Che Eraminer.

WEEKLY JOURNAL OF POLITICS, LITERATURE AND NEWS.

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A Ss = wat EDWARD WHELAN]

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Cipis is true Liberty, when Free-born Men, having to advise the JJublic, may speak free ——evrtprpszs.

[EDITOR axp PUBLISHER

‘ | : = roe rere , SE re ore re Vou. VIII. CHARLOTTETOWN, PRINCE EDWARD ISLAND, MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 6, 185s.

prs" ° bs : ‘ : . . ‘ Which they might have held under those who dreaded, more Just had to contend with? And by the 43rd clause of this | their favor laid him, and most ungratefully strove to deprive | than a conflagration, the spread and manifestation of the spirit | Statute, tt 1s enacted, “That the annual salary of the Post- |

~~ . @ l) c Ex ant 1 i ct r ° ‘them of that power which, in all that immediately affected him,

ie __ lof freedom among the people. Happily, most happily, the | ™aster General of this Island shall be £350 currency, the had been exercised only for his benefit.

: ; Nex', says Mr. Owen ; ae: ; cgi ES : 2 case is so no longer. The men who now constitute your Go- | salary of the Clerk or Clerks included,” So, with respect to © [ am bound to point out to Your Excellency the perilous ig CHARLOTTETOWN, P.E.1,, SEPTEMBER 6, 1858.) ~ de ks . ; Mr. Owen’s salary, as Postmaster General, matters remained situation in which his (Mr. Desbrisay’s) d gal} laced a _Vernment glory with yourselves in your free, your unfettered | inti) 185 sai ST ey oy Se ee one \¢ OO OT NE ee exercise of all the richts and rivileges of British Peal ay unti 1857, when, on representation to them by him of the ‘the Department. In a most perilous situation truly, tho } d GENERAL MERCING OF THE [INHABITANTS OF aol cs Va edie ii = ie all f a ae a : . ; | seantiness of his remuneration for the onerous services which | uncertainty of huinan life considered, the Post Office must long J QUEEN'S COUNTY, - aa A . ae ney ree d 7 el a be ay ao 1) he ee the Government-—the present very illiberal and | have been, if the regular and efficient diecharge of the duties 4% De Ceriidabibedinin® WiinedaaY seal iueiee ved | constitutional exercise of those rights and privileges, lo they | 'yranme yovernment, as by a restless overweening faction they thereof, entirely depended upon the continued presence therein 14 att tym otiemegetee cb ignast en ae satepalea og | desire to retain, or can they, or ought they to retain, the | are most unjustly styled—with a view to the increasing of Mr. of either Mr. Owen or Mr. Desbrisay, or of both of them! That : Wittiaw McGiut, Esquire, High Sheriff, in the Chair. | position which they,now occupy. [Loud cheers ] That, in nc 8 personal ane and respectability, ainended the Post | its situation was not quite so perilous, however, we hove now a At 12 o'clock, noon, the High Sheriff of Queen's County, | dismissing Messrs. Desbrisay and Owen from the offices which | ee geod oo y yer e4 oarary oe £350 per a had most satisfactory and convineing proofs, All the ** compli- a ; . * : 7 : ‘ . oe wis | i , vs . go 3 gs Jair, ' i ? i , William MeGill, Esquire, opened the Pablic Meeting of the} they held in the Post Office, the Government have done no » " oe tee at on 4 or Se et a ene a unceasing,’’ all the mysterious duties of the office J inhabitants of Queen's County, which, in aecordance with a/ more than it was their duty to do, in the circumstances in esbrisay, @t £150, and the other, one of my sons, at £100 per have, for the last fortnight and more, been discharged with the y 3 iat Ce ° : v weibhUa = = Ud U i ‘ I ¢ as he \ ae sts a }

Requisition, addressed to him, by about one thousand of the inhabitants of the said County, had been called by him. He did so by first reading the Requisition and his reply to it. He then also read the subjoined correspondence between the | Hon. T. H. Haviland, Mayor of the City, and His Excellency | she Lieut. Governor, mere copies of which had been sent to! him by the Hon. the Colonial Secretary, for the simple purpose of apprizing him of the tumult apprehended, on the} vecasion of the County Meeting, by His Worship the Mayor. |

| }

{The Correspondence hervin referred to was published in} the Examiner of Monday last.)

