_foreign anb

FRANCE.—On New Year's Day, the Corps Diplomatique, the two Chambers, the Clergy, and other public bodies, delivered congratulatory addresses to King Louis Philippe. The addresses were destitute of po- litical allusions ; but lauded the King in the most emphatic terms for the order and tranquillity of France, its increasing commerce and manufac- tares, and felicitated him on the marriage of his son the Prince de Join- ville : the Clergy also alluded with satisfaction to the visit of Queen Victoria to Ea. The King made suitable replies, rejoicing in the aspect of peace at home and abroad.

M. Sauzet was elected President of the Chamber of Deputies on the 28th December : he received 170 votes out of 307 ; M. Dupin had 91 ; M. O'Dillon Barrot, 46 ; and the rest were distributed among M. Dupont de l'Enre, M. Dufaure, M. Garneron, and M. Laffitte. It is said that M. Dupin was the candidate favoured by the Court, in spite of the Ministry, whose candidate was M. Sauzet.

The Chamber completed its preliminary arrangements on Saturday, by the election of its four Secretaries, M. de Lespee, M. Lascases, M.

Lacrosse, and M. Boissy d'A nglas. After the election, a strange scene took place. M. Laffitte, as the oldest Member, had been the Provisional President, and, as usual, he addressed the House on leaving the chair.

He read the Chamber a brief lecture ; his speech interrupted at every sentence by indignant exclamations from the Ministerial majority : he said- " In the course of the session, opportunities will offer themselves for ex- amining whether the struggle entered on in various localities between the Go- vernment and the elective powers does not contain within itself the seeds of a struggle, still more grave, between the two principles which for fourteen years we have laboured to conciliate ; if the artificial calm created on the surface of the country be sufficient for our dignity; whether disorder and anarchy are not at the foundation of our situation ; and whether good faith and rectitude in the administration of public affairs are not preferable to the resources of venality— to a traffic in corruption." He was here stopped by loud cries of " Order !" and soon after he left off. On taking the chair, M. Sauzet moved the usual vote of thanks to the Provisional President. He was met by a vociferous opposition to the proposal: he then moved thanks to the " Provisional Bureau," including Secretaries, without specifying M. Laffitte ; which was agreed to. The censure implied is said to he unprecedented.

On Tuesday, the Chamber, in its separate Bureaux, elected the Com- mittee to prepare the address in answer to the speech from the Throne : of the nine elected, seven were Ministerial and two Oppositionist. M.

Thiers and M. Guizot were in the same bureau ; and M. Thiers de- manded an explanation of the cordial terms used towards England, asking what fruits the new and friendly relations had produced ? In explaining, M. Guizot said, that negotiations respecting the right of search had recommenced; and that with respect to Spain and Greece there was a mutual good understanding between England and France.

Last week, the three Legitimist journals, the France, the Gazette de France, the Quotidienne, and the Republican National, were seized, pre- paratorily, it is supposed, to proceedings against them for support of the Duke of Bordeaux's pretensions.

The Journal des Debuts announces that Queen Christina has deter- mined to return to Madrid in the month of February ; nominally, to take charge of her second daughter, the Infanta Luisa, but substantially, to aid Queen Isabella in fulfilling the arduous duties devolved on her by the declaration of her majority.

SPAIN.—On the 27th December, the Cortes were startled by an ex- traordinary measure : their sittings were " suspended "—that is to say, they were prorogued ; and the prorogation is understood to be condi- tionally in, order to dissolution. This is described by the Morning Chronicle as the plan of action which Ministers have made known to their friends- " 1. It [the Cabinet] will continue to receive the contributions which are indispensable for the service of the State. " 2. It will publish, by decree, a law wisely concocted, (sagement combine,) respecting the Ayuntamientos and the Provisional Deputations; and it will provide in a like manner for the definite organization of the National Guard. 4' 3. After these measures, which are of great interest, it will again assemble the Cortes, in order to obtain a sort of bill of indemnity for what the Ministry may have found it necessary to do for the good of the country.

" 4. if the Cortes do not grant a bill of indemnity, it will be dissolved."

The Ministers are also said to have purchased the adhesion of the Infant Don Francisco de Paula, by giving him a Colonelcy of Cavalry, and each of his sons a Lieutenancy in the Navy ! These proceedings had united against the Moderados all sections of the Liberal party. It is now certain that Olozaga has taken refuge in Portugal; as he entered Castello Branco on the 19th December.

INDIA.—The over-land mail, which left Bombay on the 1st of Decem- ber, has arrived ; but it brings little news in addition to that received

by the extra mail from Calcutta. The heads of it are identical,—the

assembling of British armies on the Sutlej and at Agra, the distracted state of the Punjaub and Gwalior, and sickness of the troops in Scinde. It appears, however, that the surrender of the revolutionary chief at Gwalior, Khasgeewalla, was only a feint ; and active British interposi- tion is looked for without much further delay. In the Punjaub, Goolab

Singh, uncle of Heera Singh, the virtual ruler, is said to be anti-British ; and the Sikhs, quarrelling among themselves, were in apprehension of a British invasion at Lahore, and an Afghan invasion in the Peshawar.

