APPEAL 
 
 ON THE 
 
 QUEBEC BILL. 
 
 The second edition, corrected. 
 
 [Price One Shilling.] 
 
A N 
 
 appeal 
 
 TO THE PUBLIC; 
 
 STATING AND CONSIDERING 
 
 THE OBJECTIONS TO THE 
 
 QUEBEC BILL. 
 
 THE SECOND EDITION, CORRECTED. 
 
 VULTIS EXEMPLO MAjORUM AUGERE Rem Ro- 
 MANAM VICTOS IN CIVITATEM ACCIPIENDO? Ma- 
 TERIA CRESCENDI PER SUMMAM GLORIAM SUPPE- 
 
 ditat. Certe id firmissimum lokce impsrium 
 est, quo obedientes gawjdent. 
 
 Tit. Liv. 
 
 LONDON: 
 
 Sold by T. Payne, Meufe-gate; and M. HingestoN| 
 in the Strand, near Temple-bar. 
 
 MDCCLXXiV, 
 
t 5 3 
 
 PREFACE 
 
 TO THE SECOND EDITION. 
 
 H Aving conceived it to be the duty 
 of every citizen , previoufly to 
 his condemning the A£ts of the Su - 
 preme Legiflature, to examine with at- 
 tention their refpeftive merits and de- 
 merits ; the author had taken fome 
 pains to inform himfelf of the fa£ts 
 and circumftanccs relating to the !$ue- 
 bee Bill ; and, being thereby fully con- 
 vinced of its propriety, was a little 
 furprifed to find nothing publifhed in 
 its fupport, except the “ Thoughts on 
 “ f he Quebec A«5f,” and fome uncon- 
 nected efl'ays difperfed in the public 
 papers, none of which appeared to 
 him to ftate in a full light the argu- 
 ments which offer themfelves in its 
 favour. 
 
 A 3 Had 
 
 \ 
 
6 PREFACE TO THE 
 
 Had he been apprifed of the in- 
 tended publication of the two pam- 
 phlets, whereof one is “ addrefled to 
 f* Lord Chatham,” -the other pn “ the 
 4 * Juftice and Policy of the Aft,” he 
 Ihould not have thought it neceflary 
 to have employed his pen upon this 
 fubjeft : nor fhould he afterwards 
 liave publilhed the copy (though 
 at that time fent to the prefs), and 
 fubjefted himfelf to the cenfure which 
 muft inevitably attend an hafty publi- 
 cation, begun and finifhed in lefs than 
 three weeks, had he not been adviled 
 to do it by a gentleman, of who fe 
 judgement he muft ever have a much 
 higher opinion than of his own. 
 
 If the declaitners againft the Bill 
 had oppofed it for liberal purpofes, he 
 prefumes that they would have pre- 
 ferred Ji fpajjionate reafoning to the in- 
 flammatory addrefles — groundlefs in- 
 telligence — and illiberal inveftive — 
 '\Vith which the public ear has been 
 'abufcd for this month paft. He does 
 t 5 not 
 
SECOND EDIT ION. 7 
 
 not mean to include among them the 
 Gentleman who figns himfelf “ Au- 
 “ ditor” (for whofe compliments he 
 profefl'es himfelf obliged), though he 
 thinks that he would have atted more 
 candidly, had he * confidered the whole 
 argument together, inftead of cavilling 
 at particular words and fentences of 
 the Appeal. — With great truth he can 
 aflure him, that, if the Quebec Bill 
 was to be vindicated upon any other 
 than upon principles of Liberty , he 
 fhould think himfelf a mod improper 
 man to attempt a vindication of it j 
 and that , if there is any thing mif- 
 ftated, or improperly reafoned from, 
 h&£txc=±\ irly fay , that it does not pro- 
 ceed from intention , but from ignorance ; 
 as it always has been, and he trufts 
 ever will be, his aim, not to mifre- 
 prefent upon opinions adopted haftily 
 or partially, verum redle de rebus judi - 
 care ; quo, ni fallor , afpiramus omnes. 
 
 * d’approuver ou condamner le livre entier, et 
 non pas a quelques phrafes. 
 
 Pref. a PEfpr. des Loix. 
 
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X 9 ] 
 
 A 
 
 SPEECH 
 
 UPON THE 
 
 QUEBEC BILL. 
 
 Mr. SPEAKER 1 
 Sir, 
 
 H AD it hot been the object of the 
 oppofers of the Bill, now under 
 our consideration, to render odious and 
 invidious its general principles, I Should 
 not have thought it needful for me* 
 riling in a parliamentary debate, to pre- 
 mife, that, befides its peculiar expe- 
 diency, a clear convidtion of the libera- 
 lity and polity of its principles is my 
 chief inducement, — my leading motive, 
 to rife and endeavour to oppofe the 
 popular prejudices which we have feen 
 B fo 
 
C 10 I 
 
 fb potently to militate againft this Bill, 
 both with thofe who through igno- 
 rance have mifunderftood it, or 
 through malevolence have mifrepre- 
 fented it. 
 
 It is a little remarkable, that thefe 
 popular prejudices, among other in- 
 competent foundations, reft upon a 
 doubt of the power of Parliament * to 
 model and conftitute its Colonies in 
 fuch a manner as fhall be deemed 
 meet : they make a queftion, whether 
 the Supreme Legiflatiirc of the Briiijb 
 Empire has a right to give, to its 
 ceded Province of Canada , fuch form 
 of government, and fuch toleration of 
 religious profeffions, as fhall appear 
 fitting for the imperial ftate to give, 
 and for the dependent ftate to receive. 
 
 * The jurifdiflion of this Court, fays Sir Ed- 
 ward Coke, is fo tranfcendent, that it maketh, en- 
 Jargeth, diminifheth, repealeth, and reviveth, laws, 
 ftatutes, adts, and ordinances, concerning matters 
 eccleftaftical, capital, criminal, Uc. 1 Inft. 
 fol. 110. 
 
 I could 
 
t 11 ] 
 
 It feems to me, that this is a very un* 
 conftitutional and illiberal ground, oil 
 which to fupport an argument, nomi- 
 nally in favour of Liberty. 
 
 But, when it appeared to be the 
 intention to embarrafs us with verbal 
 difputes, addreffed to our paffions and 
 prejudices, inftead of our reafon, in 
 order to “ darken counfel by words 
 without knowledge;” I thought my- 
 felf in duty bounden to examine the 
 Bill itjelf, and fee with my own eyes, 
 whether it warranted the indu&ions 
 drawn therefrom. I fhall therefore 
 prefume to trefpafs upon your patience. 
 Sir, and upon that of this honourable 
 Aflembly ; while I recapitulate the 
 heads of the Bill in contemplation* 
 and mention fome few obfervations 
 which occurred to me* upon the per* 
 ufal of it. 
 
 The preamble of this Bill having 
 ftated, that, by the Proclamation in 
 B 2 i 763, 
 
[ 12 ] 
 
 1763, a large extent of country, con- 
 taining Canadian pofleflions, was left 
 without any Civil Eftablilhment ; and 
 that other parts of the Canadian fifhery 
 (the Labradore coaft) were thereby fub- 
 je&ed to the regulations of Newfound- 
 land j which were inconfiftent with the 
 nature of their fifhery ; the act then 
 goes on to place under the jurifdi&ion 
 of this new government all unappro- 
 priated lands, fouthward as far as 
 where the Ohio runs into the MiJJiJ/ippi, 
 and northward to the territory of 
 Hudfons Bay ; revoking the aforefaid 
 Proclamation. It then grants a tolera- 
 tion of the exercife of their religion, 
 fubjehl to the King's Supremacy , to the 
 Roman Catholics there, and (after a 
 claule in favour and encouragement of 
 the Protejlant religion there) prelcribes 
 a form for their Oath of Allegiance. 
 
