mending that all fees should go into the
treasury of the province and that all public officers should receive a
certain fixed salary. They presented with their report a scale of
salaries which they considered sufficient, which gave the provincial
secretary, surveyor-general and attorney-general each six hundred
pounds. Bills were introduced for the purpose of carrying these
recommendations into effect, but, although passed by the House, they
were rejected by the council, which for many years was the graveyard of
all measures for the improvement of the province.

{RESPONSIBLE GOVERNMENT}

The general election of 1842 was mainly fought on the Reform issue, and
the question of responsible government was discussed on every hustings.
Unfortunately very few of the candidates who offered their services as
legislators had a clear idea of what responsible government really
meant, and some of the gentlemen who were not ashamed to confess their
ignorance of the principles of the British constitution were men of
education and position, from whom better things might have been
expected. Mr. Robert L. Hazen, an eminent lawyer, who was a candidate
for the representation of the city of St. John, declared in his
nomination speech that he never met with any one who could explain to
him satisfactorily what responsible government meant. Mr. Humbert, one
of the candidates for St. John County, was entirely averse to the new
principles. "And what," he asked, "are these principles?" "Why," he
would ask, "should the old system be altered; it had never given cause
for complaint, it had always worked well,--then why should the people
complain?" He was not in favour of any innovations on British colonial
government. Very few people understood what responsible government
meant. He hardly understood it himself. It was, in his opinion, just
introducing another branch into our government. He was not in favour of
the government initiating the money votes. He was always sensitive about
the rights of the House--to them ought the power of originating the
supplies to belong, and to none other--and if returned he would oppose
the measure.

Such absurdities as the above would not be worth quoting, but for the
light they throw on the views of the average New Brunswick politician of
that period. Mr. Humbert had been for many years a member of the House
of Assembly, and yet he had been unable to understand the significance
of the changes which the Reformers p