. lly coursing shone strot

,’t|lIl po ulation, which even the newly

llASZAl1D‘S

:rAZETTE, FEBRUARY 11.

AU8TIALIA'—8YDNEY.

Where sixty-five years ago, Governor Philip looked upon a silent harbour from an open boat, Governor Fitzroy now dwells in I . eture, which cost about 60.U)0, with a tower seventy feet high, soaring stately above the wood and water of Farm Cove; and thence he looks out on I proud and stirrin scene. On the north shore, across the rbour, lies St. Leo- hvd's,—a pleasant and wealthy suburb. On the waters, instead of the black swans of the native solitude, are the black swans of eommerce,—a no le and numerous fleet representing many nations, some under sail, -.-I000 lyis a inst the rock-face of the nature wharf, with steamers contiiiual- up and down.—On the south ohes out the spacious city o .Sydney,—the boast and wonder of the colo-

‘ arrived uropeen readily pronounces wor- thy to be the young capital of the grand dominion lying around it. Covering the whole ridge first chosen, sweeping the val- ley,<aad climbing up another hill, with its George-street two and a quarter miles long, its 65, people, its thorough English look, shopped and gee-light,—it is, altogether, so like a sea-port our own shares, that the traveller is almost sorry it does not look stranger; for, as to anything outlandish, he might as well have stayed at home. at, now and then, orange-trees blooming by a cottage, a flock of green parrots resting on a mo , the tatooed cheeks of a New Zeal- ander, or the spindle-legs and matty hair

' ot'a black Australian,:certify that it is Eng- land at the antipodes, and not England at

me.

o

This city has its L islature, possessed of the most important owers, even to the revision of the Constitution; its Corporation, with a Mayor, whose official salary is £800 a-year; and its University, of which the Senate consists of members of all the lead- ing religious denominations. It has also its hospitals, and its poor: the latter accoun- ted for chiefly by the frightful number of public-houses,—the former, by a goodly, yet insufficient, number of churches of va- rious persuasions.

Few cities are so orderly at night not- withstanding the excesses of intoxication to which so many of its people are wretchedly addicted. Even after the great province of Victoria had been separated, the territory of which Sydney is the capital, is as large asten Englands; with a thousand miles of

tions of the Fireman and Military were he-

yon . all praise. It is probable, however. that ifthe communication between the dif-

ferent portions ofthe block had been cut oil‘

by means of iron doors, the whole building would not so easily or rapidly have fallen a prey to the devouring element.

t was impossible at the hour wheiithe despatch was forwarded, the fire still rag- ing, to give any minute particulars ofthe catastrophe, or a description of the scene. The spectacle was awfully grand, and was witnessed by it great number of people.

The destruction of the Legislative Hall is a loss which will be felt throughout Ca- nada generally, but more particiilsrly in

uebec.

A later account says that the fire was

,- finally subdued without further damage.

It is thought to have originated from one of the fines ofthe hot-air furnace. The build- ing is said to be insured for £30,000 in oliices in England.—.N'¢w Brumwiclrcr Feb- ruary ‘

HOUSE OF ASSEHBLY—SUHHAR.Y. THURSDAY, 9th Feb., 1854. SWEARING IN OF THE MEMBERS.

The Commissioncrs,— the lion. the Attorney General, llon. Capt. Rico and llon. Edward Haythorne-appointed by His Excellency the Lieutenant Governor to swear in the returned Members—having discharged that duty, the next business was ELECTION OF THE SPEAKER.

At 2h. 5m. p. in. the House were summoned to the Council Chamber, and being directed to return to their own Chamber, and elect a Spea- ker, they rcturncd for that purpose accord-

n ly. iglonx MCXEILL. Esq., Clerk, liavingpikeu the Chair—- lllr. l\lic.it:i.sv rose, and moved|that_the llon. John Jnrdine be elected Speaker.