 The A£t then goes on to fecure to 
 the Canadians their pojfejjions , cufloms^ 
 and ufages ; and (except in the cafe of 
 lands held under Englifh tenures, 
 which are to remain as they are) con- 
 tinues 
 
• [ >3 1 
 
 tinues to them their own laws, fo far 
 
 i 7 
 
 as they relate to property and civil 
 rights: but, in this provifion, the pro- 
 perty and poflelfion of the religious 
 communities are excepted ; and the 
 whole fyltem remains fubjeCt to alte- 
 rations, by ordinance of the Legiflative 
 Council, whenever the Canadians lhall 
 be fatisfied, of the fuperior excellence, 
 of the Englijh civil law, or the ob- 
 jections, which prevent its eltablilhment 
 there, lhall ceafe ; or whenever the ad- 
 miniftration of Juftice, under Canadian 
 law, lhall become oppreffive to Britilh 
 lubjeCts, having property and credits 
 there. The ACt then gives them the 
 power of deviling by Will. It gives 
 them that belt part of our conftitution, 
 the Criminal Law of England. It then 
 proceeds to Hate the inapplicability, to 
 their fituation, of an aflembly of repre- 
 fentatives ; and authorifes the King to 
 nominate a Governor and Council, who 
 are to have a power of making ordi- 
 nances for their peace, welfare, and 
 good government, but not for the pur- 
 B 3 pofs 
 
 \ 
 
f *4 ] 
 
 pofe of taxation. It further enadts, that 
 no ordinance touching religion, or that 
 inflidfs greater punilhment than fine or 
 imprifonment for three months, fhall 
 be of any force or validity, until ap* 
 proved by the Crown. It then con- 
 cludes with three claufes, relating to 
 the manner of palling thefe ordinances, 
 to the power in the Crown of ere&ing 
 courts, and to enforcing in that Pro- 
 vince the acts of parliament for regur 
 lating the Plantation trade. 
 
 Having briefly flared what the Aa 
 does give them, it may not be amifs cur- 
 ion ly to mention what it does not give 
 them. It does not give them all the 
 inexplicable reafoning and machinery 
 of our law. — It embarrafles them nei- 
 ther with the uncertainty of contingent 
 remainders, i}or with the mouietraps 
 of fpecial pleading.— It does not oblige 
 them to carry attornies from hence to 
 manage their qftates.— It does not fub- 
 je£t them to the cruelty and feverity of 
 qur laws concerning arrefts. — It does 
 
 m 
 
[ >5 ] 
 
 not enable four hundred emigrants, 
 becaufe they are Proteftants, to eredt 
 themfelves into a conftitutional ariflo - 
 cracy , and tyrannize over and opprefs 
 above an hundred thoufand peaceable 
 and dutiful fubjedts, who firft fettled 
 the country ; men of property, of rank, 
 of charadter. — It does not, in infradtion 
 of the very treaty which ceded the 
 country to us, compel thefe miftaken, 
 yet believing, Chriftians to facrifice 
 the prejudices, the faith, the religion, 
 they were born in, at the fhrine of a 
 fuperfiitious and intolerant hierarchy — 
 It does not empower the few Proteflant 
 fettlers there, under the idea of a free 
 reprefentation , to tax at difcretion a 
 country, of which they form a moft 
 infignificant part ; but referves taxation , 
 where it fhould conftitutionally re- 
 main, in the bread of this houfe.— ^ 
 Neither does this Adt, Sir, authorize 
 a* Committee, to take a fumof money 
 out of the revenue, granted to the 
 * See fome late tranfaftions in Carolina. 
 
 B 4 Crown 
 
[ >6 1 
 
 Crown for the ufes of government, 
 and fend it over to the Bill of Rights , 
 to be expended in hiring a mob, to in- 
 fult the firft magiftratc of this country 
 in his public char after. 
 
 But I am yet to learn that the omif- 
 fion of thefe properties, in their confti- 
 tution, precludes either polity or liberty, 
 or that the reftoring and alluring to the 
 conquered their polTeflions, rights, 
 laws, and religion, is an aft of feve- 
 rity or of tyranny in the conqueror ; 
 efpecially when we confider, that 
 this bill only reftores partially what, 
 by a mere temporary expedient, the 
 King’s Proclamation * incompetently 
 
 (as 
 
 * I Ihould thus defend my opinion. — In Sal- 
 keld 41 1 it rs laid down, by Lord Chief-juftice 
 Holt, iC that, in a conquered country, the law$ 
 <€ of the conquering ftate cannot take place till 
 €i declared fo by the conqueror and his fuccef- 
 ** fors:” which conqueror is the fupreme power of 
 the conquering ftate ; with us, the King in concur- 
 rence with the two Houfes of Parliament : for it is 
 clear, that our King atfting fingly is not that Sove- 
 reign which V attel defcribes^vol. I.Sed.47, and 23^ 
 
 who 
 
[ *7 ] 
 
 (as I deem) took away. For the King 
 has not, I conceive, Sir, a power of 
 
 who <4 can change fuch laws as are not fundamen- 
 tal, and make political regulations,” which with 
 us are a£ts of LegiAation. This is further eluci- 
 dated by the argument in Calvin's cafe, 7th Rep* 
 where the reafon given, why 44 the King may, at 
 44 pleafure, alter the laws of a conquered country," 
 is, that 44 he hath vita et necis potejiatem , the 
 44 power of life and death.” He may, perhaps, 
 have vita et necis potejiatem fo long as the ftate of 
 war continues ; but fuch a power, after returning 
 the fword to the fcabbard, is repudiated by all na- 
 tions of the world. L’Efpr. des Loix, 1 . xv. c. 2. 
 Befides, a conqucft is for the benefit of the ftate, 
 not of the King. See Vattel, vol. II. fe&. 232. 
 And, if there was fuch a power, it would veft in 
 the Parliament $ for it cannot be either an execu- 
 tive or judicial a£t, which are fuppofed to be in 
 confequence of fome municipal law, pre-exiftent 
 and preferiptive to them. There feems to me to 
 be a ftrong line between ordinances made in a 
 conquered country in time of war, and thofe made 
 in time of peace : in war, they are temporary re- 
 gulations, made upon the fpur of the occafion ; 
 in peace, they are durable eftablifhments.— I muft 
 stcknowledge r my obligations to Mr. Macdonald’s 
 able argument, in the King’s-bench, laft Eafter 
 term, for the clue which has led me fo far as I 
 have been able to enter into this ppint. 
 
 B 5 annulling 
 
C *8 ] 
 
 annulling or altering the laws of a 
 conquered country, unlefs flagrante 
 hello , while the fvvord of war remains 
 uniheathed ; for, after hoililities have 
 ceafed, fucli alteration is an at of Le- 
 g/flation. 
 
