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Tous les autres exemplaires originaux sont film6s en commenpant par la premlAre page qui comporte une empreinte d'impression ou d'illustrxtion et en terminant par la derniAre page qui comporte une telle empreinte. Un des symboles suivants apparaltra sur la dernlAia image de cheque microfiche, seion le cas: le symbols —^ signif v Ottawa. " "^ Agpicultum and Statistics at \'i5^\ PRINTED BY JOHN LOVELL A 80N, Montreal. * ->»' PREFACE. This volume is presented to the public in the belief that, irrespective of class or creed, it will be perused with pleasure by the sons and daughters of Prince Edward Island, both at home and abroad. The name of the late Honorable Edward Whelan, I need scarcely say, is a household word in this Province, whilst in other lands it can be mentioned with pride by successful and distinguished Islanders. Yet how few have access to even one of his eloquent speeches ! Unfortunately, in the winter of 1876, Mr. Whelan's valuable Library, which contained numerous fyles of newspapers, MS., etc., was destroyed by fire, therefore complete volumes of the Journals he published are few and far between in this Province. It is also to be regretted that, previous to the year 1855, the Debates of the Legislature were not printed in official form, but published in the newsj^pers of the day, only a few fyles of which are now to be found. Through the kindness of friends, however, and as the result of considerable research, the Compiler of this volume has succeeded in collecting the information contained in the Biographical Sketch, together with the Speeches and writings to be found in the following pages. It is, however, but justice to observe that while many of Mr. Whelan's most brilliant speeches were not reported at all, some of his ablest efforts were sadly marred by partizan and summary reporting. It may also be mentioned that the frontispiece herein presented, in the language of several surviving friends, is "a perfect likeness." PETER McCOURT. Charlottetown, 1888. CONTENTS. Pagb Frontispiece Preface i Edward Whelan I "^ ist of Premiers, etc 20 campaign Speech 21 Catholic Schools 33 Free Education . . 37 Franchise Bill 45 Self-Defence > .. 47 Salaries Bill 53 Defeat of the Coles>Whelan Government 63 The Maine Liquor Law 71 Patriotic Fund ; Crimean War 78 Review of the Governor's Speech — 1856 93 Responsible Government lol Hon. George Cole's Election 106 Lieut-Governor's Salary ill Stoppage of Supplies... I17 Inauguration of the Normal School 126 Increase of Representation I30 Bible Question 137 Landlords' Petition 144 The Land Question 155 Disallowance of the Loan Bill i6l Royal Land Commission. 165 Elective Legislative Council 171 Sheriffs Bill 176 Princeof Wales Visit 178 Libel Case 184 Land Commissioners' Award 195 Confederation of the Colonies 20I The Tenant League 208 The «No Terms" Debate 216 Last Speech in Parliament 223 Address to tl.. Electors 230 Eloquence as an Art • 262 Page • •€• ••• 1 I 20 21 - 33 37 45 ... 47 53 63 7» 78 9a lOl 106 Ill "7 126 • •«•*•• I ^O »37 144 »55 161 165 171 176 178 »84 '95 , 201 208 216 223 230 26a EDWARD WHELAN. This distinguished journalist, orator and statesman was born in the County Mayo, Ireland, in the year 1824, and died at Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island, in the year 1867, at the comparatively early age of 43 years. Having received a primary education in his native town he emigrated with his parents, at an early age. to Halifax, Nova Scotia, and shortly afterw/ards entered the Nova Scotian news- paper office to learn the art of printing, being apprenticed to Mr. Joseph Howe,— who not only printed and published but edited the paper during the greater part of the time Mr. Whelan remauied in his office. Towards the latter days of his appren- ticeship, Mr. John S. Thompson, the father of the present Minister of Justice, occupied the editorial chair of the Nooa Scotian. Among those still living who are familiar with Mr. Whelan's career in Halifax, we may also mention the name of William Compton, Esq., for many years editor of the Express, and one of the best informed men in Nova Scotia. While Mr. Whelan was employed in the office of the Nova Scotian, both as an apprentice and a journeyman, the most stirring events were occurring in Canada, namely, those that culminated in the Rebellion of 1837, and the struggle in Nova Scotia for Responsible Government. Mr (afterwards the Honorable Joseph) Howe always took a great interest in the welfare of his apprentices, and afforded them many opportun- ities for studying. Young Whelan took advantage of these opportunities, as well as a deep and intelligent interest in what was going on around him, and laid up stores of historical and political knowledge which proved of great advantage to him in after life. Not only in historical but in literary lore Biography of Hon. E. Whelan. also did he become an adept, and he took a great delight in the study of poetry and rhetoric. Shortly after the arrival in Halifax of the late Rev. R. B. O'Brien, a Catholic Newspaper called the Register was estab- lished there ; it was published at first by Mr. John P. Walsh, and edited by the Rev. Mr. O'Brien. Subsequently, Mr. Whelan became joint publisher with Mr. Walsh, and after the departure of the Rev. Mr. O'Brien from Halifax, Mr. Whelan assumed the editorship. The Register not only dealt with the religious and Irish questions of the day — Repeal being then agitated by O'Connell — but it took part in the discussion of the political topics pertaining to Nova Scotia. The Rev. Mr. O'Brien also founded in Halifax a Society, having for its object the improvement of the Catholic young men of the city, and developing their talents. The Young Men's Catholic Institute was the name given to the organiza- tion. Connected with it was a Library and Reading Room. Mr. Whelan was a member of this Institute, and always took part in its discussions ; so that by means of the printing offices and this Institution he had the opportunities presented him of training himself to be not only an able writer but also a polished speaker. These were stirring times in Halifax and the other counties of Nova Scotia, and the agitation for a change in their political systems was just commencing in New Brunswick and in this Island. During the stormy political contests which aroused the spirit of the people of Nova Scotia, and called forth the finest efforts of the ablest writers and best orators, Mr. Whelan was to the front, and wielded his pen in such a vigorous man- ner, that he attracted the attention of the leading men of the Colonies. It will be seen then that Mr. Whelan, in his younger days, lived in a period of great excitement, and in the midst of events calculated to inspire any young man with patriotism, and to imbue him with just and noble feelings of ambition. It-' Biofjraphii of Hon, E, Whdan, 3 4 I *t.i ') After the battle for Responsible Government had been fought and won in Nova Scotia, and the fight had been taken up in this Island for the same cause, leading advocates of reform here siw the need of an organ through the cokimns of which their views could be presented to the people in a forcible and prac- tical manner. Hon. Mr. Howe, on being consulted on the subject, strongly recommandtid Mr. Whelan as an able and ex- perienced journalist, and in a short time afterwards, he em- barked in a sailing packet,— the only m^ans of communication in those days, — for his new field of labor. At the agi of nineteen years he landed in Charlottetowii, and on the thirty-first August, 1843, commenced the publication of the Palbuliam. The initial number, it is needless to say, con- tained a complete statement of public grievances, and a note ot warning to the rulers of the day that nothing but swe::ijing reforms would save them from political disaster. This Island was then governed by the " Family Compact." It would be impossible in this sketch to trace the different degrees of kindred existing between the office-holders of that period ; suffice it to say that those in authority lost no oppor- tunity of bestowing all the patronage they controlled upon their respective relatives and family connections in all parts of the Island. They were strongly opposed to Responsible Govern- ment, and contended that, in a new Colony, it was unsafe to entrust too much political power to the populace. On their side was to be found nearly all the wealth and education, as well as the whole press of the Colony, in short "their right there was none to dispute," when the subject of this sketch landed on our shores. With such a formidable opposition arrayed against him, it must be admitted that Mr. Whelan, although in years only a boy, displayed great force of character when he placed himself in the breach to fight the people's battles. True to his prmci- ples, however, and undeterred by the taunts and sneers which frequently greeted his remonstrances, he advocated the cause 4 Biography of Hon. E. Whelan, of the tenantry, the introduction of Responsible Government, and the equaUzation and extension of the Franchise, with re- markable zeal and ability. But being, to a very great extent, dependent upon the poorer class of tenants for pecuniary sup- port, he was compelled, on the loth May, 1845, to discontinue the publication of the Palladium. For a time the style in which the surviving newspapers attempted to mould public opinion was neither encouraging to the tenantry nor flattering to the *' assembled wisdom " of the Island. In order to give an idea of the views held by the opponents of self-government we quote s short paragraph from the Morning News, a semi-weekly newspaper published by Mr. E. A. Moody, at that time. The action of the Legislature is alluded to as follows : " We understand an Address by our House of Assembly to Her Majesty, praying that this Colony may be blessed with a Responsible form of Government, was agreed to on Monday, and that it is to be sent Home in a few days by the baik Water Witch. We cannot foretell how far this application may please the Sovereign of the noblest nation on earth, but we are at liberty to prognosticate that it would appear to Her Majesty something like a petition from the inmates of a Menagerie before the Lords and Commons." It would appear from some of his observatious that, during the winter of 1846, Mr. Whelan had made up his mind to leave the Island, probably the only crumb of comfort he ever allotted to the landlords and their agents. But ** There's a divinity that shapes our ends Rough-hew them how we will." On the 23rd May, 1846, to the astonishment of the proprietary party, he assumed the editorial management of the Morning News, already referred to. It was at this stage of affairs that a most important change was inaugurated, one that must have caused disappointment among those who had been looking Biography of Hon. E, Wlieliin. fonvard to increased reven.ies, for an indefinite period, from estates to which they hai long since forfeited their titles. In the first part of Mr. Whelan's Introductory article in the iVfiirs, there is a tone of dissatisfaction, which shows th.it, although eminently qualified for the position he filled, his pathway in life, while a resident of Charlottetown, had not been strewn with roses. Seated once more, however, in the editorial chair, he commenced a vigorous attack upon the enemy, and with his well-known courage and earnestness addressed himself to the work of organizing his party. As the political imbroglio between Sir Henry Vere Huntley and tlie *' Compact" party was the all-absorbing question of the day we reproduce the article above referred to as folio ivs : "Twelve months ago, when I followed the ralhtdlum to its grave, I had little expectation of occupying the editorial chair for any other newspaper in Charlottetown. Nor, indeed, was I actuated by any desire to court the labors and responsibilities by which it is surrounded. My experience of the past taugiit nie to believe that it was a seat not the most conducive to pleasure or repose. The bickering and contention in which I was almost constantly engaged with my contemporaries of the Press, joined to the insincerity and heartlessness of many of my immediate associates and professing friends, awakened a train of recollections and ideas of sufficient poignancy and vividness to wean my mind from the love and veneration with which I was induced, at the outset of my career, to regard that Old Arm Chair. I intended to have sought 'neath a happier sky — and in a wider field of usefulness — an exercise for my thoughts and energies that might have afforded me an independent competence, if not wealth — a pleasure and satis- faction in the discharge of the humble duties which Providence might allot me, if not power over the minds and affections of my fellow-men. I felt that if I had not quite fulfilled my mission, I had manifested no disinclination for the performance of the labors which it imposed, — and I was contented to bow 6 Biogra2)hy of Hon. E. WJielan, 1 to the necessities of my po3ition, and retire from my charge _ i commenced my editorship as an advocate of Liberal principles not from any absorbing vie^vs of self-interest, but from motives of conviction and utility, and as an advocate of Liberal prin. ciples, I closed it. I found my party possessing nearly all the elements of power, but without the means of concentrating them, — unrepresented by the Press, uncared for by the Govern- ment. It was my object to unite and animate them — to impart a tone and vigor to their desires and resolves, that would enable them to present a bold front to injustice and oppression wherever it would be found to raise its head, and sliow that they were entitled to an equal share with their opponents in the privileges and patronage of Government. If I failed to carry out this object to the utmost limit — it was not because I wanted the will, but because I was left destitute of the mej*ns. As a soldier who is sometimes compelled to run from the field of battle, when an unforseen attack, too l)o»verful for successful resistance, is experienced, so I have been forced to abandon my post ; but I aui here now., illustra ting the truth of the familiar couplet, •' He who fights and runs away Lives to fight another day." Circumstances rendering necessary a longer residence on the Island than I was prepared to expect, I have yielded to the advice of several of my friends who were anxious I would resume my connection with the Press. I have therefore under- taken the management of the Morning New*, and placing myself once again in the editorial chair, I f tlie enthusiasm of one who is enabled to recognize, after a long separation, an old ftmiliar face, whose companionship oft'times cheered when the heart was least inclined to be gay, and preserved its power to please and brighten, even mid the twilight of discon- tent and despondency. *' • There is a tide in the afairs of party,' as in the ' affairs V Biography of Hon, E. Whelan. of men.' The present aspect of the current of political feeling in this colony illustrates the force of the remark. That * tide ' is flowing onward, and if the Liberal party are active and wise enough to take it at the * flood,' I have no doubt that it will Mead them on' to the greatest and the happiest results. An effort is being made to mislead the public mind, and divert its sympathies and energies from their legitimate channel, because a successful attack has been made at the dominancy of a party who have too long swayed the destinies — triumphing in injustice and chicanery — and growing arrogant and affluent at the expense of the people. That party — dis- appointed and indignant — are determined to wage war against the man by whom their power has been assailed — a man whom they have led into as many difficulties and errors, to suit their own interests and ambition, as ever ruined the prospects of an administration, and for which their whole lives cannot make an adequate atonement. They are going to wage an extermi- nating war against chat man — he of whom the country had once despairt d, because he has endeavored to rid himself of an incubus the most ruinous and oppressive — because he has gratified the highest hope of the country by removing the greatest obstruction to good Government it has been the misfortune of his administratJon to experience ; that party now seek to entangle the people in their quarrel — the people whom thei/ had reviled, and spurned, and trampled upon. At the head of this war-party is the liberty-loving speaker of the assembly. He says he is an advocate of Liberal principles, and professes, I believe, an earnest admiration of the system of Responsible Government — -an admiration with which I am at a loss to reconcile his desire to remain in office while acting in opposition to the Head of the Government. Unfortunately there were few signs of his conversion previous to All Fool's Day. The Hon. Speaker having been made a fool of by Sir Henry Huntley — as he himself affirmed — is trying his hand at making fools of the 50,000 freemen whom he fondly believes 8 Biography of Hon. E. Whelan. he represents, by telling them he has come down from his ' pride of place ' to redress their accumulated wrongs. But his own pre-eminence is the real object of his ambition ; — and if the country be lost to the remembrance of his former con- duct while an adviser of the Lieutenant-Governor — if it be destitute of manhood and independence, it will suffer his ambition to be gratified. " The Liberal party have novv a fair chance — if they use it wisely and prudently— of making the Government of Sir Henry V. Huntley, with all its faults, conducive to the best interests of the country. His Excellency is beginning to see the impolicy and mischief of governing exclusively for the benefit of a party, and will no doubt perceive the necessity of entirely casting off the undue influence by which he has been so long controlled, and of adapting his Government to the wants and wishes of the great majority of the people. By pursuing a straightforward, honest and independ-^nt line of action, he will secure their respect and gratitude — by pandering to old prejudices and predilections with the hope of concilia- ting, he will strengthen the hands of his enemies, and cause inevitable and speedy ruin to himself. It will be the object of the Morning News — so long, at least, as I may continue to discharge the duties fi{ editorship on its behalf — to note the development of this new and better policy which the Lieu- tenant-Governor seems inclined to pursue, and to watch, par- ticularly, the movements of the party who are striving to wrest the helm of state from his hands, and who seek to entrap the country into an approval of their proceedings by artifice and misrepresentation. '• I know that in assuming the editorship of the Morning News, my conduct will be misrepresented and maligned — I know that I may be accused of courting the favor and patronage of Government — but for every slander of this description, I trust I shall be fully prepared. 1 have too high a respect for the liberty of the Press to make it wholly subservient to any views Biography of Hon, E. WJielan. 9 that may not justly accord with my own, or suffer it to be made the instrument of any administration for the subversion of popular rights ; and if ever the Morning News should be required to advocate principles and opinions which my feelings and judgment repudiate, it must cease to acknowledge the editorship of Edward Whelan." The accession of the Morning News to the ranks of the people's party, in view of the General Election in the ensuing month of August, was hailed with pleasure throughout the country, and its new editor at once became a prominent figure in Island politics. Although scarcely twenty-two years of age, he was chosen as a candidate for the representation of the Second District of King's County in the House of Assembly, and on the 14th August, 1846, was elected by a handsome majority. Immediately after the result was made known, Mr. Whelan posted — there was no railway or telegraph lines in those days — the following letter, written at the Head of St Peter's Bay, to the publisher of the News : *' Sir. — The contest for the Second District of King's County was this day decided at half past 3 o'clock. There were about 214 votes polled for me in the space of three hours. Mr. VVightman — who was at the head of the poll in coming to St. Peter's — resigned at 2 o'clock, having received only four votes in this section of the District. Neither McKinnon nor Clay appeared on the hustings. Mr. McDonald relinquished the contest at half past three o'clock, and the poll was then finally closed, when the Returning Officer — VV. Underhay, Esq., — who acted most imparlially and honorably throughout the whole election, declared Edward Whelan and John Jar- dine, Esquires, duly elected. The poll stood as follows at the close: Whelan, 277; Jardine, 233; Wightman, 165; Mc- Donald, 15 1. I have not time to give you a lengthy description of this election, but I must say that I never witnessed a more 10 i i\\i Biography of Hon. E. Whelan. satisfactory and agreeable contest. The Returning Officer and Poll clerks are entitled to very great praise for the extra- ordinary exertions made by theni in polling, which was carried on at the rate of nearly loo voces an hour. After the election, the successful candidates addressed the electors, and were afterwards carried for some distance upon the shoulders of the people. Several pieces of music were then bought, and a large body of people accompanied me for a considerable distance up the Bay, playing many a spirit-stirring tune, and exerting their voices by many a hearty cheer." On the death of Mr. Moody, one month afterwards, Mr. Whelan severed his connection with the News, and issued the prospectus of the Examiner ; but the plant, which had been purchased in Boston, did not reach the Island before the close of navigation. Therefore the new party again found themselves without an organ through which they could expose the corrupt methods of their opponents ; but with that indomitable spirit which characterized his long political career, Mr. Whelan published, during the session of 1847, a small paper called the Reporter, an enterprise which, judging from the following comment upon the conduct of the party in power, received rather a cool reception at their hands : ** We are aware, " says Mr. Whelan, " that an unseemly, an unprincipled attempt has been made to thwart the publica- tion of this unassuming sheet, by men who would wish to be considered as the friends of civil liberty, and the sturdiest advocates of the freedom of discussion — men who would feign a virtuous indignation at any encroachment on this privilege in their own proper persons, but who would stoop to the meanness of the trickster to shut up every legitimate channel through which the opinions of their political adversaries might be conveyed." On the 9th August, 1847, ^^^ Ecamiaer, which Mr. Whelan conducted with such powerful energy, made its first appearance. The tenantry, notwithstanding the landlord clog, accepted it as Biography of Eon. E. Wlielan. 11 ?ht their guide, and with a determination to be freemen kept pace with the agitation in favor of Responsible Government. The struggle was energetically carried on until the 25th March, 185 1 , when the Legislature met, and after a protracted debate passed the Civil List Bill ; the Hon. George Coles was then called upon to form a Government, Mr. Whelan being one of its leading members, and on the 25th April, 1851, the first Responsible Government that ever ruled the destinies of this Island was gazetted. This memorable event, it is needless to remark, was fraught with inestimable blessings to all classes in the Colony. Under the new rigime, measures of reform followed each other in rapid succession — measures which have won for Coles and Whelan the foremost place in the annals of our history, and enshrined their names in the hearts of the people. The fact that, in any section of this Island, an avowal of their principles invariably obtains for political aspirants the respect if not the votes of the electors is sufficient testimony on this point. When it is remembered that Mr. Whelan had proved himself more than a match for influential opponents, having drawn from their ranks some of his ablest colleagues, it is not sur- prising that the victorious party were disposed to repay, to some extent at least, the debt of gratitude which they owed him. The office of Queen's Printer was, therefore, without solicitation, conferred upon him, the acceptance of which necessitated the suspension of the Exiimmer, an arrangement which he announced in the Rojjal Gazette of July 14th, 1852, in the following racy style : '* It is a somewhat singular coincidence that with the establish- ment of the new form of Government, the suspension of its most steadfast and consistent advocate should be nearly simultaneous. The aim of the Examiner, from the first, was to overthrow the corrupt and slavish system, upon which our administration, till within the last two or three months, was conducted; that overthrow achieved, through the united exer- 12 Biography of Hon. E. Whelan, tions of the Liberal Press and the Liberal Party, the Examiner is permitted to depart in peace. We are not, however, going to pronounce its funeral oration, and, after the fashion of sermonizers, recount its virtues and excuse its failings, — recite its conflicts with the minions of abused and defunct power, its occasional peevishness of temper when mercilessly goaded by its foes — its exposure of infamy and falsehood — its advocacy of tri'th and the poor man's rights ; nor shall we lift the veil which shrouds the selfishness and luke-warmness of many assumed friends, who would fain see it cwme from the combat, but whose dread of an oligarchy from which it has helped to emancipate them, deterred them, from awarding it even the poor consolation of an encouraging smile. We shall not revert in detail to any of these topics, because, though the name which figured in good old English characters on its title page be dead, the spirit which animated the Ecaminer shall live and breathe through the columns of the Roi/al Gazette. We are, indeed, the servant of Government, to print for it, — as we would for any oth3r customer, — as a lawyer would advocate its causes in coutt, as a mechanic would ply his handicraft in the erection, adornment or improvement of its houses ; but we have not given to the Government an unconditional disposal of our intellect nor an assignment of our office, to be used in its service, and its service only, any more than the lawyer would barter his skill and law-learning, or the mechanic his ingenuity and his shop, so that nobody else could employ th^m. We willingly assume the garb of servitude to the government, because we can and shall be as much as we have heretofore been the servant of the people. The present is the People's Government. We are aware of it because it is so ; and in being its printer we are emphatically printer to the people. To be ' a government man ' was in the days that are gone by a nickname and a reproach. How happy it is for us and for us all that such a designation has become the highest praise to a public man, as it is suggestive of the possession by him Biography of Hon. E. Whelan. 13 who bears it of public confidence and esteem. An opinion is entertained, we believe, by some individuals of both political parties that the Koyal Gazette should interfere as little as possible in local politics. We lake leave to express our un- qualified dissent from this opinion. Of all papers the Gazette should, in our estimation, be the political paper. From its connection with Government it is in a position to announce, explain and defend, when attacked, the policy of the adminis- tration better than any other ; and surely it behoves no journa- list so much as it does the editor of the Gazette to be prepared at all times to enter the arena of discussion on behalf of that government with which he is himself so closely connected. It is true that in the Mother Country the official paper (properly so called) is a mere record of official notices, and dabbles neither in politics nor news, but then it is printed exclusively for the Government, and its circulation does not range beyond the officers and servants of administration ; besides, there is no necessity the-e for its assuming a political character while there are so many other journals in the interest of the Cabinet, ready to do their utmost to float it down the stream of public opinion, and which circulate in thousands because of their political tendencies. So long as the Royal Gazette in small communities has to depend upon the reading public as well as the Government for its support, so will it be necessary for its conductor to resort to those means for making it entertain, ing and instructive, which he would employ in the management of a journal bearing a different name. " We know that in Nova Scotia Mr. Thompson was forced to resign the office of Queen's Printer, under Lord Falkland, because he would not make the Gazette furiously political at his Lordship's request, and publish attacks upon his own personal friends. So it should be with every Queen's Printer when he cannot support the Government, and support it effec. tively, too, he ought immediately to resign his office and not wait till superseded. 14 Biography of Hon. E. Whelan. i " Let it be understood, then, by such of our readers as took an interest in our past writings, that the types shall tick as cheer- fully in the stick as ever they did to give utterance to our thoughts upon any subject which comes within the province of a newspaper — to discuss in a spirit not less frank and free than that which characterized the Examiner, and which no official employment will ever be suffered to restrain. With our contemporaries we shall be happy to exchange the usual courtesies, and to such of them as deal in something less agree- able than compliments, we have only to say that though we have won one victory we shall not let them have all the glory of any future war." It seems incredible, in view of the amount of hard work Mr. Whelan had to perform, that he could devote any portion of his time to tlie lecture field. The columns of the Examiner were always replete with brilliant editorials, admirable selections and current news, the result of a great deal of mental labor, in addition to which the greater part of the duties inseparable from party organization and political warfare was thrown upon his hands. His position as a representative of the people, as well during recess as when the House was in ses- sion, was also attended with a great deal of toil, apart altogether from the responsible office of Queen's printer which he held for several years. Nevertheless, he found time to appear frequently upon the platform as a lecturer, a role in which he was singularly successful. His lectu. es on " Shakespeare " and other subjects, in the Mechanic's Institute and in St Joseph's Hall, were considered masterpieces of English composition ; but owing to his habitual modesty, none of them were given to the Press for publication, except in compliance with a pressing invitation to do so ; there is, therefore, great reason to regret the loss of the Mss. by fire some years ago. In 185 1 Mr. Whelan married Miss Mary M. Hughes, daughter of the late George A. Hughes, of H.M.S., Halifax, by whom he had three children, two daughters, who died at an early age, i t Biography of Hon, E. Whelan. 15 and one son, who perished during a squall while boating in Charlottetown harbor, on July ist, 1875. Inheriting a great deal of his lamented father's talents, he was a young man of splendid parts, and his sad death, in the nineteenth year of his age, was a severe blow to his widowed mother and a source of deep regret to a wide circle of friends and well-wishers. For t\v enty consecutive years, Mr. Whelan enjoyed the con. fidence of the electors of St. Peter's district, and it can never be said thai he proved unfaithful to the trust reposed in him. Notwithstanding his advocacy of the Confederation of the Colonies, and the wide breach it caused between himself and his colleagues, he was re-elected at the general election held in the month of January, 1867 ; but having accepted the office of Queen's Printer he was defeated by ■: small majority in the following month of April when he offered for re-election. We need not dwell upon the result of tiiis defeat. The hard- ships and excitement of these compaigns, together with the temporary estrangement of old friends through misrepresenta- tion of his honest and patriotic intentions, proved too deep a wound to be healed on this side of the tomb. As the summer advanced he showed signs of failing health, but his friends did not feel alarmed until the autumn-tide, when all hopes of his recovery rapidly disappeared, and at noon, on Tuesday, the loth of December, he breathed his last. The announcement that he had passed away, although not unexpected in the city, cast a deep gloom over the whole community, while the melancholy news was received in all parts of the country with the most profound sorrow. His funeral obsequies took place on the following Friday, in St. Dunstan's Cathedral, after which the most imposing fun- eral procession ever witnessed in Charlottetown followed his remains to the Catholic Cemetery, on St. Peter's road, near the city limits. In speaking of one "who made thousands laugh and weep, and be convinced by turns," we think the opinions of his con- [ h 16 Biography of Hon. E. Whelan. temporaries ought to possess greater weight than those formed from dull and imperfect reports by a later generation. For this reason we quote from the obituary notices, which appeared in two of the local newspapers holding opposite views in politics, immediately after Mr. Whelan's death. The Examiner, so long the faithful messenger of its lamented founder, with every page printed in deep mourning, expressed the senti- ments of nearly every man and woman in Prince Edward Island in the following eloquent and impressive language: " From one who walks in the still fresh footsteps of a great char- acter whose earthly career is over, nothing more can be expec- ted than a cursory inspection of the result of his labors. Especially is this true of Mr. Whelan, whose public acts in this Colony extend over a quarter of a century. His name is in- separably connected with the various measures which were introduced into the Legislature on Free Education, Universal Suffrage, the Abolition of Landlordism, and kindred subjects, and to him more than to any one else, living or dead, is our Island Press indebted for its present independent position. The people's friend, in the fullest and best sense of the term, he was never a demagogue, and it has been observed of him with truth that he always prized the interest of the people more highly than their approbation. Without extensive family inter- ests or other accidental aids, he achieved his intellectual triumphs solely by the great talents with which nature had en- dowed him. An easy, graceful and eloquent speaker, a brilliant and polished writer, possessing a highly cultivated literary taste and a well stored mind, he proved throughout his whole career that he was, in addition to all this, a practical man, who could frame a Parliamentary Bill with as much ease as he could pre- pare a lecture on a literary subject. * ^ Apart from his high oratorical powers, in which he had no rival in Parliament or out of it, the great lever of public opinion, so powerful through- out the Br'tish dominions, obeyed his masterly hand as often as any fair occasion arose to resort to its agency. His oppoa- Biography of Hon. E. TVhelan. 17 ents, however, cheerfully acknowledge that he never abused the power of the Press, and that he knew how to combine a singularly consistent political career with conciliatory manners; he knew, too, how to put aside the garb of sectarian and party prejudices, and to address himself to the hearts and conscien- ces of his fellow-colonists. He neither bullied his opponents nor begged favors ; he relied upon the strong, innate love of justice of every intelligent mind ; and, although he died com- paratively young, he lived long enough to see, to a large extent, the results of his labors in the extension of civil liberty." The Patriot also rendered the following tribute to the de- ceased statesman : — •' He was a very pleasant and eloquent speaker, his best oratorical efforts bearing ample testimony to his high intellectual powers, taste and cultivation. The Parliamentary debates and the public records of the Colony bear not a few traces of his political labors. He was for twenty-four years a journalist. In his decease the Liberal party of this Island have sustained a severe loss ; he served them long and well ; and when the> were in power he always enjoyed one of the best offices in the gift of the Government. On account of the discussions arising out of the Confederation question, of which he was an advocate, we believe his attach- ment to his party had been somewhat modified of late years. As a journalist, apart from his ability as a writer, Mr. Whelan displayed good judgment, both with regard to selections and the general management of the paper under his control. He some- times wrote very severe articles, but did not, as a general rule, feel bitterly towards his political opponents." It would be superfluous in a volume which contains so many of Mr. Whelan's principal speeches to give a more extended sketch of his labors. It is, however, due to his memory to solicit a careful perusal of those speeches in which he enunciated in the clearest manner possible the policy he thought it his duty to pursue in reference to Confederation. It was through no sor- I li I. i n u Biography of Hon. E. Whelan, did or ambitious motives that he became so ardent a confeder- ate. At the time he commenced to advocate Confederation, very little progress in the purchase of proprietary estates had been made, the Land purchase bill had not accomplished all that he desired, the Loan bill had been disallowed, and the Royal Land Commission, as he predicted from the outset, had ended in utter failure. Another evil, the hand-maid of landlordism, the religious strife which too often disgraced public discussion both in and out of Parliament, was a constant menace to the peace and prosperity of the country and a source of regret to all lovers of toleration and justice. Mr. Whelan saw that Confederation would remedy those evils, and the manner in which he advocated that scheme in his news- paper, and in his place in Parliament, showed, beyond all cavil, that he had the courage of his convictions. That he was right has already been proved beyond the shadow of a doubt. As a result of Confederation, the farmers of this Island have become freeholders, and instead of struggling in the yoke of Landlordism now enjoy as large a measure of happiness and prosperity as falls to the lot of the husbandman in any part of the world. The permanence and superiority of our institu- tions, contrasted with pre Confederation times, must be apparent to all ; whilst under the Federal system, which he so strongly advocated, it would be suicidal for the public men of any Province of the Dominion to stir up religious discord in order to promote their own interests. Besides being the greatest orator and most far-seeing States- man of his day in Prince Edward Island, Mr. Whelan occupied a lofty position among the eminent men of British North America, and his portrait among the Fathers of Confederation testifies to his ability to serve his country in a more exalted station than he Hved to occupy. He felt deeply interested in the welfare of the neighboring colonies, and if there was one thing more than another he wished to see conceded, it was Biography of Eon. E, Whelati. 19 the light of the colonists to legislate for themselves, without the direction or control of any other people on earth. Thus while cherishing his memory we should preserve the independence and guard the liberties bequeathed by the advocates of Federal Union to this Canada of Ours i :l 20 Biography of Hon. E. Whelan, PREMIERS OF PRINCE EDWARD ISLAND. The following is a list of the Premiers of Prince Edward Island, since the Introduction of Responsible Government : 1851 Hon. George Coles, Lib. 1869 Hon. R. P. Haythome, Lib. 1854 *• JohnHoll, Con. 1870 « J. C. Pope, Lib-Con. 1855 " George Coles, Lib. 1871 " R. P. Haythorne, Lib. 1859 " Edward Palmer, Con. 1873 •* J. C. lope, Lib.-Con. 1863 '< Col. Gray, Con. ^873 *• L. C. Owen, Lib.-Con. 1865 «* Jas. C.Pope, Con. 1876 " L. H. Davies, Coalition, 1867 *« George Coles, Lib. 1879 " W. W.Sullivan,Lib-Con. 1869 " Joseph Hensley, Lib. LIST OF THE LIEUTENANT GOVERNORS OF PRINCE EDWARD ISLAND. The following is a list of the Lieutenant-Governors of Prince Edward Island as a separate Province : 1770 Hon Walter Patterson, 1847 Hon Donald Campbell, 1786 (( E. Fanning, 1851 '( Alex. Bannerman, 1805 K J. F. W. DesBarres, 1854 i( Dominick Daley, I8I3 II C. Douglas Smith, 1859 IC George Dundas, 1824 <( John Ready, 1870 « W. C. F. Robinson, I83I « A. W. Young, 1874 (( Robert Hodgson, i8j6 i< John Harvey, 1879 <( T. H. Ilaviland, 1837 « C. A. Fitzroy, 1884 (( A. A. Macdonald. 184 1 « Henry Vere Huntley, Biography of Hon. E. Whelan, 21 AND. CAMPAIGN SPEECH. ce Edward jrnment : thome, Lib. ;, Lib.-Con. thome, Lib. ;, Lib.-Con. n, Lib.-Con. er., Coalition. ivan,Lib-Con_ EDWARD s of Prince mpbell, lerman, aley, las, Robinson, Igson, land, una Id. 'oRTY.TWO years have elapsed since the late Mr. Whelan delivered his maiden speech in King's County. A series of public meetings were held in the Second District, which then included Lot 55,dunng the Election Campaign of the year 1846, for the purpose of nominating candidates and discussing the public questions of the day. At a monster meeting held at Grand River, Mr. Whelan was proposed by Mr. Alexander McDonald and seconded by Mr. John Larkin, after which he spoke as follows : — Gentlemen Electors. — An occasion like this, when the minds of men are agitated by varying and conflicting interests, is somewhat favorable to the flow of eloquence, still I think that a long speech does not always form the best guarantee for a candidate's popularity. I shall therefore confine myself to a plain statement of facts and a few common sense observa- tions, which will be more acceptable to you than impassioned declamation or rhetorical display. It is but a very little time since I entertained the intention of appearing on these or any other hustings as a cjindidate for Legislative honors. Nor would I ever have been induced, perhaps, to do so, had my ene- mies refrained from the numerous slanders with which they have assailed me, asserting that I had forfeited the confidence and respect of the country, by the course I had taken with res- pect to the political events of the last few months. I have come here partly to ascertain tlie truth of the assertion, partly to acquire the power of opposing them more determinedly and* effectively than I have heretofore been able to do,opposing Umto not for the gratification of any feeling of revenge, huf foiP?ne purpose of avoiding, if possible, an increase to the mischief .i I? I 22 Biography of Hon. E. Whelan. which they have already brought upon the colony in general. No motives of a personal or selfish nature influence me. I have meddled long enough in politics to know that a public life is not the most conducive to one's own happiness and prosperity, and less so ia Prince Edward Island than anywhere else, because the public man here has so many petty interests to contend with or gratify, so many parties to conciliate or baffle. Neither private interest nor personal ambition has prompted me to seek the honor which it is in your power to confer ; the former could be better served in a quieter scene of action than the House of Assembly can afford, and by an application to other pursuits than those of a Legislator. As for the latter it is a boon too dearly gained if sought to be won by an incessant anxiety of mind, by a continual toil of intellect,by an unswerving application to the discharge of those duties and obliga- tions which devolve upon a faithful, an efficient representative of the people. If I have any one hope higher than another, it is that, by being returned to the Assembly, I may be enabled to strengthen the advocacy of those principles of Liberal policy in the administration of Government, to which three years of my life have been devoted. And that yru, gentlemen, will give me your best assistance towards the accomplishment of this object, is a favor upon which I think I may rely. The generous solicitude evinced by a large portion of the electors of this District for the success of my election is the best answer that can be given to the slanders of my enemies. However blinded, sometimes, by passion and prejudice, and however their faith may be shaken, for a while, by any base calumny that may be propagated for the purpose of blasting the reputa- tion of a public writer, who may have independence enough to expose the shortcomings and deceits of a designing faction, still the mass of the people have always sufficient common sense and discrimination to discover the true from the false man ; and I have some confidence in looking forward to the result of this lecture for a proof of the correctness of this Biography of Hon. E. Whelan. 23 eneral. No e. I have c life is not prosperity, /here else, uteres ts to e or baffle. ; prompted infer ; the Lction than ilication to latter it is . incessant inswerving id obliga- resentative n another, be enabled 3f Liberal lich three gentlemen, iplishment rely. The electors of ;st answer However i however calumny le reputa- nough to faction, common the false rd to the of this remark. 1 will not at present describe to you the character of the opposition that has been brought against me since I have undertaken the editorship of the Morning News, but you, gen- tlemen, have heard the outcry that has been raised about my having changed my principles. Now, what principles have F changed ? Have I altered my views respecting the state of the tenantry of this Island ? No, I still advocate their claims, I still urge on every occasion the necessity of efifecting a settle- ment of the question so long at issue between the tenant and the proprietor. Have I altered my views respecting the state of the Government in this Colony ? No, I hold the opinion now that I did three years ago, that the policy of the Govern- ment was opposed to the wishes and interests of the People. Who has made it so ? Not the Lieutenant Governor. He has been a passive instrument in the hands of others. But the Executive Council, backed and supported hy the office-holders — The Family Com?act — have made it so. From whom have this Executive Council — this Family Compact — these office holders, from whom have they derived their power? From unfaithful, unscrupulous representatives of the people. The last session of the Assembly was replete with evidence of this fact. Have I changed my mind as to the necessity there exists for the introduction of Responsible Government? No. My opinion in favor of the system is more firmly fixed. But recollect, gentlemen, it is not the mongrel, half-and half thing that was held up to the admiring gaze of the public in the last House of Assembly, when you and other constituencies were to be deceived, when the political death-warrant of Sir Henry was to be signed — w/ien the Family Compact poivcr 7i)» Biography of Hon. E. Whelan, 27 The discussions of last year aimed at the consolidation of the party in power, not at their disruption, which might have been partially effected by the dismemberment of the executive coun cil. I stated in 1843 that the Government of this colony was the most corrupt and selfish, ever tolerated by any people who had the slighest pretensions to liberty and independence. Is it less selfish now, less partial in its views ? Is it any less liable, at the present moment, to the stigma of corruption than it was then ? In its general policy it is not. It is no more worthy of popular confidence in 1846 than it was in 1843, and cannot establish the smallest claim to that confidence, so long as its whole power and patronage are controlled by a donMnant party, whose political principles are at \ariance with the principle held by the mass of the people, a party who have been always opposed to the adoption of every liberal measure advocated by the Colony, and who have ruined the character and prospects of every administration that has attempted to govern for the benefit of all parties. You all know, gentlemen, the party to whom I refer, it is the Family Compact, the Clique of office- holders and Land speculators. They are the only governing parly in Prince Edward Island. They are the gentry who have manned and commanded the Ship of State and sailed her> too, for privateering purposes whenever there was a good chance of a successful run. The majority of the people's representa- tives have been puppets in their hands, because every undue influence has always been exerted at elections to procure the return of a majority of men favorable to their views and interests. They have controlled the House of Assembly, — they control the Executive Council — they controlled, for a while, the present Lieutenant Governor, as they controlled former ones, and have succeedea in shaping the conduct of every Governor to suit their own selfish purposes, so that the very name and office have become matters of universal distrust and alarm. When Sir Henry V. Huntley came to this Colony, he. 28 Biography of Hon. E. Whelan. like his predecessors, unfor uuately for his own popularity, threw himself into the arms of the Family Compact. He re- grets it now. But I believe there was no other course open to him. A new Governor naturally enough looks to those in possession of power and influence for counsel and assistance in the formation and management of his Government. Sir Henry had no greater share of political foresight or discrimination than his predecessors ; he has consequently had the very same results to experience. But he showed a little more indepen- dence than many of them. People in this colony are, unfor ■ tunately, apt to blame the Head of the Government for all its abuses. I confess that I suffered myself to be led into the common error shortly after I came to the Colony. But I did not understand the state of parties then so well as I do now . The Governor, I say, is made accountable for the acts of his advisers. Now, it is a well known fact that nearly every un- popular act of Sir Henry V.Huntley's Government derived its existence from his Executive Council, or from some of its most conspicuous members. Were any of these acts included in the catalogue of charges preferred against his Excellency by the late House of Assembly ? No ; not one of them. It would have been exceedingly bad policy in the Hon. Speaker, who was foremost in furnishing up the pitiful "charges" with which he garnished his Petition to the Throne for his Excel- lency's recall. Was not the silence maintained on the unpopu- lar measures^/'i'ma/act'e evidence of their origin ? Undoubtedly it was. It was evidence sufficient to convict the Council before any twelve honest men in the Country. Gentlemen, I did not come here to vindicate the Lieutenant Governor. I did not approve of His Excellency's past conduct in bartering his independence for the smiles of the Compact. A Lieutenant Governor should be placed above the influence of party, he can never carry on his government impartially and independently if he is not so ; and the moment he descends to Biography of Hon. E. Whelan. 39 opularity, . He re- ;e open to those in listance in Sir Henry imination very same indepen- ire, unfor' for all its into the But I did I do now. acts of his every un- derived its »me of its included xcellency them. It Speaker, ges" with lis Excel- unpopu- ioubtedly Council ntlemen, overnor. iiduct in Ipact. A uence of lially and cends to court such influence, he leaves himself open to suspicion, and merits the censure and reprobation of the press. I am no apologist of His Excellency. But I love even-handed justice, I love fair play. I would not join in the clamor that was raised against him last year, because I knew His Excellency was doing what was right, because I began to perceive that he was doing what I long wished he would have done — striking at the root of the Olif^aichy by which he had been held in bond- age, that Oligarchy by which your liberties had been assailed — your principles and mine repudiated and reviled — because I found him struggling to break down a great barrier to the introduction of constitutional reform, i was not only unwilling to be seen among the members of his assailants, but I was ready to applaud him for his efforts. 1 do not regret the part I have taken. My conscience approves it. Future events will show, I trust, that I was right. A mistaken notion exists in this country, that no man can be an advocate of Liberal principles who is an advocate of the governor for the time being — or, rather, who is not an unflinching enemy to the head of the Government. To satisfy the peculiar tastes and prejudices of some men, it would be absolutely necessary to have a change of governors every six months, but at present I see no urgent necessity for a change. The best proof we can have that no such necessity exists is the hostility shown to Sir Henry by the Family Compact and their adherents. If the Lieutenant Governor will refrain from opposi- tion—as I am sure he will — to the adoption of liberal measures in the administration of Government, it would be not only unwise for the Liberals to interfere with his power, but such an interference might be prejudicial to their influence and in- terests. We want the Land Question settled, we want the Executive Council to be reconstructed, we want the prin- ciple of Responsible Government to be carried into effect. Would it not be imprudent to retard, perhaps, the adoption so Biography of Hon, E. Whelan. !i' I ■ I i ii W ;y m of these measures, by seeking immediately for a change in the head of the Government, while the present Governor is favor- able to them ? If Sir Henry will co-operate with the Liberals, consistent with an impartial discharge of his duties, the Lib- erals would be worse than fools to discard his co-operation. On the subject of Responsible Government, I have no hesita- tion to avow myself an advocate of the system. There can be but little hope for Prince Edward Island until this system be substituted for the present irresponsible one. Whatever party have a majority in the House of Assembly, that party should have the power and patronage of Government in their hands. But under the present system, no matter whether the Liberals have a majority or not,the Tories — the irresponsibles — cling to office and emolument, as if office and emolument were their birth-right. In England a representative and irrespon- sible government could never be successfully combined. And every attempt that has been made in the colonies to form such a combination has given rise to well-grounded discontent and alarm. The Crown cannot nominate its officers without a dis- tinct reference to the wishes of the people. In the Colonies, and particularly in Prince Edward Island, the most important public appointments have been made without ever consulting the will of the people. This is a complete nullification of the representative power; it is, as Lord Durham justly remarks, " a mockery, and a source of confusion." As no necessity can be found to exist for a greater modification of our repre- sentative institutions in the Colonies than in England, is it not fair and reasonable that the Colonists should insist on obt^ain- ing the same power and influence, in a comparative degree, which attach to the representative institutions of the Mother Country ? The advocates of the genuine system of Respon- sible Government — and I shall ever be proud to rank myself among the number — cap not be satisfied with a mere modifica- tion of the Executive. The principle of responsibility must -If! i'li' Biography of Hon. E. Whelan. 31 be brought to bear upon every department of the administra- tion. The great inteiests of the country are lodged in the hands of the officials. The Representative Body must be allowed to exercise a legitimate control over these officials, otherwise the principle of Responsibility is a delusion. Does any man in his senses think that Mr. Pope and his friends were sincere in voting for the Address passed last year, if it contemplated, as it should, all the changes indicated? I can- not conceive that they were, because I am quite sure that the adoption of the principle would tell more strongly against themselves than against their opponents. At all events there will be another opportunity of testing them in the time to come ; and if Mr. Pope and his adherents assist in breaking up the present system of exclusion and monopoly in the pos- session of Government patronage and power, I will give him credit for what he professes to be, an advocate of liberal prin- ciples, and a disinterested friend of the real interests of the country. Mr. Whelan then reverted to the coarse he had pur- sued in the editorial management of the Morning News ; and continued : Whether or not the Lieutenant Governor ever attempted to control the former editorship of the Morning News, is a circumstance with which I am not acquainted. But L know this much, that His Excellency never sought to influence my management of that paper. I know nothing more, person- ally, of the Lieutenant Governor to-day than 1 did three years ago j but I do know a little more of his public policy, and of that policy I approve. I have my own principles and opinions for my rule of conduct ; and however much I may be calum- niated and misrepresented, these principles and opinions are too firmly impressed on my own mind to yield to any external influences. I trust to time — to my own exertions — and to your inherent love of justice and of truth, which cannot be long pollu- ted by all the artifices and undercurrents of my Charlottetown enemies, I trust to these things for a full and unanswerable vindication of my character. u i 82 Biography of Hon. E. Whelan. " Time at last makes all things even — And if we but watch the hour, There never yet was human power That could evade if unforgiven, The patient search and vigil long, Of him who treasures up a wrong." Mr. Whelan concluded by reminding them of the great and important privilege they were about to exercise, and the results of its proper exercise, as regarded themselves and their pos- terity. X53oo« '•» 1 Biography of Hon. E, Whelan, 33 great and the results their pos- CATHOLIC SCHOOLS. fJ\wsG read a petition presented by the Catholics of :^s Charlottetown in the year 1851, praying for allowances teTSchools attended by Catholic pupils, Mr. Whelan spoke as follows : — 1 cannot suppose that the prayer of the petitioners will be rejected by the House, for their claims are in every point of view just and reasonable. By a provision of the existing Act, for the encouragement of Education, legislative aid is, I believe, confined to two schools in Charlottetown, one for boys and the other for girls ; and the propriety of extending it to the two which receive it is not determined by the superior qualifications and efficiency of the teachers, but by the circumstance of their being the first to apply for it. This, in my opinion, is acting upon very erroneous principles, indeed. By confining legislative aid to the first two teachers who apply for it, it might very easily happen that the assistance afforded by it would be enjoyed by individuals with qualifications barely sufficient to entitle them to the allowance ; whilst, perhaps, one or more teachers, male or female, of vastly superior abilities, much more extensive educational attainments, and far more skill in the art of tuition, who might not have opened schools until after two had secured legislative aid, would be altogether excluded from any participation in the public bounty granted for the encouragement of education ; and owing to the insuffi- ciency of voluntary support, they might be obliged to abandon their undertaking, and their almost invaluable services might be lost to the public. It might also happen that, acting upon this principle, legislative aid would be denied to schools upon 34 Biograi>hy of Eon. E, Whelan. the maintenance of which a large and poor class of the com- munity are dependent for the education of their children, whilst extending it to schools, the benefits of which are experien- ced by comparatively few. Legislative aid ought not, in my opinion, be dependent upon the superficial area, or the extent of a district, but upon the number and necessities of the popu- lation. I shall, therefore, proceed to set forth the peculiar claims of the schools on behalf of which legislative aid is pray- ed for in the petition which I have just read. New schools have been established by private bounty, amongst the Catho- lics, for the purpose of affording education to the poorer classes. The tuition fees are very low, and are only exacted from thos j who can afford to pay them, but the generality of the scholars are taught gratis. Last summer there were eighty-six boys in daily attendance, but as the winter set in the number was reduced to fifty one, the reduction being caused solely by the poverty of the parents, who had it not in their power to clothe them in such a way as would protect them from the inclem- ency of the weather. The falling off at the same time in the girls' school was nearly in the same proportion, and for precisely the same reason, the inability of the parents to afford comfort- able or sufficient clothing to their children. The master who, until the close of last year, had charge of the boys' school was an experienced and very efiicient teacher, but owing to the falling off in the number of the scholars and the insufficiency of his remuneration, he was obliged to give it up and take re- fuge behind a merchant's counter. The salary of the present master, who has been lately engaged, is not yet fixed, as the trustees are waiting for legislative action with reference to the school. The salary of the mistress is j£2^ or ^^30 a year, and for this the trustees are responsible to her. She is a young lady of very high educational attainments, and of great ability as an instructress of youth ; and were she properly encouraged, would be capable of rendering great and lasting Biography of Hon. E. Whelan. 