are fully alive to its importance, and you will, I am sure, receive favourably a measure which will probably be laid before you for giving effect to an undertaking of this character. The task is not, in all respects, easy. I am one of those who believe, that great works like Rail Roads are neither best constructed nor best managed in their details by the hands of a Government itself. The distribution of the patronage connected with them would always be difficult and generally invidious. I shall most readily concur with you in any measures which may encourage the application of Capital to such schemes. Whilst I rejoice to see the enterprise of the County of Charlotte likely to be rewarded by the progress of the Saint Andrews Railway, it will give me still greater pleasure to know that the fertile tracts of Sussex Vale and Westmorland, and the thriving City of Saint John, are by similar measures linked to Halifax on the one side, and to the great community on our Western border on the other. You may feel confident that Her Majesty's Government and the British People will hail such a step in our progress with unmixed pleasure and satisfaction.

"It adds to the value of this great undertaking that it would probably lead to further action in connecting the City of Quebec with the Capital of Nova Scotia, by the contemplated Great Trunk Railway,-a measure which I consider of the greatest importance, as linking together in one common interest the valuable appendages of the British Crown on this Continent.

"A Preliminary Survey, with reference to a Line of Railway between the Valleys of the Saint John and Saint Croix, to ascertain the practicability of the route, was ordered by the Government last Autumn, in order to afford you the best possible information on the subject, and a competent Engineer was employed for the purpose. His Reports will be laid before you, and I believe them to be as full as the lateness of the season at which they were undertaken would permit.

"The recent Acts for the encouragement of Agriculture have been found beneficial in their operation in various parts of the Province. I again recommend this most prominent subject of our Industry to your continued care and attention.

"Some further valuable information has been furnished me respecting our Fisheries, by the Commissioner appointed for this purpose, whose Report will be laid before you. It will be found useful in your deliberations on this very important branch of our

resources.

"In pursuance of the wishes expressed in previous Sessions of the Legislature, I have caused some works to be executed on the River Saint John. The object of improving our communications with Canada is one of very great importance to both Provinces, and I shall be prepared to follow up what has been already done, by exertions of the same kind.

Her Most Gracious Majesty has left to its operation the Act for the regulation of the Provincial Posts. It is proposed that the transfer of the Accounts to the Provincial Government should take place on the sixth of July next. Certain amendments, however, in the details of the Law, which I doubt not, you will carefully consider, will be pointed

out to you.

66

The pressure of business during the last Session prevented the final settlement of our system of Common Schools. No subject can be of greater moment to the Country. It is the instruction of the population which renders a free Government the best security for order and obedience to the Laws, and on such order and obedience all material prosperity and its value must ultimately rest.

"The present Law will shortly expire, and a measure will be introduced by which the people will be brought to act more immediately in the cause of Education.

"In pursuance of an authority from the Colonial Secretary, and a wish expressed by His Excellency the Governor General, I have this Autumn conferred with the latter on the long pending subject of our disputed Boundary with Canada. A Member of my Executive Council met me at Toronto and assisted in these conferences. Our object, and that of Her Majesty's Government, was so far attained, that in order to meet the

2

objections

objections raised by Canada, the matter is now placed in the hands of competent Arbitrators in England, who will shortly make a final Report to Her Majesty's Secretary of State. One Arbitrator was selected by the Executive of each Province, and the third is a Gentleman whose judicial decisions on great questions of International Law must command respect throughout the world, as Judge of the Admiralty Court of England. The correspondence relating to this matter will be laid before you.

"The question regarding the present mode of granting Supplies will no doubt occupy your attention. So long as the existing system continues, the Government cannot be held responsible for the first condition of all efficient action, that is to say-the correspondence of expenditure with income. It is peculiarly for your consideration, whether such a change should not be made as may cause this responsibility to fall in a manner more strictly in accordance with the usage of the Imperial Parliament.

"Such a change would involve the creation of local bodies of some kind, organized in such a manner as to give, mainly at least, to persons elected by the people themselves the distribution and control of Funds applicable to local purposes. The indirect results of such corporate action are quite as valuable as their immediate and direct

consequences.

"It seems probable that some alterations might be advantageously made in the procedure of the Courts of Law and Equity, which would render Justice easier of access and less expensive to the suitor. At the same time, the caution required in dealing with a subject which affects as this does, the rights of the people at large, makes it expedient that all such changes should be most carefully weighed. A proposition will be submitted to you for referring this most important matter to a Commission, who may consider the details and report fully thereon.

66

"The Acts for enabling the price of Lands purchased for actual settlement, and the money due on Crown Bonds, to be discharged by labour, are working well, and are leading to increased settlement of the Country and increased security on the part of occupiers. The Mineral discoveries in the Province seem to hold out prospects of a greater outlay of Capital in this branch of industry. It would be satisfactory to me if any measure could be devised which will place beyond a doubt the extent of the Mineral rights of the Crown, with reference to the interests of owners of the soil, so far especially as relates to all future Grants and Leases.

"Mr. Speaker, and Gentlemen of the House of Assembly,

"I shall direct the Accounts of Revenue and Expenditure to be laid before you at an early day.

