Document Information

Date: 1866-06-11
By: Province of Canada (Parliament)
Citation: Province of Canada, Legislative Assembly, Journals of the Legislative Assembly of the Province of Canada, 8th Parl, 5th Sess, 1865 at 11-16.
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1. That an humble Address be presented to His Excellency the Governor General, to thank His Excellency for His Gracious Speech at the opening of the present Session of the Provincial Parliament, and further to assure His Excellency that we are grateful to His Excellency for the expression of his desire to avail himself of our advice in carrying on the Government, and his hope that we shall find in the magnificent buildings erected in the City chosen by Her Majesty as the Seat of Government, increased facilities for the despatch of public business, while they will prove adequate to the great future of this country.

2. That we learn with satisfaction that immediately after the termination of the last Session of Parliament, His Excellency convened, by instructions from the Secretary of State for the Colonies, a Council of Trade, including representatives from the different Provinces of British North America; and that we thank His Excellency for having directed the proceedings of this body ta be laid before us.

3. That we shall consider, with the attention their importance deserves, the papers relating to the termination of the Reciprocity Treaty with the United States of America, and to the negotiations on the subject of our commercial relations with that Country, whenever His Excellency shall cause them to be laid before us.

4. That we share with His Excellency the conviction that it has now become still more imperative to open, by an extension of the trade of the country with other nations, new markets for the varied products of our industry.

5. That we learn with much interest, that in consequence of the notice for the termination of the Reciprocity Treaty, His Excellency deemed it needful, with the assent and approbation of Her Majesty’s Government, to send a Deputation representing the Colonies of British North America, during the winter, to the West Indies and Brazil, to ascertain the best means of developing and extending commercial relations with those Countries. And that we thank His Excellency for the assurance, that so soon as the Delegation, who have but recently returned from their mission, shall have presented their Report, it will be communicated to us.

6. That we are fully convinced of the wisdom of the course pursued by His Excellency, in view of the threats and preparations for attack on Canada constantly and openly made by a body organized in the United States of America, and known as “Fenians,” in calling out for active service a large portion of the Volunteer Militia Force of the Province.

7. That we are proud to learn that the spirit displayed by the people, and that their ready response to His Excellency’s proclamation, have received the well merited approval of Her Majesty’s Government.

8. That we agree with His Excellency that the events which have occurred within the last few days afford additional proofs of the necessity for the precautionary measures adopted.

9. That we heartily unite with His Excellency in congratulating the country that the Province having been invaded by a lawless band of Marauders, they were promptly confronted, and within twenty-four hours compelled to make a precipitate retreat.

10. That, with His Excellency, we deplore the loss of life and the sufferings which have been entailed upon the gallant body of the Canadian Volunteers, in the engagement which took place, in repelling so promptly the invaders who had attacked the country; and His Excellency may rest assured that we shall not omit to alleviate, as far as may be in our power, the miseries se wantonly inflicted on many families. But that while we grieve with His Excellency for their individual loss, we proudly con-cur with him in congratulating the country that the first note of danger has shewn that Canada possesses in her Volunteers a body of men ready to peril their lives in defence of their Queen and Country.

11. That we agree with His Excellency in believing that the entire people have been thoroughly aroused by recent occurrences; and that it must now be apparent to ail that the whole resources of the country, both in men and means, will at any moment be cheerfully given in repelling any invasion of their homes.

12. That it affords us great pleasure to learn that, in the measures of defence which His Excellency bas been called upon to take, he has received the unremitting support of the Lieutenant General Commanding, and of Admiral Sir James Hope; and that we desire, with His Excellency, to acknowledge, with unfeigned pleasure, the gallant devotion displayed by the officers and men of Her Majesty’s Military and Naval forces in Canada.

13. That we learn with great satisfaction that the President of the United States has issued a Proclamation, declaring that serious infractions of the laws of that country have been and are being committed by evil-disposed persons within the territory and jurisdiction of the United States, against the British possessions in North America, and requiring all Officers of his Government to exert every effort for their repression; and that we trust, with His Excellency, that the course thus adopted will, ere long, prevent this country from being subjected to further attacks from the Citizens of a Nation on terms of amity with Great Britain.

14. That we are aware that the maintenance of the Force on active duty, which the Government has been compelled to call out, must have involved an expenditure to a large amount which was not provided for by the votes of last Session.

