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should be sorry to see the time when Canada was lost to this country ; but , if there was one measure more than another by which that moment would be accelerated , it was by the deep offence the Government werejaow giving to the loyal portion of the Canadians . ( Cheers . ) " This was a wrongful Bill ; he could not be diverted from his deep conviction that the guarantee could not in honour be withdrawn , and that Parliament was bound by the law of this country , as laid down by the judges , who stated that when once appropriated , these lands became property- He held that they could not either touch that property or , under the circumstances , authorize others to touch it , without being guilty of an act of spoliation . ( Hear , hear . ) As an act of spoliation , then , he regarded this Bill , and he denounced it as a breach of faith on the part of the Crown , a compromise of the honour of Parliament , and as inconsistent with the welfare of the empire . ( Cheers . )
Lord John Russell admitted that Sir John had not shrunk from the consequences which might result from rejecting this Bill . But when he spoke of broken guarantees , it was worth while for the House to consider tlie nature of the appropriation before they rejected the measure . He then showed how Mr . Pitt had admitted that the Bill of 1791 , constituting the two provinces and reserving the land , might be revised , and had , at the suggestion of Mr . Fox , inserted a power to vary and repeal the Bill ; how Lord Goderich , in 1831 , had proposed to part with the endowment altogether , and how finally , in 1840 , an alteration had been made in the distribution of the fund . Readily admitting that , at the time , he hoped the measure of 1840 would be final , Lord John insisted that after the Canadian legislature had prayed for power to deal with the reserves , it could not be refused . He contended
that it was matter of domestic arrangement . Was ifc a matter of domestic arrangement for them that , the members of the Church of England being one-eighth of the population of Upper Canada , they should have half the proceeds of these funds ? Was it a matter for consideration by the Canadians themselves , or one for consideration by the population of the United Kingdom , and to be settled by the Imperial Legislature ? He thought it could not be "well doubted that the persons interested in the arrangement were the people of Canada . But what said the right hon . gentleman ? What Lad he said when Secretary of State ? Why , he said he was for re-distribution ; he said he should not object at some time , and if sufficient cause were shown , to adopt a re-distribution of that
pronerty , and now he said that re-distribution was entirely different from spoliation —( cheers from the Opposition)—and that Mr . Goulburn was himself engaged in the redistribution of church property in ^ England . But Sir J . Pakington must not escape in that way . What his right hon . friend was engaged in doing , was the transfer of the property held b y the clergy of the established Church in one part of En g land to the clergy of the Church in another portion of the kingdom . ( Cheers and counter-cheers . ) What was proposed in Canada was not a re-distribution of this kind , but it was to give to those other Protestant colonists , and even to the Itoman-catholics —( ironical cries of "hear , " and counter-cheers)—according to their numbers , when the Church of England numbered but a small portion of
the population , and they comprised seven-eighths of that population , —to make a re-distribution of the ie revenues , more in conformity with the requirements of the colony . This was a totally different thing from the re-distribution in which his right hon . friend was concerned , and he hoped that , if such were the doctrines held by Sir J . Pakington , he would , a friend as he was to the Church of England , not apply thoso ^ octrinea to the Church in this country . Lord Jonn had procured the opinion of the law officers on the bearing of the guarantee ; and it hud given Sir John that particular kind of satisfaction ho called " pain . " Lord John ' s audacity increased . Ho contrasted tho arguments of Mr . Hincks and Sir John Pakington . Sir John had said , he could not bear that a matter of such
importance as this should bo decided by an accidental majority , whereupon Mr . Hincks very aptly inquired , if accidental majorities wcro not to decide such questions , what was tho meaning of constitutional government—what was to bo said as to tho many decisions that had been mado by tho Parliament of this country during the past century ? And Mr . Hincks further pointed out , that the principle sought to bo enforced was not tho result of an accidental decision , but of the deliberate judgment of tho pooplo of Canada . Ho must confess ho had been quite mortifieef to see a Secretary of State so fairly and completely defeated in argument by a colonial functionary . ( Laughter . ) Ho replied to Mr . Walpolo by telling him , ho had hotter lay hit ) views as to the badness of the voluntary principle , and
the goodness of an establishment , before- the Canadian Assembly . While ho would concur with Mr . Walpolo if his arguments applied to tho United Kingdom , yet when the quoHtioii was put with relation to the people of Canada ho did not shrink from any consequences of the admission . —tho cos * was different . If tho pooplo of Canada were to Hay , " Wo are of opinion that a church establishment in not for tho bonofit of Canaela—that religion will not bo injured by tho adoption of tho voluntary prinoiplo , and that neither tho Church of England , nor tho Church of Homo , nor the ministora of any other denomination , ought to havo iricornun
from tho States or aiiy portion of tho clorgy roHorvew , " he flhould certainly Bay , that tho pooplo of Canada wore perfectly entitled to act upon that doliborato opinion . If , on tho other hand , thoy should think that , at least , a largo portion of thoso clergy rcsorvos ought to bo distributed equally among tho ministers of tho various religious denoimnutions , ho should think thoy had come to a very wiso conclusion ; at the name time it was a conclusion winch ho ohould employ no force , no compulsion of any kind , in an attempt to realize . Lord John wound up tho debate ) in thiii spirited faohion : —If wo toll tho pooplo of Canada thut
