vouching for the writer's accuracy as to facts, but protesting against his opinions : he cordially approves of Sir Charles Bagot's act, and confirms the account of the writers just quoted as to its effect in the province- " The whole House went up to the Governor-General to present this ad- dress. The country generally has echoed the sentiments of applause embodied in the address. In Lower Canada, among the French, all is joy in anticipation of the future, whilst oblivion of past dissensions is sedulously cultivated. They feel that they are no longer a proscribed race in their own country ; that they are released upon a footing of inferiority, and allowed with their fellow- subjects of another origin to take their seats in the councils of their Sovereign From From a prostrate people they have become erect ; and, if we were to take their own account for it, their happiness es complete. The mercurial character of the French Canadians has been shown in the rapid feeling they have exhibited upon this occasion. But they have shown heart, which is a better trait. Their hearts, I think, have really been reached by the step taken by Sir Charles Begot. He is the first Governor that has acted upon the principle of equal justice to their race; and he has done this with a degree of frankness which has won their full confidence in his sincerity. They suspect no trick or guile, no arriere pens& in his proceeding ; and this confidence they appear to derive from their estimate of his personal character, which seems strive deception." The same writer disposes of personal charges against the loyalty of the new members of the Administration. Speaking of such a charge against Mr. Baldwin, he says— "It is a part of ancient misgovernment of the country that such accusations have been encouraged or permitted. Mr. Baldwin is a man of the highest legal attainments, and at the head of his profession as regards practice. In private life, and in all dealings between man and man, he bears an irreproach- able character. He is independent in fortune, and belongs to a family in pos- session of means second to none in the country. These are strong guarantee s for a love of peace and order. In the colour of his politics he has ever been a Liberal ; and the extent of his Liberalism was the desire to assimilate the working of the institutions of Government in Canada to the practice of tie Mother- country, in the professed belief that such a scheme was practicable, safe, and consistent with a state of dependency, and calculated to cement more strongly the connexion with Great Britain."
A reward was offered for the apprehension of Mr. Girouard during the rebellion ; and that fact is now made much of, most unfairly and dishonestly- " Mr. Girouard has not yet accepted the offer made to him ; and, being a man in very lucrative private practice as a notary, with the management of nearly all the ecclesiastical property in the island of Montreal, and being some- what advanced in years, it is probable that be will prefer remaining as he is. It is also said that Mr. Girouard wishes to retire altogether from political life. He has for the last year and a half been an active partisan and warm eulogist of the British Government in his district, publicly addressing the habitans in favour of the new institutions whenever an agitator has attempted to mislead them. He is a man of commanding talents, and has, perhaps, a more potential voice with the habitant than any other of his countrymen ; and, with the senti- ments he now proclaims, may become a valuable ally of the British Crown. Mr. Girouard is one of many hundreds who was imprisoned during the troubles, and finally released without trial or charge."
The appointment had been gazetted of Mr. Thomas Cushing Aylwyn to be Queen's Counsel and Solicitor-General for Canada East, with a seat In the Executive Council. It was reported that the correspond- ing appointment for the other half of the Province was destined for Mr. James E. Small.
The Quebec Gazette mentions a newspaper puzzle— "The following paragraph is from the Commercial Advertiser of the 20th instant. Theeientiments of the writer, we believe, have been participated in by many in this province. ' It is a noticeable enough fact, that the London Spectator of the 3d, which we have this day received, contains a long letter from Montreal, dated August 12th, in which the present position of affairs at Kingston, and especially the doings in Parliament, are most distinctly fore- shadowed. The writer speaks with such close approximation to the reality, that, were it not physically impossible, one might suppose his letter written after the occurrence of the events foretold in it '
The address of the House of Assembly in reply to the Governor- General's opening speech was moved and carried on the 19th. The most interesting passage for us is an allusion to the Ashburton treaty— the first official notice of the subject by inhabitants of the North American Colonies-
" We receive with great satisfaction the information that a treaty between Great Britain and the United States of America has been signed on the part of her Majesty, and since ratified by the Federal Senate, by which the impor- tant questions affecting this Province and the United States have been ad- justed; and we augur the most favourable consequences from the assurance thus afforded that peace will be maintained, and our undivided energies left to be directed to the advancement and development of those resources which a mer• ciful Providence has so bountifully bestowed upon us."
