| imes, do what reasoa, law, and justice say they ought

“pative; and—much in the spirit, if not in the words,

‘missing the Long Parliament—to say, to any House of

ae EI

IRS AR. ma

THE EXAMINER.

__ 283

not to do, it is his*bounden duty, on all such occasions “ whether, for party or any other purpose, the rights of the crown be invaded, or the liberties of the people be aysailed—to oppose, to, the abuse of parliamentary privi- ‘Jege, the wholesome exercise of the royal prero-

of Oliver Cromwell, when, most unceremoniously dis-'

Assembly, arrogating to itself A-delegated right to govern wrong,

“For shane! Give place to honester men ; to those who will more faithfully discharge their trust. You are no longer a

rliament : I tell you, you are no longer a parliament, THe Country has done with you.”—That Karl Grey is not of opinion that an appointinent ofa member of Assembly to a seat inthe Executive Council, unconnected with any government oflice of emolument, vacates his seat in the Assembly, is evident from a recommendation of the noble Secretary for the Colonies, contained in his Re-, sponsible Government Despatch to Sir John Harvey, and expressed in these words: “it may very probably be advisable to assign salaries to two or three of the Executive Councillors as such ;” the object deing to render their seats in the Executive Council polttical,and, consequently to make it necessary for any member of the Assembly on receiving such a salaried appointment, to vacate his seat in the Assembly, and return to his con- stituents. my i

A statement of the proceedings, both of the Assembly ; and of the Executive, together with the opinion of the Crown Law Officers, relative tothe appointment of Mr. Warburton to a seat in the Executive Council, has, we understand, been already forwarded by His Excellency Sir Donald, to Earl Grey ; and this will speedily be fol- iowed by what is, we believe, meant for a sort of counter statement, issuing from the unir-arian majority of the House, and intended for a justification of their high- handed, not to say arbitrary decisions with respect to the legislative seats of Mr. Warburton and Mr. Coles. At the expiration of a few weeks, we shall, doubtless, be in possession of the authoritative opinion of Her Majes- ty’s Government, in reference to the facts contained in these statements; and, should it, as we expect it will, be

very far from ‘the reality of things. The Queen might be displeased with her advisers.’ Hostile’ majorities might spring up in either House. Not only’ the repre- sentatives, but the,creat body of the nation, might ,en- tirely withdraw their confidence from the permanent Ministry. What then? The Ministry would remain, In the teeth of Sovereign, Parliament, and nation, they would continue to hold office, and to administer the af- fairs of the country. That is just all, —

Now, such, we are told, is the present situation not only of Prince Edward Island, but of more than one other North American colony. ‘There is a Governor appointed by the Crown, and a Representative Assembly elected by the people. An Executive Council is, however, in- terposed between them, who, if we have got at the truth of conflicting statéments, are precisely ‘in the situation we have just attributed to the permanent Ministry. Sir Hi. V. Huntley, the Lieutenant-Goveérner of the province we have named, was, it appears, the most conspicuous mark of the hatred of these gentlemen, who, in the poli- tical polemics of the island, have received the sobriquet of the ‘ Family Compact,’ or the ‘Black Watch.’ ‘The Representative Assemly have been busily occupied, session after sessson, im pronouncing futile, philippics against this small knot of irremovable officials, yet they remain at their posts despite of Govenor and Assembly, This would seem to be the strangest ‘form of the theory of the constitution that has eyer obtained in any of our colonies. We can understand such a case a8 that of Canada, where the struggle was for a responsible Exe- cutive ; nor is the opposite extreme, that of the irrespon- sibility of the officials to any other power than the Crown, less intelligible. Great influences are striving for supe- riority, and under either system the affairs of the colony might be administered without gross disadvantage to the public interests. In the history of the Canadas, to recur to our recent illustration, there was also a‘ Family Com- pact,’ who were in possession of the higher public offices, who distributed the minor patronage, and whose influ- ence*was at one time paramount in. the Executive and Legislative Councils, This body, too, was constantly at

perhaps, still be called Her Majesty’s Administration. | ejected from that seat in the Assémbly to which you But, aguin, this picture of Saturnian happiness might be) had—ia,spite of the get. evhtrery, paempts to intimidate

‘you=-so noblyretarned him. now too well the men by whom he has been supported in this stru to be- lieve that they will submit to be dictated to‘and control- ed in the exercise of their franchise, by an’ imperious Clique, composed of family Compact men, Sterekeppers and Agents (with same few henorable exceptions), who have grown rich, whilst their masters have not been so fortunate ; and who,whilst gulping the oyster themselves, have left you to-ruminate’ upon the shells—who are sup- ported in the Assembly by those would-be .Sampsons, who are eyer striving to scatter, their opponents by the terror of their jawbones; and endeavouring, by their arbitrary measures, to retain in their grasp the power they so shamefully abuse, r3 dt

