HC Deb 28 April 1837 vol 38 cc358-9

On the motion for bringing up the Report of the Resolutions with respect to Canada,

Mr. Grote

stated that his own Opinion with respect to these resolutions remained unaltered, and he therefore continued to regret the decision to which the House had come; he should hot, however, have troubled the House at all upon that occasion but for the unavoidable absence of his hon. and learned Friend (Mr. Roebuck), the Member for Bath, who was confined to his house by very severe indisposition. It was the intention of that hon. and learned Gentleman, if it had been possible for him to be present in the House, to have moved certain resolutions by way of amendment to those adopted by the Committee, for the purpose of recording his views upon the subject on the Journals of the House. He (Mr. Grote) held the resolutions framed by the hon. and learned Gentleman in his hand, and, without further comment begged to move them as an amendment upon the resolutions before the House.

Mr. Hume

reiterated his protest against the resolutions of the noble Lord as unjust and tyrannical, and calculated to do a great deal of harm, by exciting the feelings of the colonists still more strongly against this country, instead of allaying their present well-founded discontent. He was confident that a time would come when the people of this country would look back upon the proceedings of the Government and the House of the present day with the same feelings of abhorrence that they now did to the proceedings which were adopted against our North American colonies in 1774 and 1775.

Mr. Robinson

begged to remind the hon. Member for Middlesex, who undertook to speak so authoritatively the opinions of the Canadians, that the sentiments both of himself and the hon. and learned Member for Bath bad been expressly repudiated by the Assembly of the Upper Province in Canada, and that that Assembly had disclaimed any connexion or communion with either of them.

Mr. Cresset Pelham

was afraid that in generally assenting to the resolutions of the noble Lord he was, as a Member of the Lower House of Parliament, doing that which he should conceive the Crown had it in its power to do without the sanction of that House.

Amendment negatived. The Report agreed to.

It was ordered that the resolutions be communicated to the House of Lords in a conference.