The Acadia brought intelligence from New York to the 30th, only one day later than the Great Western.
Mr. Webster met his fellow-citizens of Boston in Fanenil Hall, on that day. The hall was crowded in every part ; people having come from places as far South as Baltimore. The Mayor delivered an address to Mr. Webster ; who replied in a speech which bad been looked for with some anxiety. as likely to contain a declaration whether or not he intended to remain in office. In his introductory and complimentary remarks, Mr. Webster stated, that it was twenty-five years since he came with his family to pursue professional studies at Boston, and twenty since his fellow-citizens invited him to clothe himself with a public trust. He took a very brief and not very distinct review of public affairs since the inauguration of President Harrison in 1841 ; alluding to the conduct of England in the Caroline affair in terms of condemnation ; but rejoicing in the gradual disuse of war to settle international disputes : " it has been truly said, that every peace arrange- ment is a new tribute to Christianity, and a new proof of the benign influences of the Christian faith." He abstained from alluding to the terms of the recent treaty, as it would be " awkward " to do so while the whole of the correspondence was not published ; but he stated that Mr. Tyler had intrusted the whole responsibility and discretion of the negotiation to him. Here he paid a passing compliment to the Com- missioner; for Maine and Massachusetts, and one more studied to Lord Ashburton-
" A happy selection was made by England of the minister to whom her inter- ests were confided. A thorough Englishman, well understanding and faith- fully pursuing the interests of his country—a statesman of large and liberal
views—of such standing and weight at home, that whatever he did was almost sure to receive the sanction of his Government and the approbation of his conn- trymen—at the same time well acquainted with the relations between the two
countries—thinking favourably, and always, on suitable opportunities, acting favourably towards the United States—if be finds his work well received at home, be may congratulate himself upon having made an arrangement conform- able to the honour and interests of all concerned, and may well say, that in this he has achieved the greatest labour of his life."
He alluded to surviving subjects of anxiety-
" Aside from the North-eastern Boundary question, the correspondence will show that other subjects of great moment to the country have been attentively discussed. The opportunity was not neglected of calling the attention of the British Government to important questions which have long remained unset- tled between the two countries. In relation to all these matters, I look with deep concern, but with faith and trust, to the judgment of the people. There yet remain in our foreign relations several subjects of considerable magnitude which demand attention. Even with England several questions are yet unset- tled. An arrangement was made in the year 1830 respecting the Colonial trade on this continent and with the West Indies, of which I have taken the pains to keep the run at the present time. I have the misfortune to know that that arrangement has proved extremely unfavourable to the shipping interest of the United States, and especially to New England. The department with which I am connected has been called upon for a report in relation to this sub- ject. A report has also been presented to the House of Representatives by a Committee of that body. I hold this subject to be one of vital importance to the navigating interests of the country. A question of somewhat more impor- tance is the line of boundary of our territory on the Pacific West of the Rocky Mountains. I need not advert to the necessity of deciding this question before the country shall become settled on one aide or on the other. We have unset• tied relations, too, with other states. American citizens have claims on most of the Governments on this continent, arising out of occurrences in which they have been unfairly treated. It becomes the United States, by a calm and dig- nified course of action, which shall be at the same time decisive in its tone, to insure a prompt settlement of these demands."
