our preceding volume, that last year an important measure was determined on, which will, we trust, have the effect of putting an end to the disturbances in that district. "Minute of His Excellency the Governor to the Legislative Council, respecting Port Natal. "I cheerfully avail myself of this early opportunity, after the very recent receipt of the decision of Her Majesty's Government upon the subject of the Port Natal territory, of communicating to you the substance of the instructions with which I have been honoured, and of the measures I shall imme diately adopt for giving them effect. And it will, I am persuaded, be no less gratifying to your feelings than it has been to my own, to learn that the Right Honourable the Secretary of State for the Colonies has communicated to me his entire approval, looking to all the circumstances in which he was placed, of the course pursued by Lieut.-Colonel Cloete; of his having restrained the Zoolas from falling upon the emigrant farmers, even previous to their submission; of his having extended a general amnesty, with four exceptions only, upon their submission; and of the favourable terms which he conceded to them provisionally, upon their faithful execution of the conditions to which they had agreed.' "His Lordship trusts 'that the leniency thus displayed on the part of Her Majesty has not been thrown away upon these heretofore misguided men, and that Lieut.Colonel Cloete is not too sanguine in expressing his belief that the mass of the population are prepared, and gratefully disposed, to turn their former hatred of our Government into steady fidelity.' "Of the various courses which might have been effectually pursued for maintaining the supremacy of the British Crown thus established, her Majesty's Government has not, under the professions of allegiance made by the farmers, deemed it either expedient or necessary to coerce them, by military force, to abandon Natal and return to the colony; or to leave them to conduct their own affairs, without affording them efficient protection. Her Majesty has, therefore, decided upon taking them under the protection of the British Crown; of recognising their district, of adopting it as a British colony, and of establishing such institutions, under British authority, as Her Majesty may deem necessary. "Having thus announced to you Her Majesty's gracious intentions, I feel it my duty, at the same time, to inform you, that nothing would have induced Her Majesty's advisers to admit the independence of the emigrants, and to disclaim all responsibility respecting them; or to permit them to come under the protection or dominion of any foreign power. "Having, in my communications to Her Majesty's Government, adverted to the several arguments which present themselves against the incorporation of Port Natal with the Government of this colony, I am enabled to state, that Her Majesty's Government are disposed to admit the validity of those arguments, and to consider, therefore, the best means by which due provision may be made for establishing at Port Natal a Colonial Government, distinct from, if not independent of, the Government of the colony of the Cape of Good Hope. This, however, is a measure which could not be carried into complete effect without the promulgation of various instruments which Her Majesty's Government have not as yet had either the necessary time or information to complete, and the structure of which Her Majesty's Government reserve for further consideration. "In order the better to carry into effect the objects of Her Majesty's Government, in reference to the territory in question, I am directed to despatch a commissioner to Port Natal, who, in the first place, will communicate formally to the emigrants, that Her Majesty has been graciously pleased to approve and confirm the act of general amnesty as granted by Lieut.-Colonel Cloete, acting under my authority, with respect to the several persons concerned in the late revolt and attack upon Her Majesty's troops. "2ndly. That the inhabitants of Natal shall henceforth, so long as they shall conduct themselves orderly and peaceably, be taken under the protection of Her Majesty's Government. "3rdly. That the commissioner shall make it his first duty to inquire into and report upon the number of farmers and others holding land within the district of Natal, and of the extent of it, which they, or those from whom they derive their claim, shall respectively have bona fide occupied for a period of twelve months previous to the arrival of the commissioner, with a view to their receiving hereafter grants from the Crown for such an area thereof as Her Majesty may determine, subject to such fine or quit-rent as Her Majesty may see fit to impose. In the mean time, they will be protected in the enjoyment of all such lands as they may be found by the commissioner to claim and hold. The commissioner's report upon their claims will be transmitted for the consideration of Her Majesty's Government, with the least possible delay, but no grants or sales of lands in the Natal district can be made to any person pending the signification of Her Majesty's pleasure on the subject. I cannot, however, conceal from you my sincere belief that the reasonable expectations of the farmers will be realized by Her Majesty's gracious consideration of their claims, the Right Honourable the Secretary of State having communicated to me that, notwithstanding all the faults of which the emigrants have been guilty, Her Majesty's Government cannot be insensible to their good qualities, nor to the past hardships which they have undergone. Her Majesty's advisers have determined that all sums arising from land, whether by sale, rent, fine, or quit-rent, shall be vested in Her Majesty, as shall all dues and customs collected on any part of the Natal coast, and that all such sums shall be applied exclusively to the maintenance of the civil government of the Natal district. They have further decided that the governor of that colony, under whatever denomination, shall be appointed by Her Majesty, and that no laws to be passed in the colony shall be valid without his consent. "Her Majesty's Government is also anxious to place the institutions of the colony upon such a footing, consistent with the maintenance of her royal authority, as may be most acceptable to the bulk of her subjects; and in order to ascertain their wants upon this point, the commissioner will be instructed to invite the unreserved expression of their opinions and wishes, in respect to the judicial and other local institutions under which they may desire to be placed, and he will be authorized to assure them that such expressions, when submitted to Her Majesty, will receive Her Majesty's most favourable consideration, as I am empowered to say that the contentment of the emigrants, rather than the abstract merits of these institutions, will guide the decision of Her Majesty's Ministers. "It is, however, to be distinctly understood that, upon the question of legislation, Her Majesty reserves to herself the most entire freedom of action. "It is also of the utmost importance for the farmers to understand that, with the exception of defraying the expenses for military protection by the mother country, the colony must in every respect support the charges for its local Government. "The commissioner will likewise be instructed to make known, in the most explicit terms, to the emigrants, that, whatever may be the institutions ultimately sanctioned, the three