8-7 F-1

:1

Hr. Casalt objected to Mr. Maeiiulay‘s nio- tion, that thc llon. l‘II'. Jurdine, being a mem- ber of the Government, was not (according to the princi le recognised at tho establisliincntof Resgonsib a Government) eligible for the Spea-

ers up.

Mr. HAVlL.\ND said, there could be found no statute, rule, or motion, by which such it prin- ciple was established. When Mr. Pope was Speaker, he was a member of the Government, and held various Government appointments be- sides. It was true, indeed, that ii. motion had once been submitted, although not carried, for the establishment of that principle ; but beyond that, it had not been entertained by any pre- vious Asscmbl .

see-coast, rich in forests, mountains, plains , and table-lands, in pastures, crops, and mines; glittering with gold, studded with prosperous towns, resounding with the voice of industry and the bleating of innumerable flocks.—[London Quarterly Review,]

SAD Accouxrs riiom run IONIAN Is- i.iNns.—Private letters from the Ionian Is- lands inform us that Zante and Capalonia are in a most deplorable condition. The failure of the current crop for two succes-

llon. Mr. \lyllELAl\'.--It was a principle recog- nised and established in the neighboring Pro- vinces nnil in the mother country. When was it ever known, in the mother country, that a Collector of Excise was as a fit and roper person to till the Speiiker‘s chair, in the louse of Commons? In Nova. Scotia, when it gentleman holding such an oliice was proposed to be clccted Speaker of’ the Assembly, be him- self declared his ineligibility, as being an Ex- cise 0Hl('Of. llon. lllr. P.u.in-:a.—He was aware that in

sive yerrs has cut off the only supply from which the inhabitants of those two lslands, in particular, derive their main support. The land owner and the abourer are both suffering under such a calamity; but it is in the letter that want with its attendant hor- rors, weighs heavil and is crushing them to death. Their circumscribed condition, in a physical as well as in a social sense, renders them helpless in their present mis- fortune.

Any work which could offer the scanty remuneration of twelve cents er d would, under existing circumstances, be hailed by thousands as a most propitious and heaven-sent boon. But there are no factories to employ the calious hand of the sturdy a riculturalist, and it must dro with*wea ness by his side until death re- lieves his sufferin s. The relief also that might be obtained by spreading out, and thus renderin the intensity of suffering less observable, is rendered very difficult by the liquid element which locks them up in their native island. The Zantiotes in

articular are well known throughout reece as the most industrious, active, lu-

_ borioas and thrifty husbendmen of that part ofthe world, and yet even their doom seems almost inevitable, and starvation is already proying upon that hardy race.

in if

During last Autumn wild fruits and herbs"

rowing in the fields censtituted their food, but dreary Winter has deprived them of their miserable pittance.

The Ionian Government has offered to

many a free passage to Cortii, where the olive crop promised well this year, and where they might find employment in help- ing their fellow-islanders to get in their crop. This measure will no doubt afford some relief, however small, to the sufferings of many. Hundreds have already availed themselves of it, and our corres ndent tells us that the h gard features of hun- dreds of starving‘ eings, of all ages and sexes, leaving their sunny island in search of bread, presented a picture which drew out tears from the eyes of all who witness- ed it. ' ' The disease will very probably continue for many years to come, and hence the fate of these r children of the East promises to rivalt at of the Irish famine during the po- tatoe rot. _

Dasraucrioiv or ran Pianiiniaivr Bum»- iitcs Ar Quseac.-—A telegraph despatch received at the News Room, states that the Parliament Buildings at Quebec were de- stroyed by fire yesterday morning. The tire broke out between 3 and 4 o clock in the south wing of the buildings, and con- tinued fiing with terrific fury until the whole bl -was entirely consumed. Very little wla saved from the wing in which the fig. originated, but it is said the greater I,”-ggfthe Literary sadmsayioftbe most ' deeeiseets were ressued from fiber soothes of the bullies. Tbs use