On the subject of his continuance in office be declined to enlighten his hearers, desiring to be free to act according to his judgment under future contingencies ; but, reprobating strongly certain resolutions passed by a Whig convention, he implied that he was not prepared to separate from President Tyler- " If the President shall look deeply into the principles of indirect trade and of reciprocity treaties, and if measures are to be taken to revive our suffering commerce, are the Whigs of Massachusetts to resist these measures, and to op- pose such efforts for their advantage, merely because they emanate from the present Administration ? Here, among us, are gentlemen who do know that more than one-half of the carrying-trade between the Brazils and the United States is engrossed by tonnage from the North of Europe. This is one of the unavoidable consequences of the so-called reciprocity treaties, in which the benefit is always on one side and the burden on the other. By those treaties we take the bread from our children's mouths, and give it to strangers. I ask you, (Turning to Mr. Benjamin Rich, who sat near him,) as a shipowner, if this is not true? " (Mr. Rich replied emphatically—" It is true.")
He enumerated the chief objects for which the Whigs struggled—the settlement of a permanent peace with England, the procuring of a suf- ficient revenue, and " protection " in commerce. This led to cordial praise of the new tariff-
" This tariff has accomplished much. I honour the men who passed it. It has restored the country to the state in which it was before the Compromise Act was passed. It has repaired the consequence of that — measure. I may speak of the Compromise Act ; my turn to speak has now come. I can truly say, that no measure that has passed during my career in Congress gave me more grief and mortification. It was caned by a few friends joining the whole host of our enemies. Its objects were to impose upon the Legislature, for all time to come, a restriction which the constitution had not imposed—to introduce a new prohibitory clause into the constitution, to the effect that, after 1842, no duties exceeding 20 per cent (and those levied upon an absurd horizontal principle) should thereafter be imposed by Congress. It was a new, false, and dangerous principle, which was carried only by the pressure of emergency. I predicted at the time that the operation of this measure would be most disastrous, and that when its consequences could be borne no longer it would produce a spasm and a throe throughout the country to get rid of it. But now, thank God, we have got rid of it."
He declared his hearty concurrence in the Secretary of the Treasury's plan for an Exchequer ; the necessity of which he strongly urged, as a means of providing a general system of exchanges and currency throughout the Union. He declared that the restriction of the Presi- dential veto was a measure which no one expected to live to see. Towards the close of his long speech, he alluded in emphatic terms to " the mortifying state of the public credit of the country abroad"- " I cannot help thinking, that if the statesmen of a former age—if Washing- ton, John Adams, Hamilton, and Madison—could now come among us, they would be deeply concerned and soberly thoughtful about the present state of the public credit. In the performance of the duties of my department, I ant obliged to read communications from public agents in foreign countries ; and it is frequently deeply painful to me to peruse their accounts of the scorn and contumely with which American credit is spoken of abroad. Stocks of the United States, which ought to command 125, will not bring a dollar. Does not this commonwealth also suffer? Is there not a man strong enough—with a mind sufficiently large and comprehensive to show to the American people what must be the result of abandoning the true principles of finance—what sufferings must ensue from leaving these great questions unadjusted ? Some, indeed, are indiscreet enough to rely upon repudiation. Does repudiation pay a debt? Until the debt is paid, is it not always binding in law and morals? Repudiation only adds disrepute to acknowledged inability. It is our duty to rouse public feeling; it is ours to maintain and assert the beneficial influence of law, of honesty, and good faith. It is said that people abroad ought to discri- minate between the State Stocks and those of the United States. So they ought. But the same people constitute the States individually and the United States; and if the State Governments repudiate, how long, they may well ask, will it be before the United States will do the same without rebuke from the people? Here is a stain upon our character which we ought to feel worse than a wound; and all the people of the country should address themselves soberly and seriously to the work of eradicating it. I do not undertake to say what Congress may have power to do in the premises ; but if the great public domain does indeed belong to the States, then there is a means provided to enable them to save their credit."