But, let me ask you, my friends, why is this sysien.ef vexation and persecution pursued towards Mr. Coles? Is it not because he has dared to speak ont unpleasant traths? Is it not because he has dared, in his place in the Assembly, to denounce that system of influence by family connection and accommodation which has been so much complained of? Is it not because he has had th courage to speak in the face of all menjwhat others; Tess intrepid, only whisper at the<orners of the streets? Is At-not because he is_ sprung; from ourselves, and. has, .by his industry and intelligence, raised himself tc the-st tion he now so deservedly occupies, and that ‘little envious, narrow-minded souls hate to see the elevation to which he has attained?) Is:it not) because he is the pledged opponent of al! peculation and fraud ? and the devoted champion of the interests of the agricultural population? ~ . de le * Recollect, my friends, the “ dark and poisoned curtain,” and the last words of one who suffered the bitterest en- mity and contumely for your sakes ; and look round upon the neighbouring Provinces; and, encouraged by the success which has attended their efforts to rid them- selves of an injurious domination, take every occasion and opportunity to establish your own freedom.

GOD SAVE THE QUEEN?!

Novick TO TRIN-SKINNED MEmMBERS‘or THE As-

war with the Assembly, but on their retention of a ma |

SEMBLY.—We have taken pafticular care ita. omit froup

in favour of that ofthe Colonial Law Officers of the|Jority, their existence, as a power might be said in aithis, our present edition any ebseryations respecting

Grown; and should the Speaker and his party refirse to recede from their position, as they have declared that, in such case, theywould ; the difficulty can be over- come only by the remedy indicated by the Speaker himself—-A DISSOLUTION OF THE ASSEMBLY, and the calling of a NEW HOUSE.

et

{Krom the London ‘Times, January 19 }

STATE OF AFFAIRS IN PRINCE EDWARD : ISLAND.

Our attention has been called to various abuses exist- ing im the’ administration of our smaller North Ameri- cau colonies. It would appear that the management of public affairs has, in too many imstances, in these remote districts of the empire got-imto the hands of litte knots of icremovable officials. ‘I'he natural consequence has been that in them a system of the grossest jobbery and corruption has sprung up. Family exclusiveness and nepotism, with ail their attendant evils, have irritated ine great mass of the various populations against the uolders of such offices. ‘Thus much was natural. The fimily offigials have, however, we are told, gone further than this.. We will take one mstance—that of Prince Edward Island.

The theory of the constitution, as worked out in this province is well worthy of attention. —[t is just now en- gaged in a struggle with anomalies. » Civil discord runs high. The many are.at odds with thefew. It is the old game over again that has)been, or is to be, played out ui every society of men which has based its. institutions on the civilization of the Old World. The relations be- tween a mother-conntry and a colony add another elc- meut of complication to the oscillations of party, and the difficulties inseparable from sach a contest. In one sense this is so; in another the preponderating influence of the metropolis may be advantageously used to bring inatterg, to a speedy, just, and intelligible issue. Lar] Grey may throw a despatch, as Brennus did his sword, inté the scale. Mr. Hawse may, from his office in Downing-street, indite a postscript to the letter of his chief, and, like the Deus er machina, reconcile all ano- malies,, suppress al! jealousies. and undo the tangled web of civil discord with a few peremptory words.

In order to make this matter intelligible to our readers we would put this lypothetical case :—Suppose that in- stead of our present system of the choice of a Cabinet by the Sovereign, the representation of the people, and the responsibility of Ministers, Lord John Russell and his colleagues were invested permanently with the offices they at present hold on a precarioustenure. Give them, moreover, power to nominate their successors. {t might be; they would so administer the affairs of the country as to deserve the continued approbation of their Royal mistress, and to extract nightly salvos of applause from Her -Maj Opposition. Sir Robert Peel might, month after month, exhaust every figure of speech in praise of Lord John.’ Me Joseph Hume, on a commit- tee gi ways and means, might fairly sink under sense of ‘his ‘insufficient powets of eulogy ; Lord George Ben-

great measure to depend. island. It is evident such a system can never work.

vable officials in this. province. be, true, it has actually ,

led to the grossest abuses.

The enmity displayed by the ‘Family Compaet’ to Sir H. V. Huntley is said to have originated in an in- quiry he has instituted into their proceedings. It is af- firmed that. in the process of this inquiry, facts have come to light which tend very little to the credit of the \.iamily’ officials. | : or

for obvious. reasons, we have omitted.—Ep, Exr.]

All these charges may or may not be true; it is suffi- cient to excite the utmost dissension in a colony that they should be made. But there is a speedy remedy for this. Why should not the Council in Prince kdward island, and in every other colony similarly circumstanc- ed, be put on the same footing as that in Canada? Let their tenure of office be made dependent on their retain-

our experience in the United Kingdom, that no evil has arisen from intrusting the people, By their representa- tives, with the management of their own affairs, In Canada, perhaps an instance more in point, nothing but

auch the same policy. The power of dismissing a Ministry should be lodged somewhere, so much is clear. It is little less so that the theory of the constitution,

universal application in her colonies, when they have gained sufficient importance, or have been settled a sufficiently Jong time to admit of its application. Such a systein as that we have described in Prince Edward Island, merely requires to be known to be reformed. It is only wonderful how long corruption can hold its own in some obscure nook of the empire, from the insignifi- cance of the parties concerned, and the absence of pub- licity. This is, however, no argument at all. The smallest, as well as the most important colonies, of Great Britain have an equally strong claim to the. fostering care of the mother-country, Colonies have their rights as well as their duties. ‘The subject has, we are aware,

hours well employed would be sufficient to overthrow the intrigues of years, and to remove the heart-burnings

men, who have, neyer.shown themselves deficient in

loyalty tothe Crown of Great Britain. <

TO THE ELECTORS OF THE FIRST DISTRICT OF QUEEN’S COUNTY, FROM ONE OF THEMSELVES.