Having read these letters, the High Sheriff addressed the | meeting in nearly the following language :— Gentiemen,—When on the late nomination and election days, [refrained from appointing and swearing in any special constables for the preservation of the public peace, I did so in} the full confidence which I placed in the good sense and | peaceable disposition of the people of this County ; and the result, as you all know, was a full justification of the confi- | dence so reposedin youby me. Inlike manner, on the present eccasion, whatever dread of tumult or riot may be entertained | * Dy some, L apprehend none., I feel convineed that this day | A shall bs as fully justified in placing my whole dependence, | tor the preservation of the public peace and of orderly and | becoming conduct, by the vast assemblage which I at present | evatemplate around this platform, in their own good sense |

and peaceable disposition, as [ was in pursuing a similar on | therefore, only further say, that I confidently trust you will | give a fair, patient, and impartial hearing to every speaker | who shall, guided by sound discretion himself, address you at this time on any public question which may fairly, | aceording to the scope of the requisition with which I have | evsmplied, be brought before you for discussion and your| decision; and in so doing your conduct—whatever your decision concerning such questions may be—will be truly honorable to you. To this short address of theo High Sheriff the people | responded by long and hearty cheers. Che Hon. Conoxxt Swapey then presented himself to the| attention of the meeting, and spoke nearly as follows :— Gentle nen,—Too much praise cannot easily be awarded to the High Sheriff for the good senss, good feeling, and public spirit which, since he was appointed to his hi, offi:e, have characterized all his most public officisl acts; and it ig aot 100. much, uor.dsit-in aag-way derogatory to yottt to say, that the noble sense of propriety and order which was |

the two eventful days to which I have just alluded. I shall, |

h and honorable |

which they were placed with respect to these gentlemen, 1 shall, by merely reading to you the official correspondence

which has taken place with reference to their dismissals, be

able fully to convince every person of sound mind aad impar- tial judgment who may listen to me. The mere correspondence itself, independently of any comments of mine, must conyince you that the Government were absolutely coerced into the dismissals complained of by the requisitionists—that they wero not allowed to forbear—that the absolute exercise of

official insubordination, literally forced upon them. That the true relative position oceupied by the Government and the late Postmaster General may be fully understood by you, it

may be necessary for me to go back a few years, and explain |

to you the position occupied by Mr. Owen as Postmaster, and the manner in which he was remunerated for his official ser- vices before the introduction of our present system of Government, Mr. Owen was appointed Postmaster in the year 1842 through the recommendation of Sir Henry Vere Huntley—himself a Liberal—who was then our Governor ; and [ believe Sir Henry recommended him for the appointment of his own free will; at least [ know of nothing which ean

induce a contrary belief, Sir Henry came to my house one |

worning—Tf[ then lived close by Government House, and was on terms of great intimacy with Sir Henry-~and said to me, *T hold in my hand the name of the individual whom I mean to recommend to the appointment of Postmaster.” The name was that of Mr. Owen. Sir Heury immediately after took the step which he then intimated to me it was his intention to take, and Mr. Owen was shortly afterwards appointed Postmaster accordingly. At the time Mr. Owen was

| appointed to the office of Postmaster, the remuneration for

the discharge of the duties of the office was 20 per cent. out of the proceeds of the postages credited to the Imperial Go- vernment, averaging from about £200 to £220 per annum.

[Just as the hon. and gallant Colonel had advanced so far in his address to the meeting, he was, for a short time, inter- rupted by some commotion arcund the platform, occasioned

by the appearance in Queen-street, on the verge of the Square, |

of about 100 Scotchmen—a part of those who had voted for

the Hon. Colonel Gray at the late election—cheering loudly as they came up. Hon. FE. Palmer. T. Heath Haviland,

} John Longworth, Frederick Brecken, W. Uyde and W. Pope. i

janoum. ‘Thus to Mr. Owen was secured a clear salary of | greatest effictenc

! . . | £350 a-year, Yes, this was the respectable, the independent

| Position, In which the ill-used Mr, Owen was placed by the Go-

; Vernment who are now assailed, both by him and on his account,

|for having merely done that which, by his determined con- |

| needless comments, to excite party feelings, or to carry you

jaway from calm deliberation, by the excitement of your pre- their authority was, by the most insolent and obstinate | judices; but simply lay before you a piain statement of facts

| as they are disclosed in the published correspondence concern- | ing the dismissals, and leave you to judge of and concerning them as rational and impartial nen. And, with respect to Mr. | Desbrisay, I wish you also to observe, that his annual pittance was raised, al the same time, when the Post Office Act was

| amended in 1857, from £120 ta £150. Was this a canse for | qualitied, either by education or natural wbil: jingratitude 2 As touching that geutleman [ mean not to utter | knowledge of his duties therein and expertuess | one harsh or unwarrantable word ; aad neither have | nor will {| ’