The Journal des Mats has some remarks on the French finances, marked by the vaunting spirit characteristic of the nation, bat also not without interest— "The Moniteur of this day (October 15th) publishes the comparative table of the produce of the indirect taxes during the first nine months of the year 1842. It appears from this table, that the total receipts accruing from these taxes have amounted, since the let of January to the 20th of September of the present year, to the sum of 546,813,000 francs. "This is the highest figure that the revenue of the indirect taxes has ever attained in France. Compared with the first nine months of 1840, it presents an increase of 42 774,000 francs; and compared with the corresponding period of 1841, the increase is 25,372,000 francs.
"The special taxes, which during the nine first months of 1842 compared with the corresponding period of 1841, have produced the most considerable
increase, are the customhouse-duties, which have brought to the treasury
7,778,000 francs beyond the amount they produced in 1841 ; the registration- duties show an increase of 6,000,992 francs; the duties on liquors, an increase of 2,734,000 francs ; the sale of tobacco, an increase of 2,053,000 francs ; the duties on colonial sugar, 1,902,000 francs ; the stamp duties, 1,622,000 francs; the duties on native-grown sugar, 1,476,000 francs, &c. " The state of the revenue, considered as a whole, is highly satisfactory, but it is above all satisfactory in each of its details.
" Indeed, if we compare the receipts of 1842 with those of last year, we shall find that the augmentations are principally on the specialities of contri- butions, which are not productive except in times of prosperity, and which represent an increase in the industry of the country, or in the consumption of the poorer classes of society. There is no diminution except in one head—the duty on foreign sugar ; but that diminution of 2,619,000 francs is more than compensated by a corresponding augmentation of 3,378,000 francs, arising from the duties on colonial and home-raised sugar. This augmentation is the more important in reference to the interests of the mass of consumers, as colonial and indigenous sugars are less heavily taxed than the like kinds of foreign sugar. It necessarily follows, that by reaching a higher figure, their consumption must have been much more considerable than that which has brought in a similar sum to the treasury, had it been paid on foreign sugars. "Indeed, the tax on indigenous sugar is that which more than any other In- direct impost has proportionably the most considerable increase. Compared
with last year, it has produced an augmentation of 33 per cent. The impost on colonial sugar is about 3 per cent.
"The produce of the customs, from which the situation of the country with respect to industry and commerce may be most accurately estimated, is greater by 11 per cent than that of last year. The stamp-tax has also produced an aug- mentation of more than 6 per cent, the registrations more than 5 per cent, liquors more than 4 per cent, &c.
" These are results on which every good citizen must congratulate himself, and which the Government may present with satisfaction to its enemies, foreign or domestic. These facts offer a triumphant answer to all declamation. They prove the more convincingly the strength and prosperity of our position, inasmuch as this increase of public fortune has been obtained in France with- out recourse to any extraordinary measure, and in spite of considerable dimi- nutions in our customs-tariff, and in almost all our indirect taxes. While we behold a neighbouring country making heroic efforts, though unfortunately with little effect, to check a crisis which seems to baffle even the talent of Sir Robert Peel, France, notwithstanding the adverse circumstances with which she has bad to contend, but fortified by the salutary emanations from a truly free Government, enjoys a degree of wealth and prosperity heretofore unknown to her."
It is asserted that, independently of the convention with Belgium, which is in preparation, commercial negotiations have been opened with England, Sardinia, and the German Customs Union.—Moniteur Parisien.
The Paris National mentions a report that Count Mole and M. Thiers are about to enter the Cabinet : " we do not guarantee this news," says the National, " although it is more than probable."
According to the Constitutionnel, its patron, M. Thiers, remains book- making at Lille, and will not return to Paris before next month ; being "exclusively " occupied with writing some chapters of the History of the Consulate and Empire."
Sir John M`Neill, Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenip:.tentiary to the British Court to Persia, is at present in Paris.
Lablache, who has been ill at Paris, is convalescent.
