production of a well-informed man, and may be introduced here with advantage, as the practical reader will now have an opportunity of comparing the method of culture practised in America with that recommended for adoption in this colony, in the above treatise.]

On the Culture of Tobacco in, Virginia.

Fifty pounds weight, or two bushels, of tobacco seed would be sufficient to plant the whole state of Virginia; some say a surface equal in extent to the United States. The seed is never gathered, indeed is not and no planter keeps on hand more than

ready till the fall of the year; is requisite for his own use.

Respecting the culture of tobacco, I shall communicate the process adopted throughout Virginia, premising that success depends upon the soil, situation, climate, and season. New ground, virgin soil, produces the best description; plant-beds, for the reception of seed, are prepared in the fall, in rather a moist situation, of pure vegetable mould, minutely pulverised, entirely freed from weeds; having the surface completely scorched by burning brushwood, or shavings of wood upon it. The seed is sown much after the manner of cabbage-seed, about as thickly and as deeply, and raked in; this is done during the month of February. Early in May, according to the season, or during that month, the plants are removed to the field, and are placed out on hills, raised above the surrounding surface from eight to twelve inches, at distances varying according to the strength of the soil, from three by four to four by five; thus the rows are four feet apart, as with Indian corn, and the hill in the row three feet distant from each other.

The plants are allowed to stand unmolested till they begin to throw out suckers, which must be carefully removed by hand, as often as they appear. By hoeing or ploughing all weeds must be kept under, as with corn or cabbages in a garden; when the plant has thrown out eight or twelve well sized leaves, according to the strength or richness of the soil, it must be topped; by which is meant, if the ground be rich, twelve leaves may be left; if poor, only six or eight; the best way is to leave only six to ten. The plants being kept free from worms or catterpillars, which prey upon them, are left to stand until they are perfectly ripe ;this is determined by the thickness of the leaf, and the crackling sound produced by breaking it; they are then cut with a knife, and placed upon poles, horizontally exposed to the sun for several days, till they die, and become of a yellow or brownish hue; care meantime being taken that they be not exposed to rains, or very heavy dews.

From the field, hanging on the same poles, they are removed into log-houses, and hung upon the roofs. Under them, during wet weather, slight fires are kept up, the smoke ascending from which dries the stem and prevents mould; after hanging thus three or four weeks, the plants

are,

If

when in a very dry state, taken from the poles, and carefully packed on the dry floor, and covered with straw, to guard them from frost. the winter he very wet, they are several times hung up, and dried partially with the smoke of wood fires, and replaced in bulk. Finally, in the month of May, the plants are all hung up, and allowed to remain till a tolerably warm and moist day, when they are taken down, and the leaves being kept from the stalk, are tied up in bundles of six to seven leaves each, with a leaf binding them together, and are thus packed

carefully into hogsheads-12 to 1,500 lbs. are put into each hogshead, the but-ends of the tobacco touching the cask, and the points directed inwards to the centre.

Smoking is injurious; and if the season be sufficiently dry and warm, it is better to cure the tobacco entirely by the aid of the sun.

A REPRESENTATIVE GOVERNMENT.

The Question considered, as proposed by Lord Stanley; or, a Plain and Succinct Plan for forming a Representative House of Assembly, and an Executive Legislative Council, in the Colony of the Cape of Good Hope.

PART I.-General Considerations relative to the Principle of

Elections and Representative Assemblies.

Previous to entering into a consideration of the queries suggested by Lord Stanley, relative to the constitution of a Representative Assembly freely elected by the people, and an Executive Council and Governor appointed by the Crown, at the Cape of Good Hope, it will be necessary to consider the question somewhat generally.