) with respect to Mr, Owen. The wet of Mr. Desbrisay, at which

por Governinent most reasonably took umbrage, was his voting, |

at the late General Election, for two members to iepresent Charlottetown, who are opposed to thea; and by jergument, how ingenious or sophistical soever can it be vindi- cated, With a direct view to the overthrow of the Govern- ment, he voted against them; and they, in return for such manifestation of his desire to see thein defeated. directly gave him his disinissal. [fe no doubt earnestly desired to retain his appointment; bat if he was atall acquainted with the fundas- mental principles of Responsible Goverument, as he surely must have been, be must also have been well aware of his responsi- bility, as an official, to those who were placed in authority above jhim ; and, therefore, in openly opposing the Government, he must have known the full extent of the risk he ran. Fully sen- sible, therefore, { should say, of the irjarious consequences which ight result to himself fromthe hazirdous game in which ha was about to engage, he rushed into it; and if he has come (off a loser, neither has he nor have ins friends any right to jcompliai of the issue, The British Constitution fully recog- nezes this accounmability of subordinate officials to the Govern- jment; and the tinperial Government of the day may, without i question of their power or authority in the matter, instantly dis miss atapy time any subordinate officer with whose condnuel they may have been cffended. A Government must have power j to choose its own servants, and also tochange them at p'easure, }or its authority will be nowhere, or at least depend upon the Iwill of its nomtna) subordinates. 7 will not tay a word pereor-

i

ally againstenrher ofthe gentlemen who have drawa down unon |

|thia hubbub began; and so but for his own refractoriness he

y and regularity by two * inexperienced | persons,” Mr. Davies and’ Mr. Kelly, assisted by my son whoee | experience in his limited sphere certainly hes not been such as |to warrant his undertsking ‘to perform the routine of the office even for a day.’ Yee, there stands the office, stil] entire, although deprived of its guardian spirits; and with as mech regularity and punctuality as before, our inland and our foreign mails are received and despatched, and | see my gon at the window as usual discharging the minor duty of receiving and delivering letters. Yes, all the duties of the department are being fully discharged with ease and regularity, although Mr. Owen declared that ‘any casualty which should prevent his attendance would cause evils that could not be rectified.” | When Mr. Desbrisay was appointed Assistant to Mr. Owen in ithe Post Office, he was quite aa inexperienced in the business iof that Department as Mr. Kelly was when appointed to supersede him; and I should not think he was any better 'y to acquire a in the perforu- ance of them, than the latter individual. He, therefore, , doubtless required as wich instruction from Mr. Owen to qualify him for the due performence of bis duties a9 Mr. Kelly jdid; and Mr. Owen, although then he had no other Assistant,

i

no show of| found time to impart it to lnm. Waen Mr. Kelly, however, was

| appointed to supersede Mr. Desbvrisay, Mr. Owen could not find j time to initiate him, even in the siallest degree, in his officin! duties, even whilst retaining the dismissed Mr. Desbrisay Ms | the office, in contravention of the commands of the Government, land whilst he therefore had two Assistants inthe office besides | Mr. Kelly. [Heor! fear '] Uf this was: positively the casi — | Mr. Owen, so circumsianced, could not tind time to give any Instructions whatever to Mr. Kelly, as in his letrer to Mis Excellency he emphatically declared he could not—there wos jcertuinly inthe fact something which con!d not readily be understood. When Mr. Desbrissy entered the office, as raw and inexperienced with respect to its duiics as Mr. Kelly could well be, Mr. Owen, although no assistacce was available ito him, except what he could derive from him, cou'd find }time to instruct him, and to make him useful, without experi+ encing any ‘‘inconvenience in the transmission of the correspondence of the Colony ;"" but strange to tell, when Mr. Kelly entered the office, Mr. Owen, with two Assistants besides initat the time could not afford to devote even one winute to instructing or directing him how to make himself in any wey useful inthe Department! [Hear! Hear!} fied the fact been in reality as Mr. Owen wished it to be understood by this | Excelleney it was, it certainly wou'd have been very surprising, if not mysterious. Bot when reviewed in the direct aod “nnintercepted heht of trath, there is wothing either surprisiugy

