The dangerous spirit of disaffection gains head in Canada, rather
than abates. The British party have suspended active re- sistance to the Lower Canada Compensation Bill, until it shall be known whether the bill is to receive the Royal assent or not : if it should, the party will hold a " convention," to discuss the pro- priety of" annexation,"—offering to the Northern States of the American 'Union a counterpoise against the Texan additions at the South. The party may be noisy and small ; but undoubtedly other feelings besides political grudges might favour the project of annexation. For example, the landowner of the British pro- vince sees that on the other side of the boundary immense ac- tivity and energy are used in improving natural resources, inso- much that land is worth more South of the frontier ; he therefore thinks that if Canada were "annexed," his land would rise in value and he should be a wealthier man. The dogged British see that the French of Louisiana have been effectually crushed or absorbed. Other selfish motives may help to encourage the favour for annexation. We should not fear it, indeed, save inasmuch as our Ministers are blindly indifferent,—perchance sharing the opinion that colonies are costly and troublesome encumbrances, better annexed to any empire than our own. It is that which makes us fear that our rulers may connive at Canada's following Massachusetts and Virginia. Some will say that such a sepa- ration would be no loss: it would, however, be a step downward ; it would impress Europe with a sense of our decline ; and a few other such steps in the descending series might be expected to lead us to the condition of a mere trading kingdom like Holland. If public men have really an intention to connive at such a re- sult, at least they should honestly avow it, for two very sufficient reasons : in the first place, a prompt decision to that effect might save us a good deal of expense in fostering and defending our colonies ; in the second, the nation at large might not be at all willing to adopt the plan of dismemberment, if it knew in time what was intended.
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