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44

cng LON AON A A A a a

f a ou’ POSTRY we bE

THE BLIND BOY. ft wes a blessed summer day, lhe flowers bloon’d —the air was mild, The little birds pour'd forth 4heir tay, And every thing in bature smiled.

EE

In pleagant thonghis T wandered on Beneath the deep wood's ample ehade, Till suddenly I came upon wo children who had thither stray’d.

Just stan aged birch tree's fant A little boy and girl rectin’d,

{fia hands 10 hers she kindly put, And then I saw the boy ‘was blind

The children knew not I was near; A tree conceal’d me from her view ;

But all they said | well could hear, And I could see all they might do.

‘ “Dear Mary,” said the poor blind boy, “ That litle bird sings very long ; Say, do you see him in bis joy, And is he pretty as his song 7” “ Yes, Edward, yes,” replied the maid, - *{ see the bird on yonder tree ;” The peor boy sighed, and gently said, “Sister, [ wish that 1 could eee.

« The flowers, you soy, are very fair,

And tright vreen leaves are on the frees,

And pretry birds are singing there — How beautfiil for one who sees!

* Yes, I the fragrant flowers can amell,

em leafs shade,

And J can herr the notes that swell From thovwe dear birds that God has

rade,

And | can ter tne ore

“ Sn, sister, God tome js kind, Thoneh sight He hes net viven : But tell me. are there any ‘tind Atong the cinidren up tn [feaven ?”

«No, dearest Mdward, there sll see — Bur why ask mea thing so odd 2?” ® Oh, Mary, He's so road to me. J thought I'd like to luak ai God."

Gee feng disease his hand had laid , On that dear boy sa meek and mild; His witow'd mother wept and pray'd That God would spare her sightless

child.

He felt her warm fears on hid fice, And said —* Oh. never weep for mea,

I'm voing toa brioh! —bright piace Were Mary says I God shall see.

“ And you'll be there, dear Mary, too; But, mother, when you wet up there,

Tell Edward, mother, that ‘hs’ you~ You know | never saw you here.”

He spoke no more, but sweetly smiled,

Until the final blow Was ven a When God took up the poor blind child, ' Aud open’d first his eyes in Leaven,

TUE MURMUR OF THE SHELL.

——

BY THE HON. NERS. NORTOR,

A eailor Jeft his natwwe land, A simple wifi he gave,

A sea-shell wather’d by his hand, from out the rippling wave:

Oh, love, by this remember me! Mar inland thou must dwel}—

But thon shalt hear the sounding sea, ja the murmur of the shell!

Ah. woe is me! with tatter’d sail The ship is tiidiv tost!

A drowning ery is on the gale— They aink--and atl are lost !

While bappy vet, untouched by fear, Repeating bis farewell,

Poor Mary sinties, and loves to hear The wurmar of the ehell.

;

Jhe tidings wreelk’d her stwple brain: And smiing now she goes —

A nad girl ~ reckless of her pain, Unconseions of her wos;

fiat « hen they ring ihe village chimes, Chat toll’d her lover's knell,

She s rhs, and says she heare ef times Veuti-music in the 80H!

‘

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ns : mgeteen eT RS anti Sanat

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The garden trees are bey wrt That fell ere sunset 5 1 ihey tatk, Lowly and sweet'y ae befits the hen, One to another down the prossv walk. Hark the Jabarnum froin bis opening

, a ins

flower,

This cherry creeper greets in whisper | hoht,

While the grim fir, rejoicing in the night,

Hearse mutters tothe murmuring syca- more,

Whatshall | deem their converse ? would

they hail

The wild grey light that fronts yon massive cloud,

Or the half bow, rising lke pillared tire ?

Or are they sighing faintly for desire

That with May dawn their leaves may be o’erflowed,

And dews about their feet may never fail.

A AAACN S EF SE, TORE TAS RIE. ae

OF ASSEMBLY.

HOUSE

Tourspa¥, April 15. DEBATE ON THE CIVIL LIST BILL, CONDENSED BY REPORTER. {Coneluded.]

Mr. Warevurton, as Chairman of the whole House in Comm:t ee ou the Civil Last Btil, reported the Bill amended.

As the hon, Speaker was ebont to put the question on the Report, the bon, Sol. General moved in amendment.

“And be it enacted, That from anid after the passing of this Actait shall not he €Q ipetent for any Member of the House of Assembly tu take or hold any Office of profit or emolunent under the Goverament of this Colony, coaneered with the collection, receipt er expend ure of the Public Reventtes. except the Offices of Colonial Seeretary, Attoruey General, avd Sol eter General.”

