THE RXAMINER:

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cumstances your committee recommend that measures be taken to cause T. H. Ha- viland, Esq., to refund the said several suis, amounting in the whole to £796 tle, Td. into the Treasury of this Island, that the same may be disposed of for the benefit ofall concerned, as the Legisla- ture may direct—Al! which your com- mittee respectfully submit.

ALLAN FRASER,

GEORGE COLES,

JOSEPH POPE.

Committee Room,

28th of April, 1851.

The above Report being agein read, Mr. Palmer moved 19 amendment to the sama, that all be jeft out and the follow- ing substituted :

“ Whereas the Report of the committee upon the subject of the Fees of Office of the late Colonial Secretary, wes conclu- ded and s'gned on the 28th April last, but nat laid before this House until the 12th of May instant, and it is intended that the Logisiature shall be prorogued to-morrow, the 15th instant, Resolved, therefdre, that as the late Colonial Secretary was noi ealled before the said committee for ex- amination on the subject referred to the said committee,andas their report contains charges gravely affecting his conduct in the discharge of the duties of his Office,

copy of the Report should have been sub- mitted to the party implicated; and he shonld have hadample time allowed hi: to vo through the charges and prepare ai an- swertothem. The statements contained in the Report were such that, could they be sustained as factsnot only would they subject the ofliceragainst whom they were made to a penalty of £700 or upwards,but they would siainp his character with inde- lible disgrece,as one who had been guityo! eystematic malversation during the whole period of time that he was in office. If the House were determined to prosecute the inquiry ina judicial capacity they ourht to do so with some semblance ef justice. The Committee had bad from the beginning of the session to prepare the Report, although it was completed a fort- nightago,it was brought before the House nly last night, and with ingecent haste the House was burried into a committee upon it. It would certainly have been much more ip accordance with fair play for the committee tohave Juid their re- port before the House as soon as it was completed,aid to have caused the gentle- tnan who was so severely censured in it to be furnished witha copy of it, and to! have allowed him a fortnight, or at least a week, to exanine it and prepare an ans- wer to the House, should he on being al- lowed the opportunity, have thonglit pro-

1. 18 just that a copy of the said Report be furnished io the said late Colonial Se- eretary by the Clerk of this House, and that he be allowed unul the first day of the next Session of the Legislature to submit tothe House any answer or ob- servations.he may be des.rous of making respecting the matter of the said Report.”

The House divided, when there appear- ed for the Amendment :— Messrs. Palmer, Yoo, Montgomery, Thornton, Haviland, Longworth, Douse and Wightman—8.

Against the Amendment! :— Honorables 3. Coles, K. Whelan, J. Jardine and Wo W.Lord; Messrs. Clark, Davies, Laird, Hiynn, Moonsy M-Neill, Fraser—1 1.

So it passed m the negative.

The question being then put, “Shall the Report of the Comnittee be agreed to?” the House again divided -—

For the motion: Honorables G. Coles,

3 Whelan, W. W. Lord and J. Jardine ; Measra. Fraser, Mooney, M‘Neill, Laird, Flynn, Davies, Clark—It.

Againat it: Messrs. Palmer, Longworth,

Douse, ani Wightman—8. So it was carried in the affirmative. An Address to the Lieut. Governor was then submitted by Mr. Fraser, which, having undergone some amendinent, was adopted as follows:

, gay Mat there bad as Yeo, Haviland, Montgomery, Thornton, |

perto doso. The charges preferred in the Report were indeed of 8 most grave and serious Character; and wentto = cri- minate the charaeter of the gentleman against whom they were made, toa very serious extent, as to his conduct in the several offices which he had held. In the first pace, the Report charges him with taking fees from the public, or from private individuals which were not aliow- ed by law; and,secordiy,with putting thes: fees into his own pocket instead of placing them in or payinz them over at the public Treasury. In factthe Report was no- thing less than a Bill of Indicgmeut, and one, moreover, of a verv unysual length ; longer indeed than any which he remeo- bered tohave read; and might as io length, almost be compared to the late celebrated one against O'Connell. Now if there existed a wish to do justite, it would be evinced notonly by a w:lling- ness but a desire to afford the accused ample time for his defence. It won!d be needless, because it would .be untrue, to yet been no. oeppor- tunity to caliupon the party implicated for any explanation or defence ; for it was | very well known that the Coinmiitee while comp/eting their Report, or rather framing their cliaiyves, had never summon- ed him before therm, either thathe might know specifically wtiat eharges were

Ne Tis Exceilency Sin ALexanvrr Bay- senwan. Anizht, Liewlenant Governor and Commander in-Chief, in and eve) Hr Majesty's Island Prince Edward, Chancellor, Vice-4dmiral, and Ordi- nary of lhe sume, &c., Se., &e.