15. That we humbly thank His Excellency for the promise that the accounts of this expenditure will be specially laid before us; and that we shall readily consider any measure submitted to us for indemnifying the Government for this unavoidable departure from the provisions of the Audit Act.

16. That we concur with His Excellency in the opinion that recent occurrences shew the necessity of extending to Lower Canada the Act chapter ninety-eight of the Consolidated Statutes for Upper Canada, to protect the inhabitants of that section of the Province against lawless aggression from subjects of Foreign Countries at peace with Her Majesty; and that it has also become necessary, for the preservation of law and order, to adopt a course similar to that taken in the present Session of the Imperial Parliament, for the temporary suspension of the Writ of Habeas Corpus; and that we have given effect to the suggestion of His Excellency, by passing unanimously the measures submitted to us for these purposes.

17. That we are gratified to learn that His Excellency has fixed, by Proclamation, the first day of August next as the time at which the Civil Code of Lower Canada, passed in the last Session Parliament, shall come into operation.

18. That we shall not fail to give our early attention to the Code of Civil Procedure of Lower Canada, as reported by the Commissioners, whenever His Excellency shall be pleased to submit it for our adoption.

19. That we thank His Excellency for the assurance that the Financial Accounts for the current year, and the Estimates of Expenditure for the next year, shall be laid before us.

20. That we receive with pleasure His Excellency’s congratulations upon the very satisfactory results of the Commerce of the Country during the past year; and that we rejoice to know that the revenue has been so largely in excess of the Estimates as to enable His Excellency, without inconvenience, to provide for the heavy and unexpected charges entailed upon the Country.

21. That we hail with satisfaction the announcement, by His Excellency, that the position which the great question of the Union of the Provinces of British North America has assumed, is now such as to induce the expectation that the measure will be shortly carried into effect; that we hope and believe, with His Excellency, that it will be found practicable during the present session to adopt such proceedings as may be necessary for completing the details of the scheme as regards this Province; and that we unite with His Excellency in the confident expectation that the next Parliament which will be held within these walls will not be confined to an Assembly of the Representatives of Canada; but will embrace those of all the Colonies of British North America.

22. That we thankfully receive His Excellency’s con-gratulations on the general prosperity which pervades all classes of the community in the Province; and that we humbly join His Excellency in the prayer that our councils may be guided by Divine Providence to secure that which is the true end of all government, the moral and material advancement of the great body of the people.

[…]

MAY IT PLEASE YOUR EXCELLENCY:

We, Her Majesty’s dutiful and loyal subjects, the Com-mons of Canada, in Provincial Parliament assembled, humbly thank Your Excellency for Your Gracious Speech at the opening of the present Session of the Provincial Parliament.

We are grateful to Your Excellency for the expression of your desire to avail yourself of our advice in carrying on the Government, and of your hope that we shall find, in the magnificent Buildings erected in the City chosen by Her Majesty as the Seat of Government, increased facilities for the despatch of public business, while they will prove adequate to the great future of this country.

We learn with satisfaction that, immediately after the termination of the last Session of Parliament, Your Excellency convened, by instructions from the Secretary of State for the Colonies, a Council of Trade, including representatives from the different Provinces of British North America; and we thank Your Excellency for hav-ing directed the proceedings of this body to be laid before us.

We shall consider, with the attention their importance deserves, the papers relating to the termination of the Reciprocity Treaty with the United States of America, and to the negociations on the subject of our Commercial relations with that country, whenever Your Excellency shall cause them to be laid before us.

We share with Your Excellency the conviction that it has now become still more imperative to open, by an extension of the trade of the Country with other Nations, new markets for the varied products of our industry.

We learn with much interest that, in consequence of the notice for the termination of the Reciprocity Treaty, Your Excellency deemed it needful, with the assent and approbation of Her Majesty’s Government, to send a deputation, representing the Colonies of British North America, during the winter, to the West Indies and Brazil, to ascertain the best means of developing and extending commercial relations with those countries; and we thank Your Excellency for the assurance that, so soon as the Delegation, who have but recently returned from their mission, shall have presented their Report, it will be communicated to us.

We are fully convinced of the wisdom of the course pursued by Your Excellency, in view of the threats and preparations for attack on Canada, constantly and openly made by a body organized in the United States of America, and known as “Fenians,” in calling out for active service, a large portion of the Volunteer Militia Force of the Province.

We are proud to learn that the spirit displayed by the people, and their ready response to Your Excellency’s Proclamation, have received the well-merited approval of Her Majesty’s Government.

