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CIHM/ICMH

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',:• :^ : :

MR. REMI BENOIT

—TO-

Jl^e Electors of l^i^l^mopd,

NOVA SCOTIA.

Arichat, Cape Breton,

' February 15th, 1892.
To the Electors of the County of Richmond, in the Province of Nova Scotia :
Gentlemhn :

During the recent by-election in this County for the House of Commons,
one of the most strongly and persistently iterated and reiterated "cries" in
the canvass against Mr. Gillies, M. P., was the allegation, that the Liberal-Con-
servative candidate was "the nominee of Senator Miller, who had sold the
liberty and independence of his native Province," t^j the time of Confedera-
tion, by his "sudden conversion" to, and support of, the cause of British
North American Union. Reams of isuch defamatory rubbish in the shape of
newspapers (so called) were scattered broadcast over the constituency pend-
ing the contest, in the hope of arousing against Senator Miller's friend the
hostility of the defunct Repeal faction in this County, and probably cost Mr.
Gil'ies the loss of some votes, among the electors of to-day, many of whom
)uld not be expected to be accurately informed in relation to the events of a
generation ago, or of Senator Miller's true connection with them.

The last iime I had the honor, in 1878, of seeking your suffrages to elect
me to represent you in the House of Commons (when I was defeated by a
small majority,) I had the valued support of Senator Miller, and the same
despicable tactics of slander and misrepresentation towards him were used
by the Grits and Repealers of that day, to injure me with the electors.
In the election of Mr. Gillies, with the splendid majority of over three hun-
dred, these slanderers have now got their answer from the people, which, doubt-
less, is alike satisfactory to the victorious candidate, and his much abused friend,

Mr. Miller's famous speec%, in 1866, in support of Confederation, which no
doubt turned the scale in favor of that great scheme at a critical period, and
which has so often subjected him in years gone by to the most unlimited abuse
and misrepresentation, is at the present time within the reach of few, and
his real position and action in the Union struggle are not very accurately known
to many of the present generation. I, therefore, think, in common with many
of Senator Miller's numerous friends, that it is only an act of justice to him to
place that speech before you, nearly twenty-six years after it was delivered, in
order that you may all judge for yourselves whether bis conduct in the struggle
for Union was the result of "sudden conversion," or was actuated by unworthy
motives. I think no more conclusive answer could be givSn to Mr. Miller's
enemies than the speech itself affords.

As a fitting supplement to Senator Miller's utterances on the subject of
British North American Union in the Legislature of Nova Scotia, and a proof
of the sincerity and consistency of his convictions on that great question
throughout his public career, I think it not inappropriate to publish the Sen-
ator's able address in the Senate of Canada, in 1871, on the admission of British
Columbia into the Union, and the construction of the Canadian Pacific Rail-
way; an address made at a time when it required more courage and foresight
to stand up for the immediate construction of the Canadian Pacific Railway,
"«t least in the Atlantic Provinces, than it does to-day to boast of that great
8.ccomplishnient. Both these admirable speeches contain sentiments of which
Mr. Miller need never feel ashamed.

The atrocious libel, which some of those lying sheets contained — that the
electors of Richmond werv? so incensed at theii* representative's conduct on the

question of Union, in 1866-67, that "his life would not have been safe, had he
ventured among them," receives a crushing answer in the address presented to
Mr. Miller, on his appointment to the Senate, by his old constituents.

Those now living in this community, who remember the leading men of this
county a quarter of a century ago (so many of whom have since ptissed away
from among us with honored names), will readily admit, that a more gratifying
testimonial to Mr. Miller's integrity (even more so from those who differed from
him, than from those who agreed with him) could not have l)een desir 1 by one
in the position he then occupied. When to this are added the facts, that a Judge-
ship was proffered him by Mr. Mackenzie's Government, with the full approba-
tion of the Repeal Government of Nova Scotia, in 1876, and afterwards a
higher seat on the Queen's Bench was offered to him, in 1879, by Sir John
Macdonald's Ministry, I think it is about time that this re-hash jf old slanders,
for a purpose, on the eve of elections, should be discontinued.

Some years ago, after a period of defamatory abstinence on the part of
Senator Miller's opponents, the Halifax Chronicle, the leading Grit and Anti-
Union organ in this Province, essayed to revamp and publish the "old chest-
nut" about "selling the country," and having been sued for libel, when the case
was on trial, made an ample and unqualified retraction and apology to the
plaintiff, the defendent's counsel declaring, in open Court, under the instruction
of his client, and with ; strongly expressed approval of the presiding Judge,
that "after the evidence given in this cause, the man who would repeat such
libels on Senator Miller, would deserve to be mulcted in $10,000 damages."

It remains to be seen, whether or not the later culprits, relying on their
obscurity and insignificance, are to escape just punishment for their vile and
malicious efforts to impose on the credulity of the ignorar t.

REMI BENOIT,

President Lib. Con. Assoc, of Richmond Co.

U^OD

(Official Report of Speech of Mr. William Miller^ M. P. P., in the House of
Assembly of Nova Scotia, April 3d, 1866).

UNION OP THE COLONIES.

Mr. MILLER said -T rise, Mr.
Speaker, to address the House on a
question of the deepest importance
to the people of this country, a ques-
tion in comparison with which all
other public questions may be truly
said to sink into insignificance — I
mean the great question of Bi'itish
Colonial Union. If, sir, the subject
were less important than it is, T would
not venture, as I now do, to trespass
on the attention of hon. gentlemen in
reference to it, in the absence of any
motion before the House. The course
I am about to adopt is the result of
much deliberation, ;»nd I shall bring
myself within the ru s of the House
by making an enquiry of the Govern-
ment before I resume my seat. Sir,
on no occasion during my comparatively
short professional and public career have
I risen to address any body of men
impressed with a deeper sense cf the
grave responsibilities of my position
than I now feel. But, on the other
hand, I can truly say on no occasion, in-
volving public responsibilities, have I
been animated by stronger convictions
of the propriety of the step I am
about to take than I am at this mo-
ment.

For the past two years, Mr. Speaker,
the (Question of a Union of the British
North American Provinces has been
before the people of this country, and
I need hardly state my views have
obtained some publicity, and myself
some prominence, in opposition to the
Quebec scheme of Confederation. To
that scheme I am now as hostile as I
have ever been. I believe it to be
unjust to the people of the Maritime
Provinces in some of its most import-
ant features. I believe to force it
upon us, without important modifica-
tions, would frustrate the end it is
intended to promote— the permanency
of British institutions on this contin-
ent- These were my opinions in 1864,

They have undergone no change. They
are my opinions to-<lay.

But, Sir, it is well known to this
House and to the people of this coun-
try that, notwithstanding the strenu-
ous and unwavering opposition I have
given -to the Quebec scheme of Confed-
eration, I have invariably declared
myself in favor of an equitable union
of these colonies. During the agita-
tion of this question I have spoken on
it in Parliament and at public meet-
ing's in several counties of this Pro-
vince, and nowhere have I failed to
express in unequivocal language my
desire for union on fair terms. I can
appeal to those who have listened to
me in both extremes of Nova Scotia,
whether in Cape Breton or in Lunen-
burg, in support of this assertion.
But, Sir, I can appeal to something
stronger if the consistency of my con-
duct in this Legislature is called in
question — I can appeal to the official
records of this house. I can go even
further and appeal to the gentlemen
with whom I have co-operated for the
last eighteen months in opposition to
the scheme of the Quebec Conference,
many of who n are opposed to all
union, and who will bear me ready wit-
ness that my co-operation in the anti-
union movement in this Province has
only extended to the financial details
of thfit schv^me.

The subject of a union of British
America, since I hava been capa-
ble of forming a judgment on the
question, has found favor with me.
Apart from the material advantages
of such a union, there is something
ir. the assurance of national strength
and greatness to be derived from it,
which is in sympathy with the best
feelings and aspirations of every Brit-
ish American whose future is wrapped
up with the futui-e of his country.
For some years past, J have enter-
tained a strong opinion on the sub-

ject — an opinion that the period was
fast approaching when these North
American colornes must 'cast off their
present political habiliments, and as-
sume others more consistent with
their julvanced position, their sur-
roundings, and their altered relations
to the Empij-e. I was in favor of
their political union before the subject
was presented to the country in any
tangible shape. I am in favor of it
now, after having given the question
much attention and thought, and
after the bitter and prolonged agita-
tion which it has pnxluced in this
Province. The first opinion I publicly
expressed in favor of it was in the
debate in this House on the resolution
introduced in 1864 by the hon. Pro
vincial Secretary, when I am correctly
reported to have used the following
language : —

"If the Resolution before the House con-
templated a union of all the Provinces of
British North America on equitable terms
no one would liail it with more satisfaction
than himself. Such a union he trusted at
no distant period would become both a com-
mercial and political necessity. He looked
forward hopefully to the day when the in-
habitants of these .loble Provinces, united
under one Government, might stand before
the world in the proud national character
of British Americaus. From such an asso-
ciation they would indeed derive national
strength and dignity worth some sacrifice
to obtain. They would then possess a pop-
ulation and country whose ' niTiediaie status
and inevitable destin'- would command re-
pect. A ui.lou of the Maritime Provinces
and the great territory beyond would give
us a country extending from the Atlantic
to the Pacific, with all the diversified
resources necessary to the most unlimited
material progress. In favor of such a pro-

Sosal most of the arguments urged in this
ebate would have real point and force,
and not appear, as they now did, absurd or
inapplicable. "

From the above paragraph, Mr.
Speaker, it will be seen, and indeed
the fact is one of notoriety in this
House, that before the Quebec scheme
of Confederation was in existence, I
had placed on record my decided ap-
proval of a union of British America
on equitable terms. I think I will
have no difficulty in sho'ving thflt,
though prominoiit in my opposition

to the Quebec scheme of Federation, 1
have always been favorable to the
abstract idea of Union. My first
appearance before the public in oppo-
sition to that scheme was at a mass
meeting of the Citizens of Halifax, in
December, 1864, about nine months
after the above declaration in Parlia-
ment ; and although I spoke under
circumstances of much irritation, I
did not allow any personal annoyance
to draw me into antagonism to the
great principle of Colonial Union.
Looking back, sir, to that occasion,
and recollecting the excitement that
marked it, I find no ordinary degree
of satisfaction at the emphatic manner
in which I preserved my consistency
on the great principle involved in that
discussion. I said : —

"I do not wish, Mr. Mayor, that my ap-

Eearance on this platform to-night f^'iould
e construed into opposition to a union of
British America on fair terms. I am not
opposed to, but, on the contrary, would
support a union based on sound principles
and equitable terms. I am not, however,
willing to purchase Confederation on con-
ditions disastrous to the people of Nova
Scotia. These are the reasons why I oppose
the measure by which Confederation is now
sought to be secured. I cannot ratify the
improvident bargain our delegates have
made, because it is unjust to this Province.
It is a baigain i ' which the advantages are
all on one side, and all against us."