The story of Dost Mahomed's death turns out to be a fable. The sick- ness of the British troops in Scinde had been aggravated by the fall of the Indus and the malaria from the mud : out of 13,000 men, one-third

were in the hospital! Sir Charles Napier was about to seek healthier sites for his encampments. A liberal subscription had been raised in India to defray the expenses of Dr. Wolff's expedition in search of Colonel Stoddart.

CHINA.—From China, the latest date, 1st October, is not so recent as that of the intelligence already received ; but the papers mention an important clause in a supplementary treaty concluded between Sir Henry Pottinger and Keying, guaranteeing to all foreign nations the same privileges of trade as to the British themselves. It is remarked, that when the French and American Ambassadors arrive, " they will have nothing to demand, and nothing to complain of." How qua, the celebrated Hong-merchant, had died at the age of seventy-five, worth 15,000,000 dollars. The Reverend Mr. Gutzlaff had been appointed Chinese Secretary, in the room of the deceased Mr. Morrison.

AIISTRALL&.—Advices from Sydney to the 26th August mention continued commercial depression. The Legislature was occupied with the Governor's Finance Minute. A deficiency appeared in the accounts for 1843, owing to the heavy emigration-expenses ; but for 1844 the expenditure was calculated at 330,4931., and the revenue at 350,0004 or 370,0001.

NEW ZEALAND.—By way of Australia, intelligence has been received from Port Nicholson to the 25th July, relating almost exclusively to the late fatal conflict between the settlers and a party of Natives at Wairau. It is upon the whole as satisfactory as could be expected. One more of the persons supposed to have been killed, a man named Hanham, had arrived at Nelson ; but two more, Burton and Stokes, were still missing. A reinforcement had arrived at Port Nicholson from Auckland, the seat of Government ; the Government brig having entered the port, bearing Major Richmond, the Chief Police Magistrate ; Colonel Godfrey, Com- missioner of Land Claims, who was about to proceed to Akaoroa ; Mr. Edward Shortland ; Captain Bennett, of the Engineers ; and fifty-three soldiers of the Ninety-sixth Regiment. Major Richmond was to go to Cloudy Bay, thence to Nelson, and to return shortly to Wellington. In the mean time, the colonists had already taken measures for their own defence ; and Dr. Evans had been deputed to lay the whole ease before the Government at Auckland. Steps had also been taken to ascertain the disposition of the Natives, which was uniformly found to be friendly ; and to assure them that they should not be molested, but that Govern- ment would institute an inquiry, and would punish none but the guilty, British or Maori. The chiefs near Port Nicholson had backed an ad- dress of the Police Magistrate by one of their own, exhorting the Maories to peace. Mr. Spain had been to Waikanae on a similar mission ; and he found that the chief of that district had repelled the request of Rauparaha, who had endeavoured to stir up a party against the British. The Maories at Wanganui, 2,000 strong, had offered to place themselves under the command of Mr. Edward Jerningham Wakefield, to lead them against Rauparaha. Mr. Edward Wakefield is the son of Mr. E. G. Wakefield, and nephew of Captain Arthur Wakefield, who was killed at Wairau: he has been much among the Natives, speaks their language fluently, and enjoys their thorough con- fidence. The other of the two hostile leaders at Wairau—the ferocious Rangiaiata, the butcher of the unfortunate English on the 17th June— is reported to have died of the effects of a malignant wound which he received during the dispute, in trying to kick up a stake planted by the surveyors. Of him the New Zealand Colonist says- " Rangiaiete might be considered as the type cf the New Zealander before the race were brought under the civilizing influences which have for some years past been at work among them—violent, reckless, and uncalculating. Hap- pily, the present number of such men among the Natives is but small; and as they die off they leave no successors."

The Town-Council of Wellington had adopted a petition to the British Parliament, praying for relief in their unprotected situation. They set forth that the British residents on Cook's Strait, 10,000 in number, are mixed up with 100,000 aborigines recently notorious for ferocity ; that they have sent large sums of money to Auck- land, as revenue ; that in the Northern part of the island, the British are only 2,500 in number, and less in need of protection ; but that at Auckland there was a considerable body of troops and some mounted Police, while the settlers at Wellington had only the protection of a Police Magistrate and a few constables ; and praying therefore for inquiry and redress. The arrival of troops was subsequent to the adoption of this petition. In the course of it, the pri- mary origin of the recent disaster is hinted at ; the petition "showing"- " That, on the formation of this settlement, the foundation of an amicable intercourse with the aborigines was laid, based upon the moral influence of the civilized portion of the community, and the mutual interests of the two races ; to the continuance of which there appeared no prospect of an interruption till the establishment of the Local Government at Auckland, in the Northern part of this island.

" That shortly after the establishment of the Local Government, the Natives, acting partly on their own shrewd observation of the conduct of the Local Government towards the settlers in Cook's Straits, and partly, it is feared, instigated by wicked and interested persons, began to regard the set- tlers and intruders as opponents to her Majesty's Government ; and, relying upon the neglect of that Government towards the settlers, they resisted their occupation of the lands, and in many instances commenced violent aggressions ; which, though brought before the Authorities in a proper manner, were passed over unredressed.