35 ss of the com- iieir children, 1 are experien- [ht not, in my or the extent 5 of the popu- the pecuHar ve aid is pray- New schools jst the Catho- poorer classes, ed from thos j Df the scholars ity-six boys in number was d solely by the lower to clothe )m the inclem- [le time in the id for precisely afford comfort- e master who, ys' school was owing to the insufficiency p and take re- of the present t fixed, as the erence to the |r £3° a year, X. She is a and cf great she properly t and lasting benefits to the community. I attended an examination of the school last winter, and I can truly say that I never have been more delighted with any similar exhibi- tion in my life. Children of from six or seven to fourteen years of age answered questions in history, geography and natural philosophy, in such a manner as might not only have made children of a larger growth blush for their ignorance, but would actually have been no discredit to students in a univer- sity. I do not support the petition merely because it proceeds from that body of Christians of which I am a member, or because the aid for which it prays is for the support of schools belonging to, or under the superintendence and fostering care of, that body, for I would with equal zeal support the claims of any other class of Christians, having for their object the same laudable and charitable design, the diffusion of right knowledge among the children of the poor. The schools in favor of which I seek to interest the House, it is true, have been estab- lished and supported by Catholics ; but the system of educa- tion is that of the District Schools of the Island, the books used in them are those recommended by the Board of Educa- tion, and the schools are free to children of all religious deno- minations. Much is often urged in favor of the rights of property — and the legitimate rights of property I shall never seek to infringe — but there are other rights which ought to be held equally sacred, of which, however, but little is said, and in favor of which but very little is urged, — the rights of labor and industry. It is to the labors of honesi industry, among the poor and hurable, that the acquisition of wealth and pro- perty by the few is mainly attributable, and long, unjustly and unwisely have the rights of the operative and productive classes been overlooked or denied, and especially with regard to education. Happily, however, the time has at length arrived when the justice and wisdom of acknowledging these rights is becoming manifpst to the legislative and governing powers of t : U W^ 86 Biography of Eon. E. Whelan. f 'I nearly every civilized country in the world ; and here, in Prince Edward Island, before long, I hope to see established such a system of general education as will, without distinction, meet the demands of the Colony. Meanwhile, fully convinced of the justice of the prayer of the petition, and relying upon the wisdom and liberality of the House, I move that the petition be received and laid upon the table with a view to its being taken up when the House is in committee of supply. Biography of Eon. E. Whelan. 87 ere, in Prince )lished such a inction, meet convinced of ying upon the ;he petition be ts being taken FREE EDUCATION. have hitherto refrained from offering any remarks on the Report under consideration, and have not taken that interest in the discussion which, perhaps, it was my duty to take, and which I would have done, had I been a member of the com- mittee from which the report had proceeded. I am, however, anxious to express my sentiments generally with respect to the contemplated measure ; but after the very elaborate discussion which has taken place, I will not trespass long upon the atten- tion or patience of the Committee, lest I should follow in the beaten track of previous speakers, and offer as my own some of the arguments adduced by them. Some honorable .nem- bers who spoke upon the question last night, and intimated their intention to oppose the land taxation part of the scheme, in compliance with the views of their constituents, seemed una- ble to advance one single sound argument against that mode of providing for the support of the contemplated free educa- tion system; and, that no just or reasonable objection could be taken by them to that mode was almost unequivocally admitted by themselves. The only justification of their oppo- sition they were able to advance was, that their constituents disapproved of it. These honorable members appear, in this respect, to entertain an idea very different from mine, of the course which it becomes an honest and independent Represen- tative of the people to pursue in the Legislature, in reference to an important measure, touching which he and his consti- tuents may not think alike. They seem to think that, in such a case, it is the duty of the Representative to surrender his judgment to his constituents, and to vote only in obedience to their dictation. I, on the contrary, whilst I admit it to be ii-^ L V 38 Biography of Hon. E. Whelan. the duty of a Representative, when so circumstanced, to listen patiently and respectfully to the remonstrances of his consti- tuents, and to give their opinions and arguments the fullest consideration, am fully persuaded that he ought not to aban- don his own judgment, or deviate from the path which he con- scientiously believes it to be his duty to pursue ; unless, by the f jrce of facts and reasoning, he shall have been convinced that he had taken an erroneous view of the question. With respect to the question under consideration, I would give the mode of providing for the support of the new system of education, recommended in the Report, my hearty support, because firmly convinced of its equity and propriety. Even although I knew a majority of my constituents to be opposed to it (which I am happy to believe is not the case), I would still act an unbiased and independent part. I would support and advocate to the best of my ability a measure, the passing of which, I believe, would confer a most important ben- efit upon the whole community. Should I have occasion again to present myself before my constituents as a candidate for their suffrages, I would do so in the full assurance, that my having acted conscientiously in opposition to their views, in one particular, although of the greatest moment, would be acknowledged by every truly independent man amongst them, as the very strongest guarantee I could have afforded them of my fidelity as a Representative of the people and my devotion to the public good. I am glad to find that the question has, hitheito, throughout the course of a very long and close de- bate, been considered solely with a view to the public weal ; and that no party or personal feelings have been allowed to enter into this discussion, or to prevent a fair and honest con- sideration of the whole matter. It has also been very gratifying to me to observe that some honorable members, who usually vote with the Government, have on the present question given sufficient evidence, through their opposition to the Government with respect to it, that they acknowledge no slavish subjection Biography of Hon. E. Whelan. 39 iced, to listen of his consti- tits the fullest not to aban- ivhich he con- inless, by the anvinced that With respect ; the mode of of education, ecause firmly although I 'pposed to it , I would still support and , the passing portant ben- ave occasion s a candidate mce, that my leir views, in nt, would be nongst them, rded them of my devotion question has, md close de- public weal ; n allowed to honest con- ry gratifying who usually estion given Government h subjection to the Administration, and have ranked themselves with its supporters, solely because, as the friends of the people, they believe they may justly place their dependence upon it, and rely upon the principles by which it has hitherto been charac- terized. It is being very industriously bruited abroad that the Government is indebted for the support which it receives to the bestowal of petty offices of emolument or honor ; but the conduct of those honorable members of the majority who have opposed the Executive on this question is a sufficient evidence of their independence, and a direct refuta- tion, as concerns themselves at least, of the charge of slavish subjection to the Government. In the effect which the tax to be imposed on the proprietors towards the support of the free- education system is expected to have, I also see much cause for satisfaction. One of the greatest grievances under which the colony has labored has been the retention of their lands, in a wilderness state, by the proprietors, with a view to the leasing or selling of them, eventually on higher terms than they can now secure for them. We are now, however, told that the imposition of a tax on the wilderness lands, as con- templated by the report, will have the effect of compelling the proprietors to lease or dispose of their wilderness lands at market prices ; and such a prospect could not be otherwise than cheering to the country, for its realization would certainly remove many of the evils which at present oppress the colony, and give that scope for general improvement which has long been desired in vain. The proposed system of education is one of which every true friend of the colony must warmly approve. I will not, by a repetition of what has been so well and truly urgedjby some honorable members with respect to the great boon which the free education system will confer on the community at large, run the risk of exhausting the patience of the com- mittee ; but I will yet take leave to say that the system will afford the most effectual means of removing all grounds for the reproach, the assumed justice of which afforded a pretext 40 Biography of Hon. E. Whelan. <•♦ 'II ; )ii{|»li;i ;l!!i for withholding from the people certain political privileges. The futility of the objections which have been made to the scheme has, I think, been already pretty well established ; I will, however, briefly notice some oi those objections before I sit down. Some honorable members have said that the number of schools to be established will be too few for the re- quirements of the Colony ; and others have objected that the qualifications of many of the present teachers are too low. To these objections I reply : first, that the scheme contemplates an immediate provision for about the same, if not a greater number of teachers, than are now employed ; and that, as the demand for instruction increases, there is good reason to hope tliat through increased resources and an improving revenue, the Government will be able to make the number of free schools equal to the demand ; and, in the second place, that certain provisions made for teachers, by which the respec- ability of the profession will be much increased, will not fail to secure to the country a class of duly qualified and respect- able teachers. The honorable member for Charlottetown has just said that the tax will press heavily upon many of the poorer settlers ; and it has also been said by some other honorable members (of whom the honorable member for Belfast, Mr. Douse, is one) that that class of settlers are so poor, that they cannot pay for the seed grain with which they were supplied by the Government a few years ago. However, admitting all this to be true, I reply that, to the great majority of parents among the tenantry, the new system will afford very sensible relief; for, where they had heretofore to contribute 40s., 50s. and even £4 a year, for the support of a district school, they will have to pay no more than 4s. 2d., and the balance will be left them for the clothing of their children. If we take into account what their fathers spend in luxuries — even the poorest among them — at home, or at market, it will appear quite ridi- culous to say that they cannot pay 4s. 2d. each per annum, or even four times as much, for the education of their children. Biography of Hon. E. WJielan. 41 privileges, ade to the blished; I s before I that the for the re- d that the low. To itemplates a greater bat, as the )n to hope g revenue, ler of free olace, that le respec- ill not fail id respect- etown has he poorer honorable fast, Mr. that they supplied itting all parents sensible 40s., 50s. lool, they :e will be take into poorest uite ridi- annum, children. And, as to the notion of the honorable member for Charlotte- town, that with the inability of some tenants to pay this small annual tax for the education of their children, there would occasionally be found an unwillingness to avail themselves of the benefits of free school education for their children, I be- lieve that scarcely an instance can be found, in any country, where the advantages of education are at all known and appre- ciated, of a parent, however ignorant and uninformed, as respects school learning, who would not gladly secure to his children, if he could, the means of overcoming the difficulties and mortifications which the want of education have entailed upon himself. Nay, more, I believe it is very often, if not generally, found that parents who have had little or no advan- tages of education themselves are more anxious to secure those advantages to their children tho.n many amongst those of superior educational attainments. Another honorab'e member has objected that teachers of sufficient acquirements and respectability could not be procured for annual salaries not exceeding £40 or £60. That might be true, as respects Great Britain ; but, in the United States where common school education i^ of a very advanced and comprehensive charac- ter, and where the educational and moral qualifications of the teachers are of the most respectable order, the salaries do not exceed these amounts. The salaries of teachers in Can- ada are also on a similar scale, ranging from £25 to £60 a year. And, if in the United States, in which the field for the employment of talent and acquirements is so extensive, and the occupations so various in which they might be advanta- geously employed, superior teachers, in almost any number, can be secured for those limited stipends, we can have little, if any, reason at all to doubt that here, where the opportuni- ties for the profitable exercise of talents and learning are so few, we shall not be able to find a sufficient number of duly qualified and respectable teachers to conduct our free schools for such salaries. It has also been objected to the contem- 42 Biography of Hon. E. Whelan. I - I . 111!! plated scheme, that it would operate unjustly with regard to tenants and other holders or occupiers of property who had no children ; since they would be obliged to contribute as much for the support qf" the system as they who had children to be educated under it. The operation of the scheme, how- ever, in this particular is perfectly fair and justifiable. The support and working of the system will be for the general good; and every individual in the community will eventually be benefited by it. To use what, by some will be termed a Jesuitism, this is one of those measures concerning which it is allowable to do a little wrong to effect a great good. The man who has no children to be educated, under the operation of the contemplated scheme, is obliged to contribute for the maintenance of jails and a lunatic asylum ; and it ought to be remembered that crime and licentious indulgence, which have supplied both with their victims, have generally had their source in ignorance and in the want of moral and intellectual training. It is an old and true saying, that it is better to pay the baker than the doctor ; and if I may be allowed, I will add to this a similar adage, and say, *' it is better to pay the parson or the schoolmaster than the lawyer or the '..angman." The general diffusion of education will be the general diffusion of all the elements of order, peace, harmony, and happiness. It will increase the capacity for, and the amount of, pure enjoy- ment in domestic circles. It will afford security to property, and give the best guarantee for the fulfilment of every obliga- tion. It will give a stimulus to industry, and assist ingenuity. It will diminish the temptations to commit crime, and enable individuals to secure the objects of their reasonable or laud- able ambition. And, while operating thus with respect to individuals and families, it will increase public spirit, aid in the opening up and improvement of our resources, and con- tribute largely to the general prosperity of the Colony. I am not aware whether or not the details of the Education Bill will embrace any new matter not alluded to in the Report u Biography of Hon, E. Whelan. 43 regard to who had tribute as i children ;me, how- ble. The le general iventually termed a ng which )od. The operation [te for the ght to be hich have had their itellectual ter to pay ed, I will pay the angman." diffusion appiness. ire enjoy- property, ry obliga- ingenuity. id enable e or laud- espect to 'it, aid in and con- education le Report now before the committee ; but I would suggest that it is worthy of consideration to amend the report so that it may con- tain a recommendation to the effect that the contemplated Education Bill shall include a provision for the establishment of three Scholarships in connection with the Central Academy. These Scholarships might be fixed at about £30 each to be open to the competition of the youth of the three counties of the Island for which they should be set apart. Looking to the good effjcts arising from the establishment of Scholarships in other countries — in England, in the United States, and in the North American Colonies — to the wholesome influence they exercise in stimulating and sustaining the inquiry and ambition of young men of talents and acquirements, and to the fact that a Scholarship frequently affords the requisite means to a person of talent who may be fortunate enough to win it, of pursuing his studies at an educational establishment, when, with- out such Scholarship, the want of the necessary funds to main- tain himself in a respectable position would compel his aban- donment of academic pursuits. Looking, I say, to the good effect arising from the t tablishment of Scholarships, on the grounds I have just mentioned, I am thoicughly convinced that an annual expenditure of ninety pounds v,'ould be a highly judicious one, for the purpose I have just alluded to. If it be necessary to adduce any proof of the advantages to re- sult from Scholarships, I may remind the committee, that two of our Island youths — educated at the Central Academy in this town, have won distinguished honors and rewards, one in the Academy at Pictou, and the other in the Academy at St. Andrews, N.B , and that by their success in first winning Scho- larships at the places I have mentioned, they were enabled to compete for and carry off the higher prizes of Professorships. These are facts not only creditable to the young gentlemen themselves, but it is gratifying to their fellow countrymen to reflect that in an arena, comparatively so extensive as that of Nova Scotia, or that of New Brunswick, two Island lads 44 Biography of Hon. E. Whelan. should have so nobly distinguished themselves as the young gentlemen to whom I have made reference. The neighboring Provinces have given such proofs as these of their enlightened liberality, in making provision for the support of their educa- tional institutions, thereby conferring the most solid advantages on two individuals whose thirst for knowledge was first created within the walls of our Academy. We should not, in my opinion, lose the present opportunity — when we are revising and amending our Education Law — of introducing a feature into the character of our Academy, so productive of private and public good as the one which I have just suggested. — o^ he young ighboring lightened ir educa- 1 vantages it created )t, in my revising a feature 'f private ed. Biography of Hon. E. Wielan. 45 FRANCHISE BILL, |N February 7th, 1852, in moving the second reading of the Bill to equalize and extend the Elective Franchise throughout this Island, Hon. Mr. Whelan said : I feel it to be my duty to offer a few observations explana- tory of the object and principles of this Bill. The principles of this measure are so just and equitable, that few, if any, M honorable members on either side of the House will hesitate 'I m to give it their sanction when once understood. It aims a direct blow at the invidious system that at present prevails, by which a large though a poor and humble class of our popu- lation are disfranchised, and by which the residents of towns are placed in a far worse position as regards the enjoyment of an important privilege than that which is held by those of the country districts. The object of the Bill is to extend the Franchise to each and all alike, who have been in the posses- sion of property, for a period of not less than twelve months previous to an election, of the annual value of forty shillings. It is of no consequence whether such property is in fee simple or under lease — whether, if rented property, the occupier is under agreement or not, all will be alike entitled to a vote who are in the undisturbed possession, occupation or ownership of a house, or shop, or warehouse, or piece of land worth forty shillings a year. The enlightened and reforming spirit of the age demands this extension of the Franchise ; other countries have set Prince Edward Island an example in respect to it ; and Nova Scotia, only last year, went so far as to confer the elective privilege upon every individual — no matter whether he held ptopertyor not — who paid poor and county rates. It has long been the practice to overlook honest labor and indus- try in the establishment of representative institutions — not only to make laws for the benefit of property and wealth, but to i 46 Biography of Hon, E. Whelan. \^m I ■ X ' I't- exclude the laboring and industrial classes from having a full, free voice in the making of those laws. It seems to be for- gotten that labor is the source of wealth — that property is merely the offspring of industry. What was labor yesterday is property to-day, and may be wealth to-morrow. Is it not, therefore, the duty of a Legislature, which claims to be repre- sentative of the popular will, to take care that the legitimate claims of labor are adequately recognized in the making of laws which affect the privileges of the people ? As respects the distinction which the existing law makes between the residents of town and country districts, I can see no good reason why the qualification of electors should be higher in one place than another. In the Town and Royalty an individual cannot vote, unless he enjoys freehold or leasehold property to the value of £io a year; whilst the man who lives perhaps only a stone's throw from him- the other side of the Royalty line, can exer- cise that privil '' he has rendered himself liable under a lease or an agreement to pay rent to the amount of forty shil- lings a year. Nor is this, perhaps, the worst feature of the case. No matter what is the extent of a man's possessions — he may have hundreds of pounds worth of property around him ; but unless the right ownership is vested in him, or unless he has some instrument in writing from the person who claims the ownership, he cannot exercise his right in the election of representatives who make him, by taxation, contribute towards the support of Government ; whilst his neighbor having the accidental advantage of a lease, with comparatively little means, and consequently less able to contribute to the public purse, may help to send a man to the Assembly to represent his interests and opinions therein. Surely this is an inequit- able, unjust distinction — an anomaly that ought to have been long since blotted from the Statute Book ; and I trust that, by passing the Bill I hold in my hand, the House will remedy so monstrous an injustice, and award to a large class of the popu- lation the inalienable and essential right, which all persons should alike enjoy, of choosing their representatives. t? Biography of Hon, E. Whelan. 47 SELF DEFENCE. N investigation, respecting Mr. Whelan's qualification as a member of the Legislature, was held on March 201117^852, which caused considerable excitement in political circles, and a lengthy debate on the floor of the House. The enquiry was instituted by the then Leader of the Opposition, in a cutting speech, to which Mr. Whelan replied as follows : As to my position before this committee, it is one of the most novel and unprecedented in which any member of a legislative body has ever been placed. Without having been guilty of any violation of duty or of law, I am placed as a criminal before those with whom I have an indefeasible right to stand upon a footing of perfect equality as a duly qualified and duly chosen representative of the people. I am placed in this position by one who has no right to accuse me, and whose charges against me, I feel convinced, the Committee are already fully satisfied have no foundation, either in fact or in law, and which the highest forensic talent, could it have been prostituted to the disingenuous support of so bad i cause, would fail to sustain before any honest and independent jury, possessed of merely ordinary discernment and common saga- city. Does the practice of the Imperial Parliament justify so indecorous an assault upon the rights and privileges of one of its members ? I think not. Does even the more lax and per- haps less dignified usages of Colonial assemblies afford any precedent? I believe I might safely afllirm that the Records of none will afford an example of any similar outrage upon the individual privileges of a representative of the people, or upon the collective dignity of the assembly. And how has so great an outrage been accomplished ? By the instrumentality of a single section of the Election Law, which gives to any indivi- i ' t 48 Biography of Ron. E. Whelan, I i». dual member of the House, who might wantonly and malig- nantly wish to insult and annoy a fellow member, power to demand the production of his qualification, and to call for an investigation of its validity. This is the first time that a course so utterly repugnant to every manly, honorable, or noble feel- ing has been pursued, by a member of this House, and I hope the issue of the enquiry, and the manner in which the House will testify their disapprobation of it, will tend to make it the last. I could not — because it is hidden from me except by outward manifestations — undertake strictly to analyze the composition of the mind which devised the inquisitorial and hateful clause which confers so unwarrantable a power upon any member of the Assembly who might desire to indulge his whim or caprice, or choose to gratify his malignity, in the character of a public accuser ; but certain I am that such a mind must have been wholly destitute of all the finer and more ennobhng feelings of human nature. It is a clause which gives one man a most unjustifiable power over the conventional and constitutional rights of another in the very highest character with which he could be invested by his fellowmen — that of a legislator and ? representative of the people. It gives one man power to destroy with impunity the moral life of another, against whom his malignity might be aroused by the ranklings engendered in his bosom by disappointed ambition, defeated intrigues, and political humiliations; and it bears in all its features the most unmistakable evidence of its being the legi- timate offspring of a mind prone to any species of tyranny and oppression. Look at the consequence of such a law to myself, to the public, and to the House. A member of the House has thought proper to rise, and by implication charge me with the foul, the detestable crime of perjury. The charge is not nor cannot be confined to the House, to Charlottetown, or even to Prince Edward Island. It has been made in the hearing of all the members, and of all the strangers, in the House ', and by their instrumentality, and that of the news- m- Biography of Ron. E. Whelan. 4 papers, will, unfounded and unsustained by evidence as it is, find its way, not only into every corner of the Island, but into and throughout every Province and country with which we maintain political and commercial intercourse; and little to me, my family, or my friends, might it avail, with respect to many at a distance, amongst whom the unfounded calumny might be circulated that it was afterwards most triumphantly refuted. Many who might see the accusation might never learn that it had proved to be a most unjustifiable and villianous slander ; and wherever my name is known it may most unjustly be coupled with the infamy, long after I shall have passed from this earthly stage. And by whom has this foul and unjusti- fiable calumny been uttered ? By one who knows that no legal proceeding can be instituted against him for ihe utterunce of it within the sanctuary afforded him by the walls of this House. I may, however, say that ic was very fortunate for that honorable member, that the accusation which he has thrown out against me has been made within the sanctuary of this Assembly, for had itbeen made elsewhere, I would have dragged him before the tribunal where he has been so often obliged to seek assistance from the quirks and quibbles of the law, to sustain him in his advocacy of a bad cause, I would have bearded t! lion in his den ; but I must beg that noble animal's pardon for having likened him to one who resembles him in none of the nobler traits of his savage character, not in his magnanimity and courage, but the comparison might hold as to his cruelty and ferocity. (Here Mr. Whelan wis called to order by the Chair.) If not allowed latitude of speech ui)on the floor of this House, I will take care to do myself justice before the public through another channel ; the accusation set forth against me is of a two-fold character. In the first place, I am by implication charged with the crime of perjury, and, in the next, accused of sitting as a member of the House without having a legal qualification. A.nd the accusation is in no way mitigated by any hesitancy on the part of the accuser, by no D I Bp I 60 Biography of Hon. E. Whelan. ■f iji m I' ij Ml ■•% dubious or qualified expressions, but on the contrary is diiectly, positively, and confidently urged; and to make the mode of accusation still worse, the alleged crimes are set forth by one who, besides arrogating to himself the functions of both judge and jury, would, I verily believe, with Httle reluctance, discharge those of the hangman also. My accuser has said that I have no right to sit as a member of this House, he has charged me with having committed the crime of perjury, and has said that I ought to have my ears cropped off; but if the charges are true, the offences were committed at a time when my accuser was the sworn Law officer of the Crown, and when jt was his duty, if he believed me to have been guilty, to have me indicted for the crime. :It cannot be said that he was with- held from pursuing such a course through the influence of any charitable feelings towards me, for he was then opposed to me with little less vindictive hostility than now. I have been a member of this House for six years, and during that period he has had frequent opportunities of trying the validity of my qualification, had he been desirous of doing so, and bringing the question of alleger* perjury to an issue. That allegation, how- ever, has, at length, been fully disproved, and I would scorn to make any further allusion to it. With respect to the second particular of the pending investigation, the validity or invalidity of my qualification in 1850, the evidence before the committee, is such as to prove, in the most satisfactory and direct manner, that my qualification was, at that time, as well as at the present, indisputable. But he maintains that I had then no valid or sufficient qualification as respects my title to 73 acres of land, purchased by me from Mr. Dawson, although Mr. Dawson has, on his oath, stated to the Committee that he had sold the land to me in 1846 for ;£$o, by an agree- ment to that effect duly entered into and executed at the time ; and that he had handed over to me the Deed of the same, at the same time, in further confirmation of the sale and relinquish- ment of the property. The title to the property must certainly <•<« Biography of Hon. E. Whelan. 51 have been in some one's possession at that time, and that it was not in Mr. Dawson's, he has himself clearly staled. Mr. Dawson has told the Committee that after he entered into the agreement for the sale of the land to me, he considered that he had nothing more to do with it, but that, from that time, it became my bona fidt property ; and that he had positively no further claim upon it. He (Mr. Dawson) has sworn that I had a perfect right to sell it in 1846, had I chosen to do so. The honorable member for Charlottetown next argues that the con- veyance to me from Mr. Dawson did not constitute me a free- hold proprietor, because the estate so conveyed was not unencumbered, inasmuch as the purchase money was not paid at the time. But what is the fac^ ? A receipt for the pur- chase money is endorsed upon the deed ; and although it lias been shown that the payment was by a Promissory note, that did not alter the case. A Promissory note is as much a species of paper money as a Treasury Note or Bank paper. A note of hand is analagous to a Treasury Note, which is a promise to pay a certain sum of money, without specifying on what account. The difference between it and a Treasury Note is that the latter is issued on the public credit, the former on the credit of an individual. It could not have been exhibited in proof of an encumbrance upon my land any more than any other note of hand, which I might have given in acknowledg- ment of and as a promise for the payment of a debt or obliga- tion, which I might have contracted on any other account. The receipt is sufficient evidence that the purchase money has been paid, it matters not what species of money ; and to quote the honorable member's own words, my having paid for the land is the strongest and best evidence of my title to it. But in attempting to prove my disqualification, the honorable memlier has proceeded to the supposition that I had no claim to any other property on which I could establish a legal qualification, whereas in the schedule of my qualification, handed to the Sheriff on nomination day, in March, 1850, is sot forth my •I Biography of Hon. E. Whelan, ": ■ m iiii iM^if ■'A qualification on account of a leasehold interest in 300 acres of land, as well as my distinct qualification on 73 acres of free- bold, and to this ''qualification, as generally set forth in the sche- dule, I have sworn. Although witnesses have been called for the purpose of showing that the land was not of value sufficient to constitute a legal qualification in its owner, the evidence of those identical witnesses has in the main rather tended to establish than overthrow the very fact which they have been summoned to disprove, which was, however, put entirely beyond doubt and question by the very credible and respect- able witnesses whom I have summoned to show the value of tne property. All the conditions of the agreement entered into in 1846 have been fulfilled, that has been sworn to by Mr. Dawson. Oh, exclaims the honorable member, entrench- ing himself behind another quibble and a sopnism, he had no legal interest in the land, he was not in seizin or possession ; then, pray, who w£s in possession? Was Mr. Dawson? No. It has been declared by him upon oath that I could exercise all the rights of ownership from the time the agreement was signed in 1846. Was Mr. Dawson, then, the possessor? No; that could not be the case, because according to the honorable mem- ber for Charlottetown I had an equitable claim upon, and interest in, the land. Mr. Dawson could not, therefore, possess what another had an equitable claim upon, therefore it is unnecessary to further expose the absurdity of these quibbles. *t Biography of Hon. E. WJielan. 53 SALARIES BILL. F, hitherto, I had no desire to take pirt in the discussion now going on, I think, indeed, I would be fully warranted in replying to the allegations, which have just been directed against myself individually, with so much rancour and in- justice, from the other side of the House. When I first read the notice on the Order Book, some few weeks ago, that it was the intention of the honorable member for Darnley (Mr. Clark) to introduce a Bill to commute the charges of the Queen's Printer for a stated salary, it was my determination — a determination not only in accordance with the practice of the House, but fully in accordance with my own judgment, — to maintain a strict silence in regard to a Bill of that nature. But when the honorable member — acting, no doubt, under the advice of certain gentlemen of the minority of this House, — has thought proper to tack on to the Bill the office of the Attorney General (Hon. Chas. Young), and by making a general assault upon both, secure the passage of a measure by which the interests of eitlver the one or the other would be damaged, I felt that I was no longer restrained from expressing my opinions upon the Bill; and I now beg to warn the honorable member for Darnley, that if I be disposed to handle him and his bantling somewhat roughly and uncourteously, I do so, not because I feel that I am assailed in an open and manly manner, but because he thinks it safer to whip me on the Attorney General's back, and to whip the Attorney General on mine. I have no doubt the honorable member will disclaim personal motives in bringing forward this measure. It is quite fashion- able to do so. Zeal for the public interest will, no doubt, be pleaded in justification of the step he has taken. Perhaps the honorable gentleman may be actuated by such a patriotic in- ;■ \ it li Mr 54 Biography of Hon. E. 'Whelan. m tention. Perhaps he may be animated by the ambition to signalize his public life by the introduction of one original measure into this Assembly. He has been for seven years a member of Parliament, and ii may be that he does not wish his career to be brought to an inglorious close — it may be that he burns with the desire of being able, in after years, to tell his present constituents that he has been instrumental in placing at least one law upon the Statute Book. I may be wrong, however, in imputing such vanity to the honorable member. But if I am wrong, he certainly has taken no pains to guard me against the error. The Bill has been long enough before the House to have enabled the honorable member to come down here, with such an array of facts and figures as would have been sufficient to convince every other member around me, that the time had at length arrived when it was necessary to commute the fees of the AUorney General and Queen's Printer for fixed salaries. Judging from the time which has intervened — extending over weeks — from the introduction of the Bill to the motion now made, I confidently expected that the honorable member was fully prepared to show that both the Queen's Printer and the Attorney General had practised the most arrant extortion upon the public, and that it was now time to put a stop to such practices. But what has been the result of the honorable gentleman's long deliberations ? Why, simply nothing. Not a speech — not a fact — not a figure has he condescended to vouchsafe. Yet, it ^e himself has been wanting in this respect, his new friends in the minority have most graciously come to his relief; and I am sure they will feel grateful to him for the admirable opportunity he has afforded to them of making their annual fling at the Queen's Printer. It has been a favorite pastime with the gentlemen on the other side of the House to make the character, both public and private, of the Queen's Printer a target for their unjustifi- able assaults ; and if the honorable member for Darnley has been made a tool of on this occasion to pander to their mal- ^ ';• Biography of Hon. E. Whelan. 55 evolence, I presume he will receive from Ihem his reward in his private intercourse with them in the shape of a compliment for his so-called independence, without thinking that those compliments have been earned by the sacrifice of that con- fidence and kindly feeling which everywhere subsist between the members of the same political party. It has often been the subject of slanderous imputation, in a certain newspaper printed in this Colony, that the majority of our House of Assembly are banded together for unholy motives, and that office-holders especially, should they happen to be guilty of fraud or peculation, are safe against scrutiny or challenge, so long as they can command a majority to support their general political principles in this House. The honorable member for Darnley is doubtless desirous of showing that such a stigma cannot fairly attach to him, that he is not only determined to check wrong doing in the conduct of his adversaries, but that he is prepared to gibbet his friends, and to act, if necessary, the part of their executioner, if evei the minoriiy suppose or fancy any of them to be guilty of a crime. If the office-holders were really guilty of any faults, they might well exclaim, " Oh, save us from our friends," when some of those friends manifest so ardent a desire to convict them with- out sufficient evidence. What is the object — of course I mean the ostensible object ; — I suppose it is to economise the public money, to reduce the emoluments of the Attorney General and Queen's Printer, but I am not aware that it provides for a reduction of the labors of either office, or the costs attending their management. This object, then, pre supposes that both officers are over-paid, it pre-supposes that they are inthe habit of making charges not commensurate with the duties they are required to perform, it was certainly incumbent upon the hon- orable member tor Darnley to establish this point ; if he could, it was clearly his duty to shew that the public had paid higher professional fees to the Attorney General than those allowed to his predecessor ; and that the Queen's Printer had made 56 Biography of Eon. E. Wlielan. I charges against the Government not warranted by the practice of /lis predecessor. He has not, however, done so, he cannot do so ; but his officious interference in the matter must lead to the opinion, that in /lis immaculate belief both officers are pub- lic extortioners. Now, since the honorable member appeared to be ignorant of the course he should have taken in reference to this matter, I will take the liberty of telling him ; and perhaps before the subject be brought to a close, he may be induced to act upon the information. If he thought the Attorney General and Queen's Printer were over-paid, he should have moved for a committee of enquiry, and demanded before that committee an examination of the accounts of both officers,and compared those accounts with the charges made by their predecessors. If the result of such enquiry justified his apprehensions, and proved that the officers in question had overcharged the public, then it would have been right to compel them to refund the excess, and to establish a proper scale of charges, so as to prevent extortion for the future. But instead of that very obvious and very proper course of action, the honorable member flings out a proposition, which exposes two of his political friends to the most scandalous imputations. How well the opportunity has been turned to account has been just shewn by a member on the other side of the House, i'hat member appears to have studied the Queen's Printer's accounts with great zeal ; and he must feel deeply indebted to the member for Darnley, who has given rise to this occasion for spurting forth his resentment against me. But I shall come to his observations and quota- lions from my accounts bye-and-bye; and I think I shall shew that on this, as well as on other occasions, his bungling and special pleading is likely to be far more damaging to the char- acter of his own client — who happens to be the late Queen's Printer — than to the party on the other side, whom he is hired to assail. Is the principle of the Bill a just and equitable one ? If it is, why was it not thought of before ? The honorable member has been seven years in the House ; he has had the I III I u Biography of Hon. E. Whelan. 57 accounts of the Queen's Printer and Attorney General every Session before him ; those of the former, for the past two years especially, have been thumbed like an old primer in the hands of a school boy, and many a voyage of discovery has been made through their pages to discover an error or an over-charge. If the principle of the Bill is just and equitable now, it was equally so when the fees of the Secretary and other public officers were commuted some years ago for fixed salaries, and the honorable member was then amongst us. But the bright idea did not flash upr n his mind whilst his political opponents were in office. During Sir Henry Huntley's administration of the Government there were actually three Queen's Printers in the colony. Mr. Haszard stood at the head of the list, as he had what he called his patent ; but Mr. Ings reprinted almost every thing that appeared in the Gazette, except the laws ; and Messrs. Cooper & Bremner, in their turn, reprinted the offi* cial notices after Mr. Ings, so that each had a very handsome share of the public plunder. The principle of this Bill was neither just nor necessary in those days ; nor does it appear to be considered just or necessary by its introducer in reference to otiier officers paid by fees, as well as the Attorney General. If the honorable member wished to bring forward an honest and impartial Bill, why not have made it general in its details. Why not have included the Solicitor General ? He is paid by fees as well as the Attorney General, and the clerk of the Crown and Prothonotary ; he is paid in the same manner as the High Sheriffs of the counties, whose emoluments, with the ex- ception of j£2o to each, consist of indeterminate fees ? Why not have included in the Bill all these officers, and others, who may happen to be paid in a similar manner? Of course, the prin- ciple of the Bill V )uld not be just and equitable if n)ade to apply to any other but the Attorney General and Queen's Printer. But, sir, I do not think the principle is a sound one with regard even to the .Attorney General ; and as to the office of Queen's Printer, it is totally impracticable. It is very proper to i V 53 Biography of Hon, E. Wlielan. I I " ' i pay a fixed salary to a public functionary like the Treasurer, or Secretary, whose duties are well or tolerably well defined, and involve no mental toil or study, who enters his office without it being necessary for him to undergo a certain course of train- ing ; but with regard to such an officer as the Attorney General, he has had to acquire a profession, which must have cost a large amount of time and money ; and as to his duties as one of the Crown law officers, it is impossible to define them, with the view of determining what his salary should be — in one year he may have more ('rown business to transact than in two other years ; and for the former, wiih a salary, he must be either greatly underpaid, or, in the latter years, shamefully over-paid. But suppose you fix a salary for the Attorney Gen- eral, you must fix it at the average of what the emoluments of that office have been, — unless it is meant to per])etrate an act of injustice. I don't expect the honorable mover of the Bill will be disposed to do this, for his object is to reduce the emoluments of the officers affected by his Bill, and not to put them on a footing with their predecessors. But let us see what is the average of the fees received by the Attorney General. I hold in my hand a return of the emoluments of that office from 1848 to the present time. For that period the average of the Attorney General's allowance has been about ;^45o a year ; for the first year mentioned in this return the amount of fees and salary paid to Mr. Hodgson was ;^550, whilst last year Mr. Young received only ;^437. With regard to the charges for conducting Crown prosecutions, they were fully as large an item during the in- cumbency of the late Attorney General as during that of his successor ; for i)utting notes to the laws there has been no ex- travagance practised by the present officer, but on the con- trary, his charge for this service last year was less than Mr. Hodgson's in 1849, when the laws w^ienot only fewer in num- ber but less voluminous in extent, as may be seen by com- paring the laws of 1849 ^^^^^^ those of 1852. It is true that Mr, I ' Biography of Hon. E. Whelan. 59 Young's charge for miscellaneous services last year was greater than Mr. Hodgson's had been for a similar period ; but the ser- vices rendered, it should be borne in mind, were very numerous, many of them consequent upon the change of government. It has not been shewn, however, that Mr. Young has charged for any particular service a higher fee than his predecessor. In the case of the land tax collection, it is true, he derived greater profits from this source than his predecessor; but the con- struction evidently put upon the law by the judges of the Supreme Court, and the only legitimate construction which the act will bear, justified his proceeding by separate informations against the several townships in arrear respec- tively; but his charge for these informations was not higher, I believe, than what his predecessor had been accustomed to make. Now I shall address myself, but very briefly, to that branch of the subject which relates to the office I hold myself. Properly speaking, the Queen's Printer is not an officer of the Government; he merely enjoys a monopoly of the public print- ing. Can his charges be commuted for a salary. There is only one way of doing it ; but that way would entail heavier expense upon the Government than the present system. If you lega- lize the Bill, and make the Queen's Printer a responsible public officer, you should place him on a level with the other officers of the Government, provide him with a printing office, stock it with types, presses, paper, stationery, and all the other requirements of a printing office, and give the Queen's Printer a salary to take charge of it and superintend the labor, and as a compensation for his skill in the business. But it is mani- festly absurd to talk of a salary, when you want the Queen's Printer to provide everything himself. Now he is required to keep on hand at all times a large and expensive stock of paper, which may or may not be required for the public service, — if not required, he must make use of it, in the best way he can. He is also required to keep a sufficient number of hands em- .)!. I fi 60 Biography of Hon. E. Whelan. I J i i 11- is' I m^. i:' : ployed, to be ready for any emergency. At particular seasons only the whole force may be required on the public printing ; they must be employed on private business at other times, for it would be unsafe to discharge them, as their services might not be attainable when required. The cost for paper, labor and miscellaneous charges in the Queen's Printer's office last year was over ;^8oo ; next year it may be £1000, or perhaps not half the amount. As the prospective work of the office is not ascertainable, so is it impossible to determine what the cost of its management would be. Fixing a salary for the office, therefore, seems to me to be as impracticable and as vis- ionary as it would be for the honorable member for Darnley to say to his tailor — " My good fellow, I have passed a little law of my own by which I mean to put you on an allowance. You shall make what clothes I require for that sum, and find the materials, too." But suppose the honorable member took it into his head to go to Paris, London or New York, and after admiring the fashions of those places, came back with a pas- sion for fine and expensive dress, so that instead of being con- tent with one coat a year of honest homespun, he should have three of the finest broadcloth and of the newest fashion. In vain, I suppose, would the unfortunate tailor remonstrate, and say that he had double the labor to employ to make the honorable gentleman's clothes, that he incurred heavier and daily increasing expense for materials. Why the honorable member would reply to his remonstrance — '* That's the very reason why I cut you down to a fixed amount ; I perceived that my custom would be alarmingly on the increase, that you would have more journeymen to employ, and more cloth to cut up ; but I can't consent to pay more than I did when you had no such heavy outlay. " The honorable member might preach the same agreeable doctrine to his shoe-maker. In fact, I see no reason why he shou J not extend it into every branch of business ; the shoi>keeper should give him what he wanted for so much per annum, Biography of Hon. E. Whelan. 61 't the butcher should be put upon a salary, and the black- smith should have horses without number for so many dol- lars a year ; the doctor should give physic and advice, with- out thinking how many visits he made, or how many chil- dren he carried out of the measles and the whooping cough ; but in this reciprocal age, the honorable member would be content, I suppose, to abide by this mode of payment himself, when he brought his produce to town. I should like to give him a fixed salary for bis butter and eggs, and oat- meal and flour. What matter if I and others, who dealt with him in this way, would bye-and-bye have double the num- ber of people to feed that we have now? To be sure he would have to extend the area of his poultry yard, and the limits of his dairy, add to the number of his farm servants, sow more oats and wheat, and keep more cattle to work hi» farm. But he could not cjnsistently complain; he was the first to lay down the wise principle of paying indeter- minate and undefinable services by a fixed salary. Gen- tlemen on the other side of the House urge it as a reason for supporting the bill in its present shape, that the expense of the public printing is greatly increased. Of course the total expense must be increased when the labor is about trebled. Look, for example, at the amount of printing now required for some of the departments of the public service. In the Post Office, before the transfer of its management to the Colony, there was hardly any printing to be done beyond a few advertisments in the Gazette. All the blank forms were pro- vided by the general Post Office in England. Those blanks are of the most costly description, being generally ruled work. The charge for them, and they are very numerous, has now to be borne by the Colony. Then there are the Customs and Excise offices. Two years ago there were only four or five such offices, now there are fifteen ; the public printing consequently, for these offices is about trebled. Take, again, the road service. There are now 31 commissioners, formerly i 62 Biography of Hon. E. Whelan. i-* there were but sixteen. The printing for this service is about doubled ; whilst several other departments have been added to the public service, and those heretofore in exis- tence have extended their operations, and consequently the labors of the Queen's Printer have been extended likewise. The increase in the total cost of the public printing the last year or two is, therefore, easily accounted for. But let the honorable member opposite, or let the honorable introducer of the Bill now before the House, do as I first sug- gested, ask for a committee of enquiry, let that committee scrutinize my accounts, compare the charges contained in them with those of my predecessor, and I feel satisfied that their report would be greatly in my favour. But thus tak- ing up at random my accounts or those of my predecessor can lead to no satisfactory result. " One story is good till another is told," and if members opposite will, forsooth, persist in just picking out such items out of my accounts as may seem to tell against me, I can easily follow their exam- ple with regard to Mr. Haszard's accounts, and throw stone for stone. -i>t>«E3K«C!';r » i:! . I :, I 66 Biography of Hon. E. Whelan. of certain members. It is not their intention, I can readily believe, to exclude the Attorney-General or the S'^licit^r- General, or, perhaps, the Colonial Secretary. The Requisition states that public opinion had been tested at the last election with respect to the Departmental system and had decided against it. The truth of that statement I, however, most emphatically deny. Public opinion was neither nested with respect to that system, nor had it pronounced against it. The very reverse is the fact. The great majority of the people are well satisfied with the working of Responsible Govern- ment, as from the first it has been established, and it was only by means of professions in accordance with the general feeling and sentiment of satisfaction and approbation, which its favor- able working had excited throughout the country, that certain candidates for the suffrages of the people had deceptively secured their elections, and are now ranged in opposition to the views of their constituents, to ensure, by a direct and total abandonment of their electioneering liberality, a majority to the old Tory obstructionists in the House. I am now alluding to Mr. McGowan and Mr. McEachen, both of whom secured their elections by their unequivocal declarations during their canvass, and at the hustings, in favor of Responsible Govern- ment, as it had been established and carried out by the majority of the last Assembly. In the Requisition which they have signed, a declaration is made against the system of Responsible Government established in Canada, New Bruns- wick and Nova Scoiia — in all of which it has brought about clianges most beneficial to the people — and also as established and successfully carried out in Prince Edward Island. In the Provinces in which it was first established the result has been increased prosperity, and in Prince Edward Island not a single evil has resulted from it — no neglect of duty nor any instance of peculation on the part of the public officers can be pointed out as a proof of its inefficiency. It is in vain to talk about the rights and privileges of the people having been II Biography of Hon. E. Whelan. 67 trodden upon or neglected. It is in vain to ascribe tyranny to the Government ; not one instance of arbitrary or tyrannic exercise of power can be brought against them. If they have erred at all it has been in the exercise of too great liberality towards their enemies. Accusations of tyranny and neglect of the people's rights come with a very bad grace, indeed, from parties who are not without good and sub- stantial reasons suspected of having lent collusory aid to the late Lieutenant Governor (Sir Donald Campbell), in his attempts to carry into effect his tyrannous and traitorous scheme for the disfranchisement of four-fifths of the tenantry of this Island. Formerly every record of designs so foul and black was kept secret from the people in the archives of the Government, but the establishment of Responsible Government has made public that infamous purpose to the lasting disgrace of its author and his abettors. Will that party deny that their aim and object are to bring back the old detestable system and to elevate to power the men who formerly acted upon such principles ? There is no doubt— cloak it under what name they may — that the real object of the outcry raised against Responsible Government by the obstructive party is to bring back that system under which the public functionaries could again be chosen without refer- ence to the people,and might hold their employment in defiance of the people's wishes. Now it is irresponsible Government the opposition are seeking to re-establish, for how, I ask, can oflUce-holders be made responsible if not in Parliament ? Under the responsible system, has any peculation been practised? No. The check is too great. When members of the assembly are appointed to offices, they are sent back to their constituents for ratifications of their appointments, without which they can- not enter their offices. Besides, when in office, their accounts are audited every quarter, and that, too, under the present Gov- ernment by gentlemen having no sympathy with the party in power, whilst, again, their accounts are subject to parliamentary inspection. With these precautions it is scarcely possible for 'i 'U ill lit 68 Biography of Hon. E, Wkelan, the smallest error, let alone defalcations, to escape detection. It was not so, however, under the old system. Then, whatever their practices, office-holders were able to hold — as they actually did — their appointments in defiance of the people and of Par- liament. The measures which have distinguished the three years that have elapsed since the establishment of Responsible Government have been the means of bestowing lasting benefits upon the people. First, the Education Act, the wisdom of which has been highly extolled, is conferring, and will hereafter to a much greater extent confer, important benefits upon the Colony. The proprietors, it is true, memorialized the Home Government, praying that the Royal assent might be withheld from that Bill, not because they had reason to apprehend any evil result to the Colony from its being allowed to go into opera- tion, but because it would extract something from their pockets. The Elective Franchise Bill is on its way back, and will, per- haps, arrive sooner that will be agreeable to the majority. That Bill is a proof of the anxiety of the Government and their Par- liamentary supporters to extend the liberties and rights of the people, and how desirous they are to promote their welfare and happiness. How totally different is it from, and how com- pletely opposed in character to, anything that has ever proceeded from our predecessors, or can be looked for at the hands of the present obstructive party. How often has it been said that the present Government are the bond shaies of the proprietors. Do not, however, the strenuous efforts made, but happily vainly made, by the proprietors, to prevent those two Bills from going into operation, completely refute those unprincipled statements ? The Government have, by passing the Education Act, done their utmost to remove the stigma which has been so often and so unjustly cast upon the people of Prince Edward Island. A few in the House, I am inclined to believe, think the people are so ignorant as not to be ab!e to appreciate the present form of Government ; but perhaps they will find to their cost, at no very distant period, how sadly they are mistaken. The opening of our .E'll Biography of Hon. E, Whelan. 