The following article appears amongst the leaders in last Sunday's

Examiner.

BETTER LATE THAN NEVER.

" The absent are always wrong," says the French proverb, and, in conthrmity with this observation, since the return of Lord Durham to England, our CM- temporary the Spectator has taken an improved view of his lordship's conduct, and professes the intention to be just to him. In this better frame of mind a sincere penitence would surely dictate the retractatiou of such judgments as the following inter alia " Lord Durham's measures and general conduct had failed to procure' for his go- vernment the contidenee either of the French Canadians or the British Liberals. The Ordinances, the value or expediency of which was inferred in this country mainly the their supposed popularity, are unpopular ; and the various ende:wours of the ofli- ebds to coax the leaders of the people, had disgusted, nut conciliated, the parties to whom the overtures were made.”-Spectator, Oct. 27. " We trust the time is far distant when Englishmen will be induced, by any in- genious theory of the combination of legislative with judicial functions in a ruler, to sanetion the enormity of sentencing suspected persons to banishment, and to &nth it- self, without the opportunity of defeuce."-Ibid. "The mistaken notion that he was invested with extraordinary and even despotic authority, had been fondled and become deeply rooted in Lord Durham's imagination. He alludes to the technical errors' in his Ordinance, as if he possessed the authority to proscribe and banish without trial or form of law, and was only wrong in sending the prisoners to Bermuda, lie denies that lie mistook the • extent' of his • powers, and pleads his reliance on Parliament to remedy the defret which prevented him from making effectual the sentence of banishment to Bermuda, whirls at the time he knew to be inoperative.' This mounts, after all, to an admission of the illeirdi'y of the Ordinance ; and is not quite consistent with the terms of tin answer delivered a few days after the date of the proelamation, to an,tuldress from Kingston-, I cannot admit its illegality it is strictly to accordance with Abe powers, and provisions of the :let of Parliament under which I administer the affairs of this province.' Berg is another proof of rzyme and erroneous ideas the 1.30S,roor G..neral possessed of the extent of his authority : one day, confessing that his rhalittance Semis inoperative'---tbe next day, maintaining that it was ' strictly in accordance' with the powers conferred on him by Padiament."----Spectator, 2c4r. 10, " Lord Durham loved to Lucy that lie took his anointment not from Miuistsrs' or from Parliament, but from the Quest: 1 Ile seems to have thougld that miller her Majesty's • commksions rind insirtetitis,' he could da ally thing, even numb dr-polism. Ile scents to have had no clear knowledge of-we sh,o1.1 almost think that he had never read-the Aet whiels it was his especial business to hi, m:Oereci completel:. ; and Which so many others esrrectly viewed as a limitation, n.,t lcu7islative power. :4r:taiga! inl'atuation of an able man! Grass ne,1••et in those whose duly it Ica,it to have better im.t ruchal him " Lunt DurhanC.- notion, communieated to the Delegates of the Pros that he had in three months restored tranquillity to Canada, is invalidated by immerotts state- ments in the provincial papers."--Sectafor, %Var. 30.

For the notable care with which our neighbour must peruse the Spectator, and the length of time over whirl' his microscopic watchful- ness has extended, the result of his labour is ridiculously small. Had defence been our only object, the excapta might have been left to defend themselves ; but as the matter contains a speehnen of the morality of Whig journalism, we will bestow a space upon its exposition which in

itself the attache would not have deserved.

Taking the pasages es they now stand---in a collected form ; se- parated from their context and the occasions that successively pro- duced them •, and even assuming that they had been originally written as detached thoughts, uncalled-for by circumstances, and

therefore displaying a disposition to attack the absent Lord Dim- hant-we can still perceive in them nothing that calls for "a sincere penitence," or a " retractetion of such judgments." It may he, indeed, that when the whole of Lord Durham's case is laid before Parliament, (till wit thee, he himself' has asked men to suspend their judgment,)

we may see cause to modify opinions fiunted, of necessity, on mcom- plate information, or to admit the "expediency" of measures that once seemed objectionable : but, with our present lights, we think it very unlikely that we shall be called upon for either " penitence" or " re- tractation" for any thing which the EC:u1:iller has been able to cull from our columns in a mouth's close reading.