I repeat, sir, when I look back to
the period at which these remarks
were uttered — when I remember the
excitemen^, and personal acrimony that
marked, in some in prances, the discus-
sion of this subjec in Temperance
Hall — I am exceedingly gratified to-
day that no temporary provocation
could induce me to denounce all union,
as others did, but that I wisely con-
tented myself with hostility to the
particular scheme then under consid-
eration. I do not deny, that in the
warmth of an exciting platform dis-
cussion I may have used language
that in times of greater coolness I
would not have uttered. But no can-
did man would think of binding
brother too strictly to every expres-
{ sion used before an excited popular

assemblage, amid the cheers of his
friends, and the hisses of his oppon-
ents. It is only proper to recollect
that everything I then said, every
argument I advanced, wjus directed
solely to the end of defeufcing the
Queljec Resolutions. When the ques-
tion came before the Legislature, at a
late period last session, 1 intended to
have fully explained my position and
views, but in common with a numlier
of gentlemen on both sides — for rea-
sons which will be found in the re-
ported debates — I then danied myself
the pleasure of speaking on it at any
length. In the few remarks I did
make, however, I find the following
decided reiteration of all my previous
declarations : —

"If I have any desire for a union it is for
the larger one. The opinions I held last
year I hold now. My opposition has not
been to union in the abstract, but to the
terms on which it was secured. I defy any
one to find a single passage in anything I
have said which proves that I am opposed
to union on equitaole terms. "

Sir, I do not think I require to say
a single word in addition to what is
contained in the official records of this
House to show, that from rny first
appearance in this Legislatvire up to
the present time, I have been favor-
able to a union of these Provinces. I
am chargeable with no sudden con-
version to that opinion — nay, more, I
am chargeable with no inconsistency
in regaixi to it. Everyone who un-
derstands the difference between the
principle of a measure and its details,
is well aware that in supporting the
principle of any scheme 'a party does
not commit himself to its details.
The absui"dity of any other assump-
tion is too apparent to call for com-
ment. In the same way, in opposing
the details of a measure it does not
follow that we oppose its principle. I
do not make these pbvious remarks
for gentlemen in this House, but for
those elsewhere who may not as readily
appreciate the distinction.

Wliat, then, has been my position
on this great question up to the pre-
sent time? My position has been that

of an uncompromising opponent of the
Quebec scheme, yet an otlvocate of
Union. While, however, my hostility
to the Quebec Resolutions has not
diminished during the last eight(;en
months the subject has been agitated,
I am not prepared to assert that my
attachment to the principle of Union
during tl. same period has not in-
creased. Hiv, I frankly admit that it
has increased. I am more firmly con-
vinced at the present moment than
ever oi the desirability of a Union of
British America. Thore are many
reasons to-day that did not exi.^t two
years ago, why every British American,
who is not insensible to the logic of
events, should desire a union that
would tend to consolidate the strength,
develope the resources, protect the
rights, and promote the mutual inter-
ests of these Provinces. Sir, the Pro-
vinces of British North America are in
no ordinary period of their history ;
and that n an is heedless of the signs
of the times — is heedless of events that
are daily and hourly transpiring around
him — who exhibits indillerence to, or
affects to disregard danger in, the pre-
sent state of public affairs on this con-
tinent. I need not remind hon. gen-
tlemen that the whole aspect of things
around us has been changed within
one short year. The neighboring re-
public, twelve months ago in the throes
of a death struggle which threatened
its disruption, has since emerged from
the ordeal, claiming the reputation of
one of the first military nations of the
world. Her military prestige will not
diminish the characteristic arrogance
of her international polity. It will
certainly not lessen her d'sposition to
offensiveness in her intercourse with
foreign nations ; as it has increased
her necessities, it will not lessen her
desire to aggrandize herself at the
expense of her neighbors. We have
grounds of apprehension in this re-
spect peculiar to ourselves. We know
that the late war in America has cre-
ated a feeling of animosity for some
fancied grievances among certain classes
of the American people towards Great

Britain and these colonies. I neer!
not specify these assumed grievancef. ;
they are familiar to every one. Tltey
may cuhiiiiiate at no distant day in a
war l)etween the two countries. Tliey
have alreiuly cuhninated in a species
of cotnmercial warfare aimed at the
prosperity of British America. Does
any doubt that tlie rej)eal of the Reci-
pi'ocity Treaty is intended partly as a
punishment of these Provinces for
their sympathy with the Southern
States during the late struggle, and
partly as an annoyance to Great Bri-
tain foi" her alleged bad faith as a
neutral power? But, sir, there can be
less doubt that it is chiefly relied on —
I mean the repeal of the treaty— as a
great means of fostering annexation
sentiments in British North America.
I shall prove this assertion presently
beyond the possibility of doubt. As-
suming it to be correct, is it not our
duty to adopt such steps as may frus-
trate any such design? Now, sir, I ask
what step is so likely to conduce to the
result we ought to have in view as a
union under one Government, which
will give all these colonies a common
policy and a common platform of ac-
tion? Isolation in relation to recipro-
cal trade, in the present crisis, has
peculiar dangers. It gives the Wash-
ington authorities complete command
of the whole situation. It gives them
the ^ power of playing us off against
each other, of exciting jealousies, pro-
ducing dissensions and creating inter-
ests, which can have but one tendency.
No Government under the sun more
thoroughly understand that game than
the Government of the United States.
They will play it to our ruin and their
own advantage if we leave the cards
in their hands. I do not wish to go
further in connection with th view of
the subject, but it has had a powerful
influence on my mind. It affords a
most weighty argument in favor of
immediate union.

I have said that the repeal of the
Reciprocity Treaty is intended to pro-
duce annexation tendencies in British
America. I think I can adduce evi-

dence on this point so conclusive as to
amount to a moral demonstration.
Allow me, in the first place, to revert
to the history of the Conmiercial Con-
gress held last summer in Detroit,
representing the great mercantile in-
terests of the United States and Brit-
ish America. Need I remind hon.
gentlemen that on that occasion an
important functionary of the Wash-
ington Government, a gentleman occu-
pying the high position of American
C(msul at Montreal, the first city in
British America, declared that he
attended that Congress at the recjuest
of his Government, and with author-
ity to express their views and wishes
with regard to reciprocal trade. He
earnestly advised the abrogation of
the treaty, and openly and insult-
ingly told the colonial members of the
Convention, that the object of this
policy was to produce the annexation
of British America to the Republic.
We have, then, the fact that Mr.
Potter went to Detroit declaring him-
self in the confidence of his Govern-
ment and the exponent of their views,
and we all know that his utterances
have never been disowned by hij
masters ; and we have the further
most important fact, that on the first
meeting of Congress the policy that
gentleman foreshadowed as that of
the Washington Government was car-
ried out. If, then, Mr. Potter was
correct in foreshadowing the policy of
his Government, is not the conclusion
irresistible that he was equally correct
as to the wishes and motives that
were at the foundation of that policy?
These significant facts cannot fail to
make a due impression on the mind of
every man who desires to maintain
our connection with the Empire, and
they strongly confirm my convictions,
not only of the desirability but of the
necessity of union.

We know from the newspaper press
of the United States, that the question
of a union of British America has
attracted considerable attention in
that country, and that the proposal
is generally received v/ith little parti-

ality. ThoHo journals eapecially noted
for tlieir violent antipathy (,<jwar(ls
everything British do riot conceal
their hostility tt) the measure, and
the grounds of that hostility. We find
that those among us who(»ppose union
are applauded jis the friends of annex-
ation, while those who mlvocate it
receive very different treatment. Lt^t
me treat the House to an extract
from a journal marked for f^e vile'i-
ness and virulence of it -se of

Great Britain and these .nies —
the N. Y. Herald— iiH inaicative of
the hopes entertained in that (juarter
as the inevitable result of a refusal on
our ])art to unite and concentrate our
interests. The Herald of the 10th of
March last, referring to the repeal of
the Reciprocity Treaty, says: —

" Meantime the provincials, who have
Juid a taste of the olessings of free trade
with the ' Yankees ' under this expiring
Reciprocity Treaty, are called upon to con-
sider the question of their ' manifest des-
tiny ' in the proposition from Queen Vic-
toria for a North American Confederation
under the vice-royalty of a member of her
family. This movement contemplates a
consolidation which has already been de-
clined by Nova Scotia and New Brunswick,
but it is not thus to be abandoned. An

AGITATION WlUi BE APT TO FOLLOW WHICH
IN DUE TIME WILL GRAVITATE TO THE EASY,
NATUBAL AND ADVANTAGEOUS SOLUTION OF
ANNEXATION TO THE UNITED STATES. "

Sir, there is something in this lan-
guage that should arrest the attention of
every ir..n not blinded by party spirit
or other unworthy feelings. What is
the meaning of this "agitation" with
which we are threatened? Is the re-
peal of the Reciprocity Treaty merely
the initiation of a systematic design
t undermine our allegiance and annex
us? Have the Government of the
United States their agents in this
country for this purpose, as insinuated
by the Herald? If they have, it will
not long remain a secret, for the hour
of action is at hand, when we all must
be judged by the sympathies we avow,
and the company we keep. I am
aware that no man would dare openly
advocate annexation, but it th?:-e be
any among us who desire it, thtr' will

take the more safe and insidious means
of attainitig their end by exciting dis-
affecti(»n on Jiny pretext that will offer
itself. The language of the Iferald
affordn reascmable grounds for watch-
fulness, and it is oidy right that the
country should be on its gua»''

Now, sir, there is another consider-
ati(m that has its just weight with me.
The Impe.ial CJovernment has spoken
on this subject in terms not to be
mistaken, and firmly and persistently
urges on the people of British America
the necessity for union. I know there
are persons who talk very flippantly
of the interference of Colonial Secrv
taries, or the British Government, in
our affairs. For my part, sir, while I
would as readily as anyf)ne resist im-
proper interference from any (juarter
in the public affairt; of this Province,
I would be sorry to deny the right of
the Queen's Government to use its just
influence and authority in all matters
of Imperial concern. Much lesr? would
I dream of anythi'ij^ so absurd as to
dispute their rigl^t to deal with any
measure affecting the integrity of the
Empire. On all questions of this
character, I for one am ready to yield
the most respectful deference to this
high authority. The desire of Her
Majesty's Government for a u^ion of
the colonies has received the most
emphatic expression that could be
given to it — it has been declared in
three consecutive Speeches from the
Throne. Now, I ask this House, is
thee a colony under the Crown that
has greater reason to show deference
to the just wishes of the Imperial Gov-
ernment than the Province of Nova
Scotia? Sir, do I require to point to
the evidences of Imperial solicitude
for our safety and welfare that are
before everybody's eyes? Walk out
some fine morning and view the forti-
fications of this city, and get, as you
can only get, an imperfect estimate of
the immense treasure Great Britain
has spent for the protection of this
people. Visit that citadel, under
wliose shadow even now our slumbers
are undisturbed; visit Point Pleasant,

George's Island and a half dozen other
places I could name. Extend your
wanderings to the north end of this
city, and see those costly structures the
Wellington Barracks ; visit the Ord-
nance and Dockyards ; and then you
will have only a very faint idea of the
amount of treasure Great Britain has
lavished upon us. Hom'^ much does the
army, supported here for our protection,
spend among us? In a few short weeks
the harbor of Halifax will be alive with
the "wcDden walls" of England. Her
brave tars will be on the spot to protect
our interests, and leave their last dollar
with our people. Should these things
be forgotten or winked out of sight at
the present time?