69 ports to the commerce of the world, and the efficient footing upon which the preventive service has been placed, has contri- buted largely to the increase of the revenue, the credit of which is due to the present Government. Other benefits will be found in the reduction which we have made, in the duties on articles of general consumption, and on articles used by ship-builders. Notwithstanding these reductions and exemptions, the trade of the Colony has been so prosperous that the revenue has nearly doubled since 1849. I' cannot be denied that when the pre- sent Government came into power, the public debt amounted to nearly ;^3o,ooo, but it ia now almost liquidated, being reduced to the paltry sum of ;;^3,028, whilst a saving of /^i per cent, has been effected on the interest thereon. Under the financial management introduced by us, money is no longer allowed to lie in the Treasury, in order that capitalists and shop-keepers may have opportunities to fleece poor contractors paid in Trea- sury warrants, by exacting exorbitant rates of discount for cashing them, or by requiring contractors to take one half the amounts in goods. When the present Government proposed to raise a loan of ;^i 0,000 at 5 per cent, interest, the capitalists denounced the scheme, and declared it would ruin the credit of the country ; but, greatly to their annoyance, in about three months the whole amount was advanced on Government Debentures at 5 per cent., and twice the amount could have been obtained on the same terms, had they been required. It is the prosperity which has resulted from our policy, and the increase of the revenue consequent upon that pros- perity, which enabled the assembly to appropriate last session ;i^i,ooo for the purchase of stud horses, and to grant ;^50o a year to the Royal Agricultural Society, besides many other large and unusual appropriations. I only wish that when our opponents come into power they will so exercise it, during the period of their ascendency, as to be able on their retirement to furnish as gratifying an account of the services which they may have rendered to the Colony. With respect to my own party, .n| m 70 Biography of Hon, E. Whelan. much as they have done for the country, they have certainly much to blame themselves for on the score of the conciliatory policy which they have practised towards their political enemies. However, a day of triumph to the Liberal party will again come, and that before a long while ; but let it come sooner or later, i hope it will bring with it a bolder and less magnanimous spirit than that which characterized its past career. Concilia- tion has been practised to a disastrous extent ; to any extent it is wrong, so far as the political opponents of the Liberal party are concerned, for it is vain to suppose that any Tory can be conciliated. HI •' 1'! Biography of Hon. E. Wlielan. n THE MAINE LIQUOR BILL. \s motion of Hon. Edward Palmer, the House resolved itself into a Committee of the whole, on the 14th April, 1855, ^^ ^^'^^ '"^° consideration the following resolution : — " Resolved, that it is expedient to prohibit by law, to take effect from the first day of the manufacture, importation and sale of spirituous and all other intoxicating liquors, except for medicinal and mechanical pur- poses, and the sacred ordinanjes of religion, and also to prohibit the keep- ing of such liquors for sale, except for such purposes, as aforesaid." Hon. Mr. Whelan :— I regret, Mr. Chairman, that I was not in the House when the honorable member for Charlottetown (Mr. Palmer) opened this discussion. Not having heard his arguments, I cannot, of course, reply to him ; but the principles involved in the resolution which he has submitted. I shall take leave to consider and controvert. But I will first turn to the resolution submitted by my honorable friend from the first District of King's County (.Mr. Cooper). I cannot subscribe to all the propositions it contains ; and the conclusion on which it is based, is, in my opinion wholly inadmissible. I will not dispute the justice of the encomium passed upon the Sons of Temperance, for their efforts to abate the evils resulting from the immoderate use of spirituous liquors, but I cannot believe that either the Sons of Temperance represent the majority of the people of this Island, or that the names subscribed to the petition now before us are those of a majority of our popula- tion. That our shores are easy of access, and therefore present great facilities for carrying on a contraband trade in liquor, after the prohibitory law would go into operation, is another reason assigned by my honorable friend in his resolution oppos- ing the measure. That is a mere quibble, unworthy of my honorable friend, who usually takes a candid and straightfor- 'lit;' ■1 I m 1- 72 Biography of Hon. E. Whelan. .f li If! 1m ward view of public questions, and can only have been thought of as an excuse for giving the question under consideration the * go by." We all know that smuggling would prevail to a great extent, if the Maine Law were put in force ; but this might be checked by an efficient preventive force, if we were disposed to give the law a trial. Smuggling now prevails to a very con- siderable extent, but that circumstance affords no reason for our removing the excise duties from the merchandise imported here. I shall offer no such reasons as those advanced by niy honorable friend, in opposition to the enactment of a prohibitory li luor law for this Island, J will take my stand in opposition to the measure on a higher and broader ground. But I will first give onemoment'sattention to the resolution submitted by the honorable member for Charloitetovvn. It appears to be a copy of that which was before the Assembly last year. I shall rectly meet it with the following amendment, if y honorable 1 lend from the first district of King's County will withdraw his resolution, as I feel assured he will, when he perceives that the one I am about to read goes more directly to the point : — " Resolved, that it is inexpedient to prohibit by law the importation or sale of spirituous liquors, inasmuch as such prohibition would be a serious infringement of the private and inalienable rights of individuals and society at large, would entail an excessive loss to the revenue, to meet which no provision has been indicated, and further, inasmuch as there is no evidence l>efore tlie Committee, that a majority of the inhabitants of this Island desire a prohibition of the sale, manufacture or importation of spirituous liquors ; nor have this committee any sufficient reason to believe that Prohibitory Liquor Laws have been productive of any material advantage in those parts of the United States, wherein it has been attempted to put them in ])ractice, no part of Mer Majesty's dominions having yet imitated the ex- ample of the United States in this respect." If we carry out the resolution proposed by the honorable member for Charlottetown, we perpetrate an invasion of the rights of individuals and of society at hrge. The argument used in support of such an invasion is that the drinking usages of society are productive of grievous evils, and that moral Biography of Ron. E. Whelan. 73 means have been found to be inadequate to check them, that they have not had the effect of turning inebriates fi )m the error of their ways, and that therefore a prohibitory law must be passed. I will ask the honorable member for Charlottetown, if, in supporting such an argument, he means to say that, because a fraction, and a very small fraction, of the community cannot or will not refrain from an inordinate indulgence in spirituous liquors, therefore we are to pass a law, placing not that class alone, but the whole community, the majority of whom are men of strictly teniperate habits, on the same footing ? The majority of the people of this Island are not drunkards, nor are the majority of mankind, and I for one will not consent by vote of mine to put the two classes on a level, to place the sober and respectable man in the same position as the worth- less drunkard. There is one point in this matter worthy of consideration, namely, the loss of revenue which would be the result of prohibiting the importation of liquors. The public accounts show that last year we received from that source nearly ;;^'i 2,000. The friends of the proposed law may phil- anthropically exclaim : " What is the revenue in comparison with the public morals ? Why trouble our heads about pounds, shillings and pence, when virtue and sobriety are at stake ? " This is all very well for simulated patriotism, it is an excellent theme for declamation. But in grappling with a question like this we don't want declamation, we want facts. The traffic in liquors is as legitimate as the traffic in anything else, it is nearly as ancient as the traffic in anything else, it is as universal as any branch of trade ever followed ; and the oldest, most enlightened, most civilized, and most moral countries of the universe permit it to be carried on, and to make it the source of a large revenue. For the followers of Neal Dow to say that the trade -is demoralizing in the aggregate does not prove it so. These people conduct their arguments upon false premises; it is not the trade that is at fault, it is the frailty of those who cannot subdue their evil propensities, and who often, from I I lit'!! Mi'' ■ _ hy of Hon. E. Whelan. 87 battle in the Crimea? The heights of the Alma — where Menschikoff, with every assurance of success, h J entrenched his legions — were deemed inaccessible, or fr(jm which he thought at least the allied armies would not dislodge him if the conflict continued for weeks ; nevertheless, in three hours those lui^^hts were captured, the Muscovite hosts were scattered ^ik. chaff, the valorous spirit of the allies rose superior to every danj^er, difficulties of position were for- gotten, or, if thought of, overcome as soon as thought of, the cool intrepidity of the British, and the dash and enthusiasm of the French battalions, were elements of power more serviceable than mere numerical strength or superiority of j>osition. The valor which distinguislied the knights of Crecy and Agincourt never shone with brighter lustre than when the same spirit nerved the arms of their descendants and their rivals on the blood-siained heights of Alma. Is it patriotism in us, then, to refuse the widows and orphans of those valiant men the poor pittance that may help to keep them from starvation ? It is not necessary for me to remind you of the still more sanguin- ary, and, perhaps, more splendid, engagement fought a little more than a month later, at the now ruined village of Balak- lava. In reading, as I have done repeatedly, the details of that engagement, I have felt proud to think that my country- men there displayed more than their accustomed heroism. I have been proud to consider myself even a subject of the Sovereign who had such soldiers in Her service. It is an interesting coincidence that the battle of Balaklava was fought on the anniversary of the battle of Agincourt — so often the theme of song and the groundwork of romance. That memorable event occurred on the 25 th of October, 1415 ; the French were more than five to one of the English, but they were signally defeated, as every schoolboy knows. On the 25th of October, 1854, foi:r hundred and thircy-nine years later, the descendants of the two armies, now associates and brothers in arms, achieved a victory over the Russians, which It ¥ ' 4 111 ' II «• IMAGE EVALUATION TEST TARGET (MT-S) M mj/ /.i^ Kusiness transacted in the former province. The lumber- ing business is its great staple ; and the supplies of dutiable articles consumed in a tent, where that business is carried on, are far more than would be requisite in any manufacturing establishment in the sister province, with the same number of hands employed. Now I rind that New Brunswick limits her expenditure for education to the insignificant sum of ^^9, 435. Here, then, we perceive that Nova Scotia pays nearly double as much for education as New Brunswick, while the latter has a revenue of ;;^70,ooo more than the former. But Prince Edward Island makes a larger appropriation for education than either of them, aye, or both put together, in proportion to her means and population. By the last census, the total number of our inhabitants was 71,000, our revenue last year was ;^42,ooo, and our expenditure for edu' ".tion for the same year was ;^r 2,000, nearly one-fourth of the whole revenue of the Colony. Well, then, our population is about one-fourth of that of Nova Scotia, our revenue about one-third, and we give for education only a little over ;^4,ooo, or one-fourth less than she gives. New Brunswick has more thpn four times our revenue, has about three times our population, and we give for education nearly;^3,ooo or nearly one-third more than she gives ! Now, have we not great reason to be proud that with regard to an institution so essential to our moral, social and material progress, as that of education, we are so immeasurably ahead of two very important — two great Provinces like Nova Scotia and New Brunswick — placed, as they are, in the high- way of nations, between the Old World and the New ? Only one other topic in the speech remains for me to notice, but it is certainly one to which our best attention should be given, as it concerns, as much as any other, the best interests of the country. His Excellency directs our attention to the necessity of making provision for keeping up a regular communication with the neighboring Provinces. We do not require to be I :.; 100 Biography of Hon. E, Whelan. reminded of the importance of such a subject. Our farmers and merchants, and through them every class in the community, are deeply interested in the maintenance of a close, regular and constant inter-communication between us and the neigh- boring F vinces of Nova Scotia and New Brunswick, and through tuem with more distant lands. It must be admitted that this service was fairly attended to during the past season. The provision made for mail communication last session was liberal, and the Government were fortunate in securing the services of a steamer that appeared, last year especially, to give such general satisfaction as the Lady Le Marchant did. But still there is great room for improvement, and I sincerely trust that the appropriation to be made this session for our Summer Mail Service will be on so generous a scale, as may enable the Government to far transcend all previous efforts in the same direction. Let us give liberally for this service, if we be obliged to practise a close economy with regard to other matters of less importance ; so deeply sensible am I of the advantages which are sure to accrue to the Island generally, from our taking an enlarged view of this subject, that as one member of the House I will be ready to vote the largest sum that may be proposed to keep up efiicient communication with the other provinces. In connection with this topic it may not be improperforme to mention, although I am not a member of the Government, that the Executive, as I understand, recently entered into an engagement with Col. Favor, — an American gentleman of great enterprise and activity — for extending to this Colony the benefits of the admirable system of Express communication, which has for many years prevailed between New Brunswick and the United States, and by means of which our letters between the Great Republic and Canada may be received and transmitted about three days sooner than they could be received or transmitted when entrusted to the ordin- ary mail routes. The sum stipulated to be paid, I underst.^nd, for our participation in this very valuable arrangement is only £40 a year. Biograi^hy of Hon. E, Wltelan. 101 RESPONSIBLE GOVERNMENT. 'he following speech was delivered during the debate [^ which preceded the adoption of Responsible Gjvern" ment : The minority say that His Excellency Sir Alexander Ban- nerman has, in his speech^ avowed the same sentiments, with regard to the great question at issue, as those which were en- tertained by the late Lieufenant Governor, Sir Donald Camp- bell, and that in the address proposed by them, there is an expression of the utmost respect for those sentiments. That certainly answers very well for those who uphold the poh'cy of Sir Donald and his Government, but it is language which can- not, with any degree of consistency, be adopted by those who have condemned his policy in the most positive and direct manner. Unless the majority mean to condemn and stultify themselves, they are bound to carry the amendment to the address. The amendment which has been submitted is one which, although it plainly indicates the feelings of the majority towards the Government, is in every respect sirictly temperate and respectful. But had the majority thought that His I^xcel- lency intended in his speech to pass the same censure upon their proceedings as has been pronounced by Sir Donald Campbell, they would have held it to be a palpable insult, and might, in that case, have been fully justified in proposing an amendment less expressive of respectful consideration. The minority also say that the advocates of Respon- sible Government have obtained no victory ; in saying so, they falsify His Excellency's si)eech. Sir Donald, even at the most favorable stage of the negotations with him for the introduction of the Responsible system, merely pro- posed to consult Her Majesty touching the propriety of such I : • ■ 11 'i I- 116 Biography of Hon. E. Whelan. menced, to prepare the colony for that system of Government which has swept to the wild winds of heaven the abuses and pretensions of dominant oligarchies in the neighboring col- onies, not one of those who are now so zealous in their advo- cacy of this measure would be found to utter a syllable in its behalf. It had been urged by the speaker that we ought to vote the increase, so as to conciliate the Home Government, and to prevent our being called upon to pay those public officers whose salaries are now drawn from the Imperial Kevenue. I am not anxious that the colony should escape from the payment of its Civil List, if our unwillingness to pay it is io be held up to us by the Colonial Minister as a mark of degradation, and as a reason for refusing to us those im- provements in our local institutions which might enable us to keep pace with the surrounding Provinces. As a British sub- ject, I have felt ashamed of the reproach which the Secretary for the colonies has repeatedly cast in our faces in reference to the payment of our Civil List ; and I consider it to be the duty of the Legislature to strain every nerve, and husband every resource to provide for the payment of every department of our civil establishment. The Legislature, the country,ought to be honest and independent enough to despise such an attempt at conciliation ; and the Governor who would receive the appropriation now contemplated, on such a condition who would quietly submit to the shameful attempt made to bribe himself and gag the Colonial Minister, would be unde- serving of that character for independence, integrity of prin- ciple, and faithfulness in the discharge of his important func- tions, which I earnestly hope the present administrator of the Government is determined to maintain. Biography of Hon, E. Whelan. 117 STOPPAGE OF SUPPLIES. 1 |n the loth April, 1850, the advocates of Responsible Gov- ernment submitted a resolution in favor of stopping the supplies necessary for the current year. Replying to Hon. Edward Thornton, Mr. Whelan reviewed the situation as follows : — I am rejoiced to find that one, at least, of the minority has the courage to oppose the passage of the Resolution. As the discussion proceeded — I cannot say debate, as that word implies difference of opinion — I felt no animation at the pros- pect of triumph, since the enemy appeared too weak to offer battle. Now, however, that the honorable member for Murray Harbor, who represents the Government, has fairly entered the arena, I feel pleasure in coming forward to confront him. I should, indeed, give the honorable gentleman credit for the caution and tact displayed in his opposition to the resolu- tion. It might be supposed that when he rose to speak, a defence of the Government would be the chief object of his solicitude, but he has very wisely left the Government to take care of itself, and labored to vindicate himself, as an indivi- dual member of the Council, from the obloquy which attaches to the whole. The honorable gentleman has proclaimed his adhesion to the Responsible Government movement ; but at what time has he chosen to do so ? Having opposed it the last and preceding Sessions, what value should he set upon his support now, at the eleventh or twelfth hour, when the question can be settled independently both of him and his party. But, Sir, I value but slightly the pretensions of any honorable member who will say he is favorable to the in- troduction of Responsible Government, and declare, at the i I- 118 Biography of Eon. E. Whelan. same time, his determination to vote against the Resolution now befoi2 the Committee, as the adoption of that Resolution appears to be the only alternative left to the advocates of responsibilty. I am aware it will involve consequences of very serious moment to the Colony ; but for the part I am prepared to take in bringing about these consequences, I am ready to assume my full share of the responsibility before my constituents. It has not been with me the subject of merely an hour's or a day's consideration ; before the session commenced, I believed that such a proceeding would be found necessary, for I understood the character of our Gov- ernment too well to give it credit for that independence and regard for public opinion which would induce any other Administration to make a prompt and gracious concession to the wishes of the people's representatives. The honorable member f'-om Murray Harbour cannot, forsooth, vote for the Resolution, because he is a member of the Government, and because that Resolution contemplates a step unprece- dented in the history of the Colony. If he is a member of the Government he ought not to be ; he would prove the sincerity of the sentiments which he professes to entertain with respect to Responsible Government, and his regard for the opinions of his constituents, by ceasing to be a mem- ber of the Government, when it is shown that it no longer possesses the confidence of the country. That the Resolution was without precedent in this Island, at least, I am willing to admit ; but how many things are here done for which no prece. iiL'nt can be found ? Must we of necessity pause before adopting any measure, and ask-is there an example for this ? To make it necessary to find a precedent for ^vtry change clearly neces- sary for the well being of the Colony would be a most effectual way, indeed, to stop the progress of all beneficial reform. Individuals who can never think it right to advance without a i)recedent seem most absurdly to forget that there must have been a time when every record now accoun- Biography of Hon. E. WhelaVf, 119 ;t X ted a precedent was an original and unprecedented act. In the Legislature of a small Colony like Prince Edward Island, whose Government is conducted according to no well-defined principles, questions relating to the administration of affairs will sometimes be adjusted without reference to any rule or practice which may be found to exist in Britain. But since the honorable member from Murray Harbor must bring the question of precedents into the debate, I ask him, will he find in the history of this Colony, or any other, an analogy — or precedent, if he prefers the word — for the course taken by the Government on this occasion ? When and where did the circumstance occur, that a vote of want of confidence was passed by a majority of 17 to 3, and the council against whom such an unmistakeable condemnation was recorded still held their places ? His Excellency the Lieutenant Governor declares he has not power to change his Government — that a concession to the views of the Assembly would be a direct contravention of Her Majesty's instructions. With all proper respect for the Queen's Repre^ sentative, I beg to say that I think he is in error. The Despatch to which reference has been made by the hon. member from Murray Harbor, in support of the position assumed by the Lieutenant Governor, does not prohibit the introduction of the new system of Government, and sanction hostility to the people. The hon. member may imagine that he finds in the Despatch of the 27th December last a justifi- cation of His Excellency's policy ; and it is no doubt a source of satisfaction to him and to his colleagues in the Government that some portion of that Despatch may be con- strued to warrant their unjustifiable retention of power. But let the hon. member cast his eyes a little further down upon that Despatch, and he will plainly see that it is not the desire or intention of Her Majesty's Government to have the affairs of this colony administered in a manner contrary to the feelings and opinions of the people. What i: I: 120 Biography of Hon. E. Whelan* does Lord Grey mean when he repeats the declaration made to the Governor of Nova Scotia, if he were not disposed to sanction a change in the character of the administration whenever public opinion should call for such a change ? Public opinion has called for it ; but members of Govern- ment look awfully grave, and say unto themselves — we are, and shall be, above public opinion ! Irres. '^ctive of the abstract claim which the Island possesses to a participation in the advantages which must result to any colony from a faithful adoption of the responsible system, I contend it was the duty of the Governor to dismiss his council, if they would not resign, and call new advisers around him, at the moment the House of Assembly declared it had no confidence in their administration of affairs. In this procedure His Excellency would have been borne out, not only by the Despatch of the 27th December, but by one of a much older date; and since the hon. member from Murray Harbor appears unwilling fo do anything— to move either to the right or to the left — without the direct sanction of a Despatch, I trust his apprehensions will be removed, and his mind informed by an extract, which I am now about to read from a Despatch transmitted to a former Governor of this Island by the present Prime Minister of England, while acting as secre- tary for the Colonies. " You will understand," said Lord John Russell, in 1839, "and cause it to be generally known, hat herea/ter the terms of Colonial officers, held during Her Majesty's pleasure, will not be regarded as equivalent to a tenure during good behaviour ; but that such officers will be called upon to retire from the public service as often as any sufficient motives of public policy may suggest the expediency of that measure." Why have not the hon. member from Murray Harbor and his colleagues in the Government been called upon to retire from the Council ? Is not a vote of a large majority of the People's Representatives a " sufficient motive" to ** suggest the expediency of that measure ? " If it be not, Biography of Hon. E. Whelan. 121 then it is difficult to say what is. An attempt has been made to render the movement for Responsible Government an unpopular one, by representing that its adoption would involve a pension list, in addition to the burthens of the Colony, and the hon. member for Murray Harbor has complacently referred the Committee to that part of Lord Grey's Despatch, which alludes to the subject of pensions. I think those who have charge of the public money should be the fittest persons to decide as to the manner of its appropriation ; and I am quite satisfied that neither Lord Grey nor any other Lord will suc- ceed in convincing the House of Assembly that po^nsions ought to be given to, or that they are deserved by, any of the present officials. For my part, I would not vote a shil ing of the public money towards a pension for any officer in the colony, because there is not one who can establish a claim to such consideration — not one individual connected with the Government who, by taking office, relinquished any superior employment, or sacrificed any prospective advantage, and because the country is too young and its revenue too small to warrant the ruinous system of providing retiring allowances for gentlemen, who have been patriotic enough to serve themselves while they served the Crown for a series of years. If it be necessary, however, that we should be guided in our delibera- tions in reference to the question of pensions, by instructions contained in Despatches from the Colonial office, it will be admitted, I presume, that the suggestions of a former Colonial Secretary, who is now at the head of Her Majesty's Govern- ment, ought to have as great an influence on the minds of this Committee as anything which has emanated from his successor. In Lord John Russell's Despatch of 1839 — often quoted in this House, and from which I have just now cited a passage — an opinion is expressed, that only those officers who received their appointment in England should be regarded as having claims upon Government whenever they would be required to retire from the public service. " It may not be inadvisable," fifii Pi m ^ IF 122 Biography of Hon. E. Whelan. his Lordship observes, " to compensate such officers" — tha': is, "such as have left Great Britain for the express purpose of accepting the offices they at present fill,"—" for their dis-ap- pointnient, even by pecuniary grants, when it may appear unjust to dispense with their services without such an indem- nity." Is there any one of our officials so circumstanced ? No. A similar cry for pensions was raised in Nova Scotia, previously to the introduction of the Responsible System into the Gov- ernment of that Province, but the only gentleman who was provided for when the change occurred was the late Provincial Secretary, who received that appointment in England, from which " motives of public po.icy" dictated the expediency of his removal. Did Earl Grey, who was then, as now. Secretary for the Colonies, complain of the conduct of the Legislature of Nova Scotia ? Were the claims of the laie office-holders made the subject of long correspondence with Downing street? Did the Lieutenant Governor haggle with the House of Assembly as to the price this gentleman or that gentleman should have for relinquishing his situation ? No, Sir, the ad- justment of this question was very properly left to the House of Assembly ; and it will be ultimately left to the House of Assembly of this Island too, though it may for a time be ob- structed and annoyed by mal-official interference and secret intrigue. I do not believe the professed advocates of pensions can be sincere in urging this subject upon the attention i3f the Assembly. I regard th outcry that has been made about it only as a trick to deter the publicfrom sanctioning the advocacy of Responsible Government. Every other subterfuge having failed, a pension list is now considered to be a good argument against the measure, and as such it is used. We were first told that we were incompetent to be entrusted with the manangement of our own affairs — that we had no men of wealth and education to fill situations under Government, if the present holders of office were required to retire. Will any honorable member tell me what amount of wealth, what Biography of Hon. E. Whelan, 123 extent of erudition, distinguished the present officials on their accession to power? Even now, how far superior are they in mental acquirements to many other individuals to be readily found in the community ? And as for their wealth, it cannot be very abundant, else we should not be so often told, that if some of them, at least, be deprived ot their official employ- ments, they will be immediately reduced to indigence and want. But how was the Government of the Island conducted before those good and eminent men came into the world? Was the country in a state of barbarism — were its inhabitants poor and unenlightened, savages till, in the fullness of their compassion, in the plentitude of their wisdom, those inmaculate and incomparable gentlemen came forward to guide the vessel of state ? Alas, that the common lot of humanity will not permit us to hope for a realization of the extravagant Spanish compliment, — " May they live for a thousand years, and their shadows never grow Ics ;" — for when they shall depart for "that undiscovered country from whose bourne no traveller returns," who will be found to '* fill their vacant places " and maintain the institutions, the liberty and prosperity of the land? An honorable member from Prince County (Mr. Pope) has called to our recollection the rise and progress of the United States of ^meric3, and has very happily and forcibly shown that it is not to aristocratic influence, nor great wealth, nor profound and extensive scholastic attainments, the people of those States are indebted for the establishment of a Govern- ment, one of the happiest and best that human genius has ever planned. Their unrivalled progress in the arts and sciences, their vast accumulation of the comforts and luxuries of life, their wide-spread influence amongst the nations of the earth, are all unmistakeable evidences of the efficiency of their Government, and of its adaptation to their inclination, and opinions. Why are British Colonists in America so far be hind their republican neighbors in the scale of social and poli- tical importance ? In their mental and physical organiza- I H \4 EU 124 Biography of Hon. E. Whelan. I tions they are not inferior, and the natural resources of the countries they inhabit are not inferior to those of some of the American States. The reason of their social and political inferiority is obvious. Had the Colonists been permitted to manage their own affairs as well as the Americans, with- out entirely severing the connection with the mother coun- try ; had they been freed from the blighting incubus of a Downing street cabal, swayed by the secret interference and influence of ofiicials in the Colonies, who deem, from long possession of power, that they have, or should have, " a right divine to govern wrong, " — the prosperity of the Col- onies would be commensurate with that of the United States. But we have no need to confine ourselves to the United States for proof of the fact, that the cause of public liberty is not dependent upon any favored class in the community, or that its greatest triumphs have been co-existent with eras of mental enlightenment. The structure of British freedom is not the work of aristocratic hands ; and although the " bold barons " — many, if not most of whom were unable to write their names, — have received from history the credit of winning the Great Charter on the field cf Runnymede, yet it is well known that the tyrant John would never have been awed into submission but for the co-operation of the Commons. In every subsequent period of England's annals,- wherever we trace the encroachments of arbitrary and aris- tocratic power upon the rights and privileges of the people, there do we behold the humbler classes of society, the men of small means and of limited education, battling for the right and success, fully establishing those principles which have been formed into a system of polity that has become the boast of Britainsin every quarter of the world, and which free and civilized countries have rejoiced to copy. In this Island, however, " the glorious British Constitution " could never properly have been made the subject of panegyric, its inhabitants could not boast of the enjoyment of a right which has been practically denied to them, for while every other Biography of Hon. E. Whelan, 125 dependency of the Crown on this side of the Atlantic, with the exception of Newfoundland, has successfully won its way to freedom, the loyal people of this Colony have been forced to bend beneath the sway of a faction, who seem to think they have an especial right from Heaven to mono- polize all the honors and profits of Government, to howl into disgrace, as disaffected subjects of their Sovereign, and ignorant and mercenary agitators, any class of men who might be found bold enough to scrutinize their acts, and render them accountable to the public for the faithful dis- charge of their duties. Yes, here indeed, may we find an exact copy of the picture in miniature, which the Poet has given of another oppressed land : — " in this humbled Isle Where honor mourns, and freedom fears to smile, Where the bright light of England's fame is known But by the baleful shadow that is thrown On all our fate — where, doomed to wrongs and slights, We hear men talk of Britain's glorious riphts, As weeping slaves that under hatches lie Hear those on deck extol the sun and sky. " The Representatives of the people have determined that this shall be the case no longer ; Her Majesty's Government in England does not insist that it shall ; and if the House of Assembly be forced to adopt the alternative, which the Resolu- tion now before the Committee contemplates of withholding the supplies, until the well understood wishes of the people be complied with, the Lieutenant Governor and his advisers will, and ought to be, held responsible for that proceeding. We have been told by a member of Government, that if we pass no Revenue Bill and grant no supply, we shall next year be required to raise a two years' revenue, and grant a two years' supply, this, I trust, will prove to be a mistaken notion. I should be sorry to make the public pay for the folly of the Government ; and if the officials receive their salaries for ihe present year, most certainly they will not be indebted to me for a vote. I ♦ li il ft ■ ' ' I 'il j * 'I I I 1 ft I - i t 126 Biography of Hon. E. Whelan. INAUGURATION OF THE NORMAL SCHOOL. I l\ ti ^NE of the most important events in which Mr. Whelan ever participated, in this Island, occurred on October ist, 1856. The Charlottetown Model and Normal School was, on that day, inaugurated by a f,rand Soiree, presided over by his Excellency Sir Dominick Daly, Lieutenant-Governor, and attended by many leading citizens ; also prominent teachers from various parts of the Island. At half-past three the Compa- ny, or rather as many as could be accommodated at once, were summoned to the tea tables, fourteen in all. The company assembled, according to the printed report of the proceedings, numbered upwards of three hundred, a large proportion of whom were ladies. Tea being over, His Excellency, on being motioned to the Chair, assumed the same, and organized the meeting by delivering an excellent address. Speeches were also delivered by Hon. Col. Swabey, John Lawson, Esq., City Recorder ; John M. Stark, Esq.,Superintendent of Schools; John McNeill, Esq., Secretary Board of Education ; Wm. Monk, Esq., Master of the Normal School ; John Kenny, Esq., Central Academy ; Hon. George Coles, Col. Secretary ; Hon. W. W. Lord, Archd. McNeil, Esq., the Hon. Edward Whelan, and Hon. Benjamin Davis, all of which, together with the whole proceeding.;, were reported by R. B. Irving, Esq., and pub- lished by the Committee of Management, in pamphlet form. Hon. Mr. Whelan, preparatory to moving a resolution which he held in his hand, then moved, " That his Excel- lency do now vacate the Chair ; " which having been done, and His Worship the Mayor, Robert Hutchinson, Esquire, having, on motion, taken the same, the Hon. Mr. Whelan spoke as follows: — Mr. Mayor, Ladies and Gentlemen : — If the resolutions Biography of Hon. E. Wtelan. 127 which have been already proposed have passed without a dissentient voice, I am satisfied that the one which it becomes my agreeable duty to move, and which I will at once read, will be received with heartfelt acclammation ! Resohed, — That the thanks of this Meeting are clue to His Excellency, Sir Dominick Daly, for his able conduct in the Chair. In this resolution there is but a feeble testimony of our obligations to our late worthy Chairman, for the interest he has manifested in the cause of popular education, and it is a consolation to me to know that it requires no oratorical support, for its simple proposition would be sufficient to secure its hearty adoption. But as every gentleman entrust- ed with a resolution on an occasion like this may be fairly expected to make some observations in reference to the object of our present assemblage, I shall avail myself of the opportunity I possess to offer a few remarks, although I feel that no new thoughts or ideas can pass from my lip>, after the several interesting speeches we have heard to-night. Were I fur- ther to speak upon what has been done in Prince Edward Island to advance the cause of Education, and to indulge in an eulogistic recapitulation of the services to that cause by some amongst us, whose merits on that score have already had their full share of laudation, I should only be performing a very superfluous task, such as ** painting the lily," or " throwing a perfume on the violet. " I am glad to find that the prospects of School teachers are growing so bright, and their situations so desirable, as to be worthy of being coveted by one who for- merly ranked high in the profession, but was induced to resign it for a Government appointment. J refer to our friend the Deputy Registrar (A. McNeill, Esq.,), who has just cast such a fond and lingering look back to the days when, within the bounds of the Schoolroom, he was "Monarch of all he sur- veyed ; " but I sincerely trust that he will be introduced to res- train his enthusiasm, and continue his service in that impor- tant department to which he now belongs. In moving the present resolution I am led to reflect upon the novel i; 1 i 'J M n I- i i! P 128 Biography of Hon. E. Whelan- and interesting spectacle of a Lieutenant Governor's condes- cendingly uniting in action with a public meeting, and freely participating in the general feelings which the object of the meeting excites. I call the spectacle a novel one, to me at least, and, I believe, to the majority of those present it is so, for Sir Dominick Ualy is the first Governor, within the period of my experience in the Colony, who has descended from his high Station to mix freely and cordially with the peo- ple committed to his care in many of their rational and intel- lectual entertainments. To find our Governor as any'ous to promote the object of this meeting, as if he had a direct indivi- dual interest in it, cannot fail to be most gratifying to those to whom its success will impart benefits which cannot be too highly valued. To the teachers, in particular, it must be highly gratifying, ?s showing the estimation in which their vocation, with reference to the diffusion of learning among all classes, amongst the poor as well as the rich, is now held by men in the highest stations. But much as we are gratified by His Excel- lency's presence here to-day, I am sure it must be a source of very great satisfaction to himself, to have it in his power to countenance so worthy an object as the more general diff"usion of the ulessings of education, by presiding over a meeting called together for the inauguration of a new era in our educational system, and for encouraging teachers in the steady pursuit of the arduous duties allotted to them. I need not remind this meeting of the very obvious fact, that it is only by means of a widespread education that ruiers can govern with pleasure to themselves and with satisfaction to the governed. As not the least important feature of education is to inculcate obedience to the laws, and by imbuing the youthful mind with sound principles in morals and religion, rear up the best ornaments to and barriers for the protection of society, it is obviously the first duty of a liberal-minded and enlightened Governor to promote, as far as it may be in his power, the intellectual advancement of the people committed to his care. That His Excellency is ever ready to discharge this duty we have the Biography of Hon. E. Whelan. 129 most convincing testimony, and it must be gratifying to him to know that his efiTorts in this direction can be so well seconded by the mass of the people themselves, fori do not believe there can be found in any part of Her Majesty's North American possessions a community that appreciates moral and intellec- tual training more highly than the inhabitants of this Island. This testimony I can bear from considerable personal observa- tion, and without laying myself open to the charge of egotism — for I am not a native of the Island, which I might be tempted to regret, if I did not in some measure share with its sons the advantages they enjoy. Though Prince Edward Island happens to be the smallest and the poorest of the North American ColonieS; regarding our poverty in a commercial sense, we are entitled to boast that we have taken the lead and set an example to all the others in the important matter of education. The enlightened policy which placed us in a position thus to boast, though originating with one section of politicians, will be hailed as the brightest inheritance of all who come after us, when the rancour and petty heats of party warfare will be for- gotten, and the sons and daughters of Prince Edward Island, unable to take an interest in the conflicts of their predecessors, may exult on common ground over the boon bequeathed to them. For my own part, though, as I said before, not a native of the Colony, I shall always consider, wherever my lot may be cast, that I have been highly privileged in being not only a member of the community, but a member of the Legis- lature which gave birth to our free system of education. The important impetus, which has been given to education by the universal spread of the printer's au, has completely revolu- tionized the whole republic of letters, bringing knowledge hitherto inaccessible, and books unattainable by reason of their cost, within the reach of all, the poor as well as the rich, so that it seems to be an almost unpardonable sin on the part of those who are brought up, where public and private libraries abound, to plead ignorance on subjects of general science, literature and art. I ^L jf: i\j t. it 9: |; I: 130 Biography of Hon. E. Whelan, INCREASE OF REPRESENTATION, 1856. 'did not intend to enter upon the discussion of this question before the House went into Committee ; but as honorable members seem inclined to oppose going into Committee, and are desirous to know my reasons for introducing the question, I shall at once state them as briefly as I possibly can. The honorable member for the first District of Kir.^'s C'ounty (Mr. Cooper) was the first to show symptoms ot aiarm at the intro- duction of the measure. It is not for me to say that his inter- ests will be specially and injuriously affected by it ; but, it is quite probable he may apprehend that, if carried into effect, there will be an end to his ambitious schemes. He reminds us, of what we all very well know, that the country has sent no petitions in favor of an increase of representation. True ; but is it necessary that, before legislating upon any subject, we should wait for petitions ? He asks if any despatches have been received from the Imperial Government, recommending the adoption of the measure I am about to propose ? 1 can safely say that I have heard of no such despatches, and I beliove the Colonial Secretary (Mr. Coles) has told us there arc iione. I can never subscribe to the dot trine that, before legislating ipon any important question, we should wait to receive pen I )ns from our constituents, or despatches from the Home authorities. I have always entertained the opinion — and I think I shall never abandon it — that when a member is sent here, he does not appear in the character of a delegate to carry out a certain code of instructions, but rather to aci in accordance with the dictates of his own conscience and judgment, and to pursue that policy best calculated to promote the interests, not of his Biography of Hon. E. Whelan, 131 own constituents only, but those of the whole Island at large. It is right that a member should consultwith his constituents on public questions, as I frequently take an opportunity of doing, and endeavor to ascertain their opinions, and, if possible, re- concile them to his own, should there be any disagreement ; but I do not conceive it to be any part of the duty of a member to sacrifice his own conscientious convictions to suit the views of any class of men. Now, Sir, I could easily point to some of the most important measures that ever passed the Legisla. ture of this Colony, on behalf of which there was no popular demonstration at the time of their introduction. Let us take the bill for increasing the elective franchise. That involved an important change in the constitution of the Colony. There were no petitions in favor of it ; yet it passed, and I believe the people are thoroughly satisfied with it. I had the honor of first introducing that measure, and did so independently of the Government, because I did not then, nor do I yet, consider that the Government should initiate every important measure. An objection has been made that the question under consideration has not been made the subject of a Government measure. But i f that had been done, I have no doubt the old cry would be raised by those who make the objection, that the majority are bound to be subservient to the Government, and must vote for the measure, so that in either case the minority would be sure to have an excuse for opposing it. If the principle were once established, that the Government — and the Government only — should bring forward important questions like this, then I should be out of place in making the motion I do ; but until that doctrine, which I think is never likely to find favor in any free representative assembly, becomes the rule amongst us, I must consider the course I have taken to be quite correct and legitimate. A far greater change was effected in the Constitu- tion of this colony than that which I now propose, not only without the concurrence of the Government, but in spite of its powerful influence and long continued opposition. I would ask I'! h :i ■ 1 a fl a I (9! [II tflt' 4 ■ t [ ' if » • 132 Biography of Ron. E. Whelanl the gentlemen who profess to be so anxious that the Govern- ment should lead in this measure, if they think we should ever have had Responsible Government, if we had waited for the administration of the day to carry it through the Legislature ? (Hear, hear). With respect to an increase in the number of our representatives, I must say that, since the change in our Constitution, I have regarded such a measure as highly neces- sary. During the past year, I have several times brought it to the notice of some of my friends in the Government, and urged them to bring it before the House ; but until the present time they did not see the necessity for it. The course of our pro- ceedings this session has, however, convinced the most scep- tical of my political friends that an increase of members and a revision of the electoral districts has become highly necessary. Parties have become so nearly balanced, that it is difficult to proceed with any business, should there be any members absent from either side of the House. Indeed, questions affecting the policy of the Government could not be discussed without a full House, for the minority would be always in attendance to meet such questions, in the hope of defeating the Govern- ment, while the majority would postpone or not commence the discussion until their entire force should be assembled. The expense to be incurred by an increased number of members will, no doubt, be insisted upon as a very strong argument against the measure ; but I think it is an argument worthy of little or no consideration, in comparison to the advantages it will confer. It is most unquestionably a great extension of the popular privileges, and it is, indeed, as much entitled to the support of one political party as to that of another ; for, under an enlarged and improved representation. Liberals and Con. servatives would have equal chances. In the new subdivision of the Districts which I shall propose, there will be, — with some few exceptions that cannot possibly be avoided — nearly the same number of inhabitants to every electoral District ; and another principle which shall be kept steadily in view will be, Biography of Hon. E. Whelan. 133 to give about the same extent of territory to each district — not as at present, fourteen townships to one, eight to another, all thickly settled, four or five to another, and so on ; wiiile the new districts can be so arranged that the several Townships constituting them will be is a direct line, one close upon the other, and not running in different directions, as is at present the case. The opposite party say that they stand well with the country, and that public opinion is against this side of the House. If that be the case, there can be no reasonable objec- tion to giving additional force to the popular element in the House. If the assertion rei:arding their great popularity is based upon truth, then the chances are all in their favor and against us. The strongest opposition to this measure, I have no doubt, will come from the gentlemen who represent the Towns. Now there is no intention to interfere with the repre- sentation of the Towns and Royalties, at least not with two of them. No one will dispute the right of Charlottetown to return two members ; Georgetown is entitled to similar repre- sentation ; it is a place of growing importance — rapidly extend- ing its population and its commercial transactions. But such is not the case with Princetown. The Royalty, indeed, has been long since settled, but the town is nowhere. I am not aware that the place called the town has any inhabitants at all , for many years it had only one ; and that one removed from his solitary location. The Royalty is, in fact, the place that has the representation, and not the town ; and yet we find, according to the last census, that the whole place has only ninety-five persons capable of exercising the elective franchise. Now, considering that some of the electoral districts in the Island have as many as fourteen hundred and fifteen hundred electors, is it not absurd to give ninety-five voters the same extent of representation as we give fifteen hundred ? I there- fore propose to make Princetown and Royalty a more respect- able constituency, by adding Lot i8 to it. (Hear). 1 am glivd the honorable members on the other side approve of the I •I t» 134 Biography of Hon. E. Whelan. r»roposition. I do not know whether the exclamation of " hear " came from the honorable member who represents Princetown and Royalty, but I have no doubt that he is well pleased to learn that I wish to give him a con- stituency of over two hundred electors instead of ninety- five. There are about 120 electors on Lot i8, these added to Princetown and Royally would make it a tolerably respect- able constituency. Not the least important object to be gained by the change is a general and more equal sub-division of the electoral districts, so that population and territory may have the'.r legitimate influence in the scale of representation. By referring to the map of the Island, it will be seen that the Dis- trict, which the Hon. Col. Treasurer represents, comprises nearly one-fourth of the Island, including fourteen townships. Then look to the first and second districts of Queen's county, they r.re not only enormously large as regards their area, but the population of each is more than that of any other two dis- tricts in the Island ; besides they have not been divided off with any regard to their topographical position, for in order to get to one district you have to run across the other. The cime objection will, in some measure, apply to two of the districts of King's County. It must be owned that there is not here that great inequality with regard to population which is observable in the other two counties, but it will be quite easy to make a far better subdivision of the districts, especially since it will be necessary to make two districts of what is now called the Murray Harbour district. It has been hinted that this change in the election law is brought forward as the pre- liminary to a dissolution of the House. The Governor can, of course, dissolve the House whenever he sees the necessity to do so ; but I utterly deny that this measure is mooted by me, in concert with the Governor or his advisers, or in connec- tion with any intention, if such does exist, to dissolve the House before its legal expiration. Indeed, I shall be willing to insert a clause in the Bill, — which I trust will be brought in — Biography of Hon. E, Whelan. 135 to the effect that the Bill shall not go into operation until the House shall legally expire. This is not the time or place to discuss the details of the measure, but I may be permitted to observe that, notwithstanding the addition of six members to the present number (which is the increase I am prepared to propose), I think we should adhere to the present rule of the House, that twelve mei.ibers and the Speaker shall form a quorum, in order to facilitate the transaction of the public business. In a House of thirty members, twelve would be de- cidedly a minority ; and it may b°! objected that it tvould be giving the minority too much power lo permit them to proceed with the performance of the public business ; but for that we have a precedent in the practice of the House of Commons, where out of about six hundred members, forty-five constitute a quorum. Another advantage connected with the proposed change would be that the country members would often have an opportunity of visiting their families without detriment to the public service. It is now eighteen years since there was a change in the constitution of the House of Assenibly. Previous to that time there were only eighteen Tiembers. Eighteen years ago it was considered that the Colony had sufficiently far advanced to justify the addition of six members in the lower branch of the Legislature. Are we to remain as we were eighteen years ago ? Must the growth of our institutions stop, while the country at large progresses ? What was the state of the colony when our predecessors enlarged the popular re- presentation ? Its population is now more than one-third larger than it was then ; whilst the number of electors under our present law has considerably more than doubled. Under the old representative system, the franchise was restricted to property-holders, whose numbers were small, in a country where, eighteen years ago, there were comparatively few free- holders, and very many tenants without the legal qualification to vote ; now, every individual twenty-one years of age may exercise the franchise ; and it is therefore not too much to say f .If I ■*: ■ r P I ., i .r !i 136 Biography of Hon. E. Whelan. i^ :] that the number of electors has considerably more than doubled. The revenue of the country is now nearly ;^so,ooo ; eighteen years ago it was little over ;^io,ooo ; and if we could afford the expense of a House of eighteen members, then we can surely better afford the expense of a House of thirty mem- bers now. t • 1^ ■] Biography of Ron. E. Whelan. 137 BIBLE QUESTION. i i iH |uRiNG the session of 1857 an amendment to the Educa- tion Act was proposed, providing that the Bible should be read daily as a class book in the public schools of the Colony. This gave rise to an animated discussion, and on a division the motion was lost. Hon. Mr. Whelan spoke as follows : — After all the agita- tion and misapprehension which have been caused by the dis- cussion of the Bible Question out of doors, I indulged the hope that more correct views than some of those I have heard expressed during the debate would prevail in this House. I do not see how any honorable member can doubt the fact that the whole of the agitation now existing is the result of a serious and most unaccountable misunderstanding. A considtrable effort has been made to remove it, but there are some parties in the community v/ho appear to be bent upon sowing discord — who will not, if they can help it, snftei the public to be rightly informed on the question at issue, but who go on from day to day laboring to involve the settlement of that question in difficulty, by mystifying all the facts connected with it. Whether this extraordinary conduct proceeds from an inherent love of discord, or from a desire to serve a political purpose, I am not prepared to say, nor do I care ; for in spite of all the efforts of the designing, I believe that the people of this Island are too liberal and enlightened in their views to become parties, for any length of time, to a religious crusade, and that the present excitement will shortly subside, leaving no trace of its operation but that which may be found in the disgrace that will inevitably attach to those who have fomented it. I did not, I confess, expect to find their machinations encouraged in f: );k| 'M / II ■V! b; :iij^ 0' !»