" That the result has been the almost entire cessation of the progress of colo- nization, except in the immediate neighbourhood of the towns ; and has recently led to the deplorable massacre of a number of British subjects, among whom was a Police Magistrate in the execution of the duties of his office."

MExreo.—Santa Anna has been reelected President of Mexico. M. Alexander de Grot, a Belgian, has obtained a grant of territory in that country, and has engaged to introduce 10,000 Belgian, German, and Swiss families within ten years.

UNITED STATES.—The mail-steamer Acadia left: Boston on the 16th December ; Halifax, after having been detained there for several hours, on the 19th ; and arrived at Liverpool on Saturday morning. From the United States the intelligence is not of great interest. The Stand- ing Committees of both Houses of Congress had been appointed. The old officers of the Senate had been reelected ; " thus rebuking," says the New York American," by their signal tolerance, the indecent into- lerance of the majority of the House of Representatives, in dismissing all the old and experienced officers of that House." Another account

says, that the new officers are all " good Van Buren men." Mr. Adams, however, was no longer on the Committee of Foreign Affairs. The death of Dr. Linn (best known here for the part which he took re- specting the Oregon territory) had been formally notified to Congress, which bad ordered mourning on the occasion.

Several reports from the official departments had been published. To meet the anticipated deficiency, the Secretary to the Treasury re. commends retrenchments ; a duty of 2 cents per pound on coffee im- ported direct from the producing-countries, and of 3 cents per pound on that imported by way of Europe, calculated to produce 2,500,000 dollars ; a duty ad valorem on tea, the minimum being 5 cents per pound on tea costing not more than 25 cents, calculated to produce 1,500,000 dollars ; a lighthouse-tonnage on vessels engaged in the foreign trade, to produce 230,000 dollars. The Secretary also recommends a warehousing system. He proposes, either in the shape of a new loan, or by exchanging the outstanding certificates of the 5,000,000 dollars which become due on the 1st of January 1545, and which bear an interest of 6 per cent, for certificates at a lower rate of interest and having ten to fifteen years to run, to extinguish the 5,000,000. The Post-office re- ports that it meets its own expenses, and does not recommend any re- duction of duties.

A correspondence is published in the journals between the Mexican Secretary of State and General Thompson, the resident Minister of the United States in Mexico. The Secretary announces that his Govern- ment felt bound to notify that the annexation of Texas to the United States would be regarded by Mexico as an act of war, and resisted as such. Mr. Thompson refuses any explination ; and adds that the United States will protect their own honour, and cannot be affected by threats of hostility from Mexico. A correspondence similar in tenour had taken place at Washington, between Mr. Upshur, the Foreign Secretary, and S. Almonte, the Mexican Minister.

CANADA.—By advices from Kingston, down to the 11th of Decem- ber, we have fuller accounts of the Ministerial crisis, which still con- tinued at that date. The particulars of this interruption to the growth of " responsible government " are unusually interesting, and demand considerable space. All the Executive Councillors, known as the Ministry, except Mr. Daly, resigned, on Saturday November 25th, after sitting in Council several hours with the Governor-General. They dined with him the same day, and parted apparently in good feeling. The good feeling, however, was only apparent ; as the sequel will show. Mr. Lafontaine announced the resignation in the House of Assembly on the 27th ; and seemed to be about to make some explanations, when he was checked by Mr. Daly, and the explanations were not made till a later day. In the mean time, communications on the subject passed between the Governor-General and the retiring Ministers ; and the result was the subjoined correspondence, which sets forth the case on both sides.

MR. LAFONTAINE'S DRAFT OF THE PROPOSED EXPLANATION.

" Mr. Lafontaine, in compliance with the request of the Governor-General, and on behalf of himself and his late colleagues, who have felt it to be their duty to tender a resignation of office, states, for his Excellency's information, the substance of the explanation which they propose to offer in their places in Parliament.

" They have avowedly taken office upon the principle of responsibility to the Representatives of the People in Parliament, and with a full recognition on their parts of the following resolutions, introduced into the Legislative Assem- bly, with the knowledge and sanction of her Majesty's Representative in this Province, on the 3d September 1841—' That the head of the Executive Go- vernment of the Province, being within the limitits of his government the Representative of the Sovereign, is responsible to the Imperial authority alone; but that, nevertheless, the management of our local affairs can only be conducted by him by and with the assistance, counsel, and information of subordinate officers in the Province; and that, in order to preserve between the different branches of the Parliament that harmony which is essential to the peace, welfare, and good government of the Province, the chief advisers of the Representative of the Sovereign, constituting a Provincial Administration under him, ought to be men possessed of the confidence of the Representatives of the People; thus affording a guarantee that the well-understood wishes and interests of the people, which our gracious Sovereign has declared shall be the rule of the Provincial Government, will on all occasions be faithfully repre- sented and advocated.'

" They have lately understood that his Excellency took a widely different view of the position, duties, and responsibilities of the Executive Council, from that under which they accepted office, and through which they have been en- abled to conduct the Parliamentary business of the Government, sustained by a large majority of the Popular branch of the Legislature.