But, sir, it is not alone in this way
Great Britain has shown us favor.
She has not only done everything for
our protection and security, but she
has given us the entire control of our
local affairs — Responsible Government
' — and every liberty we enjoy having
been got for the asking. Therefore,
sir, as a Nova Scotian, I am ready to
yield that deference to the wishes of
the Imperial Government they have a
right to expect. Their past treatment
of this Province is a guarantee that
they desire to improve our condition
by union. I have no hesitation in
saying that of all the dependencies of
the Crown, Nova Scotia should be one
of the most disposed to yield a defer-
ential ear to Imperial counsels.

It may be said, sir, that my prac-
tice is inconsistent with my professions
— that for the last eighteen months I
have been opposing the policy of the
British Government. Sir, I deny the
imputation. I have never opposed
that policy; on the contrary, I have
ttdvocated it. T consider there are
only two classes in the Provinces who
are in antagonism to the Imperial
policy : those who are opposed to all
union, and those, unwittingly so, yet
equally hostile to that policy, who
would force a scheme of union on the
MaritirAo Pi'OA'inces, which its oppon-
ents believe to be unjust, and its sup-
porters know to be obnoxious to the

great body of the people. Against
that scheme public opinion has unmis-
takably pronounced, and if forced
upon us, the result will be the opposite
to that desired. The British Govern-
ment have no especial partiality for
the Quebec scheme — they desire an
equitable union of British America;
and instead of opposing I have always
advocated such a union.

There are one or two other matters
to which I shall allude before turning
my attention to the question I intend
to ask. A few days ago this House
went through all the solemn forms of
a conference with the other branch of
the Legislature on a subject the im-
portance of which is admitted by
every one — I allude to the protection
of our fisheries, in consequence of the
abrogation of the Reciprocity Treaty.
What was the result of the delibera-
tions of the joint committee of both
Houses on that occasion ? Whp^t me&ns
did they suggest for that great service?
Their report has been placed on our
table, and what does it advise? An
humble petition to the Queen's Govern-
ment praying for assistance. In our
necessities we rush to the Colonial
Office for aid and protection, and yet
there are those among us who deny
any reciprocal duty on our part, any
obligation even to listen respectfully to
the wishes of the British Government.
We know that, although we may buy
a blockade runner and vote a few
thousand dollars for the service, our
fisheries can have no adequate protec-
tion if England refuses us her aid.
Now, I ask is it reasonable to expect
a favorable answer to our petition, if
we refuse to comply at such an im-
portant period of our history, with
the request of Her Majesty's Govern-
ment?

Mr. Speaker, there is another sub-
ject to which I must refer, because its
bearing on the question of Colonial
Union is too palpable to escape the
commonest observation. Every one
will admit that the clouds pending
above our pt>litical horizon at the pre-
sent tim3 may justly excite the most

our
An

serious apprehensions. An organiza-
tion, at first reg .rded with contempt,
has been called into existence on this
continent, where it has lately assumed
very formidable proportions — 1 mean
the Fenian Brotherhood. A part of
the avowed policy of this organization
is the severance of the connection be-
tween these colonies and Great Bri-
taia. The termination of the civil
war in the United States has thrown
loose on that country nearly half a
million of daring and reckless men,
with a taste for the license and ex-
citement of military life, and a dis-
relish for the pursuits of peace. These
men, from whom the Fenian recruits
are chiefly drawn, are ready to embark
in the most lawless and hazardous en-
terprises. The or-ganization extends
throughout the Northern and Western
States, and boasts of having at its
command any number of men* and
any amount of money for operations
against the British Empire, which it
seeks to dismember. It is not con-
cealed that the vulnerable point
through which this object is to be
attained is British America, Now,
sir, perhaps this House will be aston-
ished to learn, that in the published
platform of the Fenian organization,
it is laid down as a leading object
and duty of that body, to prevent
the consolidation of British power on
this continent, by the proposed union
of these Provinces under one Govern-
ment. This fact has only come to
my knowledge within a few weeks.
I repeat, sir, it is laid down in the
platform of the Fenian body, as the
paramount duty of every Fenian,
either in the United States or the
British Provinces, to oppose and frus-
trate any union among us. There-
fore, I say, that the man who now
opposes union — I don't mean the Que-
bec scheme — but who sets his face
against all union, actually endorses
the leading principle of Fenianism !
I do not believe, there are a dozen
men in Nova Scotia who would know-
ingly occupy this position, and I feel
confident that when this fact is under-

stood, it will- do much to popularize
the union sentiment in th's Province,
whose loyalty is proverbial. If there
be a single argument that will more
than another touch the hearts of our
loyal population, it is that the enemies
of British power everywhere are hos-
tile to this movement, and the fact
should cause many of us to hesitate
and enquire, what is our true position?
If we have any regard for our present
happy condition, or any desire to con-
tinue our connection with Great Bri-
tain, it behooves us to set our house in
order, and to see that we are not, in
more ways than one, in the words of
the New YorA Herald, "gravitating
towards annexation." No one can
doubt the patriotism of the people of
Nova Scotia, and if a hostile raid were
made upon any portion of our country,
the invaders would meet with a recep-
tion they would not soon forget. But
who does not know, that the favor and
protection of Great Britain would be
to us a source of greater security, than
maintaining a standing army of 100,-
000 men. With the power of the
greatest Empire under the sun at our
backs, we could present a fearless front
to all the world. If it were desirable
for no other cause that these Pro-
vinces should be consolidated than
that we would thereby disappoint the
enemies of our country, it should be
a strong inducement to union. But
when, in addition to this fact, by that
step we would secure the protection
of the Mother Country, when she only
asks from us an act of just filial obe-
dience to induce her to stretch forth
her powerful arm to guard our pro-
perty and rights, this ought certainly
to be sufficient. I say, therefore, in
view of these facts, in view of the
dangers which have developed them-
selves within the last few months, if
we can obtain an equitable union, it
is the duty of every man who desires
to uphold British connexion, who is
opposed to annexation, who has no
sympathy with Fenians, and does not
wish to be consigned to the tender
mercies of the lawless horde, u) pro-

mote such a union of these Pro-
vinces.

Now, sir, holding the opinions I do
in reference to this great question —
advocating the principle of Union and
opposing the Quebec Resolutions — I
have been asked by the press of this
country, and I admit not unfairly
asked, to define my position. I have
been asked to justify my conduct in
opposing a scheme embodying a prin-
ciple to which I am conmitted, with-
out offering any other means of attain-
ing the end I profess to have in view.
Well, sir, I am here to-day to define
my position, and to answer the other
objections urged against me. I am
also here to make an important en-
quiry of the Government. As to my
position, I am in favor of a Union — a
Federal Union of these Provinces. I
believe such a union best suited to the
exigencies of our situation. If a Le-
gislative Union were practicable, I
would prefer adopting the Federal
principle in forming a union of Brit-
ish America. Among the admirable
speeches delivered some years ago in
this House on this subject, that of the
present Chief Justice, in which that
able lawyer and shrewd politician con-
tended that a Federal Union was best
suited to our circumstances, appeared
to me the most statesmanlike and
sound. Accepting, then, as I do, the
principle of a Federal Union, I desire
to ask the Government — if there is no
common ground on which the suppoi ti-
ers of the Quebec scheme, tibandoning
that scheme, can meet the friends of i..
union on more advantageous terms,
and arrange the details of a measure
that will be just and satisfactory to
the people? I think there is a com-
mon ground — a ground on which I am
willing to take my stand no matter
who follows me. If the Government
will publicly abandon the Quebec
scheme, and introduce a resolution in
favor of a Federal Union, leaving the
details of the measure to the arbitra-
ment of the Imperial Government,
properly advised by delegates from all
the Provinces, I promise them my

cordial support. This would be com-
mencing rightly. By getting the en-
dorsement of the Legislature, 'n the
outset, of the principle of Union, and
its authority to enter on the settle-
ment of the details of a scheme, the
friends of the measure would occupy
a very different position from that
oocupied by the delegates to the Que-
bec Conference, who went to Canada,
in 1864, without any authority from
Parliament. No small amount of op-
position was at that time excited
against Confederation from this cause.
It had much weight with myself and
many others, who looked upon the
action of the delegates as an improper
usurpation of power. Another con-
ference on this side of the water has
been suggested in certain quarters, but
if we really desire a practical result it
cannot be entertained. To reopen ne-
gotiations here at the present time
would be only t3 retaru Union fcr
many years to come. Besides, I be-
lieve the most certain means of ob-
taining justice for the Maritime Pro-
vinces would be to leave the settle-
ment of details to the Imperial Gov-
ernment. I ask is there a tribunal in
the world to which Nova Scotia might
more confidently appeal for justice,
than to that august and impartial
body? Its justice, its wisdom, its
intelligence, are beyond dispute. I
say that if there be a tribunal where
might will not prevail against right, it
is the one I indicate. If we can get
justice anywhere, we will get it from
that tribunal, and I ask, does^ any
Nova Scotian desire more than jus-
tice? This subject has engaged the
attention of the public men of Great
Britain. It is well known in that
country that the difficulties in the
we,y of union are principally with the
Maritime Provinces, and if we throw
ourselves confidingly on the justice of
the British Government, I believe we
will receive even a partial arbitration
of our rights. I know of no means by
which we can more effectually secure the
favorable consideration of the Queen's
, Grovemment, than by thus proving our

confidence in its justice, and our anx-
iety to meet its wishes. T therefore ask
the leader of the Go •^rnment, and
through him the advocates of the Quebec
scheme, whether they are so wedded to
that scheme as to be unable to enter-
tain the proposition I, as a friend of
Colonial Union, now frankly make?