 And even if there was fo ample a 
 power veiled in the Crown, yet the 
 exertion of it, in the manner which 
 has been propofed, by giving them a 
 new iyilem of law, would be unnecef- 
 fary y and conlequently impolitic and ty- 
 rannical ; for the wanton and unnecef- 
 fary impoiition of laws and regulations 
 is, according to * Blackftone’s idea, 
 definitive of liberty ; and, in my 
 mind, of polity alio. The change, 
 which William the Firfl made in our 
 laws and language, ihewed in its con- 
 fequences as much ill polity, as in- 
 juflice in its principles : for it is truly 
 faid, by the + author of the Spirit of 
 Law’s, that “ it is the folly of con- 
 
 * Book I. ch. i. — See alfo Beccaria, ch. ii.~ 
 c< Ogni atto di autori a di uomo a uomo che non 
 “ derivi dalP afloluta neceffita e tirannico.’' 
 
 *t Grand, et Decad. des Romains, ch. vi. 
 
 46 querors 
 
[ >9 ] 
 
 f f querors to wifli to give to every 
 ft people their own laws and cuftoms; 
 “ which are of no ufe, for in every 
 ft fpecies of government the fubje£t is 
 “ capable of obedience.” That it is 
 not neceflary for us to give our con- 
 quered ftates our own laws, we have 
 proof in the examples of Guernfey , 
 Jerfey , Minorca , &c. ; which retain 
 their obedience as well under their own 
 laws, as they would under ours. 
 
 Far am I, Sir, from being convinced 
 of the expediency, or juftice, of fub- 
 mitting the lives, liberties , and pro- 
 perties, of our fubje&s in Canada to 
 the jurifdi&ion of the very few Britifli 
 Proteftants fettled there; who, I am 
 bold to aflert, are fome of them the 
 very refufe of this country, who have 
 unfuccefsfuliy ventured to other parts 
 of America previoully to their colo- 
 nizing in Canada. Were it declared 
 expedient and juft, I (hould not won- 
 der, if thefe poor Roman Catholic Ca- 
 
 by the articles 
 
 P 
 
 nadians, yainly guarded 
 
 
[ 20 ] 
 
 of treaty, fhould petition us for a lar- 
 ger number of Proteftant tranfports 
 than has been ufed to be fent there, in 
 order to increafe the number of proper 
 and jit men to form their Houfe of 
 Commons, who fliall give them laws ; 
 and to compofe a body from whence to 
 chufe their fpecial and common juries , 
 who are to determine on life and pro - 
 perty. 
 
 To thofewho contend that, when 
 in the * Treaty we contratt to take the 
 moft effectual meafures to tolerate in 
 them the exercife of their religion, <c as 
 “ far as our laws will permit,” we do 
 
 * The words of the T reaty referred to are thefe : 
 That his Britannic Majefty, on his fide, agrees 
 c< to grant the liberty of the Catholic religion to 
 <c the inhabitants of Canada. He will confequently 
 give the moft precife and moft effectual orders, 
 <c that his new Roman Catholic fubje&s may pro- 
 “ fefs the worfhip of their religion, according to 
 <c the rites of the Romifh Church, as far as the 
 <c laws of Great-Britain permit $*■ that is, fubjeft 
 to the King's Supremacy , 
 
 not 
 
[ 21 ] 
 
 not mean any thing ; * for that our 
 laws do not permit , but only ivink at, 
 the exercile of the Roman Catholic 
 worlhip here : that our Roman Catholic 
 law's are like a fword in a fcabbard, 
 which drawn, gives a libera et infinites 
 potejlas to him who bears it. To this 
 I {hall content myfelf with anfwering 
 generally, that, if treaties are to be 
 fo conftrued, it will in its confequences 
 render vain the Law of Nations and 
 Treaties, which has hitherto operated, 
 fo much to the honour and peace of 
 Modern Europe. 
 
 If any man, after having read the^- 
 *j -tition from whence this bill originates, 
 
 figned 
 
 * Our Law judges more liberally of conftruc- 
 tions, when it direfts, that an engagement {hall 
 <c operate mod forcibly againft the contractor ; 
 44 and that every word (hall take efFe£l, if poflible.” 
 Plowden, 156. 
 
 + This petition of the Canadians, having men- 
 tioned the conqueft, aind the confequent treaty 
 which reftored to them their religion, laws, and 
 pofleffions, reprefents the inconvenience and con- 
 
 fufion 
 
 \ 
 
y 
 
 t 22 ] 
 
 figned by moft of the refpe&able names 
 of Quebec, dcfiringj fo far as may be* 
 
 fyfion which have attended the fince changing of 
 their oWn laws for the Englifh laws, with which 
 they were totally unacquainted, and which were 
 pot in any way fuitable to their fituation. Having 
 then thanked his Majefty for admitting them to 
 fit upon juries, they profefs their furprize at being 
 told* that they could not be in any employ civil 
 or military* as they had flattered tbemfelves that 
 their irreproachable and dutiful condu&, fince the 
 conqueft, would be fuch a teftimony in their fa- 
 vour, as might induce their Sovereign to admit 
 them to the rights of Britifti fubje&s. They then 
 beg their laws to be reftored to them; and the 
 Upper Country* and the coaft of Labradore, to be 
 replaced under the jurifdidion of their Province. 
 
 The Counter-petition of the Britifb Traders 
 there does not fay a word about the treaty, or 
 about the inhabitants of the country ; but, having 
 cited the proclamation* and fhewn the glorioufnefs 
 of forcing the JBrjtifti laws and conftitution upon 
 the conquered Canadians, and afierted that the 
 petitioners are very induftrious (which I believe 
 true enough), and carry op a great part of the 
 trade of the place, concludes by informing his Ma- 
 jefty, that there are now (which I doubt) a fuffi- 
 cient number of Proteftants to form a General 
 Aflembly, and that they therefore hope that one 
 . will be immediately called. 
 
 their 
 
t *3 ] 
 
 their laws cpntinued, and their reli* 
 gion tolerated ; and having compared it 
 with the counter- petition for the laws of 
 England, figned by the Britijh Traders 
 there, who, reinforced by all their 
 party, are in a lels proportion to the 
 Roman Catholics of Quebec than one 
 to two hundred ; if, fo informed, he 
 lhall aflert that it is the dejire of our 
 colony of Quebec to forego their own 
 laws, in exchange for ours : to an af- 
 fertion fo void of truth I lhall not 
 wafte words in replying, but content 
 myfelf with anfwering, in the modeli 
 and humble phrafe of an houeft faint, 
 whofe name 1 forget, Mentiris impu- 
 dent ifjime! 
 
 But it has been faid, that not merely 
 the interejl of our Canadian fubjedls, nor 
 yet the j acred faith due to treaties, is 
 to be conlulted; that we mull take 
 heed % to the danger of introducing def- 
 potifm into our conftitution, by letting 
 the infection touch even the extremes. 
 But, Sir, fo far as precept and example 
 united can fupport me, I lhall venture 
 
 to 
 
f M ] 
 
 to demur to this principle ; not to the 
 extent of the words in which it has 
 been exprefled, but to fuch ftate of it as 
 the fa<ft will warrant. Far be it from 
 me to aflert that defpotifm is proper for 
 any part of a free Empire ; but I truft 
 that I am warranted in faying, that, if 
 the conftitution of the dependent ftate 
 cannot exactly tally with that of the 
 imperial ftate, it had better be lefs free 
 than more free. 
 
