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New Beries. an HOUSE OF ASSEMBLY. . ~) Pekar, 30th. Aprif.

HOUSE IN COMMITTEE ON THE STATE OF THE COLONY.

(CONCLUSION OF MR. COLES’S SPEECH.)

The course, continued the honorable member, which the House had chalked out for themselves to pursue, for the attainment of any public object, was one of conci- diation, and they had. strictly adhered te it, until his Excellency, by a repetition of unwarrantable and un-

ed insults, had caused them, in some respects, to deviate from it. in his reply to the Address of the House in answer to fis speech, he grossly insulted them by accusing them ofa premeditated neglect of their legislative duties. In his speech at the opening of the session, he insulted the Assembly by the wrathful tone in which he delivered the words, “and I hope you will do a0.” The committee, which should have consisted of the whole House, that went up to Government House with the Address in answer to “ the speech,” were inault- ed by his Excellency’s smile or laugh, full of scornful meaning; and it was, perhaps, their anticipation of direct imsult to the House from his Excellency which induced the minority to form ne part of that committee. Of this, however, he was satisfied that could others who went up with the Address have foreseen the contumely of manner with which they would be received by his Excellency, the committee would have been consider- ably emailer than it was. A want of sincerity was another fundamental defect in the character or conduct of his Excellency ; aad, even although his Excellency were to tell him to-day that he would reconstruct his council to-morrow, he would not feel himself safe in depending upon the fulfilment or verification of his words; neither would he rely upon the confirmation of the act, although the names of a new council were Gazetted. That he should hold as no security against an immediate reversal of the appointments by his Ex- eellency, ‘f‘o shew that his Excellency did not con- sider himself bound by a promise, he would state how far a gentleman in Charlottetown had been deceived by his Excellency’s assurance that he would confer upon wim a certain official appointment. So far had matters progressed towards a confirmation of the promise, that the gentleman’s appointment to office had been ordered to be Gazetted, and he had actually received the con- gratulations of many of his friends upon the occurrence. How great then was his surprise to find that, even after

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his name had been set up it type, at the Gazette office, ' iu pursuance of his appointment, to find that his Excel-

lency bad eaused his name to be withdrawn and that of another gentleman to be substituted and Gazetted in stead of hia own! ‘The individual who had been su treated, very naturally feeling aggrieved at the unex- pected and unaccountable change of his Excellency’s mentions towards him, ard unguardly stating his yrievance in public, his indiscretion was made manifest tv him by his tinding, to the aggravation of his ortginal grievance, that the door of a public office in which he ueld an sppointment, had been ordered to be locked against hin. The arbitrary disposition of his Excel- lency was again strikingly displayed in his behaviour to two gentlemen, members of his council, whose at- teadance in council he sought to compe! contrary to ther inclinations, atterthey had gent in their resignations, wy asserting the compulsatory obligation of their Man- damuses, and sending for them by the Seargeant-at- Arias, or some such officer. By his Excellency’s in- sirtictions, in the case of a member of the Executive absenting himse!f for six months from the council board, after having been summoned to attend, and being in the Isiand, his Excellency ia at liberty to appoint another in his place ; and should a member be absent for twelve wonths from the Island without leave, such absence would vacate his seat: but he (Mr Coles) knew of no @wer given to his Excellency to compel either the regular or occasional attendance of members against their inclination or contrary to their convenience ; al- though no member could have a right to retain his seat in the council who was not preogtred to sacrifice personal vonsiderations of that nature, when circumstances.re- qtired him to do so. fur the public good. Sir Henry Vere Huntiey was represented, by the party opposed to his views, as a determined tyrant; but im the tyranny of his rule, Sir Donald Campbell went far beyond Sir ligary V. Linntiey. If Sir Henry had become offended by the condyct ot a member of his council, he no longer Wished to ave hiro at the council board: but Sir Donald. ia the exercise of tho absolute authority, which "he

~SoPHIS 1S TRUE LIBERTY WHEN FRE&-BORN A

SEMI-WEEKLY INTELLIGENCER.

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CHARLOTTETOWN, JUNE 8, 1850.