The Journal des Debuts contains a defensive criticism of Sir Ro- bert Peel under the attacks of his enemies ; and the Morning Post sternly calls upon the French writer for an explanation !- " The Journal des Debate of Monday, publishes a continuation of M. Le- moine's lucubrations on English politics. This gentleman professes to be a great admirer of Sir Robert Peel, and as such, thinks himself at liberty to say all the harm he can of the English Premier. The French writer accuses him of disappointing his friends, giving nauseous potions to his followers, and by his lead in Parliament, of having brought the Country gentlemen into a dilemma as to how they could support a Tory Government and at the same time remain true to their principles and promises. These are grave charges; but M. Le- moine thinks he covers all by pleading the dire necessity in which the English Premier found himself to do all these things. The French journalist does any thing, however, but prove the necessity which he pleads. On the contrary, he represents the Whigs as so powerless, so fallen, and all opposition as so futile, that Sir Robert might have done as he pleased; for never was Minister so libe- rated at once from the pressure and the plea of necessity. Row can the Debuts reconcile these two contradictory arguments ? "
The Paris journals of Wednesday were occupied with the recent pro- ceedings in Canada. The Journal des Debate predicts that a contest between Great. Britain and her American Colonies will "vegetate, in- crease, and explode of itself," without foreign intervention, and terminate in separation. The French politician, however, is considerably at sea in the discussion of Canadian affairs- " It is a singular circumstance, that the Metropolitan Government should have given the strongest impulse to this movement. The Whig Administra- tion caused two measures to be voted by the British Parliament, which have done more to prepare and advance the future independence of the British Colonies of North America than the united efforts of the English Radicals and the Sym- pathizers of the United States could have accomplished. The first of those measures is that which united the two Provinces of Canada in one. The second is that which rendered the Executive Government of Canada responsible to the Local Legislature, in the same manner as the Executive Government of the Metropolis is responsible to the Parliament. The late events in Canada prove sufficiently what we have stated. The Governor-General, who had a Tory Cabinet, experienced such an opposition in the Assembly, that he was obliged to capitulate, and to place the Executive power at that discretion of the French party and of the English Radicals. • • • For our part, we are happy to see the French party at length take that position in the Government which the jealousy and fears of the English party had until now refused them."
[Here are two mistakes : the concession of "responsible govern- ment " was not a " measure " voted by Paliament—where, indeed, it was only sneered at, both by Ministers and Opposition—but a mode of administration recommended by one Governor-General, Lord Durham, partially adopted by his successor, Lord Sydenham, and fully carried out by the next, Sir Charles Bagot ; there is no law upon the matter, but simply a practice imitated from the Central Government: and the Governor-General was not opposed, but merely those gentlemen of the Province who for the time, by their advice, gave the tone to his councils.]
The Notional mentions a project for a union of the whole Sclavonic race; Russia taking the lead, and the Poles consenting to joie. " We believe we do not go too far when we affirm, that overtures have been made which disclose a part of this plan, to certain persons who possess the highest influence over French politics, and which overtures have not been rejected. This fact will explain why the Emperor Nicholas, so insolent formerly towards the French Court, has appeared for some time to conciliate it."
The King of Holland opened the ordinary session of the Assembly of 1842-3, at the Hague, on Monday last. He stated in his speech, that the Plenipotentiaries of Holland and Belgium had lately agreed on the basis of an arrangement for the complete execution of the treaty of London. Holland, like other countries, is suffering from some finan- cial difficulty : "The less flourishing condition in some branches of commerce and manufactures," said the speech, "has not been without influence on some taxes, which have fallen short of the original esti- mate: the slight difference produced by these two causes is, however, made up for by the surplus in other branches." Still, "it will be neces- sary to increase a little the ordinary means, in order to balance the expenses."