 The conftituting of a dependent 
 ftate exactly as free, and yet not more 
 free than the imperial ftate, is, in my 
 fentiment, quite Utopian. I believe 
 that there never was an example of 
 this exa& tally : I am confident in af- 
 ferting that there is no fuch example 
 in our Empire. Our royal govern- 
 ments ar clefs free, our charter govern- 
 ments are more free, than the mother- 
 ftate i our brethren in New England 
 have been abundantly more free; lb 
 that we have feared left they fhould 
 ** ufe their liberty as a cloak to licen- 
 
 “ tioufnefs.” 
 
[ 25 ] 
 
 s ‘ tioufnefs.” As proof thereof, call to 
 mind. Sir, what little effect the pa- 
 triotic Mayors and Aldermen of the 
 citv of London have had in railing fedi- 
 tion in the caufe of Liberty, compared 
 with the eager flrides of the “ Sons 
 “ and Daughters of Liberty ” at Boflon 
 to that fyftem which knows no fo- 
 vereign power but in Heaven. 
 
 You will recolleff, Sir, that the 
 flutes of Greece had all dependent 
 flates, with more confined liberties than 
 their own. Montefquieu * remarks of 
 Rome , that their Republican conftitu- 
 tion could not be communicated to the 
 Provinces j that, while Liberty was in 
 the center , Tyranny was in the extremes j 
 for, he then adds, a M norchial con- 
 flitution may be communicated to a 
 dependent (late, but a Republican can- 
 not. In a fubiequent -j- book however 
 he makes a partial exception to his ob- 
 fervation, in favour of the Mixt Confti- 
 
 * L’Efprit des Loix, Liv. xl. Chap. 19. 
 
 + Liv. xix. Chap. 27. 
 
 G 
 
 tution 
 
[ 1 
 
 tution of England ; faying, that, 
 where the Englifh fend out colonies 
 of their own People , they can commu- 
 nicate their fyftem : but, he adds, not 
 when they conquer j for there, though 
 the citizens of the Rate may be made 
 free, yet their conjiitution muft be de- 
 pendent and monarchial. To know whe- 
 ther this applies, we have but to de- 
 termine, whether the hundred thou- 
 fand conquered Canadians, or the four 
 hundred colonizing Englifh, compofe 
 the Province of Quebec. If the firR, 
 it is a conquered country ; if the latter, 
 a fettled Colony. 
 
 The few Republics which now exiffc 
 concur to add authority to my afi'er- 
 tion ; but in no inftance that occurs 
 to me is it more juRified than in the 
 manner in which the Republic of Hol- 
 land governs its monarchial eRablifii- 
 ment at Batavia. «« * A fimple mer- 
 “ chant,, governor of that Colony, ap- 
 tc pearing there with all the Rate of the 
 
 * Siecle de Loius XIV. Tom. I. p. 2i* 
 
 *i greateft 
 
t 27 ] 
 
 *« greateft Kings, without their fuf- 
 “ fering this rfjiatic Pomp to corrupt 
 “ the fimplicity of their European 
 «« Dutch,” draws frcrn Voltaire the 
 obfervation, that “ this mode of ex- 
 “ ternal pomp and domcjlic frugality 
 “ has formed the grandeur of the Se- 
 «« ven Provinces/* 
 
 But the manners of the European 
 Dutch are as much more fimple and 
 frugal than ours , as the pomp of the 
 Batavian Dutch exceeds what is, or 
 can be, in Canada. The Republic of 
 Holland is as much more republican, 
 and lefs monarchial, than the Mixt 
 State of England ; as the defpotic 
 Viceroy of Batavia is more abfolute, 
 than the Governor of Quebec under the 
 propofed qualified eftablifliment. The 
 cafe is much Wronger, and yet has 
 produced none but good effefts. — 
 
 Having faid thus much, in order to 
 Rate the General Polity of the Bill, its 
 peculiar necejjity and txpediency in this 
 C 2 inftance, 
 
[ 28 ] 
 
 mftance, and that no danger to us at- 
 tends it ; I proceed to examine, whe- 
 ther its operations will be in favour or 
 in oppofition to Liberty. And in a 
 Free State like this, to which w'e have 
 the happinefs to belong, it is not to be 
 wondered, if the found of that fingle 
 word, “ Liberty fhould be equal to an 
 army of other words ; for arguments 
 in favour of Liberty are, and ought to 
 be, heard with avidity in this aflem- 
 bly ; — they merit and they receive fa- 
 vour in our courts of Law. — And, Sir, 
 did I conceive the Arguments for this 
 Bill to have effedt in favour of the 
 Prerogative of the Crown, and againft 
 the Liberty of the fubjedt, I would be 
 the laft man in this houle who fhould 
 rife to fupport it. But when I fhall 
 have obferved to you, that, without 
 this Bill, the Government of Canada 
 will remain formed of a Governor, 
 Council, and Houfe of Afiembly, 
 eledtable out of and by the very few 
 Proteftants who refide there, to the ex- 
 
 clufion# 
 
[ *9 ] 
 
 clufion of, generally fpeaking, all the 
 Canadians ; that this Oligarchy is to be 
 armed with the power of tyranny and 
 perfecution j and that this conftitution 
 is to remain folely ellablilhed by the 
 King’s Proclamation, and wholly hub- 
 je£t to his prerogative: — and when, on 
 the reverfe of the medal, we find that 
 this Bill coniiders them as fubje&s, not 
 of the Royal Prerogative , but of the 
 Legijlature of the Britilh Empire ; and 
 as fuch admits them to the rights ot 
 fubje&s, and to a lmall participation 
 of Government ; that it tolerates their 
 religious prejudices, and continues to 
 them their own Laws and Tenures, fo 
 far as they concur with their advantage 
 and our fafety: — It will then be eafy 
 for this aflembly to determine. Sir, 
 which of the two is a conquejl to Li- 
 berty ; that which founds an arijlocratic 
 hierarchy on kingly prerogative', or that 
 which conf itutiona!ly admits the con- 
 quered to the rights of Britijl) fnbjefts , 
 lo far as their fituation will permit. 
 
 C 3 Can 
 
[ 3 ° ] 
 
 Can there be any thing more invidious 
 — more odious — more averl'e, to Li- 
 berty, than a fyftera which draws a 
 iine between fettling fubjects and tub- 
 jedls by treaty ; which confiders emi- 
 grants from England as authorized to 
 exercife all the tyranny, which Roman 
 Citizens were guilty of in their Pro- 
 vinces ; and treats a country, fubje&ed 
 to us by treaty, as a province acquired 
 for the purpofe of their opprellions. 
 It would be ridiculous. Sir, to think 
 that * co loco , ubi fervit utem e[[e ve limits t 
 fidem fperandam ejj'e. 
 
 But fuch the mi (lake mufl be, which 
 enfues our being governed by words , 
 in (lead of ideas. This very diftin&ion 
 between conquered and fettling fub-r- 
 je£ls, which patriots have contended 
 fo for in this inftance, was, by being 
 realized in the Roman Provinces , the 
 caufe of all thole Ihocking feenes of 
 
 Ridiculous to think, that, “ in that place 
 cc wliere we have conflituted flavery, fidelity is to 
 Vi fce hoped for,” 
 
 pppreffipq 
 
[ 3 1 1 
 
 oppreffion and tyranny, which emi- 
 grants * from that city difplayed amid 
 their unhappy fubjedts ; the which, by 
 a neceflary confequence, drew after 
 them the Jlavery, and ultimately the 
 ruin +, of that imperial city, whofe 
 conftitution had been the vaunted pro- 
 duce of fix hundred years. The in- 
 ftance is the more remarkable, in that 
 this very Empire, which thus fell a 
 facrifice to its own injuftice and bad 
 polity, originated its grandeur by di- 
 redtly oppojite meafures — thofe of in- 
 corporating into its own body every 
 city and (late of Italy which it con- 
 quered. 
 