!' f 9; ![;! 'r 138 Biography of Hon. E. Whelan. I' 1 ;■! i ill this House ; but the debate has taken such a turn as to justify, in a great measure, the course pursued by the parties to wliom I aUude, and may possibly lead strangers to the Colony to suppose that attempts have been made by the head of one religious denomination to deprive all the others of their reli- gious liberty. To meet this most fallacious view of the case, I hold a resolution in my hand, which I shall presently offer ; and as it must be admitted to contain nothing but the facts, its proposal will obviate the necessity of reviewing at any length some of the arguments and statements urged by gentle- men who have preceded me. Permit me, however, to ask what is the particular circumstance which has given rise to the agitation that has been created in regard to the intro- duction of the Bible, as a class-book, into our public schools. I shall be referred, I presume, for an answer to this question, to the letter addressed by His Lordship the Bishop of Char- lottetown, at the close of the last year, to the Secretary of the Board of Education. And what is the purport or spirit of that letter? This question I shall presently answer myself. Throughout the whole of the discussion which that letter has provoked, not one of those who assailed His Lordship has had the fairness to put an honest and legitimate construction on the expression of his views. But, on the contrary, we have been every day met with the cry, that it was the design of the Bishop to suppress the reading of the Bible in our public schools. Now, his Lordship's letter very clearly shows that he had no such design. That letter was written in conse- quence of some injudicious remarks having been made and published by the Visitor of Schools, at the inauguration of our Normal School — that officer having assumed authority, on the occasion referred to, to propound rules for the regula- tion of the Normal School — one of which was that the read- ing and exposition of Bible truths should form part of the daily exercises. This announcement by a public functionary at the head of our educational establishment, as Inspector of Biography of Hon. E. Whelan. 139 Schools, and as a member of the Board of Education, was of so general a character, that His Lordship was easily led into the error that, if the Inspector could prescribe rules for one School, there was nothing to prevent his doing the same thing for them all And could the Bishop entertain any doubt as to the kind of religious instruction to be imparted in those schools ? He well knew that the Catholic version of the Bible would not be the one introduced, and well knowing that nearly half the children attending our public schools belong to the Church over which he exercises spiritual autho- rity, it was not too much for His Lordship to apprehend, that a system of proselytism would be attempted ; and influenced by such an apprehension, it was clearly his duty to interfere. This duty he discharged in the most unobtrusive manner — he stated, in his letter to the Board of Education, the grounds of his apprehension, he pointed out the evil consequences of infusing the religious element into our mixed schools ; and in that spirit of Christian forbearance and toleration, for which His Lordship is so highly distinguished, deprecated the adop- tion of a system of instruction, which would so certainly dis- turb the harmony that now happily subsists between the different religious denominations. Under these impressions, he asked the Board of Education to reconsider the subject, and he suggested that it would be far better to adopt the godlesK system — such as is pursued in the national schools of Ireland — using the word godless in the sense in which it is generally used in reterence to those schools — than a system which would necessarily d iprive nearly one-half the rising generation of the benefits of a free education. Such was the purport of the Bishop's letter, and I cannot see how any reasonable man could find fault with it — taking into conside- ration the shadowy lights in which it was written. It is true that His Lordship committed an error in supposing that the Bible — meaning, of course, the Protestant version — was to be forced as a class-book into our public schools ; but this f I ;• 1 ' n m m ^ i I If-' I' I I ii + 140 Biography of Hon. E. Whelan. error was caused, as I have already shown, by the extra-offi- cial assumptions of an individual who has since been disin- genuous enough to take improper advantage of His Lord- ship's error. But the Bishop, having discovered that his apprehensions were unfounded, acknowledged his error in the most unreserved and unequivocal manner, by addressing a note to the Hon. Colonial Secretary, in which he stated that having received full explanations from the Colonial Secretary, that there was no disposition on the part of the Government to prescribe neio regulations for the management of our public schools, he was perfectly satisfied. Why, then, should an attempt be made to mislead the public into the belief that the Catholic Bishop has sought to invade the conscientious rights of his Protestant fellow-subjects ? We all know that the public ^neeting held at the Temperance Hall, on the 13th Feb uary last, under the direction of -^rtain Protestant clergymen, was called for the purpose arousing public opinion against the Catholic Bishop anu me Church in this Colony, of which he is the head ecclesiastic. At that meet- ing his letter was referred to, and censured in the strongest terms by some of the speakers, but not one of them had the candor to admit that that letter was virtually cancelled by the one subsequently addressed to Mr. Coles. A great deal of nonsense was uttered at that meeting about the demora- lizing tendencies of " Popery " (as the religion of one-half of our population was insultingly described), and much vehe- ment denunciation was expended on the despotism alleged to prevail in Catholic countries ; but what this had to do with our social, religious, or political condition, in this country, these orators did not condescend to enlighten their hearers. There was one circumstance connected with this meeting which I cannot easily forget, and that was the presence of several individuals, whose character for probity and uprightness does not stand remarkably high in this community. Their zeal on behalf of the Bible, and their Biography of Hon. E. Whelan. 141 enthusiasm in defence of the Protestant religion, were such as to lead many persons to hope that they had " turned over a new leaf," and would become better members of society than their previous conduct proved them to be. I am will- ing to give credit for sincerity to most of the Protestant ministers who have placed themselves at the head of the present movement, and who were mainly instrumental in getting up the meeting to which I have referred, I think they were acting under the impulse of an honest though very injudicious zeal ; but I think that any person of common sense and understanding cannot, in his heart, acknowledge that most of those laymen, who are rendering themselves conspicuous in the present agitation, are influenced by any other motives and prejudices than those which are wholly foreign to religion. The simulated zeal for the Bible, observ- able in the conduct "of such persons, is the greatest obstacle that can be presented to the circulation of the Scriptures, and cannot fail to cover with suspicion, and bring into disrepute, all others who associate with them. Now, Sir, let us suppose that we should give effect to the wishes of the petitioners, and make the Bible a compulsory class book in our mixed schools, what advantages would we confer on society in Prince Edward Island? Does any one suppose that sounder morality and more true religion would be the result of such legislation? If any one does, I do not envy his credulity. Countries which have tried the religious element in their public schools have not been more fortunate in cultivating public virtue and morality than those coun- tries, that wisely leave all the inculcation of religion to those places which are especially set apart for its ministrations, and to the domestic hearth. We have had a system of public instruction in this Colony for many years, and for the last five or six years the freest and most liberal system known to any of the British Provinces. I certainly think we are not behind our fellow-subjects abroad on the score of f!" •r ■4 ;l if 0! V 142 hiograrhy of Hon. E. WJielan, religion ; and why should we now seek lo disturb the public harmony, and impair the efficiency of our educational system, by setting Catholics and Protestants against each other on matters of religious faith ? To illustrate the impracticability of making the Bible a class book in mixed schools, let us suppose an individual case. Here, in a particular settlement, one half the children in attendance at the public schools are Catholics, the other half are Protestants ; the teacher is a Protestant ; the majority of the Trustees are Protestants ; we may readily conclude that when there is a rule to have the Bible read and expounded by the teacher, the Protestant version would be the one selected (it iii absurd to suppose that the two versions of the Bible, Protestant and Catholic, will be used in the one school under the direction of the one schoolmaster). Well one half the children are compelled to read or listen to a Book which they are taught to believe is an entirely incorrect version of the Holy Scriptures. Does this compulsory attention encourage a veneration for the Bible, eithf.r on the part of those who believe in the version read or on that of those who do not believe ? What feelings are implanted in the guileless hearts of those who are sent to drink at the strengthening and refreshing fountain of know- ledge, and find little but gall and bitterness in the draught ? Why, Sir, we should find in every county and township of the Island, a horde of juvenile dogmatists, ready to annoy, and persecute, and worry their schoolmates about matters which have for centuries been a source of contention and bloodshed with children of a larger growth. Reverse the picture, let the school be a mixed one still, as is the case in a majority of districts in this Island, but supuose we find the schDolmaster to be a Catholic, and amajority of the Trustees Catholics, of course tJiey would have the Douay Bible for their Scriptural class book, and there would be just about as much benefit resulting from its use as in the case of the Protestant Bible. ♦ * 1 have great respect for the school Biography of Hon. E, Whelan. 143 teachers of this country. As a class I do not think they are inferior to those of ^ny other colony in America for general intelligence, and for efficiency and zeal in the dis- charge of the important duties allotted to them ; but 1 am compelled to say that there are very many of them who, from their youth, inexperience and want of proper intellec- tual training, are wholly unfit for the office of religious instructor. 1 wish to be understood as not disparaging the acquirements of a majority of the schoolmasters of this Island as schoolmasters, but I consider it is not only improper and worse than useless to connect religious with secular training, but that it is beyond the power of school- masters generally to attend to both. To expound the Bible well and faithfully is held to be one of the most difficult intellectual pursuits ; the ablest, most learned and most sagacious minds that ever shed their light upon the world have, in all ages, been devoted to the elucidation of its sacred mysteries ; and many of them, after a lifetime spent in that pursuit, might compare their labors with those of the great philosopher, who contrasted his toils in the world of science to the efforts of a child picking pebbles on the sea shore. Shall we then, I say, entrust to the raw youth of eighteen or twenty years of age the performance of a task which has puzzled the wisest intellects ? Even the honorable member for Princetown, with the resolution before him which I have this evening submitted, will be slow to believe that there are many parents in this Island disposed to commit the religious training of their children to a large proportion of our country schoolmasters. I m m ! '1 1 1 'i --T 144 Biography of Hon. E. Whelan. LANDLORDS' PETITIONS. ■:[ l\ HE resolutions which I now hold in my hand I intended to have laid on the table, as soon as the honorable Col. Secretary (Mr. Coles) had concluded his speech, so that honorable members would have something tangible to speak to ; but I was prevented from doing this by Mr. Yeo's extreme anxiety to rush into debate, in defence of his friend Mr. Robert Bruce Stewart, whom he eulogized as being an honest though a mean man. Now, Mr. Stewart has not been unjustly assailed by the honorable Col. Secretary. It is true that some personal peculiarities have been noticed, which might as well have been left in obscurity ; but considering that Mr. Stewart has calumniated the country and the Legislature to a veiy great extent, he ought to be prepared to receive even harder knocks than those administered to him by the Colonial Secretary. The honorable member for Belfast (Mr. Douse) was also very impetuous in the expression of his opinions before time was allowed for submitting these resolutions. That gentleman seems to labor under the erroneous impression, as he very often does, that the House is about to make some very furious attack upon the rights of property, and his eloquence and his indignation are employed to avert the calamity. I am sure there can be no objection on the part of any honor- able gentleman to listen to the most eloquent displays on behalf of the rights of property. What I would be inclined to complain of is, that public character as well as pro- perty is not likely to have its advocates on the opposite side of the House. The honorable member has amused us with Biography of Hon. E. Whelan. 145 some little witticism about the Worrell Estate, which, he says, in allusion to a remark often made in this House, is only " self sustaining " to those parties who are entrusted with its management. The honorable gentleman, no doubt, spoke from experience, and with a vivid recollection of his own proceedings in reference to the Selkirk property. If the Commissioner of Public Lands, who is the principal person engaged in the management of the Worrell property, bene- fitted his own person to nearly the same extent as the honor- able member did while agent for the Selkirk Estate, there might be some reason to throw out hints and inuendoes, and to suspect that he was not a model officer, so far as the public interests could be affected. While alluding t ) the honorable member for Belfast (Mr. Douse), I cannot help noticing a manifold inconsistency committed by that gentle- man in his private capacity. As one of the petitioners, he states that the Government seek to purchase the Township lands of this Colony at one-third of their value. Now, it is notorious that the honorable gentleman himself went to England a short time since, and purchased from a proprietor there a very valuable estate in this Island, at a less price than the Government would be disposed to give for it. The Government are prohibited from giving more than 7s. 6d. per acre for township lands. The honorable member for Belfast says this is only one-third of their value j yet if any person will take the trouble to go into the Registry Office, it will be seen that the honorable gentleman himself has purchased Township lands at even less than what he says is one-third of their value. With respect to the petitions and other docu- ments now under the consideration of the Committee, it is quite unnecessary that I should trouble you with any lengthy observations, after the elaborate review which has been given by the honorable Col. Secretary. I am glad, indeed, to think that those petitions are about to be disposed of, for it appears to be a long time since they were first brought to the notice i i i'l; cr 'H p .fi It : II' ' i i »! • : I" Ml HI '' ; »'! I'! .It 146 Biography 0/ Hon, E. Whelan. of the House. Honorable members are, however, aware of the fact that the consideration of these petitions has been delayed solely on account of the abse.ice, for some weeks past, of several members from both sides of the House. It has been often falsely alleged against the majority of this House and the party in power, that they have been and are legislating in the interest of the proprietors. The cal- umny has been often refuted, but as the calumniators always pretend to have a great fondness for documentary evidence, it is to be hoped that they will be fully satisfied on that head, if they will only examine the array of petitions against the acts and proceedings of the majority. If the Government and majority of this House had any desire to promote the exclusive interest of the proprietors, it is by no means likely that the latter would not only oppose the measures of the former, but would couple their opposition with the foulest abuse ; and in noticing tl e opposition of the proprietors to the measures which they have been successful in defeating, I think it will be seen that the majority here have no very affectionate consideration for their good friends the proprietors. That the proprietors exercised a proper and constitutional right in petitioning against measures which affected their private interests, I do not for a moment dispute. That is the peculiar and, perhaps, one of the best privileges of every British subject. The proprietor, it is said, should not, therefore, be censured for using this time honored privilege. I censure them merely for abusing it, not for using it ; they could have stated their case to the Colonial Office without bringing falsehood and misrepresentation to their aid, without resorting to gross libels upon the inhabi- tants of the country, and without traducing the character of the local Legislature, both individually and collectively. They allege, in justification of their conduct, that our measures have been of an arbitrary character ; but they have said the same thing of every measure adopted by the Legis- Biography of Hon. E, Whelan. 147 lature of this Colony, affecting in the smallest degree the interests of proprietors — aye, even some measures which did not affect proprietary interests have been denounced by them as arbitrary and oppressive, such as the Elective Fran- chise and Sheriffs Bills. They petitioned the Crown against these, as well as the small debt, the education and one-ninth bills ; but, happily for the Colony, the British Government did not consider their representations worthy of a favorable consideration. As an excuse for opposing the Tenant Compensation Bill, it is stated in one of the Peti- tions, that ejectments seldom occur, that there have been only six cases of ejectment in a period of four years ; and that that is a triumphant proof of the lenity and indulgence of proprietors. Now, Sir, if that statement be true, it is an argument against the petitioners ; for if there be no eject- ments, as a general thing, there can be no compensation, and hence there should be no antipathy to the Bill. But supposing that there was only one case of ejectment, even within a period of ten years, and that ejectment was not followed by compensation to the tenant for any improve- ments he might have effected, J consider that an act of injus- tice was accomplished, and sufficient reason shown for the introduction of the Bill so strongly opposed by the peti- tioners. I am, however, disposed to give considerable latitude to the statement of the proprietors, that there have been only six cases of ejectment in four years. There may be only six such cases on the records of the Supreme Court ; but who can tell how many a case of hardship and oppres- sion has occurred, approximating to ejectment, of which the public could have no knowledge ? How many a poor tenant has been driven to the verge cf despair and ruin by the cruel exactions of his landlord, before the extreme measure of ejectment was accomplished. It is only when more than usual obstinacy is manifested by the tenant that ejectment is resorted to. If the unfortunate wretch will only i m ii * iji t ^1 p b Mi if! r 111 I. ^'1 148 'i \ . ;!■ 1 . ! 'f ii i« Biography of Hon. E. Whelan. quietly submit to be stripped, his ejectment may be, if not entirely abandoned, for a long time postponed. With these observations, I will now read the resolutions I intend to pro- pose. They cannot be agreed to this evening, as they con" template an address to the Qaeen ; honorable members will, therefore, have sufficient time to give them full considera- tion : — Whereas, by a despatch from the Right Hon. Sir George Grey to the Lieutenant Governor of this Colony, dated 17th November, 1855, an extract of which is now before this Committee, His Excellency is informed that Her Majesty's Government could not advise the Queen to give Her sanction to two measures passed by the Legislature of this Colony, namely, an Act to impose a rate or duty on the Rent Rolls of Proprietors of Township lands, and an Act to secure com- pensation to tenants in cases of ejectment, on account of certain objections urged in memorials to Her Majesty the Queen, and to the Colonial Minister, by Proprietors and Agents for the management of Lands in this Island ; and whereas those objections, as can be clearly shown, are, for the most part, based on misrepresentation, and have their origin in selfish motives and interested views on the part of the said proprietors and agents of land ; and whereas the Right Hon. Sir George Gray himself, in commenting on the Tenant's Compensation Act, has clearly misapprehended the object of that measure, when he states " that its plain and direct tendency is to transfer property in land from the owner to the tenant," the real object of the Act, on the contrary, being, to use the language of Sir George Grey himself, " to secure to the tenant the enjoyment and profit of his improve- ments, and to protect him against harsh and oppressive conduct at the hands of his landlord : " Resolved, Therefore, that the Committee deeply regret the disallowance of the Rent Roll and Tenant's Compensation Acts ; that the objections urged against their passage in the memorials and petitions of the land pro- Biography of Hon. E. Whelan. 149 lowance )jectionB ind pro- prietors, referred to by Sir George Grey, are untenable, frivolous, and in part highly offensive to the Legislature and people of this Island, and this committee regards the successful interference of the proprietors of land against the Acts referred to, as derogatory to the honor and independence of the Legislature of this Colony, in s" far as its efforts are directed to pro- mote the peace and prosperity of the people committed to its care. Resolved, That while this committee fully recognize the inalienable right of petition, and would not deny its proper ex ercise to any class of Her Majesty's subjects, yet they cannot hesitate to enter their solemn protest against a most flagitious abuse of that ancient right, as is the case with respect to the petitions and memorials of the land proprietors and their agents, against Acts of the Legislature of this Colony ; and that while it is pprfectly constitutional and proper to memorialize the Sovereign against the (inal enactment of any law, it is a grave offence to misrepresent the conduct of the legislative bodies in passing such law, and to libel the people with whose interests they are entrusted. Whereas, amongst other passages of a similar character, in a letter signed '* Robert Bruce Stewart," dated at Charlotte- town, Prince Edward Island, May 19, 1855, and addressed to the Right Hon. Lord John Russell, the following extraordi- nary language is used in reference to the Tenant's Compen- sation Act, viz. : " The Act would have, and is intended to have, in connection with other Acts, the effect of depriving the landlord of every remedy other than the expensive one of an action at law in the Supreme Court of Judicature, the rent being no more than one shilling per acre per annum, the defendant being generally destitute alike of property and of principle, the jury being unavoidably composed of tenants, or persons interes' jd for tenants, or hoping themselves to become freeholders, without purchasing their land, and the sanctity of an oath being but little regarded, when a proprie- tor is to be injured by its infraction. Under all these adverse influences or circumstances, the landlord has little chance of benefitting by success, if he should gain his suit ; direct intimidation and threats are then brought to bear against any person daring to take, or treat with the landlord for taking, the vacant farm, — intimidation and threats of injury both to pe rson and property : " 150 Biography of Hon. E, Whelan. I i ,<* Resolved, " That the foregoing statements are untrue, both in inference and in fact ; that the Compensation Act was not intended to have any such effect as that predicted of it ; that the landlords' rights, under its operation, would be fully as well, if not better, protected than those of the f inants ; that the annual rent is in very many cases more than one shilling per acre ; that the allusions to the character of defendants in cases of landlord and tenant, and to the composition of juries in the trial of such cases, are false scandalous, malicious and premeditated libels on the whole community, deserving as such the strongest reprobation ; and that the statement with respect to threats and intimidation against person and property, being used by any portion of the community, is wholly unfounded, threats and intimidation being unknown, unless, perhaps, in one or two cases where the title of the claimant to the land was deemed to be unquestionably fraudu- lent and spurious." And, whereas, in the before mentioned letter of the said Robert Bruce Stewart, the following passage also occurs : " I may also state that an Act was passed by the House of Assembly, during its recent session, requiring proprietors to put their titles on record, before recovering rents from their tenants under lease, agreement or otherwise. * * * The Legislative Council have not passed this Act, but it was brought forward as a Government measure, as such it was passed by the House of Assembly, and it has been published as having been passed by the Legislative Council, so as to lead the country constituencies to believe it to be the law of the land, and thus to be strengthened in their obstinate resis- tance to the landlord." And the following passage occurs in the concluding part of the said letter, viz. : ** The two oppos- ing parties who divide our little State, abusing each other under the name of Tory and Liberal, or, in Colonial phrase, 'snarler' and ' snatcher,' differ solely upon the division of the spoil, and are, as it were, constantly bidding against each other for popularity, by promising their constituents, and, so far as they are able, performing their promise, to keep up an incessant and sweeping attack upon the rights of property and the laws of justice : " 1 ( Biography of Hon. E. Whelan. 151 Renolvedf •' That the statements with regard to the Registry Bill as being a Government measure, and published as having passed the Legisla- tive Council, are utterly untrue ; and the imputation so flagrantly thrown out against political parties in the Colony generally, as being actuated by a desire to attack ' ' the rights of property and the laws of justice," is an unwarrantable and malicious libel." And whereas, in a petition and remonstrance of certain Proprietors and Agents of land in Prince Edward Island, to Her Majesty the Queen, dated 4th June, 1855, it is stated amongst other things, that under the Land Purchase Bill lands are sought to be obtained for the Government at one- third of their value ; and in another petition and remonstrance rom the land proprietors (many of them being the same par- ties who signed the previous petition) dated 19th June, 1855, addressed to Her Majesty the Queen, the following state- ment occurs, in reference to the Tenant's Compensation Act, viz.: It is a specimen of class legislation, of the most odious kind, and can serve no other end than to reduce the value of real estate, already at a very low rate, as may be seen by the price paid by the Government for the Estate of Charles Worrell, Esquire ; and in a further petition of owners of land, dated 27th August, 1855, addressed to the late Right Hon. Sir William Molesworth, then Secretary of State for the Colonies, it is stated, in substance, that the Land Purchase Act was passed " to enable the local authorities to resell and dispose of the public lands to their numerous friends and adherents : " Resolved, " That the statements thus put forth by the proprietors and agents of land are, in every respect, unfounded ; that the Government has not sought to obtain land at one-third of its value ; that only one estate has been purchased by the Government under the operation of the Land Pur- chase Act, and that was purchased a*^ a price considerably higher than that for which the same land was obtained by a private individual a short time previous to the Government purchase; that one of the petitioners who complains of the action of the local authorities in this respect has recently purchased a large and valuable tract of land in this Island, at a rate very considerably less than the maximum I'll % :l 1'! I "i \ ■ ;;1. m-: "" a' 1h i. 1 1 ' f! ii: ' ''li m ,.1 , in! i'l 152 Biography of Hon. E, Whelan. price in the Land Purchase Act ; and that the purchase on his part was effected while the Tenant's Compensation and Rent Roll Bills were under the consideration of Her Majesty's Government, thus shewing the inconsistency of the petitioner alluded to, when he affixed his name to one of the petitions, wherein it is untruly stated that one of the disallowed Bills, if passed into law, would have a tendency to drive all monied men from the Island, as no one will be inclined, or can be expected, to invest capital in the purchase of land ; and with respect to the assertion that the local authorities either sold or attempted or sought to sell the public lands to their ♦' numerous friends and adherents," it is wholly without foundation, all persons in the Island, without distinction, being at liberty to purchase from the Government lands on the estate alluded to." Resolved, — " That nothing has contributed so much to retard the pros- perity of this Colony, to foster discontent and agitation, and, at tinier, seriously to imperil its peace, as the continuance of the leasehold tciuire, and too often the absence of a conciliatory spirit towards the tenantry on the part of the owners of the landed property ; and while the Legislature of the Colony, actuated by a sincere desire to promote public harmony and prosperity, has directed their efforts towards the removal of the evils complained of, by passing such salutary measures as would tend to elevate the character and improve the condition of the great majority of the inhabitants of the Island, without injuring the rights of property, or press- ing unduly on any class, tiieir exertions have been counteracted by an absentee proprietary body, wholly irresponsible to any authority, aided by resident land proprietors and agents who invariably embrace the views of the absentees — that while such a state of things is allowed to prevail, and while absentee landlords and others are allowed successfully to thwart the intentions of the Legislature, and thus despotically to wield the destinies of the Colony — it will be vain to hope that the People of Prince Edward Island can attain to that measure of prosperity and contentment to which their intelligence, their industry, and their fidelity to the British Crown entitle them, in common with other of Her Majesty's subjects in the sur_ rounding Provinces," Resoked, — "That an humble Address be presented to Her Majesty, the Queen, embracing the facts and views set forth in the preceding resolutions, and praying that the Royal interference and clemency may be exercised, with the view of relieving the Colony from the anomalous position in which it is placed, from being practically under the sway of a power so foreign to the constitution as that of a body of land proprietors, chiefly non- resident — and that the Legislative Council be requested to join in the said Address." Biography of Hon. E, Whelan. 153 Resolved, — •' Also, that an address be presented to Her Majesty, the Queen, praying that the Imperial Government will aid the local adminis- tration in carrying out the recommendation of Her Majesty's present Colonial Minister, with respect to the further purchase of Township lands in this Island, and that the Legislative Council be requested to join in the said Address." These resolutions appear lengthy, but they cannot well be otherwise, as it is necessary to recite in the preambles the false statements of the petitioners, which it is our duty to expose and contradict. There can be no doubt that the petitioners have manifested much zeal (though they have been wanting in discretion and decency) in making out a case for themselves at the Colonial office. They would fain make the world believe that they are a very much injured class of Her Majesty's subjects — that all the taxation of the Colony is either forced upon them, or attempted to be forced in that direction, and that nearly every Bill which passes this House contemplates a direct onslaught on the interests of the much aggrieved pro- prietors. Now, Sir, it is quite needless for me to remind you, that the owners of the land in this Colony are those who are the least taxed for the maintenance of its institutions. The only tax they have at present to pay is a small one for the support of education, levied on their unoccupied lands. It has been often affirmed, and justly so, that no description of property should be held so liable to taxation as real estate. In this country the principle must apply with peculiar force, because nearly the whole of the land of the Colony was granted away in a few days, to a few individuals, who, though they may have made some slight show of services to the Crown, conferred no benefits on the Colony ; and it should be remembered that when a separate Government was established in this Island, at the request of the proprietors, they readily engaged to bear the expense of its civil establishment. That engagement, like their previous ones, they very easily managed to evade. It may, indeed, be said that all, or nearly all, the present owners t» !.;' >«»'» I 1 1. i II 'I ir 'liii! i«i I ', 'If. ' I ;i| 154 Biography of Hon. E. Whelan. of Township lands are not quite justly chargeable with the payment of our civil list, as they are not the parties who entered into the agreement, and had given valuable considera- tions for their estates. This argument has, no doubt, consider- able force, and it has often impressed itself upon my mind as conclusive against the measure of Escheat, so long and fruit- lessly agitated in this Island. But the changing of the landed property of the country from hand to hand cannot for a moment be held to give an exemption from taxation. It is not the proprietor but the land which is taxed ; and if it were just and equitable to levy a rate upon it fifty years ago, it is equally so at the present time. Now, Sir, I contend that the rent roll would have been a just and equitable rate ; and the defeat of that measure, as well as of the Tenant Compensation Bill, leaves the proprietors open to severe animadversion. These resolutions are, no doubt, strong, but the character of the petitions, the gross and malicious libels on the Colony they contain, and the systematic falsehood and misrepresen- tations by which the proprietors are enabled to mislead the Colonial ofiice, in a matter of great importance, call for a very strong expression of opinion on the part of the House. Biography of Hon, E. Wlielan. 155 THE LAND QUESTION. T the commencement of the discussion,a charge of encou- raging agitation in the public mind, in reference to the Land Commission, was made against certain members of the minority who, it was said, were occupied in preparing resolu- tions in Charlottetown, to be passed at public meetings in the country. The charge is altogether unfounded. The public meet- ings were, for the most part, confined to Prince County, and were convened at the request of Mr. Warburton, without pre- vious consultation with his friends in town. Neither Mr. Coles nor myself attended those meetings, although we were invited to them. Such was not the case, however, with mem- bers and officers of the Government, who, with or without an invitation, manifested much eagerness to influence public opinion at those meetings. If we were desirous of creating or keeping alive excitement, we had another opportunity for doing so at the New London meeting, to which Mr. Coles and myself were invited by a numerously signed requisition ; but it was the settled opinion of my hon. friend and myself that we should keep aloof from all those meetings, as we were well aware that the charge of arousing public discontent would be made against us. Our absence from the meetings has not, however, prevented the charge from being made. The Montague meeting, to which Mr. Coles and myself were specially invited, deserves something more than a passing no- tice. If ever unreasoning and insensate frenzy disgraced any occasion — if ever the freedom of speech was grossly and in- famously outraged, it was at that meeting ; and the individuals who committed the outrage, and earned for themselves the disgrace, were not Liberals, but the adherents of the party in I • If u * !l 'J < li M ' ll ill i M 156 Biography of Ron. E. Whelan. \ ;:!' ip W M i ii i ■ *"m power — a wild and ignorant rabble drummed out of Queen's county, to overawe peaceable and well disposed people in another county. I understand that those rowdies were deter- mined to offer personal outrage to Mr. Coles and myself, as it was supposed we would attend the meeting ; but they were sadly disappointed when they found themselves baulked in their humane indentions by our absence. I make no objection to the circumstance of persons going from one county to attend public meetings in another, if they do so without any improper designs on individual or general liberty, and conduct themselves as rtitional men and ' m *■ Ji' ^itf I -lil "■'9I- ■ y :I1 '*•! >r .1 ^--l II I . m 1 !:■ Sim . 1 «' ; » ! " ■ ' „ ■ 1 ' i- ■ ■ 168 Biography of Hon. E. "Whelan. resolutions embody such an exhibition of paternal love, that the tenantry might be expected to throw up their caps in honor of their benevolent patrons, who had consented to give them their deeds when they had paid for their lands to the uttermost farthing 1 As to the anticipated result of the gradual conversion of the tenants into freeholders, he thought the change would be gradual enough. It would probably occupy the time for which most leases were now given, viz., 999 years. (Laughter.) He would now offer a resolution in amendment, based upon common sense, and having no connection with the Circumlocution Office, in which the Honorable mover (Col. Gray) of the resolution was qualified to hold a high situation. He had heard the Hon. Mr. Longworth express his astonishment that the Quit Rent question had been dragged into the discussion, but the resolutions refer to that among other matters ; when it was sought to cast reflections on the inhabitants of the Colony, it was but fair and reasonable that a counter statement should be submitted : VVIiereas certain despatches from former Secretaries of State for the Colonies, and printed in the journals of the House of Assembly of this Island, clearly show that the Crown never relinquished in favor of the assumed proprietors of township lands in Prince Edward Island, its claim to the arrears of Quit Rents, or to the control of the Fishery Reserves, and, by the Civil List Bill passed in 1851, ceded to this Colony its interest in those Quit Rents and Reserves. Resolved, " 'J heref ore, \hri.t measures should be adopted, to recover from the proprietors of Township ands the amount of Quit Rents of which they have been long in arrears, so soon as the present Act authorising an assessment upon such shall expire — the money being requisite for the encouragement of education and for the general improvement of the Colony ; and that other measures should be resorted to to put m force the right which this Province has legally acquired, to lease or otherwise dis- pose of the Fishery Reserves, for the benefit of the people of this Island." Mr. Whelan continued — As to the right of the House to deal with Fishery Reserves and the Quit Rents, as the property Biography of Hon. E. Whelan, 169 of the people, it was clear that they had been transferred to them by the Civil List Bill ; and although he had frequently had the benefit of the advice of the three legal gentlemen oppo- site, to the effect that the preamble to that bill had nothing to do with the enacting portion, and presumptuous as it might appear in him to differ from such high authorities, he had not been convinced, but had consequently studied a little law himself, and found from no less an authority than Dwarris on Statutes, that it was a guide and instruction by which to ascer- tain the meaning of the Act. Having read one resolution in amendment of that part of the preamble which stigmatised the course pursued by the minority on the questions of Escheat, the Quit Rents and Fishery Reserves, he would now propose another on the subject of the Land Tenures : — Whereas the Government and Legislature of this Island have, for several years past, shewn a disposition to settle, by amicable means, the long agitated question with respect to the tenures of land in this Island ; and as an earnest of that disposi- tion a bill was passed in 1853, which received the sanction of the Imperial Government, to purchase the estates of the land claimants at certain fixed rates, under the operation of which two valuable estates were purchased, and sold in small tracts to the settlers thereon, by means of whicli their material pros- perity has been much advanced, and the Legislature of this Colony subsequently passed a Bill to raise a Loan by Imperial Guarantee, so that greater effect might be given to the princi- ples of the Purchase Bill, and which measure was strongly recommended by the Right Hon. Henry Labouchere and the Right Hon. Lord Stanley, lately Secretaries of State for the Colonies. But the Loan Bill having been disallowed, by means of private intrigue and gross misrepresentation, — as the Committee believe — and it being inexpedient to effect any further purchase of Township lands, in the absence of such a measure, this House regret that they perceive no other method of effecting a settlement of the question of Land Tenures, that IH 'KJf d k It W'\ III ' n «i it; I 1 1 ■1 r H- ■• • II 170 Biography of Ron. E. Whelan. will prove satisfactory to the people of this Island, than by resorting to their undoubted constitutional right of demanding an investigation into the original titles of the assumed Land Proprietors. Kcsoh'ed, " Therefore, that an address be presented to Her Majesty, praying that she may be graciously pleased to authorize the establishmen of a Court of Equity to investigate the claims of individuals holding Township Lands in this Island, in virtue of Crown Grants, the conditions on which they were made not having been complied with." This amendment contained nothing but a plain statement of fact, that the scheme of purchase by the local Government had been carried as far as praticable in the circumstances of the Island, and notwithstanding the assertions to the con- trary, it would be found that no loss would ultimately accrue from the action of the iite Government in that direction. n . ' 1 'it I .I! ■t : Biography of Hon. E. Whelan. 171 ELECTIVE LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL— 1859. f'bout eight years ago, a bill similar to the present in principle had been introduced, and he thought then, as now, that it was not the right of one branch of the Legisla- ture to interfere with another equally independent. Some had changed their opinions with regard to the constitution of the Upper Chamber, his remained unaltered, and, therefor,;, he was at issue with his friend on his left, Hon. Mr. Thornton, who claimed some paternal connection with the principle of the Bill, either as its father or grandfather. He should not stop to enquire into all the arguments which had been advanced in favor of the Bill. It is now the fashion to denounce the upper branch of the Legislature, abcdy over whom this House had no control — yet such had not been always the case. The change of sentiments, as regards that body^ was only very re- cent. There was a time when it was thought highly deroga" tory to say a word against the Legislative Council, but that time had passed, and now they were called slaves, and not entitled to any respect from the gentlemen who rule the the present destniies of the country. He had never enter- tained any disrespect towards that body, was never favorable to a change in its constitution, and had never asked it, when the majority of its members were in opposition to his own political opinions. He had always thought that tiiat body had a perfect right to exercise their legislative functions as an independent body, without any control, and that time would effect a remedy for any evils which might exist; but the plan proijoscd by this bill was not remedial, it was destructive and annihilative, and this, too, without consulting the feelings or sentiments of that body, without even submitting the biilto their consideration — 'I HI' ^^ I! !l li u I Mi I ' Nir' 1 I ■ « 1 «(! rH •'; .. ft * ! 1. « \y^ 1 i 1 I 172 Biography of Hon. E. Whelan. for the Honorable Mr. Palmer had stated that it was not in- tended to send up the bill to that chamber after its passage through this House ; and the Honorable Mr. Haviland the introducer of the measure had also coincided with that opinion. This is, to say the least of it, quite unparliamentary — opposed to precedent, and not in accordance with the principle of the constitution under which we live. Was this the way to treat a body of men invested with legislative functions by the con- stitution ? Would the people themselves, in moments of cool reflection, justify the proceeding? or tamely submit to such an insult being offered to one branch of their Legislature by the other? He knew that the majority had gone with a decla- ration to some parts of the country that the Legislative Council, in its nominative construction, was doomed to anni- hilation ; but the manifestation and promulgation of that doctrine was not general, and had been only partially received, notwithstanding the boasting to the contrary. Honorable Mr. Haviland. — There were 14 members return- ed to this House, in the short session, pledged to the principle; they went again, with the same sentiment, to the country, and they were returned with an accession to their ranks. Honorable Mr. Whelan. — Yes, they had, by some hocus pocus in Charlottetown, in the purlieus of the Political Alliance, managed to deceive the country, and return a majority to this House. Was not this a fact ? What did thoy see the other day ? — a government placed in power through a system of fraud and chicanery. Honorable Colonel Gray. — The language used by the honor- able member is unparliamentary. This is not the language to which I have been accustomed, and I think it is highly de- rogatory and insulting to the Legislative Assembly. Honorable Mr. Whelan. — Let the galled jade wince. Honorable Mr. Palmer said he had taken down the words 'fraud and chicanery, " and asked the honorable gentleman did he not withdraw them. Biography of Hon. E. Whelan. 173 Honorable Mr. Whelan would .»dr-w the words " fraud and chicanery, " but would express the same meaning in other terms ; that it was by unfair and dishonest means the present majority had been returned. He would ask the honorable member for Georgetown, if the Legislative Council had not as much right as this House to express their opinions in the most emphatic manner, and had not the minority here the same right upon every public question ? The majority there, and the minority here, were not surely to sanction the measures of the gentlemen on the other side, because they happen to be in a majority. The Honorable Mr. Haviland had quoted, at great length, the opinions of many eminent British statesmen, and, among the rest, the present premier of England who, to use his own words, was the very essence of Toryism, in sup- port of the elective principle. It may suit him to do so now, but he was not always so imitative of, and obedient to, the opinions and the authority of British statesmen. They had heard him in this House declare he would never yield to the opinion of any British statesmen, however exalted ; and when Lord John Russell's opinions were quoted, he ridiculed his authority, and called his opinions humbug and moonshine. So much for the learned gentleman's appreciation of authority. The Bill was most objectionable on the grounds of unequal distribution of members. It gave six to Queen's, and six to the other two Counties, and the argument was that Queen's County was so entitled from her population and wealth. Look at the Constitution of this House ; each County had an equal number of representatives. If right in this House, it would be wrong to depart from it in the other chamber, each being a branch of the Legislature representing the interests of the country, and both forming the Legislature of the Colony. The qualification was also too high , it might do very well for a rich country, like Canada or New Brunswick, but was not adapted to P. E. Island. The intention, it was said, was to make it apply to freeholders, but he thought it would hz I!' Hi: iii ;i:, \H\ ■ t • ». ;*' 174 Biography of Hon. E. Whelan. .1, '» 11^ ' H- i \ i too aristocratic and exclusive. The Hon. Mr. Haviland had sneered at the idea that the Crown should not Lave the power to dissolve the chamber. That gentleman's ideas of the constitution differed materially from his, and while he acknowledged the right of the Crown to the exercise of its prerogative, when a great public emergency arose, its exer- cise should never be permitted to serve the purposes of party, and he believed this view was in accordance with the spirit of the Royal instructions. It was very amusing to hear the humorous incidents in connection with this bill from its first agitation till the present peiiod. Its grand- father, Hon. Mr. McAulay, had watched its progress from infancy, with great paternal care — had seen it trampled on but not dead, for its spirit lived, and now walked abroad in all its majesty. The honorable gentleman was a believer in the transmigration of souls, for he had recognized the spirit of the bill about loo years ago in Massachusetts, beneath the mild and Christain sway of the Puritans, who had them- selves recognised many rights, since considered wrongs. They recognized the right of electing their Governor by a vote of the Legislature ; they impeached and hanged the good ; condemned t ^ innocent to death for the crime of witchcraft; impeachea . e blue books, and denied the autho- rity of the parent state. Did the honorable gentleman recognize their right to believe in witchcraft ? If not, the analogy ends. The assembly of Massachusetts, loo years ago, bore no analogy to this, any more than this bears to the House of Commons or the House of Lords in England, and so the analogy ceases. The hon. gentleman had also refer- red to William Rufus and King John, and had conversed with Charles the X in Scotland — and, therefore, they should pass the bill. Precedents might be quoted in favor of the nominative system — patronized by Kings and Emperors — in the Swiss Cantons, France, Sparta, Athens, Rome, in every country ; but what had that to do with the present Stograi^hy of Hon. E. Whelan. 175 question ? The upper branch was an independent body, exercising their legislative functions by the prerogative of the Crown — free to act, and could this House suppose them base enough to commit an act of legislative suicide? He had always opposed any interference with the upper branch, and would do so on the present occasion, as he believed the mea- sure quite uncalled for and only calculated to create unne- cessary agitation. .] ■■ ■') vi :r ■A u 'H '}, • "1, " 1 '". , I"' Ki.l 4 J I i 1 1 > \i '\' jy Hi t lit! "1 : 1 I !i It; It ' 176 Biography of Hon. E. Whelan. SHERIFF'S BILL. I N the ist March, i860, a bill providing for the ap- pointment of Sheriffs, as at present, by the Judges of the Supreme Court, was read a second time. Previously such power was vested in the Executive Council : Hon. Mr. Whet.an : — Much has been said against the ex- isting law. I believe I had the honor to introduce the measure, and thought then, and still think, it safe to vest the appoint- ment of Sheriffs in the eight or nine gentlemen who are en- trusted with the Government of the Colony. The honorable member for Georgetown (Mr. Haviland) states that the Sheriff should be above suspicion. Will he tell us that if the ap- pointment be taken out of the hands of the Government and placed in the power of the Chief Justice, he will then be above suspicion ? I am ashamed to hear a sentiment of this kind, as it hints that the whole Government may be suspected, and that the Judges are the only persons in the land who are above suspicion. I will not say that the Chief Justice has no right to be interested in politics; judges have always had their predilections, and always will to the end of time. The majority know very well, when they propose this measure, that the appointments will be in accordance with their own wishes. It has been asserted that the Sheriff is an officer over whom the Government have no control. I do not say that they tell him to do this thing and that, but cer- tainly he is in some measure under their authority. But to go back to the argument of the honorable member, Mr. Longworth, that they have no right to appoint an officer over whom they have no control, I would like to ask, who appoints a Biography of Hon. E. Whelan. 179 pened to flock to this small city, on the occasion of the visit of His Royal Highness, that not one pound more can be voted for the service of Roads and Bridges. Allow me to say that I fully endorse the remarks made by the honorable member from Tignish, and repeat his words, — the expenditure was most lavish. The details will prove the justice of his observa- tion. Much of the ;!^3,ooo expended on the occasion of the visit of the Prince was unnecessary, as I trust I shall prove satisfactorily. The honorable member from Georgetown referred to Prince County as being the only one to raise objec- tions to this expenditure. I look upon that as an indication of the manly spirit and daring of the people, who, ilirough one of their repiesentatives, stand up here and censure the Government, and say the outlay was lavish. Let the details be submitted to the other Counties, and they will lift their voices as strongly against the extravagance as did the honorable member from Tignish. I may be told by the honorable member from Georgetown, that this is a poor indication of being ani' mated by a loyal spirit. No doubt I am open to such an imputation, for he hinted in his reply to the honorable member for Tignish that his loyalty was of a doubtful character, because he did not justify the expenditure occasioned by the visit of the Prince of Wales. But such imputations, cast upon me, would not alter the convictions of my mind. Loyalty, with me, is not a blind sentiment. I regard it as a duty, due by the subject to his Sovereign, for services done by that Sover- eign. Nor would any man of ordinary intelligence, who i)os- sessed this sentiment, bow down in the dust to any earthly potentate. The sentiment which springs from a nniuial return of advantages is the loyalty which should animate the breast of every man, and is that which we owe to that sovereign who rules over us and other people in Her vast dominions with so much acceptance. And on this occasion I will ])ay a slight tribute to the loyally of the people of this Island. L believe there is no other portion of Her NLajesty's Dominions where 1 ( 1 1 14 u u \t \il 111 J ' •J' : ..1 ,. .1 I r 1 '1 h ^ ^ 1 1 " *' 180 Biography of Hon. E. Wlielan. the spirit of more genuine loyalty animates the breasts of Her subjects. We have many proofs of this in the spirit of con- tentment manifested by the people in times past, and exhibited through Her Majesty's Representative in this Colony, in the ready obedience always given to the dictates of the Sovereign whom he represented, in the ready submission to the decrees propounded from time to time by that sovereign, and in the sympathy evinced in the important struggle which agitated the public mind throughout the world a few years ago, when our fellow-countrymen of the British Isles, and our fellow colonists, too, went to the bleak shore of tlie Crimea, in defence of universal liberty, of which England is sui)posed to be the guiding spirit. We remember that momentous struggle, the result of which brought so much honor to ihe British name, when many of our fellow-countrymen died in the contest, and left their bones on the battlefields of the Crimea. We remember, too, the conduct of the Legislature, when a suffering soldiery appealed to our sympathizing hearts for relief; that relief was granted to our fellow-countrymen and fellow-countrywomen who survived that momentous struggle. The people of this Island responded, :md spon'-^.neously contributed of their means for the relief of those who survived the contlict ; the House of Assembly did not disown the appeal, for out of their limited resources no less a sum than £2000 was voted for the same praiseworthy oI)ject, on which occasion I had the honor of recording my vote in its favor. I said on that occasion there was an opportunity affjrded for evoking the spirit of loynltv, if it really existed in any man's breast. But it is a far different thing to be called upon to waste the public ^oney in entertaining, not the Sovereign herself,, but her son ! I say. Sir, P. E. Island has generally exhibited much more loyalty than, under the circumstances of the case, she was, p:irhaps, jusiiiietl in showing. I d) not mean now to disparage or diminish the respect which is due to our illus- tnous ((^ueen, — far from \i ; \}\\i i,i) showing that respect. I am Biography of Hon. E. Whelan. 177 the judges? If a vacancy wereto occur in the judgeship of the Colony, who would appoint a successor but the Govern- ment? If, then, they can be entrusted with the appointment of Judges, why not also with that of Sheriffs ? We are re- minded that the Sheriff is sworn to the faithful performance of his duties. The members of the Executive Council are also under oath, still we are told if the Sheriff is appointed by them, he is liable to suspicion. The honorable member for the second District of Queen's remarked that he saw no argument in favor of the existing law. I believe the chief reason for passing the Act was that it changed the appoint- ment from one irresponsible to nine responsible individuals. The honorable member for Georgetown spoke as if he would not entrust his life to a Sheriff appointed by a party to whom he was opposed. I entertain no similar fears, but can assure the honorable member that, while he and his party remain in power, I shall consider my life perfectly safe from any such danger. But his favorite argument is that the existing method is unconstitutional, is not in accordance with the time-honored institutions of Britain. When it suits his purpose, however, he can set aside British principle. Will he tell us that the present system of Government in this Colony is an imitation of the departmental Government of Britain ? The honorable mem- ber may say as much as he pleases in reference to the neces- sity for this Bill, but I defy him to show that the people have given veritable evidence of their opposition to the Act at jjrcsent in operation. There are, at least, no petitions before the House on the subject ; the party who passed it were re- turned with an overwhelming majority at the next general ejection. il i ■ 111 It' n u [i u >4 n-f ".I , I f. l! 5 k;„, I If < 178 Biograi:>hy of Hon. E, Whelan, i: I i ■ . Vi ■t ' Mi m4{ H. R. H. PRINCE OF WALES' VISIT. fmust coincide with honorable members on this (opposition) side of the House, who have spoken respecting the inade- ([uacyof the amount voted for the road service for the current year. In the years '56, '57, and '58, when the revenue was not so large as at present, and when the resources of the country were not so fully developed, we find from the journals that much larger sums were voted for this particular service. Within the last four or five years, too, the number of important public works has been augmented, which require a larger annual ex- penditure. Our population, too, is increasing, and the exten- sion of commerce demands a larger outlay to afford greater faci- lities for travelling. The sum which was sufticient ten years ago is not now adequate for this particular service. It will not do to offer the excuse that there are no means, — that it is im- possible to give more. If the public debt is too large, the majority, not the minority, are responsible for its increase. They may tell us they have practised economy, but the records furnish a damning refutation of that statement. Some observa- tions fell from my friend from Tignish, in reference to this sub- ject, and some remarks came from the other side of the House about his being out of order in bringing in matters considered irrelevant. I not only coincide with his observations, in reference to the brancli of the subject which he characterized as lavish in the extreme, but I will go farther and say it was excessively so, and leaves not the slightest ground for justification. * ^ * Neither wharfs nor bridges can be built, because v.e spent so much on the occasion of the visit of the Prince of Wales. Our resources were so diminished in regaling a few hundred individuals, chiefly from Queen's County, who hap- Biography of Hon. E. Whelan. 