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we must have our own notions adopted by them , that we must havo our own ideas prevail among them , that our own rules and our own regulations must be their normal rules and regulations , then , indeed , the connexion between this country and that great province would be brief . He was quite sure that the great majority of the House would agree with him in the opinion , that to say to a great province such as Canada , with 2 , 000 , 000 of people , its population and its wealth daily , hourly Spreasing ; distant 3 , 000 miles from our own shores , its condition differing , in many respects from that of the United Kingdom—to say to such a province as the right hon . member for Midhurst would say to it— "You must leave it to us to make all laws and regulations for you , and you must be content to have merely the minutiae of municipal administration left to this would be not l
your own discretion , "—to say simpy unwise , but impossible . No ; the connexion between us and Canada must be founded on liberal and generous principles ; so founded , it was his firm belief the connexion would long endure . The Canadians , valuing that generosity , would still honour the name of Britain —would still cherish a bond honourable alike to them and to us—a connexion creating prosperity alike for them and for us . Adopt the policy advocated by the right hon . gentleman , and we lose not only this noble colony , but many others . The principle of the measure , let him repeat , was no new principle ; it was one of the grand principles on which our colonial empire was founded , and to which he trusted the House , by agreeing to the third reading , -would manifest its resolution to adhere . ( Cheers . ) The House then divided ; the numbers were—For the third reading . . . 288 Against it .... ... 208 Majority .... 80 The bill was then read a third time and passed . GOVERNMENT BEATEN . As if to compensate for the victory of Monday , Ministers were subjected to a small defeat on Tuesday . Briefly stated , and it does not bear amplification , the occasion was this : —Mr . Isaac Butt moved an address to the Crown praying that Kihnainham Hospital , the Chelsea of Ireland , should not be abolished . He stated that the hospital was f ounded by Charles II . ; that it was supported up to 1794 , partly by the stoppage of sixpence a month from the pay of the Irish army ; but that subsequent to 1794 it had been mainly sustained by a Parliamentary grant . In 1851 , Mr . Fox Maule , obeying the inspiration of a Committee on the army estimates , and for the sake of saving some 7000 / ., directed the governors not to admit any more pensioners . It was this proceeding he wished to set aside . It was a matter affecting the feelings of the Irish soldier . In reply to this , Mr . Sidney Heebebt alleged that the system of in-pensioners was proved to be bad , old soldiers preferring to live in the bosom of their families ; and he stated in support of his opinion , that recruiting in Ireland never went on better than now . Mr . Whiteside went great lengths in favour of the motion . He attacked the Government and the political
economists , whose brains he said were red tape , whose hearts contained ink bottles for blood . The House interrupted him with cries of " Divide . " So the debate proceeded , Lord Seymour and Mr . Eluce speaking against the motion . The arguments on one side were that a saving would be effected , and that these institutions were more useful for civilians than military ; and on the other , that Kihnainham was for the Irish army —that its abolition would bo an insult to Ireland , and that this ought not to bo done , especially for a paltry
economy . On a division , Ministers found themselves wofully beaten , and Mr . Butt carried his motion by 198 to
131 . TAXKS ON KNOWr / KDdK . Mr . Gibson brought forward his resolutions for the repeal of the tuxes on knowledge , on Thursday night ; and Government wore again defeated . lie made a most able and exhaustive statement of the whole question . Taking first the paper duty , he showed its injurious effect on the industry of the country , and especially pointed out that it restricted the labour market in the counties , as it was u rural manufacture . He then showed how oppmswively it operated upon tho bookselling trade , and indirectly on tho in en of letters . Having « xhuusted thin subject , he attacked the advertisement duty , and prem : d how
extreniely hurtful and unjust it was to all classes seeking employment , or requiring labourers , and making known wants of ull kinds . He showed that if the duty wen : repealed , tho whole of it woulel not In ; lost to the revenue , lor on tho increase ) of nelvertiseinents woulel follow an incmiHO of the number of letters sent through the post . Tho next subject was the stamp duty . The ) history of tho imposition of this be minutely eletuih'd , from the ) Licensing Act of HJ 80 to tho Stamp Act passed in Queen Anne ' s reign , and Castleremgh ' s Act tor " restraining small publicul ions at a low prie-o , " one ) of the Six Acts passed in 1819 ; showing that the duty was avowedly iinpose : d for tho purpose of putting elown tho press for the people*—Tho act , thon , wan not "for tho purpose of granting a supply to hia Majesty , " but uvowoel | y for tho purpose of
restraining tho press . In December , 1819 , Lord Ellenborough said , upon the Newspaper Stamp Act : — "It was not against tho respectable press that this bill was directed , but against a pauper press , which , administering to tho prejudices and the passions of a mob , was converted to tho basest purposes—which was an utter stranger to truth , and only sent forth a continual stream of falsehood and malignity—its virulence and its mischief heightening as it proceeded . If he was asked whether lie would deprive the lowest classes of society of all political information , he would say that he saw no possible good to be derived to the country from having statesmen at the loom and politicians at the spinning jenny . " lord Erskine protested against it . Among its opponents were , Sir James