 If it (hould appear, that, by the ex- 
 tenfion of our Criminal Law to that 
 
 * See the end of Mithridates’s fpeech, cited from 
 Xrogus Pompeius by Jtiftin. Lib. xxxvii. cap. "]• 
 t Ego cun&a imperia crudelia, magis acerba, 
 quam diuturna, arbitror ; neque quemquam a 
 multis metuendum effe, quin ad eum ex multis 
 formido recidat. Sallust, Orat. I. 
 
 t Tit. Liv, lib. VIII. cap. xiii. Camillus’s fpeech, 
 C 4 country, 
 
country, the writ of habeas corpus ip 
 criminal matters is ipfo fafio carried 
 with it, and equally * ilTuable in the 
 
 courts 
 
 * The firft and leaning point in the conftruc- 
 ticn of an Aft of Parliament is to make it fo 
 operate, as to fupprcfs (fo far as may be) the mif- 
 chief, and advance the remedy, i Comment, 87* 
 And it is the mafter-principle of our Law, that 
 every thing in favour of Liberty fhall be liberally 
 and beneficially expounded. The habeas corpus 
 ad fubjiciendum % which ifiues in criminal cafes, and 
 that ad deliberandum et recipiendum , to remove cri- 
 minals, are a part of our criminal law, and a part 
 eiFential to the liberty of the fubjeft : and thougn 
 it is provided, in the habeas corpus aft, that it fh^il 
 be iiTuab <? oply by the Lord Chancellor and the 
 twelve judges; yet, becaufe that if, in criminal 
 cale>, it ihould not be ilTuable in the fame manner 
 in Quebec as in the other Colonies, the part of 
 the aft, which gives them the Criminal Law of 
 England, would lofe its principal aim and efteft ; 
 therefore it is to be underftood, that the part of 
 fhe habeas corpus aft, which reftrains the iffuing of 
 this writ to the Lord Chancellor and the twelve 
 Judges, is, fo far as it applies to Quebec in cri- 
 minal matters, vertually repealed ; for, othervvife, 
 the intention of this Aft, to put them upon the 
 fame footing with ourfelves in point of criminal 
 jurifpcudpnce, cannot take efFeft. It is a little ex- 
 traordinary, that this Aft, which has given Tuch 
 
 offencsj 
 
[ 33 ] 
 
 courts there , as in England : if it 
 
 fhould likewife appear, that the ex- 
 tenfion of this fame criminal Law ope- 
 rates to lecure to them the trial by Jury 
 in all matters which concern either the 
 Life or Liberty of the fubjedt, in all 
 matters in which the power and pre- 
 rogative of the Crown might, by pojji- 
 bility , gain an opportunity of inter- 
 fering to the oppreffion of the f'ubjedt; 
 and that their former mode of trial 
 only remains, in civil actions, between 
 J'ubjecl and fubjebi, and in difputes about 
 a property which is held under different 
 tenures froms ours ; and that only till 
 the Legiflative Council, with appro- 
 bation from home, (hall find it expe- 
 dient to alter it : — If all this fhould ap- 
 
 offence on account of its fuppofed exclufion of 
 this writ, is the only acl which extends it to any 
 Province in America. The other Colonies have 
 it, through Governors Inftru&ions, under a very 
 liberal conftruclion of the 31ft of Charles II. I 
 underftand that a very great Lawyer has given his 
 opinion, that this writ is, in criminal matters, if- 
 1 uable by the Judges of the Superior Court of 
 jj)at Province, equally as in England. 
 
[ 34 ] 
 
 pear, and in the face of the Bill we 
 may read it, I humbly conceive, Sir, 
 that all arguments, ifluing from the 
 idea of the non-extenjion of the writ of 
 habeas corpus , and trial by jury y to 
 this colony are, to ufe a juftly fa- 
 vourite expreflion “ meer, Moon-fhine.” 
 
 Could it happen (which Heaven for* 
 bid!) that the fovereign of fome neigh- 
 bouring ftate to us, advantaged by fi- 
 tuation, connexions, events, and 
 good Fortune, fhould acquire by con - 
 queji the fovereignty of this Kingdom, 
 to the exclufion of the prefent family, 
 who came to the throne, to ajfert and 
 fupport the rights of Britons; fhould 
 this happen (and, however diftant in 
 event, in argument it may be fup- 
 pofed), and fhould this conquering 
 Prince think proper to declare void our 
 laws, ufages, tenures, and DoXrine of 
 Defcents ; our Privilege of trial by 
 jury, our claim to the writ of habeas 
 corpus , our rights of manors, and our 
 
[ 35 ] 
 
 poffeflions, in order to couftitute the 
 whole lyftem de novo-, and fhould he 
 clofe this deadly edift by prohibiting 
 ns to worlhip the God of our Fathers, 
 as our Fathers worshiped him; — what 
 names ! what words fhould we think 
 fufficiently'emphatical for fuch an Aft 
 of Tyranny ! But if, to the cruelty 
 and injuftice of fuch a procedure, it 
 fhould appear in acceffion, that it 
 * was * unnecejfary , wanton, and impolitic , 
 the folly of the deed would demand 
 ftill ftronger words to exprefs its cha- 
 racter. 
 
 Let us then put ourfelves, for a mo- 
 ment, in the fituation of our conquered 
 Canadian fubjects. To them their 
 laws, their ufages, their rights, their 
 pofl'effions, are equally dear as ours arc 
 
 * For the reafon of two or three hundred 
 ffragglcrs of the conquering nation, having crept 
 jn among us, would, in our own cafe, be deemed 
 nothing better than a man of ftraw ; and that is 
 not reafon, in the cafe of another, which is not 
 fo in our own inilanpc. 
 
 to 
 
[ 3 « ] 
 
 to us : their religion is much dearer, 
 through a miftaken zeal , which un- 
 happily mifleads them. Can we, by 
 any means, conceive ourfelves autho- 
 rized to corre£l thefe errors by perfiecu- 
 tion ? or will the Spirit of our Faith 
 warrant us by fire and faggot to make 
 immediate * Profelytes of an hundred 
 thoufand fubje£ts, whom the chance of 
 war, and the faith of treaties, have 
 placed under our jurifdi&ion ? Surely, 
 not. For let no man fay that we have 
 a right of compulfion, becaufe our 
 laws and religion are better than theirs. 
 The aflertion may be very true ; but, 
 if admitted as an argument, it is an 
 argument, which the verieft tyrant 
 upon earth, operating for the worft of 
 purpofes, might equally with us make 
 ufe of. — 
 
 So far. Sir, for the Polity , Liberi 
 and Propriety , which, in my fentiment 
 
 * The h;ftory of every country affords con- 
 viflive proof, that perfecu'tion is not the proper 
 pieans of converting from religious errors. 
 