You will be pleased to see that the state of our Finances continues to improve. All demands upon the Treasury have been promptly met. The seventh Instalment of the Loan negotiated in 1844, (now reduced to one half of the original amount borrowed) was paid the day on which it was due, and the remaining seven Annual Instalments are provided for without trenching upon the General Revenues of the Province, by the imposition of one per cent. on Imports, which expires simultaneously with the Loan Act.

"You may possibly see reason to doubt how far a Tariff of Duties on Imports professedly fluctuating from year to year is calculated to afford fixed conditions for the exertions of our own industry, or is likely to impart confidence to our Merchants and their correspondents.

"I trust that in all respects you will find the Public Moneys have not been expended except in conformity with the wishes of the Representatives of the People.

"Mr. President, and Honorable Gentlemen of the Legislative Council,

Mr. Speaker, and Gentlemen of the House of Assembly,

"I am desirous of calling your attention to a Communication from Her Majesty's Secretary of State for the Colonies of a most important character, which will be placed in your hands.

"I allude to a Despatch in answer to an Address of the House of Assembly presented to the Queen in the last Session with reference to the constitution of the Legislative Council in this Province.

"You will find in the language of Her Majesty's advisers in this Despatch strong evidence of a disposition to meet the wishes of Her Majesty's Subjects on such Constitutional questions.

"I doubt not that any steps taken by you in this matter will bear the stamp of calm deliberation, and will be characterized by an adherence to the true spirit of the British Constitution. This spirit is adverse to all hasty and ill-considered change, whilst it is capable of modifying the letter of constitutional forms, so as to meet the sober wishes of the People, and thus adapt our Institutions to the wants of Society, without unnecessarily invading existing rights.

66

These are all weighty matters, which I place with confidence in your hands, and thus leave you to your deliberations."

Mr. Thomson then proposed the Address to His Excellency the Lieutenant Governor, in answer to the Speech, which he read in his place, and the same having been seconded, it was handed in to the Chair, where it was again read, and is as follows:

To His Excellency SIR EDMUND WALKER HEAD, Baronet, Lieutenant Governor and Commander in Chief of the Province of New Brunswick, &c. &c. &c.

MAY IT PLEASE YOUR EXCELLENCY,

1! We, Your Majesty's Faithful and Loyal Subjects, the Representatives of the People of New Brunswick, offer our thanks to Your Excellency for the Speech addressed to us at the opening of the Session.

2. We receive with pleasure Your Excellency's announcement of the birth of another Prince, while we deeply regret the decease of His Royal Highness the Duke of Cambridge.

3. The abundant Harvest with which a kind Providence has crowned the labours of the last Season-the improvements perceptible in the various branches of our Commerce and the present state of the Treasury, we regard as subjects of congratulation, affording the strongest evidence of an advance in the general prosperity of the Province. We trust, with Your Excellency, that the experience of the past will so regulate the engagements of those who embark in our principal Exports, as to prevent the recurrence of those occasional revulsions which have disturbed the Commercial affairs of the Province, and we feel an honest pride in assuring Your Excellency that we have the most unbounded reliance in the energy and enterprise of the people we represent, and that they will avail themselves with avidity of any channels for the developing of the great natural resources of the Country, which it may be in the power of the Legislature to open to them.

4. We cordially agree in the sentiments expressed by Your Excellency as to the permanent value to be attached to the construction of Railways in the Province, and we do not hesitate to give our strongest pledges to Your Excellency, that any measure, compatible with our means to expedite and advance their introduction and completion, will be most favourably received by us.

5. Whether undertakings of this nature are likely to be more successfully conducted under the immediate management of the Government than through the medium of private companies, is a subject which has elicited a great, diversity of opinion; but we are inclined to coincide with the views expressed by Your Excellency, that the details of such great works may be left, with greater safety to the public, in other hands than those of the Government.

6. While we cannot but look with the deepest interest to the success which we hope will attend the unwearied enterprise and perseverance evinced in the commencement and progress of the Saint Andrews Railway, we are sincerely gratified by the assurance of

Your

Your Excellency's confidence, that Her Majesty's Government and the British people will hail with unmixed pleasure and satisfaction the great project which has not only entirely arrested the attention of Her Majesty's Subjects in this and the adjoining Provinces, but has secured the hearty co-operation of the most prominent men of all parties in the great Nation on our Western Borders.

7. It is not for us now to detail the vast results to the prosperity of the Province which must ensue on the construction of the European and North American Railway, but we do not hesitate to pledge ourselves to the exertion of our best energies, and the granting of every facility within our utmost power to advance this great undertaking. Nor are we insensible to the fact, that among the many consequences which may naturally flow from the commencement of this work, it is reasonable to suppose that a great impetus would be given to the national project for connecting Halifax and the Province of Canada by the Great Trunk Railway. In connection with this subject, which deeply interests every portion of the Province, we are gratified to find that a preliminary Survey has been made of the Line of Railway between the Valleys of the Saint John and the Saint Croix. The Report which Your Excellency promises to lay before us, will be of no little value in guiding our deliberations in discussing the merits of the several routes proposed.

