with
their services without such an indemnity."

{AN HISTORIC DESPATCH}

This despatch produced consternation among those who had been accustomed
to regard their offices as held on a life tenure, but it was looked
upon by all the friends of good government as the beginning of a new
and better order of things with respect to the public services. The
matter was considered by a committee of the whole House a few days after
the despatch was received, and an effort was made by Wilmot to have a
favourable vote with regard to it. But although the friends of the old
Family Compact always professed to be extremely loyal and to pay great
deference to the wishes of the British government, on this occasion they
pursued a different course. A majority of the House voted down a
resolution which affirmed that this despatch should be "highly
satisfactory," "affording, as it does, the most satisfactory proof of a
sincere desire on the part of our Most Gracious Queen and her government
to infuse principles in the administration of colonial affairs strictly
analogous to the principles of the British constitution." Instead of
passing this sensible resolution the committee, by the casting vote of
the chairman, passed the following absurd amendment:--

"_Resolved_, As the opinion of this committee, that there is nothing in
the despatch of the Right Honourable Lord John Russell, now under
consideration, to call forth any expression from the House on the
subject of colonial government, and that in the event of any occurrence
taking place to disturb the present happy political state of the
province, the House cannot but entertain the opinion that any loyal and
dutiful representations which they may have occasion to lay at the foot
of the throne will receive, as they have always done, the royal
consideration."

The vote on the original resolution was fifteen to thirteen, so that,
although defeated, it had a strong support in the House, yet it was
years before the principles embodied in the despatch of Lord John
Russell were carried into full effect in New Brunswick.

{OFFICIAL SALARIES}

When the Civil List Bill was passed in 1837, the salaries of the public
officials which were provided for in it were placed on a very liberal
scale. The lieutenant-governor was to receive L3,500 sterling, or almost
double the present salary of the lieutenant-governor of New Brunswick.
The commissioner of Crown lands was to have L1,750 sterling, or about
f