I will not deny, that the extraordi-
nary reaction that has taken place in
New Brunswick in regard to Union,
and the admitted partiality of a large
majority of the people of Nova Scotia
for the abstract principle, coupled
with the firm but constitutional pres-
sure of the Imperial authorities, afford
grounds to apprehend that before very
long the Quebec Resolutions may be
carried in the Maritime Provinces.
The object of my present movement
is — and 1 fearlessly avow it — to de-
feat the Quebec scheme. Before it is
too late, before we are borne down by
the powerful influences against which
we are now contending ; while yet we
have, so to speak, a formidable army in
the field; while our opponents respect
our strength and hesitate at an engage-
ment, is it not wise to seek the most
advantageous terms of compromise?
Men of extreme views, men who de-
sire to make this great subject a stalk-
ing horse on which to ride into office —
in short, individuals ''with other ends
to serve" — may condemn the course I
have taken, but no one values the cen-
sure or approval of such men. I shall
lose nothing in severing my connection
with them, while I feel my conduct
will be generally sustained by the
intelligent portion of my countrymen.
But I do confess, that this step may
sever me politically and personally
from some gentlemen, sincere in their
opposition to all union, whom I I'e-
spect, and whoso friendship I value.
I shall regret it, but must frankly say
I desire to maintain no connexion, I
am prepared to throw away any friend-
ship, that can only be preserved at
the sacrifice of mv convictions. If I
have been marked for anything while
I have been in this Assembly, it has
been for independence of action, and

fearlessness in the expression of my
thoughts. I have never acknowledged
allegiance to any leader or party in
this House. I have never attended a
party caucus in my life. Among the
gentlemen I address, no one within
the past two years has come more fre-
quently into keen collision, here and
elsewhere, with the occupants of the
Treasury Benches than myself. I am
certainly indebted to these gentlemen
for no favors, and I can point to more
than one act of personal or political
injustice received at their hands. But,
sir, I would be unworthy of my posi-
tion in this Legislature, if I could allow
considerations of this nature, on one
side or the other, to control my action
in the presence of a question of the
highest magnitude. I will not den^',
that I have some ambition as a public
man, but my highest ambition will be
gratified if I can contribute an humble
stone to the edifice of Colonial Union.
Before, however, I can yield any assist-
ance to the builders, the model of the
proposed structure must .be altered,
and the whole design undergo the
revision of aa architect in whom I
have confidence.

Sir, the hostility I have all along
evinced to the Quebec scheme of Con-
federation has frequently been atiii-
buted to a desire to defeat the .Gov-
ernment, and thus promote my own
political prospects. I trust that the
course I have this day taken will be a
sufficient answer to this charge. If
such were my desire, my end would be
most certainly attained, in the present
wide-spread hostility to that scheme,
by maintaining the position I have
occupied for the last eighteen months,
without committing myself to any pro-
posal for the solution of our difficul-
ties. But as ail avowed Unionist,
such a course would be indefensible,
and I am not will'.ng to pursue any
course I cannot cefend. Nor do I
seek any temporary triumph over my
political opponents, at the expense of
the highest interests of my country.
If the Government be animated by
sentiments of moderation, justice and

sound policy, they shall have my
aid in the great work in which they
are engaged. I hope we may find
a common ground of co-operation
in our efforts to improve our present
condition of isolation and obscurity,
and elevate Nova Scotia to the posi-
tion nature intended her to occupy.
But, sir, do not let me be supposed to
underrate the present position of this
Province, Far from it. Even as she
is, I am proud of my country, and
grateful for the happy homes she af-
fords her sons. Yet proud, sir, as I
am of the little sea-girt Province I call
my nat-'^e land; proud as 1 am of her
free insuitutions, her moral and intel-
lectual status, her material wealth ;
proud as I am of the name of Nova
Scotian, a name which the genius and
volour of my countrymen have in-
scribed high on the scroll of fame ;
proud I say as I am, and may well be
permitted to be, of these things, I
have never ceased > entertain the
hope, expressed in his Legislature
in 1864, that the d< was near at
hand, when you, sir, anw I, and those
who listen to me, in common with the
inhabitants of all these noble Provinces,
united under one Government, might
stand before the world in the prouder
national character of British Ameri-
cans.

[On the 10th day of April, 1866, the
leader of the Government, Hon. Charles
(now Sir Charles) Tupper. made an elabo-
rate speech on the subject of Confedera-
tion, and moved a resolution in ar ' ^dance
with Mr. Miller's views, which wao ..arried
after a week's debate with a large majority,
— concluding his speech as follows: — "Hav-
ing, therefore, given the subject the most

careful consideration ; having submitted the
proposition of the hon. member for Rich-
mond (Mr. Miller) to the Government, and
to the gentlemen who are opposed to us
politically, Hut who are associated with us
on this question, we have come to the con-
clusion, that it is our duty to the House and
to the country, to meet in all frankness the
proposal that has been made. We feel that
difficulties have arisen in connection with
the Quebec scheme which require such an
arrangement as has been proposed, in order
to remove the objections th.i oxist. I can
only say, m reference to thia matter, that
as Canada has accepted the basis of the
Quebec scheme by a large majority, that
any alteration in the terms obtained from
the Imperial Government must be more
favorable to the Maratime Provinces. "

During' the previous year, a general elec-
tion tooK place in New Brunswick, when
Hon. Mr. (now Sir Leonard) Tilley's Gov-
ernment was badly defeated on the Quebec
scheme of Union, and Hon. Mr. (afterwards
Sir Albert) Smith, the leader of the Anti-
union party in that province, was called on
to form a new Ministry. At the time of

the

passage

of the Union resoluiton in the

Nova Scotia Legislature, this Ministry ap-
peared to be strongly intrenched in oifice ;
but almost immediately .after the passage
of that resolution Lieut. -Governor Gordon
(on tlie 8th May, 1866), dissolved the New
Brunswick Legislative Assembly, with the
result that the Tilley Government was
again retiirned to power on the question of
Confederation, with a good majority. This
change was no doubt due to the altered
circumstances of the country, and the changed
aspect of the Union question, and was, of
course, greatly influenced by the success of
the Union Party in Nova Scotia. Thus
was the way cleared in Nova Scotia and New
Brunswick for the consummation of the
Union.

It is well l:nown, that the London Con-
ference of 1866-67ilargelyjmodified the finan-
cial conditions of the Quebec scheme in favor
of Nova Scotia, which were afterwards much
improved by the " better terms " secured by
the Hon. Joseph Howe from the Parliament
of Canada for that Province.]

(Official Summary Report of Hon. Mr. Miller's Speech in the Senate of Canada
on the adm,i8aion of British Columbia into the Union, April 3d, 1871.)

Hon. Mr. MILLER said that al-
though he would diflfer from the two
hon. Members (Hon. Messrs. Letellier
and Wilmot), who had just preceded
him, in the vote he would give on the
question under debate, there were some
sentiments in the speeches of his hon,
friends in which he unreservedly agreed.
He agreed with the hon. member from
Grandville in the magnitude and im-
portance of the subject under consid-
eration — the great scope for inquiry it
afforded — the vast national asnects it
presented, and the grave responsibil
ities involved in the motion before the
House. But he had no sympathy with
the general tone of that hon. gentle-
man's speech ; he could not, in many
instances, see the force of his argu-
ments, or admit the correctness of his
conclusions ; he could not certainly
share in the gloomy forebodings which
his hon. friends had indulged in, or in
their want of faith in the ability of
this Dominion to accomplish the great
work on which it had entered. Nor
did he believe the views of these hon.
members would find favor with a ma-
jority of that House or the country.
On the contrary, that Parliament would
prove itself equal to its high duties on
the present occasion, as it had done on
occasions of a similar character — as it
had done in dealing with Prince Ed-
ward Island, Newfoundland, and Man-
itoba, he had every hope and confid-
ence. Such too he believed to be the
wish and expectation of the great ma-
jority of th9 people of this Dominion.
There was a doctrine prevalent among
their Republican neighbors, the doc-
trine of " manifest destiny," the mean-
ing of which was familiar to all, and
the attainment of which was frequently
advocated on the principle that the
end justifies the means. That doctrine
looked to the absorption, by that great
power, of all the territory of this Con-
tinent, either by force or diplomacy,
or in any other way in which it could

be achieved. He could not help think-
ing, that they tt.o should have their
manifest destiny ; a destiny, howaver.
not of v/rong or aggression, or of self-
aggrandizement at the eiipense of their
neighbours, but a juster and a nobler
one. Theirs should be a destiny of
enlighcened progress — a destiny to take
advantage of the elements ol future
prosperity and greatness, of right be
longing to them, and so profusely with-
in their reach, by uniting and consol-
idating in one harmonious whole, the
magnificent possessions of their Sover-
eign in British North America (cheers.)
That he believed to be the destiny of
the Dominion, and it was one alike
worthy of their highest ambition, and
within their ability and reach. He
was aware there were some among
them with whom these views might
excite derision ; there were some who
sneered at what they called the pre-
tensions of this great young nation,
and who were always ready to belittle
its present status, and deride and doubt
its ultimate success. Those, he felt
sure, were a small minority, daily grow-
ing "smaller by degrees and beauti-
fully less." He was unprepared for
the views expressed in some quarters
on the question before the House ; he
was especially surprised at the expres-
sions of his hon. friend from St. John,
(Hon. Mr. Hazen), whose great ability
and large Parliamentary experience
gave authority and weight to anything
he said, when he declared that because
he was an opponent of Confederation
from the beginning, he, as a member
of this Parliament, refused to assume
any responsibility on this question
(hear, hear.) Thatnon. gentlemen de-
sired to throw on the originators of
union all the risks of its results, while
willing to take all its benefits. But
he was content to assume all that re-
sponsibility, and defend the policy of
union. So far, it must be admitted,
the Confederacy had proved a great