183 1 if| i! ■lit ; III vivid recollections of his hasty visit ; ) this Colony; and, if he should, of what avail would they be to the inhalutanls of this Province, or how could they conduce to the interests of our children ? Like the predecessors of his illustrious mother, he will be under the control (;f a ministry altoj:;ether unknown to us. The fact that he is th. Prince of Walc is not a suffi- cient reason why the int^-res' n*" the people, in doing him honor, should have been sacrificv ». ***\Veknow some of the sovereigns of Great Britain were the greatest tools and despots that ever disgraced a Throne; and the Prince of Wales has no patent right, no claim superior to any other British subject, and he is as likely to become as great a fool or despot a-; any of his predecessors, — the Princes of Waies, — that ever existed. I do not now speak thus of the young gentleman who visited us last summer; but because he hap[)ens to be the Prince of Wales, that is no reason why we should be taunted with a want of loyalty, because we did not concur with what my honorable friend from Tignish characterized as a lavish expenditure.*** My idea of loyalty does not depend on a display of flags, fireworks, or any fanfaronade of that descrip- tion. These may do in times of peace ; but if an army from France or the United States appeared to take possession of this Island, we would not see, very likely, so much display or enthusiasm. The loyalty of many gentlemen, who exhibited themselves to the gaze of the admiring multitude on that occasion, was, I doubt not, much like the champagne, which makes a very fine appearance on the supper table, fizzing and bubbling — like the enthusiasm of the hour, but after standing a moment becomes quite tame. '4 .i W ^' ii r* ' i 1 fv. f-K h, I ::lM i i If ■bi ^, IMAGE EVALUATION TEST TARGET (MT-3) I 1.0 ^^ 1^ ^= itt Uii |22 1.1 l.-^Kfi ^w Hiotographic Sciences Corporation 33 WBT MAIN STMIT WIISTM.N.Y. USM (n*)l7a-4S03 ^'^-T^"^' ^V' 4gO 1 vV 184 Biography of Hon. E. Whelan. I i i I m I '1' I '1 I "l ' 1. I'l II LIBEL CASE. tx the third October, 1 862, Mr. Whelan appeared before the Supreme Court to show cause why a criminal information slujuld not be filed against him, on the application of the late Hon. W. H. Pope, for libel. The late Sir Robert Hodgson (Chief Justice) and Mr. Justice Peters presided. The Hon. Joseph Hensley (now Judge) appeared as counsel for Mr. Whelan, but the latter addressed the Court in his own behalf in a speech that extended over an hour. May it Please Your Lordships, It is with very great reluctance I again appear before this honorable Court, in a case similar to that which brought me into your Lordships' presence a few months ago. I was then re- quired to show c use wiiy a criminal information for libel should not be filed against me at the suit of William Henry Pope, Esq., because his name figured in the Examiner in a way not pleasing to himself. The same individual brings me here to-day, with the view of placing me in the position of a criminal, because two other publications in the same paper are alleged to reflect upon him injuriously. I am very far, my Lords, from desiring the notoriety which such appearances are apt to confer upon an individual. Law has no attractions for me, in any form, even if I were sure of being a successful suitor. I have no apprehensions for my success in this case, but I sincerely regret that your Lordships* time, as well as mine, should be oc- cupied in examining a complaint preferred by Mr. Pope, which, I think, I shall be able to show the Court is a frivolous, vex- atious and unjustifiable one. It may seem egotistical in me, my Lords, to speak thus confidently; but I do so, not because I feel conscious of my own ability to conduct this case, or any other, with erficiency,but because my opponent has no ground to stand .ill ' ' Biography of Hon. E. Whelan. 181 not to be called upon to bow down my head in submission to His Royal Highness the Prince of Wales. I think the people of this country have showed feelings much more Koyal than all the circumstances of the case called upon them to exhibit. I will not join issue with the gallant Colonel (Gray) on this point, but will ask him and his honorable colleague from George- town, who were eulogizing so highly the Bill of Rights and the British Constitution, if the people of P. E. Island enjoy all the privileges which that Bill of Rights confers, or all the privileges of the British Constitution ? I say we do not. We are little better, I say, than the veriest serfs under the greatest despot thai ever existed. Hon. Mr. Haviland. — About equal to the Italians ! Hon. Mr. Whelan. — Far, far worse! (Hear, hear). No man who ever saw the soil of Italy can go to Downing Street and frustrate the Acts of the Legislature like the absentee pro- prietors of this Island. Talk about the glorious privileges of the British Constitution I We live under a Constitution of Despatches dictated according to the caprice of absentee Land Proprietors. Ask the people of Nova Scotia or New Brunswick if they are governed by a junto around the Colonial Office, who poison the mind of the Colonial Minister, who writes Despatches for the Government of this Colony. Ask the people of Canada, who enjoy the privileges of the Bill of Rights, if they would submit to be governed by a few paltry individuals, in such a manner as this Island is governed by a few such persons, who never saw it, and care not if they never see it, so long as they secure the money claimed for their rented lands ! Ask any of the people of those Colonies if they wo.;ld submit to the tyranny practised upon us. At the same tune, we are told we live under the shadow of the Bill of Rights and the privileges of the British Constitution. It is a mockery, a sham, and a delusion to which I shall never submit. Hon. Mr. Haviland — Did the Duke of York do any injury to Nova Scotia? ! ! i'. '# .1' Ti 11: M*'^' f I. '■"■ > .*'. * p< s '■''^- % ^'4ui Wti ' is*' »4 E ii;: I I £>-* m I f '■ ■ h I, |;Sll 'Mi II I t1 182 Biography of Hon. E. Whelan. Hon. Mr. Whelan — If he did, that is no reason why the Duke of Newcastle should inflict an injury upon us. The only instance of tyranny being practised against that Province was in mono]iolizing its mines and minerals. Hon. Mr. Haviland — But you say such instances did not occur in that Province. Hon. Mr. Whelan. — Not since the introduction of Res- ponsible Ciovernment. It is well known that such injus- tice was never done to the other Provinces as was done to this Colony, — when the public lands were granted away in one d:xy ; yet we are bound to submit because jur influence is small. Look at the condition of the tenantry of this Colony. Who will say they enjoy the privileges which belong to British subjects? True, it may be said they have the right to petition, but what does that mean? If their ])etitions affect the rights of proprietors, they go for so much waste paper. The leases of the tenantry range from 19 to 999 years; but, if they happen to fall into arrears of rent, and are unable to pay, they must leave the results of years of labor for the benefit of their task-masters. It may be said they have the right of trial by jury, but the opinion is prevalant that a tenant at Court, in opposition to a proprietor, has a small chance of receiving justice. And what other privileges have we, but to be the victims of the land proprietors — to submit to what they please to suggest to the Colonial Minister, and to the laws made by this Legislature, and these too often insi)ircd by proprietary in- fluence. I do not wish to derogate from the respect which is due to the Prince of Wales, but I must distinguish between the Queen herself and her son. I think honorable gentlemen on both sides will join with me in giving expression to the hope that many years may elapse before the Prince of Wales ascends the British throne, for we are not yet weary of his illustrious mother. If forty years hence he should be crowned King of Great Britain, it is not likely he will retain very Biography of Hon. E. Whelan. 187 swears that he took no money from the Treasury under false pretences. I leave your Lordships to consider how much that denial is worth. We all know that he made a similar denial with regard to his famous banking transactions. He wus very indignant at me for having presumed to inform the public of the fact, and I need not remind your Lordships that he attemp- ted to prosecute me as a criminal, as he is now seeking to do, for declaring that the bank money found its way into iiis poc- ket in a manner not creditable to an honest man. Nor need, I remind your Lordships, that he failed in getting a criminal information on that occasion ; nor shall I comment on his failure when he tried to get the Grand Jury to indict me for the same alleged oflence. Had he been above all suspicion he might have prosecuted me by civil action, as an honest, fear- less, innocent man would do. But he preferred the wily, intri" cate course of having me placed before a Jury gagged, — so far as evidence goes, — all my witnesses gagged, excluded from Court. By that means he would save costs to himself, as the Crown pays all costs in criminal prosecutions. He would com- pel me to incur expenses in defending a troublesome prosecu- tion, he might have me fined and imprisoned, if the case went against me, and, what was of more importance than all to him, he would have the good fortune of keeping the whole uuth from going before the public. Mr. Pope's denial of the impu- tation alleged against him does not surprise me. f il) not say that Mr. Pope is guilty of the offence imputed. He no doubt thinks himself innocent, and perhaps finds consolation in the thought. Your Lordships remember the case of Roupell which was tried a short time ago, in England. He was guilty on his own confession of altering the will of his deceased father, by which the ruin of his family was effected. He attempted to justify the forgery by saying that he believed he was merely carrying out the pious intentions of his deceased parent, and expected the applause of the world for doing so, when his act was confessed. I do not mean to insinuate that F'. ! k u .i . r ( >v ill i.i ^flfll-^ . t Hi 'l * \\l I I » » ' » > I" » 1' i i'^ ^ ■s If' I "* Ml KM 188 Biography of Hon, E. WJielan. any parallel should be drawn between the case of Roupell and that of Mr. Pope. I only refer to the former, for the purpose of showing that there are men in the world who will regard as a virtue, or at least as a meritorious act, that which the world estecins a crime, and which is punished as such. Before laying aside the affidavit to which Mr. Pope's name is affixed, I beg to offer a few remarks concerning Mr. Arbuckle's co-partnership in the business. This gentleman stands confes- sed as pimp and spy to the Colonial Secretary. That officer could not have a more apt servant, and the servant a master more to his taste. But the pimp does not, 1 believe, confine his attentions to the Colonial Secretary ; he makes himself useful, I understand, to the whole government, as messenger, gossipper tattler, s|)y, and genera) worker at small jobs that would be spurned by honorable men. He takes up a great deal of space in this affidavit to show that I am the publisher and proprietor of the Examiner. I have never once denied my responsibility in connection with that paper. I here openly and frankly avow it, and if Mr. Arbuckle had any manly principle about him, instead of putting to the printers in my office, whom he designates servants, silly questions as to whether they sold a paper worth 4d. for and on my behalf, he might put the ques- tion direct to myself as to whether I acknowledged myself the publisher of the particular Number, he wanted to buy ; and pro- foundly as I hold that individual in contempt, he should have certainly received an answer in the affirmative. But Mr. Arbuckle knew the man for whom he was executing his dis- reputable mission, the man knew him, and both judged that their purposes would be served best by adopting a mean and contemptible proceeding. With regard to Mr. Wright's affidavit, it requires but few remarks. That gentleman swears that Mr. Pope did not, with his (Mr. Wright's) knowledge, receive money under false pretences. I am quite willing to admit that Mr. Wright has made a conscientious oath. I cannot see how he would Biography of Hon. E, Whelan. 185 upon, and I can easily show that of all others in the com- munity, he should be the last to make application for a crim- inal information against me, or any one else, in reference to matters of libel. If, indeed, the case were a complicated one, involving difficult and abstruse points of law, and surrounded by legal technicalities, I should leave the matter in the hands of learned Counsel, for should I place myself in the position of an advocate under such circumstances, I would waTant the ap- plication to myself of the old adage which says that, " a man who goes to law, and acts as his own lawyer, generally has a fool for his client." One of Mr. Pope's objects, I feel assured, is to put me to all the expense he can, as well as to punish me as a criminal. Now, I think I can defeat that object, in a great measure, by taking this case to the Court myself, trusting to the justice and impartiality which regulates your Lordships' decisions, as well as to the groundlessness of Mr. Pope's appli- cation. The matter alleged to be libellous is, in the first place, a com- munication, published in the Examiner, of the 29th September, over the signature of *' Interrogator," in which several ques- tions are put to Mr. Pope as to whether he knows an official of the present Government who received £700 from the Treasury under false pretences, and whether the official who thus impro- perly received it was not compelled to refund it to the rightful ov/ner. This is the first part of the so called libel. The second part is a small paragraph in the Examiner of the 6th CJctober — about half a dozen lines — in which I was provoked to say that the official referred to was William Henry Pope. I say i)rovok- ed, my Lords, because in the Mnndir of the previous Friday, the 3rd of October, there was a communication signed " Res- ponsio," which I have no doubt was written by Mr. Pope himself, which, at all events, would not have appeared without his knowledge and concurrence, as he is the editor of the Islander, wherein it is broadly answered that no official of the present Government received money from the Treasury under ■ '*:' I i. K. 4 i '•I r: Ii :ll t 1 [ 186 Biography of Hon. E. Whelan. false pretences; and this very letter of " Responsio" contains a foul and malignant libel upon me, every word of which I can prove to be false. I have already proved more than once the falsehood of the statement, but it is repeated by "Responsio" in such a way as to lead the public to believe that Mr. Palmer positively guarantees the truth of it, for his name i> mentioned as the person who tirst gave currency to the statement that 1 ob- tained the sum of £86,1 js.gd., under a false certificate, from the Treasury ; and he has not yet repudiated thf use of his name in connection with it. Now, my Lords, there was sufficient provocation in that libel upon me to induce me to point out William H. Pope as the official referred to in the letter of " Interrogator." But take the letter by itself, and Mr. Pope must acknowledge himself guilty before he can say it applies to him. Now, my Lords, let me review the affidavits upon which Mr. Pope bases his application for a criminal information. They are '^hree in number — that is, if I am to regard the first as one which couples a statement from John Arbuckle with that of W. H. Pope, — a very admirable association of names, for two more worthy companions could nowhere be found together — and the other two affidavits are from the Leader of the Govern- ment and the Colonial Treasurer. Strip these affidavits of their verbiage, and they positively amount to nothing. Only one very small part of the depositions is, in the least degree, worthy of notice. That small part is that Mr. Pope did not receive money from the Treasury under false pretences. This denial is made in Mr. Pope's own affidavit, it is qualified in the affidavits generously given by Mr. Palmer and Mr. Wright. Those gentlemen swear that they did not believe, or that they did not know, that money was recei*^ed from the Treasury vuider false pretences. I should think they would not allow money to be abstracted from the Treasury in such a way. Before entering upon a particular review of their affidavits, allow me, my Lords, to return to Mr. Pope's. He positively Biography of Hon. E. Whelan» 191 like to have him, together with Messrs. Morton and Fair- banks, examined before a jury. But if Mr. Pope is allowed to make a Crown prosecution of this, their mouths must re- main shut. Mr. Pope will escape the damaging revelation of unpalateable truths, and I shall be placed at a serious dis- advantage. Mr. Pope's repeated attempts to prosecute me for libel betrays extraordinary sensitiveness on his part. It is well that I and others are not affected in a similar manner, for if we were, much of the time of this honorable Court might be taken up in discussing applications for criminal informations against him. It would be very easy to quote from the vol- umes of 'he hlander — since that paper came under his editorial management — many instances of gross and malig- nant libels upon myself and others in public affairs. But it is not only those who engage in political strife, and who have the hardihood to dissent from him, who are made the objects of his libellous attacks. Those who mix not in party conflicts — whose characters stand high in the estimation of all men — who are distinguished by the practice of every christian virtue, and are revered for their piety and learning, have been most rudely assailed by this meek, modest, inoffensive man, who comes to ask your Lordships for un oppressive proceeding against me, because I have ventured to hint that, being a public officer, he has brought disgrace upon the country, whose servant he pretends to be. What I most particularly allude to — and which may have come under your Lordships' notice — is a letter that appeared in some of the newspapers lately, over the signature of W. H. Pope. In that letter the innocent man who complains of being libelled by me has had the hardihood to declare that the Catholic clergy of this Island are so abandoned to the spirit of evil, that they cannot be believed upon their oaths, and are ready to commit per- jury whenever they ran g.iin a professional object by so doing. In previous letters by the same writer, and since r'\ ' '*' ■ H> 1 ■ .!■ h ■ 1^1 1 r I If m -fn i ' h 1^ ' i I « 192 Biography of Hon. E. Whelan, I ti publicly acknowledged to have been written by him, he went so far as to assert that all priests led immoral, scandalous and abandoned lives. But not satisfied with these rude, vile and infamous assaults, not content with outraging common sense and common decency in thus coarsely invading the sanctity which is presumed to surround the clerical character, this unscrupulous libeller has consummated his iniquity by assail- ing female innocence in a manner that should bring the blush of shame to the most profligate libertine that ever breathed. It is humiliating, my Lords, to have to state that the Colonial Secretary of this Island has declared to the public, in letters which he has openly avowed, that every Catholic woman in the land, every wife, and daughter, and sister of a Catholic becomes a prostitute when she conforms to the rules of her church. There is not the shadow of a doubt that this foul, wicked and atrocious libel was deliberately published by the Colonial Secretary. I need not say it was never answered — no sane man would think of replying to anything so infamous. But is it not incredible that one who will thus revel in the foulest and basest calumnies — who spares no grade of society — who ruthlessly violates the sanctity of domestic life, who pollutes by the slime of his pen the sacred temples dedicated to the worship of God, who has no compassion for woman in her innocence and weakness, but in whose eyes woman when she is most virtuous is most vile ; is it not incredible, my Lords, that a man who has thus made himself notorious, as an unscrupulous libeller, should think of preferring a complaint for libel against another? I do not shrink from my responsibility connected with the matter alleged to be libellous. All I want is to be placed upon an equal footing with my opponent, — to prove the truth so far as I can prove it ; and I cannot suppose that your Lordships will deny me that privilege should Mr. I'opc feel inclined to proceed in the usual and constitutional way. I shall not presume to cite any authorities in reference to the Biography of Hon. E. Wlielan. 189 have sworn otherwise. It is not possible to su|jposc that he could connive at the abstraction of money from the Treasury under flilse pretences. His oath of office would forbid it — his position in society, his regard for the honor of the coun- try as a native of it, his respect for the Government under which he holds so high an office, the security of his own olti. cial income, independently of all moral considerations, would render it extremely improbable that Mr. Wright should con- nive at the abstraction of money from the Treasury under false pretences. But Mr. Wright does not deny that Mr. Pope received £700 or ^£750, with which Mr. George E. Morton's name was in some way connected ; and Mr. Wright may have given the money, or allowed it to be given by his deputy, without being conversant with all the facts which bear upon the transaction. Many of these remarks will apply to Mr. Palmer's affidavit, which is the last to be noticed. He makes his deposition in the same general terms as Mr. Wright does. He declares that he has no knowledge of Mr. Pope having obta'ned money from the Treasury under false pretences at any time. I believe him. His exalted position as leader of the Government, without regard to his own just views of what is right or wrong, would be a strong guarantee against his allowing any nefarious act to be practised upon the Government. Mr. Palmer would not, I believe, jeopar- dize his high station for any individual. He is a clever man, but he is not the first clever man that has been imposed upon by a clever sharper. There was one instance of his delusion — perhaps it was merely a professional delusion — when he espoused Mr. Pope's quarrel, and wanted to punish me as a criminal, as he is now trying to do, for my remarks about Mr^ Pope's notorious bank abstractions. If a criminal informa. tion had been granted against me, when I was last beTore this honorable Court, Mr. Palmer would have used all his elo- quence and influence to show that Mr. Pope's proceedings in connection with the Bank were of the most honorable and t t ..:* 1 190 Biography of Hon. E. Whelan. !!»i ..H i' 1 i : i I I upright character ; he might have worked himself into the belief that they were really entitled to that character, but I am confident he could not have converted a jury to the same be- lief, and up to this hour, the public refuse to believe that everything was right in reference to that matter. Now, if Mr. Pope had nothing to fear from a full enquiry into the merits of the present case, he would not have asked this honorable Court for a criminal information ; or if innocent of any wrong-doing, or any irregularity, he would not liave produced such vague and general affidavits as those on which he has founded his application. Any one who reads them may easily assume that there may be, in the back-ground, a mass of information bearing on the subject ; and 1 am very desirous that this information should be brought to light. In Mr. Pope's eagerness to get affidavits to prove the upright- ness of his conduct, it is very surprising that he did not apply to others besides Mr. Palmer and Mr. Wright. Mr. Morton could surely tell something about this matter. He is the person to whom, it is said, the money belonged. There has been time enough to get his affidavit since the 6th Octo- ber, and if his money had not been taken and used by any person, it was easy enough for him to say so. Mr. S. P. Fairbanks is another gentleman who might throw a great deal of light on this subject. He was Mr. Morton's attorney, appointed to collect his monies in this Island, and it is said that some difficulty occurred between him and Mr. Po])e as to the collection of the amount referred to by *• Interrogator," and his testimony would have been of much importance in clearing up the whole affair. If he and Mr. Morton had made affidavits that there was no wrong-doing on Mr. Pope's part, the latter might stand in a fair way of having me put upon my trial. And there is another person, nearer homei who, I am told, possesses some information on this subject. I allude to the Deputy Treasurer ; that officer knows, I un- derstand, a good deal about the whole affair, and I should •^\l ito the ut I am ime be- vo that Now, if nto the :ed this iinocent ot liave n which [Is them ound, a am very light. In upright- did not ht. Mr. ;r. He is . There ^th Octo- i by any Ir. S. P. ;reat deal attorney, it is said Poi^e as rogator," rtance in rton had r. Pope's ; me put er home, s subject. )ws, I mi- I should Biography of Eon. E. Whelan, 193 practice of the Court in granting criminal informations. I humbly submitted to your Lordships a few precedents from Chitty's Criminal Law on the occasion of my last appearance here. Those will apply to the present case, and it would be presumptuous in me to urge them upon the attention of your Lordships. I may, however, be pardoned for saying, that under no circumstances has an application such as Mr. Pope has made been entertained by the Supreme Court of this Colony. Some years ago, Mr. Coles, who was leader of the Government of this Island at the time, applied, with the advice of the late George R. Young, Esq., for an indictment against the pro- prietor of the Islander, because that paper had libelled Mr. Coles in the foulest manner with regard to the returns of spirits distilled at his manufactory. Mr. Coles had no alter- native but to pursue the course he did. His returns were made on oath. There could be no evidence to corroborate or rebuke the sworn statement ; but I very well remember the outcry which was made by the very individuals who are try- ing to promote this prosecution against myself, as to the unfair- ness of the proceeding which Mr. Coles sought to institute, because it would not allow the defendant to prove his alle- gations in open Court. On that occasion Mr. Coles submit- ted his case to the whole representatives of the County, — the Grand Jury — but in this instance Mr. Pope will not trust himself to the Grand Jury. He asks your Lordships to do that for him which he seems to think the Grand Jury would not do. He and his party considered it very wrong for Mr. Coles to attempt to indict the proprietor of the Islander when he (Mr. Coles) considered himself foully libelled ; but now he will not be satisfied with the decision of a Grand Jury. He asks your Lordships to prejudge a case against me for libel, after having proved himself to be the most unmitigated libeller that ever degraded the Press of this Colony. I am fully con- scious of my own deficiencies and of the imperfect manner in which I have presented this case to the Court. Learned and N If i if 11 1 V-: ■'1 u 1 , '-ill • ■ 4 vfl ^» ■'■» 4 i 1 M 4 , ♦ ■•. i 1' . J . i S' i" k-l iiM m iP m PfT^ii J' ■' '■ f 3 r '■'' f- ■ 1 I 1 ■■ 194 Biography of Eon. E, Whelan. ;■ t • 1 it II .: I f experienced counsel would have taken a legal view of the whole matter. But I trust more to the integrity and impar- tiality which characterise your Lordships' decisions than to any transient eftecf "lat might be produced by the most powerful eloquence, conavient that, in forming your judgment, you will not deviate, to the right or to the left, but, pursuing the even tenor of your way, administer strict and impartial justice to all alike, which is all I want. I 'i I ;■ 1*1. Biography of Hon. E. "Whelan. 195 \\ '1 i LAND COMMISSIONERS' AWARD. t)N March 24th, 1862, a copy of the Land Commissioners' 'Award was submitted to the Legislature, as directed by tlTe'Secretary of State for the Colonies ; and it was resolved, on motion of Hon. Col. Gray, to introduce a Bill to give effect to its provisions. On the following day Mr. Whelan spoke as follows : In rising to address the Committee, I must exDress my gratitude to the honorable member for the City (Mr. Beer) for having moved the adjournment last evening. If progress had not been reported, I should not have had the opportunity of preparing the amendment which I now move. With refer- ence to the preamble to the resolution introduced by the honorable leader of the Government in this House, I have no objection to any one of its several paragraphs, but to them I wish to put my amendment, which, like the postscript to a lady's letter, will, I think, be found to contain the pith of the subject. I move to strike out all after the preamble, and to substitute the following : ** But it does not appear to be the intention of the Secre- tary of State for the Colonies that the said Copy of the Award should be made the basis of any legislation, for the present, inasmuch as His Grace has not submitted the original copy, nor intimated any desire to have the printed copy confirmed by local legislation. ^^ Andwhtreas the Secretary of State has declared, in His despatch of the 7th February, 1862, that one of the princlj.'al provisions in the Award, namely, that in reference to local arbitrations, is open to " insuperable objections," which he proposes to obviate by some " fresh suggestions," at a future t'A \ •^, ! \ I'u '!- ■ «• ■■ 196 El < Biography of Ron. E. Whelan. 'I . opportunity, thus manifesting his desire that legislation on the whole subject of the Award should be postponed. " And xchereus the recommendation for a loan of £100,000, so earnestly urged by the Royal Commissioners, in order to buy out the claims of the proprietors, is not favorably enter- tained by the Colonial Minister ; and the other principles of the Award being such as are only calculated to confirm pro- prietary claims without conferring any benefits on the ten- antry. " Therefore^ resolved^ that, in the opinion of this Committee, no advan- tage would accrue from passing a Bill to confirm the award of the Royal Commission, until, at least, such time as the Colonial Minister shall have fully declared the views of the Imperial Government on the several ques- tions submitted to them in the said Award, and when His Grace, the Duke of Newcastle shall have furnished the " fresh suggestions" promised by him." I think no honorable member will dispute the truth of the facts I have alleged. It is certainly true that the printed paper before us cannot be considered as an official copy of Award ; and it is equally true that His Grace the Duke of Newcastle has not intimated any desire that we should legis- late upon it. It is equally indisputable that His despatch of the 7th Pebruary last expresses " insuperable objections " to the arbitration proposed by the Commissioners, and intimates ills intention to offer ** fresh suggestions " at some future time. It is also a fact that he repudiates the idea of a loan. Such being facts, patent to all, it is but right that we should meet the question fairly and openly. I am prepared to prove that my position is supported by the Commissioners themsel- ves, but I will briefly review the whole of the circumstances connected with the Award. There are, I believe, some forty individuals who may be called proprietors. How many of these consented to the Commission ? But six names are re- corded in favor of it, and of these one, Mr. E. Cunard, is to be considered identical with that of Sir Samuel Cuiiard, while Biography of Hon. E. WJielan. 197 another, Lord Selkirk, has since sold his estate to the Goverii- ment of this Island, so that we are stultifying ourselves by proclaiming that the bulk of the tenantry will receive great benefits from this award, which only affects the properties of five individuals. It has been said that others have assented, or will do so, but we have no proof that such has been or will be the case, and mere rumour should not form the basis on which we are to proceed. The right of purchase at the rate of 20 years rent, by instalments of £io, which the proprictiT need not accept until all arrears are paid, is so important a loon that it has called forth any amount of eulogy from tb.e members of the majority. Such are its prospective advanta- ges, so great is the prosperity in store for the people, that we are gravely told that nothing can exceed their anxiety for tlie speedy confirmation of the Award by this House. In tlie great majority of cases the lands are not worth (20) twenty years' purchase ; and the Colonial Minister has '* insuper- able objections " to the arbitration scheme proposed to meet their peculiar circumstances. Are honorable members so stupid as to suppose, that if we passed a Bill confirming tlie Award that it would be ratified by the Minister who has the " insuperable objections " to the principal provision it con- tains, and who promises " fresh suggestions " on that ])arti- cular part of it ? And where, I ask, is the boon to the tenant under the clause reserving 1,500 acres to the proprietor? It gives him the right of reserving such particular land as he shall see fit, and we may be sure he will exercise that right. The tenant may be willing to buy at 20 years purchase — nay he may offer any amount, but the landlord may refuse to sell at all ; and the only result will be that the best class of tlie tenantry will be kept in bondage. The blush of shame should mantle the cheeks of those who would assert, among the most ignorant, that this is to operate beneficially. Again, we are told that .he numerous tenants holding under leases of less than 40 years are to be grateful to their representatives fur i^!*:^ i.fi i * k : f . ' •HI ^ ql :| '»i« J; * it 1 J , 1 ' r n ■> ■ ti H' 1 ' ■f! i 200 Biography of Ron. E, Whelan. •• r I have resided here nearly nineteen years, during eight of which I held a public office, and the remaining eleven were spent in the opposition. Before I took office and after I left it, I was as happy and contented as during the period I spent in it. I have earned my bread by the discharge of my duty as a member of Society. The charge is based on the assumption that I am desirous of obtaining a public office. I may have such desire, and I see no reason why I may not seek, by legitimate means, to gratify it. I am not aware that my political opponents have a patent right to monopolize the public offices of honor or emolument. If the time shall arrive when the party to whom I belong shall come into power, I trust they will never be in a position which would render them liable to the charge of trickery, prevarication, treachery and inconsistency ; that we will never give our opponents a chance of saying that we were playing into the hands of the proprietors, while we professed to be acting for the benefits of the tenants. God knows their condition is hard enough without their being made the victims of deceit and trickery. The tenants as a class require the fostering care of a paternal Government, and deeply do I regret that they have not re- ceived from their present rulers that consideration which their situation requires. : I \ *'i Biography of Hon. E, Whelan. 201 CONFEDERATION OF THE COLONIES. SPEECH DELIVERED AT THE MONTREAL PUBLIC BANQUET TO THE DELEGATES OF THE QUEBEC CONFERENCE, OCT. 29, 1864. ^1 ^ON. E. Whelan was grateful to the gallant Colonel I (Hon. J. H. Gray) for the call with which he had been lionored, and also for the handsome, but wholly undeserved, terms in which his name had been announced. While any man, no matter how great his ability, might be justly proud of the position in which " e was then placed, he could not subdue a feeling of embarrassment at the consciousness that he stood in the presence of some of the first men of British America, and before others who had rendered eminent service to the Crown in the four quarters of the Globe. He felt assured, however, that his embarrassment would receive the generous consideration of the many kind friends around him, who would readily forget and forgive in a stranger the errors he might commit, whether like angels' visits, they should be " few and far between," or *' thick as leaves of Vallambrjsa." He would, however, bear in mind that the best quality of an after-dinner speech is brevity. Speeches, on such an occasion as the present, should be, if possible, like the champagne before them — bright and sparkling, and as soon disposed of. (Cheers.) Now, his first duty was to thank that distinguished audience, in the name of the people of Prince Edward Island, for the honor conferred upon their representatives, in connection with the other delegates, not only for the splendid entertainment before them, but for the cordial and overpowering welcome they had received on their visit to this fair city — the great commercial emporium I. 1.4 < I ''H \,l>. i .:!'ii ' ;• H ' •' . ;f| , 1 1 i ..:i ,«.,. , t 'U ' .1^ > i :l I 202 Biography of Hon. E. Whelan. of Canada, the grandeur of whose busy marts and palatial residences bear testimony to the enterprise, public spirit and refined tastes of her sons. (Applause.) He was well aware that the compliment was not so much to the gentle- men composing the delegation as to the Colony which they had the honor to represent. He accepted it in that spirit, and thanked their generous entertainers for it. Politicians are generally cunning fellows, and those in the several Maritime Governments showed this quality to great advan- tage when they appointed members of the Opposition, to which, in Prince Edward Island, he had the honor to belong, but from the cares of which he hoped to be soon relieved — (Laughter) — to aid them in perfecting the great scheme of Confederation, because if the people of the several Provinces should be so unwise as to complain that their liberties and cherished institutions have been taken from them, the Opposition would have to bear the censure as well as those in the Administration. Members of the Government might say, in reply to any complaint, that the gentlemen opposite have been quite as bad as themselves. The sequel, he hoped, however, would prove that Confederation would be the means of enlarging our liberties instead of restricting them, and that our noble institutions would be strengthened and consolidated, instead of imperilled, by the proposed Alliance. The present was his first visit to Canada. He was so deeply impressed with the greatness of the country in every respect, which so far exceeded his expectations, that he ardently hoped it would not be his last. It was great, he said, in its industrial, commercial and natural resources, in the count- less treasures of its vast forests, its inexhaustible mines, its gigantic public works, whose value is estimated by many millions of dollars ; in the vast lakes which were small inland seas, and the mighty river which flows past us, being the natural highway to and from the Lower Provinces, inviting an interchange of our commercial relations, and an .!!■ • ' ' ' J Biography of Hon. E. M^helan, 203 expansion of the resources of them all. It was great, too, for the history it has bequeathed to all time, and which may now be referred to without disturbing the sensitiveness of the gallant people who, only a little more than one hundred years ago, acknowledged the sovereignty of Great Britain. He had read that history, and, while in Quebec, did not fail to visit some of the places which were made famous by the marvelous enterprise of Wolfe. Montmorency, at which the first dash was made for the conquest of Quebec, was a place of stirring interest which no visitor could pass by. The Falls were not, perhaps, very wonderful in themselves (in being directed to the upper portion of which he was indebted to a most agreeable and intelligent French Canadian girl), but the historic associations which they recall give them an enduring claim to attention. He visited the cove, and walked up the narrow Pass which led Wolfe and a few followers to the Plains of Abraham, where a soldier's death closed his conquest of Canada. He was delighted to visit in the Governor's Garden the monument to the memory of Wolfe and Montcalm. It was a generous and noble impulse in the Earl of Dalhousie thus to commemorate the names of both heroes, — both foemen worthy of the great struggle in which they were engaged, both illustrious in their lives, and honored and lamented in their death ; one the idol of the English nation, the other the embodiment of all that is virtuous and chivalrous in the French character. (Cheers.) The names of the two great generals, thus united and thus commemorated, beautifully symbolized the close union now subsisting between the French and British races in Canada. (Cheers.) But ot all the attributes of the greatness of Canada, there was one other which he could not overlook. It was to be seen in the personal character of the people of Canada, in the large and generous heart whic^i seemed to throb alike from one end of the Province to the other, un- affected by distinctions of race, nationality, or creed, it '4\ ^i m m. *\ II ■ '^r I 1 4 ■•! i1 i 1 7 I » ! I ':*,^ii * \ . :| i » ♦ : ■ ) ; I ■ „ ilil' ; .^ ' . 204 Biography of Hon. E. Whelan. "•if ti I ,. appeared to feel and give visible manifestations of the feeling that it was capacious enough to enfold within its tendrils every section of British America. The only fear was that the caressing, as in the cpse of the delegates, might not be too warmly given, and that they might suffer a most agree- able death from the operation. This was not intended to apply to the fair ladies of Canada (laughter), for the dele- gates, being all married men, were, of course, like Caesar's wife, above suspicion, as regards a breach of the marital engagement ; for, if not so circumstanced, they would have been as dead as Julius Ciesar long ago. (Laughter.) He would now, with the permission of the Chair, offer one or two observations touching the important business which had brought the several delegates to Canada, and in doing so he would so express himself as not to violate the confidence which the Convention seemed to consider so essential to the success of their deliberations. Politicians sometimes take extraordinary liberties with the patience of the public, and perhaps they did this when they resolved upon holding a secret conference ; but it may be that they had so many dark sins to confess to each other that they imagined it would not be safe to let the public listen to the confession. He would, however, bear testimony to the fact that the confession was a most satisfactory one. Each one felt he was entitled to political absolution for many sins done by his province, and now behold (said he, touching the cham- pagne glass) how earnestly we are all doing penance. (Laughter.) The Confederation of the Provinces may not follow immediately in the step of the Conference, but that it will come, or that our condition will be very much worse than it is at present, seems morally certain. Nothing can be worse than to become the prey of a military despotism, not far distant, wherein every vestige of liberty is daily offered up to the Moloch of Ambition, and wherein the ties that were supposed to bind two people of common origin and Biography of Hon, E. Whelan. 205 'f* common language are now brittle as glass, and an oppor- tunity is desired to cry " havoc and let slip the dogs of war," upon unoffending colonists. If we want to avoid such a misfortune, the people of British America must become more united than they are at present. The Convention, whose labors have just closed, took the first step in that direction. In the Colonies we have been strangers to each other too long, — as much so as if we lived under separate sovereignties. We have been jealous and apprehensive of each other ; mutually restricting our trade and placing obstacles in the way of our prosperity, not knowing and not respecting each other as we should. In our separate and disjointed con- dition, we have not been, and never can be, treated with due respect by our powerful foreign neighbors. Even Eng- land is concerned for our feeble and defenceless state, and gently chides us for our apparent supineness and indifference. The Confederation, if perfected, will remove that stain, and give all the colonies a national and indivisible character. It will be seen that we are willing to struggle and make sacrifices for our own protection, and then should an evil day and evil counsels bring a conflict upon us, we may rest assured that the red right arm of Britain will be bared to aid us in repelling aggression. (Loud cheers.) He had only seen, a day or two ago, an able article in the London Telegraph — a paper of great influence and ability — in which this view was clearly set forth, that England would be always willing to help us if we first helped ourselves. Alluding to the proposed Confedera- tion, the writer said : — " Firmly believing that the project will be immensely beneficial to the Colonies, we are convinced that it will be equally acceptable to the Home Government. ..\s the matter already stands, England is committed to the pro- tection of every acre of her soil, be it on the Indus, the Murray, the St. Lawrence, or the Thames. Doubtless the responsibility is great, doubtless the work is arduous ; but the duty exists. The best way, indeed, is to call upon our colonies "ft '* , *W 'W- I ■ 206 Biography of Hon. E, Whelan. I :• themselves to take measures for their own defence, assuring them that whenever the odds are too heavily against them, whenever the danger becomes serious, we pledge the British Empire to their aid." (Loud cheers.) Mr. Whelan continued : Comniercial and pecuniary motives, if no other of a sterner nature prevailed, should certainly teach us to unite. There should be no hostile or restricted tariffs between the several Provinces, no dissimilar postal regulations, no dissimilarity in our currency and exchange. Our commerce which now flows into other channels, where we gel little thanks for it, would diffuse its enriching streams amongst ourselves, and nothing could possibly prevent us from becoming a great and powerful Confederacy. The union proposed by the Conference, in which there were mutual concessions of small sectional claims, and a unanimous desire for conciliation, will not, when its deliberations are more fully known, alarm any man. Large sectional rights and interests are proposed to be preserved. The connection with the British Crown will not only be not impaired, but will be strengthened, and for the preservation of those free institutions which we all value so much, and which we hope to transmit to future generations, he thought there was but one remedy, and that remedy was union. (Cheers.) But let no man imagine that this much desired object can be effected at Quebec or Montreal. The great work is but commenced. The halls of the several local legislatures, the constituencies of each province in public meetings assembled, and at the hustings, are the places in which the great question must be settled. It will be the duty of the public men in each and every province, whose representatives are now in Canada, to educate the public mind up to the adoption of their views. The task may be a tedious, difficult and protracted one ; but no great measure was ever yet accomplished or worth much, unless surrounded with difficulties. Deferring reverently to the public opinion of his own Province, he would cheerfully go amongst his own people, and explaining it as well as he 'i Biography of Hon. E. Whelan. 207 could, he would ask them to support a measure which he believed would enhance their prosperity. Few and compara- tively poor as the population of the Island of Prince Edward may be now, its fertile fields and valleys are capable of supporting a population at least three limes greater than it is at present. It was once designated the garden of the St. Law- rence, and it was a valuable station for Canada during the occupation of the French under Montcalm. It still possesses all the qualities of a g-trden, and its rivers and bays still abound with fish. He desired that those great resources should become as well known now and in the future as they were in by-gone days; and regarding the advantages which modern improvements and institutions afforded as auxiliaries to the natural resources of the Colony, he was satisfied that she could not fail to become very prosperous and happy under the proposed Confederation. (Loud cheers.) .■■' ' M i t < 1 ■ " ¥ If mm '.ill! i-.i m V. •m i 208 Biography of Hon. E. Whelan. * »i • I > .» I " ' '» 1 ' \: II 'I' ^ iff Mil i I ^ ,:i'- tr THE TENANT LEAGUE. HE following amendment, to a paragraph in the address in reply to the Governor's speech, was proposed on April nth, i866, by the Hon. George Coles, then Leader of the Opposition : — " The House of Assembly regret that civil disturbances took place in this Colony during the past year ; but the House of Assembly respectfully submit that the alleged open and sys- tematic defiance of the law might have been averted by a more prompt and energetic use of the civil authority when the disturbances first made their appearance, and thus recourse to extraordinary measures, as referred to in your Excel- lency's speech, might have been avoided." Hon. Mr. Whelan — I rise though the hour is late, not only for the purpose of simpiy voting in favor of the amendment, but also with the intention of publicly declaring the reasons by which I am influenced in giving my support to that amend- ment. These reasons, I hope it will be seen, are such as ought not, by any means, to subject me to the charge of having taken a mere party view of the question. I am decidedly of opinion that, had due diligence been exercised, in the beginning, by the Government, for the suppression of the Tenant League movement, it would never have been car- ried to the extreme height of illegality and danger to which it attained ; nor would it have become necessary to have recourse to military aid to sustain the officers of the law in the due per- formance of their duty, and to bring about the re-establish- ment of peace and good order in those quarters of the Island in which they had been so unfortunately broken or disturbed. Biography of Hon. E. Whelan. 209 I do not deny that, by the serious disturbance which had arisen through .he Tenant League movement, and the attitude of determined defiance of the law and constitutional authorities of the land, the Government were perfectly justified in sending for a detachment of Her Majesty's troops at the time ihey did so, — six or seven months ago. But I maintain they should have done so at the time they boldly published, in their organ, Ross's Weekly, that dishonest and seditious pledge, by which they bound themselves "individually and collectively" to withhold payment of their rents, and to .resist every legal measure which might be had recourse to, for the purpose of compelling them to pay them. In 1864 the League formed their constitution, taking for its basis tnat seditious pledge, which I will now read : Resolved, — ** That we, the Tenantry of individually and collectively, virtually and solemnly pledge our honor and fidelity to each other to withhold the further liquidation of rent and arrears of rent ; and thus voluntarily enroll our respective names, as a tenant organization, to resist the distraint, coercion, ejection, seizure and sale for rent and arrears of rent, until a comnromise be effected in conformity with resolutions proposed and carried by the meetings of Lots 48, 49 and 50 ; and further understood that each signature hereto annexed bear a proportionate share of expenses in connection with this organization." Soon after this pledge was made public, I published in the Examiner my opinion of it, as well as my sentiments touching the propriety of the organization of the country into Societies or Leagues, based upon lawful and constitutional principles, with a view to the acquisition of that power which they would derive from unity of action in their struggles against the lease- hold system. The hon member then read as follows from the Examiner : " The organization of the Tenantry into societies or leagues is very proper, and would, if managed with care und judgment, be eminently useful to the tenantry in their constitutional struggles against the leasehold system. Heretofore they have Ijeen only remarkable for their distrust of each other —for their national and religious antipathies— and for their disunion where ■ I ■ I :• ,, 1 « It' ' ' ■!•; :• i ■ 1 1 i J t ■ 1' ' 1 -^ -ii'-i t.. !;■•■ , in \ \\n.H • '' I 'I 210 Biography of Hon. E. WJielan, union was most required, at election contests. The Irishman and the Isiii-of-Skye man — taking these as types of the population of the country —have felt the yoke of landlordism more keenly than others in a like con- dition ; yet the son of the Emerald Isle and the son of the Heather seldom meet without scowling at each other, and without indulging in mutual taunts about religious and national characteristics. These taunts prompt them to pursue different courses when they go to the hustings ; and we behold there the singular spectacle of two classes of men, both burning to break the shackles of the proprietary system, in fierce antagonism — one class voting dead against the si pporters of that system, and the other up- holding it, as far as they possibly can do, by voting for the creatures and nominees of the proprietary system. * • • Give us, then, a Tenant League, sub-divided into as mnny branches as poss.ble, that will serve to remove national and religu us prejudices, that will work harmoniously for the attainment of a common object, and we shall most heartily encourage it to the utmost of our power. Such an institution would be a standing protest against the leasehold system as long as it lasts, it would keep land- lord tyranny and oppression in check, it would rebuke the petty insolence and oppression of agents and bailiffs, and it would or should come to the relief of unfortunate tenants when cruelly distressed by unfeeling land- lords. In these respects a Tenant League or Union would be of great benefit to the rent-paying portion of our population. • * • We agree that it is very desirable to hove the tenantry united in giving a moral opposition to landlord oppression — we will labor with them to have the leasehold tenure abolished, and the speediest and most honest way, by Government purchase — we will join heart and soul with them to have their views fairly and fully represented in Parliament — we will help them, as far as we can, to destroy the Fifteen Years Purchase Hill— we will encourage, Vo the extei.t of our ability, the good work of charily in shelter- ing the houseless and the helpless that may be singled out as the victims of landlord tyranny, but we shall never advise any man to repudiate his obligraions, or to do what is still more foolish — to rebel against the (."on- stitution and the laws of the land in which he lives." Such were my sentiments concerning Tenant League Associations, at the time I wrote what I have just read, and such they continue to be. Upon the Constitution which they framed according to the illegal and seditious pledge which 1 have just read, the League continued to act, as was well known to the Government, and, indeed, to the whole 14 Biography of Hon, E. Whelan. 211 country, from August, 1864, to August, 1865, or thereabouts, when they made a slight alteration in the basis of their union, to the effect that it was permitted to all such members of the League as felt disposed to do so to pay their rents. How magnanimous ! Now, Sir, I beg leave to ask why did the Government, as respects the League, remain inactive all that time ? Why were no efforts made by them to put it down ? Was it because it had its origin in two Districts — one of which is represented in this House by a member of the Government, and the other by another honorable member of this branch of the Legislature, a quondam supporter of the Government — I know not, indeed, whether or not he is so now ; but if not so at p esent, it is not impossible he may be one again? Was it, I ask, because of the existence of the Tenant League in these two Districts, that the Government so long forebore to have recourse to proper and efficient means for its extinction ? I fear it was ; nay, indeed, I really believe it was, the sole reason by which they were so long restrained from the adoption of stringent and energetic measures for the suppression of the Tenant League move- ment. When the improper pledge, by which the members of the Tenant League had bound themselves together, first appeared in their organ, Ross's Weekly, I did not hesitate to condemn it in the columns of the Examiner, and published my condemnation without previously consulting either my honorable friend the Leader of the Opposition, or any other member of the Liberal party. I took the whole responsi- bility of doing so upon myself, and there I am satisfied it shall remain. I have, indeed, been indirectly censured by my honorable friend on my left (Hon. Mr. Coles), for what he considers the rather undue aspersity of tne language in which I conveyed my detestation of the principles which the League had laid down as their rule of action ; but considering the adoption of those principles — principles in every point of view dangerous and disloyal — directly calculated to loosen ^ 1 '! iH 1 ■■■* a 1 *' : li- lt I ■M I'r :i 'I 1' ll i 1 1; i f i , ( ;i ' ! ..■; 1 : 1 ■ ' i ■; 't t ■J \ 'i-ti ■tJi 212 Biography of Eon. E. Wlielan. the bonds of society — in the fervour of the abhorrence which their adoption by the League excited in my mind, I believe I was not over nice in the choice of epithets by which to characterise the guilty leaders and instigators of the contu- macious and seditious movement ; and, even now, I do not regret the language which I used in condemnation of the Tenant League Leaders, and of the principles which they instilled into the minds of the misguided and ill-informed people, whom they urged on to the commission of breaches of the peace, and to such a course of resistance to the demands of their landlords as have brought upon them incal- culable distress and misery. Nevertheless, I am very far from denying that the tenantry had many causes of complaint, both against proprietors and the Government, or from saying that they had very good and sufficient reasons for organizing themselves into Leagues or Societies, with a view to their struggling more successfully, by means of such organizations, than they can do singly to free themselves from the burthens which weigh them down under the leasehold tenure. On the contrary, I believe the non-fultilment of the promises made to them by the party now in power, on their assuming the reins of Government in 1859, to have been the primary cause of all the disaffection which has lately been manifested by large bodies of the tenantry to the Government ; and also of all the civil disturbances which lately took place in the Colony. At that time the party now in power, denounced, even through the mouth of His Excellency, the previous acts of their predecessors in power as illusory, assured the tenantry that by means of their superior wisdom, and through the efficacy of a measure which they were about to introduce and carry through the Legislature, complete redress of their grivances might be afforded in less than eight months ; and even His Excellency the Lieutenant Governor himself was not one whit behind the members of the Government and their supporters in his denunciations of the measures of the party Biography of Hon. E. Whelan. 213 which had just gone out of power, and in the exuberance of his promises of speedy and effectual relief to the tenantry; and in directly addressing them, he bade them confidently rely upon him, and designated the very best, the most equitable, the most practicable measure which had ever been devised for their relief-~-the Land Purchase Bill — visionary and delusive. (In reply to Hon. Col. Gray, Mr. Whelan stated that said ex- pression could be found in a reply of His Excellency to an address presented to him by the Belfast tenantry, and publish- ed in the Royal Gazette.') He continued : — I wish only to show that the expectations which were excited in the minds of the tenantry, by the large and confident promises made to them by the Government and their Parliamentary supporters, and the great and grievous disappointment which, in conse- quence of the non-fulfilment of those promises, has, for a length of time past, preyed upon the minds of the tenantry, have to- gather caused combination, — the unlawful proceedings which, too long disregarded and unrepressed by the Government, have bro"ght about the necessity of sending for troops. At the time the Tenant League constitution made its appearance in print, after havini; been signed by the poor uninformed men who had been duped into a recognition of its principles by the crafty organizers and prompters of the League, I wrote the editorial article which I have just read. If, as is slated in the letter of the Sheriff, Mr. Dodd, which was read a short time since, the aid of 20 or 30 constables would have been sufficient to enable the Sheriff — .vhetlier it may have been Sheriff Morris or Sheriff Dodd — to discharge his official duties among the tenantry, are not the Government very culpable in not having afforded that assistance, and thereby warded off the necessity of sending for troops ? As for their having sanctioned the calling out oi di posse ounmit itas by tiie Sheriff, in doing so they exposed themselves, — the Sheriff and the whole/)osse itself— to ridicule and contempt; the greater share of which was, however, due to the Government ; and well may i"' "1. In, ;i, "I % • • <, t . 