May rt PLEASE YOUR EXcreLUENCY; The House of Assembly having had

onder taeir consideration, an Acoount of

Fees iaken and detained by the late Co-

lanial Secretary, Mr tiaviland, as Private

Secretary’s Fees—request that your Ex-

velleney will be pleased to order a copy

of the Report adopted by the House of

Assembly, “to be furnished to the said

Mr. Haviland; and further request that

yeur Excellency will take such other

measures respecting the same, as the sastice of the case may seein to require.

ss

DEBATE ON THE FOREGOING |

REPORT. Tursoay, Mar 1. MORNING SITTING. The Report having beea referred toa

compiitee of the whole Llouse—Hon, dir.

Jardine tw the chaw—

Sr. Fragen moved that the Report be read,paregrap’ by paragraph.

Mr. Panmear said the report Was avery wad hon, members intended

on: Me AT Ot,

1 enter upon the reconsideration of UU!

and to discuse it ever again paragraph by Paragraph, they-had before then the pro- “pactet a jong and very serious enquiry. it was ona.ho vever, in which,if so uader- taken, he had no intention to eagige,; because the engairy could not possibly be wade wth aoyshow of justice watt! after 2

publicly to be preferred acalost alm, or | that he might have an opportunity of af- 'fording any feasons or explanations in | justification of the acts for which they purposed to condemn bin. And yet, is the prosecution of justice in the common courts of law, so tender was the consider- ation for the accused, that, even afier the most patient iuvestigation and fairest trial,

| sentence was not pronounced upon the vile-t criminal without his having been

previously called upon to say whether he had any thing to advance in arrest of judvement. Aad sueha course, COMNIOn ! reason and common justice alike required | the Honse to parsue with reference to the | Report before the eommittee and the | gentleman whose character was thereby impeached. A cony of the Report should he given to Mr. ilaviland; be shoald be allowed time te exanine itand prepsre his anewertoit; andon its bene sent ta to the House, both the Report aud Aus- wer might go furth to the puGlie; and i! wound then be for the public to judge whether or not the House had sabstanti- ated the charce winch toey had preferred against Mr. Haviland; nnd whether o: not that geatlemaa had succeesfully ea- onerated himself froin the odiam which the tlonse had etdeavoured to throw

Senne

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tions and the moviug ofa Resolution i accordance with them, said the hon.

learned member, he would for the pre est, (Conde tinsel, tle was aware the house wason the verge of being prorezued. and that there might uot be sufficient i time befure the close of the Session to (allow Mr. Haviland jo.cothrogh the Re- | part and prepire aad send inan Answer

;

/ tO'it.

ne ——

upon hie eharacter.s To these observa- | in! and |

against the propriety of the course which he recommended: since to reject his proposal on that account, weuld be for the Hlouse to take advantage of the wrong which they had already committed for the perpetration of still further injustice, To have dealt at all fairly by Mr. Havi- land, the first B'ep taken nfier. the sly te ing of the Report by the Committee who had prepared it, oughtto have been the furnisting of Mr. Haviland with a eopy of it; and now should he be furnished with one, and the Legislature be

; proro- wued be‘ore he should have had time sufficient to enable hin to prepare and

send in an answer to the House, he ought to be allowed until the next Sessioa to do sv. ‘I'he hon- and learned member then moved he following Resolufion.

Fesolved, that a copy of the Report of the committee now read be farnished to Sir. Hawiland, the late Colonial Secretary, by the Clerk ofthis Neuse,with a request, that he will furnish this [lonse with any remarks or comments he may be desirous of making thereon,ond that said Mr Hayi- ‘and be allowed one week’s time for that purpose, and in the eveut of the House being prorogued before the expiration of that period, that said Mr. Haviland be allowed tine for that purpose unul the first day of the next Session of the Legis- lature,

Kir. uongwerth having seconded the Resolution,

Ifon. Mr. Cones said the Report was nothing more than a mere statement of facets. It set forth that the late Colonial Secretary had taken and retained fees to the amount of upwards of £700, to which he was not entitled; and the fact was substantiated by unqnestionable proofs. {Having the facts so substantiated before them, it was indeed absurd to propose a postponementof the decision of the House in the matter, until they should have Lad the sanction and approval of that gentle- roan to authorize and warrant any further proceedings on their part with reference to the Report. It was now two years since the enquiry had been set on foot and the fact established that he had exacted fees for his own benefit to which he had no right whatever. Of that fact, and the proceedings of the Assembly With refer- ence to it. he had been fally cognisant 3 but, although he had had ample time to prepare and Jay before the Assembly any exen!patory explanation or statement vinch it was in his power to make, with reference to the charges against him be- fure the House, he had made no atrempt, either directly or indirectly, to exonerate himself, by the tender of any such ex- planation or statement; and to the course which he had all aleng pursned with re- ference to the investigation, it was quite clear in his (Hon. Mr. Coles’s) opinion, that he could have been actuated by only the one or the other of two feelings ;— either by a desire to manifest his con- temant for, and Uisregard of, the proceed- ings of theHouse; or by the secret eonvic- tionin his own mind, that the the charges exhibited against lim were to well estab- lished to Jeave him any chance of being able to have them either set aside or diw- proved, by anvthing that it was possible for him to advance on his own behalf. And, whether the Houee miyvht consider lim to have been actuated, in hiv disre- card of their proceedings, by the one or by the other of these feelings, in neither case could they determine that be was entided to any further indulgenee beyond what he had already experienced. Le had had free secess to to the Journela of the Hlense, end had, no goubt, therein rend the recorded decisions of the As- ~enibly, Wal reverence to hie undue ex- aeton of fees; and vet, either coulemipt- vwonsly or fro @ persvagion of Bis Uller inability tocieer himeeif, ie hed dechned to petition the louse ty be heerd ip his ow defence ; 60 thet the House, in noe proceeding with the enquiry, wilh @ @iew to (ein fina) decision of the qnestion, Were not, by eng means, teking advantage of « ‘wrong which they had siroadgy eommitted io perpetrate further wi slice, as the bea,

