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This fituation of things pleafed us extremely. We enjoyed the exercife of our religion in as free and ample a manner as we had done in the time of the French government: and we had the additional advantage of rewarding our priefis in the manner we thought proper, and in proportion to the merit of their behaviour towards us in the discharge of their parochial duties. You cannot surely think that the enjoyment of fuch a power over our pricfts as this was could be difagreeable to us. Whoever does think fo is moft egregiously mistaken. But now your parliament (though, we are told, it confifts only of proteftant members,) has deprived us of this power, and forced us to pay our tythes to our prisfts (whether we are pleafed with them or not,) to the uttermoft farthing. And, however ill they may behave amongst us,though they fhould be the most vicious fellows in their parishes, wholly given up to drunkenness and lewdness, debauching our wives and daughters, and neglecting the most important duties of their office, and behaving to us with the utmost contempt and infolence *;-yet, when once it has pleafed the bishop to appoint them to be our parish priests, we muft, for the future pay them their tythes and other dues in the fame manner as if their conduct had intitled them to our entire approbation. Now this is a duty imposed on us by the late act, which we fhall certainly perform in these cafes with great reluctance. In fhort, as the former claufe, which revives the French laws, feems calculated to bring us again under fervitude to our nobleffe; so this other claufe, which revives the 1 gal obligation of paying the priests their tythes, feems calculated to bring us under fubjection to our priefis: and neither of thefe changes in our late eafy and happy condition is confidered by us as an advantage. Our nobleffe, (thofe hungry cormorants, who are too proud to cultivate their lands, as we do, or to follow any useful trade for their fubfiftence, and too poor to live upon their fortunes,) may naturally enough rejoice at the late act, as it opens to them a profpect of getting lucrative places under the government: and our parish pricts may like it for a fimilar reafon. But we, the poor people, who are to be forced to pay the priests their tythes, and to furnish the taxes out of which the large falaries of the great number of lucrative offices, that, we hear, are foon to be bestowed on fome of our nobleffe, are to arife, (for we cannot fuppofe that Great Britain will long continue to bear all thefe unneceffary burthens on her revenue,) muft take the liberty of difliking it, and confidering it as a jutt fubject of complaint. And even the very giving thefe places to our nobleffe, (if they are to be places of any trust and power, and not mere finecure places by way of dilguife for penfions,} is an alarming event to us poor Canadians, independently of the taxes which, we fear, will be laid on us to provide the falaries of them; becaufe it will again furnish them with the means of

Our author takes too much as granted here. Canadian clergy are, we hope, at least as immaculate in these refpects as the clergy of other countries.

oppreff

oppreffing and infulting us, as they did in the time of the French government;a treatment we fhall be little able to bear now after the mild and impartial adminiftration of justice and moderate ufe of power which we have experienced from the English magiftrates, by whom we have been governed for thefe laft fifteen years. If these therefore are the favours of the British par-, liament, we hope they will for the future be very fparing of their acts of indulgence to us. I believe you will agree with me that thofe fentiments are not ill-founded.'

The fentiments which the Frenchman is here made to exprefs, he afterwards declares to be the fentiments of all the Canadians, except the very few perfons who reap an immediate, benefit from the act, about two hundred, or at moft three hundred, in the whole province. Thus then thought the Canadians of the act in queftion, if this author deferve credit, in July 1775, what they at prefent think of it does not appear from our author. Were we to inform our readers, it would not be to criticize the book before us, but to write another book.

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The intention of paffing this act we are confidently told was to please and humour the Canadians, and thereby dispose them to become active inftruments in the hands of the crown to aflift in the conqueft of the other rebellious colonies. Indeed there is no other way, fays the fpeaker, of accounting for the parliament's paffing an act of fo uncommon a nature, and fo contrary to the most fundamental maxims of the British government.'

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This may not perhaps ftriatly be the truth.-To fuch an act the Canadians appear to have had a manifeft right. By the 27th article of the capitulation between general Amherst and the marquis de Vandreuil it is ftipulated, that the free exercife of the Roman religion fhall fubfift intire,' &c. By the fecond article of the definitive treaty of Paris, his Britannic, majefty agrees to grant to the inhabitants of Canada the liberty of the Catholic religion. The act feems rather to have been paffed with a view to the honour and the faith of the nation, than to the pleasure or the humour of the Canadians. As to the tythes, general Amherft properly faid that they would depend on the king's pleafure;' and it has been properly faid in a book*, which fpeaks at large of this act, that the king's pleasure can be declared only there, where by this act it was declared-in parliament.

We are by no means fatisfied with the manner in which our author accounts for the refufal of the Canadians to join with

* Remarks on the principal Acts of the 13th Parliament of Great Britain,

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the English inhabitants of the province in petitioning for a continuance of the English laws. It appears more fpecious than probable.

To argue of the effects which this act would have on the Canadians and the Americans in general from the fuccefs which the rebel army afterwards found in Canada, is to do just what this author has done-to antedate a dialogue two years and a quarter; and to make the fpeakers, by virtue of the fecond fight, acquainted with every thing which happened fince; and to argue accordingly:

With other defigns of miniftry in paffing this act, our author appears to be perfectly acquainted, becaufe the famous Dr. Benjamin Franklyn declared it to be his opinion, that miniftry entertained fuch defigns.' Here is more fecond fight.

The pretenfion of America, that parliament has no right to tax her, feems, it is well faid, favourable to liberty, but prejudicial to the unity of the British empire. For, if there is no common legiflature whofe power extends over all the dominions of the crown of Great Britain, thofe dominions cannot properly be faid to make one state, or great political community, but are rather an affemblage of feveral feparate ftates under the fame king, or executive magistrate. This muft produce a variety of counfels in the feveral parts of the Britifn empire, which must tend very much to leffen the weight and influence they would have if they acted under one fupream le giflative head.'