214 Biography 0/ Hon. E. Whelan, « M'r i;«. ' \ ' ' n \i they be derisively asked : " How could they expect that the man to be apprehended by the posse would, after having had three or four days notice of their design, stupidly remain at home to be arrested at his own fireside or possibly in his bed ?" If, however, the Sheriff, Mr. Morris, himself, accompanied by one or two respectable men, acting as constables under his directions, had, in due time, gone quietly about their business, there is little doubt that it could easily have been effected. But instead of recommending the Sheriff to adopt so prudent and easy a course, they intimated to him his power to call out a. jiosse, commltadis] and, worst of all, allowed him to put the whole under the guidance and direction of the most obnoxious character in the whole country. 1 he honorable the Solicitor General has defended the Sheriff for having recourse to the ridiculous measure of calling out the posse commitatus, as a proceeding fully authorized and sanctioned by law in every country in which the British Constitution prevails. But I would ask him is he not, as a lawyer, very well aware that there are still extant upon the Statute Book of Great Britain many absurd and antiquated laws, which, though un- repealed, have been rendered completely obselete, merely in consequence of their gross absurdity ? And will he pretend seriously to maintain that this Statute, which empowers the Sheriff to call out the posse commitatus, is not one which ought to come under the same category as many others, which have been silently allowed to become dead letters in law, simply on account of their absurdity. * * * i support ihe resolution in amendment, because it is nothing but a simple proposition affirming what I believe to be a fact, viz., that the alleged open and systematic defiance of the Law might have been averted by a more prompt and energetic use of the civil authority when the danger of disturbance first became manifest, and thereby the necessity of sending for the troops might have been avoided. That necessity was, however, allowed to arise ; and I, for one, freely acknowledge Biography of Hon. E. Wltelan. 215 that such was the dangerous and inflammable state of the country, that the troops were not sent for a moment too soon. Their presence has had the desired effect, that of reducing the disaffected and contumacious to obedience to the law ; and peace and order now happily again reign within our bor- ders. Tile presence of the military has the effect of impart- ing to the community, socially and individually, that sense of security, as respects the possession and retention of what- ever vve highly prize or hold dear, without which we can know no real pleasure or happiness. Their presence im- parts to the minds of the well disposed a feeling of satis- faction, arising from the conviction that, deterred by it, the most evil disposed amongst us will make no attempt at riot or commotion, that the laws will not be set aside, nor the administration of power be contemned, insulted, or defied. In another point of view also, I regard the presence of the troops as highly beneficial. Their officers are, almost invari- ably, found to be men of talent, education and knowledge, men actuated by a most scrupulous sense of honor, and possessed of all the accomplishments and graces of mind and body, which are so acceptable and so highly prized in good society ; and I feel certain that, in the social intercourse accord- ed to them, and which is always extended to their class in this community, they will, in every circle in which they move, be found the means of adding much to its refined and intel- lectual enjoyments, and the calling forth into more expanded form and into greater activity all its social amenities. m M illl^tiii-*^' 1 'i 1 ' 1 II T 1 1 1 4 _ , ■ 1 ) 1 1 ♦* Ii I i f \ 'i' I' 1 r T : 216 Biography of Hon. E. Whelan. I ■* THE " NO TERMS " DEBATE. . ■ V I . * * ^H !l! 't ^N the 7th May, 1866, the Hon. James C. Pope, Leader of ■the Government, submitted the celebrated" No Terms " resolutions, in reference to the scheme of Confederation pro- pounded by the Quebec Conference. Hon. Mr. Whelan then moved that all after the word "Resolved," in Mr.Pope's Resolutions, be struck out, and the following substituted : '* As the opinion of this House, that the Confederation of Her Majesty's American colonial possessions would be — while in conformity with Her Majesty's frequently expressed desire — conducive to their welfare, separately and collec- tively. And this House believes that a plan of confederation might be so framed as not to involve the sacrifice of any of the material interests on the part of any Province ; but inas- much as the people of Prince Edward do not appear to be prepared to regard with any favor the project of Confedera- tion, it is unwise to press it upon public attention, as its dis- cussion is only calulated to produce excitement and appre- hension without reasonable cause. And further Resolved, as the opinion of this House, that there should be no vote passed by the Legislature of this country in favor of Confe- deration of the Provinces, until the people shall first be afforded an opportunity of pronouncing their judgment on the question at a general election." Thehon. gentleman than proceeded to say that he thought the question should not be pressed upon the people before they were educated up to it, and their judgment matured respecting it. As he had said to his own constituents, he Biography of Hon. E, Whelan. 217 did not think it was the duty or province of the assembly either to pronounce in favor of Confederation or to reject it, until the decision of the people should be fairly given, either for or against it at the polls. With all due deference to the House he begged leave to say, however, that he did not believe any decision, either for or against Confederacion, on the part of Prince Edward Island, would materially affect the action or determination of the other Provinces concern- ing it , and that if they were favorable to it, Prince Edward Island would be placing herself in a very absurd and ridicu- lous position by refusing to accede to it. But whilst the question appeared to be settled in Nova Scotia and New- foundland, and to be in a transition state in New Brunswick, he thought our wisest course would be to leave it as it now stood, for the calm and deliberate consideration of the people, until time and events should throw new light upon it, and, perhaps, bring new influences to bear upon their minds concerning it. He could not, however, for one moment suppose that, provided the other Provinces were confederated. Great Britain would allow Prince Edward Island to remain out of the Union, to be a source of weak- ness and annoyance to the Feddration. which, if she stood alone and aloof from it, she v ould most undoubtedly be. He would, then, merely ask the Chairman to submit the Resolution which he had proposed as an amendment to the resolutions submitted by the Hon. the Leader of the Govern- ment, although it had been his intention to speak to some other points of the question. That intention he would then, however, forego ; as another opportunity might, perhaps, be afforded him of carrying it into effect, and of repelling, at the same time, the unjust, the unmanly, the cowardly insinu- ations of bribery, corruption and treachery, which had, by certain parties in the community, been thrown out, not only against him, but against other gentlemen, members of the assembly, who had in common with himself, and in pursu- 1 Twm '! <■', '• ■<•■ * ' f iijij .,! 1: "^il il ! "trr*' iff '« :« %' '%, I >i ! t* ii'l'ijl 218 Biography of Hon. E. Whelan. ance of their honest convictions concerning the question, been the open and candid advocates of such a Confederation of the North American Provinces as would include Prince Edward Island. Will any of those who stigmatize us produce proof of their assertions? I challenge them before the country to show proof. " Bribed traitors," forsooth ! Are Her Majesty's Ministers ** bribed traitors ?" Surely it can- not be thought that the Colonial Minister and Her Majesty's Government, who have given a decided opinion in favor of Confederation, are " bribed traitors." And let me ask these calumniators this question : are the Catholic Hierarchy of Nova Scotia, the Archbishop of Halifax and the Bishop of Arichat, who have pronounced in favor of Confederation — are they " bribed traitors?" Are they influenced by impro- per and corrupt motives in bringing this question favorably before their fellow colonists ? I bring this question before you, and ask if it is your firm conviction that I, and others in a much higher position than myself, should be designated as traitors. It is false and dishonest in the highest degree to bring such an accusation against us in the face of the country. I do not ask you. Sir, I will not ask you to believe that I am perfectly sincere in this matter, but I will ask you to allow me to use my own opinion. And because I advocate this measure in accordance with my honest convictions — because I think this House should not place itself in a position hostile to the British Government, or antagonistic to the course pursued by the other colonies — am I to be singled out for contumely? I never, in the^ course of my Parliamentary career of 20 years, was made the subject of so much calumny, so many false accusations, as in reference to this question. I do not, as the resolution which I have submitted shows, force my opinion on the country. I have not done so since I returned from the Quebec Conference. I may say that, at that Conference, we did not get as much as I, as one of the delegates, think we should have got, but Mr'n" ;; '1 BiograiDhy of Hon. E. Whelan, 219 ■'^r we got what I think should be accepted as a compromise ; and I say now, in the presence of this House and of the country, that all the Delegates did agree to the terms there proposed, notwithstanding their disagreement afterwards as to matters of details. When I returned from Quebec I was assailed because I stated this palpable truth, and many times since, in such language as it is impossible for me to characterize. But I will allow that to pass, I do not seek to press the question upon the people. I do not wish that, without the most mature reflection, they should accede to Confederation ; but I do wish that, before they decide either for or against it, they may be fully enlightened con- cerning it ; and I will ask this House not to pledge itself to any course until the people shall have pronounced concern- ing it at the polls. It is my right — a right which God has given me — to form my own opinion on all public questions, and I will endeavor to exercise that right. But surely I and they who hold the same opinions as myself on the subject of Confederation ought not, on account of those opinions, to be subjected to insult and persecution, most vile and most unjust, on the part of any who hold different opinions on that subject. I ask you, Mr. Chairman, most respectfully — I ask this hon. Committee — whether this system of persecution shall continue to be practised ? I appeal to the good sense and love of fair play which characterizes the members of this community. Whether a man shall be allowed to have an opinion of his own or not ? I do not object to this House expressing its disapproval of Confederation, without reference to the Quebec Scheme, because that is thrown aside ; but in regard to the general plan of Confederation, my opinion is that these colonies would assume great importance — they would obtain stability and security against foreign aggression, and they would also obtain more efiicient protection from Britain, were they confederated, than she could extend to them should they remain in their present isolated condition. \^ A-; ■ " '1 •if ,11^ V, I,, ■ i'. ) ' ■ H- 220 Biography of Ron. E, Whelan. I do not wish to trespass upon the attention of the House, but I rose to submit the Resolution which is now before you, and it is of that mild character that I do not think hon. members should vote against it. However, I shall be enabled to place my opinion upon record, which is that I am favorable to Confederation, provided it be based upon a plan just to the several provinces, without sacrificing the interests of any, and also providing that the people be perfect- ly prepared to accept it. Anything more fair, I do not think, could be presented to the House. If you pass the other Resolutions, which are very strong, it will not affect the question one way or the other. Let me tell you that the decision of a colony of only 8o,ooo inhabitants will have very little effect in deciding the fate of 2,% millions of people — however much some gentlemen may be under the impression that the other Provinces may be confederated and Prince Edward Island remain '* out in the cold." The confederacy of the United States took place under very peculiar circum- stances, and Rhode Island, an isolated Province, as small nearly as we are, although at first refusing to enter, it was before long very glad to seek admission into it. So, if a Confederation of the British North American Provinces takes place, and Prince Edward Island remains out, she will, in like manner, sue to be admitted into it. Would any one tell me — and I put the question plainly, — would the United States, if no Confederacy had taken place, be so powerful a nation as thty are to-day ? We are not seeking separation from Great Britain, but to combine our strength by which we may be able to resist aggression, whether from Fenianism or from any other quarter. Last year, we were told that the advocacy of this question was premature, because there was not the slightest probability of an interruption of the friendly relations existing between Great Britain and the United States on account of the Fenian organization ; but now we know that the Fenian organization, contemptible as it is, has i ; Biography of Hon, E. "Whelan, 221 le House, efore you, :hink hon. shall be is that I ised upon ificing the be perfect- I do not I pass the t affect the u that the i will have s of people impression and Prince :onfederacy iar circum- le, as small nter, it was So, if a Provinces ut, she will, jld any one the United powerful a separation by which Fenianism )ld that the there was the friendly the United )ut now we as it is, has t. been such as to render it necessary, on the part of Her Majesty's Government, to take extraordinary precautions against its aggressions. In England a law has been passed suspending the Habeas Corpus Act in Ireland, because the Fenian organization was supposed to have taken effect there. In the Colonies, extrao^^dinary preparations have been made for resistance to any possible attacks on the part of that law- less association. The resources of the several colonies have been pledged for their individual defence. We were told, last year, that there was no necessity to prepare for defence ; but what do we see here this year ? A unanimous vote placing all the resources of the Colony at the disposal of the Government, for the purpose of putting the Island in a position of defence. What does that indicate ? Is it not that our liberties are threatened? Does it not indicate a feeling of insecurity — a feeling that Prince Edward Island is not safe while those marauders threaten the invasion of the other provinces ? A gentleman in the other branch of the Legisla- ture said, on a former occasion, that in the event of Confed- eration, if Canada were threatened by hostile invasion, the young men of Prince Edward Island would have to go and fight for that Province. Does any man suppose that the young men of this Island would have to be sent to the borders of Canada? No, Sir; it was nonsense sought to be imposed upon the people. The fact is that, for twelve months past, Canada has been exercising its great influence — spending its enormous resources — to ward off the foe, has been a protec- tion, not only to Prince Edward Island but to the whole of the Lower Provinces. There have been no raids in these Provinces ; and if they were to be invaded, Canada surely would be ; and that Province once lost to the British Crown, these Maritime Colonies would fall an easy prey, either to Fenian ism or to some other foe. But I think, Mr. Chairman, that, in view of the hostile spirit manifested by the Govern- ment of the United States towards these colonies, in a til ■ '!! 222 Biography of Hon. E. Whelan. if, ?:!:*■. variety of ways, it is but right that we should take counsel and act in accordance with the views of the British Govern- ment. It is scarcely necessary to observe that the United States have no love for Great Britain — no desire to see these colonies remain a part of the British Dominions. And they would rather that they should remain seperate and isolated, than be consolidated by Confederation, so that, one by one, they might fall an easy pray whenever they should choose to set about their absorption. Isolated, they could, united they could not, be absorbed. United, Great Britain would employ her whole power to defend them ; isolated she would not. All I wish to say is that, the subject having been so well debated last year, i am not disposed to trespass on your patience, Sir, and that of the House at present ; but I ask that forbearance which is due to any person holding an opinion of his own on a great public question ; and I may express the hope and belief that, while hon. members have their own opinions, they will not use offensive expressions, or insinuate that any member is influenced by improper motives in advocating his own views _;of the great question now under consideration. I am influenced by no such motives ; and if I be assailed on any such grounds I shall take the earliest opportunity to retaliate. I do not bring any charge against those whose opinions are adverse to my own, nor offer any offence to their sensibilities. They have a perfect right to belie. e that Confederation will not be conducive to the interests of the Colony ; I believe it will ; but I beg that we may agree to differ. Vf *# Biograithy of Hon. E. Whelan. 223 j ! ■ I ■ ' 1 .'1 1; -.•if^' LAST SPEECH. IN PARLIAMENT. i^N the 8th May, i866, the discussion on the Confedera- tion Question was resumed in the House of Assembly, after which a division was taken on Mr. Whelan's amendment. The vote stood : For the amendment : Hon. E. Whelan, T. H. Haviland, Col. Gray, D. Davies, Dr. Kaye, Messrs. Green and McLennan, 7 ; against it : Hons. J. C. Pope, J. Warburton, J. Hensley, E. McEachren, E. Thornton, F. Kelly, J. Longworth, A. Laird, G. Coles, Messrs. Conroy, Howlan, Sinclair, Sutherland, Duncan Howatt, J. Yeo, D. Ramsay, F. Breeken, D. Montgomery, W. Haslam, and R. Walker, 21. Before the motion was put, Mr. Whelan again spoke as follows : — You know, Mr. Chairman, that I have not trespassed on the patience of the Committee ; and you. Sir, have exercised a degree of forbearance highly commendable during this debate. I will not trepass upon your time, but I have a right to ask the indulgence of the honorable commiuee for a few minutes, to refute some observations made yesterday evening and to-day in opposition to my views. Yesterday evening, in particular, I was assailed by my honorable *"riend from Cascumpec (Mr. Howlan), on the ground of my incon- sistency in making a speech in this House, in 1864, on the question of Confederation. But it was not on the broad question of Confederation I then spoke, and the honorable member knows he did not fairly represent me. It was in refer- ence to a Legislative Union of the Colonies, and he knows that I have always been opposed to a Legislative Union. m I'll' mi i i. 1 i| < ... \* I , W:J mi 224 Biography of Hon. E. Whelan. ;i::; r Mr. Howlan. — 1 did not state anything in disparagement of the honorable member ; but I showed that the views held by him now are not the same as those held by him then. I quote this passage : " I care not for the nature of the Union, whether it be Federal or Legislative, either will be absurd while we remain tied to the apron strings of our venerable mother, — Great Britain. The time will come when, as foreshadowed by the statesmen and politicians of Britain, the Colonies will be cut off; and when that time shall arrive, they may, with far more propriety than at present, discuss the principle and details of a Union either Federal or Legislative." Hon. Mr. Whelan. — I ask you, Mr. Chairman, t', protect me in my position on this floor. I do not wish to hinder independent members from speaking, especially young mem- bers ; and I am always willing to give to my friend, the junior member for Prince County, a latitude which I would not be disposed to give to others. The extract from the speech he has read ought to be thoroughly impressed upon my mind, inasmuch as it has been quoted so frequently. It does not establish any proof of inconsistency. I protest against it ; that speech will show that I was not favorably disposed towards a Legislative Union. A Federal Union is another question. In what light did I view it, or how was it viewed by other members of this House ? — That we woulJ. still he subservient to the Colonial Office, as we are now. It is not the experience I have gained, — not the intelligence communicated to me from other quarters — not that I am inspired by undue motives that causes an apparent change of sentiment on my part, but that I hrve a perfect right to exercise my judgment in reference to this and other matters. But even if t admit that there was a slight shade of inconsistency on my part, why should this be brought up as an argument against Confederation ? We know that a great change of opinion has taken place in all the others Colonies ; q Biography of Hon. E. Whelan, 225 igement iws held m then. er it be ; remain lother, — owed by nies will lay, with :iple and , -protect hinder ing mem- iond, the 1 I would from the ised upon ently. It I protest favorably : Union is how was toe WOnlil y,v. it. 13 telligence t that I apparent a perfect and other t shade of rht up as at a great Colonies ; has it not been the case in Canada ? and in New Brunswick where the Government came in with a large taken majority, a little more than twelve months ago, has not a change taken place there ? In all the other Colonies public opinion has been undergoing a change in reference to this question. It has changed in the Nova Scotia Legislature, inasmuch as last winter Dr. Tupper could not venture to ask the House to pass a resolution in favor of Confederation, and this year it has been carried by a majority of 31 to 19. Does not this show that there is a change in public sentiment ? that it is progressing with the progress of intelligence all over the continent? Does it not show that public men have a right to exercise the privilege, at times, of correcting their ideas ? I scorn the man — I say it without disrespect to any gentle- man in this House or community, — I scorn the man who says he is incapable of changing his mind on important public questions. I change mine from time to time, if it is in conformity with the progress of the age in which I live. And I do not think I bring discredit upon myself by doing so. This has been the character by which public men have been distinguished in Great Britain and all over the world. I would allude to one who has changed his opinion on this question, I mean the Hon. Mr. Howe, of Nova Scotia. He was at one time decidedly in favor of a Confederation of all the British North American Colonies. Now he is not. The reason why, I shall not explain to you at present ; but I believe if he had been at the Quebec Conference he would have acted a very different part from what he has done. Now, the honorable member from Cascumpec has referred to the speech of Mr. Gladstone, wherein he says : " We are told that Canada and New Brunswick are threatened with fire and slaughter from the revenge of the Fenians, for the wrongs inflicted by England upon Ireland ; and this I must say, that if the men of Canada and New Brunswick, who are wholly guiltless of these wrongs, — be ,1 • : .ii' m I i ■ ',1! I I !•' I ' 'Ii J m I 226 Biography of Hon. E. WJielan, they what they may — who are not entangled in the contro- versy, who have no more to do with it than the people of the Sandwich Islands, — if the Fenians, as they call them- selves in America, are capable of the abominable wickedness of passing their frontier and of making their impotent, miser- able attempts, — which they will be, — (cheers) to carry deso- lation over these peaceful districts and among these harmless colonists, then, I say, that so far from your treating the con- duct of these men — let them be Americans or whom they like— with allowance or indulgence, no more execrable manifesta- tions of folly or guilt have ever been made in the annals of the human race from the time that it commenced its exis- tence upon the earth. (Cheers.) Men who are capable of S'»ch proceedings would, at once, by their insanity and their guilt place themselves entirely beyond the sympathy of the whole civilized world." (Loud Cheers.) " I feel the fullest confidence that these men who inhabit the provinces of British North America, who have proceeded from our loins, and who are governed by principles in the main our own, know well how to defend their homes, their wives and children ; and if, unhappily, the need arose, there is no resource possessed by this country that she would no. fairly spend to assist them in their holy work. (Cheers.) What does that indicate ? A feeling on the part of the British Government that the people of these Colonies will have to defend their own homes, and in the event of their failing to do so then Great Britain will not withhold her sup- port. I will not address myself at present to the question as to whether we should be influenced by the opinion of states- men in England or not. The honorable member from Cascumpec gave the opinion of the British minister ; but he did not give his words. I have given the words of Mr. Glad- stone's speech to show the connection in which they were used, and they plainly indicate that when the Colonies use their proper amount of influence to protect themselves, then Biography of Ron. E. Whelan. I . 227 m the power of Great Britain will be used in their behalf. That was the opinion I set forth last year. It was borne out by the opinion of Mr. Gladstone, and also by Her Majesty's Colonial Minister. I will read an extract from the Minister's despatch, not only for the information of the honorable mem- ber from Cascumpec, but other members who may have for- gotten it : — " Nor can it be doubtful that the Provinces of British North America are incapable, when separate and divided from each other, of making those just and efficient prepara- tions for national defence, which would be easily undertaken by a Province uniting in itself all the population and the resources of the whole." Now, what lesson are we to take from these words ? Is it not that the Colonies must accept the Imperial policy ? Is it not that one Colony will not be allowed to stand in the way of the Imperial policy which shall be found acceptable to the majority ? Is it not clear that the whole question of confederation, no matter what view we may take, depends on the action of the Continental Provinces ? I am sure that I am quite willing to stand up for our rights and privileges ; but is it to be supposed that we will be allowed by the Brit-jli Government to be obstructive to the Continental Provinces, if they choose to adopt a scheme of Confederation ? I think not. Others may think differently, and we may agree to differ. My opinion is that if Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, Canada and Newfoundland unite. Prince Edward Island may hold out for a short time, and seek for better terms, but it cannot hold out long. The Quebec scheme is not before the Committee, and it is unfair to argue upon that scheme. If it were before us, then I might express my opinion upon it. Hon. J. C. Pope There is no other Scheme proposed. Hon. Mr. Whelan. — No ; there is no plan at all ; and the bare question is, whether it is desirable that the Colonies should be confederated or not. I do not press it upon the '. M ; ■, f '» % if *• y I", -i I* .ill' fi 228 Biography of Hon. E. Whelan. people's attention now, and when I was at Quebec I thought some of the details were such as the people would be dissatis- fied with. Hon. Mr. Thornton. — What is your scheme ? Hon. Mr. Whelan. — I propounded none. It was not my place to do so. I was there as a delegate, and though I ob- jected to some of the details, yet I felt myself in that position that I could not refuse to accept it as a compromise. The delegates from all the Provinces had complaints to make about it ; ana who, pray, in his senses would suppose that a written Constitution could be framed that would be acceptable to all the people concerned in it? Could it be possible that a Constitution, affecting the rights of nearly four millions of people, could be framed so that no fault could be found with it? When it came up that the Constitution was to be framed on the principle of representation by population, I had to yield to the majority. I believe it will be considered by a succeeding House that Confederation will be for the benefit of all the Colonies, and that it would be possible to frame a Con<:Htution that would not involve the sacrifice of any material interests on the part of any Province. The honor- able leader of the Government, in the course of his speech, made some reference to this paragraph, and said those who believed that Confederation would be a benefit to this Colony should use their influence in every way to press it upon the people. I do not think so, I think it would be unwise to force public attention to anything in which the minds of the people have not been properly schooled. I think it would be better to leave it to take its course, and let the hand of time use its ameliorating influence in reference to this as well as to every other question. I bow to the public opinion of this country in reference to all public questions. When I returned from Canada, in 1864, I called meetings, and told my constituents the opinion I entertained, and which I will probably entertain as long as I live ; but I told them that I i /I ^'S Biography of Hon. E, Whelan. 229 would not seek to force it upon them. This is the proper course for a representative of the people to take. I conceive that a spirited man like the leader of the Government (Hon. J. C. Pope) may sometimes seek to control public opinion ; but let him take this advice ; the better way is to follow public opinion while he seeks to control It. The honorable member for Murray Harbor (Mr. Duncan) alludes to the great sacri- fice of having our rights and privileges destroyed ; and it sounds strange from gentlemen who, up to 185 1, were opposed to what they now term a "priceless Constitution," — it sounds strange, I say, that gentlemen should now value that Constitution so highly, who, up to that time, had no faith in it. Hon. J. C. Pope. — That was before the commencement of my political career. Hon. Mr. Whelan. — I am speaking in reference to the party, and particularly in reference to the honorable member for Murray Harbor ; for I remember that no gentleman was more opposed to the introduction of Responsible Government. Does it not, therefore, sound strange that a gentleman should have worked himself up to the consciousness of the " price- less blessing of our Constitution," just at this particular hour, when a few years ago he was fighting against it most indignantly ? In reference to the original resolutions, if we put them upon record, we place ourselves in the most extra- ordinary position that ever a Colony occupied. They say that Prince Edward Island will not have anything to do with Confederation — that we will not accept it on any terms — no matter how advantageous they might be to the people. The words of the Resolutions cannot bear any other interpreta- tion. I am not wedded to any particular scheme, but to the principle. I I . .)i i ' . '' mm ' nf-'u if 1 1 230 Biography of Hon. E, Whelan. H^, ■ ,11 fii: '1 PI ADDRESSES TO THE ELECTORS OF THE SECOND DISTRICT OF KING'S COUNTY. I. — Jan. 12, 1850. 'ENTLEMEN. — The Lieutenant Governor having thought ^ '' fit " to bring the House of Assembly prematurely to a close, the trast with which I was honored in 1846 has therefore returned to your hands. During the three sessions which have since elapsed, I have endeavoured, in co-operation with my political friends, to further the advancement of those liberal and enlightened principles of Government I announced to you at the hustings, and to which I believe I was indebted for my election. If we have failed to carry these principles into practice, the failure must be attributed to the numerical weak- ness of our party in the Assembly, and not to any want of zeal in ourselves. Believing these principles now to be better understood by the i ountry than they were at any former period, I have good reason to hope that the minority of the late House will be changed into a majority in the new one ; and if my conduct, as one of that minority, has been acceptable to you, I will cheerfully resume my old position, and become again a devoted laborer in that cause which must ultimately secure jo us all the rights, the privileges and political importance which belong to British subjects, and which are alone withheld rom us by an arbitrary faction in Charlottetown. It is unne- fcessary for me here to enter into a review of my career as one of your Representatives. The Journal of the Assembly — the most convincing of all advocates — will show my name recorded in favor of every Liberal measure that has been brought under the notice of the House. I have voted against increased tax- ation, against high salaries, against official peculation. I have voted to promote agriculture and the fisheries,and to substitute «ti ■9 ; /H 'Ml Biography of Hon. E. Whelan. 231 a good and efficient system of administration, modelled on the principles of the British constitution, for a corrupt and tyrannous one. If votes such as these entitle me to a renewal of the confidence with which I was honoured when a stranger to many of you, I will feel more proudly the distinction of again serving you, now that casual acquaintance has ripened into intimacy with most of you, because your electing me will prove that you have not doubted my sincerity, nor depreciated my services, humble as they may have been. 2. — May 5, 1851. Now that the difficult and perplexing contest, between the friends of constitutional liberty and the enemies of every Reform, has happily been brought to a close, duty and inclina- tion prompt me to offer some observations in reference to the sacrifices by which victory has been achieved, and to the com mon advantages which it confers. After eight years of almost incessant toil and anxiety — born amidst calumnies of every imaginable description, it i. not unreasonable to indulge with exultant spirits in mutual con- gratulations on the successful issue of that toil. Nearly five of those eight years have been devoted to your service, and were it not for the support and confidence which 1 have received at your hands during that period of time, and which other members of the majority have obtained from '' true men like you men," at the several stages of their political career, the victory would yet be unwon, and the exultation defer- red. Hence our congratulations should be mutual. During the winter which has just passed, I explained to you at a series of public meetings the position in which the Assem- bly stood with the late Lieut. Governor, upon the question then at issue. It will not be necessary to advert to the general topics aris- ing out of the question then discussed. I referred to the demand !» I > , I t^ ■• I i' II •;! ''il;:i ' > 4 232 Biography of Hon. E. Whelan. made by His late Excellency for retiring allowances on behalf of three officers of his Government — and the refusal of the Lieut. Governor, should that demand be complied with, to make any, save a very partial, inadequate and unsatisfactory, change in his administration. I informed you of the determination of the Assembly to withhold the allowance under the circumstances proposed. I stated my own opinion in regard to those allow- ances, namely, that the advantage of possessing three seats in the Executive Council by three members of the majority was by no means commensurate with the sacrifice which the con- cession would involve. I did not state that Responsible Gov- ernment ivas not worth the amount demanded for the officers, on whose behalf Her Majesty's Government thought proper to interpose, but I showed that the House of Assembly could not consistently proceed with the performance of the public business, and vote the disposal of the people's money to an Executive Council not enjoying the confidence of the people, for the paltry consideration of their seats in the Cabinet. " The evil that men do lives after them ; the good is oft interred with their bones." The good deeds, if any there were, which characterized the administration of Sir Donald, have been cast into obl'.vion by the evil ones that survive him, tjie most prominent of which is misrepresentation of the objects and intentions of the Assembly. Since the Assembly have not obtained copies of the late Governor's correspondence, it is impossible to estimate the amount of injury sought to be inflicted upon its character by the exparte statements of Sir Donald. The unnecessary inter- ference of the Home authorities with our postal regulations is one of the results of these statements. The alarm of the Colo- nial Minister, for the preservation of the public tranquility in this Island, and his suggestion in regard to an increase of the Military force, is another consequence of the mischievous use to which Sir Donald's pen was applied in his correspon- dence with Downing Street, and shows that he had dared to Biography of Hon. E. Whelan. 233 describe one of the most loyal and peaceable of her Majesty's possessions as in a state of rebellion. When we consider the hostile feelings of Sir Donald combin ing with the formidable influences of the late official party and money jobbers in Charlottetown, and with the proprietary jun- to in England to frustrate the object of the constitutional party, the victory achieved by the latter is one of no ordinary impor- tance. Nor has the cost of victory been such as to lessen the exultation of the victors. The land yet echoes the outcry of the obstructives that the Responsible Government party had abandoned their promises, and increased the burthens of their constituents, in order to obtain office and emolument for themselves. In both instances the outcry is false. No promise has been violated — no burden imposed. It is well the majority of the Assembly repudiated, and still do repudiate, the abstract prin- ciple of pensions as being incompatible with the means, habits, feelings, and opinions of the people. It is true, the same majority failed to discover the claims of the gentlemen to retiring allowances, on whose behalf such allowances were demanded ; and did not hesitate to communicate to the Lieut. Governor their opinions on the subject. But when His Excellency replied that it was not the intention of Her Majesty's Government to impose a Pension List on this Colony — that it was merely com- pensation which was required for two officers who had long served the public — that this compensation was an absolute and imperative condition to the concession of Responsible Govern- ment — that he had no discretion from the Colonial Minister to waive that condition, — surely, then, it became the duty of the Assembly to yield their opinion in reference to the claims of the retiring officers — relieve His Excellency from great embarrass- ment and responsibility, — remove obstacles to the transaction of the public business, — save the colony from the further bad effects of a long continued agitation — allay public discontent and anxiety — and, finally, procure for the people the privileges li' i *.'";: I i i: ) I I*! I I I I , I ■ ' I 11 ■ i \ J I f > 1 1 M a It 111 ' J' ''AA If ! «* 234 Biography of Hon. E. Whelan. and rights of British subjects by at once voting the allowances, which amount to only four hundred pounds (£400). The obstructives say we did wrong in doing so (and be it remem- bered that amongst our complainants were Executive Council- lors, whose duty it was not to embarrass the Lieutenant Gover- nor by opposition to his instructions) ; but I wonder did they ever say we did right in doing anything ? The best passport to public confidence and approval, as I always conceived, is the hostility of that party. I rejoice to know that we have earned it in this instance. If the House of Assembly had persisted in refusing the allowances asked for the late Attorney General and Colonial Secretary, they must either have voted the necessary supplies for the public service, and performed the other busi- ness of the Session in connection with a Government which they had r.eviously condemned ; or they must have declined all business with that Government, and have r *ned to their homes leaving their adversaries in a position trigue, pre- haps, successfully, with the Colonial Office, and with a Governor whose feelings could not have been of the most conciliatory character towards the Assembly at being embarrassed in the very outset of his administration. To adopt the first alternative would be proof of the most culpable fickleness and inconsistency, because the Assembly were pledged not to do business with the late Executive. Recourse to the second would be productive of great inconvenience and loss to the inhabitants of the colony,who had already suffered(but with cheerfulness that did credit to their firmness and patriot- ism) from the withholding the necessary supplies for the service of Roads and Bridges ; and possibly a repetition of that proceed- ing would eventuate in the refusal of Her Majesty's Govern- ment to grant the new system upon any terms. Besides, if the public business were again suspended and the supplies again withheld by a vote of the House, there was no guarantee that the public money would not be expended in defiance of the people's representatives, for upwards of ten thousand pounds 1'^ ti Biography of Hon. E. Whelan. 235 were last year supplied by Sir Donald's Executive Council to the payment of official salaries, whilst not a shilling was given to the most important departments of the Public Service, under the absurd pretext that the money was drawn from the produce of the Permanent Acts, which was alleged to be exclusively under the control of the Executive, when it is notor- ious that the Revenue derived from that source did not amount last year to more than ;^i,2oo. These are some of the consid- erations which led the Assembly to terminate the contention by voting the retiring allowances. The obstructives opposed the vote, as a matter of course, and villified those who gave it on the ground of inconsistency. Bat the real ground of opposi- tion was the desire of thai party to continue their friends in office ; for if the compensation had not been given the old party would yet be in power, and the introduction of respon- sible government be deferred for an indefinite period if not thoroughly abandoned. Even admitting the conduct of the majority of the Assembly to be inconsistent in this respect, which I do not admit, are there no examples of similar devia- tion in the history of every party struggling for the establish- ment of a great principle, to plead in extenuation ? What battle has ever yet been fought and won without some loss to the victors ? How many eminent men in the British Parlia- ment have assumed a position at one period of their career, in reference to public questions, from which they were obliged to recede at another ? Was Catholic Emancipation, or Slave Emancipation, or Free Trade carried without sacrifice of principle on the part of some of the great statesmen who figured in the warfare enkindled by these great questions ? I have no respect for the statesman or the party who will shelter themselves under the assumed infallibility of their principles and opinions, and defy all change, — who will proclaim to the world we are sure we are right in thinking and act- ing as we do, and we shall yield to no conviction, to no emergency. Philosophy would be kicked out in the grotesque .1, . it ' -1 ii ■ •i' N ■:■ f/i i m^''^ H '■ . ■I 4. 1 If 236 Biography of Ron. E. Whelan. habiliments with which it strutted its little hour two thousand years ago ; and Science would yet groan beneath its load of errors and absurdities, if the fallacy of immutability darkened the intellects of men, thus making them the slaves of ignorance and folly, when the light of experience and the laws of ne- cessity might have set them free. I am sure that you, my friends, and the rest of my fellow-Colonists will gladly appreciate the sympathy pretended to be felt for you by the obstruction- ists in and out of the Assembly, on the score of an increase to the public burthens. Those sympathetic, tender-hearted, patriotic people are dreadfully alarmed for your welfare, and are ready to swoon at the CO' sideration of giving four hundred pounds of the people's money in the shape of compensations to two retiring officers. It is to be regretted that their ideas of economy were not brought to bear upon the expenditure of the public money when the Treasury chest was in their keeping, and when the appropriation of ;;^500 to create a judgship,and procure a silk gown for a member of the Assembly, was deemed not only a justifiable but a laudable proceeding ; and when a further appropriation of ;£'5oo to the late Governor, to secure those services to themselves, of which the Island has Since reaped the better fruit, was attempted to be jus- tified on the ground of public necessity. I must, however reserve for another letter the further consideration of these subjects, when I shall compare the expense entailed upon the Colony by the introduction of the new system with the merely pecuniary advantages which it affords, and then easily shew that a balance to a large amount has been carried to the credit of the public. 3.— May 19, 1851. The object of my present letter will be to demonstrate the fallacy and absurdity of the arguments or assertions which were employed with a view to obstruct the introduction of I \> Biography of Hon. E. Whelan. 237 Responsible Government, and to make the advocates of that measure appear odious in the eyes of the people ; the asser- tions were — First — That the new system would increase, rather than lessen, the public expenditure. Second. — That its promoters were actuated solely by a desire to possess themselves of oflfice and emolument. Third. — That the possession of office by members of Assembly, under the new form of Government, would lead to the practice of fraud and corruption. Fourth. — That the owners of land have exerted their influence at the Colonial office, to procure the introduction into this Island of the system of Responsible Government — and that they have done so on the conditions that the local Legislature and Government should thenceforth avoid any interference with questions which might involve the inlerests of the proprietors. Many other absurdities have been propagated from time to time by the enemies of popular liberty, in the vain hope of effecting a reaction in the public mind in reference to the question of a change of Government — but the ones above stated are those which have been the more prominently and pertinaceously urged. Although our party had many obstacles to encounter, and powerful influences to combat in carrying out their views, — they had at least common sense and argument upon their side ; and just in proportion to our strength in this respect was the weakness of our adversaries. If anything served more than another to create distrust of their proceedings — disgust at their little chicanery — and disbelief in all their assertions — it was the employment of arguments at all times absurd and indefensible, and the recourse to modes of attack and defence, which the merest tyros in the science of politi- cal war with the worst possible cause would have scorned to adopt. Assertion No. I is disproved by the fact that the public expenditure is now £395 less than it was under the old ■•II ' i( r ■ » .)' r :;: II , 1 ii iii- ill ! l» I' 1= 238 Biography of Hon. E. Whelan. system. The amount then chargeable upon the Revenues, in the shape of salaries and fees, was .£2705 : Now it does not exceed £2310. Here are the details : — OtD Civil List. Colonial Secretary £400 o o Fees for issuing Licences 90 o o Registrar and Clerk of Executive Council. ... 150 Clerk of Legislative Council 150 (These offices and emoluments were all centred in one indi- vidual — an instance of monopoly that no other colony can parallel, and the abolition of which is one of the good points of Responsible Government). Treasurer £400 o o Attorney General 200 o o Collector of Excise 260 o o Surveyor General loo o o Prothonotary 90 o o Road Correspondent. 40 o o Inspector of Militia 75 o o Fees to Lt. Governor 60 o o Collector Customs 180 o o Salaries and Commission to Road Commis- sioners 410 o o £2705 o o New Civil List, Colonial Sec. and Road Correspondent £400 o o Treasurer 400 o o Clerk of Legislative and Executive Council. . 120 00 Collector of Excise 200 o o Registrar .and Keeper of Plans 200 o o Attorney General 150 o o Rd. Com. Salaries 300 o o Retiring allowance to late Col. Sec. and Attor- ney General 400 o o Comptrollers of Navigation Laws 75 o o Prothonotary 40 o o Inspector Militia 25 o o £2310 o o Old Civil List £^2705 o o Saving to the Colony 395 o o M Biography of Ron. E. Whelan. 239 In addition to this saving we have acquired by the intro- duction of Responsible Government control over the Per- manent Revenue and Crown Lands, which are worth at least £1300 a year besides the disposal of the Fishery Reserves, which may be turned to great pecuniary account ; so that notwithstanding our having to pay compensations to the late Colonial Secretary and Attorney General, we have a present gain of nearly teventeen hxindred pounds by the change trom the old to the new system of Government. In reply to assertion No. 2, it may be observed that if the promoters of Responsible Government were actuated solely by a desire for office, they could have gratified that desire in part at least before Responsible Government was introduced, when the late Lieut-Governor offered our party three seats in the Executive Council, and when two others refused the Shrievalty for Queen's and Prince counties. I admit that it wa$ the desire of our party to obtain office, but I deny that such was their %ole desire. It was their desire to obtain office, because such was the wish of their constituents whose confidence they enjoy ; because in the possession of office they would be responsible for the faithful discharge of their duties to Parliament, which the late incumbents were not ; and because they could not legislate in connection with a Government which had on every question opposed the wishes of the people — mis-represented the objects and principles of the people's representatives, and mis-applied the people's money. It could not surely be supposed that the Liberal Party would consent to leave the old officials in power, after having routed them in every contest, beaten them at the Hustings and in the Legislature — and after having their principles recognized and allowed to be put in practice by Her Majesty's Government. Is it supposed that having obtained Imperial recognition of their principles the Liberal Party would turn round and say to their adversaries : " Now^ we have gained all we sought for — you may remain in office 1', «v' "!l r V* ■ >'•■ 240 Biography of Hon. E. WJielan. 1 1, — we confide in your integrity, and appreciate your ability to serve the public, although we lately declared you to be unworthy of any confidence and incapable of effecting any improvement in the social and political conditions of the country ; but you must be accountable to Parliament for your conduct, and be ready to surrender your situations whenever public expediency may require the surrender" — which, in their opinion, would be — ntver. It is impossible to believe that any other than a set of madmen or good-natured fools would adopt the policy which this language indicates ; and yet this is the very policy which the obstructionists complain of our not pursuing. They say it is positively wrong to take office, and brand us with every nickname their ingenuity can suggest, — " Snatchers," "Dema- gogues," and " Corruptionists," — if we are supposed to entertain the idea of displacing them. But it is quite proper and praiseworthy, and to the public advantage, for them- selves to retain, and snatch at, every office in the gift of the Crown. Our object has been, and will be, to give encouragement to the talent of the country, and to stimulate honorable ambition by throwing open to the free competition of all, the avenues that lead to honors and emoluments ; their object has been and would be to the end of time, if undisturbed in their career, to repress every ennobling sentiment which ele- vates the breast of the poor man as well as that of the rich, by arrogating to themselves superior intelligence and respec- tability, and by exacting homage and obedience from all who dared to come between the wind and their nobility, and were not privileged to enter the charmed circle where they reigned supreme. Having gone beyond the limits of the space assigned to myself, I must leave for the subject of another letter a con- sideration of the third and fourth objections stated above. Biography of Hon. E. WJielan, 241 ability I to be ig any of the ent for nations nder"— a set of :y which :y which rhey say ith every ' "Dema- 30sed to .te proper for them- ;ift of the iragement honorable .ion of all, ,eir object isturbed in which ele- the rich, ,nd respec- |e from all ibiUty, and |where they issigned to itter a con- [d above. 4. — May 26, 1 85 1. The next argument used against the introduction into this Island of the new system of Government is that which I placed third on the list at the commencement of my last letter. This argument asserts that members of the Assembly become corrupt so soon as they take office under Government and that therefore they should be declared ineligible to hold seats in the Assembly. It is impossible to conceive anything more egregiously absurd than this. It is impossible to assert anything more strikingly illustrative of the imbecility of those who use the argument. If true, the old party must have been incorrigibly corrupt — for several of the present minority held situations under the Government while mem- bers of the Legislature. Mr. Palmer was Solicitor General, Mr. Longworth, Commissioner of Small Debts Court, Mr. Haviland, Provost Marshal, Mr. Thornton, Clerk of the Crown, Commissioner of Small Debts Court and High Sher- iff; and it would be easy to extend the list so as to include the names of gentlemen who held seats in former Parlia- ments, voting with those of the present minority, and holding offices under Government. If they were honest, as they claim to be, in the discharge of their official duties, how can it be predicated that other members of the Acsembly would be dishonest, unless it can be proved that the only pure and upright men are to be found in the ranks of the Obstructives. But if office-holders are of necessity corrupt and dishonest, as the argument would shew them to be, then there would not have been one honest man connected with the late Government. Whether in or out of the Legislature, and subject to no control, they had every facility for practising fraud. In the Legislature, they must have been dishonest because they were in the Legislature ; — this is the unhappy position in which this most absurd argument would place the HI .1 : I! 242 Biography of Hon. E. Whelan. m ii I ri ' 111 ^^ imbeciles who employ it. It is really a rionstrous outrage upon common sense to suppose that the mere circumstance of excluding an official from the Legislature would keep him honest, if he were disposed to be otherwise. Now, the gieat merit of Responsible Government is, that it will prevent the possibility of corruption. Meiubers of Assembly, on taking office, are compelled to return to their constituents ; if not re- elected, in most cases they lose their offices as well as their seats in the Assembly ; if re-elected, they, under the control o^ the majority in Parliament, who it cannot be presumed would band themselves together to connive at fraud and corruption on the part of one, two or three individuals, — they are further under the control of the Lieutenant Governor, whose positive duty it is to keep a vigilant watch on the faithful discharge of every branch of public service ; they are further account- able to their constituents 3 if they demean themselves pro- perly in office, they may reasonably hope to be continued so long as their party possess a majority in the House of Assembly ; if otherwise they will be rejected by their cons- tituents at a general election, and must retire from office whether their party have a majority or not. The only other topic to which I shall now beg to direct your attention is that reference to what is generally styled TJie Land Question, Our party are accused of having procured the intercession of the absentee Proprietors with the Majesty's ministers, to obtain for this colony Responsible Government ; and the condition, it is asserted, upon which this mighty intercession was vouchsafed, is that our Government and Legislature should avoid any interference between the Proprietors and their Tenants on this Island; or, in brief, that we should shelve the Land Question. The first part of the accusation, if accusation it can be called, rests exclusively upon the authority of a London newspaper paragraph, published many months ago. No proof whatever is given for the second part. Now, if it were true that the absentee Proprietors did itrage stance p him e gieat mt the taking not re- is their mtrol o^ d would rruption B further positive lischar^e account- lives pro- tinued so House of leir cons- om office )nly other ttention is I Question. •cession of nisters, to ; and the itercession legislature rietors and we should accusation* r upon the ished many the second prietors did Biography of Hon. E, Whelan. 243 exert their influence at the Colonial office, with the view of having extended to us the privileges of self government, the circumstance would have been eminently creditable to them, and would have contrasted most beautifully with the former proceeding!- of that body whose tende icy was to keep the people of tins Island in the most degrading servitude to an Oligarchic Faction. Besides it must be remembered that our party have been always heretofore regarded by our opponents as the sworn foes of the Proprietary party ; whilst those opponents were their most steadfast friend.s — that we have been censured for having incurred the enmity of the Proprie- tors, — and that we have been admonished, time after time, to make place with them, and elicit their friendly interference on our benalf. Now, if it be true that we have buried the hatchet, and smoked the pipe of peace together, why are we held up to reprobation, and marked out for derision and contumely ? What do our opponents want ? They abuse us for making war with the Proprietors, and they fly into a towering passion at the faintest indications of peace ! There is not, however, a particle of truth in the assertion as to the owners of land interesting themselves at the Colonial Office to procure for this Island Responsible Government. They are entitled to no credit for the concession, even though there were fifty London newspapers to promulgate the con- trary. That proprietary influence was brought to bear upon the subject is an undeniable fact ; but that influence was exerted with a view to wit'^'hold, not to extend, the conces- sion. I state this fact upon the best authority, and if need be, I shall be prepared to prove it. When it was known in England that his Excellency Sir Alex Bannerman was appointed to administer the Government of this Island, some of the principal proprietors of land made a descent upon the Colonial office, to urge their objections and remonstrances against the introduction of the Responsible system. One old lady — who is the owner of certain lands in this colony hi h ''J -!-i 'k 244 Biography of Hon. E. Whelan. and not unknown to our little aristocratic coterie and fair gossipping dames in Charlottetown — went so far, I believe, as to invade the private apartment of the First Minister of the Crown, to beseige his Lordship with her peculiar notions of the impolicy of, and of the mischief which would result from, a gentleman who was deemed to be an exception to nearly- all our preceding Governors, and would not therefore obs- truct the legitimate action of the people's representatives. But is not the conduct of their agents in the House of Assembly the most convincing proof that the land proprie- tors have been and are hostile to the new system of Govern- ment ? Would Mr. Douse and Mr. Yeo oppose that system if their principals in Britain were well disposed towards it. The first of these gentlemen is indebted chiefly, if not alto- gether, for his legislative position to the Kent Roll of the Selkirk Estate, he is in constant communication with the owner of that estate ; would he have dared to have opposed that master, in whose " shoes " he delignts to tread, if it were his wish that the people of this Island should have Responsible Government? As for Yeo, he knows Sir G. Seymour's opinions better than I can tell him, and he knows and must admit that Sir G. Seymour was no friend to Res- ponsible Government. Then there is Mr. Thornton, another agent, and Mr. Palmer, a proprietor to some extent, would these gentlemen likewise have opposed the measure if, as is stated, the absentee landlords had entered into a solemn league and covenant to coerce Her Majesty's Government, to consent to its adoption, and thereby secure the important advantage to themselves of having " the Land Question " for ever afterward dead and buried. The gentlemen of the Legislature, whose names I have taken the hberty to intro- duce have been at all times the unwavering advocates of Landlord claims, and the exponents of Landlord opinions ; and I must say that I think it would require more than an ordinary stretch of credulity to believe that all at once those i;i( Biography of Hon. E. Whelan. 