So concur.

not be brought to concur in the nomination of any individual for this purpose; and unless they could have met with a living Janus, or a pair of grown up Siamese Twins, the one educated in St. Lewis Street of Quebec, and the other in St. Paul's Street of Montreal, it was quite impossible that they should The Agent would have to state and enforce contrary doctrines and advice upon almost every subject touching the colony. How could either of those bodies consent to a selection made by the other! The Bills were accordingly uniformly rejected by the Legislative Council in all previous Sessions. The Bill in the last Session introduced into the House for this purpose was passed on the 5th of March, and it is therein enacted, "That the Honourable Denis Benjamin Viger is appointed Agent for this Province, for the purpose of supporting such solicitations and representations to his Majesty's Government, as may be confided to him for the welfare of this Province, and that the Speaker and Members of the Legislative Council resident in this Province, be, and are thereby appointed Commissioners for instructing and directing the said Agent in his solicitations and in the management of the matters confided to him, pursuant to such direction and authority as the said Commissioners shall from time to time receive from the Legislative Council and Assembly respectively when sitting. Provided, nevertheless, that the said Commissioners or any nine of them, of each body, may from time to time during the recesses of the Provincial Parliament, give to the said Agent in Great Britain such further instructions as they shall think fit for the public service of this Province. Provided also, that in case a difference of opinion shall at any time happen between such of the said Commissioners as are members of the Assembly, then and in such case the Commissioners belonging to each of the said bodies respectively, not being less in number than nine, shall be and they are hereby empowered separately to address their Despatches and instructions to the said Agent." The functions thus assigned to the Agent are sufficiently laughable, and could not be well

and honestly performed until he had first learned to serve two masters. This Bill was retained for some time in the Legislative Council, and was ultimately sent down with amendments and with another Bill relating to the same matter on the 30th day of March, being the last day but one of the Session. The amendments consist in making of the Agent instead of an Agent for the Province generally on behalf of both Houses of the Legislature, an agent for this Province in the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, especially constituted to act on the part and behalf of the Assembly thereof under such instructions as he may receive from that House according to the provisions in that act contained. By these amendments the nomination of the Secretary was given to the Governor for the time being, an indemnity was secured to Mr. Gordon the titular Provincial Agent in England; and it was lastly provided, "that nothing in this Act contained shall have any force or effect whatever until an Act shall have been passed by the Legislature of this Province for the appointment of an Agent for the Province in the said United Kingdom, especially constituted to act on the part and behalf of the Legislative Council of this Province, under such instructions as he shall receive from the said Legislative Council."

These amendments were accompanied by a Bill intituled, "An Act for the appointing an Agent for this Province in the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, to act on the part and behalf of the Legislative Council of this Province."

That no part of the subject may be left incomplete, I give here the heads of the above Bill.-It is enacted by the

1st Clause-That Thomas Hyde Villiers, a member of the House of Commons, be appointed Agent, to act on the part of the Province and of the Legislative Council in making representations; and that a Committee of five, named by the Council when sitting, instruct the said Agent in the management of the matters intrusted to him in such way as they think fit.

2d Clause-Governor to appoint a Secretary to the Committee to have the care of books and papers, and to act under their

orders. Secretary to receive a salary, out of unappropriated monies, under a warrant from the Governor.

3d Clause-Secretary not to deliver out of his custody any documents entrusted to him, except it be to the Governor or to the Legislative Council or Assembly, under an order for that purpose when sitting, under the penalty of £100; but any member of the Legislative Council or of the Assembly at all times to have access to them for the purpose of perusal, making extracts, &c., and Secretary to attend when required for that purpose.

4th Clause-Any two of the Committee to open correspondence from the Agent at the office of the Committee, and there peruse

it.

5th Clause-During recess, Committee to meet and answer letters from Agent, or for any other purposes of this Act:Any two to appoint a day for the meeting of the Committee after fifteen days notice in the Gazette and in the other newspapers at Quebec, for this purpose.

6th Clause-Proceedings of Committee and names of those present at every meeting to be entered in a book kept for that purpose, and the Secretary within the first eight days of each Session to lay before each House a copy of all the entries made since the preceding Session to that day.

