CANADA
UNDER THE
ADMINISTRATION
Of
LOED LOENS.
looses' €aiuibiaii^ationitl §encB
I. CANADA UNDER THE ADMINISTRATION OF
THE EARL OF DUFFEIjlIN. By Geo. Stew-
art, jr.
II. THE LIFE AND TIMES OF THE RIGHT HON.
SIR JOHN A. MACDONALD. By J. E. Collins.
III. CANADA UNDER THE ADMINISTRATION OF
LORD LORNE. By J. E. Collins.
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ROSES' CANADIAN NATIONAL SERIES III.
A ]Sr A D A
UNDEK THE
ADMINISTEATION
OP
LOED LOENE
BY
J. E. COLLINS,
AUTHOR OF "the LIFE AND TIMES OK THE RIGHT HONOURABLE SIRJOUN A.
MACDONALD.
KOSE PUBLISHING COMPANY
MDCCCLXXXIV.
SOLD BY SUBSCRIPTION ONLY.
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TORONTO.
CANADA FAPKR OO.'s PAPER.
Montreal and Toronto.
MR. GRiEME MERCER ADAM
GAVE TO MB, WITH GENEROUS KINDNES8,
INDISPENSABLE HELP WHEN I WAS ENTEKING THE CALLING
or LITERATURE,
IMD TO OOMVEY SOITB TOKEN OF MY PERSONAL
GRATITUDE,
Ae WELL A8T0 BEAR TESTIMONY TO HIS UNTIRING ZEAL IN
STRIVING TO FORWARD THE CAUSE OF OUR
WRETCHED CANADIAN LITERATURE,
I DEDICATE TO HIM
THE AUTHOR.
PREFACE.
-•■•♦-
T HAVE not withheld approval from Lord Lome through
-*■ these pages wherever I believed that he was entitled to
approbation; but no one must regard as toleration of the office,
occasional admiration of the officer. If in his personal respon-
sibility the Governor-General does well, he merits our approval
and regard, and it would be unjust to lay upon his shoulders
the reproaches which belong to the system of which he is
only the creature. I need hardly say here — for I reiterate the
sentiment in my pages — that it is the dut}' of every thinking
Canadian who has an atom of self-respect to join hands and
strive without pause or faltering till foreign importation to
the office of our governorship has come to an end. So long,
however, as we are satisfied with the domineering superstition,
so long would it be a great pity that the desirable change
should come.
As for the political opinions expressed in this book, T have
only to say that anyone who could give his allegiance to party,
in view of the many cases of public infamy that have recently
come to light, must either lack a perception of right, or be him-
self dishonourable. Our system of government — and this is a
sad admission for a Canadian who has no interest in either side
X PREFACE.
to make — has now become the most painful spectacle known to
us. The tetters which bind our parties grow stronger ; and from
day to day the partizan teaches himself to look less beyond the
circle that bounds him. It is in deference to the needs of such a
hard-and-fast combination that men stoop to actions which, if
done in private life, would bring upon them the reproach and
scorn of every upright man. In the preface of a book is not the
place where these pitiable occurrences could be discussed with
satisfaction, but, as a case in point, let me refer to that most
odious plot to defeat the Ontario Ministry disclosed in Toronto
a few daj's ago. Deeper and deeper are we sinking in the
mire of public evil-doing; within the parties that we have
there is to be seen no hope ; and the few honest men that we
possess among the politicians have lost heart. Most of the
elders among our public men have become hardened in oflfence,
seeking only to forward personal ends, careful only to conceal
their methods ; and the rectitude which the younger ones
exhibit diminishes from year to year by force of the influences
suirounding them and by the inexorableness with which the
leaders demand allegiance. If there are among us, then, any
men who sincei'ely love their country they must see that the
time is now come for them to enter the field and stem the
forces that have degraded, and that threaten to overwhelm,
the public life of the country. In a Third Party alone
is there salvation : not a third party upon a sheet of foolscap,
or in the ante-room of a lecture hall, but in a party led by a
body of strong, honest, patriotic men, who are conversant with
the evil methods which party has made its own, who will
appeal to the intelligence and the moral sense of the country,
PREFACE.
XI
and who will organize themselves in every Province of the
Dominion. If such a combination come forward, depend upon
it they shall not long lack a powerful following. Men too long
galled by the party bridle, and grown sick of the mire in which
their masters have for so many years compelled them to walk,
will leave the traces ; opinion which refuses fealty to either side
now will surround them with enthusiasm, and there will be
found in the next parliament a body of representatives sitting
between the two factions^ potent enough to thwart any evil
projected by the stronger, and that will in the near future see
disappear from the scenes a school of politicians which, not-
withstanding its abilities and its service to Canada, has long
degraded public life, and exercised the power in its hands to
further personal and unworthy ends.
I ought not to close without expressing my obligations to
Mr. Henry J. Morgan for the value that has been to me that
most excellent year-book of his, the Dominion Annual
Register, in recording and discussing the political and social
events of Lord Lome's administration.
THE AUTHOR.
Toronto, 20th April, 1884.
CONTENTS.
CHAPTER I.
I'AGE
The Landing at Halifax— Reception there -Something about a Governor-Gen-
eral's Oath— DeHcription of the Westmorland Marshes and of the Valley
of the Metapedia— Reception along the Route and Arrival at the Capita
—The Attempt to Eclipse the Three Tailors 25
CHAPTER II.
History and Discussion of the Letellier Difficulty .56
CHAPTER III.
The Dominion Parliamentary Session of 1879 -Trade with France and Spain
—Do the Functions of a Speaker of Parliament cease with the Dissolu-
tion of a Legislature whose mouthpiece he is?— Appointment of Queen's
Counsel— The Sabbath Question- Adoption of a National Policy— Acqui-
sition of the North-West Territories— Sale of Alaska— National Currency
—General Elections in Provinces— Remarkable Events of the Year— Pro-
minent Dead— The " Great Seal " Case lOo
CHAPTER IV.
Political Record of 1880— Creating Money with a Political Wand -The High
Commissionership— A Deceased Wife's Sister— Relief for Ireland— An-
nexation of the North Pole— The Fisheries Award— Change of Reform
Leadeis— The Fortune Bay Discussion— Remarkable Oc .ences and
Trials of the Year— The Prominent Dead — Riots in v^uebec— Bishop
Fabre's Pastoral 142
xiv ^ :. CONTENTS. v ",
CHAPTER V.
PAOK
The Canada Pacific Railway—Oounting the Exodus : The Story of the Per-
sian Factions — Canadian- Asiatic Telegraph Scheme— The Death Roll-
Mercer Escheat Case— Loss of the Victoria— Dltiner to Mr. Goldwin
Smith — Bush Fires in Western Ontario— Odds and Ends 176
CHAPTER VI.
Record of 1882-Sir Charles Txipper and the Hon. A. W, McLelan- Sir
Richard Cartwright and Sir Leonard Tilley showing Opposite Sides of the
Shield— Sir Charles Tupper seeks to explain away the Coal Tax — Sir
Sir Charles' unfortunate collusion ivith Mr Onderdonk — The Civil Ser-
vice System — Police and the Tribes in the North-West — Censure of a
Militia Officer- The "Gerrymander" — The Costigan Irish Resolutions —
Mr. Blake's Resolutions on Treaty-making — The Chinese — Affirmation
instead of Formal swearing — The Eve of the General Election and its
Noises and Political Changes— An unsuccessful Minister and the Fish-
eries Question— A few Characteristics of pro-election tactics — Mr. Chap-
leau on our " Emancipation "—The " Boom "—The " Third Party " by
Mr. McMurrich— The Convention in Shaftesbury Hall — "Marmion" —
Politics in the Provinces — Regina vice Pile of Bones— Holocaust in an
Aaylum and its lessons — The Notable Dead— Odds and Ends 201
CHAPTER VTI.
Record of 1883 - Opening of Last Session of Lord Lome's iJegrimc— Various
Events of the Early Session — The Charybdis— Mr. Charlton's Seduction
Bill— Mr. Shakespeare and the Chinese again— The Ontario Boundary-
Address from Parliament to the Governor-General — Sir Charles Tupper as
Master and Servant — Canada at the International Fisheries Exhibition —
Forestry in Ontario — Lord Lome's attitude towards Public Questions— The
" Author's views on Party Questions— Newfoundland, and Mr. T. B.Brown-
ing's Papers on that Colony — Odds and Ends 279'
CHAPTER VIII.
Private and Social Record of Their Excellencies— Rideau Hall and its Envi-
ronments — Ottawa in Winter- Society at the Capital— The State Balls—
CONTENTS, XV
PAOK
Tobogganing— Various movements of Their Excallencies : Fishing, Visit-
ing the Provinces, etc, — The Accident to Her Royal Highness— His Lord-
bhip's Visit to the North-West— Salmon Fishing on the Cascapedia— Mr.
F. A. Dixon's Farewell Verses — Lord Lome's Successor ."07
CHAPTER IX.
Literature of the period, and some preliminary comments thereupon— Special
reference to some extraordinary writing, by Mr. J. G. Bourinot— The
Royal Society, and acme undisguised references thereto— Odds and Eads. . 3.S7
CHAPTER X.
Canadian Sports — Notable points of Scenery — And some Native Pictures —
Outing in Canada ; Sugar-making ; Harvesting among the Habitants ;
Skating ; Tobogganing ; Snow-shoeing ; Cricket ; Lacrosse and Baseball
— What their Excellencies did for Art in Canada— Odds and Ends 378
APPENDIX.
Chief Speeches delivered by Lord Lome while in Canada— Some Cane.dian
Lyrics by His Lordship — A Record of the Expedition of the Canadian
Lacrosse Team to England, and a History of Lacrosoe 405
CANADA
UNDEK THE ADJIINI8T11ATI0N OP
LOED LOENE.
CHAPTER I.
THE ARRIVAL IN CANADA.
rrHE glory had gone out of our forests, and our days were
T
dreary and chill, when the Sarmatian, bearing the new
governor-general and his wife, held her way up the harbour
of Halifax, and east anchor among the stately ships of war that
swung from slack cables at their mooring-ground. The morning
of November 25th, 1878, will long be remembered in the stolid
old garrison city. Strangers from all parts of the Dominion
had continued to pour in for many days before the vice-regal
arrival, and thesa with throngs of expectant citizens in full
holiday attire as the forenoon advanced had gathered about
tiie spot chosen for disembarkation. Those who find a symr
pathy between the elements and human affairs were not
surprised that on this auspicious morning the sun burst trv-
umphantly through the pall of dun clouds that had brooded
over the city for so dreary a space before. The tumult of com*
B
26 THE ADMINISTRATION OF LORD LORNE.
■
merce was hushed, warehouse and workshop were closed, and
citizens of all grades thronged the streets in holiday apparel.
From sunrise till noon the air was full of the music of num-
erous bands that marched through the streets, and the city
waved with Hags. A brisk breeze sprang up with the early
morning and purged the harbour of fogs, revealing the entire
North-American squadron of British men-of-war, and a largo
number of merchant vessels, fluttering gaily in bunting. About
half-past ten the Sarmatlan weighed anchor and steamed
slowly up the harbour. The six war-ships in port were drawn
out in double line, and, as the Sarmatlan passed, each vessel
fired a royal salute which was taken up by the batteries at
Mount Pleasant, York Redoubt, and St. George's Island. At
half -past one the Sa,rmatian pulled down tho royal standard,
which almost instantly was flung in silk from the flag-staff of
the Duke of Edinburgh's barge. Then the blue-jackets sprang
into the rigging and swarmed upon the yards, after which the
naval procession formed with tht regularity of an imposing piece
of machinery. The barge of the flagship Bellerophon, com-
manded by Admiral Inglefield, took the lead, and was followed
by that of the Black Prince, commanded by the Duke of Edin-
burgh. The latter barge, in which sat the governor-general and
the princess Louise, was convoyed by a double line of galleys.
Through the thunders of a royal salute hurled from the warships,,
and the smoke that fell in sullen banks upon the water, the ]>ro-
cession moved briskly shoreward, while the air was boisterous-
with the cheering of the thousands gathered near the landings.
The disembarkation was made with pompous form, and as the
distinguished pair touched foot on the richly- carpeted passage
THE A RRl VA L IN CANADA. / 27
leadinij up from the lauding, the great guns in the citadel be-
gan to boom, announcing that the event of tlie day had been
consummatod, A group of pretty young women met the prin-
cess as she stepped on shore and presented her with a bunch
of flowers ; but more pleasing to the hidy than the floral tribute
must have been the delicate roses in the maidens' cheeks, bom
of our wholesome Cana^lian clime. Having received th(^ greet-
ings of the naval and military authorities, lieutenant-governor
Archibald, Right Hon. Sir John A. Macdonald, Dr. Tupper,
Hon. J. C. Aikins, Hon. James Macdonald, Hon. L. R. Masson,
Hon. Mackenzie Bowell, Hon. L. F. G. Baby, Hon. W. B. Vail,
Senators Botsford, McLelan, Mayor Tobin of Halifax, and
others, were informally presented to their excellencies. Close
pursued by the crowd which maintained a perpetual cheering-
din, the party passed through the city and halted at the provin-
cial buildings. Here, in the as.sembly room, the oath of office
was administered to his Lordship by the acting honourable
(now Sir) Chief Justice Ritchie ; and at the close of the cere-
mony the pealing of bells from every city steeple, and the
booming of seventeen guns, announced that Canada's new
governor-general had been installed.* The closing sentence
• The foUowinsj w the oath of oflSca subscribed to by the Marquis : " I, Sir John
Douijlas Sutherland Campbell, commonly called the Marquis of Lome, do swear
that I will be faithful and bear true allegiance to Her Majesty Queen Victoria, and
will defend her to the utmost of my power against all conspiracies and attempts
whatever which shall be made against her person, crown or dignity, and I will use
my utmost endeavours to disclose and make known to her majesty, her heirs and
survivors, all treason and treacherous conspiracies which may be formed against
her or them. And I do faithfully promise to maintain, support and defend to the
utmost of my power, the succession to the crown, .vhich succession by an Act en-
titled " An Act for the limitation of the crown and better securing of the rights
and liberties of the subject," is, and stands limited to the Princess Sophia, Electress
28 THE ADMIMSTIUTION OF LORD LOllNE.
of the oath has the flavour of the olden days : " And I
do declare that no foreign prince, person, prelate, state or
potentate hath or ought to have any jurisdiction, power,
superiority or authority, gubernatorial or spiritual within the
realm ; and I nuike this declaration upon the true faith of a
christian. So lielp me God." The burthen of this scare-crow
clause, for it will be seen that it is in part a recommendation,
nut an ol)ligation, is an ( fhcial repudiation of popery; and
.several Roman catholics duly appreciating the insult, and
totally misunderstanding the force of the proviso raised a loud
cry against " intolerance " and " partiality." Strange to say
there is no anti-witch clause in the oath, though it is well-
known that there is in the written English law unrepealed
provision fur the suppres.sicn of all old women convicted of
blasting oi- otherwise devili.shly injuring by dark arts either
man or beast, or of " witching a chuin or dairy pan." The
curfew, also, if the writer is not mistaken, still exists in the
(statute leaves, though as will be seen in the text of the oath
there is no provision for putting out fires at any stated hour in
tlie governor's charter. Sensible people will therefore only
laugh at the provision against the papacy, as they do at the.
measures for the circumvention of witches ; but they will not
be able to believe that that watchfulness which keeps such a
corpse above ground now, is either wisdom or good taste. This
of Hanover, and the heirs of her body, being protestants, hereby utterly renouncing
and abjuring any obedience or allegiance unto any other person clairoing or pre-
tending a right to the crown of this realm. And I do declare that no foreign prince,
person, i)relate, state or potentate, hath or ought to have any jurisdiction, power,
superioiity or authority, gubernatorial or spiritual within the realm, and I make
this declaration.upon the true faith of a christian. So help rae God."
THE A RRI VA L IN CA AM DA. 29
is an asfo of enli^'htcnmont and lihjrby ; it is not an ago of
persecution and creeds. But while there is the ridiculous side
to the let,'islation against " foreign " ecclesiastics, there is the
genuine rack and thutnb-screw air about tlio asseveration,
" on the true faith of a Christian." To tliis writer it seems as
intolerable and as unjust to require the pledge, " on the true
faith of a Christian," as on the true faith of an episcopalian, or
on the true faith of a methodist. The candidate for gover-
norship may be a Jew, or a Buddhist, or he may not find him-
self able to believe that there is a God ; but if he be a good
man, a wise man, a just man, why ought such a balief or dis-
belief disable him for office ? But that levity is out of place
in the face of intolerance so primeval it could be asked, what is
there more reasonable in the text than to swear "on the true
faith of a dark-haire<l man ? "
When his excellency had put his signature to the oath
Judge Ritchie addressed him, and among other injunctions
imposed this one : " You shall well and truly execute the office
and trust of governor-general of Canada, and the territories
extending thereon, and diilij and imiyiHlaUjj administer jus-
tice therein. So help you God." Now under responsi^^le gov-
ernment the country is ruled by party, and the governor is
guided by the advice of partisan ministers ; so that to swear
him under such conditions to " duly and impartially adminis-
ter justice " is to assume that he must lack either conscience or
opinion. For if he have a conscience, and at the same time
hold tlie opinion that the request of his councillors for, say,
the dismissal of lieutenant-governor Letellier is unjust, then
it becomes his duty either to dissuade his ministers from their
30 TEE ADMINISTRATION OF LORD LORNE.
design, to dismiss the said advisers, or to resign himself. There
is nothing so sacred to mankind as justice, nor anything higher
in heaven ; and to deliberately swear the executor of a partisan
will to do in all party concerns the just thing is either to lowly
appraise the rectitude of the man or the value of the oath. It
is humanly impossible that one endowed with moderate intelli-
gence and judgment who comes to a ruling place without party
predilection can always, in his inner self, believe that every-
thing his advisei's recommend is right, when nearly half the
country continues to cry out that it is wrong. The conserva-
tive party declared that they believed the nianner of readjust-
inor the Dominion electoral districts in Ontario to be wise and
just ; Mr. Gold win Smith an accurate observer and an original
thinker, and one who is not tied to any political division,
but who is supposed generally to have private preferences
for the conservative party, declared that the manner of read-
justment was " a blunder as well as a crime ; " while the re-
form party almost to an individual declared that the " gerry-
mander" was the foulest and most unscrupulous attempt to
thwart the people's will ever known in the country's history.
Perhaps Lord Lome, who is most unquestionably as conscienti-
ous, as scrupulous and as high-minded as any viceroy known to
Canada, was of the opinion that the re-adjustment proposed by
his advisers was just and not counter to public morality; per-
haps he believed, after his gallant and, let us say, conscientious
effort to save L^tellier had failed, that it was just to dismiss
that lieutenant-governor ; but if there be a quite different
perhaps let it go to prove, to the shame of all who have ever
allowed themselves to complacently contemplate the spectacle,
THE ARRIVAL IN CANADA. 31
the incompatibility of duty bounded by the strait-jacket of an
oath and function where the will and the judgment are re-
moved from the head to the piloted hand.
Immediately on the close of the ceremony Sir John Mac-
donald and the other ministers made their obeisance, after
which Mr. Tobin, mayor of Halifax, advanced and read an ad-
dress of welcome to the governor and the princess, to which
his lordship replied as follows : —
" I thank you, as the representative of Her Majesty the
Queen, and in her name, for the loyal words contained in your
address which express well the sentiments of devotion to her
throne and person which have ever characterised the people of
the provinces of Bi'itish North America, and which, I am per-
suaded, are nowhere more fully felt and more universally shared
than in this city, the capital of the ancient colony of Nova
Scotia. Your community has been, I may say, already long as-
sociated with the history of the family of our Gracious Sove-
reign, for it was here that H. R. H. the Duke of Kent passed
many years of a soldier's life. It is to your city that two of
his grandchildren come to-day. You have with you, I regret,
for only a very short time the prince who has made the
honoured profession of a seaman that in which in every quarter
of the globe he has already had an opportunity of serving Her
Majesty. He has already visited North America, and let us
hope that when he again comes, the occasion may be made then
more auspicious by the presence of Her Royal Highness the
Duchess of Edinburgh. In no part of the British Empire are
the perils and honours of the naval profession better understood
than on the shores of Nova Scotia, for here, although much at-
32 THE ADMINISTRATION OF LORD LORNE.
tenfcion is given to the successful cultivation of the land and to
the miner's art, the dangers of the sea are braved as on the
coasts of the other maritime provinces of this country by thou-
sands of intrepid seamen ; its pathless fields are made the high-
ways of commerce by your hardy sailors, its wealth gathered
by your gallan* fishermen, and the arts of navigation are fami-
liar to many amongst your population. Although sons of vhe
Sovereign have before this day visited these shores this is the
first occasion on which a daughter of the reigning house has
seen the new world, I rejoice that the princess lands upon
this continent among a people so loyal and thoroughly worthy
of the British name as are the inhabitants of this famous colony^
and I speak but feebly for her when I say that she is much
moved by the kindness of your welcome. (Applause.) For
my own part I thank you for the flattering manner in which
you have spoken of my acceptance of this high ofKce, and I
can only hope that I shall in some measure be able to follow
in the footsteps of your late governor- general. I shall, at all
events, always entertain the greatest solicitude for the welfare
and the interest of these provinces. Let me add, in conclusion^
that the congratulations you have addressed to us, the earnest
and enthusiastic loyalty shown in our reception make the day
on which we enter your noble harbour — the hospitable and
ever-open gate of your province, and of the wide Dominion be-
yond — a day to remain long in grateful remembrance. And I
assure you we consider ourselves most fortunate in having cast
in our lot with so generous, warm-hearted and devoted a peo-
ple." (Hearty applause.)
THE ARRIVAL IN CANADA. 8?
In the evening a lev^e was held in the legislative council
chamber. Her Royal Highness stood in the centre of the room,
with the marquis on her right hand, and the Duke of Edin
burgh on her left. The event set the social heart of Halifax
in a violent flutter,* and a very large number of ladies and gen-
tlemen were presented. The gracious smile and genial
courtesy of the princess to each one introduced found their
way to the heart, and long formed the leading theme among
society circles.
* The English or Canadian reader who cares to know what manner of toilette9
the ladies wore at the reception, will find particulars in the following list, which
however, only makes mention of some of the ladies present. Mrs, Anderson wore
pale blue silk, gros grain, honiton lace ; Mii>8 Anderson, white gros grain silk,
with real lace and flowers ; Miss Ellen Connell, French grey brocade silk, with lace
flounces, flowers to match ; Miss Alice Connell, white silk and crimson velvet,
with real lace and flowers ; Miss McGillan, ecru silk and crimson satin, flowers
and ornaments to correspond ; Mrs. Judge Weatherbee, pale blue satin dress,
trimmed with honiton lace and swansdown ; Mrs. Keating, black brocade silk and
satin, with lace flounces ; Mrs. Henry P. Almon, blue satin petticoat with black
silk velvet overskirt and honiton lace ; Mrs. Frederick Allison, black silk velvet-
with Brussels lace ; Miss Keating, salmon coloured silk petticoat, Organdy muslin,
and Valenciennes lace ; Mrs. Capt. Welch, green brocade silk, trimmed with green
velvet ; Miss J. J. Hunt, white silk with flowers ; Mrs, Capt. Clarkson, whit-*
satin trimmed with Brussels lace and pearls ; Mrs. Vail, black velvet trimmed
with white satin and Brussels lace ; Miss McMillan, ecru 8ilk,with draperies of
crimson satin, lace and flowers ; Mrs. Johnson Hunt, gros grain silk, trimmed with
Axminster lace and white flowers, blue head-dress, blue gloves, and gold jewel-
lery ; Mrs, Daly, old gold satin, trimmed with the same : Miss Minnie Welch,
black satin, trimmed with folds of the same ; Miss Retallick, white satin, and
Brussels net ; Mrs. Dwyer, a seal brown velvet and satin, richly trimmed in the
same colour ; Miss Jennings, a very pretty costume of pink silk, handsomely
trimmed with satin of the same shade ; Mrs. Sawbey, of Charlottetown, a momie
cloth dress, trimmed with satin, Maltese 'ace, and wax beads ; Miss Sawbey, a pink
and white aatin robe ; Mrs. Arnold, ccru-coloured silk and satin, trimmed with
tulla and orange blossoms ; Misa McLeod, pale blue silk, trimmed with satin of
the same colour and lace ; Miss Gossett, pale blue silk robe trimmed with flounces
of the same, headed with silver braid and silver fringe and a handsome sash of silver
braid and fringe ; Miss Jennings, white satin, trimmed with swansdown and white
lace.
34 THE ADMINISTRATION OF LORD LORNE.
During the next day addresses were presented by the exe-
cutive council of Nova Scotia, the judiciary of Halifax
county, the diocesan clergy of the church of England, the
presbyterian church, the municipalit}'^ of Dartmouth, Halifax
university, the undergraduates of King's College, the North
British Society, the Irish Charitable Society, St. f^eorge's So-
ciety, the Caledonia Club and Highland Sr" ds the Sons of
Temperance, the Nova Scotia YacV' .'j, and the Micmac
Indians, to each of which his excellency deilvrred a short but
pointed reply.
At 11 the following morning the party left Halifax. At
Truro and Amherst addresses were presented to which the
governor replied briefly, thanking the people for their gene-
rous welcome and the terms of loyalty towards the govern-
ment and throne in which they had couched their greetings.
Late in the afternoon the train touched the skirt of that vast
■expanse of fertile low-land known as the Westmorland Mar-
shes. These bear a heavy coat of grass, and in the summer
present a wide expanse of rich, waving green, the mirror of
clouds that skurry over them, and of the bird that flies up
from or down to the distant ba}'. Through the .summer, too,
they are lit by clumps of wild flowers, pea blooms, roses and
convolvuli, that fire the spot whei'e they cluster, and which
make the air heavy with their perfume. Tlie Tantramar
marsh is the largest of the group, and extends over an area of
About thirty miles square. The marshes are composed of an
extremely rich alluvial soil, and are capable of producing
abundant crops of luxurious grasses for nearly seventy years
without showing any decrease of producing power. They are
THE ARBIVAL IN CANADA. 35
protected from inundation during the summer by a frontier
of dykes, but after the crops have been removed to the up-
land barns the gates are opened and the sea is allowed to
wander in and cover the wide expanses, leaving with the
ebb-tide a heavy fertilizing deposit. But the glory of the
summer had departed now as the train sped through the
marshes' marge and the skirt of the uplands, and there was
only to be seen a vast expanse of sad-brown meadow dotted
with hay-stacks, and pierced by muddy streams that make their
waj' through the red, clay channels to the distant Bay of
Fundy. That which most surprised the governor and princess
was to see at various points as the train darted past men em-
ployed building, in their back yards, sea-going schooners of
heavy draught, with no means of floating them away when
built save a little muddy stream trickling through its deep,
slimy banks. Enquiry revealed, however, that a little later in
the year the robust salt-scented sea admitted at the gates of
the dykes, comes surging up here, filling the deep gully-bed
to the level of the marsh, and that then the new craft *i3
taken down through the meadows to the bay. Spread out
under a late autumn sunset these marshes, low, monotonous
and dismal, are not less striking to the imagination than in the
summer when clothed in all their riches and beauty, or in the
winter when bitter winds wail across their shelterless breast,
or more fierce tempests laden with rain or snow rave as if a
world of angry spirits had been loosed upon the blast. I have
found in a late number of The Continent magazine in a subtle,
vigorous, and picturesquely-wrought novelette " The C. C.
Rawdon," by our Canadian poet Mr. Roberts, a description of
98 THE ADMINISTRATION OF LORD LORNE.
these marshes in th3 summar, which I cannot forbear quoting*,
so life-like and rich are the touches. Mr, R )berts spent his
boyhood here in his father's parsonage, and gives us the picture
as he saw it with the fervent, loving eyes of a boy. The passage
relates to Marjorie's walk through the marshes. " She thirsted
for the solitude of her path along the dykes. The road she
was now traversing ran its devious but level way between
two narrow black ditches, of which the farther sides, where
the soil had been thrown up into a low ridge, were clothed with
a matted luxuriant (jrowth of wild-roses, and scented flowerinor
shrubs. About a stone's-throw to the right, at the bottom of
a deep grassy channel, whose windings the road pursued, a
slow stream stole on throuT^h mutflino; water-weeds and beds
of wild ii'is. Here and there the green banks stood wider
apart, and the quiet current dividing its meagre tide flowed
round a little intervale island, whereon a crop of tall grass
rose straight and still, unswayed in its sheltered seclusion ; the
while the winds were racing ceaselessly aci'oss the va^t marsh-
levels. This, before the dykes were built had been a tidal
river, and these green banks at low tide a slippery chasm of
red mud. * * * The only things unmoved by all the stir
and hushed tumult which were sending her hair and hat-
strings into confusion seemed the far-otf white cottages on the
upland, a few scattered gray baras with red doors, and near by
a single brown hay-stack. But at her feet the mass of wild-
roses, wild-peas and convolvuli that lined the inner slope of
the dyke, the wind rushing by above their heads, the broad
sun resting drowsily upon them — these were all unmoved
though in the wind's very teeth. Noting all this minutely,
THE ARRIVAL IN CANADA, 8?
even to the difFeienees between the bumble-bees which droned
amoner the vetch-blossoms — for while all were booming about
and alike engrossed in their business, some were giants and
others dwarfs, some black and pale-grayish gold, and others
black and deep orange or rusty-red, — noting these things she
succeeded in banishing introspection and miserable thought."
In the early spring and through the autumn come the black
<luck, the teal, and the mallard to fish in the pools through the
marshes and dream among the cat-tail and the reeds. The
iishing season being ended, the flats were deserted of boats and
desolation held its sway.*
Turning from the lonely marshes that had no attraction for
the eye, save that two gulls of a chilly gray-and-blue colour
were winging their irregular flight towards the sea, the train
sped on towards Fort Cumberland, the historic Beausejour,
whose ragged, irregular battlements in the late twilight were
* I make no apology for givdng my reader the following lines from a poem the
scene of which is laid at the Westmorland marshes, and written by Mr. Roberts,
from whose novelette I have just made an extract :
"Ah, how well I remember those wide, red flats, above tide-mark
Pale with scurf of the salt, seamed and baked in the sun ;
Well I remember the piles of blocks and ropes, and the net reels
Wound with the beaded nets, dripping and dark from the sea I
Now, at this season, the nets are unwound ; they han;,' from the rafters
Over the fresli-stowed hay in upland barns, and the wind
Blows all day through the chinks, with the streaks of sunlight, and sways them
Softly at will ; or they lie heaped in the gloom of a loft.
Now at this season the reels are empty and idle ; I see them
Over the lines of the dykes, over the gossi'jing grass.
Now at this season they swing in the long, strong wind, through the lonesome
Golden afternoon, shunned by the foraging gulls.
Near about sunset the crane will journey homeward above them ;
Round them under the moon, all the calm night long,
Winnowing soft grey wings of marsh-owls'wander and wander,
Now to the broad-lit marsh, now to the gloom of the dyke.'
38 THE ADMINISTRATION OF LORD LORNE
outlined sharply against the chill, metallic-looking northern
sky. The princess who is an impassioned lovei' of nature was
charmed with this portion of the route, and longed for rest
and daylight to make a sketch of the grim old fort that the
flying cars were leaving enveloped in its cloud of sullen dark-
ness. At Moncton, a thriving, regularly-built little town, and
genuinely representative of railway civilization, the governor-
general was presented with an address, couched in terms-
of the heartiest welcome, to which he delivered the following-
reply :—
" We esteem it a matter of good fortune that we are enabled,,
in passing through the Maritime Provinces, by the Intercolo-
nial Railway, to pause in our journey at your town, and to
receive your loyal address and hear your kind words of wel-
come. It would have been a satisfaction to us had we been
able to make a more extended tour in New Brunswick, and '
we shall look forward to the day when we can visit its capital
and chief centres of population. The season of the year, and
the necessity of soon I'eaching the capital of Canada, has pre-
vented us from doing as we should have wished this year. We
look upon you as representing the Province in bidding us wel-
come now, and in renewing the assurance of your fidelity to
the government of our Sovereign. Accept from us our thanks
and our good wishes for the prosperity of your thriving town.'*
Farther north upon the Intercolonial line, at the little town
of Newcastle, there was intense excitement during the day,
and as the evening closed, crowds began to gather about the
station to get a glimpse of the distinguished party as it sped
through. In the glare of torch-lights those on the vice-regal
THE ARRIVAL IN CANADA. 39
car, as the station was nearcd, saw a band of enthusiastic per-
sons ready to present an address. I'he princess was weary of
the riding, but smiled genially at the simple-hearted people,
and his lordship, with much grace, listened to the rather son-
orous, though genuinely cordial address, making a brief reply.
Then, after some cheering, the train thundered away through
the darkness, reaching Campbellton near midnight.
From Metapedia, on the following morning, the way led
through the valley of the same name, which is justly regarded
as one of the chief attractions of the Intercolonial route. The
junction of the Metapedia River with the clear-watered Resti-
gouche is a scene whose beauty has employed the brush of Mr.
Frazer and others of our most eminent Canadian artists. Two
sinuous vales that have wound through close, precipitous
mountains, miles on miles, one leading out of the west, and
one from the north, here meet at last in the centre of a hill-
rimmed amphitheatre, wherein their streams, grown shy of the
approaching union, diverge and draw near reluctantly, till the
level is threaded in all directions with the blue of their shin-
ing coils. The valley out of the north is that of the Metape-
dia, where through the train speeds close by the river's edge,
while the overhanging, sombre hills seem threatening to crowd
it from its narrow foot-hold. Green, with a warm tone of
amber, and exquisitely pure, the river darts and eddies past ita
rocks, not distant the cast of a hackle ; and every dusky pool,
or congregation of foam-bubbles, exerts an alluring spell on the
twitching wrist of the angler. It is very well known that
there in the gloom beyond that deposit of gleaming white
pebbles lurks the salmon ; it is certain that in those cool waters
40 TEE ADMINISTRATION OF LORD LORNE.
jjreat trout wait greedy for the fly. Earlier in the season,
before the autumn flames had burned out along the hills, all
the beauty would not, as now, have bera so rigidly confined to
the river. A family of wood-ducks would now and then be
startled from their nook, and flap out and down the stream, iri-
descent in the sunshine, rivalling the brilliance of the crimson
and russet branches. Then, far up the hill-face, among the
darkest groups of firs, lay patches of the pale, bright gold of
the birch-trees ; while the water's brim was richly fringed with
waxy, Vermillion clusters of rowan-berries, or mountain asli,
among the enduring green of their leafage. But now, in No-
vember, these glories were not ; and to reach the wide-eaved
cottages, the low, red bams of the habitants, though level and
monotonous the land they dotted, was a pleasant relief.
The ride towards the close of the day was not so satisfying
to an appetite craving for beauty. There is always a majesty
in the naked hills and barren moorlands of that portion of
eastern Quebec through which the Intercolonial runs, but the
effect of the yellow herbage, the brown, cold hills, and the
chilling wind that wailed over the bare landscape, produced no
.sensation save that of gloom ; and the princess and her suite
went upon the platform now and again, only to fold their wraps
about them and seek the more inviting interior of the palace
cars, after a hasty glance at a melancholy upland or a tireless
w^indmill. The governor was not dominated by the gloomful
cheer that this drear piece of northern land afforded, for he let
pass no opportunity to familiarize himself with the social and
industrial standing of the people he had come so far to rule.
Before the age of the printing press, the wildernesses of Canadq.
THE ARRIVAL IN CANADA. 41
and of all the worKl were full of spirits : some, harmless shapes
in white that came without apparent purpose, and disappeared
a^'ain ; others the incarnation of darkness and woe, those that
struck sometimes at man and beast, and that revelled in the
rack where ships met their doom. The most potent antidote
to spirits was a thorough invocation of the saints, and a vil-
lage or district named after Saint Anne, St. Ignace or St.
Hilaire was spiritually innoculated from blasts coming out of
the vasty deeps. On the coast of Newfoundland there is a
wild bight of the sea known as Angel's Cove where shipwreck
has overtaken many a vessel. In the long ago the fishermen
dwelling among the rocks called it Devil's Cove, but fiends used
to come out of the storm and do murder among the hills till
the inhabitants, sometimes finding one of their children lying
dead by the side of a stream, with black and swollen face, or
several of their cattle blasted in the pasture, decided to have
the good priest read his breviary among the gorges, th'^ dark
woods, and in the teeth of the surf, which he did, closing the
ceremony by christening the cove as it now stands. Thereafter
no " reels " were heard upon the winter wind,* and the docks
* I may be pardoned for making thess alluHions in view of the currency, around
an extensive portion of the Newfoundland coast, of the stories on which they are
founded, and the credence given to the strange tales. About forty years ago in a
wild spot on the southern side of Placentia Bay, named Distress (wliich lately has
been brought under the jurisdiction of the saints by the pious Roman Catholic
bishop of St. John's, and is now known as St. Bride's), a weird-looking man, who
is still alive, dwelt in a little cabin ensconced in a piece of dense wood, and on the
banks of a tumultuous stream. He lived alone and seldom held converse with the
people inhabiting the clearing toward the sea. One winter's night, as his fire burnt
low, he relates, the faggots that formed his door were suddenly flung in, though there
was no breath of wind ; his train-oil lamp was extinguished, and he was cast into
a state of stupor. When he reached the cabin door there was no sign of living thing,
but suddenly there arose out of the wood and upon the air innumerable notes of
C
42 TUK ADMINISTRATION OF LORD LORNE.
before the dawn were no longer crowded with phantoms. The
vi('e-re<^al jurty naturally showed some wonder at the extent
to wliicli the saints' calendar had ei;richcd the nomenclature
of tlie French province.
At Rimouski the air was sprinkled with tlie sound of sleigh-
bells, and their excellencies saw the first of a Canadian winter.
At Richmond, St. Hyacinthe and St. Hilaire, addressee were
presented to which the governor briefly and cordially replied ;
and more than once his lordship and the princess showed how
deeply they were touched by the simple good-will of these poor
people who had remained for hours shivering in the chill wind
till the train came up to cry out their Blen-vena. At St. Thomas
the princess was especially touched by the delicate courtesy
with which she had been welcomed by the inhabitants ; and
coming forward, with much feeling and grace she said : "Au nom
de la Heine je vous remercie des delicates allusions que contient
votre addresse, et je vous remercie en mon nom des bonnes
choses que vous m' avez dites."* It need hardly be said that
music, as if some were singing " tremulously high, some softly, sadly low," and
others jilaying upon musical instruments. (Jut of this din of melodious sounds
a distinct tune was at last evolved, and on the morrow the lonely denizen of the
hut went around the coast playing the strange air he had heard. Often have I, an
the winter winds howled acroHs the dreary coves where the fishermen live, sat late
into the night, strangely fascinated as the old man told me this story — the while
his listeners crossed themselves devoutly,— and played upon his flute the "reel"
sung by the spirits in the wood. The tune was wild, sad and sweet, and seemed to
have had its birth from the wailing of the wind, now soft and low, and again
Bwelling into i)ierciiig tempest-notes. The old man's story is believed as firmly as
the gospels, and '* The Spirits' Heel " has become one of the enduring possessions of
the wild regions, though many refuse to have it whistled, hummed or played in their
liouses. The good pri jst read about the cabin, exorcised the spirits, and no more
music has ever been h«ard there, either in the forest or the air.
* In the name of the Qaean I thank you for the delicate references in your ad-
dreBi, and I than'c you in my own name for the good things you have said to me.
THE ARRIVAL IN CANADA. 43
tho people were delighted with this feeling, little speech, and
that they long treasured up the earnestness and winning grace
which accompanied Her Royal Highness' words. At Montreal
elaborate preparations had been made for the reception of their
excellencies, and upon the train moving into the station the
party was escorted to a dais where the mayor read the corpor-
ation address. To this the marquis replied as follows : —
" Mr. Mayor and Gentlemen. — In the name of the Queen
I ask you to accept our thanks for your loj'al and eloquent ad-
dres.s, and I need hardly say with what pleasure Her Royal
Highness and myself have listened to the courteous expressions
with which we are now greeted, and for this most hearty and
cordial welcome. We consider ourselves fortunate that so soon
after our arrival in the Dominion, we have an opportunity of
passing through this great city, and while halting for a short time
within its walls to make the acquaintance of some, at all events,
among the community which represents so large and important
a centre of population and industry. Your beautiful city sits
like a queen enthroned in the gi'eat river whose waters glide
past her in homage, bringing to her feet, with the summer
breezes, the wealth of the world. It is the city of this conti-
nent perhai)S the best known to the dwellers of the Old Coun-
try ; for not only is it famous for the energy, activity, and
prosperity of its citizens, but it is here that the gigantic under-
taking of the Victoria Bridge has been successfully carried out;
and the traveller in crossing the mighty stream feels, as he is
borne high above through the vast cavern, that such a viaduct
is a worthy approach to your great emporium of commerce.
Its iron girders and massive frame are worthy of the gigantic
44 THE ADMINISTRATION OF LORD LORNE.
natural features around, and it stands spanning the flowing sea
as firm and as strong as the sentiments of lo^'alty for her whose
name it bears, and which unite in more enduring bonds than
any forged from the products of the quarry or the mine the
people of this empire. It seems but a short while ago that His
Royal Highness the Prince of Wales struck the last rivet in
yonder structure ; and yet what strides have been made in the
progress of this country since that day ! Every year strikes a
new^ rivet and clinches with steadfast hand that mighty work,
that enduring fabric, the prosperity of the Dominion. Long
may your progress in the beautiful arts and industries con-
tinue, and far be the day to which you may point any marks
but those which tell of the well-earned results of industrial en-
ergy and determined perseverance. The people of this coun-
try may be well assured that the Earl of DufFerin has carried
home with him ample proofs of the profound love Canada
bears to the Mother Country, and these assurances have been
conveyed by him personally to Her Majesty^ We wish in an-
swering your address, to acknowledge the extreme loyalty
exhibited by the French population,as well as by the population
of the Maritime Provinces, through whose country we have
during the last two days travelled, and to thank them as we
have the opportunity this morning for the kindness shown
towards us personally. This scene, the magnificent reception of
your great city, we shall ever remember with pride and grati-
tude."
The city abandoned itself to manifestations ofv ^come, and
after the night fell was a blaze of illumination ; several thous-
ands of people thronged the streets, a number of bands patrol-
THE ARRIVAL IN CANADA. 45
led the principal thoroughfares playing joyous airs, and fire-
works were exhibited at various points. When the glee was
at its highest the marquis and Her Royal Highness took a rapid
drive through the principal streets, from which they obtained
an ample view of the illuminations. During the evening a
ball was given in the grand hall of the hotel by the St. An-
drew's Society ; and the governor delighted the citizens by the
ease and abandon with which he danced a couple of Scotch
reels; but at a later hour the princess came forward and
disputed the laurels with her husband by likewise engaging in
the national Scottish dance, acquitting herself with fascinating
grace, and an old-time air at once delicate and charming.
She wore silk and satin, with honiton lace and a stomacher of
white bugles ; a head-dress of diamonds and flowers, with or-
naments of diamonds and pearls, exhibiting likewise the orders
of Victoria and Albert. Recovered from the effect of the sea-
voyage, which was unusually boisterous, and the long ride by
train, she looked more charming than she had appeared before
since landing in Canada, and many a warm compliment was
paid by the ladies present in such phrase as the " light that
sometimes breaks over her face," " the depth and expression of
her eyes," " the purity of her complexion," " and the charming
alternation of repose and vivacity in her features."
At 11 o'clock the following morning, his lordship received
addresses from the church of England, the Presbyterian
Church of Canada, the Natural History Society, and the bar
of Montreal, to each of which he delivered a brief reply. While
his excellency was receiving these addresses, the princess,
whose deep interest in education has won her the enduring re-
4G TEE ADMINISTRATION OF LORD LORNE.
j^ard of the most cultured of our people, was likewise presented
with an address from the Ladies' Educational Association of
Montreal, to which she read with no less grace than earnest-
ness, the following thoughtful and suggestive reply :
" The Ladies' Educational Association of Montreal : —
I am much flattered by your kind expressions, and also by
your wish to number me among your patronesses. I have read
your last report with much interest and satisfaction. Educa-
tion is one of the greatest objects of the age, and most impor-
tant, not only because it is the noblest in itself, but because it
is the means of the complete development of our common
nature^ and the due discharge of the duties of life in their bear-
ing on the future destiny of the race. The fruits of education
are so attractive that we are often tempted to force them pre-
maturely without sufficient tillage, and thus lose sight of the
true objects of education, which consist much more in the
development of the intellect, than in the mere putting in of
superficial knowledge, and of ' cramming.' Hence our neces-
sity of grounding in the rudiments of knowledge and thorough-
ness in all that is done. Knowledge thus got never dies ;
knowledge got otherwise never lives. Again, it has struck me
whether there is not a fear of our making, through our very
facilities of teaching, the acquisition of knowledge too easy for
pupils ; for it is from the meeting and mastering of difficulties
that intellectual strength grows and increases, just as physical
exercise develops physical strength.
" May I likewise venture to suggest the importance of giving
special attention to the subject of domestic economy, which
THE ARRIVAL IN CANADA. 47
propei'ly lies at the root of the highest life of every true wo-
man ?
" (Signed) Louise."
It has not come in the writer's way to read anything said by
college professors or master?, on the subject of education,
fsince the arrival of Her Royal Highness in Canada so pregnant
and so striking as the two points contained in this brief ad-
<lress. The weak spots in our modern educational system are
<clearly and tersely pointed out. The one, the too hasty attain-
ment of knowledge, the other, the simplification of intellectual
pursuits whose very virtue consists in their complexity and
the difficulty. Of the first well has Her Royal Highness said
that the true aim of education consists more in " the develop-
ment of the intellect than in the mere putting in of superficial
knowledge."
" The book-learnt blockhead ignorantly read,
With fctores of learned lumber in his head,"
but lacking the power to assimilate it ; the intellectual jar
that will hold a certain quantity of knowledge and hold no
more is the product of the system which she deprecates ; and
it is now more than ever, in this age of electricity and steam
when almost every achievement is measured by the standard
of Haste, the duty of those interested in education to resist the
high-speed tendency in our schools, this skimming from the sea
of learning, this gathering of a little of everything and not
much of anything; this — to change the figure once again —
putting of the merest educational priming upon the youth,
which fades out almost as soon as he has left the threshhold
of the schoo' -house. An eastern magus- prince once had a
48 THE ADMINISTRATION OF LORD LORNE.
spacious garden in an oasis that lay towards the verge of
a trackless desert of sand. In this gar-^en were many fount-
ains, from each of which flowed into a bath a delicious and
invigorating stream. From all parts of the east came travel-
lers, attracted by the fame of the baths, to luxuriate in the
waters. At the entrance to the enclosure stood the magus^
himself, taking note of each as he passed in or out, and meting
to everyone his hour to linger in the gardens. Now, no two of
the many scores of baths contained the same kind of water : in
one was a liquid accumulated from rare dews gathered on the top
of the Himalayas ; another was replenished from a silent stream
that never saw the day but that ran through the heart of Mount
Caucasus ; another ^urst out of the earth, through a gorge of
golden rock, while each one of all the rest had likewise a sep-
arate origin. Each jet was instinct with a quality of its own.
which manifested itself like the breath of flowers from mountain
slopes, or the perfume of spice-groves in Ceylon ; and as every
bath had its liquid of peculiar birth and perfume so did it
work a distinctive spell upon whomsoever washed himself
therein. That in one vessel made the bather fancy that
he had revelled in a land of poppy blooms, where fair houris
plucked the flowers and distilled the witching drink in golden
cups, and he had quaffed the sweets ; another filled him
with an ambition that burned like a star, while a different
onei made tender the heart, and full and strong the sympathy
for all mankind. And so as the throngs came into the garden
they stood sore-bewildered, not knowing which bath they
should choose wherein to spend their hour ; but the magus re-
moved their confusion and cried : " Your time is short I You
THE ARRIVAL IN CANADA. 4»
^
can't enjoy all these you see. Make choice therefore of which
one you will have if you would obtain the virtue of its kind ; "
while upon the gorge of each fountain was writ, " If you have
me, then have only me." And some went into one bath and some
into another, and remained the limit of the hour in the one
chosen, at length going forth from the gates and striking
across the sands full of an unyielding, unconquerable strength
that won its way over mountains that rose in their path.
Others, having briefly enjoyed the delights of one bath, thirsted
for variety and went now to one and again to another till
they had plunged into all, acquiring a little of the virtue of
each, and feeling more exhilarated while in the garden than
those who had confined themselves to one ; but the magus-
king shook his head as they passed the gates. And it came
to pass as they advanced into the desert the charm of the many
waters began to depart from them, and they were filled with
sore perplexity. They had travelled out upon the burning
sands believing themselves equipped to cope with the dangers,
but when too late they found that their superficial plunges,
instead of proving a virtue, had become their bane. Some
were struck to the desert by the sun, others tottered onward
in sad plight only to perish further out in the desert. And
the magus from his high tower saw how the people were over-
whelmed, and he cried out, telling it daily : " Better had it been
for these that they had never come into my gardens. Relying
on the momentary strength and intoxicating delights begotten
of washing in all my baths, they have been tempted to face
dangers that they would have shrunk from had they never
entered my gates."
50 THE ADMINISTRATION OF LORD LORNE.
Now, we too, in this land, have our educational garden filled
with alluring fountains of various kinds of knowledge; attracted
by the variety, but limited in our stay by time, we frequently
do not derive sufiicicat virtue from each, till, after we have
gone forth we fail in the struggle for which webelieved,by our ed-
ucation, we had been equipped. Since learning has been
brought out of the astrologer's tower and the hermit's cell,
every branch of knowledge is within the student's reach ; and
instead of warning the learner that if he endeavour to acquire
all he is sure to possess none, the directors of our education
too often lead the misguided seeker to pursue even a still
greater number of subjects than he would have sought of hisown
inclination. The writer is not quarrelling with the general
merits of the modern method of education, since he believes it
to be as superior to the system which it supplanted as the rail-
way'- train is to the mail-coach. Its fundamental principles
are sound, for they are such as have been laid down by Pestal-
ozzi, by Jacotot, by Hamilton, by Herbert Spencer, and by
other su(;h master thinkers. But as Her Royal Highness
points out the weakness of the present system consists in the
lack of " thoroughness." The methods of imparting knowledge
— such as ideas before words, and leading from the known to
the unknown — are sound, and they are adopted in all the Cana-
dian government schools, but after the idea has been obtained
by the learner, and he has attained the unknown through the
known, neither the one nor the other is sufficiently stamped
upon his mind to be enduring ; for he has so many irons in
the fire, or his teacher has so many there for his benefit, that
he must, after receiving an immediate impression of one thing.
THE ARRIVAL IN CANADA. 61
pass on to another, and thus, almost as fast as ideas or know-
ledge are gained, they fade out of him again.
Pregnant with importance, too, is this statement : " It has
struck me whether there is not a fear of our making, through
our very facilities of teaching, the acquisition of knowledge
too easy for the pupils ; for it is from the meeting and master-
ing of difficulties that intellectual strength grows and increasfes,
just as physical exercise develops physical strength." In this
very respect it is painfully certain that we are every day seek-
ing to find that royal road to learning which Archimedes as-
sured Hiero did not exist. It will not be denied that it is
proper to acquire knowledge by the simplest methods, and
through analysis ; but it is easy to strip an intellectual pro-
blem almost entirely of its difficulty, and present it to the
student capable of mastery at the first glance. Once upon a
time in our schools the demonstration of the pons assinorum
was considered an event in the school-boy's life; now the
modern geometrician has come to the learner's aid, " supposes"
the angle bisected and furnishes a bisector. Knowledge ob-
tained without labour will not endure ; and the directors of
our education would do well to lay to heart the warning words
of Her Royal Highness.
The country through which the railway runs up the Ottawa
river is not fascinating in November when the trees have lost
their leaves and the wind wanders through the forest like a
complaining spirit. To enhance the dismalness of the ride for
their excellencies the wind blew from the East bearing upon its
wings a chill, drizzling rain. Groups of farmers and village-folk
looking as blue as the weather, were gathered at the stations
52 THE ADMINISTRATION OF LORD LORN E.
along the way to bid welcome and say hurrah as the train
thundered up for its momentary pause. At four o'clock in the
aftei^noon the Ottawa station was reached amid the measured
booming of a royal salute from the guns at Nopean Point.
From the platform of the dining-car the mayor of the city read
an address of welcome, in which a statement occurs that indi-
cates nothing less than a crafty attempt on the part of the civic
magistrate to cast the three Tooley-Street tailors into enduring
shade. For it required three imperial coat-makers to comprise
the city of London, whereas it needed but this one civic indi-
vidual to constitute a confederacy of colonies. This is what
the person referred to said : " We beg to assure your excel-
lency of our increasing and unalterable attachment to the per-
son and government of her Most Gracious Majesty, and our
earnest and unswerving desire for the perpetuation of the happy
and advantageous connexion between this country and the
mother-land." The most disadvantageous thing to this country,
should the leading-string snap, would be that some of the toadies
about Ottawa would no longer be able to go to court, but would
probably relapse again into eating their herring with a steel
knife. It takes more than chlorine to remove the spots from
the leopard's skin. To the corporation address his excellency
read a lengthy reply, saying, among other things :
" We have now traversed in coming here a great part of the
important provinces of the Dominion. In all places we have
visited — and I regret that it was not in our power at this sea-
son of the year to visit more — we have met with the same
kindness and the same hearty cordiality. I can assure you we
are deeply sensible of all thai is conveyed in such a reception,
HIE ARRIVAL IN CANADA. 63
and it has been, as it will be, a pleasant duty to convey to tlie
Sovereign a just description of the manner in which you have
received her representative and her daughter. It is with a pe-
culiar feeUng of pride in the grandeur of this Dominion that I
accept, on the part of the Queen, the welcome given us at Ot-
tawa, the capital of the greatest of the colonies of the Crown.
It is here that wc shall take up our abode among j'ou, and the
cordiality of your words make me feel that which I have known
since we landed — that it is to no foreign country that we come,
but that we have only crossed the sea to find ourselves among
our own people, and to be greeted by friends on coming to
shore. In entering the house which you have assigned to the
governor-general, I shall personally regret the absence of the
distinguished nobleman whom I have the honour to call my
friend, and whose departure must have raised among you
the sad feelings inseparable on the parting of one whose career
here was one long triumph in the affections of the people. A
thousand memories throughout the length and breadth of the
land speak of Lord DufFerin. It needs with 30U no titular me-
morials, such as streets and bridges, to commemorate the name
of him who not only adorned all he touched, but by his elo-
quence and his wisdom proved of what incalculable advantage
to the state it was to have in the representative of the Sovereign
one in whose nature judiciousness and impartiality, kindness,
grace, and excellence, were so blended that his advice was a
boon equally to be desired by all, his approbation a prize to be
coveted, and the words that came from his silvery tongue, which
always charmed and never hurt, treasures to be cherished. I
am confident that the land he served so well knew how to value
51 THE JDMINISTRATION OF LORD LORNE.
his presence, and that you will always look upon his (loparturo
with the regret proportiijnate to the pleasure Ottawa experi-
enced from his sojourn among j'ou. I am confident that we
shall find with you a generous and kindly desire to judge well
of our efibrts to fulfil your expectations ; and although you
speak of the recent growth of your city, and contrast it with
the places which have become famous in the world, I need not
remind you that there is a special interest and significance in
casting in our lot with those whose fortune it is, not to inherit
history, but to make it. I accept your expression of confidence,
and promise that I shall do my best to deserve it."
Many centuries ago when a pilgrim from the Ganges entered
Mecca, the people surrounded him with food and drink, and
perfume and spices ; and if the fame of his sanctity, and fa-
vour with the gods, hai)pened to be great he was sometimes so
ovei-plied by the rapturous crowd of devotees that he literally
died in their midst.* I should not like to hazard the opinion
that the historian yet to be will not record that on a certain
year a band of men from all points of the compass swarmed,
into Ottawa on the arrival of a new viceroy, and there, meaning-
well, while reading unnumbered tomes of welcome-addresses,
did fairly press and ply the dignitary till he died amongst
them. This fate did not exactly overtake the Marquis of
Lome, although on the day of his arrival a great multitude
of people who had gathered from all parts of the upper pro-
vinces desired to read addresses of welcome. Proceedings were
stayed, however, for the evening owing to the violence of wind
* It is from this practice a writer versed in Eastern lore says that we get the
expression " killing with kindness."
TJIE A RRl VA L IN CA NA DA . 6ft
and rain ; but at three o'clock on Tuesday the body of delegates
met and read their addresses, the following of which is a list :
The City of Toronto ; the City of Hamilton ; the Hamilton
Board of Trade ; the St, Andrew's Society and Caledonian Club,
Ottawa; St. Patrick's Literary Association ; St. Jean Baptistc's
Society ; St. Patrick's Society of Ottawa ; the Caledonian So-
ciet}' of Montreal ; Institut Canadien-Francais ; Grand Council
of Indians of Canada ; Chiefs of the Mohawk Indians ; and the
St. Andrews Societies and the Caledonian Clubs of Ontario and
Manitoba. There can be but little doubt that his excellency,
who replied severally to the addresses, was pleased with the
evidence of good-will and loyalty to his person and his office
conveyed by the expressions of the delegates; but those to whom
such testimonials have not been presented, and who find no seal
of gratitude upon their lips, may be permitted to pause as they
come to the " Hamilton Boax'd of Trade," and " St. Patrick's
Literary Association," and then to marvel wh}^ it was that the
Tin-Whistle Players of Ottawa, and the Association for the
Manufacture of Patent Cowmilkers of Toronto, together with
the thousands of other confraternities scattered over the lengfth
and breadth of the land, had kept in the back-ground. Some
societies represent a large bulk of the people, and to receive an
address of welcome at their hands is a compliment ; but it will
be denied that as much can be said of the vellum-asseverations
of a " president " who speaks for a secretary, a three-legged
table, and a battered paraffine lamp.
With the snow upon the ground and the winter sky lower-
ing the governor and the princess took up their abode in
Rideau Hall, a massive and unsightly pile looking upon the
cold waters of the Ottawa^
CHAPTER H.
LETELLItU.
BEFORE Lord Lornc had crossed the ocean the clouds of a
portentous political storm hung low in the sk}', and it now
seemed plain that the new vice-regal boat would have to face
the fury of the tempest. In December, 1870, M. Luc Letellier de
St. Just, a senator of the Dominion, and a member of Mr. Mac-
kenzie's administration, was appointed lieutenant-governor of
the province of Quebec. M. Letellier was an able legislator,
a pronounced, and often rash, partizan ; haughty in his rela-
tions with opponents, and defiant where conciliation might
have been employed without sacrifice of justice or of dignity.
In Canada as in other countries where politics are a trade, and
party only one degree better than oligarchy, if a public man
ever rise to the moral needs of the hour, it is because his
natural rectitude is too strong for the poisonous influences
about him. M. Letellier was suflfused with the party instinct ;
he had little of the moral, and none of the judicial. And
as the value of party conviction is frequently measured by
itsfei'ocity and its blindness, it is not strange that a muscular
partizan like M. Letellier was chosen to the lieutenant- govern-
orship of Quebec on the death of M. Caron. Sancho Panza
when installed in the governorship of his coveted island, with
all the dainties of the land to sate h'.s appetite would still hun-
56
LET BLUER. 67
^^er for garlic ; anvi "e was ten times happier on the back of an
ass than caracolling with golden trappings upon the proudest
steed in Andalusia. We do hear of men and women entering
cloisters who leave the world behind them ; but the passion-
seed sown in the free world will bud and blossom in the cell,
and more than one Abelard and Heloise pass tho portal. The
writer does not regard M. Letellieias either superior or inferior
in moral capacity to the general run of those living in the same
reeking air from which he had been taken ; and so it was next
to impossible that he could leave the party mire at the door
and enter the governor's office pure. But how much shame
would have been spared to the page of our history had the
(Conservative ministers over whose deliberations he was appoint-
ed to sit met him frankly at the threshold, and cordially given
hiui their hand and welcome ; had there agreed to bury party
animosity, and to surrender their confidence to his keeping.
But the other way was chosen. The ministers saw in the go-
vernor, thrust into their counsels by opponents among whom
he was a leader and a favourite, an arch enemy. The governor
regarded the ministers as a band of political opponents con-
spired to carry out the ends of themselves and their friends, and
to thwart his wishes and those of their opponents. The salu-
tations at the meeting were cold and formal ; and as the go-
vernor was no less resolved to use his prerogative than his ad-
visers were to exercise their constitutional rights, each looked
defiant and muttered, as the frigid ceremony ended, " We shall
see." Now, for the discourtesy and contempt which it is alleged
some ministers showed towards the governor, he who writes this
story can offer no excuse, though it must be borne in mind that
D
68 THE ADMINISTRATION OF LORD LORNE.
the provocations to both were strong if M. de Boueherville and
his cabinet believed, as it is positively asserted they did, that
M. Letellier had been sent among them to thwart their will, to
discredit their party before the country, and extol the virtues
and 'promote the interests of their opponents. While the
writer cannot believe that there was a full justification for
such a belief as this, he thinks it only right to point out that
the conclusion was not entirely without some reason and
excuse. M. Letellier had been all his life a trading politician,
a zealous, uncompromising Rouge, and everything he had he
owed to the bounty of his party. He came to sit at the coun-
sels of men arrayed in fierce hostility against those with whom
he had battled side by side for a quarter of a century ; and it
wtis too much to expect, considering the zealousness of his
nature and his devotion to his party, that he was, shut up with
his enemies, insensible to the welfare of his friends or dis-
posed to let pass an opportunity to forward these interests.
At the head of the ministry was M. de Boueherville, though
the real leader was M. Angers, the attorney-general. From
the first, there was a semblance of harmony between M.
Letellier and the cabinet, and genuine cordiality between him-
self and some of its members. But after a time the conviction
forced itself upon the governor that his advisers were treat-
ing him as a mere figure-head, a something that had a voice
but not a head, a yes, but not a no. This was, perhaps, also
an extreme view, though it was in a great measure justified by
the attitude of the council. It had been whispered abroad
that M. Letellier did not see things as MM. de Boueherville
and Angers saw them, but this was declared to be a matter of
LETELLIER. 59
little moment as the governor was a mere ministerial tool
who was not to do what he wished, but what he was told.
As if to stamp such mischievous talk as the genuine utterances
of M. Angers' friends, the cabinet began to introduce certain
measures of legislation in the assembly without having ob-
tained the authority of the governor, and to publish in the
Gazette over his honour's name regulations and orders that
he had not even seen. This state of affairs continued over a
long period, but on the 2oth of February, 1878, the gover-
nor had reached " the limit of endurance." On that day he
addressed a memorandum to the prime minister, asking among
other things, that copies be furnished him of certain papers
relating to the Quebec, Montreal, Ottawa and Occidental rail-
way, with a statement of the reasons which induced the coun-
cil to propose ex post facto legislation, in order'to compel the
payment of bonuses voted in aid of that road by certain
municipalities, instead of proceeding to recover through the
courts. A bill providing for the levy of new taxes had also,
the governor remarked, been proposed to the legislature with-
out having been submitted to him. He then added that he
ould not " allow the executive to communicate to the legisla-
ture, on his behalf, any important or new measures without his
special order, and without his having been previously informed
and advised thereof."
To this M. de Boucherville replied, after two days, stating
that the legislation respecting municipal bonuses was proposed
to avoid the delays of the courts, citing precedents for his action.
The premier further wrote :
" I would now beg your excellency to observe that while you were at
Biviere Quelle, I had the honour to ask your authority to put the ques-
60 THE ADMINISTRATION OF LORD LORNE.
tion of finance before the House, and that you kindly answered, stating
that you were forwarding through the mail a blank, which act I took at
that time as a great mark of confidence on your part. I received, in fact,
a blank with your signature, and I gave it to the tr .surer, who had it
filled up by your aide-de-camp. Later I had the b' >ur to ask your ex-
cellency for a general permission to submit to the juse measures con-
cerning money matters which your excellency gave me with your ordi-
nary courtesy. That permission, I may say, had always been granted me by
your predecessor, the lamented M. Caron. I must admit that, with that
permission, and being convinced that your excellency had read the trea-
surer's speech, in which he announced the taxation subsequently proposed,
I considered myself authorized to tell my colleagues that I had your per-
mission for all money measures. I beg your excellency to believe that
I never had the intention of assuming the right of having measures passed
without your approbation ; and that in this case having had occasion to
confer with you with regard to the law respecting the provincial railway,
and not having orders to suspend it, I did not think your excellency would
see in that measure any intention on my part of disregarding your preroga-
tives, which nobody is more disposed to respect and uphold than myself. "
This letter M, de Boucherville brought in person and deliv-
ered to the governor who admitted that the unauthorized
actions of the premier, of which he had complained, had, it was
now clear to him, been in good faith. Then rising he said with
an effort : " The only difference remaining between us now is
the question of the Quebec, Montreal, Ottawa and Occidental
railway, and on this I will give you an answer to-morrow." Not
liking something he saw " in the governor's face," the premier
became anxious, and in the afternoon brought to Spencer Wood,
his honour's official residence, the documents relating to t h
jailway. After a short conversation in which there was a
strain of embarrassment, the prime minister rose to go, and as
he did so, asked : " Will your honour soon be able to give me
your decision ?" After some hesitation M. Letellier answered that
he wouid probably give it to him on the following day. " If,"
. LETELLIER. 61
said M. de Boucherville, as he turned to go, " I understand
you rightly, you are hesitating between giving your sanction
to the railway bill and reserving it," The governor replied,
" That is it." On the following day the lieutenant governor
wrote a letter to M, de Boucherville admitting that '' there
was no intention on the part of the premier to disregard the
prerogatives of the crown," and that there had been on his part
" only an error in good faith." Though having made this ad-
mission, he pointed out that while there was no intention on the
prime-minister's part to disregard the prerogatives of the re-
presentative of the crown, " the thing exists," and that the
fact that the " intention of disi'egarding his prerogatives did
not exist, does not the less constitute one of those false posi-
tions which places the representative of the crown in a critical
and difficult situation with regard to the two houses of the
legislature." He also observed that the asserted general
authorization claimed by the prime-minister could not have
applied to the government's railway bill, " for the interview
took place on the 19th of February, and the bill was before
the legislature several days previous to that date, without the
lieutenant-governor having been in any way informed of it by
his advisers." He reminded him that although he had pro-
tested against such legislation as unwise and extravagant,
the measure had nevertheless been passed through all its
stages. From time to time, the governor claimed, be iiad re-
monstrated with his advisers on their several acts of policy,
and drawn their attention (1) to the enormous expenditure
occasioned by very large subsidies to several railways while
the province was burthened with the construction of the great
62 THE ADMINISTRATION OF LORD LORNE.
railroad fiom Quebec , u Ottawa, which should take precedence
of the others; that tbo policy was adopted in the face of finan-
cial straits and while the province found it necessary to make
overburthening loans ; (2) to the advisability of retrenchment
instead of an increase of taxation, and the untimeliness
of increasing the salaries of civil-service employes when
the government was asking from the Bank of Montreal a loan
of half a million. Then his honour charges the premier with hav-
ing concealed from him the real state of the provincial finances,
with having ignored " his many recommendations in his qual-
ity as representative of the crown" on "different subjects of
public interest," and having undertaken a course of adminis-
trative and legislative action contrary to such recommendations.
He thus concludes: ^
The lieutenant-governor after having maturely deliberated cannot
accept the advice of the premier with regard to the sanctioning of the
Railway Bill entitled An Act respecting the Quebec, Montreal, Ottawa
and Occidental Railway. For all these causes the lieutenant-governor
cannot conclude this memorandum without expressing to the premier the
regret he feels at being no longer able to continue to retain him in his
position, contrary to the rights and prerogatives of the crown.
On the afternoon of the following day the premier waited on
his honour at Spencer Wood, and having exchanged saluta-
tions remarked that he understood he was dismissed from
office. To this the governor replied that M. de Boucherville
was to put his own interpretation upon the letter. There are
many forms of French politeness, and this was one of them.
Another was when the French marshal at Fontenoy galloped
to the front before the engagement, and doffing his hat said,
" Gentlemen of the English Guards please fire first." Having
LE TELLIES. 68
C()olly cut the head ofFof M. de Boucherville and then treated him
to a glass of liqueur, which he vouched came from the cellars
of the Benedictines, the governor requested the premier to
name to him the gentlemen whom he ought to admit to his
confidence as advisers. This was, surely, as peculiar an act of
politeness as to ask the premier to put his own construction upon
a note of dismissal, or to request the English Guards to " fire
first," when it will be remembered that the ministers had just
been removed because the governor could not take their advice.
It was about as consistent as for the pope, after having excom-
municated Luther, to have asked that great reformer, before
going into outer darkness, to draw up for the guidance of Holy
Church a draft bull on the Immaculate Conception. Poor De
Boucherville cast down by his dismissal, and dumbfounded by
the Benedictine and the condescension, was only able to stammer
out uuat he could not advise his honour on a choice of succes-
sors since he was supported by a majority in the legislature,
a,nd was therefore in a different position from a nynister who
had been beaten in the house. Then he took his leave, and
subsequently wrote a note to the governor accepting the dis-
missal and avowing his profound respect for the rights and
privileges of the crown, and his devotion to the interests of the
province. When Louis XI V. wished to advance the fortunes
of a favourite at court, he studiously ignored him for a season,
thus turning the popular scent away from his motives. For five
days after the dismissal of De Boucherville the governor con-
spicuously ignored the very man for whose shoulders he had
been preparing the mantle during many months. On the 7th
of March, however, the limit to the interregnum came, and M.
THE ADMINISTRATION OF LORD LORNE.
Joly was called upon to form an administration. Amidst a
general uproar, and in the face of an adverse majority in the
assembly, that gentleman undertook the task assigned him. No
fewer than five resolutions expressing want of confidence in the
lieutenant-governor's new advisers and censuring thfe course of
his honour were immediately passed by the house of assembly.
A resolution with the same burthen was also passed by the
legislative council. On the following day parliament was
prorogued.
• On the 22nd of March the correspondence on the question
was laid upon the table of the Canadian house of commons,
and light was let upon many phases of the embroglio which
had been exaggerated and distorted in the party newspapers.
It appeared, from a statement made by M. Letellier to the
governor-general, that among other slights to his honour's
dignity and prerogative, in the previous JNoveraber there had
been published in the Official Gazette purporting to be under
the lieutenant-governor's signature, two proclamations — one
calling the legislature together for business, and the other
appointing a Thanksgiving Day — neither of which he had
signed, and the latter of which he had not even seen. There
al o appeared the statement upon which, in the eyes of
those who do not consider formality necessary to an im-
peachment, M. Letellier's case must rest, namely, that the De
Boucherville ministry had been under the influence of railway
" rings," that the governor had advised his councillors to shake
off the incubus, and that it was upon their failure to do so, and
only after the adoption of the measures intended to meet the
demands of these baneful combinations, that he felt he could
LETELLIER. 65
no longer retain them as his advisers, and that the best inter-
ests of the province required that they should make way for
other men.'*
In reply to the lieutenant governor's " explanatory case," M.
de Boucherville drew up a defence of the ministry' ander ten
heads, contending among other things that it was the duty of
responsible ministers to advise the lieutenant-governor not to
act upon his advice; he denied that the name of the lieu-
tenant-governor had been used to sign documents which his
Itonour had not seen, and contended that he was justified by the
* Among other things says his honour : " From the conversations which I have
lield with M, de Boucherville, there results a fact, which if it were known, would
of itself have sufficiently justified me in believing that he did not possess the con-
fidence of the people of this province. On two different occasions sometime after
the session of 1876, I pointed out to him that millions had been voted to aid rail-
ways in general, at a time when our finances did not appear to be in a condition to
warrant, all at once, a lavish expenditure in subsidizing these numerous undertak-
ings, particularly as, apart from that, our credit was so heavily pledged towards
the building of the Quebec, Montreal, Ottawa and Occidental railway. He very
frankly avowed that these grants, though they were for the development of the
province, had been necessitated by political considerations ; that without them,
the support of the members whose counties were traversed by those railways would
cease to be secured to government ; that there would be no means of having a ma-
jority ; that these members formed combinations — " Rings " to control the house.
. . . I thereupon told him that it was better to save the province than a gov-
ernment, and that if his administration was not strong enough to resent those
influences, it would be better for him to form a combination of hone it and well-
meaning men, from both sides of the house, rather than submit to the dictation of
those rings, and to the control of those combinatiocs. When he made no attempt
to escape from that deleterious influence after his own avowal that the legislature
was controlled by those " Rings," when by his legislation he sought to favour them
anew during the last session without having previously advised with me, had I not
tlie right;, as the representative of my Sovereign, to believe and be convinced that
M. de Boucherville did not possess a constitutional majority in the Legislative
Assembly. . . , Without having advised me and without having received au-
thorisation of any sort whatever from me, the government of M. de Boucherville
proposed to the legislature a measure of almost general taxation upon the ordinary
contracts and transactions of life, transfer of bank stocks, Ac. , while no message
from me had been asked for this object, nor signed by me to authorise its projio-
sitioa to the houses.
06 THE ADMINISTRATION OF LORD LORNE.
lieutenant-governor's authorization of the resolutions respecting
finance in sulniiitiing the measures concerning the failure of
municipalities to pay the bonuses they had voted to the Quebec,
Montreal, Ottawa and Occidental railway. He pointed out
that at any rate the governor had accepted the explanations
made to him on these questions, and had absolved the minis ers
of all imputation of intentional discourtesy. There is a good
deal of other valueless statement to the same purpose. Any-
thing more foolish than a lieutenant-governor giving as side
reasons for the dismissal of his ministry that they treated him
discourteously, after he liad over his own name stated that they
were not guilty of this offence intentionally, does not appear in
Canadian annals, unless it be when we see the same ministry
endeavouring to prove that in this respect they were innocent
after his honour had admitted that they were not guilty. The
fact is M. Letellier brought the expurgated offences into court
for the same reason that his ministry paraded them there — he
had a poor case, and they had not a good defence.
The question not being one of justice or constitutional right
in a genuine sense, it at once became the pi'operty of party, and
was taken to Ottawa where it was fluncj down as a football is
betwee!! two contending parties. Naturally the interest in the
football is little, each party being absorbed only in winning
the game. That Canadians may not forget, and that English-
men across the water may know, liow largely the judicial ele-
ment enters here into our deliberations on party questions, it
may be necessary to state once again that M. Letellier, the
lieutenant-governor of Quebec, was a Reformer, or Rouge. The
gentlemen whom he called to the government after dismissing
LETELLIER. 07
M. de Boucherville were also Rouges ; but those whom he dis-
missed, as well as those who siijjported the discarded advisers,
were Conservatives or Bleus. The^Rouges to a man declared the
dis aissal to have been wholesome, wise and expedient ; the
Bleus, with tire same unanimity, maintained that it was atro-
cious and unparalleled. The same impartial considerations pre-
vailed at Ottawa. The Reformers there promptly declared* that
the action of M. Letellier was eminently proper; the Conserva-
tives affirmed that it was disgraceful beyond all measure. On the
11th of April the question came formally before the house on a
motion by Sir John Macdonald to the effect that " the recent dis-
missal bj' the lieutenant-governor of Quebec of his ministers was,
imder the circumstances, unwise and subversive of the position
accorded to the advisers of the crown since the concession of the
principle of responsible government to the British North Ameri-
can Colonies." Sir John was the leader of the Conservative
party, the most astute statesman in the house of commons, and
one of the ablest constitutional lawyers in the Dominion. Upon
the question his argument was his party's argument, his opinion
guided the discussion on his side of the house ; while for the
same judicial reason the views of the Reform leader became the
views of the Reform party ; and the question was fought out
with just such intellectual impartiality as the game of football.
• There is one exception, however, recorded to promptitude of opinion on the
iiuestion. It is related that shortly after the dismissal of De Boucherville several
members were in the smoking-room discussing the question, and one of the num-
ber appealed to a member who had just come in, saying, " I leave it now to your
sense of justice to state whether you think M. Letellier was justified in what
he did ? " The member became confused, and stammered that he did not understand
the question. He turned, however, to a member of his own party, and whispered,
" Is Letellier on our side ?" and on being told " no," promptly declared that the
action of the lieutenant-governor " menaced our constitutional rights."
<)8 THE ADMINISTRATION OF LORD LORNE.
For these reasons it would not be well that the reader should
suffer his judgment to follow blindfold the lead of Reformer or
Conservative. The arguments on tlie question are rather the
strife of advocates than the declarations of judges. Sir John
made a speech that lasted three hours, in which he discussed
the action of M. Letellier in all its constitutional bearings
with marked acimien and skill. He reminded the house how
mischievous it would be, at this stage of the country's his-
tory, to lay down an evil precedent. He argued that there
was a wide difference between prerogative power and con-
stitutional right ; and that an act which might be sustained
by the courts as the legal privilege of the crown might be
used in the most unconstitutional way. Setting aside all legal
and side questions which had grown out of the main irsue
he affirmed that the Quebec ministry should have governed
and been free to govern so long as they possessed the confi-
dence of the legislature. He admitted that an exception to the
rule was possible, "^uch, for example, as when the crown had rea -
son to believe that the parliament did not represent the country
— though this seemed not unlike a surrender of the conserva-
tive side of the question, for M. Letellier, who was the "crown"
had reasons which he doubtless considered " good " for believ-
ing that parliament did not represent the people. On the
exercise of the prerogative Sir John was explicit, and he adopted
the views of Bagehot, a clear-headed and impressive writer on
constitutional questions. These views of Bagehot's for exam-
ple he affirmed : — "Nothing perhaps would more surprise the
English people than if the Queen by cowp d'etat and on a
sudden destroyed a ministry firm in the allegiance and secure
LETELLIER. C9
of a majority in parliament. That power intlubitably, in theory,
belongs to her ; but it has passed so far away from the minds
of men that it would terrify them if she used it like a volcanic
eruption from Primrose Hill. The Queen can hardly now re-
fuse a defeated minister the chance of a dissolution any more-
than she can dissolve in the time of an undefeated one, and with-
out his consent." And again : " The Sovereign has, under a con-
stitutional monarchy, such as ours, three rights — the right to be
consulted, the right to encourage, the right to reason ; and a
king of great sense and sagacity would want no others. » ♦ «-
The Queen has no veto. She must sign her own death warrant
if the houses unanimously send it up to her." The lieutenant-
governor, Sir John contended, had allowed legislation to pro-
ceed without suggestion or warning, and, at the last hours of
the session, unceremoniously dismissed his ministers. No man
fully aware of his responsibilities, he averred, would have taken
such a step ; and it now remained to be seen whether the
premier, upon whom the mantle of Robert Baldwin had fallen,
would turn his back upon the principle he had so long pro-
fessed, and which had been the chief credit and the chief hon-
our of his party. And thereupon Mr. Mackenzie, the leader of
the Reform government, did arise, and took exception to the
character of De Boucherville's legislation, citing likewise Sir
Francis Hincks in proof of the contention that M. Letellier had
dismissed his advisers on constitutional grounds. In this way
the impartial and judicial discussion went on, every Reformer
declaring that what Letellier had done was expedient and right,
every Conservative fiercely protesting that it was inexpedient
and wrong. On the 15th of April Sir John's motion came
to THE ADMINISTRATION OF LORD LORNE.
before tlio house oi coniinons, and was defeated by 170 Reform
votes to 1 12 cuMt by tlie Conso'vativos. In the senate, however,
the complexion of which was lar<^ely Conservative, a similar
motion to Sir John's, ottered by senator (Campbell, met a ditterent
fate. There Letellier was denounced by thirty-seven voices and
vindicated by twenty. The Englishman who leads Letcl-
lier's story will be able to judge how mucli significance there
is on Canadian soil in the words " Tory " and " Liberal,"
after he has seen the former as a party denounce a governor
for using a constitutional j)rerogative, and the latter defend
him for the exercise of that power. Truly may it be said
that the day is come when Strattbrd is seen standing' astrido
the mound of Oliver asserting the supremacy of the people,
while the spirit of the Protector sits perched on the tomb of the
murdered king preaching prerogative.
Having been defeated by repeated non-confidence votes in
the legislature it remained for M. Letellier only to dissolve
parliament and issue writs for a new election. On the first
of May, amid a hurricane of screeching, Bleu and Rouge went
to the' polls. Though the writer has little interest in either
party, it is only fair to say that the dubious justification of the
dismissal aflbrded by the number of supporters sent to M.
Joly at the new election was not a test of sobqr, public opinion.
The De Boucherville party appeared before the country in a
state of disgrace : the governor had just dismissed them from
office, declaring them to be incompetent and corrupt. The
Canadian commons had by its vote affirmed that the allegation
was true and thus justified the act of the lieutenant-governor.
It is quite as certain that hundreds, if not thousands, of those
LETELUEK. 71
who voted for M. Joly's Romjes did so because of the action of
M. Letellier and its ratification by the Canadian parliament,
who would otherwise have not distrusted the competency or
the purity of the De Boucherville party, as it is that thousands
who voted for the ejected ministry believed them to be as
bad as the lieutenant-governor had described them. It is
<lifKcult in Canada to get an intelligent and at the same time a
sincere expression of opinion at the polls. 'J'hose who are
honest are apt to be led away by the cries of demagogues ; those
who think for themselves are likely to have some personal
motive to serve. On the 9th of June the legislature met for
d(\spatch of business. Though all the members had been
pledged to one side or the other, it was known that the briber
was abroad, and each party alternated between anxiety and
hope. In such emergency as this some of our members it is
difficult, nay almost impossible, to purchase ; others you can
buy like sheep. Some arrive at the political shambles without
purse or principle, and they become the prey of the first bidder.
The day may yet come in some of the political countries when
capitalists will trade in politicians as they do now in steers ;
when the enterpi'ising person with several money bags will
appear in the country as the eve of an election draws round,
buy the return of a number of candidates, and afterwards
auction them off on the public stand to the highest bidding
party. The thing is practically done now, except that the
politician disposes of himself at private sale instead of going
into the hands of the speculating auctioneer.
On the reply to the Address a bitter and lengthy discussion
arose, and an amendment regretting that the new advisers of
72 THE ADMINISTRATION OF LORD LORNE.
the lieutenant-governor should have " persisted in remaining in
power without having been supported by a majorit}'' of the
legislative assembly upon their taking office, and without yet
being supported by sucii a ma.jority," was approved by a vote
of thirty-two to thirty-one. M. Joly would not consent to con-
sider this expressive of a want of confidence in the new admin-
istration, and by the casting vote of the speaker he carried a
ryder to the amendment affirming that " under present circum-
stances this house believes it to be its duty to give a general
independent support to the government, in such a manner
that the measures it proposes may be submitted to the judg-
ment of this house." The wrangle continued for many a
weary week, intensifying the feeling of faction and giving rise
to torrents of newspaper opinion.
During the following autumn the Dominion elections were
held and the i-eformers swept from power. M. Letellier's party
had been full of courage till the wires brought the news that
Mr. Mackenzie was "routed, horse, foot and artillery;" but
then their spirits began to sink. Everything in this country
right, wrong, justice, and law come under the sway of party,
and with a Conservative majority at Ottawa and Conservative
leaders committed to the opinion that Letellier had travelled
beyond his jurisdiction, the doom of the lieutenant-gover.ior
was plainly assured. Messieurs Chapleau, Angers and Church
who had been members of the De Boucherville ministry were
convinced of this, and to bring on the issue they forwarded a
petition to Sir Patrick MacDougall, acting adminwtrator of the
government, praying for M. Letellier's dismissal. With much
craft they adopted in their petition the very words used in Sir
LETELLIER. 73
John Macdonald's resolution of the preceding session at Ottawa,
lest for any reason the new prime-minister should not feel dis-
posed to confirm when in power what he iiad maintained when
in opposition. It was at this juncture that the Marquis of
Lome an'ived in Canada.
If the writer could subscribe to the doctrine of luck, then
would he say that Dufferin had come into the world with the
fates pledged to keep him out of trouble. Lord Dufferin for all
his Hibernian honey was a politician and an adventurer. Two
objects he kept constantly in view — the approbation of the
public and the approval of the Imperial government. Some
of those who were charmed by his eloquence and captivated
by his flattery think these are the highest aims a governor
can set before him ; but the answer is easy : that which
pleases, is not always best, and flattery, which never dis-
pleases, butters no parsnips. With all his warm-heartedness
and prodigal courtesy. Lord Dufferin did little in this country
by which he will be remembered save to maintain a perpet*" \
liunt for popularity. His lavish hospitality was commend-
able but it was sometimes pernicious ; and there are civil
.servants who have occasion to remember it to the day of their
death. Whenever he got beyond the poetry of the situation —
our majestic rivers and mighty forests, or the superb physique
and towering intelligence of ourselves — he had nothing to teach
us but the story of a glorious future when a gveat Canadian
nation lying between the republic and the pole would still be
tied by the leading strings to a foreign power beyond the ocean.
Wherever he saw a germ of national sentiment he put his
foot upon it ; yet while he did the work of his masters, to f ur-
E
74 THE ADMINISTRATION OF LORD LORNE.
ther his own ambition, he suffocated our people with flattery.
In his patrimonial castle, bounded by the limitations of a land-
lord, a more charming host, comjmnion or social leader it
would be difficult to find ; but when these domestic virtues, in
a wider field, are turned into tools to carve out a fortune they
may not be such an admirable possession. This writer would
be sorry to detract aught from the administration of Lord
Dufferin, to question his courtesy or his generosity ; but never-
theless while he was here Canada was a huge honey-pot. Nor
was he sweet and eloquent without avail ; for his speeches^
on Canadian water-tankards made the way easy to a foreign
ambassadorship. When he left Canada the clouds of the Letel-
lier storm had darkened the sky ; had the tempest broken,
instead of bearing home a national benediction, he would have
carried away a load of libel, and some other adventuring poli-
tician might have been sent to St. Petersburg!!. •
The petition of the discarded ministers was submitted to M.
Letellier who replied at much length, covering substantially
the same ground as that traversed in his despatch to Earl
Dufferin. He repeated with emphasis the allegation that the
proclamations relating to the calling of the legislature and the
appointment of a day of thanksgiving had been published in
the Official Gazette, ostensibly with his signature, befoie hi.s
signature was given, and that in order to prevent irregularity
he had signed both proclamations after publication, though not
without verbal and written remonstrance. Messieurs Angers,
Church and Chapleau replied characterising his honour's sug-
gestions as " unfair and untrue." They discussed the consti-
tutional aspect of the case at much length, especially the
LETELLIER. 7«
contention of their opponents that the return of a reform
majority at the new elections justified the dismissal, afiirming
that " Le aucce^ Tie fait jamais le droit " — that the end cannot
justify the means, and that " the electors would learn with con-
sternation that a functionary of the federal government, whom
neither the people of the provinces nor their representatives
can constitutionally punish nor even censure, is to be protected
from all reprimand and all punishment from those to whom he
is directly responsible, provided that by his violation of the
constitution he can procure a majority." To the charge that the
De Boucherville administration had been controlled by railway
" rings " they entered an emphatic denial. They wound up
with an impeachment of the lieutenant-governor and a prayer
for his removal.
It is as well to omit in this place other incidents in the nar-
rative of Lord Lome's administration to follow the thread of
the Letellier story. As lias already been said, in the autumn
of 1878, a general election was held, and the reform ministry
overthrown. At an early day after the meeting of the new
parliament, M. Mousseau, a French-Canadian member and a
Bleu, moved a resolution censuring the act of M. Letellier and
adopting in his motion the exact words used by Sir John in the
previous session. It has been said over and over again by those
whose statements are entitled to some regard that Sir John
was not intellectually convinced that M. Letellier ought to be
dismissed, and that he always censured the lieutenant-governor
for rashness and a lack of appreciation of the judicial limita-
tion to his constitutional powers. Whether these statements
be true or not the writer does not know, but nothing has ap-
76 THE ADMINISTRATION OF LORD LORNE.
peared either in the public words or actions of Sir John to bear
thom out. Those who know the prime-minister will not be the
first to believe that at the domestic board he would repudiate
a course which he had publicly adopted ; and rumour could
only have been supplied at the lips of Sir John himself. How-
ever true or false the story, the French-Canadian members were
not disposed wholly to discredit it, and for this reason in their
petition to Sir Patrick MacDougal!, praying for M. Letellier's
removal, as in M. Mousseau's motion of censure in the house.
Sir John's resolution was used. In offering his motion M.
Mousseau denied that he was actuated by political motives,
and protested that he had only at heart the maintenance of
the great principle of responsible government. He delivered a
lengthy and able speech in which he exhaustingly reviewed
the Letellier document, contending that if the charges made by
the lieutenant-governor had beeu well-founded they would not
have formed a ground for dismissal ; btit that as a matter of fact
they were abortive from error and inaccuracy. He attempted
to show, too, and it would be less than accurate to say that he
did not succeed, that M. Letellier's conception of prerogative
was exaggerated, sometimes absurd, and often dangerous. Mr.
McCarthy, North Simcoe, seconded M. Mousseau's resolution,
and vigorously maintained that it was within the competence
of parliament to try the case. Mr. Mackenzie regarded the pro-
posed interference of the parliament as monstrous, and declared
that if the central legislature arrogated to itself such functions
a legislative union with all its evils would be infinitely prefer-
able to the federal system. Mr. MacDougall took the anomalous
position of condemning the action of Letellier, and censuring
LETELLIEF. 77
the parliament for essaying to try the case after it had been
once dismissed. He declared that it was against the genius of
English law that a man should be tried a second time for the
same political, any more than for the same criminal, offence,
though if his memory had not betrayed him, he would Jiave
recollected that M. Letellier had not been " tried " the previous
session, that the case had come before the commons but had
been dismissed, while in the senate the lieutenant-governor had
been condemned; though whether the case had been tried or not
he ought to have known that the legislature is a supreme court
without the technique and the limitations of a court of law ;
that it cannot, any more than the people, do wrong since it is
a delegation from the people, and that if it tried a defendant
every session during his natural life the proceeding must be
right. Mr. MacDou;r''ll warned the French-Canadians that in
transferring the matter to the federal parliament they were
creating a precedent which would be dangerous to the main-
tenance of their independence and their control of local affairs.
The debate upon the subject was long and bitter, each member
as has been already observed deriving his moral instinct on the
question from the party bearing of the issue. On the 14th of
March M. Ouimet, one of the French -Canadian members who
was particularly thirsty for the blood of the lieutenant-gover-
nor moved " That the question be now put ; " and his motion
was carried by one hundred and thirty-six votes to fifty-one.
Then came a calm, and the house looked with some eager-
ness to see what course the government would adopt. Several
members of the opposition had averred that the ministry
should have taken the initiative in the question, and not left
78 THE ADMINISTRATION OF LORD LORNE.
it to a private member; but since the proceeding was an im-
peachment of a public officer rather than a measure of public
policy, there seems nothing objectionable in any member what-
soever bringing the matter before the house, though Mr. Alpheus
TodtV, the learned writer on constitutional questions, firmly
maintains the contrary. One day, the 3rd of April, when the
patience of the more excitable of the French-Canadian mem-
bers had been well-nigh exhausted, and the house yet wondered
what the fate of M. Letellier was to be, Sir John Macdonald
rose and made the following statement : " That a few days
after the passing of M. Mousseau's resolution he wait,ed on his
excellency the Governor-General, representing to him that
after the resolution of the senate in the last session of parlia-
ment, and the resolution of the house of commons just refer-
red to it, was the opinion of his excellency's advisers that
the usefulness of M. Letellier as lieutenant-governor of Quebec
was gone, and they advised that in the public interest it was
expedient that he should be removed from office. His excel-
lency was therefore pleased to state that as the federal system
introduced by the British North America Act of 1867 was,
until then unknown in Great Britain or her colonies, there
were no precedents to guide us; that the decision in the present
case would settle for the future the relations between the
Dominion and the provincial gevernments, so far as the office
of lieutenant-governor is concerned, and that his excellency
therefore deemed it expedient to submit the advice tendered to
him, and the whole case with all the attendant circumstances
to Her Majesty's government for their consideration and
instructions." This announcement produced consternation
LETELLIER. 79
among the more extreme of the French members who believed
that it was an expedient of the prime-minister to shift the re \
sponsibility of dismissal or retention upon the imperial govern-
ment. M. Ouimet took occasion, so great was his wrath, to
get his legs outside the traces. He characterized the course
adopted by the government as unconstitutional and an in-
fringement upon responsible government. If the prerogatives
•of parliament were to be ignored in this way, he said, they
ought to send the schedule of the new tariff, which was then un-
der consideration, to England for approval, and after it had been
approved there continue the discussion. Sir John, however, was
not to be disposed of by the sarcasm of M. Ouimet. The course
adopted was not unconstitutional, he affirmed ; and though the
government had been unanimous in advising the dismissal of
M. Letellier, and while he could wish that the advice had
been acted upon without reference to England, he approved of
the course chosen by his excellency, since Her Majesty's offi-
•cers were thoroughly conversant with our rights and privileges
and might be relied on to give advice in consonance therewith
and consistently with our position as a self-governing people.
Several of the other French-Canadian members also exhibited
the impatience and the ferocity of their partyism by storming
at the government, and declaring that our constitutional
liberty was drifting upon the rocks.
In the meantime no little share of public attention was given
to the governor-general. From the tirst it had been openly
said that he was hostile to the proposal for removing M. Le-
tellier, and the entire course of his proceedings seemed to ver-
ify the opinion. Some of the newspapers then began to teach
80 THE ADMINISTRATION OF LORD LORNE.
him his duty. One writer said that his proper course was ta
refuse the advice of his ministers, then either to insist on their
resignation or dismiss them, a doctrine under most circum-
stances at once false, dangerous Tory, and retrogressive, though
it came from those who were believed to have upon their lips
the honey and the wisdom of liberalism. Some others found
in his refusal to dismiss without reference on the advice of
his ministers the indication of a firm man and a just con-
science. But some of the inflamed French -Canadian orators
and newspapers poured a tide of censure upon him ; declared
him a foe of freedom, and a thwarter of justice. It is said
that the newspapers directed to his excellency passed through
a sieve — that is through the hands of his secretary — else, had he
put any value upon the advice given to him by every editor, he
must have been sore bewildered, so many lines of duty were
laid down with the authority of law, and so clashing all.
Cart-loads of matter were printed about the rights of local
legislatures, and the jurisdiction of lieutenant-governors, and
not only did every editor disagree with his nearest neighbour,
but he often collided with himself.
The public were not astray in surmising that Lord Lome was
unfavourable to the dismissal of Letellier. His lordship, it
appears, was firmly convinced that the lieutenant-governor had
warrant for dismissing his ministers ; and it is not hard to be-
lieve that he would like to feel that he himself was more than
a roi faineant, a thing to say what it is told at ceremonies, or
" the top button on the cap of the ministerial mandarin " as^
one of the controversialists put it; that he had the right to put
away his own advisers for reasons that he deemed suffi-
LETELLIER. 81
cient without in turn incurringr dismissal himself. Under
these conditions it was not alone preferable, but highly com-
mendable, that he should place the responsibility on other
shoulders, though this writer considers the reference of most
Canadian questions to Downing Street's wisdom an imperti-
nence and a gross insult to the intelligence of our own people
In April the postmaster-general, M. Hector L. Langevin, and
Mr. J. J. C. Abbott, Q. C, went to England to represent the
case for the Dominion, and M. Joly to submit the Letellier
view of the question.
The Imperial Government was in one of its wise moods and
instructed the colonial secretary to allow the colonists to set-
tle the matter for themselves ; to advise, but not to decide.
So, on the 13th of July M. Langevin returned from England
with a momentous packet. If certain reports speak true the
astute and captivating French-Canadian statesman deserved
no small sli tre of the credit for the conclusions reached in the
document ■\irhich he brought out. For the Downing Street
decision all concerned waited with an almcst feverish anxiety.
The conclusions reached there could not but be of the high-
est moment both to the government and to constitutional pro-
cedure. Had it been declared that there existed no cause for
the dismissal of M. Letellier, then one of four courses should
have been adopted. The governor might refuse the advice of
his ministers, in which case they must surrender office ; he
might dismiss his advisers, dissolve parliament, or resign him-
self. Let us see was his duty outlined in the Downing Street
instructions. Her Majesty's Government, Sir Michael Hicks^
Beach said, had given their earnest consideration to the request
82 THE ADMINISTRATION OF LORD LORNE.
of his excellency for instructions on the recommendation of
the Canadian cabinet to have M. Letellier removed from
olfice. This report" bore upon a constitutional question affect-
ing the internal affairs of the Dominion, and belonged to a
«lass of subjects with which the government and parliament of
Canada were fully competent to deal. He noticed with " satis-
faction" — though if he had had two eyes about him he might
not have had so much ground for satisfaction — that, owing to
the ability and patience with which the new constitution had
been made by the Canadian people to fulfil the objects with
which it was framed, it had very rarely been found necessary
to resort to imperial authority for assistance in any of
those complications which might have been expected to arise
during the first years of the Dominion. Sir Michae' can prob-
ably see further through a fog-bank than most people, but the
general impression is that our constitutional chart, the British
North America Act, is about the haziest public document that
we possess, and that unless it be soon made clear the govern-
ment might not find it unprofitable to establish a regular steam
service to carry delegates with disputed provincial and Domin-
ion cases to and from the imperial privy council. Within the
year just closing over our heads two questions have gone to
Downing Street, and the irony of the transactions is that the}'-
have been taken there by our Liberals. If, the colonial secre-
tary continued, it had been the duty of Her Majesty's govern-
ment to decide whether M. Letellier ought or ought not to
be removed, the reasons in favour of, and against, his re-
moval would have been very ably and thoroughly put before
them by Messrs. Langevin and Abbott, and by M. Joly. The
LETELLIER. 83
powers given by the British North America Act, with respect
to the removal of ft lieutemint-governor from office, were
vested, not in her majesty's government, but in the governor-
general. The main principles determining the positit of the
lieutenant-governor of a province in the matter now ixndor
consideration, were plain. There could be no doubt that he has
an unquestionable constitutional right to dismiss the provincial
ministers if, from any cause, he felt it incumbent upon him to
do so, and for any action he might take he was directly respon-
sible to the governor-general. But this much of the despatch,
the governor-general could lay to heart : Her Majesty's gov-
ernment, Sir Michael said, did not find anything in the circum-
stances of the case which would justify the governor-general
" in departing, in this instance, from the general rule, and de-
clining to follow the decided and sustained opinion of his
ministers, who are responsible for the peace and good govern-
ment of the Dominion to the parliament to which, according to
the 25th section of the statute, the cause assigned for the
removal of a lieutenant-governor must be communicated." He
closed with the suggestion that it might be well if the whcle
question, now that strong feeling on both sides had been tem-
pered down, were onnsidercd afresh, and took occasion to point
out that a lieutenant-governor should not be removed except
for grave cause. In process of time it dawned even in the
opaque head of John Willet, in " Barnaby Rudge," that his son
Joe, whom though grown to man's estate, he had beaten and
treated as a boy, had the rights of manhood, though he did not
learn this till the son, like the New England colonies, exaspera-
ted beyond endurance, threw off the yoke ; and the conviction.
84 THE ADMINISTRATION OF LORD LORNE.
too, if as slowly as in the case of John Willet, now camo to
Downinj^ Street that Canadians had attained their stature and
were competent for the supreme management of their own do-
mestic affairs. * .
Lord Lome concluded upon reading this dispatch that tlm
doom of M. Letellier was sealed. The only step he could take
row in the direction of averting an act of which ho heartily
disapproved was to ask his ministers to consider the question
once again ; and in submitting the colonial secretary's paper
he added a memorandum requesting the cabinet to state " if
the opinion given by them to the effect that they advise tlie
dismissal of the lieutenant-governor of Quebec be still their
decided opinion, and if that opinion bo sustained after full
weight and due consider^^tion has been given by the cabinet
to the support afforded in the Province of Quebec to M. Joly
the minister who is by constitutional practice responsible for
the action of the lieutenant-governor." He likewise desired,
that the reconsidered opinion of the cabinet should be assented
to by the ministers then absent in England, * and suggested
that they should be communicated with by telegraph for that
purpose. To this Sir John Macdonald replied that ministers,
after having given the despatch and his excellency's memor-
andum anxious consideration, still adhered to the advice pre-
viously tendered to him. His excellency was now, if ever viceroy
in this country was, between the devil and the deep sea. His
private instinct of justice told him that the demand for Letel-
lier's dismissal was wrong and only the craving of faction for a
victim, while the words of the chief justice who administered to
* Sir Leonard Tilley and Sir Charles Tupper.
LETELLIER. M
him the oatli of otfico rang in his ears, " You shall duly and
impartially administer jimtice therein. So help you God."
His opinion and his conscience impelled him to save his lieu-
tenant, but the Downing Street despatch lay on his desk befoni
him, and the same authority while there told him that he was
not justified in declining to follow "the decided and sustained
opinion of his ministers " whether the act was just or unjust, or
whether he believed it to be base or virtuous, it was that had
made him swear but a few days before to impartially admin-
ister justice. — "So help him God." When he received Sir
John's message he saw that the hour of .salvation was past
and, figuratively, calling for a basin washed his hands of the
deed ; then taking a leaf of paper he wrote the following des-
patch, dated the 23rd inst. : " Shall consent to act on advice
given, after reconsideration of case by cabinet. Order-in-
council should be so drawn as to make clear sole responsibility
of cabinet for action taken." On reading the last sentence
Sir. John and his advisers may be imagined saying, " His blood
be upon us and upon our children." On the 25th an order-in-
council was passed specifying among otner things that the cab-
inet " assumed the responsibility " of the procedure, that the
cause assigned for the removal of the lieutenant-governor of
Quebec " according to the provisions of the 59th section of the
British North America Act," was that "after the vote of the
house of commons during the last session, and that of the senate
during the previous session, M. Letellier's usefulness as a lieu-
tenant-governor was gone." On the same day M. Edouard J.
Langevin, under-secretary of state, wrote the following letter to
M. Letellier : " I am commanded by his excellency the governor-
86 TEE ADMINISTRATION OF LORD LORNE.
genera^ to inform you that by order of his excellency in coun-
cil, passed this day, you were removed from the office of lieu-
tenant-governor of the Province of Quebec, and that the cause
assigned for such removal, according to the provisions of the
59th section of the British North America Act, 1837, is that
after the vote of the house of commons during last session, and
that of the senate during the previous session, with relation to
your course as lieutenant-governor, your usefulness as such
was gone." And so it was over with poor Letellier. When he
read the dismissal it is related that a violent spasm cast its sha-
dow over his face, and turning to some one beside him he said :
" It is done. They have disgraced me and overthrown the con-
stitution."
The dismissal though long expected created a sensation when
announced. Volumes of objections were raised to the consti-
tutionality of the act ; and the functions of lieutenant-gover-
nors, provincial legislatures, the Dominion parliament and the
fovernor-general were discussed in the press, and upon the
platform, in such temper and language as forbade the assump-
tion of a judicial spirit. Though from such discussion a bro^d
of discords is always sure to issue, something of good is like-
wise certain to come. When the controversy was ended no
one knew precisely or with any degree of practicable cer-
tainty the full range of conditions which would justify a
lieutenant-governor in dismissing his advisers ; no one saw
more clearly the point at which the general government should
interpose its authority ; but if it did not explain these problems
it made " darkness visible ; " it showed us the vague part of
our constitution, and emphas'zed the necessity of either sup-
LETELLIER. ' 87
plying the indefinite places with precedents, or expressing,.
by a revision of the constitution, what the meaning is in un-
equivocal language. At the very threshold oi the proceedings
the learned writer on constitutional questions, Mr. Alpheus
Todd finds an objection. Grranted, he stiys, that a lieutenant-
governor has transcended his powers, the initiatory step to-
wards his removal should proceed from the governor-in-coun-
cil. Mr. Mackenzie and nearly all the Reformers are com-
mitted to the same view. For otherwise, says Mr. Todd,
there is involved " a coniplete abnegation of ministerial re-
sponsibility and a surrender of tb.e safeguards over indivi-
dual rights which ministerial responsibility is intended to
afford." If this is so the whole case of the government falls
to the ground, for the conclusion that M. Letellier's " useful-
ness " was " gone " was rested on the condemnatory resolu-
tions of the senate and the commons. But it seems by no
means certain that it is so ; for notwithstanding the gull
that Mr. Todd lays down between the legislature and the
ministry, the latter is the " executive " only because it repre
sents and executes tV^e will of the parliament ; Nvhile the par-
liament is in turn the embodied will of the people. But even
Mr. Todd who believes that the sovereign is the receptacle of all
power, even mayhap that of curing scrofula, will hardly contend
that the king is anything more than the residing place of the
authority of the people. If Mr. Todd could have convinced
himself that the king can do wrong, but that the people cannot
that the khu/ does not rule, but that the jieople rule through
him, his contributions on constitutional questions would
have been more valuable, and would be less often reproached
88 THE ADMINISTRATION OF LORD LORNK
with emitting the smell of the bone-yard. What the weight
of the accusation against Letellier was is discussed elsewhere ;
but the parliament, or the major faction of it, condemned him,
and the executive carried out the legislature's will, which legis-
lature having just come from the people must have fairly, it is
to be supposed, embodied the will of the people. It is not evi-
dence in the case to say, as Mr. Todd does, that the censure of
Letellier by the house was the condemnation of a party, for the
(question of the party system is not involved in the issue, and we
must deal with our governmental machinery, objectionable as
it may seem to us, just as we find it. But the writer must not
be blamed if he seem amused at Mr. Todd's way of removing
the stigma of party prejudice from the act of removal : by
giving the initiative of dismissal into the hands of a cabinet
which differs from the parties in the house only in being more
partizan. It is the custom among some of the cadis of the east
to condemn the culprit first, and try him afterwards before a
jury, and this proceeding would probably commend itself to
the approbation of Mr. Todd. Suppose one of our English
judges were to decide the civil or criminal case first and submit
his conclusion afterwards to the jurors, we would rise to purge
the judiciary with fire and sword ; but Mr. Todd would have the
executive dismiss the lieutenant-governor first, and afterwards
appeal to parliament to know whether they had done right or
not. It will seem to those who wipe away the glamour of the
dark-ages from their eyes that the correct way first was for the
executive to have learnt from parliament, the " grand inquest of
the nation," whether Letellier did or did not deserve removal ;
and t'.ien to carry out the verdict given. It is less the oftice
LETELLIER. 89
of the legislature to direct than to supervise administra-
tion ; but it seeing to be forgotten sometimes that the executive
is only a committee of parliament, and that the function of
administration is given to it for convenience — as a joint-stock
company conducts its business through a board of directors —
and necessarily because, while acts of administration are re-
quisite every day, and, events unforeseen will arise, the legis-
lature sits only a short period of the year. But the disposal
by cabinet of any important public matter convenient to the
cognisance of parliament is arrogant and contrary to the spirit
of the constitution. The precisely opposite view is held by Mr.
Todd who in aiming to lay down salutary lessons for the state
proclaims this mischievous bit of doctrine : " Any direct in-
terference by resolution by parliament in the details of
government is inconsistent with, and subversive of, the kingly
authority, and is a departure from the fundamental principle
of the British constitution, which vests al' 'executive authority
in the sovereign," What is a (question of convenience, too, it
will be seen Mr. Todd ma,kes a matter of principle. Consti-
tutional literature, no more than geology, is enriched by exam-
ining only the surface.
It is easier, however, to prove that the ministry were justi-
fied in receiving the question from the hands of the legisla-
ture than that the central parliament acted wisely in admitting
the discussion into the house. Two questions are opened.
Was M. Letellier justified in dismissing his ministry ? and, Was
he responsible to the governor-general in council for having
done so ? T shall endeavour to answer briefly the former ques-
tion first. It has been stated by the enemies as well as the
F
90 THE ADMINISTRATION OF LORD LORNE.
friends of M. Letellier that one of the reasons for dismissal
was that he did not believe his advisers had the confidence of
the province ; but in his niemoranduin of dismissal he states
no such opinion, distinctly basing his action on the ground
that his ministers had intruded on " the rights and preroga-
tives of the crown." He specifies the faults of the ministry
as persistence in a policy of extravagant railway legislation,
and an increase of civil expenditure at a time when provincial
finances were straitened, and after he had advised retrenchment.
This would have been a good ground had his honour stood bold-
ly upon it, but he simply recites it as a passing grievance and
takes up the question of prerogative. He charges his ministei's
with introducing several measures into the house without hav-
ing obtained his consent, or so much as consulted him upon
them ; and in a statement (-f subsequent grievances, which it is.
fair to presume were implied, though not expressed, in the note
of dismissal, he pointed out tliat in the previous November there
had been published in the Official Gazette purporting to bear
the lieutenant-governor's signature, two proclamations, one
calling the legislature together for business and the other ap-
pointing a thanksgiving day, neither of which he had signed,^
and the latter of which he had not even seen. Having ignored
such a firm stand-point as r,he alleged recklessness of his min-
isters, the infringement of prerogative would have formed a.
strong position for the governor, but he deliberatel}'^ cuts this
ground from under his own feet. The very memorandum that
states he cannot retain M. de Boucherville " in his position,
contrary to the rights and prerogatives of the crown," also states
that " the lieutenant-governor is ready to admit that there was
LETELLIER. 91
no intention on the part of the premier to disregard theprerog-
atlves of the crown." In the same memorandum, too, he says
of Messieurs Angers and Church that " thess gentlemen have
done nothing knowingly not in conformitj'' with the duties^cf
their office ;" and that he "in no way expressed the opinion
that he believed that the premier had ever had the intention
of taking upon himself the right of having measures passed
without his approbation, or of disregarding the prerogatives of
the representative of the crown." That he could in the same
document declare his ministers guilty, and in the next breath
admit that they were innocent, of that offence, and s'ill wind
up his paper by dismissing them for it, would be incredible
but that litercG scripta^ manent. There it is in the record. But
having ignored the extravagance grounds, which for a governor
who disregarded the practice and went by the letter of juris-
diction would have formed a reason sufficient for the dismissal,
it is not strange that M. Letellier neglects to take advantage of
another opportunity at his hand, one that would have worn the
semblance of justification, perhaps, and saved the constitution
f roiii a great disgrace. In other words he stated that he could not
accept the prime-minister's advice and sanction the act respect-
ing the North Shore railway. Had he closed his paper as he
ended this sentence M. de Boucherville would have found it
his duty to resign, when, if the governor was sincere in his de-
sire to meet the wishes of the province, he could have ascer-
tained the popular will by a dissolution.