“ A Jong pull and a strong pull.”

Frrenps anD FELLOW COUNTRYMEN ; | By the insidious machinations and intrigues of that, dominant faction, which has so long fattened undisturbed

tinck add_ weight by his ‘figures, and Mr. John O’Con-

upon the spoils of the people; your courageous, inde-

nell by his facts, to the measures introduced by those pendent, and patriotic representative, the Hon. George

-,responsible persons who, ina Parliamentry sense, might,

Coles, has been again, illegally and unconstitutionally,|

and well-founded complaints ofan estimable body of

“Who would be free: themselves must strike the blow.” | eee ‘ ‘

Not so in Prinee’ Edward voting, that would be likely to waqund the sensitive feel-

ings of members of the Assembly.’ Our Printers Devil

well, and if all the charges alleged against the irremo- has presented us, however, with a very piquant paragraph

on the subject of ashort debate in the House lastnight, commenced by the very honourable?) junior member for Georgetown. his paragraph will be inserted in the Country edition only—(fer we <'o intend to print & Country edition this week.) ‘I'he Printer’s Devil regretsthat he has no.talent for carieatwring, else he wou!d furnish his readers with. a portrait of the very honourable junior ‘member for Georgetown, ds an accompaniment* t6 hi8

{Here follows an enumeration of several allegations, | Observations, in which the parties alluded to are concerned—which,,

THE FORLORN HOPE OF THE BLACK WATCH:

The Compact Party, having spenta whole fortuicht in coax- ing and wheediing certain gentlemen, who were supposed to be a little soft in tie hor ns, with the view to get up an opposi- tion to the Hon Mr. Coles, at the approaching Election, have at length sueceeded in procuring acCHAMPION—-wWe were about to write vicTim—in the shape of one Neil McCallum, who fives at a place Called Kintyre. Now, Niel is a brave fellow, and a very. intecestiug animal withal—physicaliy cousidered ; but we doubt, very much, his ability to captivate the hearts of

ing the confidence of the Assembly. It is the result of |\the' Electors. It woukl not, however, be so easy to determiné

his chances of success were dadies privileged to vote; but.in that.case, friend Neil wines Fae oF be subjected. to a good deal of annoyance, as every fair elector might be inducéd to insist upon obtaining a lock of his hair, in return for the be- stowal of her franchise. Mr. McCallum says he can speak the

good has happened in consequence of the adoption of| Gelic language: certainly, the possession of this accompiish-

ment constitutes a very manifold claim to public support ; an

it may be difficult for the supporters of the [xecutive Council- Jor, who speaks only intelligible and sensible, English, to over: come it. Had Mr. Coles learned to speak Gelic, and used this

abuses and official delinquincies, he might have retaine

this very. hour, the countenance of the Compact Party and their caddies, in and out of the Assembly. We have been told by these who understand the language, that the Gealic is a very harmless and inoffensive form of speech; andas it is very pro- bable that the eloquence of the new candidate will be made te flow through that channel, on the day of the election, we h the uninitiated will not be led to believe that it is used with any intention to excite them to turbulence or-disquietude— yut.that they will lieten, to him with as much good feeling and complacency as they would if he were giving them—what we think he ought to give~a Gelic version of the opéning Spéech in Shakespeare’s play of King Richard the Third. Pe

as understood in the mother-country, should be of tangaage only in ali his exposures and denunciations a ; until

(Pur Bouse, or AsseMBLY—~We have not space togive an abstract of the proceedings in the, Assembly Sing the past was

received the attention of Lord Grey; anda couple of| week. | Very little businéss of any great public importance

bounty on tonnage, and on the catch, was discussed and re second time.—Last evening, several resolutlors providing a eettiement of our monetary afiairs, in accordance with the views of Earl Grey, were diseussed and adopted in Committee.

‘PHE Office Containing the Standard Weights ~, and Measures, is kept in Great George Street, at the Store ‘of John F. Clark & Co.

P. G. CLARK,

Assayer of Wegihts and Measures.

transacted. A Bill to encourage Seal Fishery, sedand eat

February 26th, 1848.

'~"""Preasurer’s Office, Feb. 22, 1848.

WARRANTS to Number Three Hundred

and Twenty-five (325,) of the date of the 3d of. July, 1645, will be paid at the Treasury on demand, tegether with the. ‘Interest due thereon. uk) conned ; J. SPENCER SMITH. Treasurer,

ee