The first reflection that arises is the scattered state of the population here, and the difficulty of collecting residents in the country to leave their farms, and travel considerable distances, and for a purpose which at present they would take but little interest in. In England the interest at elections is felt chiefly by the gentlemen of independent fortune, and the tenantry generally vote with the landlord, while the candidate keeps open house for all; but in this colony we can expect neither of these circumstances at present, where all are farmers, and scarcely one among them could afford the expense. On this account I should think the most preferable plan at present would be, to hold the election and polling booths in the district towns, and that the return of members should be made by the municipalities; that those persons, whose other avocations might permit them to attend, should be entitled to vote the same as resident householders in the towns. The number of members to depend on the population of the district, but, on an average, one representative for every 5,000 of the population would be a fair proportion; and taking the representative population at 125,000, it would give five-and-twenty members, a number that would be quite sufficient : -thus, Albany and Graham's Town would take three; Graff Reinet two; Utenhay two; Cradock one; Cape Town and district five; and so on in proportion. If the number of representatives be greater than this it will be as in the Irish Parliament, "all talking and no business.” Another consideration arises here relative to the necessity there would be of placing the representatives, at least those from the country districts, on the same footing as those in the United States in one respect, that is paying their expenses during their attendance at sessions. America the allowance is I believe 6s. a-day, which I should think would be quite sufficient here; and, on the supposition of the session lasting some three or four months, this sum would not amount to more than 25. or 301. for each representative. I am induced to offer this suggestion on these grounds, that there is scarcely any one here who

lu

may be called independent, or who would like to encounter the expense; and that I think the principle a fair one "that those who serve the country should at least be provided with a board and lodging allowance." In England, where there are many of independent fortune and unemployed, such is altogether uncalled for; but here nearly all are engaged in business, and it would be scarcely fair to expect their services gratuitously an exception might be made in favour of Cape Town, as residents already there would not have expenses of hotels, &c. to encounter, which the country members would of necessity have; this expense might be met by a trifling cess on property and stock, and paid through the municipalities.

I decidedly think that the right of election should be exercised generally through the country, and principally by the municipalities, which should be the machinery or pivot on which the system should move : each municipality includes all the resident householders of the respective towns within its action, and hence there would be no difficulty in making it the basement on which the other would rest: each householder, that is each rate-payer, would be entitled to a vote, and the being already registered the system would be made easily available. The residents in the country to be registered in a similar manner by the different fieldcornets, and returned from them to the municipality. With respect to members, I think if there should be difficulty in this way in any of the districts, that a sufficient number of aspirants would always be found in Cape Town to go and canvass the country districts; and in consequence of the reservation I have before alluded to in favour of members resident in Cape Town in the way of expense this would be advantageous. At Algoa Bay, Graham's Town, or Utenhay, there would be no difficulty in providing candidates, but in some of the other districts, as George, Beaufort, or Clanwilliam there might. The elective franchise to be strictly confined to the European population, the English and Dutch; but, as I have already said, the average number of representatives to be as in England, proportionate to the general amount of the population.

I would assimilate, in another principle, the "House of Assembly" here to the "Congress" in the United States, in selecting a central situation for its sittings to suit the general convenience of members, such as Utenhay would be; and this would in no way injure Cape Town; as, although in the United States the Congress meet at Washington, yet New York may virtually be considered as the capital. Besides, the population and maritime importance of Cape Town will always give it a decided superiority, and it is but reasonabie that the seat of government in this rapidly advancing colony should be more central. I should think 25 members would be sufficient. The advantage of this number would be, that one being chosen as chairman or speaker, on the supposition of the house being equally divided on any question, the speaker would have the casting vote: on these grounds, that in any one question that would equally divide a body of reflecting men, there must be much to consider on both sides, and hence the advantage of a casting voice in such cases.

The House of Assembly to be distinct in itself and independent of the Government or Executive Legislative Council; to have the power of originating bills, of presiding over the revenues of the country, voting the supplies, authorising necessary public works and improvements, to possess the power of appointing committees of its own members, to

inquire into all public questions, and the power of calling all persons before them for examination, &c.,-in a word, the possession of those privileges generally conceded to popular assemblies in all countries. These would be undoubtedly great powers to delegate to an independent body of men, and as such would require some counterpoise or check, and this would be found in the composition of an Executive Legislative Council, to bear the same relation to the House of Assembly that the House of Lords does to the Commons in England; to be composed of the Governor, principal official members of the government, and two or three of the senior merchants of Cape Town, appointed by the Crown. The necessary estimates for carrying on the service of the government to originate with the Executive Legislative Council, and to be sent down to the House of Assembly for confirmation. In the same manner, all bills or measures originating with the House of Assembly to be sent up to the Legislative Council for a similar confirmation; that is to say, no bill or measure to pass, or be considered legal or binding, unless it had received the sanction of both houses, if they may be so termed, that is of the House of Assembly and the Executive Legislative Council. All bills originating in the House of Assembly, after the second reading, to be referred or sent up to the Legislative Council for consideration, and to be returned after a reasonable time, with either their approbation or dissent; in the latter case stating the reasons at length. This course would be attended with advantage, inasmuch as it would lead to the re-consideration of objectionable clauses or portions, and thus they would both pull together for the public good. Thus the Legislative Council would form (if it may be so termed) a sort of legal tribunal, including, as it would among its members, the principal law officers of the Crown, to determine the validity or soundness of the measures originating in the lower house, or general assembly. We can see how well the principal works in the municipalities, i. e. of two distinct bodies controlling each other.