" Had the difference of opinion between his Excellency and themselves—and, as they have reason to believe, between his Excellency and the Parliament and people of Canada generally—been merely theoretical, the members of the late Executive Council might, and would, have felt it their duty to avoid every possibility of collision which might have a tendency to disturb the tranquil and amicable relations which apparently subsisted between the Executive Govern- ment and the Provincial Parliament. But that difference of opinion has led not merely to appointments to office against their advice, but to appointments, and proposals to make appointments, of which they were not informed in any manner, until all opportunity of offering advice respecting them had passed by; and to a determination on the part of his Excellency to reserve, for the expres- sion of her Majesty's pleasure thereon, a bill introduced into the Provincial Parliament with his Excellency's knowledge and consent, as a Government measure, without an opportunity being given to the members of the Executive Council to state the probability of such a reservation. They therefore felt themselves in the anomalous position of being, according to their own avowals and solemn public pledges, responsible for all the acts of the Executive Go- vernment to Parliament, and at the same time not only without the opportu- nity of offering advice respecting those acts, but without the knowledge of their existence until informed of them from private and unofficial sources. " When the members of the late Executive Council offered their humble re- monstrance to his Excellency on this condition of public affairs, his Excellency not only frankly explained the difference of opinion existing between him and the Council, but stated, that from the time of his arrival in the country he had observed an antagonism between him and them on the subject ; and, notwith- standing that the members of Council repeatedly and distinctly explained to his Excellency that they considered him free to act contrary to their advice, and only claimed an opportunity of giving such advice, and knowing before others his Excellency's intentions, his Excellency did not in any mariner re- move the impression left upon their mieds by his avowal, that there was an an- tagonism between him and them, and a want of that cordiality and confidence which would enable them, in their respective stations, to carry on public buai- nese to the satisfaction of his Excellency and of the country.

The want of this cordiality and confidence bad already become a matter of public rumour; and public opinion not only extended it to acts upon which there were apparent grounda.for difference of opinion, but to all measures of Government involving political principles. His Excellency on the one hand was supposed to be coerced by his Council into a course of policy which he did not approve of, and the Council were made liable to the accusation of assuming the tone and Position of responsible advisers of the Government without in fact asserting the right of being consulted thereupon.

"While his Excellency disavowed any intention of altering the course of administration of public affairs which he found on his arrival in Canada, he did not disguise his opinion that those affairs would be more satisfactorily managed by and through the Governor himself, without any necessity of concord among the Members of the Executive Council, or obligation on their part to defend or support in Parliament the acts of the Government. To this opinion of his Excellency, as one of theory, the members of the Executive Council might not have objected ; but when, on Saturday last, they discovered that it was the real ground of all their difference with his Excellency, and of the want of con- fidence and cordiality between his Excellency and the Council since his arrival, they felt it impossible to continue to serve her Majesty as Executive Council- lors for the affairs of this province, consistently with their duty to her Majesty or his Excellency, or with their public and often-repeated pledges in the Pro- vincial Parliament, if his Excellency should see fit to act upon his opinion of their functions and responsibilities.

" Daly's Hotel, 27th November 1843."

THE OOVERNOR-GENERAL'S REPLY.

"The Governor-General observes with regret, in the explanation which the gentlemen who have resigned their seats in the Executive Council propose to offer in their places in Parliament, a total omission of the circumstances which he regards as forming the real grounds of their resignation; and, as this omis- sion may have proceeded from their not considering themselves at liberty to disclose those circumstances, it becomes necessary that he should state them. " On Friday, Mr. Lafontaine and Mr. Baldwin came to the Government House, and after some other matters of business, and some preliminary remarks as to the cause of their proceeding, demanded of the Governor-General that he should agree to make no appointment, and no offer of an appointment, Without previously taking the advice of the Council ; that the lists of candidates should in every instance be laid before the Council; that they should recom- mend any others at discretion ; and that the Governor-General, in deciding after taking their advice, should not make any appointment prejudicial to their influence. In other words, that the patronage of the Crown should be sur- rendered to the Council for the purchase of Parliamentary support : for if the demand did not mean that, it meant nothing; as it cannot be imagined that the mere form of taking advice, without regarding it, was the process contemplated.

" The Governor-General replied, that he would not make any such stipula- tion; and could not degrade the character of his office, nor violate his duty by such a surrender of the prerogative of the Crown.

" He appealed to the number of appointments made by him on the recom- mendation of the Council, or the members of it in their departmental ca- pacity, and to instances in which he had abstained from conferring appoint- ments on their opponents, as furnishing proofs of the great consideration which he had evinced towards the Council in the distribution of the patronage of the Crown.

" He had at the same time objected, as he always had done, to the exclusive distribution of patronage with party views; and maintained theprinciple that office ought in every instance to be given to the man best qualified to render efficient service to the state ; and where there was no such preliminence, he asserted his right to exercise his discretion. " He understood from Messrs. Lafontaine and Baldwin that their continuance e depended on his final decision with regard to their demand ; and it was that at the Council, to be assembled the next day, the subject should be fully di=cussed.