‘ } ;

manifested by you on the late nomination day, as well as; Esquires, and perhaps some cthers—at or alout this tin ie dat o ae a. - ee oes further or mysterious about it. “Phat the duties of the Post Oflice are

on that of the election in this City, was only a just and| I ag F a sag sao ee aoe — err een. mer ade eo : Ay oe palmacedbe' ss 2% eae grees Gow then they Were whew Dr. Hesbr sts. lege

ae be Ae oe Re ee a } withdrew from the Cr unty mCCeing —the ifon. Cok nel Gray /HOLISts, must Lavea de vilish poor KNOW les geotthe princip.es of appointed Assistantto Mr. Owen, we readily admit: for, if they

grateful response—na ul ue ‘3, no Go , rt, ut Crher wine Was ©! had done so previc us! y—and went over toa platform whic h | he constitution and of the form of Government under which | were greater, what necessity could there be for a second

you—to ths conti — ae from Se en Ue FOEr! in the colnes of the morning, had been erected at a corner of | '!¥ we. of they would not 60 vainly snd foolishly have! assistant? Mr. Owen’s assistance having been onereased on

¥ ebaracter, he so frezly placed in you. x yur peaceaic, Foor) the Old Court House. It seems that, before these gentlemen | “PFOsed themselves to mee en as they are now doing | proportion to the increased labour in his office. it 93 quite cleat i turbeariny, your generous conduct on those occasions, when} p.. ook the constitutional platform and left the meeting. there I very much regret that publicity was not given, as early as ii jthen that be had quite as tnveh tae, if aot mo e@, to instruct

. ‘ «s |e } ! > ‘ sTrye ny fi ‘ } he | ’ : } & eed Tt RE bilge co ae aly prove high! i : : ’ jand also the letter to that gentleman informing him that His the Exeeutive Board to declare, as they did. th it when two ary vy tion of 1t Db you woud not only prove Olgoaty aa as a tannae nepaannead e “ Fe a : = : = = »X2@C ? ara eciare, 5 itl, | 4 - an ot tae } Ae ite ts as freemen tal be a cause | These circumstances occasioned some little disturbance around Excellency in Council had been pleased to dispense with his! Assig ants were provided. instead of one, they cond not : a _o your dearest rizhts as freemen, but be a cause! .1. oe ies ot tT a 74 Ae oe os , ie : dvtrimentil to your dearest rizhts as fi . the platform; but isely yielding to the counsels of those whom jservices as Assistant Postmasier Genera!, in consequence of i

the excitl ig an l even exasperating incidents which, in some

easea, then occurred, are du'y considered, is worthy of being hel.l above all praise in all time to come; and [| dout no: your couluct this lay will be equally honorable and glorious | to you. [Loul and long cheering. |

' Your strength, waich | L trust will be nobly manifested to-day, lies in obedience to} the laws; and your cause can never prosper or be advanced | gave in and by a due observance of that obedience ; an] dis- |

dis-

of unhallowed triunp' to your enemies, who were never more eager thar: they are at this very instant to enslave you. In addressing you, gentlemen, I shall not seek to arouse your prejudices or to inflame your passions. [ shall speak to you ouly as rational, as thinking beings. I shall state to you, in the most plain aud trathful manner, facts which cannot be denied even by those whom it would most advantage to have them proved fabulous or untrue; and shall with you endeavour to draw from them the only conclusions which can rationally or legitimately be derived from them. Now, gentle- men, what do the requisitionists, in their own words, say is

3 . ’ _ - , t lwote fi , Ia} > ¢ , > ‘ve: ; " a. j ' : ’ . t 4 to be done by this meeting ? This—they are ‘ to take into} Owen was appointed Postmaster by the Imperial Government. | °°” for Mr. Palmer and Mr. Longworth, | believe ; but this he | you have heard me read, then says, that if he be deprived of % ‘ ‘ a ioh-handed and oo : Jy! Re ety *|has been in the habit of doing at every election for twelve Mr. Desbrisay’s assistance, he will be deprived of the oply | consideration, among other acts, the recent high- ona ie on the recommendation or at the request of Sir Henry V. years ; and as there is no law prohibitin r officials from voting, |. ; . t oa st em th. a a he oles | Ww. 7 tals MN : 4 . f . ar ¢ uneil. i eir ° » oe _— ‘uk . eee ee? Competent assistan iat can De obtained. hat, Coes Mr, VF tyrannical oem of the Governot and Co — thetr Huutley, and paid out of the Post Office revenue collected by he was not aware that he was doing Wrong, particularly 4s Pei really believe that there is so creat a dearth of abil tes i . . i - ' senrieay Wc raz ° > . ss j - : a ¥ ~ ” . . ail as ’ . dismissals of Thomas Owen and Peter Desbrisay, Esquires./ him here for the Imperial Government. In addition to the

