8 



For the past four years this small party of Con- 

 JTederates has ut intervals, by means of the Govern- 

 Vnent patronage, throu«:h the Press, the exertions 

 of a small fry of petty ofliciMls, an<l the han;;ers-on 

 for employment, been assiduously promulgating not 

 only in this community, but also in other parts of 

 the Colony, their darling measure Confederation — 

 (a measure universally hateful to the people) — 

 and this, too, by the repetition over and over 

 again, among the most ignorant of the population, 

 of their stale, thread -bare, ill-founded, but never- 

 theless plausible and subtle observations. This has 

 been more particularly noticeable within the past 

 few weeks, during which time these Confederates, 

 not at all dismayed by their second ignominious 

 defeat in their discreditable (to use the mildest 

 term) attempt to deceive the members of the 

 Legislature by false pretences, and thereby induce 

 them to adopt the principle of Confederatidn, and 

 thus to render the voice of the House on the mea- 

 sure thereafter unnecessary and impotent, leaving, 

 as it would do, the condi ions upon which it is to 

 be eifected wholly in their hands — that is, in the 

 hands of the Executive Government, of which 

 their prominent advocates are members, have in 

 their assumed strength thus come forth as brazen 

 and as undaunted as ever, and with a system of 

 organization and action never before witnessed 

 among them. 



Now, what are the arguments which the Con- 

 federates use to persuade the people of Newfound- 

 lard to accept of their measure ? They are, firsts 

 that the people are at the present time in that 

 wretched state that any change would be for the 

 better. Second — That under Confederation, Ca- 

 nadians and their capital would come into the 

 Colony in the greatest abundance ; that our fish- 



.vt»i 