If . l lfl Old ;i.:.l‘..":‘;?”;t'.':1‘:“.’.. i3°°i'o°'ioiu-mi,

some of the other Colonies, gentlemen filling certain important offices were held to be ineli- gible for the Speiikership: and, to a certain extent, such objections might be very reasona- ble. He would not, therefore, in rising to sup- port the motion of the hon. member for George- town, go so far as to say, that the eligibility of members of the Government and holders of Go- vernment oilices for the Speaker's chair should be recognised on all occasions. Reasonable ob- jections would be listened to ; but he was not aware of any statute, rule or practice against electing to the Chair of the Assembly any mem- ber so circumstanccd with, respect to oflice as the lion. Doctor Jurdino. It was not sufficient, to set his nomination aside, that an solitary member should declare him ineligib 0, unless his ineligibility were declared or established by some statute or rule. ere was, in fact, no such statute or rule to restrain the House in their election of a Speaker; and the Hon. Mr.

P Jurdine, he maintained, was then quite as cli-

giblc for the Speakcr’s Chair as any other mem- ber of the Assembly. .

Mr. \vlGllTM.‘\?~'.—ll8 thought the inclinations of the hon. gentleman proposed ought to have been previously ascertained. That was the course pursued with respect to himself, when it had been intended to put him in nomination for the Chair. The House would, surely, not think of compelling any member to accept of the Speiikcrsliip o. uinst his will.

llon. Mr. \\ he an.—On the establisment of Responsible Government, it was an understand- ing with a large majority of the Assembly at that time, t‘iat the member filling the Speaker's Chair should hold no government oflice; and with respect to Mr. Ran, the Speaker of the last House, that understanding was actc u on if Mr. Palmer, however, would fairly state his real reasons for supporting the motion of

o hon. member for Georgetown, it would, he apprehended, be found to be his desire to de- prive his (llon. Mr. W‘s) side ofa vote on the floor of the House. (“ Hear !" from Mr Mooney.

Mr. L .icsrr.ir.—A member of the Govern- ment pro sed to me that I should as ire to the Speakers nip; (" Hear!” from Hon. ilr. Palm- mer) but I declined, alleging as my reason for so doing that l was not sufficiently acquainted with arliamcntary rules and proceedings to be ab is properly to discharge the duties of the oilico ; at the ......o timoobserving thatl thou ht the Hon. Doctor Jardinc, as the oldest mom or of the Assembly, would be the most suitable member for the appointment. No meinb however, in my o inion should be excused, if the choice of the Hibuse.

Mr. Hoossr. The si s of the times appear to be siren and ominous. Whoa crossing the Sguare in the mornin be observed the Colonial Buildiu to be w 'te and dri in . He ok or a d omen, and said the uil - ding itstelf was lamenting the downfall of snatclierirm. (Much laughing) What would fol- low he knew not; but it was certainly strange to find an hon. member opposing the elevation of his colleague to the Speaker's Chair. And stillstrenger wssitto hear that the Government had applied to the hon. member, Mr. uls , to allow himself to be put in nomination or the Speskerehip. If they had done so, it was a mean and centers tible shullle. What! was s representative 0 the rotten borough of Georgetown, to appointed the mouth-piece of the people of Prince Edward Island l

r. viuiis rose to order. He strongly condemned the language of the hon. main r unpar-

II

r9 5'

er ."

ll\lr. lllooxrv then rose and proposed Mr. Mac- 0

tie to a most respectable consti- ha hoped for better things-—for some euienu ent in the tone and spiritoftbe debates of ti llouse—he had he d that mem- bers would Tank and act as gent einen ; and he was extreme y sorry to have to rise to order. on account of language so unwarranteblo as that which had been used by the hon. member, at the very commencement of the Session.

Mr. Mooxsv, then proceeded, and jocularly observed, that Mr. Lon worth was, not only good-natured, but good- coking: and, as an ol nicnibcr, well acquainted with the usages of the llouse:—and, as he had told him, he would. therefore, if there was no chance of his being elected to the Speeker‘s Chair himself, elwerfiilly give his vote to lace him there.