The diftinction which our author makes between the impo fition of taxes for general purposes, and for provincial purpofes, may be found to have its ufe. The former fhould, perhaps, be raifed only by the American affemblies.

To the old idea of American reprefentation, which our author has again brought forward, we cannot fo readily subscribe; notwithstanding his two fpeakers feem to have fettled the matter fo completely. The argument in their hands appears liable to the fame ridicule to which the witty writer they mention, Mr. Burke, found it open. But let us hear their own words.

I am entirely of your opinion, that the other objections abovementioned to this meafure of an American representation might be removed by fome fuch eafy precautions as thofe you above propofed, which I intirely approve. Indeed I am so much pleafed with your notion, of chufing the Americans every year on a given day without the formality of the king's writ, that I could with it were adopted in Great Britain itself, where it could be attended, in my opinion, with none but the most fa→ lutary confequences. But that is an improvement of the conftitution of that country which for reafons too long to be entered into at prefent, there is not the leaft ground to hope for. But

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thofe reafons do not relate to America, or at leaft, not fo ftrongly as to Great-Britain and therefore I fhould imagine a provifion of this kind might be readily adopted with respect to the Ame rican colonies, fuppofing this measure of an American reprefentation was ever to be inferiously undertaken. And, if it were adopted, I should fuppofe that fome day in the middle of fummer, (as for example, Midfammer-day itself, that is, the twentyfourth of June, or the firft of July, or the first of August,) would be the most proper for these American elections; because that is the feafon of the year during which the English parliament is almost always in a fate of fufpenfion and recefs from publick bufinefs, which feldom begins before the middle of November, and often not till toward the end of January. Now, if the American members were to be elected on the twenty-fourth day of June, or the firft of July, in every year, or even fo late as the firft of Auguft, it is morally certain that they themselves, if they were in America at the time of their election, or, if they were then in England, their commiffions to be the representatives of the colonies that had chofen them, or the inftruments (wherever might be the form of them,) whereby their elections to parliament would be authentically notified, might always be in England before the firft of November, or rather of the October following, And to guard against the accidents to which voyages by fea are always liable, there might be two or three original draughts of the faid commiffions, or inftruments, all executed in the fame manner, and confequently of equal authenticity, fent over to England at the fame time by different fhips, fo that, if one or two of them were loft at fea, or taken by an enemy, yet another might ftill arrive in England in due time of fufficient validity to authorize the perfon mentioned in it to take his feat in parliament. As for the members themfelves, they would probably for the moft part be refident in England, at leaft after the first election to the office, (as the agents for the American colonies have ufually been,) and if they gave fatisfaction to their conflituents, would be chofen over and over again by their respective colonies in their abfence. And thus the dreadful danger of the French privateer that might intercept a whole fleet of thefe reprefentatives, in their paffage. to England, which was painted in fuch lively colours by this witty writer, would be avoided.'

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If there would be a neceffity to fend over two or three original draughts of the, faid commiffions or infruments,' there muft be the fame neceflity for fending over duplicates of the members of parliament, that if one or two of them were loft at fea, or taken by an enemy, yet another might fill arrive in England in due time.' Unlefs, like the extravagant tar, who took up three poft-chaifes for himself and his hat and his stick, every member should fend his boots in a pair of veffels, and come himself in a third; and it were determined that A a 4

the

the boot of every American member of parliament should be of as much authority as Charles the XIIth threatened to make his boot. However, if our author's ideas on this head be erroneous, they are at least delivered in an entertaining

manner,

From the remarks on the Bofton charter a, which are difpofed, here and there, in the dialogue, a reader will derive, if not conviction, at leaft, information. The writer's opinion of the general fentiments of America, is, perhaps, as just as the opinion of an individual can ever be, which, with all paffible information, can never be precifely juft.

What he fays particularly about the province of Quebec feems to be proper, and to merit the attention of parliament.

The first of these fubjects, the lucrative employments under the government, which are enjoyed by perfons refident in England, and executed by deputies, has occafioned frequent complaints in this very province, and particularly amongst the Canadians. How often have you heard your countrymen complain of the frais de justice, et du bureau du fecrétaire de la province, and perhaps yourfelf joined with them in making these complaints? Now thefe are, in part the effects of the manner in which the offices of provoft-mar fhal and fecretary of this province has been granted. In the year 1763, when a refolution was taken by the English minifters of ftate, to eftablish a civil government in this province of Quebec, by granting general Murray, (who at that time commanded in it, as the fenior military officer on the spot,) a commiffion to be civil governour of it; but before fuch commiffion was received, or had even been paffed, and confequently before any courts of justice, or other offices of civil government, were erected there by virtue of it; his Majefty was pleafed to grant a commiflion under the great feal of Great-Britain to an English gentleman of good eftate in the county of Suffex, of the name of Nicholas Turner, (who had not the leaft intention of coming over to Canada,) to be provoll-marfhal of the province of Canada; for fo this province is improperly called in this commiflion, though in the great commiffion, of captain general and governour in chief granted to general Murray, and likewife in the famous royal proclamation of Cctober, 1763, (in which the king declared his intention of erecting a civil government in this province,) it is called the province of Quebec. This commiffion was dated on the 23d of September, 1763; which was before the dates both of the faid "commiffion of governour granted to Gen. Murray, and of the faid royal proclamation. It was granted to this Mr. Turner for his life, with a power to execute it by one, or more, fufficient deputies, who fhould be refident in the province, and for whofe faithful difcharge of their duty he was to be answerable; and with fuch fees, profits, and advantages as were enjoyed by any other provoft-marfhal on the whole conti

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