Mackintosh , Mr . Brougham , Mr . Tierney , Viscount Althorp , Lord John Russell , and Sir James Graham , whose names were to be found in the minority against that bill , on the ground , as stated by Sir James ' Mackintosh , that it was an attempt to put a restraint upon the liberty of the English press . The distinguished leaders of the Whig party in that day were the men , small in numbers , who fought the good fight of freedom in behalf of the press against Castlereagh and the Ministers of that day ; and he called upon them to refer to their former eloquent and enthusiastic speeches , expressed sometimes with a feeling and in terms that he would scarcely venture to imitate , to act in consistency with those great principles ; and , to come now in other and better times , when we had a contented
and happy population , when there were no signs of disorder , and when they were contemplating the extension of the political franchise—he called upon them to let tho precursor of that political franchise be a free and unrestricted press , giving to the masses that knowledge and that intelligence by which alone they could be enabled to exercise their political franchise with advantage . to their country . He showed further , that Lord Lansdowne had objected to abolish the whole stamp because it could not be done with " safety . " The term " safety" was applied to the policy . He asked the House was it safe now ? Was there any reason why the leaders of both parties should not unite under the altered circumstances to remove that duty ? He trusted he did not appeal in vain to
gentlemen on both sides of the House . Ho declared upon his conscience that he did not view this as a party question . All parties had an interest in their views being promulgated : and in these days he did not see that any party in the State could fear the consequences . On the contrary , they ought to hail with exultation any means that might be devised for extending useful knowledgeay , and poritical information among the great body of the people . The House would remember that when Lord Melbourne redueeid tho stamp duty he was charged with Laving " courted the Radicals . " But these were times when to be a radical could be no reproach . "Wo had got a radical in the administration , we had a radical in the cabinet , and more than that we had a radical acting with
those who once were conservative ministers . ( Cheers ' . ) In a recent letter Lord Brougham had condemned the stamp because it prevented the diffusion of useful knowledge among the peasantry . Mr . Gibson also , with great detail , showed the vexatious , uncertain , and unjust character of the law . He moved the following resolutions : —¦ " 1 . That the advertisement duty ought to be repealed . 2 . That the policy of restraining the cheap periodical press from narrating current events , by rendering it liable to stamp duties and other restrictions , ' if any public news , intelligence , or occurrences , or any remarks or observations
thereon , ' be contained therein , is inexpedient , and at variance with the desire now generally expressed in favour of the diffusion of knowledge among all classes ; and it appears also to this Houso that the law relative to taxes on newspapers , and other regulations affecting public prints , is in nn unsatisfactory state , and demands the attention of Parliament .. 3 . That the Excise duty on paper , while impeding tho development of an important manufacture , also materially obstructs the production of good cheap literature ; and tho maintenance of this tax , as a permanent sourco of revenue * , would he impolitic and inconsistent
with tho efforts which Parliament is now making to pro mote education among tho great body of the * people . " Mr . Evvakt seconded the motion .
Mr . Gladstone , characterizing- the speech of Mr . Gibson as able and comprehensive , did not attempt to rejply to it . He declined to speak of the question of policy , and confined himself to the iinune : ial part of the question . But he announced a now bill to clear up the state of the law ( an announcement met by cries of " Oh" from his supporters . ) Then in a long speech he said , in many wnys that it would be unwise of tho House to puss these resolutions , condemning taxes which they were not ; prepaml to repeal ; especially as he would make liis financial stateine'iit on Monday . !!(• said thai within oi tf ht weeks propositions bud been made in that House to abolish duties amounting to
7 , K 00 , 000 / . He thought thorn hud been a progress ; the * stump eluly hud been reduced from Id . to Id ., and tin * aelveii-tiHe'inent duty from 4 M : ( id . to I . v . Gd . lie coneleuined again mid ntfain invitations to give vote ;* on isolated grounds , without : iny general or comprehensive view of the ) state of the revenue ; . Hut be : hael not any hostility to the * ob . je-ct oi" tho niolion . With regard to < lie ) eniculion of policy , ho had stateul in tho inoHt distinct le-mis Unit tho ( Je > V 4-riiine ) i » t hael ne » wish te > retain , and would not , retain , any restraint whatever niion tho press lor Mi <» nuk « i of restraint ; that for thorn the ) ejuentieni woulel be * a purely fiscal que-stiem ; ami that Ihooluiins e > i' iiow » piipe < rH for re < lieif fremri taxutiem , if it coulel be nhe > wn ( which pmbably it might be *) that they paiel moret than an e > e | iiivuhmt . for tho Hervice * the » y receivoel , Hhoulel liie'et . with fair e-oiiNielorution , and ho meant by lair voimieloratiem a just anel' impartial comparison between thoao claims for relief and tho claim a of tho other grout
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* April 16 , 1853 . ] THE LEADER . , 363
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Leader (1850-1860), April 16, 1853, page 363, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse.ac.uk/periodicals/l/issues/vm2-ncseproduct1982/page/3/
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