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{EN—HAVING TO ADVISE THE PUBLIC—MAY SPEAK FREE”™=Mittor’s Evruripas. _

determined to command the presence in counci! of such members of the executive as were the least acceptable rto hii. ~The same arbitrary and unconciliatory spirit ‘was to be traced in his every action as the Administra- tor of the Government, whether it might be of the least ot of the gréatest moment. Did the House, in the usual respectful manner, request his Excellency to send down to them a copy of a Despatch, they had no reason to be surprised at his Excellency’s returning a flat de- nial to their request; for he had already pretty well accustomed them to such want of courtesy. His refusal

official returns of the Colonial Secretary’s Fees to be

ithe House, was couched in language sufficiently ex- pressive of his contempt for the representatives of the people, and of his mistaken sense of the nature and extent of the power conferred upon him by his commis- sion of Lieutenant Governor. Jt is true that his Exeel- lency had, at last, complied with the request contained in thet Address ; but he (Mr. Coles) believed bis Excel- lency’s compliance was directly attributable to the effect of the Asseinbly’s Address to Her Majesty upon the subject. His Excellency’s conduct with respect to the dissolution of the Jate House, could on!y be ex- plained by the belief that he considers him.elf to be invested with irresponsible power; the exercise of which isto be bounded only by the limits which his own discretion may prescribe.

The hon. member then observed, with reference to this subject, that, as he had said on a former occasion, when His Excellency had had sufficient time to aseer- tain the results of the Elections, as effecting the relative numerical strength of the Liberal and the Tory Parties, and having found that the preponderance was most decidedly in.fayour of the former, it became his duty, as an impartial, as a constitutional Governor, to communicate the fact to the Imperial Government with- out delay, and to request to be put in possession of deterinination concerning the establishment of Respon- sible Government in this colony, at.as early a period as possible ; and had hig Excellency done so, it was his (Mr. Coles’s) opinion that that form of Government would either have been fully established. before this time, or would have been in the fairest way of being so; and that neither doubt nor dissatisfaction, on the part of the Representatives of the People, occasioned by obstructive and irritating proceedings on the part of his Excellency, would have caused any delay or post- ponement of the usual and necessary proceedings of the Legislature, or have wrought or threatened any injury to the interest of the country. If his Excellency a only made the necessary communication to Kar] Grey, concerning’ the result of the Elections, although, at the time of convening the Levislature, he might not have had an answer from his Lordsiip to communicate to the Llouse, he would and ought to have been able to say tothem. “I have fully informed, Earl Grey of the state of the two political parties in the Colony, and of

the Elections, touching the question of Responsible Go- vernment; and have requested his Lordship to favour me, at his earliest convenience, with final instructions by which to regulate my conduct with reference to that important question. ‘To my communication, how- ever, | have, as yet, received no reply; but, as soon as any directions concerning the question shall reach me, I shall hasten to lay them before the Legislature for its information and guidance.” Had his Excellency been prepared to adopt this course, and had he actually done so, his conduct, a8 evincing iropartiality and courtesy, would have been quite satisfactory to the Representa- tives of the People; and the harmony and confidence which ought to exist between his Exceilency and them, would have remained undisturbed, instead of being utterly destroyed, as it has been by the neglectful, in- sulting, itritating tove and manner which bis Excellen- cy has essumed tn his intercourse with the Assembly.— He had been told that it was very probable that his Excelleticy,—in the expectation thet he could by the issuing of Orders, draw from the ‘Treasury such sums as might, from time to tune, be required for the support of his Goverpment, independently of the sanction and authority of the Legislature,—wonld withhold his assent tothe Reyenue Bill, becxaee of the Approprin- tions made therein His Excellency, they very weil knew, had it in his power to reject the Biil; but, if he did so, he might, very probably soon after find that, i doing so, he had incurred a muci more serious respon- sibility than he hed calculated upen esting; and his rejection of it would afford en undeniable proof of

eeemed to Giaiks us hie frat officie! prerogative, was [ ‘he wisdom and pecessity whieh had. induced the

to send down copies of the Blue Books and to cause .