"He accordingly met the Council on Saturday, convinced that they would resign, as he could not recede from the resolution which he had formed; and the same subject became the principal topic of discussion. " Three or more distinct propositions were made to him, over and over again, sometimes in different terms, but always aiming at the same purpose, which, in his opinion, if accomplished, would have been a virtual surrender into the hands of the Council of the prerogative of the Crown • and, on his uniformly replying to these propositions in the negative, his refusal was each time fol- lowed by Then we must resign,' or words to that purport, from one or more of the Council.

" After the discussion of this question at so much length,—being, as he hither- to conceived, the one on which the resignation of the Council rested,—he is as- tonished at finding that it is now ascribed to an alleged difference of opinion on the theory of responsible government.

" In the course of the conversations which both on Friday and Saturday fol- lowed the explicit demand by the Council regarding the patronage of the -Crown—that demand being based on the construction put by some of the gen- tlemen on the meaning of 'responsible government'—different opinions were elicited on the abstract theory of that still undefined question as applicable to a-colony—a subject on which considerable difference of opinion is known ever to prevail: but the Governor-General, during these conversations, protested against its being supposed that he is practically adverse to the working of the system of responsible government, which has been here established—which he has hitherto pursued without deviation, and to which it is fully his intention to adhere- " The Governor-General subscribes entirely to the resolution of the Legisla- tive Assembly of the 3d September le41, and considers any other system of Government but that which recognizes responsibility to the people, and to the responsible Assembly, ae impracticable in this Province.

" No man is more satisfied that all government exists solely for the benefit of the people ; and be appeals confidently to his uniform conduct, here and elsewhere, in support of this assertion. " i1 indeed, by ' Responsible government' the gentlemen of the late Council mean that the Council is to be supreme, and the authority of the Governor a nullity, then he cannot agree with them ; and must declare his dissent from that perversion of the acknowledged principle. But if they mean that responsible government, as established in this colony, is to be worked out with an earnest desire to insure success, he must then express his surprise at their arriving at conclusions which be does not consider to be justified by any part of his con- duct, and which he conceives his repeated declarations ought to have prevented.

" Allusion is made, in the proposed explanation of the gentlemen of the late Colwell, to the Governor-General having determined to reserve for the con- sideration of her Majesty's Government one of the bills passed by the two Legislative Houses—that is, the Secret Societies Bill. if there is any part of the functions of the Government in which he is more than in any other bound to exercise an independent judgment, it must be in giving the Royal assent to Acts of Parliament. With regard to this duty, he has special instructions from her Majesty to reserve every act of an unusual or extraordinary character. Undoubtedly, the Secret Societies Bill answers that description, being un- exampled in British legislation. The gentlemen of the late Council had his sentiments on it expressed to them. He told them that it was an arbitrary and unwise measure, and not even calculated to effect the object it had, is view. He had given his consent to its being introduced into Parliament, because he had

promised soon after the assumption of the Government, that he would sanction legislation on the subject as a substitute for Executive measures ; which he refused to adopt, on account of their proscriptive character, although he de- precated the existence of societies, which led to foment religious and civil discord. The gentlemen of the late Council cannot fail to remember with what pertinacity those measures were pressed on him, and can hardly be unaware what would have followed at that time, if, in addition to rejecting the proscrip- tive measure urged, he bad refused to permit any legislation on the subject. Permission to introduce a bill cannot be properly assumed as fettering the judgment of the Governor with regard to the Royal assent ; for much may happen during the passage of the bill through the Legislature to influence his decision. In this case, the bill waestrongly opposed and reprobated in the As- sembly; but when it went to the Legislative Council, many of the members had seceded, and it did not come up from that House with the advantage of having been passed in a full meeting. " Taking these circumstances into consideration, together with the precise instructions of her Majesty, and the uncertainty of her Majesty's allowing such a bill to go into operation, the Governor-General considered it to be his duty to reserve it for her Majesty's consideration, as it was much better that it should not go into operation until confirmed by her Majesty's Government, than that it should be discontinued after its operation had commenced.

" In conclusion, the Governor-General protests against the explanation which those gentlemen propose to offer to Parliament, as omitting entirely the actual and prominent circumstances which led to their resignation, and as con- veying to Parliament a misapprehension of his sentiments and intentions, which has no foundation in any part of his conduct; unless his refusal to make a virtual surrender of the prerogative of the Crown to the Council, for party purposes, and his anxiety to do justice to those who were injured by the ar- rangements attending the Union, can be regarded as warranting a representa- tion which is calculated to injure him, without just cause, in the opinion of the Parliament and the people, on whose confidence he places his sole reliance for the successful administration of the government. "Government House, 28th November 1843."

On the 30th, Mr. Baldwin made the explanation in the House of Assembly, not materially differing from Mr. Lafontaine's draft ; and Mr. Daly read a message from the Governor-General, incorporating both the foregoing documents. In the course of the proceedings, Mr. Viger took some exception to Mr. Baldwin's course, as " unprecedented."