Yet after all some one will say, and he may not be a Conser-
vative, that the ministers were better judges than the lieutenant-
governor of the expediency of their railway legislation ; but his
92 THE ADMINISTRATION OF LORD LORNE.
honour revealed a phase of the case in a paper supplementing
his general statement to the governor-general, which would
have justified his course had his allegation been correct, name-
ly that on the admission of the premier the government were
in the hands of " rings," of members banded together to force
railway building through the counties they represented. But
M. Letellier made no shadow of this grave charge in his dis-
missal note, and put upon his defence before a proper court it
would not prove any justification of his proceeding. Yet it
seemed only naked justice to suppose that M. Letellier believed
that his ministers were not pursuing a general policy suited to
the public interest, and that they really were in the hands of
railway "rings;" though that he should have endeavoured to
substantiate this by dismissing them for an infringement of a
prerogative which in the next breath he said was not infringed,
was like a crown officer resting a murder prosecution on the
allegation that the culprit had made faces at the parish beadle.
Perhaps M. Letelliers advisers did not consult him as often as
they should have done, though it is not uncertain that were the
lieutenant-governor's party leanings far weaker he would not
have regarded as an infringement of his rights what was only
a general practice. But had M. Letellier considered his posi-
tion belittled, he should have distinctly laid down for his
ministers* guidance what he would insist upon ; though this, it
appears, he had never done. Prevention is better than detec-
tion, and so Lord Dufferin thought, for when he assumed the
administration he informed the executive that he would be
found in his office at their disposal whenever they needed him,
LETELLIER. 93
"a hint which they never forgot."* What bears the worst as-
pect about governor Letellier's action is, that after he had be-
come sensible that where he had taken offence no offence was
intended, and that his right or prerogative not having been
knowingly infringed, had not been therefore virtually disre-
garded, he should still have dismissed for the grounds cited in
his note ; and it seems as if he had, in addition to having given
his confidence to M. Joly, also pledged his word to discard his
advisers ; and that he must needs keep that promise.
The allegations of the lieutenant-governor Messieurs Angers
and Church attempt to meet by contending that the ministry
virtually had the authority of the governor for their railway
legislation, and they tell the story of M. Letellier's attitude in
this way ; nor does his honour deny the statement. On the
28th of January M. de Boucherville telegraphed to the lieu-
tenant-governor who was at Riviere Quelle, as follows : " Can
you send me authorization resolutions respecting finances ? "
The blank came, after which the amount was filled in by the
governor's aide-de-camp. Armed with this authority, and M
Letellier was Frenchman enough to know that carte blanche
means authority, the government on the following day intro-
duced their railway resolutions. On the 5th of February, a
bill based on these resolutions was introduced. Delays inter-
vened and it did not reach a third reading till the 19th. Dur-
ing these stages of the- measure his honour had received a
record of the proceedings but had remained silent on the
bill up to the 19th, when he remonstrated with the premier.
The latter defended the course of the government and came
* Stewarc in Car.ada Under the Administration of the Earl of Dufferin.
M THE ADMINISTRATION OF LORD LORNE.
away from his honour with the impression that he had liberty
to allow the bill to proceed to the upper house. If the gover-
nor had any knowledge of the legislation and any decision
of character, he should at this interview have refused his con-
currence, since he had not done so before, fiut ho offered
no set objection till the 2Gth, and his conclusion did not
come to hand till the Inll had passed the uppier house. It is
clear then from all this, that on the plea of infringed prero-
gative the go\ ernor had not the right to dismiss ; and since
he, himself, did not seek justification for his action in the al-
leged reckless legislation of his ministers, or their subjection to
" rings," the historian cannot do so for him. That he had not
the right to dismiss, under the circumstances, does not prove
that he would not have been justified in dissolving parliament
or even dismissing his advisers, had he good reason to suspect
that they were under the influence of parties who had ends,
not consistent with the general weal, to serve. That the con-
stitution gave him the right to dismiss is unquestionable, and
to prove this it is not necessary to go behind the instructions
given to Lord Dufferin : " The governor-general and the lieu-
tenant-governors occupy so far as their advisers are concerned,
the same position as the Sovereign." And then : "If in any case
you see sufficient cause " [and this applies to the lieutenant-
governor as well as to the governor-general] " to dissent from
the opinion of the major part or the whole of our privy council
for our Dominion, it shall be competent for you to execute the
powers and authorities vested in you by our commission and by
these our instructions, in opposition to such their opinion." Atro-
cious as this doctrine is, it is the law, and had M. Letellier any
LETELIIER. 96
tact he would have been so fortified that to censure the exercise
of liis prerofi;ative would have been to go to war with this
latest literature on the constitution.
Nor does the present writer, who looks with extreme repug-
nance on the extent of what Mr. Todd reverently calls the
*' kingly authority," think that, under the constitution, the po-
sition of the lieutenant-governor would be shaken because the
weak and unworthy ministry, when discarded, had a majority
in the legislature. M. Letellier's subsequent punishment was
less a legitimate sequence than an accident; and the fact re-
mains that he is an instance now, as Metcalfe was in his day,
which proves that the governor, in whatever sphere, is not a
cypher. Had Mr. Mackenzie remained in power a lesser reason
for the dismissal of the ministers than that put forward would
have justified the governor and given a precedent to our con-
stitution. As it was poor Letellier's mistake was a sad one.
He thought he was in the fullest sense what they had labelled
him, a lieutenant-governor ; but he found he was only in prac-
tice the lieutenant-bugle upon which ministers may sound
their will. And well i» it that it is so ; though we may weep
for the polluted channel through which the just decision
comes. No one impartially reading the case will deny that
woe would soon come to the constitution if every governor
were like Letellier. The mutual limitations between the head
of the government and the advisers which should be a silken
cord he makes a rail of iron. He was right by the book, but
like the captain who followed the book and shut his ears to the
lesson of experience, he went upon the rocks.
96 THE ADMINISTRATION OF LORD LORNE.
The oiher question, Was M. Letellier responsible to the gov-
ernor-general in council for having dismissed his ministers ? is
much more easily answered, though in doing so one has to be
the arbitrator between two Fountains of Honour. For example,
Lord Carnarvon, who was colonial secretary during the discus-
sion on the pledge of pardon given to Louis Riel by Archbishop
Tachd, has left this doctrine on record: "The lieutenant-governors
of the provinces of the Dominion, however important, locally,
their functions may be, are a part of the colonial administrative
staff', and are immediately responsible to the governor-general
in council. They do not hold commissions from the crown, and
neither in power nor privilege resemble those governors, or
even lieutenant-governors of colonies, to whom after special
consideration of their personal fitness the Queen under the
Great Seal and her own hand and signet delegates portions of
her prerogatives, and issues her own instructions." But as has
been seen, the Downing Street instructions to Lord Dufferin
also declare that " the governor-general and the lieutenant-gov-
ernors occupy so far as their advisers are concerned the same
position as the Sovereign." Nothing can^be more contradictory
than the utterances of these two oracles ; but as one must be
accepted, I shall take the former. By this then the lieutenant-
governor is responsible to the governor-general, not to cite the
British North America Act, while under the instructions to
Lord Dufferin there is not, at least, any negative to the doc-
trine. The Dominion government had just as much right to
dismiss M. Letellier as the Imperial government had to recall
Lord Durham or Sir Francis Bond Head.
LETELLIER. 97
There is little more to be said regarding the main argument,
and I shall only refer to one or two questions arising out of the
discuH.sion. Sir John Macdonald stated in justifying the refer-
ence of the case to England that the governor-general had con-
cluded that as " there were no precedents to guide us, the deci-
sion in the present case would settle for the future the rela-
tions between the Dominion and the provincial governments, so
far as the office of lieutenant-governor is concerned." The truth
is, instead of the removalof the lieutenant-governor settling the
question, it has made confusion worse confounded ; and this is
clearly shown in the fact that " the vote of the house of com-
mons during last session, and that of the Senate during the pre-
vious session," was put forth as a proof that M. Letellier's
" usefulness was gone," That is to say the precedent establish-
ed is not that a lieutenant-governor shall be dismissed for tak-
ing this course or that, but only when the senate and the house
of commons shall have passed censure upon him. But while
this may form a precedent for the governor-general to follow,
what is to be the guide for the parliament ? Nothing save
this : If it be a Tory parliament then its only course will be to
dismiss the Liberal governor who in any way does harm to the
tory party, and vice versa. No ; the dismis.sal of M. Letellier
has not established any precedent save this, that Might is Right.
Where it touches constitutional principle it eiitablishes nothing
but haze and contradiction.
Messrs. Todd, Mackenzie, McDougall, and the other leading
Reformers, looked upon the action of the Dominion as an inter-
ference with provincial rights, but it was precisely for the pur-
pose of protecting provincial rights from the arbitrariness of
i)8 THE ADMINISTRATION OF LOUD LORNE,
the ruling official that the general parliament affirmed it in-
terfered. But the argument here is ready that if it be well
that the majority of the people, rathe, than one man should
rule, whether well or ill, then is it likewise clear that some
authority should exist to arbitrate between M. Letellier and his
ministry, had the latter been dismissed while enjoying the con-
fidence of the people. Some find conclusive proof that the
Dominion trod down provincial autonomy in dismissing the
lieutenant-governor after his action had been endorsed by the
people; but even positive endorsation would not make a wrong
■and unconstitutional action right, though that there was posi-
tive approval of M. Letellier's act, looking at the trial votes,
and the demoralization and bad odour that a dismissal from
office must bring upon ex-ministers whether they have been
discai'ded for good or insufficient reasons, is by no means so
certain. Upon matters of aomestic legislation, and the admin-
istration arising out of such acts, the people of Quebec ought
to be the supreme arbiters ; and if these were the only ques-
tions, and they had been fairly put to the public, the decision
of the province would have been sufficient, and the interference
of the Dominion a gross wrong. •
Out of the main question, too, arose the direct issue between
the respective jurisdiction of provincial and Dominion legisla-
tures ; and the same question has arisen many times since. Our
guiding chart is the British North America Act ; but the con-
stitutional courses are not marked with sufficient clearness, and
■discord and perpetual traffic lo Downing-Street are the fruit.
Where some statutes are vague, or even blank, centuries of pre-
cedent give them a meaning ; seons of such precedent as the
LETELLIER. %»
dismissal of Lotellier would not define the jurisdiction of a
lieutenant-governor, even were Canadians satisfied with a dark
lantern so long as their great-grandchildren are likely to have
light. Every year now sees a collision between provincial and
central authority, as witness the dispute about the constitu-
tionality of the Scott Act, of the Licensing and Streams Bills,
and the right to escheats. The conflict and the skurrying to
Downing Street, and the hopeless gulf of opinicm that lies be-
tween the supreme and the provincial courts, are all begotten
of vague definition in the British North America Act, To the
British North America Act, then, the cure of revision should
be applied, and in adopting the remedy our legislators should
lose no time. What is vague should be made clear, and what
is left out should be supplied ; nor should too reverent hands
tremble at touching the sacred muddle, for to use the words of
a great thinker, "it has absolutely nothing to hallow it."* Since,
let it be repeated, we cannot wait for our unwritten constitu-
tion to become written by the slow process of precedent, and an
undignified traffic to the judgment-seat of a board of inexpert
* Professor Goldwin Smith, from whom the quotation is made, says in the By-
stander, October, 1883 : " Never was there a political arrangement which, whether
\re look to the circumstances under which it was framed or to the men who framed
it, could be more justly regarded as an experiment, open to reconsideration after
reasonable trial, than the constitution of the Canadian confederation. It never re-
ceived, what every constitution under the elective system of government ought to
receive, the direct and explicit sanction of the people. It has absolutely nothing
to hallow it ; nor is there the least ground for apprehending that a correction of its
pi'oved defects would shake that popular sentiment of allegiance to established in-
stitutions, the value <if which is acknowledged by every statesman. It ought to be
revised, however, if possible, as a whole, and with reference not only to the working
of any particular part, but to +he bearing of the different parts upon each other ar.d
the maintenance of the balance between the popular and the conservative ele*
ments."
100 THE ADMINISTRATION OF LORD LORNE.
foreigners, let us, to avoid such scandals as that manifested in
the story of poor Letellier, have a prompt and thorough revi-
sion of our constitution.
It only remains to be said of M. Letellier that the blow of
dismissal broke his spirit, and he died the following year.
CHAPTER III.
POLITICAL AND SOCIAL HISTORY — 1879.
r\ URING the preceding autumn, thb Conservatives had over-
-^ whehningly defeated their opponents at the polls. Com-
merce for many years before had been on the down race, and
when Sir John Macdonald s ministry came to power, it had
nigh reached the bottom of the hill. Pope says that " blunt
truths more harm than nice falsehoods do," and the poet is
right. The patient will be most grateful to the physician who
holds out encouragement, though doctor and sufferer both know
that tlie sands of life ai-e running themselves away, than to
him who with a gloomy face tells tho sick one that he is now
past the reach of skill ; and the bruised spirit, even against
logic, will turn to hope as the flower does to the sun. The
unfortunate labourer who has knocked in vain at every door
for work does not wish to be informed in the hour of his need
that his position is likely to be worse before it can be better ;
but will regard as his friend the one who tells him to be of
good cheer, that happier times will come, even though the en-
couragement he hears may be only shallow words. For years
owing to causes beyond contiol of good or bad financiers, en-
lightened or retrogressive governments, the trade of Canada
had been going from bad to worse ; commercial houses and
banks which had been believed enduring as the hills had top-
101
lOa THE ADMINISTRATION OF LORD LORNE.
pled down; trade was stagnant in every channel, while many
of our factories were closed, and most of tliose open were run-
ning on three-quarters time. Capital had shrunk timidly away,
and confidence was fai: -y gone out of the country. " For some
time previous to 1874, the customs duties on unnumerated
imports had been fifteen per cent. ; but in the session of the
last named year, Mr. (now Sir) Kichard J. Cartwright, minister
of finance, introduced a measure, providing for an increase of
seventeen-and-a-half per cent. Mr. Cartwright, like all other
statesmen, had no hesitation in admitting that taxation wa*
bad ; but he preferred taxation pure and simple to taxation
with a saving clause. His increase fell into the gaping jaws of
deficit which still hungered for more. Year after year the
balance was on the wrong side of the book, till at last trade
was lanofuishinfj so low that it would have died, had that been
possible."* The people, whether reasonably or not, believed that
it lay within the power of the legislature to make better their
condition, and check the outward tide of population Avhich had
now begun to flow into American cities ; and they waited on.
Mr. Cartwright, stating their affliction and beseeching the aid
of the government. The finance minister was moved by the
suffering of the suppliants, but he gave them no encourage-
ment ; in such a crisis he assured them the government was no-
more potent than the fiy on the wheel to arrest depopulation
or aid industry. They came for encouragement, and he gave
them a picture made of darker pigments ; they asked for bread
and he offered them a dismal philosophy. But it may be that
he really offered all he had, and that he had as much to give as-
* Life and Times of Eight Hon. Sir John A, Macdvnald, p. 418.
POLITICAL AND SOCIAL HISTORY- 1H70. 103
the rival politi'^ians; but if he had nothing substantial to prof-
fer, he might have tendered words of hope. The suppliants
turned away to learn that the finance minister, however, liad a
cure for the public evils ivhich he had not revealed to them ;
and that it was direct taxation. Sir John Macdonald had been
now five years out of office, and watching the tendency of opi-
nion informed his followers that the tide had just turned, and
that Ihey were going back to office with it. He outlined his
"broad national policy" in general terms during the last ses-
sion of parliament, declaring that it was within the competence
of legislation to check the current of disaster. His words sent
a thrill of hope through half paralysed commerce, and in the
large cities where he appeared thousands of artizans and labour-
ers were gathered about him, to hear him tell the cure he
projtosed for the present evils. He reminded the throngs that
they were to expect no aid from the existing government, for
the financial minister and the premier had said so ; and he
pointed out that thtere was nothing for industry to lose by
rejecting a party that offered it no aid, and declared it had
none to offer, for one that believed legislation to be potent to
stir the pulse of commerce, and which had promised^ assistance
and better times. Truth, some old philosopher said, lies at the
bottom of a well, but it is rather found in the golden line that
runs between extremes. It was as inaccurate probably on the
one hand for Mr. Cartwright to affirm that legislation could not
aid industry, as it was for the Conservative leaders to declare
that it could cure all public ills.
But as has been seen when the sufferers went to the poli-
ticians for succour, the Keformers pictured to them the dark
104 THE ADMINISTRATION OF LORD LORNE.
side, and the Conservatives the bright ; it is hardly to be wond-
ered at, for " hope springs eternal in the hiiuum breast," that
they regarded the latter their frJcnds. Honesty is a very
rare, and a very valuable jewel, but carried too far it may
become a morbid possession. It is related that a monk once
offered for sale a cow which was of much value, from the
<]uantity and richness of her milk, and " the regularity of her
domestic habits." Several persons living near came to buy
the cow ; but the monk deeming it to be his duty to recount
the animal's bad qualities related to each enquirer that she
^sometimes gave milk scarce and thin ; that she frequently
stayed away in the woods for two or three days at a time ;
that he had seen her swollen more than once ; that slie had
even shown a disposition to be breachy, and recited so many
other defects that nobody would buy the animal, each one
going away with the impression that the cow was valueless ;
whereas she was as perfect as her kind, and was only imperfect
to the morbid scrupulousness of the monk. Messrs. Cartwright
and Mackenzie displayed an honesty on the eve of the elections
which did them little more credit than the sincerity of the
recluse. Jhe people took them at their word and refused to
traffic with them.
It must be confessed that the Conservatives seemed to have
had no little reason in their side of the argument, and whav may
fairly be regarded as the result of their expedient in a mea-
sure fulfils the prediction for the new fiscal policy. It v/onld
be absurd to deny that in a large measure the vi'i\\'s of Sii vTohn
Macdonald and his party were right. Year after year the sum-
ming up showed that expenditure had exceeded income, and in
POLITICAL AND SOCIAL HISTORY— 1879. 106
the autumn of 1878 attiiirs liad reached such a state that to
maintain the civil service it was neceHsary either to borrow
money to supply the deficiency, increase the duty in the ex-
isting tariff, or lesort to a direct tax. The latter means had
once been spoken of by Mr. Cartwright should the revenue
<:ontinue to fall off; and this admission the Conservatives made
the most of before the people. The Conservatives' doctrine was
<lifferent and distinct. They proposed a policy that would, so
far as was necessary for revenue, protect native enterprise.
Some blatant followers did talk of a protective policy pure an<l
simple as the first object, and of revenue as secondary and
merely incident ; but however the original plan may have been
subsequently warped by the imi'ortunities of interested parties,
the|[first intention was that sufficiency of revenue was to be the
measure of protection. No one can be found to say, surely,
that the civil service can be maintained without a revenue;
and since revenue is necessary it is only wisdom to lay on the
revenue-giving tax in the manner most advantageous to our
own industries. The truth is that absolute free trade is now
as much a thing of the past as the Ptolemaic system ; and the
so-called free-trade countries in providing revenue adjust their
tariffs to favour their own interests. Biit unless it can be shown
that an extension of the protective system beyond the needs of
revenue accomplishes " the greatest good of the greatest num-
ber," it is an unwise and oppressive expedient. Those who give
earnest attention to Canadian questions are beginning now to
marvel why sir Leonard Tilley, with so many millions of a sur-
plus, does not reduce the tax, and some declare that Ke has
become a convert to the doctrine of a protective system that
G
106 TUE ADMINISTRATION OF LORD LORNE.
<,'0C9 beyond rovenuo, Awhile others afiirm that, following the
example of the United States, ho lias in mind a reduction of
the national debt. Sir Leonard is too shrewd an observer not
to see that posterity ouyht to be left to pay its share of tho
public works which will endure for her benefit as well as for
ours. Or it may bo that, like Pharoah, he has Imd a dream :
that after the seven fat kine given to the people under his ad-
ministration there would come in seven lean ones; and that
he is laying up his corn now in the years of plenty.
The first session of the fourth parliament of the Dominion
of Canada opened on the 13th of February. No session in the
modern history of Canada has been so marked by prominent
events as this first year of Lord Lome's administration. It
was to see imfolded the great scheme of a national policy, a
plan which without attempting to ridicule it, was to remind
the onlooker of the magician in tho Arabian Nights who
raised his wand and forthwith there arose whatsoever he willed.
At the fiat of the legislator depression was to fade away and
prosperity come ; and long after the national policy had been
put on trial the " tall chimneys" which were to have been its
fruit formed the stock subject of Reform ridicule. Another
great event of the session, as outlined in the Speech, was legis-
lation providing for th.e construction of the Canada-Pacific rail-
way. And it was this year, too, that saw M. Letellier, who
had a few months before sacrificed his ministry on an altar,,
half of bias, and half of conviction, himself offered up to Fac-
tion. The Speech gave rise to warm discussion — Speeches al-
ways do as naturally as people bid good morrow to each other
in the streets — and some members, as in duty bound, com-
rOLlTICAL AND SOCIAL HISTORY— tS70. 107
plained of the " j^littering gencnilitie.s" in tlio governmental de-
claration, while others talked aV)out the " nieagrenessof the bill
of fare." One item in the Speech, however, met the approval
of the opposition — and it was perhaps the least important mat-
ter in the list. It was the announcement that the government
had commenced negotiations, " with her majesty's sanction,"
for the development of tlie trade of Canada with Franco and
Spain, and with their respective colonies. It will be noticed
witli approbation and pleasure that the clause did not omit to
state that the negotiations had been commenced " with her
majesty's sanction" ; for otherwise it might have been forgot-
ten for the moment that we were coloni.sts, cliildren of the em-
pire that were not to be given the liberty of aslcing for what
we needed without permission fiom Ma.
In a far country once lived a great king, and a very docile
people. The king loved his subjects and appointed priests
over the land who taught the people every day their duty
to the sovereign. Not the least of these loyal obligations was,
that they should obtain permission from the king to do any
action whatsoever which had not been permitted to them
specifically in the law. Now if the son of one of these good
and loyal people fell into the Ganges, his father must not draw
him out till he had gone to the palace and obtained the good
king's permission ; or if his house took fire he must not pour
water upon it ; or if a tiger seized his wife he durst not attempt
her rescue, till he had obtained the assent of his sovereign.
And the king was the father of his people, and his subjects
blessed him. The story is only for those who desire to make
108 TUE AVMJ^l TJIATION OF LOUD LORNE,
tlio application ; for tlio rest thoy may atlmiro the good king
and his Hul)ject.H us much as they choose.
As there was a good deal of jubilation at this time concern-
ing the possibility of (Canada entering into a second-hand
treaty with foreign countries, it mr.y be as well to state that
immediately after the accession of Sir John to office it was
found necessary for Mr 'I'illey to go to Kngland, to make a loan
for public works ; and ho was accompanied l)y Sir Alexander
T. Gait and lieutenant-coh)nel Hewitt Bernard. The two lat-
ter gentlemen were connnissioned by the Canadian government
to negotiate a connnercial treaty between the Dominion and
France, and the Spanish West Indies. Before the finance
minister returned he induced the colonial secretary to bring
about a correspondence between the commissioners and the
French and Spanish governments. The chief aim of the ne-
gotiations was a remission of the duties imposed by France on
the sale of Canadian-built ships in that country ; the estab-
lishment of such rates of duty as would practically admit, on
reasonable terms, of the introduction into France, of Canadian
manufactures in agricultural implements, tools and cutlery,
and the modification of duties on salted fish, and generally on
any other articles in the French tarifl^", which might be benefi-
cial to Canada. As an equivalent for these concessions the
commissioners were authorized to propose a reduction of
duty on French wines. The negotiations after much delay
ended in failure, but subsequently the duty on Canadian bot-
toms was reduced in common with the shipping of other coun-
tries, to two francs per ton, instead of forty, fifty and sixty
francs as formerly. : ' •
re UTJCA L A hD SOCIA I. U 1ST OR Y- IS7n. 109
Immkjdlately after tlio opening of tlio house a curious (jues-
tion was raised by the ex-speiker, Mr. Timothy Angiin. It
appears that during the preceding summer two members of the
civil service hud resigned their positions to oft'er tliemselves as
electoral candidates, and on the elections being over it was re-
presented to the ex-speaker that it was of much importance to
the public service that the vacancies should be iuunediately
filled. Mr. Anglin accordingly filled the two vacancies by
j)romotion, appointing two otticers to the places occupied by
those who had been so promoted. The new officials had no
sooner entered on their duties than Sir John Macdonald who
had just assumed the government wrote to the clerk directing
him not to recognise any ai)pointments made sinc(! the dissolu-
tion of parliament. The clerk immediately dismissed the late
appointees. Mr. Anglin learning this fact at once wrote to the
clerk protesting against the interference of the executive in a
matter which he claimed to belong entirely to him, affirming
that he held all the rights vested in him by the late parliament
till his successor was appointed. Ip the meanwhile the clerk
of private bills died, and proceeding under the hallucination
pointed out, the ex-speaker reorganized the department by pro-
moting officers and making a redistribution of duty. And now
standing before parliament he disclaimed any desire to raise
the question as a party issue, but believing his interprett.'Jon of
the law to be correct; he was anxious to have a definite declar-
ation from the house. Sir John in reply agreed that the question
was not one of politics ; but he denied emphatically that there
was any intention on the part of the crown to encroach on the
powers of the speaker, or the privileges of the house of com-
110 THE ADMINISTliATION OF LORD LORNE.
mons. It was unwise of the hon. gentleman he contended, and
amounted to an attempt at usurpation, to make appointments
to office after all essential responsibility on his part had ceased,
and it would have been in better taste to have left to the
succeeding speaker upon whom the responsibility of adminis-
tration devolved to fill up the vacancies. The writer only
mentions the case here because it gave rise to a good deal of
discussion, and a vast number of " editorials " at the time. But
how any one reasonably examining the question could take the
ox-speaker's view is unaccountable. The speaker is the presi-
dent and executive officer of the house, an4 certain authority
is conferred upon him by virtue of his office. But it is only
as a member of parliament that he has these powers ; when
the body from v/hich his jurisdiction emanates is dissolved,
then his functions cease. For him to affirm that his authority
remained after the decease of parliament, a portion of whose
machinery h: was, seems like the human hand ass uming vital-
ity and direction after the rest of the body is dead. Suppose
that at the election Mr, Anglin had been defeated, he would
upon his own theory still have assumed the duties of "first
commoner^' while he was only a private individual : but who
would make the appointments had he died the day after parlia-
ment was dissolved ? There must surely, in such case, be some
reserve authority ; and whatever that authority is it would
come into force on the day of the speaker's political decease,
no less than on the day of his bodily death. The greater
portion of the house adopted Sir John's view, but several of
Mr. Anglin's co-partyists, Hon. Alexander Mackenzie being
among the number, without hazarding the opinion that the ex-
POLITICAL AND SOCIAL HISTORY— 1879. Ill
speaker was right, held that if the premier's view were the
correct one it would give rise to many inconvenient cases.
Another of the notable questions of the session was a motion
by Dr. Christie, Argenteuil, setting forth that " the interests of
public morality and the physical well-being of all classes ren-
der ft necessary that there should be a strict and uniform ob-
servance of the Lord's Day in all departments of the public
service which are under the control of the Dominion govern-
ment." His reason for offering the resolution was, he said, that
while these offices were generally closed on Sunday in the
other provinces, there was a regulation in force in Quebec re-
quiring them to be opened for one hour on that day, either be-
fore or after divine service. To show the enormity of this
condition of affairs, he stated that the last general assembly
of the presbyterian church in Canada had petitioned parlia-
ment to ])ut a stop to this condition of things. The answer
to most would be ready here that it was sufficient unto the
" presbyterian church in Canada " to attend to its own salva-
tion, and j)ermit the people of Quebec to go to perdition if they
wanted to. But there is more than this to be said. Mr. Lan-
gevin, the postmaster-general, admitted that, as far as practi-
cable, the day should be strictly observed, but he explained
that complete cessation from labour was impossible, and that
no matter how strong a resolution parliament might pass^ it
could not be put in force. Among the scattered rural popula-
r .on of Quebec it was the custom to go to the post-office af^er
divine service on Sunday, get the mail matter, and post letters
that had been written during the week. This, he further ob-
eerved, was not merely the custom among the French Roman
119 THE ADMINISTRATION OF LORD LORNE.
catholics, but the people generally. He n oved an amendment
affirming the principle of Dr. Christie's re?olution, but leaving
to the government to determine hovr f?r it might be practic-
able to extend the application. Tt is hardly necessary for the
writer to say that he does not share the old puritanic morbid
scrupulousness about Sabbath observance which still lingers in
Canada as elsewhere. God made the world in six days, and
He rested on the seventh ; but as He did not rest that He might
worship Himself, it is difficralt for us to conclude that the only
idea of Sabbath establishment was that men might pray. After
Christian people once convince themselves of this fact, that the
seventh day was set apart that poor humanity toiling and
moiling for six days might have one whereon to rest, and that
this is the chief idea, and worship of the Maker of the universe
onlj' secondary, we shall have wiser and more acceptable Sun-
day-laws. If men and women would serve God faithfully, it is
not sufficient that they pay fealty to Him on f^ne day only,
giving to Mammon six ; but that they should every day observe
the law, doing unto others as they would have others do unto
them, and " profess " their religion rather in upright, honour-
able, conscientious living than by sinning around the compass
for six days in the week, and howling religion like derv'shes
on the seventh. Under the Jewish dispensation a man was
stoned to death for gathering sticks on the Sabbath day to
warm his hearth and cook his food ; and but that the Satan of
the Ballot-box is too strong it would seem as if there is suf-
ficient religious spirit abroad yet to subject us to the same
discipline for oimilar offences. IE anything surely could beget
revolt against the religion of Jesus, it is that the men who
POLITICAL AND SOCIAL UISTORY—isro. 113.
preach the gospel instead of conveying the idea of a meek^
lovabl(\ tender Christ, reveal in their grim Sabbaths, and their
awful codes, a monster lacking all things save an ' on justice,
terrible and hideous in His vengeance. Not all who read
Robinson Crusoe's lament think that the greatest horror in the
desert island was that
" . . the sound of the church-going bell
. , These valleys and rocks never heard ; "
for to more than one poor wretch pent up among the machinery
of which he is only a part during the weeK, and no small num-
ber of Christians of better circumstance, the preachers have
made the Sabbath the Dismal Day. They have stopped the
trains an action which perhaps for human reasons is not unjusti-
fiable ; they ha/e suppressed travelling conveyances that the
horses may not break the " Lord's Day " by drawing sinful
wheels, but that the christians may keep it by doing the labour
on foot ! In some very wicked Canadian districts boats do ac-
tually make trips on Sunday ; but the scandi.1 is compounded
by the captains agreeing not to whistle at arrival or departure,
through which spiritual arrangement the boat steals away like
a thief from the wharf, and half the people lose their passage.
Everything that might bring joy to the heart and help to make
the Sabbath a day of recreation as well as rest is systema-
tically frowned down, and the poor wretch who has lived in
the smoke and among the clink of hammers all the week, and
the girl who has stood ten hours of every day on aching limbs,^
look forward to the resting day when for relaxation and cheer
they may be able to learn tha'j it is not at all unlikely that
God will burn them for ever in hell. It is rather in the way
114 THE ADMINISTRATION OF LORD LORNE.
of a satire upon the gloomy religion of those who keep the pub-
lic gardens and galleries shut upon Sabbath that upon the same
day the good God permits the buds to open, and the birds
to sing.
The most important legislation of the session was that pro-
vided for in Mr. Tilley's budget speech. On Sir John's minis-
try coming to office it was found that an indebtedness in Lon-
don of $15,500,000 would mature towards the last of Novem-
ber, and Mr. Tilley proceeded to England where he obtained a
loan of £3,000,000 to meet liabilities. On his arrival home ho
set himself to work diligently, with the assistance of several
reliable experts, to construct the fiscal system which afterwards
became known as the National Policy. Deputations from the
various mercantile and manufacturing interests visited the
capital and submitted their views to the finance minister ; and
the tariff" was not put on paper till every source of information
bearing upon the question had been thoroughly exhausted.
On the 14th of March, Mr. Tilley submitted his financial state-
ment and tariff resolutions to the house of commons. Taking
up the condition of the finances he pointed out that the esti-
mate of expenditure for the year 1878-79 made by his prede-
cessor Mr. Cartwright, and provided for by the house reached
in round numbers $23,600,000, an amount slightly less than
the estimated income. But, as a matter of fact the actual ex-
penditure amounted to $24,000,000 showing a discrepancy of
abo\it half a million. He then proved most conclusively,
though the .ewspapers of the opposite political party gain-
said his contention, that the revenue during the few weeks
preceding the announcement of the new tariff having
rOLlTICAL AND SOCIAL HISTORY— 1870. 115
been paid in anticipation of the fiscal change, should properly
have been added to the revenue of the followinij vear,
which would have made the deficit for the last year of Mr.
Cartwright's administration no less than $2,400,000. In order,
therefore, to be able to meet the expenditure required for 1879-
80, the government would be obliged to get authority from
parliament to receive an increased revenue from customs of
$2,000,000 ; and in arranging for the levy of additional duties
he would ask the house to consider how it might be imposed so
as to give protection to our home industries. Much disturb-
ance and mischief had been caused to our trade by the manu-
facturers of the United States making a slaughter-market of
Canada. Our tariff", since 1873, had favoured their efforts in
this direction; while their protective duties had shut our
farmers out of their markets. * * * It was the opinion of
some that the condition of a country could not be improved or
its property increased by legislation. From this view the gov-
ernment dissented. In explaining the leading idea of the
tariff', the finance minister stated that the policy of the govern-
ment was to select for a higher rate of duty those articles
which are manufactured, or can be manufactured, in the coun-
try, and to place those that were not made, and that were not
likely to be produced in the country, at a lower rate. The
statement was clear, vigorous and exhaustive, and if the calm
political philosopher who is not moved from the path of prin-
ciple even by the cry of commercial distress, believed that he
found one or two places in Mr. Tilley's address where the logic
was weak, he would have to admit that the plausibility was
strong. The reform politicians attacked the finance minister's
1 1 6 THE A DMINISTRA TION OF L ORD L ORNE.
policy witli torrents of censure. Mr. Cnrtwright made an ex-
tensive review of tlie financial situation in his bittei'est way.
As to the tariff he declared tliat it would neither stimulate
home industry nor raise the revenue ; but would cripple com-
mercial enterprise without swelling the coffers. When the
oracles at Delphi were asked a (piestion which opened the pos-
sibility of comparing the prophesy with the fulfilment, they
usually gave either an equivocal or an enigmatical answer; and
Mr. Cartwright should have hesitated before making predic-
tions which he must have known would be scrutinized in the
light of occurrence. He declared that the proposed drawbacks
on imported raw material was a miserable faice ; and that in-
stead of the millenium which was promised on a change of
government, stocks had fallen, prices had decreased, everything
was getting worse, and even the cattle were attacked with
pleuro-pneumonia. A tariff like the present one was introduc-
ed in the early part of the century in the United States, and it
was called " the tariff of abominations ;" the Canadian sdheme
was calculated only to suit rings and polHical partizans. Dr.
Tupper made a characteristic speech in which he vigorously
assailed the policy of the late government, declaring that the
contentions of Mr. Cartwright in the face of that gentleman's
own financial record, and the recent decision at the polls, were
amazing.
On the iTLh of April, Mr. Mackenzie, who had not yet been
removed from the leadership of the opposition, challenged the
entire fiscal policy of the government, and moved a resolution
of deprecation. He made a clear and forcible speech in which
he gathered a number of facts from various trade returns ; but
POLITICAL AND SOCIAL BISTORY-1879. 117
that wliich pained hit. loyal spiiit most wasthpt the departure
which the ne»v taritt' involved froiv what might be termed the
traditional policy of the empire, coii'd not bntcnntrihiite to t!i(
weakening of /he ties which bouna Canada to the mother-lam'
There is nothing that can tend to make colonial jiolitician so
devout to the crown as a taste of govorn.nent ; and the inten-
sity of his loyalty will be measured by the distance he is in
lear of the times. Thomas D'Arcv McCloe and Timothv An<jlin,
both of whom tied from Ireland to escape the rope in 1 818, in
process of time became two of our most confirmed admirers of
imperial connection, because the one had held a high place as
a supporter of a Canadian government, and the other the speak-
ership of our house of commons. Mr. Mackenzie, a few days
ago, assured several Scotchmen in Glasgow that Canada would
sacrifice her men and money to maintain British connection ;
and for so expressing himself, some Canadian journals gave
him a sound rating. But Mr. Mackenzie, as a private member
of a colonial parliament, representing at the furthest only the
views of a majority of the people in his own riding, supposing
the topic on which he spoke had been an active one when he
won his election, had the right to express whatever opinions he
chosed. The superseded leader of a colonial opposition is not
likely to be regarded in Scotland or anywhere else as the truest
expounder of opinion. Unfortunately for British connection, it
can now press few but the blown horses into its service. In
Montreal, poor Sir Francis Hincks mumbles like a fallen
Saturn, and awakes no response save pity for his infirmities.
We have enough of vigorous men in Canada to discuss these
questions ; so that we must not be condemned if, as we listen
118 THE ADMINISTRATION OF LORD LORNE.
to Sir Francis Ilincks, >vc cannot find either adniinition or
attention for tlie utterances of this wreck of a mediocrity which
has had its day. Mr. Mackenzie's amendment to tlie tariff re-
solutions, it may bo said, was negatived by 13G votes to 5?^
Some of the newspapers caught the ex premiei's note, and de-
clared that the national policy, by placing the same rate of tax
upon British, as upon American imports, endangered British
connection ; and the Mail newspaper, speaking it must be pre-
sumed for the government, replied, " Then so much the woi-so
for British connection." If the Mail voiced the feelinjrs of the
Conservative party, and its statement had a meaning, then is it
legitimate to deduce the following doctrine as the policy and
sentiments of its party : So \on^^ as British lonnection does not
interfere with our commercial interests, let it remain; but if it
is to be a choice between that connection, and our fiscal policy
— a policy, by the way, which nearly half the people declared
to be unsound in principle, retrogressive, and antagonistic to
the interests of the countiy — then farewell to the tie that binds
us ; we choose our national policy. I have been reviled by
Canadian journals of both sides of politics for declaring in my
own poor way my desire for Canadian independence ; an old
man,* down in Montreal, affirms that a book^f lately written by
me is the mere vehicle of independence " poison," while the
very newspaper which declared that if th? national policy was
to endanger British connection, then so 'auch the worse for
British connection, chaiacterizes my conviction!* od t-his head
as " impertinences." As for Sir Francis Hincks, v ho is less
* Sir Francis Hincks.
t The Life and Times of Right Hon Sir John A. Macdonald.
POLITICAL AND SOCIAL HISTORY— 1S79. ]1{>
lenient with nio, I cannot re^'ard him a8 a disinterested witness,
for he draws an imperial pension; and Johnson luvs defined
pension to bo the reward given to a state liireling for treason
to his country.
In due time the discussion on the Canadian tariff readied
England. John Bright strangely enough with his advanced
ideas on self-government made emjuiry in the house of com-
mons on the suLject as if he should not have known that it was
none of Great Britain's affairs what kind of a fiscal policy Can-
adians adopted ; and with motives that were highly unselfish
a number of English manufacturers represented to parliament
that their interests were prejudiced by the new tariff". What-
ever the future may have in store for us it is plain at all events
that the English artizan thinks our destiny is to buy his cloth
and spoons. Some of our Canadian politicians set limits to
our aspirations by the same noble and patriotic view The
London Times, just for once in its attitude towards Canadian
questions, acknowledged that the Dominion had the right to
adopt whatever commercial policy the people thought fit; it
regretted however that a promising dependency like Canada
should weight its young shoulders with a system that belonged
to a past age.
On the 10th of May, Dr. Tupper, minister of railways and
canals, announced the railway policy of the government in a
series of resolutions, providing among other things that one
hundred million acres of land and all the minerals they con-
tain should be appropriated for the construction of the Canada-
Pacific railroad ; that this land should be located along the
line of the railway, except when the land was not of an average
120 TUE ADMINISTRATION OF LORD LORNE.
quality, when an ecjuivalont inust bo granted from fair land
elsewhere. To these resolutions Mr. Mackeu/io offered two
amendments which were both negatived by a vote of 115
to 37. It was out of this legiHlution that grow the greatest
public enterprise in the country's history, the work now
going on of building the Caniula-pacific railway, a lino that
will link the Atlantic Ocean with the PaciHc, and open a con-
tinent of wheat-growing land to immigrants from all quarters
of the globe.
On March 10th Mr, DeCosmos moved for papers in connect-
ion with the treaty of 1825, between Great Britain and
Russia, under which British ves.sris were permitted to navigate
the rivers which ran out of British Columbia territory through
Alaska to the sea. The sale of Alaska to the United States ho
contended abrogated any rights to Canada under the treaty
of 1825. Mr. David Mills, in a very rambling and inconse-
<iuential .speech, asserted that the transfer could not affect
any of G^reat Bi-itain's rights in the territory, as the Czar
could not convey any greater interest in Alaska than he
actually possessed. Sir John Macdonald cited the opinion
of Mr. Montagu Bernard, the ablest constitutional lawyer in
Ensrland, and also that of Lord Tenterden to the effect that
by the transfer of Alaska the effect of the Convention of
St. Petersburgli was gone.
On the 2nd of May Mr. Hooper of Lennoxville gave notice
of a bill to enable the Court of Chancery of Ontario to
dissolve the marriage contract in certain cases. Mr. Anglin
aiming to be more orthodox than the pope, who has on
special occasions granted divorce, and who does not hesitate
POLITICAL AND SOCIAL BISTORY—mo. Ml
to allow separation menaa et thoro, opposod the measuro in
its first stage. Leave to introduce the bill accordingly was
refused on division. In Ontario no divorce court existed
before confederation, .so that a husband or wife seeking a
di.ssolution of the marriage tie for whatever cause is first
obliged to present a petition to the .senate, when if the latter
body is satisfied that there are justifiable grounds lor the
ie([uest an act of parliament efiiecting the divorce is pa.s.sed
Ihrouji:!! both branches of the Dominion legislature. Of
late years the senate has not been growing in public esteem ;
nor has it heightened popular regard since becoming a .sort
of moral laundry by its members dabbling with .senile gusto
and without judicial demeanour in the tub where faithle.s.s
husbands or unchaste wives come to wash their soiled linen.
Tf our Canadian senate wishes to avoid the charge of hav-
ing added to its other qualifications that of being a .sample
house of obscenity, it will ask the government to take the
unsavoury jurisdiction out of its hands, and confer it upon
a properly constituted, a dignified, and efficient court of
justice. There was once a goddess who could not make a
•
motion with her head without shaking pestilence from her
trailing hair; down in the Ottawa library was a learned per-
son who could not move to take a book down from the shelf
without being delivered of a constitutional opinion. On every
topic that I have touched so far in this book I find he is on
record ; and on the question of divorce he declares that under
the British North America Act the parliament of Canada has
"ample and suffi.cient powers to deal with marriage and divorce
and with all legal questions growing out of the marital relation
H
122 THE ADMINISTRATION OF LORD LORNE.
Muhjoc't to the Qiu ou'h pictogutivt' of diHallowanco." All these
italics, which are my own, I nct'il not refer to; but till reading
Mr. Todd's statement I had thought that the priest, not the
])arliamont, had to do with the question of " marriage."
Another of tho measun's of the seshion wiis a bill providing
for the division of the ilopaitn cnt of jmblic works into two
otKces, one that of railways and cflnals, the other of public
works. ])r. Tuppcr became head of tie former department,
and Mr. H. L. Langevin, who had 1 con postma.ster-general, be-
came minister of public works. The vacant portfolio wa.s as-
sumed by Mr. Alexander Campbell.
The province of Manitoba entered the confederation without
any real estate, so that her position was more disadvantageous
than any of her sisters in the union. But as the population
grew, so also increased the necessity of public works, and in 187(5
an allowance of $90,000 per annum was made to the new pro-
vince, though, according to the union compact, she was to have
l\ad no increase till the censr.s of 1881 1 ad been ascertained.
P]ven this increase, in 1879, was found insufficient, and Messrs.
Norcjuay and Royal, members of the provincial government,
were deputed to proceed to Ottawa to press for an additional sub-
sidy. Taking into account the enormously rapid development
of Manitoba, the reasonableness of the request was admitted by
the Dominion government, and an annual allowance of $15,635
was irranted to be continued till the census of 1881 was ascer-
tained. Among the other measures of the session were the conMcl-
idation of the laws respecting promissory notes and bills of ex-
change ; amending the speedy trials (Ontario) act; aiuending
the act respecting inquiry into corrupt practices at elections
I'OLITICAL AND SOCIAL niSTOJU'—Hii'J. 123
for tlio bouso of connnonH by providin;^ tliat wboti a coinmis-
gion of iiuiiiiry is asked for uikKm' tbo act, by petition of twt'iity-
fivo oloctor.s, tbo petitionors MbouM (b'posit t\w samo sum of
inonoy as is ii'tiuired in tho (;as(( of an j'h'ction petition, naim-ly,
one tbousantl (b)nars to defray tbo oxprnsos of tlio invoatiga-
tion in case tbu connnissioners appointed report tbat no ground
existed for issuing tbo commission, otborwiso tbo sum to bo re-
turned ; an extension of tbo temperance act to Manitoba; tbc;
grant of an annual subsidy of $1.>,00() in perj)etuity to main-
tain submarine cables to Anticosti and tbo Magdalen Isbmds ;
increasing tbo salaries of county court judges in Prince Ed-
ward Island from 32,000 to $2,500 per annum ; amending and
consolidating tbo act respecting Dominion lands and tbo In-
dians; providing for tbo acfiuiremont by tbe Dominion of tbo
liiviero du Loup brancb of tbo (Jrand Trunk railway; tbe
consolidation of tlio railway acts ; and tbe amendment of tbo
banking act by probibitory loans on bank stocks, tbo transfer
of bank sbares unless registered, their sale unless tbo name of
the hokler is set forth in tho contract, and authorizing tbo
governor-goneral-in-council, in case a bank has impaired its
capital by reason of losses, to reduce its stock, orovided tho re-
duction has been agreed to at a meeting of th shareholders.
On the 15th of May parliament prorogued.
One of the most serious questions now pressed upon tho at-
tention of the government was the problem to provide food for
the needy Indians of the North-West territories without
demoralizing the tribes by bringing them to neglect means of
supporting themselves and to lean on the authorities. Year
by year, as civilization crawls out upon the prairie, the buffalo
124 THE ADMINISTRATION OF LORD LORNE.
lierds, disturbed in those haunts where once the reign of na/-
ture was uninterrupted, save when the Indian came with bow
and arrow to get venison, recede towards the Rocky Moun-
tains, beyond the reach of the tribes living upon the more
easterl}'- part of the plains. With the disappearance of the
buffalo vanished the chief food supply of the Indians, and at
once the necessity for those in authority to provide for the
deficiency, was presented. To add to the misery of the Cana-
dian tribes, in 1870, a Inrge body of United States Sioux, fol-
lowers of Sitting Bull, the celebrated chief an<l warrior who had
fought the American troops in the Black Hills, fled across the
boundary into Dominion territory. These people depended for
subsistence entirely upon the chase, and their numbers soon
made sad havoc among the already too small supply of game
for the Canadian tribes. The Sioux were obliged to confine
their hunting almost exclusively to the north of the line, as
they were afraid of the soldiers to venture into American terri-
tory ; and as a consequence, the buffalo, undisturbed in south-
ern haunts, seldom in their migrations came north. The tribes
were reduced to sore want, and it is stated that during the win-
ters of 1877-8, many Indian families perished of hunger and
cold, after having devoured the skins that covered them.
The winter of 1879, following as it did a season remarkable
for the scarcity of game, might have added systematic theft
to destitution, had the government not seen the expediency
of providing assistance for the suffering tribes. A system of
government relief may become a process of demoralization;
but it was not the intention in this case to do more than
furnish food for urgent needs, and afterwards endeavour to
POLITICAL AND SOCIAL IIlSTORY-lsr:). 125
80 appropriate the asaistance rendered as to wean the In-
dians away from their hunting habits and turn them into til-
lers of the soil. The task was not a difficult one, for our
Indians had not yet been debauched by intoxicants or cheated
and made mistrustful of civilized government, as had been done
through the corrupt officials of the American Indian agencies.
It was plain likewise to the Canadian government, that since
the Red man could not obtain buffalo, he would steal rather
than starve, that he would fight our officers if systematically
punished for his theft ; and that, laying aside human consider-
ations, it costs more, as the American government, by its bar-
barous and inefficient Indian policy had discovered to kill an
Indian than to keep him. Accordingly, the Canadian govern-
ment decided to establish farming schools at which the Indians
might learn how to plough the land, sow the seed, and tend and
gather the crops. The project of regeneration, naturally
enough, was not so satisfactory when put in practice as it
seemed on paper ; for almost constantly would recur the apathy
to routine labour and distaste for permanent locality, while the
figure of a buffalo seen against the horizon would arouse all
the latent hunter's fire, and throwing down the spade the
erstwhile farmer would be found, with neck thrust out,
striding off for the fascinating chase. Some of the in-
cidents related by those in charge of the Indian farm-
ing school are not a little amusing. The most dif-
ficult lesson to teach the savage was to ivait ; to see that the
corn and wheat, and oats, sown in the spring, would yield food
in the autumn. In many cases Indians who had worked
industriously for several weeks putting in extensive crops
126 THE ADMINISTRATION OF LORD LORNE.
would become possessed of the hunting or fishing fever when
the grain fields were green in the early summer and the
root crops promising, go away and never return again. Some-
times an " Indian farmer " would kill the oxen sent him by
the Government to plough his land, sell his ploughs and
harrows, and then sit down in despair refusing to make pro-
vision for the season when the prairie is covered with snow
and notl ing is to be had for arrow or spear. During the early
part of the summer of 1879 Mr. Edgar Dewdney, M.P. for Yale,
British Columbia, was appointed Indian Commissioner, and
authorized to establish farms on the various reserves to teach
agriculture by theory and practice. Under him was appointed
a staff of twenty practical farmers from the provinces of Ontario,
Quebec and Manitoba ; and it was the intention that the
schools established should not be only models for the Indians,
but that the surplus produce derived from them above what
was needed by the head of the farm and his assistants, should
be available to the bands in case of want. It is stated, how-
ever, on the authority of the intei-ior department that previous
to 1879 several bands in the territories had without any or-
ganized eflTort by the government to induce them to do so,
raised fair crops of grain and potatoes, while at various other
points the produce of the soil is more relied on by the Indians
than either hunting or fishing. This, however, in Indian econ-
omy, the writer is inclined to look upon as rather phenomenal
than characteristic. The success of the Indian schools, as may
be gathered from the reports, is now in some measure assured
while the Indian difficult}', owing to wise, thorough and timely
measures is within the competence of government.
POLITICAL AND SOCIAL HISTORY— lfi79. 127.
On the 24111 of May, the anniversary of Queen Victoria's
birth, a military review was held in Montreal, and during the
day the governor-general conferred the dignity of knighthood
of the order of St. Michael and St. George on Mr. Tilley, minis-
ter, of finance, Dr. Tupper, minister of railways and canals,
Senator Campbell, postmaster-general, Mr. Cartwright, M. P.,
ex-minister of finance, and Mr. Howland, lieutenant-governor
of Ontario. It may be added here that on the 26th of July
Sir John A. Macdonald sailed for England, and that on the 14th
of August he was sworn in at Osborne House, Isle of Wight ,
as a member of her majesty's imperial privy council. He was,
after the ceremony, introduced to the Queen and leading mem-
bers of the cabinet who were in attendance, by Sir Michael
Hicks-Beach, secretary of state for the colonies; and subse-
quently dined with Her Majesty. Sir John is the first and
only colonial statesman upon whom such a distinction has
been conferred.
On the 9th of January the legislature of Ontario met. It
was the eve of the provincial general election, and each party
had begun to marshal its forces for the contest. On the eleva-
tion of Mr. M. C. Cameron to the Bench, the leadership of
the opposition fell to Mr. W. R. Meredith, who appeai'ed in his
new role during the discussion on the lieutenant-governor's*
speech. On the 11th of March the legislature was dissolved,
and the 5th of June was polling day. The result was a re-
newed triumph for the Reform party under Mr. Mowat, who has
since maintained the premiership of the province.
* Mr. Donald Alexander Macdonald.
128 THE ADMINISTRATION OF LORD LORNE.
In the meantime the party scuffle in the Quebec legislature
had grown more intense, and the Joly administration con-
tinued to caiTy its measures by the partizan casting-vote of a
party speaker. In the discussions that kept the house in a per-
petual brawl, language fiery and bitter was often used, and the
ill-will evoked was carried beyond the parliament, to the so-
cial board. On the 5th of August, M. Joly, who had on the
14th of February, 1878, been himself censured for using these
words : " It is time to know if brute force is to prevail in this
house," moved a vote of censure on M. Chapleau, the leader of
the opposition, for using the following language : " I have al-
ready on one occasion found the hon. treasurer* guilty of a
falsehood before this house, in a matter relating to his depart-
ment." After much confusion, loud applause and venemous
hisses, order was restored, and the words were taken down ;
whereupon M. Chapleau, with the fire gone out of his brain
and reason restored, rose and said : " The expression ' false-
hood ' which I made use of is unparliamentary ; I must
and do withdraw it ; but the fact to which I alluded re-
specting the department of puLlic instruction, and which
gave rise to this debate., is exact." This was a cleverly-put
reiteration of the original statement, conforming with the
letter of parliamentary propriety, which two supporters of the
government admitted by refusing to support M, Joly's further
motion for a formal reprimand of the offending member. The
lieutenant-governor having been removed for an action, the non-
constitutionality of whicii, presumably, existed in dismissing
* M. Langelier.
POLITICAL AND SOCIAL HISTORY— 1879. 129
from oflfice a government having the confidence of tlie peo-
ple, it now only remained to expel from power the advisers
whom the dismissed administrator had called to his counsels.
The 2Gth of August found the train laid for the destiuction of
M. Joly's ministry; and on that day as soon as treasurer
Langelier sat down after having moved the third reading of
the supply bill, M. Chapleau arose and offered the following
amendment: "This house regrets that the administration does
not possess the elements of confidence and strength necessary
to enable them to administer the afi'airs of the j)rovince with
that advantage and efficiency which are to be desired." This
motion was not the artillery of the combat ; but the rocket
thrown up to show that the battle had begun. Accordingly,
on the 28th of August, when the measure reached the legis-
lative council, fifteen members said yea to its passage, and
only seven nay, the majority citing in an address to M. Robit-
aille, the newl}'^ appointed lieutenant-governor, various i-easons
for their action. Public affairs were now at a dead-lock, and
so remained till the 28th of October, when an amendment to a
resolution by M. Joly was offered by Mr. Lynch, setting forth
the wisdom of proceeding from a patriotic standpoint and with-
out party bias, to form " in lieu of the present government a
strong and efficient administration." Mr. Flynn who had sup-
ported M. Joly in the day of the latter's prosperity now arose
and seconded Mr. Lynch 's amendment, which was carried by a
majority of six for the opposition. With this majority voted,
besides Mr. Flynn, Messieurs Chauveau, Fortin, Paquet and
Radio jt, members who had hitherto supported M. Joly. It is
a cause for congratulation that, amid all the temptations and
130 THE ADMINISTRATION Of LORD LORNE.
selfishness of public life, a government has scarce ever been
known to tremble in the balance that some of its supporters, in
the interest of good government, were not prepare*^ to go to tlie
other side, and assume the worry of any offices that may be
given to them. There was not one of the gentlemen just
named as having crossed over to the Bleu camp who was not
prepared to take a ministerial portfolio to help his suffering
province out of the rut; but to gratify this desire was impossi-
ble, as the zeal of other patriots had to be remembered, though
those who could not obtain administrative work were reward-
ed in various ways for their good intentions by the new gov-
ernment. This vote took away M. Joly's breath. He now
saw only one road leading out of the difficulty, and it, after all,
he felt might only bring upon him defeat or new complica-
tions; but he resolved if possible to follow it, and therefore
asked M. Robitaille for a dissolution, claiming that the vote .
was the result of the unconstitutional position taken by the
legislative council, and that it did not represent the opinion of
a majority of the people. The lieutenant-governor replied in a
carefully written note refusing the prime-minister's request on
several grounds, the chief of these being that only eighteen
months ^^efore M. Joly had at his own request obtained a dis-
solution, that there was not sufficient ground for believing that
the electorate had since changed its mind on the topics agitat-
ing the legislature, and that since it was not clear that a disso-
lution would be right or prove a way out of the difficulty,
the enormous expense which thq province was so illy able
to bear attending a general election was too weighty an item
to be disregarded. As a ship which, drifting far out of her
POLITICAL AND SOCIAL HISTORY— 1879. 131
proper course, in the end arrives at the destined port, so the
lieutenant-governor, tiiough reaching what seems to the writer
to have been a desirable conclusior, gave reasons for his decis-
ion which do not seem so good. Public opinion is not an un-
varying thing, but as represented in our legislatures is constant,
or is so at least from the election to the dissolution of the par-
liament. Nor does it disturb this proposition that supporters
of a government may give within that terra their allegiance to
the opposition party because they believe .some line of policy
adopted by the government to be bad, or some attitude taken
by its opponents to be good. Upon all questions publicly
discussed, and the watch-word of the parties at election, there
can be no change of opinion by a representative of the people
between the choosing and the dissolvement of parliament with-
out breach of faith with the constituency. When, eighteen
months before the crisis, a general election in Quebec took
place, the newlj^-chosen members came to the legislature voic-
ing the wishes of their constituencies ; and whatever opinions
they expressed at the first party division in the a.ssembly of the
new parliament, was not alone the opinion of the people then
but must be assumed to be their opinion till the represen-
tatives went back for election, since it is only at the polls that
the popular will can be ascertained. Now at the convocation
named, a majority in the legislature supported M. Joly upon
questions just discussed before the country ; and the impertin-
ent and high-handed act of the legislative council of Quebec^
which brought on a dead-lock, and a secession from the minis-
terial ranks, was no proof that popular opinion had changed
concerning the government ; whence it follows that M. Robi-
139 THE ADMINISTRATION OF LORD LORNE.
taillo's reasons for refusing a dissolution were unsound, and
that the now ministry which he called represented only a min-
ority of public opinion. Let it be remembered that this (|Uos-
tion is discussed purely from constitutional and logical as-
pects ; for the ballot-box, responsive to the demagogue, would
^ive the lie to the wisest theories of Solon. It is certain, how-
ever, that had M. Robitaille granted a dissolution, either M,
Joly would have been sustained to find his administration frus-
trated in the legislative council, when another dead-lock must
Tiave ensued, begettinfj a confusion and a strife still worse than
the fii'st ; or the Conservative party would have come to power
necessarily as a sequel to dead-lock, but at an expenditure of a
hundred thousand dollars for election costs ; while by taking the
•course chosen the same result was obtained without expense or
turmoil. Immediately, of course, M. Joly resigned, and the
embroglio ended.
On the 8th of March, the legislature of Nova Scotia was
convened with the residue of ceremony pertaining to the func-
tions of the pigmy king and dwarfed parliament which remain
to each little province since the confederation. In the "speech
from the throne," legislation was " foreshadowed," providing
for the abolition of the legislative council, a measure, which
implying as it did a request to the councillors to abolish them-
selves was not effective. The lesfislature rose on the 17th of
April, after having passed ninety-one bills. The newly-elected
legislature of New Brunswick met on the 27th February ; the
lieutenant-governor, the late Hon. E. B. Chandler, in the words
of a wondering local paper, " appearing in plain clothes " at the
opening of parliament. The " Free School government," though
POLITICAL AND SOCIAL UISTORY-lHro. 13*
shattered in the contest, recovered itself by draiif,'ht.s fi'oin the
whilonic niuch objurgated Roman catliolic wells. Mr. Eraser, the
premier, who had declared publicly that he not alone repudiated
any feeling in common wuth the "catholics," but that he did
not want their votes, now lured into his enervated party two
members from the denomination which he despised.* The sa-
crifice of principle involved in the capitulation of the separate
school candidates to the persuasions of their opponents, after
the school law, leprous, godless, and intolerable as the priests
had declared it to be, had become a thing established beyond the
hope of revocation was about as great as for a member of one
of the parties in Liliput, which adopted the custom of breaking
the small end of the egg, to desert his flag and join those who
broke the large end. Several measures were " foreshadowed "
in the " speech from the throne,"-^ and it will be readily con-
ceded how important it is that there should be a king, a house
of lords, and a commons with their attendant paraphernalia in
New Brunswick, when it is shown that two of the announce-
ments — the two most important ones — made in the speech
were that the government had imported several Leicester ewes
and two or three rams, and that plans had been called for the
erection of new parliament buildings, a structure fully as costly
as any private dwelling that one may see in course of erection
anytime during the building season in Toronto or Montreal.
"Hon. Michael Adams, who became surveyor-general ; and Hon. P. A. Landry,
who was given the chief commissionership of public works.
f Every province has a throne and a king, and most of them a house of lords ; un-
der the " speech from the throne." The painting of a bridge is foreshadowed with
the same dim yet impressive distinctness with which the sovereign of England
might outline a war policy for the empire.
134 TUE ADMlNISrilATlON OF LORD LORNF.
The impoitant subject of peopling the province lia.s since en-
grossed the government's attention, and at the opening of a
lato session the Speecli foresliadowed the printing of a small
pamphlet on immigration. This induced people to settle in
the country ; it removed the necessity of a needy editor emi-
grating, and it secured to the ministry the support of an
" independent journal."
In Prince Edward Island, which too has its king, lords and
commons, Mr. Davis, the premier, met the legislature on the
27th of February ; a speech was read, not foreshadowing things
to come, but being the shadow of things past, inasmuch as it
chiefly dwelt on the success that had attended the establish-
ment of free non-sectarian schools, and the measures taken to
suppress the spread of small-pox. On the Gth of March, how-
ever, after a bitter discussion ranging over five days, the Libe-
ral DavitiS ministry was defeated. On the 11th the government
resigned, and the following day Mr. W. W. Sullivan, * the local
leader of the Conservative party, formed an admistration. Mr.
Sullivan was a Roman catholic, and had opposed the scheme
of non-sectarian schools v/ith conscientious bitterness ; but evil
having prevailed, and written the godless law upon the sta-
tutes he remembered his catechism : " Let every soul be subject
to the higher powers ; for he that resisteth the power resisteth
the ordinances of God, and they that resist purchase to them-
selves damnation," and pledged himself to "give effect to the
* The personnel of the ministry was as follows :— W. W. Sullivan, premier and
attorney-geueral ; Donald Ferguson, commissioner of public works ; Neil McLeod,
provincial secretary and treasurer ; John Lefurgey, Nicholas Conroy, Samuel
Prowse, Wm. Campbell, Joseph O. Arsenault, Peter Gavin, and Joseph Wright-
man, cabinet councillors without portfolio.
POLITICAL AND SOCIAL HISTORY— 1H70. 136
voice of the people by maintainlni;^ the unacctarian system."
A general election was lield on the 9th of April, sustaining the
new ministry by a large majority. The leginlaturo was con-
vened on the 24th of April, and the speech contained at least
one .sentence that did credit to tlie admirn^tration, and is
worth recording: "The barbarous system of imprisonment for
debt will be abolished, and a more humane law for the protection
of creditors will be substituted for it." The law which declares
that the poor toiler who has struggled to win his bread, but
who has failed because the rains may have destroyed his crops,
or the sea swe})t away his boats and fishing gear, is infamous
beyond description, and a perpetuation of the barbaric and pri-
meval custom which only employed the laws to protect the
prerogatives of kings, the nobility, and wealth against the mis-
erable toiler. The villein, who in time of |)eace tilled the land
and gathered the harvest, and in war fought for his home and
country, had no rights as between himself and his lord, but mere
scant concessions for complete self abnegation, and life-long toil
and duty ; and it is the same spirit which guarded the interests
of the baron from possible advantages by this wretch who digged
the ditches and reclaimed the bogs, that now keeps a bailiff
standing behind the merchant's ledger to pounce upon him
who owes fifty dollars, but who has not fifty cents to pay it,
who has been obliged to sell his last cow to buy his children
bread, and fling him into prison till he has paid the uttermost
farthing. The most virtuous feature of the law is that it de-
clares debt to be of two kinds, the respectable and the dis-
reputable, so that the person who contracts an enormous debt
escapes the prison, — as he should in any case — while he who
130 THE ADMINISTRATION OF LORD LORNE.
is gtiilty of owing tho sum of only n few dollars is ca.st into
tho debtor's cell. If the law conipi'lled a merchant to dispone
of his j,'oo(ls " on trust," inipriHomncnt for doht, whilo an in-
human, savaj^o travesty on reconipensi', would still bo in a
sense justiliable ; but tho trader sells with his eyes open ; ho
is not obliged to give on trust ; and t;very pnnny worth he lets
out is a sort of speculation, made at his own risk ; so that for
the law to come forward after the debtor has failed to pay his
account and take him away to jail, is an inipertinencc and an
atrocious cruelty, a stain upon the statutes, and a burning
shame to the people who tolei'ate it. By all means let the law
bo stringent enougn to reach every possible dollar of tho
debtor ; let its penalty be severe for any fraudulent action by
which tho seller can sufTci, ch as obtaining tho goods under
misrepresentations, or the fraudulent {)lacing of tho means of
paying beyond the reach of the creditor ; but lot the jmnish-
ment bo for tho wilfully dishonest transaction, not for the
falling in debt which was not an otfence when the debt was
contracted, and that could not become an offence only after the
debtor had either wrongfully withheld payment or palpably
neglected making effort to liquidate ; though of this latter
failure tho seller took the risk when he sold the goods, and so
should bear the brunt. •
The self-annihilation provided in the government's measure
for abolishing the legislative council did not meet the approval
of that body, and was rejected. On the 22nd of June, after hav-
ing passed twenty-six measures, the legislature was prorogued.
The Manitoba legislature met on the 1st of February. On
the 4th parliament adjourned till the 8th of April to enable
PO UTICA L A ND SOCIA L IIISTOR Y- IS79. 137
the executive to send a (l(*I«>j,'atlon to Ottawa to coiiffi- there
ruspectinj^ the provincial io^iwhitioii proposod. The hou.so, as
appointed, mot on the Hth of April l»ut adjourned a^'ain till the
27th of May, to enable the nioinhei-H to eoticludo its nej^otiationn
with the Canadian ^'ovornnient. On tlu- 2()th of May, Me-ssrs,
Norquay anil Koyal, the delegates to Ottawa, laitl upon tho
table their report, in which tho Dominion government
agreed among other things to grant the subsidy of !>10.5,<)50
already named, annually to tho province until tho end of 1881.
On tho 4th of Juno tho vacancies in the executive council
created by the resi^nalion of Messrs. Royal and Dtdorme, were
filled by the appointment of Messrs. Beggs and Taylor. On
the 25th of June tho assen»bly was prorogued ; and on the KJth
of December a general election was held resulting favourably
for tho Nonpiay ministry. On the 20th of January, lion, (now
Sir) W. J . Ritchie, one of the puisne judges of tho supreme
court of Canada, was sworn in chief justice by tho governor-
general. Hon. James Cockbtirn, Q. C, congratulated chief
justice Ritchie on his appointment and made the prediction,
that has since been so fully verified, that tho new incumbent
would bo an honour to the bench. Mr. Cockburn likewise
paid a well-deserved tribute to the character and abilities of
Mr. \ B. Richards, the predecessor in oftice of chief justice
Ritchi Among the strange occurrences of the year may be
mentioned a curious and sad case showing the effect of a bitter
grief. A miner named W. B. McMillan died at Denver, Colorado
and his remains were sent to Brantford, where lived his
widowed mother. The son had been the prop of his mother's
138 TEE A DMINISTRA TION OF L ORD L ORNE.
age. When she saw the corpse she sobbed wildly for a few
moments, then raising her hands above her head and crying,
" My son, my son, you have crossed the river before me," she
dropped dead across the coffin. There was sorrow during this
year throughout the Episcopal communion of Canada, by the
tiding of the death of the Rifjht Reverend A. N. Bethune.
On the 5th of February the remains were taken from Wind-
sor Place, the late residence of the deceased prelate, to Cobourg,
and were accompanied by large numlers ,of the clergy and
laity of the church of England, many of whom had come
from distant places to pay their tribute to this distinguished,
zealous and well-beloved churchman.
Upon certain temperaments a body of water rushing over a
precipice, or a fierce current rolling by, exercises fatal fascin-
ation. On the 21st of June, A. Rolland, who had recently been
married, and who made a tour over the world, rested with his
bride at Niagara Falls. They contemplated leaving on the after-
noon of the day named, but in the morning went out to
see the cataract. They visited each one of the Three Sister Is-
lands, and while at the last, the lady asked her husband for his
cup that she might get a drink from the rushing water ; then
she stepped down to the verge, observing that she would like
to "dabble" her hands in the river, and that it had a strange
fascination for her. He simply requested her to be cautious
in filling the cup ; and then she stepped out upon a flat rock
from which to dip the water. However it came to pass her
husband knew not, but he saw his wife linger for a moment
over the mad eddies ; then totter, lose her balance, and fall
POLITICAL AND SOCIAL HISTORY— 1879. 130
into tlie rushing river. She was swept instantly over the
Canadian Fall.
On theoth of August a terrific cyclone, coming with the sud-
denness of a thunder-bolt, burst upon New Brunswick. It
moved in a path half a mile wide carrying utter destruction in
its course. Trees of the primeval forest were torn from their
roots and whirled through the air as if they had been straws ;
houses were thrown over and crushed, and in some instances
carried bodily through the air; cattle were flung down, and
rolled along the ground like leaves, while fences and crops were
entirely demolished. Several persons were in the wood, or
travelling by road, when the storm came on, and these were
whirled about like chaff. Althou^jh their carriajjes were
crushed, and in the woods trees fell about them as if the
forest were a field of oats falling before the scythe, only four
persons were killed ; but numbers were bruised and wounded.
Incidents are related stranger and more wonderful than the
brain of a romancer could conceive. It is stated that in one
farm-house, a stove was raised from its place and driven through
the side of the dwelling, though the rest of the cottage remained
comparatively uninjured. In another residence were two wo-
men whose clothing was rent into thousands of tatters, and
blown off their bodies, while innumerable grains of .^and
were afterwards found imbedded in the skin of each, though
neither was seriously injured. The Buctouche bridge, a mass-
ive structure, was lifted and blown a long distance through the
air like a reed, and the roof's of dwellings and out-houses floated
overhead like the flying cinders that one sees in the air during
a, conflagration. The personal losses reached over $100,000,
140 THE ADMINISTRATION OF LORD LORNE.
and to relieve the distress a subscription list was at once opened
in St. John. To this object the Governor-General and Her
Royal Highness contributed $150.
On the morning of the 20th of August many of the inhabit-
ants living on the r)eninsula of Niagara thought that the end
of the world had come. The ground swayed siekeningly for
many seconds ; at St. Catharines the shock was very marked,
and made doubly terrifying by the tolling of the bells in the
Welland Railway shops and in the steeple of St. Barnabas
Church.
On the 30th of October a furious gale swept across the Nor-
thern Atlantic, overtaking many vessels. The shores of Nova
Scotia and Prince Edward Island were strewn with wreckage.
Not less than a hundred vessels were thrown on shore.
During this year also was settled the question of the " Great
Seal," arising out of the " matter of the precedence of Joseph
Norman Ritchie," for whom, in May, 1876, a patent decreed
by the Nova Scotia Government had given precedence to cer-
tain members of the Bar. Mr. Ritchie took his case to the
Supreme Court of the Province, contending that the seal affixed
to the patent was not valid ; that the Heralds' office in 186&
had devised Goats of Arms for the Dominion, and each of the
Provinces ; that in consequence of ?ome delay in forwarding
the new Seal to N ova Scotia, the old Seal had been used by the
Province ; but pointed out that the Seal of 1809 did sometime
afterwards arrive, and tiiat it was accompanied by instructions
to the Lieutenant-Governor from the Colonial Office " to take
the necessary steps to cause tLe same to be adopted ;" but that
it had not been adopted, and that all thiiigs done by virtue of the
POLITICAL AND SOCIAL HISTORY— 1879. 141
old instrument were invalid. The Provincial Court sustained
Mr. Ritchie's contention ; after which the case was appealed and
taken to the Dominion Court. Pending the settlement of the
question by the latter tribunal, on the recommendation of the
Crown Officers in England, acts were passed by the Dominion
and Provincis' Legislatures giving validity to all things done
under the Grea. Jeal, and authorizing the Lieutenant-Governor
of Nova Scotia in council to alter the Seal if necessary. Upon
the strength of these acts the Supreme Court of Canada gave
judgment disallowing Mr. Ptitchie's claim, thus settling the
troublesome question.
In the death roll of the year was the Right Rev. Alexander
N. Bethune, who passed to his rest at Toronto, on the third of
February. A cultured scholar, and an able administrator, he
was a singularly devoted and zealous son of his Church, while
his whole life has been described as one of gentleness and love.
On the 16th of January, literary circles in Quebec received a
shock by the announcement that one of the most gifted of their
native litterateurs and poets, M. Joseph Octave Cremazie, had
that day died at Havre, France. M. Cremazie had reached his
forty-ninth year, and gave promise, had time been spared to
him, to further enrich the literature of his province, for which
he had done much. On the 20th of September, English-Cana-
dian literature sustained a loss by the departure from its ranks
of Mrs. Leprohon, who for many years had contributed fiction to
the Literary Garland and other Canadian publications.
CHAPTER IV.
EVENTS, SOCIAL AND POLITICAL — 1S80.
/^N the 12th of January, a cheerless day of driving snow and
^ a bitter wind, the second session of the fourth Dominion
parliament was opened. There was the usual formula ; guns
thundered from Nepean Point, Canadian soldiers formed a.
guard of honour, and the princess was seated on the throne.
Without intending irreverence, the writer cannot avoid remark-
ing that governments in their Speech from the Throne, always,,
more or less, seek to identify themselves with Providence, by
calling attention to the bountiful harvests in some such way a»
to show that they were " in a measure to be thanked for it,'*
and the utterance opening the present session was no exception
to the rule. Oppositions are never grateful for bounty to the
husbandman or to anybody else, neither was Mr. Mackenzie,
who spoke for his party, and characterized the speech as a " de-
ception." It was a custom with political monks of the mid-
dle ages to never commit a record of their state intrigues to-
paper, the motto " Littera scripta manet," being more terrible
to them than the legend written over the gate of hell ; and so-
it always came to pass that they might, without censure to
profession, discard an old doctrine of morals or worldly polity,
and adopt a new without fear of incurring the reproach of in-
consistency, or of being deemed fallible in their portents. The
EVENTS, SOCIAL AND rOLITICAL-1880. 143
politician who is of all men the most exposed to the temptation
of turning prophet, would do wisely to remember the caution
of the church fathers. In replying to the speech from the.throne
Mr, Mackenzie said that but for the bountiful harvest which
Canada had been given during the preceding year, and the seri-
ous deficienc}'^ in the crops of Great Britain and Ireland, the
state of the Dominion would now be the most deplorable ever
known. Then he referred to the local general election in On-
tario, and contended that the recent success of the Mowat ad-
ministration was a severe condemnation of the fiscal policy of
the Dominion government, protection having been made a dis-
tinct issue at the polls. The Oracles when invoked so fashion-
ed their answers that whether the battle was lost or won their
insight was never impeached ; but here the types will merci-
lessly keep Mr. Mackenzie on record. In the light of the general
election that has taken place since the ex-leader of the opposi-
tion delivered this opinion, in view of the vote cast by Ontario,
and above all, with the picture of Mr. Mowat's party stagger-
ing out of its recent encounter before us, the assertion that the
people of Canada had then expressed their " condemnation of
the national policy " — whether that policy is now, or will be,
for the country's good — is not an evidence of penetration into
the heart or the direction of public opinion. Sir John Mac-
donald, who, even when things are very bad, will try to make
the best of them, followed Mr. Mackenzie and affirmed that a
wondrous change for the public good had come ; and added :
" I believe that under that Providence, at which the hon. gen-
tleman rather sneers, this improvement will continue from year
to year so long as the present policy is developed."
144 THE ADMINISTRATION OF LORD LORNE.
It was in this speech that provision was made for the
creation of a Canadian High Commissioner to the Court
of St James, and the reason assigned for the appointment
in the Speech from the Throne, was " the increasing foreign
trade of Canada." The motive given for appointing the
Commissioner may have been wisdom, but it would be some-
what venturesome to say that it was logic. There is no ar-
gument left to defend the appointment on the ground of a
growing foreign trade after the rejoinder by Mr. Blake :
" Trade is exchange, and if you want other people to take
your commodities you must take theirs ; and whilst you
establish and maintain as part of the general, permanent
policy of the country a system of obstruction and restriction
as to the importation of these commodities which other people
have to give you, it is a farce to talk of extending your
foreign trade." If prime ministers will permit Speeches to go
out of their hands loosely and inaccurately worded, it is just
and meet that they should take the punishment that an out-
raged logic has to offer. There was, however, another reason
given to the Colonial Secretary when our government was
praying that the appointment might be granted, and if the
motive was a more logical one than that which Mr. Blake so
thoroughly punctured, it is certainly not more palatable to the
ambition and the pride of Canada. During the summer of
1879 some of our Canadian ministers went to England, and
during their stay there they pressed, among other things, this
project of appointing a Canadian Commissioner upon the
Home Government's attention. There happened at the time
to be a vast deal of the Beaconsfield Jingoism in the English
EVENTS, SOCIAL AND rOLlTlCAL-imo. 145
air, and our poor colonial statesmen caught it as soon as
they landed. They met the English prime minister who
had a short time before obtained a Garter, brought home
" Peace with Honour " from Berlin, and who was now full of
schemes for erecting scientific frontiers and other wonderful
things for the glorification of the empire, " By Jingo !" There-
fore it is not strange that our Canadian ministers put this de-
claration into their memorandum urging the appointment of
the Canadian High Commissioner : " The idea must be
avoided that the connection of Canada with the British Empire
is only temporary and unabiding, instead of being designed to
strengthen and confirm the maintenance of British influence
and power." The declaration of the tailors of Tooley street
passes into history, but it does not make history ; for knight-
hood has not yet bribed all the brain and self-respect in this
country into reconcilement to national degradation.*
On the opening day of the session Mr. Mackenzie rose in his
place and brought to the notice of the house a curious case of
breach of privilege which had arisen towards tTie close of the
preceding session. On the night of the 10th of May, 1879,
during the discussion on the Pacific Railway, several mem-
bers lost their temper and insinuated that their opponents
were liars and not reputable men. While the fray went on
there were several spectators on the floor of the house ; and
among these was a young barrister from Toronto. It hap-
pened that during the discussion, Mr. Huntington, member for
*The first Canadian High Commissioner was Sir A. T. Gait, whose appointment
was gazetted on the llth of May, 1880. His salary was fixed at $10,000 per annum ;
And $1,000 a year was granted for a residence.
IM THE ADMINISTRATION OF LORD LORNE.
Shcflbnl, arose ; and while ho was speaking, a voice came
audibly from among the spectators — it was that of the young
})arrister referred to — saying that the member on his feet was
a " clieat and a swindler." Mr. Huntington called attention to
the outrage, and the floor was speedily cleared. The person
offending made two attemi)ts to re-enter the chamber and reach
Mr. Huntington, but was forcibly prevented by the sergeant-
at-arms ; whereupon he at once wrote the following note : " To
the Hon. L. S. Huntington, M, P. : Sir, I desire to state out
of the house what I have stated in it ; you are a cheat and a
swindler." On motion of Sir John Macdonald, it was ordered
that a summons bo issued citing the offender to appear at the
bar of the house at its next sitting : but when the officer went
to serve the instrument it was found that the barriste .' had
left the city. On the opening day of the next session, Mr.
Mackenzie, as has been seen, having referred again to the mat-
ter, Sir John Macdonald moved that the offending party be
summoned to appear before the house on the 24!th inst. On
that day Mr. Macdonnell, which was the name of the barrister ^^
came before the bar and read an apology which, among other
statements, contained these : " My language was not addressed
to the member in question nor to any member of this house, but
to a gentleman sitting beside me * • * " I did not intend
to speak in a voice which would be audible to the member for
Shefford, or to any member of this house."* On a motion by
*One would suppose from the phraseology of this apology that the offending per-
son was a member of the House of Commons, for the words " this house " could
only be used properly either by a member of the parliament, or by an accused
party on trial for his offence in the house ; whereas those cited by parliament ap-
liear befoi-e the house or at the bar which divides the legislative precincts from the
EVENTS, SOCIAL AND POLITIC A L-lHm. 147
Mr, McCarthy, that "taking into consideration the regret and
apology made,"* the house did not deem it necessary to proceed
further in the matter, an animated discussion arose, in '.vhich
Messrs. Mackenzie, Mills, Casey, Anglin, among other memhers
of the Opposition, ctntended that the apology offered was not
an apology at all, two or three of the speakers maintaining
that the offending person should have addressed his amende
to Mr. Huntington as well as to the House of Commons. The
reader who is familiar with events in the parliamentary history
of Canada will not be surprised to learn that even such an oc-
currence as the coming in of a stranger upon the floor of the
House of Commons, and while there insulting a member who
was speaking, was speedily imbued with party rancour, the con-
servative squaring off from the reforruer and doing battle as if
the question at issue had been a disputed problem in finance.
Sir John indeed did not, strictly speaking, take party ground \
he characterized the letter of Macdonnell as " most offen-
sive and improper," and as " libellous and defamatory," but
expressed his adherence to the view of his co-partyists that no
matter how improper or how offensive the letter, it having
been written beyond the precincts of the house, he did not be-
lieve that the action constituted such a breach of privilege as.
could be dealt with by the House of Commons. Macdonnell wa.s
outside. The house, or your house would therefore seem to be the more correct form
of expression. In England, where parliament is more antique and cast-iron in its
forms, the phrase of an apology would needs be as accurate as a quotation from the
Scriptures,
*While referring to the propriety of phrase, it may be remarked that the spec-
tacle of a man makitig a " regret " is novel, if not in a parliamentary sense, then at
least in a grammatical light, A strong literary bitw is not the characteristic of
many of our Canadian public men.
148 THE ADMINISTRATION OF LORD LORNE.
subsequently called in and informed that in consideration of
his regret and apolog}' the house would proceed no fuither
against him ; after which he departed.
Another privilege question was raised which also engrossed
public attention. Mr. Hooper, member for the united counties
of Lennox and Addington, had been charged with embezzling
the funds of the municipality. A commission appointed by
the government of Ontario reported that Mr. Hooper was in-
debted to the county, but did not charge him with fraudulent
doing — the accused member denied that he owed anything.
On the 19th of February, therefore, one Thomas Anderson pre-
sented a petition to the House of Commons praying that Mr
Hooper be declared an unfit and improper person to represent
the county in parliament. A motion was made to refer the case to
the Committee on Privileges and Elections, but the proposal creat-
ed a storm of opposition ; it was pointed out that it would be"a
nice state of things" if every gentleman similarly accused
would be liable to parliamentary investigation ; that some bank
might allege that an hon. member had defrauded it because he
had not paid his note, and that if such a precedent were estab-
lished it would lead to endless persecutions and attempts to
levy black-mail. Mr. Bunster, amid the loud laughter of the
house, said that if parliament were to investigate deficits it had
better be^in with the millions of deficits created by the late
minister of finance, Sir Richard J. Cartwright, who had also
represented Lennox, instead of wasting its time over a paltry
$32,000. An amendment by Mr. Cameron, of Victoria, that
Anderson's petition be not referred to committee, was carried,
and the much-distended interest in the question collapsed. It
EVENTS, SOCIAL AND POLITICAL— 1880. 149
may be here Hiiid that certa'n eases do undoubtcMlly arise where
the provision for trial on petition, before parliament, is good ;
but the examples are rare indeed, since the person accused will
be tried not in the light of justice but of pa'ty; while that
member, with liis " side of the House " strong enough, wlio is a
proven incendiary instead of a suspected embezzler, will be de-
clared innocent by a " majority report." . ,
When, therefore, a case like that of Mr. Hooper's comes into
the house, brought there by party politicians, for the ends of
faction, it is the duty of any man who has a spark of public
decency to resist its acceptance, leaving it to be dealt with by
the courts that are clothed with all the needed authority, and
for whose decisions we have respect. Let the justice-seats of
the land try the parliamentary representative as they try any
other citizen ; if he be therein proven guilty of serious offence
against the law, then let some responsible person present the
petition to parliament asking for his disqualification. Then
will the time be meet to receive such request, and to act
upon it.
Sir Leonard Tilley came forward with an account of his stew-
ardship for the year, and claiming with strong earnestness that,
while other causes had assisted in the return of better times,
the National Policy had been a very great factor in restoring
prosperity. He produced a list from which he showed that
there were then 10,000 persons occupied in the country who
could get no employment before. Sir Richard Cartwright,
suffused with bitterness, laid his soft felt hat upon the desk,
and rising said that " so far from greater employment being
given to the working classes, thousands of working men were
1 50 THE A D M I NIS TU . 1 TIO S OF L RD L O U NE.
at thnt moment cmsin«^t]io day that they trusted to the gov-
ernment's false promisos ; * * and tliat the National Policy
Imd utterly failed as a means of |)rodu(Mn<;rev(auie or of foster-
ing nuinufactures." The only one of these two contentions
about which we can be sure gives empliatic contradiction to the
€X-finance minister's allegation ; and the same gentleman, in
1883, finds as tlie grievous fault of the same policy that it
oxtorts from the people three or four million dollars, annually,
more tlian is needed for purposes of revenue. The ability of
♦liir llichard (Jartwright is not here in (question, but the value
of his criticism of the financial policy of his opponents, and the
credit to which he is entitled before Canadians who have an
atom of self-respect, is shown in this statement of liis occurr-
ing in the speech from which extracts have been already made :
" It would be a great error to believe tliat either the statesmen
or the people of Great Britain look with any degree of pleasure
on the policy Canada lias adopted." This it must bo admitted
was a strong point against the National Policy ; for the fanners
and draymen of England must undoubtedly know better than
Canadians the kind of fiscal policy needed for this country.
And Sir Richard's logical and very patriotic protest against the
National Policy was supplemented by another argument dressed
out in strong sentimental colours : the ministry were accused,
in scathing language, of showing ingratitude to their kind
Mother England, by a Reformer who for treason to the British
government, some decades ago, narrowly escaped hanging. But
the government now and again adopted lines of defence scarce-
ly more edifying in nature than some of the attacks. Sir Charles
Tupper, who, in his speeches not unfrequently mingles too much
EVENTS, SOCIAL AND rOLITICAL-im). 161
ferocity witli a conspicuous contempt for logic, iu dofcnding the
coal tax, the feature in the National P(jlicy nicstolmoxiouHtothe
Refonuors,in his mostcliaractoristic way maintained that " every
poi*8on knows that, while there was a duty of fifty centa im-
posed on coal durinj^ the last year, the cost of coal fell to the
lowest price it over was in the history of the country." The
tax on coal may be expedicuit, or it may be unwise, that is not
the ((uestion here, but what benefit, it will be asked, did the
fifty-cent tax confer on the coal-miner in whoso interest this
item in the tariff was made, if it did not increase the price of
his coal ; and would not the coal that had fallen " totho lowest
price it ever was" cost the consumer in Canada just fifty cents
on the ton less had not the duty been affixed ? If the import-
ers of coal paid the tax declared by law, then was Dr. Tupper's
statement not merely daring, but an insult to every man that
heard him who was not an idiot. I have made these extracts
to show my reader what passes for " lucid and forcible state-
ments " and " unanswerable arguments," in the way of talk, and
for " statesmen that would do honour to any hall of parlia-
ment " in the way of men, among the slavish admirers of cer-
tain of our Canadian politicians, and the wretched hack-news-
papers that are engaged in the manufacture of public opinion.
It was at this period of Canadian history that so many poli-
ticians and their followers began to read the "Arabian Knights,"
learning therefrom how magicians in the Esist needed but to
raise their wands and express a wish, when the thing, whatso-
ever they desired, immediately came into existence ; and mar-
velling much at the princely palaces and wondrously splendid
creations so called forth, they bethought them that the legis
152 THE ADMINISTRATION OF LOUD LORNE.
lature of Canada had likewise the power to do great things ;
and it occurred to one member of parliament, Mr. Wallace, of
South Norfolk, that as one of the prerogatives of the state was
to declare, stamp and give validity and value to the money of
the realm, therefore, while they were at it they might as
\vq\\ make enough to pay the expenses of the onerous public
works on hand, and put an end to public stringency at once.
Therefore during the session of 1879, he moved a set of resolu-
tions providing among other things:
" That for the convenience and requirements of trade and
commerce, and for constructing the Pacific Railway, and the
other public works of the country, the government should at
onceprovide an ample and sujfficient supply of money ; but in
no one year should the amount expended on the railways and
works aforesaid exceed the sum of ten millions of dollars, nor
should any portion of that sum be paid out until its expendi-
ture had been authorized by a vote of the parliament of this
Dominion." This scheme must have been very alluring to the
government, pinched for funds and burdened with extensi\e
works, but the proprieties demanded that they should set their
face against it ; and so the finance minister disapproved of
Mr. Wallace' doctrine, and the other ministers laughed at their
desks, and deemed the proposal unworthy of serious resistance.
Yet a seed -ad dropped from Mr. Wallace' argument, and
was even now fructifying in ministerial breasts. The govern-
ment found that it was necessary to obtain for public works
eight million dollars, and taking to heart the advice which they
had outwardly scorned, their finance minister went out, raised
his wand and created the sum needed. This was his method of
EVENTS, SOCIAL AND POLITICAL— ISSO. 153
procedure: On the 2Gfch of April, in the session which is
now being recorded, he introduced a bill providing for an ex-
tension of the currency in circulation from ^12,000,000, the
amount hitherto allowed, to $20,000,000. This would set afloat
$8,000,000 in notes, while the gold reserve was not increased
by a dollar. The measure evoked a torrent of censure upon
the finance minister, though no very clear insight into the
questier of currency is revealed in the speeches or the writings
of the times. Little was afterwards said about this Balloon
Act, for we since have fallen upon days of plenty. The Act
was really a watering of our national circulation to the extent
of two-fifths ; and it has established a most dangerous example.*
It was during this session that the measure facetiously de-
scribed as a Bill for the Abolition of Aunts was introduced.
For many years the mu-riage of a man with the sister of his
deceased wife had formed a theme for legislators and moralists
in Great Britain as well as in this countr^'^, and among divines
the widest difference of opinion had prevailed upon the subject.
With few exceptions the Nonconformists have favoured such
marriages,but the churches of England and Rome have opposed
them, save for the dispensations that the latter has always
granted for " sufficient reasons." These unions were not void
de jure in England up to 1835, but in that year Lord Lynd-
* Writing of the Act in the Bystander of 1880, Mr. Goldwin Smith said :
■" The finance minister thinks that he can fix the limit beyond which
inflation shall not go ; but he has no control over his successors, who may be, and
indeed are pretty sure to be, in greater straits than himself. His measure, though
he would not like to admit it, involves a breach of faith to the holders of existing
notes, who have taken them on tbe assurance of their being secured by a certain
reserve. If a bank were to do the same thing, its conduct would be deemed frau«
dulent, and it would be restrained by law."
154 THE ADMINISTRATION OF LORD LORNE,
hurst procured the passage of an act providing that all such
marriages, which had not been declared void by the Ecclesiasti-
cal courts, should remain valid, but that all such marriages
taking place after the passage of the act should be void with-
out the interposition of the proper court. Many attempts had
been made to repeal the handiwork of Lord Lyndhurst, and na
fewer than eight bills legalizing the marriage of a man with
the sister of his deceased wife had passed the imperial house
of commons, to be every time defeated in the upper house by
the influence of the spiritual peers. In 1879, the Prince of
Wales brought a bill into the house of Lords embodying the
provisions of the measures adopted by the commons, but his
Royal Highness, though they do pray specially for him every
Sabbath, has not a high odour of sanctity, and the bishops were
no wise softened towards the unscriptural marriage for his zea-
lous persuasions. On the 1 'ith of February, M. Girouard, of
Jacques Cartier, introduced a measure, which after much change
and paring passed the commons in the following terse form : —
" Marriage between a man and a sister of his deceased wife,
or the widow of his deceased brother, shall be legal. All such
marriages heretofore contracted, the parties whereto are living
as husband and wife at the time of the passage of this act,
shall be held to have been lawfully contracted." On the 28th
of the month, the senate somewhat revealed its capacity for
legislation, and for the Interpretation of public opinion, by re-
jecting M. Girouard's measure. It ought to be hardly necessary
at this age of the world to raise a pen in vindication of the
right of a man to wed the sister of his deceased wife should he
desire to marry her, but superstition still has an important
EVENTS, SOCIAL AND POLITICAL-1880. 156
chair in the council of human affairs ; — but it is a comforting
part of the reflection that in the legislative deliberations of
Canada, the blindfold monitress sought and dominated those
who most resembled herself in sex, and who can perform the
greatest service to the state by doing the least. Neither is it
necessary here to show at length that it is uo more reasonable
nor mcral to forbid the marriage of a man with his sister-in-
law than to restrain a witch, by statute, from changing her
neighbours' cows into foxes, or turning the milk into blood and
water. When superstition has been met by the unanswerable
argument that in all questions relating to matrimony, a sin
against the moral law is a dn against the natural law, and that
the latter it is that has dictated the former, she will take you
to the Mosaic code ; but, as Mr. Goldwin Smith so completely
shows,* " that law relates to Oriental and primeval marriage,
and embodies the primeval idea of immortality, which was not
individual life in an other world, but representation by pos-
terity in the tribe." Close marriages, let it be repeated, are
intolerable to the moral law, chiefly because they violate natu-
ral law ; because they would bring, as they have brought, in
communities where union within close degrees of consanguinity,
have been practised for some generations, physical deteriora-
tion, idiotcy, and annihilation of the species. If the system of
hereditary monarchy in the centuries to come were to be guar-
anteed immunity from the resentment of intelligence and popu-
lar self-respect, the custom of close marriage among the piinces
and princesses who are now nearly all related, is certain to con-
vert royal palaces into lunatic asylums, and bring the kingship
* The Bystander, March, 1880.
156 THE ADMINISTRATION OF LORD LORNE.
into contempt and to an end. Some of our own English royal
personages who marry cousins, and arc themselves the fruits of
close marriages, are not, and have not been conspicuous for their
sanity, and never for more than intelligence of the common
order ; and there is possibly not a European prince who would
hunt with a spaniel or a pointer that could not show a pedigree
more free from the taint of consanguinity than his own.
The potato crop of the season of 1879 in Ireland was a failure,
and with the winter came famine and its attendant horrorp.
Measures were promptly taken by the Imperial Government
and by benevolent persons, chief among which which was the
Duchess of Marlborough, for relieving the distress. Subscrip-
tions were opened in Canada and liberal sums collected, besides
which the Dominion Parliament made a grant of $100,000.
Even so palpable an act of charity as this must be revolved
upon the party mill-wheel, and some Reform members of Parlia-
ment, of Irish extraction, were graceless enough to sneer at
what they declared to be the inadequacy of the grant, and the
method of its disposal. The total amount contributed by Can-
ada reached £50,000.
Nothing succeeds like success ; but woe to the man who leads
the failing cause. Not alone will thunder and the winds pre-
vail against him, but he must bear the sins of the lightning and
the tempest. Sometimes the man brings disaster on the cause,
sometimes the cause brings ruin upon itself ; it is the victim
only that is certain. But yesterday the word of Csesar stood
against the world ; to-day he lies there, none so poor as to do
him reverence. We have not any Caesars in Canada, nor any
supremely great causes, but we have cases that sometimes sug-
EVENTS, SOCIAL AND rOLITICAL-1880. 16T
gest comparison with things convoying higher morals. While
Mr. Alexander Mackenzie was in office there was not wanting
myriads to bear testimony to his transcendent honesty, his pru-
dence, clear insight, and capacity for administration ; but the
sun had not gone down after it was known that he had been
defeated, before the same men came to utter maledictions, and
to lay at his door the disaster to their cause. Then the disaf-
fected ones began to plot the overthrow of their leader, and
they cast about for a man to take his place. At this time
Mr. Edward Blake was not a member of parliament, but in
October, 1879, he was elected for Durham, whereupon several
Reform politicians waited upon him, and made known their de-
sire that he should assume the leadership of the party. It is
not necessary to record here, if it would be worth while, that
Mr. Blake either offered opposition or felt exalted by the offer;
he had for years shown a well-bred and politic contempt for Mr.
Mackenzie,and felt very clearly and strongly convinced that the
leadership belonged to himself. Various rumours were afloat
during the early part of the session, respecting the alleged ill-
feeling and rivalry between Messrs. Mackenzie and Blake, and
for many weeks it was understood that the former gentleman
would not resign the mantle, unless compelled to do so by a
vote of the majority of his supporters. The followers of Mr.
Blake, it was learned, suggested that a caucus of Liberals should
be held, and the question squarely submitted ; but Mr. Mac-
kenzie's admirers saw in this certain humiliation for their
leader, and, it is said, advised resignation. It is by no means
certain that, had the recalcitrant Reformers been less obtrusive
in demanding the leadership for Mr. Blake, Mr. Mackenzie,
158 THE ADMINISTRATION OF LORD LORNE.
somewhat broken in spirit by defeat, and shattered in health
by a too close attention to the duties of a double department,
would not have thrown off' the galling harness. It is certain,
however, that the most delicate methods to effect the removal
were not adopted, and that the ex-Preniier felt the act more bit-
terly than his defeat at the polls, or any other cross in his
public career. On the 27th of April, at 2 o'clock, looking very
calm, and showing no trace of the humiliation that must have
been burning within him, he rose in his place, and simply said :
" I desire to say a word or two with regard to my personal re-
lations to the house. I yesterday determined to withdraw
from the position as leader of the Opposition, and from this
time forth I will speak and act for no person but myself."
With characteristic generosity. Sir John Macdonald promptly
arose and replied : " Of course we, on this side of the House
have nothing to say to such a decision ; but I can say that I
hope the hon. gentleman who takes the place of the hon.
member for Lambton, and his party, will display the same
ability, earnestness and zeal for what he thinks and believes to
be for the good of the country, as have been displayed by my
hon. friend who has just taken his seat." Two days later, a
caucus of Reform members was held, and Mr. Blake was chosen
to the leadership. On the 7th of May, parliament was proro-
gued by the Marquis of Lome.
During the session of 1878, there entered into the head of
Mr. David Mills, then minister of the interior, a scheme for the
extension and aggrandizement of Canada. He introduced a
series of resolutions on which to found an address to the impe-
rial parliament, praying for the annexation to Canada of all
EVENTS, SOCIAL AND rOLITJCAL—1880, 159
British territory in North America, and the islands adjacent to
the said territory, not aheady included in the Dominion, except-
ing the colony of Newfoundland and her dependencies ; and
on July 31st, 1880, an order was issued by the imperial privy
council providing for the annexation of the territories vaguely
referred to. If not practically momentous, it was at least
ideally well that the North Pole should be added to the nation;
that the Esquimaux should be created Canadian citizens, and
that the walrus and bears that inhabit the ice-floes within the
Arctic Circle should be accounted national game. Everything
between the definite limits of the pre-existing Dominion and
the pole, icebergs, and ice fields, it is to be presumed, went into
the Confederation under the compact, and should in time the
planet succeed in giving birth to another glacier at the North, it
would, it may be inferred, form also a legitimate chattel of our
politicians. The writer has no desire to belittle this legislation,
since Southampton and other islands thereby acquired are said
to contain valuable mineral deposits and coal, which, in view
of the proposed establishment of a Hudson's Bay international
route, would be exceedingly valuable ; but men usually sensi-
ble, talked, at the time of the acquisition, a great deal of non-
sense about untold mineral wealth and valuable fisheries. It
does not facilitate the getting of ores to be obliged to dig un-
der hills of ice to obtain them ; nor does it make fishing more
desirable to carry it on in Arctic storms and between crushing
icebergs, while both employments can be prosecuted in the
older Canaaa without the titanic obstacle or the peril. There
is no reason why some other Canadian politician should not
160 THE ADMINISTRATION OF LORD LORNE.
take steps to secure from the Queen the right to annex th&
moon.
The " Fortune Bay affair," was still on the scenes, and tomes
of correspondence passed between the Colonial office and Secre-
tary Evarts. This case may be stated in brief as follows : On
a Sabbath morning cei'tain American fishermen rowed out from
their schooners, which were moored in a bight in Fortune Bay,
Newfoundland, and nearing the land cast out their seines to
take herring. Now the local laws of the colony forbade the
methods of fishing adopted by the Americans, and likewise pro-
hibited the hauling of fish on the Sabbath day ; so that the
Newfoundland fishermen — some of whom were livincr in their
tilts upon the shore, others of whom were sleeping in their boat*
on the bay — seeing that the laws of the island were being
doubly broken, promptly mustered their boats to resist the
transgressions. They cut the gear of the American fishermen
releasing the fishes, and then drove the otFenders from the shore.
When, later in the season — for the obstruction by the coast in-
habitants was offered only on the day, and to the illegal manner
of catching, in question — the United States schooners reached
their homes, they reported the occurrence ; whereupon the press
of their countrymen set up an indignant cry against the out-
rage, called upon Secretary Evarts to demand an apology and
recompense for the insult and obstruction to American citizens
while pursuing a calling made legal by treaty rights. Mr.
Evarts at once made a statement of grievances to Lord Salis-
bury, colonial secretary, and demanded as recompense for the
losses sustained by the American schooners, $105,000. To this,
demand Lord Salisbury replied that the American fishermen
EVENTS, SOCIAL AND POLITICAL— IKHO. 161
had no sufficient grounds on wliich to base their claims for
damages ; that under the treaty of Washington tiioy were given
only concurrent rights with British subjects ; that therefore
they were bound by the same laws which governed the fisher-
men on the Island coast, that they violated those laws and
must not now expect recompense for damages sustained through
their own transgressions. American diplomacy has not yet be-
come either an exact or a dignified science, and Mr. Evarts re-
plied to the cold, stately and polished document of Lord Salis-
bury in the tone and temper of a ward politician. The secretary
took the ground among others not more tenable, that the treaty
of Washington gave to American fishermen the right to fish as-
they pleased, without respect to the local laws. Any one of
the meanest comprehension can see that tliore h only one local
law which it might be permitted to an American citizen to vio-
late by the Washington treaty, namely, that p;oiubiting the
taking of fish on the Sabbath day, which could not in reason
be binding upon others than those permpnen ly under the juris-
diction of the laws of the colony. For t];e Sunday laws have
an application to all forms of labour, and the taking of fisk
would make only one item in the forbidden list of works. By
such a law, therefore, the American citizen, who might be a
Jew, or an atheist, ought not to "be bc»und ; but suppose that
the taking of fish in a certain manner, or at a particular season^
were adjudged by the colonial government to be detrimental
to the fisheries, and for such leason forbade the taking in
certain modes and seasons, no treaty unless giving authoriza-
tion in express terms could justify the breaking of such law;
and no man, influenced by a sense of right and national honour,.
102 TUE ADMINISTRATION OF LORD LORNE.
would seek excuse for its violation. Lord Salisbury's argu-
ments, therefore, were tenable, and in harmony with the views
expressed upon the subject with such ability, dignity and
moderation by the Hon. Edward Dalton Shea,* colonial secre-
tary for the province of Newfoundland. But a change of gov-
-ernment in England brought a change of policy, and much
wrongheaded opinion upon the subject. Lord Granville suc-
ceeded Lord Salisbury, and " peace at any price " seemed rather
to be his aim than a patient hearing of the case, and an impar-
tial judgment upon it This Englishman, with the evidence
before him, and presumably with some brains, did actually ad-
mit to Mr. Evarts that,
" If such local statutes could be shown to be inconsistent with
the express stipulations, or even with the spirit of the treaty,
they would not be within the category of those reasonable re-
gulations by which American (in common with British) fisher-
men ought to be bound."
During the summer following this stage of the question, it
may be related here, the affair at Fortune Bay was further dis-
tended in importance, by the perpetration of another " out-
rage " upon the persons of certain other American citizens who
visited a place called Suiall Point, in Conception Bay, on the
Newfoundland coast, to take squid. The boat it appears rowed
in from the schooner, and under the shelter of a bold cliff", be-
gan "jigging " in the dark waters. They had not well begun
their operations when huge stones began to thunder down the
cliff" and splash in the sea by their boat They paused not to
* The Hon. Mr. Shea's views were published in his own new^spaper, the Neic-
foundlander.
EVENTS SOCIAL AM) rOLlTWAL-lA80. 103
make cnquirie.s into the cause of the occurrence, or tlie niotive.s
prom|tting it, but pulled back again to their vessel deternnned
that the American nation should hear of the wanton assault,
and violation of international law and right. On reaching?
home, i\\ii Minnesota, which was the schoooner's name, reported
the case, and the American press once again raised its voice
and demanded satisfaction.*
*The writer, who hail an oi)])ortunity of hiirniiiK the factH ahout the Concfption
Bay outrage, publidlied in an American newHpaper a letter bearing ni)on the cane,
an • xtract from which he here aHkn perinisnion to reproduce: "In the month of
June lant, an American «choonPr, t'le Minni'notii, with six or seven of your coun-
trymen for a crew, sailed into Small Point, Conception Hay, N. F., to take bait.
It was a wild and desolate place, and even the citizens of your nation might be
excused for feeling nervous in such a spot. A few miles distant down the coast
there was a cluster of fishermen's huts, and that was all that showed signs of
civilization ; for the rest there was naught save huge rocks, the iron-bound cliff
and the sea. Now on the top of the cliff above where your fellow-countrymen,
were peacably, and lawfully catching their H<iuid, was a party of desperadoes
aged respectively from six to ten years ; and these, in utter violation of the
spirit and letter of the Washington treaty, began to roll huge stones down the
cliff, and into the sea. The treaty-breakers did not see your fellow-countrymen,
indeed they were not aware that there was ' anyone under.' Now, sir, an Amer-
ican of six or seven years old not alone knows all the international treaties by
heart, but he never rolls stones ; and if he be on the top of a cliff, and knows
not through the usual channels of knowledge that there is anybody below, no
matter how desirous he may be to roll rocks over, he never puts persons in
|)eril, for he knows by intuition that they are underneath. But to my story :
Tlie boat pulled fi>r dear life out to the schooner, and the schooner weighed anchor
and sailed away to another cove where she suffered no molestaticm to sjieak of.
It is true several hundreds of saddleback gulls had been in the habit of hatching
about the rocks, and the inconsiderate birds not knowing that it was an American
schooner, or what were the tenns of the Washington treaty — if indeed they knew
whether there was such a treaty at all or not— began to clamour in the most alarm-
ing and indescribable manner. But I will say to the credit of Secretary Everts,
that in his report of the case to Downing Street, he made no allusion to the
clearly-intended obstruction by the gulls, though it is quite certain that they
deserved censure. As for the treaty-breakers, who rolled the stoneSj each got
off with a spanking, administered by a slipper, after a neighbour had gone
round and informed the mothers ; but, sir, was ])unishmnent by a slipper the
satisfaction that your nation and your citizens had a right to expect for a breach
of international treaty at once so flagrant and so glaring ? "
164 THE ADMINISTRATION OF LOUD LOIiNE.
It was (lurinj^ this year that tho oxortions of Hon. Hector L,
Tittugovin, Hocondodlty thoHO of Di. Fortin, bore fruit in tho
entcrpriso begun and nearly completed of connecting by tho
telegraph system the islands in the Gull" of St. Lawrence with
tlio adjacent shores of the mainland, thus bringing within
speaking distance the various scattered and isolated districts ta
which fishorinen resorted in the sununer. Anticosti and the
Magdalen Islands lying in tho track of so many coasters, no
year went round that did not bring tidings of 8l'ip>\''eck upon
their shoi'cs, and frecjuently the news had been so tedious in
reaching the mainland, owing to the fierce storms prevailing
about the islands, that tho distressed seamen perishetl of
cold and hunger before; succour could reach them. Not only
in convoying information of vessels and their crews in dis-
tress on the fishing coasts, however, was the telegraphic system
proven beneficial, but in sending tidings from one district to
another of the scarcity or plenty of fish ; for sometimes an
off-shore v/ind on one portion of coast will bring a body of fish
from a certain feeding or spawning ground to a different neigh-
bourhood, and by spreading intelligence of a " spurt " here, or
of dearth there, the coast boats under many conditions are en-
abled to move from the deserted to the fruitful localitv. Lines
were therefore laid connecting Halifax with Canso, Anticosti,
the Magdalens and Bird Rock with each other, and with the
mainland, the total length of land lines being 914 miles, and
of cable 127.25 nautical miles.*
* The following ftre the lines, owned and established by government, in the
coastal system : Newfoundland section, Port au Bas<nie to Oape Ray lighthouse, 14
miles ; Nova Scotia section. Low Point lighthouse, C. B. to Lingan, 5 miles ; East
coast section between Canso and Halifax, 208 miles ; Bay of Fundy section, connect-
EVENTS, SOCIAL AND I'OIJTICAL-lfiSn. 165
One of tho most revolting crimes known in our liistory
fltainH tho record of this year, nnd is known as the " JJiilduIpli
trai^edy." Tho townslup of Bidduljdi, in the county of
Middlesex, is for the greater part inhabited by Irish immigrants
who came to Canada many years ago, settling compactly in the
ili.strict which is now a term of reproach to tho province of
Ontario. Yet to drive through this township, the well culti-
vatt'<l fields, the comfortai)lo farm-houses and imposing out-
buildings that so largely prevail over tho county, would
impress one that hero live<l an industrious, skilful and pro-
gressive people. But the evidence adduced at the trial for tho
murders in question, and the light thrown upon the history of
the neighbourhood by correspondence to the press, revealed a
state of affairs whose lesson teaches us how slow we should be
to encourage an immigration that is likely, when permitted to
settle itself in masses in our new soil, to reproduce the semi-
barbarous civilization, with the social and race animosities, and
the religious i*ancours of the country from which it comes.
