ABSTRACT
They were ready of their own free will to grant a civil list if the Crown land revenues were surrendered and a constitution established similar in outline to that of Canada.2 Apart from the cryptic reference to the Canadian constitution, there was still no express request for responsible government; and Sir Charles FitzRoy considered that there were not in the colony enough men of independent fortune prepared to hold office under such a system, and that both the Council and the public recognized this fact. 3 But there
could be no doubt that the colonists had persuaded themselves that they were being deprived of their rights and that the time had come to claim them. FitzRoy himself admitted that the demands were backed by the whole community, even to its most loyal members, and strongly advised concession.