There is another principle that I should be inclined to include within the Legislative Council-that of constituting it a Court of Appeal from the Law Courts. It is well known that if a lawyer raises a good point in court, the judge must decide accordingly, although the verdict may be contrary to justice, as well as reason and common sense. Hence the origin and absolute necessity, in every civilsed country, of courts of equity or appeal; and thus, with its judicial and legislative functions, the Executive Council would form a most important branch of the constitution here. The Governor of course would have the care of all on his shoulders, directing and attending to the details (as at present) of the civil and judicial departments throughout the colony, presiding in the Executive Legislative Council, opening and closing the House of Assembly, issuing proclamations,-in a word, attending to those details which devolve on the Executive Government of every civilised country. The sittings of both chambers should be contemporaneous; but for obvious reasons the meetings of the Executive Council would not require to be so frequent as those of the House of Assembly; while once or twice a-week would be sufficient for the former, three or four days per week during session would not be too frequent for the latter. But the meetings of the Executive Legislative Council would depend in a great measure on the Governor, and the business that might come before it. The members of the Legislative Assembly to have the same

privileges awarded generally to representatives of the people in other countries, as freedom from arrest, the privilege of transmitting and receiving letters free, and liberty of debate. These are some of the general considerations that force themselves on the attention, previous to considering the question in detail, or the points suggested by Lord Stanley as it is obvious they must be made the ground work or basis upon which popular representation is erected, the principle of which will be found to assimilate in all countries.

A consideration of the foregoing principles will very readily suggest to those possessing necessary local knowledge, ready replies to the queries proposed by Lord Stanley. To the first, "Do the petitioners contemplate that the Legislative Assembly, to be elected by the people, should be the only legislative power in the colony?" It may, on the foregoing premises, be answered, "that it would be desirable to have a second legislative body, or executive council, possessing legislative powers, that there is no precedent either in England, America, or France, of the sole legislative power being vested in one body; and for obvious reasons, that that degree of consideration could not be devoted, which is so essential to public measures, with but one body vested with sole power; and that for this and other reasons the petitioners contemplated, in reference to the query, 'Or is the Council, called Executive, also to possess legislative functions,' that it should be so. That this body (Executive Council) should form, if it may be so termed, a second estate, controlling and checking the power and proceedings of the other, that thus abuses would be counteracted, and every measure submitted receive full consideration; and further, that this council should have the title of

THE EXECUTIVE LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL,' with the power of approving or rejecting measures sent up by the House of Assembly, aud that a similar power be possessed by the House of Assembly in respect to any measure suggested by the Executive Council, and most probably this power would be the most frequently exercised by the House of Assembly, as many, or indeed most, measures connected with Government and Council would originate with the Executive Government, and it is in this point of view that the Legislative Assembly would be useful here, in checking the disposition to profusion characteristic of every government, but more especially of this; in curtailing or striking off unnecessary items; superintending he public money, and directing it only to proper and useful purposes. On the other hand it would be but right that all bills or measures relative to the country, originating in the Assembly, should be submitted to the Executive Legislative Council for consideration, and thus the necessary integrity and balance of power would be preserved." With respect to the concluding query, "What, if any, are to be the legislative functions of the Governor ?" I would propose that these be combined with the Executive Council: in other words, that he should preside and have a voice in that body. It is true, that in order to assimilate the principle to that of England it would be necessary that the Governor should form a third body or estate, controlling the power of the other two; but, on reflection, I think this would be found unsuited to the