6UCC6S8 — hacl proved at least equal to
all its high a r obligations of a national
character, and the experience of the
past might reasonably make them hope-
ful of the future. He ^aid this in no
party sense, and with no reference to
jnany acts of administration of which
he disapproved. When he spoke of
the higher national obligations of the
Dominion, he alluded to those things
above the ordinary duties of internal
administration, which it was the espec-
ial mission of Confederation to achieve.
First among these was its duty to effect
the union under one government of
every square mile of British North
American soil. In dealing with Prince
Edward Island, Newfoundland ".iid
Manitoba., Parliament had exi > . u.
degree of wisdom and generosity that
elicited admiration at home and abroad,
and although the Island Colonies had
not thrown in their lot with them,
there was little doubt they would not
much longer hesitate to do so. In
both places, a counter action had al-
ready set in ; prejudice and passion
were rapidly disappearing before the
light of truth and reason ; faction was
fast losing its hold and influence ; the
disadvantages of isolation were daily
becoming more apparent ; the terms
offered were being more calmly discus-
sed, and their liberality more generally
admitted (cheers.) Then again, in pro-
tecting their invaluable fishery rights
against foreign encroachments ; in re-
pelling on more than one occasion
hostile invasions of their soil ; in allay
ing discontent in Nova Scotia ; in quel-
ling insurrection in the North West
and establishing order and constitu
tional government where confusion and
anarchy pt'evailed;in doing those things
which were amongst the first cares of
a national existence, the Dominion, al-
most unaided, had proved equal to its
duty (cheers.) The progress so far and
the results achieved, were satisfactory.
The vast territories of the Hudson's
Bay Company, so long shut against
colonization and settlement, had been
added to the Union, which now ex-
tended from the Atlantic to the Rocky

Mountains. They had alreat.y secured
a territory out of which maiiy splendid
Provinces would yot Deformed, and that
woulci off^r an inviting home to mil-
lioris. Who doubted that soon the
tide of immigration would set towards
those fertile regior>s, and that ce long
they would see the wnole country from
the Red River to the Rocky Mount-
ains, with cheap and certain and quick
communication, occupied by a prosper-
ous population, contributing to the
strength and wealth of the Dominion 1
Yet even a few years ago, how remote
did what had already been accomplish-
ed appear even to the most sanguine ?
A few years ago, the people of the
Maritime Provinces took less interest
in the affairs of old Canada than they
did to-day in the affairs of Manitoba ;
it was not long since Montreal appear-
ed more distant to them than Winnipeg
then did. It was one of the happiest
results of Confederation, that through
it, the inhabitants of the Old Provinces
were brought into familiar intercourse
with each other, by which many ground-
less sectional jealousies and local pre-
judices had been removed, and a truer
understanding of their common inter-
ests secured. A diversity of wants
and interests had, in many cases,
proved a bond of unity, showing them
to be dependent upon, and necessary
to each other (cheers.) It was true,
they had not ari'ived at a political
millenium in which sectional narrow-
ness and faction had altogether given
way to a sense of public duty — such
could not be expected, and such was
not the case. But apart from its substan-
tial advantages, the result of Confed-
eration had already been to elevate the
tone of public sentiment ; to enlarge
the views of the people and their re-
presentatives ; to educate them all up
to the duties of their advanced growth,
and to infuse a courage and spirit of
self-reliance in regard to whatever re-
mained to be done in the accomplish-
ment of their manifest destiny (cheers.)
Such were the political results of Uni-
on; its results on the material pros-
perity of the people of every section

of the Dominion xe^e ecjually gratify-
ing. Accustomed in their several Prov-
inces, before that event to deal only
with local subjects comparatively small
and unimposing, they perhaps required
the education the larger arena of thi>
Parliament afforded io enable thetn to
deul hopefully and fearlessly with a
subject of the magnitude of that un-
der consideration. He believed this
question would now be approached in
no timid or narrow spirit. He thought
that no time should be lost — that no
exertions should be spared, to secure
the admission into the Union of British
Columbia on the one side, and Prince
Edward Island and Newfoundland on
the other. Under these circumstan-
ces, and at a most auspicious time, the
application of British Columbia to be-
come part of the Dominion of Canada
was submitted to this Parliament. ' In
considering that application, he would
trespass on the patience of the House
to tak(^ a rapid glance at the country,
its value and resources, they were
about to secure by the proposed ar-
rangement. British Columbia, includ-
ing V^ancouver's Island, as they were
all well aware, was the most western
dependency of England on this con-
tinent. It comprised a territory of
about 290,000 square miles, situated,
with the exception of a small portion
of Vancouver's Island, above the par-
allel of 40° N. Lat. It possessed a
sea coast of about 500 miles, as settled
by the Treaty of Washington in 1846,
and a breadth of between 300 and 400
miles. The country, although in many
parts broken and uneven, contained
much valuable agricultural land, equal
to the support of a large population.
The climate is admitted to be one of
the most desirable in the world for
natives of the temperate zones, and
they would all admit the importance
of climate in inducing immigration.
" A dry, warm summer ; a bright, beau-
tiful autumn; an open, wet winter
and spring " — is said to be a true des-
cription of the weather in Vancouver's
Island, and all along the sea coast of
British Columbia. Only an imperfect

estimate can be formed of its popula-
tion, as no census has ever yet been
taken, but from the best sources of in-
formation available the population,
tonsisting of Whites, Indians, and
Cixinese, may be put down at 60,000.
A few yeat-s after the Treaty of Wash-
ington, Vr., icouver's Island was grant-
ed by the Crown to the Hudson's Bay
Company under conditions of settle-
ment which were never complied with,
the object of that Corporation being
there as elsewhere to retard coloniza-
tion wherever their monopoly exist-
ed. These causes, coupled with its
recent settlement, will account for its
small population. But its great re-
sources, and unrivalled maritime ad-
vantages, must before long make it one
of the most thriving and important
communities on the Pacific. These
resources were very numerous. There
was its timber, especially its pine, un-
iversally, conceded to be the best in
the world, and as exhaustless as it was
superior. Markets for this commodity
on both sides of the Pacific were abund-
ant, and writers well acquainted with
the subject contend that the invest-
ment of capital and labour in that
branch of industry alone would sogn
make the country populous and weal-
thy. The prosecution of this business
on a large scale would soon call into
existence a large mercantile marine,
for timber being a bulky commodity
required a large tonnage for transport-
ation. It was this industry alone that
had made New Brunswick second only
to Nova Scotia in the tonnage it pos-
sessed (hear, hear.) British Columbia
is known to contain coal formations of
immense extent. They need not be
told of the value of coal as a source
of national wealth : it was one of the
first [uisites of manufacturing suc-
cess, and one of the chief elements of
general commercial prosperity. Its
coal alone would make British Colum-
bia a valuable aquisition even to a
country not requiring a Pacific sea-
board. The demand for coal in the
North Pacific was said to be very great,
and the full development of that rich

resource could not be much longer re-
tarded. Coal also being a bulky article
would give employment to a larf;e
number of ships, thereby encouraging
ship building, and bringing into exisl.;-
ence a large amount of tonnage. His
hon. friends irom Nova Srotia would
admit what the coal trade of t'^at Pro-
vince had done to make them the larg-
est ship owning community in the
world in proportion to population
(hear, hear.) Then copper abounded
in the colony, and also magnetic iron
ore, marble, limest.one, sandstone, &c.
Its gold fields had a world-wide reput-
ation. The export of that precious
metal had been computed in some years
to exceed .|4,000,000. Its fisheries
were almost equal to their own, and
are destined to become an important
item of commerce. Tha people of
California, Mexico, and those countries
on the west coast of South America,
would be larger consumers of that
article than Spain, Italy, and the
Brazils, which now afforded to the
Atlantic Provinces so large a market.
Besides, no place on this continent
was better situated for the prosecution
of the whale and seal fisheries than
British Columbia. This was another
branch of industrial wealth that'would
tend towards the building up of that
favoured colony as a Maritime State,
ultimately destined to compete for the
carrying trade of the Pacific, especially
between Asia and America (hear,
hear.) It was here worthy of remark,
that while the prosperity of Nova
Scotia depended largely on its coal
and fish, that of New Brunswick chiefly
upon its lumber, that of Newfound-
land wholly on its fish, British Co-
lumbia combined all these elements of
wealth, and many more, the possession
of which had ever been a source of
national prosperity (hear, hear). But
great as may be the resources of that
colony, and desirable as would be its
acquisition for the sake of those re-
sources, it was as a Pacific sea-board
that British Columbia was invaluable
to the Dominion and the Empire.
What would not the United States

give for its possession in order to shut
out Canada and Britain from the pos-
sibility of becoming choir rivals m the
trade and commerce of the Pa ific?
A very few years ago, an able wiiter
in the California press spoke thus of
the coming struggle between those two
ountries for " the trade of the East,
and the empire of the seas " : —

' ' That England has great purposes to eflfect
in this part of the world, is, no doubt, true ;
that she has grand projects on foot, looking
to a Union of her North American Colonies,
and the opening of a highway from ocean to
ocean, she does not seek to disguise. That
these new settlements are yet to become
competitors for the trade of the East, if not
for the commercial supremacy of the Pacific,
it were useless to deny. * ♦ * But, how-
ever, we may regard the advent of England
upon our shores, or whatever estimate we
may bet on the value of he possessions in
this (juarter, one thing is certain, we have
now ^ot to meet her on this side of the globe
as we have met her on the other ; and en-
countering her enterprise and capital, her
practical, patient industry and persistence
of purpose, dispute with her for the trade
of the East and the empire of the seas. "

When intelligent foreigners were so
early alive to the inevitable rivalry
here indicated, was it not time that
they should be awake to their duty
and interests? England still main-
tained her supremacy on the ocean,
daily distancing all her rivals. But
may not even they, one of England's
dependencies, venture to dispute the
empire of the seas with their ambiti-
ous neighbors ? When the Dominion
controls 500 miles of sea coast on the
Pacific, and more than double that
extent on the Atlantic, with natural
resources and commercial necessities to
call into existence a mercantile marine;
with t 'e greatest facilities in the world
for ship building, and a policy remov-
ing al! restrictions and taxation from
that enterprise, who could doubt the
result? He recollected reading last
year in a leading commercial journal
of New York an able article on this
subject, in which the writer predicted
with regret, that the Dominion of
Canada, already third or fourth on the
list of Maritime States, would in the
beginning of the next century be the

JJl

IfiH

greatest maritime power on tlie globe
(cheers).

