50 



RECEPTION OF THE PETITION, 



difference being, that in Canada the council were appointed 

 for life, whereas, in Jamaica, they hold their seats at plea- 

 sure, making the case of Jamaica, only so much stronger, 

 Mr. Roebuck, who made good the complaints of Canada, 

 has but to go over the same ground in exposing the griev- 

 ances of Jamaica. He triumphed in the one case ; he can- 

 not fail in the other." 



This petition was presented to the House of Lords by 

 Lord Stanley on the 6th May, on which occasion it received 

 its quietus from Earl Grey, the Colonial Minister, in the 

 following extraordinary remark, as reported by the English 

 journals : — 



" Earl Grey said, that whatever (/rounds there might be 

 for an alteration in the constitution of Jamaica, he was 

 not prepared to admit that there were special grounds for 

 bringing forward the question at the present moment. The 

 noble earl defended the conduct of the council, who had 

 never stood in the way of reduction or economy 



Had the country party been successful in carrying their 

 retrenchment bills, they would have saved, perhaps, fifty 

 thousand dollars a year, scarcely more, rather a small mat- 

 ter, one would suppose, to make such a pother about. And 

 yet it is the most direct mode left to them, of promoting 

 their prosperity by legislation, and has been the prominent 

 party issue among them for the past two years. A better 