Intelligence from Constantinople, of the 20th of September, states THE ARMY.
that the Porte bad definitively refused to defer to the representations of chat.; J. C. D. Morrison, Gem.—to be Second Lieuta. the European Powers respecting the government of Syria. On Pasha, odious to his subjects, is recalled; and the Albanian troops, whose cruelties and disorders were loudly complained of, have been withdrawn, the state of the province being so " satisfactory" as to make their presence no longer necessary. But, according to the terms of a hatti-scheriff, published at Constantinople, Essaad Pasha of Saida is appointed Governor of the Lebanon and of the Ante-Lebanon, with two Kaimakaos or Governors under his orders, one for the Druses and the other for the Maronites. " Thus, then," observes the Augsburg Gazette, " the Druses and Maronites are deprived of their natural chiefs ; the family of Emir Bechir remain banished from their native soil ; and the Turkish Administration is about to be installed in the moutains of Syria."
Accounts one day later from Constantinople allude to the frequent interchange of communications between the Diplomatic Corps,and the Constantinople Government.
Nothing has transpired to elucidate the state of affairs in Servia. The Provisional Government remained in possession ; but the Porte had refused to recognize the revolutionary Prince, Alexander Petro. novitch. The British Con§nl-General, Mr. Fonhlanque, bad repaired to Constantinople, after protesting against the recent proceedings. The Constantinople correspondent of the Morning Chronicle, writing on the 27th, says- " The importance attached by Russia to the events in Servia is clearly shown by the sudden and unexpected arrival at Buyukdere of 111. de Boutinief, the titular Russian Minister Plenipotentiary, who has been absent during two years, and who was on the eve of departing for Stockholm. This diplomatist, who long and ably served his Governmeut at this place, and was a party to the treaties of Adrianople and Unkiar Skelessi, reached the Bosphorus yesterday evening. No notice whatever of his intended return had been given to the Rus- sian Legation ; nor was M. de Titof any way prepared for such an event, until the Russian war-steamer from Odessa cast anchor before the palace and an- nounced that M. de Boutinief was on board. This unexpected arrival of the Russian Minister relieves M. de Titof from his duties as Chargé d'Affaires. It has created an extraordinary sensation among the Diplomatic Corps, and will probably cause the immediate arrival of Ministers from Austria and Prussia, and perhaps of an Ambassador from France. • • • It is probable that the Great Powers may resolve upon establishing a new basis for the constitution of Servia, either as a dependent or independent power. If dependent, she ought to be fixed under the control of the Porte, in a manner, if possible, more secure than heretofore : if independent, Belgrade ought to be ceded as a barrier-for- tress to Austria, and the whole principality under the common protection of the Five Powers."
The Augsburg Gazette of the 5th instant says, that the representatives of the Five Powers, at a conference on the 28th, resolved, that, as the change of Government in Servia had taken place without the consent of any European power, and as it was merely the result of Izzet Pasha's en- terprising spirit, they would defend Prince Michael's rights before the divan.
Tuesday's Gazette contained official despatches from Lieutenant- General Sir Hugh Gough, relating the capture of Chapoo, but stating no additional facts. Sir Hugh describes a body of the Chinese as fight- ing at the last with more obstinacy than they are generally supposed capable of exhibiting-
" The whole of the enemy's troops soon became a mass of fugitives, throw- ing away their arms, and flying in every direction ; with the exception of three hundred, who, finding themselves surrounded, took possession of a house and enclosure, which they defended with wonderful obstinacy, and would not sur- render until the house was in flames from our rockets and breached by powder- bags, judiciously placed by Captain Pears ; when not, above fifty, and those mostly wounded, could be induced to submit as prisoners."
The implicit reliance of the Chinese on utterly inadequate resources is obviously one cause of our overwhelming victories; and they seem almost incapable of learning the inutility of their defences-
" Notwithstanding, we have found several arsenals, with all kinds of arms and ammunition, together with a foundry and a gunpowder-manufactory; which of course I have ordered to be destroyed, merely taking off the few (eleven) brass guns. The Chinese appear to have placed all their reliance on the positions on the heights, and possibly on the supposition of the impracti- cability of landing a large force within the influence of such extraordinary currents."
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