CHAP. IX.

ADMINISTRATION OF LIEUTENANT-GENERAL SIR JAMES KEMPT.

SIR JAMES KEMPT entered upon the duties of the administration of Canada under peculiarly delicate circumstances; yet, on calling a meeting of the legislature, and formally accepting the election of Mr. Papineau as speaker*, his speech, at the opening of the session, was conciliatory, mild and wise. "Placed," said his Excellency, "in a situation of so much importance at a period of peculiar difficulty, I cannot but feel that very arduous duties are imposed upon me; duties, indeed, which I should despair of being able to discharge to the satisfaction of his Majesty,

and his faithful and loyal subjects the inhabitants of this province, if I did not look forward, with a sanguine hope, to the enjoyment of your confidence, and your cordial co-operation in my administration of the government.

"Without a good understanding between the different branches of the legislature, the public affairs of the colony cannot prosper; the evils which are now experienced cannot be effectually cured; the prosperity and welfare of his Majesty's Canadian subjects cannot be promoted; and you may therefore believe that no exertions will be spared on my part to promote conciliation, by measures in which the undoubted prerogatives of the crown and your constitutional privileges are equally respected.

"His Majesty's government has, however, relieved me from the responsibility attendant upon any measures to be adopted for the adjustment of the financial difficulties that have unfortunately occurred, and I shall take an early opportunity of conveying to you, by message, a communication from his Majesty, which I have been especially commanded to make to you upon the subject of the appropriation of the provincial revenue."

After stating that he would direct the public accounts to be laid before the House, he continued ; "Possessing, as yet, but an imperfect knowledge of the great interests of the province, and the wants of its inhabitants, I refrain, at the present time, from recommending to you measures of public improvement, which it will be my duty to bring under your consideration at a future day. In all countries, however, good roads, and other internal communications, -a general system of education, established upon sound principles, - and a well-organised militia force, are found to be so conducive to the prosperity, the happiness, and the security of their inhabitants, that I may be permitted to mention them at present, as objects of prominent utility.

" But an oblivion of all past jealousies and dissensions is the first great step towards improvement of any kind; and, when that is happily accomplished, and the undivided attention of the executive government and the legislature shall be given to the advancement of the general interests of the province, in a spirit of cordial co-operation, there is no reason to doubt that Lower Canada will rapidly advance in prosperity; and emulate, ere long, the most opulent and flourishing portions of the North American continent."

The message which his Excellency conveyed, by the command of his Majesty's government, intimated, however, a perseverance in the finance measures which had caused such difficulties during Lord Dalhousie's government. It stated, that "his Excellency was commanded to say, that the statutes passed in the fourteenth and thirty-first years of the reign of his late Majesty have imposed upon the lords-commissioners of his Majesty's Treasury the duty of appropriating the produce of the revenue granted to his Majesty by these statutes; and that, whilst the law shall continue unaltered by the same authority by which it was framed, his Majesty is not authorised to place the revenue under the control of the legislature of this province."

Every other part of the message contained nothing but what was calculated to maintain harmony in the province. The old "bone of contention" was, how

ever, persisted in; and the representative assembly passed sixteen resolutions. The first five and the sixteenth are worthy of quoting, and are as follows:

"1. That this House has derived the greatest satisfaction from the gracious expression of his Majesty's beneficent views towards this province, and from the earnest desire of his Excellency, the administrator of the government, to promote the peace, welfare, and good government of the province, as evinced in his Excellency's message of Friday last.

"2. That this House has nevertheless observed, with great concern, that it may be inferred from the expression of that part of the said message which relates to the appropriation of the revenue, that the pretension put forth at the commencement of the late administration, to the disposal of a large portion of the revenue of this province, may be persisted in.

"3. That under no circumstances, and upon no considerations whatsoever, ought this House to abandon, or in any way compromise its inherent and constitutional right, as a branch of the provincial parliament representing his Majesty's subjects in this colony, to superintend and control the receipt and expenditure of the whole public revenue arising within this province.

"4. That any legislative enactment in this matter, by the Parliament of the United Kingdom, in which his Majesty's subjects in this province are not and cannot be represented, unless it were for the repeal of such British statutes, or any part of British statutes, as may be held by his Majesty's government to militate against the constitutional rights of the subject in this colony, could in no way tend to a settlement of the affairs of the province.

"5. That no interference of the British legislature with the established constitution and laws of this province, (excepting on such points as form the relation between the country and the Canadas, and can only be disposed of by the paramount authority of the British Parliament,) can in any way tend to the final adjustment of any difficulties or misunderstandings which may exist in this province, but rather to aggravate and perpetuate them.

"16. That amongst these questions not particularly mentioned on the present occasion, this House holds as most desirable to be adjusted, and most essential to the future peace, welfare, and good government of the province, viz.

"The independence of the judges, and their removal from the political business of the province.

" The responsibility and accountability of the public officers.

"A greater independence of support from the public revenue, and more intimate connection with the interest of the colony, in the composition of the legislative council.

"The application of the late property of the Jesuits to the purpose of general education.

"The removal of all obstructions to the settlement of the country, particularly by the crown and clergy reserves remaining unoccupied in the neighbourhood of roads and settlements, and exempt from the common burdens."

The good sense and vigorous mind of Sir James Kempt disregarded, for the time, formal obstacles which had for some years deprived the province of the indispensable advantage of legislative appropriation. He therefore assented to a supply bill, formed