following conditions are absolutely essential : "1st. That there shall not be in the eye of the law any distinction or disqualification whatever found ed on mere distinction of colour, origin, language, or creed; but that the protection of the law, in letter and in substance, shall be extended impartially to all alike. "2nd. That no aggression shall VOL. LXXXVI. be sanctioned upon the natives residing beyond the limits of the colony, under any plea whatever, by any private person or any body of men, unless acting under the immediate authority and orders of the Government. "3rd. That slavery in any shape, or under any modification, is absolutely unlawful, as in every other portion of Her Majesty's dominions. "So essential, indeed, to the mind of Her Majesty's Government, are these conditions, that I am instructed to take especial care for it to be distinctly understood, that they are indispensable preliminaries to the permission which it is proposed to give to the emigrants to occupy the territory of Port Natal, and to enjoy therein a settled government under British protection. In the course of a few days my arrangements will be completed for the appointment of the commissioner, when I shall be enabled to promulgate by proclamation the general view taken by Her Majesty's Government, and of the mode of dealing with the Natal district, and which I have now communicated to you. In the mean time, I cannot too plainly make known through you, that I am positively restricted, for the present, from the disposal of any land at Natal; and I am further instructed to discourage, to the utmost of my power, any speculative emigration which may be likely to arise on the first intimation that Natal is to be adopted and taken under British protection. (Signed) "GEORGE NAPIER, Governor. "Government House, Cape Town, May 4, 1843." [U] CHAPTER XIII. CANADA.Communications between Sir Charles Metcalfe and Mr. Lafontaine, respecting the Resignation of the late Cabinet-Formation of a new Ministry in September-Dissolution of ParliamentMeeting of a new Parliament in November-Choice of a SpeakerSpeech of the Governor-General. UNITED STATES.-Question of the Annexation of Texas-Proposed Treaty of Annexation-It is submitted to the Senate and rejected by them—Army of Observation stationed by President Tyler on the frontiers of Texas-Message from him to the Senate on the subject-New President of the Republic of Texas chosen-His Manifesto with regard to Mexico-Contest for the Presidency in the United States-Election of Mr. Polk as President-Meeting of Congress in December-Message from President Tyler. N our last volume we narrated the substance of the explanation IN volume We noh Sir which they propose to offer in Charles Metcalfe was placed in consequence of the sudden resignation of the whole of his Cabinet, with one exception, that of Mr. Daly. The following communication which took place between Mr. Lafontaine, on behalf of his retiring colleagues, and the Governor-General, goes so fully into the reasons which induced the resignation, and explains so satisfactorily the views maintained by Sir C. Metcalfe, that further comment is unnecessary. Mr. Lafontaine, on the 27th of November last year, addressed the subjoined note to the GovernorGeneral: "Mr. Lafontaine, in compliance with the request of the GovernorGeneral, and in behalf of himself and his late colleagues, who have felt it to be their duty to tender their resignation of office, states, for His Excellency's information, their places in Parliament. They have avowedly taken office upon the principle of responsibility to the representatives of the people in Parliament, and with a full recognition on their parts of the following resolutions introduced into the Legislative Assembly, with the knowledge and sanction of Her Majesty's representative in the province, on the 3rd of September, 1841 : "That the head of the Executive Government of the province being, within the limits of his Government, the representative of the Sovereign, is responsible to the Imperial authority alone; but that, nevertheless, the management of our local affairs can only be conducted by him, by and with the assistance, counsel and information of subordinate officers in the province; and that in order to preserve between the different branches of the provincial Parliament that harmony which is essential to the peace, welfare, and good government of the province, the chief advisers of the representative of the Sovereign, constituting a provincial administration under him, ought to be men possessed of the confidence of the representatives of the people; thus affording a guarantee that the well-understood wishes and interests of the people, which our gracious Sovereign has declared shall be the rule of the provincial Government, will on all occasions be faithfully represented and advocated.' 66 They have lately understood that His Excellency took a widely different view of the position, duties, and responsibilities of the Executive Council from that under which they accepted office, and through which they have been enabled to conduct the parliamentary business of the Government, sustained by a large majority of the popular branch of the Legislature. Had the difference of opinion between His Excellency and themselves, and, as they have reason to believe, between His Excellency and the Parliament and people of Canada generally, been merely theoretical, the members of the late Executive Council might and could have felt it to be their duty to avoid every possibility of collision which might have a tendency to disturb the tranquil and amicable relations which apparently subsisted between the Executive Government and the provincial Parliament. But that difference of opinion has led not merely to appointments to office against their advice, but to appointments and proposals to make appointments of which they were not informed in any manner until all opportunity of offering advice respecting them had passed by, and to a determination on the part of His Excellency to reserve for the expression of Her Majesty's pleasure thereon, a bill introduced into the provincial Parliament, with His Excellency's knowledge and consent, as a Government measure, without an opportunity being given to the members of the Executive Council to state the probability of such a reservation. They therefore felt themselves in the anomalous position of being, according to their own avowal and solemn public pledges, responsible for all the acts of the Executive Government to Parliament, and at the same time not only without the opportunity of offering advice respecting those acts, but without the knowledge of their existence, until informed of them from private and unofficial sources. When the members of the late Executive Council offered their humble remonstrance to His Excellency on this condition of public affairs, His Excellency not only frankly explained the difference of opinion existing between him and the Council, but stated that, from the time of his arrival in the country, he had observed antagonism between him and them on the subject; and, notwithstanding that the members of the Council repeatedly and distinctly explained to His Excellency that they considered him free to act contrary to their advice, and only claimed an opportunity of giving such advice, and of knowing before others His Excellency's intentions, His Excellency did not in any manner remove the impression left upon their minds by his avowal that there was an antagonism between him |