[ 37 ] 
 
 at leaft, unitedly direct the aim and 
 operation of this Bill. I have now to en- 
 gage your view, to that part of it, which 
 prefcribes the extenjion and limits of this 
 new Proviuce; a fubjeft which has 
 been more fpoke to by the gentlemen 
 in oppofition, becaufe more capable 
 of a multiplicity of words. The Bill, 
 Sir, re-annexes to Quebec, on the one 
 fide, the Labradore coaft, and, on the 
 other fide, the upper and interior coun- 
 try of North-America, North of the 
 Ohio ; and as the reafoning applying 
 to thefe two countries depends upon 
 different fadls, 1 mufl beg your in- 
 dulgence, while I fpeak to each of 
 them feparately ; and hrft with regard 
 to the Labradore coaft. 
 
 It is impoflible for any man, who is 
 acquainted with the nature of the com- 
 merce and fijhery carried on upon that 
 coaft, and with the ftate of the Cana- 
 dian claims there, not to fee that the 
 
 reftri&ion 
 
r 38 ] 
 
 reflrri&ion of it to the government of 
 Quebec, in exclufton of the govern- 
 ment of Newfoundland, is an a<ft both 
 of expediency and jujlice. The Seal and 
 Sea-cow fifheries of Labradore, and the 
 Cod fifhery of Newfoundland, are fo 
 different in their natures, that the fame 
 mode of regulation cannot be appli- 
 cable to both. The firfl comer every 
 fpring to Newfoundland feizes upon, 
 and becomes tenant by occupation of 
 thofe unoccupied parts of the fhore 
 which are moft convenient and fuitable 
 to him: there is no perennial pro- 
 perty in the fifhery ; but they are 
 all annual occupants; for the boat, 
 which carries them there, carries with 
 them their barrel of rum, and barrel 
 of pork, and the other few requifites 
 for a complete eftablifhment of their 
 fifhery. But the Labradore fifheries are 
 carried on upon a very different prin- 
 ciple, and in a very different manner : 
 they prefixed and * fedentary, and re- 
 2 quire 
 
[ 39 3 
 
 quire more than mere annual eftablilh- 
 mentsj and the profit would be irre- 
 l'ponfible to the expence , if the fifher- 
 man, after a large dilburfement in pre- 
 parations and means for carrying on 
 his filhery this year, is to be oufted 
 and deprived of the benefit of them 
 the fecond year ; and is to be obliged 
 to recur to the fame expence annually 
 for the fame inadequate profit. 
 
 It is true, that the Proclamation, 
 by making it a part of Newfoundland, 
 did not absolutely prefcribe, that it 
 Ihould, in all its parts, be fubjett to 
 the regulations of the Newfoundland 
 fifhery ; but, by the miftaken zeal of 
 thole gentlemen, who have been 
 appointed to fuperintend that filhery, 
 it has in fa<St had, and mull con- 
 tinue to have, thefe confequences; for, 
 however wife and proper their regula- 
 tions may have been, when applied 
 to thofe parts of the coaft, where a 
 Cod filhery may be carried on ; yet 
 
 they 
 
[ 40 ] 
 
 they are certainly inapplicable to the' 
 Oil filhery ; and, by making it impof- 
 fihle for a Canadian to form eftablifh- 
 ments, where he has a right to pof- 
 feflion, do in fact violate every prin- 
 ciple of Law and Jufiicc *. 
 
 7 v) • > Vi : 
 
 If then it (hould be deemed impo- 
 litic to fubjeft that valuable coaft and 
 filhery to the .fyltem which operates 
 half the year in Newfoundland ; it 
 will, I trull, appear an indifpenfitble 
 point of poliiy to fubjecl them to 
 fome government or other. To 
 eftablifh a government on purpole 
 is a needlefs and abfurd expence; 
 and St. John's will want more ma- 
 turity and population before it will 
 be fit to govern itfelf, Halifax is 
 allb yet in its infancy, and equally 
 incapable of enlarging its dependent 
 jurifdi&ion. Quebec will then appear 
 
 * Sir Hugh Paliifer has had, and, 1 believe, 
 now has, a&ions pending againft him here, on 
 account of fome of thefe regulations. 
 
[ 4« j 
 
 to be the * only Province adapted by 
 Jituation and condition to this talk. And 
 the fifliermen of Labradore will cer- 
 tainly not change for the worfe, in 
 efcaping from the jurifdidlton of a Com - 
 modore to the civil Eftablifhment of a 
 Governor aifd Council \ adting under 
 laws to be confented to here ; which 
 will furely be better for them, than a 
 fyftem, whereof the quod placuit prin- 
 ciple the Commodore’s high will and 
 pleafure, forms the code. 
 
 It is true, that there is a very va- 
 luable cod-fjhery , on fome parts of this 
 coaft, which may be carried on by 
 Britifh fubjedts. But is there .any 
 thing in this Adt which prevents Bri- 
 tifh fubjedls from fi filing upon thofe 
 parts of the coaft; where there are 
 no Canadian fettlements ? Is there any- 
 thing in this Adi which difables the 
 
 * Quebec, Halifax, and St; John’s, are the 
 only neighbouring Provinces to the Labradore 
 
 Coaft. 
 
 0 
 
 King 
 
[ 42 ] 
 
 King from giving inftrudions for mea- 
 fures that may fecure that filhery to Bri- 
 tifh fubjeds ? Is it to be fuppoled, that 
 the King will not be advifed to inftrud 
 his Governor, to make fuch regulations 
 as may fecure, to the fhips fitted out 
 from Great Britain, the full enjoyment 
 of that cod-fifhery ? Will not this civil 
 cftablifhment make it, to the fubjeds 
 of Great Britain, more lecure than 
 they have found the Port of Bofton ? 
 Will not regulations, thus enaded by 
 Law, be more effectual to this falutary 
 objed than any orders given by the go- 
 vernor of Newfoundland ; who is 
 cloathed with no legiflative power, nor 
 is fupported in what he may do, by 
 any * which extends to that coaft ? 
 
 To all thefe qu eft ions common fenfe 
 anfwers in favour of the Bill ; for the 
 Quebec Government, having civil yx- 
 rifdidion there, will make the Britifh 
 
 * The Provifions of the Act of William III. are 
 confined fclely to the Ifland of Newfoundland. 
 
 fubjeds 
 
t 43 ] 
 
 fobjeCls more fecure in the pofleffion of 
 this fifhery, by how much more fecurity 
 there is to the Mother flate, in their 
 being governed by a civil eftablifh- 
 ment from home, and by laws con- 
 fented to at home, than by a naval 
 eftablifhment, with no laws at all. 
 
 It has been urged, that the transfer 
 of the jurif diction of this fifhery to 
 Quebec, will be attended with a 
 transfer of the fijhery itfelf, from the 
 other North-Americans, to our fub- 
 jects of Quebec, and to our own peo- 
 ple of England. Were it fo, I do not 
 fee any ill polity in a meafure which 
 may mediately tend to draw a fifhery 
 from people, who refufe our laws, go- 
 vernment, and manufactures, to the 
 inhabitants of Quebec, who petition us 
 for laws, government, &c. or to our- 
 felves, who {land very much in need 
 of them ; efpecially if it fhould ap- 
 pear, and it is very true, that this 
 country is occupied by Canadian pof* 
 D 2 feffion3, 
 
[ 44 ] 
 
 feflions, under Canadian rights ; here- 
 tofore fubjeft to this very jurifdi&ion, 
 till diverted by Proclamation. Would 
 the transfer of the government carry 
 the filhery with it, it would operate 
 in favour of the bill; but I think, 
 that it cannot be argued for it, that it 
 w'ill be attended with any fuch effects ; 
 for the Independents of New-England 
 will not find themfelves lefs “ per- 
 « fe&ly free” under the civil jurifi- 
 dittion of Quebec, than under the Pro- 
 clamations of the Naval Governors of 
 Newfoundland. 
 