Such being the vaJae and advan-
tages of tha territory proposed to
be annexed to this oountiy, the ques-
tion arose whether, in vie'v of the
policy to which the Dominion yas
committed, and the absolute neooswity,
politically and commercially, of secur-
ing a sea-board on the Pacific they
were asked to pay too high a price foi*
their object. He did not think there
could be much dissatisfaction with the
general terms of the arrangement ;
the only real objection was to the geat
outlay in connection with the Pacific
Railway. Passing over for the present
the subject of the railway, it did not
appear to him that the terms agreed
on, although certainly liberal as they
ought to be, contained anything unreas-
onable. He did not think there was
anything to complain of in fixing the
population at 60,000, even if it were
something less. The financial arrange-
ments had, doubtless, been settled on
accurate information, and a full inves-
tigation of the wants and circumstan-
ces of the colony. If the pres' at tariflF
of British Columbia was continued,
the Dominion would lose nothing, but
allowing for a change to the tariff of
Canada after Union, which was in the
option of the Local Legislature, and,
no doubt, would be made, still if the
country became at all populated they
would lose nothing. The public works
and services stipulated to be under-
taken appeared proper and necessary.
Neither did he consider that any alarm
need be felt from giving to British
Columbia a larger representation in
the Senate and House of Commons
than its present population would jus-
tify. The same compromise had been
extended, although not to the same
extent, to Prince Edward Island, New-
foundland and Manitoba. But the
population would soon become equal to
the representation, which, after such
increase, would be arranged on the
basis of the British North America
Act. There was nothing to fear from
the presence, temporarily, of two or

three more members in this Parlia-
ment, either from British Columbia or
Manitoba, than they were at present
strictly entitled to; they could not
unfairly influence the decisions of Par-
liament (hear, hear).

It could not be denied the great
stumbling-block in the negotiations
submitted to Parliament for approval
was the gigantic undertaking to con-
nect the Pacific with the Atlantic by
railway, a work estimated to require
over $100,000,000. To look at this
great project simply as a portion of
the terms offered to secure the admis-
sion of British Columbia into the
Union, was not viewing it in a fair
light. True, the undertaking was now
assumed in connection with ths terms
agreed upon with that colony, but it
was because it could not sooner be as-
sumed — it could not be contemplated
while British Columbia remained out
of the Union, and Canada had no sea-
board on the Pacific. It was absurd
— it was purely factious, to look upon
this great national highway simply as
a British Columbian affair; it was a
subject alike of Dominion and Impe-
rial interest. It was equally absurd
to say they were asked to build this
railway to secure the annexation of
that colony. The reverse of that pro-
position was nearer th truth. The
railway was to be built because it had
become practicable by the agreement
of British Columbia to join the Union,
thereby giving the Dominion control
of all the country between the Atlan-
tic and Pacific Oceans required for its
construction. There could be little
doubt that they possessed the country
that afforded the best route for an
interoceanic railway.

(Mr. Miller here cited various au-
thorities to show the feasibility of a
railway across British territory — its
advantages over other lines that could
be built on the continent; its pros-
pects of becoming the highway for
traffic and travel between Europe and
Asia, and also showing how this means
of communication had hitherto been
neglected, partly in consequence of the

^mmmtmimmmmmmmm

efforts to find a water communication
between the two oceans through the
North West passage, forever aban-
doned for all practical purposes.)

It could not be denied, however,
that the proposition to build this
railway would startle the most san-
guine, if it meant to tax the people of
this country to the extent of $100,000,-
000 for such a purpose (hear, hear).
No public man among them would
dream of anything so visionary and
impossible as that of doubling the
debt of the Dominion for this single
undertaking within the next ten years.
Canada, in agreeing to secure the con-
struction of this railway, meant noth-
ing of the kind. It was not necessary
and could not be expected from them;
they would be required, he felt confi-
dent, to do only their fair share. A
railway across the continent on British
soil was as much an Imperial as a
Dominion necessity. There was no
doubt that England so regarded it.
The leading minds of the Empire had
unmistakeably given their opinion on
the high national character of the
work. From among a host of others,
he would quote Lord Bury, who had
given much attention to this subject,
and who, some years ago, before the
construction of the American Pacific
Railway, the completion of which had
given double force to his language,
said : —

" Our trade in the Pacific Ocean with
China and with India, nmst ultimately be
carried on through our North American
possessions ; at any raie our political and
commercial supremacy will have utterly de-
parted frcniv us if we neglect that very im-
portant consideration, and if we fail to carry
out, to its fullest extent, the advantages
which the country oflFers to us and which
we have only to stretch out our hands to
take advantage of."

Perhaps there never was a time
when political reasons rendered the
completion of this great inter-oceanic
highway so important to England. If
"the signs of the times" could be re-
lied on, at no distant day, her suprem-
acy, if maintained at all, as he hoped
it would be maintained, will be main-

tained after a desperate struggle. In
that event, what would be the whole
cost of this road to the advantages it
would afford, and the treasure it would
save the Empire? Can it be supposed
that British statesmen are not alive
to these considerations, and what has
money ever been to England when her
honor, her interests, or her power have
been concerned? That when the time
came, England would do her duty, and
do it generously, in this great national
enterprise, they might safely believe.
The importance of this railway is
strongly put in an article published
some time ago in the Money Market
Review, from which he would read an
extract : —

"That under these circumstances the rail-
way will be m&de, sooner or later, there can
be no doubt. With interests so numerous,
so vast, and with such means at command,
the difficulty of constructing this Hudson's
Bay Railway ought to assume the most
moderate proportions. Great Britain, Eur-
ope, Canada, British Columbia, New Zea-
land, Australia, the Hudson's Bay Company,
and the International Financial Society, all
want the railway, and would gain by the
railway, and it would be amazing, if with
such interests and such resources, it could
not be made, and made properly. In India,
State guarantees had been given, and are
promised upon railway capital, sufficient to
construct this line ten times over ; and it is
a question wh' ^her any one Indian railway
il3 more useful than this, even for State
purposes."

The certainty of England assisting,
either by guarantee or otherwise, in
this great work being clear, what he
asked was the true position of the peo-
ple of Canada regarding it? They had
lately acquired the North West as far
as the Rocky Mountains. Unless cer-
tain and quick communication with
that territory could be afforded, im-
migrants could not be expected to go
there; the country would remain un-
settled, and instead of becoming a
source of wealth vould continue a bur-
den on the Dominion. They could not
shirk their duty with regard to that
great extent of country, unless they
were willing to admit that they, four
millions of the descenaants of the
hirsute races that in modern times had

ling a
a bur-
Id not

>o that
they

y, four

)f the
eshad

led the civilization of the world, were
as unequal to its government as the
blighting monopoly they had super-
ceded (hear, hoar). That country was
comparatively valuele&a, unless con-
nected with the rest of the Dominion
by railway. Therefore, they would
be obliged, as the Postmaster-General
had correctly said, to construct the
greater portion of the Pacific Railway
in order to open up and colonize that
newly acquired territory, although
British Columbia remained out of the
Union. But in this view the work
would not be looked upon as a work
of Imperial interest, deserving Impe-
rial aid. By uniting British Columbia
and starting the railway as a work of
national necessity ; as a work of the
highest Imperial concern, it would
secure the countenance and assistance
of the Empire. If Canada could se-
cure a fair measure of Imperial sup-
port, the rest was certainly within her
means. They had at their disposal
limitless quantities of rich lands, the
value of which would be greatly en-
hanced by this ra'lway.

(Here Mr. Miller showed the extent
and value of the land at the disposal
of the Government to construct the
railway, the advantages of the country
over the line of the American Pacific
Railway, the probability that only a
subsidy from the Goverimient would
be required, which would be rendered
smaller by the probable guarantee of
the Imperial Government, making the
proposed liability a very different
thing from what it was represented to
be by the opponents of the measure.)

It may be said, that it was unwise
to bind themselves to the completion
of this work within ten years. But
they saw more changes, more great
results achieved, in a decade now, than
in a century a hundred years ago ; to
make the time longer would look like
not being in earnest, and he trusted
the Government were in earnest in
this great work. It had also been said
that the Maritime Provinces had no
interest in the union of British Colum-
bia and the construction of thj rail-

way. He repudiated, on behalf o^
the Province he represented, an idea
so narrow and sectional (hear, hear).
\^'^hatever benefitted any portion of
this Dominion, benefitted every portion
of it (cheers). The people of Nova
Scotia were as much interested in the
perfection of your canal system as the
people of Ontario. They should not
be told that because no portion of this
road wjis required to be built in Nova
Scotia, they had no interest in it. As
the wharf of this Dominion, Nova
Scotia had an interest in everything
that tended to develop the great terri-
tory of British America behind it.
Nova Scotia was as much interested
as Vancouver Island in the completion
of the inter-oceanic railway, and would
benefit as much from it (hear, hear).
Halifax might, after this road was
built, look forward to become the great
Atlantic depot of the trade of the East
— a trade that had enriched, in ancient
and modern times, every country that
had possessed it. The author of an
able work on this subject spoke of this
trade and its advantages to those that
had ever secured it in this way : —

" Control of trade with the East has been
coveted as a prime source of wealth by
western nations from the remotest antiquity.
Mercantile commimities engaged from age
to age in carrying eastern freight, have
invariably grown rich from the undertak-
ing, and the grandest cities of ancient and
modern times, have owed much of their
splendour to the fact of this rich traffic
passing through them. The Tyrianti, Greeks,
Romans, Saracens, Venetians, Portuguese,
Dutch and English, afford monumental
proofs of these statements."

He trusted that before many years
the Dominion of Canada would furnish
another monumental proof of the state-
ment of that writer. He believed
with the completion of railway com-
munication between the Atlantic and
Pacific, Nova Scotia would occupy one
of the proudest and most pjroaperous
positions in North America, and that
the realization of this scheme pre-
sented to that Province a future that
the imagination could not exaggerate.
If Nova Scotia were disposed to be
selfish and sectional — if its people were

I 1

Unfit to take a broad national view of
a great subject affecting the whole
country — he would still, on the most
selfish and sectional considerations as
a representative of that Province, ad-
vocate the construction of this rail-
way. If they could secure for this
line th > brade of the East; if Halifax,
with JjS harbor capable of accommo-
dating the shipping of all the world,
were to become the Atlantic df pot of
that trade, what dream could e^ragger-
ate the future wealth and grei^tness
thaw were in store for it (cheers) ?

