In view of the attention which the house of assembly had been giving to the revenues of the colonial post office, and of the doubt which had been suggested as to the right of Great Britain to receive those revenues, the colonial secretary thought it possible that the enforcement of those rights at that time might embarrass the governor general by giving the assembly an additional ground for contention with the mother country. He, therefore, had given directions that the deputy postmaster general should communicate with the governor general on the subject, and should not institute proceedings without the full concurrence of the latter. The deputy postmaster general was instructed in this sense in September 1820, and matters remained in abeyance until 1826, when the deputy postmaster general, presumably with the concurrence of the governor general requested the opinion of the attorney general of Lower Canada on the subject. The attorney general, James Stuart (afterwards Sir James) advised that the right of the post office was clear, and he conceived that there should be no difficulty in recovering pecuniary penalties for the infringement of the postmaster general's privilege. But no action was taken on this opinion. The relations between the provincial governors and the assemblies were becoming more strained as time went on, and the governor general had no desire to augment the grievances of the assemblies by introducing irritating matters, in which the right of the home government might with reason be held to be disputable. FOOTNOTES: [190] In course of debate in assembly, December 16, 1825 (Report in _Colonial Advocate_). [191] _Journals, House of Assembly_, March 1, 1820. [192] _Can. Arch._, Br. P.O. Transcripts, III. [193] _Can. Arch._, Br. P.O. Transcripts, III. [194] _Ibid._ [195] _Can. Arch._, Q. 278, p. 44. [196] _Journals of Assembly_, U.C., 1821. [197] _Imperial Statutes_, 9, Anne, c. 10. [198] _Ibid._, 41, Geo. III. c. 7. [199] _Ibid._, 18, Geo. III. c. 12. [200] _Imperial Statutes_, 14, Geo. III. c. 88. [201] _Can. Arch._, Q. 332, p. 95. [202] Freeling to S. R. Lushington, June 3, 1822 _(Can. Arch._, Q. 162, p. 165). [203] _Journals of Assembly_, U.C. [204] _House of Assembly_, December 16, 1825 (Report of the _Colonial Advocate_). [205] _Can. Arch._, Q. 340, p. 49 [206] Freeling to Horton, July 25, 1826 (_Can. Arch._, Br. P.O. Transcripts, II.). [207] Afterwards Earl of Ripon: well remembered in Canada as Viscount Goderich. [208] October 3, 1826 (_Can. Arch._, Br. P.O. Transcripts, II.). [209] _Can. Arch._, Q. 180, p. 258. [210] Freeling to Goulborn, December 29, 1819. CHAPTER IX Thomas Allen Stayner deputy postmaster general--Restrictions of general post office relaxed--Grievances of newspaper publishers--Opinion of law officers of the crown that postmaster general's stand is untenable--Consequences.