245 gentlemen would desert their chiefs, and run counter to their opinions, especially on a question whose successful issue was to be fraught with such immense advantage to themselves — if the assertion of their allies in the press be founded in fact, — as would be the non-interference policy between the propri- etors and their tenants, it may be said that we have two land agents on our side of the House, and that they advo- cated Responsible Government under the direction of their employers. There is not an atom of ground upon which such an assumption could be raised. The gentlemen referred to are the Hon. Mr. VVarburton and the Hon. Mr. Pope. The proprietors whom these agents represent never inter- ested themselves in the politics of the Island. They are comparatively small holders, whose lands are well settled with a thriving and contented tenantry ; one resides in Ireland, the other in the United States of America — both far removed from the Colonial office, both supremely indifferent to our petty political squabbles, both confident in the honesty and ability of their agents to manage their estates, both indulgent and generous to their tenants, whose attachment they have secured, and whi>:h attachment is the best guar- antee for the security of their property, — the one having constant reason for perceiving, if his mind be at all open for enquiry, the injustice of denying to the people a proper and constitutional control over the administration of their own affairs ; the other nursed within the bosom of a " fierce democracy," his sympathy and predilections entwined with it, accustomed to regard the populace as the most essential element for all Governments, and desirous of seeing meted out to every people the fullest measure of liberty. To notice all that has been said in reference to " the Land Question," and to the dispatch from Her Majesty's Colonial Minister, dated Feb. 12th, 185 1, interdicting a recurrence to the agita- tion of escheat, is neither my purpose nor inclination. The obstructives are at this moment in search of political capital, m , 'ji % 'M ">,-' • i '^■m ' «■ . : 1 If ! i ^ ... 1 , 1 '., ' ; « 246 Biography of Hon. E. Whelan. ii ifi^- ^'t 1 '!♦ ami in pursuit of accusations against Government and the majority of the Assembly ; but if their future efforts in this laudable course be attended with no higher success than what has marked their past one, Government will have little reason to apprehend a hasty withdrawal of public confidence, and the majority of the Assembly will be troubled with few conipunctuous visitings of conscience. When we are told that the Legislature and Government are instructed or comman- ded to abandon the " Land Question," we are naturally led to enquire, what do these terms imply ? If Escheat, then our party cannot be said to have abandoned a question they never entertained, although one or two individual members of the party may have been favorable to it when it was the great question of the day. But if those who now constitute the majority of the Assembly had been at any time pledged to Escheat and abandon the measure for the sake of office, then they would not stand worse with the people than many of their opponents, who were at first the most rabid eschea- tors in the Island, — changed, if not their views, at least their conduct, and ever after abused and persecuted every one who advocated escheat, and happened to be less pliant than they were themselves. Now, if the use of the terms " Land Question " imply any measure which may be adopted by the Legislature, having a tendency to improve the condition of the tenantry, then the allegation of its abandonment instant- ly falls to the ground, for the One-Ninth Bill and the Bill relating to the Costs of Distress shew that the majority of the Assembly are disposed to subserve the interests of the Tenant. Both these measures, and particularly the first, met with no favour from the Proprietors. Indeed, it is very well known that agents and proprietors on the Island are now getting up a memorial to the Queen, praying Her Majeptv to withhold her assent from the One-Ninth Bill. But the best answer we can give to the croaking of the common enemy in reference to the Land Question is simply this : Ill Biography of Hon. E. Whelan. 247 m'^ii That if they are so mightily concerned, as they pretend to be, for the welfare of the tenants, they should forthwith pro- pound some scheme to ameliorate the condition of that class. Our opponents were for many years in possession of the Government ; throughout the whole period of their career they not only did nothing to improve the condition of ten- antry, but they virulently opposed every measure having that object in view. Where can we find a parallel for the impudence and pre- sumption of people who will charge their successors in office with not doing that which they had no inclination to do themselves ? ::i"j ' v: 5.— July 4, 1851. His Excellency the Lieutenant Governor in Council having been this day pleased to appoint me to the office of Queen's Printer, the trust with which I have been long honoured has, therefore, returned to your hands. In justice to myself I may state that the appointment was procured by no entreaty or solicitation upon my part. It has been bestowed, I presume, as an acknowledgment of my humble exertions in conjunction with those of my fellew laborers, in the Legislature, to obtain for the inhabitants of this Colony that enlarged measure of Political liberty, and that truly British control over the administration of their public affairs, which are the boast and birthright of Englishmen, and the concession of which to the other British American Colonies has been attended with the happiest results. Before many weeks you will again be called upon to exercise your elective franchise in conformity with the law ; and in doing so you will have a suitable opportunity for recording your opinions, either in favor of or against the principles upon which your Government is now conducted. As I purpose to present myself for re-election you will likewise have an oppor- ■ I '^ ' 't'Hi 'li;^ I mi I i I. 1 11 248 Biography of Hon. E. Whelan. tunity of deciding upon the merits or demerits of my past conduct, and your votes will enable me to determine whether I have pursued the course of an honest, faithful and indepen- dent representative or otherwise. I have, indeed, the pre- sumption to think that I have served you to the full extent of my ability — that I have endeavored to meet your just wishes in regard to the local wants of the District ; and taking my town long-established and well known political principles for my guidance in the discussion and settlement of public ques- tions, I have been induced to believe that those principles happily met with your entire approbation. Grateful as I am to His Excellency the Lieutenant Gov- ernor for my appointment to the office of Queen's Printer, and to the Party with which I have the honor to associate, for my elevation to a seat in the Executive Council, yet the position in which you placed me, on two occasions, as one of your representatives in Parliament, has been to me far more estimable than any honor or emolument which our Queen or her Representative could confer ; and I must confess that it is with no little anxiety I look forward to that approaching period, when I trust to be restored to that position — when our mutual confidence and good-will shall be re-established — and my debt of gratiiude to you be materially augmented. 6— Dec. 5, 1853. " Snatchers," " office hunters," were some of the terms of reproach used by the Tories toward the Liberals, while the former, during the days of Sir Donald Campbell's Government, struggled to rise above the current of public opinion, even after the Legislature had more than once declared its want of confidence in their management of public affairs. But if the Liberals sought to obtain office, they did so because the Government was mal-administered under their predecessors, and the readiest if not the only way of reforming it was to ^ Biography of Hon, E. Whelan. Ill 249 wedge out the enemies of reform ; yet in order to effect this, the popular party stooped to no meanness — practised no decep- tion — not a constituency in the Colony had their feelings out- raged nor their principles treacherously betrayed by any member pursuing a line of policy after the election different from what he promised to pursue while soliciting, cap in hand, the suffrages of the electors. The majority of the last House pursued a straightforward, firm and constitutional course ; they demanded that change to be made in the constitution of the country which they were especially directed by their constituents to advocate, and which Her Majesty's Ministers were willing to concede. Sir Donald Campbell refused his compliance, and they straightway refused him the supplies. But the Tories — too impatient to wait for the arrival of that season of the year when the Legis- lature is usually called together, without having fairly listed the country, or learned the views of Her Majesty's Ministers on the subject, and after having coaxed, wheedled or humbugged two or three of the new members to violate the promises solemnly made to their constituents — demand, on the plea of protecting the public interests and securing the independence of the Assembly, such a change in the constitution as would not only, if acceded to, compel the retirement of the present Executive Council, but necessitate the repeal of the Civil List Bill, the operation of which was conditional on the establish- ment of Responsible Government. I have long been thoroughly convinced that the leaders of the Tory party have no intention of putting their new principle in practice. The cry of securing the independence of the Assembly, which is i perfect delusion, because the Assembly is more independent under the present system than it can be under any other, originated with nobody but Duncan MacLean, who wa ited some point whence to attack the party from which he apostatized, and is seriously entertained by none but a few noodles, whose little judgment he has trepanned, and who are H i,i. ,- '• I 1:1- llfiiiii 250 Biography of Hon. E. Whelan. l!, ^! i m U i I wholly incapable of forming any correct views of state policy. Even these differ among themselves about the mode of securing what they designate the independence of the Assembly, It is sufficient, says one of these brilliant statesmen, to exclude such officers as may be engaged in collecting or expending the revenue — the Secretary and the two Crown Law officers may be continued in the Assembly without detriment to the public service — (I will not pretend to say that a very deep interest in the welfare of Messrs. Palmer, Haviland and Longworth may possibly dictate this modification) — while another of the new constitution linkers, with more seeming candour, exclaims " there must be none of the public servants in the House — if you exclude one, exclude them all." Mr. Palmer having once held the office of Solicitor General while a member c-f the House must, for consistency sake, incline to the former view of the case ; and inasmuch as Messrs. Montgomery, Haviland Longworth, Yeo, Douse, etc., found no fault with his then retaining the two positions — (some of these gentlemen being petty office-holders themselves for a time, one of them having held the sinecure of Provost Marshall, by which he pocketted ;;^i5o a year) — I presume that some regard for consistency on their part, too, will induce them io be satisfied with the exclu- sion from the Assembly of the Collector of Excise and the Treasurer, more especially as the gentlemen to be appointed to these offices have no present prospect of getting constituen* cies. The excluding public officers from the Assembly, because they m?y become minions of the Crown, and neglect the duty whicti they owe to their constituents, is so transparent a humbug that it seems a waste of lime to expose its fallacy. What motive can the Crown have in seeking to corrupt the representatives of the people ? Are the interests of the Sovereign so essentially opposed to those of Her subjects, that the former can only thrive at the expense of the latter. But even could we bring our minds to believe such a palpable untruth, it is not possible for the representative to practise with impunity P Biography of Hon. E. Whelan, 251 the smallest amount of corruption or lessen his independence, et him take what public office he may We know that under our present law no member of the Assembly can take an official employment of any note without vacating his seat. Being out, according to the doctrine of our new constitution tinkers, he must be perfectly independent, but he returns to the hustings and asks his constituents to re-elect him — thus placing in their hands not only the decision as to his fitness or unfitness for office, but the disposal of its honors and emoluments. If the electors think he has ceased to be an honest man, and can no longer be a faithful and independent representative while he remains a servant of the Crown, they will, of course, reject him, and choose some more reliable person in his place; but if they see no reason to withdraw their confidence, and they again send him to the Assembly, is there any likelihood that he will become less faithful to his parliamentary trust than he had previously been. The desire implanted in the breast of every upright public man, to secure the confidence of his constituency, and, above all, the certainty that his seat cannot be held for a longer period than four years, without submitting to the ordeal of a public scrutiny into his parliamentary conduct, will ever be the best safeguard against the vice of infidelity. But are there no other checks — no other barriers to the evil so prematurely dreaded by the blind as well as the selfish and mercenary fol- lowers of Duncan MacLean ? The office-holder in the Assembly, we may presume, is an adherent of the Government for the time being? Where is the minority ? Is it not their duty to expose his conduct whenever it happens to be fraught with prejudice to the public interest? And are the other officers of the Government and the advisers of the Administrator to peril their positions by wilfully concealing evidences of bad faith, or instances of peculation on the part of any one of their brother members ? But if the officer in question be one of those entrusted with the collection or payment of the general revenue, the ticasurer for example, in addition to all the other I Mi ■i It 252 Biography of Hon. E. Whelan. 1 1 H ! 1 ' 'I I 'W :'*. il hi 'I' m P 1 1! Il; lii checks, he is required to give security to a very large amount for the due management of the funds entrusted to his care. And he is compelled at periodical seasons to submit the cash and accounts in his office to the examination of auditors, whose political prejudices and opinions, being at variance with his own, afford the best guarantee for the diligence and impartiality of their investigation. The objection most generally urged against members of the House of Assembly taking ofRce is founded on the trite remark that *' no man can serve two masters." The use of such an objection implies that the official duties of the Representative must clash with the obligations which he owes to his constituents. I cannot believe such unfathomable stupidity finds favor in any disingenuous mind, that is at all capable of reflecting on the subject, and enlightened by information and experience. Under our constitution, government is the offspring of the popular will, and, as such, it is impossible that any of the high officials — the heads of departments, as they are usually styled — can be in a state of war with the source whence they derive their authority ; an efficient, responsible functionary and a faithless representative is an anomaly which cannot meet in the same person under the British constitution, and of which our colonial one is an imitation. It is in vain, how- ever, to quote for the edification of the blockheads who fling this absurdity in your face, the example of British statesmen. It is in vain to ask how a minister of the Crown can retain in the House of Commons, not only the confidence, but the devotion of his constituents — enjoy, at the same time, peculiar marks of the Sovereign's favor, and, while he holds in his own person one of the highest offices, be the dispenser of some of the most lucrative employments and choicest honors of the state. It is in vain to refer even to provincial history, and ask any of those drivellers to point out the public man, who, since the advent of the departmental system, has sacrificed the hopes, the wishes, or the interests of his constitutents at : amount his care, the cash auditors, variance ence and on most Assembly ' no man objection tive must istituents. 1 favor in ing on the tperience. ing of the ny of the re usually lence they inctionary 1 cannot ution, and vain, how- who fling statesmen, n retain in e, but the le, peculiar in his own )f some of lors of the istory, and man, who, sacrificed itutents at Biography of Hon. E. Whelan. 253 the shrine of power. An intriguing family compact, driven from office by the progress of reform principles, aided by scribblers who would readily forge falsehoods for any faction which would give them pay or promises of plunder, may declaim in frenzied tones and spout half drunken ejacula- tions about the malversations of officials, and the discontent of the people ; but in no instance have they established a case of ''raud against a public officer belonging to the progressive party, nor succeeded for any considerable length of time in their despicable efforts to poison the minds of the people. The obstructives in this Island are frantic with the thought that f/ieir deception has prevailed. That remains to be seenj but if any of the Districts have been grossly deceived, as sure as justice, sooner or later, overtakes the crimes of the iniquit- ous, the deceived constituencies will find a fitting opportunity to chastise the temerity of their betrayers. There is no such thing as serving two masters under responsible Government. The member of Parliament, who may be honored with an official employment, gives to his constituents, on taking office, an additional guarantee that he will labor to retain their con- fidence and promote their interests ; for when he loses the former and neglects the latter, the prospect of retaining his place becomes small by degrees, and every day beautifully less. When Mr. MacGowan consented to take the office of treasurer he was fresh from his constituents, — he knew they gave him no advice uof to take that office or any other that might be offered — (^and I do remember that he said he would be gla. to take the Road Correspondent's place if it could be had, bt luse he could transact its business in connection with the shop; — he knew what the duties of the Treasury were, namely, to keep the cash and the accounts correctly — to pay warrants, small orders, receive the duties, the fines, fees and penalties, and collect the bonds; he surely could not suppose that the performance of these duties would inter- fere with his independence, integrity, and fidelity to his 1 i • Ml i 1 ■- 'i 1 1 I li 254 Biography of Hon. E. Whelan. constituents. As I have already observed in reference to that office, he should every three months submit his accounts to the most searching audit, when not an error, involving the loss of a penny, could escape detection. How, then, was it possible for him to wrong his constituents by attending faith- fully to his official duties which concern the public welfare ; or to wrong the government, of which he would be a part, while ne and his sureties would be bound for the honest dis- charge of his duties? J have already said that I do not believe the Tories would, if they had the chance, put their new prin- ciples in practice to any extent ; but suppose they pass a Bill to allow no government officer a seat within the bar of the House, how would it work ? An honorable member cannot take the Treasury or Excise himself, but he has a cousin, or a brother, or a brother-in-law, who has no more chance of getting a cmstituency than a bishopric, and who may be in needy circumstances. The " Honourable and learned member " is solicited to use his influence with the ministers in his behalf; will there then be no consideration in the matter ? In the shape of a bonus out of the salary, or an extended credit on a treasury bond, by a convenient remissness in collecting it ; or a consideration in any other way which the cupidity of the parti .s interested might suggest ? Would the members of the assembly, thus shut out from office and honour themselves, with very honourable aspirations checked, content themselves with a paltry £30 a year, and be subject to all the annoyances and expenses of an election ? Which of them would refrai^ from doing a quiet stroke of business, just to oblige themselves and friends, and pocket a aouceur of jC^o or £$0 as a com- pensation for their trouble in getting an office for a friend in need ? Such corruption is daily practiced in the American Congress, not only with respect to the obtaining of office, but it is well known in the United States that no measure involving local or private interests will receive the concurrence of that body, unless some of its members be extravagantly bribed, thus :i1 ; to that aunts to the loss was it ig faith- welfare ; e a part, nest dis- )t believe lew prin- ass a Bill >ar of the ;r cannot iisin, or a tiance of vho may d learned ; ministers le matter ? ded credit collecting upidity of embers of lemselves, themselves nnoyances lid refrain themselve s > as a com- a friend in ; American >Bce, but it e involving ;nce of that Kibed, thus Biograiihy of Hon. E. Whelan. 255 making up by corrupt means what they lose by their ineligibility to oflRce. One good effect, however, which the full recognition of the new principle in our legislature would have, would be to keep the lawyers out of the Assembly ; for make it a rule that the Attor- ney and Solicitor Generals are to be excluded as well as others, and you may rely upon it, that the "constitutional lawyer" would forego the honour of representing that remarkably in- fluential and independent borough — the metropolis of your coun- ty — for his chance of the Solicitorship ; nor Vvoulu the honour- able members who remain behind, not to mourn his absence nor dwell with fondness on the remembrance of Ais intellectual achievements, be left to yawn and gape under the soporific and " long drawn out" eloquence of his taller brother, who, wrapped in the gown of the Attorney-General, might then de- vote all his leisure to cultivate the grand obscure in argument, and study the most approved nisi prius tricks for the edifica- tion of the "gentlemen of the jury." 7 — . April 13, 1867. An election was held in the above mentioned District, on the 17th April, 1867, to fill the seats vacated by Mr. W. E. Clarke's appointment to the collectorship of customs, and Mr.Whelan's acceptance of the office of Queen's Printer. The following card to the electors, not having then appeared in the Press, will be read with interest : — Gentlemen : — I regret that I have not been able to visit you, and thank you, personally, for your support at the last election. I have since been appointed to the office of Queen's Printer by accepting which my seat became vacant in the House of Assembly. I was nominated again, on Wednesday last, for re-election, and I hope to have the pleasure of seeing many <■ !! ' I " '' ' i' il. m ^M ' . 'I' Urn .!• 256 Biography of Hon. E. Whelan. lii £U i Hii of you, on election day, the 17th inst., at St. Peters, Morell, and the Head of St. Peter's Bay. Some of my opponents, who imagine they can succeed in their canvass against me by misrepresentation, have attempted to speculate in false statements regarding my health. It affords me great happiness to assure you that I enjoy as good health as I have done for many years, though I am suffering from a cold which winiry weather seldom fails to bring to me. Of the candidates who are asking for your suffrages, I will give you my opinion. With respect to my friend, Mr. Anthony McCormack, I will say this — that no truer Liberal could be found anywhere. He is well qualified by education and intelligence to fill the office of representative of the people j and his knowledge of the local wants of the District, which is a most essential requisite, renders him particularly worthy of your confidence and support. I unite my interests with his in the approaching contest, and I will be glad to hear of all my friends giving him their support in conjunction with myself. Mr. Wm. H. McEwen is another candidate. He repre- sents himself as a Liberal, because he knows the District is essentially Liberal, and that no candidate professing Tory principles would have the least chance of being elected. Mr. Reilly recommends him in the Herald, pretty much for the same reason ; and we may safely conclude, from his having done so, that Mr. Reilly and Mr. McEwen go hand in hand in the contest. IndeeJ, it is very well known throughout the District that Mr. McEwen and his particular friends are can- vassing for Mr. Reilly, while the friends of the latter are doing their very utmost to serve Mr.McEwen's interests. Now, where is there a particle of proof to establish Mr. McEwen's pretension to the name of Liberal ? He voted for me, I believe, once, or perhaps, twice, but it was because all his neighbors did the same, and because it was morally certain 'V in Biography of Hon. E. Whelan. 257 that I would be elected, even if he labored incessantly, day and night, to defeat me. Besides, Mr. McEwen was deeply interested in getting some of the public money laid out on a by-road leading to his own land, and I was the only mem- ber who ever gave a favorable consideration to the matter, and succeeded, from time to time, in getting a small grant of money for the road, in the hope that, in the usual way of competition, the money would find its way into the pockets of some deserving persons, and the road would, in time, become useful to the general public. Now, you all know that when Mr. DesBrisay offered as a candidate, some years ago, Mr. McEwen worked very hard for him, and presented him at one of the polling divisions. Was Mr. DesBrisay a Lib- eral then ? No, but a very determined Conservative, as he is yet, and we may well be sure that Mr. Wm. McEwen agreed with him in his political principles. Again, on another occasion, he was the warm supporter of the late Mr. Cox, in an election contest, and every one knows that Mr. Cox claimed to belong to the Conservative party, whilst it must be admitted, his great enterprise as a ship-owner and merchant, combined with many generous traits of character, endeared him to a large number of people in the District. But his politics were certainly of the Conservative stamp, and Mr. McEwen could not be a true Liberal while so actively supporting a Conservative. lam well acquainted with Mr. McEwen's opinions on the Land Question, for he did not hesi- tate to make them known to me some years ago. Mr. McEwen was a freeholder long before the Worrell estate was purchased, by means of which many of you have become very prosper- ous in your circumstances. He paid a high price — about three pounds per acre — for his land ; and when the poorer settlers on the Worrell estate obtained their lands, at prices ranging from six shillings to twelve shillings and six pence per acre, with a long term to pay for it, and a total remission of back rents, he considered that old freeholders like him K ! ,. •» 258 Biography of Hon, E. Whelan. n H H ■ %ii\ were placed at a great disadvantage by having the standard vahie of land so materially lessened, as hundreds of excellent farms, quite as valuable as his, W(':re bought at eight, ten and twelve shillings ard six pence an acre, which actually made that the value of the land. And just because Mr. McEwen had this selfish interest in view, he was opposed to the .pur- chase of the Worrell estate, and would, I feel confident, have resisted that most beneficial measure if he had been a member of the House of Assembly. If such politicians as he had their way, the Land question would remain unsettled till the end of time. Now, as for Mr. Reilly, who has given a certificate of char- acter to Mr. McEwen, I have no hesitation in saying that I regard him as my special opponent. He was actuated in the first contest by a burning desire to put me out of the repre- sentation of the District, having an eye to the Queen's Print- ership, which he thinks he may yet get if I am defeated. Wherk he found, however, at the late general election, that there was very little hope of defeating me, he professed to be opposed only to Mr. Clarke, on some frivolous pretences which he trumped up. But Mr. Clarke was an old, well-tried and faithful Liberal, and it did not say much for Mr. Reilly's pro- fessed Liberalism to act thus, especially as Mr. Clarke had been long in the field before him. There is one circumstance, however, which should have an important influence on your minds : Mr. Reilly is, like myself, a resident ofCharlottetown. Now, I believe that no country District can be fairly and faithfully represented by two town members. My experience extending over twenty years, as one of your members, does not give me sufficient knowledge of the local wants of the dis- trict to "^ay that I could attend to them as well as one resid- ing in the District, whom you are in the habit of meeting every day, and to whom your desires could be easily made known, and I do not think that Mr. Reilly could acquire the requisite knowledge of those matters any better than I have ^w^ Biography of Hon. E. Whelan. 259 idard client 1 and made Ewen ; .pur- ;,have icmber d their he end f char- that I d in the : repre- 5 Print- efeated. Dn, that ed to be |es which :ied and y's pro- ce had distance, on your )ttetown. ly and Dcrience rs, does fthedis- ne resid- meeting ily nnade quire the I have iiri done ; so that it appears to me that if we were both elected, the district would not be the better for the selection, so far as the representation of its local interests is concerned. Then, gentlemen, it will be for you to determine whether Mr. Reilly or myself should be the non-resident member. I feel confi- dent that it is not the desire of a majority of you to have two town members ; and therefore the contest must be between Mr. Reilly and myself. Mr. Reilly's canvassers, amongst other false and disreput- able means to which they resort, publicly use the name of his Lordship the Bishop of Charlottetown to influence the elec- tion in Mr. Reilly's favour, representing that worthy prelate as being especially anxious for the return of their candidate, and threatening with the displeasure of His Lordship every one who should vote against Mr. Reilly. That a threat of this nature was used among the people on Fortune Road, I have abundant evidence to prove ; and I must say it is a most dis- graceful thing to take such unwarrantable liberty with the name of the Venerable Bishop. Whatever His Lordship's private feelings may be — and it is probable he may entertain a friendly regard for Mr. Reilly, as he does for all the other candidates — he has too much good sense and prudence, and too much regard for his sacred office, to wish that his name should be publicly used in apolitical contest. He has made no public expression of his views concerning the election, in the church or elsewhere — he has not given any written certi- ficate of character to Mr. Reilly, for if he had we may be sure it would be with the view of having it published ; and I cannot see that His Lordship can have any special preference for Mr. Reilly, on religious grounds, foi McCormack and myself are Catholics as well as h:^. No one understands better than His Lordship the Bishop doe: that by embroiling himself in an elec- tion contest, where Catholics are divided in opinion, respect, ing the political merits of certain candidates, a spirit of con- tention would be aroused that would be attended with the i'l I 1 i ; !1 li> m. 260 Biography of Hon. E. "Chelan. very worst consequences to the community. Every Liberal and enlightened clergyman knows — and His Lordship well represents the most unbounded liberality of sentiment and intelligence — that undue clerical influence is very distasteful to a free people and discouraging to public liberty, while it frequently fails to accomplish the object at which it aims. In this age of progress and liberal ideas, all men are justly jeal- ous of their right to unshackled freedom of opinion respecting political affairs, and will not willingly part with that right, in mere deference to any authority. I am, therefore, convinced that His Lordship the Bishop has not authorized his name to be used in the election contest ; and those who do us6 it are doing that which is not agreeable to His Lordship's feelings. Another specimen of the falsehoods hatched and circulated to promote Mr. Ri. .y's interests is that Mr. Coles, the popu- lar leader of the present Government, is represented as using his influence on behalf of Mr. Reilly. I have Mr. Coles' own word for saying that this is a most unmitigated untruth. He assured me that he had never, up to that time, spoken with Mr. Reilly on the subject of the election, and it could not, therefore, be supposed that he was in any way cuncerned about his election prospects. Thus can falsehoods be detect- ed and exposed ; and I sincerely hope, as 1 believe, that they will fail to accomplish the object of their invention. Mr. Reilly's friends speak in loud terms about a numer- ously signed Requisition to him. I have some knowledge of such requisitions, and never had much faith in them. I know, by unquestionable evidence, that Mr. Reilly's requisi- tion is a very spurious document. It bears, in ver) many cases, the names of persons who never authorized their names to be appended to it; it bears in many other cases, the names of boys who are not qualified to vote ; and certainly boys will not be allowed on Wednesday next such a latitude as they had at the last election. The requisition also bears the names of persons who were deceived by false pretences into signing ,( ■ , i '. M Biography of Hon. E. Wlielan. 261 it, for the purpose of swelling the list of names, and thus endeavoring to make it appear that Mr. Reilly is a very popu- lar candidate. I trust and believe that the intelligent electors will not be deceived by this piece of deception, but that they will poll their votes with thatindc[)endence of which they are so justly proud, and which cannot be affected by a dirty roll of paper, hawked through the District for weeks past, and covered with fraudulent and worthless names. I send you this address because there is not time for hold- ing public meetings, nor is the weather favorable for such gatherings. I confidently hope and believe that the minds of a large majority of the electors of the District are still free from false impressions — that they will give me, as they have done for many years, their generous support, and that Mr. Anthony McCormack, the true and steadfast Liberal, without guile or hypocrisy, will also receive their support. L !■' i;,r ■ I ^ /(ill !jil"i' 262 I I'll k! ! I : Biography of Hon. E. Whelan. ELOQUENCE AS AN ART. The following correspondence explains itself : Charlottetown, January 29, 1864. Dear Sir ; — I am requested by the Committee of the " Catholic Young Men's Literary Institute " to ask if you would be willing to give up for publication the Lecture you delivered before that body on ** Eloquence as an Art," on Wednesday evening last* The object of tliC Committee in asking this favour is to afford to those who had not the pleasure of hearing the Lecture an opportunity of reading it in print ; and influenced by that motive, respectfully ask you to permit its publication in any way that may be most agreeable to yourself. I am, Dear Sir, Yours, very respectfully, W. W. Sullivan, Secretary to Institute. Hon. Edward Whelan. Charlottetown, January 30, 1864. Dear Sir ; — I beg to acknowledge the receipt of your favour of the 29th inst., kindly conveying to me the request of the Committee of the " C.Y.M.L. Institute," to have my Lecture on Eloquence, &c., printed for general persual. While I admit that the request may be easily complied with, I cannot but regret that the Lecture is not more worthy of. the consideration thus given to it. It was prepared, without much previous study, in the scant leisure hours of two days previous to its delivery. It cannot, therefore, be otherwise than very imperfect. How- ever, imperfect as it is, it may be the means of awakening pleasant recollections of Fatherland, and making Irishmen Biography of Hon. E. Whelan. 263 rejoice at the greatness and glory which illustrate the literary annals of their country ; while all who admire true eloquence, no matter what their nationality may be, cannot fail to be pleased with the extracts I have given from the speeches of Grattan and Curran, should they take the trouble to read a small and unpretending Pamphlet. With these considerations, the request of the Committee is cheerfully complied with ; and I beg you will convey to them and receive for yourself the assurance of the profound respect of Edward Whelan. Mr. W. W. Sullivan, Sec'y. C. Y. M. L. Institute. Ladies and Gentlemen — You, Mr. President, are quite familiar with the anecdote of the Roman General, who, having been sent to subdue a hostile nation, found no enemy to confront him ; but in order to con- vince his countrymen that he had really visited the land to which he had been ordered, he commanded his soldiers to fill their knapsacks with pebbles, which they found on the beach, and which were paraded as a poor substitute for the " tributaries " that should •' Follow him to Rome, To grace in captive bonds his chariot wheels. " And every one is acquainted with the less classical but no less forcible anecdote of a man, who, having a fine brick man- sion to sell, went about exhibiting a detached brick as a specimen of the whole edifice. When you have heard this Lecture you can make your choice of either anecdote — either will apply to it. To attempt to compass in a few pages, for the reading of which only an hour is allotted, a satisfactory view of the extent and richness of the annals of Irish Elo- quence, with illustrations from the same, would be no less absurd than the act of the Roman General, when he attemp- ted to convey an idea of the physical resources of an enemy's .|» 264 Biograi^hy of Hon. E. WJielan. r> ii: m;:h: > 'll country by some knapsacks of pebbles. And if you hope to obtain, in the same compass and same space of time, a view of the magnificent monuments which have been reared by Irish genius to one of the most ennobhng arts with which the Ahiiijihty has gifted mankind, so might you be able to esti- mate the value of the mansion of which a specimen brick was carried about, not in the hand, I suspect, but in the hat of the owner. Before I proceed to speak of Irish Eloquence, it may be necessary to offer a few remarks on Eloquence in general. Like the sister arts of Poetry, Music, Painting and Statuary, Eloquence of the highest order must be born with its possessor. Genuine eloquence cannot be acquired by any extent of study. Hard and persevering study will make good speakers, as it may make tolerably fair painters, singers, rhymers and sculp- tors ; but che genius which is to give immortality to a work in any department of art is alone the gift of the Almighty ; and we should be, as I hope we are, humbly thankful that this, like all other gifts of Omnipotence, is confined to no privileged class. The peasant as well as the peer may possess it ; and instances are not rare in the history of civilized nations, showing how the peasant has raised himself to the condition of the peer, by the possession of this divine power. It is not, perhaps, more than once in a generation, in any country, that a true orator, like a true poet, rises to startle and delight mankind. God, for his own wise purposes, has made the gift thus rare, because, perhaps, it is too precious to be lavished on the mass of mankinc , and because, perchance, if too general, might be used for pernicious purposes. It is, however, the duty of those who may not possess the gift of eloquence to study it carefully, in order to arrive at a correct appreciation of the art, and to be able to apply the tests by which genuine Eloquence may be detected from the spurious article which is so often palmed upon the world for the genuine, as is also the case in other departments of art. We have false coinage in Eloquence as Biography of Hon. E. Whelan. 265 we have in money, and it behoves us to be on our guard to be able to detect the ring of the true metal in either case. Eloquence — when soaring to its highest altitudes — exercises immense influence in the affairs of life. Religious, moral economical, and political questions are all vastly controlled by the breath of the orator. He who can exercise the rare gift in all its natural and majestic force may sometimes hold the destinies of empires and of individuals in his hands. His powers are enormoi's His responsibility to Society and to his Creator is equally so. It is given to him to bless or curse the sphere in which he moves — to be the benefactor or scourge of his country. Ancient and modern history presents remarkable instances of th^ power and influence of the orator in deciding the fate of nations — in sometimes plunging them into the dark abyss of war, inundating them with oceans of blood, and destroying the land-marks of peace, arts and civi- lization. And, again, the inspired lips of the orator, whose eloquence is attuned to softer and gentler chords, may win glorious chaplets to decorate the brow of the country of his love, to make its ways the ways of pleasantn'^^'s, and all its paths the paths of peace. Pulpit eloquence is always solemn and impressive. The sanctity of the place in which it is employed — the holiness of the day usually dedicated to its exercise — the alienation of the mind from earthly cares, and the contemplation of the miracles of divine love and mercy with which most Christians are occupied in listening to a good sermon — are things which give to the pulpit orator of even passable powers immense sway over the hearts of his hearers. But when the pulpit orator is one whose soul over- flows with the divine afflatus — whose lips unroll the majestic periods — " the words that glow and thoughts that burn " — which tell — as no ordinary lips could tell — the long tale of man's sinfulness and the fearful i^rice paid for his redemption — when the slumbering emotions of the hearts are stirred to their innermost depths, and hope and fear are alternately ; -. f ' f \h i ll,: ! i! I li!i <:. 266 Biography of Hon. E. Wfielan. excited — then Eloquence asserts its power as a heaven born art — then may its influence be witnessed on the hitherto obdurate heart of the sinner; or in the fiihiess, brightness and ecstacy of the visions whicli fill the lately troubled spirit tliat toileth patiently and reverently through a world, wherein h.iman sympathy lightened not its travails, but which in- dulged in dim imaginings of that distant bourne where weariness finds rest, and patient tribulation, reward. It is well, then, that we should comprehend the full extent of the tremendous power that Eloquence of the highest order can weild. And what constitutes Eloquence of the highest order? Not merely the learning of the schools — not the pedantry of the rhetorician — not the polish and grace of the courtier, or the craft of the statesman ; but the great God-like gifts of Truth and Earnestness — the self-sacrifice of a pure and lofty spirit to the cause which enlists the oratorical power. The rhetoricians define Eloquence to be " the art cT persuasion." To induce persuasion in the minds of his hearers, the orator must first convince them that he is himself in earnest — that he is truthful, to the extent of his conceptions, of the truth ; and that he is willing to sacrifice every earthly consideration for the sake of that truth. This earnestness, and truthfulness, and self-devotion, when combined with a lively imagination, a well-balanced judgment, a large ex- perience of the world, and liberal acquirements in the domain of knowledge — can never fail to make the true orator, whose impress will live forever in the country, honoured by his achievements, and be gratefully preserved in the language he has enriched. Minds so gifted and endowed are exceedingly rare, and it is only the pressure of great events which now and then forces them into notice. If asked who are the great orators of the present day, speaking the English language on both sides of the Atlantic, it would be difficult to mention the names of more than three or four that would answer the description, rt I Biography of Hon. E. Whelan. 267 lij Mm I have given. The United States of / .. ric abound with ingenious debaters — Congress has them in abundance — the Lecture Room is crowded with them — the Pulpits groan beneath the rumble of their thunder ; but the lightning of genuine Eloquence is scarcely ever visible. Since the time of Patrick Henry — who, by the way, was an Irish Orator of the purest water that first added lustre to the stars of the infant Republic — since Randolph, Clay, Calhoun, Webster and Channing — all now in the same shadowy land with Patrick Henry — the United States have not witnessed the rise of one great orator, unless we make an exception in favor of Edward Everett, whom I have had opportunities of listening to, and from all I have read as emanating from the other great men whose names I have mentioned, I do not believe he has ever come up to their standard. The Eloquence of our public men in the Colonies — and upon this point I must speak cautiously — is not certainly of a very inferior order, but it is not of the highest order — it will not give enduring fame to the history of the Colonies — it will not shed a ray of glory round their records such as the Eloquence of Curran, Grattan, Flood, O'Connell, Shiel gives to the annals of Ireland — such as the eloquence of Burke, Sheridan, Canning, and other great Irish Orators has given tj the debates of the Imperial Parliament — such as the magnificent oratory of the great Lord Chatham, and the exquisitely polished periods of Lord Bolingbroke, gave to the Parliamen- tary Eloquence of England of a bygone generation.* It is * I should not like to convey the impression that our Colonial Legisla- tures have not been, or are not yet distinguished for eloquence of a high order. In the Parliament of Nova Scotia, few men, in any country, could surpass, and not many could equal, the late James B. Uniacke, when in the full vigor of his health and faculties, about twenty years ago. He had a fine, commanding figure, and a voce of singular power, melody and sweetness. The Hon. Mr. Howe, his contemporary, his rival, and latter- ly his friend and companion in poiitical strife, was often equal to Mr. 268 Biography of Hon. E. Whelan. 1 1 a marvellous fact that in the British House of Commons at the present day — the most august assembly upon earth, in which there is more learning and genius and rank than in any othei public body of which we have any knowledge — there is not one man who rises to the dignity of oratory except Mr. Gladstone, the Chancellor of the Exchequer. To the House of Lords the same remark will, to nearly the same extent, Uniacke in glorious bursts of eloquence, and generally his superior in wit and humor, in solid argument, and in matters of detail ; but Uniaci^e was the o\^.\.or par excellence. The Hon. S, G. \V. Archil)ald, formerly Chief Justice in this Island, and in his latter years Master of the Rolls in Nova Scotia, who preceded Howe and Uniaciic in his entrance into public life, bore a very high reputation for great oratorical power. I can only remem- ber him when the '•sere and yellow leaf" had fallen on his days, and when, calm as a glorious autumnal evening, he closed a useful and well spent life. The Hon. William Young and the Hon. J. W. Johnston should not be passed over in a note of this kind. The opportunity for oratorical displays on the part of the former is now passed by — the stateliness and dignity of the Bench checks the impulse to passionate and brilliant declamation, which was felt on the floor of the House, and which often enraptured Parliament and People. The ardour of Mr. Johnston's eloquence has likewise passed away. He is not on the Bench, indeed, although 1 should be glad to see him there but he has no " foeman " in the House, in the absence of Uniacke, Ho and Young, " worthy of his steel ; " and the polished rapier, wliich he >^sed with so much effect against such valiant foes, must e'en now rust in the scabbard. The Parliament and people of Nova Scotia are, however, justly proud of his genius, and will not soon part with the recollection of the great intellectual combats in which he was one of the most prominent figures. If he was not often the victor in his contests with Uniacke, Howe, and Young, he was never daunted by their triple strength ; and to vanquish such a foe was an honor in which the three might not be ashamed to participate. I know so little of the public men of Canada and New Brunswick, that I cannot speak with accuracy as to their merits in the department of Eloquence . The two great names that occupy a high plac<; in the Canadian annals of Eloquence are Papineau, in the last, and D'Arcy McGee in the present, generation. The one is a French descendant, and tiie other an Irisiiman ; both claim Canada for their country ; and Canada has certainly no reason to be ashamed of them. BuHjraphy of lion. E. Whelan, 2G9 ' W asp\)\y. Lord Bougham and, perhaps, Lord Derby, are the only two peers whose names can be brought in competition with the Chathams or liolingbrokes of a past age, or with the Macaulays and Lyndhursts of a later day. Still, there are great debaters in both branches of the Imperial Legislature. Lord Russell cannot make so brilliant a speech as the late Lord Macaulay or as the late Lord Lynd- hurst, but he is more practical than either — he is more of a business man — the nation will listen to him for his wisdom and sagacity — for his vast experience, his knowledge of the world — and will pardon the stutter and hesitancy of his manner for the plain truths which he inculcates, and which are more valuable to the nation than the brilliant corrusca- tions which flashed from the lips of Macaulay or Lyndhurst at fitful intervals. In the House of Commons, I may point to Lord Pahr.erston as the greatest and most influential de« bater after Sir Robert Walpole that ever swayed the des- tinies of the British Empire. It is well known that he never made a speech that could be pronounced an cloijuent one in the true sense of that term ; but the greatest orators that ever adorned the House of Commons — neither Pitt, Fox, Sheridan, nor Burke — exercised so much influence and for so long a period as Lord Pahnerston. Either of these orators far transcended Palmerston in the higher modes of eloquence, — in fact, the veteran Premier could not for one moment compare with pny of them in making a brilliant speech. Sheridan and Burke charmed and delighted Parlia- ment and people by sudden bursts of great oratorical power; but their influence, or I shoaid rather say, the glamour which their genius, like a v/i/.trd's spell, spread over the nation, died away almost with the echoes of their voice ; while Pal- merston's vigorous common sense, couched in unadorned homely Saxon phiase, sinks into the minds of the people who, like himself, are bent upon practical pursuits — who could not understand or appreciate the flowing periods, the attic lilit ':U- 270 Biography of Hon. E. Whelan. I ' ¥:^ "f wit, the brilliant metaphor, the classic turn of thought with which the finished orator would embellish his discourse. I have thus hastily sketched the true character of Elo- quence and the condition in which we find it in two great branches of the human family. I have glanced at th2 United States, at the Colonies, and I have run my eye rapidly through the British Parliament. The sketch I know to be lamentably imperfect, but time will not allow me to make it better. I cannot, however, leave this branch of my subject without inviting your attention, for one moment, to the great an'", learned profession of the law in England. There is no profession in the world in which there is so much talent and learning centred as in that profession — it constantly recruits the Commons and Peerage of Great Britain, and is frequently giving valuable additions to our literature. In England its members are counted by thou- sands ; and he who attains high rank in it, where tVe number of competitors is so great, must possess extraordinary powers. Parliamentary influence or great noble connections will some- times procure a seat on the Bench for an active Barrister ; but tnere is not, perhaps, an instance upon record, except a recent one, where we have seen that great genius as an orator, combined with high integrity and legal acumen, have effected that consummation so devoutly to be wished for by all who wear the long robe. You must perceive that I allude to the elevation of Mr. Shee. He was an Irish Barrister, and a Catholic one, without any Parliamentary influence, — he had no high connections in the Peerage, and he had no pre-emi- nent claim, upon the Ministry. But the Ministry — controlling the action of the Lord Chancellor — have, for the first time, since Catholic Emancipation, paid a graceful tribute to Irish genius in the high department of Eloquence by appointing Mr. Shee to a Judgeship, and this they did without consider- ing his religion to be a disqualification. How the Orange bigots of Prince Edward Island must gnash their teeth in l;',ii' Biography of Hon. E. Whelan. 271 bitterness of soul, when they reflect that a Catholic Judge has been deemed worthy of administering law to Protestant England ! How they would fume and rage if a Catholic Barrister, supposing we had one of brilliant genius and cha- racter, were raised to the Bench in this Colony ! But this is not the point I wish to observe here. Nearly all the English papers have heartily commended Mr. Shee's appoint- ment — they praise the Ministry for this tardy act of justice; but they lament that in Mr. Shee's leaving the Bar he leaves no orator behind him ! This is a splendid tribute to Irish genius in the department of Eloquence, to say that amongst the thousands of Englishmen and Scotchmen who till the Inns of Court in England — who have access to the Parlia- ment and to the halls of the Nobility — who have rank and wealth — and who are illustrating by their learning and talents the most laborious, most abstruse and, perhaps, most useful of all the professions — a Catholic Irish Orator in a Protes- tant country is considered the only man worthy of wearing the ermined robes. But let us now turn to the country which rejoices in having given birth to the new Judge, and glance at a period when it might have been truly said she was -' Great, glorious and free, First flower of the Earth, and first gem of the Sea." The memorable year of 1782 was the golden era of Ireland's independence and prosperity. For nearly thirty years before that time, the Parliament of Ireland mointaincd a struggle, with more or less vigour, against the Parliament of England as to the right of the latter to make laws for the Government of Ireland. This assumed right was based upon a Statute passed in the reign of Henry the Seventh, commonly called Poyning's law, under which the trade and commerce of Ireland were greatly fettered. The result was, that the country was impoverished, and the Parliament of Ireland V : m ! I > 272 Biography of Hon. E. Whelan. was a mere slave to the English Minister. Irish resistance to English pretensions culminated shortly after the close of the American war. England was humbled by that war, as well as by the wars between herself and France and other European Powers. Her Army was withdrawn from Ireland, and then sprang up the most splendid organization ever witnessed in ancient or modern times — splendid because it was spontaneous, because it was an outburst of patriotism, because it was unsupported by the Crown, because it was al- ways loyal to the Crown, and because the Crown was forced to rest upon it for the defence of its authority. The Army of Cornwallis, just returned from their defeat in America, spread themselves, to a great extent, though Ireland ; and spread, likewise, the liberal opinions which they iii">bibed on this side of the Atlantic. The remnant of the army of Cornwallis became incorporated with the Volunteers of Ireland — they could not understand why Ireland should not aspire to freedom as well as America; and their enthusiasm, experience, and valour greatly served to increase the effi- ciency of the Volunteers. In the face of a great Army, thus improvised, while England was we^k, she was not able to resist the just demands of the Irish Parliament, and re- luctantly conceded legislative independence to Ireland in 1782, under which e^'ery impediment to trade and commerce was removed, and the country attained to a degree of pros- perity such as she never before or since experienced. Arts and manufactures were liberally encouraged — the most splendid edifices were erected in every city — some of the costliest public buildings in the metropolis of the Kingdom, such as the Four Courts, the Rotunda, and the Custom House in Dublin, were built during the eighteen years which elapsed between the Rise and Fall of the Irish Nation. The wealthy Nobility spent their large revenues in Dublin, and every species of art was stimulated by generous patronage. Lord Clare, who was no friend to Ireland, and who was one i I Biography of Hon. E. Whelan. 273 ance se of r, as other ;land, ever use it [jtism, k'as al- forced Army lerica, I ; and bed on rmy of ^ers of .lid not usiasm, the effi- ly, thus of those who helped to destroy her nationality, declared in one of his speeches, " that no nation on the habitable globe advanced in cultivation, commerce aud manufactures with the same rapidity as Ireland from 1782 to 1800." Another author, alluding to the marvellous mental activity which was one of the happy results of legislative freedom in Ireland, says : — " Cities, and temples, and canals, and highways, are perishable, but the fragments of the ennobled mind of a nation live on through ages, when all else has perished. We can readily imagine, indeed, how the mind of Ireland was ennobled by the radiant action of her native parliament ; how her youth prepared themselves for a distinguished man- hood in the Senate, at the Bar, or in the walks of well-fostered Science. We can imagine her classic youth of the Univer- sity, who, from drinking in 'the eloquence of Cicero or Demosthenes in the day, came to /lear eloqaence as inspiring, as lofty, and as pure, from the living lips of Grattan, Flood, Burgh, or Curran, in the evening. All that history relates of the proud and virtuous Cato was realized before his eyes in the inflexible Henry Flood ; all that is in eloquence attribu- ted to Demosthenes was realized to his ravished senses in the equally eloquent harangues of Grattan ; and Cicero found an embodiment in the philosophic and transcendent Curran. This teaching of the Irish mind produced a race of scholars, philosophers, patriots, and orators, whose brilliant track in the field of time stands out a beacon light, inviting their admiring posterity to a vigorous emulation." Sir Jonah Harrington, alluding to this period in his " Rise and Fall of the Irish Nation," says : — " The habits of com- merce and the pursuits of avarice had not, at this period, ab'iorbcd the spirit or contracted the intellect of tlie Irish people. Thatvigorous,comprehensive and pathetic eloquence so peculiar to Ireland, which grasped at once the rcaso/i and the passions, still retained its ascendency at the bar, and its Fe-cmineace in the Senate : and the Commons House of 274 Biography of Hon, E. Whclan. |. I'.t m p.. I 1 - Parliament, about the period of Lord Clare's first introduc- tion into public notice, contained as much character, as much eloquence, and as much sincerity, as any popular assembly since the most brilliant era of the Roman republic." A far higher authority than Sir Jonah Harrington depicts in more forcible and glowing language the greatness and prosperity of Ireland when the Volunteers, with arms in their hands, demanded Legislative independence and free trade, Henry Grattan, whose patriotism and genius were the chief instruments in effecting the Revolution of that time, thus bears testimony to the proud attitude of the Irish nation, contrasted with the weakness and prostration of England : — " England now smarts under the lesson of the American war ; the doctrine of Imperial legislation she feels to be per- nicious ; the revenues and monopolies annexed to it she has found to be untenable : she lost the power to enforce it ; her enemies are a host pouring upon her from all quarters of the earth ; her armies are dispersed ; the sea is not hers ; she has no minister, no ally, no admiral, none in whom she long con- fides, and no general whom she has not disgraced; the balance of her fate is in the hands of Ireland. ' You,' said the orator, addressing the Irish Parliament, on the 19th of April, 1780, in support of a motion claiming the Legislative independence of Ireland — * You are not only the last con- nection of England, you are the only nation in Europe that is not her enemy. Besides, there does, of late, a certain damp and spurious supineness overcast her arms and councils, miraculous as that vigour which has lately inspirited yours ; — for with you everything is the reverse : never was there a Parliament in Ireland so possessed of the confidence of the peojjle : you are the greatest political assembly now sitting in the world : you are at the head of an immense army ; nor do we only possess an unconquerable public force, which has touched all ranks of men like a visitation. Turn to the growth and spring of your country, and behold and admire 1 k ite m Bioyraphy of Hon. E. Chelan. 