Two or three years ago the Roman catholic archbishop of
this province proposed a gigantic scheme whereby he was to
found sovei'al exclusively Canadian-Irish districts in the North-
West. His project was so shaped that the territory given to
the new-comers would be in all respects a fragment of Ireland.
They would live in exclusion, and must therefore be free from
the social and industrial influences operating elsewhere in
ing Grand Manan and Cainpobello Inlands with mainland, 29 miles of land lines and
9.18 knots of cable ; Magdalen Islands section, 83^ miles land lines and 73.30 knots
of cable ; Cape Brevon section, from Meat Cove to North Sydney, 126A miles land
lines und ^ knot of caole ; Anticosti section, 214 miles land lines and 44.27 knots of
cable ; Gaspt^ section, from L'Anse Ji Fougbre to Ga'spd Basin, 28 miles ; and from.
Gaspe Basin to Grand Metis 20C miles.
160 THE ADMINISTRATION OF LORD LORNE.
Canada ; they would be strictly Roman catholic, so that their
intellectual management would be pretty much in the hands of
the priesthood, who unfortunately are not the most successful
directors of education. By temperament the Irish peasant is
quarrelsome ; by centuries of ignorance he is superstitious and
will be guided by whatsoever his priest or his demagogue may
tell him. No man sooner than he will lay down his life for a
friend ; no other so readily will murder his comrade. Under
the Archbish()i)'s scheme, we would have, as I have said, a
piece of Ireland, whose social organii^ation would be sown
with the seeds of family quarrels, with " sores " of old stand-
ing, with smoalderin<; enmities, hatred of British jrovern-
ment, of the protestant religion, of our system of education,
frequently of our government, and owing allegiance only to
the dictation of leaders of their own nationality and creed and
to the priesthood. The Archbishop's scheme failed, and surely
there was cause for thankfulness to the God of all good men
that it did so.
In Biddulph, founded in the Archbishop's ideal manner, such
seeds as have been specified were sown, and in due time bore
their fruit. Between several families there were old-standing
feuds, and the slightest word would often give rise to brutal
and general quarrels; a standing ground for enmity and hate
was ditference of creed ; till in all social respects the township
came to have such repute for lawlessness that strangers
shuddered as they passed through it. But the causes out of
which grew the "Biddulph tragedy" seem to be these: a
quarrel of more than usual bitterness arose between two
families. The inhabitants could not remain neutral — some
EVENTS, SOCIAL AND FOLITICAL-1S80. 167
families taking one side of the dispute and some another, till
in a few weeks the whole country-side became involved.
Then began a series of minor depredations, which we are
informed, in time grew into startling crimes, and after eight
years of incendiarism, maiming of dumb brutes, savage quar-
rels and attempted assassinations, the world was startled by
intelligence of one of the most revolting murders recorded in
criminal history. The story of the tragedy must be told in a
few words. Most of the atrocities committed through Biddulph
had been laid at the door of a family there in which v/ere
several men named Donelly; but so desperate was the
character of these persons that magistrates dare not iss'^.o war-
rants for their apprehension, nor could constables be found to-
attempt their arrest. The family became a terror to the
neighbourhood, though it by no means had a monopoly of the
lawnessness ; and a number of the neighbours, some of whom
were of the most ruffianly and violent character, formed them-
selves into a Vigilance Committee, ostensibly for the purpose
of preserving the peace and the public safety, which it was
alleged the law was not strong enough to accomplish ; but
there seems little reason to doubt that the band was formed
with the object of wreaking private vengeance upon law-
breakers whose crimes seemed to the Vigilants hideous only
that their perpetrators had over-matched themselves in deeds
of lawlessness. However, between twelve and two o'clock on
the morning of February 4th, 1880, the dwelling house of
James Donelly, wherein lived James, his wife, Thomas his son,
Bridget his niece, and a lad named O'Connor, was entered by a
band of disguised men armed with clubs made of cloven cord-
168 THE ADMINISTRATION OF LORD LORNE.
wood billets, who fell upon the family, every one of whom, save
the lad O'Connor, they murdered, then setting the house on
fire. ^)n the same morning a gang of persons with blackened
faces, and being otherwise disguised, visited the house of
William Donelly, son of James Donelly, situated some miles
distant, and in which lived William, his brother John, and one
Martin Hogan. They began crying " Fire " outside the dwell-
ing, whereupon William Donelly arose, opened the door, and
made enquiry into the cause of the alarm ; but while he was
speaking he was shot dead upon the threshold. There seems
little doubt that the masked murderers belonged to the Vigil-
ance Committee, and that band, it was stated in the evidence
at the trial, was formed at a request made by the parish priest
from the altar. Six persons were arrested and tried for the
murders, at London, Ontario. The jury disagreed, and the
prisoners were released amid similar enthusiasm to that which
is expressed now in Ireland, when, after some exciting trial,
the law fails to vindicate itself and murder goes oflf trium-
phant. There is little room to doubt that the Donellys were
a scourge to the township ; but it is by no means certain that
they were any more ruffianly and lawless than many members
of the Vigilance Committee ; but however numerous and atro-
cious their transgressions, it puts a stain upon the records of
justice in this country, that of all their murderers, not one has
paid the penalty for his crime.
The most noteworthy civil trial of the year was that which
arose out of an action for libel, taken by one Patrick Boyle
against the Globe printing and publishing company. The action
was based on certain editorials that appeared in the newspaper in
EVENTS, SOCIAL AND POLITICAL— ISSf).
question, affinninf^ that corrupt means had been used to secure
the awarding of the contract for the Dominion parliamentary
printing to Messi-s. MacLean, Roger it Co., and that this Boyle,
who was himself a tenderer for the contract, though his offer
was only bogus, was an interested instrument to the accomplish-
ment of the transaction. Towards the end of the parliamentary
session of 1879, in answer to the formal call, the following per-
sons, in the order named, tendered at the figures given for the
contract to do the public printing for the succeeding five years:
C. H. MacKintosh, $27,133; James Hope, $28,500 ; E. J. Charl-
ton, $30,670; J. C. Boyce, $32,559; P. Boyle, $33,028; Mac-
Lean, Roger & Co., $34,123. It may be said here that govern-
ment, in asking for tenders, stipulates that it does not bind
itself to accept the lowest or any tender, since adventurers,
without capital, experience or repute, sometimes come into the
field, offer to tako contracts at prices that in the eye of exper-
ience make fulfilment impossible ; that to award the perform-
ance of a great public work to such persons must end in a
break-down of the undertaking, a re-assumption of the respon
sibility by government, and a consequent increase of expendi-
ture. But it is the custom to accept t}\e lowest figure where
the repute, experience and financial standing of the tenderer
are satisfactory ; and immunity from break -down of work and
combination by dishonourable contract brokers is measurably
guaranteed by the rule lately and generally adopted, of requir-
ing that each tenderer shall deposit a certain sum of money
with government before he is treated with, which amount is to
be forfeited on his refusal to perform the contract, should his
tender be accepted. Though this regulation has in many cases
K
170 THE ADMINISTRATION OF LORD LORNE.
proven a salutary safeguard in this country, where speculators
dog government like a shoal of sharks following a ship for the
ofFal thrown overboard, still cases are on record where persons
have banded together, obtained the highest figure for a projected
public work, and shared among them the difference between
the greatest and the least tender. In some of these cases the usual
guarantees ure not salvation, for the contract brokers outside
are aided by persons of fi,uthority inside, and certain ministers of
government, if they are not greatly belied, do not pocket the
smallest proportion of the corrupt gains. To return, however,,
to the Case under consideration. During the trial it was re-
vealed, that, on learning "how the tenders stood" — Roger being
the highest and MacKintosh the lowest — the former took im-
mediate steps to "buy off" the others; that he offered a certain
sum to each, that the same was accepted personally or through
an agent, and that Roger assumed the contract. The jury gave
a verdict against Boyle, notwithstanding that, through cunning
and dark agencies, he had almost succeeded in covering his
tracks; but the parts played by the other accomplices to the
bargain were made thoroughlj^ clear; and MacKintoish, Boyle,
and Roger stand out as persons with whom a public department
ought not to be able to find much excuse to have dealings.
Amcng the dcu,ihb of ihe year may bo recorded that of the
Hon. George Brown, whose boisterous, though somewhat useful,
career was brought to an end on the 9th of May, by being shot
in the hip by a discharged employ^ ; and the Hon. Edward
Barron Chandler, whose unassuming and not unprofitable life
was terminated on the Gth of February, at Fredericton, the
capital of the province of which he was lieutenant-governor.
EVENTS, SOCIAL AND POLITICAL— 1880, 171
Among those interested in railways, much curiosity was
aroused b>\ the winter drew on, by the statement that the
Q. M. 0. k^ Occidental Railroad was to be connected with the
South-Eastern road by a link stretching across the ice on the
St. Lawrence from Longueuil to Montreal. On the 31st of De-
cember every preparation had been made for testing this novel
railway, and in sight of throngs of spectators, the train, con-
sisting of an engine, weighing about twenty-five tons, and two
flat cars of eight tons each, slowly moved from the station to-
ward the river. Some of the spectators held up their hands at
what they deemed to be the mad folly of the experiment, while
others declared that the bottom of the river would soon have
new tenants ; but engineering skill had not made the trial reck-
lessly, and the train passed over safely, causing only an almost
imper'^t.itible dt flection in the ice. ' '
Chronic rivalries, aggravated by the incendiary advice of
demagogue leaders, between the t- a'o whip-labourers' u-^ions of
Quebec, culminated on the third of May in riot, in which sev-
eral persons were seriously injured, though none was killed.
On the 12th of the same month, after a series of mutual ajjcrra-
vations, during which the most brutal fights occurred, the dis-
content again blazed forth, and it was found necessary
to call out the military to disperse the belligerents. The bay-
onets, however, only vindicated the law in the open streets, for
individuals of the one society banded together with the avowed
purpose of assaulting and harassing such members of the other
as refused to conform to the wage and other regulations
adopted by them. Conformably with these lawless decisions,
several persons, many of them not belonging to the union, were
172 TEE ADMINISTRATION OF LORD LORNE.
assaulted and beaten in a cruel manner, and a reign of terror
prevailed in several streets of the city. To stamp out su'^h a
spirit as this, the most careful vigilance of the police was in-
sufficient. The harassing parties fortunately belonged to the
Roman catholic communion, and their church had locked in
her bosom a force mightier than that of the military, or than
of the civic arm. So, as in the case of another city* in British
North America, the voice of the pastor was stronger than the
voice of the law. On Sunday, the IGth instant, archbishop
Taschereau caused to be read in all the catholic churches a
letter threatening with excommunication " any catholic who,
in the course of the present year, 1880, shall attack or conspire
to attack any person belonging to a labour society or not, or
any member of his family, because such person works, has
worked, or is willing to work, at a price which he thinks fit."
Obedience to the church, especially when the compliance is
another name for immunity against public terror, is salutary ;
but it is to be regretted that the faithful can not be made to see
that they should do what is right, for Rights own sake — because
riglit-doing is good, and wrong-doing is bad. The terror of
excommunication forcing a band of men, inflamed by ignorance
and brute passion, into obedience to the law, is about as high a
moral spectacle as a menagerie wherein are several wild beasts
that tear one another, but that cower into submission at tLe
crack of the tamer's whip. It were well that respect for the
__ ^ . _
* In St. John's, Newfoundland, during an election riot, when volleys of musketry
fired among the seething mob, many of whom fell killed or wounded, could not re-
store the peace, the sudden outringing of the cathedral bells, and the appearance of
the bishop and his priests in canonicals, calling on the faithful to assemble at
church, drew the rioters away almost as a man, and ended the tumult.
F. VENTS, SOCIAL AND I'OLlTiCAL—lsso. 173
civil law should hfy inculcated with as much stress as regard
for the theological code ; and that community wherein gross
public violence is only repressible by a craven fear of excom-
munication, with its implied tire and brimstone, is no higher in
the civilized scale than a band of savages moved to war or peace
by the jargoning of a medicine man. Archbishop Taschereau's
pastoral was effective, and the reign of terror came to an end.
Perhaps the most unitjue ])roduction of the year, was a pas-
toral from Bishop Fabre, of Montreal, a document which seem-
ed as if it might have been rescued from some archive where it
had lain for a thousand years, but which,before being now read,
had received the varnish and the approbation of a Methodist
conference. Without any circumlocution, it forbade ladies to
appear in public without wearing a cape or shawl, for his lord-
ship laid it down that to make a display of the curves of the
female figure was improper and immoral : though he made no
attempt to deny that God gave this beautiful form to woman,
or to state for what reason he dowered her with those graces,
and why, instead of fashioning her after his own image and like-
ness, he did not make her like unto a pork-barrel. He likewise ,
directed that nuns within the pale of his jurisdiction must not
shake hands with any man, even though he be their own bro-
ther or father; and that they must not give visitors at the con-
vent any refreshments. He concluded his letter by prohibiting
ecclesiastically and authoritatively the sinful practice known
as private theatricals. As celibacy is the greatest of all the
clerical restrictions — it being that principle which maintain**
eternal enmity to the ruling, and the most important, law of
nature — its cognate virtues, among the flock, are accorded the
174 THE ADMINISTRATION OF LORD LORNE.
highest place in the merit calendar, while the church's artillery
is chiefly pointed against all the transgressions, and the amuse-
ments or customs that might prove the agencies of transgres-
sion, against her Sixth Commandment.* Apologists for assas-
sination during the late reign of murder in Ireland, point with
pride to the fact that the prison statistics record among Roman
catholics a far lower percentage of offences against sexual
morality than among protestants. Diet-f and temperament
more than theology influence sexual morality, just as certain
as that the mandate of a recluse who is out of sympathy with his
kind, and who has become as dead to all that makes life sunny
as the walls that hem him in — prohibiting human beings from
enjoying themselves at such innocent, and intellectually health-
ful amusement as private theatricals — will not make the young
men and maidens in his lordship's diocese more practically
moral, or purer in thought than they were before. No one can
impugn the worthiness of the bishop's aims ; they were, beyond
question, pious and pure, but the same might be said, if, instead
of giving the orders recorded, his lordship had declared that
every true son of the church must henceforth shave his head,
and wear a petticoat. Piety in the olden time cut the hair oft"
the heads of its monks and nuns ; and bishop Fabre might have
carried the unbeautifying process further, and eventually re-
ceived canonization by also compelling the nuns in his diocese
* The Sixth Comtriandment ia the Roman Catholic Church, is the Seventh among
Froteatant communions.
t It is well known that in many districts in Ireland the peasant lives and dies
without once havint^ tasted flesh meat ; and the stimulation to sexual excess cannot
be great where the labour is hard and the food is seldom other than potatoes and
Ci)m-meal. Virtue ij preserved in the cloister rather by fast, than by prayer or the
knotted cord.
EVENTS, SOCIAL AND VOLITWAL-lSSu. 175
to blacken their faces whenever they appeared within the gaze
of the world.
On the 12th ofNovember.a deep gloom was cast over the
mining districts of Nova Scotia by a terrific explosion which oc-
curred" in the " Foord " pit, Albion Coal Mines, Stellarton. A
sound as of *subten-anean thunder at first was heard ; then the
mouth of the fatal pit began to vomit forth volumes of sullen
«moke. It was a pitiable sight when terrified wives and mo-
thers followed by their little ones rushed down to the mines,
staring with blanched faces and streaming eyes into the mouth
of the'pit for those who would not come forth again. Fifty
men and boys had perished in the explosion, and thirty-three
widows, and 110 orphans were left to mourn forthem.
s
CHAPTER V.
EVENTS, SOCIAL AND POLITICAL — 1881.
INdE the break-down of negotiations with Sir Hugh Allan, ,
the Pacific railway sclieme had pressed like a nightmare
upon the country, and some of the more prescient of the j)oliti-
cians declared, in an undertone, to their neighbours, and with
a shake of the head, that it never would bo built. Nearly
every session of parliament had produced some Pacific railroad
legislation, and Mr. Mackenzie had grown weary of advertis-
ing that his government was prepared to grant a subsidy of
$10,000 and 20,000 acres of land to any body of capitalists for
every mile of road that they would build ; but you can not run
cars over the routes in statute books : and the public became
listless when, session after session, subsidies and almost illimit-
able tracts of territory were offered to any coir.pany that would
take the tremendous burthen off the hands of government, for
they did not believe that any body would be found capable
of accomplishing such a task. But, on the 29th June, Father
Mc Williams, of Bath, Ontario, held a pic-nic, it is supposed by
prearrangement with certain Canadian politicians, and to it
came Sir John Macdonald, Sir Leonard Tilley, and other public
men of less note. Without irreverence, one is reminded that
it is to the humble and obscure that the most important tid-
ings are first communicated : the lowly shepherds of Bethlehem
176
EVENTS, SOCIAL AND VOUTICAL-lHSl. 177
while .shivering through their night watclies received the first
word of the greatest message known to niaiil<ind ; a little pea-
sant girl nt Loretto has been honoured l»y the oonfithnice of
the Q\ieen of heaven in Inter years ; while it was reserved to
the poor peasants about Knock a few days ago to witness tlm
most sacred apparition known in the history of the wonderful.
And so, too, on that early sununer day, among the trees on the
pic-nic grounds, Sir John Macdonald announced to the simple-
hearted folk gathered al)out him, that there was at that
moment in Ottawa a number of capitalists who were negotiat-
ing with government for the construction of the Canada Pacitie
railroad. Sir John's statement was inmiediately flashed over
the country. It pro«luced, for a brief season, a dead calm in
Reform quarters, and a chorus of jubilation among the Conser-
vatives. A few days later it was announced that negotiations
had assumed such a shape that a deputation of ministers would
proceed to England at once to confer there with prominent
European capitalists ; and at Hochelaga, on the 27th of Sep-
tember, before sailing for England, the Cartier Club presented
Sir John with an address, in replying to which the prime min-
ister confirmed what he had stated at Father McWilliams' pic-
nic. The ministers went to England, conferred there with
certain capitalists belonging to the moon, and in due season
distended with that importance which the success of th'eir
enterprise warranted, returned to Ottawa, where, foi several
weeks, they were closeted with the " syndicate," as the con-
tracting bo(iy was called. On the 22nd of October, it was an-
nounced that the final terms of the contract* had been signed
* It 18 perhapa worthy of note that, while Conservatives always deocribed the-
agreement as a " contract," the Reformers always called it a " barfjain."
178 THE ADMINISTRATION Of LORD LORNE.
on th> procodin^j (lay ; and inuiKHliatcly several American and
<JaniuUan newspapers printed an outline of the agreement, .
which was to the effect that u company had been formed which
had midertaken to Imild and operate the road, for the sum of
:S25,()()0,()0() in cash, and 2:),()()(),000 acres of land to bo Eelectod
out of the Fertile Belt. When this nmch became known, a
largo portion of the people of Canada — those who are politi-
cians — put on their considering ca{)s, and a great number of
them came to the conclusion that it was the duty of the gov-
•crnment to consult the constituencies before concluding the
bargain with tho company. These sages forgot that it was
just to enter int(^) such agreements as this one with the syndi-
cate, and to do all like things necessary in administration, that
the members then elect were chosen ; and that the legislature,
According to our theory of government, and to logic and com-
mon sense, represent tho people during the existence of the
parliament.
Sir John Macdonald had long before made up his mind.
The next Gazette contained a notice calling parliament to meet
■on the 9th of Decembo'-, which was about two months earlier
than the usual date of convocation. Tho House met in a gale
of excitement. The Opposition, like all oppositions, had no
faith in the government, and, therefore, many of them believed
that the scheme would be ruinous to the country. The knees
of many Conservatives too began to quake, and the faltering ,
ones held furtive meetings, and in fear and trembling half
uttered the conviction that twenty-five millions of dollars,
twenty-five million acres of land, freedom from taxation for
twenty years, and a present of the road when built was, alto-
ErENTS, SOCIAL AND rOLlT.'CAL-lSSl. 170
gotlior, an cnonnouH "onccHHii ti ; an«l tlu'y wondered what tlieir
constituents would say if they voted for it. One local news-
paper which had swallowed a great many luiniHterial camels,
and some mastodons on its own account, now with this gnat
in its throat, began to make faces as if it would suffocate. In
other words, it took a violently conscientious spasm warned
the government to tak(^ care what it was going to do ; but
foaming with rage, the minister of railways and canals rose in
his place in the house, and with a heavy hand lashed back the
recalcitrant into the traces. His roar too made " tense tlio un-
strung nerves, steadfast the faltering knees " of his other waver-
ing supporters, wlio now tried to convince one another that they
had always approved of the contract, and that any little word
of disapproval they might have dn)pped was not intentional,
but mere speculation before they had studied and mastered the
scope and detail of rhe agreement. During the early stages of
the discussion, Mr. Mackenzie moved for correspondence show-
ing the offers that had been made to the government to build
the road by other persons than those included in the syndicate;
but Sir John pointed out that to reveal the names of the gen-
tlemen whose proposals were not accepted would be unfair,
since their overtures were rejected only because it was not
considered that they possessed sufficient financial strength.
The disclosure, he very properly contended, would injure their
financial standing. But Mr. Mackenzie remained wedded to
his o\)inion, and said this was the first time that correspon-
dence, making offers to do a great public work like this, had
been refused to parliament ; and, as in duty bound, the Reform-
ers affirmed the position of their late leader. The most rea-
130 THE ADMINISTRATION OF LORD LORNE.
sonable part of the opposition to government procedure was
the motion of Mr. Blake, thai " in view of the gravity and
magnitude of clu; question presented," further consideration
of tlie contract be defei . ed till the 5th dav of Januarv, it be-
ing then the 13th of December. In offering this motion, he
pointed out with reason that was irresistible, that the consider-
ation of the question, dt die in diem, was entirely inadequate
to a tnascery of all questions involved in an undertaking so
stupendous ; that members ought to liave several clear da3's of
adjournment wherein they might study the question, and take
the opinion of their constituents. Mr. Blake, however, did not
say how each representative could obtain the views of his con-
stituents ; and he must have known that an attempt to obtain
the mind of the electorate by holding public meetings in the
time proposed would lead only to noise and confusion ; and
that in all things, till the dissolution of the legislature, the
voice and the opinion of the representatives were th;.' voice
and opinion of the people ; that in such capacity tlie represen-
tatives were elected, and that it might be known how long
existed this derived authority, was the very reason why the
duration of parliament was limited to five years. Sir John Mac-
donald admitted that the importance of the interests involved
was verv ureat, but, to show how illogical a clear-headed and
cautious statesman will sometimes become under stress of poli-
tical necessity, he declared that this was the very reason why
the discussion should go on at once. The truth is, the ministry
was afraid of the constituencies and, before the fever of oppo-
sition was reached, were desirous ot clinching the rivets in
their bargain.
EVENTS, SOCIAL AND POLITICAL-JS^I. 181
The most generous horse is likely to become restive if driven
with too severe a rein, and Sir John, whose insight into tlie
character of politicians is as near as possible an exact science,
observed in tne faint questionings among his followers that
Mr. Blake's speech had not been barren of result ; that, while
by sheer savage force Sir Charles Tunper undoubtedly could
force the contract thiough the house, they wished either the
time to consider, or to giveasemVjlance of consideration to, the
proposal ; and that if government insisted on forcing the mea-
sure thei'e would be consefjucnt discontent and suspicion :
possibly there might be an undesirable development of con-
science. Therefore, the premier, with that tact which makes
his concessions liko triumphs, consented that the house should
take recess from the 23rd of December to the 4th of January.
There was no Hngeinng of ardent politicians at the capital after
adjournment, but each one hied him to his constituency, where,
with the skill of Ariel, he set himself to raising a storm. The
tempest, if fierce, was short, and the ministry came out of it
neither demolished nor shattered. Mr. Blake had put on his
heavy armour and visited Toronto, L(mdon and Hamilton,
speaking against the contract in those magnificent sentences of
his that are always so distinctly uttered, so strong, so clear and
.so cold ; but Sir Charles Tupper followed him around, delivering
address for address, and though his speeches contained much
that was sheer declamation, and not a little that was absurd, or
mere unsupported assertion, he told the best story, because his
subject had the best side ; and beyond inflaming, and in some
instances intoxicating, a few score of excitable and not very
astute Refoi-mers, there was little gained by the opposition
182 THE ADMINISTRATION OF LORD LORNE.
during the recess. The professional politician had no sooner
left the field than the petition-monger* appeared. He assured
everybody he met that the country was on the edge of a preci-
pice, Jind that the only way to get out of the dilemma was for
the person whom he addressed to write his name down on the
greasy sheet of paper that he carried in his coat pocket. Babies
who prattled in their cradles grew promptly into man's estate
to record their protest against the "infamous bargain," and
dead men rose out of their graves and came from all quarters
to sign their names. In the constituency of Sir Richard Cart-
wright one dead gentlem.an was so opposed to the " syndicate"
that he put his signature to no fewer than four petitions.^ Sir
Richard it was who gave direction to the elaborate petitioning
movement ; but the astute politician must have known that no
cause yet has ever lacked its petition, and that there were scores
of Canadians who would cheerfully have signed a prayer to
rslease a murderer or to hang the ex -finance minister himself.
And while the petition hawker in his own way was saving
the Dominion, prominent Reformers held several secret mcetings^
whose purport could not be ascertained, but it was vaguely
breathed through some of the newspapers that a course would
be adopted by the Liberal party that must bring consternation,,
and very likely overthrow, to the government. Yet no one knew
exactly what sort of political infernal machine was prepared, and
members sat at their desks consumed with expectancy of the
* Two hundred and sixty-six petitione against the contract with the syndicate
were presented. Two hundred and fifty-six of these were from Ontario. Tlia to-
tal numl>er of signatures was 2!(,91.'}. —
t Those skilled in petitions <lt> not fail to notice that all the dead men in a given
district write alike. They also write like the man who hawks the petition around .
EVENTS, SOCIAL AND POLITICAL— 1S81. 18$
denouement. The more Sir Charles heard of tlie threatened
" strong card " the deeper he scowled ; but Sir John was the
type of perfect unconcern, and he assured his followers that it
was only natural to expect a "card" of some kind, but that
they would hardly be warranted in looking for a very " strong "
one. On the 7th of January, the expectancy of the house was-
set at rest, for on that day a newspaper in London, Ontario,
published in its Ottawa correspondence that a new syndicate was
being formed which would offer to construct the road on terms
far more advantageous to the country than those proposed by the
government's syndicate. The new syndicate offered to build the
road in consideration of a money subsidy of $22,000,000, and a
land subsidy of 22,000,000 acres ; and they asked for no exemp-
tion from duty on articles imported for construction, from mu-
nicipal or Dominion taxation, or for any special privileges or
monopolies with regard to the construction of branch lines.
Every reform newspaper promptly made up its mind that the
duty of the government was to treat with the company that
offered the best terms ; but the ministerial press asserted that
the gentlemen now forming the; second syndicate had had suffi-
cient time to present an offer to the ministry before an under-
standing with the other company had been concluded ; that/
it would be rash, dishonourable and expedient now to give eai'
to an offer which was a mere haphazard tour de force, designed
only to obstruct. And though it may be presumed that the
government press wrote in this strain chiefly from party obli-
gation, and without being at all clear whether the doctrine was
practically and morally sound, or whether it was only an ob-
sequious surrender to the wish of the political masters, it seems
18t TEL ADMINISTRATION OF LORD LORNE
beyond question <<hat its view was right. For the ministry to
have entertained the new proposition would not have been
either wise or just. It would not have been wise, because the
new company had no means of obtaining an estimate of costs,
iind were obliged to make their offer at random ; it would not
have been just, because the government had given ample time
for capitalists to make combinations and present their offers ;
they had received and carefully considered several propositions,
and after a sufficiency of time to allow the fullest opportunit}'^
to all possible tenders had elapsed, they closed with a combina-
tion of men whose financial standing and personal character
were the highest, and whose proposition in all respects prom-
ised more advantage to the country than any other that had
been made to them. Moral obligation does not cease to be
binding because there is no power to force fulfilment of the ob-
ligation; and the government who pledges itself by signing
articles, or making any other form of agreement to do any act,
as the Canadian ministry bound itself to do in giving the con-
tract for building the Pacific railway to the syndicate, is under
the same responsibility to keep faith as v/ould be a private capi-
talist who, asking for tenders to build a house, signed ai'ticles
'with hiui who made the most satisfactory offer. Neither jus-
tise nor honour could excuse the breaking of this compact, be-
cause some other person came and offered to build the house nt
a lesser price; — and in just this position was the government
in its relation to the first and second syndicates. Politicians,
however, are not moralists : the will of the majority is law and
justice ; and the issue between the two syndicates was tried out
before the house in the baleful light of party interest. On
EVENTS, SOCIAL AND rOLITICAL—18Sl. 185
Monday, the 17th of January, Sir Charles Tupper, minister of
railways and canals, presented the offer of the second syndicate
to the house. The opposition was jubilant, for the gentlemen
constituting the new company comprised some of the most
prominent capitalists in the Dominion. They looked gleefully
at each other across the desks, and as Sir Charles, with sup-
pressed wrath in his voice, presented the document, they
glanced at the premier, who, it was understood, would ad-
dress the house, with an expression that said : " You have often
been in tight places ; now you are in the hardest box that you
have ever been into during your life. It gives us pleasure to
see what you will do to get out of it." Sir John arose. He said
this new offer — which the Reformers had looked upon with
such glowing admiration — was a mere farce ; that it was a po-
litical plot hatched in Ottawa ; that it was not a serious pro-
posal, but a "bogus tender," designed to thwart the government
and advance the interests of Mr. Blake and his followers. From
this it is apparent to the reader that the premier v/as not in as
" tight a box" as his opponents had sup])0sed. But Sir John said
more than this : " I appeal," he said, " to the members of this
house, as men who are patriots, as men who have the destiny
of the country in their hands, not to be fooled by a disingenu-
ous and discreditable trick. I kno>v that we can appeal to the
patriotism of the people of Canada : wo can tell them that we
want a line which will connect Halifax with the Pacific Ocean ;
we can tell them that out of our lands we can pay off every
single farthing taken out of the pockets of the people, twenty-
fold, and we will have a great Pacific Railway. Let me draw
a contrast. You are now «.sked to have a railway running
h
186 TUE ADMINISTRATION OF LORD LORNE.
from the United States to the United States ; you are asked to
have a line by which the trade from the East will run into tho
United States, and by which the legitimate profits of the Lake
Superior road will be destroj-ed. You are asked to have a line
by which the trade from the West will run into the United
States. Mr. Speaker, the whole thing is an attempt to destroy
the P.acific Railway." However much truth there might have^
been in these assertions, — there is no doubt that Sir John was
mistaken in supposing that the aim of tho second syndicate
was to " destroy the Pacific Railway " — the premier's speech
had a marked effect on both sides of the house : it raised the
courage of one party, and set staggering the hope of the other.
On the following day Mr. Blake replied in a speech marvellous
for its strength, for the array of arguments presented, and for
the skilful and effective method in which the facts were em-
ployed. He maintained the view now so firmly established,
that the second offer xuas made in " good faith," and he de-
scribed the company as " the strongest combination ever wit-
nessed of Canadian capitalists." He moved an amendment to
the ministerial resolution ratifying the agreement with the first
syndicate, but his motion was lost by a vote of 140 to 54.
It is related that before military movements had become
a science in Persia, when there came tidings of invasion the
jeaders of the people would meet in the market place, and there-
discuss how they best might resist the enemy. But it so
happened that there were always two or more factions in the
community, and in emergency each division would propound a
plan the merits of which was measured by its difference
from the scheme of the other faction. And it came to pass.
EVENTS, SOCIAL AND POLITICAL -IS.^l. 187
that once out of the country now known as India, marched
hordes of fierce warriors thirsting for conquest in the Shali's
dominions ; but when their spears appeared in the hills, the
Persians held their usual consult to devise methods of
resistance. Two parties appeared in the public square, and
for each one, men accounted wise and patriotic raised their
voices, urging the adoption of a certain course ; but the devices
of the stronger faction prevailed, and having received its in-
structions the army sallied forth to meet the invaders. And
tlion the patriots whose counsels had not been accepted, green
with envy, sat on the top of every tower and looked out upon
the conflict between their countrymen and the foe ; and when
the former dismayed and blood-stained began to flee from the
enemy, the wise patriots full of joy came dow^n from their
watching places and proclaimed the tidings that their country-
men had been overthrown ; yea, and they sent their emissaries
to the battle-field to collect the bodies of the fallen Persians,
whom they exhibited through the city with much jubilation
as proof that theirs was the best theory of wai-. And the in-
telligence of the disaster they blazoned jcyfully through all the
public places, even though it turned the eyes of other preda-
tory princes upon the country of the Persians as a tempting-
field for plunder; and while it w^.is ma.iifest to all that the
Shah's soldiers had been overwhelmed, not through interior
trictics, but through the superior number.': and arms of the foe.
Something very similar to this happened in Canada during the
administration of Lord Lome. Through the summer preceding
the session which is being described, a gale of discussion had
been maintained in the party press on the subject of what was
188 THE ADMINISTRATION OF LORD LORNE.
called the "Exodus." When, in 1878, the Mncdonald ministry
came to power, there was the usual output of prophecy, and
among other forecastings it was predicted that the government's
protective tariff would compel tliouHands of our people to leave
the country and settle in the United States where they would
find living more easy. Consistency of argument was not of
special importance and therefore no one asked : " How is it then
that the Heeing Canadian can better his condition by going to
a country whose policy is more highly protective than that
of Canada ? " Therefore, in order to verify the predictions, dili-
gent steps had been taken by certain leading Reform politicians
to ascertain the actual number of persons crossing over from
Canada to the United States ; and so, with an expression of
pleasure and triumph in his face, like unto the Persians in
their watch-towers looking at the battle. Sir Richard Cart-
wright informed the house that he had information that not
fewer than 99,000 persons during the year had entered their
goods at the various American customs' houses with the avowed
intention of settling themselves in the United States. This
statement was received with more joy by the patriotic gentle-
men of opposition than had the tidings received been that
God had sent a harvest of unexampled bounty, and that a
plenitude of prosperity and content were the portions of the
Canadian people. The government, however, had some reason
for doubting the accuracy of Sir Richard's figures, and after
much painful departmental enquiry, Mr. J. H. Pope, minister
of Agriculture, was able to announce that he had investigated
the matter, and that not more than 53,000 persons altogether
had passed westward, through Sarnia and Port Huron, during
EVENTS, SOCIAL AND rOLITICAL-hSSl. 189
the preceding year. It was undoubtedly correct that lar^je
numbers of Cimadians crossed the line and settled in the States
durin},' the year, as it is undeniable that every season there is
an outflow ; but the movement is natural, since in every country,
especially where there is no serious bar to emigration, there is
always a portion of the population which may be designated as
" floating : " that is those unsettled ones who, much like the rest-
less sitters in a play-house, are continually going out or coming
in ; but it is surely the duty of patriotism to make the least
instead of the most of this evidence of national discontent,
if such evidence it be, since to blazon it cannot but disparage
our new country in the eyes of the old world, when such dis-
paragement, too, may cost us fifty thousand immigrants a year-
It is a sad prospect that our yr-ung nation with her splendid
possibilities, her ardour and her hopes, should become the mere
game of politicians.
To one who has watched the career of Sir Richard Cart-
wright in parliament, it would appear as if that gentleman has
invariably looked upon Sir John and his followers with the
same degree of confidence and respect that he might regard a
band of horse thieves. Again and again he has introduced
measures for the plain purpose of protecting all unguarded
interests from the dishonesty of the ministry ; and during this
session he proposed a resolution which aimed to restrain any
member of the Pacific Railway Company from supplying funds
to carry elections. Sir Hector Langevin with characteristic
chivalry resented the /'insult," and moved a six months' hoist
which was carried. Sir Richard sat down, put on his soft hat>
and looked more mistrustful of the government than ever.
190 THE ADMINISTRATION OF LORD LORNE.
Among the more important measures of the session were; the
acts respectin<^ naturalization and aliens, relating to the
extension of the boundaries of the province of Manitoba, re-
garding steand)oats, and providing for the incorporation of a
company to estaltlish a marine telegraph between the Pacific
coast of Canada and Asia. Of this latter scheme, wliich has
since made little progress, it may be said that it was the inten-
tion of the promoters to utilize the telegraphic lines already laid
across this continent ; to lay a new line from Nanaimo to Quat-
sino in Vancouver Island, and from this point to stretch a
cable to Walvis Bay in Japan touching at the Aleutian Islands
on the way. From Walvis Bay it was proposed to extend the
system across the Island of Yesso, to Satsuporo whence it would
be further extended to Yokohama, putting Yeddo in immediate
communication with all the important telegraphic lines of
Asia. The local result of the scheme woukl be to give Canada
connection with Australia as well as with the entire continent
of Asia.
On the 2nd of July, Canada shared in the general horror
occasioned by the assassination of President Garfield. Lord
Lome was absent at the time in the North- West Territories.but
Sir W. J. Ritchie, the deputy Governor-General, conmiunicated
the regret of our people to Washington ; and Sir John Macdon-
ald in the name of the government of Canada caused flags to
be hoisted at half-mast on all public buildings, forts and govern-
ment vessels, throughout the Dominion.
Two lieutenant-governors were appointed during the year :
Hon. Clement Francis Cornwall, senator, on July 20th to the
Province of British Columbia in the room of governor Richards
EVKNTS, SOCIAL AND POUTICAL-lSSl. 191
whose term luul oxpinnl; and Mr. Kd^'nr Dcswdney, commis-
sioner of Indian attains, was appointed to the Nortli-Wost Ter-
ritories, vice jTovornor Luird, whoso term liad also elapsed.
Anion*^ the notable dead of the year was Hon. Luc Lctellier
De St. Just, who breathed his last at Riviere Ouelle, C^nebec,
on the 28th of January. Already in this book several pages
!iave been devoted to thi.s ill-starred public man; and if the
writer has found it inipo.ssible to condone certain acts in his
public career, he finds himself also incapable of withholding
sympathy from the dismis.sed governor in the hour of his fallen
fortunes. Culpable M. Letellier was in the eyes of history,
but he was less the free-agent in his own wrong-doing than
the victim of a political system that has now degenerated into
a commerce for politicians. M. Letellier had hoped that the
day would come when his own party, again trium[)hant, would
restore him to office and remove the tarni.sh from his name ;
buthe did not liv^eto see tbe wheel go round; and those to
>vhom he told his sorrows aver that the end was brought on by
liis public humiliation.
On the 4th of January tidings reached Toronto that on that
<lay Hon. Thomas Moss, Chief Ju.stice of Ontario, had died at
Nice, in the South of France, whither he had been advised by
his physicians to go when his health, from too close application
to duty, had broken down. The news of the death of one so
richly gifted and so well beloved, threw a gloom over the com-
munity, and from the press, the bar, the bench and the pulpit,
came tributes to the memory of the deceased. One brother
judge,* his voice husky with emotion, paid this well deserved
* Hon. Justice Burton.
192 THE ADMINISTRATION OF LORD LORNE.
tribute to tlie distinguished dead : " We may one and all of
us, whether we be on the bench, at the bar, or that it be the
student entering the portals of the profession, safely adopt him
as our model, combining as he did in his own person the kind and
courteous gentleman, the brilliant and able advocate, the
upright and impartial judge." As an undergraduate, as an
advocate, as a politician and as a judge, the career of the deceased
was one of unexceptional brilliancy and success; and in his
forty-first year he attained the highest judicial position in the
land. This office he wns vouchsafed all too short a time to fill,
leaving, during the brief period allottfd to him, a record that
will shed an enduring lustre around his name.
On the 14th of November the supreme court of Canada gave
judgment in the " Mercer Escheat Case," affirming ihe conten-
tion that a provincial government had no right tc escheat to
the crown. The facts of this case, which has now become
historic, are briefly as follows : — One Andrew Mercer, who
possessed property in the province of Ontario dieil intestate,
but upon his decease a lady who had lived mML ]:.im, ostensibly
in the capacity of housekeeper, v/ent into cour' ?,iHrming that
she had been Mercer's lawful wifo, and that her son was the
legitimate heir to the estate. The government of Ontario ignored
the pretensions of these parties and escheated the property to
the crown, settling on the son an annuity which it was provided
was to lapse upon action being taken to recover the property
in the Ontario courts. The alleged heir, however, went to
court and judgment -,v as given adverse to hio claims; where-
upon he appealed to the supreme court of Canada. Four of
thejudges in this court recorded their opinion that the right to
EVENTS, SOCIAL AND rOLITICAL—1881. 193
escheat existed only in the Dominion, and the decision of
the Ontario court was quashed. Meanwhile the Ontario
government appropriated a portion of the personalty of the
estate to the founding of the institution known as the "Andrew-
Mercer Reformatory for Women," adding tlie balance to the
provincial assets. This case involving only the consideration
of a novel point of law in the beginning, gradually developed
into wide importance by taking the guise of an issue between
the jurisdiction of a province of the confederation, and the
aggregate authority of the Dominion. It is perhaps pertinent
to this place to note that on nearly all questions involving a
collision of authority between a province and the Dominion,
the supreme court of Canada has affirmed the jurisdiction of
the general government, while the provincial courts have
assigned the special supremacy to the province. The Mercer
Escheat case is a typical example of this unbrotherly rivalry.
It was the contention of the government of Ontario that the
right of escheating to the crown resided in the province, and
the provincial judges confirmed that view ; on the other hand
it was the opinion of the federal authorities that no such right
belonged to the province, but belonged to the Dominion, and the
supreme court of Canada ratified this doctrine. But the govern-
ment of Ontario refused to abide by the decision of the supreme
court, and took the case before the judicial committee of the
Imperial Privy Council, who, towards the close of 1883, gave
a decision sustaining the judgment of the Ontario courts, and
confirming to the province the right of escheating to the crown.
This decision must have brought joy to the hearts of those who
desire to see Canada remain a group of colonies unsoldered in
tOA THE ADMINISTRATION OF LORD LORNE.
^ood-will or interest, instead of a compact union, with the
patriotic aspiration and tlie singleness of aim of a nation.
A deep gloom was cast over the rejoicings usual on the
Queen's birthday by the announcement that late in the after-
noon an excursion steamer, the Victoria, had gone down in the
Thames river, and that 181 persons had perished. It appeared
that about 4 p. ni. the ill-fated boat started on her last trii)
for the day, having on board few short of GOO persons, a num-
ber far beyond her safe carrying capacity. On the way home
-a commotion arose, caused either by the vessel striking a
sunken snag or by the frolics of some young men of the party ;
and a number of the passengers rushed to one side of the boat,
•causing it to lurch violently in the opposite direction and bury
its side about four feet in the water. While the passengei-s
•on the lower deck were now endeavouring to save them-
selves from being hurled into the river, the stanchions which
supported the upper deck, upon which were hundreds of
terrified persons, gave way, and the whole structure with
its living freight came down upon the passengers huddled
underneath, wounding and killing many, and preventing those
who were not crushed fi'om being able to escape. In a few
seconds the boat went down, carrving under those who were
stunned or unable to extricate themselves from the ruin, while
most of those who were unhurt were precipitated into the
river where many perished before succour came. Like the
jDerson who runs and double-bolts his stable door after the
steed has been stolen, the Dominion parliament, feeling itself iu
a measure responsible for not having had in force a law that
would prevent grasping steam-boat companies from imperill:* ng
EVENTS, SOCIAL AND I'OLlTICAL-lSSl. 195
the i^ublic safety in their greed for the harvest of a hirge cargo,
introduced a bill providing for a rigid system of steamer in-
spection ; but to the everlasting shame of the men who are
corrupting the public morals of our young country, let it be
recorded that even the political influence of a steam-boat pro-
prietor is stronger than the law, and many a rotten and insuffi-
cient vessel is still permitted to navigate our waters.
Oil the evening of the 3nl of June the Canadian press
association entertained Mr. Goldwin Smith at a public dinner,
at the Queen's Hotel, Toronto, previous to the departure of the
distinguislied gentleman for England. Mr. J. B. Trayes, of the
Port Hope Times, occupied the chair, and Mr. Christopher W.
Bunting, M. P., managing director of the Toronto Mall, filled
the vice chair. There was a gathering of press-members from
all parts of Canada to give honour to one who had done so
much to create and foster a wholesome literary and national
sentiment in Canada, and who by precept and exam[)le had
been so largely instrumental in elevating the tone and the aims
of the domestic press. This was the time when the Toronto
Globe, then the organ of its manager's personal animosities, was
publishing that series of the most unfair and indecent attacks
upon Mr. Smith that has ever disgraced a newspaper with a
reputation to lose ; and it was because the moral sentiment of
the journalistic profession had been aroused to sympathy for
the object of that newspaper's hate,and to a feeling of reproba-
tion for the traducers, that representative of the press gathered
in such strong force to honour the departing gentleman at a
banquet. It would be neither desirable nor fitting here to re-
peat the slanders cast upon a name above reproach, but to one
196 THE ADMINISTRATION OF LOUD LORNE.
imputation at least I may be pardoned for alluding, since it
seems to have been accepted as a fact by some Canadian jour-
nals and other organs of opinion that ai'e glad sometimes to
seize upon any weapon that may wound. It was stated by the
Globe that Mr. Smith came to America because he had quar-
relled with the Liberal party in England, and that he allied
himself with the cause of Toryism in Canada because his as
pirations for political place among his aforetime friends had
been ignored. Now it has been frequently stated by respon-
sible English journals that the immediate cause of Mr. Smith's
departure from England in 18G8 was not pique at being
rejected by his party, but an overwhelming domestic affliction ;
and that so far from having his pretensions opposed by his party
there was made to him at that very time by leading Liberals an
offer of a nomination for a constituency in which his party had
a certain and large majority, and that since coming to this
country he has been approached with overtures of the same
kind, though less formal. The story that he quarrelled with
the Liberal party is therefore without foundation, and sheer cal-
muny. It is not necessary to say in what high esteem Mr.S nith
is held among English Liberals, for that is attested by the voice
of the press and by the mouth of many of the staunchest and
foremost Liberals themselves.* -^ •
* In the liondon Times of October 8th, 1881, 1 find the opinion held by a Liberal,
Lord O'Hagan, of Mr. Smith. LordO'Hagan was at this time Chancellor of Ireland,
and the leader of the Liberal party there, and his renr.arks were made in allusion to
the part which Professor Goldwin Smith took in the Social Science Congress then
being held in Dublin. " Lord O'Hagan, in putting the motion and declaring it
passed, said he most sincerely congratulated the audience on having had the privi-
lege of listening to one of the most remarkable men of his time, who had delivered
one of the most remarkable addresses which in his experience had ever been put
before a public meeting. That address came from an eminent teacher and a power-
EVENTS, SOCIAL AND POLITICAL- 18S1. 197
On the 24tli of Auguat, wlicn the underbrush in the forests
was dry, and careless camping parties scattered the embers of
their camp fires among the thirsty grasses, a destructiye busli-
fire broke out in tlic Ottawa region noi-th of Kingston, Ontario.
Thousands of acres of prime timber- i-anges in the public do-
main, as well as much private wood-land, were ravaged. But
it was in Western Ontario, and notably through the forest-clad
portions of Muskoka, that the greatest destruction Vv?s wrought.
On the fifth of September, the forests in the latter district, in
every direction, seemed to burst out into flame. The under-
growth was dry as tinder, and for several days no rain had
fallen, so that when the careless tourist or the Indian left their
fires unquenched after breaking up the camp, or the farmer
burning hr& brush or " fallow-piles " unheeding scattered his
brands., the v/ithered grasses blazed up, and communicated the
flame to the adjoining bush. Of all the scenes of flood and
storm with which by lot the backwoods settler becomes fami-
liar, there is none so appalling, so full of terrible grandeur, as
when a hurricane of fire passes through the forest. When the
ful writer — from one whose influence wua equally acknowledtjed in the country of
his birth and in the country of his adoption. It seemed to him rather a pity that
the opportunity of hearinj; that address arose from the fortunate accident of Mr.
Goldwin Smith's presence in this country for a sliort time, instead of from a more
fortunate condition of things in which he might have continued to be a resident in
this country. Hp appreciated the lofty and generous motives which induced Mr.
Smith to expatriate himself for the benefit of the working population of a distant
country. But he could not help saying that they were nut in this country at the
present time so rich in men of great ability, great energy, and great devotion to the
public interests as to be able to view the abstraction of a man liko Goldwin Smith
without the deepest regret. He felt that very strongly, and he hooed that the time
might come when Mr. Goldwin Smith's rare faculties would be exerted perhaps in
a, wider sphere, in which he might become a power in his own country— a power
both social and political— conferring the greatest benefits on those among whom he
resided,'
103 THE ADMINISTRATION OF LORD LORNE.
sky over the greater portion of the province had grown murkj',
an<l scorched leaves and cinders began to fall in the cities, art-
ists, taking tlieir hook an<I pencil, hurried out to some of tlie
Muskoka lakes, around which tlie storm of fire was raging.
In part No. 2G of Pidureaqm Canada is a sketch by Mi-.
Frank Schell, the scene of which is a lake at night in the
bosom of a forest-clad region. On one side of the lake ragi^s
the fire, and the fiame plunges along through and above the
forest with the force of a mighty tempest. A lake steamer,,
seeming like a thing startled by the terrific glare — which is
made the more intense by the contrast of the sullen, black
smoke-clouds, which, though cast off", seem to press from the
rear — is steaming past two forest-clumps which stand as yet,
but only for a minute, unscathed, by the water's rim. To
some of the early settlers, when the forest became enveloped in
flame and smoke, it seemed as if the day of doom had come. At
first the heavens begin to darken, a sickly hue as of burnished
brass creeping across the firmament ; then the sun becomes dim-
mer, growing more indistinct, till at last it is merged in the
deep-stained crimson of the sky and is lost to sight. Then if
his dwelling happened to be near the wood he was terrified to
see the fiame rolling past with the noise of an appalling wind.
This was a sad September through the district of Muskoka.
Large numbers of the settlers had but recently come to the
region, and many of these had merely carved a small clearing
in the forest, and thereon erected a humble dwelling till a more
prosperous season , and these little residences, with their rude
out-houses for the cattle, the hay in the barns, or in stacks,
were consumed as the plague swept on. Some of the scenes.
EVENTS, SOCIAL AND POLITICAL— ISfil. 190
described are terriMe to contemplate. As the fire drew r.ear
in the afternoon in one populous district, it grew so dark that
teachers wevo obliged to dismiss the schools, and the people
lighted lamps in their houses. The air was heavy and satur-
ated wi^h singed leaves, ashes, and Hying brands ; and be-
yond in the wood could be heard the roaring of a mighty
wind. As this drew nearer, from the repeated cra.sliing, it
seemed as if large trees were being torn from their roots,
and flung forward, crushing others in their fall ; cattle in
mad terror rushed from their pastures and fled before the
gale of fire ; bears and other wild animals of the wood, tamed
and terrified, sped before the devouring flame, rushed out into
the clear meadow-spaces along the road sides, or thrust them-
selves into the edge of a lake to escape the fiery terror, whose
hot breath was now upon them. One farmer relates that
towards nightfall, as he was hurrying his cattle along the
high-road to a small lake by a barren moor, he saw standing
in a group, in the shallow water, three bears, a small flock
of deer and two or three cows, all huddled together and appar-
ently stupefied with terror. Hundreds of cows, sheep and
horses, however, were burnt ; houses witli all their contents,
outbuildings with, the season's crop of hay and grain were de-
stroyed, and nearly a thousand persons rendered destitute.
Agents of government and special correspondents of the press
visited the desolated districts, and reported a state of affliction
for the most part borne with a quiet and dignified patience;
for many of those whosufiered were half-pay officers and mem-
bers of gentle-born families in England, who had come to find
futures in our Canadian wilderness. With the liberality for
300 THE ADMINISTRATION OF LORD LORNE.
which our people are noted, relief poured in in such abundance
from every quarter, that it soon became necessary to publish
advertisements in the newspapers announcing that nothing
more was n'^eded. It was a delicate task to approach some
of the destitute families with ofiVrs of succour, for neither the
hardship of wilderness life, nor the severe scoirge, could oblit-
erate their sensitiveness to being regarded as objects of public
charity. It may have been a wise policy to sow innnigrants
among those granite hills, but the writer is not one of those
who believe that it was, so long as there stood yet unsettled
more desirable territory presenting less difficulties to the hus-
bandman, and situated more contiguous to market and to the
centres of civilization.
During the late summer Mr. Blake made a tour through the
maritime provinces, delivering a series of verbal essays on
political economy, public morality and the national policy.
His addresses which were listened to by thousands of peoi)lo
without changing theii minds, were forcible, chaste and almost
classical, but they were as cold as the north wind.
^m
^1
CHAPTER VI.
KVi;\TS, I'OLITK'AL AND SOCIAL— 18<S2.
rpiIP] " long session " * of the fourth parliiunent of Canada
1
was opened on th(^ 9th of February hy liis excellency
with the usual fonuulu : the accustomed marching of volunteers,
and the salvos fioni melancholy guns at Nepean Point. In reply
to the speech Mr. Blake exhibited his almost unit|uo mastery
of strong, smooth, comprehensive and thoroughly-balanced
sentences, and there was a warm geniality in his tone. Ho
assured the ministers, however, that they rightly had cause for
sorrow rather than for jubilation at their surplus, whicli was
produced not by prosperity but by taxation ; he deplored the
assassination of Mr. Garfield, and in elo(iuent language bore
tribute to the character of the murdered president. He like-
wise felicitated the premier upon his recovery from the recent
illness that had afflicted him. Sir John, who is always ready
to return a blow or a courtesy, congratulated his political rival
on. his pleasant tone, gracefully thanked him for the kind
allusion to himself, but afHrmed that, " under a favouring
providence we had attempted to the best of our humble cap-
acity to develop the interests of the country and remove the
stagnation under which it suffered." The increase of the
* This was the longest session since Confederation, occupying nearly fifteen
■weeks,
M - 201 — .—
202 THE ADMINISTRATION OF LORD LORNK.
mounted pulico in U»e North-West Tei ritoricH had been cen-
sured by the opf)()sition, and tlio ministry were declared to be
demoralizing this tribes by j^iving tluan relief ; but Sir John
pointed out that it was desirable that the police force should
be increased to prevent collisions between the settlers ami tlio
tribes ; and that food was given only in those cases of destitu-
tion that had arisen from the disappearance of butt'alo, tho
almost total food supply of so many of tho Indians. Opposi-
tions are very hard to please ; for if the ministry had in the
present instance taken the fault-tinders at their word they
would have permitted our North- West settlers to be murdered
by lawless tribes, and allowed Indians who could get no buHhIo,
and had nothing else to eat, to die like dogs in their wigwams.
On the 14th of February, Sir John Macdonald rose in Ids
place in the house and announced tliat Mr. James Macdonald
having been elevated to the Bench of Nova Scotia, Sir
Alexander Campbell had been appointed to tho vacant minis-
tership of justice; that Mr. J. O'Connor had been transferred
to the post-oftice department in place of Sir Alexander, and,
inirahile didii ! that Hon. A. W. McLelan, of Nova Scotia, had
been chosen president of the council. Mr. Blake stated, and
tliere must have been very few sane persons in Canada who
differed from him, that " he was unable to say that he thought
the public interests had been served " by Mr. O'Connor's re-
turn to the post-office department ; and with a sarcasm that
must have stung even those against whom it was levelled, he
congratulated the president of the council upon the favour he
now seemed to find with the minister of railway's and canals, and
on the regard in which the hon, gentleman himself (Mr. Mc-
EVENTS, POLITICAL AND SOCIAL— 18fi2. 203
Lelan) now re«,'arded Sir Clmrlos Tuppor. Ho, like many other
public men, had for many years known little concornin;,' tho
character of Dr. TuppiT till ho roiid a speecli picturing,' that
honoiiralile gentl(;maii in very lurid colours; and the author of
this speech was Mr. JVIcLelan. Tluj tamest slave will hardly
care to deny that it was a strani^e sptictade to see enttsring tho
house of commons, arm in arm, two gentlemen, one of whom
in years gone by had described the othrr as the " High Priest
of Corruption ;" for such indeed were the terms in whicli Mi'.
McLolan had characterized Dr. Tupper, when the interests of
both lay in opposite directions. The resurrected speech thi'cw
Sir Charles into a foatning rage, but l>eing unable to destroy or
discredit tho record he adopted tho tu quoqu.e ex[)odiont, of
which he, above all other Canadian politicians, is a master.
He declared in a daring bolsterousness of manner, thou<;h no-
body believed him, that "no man had so degraded himself in
order to gain power" a.s the leader of the opposition, who, he
artirmed once upon a time," boughtoutono of themini.,ters of a
government to which he was opposed." Mr. McLolan, who dis-
regarded either his own utterances, or political purity, declared
that he now supported the minister of railways and canals
because he believed that the policy pursued by that gentleman
was " best suited to serve the interests of Nova Scotia and the
Dominion at large ; " but it is remarked that he did not then
oi since seek to modify his statement that Dr. Tupper onco
was the high priest of corruption. Such scenes are not likely
to heighten public regard for the political profession, nor to
edify the young men among us who look to a public career.. .
204 THE ADMINISTRATION OF LORD LORNE.
Sir Leonard Tilley pointed out in his budget speech that in
three years and four months the deposits in tlie government
savings bank had increased by $10,000,000, and in the banks of
the country, in the same period, to $20,000,000. He showed,
also, that th.e coal raised from the Nova Scotia mines had in-
creased from 7o7,000 tons in 1877 to 1,110,24.8 tons in 1881.
For all this and much more not here lecorded, the government,
through the national policy, he said, were indebted to credit ;
but Sir Richard Cartwright, who is the bane of Conservative
optimism, again took off his soft hat, and rising gave a somewhat
" different account of the country," He said that the exports
had increased from circumstances over which the government
could exercise no control, being due " absolutely and wholly to
the increase in the lumber trade, the exports of animals and
their products, and of agricultural produce," and that the min-
isters stood condemned " as impostors who have laid claim to
an improvement which their policy was nob able to prevent,
but which it cei'tainly did nothing to create or stimulate."
The bitterness is sometimes the best of Sir Richard's speech,
for what could have been more unfair, or less worthy a states-
man of his ability and reputation, than to urge it as a serious
charge against the government that they had "doubled the
taxes since confederation ; " that they " had begun with $13,-
000,000 and now demanded nearly $28,000,000." Sir Richard
very well knew that the main bulk of the twenty-eight mil-
lions was needed in legitimate and imperative public service;
that, save in such features of the civil system as have met his
own approval, not less than that of the Conservative govern-
ment, he cannot show that of that twenty-eight millions, one
EVENTF!, POLITICAL Ah'D SOCIAL— 188S. 206
million, or half" a million, is expended for unnecessary objects.
It may be that Sir Richard believes that expenditure ought
not to be increased to civilize and holu vithin the law the
savages of our North-West, in erecting and maintaining postal
communication, in militia, light-house and coastal service, but
that we ought to \ reserve a condition as nearly as possible
primitive. It is not likely that Adam paid taxes ; neither did
he travel by railway. Sir Richard concluded his extremely
bitter, and in a great many respects very clever, speech by
this definition of our common Dominion : " Canada is a coun-
try in which no man is free to buy or to sell, to eat or to
drink, to travel or to stand still, without paying toll to some
extortioner or other."
Sir Charles Tuppcr who had been conspiciously exasperated
by the tone, and the stinging quality of Sir Richard's remarks,
stood up on the 27th instant and said he was not going to dis-
cuss the abstract question of free trade and protection ; and
would on that point only observe that " the party who now have
the confidence of the people of this country, adopted from the
first a policy of protecting Canadian industries." Yet, unless
Sir Charles is greatly belied, he once had in his desk an elabor-
ate free trade speech, ready to hurl at Sir Richard Cartwright
who, it was supposed, was going to declare his party in favour
of an increased tariff*, with protection as a basis. The people of
England were once credited with believing that Mr. Gladstone
could " explain away" Garibaldi's wife ; and the Canadian
ministry sat with folded arms supremely certain that Sir
Charles could explain away something equally as difficult, viz.,
the tax upon foreign coal. And the Amherst knight began
206 THE ADMINISTRATION OF LORD LORNE.
liis task by asserting that the imposition of a " duty of 50 cents
a ton on coal, has actually not increased the cost to the con-
sumer, but it has lowered the cost to the consumer in Ontario."
Now, had the Nova Scotia coal fields lain contiiruous to
Ontario, or been within commercial range of that province,
there would be enough of truth in Sir Charles' statement to
redeem it from the brand of utter rant ; but with the fact clear
to all who have informed themselves, that probably not one
scuttle of Maritime-pi'ovince coal reaches beyond Kingston,
the assertion is about as logical and as sane as to have
told those who burn coal, that the six dollars and fifty cents
that they paid for the ton of fuel was not that sum at all, but
just five dollars and fifty cents. But supposing Sir Charles'
statement had been correct, what explanation then has he to
offer to the deluded coal miners to whom he told, before the
election of 1878, that the national policy would keep out
Pennsylvania coal from all parts of Canada, and give the
market to the Nova Scotia coal fields. The truth is the coal
tax, like Garibaldi's wife, remained after all the verbosity, un-
explained, and unexplainable. Sir Hector L. Langevin met the
spectre perhaps more fairly than other speakers who joined in
the discussion. His defence was that the tax was an integral
part of the whole national policy. He would, however, have
been nearer thtj mark had he said that it was an integral part
of party expediency ; that it was the Conservative sop tc Nova
Scotia, given less as an offset lo the bread-stuffs tax than as an
equivalent for votes. There was, strange as it may seem,
somewhat more reason in the honourable gentleman's other
allegation that "even if the consumer did pay the duties, he did
EVENTS, POLITICAL AND BOClAL-1882. 207;
not regard it as a disadvantage, seeing that under the opera-
tion of the policy he could afford it." It may be said once for
all here, that the coal tax is not a naiai-al, necessary or defens-
ible portion of the protective policy ; it must remain an engine
of oppression to the commerce and the people of the west till
their own provinces are found to contain coal accessible and
sufficient for their needs.
If Reform politicians and newspapers are entitled to credit.
Sir Charles Tupper's public career has been a series of daring
and successful acts of corruption, through which he has amassed
a fortune ; and it has been asserted even in Conservative quar-
ters, and by those whose voice seems to come from the inside,
that the honourable gentleman's character is not conspicuously
pure. Public wrong-doing has been insinuated against him
sometimes in the house of commons, but he has promptly
risen, teeth shut, and face dark with rage, and challenged his
alleged calumniators to the proof. Sir Charles has probably
convinced himself that it takes legal proof to hang the man
but he ought also to remember that moral proof can jibbet the
reputation, that the uniform sanctity and Quaker-like meekness
of the speech and address of Nick-of- the- Woods could not hide
from the eye of the reader the figure of the stealthy, vengeful
murderer. It is well, however, to examine one of the charges
of corruption made against this minister by such light as we
have, and then to give the reader a conscientious conclusion.
One of the amendments moved to the motion for committee of
supply related to the contract for the construe oion of that portion
of the Pacific railway in British Columbia between Port Moody
and Emory's Bar. The matter had assumed such importance,
909 THE ADMINISTRATION Ot LORD LORNE.
and a portion of the public conscience had been so scandalized
by the transaction, that Mr. Mackenzie offered a motion which
was virtually an impeachment of government. From this
motion, which was admitted to be an accurate recital of the
case, it appeared that on the 24th of October, 1881, tenders
had been invited by government for the construction of the
portion of road named, it being provided that the offers were
to be received up to the first day of February, 1882. Conform-
ably with the call fourteen tenders were received varying from
$2,227,000 to $3,531,832, the lowest tender being that of Messrs.
McDonald and Charlebois, $2,227,000, the next lowest 'jcing
Andrew Onderdonk's,iif;2,48G,225, or.$209,25 5 higher ti a that of
the former. It being necessary that tenderers should deposit a
certain forfeit sum with government as a guarantee of good faith,
McDonald and Charlebois enclosed a cheque for $20,000, the
sum specified, dated on the 23rd day of January, and drawn on
the Bank of Montreal. The cheque, it appears, was duly
accepted by the bank, but some fumbling clerk stamped across
its face the words, " Good for two days only." Having noticed
the limitation to the validity of the security, Mr. A. P. Bradley,
private secretary to the minister of railways and canals, on
Saturday, February the 4th, called on Mr. Drummond, mana-
ger of the Ottawa branch of the Bank of Montreal, handing
him the cheque and asking him whether it was still good^
and if he would pay it should he be called upon to do so ; to
which Mr. Drummond replied that, as the cheque was made
1 the head office, he could say nothing about it till he had
made enquiry. And then and there Mr. Bradley franked a
telegraphic blank, and Mr. Drummond dispatched the needed en-r
EVENTS, POLITICAL AND S0CIAL-LSS2. 20O
quiry. Three hours later Mr. Drummond handed to Mr. Brad-
ley the reply, which was as follows : " Please strike out ' For'
two days only' from our acceptance stamp. The cheque will
be good until paid." Mr. ])rummond then went away, and the
private secretary at once put the reassuring telegram into the^
hands of the minister. On the following day, with full know-
ledge of the contents of this dispatch, Sir Charles went before-
the privy council and reported that " the tender of McDonald
and Charlebois, which was the lowest, is irregular, inasmuch a*
the checiue which accompanies it was marked by the Bank of*
Montreal, on the 24th of January, as good for two days only^
and that the lowest tender made in conformity with the condi-
itions is that of Mr. Andrew Onderdonk for $2,486,255." His-
report to the council shows not even a reference to the enquiries-
stated, or to the assurances that he had received ; and upon the
strength of the alleged worthlessness of McDonald and Charle-
bois' cheque, while Sir Charles knew it was not worthless, the
contract was awarded to Mr. Onderdonk. There can be no
one who will deny that the limitation imposed by the stamp-
was, at the first, a serious irregularity, but after the despatch
of the bank manager had been received, there was no ground
existing for further suspicion by the minister, much less for the
plea of " irregularity " which he laid before the council. When
Sir Charles' conduct was arraigned in the house he showed
much wrathful contempt for his accusers, and only condescen-
ded to explain that McDonald and Chai'lebois could have repu-
diated the cheque after the tenders were opened, and that ta
permit any tenderer to make a security good after that date^
would be to render abortive the whole system of deposits. But
aiO TUB ADMINISTRATION OF LORD LORNE.
Sir Charles did not try to deny, for lie could not deny, that the
cheque was good for two rfays which time gave his department
opportunity, was it sufficiently intere.sted, to secure the face
value of the paper and ho'd it in trust; but it was made
abundantly clear to all concerned, by the telegram of Mr. Clous-
ton, that the cheque was valid, and was drawn in good faith,
and the same appears from the following statement which oc-
curred in a letter from the same gentleman : " The limit of
* two days only ' was unintentional ; it was simply an over-
sight that this was not at once struck out, for it was certainly
our intention to guarantee the cheque until paid." It would
give the writer the most profoui 1 pleasure to be able to sup-
plement what to him seems Sir Charles' utterly insufficient
defence with any grounds of justification, but, unfortunately,
there are nont at his hand ; and he trusts that all who read
this book will believe that he sought for them. Had McDon-
ald and Charlebois been refused the contract because the min-
ister believed that they were men without financial standing
or good repute, he should have boldly stated his conviction,
and though the gratuitous, and, as far as the writer believes,
■entirely unjustifiable assumption, might have failed to satisf}''
the inner conscience of the house that the minister's course
was dictated rather by anxiety for the fate of the work in the
handa of such men, (ban by a motive so corrupt as to make
one shudder, it would nevertheless have been more satisfactory
than the painful misrepresentation to the council about the
irregularity, and the unnecessary fear for the safety of the
deposit system expressed in the house. If the writer had any
rsspect for the present plight of party development in Canada
EVENTS, rOLlTICAL AND SOCIAL-ISSJ. 211
he would atop here, and not finish the record ; but he lias not.
Therefore, his readers must know that one hundred and twenty-
five voices endorsed the action of the minister of railways an
canals, and only fifty- five condemned it.
About this time the permanentconvictionhad forced itself upon
the party membei-s that there was not room for the entire male
population of the country in the civil service, and for some years
certain honourable irentlemen had declared in the house of com-
mons that it was desirable to reorganize the civil service system,
especially with relation to the modes and requirements of ad-
mission. Almost since the confederation our young men had
swarmed from their agricultural pursuits, and other honest em-
ployment, importuning government for situations, like unto the
shoals of sharks about which Marryatt tells us, that used to
besiege the ships in Pacific waters, waiting through days and
weeks for a negro to drop overboard. The desirability of re-
organization was made manifest chiefly from two considera-
tions : the corruption and inefticiency that must prevail where
appointment and promotion rested on political favour, and the
annoyance and embarrassment to the patronage-bestower who»
has only one vacancy and eleven hundred applicants. There-
fore it was that in 1880 Mr. Casey introduced a bill providing
for the reorganization of the civil service ; but the government
promised to deal with the question, and the measure was with-
drawn. By order in council in the following summer commis-
sioners were appointed to reconsider the duties of each depart-
ment of the Dominion public service, " with a view to securing
greater economy in all the departments, by the weeding out of
men who were no longer efficient public servants hy the crea-
212 THE A I) \fINIS TR A TIO iV OF LORD LOR N^E.
tion of a new tliooretlcal organization for each department
which should retfuhito the nundx-r of each class of ofhcers re-
quired for its work, the promotion from class to class, and tlio
steps by which salaries should be increased." The conmiission
was likewise required to make " such other recommendations
for promoting the efHcient and economical administration of
public affairs as they deem proper." The commissioners were
two deputy heads and two secretaries of (h^partments to re-
present the inside service; a collector of customs from the out-
side service, and two iinotHcial representatives of the public.
In March, 1881, the commissioners presented their report, and
on the i.Srd of February following, a bill, based on the recom-
mendations and views offered, A\as introduced by Sir Hector L.
Langevin. The measure received a wheezy sort of opposition
from tliat class of representatives, foimd in the most democratic
of republics, which is completely insulated from the genius and
the enlightenment of the time ; but the bill passed the com-
mons on the 2nd of May, and the senate on the 11th of the
same month.*
* The foUowi'ig digest of the bill I find in "The Annual Register," edited by
Mr. Henry J. Morgan : —
" A Board of three examiners were to be appointed by the Governor-in-Council,
and, with the assistance of sub-examiners, were to hold periodical examinations,
as far as practicable in writing, in Halifax, St. John, Charlottetown, Quebec,
Montreal, Ottawa, Toronto, Ijondon, Winnipeg, and Victoria. No persons were
to be appointed to any position, except that of Deputy Head of a Department,
without passing a prescribed examination, except for bpecial qualifications, which
were to be reported upon by the Deputy Head, and concurred in by the Minis-
ter presiding over the Department. The age of candidates for first appointment-
to the Inside Service was to be not less than eighteen and not more than thirty
five years. Deputy Heads were to be appointed and removed by the Governor-
in-Council, but in case of removal the reasons were to be reported to Parliament.
The clerks were divided into chief clerks, first-class, second-clas^, and third-class,
and the sa'aries were to be as follows:— Deputy Head, $3,200 to .$1,000; chief
EVENTS, rOLITlCAL AAV S0C1AL~1883. 218
Some discussion arose on the proposal of the ministry to in-
crease the number of mounted constables in the North-West
to five hundred, with twenty supernumeraries. When, after
the acfjuisition by the Dominion of the Hudson's Hay territor-
ies, settlers began to Hock into the wilderness which foi-med
the old hunting-grounds of the aboriginal tribes, it was found
•clerk, $1,H(K) to .^2,400; firHt-claHH clerk, Sl,400, with an annual increiwe of ijloO
lip t«» §1,800 ; Hecond-clasH clerk, $1,100, with a like annual incr^awe tip to Jjl.-lOO;
third-claHH clerk, !? 100, with a i?r)0 annual increase ii|) to .?1,000. No ap])ciintnient
was to bo made until after the nalary had lieen voted liy )iarlianiebt, and the
person appointed, except in the caHe of Hpecial qualification, must be selected
from the list of per«onn reported by the lioard to have ))ax^ed the refpiisite er-
aininationH. For entrance, two examinationH were fpecitied a ' pivliniinary,' in
penmanship, orthography and elemenlay arithmetic, whii;h wan to be required
from all candiilateH for lower grades, such as nieH«enger.-i and letter-carriers ; and a
•(lualifying,' which was to be in subjocts R])ecitii'd by the governor-in-council.
Personi selected from the list were to serve a ])robation of six months li^fore
receiving a permanent appiintment. For promotion, examinations, open to all
persona in the department in which the vacancy existed, were to be held in sub-
jects 'adapted to test tha fitness of the candidates for the vacant otiice.' Tem-
porary clerks as well as jiermanent were to be selected from the list of those who
had passed the (pialifyiu,' examination, and their salary was to be limited to the
iniuimum jjvyable to a third-class clerk, except in case of technical work. It
may here be added, that it was s;ib'ie(niently directed by Order-in-Council that
the preliminary and (pialifying examinations should be held semi-annually, on
the second Tuesday in Juno and December, except the first examinations, and
that tlie subjects should b3— for the preliminary, ijenmanshij), orthography, first
four rules in arithmetic, and reading print and handwriting ; for the (pialifying,
penmanship, orthography, arithmetic (inclusive of interest, vulgar and decimal
fractions), geography (especially of the Dominion of Canaila), outlines of British,
French, and Canadian history, English or French grammar, Engliih or French
«ampositi(m, and English and French transcription, with the following' oi)tional
subjects : comi)osition, translation, indexing, and precis-writing, book-keeping by
single and double entry, short-hand and telegraphy ; and for promotion, j)en-
manship, composition, arithmetic (l)ased on the nature of the work required by
the Department), indexing and precis-writing, Constitution of Canada (B. N. A.
Act), questions relating to the organization, practice and duties of the otKce in
which the vacancy existed, and efficiency (ascertained fram the report of the
Deputy Head of tha Dji)irtment in which the candidate had been serving). In
each examination the candidate to bo successful must obtain TjO per cent, of the
total value ass'gned to the subjects and 3) pe;^- cent of each subject, and in the
optional subjects, 50 p3r cent, in each."
214 THE ADMINISTRATION OF LORD LORNE.
desirablo to establish a provontivo force of a somi-military
character tliat iiii^'ht bo sufHciont to .supi>ress the aggressions
by the Indians against the settlers or their property. To this
end a force of mounted police, nniubering three hundred, and
well officered and diHciplined, was established at desirablo
points in the territory ; but as population began to increase,
and the buffalo to recede further and further from its usual
haunts, signs of discontent wen* seen among the tribes ; hun-
ger, throtigh the failure of the chase, began to pinch them ;
petty thef's beciune common, and here and there began to take
the form of violent atrgressions against the property of the set-
tlers. By virtue of tht excellent discipline of the force most
ofiences against the law were promptly punished ; yet the field
for depredation was so wide, and the op[)ortunity for escape
from punishment was so great, added to certain signs of liostility
evinced by the Indians, that the authorities became convinced of
the need of increasing the police-force. Representations were
made to the department of the interior, and Sir John Macdon-
ald proposed the legislation already alluded to. But Mr.
Blake, whose insight into most questions is accurate, strangely
enough opposed the government's step, and made the extraordi-
nary statement that the white settlers should be warned "that
they must take care of themselves to a great extent." This
sounds not alone unstatesmanlike, but inhuman; for it gives
us room only to conclude that Mr. Blake would have the set-
tler, on occasion, take down his gun and alone defend his house
and his family against aggressive savages. If there was a
shadow of need for thousands of volunteers and a military system
through the civilized provinces, there was surely great necessity
EVENTS, POLITICAL AND SOCIAL-1882. 215
for the proposed force throu^'h a barbarous wildornesH whoso
iiihabitaiits were only a few cotn[)are(l to roaniinj,' tribes of
Indians, who looked upon civili/iition wiCi an uidVicndly
eye, and upon the white settlers as intrudtsrs whooanie to dis-
possess them of their wild inheritance. If Mr. Blake did not
mean that each settler should provide himself with a riHo to
Hjgdit hostile aborigines, or to protect his food orliis cattle from
the wandering and half-faniisiied bands, it is dittieult to divine
what he intended to convey by saying that settlers sliould take
care of themselves to a great extent. JJid settlement through
the territories exist in compact bodies instead of being sparse,
one could have supposed he intended that each community or
municipality should form a sort of unlawful military organiza-
tion, which should provide its own muskets and other fighting
weapons, and be prepared to not alone resist attack, but io de-
tect or hunt down transgressors of the law. If he did nob
mean this, he meant nothing ; for government like unto that
prevailing in the other provinces did not exist in the territory,
and the establishment of a large territorial police by the people
themselves, through the authorities, was impossible. Mr. Mac-
kenzie, whose judgment, too, is usually clear and good, suffered
himself, probably for the same reasons that induced Mr. Blake
to put an absurdity on record, to oppose the measure, and to
assure the house that he was "not at all satisfied as to the ne-
cessity for increasing the force," If Mr. Mackenzie and Mr.
Blake happened to live out on the plains, and the Indians
came along at night and stole their hens and geese, or drove
away their cattle, and threatened to shoot themselves when t
they sought to recover their property, they would be satisfied
■f- —
ft! THE ADMINISTRATrON OF LORD LORNK,
of the nooil of incroasiii;^ the protectivo force ; but they would
not be able to fiiul inutjli respect for the intolli;;enco, or re^^anl
for the liumauity, of the moinber in the house of coinimms who
opposed iiicroaso for the roa.soiis given by tlie two proiuinent
lleforin statesmen.
The first conspicuous case of public and oHicial cunsuro to a
vohinteer oiKcer arose out of an occurrence at the camps at Pic-
ton, Ontario, on the Oth of September, IMSl. It appears that
lieutenant-coh)nel Walter lloss, of the Kith battery, w»w in
temporary coinniand of the camp, and regarding himself as
king upon the field, for reasons that to himself seemed sufti-
•ciont, gave orders for an armed ])arty to pull down a building
which was being erected as a canteen under the authority of
the minister of militia. The men did as they were desired,
charged the building with fixed bayonets, then threw it over
the fence into the highway. The owner was in the canteen at
the time, and M. Caron, the minister of militia, afterwards
{»ointed out that, had he resisted, as he had the right to resist,
•since he possessed authority to occupy the building, bloodshed
must have followed. In the Canada Gazette, therefore, was
published a General Order, in which colonel Ross was "seriously
•censured for the grave military indiscretion." No one is sur-
prised to learn that this case too, which, did public decency
and honour i)revail among our parties, would be dealt with
purely as a question of discipline in the public service, was
•cast down as a football between the contending factions. Sir
John Macdonald contended that colonel Ross " richly deserved
■censure ;" M. Caron declared that had it not been the first
offence of this nature, he would "have cashiered the offender;"
EVENTS, VOLiriCAL A SI) S0CIAL-1SS3. 117
but Mr. Mackenzie clmiacterizotl tlic order "as an extraordin-
ary instance of petty tyranny ; " and Mr. lilako considered it
"an unusual aet."
yeldoni lias oven the hreath of suspicion Iteen breathed
n<,'ainst the ui)ri;,ditness ot'din- Canadian judiciary, hut durin<;
the .session of IHSl a |)etition si^nied hy Henry J. Claike, Q,
a, W. Boyle, T. J. Ihadley, J. P., and J. E. Cooper liad heen
received in the house ofcouiinons char^Mn",' (^hief Justice Wood,
of Manitoba, with " injustice, conspiracy, partiality and arltit-
rarines.s." The ju<l<^e made an explanation in what occupied
128 paj^ca octavo of a hlue hook, and traduced the character of
the petitioners. The (picstion was hroujL,dit up in the house of
conunons repeatedly hy Dr. Shultz, whose zeal was aliuoat too
pertinacious to bo beyond sus[)icion ; but parliament was slow
to take the sug;,a'sted steps. Dr. Shultz's proposal was that a
connnission should be appointed to enquire into the administra-
tion of justice in Manitoba. Mr. Blake disapproved of any action
by the house till members understoo*! clearly the wrong-doing
imputed to the judge; and Sir John Macdonald, who favoured
the appointment of th(! connnission, «.'">sidered that the func-
tions of that body ought to be limited to the taking of evi-
dence. But the commission was never appointed and the
judge was never tried. He died before the next session met,
and the politicians were generous enough to let his ashes
abide in peace,
Under the British North America act it was provided that a
census should be taken every ten years ; that " Quebec shall
have the fixed number of sixty-four members ; " that " there
shall be assigned to each of the other provinces such a num-
N
218 THE ADMINISTRATION OF LORD LORNE.
ber of members as will bear the same proportion to tlie num-
ber of its population ascertaineii at such census, as the number
of sixty-four bears to the nu)nber of the jjopulation of Quebec
so ascertained." The census of 1881 showed Quebec to con-
tain a population of 1,359,027, which divided by sixty-four
gave 20,908 as the unit of representation: Ontario with 1,923,-
228 souls was entitled to ninety-two members, and it was
decided to give to Manitoba one representative, by virtue of
its premised rather than its actual population.*
The bill was introduced by Sir John Macdonald, but had the
premier exploded an infernal machine in the house it could
not have created greater tumult than the measure offered.
The Reformers believe that there is no iniquity to which Sir
John will not descend for even a trivial political gain, and hence
it was, now, that they accused him of framing his measure
in such a manner as to group as many of his opponents in a
newly-created district as possible — which plan they declared
he had himself with immoral facetiousness characterized as
" hiving the Grits," — with being guided entirely by the elec-
tion returns, and creating, carving and adjusting the constitu-
encies in utter disregard of municipal lines or the interests of
communities, with the sole aim of procuring the return of Con- •
* In Ontario the small electoral divisions of Niagara and Cornwall were merged
respectively in the counties of Lincoln and Stormont, their names being retained in
the designations, " Lincoln and Niagara " and " C(/rnwall and Stormont.'' In the
following manner were the six new constituencies created : Essex was divided into
two, Lambton into two, Bruce instead of two divisions was given three ; Middle-
sex instead of three was given four ; Simcoe and Ontario, which had previously
been divided into two, were now, each divided into three. The greater number of
the other constituencies were readjusted ; or " carved " as the Reformers described
it. In Manitoba the old constituencies were slightly rearranged ; and the added
member was given to Winnipeg.
EVENTS, POLITICAL AND SOCIAL— 18.^2. 219
servative members for certain of the constituencies " operated
upon."
Mr. Blake, full of scorn and honest indignation, declared
that the premier had " determined to use his majority to load
the dice in the ])olitical game which was shortly to be played,"
and characterized the action of the ministry as " high-handed,
arbitrary and unjust." His speech was one of the ablest ever
delivered in the house of commons in eloquence, in somewhat
of passion, in its sarcasm, and in its knowledge and mastery of
the question ; and the honourable gentleman Jissured his hear-
ers, — though it afterwards turned out that he was pretty
badly mistaken — that the ministry could relegate the bodies of
men from one constituency to another, but that they could not
transfer their minds. Somewhat later, when he addressed his
constituents in Durham, he allowed his lieutenants to fill him
with several absurd convictions, and in this unedifying plight
he uttered the extravagant statement that " government
having been beaten in fair fight, had resorted to foul play."
The pounding of a desk by a needy oppositionist, hungering
for office, does not necessarily mean that a government is
beaten, though this was about all the warrant that Mr. Blake,
usually cautious and within the mark, had for his Durham
declaration. The government replied in a lame sort of fash-
ion to the opposition onslaught, and Sir John Macdonald's
foremost reply and defence was this: "The measure is a fair
one ; it is a bill which equalises the population, which acknow-
ledges the principle [representation by population] which was
pressed to a successful completion by the Liberal party — the
old Reform party of Canada — and which since that time has
220 THE ADMINISTRATION OF LORD LORNE.
been adopted by all parties as being the true principle, the
real basis of representative institutions." A ridiculous and
unsuccessful attempt was made by Conservative politicians
and newspapers to prove that the Reform ministry of Ontario
had likewise, with just such justification as that claimed by the
Dominion Government, "gerrymandered" the provincial con-
stituencies ; but supposing the allegation had been correct, and
nobody, not even the most rabid assei'ters of the story, believed
that it was, it could not absolve the ministry of responsibility for
its own alleged misdeed. It is neither honest nor sufficient when
charged with evil doing to bring forward no excuse save the
rejoinder, "You did the same thing yourself." That method of
justification should be left in the sole possession of Sir Charles
Tupper. However it be, there are thousands of intelligent
men in Canada who believe that Sir John did deliberately and
wickedly "carve the constituencies" in a manner designed to
further his party's intei-ests ; and Mr. Goldwin Smith, a per-
sonal admirer and warm friend of the premier's, declared
the measure to be "a blunder as well as a crime." Mr.
Smith has been in the habit of regarding Sir John as aaother
Walpole, who lives amid a throng of corruptionists, dij-ects
their movements, profits by their machinations, and yet
remains personally pure. Upon the other hand there are not
fewer of the intelligent ones who believe that Sir John
violated no just, or known principle in his measure ; that he
inflicted no injury upon popular or municipal interests, and
that the grouping together of so many Reformers as was
really done in several cases, was accidental ; but that if it
was a work of design, it would be a pity, where two commu-
EVENTS, POLITICAL AND SOCIAL-1882. 221
nities of Grits had to Le disposed of, to spoil two houses with
them, since no interest was violated by putting them into one.
The measure passed by a vote of 112 to 52.
Some excitement was caused in this country on the 2n(l of
March by the rumour that an attempt had been made upon
the life of the Queen of England. It appears that just as Her
Majesty entered her carriage at Windsor railway station, a
mentally disordered creature named McLean, incited with an
ambition for notoriety, probably by the action of Guiteau who
had shot President Garfield a short time before, presented a
pistol, though whether he aimed it or not is not known, and
tired in the direction of the Queen. Her Majesty received no
injury ; but the loyalty of British subjects was everywhere
aroused ; and, where love for monarchy did not exist, the
sympathy of humanity, and reverence for government arose in
its place, and from all parts of the empire felicitations
poured in to the Queen congratulating her, and thanking
Providence for the escape. In the Dominion senate in moving
the address congratulating the sovereign on her " providential
escape from so grave a peril," Sir Alexander Campbell said :
" No life certainly is more precious to Her Majesty's subjects
than her own, and I think I may say that, not only with refer-
ence to ourselves, but also with reference to all English-speak-
ing people throughout the world." In moving a similar address
in the house of commons Sir John Macdonald said : " The feel-
ings that pervade every part of this house are the same that exist
in every part of the Dominion of Canada — the most devoted
lo3'alty to Her Majesty, the greatest respect for her virtues,
domestic and public, the horror with which we have heard the
222 THE ADMINISTRATION OF LORD LORNE.
news, and tlio great pleasure and delight with which we have
learnt that she has suffered no injury from the atrocious
attack." The Earl of Kimberley at once cabled the thanks of
the Queen, and four days later a more lengthy and formal reply
was despatched.
About tliis time it was rumoured abroad that Mr. John
Costigan, the member for Victoria, New Brunswick, contem-
plated the introduction of a series of resolutions bearing upon
the then much disturbing and perplexed Irish question, tender-
ing certain advice to the imperial government, and reciting
the experiences of the Canadian colonies in domestic govern-
ment. As the election drew near, members released from their
arduous legislative labours had time to abandon themselves to
the generosity of their instincts. They were able to devote
much of this period now, by neglecting the duties that since
the date of their last election had pretty uniformly absorbed
their attention and energies, to various worthy public objects.
Their sympathy for the various orders of workingmen had
become most keen ; ^hey attended lotteries and bought tickets ;
spoke, and nearly wept with enthusiasm as they spoke, at every
social gathering in town or country; they attended church
conspicuous!}'', put bills upon the plate instead of silver, and
posted themselves at the gate as the congregation went out, to
shake hands with hundreds of gentlemen of whom they had
"just been speaking," and whom they were "wanting to see
yesterday." It is demonstrably certain that if two clear
months did not occur before each election in this country,
.within which time our politicians can go around investigating
human distress, and examining tlie commercial organism with
EVENTS, POLITICAL AND SOCIAL— 188:2. 223
a view to setting it in perfect order, there would ensue a
complete disruption of our social system.
No great scheme of philanthropy that any honourable
member might propose in the house of commons during this
closing session of parliament could surprise the people ; there-
fore Scotchmen, Englishmen and orangemen, learnt without
wonder, and it seemed, without disapprobation, tha*'. the politi-
cians had decided to extend their field of well-doing to Great
Britain and Ireland, in undertaking a solution of the Irish
problem. While according full approval to government for
their extreme solicitude in the welfare of peasants of a foreign
country, there was a number of persons who remembered that
a large portion of the electorate was made up of the ' 'Irish vote,"
and these were uncharitable enough to believe that neither Sir
John nor Mr. Blake, nor the parties of both gentlemen cared
three straws what was the condition of tenants in Connaught ;
that the interest of each was simply intended as a bait for
votes. But however just or unjust the suspicions of this class of
people might have been, one fact stands clearly out : Mr. Costi-
gan's honesty of motive, his genuine sympathy foi' the sufiering
of the Irish peasant, and his faith in the expediency and pro-
priety of his own undertaking. On the 20th of April, Mr. Costi-
gan introduced into the house of commons a series of resolutions*
* The following in the text of Mr. Costigan's resolutiona :
*' Moat Gracious Sovereign .-—We, your Majesty's most dutiful and loyal subjects,
the Commons of Canada, in Parliament assembled, desire most earnestly, in our
own name, and on behalf of the people whom we represent, to renew the exjires-
flion of our unswerving loyalty and devotion to your Majesty's person and govern-
ment. 1. We have observed, may it please yo ir Majesty, with feelings of profound
regret and concern, the distress and discontent which have prevailed for some time
among your Majesty's subjects in Ireland. 2. We would respectfully represent to
224 TUE ADMINISTRATION OF LORD LORNE.
reciting the facts that great destitution prevailed in Ireland,
that Irish subjects in Canada were among the " most loyal, most
prosperous, and most contenttjd of our people ; " — though this
statement would hardly hold true of Biddulph — that owing to
the estrangement of Irish sul)jects towards the imperial govern-
ment many of these people have sought fncign homes, and, it
is to be inferred, passed by our Dominion on that accourt. All
this preamble the raison d 'etre for which, it must be confessed,
it is not very easy to see, being disposed of, there f^/Iiows
this pertinent and potent part of the resolution: (a) " We de-
your Majesty that your Irish subjects in the Dominion of Canada are among the
moat loyal, most prosi)erous and most contented of Your Majesty's subjects. 3.
We would further resiiectfuUy represent to your Majesty that the Dominion of
Canada, while offering the greatest advantages and attractions for those of our feU
low-subjects who may desire to make their liome.s amongst us, does not receive that
proportion of emigrants from Ireland which might reasonably be expected, and that
this is due, in a great measure, in the case of many of our Irish fellow-subjects who
have sought foreign liomes, to their feelings of estrangement towards the Imperial
Government. 4. We would further most respectfully rejiresent to your Majesty
that, in the interests of this your loyal Dominion, and of the entire Empire, it is
extremely to be desired that your Majesty may not be deprived, in the development
of your Majesty's possessions on this continent, of the valuable aid of those of your
Majesty's Irish subjects who may feel disposed to leave their native land to seek
more prosperous homes. 5. We desire respectfully to suggest to your Majesty
that Canada and its inliabitants have prospered exceedingly under a Federal sys-
tem allowing to each Province of the Dominion considerable powers of self-govern-
ment, and would venture to express a hope that if consistent with the integrity and
well-being of the Empire, and if the rights and status of the minority are fully
protected and secured, sure means may be found of ujeeting the expressed det-ire of
so many of your Irish subjects in that regard, so that Ireland may become a source
of strength to your Majesty's Empire, and that your Majesty's Irish subjects at
home and abroad may feel the same pride in the greatness of your Majesty's Em-
pire, tlie same veneriition for the justice of your Majesty's loyal subjects in this
Dominion. 6. We would further exi)ress a liope that the time has come when your
Majesty's clemency may without injury to the interests of the United Kingdom
be extended to those persons who are now imprisoned in Ireland charged with poli-
tical offences only, and the inestimable blessing of personal liberty be restored to
them . We pray that the blessings of your Majesty's reign may, for your people's
sake, be long continued."
EVENTS, POLITICAL AND SOCIAL— 1882. 225
biro," it says, " respectfully to suggest to your majesty that
Canada and its inhabitants have prospered exceedingly under
a federal system allowing to each province of the Dominion
considerable power of self-government, and would venture to
express a liope that, if consistent with the integrity and well-
being of the empire, and if the rights and status of the minor-
ity are fully j)votectcd and secured, sure means may be found of
meeting the expressed desire of so many of your Irish subjects
in that regard, so that Ireland may become a source of strength
to your majesty's empire." This recommendation embodies
the virtue and the propriety of the resolution. No one could
be better qualified than Canadians, who have tried and adopted
provincial local government, to give an opinion of the merits
of such a plan — and from no (juarter ought such opinion come
with better grace than . from the colonies so equipped to
advise — to the Head of the empire of which they formed a part.
Nobody supposes that Mr. Costigan wrote the words, " if the
rights and status of the minority are fully protected and se-
cured";" and one wonders why Sir John Macdonald should
have added the clause, or his party deemed the addition neces-
sary, when it comes to be considered that in Canada there is a
" minority " class, that that class once had what it regarded a
supremely sacred right, the right to educate its children in the
manner which it deemed to be morally and intellectually best ;
and that the majority took away that option and prescribed a
method acceptable only to itself. The very party system con-
tradicts the proviso : for does the majority, do Sir John Mac-
donald's Conservatives, respect "the rights and status" of their
opponents who are a "minority?" Nevertheless the writer
*226 THE ADMINISTRATION OF LORD LORNE.
t'onunend.s the insertion of the added clause ; the critioi.sni is
merely of a coiiision of principle. Thei'o was further down in
the resolution another clauvso, which, however, was an imper-
tinence. It was this : {h) " Wc would further express a hope
that the hour has come when your majesty's clemency may,
without injury to the interests of the united kingdom, be extend-
-ed to those persons who are now imprisoned in Ireland charged
with political offences only, and the inestimable blessings of
personal liberty be restored to them." Mr. Costigan's tone in
submitting his resolutions was moderate, his argument was
vigorous, and whoever listened to him must have been con-
vinced that every word spoken was the utterance of a man
who had zeal and faith in the cause ho had undertaken. He was
convinced, he assured the house, that the " more you relax the
bonds which now fetter Ireland, the more strongly you bind
her to England." Miss Crawley, in " Vanity Fair," was not
flattered with a tenth of the assiduity and ardour by Rawdon,
Becky Sharpe and the rest of the mercenary train for her for-
tune, as was now the cause of Ireland by the politicians from
both sides of the liouse, for the Irish vote. Mr. Blake, who may,
or may not have been, very little or very much in earnest, but
who found the occasion strong enough to elicit from him
one of the greatest speeches of his life, regretted that Mr.
•Costigan had permitted the ministry to ''emasculate" his resol-
utions, declared that every concession obtained by Ireland had
been granted " grudgingly and of necessity," and concluded his
masterly utterance by saying: "Although we have no direct
voice in the legislation cf Great Britain, vet we have the right
to venture our counsel and express our views ; we have a right
EVENTS, POLITICAL AND SOCIAL- l(i^2. 227
respectfully to api)roach our sovereign and strengthen the
hands of her prime minister, whose sentiments are not hostile
to reform ; we have a right to give the inHueiice of four mil-
lions (if British subj(!cts to the redress of griuvances too long
maintained, to the attainment of rights too long denied, and so
to enlarge the sti'ength and increase the unity of the mighty
empire of which we form a part." Sir John Macdonald and his
followers wore somewhat disappointed that Mr. Blake did not
pernut themselves to retain a monopoly of Irish sympathy, and
when the premier arose to reply it was plain that he was some-
what batHed. He contrasted the address of the two preceding
{speakers, and declared that " the one wanted to secure the ob-
ject of his resolution, and the other wished to make political
capital ; " but it did not add weight to the latter half of this
statement, that the premier was a Scotchman, who could him-
self acquire only a dramatic sympathy for the Irish cause, and
that the leader of the op[)osition was the son of a warm-hearted
Celt who passionately loved his native land. The resolutions
were duly passed and forwarded to the home-government, and,
AS might have been expected, gave keen offence to the dull-
witted but exceedingly touchy officialism in the colonial office.
Unable to convince themselves that Canadians are the very best
judges of the virtue of domestic government for a province,
they ignored the I'ecommendation made touching the question
of a like political system for Ireland, regarded the advice of
the parliament of Canada as impertinence. So in very high
dudgeon that, in official setting, took the form of a stately re-
buke, the Earl of Kimberley replied : —
TllK ADMJNISTIiAriON OF LOUD LORNE.
" ITcr Majesty will always jjladly rocoivo tlio advico of tho
pailianieiit of Canada on all matters relating to tho Dominion
and tho administrMtlon of its affairs; hut in respect to tlie
questions referred to in tho address Her Mn J((sty will, in accord-
ance with the constitution of tins country, liavo regard to the
advice of the imperial parliaujont and ministers, to whom all
matters relating to tho affairs of tlie united kingdom exclusively
appertain."
Tho Earl, it will be seen, carried his fooling from his head to his
high-bred nostril, and in company with him, opinion in England
rose with haughty indignation to rebuke this colonial assurance.
Tlie Times, which from its top-lofty utteranceSjSeonied to talk with
tho tongue of the empire, was not at any pains to conceal its con-
tempt for colonialism, and to put us in our true light. It wrote
much in this fine strain : " Our colonies [Note tho language. It
seems as if a forbearing plantation owner were talking of his
slaves.] owe us a great deal, and make a remarkably small return.
Wo nurse them through their puling infancy, insure for their
youth an opportunity for tranquil, undisturbed growth; and our
reward usually is that, as soon as they reach something approach-
ing manhood, tliey display independence by putting prohibi-
tive, restrictive taxes upon our commerce." The Times has
not forgotten its history. When England once endeavoured to
convert the American colonies into a nation of dear-tea drink-
ers, the people threw overboard the tea; and a little later
British rule met tho same fate. The Times goes on, with a
slight variation in tone: just sufficient to make its language
resemble that which a gentleman might use in speaking of his
retinue of domestic servants : " Our behaviour to them is
EVENTS, VOUTWAL AND SOCIAI-UHS. 220
largely rcguliiteJ by a kind patunial fueling, uml their behavi-
our towards us is shaped upon commercial principles, UHiially
false ones. They expect us to defend thciin ,and regulate our
fleets and armies accordingly. In return, they buy from us
whatever they cannot get as cheaply elsewhere. They might
at least treat us with the respect and courtesy we receive at
the hands of our peers." This impertinent insolence, it must
be remendjere<l, happens not to be the mere voice of the Thnes.
but the sentiment of a large portion of the English people;
whence it comes that we ought not to express wonder or dis-
approl)ation when we hear certain of our self-rospecting Cana-
dians glorying in the " tie of kindred and love " that binds
us to the " dear mother." The writer, however, trusts that no
one shall ever accuse him of seeking to teach disrespect for the
Hag that has shone almost always unsullied through a long
})ageant of glorious history : it is not disrespect for England
that he seeks to inculcate, but respect for Canada ; it is not
that he loves Great Britain less, but that he loves Canada
more.
Mr. Lucius Seth Huntington was in England at the time,
and, stung by the .remarks of the Times, penned a very
vigorous and manly letter, wherein, among other things, he
assured the editor of the great journal : " Tliough we did not
fight at Waterloo — most living Englishmen did not — we are as
much a part of this realm as your impeiial islanders." And, in
answer to the sneering rebuke given to the Canadian Parlia-
ment for presuming to give advice to the imperial government
on the Irish question, Mr. Huntington appropriately remarked :
" You should remember that Irish difficulties have not all been
THE AimiMSTRATlON OF LOUD LORNE.
confliHMl to Irolaml. Iiisli fonianisin, fur from \mn)f .S.OOO
miles away fVuiii tho I )()iiiiMi(m, IioV(M"s all ulon^' the Itonlors, and
Huiiu'tiiiioH «lis|)lays itsi'lf in attacks at least inoro HcrioiiH than
any piohahle attack of Iielan<l upon Kn;^li.sh soil." Hut Mr.
(loldwin Smith, who was also in Krigland, had no faith in tho
motives of sympathy for distress in Ireland by which each Cana-
dian party professed to Ito mcveil : he wrote to tho Times that
the "('ana«lian politicians like their American counttM-parts,
were l)iddin<f a«^ainst each other for tlie Irish voto, the market
of which was just now raised by tho prospect of a ^'oneral
ejection. " OuMt three days after the passa^'o of tho resolutions
the world was horrified by tidings of one of the most l)loody
crimes that stains tho pages of history, the murder of Lord
Frederick Cavondi .i and Mr. Burke, in Phd'nix Park. Kad
this climax to the atrocities of Irish agitation not been reachetl,
the Costigan resolutions might have received more courteous
treatment ; but not a few of tho most unbiassed thiid<ers on
both sides of the Atlantic believed that, while i)olitical neces-
sity might liavc come forward and obtained an excuse for
parliament in passing the Irish resolutions, little justifica-
tion could bo found for Lord Lorno in transmitting them
at a time when public peace in England and Ireland stood
with the knife of the Irisii assassin at its throat, and the
national energy was strained to its highest pitch in resisting
a wide-spread system of hidden murder. The writer need not
repeat an opinion which he has already recorded : that while
at least one recommendation in tho resolutions was a gros.s
impertinence, others were legitimate and natural, and should
have been received at least with courtesy ; but he cannot help
Ji VENTS, roLlTlCAL AND S0CIAL-1H8J, 'iU
boHovin;^' that tlio prompt sending of such a slap in tlio faco
tVoiii a loyal antl iiu[»oitnnt (U'pcndoncy to the imperial govern-
ment at a time when its hands were lull in repressing a system
of national assassination, was not dictated either by relleetion
or hy prudenoo.
This was a session of important tindertakings, and not thi>
least of these was tliat one of iNfr. Jiiake's in moving a set of
r«!Solutions* elaiming for the Dominion the riglit to negotiate
• Tlio follnwlnff \n th» full text nf the reitoltitionii : " That ( ^anada no longer occu-
piuH tht< poHitioii <it an itnliiiary ilupeinU^ncy of the (7r<iwti ; Hht* nuritlierH four mil-
lions of free nion trained in the principNtH of (MinHtitutionul ({overnnient ; Mhe cuoi-
prlHCM oiiti-liiiir of tiiH Nr>rth American i-ontiiieiit, in(;I(iiiinK Mevt-ral provinccH
federally (initetl under an Imperial Charter, which retiten tliat her uonHtitution is
to be Hitnilar in principle to that of the Uiated Kingdom ; and that xhe poHNeHHrH
executive and lexislativo authority over vivHt aruaH in the Nnrth-West, out of which
one province Iuvh already been created, and in time otherH will he formed ; 'i'hat
Hpccial and increasing reMponHJhilitieH devolve tipcm thuKovermiient and parliamont
of Canada, in connection witli tlie develo|)iuent of her resourceH, the improvement
of her condititiD, the ^'enel'aI progreHH in the scale of nations aiiil her vfeoKnipliical
situation, which naiders her even more reH[)onsil>le tiian the government of tl
United Kingdom for the maintenance of international relationg with the United
Htiites : 'I'hat having regard to these considerations, there is no pogsession of the
C'rown, beyoiul the limits of the United Kingdom, which is entitled to such an
ample measure of self-governnient, or so fidl an application of th>' principles of
conntitutional freedom, as the Dominion of C'anada: That it would be for the in-
terest of ('anada to obtain freer access to the markets of the world; and that a
more extended interchange of commodities with other countries would augment
the national prosperity : That in most of the treaties of commerce entered into by
England, reference has only been made to their effect on the Uinted Kingdom,
and the ccdonies have been excluded from their operation, a fact whicii has been
attended with unfortunate results to Canada, especially as relates to France : That
the condition of Canada, and the system on which her duties of customs have been
and are now imi)osed, vary wi<lely from those existent in the United Kingdom, and
open IH the basis and negotiation of commercial arrangements with other states or
British possessions, views and considerations which do not apply to the case of, or har-
moinse with the policy of, theUnited Kingdom; which it is dithcult forthegoven.ment
of the United Kingdom to advance; and which can best be realineci and presented by
the government of Canada through a negotiator named by her for the purpose of
I)roviding separate trade connections with countries with which ('anada has, or
may expect, direct trade ; That the complications and di lays involved in the
reference to the departments of the government of the Unitid Kingdom of points
23-' TUE ADMINISTRATION OF LORD LORNE.
her own commercial treaties. In what took the place of pre-
amble, Mr. Blake recited the facts .so well known to Canada, that
in the making of all treaties between the British empire and a
foreign state, the interests of the colonies have never been
regarded from the colonial — but always from the imperial —
standpoint, and that such a policy has been attended, so far as
Canada is concerned, witii unfortunate results. He concluded
as follows : " That it is expedient to obtain all necessary powers
to enable her majesty, through her representative, the governor-
general in Canada, acting by and with the advice of the Queen's
privy council for Canada, to enter by agent or representative
of Canada into direct communication with any British posses-
sion or foreign state for the purpose of negotiating commercial
arrangements tending to the advantage of Canada, subject to
the prior consent, or the subsequent approval, of the parliament
of Canada specified by act." Mr. Blake supported his resolu-
tion in a powerful speech, and when he took his seat it was
easy to see that he had the approbation, either expressed or
felt, but suppressed through the abjec.uess of part}' fear of the
great majority of the house. It seemed hardly to belong to the
fitness of things that Mr. Blake sh juld be the statesman to pro-
pose a measure of imperial legislation which would be a logi-
cal sequence to the national policy, for that precisely is what
arising in the course of trade negotiations enhance the difficulties of the situation,
and diminish the chances of success ; and have already resulted in loss to Canada :
That it is expedient to obtain all necessary powers to enable Her Majesty, through
her representative, the Governor-General of Canada, acting by and with the advice
of the Queen's Privy Council for Canada, to enter by an agent or representative of
Canada into direct communication with any British possession or foreign state, for
the purpose of negotiating commercial arrangements tending to the advantage of
Canada, subject to the prior consent or the subsequent approval of the parliament
of Canada, signified by Act."
EVENTS, POLITICAL AND SOCIAL— 1882. 233
would be the power to make our trade arrangements with any
supreme state or dependency, whether kindred or alien. The
writer must not be understood as endeavouring to present argu-
ments here in favour of commercial independence for Canada :
he takes for granted that, from Mr. Blake's masterly and lucid
explanation of the question, the reasons 'making it expedient
are obvious ; and he has only to say that with heart and soul
does he pray God-speed to the day that we shall see at least
this much of political liberty accorded to Canada. Sir John
Macdonald made a poor reply. He said that at present we
had the advantage, in the negotiation of treaties, of the high po-
sition of the English diplomatic service abroad, and the power-
ful influence of the imperial government at our back. Now
there would have been a deciding force in the statement that
we had the " advantages " named in negotiating treaties accept-
able t.> us ; but since the " high position of English diplomatic
service abroad" is potent only in making arrangements suitable
to the empire, without regard for the special interests of Can-
ada, there seems very little for us to congratulate ourselves
about. Sir John further said that " foreign countries would
refuse to recognise a dependency ot England in a different posi
tion from that occupied by their own colonies. The high com-
missioner of Canada had all the latitude necessary, and was
received with the greater consideration because he approached
the government of France or Spain with the authority of Eng-
land." Sir John is right in supposing that a foreign state
would refuse to treat with a Canadian ambassador if, in
approaching a commercial question of importance to the foreign
state, etiquette prevailed over national interest ; though there
234 THE ADMINISTRATION OF LORD LORNE.
Imrdly seems any reason why etiquette should turn up its nose
at an envoy who bore his credentials virtually by imperial
sanction. As for the high commissioner, who is invested with
the mere vaniish of authority, he is, to quote from a series of
cleverly-wrought addresses by Mr. J. D. Edgar on the question
of comm»^rcial independence,* " tossed to and fro between the
colonial office and the foreign office, and received at both with
painful politeness." In a certain sort of diplomatic light the high
commissioner cannot be regarded g^ a fiction, but he is at best a
kind of ambassadorial miscarriage. " He has to sit in an ante-
room," to quote the honourable Alexander Mackenzie, " when
the two ambassadors are discussing matters, and if his opinion
is thought to be worth anything, he is called in and asked ques-
tions." The home and foreign officials look upon him with a
sort of patronising toleration, both in their diplomatic and
social relations ; it is an act of condescending courtesy if they
eat or smoke with him ; and so far as diplomacy is concerned,
the weighty affairs of India, of Egypt, of France and of Ger-
many concern them, while they look upon this poor little col-
onial pawn as something whose sole fitness and mission are to
tell the home office what his government wants, to inform the
latter what the imperial ministry is willing to grant, and to
prove that Canadian cattle never have pleuro-pneumonia :
while the function of the Dominion provinces is to raise grain
and catch fish, and to never forget that they possess the honour
and the limitations of being colonies of the British empire.
There is really, it must b(j repeated, very little in Sir John's
assertion that we profit by the standing of the imperial British
* The Commercial Independence of Canada, an address; By James D. Eigar.