our highly respected Postmaster General and his equally respected Assistant.” Well then, gentlemen, we will, if you please, proceed to consider these dismissals, these “ high-

had been some warm, if not angry discussion or altercation |

between some of them and the Hon. the Leader of the Govern- ment, Mr. Coles, concerning the objects of the requisition, which ended in their declaring that they could not get a hear- ing, althoi®&h they had not attempted to obtain one, and

ment had given them an assurance to the contrary. This took ’

|place whilst Colonel Swabey was addressing the meeting

they knew to be their friends indeed, the meeting soon resumed their quiet and orderly demeanour, and again gave willing ear to the Hon. Colonel Swabey, who thus proceeded in his address :]

Now, gentlemen, who irritates the public peace? Not the! friends of the Government. No; they are assembled as the |

upholders of peace, propriety and order; and nobly do they disregard the shouts which are meant to seduce them into tumult and riot. Well, let them shout and hurra until they are tired, and meanwhile we will attend to the lawful business we have in band.

per centage which I have said was allowed him on that reve-

uue, there was also annually voted to him by the Legislature |

I say, as L have already teld you, Mr. |

jtinight have been, to the whole official correspordence relative

ineeting, for its declared or ostensible purpose at least, would never.have taken place, nor would there have been one independ- Pent and impartial dissentient voice to the Resolutions of the Exe-

: . : . , ’ ive inthe country. The il gall: ‘olonel then rez ,{ although both the High Sheriff and the Leader of the Govern. | C&l'¥e 18 the country. The hon, and galiant Colonel then read,

of Council dispensing with the services of Mr. Peter Desbrisay, j

jfius having voted at the late Election tor two members to

jserve tn the General Assembly who are opposed to the present |

Government, (tear him! ILear him!] Observe, remarked jthe hon. and gallant Colonel, that to Uns letrer, dated the 6th (July, 1858, no answer was returned by the ill-used gentlemen,

{ : : ; i which he could advance in lia owu defence. Mr. Owen '

|

Mr. Desbrisay, which | will now read to you.

[1 Mr. Owen’s letter, which the hon. and gallant Colonel jread accordingly, Mr. Owen says, *¢ That Mr. Desbrisay did

every official in the Coloay, with a very few exceptions, exer- }cised the same right. But while | regret exceedingly that any set of his should have brought upon him the displeasure of your

to the dismissals of Messrs Desbrisay and Owen; for had | publicity by that means been given to ita forinieht ago, this |

from the Royal Gazette of the 20th August instant, the Minute |

Mr. Desbrisay. He could not, it would seem, think of anything |

i however, on the 8th July,addressed a letter to His Excellency, ! ithe Lieut. Governor, concerning the removal of lis Assistant, |

the new Assistant Mr. Kelly in his diies as he formerly hed ito instruct Mr. Desbrisay ; and the only reasem why he g.ve the needful instruction to Mr. Desbrisay and wnhheld it trom Mr. Kelly, was—not his having time to spare fir che purpose in the one case, and none in the-other—but Lis being pred.spused ,to give itto Mr. Desbrisay, as bis esteemed feud, in conse- /quence of his pred lection for hm ; and his berg indisposed te give itto Mr. Kelly for reasons whieh you can all most easily divine, {ifear! Hear! Hear!]) Much reason, therefore, had

punderstand why Mr. Owen should exp: rience any such diili- ‘culties in the discharge of his duties and the transmission of maiis, as he had stated he positively apprehended he would, | What Mr. Owen means when he sxys, -* Mr. Swabey ™ my for, |** who has been overa year in the office, woul! not undertake ito perform the routine of it even for a day,’’ when proper y explained amounts to no more than tis, that never h iwiay been directed or allowed by Mr. Owen to atiend to any duty but that of receiving and delivering letters at the window, he eanpot but be nearly quite as ignorant of what Mr. Owen styles the ** routine of the office’? as he was when he ertered its and consequently natil instructed in that routine he must cent nue '* incapable of performing it even fora dary.’? Mr. Owen, as

