teadily bent upon fair legislation. Not only did he carry
his motion about taking into consideration the power and authority
exercised by the Courts of Justice, through the medium of Rules of
Practice, at variance with the law and the liberty of the subject, but
the House ordered the Clerk of the Court of Appeals, and the
Prothonotaries of the Courts to produce the Rules of Practice, or
certified copies of them, for the immediate use of members. The House
went into committee and talked the matter over, then rose, and reported
progress. The Rules of Practice had not been very long in use. They
were made for the Court of Appeals so recently as 1809, and the example
was so excellent that the Court of King's Bench followed it. The
Legislative Assembly not only considered the rules an infringement upon
their privilege of law-making but an infringement upon the civil rights
of His Majesty's subjects and subversive of the laws of the province,
rendering the enjoyment of liberty and property altogether insecure and
precarious, and giving to the judges an arbitrary authority. And the
Assembly without further ceremony proceeded to impeach the Chief
Justices of Quebec and Montreal, at the instance of Mr. Stuart, the
Anglo-American Barrister. It was said that Jonathan Sewell, Chief
Justice, had traitorously and wickedly endeavored to subvert the
constitution by the introduction of an arbitrary, tyrannical government
against law; that the said Jonathan Sewell had disregarded the
authority of Parliament, and usurped its powers by making regulations
subversive of the constitution and the laws; that Jonathan Sewell had
libellously published such Rules of Practice; that Jonathan Sewell had
substituted his own will for the will of the legislature; that Jonathan
Sewell being Chief Justice, Speaker of the Legislative Council, and
Chairman of the Executive Council, had maliciously slandered the
Canadian subjects of the King and the House of Assembly, and had
poisoned and incensed the mind of Sir James H. Craig, the
Governor-in-Chief, and had so misled and deceived him that he did on
the 15th of May, 1809, dissolve the parliament, without any cause
whatever to palliate or excuse the measure, the said Governor-in-Chief
having been at the same time advised to make a speech in gross
violation of the rights of the Assembly, grossly insulting to its
members, and misrepresenting their conduct; that to prevent opposition
to his tyrannical views the