 To what has been, or may be, laid 
 againft this Bill, on account of the 
 encouragement which it may give to 
 the Canadian Fifijery , and of the con- 
 fequent danger of its proving a Nurfery 
 for Canadian Sailors', who, as loon as 
 they lhall acquire a fixed fettle men t for 
 their filhery on that coaft, are to be 
 fuppofed willing to abandon their pro- 
 perty, and fly to the French Navy : — 
 
 To 
 
[ 45 ] 
 
 To an argument fo merely compofed 
 of words, 1 (hall think it enough to 
 anfwer generally — that the Nurfery , 
 if it is one, is not originated by this 
 Aft — that it was freexijient to it — that 
 it is not to be prevented but by an Aft 
 of injuftice, that of oufting the Cana- 
 dians there fettled from thefe their fet- 
 tlements and pofleffions — that it (eems 
 rather * abfurd, to exclude people from 
 a filhery, in order to prevent their 
 leaving it — and, laftly, that this Aft, 
 fo far from fending them to mann the 
 French Navy , gives them encourage- 
 ment to remain there, fecure in their 
 pofleffions, on the footing of Brit if) 
 fubjetts. But, however liberal to 
 them as colonifts and fubjefts, the Aft 
 is not lefs cautious of the fafety and 
 welfare of the Mother Country ; veil- 
 ing in the Crown a legal controul of 
 this fifoery, to limit and confine the 
 bounds thereof, and to make fuch re- 
 gulations applicable thereto, as (hall on 
 
 « Hie rogo, non furor eft, ne moriare, roori ? 
 
 P ^ behalf 
 
[ 46 1 
 
 behalf of Great Britain be deemed ex* 
 pedient. And even if it fhould, con, 
 trary to every probability* prove a 
 nurfery for French , inftead of Englifh 
 jailors, and fhould the Crown omit the 
 exertion of the falutary power by this 
 Aft entrulled to it; we are by no 
 means precluded from making fuch fur- 
 ther regulations and rejlrieiions as {hall 
 to us feemfit. — 
 
 I have entered thus largely into the 
 confederation of this part of the Bill, 
 which, by an extenfion of the limits 
 of Quebec, includes the coaft of La- 
 bradore ; becaufe great pains have been 
 taken to prejudice men’s opinions upon 
 lalfe grounds ; but I muff not forget 
 
 the other obje&. It is needlefs to 
 
 inform this houfe, already fo knowing 
 in American affairs, that the upper and 
 interior country , which this Bill places 
 under the jurifdiaion of Quebec, is in- 
 deed of great extent, interfered by 
 vei 7 great rivers and lakes, 
 
 taking 
 
[ 47 ] 
 
 taking their courfes in different di- 
 verging lines of direction ; but of eafy 
 communication, by means of narrow 
 ftraits, or fbort, carrying-places, which 
 being fecured by forts, the dominion is 
 eafily maintained bv a very lmall mi- 
 litary force. By a complete know- 
 ledge and proper ufe of this great na- 
 tural advantage, the French a&ually 
 gained, and for many years main- 
 tained, the pofleffion of that country ; 
 from which, by means of a wile and 
 proper regulation of the Peltry trade , 
 upon one general fyftem, they gained 
 the efleem and affe£lion of the Indians, 
 and reaped thofe benefits which railed 
 Canada to the flourifhing ftate we 
 found it in at the conquefl. 
 
 In order, however, to give effeft to 
 that regulation, and that the polls, 
 which were eflablifhed, might be 
 more eafily maintained, and at as little 
 expence as poflible ; Settlements were 
 allowed to be formed, within a cer- 
 D 4 tain 
 
. C 48 1 
 
 tain diftrict round each poftj and a 
 form of civil government eftablilhed, 
 among the inhabitants of them, pro- 
 portioned to the extent and importance 
 of their fettlements ; which became, 
 in procefs of time, aftual, though de- 
 pendent, Colonies. 
 
 In this fituation, that country was, 
 by the fuccefs of our arms, and the 
 •w'tfdom of our councils in the direction 
 of them, transferred to the dominion 
 
 of Great-Britain 1 do not mean, 
 
 in general, to condemn the policy of 
 the Proclamation in 1763, in reference 
 to the interior country: had it been 
 followed by a complete execution of 
 that plan , for the government of In- 
 dian affairs , which the late Minifter of 
 the American Department had, with fo 
 much credit to himfelf, fuggeftedj 
 the prefent meafure would, as to many 
 of its objedls, have been unneceffary. 
 The Peltry trade would have been t 
 cured from thefe grofs abufes and 
 
 frauds 
 
[ 49 ] 
 
 frauds which have fpread univerfal en- 
 mity and jealoufy among the Savages ; 
 and the Settlements at Detroit , Pojle 
 St. Vincenne, and the Illinois , might, by 
 degrees, have been brought under that 
 controul which is ejfential to public 
 fafety, and have received that protec- 
 tion which is due to Civil Liberty. 
 
 Unfortunately, however, no part of 
 this plan was adopted, except the ap- 
 pointment of a Superintendant for In- 
 dian Affairs, with an eftabhihment of 
 near 10,000/. per annum , but without 
 any power or authority whatever, ex- 
 cept what arofe out of his uncommon 
 merit and influence, to make any re- 
 gulation, or corredt any of thofe abufes , 
 of which that commerce is in its na- 
 ture fo fufceptible. Many of the ports, 
 where inhabitancy had taken place, 
 were improvidently abandoned; and^ 
 rthe miferable fettlers were left expofed 
 fo tyranny and opprejjion , which a man, 
 
 informed 
 
[ 5 ° ] 
 
 informed of fafts, would blujh to men- 
 tion. 
 
 In vain have the fufferers under that 
 oppreffion fighed out bitter, but refpecl- 
 
 ful, complaints. In vain has Sir 
 
 William Johnfon repeatedly announced 
 the entire lofs.of the affections of the 
 Indians, and dated the decline of the 
 Peltry trade , for want of fome regula- 
 tion and controul. In vain have the 
 
 Colonies, concerned in this trade, been 
 called upon to concur in fome meafures 
 for that purpofe : they have not only 
 refufed that concurrence, but have, re- 
 gardlefs of their own fafety , and in vio- 
 lation of their Sovereign's orders, in 
 fome inftances encouraged, and in 
 others connived at, vagabond fettlements , 
 independent of all authority, and in- 
 recoticileable with every principle of 
 true polity. 
 
 In this fituation, and under thefe 
 circumftances, what better can be done 
 
 than 
 
[ 5 * ] 
 
 than to annex this country to Quebec, 
 and fubjedt the whole to the jurifdic- 
 tion of that Colony, to which the 
 only lawful fettlers in it were origi- 
 nally fubjeft, and whofe language, 
 manners, inclination, and religion, are 
 the fame: — a Colony, that, under the 
 proviiion of this Bill, will have autho- 
 rity competent to every object that re- 
 quires regulation and reform, both in 
 reipect to Indian Affairs , and the care 
 and concern of the fubordinate diftricts. 
 