We agree with Your Excellency, that the events which have occurred within the last few days, afford additional proofs of the necessity for the precautionary measures adopted.

We heartily unite with Your Excellency in congratulating the country, that the Province having been invaded by a lawless band of marauders, they were promptly con-fronted, and within twenty-four hours compelled to make a precipitate retreat.

With Your Excellency, we deplore the loss of life and the sufferings which have been entailed upon the gallant body of the Canadian Volunteers in the engagement which took place, in repelling so promptly the invaders who had attacked the country; and Your Excellency may rest assured that we shall not omit to alleviate, as far as may be in our power the miseries so wantonly inflicted on many families. But that while we grieve with Your Excellency for their individual loss, we proudly concur with Your Excellency in congratulating the country that the first note of danger has shewn that Canada possesses in her Volunteers a body of men ready to peril their lives in defence of their Queen and Country.

We agree with Your Excellency in believing that the entire people have been thoroughly aroused by recent occurrences; and that it must now be apparent to all that the whole resources of the country, both in men and means, will at any moment be cheerfully given in repel-ling any invasion of their homes.

It affords us great pleasure to learn that, in the measures of defence which Your Excellency has been called upon to take, Your Excellency has received the unremitting support of the Lieutenant-General Commanding, and of Admiral Sir James Hope; and we desire, with Your Excellency, to acknowledge with unfeigned pleasure the gallant devotion displayed by the Officers and Men of Her Majesty’s Military and Naval forces in Canada.

We learn with great satisfaction that the President of the United States has issued a Proclamation declaring that serious infractions of the laws of that country have been and are being committed, by evil disposed persons, with-in the territory and jurisdiction of the United States, against the British possessions in Nord America, and requiring all Officers of hi Government to exert every effort for their repression; and we trust, with Your Excellency, that the course thus adopted will, ere long, pre-vent this country from being subjected to further attacks from the Citizens of a nation on terms of amity with Great Britain.

We are aware that the maintenance of the force on active duty, which the Government has been compelled to call out, must have involved an expenditure to a, large amount, which was not provided for by the votes of last session.

We humbly thank Your Excellency for the promise that the accounts of this expenditure will be specially laid before us; and we shall readily consider any measure submitted to us for indemnifying the Government for this unavoidable departure from the provisions of the Audit Act.

We concur with Your Excellency in the opinion that recent occurrences shew the necessity of extending to Lower Canada the Act Chapter ninety-eight of the Consolidated Statutes for Upper Canada, to protect the inhabitants of that section of the Province against lawless aggression from subjects of Foreign Countries at peace with Her Majesty; and that it has also become necessary, for the preservation of law and order, to adopt a course similar to that taken in the present session of the Imperial Parliament, for the temporary suspension of the Writ of Habeas Corpus. And that we have given effect to the suggestion of Your Excellency, by passing unanimously the measures submitted to us for these purposes.

We are gratified to learn that Your Excellency has fixed, by Proclamation, the first day of August next, as the time at which the Civil Code of Lower Canada, passed in the last Session of Parliament, shall come into operation.

We shall not fail to give our early attention to the Code of Civil Procedure of Lower Canada, as reported by the Commissioners, whenever Your Excellency shall be pleased to submit it for our adoption.

We thank Your Excellency for the assurance that the Financial Accounts for the current year, and the Estimates of Expenditure for the next year, shall be laid be-fore us.

We receive with pleasure Your Excellency’s congratulations upon the very satisfactory results of the commerce of the country during the past year; and we rejoice to know that the revenue has been so largely in excess of the estimates as to enable Your Excellency, without in-convenience, to provide for the heavy and unexpected charges entailed upon the country.

We hail with satisfaction the announcement, by Your Excellency, that the position which the great question of the Union of the Provinces of British North America has assumed, is now such as to induce the expectation that the measure will be shortly carried into effect. We hope and believe, with Your Excellency, that it will be found practicable, during the present Session, to adopt such proceedings as may be necessary for completing the de-tails of the scheme as regards this Province; and we unite with Your Excellency in the confident expectation that the next Parliament which will be held within these walls, will not be confined to an assembly of the representatives of Canada, but will embrace those of all the Colonies of British North America.

We thankfully receive Your Excellency’s congratulations on the general prosperity which pervades all classes of the community in the Province; and we humbly join Your Excellency in the prayer, that our councils may be guided by Divine Providence to secure that which is the true end of all government, the moral and material advancement of the great body of the people.