EVENTS, POLITICAL AND SOCIAL— lS8.i. 235
diplom itic service abroad: Canada, like the United States, is
now a commercial country, and the development of her domes-
tic trade would be her motive in proposing a treaty; and if the
nation to which she went saw that it was to her advantage to
get Canadian grain, and cattle, and ores, and timber, and to
re^ t^rn the value out of the products of her own commerce, she
wOv J, be little influenced by the fact that the person making
to her a proposal so desirable, lacked a brass button more or
less on the breast of his coat. Sir John further adds : " Trea-
ties made by England on our behalf are supported by the whole
strength of the empire, but the mother country would refuse to
enforce arrangements in the making of which she had not par-
ticipated." This statement would have a strong claim on
acceptance if it were to be granted that there is no such thing
as national honour ; but national honour there is, and it would
form as strong a guarantee of good faith as a navy rearing its
masts in every port in Canada. Nations in this age of the
world rarely go to war to enforce treaties, much less treaties
whose raison d'etre is mutual advantage through commercial
intercourse. It was not fear of American guns that impelled
England to pay the exorbitant Alabama claims, any more than
dread of a war with Great Britain induced the payment of the
Halifax fishery award, which was likewise declared to be unrea-
sonable and extortionate. Sir Hector Langevin was the only
other minister who supported Sir John's view ; the remainder,
many, if not all, of whom may have been regarded as tnward
converts to Mr. Blake's view, sat silently at their desks. Eleven
members joined in the discussion, and though only three of th«
986 The administration of lord lorne.
number were Reformers, eight supported the resolutions. This
was a manifestation of opinion as unusual in our party expe-
rience as the mutiny of the Nore is in the history of the Brit-
ish naval service. The government, which had arbitrarily
declared the resolutions to imply a motion of want of conti-
nence, virtually gave their followers to understand that this
\vas not a question of suiting their own convictions, but of say-
ing, Shall we vote no-confidence in the administration ? I do
not imagine that it would have resulted in increased public
welfare had the Conservative following voted their leaders out,
but their opposition in the case in question would only have
been a just rebuke to the ministry for having dogmatically
and insolently catalogued Mr. Blake's motion as a want of
confidence. The Conservatives, however, were of a diflferent
mind. They sufibcated their convictions, meekly accepted the
dictation, and to the number of a hundred and one said nay to
the fifty-eight yeas of their opponents.
The ministerial hen at Ottawa lays no eggs without noise,
and the barren schemes of giving $50,000 of the people's taxes
as a subsidy for a fortnightly steam service between France
and Quebec, and a like sum for the not less promising object
of developing trade between Canada and Brazil, were brought
to the world with characteristic cackle. Canadian commerce,
it need scarcely be said, has pursued somewhat the even tenor
of its way, notwithstanding the oxen, the precious stones, and
the howling monkeys of Brazil. The scheme connecting Que-
bec with France, 'iOwever, admits of stronger commendation :
it was a tribute to the foreign sentiment of French Canada
EVENTS, POLITICAL AND SOCIAL-1882. 237
and a political, though not a commercial, justification of sena-
tor Fabre's appointment.*
Few of those who have watched political events in Canada
can conscientiously deny that the adoption of the National
Policy in 1878 was a desirable and timely expedient; that \i
roused trade from its languor, stimulated public confidence,
brought much foreign capital into the country, and led to an
active, if in some cases rather indiscreet, development of
domestic enterprise ; but nobody believes that the partizan
committee appointed at the motion of doctor Orton, of
Centre Wellington, was the most convincing methed of as-
certaining what the fruits of that policy had been. The
committee held a number of sittings and examined many
witnesses ; dispatched interrogatories throughout the country
- requesting persons prominent in the various branches of indus-
try to record their opinion of the eflfect of the tariff upon the
special interests of each. Thousands of aa^wers were received,
and several manufacturers and agriculturists were examined,
from both of which sources much contradictory testimony was
obtained ; but the committee was able to report to parliament
that " the larger proportion of the evidence favours the duty
on American corn and coarse grains generally ; " that " better
prices are obtained in Canada in consequence of the duties now
imposed, and the cultivation of coarse grains has been stimu-
lated thereby. . . The home demand, and prices obtained
for meat-stuffs, butter, poultry and eggs, as well as fruit and
* Hon. Hector Fabre had been appointed Resident Agent in Paris of the pro-
vince of Quebec, and, as a sop to the French influence in Parliament, was dele-
gated to represent the Dominion government in all matters there within the juris-
diction of the federal ministry.
238 THE ADMINISTRATION OF LORD LORNE.
vegetables, have been largely increased. The burden of tfixa-
tion upon the farmer is relieved," . . and, "upon the whole
we submit, that, from the evidence taken by your committee,
it appears that the present tariff is eminently in the interest of
the Canadian agriculturist." There was, as usual, the minor-
ity opinion, but in countries where the majority rules such
conviction is utterly valueless though it were held by Solomon
and the Seven Wise Men of Greece. Some of the Reform
newspapers had also flooded the country with interrogatories
respecting the effect of the " N. P." and received answers blar-
ingly convincing that it [pressed like a night-mnre upon the
life of the country.
About this time the working classes inhabiting the coasts of
the Pacific began to grow alarmed at the influx of Chinese :
these people arrived in ship-loads, earring their Supreme Beings
in their pockets, wearing wooden shoes, scant raiment, and
being so constituted physically, as to be able in the phrase o>
the white people to " live on the wind." In most cases each
Mongolian brought nothing into the country but a wife, and
generally, some children ; an instinct for washing and ironing
linen, an inclination and a moderate capacity for labour, a
phenominal mastery of frugality — a capacity to sustain him-
self in the manner of celestial civilization for little in ex-
cess of half the wage required to procure the ordinary com-,
forts of life by the Caucasian working-man. News that rail
road construction in Canada was a fruitful source of employ-
ment had pierced the apathetic ears of the sunny-skinned
inhabitants along the banks of the Yan-tse-Kiang, and this it
was which had brought the yellow folk swarming, as some
EVENTS, POLITICAL AND S0CIAL-1SS3. 239
one said, "like bedbugs," out of the ships that visited the
coasts of British Cohimbia and CJalifoinia. At once upon
their coming the wage-rates for railway navvies commenced
to fall, and the Canadians and white emigrants who had been
attracted to the West by the lure of good remuneration for
their labour began to curse the Chinese ; they raised a pro-
test against the competition of "uncivilized heathens " who they
imagined could maintain themselves as economically as rats :
indignation meetings were held and the politicians whose
Mammon is Votes were aroused : it was pointed out that the
United States government had prohibited Mongolian immi-
gration for ten years ; that the Australian colonies had pro-
tected themselves by imposing a heavy poll-tax on each China-
man, and that as a result of such restrictions western Canada
would be converted into a swarm ing-ground for these undesir-
able people, and that no less than 24,000 had contemplated
coming during the summer. Mr. De Cosmos, the repre-
sentative of Victoria, British Columbia, arose in the house of
commons, and besought the govemir3nt to lend its aid in
averting what he predicted would be a provincial calamity.
The honourable gentlemen cited many reasons why the threat-
ened immigration should be prevented, the chief among these
being that the filthy and degraded habits of the Mongolians
would demoralize their neighbours : and others asserted that
these people herded, ate and slept in their houses like cattle ;
that they smoked opium, had no respect for marriage morality ;
that they were inconvertible pagans, and that they carefully
took or sent back the greater portion of their earnings to
China. Sir John Macdonald on behalf of the ministry replied
m THE ADMINISTRATION OF LORD LORNE.
to Mr. De Cosmos' appeal and said that if any danger of inter-
ference with white labour arose and the means existed of fur-
nishing a sufficient supply of such labour to British Columbia
it would be desirable "to join to a reasonable extent in prevent-
ing the permanent settlement in this country of Mongol-
ian — Chinese or Japanese — immigrants." But the premier was
not at all certain that, without these people, the railway-build-
ers would be able to secure sufficient help to carry out their
enterprises. It turned out that the prediction of Mr. De
Cosmos respecting the influx was correct : during the summer
no fewer than thirty thousand Chinamen landed in British
Columbia ; but these could not find sufficient employment, and
after they had remained a few days huddled together, jabber-
ing their mellifluous language to the disgust of their prejudiced
white neighbours, the greater number of them arose from their
lairs and crawled south entering California by land ; and thus
evading the edict which forbade their coming in by the Golden
Gate of San Francisco. There seems little doubt that there ex-
isted sufficient ground for some of the objections raised to the
Mongolians in British Columbia, but, nevertheless, even at the
risk of scaring my reader I do not hesitate to give it as my
opinion that so long as the Chinaman conforms to the laws of
the country, and by his course of life gives no scandal to the
moral or industrial tone of the community, he has as much
right to come in here and engage in any employment that
offers as has an Irishman, a Scotchman, an Englishman, a
Frenchman, or a Dane ; and the government that would pre-
vent his coming because he puts cheaper labour into the market
than the white-man emphasizes the consistency of its course
EVENTS, POLITICAL AND SOCIAL- 1S82. 2H
by making a rule of awarding its public contracts to
the lowest tenderers. Perhaps it is not on the side of
the Mongolians that exists the social demoralization ; perhaps
it is because they do not smoke and chew tobacco all day,
and drink whiskey at night, that they ask for smaller wages,
and live more comfortably, than do their lordly Caucasian
rivals. Indeed if respectable and unprejudiced testimony be
of any value in court the Chinaman is industrious, honest, truth-
ful, and sober; cleanly in his person, correct in his morals, and
peaceful in his relations with his own household and with his
neighbours. How much blood and brutality would have been
spared in Biddulph, w hich community is composed of that class
of correct-living Irish immigrants who cry out with most ferocity
against the "haythen," if it had taken as its model the domestic
morality which prevails in the household of one of our steady-
going, unobtrusive laundry-keepers. In California it was the
Irish element that offered the barbarous opposition to the un-
fortunate Mongolians ; and one poor Chinaman, grown uncon-
sciously witty under his tribulation, exclaimed, " Let us leave
this country and go to Ireland. That is the only place the Irish-
man does not rule." No ; the difference is not very wide after
all between the " land of the haythen " and the " Island of
Saints." China has not given birth to as many saints, patriots
and orators as Ireland ; neither has she produced as many assas-
sins. So long as we admit the Biddulp^iites, we must not shut
our doors against the Chinese.
Mr. Robertson, of Hamilton, introduced a bill providing for an
amendment to the law of evidence permiting those who could
not honestly take the Christian oath to make affirmation. It does
242 TUE ADMINISTRATION OF LOUD LORNE.
not 8eem tliat Mr. Rohoitson pro.s.sod his ))ill very hard, an, after
its first reading,' on the IGth of March, it was not heard of
Again. The moral tone of our house of coininons was too higli
to tolerate such an iniquitous proposal just tlien.and the father
of the bill had not the moral couiage to press liis measure. The
truth is the law is quite too lenient now with those persons
who are unable to believ every thing that the differing doc-
tors of revealed religion* tel 'o them; und instead of giving
such people permission to make a statement based upon
their own conscientiousness, they ought to be treated to the
thumb-screw that obsolete but wise legal instrument and the
natural brother of the provision which ret^uires an oath to be
made " on the true faith of a Christian."
On the 13th of March the " deceased wife's sister's bill " once
more made its appearance in the house, having been considered
and approved in committee.^ Several fool-hardy senators were
anxious that the measure should be again thrown out ; but the
body as a whole were not desirous of smashing their heads
against public opinion, and the necks which they had stifiened
*It does not follow, because T think that agnostics shouUl have the privilege of
affirming in courts instead of taking the Christian oath, that I ain myself a free
thinker What I believe or deny is my own concern and I shall not state it here : but
knowing the facility of moat readers for making unwarranted deductions, I have
thought it necessary to prevent them, in this instance, from browsing beyond the
confines of my text.
tThe following is the form in whicli the bill was reported : " All laws prohibiting
a marrage between a man and the sister of his deceased wife are hereby repealed
both as to past .and future marriages ; and as regard past marriages, are as if such
laws had never existed.
" 2 This act shall not affect in any manner any case decided by or pending be-
fore any court of justice, nor shall it affect any rights actually actiuired by the
issue of the first marriage previous to the passing of this act; nor shall this act
affect any such marriage when either of the parties has afterwards, during the life
of the other, lawfully intermarried with any other person."
EVENTS?, POLITICAL AND SOCIAL- 188$, Hi
when asked before to pass the measure.tliey now bent with all
the grace that they ecu hi summon. The senate is at last Vje^'in-
ing to sunnlse that it is a})outas mucli in place among modern
institutions as would l)e the Curfew ; to feel that it must keep
up an appearance of usefulness, and that tlie only way open for
the accomplishment of this design is now and again to intro-
duce a measure, and sometimes to offer such resistance as may
pass for Judicial and unprejudiced consideration to bills coming
from the popular branch. But it cannot conceal from the
public that it is without a n)ission, and stands only upon the
foundation of non-resistance. It is taking ]es.sons from the
hou.se of lords, which is now the august echo of the common.s,
and is convinced that in a wrestle between the people and a
pabt-age lingerer the latter must either bend or break. The
party politicians in the upper house at Ottawa must not carry
us back to the Roman senate for justification of their own exis-
tence : for if they take us there for justification, we shall take
them there for example. High minded, just, learned and wise
were the Roman senators ; and so noble did they appear, each
with his stafi' and flowing white beard, that the barbarians
who crowded into the chamber believed that they looked
upon the tutelar gods of Rome. In that age the senate
was essential to the nation's welfare, and the senators were
worthy of the trust : they were not the blown hack-horses
of pernicious faction. Thirty-seven of the senators at Ottawa,
it may be added, were in favour of the bill, and eleven
against it. The measure obtained its third reading "on
division." It may also be added that no appreciable decrease
Mi TlfJ! ADMINISTUATION OF LORD LORNK.
in Aunt<loiii lui-s takuii placu rfiiico bho passage of the new
law.*
On the 17th of May parliament was proroj]fue(l, and only
four sessions of the term havinj^ expired, the foUowiiifr para-
graph in the closing Speech from the throne was significant.
But it only confirmed the rumours which had for some weeks
previous Ixien afioat : " I heartily congratulate you on the rapid
an<l successful development of our manufacturing, agricultural
and other industries. I am, however, advised that their pro-
gress would have been still greater were it not that capitalists
hesitate to embark their moans in undertakings which would
bo injured, if not d'.stroyed, by a change in the trade and fiscal
policy adopted hy you in 1871).' In order, therefore, to give the
people, without further delay, an opportunity of expressing their
deliberate opinion on this policy, and at the same time to bring
into operation the measure for the readjustment of the represen-
tation in the house of commons, it is my intention to cause this
parliament to be dis.solved at an early day."
If this paragraph was not justifiable, it was certainly skilful.
Hezekiah had the dial turned back, and was given fifteen years
to his life ; Sir John and Sir Loonard would have it understood
through the second sentence in the above quotation that they
• Naturally thn question of pennittinK theie marriages gave rise to a stream of
discussion. The Right RevereuJ J. T. Lewis, bishop of Ontario, employed his pea
zealously, out with more ability than eifect, in oppuoition to the projjosed law.
His lordship proved that he was a very able controversialist, but he did not suc-
ceed in convincing the legislature that what is justifiable is wrong. There are
some things, it was made plain, in the field of theological discussioa, that even a
clever binhop can not prove. " Gunhilda," an Ottawa lady, replied to his lordship
in a series of articles which shewed much research and thought, and a just and
enlightened view of the question.
EVENTS, POLITICAL AND SOCIAL- 1881!. 245
(loHircci to add five yoars to tho uicrcantilu lifu uf thu tradoiH.
If thoy could have added as many years as were given to Hezo-
itial), the writer would liavo no <lirticulty in writing that ho
believed they were justified in dissolving parliament for this
reason alone. But four years to a business Inan with a good
apfjetito and a sound constitution is not a veiy long lease of
life; and this is tho probable limit: for will the manufacturer,
and his factory, and tho national policy not bo in the same po-
sition with respect to their existence in 1887 in which tlicy were
in 1882 ? — unless it turn out, indeed, that the great Authors of
Commercial Life, with similar justification in their mouths,
dissolve in 188G. In tho principal clause of the closing sen-
tence, however, it is easier to find a sort of justification: name-
ly, the inadequate and disproportionate state of representation
in tho house of commons. The members hardly waited for the
governor-general to finish the last word before they were hie-
ing back to their constituencies ; and thereafter till the 20th of
June (polling day) the country was seething with excitement.
The Conservatives stood together as a man under the banner
of National Policy, and the orators of the party, great and
worthless, drew comparisons, on every platform, between the
prosperity promised four years bf^foie and the prosperity at-
tained. They coolly took entire credit to the ministry for
the happy change: and after building these breastworks around
themselves, they went out against the enemy. They declared
that the Grits were bad- weather birds ; Sir John put into Mr.
Blake's mouth the words of Marryatt's Channel sailor, " None
of your damned blue skies for me"; it was shown, and with
deadly and deserved effect, that in 1878 every utterance of Sir
246 THE ADMINISTRATION OF LORD LORNE.
Richanl and hi.s collea^^ue.s, when hun^^ry monclainourod about
their ears, was a croak of prodictod woo ; that the ex-tinance
minister liad declared that he was only a fly on tiie wlieel, that
the Tories were only deludin;^ the people by false lights, and that
if the national policy were adopted it would break the com-
mercial back of the country without producing suffir^ient reve-
nue. These predictions were now held up against results,and Sii-
Richard's reputation as a prophet was lost. The spoecli -makers
loaded the fallen finance minister with the most amusing abuse.
One orator whom the writer heard at the Conservative "Amphi-
theatre" in Toronto, described him as a political Jonah. "And
if," said this gentleman,* " the whale had swallowed him, the ani-
mal would have gone on having annual deficits till nothing
was left but its skin." Upon the other hand the demon of
discord had entered into the Grit party family. There were
the modified free-trade Reformers, and those who admired the
political rectitude of Mr. Blake, but who were in favour of a
tariff protective to the extent of reverme needs. Mr. Blake
went out to Durham and told the people that " free-trade is for
us impossible"; Mr. Mackenzie raised his voice in East York
and assured the electors that any doctrine but that of free-trade
was pernicious, retrogressive and a relic of commercial barbar-
ism. And so an era of Reform speech-collisions began all over
tlie country, and the enemy made the most of the cla.shing
declarations. Thus it came to pass that the leader of the
opposition could scarcely make utterance on any question that
a counter statement made somewhere else by Mr. Mackenzie,
by Mr. Mills, or the Toronto Olobe did not rise like the ghost of
* Mr. Rose, Q.C.
, EVENTS, POLITICAL AND SOCIAL— ISfiS. 247
BaiKjuo to confront liini ; and vice versa. Each party pressed
into service everything that could do duty as a conjurer of re-
ligious or provincial prejudice: the Jleforniers carried through
the land a huge JUeu Frenchman, who they said was at once
the master of the ministry and the ministry itself; and this
Bete JSleue tiiey affirmed to bo jealous of the growth of Ontario,
and hent on preventing her further development. It was at
his dictation, they declared, that the ministry refused to ratify
the boundary award,* and they called upon tlic " men of On-
tario" to come to the polls and defend their province from the
jealousy of " these domineering Frenchmen." Another im-
portant oppo.sition cry was the alleged tendency of the premier
to a centralization of all important political power at Ottawa ;
and proof of this allegation, they averred, was found in the dis-
allowance by the federal parliament of certain provincial acts
of purely local importance. It was pointed out, too, that Sir
John, at a meeting of Conservatives held in Toronto, had spoken
with marked contempt of the functions of local legislatures,
and described Mr. Mowat the premier of the most important
province in the confederation, as being engaged in "whittling at
little provincial bills," and had threatened to strip him of some
of the authority with which he then was clothed. These were
two strong cries against tlie government in Ontario ; yet, owing
to a more zealous and coherent party loyalty, to superior organi-
zation, and a more marked unanimity of opinion than that of
their opponents, added to the advantages always possessed by the
party who holds the reins, the Conservatives were re-chosen
by a majority of about seventy over their opponents. The
* See chapter vii.
248 THE ADMINISTRATION OF LORD LORNE^
only provinces that did not send conspicuous majoritie? to sup-
port the government were Manitoba and Prince Edward Island.
P: 3vious to the election, it may be said, several changes were
made in the personnel of the cabinet : on the 2nd of May the
honourable John Carling, M.P. for London, Ontario, became
postmaster-general in the place of Mr. O'Connor who retired
from public life; the honourable John Gostigan, M.P. for Vic-
toria, New Brunswick, succeeded as minister of inland revenue
Mr. J. 0. Aikins who was ^appointed lieutenant-governor of
Manitoba; on the 10th of July the honourable James Colledge
Pope, whose ill-health had for two years rendered the perform-
ance of his duty impossible, I'esigned his portfolio of minister
of marine and fisheries, and was succeeded by the honourable
Archibald W. McLelan, who now found himself sitting in the
same cabinet with Sir Charles Tupper, whom, when Dr. Tupper,
he characterized as " the high priest of corruption." The fish-
eries department v, as in an inefficient, if not demoralized, condi-
tion, owing chiefly to the ill-health of Mr. Pope, when the new
minister assumed its control, and many who had heard Mr.
McLelan described as an active business man rejoiced in a
change which they hoped would bring skilful and energetic
management in an oflir e connected with so important an indus-
try ; but it is not unfair to say the result has proved that
to some extent those who looked for this improvement have
been disappointed. On entering the department, Mr. McLelan
fell into the traces of routine, and he has not since got out of
them ; he has not acquired the knowledge of the details of his
office — nor does he possess the special fitness — to enable him to
be a successful administrator ; and those who are interest-
EVENTS, POLITICAL AND SOCIAL— 1S82. 249
ed in the protection and propagation of our fisheries, have
looked, but to be disappointed, for vigour in administering
the existing laws, and for the adoption of new and urgent
regulations. Elsewhere,* and before the minister of marine
and fisheries had been tried in. the light of experience the wri-
ter said this regarding his assumption of an office so important
and so difiicult. "It is unfortunate but unavoidable, that it is
necessary to take the minister raw from the constituency and
put him in charge of a department which is a complicated or-
ganization of special knowledge. It follows that an inferior,
or even an ordinary, ability in such a position falls completely
into the meshes of the subordinate, from wl ich he is never able
to clear himself. An ambition that is above being the pipe
whereon the clerk's finger may sound what note it please, will
struggle out of tha bondage though it cannot do so immediate-
ly, and will overcome the mysteries of the labyrinth bit by bit.
Of the important and intricate office of marine and fisheries,
Mr. McLelan had no more special knowledge than he possessed
about making boots or clocks ; but his energy and his fine
ability stood by him in the hour of need. We have, however,
this to say ; our population is rapidly increasing and our fish-
eries are speedily disappearing. Science has pointed out to us
a means by which we may resist the forces of destruction, if
the science of fish-breeding by artificial means is not a delusion,
and we do not believe it is, then is it entitled to more than a
homoeopathic application ; and we consider it to be the duty
of the minister to take the matter firmly in hand." But as
*,Life and Times of the Bight Hon. Sir John A. Macdonald, p. 429.
P
I}o0 .-lE ADMINISTRATION OF LORD LORNK.
we have said, he has not taken the matter in hand ; he has
gone into the rut and remained there notwitlistanding that
from every fishery quarter voices cry out for the assistance
that he ought to be able to give. The lobster fisheries around
the coasts of Quebec, New Brunswick and Nova Scotia are
being annihilated by reckless and destructive fishing, though the
means of preventing the threatened extinction have been
pointed out to the department ; the entire system of conserving
salmon while breeding is inefficient, .and out of joint, and
when the fish lie upon the shallow spawning beds, the poacher,
whether he be Indian or white man, can take his torch and
spear and pursue his work of murder through the night with
small fear of interruption. Mr. McLelan, and his not more
sagacious officials, will tell you that there is a thoroughly or-
ganized staff of fishery officers who keep an ever-awake eye
upon the poacher; but a warden is not a giant with seven-league
boots who can take his twenty-one miles at a stride, and
thunder from his lips, " T am coming — hie et ubique ; " but he
is an ordinary little man, whose person is known to every in-
habitant and every poacher along the river, and whose move-
ments, when he takes his winded horse and wheezy carriage
to go on a trundling tour of spying and protection, are made
known along his route by various signals, such as the blowing
of a whistle, the firing of a gun, or the sending up of a rocket
The expedient of pi'opagating fish and restocking, and main-
taining at their maximum fish-supporting capacity, suitable
rivers, has lately grown into an exact science whose import-
ance has been established by eminent pisciculturists like Pro-
fessor Baird, and proved by the actual tests of application. Yet
EVENTS, POLITICAL AND SOCIAL— 1882. 251
it is not likely that Mr. McLelan has ever given one hours'
careful study to this question, or even acquainted himself with
the observations of others ; so, sheathed in invincible ignorance,
he doleB out aid to our few paltry ovaries with a grudging and
timid hand, having no more faith in the experiment, — for ex-
periment it must always remain in Canada so long as ignor-
ance and parsimony prevail — than if he wore asked to make a
grant for the purpose of feeding cod on the Banks tlu'ough a
funnel. Through the reports of his own officials,* the minister
has been informed that as the process of deforesting goes on,
many of the fish-bearing streams grow small and foul in sum-
mer and become incapable of maintaining any member of the
salmonidjje family, or indeed any fish save vegetable feeders ;
but as if providence had so destined it, the spores that cling to,
infest and kill a salmon in a polluted stream, serve another fish,
the carp, as food.
The fecundity of these fishes is considerable ; their rate of
growth enormous ; they are very palatable, and form to some
extent the fish-food of the wox*king classes in Germany. Mr.
Wilmot, the superintendent of fish-culture, it is stated in the
newspapers, has introduced them into his ponds at Newcastle,
and observations of their propagation and growth there justify
the belief that they are capable of becoming an important food
factor. It is shown that many of the salmon-deserted streams
through untimbered districts could be repopulated with these
fishes. Mr. McLelan has heard this, but, like the rest of the
* Mr. R. D. Wilmot, government superintendent of tishculture, and a zealous
and intelligent officer, in 1882 published a report showing the cause of salmon de-
crease, and making valuable suggestions respecting the utilization of rivers no
longer capable of sustaining salmon or trout life.
269 TUB ADMINISTIiATION OF LORD LORNE
politician.H, he is too busy with the affairs of faction, with pulling
rlisreputahle wires, to be moved to action by his knowledge.
But to return to the cabinet changes. On the 2l)th of July
tlie honourable Frank Smith, senator, and the honourable
Jose})h Adolphe Chapleau, premier of the Quebec ministry,
were sworn in as members of the privy cotmcil, the former
gentleman entering without portfolio and the latter as secre-
tary of state for Canada in the room of M. Josei»h Alfred
Mousseau, who retired to assume the leadership vacated Ity
M. Chapleau.
Previous to the elections Mr. Blake had made several indefi-
nite declarations on financial and other topics, but he was spe-
cific in recording himself favourable to a " reduction of the
members of the senate, and the election by the people of the
members." If the object of the senate is to impose judicious
restraint upon ill-advised popular haste, then would the elective
feature have no excuse for an existence, for the senators, like
the representatives of the lower house, would be all the while
talking and acting to popular favour. At best this scheme of
cuj'tailing the number of senators seems to me like somebody
setting to work to reduce the number of spokes in the coach's
fifth wheel. We do not want the wheel at all : and as it takes
a certain force to turn it, and much money to maintain it, it is
the people's duty to get rid of it. Nobody supposes, the writer
at lejist does not, that the senate accomplishes any permanent
harm, but what we have to consider is that it does no good.
Various other strange things were said before that election.
Holy Church, and her prelates, and priests, and faithful were
played for by the rival politicians : Messrs. Frank Smith,
EVENTS, POLITICAL AND SOCIAL-1883. 253
John Costij,'an and John O'Donohoe addressed a manifesto
to the Roman catholics, claiming their support for the Conser-
vatives, and Mr. Joseph Donovan, a Toronto barrister, issued
a counter-bhist wooing the tiock for Mr. Blake. It is generally
understood that in the Dominion elections archbishop Lynch 's
people went with Sir John, for which his grace received
ample worldly recompense ; but the good bishop, never ignoring
his catechism, which enjoins " every soul " to " be subject to the
higher power," did not permit his conscience to forget that
Mr. Mowat, though opposed in politics to Sir John — for whom
his lambs and sheep had voted — was in office, and therefore
' the higher power," to whom it was meet that all should be
" subject." We may anticipate and say that Mr. Mowat cap-
tured the archbishop, and his grace, like a certain charac
ter in " The Fortunes of Nigel," did not forget the " considera-
tion."*
* In the Toronto World I find a sketch, purporting to be a vision, related by
one who sinns liimsulf " Spectator ; " und though the statements made therein
are imagina'y, they bear sufficient resemblance to the truth to justify their repro-
duction here. The scene refers to one of the gatherings before the Ontario general
election, when Mr. Mowat and Mr. Meredith were both filled with profound ad-
miration, love and reverence for archbishop Lynch, and his priests and his
people :
"Methought I stood in a huge auction-room, where from the bustle and the anxious
faces, I concluded that a sale of an important character was about to take place.
When the hour for the sale arrived, the commotion had grown into a boisterous
turmoil, and from where I stood alone I had an opportunity to study the appear-
ance and the actions of all the parties. I noticed that there were two auctioneers,
each with something to sell, and that around each auctioneer was collected two
parties, hostile to each other. The one faction frequently took the auctioneer
behind the door, and solicited him to sell to them there, but before he could decide
the other party would break in upon the first, and a general hubbub would follow.
Sometimes when the disputants worried the auctioneer I could hear him cry out,
' The highest bidder takes the lot.' One of the auctioneers was a l.-trge-sized man,
probably about thirty-five years old. His eyes were a whitish sort of blue and his
hair and whiskers were red. He had a ticket in his hand and upon it was writ
254 TUE ADMINISTRATION OF LORD LORNE.
No fewer tlian five provincial guMeral elections were held
during this year, and the politicians kept the people in a state
of perpetual excitement. In Quebec the strife between the
Rouges and the Bleus was cliaracteristically bitter, and the oc-
casion evoked most of the conHrn)ed and latent oratory in the
province. Mr. Chapleau, a statesman whom the writer regards as
a creilit to our political circles, during the provincial "campaign"
delivered an address to the electors of the Province of Quebec,
what he had to sell. I Raw the words— in capitals. They were, ' The Orange
Vote.' Looking out Jjeyond the confincH of the auction- room I waw a band of
large-statured men. They were hemmed together in a flock, and had several
banners and gonfah)n8 flying over tlieir heads, upon which I read such legends as
these; 'Manhood's Rights,' ' Freedom of the Francliise,' 'Annihilation of the
Pope," and sundry others. This noble band, I learnt from an attendant who passed
me, was waiting to be ' knocked down ' to the ' best bidder.' I also learned that
the price went into the pocket of the auctioneer, and that the drove of men outside
had nothing to say about the sale. At length the red-haired auctioneer went upon
the platform and said : ' Now, gentlemen, here's your chance— the orange vote
offered for sale. Capital thing as the elections are coming on. Whoever gets it is sure
to win every tim... Kv>w much am I oflF ered for it ? ' Then began the most extraord-
inary bidding I had ever seen ; something I could liken to nothing unless the ordinary
picture of three or four hungry dogs trying to get possession of a small bone. One
of the chief bi^lders there was a colossal man whose feet rested upon the earth and
whose head was beyond the clouds. He had glasses upon his eyes and the sem-
blance of a lofty purity in his face. He had the ten commandments and divers
mottoes about political purity, the freedom of the franchise, and honourable dealing
pasted upon his back. Under his coat I saw the edge of a dagger glisten, and I was
told that he, too, had stabbed his Caesar in his day. He bid several times in a
mysterious manner and offered several mysterious ' considerations ' for the ' vote; '
but it was not knocked down to him. Then I saw another anxious bidder. He
was a stubby, pursy, sort of a little man with spectacles also on, and a very long
upper lip. He was preaching a loud sermon about ])urity in politics, and between
the passages would turn around and offer a bribe to the red-haired auctioneer for
the ' vote. ' But .as he did not offer enough on either bid the auctioneer cried out.
' Is this all I'm offered for the orange vote?— mind gentlemen it isn't every day
you can get a whole orange vote to buy. Once more— How much am I offered for
it ? ' Then I saw a sly old man, with a queer grin up(m his face advance and
' catch the speaker's eye,' a*; the same time that he performed a sort of ' dumb
show,' The old man had curly locks and his face was ridiculously like one of
Punch's cartoons of Lord Beaconsfield. A juvenile looking politician, whose face
seemed to indicate little of vice or virtue sidled up to the cartoon de Disraeli and
EVENTS, rOLiriCAL AND S0CIAIj—1S82. 255
from which I take the followinfj passage: "Our position as a
nation on the American contin(!nt is ;it this moment the ad-
miration of tlie old countries of Europe, as it is tlie envy of (jur
neighboms, wlio, though strouger and richer than we, are less
happy in respect to political institutions. The constitution
which we enjoy gives us equal protection ; it solves without
violence as without arhitrarinoss whatever political compli-
cations may arise. It assures justice, entirely impartial and
taking the uue from the latter mode a Higti to the auctioneer ; wliereupun the
latter cried out, ' Third and lost time '—and, rising his grand ma«ter'H truncheon,
Hhouted out— ' Sold to Mr. Meredith.' At thin moment a deputy officer from
the tiock of Orangemen poked hiii head into the room UHking, ' Have we been
Hold yet?' and on being t(dd ' yes,' enquired to whom. On receiving his reply he
went away hurrahing for Mr. Meredith and Britisli freedom.
" The sale had no Kooner ended here than turning my eyes I saw another large
-drove of people, also outside the limits of the auction-room, and refieml)ling a fiock
of sheep. Over their pen I saw a sign-board and on it the words, ' The Irish vote
for sale.' Every now and again one of the creatures in the pen wonld get outside
the railing ; but there was a huge, burly-looking Irishman Hiere with a bundle of
inilamatorj' papers under one arm, and a (.ike in his hand ; and with the latter
he would prod the refractory person back again into the i)ound. I heard him say
in a loud voice, ' I may tell yez agin that I am here executin' his grace's orders for
the good ov the Church. Remind>er thin where j'ez come from. Down with orange
tyranny — vote for a government that'll give yez fair play. In to-day's issue of my
paper you will see what is best for yez.' Then I turned my eyes to the auction
platform, and had not to wait more than h.ilf a minute when I saw a, high func-
tionary, ' preceded by acolytes ' mounting the auction stand. He was a Hibernian .
He had a court suit upon liim — ' the first worn in the last 200 years ' — and on his
legs were silk stockings of a purple hue. His right hand was bound up in floFsy
silk swathings, and he would let no one come near it ; ' for,' he said, ' with that
poor hand did I shake the hand of royalty, and till the pr'ncely essence shall have
faded from my palm, it shall not touch ruder flesh." Then before beginn-
ing his work he asked a benediction in Latin words with Irish ({uaintities. And
taking the ' shepherd's crook ' in his left hand he announced that it was his intin-
tion to 'sell the Irish Roman Catholic vote,' without reservation to the best bidder.
* The last time I sold this vote' said he, ' I knocked it down to my frind here (the
Disraeli cartoon), bekase he gave me a good price for it. Now, however, the case
is an altered one ; and the same stake yt not at issue, so I shall follow the honour-
able custom -"sic erit in i)rincipio, nunc, et semper et in siBcula sseculorum" — of
selling to him who gives me the best remuneration.' Then an acolyte produced a
huge list, and the dignitary in silk said, ' The votes I shall sell are on a roll.
266 77/ K A I) M IN IS TliA TION OF LORD L ORNK.
rc.s}ie(!to<l, ' becauso our ina<,'l,strato.s being iininovablo are in<li-
pendcnt.' It gives us tbe {a) greatest meanare of individual
and public I'lbcrtii. (h) Our commercial freedom in without
limit, in fact our status is colonial only in the sense
that we enjoy the benefit of Englaiul's lofty })rotec-
orate, and entertain the most hearty loyalty towards our
sovereign ; and in our (r) (jreat work of (/radu(d emancipation,
we are sure to find ourselves in agreement with the generous
sentiments of the British nation. To make nations of her col-
onies is a mission to satisfy all the pride of (Jreat Britain.
Let us, tlien, be satisfied with our lot as we have the right to
be proud of it, without hastening or forcing a movement which
the natural march of events will further more surely and more
efficaciously than the efforts of dreamers who forgot their pro-
per task for (d) a labour which belongs to their successors.
There'H Jimmy Doyle, Paddy O'llafiferty, Con C!regan, Tim Dooly' — and was
proceeding to rattle off the rcHt of the \Ut of name.s of those in the pound, when the
little C'romwellian gentleman with the ui>per lip Kaid, ' We won't trouble your
grace with the list ; I know what'a there.' ' Then how much am I offered for the
lot?'— and he glanced towards the pen — 'give me an offer.' And forthwith the
little Cromwelliau man conveyed a paper into the left hand of the auctioneer, which
the latter read. Then he rose the ' crook ' aloft and said, ' once, twice, third and
last time ; ' when there was a sudden rush like unto the animals at the Zoo, when
a jnece of flesh is thrown through the bars ; and three honourable Irishmen, lately
made honorable, the big,i)orky pound-keeper,the young politician with the expresion-
less face, the old man who is the parody on Disraeli, all cried out with one voice,
' For God's sake, stop, your grace,' but down came the crook and ' sold ' said the
archbishop— 'to Mr. Mowat.' A scene of the most indescribable confusion then
followed and one of the Irishmen (' honourable ') ran and whispered some fierce
words in the auctioneer's ear. Then I saw the crook go up again and heard the
auctioneer cry out, ' Silence, gintlemin, I sold hastily. Others have something to
say in this sale as well as I, who am only a poor bishop.' The sale was postponed.
. . . . While the factions in the auction-room yelled and wrangled, I went
out by the impounded Irishmen who asked mo as I passed, ' Do you know Mister
if they have sould us yet ? ' I said ' No,' and passed out of the place, whereupon
I awoke."
EVENTS, POLITICAL ANV SOCIAL— ISS?. 367
We have iiicrensed more in a Imlf century tliaii iiiiuiy other
nations (hiiin<^ ten jjfonorationa. Wo owe this position, atul
the astonishinj^ rapidity witli which we have obtained it, in
the first place to the vitality of the races of which our popu-
lation is composed, and after that to tlie sagacity of the states-
men who liave directed our political destinies ; and above all
let us not forget, to that spirit of faith, to that sentiment of
dignity, in which lies the true public spirit of nations tliat
are destined to live and become great."
The writer's respect for M. Cliapleau, however, is not founded
upon utterances so extraordinary as the above. That gentle-
maji declares that we have (a) " the greatest measure of indivi-
dual and public liberty," and that (6) "our commercial freedom
is without limit.'' Utterance (c) however, reveals a " great
work of gradual emancipation," an<l after (d) we are told of a
" labour which belongs to our successors." Now, in the name
of that quality that men call common sense, how comes it if we
have the greatest measure of individual and public liberty, and
commercial freedom without limit that there still remains to
be effected " a great work of emancipation ? " What is this
work of emancipation ? If such work exists, it then follows
that there is soniethimj to emancipate. But Mr. Chaplcauhad
already said there was nothing ; that we had unlimited com-
mercial, individual, and public freedom. Surely he does not
desire to see us freed from a condition of such political bliss.
Yet such seems to be his design, for he deliberately assures us
that the emancipation from this perfect state is " a labour
which belongs to our successors ! " I have not seen the extract
in the original French, but the translation I have reason to
268 rUK ADMINISTRATION OF LORD LORNE.
bolievo i.s accuiato. Thu pa-sHaj^'o, tlioroforo, an tho reader can
judyo for hiniNolf, is simply HHtoundiiig.
This was what was known in Canada as tho year of " hoonis "
and " paper towns." No fewer than two hundred colonization
companies obtained grants of land, and speculators, some
wealthy and others penniless, hut all filled with tho conviction
that 1/hey could make astonishing fortunes, swarmetl over tho
country. The North-West was full of persons who accom-
panied the railway-locating parties, and, upon a route being
chosen, these at once marked down upon their charts the points
along the lino where would u[)-spring towns and stations.
The spot so designated was at once purchased, and the proprie-
tors retraced their steps to Winnipeg, Toronto, and tho lead-
ing Canadian cities ; and by tho mouth of an auctioneer in tho
public marts they proclaimed tho glorious probabilities of the
paper town, declaring that the land which they now offered for
a hundred dollars per lot — land for which they had just paid a
dollar and a half an acre — would, in the very near future, be
worth fifty doUaJs a foot. And tho speculators turned to
the excited listeners, and fairly inflamed them by such lan-
guage aa this : " Look at Toronto. Probably fifty years ago
some one, who owned lots in this very city, which lots are now
worth a thousand dollars, could not then sell them for twenty
dollars. A chance like this offers only once in a man's life.
Here, take the chart and look at it ; you can just see what
this town, of which you will be part proprietor, is likely to
be. Nobody would miss such an opportunity as this to make
thousands. And every man who had fifty dollai-s ' put it in
land.' Thus the boom proceeded. Young men and old men
EVENTS, roiJTWAL AND SOCIAL-lHHa, 259
flockcil away from lionioly, honest c'allln;^8 to speculate in laiuls,
and some sold tlicir farms and invested what they olttained
for it in Maiiitoha lots for spccidation. But even the boom
in the end liad reached its zenith — and then, "what a fall
was there, my countiymon." Several (jf the towns, lots in
"which aie held to this day by hundreds of soun^l. but no
longer silly, men, were never born ; for the ( aiuidian I'acific
railway company did not build its line according to the chart
of the speculator, or the expectations of the deluded crea-
tures in the auction rooms, but fre(iuentl3' located its road
twenty miles away from the paper London or the parchmcint
New York, whose building lots " in three years " to use the
words of the prophetic auctioneer, would bo worth " fifty dol-
lars a foot ! " Yea, scores of such cities are there scattered over
our proud North-West heritage, and praiiie chickens reck not
that they feed and sleep on a lot for which some wise Winnipeg
man, or astute Torontonian, had i)aid his last five hundred dol-
lars. Some of the newspaper writers and Reform politicians,
who were themselves as deeply concerned in the land gambling
as their neighbours, decried the government for handing over
the public domain to speculators ; but the expedient, as at first
conceived, was a wise one. It was the intention to utilize the
companies as colonization agencies, and as such many of them
performed vast services in bringing out emigrants and settling
them upon the prairies. No one could have surmised, the
opposition critics themselves did not predict, that the oppor
tunity to form such companies would be so seized upon as to
turn half a continent into a gambling table. As has been said,
hundreds of persons who did not own sixpence joined coloniz-
260 THE ADMINISTRATION OF LORD LORNE.
atioii coni[)anies and " subscribed stock " with tbe liope of being
able to sell out their shares when the land began to " boom,"
for twenty, perhaps a hundred, per cent, advance on the nom-
inal first-purchase price. When the climax of demoralization
had been reached, and scores of preachers of the Gospel had
been lured " into the land " among their more sinful brethren,
government, to its credit, suddenly interposed its hand. An
order-in-council decreed that companies which could not com-
ply with the payment conditions by the 28th of B^ebruary,
1883, would incur peremptory forfeiture of their grants. The
execution of the order had much such an effect upon the capi-
talless organizations as has a bitter frost that comes suddenly
in the midst of the fly season. The greater numb3r of the
two hundred companies were laid low, and many a gilded
aereal castle came toppling to the ground. Many a fool too,
like Whang the Miller, returned from the ruin of his hopes
cursing his folly, and resolved thenceforth to respect the maxim
that the correct way, and, in the long run, the surest way, to
make money, is to earn it.
In the spring of this year the incoherent and vaguely-con-
scious sentiment that had for some time been yearning for a
" Third Party " in our politics found expression through Mr.
W. B. McMurrich, then mayor of Toronto. Six months after-
wards a meeting of third-party ists was forced, and in the early
stages of the i)roceedings, Mr. McMurrich, who was chosen pre-
sident, made the fatal choice of styling the association " The
National Liberal Union." In his inaugural address, he said
that there were "many men on both sides of politics, as at pre-
sent constituted, who would gladly throw aside the old party
EVENTS, POLITICAL AND SOCIAL— 1SS2. 261
prejudices and grooves of action if they could find themselves
given the opportunity of standing upon a more reasonable and
patriotic platform, where all could unite, freed from the recollec-
tions of bygone fierce political contests." It was .athor, ;is has
just been observed, unfortunate for the scheme, and not an em-
phatic proof of Mr. McMurrich's tact, to adopt the name " Lib-
eral Union " if it was desired to bring the Tory malcontents into
the ranks of the new party. Mr. McMurrich was an admirable
chief magistrate, and he could successfully woo the a[)probation
of men whose eyes were bent, above all other thingSj ui)on the
afiairs of a city ; but it requires marrow and a rugged indivi-
duality to lay successfully the foundation.^ of a cause so momen-
tous as this with which the mayor cl Toronto was concerned.
None of the leaders of great reforms had w^eak mouths, or any
touch of femininity in their voices ; but they have been, as a
rule, the embodiment of force. Supposing a strong man, who
had eaten nothing for a day, were to apply to Mr. McMurrich
for food, and that gentlemen had kindly taken him by the arn.
into his kitchen, and there with language exproGsive of the
deepest commiseration ordered a cupful of water gruel, so
thin that the cooked grains were suspended in the liquid in
about the same proportion of density as the stars througli
space, his donation would have borne a fair resemblance to
the programme* which that gentleman drew up as the chart
* 1. " The advocacy and promotion of all Canadian interests, and tlie mainten-
ance of all established industries ;
2. "The right to negotiate our own commercial treaties ;
3. " The maintenance of an election law, pure, stringent, and uniform ;
4. " The readjustment of the franchise, and the establishment of a method of re-
presentation by which a more correct expression of the political convictions of elec-
tors may be obtained ;
262 THE ADMINISTRATION OF LORD LORNE.
of the Third Party. Article I. woultl not be worth referring
to, but that it ends with a provision for the " maintenance of
all established industries." This, if it has any significance,
means a perpetuation of the national policy. While the writer
is one of the converts to national policy, inasfar as it is
made tributary to the estahlishment of domestic enterprises,^
he trusts that no Canadian government will ever consider it to
be its duty to maintaui an industry which it has created after
sufficient time has been allotted to it to obtain a footing
Article IT. is good, though it was not original ; and as the
end it seeks has b^en approved of elsewhere in these pages,
it is not necessary to offer additional comment. III. IV. V.
are of that essentially harmless class of things tha*". neither
makes one well nor gives him a pain in the stomach ; VI.
which provides for harmonizing the senate with the spirit of
representative government is a plagiarized absurdity. Then
,5. " The preservation inviolate of Provincial rights, as guaranteed by the Act of
Confederation ;
6. "A reformation of the Senate so as to bring it into harmony with the princi-
ples of representative institutions ;
7. " Tlie upholding of the independence of Parliament, having a due rejjard to its
responsibility to the people, and the true principles of representative government ;
8. "A determined hostility to the creation by legislative enactments of railway
or land monopolies ;
9. " The promotion of a system of emigration for the settlement of our public
lands and the development of our resources ; withholding Government aid in the im-
jwrtation of skilled artisans and cheap labour, with the determined object of pro-
tecting Canadian workmen against unnecessary and unfair competition ;
10. " That the principal positions in our military system be filled by officers
trained in Canada ;
11. ' ' lieduction of the cost of government, by the abolition of superfluous officers ;
and
12. *' The dissemination of a knowledge on all subjects tending to the promotion
of good government, and the fostering of a truly national sentiment in all matter*
pertaining to the well-being of the Dominion."
Ji VENTS, POLITICAL AND SOCIAL— 1883. 203
follow VII. VIII. and IX., proposals, as the reader can see by-
turning his eye upon the proper foot note, which will not set the
Dominion on fire ; but when we coine to X. we marvel that this
chief magistrate of Toronto did not insert another article
making it incumbent on Canadians to eat Canadian potatoes
after they had grown. Not a few Canadians, if the writer is
not mistaken, occupy important positions in our military ser-
vice ; but it would be a most desirable and expedient state of
affairs if when a foraging party crossed our line it turned out
that the Canadian born officer in a " principal position," had
let his sword get astray, and that the horse which was to lead
him to battle was off with a grist to the mill. No ; let those
who have the instinct of capacity for discussing and arranging
questions of this sort deal with them. A third party, however
difficult of creation, may yet be possible — as Methodism .^rew
up between the churches of England and Rome — but Mr. Mc-
Murrich has made the project, so far as it lay within his power
to make it, an absurdity and a laughing stock.
On the 13th of September, the Liberal-Conservt.tives sent a
delegation of their foremost politicians to Shaftesbury ha^ to
take measures for organizing their forces for the coming pro-
vincial election contest in Ontario. There were present besides
other conspicuous public men, Sir John Macdonald, Sir Leonard
Tilley and the honourable Mackenzie Bowell. It might seem
to most thoughtful and unbiassed persons that these three gen-
tlemen could have found enough legitimate employment in
their respective offices at the capital, without coming to Ontario
to enter a scuffle in which they had no justifiable or lawful
concern. While the writer cannot bestow any marked ad-
264 THE ADMINISTRATION OF LORD LORNE.
miration upon much that is in Mr. Mowat's public record, and
while he believes that the party led by that honourable gen-
tleman have pretty constantly kept their wheels in the rut,
he nevertheless is firmly convinced that for the opposing party
to obtain power in Ontario would be, under the present cir-
cumstances, a political misfortune — a consummation as unde-
sirable as that the Grits should occupy the treasury benches at
Ottawa. The professional politicians gathering from all points
of the political compass, to discuss, as all these publicists did in
Shaftesbury hall, tiie purest and most desirable methods of gov-
ernment, is a sight that must evoke the admiration of all guile-
less men ; but others must be excused if the spectacle remind
them of a number of condors winging their way from every
corner of the sky to watch a traveller on a dizzy path * or to
hold a feast on a carcase in the valley. The result of the elec-
tions for both class of representatives in Ontario shows that the
people share the same wish as the writer, to maintain Sir John
Macdonald's party at Ottawa, and Mr. Mowat's at Toronto : for
twice have they crossed the allegiance-line of national policy
to emphasise this desire. It sounded like noticing but brazen
mockery for the Ottawa politicians and their associates who
have no less — if not more — than their opponents, made politics
the Plunder Science to pass the following resolution as a plat-
form for themselves, and an indictment of their opponents: —
* It is related by Westerners that as soon as the traveller and his mule get on
dangerous ground, the condor, hitherto sitting in a hea,p on his ledge, stretches out
his neck ; and soars off into the sky, wherefrom, with wings motionless, he peers
with phenomenally keen eye down upon the traveller. From his far off eyrie he
watches till the dangerous pass has been left behind, and then he wings his way to
overlook some other route of travell or hies back folding his wings upon his moun-
tain-walL -. — . , — — ———
EVENTS, POLITICAL AND S0CIAL-1S82. 205
" We condemn," said this precious piece of etfronteiy, " the
Ontario government, for the expenditure of the public money
without useful or adequate result, and too often with political
objects only;" (This, the reader must remember, was not in-
tended for irony either. No, these men were political saints,
who never expended money, not to say "too often," for "political
objects only," rebuking opposing sinners.) " persistent attacks on
the power of the municipalities; the manipulaiion of all branches
of the public service for the purpose of securing political sup-
port;" (It is well known to all persons now alive in this coun-
try that the men who framed this latter clause had never
manipulated any " branch of the public service for the purpose
of securing political support.") " attempts to sow the seeds of
dissension and distrust between the several provinces of the
Dominion ; " ( Had the " platform " contained a few more
" planks " like this latter one, it would have escaped the charge
of being mere hollowness and effrontery) " an ill-concealed de-
sire to procure the disintegration of the federal union ; and
their factious eiforts to thwart the well understood will and
determination ot the people to foster and develop the various
industries of the Dominion." This redundant deception has
only been quoted and referred to that the writer may have
another opportunity of entering his protest against the med-
dling of federal parties with the domestic concerns of each pro-
vince. It is not by the disallowance of provincial acts by the
central parliament that provincial autonomy will be destroyed,
if it is ever destroyed, but by the absorbtion of the party
interests and methv^ds of the smaller parliament by the greater,
Q
266 THE ADMINISTRATION OF LORD LORNE.
and the establishment of a clean-cut party line extending from
the senate to the county council.
During the early autuinn the booksellers through Ontario
■*' took more cash over the counter " than for man}' a season be-
fore, and this lucky state of aliairs for the said booksellers was
•due to a phenomenal sale of the poem " Marmion," occasioned
by the zeal of an interested public in making search for
pruriency in that excellent story, " Marmion," it appears, had
been prescribed as a text-book in the English literature course
for the high schools and collegiate institutes of the province,
and the order having been published to that effect by the office
of education, certain priests and laymen of the Roman catholic
communion asked his grace archbishop Lynch "if 'Marmion'
was a proper text-book for the children of his grace's schools?"
for although the Roman catholics in Ontario have a virtually
separate system of education, some of their institutions of
learning; are affiliated with the "godless" establishments. The
heretical schools, without breaking the thread of this " Mar-
mion " story, have been conspicuous for the conference of a
narrower range of equipment than that endowed by tiieir
ecclesiastically -directed rivals : their pupils, for example, gradu-
ate without any special knowledge in dynamite. They have
not godless schools, so far as the writer knows, in Biddulph.
But revenons cl nos moutons. The archbishop seated himself
in his study chair, cut leaf after leaf of his new " Marmion-"
book, looked disapproval here, exclaimed it there, knitted his
eyebrows at the general current of the tale ; but suddenly his
eyes opened, and the mitre began to writhe on his head. It
had come to pass that he reached that portion of the nar-
EVENTS, POLITICAL AND SOCIAL— 1882. 267
rative wherein Scott relates certain characteristics cf Friar
John, and of the ditHculty that arose between the monk and
" ohl Bughtrig." Tiie following was the most aggrieving and
pernicious passage :
" Old Bughtrig found him with his wife,
And John, an enemy to strife,
Sans frock and hood, fled for his life."
His grace's chief objection to the poem was that it traduced
the cliaracter of monks and nuns ; but was there never in the
history of the church a Constance or a Friar John ? Have the
clergy and religious always been without reproach ? Why, there
is somewhere, if the writer is not mistaken, a dim tradition
respecting " Abelard and Heloise " ; concerning a certain pope
and an Erasmus who " laid the egg that Luther hatched." And
writing the name of the latter wicked man, the question is
suggested, Was he not once a friar, and was his wife, Catherine,
not once a nun? W^hile the cloister has been justly the ad-
miration of the world for its purity and its unnatural morality,
yet have not scores of its members in ancient as well as in
modern times, scandalized the mother church ? If all this is
true- -and it is undeniable — how could the bishop find himself
able to characterize Scott's poem as libellous upon the church,
as bigoted and prurient ? Yet, though exception can be taken
to the tone of his gi-ace's denunciations, it cannot be denied
that the poem is a highly objectionable classic to put into the
hands of Eoman catholic students, and that the refusal to ac-
cept it was fully justified. The archbishop, very properly, in-
formed the office of education that the book could not be
received in his schools, and the minister, seeing that the ground
2G8 THE ADMINISTRATION OF LORD LORNE.
taken was defenHible, published an order suspending its further
use. Thus far, no one knew at whose instance the book was
withdrawn ; and the Mall, in order to make capital against the
Ontario government, took the extremely imprudent step of de-
nouncing the minister of education for having withdrawn the
work, and claiming that " Marmion" was not objectionable to
Roman catholics. This action, which was destined to tell
against Mr. Meredith's party at the polls, forced the archbishop
to declare that the book was objectionable, and that he had re-
quested its withdrawal. Then a direct issue arose between the
Mail and the archbishop, and bishops, priests and laymen were
dragged into the controversy, the while Sir Walter Scott, in
the words of Mr. Goldwin Smith, was revolved upon the wheel,
" piteously dripping with the muddy stream." The Globe and
its party were delighted to have an opportunity to champion his
grace ; and as has been said, on the 18th of October Mr. Mowat
and other Jldei defensores were remembered. Nearly all the
prominent pens, ecclesiastical and profane, in the province en-
tered the discussion, and the morality of Sir Walter Scott,,
personally and as a wniter, was freely discussed. Some block-
head set himself out, in an article which appeared in the Globe,
to belittle Scott's reputation, and scores of others, signing
themselves "Scotia," "Scotchman," et cetera, et cetera, but whose
Grit ears waved through the types, came forward to prove that
Scott was prurient and fond of unsavoury stories, that he had
no sympathy with Scottish sentiment, that he was a high
churchman and a Tory, and touched the national character
only to belittle it ; but Mr. Goldwin Smith came forward and
said, using the phrase of Johnson, that any one who found im-
EVENTS, POLITICAL AND S0CIAL-IS82. 209
morality in Scott must be himself hij^'lily combustible, and that
the work of the traduced poet and novelist was as " pure as tlie
burn that runs down a heathery hillside." The upshot of the
controversy was that " Marmion " was restored to the list, but
Cloldsniith's " Traveller" was prescribed as an alternative work
of study. It will appear to those who think intelligently about
this (piestion that for the most part the matter in the text
oftensive to Roman catholics nmst, from its nature, also have
been unfit for the ears of protestant children. A girl of six-
teen, the writer takes it, would be singularly out of place in a
class to which the teacher found it necessary to explain what
Scott meant by the line,
" For monarchs seldom sigh in vain."
Few lengthy English poems are capable of study in an ad-
vanced class of mixed sexes without expurgation ; and though
we have no more morally healthful writer than Sir Walter
Scott, certain passages in " Marmion " should have been eiimi-
nated before the poem was set as a text-book.
During the year, as has been noted, there was widespread
political activity, and the people believed that fie politicians
were striving to do their best for the country. In Nova Scotia,
as the general election drew neai", the honourable S. H. Holmes,
Q. C, resigned the premiership, and the lieutenant-governor
called upon the honourable J. S. D. Thompson to take the
vacant place.* In New Brunswick, with her few acres of tim-
* The following were the members of Mr. Thompson's administration :— Hon.
J. S. D. Thompson, premier and attorney-general ; Hon. A. C. Jiell, provincial
secretary ; Hon. Samuel Creelm.tn, commisssoner of public works ; Hon. W. B,
Trooi), C. J. Townshend, without portfolio.
270 THE ADMINISTRATION OF LORD LORNB.
ber and crown lands, there was as mucl> afjitation when tlio tiniX)
of election drew near as there is in Kn<,dand when there is an
issue between niij^hty wars and a policy of peace. Sir Leonard
Tillcy having frecinently half intimated in his public utterances
that the time was not far when he would lay by the Imrness
of office, Mr. John J. Fraser, premier of the New Brunswick
government, conceived that the said discarded harness would,
in strong probability, fall to him, and resigning his office he
contested the constituency of York with Mr. John Pickard, a
good-hearted and therefore poi)ular gentlenum, who liad
neither the mental nor the physical equipment to make a speech ;
but who know nearly everybody in the county, owing to his.
long and successful career as a lumber merchant and general
trader. The ex-premier visited the farmers and told them that
he wanted them to send him to Ottawa; that he was in favour
of the Macdonald government because it had given us a national
policy which " developed home industries," but the people cared
as little about the said policy, and the political born " develop-
ment" as they did about his own weak, starch-and-watery self,
and they elected Pickard. On the ?5th of May the govern-
ment was reconstructed, and Mr. Daniel Hanington, Q. C,
was called to the leadership.* Mr. W. Wedderburn, one of the
most brilliant public men in Canada, resigned the provincial
secretaryship, and was appointed to a county court judgeship.
* The new cabinet stood as follows : — Hon. Daniel L. Hanington, premier,,
without portfolio ; Hon. Pierre A. I/andry, Q. C, provincial secretary; Hon.
George J. Colter, commissioner of public works ; Hon. Ezekiel McLeod, attorney-
general ; Hon. Michael Adams, surveyor-general; Hon. John Herbert Crawford,
solicitor general ; Hon. Robert Young, president of the council ; Hon. Robert
Marshall, Hon. William E. Perley, without portfolio.
EVENTS, rOLlTICAL AND SOCIAL- tSS2. 271
Tlie k't^Mslaturo wan dissolvctl on the 2')th of May and tlio elec-
tions took place on the 22n(l of June. The strugj^le was a noisy
and inulignitied sijuabble between those in ottice and those do-
siring to get in, and the adtuinistration came out of the con-
test with an uncertain following. The price of a New Bruns-
wick politician ranges from two or three thou.sand dollars down
to p"obably a hundred dollars ; and his rule of disposal is to go
to whoever gives liiiu the highest price. To settle this matter
here, let it be said that the legislature met in duo season, that
Mr. Blair upon the one side and Mr. Hanington upon the other
convened various j)rivate meetings at which both held out
divers forms of temptation to the " loose fish ;" that tho said
floating members pledged themselves in a measure to both
sides, but that owing to the superior system of maniiiulation
adopted by the leader of tho opposition, they went with the
latter and overthrew the ministry. Tidings of the atiair.s of
our distant sister on the Pacific coast reach us dimmed
by the distance, and we, in eastern Canada, have no more
interest in such concerns of that province as are not really in-
terlaced with our own, than we have in those of one of the
Australian colonies. On the 13th of June, the premier of Brit-
ish Columbia, Mr. George A. Walkom, attorney-general and
commissioner of lands and works, on obtaining the assurance
that he would be elevated to a judgeship, resigned his office and
was succeeded by Mr. Robert Bcaven, minister of finance and
agriculture, who, without any difficulty, formed an administra-
tion,* On the 2Gth of July a general election took place in
* Mr. Beaven's cabinet stood as follows : — Hon. Robert Beaven, chief commis-
sioner of lands and works, minister of finance and agricnlture, and president of
the executive council ; Hon. John A. Hett, attorney-general ; and Hon. Thomas
B. Humphreys, provincial secretary and minister of mines.
272 TIIK ADMIhUSTRATION OF LORD LORNE.
wliich thu udininistration was Hustained. On thu 2()tli of May
the little })rovinco of I'rinco Edward Island also found itsolf in
tlic tlnoos of a gonoral ch^ction.
Anionj; the ])ro^'ony of the year small space is occupiod by
the wonderful. On the 5tli of March a violent blizzard swept
over Manitoba, Ijringiiig terror to the hearts of the newly-set-
tled dwellers alonj^ the naked j)lains. The residences and out-
houses of a number of settlers were unroofed, and many cattle
perished in the suffocating drifts. At Meadowlea, about thirty
miles from Winnipeg, the house of Mr. John Taylor wns burnt
io the ground, and his wife and three daughters aged 21, 23,
and 27, exposed to the storm, perished before they could reach
shelter.
A decision, important because of its bearing upon certain con-
stitutional aspects of our polity, was given on the 22nd of June
hy the judicial committee of the imperial privy council, that
the Dominion government had the right to enact the law
known as the " Scott Act." Under that act it was made pos-
sible for those whe desired to prevent the sale of liquors by
taverns, to take the wish of the people by a vote given after
the manner adopted at the election of representatives ; but it
was contended by some that the Dominion act was ultra vires
since it travelled beyond the authority assigned to the general
parliament by the British North America act, in interfering
with local rights, which they affirmed were set aside by the
overi'iding law ; and they declared that the authority to create
such legislation rested in the local legislature. Some, indeed,
of those who denied that the federal parliament possessed the
power to pass such a law as the Scott act, declared that they
EVENTS, I'OLiTlCAL AND SOCIAL-188g. 273
would not, on ilio other hand, yo so far as to say that tlu) ri^dit
to do so hiy in tho provinciul legislature, but Relieved that pro-
bably within both th(5 authority resided ; or that it might really
have no existence. From tho "authoritative" lawyers, who
really were not authorities, the question was removed to tho
courts and there examined, not, the writer cannot help believ-
ing, according to the meaning, but to tho incidental phrasing,
of the act. It was made a definite issue between tho authority
of the general and tho local parliaments, and it was held that an
act by tho former, prescribing rules and limitations for muni-
cipal tratKc, was an unconstitutional usurpation of authority.
Yes, it is true that tho provincial legislature was permitted to
the province to give legislative expression to purely provincial
desires ; it was not suUered to lemain for the mere purpose of
crying out that it wius hurt when nobody had struck it, or for
the object of measuring its potency against apower of which it
is not, in kind more than in degree, an equal in any higher
sense than four, which is only a factor of twelve, is equal to
twelve. The Scott act did not make a law final to the end of
regulating municipal traffic ; it merely put the means into the
hands of the municipalities of being able to carry out the wishes
of a certain proportion of tho people within the municipality.
It matters little in practice, and it ought not to count for much
in sentiment, to the people of a given place, which parliament
grants them permission to take steps for giving supremacy to
their own will respecting the right of vendors in their neigh-
bourhood to sell whiskey or patent medicines ; but it does count
for much In practice that there is on the statute book in the
central capital only one statute dealing with one general ques-
274 THE ADMINISTRATION OF LORD LORNE.
tion, and that every province has not a different hiw. Once
more let this be repeated, for it is clear, and any lawj^er who
brushes away the legal cobwebs from his brain ought to be able
to see it : the Dominion parliament did not interfere with
domestic righ/ in its temperance legislation, for it did not make
any laiv upon the question ; it merely cleared the ground that
the municipalities in the province might regulate the sale of a
certain article. It was with the people to take advantage of
the act or not, as it chose ; and having done so, final legislation
was in the hands of the majority. Some availed themselves
of the opportunity ; some did not. The legislation, all men
can see, was well.
The act came into operation in Fredericton, New Brunswick,
but one Russell, who had continued to sell liquors in despite of
the law, and who was fined, appealed from the magistrate's de-
cision to the supreme court of New Brunswick. This court
after carefuFconsideration quashed the magistrate's conviction,
and decided that the Scott act was beyond the competence of
the federal parliament to create. The advocates of compulsory
abstinence took the case to the supreme court of Canada,
which declared that the act was constitutional. This did not
satisfy the advocates of the liquor traffic who pressed for fui^-
ther decision to tlie legal Ultima Thule of colonists, the judicial
Cf^mmittee of the imperial privy council, but that body, as al-
ready recorded, confirmed the decision of the supreme court
of Canada.
The most remarkable event which the 23rd of August
brouglit forth was the completion of the Canada pacific rail-
road to Pile of Bones, a place so-called in our North- West Ter-
EVENTS, POLITICAL AND SOCIAL— 1882. 275
ritorics. Pile of Bones was the rough-and-ready translation of
the Indian name ; but the latter, if not of iesthetic significance,
was euphonious as are most of the Indian appellations. His
lordship, the Marquis of Lome was, in common with the in-
habitants of this new-born city, hopelessly disgusted with Pile
of Bones, and named it Regina. Some wag, who was not a
fool, said that a monarchism under the name Regina, was so
far as its vitality and virtue in our new Canada went, aptly
an equivalent for a pile of bones. His Lordship should also
have wiped out Moose Jaw and called the place Rex.
Shortly before midnight on the 28th of August, a fire broke
out in tl^e provincial poor asylum, Halifax, in which wei'O'
herded about four hundred paupers. There was, as is usual in
all buildings containing masses of humanity, the smallest means
of egress that was practicable, so that the of pent-up mass sur-
rounded by flames and doorless walls thirty-one perished. On
the following day, according to the good and time-hallowed
custom, the newspapers declared that there should have been-
better protection against fire in the building, and enlarged
means of egress after the flames had laid hold ; but the roasted
victims were put in the ground and nothing more was said
about " precautions," " outlets," and so forth, till the next
crowded public building took tire, and another batch of per-
soj#were burnt alive ; when, it need not be said, the excellent
newspapers again raised their warning voices, and the poli-
ticians with their hands upon the wires put their heads up for
a moment and exclaimed, " That's so ; something ought to be
done." But something has not been done, and nothing is
likely to be done, for the said politicians are too busy with
"JIG THE ADMINISTRATION OF LORD LORNE.
their spoils and their intrigues. Nevertheless, there is open an
o])portunity for some humane public man to cause to be
enacted a law that will compel the proprietors or managers of
asylums, homes, churches, theatres, lecture or society-halls,
factories, hospitals, school- buildings, and all other places that
form the resort or the domicile of large numbers of persons,
to have the best attainable preventatives against the outbreak
of fire, the most effective expedients upon the spot to resist the
spread of flame, and above all to provide ample means of
egress — not two or three doors in one corner which may be the
very portion of the building on fire — as far as practicable from
all sides of the structure.
The death-roll of the year contains many conspicuous names.
On tht) 9th of December, the tidings reached Canada that on
that day Sir Hugh Allan had died at Edinburgh. Sir Hugh
was a conspicuous example of what persistent industry allied
to a sturdy business talent can accomplish. Sir Hugh lived
and worked for his business ; he was not lured away from his
chosen road by the butterflies that tempt so many into the
woods; he had no longing for public life, his politics being, as
Mr. Goldwin Smith put it, railways and steamboats. It is
extremely doubtful if as a politician, and standing upon the
topmost round of the ladder, he could have done as much for
his adopted country as he accomplished by choosing the otl»er
road. " Commencing " said a Canadian newspaper,* " on the
lowest round of the ladder, he ascended step by step till he
reached the highest rung, and could well felicitate himself on
the fact that his life was real, and his life was earnest." .„ :
* Montreal Herald.
EVENTS, rOLITlCAL AND SOCIAL— 1882. 27T
The Episcojml Church of Canada had severe cause to mourn
in the loss of the very reverend Henry James Grasett, dean
of Toronto, whose death occurred on the 29th of March. The
deceased was an able and widely-read theologian, a cultured,
clear and forceful preacher, and a man singularly zealous and
unselfish in the cause of his church. The remains were laid
in the cathedral of Toronto, in which a memorial window
has been erected by the congregation in remembrance of the
honoured dead.
The Roman Catholic communion, too, had just cause for
profound sorrow in the death of the right reverend Michu -,1
Hannon, archbishop of Halifax. The characteristics of the de-
ceased prelate were thus described in the Mail newspaper, by
a gentleman* who spoke from an intimate personal acquaint-
ance: "His cheerful disposition, his gracious hospitality, his
ready sympathy with every Vind of progress ; the kindness of
his heart, his fondness for young men, for books, for literature
— all combined to render him most agreeable to men of the
world."
What was once a vigorous, conspicuous and commanding
figure, in political as well as in religious life, disappears from
the scenes, in Toronto, on the 19 th of February. By a rugged
force of character, and an ambition that strove for distinction
in the public sphere as well as in the ministry of the Methodist
church of which he was the most conspicuous figure in the
country, this man was for many years a factor in Canadian
public life to which the historian must give an important place.
•Mr. Martin J. Griffin.
278 THE ADMINISTRATION OF LORD LORNE.
In these pages would not be the place, could the space be de-
voted, to record wherein the influence of Dr. Ryerson had been
good, and where it had been evil. He did much for the cause
of education by appearing on the scenes at a time when the
natural instincts of an educationist and .sturdy force of char-
acter were needed in the man who was to build up an efficient
school system ; yet, from all that the writer has been able to
gather from the records, it seems to him that on the whole the
country would have been as well off had this politician, divine
and educationist never set foot in it. His vanity was as con-
spicuous as his ambition ; he was the time-server of great
men, and ready to oppose any measure of popular justice for
the sake of furthering his own interests, or enjoying the so-
ciety and hospitalities of the governor-general ; and, unfor-
tunately, during many of the years that Ryerson was a
power in the land, there were with us viceroys who believed
that their duty in a colony was to curb the people, to resist
all " pernicious popular cries," to regard every political inno-
vation with suspicion, and to thwart all effort at an expansion
of popular liberty. In this Methodist preacher-politician the
governors found a zealous and a powerful servant, and many a
man who was carrying the bitter cross of agitation for popu-
lar justice cursed him from his heart. Representative govern-
ment has nothing for which to thank Dr. Ryerson, and per-
haps education has not a great deal. It will be many a
decade before the aroma of Metcalfe disappears from about
the tomb of this sturdy, ambitious and successful man.
CHAPTER VII.
EVENTS, rOLITlCAL AND SOCIAL — 1883.
WHEN the 8th of February arrived, the date fixed for
opening tlie last session of parliament in Lord Lome's
administration, the politicians from all parts of the countiy
had assembled at the capital and with these, or close-following
their heels, had also arrived flocks of men in quest of govern-
ment favours, lobbyists, representatives of comi)anies with
projects of qiu;stionable public propriety on hand, and divers
others which might aptly come under the classification of " log
rollers." There was the accustomed commotion and impecunious
anxiety amongst those at the capital who live for months in
expectancy of the addition to be made to their purses through
the advent of the session, with its accompanying train of
boarders and buyers. Every house in Ottawa, with the excep-
tion of Rideau Hall, and three or four others, the wag will tell
you, as the sessional millennium draws near relegates the deni-
zens of the mid-way flat to the windy garrets, tears the double
blanket in two, collects the cast-oti* clothing of the year with
which to make comfortable the sleeping berths of parents and
children, and holds the middle of the dwelling in tempting and
conspicuous readiness for " boarders."
--. This particular 8th of February was a gloomful day, but the
military instalment marched out to the braying of its band ;
279
280 THE ADMINISTRATION OF LORD LORNE.
the mediiX'val ceremony proceeded, and thunder came from
Nepean point that shook the lumber piles and the sawmills of
the city. It bein<,' the first session of parliament, according to
the Canadian custom, it was necessary to choose a new speaker,
and the prime minister rising in his place ad(hossed Mr. J. G.
Bourinot, clerk of the house, propcjsing for the chair Mr. George
Airy Kirkpatrick, and bestowing much graceful and unexag-
gerated eulogy upon the character of that gentleman. Mr.
Blake followed and reminded the house that, on a former occa-
sion, Sir John had expi-essed himself in favour of the English
practice, giving exact embodiment to hisviews in the declaration
that " after a Speaker had served well he should not be changed
capriciously at the beginning of each parliament." If the right
honotirable the prime minister liad not changed his view on
that question, then Mr. Blake was at a loss to understand why
the gentleman who had presided satisfactorily over the late
parliament should be passed over in favour of another. There
was no reply to this save the echo: Why? Mr. Mackenzie asked
Mr. Bourinot's pardon for causing any delay of the business on
hand, but he had, he said, one observation to make. He had
the highest personal regard for Mr. Kirkpatrick, and his rela-
tions with him as a member had always been satisfactory and
cordial. But the person chosen to preside over the deliberations
of two opposing bodies ought to be impartial ; and he regretted
that in trying to convince himself that Mr. Kirkpatrick would
be impartial, there arose a recollection of a time when a stranger
listening to a debate in the house of commons had ofiered
gross personal insult to an honourable member who was speak-
ing. Unfortunately the gentleman who was now proposed for
EVENTS, POLITICAL AND SCCIAL-lHii.i. 281
the speakor.sliip of this house, was one of those who, for reasons
tliat were but too plain, " did every thing but excuse " the
offender.
Mr. Kirk[)atriciv was then elected and conducted to his seat
by Sir John ^[acdonald and Sir Hector Langevin. Standing
upon the upper step of his place of eminence, in a few happy
sentences he returned thanks to the house, then putting on his
hat he seated himself ami took the reins.
There was much that was entertaining to those who fre-
cpiented the galleries, if there was not much that was of mo-
mentous public importanct!, said during the debate on the
address; and for Canadians who sec the country full of acri-
mony during the reign of the politicians at the hustings, it was
a relief and a pleasure to note the courteous and friendly tone
that pervaded most of the speeches. At the late election Mr.
Tupper, a son of Sir Charles Tupper, who is the political hitle
noir of Reformers not excluding Mr. Blake, had been chosen
for the house of commons, and as is customary with newly
elected members delivered his maiden speech on the address.
Referring to this member, Mr. Blake said, when his time came
to address the house : " And the honourable member for Pic-
tou, Mr. Tupper, will allow me to say that I rejoiced to welcome
in his advent to the house a man young in years, but who gives
promise of making his mark in parliament, and in the country
at some future day. We may not agree, we do not agree, in
his politics ; we may not agree with the distinguished person
whose name he bears, but it must, notwithstanding, be a
matter of unfeigned interest to observe the conjunction of the
two persons at one time in the same chamber. * * * *
R
282 TUE ADMINISTRATION OF LOUD LOIiNE.
The honourable gentleman, Mr. Speaker, as he proceeded ro-
uiinded me a little of the clirnati- tliat we hear of in some
charming countries. There Is enduring bahuy weather, but
we who belong to the oM country on the other side of the
A.tlantic weary of the perpetual sunshine and the pereiniial
blueness of the skies. There was no shadow in the picture, no
relief to the glare of brightness, of beauty, of glory, of magnifi-
cence with which for the past few hours we have been en-
chanted. It is my duty to present portions of the other side of
the picture, to complete the sky in which the honourable gentle-
man has left no clouds, and to say something which may rend-
er the climate, if not (juite so bright, a little more tolerable to
frail humanity like ours."
Mr. Blake is a dangerous opponent, for he sits ever on the
watch for a weakness in opposing argument, and his perception
of the methods of discussion is keen and far-reaching ; but of
subtle insight into character, of tact in manipulating men he
knows little better tlian nothing, and this is why, that, in his
wrestles with Sir John Macdonald, his almost uni({ue gifts as a
jjieaker, and his conuuandiiig ability as a statesman avail him
not, and he is uniforudy overthrown. Tact would not have
permitted the utterance of such a sentiment as that expressed
in the latter portion of the extract just made ; and the prime
minister was not slow to avail himself of the error. This is
what that udroit gladiator said in reply : " The honourable gen-
tleman has said that the prospect held out is too bright ; that
the sunshine is too strong. He is dazzled with excess of light. I
do not say that the honourable gentleman loves darkness rather
than light ; I do not wish to say .so, but he has complained
EVENTS, POLITICAL AND SOCIAL-ISSJ. 283
that there are no shadows. Well, Mr. Speaker, the shadows
may come by-and-bye. Wo have brilliant sunshine now, the
light of prosperl^/y shines over us; but politi(;al and financial
dilKculties are sure to come. The honourable gentleman's
rosthetic tastes will be satisfied to the fullest extent; for light
and shadow will then be properly mingled, and Rembrandt
will be infinitely more than Turner, in the picture. My hon-
ourable friend puts me much in'mind of Marryatt's sailor, who
after a visit of seven years to the West Indies, returned to
England. When his vship was approaching the land, and when
he felt the familiar sleet and storm, and saw the old-time
clouds, he put on his sou'-wester and pea-jacket, and said :
' This is something like weather; none of your damned blue
skies for me.' We will be satisfied however to bask in the
sunshine and leave the storm and the clouds to my honourable
friend."
t
But in everything that Mr. Blake said on the address, he
did not leave himself open to a rejoinder so sutftcient as this
quoted utterance of Sir John. It will be remembered that
theiu was brought over to St. John, New Brunswick, an
antique and soggy war corvette the Ckari/hdls, which was to
be turned into a training .school for such of the youth of our
country as had a dcsn-.. tu fight on the seas and lakes of Canada,
in a navy that was in the noon; that the said old war-.ship
was moored with appropriate trumpet-flourishes in her allotted
waters, that there was much offtcial writing and tying with
red-tape respecting her officers, and the range of the instruc-
tion and discipline that she wa'3 to impart ; that the members
of our government were profuse in their thanks and profound
964 TUE AVMINISTliATION OF LOUD LOIiHE.
in their foclini,' of oblif^ation to the Tniperial Government
for havin*,' Lfiven the vessel, but that everyone of our people
lauyhed at her; and that the sturdy, sullen, old hulk that hail
stood without flinehing a^'ainst tho tiro of opposing,' cannons,
fairly retreated before our universal ridicule, and took lierself
off to another port. So, in this address of which T am now
speaking, Mr. Blake very provokingly made conspicuous refer-
ence to the departed ship. He quoted from a speech made by
the member for Yanmska, who seems to have almost got out of
his skin with jubilation at the prospect of Nelsons and Trafal-
gars, which through the advent of the old corvette was in store
for Canada. This is what that unimpressionable and practical
gentleman had said : " This gift that the country accepts with
the greatest gratitude is destined to supply a want long felt in
the organization of the forces of the country. We are a mari-
time people, perhaps no country in the world possesses a more
extensive seaboard than ours ; and the interior is covered with
lakes aid rivers that constitute as it were vast inland seas.
Nevertheless we are wanting in marines. The training ship is
calculated to create this new calling, and our young men will
be able to defend tho country on the high seas with as much
skill ard valour as on the land." Reciting this and various
other utterances of a like wholesome and unvisionary tone re-
specting the benefits of ^ the vessel, Mr. Blake turned to the
house and asked : " But where is she now ? Why, sir you can-
not find her even in the speech from the throne. If no one else
will, let me be permitted to pay my tribute to the departed
Gharybdia." Like Melchisedec, who appears on the scenes of
sacred history, and disappears again so as to confound and
♦ -— --
EVENTS, POLITICAL AND SOCIAL— ISS.l. 288
fret tor all time scholars who sook for the luotivos of IiIh in-
comirj*^ or t)ut-goin;i^, the Charybdis came with little oxpluna-
tion, and went away with loss. But it was a pity thoy did
not keep her here that thoy might be able to lure away some
of our young men from agricultural pursuits, and sot them
to make war along the lakes in herring schooners.
For several sessions Mr. Charlton had endeavoured to ffet
through the hou.se a measure providing for the punishment of
certain ortences against chastity, and his measure, introduced
in 1882, declared that adultery should be a misdemeanour ; it
provided for the punishment of lewd cohabitation or behaviour ;
of anyone who inveigled or concealed a previously chaste wo-
man in a house of ill-fame ; it also provided a penalty for the
seduction of a pupil by a teacher, or of any other woman by
any person under promise of marriage, or the concealment for
improper ends, by a married man, of the fact that he was mar-
ried. The act endowed the female with the right of action for
such seduction. On the Gth of March, 1883, Mr. Charlton
again brought up his measure, and in introducing the same
justified his persistent interest by saying that "a blighted home
and a ruined life, are matters that require on the part of the
law some remedy against the person who perpetrates the
wrong." Some quiet discus.sion took place, and Sir John Mac-
donald very properly pointed out that it was necessary to
*' draw a line between what was a sin and what was a crime."
With regard to the efficacy of the proposed legislation, he said:
"I feel very strongly that there are vices which cannot be reached
by legislation." Much to the disappointment of Mr. Charlton,
the measure did not succeed ; and the teaching profession raised
960 THE ADMINISTRATION OF LORD LORNE.
an indignant voice that it sliould be singled out as a class
whose immorality had to be guarded against by special legisla-
tion. To most of those whoso opinion is worth much, it will
seem that if the morality of school teachers needed watching
because of their supposed facilities for the commission of evil,
it was equally as imperative that a legal hedge should be
set around the medical profession and preachers of the gospel.
The anti-teacher clause was not alone impertinent, but it was
utterly unstatesmanlike, and only worthy oithei- of a very excit-
able little woman, or of some ill-favoumd spinster who recalled
the fire and the persuasion she herself had to pass through to
preserve her continency. Even the petticoat statesmanship of
the originator of the measure should have been cunninj; enoufifh
to see that the number of women who desire to be "led astray,"
is not very far short of the number of the aggressive sex that
pursue seduction systematically, and that the legislation as
originally proposed was largely of the nature of a man-trap.
For the villain who, by promise of marriage, takes advantage of
the simple trust of a girl to rob her of her honour, and to wreck
her life, there is upon the statute book, I believe, no penalty
sufficiently •" evere ; but where there is no deception, and the
evil done is voluntarily committed with knowledge of the sin
and of its consequences before the world, to provide any other
punishment than the levy of a fine for illegitimate offspring, is
for the legislature to arrogate to itself a function that does not
. belong to it. There is now, and there was the proposed by Mr.
Charlton, legislation aflTecting other phases of oflTence against
chastity ; but so long as the morality of men and women,
whether married or single, is not sound, impure behaviour wilt
EVENTS, POLITICAL AND S0CIAL-18S3. 287
be carried on to the full limit of discretion ; and to endeavour
to cuitftil it by threats in the statute books, is about as effec-
tive as to pass a law declaring it to be unlawful for more than
two snow storm- <o come in March, or for the thermometer to
ever fall lower than fifteen degrees below zero. During the
session of lh84, the measure, shorn of its insult to teachers, and
in othei- respects altered for the better, was referred again te
a committee; but no one supposes that if it pass it will giv«
greater potency to the seventh commandment.
On the 29lh of March, Mr. Shakespeare the member for
British Columbia came forward again with a list of harrowing
grievances against the Chinese. From the s[)eech of that hon-
ourable but not impartial gentleman, I gather several state-
ments, which if true, would be sufficient to disgust permanentlj
all Canadians with the Monffolian. The Chinese emigrant
ship is a floating filth pen and an abomination among al?.
things tliat sail upon the deep ; she carries cargoes of front
four hundred to eight hundred Mongolians, stowed away like
cattle in her compartments ; and on reaching the land these
creatures are taken to the auction marts of Chinese dealers,
who put them uj) for sale and sell them to the highest-bidding
labour contractor. If Mr. Shakespeare is to be believed, the
Chinese firms do actually in this free, civilized and ChristiaR
country, put up for sale flocks of Mongolians numbering irort,
fifty to one hundred and fifty persons, as they would a drove
of cattle, and cry out as other auctioneers do, " How much am
I offered for the lot ? " ; if his statements are true, railway
bosses, white men, do actually come into the sale lOom and bid
briskly for the herd of human beings, and obtaining them leai
MS TUE ADMINISTRATION OF LORD LORNE.
the mute lloek off to their works as the Southoin phiiiters used
to do with tlieir sIuvoh. It is then assorted, as hq,s aheady
been recorded in these pages, that the MonguHan can live
and thrive if he be but given each day "a handful of rice,
some refuse pork and dessicated fish," which cost only a few
cents. Mr. Shakespeare's white constituents probably eat only
the sirloin of beef and the side of lamb, and so the honourable
gentleman is disgusted that the yellow immigrant should
eat the refuse of pork, and dessicated tish ; but in Eastern Can-
ada our labourers do not eat sirloin, and we tlirow aside no
meat, uncondemned by the health inspectoi', and call it refuse,
but eat the hog to its very toes. " A Chinaman can live like
a prince for twenty-five cents a day," says Mr. Shakespeare,
" whereas it takes a dollar per day for a white man." All
this argument is produced by the British Columbia member
to prove that the competition of Chinese labour is unfair to
the white man, since the former can live "like a prince" for
.wages upon which the latter would literally perish. But as
he who IS disposed to look fairly at this question might sur-
mise, there is another side to the story, and Mr. Shakespeare
— indiscreetly for his own cause — gives it to us. These people,
the illogical British Columbia politician tells us, are employed
iu the mines, on the railways, or in private houses, and " they
carry half the earnings of the country out with them." " Five
hundred Chinamen carried away no less than $500,000." Thus
we find Mr. Shakespeare telling in one breath that the Mongol-
ian works for a wage-rate upon which a Canadian workingman
would starve, and in the next that five hundred of these peojde
carried out of the country a thousand dollars a piece. If they
EVENTS, POLITICAL AND SOCIAL-ISS... 280
«at nothin<^ but flics this statement jijives proof that they must
have received a fair |)ric'e for their hibour; ami defeats the very
argument that it was intencU'd to strengthen. Mr. Shakes-
peare reveals himself as a thorough master of calumny. He
attiimed that the Chinese women are often sold for the pur-
poses of prostitution; that most of the wome i are harlots and,
without again being conscious of self-contradiction, instanc-^d
the case of a contingent of four hundred and fifty incoming
Mongolians having among them only three women. This last
declaration was made in order to prove that the Chinaman is
loose in Ids morals and a visitor of brothels ; though this was
sufficiently discredited by the statement almost immediately
preceding it that this very same Chinaman gathers together
much money in a miserly fashion and takes it out of the coun-
try, a rather surprising characteristic for a dissolute and pro-
fligate frequentei- of the bagnio. Mr. Gillmor, of Charlotte,
New Brunswick, was filled with manly and just anger as he
listened to the libellous speech of Mr. Shakespeare. " What
wrong is done," he asked, " by these men eating rice and sleep-
ing on boards ? AVhat crime is there in wearing cheap cloth-
ing ? ♦ * * The Chinese are disciples of Confucius ; and
they are not destitute of ability and inventive power. Long
before the Europeans they invented the mariner's compass and
the art of printing : they it was who fii-st compounded gun-
powder, and taught us the manufacture of silk and porcelain."
Touching the charaeoer of the women, he said " he did not
believe that these were sold to Chinese but to white people,
who were the base ones, if the story were true, to buy them for
purposes of prostitution. The house had been told that the
290 THE ADMINISTRATION OF LORD LORNE.
■Kr
)nf,'olian,s were under the tluimlt of the Cliine.se denlers In
Ciilifornin, and held tlieniselves in readiness, at the sound of
the gonj,', for any work of mischief allotted to them ; but when
the bell sounded its call and the Chinese hastened to China-
town, it was to form themselves in a body to resist the hood-
lums and rough-scuffs who were about to burn them out."
Much more that was'manly and unanswerable Mr. (Jillmor said,
after which the di.scu.ssion dropped, to be raised again outside
of the hou.se whenever the politiciims were hard up for " a cry."
A visitor with a familiar face in the commons was the ques-
tion of the boundarv of Ontario. In tlie year 187S, the gov-
ernments of the Dominion and Ontario, by mutual eon.sent, aj)-
pointed an arbitration of three gentlemen. Sir Francis Hincks,
Chief Justice Harrison, and Sir Edward Thornton, which was
authorized to collect evidence and declare the northern and
western boundary of the province of Ontario. After the col-
lection of much evidence, and a careful consideration of the
question, these gentlemen submitted their award ; and it was
the general opinion that the finding would be ratified by act of
parliament, and that the boundary declared by the arbitrators
would be the final line. But session after session passed, dur-
ing which the Reformers pressed upon the Conservative minis-
try the expediency of ratifying the award ; they showed that
grievous hardships were suffered by the inhabitants of the
debatable land, who knew not whether to look to Ontario or to
Manitoba for relief from municipal hardships ; for the building
of roads and bridges, the establishment of schools, and other
desirable things wifhin the functior of provincial government.
Ontario raised her voice, and besought the Dominion to bring
EVENTS, rOLlTICAL AND SOCIAL— ISS.t. 29£
down .a bill of nititicatlon, and passed throu^di her own hirrisla-
turo an act f,'iving otFect to the decision of the arhitration.
Sir John Macdonald, on behalf of the nuiiiMtry, refused to do-
so, and took the ground that the finding of t\\v arbitrators was
in no way binding upon the parliament, but that tlie duty of
tiiese gentlemen was rnthcr to declare a conventional line than
to give an authoritative decision upc^i a question that was a
matter of law ; that in advance of parliamentary sancti(^n, it
was not only highly inexpedient, but transcended the powers
of the government of the day to refer to arbitration the
question of the extent of the north-west territories acquired
by the Dominion by purchase from the Hudson's Bay Com-
pany ; that the duty of the government was to seek for a dis-
posal of the matter as a (luostion of law ; and that his govern-
ment was prepare<l to submit the question for decision to the
superior court of Canada, a tribunal whose very raison d'etre
was to deal with disputed inter-provincial questions ; or, this
proposal failing, to meet the wishes of his opponents by hand-
ing the case to the judicial committee of the imperial privy
council. The Reformers replied that this was only a contempti-
ble shift to evade ratification of a valid declaration made by a
competent tribunal, and they refused the first minister's
proposals. They declared that he knew very well that the
finding of the arbitrators was of more value than the " waste
paper" which he had declared it to be; but affirmed that
he could not dare to act according to his convictions, for
the Bleu party in pai'liament, jealous of the growth of On-
tario which was overshadowing their own province, would not
permit him to do so. And unfortunately a colour of vera--
•21»2 rUE ADMINISriUTION OF LOUD LORNE.
city was given to this charge by .sotiu' Bleu Fienclimaii who
nbout olection-timo went in u statt- of dungerouH enthusi-
nsm through his constituents and indiscreetly informed them
that himself and his colleagues gave their support to the gov-
•ernnienl only upon the condition that the demands of Ontario
should be denied to her. It is hard to believe that this
Frvinch-Canadinn was oidy raving; yet on the other hand it is
ditticult to give much ciedence to his utterance when we
remember that Sir John Mucdonald on the 2l8t of November
1881, visited Mr. Mowat, the premier of Ontario, in the latter's
•office, and there in presence of the minister of justice pro-
posed that " the government of the Dominion and that of On-
tario, should unite in soliciting the good otHees of some 'emin-
ent English law-functionary for the purpose of determining
th3 true boundary line";* and — meh proposal not being ac-
ceptable — to submit the question either to the supreme court
of Canada or to the judicial committee of the imperial privy
•council. Why have any more " submittings " of the question ?
asked the Reformers ; we have the declaration that we sought,
And it is as good, and as satisfying to us as any we can obtain
from the quarters that you now propose. Some dl Sir John's
followers, and not the most discreet and effective of them,
•sought to belittle the capacity of the arbitrators, and the man-
ner of their procedure, to reach a conclusion. Mr. J. B. Plumb,
for example, declared that it was evident from ths documents
that a legal boundary had not been obtained ; that the arbi-
trators on the first day made only a brief sitting, on the second
*Vide a despatch from the Secretary of State to ^he Lieutenant-Governor of
Ontario, Jan'y. 27th, 1882.
EVENTS, POLITICAL AND SOCIAL— ISS.I. 203
heard nv«:jninf'ntH, "nd on tho tliinl <,'avo their decision ; and
tiio priino minister pointed out that of thc^ three gentlemen on
the commission only one understood hiw. In this mnnner was
the question kicked idiout the house from session to sessiou
till 188.S, when to the relief of those who hail <,'jown disguatod
looking upon the S(|uahble, it was announced tliat tho pre-
miers of Manitoba and Ontario had reached a modus virendi,
and conjointly consented to tho proposal made l)y tin; federal
ministry to submit the ([uestion for decision to tho judicial
committee of the British privy council. There is no reason to
doubt that Mr. Mowat believed tho award was suHicient, and
that it was the duty of the central government to ratify it ;
but after he had ascertained the opinion that prevailed with the
central ministry, and became convinced that they would not
yield, it was his duty to accept the proposal of Sir John'Mac-
donald for a reference of the (piestion to a tribunal the validity
and justice of whose finding would go unchallenged. That
under the circumstances he did not do so proves that he could
not have been sorry that the Dominion government took the
cour.se which it did ; and looking upon him as one must low
unfortunately regard all our politicians, we are not sur^r: 'cd
that he was so rejoiced since it gave him the opportunity at
the hustings of posing as the champion of Ontario's rights, and
of characterizing his opponents as her despoilers. If the prompt
establishing of Ontario's boundary, with a view to the efficient
government, with its attendant advantages, of the debatable
land, had been Mr. Mowat's object, then on ascertaining that the
Dominion parliament would not ratify the award, his duty was
to have taken the next course that led to the sarod end He
•J94 THE ADMlNISTliATION OF LORD LOHNK.
could not havo bulieveil, and did not believe, that a finding by
our own suproujo court, or by the judicial committee of the
impiMial privy council would be less just to Ontario, or Mss
intt'lligontly arrived at, than that of the arbitrators which the
■Conservatives had refused to accept. Nevertheless, most fully
was ho justified in the means he at first adopted to secure the
3'atitication ; and the course of Sir John in refusing to ratify,
when the ])lan he has proposed must lead to a decision differ-
ing little from that which he has rejected, is in the phrase of
Mr. Mackenzie, " utterly inexplicable." Nobody believes that
there exists a lawful and discoverable boundary to the north
und west of Ontario any more than that there exists a legal
And navigable line to the north pole. The decision of the com-
mittee of the privy council will in a measure be dictated by
docutnentary evidence, but the actual line nmst be an arbitrary
<ireation ; and, since arbitrary, we are once more against the
wall which asks us, Why did they not accept the other arbitra-
tion \ This writer cannot answer why, and he knows of no
other who has, with even a remote degree of satisfaction to the
unwarped, done so. It is to settle just such questions as this
boundary disj)ute, to arbitrarily and finally close the missing
links of evidence, that arbitrations are resorted to, and since
such procedure is not new to Canada with the Geneva and San
Juan arbitrations in remembrance, it must remain a marvel for
all time why the decision of the Canadian commission was not
ratified. Surely nobody supposes that the legal personages of
the privy council are any more competent — while they un-
doubtedly are as competent — to investigate, and declare upon,
Ihe attainable evidence than were the gentlemen comprising
JCVKNTS, I'oUriCAL AND SOCIAL- tsa.l. 295
iho arbitration. As to tli« tiiidinj* being invalid becauso the
arbitrators bad not tbo authority of piirliaiucnt to proceed,
thori) is stu'oly nothing in tliat. Tiio executive is the potential
will of the pail lament, so long as the legislature rati ties that
will. It is better to have the authority of parliiunent tor all
important acts of administration not within the catalogue of
routine ; but did not the ministry sign Sir Charles Tapper's
contract witli the syndicate.a far more momentous undertaking,
without having obtained the sanction of parliament for that
specific act ? Why strain at the gnat an<l swallow the camel !
On the 23rd of May, as the last hours of the session drew near,
Sir John Macdonidd moved an address to his excellency the
governor-general, expressive of the admiration and good-will
of parliament for his lordshij), whose term of office liad nearly
expired. I'^nliko the time when an address of congratidation
to Lord Metcalfe was proposed in the Canailian house of com-
mons, and some honourable members, rising, declared that in-
stead of his excellency receiving honours, he should have
been called home, and tried for high crimes and misdemeanours,
the''e was no voice or breathing of dissent from the hearty
words of commendation ottered upon the way Lord Lome had
performed the trust assigned to him. After a few brief words
in both houses the address received the unanimous and cordial
yea, yea, of every member; after wliich it was presented to
his lordship, by Sir John Macdonald who was accompanied
by other members of the cabinet. On May 25th with genuine
sorrow at his heart the Mar(|uis of Lome drove over from
Rideau Hall to prorogue the parliament. As he stood before
the large throng of spectators assembled to witness the cere-
290 THE ADMrxrsr/lArioy OF LOHD LOUSE.
monioH, tlu> ctiiotinti so plain in liis fiico jijavc proof that tho
following' wonis in his Npcech cuino from his inner heart:
"The Moveranco of my otliciiii connexion with Ciiniula does not
It'sstn tho ties of allcction which will ever make mo doMiro to
Hcrve thin conntry." This was tho simple truth ; iiml already
has his lordship done mnch to prove it so. L(jnl Lorno did not
cany a honi'y jar with him when ho visited our people, hut ho
loved Cana<Ia, nor does separation from iis seem to have di-
minished liis atl'ection, or dampened his zeal for our progress.
On tho Hrst of June, Sir Charles Tupper, miiuster of rail-
ways and canals, was appointed Canadian hi^^di connnissioner
to tho couit of St. James, in the; stead of Sir Alexamler T.
Calt, whoso term had expired, and who had rendered liiraself
anything but pleasinjjf to certain mombors of the Canadian
government through Ins indiscreet and unwarranted utterances
upon a scheme for federating the empire, and lesser topics of an
untouchable nature. Sir Charles retained his portfolio as minis-
ter of the Canadian government ■ but to avoid breaking his liead
against the Act providing for tho independence of parliament,
it was arranged that he should not receive salary for the high
commissionership, but he did consent tr, accept a residence and
a certain sum for expenses. Political movements of very small
consequences sometimes give rise to a vast deal of perturbation
in our public breast, and the departure of Sir Charles for Eng-
land in the novel and hybrid character of minister and servant
of the government, provoked challenge for explanation from
every Reform newspaper in the country. But the curiosity,
not less than the " moral sense " of the politicians, who form
the " saving remnant " in our country, was aroused, and they
EVENTS, roiJTtCAL AND SOCIAL- tfiSA. W7
louknl toward ovory point in tho politicul compass for expla-
nation of tho iiiini.stor'8 (K'parturo. Ono extroniely keen-oyod
observer declared that in the duor which let Sir Charles out
there was rovotiKxl a lioot ; that French influcnjro* was too Htronj:r
for him, and that tho ahnornud " ucciiiinilation of ofHco.s," as
Sir John Miicdoimid has skilfully phrastMl it, was oidy resorted
to in order to got rid of an intulorahle i)rcHcnce. No sutHcicnt
explanation has ever hcon offered ; licform curiosity is still
hun<,'ry, and all who coni;orn themselves marvel why it was
necessary to send a politician of Sir Charles* calibre to tho
court of St. James to see that plouro-pnoumonia proved no bar
to tho landing of Canadian cattle ; or, why, if that duty re-illy
retpiired such a man no one was provided to fill the otHco
whirli had practically been made vacant. The surmise came
from a (juarter that tho writer neitlier remembers nor entirely
credits, that on tho appointment of Sir CJharles to London,
there returned to Canada a certain gentleman, obnoxious in
high political ([uarters, who would have had a strong claim on
tho vacated portfolio of tho minister of railways, and that it
was to thwart the pretensions of this person that the office
■door was kept shut after its occupant had gone out. Whether
this was the true explanation or not, if the matter is worth
consideration, this much becomes plain : there must have been
some other reason besides those given to induce the minister of
such an important office as that of railways and canals in Can-
* During the session of 18P4 Mr. ('hapleau rose in his place in the house of
commons and declared that the statements setting forth that diHsensions existed
hetween Sir Charles Tupper and his French colleagues, were utterly without
fo'T lation. Courtesy, of course, demanded the acceptance of the honourable gen-
tlemau's statement.
298 TUE ADMINISTRATION OF LORD LORNE.
add, to leave the country and accept, without apparent ohjeet
and any necessity, an unimportant incumbency in England. If
the hope of winning distinction in filling the mock ambassa-
dorship did not lure the minister away, and nobody believes
that it did, then does his going thither seem very little indued
like a voluntary act, unless we accept the alternative, which
authority that does not seem to be unreliable furnishes, namely,
that Sir Alexander T. Gait was recalled because his interest in
the Grand Trunk led him into collision with the joint desires
of the Canadian government and the syndicate, that Sir Charles
Tupper was placed in London as the guardian and advocate of
the interests of the Canada Pacific railway, and retained in the
cabinet that his power might be at the service of that company
in Ottawa. This would be scarcely more creditable than to
have been " wedged out " of the cabinet ; it would lend some
colour to the allegation that the minister of railways has a
financial interest in the great railway, and it would give a
scandalous and atrocious aspect to the spectacle of the high
commissioner returning from England taking his place in
parliament and introducing and forcing upon the house of
commons the resolutions granting an additional thirty mil-
lions of the people's taxes to the company of which he is a
member. And his retiring to the galleries while the vote was
being taken on these resolutions, would only add odious and
transparent deception to the discreditable aflfair. The " moral
sense/' already referred to, was somewhat disturbed at the
spectacle of Sir Charles the minister betaking himself to the
court of St. James as Sir Charles the servant, who, in that
double-barrelled capacity, would be in a position to do what-
EVENTS, POLITICAL AND S0CIAL-1SS3. 209
ever he was requested by himself to perform. It appears tha^
this servant-and-master Canadian — who as a cross between a
politician and a diplomat, between authority and subserviency,
would liave been more in his placu in the British muscunt
where they exhibit two-h jaded men and five-legged dogs — ^
had sought advice from some unrevealed quarter, and learnt
that in his plural capacity he did not violate the independence
of [)arliament act ; and the Conservative newspapers in this
country declared that so long as he accepted no recompense for
his English office he rendered his role unassailable ; but it was
pointed out by a writer in the Week that duty, not emolument,
was really the vital consideration. Nevertheless Sir Charles
remained, and is now, minister of railways and canals, and
high commissioner at London ; and when the opening of the
Canadian parliament drew near he crossed the ocean, and took
his wonted place among the treasury benches.*
During the year, as has been noted in the preceding chapter,
a general election was held in the province of Ontario, result-
ing in a small but decided victory for Mr. Mowat's pai'ty.
In New Brunswick where there are no public questions upon
which parties can divide, the majority is always the progeny of
lure and manipulation ; and after a few secret meetings of the
politicians had been held in Fredericton, it was knovn that
Mr. Hannington's administration would soon be a thing of the
past. Upon a direct want-of-confidence vote the end came,
and Mr. Andrew G. Blair became leader of the late outs.
* As these pages go through the press, Sir John Macdonald has before parlia-
ment a bill relating to the independence of parliament, the object of which is,
presumably, to relieve his colleague from the penalties attaching to his untenable
and illogical position. The bill can make the two-fold office lawful, but it cnnnot
obliterate the impropriety and the abnormalism.
800 THE ADMINISTRATION OF LORD LORNE.
Early in 1883 the tislioiy officials of the Dominion began to
make ready to take part in the international fisheries exhibi-
tion to be held in London, England, during the following sum-
mer. The Canadian government was taixly in guaranteeing
the funds sufficient to gather materials for display. Yet in due
season Mr. Samuel Wilmot took possession of the Canadian
court, an J had the satisfaction of observing that his exhibits
attracted a greater number of visitors, and warmer approbation,
than any other division in the exposition. It was a matter for
no small gratification to him to learn, from the opening ad-
dress by his royal highness the Prince of Wales, who was pre-
sident of the exhibition, that among all the competing nations
Canada stood at the head ; to obtain the gold medal for the
most perfect method of artificial fish-breeding, and for the re-
sult of actual experiment in that science during the exposition,
as well as the gold medal for the exhibit of fishes, and other
important displays made. The minister of marine and fisheries,
Mr. McLelan, was in London during a portion of the exhibi-
tion season, and displayed his usual energjdn keeping the merits
of our Canadian products before the eyes of the public and the
jurors. The colony of Newfoundland, which made an exceed-
ingly creditable showing, was represented by the honourable
Ambrose Shea, who, during his stay in London, in recognition
of his conspicuous abilities, and his long and important ser-
vices to his colony, received ihe order of knighthood. How the
Canadian exhibit was regarded in London appears from the
letters of a number of the most distinguished persons in Great
Britain, addressed to Mr. Samuel Wilmot, and published as a
pamphlet, among other interesting matter, by that gentleman.
EVENTS, POLITICAL AND SOCIAL— 18S.1. 301
From the discussions herein reproduced le Iccarns with a feel-
ing, little short of durnhfoundediiess, that professor Huxley,
who is a fishery ins[)ector, and the most eminent scientist of
his day, deprecates the practice of protecting the fisheries.
One notices with pleasure that Mr. Wilmot vigorously refuted
the ignorant assertion, and convinced all who heard him, that,
while Mr. Huxley is a great scientist, in the practical affairs
of the very industry of which he was an inspector, he was a
great blunderer.
One of the most important domestic measures of the year
was the creation by the Ontario government of a department
in its civil service the function of which was to examine into
and report upon the condition of the forests of the province,
to point out means for the protection of the existing trees
from fires and other agencies of destruction, and for the pro-
pagation of new forest on districts, whr-ther woodland oi' prai-
rie, denuded of trees. To carry out this idea the government
secured the services of Mr. R. W. Phipps, a gentleman who had
given many years of his life to a study of the forestry ques-
tion, and who was able to bring a knowledge derived from ex-
perierce among the trees, no less than a wide range of theory,
into his office. Mr. Phipps promptly prepared a report in which
a vast quantity of extremely valuable information was pre-
sented in a form of such litei'ary excellence as to render the work
readable to those who are in nowise concerned with our forests.
Prominence is given to this matter here because the writer
looks upon it as the first step in a direction of exceeding im-
portance, not to Ontario alone, but to the whole Dominion. The
next important field for an application of the science of forestry
302 THE ADMINISTRATION OF LOUD LORNE.
i.s the treeless regions in our great north-west, Adhere for days
of travel the monotony of the naked prairie is not relieved by
sight of a tree. It seems strange to the writer that it has not
entered into tiio head of the govcirnment in framing their land
regulations to make some provision for the planting of trees,
since they had the experiei:ce of the prairie states of their
neighbours to teach them that land grants might be made to
settlers partly in consideration of such planting. The merit of
the system of planting trees would not merely consist in break-
ing to the eye the dismal monotony of a boundless, np\ed
plain, and in bringing wild flowers and the birds in s ' imer ;
but, after a sufticient number had grown, it would tend to make
temperature uniform, and to bring more frequent rains ; while
in winter when bitter winds sweep over the face of the country
shelter would be afforded to the dwellers and their cattle. If
the builders of the Canada Pacific railroad would but look into
the matter, too, thoy might probably see that it would be
nearly as cheap to plant a belt of trees now along the line as
to bring railroad ties by-and-bye for repairs from distant parts
of the territory. The means of supplying seedlings to intend-
ing planters would be a matter, and not a very difficult one, for
the consideration of the federal government.
It may seem to those who have followed me from where I
began my chronicle in 1878, down to the present, that in a
work purporting to be a history of the governor-general's ad-
mir ' stration, some mention should have been made of his lord-
sh-^j's name in presenting and discussing the political events
of that time ; but without a desire to disparage the office of the
viceroy, or to underestimate the value of Lord, Lome's prudence,
EVENTS, POLITICAL AND S0CIAL^18S3, 303
or of liis capacity for dealing with public qtiestion.s, I must bo
permitted to say that I did not legard his excellency's con-
nection with the laws created by parliament, and his influence
upon the executive conduct of his ministers, of sufficient im-
portance to accord to them special mention. As I have stated
• in a sketch* of the career of Lord Lome's worthy successor to
the governor-generalship, it is the social, not the political, func-
tion of the viceroy that is important now in Canada ; and the
governor-general ought not to bring himself in contact with
opinion here in any form, or seek to thwart the will of his ad-
visers unless in matters of peculiar concern to the empire when,
by virtue of our position as colonists, he would not be bound
by the will of " a portion or the whole " of his council. But
a wide field of usefulness lies open to him in the social sphere ;
while there always is, even in the partizan council-chamber,
room for the advice of a thoughtful governor. Lord Lome
took pains to inform himself on most of the affairs with which
the parliament and his advisers were concerned, and his advice
and remonstrance on some occasions, were not without good
fruit. Of certain measures of policy adopted by his min-
isters, he did not approve ; but he frankly and firmly took a
position of resistance. One of these occasions will readily oc-
cur to the reader : the imperial government did not censure
his lordship for setting his convictions against the will of his
cabinet, but they requested him to submit to the counsel of
his advisers. He did nothing, it may be noted, with eyes
blindfold, and required of his ministei's explanation of every
* A Sketch of the Life of Lord Lanadowne : Hunter, Rose & Co., Toronto.
304 THE ADMINISTRATION OF LORD LORNE.
council-decision of wiiicli tliey sought his ratification. With
his position virtually stripped of veto authority the function
of a 'governor-general who lacked tact, insight and a judicious
capacity for adaptability would soon bet'onio the theatre of
humiliation ; but Lord I(Orno always maintained the dignity
of his intelligence and of his otHce. Some persons who looked
only at the surface, said that he was weak andwithout opinion,
but under an unobtrusive and dlgnlHed exterior there was
deep conviction and a strong man.