7th Clause-Agent's salary £- Governor authorized to pay, out of unappropriated monies in half year payments in advance, clear of all deduction for remittance, difference of exchange, &c.

8th Clause-A sum of £— to be at the Agent's disposal for postage, professional advice, and contingent expenses, to be accounted for every six months.

9th Clause-Monies advanced under this Act to be accounted for through the Lords of the Treasury.

10th Clause-Continuance of the Act two years.

11th Clause-Act not to be in force until the Assembly shall have an Agent under Provincial Enactment.

12th Clause-Nor until an indemnity shall be granted to the present Provincial Agent.

All the trouble taken by the Legislative Council in this matter was of little avail, and we come here to an open appro

D

priation of the public monies by a simple vote of the Assembly, not only without the concurrence of the other branch of the Legislature, but in relation to a matter sent up by the Assembly to the Council for their deliberation, and actually under their deliberation at the very time that this vote was passed; and to fill up the measure of marvel, the Legislative Council acquiesced by their silence in this assumption of authority on the part of the House. It is true, that after this vote became public, resolutions, similar it is believed to those which were published some time back in Neilson's Gazette, were handed about the Legislative Council, but it is believed, they were not proposed at all, or if proposed, were withdrawn. The remaining transaction to which I would solicit attention is that relating to the payment of the members.

Lower Canada has ever been honourably distinguished by finding amongst its citizens a multitude of individuals willing to serve their fellow subjects in the Provincial Legislature, without any remuneration for their time or expenses.—Of late years Bills have been from time to time introduced into the Assembly for the payment of the members, and down to the last Session had been uniformly rejected in the Assembly itself. The measure originally proposed was for the payment of members who might be elected to a new parliament, for it seems too repugnant to fair dealing, that those who had entered upon this public service under a tacit engagement to perform it gratuitously, should pay themselves out of the public funds. It is material that this homage to true principles should be preserved.

Mr. Neilson, on the 9th February, read the following resolutions, which he proposed for consideration.

The first was

"That it is expedient to give an indemnity to members of this House, for the expenses incurred by them in attending in their places, whilst performing their duty in the House. Secondly-That such allowance and indemnity should begin after the next general Election."

How the opinions of the honourable mover came to be changed on this head does not appear; but it does appear, that he did introduce, and carry through the House, a Bill upon principles essentially different from that which he had first suggested. By this Bill the members of the existing Assembly were to be paid.-This is not the place to enter into the consideration of the serious inconveniences that this innovation was calculated to produce; it will be sufficient here to say that it was carried in the Assembly by the majority of twelve, 34 to 22: and was ultimately rejected in the Legislative Council. It might be supposed that the matter here ended, at least for this Session-not so; in the votes for the Civil List, passed on the 22d day of March, there will be found the following item :

"£2000 to be granted in order to enable the members of the House of Assembly, who have attended the present Session, to receive an indemnity of ten shillings per day, and four shillings a league to defray their travelling expences, constituting a part of the grand total of £44,549 5s. 11d." For the appropriation of which a Bill passed through the House and was taken up to the Legislative Council. The Legislative Council passed that Bill, thus retracing its own

*MOST GRACIOUS SOVEREIGN,

Whereas it is expedient to make an allowance to the Members of the Assembly for their expences occasioned by their attendance at the Session of the Provincial Parliament; May it, therefore, please you Majesty, that it may be enacted, and be it enacted by the King's Most Excellent Majesty, by and with the advice and consent of the Legislative Council and Assembly of the Province of Lower Canada, constituted and assembled by virtue of and under the authority of an Act passed in the Parliament of Great Britain, intituled, "An Act to repeal certain parts of an Act passed in the fourteenth year of his Majesty's reign, intituled, "An Act for making more effectual provision for the Government of the Province of Quebec in North America," and to make further provision for the Government of the said Province.—And it is hereby enacted by the authority of the same, that for and during the second and following Sessions of this present Provincial Parliament, and until the termination of the now next ensuing Provincial Parliament, there shall be allowed and paid to each member of the Assembly, attending at the said Sessions, ten shillings for each day's attendance thereat, and four shillings for each league of the distance between the usual place of residence of such member, and the place at which the Sessions of the Provincial Parliament are held.