But should the curiosity of any render induce him to moor to the

files of our paper,-reading the extracts quoted by the Examiner with their contest, and the eccamit ins which gave rise to them,-he will then be able to eppsinlate the abandoned state to which that journal has de- scended ; to observe the system of delusion to which it has recourse, turd tIn boldness with which it practices small and dirty tricks, ap- parently relying for escape on the trouble and space which are necess sary to expose them. None of the passages-at least none of the pas- sages to which a correct elate is assigned-appeared in articles wlmre the topics are optional and the discussion to a certain extent inn our power. [The readers of the ELY Milne, may realize this reminds, by calling to mind the two weeks' blank silence of the leading articles of that journal upon Lord Durham after his return.] They are taken front the Summary of the events of the week--which are not of our making, and where the line of hones/ commentary is forced upon us. The re- marl: on the sentencing of " suspected persons unheard," was induced by doctrines at that time promulgated by the Chronicle and the Standard : the remarks on Lord Durham s misconception of his powers, arose upon what we considered the erroneous and contradictory views of them, put forth in his own proclamation, which we were discussing on its appear- ance : as regards the first paragraph quoted by the Examiner, we will enable our readers to judge for themselves. Seeing that we were avowedly giving, no/ an opinion of our own, but a narrative of time opinions of others-that we stated in the outset the sources from which the view was drawn, and reiterated ire the close that it was " the French' oi,;:osed to the • British' view of affairs"-the manner in which the ;;arbled and disjuiutrd 'massage is set forth by toe Examinee

amounts to im Itirrct fats:less!. liere is the passage entire-

hnt we hr.,. seen molter cus prk Liters sash new,parrs. whi.h, tit ae It not ad-

dres:ed natr,ives. runt Ll' IL: to Oaf, ra•oler a :.:;etelt of tha cum tcat clan,, of parties ani poi lic fog link is the I Aul ii n ill he most nset'ul 1.i cull itImlidalltly from 111,,,, ,a,:crees which have either not Local open to our canteluparAias, or icon neglected hy them --those which dodo; acquaireed te:?4 ti,, j■•• it of i.ned part of the

papttlatian,tchirlt PIO re.t ma'ority.

•• Lord Durham's measures mot ucuteral canduct bad failed to proecto for his go- vernment the confidence either of the French Canadians or British Lil.eral-. he Ordinances, the value or expediency or which was itifeircal to this coantry mainly from their supposed populartv, are unpopular: and she vations eni,•al 'airs sr the officials to coax the leaders the people, had di, d,-tell, 'ad couciliahat, ids parties ,,, whom the ttlalatiriiii \Vela` made. Tha privat,• inters-leas, promises, threats em- ployed to proeare widener against the pris,110m, who to 1_e brought Itehme the regular tribunals of the conuhy, were regarded as infamous, mill irritated extremely the friends and partisans of the :'.rinsed. The upp.iniinetits, not given to persons who came from England wi'1, Lord Matson. were Oiled) cont;Tred upon those of the • Bri- tish ' party. Awl this lowing f the GOVC/111110111 to 1t:c pail:- or the minority was viewed with suspicion and an•ter.

" These remarks apply pricielpally la Lower Camila, and up: oh the • French' as al-- posed to • Brithn' rico.

Considering how quiet the Examiner was some few months ago sunder the provocation of an attack, it is difficult to conceive a motive for its present aggression. In September. we investigated the "pear-ripeninfr policy of our contemporary, limr the last two years, and pointed oust its results. Except a shabby bit of misrepresentation on an incidental remark, all the Examiner had to say was that "there was a time when we thought it worth while to expose the false representations of the Spectator, that time has gone by.' In October. we called attention to the " New Political Faith," and to the spirit of servile submission to " the powers that be," and all that are " pm in authority " under them, -which the Examiner inculcated ; and the En/miner was dumb. if not worth while" then, why devote such minute and painstaking attention to our columns now ? Could the attach6 of the Whig Goverument fancy, that by bringing together passages probably offensive she ex- Governor-General, some sort of beneficial effect might somsbow or other be produced in favonr of Ministers ? or was he fearful lest the Spectator should attempt to play the part of sycophant to a Lord? If so, let us hasten to relieve his mind: in either case his anxieties were groundless. If Lord Durham is about to attack the Ministry or head the Movement, there will be little danger to be apprehended from him if' he can be moved by such paper pellets, even supposing he did not detect the trick of the Examiner : and as for the other point, we have no designs on the purse or patronage of any Lord.