It may seem, also, to the wise ones with the keen eyes and
the apt capacity for discovering discrepancies, that, in the
opinions expressed by me on political topics in the foregoing
part of this book, I fly in the face of convictions which I
recently recorded in another volume * dealing with the last
forty years of our political history ; but the critics will permit
me to forestal tlicm by saying that the views I held then are
precisely the same as those which I entertain now ; *.hat, while
I cannot approve, or believe that any honest and thoughtful
man can approve, of many of the public acts done under stress
of political exigency by the present administration, I never-
theless believe the policy of Sir John Macdonald's party as
compared with that of its opponents, to be, on the whole, the
most desirable now for the country, and that for the successful
leader of the government himself, I have much regard, although
a sense of duty has compelled me to enter a protest against
many views entertained by him, and to condemn what I be-
lieve to be the incapacity of one of his colleagues and the
♦The Life and Times of the Biyht Honourable Sir John A. Macdona'd.
EVENTS, POLITICAL AND S0CIAL-im3. 301^
notorious wrong-doing of aiiotliur. Any jitst rcailer of my
pages must see that, in expressing prefert'uces for one party,
I am simply making choice between what I regard, whetlier
rightly or wrongly, as two evils, and that my yearning is for
the upgrowth of a political power among us that will not make
politics a dishonourable and a dishonest tiatle.
While this development has been taking place in the pro-
vinces constituting the confederation, the lonely colony of
Newfoundland, which has held aloof from union, has shown
emphatic signs of retrogression. The population still cling to
the coast line, and turn their faces to the sea for bread. Every
year shows improved facilities for taking fish, but each season
reveals a falling off in catch, and on portions of the coast where
two fishermen in a punt, provided with nothing but a pair of
lines each, in one season took a " voyage " worth £200, there is
now nothing to be had for the improved facilities of net, seine,
bultow and trap. As the bufialo on the plains has disappeared,
less from the number of animals killed than from the intrusion
of civilization upon their solitude, so is the scarcity of cod, dis-
turbed year after year upon its feeding and breeding ground3»
less the result of the number of fish taken than of the presence
of nets and seines, the ringing of grapnels, and the disturbance
caused by masses of fishing gear. Mr. T. B. Browning has con-
tributed during the present year a number of thoughtful and
vigorously written papers upon the colony to the Toronto
Week, and among many valuable suggestions contained in the
series, I find the following, which, as bearing upon the questioa
306 THE ADMINISTRATION OF LORD LORNE.
of fishery ducreaso, is •worthy of serious attention. " If civil-
ized nations, Franco ainon;^ the ninnl)er, are no check unto
thoniselvos, can no check Ito jnit upon tlmm ? Tisliery, whc^tht^r
by bultow or hook-and-lino, cannot bo pursued without bait ;
bait for tlio Hanks cannot bo got except troni the shorn, and
fiotn part of it under tlie solo control of Great Britain. If gen-
tler methods fail of crt'cct, enforce j)rohibition of the sale of
bait to the French, an undertaking within jurisdiction, and
quite practicable to-day ; j)rohibit also its catch within the
three-miles limit, and tlien put a clamp on Franco that will
either render her IJank fishery unprofitable, or, wliat is more to
l)e desired, bring her to reasonable terms in its prosecution."
Taking the most favourable view, there is little hope of a con-
•spicuously aucce.ssful future for the colony, but if tho creatures
herded in huts around the rocks would but turn themselves
from tlie profitless waters to the land, the reign of hunger
would be at an end, and tho depopulation, which must soon
commence, be averted.
ClIAl'TKR VIII.
PniVATK AND SOCIAL UECOIID.
1) IDEAU IT ALL, tlio DlHc-ial rosidonco of the governor-geno-
■^'^ ral, stands on the hanks of the Ottawa in the lower
suhurh of the city. It is built of a bluish-fjroy limestone taken
f jm the foundations of the town, and it pn'sonts an appearanco
of sober beauty, standing in the midst of a gn^ve of trees whosci
greenage endures the season's round. But though its colour,
like that of most of the residences in its neighbourhood, arrests
and .satisfies the eye tired of tawdry brick, insipid white and
yellowish limerock, and sullen sandstone that seems to conceal
a mystery which has the atmosphere of a murder, its architecture
would give jio special delight to Mr. Ruskin, nor suggest itself
to Madame de Stael as " frozen music ; " for it was once a pri-
■^te residence, and since its selection as the viceroy's dwelling,
has received several expansions and alterations untraiinnellod
as well as unguidod by orders Doric, Corinthian, or Gothic,
whether antique or maeso. Far on its way to the north as is
the capital of Canada, it does not escape frequent broiling pe-
riods in July, and the evergreens about Rideau Hall afford
really small comfort in the sultry season, so that its inhabitants,
like all others in the city who have the time and the means,
depart for cooler regions. But in winter, when bitter winds
blow from the Pole, and Ottawa and the country about it are
307
yoH 27/ A' ADMINISTRATION OF LORD LORNE.
covt'iud with four feot of huow, i\w groiindM of Uidcaii ilall an>
a ^'emiliio l»it of tim icy north ; thi^ air is alvvnyM frcsli, dry, and
hracin<,', and when you arise on a cahn niurnlng and look
through yoiii- window, the sun appears to ho reclining in n
cushion of dense croiun-coloured haze, while the air ahout the
city is agleafu with minute, glistening frost-points, that adown
the valley of the river lie in such volume as to form vast masses
of silvery cloud. The stranger who (!omos from a city lying by
the soa or ono of the great lakes, stops from his hotcd into the
exhilarating air of ono of those glorious northern mornings, and
rashly doolares that the " reports" — that is ustially his phrase
— concerning the intense cold at Ottawa are exaggerating;
but before ho has reached the Western Filock of the parlia-
ment buildings his eai's will have begun to wave, and ho will
discover that it is not in the blustery days, but in the death-
like calm, that Jack Frost in the north usually plies the keen-
est lance, and that in the Canadian capital the air does not chill
him or sting so painfully when the mercury is twelve degrees
below zero, as it does at his own native sea-coast when winds
blow high laden with moist air, and the thermometer stands
only twelve degrees below the freezing point. Most of those
who visit the capital in winter now are aware of this, and hence
it is that the newest comer marvels at the number of seal
sac(mes be sees upon the ladies, and at the men's coats made of
all sorts of fur from the patrician phoca of the South Sea to
the raccoon, or the buffalo. This latter is not much more than
the raccoon to be contemned, or better capable of bringing adis-
paraging glance, or an elevation of the eye-brow from him who
wears the seal garment, with its breast ornamentations of cord-
PRIVATE AND SOCIAL RKCOliU. 300
o<l silk. Iiistaiu'oM aro on reconl wliore certain senators with
South-Sea-seal coatH have rofuaoil to go to Kiilfaii ilall in tho
sante uab with an unoatontatious person who wore a " raccoon
skin." Tt ro(iuiros more tlmn a quarter of a (Century to preparo
a man to wear seal wlio lias onco worn lionutspiin. It in only
jus'- to « 'y, however, that all tho senators and coininoners at
the capital, jind all tlio wire-pullers ami log-rollers wlu) visit
tho lity ilurinj^ the sessions, ivn<l wear " the expensive fur," do
not believe that the coat entirely makes tho man ; hut there
are certainly not a small number who think with Disraeli tliat
it has " a good deal to do with it."
Wei), when the governor-general ami liis wife settle them-
solvo.s at Rideau Mull, the first labour that they fitul lieforo
them is to entertain the fashionable society of tho capital. This
society, it may bo said for tho benefit of the English ri'aders
of this book, as well as for such Canadians as have not visited
Ottawa, consists of about twelve or thirteen hundred per-
sons, more or lesy, which number, however, does i^t belong
entirely to the city, but is made up in part by senators and
members of pailiameiit, and prominent Canadians who visit
the capital dining tho winter ; tho balance consisting of tho
local judges, doctors, lawyers, civil servants — a body thick as
leaves that strew tho brooks at Vallambrosa — shopkeepers, *
butchers, bakers, and tradesmen of every quality. The enter-
* It ia related that a j^rocer of an ainljitiouii turn and an inntinct for copyini; the
ways of t'enteol society, fiiidiiij; it necesttary to leave celery, onions, and iome
■other ve^etable« at Ridean Hall during; Lord Tiornc's Htay there, alHo took occa-
sion to leave his card ami re^'ister his name. To her iiiKiiite horror a certain
societj' lady at the very next state ball met in a set this person. '/'.Why that is our
grocer " she whispered to her husband : " So it is, by Jove," said her lord in a tone
of hopeless disgust.
310 T/fK ADMINH^TRATIOS OF loni) LORIfM,
tiiiiiiiiotib of tItuNU pooplu coiiHisU in ^ivin^^to thuiii hallM, at
!ioiu('M, Mkntln>( ftml toho;(t^anin;,' piirtitH, privnto thoatticals,
Nulitct parti(>s, iliritn'is hikI liiticli. Ifsiially tlioro in not roont
to accoimiiodato tlm ('tititt) mass of soc'mty at ono hall, so that it
han hoon tho custom to j^ivo two; hut on ono or two occasioMH
tho citi/.<>ii.H havo ha<l tht; iiiisfDrtnikt) to loarri that thu vi(>o-
ro<;al houHuhold would ^ivu only ono; an annonncomunt that not
, unnaturally haw thrown a lar^o portion of tho community into
painful constornation atid cstahlislu'd a Htatu of kuun huart-
hurnjji;,' ; for fatal it it) to th > social prospticts of thoso whoso
names on " tho day aftor" aro not found in tho columns of tho
Citizen and tho Free Pirsn. Tho stato halls aro usually vory
hrilliant; tho j^ov('rnor-;,'(>n»Mal ami his wift; opcniin;^ tho danoo
in a sot mado up in such order of procodonco as tho invitod
guests can supply. Tho first state Imll was given by tho Alar-
(piis of FiOino and hor royal hi;,dinoss on tho l!)th of Fob-
ruary. Nearly all tho ministers, senators, and members of tho
house of conunons, besides a large niimbor of other invited
guests wore present. In the opening set of ([uadrilles tho gov-
ernor-general danced with Lady Macdonald, and her royal
Highness with Sir John Macdonald. His excellency subse-
(piontly had as partners, Mrs. S. L. Tilley, Mrs. Alexander Mac-
kenzie, Madame Laurier, Miss Isabel Macphorson, and Mrs. A.
F. Maclntyre ; and hor royal highness danced with Chief
Justice Ilitchio, Mr. Masson, and other gentlemen. Naturally
enough at his first ball, Lord Lome furnished wine without
stint to accompany supper, without deeming it necessary to
instruct tho waiter that after tho guest had partaken of a -
certain number of glasses he should not have any more ; but
PMITA TF AND SOCIA L R F.CO R I). |tf
tlitt luck (>r procautiun whh fuUl, for eurUiii ^untl(>iii«>n of
proiiiiiKUit Hocial poMition iMnimu iiiioxi(Nit«>il, iin<I there hap-
p(>ii«>il ill tlm ciiHo of 01)0 pt!i'Hon n Hcciit* too dix^tistin^ to di^Hcriltir
ill thi'sn pa;^"H. TIum comliict Itioii^'lit iiion« <<r Ici.s discredit
upnii all pruMciit, and Irt us hope that hcforo thuir exccllcnciuH
h^ft thn country, they aHc<rtaiiu>d that tliu vulpvr ^oiiniiuiid in
tliu exception and not the rule among um.* Tobogganing, winco
the ilayHofLord DuHoriii liaH been popular in (>anada and forniH
the most importjint amiis(>mont for parties at llideau Hall. A
card of iiivitati«)n in Hunt out by the governor's wife, who
states tlic hour at which she will bo at liome and specifying
that there will be " skating nnd tobogganing." The hour \h
sonHitinios from three to six o'clock in the afternoon, fre<iuently
from nine p. m, to twelve p. m. ; and at the time Hot the guests
dragging their toboggans after them and clad in picturesque
costumes make their ap{)oaranco on the grounds whereon are
erected the slides, three in number, the longer and much the
steeper running toward the west, the next in size to tho
east. Tho slide is not down a natural-!, ill, but is constructed
of timbers, the starting point of tho t\ . larger standing a
hundred and a hundred and ten feet respectively fron the
ground. Here the toboggan is placed, one lady, and some-
times two sitting upon the fore part of it, the steersman
* It Ih ho easy to be ini>iun(lerHt<K>d by the industrioufi reader, that in examining
the pr(H>f of my text I uaw it wuh neceHHnry that I ahuuld explain. It is not because
LokI Lome waH a titled i'ingliHhmun and our govern(>r-i,'eneral, and hiH wife a prin-
ceH8 of the reigning houHe, tliat I expretw plcaHure in recording my belief that they
did not regard ub all a.s a set of gourmands ; had they been a pair cf private citi-
zenH who came amongat utt and extended their honpitalitieH, I should have'expreHsed
the same concern respecting the opinion they formed of our people during their
sojourn among them.
312 TUE ADMINISTRATION OF LORD LORNE.
usually throwing himself upon his face and extending one leg
behind to use as a rudder. As the toboggan plunges down
the slope at its blinding speed, he is enabled by a decisive
and accurate grip of his foot to the right or to the left to
avoid in turning the curves of the track running into the bank,
or crashing upon a brother tobogganer who has begun to re-
trace his steps slowly up to the slide-head. The first voyage
down the slope produces a novel and by no means delicious
sensation. Those who have measured the velocity declare
that the speed is at the rate of a thirty-five miles an hour; but
whatever it be the adventurer who makes a first voyage down
the slide feels as if he is falling sheer down an abyss, and as if
his heart and nervous ganglia had risen to his throat : there is
no sense of accurate sight, all glimmers before the eye in a
sickening scene of confusion ; but before the half dazed adven-
turer has time to speculate on the surroundings or take stock
of the condition of his eyes, heart and stomach, he experiences
a sensation like that which occurs when a boat that has been
swiftly cutting the water grates gently on the smooth shingle
of the beach ; the toboggan has reached the end of its voy-
age, is " slowing up " and stops ; after which with an air of
actual intrepidity this person whom I have been describing
rises with a heart throbbing with new-born vigour, casts
a glance around him upon the multitude of eyes which he im-
agines have been upon him — though never an eye mayhap has
seen him — as much as to say. Oh, that's nothing : at least it
is, but I don't mind it; and with "beard of Hercules and
frowning Mars, and liver white as milk " strides off, sometimes
so thoroughly scared and demoralized that he will never more
PRI VA TE A ND SOCIA L RECORD. 31 3
try the descent, in others determined to essay it again, ami
immediately. Usually durinj^ the second descent terror has
not the entire sway for the animal spirits will begin to assert
themselves ; the third voyage down and uU succeeding ones is
a feast of exhilaration heightened by a mental capacity to
judge of the speed, note the objects Hitting by and to observe
the skill of the steersman by the hair-breadth escapes from
collision with menacing snow walls, and with the returning
voyageur at the foot of the slide. An evening toboggan
party presents a scene that one is not likely soon to forget.
Below the Hall, upon a level plot a huge bon-fire, built in the
form of a pyramid, and casting its lurid glaic upon the sombre
ever-green trees, is alight ; and about it are gathered groups of
persons, the greater number of whom, wearing their pictur-
esque costumes, present a sight that the eye of an artist might
deliglit to linger over. The costume is generally made of
coarse blanket, faced and trimmed with blue or crimson ; the
breeches come to the knee, the lower part of the leg exhibiting
a blue stocking and a moccasin. The tuque which is elongated
to two or three times the need of the head is knitted of
Berlin wool and is generally blue, having a crimson tassel ;
though sometimes a cardinal, garnet, or crimson cap is worn,
exhibiting a blue tassel. The coat is made somewhat in a
loose tunic fashion, and around the waist the slider negligent
by knots a flowing crimson sash which gives a striking effect to
the entire apparel. The ladies occasionally wear the ordinary
blanket, frequently choose the artistic and becoming sea-green
cloth, piped and faced with crimson or scarlet, and a sash of
some denomination of red, which is sometimes fastened across
T
3U TJIE ADMINISTRATION OF LOUD LORNE.
one shoulder, and thence brought around the waist or more fre-
quently in the latter manner alone. Strongly fascinating is the
picture of a group of persons so attired revealed by the flick-
ering light of the fire, while the sky is sullen with winter
clouds and no moon shines down. Round about the grounds
wherein the tobogganist and the skater pursue their sports
hang rows of Chinese lanterns whose subdued light give an air
of tranc^uillity and peace to the scene even when you hear the
cutting breeze straining through the pine boughs, and when
the torches stuck in commanding places, wind-smitten, send
their flame sprawling upon the snow to be reflected fitfully
upon e/ery object of gloom, A double row of lanterns aie
suspended above each slide, and the dun, sober glow tht;^ shed
is a sort of mute rebuke to the picturesque twain or trio that
go swishing down the headlong track at a pace which, to any-
thing living or inanimate with Chinese instinct in it, must
seem to be courting nothing short of destruction. Yes, the
lanterns are an antidote for timid eyes to the whirl-wind
speed of that olive-cheeked girl with the glowing eyes and
crimson tassel, and the gallant who without mishap takes his
precious charge down the track. Had Jacob seen our tobog-
ganers at Rideau Hall for hours during an evening in an un-
ceasing stream descending by the slide and ascending by a
parallel stairway to complete the ascent, one might have fancied
wherefrora came to him in his sleep the idea of the ladder
with angels through the night ceaselessly going up and again
returning. And if the spectator who joins not in the sport,
but stands comfortable by the great bon-fire, while the mer-
cury in the thermometers of Ottawa citizens is eighteen
PRIVATE AND SOCIAL RECORD. 315
degrees below zero, sliould tire of the costumes of blue, and
yellow, and red, he can take a few steps southward and see an
open rink whereon are a score of skaters, some it must be ad-
mitted not remarkable for grace, performmg the grand chain
or some other S(iuare-dance figure to the music of a band
which is located warmly in the rays of the bon-fii'o ; each ice-
dancer carrying a fire-cracker, which, waved above the head
sends into the air a stream of blue, purple, white or crimson
light-spheres. Lord Lome spared no pains to make those
evenings full of enjoyment for the hundreds who came to
watch and join in the pastimes ; while the princess with up-
errinc; urtistic instinct knew where a row of lanterns or the
blaze of an open fire would produce the beat effect.
The first tour of sight-seeing by their excelle»icies was made
in January when a visit was paid to Niagara Falls; but they
remained pretty closely at Rideau Hall thenceforth till the
spring. The princess yearned to get away with her sketch
book among the hills, many times, while pent up during the
winter, but even the love of the artist pales and perishes be-
fore the remorseless winds, or the motionless, but all-con(jealincr
atmosphere, and she was obliged to solace herself by getting
such glimpses as she could from her window of the ghastly
river, ice-fast, although the hills, or upon the draggled cedars
and the cold, lofty pines. There was little wonder if her royal
highness believed the pictures she had seen all her life, in genial
England, in the illustrated papers from the pens of imaginative
and gifted artists representing Canada as a land of snow and
lakes, " where tapering grows the gloomy fir, and the stunted
juniper ;" for on her way from Halifax to the capital the keen
310 TUE ADMINISTRATION OF LORD LORNE.
breath of winter snluted her cheek, and along the ride between
Montreal luaX Ottawa a drivin,Lj snow went hissing by on the
wind. In January, nmny shallcnv lakes through Upper Can-
ada, the newspapers said, were fro/en to the bottom, and in
several places in Ontario the thernionioter registered 30 degrees
belQW zero.
On the 24th of May, the GOth anniversary of the birth of Her
Mnjosty the Queen, tneir excellencies visited Montreal, wliore,
to commemorate the day tliere was to be a grand review and
sham-battle. The mth regiment N. G., S. N. Y., of Brooklyn,
New York, had arrived also in the great Canadian metropolis,
to take part in the celebration. On the day preceding, the
Brooklyn regiment being drawn up in line. Mayor Rivard
coming before them read an address of welcome and presented
Col. Austen, wiia a flag in which were very skilfully and ap-
propriately blended the standards of the Dominion and the
United States. Upon the flag-staff was a silver plate bearing
the following inscription : " Presented by a few of the citizens
of Montreal, through the of*' jers' ladies of the Prince of Wales'
Ptifles, to the 13th Regiment N. G., S. N. Y., on the occasion of
their visit to assist in the celebration of Her Majesty's birth-
day, 24th May, 1879." Reverend Henry Ward Beecher, in
acknowledgement of the presentation said: — "Mr. Mayor, we
have not come on an idle pleasure excursion, but as the repre-
sentatives of one of the laigest and oldest, if not the oldest,
city in the United States — a city which bears upon its arras
what should' be borne upon the arms of every city in the
world, the old Dutch motto : ' Right makes Might,' and we
come in tha.^ spirit as the representatives not only of the.
VRIVATK AND SOCIAL RECORD. 317
l)eoplo of Brooklyn, but of tho statn of Now York. Wo accept
this flag in that spirit of amity wliich inspires its giving. May
the 'Stars and Stripes,' and the 'Union Jack,' now for the first
time so happily hlondod in one flag, float always side by side.
For wliatever tho flags of otlior nations express, ours stand for
the expression of tlie literature of liberty and religion, of hu-
manity and progi'eso. May our flags never be found against
each other in war. May they ever go together, but never
against each other. We shall place it in the most prominent
place in our armoury, and when in the future we shall be fav-
oured with a visit from you, we trust to be able to show that
your flag has never been dishonoured." At the conclusion of
his acknowledgments the distinguished divine was heartily
cheered. The following day was one of unusual importance
in Montreal, and many thousands of people gathered about
Fletcher's Field on Mount Royal Park, to witness the military
pageant. The aggregate force numbered 4,000 men, and com-
prised the local volunteer regiments from Quebec, Sherbrooke
Ottawa, Kingston, Toronto and Brooklyn. The troops formed
three sides of a square facing Mount Royal near the foot of
which was the sakiting base, the cavalry and artiller}'^ being on
the right, the scarlet brigade next, the 13th " Crack " Brooklyn
in the centre, and the Rifle Brigade on the left. The forma-
tion having been completed, his excellency accompanied by
her royal highness, and the general commanding. Sir E.
Selby Smythe, rode along the line. In front of the 13th Brook-
lyn, his lordship halted and addressed Col. Austin as follows :
— " Officers and soldiers of the gallant 13th, I welcome you in
the Queen's name to Canada, and thank you for coming to-day
318 THE A.DMiyiSTHATlON OF LORD LORNE.
to do honour to Her Majesty on t'nis hor birtliday. Wo are
brothers to-tlay in blood and great traditions, and I rejoice to
see you liere as our brothers in arms." On the return of the
vice-regal party to tlio sahiting base, ii fea-H^-Jole and royal
salute of twenty-one gvms wore tired, and three rousing cheers
given for the Queen, titer wliich the troops marched past in
review in the following order : — Lt.-General Sir E. Selby
Smythe and staff; the Princess Louise dragoon guards, 33, of
Ottawa, commanded by Captain J. Stewart ; Montreal cavalry,
35, commanded by Captain McArthur ; a detachment from " B "
battery. Dominion artillery, with two guns; Shefford field,
battery, CO, commanded by Lieut.-Col. Amyrauld ; Ottawa field
battery, 60, commanded by Captain Stewart ; Montreal field
battery, 70, commanded by Lieut.-Col. A. A. Stephenson ; two
companies "B" battery, Dominion artillery, 125, commanded
by Lieut,-Col, Montizambert ; Montreal garrison artillery, 300,
commanded by Lieut.-Col. Fraser; Royal Military College
cadets of Kingston, 100, commanded by Lieut.-Col. Hewitt, R.
E. ; Montreal engineers, 70, commanded by Major Kennedy ;
St. Jean Baptiste infantry company, 45, commanded by Capt.
Kirwin ; Govrrnor-General's foot guards, of Ottawa, 250, com-
manded by Lieut.-Col. Thomas Ross ; sixth fusiliers, of Mont-
real, 355, commanded by Lieut.-Col. Martin ; fifth fusiliers, of
Montreal, 275, commanded by Lieut.-Col. Crawford ; thirteenth
N. G., S. N. Y., of Brooklyn, N. Y., 500, commanded by Lieut.-
Col. Austen ; Prince of Wales Rifles, of Montreal, 250, com-
manded by Lieut.-Col. Bond ; eighth Royal rifles, of Quebec,
250, commanded by Lieut.-Col. Alleyn ; sixty -fifth Mount
Royal rifles, 250, of Montreal, commanded by Lieut.-Col. La-
PRIVATE AND SOCIAL RECORD. 819
brancho ; Victoria riHes, 350, of Montreal, commanded Ity Jjieut.-
Col. \Vhit(n»cad ; Queen's Own rifles, of Toronto, 520, com-
manded by Liout.-(\)l. Otter. There were also present 22 men
belon^'in^ to the Koyal Naval Ileservo, under command of
Lieut. W. H. Smith, R.N.R., niakin<r a total of ;i,!H() men
under arms. Then the troops marched past in column
at quarter distance, after which a cleverly arranged, and
successfully accomplished sham-fight took place, giving to
the onlookers a very striking imjiression of "a real battle."
When the review was ended, the vice-regal party returned
to the Windsor hotel where in the ladies' parlour, and
in presence of her royal highness and other distinguished visi-
tors, the fallowing gentlemen were created knights, companions
of the order of St. Michael and St. George : the hon. Samuel
Leonard Tilley, C. B., the hon. 'Alexander Campbell, the hon.
Charles Tupper, C. B., the hon. William Pearce Rowland, C. B.,
the hon. Richard John Cartwright, and the hon Narcisse For-
tunat Belleau. Sir Alexander Tilloch Gait, G.C.M.G., and Sir
Francis Hincks, K.C.M.G., acted as sponsors. The hon. George
Brown had also been singled out for a knighthood, but he
sought a private interview with his excellency, informing him
that he must decline the proffered honour, and giving reasons
for doing so. During the honourable Edward Blake's career
he has also been offered a similar favour, but he has also re-
fused it ; and the friends of the honourable Alexander Mac •
kenzie delight in telling, as they see the plumes of the
Conservative " Sirs " waving through the land, that he too
would have been a knight had he accepted the " ofi'er." The
writer has not an enormous respect for the imperial bubble
\i'iO TllK ADMINISTRATION OF LOUD LORNK.
that converts an oiJinaiy Canadian wlio has hoon half lils lifu
nn hun«>st nunchant who ditl not know who was hist^iamliathur,
into a kni^^ht, and makes his wifo a lady ; yot Huch is the tra-
dition of the empire, as is attested by the case of the disj^ust-
ingly vulgar Sir Pitt Crawloy, baronet, more than one of which
like is always to be found in Vanity Fair ; but the " nay, nay,
I will not have the knighthood," in the mouth of a colonial
politician, who had but a moment before assured us that our
highest aim should be to preserve a connection with tlu* glori-
ous motherland, around whom so nuiny hallowed associations
are wrapped, sounds less like manly pride than pi([Ub or sullen
pettishness. The knighthood or any other token of honour, by
whatever condition of state conferred, is not alone defensible,
but eminently fit where bestowed for important duty faithfully
done, for eminent talent employed in the promotion of human
knowledge, or liappiness and such stamp of recognition is only
tlie logical outcome, the higher form of giving prizes and
honours to the student who comes out best from his mathema-
tical form, or from the classics ; but to select a person for such
distinction, with the considerations, say, that influence the ap-
pointment of a senator, 'a cabinet minister, and sometimes a
judge, is to bring the custom into deserved disrepute and con-
tempt. Knighthoods in Canada, surely no man will believe,
have always been bestowed for duty satisfactorily done, for
exemplary virtues, or conspicuous talent. If Mr. Blake and the
rest refused the honour-bauble for such considerations as these,
they are not open to the reproach which the other conclusion
must put upon them.
Vlil VA TE A NI) SOCIA L R ECORD. 321
Oil the third of Jiiiio his lurcLship aiul thu ptinci^ssaiid Huitu,
tiiofl of city life, cmhiirkiMl frotr. Kin^rston for 111 vie rod u Loup,
whc-rc a inectiiij,' wii-s to take placu with tho iJuku of Ar^'vll,
and from which point tho party would proceed on a tishiuj^
oxcursiou up tl.o Metapedia. On tlie route their cxcollencieH
halted at (Quebec, and during their stay tho gov«;rnor-<5'eneral
named the (sxtension of J)urham terrace Dutlorin terrace, and
declared the .same open to the pul)lic. Her royal hij^hness also
laid tho corner-stone of tlio Kent gate, so named after her
grandfather, tho Duko of Kent. When everything was made
ready for this ceremony, the princess was presented with an
ebony-handled silver trowel, whereupon slio proceede<l to cover
the stone with mortar with a firm and deft hand, concluding tho
operation with the following words : " I declare this stone well
and truly laid, and henceforth it will he called tho Kent Gate ;
arl the upper gate is to retain its old name, St. Louis' Gate."
Tho speech delighted the throng of spectators who gave three
hearty cheers for her royal highness.
During the early autumn a tour was made through tho mar-
itime provinces, and at every city and village visited by their
excellencies they were received with unbounded acclamations of
welcome. Perhaps tho most picturosqiie and delightful portion
of the journey was t!ie trip by the St. John river, from tho
city of tho same name, to Fredericton the capital of Now
Brunswick, where tho distinguished visitors were received
by almost tho entire population who had a passage way from
the water's edge to the street built and carpeted, tho ungainly
surroundings too being made beautiful by a covering of green
boughs.
n22 THR AnsuNisriiArioN of I.OHD lohnk.
It iiiuy lis \vt!ll liu Hai<l tirHt as lust, tlitttaiMtrtain aiinosphuru
of iinpoiMiliirity Hiirroiimloil }iis oxnulluncy and tho princoHH
alioiit tliis tiinc, ami that thttti l)«>^'an tlio Htierriii;; of a niiiiiltor
of th« iHiwspapi'tN, wliicli, liowcvtfr Iow-IuhmI an<l Mciiiriiloiis tlio
writers ill iiuiiiy of sm-li journals may l»o, imvoitiioli'ss fairly
voic<Ml till! public s(tiitiiiii>iit. It appi'iux that on tho dcparturo
of tho party from New Brunswick, thrco or four roprcsonta-
tivoM of th(j press who wuni ilesirous of giving a gossipy and
liarmlesH chronich; of events along the route, got upon tlio vioo-
regal car where thry uno})trusiv«'ly and (pii(!tly remaine<l, tilJ
it came to the vtwa of a certain gentleman of the governors
Htaff, who, inamaniu'r of cold hauteur, informcid them that their
presence was undesirahlo. It was unfair tliat tludr excellencies
should bo made responsible for the action of the tactless and
ofUsh blockhead, but made responsiblo they were, and made \^\J
object of coarse language by the press, (certain gentlemen who
liad a g(!nuine n^gard for his excellency, and high admiration,
the sterling for womanly (pialities of the princess, wrote in
some of the newspapers communications that it was hoped
would come under the governor's eyes regretting the attitude
of the secretary and venturing the wish that a different atti-
tude would be adopted toward the people who really had the
highest regard for their excellencies ; but it was surmised that
these kindly warnings never came before his lordship's eyes. It
was said by a certain gentleman, since dead, that his lordship,
socially, resided within a cold belt, which freezcd whom.soever
passed through it. It was by this not unapt figure that ho
described the unfortunate, but, it is only fair to assume, natural
manner of the unadjustable, frigid, and repelling person whom
J'lilVATH AM) SOCIAL HKCOIW.
h'lH lurdMliip )iii)l ill dost? iittttiKliiiicf upon his porsoii. Tpoii
tlio oim linnd, lUMtlicr IIhi ^,'ovornor nor thn piinc(!HM know what
ofloncu tliu Nucrutary wdM giving, iind upon tlio otliur IiiiidI tlit)
people (]i<l not know thai thoir oxcidlunoitN wcru unawaro of
it; but, rathor, huliitvod that tlio hustling of ihu reporters oti'
the train, tlio curt, 'wy mpiieM of tlio starchy major, ami tho
caat-iron wall with wliioh he had HurroundiMl i\w. HUialleHt con-
ccHHion ho nuuhi, wcnj a nions rcMoction of their wisht^s. 'I'hcro
waH a niistako on hotli Hi<les ; the people believed that tho
nian[ui.s and thu princcsH wuru aware uf tho Hucrotary'H appar-
ent hoHtility oven to tho advanccH (»f kindneHH and courtoHy,
while tliey wore iittiuly ignorant of it ; upon tlie other hand.
Ids lordship and Her lloyal Highness nmrvdled at th<j com-
plaining of tho newspapers. It was oasy for tho people to
fall into tho error; hut a trifling eonsideration of tho matter
ought to have revealed to his lordship that the imfortunate
front and manner of his sec-.etary would bring tho sweet and
gracious Lord Dufforin himself into disfavour. On tho 27th
of Octoljor, Her lloyal Highnc^ss carrying away sketches
gathereil from some of our most pictur(;H([Uo scones sailed for
England, wliere on landing she was met by her father-in-law,
the Duko of Argyl, who escorted hor to London. This is^
worth noting because the gossips assured tho newspaper cor-
rospondents, and tho newspaper correspondents assured their
readers, that tho princess snubbed tho Duko while tho party
was fishing on tho Metapedia, that tho irato fathor-in-law did
not wait for daybreak, but in tho star-light strode away from
tho camp towards the Intercolonial in high dudgeon.and in that
mood took his departure from Now York, sailing thence to
8M rilK AhMlNlSTRATlOS OF l.niil) LOUS' K.
En^lai'il. Ajtart fioni tlin contra'lirtioii l'iiriiiHhi><| )>y iho fact
notufl, tlin writer .^ in ii position to sny that tliu Mtory watt idle
gr)NNi|), without thu Nliriiiiii'Mt foumlation to runt upon.
As hoM !K»on Htatml, on tho 27th of Octolnir, Ilor Uoyul lli^'h-
n»'SH Hullftl for Kn;;hin<l, ami stnii^'Jitway i\ fow of tho iicwspa-
pcM wliich tuki' |il«'iiHnro in ilis|(liiyiiii^ their love of iuipro«
prioty (Irclari'd that sh»> had ^Town tlis^ustod with ('lumihi, not
finiiin;^' anything' in (^ut Ikh* or Ottawa con^'enial to her tastes;
that tho inaninis was " utterly sick of tho place," too, and
only romainod after thu princcHs for tlio Hako of keeping up ap-
poarancoH. The 'jfuth really was that their oxcelloneios took
a deep, and tho writer is assured, and heliuves, an atlectioimte,
interest in ev«Mythin;( ('anadian at tin* very tinio they wore
both ileclarod to ho dissatisfied ; and that tho roj^urd deepened
with their stay was proved to all our people before they left
Janada, and has been emphasized, so far as Lord Lorno is oon-
cenied, by tho eagerneHs with whieh he has availed himself of
evorv opportunity since his return to dreat Britain of bringing
before the public the great resources and tho possibilities of
1-aiuida and tlio atlvantagos it offers to the enugrant. It is not
pltasant to be obliged to write those things in a book which is
a record of thoadnilnistnition of a governor who wjis so loyal
and devoted to the country over which ho ruled as was Lord
Lome, but it is necessary to do so in order to show how far
reasonable was tho censure which is yet fresh in the minds of
many readers of this volume. Before the Manpiis of Lome
arrived in Canada at all, a number of persons d(!clared that a
daughter of the Queen would soon weary of consorting with
the denizens of a village lying on the edge of the north pole ;
rniVATK AND ROCIAL RKCORh. M
thoy prtidictvil thnt it woulil conI hur an oHurt to l)u cuuitooim
with our {)<M)|)lo, and thiit nhu wonM put on airn, nntl nn justly,
but Honiowhiit niituriilly, onou;;!) ii lnr;^n> iiuimIh'I' canii) to look
upon thoir pr«)^'uostii'atioMH as facts wliicrh tli«y ImiIIi'voiI lotii^
aftn-wai'tls, and in tli*; broad li^lit of a course of (Conduct that
avouched tho piecisu opposlto. Soino, too, do<'li»n'd that a
court would 1)0 uHtaliiislM-d at Kid<>aii Hall, an<l that in this
court tliu princcHs and hur huslxuid atkd thuir Huitu woidd so-
lact* thoinsclvcH with tho companionship of titlod porsona^'os
and kindri'd from Kn^^dand wdio would como and ^o during' tho
j^ultcrnattjrial term. It unfurtunatuly came to pass that shortly
alter tluj arrival of tho now govornoi', certain roj^'ulations wore
piddislu'd whicli scomod to verify tho forocast that Ilidcau Hall
waH to ho converted into a coint ; hut their oxcellencies had tlui
good ttoUHo to return to tho old fasliion after they saw that tho
iiniovation had hej^un to provoke general ridicule. Tho unfor-
tunate maimer of the [)rivate secretary, as I havo alriwly re-
corded, was tho next load laid upon tho new-comers' shoulders,
but, later in tho reijlme, the warmdiearted manliness of Lord
Lorne thawed itself through tho icy ring which in tho [jorson
of this hapless major was placed botweeu himself and tho
sym thy and good- will of our people. This may seem, per-
haps, those who have in mind tho tone of my remarks on
tho su )ject of British connection, as giving altogether too much
importance to a matter lying within a s|)here that finds my
own condemnation ; but I may .say in answer that tho thou-
sands in Canada who are desirous that we should appoint our
own governor-general, no less than the thousands who are con-
vinced that the imperial government ought to appoint him for
326 TUB ADMINISTRA TION OF LORD LORNE.
«8, are rejoiced to see in the administiator of the government
those sterling, and manly qualities which in due time became
well-marked inth Marquis of Lome, and which has in a few
short weeks made oi our present governor, Lord Landsdowne,
a general favourite. Presently there was an occurrence out of
which grew further cause for dissatisfaction. On the evening
of the 14th of February, Her royal highness, his excellency,
Hon. Mrs. Langham, and Col. McNeill, C.B., were proceeding
in a covered sleigh from Rideau Hall to the senate chamber,
where a drawing-room was to have been held, when the horses
took fright and ran away, overthrowing the vehicle which was
•dragged along its side on the rough road for several hundred
yards. Preceding the vice-regal party was a sleigh in which
was the Hon. Mr. Bagot, A.D.C., who jumping off seized the
frightened horses and stopj^jed them. When the sleigh door
was opened, it was found that Her Royal Highness was nigh
insensible. She had received a severe contusion on the head,
a wound in the neck, and the wire of one of her ear-rings was
torn out through the flesh. No one kne ■ 'hen, and very few
have known since, how serious was ^i i condition and how
Alarming was her state for many months subsequently ; but
after the accident there was much anxiety to learn what was
the extent of the injuries. With the desire of preventing the
-Queen from being alarmed by exaggerated reports. Major de
Winton at once closed every avenue of information, and request-
ed the telegraph-offices to send no dispatches concerning the
occurrence. His course, though dictated by a worthy enough
motive, was stupid and ill-advised. The public believed that
the accident was very trivial, and they looked upon the refu-
PRIVATE AND SOCIAL RECORD. 327
sal of the secretary to allow any tidings to go abroad, as ano-
ther instalment of hauteur, and as away of showing that, with
the private affairs of the vice-regal household, the people of
Canada could have no concern. It seems as if this systemati-
cally unlucky and dull-witted official had lost his head, else he
would have followed the course which must have revealed it-
self easily and clearly to his mind : namely, to have himself
telegraphed to the Queen such message as he felt warranted in
sending with the caution to her majecty to pay no heed to any
report save that sent from the vice-regal household, and given
the telegraph operators and the newspaper people their sway.
The other wrong-headed course seemed like an arbitrary and
insolent gagging of the press, and revealed the extremely limi-
ted character of the ill-starred secretary's experience with that
paramount appetite of the public of the nineteenth century, the
hunger for news. For all popular purposes. Major de Winton
might as well have not been born in this century at all, but
have been taken out of a vault of one of the pyramids laden in
his capacity as private secretary at Rideau Hall, with the ex-
periences of an unelastic, unreceptive official of the court of one
of the Memphian kings. With her health and spirits by no
means restored. Her Royal Highness accompanied by her bro-
ther Leopold, who had paid a short visit to Canada and the
United States during the summer, and spent some days salmon
fishing on the Metapedia, sailed for England in August.
At this time the fame of our north-west territories had gone
over the world, and with a desire of seeing for himself the re-
gion of which the public had heard so much, and afterwards
making known his observations, his excellency in July began
328 TIIE ADMINISTRATION OF LORD LORNE.
to make preparations for a tour througli that vast country ;
and on tlie l.'Uli inst., 'vcconipanied by Major do Winton, Messrs.
Bagot (2) ; Kev. Dr. AIcGregor, special correspondent of tiio
Scotsman; Mr. Austin, representative of the London Tivicn; Mr.
Sydney Hall and stafi'of servants. On the Isfc of August his
excellency received an address from the mayor and corpora-
tion of Winnipeg, and laid the corner-stone of the Manitoba
college. Leaving the city, which is the gateway to the wide
prairies bej'ond on the 9th inst., the party reached Battloford
on the 30th, Fort McLeod on the IDth of September, Fort
Shaw, Montana, on the 27th inst., reaching Winnipeg, back
again, on the 8th of October. The tour through this compara-
tively level and treeles". territory, was described by corres-
pondents of the Canadian press, as well as by the representatives
named of the English journals, and his lordship afterwards pub-
lished in the IllvMrated London News sketches of the most
skriking points seen during the travels of the party. His
lordship met and consulted with the chiefs of the Blackfeet,
Crees, Saulteaux and other Indian tribes'; and in their own pri-
mitive fashion these dwellers of the plains showed their respect
for the head of the Canadian government, and their desire to
be regarded, like white men, as citizens of the Dominion. It
was the height of the shooting season when his lordship
passed over the prairies, and being an ardent sportsman he was
able to feast his instinct upon the plains. From a point a short
distance out of Winnipeg to Calgarry, along the entire route,
there uprose flock after flock of prairie chicken in the face of
the travellers, and the guns of the party brought down num-
bers of these birds. For recreation, too, they would on occasion
PRIVATE AND SOCIAL RECORD. 899
halt, lured to unsling their fowling-pieces by the swarms of
ducks that flapped out of every lake along the way, and that
could be seen dreaming in scores, or idly sailing, among the
reeds. More than an ordinary sacrifice of pleasure was neces-
sary < / keep within the limits of legitimate sport, and not-
withstc ^uing the boundless game-consuming capacity of the
party that each excited sportsman would plead as a justification
for all the shots he was tiring, the fox and other scavengers of
the plains, had now and again something more than the picked
bo'^es of a black duck, a teal or a mallard. On the return to
Winnipeg his lordship delivered an* address the most exhaus-
tive and interesting during his administration, setting forth
much of what he had seen during his trip through the country,
and with much fervour declaring what he believed were the
capabilities of the great territory to the north-west of us.
His speech was listened to with deep attention and continuous
outbursts of applause, and it was afterwards published in pam-
phlet form by the proper department of government and by im-
migration companies, and circulated far and wide. Some persons
characterized many of his lordship's statements as visionary or
exaggerated, but the weight of testimony since has gone far to
show that they were within bounds, and points to their entire
corroboration in the future. In November his excellency sailed
for England and joined the princess. On the 11th of January
he again set out for Liverpool, whither he was accompanied by
her royal highness, who, on account of her shattered health
was obliged to remain in England during the winter ; and ac-
* See appendix E,
U
880 THE ADMINISTRATION OF LORD LORNE.
companied by his sister, Lady Frances Balfour, and hcrhusband,
Mr. E. Balfour, set sail for Canada. On the 16th of February
the first of the two state balls (As it was found impossible to
have all the society folk at the cn])ital entertained at one ball,
the expedient of giving two was resorted to.) was given by his
excellency at Rideau Hall. About twelve hundred invitations
were issued for both. In the absence of H. R. H. the princess
Louise, Lady Frances Balfour, acted as hostess. On the first
occasion the state quadrille was formed by the governor-general
and Mrs. Dewdney ; lieutenant-governor Dewdney and Lady
Macdonald , lieutenant-governor Robitaille and Lady F. Bal-
four : hon. Mr. Macphei'-son and Mrs. Luard ; Sir H. Langevin
and Lady Tilley ; Sir L. Tilley and Madame Caron ; Sir C
Tupper and Mrs. Judge Johnson ; hon. Mr. Caron and Mrs. Rus-
sell Stephenson. On the second occasion it Avas composed of the
governor-general and Madame Cauchon ; hon. Mi'. Caron and
Lady F. Balfour ; Mr. P. Gerts and Lady Tilley ; Count de
Sesmaisons and Madame Caron ; major-general Luard and Mrs.
Johnson ; Mr. Justice Johnson and Mrs. Luard ; Mr. Balfour
and Mrs. R. Stephenson ; hon. Mr. McLeaii and Lady Ritchie ;
Sir W. J. Ritchie and Mrs. Macpherson.
The usual festivities were held during the winter at the vice-
regal residence, and in May her royal highness much improved
in health returned to Canada, where she was warmly wel-
comed. There was the wonted round of hospitalities already
described to the reader ; the usual stay at the Quebec citadel,,
from the battlements of which was spread out as grand, and
as poetic a scene as ever delighted the eye of an artist ; and the
accustomed visit to the fishing grounds. On the 30th of Aug-
PRl VA TE A ND SOCIA L R ECORD. 331
ust, their excellencies and suite left Quebec to pay a visit ta
our far-away sister on the Pacific coast, whither they arrived
on the IDth September. Here, as elsewhere in Canada, they
were received with enthusiastic welcome. ] Lis excellency paid
a visit to the Okanagan country, a region of rugged and ex-
hilarating scenery, and while there shot .sceral geese, duck
and other game birds abounding on the plains and in the lakes.
Notliing unusual marked the succeeding winter at Kideau
Hall, save that the unpopularity recorded in the early part of
this chapter no longer hovered around the vice-regal dwelling,
and every one saw in the governor a man who had a hearty
love for our coimtry, and who desired above all things, while
among us, to be one of ourselves. Those who came in contact
with the princess, never weary of telling that she was a true
and noble woman, always desirous of doing well for her kind,
eager in giving assistance to every project of art and edu-
cation, and not less than her husband generally interested
in the progress of the people. All this might go without saying,
but some people cannot believe unless it is ,'iade plain and
repeated to them, that a woman who happens to be a princess
f'an have any interest in the welfare of the other so-called
" orders" of human kind. Nor does the writer chronicle the
fact as extraordinary, or with the conviction that it would be
justifiable if it were otherwise, but merely to have the truth
appear.
As the early summer advanced, the vice-regal household
looked to its fishing tackle, turned the " Jock Scott " fly in the
light and praised it ; and betook themselves to the Cascapedia,
one of the most picturesque and fertile of the small, salmon
632 THE ADMINISTRATION OF LORD LORMK
Htreains in Canada. On the banks of this river, ten miles ahove
Now Richmond, in a spot praci ically beyond civilization, at
least out of siglit of clearings and farm houses, and beyond the
din of life, stood a rude but comfortable cottage, belonging to
their excellencies. About this cottiige were pitched the tents
of the party, and deliciously cool all were in the evenings
after the sport and tlie excitement of the sultry day was ended.
The scenery at this point, and for many miles further up the
stream reminded the visitors of the Scotch glens ; the hills in
the early morning wearing their nimbus of pure, cold, silvery
mipt, and the vapours yet unpurged from the hollows almost
persuading the eye that looks upon them that while all
were fast in slumber the clouds had come down from their
watching places in the sky and slept through the night in
the valley. Tlio land belongs to the Quebec government and
only here and there has a settler been found to intrude upon
the primeval stillness, and with his green field and eharred
stumps mar this paradise of fishermen. Along the river are a
number of deep, still pools, the most fertile of which is Lazy
Bogan lying many miles up the river, beyond angry falls
and scolding shallows, and well named from the drowsy still-
ness of its waters. It is not on record that the salmon-fisher
has ever visited this sleepy pool in the proper season and failed
either to see or to take away a number of magnificent fish ;
and to the fliae of the vice-regal party it yielded generous fa-
vours. Most of the party rose from four to five o'clock in the
morning and began the day's sport : but her royal highness
sometimes took her sketch book and pencil among the hills
to a striking point which she had seen the day before and
rUlVATE AND SOCIAL RECORD. 333
now batlied In tho fresh ^lory of tho summer morning; or
she often sat far away from tlie camp as the sun went down,
before her a hill whoso crest was in a crimson flame, nnd a
shoot of water colJ-hucd id sobor-shadod now that the gloom
of the hill-side had fallen upon it. Tho fishing was mostly
carried on from canoes, each of which was poled up tho stream
by stalwart arms, tho frail craft now making its way slowly
and persistently against the brisk, rattling current, again shoot-
ing keenly through a placid expansion of tho river or evading
by a sudden cross-dart, pomo angry rapid that thundered a re-
fusal to further passage. When the pool was reached anchor
was usually cast, though sometimes the canoe was permitted
to drift down stream, the canoeman steadying the craft with
his pole. The tormenting fly was on the scene, and the bar-
ricade of net-work about the face and neck was not always
proof against the exasperating mite, though it almost did
one's worried heart good to hear the song of consternation
that the creature would set up when it found that it had got
in but could not get out, and had convinced itself that in all
probability it was in what might be regarded as a very serious
place. Wherever a bit of flesh was exposed the flies " took
their claret," sometimes in Indian, sometimes in Norman blood.
The catch was largo and the adjective is accurate not alone
with respect to the number caught, but to the size of the fishes
taken. Some of these fish carefully packed were afterwards
sent to friends in Montreal, Quebec and Toronto ; others were
distributed through the neighbourhood of the fishing grounds,
the cur^ getting three or four, a like number going to the pres-
byterian minister, to the post-master and others of rural note.
334 THE ADMINISTRATION OF LORD LORNE.
Ea<;h year Jiiriiif,' tlioir excolh'iKMo.s' stay thoy Hont Homo of
their catch to the Queen and otlier friends in Great Britain,
and always received word that they had readied their desti-
nation cold, firm, pink and perfect.
Ah the close of his lordsliips administration drew near, the
a(Mresses presented, the tone of the press and the general ex-
pression of public sentiment, {^ave emphatic proof that their
excellencies had found a* stron<^ place in the regard of the
country. As for his lordship when the hour of departure
came and he bade the friends whom he had known during his
five years' sojourn with us good-bye, tears stood in his eyes and
his voice was traiimlous; while the princess went on board
the vessel that was waiting to bear them away with many a
regret. At every point along the way the peoplehad thronged
to wave their farewells, and express their regards, and several
addiesses, expressing admiration at the manner of his excell-
ency's administration, were presented. Many tributes of affec-
tionate regard found their way into the press, and one of these
which appeared in the Ottawa Citizen, signed F. A. D., which
I take to be from the pen of Mr. Frederick A. Dixon, a gen-
tleman with a deservedly prominent place in the circle of Can-
adian literature, I shall quote : —
Friend of five years, proved true and leal.
We listen to your last good bye ;
And all you words cati testify,
Believe us sir, our hjarta can feel.
With you, we stand upon the deck,
Beneath the quaint old town, grown dear
Through pleasant memories, year by year ;
Beneath grim wall of gray Quebec.
ritl VA TE A ND SOCIA L RECORD. 335
With y<in, wo boat our Rtoiuly wity
I)<iwn tliu ({runt tidu to niitut tliu aua, •
Past stri'aiii of hiiiiKlity .Su)<iioiiay,
Past Oaape, and thu Chnluiir Miiy.
Taut ■uinmor haunts of f'tshur nion,
Whure CaBca]iti<Iia'i waturs riio ;
Pa^t tniRty ({lint of li^lithoUHu eyes,
Warning from rocks of Magdalon.
Uolle IbIo will know your voasel's foam,
Past Nowtoundlancrrt dark, misty shore.
Past orut'l coasts of Labrador;
And then — tho open way to home.
And salt spray crusts the funnel's round :
Tho groat shii) lifts hor lioad to moot
The mighty kiss of waves that greet
Thoir favoured friend, tho " homeward bound."
And merging into ocean's blue, •
Faint and mure faint as hours go by,
You see with not unmoistened eye.
Your Canada fade out from view.
And back you cast a ling'ring gaze
On shores you learned to hold as dear.
On kindly faces, hearts sincere,
On all your useful, happy days.
No wasted years were these you spent
We know your rule has made us glad,
No word you ever spoke but had
£ome kindly aim, some wise intent.
And you, our Princess, wise as good,
We hold you dear for all your worth,
And heart unspoiled by pride of birth,
And all your grace of womanhood.
We ever hold you, all will tell,
True hearted and unselfish friends ;
And Canada this message sends
*' God speed your lives," and so farewell.
Xm TIIK ADMlNtSTRATlOS OF LORD LOUNR.
There in no iiiionlion on i\w part of tho writer to pam'^yrize
tho late govonior-f^'oneral ; hut Niinplu jiiMtiru (IoiiiiiikIs that it
Ik3 rt'eonlod that his excclU'iicy w«'ll tU'HervoH thohij,'h phico ho
holds in tho cstcutu ami thu good-will uf thu C'uimdian peo[)lu.
Lord Lornt'H siKX'cMHor, tho ManpiiHof Lansdowno, has inado
a good beginning, and it Hoenis in no-wiso venturosome to pre-
dict that tho writer to whom it falls to chronicle tho career of
his lordship in Canada, will he able to say that no more worthy
and popular viceroy has ever been known to this country.
Tho manly, ready, unstilted and appealing character of his
utterances in tho chief cities of tho Dominion wliero ho has
spoken, his frank, luiprutontious address, and tho spirit and
naturalness with which ho has entered into his now calling,
and sought to familiarize himself with all events hero political
and social, have already won for him universal approbation,
kindly feeling and esteem.
CHAITKK IX.
MTERATrrRK OF TIIK PERIOD; AND THE ROYAf, SOriKTY.
rPHK Huhject of Canndiun literaturu has becoinu thu Htoek in
■*- trado now for every writer who haw nnytliin^ to nay orv
any Hiibject not lyin^' within the tniry re^'ion of politics; and
is (HsciishimI witli nuwt feeling' hy those who are themselves tho
greatest reproach to that littsrature. The coiuplaiiit is made by
those unsuccessful authors that there are few read»!rs for Cana-
dian writers, and that there is no loyalty to native pons; as if
our people ought to read a Htupid book or a feeble essay simply
because it has been written by some blockhead in Canada.
When I was making a review some months ago of tho Cana-
dian literary output of the past forty years, I found that n largo
portion of it, thougli recommended to posterity, and wreathed
with iuunortality, by a number of good-natured and undiscri-
minating reviewers, school book compilers, and newspaper edi-
tors, was worthless ; and because I unhesitatingly declared my
opinion, I was forthwith charged with undue severity, was in-
formed in the words of Pope, that " blunt truths more harm
than nice falsehoods do ; " that where I had not a good word
to say I should not have spoken a bad one ; that it " did no
good," but only wounded the susceptibilities of the disparaged
writers, and finally, that it did not give evidence of a loyally
Canadian spirit. If instead of Canadian literature, I had dis-
337
•jyH TIIK AUMINIHTUATION OF LOUD LOUNK,
cukmimI tho qiU'Htion of Canndiiin jcwi'llory, nn«l (llHcovorod that
u nurnlu'r of tlio riri^^'H drMcrilMxl am ^^oM wfio composed of
lniiMH, iumI n'conlrtl tlin fm-t, iititl (lis|)am;,'«!(l tlio vurulor, I would
aho, if tlu* positiun of iii^ criticH \h noiiidI, liavu hIiowii tliat I
waH tloticiunt in "a loyally Cunudiaii Hpirit." I do not at all do*
ftiro to recall thu verdict I have given upon Moine of our liouie
productions, and I only regretted then, and I regret it now,
that I liad not space in my book to pronounceupon the balance
of the valuelesH matter upon our Hhelve.s 1 taring the lahol
" C'anadian literature." Suppose that in nuiking my review I
had como upon a volume — no rare experience — that had passed
into a housohold word by virtue of its place in the pages of a
school reader, or the eminent ground it huld in the Uoyal So-
ciety, which had no merit whatever, and that I had, in obedi-
ence to a " loyally Canadian " impiilse, declared that it was an
excellent book, that " no houselioM shoul<l bo without a copy,"
that it was a work which posterity would "not willingly let
die," somebody, by virtue of my laudation, might have been in-
duced to purchaso the production, liut if this buyer were a
reader of discrimination, discredit must fall upon my judg-
ment, and not only that, but the deluded purchaser would re-
ceive with more caution the pronouncements of the next re-
viewer ; and I would have assisted in no small degree in bring-
ing the critical standard into discredit. This supposition is
brought forward on the assumption, for argument's sake, that
there is in Canada a reliable critical standard ; but, as shall ap-
pear in the proper place, we have not such a standard, wheice
it comes to be the duty of those among us who know what
literature is to endeavour to build up a critical court, whose
LIT EH A TVU K; A Nl) TU F. liO YA I. SOCIKTV. :Ja9
deciMioriH t]u> n'adinjj puMli! may ftpcnpt without th« pn«N«nt
Having i^va'm of suit.
So far a vmy limittd Hold liaH boon proMtMitod to lit»>niiy
caiorcrN in Canada, hut ovon that aivn has not ))een nupplii'd,
and thu ruiiHon lies not in thu fad that thu poopio lack loyalty
or appreciation, hut that thu groater nunilwr of the writora
have boon no goo<l. In tho preface to every native volume of
prose or verMe, in our domestic nuigazineH, it lias been shown
that CaniHlian literature ha.s not been encouraged; but very
little of it deserved to bo encouraj^'ed, and the unsuecossful onen,
instead of meriting approval, only deserved banishment from
tho field. With a small and creditable number of exceptions,
there has boon nothing produced in C'anada yet that it would
not be a mere useless operation to preserve ; tho woih has con-
tained what Mr. Arnohl calls tho " note of provinciality," tho
flavour an<l tho limitations of tho log-hut. The same keeidy
ob.serving critic also declares that wo have now come upon a
period of criticism. So far as this doctrine applies to Canada,
I agree with him. The tield hero is lumbered with enormous
rubbish heaps, and criticism would be usefully employed in
clearing it off.
But ('anadian literature, with its little of tho very good, and
its vast mass of tho very bad, has had, and still has, a genuino
grievance in being much at tho mercy of an illiterate press ;
though its grievance exists loss in censure and disparagement,
than in indiscriminate and systematic approval. Connected
with the entire press of tho Dominion, there are not probably
ten persons from whoso pens censure would be discreditable, or
laudation a compliment. Every book that finds its way into
MO TUE ADMINISTRATION OF LOUD LORNE.
tho party garl»)ij,'(!-liou.s(), wlioro sits tliolord of thocohunn.Hatwl
tlio " wc " wliidi Is busy fashioning public; opinion and morals
is announcod to tho world throiifjli the roiriilation two inches
of print; the writer is always certain to liave " treated Ids sub-
jeet with much ability and skill," and "thc! press work" is al-
ways " excellent." It may have been tlio work of another John
Stuart Mill, or of a Lord Macaulay, or it may have been tho
somewhat diflorent j)r()duction of a rercival Stockdale : the
space is the same in all cases, two inches solid; tho skill and
ability are always in the book, and the press-work never faiU
to bo of the highest. There are some exccsptions, however, to
this method of new.spaper treatment, it is only just to say,
when, for example, an author appears with a work on horso-
racing, or rowing with sculls, in which case the enthusiasm
of the editor, and two columns of typo come into play. The
country has not been large enough to maintain a court of dis-
criminating and cultured criticism, so that the Christian with
the infidel always goes to the lions. Full of culture, ar<l a
capacity for judging of style as derived from his party " ex-
changes," thc editor fastened greedily upon my book, " Tlio
Life and Times of Sir John Macdonald," because it was "about
politics " as he imagined ; but thc same an»ply-e(iuipped critic
— I am using the unit for the mass — opened Mr. Dawson's book,
" A Study of tho Princess," a work of conspicuous note in Eng-
land and the United States, looked at it, read a page, " didn't
know what it was about," " never heard of tho jjrincess," and
throwing it into the waste basket, went on to write about the
literary style of my unfortunate volume. From which it will
be gathered that to the list of subjects already noted as falling
LITER ATlJlth:; AND THE ROYAL SOCIETY. 341
witliin tho ontliusiasin and tlio cotnjietence of tlio newspaper
reviewer is to bo addcid every book that has any " politics "
in it.
Tho result of all tills, naturally enough, is that the intelli-
gent ones among our readers have no respect for the eritical
estimate of the newspapers, and will not think a work better
or worse because tlic editor <leclares it to be good. There have,
however, been some exceptions to tho rule of praise; and ninong
some Canadian journals an attitude of positive disparagcnient
towards any literary attempts by our domestic writers.* There
is, then, no literary standard or guide in Canada, and there is ,
not likely to be any. Therefore, tlie advice of the writer to
any one who has a work of value wliich does not appeal to
some section, or prejutlice, or party, or denomination in Canada,
is to take it to some other coujitry and publish it. Thus did,
and did wisely, (Jol. Denison, Mr. Rolierts, and Piofessor de
Mille.
All this, however, is with reference to the limited field at the
disposal of literature : and it is only just to say that the time
has not come, thougli it is coming, when cither able writers or
a competent critical tri])unal could make literature in Canada
successful. The same law that regulates tho consumption of
flour must also control the consumption of literatiire : the sup-
ply must depend on the dema»»d, and till there is a demand
there is no utility in the supply. (Janada is yet really too
* As an instance of this, I iniglit way tliat some time ago tliero appeared in the
Ventuvij magazine, from the pen of Mr. J. Fra8er, of Toronto, some verseH whicli
attracted wide attention. Tlie (llohc nowsjiaiier copied the vurHes, but cut olf tlie
name of the writer, which it wotild not have done had lie resided in New York, it
being against principle to give " free advertising" to a Canadian.
842 THE ADMINISTRATION OF LORD LORNR.
young a country to give encouragement to wide literary en-
deavour : licr wealtli is .still in a largo measure to be made, her
cultured classes, with the time to devote to literary study, have
yet to be formed ; eveiy one is too busy building mills or rear-
in"- factories, or cleai'ing farms, or selling merchandize, to be
able to devote much time to helle Icftrefi, to art, or to other such
pursuits : but by and by, after the wealthy mill-owners, and
lumber merchants, and coal dealers, and boot-and-shoe manu-
facturers shall have died, their sons and daughters, rich, cul-
tured and aristocratic, will be prepared to buy our poetry, and
our essays, and our high-class criticism, fiction and history.
This accomiilished, there will arise a band of literary creators
to feed these people. There was not anything that could be
called a national literature in the United States before the war,
the peoi)le being too busy building towns and villages, and
growing corn ; and the books that were written only ai)pealed
to, and were only read by, little circles of certain race or so-
ciety. Even the plethora of literature born of the anti-slavery
excitement passed out of memory almost as readily as it had
appeared, and it was not till the war was ended, till a sense of
national unity and solidity had been established, till the shat-
tered social frame had knitted together, and affluence, leisure
and a literary desire, all the offspring of commercial success,
had grown up, that there was a general demand for letters,
and that there appear-^d what could be called national writers
and a national literature. We must not lose heart and think
that we can have no literature in Canada till we have attained
the growth of the United States : the success of our letters
must depend rather upon the cultivation than the magnitude
LITERATURE; AND THE ROYAL SOCIETY. 345
of our population, and the existence of national aspiration and
enthusiasm, which, however, is hopelessly unattainable in a
country with the stigma and the fetters of colonialism upon
it. There, then, must come, first, wealth, leisure and a desire
for letters, after this a national i'upulse ; then writers will up-
rise, and a Canadian literature of romance, and song, and essay,
and criticism, and history, will be founded. If in work hope-
lessly inferior it bo not unworthy one's attention or time to
seek for a specific fault, it may bo said that the universal sin
througli our inferior Canadian literature is the " note of i)ro-
vincialism," which gives a tone to the work much resem])ling
that which a domestic servant, called upon for a speech in the
kitchen, would adopt in presence of the household after his
lord had delivered an address up-stalrs. Not alone has this
note of self-confessed inferiority been the aim of the pro-
vincial writers, but it has been the joy of some of the critics'
hearts, who have stated in the magazines, and the yearly
Registers, that Canadian poets should sing only Canadian
songs, and confine themselves to their own land for inspiration.
As an oblique reply to this narrow and degrading doctrine, Mr.
Roberts says*: — "Before closing these fragmentary remarks
let me say a word concerning that perpetual injunction to our
verse-writers to choose Canadian themes only. Now it must
be remembered that the whole heritage of English song is ours
and that it is not ours to found a new literature. The Ameri-
cans have not done so nor will they. They have simply joined
in raising the splendid structure of English literature, to the
* I take the extract from Mr. Roberts* Alumni oration, 1883, delivered at the
Encasnia of the New Bnmswick university.
844 THE ADMINISTRATION OF LORD LORNE,
building of which may como workmen from every region of
the earth who speak fclie English tongue. The domain of
English letters knows no boundary lines of Canadian Domi-
nion, of American Commonwealth, nor yet of British Empire.
All the great subject matter is free to the world's writers. Of
course the tone of a work, the (quality of the handling, must
be influenced by the surroundings and local sympathies of the
workman, in so far as he is a truly original and creative work-
man, not a mere copyist. To the assimilativeness and flexibi-
lity of genius it is as impossible that its works should lack
the special flavour of race and clime, as that honey from
Hymettus should fail to smell of the thyme slopes. By all
means let our singers preserve to the sweetness which they
gather a fragrance distinctive of its origin. It is true we have
much poetical wealth unappropriated in our broad and mag-
nificent landscapes, in our seasons that alternate so swiftly
between gorgeousness and gloom, in the stirring episodes
scattered so abundantly through parts of our early history;
but let us not therefore think we are prohibited from drawing
a portion of our material from lands where now the very dust
is man. When our own land as thickly as these has been
sown with human pleasures, and passions, and pains, has been
as many times and as long watered with human tears and
blood, she will be mother, I doubt not, to as many songs as
any land has borne."
The term of Lord Lome has been a somewhat marked era
in the history of our literature, for it saw the production of
some of the most important prose works that we possess, and
of a volume of verse which stands far superior to any given to
LITERATURE; AND THE ROYAL SOCIETY. 345
us before by a Canadian pen. Karly in tl.o period, Mr. John
Lesperance, the author of that cleverly-wrought and readable
book, The Bastonnah, wrote a story entitled My Creoles : A
Memoir of the Mississippi Valle,/. The work displayed its
author's clear-cut style, his ease and rapidity of movement, and
was on the whole an interesting picture of life and scenery in
the South.
Une Gerhe Poesies is the name of a little volume by M.
Pamphile Le May, containing several poems, written in the
smooth, flowing and graceful style of that author. There is
always a tender music in Le May's work, some delicate fancy,
and much pleasing sentiment ; but marrow, and a throbbin<r
vitality, it does not possess. The poetry has a note of pretty
femininity about it, and listening to its cadence you fancy
you hear the love-notes of some sweet young virgin.
M. Louis Ilonore Frechette, the poet laureate, by virtue of
the crown from the French Institute, published in 1879 his
collection of sonnets known as Les Oiseaux de Niege. Mr.
Frechette's writings " reveal a depth of poetic instinct, a soaring
and exuberant imagination ; and he brings to his aid a style so
graceful and artistic, that his very excellences in this re-
spect are accounted a fault." It is affirmed by competent
critics who are familiar with Mr. Frechette's verse, that there
is frequently too much decking for the thought, and that sub- '
stance is sometimes sacrificed to form. Verses of this kind,
however, must form but a small portion of Mr. Frechette's
work, for some of his poems, such as La LiherU, are subtle in
poetic insight, intense in feeling, and rich in imagination. The
same writer brought out upon the New York stage a drama
S4ft TUE ADMINISTRATION OF LORD LORNE.
known as tl»o Thunderholt; but while this production ccntainod
pa.ssa<;es of marked <lrainutie power, and of a lii;,di poetic (pial-
ity, it was unevenly wrought, and on the whole fell below the
level of Mr. Frechette's other work. In 18h0, Air. Frechette
was admitted as a competitor in the famous Academy of Franco,
and over all the poets of the republic who had brought their
verses to this great tribunal of criticism, the j)oems Les Fleurs
Boreales and Les Olseaux de Nebje,, bore away the laurel wreath.
The French-Canadian people were much elated at this mark
of distinction ; yet, while the crown might do honour to the
brow of any man, it is well to remember that France is not
remarkable at this day for poetry, and that since tlu^ disap-
pearance from the scones of Baudelaire and Gauthier, and
since Victor Hugo put aside his lyre and devoted himself to
the drama and fiction, no conspicuous poetical figure has ap-
peared. To be the greatest poet that Franco has ever produced
would perhaps not be a stupendous honour : to be greater than
any who has given her songs within the last decade might not
be a mark of conspicuous distinction.
Les Cwnadiens de V Quest is the name of a volume by Mr.
Joseph Tassd, setting forth the important part taken by French-
Canadians in the settlement of the North-West of the United
States and of Canada. The book contains a number of bio-
graphical sketches, compiled with much evident painstaking;
and though it exhibits no striking literary excellence, it must
prove of interest and value to a people bent on preserving a
history, a language, a civilization and an enthusiasm of its own.
If we could but forget in this country that y,e are French, or
Irish, or Scotch, or English, and remember only that we are
LITERATURE; AND THE ROYAL SOCIETY. 3'7
Canadians, what a boon it would be ! The time, let us trust,
will yet como when the jierson threatenin<j to publish a work
on thu Scot in Canada, the Irishman in Canada, or the English-
man in Canada, will bo frowned out of the field.
Reverend Egerton Ryei'son, who had tl<,'ured so long before
Canadians as a preacher-politician, as the ally of Family-C'jm-
pactism, and as an educationist, appeared before a public who
were beginning to forget him, in 1880, with three volumes of a
work entitled. The History of the Loyalists of America, and
their Times. The book was not received with nuich enthusi-
asm ; it was for the greater part written with moderate ability,
but it somehow had the flavour of a time that the generation
which was asked to buy it had outlived. Of striking interest,
necessarily, were those portions of the history recording the
early privations of those who, for the love of their king, had
left wealth and civilization behind tluMn, to grapple with bar-
barism and poverty ; but the work is deficient in range, and
much of the record that it furnishes is broken. Some enter-
prising publisher Avill one day discover that there is yet room
for another history of the Loyalists.
The Scot in Canada, by Mr. W. J. Rattray, a work intended
to show the influence (»xerted by the Scottish element of our
population upon the industry, education and politics of the
country, was commenced in 1879. Mr. Rattray's style has a
sober vigour, a quiet dignity, and a clear, searching and incisive
quality. This is entirely true, however, of only the first
part of the work, the stylo, probably through the author's ill-
health, flagging, and showing less research and sharpness of
touch towards the latter portion. Mr. Rattray did not live to
348 TUB AVMlNISriiATlON OF LORD LORNE.
complete his book, but tlio portion loniainiii;^ to bo finisluMl has
fallen into tlio luuuls of a <,a>ntl(!tiian whoso talent i.s aHulHciont
^Miaranteo that it will bo oreilitably and ably done*
Mr. JanieH Hannay's book, Tim IJlstury of AcadUi, appeared
in 1879. This volume contains a history of Acadia from its
first discovery down to the final sunender by tho French in
17(i.'i. Tiio merit of tho work lies chiefly in tho fact that Mr.
Ifannay did not steal and i*ecc'ik tho materials of other his-
torians who had operated in the same field, but went to tho
original documents, tho translation of which involved nujch
time and labour. He has therefore succeeded in producing a
work made up in part of material not presented to tho public
before, and of information which, though previously extant,
has an air of freshness from the author's manner of treatment.
Mr. Hannay disclaims any attempt at fine writing, his aim
being to present a soberly-told, concise nanative, and though
he allows himself here and there to write an eloquent passage,
he keeps fairly within tho bounds that he .set for himself.
Mr. Charles Tuttle's work. The New Jllastrated Hislory of
the Dominion of Canada, an historical undertaking, in two
large volumes of 750 pages each, was brought out as a sub-
scription book, and the vendors declared that its ra'ison detre
•was to supplement works already extant upon the same subject.
To be able to spell a number of words without the aid of a
dictionary, to know that a verb agrees with its nominative in
person, number and case, and to have common sense enough not
to endeavour to light one's cigar at a pump, are all valuable
possessions, relatively considered, but they do not in them,selves
Mr. Phillips Thompson.
LITKUArVRE; AND TUE ROYAL SOCIETY. 349
form Biifficient equlpmont for a person imrlortaking to write
history. One can easily gather, from ohservint^ the jiKlgincnt
(lis|th>,yo(l ill a nuinher of our iiistorios, that tho men wlio wroto
thuiii had too much sense to jfo to the pum[> and try to iiglit
tlieir i>ipc8 there, whih', from tailing account of the style, it
Would bo possible to believe they were aware that a verb does
agn^e with its nominative in person, number and case ; but
that is about as far as one would be warranted in condudin"'
rcspuctitig the intellectual and scholarly attainments of those
historians. Mr. Tuttle's book is a tremendous ma.ss of medi-
ocrity. Here and there occurs some well-written passage, but
it only lends emphasis to the literary squalor in the midst of
which it appears. The portion of the work which assumes to
give a history of Canada since confederation, speaks with a
liundred tongue.s, no two of those organs talking alike. There
is internal evidence that Mr. Tuttle waited upon every con-
spicuous politician of the cis-confederation period, and re([uest-
ed him to write an historical essay respecting himself; and that
this impartial instalment he handed to the printer without so
much as looking upon it ; or, having looked upon it, without
being able to understand it, or remember what a rival politician
had said in his historical contribution. And so in the manner
of the temple faced with sacred dogs, in Egypt, was this history
made : but as in the fane by the Nile, whenever footfall was
heard within the portals, all the dogs on the wall began to bark
at one another, so on opening Mr. Tuttle's pages does the reader
find one essay giving the lie to another, and striving in its type
fetters to demolish the contradictory statements upon the oppo-
site page.
aDU TUK ADMINISTRATION OF LOUD LOHNE.
\\\ tills year also appoan-d a new nlition of Dr. SnuMing't
al)ly-\vrittcn hook, Toronto of Obi. To this work tho distin-
jjuislitMl author ha<l ^'ivt-n loiij,' and careful rcsrarch, colltvitin;,'
a vaNt storo of interuNtin^ and valuahiu material, which, told in
Ills NHi^ularly etj;^a<.,'in«^ and highly cultured Htylo, forms one of
thu most readahh; hooks in Canadian literature.
Mr. Lo Sueur has puhlished nothiu',' yet in pretentious book-
cover; but lor several 3'ears he has been giving to tin; public a
nujuber of essays on philosophical, social, literary, jxditical and
other topics. To the North Amei iraii Review, ho contributed
"Party Ooverrnnent"; in the Popular Sclefice Monthly, his
papers, "J)efeneo of Scientific Ethics," "Positivism and Ma-
terialism," and " The Anarchy of Modern Politics, ' jittracted the
attention and the admiration of a hu<ro circle of thouirhtful
persons. Ho likewise published in the New York <S'u.u a
Hearcliinj,', philosophical, and altogether masterly review of
Morsell's work on "Suicide"; and the pages of the Canadian
Monthly were frequently enriched by his contributions, chief
among the.se being: "Few words on Criticism," a " Ileviow of
Stallo's Physical Theories," and "The True Idea of Canadian
Patriotism." Mr. Lo Sueur has the "scientific style"; and his
special characteristics are a sober but uncompromising logic,
and a facility for apt illustration, all expressed in pure and in-
cisive English. Mr. Le Sueur belongs to that school of scien-
tific thought which refuses to accept as conclusive the testimony
of Revelation respecting the creation of animate and inanimate
matter; iind he has, as a conscijuence, found himself engaged in
discussion with the most able theological controversialist in
Canada, Dr. Lewis, bishop of Ontario. Whether the theolo-
UTKIUTURE; AND TIIR liOYAL SOtlKTY. 361
gianN are ri^jlit or wron^, in a <llHcnHMi«m with nu'n of tlio
Huxley school, tlu'irs it is to hear tli« heavy end of tlie io^;
their o)>i>ot)t>nts Htatxl upon a |)la(f*)iin coii)poHc<l in pait of
actual, iinvaryin;,' and invincihlc ilcdtictions of science, and in
part of jtiauHihle aM.suni|)tion ; while tlie divine .'itand.s upon no-
tliing hut a leaf of Jewish history. Mr. Le Hueur nuide, in a
pampldet puhHshed in reply to a lecture on ajfnosticisni, de-
livered l)y Dr. Lewis, astronjL^ and exceedingly clever case for the
Hcitsntists; ])ut the hishoj), in a rejoinder to his critic, produced
an adininihle ar;,'unient, not so niucli for H(!ve!iitlon, as against
(Jliance. The lecture funushed proof that, while his lordship
i.s a sturdy theolo<;ian, he is also a careful student of the science
of tlio day, the conclusions of which ho has tested, discovering
many discrepancies, and much a.ssuniption that is leas than
plauslhlo. Withotit hclieving that a divine like hishop Lewis,
lecturinjif in every church and chapel in Caimda, could eradicate
"Free Tlion^^ht," so called, from the n>asses, yet, listening to
his lordship, one could not but regret tliat the pulpits of the
country boasted not a nund)er of others like unto him : of
men who sliow that the scientist has not proven that man
is a descendant of a hairy quadruped with a tail, probably
arboreal in his habits, and tliat the imiverse is a child of Chance :
instead of declaring that he will bo burnt with lire and brimstcme,
by-and-bye,for his impiety, and by an applicationof the very text
which this .same scientist has called into court to answer for it-
self, sweeping away contemptuously the declarations of .some of
the foremost thinkers among mankind. The more ignorant and
narrow the divine, the more imreasoning and bitter will be his
attitude ; and in the same proportion that his attitude is un>»
3fla TUK ADyiNJSlUATIOS OF LOUD LOMMk
lonin^ aixl tiittcr, will it bo inoflfuctivo nn<l iiiisatisfactory ;
for this in an a;^'<' wlieti ptttliaps halt' his corii^re^^atiori aru in
doiiltt alxxit thd iiifatliltiUty vt rovt^latioii, ami thisiio to hi<ai'
thu th>claration.H of po|)ulaiizu«l Mciunco uithui' iliM[>i-ovu<l or (iiit-
01*011110(1.
The LuHt l'\>vl;i YvitvH, l»y Mr. .Fohii Churlos Dent, wa.s ono of
thu most important works of thu period. ItcontaiiKMlasobt'rly-
writtoti ami accurato record of tho priiuiipal ovont.s occurring
in Upper C'auada siii(;u the unioti uf IHtl; thoii^^di the author
Hoemt'd to forget that during this pt^riod the provinces of Nova
Scotia and New Ihunswick gave hirtii to any hi.story .save that
connected with the railway and confederation movcnionts bo-
gun in Upper Canada, Mr. Dent is a pnin.staking, exact, and
culd-bloodod writer, and wlule ho never calls forth admiration,
he always commands attention, and .sometimes rospoct. Ho
clings to the traditions of that class of historical writers which
tlourished befon; Macaiday, and whi(;h believed that a smile on
the page of history was as much out of place as it would bo in
a church; that tiio historian should boas a tiguro carven in
stone, standing upon a pedestal, and should deliver his sentencos
in the tone of a funeral oration. There was long a theory
among historians that imagination had no place in history ; that
facts ought to be stated without colour or warmth in stately
phrase, and that any play of the fancy was fatal to truth ; but
it is consoling to reflect that the persons who held this
doctrine were themselves barren of imagination and fancy.
And so these writers with grim faces fashioned figures that
sometimes resembled the caricatures that a farmer sets up in
his field to keep the crows out of his corn, or that again seemed
• LITEUATUKE; ASD Tilt: ItOVAL SOCIETY. IM
ns iho stntiioK of iiicit (')iisi>llo<t in Htono, ri^iil and inlitiinanliku.
lint tlii'i'i) liiis now n|)s|irnn;( a ncIiooI of hi.>toriciil ct'DuturHr
wluH«i wi'h un<l woof of flninn'tor luo inui^'iniitit)n, or, if you
will, that (Imnmiii! insi;^')it which cniiMitH a man to fiinhion a
cliaractut' from tho farts of a canjor, as it was said Aj^'assiz,
whim suhjcctod to }iis firHt ^Tout icHt, constructud an extinct'
animal from a frw piocfs of l)rokt'n hones. Accordin;^ to snch
a method has Carlyh) j>roihict«d his Firdorlck and his Ulnltn'if
of the French Ho vol at ion ; in liko nmnnur has Mr. Kroudo writ-
ten his WiHtoi'ij of I'Jni/ldnd. Macauhiy throw (h)wn the stono
liistoiian from liis peih'stal, yet nnfortunatcly for his work,,
he was oidy too miuster of a ringinjj, hrilliant style, ami
lacketl Hnhtle insi^dit into character and motive. But the^riin
humourist of I'holsoa took the records of a life, and studied and
divined their motives, then, enterini,', as it were, into the soul
of the man whom he was ahout to pencil, ho fashioned from
the kernel out till there went forth from his hands a creation
puhin^j with life, full-Houl»Ml, and instinct with the passions,
the craft, tiio meanness, or the vitality of his kind; and some
of the critics who declared that the historian employed his-
ima<jination to the detriment of fact, have recently discovered
in the French public library that much of what Mr. ( Airlyle ad-
mitted that he had to deduce without the warrant of stated fact,
and which was suj^j^ested only by virtue of his ii.si</bt. has
now been corroborated by actual record. Mr. Froudt lias ex-
hibited this faculty, though in a less virile and pronounced
degree ; yet his creations are as far superior to those of the
writers who soufjht to build a man out of battles, boots and a.
diary, as is the Mark Antony of Siiakespeare to that of any
964 THE ADMINISTRATION OF LORD LORNE. '
other writer, not excepting tlie contoinpornry Tloinan liistorians
thein.selvcs. But Mr. Dent's History is an exceedingly careful
and comprehensive piece of work, written in a clear, smooth
stylo, that shows much taste ; while his Canadian Portrait
Gallery, containing sketches of a number of our distinguished
public men, is an exceedingly valuable addition to our native
literary stock.
Mr. Withrow's History of Canada does not deserve very
nnicii notice. The book is written in an easy sort of style, and
there are several spots of very fair writing in it ; l)ut it is by
no means what such a work might bo, and is simply its prede-
cessors redished, with none of the blunders left out. To write
a suitable history of Canada, such a book as is at his moment
needed for our schools, it would be necessary to make a tho-
rough examination of the French documentary records ; and cast
the whole of the material used in an attractive form, somewhat
like the children's histories written by Dickensand Mrs. Young.
Those interested in the character of the books used in the
classes of our universities and colleges will look upon the cx-
<;ellent works of Professor Chapman, of universitj'^ college, Tor-
onto, on geology and experiments with the blow-pipe as an
important addition to scholastic and scientific literature ; in
which opinion the writer heartily concurs.
Of Mrs. Kate Seymour Maclean, whose work from year to
year exhibits an advance in development, I shall repeat what
I said before. " She possesses the singing voice, and the seeing
€ye; her poetry is true to nature and the human heart. She
has a vast command of pathos ; her feeling is simple, direct and
healthy; and her whole tendency is ,sweet and natural. She
LITERATURE; AND THE ROYAL SOCIETY. 355
lias also at her command a vxngmrr tnimpet-notc, and some of
her verso is markedly sonorous and inspiritin^^" * Mrs. Mac-
lean's volume wasenfitled Tke Coming of the Pr'mcei^s.
But, as I have sai. , tiie book tliat .stands not alone above any
other poetical work of Lord Lome's reijlmc, but conspicuously
superior to any in our literature, is the volume Orion, and
other Poems, by Mr. Charles G. D. Roberts, and puljlished by J.
Lippincott, Philadelphia. The work belonged to the new
school of verse writers, and it stood out as an on^^inal, stroncr
and commanding creation. There was nowhere heard the
small local voice of jn-ovincialism ; but thcrp was given the
note, unbounded by geography, that apprals to the sentiment
in man which is not begotten of locality. Yet have the.se verses
the flavour of their birth-place, the impulse of our lakes and
hills, and the perfume of our clover fields ; but it is the quality
without the fetters of locality, a flavour that gives an additional
charm to this song as the honey of Hyraettus is made more
delicious— to use a phrase of Mr. Roberts' own— by the " smell
of the thyme slopes." It has been the custom to judge the
Canadian writer either according to no .standard at idl, or to
measure him against some native predecessor; but no such
method will suffice for a writer of Mr. Robert.s' striking indi-
viduality and power. We must take him into the cov.j-t where
are found our other masters of English song, and among those
there we must assign to him a place on the front benches. In
the space which a mere reference to the books of the past five
years puts at my disposal, it would be impossible to do more
than catalogue some of the conspicuous qualities of Mr. Roberts' "
•From The Life and Times of thcRiyht Hon. Sir John Macdonald.
366 TUK ADMINISTRATION OF LORD LORNE.
verse, but such a method falls far short of justice to a writer,
who, lilco him, displays a stronj]f ori^'inal power, and an almost
ontirely now and individual method ot" treatment. Mr. Robert's
blank verso disj)lays little of the fanciful, or that quality which
radiates, or explodes to the right and the loft, but it has in the
very highest degree an imagination which is concentred and
focussed in a current at once commanding, virile, vibrating,
setisuous, sustained and musical. In this verse, ticfuro in full
dress does not find a prominent place, but the author has in a
rare degree the power of suggesting a haunting picture by a
phrase, and sometimes by a word ; and he possesses to an ex-
tent which leaves him unsurpassed the faculty of knitting
together, in telling words, long-sustained, richly-coloured, and
powerful musical sentences, which, while always recognizing
the art-tribute that each line demands, conveys its ever-remem-
r
berable message to the emotion and the intellect. There is no
j.oetical gingerbread, affectation or namby-pamby ism in the
verse ; it is all the intense, passionate utterance of a singer,
who, while not obtruding his personality upon you, never per-
mits you to forget that he is present and singing in his own
right. His power of picturing a memory, or an emotion, or re-
presenting a scene of external nature, sometimes, in downright
directness of expression, shorn of image or allusion, is unique ;
and some of these passages, such as that describing the destruc-
tion of Actaeon by the dogs, after he had been changed into a
stag, and many of the lines in the " Westmorland Revisited,"
are conspicuous instances of this unusual and striking faculty.
As for nature, Mr. Roberts not alone sees it with the eye of
the poet, but with that of the artist, and some of his touches
LITER ATU HE; AND THE ROYAL SOCIETY. 357
«\re among tlio most exqiUHito and vivid in tlio entire realm
of English song. 1 have made special reference to his mas-
tery of blank verso, but I ought also to say that the lyrical
work which lie has published also occupies a corresponding
pedestal. There is a continuous evidence that this author is a
man who strives after so much of perfection as is attainable
and who will be satisfied with nothing short of that measure.
His verse exemplifies a broad mind, a thorough culture without
being ostentatious, and a widely-dittused spirit of t^e relif^ious
Greek art without being iniitative. Altogether, the work of
Mr. Roberts is not only an honour to Canadian, but to £n<dish
literature.
A notable volume of verse was Lyrics, So rnets and Songs,
by Dr. Charles Pelham Mulvany and Dr. Chandler. Else-
where, I have borne testimony to my conviction respecting the
merit of Dr. Mulvany's work, and I cannot do better than re-
peat it Jiere. " His ' Messalina,' ' In Nero's Garden,' and Theo-
dora, are dramatic lyrics of strong power of penetration, dis-
playing an accurate comprehension of the tone, temper a)id
Atmosphere of the times in which their seei-es are laid. Theii-
descriptions have the exact flavour of Im{)erial Rome, in its
earlier days, and prove the widest familiarity with post Augus-
tan Latin literature. But one or two of contemporary poets
could have produced them,— Browning, perhaps, or Dante
Rossetti. They combine what are so difficult well to fuse,
dramatic force and lyric fire. Dr. Mulvany is a lyrical artist.
He is capaMe of an exquisite and UDerringnote, though this he
does not alwa;, s attain by any means. He has no rival in
Canada as a writer of keen, witty, polished, yet pathetic vers
358 TUE ADMINISTRATION OF LORD LORNE.
de socicte. He has short fii^fitivo poems, with tlio flavour nnd
grace of Hi-ine, and fniely original." There is anotlier poem in
the vohime, too, which tells in strong, rapid, passionate verso,
the story of a woman's love;, joyous when "tlie victor was
crowned," " true when the dark liour came on ;" and most ap-
propriate docs seem this sc^ttingup beside Swift, for the tribute
of song, the devoted and womanly " Stella." Dr. Mulvany is
now engaged writing a " History of Liberalism"; the advance
sheets promise an exceedingly valuable work, and exhibit much
vigour, and the brilliancy and movement which are character-
istic of the author's style.
ParllaiDientary Government in the Colonies was the name
of a book seeking to show the omnipotency of kings and the
divinity of constitutions, by Mr. Alpheus Todd, C. B., i)arlia-
mentary librarian at Ottawa. It is the custom among captains
who have been forced out of their course by wind and tide, on
moonless nights, to seek for tlie north star, having found which
they experience no difficulty in ascertaining their reckoning.
So, too, whenever the constitutional ship had got out of its
reckoning in this country, Mr. Todd cast about him till h found
the fixed star of our constitution, the body that can never
change its relation to the state, remaining staid and unerring,
to wit, the Sovereign ; and having ascertained and defined the
bearing of that body, set about to declare wliere Ave were, and
how far we had allowed ourselves to drift astray. In an age
when the king was a potential figure, and not a mere stufied
shape, when he ruled his subjects through his ministers, instead
of his ministei's ruling the subjects through him, Mr. Todd's
mild light upon constitutional lore would have done no harm,
LITERATURE; AND THE ROYAL SOCIETY. 350
and possibly might have done some good. Mr. Todd had tho
unHagging persistency of tho mole ; and by virtue of much
delving, recording, comparing and constructing, he put upon
record many vahiable opinions on constitutional questions, but
as a whole his views are as mucli out of hairnony with tho
spirit of the time as the Ptolemaic system.
Plcturefique Quebec, a vuluablo, careful, and comprohonsivo
compilation, by Mr. J. M. Le Moine, was brotight out in 18S2.
Mr. Le Moine does not aim to write history after tho usual
method of liistorians, but his researches have enriched ^^o a
great degree; our historical store-house; and he has laid future
workmen under enduring obligations.
The Honourable Alexander Mackenzie's Life and Speeches
of the Hon. George Brown was an undiluted party utterance,,
which would have you believe that the Tories of Canada never
did anything pure or good, and that they were incapable, if
not intellectually, then at least morally, of doing so ; but that
the Liberals had never permitted their feet to get off the straight
and narrow path. The scope of tho work is not comprehen-
sive, the author contenting hiuiself with merely dipping into
the immediate causes connected with the acts of Mr. Brown's
career which he has chosen for portraiture. The work on the
whole, as much as there is of it, is written with marked keen-
ness, but the volume is composed for the greater part of the
letters and speeches of the robust, impulsive and tyrannical
Reform chief.
During Lord Lome's regime, the art publishing company, at
the head of which are the Messrs. Belden, projected their now
widely-known and excellent wovk, Picturesque Canada. The
300 THE ADMIMSTIiATION OF LORD LOliNE.
issue of this work still continues ; the letter-press is under the
editorship of Dr. Grant, of Queen's university, Kin<,'ston, wlio
is assisted by a stall' of tlu; ablest wi iters in Canada ; tlie artis-
tic department is under the diiection of our celebrated ('ana-
<lian artist, Mr. L. J. O'Brien, who in like manner has the
service of the most popular artists on tlic continent. From the
moment that the public saw the first i^art, the publication was
an assured success ; the most choice scenery-views in the re-
gion with wliich it deal*: were presented and the en<,'raving
was a triumph of artistic skill. The portions that followed
maintained the sanu' standard of high excellence, and Canada
now enjoys the credit of being able to produce tlie lii^her class
of artistic work in a manner that has outiivalleil any other
enterprise of this kind on the continent, I'icturesque America
having a kindred aim to that of Picturesque Canada, but being
barbarous in artistic merit in compari.son with the latter. The
country, therefore, is under obligation to the enterprising pub-
lishers, Messrs. Balden, for having made such a bold and com-
mendable attempt, ana for having demonstrated to us that,
with adecpiate energy, capital and skill at her hand, Canada
need not be behind her most conspicuous rivals.
In a review of the present kind, it would be unjust to make
no reference to that important Year Book, published by Mr.
Henry J. Morgan, the Annual Register. One must agree with
Dr. Gold win Smith, that it is a great ,pity this most useful
work does not extend back to the b.5ginning of our confede-
ration ; but since it does not, let us be grateful for so much of
its record as we have. Mr. Morgan has the singularly happy
faculty of getting within a comparatively succinct review the
LITERATURE; AND THE ROYAL SOCIETY. 361
drift and vitals of all political (juostions in the year, anil this
■ is suppltMnentc'l by a record of .such important social and other
octurrcncos as stand out conspicuously. It is with pleasure the
writer noted that the j^overnnient last year came forward with
a small grant to aid Mr. Morgan in this work which is of the
greatest importjinco to all public men, besides being a store-
house of invaluable material for the future historian.
That industrious, active, and s])rightly litteniteur, Mr. (ieorge
Stewart, jr., it need liardly bo said, has not confined his pen
<lurin jf the past five years to the editorship of the Quebec
Chronicle. He has written, and read before the Literary and
Historical Society of Quebec, from year to year, essays, on
Thoreau, Alcott, Carlylo, Emerson and Longfellow, some of
which he has published in pamphlet; he has likewise contii-
buted two articles to the Encyclopedia liritannica, one on
New Brunswick, and another on Nova Scotia, besides a chap-
ter of forty pages on Frontenac to Mr. Justin Winsor's forth-
coming " History of America." He has likewi.se in hand a his-
tory of the Canadian rebellion, l(S.S7-38, besides some other
projects. This later work of Mr. Stewart has confirmed and
a,dded to the repute which he enjoyed from the publica-
tion of Canada under the Administration of the Earl of
Duferin, and the Evenings in the Library. The History of
the Rebellion, and Mr. Stewart's other projected enterprises, we
may be well sure, will not be less deserving and popular than
the work which this successful writer has already given to us.
Of Mr. Dawson's book, -^1 Study of Tennyson's poem, " The
Princess," I need only repeat what I have elsewhere written,
that it is " one of the most meritorious books ever published in
w
362 THE ADMINISTBATION OF LORD LOHNK
this country. Its tone is coHuuipolitan, oxhiMtini^' no trace of
provincialism or jjliiliHtinisni, or any of tho Htalo rehash in
which HO many of our critics deal. It is a piece of pmo and
polished literary workmanship, subtle and pointed in its an-
alysis, ardently appreciative, deeply poetic, and altoj^'ether
masterly." The book obtained little notice from the Canadian
press, V)ut received conspicuous attention throu<;h the United
States and En;;land.
" Vera," tho author of Honor Edyeivorth, a story of Canadian
society, as sliown at the capital, was one of the many examples
of fairly clever work, without any individuality, insij^ht into
special types of character, or literary finish, with which tho
learned creation in these latter days is swamped. Vera has the
faculty of telling a story in a manner that evokes some interest,
but her work is not a picture of Ottawa society any more than
her characterizations are photographs of any typo of character
save the regulation man, with the legitimate number of eyes,
legs and arms ; with certain set speech in his mouth, and a
motive that makes him as like or as unlike his fellows as
one pea is unto another. The portrayal of exterior form is one
thing, the subtle conception of human motive and character
is quite another. The latter quality, in a degree, has Mr. Kirby's
book, Le Chien D'Or ; the former only has Vera's. Sometimes
an age produces no novelist ; sometimes it throws to the top
half a dozen ; but it always has in stock a thousand, ten
thousand, a hundred thousand, who can write better book.s
than is Honor Edgewortk.
— Dr. Grant and Professor Macoun wrote a work of much liter-
ary flavour on the North-West. Dr. Grant's work always re-^
LITER A Trn K ; A ND TUP. RO YA L SOCIET Y. 309
pays perusal for its vigorous thought and its stylo; ami Pro-
fosHor Macoun, now an ominont authority on Catuulian Morn, is
placing tho litonituro of tho country under much obligation.
An article in tho Cojiadlan Monfhh/, and afterwards ropritit-
ed as a panipldot, with the anihitious title of tho Intellcctaal
Development of Cannthi, hy Mr. J. O. Botirinot, was a woik of
such extraordinary style as to attract puMic attention in the
same manner as does some sudden exhil)iti(»n of physical phe-
nomena. Tho impression first derived from a perusal of tho
curious j)ap('r by those who knew nothing of the nationality
or the antecedents ,i the writer, was that the author was a
Frenchman, who had a lot of things in his head, but who had
chosen the wrong language in which to convey thorn to tho
public; and this impression was derived chieHy from the fact
that the name Bouriiiot, pronounced Booreeno, is French. Yet
the author was not alone English born, but a bachelor of arts,
two facts which once known could only lead whoever read tho
Intellectual Development of Canada to the conclusion that Mr.
Bourinot lived in a sort of intellectual fog, in which no object
was distinctly visible; and that while he seemed to be under
an overmastering impulse to speak, he did not exactl}'' know
what he wanted to say. He is less conscientious than Mr.
Dick, in David Copperfield, who ceased writing when the dark
spot fell across his subject ; for he bounds through the black
zone, portraying his subject in the manner of an object that
you sometimes perceive upon the sea-coast, a portion of it only
being visible, the remainder wrapt in mist. But no words of mine
can show half so clearly what Mr. Bourinot's style is like, as can
an extract or two from the paper itself. He is, as far as I can
304 TUE AUMlSISr RATION OF LORD LORNE.
gatiiur, onduavouiin^' to dofinu wlmt shoiiM hv tliu attitadu of
liiiii who soi'k.s to portray ccrtuiii plianos of om v!()lonial dc^velop-
iiH'iit, and sayH: " Ho will endeavour to treat thoHuhjjct in tlio
Npirit of an impartial critic, and continu liiiuHulf as cloMoly om pos-
Hiblo to Hucli facts as illuHtratc tlio cluiraoter of the pro^'ieHs, <Oi(2
give much ejicouratji'mcnt for the future of a country, even now
only a little beyond the infancy of its material as well as its
intellectual development."* There is, however, mueh ri^'id
caution in Mr. Hourinot's nuinner of expression, for he speaks of
culture as "intellectual culture," lest the reader sliouKl, by any
clianco, think that ho referred to fisli-culturo. Hero is another
sentence illustrative of the style of Mr. Bourinot : " Since 18(17,
Canada has commenced a new period in her political develop-
ment, the fidl results of which are yet a problem.' This de-
claration is open to divers inferences, among wliich are the
following: that Canada commenced her period of "political
development in 18G7, or that she did not ; that she commenced
it at the time Mr. Bourinot wrote his article, oi- that she did
not; that she commenced it in any one of the years between
18G7 and the date upon which lie wrote his article, or that she
did not. So much for the time when the "development" be-
gan. " The full i-esults," he says, " of which are yet a problem."
Does he mean the full results of " 18G7," or of the political de-
velopment ? He cannot mean the latter, for how can one look
for "full results" from a course of " development " which has
only " commenced." The author of the Intellectual Develop-
ment of Canada has likewise a phraseology unknown to the
grammarians, for he speaks of things "akin with" other things,
„ ♦My excerpt b Trom the Canadian Monthly.
LlTKRArUREi AND TIIK ROYAL HOCIETY. HUB
aixl of a jM'iiotl ill tho history of tlu^ country when " communis
catloHH wert^ wrt'tcht!<l, atnl chiirchrs tho cxcrptiou." When
Hist coining upon tho ntntciiKnit that " coiiiiiiiinications wuro
wrotchod," I thought that thu words might havo buuii thu Hor-
rowful cxchiination of the editor upon tho margin of Mr. Hoti-
rinot's copy ; hut I dismissed tins an improhahio when 1 learnt
hiter on that some uf our early mcmhcrs of parliament had
" hardly any education whiitover," convincing mysolf that all
this was simply a new style of grivmmar, given to tho public
" free, gratis, for nothing." Several things tho writer of tho
paper related respecting those men, who had " hardly any edu-
cation whatever": for example, ho said that their speeches were
" characterized by evidences of latye constitutional knowledge,"
but that they " forgot to do justice to their posHenHioii of good
common sense and much natural acuteness." This is the man-
ner of tho entire papei', and upon reading it through I was
impressed that it bore about as much resemblance to what is
given, in our English letters, the dignified name of essay, as a
heap of mortar, a pile of bricks, and some boards bear to a
house. Under the caption " Tho Secretary of tlu; Royal Society
— a Literary Frauil," Mr. Nicholas Flood Davin, in tho most
cHective manner of that very brilliant and tolling writer, called
attention to Mr. Bourinot's extraordinary style and English
Mr. Davin's aim, and very commendable aim, was to show
that it Avas only fair to judge Canadian literature according
to other standards than tho work of writers like Mr. Bouri-
not. I must stop my comment here, however, and should
explain to my reader that I would not have gone so far, but
that Mr. Bourinot's essay is regarded by some persons as an
3«M) TlIK ADMINISTRATION OF t.OUl) lORNK.
•'•ujK)rtant utt«rii!ic»', and that l»y virtuo of nuch conHpicuoiw
lituniry attainiiicntH uh tlio pnpcr lixliiliitN, itH iiittlior <)('cii|iieH
a pinimclt' ttf oiuiin'iic«! In our Uoyiil Socioty.
Though Mr. Kvan McCoH's I'onnM and Son(fn did not np-
pour till aft(>r tho di^parturo of Lord Lorno from Canada, thuy
may bo rofurriMl to hen', and M»>t down as occupying tho highu»t
place among Nimilar vurHu puhliHhud in C'anada.
Amonjf tho fugitive work of ui(»rit tliat tho period has pro-
duced nmy he niontionod Hovoral contributions, in proso and
vorso, by Mrs. .]. W. V. IlarriHon, of Ottawa, hotter known an
'• SeranuH." Of .such charactci i.s this work, oHpccially tho verR3,
tluit one cannot but regret that the authoress has not come to
the piiblie with a vohuuo, though the public must learn with
pleasure that tho talented lady purposes the publication of a
}>ook in the near future. Mr. Frederick A. Dixon, one of
whoso poems appears el.sowhere in these pages, also shows us
that ho is possessed of a genuine note of song, and that his
talent fits him for "book-covers"; while we read alway."* with
pleasure, frequently with enthusiasm, tho verses that now and
again appear from Mr. Lampman, at present of Ottawa, of
Miss Jane E. G. Roberts, a sister of the Canadian poet, of Mr.
J. A. Ritchie, of Toronto, and others of our vouuii^or writers.
One of the latest books of tho period was tho Life and Times
of the Right Hon. Sir John A. Macdonald, by the present
writer.
"' To the literature of Canada his excellency contributed a
number of poems* on Canadian subjects. Those founded upon
Indian legends give his lordship an opportunity of displaying
* See Appendix W.
UTFMATfHh; A SI) TIIK liOVAL SOCIETY. Mf
li'iM taloiit for vorM<i-writii){( at Um l)CHi, Nince description of ox-
turnals, antl ntory tollinjf, raihur than roflcrtion nml Hitlttiu
luiulysis, aro thu proiniitriil posHtvssion.sof his muse. Mis work
is always (;iilttii'(><! ; ho Ni)iiii'tiiiu>H writes with much iiiia^Miia*
tioii and strun^'th, hut fn'<|U(>iilly, in tho midst of a passai^u
oxiiihiting thesu iiualitius, thu impulHo leaves him, and lie con-
cludes with^lincH that are mere p<)liHhe<l laMsitudo. With Huch
^lacu aixl eulturu as his lordship possesses, it would \k; un-
iiatunil for him to writo, even heedlessly, an uncouth line; hut
a lack of " tlio aipacity for taking trouble," and a haste that
will not permit itself to ply the tile loji;^ enouj^h upon what it
is ftishioning, are th(> ahidin*^ faults in thu author's metlu 1 of
worknianHhip. Hence, as was pointed out in a review of
his lordsliip's poems, in the Wucl, tho kingfisher is made to
talk "from cedar's spray," when it is known to close observers
that this bird does not utter its cry except when on tho wing.
The epithet talk, neither, characterizes the note ofthoking-
fislier: it rather scolds, or gives a cry which suggests a mock-
ing laugh. One regrets these blemislies in a poem in which
he finds such a stanza as this :
" IMunjfed the Halinon waging feud
'(■ainst tho jewelled insoct-bruud;
From aeridl nuHditle
Ah eaijle^a shadow croawd the U'uod."
Towards the close of the year 1881, a num))er of gentlemen
conspicuous in literary or scientific circles, met in Montreal to
consider a proposition of his excellency the governor general
towards the founding of a " Society for the promotion of liter-
ature and science within the Dominion." The gentlemen so
808 TllK ADMINISTItATlON OF LORD LOHNR.
c()iniMUMi(!at(!(l with wtiro «l<iclar(!<l provisional odiccrs, and
tli(!y proii!|)tly iruit, and with careful considcMation (how u|>
tlio baHin ot" a constitution for th(! ,sai<l society, which they
Huhinittc'l to his •;xc('il(!ncy for a})i)rovai. Two chisscs in tlio
coniniunity were profoundly stirnMl hy th(! ti<Jin;^s that sucIj a
Hocicty was to ho founded, thr; (mx' hcinj,' coni[)os(!d of persons
who had no moan opinion of tiM'ir own aljihtios and of the
vahio of th(5 bookH and pamj)hlets tliat tliciy had written ;
th(! (jther ehiss c</niprisin^' intlividuals who had rare tahiiit
and I'eco'Mii/ed thi; fact, hut whoso utteranc(;s had heen re-
fuse<l outhjt by the n(jws[)iip(!rs of this country. 'I'his latter
class, too, no loss than theii' more hij^hiy (hivcdopivi brethren,
found themselves in a v(;ry hopeful condition, sc^ciin;^ in the
society a body which woidd (jxtetid to them the approval and
approl>ation whicli had been withheld })y the newspapers, and
inak(; them famoiis in tlu; <!yi;s of their lellow-countiymen.
The rnem})ershi[) wa.s contitKMJ to pc^rsons residijnf in (Canada
or Newfoundland who had "published ori^jinal works or me-
moirs of merit, oi- had otherwise ren(Jered eminent Horvi<M! to
literature or science." But such an enormous number had
" published ori;4irial works or memtjirs" of surpassinf^ merit,
and so iarj^o was the body of those wlio had " otherwise ren-
dereii eminent service to literature or science," that the heart
of a large portion of the cultured corrnuunity v/as fairly
broke/1 wlien the list of tliose wlio had been a<hnitted, and
tliiis render;d immortal in the annals of Canachi, was |)ub-
lished,* Yet the ehictin-,' power of the society was not to be
* 'V\v: ofticerH of the Rodety wern : Dr. J.W. DawHon, C.M.O., l''.R.H., prcHident ;
the Hon. P. J. (J. Chauveuu, \Ai.\)., vicc-preNidyiit ; Mr. J. M, Lj Moine iiml Mr.
urimAruuE; and the royal societt. .'j^f^
))liiin(;(l foi this ; for vvlion W(! coiik; to (ronsidiir all that lias \\y'v.u
printed in tin; nowspaix'r.s of this J)oiiiiiii()M, and tin- iimk-Ji
hir;^f(jr nias.s of oxcelloiit niat(!rial that tlm nowHpajxirs liavcin't
printed, the niind»er of persons wlio ^'o to tin; paniphh^t, or
who rea«l tlieir thoii<,dits from inaniise"ipt luiforti lod^'(f-tneet-
in'j's, we really cannot see liow it coidd avoid ^'ivin<^ atJlietion
to Honio of our people. When; there wen; s(!V(!ral thousands oi
writ(!rs fioni whi'-h to Meleet for perinaiUint fiini<! otdy aliout
two hundred, tlie task of clloosinJ,^ without ercjatiri*,' je'alousy,
was hes(!t with diMieulticH ; but a method Wiis judiciously
adopted somewlwit resemhlini^ the maimer in whicli at lot-
teries one thrusts his hand into a ItJi^', and draws the first
tielv(!t that ;.^(!tH hetweiai his finj^n^r.^ ; so that th(!re was no
nj-fjimd for iimrnmrinLCs ahoiit " invidi(nis distinctions," while
th(! disa[)pointni(-'nt was (jasicr to l)(;ar hy tlw; rcllcfttion that
if it was not a mark of dijpieciation to he hjft out of the
society, it was no (!vid(;nc(! (jf distinction to he taktin into it.*
Kiiii';h<ir (le St. Miuirict!, M.IM'., |ir»!Mii|itiit uml vi(;(v|>ri:Mi(li-iit, riiHpuctively, of tl«»
Hi!(;lii)ri of Kr«in-h litt^nitiin!, liiMtory, aii<l alliefl Hul)j(H:tH ; Dr. Diuiicl Wilnoii,
I'Ml.S.I'J., 1111(1 !)»•. (ioldwin Smith, pniKidciii arnl vicd-prHKidcnt of the M"'i;tioii of
Mii^jlinh litiTntiirif, hiMtory iiiid iilliiMi HulijiM^tM ; Dr. T. Hturry Hunt, I'Mt.S., and
I'k'of. < 'ii:t,i'l(;H ( !ai'|)inai:l, jircHidiMit and vinvfiniMidcnt of th<] Hcclion of iii;itl.i^i[!ati-
cal, physical and clicrnical HcieiicnH ; l)r. A. R. ( !. Stdwyn, l''.l<.S., and Dr. (iijorge
liawHon, IjIj. D., jireHident and vicH-preMidtMit of tho Huution of guolo^dcal and Uiltli-
olo^ica'. HcifiiUfjM.
* Mr. (jroldwin Smith who waH not cnthiiHiaHtic in liiH adiniration of the Society,
publtHhiid in the tti/Ktandcr the foUowin;^' r<-niitri<H, which he intended ud oil for the
troubhid watitiM : " A kind and praiHi!wortliy int<!ri'Ht lia'H Imm-ii hIiowh liy Tjon!
