"it is a principle of undoubted validity that a grant of
franchise by the Crown is irrevocable and unalterable by a further
exercise of the royal authority unless the power of revocation and
change be embodied and reserved in the original grant, or unless the
grantees make a voluntary surrender of their franchises." Lord John had
evidently forgotten his English history, or he would have known that
English kings on many occasions had revoked charters granted by
themselves or their predecessors.[2] Lord John desired the college to
surrender its charter and accept a new one, but Lord Stanley and the law
officers of the Crown whom he had consulted held a different view, and
thought that a new charter could be granted to supersede the old. Both
colonial secretaries were desirous that the changes in the constitution
of the college should be effected by a new royal charter. But this did
not suit the views of the House of Assembly, and after another college
bill had been defeated in the House and rejected by the council, on
March 20th, 1843, the following resolution, which was moved by Mr.
Wilmot, was passed by the House without a division:--

"WHEREAS, The assembly, during several years past, have endeavoured,
without success, to effect certain reasonable modifications in the
charter of King's College; and whereas those modifications as contained
in the bill which has been rejected by the legislative council, during
the present session, have been loudly and repeatedly called for by
numerous petitions from nearly every county in the province, while no
petition has ever been presented against those modifications; and
whereas it is in vain to expect the amount of public benefit from the
institution which its munificent endowment from the provincial revenue
should ensure; therefore,

"_Resolved_, That this House have learned with much regret and
disappointment that a majority of the legislative council have rejected
the said bill during the present session; and further

"_Resolved_, That this House should persevere in their endeavours to
amend the said charter by legislative enactment, and not resort to an
address to the throne for a new charter; and that this House will
steadfastly adhere to the principle that all the educational
establishments of the province, which are endowed from the colonial
revenues, whether incorporated by royal charter or otherwise, should be
at all times subject to the supervision of the local legisla