Page:Letter from L. J. Papineau and J. Neilson, Esqs., Addressed to His Majesty's Under Secretary of State on the Subject of the Proposed Union of the Provinces of Upper and Lower Canada.djvu/16

 as such, are sufficient in Canada to occupy the whole of their time; by these means the composition of the Legislative Council might be made more corresponding with that of the House of Lords in England, and it would thus be more likely to be on a footing of better understanding wit the Elective Body. The continuing the Members of the Assembly for one year beyond the time for which they were elected by the people, must be an error: for it is not to be supposed, that it was intended to constitute the Representatives of the people of Canada by and Act of the Imperial Parliament of the United Kingdom.

The clauses provide for the representation of the people in the proposed Legislature of the Canadas.

When the existing constitution of these Provinces was established by the Act 31 Geo. II. cap. 31., Fifty Members of Assembly were allowed to Lower Canada, and fifteen to Upper Canada. The former than contained about 200,000 souls; the latter about 25,000, or one eighth of the former. This was also the proportion of duties which the first agreement between the two Provinces allowed to Upper Canada. The representation of Upper Canada was then double that of the lower Province, in proportion to