htened spirit of the British government." When the bill
for the formation of the two provinces of Upper Canada and Lower Canada
came before the house of commons, Mr. Adam Lymburner, an influential
merchant of Quebec, appeared at the Bar and ably opposed the separation
"as dangerous in every point of view to British interests in America,
and to the safety, tranquillity and prosperity of the inhabitants of the
province of Quebec" He pressed the repeal of the Quebec act in its
entirety and the enactment of a perfectly new constitution "unclogged
and unembarrassed with any laws prior to this period" He professed to
represent the views "of the most intelligent and respectable of the
French Canadians"; but their antagonism was not directed against the
Quebec act in itself, but against the administration of the law,
influenced as this was by the opposition of the British people to the
French civil code. Nor does it appear, as Mr. Lymburner asserted, that
the western Loyalists were hostile to the formation of two distinct
provinces. He represented simply the views of the English-speaking
inhabitants of Lower Canada, who believed that the proposed division
would place them in a very small minority in the legislature and, as the
issue finally proved, at the mercy of the great majority of the French
Canadian representatives, while on the other hand the formation of one
large province extending from Gaspe to the head of the great lakes would
ensure an English representation sufficiently formidable to lessen the
danger of French Canadian domination. However, the British government
seems to have been actuated by a sincere desire to do justice to the
French Canadians and the Loyalists of the upper province at one and the
same time. When introducing the bill in the house of commons on the 7th
March, 1791, Mr. Pitt expressed the hope that "the division would remove
the differences of opinion which had arisen between the old and new
inhabitants, since each province would have the right of enacting laws
desired in its own house of assembly." He believed a division to be
essential, as "otherwise he could not reconcile the clashing interests
known to exist." Mr. Burke was of opinion that "to attempt to amalgamate
two populations composed of races of men diverse in language, laws and
customs, was a complete absurdity", and he consequently approved of the
division. Mr. Fox, from whom Burke became alienated during this debate,
looked at the ques