In concluding his observations, he
could not help remarking on a coin-
cidence in his own connection with the
great question of Confederation, which
the House would pardon him for refer-
ring to. On this day five years, he
had by his action and his utterances
in the Legislature of his native Pro-
vince, marked an epoch in its history,
well in the recollection of many who
listened to him (hear, hear). On this
very day five years ago, he had, in the
Assembly of Nova Scotia, when mak-
ing an important enquiry regarding
Confederation, said that "a union of
the Maritime Provinces with Canada
and the great count ly beyond would
give them a territory extending from

the Atlantic to the Pacific, with all
the diversified resources necessary to
the most unlimited mat^eria) progress."
He little imagined on that day, that
exactly five years afterwardn, he would
be called upon in the Parliament of
this Dominion to raise his humble
voice, and give his humble vote in
favor of the great project he then
sired to see accomplished. Through
good report and though evil report,
through obloquy and misrepresenta-
tion, the loss of friends and the f^icri-
fice of popularity and personal ad^'an-
tages, he had never doubted the wit,
dom of the course he had on that da/
adopted, or regretted it. In their
political horizon he saw no sign to
warrant despondency or regret, but in
the present position and prospects of
this country, he saw much room for
hope, much reason for gratitude, much
cause for patriotic pride (hear, hear).
The friends of union had nothing to
regret or to be ashamed of, and he
trusted the day was not far distant
when, by the admission of Newfound-
land and Prince Edward Island, the
people of the Ddminion would be called
upon to celebrate the completion of
the noble edifice of British North
American Union (prolonged cheers).

I i

ivith all
38ary to
'Ogress."
ay, that
le would
ment of

humble

vote in
he then
Through
I report,
presenta-
he ricri-
il ad^'an-

the wik>
that da/
In their
) sign to
3t, but in
spects of
room for
ide, much
ar, hear).
Dthing to
c, and he
,r distant
ewfounc^
land, the

be called
)letion of
ih North
cheers).

(From the Arichat Warden, Janiiary, 189S.)

RICHMOND'S ADDRESS TO SENATOR MILLER.

The following Address, presented to Hon. Senator Miller, in July, 1867,
shows the estimation in which he was held at that time, a fortnight after the
Proclamation of Union, by le people of Richmond. The weight, intelligence,
and respectability of the names signed to this Address (comprising over three-
foUrths of the leading men of this County of that time), npeak for themselves,
and are a crushing answer to Mr. Miller's slanderera of to-day. It is even said,
the Grits and Repealers wanted to make a Judge of the Senator in 1876 ! If
such a man cannot afford a smile of contempt for the detractors, who can?
Never in Cape Breton was so flattering an Address, under similar circumstances,
presented to any public man : —

, • County op Richmond, July 15th, 1867.

To tlie Honorahle William Miller,

Senato7' of the Dominion of Canada :

Sir : — the undersigned avail thei^selves of the opportunity of your present
visit to this County to congratulate you on your appointment to the high posi-
tion of Senator of the Dominion of Canada.

D iring the peviod you represented this County in the Provincial Parlia-
mens, we gladly bear testimony to the zeal, ability, and success with which you
advocated and promoted the general interests of your constituent 3.

Although some of us differ fr m you on the subject of Confederation, we
have never doubted the sincerity and integrity of your conduct on that great
question, or countenanced the abuse and misrepresentation to which it subjected
you. The latter, we suppose, are the penalties to which every public man, M'ho
acts a conspicuous part, is obliged to submit.

Trusting that the public interests of this section of Nova Scotia may con-
tinue to receive your advocacy and support, and anticipating for you many
years of usefulness in the important arena in which you will hereafter be called
upon to act.

We remain, Sir,

John F .Fuller, High Sheriflf.
S. Donovan, J. P. & Coll. of Cus.
Henry C. Fixott, M.D. J. P.

Wm. LeVisconte,
Peter Bosdet,
Thomaa Lenoir,
John H. Rindresa,
Maximin Forest,
Simon Babin,
Louis Boudrot,
John Morrison,
James Hearn,
Charles King,
Donald McKAy,
John Keefe,
Isidore Martell,
Daniel H. Lenoir,
David Gruchy,
Geo. H. Bissett,
Alex. Murcheson,

J.
J.
J.
J.
J.

P.
P.
P.
P.
P.

J. P.
J.P.
J. P.
J.P.
J.P.
J.P.
J.P.
J.P.
J.P.
J.P.
J.P.
J.P.

Your well-wishers,

Wm. Crichton, Custos.
Geo. E. Jean, Clk. of Peace.
Wm. B. Chandler, Barrister.
James F. DeCateret, J.P.
James A. Shaw.
Andrew Belfoimtain, J.P.
Simon Leblanc, J.P.

Thomas Besdet, N.P.

Peter Grouchy, J.P.

John Anderson, J.P.

Frs. Marnieau, Jr., J.P.
Pat. Mourbourquette, J.P.
Henry Hatton Crichton.
Henry J. Fixott, M.D.
Lewis E. Tremaine.
P. Porcell, Contractor, &c.
Jeffrey White.
Daniel Urquhart.
P. McL. Morrison.
Duncan McRae.
Winget Dora.

Wm. R. Cutler, Judge of Pro-
bate, &c. •

W. G. Ballam, J.P. & Reg. of
Probate.

Stephen McPherson, J.P.

Anthony Oliver, J.P.

Robert Hill, J.P.

Henry Carie, J.P.

John Matheson, J.P.

Wm. Urquhart, J.P»

Duncan Cameron, J.P.

Archiband Johnston, J.P.

Georce J. Hendlay, J.P.

Charles Boudrot, J.P.

M. J. Kavanagh, J.P.

Wm, Leahy, J.P.

Andrew McDonald, J.P.

Donald Boyd, J.P.

John McLeod, J.P.

Patrick McCarthy, J.P.

David McNamara, J.P,

i
i

■i

(and many others too numerous to mentiox'..)

IIM

(From the Arichat Warden, February, 18^2.)

As some people have expressed disbelief +he fact, that the Grits and
Repealers offered Senator Milder a Judgeship in 1876, we think every doubt
will be removed by a perusal of the following correspondence, which shows,
besides, very clearly the opinion entertained of the Senator by two of the great
leaders of the Liberal party of that day — Premier Mackenzie and the late Sir
Albert Smith, who also spoke for their colleague, Mr. Blake.

Office of the Minister of Public Works,

Ottawa, June 24th, 1876.

My Dear Sir:

We expect within a few days to make the several appointments tp the
County Courts in Nova Scotia, as the Local Government desire to issue the
proclamation provided for by their statute.

I write to request you to allow me to submit your name to His Excellency
for the Cape Breton District.

Mr. Blake left for England three weeks ago, or he would have communi-
cated with you on the subject. I know, however, that your nomination will
be entirely satisfactory to him, and I have every reason to believe, that it will
give general satisfaction, in the District, and in the Province.

I will feel greatly obliged by receiving your early answer, and remain,

My dear Sir,

Yours faithfully,

(Signed) A. Mackenzie.

Hon. Wm. Miller,

Arichat, N.S.

If! i

Dorchester, June 26th, 1876.

Hon. W^illiam Miller
Mt Dear Sir :

As acting Minister of Justice, in ^/lie absence of Mr. Blake, it becomes
my pleasing duty to offer you the County Court Judgeship of the District of
Cape Breton.

Permit mc to say, that your fine talents, legal learning, and literary
accomplishments, eminently qualify you for the position, and I express the
hope that on receipt of this letter you will authorize me by telegraph to submit
your name to His Excellency the Governor General for appointment.

Yours faithfully,

(Signed) A. J. Smith.

if&

Grits and
jry doubt
ich shows,
the great
B late Sir

1876.

tits tp the
issue the

Excellency

communi-
lation will
bhat it will

>emain,

ENZIE.

•

1876.

it becomes
District of

ad literary
xpress the
to submit

Smith.

(From the Dominion Annual Register for 1879.)
REMARKABLE TRIALS.

MILI.ER VS. ANNAND.

This was an action of libel tried before the Supreme Court of Nova Scotia, at Halifax,
in November last, in which the Hon. William Miller, one of the Dominion Senators for
that Province, was plaintiff, and Mr. Charles Ar.nand, proprietor of the Halifax Momiiig
Chronicle, was defendant. The libel complained of appeared in the Chronicle in March,
1877, and had relation to the period when the project of Confederation was adopted by the
Legislature of Nova Scotia. The libel charged the plaintiff, who was then a member of the
Provincial Legislature, with having changed his opinions on that question, and corruptly
sold himself to the Union party for a seat in the Sei^ate of Canada. The case had more
than a personal or local interest, as charges of wholesale corruption had been freely made
for years, within and without the Province, by the Anti-Unionists against the supporters
of Union in Nova Scotia, and it was expected that an investigation in a court of justice
would throw some light on the transactions of that time.

Counsel for the plaintiff, Thompson, Attorney General, and Rigby, Q.C. ; for the de-
fendant, Weeks, Q.Cf., (ex-A. G.) and Motton, Q.C.

The defendant did not put a plea of juatification on the record, but, in addition to a
general denial, pleaded that circumstances and occurrences at the date of the plaintiff's
appointment to the Senate were such as to lead him, as a public journalist, to believe that
the charges against the plaintiff were true, and in that capacity , in the interest of the
public, without malice, the defendant published the alleged libel.

The plaintiff's counsel (Mr. Rigby, Q.C), in opening the case, went fully into the
history of tbj Union agitation in Nova Scotia, and called to mWA the bitterness that
marked the discission of that question, both on the public platform and in the press,
before and after the passage of the Union Act. The plaintiff had always been favorable
to the principle of Confederation, but was strongly opposed to the Quebec scheme, especi-
ally in its financial .rrangementa. When that scheme was promulgated in 1864, he was
one of tbe first to oppose it, while declaring himself in favor of Union on fair terms.
SubsequenMy, in 1866, the plaintiff, in his place in the Legislative Assembly, proprysed that
the Quebec acheme be abandoned by its friends, and that the whole question of Copfedera-
tion be submitted to a new Conference to meet in London, where terms of Union should be
agreed to under the sanction of the Imperial Government. The plaintiff's proposition met
the views of a majority of the Provincial Legislature, and the Union was thus accom-
plished. He therefore became the object of the most violent attacks of the enemies of
iJni^u, at public meetings and in the press. When the plaintiff was afterwards appointed
to the Senate his opponents said hip appointment was the price of his support of the Union,
The Morning Chronicle, which was the leading organ in the Province of the Anti-Union
party, as well as other hostile journals, were allowed to reiterate this charge with impu-
nity during the excitement of those days. During that excitement the plaintiff felt that
every allowance should be made by him as a public man for the violence of his assailants,
as there were some grounds for irritation, and he believed, when the heated passions of the
struggle had subsided, public opinion woi:ld not deal with him unjustly. He therefore
brought none of h' naligners before a court of justice. But as the libel had been repub-
lished by the Chronicle, in a most offensive form, ten years after the occurrence of the
events to which it referred, the plaintiff considered it his duty to himself and the leaders
of the Union cause in Nova Scotia, to demand a public investigation before this Court, in
the capital of the Province, of the charges therein made againt him. The plaintiff's
object was not to obtain damages against the defendant, but to put such swoin evidence
before the country, relating to his appointment to the Senate, as wc . 1 vindicate his repu-
tation — refute the acci".u,tions of his slanderers, and the general charges of corruption that
had been so often a'ieged in connection with the passage of vhe Act of Union in Nova
Scotia. It was the plaintiff's intention to place on the witness stand the leading pu>)lic
men of the Province who were concerned in the carrying of the Union, and every opportu-
nity would thus be given to elicit the truth from those best able to give it.