Jiornt) in the promotion of (.'anailian litunituni and art. In thin nontral lli'ld u
j^overnor-ffeneral may find a happy hphcire for this activity which hit* conHtitutional
poHition prcdiiditH elHuwhere, and ho. will not he in danger of comproniiHint,', hy the
artificial influiiiifc of hin rank, the dcHtinien (.f a country with whii;h In; huH no per-
manent (;onni-ction. Tht^ ^ cai'cmy of Art han i,Ui;<;ee(K;<l. It hail .-idflinitc^ ohji-ct,
wliich nothing hut an exhihition of paintings could fulfil. 'J'he Aciidcmy of IjettcrH
in act likely to Mucceed. It haH no definite object, Hince cHHayH, if they are wortfi
370 TUE ADMINISTRATION OF LORD LORNE.
But within, as well as witliout the circle, notwithstanding the
obviousness of these views, were persons who while the influ-
ence of choice or rejection was upon them, were disposed to
put by their pens and write no more, the representative indi-
vidual of one set regardinnf the situation in this li«;ht : " There is
now nothing more to strive for. I have written much, and had
hopes of recognition, but others who are no more gifted than I
will go down to posterity as members of the Royal Society,
while nobody will care for my work, however good it may be,
and the bulk of my fellow-countrymen will not hear of me ; "
while from inside the walls of the society came this voice:
'' There is now nothing more to strive for. I have written,
have received the highest possible recognition that can be con-
ferred upon me; my name will go down to history as a mem-
ber of this society : therefore, as I have said, there is nothing
more for me now to strive for." Several, however, who were
not created fellows of the society, went on writing, and a num-
ber of persons it is even said have read their works. As for
the Royal Society itself, it has developed mutual admiration
and brotherly love among those who before they had the op-
portunity, by close contact, of becoming acquainted with each
•others great virtues and talents, were filled with contempt for
publiHliing, are best exhibited by publication. Moreover, English and French art
is the same, but Enijlisli and Trench literatures are not. The selection of members
inevitably involved invidious preferences aud rejections which were not ratified by
public opinion, while nnythiu},' like exclusiveness is repelled, and rightly repelled,
b.'- the spirit of Canadian society. The French Institute itself has its unlovely
side : the struggle for admission gives birth to no small amount of intrigue, jealousy,
and cabal. The only recognition of literary excellence needful or possible in such
communities as ours is the verdict of an educated people. Such a plant as a Cana-
dian Academy of Letters, though patronized by Royalty, will not take root in this
'Soil. Let all disputes for which it may have given occasion among our literary men
'be adjourned for a twelvemonth ; we shall then hear of them no more."
LITERATURE; AND THE ROYAL SOCIETY. 371
one another. More than this, it lias become a coint where re-
cognition and applause are given to that liigher kind of literary
ability which Ihe people of this country have never recognized
and are utterly incapable of appi-eciating. It ha-s in sliort, to
be more specific, become a Temple of Consolation for a number
of distinguished persons whose contril)utions have been beyond
the range of the magazines and book -publishers. It need
hardl}' be said that the condemnation of a book by the puVjlic
is of Httle harm if the Royal Society takes that book under its
patronage ; nor on the other hand will it avail a man aught to
write in a manner that the general culture of Canada ca"s
well, or for his writings to obtain an extensive constituency, if
its author has neither membership nor recognition in the Royal
Society. In short, the literary destinies of the country are
entirely in the hands of that admirably chosen, discerning and
well-adapted association. All men who have ever won com-
manding places in the literature of their country have had un-
bounded respect for such organizations ; and without any
apology I shall j)resent to my readers the views of Macaulay
upon the English Ro3'al Society.
" The French Academy was, of all such associations, the most
widely and the most justly celebrated. It was founded by the
greatest of ministers ; it was patronized by successive kings ;
it numbered in its list most of the eminent French writers.
Yet, what benefit has literature derived from its labours ?
" Wl>.at is its history but an uninterrupted record of servile
compliances — of paltry artifices — of deadly quarrels — of perfi-
dious friendshij)s ? Whether governed by the Court, by the
Sorbonne, or by the Philosophers, it was always equally
372 TUE ADMINISTRATION OF LORD LORNh.
powerful for evil, and ocjiially iinpotc'tit for good. I might
.speak of the attacks by which it attempted to depress the ris-
ing fame of Cornellle ; I might speak of the reUictance with
which it gave its tanly confirmation to tlie aj)phinses which the
whole c'vilized world had bestowed on the genius of Voltaire.
I might prove by overwhelming evidence that, to the latest
period jf its existence, even under the superintendence of the
all accomplished D'Aleml^ert, it continued to be a scene of the
fiercest animosities and the basest intrigues. I might cite
Piron's epigrams, and Marmontel's memoirs, and Montes<^uieu's
letters. But T hasten on to another topic.
" One of the modes by which our Society proposes to en-
courage merit is the distribution of prizes. The munificence
of the king has enabled it to otter an annual premium of a
hundred guinea.s for the best essay in prose, and another of fifty
guineas for the best poem, which may be transmitted to it.
This is very laughable. In the first place the judges may err.
Those imperfections of human intellect to which, as the articles
of the Church tell us, even general councils are subject, may
possibly be found even in the Royal Society of Literature. The
French Academy, as I have already said, was the most illus-
trious assembly of the kind, and numbered among its associates
men much more distiniruished than ever will assemble at Mr.
Hatchard's to rummage the box of the English Society. Yet
this famous body gave a poetical prize, for which Voltaire wjis
a candidate, to a fellow who wrote some verses about ike frozen
and the bur rting pole. . , ,-
" Yet, granting that the prizes were always awarded to the
best composition, that composition, I say without hesitation.
LITERATURE; AND THE ROYAL SOCIETY. 373
will always be bad. A piiz.j poem is like a prize siieep. The
o])ject of the competitor for the a^nicultural premium Is to pro-
duce; an animal fat, not to be eat(;n, but to be weighed. Accord-
ingly, lie pampers his vi'-tim into morbid and umiatural
fatness ; and, when it is in such a state that it would l)e vnt
away in disgust from any table, he oflers it to the judges. The
object of the jtoetical candidate, in like manner, i.s to produce,
not a good poem, but a poem of that exact degree of frigidity
or bombast which may ai)pear to his censors to be correct or
sublime. Compositions thus constructed will always be worth-
less. The few excellencies which they may contain will liave
an exotic aspect and flavour. In general, pi-ize sheep are good
for nothing but to make tallow candles, and prize poems are
good for nothing but to light tliem.
"The first sul>ject proposed by the Society to the poets of
England was Dartmoor. I thought that they intended a covert
sarcasm at their own projects. Their institution was a literary
Dartmoor scheme — a plan for forcing into cultivation the
waste lands of intellect — for raising poetical produce by means
of bounties, from soil too meagre to have yielded an}' returns in
the natural course of things. The plan for the cultivation of
Dartmoor has, I hear, been abandoned. I hope that this may
be an omen of the fate of the Society.
" In truth, this seems by no means improbable. They have
been offering for several years the rewards which the king
placed at their disposal, and have not, as far as I can learn,
been able to find in their box one composition which they have
deemed wortliy of publication. At least no publication has
taken place. The associates may perhaps be astonished at
8T4 Tim AD.yriNISTRA TION OF LORD LORNE.
this, liut 1 will attempt to explain it, aftor the mannor of an-
cient times, by means of an apolo<,'ue.
" About loiu' luindretl years after tho deluj^e, Ivinj^ Gomer
Clusplioraod rei;fne<l in Babylon. |[o iinitt^il all the charaetcsr-
istics of an excellent soverei;,'!!. lb; made j,'ood laws, won j:^reat
})attles, and white-washed lon;^' streets, lie was, in conse-
<iucnce, idolizoil by his people, and panegyrized by many poets
and orators. A book was then a serious undertakin;,', Neither
paper nor any similar material liad been invented. Authors
were, therefore, under tho necessity of inseribinjj their compo-
sitions on massive brieks. Some of these Babylonian reeonls
are still preserved in European museums ; but tho hin^^Mifi^n; in
which they are written lias never been deciphered. Gomer
Chephoraod was so popular that the clay of all the plains
around the Euphrates couhl scarcely furnish hrick-kilns enough
for his eulogists. It is recorded in particular that Pharonez-
zar, the Assyrian Pindar, published a bridge and four walls in
his praise.
" One day the king was going in state from his palace to tho
temple of lielus. During tliis ])roccssion it was lawful for any
Babylonian to offer any petition ov suggestion to his sovereign.
As the chariot passed before a vintner's shop, a large company,
apparently half-drunk, sallied forth into the street ; and one of
them thus addressed the king :
" ' Gomer Chephoraod, live forever ! It appears to thy ser-
vants that of all the productions of the earth good wine is the
best, and bad wine is the worst. Good wine makes the heart
cheerful, the eyes bright, the speech ready. Bad wine confuses
the head, disorders the stomach, makes us quarrelsome at
UTKIlArURE; AND THE ROYAL SOCIETY. 375
niglit, and sick tliu next morning. Now, tliLTcforo, It'o my !onl
tli(! king take onlor that thy Hervants may drink ^'ooj wine.'
" ' And liow is tlii.s to l)o done V said thu good-natured prince.
'"Oil, king,' said Ids moiutor 'this is most easy. Lot tho
king make a decree, and seal it witli his royal signet ; and let
it bo proclaimed that the king will give t(!n she-asses, and tea
slaves, and ten changes of raiment, every year, unto the man
who shall make ten measures of the hest wine. And wIk)-
soever wishes for the she-asses, and the slaves, and the rai-
ment, let him send the ten measures of wine to thy .servants,
and we will drink thereof and judge. So shall there he much
good wine in Assyria.'
"Tlie project pleased O^nier Chephoraod, 'Be it so,' said
ho. The people sliouted. The petitioners prostrated them-
selves in gratitude. The same night heralds were despatched
to bear tho intelligence to tho remotest districts of Assyiia.
" After a due interval the wines began to come in ; and the
examiners assembled to adjudge the prize. The first vessel
was unsealed. Its odour was such that the judges, Avithout
tasting it, pronounced unanimous condemnation. The next
was opened ; it had a villainous taste of clay. The third was
.sour and vapid. They i)roceeded from one cask of execrable
li({Uor to another, till at length, in absolute nausea, they gave
up the investigation.
" The next morning they all assembled at the gate of the
king, with pale faces and aching head.s. They owned that they
could not recommend any competitor as worthy of the reward.
They swore that the wine was little better than poiso ', and
entreated permission to resign the ofhce of deciding between
such detestable potions.
376 THE ADMlNISTfiATlON OF LORD LOliNE.
" ' In the nnine of Belus, how can this havo Imppened V said
th(5 kin<?.
" Mcroh'hazzar, th. it,'li-l»rio.st, iimttcM-ed Honn'tliln^ ahout tlie
anger of tho (Jods at i-iie toleration sliown to a sec^t of inipiojis
heretics who ate ))i;;eons hroiled, ' whereas/ said he, ' our relig-
ion eoniinandH us to eat them roasted. Now, therefore, oh
king,' continued this respectable divine^ ' give command to thy
men of war, and lot tliem smite the disol)edient pfiople with the
sword, them, and tlu^ir wives, and their children, and let their
liouses, and their Hocks, and their herds, be given to thy ser-
vantH th(! ])riests. Then shall the land yield its increase, and
the fruits of the earth shall be no more blasted by the ven-
geance of heaven.'
"' Nay,' said the king, 'the ground lies under no general
curse from heaven. The season has been singularly good. The
wino which thou didst thyself drink at the bamjuet a few
nights ago, oh venerable Merolcha/.zar, was of this year's vint-
age. Dost thou not remember how thou didst praise it ? It
was the same night that thou wast inspired by Belus, and
didst reel to and fro, and discourse sacred mysteries. These
things are too hard for me. I comprehend them not. The
only wine which is bad is that which is sent to my judges.
Who can expound this to us ?'
" The king scratched his head. Upon which all the courtiers
•scratched their heads.
" He then ordered a proclamation to be made that a purple
robe and a golden chain should be given to the man who could
solve this difficulty.
" An old philosopher, who had been observed to smile rather
L I TRlt A T Uli /i' ; A NI) TU K 11 YA L SOCIETY. 377
(lisilainfiilly whun tlio pri/.o ha<l Urat boon iri.stitutod, camo for-
wanl atnl spoke tlius: —
"'Gomer (Jliopln .aoil, livo foiuvur ! Marvel not at that
which hiiH liapponod. It was no inirachi, hut a natural event.
How could it he otherwise ? It is true that much ''ood wino
has heon made this year. liut who would send it in for tl y
rowanis ? Thou knowest Aseobaruch who hath the greaf vine-
yards in the north, and Cohahiroth who sendeth winj every
year from tho south over tlie Persian (Julf. Their wi.ics are so
delicious that ton measures thereof arc sold for an hundred tal-
ents of silver. Thinkest thou that thoy will exchange them
for thy slaves and thine asses ? What would thy prize profit
any who have vineyards in rich soils ? '
"' Who, then,' said one of tho judges, 'are the wretches who
sent us tliis poison ?'
" ' Dlanio them not,' said the sage, ' seeing that you have been
tho authors of tho evil. Thoy are men wlios i lands are poor,
and have never yielded them any returns equal to tho prizes
which the king proposed. Wherefore, knowing that tlie lords
of tho fruitful vineyards would not enter into competition with
them, they planted vines, some on rocks, and some in light
sandy soil, and some in deep clay. Hence their winos are bad.
For no culture or reward will make barren hind bear good
vines. Know therefore, assuredly, '.hat your prizes have in-
ci'eased tho quantity of bad but not of good wine.'
"There was a long silence. At length the king spoke.
'Give him the purple robe and tho chain of gold. Throw the
winos into the Euphrates ; and proclaim that the Royal Society
of \^inos is dissolved.' "
rilAlTKR X.
CANADIAN HPOIITS, 8CKNKUV AND I'K.'TCRES.
I HA VK 111 ready .stated that Her Royal lliff|ine-s paid visitu
•* to many of tlio most Ittuiutiful and toinantic points of our
scenery; aiwl it ncctl tiot Ik; told to those who have ever j^'ono
abroad from our eities how rieli a field our wild-woods, our
lakea, and rivers, our mountains, waterfalls, an<l coasts, offer to
the pencil of tlie artist. We have a number of Canadian pic-
tures that exliibit much fidelity, but force and poetic tone
characterize oidy a small proportion ; and we await the coining
of moie potent pencils. For some eyes, a lake witii its forest-
clad liill-setting, h.as no impulse, no voice, no meaning, and the
emotionless spectator looks upon it as uimioved as he would
upon a dingy-walled brewery. For such a person art was not
begotten, any more than were the artists who give us the
mere corpse of a scene intended for those who possess tlie eye
that tinds a living, pulsating, appealing quality in all the beau-
tiful works of nature's hands. The dull and sordid'mind, then,
to whom a thing of beauty has no joy, and for whom the works
of creation hold no meaning, belongs to the same class that,
mistaking a thin impulse for a genuine love and a poetic un-
derstanding of nature, fill our walls with wretched caricatures,
stiff and unnatural in outline, indefinite and discordant in tone,
and ghastly or insipid in treatment. If we liave the " note of
378
CANADIAN srnUTf^, SCRNFmV AND I'lCTURES. 370
provitUMiilistn" in imicli of oiii* litcnitnn', we liavc it. lik«'vvis«>
in suiiKi of our art, l)Ut in tlif latter we have atlded to localism
much of the skill of i\w ScvtliiaTi. A ^'leat many of our Can-
adian artists paint like youn^' ladies who ro;,'ard art as a re-
Hneil accomplishment ; so that it is a relief now and a^ain to
Mco Homo ono of thom soar on courageouH wind's, thou-^h he doof*
frequently falter, atid come to the ground. One of these depict.-*
a storm among onr hills, and reveals many strong, hold and
imaginative touchi-s. The storm-cloud is itnpressively man-
ag(jd, and tlu^ light which hreaks through a portion of tin*
sullen mass is an angry gleam, giving a feature of t(!rriblenesH
to the whole. The shadows miscarry, however, and not sati.4-
f'lcd with this, the artist must hring a flock of birds, probably
gulls, upon th(^ .scene, to add further di.scredit to his work.
These birds rise with easy wing from the surface of a lake,
through the still air, with the apparent, though not intended,
object of liaving a look at the weather. Not a feather is
ruftled; thougli rising to the storm-cloud's edge, one miglit
naturally have looked to see the wing caught in the blast, and
gleam against the background, as always does happen when
any pinioned thing is " blown about the sky."
The spring, in Canada, is the .season when one class of out-
door sports has ended and another ha.s yet to come ; the reigtj
of toboggans, sleighs, snow-shoes and .skates is at an end, and
the lumberman thanks God that it is so; for the logs that his
men have cut during the winter, and hauled to the " brow,"
are now rolled into the stream, awaiting the rains and the
water from the melting snow to float them down to the mills.
We have some pictures of these rushing spring-currents, the.se
380 THE ADMIMSTIiATION OF LOUD LORNE.
steeds of the lumbermen, hurrying the blaok logs along, but
the picturesque shanty by the rivtr's edge, tenanted by its
cook with hot and hissing pans, or the shore, lined with
brawny-armed fellows, "sackers," who, with pole in hand, roll
into the willing current any log that has become stranded in
its descent, tells no story of the toil undergone during this
propitious flood time ; of weary workers, numb from standing
through the long day in the chilling water, frequently not
vouchsafing themselves, for ten or twelve hours, time to eat a
warm meal ; and of rising in the grey morning to put on damp
clothing, and to stand for hours again in the stream. But much
depends upon the logs "coming out," and there is heard no
complaining about the toil and the chilling water along these
Canadian rivers. Should the rains cease, and the water-giving
snow fail early in the " driving" season, the logs are "hung up"
till the fall rains, and sometimes till the succeeding spring,
when it has often happened that the employer's credit has
broken dov/n, and the men have been obliged to go without
their wages. Not less is the agility and skill of the log-driver
a cause for admiration, than his durability. Armed with a
staunch logging-pole, and having iron points, which he calls
" corks," in the sole3 of his boots, he jumps upon a log that
dances down through the mad eddies of the river, sticking to
it though it sometimes, on entering a cross-current or striking
a stone, spins round and round, the while its " rider," if he
would avoid being thrown into the torrent, must tread this
unaccommodating boat with supreme skill, coolness and judg-
ment. A log upon which the novice could not stand for a
minute in a mill-pond, the expert will cross or go down a
CA NA DIA N Sl'Olt TS, SCENE R Y AND PICTURES. 381
river upon witliout any hesitation, and, unless some unlooked-
for obstacle be in the way, in perfect safety. When the logs
have reached a portion of the river that affords sufficient
space, they are constructed into large rafts, upon which, if
the wind blow down stream, a number of sails are hoisted,
and with slow motion, steered by long, heavy oars, with wide
blades, the cumbrous mass saunters along its journey. Soon,
however, there is a commotion among those who had sat before
in knots upon the raft, smoking their pipes, singing snatches
of song, or flinging good-natured jibes to persons along the
shore ; they are near a rapid, and seizing their huge oars, with
knees bent, and feet that grip the standing-place, they oppose
their strength to the wayward swaying of the great mass of
logs, as it plunges down through the roaring, foam-crested bil-
lows. Or again, with a dozen square sails, hoisted upon rude
masts, you watch this ungainly craft in Lake St. Peter, as a
squall dark as night comes upon it, tattering the sail, or over-
throwing the unprepared mast ; wliile the water, churned into
breakers, fling themselves upon the soggy mass, sweeping away
the loose material belonging to the raftsmen.
The records of a Canadian spring would not be complete if
one industry carried on through the rural districts were omit-
ted. When the sun has grown strong in March, the sap begins
to move upward in the maple tree, and the inhabitants living
in regions wooded with maples, or possessing orchards of these
trees, prepare for "sugar-making." The process consists in
boring a hole, or making an incision in the lower part of the
trunk, and inserting a spout. The conditions most favourable
to sap-running are keen, frosty nights, followed by days of
TUE ADMINISTRATION OF LORD LORNE.
warm Hun.shine, when, after the sun is about two hours ui),
and the rays have warmed the; tree, a sweet juice will begin
to ooze through the wound, and. dro[» into a rude trough placed
underneath to receive it. A large tree will yield two gallons
of sap in twenty-four hours ; and about three gallons will pro-
duce a pound of sugar. Those who engage extensively in
sugar-making build a shanty in the centre of the maple grove,
and remain here gathering and boiling the sap during the
period that the trees continue to yield, which is usually from
three to four weeks. The labour of gathering the liquid from
several hundreds of these trees is considerable, and it is neces-
sary sometimes, when there is much snow in the woods, to use
snow-shoes. Outside of the shanty is built a fire, and over
this, hanging from a beam laid across two forked stakes, is a
forty-gallon pot, in which the sap is boiled down till it reaches
the treacle or honey state, in which condition it is sent to mar-
ket and sold as "maple honey"; but the greater (juantity of
the licjuid is boiled till it becomes sugar. During the sugar-
making season young men and maidens, on a sunny afternoon,
■will visit a shanty, and as the proprietor knows that this is a
'* candy surprise-party," he receives the visitors with welcome,
and strews upon the snow a great quantity of the boiling trea-
cle which the young folk, seated along a fallen tree, eat with
as much mirth and enjoyment as if it were a royal banquet.*
*1 he first scene like this that I saw was in the woods of New Brunswick. I
was shooting woodcock, and had come upon a hut where was engaged, in boiling
down B large pot of treacle, a crabbed and ungenial farmer. On the preceding
night ae had slept at his home, two miles distant, on the banks of tue river St.
John, and during his absence some persons visited his camp and carried away about
twenty pounds of sugar and candy. His son was sick with the measles, he was
himself unable to attend to the troughs, and " every one of thom now is running
CANADIAN SPOUTS, SCENERY AND PICTURES. 383
Two or throe persons soinetiinus join, and if thoy liave a sufti-
cient number of trees will during the season make a ton of
sugar. The tree bears to be tapped for a number of years, but
in time the continuous loss of its vitalizing fluid tells upon it,
and limb after limb becomes dead, till the entire tree, " bled to
death," finally perishes.
We have some Canadian pictures that teach us something of
the resting-place of the wild-goose, anD^er Canadensis, in the
spring, and such haunts furnish delicious artistic material.
After the snow has disappeared from the ground, and our
over," he told nie, in an exceedingly grueBome tone of voice, and I am obliged to
" hang here over this d d i)ot." He was unwilling to enter into conversation
about anything excepting sap, and he frequently turned his back upon me as if he
wished to be alone, and not to be bothered with my conversation about rabbits and
woodcock. When I found tliat he would not talk, I sat upon a log beside the fire,
warming my feet, which had become damp and cold, and relapsed into silence; but
after a few minutes he suddenly plunged a small tin dipper into the pot, and taking
up some of the amber-coloured liquid, threw it on the snow with a gesture which
the word " There," with which he accompanied tlie action, exactly suited. Had I
been a hungry dog that had visited his liut in my wood-wanderings, I believe he
would have thrown me a i)iece of bread or meat in the like manner ; nevertheless, I
was not sensitive, but ate the candy, when it cooled, with much relish, and some
unexpressed thankfulnes'. When I was about to go I heard a peal of merry laugh-
ter in the wood, and tlien a number of cheery voices; the sugar-maker, who had
been stirring che liquid, with his eyea peering incessantly into the pot, now raided
his head, and listening for a moment, burst out: "Tlie whole d d parish is
bound here "; and lie gave a half fretful, half sullen groan. But it was not quite so
bad as he had suspected. There was a party of seven or eight, half the number
being young women, the remainder rural bucks, one of which, however, had a sort
of city varnish upon him, and who, from his dictatorial tone and the deference
which he received in the speech oi the other gallants, and the glances df the girls,
I surmised, and surmised correctly, was the teacher in the " deestriot. " But not
that teacher, with his city collar and his country necktie, nor any of the bucks
with whom he condescended to mate, nor any of the buxom young women— save
one— though they had rosy faces and laughing eyes, could have extracted from the
large pot presided over by that gruesome sugar-boiler, any of the feast that they
had come in quest of ; but this one whom I have excepted had a toss of concjuest in
her head, and as she went over, with her dark hair streaming down, and looked into
the face of the fretful pot boiler with her wonderful sunny-brown eyes, I knew that
victory vas with the surprise party. " Well, Aster," he said, " what do you want?
384 TEE ADMINISTRATION OF LOUD LORNE.
northern landscape has put on its tinge of pea-green, at certain
points in Canada you can hear ahnost through the day long
the clangour of these birds, with necks outstretched, winging
their way to the pond-regions of the north to lay their eggs
and hatch their young. These birds raise their pinions, in the
autumn, to the favouring gale, and fly to the long stretches of
stubble-field in the south, where through the winter months
that in the north would have denied them food and parched
them with cold, they feed luxuriantly on the grains of corn
that the reaper has left behind him. And though we do not
You know," he went on, "I haven't a mother soul liere to help me gather sap,
or mind this pot while I fetch it. Do you think it is right to hring all these
here to eat up sugar as faat as I boil it ? You know that I wouldn't refuse it to
yourself, but I don't know that these didn't come last night and rob me." I
don't know what she said, but I knew that the bruised spirit of the pot-boiler
was under the spell of her wonderful eyes : I only saw her lay her hand upon his
arm, and taking up the dipper, which had been flung in the snow after it had con
veyed hospitality to me, take about a (luart of the syrup from the i)ot and scatter
it out in snaky coils upon the enow, A little sunshine appeared through the
fretful wrinkles of his face as he looked upon her, but he became dark and hard as
he saw the bucks, and the schoolmaster with his superior air, seat themselves upon
the log to eat. " Will you have some, sir';? " Aster said, with an air in which be-
coming modesty and the mere glint of a coqueti-y which such eyes as hers well
justified, were commingled, and I could not have refused, even had not the sugar-
maker remarked, in a tone which evidenced a sort of resignation to misfortune, that
" since the rest were at it," I " might as well join them," and the schoolmaster
of the district shot a glance of extreme superiority, tempered with a conspicuous
lack of admiration, upon me, 1 accepted the sugar with thanks, paid a compli-
ment to the eyes of the donor — all to discomfit this district school teacher — offered
my serviceji for half an hour, or an hour, in watching the pot, "v/hile," I said,
" you are collecting some sap," talked spiritedly to the bucks, and the other lasses,
and zealously prevented the " teacher " from having conversation with the Zen-
obia of the raven hair and the wine-dark eyes. I regretted, when the sun sank
low, and the visitors arose to depart, that, for the sake of the gentleman with the
city collar and the country necktie, I could not go with the party to the river,
having an engagement elsewhere; and bidding the sugar-maker good-bye, anu »« •
ceiving a look from his now— to me— half-thawed face, I sped away, much im-
pressed with my first acquaintance with the art of sugar-boiling, and its social
concomitants in the woods of Canada.
CAN.' DIAN SPORTS, SCENERY AND PICTURES.
385
suppose that they keep a reckoning of the winter days or
months, yet their instinct will not fail to warn them when the
buds have begun to appear in the north, for as soon as our
spring weather has set in, flock after flock, some containing a
dozen, others fifty wild geese, will be seen winging their north-
ern flight, about a half mile overhead. There are many ac-
counts given respecting the manner of their long aerial journeys,
some affirming that the birds fly for about twenty-four hours',
then rest, others that they do not fold their wings from the'
time that they rise from the cornfield in the south till they
^alight in the region chosen for their hatching. It is related
too, that, for several weeks before the period for taking the
northern journey arrives, the geese maintain themselves
upon a small food allowance, in order to decrease their weight,
and make the journey les? laborious. However true these
^statements may be, the writer has frequently on the New-
foundland coast come upon large flocks of these birds just
after their journey across the Gulf of St. Lawrence, and found
them by no meaas extremely exhausted, and what is stranger,
showing no eagerness for food. When shot at this seas°on!
the goose is spare of flesh, but as the majority of the inhabi-
tants who go out " gunning " do so less for sport than " for
meat," the bird is hunted most in October, when it is believed
to be fattest. When keen northern winds begin to blow over
the naked hills of the colony, the geese, which since the
spring had confined themselves to the pond regions in the
interior, begin to swarm out to the head-lands. Here they
remain for several days, sometimes for weeks, till a propitious ~
and steady north-easter begins to blow, when they spread -
380 THE ADMINISTRATION OF LORD LORNE.
their pinions and steer ontwarJ over the boimdles.s waters
for the main-land of the continent. Midway over the Gulf
sometinios the wind has veered suddenly round and Idown
fioni the opposite quarter ; and once when this happened the
crew of a vessel trading between St. John's and Prince Edward
Island were astonished to find as the dawning cleared, a num-
ber of wild geese clinging to the deck and railing of their vessel.
Rather than alight in the sea, it would seem that the bewildered
flock, tamed by their confusion, .sought standing ground on the
first object that appeared to them. The sailors killed most of
the birds, which only crouched when approached with the stick,
and Ijrought three or four into port. Large numbers of these
birds are killed upon their arrival in Canada in spring, and the
sport is some of the most fascinating vouchsafed to him who is
" fond of the gun."
If the cold of our Canadian winters is sometimes too keen
to perndt the sleighing over our frozen lakes, and snowy
drives, to be an unqualified luxury, not all the gorgeousness of
our woods in summer, nor the wild picturesqueness of the re-
sort-ground of picknicking parties can make one insensible to
the sweltering heat that sometimes afflicts duly and early
August. Most of those whose occupation and purse will per-
mit escape from the cities to the cool, salt-scented, and chlorine-
laden breezes of our sea sides, during the broiling season, and
«very summer that the Marquis of Lome and the princess were
in Canada, they took their flies and poles during the oppres-
sive time to salmon-pools in regions whose temperature is made
tolerable by the influence of the sea. There is neither the de-
sire, nor the opportunity, did I wish it, in this chapter, which
CANADIAN Sl'OBTS, SCENERY AND PICTURES. 387
is intended diietly for the readers that my book may Hnd in
Great Britain, to describe all the most conspicuous rivers, lakes,
falls, and other points of interest in a country like this whicli
is " built " as one of our geolof^ists has said, " out of picturescjue
scenery," yet in writing of the refreshing breezes that we find
' upon our coasts after escajjing from the inland ovens, a few
localities may be permitted for special mention. Some of our
people flock down the St. Lawrence in comfortably equipped
steamers, and step on shore at various villages where a moder-
ately well-kept hotel is to b3 found within easy reach of bath-
ing-places, oi- turn up rivers to the right or the left that take
them through some of the ruggedest and most striking pieces
of landscape that ever delighted the eye, and set throbbing the
heart of those whose lot it is for the rest of the year to look
upon a flat country beyond the city, and within the city
hideous tawdry brick, or hypochondria-producing rough-cast,
rendered more sickeningly depressing by the steady sun-glare
beating upon it. Of all these feeding streams, the grandest is
the Saguenay, that rolls its deep, sullen volume of cold waters
into the St. Lawrence from between two sheer pi'ecipic;\> tliat
raise tlieir clean-cut walls grimly up on either side till they
seem to touch the clouds. Before the white man came to
Canada, the Indians called this sombre stream Chicoutimi,
which signiL'^d deep water, for the sounding appliances with
which they were provided in their passage up the river had
nowhere in its lower part ever touched the bottom. The
total length of the river is about a hundred miles, and the first
half of its course, which is made up of a number of shallow,
brawling stretches, and steep rapids, rendering it navigable
388 THE ADMINISTRATION OF LORD LORNE.
only by a skilled canoeist, I'es tlirou;^h a picturcsiiuc and airy
wilderness, studded with rugged hills which during the year
wear the green of pino and spruce. Some of the Laurentian
peaks here, worn into rounded shape by tremendous glacial
action, shoot up to a height of 4,000 feet, while lying between
these are valleys, ch^thed with birch, maple and ash, and some-
times worn into deep pits where the tourist sees gleaming a
deep body of sullen water. A few miles below the most sea-
ward fall is the picturesque village of Chicoutimi with its
simple-hearted peasants, and biythe girls with the dark, lustrous
eyes of Normandy, whilst about ten miles further to the south
the river widens into a beautiful expanse, rimmed with green
that slopes outward into proud, forest-covered hills, which is
known as Ha ! Ha ! Bay. Nestling at the head of this is ano -
ther village upon visiting which you find a peasantry still pre -
serving much of theold-tiun civilization and speech.* Between
Ha ! Ha ! Bay and the juncture of the river with the St. Law-
rence, there is presented to the tourist's eye some of the grand-
est and most striking scenery in the world. Sheer from the
water upon either side towers up a smooth-hewn mountain-
wall, varying in height from 503 to l.-'JOO feet, and these at
some points incline towards each other as they appro-ach the
top, reflecting their grim and majestic outlines in the dark,
cold watei-s below. That the precipitancy of their sides con-
tinues below the water-surface has been ascertained by drop-
ping a line at the base, when it was found that the water there
* It has long been the custom to regard such phrases of the rural population of
Quebec as are not adopted by the educated classes as a patois, but in most cases
these are words used by the inhabitants of the provinces of old France when emi-
gration set to Quebec.
CANADIAN SPORTS, SCENERY AND PICTURES. 389
wa»s as (luep as in luitl-stream ; but at a place near the moutli,
bottom has not yet been touchecl, tliough one paity sougliL to
find it with a line 'i.OOO feet long. The Indians who subsisted
upon fishing and the chase in the region watered by the Sag-
uenay used to say that God cut the wondrous gorge through
the rock that the .salmon might be able to ascend and fur-
nish food to His rod children. The "poor Indian" with his
" untutored mind" had not then advanced as far as Alexander
Pope, who teaches us that all creatures equally divide God's
"Oaro—
Tho fur that warms a monaroh warniod a bear."
that while silly man exclaim.s, "See all creatures"
" for my use ;
See man for mine replies the pampered goose ; "
according to which doctrine the Salt Water Indians were quite
astray in supposing that God cleft open those Luurentian
mountains that .salmon might go into the level river flowing
therethrough to feed Indians. It is no wonder that during
the summer months thousands of tourists visiit the Saguenay ;
and that they come away declaring that these hill-walls
through which the river is sluiced to the great St. Lawrence,
form the most impressive, and tremendous scene that they
have ever looked upon.
A place fair as Eden to see, and resorted to in summer by
thousands of tourists from all parts of Canada, and from the
United States and Great Britain, s that labyrinth of luxuri-
antly-clad islands that stretches along from where the St.
Lawrence makes its egress from Lake Ontario to Brockville,
and known as Lac des Mllles Isles, or the Lake of the Thousand
390 TUB ADMINISTRATION OF LORD LORNE.
Isles. Th(> ploasuro seeker in this eiich.mtinij region, "tcering
his yacht, or his canoo from Lake Ontario throii^'h th': coinf-ara-
tively narrow river, sees on the smnmor aftornoon i>lani' upon
island, covered with a lieavy foliage, and draped in a ni'dlow,,
purplish haze, rise out of the warin-tonod, drowsy expanse of
water. On some of the islands he discovers as he pushes
throuffii the mazes are a number of farm houses or fishermen's
cots, and he sees upon the one hand waviti}^ fields ot corn, or
out in a clear water-space, a boat hauling its nets. While most
of the islands bear a growth of thickly foliated trees, a number
of them arc covered only with grass ; or here and there rises a
piece of tlat, barren rock, whose desolate air reminds you of a
man who strove like his fellows for wealth but failed, having
now nought but a fruitless existence to show, while his brethren
revel in luxury about him. The sea-fowl that infest the lake
swarm upon these treeless islands, and lay their eggs and hatch
out their young upon them, liut it is the little islets so gaudy
in their summer dress that will attract our tourist, and as he
makes his way through the groups, he will see upon the
shore of one a canoe or a .sail-boat drawn up, and gleaming
through the trees the canvas of a tenting pa ty. Sometimes
too he comes upon a party of Indians, and finds the women
making baskets, tubs, firkins and other descriptions of wooden
ware, while about the lake glides a canoe with two Indians on
board, pursuing fish with speare. So gorgeous is the entire
surroundings that he will have reached the verge of satiety
when he sees gleaming against the rich green of one of the is-
lands a strip of crimson, and p. minute later perceives the fair
face, under a wide-brimmed hat, of some Canadian girl who put
CA NADIAN S I'OIi TS, SCENER Y A ND PICTUR ES. 391
it thoio. At longth lie turns his prow ^>\var(ls the riltand of
jjloamiiig Hiunl or tawny sliin<jflo, pulls jiis caiioo under the leafy
covert, sots up his tent and decides to tarry till the morrow.
That nij^ht, if he will, ho may soo upon the lake, if the moon is
at the full, the stately loon and hoar his goblin laughter as he
takes his proud way over the silvery ripples ; and as ho lies
down upon his couch he may hear tin; night-wind whispering
to the leaves a message ahout friends or mayhap his lover afar,
and arranging for him peace and sweet slumber. But peace
and sweet slumber he will have in his delicious retreat, though
the night winds had arranged it not, unless he has done those
things which he ought not to have done, drunk too much
brandy, eaten too much cheese or too many sandwiches.
At every picturesque piece of eoast are found the wives and
families of our well-to-do ( Canadians during the summer, but
some turn inland taking rail and steamer for that region known
as our home Switzerland, Muskoka lakes, studded with islands
and abounding with Hshes. This is the district which the
Ontario Govornmunt has set apart for settlers who cannot pur-
chase prime lands, and in the valleys or along the slopes of
those granite hills are found many a half-pay officer, or other
immigrant gently born and reared to ease and refinement
grubbing out an existence for himself and his family. Three
years ago a terrible fire broke out in the forests where these
settlers have their clearings, destroying dwelling-houses and
the barns with the year's crop, burning cattle and converting
a number of settlements into a wilrlerness of destitution. Large
stretches of the forest here grow upon the granitic formation
"in scant and porous soil which is incapable of retaining mois*
THE ADMINISTRATION OF LORD LORNE.
ture for a lengthy period : whence it happens that after a week
or two of drought the mosses and the undergrowth are dry as
tinder, and will carry the flame from a fire accidentally kindled
■with almost the swiftness of the wind, over the entire district.
These lakes are a favourite resort of some of our artists who
have given us glimpses of clean, granite walls, pine-crowned,
mirroring themselves in clear blue, waters ; or a party of tourists
somewhat Bohemian in costume and the clear-complexioned,
rosy-lipped, bright-eyed, Canadian girl, protected with the
broad-brimmed hat, here as is her wont elsewhere, from that
omnipresent artist who paints freckles upon the face of every
soft-skinned maiden which he finds unprotected. Some of our
well-to-do burghers have built cottages on the islands scattered
through these lakes, and many others establish themselves at
the hotels at the beginning of the " dog days," remaining fre-
quently till th?j cold breath of the autumn night has begun to
nip the beech-leaves, the while the husband and father who can
sometimes pay only two or three flying visits to his house-
hold, in the meantime enjoys, if he have the bent, some mild
debauchery through this period of domestic emancipation with
a jolly set of brother " grass widowers." Many a guileless but
inconveniently observant little miss, or twinkling-eyed school
lad returning from the summer visit will wonder " what papa
was doing with all the bottles," and the forgivinir mother and
wife will either have to tell a downright fib to the inquiring
face of her innocent, or be obliged to supply the suggcstio
falsi, which she knows how to do very well, and without any
moral twinge, from experience.
■ ■ A
CANADIAN SPORTS, SCENERY AND PICTURES. 393
The pic-nic is the summer institution in Canada, and it has
called into existence a number of steamers that subsist almost
entirely by carrying to shady and picturesque places the wives
and families of mechanics, commercial folk and others who
cannot go to the seaside or the lake j ; and the toilers who work
through the sweltering day among the clink and din of the
wheels, the shop girl with aching arms and legs and prostrate
with the heat, the poorly-paid creatures who are huddled in
the factories, through the long week, find in the excursion upon
the lake or river steamer to some refi'oshing spot showing
trees and gleaming water where the birds are singing and crea-
tion is glad, forgetfulness of toil, and balm and rest, for the
weary brain and tired limbs. Some day philanthropy will
come forward, law book in hand, and read that henceforth it
shall not be lawful anywhere for those who employ human
help to manufacture their cloth and cotton, and sugar, and
boots, and shoes, and shirts, and bags, to keep their employees
shut up in the factory during the week all the time that the
sun is in the sky, but that they must provide the space of one
day, as a whole or in two parts, for rest and recreation.
In nothing is Canada distinctly national, save in her games and
sports, and among the games that which is most national is La
Crosse, a pastime which we inherit from the Indians, who in turn
must have derived it from some happy Caucasians whom they
saw playing " shinney " ; but however this may be, two hun-
dred years ago, the red men living about our lakes and water-
courses frequently met upon some level graa!5-plot during the
days when there was little to be had for arrow and spear, and
played with hickory sticks bent into a form somewhat resemb-
Y
394 TEE ADMINISTRATION OF LORD LORNE.
ling a wooden spoon, the spoon portion woven with deor-skin
thongs, the game wliich the French visitors named for them La
Crosse. Up to a late period the game was confined to the French
province, but it has now spread over the entire Dominion, and
every town and village have their La Ciosse clubs, who assem-
ble in the late afternoon in picturesque costumes in the pai'k
or upon a field set apart for the purpose, and play "scratch
matches," or with much rigidity of regulation, and watched by
throngs of spectators, meet some visicing club which has issued ,
a challenge,*
Cricket, the game of our forefathers is now not played by
many Canadians, and it would not prevail even to the extent
it does, but that there are in every community a few English-
men, who, instilled with an unquenchable love for the bat and
ball, gather around them some others and form a club. Base
ball draws sturdy arms and knotty hands out into the field
during the summer afternoon, and the game is inaulged in by
the older gamesters who would scorn to dress themselves in
" toggery " costume, and who desire some " keen catching "
and " hard hitting."
Some of our best pictures are the birth of the Canadian
autumn, when our hills are aflame with colour before the fall of
the leaves ; dr when our rural folk gather in the sun-browned
wheat. If the scene be in the Quebec province among the
habitants, it is pretty certain to be a windless, sunny afternoon,
with a purple atmosphere that drowses over the stretches of
* I am tinder obligation to Messrs. W. K. McNau^ht and D. A. Eose, President
and Secretary respective' y of the Canadian National Lacrosse Association, and to
Mr. Ross Mackenzie, for information respecting Lacrosse, to be found in Appen-
dix Y.
. CANADIAN SPORTS, SCENERY AND PICIURES. 395
wood-land in the valleys. No frosts have fallen, and the leaf-
age as yet shows no gokl or russet among their deep, dusty
green. The habitant is busy binding sheaves in a narrow
" lot," that looks through vistas in the fringe of birches, nuiple
and pines, upon gleaming bits of St. Lawrence water. The
hahltantfi are not all men, for likewise enfjajjed binding sheaves
or with a reaper in her hand is a pretty maiden with the dark
hair and tender, luminous eyes that again tell you of Nor-
mandy; or she sits under the shade of some alder boughs for
a minute's rest and coolness, with her withe of straw or her
sickle in her hand, her head supported by her plump, sun-
browned arm, looking with wistful glance across the "line
fence" into the ne set field where, busy piling sheaves upon a
farm waggon, is Jean, who with his pitchfork held nearly
horizontally turns his eye every few seconds towards the figure
in the wide hood, sitting under that clump of alders. You
see in the distance, too, the stile at which these two will meet
in the cool of the balmy evening when the day's work is done,
and tell each other of their simple, but deep and abiding loves.
Then the slow waggon with its towering load creaks out of
the field to the barn, over which you see striding through the
air the fans of a windmill ; a flock of pigeons rise out of the
wood and circle about the field, steering boldly towards the
reapers, again wheeling shyly away, and betaking them.selves
back to their covert. But they know that many a grain ha3
escaped the reapers, and you may be certain that before the
folk return to their work on the morrow, the flock will have
found a sumptuous breakfast among the stubble. ' > ?■
396 THE ADMINISTRATION OF LORD LORNE,
Later is it given you to see the gold and russet, crimson and
scarlet, orange, bronze, and vermillion that the leaves will have
put on before they fall ; or to hear the wind going with its sad
note through the naked branches, and sweeping in clouds before
it those gloriously-tinted oak, ash, maple and beech leaves.
On a still, late-autumn morning, when the sportsman passes out
with his dogs into the silent forv^st, the whirriug sound of the
wood-cock will hardly make amends to him if he have any
sympathy with the scene about him, for the feeling that must
arise as he walks amid the ruin and desolation, and over those
gaudy, fallen leaves that seem in their harsh, rustling sound to
utter a complaint at being disturbed in death as his foot passes
over them.
Writing of Canadian sport or art is scarcely the place to
refer to what is known in some districts as " bees," and as
" frolics " in others, yet these can hardly be said to be beyond
the domain of either.i A bee" or a frolic consists in the gathe -
inff together in a rural district of a number of neighbours to
help some or^ who has suffered by fire or other visitation, or
who has not assistance of his own, to plough his land, put in his
seed, harvest his crops, build his barn, or haul his logs. Each
one brings his horse and plough, or whatever else he may need
for the work on hand, and when the day is done a bountiful
supper is spread, which being partaken, the floor is cleared and
the young folk engage for three or four hours in dance, the
elder peop^''- looking on with much delight, till their horses
have fed t .d rested when they harness up, and return to their
homes.
CA NA DIA N SPOR TS, SCENER Y A ND PICTURES. 397
Tobogganing, one of our out-door winter sports I have al-
ready alluded to, but the toboggan requires a steep hill, and
the parties appropriate costumes, so that this amusement has
not yet been adopted very widely over Canada. The sport
was little knov/n amongst us till Lord DufFerin made it fash-
ionable at Rideau Hall, after which the young people of Mon-
treal began to build slides and wear costumes. Ottawa followed,
and its young folk were soon to be found every afternoon
in the streets, clad in white blanket or sea-green cloth trimmed
with crimson, cardinal or scarlet, and tuques of red, white and
blue, or crimson and blue, with scarlet tassel ; and during the
winter passing, a number of young gentlemen in Toronto built
a slide, unrivalled by the " precipitous one at Rideau," down the
hill sloping into the Rosedale Gorge ; but Bombays, pea-jackets,
and the long, gaunt, swishing overcoat are the chief forms of
apparel seen yet on a winter afternoon in the streets of the
" Qiseen City." In Montreal and Ottawa snow-shoeing or to-
boggan costumes have come in agreat^measure to be the street
winter-dress of ladies, no less than of gentlemen, those who do
not possess full suits tying a crimson scarf around the waist of
an ordinary sacque or coat and wearing a tuque with a red
tassel. At the Saturday afternoon and evening At Homes of
the hostess at Rideau Hall, during the reign of the toboggan,
guests appear in the drawing-room in costume ; so that we
may not be surprised if, following suit, we very soon .Ind at
any of our winter social gatherings throughout Canada moc-
casined feet and blanket coats. In several parts of Canada
besides those mentioned, where there are hills near the cities,
a number of persons club together and rent a steep run for the
THE ADMINISTRATION OF LORD LORNE.
winter ; and thither in the afternoons, and during the even-
ings while the moon is full, the younger people assemble for the
hilarious sport. There are few accidents on record, but Dr.
Beers, of Montreal, in a lacy and picturesquely-written paper on
winter sports in Canada, published recently in the Century
Magazine, gives an account of many ridiculous predicaments
into which the novice tobogganer will sometimes get; and the
illustrations accompanying well carry out the spirit of the hu-
morous story. Sometimes, however, the toboggan in its mad
speed comes upon a cahot, flinging off and frequently injuring
its passengers severely. " Three years ago," writes Dr. Beers,
" one of our club was sliding down Brehauts, when his tobog-
gan bounced over a cahot. Down came the tobogganist on the
flat of his back in some mysterious way that no one could un-
derstand, with a broken spine, and death before him in three
weeks. Once I had a friend in the front seat of my toboggan
backed by two ladies and mysjlf. We were enjoying the sen-
sation of running against a fence at the end of our descent, and
I had warned him to keep in his legs and not fear the concus-
sion ; but at once he thrust out his right leg, and got a, com-
pound fracture which laid him up for twelve weeks. . . .
But there is no danger at all on a large hill without cahots, and
not anywhere if you are really careful. You'll get jolted and
jerked and covered with snow from head to toe, but that's
healthy. But you'll get many a fascinating and thrilling ride
without a single upset, and scarcely a joggle. It all depends
on the condition of the hill, and the character of your
steerer. I remember once coming down C6te des Neiges
Hill, when at the bottom standing square in the way of
CANADIAD SPORTS, SCENERY AND PICTURES. 399
crossing the street, was a habitant's horse and sleigh. A
man stood on the road with his back to the hill, talking to
the farmer. Two of us were on the toboggan, and within
a few yards of the horse ; the road was smooth ice. We
both laid back our heads and like a flash shot under the belly
of the horse between his legs. All we heard was a fierce
neigh of fright from the horse. ' If he had kicked' ? It would
have been bad for the horse, methinks." Not the least pleasure-
ful and exhilirating of the winter sports is snow-shoeing,* a pas-
* T avail mj'self of the following deHcription of the Bnow-shoe, taken from Dr.
Beers' book, "Over the Snow." "The snow-shoe is the only thing I know of ever
invented to facilitate walking over soft snow ; and it is quite likely that in spite of
all the mechanical knowledge of this age, nothing better or simpler will ever be
contrive!. The EKquimaux and Laplanders use the snow-shoe, and I have heard
that they are used by the tribes in the north-east of Asia ! In the museum of
St. Ignatius College at Rome, a i^air of these Asiatic snow-shoes are to be seen.
Santini brought several pairs from Siberia. lia Ptirouse and Lesseps found them
in Tartary. Count Buonaventura remarks upon their serviceableness to the Si-
berians. . , .
"The shoe is made of one piece of light ash, about half an inch thick, bent to
a long oval, and fastened closely with cat-gut where the two ends meet. A strip
of flat wood is then fitted across the frame about four inches from the top, and an-
other piece about two feet from the ends, to give it spring and strength. The interior
of this frame is then woven with cat-gut, which allows it to press on the snow with
your full weight with littlf^ sinking ; a hole about four inches square being left
behind the centre of the front cross-bar, for the partial protrusion of the toes in
lifting the heel. The centre bears the weight of the body, and is bound to the
sides of the frame-work to increase the strength. The original shoe measured from
two to six feet in length, and from thirteen to twenty inches in width, but for
club races it has been reduced tr> the regulation measurement of not less than ten
inches in width, without limitation as to length. However, a short, broad shoe is
preferable for the forest, or long tramps on aoft snow. The Indian's shoe was
always broad, adapted for the chase ; that of the Sioux, pointed and turned up at
the front ; that of the Chippewas, square-toed and flat. In the buffalo hunt in
winter, the snow-shoe was indispensable, enabling the hunters to run lightly over
the snow and plunge their lances or arrows into the sides of the heavy animals,
as they rushed into the hollows and ravines, and sank in the drifts. About twenty
years ago, Mr. John Murray, of the Montreal Snow-shoe Club, applied the shape of
the Sioux shoe to that made and used by the Iroquois, and introduced into use what
has become the popular shape. Moccasins are worn on the feet, and the shoes are
400 THE ADMINISTRATION OF LORD LORNE,
time engaged in now in every part of Canada ; the devotees of
this amusement, young men and young women forming them-
selves into chibs, and assembling one, two or three evenings in
the week, for a tramp on moonlit evenings, and sometimes on
evenings only star-lit, over the fields where the snow is deep
and yielding, out through the woods, and up hills and down
dales, sometimes for several miles. But neither toboggan nor
snow-shoe can lure away to its own exclusive service those
who have once bound a pair of skates to their feet and felt
the keen thrill of delight that comes to all who on a still win-
ter's evening go out to a lake in the wilderness, as do many of
those in rural districts who have no rink whither they may
resort, like those who live in cities. Lack of a rink would be
no deprivation, did the skating " under moon and stars " endure
through the winter. But this it does not do, and frequently,
just as the day arrives upon which sleighs are to come from
many points for an evening upon the lake or river, snow be-
gins to fall, and the skates must be laid by till there comes a
thaw and the slush is frozen into a glare. But despite the
ice-muflBing snow-falls, many a m§rry afternoon and evening
do those happy rustics spend, and the enjoyment that is theirs
fastened by a toe-strap oi mooBe-skin across the back of the toe-opening, leaving^
the heel free to rise or fall in walking ; and a line or string of the same is fast-
' ened to the shoe, brought over the front of the foot and around the ankle, and
tied behind. The Montreal Club introduced a most ingenious tie, made of the one
string, by which the foot can be slipped into and out of the shoe in an instant,^
while at the same timo the toe cannot slip forward or backward, as in the old tie.
I do not suppose you could enter a farm-house in those parts of Canada where the
snow falls heavily in winter, without finding a gun and a pair of snow-shoes. The
backwoodsman could not well do without them. . . . Doctor Rae, the Arctic
traveller, once walkod on them from Hamilton to Toronto — forty miles, between
breakfast and dinner ; and I have been on tramps with the Montreal Club across
country, and over fences, when seven miles were done in an hour and five minutes."
CANADIAN SPORTS, SCENERY AND PICTURES. 401
as the keen cutting of their skates, and their ringing laugh-
ter, are eclioed through the dense wood past which they glide,
healthful, happy couples, must he as keen, perhaps it is much
intenser, than that of those who skate in the cities under
gorgeous roofs, in the glare of electric light, and to the inusie
of bands.
If literature finds itself under no obligation to his lordship
for having given to it a special Royal Society, art is under
deep obligation to him no less than to her Royal Highness.
Their excellencies first came forward as patrons of art in May,
1879, at the opening of the Art Association, of Montreal. It
was on this occasion that his lordship foreshadowed the pro-
ject which afterwards found realization in the Royal Canadian
Academy of Arts. To this enterprize both the governor and
the princess always gave their most hearty support, and her
Royal Highness contributed a number of pictures. Most of
these were on Canadian subjects, and two or three representing
scenes about Quebec give evidence of the love as well as of
the eye of the artist ; while all her Highness' pictures reveal
a strength that is sometimes masculine, and a method of treat-
ment that is usually original. Culture is not anywhere lack-
ing, but the royal artist never becomes daring or even strik-
ingly bold. By a despatch from the colonial secretary, of
June 22nd, 1880, it was learnt that the Queen had consented
that the 'prcsnomen " Royal " should be assumed by the Cana-
dian Academy. His excellency became patron, her Royal
Highness patroness ; and the officers were L. R. O'Brien, To-
ronto, President ; N. Bourassa, Montreal, Vice-president ; James
402 THE ADMINISTRATION OF LORD LORNE.
Smith, Toronto, Treusurer; M. Mathews, Toronto, Secretary.
The Academy has given an impulse to art unknown before
in Cana(hi, and pictures have been produced by its meml)ei'8
which, from year to year, show an advance in native art,
that gives room for high expectation. Mr. O'Brien, the pre-
sident of tlie academy, my readers need not bo tohl, has
already won a leading place among the art confraternity of
England, and has received commissions to paint pictures for
the Queen. We have others, too, in Canada whoso skill with
the pencil we need not be ashamed to own ; but there still
remains in our art much that is infantile, no small proportion
of what is barbarous, and not a little which shows neither
culture nor appreciation. But to Lord Lome and her Royal
Highness must art in Canada ever remain under the deepest
obligation.
' ,7.
APPENDIX.
APPENDIX A.
CANADA AND ITS PUODUCTH.
/\N December 4th,, the Mar<|uiB of Lome delivorod the foUowing »d-
druHS in liingluy Hall, Birmingham, Englnnd. Hu waa liatonvd to
with eager attention and U)\idly appliimlod as he proceeded : —
The Maniuis of Lome, who was loudly cheered, suid he must say one
word in acknowledgement of the kindness of the Mayor's remarks.
Wherever ho and his two friends who accompanied hiai had appeared,
the ([uestion had been asked. " Do you wish to encourage emigration ? "
He was going to take the privilege of a Northeirnor, and not give a very
direct answer. (Laughter and cheers.) He was one of those who held
that the people knew their own minds beat. (Cheers.) He had observed
that between 200,000 and 300,000 English and Scotch men emigrated
every year, and he simply wished to give all those who in their own judg-
ment thought it better to settle elsewhere a second atrii g to their bow.
He thought that hia five yoara' recfidence in Canada gave ' -m a right to
tell thoae who wished to know what the advantages of that ^reat country
were. The groat bugbear, for it waa nothing more, to the minda of many
in contemplating a move to Canada, waa the alleged great and trying
cold of that country. This was a fear which was not justified by the
character of the cumata. The climate waa exceedingly healthy. Fevers,
which were only too common in partaof fhe United States, were unknown.
Men attained to great ages, and where, as in the case of some English
and many of the French, many generations had lived on Canadian ^oil,
«ve saw the race more vigorous, if possible, than in the days of the first
settlers. Cold it certainly was during five or six months of the year,
405
40G APPENDIX.
but the cold was dry, and except upon the seacoadta was much leas felt
than was cold here. Tlie cold beinf^ greater for a portion of the year, the
question of fuel was an all-important one, but it was most fully met by
the conditions of the country. What was known as old Canada— namely,
Nova Scotitt, New Brunswick, Prince Edward Island, Ontario and Que-
bec, was a vast region of woodland, now largely cleared of forest, but hav-
ing an abundant supply of wood for fuel within reach of every place
where man had settled or might settle. Enormous stores of coal were be-
ing actively worked in Nova Scotia, the output of whose mines was daily
and hourly increasing, and was at the present time immense. Tliey might
see in the mines near Pictou galleries 20 feet in height, hundreds of feet
below ground, worked in the .solid coal. Therefore, as far as
old Canada is concerned there never was any lack of fuel. Num-
erous were the " claims " or spots of land already taken from the
Government for the mining of the mineral whoso value far outweighed
that of gold. Sir A. T. Gait, recently High Commissicmer to England,
had a good force at work, turning out as much coal as might be wanted.
The railway engines already used nothing but the coal of the district.
From north to south for a distance of 400 miles all along a track of at least
200 miles in width, experts believed that coal in any (quantity existed
beneath the long, undulating swell of the prairie. Even if they had not
found thin exhaustless supply the settler in the North-West would not have
had long to wait, for the railway would have brought him the coal of
IJritish Columbia. Last week he heard from Dr. Dawson, of the Geologi-
cal Survey, that one vein of coal near the railway, five feet thick, was un-
doubtedly anthracite, or the hard, shining coal now only obtained from
the United States. Speaking in regard to emigration, pord Lome said :
'• No one doubts that very many in our largo towns can benefit them-
selves by moving. Very many in the country can do so also, but I vould
rather see departures from the overcrowded towns. All emigrants should
go out in the spring. Now, taking first the inducements offered to emi-
grants who desire to procure manual labour — at present the Canadian
Pacific Railway is offering good wuges '^o navvies, and the cost on a pas-
APPENDIX. 40r
>
aago is only £3. Anyone knowing the trade of a blacksmith, a mason, a
bricklayer, or willing to work aa a hired man on a farm, is sure of em-
ployment. It is n>t so desirable for young men who wish to load a town
life ; the town life, as compared with the country life, gives fewor op-
portunities, iut the citias are relatively to the population small. 1 have
known very many men who have succeeded well, and who began with
nothing, or next to nothing. But 1 should counsel all who contemplate
emigration and taking up of farm life to have, if single men, from .£50
to £100, exclusive of the cost of the journey, and if married, from £liOO
or £200 to £500. There are good vacant places to be had almost any-
where. It was only the other day that Lord A. llussell told me of some
good land near Halifax, Nova Scotia, to_,be hud for a dollar an acre. In
the North- West you can got 100 acres of excellent land for £2. The land
regulations under which these grants are made are to the full as favour-
able as those of the United States, and in some respects are to be pre-
ferred. For women there is plenty of space and places, but the women
who will succeed must bo women who will work ; they who wish to go
out aa teachers, governesses, etc., had best stay at home. The Com-
mittee of the Women's Emigration Society, of Montreal, told me lately
that they could at once place 1,000 girls of good character, if sent out to
them, and that the dein md for them was so groat that they would be sorry
to see them go past Montreal on to Ontario. But the ladies of Ontario
are equally solicitous to procure good servant girls, who are excellently
well treated in Canadian families. Even this excellent treatment is not
BufHcient to prevent them from marrying, strange to say, and the de-
mand for wives fully keeps pace with the demand of housewives for ser-
vants. Indeed, the number of girls who keep to the first resolution they
may have formed to got as far as Winnipeg is small indeed, if they loiter
by the way to take up situati(jns in the cities along the road to the West.
Before speaking of the under regions of Canada I should like to tell you
of *' » country you would first see supposing you wor^ to make a
voyage to Canada. I will take you, in the first instance, to the top of a steep,
isolated clitf at the end of a long ridge of volcanic rock, which is covered
408 APPENDIX.
with pine wooda, and which overlooks a gulf of the sea on one side, and
a fair, wide, and green valley, twenty miles in width, upon the other.
If you wait until the tide ebbs you will see that it leaves a vast stretch of
red sand, for the tide goes back very far. It will come back again over
those sands with a rush which will send the water up as fast as a horse
can gallop, until it surges against a long line of earth entrenchments, like
the Dutch dykes, which prevent its further advance. If you look care-
fully upon the country mapped out beneath your feet you may see certain
other ridges which look like old earth walls, and further inland, just
visible, wooden farmhouses, generally painted white and with verandahs
ru.ining round them. You would be right in supposing that these old
■walls are ancient dykes. Formerly the mighty tide of the Hay of Fundy,
now restrained by the outer walls, swept up io them. These were made
in old days, which have been rendered familiar to many by the genius of
Longfellow, who spoke of a time when the happiness of the old French Can-
adian dwellers in this valley had come to an end, and the war which had rag-
ed between England and France had touched them, too, and had compelled
them to to leave to others the well-loved pre, or great meadow, which they
had tilled in security for some generations. This valley is only two or three
hoiirs distant by rail from Halifax, one of the winter ports of the
Dominion of Canada — a port to which steam vessels from the Mersey sail
every week. Its white farmhouses and its orchards are types of many
others to be found in various portions of the Province of Nova Scotia,
which is a province singularly rich in varied geolo";ical formations, and
having, with a little gold, what is far more valuable than any gold-
field, great fields of coal. If wages were only as low in Nova Scotia as
they are in Ei. gland and Scotland, one of her ports, the i)ort of Pictou,
would soon rival Glasgow, or Belfast, or London, as a great iron shipbuild-
ing port. There are mines as vast as those of Lanarkshire. Close to the
water you may see veins of coal of 20 feet or 30 feet in thickness, and the
galleries of the mine are so spacious that full grown horses are always
used, and the miner swings his pick not crouched or cramped, in a
bending attitude, but standing at his full height. Close to the sea also
APPENDIX. 409
and close to the coal mines are hi)ls full of excellent iron ore. Around
almost every town in Nova Scotia farms may be had where the head of
the family may be sure to have excellent schooling for his children, a
church service exactly like his own to attend, and a ready market for any
produce he may raise. After crossing the gulf to its northern shore and
to another great valley called the valley of Sussex, in the Province of
New Brunswick, where beautiful trees are scattered in groups such as
those you see in an English park, I will ask you to view the great Province
of Ontario, which is by far the wealthiest and most populous cf any
province in the Confederation. It has two millions of people, chiefly
descended from English and Scottish stock. We will, if you please, place
ourselves on a height not far from the famous whirlpool in the Niagara
Rapids where poor Captain Webb recently met the death which, it may be
almost said, he courted — for no living being has ever come from those
rapids alive. The roaring river flows along in a deep and wide chasm
upon our right, and we are standing on a ridge which dips down to lower
land along the river side, in deep clitt's fringed with cedar and other wood.
A tall monument in the shape of a gigantic column, crowned with a statue,
is behind us. Toronto is one of the most pre ^perous of the young cities
of the continent. It has 100,000 people, is becoming the centre of a
rapidly extending net work of railways, and has an importance already
great, and which must become far greater in the future. Only
eighty years ago it was reclaimed from the primeval woods, yet it is
already as strong in population as some of the small European States,
and is sending out its multitudes annually to people the Far West, while
the places they have left are being filled by the settlers from the Old
World. The people are essentially British in character, having an intense
pride m the successes which have hitherto crowned their eflbrts and bless-
ed their province. They possess a very perfect system of self-government
providing admirably for the training of their youth. There is not a
school throughout its broad expanse which is not placed under the super-
vision of a master specially trained in the art of teaching at one of two
great central institutions called normal schools at Toronto and
Z
410 APPENDIX.
Ottawa. Each district is asscsaod for a school tax, always cheerfully
paid, and insiiriiij^ for all the children the benefits of a free
education. The central Government has nothing to do with
Education in Canada ; this is a matter which is entirely loft to the pro-
vincial Parliaments and rogulatod by them as they think best. In this
universal assessment the rights of the Roman Catholic minority are care-
fully guarded. If at any place the Roman Catholics can show that they
have a sufficient number of children to form tl.e classes of a school, they
receive an adequate amount for the support of their separate educational
establishment. No children are compelled to attend, but practically all
do so, because men wish to obtain the benefit of the assessment they are
compelled to pay. The universities of this land, although too numerous,
are good, and the University of Toronto bids fair in time to become suffi-
ciently wealthy to attract the best professors, and to be fully equal to the
demands made upon it by the rapidly-increasing numbers of students
who, after living in denominational colleges around, receive the bene-
fits of its examinations." After a graphic description of the picturesque
surroundings of the fortress city of Quebec, the scene which met the eye
of Wolfe before he fell in the moment of victory, the Marquis said : —
*' Yet another city, almost as beautifully placed as Quebec, is that of Mon-
treal, the commercial capital, for it has the largest urban population of
any. The ground here is not so tosseo ebout as at Quebec, but one soli-
tary hill, covered with beautiful wood, now formed into a charming park,
rises out of the city, which spreads from the foot of the hill down to the
bank of the St. Lawrence. The great tubular bridge, called after the
Queen, spans the mighty river at this point below a series of rapids
called the Lachine Falls." The noble Marquis then dealt with several
characteristics of the Province of Manitoba, and gave a description of
the Canadian Pacific Railway, which was excellently laid across a flat or
rolling prairi., ever which a train could proceed at almost any speed.
" There is many a tract," continued his lordship, " where the meadow still
appears untouched by the hand of man yet it has long ago, depend upon
it, been bought, and nought for a good round sum, and is now being held
APPEND1A\ 4H
for a further advance in price, Wliy sliould a fnrthor advance be expec-
ted / The answer is simple. You need only look north, sonth, east and
west, and everywhere you will see the wooden-planked ho.iso of the em-
igraat. Orteu a great patch of yellow wheat-Held is bowing in the
breezes ; each train along the line you are following has, during^the sum-
mer months, been carrying hundreds into Winnipeg and hundreds away
from Winnipeg to the West. Hundreds more have taken the trails
over the prairie for points to which railway companies are already direct-
ing their attention, and to which lines are already projected, or are in
process of completion. The arrival of yet more and more will follow, and
the consequent rise in the value of the land is looked upon as a certainty. "
Last year 50,000 entered this laud of promise, and this year it is probable
that the number has been yet greater. Never was a railway better endow-
ed fur the purpose of its existence ; for the Canadian Pacific Railway has
about 25,000,000 acres in this fertile belt, and of this vast amount they
still at this present moment hold at least 17.000,000 acres, and having the
power to choose the good lands, and being able to reject those which may
be inferior, they became possessed when they undertook the line of a
land-fortune which, with the 25,000,000 dollars in cash, was one of the
richest ever granted. Some farming companies have accomplished won-
ders with the lands they possess, although they have as yet had them
only two seasons. For instance, on the lands of a company called the
Bell Farm Company, you may see plough riggs three or four miles in
length. " Having pointed out the characteristics of the different provinces
in the Dominion, he said :-" Together they form a united country, for
there is not any cause for discontent or quarrel among any of the members
of this great family. They have a population of about o,000,000, and
soon will possess a far greater number. Indeed, it has been calculated
that in all probability within the next 100 years they will have more peo-
ple than we have in these islands to-day. They are thoroughly devoted
to the conr.ection, which exists between them and the mother country, a
parent land which has allowed to its children the utmost liberty. If it
had not been so, they would long ago have cast off the allegiance of which
412 A rVENDIX.
they are now proud, and which is so useful to them, and will in the
future be of such value to themselves. It is our duty to cherish and
foster to the utmost lliose feelings of regard and loyalty which they cher-
ish for us, only because the union with us is one of perfect freedom. Wo
must remember at home what a strong nation their descendants must be-
come, and how it is for our interest to make them satisfied to live un-
der the flag we serve, for commerce always follows the flag, and a greater
commerce both for them and for us will be obtained by an adhesion to
the sentiment which made them one with ourselves. These countries ofl'or
to our youth, unable to find a proper out-let at home, an unfailing field
of success. There is hardly a man who has left these shores and has cast
his lot with them who has not found it to his benefit. With the single
exception of the comparatively few Chinese upon the Pacific coast — a
number not encouraged — their population consists of elements which
have made our own so strong, and exhibits the blended blood of the
strongest European races. Almost everywhere our tongue predominates,
and our own customs are observed. With the Dominion of Canada and
the Australian continent in close relation to England, she need never
fear that the proud position she has gained in the world can be shaken or
even questioned. " (Loud cheers. ) .
xVPPENDIX B.
The following is a report of the speech delivered by His Excellency
the Governor-General, after distributing the prizes at the school enter-
tainment in the Opera House, on Friday last, December 23, 1878. His
Excellency said : —
Ladies AND Gentlemen, and my young friends, the pupils of the
Public Schools, — Let me express to you the pleasure I feel in being with
APPENBLY. 41:}
you to-night, in being able to wish you all a merry Christmaa and a happy
Nfaw Year, and of having an opportunity of giving to the Buccessful can-
didates for honours of prizes which they have so well won in the compe-
titions which have taken place. I congratulate them upon their laurels,
and I wish, after handing them the proof of their success, to say to them
how fortunate I consider theuk to be, in that their lot hus been cast in a
land where education is so much prized, and whore, both in the Public
Schools and in the Separate Schools, it is so well known how to give
effect to the value set by all the community upon the thorough and uni-
versal training of the youth of the country. I have heard men who have
come from England and Scotland say, on learning of the manner in which
schools are sown broadcast in Ontario, i.nd on understanding the system of
education adopted here, and the nature of tuition given, " I wish that I
in my time had had only the tenth part of the schooling which is given
to the boys and girls in Canada." Let me tell you what lately brought
home to my mind, in the most striking way, the consideration and care
the Canadians bestow upon their schools, At the great Paris Exhibition
this year, where the things in which each nation took an especial pride
were paraded before the eyes of the world, the space allotted to Canada
was largely occupied with the books, the atlases, and the furniture of all
kinds used here in the schools, while no other country seemed to have
thought of exhibiting anything of the kind. It was remarked how wise
it was of this young country to show these things, for it told the world
that she does not only invite to her fair and untilled lands the self-reliant
and honest among the crowded populations of Europe, but it told how
well the sons of the emigrant, as well as of the resident, were cared for,
and educated in the Provinces of the Dominion. I am afraid that with
many of the books shown at Paris, our young friends are much better ac-
quainted than many of us, their elders, can now pretend to be ; and
I am sure that many of the clever young Canadians whom you see
before you, could give us, whose learning has become rusty, many a bit
of knowledge which would still stand us in good stead. The exhibition
at Paris from your schools filled up what some said was a blank, namely,
4U A rPENDIX.
tho absence of any of tlio fruits of yonr wonderful hnrvests, and of any
luacliinery from Canada. It was said, I romeniber, that tlie fruit could
not bo carried, but perhaps it was owing to a wish not to wound tho sus-
ceptibilities of tho Old World that «ono of the beautiful products of your
orchards were there, and because you did not wish that any of your
modest-looking but unap[)roachable^)o»ij»e« gtixea, or blushing and splen-
did Pippin apples, should appear in the character of apples of discord.
It may have been owing to the same wish not to excite unduly and unne-
cessarily the envy of others, that no machinery was exhibited from Ca-
nada, and that while other nations were making the great building resound
and vibrate to tho whirr of wheels driven by steam ; you did not, even by
so much as a picture, remind the Parisians of your wealth in water power
as well as in steam, and there was nothing to show tho citizen of London
or of Paris, who supposes the Thames or the Seine to bo the greatest
streams on earth, why he should be ashamed of himself if he could but
look upon tho Ottawa or tho St. Lawrence. But tho school display made
up for any blank, and under tho shadow of the magnificent Canadian lum-
ber trophy which adorned tho palace, reaching to the roof, and which de-
monstrated the wealth of your forests, ^ere the implements which you use
for the cultivation of your greatest treasure — the ready brains and quick
intelligence of your youth. I am glad to meet some of those to-night for
whom all that preparation is made ; and first, I would say to those who
liave not this year been among the prize winners, that I shall hope to see
some of their names in the opposite category another year. "Better
luck next time" is a good saying, but "Never say die" is perhaps a bet-
ter. Try again, and yet again, and you will succeed. Many a man be-
gins, and has begun in all times of the world, at tho first rung of the lad-
der, who finds himself, if he will only give his own gifts their due, at tho
top at tho end. I do not know that I need recommend to you that most
delightful book of history, " The Tales of a Grandfather," written by Sir
Walter Scott. He describes, as few can, the despair of the Scottish king,
who lay, tired to death, and pondering whether he should or should not
try again the apparently hopeless task to rfeliver hia country from her
A I'PENDIX. 415
strung and terrible enemies ; and how a npidor, H[)inning her web in
the rafters over hia head, was seen by liiin to fail a^'ain and again, and
yet again, until eij,'ht timos she had enduavourod to tix a thread, and
eight times she had fonnd the space too groat to span ; and how he said
within himself, " If she try again and fail, I too shall deem my task
hopeless ; " but the ninth time the attempt was made and did not fail,
and I need not pursue the story further, or tell you huw Scotsmen look
back, through more than five centuries, on the resolve then taken by
Bruce with feelings of gratitude and pride which can never fade and die.
But there are other cases of men who had become famous for their ability
to do that which at first seemed impossible. Let me mention one (to
come down to our own times) because his name is widely known and
honoured as one of the greatest financiers of our day. I allude to Mr.
Gladstone, who, as you know, was the last Prime Minister in Great
Britain and was acknowledged by both parties in the State to bo one of
the best Finance Ministers who ever presided over the Nati(mal Exche-
quer. When Mr. Gladstone was a young man, and was about to go to
the university (as several of you are now about to leave school for college),
he told his father that there was one branch of learning in which he must
not expect his son to distinguish himself, and that was in mathematics,
as he had no turn for figures. He went to the university, and he came
out as what is called a " double first," that is, he proved himself to have
become as superior to others in mathematics as in the classical studies,
and took first honours in both. I need not tell you here, in this free and
happy country, that it is quite unnecessary for any one to have any arti-
ficial advantage in getting to the head of a profession. Industry will find
a way, here perhaps more easily than in the old country, though there
it is open to all to rise to the highest places. I will only cite one other
instance of remarkable success, because it is within my knowledge. It is
the case of a man who was one of the greatest shipbuilders on the Clyde,
and who built, among many other vessels, the splendid war-ship, the
Black Prince, which was lately at Halifax, under command of one of the
Queen's sons, the Duke of Edinburgh. The builder of that vessel died
416 APPENDIX.
lately, one of tho wunlthiont and most succuBBful of (ilmigow'ii ({runt ship-
buildurs, and had furnishud iiioro Hue vesRuls to tho mercantile and war
marine of Groat Britain tlian ptirhiipa any one in his time, for he lived
to a good old age. His fortune was made by his own strong hand, good
head and honest heart. His name was Itoburt Najtier, and I cannot wistt
you a better career than his, or that you should seek your fortune with
greater uprightness and courage. I hen 'tily wish continued success to you
wh« have received prizes this evening. Allow mo to hint to you that you
must not relax your exertions. If I may use the metaphor, you have
learned to swim, but many a stroke is necessary before you can hope to
reach your goal. Determine what your goal shall be, and strike out
straight for it. You have a variety of pursuits in this country. Deter-
mine to be of use to the land which has given you birth. Determine to
be a credit to it. Remember you are Canadians, and remember what thia
means. It means that you belong to a people who are loyal to their Queen,
whom they reverence as one of tho most perfect of women , and as their
Sovereign ; and who see in her the just ruler under whose impartial
away tho various races, creeds and nationalities of this great Empire are
bound together in happiness and unity. But to be loyal means even more
than this. It means that you are true to your duties to your fellow-coun-
trymen, and that you will work with and for all, for the common weal in
brotherhood and tolerance. It means, finally, that you will be true tO'
your self-respect, that you w ill do nothing unworthy of the love of your
God, who made you in his image, and set you in this fair land. I believe
that you will each and all of you be loyal and true Canadians, that you
will devote your energies throughout your lives for the good of your na-
tive province, and for the welfare of this wide Dominion, and I feel in
speaking to you that I address those whose children will assuredly bo
the fathers of a mighty nation.
Al'PENDlX. 417
Ai'pa':NDix c.
During a visit to Kingston in 1H7{>, tho degrue of Duotor uf Laws nf
Qiioon's Cullige was cuiifurrud upon tho Qovornur-Gunoral, and an addreift
was presentud by tho Trustoos. His KxcuUuncy, in acknuwludging the
honour oonferrtsd, said : —
Mk. ( IIANCKLLOK, PuiNtJM'AL OkANT, AND GRNTtRMKN, — BelioVO me I
am du). ply sensible of the honour you have conferred upon ino by confer-
ring upon me the degree of Doctor of Laws at this time and in this place.
I say at tills time, because it is a time in which we have V)een sent here to
represent her Majesty ; and at this i>lace, because here I see represented
every section, creed, and class of the great community of Canada. I ac-
cept the honour, if you will allow me to do so, not because I myself am
worthy of it, for I feel deeply my own unworthinosx, but as a recognition
of the position which has been conferred upon mo by the grace of the Sove-
reign. (Cheers.) I am glad that it has taken place hero, because it has
just been pointed out to mo wo are in the front of that building in which
formerly mot tho Parliament of Canada, and which, good building as it is,
when compared with the great and handsome Parliament Buildings now
at Ottawa, gives a just impression of the progress and advancement made
in a short while in this great country. The onlv personal claim I have to
represent her Majesty in this country, is that I have had some experience
in that great law-making assembly in Great Britain, her House of Com-
mons. But here I occupy a position unknown in tho constitution of
foreign countries, as a political dcctor, because whatever prescriptions I
give must be such that they can hardly be visible to or appreciated by
the public. (Laughter.) They must be written in invisible ink — (laugh-
ter) — and I can only give a prescription at all when I meet with other
physicians in consultation ; and any remedy must be given, not by myself,
although it may be administered by any others of those whom I meet in
consultation. (Great laughter.) This is a peculiar position, and one which
is totally incompreheniblo to »nany foreign doctors. (Loud laughter.)
418 A I'l'KXnTX.
Hut I iini ijliid to auu hy your prtiiunco niul hy ihu kindiiuM of your rooep-
lion to-dny, and by Mio iimiinor in which you aro workiii)^ out your politi*
vui di^Htiiiiim, that yon know thu vuhiu and iiniiortiiiiuu of bucIi n poBitinn.
(ApplauiK.) I Diank you for tho kindlint'uof your rocoption, and I aMHuru
Afr. Cliancollor and i'rinuipiil, that I nhall always look back with prido
and plonsiire to tho day on which I rocoived thii aaiduinicrd distinction at
the hands uf thu authorities of Queen's Oollo^o. (Luud uhooriiig.)
APPENDIX i).
In acknowledging tho address hu said : —
To THK Truhtkes ok thk Univkkhuy ok Qi'kkn's CoLLRCiR : — Cientle-
uion, — I am much rejoiced at learning from you uf the largo number of
students at present attending tho Queen's College, and hail this as a proof
that tlie high tone of the instruction here imparted, and tho excuUence of
all matters connected with tho organization and management of this seat
of learning, have challenged the attention and won tho entire confidence
and approbation of the people of this part of the Province. I don't know
whether a general holiday is the best occasion on which to enter an abode
of learning ; but you will agree with me that it is not only learning which
makes a man wise, but that liis lieart and his atfections have also some-
thing to do in the promotion of wisdom. To-day your preparation for the
future, in the matter of labour in gathering knowledge, is laid aside in
order that you may lot the heart speak and show gratitude for tho bloss-
ingu you now enjoy, and that your fathers have betjueathed to you in the
libnrty enjoyed under our gracious Queen, the best interpreter of the best
constitution ever perfected by any nation. (C^ "ers.) We thank you in
her name for the welcome accorded to us, and we identify ourselves with
you in the satisfaction you must experience in the ceremonial of to-day,
Al'I'KSDl.V. 4l»
for ill the achiovorront of tho tiuik of riiininK «o Iftrije a huiii of nionoy, the
inhnl)itiiiit» of KiiigBtoii mUow thiit tlioy wMi thoir childron to follow thu
loyal, prmluiit footsteim of tlioio who aro proud of tho name of thii city,
and aro r««olvod that tho next nonoratioii Bhall roooivo thoir instruction
from no fonign handH, hut at home. ((!h»'i)rn.) Just an Kinynton in
forniKr dayii know liow to defend herself and keep her own, no will you on
tho Held of loan ing ensure that no ground K"i"«d hy the genius, the
labour and the science of fonnoi days be lost, but that, strong in tho
Ciinquests of the past, you Btudonti- may bo free to undertake freah work,
and tliat each nuin for himself may advance on now paths of progres*.
(Loud cheers.)
LAiUKsand auNTLEMRX,— Now that the first stone of the now college
has boon laid, lot me congratulate you who have mot hero on this aus-
picious day. My observations will not take much time, and shall be
brief, because, witli tho best voice I can command, I fear it is perfectly
impoHsible for me to make my utterances reach over so largo an area and
be audible to so great an audience as that I have tho honour of seeing
before mo to-day. Indeed, if it were prol)alilo that aonie of these young
men who are hero as students wo\ild, in after life, have tho honour of
addressing so groat a nmltitudo of their fellow-countrymen, I should cer-
tainly advise tho authorities of tho college to erect a chair for teaching
tiie art of elocution — (applause)— so that tho volume of tho voice might
be innreuBod to roach nmch further than I am afraid is possible for mo
to-day. But let me join with yo:i in wishing continued success to the
Queen', HoUego University at Kingston— (applause)— to associate myself
with yoi, the liope that this now building will long stand as a monu-
ment to \ ,ie generosity of the townspeople or t\,'>:^ generation— (applause)
— and t(' the talent of tho architect who has designed so handsome
and imposing a structure. (Cheers.) I shall not inflict upon you many
observations upon the subject of education, for I know no ears to which,
such observations would sound more trite than those of the people of
Ontario, who have shown by the ample and magnificent provision which,
they have made for education in this province, how all-important they
420 APPENDIX.
conaider it is, that this growing population, extending as it is so rapidly,
and being recruited from almost all quarters of the world, should receive
a thorough and well grounded training, and be well instructed in all
learning and knowledge. (Applause.) I trust that this college may be a
home of happy memories to all who shall receive their education here and
who will go forth to spread its renown far and wide. (Loud cheers. )
This place is already comparatively old, and I must consider this town of
Kingston, which has already made its mark in the history of this country,
as fortunate in possessing a university — for certainly by the possession of
such an institution, one of those wants is supplied which is rather too apt
to be visible in a new and enterprising country. (Applause.) Where
many are rather apt to suppose that sufficient is done by a school edu-
cation for the practical and rougher life, which is tho lot of many here, I
am sure that all present value the higher training to be alone obtained in
a university. (Applause.) It would be superfluous to dwell upon the
value of the completion and of the elaboration of education imparted by
such an institution, for large as Canada is, the world is even larger — (ap-
plause)— and by such a higher training avenues are opened throughout
every profession in England and her great dependencies, for there ia no
office in this vast Empire which is not open to Canadian talent. (Loud
applause.) It is on this ground that I believe we can confidently appeal to
the generosity of the wealthy, that generosity which is the mainspring of
every institution in a free country. (Cheers.) It was in 1836 that it was
said by those who founded the college, that " a deep and wide foundation
had been laid, a foundation capable of extension," and I rejoice that now
in the lifetime of the generation which has succeeded to that in which
those words were spoken, there is so fair a promise of the completion of
the work, and that those aspirations will be realized. (Applause.) And
now let me mention one other bond of union between the students of this
college and myself, and another cause of sympathy, for with your hon-
oured and learned Principal I have this bond of fellowship, that we were
both friends — and I may also say pupils — of a ftreat preacher and a very
beloved man, not the least of whose merits in your eyes will be that it
AVPENDIX. . 42J
was owing to his persuasion ihat yom- late Principal undertook the charge
of this college. (Loud cheers.) And I believe it was also owing to his
initiative that your present Principal undertook a charge -in Canada an
action which ultimately led up to his present position where he is hon-
oured and revered by you all. I allude to the late Rev. Norman Mac-
leod. (Loud cheers.) And gentlemen, I have one other cause of feel-
ing a fellowship with you, and that is, that I had the advantage for some-
time of being a student at a Scottish university, and in very much I trace
points of resemblance between the system of your university and that
which obtained at home, and especially in this, that although founded by a
Scotchman, this institution of Queen's College is one absolutely free and
open to every denomination. (Applause.) Indeed this institution is in
its features so much like the great universities at home, the great Uni-
versity of Edinburgh, for example, to whose proportions I hope you will
in course of time attain, that I almost expect to see some gentleman
make a proposal which will fill the only serious want I detect in your
organization, and that is, that there is no provision here for a Celtic
chair for the teaching of the Gaelic language. I am sure that in this
opinion all our Irish friends will join, for what is a Highlander but an'
Irishman ? (Laughter and applause.) What is he but a banislied Irish-
man ?— (renewed laughter)— speaking a language which I am sure would
be pronounced by the ancient Four Masters to be a mutilated form of the
-old iMsh language, (Great laughter and cheers.) And now that I have
mentioned Scottish students, I am sure you will not think I am making
any invidious comparison when I allude to the noble example I have seen
set by them in the determination and energy with which I have known
them to prosecute their studies. (Hear, hear.) I have known at St. And-
rew's men go up to the university so little able to afibrd the necessary
money for their stay there, that they have apprenticed themselves to
resident tradesmen in the town, and have risen at I do not know what
hour of night or morning, and have gone through the whole of the man-
ual labour necessary for their temporary profession— (loud applause)— and
^fter this exhausting labour have attended throughout the day at their
422 • APrENDIX.
classes in the university and have managed there to take a high place
with their fellow students. (Loud applause.) J am sure you will not
think I mention this because I imagine that anybody is not capable of the
same effort, for although wealth is much more evenly divided here than
it is in Scotland, I believe you are here animated by the same spirit.
(Cheers.) I remember mentioning the example of the Scottish students
to a famous and learned professor of Cambridge, and the late Professor
Whewell, of Trinity, and he thought that an invidious comparison wjvs in-
tended, for he sharply replied to me, " Well, there is nothing to prevent
you working here." (Great laughter.) This is not the way in which you will
take my little story. I am sure there is not only nothing to prevent you
working here, but that there is everything to make you do so and I am
confident the students there will take advantage of their opportunities,
and do their best to make the name of a Canadian an honoured des-
ignation throughout the world. (Loud and long continued applause.)
V APPENDIX E.
The opening of [an Art Institute at Montreal in 1879 gave occasion to
the following reply to an address : — ,
Ladies and Gentlemen, — This is the first occasion, T believe, on which
a large company, representing much of the influence and wealth of this
great city, has met together in order formally to inaugurate the opening
of the buildings of an Art Institute. Through the kindness of the Presi-
dent and Vice-President, I have had already an opportunity to-day to
inspect the works with which this city, through the munificence of Mr,
Gibb, has been endowed. 1 think Montreal can be honestly and warmly
congratulated, not only upon the possession of a collection which will go
far to make her Art Gallery one of the most notable of her institutions,
APT END IX. 423
but on having succeeded in getting possession of funds enough, at a time
by no means propitious, to give a home to this collection in the Gallery
in which we are assembled, and to have erected a building large enough
to exhibit to advantage many other pictures besides those belonging to
the bequest. It is perhaps too customary that the speeches of one in my
position should express an over-sanguine view of the hopes and aspira-
tions of the va s communities in the country, and I believe the utter-
ances of a Governor-General may often be compared to the works of the
great English painter, Turner, who, at all events in his late years, painted
his pictures so that the whole of the canvas was illuminated and lost in a
haze of azure and gold, which, if it could be called truthful to Nature,
had, at all events, the effect of hiding much of what, if looked at too
closely, might have been considered detrimental to the beauty of the scene.
(Applause.) If I were disposed to accept the criticisms of some artists, I
should be inclined to endorse the opinion I have heard expressed, that one
of the few wants of this country is a proper appreciation and countenance
of Art ; but the meeting here to-day to inaugurate the reign of Art in
Montreal enables me to disprove such an assertion, and to gild over with
a golden hue more true than that of many of Turner's pictures this sup-
posed spot upon the beauty of our Canadian atmosphere. Certainly in
Toronto, here and elsewhere, gentlemen have already employed their
brush to good effect. We may look forward to the time when the influ-
ence of such associations as yoiirs may be expected to spread until we
have here, what they formerly had in Italy, such a love of Art that, as
was the case with the great painter, Correggio, our Canadian artists may
be allowed to wander over the land scot free of expense, because the
hotel-keepers will only be too happy to allow them to pay their bills by
the painting of some small portrait, or of some sign for *' mine host."
(Laughter and applause.) Why should not we be able to point to a
Canadian school of painting, for in the appreciation of many branches of
art, and in proficiency in a science, Canada may favourably compare
with any country. Only the other day Mrs. Scott-Siddons told me that
she found her Canadian audiences more enthusiastic and intelligent than
424 ■ . APPENDIX.
any she had met. Our Dominion may claim that the voices of her daugh-
ters are as clear as her own serene skies : and who can deny that in music,
Nature has been most ably assisted by Art, when from one of the noble
educational establishments in the. neighbourhood of this city, Mademoi-
selle Albani was sent forth to charm the critical audiences of Europe and
America ? Canada may hold her head high in the kindred fields of Sci-
ence ; for who is it who has been making the shares of every Gas Com-
pany in every city fall before the mere rumours of his genius but a native
Canadian, Mr. Edison, the inventor of the electric light ? In another
branch of Art her science must also be conceded. In photography it can-
not be denied that our people challenge the most able competition.
(Applause.) I have heard it stated that one of the many causes of the
gross ignorance which prevails abroad with reference to our beautiful
climate, is owing to the persistence with which our photographers love to
represent chiefly our winter scenes. But this has been so much the case,
and these photographs excite so much admiration, that I hear that in the
old country the practice has been imitated, so that if there may have been
harm at first the very beauty of these productions has prevented its con-
tinuance, because they are no longer distinctively Canadian, and the
ladies in the far more trying climates of Europe are also represented in
furs by their photographers, so that the fashion is no longer a distin-
guishing characteristic of our photography ; in proof of this I may men-
tion that in a popular song which has obtained much vogue in London,
the principal performer sings : —
" I've been photographed like this,
I've been photographed like that,
I've been photographed in falling snow,
In a long furry hat."
No doubt these winter photographs do give some of our friends in the old
country the belief that it is the normal habit of young Canadian ladies to
stand tranquilly in the deep snow, enjoying a temperature of 33° below
zero — (laughter) ; — and it would certainly give a more correct idea of our
weather were our Canadian ladies and gentlemen to be represented, not
APPENDIX. 425
only in bright sunshine, but also amongst our beautiful forest glades in
summer, wearing large Panama hats, and protected by mosquito veils ;
but I suppose there are obstacles in the way, and that even photographers,
like other mortals, find it difficult properly to catch the mosquitoes. (Re-
newed laughter.) I think we can show wo have good promise, not only of
having an excellent local exhibition, but that we may in course of time
look forward to the day when there may be a general Art Union in the
country ; a Royal Academy whose exhibitions may be held each year in
one of the capitals of our several Provinces ; an academy which may, like
that of the old country, be able to insist that each of its members or asso-
ciates should, on their election, paint for it a diploma picture ; an academy
which shall be strong and wealthy enough to offer, as a prize to the most
successful students of the year, money sufficient to enable them to pass
some time in those European capitals where the masterpieces of ancient
Art can be seen and studied. Even now, in the principal centres of popu-
lation, you have shown that it is perfectly possible to have a beautiful and
instructive exhibition ; for besides the pictures bequeathed to any city, it
may always be attainable that an exhibition of pictures be had on loan,
and that there be shown besides the productions in both oil and water-
■colour of the artists of the year. It may be said that in a country whose
population is as yet incommensurate with its extent, people are too busy
to toy with Art; but, without alluding to the influence of Art on the
mind, which has been so ably expressed in your add-ess, in regard to its
•elevating and refining power, it would surely be a folly to ignore the
value of beauty and design in manufactures ; and in other countries bless-
ed with fewer resources than ours, and in times which, comparatively,
■certainly were barbarous, the works of artists have not only gained for
them a livelihood, but have pleased and occupied some cf the busiest men
of the time, the artists finding in such men the encouragement and sup-
port that is necessary. Long ago in Ireland the beautiful arts of illumin-
ation and painting were carried on with such signal success that Celtic
decoration, as shown in the beautiful knotted and foliated patterns that
atill grace so many of the tombstones and crosses of Ireland and of the west
AA
426 APPENDIX.
of Scotland, passed into England, and, more otrangely, even into France,
The great monarch, Charlemagne, was so enchanted with the designs and
miniatures of an Irish monk, that he persuaded him to go to work at
Paris, and for nearly two centuries afteiwards the brilliant pages of
French Bibles, Missals, and Books of Hours showed the influence of the
culture, the talent, and the tastes of Erin. Surely here there should be
opportunity and scope enough for the production of the works of the
painter's hand. The ancient states of Italy, her cities and communities
of the Middle Ages, were those who cherished most their native painters,
and the names of many of those who covered the glowing canvases of Italy
with immortal work are known often from the designation of some obscure
township where they were born, and where they found their first generous
recognition and support. Here in this great I*rovince, full of the institu-
tions and churches founded and built by the piety of past centuries, as
well as by the men now living, there should be far more encouragement
than in poorer couuiries of old for the decoration of our buildings, whe-
ther sacred or educational. The sacred subjects which moved the souls,
of the Italian, German, Flemish, and Spanish masters are eternal, and
certainly ha e no lesser influence upon the minds and characters of our
people. And if legendary and sacred Art be not attempted, what a-
wealth of subjects is still left you, — if you leave the realm of imagination
and go to that of the Nature which you see living and moving around you^
what a choice is still presented. The features of brave, able, and dis-
tinguished men of your own land, of its fair women ; and in the scenery
of your own country, the magnificent wealth of water of its great streams ;,
in the foaming rush of their cascades, overhung by the mighty pines or
branching maples, and skirted with the scented cedar copses ; in the fer-
tility of your farms, not only here, but throughout Ontario also ; or in
the sterile and savage rock scenery of the Saguenay — in such subjects
there is ample material, and I doubt not that our artists will in due time
benefit this country by making her natural resources and the beauty of
her landscapes as well known as are the picturesque districts of Europe,
and that we shall have a school here worthy of our dearly loved Domin-
APPENDIX. 427
ion. It now only remains for me to declare this gallery open, and to hope
that the labours of the gentlemen who have carried out this excellent de-
Bign will be rewarded by the appreciation of a great public.
APPENDIX F.
During a visit to Toronto, in 1879, the Governor-General had occasion
to speak as follows : ' •' '
Gextlbmen,— In rising to return you my heartfelt thanks for the loyal
and cordial manner in which you have received the toast of the health of
the Queen's representative, I thank my learned and honourable friend on
my left for the manner in which he has proposed that toast, and you,
gentlemen, for the way in which you have been good enough to receive
it. I knew that in Canadian company that toast would be received with
all honours, because I believe there is no nation in this world which has
more profound Ir.ve for ita Sovereign than the Canadian people. (Loud
cheers.; With reference to the Prince of Wales, to whose visit you have
made allusion, I know that he was delighted, as was also the Duke of
Connaught, with the visit they paid to Camda, and they have both ex- .
pressed a confident hope that during my term of oflSce they may revisit ;
Canadian soil. (Loud cheering.) With regard to ourselves personally, I »
shall accept with gratitude everything that has fallen to-night from your
eloquent lips, sir with regard to the Princess, my wife. (Great cheering.)
But as for myself, I must demur to the excessive kindness of some of
your expressions ; and although it may be a bold opinion for a layman
to lay down in the presance" of so many distinguished in the law, I be-
lieve my learned friend has almost for the first time— and I hope for the
last— in his life departed from that attitude of strict impartiality which
it is his duty, as well as my own, to maintain. (Great laughter and cheer-
428 AI'I'RWIA-.
ing.) I havo a theory on tho subject, of which 1 will lul you into the
socrot. My hoiiourahlu friund has confided to mo that it was his painful
duty to make sotno very sovero observations friini the Uench today. I
think that it may bo possibly owin^ to a natural reactic u of feeling, that
ho has found it almost obligatory to make some observations in my
favcuir tonight, almost too kind. (Loud laughter.) We l^ave been de-
lighted with the reception we havo met with in Toronto, and 1 must say
that it has been a matter of good fortune, in my opinion, that wo have
been able to visit this great city at a time when its citizens are occu[>iod
with tho great show which is being held within a short distance of its
limits, and which is a most remarkable exhibition to have been set on
foot and carried out by any city. (Cheers.) And in a few days we shall
not only have had the pleasure 'of inspecting the exhibits, but of see-
ing some of the live stock which is now enjoying such favour not only in
Canada, but, also, lurkily for Europe, over the water. That examination
will be for me one of peculiar interest. I look forward to that trade de-
veloping a now and — as I trust it will be — a permanent source of revenueto
the country. (Cheers.) I see you have Landseer's pictures of "Peace"
and "War" upon your walls. I know of no more striking contrast that
can be seen between peace and war than at Quebec, for instance, where
under the frowning guns of that magnificent fortress the air is daily full
of the lowing of cattle and the bleating of sheep, and vast numbers are to
be seen being embarked upon the large and fine vesssls of the Allan Line
for transport to Europe. (Cheers.) We may congratulate Canada not
only that she has begun that trade,but that she has done so in so energetic a
fashion, that,though the shippers expected there would be but little traffic so
late this year, the trade has been carried on with increasing volume
throughout the autumn, and depend upon it, it will bring you good re-
turn, not only to the farmers already h -re, but by bringing more people to
Canada. These people are the class you want, and I believe that for every
few hundred cattle or sheep you send to Liverpool, you have every prospect
of getting in exchange a stout English farmer. (Loud cheers.) Gentlemen,
I hardly expected that upon this, my first official visit, I should have had
A PrENDlX. 420
the opportutjity of oxijressin^f my gratit.iulo to the Toronto Club for entor-
ttiining me in so friendly a fnshion at bo pleasant a bancpiet. In mooting
you hero to-night, I feel I am in tho presence of a repreHontative assem-
bly of those who lead the intellectual and commercial life of this city, one
of the greatest already, and at tho same time one of tho most promising,
not only in tho Dominion but on tho American continent. lieforo you,
then, gentlemen, I wish I could find words warm eno\igh to give you an
idea of tho manner in which wo have been touched by tho eflorts made in
our behalf by the citizens of Toronto. (Loud cheers.) It would not bo
reasonable to seek any justificatiim of such kind feeling, but, at all
events, I can say to you that, if a hearty and earnest interest in every
phase of your national life can be taken as an excuse for such welcome,
this justification, at all events, exists *o the full. (Loud and prolonged
cheering.) In one sense also, I am no strangor to your afl'.iirs, for I do
not feel that in studying Canada I have embarked ou a sea hitherto un-
known to me. It is not only since my arrival here that I have watched
with unflagging enthusiasm the current of events which is so surely load-
ing this country to the full enjoyment of a great inheritance, for long
before we landed on your shores much of your history and of your present
condition was well known to me. A brief visit, paid many years ago,
could give me but little real insight into your condition, but every man
in England who has had anything to do with public life has, since tho
Confederation of the British North American Provinces, consi lered his
political studies as wholly wanting if e, pretty thorough knowledge of your
resources and position were not included in his survey of the Empire.
(Cheers) Confederation has had this advantage, that your destinies have
been presided over by men who had weight and authority at home, and
who were able to put before the English people, in attractive fi.rm, the re-
sources of this country. Especially was this the case durijig the six and a
half years Lord Duflferin has been in this country ; for his speeches, giving
in 80 poetical a form, and with such mastery of diction and such a grasp
of comprehension, an account of your material and political condition,
were universally read and universally admired. (Loud cheers.) Perhaps
430 AVl'ENLIX.
in furmor days, and before the ountry had beo ime one, %'i much atten-
tion would not have been given to yuur afiairn, but since Confederation
wo all know in England- every politician in Kns^land knows — that he is
not to consider this country ai a small group of disconnected colonies,
but as a great and consolidated people, grt>wing in importance not only
year by year, but hour by hour, ((Jreat cheering.) You now forma
people for whom the Colonial Ofhce and Foreign OIHce alike are desirous
to act with the utmost strength of the Empire in forwarding your inter-
ests ; and in speaking through the Iiiiperial Foreign Otiico, it is impossible
that you should not rnniomber that it is not only the voice of two, three,
four or five millions, as the case may be, that you speak, but the voice of
a nation of over forty millions. (Great cheering.) As I said before, I
believe that in former days perhaps the interest was not so lively, although
perhaps it would bo unjust to say that too strongly, because within the
la) t few months, as well as in past years, we have had striking examples
of how willing Great Britain is to undertake warlike expnnditure for colo-
nies by no means as united or as important as Canada. (Prolonged cheers.)
But the feeling with regard to Canada as a mere congeries of colonies, and
Canada as one peoplu and Government, may perhaps be compared to the
different feelings that a mother may be supposed to have in the pride
with which she may regard a nursery full of small infants, and the far
different pride with which she looks upon the career and stature of her
grown-up pnd eldest bod. (Laughter and cheers.) To be suro, as it is
with all sons uiid all mothei's, little passing and temporary misconceptions
may occasionally occur, and which only show how deep in reality is their
mutual love. (Laughter.) The mother may sometimes think it sad that
hei child has forgotten some little teaching learnt on her knee, and that
(ne or two of the son's opinions smack of foreign notions — she may think
that some of his doings tend not only to injure her, but himself also and
the world at large. (Great laughter.) Perhaps, sometimes, he thinks on
his part that it is a pity old people cannot put themselves in the place of
younger natures. (Uproarious laughter.) But if such is the tenor of the
thought which may sometimes occupy the mother and the child, let
APPENDIX. m
tio one dream for a moment tliat thuir affection has become lou deep, or
that true loyalty of nature ia leas felt. (Loud cheering.) They are one
in heart and mind ; thu^ wish to remain ao, and aliall remain so ; and I
ahould like to see the man who dare come between them. (Tremendous
cheering.) In saying this, gentlemen, I express what may be regarded
as my first impressions of the feelingn which nnimnto you, and I believe
that when I leave you niy last impressions will bo identical. (Loud cheer-
ing.) And now, gentlemen, the topics on which a (iovernor-General may
speak without otFonce are somewhat limited— laughter — although he is
expected to be the advertiser-general of one of the largest countries in the
world — great laughter and applause — an empire so large that the study of
of its proportions is, I think, much more like the study of astronomy than
tlie study of geography. (Laughter and applause.) It ia perhaps best that
he should speak on generalities ; but in making my first appearance
avuong you I may be expected to record other general impressions. I nmy
perhaps be permitted to mention a subject which is generally understood
as giving a good opening for conversation -tnd acquaintance, and likely to
lead to no serious difference of opinion, namely, the subject of the wea-
ther. (Roars of laughter.) I can now speak with some authority on that
momentous topic — (laughter) — because I have now spent a winter, a
spring, a summer, and a part of an autumn in Canada, and I believe that
any one who has had a similar experience with me will agree that the
seasons and climate enjoyed hero are singularly pleasant and salubrious.
(Cheers.) You have, gentlemen, real seasons — there is a real winter and
a real summer. (Loud laughter.) You are not troubled with shams in
that respect — (laughter) — no shoddy manufactures of that nature are im-
ported over here from Europe, where winter is often like a raw summer
and summer like a wet winter. How different has been the reality of
your winter, for as an old woman once wrote home to her friends in Scot-
land, " All the children here may run about in the snow without wetting
their feet." (Great laughter and cheers.) We have only to look at that
column on which a splendid bunch of peaches is hanging to see a summer
trophy which should bring many to our door ; but it ia only a small sam-
432 A I'l'ENDl.X.
plo of a vast crop of n limilar nntiiro which you have in Wuatorn Ontario,
for nH I am inforiiuul hy my honoiirnble frioiid on my rifi[h<, Mr. Mac-
keii/io, tho puachus are often f<ivon to the pigs, (riroat hinghtnr.) Tho
pluasnnt and bracing acanons of Canada can bo enjoyed in a country with-
out its cfpial, for nowhura haa the aettler a more varied range of chuioo in
the aoenery, the locality, the aoil which will tinally determine him where
to found a home. Hia fortune may bo compared to that of a man enter-
ing one of thoae new houaea whore each may have his own tiat— a magni-
ficent abode, where if he wish not to travel far, to bo eaaily reached and
visited by hia frionda, he may remain in the rooms of tho ground- floor, — our
apacious Maritime Provinces, where he will find himself very near hia
lishmonger— (cheers and laughter)— close to tho old tradesmen with whont
he has dealt in Europe, and warmed by a groat kitchen woU furnished
with a store of Pictou coal. (Laughter and cheers.) If he prefer other
apartments he may ascend to those great and most comfortable rooma,
our ancient and populous Provinces of Quebec and Ontario — tho first-floor
rooms of our Canadian mansion, which are so amply provided with tho
old associations which ho may love ; while, if still more active, he may
select accommodation in tho vast chambers of tho second floor — the won-
derful districts of the North- West, which have been so bountifully fur-
nished by beneficent Nature, that he willrecjuire but little capital to make
his abode exactly according to his own taste. (Loud cheers.) And if he
prefers another and still more airy location — (laughter) — he may go on
as^ain and inhabit our recently erected and lofty story of tho Rocky
Mountain District, near which ho would again find an ample supply of
coal, nearly as good as that which ho found " down below." (Applause.)
He will be none the less fortunate when he makes the acciuaintance of the
master of this modeta mansion, when he finds '.hat everything is ruled in
order and prosperity by him, and that his name is the Canadian House of
Commons. (Loud applause.) And now, dropping all fanciful metaphors,
I must speak in more serious terms for a moment, and express my admi-
ration for that most able House, the excellence of whose debates would be
a credit to any assembly. (Cheers.) During its session I have sometimes
A rPENDlX. 433
been reniinduil of an exclnniatiun of tho Into liaron lUinaon, the (ilertnaT>
diplomatiRt an*l author, whoau reaidenoo in London aa I'riiaaian Anihiu-
aador at the Conrt of tit. Janiea'a liaa caiiaed hini to be atFuctionaloly ru-
inembured in P]n;^land. Chuvaliur Hiinaun, lookini; on at tho p^ooeedin^ll
of the House of Coniniona, auid that to him it was a marvel how an Kn^liah-
man coutd over rest until ho had aou;{ht to becomu a niombor of that Aa-
aembly, where the Miniatera of the SDverei.{n, and thoy who endeavour to
win a share in the goviTtiment of a powerful peoplp, mot faco to face as
champiims of different policies to discuaa before tho country tho principles
which ahould guide a mighty nation. Aa in England, so here, lot no one
turn his buck on political life as too hard, as bringing too much conten-
tion, or OS occasioning too much nnploaaantnoas. One of the norat signs
of ft country's condition is, when thoy who have leisure, or property, or
social intiuencolook upon public life as too dirty for thom, and hang back
from the honourable rivalry, allowing other har Is to have a commanding
share in government. (Hear, Hear.) I am confident that this will not
be tho case hero, and long may it bo before a Canadian prefers his oaso, if
he may command it, to the noblest labour to which he can be called by
the voice of his fellow-citizens, a share in the government of his cauntry,
in her Parliament. (Cheers.) •
In striving to be be a member of the Dominion Parliament, or to have-
a potent voice in the election of such a one, each man, whatever may be
his circumstances, must feel that it is a high and proper ambition to do-
what in him lies to direct the policy of this Royal Commonwealth, which
sees its will expressed by the Cabinet— which is but a Committee of tho
Parliament ebcted by the people — carried out loyally and fully by the
Executive head of the Government. (Cheers.) To be sure you may say
to me, yon are speaking in ignorance — the Governor-General is not
allowed to be present at the debates of Parliament. (Laughter.) Certainly,
gentlemen, I am not allowed to be present and never have been. (Renew-
ed laughter. ) I have never even followed the example of my eminent
predecessor, who has left me such a heritage of speeches at the Toronto-
Club. (Laughter and applause.) I have followed his example in making
434 APPENDIX.
a speech, but I have not followed his example in another case, for I am
informed that he has heard debates of the house concealed by the friendly
shadows behind the speaker's chair. (Loud cheers and laughter.) I
have never placed myself in that position, and of course my knowledge is
entirely derived from reports — of course I do not speak of newspaper
•reports. (Roars of laughter.) That is quite impossible — (renewed
laughter) — because I am fully conscious that we should not put our trust
in printers — (great laughter) — but 1 speak of other reports which are
more trustworthy, and for which, of course, my responsible Ministers
are responsible. (Laughter.) >
. I shall mention a particular rumour that has reached my ears, which is
to the scarcely credible eflfect that the current of discussion is often not
•quite so tranquil as it might be assumed by outsiders, looking only at the
harmonious outline of the buildings in which the members meet. (Great
laughter.) Perhaps the reported occasional quickening of the political
<;urrent, and the hurried words to which it gives rise, occur only because
pure panegyric is distasteful, and a wholesome criticism is on the other
hand preferred.
Believing this, I shall only venture to express the opinion, that if any
spoken words fly too swiftly, it is because one bad habit, and one only,
■exists among the politicians of Canada. It is this— and I am sure yoi
will realize the melancholy significance of the fact to which I am so re-
luctantly compelled to allude — it is, that Canadian politicians do not bring
their wives with them to Ottawa. (Uproarious laughter.) I hope the re-
-cently developed doctrines of constitutional duty may still allow a Gover-
nor-General to take the initiative in making a suggestion, ai.d my sugges-
tion would be that the ladies should favour us with their presence at
Ottawa, for I am certain that an alteration in this practice would soon
put a stop to the reports to which I have driwn youi attention, which
some people may think may detract from the position oi our celebrated,
•and alas ! at Ottawa, too often celibate politicians. (Roars of laughter. )
And now, gentlemen, I have only to thank you repeatedly and most ear-
nestly for your welcome, and the citizens of Toronto I would thank,
APPENDIX. 435
through you, at large for the extreme kindness with which they have
been pleased to receive us. But I believe, gentlemen, it is not mere
kindness that is shown by such demonstrations as those we have recently
«een. If it wore that only, it would perhaps lose some of its significance.