in this Islan’, that no person besides Mr. Desbrisay can be found in it capable of discharging the duties of Clerk in the ;Post Office? If se, Prince Edward Island must be a veritable

sorpearene

~ me pcm Pape

_these the mam ef. £80 foc bis serviens in transmitting ond receiving ees Lam bound in duty to point out | Beotia, a land of darkness and ignorance the most lamentable j handed an | tyrannical measures,” as the requisitionists have our inland mails, making his whole salary amount to about - — wire! st enone: ewe a ge his indeed. But, happily, we all well know, and so does Mr. ; thought proper to stsle them, of the other acts”” weas yet! £50, "Out of this salary, however, bu i absocved, he had | aiisen! hes placed the Departinent for I will wot dieguise Owen, that it ie far. very fry from beg. ee. ‘That Af. ; know uothing. In fully and fairly considering, in a public to find or pay his own Assistant. Tuis went on for some time, ! persons that can be ieptcinte the office, to perform ite compli rh td cy on obey pein aig ae ade cee ve a ae ’ meeting, convened as this has been, these acts, as well 43 aDY | hot in the year 1849, before the present Government came | cated and unceasing duties, Mr. Swabey who has been over. steal Gee aah. tesa in’ bathe ob% role - al ‘eo _ or all others of those who are piaced im authority Over Yous) into power, ia consequence of a representation made by Mr. |@ year in the office, will inform Your Excellency that he would | pesidea the many, the very many, inthe Island who are capatilee you are ouly ex reising a constitutional privilege—and L am Owen, it was agreed by the Exeeutive Council to recommend | "ot undertake to perform the routine of the office even fora lof discharging those, or Similar duties nh equal fidelity stl

one of the last who would abridge such privilege; [ would rather enlarge it,—and members of the Government, in ac- knowledging this, and willingly appearing before you to explain and defend their acts, give a full and satisfactory exposition of the principles and operation of | tcsponsible Go- vernment, which is emphatically Self-Government, the} Government of the People. They who constitute the Govern- ment acknowledge that it is by you, the people, they have b:en invested with the executive powers which clothe them ; and they hold themselves directly respoasible to you for all their administrative acts. Was this the case in the palmy days of official usurpation? Was any such acknowledgment of the sovereignty of the people ever made by the Execative in the times of irresponsible rule, when te Govermment of this Colony was held, in virtue of prescription by a few, for |

e ° . . ’ f w . wf + Se ifieulty : t he ans 5 ) 13! their own exclusive benetit, asa ficf from the Crowa? How-) aigotute and unquestionable power over that department of from iy present difficulty, to suspend the transinission of mails

ever indignant the people might then have felt at any arbi-| trary or sellish act of the usurpers of all power and place in | | the Volony, however loud!y the. might have dared to complain of the tyranny which was exercised upon them, would any ‘Colonial Sceretary or other mem er of the Government of | those days of exclusiveness and oppression, have eondescended to meet you, as we now doa, to give an account of the steaward- ship of himself and his colleagues in usurpation? No, indeed. | But in those days of dark misrule, had the people assembled | for such a purpose as that which has this duy drawn you here | together, the act would have been aceounfed one of rebellion | aud treason, and all amongst those who had been lealers in | the movement, whom the govern tyrants cou'd have reached

to the Imperial Government the appointment of an Assistant to Mr. Owen, at a salary of £100 a year. It was not, how- ever. tiark me, propo-ed that this salary should be paid out of the pudlic purse of this Colovy, but out of the Imperial Revenue. However, in 1801, when the present system of government was introduced, we had instructions sent out to us by the [mperial Government to take in hand, together with the management of all other colonial affiirs of our own, the arrangement of all matters connected with the [sland Post Office department. In consequence of these instructions, a Post Office Act was framed, carried through the Legislature, and confirmed by the Royal assent. ‘The second clause of this Act, rather uafortunately for the eause of those who have designated the late dismissals from the Post Office as « high- handed and tyrannical,” clothes our Island Government with

the public service. L will just read it to you. The hon. and gallant Colonel thea read that section of the Post Office

| Act to which he had alluded, and which is as follows :—

“ And be it enacted, That the Lieutenant Goverpor in Council inay establisi, alter, discontinue or extend, any Posts or Post communication, or Post Offices within this Island, and may appoint, suspend or re:nove, or displace a Postmaster General, and all or any Postmasters, Officers, Deputies, Servants and Avenis connected therewith.’*