27. oduc- much enibly leplcts s and n their trade, e chief e, thus nation, land : — laerican be per- she has ; it ; her ■sof the ; she has on g con- ed; the )u,' said 19th of Icislative last con- le that is |in damp ;ouncils, yours ; there a ;e of the |sitting in 3 nor do Ihich has to the admire it ; where do you find a nation, who, upon whatevf-r concerns the rights of mankind, expresses herself with more truth or force, perspicuity or justice? no: the set phrase of . cholastic men, not the tame unreality of courc addresses, not the vul- gar raving of a rabble, but the l,i nuine speech of liberty, and the unsophisticated oratory jf a Trer nation.' " Grattan's fame as an orator rc^ s chietiy on his speeches in the Irish Parliamen.. ; and on three events m that Parlia- ment : ist. His advocacy ol free trade and a free I'arliament ; 2nd. His support of the Catholic claims to a parti' ipalion in the benefits of the Constitution ; and 3rd. His strenuous opposition to the Act of Union. For the first, nis grateful country presented him wit^h a magnificent gift of Fifty Thou- sand Pounds Sterling, which he truly said was no more than his deserts ; and for the second and third, all Irishmen, no matter whether Cath(<'ics or Protestants, who truly love their country and despise intolerance and prejudice, will forever venerate his memory. The year after the Act of Union, in 1 80 1, Mr. Grattan was elected to a seat in the Imperial Par- liament, which he held until 1820, where he signalized him- self by unwavering devotion to the cause of the Catholics ; but his eloquence did not appear to possess that force, fire and majesty which characterised it in his own country. He cer- tainly did not command in the British House of Commons anything like the influence which he exercised in the Irish House. He died in 1820, and though his health was en- feebled for several years before his death, that event was undoubtedly precipitated by his devotion to the Catholic cause. Contrary to the advice of his medical attendants, he left Ireland to attend Parliament, solely for the purpose of presenting a petition in favour of Catholic claims ; but he never survived the fatigue of the voyage. His death was regarded as a national calamity, and lamented by all ranks and conditions of men in the Empire. His remains were deposited in Westminster Abbey, at the earnest solicitation <|i ^ ^ ^ "^^r' IMAGE EVALUATION TEST TARGET (MT-3) ^ ^ v*% < s 1.0 1.1 i..^ iai28 *tt iii 12.2 ■u 140 2.0 Sii& lllii l;^ Ii4 , < 6" » ^ 3^ V^ V ^./ ^ V Photographic Sciences Corporation 33 WSIt MAIN &THIT WIUTW.N.V. I4SM (7t*)l73-4M3 ^ 6^^ 276 Biography of Hon. E. Whelan, of his English admirers, of whom Lord Brougham, who has paid an eloquent tribute to Grattan's memory, was one of the foremost. Before giving a brief summary of Grattan's intellectual character, I shall give two or three specimens of that forcible, vehement, brilliant, and antithetical style of oratory, which was altogether original with him — which has baffled imitation, and which has never been excelled in any modern assembly, nor, perhaps, by the best orators of ancient times. The first extract I shall give will be from his speech in the House of Commons, on the 19th April, 1780, wherein he admonishes his countrymen in the Irish House to cast aside the yoke ot the Imperial Parliament, and declare for Irish legislative independence : — " Do not," says he, " tolerate a power — the power of the British Parlia- Tnent, over this land, which has no foundation in utility or necessity, or empire, or the laws of England, or the laws of Iieland, or the laws o nature, or the laws of God, — do I'ot suffer it to have a duration in you'" thind. *' Do not tolerate that power which blasted you for a century, tliat power which shattered your looni; banished your manufactures, dishonoured your peerage, and stopped the growth of your people ; do not, I say, Iw bribed by an export of woolen, or an import of sugar, and permit that power which has thus withered the land to remain in your country and have existence in your pusillanimity. " Do not sufl.ir the arrogance of England to imagine a surviving hope in the fears of Ireland ; do not send the people to their own resolves for liberty, passing by the tribunals of justice and the High Court of I'arlia- ment ; neitlier imagine that, by any formation of apology, you can palliate such a commission to your hearts, sail less 10 your cliihhen, who wdl sting you with their curses in your grave for having interposed between them and their MaKer — robbing them of an immense occasion, and losing an opportunity which ,\ou did not create, and can never restore. " Hereafter, when these things shall be history, your age of thraldom and poverty, your sudden resurrection, commercial ledress, and miraculous armaiiient, shall the historian stop at liberty, and observe— thai here tlie priticipal men amongst us fell into mimic trances of gratitude— they were awed by a weak ministry, and bribed by an empty Treasury — and when Biography of Hon. E. Whelan. 277 Liberty was within their grasp, and the temple opened her folding doors, and the arms of the people c!ianged, and the zeal of the nation urjied and encouraged them on, that they fell down, and were prostrated at tlie threshold. ••I. might, as a constituent, come to your bar, and demand my lil)erty. 1 do call upon you, by the laws of the land and their violation, by the in- stiuctior of eighteen counties, by the arms, inspiration, and providence of the present moment, to tell us the rule by which we shall go — assert the law of Ireland — declare the liberty of the land. " I w"ll not be answered by a public lie in the shape of an amendment ; neither speaking for the subject's freetlom, am I to hear of faction. I wish for nothing but to breathe, in this our Island, in common with my fellow subjects, the air of liberty. I have no ambition unless it l)e the ambition to break your chains, and contemplate your glory. I never will \k satisfied so long as the meanest cottager in Ireland has a link of tlie British cliaiii clanking to his rags ; he may be naked — he shall not be in iron ; and I do see the time is at hand, the spirit is gone foith, the declaration is ])lante(i ; and though yreat men should apostatize, yet the cause will live ; ami though the public speaker should die, yet the immortal fire shall outlast the organ which conveyed it, and the breath of liberty, like the words of the holy man, will not die with the prophet, but survive him." The great error of Grattan's public life consisted in not taking a leading part in the movement for Parlia.nentary Reform, as he alone was able to do, when that measure was pressed upon the attention of the Irish House of Commons by the Armed Volunteers, with Lord Charlemont and all the leading men of Ireland at their head. Although the Irish House achieved a brilliant victory over the English Ministry, when the latter was weak, and when a sudden glow of jiatriotism was diffused through the former by the Volunteers, still the Irish House was radically corrupt and venal, and in eighteen years fell a victim to the corruptions of Lord Castlercagh and the other minions of power, (iralian saw, when it was too late, the error he committed in taking a neutral petition in the agitation for Tarliamentary Reform. This neutrality was induced by two circumstances. His great services to the nation were, for a short time, undcr- II' i!! I'ii.' =it m I' ii if li 278 Biography of ITon. E. Whelan, valued, — by one of those strange infatuations which will soiiietimes take possession of the public mind, the idol of public affection was hurled from his throne, and Henry Flood became the reigning deity. Grattan though not jealous of Flood, still felt that he was injured by the undue preference given to the latter, and left his great rival to work out Parliamentary Reform as best he might. Flood was not equal to the task, though his popularity was great, and he possessed talents of a high order. Besides, Grattan held too high an opinion of the virtue and patriotism of his countrymen in the Irish Parliament. He regarded ' e majority of the Parliament as bold and as incorruptible as himself. He viewed them from the standpoint of his own excellence ; and in this he was greatly deceived. Had the Parliament been reformed, when the Convention of Armed \'uluntecrs demanded it — when the British Ministry dreaded it, as the crisis of the peaceful revolution of 1782* — when Parliamentary Reform could have been accomplished through the genius, energy and courage of Grattan, some of the l)rivate friendships of that great man would have remained unbroken — the Rebellion of 1798 might have been averted ; and certainly the Parliament of Ireland would have been purged of the venality which gnawed into its vitals, — no English Minister could purchase it, and no Union would have been effected. * The Right Hon. Charles James Fox, who was in the Government of England at tlie time, was greatly excited at the attitude presented by tiie li i>h \'olunteeri in their demand for Parliamentary Reform. He knew that it was in i/wir power to accomplish the cb)tct in view if the leaders of the peojile were thoroughly united. In writing to the Irish Viceroy of that day, he says: — "I want woids to express to you how critical, in the genuine sense of the word, I conceive the present moment to be ; if the \ lunteers will not dissolve in a reasonable time, Government, and even the name of it, must be at an end." I have not space for a detail of the events thus briefly Biography of Hon. E. Whelan. 279 noticed. The Act of Union met with the unqualified oppo- sition of Grattan on all occasions. In sickness or in health his courageous and eloquent voice was raised against it. His patriotism never shone more brightly than it did in his strug- gles against the Union. Neither the frown of the Minister nor the insolence of Power, nor the infirmity of body, ever prevented him from denouncing the measure as suicidal to the liberties of his country ; but, on the contrary, his elo- quence glowed and sparkled under ministerial opposition — his courage, in the possession of which quality no man was his superior, rose with the great occasion ; and if apparently docile in the absence of a foe — gentle always to those who enjoyed his affections, simple as a child in the domestic circle, playful as a boy to those who knew him well and could appreciate the outpourings of an undefiled heart, — yet he v^as fierce as ;i lion, and more unconquerable than one, when the whole phalanx of the English and Irish Ministry assailed him. In one of the debates on the Union question he was very violently attacked by a member of the Irish Government, Mr. Chancellor Corry, and he replied in the following strain of invective, the most scathing and eloquent ever uttered : — I" ■if "Has the gentleman done? Has lie completely done? He was un- parliamentary from the beginning to the end of his speech. Tliere was scarce a word that he uttered that was not a violation of the privileges of the House ; but I did not call him to order — why? l)ecause the iimittd talents of sonie men render it impossible for them to be severe without being unparliamentary. But Ijefore I sit down I shall show him how to be severe and parliamentary at the same time. On any other occasion I should think myself justifiable in treating with silent contempt anything which might fall from that honorable member; but there are times when the insignificance of the accuser is lost in the magnitude of the accusation. I know the ditficully the honorable genthman labored under when he attacked me, conscious that, on a comparative "lew of our characters public and private, there is nothing he could say that would injure me. The public would not believe the charge. I despise the faUehooil. If \V ii I;! 280 Biography of Hon. E. Whelan. such a charge were made by an honest man, I would answer it in the manner I shall do before I sit down. But I shall first reply to it when not made by an honest man. *' The right honorable gentlemen has called me * an unimpeached traitor.' I ask, why not ' traitor,' unqualified by any epithet ? I will tell him ; it was because he dare not. It was the act of a coward, who raises his arm to strike, but has not the courage to give the blow, I will not call him villain, because it would be unpailia- mentary, and he is a privy councillor. I will not call him fool, because he happens to be Chancellor of the Exchequer. But I say he is one who has abused the privilege of parliament and freedom of debate to the utttr- ing of language, which, if spoken out of the House, I should answer only with a blow. I care not how high his situation, how low his character, how conlemptible his speech ; whether a privy councillor or a parasite, my answer would be a blow. He has charged n)e with being connected with the rebels : the charge is utterly, totally, and meanly false. Does the honorable gtnlleman rely on the report of the House of Lords for the foundation of his assertion ? If he does, I can prove to the committee there was a physical impossibility of tiiat report being true. But I scorn to answer any man for my conduct, whether he be a political coxcomb, or whether he brought himself into power by a false glare of courage or not. I scorn to answer any wizard of the Castle throwing himself into fantas- tical aiis. But if an honorable and independent man were to make a charge against me, I would say : ' You charge me with having an inter- course with the rebels, and you found your charge upon what is said to have appeared before a committee of the Lords. Sir, the report of that committee is totally and egregiousiy irregular.' " The :ight honorable meml)er has told me I deserted a profession, where wealth and station were the reward of industry and talent. If I mistake not, that gentleman endeavo'cd to obtain those rewards by the same nitans ; bu*. he soon deserted the occupation of a barrister for those of a parasite and pnnder. He fled from the labor of study to flatter at the tnble of the great. He found the lord's parlor a better sphere for his exertions than the hall of the Four Courts; the house of a great man a more convenient way to power and to place ; and that it was easier for a statesman of middling talents to sell his friends, than for a lawyer of no talents to .<;ell his clients. •* For myself, whatever corporate or other bodies have said or done to me, I from the bottom of my heart forgive them. 1 feel I have done too Biography of Hon. E. Whelan. 281 much for my country to be vexed at them. I would rather that they should not feel or acknowledge what I have done for them, and call me traitor, than have reason to say I sold them. I will always defend myself against the assassin : but with large bodies it is difTerent. To the people I will bow : they may be my enemy — I never shall be theirs. " At the emancipation of Ireland, in 1782, I took a leading part in the foundation of that constitution, which is now endeavored to be destroyed. Of that constitution I was the author ; in that constitution I glory ; and for it the honorable gentleman should bestow praise, not invent calumny. Notwithstanding my weak state of body, I come to give my last tcstiiuony against this Union, so fatal to the liberties and interests ol my country. I come to make common cause with these honorable and virtuous gintlemen around me ; to try and save the contilution ; or, if not to save the con- stitution, at least to save our characters, and remove from our graves the foul disgrace of standing apart while a deadly blow is aimed at the independence of our country. " The right honoiable gentleman says I fled from the country after excit- ing rebellion, and that I have returned to raise another. No such thing. The charge is false. Tlie civil war had not commenced when I left the kingdom ; and I could not have returned without taking a part. On the one side there was the camp of the relx;l ; on the other, the camp of the minister, a greater traitor than that rebel. The stronghold of the constitu- tion was nowhere to be found. I agree that the rel)el who rises against the govetnnient should have suffered ; bteachment or trial : I dare accusation. I defy the honorable gentleman ; I defy the government ; I defy their whole phalanx ; let them come forth. I tell the ministers I will neither give them quarter nor take it. I am here to lay the shtittered remains of mv constitution on the floor of this House in defence of the liberties of my > untry." Another beautiful passage on the Union question I cannot forbear reading. Eloquence, poetry, passion, patriotism, are all combined in it : — " The constitution may be /or a time so lost : the character of the country canmt l)e lost. The ministers of the crown will, or may perhaps at lenuth find that it is not so easy to put down for ever an ancient and respectable nation, by abilities, however great, and by power and by cor« ruption, however irresistible ; liberty may repair her golden l)eams, and with redoubled heat animate the country ; the cry of loyally will not long continue against the principles of liberty ; loyalty is ii noble, a judicious, and a capacious principle ; but in these countries loyalty, distinct from liberty, is corruption, not loyalty. " The cry of the connection will not, in the end, avail agamst the prin- ciples of lil)erty. Connection is a wise and a profound policy; but con- nection without an Irish Parliament is connection without its own principle, without analogy of condition, without the pride of honor that should attend it ; is innovation, is peril, is subjugation — not connection. " The cry of disuflection will not, in the end, avail against the principles of liberty. "Identification is a solid and imperial maxim, necessary for the pre- servaliun of fieedom, necessary for that of empire ; but, without union of hearts— with a separate government, and without a separate parliament, identification is extinction, is dishonor, is conquest — nut identification. " Yet I do not give up the country : I see her in a swoon, but she is not dead : though in her tomb she lies helpless and motionless, still there is on her lips a spiiit of life, and on her cheek a glow of beauty^ " Thou art not conquered ; beauty's ensign yet Is crimson in thy lips and in thy cheeks. And death's pale flag is not advanced there." BBPWWW Biography of Hon. E. Whelan. 283 While a pinnk of the vessel sticks together, I will not leave her. Let the courtier present his flimsy sail, and carry th° liuht bark of his f lith with every new breath of wind : I will remain anchored here with fidelity to the fortunes of my country, faithful to her freedom, faithful to her fall." Grattan's Philippic against his former friend Flood has been often quoted, as a masterly display of oratorical power. I do not believe that anything equal to ^,t has been ever uttered ; certainly it would be difficult to hnd any composi- tion in the English language so severe and cutting. The Irish House of Commons permitted Mr. Flood to make a most ungenerous attack on Mr. Grattan, in which the latter- was denounced as " a mendicant patriot," who, having been provided for by the nation, sold his country to the Govern ment " for prompt pay ; " the House could not, therefore, refuse to bear Mr. Grattan in reply, and he was only too glad to avail himself of the opportunity thus afforded, and which he had artfully provoked. I will read a short extract from his speech : — '* But it is not the slander of an evil tongue that can defame me. I maintain my reputation in public and in private life. No man, who has not a bad character, can ever say that I deceived ; no country can call me a cheat. But I will suppose such a public character. I will suppose such a man to have existence ; I will begin with hit character in his political cradle, and I will follow him to the last state of political dissolution. «« I will suppose him, in the first stage of his life, to have been intemper- ate ; in the second, to have been corrupt ; and in the last, seditious : that, after al^ envenomed attack on the persons and measures of a succession of viceroys, and after mi^ch declar ation against their illegalities and their profusion, he took office, and became a supporter of Government, when the profusion of ministers had greatly increased, and their crimes multiplied beyond example; when your money bills were altered without reserve by the council; when an embargo was laid on yon. export trade, and a war declared against the liberties of America. At such a critical moment I will suppose this gentleman to be corrupted by a great sinecure office to muzzle his declamation, to swallow his invectives, to give his assent and vote to the ministers, and to become a supporter of Government, its measures, its embargo, and its \mcrican war. I will suppose that he was :• .«• *'1I liili 284 Biography of Hon. E. Whelan, suspected by the government that had bought him, and in consequence thereof, that bethought proper to resort to the arts of a trimmer, the last sad refuge of disappointed ambition ; that, with respect to the constitution of his country, that part, for inftance, which regarded the mutiny bill, when a clause of reference was introduced, whereby the articles of war, which were, or hereafter might be, passed in England, should be current in Ireland without the interference of her Parliament; when such a clause was in view, I will suppose this gentleman to have absconded. But a year and a half after the bill had passed, then I will suppose this gentleman to have come forward, and to say , that your constitution had lieen destroyed by the perpetual bill. With regard to that part of the constitution that relates to the law of Poynings, I will suppose the genlL-man to have made many a long, very long, disquisition before he took office, but, after he had receivad office, to have been as silent on that subject as before he had been loquacious. That, when money bills, under color of that law, were altered year after year, as in 1775 ^"'^ 'T/^* ^'^'^ when the bills so altered were resumed and passed, I will suppose that gentleman to have absconded or acquiesced, and to have supported the minister who made the alteration ; but when he was dismissed from office, anil a member introduced a bill to remedy this evil, I will suppose that this gentleman inveighed against the mischief, against the remedy, and again^^t the person of the introducer, who did that duty which he himself for seven years had abandoned. With resjiect to that part of the constitution which is connected with the repeal of the 6th of George the First, when the adequacy of the repeal was debating in the House. I will suppose this gentleman to make no kind of objection ; that he never named, at that time, the word renunciation ; and that, on the division on that subject, he absconded ; but> when the office he had lost was given to another man, that then he came forward, and exclaimed against the measure ; nay, that he went into the public streets to canvass for sedition, that he became a rambling incendiary, and endea- vored to excite a mutiny in the volunteers against an adjustment lietween Great Britain and Irelr^nd, of liberty and repose, which he had not the virtue to make, and against an administration who had the virtue to free the country without buying .he members. " With respect to commerce, I will suppose this gentleman to have supported an embargo which lay on the country fcr three years, and almost destroyed it ; and when an address in 1778, to open her trade, was pro- pounded, to remain silent and inactive ; and with respect to that other other part of her trade, which regarded the duty on sugar, when the mer- chants were examined in 1778 on the inadequate protecting duty, when the Biography of Hon. E. Wlielan. 285 inadequate duty was voted, when the act was recommitted, when another duty was proposed, when the bill returned with the inadequate duty was submitted, when the altered bill was adapted, on every one of those ques- tions I will suppose the gentleman to abscond ; but a year and a half after the mischief was done, he out of office, I will suppose him to come forth and to tell his country, that her trade had lx:en destroyed by an inadequate duty on English sugar, as her constitution had lieen ruined by a perpetual mutiny bill. With relation to three-fourths of our fellow-subjects, the Catholics, when a bill was introduced to grant them rights of property and religion, I will suppose this gentleman to have come forth to give his negative to their pretensions. In the same manner I will suppose him to have opjiosed the institution of the Volunteers, to which we owe so much, and that he went to a meeting m his own country to prevent their estab- lishment ; that he himself kept out of their associations : that he was almost the only man in this House tliat was not in uniform ; and that he never was a volunteer until he ceased to be a placeman, and until he became an incendiary. " With regard to the liberties of America, which were inseparable from ours, 1 will suppose this gentleman to have been an enemy dctiiled and unreserved ; that he voted against her lil)erty ; and voted, moreover, for an address to send 4,000 Irish troops to cut tiie throats of the Americans; that he called tliese butchers 'armed negotiators,' and stood with a metaplior in his mouth and a bribe in his pocket, a champion against tiie rights of America, tlie only hope of Ireland, and the only refuge ol' the liberties of mankind. •'Thus defective in every relationship, whether to constitution, com- merce, toleration, I will suppose this man to have added niticli private improbity to public crimes; that his prr)l)ity was like his patriotism, and his honor on a level with his oath. He loves to deliver panegjrics on himself. I will interrupt him, and say: Sir, you are much mistaken if you think that your talents have been as great as your life has been reprehen- sible ; you began your parliamentary career with an acrimony ami [crson- ality wliich could have been justified only by a supposition of virtue ; after a rank and clamerous opposition you became on a sudden si/i-h/ ; you were silent for seven years; you were silent on the greatest questions, n-al you were silent for money ! In 1773, while a negociation was pending to sell your talents and your turbulence, you absconded from your duty in parlia- ment, )i)\\ forsook your law of I'oynings, you forsook the questions of econoiuy, and abandoned all tiie old themes of your former declamation ; you were not at that period to be found in the House ; you were seen, like m ,!i i 'li it ' 1 -f 286 Biography of Hon. E\ Whelan. a guilty spirit, haunting the lobby of the Hoi"^ of Commons, watching the moment in which the question should be put, that you might vanish; you were descried with a criminal anxiety, retiring from the scenes of your past glory ; or you were perceived coasting the upper benches of this House like a bird of prey, with an evil aspect and a sepulchral note, medi- tating to pounce on its quarry. These ways — they were not the ways of honor — you practised pending a negotiation which was to end either in your sale or your sedition ; the former taking place, you supported the rankest measures that ever came before Parliament — the embargo of 1776, for instance. ' O fatal embargo, that breacii of law and ruin of com- merce I ' You supported the unparalleled profusion and jobbing of Lord Ilarcourt's scandalous ministry — the address to support the American war — the other address to smd 4,000 men, whom \ou had yourself declared to be necessary for the defence of Ireland, to tight against the liberties of America, to which you had declared yourself a friend ; — you. Sir, who delight to utter execrations against the American commissioners of 1778, on account of their hostility to America ; — you, Sir, who manufacture stage thunder against Mr. Lden, for his anti-American principles ; — you, Sir, whom it pleases to chant a hymn to the immortal Hampden ; — you, Sir, approved of the tyranny exercised against America; — and you, Sir, voted 4,000 Irish troops to cut the throats of the Americans fighting for their freedom, fighting for your freedom, fighting for the great principle, — liberty ; but you found at last (and this should be an eternal lesson to men of craft and cunning), that the King had only dishonored you ; the Court had bought but would not trust you ; and having voted for the worst measures, you remained for seven years the creature of salary, without the confidence of Government. Mortified at the discovery, and stung by dis- appointmer.t, you betake yourself to the sad expedients of duplicity ; you try the sorry game of a trimmer in your progress to the acts of an incen- diary ; you give no honest support to the Government or the people ; you, at the mo>t critical period of their existence, take no part, you sign no non-consumption agreement, you are no volunteer, you oppose no perpetual mutiny bill, no altered sugar bill ; you declare that you lament that the declaration of right should have been brought forward ; and observing, with regard to prince and people, the most im.partial treachery and deser- tion, you justify the suspicion of your Sovereign by betraying the Govern- ment, as you had sold the people ; until at last, by this hollow conduct, and for some other steps, the result of mortified ambition, being dismissed, and another person put in your place, you fly to the ranks of the volun- teers, and canvass for mutiny ; you announce that the country was ruined Biography of Hon. E. Whelan. 287 by other men during that period in which she had been sold by yoi'. Your logic is, that the repeal of a tleclaratory law is not the repeal of a law at all, and the effect of that logic is, an English act affecting to emancipate Ireland, by exercising over her the legislative authority of ihe lintish Parliament. Sucli has been your conduct, and at such conduct every order of your fellow-subjects have a right to exclaim I The merchant may say to you — the constitutionalist may say to you— the American may say to you — and I, now say, and say to your beard : Sir, yuu are not an iiunest man." Flood made a feeble attempt at a reply to this speech, and then left the House. Grattan was already absent, and it was apprehended that a duel would ensue. Both members were, however, taken into custody, and bound over to keep the peace ; and no evil results followed. The language used by both members, in this great contest, was, in the highest degree, unparliamentary — that is, considering what is or what is not " parliamentary," according to the interpretation at present put upon parliamentary precedents. If, in our apology for a Parliament, one member said against another anything half so severe as Flood said against Grattan, or Grattan said against Flood, there would be a tremendous uproar about " breach of privileges ;" and the Sergcant-at- Arms would be seen flourishing his white stick over the of- fending member, at the dictation of an arbitrary and con- ceited majority, who would not be considered worthy to tie the latchets of the shoes of either Grattan or Flood. Mr. Grattan pays a high tribute to the memory of his rival, whom he survived, in the following paragraph, which occurs in a jjamphlet addressed by him in reply to some publica- tions that emanated from Lord Clare on the Union ques- tion : — " Mr. Flood, my rival, as Lord Clare's pamphlet calls him, had faults / but he had great powers, great public eftect ; he persuaded the okl, he inspired the young ; put into his hand a distaff, and, like Hercules, he made sad work of it ; but give him the thunilerbolt and he h.id the arm of a Jupiter ; he misjudged when he transferred himself to the Englisli I'arha- III Hi ii tl !• ;l! IV I I i I '■1 I' 288 Biography of Hon. E. Whelan. m ment ; he forgot that he was a tree of the forest, too old to be transplan- ted at fifty ; and his seat in the British Parliament is a caution to the friends of union to stay at home, and make the countiy of their birth the seat of their action." Mr. Grattan's wn experience, as a member of the British Parliament, gave a sad verification to the truth of the remark contained in the last part of this quotation. From whati have written, . nd from the extracts I have read, you can now form some estimate of Grattan's style of eloquence. His reported speeches have been long the theme of admiration with scholars, commentators and poets. They all agree in placing him in the first rank as a cultivator of that Art which he so nobly practised for the glory and liberty of his country. As a pure, disinterested, unselfish patriot, he had no superiors in any age or country ; — for courage, for virtue in all its godlike shapes, he stands likewise unsurpassed. ..\nd as to his eloquence, it is not my own opinion I shall offer, but the opinions of others, to shew that he had scarcely a rival and no victor in ancient or modern times. " Of all the great Parliamentary orators," says one of his biographers, " whose speeches have been pre- served, those of Grattan are most, worthy of peru.sal by the reflective and the studious. The speeches of Pitt and Sheri- dan read in the study as so much rhetoric : Fox's orations are the massive remains of a wonderful debater : the purposes of the hour — the interests of his party — occupy too large a space in all his speeches, which, after all, were 'made to be spoken, and not to be read.' Burke had two distinct styles — one grave and didactic, as in his American speeches, which are spoken essays, when he wearied his hearers though he delighted his readers. In the other style he was diffuse, and essentially rhetorical. But Grattan blended two styles into one, and dazzled those who listened to him, while he spoke so as to instruct even posterity. He was never surpassed for the union of philosophical principles and oratorical Biography of Eon. E. Whelan. 289 tors," pre- the Sheri- aiions 3ose3 uge a to be styles which gh he , and iS into spoke passed ^torical I energy." Lord Brougham, who is a great authority on eloquence, says : " No orator of his age is his equal in the easy and copious flow of most profound, sagacious and liberal principles, enunciated in terse, and striking, but most appro- priate language." Sir James Mcintosh, a great scholar, a fine speaker, and no less celebrated in the walls of literature than Brougham, thus speaks of Grattan : " When the illus- trious dead are gathered in one tomb, all national distnictions fade away ; and not even the illustrious names of Burke and Wellington were more certainly historical than that of Grat- tan." '* More than any Irish patriot of his age, Grattan was cautious as to the means he employed. It was not enough to have glorious ends — he strenuously insisted throughout his life on the necessity of worthy means. His moral character stands out in prominent relief amidst the venality and selfishness of his contemporaries." The great reformer and philan- thropist, Wilberforce, said of him ; — " I never knew a man whose patrio- tism and love for his country seemed completely to extinguish all private interests, and to induce him to look invariably to the public good." One short extract, full of eloquence, pathos and beauty, from the pen of the Rev. Sidney Smith, one of England's greatest ornaments in literature, and one of the truest friends that mankind ever had — and I shall conclude this imperfect sketch of Grattan. Alluding to the vile slanders against the people of Ireland by their English persecutors and oppressors, the Rev. Sydney Smith exclaims : " Thank God that all is not profligacy and corruption in the history of .at devoted people — and that the name of Irishman does not always carry with it the idea of the oppressor or the oppressed — the plunderer and the plundered— the tyrant or the slave. Great men hallow a whole people, and lift up all who live in their time. What Irishman does not feel proud that he has lived in the days of Grattan ? Who has not turned to him for com- fort from the false friends and open enemies cf Ireland ? Who did not remember him in the days of its burnings^ and wastings, and murders ? No Government ever dismayed him — the world could not bribe him — he thought only of Ireland — lived for no other object — dedicated to her hia T R :t' li 290 Biography of Hon. E. Whelan, beautiful fancy, his elegant wit, his manly courage, and all the splendour of his astonishing eloquence. He was so born and so gift< d, that poetry, for- ensic skill, elegant literature, and all the highest attainments of human genius, were within his reach ; but he thought the noblest occupation of a man was to make other men happy and free ; and in that straight line he went on for fifty years, without one of his side-look, without one yielding thought, without one motive in his heart which he might not have laid open to the view of Gt'd and man. He is gone ! — but there is not a single day of his honest life of which every good Irishman would not be more proud than of the whole political existence of his countrymen — the annual betray- ers and deserters of their native land." George the Fourth visited Ireland in 1821. The Irish peo- ple, in one of their fits of :nadness to which a mercurial race is subject, abased their high spirit and almost worshipped the brainless and licentious despot. No English monarch ever received such an ovation in Ireland as '• The fourth of the fools and the despots called George ; " and I venerate the memory of Byron for having lashed our countrymen for their servility on that occasion, as he does in his inspiriting poem of the " Irish Avatar," in which he alludes to the genius of Grattan, as a great man who could not stoop to worship a worthless lump of clay like George the Fourth. " Ay roar in his train 1 let thine orators lash Their fanciful spirits to pamper his pride — Not thus did thy Grattan iniligiianlly flash His soul o'er the freedom implored and denied. Ever glorious Grattan, the best of the good ! bo simple in heart, so sublime in ilie rest — With all which Demostlieiies wanted, endued, And his rival or victor in all he possessed. Ere Tully arose in the zenith of Rome, Though unequalled, preceded, his task was begun ; But Grattan sprang up like a god from the tomb, Of ages the hrst, last, the saviour, tiie One ! With the skill of an Orpheus to soften tlie brute ; With the fire of Prometheus to kimlle mankind — Even Tyranny, listening, sate melted or mute. And Corruption shrunk scorched from the glance of his mint'." ■iUlH Biography of Hon. E. Whelan. 291 CURRAN. have left myself scarcely any time to speak of Curran whose character I intended to sketch in connection with the subject of eloquence, of which he was as much a master in his own peculiar line as Grattan. Curran was no statesman like Grattan, nor did he ever distinguish himself in Parliament as an orator, though he always ranked himself on the popular side. His patriotism was as unselfish and incorruptible as that of any other man of his time ; and his courage prompted him to overleap every obstacle, and to treat even with scorn and aension the bayonets of the British soldiery presented to his breast, when the Law Courts were crammed with the armed myrmidons of the Castle, to overawe the eloquent advocate while vindicating the cause of truth, justice and mercv in the persons of the unfortunate victims of English misrule,'placed upon their trials for high treason. Confronting the armed mercenaries on one occasion in the four Courts, while in the midst of a burst of passionate eloquence, Curran said • "You may assassinate, but you shall not intimidate me." The Law Courts during the prosecution of the State Trials, which urew out of the conspiracy of what was called the United Irishmen and which precipitated the unfortunate rebellion of 1708-' were the theatres of his great achievements. In fact his whole public life centred in those trials. They left 1 i m leisure for Parliamentary displays, even if he had the taste for \^1ZT7 ^"^' V"' '" ^^'"^^^ ^"^ •-'"-'^^•-^ -^fitted him or Parliament. He was not capable of grasping economic details, and dealing wi:h dry acts of Parliol.ent. But wITen an „,nocent man was doomed to legal assassination through the villainy and perjuries of a hired informer-whore he saw i ;iti 1/ 292 Biography of Ron. E. Whelan. the liberties of his country cloven down through organized rascality hounded on by Government — where he saw the very fountains of justice poisoned at their source — there was Cur- ran unsurpassed for boldness, eloquence, integrity and patriotism. But his speeches on such occasions, says his biographer, " will for ever remain less as models of eloquence than as examples of patriotism and undying exhortations to justice and liberty." Yet where, in all the range of printed oratory, can we look for more eloquent and spirit-stirring passages than some of his speeches on the State Trials will supply? Several of the speeches delivered on those trials were suppressed by the Government. Those which are preserved to us cannot be inferior to any that are lost. Though Curran never wrote his speeches before delivery, and took very meagre notes of what he had to say, they read throughout like the most finished compositions, perfect and compact in all their parts. For the greac speech in defence of Hamilton Rowan which has been always admired, he had only a few disjointed catch words, such as " Liberty of the Press," " Volunteers," and " Catholic Emancipation," and on these topics he poured out a flood of eloquence " unapproached," says a high author- ity, " by anything in Cicero or Erskine." I must advise you to read that speech wherever you can find it, and, indeed, to read all Curran's speeches on the State Trials ; but as we all cannot have the benefit of their perusal, I must solicit your patience, while I read one short passage, which, though often recited at Debating Societies, will never lose its freshness and relish any more than if it were the finest poem in our Ian- gauge. *' This paper, gentlemen, insists upon the necessity of emancipating the Catholics of Ireland, and that is charged as part of the libel. If they had waited another year. If they had kept this prosecution impending for another year, how much would remain for a jury to decide upon, I should be at a loss to discover. It seems as if the pro- gress cfpuHic information was eating away the ground of the prosecu- Biography of Hon. E. Whelan. 293 tion. Since the commencement of the prosecution, this part of the libel has unluckily received the sanction of the legislature. In that interval our Catholic brethren have obtained that admission, which, it seems, it was a libel to propose ; in what way to account for this, I am really at a loss. Have any alarms been occasioned by the emancipation of our Catholic brethren ? has the bigoted malignity of any individuals been crushed ? or has the stability of the government, or that of the country been weakened; or is one million of subjects stronger than four millions? Do you think that the be'iefit they received should be poisoned by the sting of vengeance ? If you think so, you must say to them — * You have demanded emancipa" tion, and you have got it ; but we abhor your persons, we are outraged at your success, and we will stigmatise by a criminal prosecution the adviser of that relief which you have obtained from the voice of your country.' I ask you, do you think as honest men, anxious for the public tranquility, conscious that there are wounds not yet completely cicatrized, that you ought to speak this language at this time, to men who are too much disposed to think that in this very emancipation they have been saved from their own parliament by the humanity of their Sovereign ? Or do you wish to prepare them for the revocation of these improvident concessions? Do you think it wise or humane at this moment to insult them, by sticking up in a pillory the man who dared to stand forth as their advocate ? I put it to your oaths ; do you think that a blessing of that kind, that a victory obtained by justice over bigotry and oppression, should have a stigma cast upon it by an ignominious sentence upon men bold and honest enough to propose that measure ? to propose the redeeming of religion from the abuses of the church, the reclaiming of three millions of men from bondage, and giving liberty to all who had a right to demand it ; giving, I say, in the so much censured words of this paper, " universal emancu'ATION I" I speak in the spirit of the British law, which makes liberty commensurate with and inseparable from British soil ; which proclaims even to the stranger and tlie sojourner, the moment he sets his foot upon British earthi that the ground on which he treads is holy, and consecrated by the genius of UNIVFRSAL EMANCIPATION. No matter in what linguage his doom may have been pronounced ; no matter what complexion, incompatible with freedom, an Indian or an African sun may have burnt upon him ; no matter in what disastrous battle his liberty may have been cloven down ; no matter with what solemnities he may have been devoted upon the altar of slavery : the first moment he touches the sacred soil of Britain, the altar and the god sink together in the dust ; his soul walks abroad in her own majesty ; his body swells beyond the measure of his chains, that burst from Ji 294 Biography of Hon, E. Whelan. around him ; and he stands redeemed, regenerated, and disenthralled by the irresistible genius of universal emancipation." The following short passage on the liberty of the press is far superior to the eloquent and often admired remarks o» Sir James Mcintosh, on the same subject, in the famous libel case at the suit of Napoleon Bonaparte. Curran's tribute to the liberty of the press — the great bulwark of Jl other liberty — has never been surpassed for eloquence, spirit, grace and beauty of composition, as well as for the lessons of wisdom which it imparts to rulers and ruled in every land : — " What then remains ? The liberty of the press ott/y — that sacred palladium, which no influence, no power, no minister, no government, which nothing, but the depravity, or folly, or corruption of a jury, can ever destroy. And what calamities are the people saved from, by having public communication lell open to them ? I will tell you, gentlemen, what they are saved from and what the government is saved from ; I will tell you also to what both are exposed by shutting up that communication. In one case, sedition speaks aloud and walks abroad : the demagogue goes forth— the public eye is upon him — he frets his bus - hour upon the stage ; but soon either weariness, or brilje, or punishment, or disappointment, bears him down, or drives him off, and he appears no more. In the other case, how does ihe work of sedition go forward ? Night after night the muffled rebel steals forth in the dark, and casts another and another brand upon the pile, to which, when the hour of fatal maturity shall arrive, he will apply the torch. If you doubt of the horrid consequence of suppress- ing the effusion even of individual discontent, look to those enslaved countries where the protection of despotism is supposed to be secured by such restraints. Even the person of the despot there is never in safety. Neither the fears of the despot, nor the machinations of the slave, have any slumber — the one anticipating the moment of peril, the other watching the opportunity of aggression. The fatal crisis is ecjually a surprise upon both : the decisive instant is precipitated without warning — by folly on the one side or by frenzy on the other ; and there is no notice of the treason, till the traitor acts. In those unfortunate countries — one cannot read it with- out horror — there are officers whose pro' ince it is to have the water which is to be arunk by their rulers sealed up in bottles, lest some wretched mis- creant should th'ow poison into the draught. «' But, gentlemen, if you wish for a nearer and more interesting example» Biography of Hon. E. 'Chelan. 295 Lplei you have it in the history of your own revolution. You have it at] that memorable period when the monarch found a servile acquiescence in the ministers of the folly — when the liberty of the press was trodden underfoot — when venal sherili's returned packed juries, to carry into effect those fatal conspiraces of the few against the many — when the devoted benches of public justice were filled by some of those foundlings of fortune, who, overwhelmed in the torrent of corruption at an early peiiod, lay at the bottom, like drowned bodies, while soundness or sanity remained in them ; but, at lenjjth, becoming buoyant by putrefraction, they rose as they rotted, and floated to the surface of the polluted stream, where they were drifted along, the objects of terror and contagion, and abommation. ♦' In that awful moment of a nation's travail, of the last gasp of tyranny, and the first breath of freedom, how pregnant is the example ! The press, extinguished, the people enslaved, and the prince undone. As the advo- cate of society, therefore — of peace — of domestic liberty — and the lasting union of the two countries — I conjure you to guard the liberty of the press, that great sentinel of the ^tate, that grand detector of public imposture ; guard it, because, when '\. .nks, there sinks with it, in one common grave the liberty of the subject, and the security of the crown." There is another speech I should Hke you ali to read — it is especially worthy of the consideration of every one who has an interest in seeing villainy exposed, truth and Justice vindi- cated — for the young barrister it is a model upon which too much study cannot be employed — and for mankind it is something to make them proud by the reflection that the human intellect is able to achieve such triumphs as it ex- hibits. Forensic eloquence never attained loftier heights than It did in Curran's speech on the trial of Peter Finnerty. A man named Orr was convicted of high treason en the most outrageous perjured evidence. The Jury, after the verdict, sent in a written instrument, declaring that several of their body had been made drunk, and they know not what they did when they agreed to a verdict of guilty. The Vice- regal Court was petitioned, under these circumstances, to exercise the prerogative of mercy on behalf of Orr, and for a time delayed his punishmeni. But the vampires of the Castle thirsted for the blood of the innocent man, and he was \\\ 296 Biography of Hon, E. Whelan, executed. Peter Finnerty, printer of a paper called the Press, published a strong remonstrance against the Govern- ment for this act of cruelty, and he was prosecuted for libel. On the trial the Government made no attempt to deny the facts of the case ; — it was clearly proved that Orr was judicially murde-ed, and his murderer was an infamous wretch of an informer, who was afterwards hung himself, named Jemmy O'Brien ; but the Government rested its case on the ground that publications such as Finnerty's were calcu- lated to bring the Administration into contempt. Thank God we live in a time when such a plea would be of no avail. When a Government gets into contempt by its own folly, or treachery or tyranny, all the world now recognizes the pro- priety and necessity of an honest and independent Press ex- posing it. Curran got his brief in Finnety's case only a few minutes before it was called on ; he had no time for prepara- tion ; but the speech delivered by him on that occasion was the ablest ever made by any advocate. He himself preferred it to all his other efforts ; and although authors often greatly err in their opinions of their own works, as, for example, Milton, when he preferred Paradise regained to Paradise Lost, Curran's preference in this case has been justified by the judgment of contemporaries and critics. One author says, speaking of this speech : *' His account of the duties of a public writer deserves to be the very Bible of the Press, it heroically directs and so wisely justifies them, and his narra- tive of Orr's fate goes on so tenderly, so gently, so grandly, — that one hardly knows whether to admire its sagacity, pause upon its lavish beauties, or weep over its sorrows. It is the lament of an angel." No other country in the world has suffered so much from the infamy of the Informer as Ireland did during the troubled period of what is commonly called the Rebellion of '98, but which, as Grattan truly described, was not so much the rebellion of the people against the Government as the rebellion of the Government against the people. Biography of Eon. E, Whelan, 297 The Informer was the chief instrument of Government in all Its prosecutions against the unhappy victims of misrule ; he was, m most cases, the shadow of the hangman, for when he made his appearance in the witness box, the hangman was considered to be close at hand. It is not possible to con- ceive that amongst the demons of the infernal regions there was such a concentration of v.'Uainy, ruffianism and cold- blooded cruelty, as the Government Informer i)resented in his own person, and Curran has depicted his hideous char- acter m colors which can never perish :_ " The traverser has charged the Government with the encouragement of mformers. This, gentlemen, is another small fact that you are to deny at the hazard of your souls and upon the solemnity of your oaths. You are, upon your oaths, to say to the sister rountry, that the Government of Ireland uses no such abominable instrument of destruction as informers Let me ask you honestly, what do you feel. When m the face of this audience you are called upon to give a verdict that every man of us, and every man of you know, I.Li r f'TT^^^^""' ''^'' ^y^^' to be utterly and absol utely false? I speak not now of the public proclamation for informers with a promise of secrecy, and of extravagant reward. I speak not of the fate of those horrid wretches Who have been so often transferred from the table to the dock, and from the dock to the pillory; I speak of what your eyes have seen, day after day, during the course of this commission from the box where you are now sitting, the number of horrid miscreants, who acknowledge upon their oaths that they had come from the seat of Government, from IvLr/^ chambers of the Castle, where they had been worked upon, by fear of death and the hope of compensation, to give evidence against their fellows ; that the wholesome and mercitul councils of this Government are holden ovgr these catacombs of living death, where the wretcli that s buried a man lies till his heart has time to fester and dissolve and IS then dug up a witness. ''Is this a picture created by a hag-ridden fancy, or is it a fact? Have you not seen him, after his resurrection from .nnnT°1 t ^^^^ v"^ corruptioh, make his appearance upon the table, the living image of life and of death, and 298 Biography of Hon. E. Whelan. the supreme arbiter of both ? Have you not marked when lie entered how the stormy wave of the multitude retired at his approach ? Have you not seen how the human heart bovv'ed to the supremacy of his power, in the undissembled homage of deferential horror? how h.s glance, like the lightning of heaven, seemed to rive the body of the accused, and mark it for the grave, while his voice warned the devoted wretch of woe and death, — a death which no innocence can e^)cape, no art allude, no force resist, no antidote prevent. There was an antidote — a juror's oath ; but even that ada- mantine chain, that bound the integrity of man to the throne of eternal justice, is solved and molten in the breath that issues from the informer's mouth ; conscience swings from her moorings, and the appalled and affrighted juror consults his own safety in the surrender of his victim. ' Et quae sibi quisque timevat, Unius in miseri exitium conversa tubere.' " Informers are worshipped in the temple of justice, even as the devil has been worshipped by Pagans and savages, — even so, in this wicked country, is the informer an object of judicial idolatry — even so is he soothed by the music of human groans, — even so is he placated and incensed by the fumes and by the blood of human sacrifices. " Give me leave to put another point to you — what is the reason that you deliberate — that you condescend to listen to me with such attention ? Why are you so anxious, if, even f.om me anything should fall tendering to enlighten you on the present awful occasion ? It is because, bound by the sacred obligations of an oath, your heart will not allow you to forfeit it. Have you any doubt that it is the object of O'Brien to take down the prisoner for the reward that follows ? Have you not seen with what more than instinc- tive keenness this blood-hound has pursued his victim? how he has kept him in view from place to place until he haunts him through the avenues of the court to where the unhappy man stands now, hopeless of all succour, but that which your verdict shall afford. I have heard of assassination by sword, by pistol and by dagger, but here is a wretch who would dip the Evangelists in blood; if he thinks he has not sworn his victim to death, he is ready to swear, without mercy and without end; but oh 1 do not, I conjure you, suffer him to Biography of Hon. E. Whelan. 299 of take an oath ; the hand of a murderer should not pollute the purity of the Gospel ; if he will swear let it be on the kni/e, the proper symbol of his profession." I must now close, but it is with some reluctance, the very imperfect sketch of Curran. Another night will come, I hope, when I shall again have the honor of speaking to you on Irish eloquence, and it is not likely the name of Curran will be allowed to pass in silence. He must be a cold Irish- man who is not proud of him, — proud of his great name — proud of the monuments which he has given to the forensic eloquence of his country, more enduring than brass or marble. " His life was full of labor, daring, patriotism and love. He shrunk from no toil, and feared no peril for country and fame and passion. He was no pedant, — good by rule or vicious by calculation. He strove, because he felt it noble and holy and joyous to be strong, and he knew that strength comes from striving. He attained enormous power — power of impassioned eloquence, and he used that power to com- fort the afflicted, to guard the orphan, to rescue his friend, and avenge his country. A companion unrivalled in sym- pathy and wit ; and an orator whose thoughts went forth like ministers of nature, with robes of light and swords in their hands ; a patriot who battled best when the flag was trampled down, and a genuine, earnest man, breathing of his climate, his country, and his time. His countrymen should study what he was and did, and his country guard his fame." The study of the actions of great men is one of the most ennobling of pursuits. Few can hope to be great or noble by intellect or wordly rank, but all may be good, all may be useful members of society, according to tlieir opportunities, and this goodness and usefulness may be stimulated and encouraged by learning how other men triumphed over difficultiiis — how they won honour, and fame, and riches by self sacrifices, by devotion to the interests of mankind, and by a proper use of the great powers with which God had endowed them. Long- fellow, the American poet, puts this thought in very beautiful lines : — I 300 Biofjraphy of Hon. E. WJielan. *' Lives of great men all remind us We can make our lives sublime, And, departing, leave behind us Foot-prints on the sands of time." The Irish people — and it is one of th; most bsiutiful traits in their chxracter — are peculiarly tenacious in cherishing the memory of their great men — no matter whether they were dis- tinguished on the battle field, in the Senate, or in the walks of Literature. The "dim, religious light" which fame sheds upon the achievements of their poets, orators and warriors, of a bygone age, is far more precious to them than the glare and grandeur of the present hour ; and the farther the object of their adoration is removed from them by the lapse of time, the more fervently their affections entwine it, and the more roman- tic are the visions which bathe it in the attractive hues of beauty and excellence. This propensity of the Irish mind, to recall and dwell with fondness on departed glory, is finely illustrated in Moore's melody, " Let Erin remember the days of old," which she is never likely to forget. " When her Kings, with standard of green unfurled, Led the Ked Branch Knights to danger. Ere the emerald gem of the western world Was set in the crown of a stranger." And then the poet recalls the tradition about Loch Neagh, which was supposed to have been originally a fountain, but by a sudden overflow, inundated the surrounding country, bury- ing under its limpid waves roimd towers and other monuments of ancient art : — " On Loch Neagh's banks, as the fisherman strays, When the clear, cold eve is declining, He sees the round towers of other days In the waves beneath him shining. Thus will memory often, in dreams sublime. Catch a glimpse of the days that are over, And, sighing, look down through the waves of time For the long faded glories they cover." I Biography of Hon. E. Whelan. 301 I have been looking down " through the waves of time " for the monuments of an art far grander than that which gave round towers to Ireland, but I am afraid that you will say that my time has not been much better employed than that of the fisherman on the banks of Loch Neagh. -^.o^ ■%-■ ,