Mr. Loxowoirrii.—If the ion. Doctor Jardine be elected S aker, he knows the conditions; and will no oubt be prepared to comply with them. He will not think of holding an ofice tible with his occupancy of the peak- er’s C iair. . Ci.Aax.—If the Hon. Mr. Jardine be willing, on his election to the Chair, to vacate his present appointments. I am quite willing that he shall be Speaker ; but not otherwise.

on. Mr. Loan was of the same 0 inion as the hon. member who had spoken ust. ’l‘o elect to the Speakers Cliairamember who be- sides being one of the Executive Council, held an ollicc of emolument under the Government, would be a violation of ii principle of the new Constitution which had latelv been happily established. When Res nsible Government was established, it was c early understood, as one principle of it, that the Speaker of the As- sernbly should neither hold any Government ofiico, nor ask for one It was measures an system they were called upon to support, not men. They had heard, it was true, a gre

grossly ins tucncy. lls

deal about u. change of Government; but wba ever a majority in the Assembl opposed to Responsible System might e ct, or seek effect, he was quite certain that so onga fragment even_ of those who had beo

people. Not only was he well de onor proposed to be couhrrcd ii the salary of'£60 attached to it, ut he be equally deservingof it were the salar

((‘rics of "Question!") He hoped the gentleman would rise and avow his own

ments with respect to his nomination for

mir.

Mr. iisviusn. No! He can’t. (Cris “ Spoken Y" I

Mr. (.‘oxiior.—-The Speaker of the Hon Commons, it is well known. is ex-nflicio, it

her of the Priv Council. He might atten i he chose ; but it is true he is never summoned. And, if we want it precedent here, do we not all know that when Mr. Pope was Speaker, he held nearly all the offices of the County. He was a. member of the Government, Collector of Excise, &c., &c., the. ties of“ Question!") Mr. FiusI:n.—lt would be unbecoming to force the appointment upon an hon. member against his will. Unless they were satisfied that the lion. Mr. Jardine was anxious or willing to fill the Chair, the motion, he thought, ought not to be pressed.

The question was then put; and the House divided: '

Nays—Mr. Wi htmsn. .Mr. MeGill, Hon. E. \\/hnlan, Mr. uk. Mr. FlIOOI',Hon. Mr Lord, Mr. Davies, Mr. Mooney, Hon. Mr. Warburton—9.

Ayes-—Hon. Mr. Palmer, Mr Douse. Mr. Conroy, lllr Yen, Mr. Montgomery, Mr. Long- wortli, Mr. Havilaad, Mr aegowan, Mr.

Machlachern, Mr. Macaulay, Mr. McLeod, Mr. Beer, Mr. Goff- I3.

So it was carried in the allirmative.

Mr. Mooian'.— .\lr. Clerk, will it not be necesaaryio order the Sergeant at Arms to lay violent bands upon the Speaker elect and force him to take the chair. We all know that one man may lead a horse to the well, but twenty cannot compel him to drink. on. Mr. JAltDINl.—-If the Houseinaist, I will comply.

The House adhering to the motion just carried, the hon. gentleman on being invited to do so advanced to the Cltair;and. having seconded a‘ couple of steps, he ietnrned thanks for the honor conferred upon him, in'a short but appropriate speech. He then took the Chair as Speaker of ihe Ho-.ise—and,having done so, stated his inten- tion Io resign his seat in the Executive Council, as he meant not to be the Speaker ofa party, but of the whole House.

reruns or wnrr-- roa THE FIRST ms- TBICT or QUEEN'S coimrv.

Hon. Conoxm. Sscarnav, holding in his hand the Return of the Writ for the rst Dis- trict of Queen’s County, moved that the same be received and read.

on. Mr. PALIIR.-H8 would wish to know how that Writ was brought under the notice of the House.