oe a a a el ep ae ema et te

SS SATIRE PT OMEN TT EDIT IOC EINE LE TY BM ITE TR

could not fairly be brought to weigh | considerable sum of money which, in the

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shape of tees, had been unjustly abstract- ed from the pockets of imdividuals and the pubhe, for the benefit of an offiera! whore salary for the discharge of all the duties of his appointments was liberaliv, cetermined by the Legislature and fixed by statute, Setting aside all codsideras tion Of the dtrreenrd manifeeted by Mr. Ijaviland for the proceedings or determin- ation of tle House, concerning bis undue exaction of fees; his insuliing deport- ment to the Con imittee who were eppoint- ed to prepare the Report, when they waited upon hin, in his Offiee for inter- mation touching the mode in which busi- ness had been formerly transacted there- in, apd the fees which it had been usual to exact for the transacting of it, woul! have fully warranted his being compelled to appear at the bar of the Hlouse to ap- pologise for the inso}t which he had ot: ferred to three of its members, whilst en- gaged in the discharge of an important duty, imposed upon them by the authority ofthe Lieuse. The delay which had al- teady cecurred in bringing the enquiry to aclose had been eufiicient!ly whens edvantave of, orva lier abused, in ihe pub- lic prints, wherein the House had been tauntingly, dared tine after time, to pro- ceed with the inquiry, and the delay ad- duced as a proof of their inability to sub- stantiate the charges which had Leen brought against the late Colonial Secre- tary. Jodo so, however they had been fully prepared from the first bat circum- starces and occurrences of grester imno- ment had intervened and claimed the at- tention of the Louse to the exclusion of the enquiry from consideration for a ume. The time, however, having arrived « hen the investigation could be fairly and ful- ly prosecuted, it had again been taken up by the House; and the committee ap- pointed to report concerning it, had, through the perseverance of ilieir chair- man, by whom the document had altoge- ther been drawn up, been at lengta en- abled to lay before the Homse a full and correct Report of the official malversation of the late Colonia] Secretary; and wow all that remained to be done by the Hicuse, with reference to it, was to go carefully and searchingly through it, pa- ragraph by paragraph, as had been pro- posed ; and, if every statement which 1 contained should be found corect smd sustained by the evidence of facts, as he knew it would, for it was altogether based on frets, and free from supposition, i would then be the duty of the Louse te address his Excellency, the Lieutensi% Governor, preying that the Goveininens. would call upon Mr. Liaviland to refond the moneys which had been illegally and unjustly exacted by him; and, at that stare of the business, there weuld also be afforded hiin an epportunity to lay be- fore the Government such an Answer to the charge preferred, on proof, aguinet him by the Assembly, as circumstances mightenable hin to make. “Ir woud then, however, be no joncer in his power to conceal those frets which so powerfu.!y told against him inthe Report; and of which, in the Document crawn up by himself, wherein all the fees and the emoluments of his offices should heve been fully end particularly stated, be had mace not the smallest mention, When he (Hon. Ter. Cules) had joruerty elated in the House that the late Colonial Secretary had effected @ change of seals, and intre- duced one whieh be used asa Private Seal in comtradistinction from the Pubhe Seal, aiter @od from the tuse of ibe a. guiry cone@ring bis iees being first agi- tated, mm order thet by the use ef chat Private Seal he might, ia the event ofa thorough iavestigation on te subject of bis fees, be eble to afford som: tinge } ke & reason oor pretext tor his exectien of Privete Fees, he (How. Mr. Coles) tad heen met witha direct denial of the freer, and be@n eseled axe asserior of ip. trathe. To the positive demai of the feet, and the pervonal shuse with whieh toe etutewen’ Wae then met, it would he re- membered that he bod merely repled,

“Let bis agserijon and denial of just tuen

:

co joe What they were wort: and, ai a

e . and jearacd memoer for Cia] ttetown Lproper tane, he would be prepared te

t

i wished to make it appear they wore do- ‘ing; but they wer? mereiy, in Justice to the country, pursuing the oly course,

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prove that what be bad asserted was, hit terally. and in point of fret, ihe truth.” That time was now come, sud by the de-

“fairly left open to them, to procure are- | ewnentery proofs attached i the Report.

Sull, however that consideration ttution, alresdy too long delayed, of @ be aseestion was fel y eubstantiated

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