Several witnesses having been called to prove publication of the libel, which the defen-
dant denied in his pleadings :

Sir Charles Tupper was sworn. He stated that he was Premier of Nova Scotia from
May, 1864, until July, 1867, He had been a delegate to the Charlottetown Conference,
an«i also to the Conference at Quebec. The Charlottetown Conference was intended to
bring about a union of the Maritime Provincu.! ; the Cor ference at Quebec had for its
object a union of all the Provinues of British No)th America. The plaintiff was a member
of the Legislative Assembly of Nova Scotia from the general election of 1863 until July,
1867. When the resolution authorizing the fiist Conference was proposed in the Assembly,
the plaintiff opposed it, and expressed his desire for a Coufederation of all the Provinces.

When the Quebec scheme was published, in 1864, plaintiff also opposed it, in its details,
chiefly on financial grounds, but reiterated his desire for a union on what he considered fair
terms. In 1866 witness had several conversations with plaintiff, before and after the meet-
ing of the Legislature in that year, on the subject of union. The attitude of the Imperial
Government ; the relations of the Provinces with the neighboring States ; and other causes
which the plaintiff mentioned, induced him to desire a compromise of the difficulties that
stood in the way of Confederation. After several interviews and much discussion, it was
agreed that the plaintiff would support a compromise by which the whole question was to
be referred to a new Conference to meet in London, when all disputed points would be
decided under the auspices ^ " the Imperial Government. No offer oi a Senatorship, or any
other inducement, consideration or reward, with witness's knowledge or consent, was,
directly or indirectly, held out to the plaintiff for his support of the Union. As Premier
of fir Province, it was not possible that any such arrangement could be consummated
without the knowledge or consent of witness. When delegates to the London Conference
were appointed, it was considered that plaintiff's position and services entitled him to a
place in that delegation, and witness notified him of the intention of the Government to
appoint him. The plaintiff declined the appointment. He stated his desire was to recover
the confidence of his constituents, among whom he had become very unpopular on account
of his support of the Union, and that if he took any office or position from the Government
it would be looked upon as a consideration for that support, and would be injurious to him
in his election. This was months after the Union resolution had been caiTied in the Legis-
lature of Nova Scotia, and was the first communication of a personal character witness ever
had with the plaintiff in regard to this subject. Witness then informed plaintiff for the
first time that the Government was prepared to offer htm a seat in the Senate of Canada.
Plaintiff replied that he did not want a seat in the Senate^ as he intended to ask his con-
stituents for a seat in the House of Commons, and only consented to his app'>intment on
the condition that he should be at liberty to resign the Senatorship at any t >revious to
the general election, and contest his county. Plaintiff appeared decided iv to get a

seat m the Conmions or go out of public life. Witness considered the plau if 's promin-
enc<^ and public services justly entitled him to a Senatorship, and it was for these reasons
the position was offered to him.

Senator Miller was then examined and cross-examined at great length, his examination
occupying the greater part of two days.

Near the conclusion of the plaintiff's cross-exan^ination, an argument having arisen as
to the admissibility of evidence, the defendant's counsel (Mr. Weeks) addressed the Court
at some length, and a synopsis of his remarks appeared in the Halifax Herald of the
next day.

On the meeting of the Court that day, an amicable arrangement of the case was
arrived at, which was reported in the Halifax Morning Chronicle of the 22nd of November,
1879, asfollews:

THE LIBEL SUIT.

I I

M'ller vs. Annand — The Case Settled.

On the meetirg of the Court, yesterday morning, Senator Miller asked permis«!ion of
the Court to retire for ten minutes for the purpose of consulting with his counsel, stating
that he did not think the time would be lost.

The learned Judge having assented, Mr. Miller retired. On his return he held a brief
conversation with the counsel of the defendant, who retired for consultation with their
client.

On their return, Mr. Weeks addressed the Court as follows : -

On consultation with Mr. Mctton, who is associated with me in this case, and with the
defendant, I beg to call Your Lordship's attention to the report of my remarks made in the
course of vhis case yesterday, as published in the Herald of this morning, and ask what
more the plaintiff c-n desire if his object, as has been stated, is not pecuniary damages. I
desire now to state tiat my client will undertake to publish the report, as it appears in the
Herald, in the Chronicle, as an amicable settlement of the case, if this suit is not pressed
further, in view of the evidence which Mr. Miller has, for the first time, given in this
cause.

Senator Miller said — Under the circumstances, as the case has occupied a large amount
of valuable time, and as I came here simply for the purpose of vindicating my character, I
am willing to accept that vindication as it stands.

Judge DesBarres — I can only say, as far as I am concerned, I am very glad that thir
arrangement has been made. When I saw the evidence given by Sir Charles Tupper, aii
well as by Mr. Miller himself, I then thought the object of the prosecution, as stated b}
the counsel in opening, had been attained. The evidence which has been given on the
point which affects Mr. Miller most deeply ought to remove from every mind any suspicion

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tiittt may have existed as to the reasons which may have influenced him in changing his
position, and in leaving his former friends aud going over to his former enemies. Does it
follow because a man is a pullllulaii and beloiigb to a particulai pulilicul party, that he is to
be the slave of it, and to repress every conscientious conviction? Changes of this character
affect the position of every public man, and should never be made unless upon the very best
grounds. A change made undier such circumstances as tliese implies the possession of great
courage, because the man who does it knows that he must face a public very apt to imagine
that his change may have been made for reasons of a very different character. If Mr.
Miller's reasons for his change of position are published as tliey were given here, as I am
informed they have been, it appears to me that he stands, so far as that change is con-
cerned, and ought to stand, exculpated from having acted from the motive attributed to
him. I am very glad that this arrangement has been made, and I felt yesterday, when the
stage already referred to was reached, that this was the course which men disposed to act
rightly towards one another ought to adopt.

Gentlemen of the jury, I am very happy to say that you are relieved from further
attendance in this case. It is a happy thing for you, for we had not got half through
with it. ^**

The following are the remarks of Mr. Weeks, referred to as appearing in the Herald :

"He reminded the Court that there was no plea of justification on the record. The
defendant had not ventured to s»y that the alleged libel is true. He did not say in his
pleadings that Mr. Miller was bought or bribed to support the Union. Had he said so, in
the face of the evidence of Sir Charles Tupper, and the plaintiff, ,^10,000 would not be a
cent too much damages to give against the defendant, and he believed if a plea of justifica-
tion had been pleaded any jury empanelled in this city would give such a verdict. But no
such plea had been set up, even before the evidence of Sir Ciiarles Tupper and the plaintiff
had been publicly given in this Court. In the face of that evidence (Mr. VV. said) the
plaintiff • as bound to bring this suit, and he should have brought it long ago. Mr. Miller
had viiiaicated his character by evidence on Your Lordship's minutes, which we cannot
impeach, but he should have done so sooner. He should not have allowed similar charges
to oe made against him for years, without giving the explanations that have been given in
this trial. It is well for Mr. Miller that this public examination has been made, for the
man who will hereafter assail him as he has been assailed in the past would deserve to be
punished by a jury. But the defendant did not know the facts of the case until this trial,
and he ]ielieved the plaintiff's action, unexplained, justified the criticism of the Chronicle.
That is what the defendant now intended to show : that his criticism was not malicious.
In fact, the defendant was not at all in the Province when the alleged libel was published."

This closed an investigation that completely vindicated Senator Miller.

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Having shown the estimation in which the Liberal leaders held the Hon.
Mr. Miller, it may not be out of place here to show the opinion entertained of
him by the late Prime Minister, Sir John Macdonald, and the late Sir Alexander
Campbell, for over twenty years the distinguished Conservative leader in the
Senate, both of whom, when the latter was stricken by illness in the session of
1886, selected the Senator, then Speaker of the Senate, to discharge Sir
Alexander's onerous duties dui'ing his absence from the House. The high compli-
ment this joint act of the two great leaders implies is one of which Mr. Miller
may well feel proud. The following correspondence speaks for itself :

Earnsclifpe,

Ottawa, 26th April, 1886.

My Dear Miller,-

Our poor friend Campbell has sent me word that it will be impossible for
him to be in the Senate during the session, and he suggests that I should ask
you as his friend to take charge of the Government business in h'.s absence.

We shall be exceedingly obliged to you if you will undertake the task,
although we know it is one that will give you a great deal of trouble.

Believe me,

Yours sincerely,

(Signed) John A. Macdonald.

The Honourable

THE Speaker

OF THE Senate.

Ottawa, i2nd May, 1886.

My Dear Miller,-

I am intending to leave on Monday to get to Quebec by easy stages, and
to sail from there on Thursday. *# * ♦ * * * »

I write to say good-bye, and to send you my best wishes.

I have been hearing from time to time of the Senate, and am mucli gratified
to learn of the able and firm manner in which you have presided over the. debates

proceedings in that House. You have commanded universal respect, and no
one is more delighted to hear it tlian I am. • ^

Trusting that when we next meet, I will be in health and strength again^

Brliove me,

, Yours sincerely,

(Signed) A. CampbelT

"To th(: Hon. Wm. Millkk,

Speaker of the Senate.

Earnscliffe,

Ottawa, April 2, 1867.

My Dear Miller,—

The Government have selected our friend Plumb to be the Speaker of the
Senate for the next Parliament, and Ouimet to be Kirkpatrick's successor. The
absence of most of my colleagues owing to snow-blocks and other causes has
prevented the formal appointment in an oificial shape.

Let me thank you on behalf of the Administration for your valuable
services as Speaker during the last Parliament, and. assure you, that if we can
forward your personal interests in any way, we shall only be too glad to
embrace the opportunity.

Believe me,

Faithfully yours,

(Signed) John A. Macdonald.

The Hon. W. Miller.

In the face of such assurances from other ¥ inisters as well as the late Premier,
itis something for Senator Milkr t-o b& abia ta s ay, t h at he^basjaevrM-^directly
or indirectly, Isked from any Government or Minister any office of emolument
forhimself during tlie thii-ty years he tias occupied ^- -mrinent i)laee in t«biie
life. '^

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