In giving the requisite explanation to the Legislative Council on the same day, Mr. Sullivan put some of the points for his colleagues in stronger light. The differences between Ministers and the Governor- General, he said, first grew out of the appointments, which were made without their advice, until at last the practice got so far that they first heard of those appointments in the streets— "Affairs were so carried on until, on a late occasion, the honourable Speaker of that House declared he would not sit in the chair any longer ; and in a few days after, informed them, that, after repeated solicitations, his Excellency had refused to accept his resignation. Was it not natural to think that in that case his Excellency would say, 'Mr. Sullivan, you have a seat in the Legis- lative Council, and therefore ought to be acquainted with the feelings of that body : as one of my advisers, can you tell me if it is the wish of the Legislative Council that I should refuse to accept the resignation of your Speaker?' But no: after the honourable Speaker had insulted that House by telling them he, would consider it an indignity to sit there soy longer, his Excellency continued him in that situation, without taking the advice of his Council. He would ask honourable gentlemen to suppose with him, that at a period when he stood on the floor of that House in defence of a principle by which he bad determined to stand or fall, some person who vigorously opposed that principle was ap- pointed to an exalted office: would it not be a clear demonstration to the country that he (Mr. Sullivan) did not possess the confidence of his Excel- lency—in fact, that his opponent was rewarded for his opposition ? Such,. nevertheless, was the case : he heard in the streets, that a gentleman who dis- tinguished himself by his opposition to the Government had been sent for to take the situation as Speaker ; but he had embarked for Toronto ; and thus the appointment did not take place : if it had, the Council would have resigned then, instead of awaiting further insult." He recurred to the minor and more numerous class of unconsulted appointments- " The appointments certainly were trifling; but he could not tell honourable gentlemen how humiliating it was for them to be taken by the hand by per- sons of whom they knew nothing, or to receive half-a-dozen letters by poet from persons whose very names were unknown to them, thanking them for appointment to office. He could not tell, be could not give an idea to honour- able gentlemen of their humiliation, when they saw in an Opposition print that such a one was appointed to an office, but he did not mean to thank a rebel Executive for his appointment, but a higher and a better power ! It was in consequence of the above-mentioned note that the Executive had a long discussion with his Excellency on Saturday the 25th instant ; when the question of appointments was put into every possible shape, at the same time to meet his views and gain the degree of consideration for themselves which they felt to be• their due ; so long did they persist. At last they felt, and he was not sure that another person did not participate in that feeling, that any further efforts would only make it appear that they were holding on to office cringingly, and that in place of taking a bold step they would rather fly than resign. At that discussion, as well as the short one on the previous day, they had in vain endeavoured to impress on the mind of his Excellency, that it was not their wish to direct or control his measures, but merely that he should say—' Gentlemen, you are my advisers, and I will not make any appointment* without consulting you beforehand,' so as to give them an opportunity to ex- press their opinions upon those measures for which they wete held accountable; and it was moreover necessary for him and his colleagues to be acquainted with every contemplated measure. He did not wish it to be understood that he • imagined his Excellency could do any thing for the sake of mischief—he was too excellent a man to have his motives impugned for a moment : nevertheless a notion had got into his bead, God knows how, whether from some former Governor or from some stray traveller who pretended to a great knowledge of the country, that it was their wish to place him in a subordinate position ; and if they had known that—if it had been even hinted to them that such an• antagonism existed as his Excellency mentioned in his letter—their resigna- tion would not have been delayed so long, but would have been made OR the• first day of the session."

Going on to combat the arguments involved in Sir Charles Metcaltla'a reply, Mr. Sullivan mentioned a matter of fact- " As to that part of his Excellency's letter which mentioned the injustice of- giving office only to persona of the same political opinions with the existing Government, he said he had watched the course of different Administration* in Canada for the last twenty years; he had been a member of Administration for eight years; and yet, during the whole Ieagtb of that time, he did not re- member ever to have seen any of the many. different parties in power patron- izing their enemies : in fact, if the proposition were made, he had no 'doubt it would have been laughed at as a piece of childish folly." Mr. Moore moved that an address be presented to his Excellency'

requesting copies of correspondence with the late Executive Council relative to their resignation. This was agreed to.

In the other House, the friends of the retiring Ministers pursued their warfare more hotly. On the 1st of December, Mr. Price moved the following resolution-

" That an humble address be presented to Lis Excellency the Governor-Ge- neral, humbly representing to his Excellency the deep regret felt by this House at the retirement of certain members of the Provincial Administration, on the question of their right to be consulted on what this House unhesitatingly avows to be the prerogative of the Crown—appointments to office ; and further to as- sure his Excellency that their advocacy of this principle entitles them to the confidence of this House; being in strict accordance with the principles em- braced in the resolutions adopted by this House on the 3d September 1841." This resolution was warmly debated. The late Ministers defended their own conduct, with implied attacks on the Governor-General ; Mr. Viger and some others attacked the conduct of the late Ministers as im- politic and inopportune; and a third party, the old " Tories," or Ultra- British, stized the occasion to attack " the humbug of responsible go- vernment," as impracticable. Mr. Baldwin, of whose speech we have seen the merest indication in a " synopsis of the debate,' explained his view of " responsible government "; and his colleagues concurred— It was the duty of his Excellency to consult his confidential advisers on all questions affecting the local interests of the country, and to accept or reject that advice afterwards as his Excellency thought proper; and if the Council thought any matter of difference between themselves and his Excellency an important one, it was their duty to retire. In recommending appointments to office, Mr. Baldwin and his colleagues had in the first place looked to the fitness of the several candidates ; and if they found that equal ability and talent was found among the supporters of their principles, that political sup- porter had the preference ; but if, on the other hand, superior ability or fitness for office was to be found in the ranks of their opponents, the appointments were selected from that quarter.

