Joseph Howe to Lord John Russell, September 1839

Joseph Howe was a Nova Scotia reformer and newspaper owner, and was first elected to the Nova Scotia Assembly in 1836.

Document Summary:
In this letter, Howe responds to Russell's objections to responsible government (made in an earlier letter) and argues that the governors could be made responsible to the assemblies in the same way ministers were in Britain. He also ridicules the governors then in office, and the system supporting them.

In response to the idea that the British colonial office could ensure the constitutional conduct of governors, he notes that the governors were even less responsible than they would be otherwise because they could blame the Colonial Office.