Mr. Cours said, that to adept the am endinent, submitted by the bon. Sol. Ge- neral, would be a direet infraction of the rights of the people. ‘The people and their representatives had long been con- tending tor a preetical scknowledy nent ofthe rights ot the peape to have the Executive Council so constructed, that a shonid be upheld by public confidence ; and (hat. through such a Counei'!, they shenid have a voice in the election or ap- paintnent of public servants, Bat should ithe eleciive voice of the people be go re- stricted, that they coulda not send to the Assembly, as their representatives, any man holding office under Government; they might very frequentiy oe dented the privilece of the electing, for one of their representatives in the Assembly the very inan whom they desired to prefer to that honor before any other. Instead of secu- ring to them the full privilege for which they and their representatives had so long contended, and which was now won; were they toadopt the principle laid down in that Resolution, the Heuse would, at once, destroy the labour of years and of their own haads. and say to the people. “We have indeed won the battle, and may bave all we have been fighting tor; bat we now think that neither you bor we sre des: rving of (he privi'eges with which vietory imight invest us; and we witl, therefore, render nugatory all the advan- tages; and by circussertbing both your privileges and our own, Ceny to you the right to exercise a free, nofettered, and constitutional choice in the election of your representatives ty the Levtslature ; and, thereby, deprive you of a voice in the Government ; and of all power, either to confirm by your sanction, or annul by your disapprobation, all appontments to the most important of the Public Offices.” No exercie of the hon, and learned mem- her's persuasive powers could, however, juduce the majority to pursue the retro-

SRARIOQER.

i LC a tC a

Ilan. Sov. Generacesaid, the Assem- bly onvht ta be pure and unspspected,

and. to that end, members should owe

their seats therein to the free and pure exercise of the elective franchise, and not to the power, which men in, or about to be i office might poress, of byying the sunport or suffiages of indiwiduals at e|- cctions by an abuse of the influence pos- sessed by them as officials, (Officers directly connected with the receipt or ex- penditure of the public money, ought to be excluded from the House of Assembly ; because their admission into that body, who are, in fact, the general xuditore of public accounts, would tend to produce corruption, in as much as public officers, if members of the House, would be- come the scrutinizers of each others’s oficial monetary transactions ; and 60 circumstanced, their mutual security could not be above suspicion, I[t was the duty of honorable members, as they valued their own purity and public repu- tation, to guard against the admission of any such principles in the construction or coinpori ion of the House, as might open the doors to corruption ; and, influenced by such a motive, he had submitted hue amendment. {Uf such public officers as those whom he sought to exe'ude. were allowed to become members of the House, their adunssion would have a tenderey to produce corruption. The amendment which he proposed, was the only safe- guard to which they could have recourse ; and, shonld they reject it, the consequ. ences would be, that the sphere of tis in- flaence, gradually extending, the major partof the Assembly would be drawn with- inthe sweep of its absurption, end all would be found in 4 circle of Corruption.

Mr Wuewan said, the condnet of the minorty strongly reminded hin of the stery of the "Dog inthe Manger.” “Thes were now convinced. that it would be quite inpossiete for them any longer to reta’n both therr official honors aud enol mnens and therr seats in the Assembly ; and they, therefore, hid made up their minds to strive, to the wtinost of their power, even ahhough they knew it would be in vain, to exclude the teajpurty frou those advantages which thy could no longer enjoy themselves. The amend- mentsubmitted by the Hon Sol. Geners! Was tantamount to a declaration, that a member ofthe Assembly, holding a pod he office of emolument, could pot be hen- est. Surely the honerable inember had overlooked this evident interpretation of his amendmentand the apolicanon © hich inielt be made of it to himself and the bonorable membe son his meh. and lefi. Mr. Longworth Mr. Thornton, Mr. Havi- land, fie (Mr. Whelan) was very fer froin saying that the circumstance of those gentlemen, in being, er in having been, in the receipt of the emoluments of pablie offices atthe same nme that they were members of Assembly, had render- ed them corrupt or dishonest: but he wish- 1d to show how very dangerous the appii- cation of the arguments of the Lion. Sol, General, if admitted, Would prove both to hinselfand to his friends, ‘The best safe- guard for the public honesty of officiais being meinbers of the Assembly. was that they could hold neither their official ap- pointinents nor thetr Legislative seatejun- less confirmed in both by the voice ef the people ; and in addition to this safeguard of the honesty of such officials, (he part)- evlarly meant the Collector of Tmposts and the Treasurer), were the securities which they had to give, before they could enter upon their offices. Indeed the checks imposed on such officials were the most efficient which eould well be unagined ; they were those of their accountability to the People, the Lientenant G.vernor, and the Assembly. The ery tirst got up, long maintained, and searcely yet aban- doned, against the introduction of Re sponsible Government into this Colony, was the absence of proper materials so wrasregarded intelligence and respect- abitity, by which to carry it into effect, But the very working of the Responsible

vrade course indicated by his Resolution; they were determined to move onwards; ; xO, therefore, he might as wel] desist ; from al! atheaspts to i pede their progress, | or to turn them aside frow their object—

the full establishment of the people’s

nights, aad the complete cyerthirow ef the

ubs'ractive “action.