The debate was adjourned till the 2d; when Mr. E. G. Wakefield moved the following as an amendment-

" That, according to the principles of the British constitution, as declared to exist in this Province by the resolutions of the House of Assembly of the 3d September 1841, the members of the Executive Council are responsible to the People, and to this House as the Representatives of the People, for the exercise of every Royal prerogative within this Province; and that, conse- quently, inasmuch as it would be most unjust to subject any man to responsibility for acts in which he had not participated, it is indispensable that the Royal prerogative be exercised by his Excellency the Governor- General with the advice of his Executive Council.

" That, according to the aforesaid principles of the British constitution, the Provincial Representative of the Sovereign cannot be responsible or in any way accountable for the exercise of any branch of the Royal prerogative to any Provincial authority whatever ; and therefore that he cannot constitutionally enter into any pledge, engagement, or assurance, with the members of the Executive Council, or with any other person or persons in the Province, re- specting the future exercise of the prerogative. " That the well-known practice of the British constitution recognizes one effectual means, and no other, of securing the observance of the aforesaid prin- cipletc=namely, the resignation of the members of the Executive Council, whenever, on an occasion of sufficient importance to warrant the application of that legitimate check upon the exercise of the prerogative, the Governor- General shall htive failed to ask or refused to follow their advice in some parti- cider case or cases; but that if the head of the Government were to enter into shy general engagement with the members of his Executive Council, or even with this House, binding himself in any wise, whether directly or by implica- tion, as to the future exercise of any of his functions as the Representative of the Sovereign, he would openly divest the Crown of its acknowledged prero- gative, degrade the Royal office into obvious and proclaimed subordination to the Executive Council, and most seriously impair the constitution which it is the glory of this Province to possess."

In illustrating his resolutions, Mr. Wakefield remarked that they supplied a defect in the resolutions of 1841, which dealt only with one of the two branches of the question of responsible government—the re- sponsibility of the members of the Executive Council to that House as representing the People, and not at all with the relations between the Executive Council and the Representative of the Crown— Responsible government, as it is called here, was not a creation of yester- day; it had existed for more than a century and a half in the Mother-country; and though it bad been tried elsewhere, it had really worked well in no other part of the world. In his opinion, it was this constant responsibility of the rulers to the people, which had been the main cause of the great prosperity and of the wonderful influence and power of those small islands which compose the United Kingdom. • * * The Crown of England could perform no act, could exercise no prerogative whatever, without the advice of Ministers Who were responsible to Parliament for the advice given; and whenever the Crown acted without or against their advice, it was their duty to retire from office. This was the doctrine of the British constitution on the second branch of the subject of responsible government. In England, since 1688, many a case had. occurred of a difference between the Ministers and the Crown, and of a resignation of the Ministers accordingly; but he was perfectly satisfied that no case had occurred, nor any thing like a case, in which the Ministers had waited upon the Sovereign and asked whether or not he would exercise his pitrogative in accordance with their advice ; still less had there been a case in Which the Ministers had asked the Crown to enter into an engagement with them respecting the future exercise of the prerogative.

After describing the usual practice in England, he asked what was the case then presented to the House ?

No appointment made against or without the advice of Ministers; no point stated upon which that House could deride whether the Ministers bad done well or ill. According to the statement before them, there existed between the Governor and his Council no difference of view upon any particular exer- cise of the prerogative ; but, in consequence of some real or imagined want of harmony between the Governor-General and some of his Council, they had called-upon him, their Sovereign's Representative, to enter into an engagement with them to the effect that in future he would make no appointment without receiving their advice upon it. They had required him to declare whether or not, yea or nay, he would in future exercise the prerogative in a particular manner: and he had refused to enter into the engagement required of him. That was the real unquestionable point of difference. Now, he (Mr. Wake- &id) felt persuaded, forming his judgment on the well-known principles and practice of the British constitution, that if the Governor-General had acceded to the proposal of, his Ministers, be must have been recalled by his Sovereign, for having degraded the Royal office in this Province, and impaired the consti- tution. [Alluding to the probability that the, cue would come before the British Parliamept, Mr. Wakefield added—) He believed that the people of England would not consent that the Crown of England should be represented in any coleny by a President under the name of Governor-General. He firmly Mered they would say to this country—" 'ati-you pleat*: We are wearied of your perpetual excitements and collisions, and scenes of. suite and civil war : if you insist on an interpretation of the constitution which goes to de- grade the Crown, let us part in peace and with good feeling." He strongly condemned the controversy raised by Ministers, as un- timely— As there was no specific case on which the late Ministers thought proper to resign office—as they resigned on general grounds, which they could choose thelie own time for urging—they might surely have waited a few weeks before entering into the controversy with the Governor-General. If they knew, as they must have known, that the Governor would refuse compliance with their proposal, they must also have been quite sure that the collision would ensue which has now interrupted nearly the whole legislative business of the session. They must also have distinctly foreseen the probability of a general election. Was at possible that they might have expected to gain something for their party,at general election, by saying at the hustings that it was the Governor-General who had put an end to the legislative business of the session ? Mr. Wakefield recommended his own resolutions as leading to nti accommodation between the contending parties, and to peace, while Mr. Price's led to strife. He described the happy effects produced by Sir Charles Bagot's letter to Mr. Lafontaine, admitting the proscribed race to a share of power ; instancing what he saw in the county of Beauharnois, where the hostile races met to shake hands— The Administration of Sir Charles Begot was not formed on the principle of responsible government ; it was formed avowedly and notoriously on the prin- ciple of doing justice to the French-Canadian people as such, by admitting some of their leaders to a share in the government of their country. Was the present Governor•General less desirous than Sir Charles Begot that a' full measure ofjustice should be rendered to that people ? Certainly not. What thee could he say to his French-Canadian constituents, as to the cause of the change which had just now deprived French-Canada of all influence in the Executive Government ? He could only say, that it had been produced by a difference of opinion between the Governor-General and the honourable and learned mem- ber for Rimouskri (Mr. Baldwin) upon the theory of responsible government He would ask whether they bad not got responsible government in Canada a fortnight ago ? Were they not then carrying on the public business so as to benefit and please the country ? Were they not steadily accomplishing those desirable ends to which responsible government itself was but a means?