mide, in'accordance with the request of an Address of |

the wishes of the People, as evidenced by the results of }

House to tack tine, Appropriations, to the Revenue, Bill. With respect to any orders which jis Excellency might

}iasue upon the Treasury, without the sanction of Law,

the Trewsurer knew that, should he pay out any moneys on account of them, beer his securiues would have to make their amount good to the country; and he (Mr. Coles) thought that should. there be apy reason to ap- prehend that moneys would be so iblegally paid out of the Treasury, the Treasurer’s securities would quickly take the alarm, and step in te prevent the wrong. And, in the event of the Bill’s passing the three Branches of the Legislature, as he expected it would— for he believed a majority of the Legislative Council were favourable to its passage, and, in case they passed

‘it, his Excellency would searcely dare to reject it—

should his Exceliency . attempt .by. issping Orders, to draw any moneys from the Treasury, beyond the Ap- propriations, for the support of his Government, the penalty imposed upon the Treasurer, by. the Bill, for paying oui moneys from. the Treasury on account.of any such Orders, adced to the previous liability of the Treasurer and his securities, in any such case, would, he believed, be quite sufficient to prevent the suceess of the attempt. ‘To assert that his Excellency, could, independently of Law, draw moneys from the Public Treasury, even for a public purpose, would de to assert that his power was above all Law, and that the Jiberties of the subject. were entirely. dependent. upon his wil! and pleasure.—T hat insulting Despatch, in whieh. Ear! Grey says, that, with the exception of a few gentlemen in and about Charlottetown, no individuals ean be found capable of discharging the duties of the higher Officia! Appointments in the Colony, was, he (Mr. Coles) dowbt- ed not, manufactured: here, under the direction of, af not by, deeply interested parties, sent home to, Downing Street, and thence returned to the Colony, that its false assertions might be trumpetted forth, as affording the Home Government very sufficient reasons for the with- holding from the Colony the privilege of self-government. Independently of representations concerning the People and the Colony, sept. home to him from the Colony, Karl Grey knew no more of their real state, character, and condition, than he. did of undiscovered regions; and the insulting libel upon the People of this Colony, con- tained in his Despatch, had, clearly proceeded from those whose. own interests made it necessary to repress all attempts at an extension, of the liberties of the ople and popular reconstruction of ihe Government. he hon. member concluded by sayig, that he believ- ed the House would, corsider their knowledge of the facts which he had stated, quite sufficient to induce them to adopt the Resolution. which he had read. and inoved. [Debate to be continued in next No.} EE

CORRES TON DEN CER

‘10 EDWARD WHELAN, ESQ, M.P.P. THE OLIGARCHY AND THER DEFENDERS.

“Can they be what they are, and know what they are 7” SuaksPEaas.

Number 2%.

The writer of the editorial which is now under my consideration, calls for “an historical view of the cow test fur the attainment of Responsible Government, anc that clear and lucid exposition of the intentions and expectations of the majority in the lower House, which the public have a right to expect,” forgetting, or rather, as J am inclined to think, designedly overlooxing the fact—and endeavouring to induce the public to overlook ‘it also—that, at the very commencement of the first Ses- sion of our present Parliament, Mr. Coles, in a long and masterly speech, took a fair and most comprehen- sive “historical view of the whole contest,” wherein, as wellas in several speeches, subsequently delivere:i by him during that and the following Session, “ of facts, and conclusions logically dedueed frour those facts,” he produced and established so many for the defence of his position, that the minority, convinced of its impregnabi- lity, very wisely forbore to attack it, and, with dee recard for their own safety, confined their demonstratiors of hostility, to vain and ridieulons evolutions around 11, performed at a distance accurately caleulated to eusnre their own safety.

The “facta and conc!usions deduced,”—whether “logically” or otherwise—® from those facts,” in the speeches of Mr. Coles and other members of the ma- jority in the Lower House, have been, faithfully { be- lieve, given ia the published Reports of the Debates of the two Segsions; end, if thé writer of the editoria! which t have herein noticed, thinks (hut, by the exercise