In the display made we have seen the outpouring of the heart of a people
whose loyal passion is strong for the unity which binds a great History to
a greater Present, and which, under the temperate sceptre of our beloved
<Jueen, is leading Canada and Britain together in freeiora to an assured
and yet more glorious Future. (Cheers.)
APPENDIX G.
In 1880; it was resolved that an Agricultural and Industrial Arts Ex-
' "hibition, supported by a Federal grant, should each year be held at some
•city of the Dominion. The first of these central and national meetings
' took place at Ottawa. It was largely attended, and opened by the Gov-
•ernor-General with these remarks: —
Mr. PBE.siDfiNT AND GENTLEMEN, — I thank you for the address which
you have read to me, expressing that deep loyalty to the Queen which,
not merely from hearsay, but from observation of the sentiments which
animate the people of Canada, whether in the cities or in the country, I
know to be real and universal. The Princess joins with me in asking you
to accept our gratitude for your recognition of the interest we feel in the
great efforts at present made, in various pari a of Canada, to display to the
best advantage the industrial achievements of our artisans. Some of the
handiwork of our two largest Provinces can be seen in this building, while
otliers are not unrepresented ; and we have evidence of the skill which
graces the strength of a new brother — the young giant of the west.*
•Manitoba.
436 APPKNDLX.
Everywhere proof is given that the Canadian can hold his own in the
rivalry that brings Art to bear on the great natural products around us,
and this is not surprising when we know that he coraes from the races
which in Europe have been most renowned for the taste, the ingenuity,
and the solidity of their workmanship. Where so many regions have but
recently been peopled,there is, it need hardly be said, much to be done, and
it is most satisfactory to see how each city and town is bending itself to the
task to prove that there is no laggard in the patriotic competition. I have
gladly attended several of these shows, and it is a feature peculiar to this
country that the industrial exhibition so generally accompanies the agri-
cultural show. Whether this shall always be the case as in the gathering
inaugurated to-day, it will of course be for you to determine by experi-
ence of success in your venture in thus combining them. This is, per-
haps, the first meeting to which more than a local character ha? been given.
It will be a matter for your consideration, and for all in Canada interested
in your endeavours, whether a novel practice be established here in moving
to each Province in succession the Central Exhibition, without injury to
the local fairs, which will, in any case, be held. If you decide to move
the agricultural show from Province to Province in successive years, no
new practice would thereby be espoused, for such has been the custom of
the national societies of England, Scotland and Ireland. In the old coun-
tries the spaces to be traversed are much smaller, but the need of com-
parison between the various exhibits is also much less. The local shows
are held there in almost every countj', bvt the advantage derived from the
annual moving of the national societies has been well expressed in the
words of a former and justly beloved Viceroy of Ireland, who said that
the experience the National Society had earned for itself had, by its an-
nual movement, 1 aen carried through every part of the land, through
each Province in turn ; and this had tended to fuse together the know-
ledge of the best specialities of each, whether in tillage or in pasture, in
cereals or in green crops, or in the breeding and fattening of cattle. With
us in Canada, if a similar practice were followed, we might perhaps add
that comparison would benefit the proper employment of the best agri-
APPENDIX. 437
cultural machinery, fur the manufacture of which our Canadian artisans
have won high commendation at the greatest international contests. If
you discuss these questions, I am sure you will do so, not with the view
•of benefiting one city or Province only, but in the spirit which sees in all
common eflforts a means of uniting our Canadian people, and an instru-
ment to make a national feeling create a national prosperity. We may
congratulate our countrymen that in the live stock of all kinds shown to-
day, we have a representation of those vast resources which yield so much
in excess of our own requirements that we can relieve the wants of older
lands; and how great is the difference between the bygone trafhc from the
new world to enrich Europe and that which we now witness ! In other
days the southern seas were covered with the towering galleons of Spain,
bringing the ingots of gold and silver, wrought in the mir js of America
through the cruel labour of thousands of enslaved Indians. This was the
wealth which poured into the treasuries of a nation whose riches reared
the colossal palaces of the Escurial, and the wondrous Minster of Seville.
The creation of such prosperity meant a short-lived reign of luxury and
cruelty — the lifting up of an old country for a time — the abasement of a
new land. How different the happy and more lasting wealth with which
we aro able to endow Europe from Canada, w hen the parent land and the
Dominion alike reap equal fruits from a bounteous harvest. Our treasure
fleets are now laden with golden grain, and flocks and herds ; with riches
wrung from no servitude, but derived from the free and noble toil of a
liberty-loving, independent and self-reliant people. It is to the men who
hav6 cleared the tangled forests, or have tilled the prairie lands, that we
owe such great shows of agricultural wealth as those we have lately seen ,
and which prove how rich and inexhaustible are the veins of ore from
which we can give enough and to spare.
May the endeavour of such a Society, assisted as it has been chiefly
by individual efforts, but countenanced by the Dominion Government,
be to extend for the general good of our country, the experience it earns
and whatever success is secured by the co-operation of the citizens.
488 APPENDIX.
[During the delivery of the address the gates had been opened and the
people allowed to come in so as to hear His Excellency's reply, and at it»
close they gave hearty cheering.]
APPENDIX H.
The first Exhibition of the Royal Canadian Academy of Art took place at
, Ottawa, in 1880. The experiment of colkcting together the work of
artists resident in the country was a success from the commencement,
and the annual meetings since held have fully warranted the formation
of a National Society, for the Promotion of Art. The Governor-Gene-
ral gave the opening address as follows : —
Ladies and Gentlemen, — It is now my duty to declare this first exhi-
bition of the Canadian Academy to be open to what, I am sure, will be an
appreciative public. That this ceremony should take place to-day is
characteristic of the energy with which eny project likely to benefit our
community is pushed in this country, for it is only ten months ago, on the
occasion of the opening of the Local Art Gallery at Montreal, that the
proposal for the institution of the Canadian Academy of Arts was made.
To-day the Academy is to be congratulated not only upon being able to
show the pictures and the works of art which you see around you this
evening, but upon the favourable reception which the appearance of such
an association has received from all classes. I have indeed seen nothing
but the kindest criticism. Although I believe some gentlemen have been
good enough to propose we should postpone the initiation of this insti-
tution for the present, and should wait for the short and moderate space
of one hundred years, and look forward to its incorporation in the year
of grace 1980. It is difiicult to meet such gentle criticism, but the
Academy may be allowed to suggest that although in the words of the
APPENDLT. 430
old saying, " art is long lived," yet that " life is short." Art will, no>
doubt, be in vigorous life in Canada a century hence, but, on the other
hand, we must remember that at that time these gentle critics may have dis-
appeared from the scene, and they will themselves allow that it is for the
benefit of the Academy ♦hat it should begin its existence while still sub-
ject to their own friendly supervision. It is impossible to agree with the
remark, that we have no material in Canada for our present purposes,
when we see many excellent works on these walls ; and if some do not
come up to the standard we may set ourselves, what is this but an addi-
tional argument for the creation of some association which shall act as an
educator in these matters ? Now, gentlemen, what are the objects of
your present eflFort ? A glance at the constitution of the Society will show
your objects are declared to be the encouragement of industrial Art by the
promotion of excellence of design, the support of Schools of Art througli-
out the country, and the formation of a National Gallery of Art at the
seat of Government. The first of these objects, the encouragement of
good design, receives an illustration in a room which I hope all present
will make it a point to visit — a room on the second floor, where many
tasteful and good designs have been exhibited in competition for prize*
generously given by several gentlemen, who recognise the good efTect such
competitions are jikely to have upon trade. Many of the best of these
designs have been called forth by a prize offered by a member of the
Legislature, and it is to be sincerely hoped that in future years his exam-
ple, and the example of those who have acted in a similar manner, may
be more widely and generally followed. English manufacture, as you
know, has become famous for its durability ; French manufacture for its
beauty and workmanship ; and here, where we have a people sprung
from both races, we should be able to combine these excellencies, so that
Canadian manufacture may hold a high place in the markets of the world.
The next object of the association is to be worked out on the same lines by
the support offered the local schools ; and here I must emphatically im-
press on all who care for the encouragement of Art in Canada, that how-
ever popular the Academy exhibitions may become, however much you
440 APl'ENDIX.
are able U> strengthen its hands in assisting provincial ell'orts, tlie assist-
ance it gives to any provincial schools can only supplement, and can
never stand in the place of, provincial edbrt. It is true that the gentle-
men belonging to the Academy give half of all they possess — one half of
any surplus in all their revenues — in aid of the local efforts, but it is by
no means likely that that amount will bo great. As the exhibitions are
to be held each year in a different city, so that each Province may in turn
be visited, it will probably be found best that any donation which can be
made shall be given to that town in which the yearly exhibition is hold.
I hope, for instance, that this year it may be possible to give a grant in
aid of a local school to be formed at Ottawa. With regard to the third
object I have mentioned, the gentlemen who have been appointed acade-
micians have patriotically undertaken, as a guarantee of their interest in
the welfare of Art In Canada, that it shall be a condition of the acceptance
ot the office of academician that they shall give, each of them, u picture
which shall become national property, and be placed here in an Art
gallery. These works, of which you already have several around you,
will be at the disposal of one of the Ministers, who may be charged with
this trust, and it will be in his option to decide whether they shall be
•exhibited in other parts of the country, or lent for purposes of Art in-
struction for a time to local schools. If you are not tired of these sub-
jects, I would ask your attention for one moment to the organization by
which it is proposed to accomplish these purposes. First, There are a cer-
tain number of gentlemen who, after the model of similar institutions in
other countries, where the plan has been found to work well, have been
chosen as academicians. These comprise not only painters, but architects
also, and designers, engravers, and sculptors. There are others again,
forming a wider circle, and following the same professions, who have been
chosen as associates, from whose ranks the academicians in the future will
be annually elected. These gentlemen, the academicians, will govern the
Institution. They have already been supported by very many men in the
<:ountry who follow other professions, and who will have nothing to do
with the governing of the society, but who have been requested to join
APPENDIX. 441
and give thuir aid aa entertaining a love for Art, and a doairo that Art
sliould be enabled to assist in the most practical manner the interests of
country. It is probable that almost every gentleman of note in Canada
will bo upon this roll. So much, then, for the purposes undertaken, and
the machinery by which those are to be accomplished. One word only
as to the part which, at the request of several gentlemen, I have ven-
tured temporarily to undertake. It seemed difticult, if not impossible, to
got the body as at present constituted elected at the start, for scattered
tts the artists of the Dominion are, few knew the capabilities of others
•outside of his own neighbourhood.- Following, as we will have to do hero
therefore, an English precedent, it was thought best that the first list
should be a nominal one. Hijwever carefully this has been attempted,
some omissions and faults have been made, and these will be corrected,
for the plan followed at the commencement will not be pursued hereafter,
but at a general meeting held during the time of the exhibitions, elections
will form part of the business of the assembly. Although it may be for
the interests of the Academy ]that the Governor-General of the day should
be the patron of the society, you will find that the more self-governed it
is the more healthful will be its prospects. At the outset the position of
patron may bo somewhat like the position of the useful but ugly instru-
ment with which many of us are perhaps but too familiar, namely, the
snow-plough. At the first formation of an artist society ho may be ex-
pected to charge boldly into mountains of cold opposition, and to get rid
of any ice crusts in front of the train, but after the winter of trial and pro-
bation, and difficulties of beginning are over, and the summer of success
has come, his position, in regard to the artists, must be more like that of
a figure-head. I have, however, great faith in the power of artists to
make a figure-head useful as well as ornamental, although I do not know
that they have shown a proof of this to-day by making their figure-head
deliver a speech, which it is well known figure-htarls never do, except on
the strictest compulsion. You may remember that in old days in Greece,
an artist named Pygmalion, carved a figure so beautiful that he himself
■fell in love with his work and infuaed his own life into the statue, so that
BB
442 APPENDIX.
it found breath and movement. I shall not expect the Academy alwaya
to be in love with its figure-head, but I believe that you will be able to
instil into him so much of your energy and vitality, rliat if the vessel
gets into difHoulties you may enable him to come down from his place,
and even to give her a shove astern. Let me, at all events, express n
hope, in which 1 believe all present will join, that the Canadian Academy,
this fair vessel that we launch to-day, may never get into any trouble,
but that from every city, and from every Province of the Dominion, she
may receive a favouring breeze whenever or wherever she may show a
canvas.
APPENDIX I.
At Quebec, upon the festival of St. Jean Baptiste, on the 24th June,
1880, there was a gathering of representatives of the French Canadian
race from many cities of the United States as well as of Canada, and the-
celebration in honour of their national saint was exceptionally enthusias-
tic. An opportunity was thus given to the Governor-General to show that
appreciation of French Canadians which has been so constantly exhibited
by his predecessors in office. He spoke in French and said :
Gentlemen and Friends of the French-Canadian race from abroad as
well as from our own Province, — I rise with the greatest pleasure to thank
you for the way in which you have received the toast which has been
proposed by the President in drinking the health of the Princess and my-
self. The Princess has especially desired me to convey to you her grati-
tude, and I regret that owing to the short duration of the stay of Prince
Leopold in this country, she has been unable to remain with me for the
imposing celebration which we have witnessed to-day. She is at all times
sorry to quit Quebec — a place she loves as much for the moral worth of
its people as for the grandeur of its scenery. As for myself, gentlemen,
APPENDIX. 443
I have obeyed a pleasant call in being amongst you to-day to testify my
respect for our French-Canadian fellow-citizens, and my appreciation of
the value of the element furnished by its noble and gallant race in in-
fluencing for good our young and growing Canadian nationality. I am
here to show how much I prize the loyalty evinced by you on all occasions
towards Her Majesty the Queen, whose representative I am. At the
*ame time I do not wonder at the devotion shown to so august an
embodiment of the principle of Constitutional Rule. Tho Queen sets the
exampb of a Sovereign, who has at all times given constant proof, that
with us the acts of power are the expressions of the will of the people.
It is this that gives to her the high3st rank amongst rulers in the eyes of
the nations who acknowledge her sceptre. It is among you especially
that all men will expect that this should be recognised. It was the Nor-
mans, who in France watched and guarded the cradle of that liberty at
present enjoyed in England — it was the men of Normandy and Brittany
who at a later age laid the foundations of the liberty-loving community
of Canada. The very usages in the Parliament of Britain survive from
the days when they were planted there by our Norman ancestors. I do
not know that it has been observed before in Canada, but it has often oc-
curred to me, that in the British Parliament we still use the old words,
used by your fathers for the sanction of the Sovereign given to bills, of
"lareine le veut," or "la reine remercie ses bons snjets, accepte leur
benevolence et ainsi le veut," — forma which I should like to see used at
Ottawa as marking our common origin, instead of the practice which is
followed, of translating into modern French and English. In celebrating
this fete, all can join in pride in the element predominant amongst us
to-day, as it is to your race we owe the liberties of Runnymede and the
practices that mark the free discussions of our Parliament. I rejoice to
see so many met together, and that we have representatives of our allies
the French, as well as of those who have made a home — let us hope a
temporary one only — among our friends in the United States. I rejoice
to see these members of the race repatriated, if only for a time, and may
assure them that our old and our new lands of the West are wide and fer-
444 APPEKDIX.
«
tile enough to justify ua in dutoining thorn hero and in annexing any
numbor who may bo willing to bo so treated. As thoy well know, thoy
will always bavo with us the most perfect guiirantees of liberty, the fullest
rights of franchise, while thoy will not sutler so much as now from fre(iuont
waves of moral heat incurred by all who have to tako part in C(jn8tant
electioneering ; nor will thoy, on the other hand, havo to endure the win-
ter and moral cold which may beexporioncod by all who havo to undergo
the effects of a Gubernatorial or Presidential veto. Our visitors will see
with us to-day the signs of a happy, a loyal, and contented people ; they
will see us sharing in that revival of trade which I am happy to say is mark-
ing the commencement of another decade, they will see us holding in high-
ust esteem those traditions wliich associate us with the past ; they will
■ee you in the fullest enjoyment of your laws, your language, and your
institutions ; thoy will see, above all, that you us*) the strength you thus
inherit from your ancestors for no seltisli purposes, but as imparting
vigour and unison with the powers of other races to our great confedera-
tion, and in comonting a patriotism which is willing to boar the burdens
aa it sliares the glory of a great country, the greatest member of the
mightiest Empire ever known anions; mankind.
APPENDIX J.
The following was delivered at the opening of the Provincial Fair, Ha-
milton, in 1880 :—
Gentlemen op the Aorioultueal and Arts Association of Ontario,
— Believe me that any service which I can render to your invaluable asso-
ciation will always be at your command, and you may be sure that it is
the desire of the Princess always to join me in such endeavours. It must
at the same time be remembered that ladies have not that iron constitutioa
APPENDIX. 44S
which it is iiocosnary that an utlicinl ahoiild po^ioss, and it is not always
possible fur them to bj present as well in the body us in the spirit. I^oon-
gratulate you on the great progress visible in the manufactures uxhibitud,
and on having the Provincial Hhow held this year at Hamilton. In Onta-
rio, where the science of agriculture is beginning to be so thoroughly
nndurstood, I fear I can say but little that may be of use to you, but I can-
not too pointedly praise that most priident of all speculations, which has
made several of the ge'.itlemen who lead the way in such matter purchase
some of the best of British cattle. To be contiuit with raisin<{ inferior stock
is OS unfortunate in economy as is an illiberal and unscientitic treatment
of the land, (ilroat as are the advantages possessed in this country by the
new soil, which has comparatively recently been broken up, yet the offdcts
of the unscientitic farming are necessarily to be seen in many places, and
it is quite as much an object of our agricultural exhibitions to point out
defects of this nature, as it is to display the triumphs of those who, pur-
suing agriculture upon a wiser plan, can year after year show the superi-
ority of a scientific and liberal culture of the land. I have no doubt that
much good will result in the advice given in the report which will be issued
of the Agricultural Commission now sitting in this Province. There is
much upon which you may bo congratulated. The great increase in the
number of horses raised here is meeting the demand for them — the
growth of the cheese manufacture under the factory system— the increased
attention given to root crop growing in connection with cattle feeding —
the care bestowed on more general under-draining — the development of
fruit and vino culture, and the excellence and cheapness of your agricul-
tural implements, are all features upon which we may dwell with the
utmost satisfaction. Your pasture lands are so wide, and the facilities
aflforded by the country for the raising of stock are so groat, that it will be
your own fault if you allow any others, be they breeders in the old coun-V
try or the United States, to take the wind too much out of your sails. It
is to be desired that provision be made against bad usage of the meat sent
to England, for sufficient care is not taken of it at present after debarka-
tion, and it appears to disadvantage in consequence in the marketa. It
44fl APPENDIX.
luuit be ruiiiuiuhored that at tho preiunt moment you have advantage*
vrith ^e^nrcl to the protection afforded you in the permisaion given to land
your cattle alive in the old country, when it ia denied to tho Htatea, which
cannot be expected to laat. It is impoasible to urgn too atrongly the
noceaaity of prei>aration againat a time when American cattle will be again
admitted alive into England. Unleaa you get the very beat atock, and
produce high graded beaata, you cannot hold your own. The neceaaary
oxpenae attending the purchase of high-bred cattle will now pay you, and
if with their produce you can maintain your place in the European mark-
ets, you may be assured that the money so spent could never have been
spent to better purpose. I am informed that lately at Toronto — and I
hope we may see the same feature here in two days — Oiilloways, Polled
Angus, as well as good Shorthorns, were to be seen in the yards. In sheep
also, some of the gentlemen who with so much foresight led the way
amongst our agricultural communities, have made purchases this year of
Shropshire and other high-class animals. I trust that each year may see
a marked improvement with respect to following such leaders, and I have
the utmost confidence that with the spirit of enterprise which has made
British North America proportionately equal to any area on this continent
in population, and in all the arts which can lead to that population's pros-
perity and happiness, Canada will not be found to be one whit behind-
hand.
APPENDIX K.
At the laying of the foundation atone of a new Museum at M'Gill Uni-
versity, Montreal, in 1880, His Excellency spoke as follows: —
Mr. Chanceilob, Members of Convooatiox, Ladies and GentlBmev,
— Now that my part in the physical exercises, which I cannot say I have
graced, but have accomplished, is over, I have been asked to take also a
A PPENDIX. 447
part in the intellectual oxeroiiua uf thia day by aayiii^ a few worda to you.
When 1 tint came to Canada, and afturwarda at the time when Confeder-
ation was coming into btiin^, the first political leaaon that I learnt with
regard to thia country waa that the Federal (Jovurnment would have no-
thing whatever to do with education. Theearliuat lusaon that I learnt, on
arriving in Canada fourteen yeara afterwards, was that the head uf the
Federal Qovenimunt, waa frei|uently expected to attend on auch ocoaaiona
as that on which we are assembled to-day, which has certainly a great deal
to do with education. I'erhaps, however, I may flatter myself by sup-
posing that my presence here t(<-day has been desired more in the capacity
of a friend than aa an official — (applause) — and I hope that this may be
the footing on which you will always allow me to meet you and see what
you are doing. I can assure you I will never betray any of your secrets
to my Ministers, except under the advice of my honourable friend on my
right (the Lioutenant-Qovemor Robitaille), who is the natural protector
and guardian of this University, and of education in this Province. (Laugh-
ter.) I share most heartily with you in the joy you must experience at
the prospect of possessing s. fine a hall for the accommodation of the
treasures which are rapidly accumulating in your hands. That the neces-
«ity for a large building should have been so promptly met by the sympa-
thetic support and far-seeing generosity of Mr. Redpach, proves that the
race of benefactors, illustrated by the names of Molson and M'Qill, has
not died out amongst us. (Loud applause.) The removal of the geologi-
cal collections belonging to the nation, from Montreal to Ottawa, which
has been determined upon as bringing more immediately under the eye of
the Legislature and the knowledge of the Qovernraent the labours and ro-
eulta attained by our men of science, necessarily deprives the residents of
Montreal, who are students, of the facilities hitherto afforded by the pres-
ence in the city of those collections. It is satisfactory to ki.uw that this
loss will be palliated by such noble gifts aa those which have furnished you
with other collections, which are now to find at last a proper place for
their display. (Applause.) You who have in your Chancellor and mem-
bers of Convocation such eminent and worthy representatives of judicial
448 J rVENDIJi.
attainment, of classical learning, of medical and surgical knowledge^
and of scientific research, will well know how to give full value to the last
of these subjects, namely to the culture of the natural sciences. (Ap-
plause.) Besides the direct utility of a knowledge of zoology, botany,
geology, chemistry, and of the kindred branches grouped under the desig-
nation of natural science, the pleasure to be derived from them is not
amongst the least of the advantages of their study. (Hear, hear.) How-
ever forbidding the country in which he is placed, however uninteresting
the other surroundings of a man's life may be, he need never miss the
delights of an engrossing occupation, if the very earth on which he treads,
each leaf and insect, and all the phenomena of nature around him, cause
him to follow out new lines of study, and give his thought a wider range.
This is enough to make a man feel as though in the enjoyment of a never-
dying vitality, and I doubt if any one amongst j'ou feels younger than
your honoured Principal, although his studies have led him in fancy
over every region, and must make him feel as if a perpetual youth had
caused him to live through all geological time. (Laughter and applause.)
To parallel a saying, spoken of another eminent man, he certainly has
learnt all that the rocks can teach, excejjt to be ii.ard-hearted. (Renewed
laughter.) It seems to me peculiarly appropriate that he who first estab-
lished the certainty of the " Dawn of Life" amongst the Laurentian rocka
of Canada, should here, through his untii'ing zeal, officiate in launching
into the dawn of public recognition the young manhood of his country.
(Applause.) It is your great good fortune that in your Principal you have
a leader who is an admirable guide, not alone in the fairy realms of sci-
ence, but also through those sterner, and, to some, less attractive regiona
which own the harsher rule of the exigencies of the daily life around us.
(Hear, hear.) He has traced in the rocks the writing of the Creator, and
with the magic light, only to be borne Uy him who has earned the power
through toil of reason and of inductim, he has been able to see in the
spirit and describe the processes of creation. His knowledge has pierced
the dark ages, when through countless reons the earth was being prepared
for man; he has shown how forests — vast as those we see to-day, biit with
APPENDIX. U9
vanished forms of vegetation and of life— grew, decayed, and were pre-
served in altered condition to give us in these days of colder skies the fuel
we need. He has been for his beloved Acadia the historian of the cycles
when God formed Iver under the primal waters, fivshionod her in the
marshes teeming in ais fervent Heat, caused His fire to fuse the metal in
her rocks, and His ice to scourge the coasts, thereafter to be subjected to
yet more stupendous changes, and raised and made fit for the last and
highest of His works, (Loud applause.) But Dr. Dawson's great know-
ledge and wide learning have not led him, as they might lead many, to
live apart in fastidious study and in selfish absorption, forgetful of the
claims and contemptuous of the merits of; others. (Hear, hear.) His
wisdom in these difficult studies has not separated him from us ; it ha*
only been a fresh cause for us to hail that public spirit which raakes him
give all he has, whether of strength, of time, or of knowledge, for the
benefit of his fellow-citizens. (Applause.) Just as it was not for Acadia
alone, but in he interests of science, that his first labour was undertaken;,
so now it is rot for any especial locality, but for the good of the whole of
our country, that he ia at the head of this place of learning, whence de-
part so many to take their lot in the civil life of Canada. Even in his
presence it is right that this should be said of him, here on this 8pot,where
you are to raise a new temple of the practical sciences, and now that he,^
with you, has become the recipient of this gift, which is a tribute from
one who has earned success in the hard battle of life, offered to men who,
with so much devotion, are training other lives to win their way by
knowledge through the difficulties that may lie before them. (Loud Ap-
plause.) -, . , .„ , . . ...SULI.^
" . '■' ' ' , ' ■:,■";^■- r,.- :,■•■' ■ i-.,. ^,-i;!'r ■r't-.-t:- ii;, y''''.yfX}i
■ ■■ ■■■■ • . .-I- -'^ .- ' ,; ;■■ v^ ■ • -,v.;,,.;-.^-.;. o' ..■^^ -jf S,'y<!^^
■- ' ■-'- . ' , s /: ■'■ ■:--'>(.' {!:,:■= ;,/-'!:■ i .?*;b
"^'ii^wijil Wir.fc»o«i' '.'fsh'itlr Mitw eiA*i hili
450 APPENDIX.
APPENDIX L.
In 1880, at St. Thomas in Ontario, over 6000 men of Highland descent
were present at a meeting attended by the Governor-General, who spoke as
follows in reply to an address delivered in Gaelic and English : —
Highlanders and Friknds from the Land of the Gael, — You do
not know how much pleasure you give me in coming forward, and in
such a touching and eloquent address as that to which I have just list-
ened, giving me the assurance of the unchangeable loyalty which ani-
mates your hearts, and of the pride with which you look back upon the
oountry of your forefathers. (Applause.) It is iiot often that a man gets
so many kindly words addressed to him from so great a meeting of his
countrymen. Although it is for Canada as a whole that I work in this
country, and for her whole population of whatever race that my heart, as
well as my duty, urges me to strive, yet it is a peculiar delight that such
endeavours should be illustrated by meeting with those who are des-
cended from men at whose side, in the dark ages of trial and of difficulty,
my fathers fought and died. We have many ancient memories in com-
mon. You tell me that these are rehearsed among you. I know that
a,mong your cousins at home the tales of the deeds of the heroes of the
Feinn of Ireland and of Scotland, and the achievements of the great men
who have lived since their day, in successive centuries, are constantly re-
peated. I would give nothing for a man who could place little valu3 upon
the lives and times of his ancestors, not only because without them he
himself would have no existence — (laughter) — but because in tracing the
history of their Uvea and in remembering the difficulties they encount-
ered, he will be spurred to emulate, in as far as in him lies, the triumphs
that have caused them to be remembered. (Cheers.) I would give no-
thing for a French-Canadian who could not look back with pride on the
glorious discoveries and contests of the early pioneers of Canada. I would
give nothing for a German who in Ontario could forget that he came from
the race who under Hermann hurled back the tide of Roman invasion ;
APPENDIX. 451
nor for an Englishman who forgets the splendid virtues which have made
the English character comparable to the native oak. (Applause.) Such
reminiscences and such incentives to display in the present day the vir-
tues of our ancestors can have none but a good result. Here our diflfer-
«nt races have, through God's providence, become the inheritors of a new
country, where the blood of all is mingling, and where a nation is arising
"whioi?. we firmly believe will show through future centuries the nerve,
the energy, and intellectual powers which characterized the people of
northern Europe. (Hear, hear.) And let our pride in this country with
reference to its sons not be so much seen in pride of the original stock, as
in the feeling of joy which should arise when we can say, " Such an ora-
tor, such a soldier, such a poet, or such a statesman is a Canadian."
(Cheers.) Keep up a knowledge of your ancient language ; for the ex-
ercise given to a man's mind in the power given by the ability to expres.'*
hia thoughts in two languages is no mean advantage. 1 woald gladly have
given much of the time devoted in boyhood to acquiring Greek to the ac-
quisition of Gaelic. My friends, let me now tell you how happy it makes
me to see that the valour, the skill, and the bravery which used to make
you chief among your neighbours in the strife of swords, is here shown in
the mastery of the difficulties of nature. Your lives are here cast in
pleasant places. The aspect of the fertility of your lands, of the success
of their cultivation, and of your prosperity in their enjoyments, is pro-
ducing so powerful an effect upon your brethren at home, that we have
some difficulty in persuading the most enterprising amongst them to re-
main in the old country. (Laughter. ) You know that economic causes
have forced much of the increasing population of Scotland to seek
the towns, and the change in the proprietorship of lands has united
in a few unfortunate instances with the love for hunting in tempting
men in more modern times, to care more for their preserves
of animals than for the preserves they could point to as being filled with
men. My family has always loved, not for policy, but on account of their
fellow-citizens, to place in the balance, against the temptation for gain
among the people, the love of home ; and have thus had many men on
452 APPENDIX
thoir lunda. In a small country, of poor clirajito ua compared with Can-
ada, this must, of courao, be roguLited by tho ros ureas of the hind. 15 it
1 visit always vith a pociiliar pleasure those districts at homo whore a
large popiilaticm has been able to find a competent livelihood. One island,
known to many of you, namely, Tireo, has upon a surface of twelve miles
loiig by about two in width over three thousand souls. At the present
day I find that some of tliose who have visited Ontario, or who know from
their friends what this land is like, now c<me to us and aay, " We are
tempted to go to Canada, for each of oi .• friends there has for liiinself a
farm as big as the whole island of Tiroe." (Laughter.) This is only an
instance of how much tho western Highlander has thriven in these new
and more spacious homes. (Cheers.) Some amongst you are of my
name. I find that the Campbells get on as well as anybody else in this
country. Lately a gentleman ma* aged to praise himself, his wife, and
me by making tho folbjwing speech Ho said, " I am glad to see you here
as Governor-Uoneral. I always .ii:d that the Campbells in this country
manage to get most excellent places." He then pointed to his wife, and
pr(n'od his argument by the announcement, " My wife there is a Camp-
boll." (Renewed laugliter.) That you, your children, and your child-
ren's children, may continue to prosper is the wish of my hoart, and tho
desire of all in the Mother Country, who see that here you are one of the
powers that constitute, in the new world, a community devoted to the
great traditions, to the might and enduring grandeur of our united em-
pire. (Loud cheers.) Had it not been so you would not have come to
meet me here to-day. Some time ago I visited near Killin, in Perthshire,
a most interesting place. It is a rocky island covered with heather, grass,
and pine trees, placed in the centre of the foaming waters of the river
Dochart, which streams from Honmore. It was the ancient burial place
of the gallant race of Macnab, a clan which, with its chief, came over to
Canada, and was illustrious in the history of this country. Its chief. Sir
Allan, became, not by virtue of descent, but by ability and integrity, a
leader in the public life of Canada. His son came to Killin to see this
APVENDLY. 453
f
last roBtiiig-placo of liig fatliors, and was tlioro seen by a poet, who, in
flomo beautiful veraee^, aaya : —
•' Woulil a Hon (if tlie chieftain luivo dared to invado ' •
The iwlt) where tliu liciooM re^Mwe ; "
Wore it not, that as —
'• ■ ' ■ *' A pilgrim Im cjirno to that i)lace nf thu dead, <: , ; ,i -'■ .
, l''"r he knew Hint tlie tiiiaiit of each narrow bed
Would hiiil hiiM ttH worthy of them." .'.:,,.
Ho then anks liow ho ami thi-y had shown thoir metal, and in vindica-
tion of their fidelity to their ancient fanio, ho ituagines that tho very wind
that waved tho fir branchos over tho old tombs carries in rustling whisper
or in strong breath of storm amony tlio boughs : — '
" A voice as it flieB,
From the far dihtant forest that frinyea the dwps
Of the nisliin-f St. liawience, re]>IieH :— - ,
,,. ;. , 'I'hat, however to All>yu their iia'no
lias hecome like a tale of past years thatis toM ;
Oil tlie HhoreH of Lake Ki-ii! tliat race is the same,
1 .- -And as true as the Imid of its birth and itd fame, . .
As their gallant forefathers of old.'
May this be ever so with you, and may Cjod prosper and bless you in
all your undertakings. (Prolonged cheers.)
APPENDIX M.
On his return to Winnipeg, after his tour through the North- Western
Torritorios in 1881, His Excellency spoke as follows :—
Mk. Chairmak and Gentlemen,— I beg to thank you most cordially
for the pleasant reception you have given rao on my return to Winnipeg,
and for tho words in which you proposed my health and havo expressed
a h(jpe for the complete locovery of the Princess from the elTects of that
454 APPEND! Z.
most, unfortunate accident which took place at Ottawa. I know that the
Canadian people will always remember that it was in sharing the duties
incurred in their service that the Princess received injuries which have,
only temporarily, I trust, so much impaired her health. (Applause.)-
Two years hence the journey I have undertaken will be an easy one for
all to accomplish throughout its length, while at present the facilities of
railway and steam accommodation only suffice for half of it. For a Cana-
dian, personal knowledge of the North- West is indispensable. To be ig-
norant of the North- West is to be ignorant of the greater portion of our
country. (Applause.) Hitherto I have observed that those who have
seen it justly look down upon those who have not, with a kind of pitying
contempt which you may sometimes have observed that they who have
got up earlier in the morning than others and seen some beautiful sun-
rise, assume towards the friends who have slept until the sun is high in
the heavens. (Laughter.) Our track, though it led us far, only enabletl
us to see a very small portion of your heritage now being made accessible.
Had time permitted we should have explored the immense country which
lies along the whole course of the wondorfrl Saskatchewan, which, with
its two gigantic branches, opens to steam navigation settlements of rap-
idly growing importance. As it was, we but touched the waters of the
north and south branches, and striking south-westwards availed ourselves
of the American railway lines in Montanr, for our re^.wrn. It was most
interesting to compare the southern mountains and prairies v/ith our own,
and not even the terrible events which have recently cast n j deep <i. gloom
upon our neighbours, as well as ourselves, could prev./ 1 Oiir kinsmen from
showing that hospitality and courtesy which makes a vi lit to their country
so great a pleasure. (Loud applause.) I am the more glad to bear witness
to this courtesy in the presence of the distinguished consul of the United
States, who is your guest this evening, and who, in this city, so honour-
ably represents his country — (applause) — in nothing more than in this,
that he has never misrepresented our own. (Loud applause.) Like almost
all his compatriots who occupy by the sufl'rage of their people official
positions, he has recognised that fact, which is happily acknowledged by
APPENDIX. 455
all of standing amongst ourselves, that the interests of the British Empire
and of the United States may be advanced side by side without jealouny
or fric ion, and that the good of the one is interwoven with the welfare
of the other. (Cheers.) Canada has recently shown that sympathy with
her neighbour's grief which becomes her, and which has been so marked
throughout all portions of our Empire. She has sorrowed with the sor-
row of the great commonwealth, whose chief has been struck down, in the
fulness of his strength, in the height of his usefulness, in the day of uni-
versal recognition of his noble character, by the dastard hand of the
assassin. We have felt in this as though wo ourselves had suffered, iuv
General Garfield's position and personal worth made his own and his fel-
low citizens' misfortune a catastrophe for all English-speaking races. Tlie
bulletins telling of his calm and courageous struggle against cruel and
unmerited affliction, have been read and discussed by ua with as strong
an admiration for the man, and with as tender a sentiment for the anxiety
and misery of his family, as they have been awaited and perused in the
south. It is fitting and good that this should be. We have with the
Americans, not only a common descent, but a similar position on this
continent, and a like probable destiny. The community of feeling roaches
beyond the fellowship arising from the personal interest attaching to the
dignity of a high office sustained with honour, and to the reverence for
the tender ties of hearth and home, sacred though these be, for Cana-
dians and Americans have each a common aim and a common ideal.
Though belonging to very different political schools, and preferring to
advance by very different paths, we both desire to live only in a land of
perfect liberty. (Loud cheers.) When the order which ensures freedom
is desecrated by the cowardly rancour of the murderer, or by the tyranny
of faction, the blow touches more than one life, and strikes over a wider
circle than that where its nearer and immediate consequences are apparent.
The people of the United States have been directed into one political or-
ganiaation, and we are cherishing and developing another ; but they will
find no men with whom a closer and more living sympathy with their
triumphs or with their trouble abides, than their Canadian cousins in th*
45G J I'P£NJ)JA'.
Dominion. (Chocra.) Let this bo bo in the days of unborn t;onorationB,
nnd may we never have again tu oxpreas our liorror at snch a deed of
iufainy as that which lias lately called forth, in bd striking a manner,
the proofs of international respect and affection. (Hoar, hoar.) To
pass to other themes awakinj,' no unhappy recollections, you will ex-
pect me to mention a few of the iinprbssions made upon us by what we
have seen during the last few weeks. Beautiful as are the number-
less lakes and illimitable forests of Keowatin — tlie land of the north
wind, to the east of you — yet it was pleasant to " get behind the north
wind" — (laughter) — and to roach your open plains. The contrast is great
between the utterly silent and shadowy solitudes of the pino and fir
forests, and the sunlit and breezy ocean of meadowland, vuicefiil with
the music of birds, which stretches onward from the neighbourhood of
your city. In Keewatin the biuiber industi'y and mining enterprises can
alone be looked for, but here it is impossible to imagine any kind of
•work which shttll not produce results equal to those attained in any of the
great cities of the world. (Great cheering.) Unknown a few years ago
except for some differences which had arisen amongst its people, we see
Winnipeg now with a population unanimously joined in happy concord,
and rapidly lifting it to the front rank amongst the commercial centres of
the continent. We may look in vain elsewhere for a situation so favour-
able and so commanding — many as are the fair regions of which we can
boast. (Loud cheers.) There may be some among yoa before whose eyes
the whole wonderful panorama of our Provinces has passed — the ocean -
garden island of Prince Edward ; the magnificent valleys of the St. John
and Sussex ; the marvellous country, the home of " Evangeline," where
Blomidon looks down on the tides of Fundy, and over tracts of red soil
richer than the weald of Kent. You may have seen the fortified Paradise of
Quebec ; and Montreal, whose prosperity and beauty is worthy of her great
St. Lawrence, and you may have admired the well-wrought and splendid
Province of Ontario, and rejoiced at the growth of her capital, Toronto,
and yet nowhere will you find a situation whose natural advantages pro-
mise so great a future as that which seems ensured to Manitoba and to
A rrENDIX. 457
Winnipeg, tho llcari Oity of our Dominion. (Tremendous chooring.) The
measureless meadows which commence here stretch without interruption
of their good soil westward to your boundary. I'he I'rovince is a green
floa over which the summer winds pass in waves of rich grasses and flowers,
und on this vast extent it is only as yet hero and there that a yellow
patch shows some gigantic wheat fleld. (Loud cheering.) Like a great
net cast over the whole are the bands and clumps of poplar wood which
are everywhere to be met with, and which, no doubt, when the prairie fires
are more carefully guarded against, will, whenever they are wanted, still
further adorn the landscape. (Cheers.) The meshes of tliis wood-
netting are never further than twenty or thirty miles apart. Little hay
swamps and sparkling lakelets, teeming with wild fowl are always
•close at hand, and if the surface water in some of these has alkali
excellent water can always be had in others, and by the simple process of
digging for it a short distance beneath the sod with a spade, the soil being
80 devoid of stones that it is not even necessary to use a pick. No won-
der that under these circumstances we hear no croaking. Croakers are
very rare animals throughout Canada. It was remarked with surprise,
by an Englishman accustomed to British grumbling, that even the frogs
sing instead of croaking in Canada — (great cheerivig)— and the few letters
that have appeared speaking of disappointment will be amongst the rarest
autographs which the next generation will cherish in their museums. But
with even the best troops of the best army in the world you will find a
few malingerers — a few skulkers. However ^vell an action has been fought,
you will hear oflicers who have been engajred say that there were some
men whose idea seemed to be that it was easier to conduct themselves as
became them at the rear, rather than in the front. (Laughter and ap-
plause.) So there have been a few lonely and lazy voices raised in the
stranger press dwelling upon your difficulties and ignoring your triumphs.
These have appeared from the pens of men who have failed in their own
countries and have failed here, who are born failures, and will fail, till life
fails them. (Laughter and applause.) They are like the soldiers who
run away from the best armies seeking to spread discomfiture, which exisls
■ CC
458 A rrfJNDLY.
only In those thii ?9 they call their mindB— (liiuufhter)— and who rotnrningf
to the cities say t noir comrades are defeated, or if tltoy are not beaten,
they should in their opinion be so. Wo have found, as we expected, that
their tales are not worthy the credence even of the timid. (Applause.)
There was not on»* person who had manfully faced the first difliculties — al-
ways far loss than l.hoso to be encountered in the older provinces — but said
that he was getting on well and ho was glad he had come, and he generally
added that ho believed his bit of the country must be the best, and that
he only wished his friends could have the same good fortune, for his ex-
poctationa were more than realized. (Cheers and laughter.) It is well to
remember that the men who will succeed here, as in every young com-
munity, are usually the able-bodied, and that their entry on their new
field of labour should be when the year is young. Men advanced in life
and coming from the old country will find their comfort best consulted by
the ready provided accommodation to be obtained by the purchase of a
farm in the old provinces. All tliat the settler in Manitoba would seem
to require, is, that he should look out for a locality where there is either
good natural drainage, and ninety-nino hundredths of the country has this,
and that he should be able readily to procure in Winnipeg, or elsewhere,
some light pumps like those used in Abyssinia for the easy supply of water
from a depth of a few feet below the surface. Alkali in the water will
never hurt his cattle, anr". dykes of turf and the planting of trees would
everywhere insure him and them the shelter thit may be required. Five-
hundred dollars should be his own to spend ou his arrival if he wishes to
farm. If he comes as an artisan he may, like the happy masons now to-
be found in Winnipeg, get the wages of a British Army Colonel,* by put-
ting up houses as fast as brick, wo )d, and mortar can be got together.
Favourable testimony as to the climate was everywhere given. The heavy
night dews throughout the North- West keep the country green when
everything is burned to the south, and the steady winter cold, althougli it
sounds formidable when registered by the thermometer, is universally said
* Masons' wajjes had risen to an extraordinary height in the autumn of 1881.
Excellent pay can now be obtained by bricklayeis, carpenters, and blacksmiths.
A rPENDIX. 459
to ba far leH« tryinj^ thftn the cold to bo enuoiintered at the old Kn({1ish
Puritan city of Uostrm, in MnBuachusBettit. It is the ninistiiro in the at-
nioDphore which makos cold tell, and the Etit{liHhtnan who, with the ther-
mometer at zero, would, in hia moist atmoBphoro, V)e shivering, would here
find one flannel shirt sutticient clothing while working. I never like to
make comparisons, and am always unwillingly driven to do so, although
it seems to be the natural vice of the woll-travellod Phi;,'lishman. Over
and over again in Canada have I been asked if such and such a bay was
not wonderfully like the Hay of Naples, for the inhabitants had often been
told bo. 1 always professed to be unable to see the resemblance, of course
entirely out of deference to the sii8coptil)ilities of the Italian nation. So
one of our party, a Scotchman, whenever in the Rocky Mountains ho saw
some grand pyramid or gigantic rock, ten or eleven thousand feet in height,
would exclaim that the one was the very image of Arthur's Seat and the
other of Edinburgh Castle. With the fear of Ontario before my eyes, I
would therefore never venture to compare a winter here to those of our
greatest province, but 1 am bound to mention that when a friend of mine
put the question to a party of sixteen Ontario men who had settled in the
western portion of Manitoba, as to the comparative merits of the cold sea-
son in the two Provinces — fourteen of them voted for Manitoba climate,
and only two elderly men said that they preferred that of Toronto. You
will therefore see how that which is sometimes called a very unequal cri-
terion of right and justice, a large majority, determines this question.
Now, although we are at present in Manitoba, and Manitoba interests may
dominate our thoughts, yet you may not object to listen for a few mo-
ments to our experience of the country which lies further to the west. To
the present company the assertion may be a bold one, but they will be
sufficiently tolerant to allow me to make it, if it goes no further, and I there-
fore say that we may seek for the main cliance elsewhere than in Main
street. The future fortunes of this country beyond this Province bear
directly upon its prosperity. Although you may not be able to dig for
four feet through the same character of black loam that you have here
when you get to the country beyond Fort EUice, yet in its main fea-
400 A ITENDIX.
t'irus it ia iho hhiuo right up to tltu forks of thu Siiakatchuwan. I dooply
regrut ihut 1 waa not ablu to visit Ktliaoiiloii, Mhiuh bids fair to rival any
place in the North-Wost. Kuttleniunt is rapidly inuruasing thuro, and I
mot at Itattluford unu man who aluiiu had connuiasiuns from tun Ontario
farmers to buy for thorn at that place. Nothing can exceed the fertility
and uxcuUunce of the land along almost the whole course of that great
river, and to the north of it in the wide strip bolting its banks and extend-
ing up to tlie Peace Iliver, there will be room for a great population whoso
opportunities for profitable cultivation of the soil will be must enviable.
The netting of wood of which I have spoken as covering all the prairie be-
tween Winnipeg and Battleford is, beyond that point, drawn up upon the
shores of the prairie soa, and lies in masses of fine forest in the gigantic
half circle formed by the Saskatchewan and the Rockies. It is only in
secluded valleys, on the banks of large lakes, and in river bottoms, that
much wood is found in the Far West, probably owing to the prevalence of
fires. These are easily preventable, and there is no reason wliy plantations
■hould not flourish there in good situations as well as elsewhere. Before
I leave the Saskatchewan, let mo advert to the ease with which the steam
navigation of that river can be vastly improved. At present there is only
one boat at all worthy of the name of a river steamer upon it, and this
steamer lies up during the night. A new company is, I am informed,
now being organized, and there is no reason why, if the new vessels are
properly equipped and furnished with electric lights, which may now be
cheaply provided, they should not keep up a night and day service, so
that the settlers at Prince Albert, Edmonton, and elsewhere, may not liave,
during another season, to suffer great privations incident to the wants of
transportation which has loaded the banks of Grand Rapids during the
present year with freight, awaiting steam transport. The great cretaceous
coal seams at the headwaters of the rivers which rise in the Rocky Moun-
tains or in their neighbourhood and How towards your doors, should not
be forgotten. Although you have some coal in districts nearer to you, we
should remember that on the headwaters of these streams there is plenty
of the most excellent kind which can be floated down to you before you
APrENJJlX. 4fil
havo a oomplotu railway ayati m. Want of time aa wuU aH a wish to aoe
the loss vaiintod parts of the country took inu Routh-wuRtward from Itatllo-
ford, over land which in many uf thu maps is variously marku<l as con*
sisting of arid plains or as a continuation of tho " Aniorican Dusurt." The
newer maps, cRpecially those containing tho explorations uf Professor
Macoun, have corrected this wholly erroneous idea. For two days' march
— that is to say, for about sixty or seventy miles south of Hattluford — wo
passed over land whoso excellence could not be surpassed for ai^ricultural
purposes. Thence to the neighbourhood of the Red Deer Valley the soil
is lighter, but still in my opinion in most places good fur grain — in any
case most admirable for summer pasturage— and it will certainly bo good
also for Htock in winter as noon as it shall pay to have some hay stored in
tho valleys. The whole uf it has been tho favourite fcodin;^' ground of 'he
buffalo. Their tracks from watering place to watering piacn, never too
far apart from each uther, were everywhere to be seen, whilo in very many
tracks their dung lay so thickly that the appearance of the ground was
only comparable tu that of an English farmyard. Let us hope that the
entr'acte will not be long before tho disappearance uf tho butfalo on these
scenes is followed by the appearance of domestic herds. The lied Deer
Valley is especially remarkable as traversing a country where, according
to the testimony of Indian chiefs travelling with us, snow never lies for
more than three months, and the heavy growth of poplar in tho bottoms,
tho quantity of the " bull " or high cranberry bushes, and the rich branch-
es that hung from the choke-cherries showed us that wo had come into
that part of the Dominion which among the plainsmen is designated as
" God's country. '*^" From this, onward to the Bow River and thence to
the frontier line, tho trail led through what will be one of the most valued
of our Provinces, subject to those warm winds called the "chinooks."
The settler will hardly ever use anything but wheeled vehicles during
winter, and throughout a great portion of tho land early sowing — or fall
sowing — will bo all that will be necessary to ensure him against early
frosts. At Oalgarry — a place interesting at the present time as likely to
462 APPENDIX.
be upon that Pacific Railway line* which will connect you with the Pacific,
and give you access to " that vast shore beyond the furthest sea," the
shore of Asia — a good many small herds of cattle have been introduced
within the last few years. During. this year a magnificent herd of between
six and seven thousand had been brought in, and the men who attended
them and who came from Montana, Oregon and Texas, all averred that
their opinion of the new ranche was higher thiiu that of any with which
they had been acquainted in the south. Excellent crops have been raised
by men who had sown not only in the river bottoms, but also upon the
so-called " bench " lands or plateaux above. This testimony was also
given by others on the way to Fort Macleod and beyond it, thus closing
most satisfactorily the song of praise we had heard from practical men
throughout our whole journey of 1,200 miles. Let me advert for one mo-
ment to some of the causes which have enabled settlers to enjoy in such
peace the fruits of their industry. Chief amongst these must be reckoned
the policy of kindness and justice which was inaugurated by the Hudson's
Bay Company in their treatment of the Indians. Theirs is one of the
cases in which a traders' association has upheld the maxim that " honesty
is the best policy," even when you are dealing with savages. Tie wisdom
and righteousness of their dealing on enlightened principles, which are
fully followed out by their servants to-day, gave the cue to the Canadian
Government. The Dominion through her Indian officers and her mounted
constabvilary is ahowing herself the inheritress of these traditions. She
has been fortunate in organizing the Mounted Police Force, a corps of
whose services it would be impossible to ppeak too highly, A mere hand-
ful in that vast wilderness, they have at all times shown themselves ready
to go anywhere and do anything. They have often had to act on occasions
demanding the combined individual pluck and prudence rarely to be found
amongst any soldiery, and there has not been a single occasion on which
any member uf the force has lost Lis temper under trying circumstances,
or has^^not fulfilled his mission as a gii; rdian of the peace. Severe jour-
* The C'anadian Pacifi? Kail way has now been completeil to a valley in the Rooky
Mountains beyond Calgarry, through w hich place it passes,
Al'PE^'DIX. 403
neys in winter and difticult arrests have had to be effected in the centre of
savage tribes, and not once has the moral prestige which was in reality
their only weapon, been found insufficient to cope with difticulhies which,
in America, have often baffled the efforts of whole columns of armed men.
[ am glad of this opportunity to nair.e these men as well worthy of Cana-
da's regard — as sons who have well maintained her name and fame. And
now that you have had the patience to listen to me, and we have crossed
the continent together, let me advise you as soon as possible to get up a
branch Club-house, situated amongst our Rocky Mountains, where, dur-
ing summer, your members may form themselves into an Alpine club and
thoroughly enjoy the beautiful peaks and passes of our Alps. In the
railway you will have a beautiful approach to the Pacific. The line, after
traversing for days the plains, will come upon the rivers whose sheltering
valleys have all much the same character. The river-beds are like great
mo'its iu a modern fortress — you do not see them till close upon them.
As in the glacis and rampart of a fortress, the shot can reach across the
smoothed surfaces above the ditch, so any winds that may arise may sweep
across the twin levels above the river fosses. The streams run coursing
along the sunken levels in these vast ditches, which are sometimes miles
in width. Sheltered by the undulating banks, knolls, or cliffs, which form
the margin of their excavated bounds, are woods, generally of poplar, ex-
cept in the northern and western fir fringe. On approaching the moun-
tains their snow caps look like huge tents encamped along the rolling
prairie. Up to this great camp, of which a length of 200 miles is some-
times visible, the rivers wind in trenches, looking like the covered ways
by which siege works zig-zag up to a besieged city. On a nearer view the
camp line changes to ruined marble palaces, and through their tremendous
walls and giant woods you will soon be dashing on the train for a winter
basking on the warm Pacific coast. You have a country whose value it
would be insanity to question, and which, to judge from the emigration
taking place from the older Provinces, will be ^indissolubly linked with
them. It must support a vast population. If we m^y calculate from
the progress we have already made in comparison with our neighbours,
464 APPENDIX.
we shall have no reason to fear comparison with them on the new
areas now open to us. We have now fonr million four hundred thou-
sand people, and these, with the exception of the comparatively small
numbers as yet in this Province, are restricted to the old area. Yet
for the last ten years our increase has been over 18 per cent., whereas
during the same period all the New England States taken together
here shown an increase only of 15 per cent. In the last thirty years
in Ohio the increase has been Gl per cent. — Ontario has seen during
that space of time 101 per cent, of increase, while Quebec has in-
creased 62 per cent. Manitoba in ten years has increased 289 per cent. ,
a greater rate than any hitherto attained, and to judge from this year'*
experience is likely to increase to an even more wonderful degree during
the following decade. Statistics are at all times wearisome, but are
not these full of hope ? Are they not facts giving just ground for that
pride in our progress which is conspicuous among our people, and ample
reason for our belief that the future may be allowed to take care of itself.
They who pour out prophecies of change, prescribing medicines for a
sound body, are wasting their gifts and their time. It is among strangers,
that we hear such theories propounded by destiny men. With you the
word " annexation " has in the last years only been heard in connection
with the annexation of more territory to Manitoba. I must apologise to
a Canadian audience for mentioning the word at all in any other connec-
tion. In America the annexation of this country is disavowed by all re-
sponsiole leaders. As it was well expressed to me lately, the best men
in the States desire only to annex the friendship and good will of Canada.
(Loud cheers.) To be sure it may be otherwise with the camp followers ;
they often talk as if the swallowing and digestion of Canada by them
were only a question of time, and of rising reason amongst us. How far
the power of the camp followers extends it is not for us to determine.
They have, however, shown tliat they are powerful enough to capture a
few English writers, our modem minor prophets who, in little magazine
aiiic^es, are fond of teaching the nations how to behave, whose words
preach the superiority of other countries to their own, and the proximate
APPENDIX. 405-
dismemberment of that British Empire which has the honour to acknow-
ledge them as citizens. Tliey have with our American friends of whom
I speak at all events one virtue in common, they are great speculators. In
the case of our southern friends this is not a matter to bj deplored by us,
for American speculation has been of direct material benefit to Canada,
and we must re/ret that our Anaarioia citiz3n3 ara nob coming over to us
so fast as are the Scotch, the Irish, the Germans, and the Scandinavians.
Morally, also, it is not to be deplored that such speculations are made,
for they show that it is thought that (Janadians would form a useful
though an unimportant wing for one of the great parties ; and, moreover
such prophecies clothe with amusement " the dry bones " of discussion.
But it is best always to take men as we find them, and not to believe that
they will be different even if a kindly feeling, first for ourselves and
afterwards for them, should make us desire to change them. Let us-
rather judge from the past and from the present than take flights, un-
guided by experience, into the imaginary regions of the future. What
do we find has been, and is, the tendency of the peoples of this continent i
Does not history show, and do not modern and existing tendencies
declare, that the lines of cleavage among them lie along the lines of lati-
tude ? Men spread from oast to west, and from east to west the political
lines, which mea,n the lines of diversity, extend. The central spaces are
and will be yet more, the great centres of population. Can it be imagined
that the vast central hives of men will allow the eastern or western sea-
board people to come between them with separate empire, and shut them out
in any degree from full and free intercourse with the markets of the world
beyond them ? Along the lines of longitude no such tendencies of division
exist. The markets of the North Pole are not as yet productive, and
with South America commorce is comparatively small. The safest con-
clusion, if conclusions are to be drawn at all, is that what has hitherto
been, will, in the nature of things, continue, — that whatever separations-
exist will be marked by zones of latitude. For other evidence we must
search in vain. Our county councils, the municipal corporations, the-
local provincial chambers, the central Dominion Parliament, and last not.
466 APPEND I A'.
least, a perfectly unfettered pi ess, are all free channels for the expression
of the feelings of our citizens. Why is it that in each and all of these
reflectors of the thoughts of men, we see nothing but determination to
keep and develop the prticions heritage we have in our own constitution,
BO capable of any development which the people may desire ? (Cheers.)
Let us hear Canadians if we wish to speak for them. These public bodies
and the public press are the niuuthpieces of the people's mind. Let us
not say for them what they never say for themselves. It is no intentional
misrepresentation, I believe, which has produced these curious examples
of the fact that individual prepossessions may distort public proof. It
reminds me of an interpretation once said to have been given by a bad
interpreter of a speech delivered by a savage warrior, who, in a very dig-
nified and extremely lengthy discourse, expressed the contentment of his
tribe with t'ae order and with the good which had been introduced
amongst them by the law of the white man. His speech was long enough
fully to impress with its meaning and its truth all who took pains to listen
to him, and who could understand his language, but the interpreter had
unfortunately difTerent ideas of his own, and was displeased with his own
individual treatment. When at last he was asked what tlie chief and his
council bad said in their eloquent orations, he turned round an'd
only exclaimed, — " He dam displeased !" (Great laughter.) And w^hat
did his councillors say ? — " They dam displeaied ! " (Roars of laughter.)
No, gentlemen, let each man in public or literary life in both nations do
all that in him lies to cement their friendship, so essential for their
mutual welfare. But this cannot be cemented by the publication of vain
vaticinations. This great part of our great Empire has a natural and
warm feeling for our republican brethren, whose fathers parted from us
a century ago in anger an. bbodshed. May this natural affection never
die. It is like the love which is borne by a younger brother to an elder,
so long as the big brother behaves handsomely and kindly. I may possibly
know something of the nature of such affection, for as the eldest of a
round dozen, I have had experience of the fraternal relation as exhibited
by an unusual number of younger brothers. Never have I known tha';
APPENDIX. 407
fraternal tie to fail, but even its strength has its natural limit, so Canada's
aflection may be measured. None of my younger brothers, however fond
of me, would voluntarily ask that his prospects should be altogether over-
shadowed and swallowed up by mine. tSo Canada, if I may express her
feelings in words which our neighbours understand, wislies to be their
friend, but does not desire to become their food. She rejoices in the big
brother's strength and status, but is not anxious to nourish it by offering
up her own body in order that it may afford hiiu, when over-hungry, that
happy festival he is in the habit of calling a " s<iuare meal." (Loud
laughter.) I must ask you now once more to allow me, gentlemen, to
express my acknowledgments to you for this entertainment. It affords
another indication of the feelings with which the citizons of Winnipeg
regard any person who has the honour, as the head of the Canadian Gov-
ernment, to represent tlie Queen — (cheers) — you recognise in the Govern-
or-General the sign and symbol of the union which binds together in
one the free and kindred peoples whom God has set over famous isles
and over fertile spaces of mighty continents. I have touched, in speaking
to you, on certain vaticinations and certain advice given by a few good
strangers to Canadians on the subject of the future of Canada. Gentle-
men, I believe that Canadians are well able lo take care themselves of
their future, and the outside world had better listen to them instead of
promulgating weak and wild theories of its own. (Loud applause.) But
however uncertain, and, I may add, foolish may be such forecasts, of
one thing we may be sure, which is this, that the country you call
Canada, and which your sons and your children's children will be
proud to know by that name, is a land which will be a land of power
among the nations. (Cheers.) Mistress of a zone of territory favour-
able for the maintenance of a numerous and homogeneous white pop-
ulation, Canada must, to judge from the increase in her strength dur-
ing tlie past, and from the many and vast opportunities for the growth of
that strength on her new Provinces in the future, be great and wort'tiy
her position on the earth. Affording the best and safest highway between
Asia and Europe, she will see trathc from both directed to her coasts.
4G8 A PPENDLV.
With a hand upon either ocean she will {gather from each for the benefit
of her hardy milliona a large share of the commerce of the world. To the
east and to the west she will pour forth of her abundance, her treasures
of food and the riches of her mines and of her forests, demanded of her by
the less fortunate of mankind. [ estoom those men favoured indeed, who,
in however slight a degree, have had the honour, or may bo yet called
upon to take part in the councils of the statesmen, who, in this early era
of her history, are moulding this nation's laws in the fornip, approved by
its representatives. Forme, I feel that I can be ambitious < f no li.gher
title than to be known as one who administered its Uuvornuient in
thorough sympathy with the hopes and aspirations of its founders, and
in perfect consonance with the will of its free parliament. (Cheers.) I
ask for no bettor lot than to be remembered by its peopio as rejoicing in
the gladness bom of their independence and of their loyalty. I desire no
other reputation than that which may belong to him who sees his own
dearest wishes in process of fulfilment, in their certain progress, in their
undisturbed peace, and in their ripening grandeur. (Cheers.)
APPENDIX N.
Before leaving Fort Shaw, Montana, September 1881, the members of
the Mounted Police, who had accompanied the party for seven weeks,
were paraded under command of Major Crozier, at His Excellency's
request, who in bidding them farewell said : —
Officers, Non-commi.ssioned Officeks and Men, — Our long march is
over, and truly sorry we feel that it is £o. I am glad that its last scene
is to take place in this American fort where we have been so courteously and
hospitably received. That good fellowship which exists between soldiers
is always to the fullest extent shown between you and our kind friends.
Al'PENDIX. 4G9
This perfect understanding is to be -expected, for both our Empires, unlike
eome others, send out to their distant frontier posts not their worst, but
some of their very best men. I have asked for this parade this morning
to take leave of you, and to express my entire satisfaction at the manner
in which your duties have been performed. You have been subject to
«ome searching criticism, for on my Htiifl' are ollicers who have served in
the cavalry, artillery, and infantry. Their unanimous verdict is to the
effect that they have never seen work better, more willingly, or more
Bmartly done while under circumstances of some difficulty caused by bad
weather or otherwise. Your appearance on parade was always as clean
and bright and soldier-like as possible. Your force is often spoken of in
<Janada as one of which Canada is justly proud. It is well that this pride
ij so fully justified, for your duties are most important and varied. You
must always act as guardians of the peace. There may be occasions also
in whicn you may have to act as soldiers, and sometimes in dealing with
our Indian fellow-subjects you may have to show the mingled prudence,
kindness, and firmness which constitute a diplomat. You have, with a
force at present only 250* strong, to keep order in a country wIkjso fertile,
wheat-growing area is reckoned at about 250 million of acres. The per-
fect confidence in the maintenance of the authority of the law prevailing
over these vast territories, a confidence most necessary with the settle-
ment now proceeding, show how thoroughly you have done your work. It
will be with the greatest pleasure that I shall convey to the Prime Minister
my appreciation of your services, and the satisfaction we have all had in
having you with us as our escort and companions throughout the journey.
* The number of the North West Mounted Police was raised in 1882 to 500
men.
470 APPENDIX.
APPENDIX 0.
A Socioty was founded by Lord Lome, in 1882, for tho encouragement
of Science and Literature. Divided into sections, it was designed to fur-
nish to Canada what the French Academy and tho British Association give
to Oreat Britain. At its first meeting, which took place in the Senate
Chamber, he opened the proceedings with these remarks: —
Gentlemen, — These few words I do not address to you, presuming to
call myself one of your brotherhood, either in science or literature, but 1
speak to you as one whose accidental official position may enable him to
serve you, persuaded as I am that the furtherance of your interests is for
the benefit and honour of Canada. Let me briefly state the object uimed
at in the institution of this society. Whether it bo possible that our hopes
be fulKlled according to our expectations the near future will show. But
from the success which has attended similar associ.itions in other lands
possessed of less spirit, energy, and opportunity than our own, there is no
reason to augur ill of the attempt to have here a body of men whose
achievements may entitle them to recognise and encourage the appearance
of merit in literature, and to lead in science and the useful application of
its discoveries. It is proposed, then, that this society shall c msist of a
certain number of members who have made their mark by their writings,
whether thee be of imagination or the study of nature. In one division
our fellow-coi\ntrymen, descended from the stock of old France, will dis-
cuss witli that grace of diction and appreciation of talent, which is so
coiisiiicuous amongst them, all that may ati'ect their literature and the
maintenance of tlie purity of that grand language from which the English
ia largely derived. They well know how to pay compliments to rising
authors, and how with tact and courtflsy to crown che aspirants to the
honours they will bestow. Among Englishmen of letters the grant of
such formal marks of recognition by their brethren Ua i not as yet become
popular or usual, and it may be that it never will becoue a custom. On
the other hand, it surely will be a pleasure to a young author, if, after a
APPENDIX. 471
penisftl of his tliDiiglits, thoy wb(> are his co-workors and succoagful pre-
cursors in the wide domain of poetry, fiction, or of history, should seu tit
to award him an expression of tlianks for his contribution to the intellec-
tual delight or to the knowledge of his time. They only, whose labours
have met with the best reward— the praise of their contoniporurios — can
take the initiative in Ruch a welcome to jounger men, and whatever num-
ber may hereafter be elected to this society, it is to be desired that no man
be upon its lists who has not by some original and complete work justified
his selection. Tlie meeting together of our eminent men will contribute
to unite on a common ground those best able to express the thoughts and
illustrate the history of the time. It will serve to strengthen emulation
among us, fir the discussion of progress made in other lands, will breed
the desire to push the intellectual development of our own. Wo may hope
that this union will promote the completion of the national collections
which, already fairly representative in geology, may hereafter include
archives, paintings, and objects illustrating ethnology and all branches of
Natural History. In science we have men whose names are widely known,
and the vast field for study and exploration alibrded by this magnificent
country may be expected to reward, by valuable discoveries, the labours
of the geologist and mineralogist. It would be out of place in these few
sentences to detail the lines of research which have already engaged your
attenti(jn. They will bo spoken of in the record of your proceedings.
Among those, the utility of which must be apparent to all, one may be
particularly mentioned. I refer to the meteorological observations, from
which have been derived the storm warnings which during the last few
years have saved many lives. A comparatively new science has thus been
productive of results known to all our population, and especially to sea
men. Here I have only touched upon one or two subjects in the wide
range of study which will occupy the time and thougiits of one-half of
your membership, devoted as two of your four sections will be to geolo-
gical and biological sciences. It will be your provir.ioe to aid and encour-
age the workers in their acquisition of knowledge of that nature, each of
■whoee secrets may become the prize of him who shall make one of her
472 A VI'ENDIX.
inyBlurioB tho spocinl Bubject of thuiight. America iilready bids fair to
rival Franco and (iurmany in the number of her exports. Canada may
cortainly huvo lior share in producing those men whoso achievements in
science have more than 0(|ualled in fame tho triutn])hs of statesmen. Those
\a»i hibour only for one country, wliilo tho bonotits of tho discoveries of
science are sluired by the world, liut widely diil'erent as are tho iiualities
wliich develop patriotism and promote science, yet I would call to the aid
uf our young association tho love of country, and ask Canadians to sup-
port and gradually to make as perfect us possible this their national sociuty.
Imperfections there must necessarily bo at first in its constitution — oniis-
siona in membership and organization there may be. Such faults may
hereafter be avoided. Our countrymen will recognise that in a body of
gentlemen drawn from all our provinces and conspicuous for thoir ability,
there will be a centre around which to rally. Thoy will see that tho wel-
fare and strength of growth of this association shall be impeded by no
small jealousies, no carping spirit of detraction, but shall be nourished by
a noble motive common to tho citizens of the republic of letters and to the
student of the free world of Nature, namely: the desire to prove that their
land is not insensible to the glory which springs from numbering among
its sons those whose succcsn becomes tho heritage of mankind. 1 shall not
now further occupy your time, which will be more worthily used in listen-
ing to the addresses of tho presidents and of those gentlemen who for
this year have consented to take the chair at the meetingd of the several
sections .
APPENDIX P.
At San Francisco, in 1882, the following reply was given to the British
Residents : —
Gentlemen, — Our heartfelt thanks are due to you for the welcome giv-
«n to us, a welcome whose expression is embodied in this beautifully de-
A PVENDIX. 478
corated address. It ochooa tlio loyal aontiinonts whi:h rumain prcdnmi-
nant amon^ ttioso, who, wheruvor thoir hiiRiiiess mat/ ruae ttiem uu .oside,
roinember that they have been born under our Hrit s'l I'rtodom. We shall
gladly keep our gift in rocollectirn of a visit to one ' ' Aniorioa's foruuiost
cities, where the kindly feeling.) of our cousins hr v ) bei n shown in the
generous hob 'itality which they are ovar ready t( « ..tend to the stranger.
With you wh. le interests are bound up with the '.reatness of California,
and with the ^ !gantic trade of the United Stater, we can cordially syni-
l>atIiiso. Com cted as wo are for a time with the fortunes of the sister
land of Canadf. wo know how much the welfare of the one country is
afFected by the good of the other ; how tlio evil that falls on one must
atl'uct the other also. Our blood makes us brothers, and our interests
make us partners. Our govoriunonts are engaged in the same task, and
from experience there is no reason to think otherwiso than that they will
bo allowed to work in that perfect harmony which is essential for their
peace and for the peace of the world. They are arching the continent
with two zones of civilization ; with light, not of one colour, but equally
replacing the former darkness, and the harmony between them is as
natural as is the relation in the rainbow of the separate hues of red and
azure. Your presence here shows how our commerce is interwoven. In
crossing the continent and marvelling at the wealth and power shown by
every city of this mighty people, it is a pride to think how much of all
they have is theirs by virtue of British and Irish blood ; and when here
and at New York, we reach the ports supplying this vast iJop>ilation, we
find in the flags borne by the shipping, proof that it is still the old coun-
try that in the main ministers to and is benefited by the progress of her
children.
DD
474 APPENDIX.
APPENDIX Q.
At Victoria, in British Columbia, in 1882, at a public dinner in his hon-
our, the Governor- General said : — •.
Mb. Mayor and Council, — It is, I assure you, with more than com-
mon feelings of gratitude that I rise to ask you to accept my acknowledg-
ments and thanks for this evening's entertainment. The reception the
Princess and I have met with in Victoria, and throughout British Co-
lumbia, will long live in our memory as one of the brightest episodes of
a time which has been made delightful to us by the heartfelt loyalty of
the people ot our Canadian provinces. Nowhere has the contentment in-
sured by British institutions been more strongly expressed than on these
beautiful shores of the Pacific. I am rejoiced to observe signs that the
days are now passed when we had to look upon this community as one too
remote and too sundered from the rest to share to the full the rapid in-
crease of prosperity which has been so remarkable since the Union. At-
tracted at first by the capricious temptations of the gold mines, your val-
leys were inundated by a large population. It was not to be anticipated
that this could last, and although population declined with the temporary
decrease of mining, it is evident that the period of depression in this, a»
in every other matter, has been passed. (Applause.) I have everywhere
seen signs that a more stable, and therefore more satisfactory, emigration
has set in. Victoria haa made of late a decided start. I visited with
much pleasure many of the factories which witness to this, and I hope be-
fore I leave to have made a still more exhaustive examination of the es-
tablishments which are raj^ndly rising among you. That the wares pro-
duced by these are appreciated beyond the limits of the city is very evi-
dent throughout the Province, where cleauliness is insured by Victoria
soap, Mid comfort, or at least contentment and consolation, by Kurtz's
Victoria cigars. (Loud laughter and applause.) No words can be too
strong to express the charm of this delightful land, where a climate softer
and more constant than that of the south of England ensures at all times
APPENDIX. 475-
of the year a full enjoyment of the wonderful loveliness of nature around
you. There is no doubt that any Canadian who visits this island and the "
mainland shores and sees the happiness of the people, the forest laden
coast, the tranquil gulfs and glorious mountains, can but congratulite
himself that his country possesses scenes of such perfect beauty. (Ap-
plause.) We who have been much touched by the warmth of your wel-
come will, I am sure, sympathise with the desire which will be felt by
every travelled Canadian in the future, that every alternate year at least
the Dominion Parliament should meet at New Westminster, Nanaimo, or
in Victoria. (Laughter and applause.) Where men seem to live with
such comfort, regret will inevitably arise that you have as yet so few to
share your good fortune. Though your contribution to the revenue is at
least a million dollars, there are only twenty thousand white men over
the three hundred and fifty thousand square miles of Province. Various
causes, the most formidable of these being physical, having hitherto con-
tributed to this. The physical difficulties, tremendous as they are, are
being rapidly conquered. There is no cause why any of a different cha-
racter should not be surmounted with an equal success. What is wanted
to effect this object is only cordial co-operation with the central Govern-
ment. (Cheers.) There was perhaps a time when the Governor-General
would not have been regarded, in his official capacity at all events, with
as much favour as I flatter myself may now be the case. (Applause.) No
wonder that the feeling is changed, now that the circumstances are better
understood, for I challenge any one to mention any example in which a
government, ruling over a comparatively small population of four and a
half millions, has ever done as much as has the Canadian Government to
insure for its furthest Provinces the railway communication which is an
essential for the development of the resources of tbo laid. (Cheering.)
Mr. Francis* will back me^ I am certain, when I say that the United
States, with a population of fifteen or twenty millions, when California
was first settled in 1849, did not push ihe railway through to the Pacific
Coast in the vigorous manner in which the Canadian Government is now
* The United States Consul
476 APPENDIX.
doing. (Loud cheers.) I have full confidence that you will see that policy
' of enterprise and of justice nobly carried out. Early promises, if made
too hastily, showed that if there was profound ignorance of the physical
geography of your country, there was at all events profound goodwill.
Later events have proved that in spite of all obstacles "where there is a
will there is a way." Pride in national feeling has made the country
strain every nerve to bind still further with the sentiment of confidence
the unity of the Confederation. (Applause.) Where is now the old talk
which we used to hear from a few of the faint-hearted of a change in des-
tiny or of annexation / (Cheers.) It does not exist. To be sure, here I
have heard some vague terror expressed, but it is a terror which I have
heard expressed among our friends on the American Pacific Slope also,
and is to the effect that annexation must soon take place to the Celestial
Empire. (Great laughter.) Well, gentlemen, I fully sympathise with this
fear. None of us like to die before our time, but I will suggest to you,
from the healthy signs and vitality I see around me, that your time has
not yet come. Your object now is to live, and for that purpose to get your
enterprises and your railways as part of your assets. (Applause.)
The rest will follow in time, but at the present moment we must con-
cern ourselves with practical politics. Let us look beyond this Island
and beyond even those difficult mountains, and see what our neighbours
and friends to the south of us are about. An army of workmen—
exactly double that now employed in this Province — are driving with a
speed that seems wonderful a railway through to the coast. In another
year or two a large traffic, encouraged by the competition in freights be-
tween it, the Central and the Southern Pacific will have been acquired.
You are, by the very nature of things, heavily handicapped here, and a
trade, as you know, once established is not easily rivalled. Take care
that you are in the market for this competition at as early a day as poss-
ible. When you are as rich as California, and have as many public
works as Queensland it may be time for you to reconsider your position.
There is no reason ultimately to doubt that the population attracted to
you as soon as you have a line through the mountains, will be the popu-
APPENDIX. 477
lation which we most desire to have — a people like that of the old Im-
perial Islands, drawn from the strongest races of northern Europe, — one
that with English, American, Irish, German, French and Scandinavian
blood shall be a worthy son of the old Mother of the Nations. (Lond ap-
plause.) ^nly last week, in seven days, no less than 900 people came to
San Francisco by the overland route from the East. Your case will be
the same if with " a strong pull and a pull altogether " you get your
public works completed. I have spoken of your being pretty heavily
handicapped. In saying this, I refer, to the agricultural capabilities of
the Province alone. Of course you have nothing like the available land
that the central Provinces possess, yet it seems to me you have enough
for all the men who are likely to come to you for the next few years as
farmers or owners of small ranches. (Applause.) The climate of the in-
terior for at least one hundred miles north of the boundary line has a far
shorter winter than that of most of Alberta or Arthabaska. Losses of
crops from early frosts or of cattle from severe weather are unknown to
the settlers of your upper valleys. In these — and I wifh there were more
of these valleys — all garden produce and small fruits can be cultivated
with the greatest success. For men possessing from £200 to £600 a year,
I can conceive no more attractive occupation than the care of rattle or a
cereal farm within your borders. (Loud applause.) Wherever there is
open land, the wheat crops rival the best grown elsewhere, while there
is nowhere any dearth of ample provision of fuel and lumber for the win-
ter. (Renewed applause.) As you get your colonization roads pushed
and the dykes along the Fraser River built, you will have a larger avail-
able acreage, for there are quiet straths and valleys hidden away among
the rich forests which would provide comfortable farms. As in the North-
West last year, so this year I have taken down the evidence of settlers,
and this has been wonderfully favourable. To say the truth; I was rather
hunting for grumblers, and found only one ! He was a young man of
super-sensitiveness from one of our comfortable Ontario cities, and
he said he could not bear this country. Anxious to come at
the truth, and desirmg to search to the bottom of things, we
478 APPENDIX.
pressed him as to the reason. " Did he know of any cases of
misery I Had he found starving settlers ? " The reply was reassuring,
for he said, "No ; bat I don't like it. Nobody in this country walks ;
everybody rides ! " (Laughter.) You will be happy to hear that he is
going back to Ontario. Let me now allude, in a very few words, to those
points which may be mentioned as giving you exceptional advantages. If
you are handicapped in the matter of laud in comparison with the Provin-
ces of the Plains, you are certainly not so with regard to climate. (Cheer-
ing.) Agreeable as I think the steady and dry cold of an Eastern winter,
yet there are very many who would undoubtedly prefer the temperature
enjoyed by those who live west of the mountains. Even where it is cold-
est, spring comes in February, and the country is so divided into districts
of greater dryness or greater moisture, that a man can always choose
whether to have a rainfall small or great. I hope I am not wearying you
in dwelling on these points, for my only excuse in making these observa-
tions is, that I have learnt that the interior is to many on the island as
much a terra hicojnita as it was to me. I can partly understand this af-
ter seeing the beautifully engineered road which was constructed by Mr.
Trutch, for although I am assured it is as safe as a church — (laughter) —
I can very well understand that it is pleasanter for many of tiie ladies to
remain in this beautiful island than to admire the grandeur of the scenery
in the gorges. As you hava adopted protection in your politics, perhaps
it: would not be presumptuous in rie to suggest that you should adopt
pi'otection also in regard to your precipices — (great laughter) — and that
should the waggon-road be continued in use. a few Douglas firs might be
sacrificed to make even more perfect that excellent road in providing pro-
tection at the sides. Besides the climate, which is so greatly in your
favour, you have another great advantage in the tractability and good
conduct of tlie Indian population. (Applause.) I believe I have seen the
Indians of almost every tribe throughout the Dominion, and nowhere can
you find any who are so trustworthy in regard to conduct — (hear, hear) —
so willing to assist the white settlers by their labour, so independent and
anxious to learn the secret of the white man's^power. (Applause.) Where
• APPENDIX. 479
elsewhere constant demands are met for assistance ; your Indians liave
never asked for any, for in the interviews given to the Cliiefs their wlxole
desire seemed to be for schools and schoolmasters, and in reply to ques-
tions as to whether they would assist themselves in securing such institu-
tions, they invariably replied that they would be glad to pay for them.
{Loud applause.) It is certainly much to be desired that some of the
funds apportioned for Indian purposes, be given to provide them fully
with schools in which Industrial Education may form an important item.
(Hear, hear.) But we must not do injustice to the wilder tribes.
Their case is totally different from that of your Indians. The buffalo
was everything to the nomad. It gave him house, fuel, clothes, and
thread. The disappearance of this animal left him starving. Here,
on the contrary, the advent of the white men has never diminished the
food supply of the native. He has game in abundance, for the deer
are as numerous now as they ever have been. He has more fish than
he knows what to do with, and the lessons in farming that you have
taught him have given him a source of food supply of which he was pre-
viously ignorant. Throughout the interior it will probably pay well in
the future to have flocks of sheep. The demand for wool and woollen
goods will always be very large among the people now crowding in such
numbers to those regions which our official world ac yet calls the North-
West but which is the North-East and East to you. There is ho reason
why British Columbia should not be for this portion of our territory what
Oalifornia is to the States in the supply afforded of fruits. (Hear, hear.)
The perfection attained by small fruits 13 unrivalled, and it is only with
the Peninsula of Ontario that you would have to compete for the supplies
of grapes, peaches, pears, apples, cherries, plums, apricots, and currants.
Every stick in these wonderful forests which so amply and generously
clothe the Sierras from the Cascade range to the distant Rocky Mountains,
will be of value as communication opens up. The great arch of timber
lands beginning on the west of Lake Manitoba, circles round to Edmon-
ton and comes down along the mountains so as to include the whole of
of your Province. Poplar alone for many years muL«t be the staple wood
480 APPENDIJi. '
of the lands to the south of tho4Saskatchewan, and your great opportunity-
lies in this, that you can !,'ive the settlers of the whole of that region as much
of the iineat timber in the world as they can desire, while cordwood cargoes
will compete with the coal of Alberta. (Loud cheers.) Coming down in
our survey to the coast we come upon ground familiar to you all, and you
all know how large a trade already exists with'China and Australia in wood
and how capable of almost indefinite expansion is this commerce. Your
forests ave hardly tapped, and there are plenty more logs, like one I saw
cut the other day at Burrard Inlet, of forty inches square and ninety and
one hundred feet in length, down to sticks which could be used as props
for mines or as cordwood for fuel. The business which has assumed such
large proportions along the Pacific shore of the canning of salmon, great
as it is, is as yet almost in its infancy, for there is many a river swarm-
ing with fish from the time of the first run of salmon in spring to the last
run of other varieties in the autumn, on which many a cannery is sure to
be established. Last, but certainly not least of your resources, comes your
mineral and chiefliy your coal troasure. (Applause.) The coal from the
Nanaimo mines now leads the market at San Francisco. Nowhere else in
those countries is such coal to be found, and it is now being worked with
an energy which bids fair to make Nanaimo one of the chief _[mining sta-
tions on the continent. It is of incalculable importance not only to
this Province of the Dominion but also to the interests of the Empire,
that our fleets and mercantile marine as well as the continental markets
should be supplied from this source. (Hear, hear, and cheers.) Where
you have so good a list of resources it may be almost superfluous to add
another, but I would strongly advise you to cultivate the attractions held
out to the travelling public by the magnificence of your scenery.
(Cheers.) Let this country become what Switzerland is for Europe in
the matter of good roads to places which may be famed for their beauty,
and l3t good and clean hotels attract the tourist to visit your grand valleys
and marvellous mountain ranges. Choose sor... district, and there are
many from which you can choose, whore trout and salmon abound, and
where sport may be found among the deer and with che wild fowl. Select ,
APPENDIX. 48t
some portion of your territory where pines and firs shroud in their great-
est richness the giant slopes, and swarm upwards to glacier, snow lield,
and craggy peak, and where in the autumn the maples seem as though
they wished to mimic in hanging gardens the glowing tints of the lava
that must have streamed down the precipices of these old volcanoes.
(Loud cheering,) Wherever you find those beauties in greatest perfection,
and where the river torrents urge their currents most impetuously
through the Alpine gorges, there I would counsel you to set apart a region
which shall be kept as a national park. In doing so you can follow the
example of our southern friends,— an example which, I am sure Mr.
Francis will agree with me, we cannot do better than imitate, and you
would secure that they who make the round trip from New York or
Montreal shall return from San Francisco, or come thence via the Cana-
dian Pacific Railroad. (Loud and continued applause.) 1 thought it
might interest you gentlemen, this evening to hear the last news regarding
that Railway, and therefore I shoiild like to read you a letter received
only a day or two ago from the engineer in chief. Major Rogers. You
will see he speaks hopefullj' and assuringly :
*' I have found the desired pass through the Selkirks, it lying about
twenty miles east of the forks of the lUecille-want and about two miles
north of the main east branch of the same. Its elevation above sea level
is about 4,500 feet, or about 1,000 feet lower than the pass across the
Rockies. The formation of the country, from the summits of the Selkirks
to the Columbia river has been very much misrepresented. Instead of
the solid mass of mountain, as reported, there are two large valleys lying
within these limits. The Beaver river, which empties into the Columbia
river about twenty miles below the Black-berry (or Howse Pass route),
rises south of the fifty-first parallel (I have not seen its source, but have
seen its valicy for that distance), and the Spellaraacheen runs nearly par-
allel with the Boaver but in an opposite direction, and lies between the
Beaver and the Columbia. I have great hope of being able to take w ith
me this fall the results of a preliminary survey of this route. It neces-
sarily involves hea'/y work, as must any short line across the mountains,
482 APPENDIJi.
a condition which will be readily accepted in consideration of the material
shortening of the route."
This is the last news, and I hope we sliall hear of its full corroboration
before long. I beg, gentlemen, to thank you once more for your exceed-
ing kindness, and for all the kindness shown us since our arrival. I have
always been a firm friend of British Columbia, and I hope before I leave
the country to see still greater progress made towards meeting your
wishes.
APPENDIX R.
The Governor-General's reply to the addresses from the Royal Academy
and the Ontario Society of Artists, Toronto, June, 1883 : —
Mr. O'Brien, Mr. Allan, and Ladies and Gentlemen. — I beg to
thank you most cordially for the most kind and courteous addresses which
you have been so good as to present to us. We shall keep them as me-
mentos of the part we have been able to take in promoting Art in the
Dominion. That part has necessarily been a very small one. I have been
able to do very little more than make suggestions, and those suggestions
have been patriotically and energetically acted upon by the gentlemen
who have taken in hand the interestu of Art. But what we have done,
we hav9 done with our whole hearts. The Princess has taken the
deepest interest from its inception in the project of establishing a Royal
Ac!\demy. When, owing to the vmfortunate accident at Ottawa, she was
unable to fisit the first exhibition of the Academy held in that city, re-
member she insisted that I should bring up to her room nearly every one
of the pictures exhibited, in order that she might judge of the position
of Canadian Art ab that time. (Applause.) It is very fitting that your
first meeting in Toronto should be held in a building devoted to education,
such aa this Normal School. I have not yet had the pleasure of seeing
Al'l'ENDIA'. 483
tlio Exhibition, but I am given to luulerattuul that it is an excellent one,
and shows marked progress. That the Exhibition should be hold in this
building shows the appreciation of your efl'orts on the part of the (Jovern-
mont of Ontario. It symbolises the wish of your association to promote
education by extending art-training, and training in design. It is therefore
most fitting that the Normal School in Toronto, the great centre from which
come the masters of education for Ontario, should be chosen as the place
in which to hold this Exhibition. Perhaps when the Exhibition is next
held in this city, you will be privileged to meet in a Hall belonging to the
local Art Society — a gallery of pivintings. A proper gallery is yet want-
ing. I have seen a good many such in other places, notably in Boston,
New York and Montreal. I am accustomed to think that Toronto is quite in
the front rank, if not ahead of any other city upon this continent. It should
not be behindhand in this respect. 1 know, at all events, one eminent
Toron to man who lives not far from here, whose features and form are as
well known as those of the Colossus were to the inhabitants of Rhodes in
ancient days, who is not satisfied with himself, nor is the world quite sat-
isfied, unless he is at least twenty lengths ahead of everybody else.* The
position he has earned for himself is such that the Provincial Government
and the Dominion Government, with my full consent, are prepared to
spend $117,000 this year in securing his habitation, so that it shall not be
swept away by the waves of Lake Ontario. (Applause and laughter.) I
am sure — though I speak in the presence of much better authority — that
if the association here shows itself as much ahead of the world as the
gentleman to whom I have referred, the Provin^-iai and Dominion Govern-
ments will, in the same manner, back up your position by money grants if
necessary. (Renewed laughter.) It has been a great satisfaction to me
that when the Royal Academy was founded, I had the great assistance and
support of the gentleman who was then President of your local associa-
tion, Mr. O'Brien. As this may be the last time I shall have an oppor-
tunity to speak on Art matters in Canada, I should like to acknowledge
the debt of gratitude which all those who had to do with founding the
* Mr. Hanlan, Cliainpion Sculler of the World.
484 APPENDIX.
Academy owe to him. With untiring zeal, good tempo .', and tact, he
worked in a manner which deserves, I think, t)' highest recognition.
As a result of the labour bestowed upon the project, we see here to-night
the Academy and the old Society in one unbroken lino. Vv ith rogard to
the work done by tho Academy, you are aware we hava held three
or four .annual meetings, and marked progress has been seen.
The patriotic determination not only to hold meetings in townu where good
commercial resxilts could bo obtained, but in others, is shown by tho hold-
ing of a meeting in Halifax and other towns where it waa not expected
that a very large number of pictures^ could at once be sold. The good re-
sults of this course are shown by* the fact that as a result of the meeting
in Halifax, a local .\rt Society is to be established there. A local associ-
ation has been started at Ottawa, and is making good progress. In Mon-
treal a great impetus has been given to the local society, and throughout
the Dominion the cause of Art has been promoted by a neutral body bear-
ing a high standard and encouraging contributions from all parts of the
country. We have also to pride ourselves upon the enterprise of our
artists in seeking instruction abroad. Several names might be mentioned
of those who have gone and have diligently studied at Paris and elsewhere.
At the Paris Salon this year, two of our lady members, Miss Jones and
Miss Richards, have been very successful in having every picture they
sent admitted to the Exhibition. (Applause.) A subscription was made
in Montreal, some years ago, for an excellent statue which was erected
at Chambly, the subject being Colonel de Salaberry, and the artist, Mr.
Hebert, of Montreal, one of your members. I am happy to say that Mr.
H(5bert was successful in the face of strong competition from Italy, France,
England and America, in carrying off the prize for the best model for a
statue to be erected in honour of Sir George Cartier by the Dominion
Government. Another of our members, Mr. Harris, has received a com-
mission fi'om the Federal Government to paint a picture commemorative
of the Confederation of the Canadian Dominion. These are marked proofs
that the position attained by our academicians is now recognised ; and it
shows also, if I may be allowed to say so, the influence a society like this
ArPENDIS. 485
moy virtuously exorcise upon the Government and tlie treasury, (Lau!,'h-
ter and applause ) There is only one other subject I would like to men-
tion, though it has no direct coimectiou with Art. Hut it is mooted hy
Lord Dullbrin, I think, in this very place, at all events in Toronto, some
years ago. He asked me when I came not to lose sight of it, but to imsh
it upon all possible occasions. I allude to the formation of a national
park at Niagara. I believe I am correct in saying that on the American
flido the suggestion originated with a mutual friend of Lord DulTerin's and
mine, Mr. Bierstadt. Lord Dufferin took the most energetic steps in
promoting this project. He wrote to the gentleman who was then Gover-
nor of New York. Some difticulties arose at the time ; still, stops were
taken by which the project might have been succesafiuiy carried out be-
fore now. However, a change came, and a less sympathetic rcnum fol-
lowed that of the governor with whom Lord Dutferin had communicated.
I believe that now our neighbours are perfectly ready, and have nearly, if
not quite, carried a measure for the scheme so far as it affects them. Their
part of the work is of course a much more serious undertaking than ours.
I request the influence of the Canadian Academy, and of the Society of
Artists, in asking both the Dominion and Provincial Governments to
take measures to meet the Americans in this movement, if they have
made or are about to make it. We should secure the land necessary to
make this park, so that the vexatious little exactions made of visitors
may cease. I am sure it will be an immense boon to the public at
large, as well as to the inhabitants of this Province and of the State of
New York, if this scheme, so well initiated, should ultimately prove suc-
cessful.
486 APPENDIX.
APPENDIX S.
Ottawa, May 1883. — Address i) His Excellency. — Mr. Speaker an-
nounced the receipt of an informal intimation from the Senate that they
were awaiting the arrival of the Commons to present the farewell address
to His Excellency the Governor-General, in view of his early depar-
ture from the country.
On the arrival of Mr. Speaker and the members of the Commons in the
Council Chamber, the following address was read to His Excellency and
H.R.H. the Princess Louise by Sir John Macdonald : —
To His Excellency the Governor-General of Canada, etc., etc.—
May it please your Excellency, We, Her Majesty's dutiful subjects, the
Senate and House of Commons of Canada in Parliament assembled, de-
sire, on behalf of those we represent, as well as on our own, to give ex-
pression to the general feeling of regret with which the country has learned
that your Excellency's official connection with Canada is soon about to
cease. We are happy, however, to believe that in the councils of the
Empire in the future, and whenever opportunity enables you to render
Her Majesty service, Canada will ever find in your Excellency a steadfast
friend, with knowledge of her wants and aspirations, and an earnest desire
to forward her interests.
Your Excellency's zealous endeavours to inform yourself by personal
observation of the character, capabilities, and requirements of every sec-
tion of the Dominion have been highly appreciated by its people, and we
feel that the country is under deep obligations to you for your untiring
efforts to make its resources widely and favourably known.
The warm personal interest which your Excellency has taken in every-
thing calculated to stimulate and encourage intellectual energy amongst
us, and to advance science and art, will long be gratefully remembered.
The success of your Excellency's efforts has fortified us in the belief that
a full development of our national life is perfectly consistent with the
closest and most perfect connection with the Empire.
APPENDIA. 487
The presence of your illustrious consort in Canada seems to have drawn
lis closer to our beloved Sovereign, and in saying farewell to your Excel-
lency and her Royal Highness, whose kindly and gracious sympathies,
manifested upon so many occasions, have endeared her to all hearts, we
humbly beg that you will personally convey to Her Majesty the declara-
tion of our loyal attachment, and of* our determination to maintain firm
and abiding our connection with the great Empire over which she rules.
APPENDIX T.
His Excellency the Governor-General made the following reply : —
HoNouiiABLE Gkntlemen, — No higher personal honour can be received
by a public man than that which, by this address, you have been pleased
to accord to me. In asking you to accept my gratitude, I thank you also
for your words regarding the Princess, whose affection for Canada fully
equals mine. It will be my pride and duty to aid you in the future to the
utmost of my power. Now that the pre-arranged term of our residence
among you draws to its end, and the happiest five years I have ever known
are nearly spent, it is my fortune to look back on a time during which all
domestic discord has been avoided, our friendship with the great neigh-
bouring Republic has been sustained, and an uninterrupted prosperity
has marked the advance of the Dominion. In no other land have the last
seventeen years, the space of time which ha^ elapsed since your Federa-
tion, witnessed such progress. Other countries have seen their territories
enlarged and their destinies determined by trouble and war, but no blood
has stained the bonds which have knit together your free and order-lov-
ing populations, and yet in this brief period, so brief in the life of a nation,
you have attained to a union whose characteristics from sea to sea are the
same. A judicature above suspicion, self-governing communities entrust-
488 APFENDIX. •
ing to a strong central Government all national interests, the toleration of
all faiths with favour to none, a franchise recognising the rites of labour
by the exclusion only of the idler, the maintenance of a Government not
privileged to exist for any fixed term, but ever susceptible to the change
of public opinion and ever open, through a responsible ministry, to the
scrutiny of the people — these are "the features of your rising power.
Finally, you present the spectacle of a nation already possessing the means
to make its position respected by its resources in men available at sea or
•on land. May these never be required except to gather the harvests the
bounty of Cod has so lavishly bestowed upon you. The spirit, however,
which made your fathers resist encroachment on your soil and liberties is
with you now, and it is as certain to-day, as it was formerly, that you are
ready to take on yourselves the necessary burden to ensure the perman-
ence of your laws and institutions. You have the power to make treaties
on your own responsibility with foreign itiations, and your high commis-
sioner is associated, for purposes of negotiation, with the Foroign Office.
You are not the subjects but the free allies of the great country which
gave you birth, and is ready with all energy to be the champion of your
interests. Standing side b- side, Canada and Great Britain work toge-
ther for the commercial advancement of each other. It is the recognition
of this which makes such an occasion as the present so significant. Per-
sonal ties, however dear to individuals, are of no public moment. These
may be happy or unhappy accidents, but the satisfaction experienced from
the conditions of the connection now subsisting between the old and the
new lands can be affected by no personal accident. 1 therefore rejoice
Ihat again it has been your determination to show that Canada remains as
iPrmly rooted as ever in love to that free union which ensures to you and
to Great Britain equal advantage. Without it year institutions and na-
tional autonomy would not be allowed to endure for twelve months, while
the loss of the alliance of the communities which were once the depend-
encies of England would be a heavy blow to her commerce and renown.
I thank you once more for your words, which shall be dear treasures to
me for ever, and may the end of the term of each public servant who fills
APPENDIX. 489
with you the office which constitutes him at once your chief magis-
trate and the representative of .' united empire, be a day for pronounc-
ing in favour cf a free national Government defended by such Imperial
alliance.
APPENDIX U.
At the conclusion of His Excellency's reply, Mr. Speaker returned to
the Commons Chamber, followed by the members. The last paragraph
of the speech from the Throne "was as follows : —
HONOUKABLE GENTLEMEN OF THE SENATE : GENTLEMEN OF THE HoUSB
OF Commons. — I desire to thank you for the great honour conferred on me
by the presentation of a joint address. The Princess and I have both been
profoundly touched by your words, and the message of which you made
■us the bearers, comes, as we personally know, from a people determined
to maintain the Empire. The severance of my official connection with
Canada does not loosen the tie of affection which ^ill ever make me desire
to serve this country. I pray that the prosperity I have seen you enjoy
may continue, and that the blessings of God may at all times be yours,
to strengthen you in unity and peace.
APPENDIX V.
On leaving Ottawa, an address was presented by ths Corporation of the
city. The Governor-General replied as f jUows : —
Me. Mayok, Members of the Corporation, and Citizens of Ottawa,
— We both th;.nk you moat cordially for your words, which are so full of
kindnes?.
EE
490 AFPENDIX.
It is indeed a sorrowful thought to us that the present must be our last
meeting for all time, as far as any official connection between us is con-
cerned ; but we shall hope that it will not be the last occasion on which
we shall again be brought together, for it would be indeed a melancholy
prospect to us were we not able to look forward to some future day on
which we might revisit the scenes which have been so much endeared to
us, nnd witness the continuance of that progress which has been so marked
in the Dominion during the last five years.
You kindly wish us God-speed, and hope that our future career may be
happy ; but we can never again have a happier or more fortunate time
than that spent amongst you ; indeed, whenever, in the future, life's path
is darker, we can take comfort and refreshnien' from the recollection of
the bright days spent under the beautiful, clt^ sunshine of the Canadian
seasons.
If in any way we have been able to please you in the personal inter-
course which it has been our happiness to have experienced on civic oc-
casions, and in social meetings at Government House, we shall certainly
leave with the feeling that there is no community more easy to please.
The interest and affection we have for you will always endure, and I hope
that when any of you visit the Old Country (should I happen to be there)
you will let me again see you.
But, gentlemen, however pleasant may have been the friendships begun,
during the past few years, or the official relations at my office, it is impor-
tant that we should not over-value individual likings. So long as the
Governor-General follows the example set by our beloved monarch as a
constitutional sovereign, so long should the favour he finds with the people
endure, and any personal popularity is a thing of no account. You have
been pleased to endorse afresh the system under which we live and which
you think infinitely preferable to that which obtains among our neigh-
bours to the south of us. But my constitutional governorship is nearly
over, and now that I am practically out of harness, I mean to assume
autocratic airs, and confess to you that I have sometimes wished for the
benefit and adornment of your city to become its dictator with plenary
APPENDIX. 491
power of raising federal and local taxes for any object wiii'^h may have
seemed best to my despotic will. But I huve faith in popular rule, and
believe that when I next visit Ottawa I shall see the city not only embel-
lished by the completion of some of the good buildings which are now
rising, or about to be erected, within its limits, but that I shall see every
street, and especially those which are widest, ^danted with flourishing
shade trees. I shall probably see a new Government House, from whose
windows the beautiful extent of your river shall be visible, as well as the
noble outlines of your Parliament Buildings. Leading from this to the city
I shall mark how the long, fine avenue planted in 1844, an avenue which
will stretch all the way along Sussex Street past New Edinburgh to Govern-
ment House, has sent forth beautiful branches of the foliage of the maple,
which perfiaps at intervals may mingle with a group or two of dark fir trees.
1 ivm sure I shall see any boidders now lying by the wayside broken up to
form the metal for excellent roads, and of course no vestiges of that burnt
wooden house at the corner of Pooley's Bridge will remain. Indeed, I
shall see few tenements which are not of brick or stone both in Ottawa
and Hull, and last, but not least, I am sure we shall find the Ministry
and Supreme Court properly housed in ofiicial residences such as are
provided for those functionaries by most of the civilized nations of the
world.
But do not think that I say anything of this prophetic vision in any
spirit of detraction of what we possess here at present. I know well that
without Federal help, such as is given at Washington, and with the lim-
ited area from which assessments can be drawn, it must take time to build
up an ideal city, and I have always found the Ottawa of today a very
pleasant place as a residence. You have a society of singular interest and
variety, becausu so many men of ability are brought together at the seat
of government, and I believe that a gayer and brighter season than th*>
Ottawa winter is hardly to be met with. By the increase of good accom-
modation afforded by the hotels, an improvement, which has been most
notable within the last few years, has been effected for the comfort of
visitors, and its results are apparent in the great number of strangers who
492 APP£NDIA\
throng your city during the time of the sitting of Parliament. Ottawa
Bhould become during these months more and more the social centre for
the Dominion, and in contributing towards this, and in working for this
end, you will not only be benefiting yourselves, but aiding in strength-
ening the national spirit and the unity of sentiment between the prov-
inces which may be greatly fostered in convening together, not only the
leading men of the Dominion, but those ladies belonging to other centres
of social life in Canada, without whose patriotic feeling it would be vain
even for the ablest statesman to do much towards national unity and
purpose.
For our part we shall always look back upon many of the months spent
in this city as being among the brightest and pleasantest, and in bidding
you farewell we wish to express a hope that it may only be farewell for
the present.
Let me now thank you once more, and may all good remain with you
and yours. Lokne.
Government House, Ottawa, 9th October, 1883.
APPENDIX W.
At Montreal, on his departure, the St. Jean Baptiste Society and the
Caledonian Society presented addresses. Lord Lome thanked them for
the personal good wishes expressed, but referring to the presentation to
the Governor- General of addresses from societies representing some race
or old^national sentiment among Canadians, he said that he would suggest
that,'for the future, Canadians should approach the Head of the Govern-
ment only as Canadians, the Mayor or Warden representing all. Although
among^lthemselves they might and would always cherish recollections of
the nationality from which they sprang, a Governor-General must recog-
ATPENDIX. 493
nise them only as that which they now are, naiiely, component parts of
the Canadian people.
His Excellency then replied as follows to the address presented by the
Mayor on behalf of the city : —
To the Mayor and Corporation of the City of Montreal.
Gentlemen, — Your kind words remind us rather of what we would
have wished to have doi\e than of any accomplishment of those desires.
It is but little that an individual placed at the head of your Government
as its impartial chief maj^istrate can or may do, and it is perhaps as well
that this is so, for it would bo a matter of regret, and one to be deplored,
if the esteem in which that high office is held should tlepend on any indi-
vidual's capacity for capturing popular sympathy. The position is one
capable of much good in moderating counsel, and even in the suggestion
of methods of procedure in government ; but any action the head of the
state may take must be unknown, except at rare intervals, to the public,
and must always be of such a nature that no party may claim him as their
especial friend. As a sign of the union of your country with the rest of
the Empire, he has other functions more important than that of making
Canada well known abroad, which it may be in his power greatly to use
for your benefit. Steam communication has made the advent of emigrants
' easy, and the emigrant is a better advertiser for you than any official can
be. In short, so far as the public activity of a Governor-General is con-
cerned, he should rely rather on the approbation of posterity than on any
personal recognition, taking care only that his name be associated with
constitutional rule, and his impartial recognition of whatever Ministry the
country, through the House of Commons, elects for his advice. It is a
source of much satisfaction to me to know that ray successor is certain to
follow in this respect the example of the Queen, whose representative
he is.
It would be impertinence in me to speak of his private character, for
they who desire to know of this have only to go and hear what is said by
his loving tenantry and friends on his estates in County Kerry, Ireland,
494 ArPEh'DIX.
where an emphatic tribute to his personal worth has been lately paid him
at Dereen. In a few days he will land upon your shores, and I am cei'tain
he will receive that warm welcome which a gonercus and loyal people are
ever ready to accord to the temporary representative of constitutional
governnjent.
You have alluded, sir, to that happy day in November, five years ago,
when Montreal gave us so splendid a welcome. I remember when the
horses became unmanageable, it was the good will of the citizens to honour
us by detaching them, and by drawing the carriage for a long distance
until we reached the great Windsor Hotel. I told them at the time that
I considered it an omen of how a Governor might always trust to them for
support. That impression was strengthened during my stay in Canada,
together with this other, namely : that if anything goes wrong, it is easy
for the people to tal e matters into their own hands, and to change the
programme, substituting another where order and active purpose may be
clearly discerned.
My residence amongst you has led me greatly to honour your people,
and in honouring them it has been my privilege to honour also its menef
both sides of politics in the State,' who have been chosen by the constitu-
encies to lead their political life. Almost the only pain I have expe-
rienced during my term here has been caused by the personal aotacks which
are too frequently made on both sides against party men. Believe me,
gentlemen, such personal attacks do no good in advancing any cause, but
belittle the nation in the eyes of strangers. They are also, as a rule, as
unwarrantable as they are repulsive, useless and mischievous. 1 have seen
a good deal of the public life and of the politicians of many countries, and
I unhesitatingly affirm that you have in general in Canada as pure and
noble-minded statesmen as may be found anywhere the wide world over.
Where in other lands you see those who have had political power and
patronage occupying palaces and raising themselves to be amongst the
richest of the people, we here see perhaps too much of the other extreme,
and men who have led parties to battle and been the victorious leaders in
honest political strife are too often left to live in houses which an English
APPENDIX. 495
flfjuire would 'lot consider good enough for his bailiff. This leads me to
Bpeak to you of a wish which I have often cherished, but which, to reveal
a Cabinet secret, I have never succeeded in persuading any Canadian
statesman to support by a speech in the Chambers of the Legislature.
They fear, I suppose, that selfishness would be assigned as their motive. I
iherefore come to you, the people, to propose it, and to ask you — the re-
prosentatives and citizens of the wealthiest community in Canada — to take
it up. It is this : that we should have at Ottawa ofhcial residences not
only for the Judges of the Supreme Court, but for the Dominion Ministers
of the day. This is, of course, a matter which would indifferently benefit
whatever party may be in power. ShoJild you encourage the idea through
your representatives you will be on^y following in the footsteps of many
other people. Every little state in Germany provides good residences for
its Ministers. At Berlin, and at Paris, the nations of France and of Ger-
many look upon it as a matter of course that the IMiiiistiy should possess
fit residences. Why should we not follow an example so obviously good,
and, because wo rightly ask the Judges of the Supreme Court and Federal
Ministry to reside at the Capital, furnish them with the means of doing so
in a manner suited to the dignity of this nation ?
Forgive me for detaining you at length, but in speaking to you it is im-
possible not to remember that I am addressing the wealthiest and great-
est community in the country. Montreal must always keep her pre-emi-
nent position on the St. Lawrence, situated as she is at the end of the
ocean waterways, which form so imperial an avenue to the artificial navi-
gation connecting the great lakes that lie at the limits of the vast grain
region of the prairies. But while our thoughts naturally turn westward
to tbe vast interior with gratitude to the Giver for so wondrous wealth
in the new soils of the central continent, let us be thankful also for the
Providence which has enabled our thrifty and hardy people to turn to
good account the banks on both sides of the great stream flowing from
hence seawards. Let us be thankful that this gre^t arterial channel has
tempted people not only up its own current, but up the channels of its
tributaries, and that under the guidance of men like Labelle and others,
406 A rVEKDlX.
we are gradually having the great country to the north opened up by.
settlements which have spread along the Ottawa, the River Rouge, the
LiJivre and the Soguenay, until the long silent shores of Lake St. John
have become the busy scenes of agricultural life. Let us be grateful also
that we have this country garrisoned by men who are as true to the Con-
stitution and the Throne as they are faithful to their Church, and w.'.ilo
we direct our own young men ar,d the youthful en igrant from Europ i to
the North and to the West, let us take care to point out to the stranger
the advantages which are so manifest here for those who either desire a
city life or who wish to reside upon the fruitful and long cleared farms of
the ancient Provinces of Old Canada.
Now, Monsieur le Maire, accept our thanks and our farewell, but let me
express our ivish that our parting may be only for a time, an ati rcvoir.
APPENDIX X.
CANADIAN LYRICS.
The following are among the many poems upon Canadian themes, writ-
ten by his Lordship, during his term of office : —
RIVER RHYMES.
1. We have poled our staunch canoe
Many a boiling torrent through ;
Paddling where the eddies drew.
Athwart the roaring flood we flew.
Chorus —
— — ^- ^-^■^—^--.^- Dip your paddles ! make them leap, — . —
"V^here the clear cold water sweep.
. Dip your paddles ! steady keep,
Where breaks the rapid down the steep.
A rPENDlX.
2. Where the wind, like cenaer fling's
Smoke-spray wider as it swings,
Hark ! the aisle of rainbow rings
To falls that hymn the King of kings.
3. Lifting there our vessel tight,
Climbad we bank and rocky height,
Bore her through thick woods, where light
Fell dappling those green haunts of Night.