How then can the agitators sey, as they have done, that the dismissals were unsathorised by law? [ys there not here the fallest power conferred upon the Government, expressly, I may almost say, to enable them to deal, in the most prompt and de-

doy ; and any casualty to prevent my attendance would cause

Excellency also that any additional labour, beyond what [ now perform, would destroy my health in less than a month, and {cause irremediable embarrassment and difficulty.’’ A_ little | farther on, Mr. Owen adds, “ A very great responsibility has at all times fillen upon me, and this being increased by being deprived of the only competent assistant that can be obtained, thereby placing me in difficulty that Leannot by any means overcome or avoid, [ must most respectfully beg Your Excel- lency and Counei! to reconsider the matter, and not allow

{

| valuable services ; and | would beg to assure Your Excellency ‘thata similar complaint will not again take place, as far my

i influence can be exercised. |! am now subpasoaed to attend |

jthe Georgetown Court, aud shall be obliged, if not relieved

/during my absence.’’

The hon. and gallant Colonel, in briefly commenting upon

Desbrisay has been in the habu of voting for Mr. Palmer and Mr. Longworth, at every election for tweive years, and said, with respect to it, ifthis be true, if Mr. Desbrisay has so voted, vatevery election for the last twelve years, tt only proves, if | donot greatly err, that whilst the political party whose principles he profess were in power, and who fur the time were tn power, and who, for the time were tn reality his friends and pitrons, he was farhfal to their interests, as he ougiit to have been, and strove to sustain them, as he wasoo duy bound to dv. Phe fault, however, for which he has lately most jasily been made to suffer, is tiat, when placed under the government

i this letter, frst observed upon Mr. Owen’s averment, that Mr.

_cisive manner, with refractory or contuinicious servants in the | ofa party opposed ta the policy of his former masters, but who

by their power, would bave been inade to fee! its vindictive | Post O'fice Departinent, and to. prevent their being embarrassed nevertheless treated him with very great consideration and

spir.t by the depfivation of any commissions or appointments,

by any contingence or ubstiuzte opposition, such ag we have

kindness, he failed to recogu'ze the obligations under which

levils that could pot be rectified. But £ must inform Your!

embarrassment and derangement in this department to take | place, which inust follow rf [ ain deprived of Mr. Desbrisay’s |

efficiency, | see, at this ve ry moment, in the assemblage aronnd the platform, alfa hundred individuals at the Jenst fully ne well qualified for such an appointment as Mr, Desbrisay ; and that the case is se, is not by any means disparaging to him {(Cheers.J Mr. Owen ends this letter by declaring that “ te shali be obliged, if not relieved fiom’ his present difficulty. to suspend the transinission of iuails during Lis absence.’ This is certainly a strangely dictatorial tone for a subordinate of the |Goveroment to use ina addressing them. — We willingly | adinit that he was a faithful and good officer ;*ut his being so (did not warrant the use of any such arregaat aud dictatorial

| language In addressing those who were in authority over him, cand to whom he was directly respons.ble. Wel!, the absurdity lof the threat has now, however, been cl arly established. Mr. | Desbrisay and Mr. Owen bork have been superseded in the office, and yet it has not been found necess ry te © suspend the tranamissionof mails.” ['lear! Hear ‘] Ofthes upwarraninble -assumption of a dictatorial spirit, we have so far had rather 'mofe than enongh; but Mr. Owen could pot. rest satisfied without further displays of it; ard throughout the remainder of the correspondence, with the exception of one of his le:ters— the apologetic one—of which | shall speak pre sently, the dictatorial tone assumed by him regularly increases until, in his last letter, the clunax attained its height, and the Govern- ment were compelled to lay aside all furiher thoughts of forbearance, and at once peremptori'y to dismisa hin. Ip his reply tothe Minute of Council, of the 13h July, concerning his request ** that His Exce!leney in Connei! wonld reconsider the matter, and not allow embarrassment and derangement ia the Department to take place, which wou'd follow if he were deprived of Mr. Desbrisay’s valuable servicer,” and by which he was informed thit “che Board, after due consideration of

the subject, were of opinion that they must adhere to thee turer decision with respect to the dismissal of Mr. Desbrisav ;

beeause they could not admit the principle of any Puriic Oficer

Ss Stitt i Ei a Ni

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