 Do gentlemen really think, that, 
 after all that has been proved to this 
 houfe rdpedling the conduct of our 
 other Colonies, it would be advifeable 
 that each, or any number of them, 
 fhould ad libitum extend fettlement 
 weft to the River Miffiflippi ? I think 
 that none will be found hardy enough 
 
 to rifk fuch an opinion.' Should it 
 
 be propofed, I fliould anfwer, “ No! 
 « certainly, no !” for, befides the in- 
 convenience, as in the inftance of Bojlon 
 
 for 
 
[ 5 2 ] 
 
 for example, of its extending back 
 into the woods above nine hundred 
 miles from its Capital, its turbulent 
 and democratic fpirit, and, in this in- 
 ftance, its inapplicable fyftem of re- 
 prefentation ; there would moreover 
 be the fame ill confequences attending 
 it, as mull have followed that ill-de- 
 figned, and happily-abortive fcheme 
 for the Ohio fettlement ; the forming 
 an independent ftate, inaccejfible to our 
 Navy, and confequently uncontrolablc 
 by ourfelves. — It would tend prema- 
 turely to haften that independence in 
 our fubje&s in America, which they 
 are forward enough to claim already. 
 --It would form an impregnable Head- 
 quarters for the difeontented to refort 
 to. 
 
 If this reafoning is fairly deduced, 
 I think it will follow, that none of the 
 Provinces on the coaft are Jingly proper , 
 either by Jituation , conflitution t or tem- 
 per, for fo important a truft as the ju- 
 
 rifdi&ipn 
 
[ 53 ] 
 
 rifdi&ion of that country. And the 
 impropriety of fuch a meafure will ap- 
 pear by ftronger reafon, if we add, that 
 the country in contemplation is chiefly 
 held and fettled, where held and fet- 
 tled, under Canadian rights and Cana- 
 dian eftablilhments. — And the fame 
 reafoning will conclude, that an inland 
 Colony and fettlement there is inexpe- 
 dient as well as dangerous. 
 
 It (hould be confidered that the ob- 
 je£t of * colonization is not merely to 
 form new towns, which fhall call us 
 the Mother country ; but to extend our 
 commerce , our refources , our means of 
 •wealth — of Empire , upon our own 
 terms. If this is not done, our title 
 to America is a vain name and nothing 
 more. But particularly, in this re- 
 mote country, in queftion, commerce , 
 and trade, and the fecurity derived to 
 the other colonies and to the Empire in 
 
 general, from its being in our poflef- 
 
 * 
 
 * L’Efptit des Loix, Liv. xxi. chap. 21. 
 
 lion, 
 
[ 54 ] 
 
 fion, are our only objeds. For this 
 purpose, the eftablilhment thereof 
 ihould be rather monarchial , than de- 
 mocratic ; in that the dire&ion and 
 cqntroul of a chain of forts, and a di- 
 ftant Indian trade, would be ill-de- 
 cided upon by a town-meeting , an 
 elective Council , or an houfe of Kepre- 
 Jentatives^ and' a country of that im- 
 menfe extent, and wild condition, re- 
 duced to a fyftem of reprefentation, 
 would be a monfter in reality , as well 
 ^is in theory — if the theory could be 
 fupported — if its exigence could be 
 realized. 
 
 : ' ' {tV ■ 
 
 But the Jlrength of thefe forts united 
 in one hand — directed by one head — 
 and governed under the propofed Quebec 
 .eftablilhment, will not only be a pro- 
 per barrier and controul againft our 
 enemies, and a protection to our other 
 .Colonies ; but it will allb form a po- 
 Jitic check * to the growing indepen- 
 
 * diem proferet Ilio, 
 
 Matronifque Phrygian — ■ ■ 
 
 dence 
 
[ 55 ] 
 
 dence of our American children. And, 
 whatever may be faid of the pleafant- 
 nefs of brethren dwelling together in unity , 
 it is a matter of great * moment to 
 the political exigence of our Empire, 
 that our Colonies beyond the Atlan- 
 tick, inftead of being combined toge- 
 ther under the fraternal name of “ Ame- 
 ricans," Ihould be blended and united 
 with our general Empire under the fi- 
 lial chara&er of “ Britons.” 
 
 ■ ■■ 
 
 ; Such difpofition of this Back Coun- 
 try will alfo have another good effect, 
 to reflrain and prevent their back f ele- 
 ments, where they would be beyond 
 the reach of our controul ; and will 
 oblige them to cultivate the fea-coafs , 
 where, fo long as we command the lea, 
 we fhall always have a power of coer- 
 cion over them. It will reftore the Ca- 
 nadian fettlements, to their own and 
 former jurijdidtion, and it will be a 
 means of recovering and pteferving the 
 
 * Grand. & Dec), des Romains, chap. vi. 
 
 2 trade 
 
I* 5 6 ] 
 
 trade of that country, and reconciliat* 
 ing the minds of the injured and op- 
 prefled Indians. 
 
 The honourable gentleman, who 
 {poke laft, expreffes a high fenfe of his 
 efieem for the noble Lord on the 
 Treafury-bench. I heartily concur 
 with him in it, and truft that I lhall 
 not have occafion to alter my opinion. 
 His candour and attention , in hearing 
 and replying to every the mod pitiful 
 objection, that the cry of Party could 
 raife againft this Bill, convince me 
 not lefs of his patience than of his abi- 
 lities. This honourable and learned 
 gentleman has alfo faid, Sir, that no 
 one has dared to avow this Bill — that 
 it has been prolem fine matre creatam. 
 I know not why, unlefs it be faid quia 
 populi filius , nullius films ; — becaufe, con- 
 currently the production of the two 
 houfes, it cannot properly be claimed 
 by, or attributed to, any individual of 
 either. For my own part, if my 
 
 claim 
 
[ 57 1 
 
 claim were fupportable, I fhould make 
 no fcruple of avowing it ; for the mu- 
 table fafhion of condemning this Bill 
 will, I am perfuaded, change as much, 
 and as fa ft, as the opinions and principles 
 of fome of the opnofers of it have 
 changed. It is truly faid, by Locke, 
 that “Names govern things,” and that 
 we generally look “ non quo eundunt 
 eft, Jed quo iter and the fate of the 
 popularity of this Bill affords a ftriking 
 inftance of the truth of it; where a 
 partial cry within and without thefe 
 walls, of Popery and arbitrary Power , 
 has more operated — has more con- 
 vinced, than either Reajon or Common - 
 fenfe. — As to Popery, I (hall obferve, 
 that we only grant them that tolera- 
 tion which, as Chrijiians, or as Men, 
 they are intitled to — as Subjects, they 
 may claim, under that very Treaty 
 by which they became our fubje&s. — 
 With regard to the latter imputation 
 of Defpotifm , I fhall conclude with the 
 E anfwer 
 
t J 8 1 
 
 anfwer of the Athenian Legiflator,— 
 “ We have not given them the 
 
 ** BEST CONSTITUTION POSSIBLE, BUT 
 “ WE HAVE GIVEN THEM * THE BEST 
 “ THAT THEY ARE CAPABLE OF RE- 
 " CEIVING,” 
 
 t 
 
 V* 
 
 * iC Sit MV, i fir, Mponiifailo ref apisUf” 
 
 Plutarchus in vita Solonis. 
 
 F i n i s. 
 
 i . 
 
|_ a<n>OE 
 
 
 errata. 
 
 P. 24. L 2. erafe the word “ the* 
 
 P.36. 1 . 31. for Liberty read Liberality 
 P. is . « the bottom, for Ltd. read Decai. 
 
 $t>3do2<2 
 
M