Hon. COLONIAL SlClli'l'AltY.—Al a member of the Government, l brin it before the House.

Hon. Mr. P.iuiaa.— e would like the Hon. Colonial Secretary to explain a little further, and say for what purpose he brought it before

Hon. ‘onosuir. Saciiri-.isi'.—'l.‘hat action may be taken upon it certainly.

Hon. Mr. Piuira.—-In the case of a disputed return before the House, it must be asked for by the House; and all matters connected with it can only properly be investigated by the House in a Couimitteeof Privileges. The Hon. the Colonial Secretary says that, as a member of the Government he brings the Return of the Writ for the lat bistict of Queen's County, under the notice of the House, and to the and that they may take action thereon. By his explanation were they to understand that his motion for the reception and reading of that eturn, was to '

considered as a Message fyom the Government directing the House to go into a mmittee of Privileges thereon. on. Conosiii. Sscas-rnr.—He was yell aware that all matters connected with Elections could be taken into consideration, by the House, only in a Committee of rivileges; and, if the hon. member for Char ottetown he had little tienoe, he..woald have. found that the cal o ject he (the Hon. Colonial Secretary) he in view, in nishiag his motion,‘ was that the Return in question should come under the consideration of the House in a Committee of Privile s. The Return was, in truth, a most extrscr ieary one; but at that time, he would forbeer further comment upon its irregularlt . Mr. Loiiowoa-rn.— That observation .itse f amounted almost to a breach of the privileges of the House. (“ Bear I'' from Doctor Opnroy.) It surely required only a little relpetion, on the t of the lies. h conv see him of the lie

-8

o the Government.

asdtolalscslitnb wt.

Hon. Mr. Wusuu.—'l‘be Return was unpre- cedented and so irregular, that His Excellency.

in his Speech, had justly spoken of it as one of

an extraordinary character.

ocroa 0oaaor.—'l‘luit remark of His Excel- lency's amounted to a breach of the privileges of the Assembly, on his part.

Mr. Micun.iv.—’l lnii might be considered when the House should be in Comiiiittee on the reply to his Excellent.-y's Speech. It would be irregular in take notice of it before-

Doctor CortIiov.—lf any gentleman has been unduly returned to this House, by a Sheriff, it is for the constituents injured by with return to come before this House; and, stating their grievance, toseek redress at our ands. None but those who have been properly sent to the Assembly, should be allowed to speak. or e at in it. The Assembly was not to be dictated to by

Government. The members were the represents. iives ufihe ople ; and to them were they ree- punsible 'lhey were not like a chain dangling

the rown: and, when the Crown presumed to send them messages effec- ting their long established and well known privileges, it was a descent from its due posi- tion by the Crown. and a direct innovation of the rights of the people. if constituents were eg- grieved, let them, in the name of the people, apply to the House for redress, and it would undoubtedly be extended to them. The bare mention of the Sovereign's name, in the House of Commons, was. in some cases, held to be abreach of the privileges of the Commons-How.niucli more than any thing affecting their privileges, approaching to the nature af easaga from the

iwn e was a loyal ject ofthe Crown ; but, in the Assembly, it would ever be his care and aim to manifesibis all glance to the people who had sent him in it. -

r. ooM:v.—-He was not at all disposed to give the learned Doctor credit for his boasted etriotisni. When he called to mind the conduct f the learned and honourable member. in the

d been appointed to prepare the draft of an Ildress in answer to the Governor's Speech, no- ing would satisfy him but the House’s going mediately into a Commiite of Privileges, in the ope that, by their determination, he might effect is object, to the prejudice, not onl_v of Mr. (Poles uto r. Co|es's constituents. So great than as his regard for the rights ofthe people and

side of the Bar in his shirt sleeves, and quoted May on Parliainent in support of the views enunciated b himself! And was it he who would, if he . have proceeded in so arbitrary a manner rds a representative of the people, who then d about his sacred regard for their rights. and loudly deprecated their being trampled upor.