Mr. Wakefield's amendment was negatived without a division. So was another amendment by Mr. Viger, declaring that the subject of responsible government had not come before the House in a fit shape for discassion. Mr. Black moved a third amendment, putting the sub- stance of Mr. Price's resolution in vaguer and milder terms : but that also was negatived; and the original resolution was carried, by 46 to 23. Mr. Boulton, seconded by Mr. Lafontaine, then moved the following addition to the proposed address- " That this House, in dutiful submission to their gracious Sovereign, and with the utmost respect for the exalted station and high character of his Ex- cellency, is moat anxious to guard against any misconstruction which possibly' might be placed upon the affirmative declaration of their opinion upon this delicate and most vitally important constitutional question ; and therefore most humbly beg leave to disclaim, in a negative form, any desire that the head of the Government should be called upon to enter into any stipulation as to the terms upon which a Provincial Administration may deem it prudent either to accept of or continue in office: that mutual confidence, which is essential to the wellbeing of any Government, necessarily presumes that they are under- stood ; while a due respect for the prerogative of the Crown, and proper con- stitutional delicacy towards her Majesty's Representative, forbid their Mtn expressed." This addition was carried, by 60 to ; Mr. Wakefield, Mr. Viger, and other opponents of the original motion, voting in the majority.

The address having been presented, the Governor-General returned this reply, in the shape of a message to the House, which was received' on the 5th of December-

" The Governor-General observes with concern, from the first portion of the address of the Legislative Assembly of the 2d instant, that an impression 'has been made in the House, which has led to a misapprehension of his sentiments and views. " While it is his bounden duty to maintain unimpaired the prerogative of the Crown, he recognizes the resolutions adopted by the Legislative Assenibly on the 3d of September 1841, as constituting the guide according to which the administration of the government of this Province has since been, and is to be, conducted.

In expressing his entire concurrence in the second and concluding portion of the address, he is happy to perceive that the House of Assembly disapprove of and discountenance any attempt to require the head of the Government. to enter into any stipulation as to his exercise of the prerogative of the CroWit. " Government House, Kingston, 4th Dec. 1893." C. T. METCALFE."

On the 4th, the Governor had sent down to the Assembly a message expressing "his anxious hope that the important measures of legislation now before them may be proceeded with to their proper completion or ter- mination, to the end that the just wishes and expectations of the people may not be disappointed." But the "crisis," and it only, occupied at- tention ; legislation made little progress ; and that in no very propitious manner, if we may judge from a passage in the Kingston Whig of the 5th December- " Every step now taken by the late Ministry and their supporters is with a view of insulting the Governor-General. A Committee of the whole Rouse it now sitting on the bill providing for the incorporation of townships, towns, counties, and cities in Upper Canada; and are expunging all the clauses re- lating to patronage." Such being the state of affairs, on the 9th, the Governor-General pro- rogued the Provincial Parliament ; stating his reasons in the first add only important paragraph of his speech- " In consequence of the interruption which our joint labours have undergone, entirely against my inclination, and from causes over which I have had no con- trol, I now meet you for the purpose of relieving you from further attendance in Parliament. I am sensible of your unremitting application to your arduous duties during the session which has been so unexpectedly shortened; and'I trust that the measures which you have passed, and to which I have given the Royal assent in her Majesty's name, will prove beneficial to the country. Stant bills I have been under the necessity of reserving for the consideration of her Majesty's Government, either from the impracticability of their being carried- into execution, owing to their depending on other measures which have not passed into law, or from their affecting the prerogative of the Crown, or Whig of a character that, under the Royal instructions, renders that proceedingim- perative." In conclusion, he said—" I trust that we shall meet again,-to renew, our efforts for the public good With greater success."