-ysiem would produce materials for its

- own support; for many who disregarded

the barren honor of seuts in the Legisla- ture, wou'd henceforth prese forward to obtain them, when it should once become ay parent that the best recommendation to offices) or honorsry appointinents was prac tically Seld te Se the support sad con4-

dence of the people, The Reaponsible System would thus produce a double Bup- ply of the requisne materiols, net on) for the Legisiature, bat also tor the Go- verpment and Pubic Offices. The hon. member canciuded bys: ying, that in the prevent, ws in all thee farne; Movements, TO prevent or postpone the titrodaction of Responsible Government. the teal aim and object of the mivority was to keep themselves and their friends in « fice.

Mr. Porm said the system, the introde- ction of which the amendment of the Har. Sol. Genera! was inteaded to preventwag that of the Parliament and Government of Great Britain, Ip Great Britain all pub- he offices were in the hands, and at the disposal of the Goverement; and, in Par. lament, the Government wag represented +by ealaried heads of departisents, w chief duty there was to propound the mea- sures, and support the general policy of the Government of which they themselves were the leading or principal membera The system of Responsible Government would workin precisely the same man- ner in this Colony; and it was idle and absurd to assert that public men, 80 eir- cumstanced, were more likely ta be bon- est in Enyland, than others placed in @j- milar eiream: tances would be here. The restriction or exclusion proposed by the Hon Sol. General's amendment, was not deinanded by any demonstration of publie sentinent ; bot the very reverse waa the fact, for wherever public opinion had been tested, with respect to the proposi- tion Jaid down in that amendment, it had. been decidedly opposed to it. And see- ing that it is notthe wish of the peuple that they should adopt itt would be very unwise in the House to. preannee their ovpecondemnation by embractny it, and, thereby io deprive themselves of the ade ventaves and facilnies which nm would afford them im the construction and main tenance of a popular govermpment, Ag: cording te the Responsible System about to be introdverd. nonembsr of the Ag sembly could secept of a Gevernment appoluiment, f wouh £20 a vear with. out going back to his ecustitcente, if he wished to keen both his appointent and hia legislative seat. Pt they chose to re. elect tin after his official sppomtment,he might setain both : af not, he could at inmost only oretamn lis appointn ent, se long as the Government might think fit te cominne hinin at, “The people were the only constim ional judges of the propriety ofa man’s teking offee under Govern- ment, and at the same tine, continuing to represent their imterests in the Legisla- ture; and tothem. ta such a ease would the appeal, under the Resrom ible Sistem, _ ae and their judgement would be

onl,

Mr. Cours then rose and sa d he woulé eive the Hon Sol General credit for bae- ing fought so stoutly aesirat the intro- duction of Responsible Government to the last. He hadat least, been true to bie eolonrs. Pathe bad been successful y driven from every position, offensive ané defensive alike; and was, at Jenyth, ae | prostrated by defeat, that his propored amendment to the Bill untght be regarded a8 bis last kick. Thera) party in the Legisiature had - ae- cured, was certainly cowplete and. deci- sive; but it had not heen obtained with- out prolonged and vigorous efforte. The friends of reform had. everg where thronghout the country, been withetooé by the influences of the jeading men it the Colory and in the Government; whe, throuvhont the contest, as bound together by ties of furnly and ties of friendship, enjoying lucrativa appointments and pes- sessed of all power and patronnve.alwaye pecnpred the vantage ground; but the union and deterninetion ef the reform ers, and rbave all the good sense of the people, had, at length, evercome opporits- on ;and it was scarcely to be expected, ia the very moment of victory the majurtty for which they had been contending; and say to their opponents: whom they had just cefeated,* We are now abie ty deprive yon of the power and aifices, of which we liave Jong and lond!y proclaim- ed, and still believe von te be unworthy; bu’, mistrustiug ourselves, we will now consent that you maintain ther, nrith

“dopt the propo-ed amendment, would, is

The victory whieh the.

would throw away the very advaptagee.

‘orego every advantage of victory.” Tea.

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