8. The beneficial results which have attended the recent Legislation for the encouragement of Agriculture, and the warm interest now exhibited in the Counties to advance that prominent branch of industry, cannot fail to stimulate us to renewed exertions on behalf of that ennobling pursuit.

9. We continue to feel the deepest interest in the prosperity of our Fisheries, and shall receive with great interest the information which has been communicated to Your Excellency by the Commissioner appointed to collect statistics on this most valuable branch of our resources.

10. We have every reason to believe that among the Public Works which have engaged our attention, the improvement of the Navigation of the upper Saint John is only second in importance to the construction of the Trunk Railways through the Province, and we hope that continuous efforts will be made to complete the works undertaken for that purpose.

11. The most careful consideration shall be directed to any amendments which may be necessary to perfect the details of the Law for the regulation of the Provincial Posts, and we are pleased to find that arrangements for the transfer of the Department to the Provincial controul will be soon completed by the authorities in England.

12. Entertaining as we do, a thorough conviction that the instruction of our People is the only effectual guarantee for the proper working of a Free Government,-to no subject shall we afford a greater degree of attention, than to the consideration of any measure which may be introduced to improve the Educational system now in operation in this Province.

13. We learn with satisfaction that the Conference held by Your Excellency and the Governor General, in relation to the disputed Boundary Line with Canada, has resulted in a reference to arbitration, (under the sanction of Her Majesty's Government,) of the conflicting claims of the two Provinces, and we now look forward to a speedy and satisfactory termination of the long pending dispute.

14. The mode which is still pursued in the granting Supplies, will no doubt at this, as at many other Sessions, be the subject of grave and important discussion. The present system has been frequently pointed at as defective, and as this subject is one which, as Your Excellency remarks, is peculiarly for our consideration, we trust that we shall arrive at such conclusions as shall be conducive to the Public good, and to the securing of a due responsibility in administering the Finances of the Province. Intimately connected with any change which may be made in this respect, will be found the establishment of Municipal Bodies to controul and distribute the funds for local objects and other purposes of self government, and we hope that a measure may be introduced for the establishment of such bodies in all localities where they may be demanded by the People.

15

15. We have the strongest reasons for believing that alterations might be made in the procedure of the Courts of Law and Equity, which would be a relief to the Suitor; and we shall look with great interest to the proposal to be submitted to us for effecting this desirable object.

16. It is to us a subject of great gratification, to find that the Enactments providing for the application of the proceeds of our Public Lands to the construction of Roads, and other facilities of settlement of the Country, have worked well, and afford efficient aid to the industrious Settler in his arduous task of improving Wilderness Lands.

17. The interference of the Legislature, it would seem, is called for, to set at rest, (in any future Grants of Land to be made by the Queen,) the intricate questions which have arisen as to the respective rights of the Crown and the Grantees of the soil to the Mines and Minerals, which promise to become a source of great wealth to the Country. We trust that a measure declaratory of these rights may be introduced.

18. We shall thankfully receive the Returns of the Provincial Revenue, and we deem it a matter of further congratulation to find that the state of our Finances continue to improve, and that the Public Credit has been maintained, notwithstanding the changes which have been in progress in the Commercial Policy of the Home Government.

19. We find with no small satisfaction, that the instalments of the Loan of 1844 continue to be promptly met, and that the provisions of the Act by which the Loan was obtained, afford ample security for its repayment, without trenching upon the General Revenue of the Province.

20. We feel the force of the suggestion of Your Excellency in respect to the Annual Revenue Bills, which it has been the practice to pass in this Province, and shall give them every consideration when we approach that important subject.

21. We shall look with anxiety for the promised answer to the Address of the House to Her Gracious Majesty, with reference to the construction of the Legislative Council, and we assure Your Excellency that in considering so grave a measure as the proposed alteration in the Constitution of the Province, we shall be guided by that calm deliberation which will prevent the adoption of any hasty or ill considered change.

Mr. Ritchie then moved the following Resolution:

Resolved, That this House does not deem it proper to proceed at present to the consideration of His Excellency's Speech, or the important matters therein referred to; it being the deliberate opinion of this House, that the present Constitutional Advisers of His Excellency do not possess the confidence of this House, or the Country at large.

Mr. Ritchie having addressed the Chair in support of the Resolution

Ordered, That the further Debate thereon be adjourned over until to-morrow.

On motion of Mr. Barberie,

Resolved, That a Standing Committee be appointed to whom may be referred all matters which may arise that will in any way affect the privileges of the House.

Ordered, That Mr. Barberie, Mr. Hayward, Mr. Johnson, Mr. Ritchie, Mr. M'Leod, Mr. Thomson, Mr. Tilley, Mr. Gordon, and Mr. Hanington, do compose the said Committee.

On motion of Mr. Earle,

Resolved, That the Reverend William Q. Ketchum, A. B., be the Chaplain to this House.

To which Mr. Needham moved as an amendment-To expunge all after the word "Resolved," and substitute as follows:

"That the Ministers of the different Religious Denominations in this City, be requested to act in turn as Chaplain to this House, gratis."