Same rule in Eno-lancl

3. — ^The Législative Assembly — the elected représentatives of the people — or the Lower House. Gradually this body has absorbed nearly ail thô privilèges of the Crown and has obtained the control of finance, public works, Se. The Ministry itself is no more than a permanent committee of the Législature trustod with the carrying on of laws and measures edicted by iparliament.

4. — The présent position of the House of Gommons and the Legisiative Assemblies of the varions provinces, is the resuit of long and persistent struggles of the community for the management of public affairs. It is a triumph of th^ démocratie élément. It savours strong'ly of refpublicanism and I must hère observe that, whilst Great Britaiin and Canada enjoy suoh institution, although they are styled monarchiall countries, the Republiic of the United 'States (4) has vest'ed into its président the sole power of seleoting and aprpointing the ministers — an anomaly which is in direct opposition with the republican principle of a government by the people.

\A^lliam Pitt on proposing the bill for Canada, said that the division into two governments would hâve the effect of leaving the French-Canadians alone by themselves and to give a home to the English speaking «migrants in a separate province. Was he afraid of the possibility of the new comers being absorbed by the French, or did he believed that the création of a colony on the border of the United States might put a barrier to the eventual invasion by settlers from those parts? We cannot say, but it is sure enough that the two Canadian nationalities were kept isolated from one another for a long time.

4. WaShingiton and his colleagnes merely copied the administration of George III.

FIRST PAELIA^IEXT OF UPPE]Î CANADA 129

Mr. Adam Lymbumer, a merchant of Québec and agent for Canada, was heard before the House of Gommons, on the 23rd March, against the bill. He said: "The new province will be entirely eut off from ail communications with Great Britain . . . They cannot carry on any f oreign commerce but by the intervention and assistance of the merchants of Québec and Montréal; they will, therefore, hâve little reason to correspond with Great Britain, and few opportunities of mixing in the isociety of Britons. How far thèse circumstances may operate in gradually weakening their attachment to the kingdom I shall leave to the reflection of the honorable members . . . It may, perhaps, be said that Britain ha s been burthened already too long with the expenses of our civil government . . . but it has not been our f ault. I might hâve been otherwise many years ago, if our pétitions had been attended to. . . We consider it a duty we owed to the empire, to relieve Great Britain of that charge, but if the province is divided, it vrill most effectually destroy our hopes and good intentions in that respect. . . What the inhabitants of the province want is nothing more than the principles of the English constitution . . . and that may be granted without injury to any class of people in the province or the interests of Great Britain." I pass over a variety of other interesting matter in Mr. Jjymburner^s discourse.

Mr. Pitt stated in the debate that the .population of IJipper Canada amounted "to only ten thousand inhabitants" which is taken as correct, but he added that "the Lower Province is not more thant a hundred thousand" whilst the census of 1790 comprising both provinces has 224,466.

Numerous ipetitions were addressed to the Gommons during the debate. The traders saw in the measure great impediments for commerce. It was pointed out also that the

custom duties would be paid in Québec, thus depriving Upper Canada of that branch of revenue. Burke spoke in favour of the division into two provinces, alleging the incompatibility of two languages, habits, religions, Se. put togetber. Foi, his best friend until then, stood against tlie division, but asked that the législative council be elected by the people. Hie said that the Canadians should feel that they were equally as well treated as the Americans. "They must remain loyal to Great Britain by their own will: we cannot keep them otherwise." Fox and Burke never were in good ternis from that moment (5).

Lord Dorchester was in England. On the 18th November 1791 Lieut.-Governor Aiured Olarke issued his proclamation from Québec, fixing the boundary line between Upiper and Lower Canada to take effect on the 26th of the next nionth. Lieut.-Colonel John Graves Simcoe arrived that autumn and spent the winter in Québec. In the ©arly sumimer lie started westwards, land on July 8th reached Kingston. After the iswearing in of the foUowing members of his Executive Council he began formai délibérations : William Osgoode, James Baby, Peter Eussell, Alexander Grant were consulted (6). Soon after seven members were called to the Législative Council : Richard Duncian, William Robertson, Robert Hamilton, Richard Cartwright, Jr., John Munro, Alexander Grant and Peter Russell. The two last ones also belonged to the Executive Council, a® noted above.