4. O'er the rush of billows hurled.
Where they tossed and leaped and curled.
Past each wave- worn boulder whirled,
How fast we sailed, no sail unfurled !
5. Laughs from parted lips and teeth
Hailed the quiet reach beneath,
Damascened in ferny sheath,
And girt with pine and maple wreath .
G. Oh, the lovely river there
Made all Nature yet more fair ;
Wooded hills and azure air
Kissed, quivering, in the stream they share.
7. Plunged the salmon, waging feud
'Gainst the jewelled insec:- brood ;
From aerial solitude
An eagle's shadow crossed the wood.
8. Flapped the heron, and the grey
Halcyon talked from cedar's spray,
Drummed the partridge far away ; —
- Ah ! could we choose to live as they!
4xn
498 APPEND I jr.
LEGEND OF THE CANADIAN ROBIN.
Is it Man alone who merits
Immortality or deatli I
Each created thing inherits
Eiiual air and common breath.
Souls pass onward : some are ranging
Happy hunting-grounds, and some
Are as joyous, though in changing
Form be altered, language dumb.
Beauteous all, if fur or feather.
Strength or gift of song be theirs ;
HeVho planted all together
Equally their fate prepares.
Like to Time, that dies not, living
Throtigh the change the seasons bring,
So men, dying, are but giving
Life to some fleet foot or wing.
Bird and beast the Savage che. 'shed.
But the Robins loved he best ;
O'er the grave where he has perishijd
They shall thrive and build their neat.
Hunted by the white invader,
Vanish ancient races all ;
Yet no ruthless foe or trader
Silences the songster's call.
For the white man too rejoices, - ^
Welcoming Spring's herald bird,
Wlien the ice breaks, and the voices
From the rushing streams are heard.
Al'IR^DIX. 490
Whore the Indian's hoid-dross fluttered,
Pale the settler would recoil,
And his deepest curse was uttered
On the Red Son of the soil.
Later knew he not, when often .
Gladness with the Robin came.
How a spirit-change conld soften
Hate to dear affection's tlame :
Knew not, as he heard, delighted
Mellow notes in woodlands die,
How his heart had leaped, affrighted
At that voice in battle-cry.
For a y.>iithful Savage, keeping
Long his cruel fast, had prayed,
All his soul in yearning steeping,
Not for glory, chr se, or maid ;
But to sing in joy, and wander,
Following the summer hours,
Drinking where the streams meander,
Feasting vith the leaves and flowers.
Once his peop' ) saw him painting
Red his sides and red his breast,
Said : " His soul for fight is fainting,
War-paint suits the hero best ; "
Went, when passed the night, loud calling,
Found him not, but where he lay
Saw a Robin, whose enthralling
Carol seemed to them to say :
I have left you ! I am going
Far from fast and winter pain :
800 A PPLNDIA'.
When the laughing water's flowing
Hither I will come again ! "
Thus his ebon locks still wearing,
With the war-paint on his breast,
Still, he comes, our summer sharing.
And the lands he once possessed.
Finding in the white man's regions
Foemen none, but friends whose heart
Loves the Robins' haj^py legions,
Mourns when, silent, they depart.
THE PRAIRIE ROSES.
The Noon- Sun prayed a prairie rose
To blanch for him her blossom's hue.
But to the Plain all loves she owes ;
Beneath that mother's grass she grew.
And sheltered by her verdant blades,
Their tints of green she made her own
But still the Sun souglit out her shades
And said, " Bo my white bride alone
Then, sorrowing for his grievous pain.
Her sister loved the amorous god.
And blushed, ashamed, as o'er the plain
His parting beams illumined the sod.
So one sweet rose yet wears the green.
And one in sunset's crimson glows ;
Still one untouched by love is seen.
And one in conscious beauty blows.
AFPEhWlX. 601
CREE FAIRIES.
*' Did oarth ever see
On thy prairie's line
Tribes older than thine,
Old Chief of the Cree ? "
" Before us we know
Of none who lived here :
The Blackfeet were near ;
Our shafts bade them go ;
^' But others have share
Of lake and of land,
A swift-footed band
No arrow can scare.
■" Their coming has been
When flowers are gay ;
On islet and bay
Their footprints are seen.
*• There dance little feet,
Light grasses they break ;
Beneath the blue lake
Must be their retreat.
* ' We listen, and none
Hears over a sound :
But where, lily-crowned,
Floats the isle in the sun,
*' Three children we see
Like sunbeams at play,
And, voiceless as they,
Dogs bounding in glee.
602 APPENDIX.
"Of old they were there !
Ever young, who are these
Whom Death cannot seize ?
What Spirits of air ? "
APPENDIX Y.
LACROSSE.
In view of the interest taken by His Excellency in Lacrosse, in a vol-
ume like this it may not be out of place to give the following account of
the tour of the Canadian I^acroase team of 1883. I avail myself of a
sketch written by Mr. Ross Mackenzie.
The idea of giving the British public a practical illustration of the
beauties of Lacrosse, the Canadian national game, first originated in the
mind of Dr. W, G, Beers, a prominent citizen of Montreal, and an en-
thusiast in all matters appertaining to Canada or Canadians.
It is chiefly owing to the same gentleman, that the game is possessed
of the beauties it has, as it was he who somewhere about the year 1855)
took hold of the old Indian game, and, by a set oi .les and regulations
of his own compiling, made out of it the scientific and i>icturesque sport
that it now is.
Having seen the game adopted as the " National Game of Canada," the
Doctor's ambition went further, and in 18G9 he had almost completed
arrangements toward taking a team of players over to the Mother Country
when a speculator, who had got wind of his intention, scented a probable
fortune in the enterprise, and forstalled the project by taking over to
England two teams selected from the Caughnawaga Indians,
The exhibitions given by them were poorly patronized, and the spec-
ulator met with a heavy loss. .
APPENDIX. 503
In 1875, Dr. Beers again took up the idea and made a trip over himseK
to "spy out the knd," and the result was that, in 1876, the first Cana-
dian Lacrosse team accompanied by a team of Caughnawaga Indians,
started on a tour through the United Kingdom. Commencing at Belfast,
they played in most of the available towns of note in England, Scotland,
and Ireland, and, wherever they went, they left behind them lasting im-
pressions of the beauty of the game. Clubs also sprung up in their wake
and the majority of them not only still exist, but have developed
others, and Lacrosse took a firm hold in Great Britain. The crowning
event of the trip was a command which the teams received to play be-
fore Her Majesty at Windsor Castle, where they were not only kindly re-
ceived but were individually presented to the Queen and each received
from the Royal hand Her photograph and autograph.
Financially the team were heavy losers, but they were more than com-
pensated for the loss by the hospitable treatment they received, by the
honours paid them, and by the success which attended their efforts to
make the game popular in England, Ireland, and Scotland. The teams
returned to Canada in the fall of 1876, having been absent over two
months, and from that time up to the spring of 1883, Dr. Beers worked
steadily at the organization of another similar but more extended trip.
The result of his labours was a much more carefully planned tour, which
had embodied with it a matter of special interest to Canadians, viz : —
"Emigration." The connection between it and a Lacrosse tour is best
explained by the folio win'x extracts from a letter of Dr. Beers' :
" When, in 187G, the Canadian and Indian Lacrosse teams visited Great
Britain and Ireland, and as Canadians received a welcome never to bo
forgotten, even from her Majesty the Queeii^ I was very much struck
with Ihe opportunity then presented to do some extensive work in the
way of utilising the great crowds gathered together to distribute informa-
tion about the Dominion as a home fo» the settler and a field for the cap-
italist. Prom all parts of the three Kingdoms people sought for informa-
tion about Canada, both in conversation and by letter ; but bulky blue
books were neither attractive nor convenient for the purpose.
604 AVPKNDIX.
" In Htudying tiio subject of immigration as an amptour might atudy
any other Bubjoct of national intorust, it occurred to mo tliat a groat work
might bo done by repeating the venture of 1870 in conjunction with a
systematic immigration efl'ort in a i>urely volunteer way.
♦ *■»*** ... .
. "Mot only will the volunteer character of the suhemo commend it to
the British and Irish public ; b.it the way of getting at the people is un-
precedented ; the matter is not cast by tons, into unavailable avenues,
but is i)ut direct! and literally into the hands of the people.
* *■ * * * -It- *
" Arrangomoni • .' avo been made with the Dominion (Jovornnieut to
Bti /ply ur: v'i*l; aulluiont quantities of a very attractive special edition of
tho Camulian lUnalraled Neicn, \'.'2 pages ; on good paper, illustrated with
fine wood-cuts, doing justice in matter and in picture to every pro-
vince, and directing special attention to Manitoba and tho North- West,
as our only competitor with tho prairie lands of our neighbour. Those
will bo distributed freely to each and every person entering the gnjunds
where wo play ; so that tlit ro can be no waste of material.
* *** * #**
" 1 venture to say that we will put more matter literally into the
hands of tho poople in one week than tho orditiary methods accomplish
in six mouths.
" The Canadian team will perhai)s be tho most active imuiigration
agents tho Dominion (lovernment ever had, and whilo carrying out tho
Lacrosse scheme will each personally assist in every honourable effort to
make Canada better known and appreciated in the (Jld Country."
So much at present for the immigration work which tho team agreed
voluntarily to perform, wo will now return to Lacrosse.
It was a matter of considerable difiiculty in a country like Canada
where Lacrosse players aro so numerous, to select a team. Had there been
(ifty players wanted the task would have boen comparatively easy, but to
make a selection of fifteen out of tho largo number of " eligiblos " was a
task that reciuired a great deal of tact and Uisoernment. A prnliminary
APPENDIX. fi05
committco was fonnod conHiHtii.K of Dr. Moors, D. E. IJ.,wi.,, S. Stnithcrs,
and W. L. Malthy, all of Montreal. The throo former were rnoml,or« of
the toar.1 that we.it over i,. \m, a„.l Mr. Maltl.y was a votora,. Lacrosse
player and atl.leto, whose services on the team would have heoii invalu-
ahle. hut unfortunately about tlio time that all the plans in oonnectioii
with the trip had matured, his husinc-ss engagements assumed such a
shap., that he found it impossible to get away, and his place was lllled by
the substitution of lloss Macken/i.,, of T<.ro„to. These four proceeded to
select the team, and as soon as they decided .m a hfth the player selected
took his place on the committee and as8iste<l in choosing " No. ;" and
" No. <; " in t\irn had a voice in the selection of " N(j. 7 ; " and so on to
"No. 15." • _ - . •
When the team was finally selected it was found to bo almost cpially
divided between Torot.to and Montreal, there being seven players from
each city exclusive of Dr. IJoers, who acted in the capacity of Captain.
The names of each member appeared in nearly all the lei ding papers
in England for some tiuio previous to their arrival, and the following list
is conii)iIed from those accounts.
W. V,. HnKus (captain)-age .•{8, height Oft. l>in., weight I Ut. 81b.
D. E. BowiK, age 30, height 5ft. llin., weight I Ist. lllb.
W. D. AiRi), ago '2;$, height 5ft. «in.. weight lO.st. JOlb.
N. J. Fraskh, age 21, height 5ft. llin., weight list. 41b.
W. (). (JiirKKiN, age 2!), height 5ft. llin., weight list. lib.
J. R. Craven, ago 2;j, height 5ft. 8iin., weight list. (Jib.
W. J. Ci.KfMioRy, ago 21, height «ft., weight 128t. 71b.
D. N:ciroi,soN, age 1!>, height 5ft lOin., weight lOst. 51b.
KosH Ma«;kknzik, age 2(5, height (ift. ()|iu., weight 14st. 'Jib.
W. K. M'NAtJUfiT, age 37, height 5ft. lOin, weight I.'Jat. :51b.
S. Sthuthkrh, age 31, height 5ft. lliin., weight I2st. 21b ^
W. O. HoNNKM,, ago 22, height Oft., weight KJst.
F. W. Oarvin, ago 23, height 5ft. 8Aia., weight 12.it. 2lb.
LvMAN DwioiiT, age 20, height 5ft lOiin., weight list. 21b.
E. Smith, age 21, height 5ft. Oin., weight 12st.
FF
506 APrENDIX.
In addition to these, Messrs. R. B. Sutherland, Dr. McCollum and
Fred. Worts, of Toronto, and Arthur Beers, of Montreal, and W. Rose
and Dr. Hickey, M.P., Morrisburg, accompanied the team as honorary
members. ^ . : .
It will bo seen t'laL this made up a formidable team, and one that wa»
competent in everj way to represent Canada.
As it was dpdirable that the exhibitions of play should be as fine and as
brilliant as possible, considerable care had to be exercised in engaging the
Indian? so as to secure the strongest available team. Those selected were
all members of the Iroquois tribe, residing in Caughnawaga, an Indian
village on the river St. Lawrence near Montreal, and was beyond a doubt
the strongest Indian team ever organized. ;
Appended is a list of their names, with literal English translations. The
figure " 8 " is pronounced the same as " w " : — ' ' ^
SaSatis Aientonni (Captain). .Big John (Scattered Branches).
SaSatis Atirhisxon White Eagle.
Wise KaSeniio Hole in the Sky.
DiEE AieSade White Water.
Wise KaonSakakene Tree fall down.
SosE AeekSade Waving Blossom.
Saksaria Sakosennake Strong Arm.
DoMiNiQPE Dekaronianenkae. Flying Wind.
Louis Deodeinadeake Deer Whispering.
Shen DeonSadose June stand up.
SosE Iaonharon Leaves moved.
^Eneas IaonSadsdakarb ..Leaves chasing quick.
Da8id Kaienuaron. Wind moving.
As these " jaw-breakers " are a little unhandy for general use, each In-
dian very kindly has himself supplied with an everyday name, and to the
Canadians the dusky savages were known as Big John, White Eagle, Le-
febvre, Maurice, Hamrocks, Dicker, Beauvais, Little John, Strong Arm,
Morton, Dominique, LeClair, and Patten.
• APPENDIX. , ,-07
Of these White Eagle has been a splendid atlilete, and althongh he is
now over forty years of age spends most of hij time travelling around
giving exhibitions of endurance and engaging in match races. When
younger he has run a quarter mile in fifty-one seconds, a half mile in two
minutes two seconds, and has lately won a number of go-as-you-please
contests.
Big John, who figured as Captain, acted in the same capacity for the
team of Indians who crossed in 187G, and he was then presented to the
Queen and received from her hand her photograph. He was the only
one of the Indians who was attired in native costume, and being an im-
mense man, the buckskin suit and feather head-dress made him look most
imposing, and his presence added not a little to the picturesque appear-
ance of the matches. >
Dominique and Strong Arm are without exception the finest Indian La-
nrosse players in Canada, and the other members of the team are well
known as prominent players of the Caughnawaga twelves.
On the evening of the 30th April, tlie Toronto contingent of the team
left for Montreal. It is questionable if ever the Union Station has held
such an enthusiastic crowd as gathered that night to give the boys a good
" send off," and that they succeeded in their intention goes without
saying.
The train steamed out in the midst of deafening cheers, and it was a
very early hour in the morning before the recipients of the ovation sought
their berths.
Montreal was reached about eleven o'clock, and the Toronto men were
at once taken charge of by their Montreal confreres, and after a busy day
of combined play and work, the full team found their way down to the
Bonaventure Street station. Here everything was in confusion. The
friends of the team packed the large edifice, and how the hundred and odd
pieces of baggage were ever collected together and checked, or how the
boys managed to get away from their friends and into the Pullman will
forever remain a mystery.
r08 . APVENDIX.
The pcpalat'on of Caughnawaga were also on hand to bid farewell to
their thirteen braves, and judging from the emotional farewells in many
cases, the boasted stoicism of the Indian race has vanished with the ap-
pearance of civilization.
A pleasing incident in connection with the departure was the presenta-
tion of the engrossed address of the National Lacrosse Association, couched
in most eulogistic terms, to Mr. W. K. McNaught, the president of that
body, and a member of the team.
Amid the strains of " Auld Lang Syne," and round upon round of
cheers, the train moved out, and the Canadian Lacrosse Tour had begun.
Portland was reached about 3:30 p.m., May 2nd. The trip was a long
one, but the monotony was varied by songs and other enjoyments. Prac-
tical jokes were in order, and the first victim was a prominent "home-
tielder," who through emotion or some other cause became completely
prostrated for the entire journey, and as the team considered that they
were bound by their emigration undertaking to take every chance that
offered to do good in that direction, they laid him out in his berth, and
using him as an advertising board, they affixed to his back the following
proclamation: —
CANADIAN LACROSSE TEAM !
HOMES AND LANDS FOR ALL IN CANADA !
ASK ANY OF THE TEAM FOR FREE PAMPHLETS.
No doubt some benighted Americans witnessed this patriotic scene, and
by it were induced to emigrate. "' •
The first match of the tour was advertised to take place in Presumpacot
Park at 3:30, and as the team only arrived at that hour, and the ground
is some miles out of the city, it was fully an hour later before they made
their appearance.
The Park was very unsuitable for Lacrosse, being terribly rough, and
the audience became too excited to keep within bounds. The consequence
was that the game was played under great difficulties, and resulted in a
draw, each side winning one game. This was the first experience of the
APPENDUr. 50C,
Indians' play as a team, and it was not at all pleasant. lirniaes were
plentiful, and the tbonyht of having to play over sixty matches again.t
such a strong and rough team was not a pleasant lookout for the Cana.
dians.
As the S. S. Samia was not due to leave until the evening of the fol-
lo-.ving day. Dr. Beers, to make up for the delay in starting the^lirst match,
determined to play a second, and published an invitation in the news-
papers to the citizens of Portland to attend. The invitation was accepted
by a large number, and tlie match was considerably better than the one
the day before. The spectators kept within bounds, the players were
posted bettor on the inequalities of the ground, and the Canadians wore
determined to show the Indians that they could play roughly and hard as
well as them, sliould such a game be the one they ilesired to play.
Two games were won by each side, making this matcii also a draw,
and both teams then were quite agreeable to stop-the Indians being
impressed with the convictiori that it w.mld be healthier for them to play
legitimate Lacrosse, and the Canadians completely pumped out.
Considerable courtesy was shown the team during their stay in Port-
land, and many wishes were expressed and kind invitations tendered for a
return visit on their homeward journey.
And now for the voyage : — , . .
The good ship Harnia, of the Dominion Line, Lindall, master, was
booked to sail at 9 p.m. on Thursday, May 3rd, but at that h ,ur anddur-
ing the whole of the night, Portland harbour was enshrouded in dense fog,
and ae the entrance is tortuous and difficult, the captain prudently de-
ferred saving until the followin^r morning. The wisdom of this course was
apparent to the passengers when, at 7 a.m. the next morning, they passed
out of the mouth of the harbour, and saw the S. S. Brooklyn lying high
and dry on the rocks, the result of attempting to grope her way out. " :
Breakfast on board the first morning saw each of the team in his seat,
all beaming and not at all fearful of harm resulting from the ominous dati
of sailing (Friday). As soon as the mouth of the harbour was passed and
the broad waves of the Atlantic commenced to make their presence known
510 APPENDIX.
by a gentle inainuuting roll, the land lubbers of the party were noticed to
have engagements on deck, and a little later, an interesting collection
of Lacrosse players might be seen hanging over the side of the vessel,
some gazing into the depths of the dark blue sea, others looking back to
the shores of Americv and all wishing to Heaven that they had never
started. O' course none of them were the victims of mal-de-mcr — it was
home-sickness. Whatever it was, it is just as well, on its account, to
draw a veil over the first two or three days of the voyage. The weather
was fine, the whales numerous and playful, but all in vain. With only
four exceptions, the Canadian Lacrosse Team were oblivious to everything
except the motion of the vessel and the disordered condition of their in-
terior construction.
But when the uncomfortable sensations subsided, they became very
conspicuous, and the voyage of the Sarnict from that time to the landing
in Liverpool was as enjoyable as a big picnic.
Some rough weather was encountered, but the incidental inconveniences
were borne with great good humour, and it became quite easy after a while
to sleep standing on one's head in the berth, and to maintain a perpendi-
cular position on a deck inclined at an angle of forty-five degrees. The
usual ship amusements were indulged in, quoits, shuftie board, pr<mienad-
ing, reading, flirting, &c., and in the evenings social gatherings took place
in the saloon, and singing, recitation and lecturing went on ad libitum.
The Rev. D. V. Lucas, of Montreal, who accompanied the team for the
purpose of lecturing on Canada, treated the passengers to a portion of his.
lecture. Several gentlemen among the company displayed great talent as
elocutionists, and the ladies were not behind with contributions to the
general entertainment in a musical way.
Perhaps the most enjoyable evening was the one on which the team un-
dertook to provide all the amusement themselves, and organized a concert
of which the following is the programme : ,.,--.
APPENDIX. 511
PROGRAMME OB' CONCERT C.IVEN UY THE CANADIAN
LACROSSE TEAM,
ON IIOAKI) TKR S. S. SAIINIA, MAY 10th, 1883,
Captain Lindall in the Chair,
Song and Chokus.
(original) The Great North- jy'est The Team.
^^*=*=*'" Canada W. K. McNaiight.
SoNo Our Jack's Come Home To-day.'S. J. Fraser.
Song and Banjo. . , Cash ! Cash ! Cash ! D. NichoUon.
Song The Tar's Farewell VV. C. Bonnell.
Reading (original), 77te Land-lubber at Sea Dr, W, G. Beers.
Song The " Bag-a-bou." W. D, Aird.
Song anu Chorus.
(original) Travipiiuj Thro' England The Team .
Song The Warriar Bold F, VV, Garvin.
Song and B\y jo... Baby's got the Cramp D. Nicholaon,
God .save the Queen,
Thia programme was successfully carried out and judging from the ex-
pressions of the passengers was greatly enjoyed. Another very successful
concert was given on Saturday evening, the 12th May, when the passen-
gers assisted the tern, and two of the best numbers of the evening were
an amusing original paper entitled " Chess in Hades," by Mr. Shaw, of
Montreal, and a recitation, "The Charity Dinner," which was given in
splendid style by Mr, Fred Stevenson, also of Montreal.
On Sunday night, 13th May, Fastnet light, on the south coast of Ire-
land, was sighted, and on Monday evening the engines were stopped for
the first time, and the huge ship was at the mouth of the Mersey waiting
for the pilot to guide her in. The pilot is always an object of great in-
terest to passengers by ocean steamers. After the long confinement
on board ship, seeing the same faces every day, and having for landscape
an interminable stretch of water, the new-comer is looked upon almost as
a visitor from another world, and all sorts of betting is indulged in re-
B12 AVPENDIA'.
gardin^^ liim ; will ho be shurt or tall ? dark or fair / boarded or shaven f
what foot will bo put on deck first ? what will bo his number / &c., «&u.,
and the pnssoiif^orB of the Sariiia were no diU'orent to other passengors.
The pilot arrived and all the bets were settled, but instead of being a
typical mariner ho turned out to be a slight, delicate looking, gentlemanly
personage, clothed in broadcloth, adorned with an immaculatu shirt front,
and wearing a ping Juif. Ai one of the team remarked, "A man who
would have been willing to bet on the plug hat, could have made a
fortune."
On Tuesday morning at daybreak the Sunmi was threading hor way
through the magniKcent and far famed docks of Liverpool, and at eight
o'clock was safely moored at the Canadian dock, and at once commencocl
to disembark her cargo of passengers and freight.
A few hours later the team were all seated at luiioh in the magnificent
hotel V,- ihe London and North-Western Railway Company at Lime
Street station, thoroughly enjoying the sensation of eating oflf a table
tiiat wasn't trying to turn somersaults ; and hearing all the latest no.va
from Mr. D. E. Bowie, one of their number who had preceded them
about a week.
Evidence of the hospitality they afterwards enjoyed was waiting for
the team in the shape of a huge budget of letters from all parts of the
United Kingdom, promising receptions, entertainments, and a jolly good
time generally ; and the first on the list was from the Y. M. C. A. of Liv-
erpool, inviting thorn to a reception at their rooms that evening, and to
an entertainment in the Liverpool Gymnasium immediately afterwards.
The afternoon was spent in the studio of Brown, Barnes & Bell (the
celebrated photographers of London, Liverpool, and other cities) who
succeeded in getting some very good groups of the ceara, and at six
o'clock both teams were at the Y. M. C. A. rooms where supper was pro-
vided and a pleasant hour or two spent in social intercourse, varied by
addresses from Dr. Beers, Mr. ^Montgomery of the Dominion Line of
Steamers, Rev. D. V. Lucas, and others. ~ ~
APPENDIX. 61 y
Thoy thou ropairod to the Gytnnasiiim, wliich was crowded to the doors,
and, oil taking their places in the seats reserved for them in the gallery,
wore received by a perfect storm of applaine from all parts of the btiilding.
The Liverpool Oymnasium is the largest and best equipped in the world,
and the sights that greeted the eyes of the members of the C.madian La-
croHse teams that night will never be forgotten. About 200 young men,
all fine specimens of bone and muscle, were ranged in linos on the spsi-
cious floor, and, under the direction of Mr, Alexander, their trainer, ac-
companied by the music of a piano, proceeded to go through a successiou
of evolutions, first with Indian clubs, next with dumb-bolls, again with
bar-bells, and then through a general exhibition of wonderful feats in
climbing, jumping, on the parallel and horizontal bars, the trapeze and
ring-8wing3, and finally winding up with tricycle riding and running. U
was an exhibition that was a revelation to the Canadians in the way of
athletics ; and it was simply marvellous to see the precision with which
the whole gathering moved at tlio word of the trainer.
After the gymnastic performances, short speeches were delivered by Mr.
Montgomery, Dr. Beers, Rev. D. V., Lucas, Mr. P. Pjrne, the Ontario
Government Emigration A'^ent, and Mr. Dyke, the Dominion Govern-
ment Emigration Agent, and the proceedings terminated with three rous-
ing cheers for the Lacrosse players.
The reception was a perfect ovation and the heartiness of the welcome
made the team feel quite at home and hopeful of their future prospects.
A good night's rest would have been the correct thing, for the tired
travellers to have indulged in, but the first match on British soil was ad-
vertised to take place at Dumfries, on May IGth., and to keep that en-
gagement necessitated a night journey to that place; consequently the teanv
had CO leave Liverpool at a little after midnight.
The officials of the London & North Western Railway Company very
kindly furnished a special car and (I^anadians and Indians with enough
luggage and paraphernalia to supply a circus, started for the " land of
brown heath and shaggy wood." The harrowing details of a night in an
English railway carriage, are just aa well omitted. The teams reached
«14 APPENDIX.
Dumfries at seven in the morning, completely used up, and repaired to
the " King's Arms," a very comfortable hotel, where a good bath and a
substantial Scotch breakfast ^removed nearly all the traces of the noc-
turnal expedition.
The boys after breakfast sallied forth, armed with guide books and
note books, to see the sights. The majority of the population sallied forth
to see them. After buying up all the stock of the man, who looks after
" Robbie " Burns' grave, they wandered around to the immortal bard's
favourite tavern, a gloomy little room up a narrow, dark, and winding
•close. There was a large party and when the cupboard which encloses the
poet's chair was unlocked one of tiie number incautiously sat down upon
it. He was immediately informed that it was a time honoured custom
that any one who committed such an act should " set 'em up," for the
party. Fortunately the only beverage for sale was whiskey, aad the most
of the t«iam are teetotallers — had it not been so, the hasty individual
woalvl have been ruined.
The match took place in the afternoon on Numholm Cricket ground a
beautifully situated spot a little outside of Dumfries, and on the banks of
the Rivei Kith.
There was a very large and select attendance, composed principally of
county people and landed proprietors.
The game was started by Miss Violet Johnstone, a daughter of Hope
•Johnstone, Esq., M.P., and the play at once became fast and fierce. The
players seemed, after their long confinement on board ship, to be eager
for the fray, and both sides played to win. The spectators, at first, ap-
peared at a loss to understand the points of the game, but in a short time, •
api)arently, perceived them, and from that time to the end of the hour
-and a half's play bestowed liberal, hearty and well-timed applause.
The Indians were beaten, the score at the finish being four goals to
none in favour of the Canadians.
Big John was disgusted and accused his men of eating too much, a
■charge which they indignantly denied.
A local paper giving an account of the match, says : —
APPENDIX. 516
" The game, as a spectacle, was exceedingly picturesque and interesting.
All the players had a racer-like leishness of limb and moved about the
field with remarkable swiftness— darting to and fro like red li-^hts and
blue. This, and the dexterity with which the ball was caught on the
lacrosse, carried and thrown were universally admired and applauded."
And another local paper reflects on the Indians as follows :—
"After minutely observing these specimens of Iroquois, Mohawks or
Choctaws, I feel convinced that Mayne Ileid and Fenimore Cooper are
a couple of humbugs, and that their yarns about tlie ' noble redskin ' are
miserable frauds. Those delicious novels of our youth, which were de-
voured by the flickering flame of a farthing dip long after the ' governor'
had gone to bed, depicted the redskin as an unmitigated varmint— as a
being upon whom the light of intelligence never beamed. But these
heroes of Lacrosse looked quite as intelligent and respectable as many a
football team I could name. Passing the ' New George,' on Wednesday
evening, I was greatly amused to see the ' Injuns ' hanging out of the
upper windows, and addressing the nymphs of the tweed mills in the mel-
lifluous accents of choicely rounded Choctaw."
In the evening a number of the team rowed up the Nith to the ruins of
Lincluden Abbey, and wandered among the graves of the Douglasses by
moonlight. The following morning all hands drove out to Sweetheart
Abbey, an interesting and picturesque ruin, distant about seven miles
from Dumfries, and there revelled in antiquity to their heart's content.
The team left Dumfries with many regrets. Its interesting historic
relics, its association with the immortal name of Robert Burns, its quaint
beauty, and the kindness and hospitality of its inhabitants— all these
were hard to leave after such a short sojourn in their midst, but it had to
be done, and Thursday, May 17th, the Caledonian Railway Company
landed the tourists in Glasgow.
The first person to greet the team was an old Toronto comrade, famil-
iarly known as " Maxy," and although he was heavily disguised in h bea-
ver hat and frock coat, he was instantly recognised, and warmly wel-
comed.
510 Arr£NDlA\
The next day, which unfortunately was wet, a match was played on the
West of Scotland cricket ground at Partick. The attendanc(3 owing to
the weather was not large, but the play was good, and resulted in a draw
each side scoring three goals. The following day a second match was
played on the same ground in much better weather and to a much larger
gathering of spectators in spite of the counter attraction of the *' Charity
Cup," football match, a contest of great local interest which was played dur-
ing the same hours as the Lacrosse match.
The Canadians beat the Indians by four games to one, and in addition
played eight of their team against a twelve composed of nine of the Cale-
donian Lacrosse Club of Glasgow, and Messrs. McKay, Hodgson, and
Kelly, the two former of Toronto and Montreal respectively, and the
latter, the Sheriff of the County Down, Ireland, a gentleman who after-
ward proved himself to be perhaps the best friend the Canadian Lacrosse
Team met in their travels. The "twelve" proved no match for the
" eight," who contented themselves with preventing the other side from
scoring, and only taking games when they couldn't very well avoid it.
During the play with the Indians the first casualties of the trip occurred.
Dwight sprained his leg and Garvin his thumb ; Dwight's injury laid him
up from playing for nearly two weeks, Garvin's was not so serious.
Previous to Saturday's match the team took a run out to Stirling,
and went all over the old town so brimful of historical interest. The
Castle, Wallace Monument, Cumbuskenneth Abbey, the tomb of James
III., the battlefields of Bannockburn and Stirling Bridge all received their
share of attention, a glimpse of the Forth and of Ben Lomond and the
Grampian Hills was obtained, and a train caught, which brought the team
back to Glasgow in time to be entertained at lunch in the St. Enoch Hotel,
by four of their Canadian friends, Messrs. T. Hodgson, of Montreal, and
J. M. Macdonald, Woods and W. McKay, of Toronto.
Sunday was spent in Glasgow. The most of the team attended service
in the Glasgow Cathedral, a building, some portions of which are 1,300
years old. They were afterwards shown through the c ypt and other in-
teresting portions of the structure. Some of the fellows made very strange
APPENDIX, 517
remarks in passing through. One, noticing the immense amount of stone
that aa a rule covered the vaults, suggested that the occupants would be
heavily handicapped when Gabriel's trumpet sounded, and woild run a
chance of getting left — another thought it a very damp, unhealthy place
to be buried in — and a third tried to figure how young he was when the
Cathedral was built. It is most likely these remarks were made for the
benefit of the sexton, who accompanied the party, and who afterwards ex-
pressed his opinion of them as an " unco queer lot."
An early start was made on Monday morning, the baggage committee
after working themselves nearly to death, succeeded in getting the trunks,
<tc., on board, the Indian committee marshalled their charge and marched
them into the carriage, and the flag pole committee of one, for a wonder,
was on hand in time, and Glasgow soon was in the distance, and the team
was whirling rapidly through a bewildering succession of Scottish history
and Waverley Novels ; Stirling Castle, Bannockburn — the old Bridge of
Forth, the " key of the Highlands ; " Dumblane Cathedr. , ruined ab-
beys, ditto castles, lake and mountain followed each other in rapid suc-
cession for some five hours when Aberdeen was reached, and Mr. R. W.
Sutherland, who had preceded the teams, was discovered, standing on
the platform waiting to welcome them.
He had secured rooms at the Imperial Hotel for the Canadians (the
Indians were always quartered separately), and his choice was a good one.
A substantial lunch was discussed and disp.osed of, and then the beauties
of the " Granite City " were admired.
There was an extremely large attendance at the match in the afternoon ,
which took place on the Aberdeenshire Cricket Ground. Conspicuous
among the spectators were a number of the Gordon Highlanders, just re-
turned from Egypt, and wearing the freshly bestowed medals for " Tel-
el-Kebir," and other victories.
The match was started by Miss Strnthers, a daughter of Professor
Struthers, of Aberdeen University, and a cousin of a member of the team.
The enthusiasm which the spectators displayed seemed to inspire the
teams, and they went for each other as if the championship was at stake,
618 APFENVIX.
and a glorious match resulted, which the Canadians won by throe to one,
and which left the people fairly charmed with Lacrosse and eager for more.
A number of the members of the local cricket club invested in Lacrosse
sticks which the Indians sold them, and expressed their intention of im-
mediately organizing a club.
The manager of " Her Majesty's " Theatre sent around an invitation for
the team to attend a performance of " The Colonel," which was accepted,
and a very pleasant evening passed .
Only one incident marred the pleasure of the visit to Aberdeen. The
" Masher" of the team was mistaken for an Indian by one of the specta-
tors of the match, who asked him if he " wasn't surely a half-breed and
not a pure-blooded Indian."
Another early morning start was made, and Inverness reached at noon,
and here a reception awaited the Canadians that fairly took their breath
away. They had experienced hospitality and received attention in every
one of the places visited thus far on the trip, but the genuine " Hieland"
welcome given them in the capital of the Highlands eclipsed everything ;
and the general verdict of the team after their arrival back in Canada, was
that to the Inverness reception must be given the palm over all the many
courtesies extended to them.
The following are extracts from an account of the visit contained in the
Inverness Adjve.rtistr :
" THE CANADIAN LACROSSE TEAM IN INVERNESS.
"The large and influential public committees' preparations to give the
above team a cordial welcome and promote the success of the visit, turned
out to be exceedingly gratifying. The team arrived by the mid-day train
from Aberdeen, and were met at the railway station by the Provost and
Magistrates, the Managing Committee, and a goodly representation of the
general public. By two o'clock — the hour the play was advertised to com-
mence — several thousand people were in waiting in t'ae Northern Meeting
Park. The grand stand was crowded with noblemen and gentry from the
town and country. The sport being entirely novel to Inverness, it was no
APPENDIX. 519
doubt from motives of curiosity that most of the spectators were impelled
to visit the groimd. At about 2:30 the two teams entered the field, and
were heartily received by the audience assembled. The Canadians were
attired in blue knickerbocker suits, and the Indians wore red suits, with
striped jerseys and red caps. The flags having been placed, the players
took up their positions.
"The game was directed by Dr. Beers and " Big John," the commander-
in-chief of the Indian team, whose comical garments and head-dress of
feathers excited no little amusement. Mr. John Fraser, of Montreal, and
Mr. R. W. Sutherland, of Toronto, acted as umpires — the former for 'he
Indians, and the latter for the Canadians. Miss Frasor, the Provost's
daughter, had the honour of starting the game by throwing the ball from
a Lacrosse. Once in play, the ball was driven freely from one end of the
park to the other, and for a long time the game was pretty equal. Occa-
sionally, however, the teams got into close quarters before one of the goals,
when some excitement was manifested on both sides, the besiegers trying
hard to drive the ball between the posts, and the goal-keeper and his
friends exerting themselves to the utmost to prevent this. Several good
shots were made for the goal by members of both teams, and ultimately
one of the Canadians, by a skilful mancEUvre, succeeded in throwing the
ball through the Indians' goal, amid the cheers of the lookers on, and thus
scored the first goal. The second and third games were also won by the
white men, but the Indians succeeded in gaining the fourth. The Cana-
dians, notwithstanding the brilliant playing of their opponents, won the
fifth and final game. Both teams are for the most part composed of lithe
and active young men, and they were greatly admired for their agility
and fleetness of foot, as well as foi the exceedingly smart way they han-
dled their crosses. The band of the 2nd Battalion Cameron Highlanders
was present, and played a programme of lively airs. Thanks to Mr. T.
G. Henderson, the arrangements, which were under his personal supervi-
sion, were complete. From the remarks that were made by most of those
present at the match, the game seemed to be regarded with much favcu ,
and promises to take well in Inverness.
520 ArPENDJj:.
" After leaving the Northern Meeting Park the teams were entertained
to dinner in the Station Hotel. The chair was occupied by Mr. H. C.
Macandrew, and was supported on the right by Dr. Beers, Captain of the
Canadian team ; Mr. Macleod, of CadboU ; Kev. Gavin Lang, Inverness ;
and Major Warrand, Ryefield ; and on the left by Provost Fraser, Inver-
ness ; Captain Macnaught, Canada ; Captain 0'8ullivan, Sheriff Blair,
llev. Mr. Lucas, Montreal ; Mr. Charles Innes ; and Rev. Canon Medley.
The croupiers were Sir James Dunbar, Bart., of Boath ; and Major Rose,
of Kilravock.
" After dinner a number of ladies joined the company. The usual loyal
toasts M'ere proposed from the chair, and Captain O'SuUivan replied for
the army. Colonel Robert Davidson for the reserve forces, while Captain
M'Naught, of the Canadian volunteers, also, in reply, stated that the
people of Canada were extremely loyal to their mother country. (Ap-
plause.) He expressed a hjpe that the time was not distant when the
whole of the colonies of Great Britain would be formed into one great
federation which in its great strength and vastuess would be a defiance to
the world. (Applause.) Mr. Charles Innes proposed the health of the
Lord Lieutenants of the Northern Counties, which was followed by the
toast of the members of Parliament, proposed by Mr. MoUison.
" Mr. Macmillan, manager of the Caledonian Bank, proposed the Domi-
nion of Canada, and referred to the fact of the extensive emigration which
was now going on from the North of Scotland to the British Colonies,
particularly to South Australia. The Dominion of Canada, however, held
out prospects equal at all events to the more distant Colony. (Applause.)
Canada was also much nearer the old country, and held out to the colonist,
whose heart still warmed to the tartan, a more likely prospect of cherisi;-
ing the scenes of his childhood. (Applause.)
" Rev. Mr. Lucas replied, and stated that his forefathers had emigrated
from the old country about 120 years ago. Shortly after that period the
thirteen American colonies j)ulled down the old flag, and his ancestor
thereupon pulled up his stakes. (Great laughter and cheering.) Not
caring for the climate or the beasts with which it might be inhabited, he
APPENDIX. 621
penetrated into the northern region, feelin;j that ho could not breathe
freely unless he was under the old flag. Mr. Lucas added that he sprung
from a family of whose loyalty he had every reason to be proud. (Ap-
plause.)
*' The chairman gave the health of the Canadian and Indian Lacrosse
Teams, He stated that this game should be specially interesting to High-
landers, as it was akin to the ancient game of shinty. The thought had
passed through his mind that day, could the old legend be true that at
some remote time representatives of the Celtic raca had lost their way on
the Atlantic and landed in America ? He should like to discover whether
it was possible that the original natives of Canada, some of whom were
now before them, possessed a strain of Celtic blood. Possibly such was
the case. He indulged in the dream of Captain Macnaught that possibly
there might be a great federation of people holding aUegianc3 to the Brit-
ish crown establishing one vast British nation. (Applause.) The Canadians
and Indians present would, he felt sure, go back to their country and tell
of the friendly feelings manifested and shown towards them, and in this
way their friendliness would be strengthened and increased. (Applause.)
" Dr. Beers replied, and expressed the high appreciation of the reception
which the team had met with in the Highland capital. To the Rev. Gavin
Lnng they were deeply indebted. (Applause.) He was a gentleman
■whose personal magnetism the people of Inverness had no doubt felt as
tht! people of Montreal had done. (Cheers.) The speaker further thanked
tht Provost and Magistrates for the reception the teams had received, and
.also Mr. Thomas G. Henderson for his untiring efforts and kindness to
malce the visit of the Lacrosse teamj suscassful. (Applause.) Suiting the
words to the action, he thereupon presented Mr. Henderson with a La-
crosse. One object of the visit of the te ims was with a view to recom-
mend Canada as a fiald for emigration. There were Highland and Scotch
names very prevalent thare, and while he himself did regret not having a
Scotch name, it gave him pleasure to think that his grandfather was a
Scotchman, and that a relative of his was a counn to the late Norman
Macleod. (Applause.)
GG
522 AFFKNDJJl.
" ' Big John,' the Indian chief, also replied on behalf of the team, ex-
pressing his loyalty to Her Majesty the Queen.
" Several other toasts followed."
It was a great pity that the iixtures for the team were not so arranged
that they could have spent more time in Inverness and the Highlands,
but the dates were made, and were inevitable, and much to their regret
the boys had to leave the banquet, and, after getting a " send-off" as
hearty as the reception, endured a horribly uncomfortable all-night jour-
ney on the roughest and slowest road in the United Kingdom — the
Highland Railway. Breakfast was obtained at Perth, and an hour after-
wards Dundee was reached.
There was neither time, nor inclination among the team for sightseeing.
The night journey had laid most of the fellows out — and about the only
impressions of the city retained after the day was over were the feeling
of horror experienced while gazing at the ominous looking gap in the cen-
tre of the Tay bridge ; and the conviction that considering the fact that
the Dundeeites were celebrating the Queen's Birthday, considerably
less loyalty and enthusiasm was being exhibited than would be shown
on a similar anniversary in any part of Canada. The Forfarshire Cricket
ground, at Broughty Ferry, a suburb of Dundee, was the scene of the
match, which, contrary to the anticipation of the players, who were
painfully consdous of their used-up condition, turned out to be a good
hard exhibition game, the Canadians winning six goals to two
The trip back to Dundee was made by omnibus, the Canadians inside,
the Indians outside, and the latter put on a great deal of style by tossing
pennies back to the gang of boys who followed them — where they got all
the copper is a mvdcery — they dispensed a heap of it.
The night v as spent at Dundee, and at twelve o'clock the next day
(May 24th), the travellers arrived at Edinburgh, " The Modern Athens."
Here they discovered that it was the Queen's Birthday. The Queen
seems to have a birthwaek instead of a birthday in Scotland. By an espe-
cial favour the team were allowed to occupy windows in the Waterloo
Hotel, from which to view the Lord High Commissioner's procession.
APPENDIX. 623
They rushed fmntically with their lugj^age to their liotel (the Biihnoral),
tiimbleil persitiiingly into their good clothes, and after a hard struggle,
througli a dense crowd, they reached the windows allotted to them just in
time to see a man, conspicuous only by a cocked hat, pass by in a carriage.
They told the proprietor of the windows that they would never forget his
kindness, and left without breaking anything — who the Lord High Com-
missioner was, or where he was going in the cocked hat and the carriage,
never transpired.
A tremendous crowd greeted the teams at the Grange Cricket grounds.
At first the match was very tamo, and the Canadians had it all their own
way with the Indians ; but the latter were playing without the inspiration
of their Captain's (Big John) presence. A messenger was dispatched for
this renowned warrior, who was laid up at his hotel with a sore leg, and
when he appeared on the ground in full war paint and feathers, new life
seemed to flow into his followers, and the remainder of the match was
decidedly lively. The spectators became excited, the players saw that
their efforts were being appreciated, and the fun was fast and furious, and
Lacrosse has established a good nam-i for itself in Edinburgh.
Considerable courtesy was shown <l;e team in Edinburgh. A permit
was given them to visit Holyrood Palace, although it was closed to visi-
tors, and they also received an invitation to breakfast >,ith the Moderator
of the Scotch Presbytery, an honour which the Captain alone enjoyed, as
he was the only one out of bed at the hour set.
May 2oth was spent in Edinburgh. Had vO/nfort been considered, it
would have been spent in journeying to London, but the boys couldn't
tear themselves away from the beautiful city. All the day was occupied in
seeing the many sights there are to be seen. The Castle first, then Holy-
rood Palace, then old St. Giles' Cathedral, recently restored, then to John
Knox's house in the Canoni^ate, Princes Street, the handsomest street in
the world, had to be " done," the Calton Hill climbed, and a near view
of *' Scotland's Folly " obtained, and last but not least, the drive around
by Arthur's Seat taken. They may well call Edinburgh the "Modern
Athena."
9S# AITENVIX.
" F.irowell to Scotland," was the word in tlie evening. It ia a glorious
country, but it has its drawbacks.
Feather bods are abominable, gas in the bod-rooms instead of candles
would be much more comfortable, and porridge for breakfast should not
be charged extra in the bill — at any rate in Scotland — when these wrongs
are redressed, Scotland will be civilized.
So far, the trip was a grand success in every way. The weather had
been magniticont, the attendance at the matches, larga and enthusiastic,
the receptions the teams were tendered most hearty, and no accidents to
speak of.
Every person who witnessed the matches received a copy of the Cana-
dian Illuiitrated News, and judging from the numerous letters and in-
quiries, the wortliy captain of the team had to answer, the seeds of Emi-
gration had fallen en good ground.
At the station three of the Indians nearly were left behind, young Beers
was missing, the Doctor stayed behind to look for him, and the departure
from Scotland was confusion. The journey to London was monotonous,
and only varied by the loss of another of the party-, young Hose, who for-
getting that he wasn't on a Canadian Railway, got off at a station to
stretch his legs, and waiting until the train was in motion before getting
on, was collared by a porter, and so left behind.
The teams reached London about nine in the morning. Rose got there
ten minutes after, and the Dr. and his son fifteen minutes later.
The huge city was encompassed in its characteristic fog and a drizzling
rain added its q\iota to the depression.
Pleasant, seeing that this was the date of one of the swell matches of
the trip, the first day at Hurlingham. However, there was no sense in
grumbling, the omnibus for Ashley's Hotel, Covent Givrden, was taken
and there was found the best antidote for a fit of the blues — a big batch
of letters from home — the first received since the trip started. No one
appeared to have received any bad news, and all restored to good humour,
" 'ired 'ansoms," and drove to the Hurlingham Club Grounds at Fulham,
where lunch was served in the Club- house. The rain still poured down, but
APPENDIX. 625
in spito of the discomfort, rjuite a large nnmber of people, chiutly in car-
riages niado their appearance, and the teams played a poor sort of a match
for about throe (ptarters of an hour, making room at the end of that
time for two teama of polo-players, who had a hot match for over half an
hour. Then the Lacrosse teams took the field again, and played for half
an hour more, and then drippod homewards, and hung themselves up to
dry.
Ilesult of the day's play, twenty-four Lacrosse suits ruined, twenty-four
Lacrosses spoiled, the music of the " Coldstream (Juards " liand and a
lunch enjoyed, and the honour of having played at Hiirlingham.
Sunday proved to be a lovely day and the team scattered in all direct-
ions, over the great Metropolis, and here it may bo remarked that to
attempt to follow their movements while in London is beyond the capa-
bility of the writer. They can bo traced as having been present at the
matches, but before and after that if the particulars of the wandering of
the team in London are desired, every man must write his own portion.
Early Monday morning a start was made for Reading. All the
heavy baggage was left behind in London, and the baggage committee
got a rest. Among other things left was an obnoxious flag, with some
kind of an advertisement on it, which Dr. Beers for some unexplained
reason would insist on having planted at all the matches. The team
were congratulating themselves on having got rid of the bugbear for
a time, at any rate ; when who should walk into the hotel at Reading
but Dr. Beers with the flag over his shoulder. He had stayed a train
later in London and had found it (luckily he s;iid). That flag disappeared
that night and was never seen afterwards.
There was a large attendance at the match, and a great deal of interest
and excitement was exhibited.
Here the Canadians met their first defeat at the hands of the redskins,
a fact which made the latter so jubilant that the next morning half of
them were full yet.
Cheltenham, the day following, was the scene of the next match. Again
the teams were greeted by a large and fashionable assemblage, among whom
820 A I'l'KliDlJC.
was young I'rinco Jornnio Niipoleon Honapni-tu wlio was a Htiulonl at Chol-
tenham School. Tho bonuty both of the town and the Clioltonhnm girls
mailu a strong iniprossion on tho boys. Tlioy wore loath to luavo, but in tho
morning tho "rovoillo' " was soundod and at noon the teams reached Ihistol.
Here tho Indians wore sent \n their hotel, the Canadians going on to
Clifton, a suburb of Hristol.
Tho match was played in tho Clifton Zoological Oanlens, tho most pecu-
liar Lacrosse ground yet discovered. About 75 yards long by GOyanls wide
in the shape of a crescent with a miniature lake on one side, and a row of
animal's cages on the other, and with an enormous cage containing two
Polar bears in the centre, the game more resembled " hide and seek "
than Lacrosse.
The people, however, enjoyed it immensely, and many requests wero
made for another exhibition, requests that it was impossible to grant.
Again leaving in the morning and crossing the British Channel, en
route, the teams journeyed through Wales to Newport, and in the after-
noon played at Pontypool, a very pretty town near by. The ground was
apparently tho only flat piece in that section of country, and nestled in
among a succession of high mountains ; a sceno so b<^autifnl that tho boys
paid more attention to it than to the matih, and the Indians scored
another victory.
The next day (Friday) was spant in travelling back to London. The
city was reached without accident, and the team in the evening attended
the last performance, prior to Henry Irving and Miss Terry's .loparture
for America, of " Much Ado About Nothing" at the Lyceum theatre. Tho
mounting of the piece and the acting of Miss Terry were superb, but
the performance of Henry Irving was worse than a farce.
Saturday the teams made their first public appearance in Loudon at
Lord's Cricket Ground, before about seven thousand spectators, and gave
an exceedingly good exhibition match, the Canadians winnin r. This match
was watched with a great deal of interest by the sporting press and by La-
crosse players from all parts of England, with a view to judging the strength
of the team and comparing it with the play of English clubs. They were
A I'PENDIX. 527
looking forward to tho nmtcU " Canadi w. UaitoJ'KingJain" tixod for Juno
1 1 til, at Konnington Oval. Tho critiimos in the papers wore very conipli-
tnoiitary ; tho opinion of tho Lacrosse players was that it would be a hani
match. Later on it will be aeon how correct thoir opinion was.
Sunday morning, tho majority of the team attended service in St. Paul's
Cathedral, and afterwards mounted to tho top of an onunbus bound for
Hampton Court Palace, seventeen miles away. Tho beauties of the drixo
the excellence of tho roads, and above all, the capacity of tho 'bus-driver
fur " stout and bitter," made a groat impression un. the boys. Tho after-
noon was spent looking at a tremendous collection of atrociously bvd pic-
tures, and at 5:30 a Thames steamer was taken and the party booked for
Blackfriars' Bridge. The trip back wos decidedly interesting. First, tho
steamer smashed a pleasure-boat and the Captain kept his passengers
waiting while ho argued himself out of all blame. Then it ran aground
at Putney and had to be poled oil' like a punt. After this it endeavoured
to smash a bridge by running against one of the piers ajid the bridge got
decidedly tho best of it. Finally, it landed the passengura about three
hours behind time and too late fi^r dinner. They consoled themselves with
the reflection that a countryman of theirs had several times travelled ove"
the same course, or at any rate over part of it, in much (quicker time in his
shell than they did in a British steamer.
On Monday, June 4th, a match was played at Stamford Bridge
Grounds, the head-quarters of the famed London Athletic Club. It was
a very poor exliibition of the game of Lacrosse, as the ground is too small
for the purpose, and to make matters worse, a cinder running path which
surrounds it, brought some of tho fellows, who fell on it, to grief.
After the match the London Athletic Club entertained the team at a
banquet in the Club House. It was a very successful affair and was at-
tended by about a hundred of the principal heroes of the running-path in
and around London. The principal speakers, on behalf of the team, were
Messrs. Beers and McNaught. The former held out great inducements
to the London Athletic Club to send out a team of Athletes to Canada
and the United States, in 1884. The President of the Club, Mr. VVaddell,
628 ArrENDlX.
proraised, in the words of the immortal Oliver Mowat, that "he would
give the matter his consideration. "
The team got home in the small hours of the morning — the most of
them with their bran new hats turned outside in. These champion run-
ners are very fine fellows, but they have no regard for Lincoln & Bennet's
twenty-one shilling plugs.
On Tuesday morning the teams assembled at Holborn Viaduct Station,
and soon were on the move again, this time througli the lovely County of
Kent, which surveyed from a compartment in a railway carriage is con-
spicuous, chiefly for windmills, hop-fields, and bad smells.
A very good view of Rochester Cathedral was obtained as the train
passed quite close to it. About noon Canterbury was reached, and
the teams proceeded at once to the St. Lawrence Cricket Ground where
a lunch was awaiting them , a little piece of attention from Mr. John-
stone, a prominent brewer of Canterbury, and the Secretary of the St.
Lawrence Cricket Club. After polishing off" the viands every one started
out to see the great sight in Canterbury — the Cathedral. They wan-
dered over the magnificent structure, viewing all the points of inter-
est about and in it, including the spot where Thomas a'Becket was mur-
dered, and they were so interested and impressed that they forgot all
about the match until some one suggested that it would be as well to go
up to the ground as some one might be waiting to see them play. It was
then about half an hour past the time advertised for play to commence,
and Dwight, who had undertaken to be gate-keeper and look after the
money vras busy in the Cathedral with note- book and pencil jotting down
dates and musty information. The ground was crowded with people and
nobody had paid to get in, and it was very amusing to see the boys going
around among the people asking them for their shillings. The most
wondei'ful part of the affair, and one that reflects great credi': on the peo-
ple of Canterbury was, that every one who was asked paid up, and num-
bers who were missed handed in their money when they were going out
after the match.
APPENDIX. 52*
The St. Lawrence Cricket Ground is one of the finest grounds in
England, and is admirably suited for Lacrosse ; and, the game that the
teams played on it was worthy of the ground. It was one of the best
contested matches of the tour, and the Canadians won six goals to four.
The local papers devoted about three columns to the match, and from one
of them the following extract is taken :
"The game when in full swing presented a very attractive sight. The
neat dark and light blue costumes of the Canadians, with the arms of the
Dominion embroidered on tlieir breasts, showed a remarkable contrast to
the red and black attire of the Indians. The game cannot fail to create
interest. It will start with a fierce conflict between those in centre field
but soon the ball is released and flies towards one of the goals, to which
point there is a general rush to avert a goal being secured. A fierce battle
takes place for the possession of the ball, when it ia secured by one who
carries it ofif in triumph at the top of his speed, followed perhaps by an-
other fleeter than himself who with much cleverness will secure the ball,
and return it to the neighbourhood of the goal where it will be secured
by an opponent and thrown to the opposite goal. The charm of Lacrosse
lies in the excitement it produces, and the constantly changing scene of
the conflict."
The teams returned to London the same evening, as that City was to
be " headquarters " for some weeks. A change of hotels had been made
on the return from Pontypool, as " mine Host " of Ashley's Hotel proved
himself to be a specimen of land shark, and became obnoxious to the team.
They quickly packed up and left him, and their London address after-
wards became "Queen's Hotel, St. Martin's-le-Grand," a place where they
were made extremely comfortable, and were treated splendidly in every
way.
Wednesday, after a hard day's work sightseeing, was closed, with a
match in the evening at the Private Bank's Cricket Ground at Cat-
ford Bridge, a ground that had never before been rented to an outside
organization. There was a good attendance, and a good game. Thursday
morning the train was taken for Cambridge.
630 APPENDIX,
Griffin, Bowie, Bonnell, and Smith were not on hand at roll call, all
reported too used up to travel. Everybody was sympathetic until it
was discovered that this was " Gold Cup " day at Ascot, and that they
had gone out there to recuperate.
At Cambridge the teams had a good time, and were very successful,
thants chiefly to the exertions of Mr. G. K. McLeod, a Canadian, and a
student at St. John's College. The University has quite a strong La-
crosse club, and the game in very popular, consequently, a large crowd
assembled on St. John's College cricket ground (which had been loaned
by kind permission of the authorities} to see the match. Owing to the
ground being terribly slippery, caused by a shower of rain which fell just
before play was started, the match was not an extra good one, but every-
body appeared pleased and «nany expressed themselves delighted.
After the game was over a number of the team were entertained at
dinner in tha St. John's College, and afterwards went out to witness the
May bumping races on the Cam.
This celebrated river is about thirty feet wide, and twists like a cork-
crew, and yet thirty-two eight-oared shells engaged in a hard race on it.
"^lue best part of the affair was the crowd. There are about 3,000 stu-
dents in Cambridge. Each student wears a pair of white flannel breeches,
and a coat which rivals Joseph's for colours, and is very appropriately
termed a " blazer." Each student has several ladies with him. Picture
to yourself this "blazing" crowd in a state of intense excitement and
commotion, most of them running along the banks, yelling what was at
first taktn to be profanity of the worst description, but was afterward
found to be only the names of the colleges competing ; and thirty-two
rows of heads, with nine heads in each row, "scooting" along between
the two rows of " blazers," and you have what the team saw of the bump-
ing races on the Cam.
Back to London again in the evening, and the next morning off to the
aister University City of Oxford.
Here there was a good attendance at the match, but little or no enthu-
siasm, and after Cambridge it was a painful contrast. The city itself.
APPENDIX. 531
however, afforded a great deal of enjoyment to the team, who could not
help but be impressed with the magnificent architecture of the buildings.
They returned to London in the evening, and the next day played a second
match at Lord's before a larger attendance than on the previous Saturday.
At ooth the matches on Lord's grounds the boys met a great number of
Canadian friends, and their well-timed applause and comments from the
benches sounded like a match in Montreal or Toronto.
This match fi.iiahed a hard week's work. Six matches were played,
each lasting two hours — sixty-four games in all, the Canadians winning
thirty-six and the Indians twenty-eight.
Both teams were jiretty well used up, and were all suffering from swollen
ankles caused by the hard grounds. The Indians suffered most from this
cause, four or five of them being completely laid up, and the matches con-
sequently were played short-handed. Big John was also on the sick list,
and was only present at one of the matcl. 3S — the last one at Lord's.
Sunday, as usual, the boys scattered in all directions, and did not come
together again until Monday, June 11th, at noon, when they met and se-
lected the team to play that afternoon in the International match, Canada
«'. United Kingdom, at Kennington Oval. Mr. Bowie was appointed Cap-
tain, and Mr, Griffin was dropped off the team, as he had been unwell for
some days past.
Anived at the ground, they found a very fair attendance, and soon the
two teams were in position.
The United Kingdom representatives were a fine-looking, athletic lot of •
young fellows, all in the pink of condition, and ready to make short work
of the fagged Canadians. It was a contest of science against strength and
condition, as the Canadians, although a much stronger body of men than
the others, were not so on that day, as they were completely used up with
travelling, sight-seeing and hard matches. However, science won. The
match had hardly been started before the first game was taken by the
United Kingdom, a result which created a great deal of rejoicing on their
side, and made the Canadians mad. Then, as fast as the goals could be
changed, the Canadians kept scoring games, and at the end of an hour
632 ArPENDIA\
the U. K. Captain said he had had enough, the score standing twelve to
one in favour of Canada. This demonstrated beyond a doubt the fact
that the British players have much to learn yet before they can hope to
compete successfully against Canadians. Occasionally tome of their men
would show good specimens of play, but as a rule they were overmatched
in every instance; and had it not been for the really wonderful excellence
of their goal-keeper (A. H. Dill, of Belfast), double the number of games
would have been scored. Their team was :
T. R. Saohe, )
> London.
A. P. Barrett, ' ,
0. HOOKMEYEU, "] '■:■'■■'..
E. O. Swallow, i
[-Manchester.
A. Adder«ley,
W. MORECROFT, J
S. Sinclair,
J. Sinclair,
J. A. Macdonald,
VV. B. R. McWha, !► Belfast.
J. F. Gordon,
A. H. Dill,
H. C. Kelly, Captain. .
i
After the International match the Indians had a few games with a
number of London players assisted by some of the U. K. team. The
Indians won, but it was a first-rate contest.
In the evening the team received tickets of admission to the gallery of
the House of Commons, and were fortunate enough to hear a spirited de-
bate on the grants to Lords Alcester and Wolseley in which Messrs. Glad-
stone and Labouchere, Dr. Cameron and Lord Hartlngton among others
took part.
The next afternoon a tame match was played at Tufnell Park, London,
which the Indians won.
Next day there was no match and tiie usual scatteration took place, but
towards evening all mot and went out to Roehampton at the invitation
APPENDIX. 683
the Thames Hare and Hounds Club. This club was the first to take
Jiold of Lacrosse in England, and the menilers of both the 187C and 1883
Canadian LacrocEO Teams are much indebted to its members for many
■courtesies and acts of hospilality and kindness. After witnessing some
handicap races and a paper cliase over Wimbledon Comnions, all adjourned
to an old-fashioned inn, the headquarters of the Club and a substantial
<linner was disposed of and after that songs and speeches went toward
completing one of the joUiest evenings of the trip. During the dinner
the President of the Club, Mr. Kye (brother of Miss llye of emigration
fame) presented the team with two handscme medals to be competed for
iimong the members in a handicap race. It is a shame to have to chron-
icle the fact that those medals were never competed for.
After getting back to the hotel at an extremely early hour it was hard
work getting up to catch the train for Portsmouth.
The team got away in sections and reached Portsmouth by three trains.
It was wonderful, considering this, to see the punctuality with which they
turned up at lunch. It was a peculiarity of the team during the whole
of the trip that, though often late for trains and matches, they were
never far away at meal-time.
The match came oflf on the United Service Recreation Grounds, and
before an attendance second only to the matches at Lord's. Their Serene
Highnesses, the Prince and Princess of Saxe Weimar, cousins to Her
Majesty the Queen, were present as patrons of the match. The players
were all presented to the Prince, who conversed for some time with a few
of the Canadians, his conversation being chiefly about Canada in which
country he appeared to be greatly interested.
The match was about the same as all the others, the only difierence be-
ing that White Eagle got a ball iu his left eye right oflF the end of Brun-
nell's stick ; an occurrence which completely disabled both the optic and
the warrior.
The Indians were beaten, the people were delighted, and the boys, af-
ter getting their dinner, had about half-an-hour to devote to Nelson's old
ship the Victory, and catch the London train.
534 APPENDIX.
It will be remembered that, at the commencement of the trip, the first
two weeks or thereabout was a period of almost perfect weather, and that
when the teams arrived in London to play a private ma'ch at Hurlingham,
the day which beyond all others should have been fine, was simply hor-
rible, the rain pouring steadily during the whole match. Since that day,
the team had been favoured with an unbroken succession of lovely days.
Imagine then,, if you can, the feelings of the boya on opening their win-
dows Friday morning, June 15th, and seeing the rain coming down like
a second deluge. To help the imagination, it is as well to state that June
1 5th was the date of the match before the Prince and Princess of Wales
at Hurlingham. ^ , • - ■
The rain moderated iv^ an uncomfortable drizzle toward the afternoon^
and at 4:30 the teams arrived at the ground, hardly hoping to find anyone
there, but they were agreeably disappointed to see an attendance of some
three or four thousand already present, and the avenues and approaches
leading to the spaciou:^ enclosure, crowded with drags, and splendid equi-
pa"es of every description, and their number rapidly increasing.
Play commenced at 4:45 — Mr. H. C. Kelly of Belfast, Captain of the
United Kingdom Team, acting as Referee, and Mr. E. T. Sachse, Hon. Sec,
of the South of England Lacrosse Association, and Dr. Archer, Vice-Pre-
sident of the same organization, as umpires.
After a couple of games had been played, a carriage containing the
Royal party was driven on to the ground. Their Royal Highnesses the
Prince and Princess of Wales were accompanied by Prince Albert Victor,
and the three young Princesses, with Colonel Clarke and Lady Suffolk in
attendance. The Royal Standard was hoisted and the band of the 4th
Hussars played first the National Anthem, and afterward '* God bless the
Prince of Wales."
The distinguished visitors were received by Viscount Holmesdale, Lord
de Lisle and Dudley, and_Mr. Monk, M. P. , and the following members of
the committee of the Hurlingharr /lub : Captain the Honourable J. D.
Manson, General Steel, Colonel Bramston, Colonel Learmouth, Major
Wittingstall, Mr. E. H. Braddock, and Captain Walter Smythe.
APrENDIX. 535
The two teams, Canadians and Indians, were all presented to the Piince
and Dr. Beers shook hands with hiui and cliatted for a few momenta.
The game was then resumed and continued for half an hour without a
goal being secured when it was won by the Canadians. The next game
lasted only a few minutes, the Canadians winning again, but the next one
was taken by the Indians after a hot contest. In a few minutes more the
Canadians added another goal to the score, making it stand four to two
in the.ir favour.
This closed the match. The two teams were drawn up in line, and the
Royal visitors drove oflf, the Prince raising his hat, and the Princess bow-
ing. They both expressed themselves highly pleased with the game, and
they and the children watched the play attentively from start to finish.
Dr. Beers had the honour of explaining the game to the Princess and
showed her a numbei of sketches, which were made of the match and
players by Mr. Dinsdale an artist on the staff of the London Ilhutrated
News. ; . • , ...,,,.-■.
Everyone was charmed with the Princess' appearance, and both she and
the Prince won all hearts b}' their handsome faces and agreeable manners.
The invited guests included a great number of the nobility, and among
those present were, Lord and Lady Dufferin, Lord and Lady Landsdowne,
Lord and Lady Derby, the Honourable Evelyn Atherey, Sir R, Herbert,
Lord Monk, Sir H. Tyler, Lord Carnarvon, Lord Dunravon, Duke and.
Duchess of Marlborough, Duke and Duchess of Manchester, Lord Hart-
ington. Earl of Clonmel, Earl of Airlie, Earl of Dalhousie, Sir Charles
Dilke, M. P., and the Lord Mayor and Lady Mayoress.
Canada was well represented among the spectators, as there was a large
number of Canadians in London at that time, and they besieged the team
for invitations.
In the evening after the match, the boys were entertained at dinner by
the members of the Empire Club in London, a club which had very courte-
ously bestowed honorary membership on each member of the team.
After discussing a right royal repast, the balance of the evening ivas
devoted to the toasts and responses.
636 APPENDIX.
Speeches were made by the chairman Col. T. H. Grant, Mr, WiUmott,
-who wan in charge of the Canadian exhibit at the Fisheries Exhibition;
Mr. Henry Cawthra, of Toronto ; Dr. Beers, Dr. Hickey, Mr. Chinnery,
the secretary of the club; Mr. Colmar, Sir A. T. Gait's secretary, and
others. It was a splendid evening and a fitting finale to a match before
Koyalty.
Saturday there was no match. When the fixtures were first arranged,
Saturday was the day set apart for the match before the Prince, and Frid-
day was devoted to the Orleans Club at Twickenham, but almost at the
last moment, word came from the Prince that he couldn't attend on Satur-
day, but that ho could be on hand on Friday. Of course the intimation
was accepted as a Royal command, the dates altered and the Orleans
match sacrificed,
Saturday and Sunday were devoted to sight seeing. The time was fast
approaching when the team would have to say adieu to London, and des-
perate attempts were made to see al? the places of interest before leaving,
a hopeless task.
On Monday morning they left for Leicester,
It was a long tedious ride, and all hands were pretty well used up when
they reached there, and were sadly in need of sleep.
Some of the practical jokers of the team had gone to the trouble of
-waking up some of their comrades at four o'clock in the morning, and
scared them into their clothes at a terrible rate of speed, telling them they
had just fifteen minutes to catch the train, and then enjoyed a good laugh
watching them crawl back to bed when the watches were consulted.
It was very funny, but resulted in the team appearing on the Aylestone
Road grounds in Leicester (one of the fiaest grounds in England), half
asleep, and the^Indians, always quick to take advantage, gave them a good
drubbing.
It was not a good match, and yet the people of Leicester became very
excited over it, and were extremely anxious to arrange another exhibition,
but it couldn't be done.
APPENDIX. 09t
The fixtures were too nuiuerona aa it was, and if every encore that was
asked for had been granted, the teams would have been worked to death.
The two next days, Tuesday and Wednesday, had purposely been left
vacant, so that the Indians were (quartered at a hotel in Leicester, and
the boys journeyed back to London to spend their holidays in taking leave
of the bewildering city.
So much has been written about the immensity of London, its wonder-
ful sights, its teeming population, &c., and as all writers have alike failed
to adecjaately describe it, no attempt will be made in these pages to do
what so many have vainly attempted. The members of the team occupied
every spare moment while in London, in visiting every place of interest
they could hear of, or find time to get to. There is no doubt that they
saw a great deal of London, more in fact than a great many of its inha-
bitants have, but they missed more than they saw. They met many
friends there who devoted both time and money towards giving them a
good time, and foremost among these was Mr. T. B. Whitefoot, the editor
of the London Sportsman, a gentleman who is well known in Canada, and
who was most kind to all of the team who had the pleasure of meeting
him.
On Wednesday, June 20th, the team visited the Fisheries Exhibition, on
the invitation of Mr. Willmott.
The exhibition was an immense affair, and would no doubt be moat
interesting to any one who had nothing else to think about, but the fish
industry (or rather fish slaughter) of the world, but to young men whose
brains were overworked with Lacrosse, it was not so interesting.
They made up their minds that Canada had by far the beat exhibit ; and
after telling Mr. Willmott so, and thanking him for hia invitation, they
left.
The departure from London was made on Thursday, June 2l8t. The
management and attendants at the Queen's Hotel, which had been head-
quarters for several weeks, appeared very sorry, and to the team it aeemed.
like leaving home, aa they had been made very comfortable.
UH
538 APPENDUr.
It was rather late in the afternoon when Nottingham was reached, and
there was barely enough time to get to the Trent Bridge ground in time
for the match. The weather was threatening, but there was a big crowd
present, and after the comparatively long reprieve from playing, the teams
were able to give a good exhibition of the game.
The Indians played eleven men to ten, as several of the Canadians were
absent having gone to Paris, and with that advantage succeeeded in win-
ning by seven games to four. The crowd entered into the sport with great
spirit and applauded every good piece of play, and laughed at every mis-
hap ?H intelligently as if they had been Canadians.
/ Daft, the celebrated cricketer who is a resident of Nottingham, officiat-
ed as one of the umpires, and the Mayor of the city came on to the field
and was introduced to all the players, and made them a short speech ex-
pressive of his appreciation of the game, and of his hope that they would
soon pay Nottingham another visit.
Friday the teams rested at Nottingham , that is rested from playing, but
exhausted themselves in excursions bent on sight seeing. Sir James Old-
know, a prominent lace manufacturer, very kindly sent an invitation to
the hotel for the team to visit his manufactory. They went and were
thoroughly initiated into the mysteries of lace making.
Leaving Nottingham in the morning the teams landed in Birmingham
soon after twelve, and played that afternoon on the Aston Lower grounds
before about 0,000 people, who, like the spectators in Nottingham, knew
how and when to applaud.
Both teams played hard and the match finished a draw, each side credit-
ed with five games. It was a lovely day, a lovely ground, a lovely game,
and a lovely crowd, and the only blot on the general loveliness was twa
lovely young ladies mistaking the Adonis of the team for "Big John."
■ The Mosely Harriers, of Birmingham, in order to get even with the
Toronto Lacrosse Club for putting their champion representative, W. G.
George, out of condition by giving him a bancjuet in Toronto the year
previous, returned the compliment by entertaining the team at the Grand
Hotel in the evening. They are a jolly lot of fellows, and a very enjoy-
AVPENDIX.
able evening was pissed. On Monday another matcli was played at As-
ton. There were fully as many people present as there were on Saturday,
and as they braved a thunderstorm to come, it is hard to calculate hovf
many there would have been if it had not rained.
The match was lively, and resulted in favour of the Canadians by seven
goals to four.
Thursday was another day without a match. The boys split up into
several parties, some going to Strat£ord-on-Avon and others to the Four
Oaks races.
On Wednesday the rain poured steadily all day. The team started for
Coventry, but when they got there they found that it was useless to at-
tempt playing in such a storm. They decided to use Friday, another
vacant day, and postponing the match until then, they returned to Birm-
ingham,
Thursday morning the rain still continued. Serious thoughts were en-
tertained of telegraphing to Walsall, where the teams were due to play
that day, cancelling the match, but the weather improved a little and a
start was made.
It was still raining when Walsall was reached, and there was a very slim
crowd at the match. The ground was a very poor one and the rain did
not improve it. After playing for two hours the team returned to Birm-
ingham.
They were surprised to see the " Stars and Stripes " floating from their
hotel (the Grand) and thought at first that it was intended for them, and
that the proprietor had become slightly mixed on their nationality, but
they found on enquiry that it was in honour of the American rifle team
which had just arrived. Friday morning another start was made for Cov-
entry.
On their arrival they were met by Mr. Podbury, the Secretary of the
Coventry Cricket Club, who had a handsome drag drawn by three horses,
in readiness. Disposing of lacrosses and valises in the hotel, seats were
taken, and the party rattled briskly over the well-paved streets of the
the town, the driver's tally-ho bugle sounding merrily in the clear morn-
540 APl'ENDIA'.
ing air, and bringing the inhabitants to doors and windows to see what
was up. " Peeping Tom" was at Iiis post, and favoured the boys with
the iaoutical grin with which ho saluted the Lady Godiva, and for which
he paid so dearly.
Bowling along rapidly over the beautiful and celebrated Warwick
Road, (iibbot Hill was surmounted, and soon the quaint, old village of
Kenilworth was reached. A pleasant hour was spent among the ruins of
the castle, made famous by Sir Walter Scott's romance ; and mounting
again, away they went through the beautiful scenery to the next stopping
place, (Juy's Cliff, the seat of the Earl Percy, a magnilicent old castle,
grandly situated at the foot of a lofty and densely wooded mountain, and
with an avenue approach well worthy of a long journey to see.
Resuming the drive, still enjoying a magnificent panorama of river,
hill and forest. Warwick was the next stopping place, where lunch was
partaken of, and then Warwick Castle visited, and an hour and a-half
spent in the grand old place, marvelling at the almost priceless treasures
contained within its walls.
Once more mounting the chariot, away they went again, their "Jehu "
making the echoes lively with his bugle, and the boys handing out copies
of the Canadian Illustrated Newn to hundreds of open-mouthed people
along the roads and streets passed over. They pulled up next at the
Jephson Gardens, in Leamington, a beautiful spot.
Here a very interesting archery tournament was in progress, which
occupied the boys' attention for some time. The fact that about thirty
very attractive young ladies were competing may have had something to
do with the interest taken.
The next resting place was Stoneleigh Abbey, the seat of Lord Leigh.
The team was permitted to in- i ^t the house, garden, and grounds.
It was like a chapter from the " Arabian Nights." The Queen has been
a frequent visitor at Stoneleigh Abbey, and it certainly is a palace fit for
royalty.
The boys left sick with envy and strawberries, and after witnessing en
route a large and tine military review, which wan taking place on Lord
APPENDLY. 541
Leigh's estate, they reached Coventry about five o'clock, having ilriven
through twenty-six miles of the loveliest country and most interesting
associations in England.
The drive ended and Coventry reached, the weather, which had been
as perfect as the scenery all day, relapsed into the diabolical condition
that it was in when iJio abortive trip was made on Wednesday night. The
match was advertised for six o'clock, and at that time the rain was coming
down in torrents. Determined, however, not to be beaten again, tliey
commenced the game before a handful of people who were plucky
enough to come and brave the wet. The storm soon passed over, a beau-
tiful evening succeeded, and the crowd rapidly increased until there was
a large and enthusiastic attendance. Play was kept up until 8:15 (it may
be mentioned that it was <iuite possible, as far as light was concerned, to
play until <J:I}0), and the party returned to Birmingham, thoroughly tired
out with a big day's enjoyment.
During the stay in Birmingham, the team received invitations to visit
the works and show rooms of Elkington & Co., the celebrated silver-
smiths, and Perry & Co. the famous pen manufacturers. Tlie inspection
of both of these places afforded them a great deal of pleasure and
instruction.
Saturday morning the boys were astir before si:, o'clock, as an early
start had to be made. They said " good-by " with regret to the proprie-
tor of " The Grand," the best hotel they had yet put up at, and after the
unfortunate baggage committee had nearly worked themselves into a de-
cline ordering porters around at New Street Station, the party at last got
"under weigh."
Four long dreary hours were passed in travelling over a desolate black-
looking country, varied occasionally by a succession of seemingly interm-
inable tunnels, until at last the welcome word Sheffield was shouted by
the guard, and the teams disembarked.
The weather which in the morning looked ominous, improved rapidly,
and it was a beautiful afternoon when the match was started on the York-
shire County Cricket Grounds at Bramall Lane. This ground which is
542 , APPENDIX. .
over 200 yards square, resembles an anphitheatre being surrounded on
three sides by high banks, against which grand stands are built, and with
these stands covercsd by about 7,000 people, and the bright /een grass
dotted with the brilliant blue and scarlet, costumes of the piayers, it is
easy to imagine what a pretty sight the match was.
The Indians were in great form and won six goals to five, and they
afterward played the SheflSeld Lacrosse Club a match, winning three goals
to two. The Sheffield men played very well but were no match for the
Indians, and the two games that they won were really presented to them.
On Sunday a number of the team drove out to Chatsworth and spent
the day in roaming over the Duke of Devonshire's estate, A visit was
paid to the grave of Lord Frederic Cavendish (who was a son of the Duke)
which is in Edensor churchyard on the estate.
On Monday afternoon another match was played at Bramall Lane.
There had been considerable comment in Sheffield on the Indians beating
the Canadians on Saturday, and the boys were on their mettle. They
completely walked around the red skins beating them by seven gaols to
two. It had been arranged that the Sheffield Club should play the Cana-
dians after their match with the Indians, but they were too stiff and sore
from Saturday's playing to come to time.
On Monday evening the usual dinner was embellished a little, as it was
the anniversary of Dominion Day. The customary loyal toasts were
drunk, and the far away Dominion was wished many happy returns.
After dinner the team accepted an invitation to visit Cammell & Com-
rany's iron works, an institution where 7,000 hands are employed.
The operation of converting iron into steel by the Bessemer process,
the casting of huge armour plates, and rolling steel rails, was watched for
some hour^j and while the party had had many warm receptions, this one
may be described as decidedly hot.
Judging from the religious turn of the conversation on the way back to
the hotel, it may be surmised that the sights just witnessed had made
more impression on the boys than the perusal of Dante's Inferno would.
APPENDIX. 643
Sheffield was left behind on Tuesday morning, and after a tedious wait
at Leeds, caused by the stupidity of the railroad officials who had neglect-
ed to couple the car containing the team on to the proper train, the party
reached Harrogr.fe about 2:15. The now almost constant companion of
the team, the rain, was on hand as usual and made the popular and
beautiful English watering-place look decidedly watery, but the boys
were now beginning to show a thorough contempt for rain, and they made
their appearance on the crickat ground at the time advertised and started
the match. The rain soon ceased and the people began to arrive in con-
siderable numbers, but the ground was as wet as a swamp, and the match
was decidedly slippery, the Canadians slipping ahead of the Indians to the
tune of eight to four. At the earnest solicitations of the .cricket club a
match was arranged for the following day, and the services of the town
bellman were called into rer aisition.
The evening was spent on the Spa, and the next day, vhich was a con-
siderable improvement on the foregoing one, the second match was played
before a much larger crowd.
A facetious reporter on a local paper gets off the following remarks.
" I am sorry the weather was so unfavourable for the match (Lacrosse)
between the Canadians and Indians yesterday, though I must admit the
rain ceased very opportunely soon after three o'clock. Wat grass, how-
ever would not conduce to a good gate, and both the club and the teams
deserved a good round sum."
********* * * 4t
" The Committee of the Club I hear have had some difficulty in getting
their tongues to move around some of those Indian names. The Indian
style of christening such as ' Crackling Peanut,' ' Rustling Cabbage.'
* Placid Banana," 'Floating Wheel Grease,' and SSlush-Pool-Zepher,'
are not the style of thing an every-day British mind can grasp with swift-
ness and surety. — "
" I am very sorry I had not time to get up and see the fun, but I caUed
in at the railway station on my way to business, heard a war-whoo
5*4 APPENDIX.
from a locomotive, felt fairly well satiated with the novelty of Indian
life, and reconciled to my plodding axistence."
The teams left Harrogate immediately after the match, and that even-
ing played at Leeds. It rained again during this match, and the play
didn't amount to much. After the finish of the game " Canadians vs.
Indians," the latter gave the Leeds Club a practical illustration of " La-
crosse, and how to play it." —
On Thursday the teams played at Dewsbury, on a ground 600 feet
above the level of the town. It was like playing on the Citadel at Quebec.
The Indians gained a victory there, chiefly owing to the roughness of the
ground.
Friday the party reached Bradford. The match there was very inter-
esting as some people who had seen the Indians win at Dewsbury, backed
them to win again, and paid them to play hard. The game was a very
rough one, and the Indians got the worst of it. The result of the
play was five to four in favour of the Canadians, who then played the
Bradford Club a game which they won very easily.
On Saturday they played at Wakefield, on the Trinity foot-ball ground,
before a very large attendance. The Indians afterwards had a match
with the Wakefield Lacrosse Club, the holders of the champion flags for
Yorkshire, and polished them oflT in the usual way. Leaving Wakefield
late on Saturday evening Liverpool was reached on Sunday morning about
2 o'clock.
The boys spent the af*^t»'noon at New Brighton, and had a good rest.
Two matches were played in Liverpool on the Aigburth Road Grounds,
one on Monday and one on Wednesday.
This part of England seemed to be prolific in " facetious reporters," and
the following extracts from the Liverpool Sporting Chronicle are very good
samples ot their style and at the same time give a good idea of the
matches in Liverpool.
" The game of Lacrosse was fully illustrated last week by the best ex-
ponents of the art with the result that opinion is considerably divided as
to its precise rank or place in British sports. All of the fair sex who
APrENDIX. 545
expressed an opinion within my hearing seemed to consider the Indian
pastime preferable to cricket, but as the sex do not usually deduce their
notions or ideas from logical or stable premises— by which expression be it
understood I do not mean the abode of the horse — I cannot att:ich much
importance to their views.
■if-******** * * *
" The first game at Ai;^burth between the Canadians and Indians was
splendidly contested before a numerous and fashionable assemblage. The
Indiiins who seemed very frefeh and fit, displayed great skill in manipula-
ting the crosse, and speedily placed two goals to their credit. The Colo-
nials soon equalized matters, when the Natives went away again and
securing two more goals, the game was four goals to two. Nearing time
the white men played up with great determination, and by dashing play
succeeded in putting the ball through twice in rapid succession, the game
or rubber thus resulting in a tie. The second contest occurred on Wed-
nesday evening, begiuning at 5 p.m., with an hour's play between the
Canadians and Iroquois, and concluding with a match between the latter
and a Liverpool and district team, and was chiefly remarkable for a rather
ludicrous contretemps which took place during the progress of the last-
mentioned game. There was again a very fair attendance of the ' beauty
and the chivalry ' of Liverpool, and I ha e never previously seen the
Aigburth ground present so charming an appearai 'e. Nature for the
nonce assumed its fairest guise — foliage, sward and flowers blending their
varied tints, while far away beyond the Mersey's rippled surface the sunny
slopes and uplifted cones of the Welsli hills shone in the warm blush of
the J uly evening. The * children of the prairie ' did not appear to such
advantage as ia their previous match, and the Canadians, who completely
outpaced them, won by four games to love. Shortly after the commence-
ment of the match ' Indians vs. Liverpool and District,' a few of the
Choctaw braves became drouthy and demanded the ' firewater of the pale-
faces,' which being denied them, they showed their acijuaintance with our
superior Eastern civilization by going on strike with a coolness and method
worthy of the British workman. Six of them, however, remained in the
646 APPENDIX.
field, and Liverpool supplying them with substitutes the game was ena-
bled to proceed. Such a unique event should be celebrated in lofty
rhyme. ' .-■ '■-■',..
■«'••-'■■
" ' Ten noble red men for booze began to pine,
t One did a {gentle slope and then there were nine ! . . -
Nine noble red men — their thirst was very great,
Another slung his blooming hook and then there were eight !
Eight noble red men— a couple cut their sticks,
A.nd the copper coloured gentlemen numbered only six ! . ;
The six played awaj' 'til the setting of the sun,
When they also took their blooming hook and then there were none ! '
TTpon reflection, 1 think I am inclined to commir erate the redskins. My
sjmpathy is always excited by the sight of a t'vlraty man, and having had
considerable experience in this direction, I cai safely affirm that * Hole in
the Sky,' and ' Trees fallen down,' were both afflicted with drought.
" ' Deer Whispering,' * June stand up,' and ' Leaves moved,' also ap-
peared tc be suffering from melancholia, ijiduced, I have no doubt, by the
«ame awful malady, I don't really see v Viy the chirping cup should have
been refused to the poor untutored Indian. It would have done me good
io see ' Hole in the Sky ' liquor up.
" A considerable amount of give and take play took place, and I saw a
Liverpool player smash his 'crosse completely in two over the shoulders
of an Iroquois. The latter bore his cross meekly."
Op Tuesday the teams went out tr Chester and played a match on the
grounds of Boughton Hall, which were kindly loaned for the occasion.
The turn-out of spectators was large, and was composed chiefly of ladies.
It was one of the most select assemblages of the trip. The boys enjoyed
•Chester exceedingly ! It is a perfect Paradise for vi.°i antiquarian, and
•even to ordinary mortals it is brimful of interest.
Thursday morning a start had to be made at six o'clock. The boys dis-
liked early morning starts most intensely, as they were not particularly
f iven to going to bed early. However they all got out of Liverpool at six
o'clock, and after six hours' journeying during which time they passed
completely from one side to the other of the • 'right-little,tight-little island,"
they landed vt Newcastle-ou-Tyne. The bad weather had arrived before
APPENDIX. 547
them, and although very fair crowds attended the two matches played on
the Northumberland Cricket Ground, still it may be said that the rain
spoiled the games at Newcastle.
Saturday was a lovely day and the boys had a glorious match and a big
gate at Middlesborough, and returned to Newcastle in the evening.
On Monday morning, July 16th, the teams left Newcastle for Sunder-
land, to play for the benefit of the sufferers from the terrible accident
which had occurred there a short tine previously. The arrangement was
to play one match at Sunderland, and one at Houghton-le- Spring, a
village near by.
On their arrival the boys were met by Mr, Thompson, the secretary of
the Sunderland Cricket Club, who had a couple of large brakes in waiting
in which they drove to Hougbton-le-Spring, After inspecting the village
which looked as if it had been buried for a hundred years and had recent-
ly been disinterred, the teams were entertained at lunch by a number of
the residents of the county, with the Hon. and Rev. Mr. Grey, uncle of
the Earl of Durham, presiding,
A public half holiday had been proclaimed and everyone in the tillage
must have taken advantage of it for the Cricket Ground was crowded witi
43pectators . .
The game was started by Lady Grey, who made a really good throw
under the carefu^ tuition of Mr. McNaught, who was acting as Captain.
The ground was very rough, and the Indians feeling at home on it
"went" for the Canadians, and after a hard fight the match ended in a
draw, both aides being pretty well cut up.
Getting into the brakes again they drove back to Sunderland and play-
ed on the Cricket Ground there. The attendance was much larger than
at Houghton-le-Spring, and the ground was infinitely better, and as the
team had a few " crows to pick" with the Indians, for their rough
play there, they pitched into them in earnest, and made a lively match,
which , the people enjoyed immensely. At the conclusion the Mayor
delivered a short speech thanking Dr. Beers and the team for their
548 ArPENDIS.
action of sympathy and assistance. About £80 was realized by the
matches.
On Tuesday morning eight of the team mustered up sufficient courage
to accept an invitation to visit the Hebburn Colliery, a uine near New-
castle. They embarked on a shaky, dingy looking steamer and sailed
for about live miles on what, to both sight and smell appeared to be
a gigantic sewer, but which is known as the River Tyne.
The blanched faces of the crowd, when after having arrived at the pit
mouth, they looked down into the hole they had to descend, showed that
very little would have made them abandon their enterprise. Nobody
funked though, and taking their places in a dirty dripping cage, the
signal was given and they plunged dowuwai-ds. There is no way of de-
scribing the feeling of " goneness" t^at was experienced in that hor-
rible descent. The distance was 365 yards, and the time occupied in
traversing, or rather dropping, it was less than a minute, but it seemed
an hour. On reaching the bottom of the shaft the party, all bent
nearly double, walked along one of the tunnels for about a mile, passing
undett-the bed of the river on their way, and after seeing the miners at
work, and losing a gallon or two each of perspiration, they retraced their
steps, and were jerked up to the earth's surfaca again, and it is not likely
that any of them will ever be curious enough to undertake a similar jour-
ney again.
As one voyage on the Tyne is enough in a day the travellers went back
to Newcastle by rail and had bai-ely time to catch the train for Darlington
where they arrived about four o'clock, played before a good attendance at
six, and le/t early in the morning for York. This city was " en fets" hi hon-
our of the visit of the Prince of Wales to th.> Agricultural Fair wh-oh was
in progress. It was impossible to procure accommodation at aiy of the
hotels,every hou ; in the city was jammed, and the team had * ) live around
in spots. Two matches were played, one in the afternocii and, one in
the evening, both before miserably small crowds. It was a mistake
going to York during the Fair, as everybody was there to see the nhow and
not the Lacrosse players. In this they displayed their bad taste, as the
APPENDIJi. 640
show wasn't worth looking at and the players were. There was some
consolation though, as the city is an interesting sight and the inspection
of York Minster alone was well worth going to York fur. The boys also
met a number of their fellow " voyageurs" on the Sarnia there, and tak-
ing everything into consideration the day was enjoyable.
The teams left York at 8 o'clock in the evening, and reached Manches-
tes at 1:30 in the morning, pretty well tired out. It was raining when
' they arrived, and it was raining the next afternoon when they appeared
on the Longsight Cricket Grounds, and faced a team from the South
Manchester Club, among whom four or five of the fTnited Kingdom play-
ers at Kennington Oval, on June Hth, were noticed. The Canadians
were a poor team, Fraser, Dwight and Cloghorn were laid up with sprains,
and the rest were very tired and shaky. Mr. E. H. Norris, of the Heaton
Mersey club, kindly volunteered his services, and they were gladly ac-
cepted, and proved during the match, to be very valudble.
The Manchester men played hard and well, and made the Canadians
play for all they were worth, and after a hard match of an hour's dura-
tion, the result stood four to two in the latter's favour. The Indians then
had a match with the Sale and Ashton Club team and had a hard time
winning three games to one.
On Friday, a trip was made to Rochdale. The rain was pelting down
when they started and it kept up all the afternoon and evening, and after
an hour of slipping and slushing around before a forest of umbrellas, the
boys dripped home and amused themselves in the evening taking antidotes
against cold. ■
Saturday at Manchester should have been a big day, and it was from
an aquatic point of view, but from no other.
The teams played for an hour in the rain, and then abandoned the field.
In the evening the Lacrosse men of Manchester and vicinity entertained
the Canadians at dinner in the Clarence Hotel. ,The spread was good and
the diners jolly, and a very pleasant evening was spent.
Monday was a shade dryer than Saturday, but so threatening thaTtt"
might as well have rained.
550 APPENDIX.
The Canadians played a picked team from Lancashire County, and be-
ing a little pi((uod at remarks made about the close match on Thursday,
they went in for good solid Lacrosse.
They won eight goals in an hour, their opponents none, and then they
played the Indians for half an hour and beat them. Then the Indians
played Cheshire County and beat them easily. This finished Manchester
— the stay there was completely spoiled by bad weather, and as great suc-
cess had been calculated upon, it being the head-centre of Lacrosse in *
England, the disappointment was very hard to bear philosophically.
A great deal of kindnetf. was shown the team while in Manchester by
the Lacrossemen of the district, and notably by Messrs. Norris and Swal-
low. Both of these gentleman did a great deal to abate the general
misery, and a ray of sunshine would have been hardly more enjoyed than
their frequent visits.
On Tuesday, July 24th, the tean reached Scarborough ; the celebrated
English watering-place, and put up at the Grand Hotel, a magnificent
building, fiuely situated in the moat commanding position in that pic-
turesque town.
Matches were played there on Tuesday and Wednesday, both attended
by good crowds, in spite of occasional showers of rain which as usual came
down about match time. The boys would have liked to stay longer at
Scarborough. It is essentially a place of amusement, and such a place
siiited them to a nicety. They were tendered the free entree to the Spa,
the centre of the amusement circle ; they indulged in promenading and
flirting there to their heart's content ; they patronized the bathing ma-
chines, and the donkeys on the sands, and in lact took in everything, and
wound up their last night (the last night in England), with a most enjoy-
able dance in the hotel — a large party of tourist Americans helping to
make the dancing and the conversation lively.
In the morning (July 26th), the whole party was en rouU for Liverpool,
and the English part of the tour completed.
Arrangements had been made for the steamer Oregon, which was due
to sail for Canada on that day, to carry the teams and their impedimenta
APPENDIX. I 551
as far as Belfast, and when Liverpool was reached, it was learned that
the sailing hour of the steamer had passed, and McNaiight, who had gone
on ahead of the party was dancing around the station in a state of wild
excitement. He had all the cabu, porters, and small boys he could lay
hands on, engaged to transfer the team and its bolongings to the landing
stage, and to make a long story short they got on board the tender all
right and caught the steamer in the river.
A number of good friends came as far aa the vessel's side to say farewell,
and in a few hours a thin streak on the horizon was all that could be dis-
cerned of " Old England," where the boys had spent two months of almost
xinalloyed enjoyment.
A number of fellow passengers by the Sam', i wore on the Oregon
bound homeward, and an "old time" evening was prolonged into the
small hours.
In the morning the vessel lay in Belfast Lough, waiting for the tender
to take the teams off. As a change from the rain and fog of the last
couple of weeks, in England, the first glimpse of " Ould Ireland " was
taken on a perfect morning. The water of the Lough was as smooth as a
sheet of glass, the sky cloudless, and the sloping green banks radiant in
the bright sunshine. Cosily nestled among the hills, and visible from the
steamer's deck, was a spot interesting to Canadians — Ciandeboye, Lord
Duflferin's estate.
When the tender came alongside, it brought Dr. Beers ard Bowie, who
had gone on before, and also a photographer, who took several jnctures of
the team and of the honorary members.
Aird, Sutherland, and other members of the party were going homii in
the Oregon, and after bidding them good-bye and wishing them ' oon
voyage," the rest got on board of the tender, and it is questionable , t' ever
the shores of Belfast Lough have echoed heartier cheers than thi-se that
went from tender to steamer and from steamer to tender, until both lost
sight of each other.
In Belfast, it was found that preparations had been made to give the
652 A rPENDlA.
iuaiiis a right royal welcome, and subseqiiont events proved that Irishmen
know, not only how to plan, but to execute as well.
The first appearance in Ireland was made on the North of Ireland
Cricket grounds, which are situated on the bank of the River Lagan, and
there was an extremely large and fashionable attendance.
Before the Canadians did any playing, the Irish team had a match with
the Indiana, and to the surprise of both Canadians and Indians, the Irish
team won five goals to three. The Indians played a man short, but even
with that odds it was never imagined that they could be beattu by an
Irish team. The Canadians then took the field against the Indians, and
received as bad a beating from the " dusky savages " as the latter had
experienced in the first match.
The Irishmen had beaten the Indians; the Indians had tlien beaten the
Canadians ; the latter were to play the Irish team a grand international
match the next day : things looked very blue for Canada.
The Cricket Club entertained the team at supper in the evening, and
the next day a large brake, drawn by four horses, appeared at the door of
the hotel, and the boys enjoyed a fine drive around Belfast and its en-
virons.
At 3:30 they faced the Irish team. There was a large crowd present,
a much larger one than on the previous day ; and it was an obvious fact
that there was a good deal of excitement among the people, caused by the
expectation that Cane la would suffer defeat.
But those who expected it were doomed to disappointment. Canada
won the match by a score of 8 to 2. Eleven games were actually won by
the Canadians, but as there were three disputed, they were not insisted
upon.
The match was a much harder one than that against the United King-
dom in London, and it was only by piaying in grim earnest that the boys
succeeded in winning. The Irishmen are the best exponents of Lacrosse
in the United Kingdom ; and, indeed, as they now stand, there are only
three or four Canadian clubs capable of beating them.
APPENDIX. 653
After tho match with Ireland, the Canadians phiyod tho Indians, and
gave thorn a bad beating, tliereby completely mystifying those who had
based tlieir calculations on the play of Friday.
In the evening the team wore the recipients of a grand banquet, given
by the citizens of Belfast, in Ulster Minor Hall. This and the banc^uet
at Inverness were the two leading demonstrations during the whole trip,
and they wore both of such a high order, that had the Canadians received
no other attentions, they might woU feel proud of even these. The ar-
rangements at the Belfast banquet were perfect, the speeches were elo-
quent and numerous, and the imagination could suggest nothing that
would have increased or intensified the pleasure of that evening.
In the morning (Sunday) the team started at seven o'clock for Portrush
and the Giant's Causeway, a trip specially arra.igod for them by Mr,
H. C. Kelly, a gentleman who was the head and front of all plans for
their entertainment v/hile in Ireland. Through his instrumentality a
special saloon carriage was secured for the party, and the contrast be-
tween it, and the carriages in which they had done so much travelling in
England and Scotland, was so great, that they positively enjoyed the
journey.
The Giant's Causeway is about seven miles from Portrush, and to carry
the party there two large conveyances were secured, which resembled
overgrown jaunting-cars, and they enjoyed a beautiful drive along the
rugged coast, stopping at intervals to admire the various particular bits of
scenery such as " Phil McCool's Head," " Dunluce Castle," " The Devil's
Punch Bowl," " The Maiden's Wishing Arch," &c. &c. These places
were all graphically described by one of the drivers, a most original old
fellow, and several of the party suffered considerably by calling down
upon their heads his power of repartee. On reaching the Causeway they
embarked in three boats, and as the wind and tide were favourable, they
were enabled to visit all the wonderful caves and curious formations with
which the place abounds. The Causeway itself was a sort of disappoint-
ment as every one of the party had an idea that it was much larger than
it really is .
II
fiM A rrENJ)LY.
The team Btnyod at Poitrush ovor iiiyht, ami the next morning mot tho-
Indians at Londonderry and pliiyod a niiitoh on tho Acadeini*' li grotuida.
A largo crowd was presoJit and a good recopticm was given tf> the players.
The ground was very small and nnsuitablo for Lacrosse, and the match
was not of much acconnt. A drive around the maiden city including an
inspection of the famous walls and gates, concluded tho stay there ; and
in tho evening tho party left by special train for Enniskilien, where they
passed the night.
An early start was made, and, crossing the " Hoyne water" on tho
way, Dublin was reached about noon.
After lunch jaunting-cars were engaged, and some of tho sights of tho
city were visited, among others the scene oi' the Phcenix Park tragedy.
The spots where the victims fell were marked by deep crosses cut into
the ground, and all the grass was worn away by the feet of the thousands
who have visited the spot, but one of the drivers gravely informed tlio
party that the grass withered shortly after the murders, and that it will
never grow again.
Dublin fairly bristles with barracks, gaols, correction houses, police, and
soldiers. It looked ominous and suggestive to see the sentries on their
beats opposite all the principal buildings, each with a couple of rounds of
bail cartridge stuck into his belt. There seemed to be a pall over the
place. Business was dull, and the best people had left the city, and those
who were there, looked scared, dissatisfied, and unhappy. The city ap-
peared as if it might have once been handsome and gay, but now it was
tlecidedly the reverse, and the gloom of the place, combined with the hor-
rible stench of the river Lifley, which runs through it, made it anything
but a pleasant place to visit.
The Lansdowne Road ground was the scene of the last match of the
trip on British soil, and the weather and attendance both were good.
Both sides wanted to win, and played hard to do it, and the game wa»
long, hard, and rather rough, and was eventually won by the Canadians.
The party stayed over night in Dublin, and went through Guiness'
brewery in the morning, and, after having said good bye to Bonnell, who
had to go back to London on business, they left for Belfast.
A I'FENDIX. 665
Til • following day, Thursday, August 2nd, the last day on the other
side uf the Atlantic, was a busy one, getting into shape ready to stnrt on
the morrow. At the reiiuest of the local Lacrosse Club a match was ar-
ranged for their benelit between the Indians and a team composed of loja
players, assisted by a few of the Canadians. The Indians won the match
by a score of 5 to 0, and somewhat retrieved their reputation, which had
suffered since their arrival in Ireland.
The last night in Ireland was a lively ono, and very few of the boya
passed any portion of it in sweet repose. Those few who did attempt it
must have had a hard time reaching the arms of Morpheus, as the uuvjor-
ity of the crowd, ally assisted by some Belfast friends, were down below
them in the hotel nearly all night, takiu'^ leave of the " ould sod " and
celebrating the ceremony in a service of song of the loudest and most
boisterous description. The musical notes of Davy Nicholson's now well-
known banjo helped the performance along, and formed the instrumental
portion, and there is no doubt at all of the fact that everybody in Belfast
knew that night that the Canadian Lacrosse Team were saying "good-
bye. "
Both Canadians and Indians were at the wharf shortly after six in the
morning, the mass of luggage, which was extremely large at the start of
the trip and which had now assumed gigantic proportions, was with diffi-
culty stowed on board of the tender, and the party accomparded by Messrs.
Kelly, Fenton, Dill, B. & F. Schofield, the Sinclair brothers, and a few
more of their hospitable Irish friends, had about an hour's run down Bel-
fast Lough, and arrived alongside the Dominion, which was awaiting thorn.
The painful task of saying farewell was at last accomplished, and the two
vessels slowly drew apart and soon were out of sight of each other, the
one that went back to Belfast carrying on it a party of the best and
warmest-hearted fellows it would be possible to meet with anywhere.
Of the voyage back very little can be said. The first two or three days
the whole of the team, with but two exceptions, were so oppressed with
melancholy that they displayed all the symptoms of sea-sickness. The
ocean behaved as well as it could reasonably be expected to, and altoge-
556 APPENDISS.
ther the passage out was uneventful. The party was considerably smaller
than it was at the start out, as Messrs. Aird and Sutherland witli ime of
the Indians had gone home in the Oregon. Bonnell had gone to London,
Dwight to Scotland and the continent, and Messrs. McCoUura and Worts
were left behind in England.
On Friday morning, August 10th, Belle Isle was sighted, and after a
beautiful passage through the straits, up the gulf, and along the river, the
wharf at Point Levi, opposite Quebec, was reached at an early hour on
Monday, August 13th, and a few hours later the boys landed on Canadian
soil after nearly four months' absence. The first thought w w " how soon
will we get home," and when it was ascertained that matches had been
arranged for the next afternoon in Quebec, the tilue necessary io stay and
play them was grudged.
The team proceeded to the St. Louis hotel, and the energetic Captain
drove to the Citadel where the Standard flying proclaimed the fact thac
the Marquis of Lome and the Princess Louise were resident there. The
object of the Captain's visit was to solicit the honour of their patronage at
the match.
On being informed of Dr. Boers' presence and request, they imme-
diately sent for him, and during a long conversation expressed their pleas-
ure at having an opportunity of seeing the teams play, and the great
interest with which they had followed the whole tour from beginning to
end.
The Princess seemed especially interested ia the team, and expressed
herself delighted at the impression the boys had made in England, and the
good they had been able to do for Canada. They both told the Doctor
that they had read with a great deal of interest all the letters from mem-
bers of the team, which had appeared in tlie Montreal and Toronto papers,
and the Marquis, in conversation with one of the players at the match
afterwards, asked specially who the Mail of Toronto had as correspond-
ent. Or being informed that it was Mr. McNaught, who was now on his
way to Toronto, he expressed his regret at not having had the pleasure of
meeting the writer of " those remarkably able letters."
APPENDIX. 55T
The Marquis and Princess had invited a nvimber of friends to a yacht-
ing excursion on Tuesday, and they asked the Doctor to postpone the
match until Wednesday as a favour to them, as they particularly wished
to be present. It is needless to say that the " favour " was gladly grant
ed. Indeed the request of a member of the Royal family of England to
the intensely loytl Doctor, would be granted if he ruined himself to do it.
The team cheerfully acquiesced with the Captain's arrangement, and on
Wednesday afternoon they appeared at the Thistle Lacrosse Grounds, and
were each presented to bot'.i the M irquis and Princess, who shook hands
fvU around and chatted for some time with several of them.
Their kind, affable and unostentatio.is manner made a great impression
on the boys, and when a short time afterwards their sojourn in Canada
came to an end, and they returned to England, each member of the Cana-
dian Lacrosse team felt as if two well-baloved personal friends had gone
from their midst.
Two matches were played that afternoon, the first one "Canadian vs.
Indians" was won by the fornnr by two goals to one, the second one im-
mediately after, " Canadians r.s. Thistles of Quebec," resulted in a draw,
each side winning one game. The boys had not yet got rid of their sea
legs, and had used themselves up in the match with the Indians. The
teams left Quebec that evening and landed at Bonaventure Street Station
in Montreal early the next morning.
In the afternoon the Canadians played the Montreal Club a match, and
after an hour's hard playing both sides had won two goals aiid the contest
was declared a draw. The Indians and Canadians then played, and after
another hour of hard work the Indians scored one game.
A couple of the Toronto contingent of the team left for home that even-
ing, and on Saturday the balance of the team and the Indians came up to
Toronto and played two matches on the Toronto Lacrosse Grounds.
The first match was against the Toronto Lacrosse Club, and resulted in
favour of the Canadian team by three games to one. Tiie winners then
played the Indians and took the first game in 15 mmutes, and shortly
after that a shower of rain stopped further proceedings. The Toronto
558 APPENDIX.
portion of the team assembled at the Union Statitm in the evening, and
gave their Montreal comrades a hearty "send oft'" — and the trip was
finished.
In the match at Quebec the Canadian team weni minus the services of
McNaught, Aird, Bonnell and Dwight ; at Montreal, the same men with
the exception of Aird, were off, and at Toronto Bonnell and Dwight were
missing, so that taking into consideration the absence of these good
players, and the exhaustion consequent upon a long sea voyage, the record
of the team after reaching Canada is a good one.
And now for a chapter of statistics as a valedictory. The record of
matches and games was carefully kept by Mr. Struthers who seemed to
have a particular genius in that line.
There were G8 matches played ; 2 in Portland, 7 in Scotland, 48 in
England, 5 in Ireland, and G in Canada. Gl of these matches were again&t
the Indians, 4 were International, and 3 were against Canadians.
Of these the Canadian team won 44, the Indians 11 and 13 were drawn.
In the Indian matches there were 452 games played, of which the Cana-
dians won 2G9 and the Indians 183. In the 4 International matches,
there were 37 games played, the Colonials winning 32, and the English
and Irish players 5. In Canada, 10 games were played against local clubs,
the travellers scoring G, and the " stay-at-homes " 4. This makes the
number of games won by the Canadian team 307, as against 192 won by
their vaxious opponents ; a grand total of 499 games played. The number
of matches played by each member of the team is as follows : —
Strutheus 68 •" ' *: '
Garvin 63 »
Mackenzie 60
Aird 50 - -..■•'
Griffin 56 •='' ■:
Eraser 65 •- .. '.w'.; ,
, Graven 55 ■ •iX i
Smith 53
,^ ' -' ' McNaught 47
APrENDIX. ' 559
BoNNHLL . . 45
NicHOLSuiV 48
DWIGHT 38
Bowie 17
The small record of Mr, Bowie is accounted for by the fact, that he de-
votod himself a great deal to going on ahead of the team, arranging l-usi-
ness details. i j . ,. . , • ::
The party travelled in making the tour 10,046 miles ; 6,033 yrail, and
5,613 by water. ,
The emigration portion of the trip was a great success, and eclipses any
emigration work ever before accomplisheci. 0"-^'^ 500,000 copies of the
Canadvxn llluatraUd Ne.xvs were delivered, or rather distributed at the
matches, and the labour in connection with the distribution can be readily
imagined, when it iu pointed out that it took 126 cases, each weighing over
300 lbs. to contain them. Besides these, parcels of papers containing from
<3 papers to 100, were sent to 224 different people, and they have been so
well received that the Government secretary cabled the Dominion Go v ern-
ment for more. Dr. Beers received and answered 328 letters, containinf^
■enquiries in reference to emigration, and has now upwards of 70 people
assisting voluntarily in emigration work. In addition to the Illustrated
Neil's, 150,000 copies of sundry other publications on Canada were distri-
buted. , , : , . .„
This ends the sketch of the tour, a tour that will ever be remembered,
and looked back to with feelings of pleasure by the fifteen players of
Canada's National Game, who composed the Canadian Lacrosse Team of
1883.
ceo APPENDIX. •
HISTORY OF LACROSSE IN CANADA.
I am under obligation to l^Ir W. K. McNaught, President of the
Canadian National Lacrosse A3,«iociation, for having prepared the follow-
ing History of the Game : —
The game of La'.rosse, as almost everybody kaows, is of Indian origin,
and like many other tii ings connected with the aborigines of this conti-
nent, its early history !<■ enshrouded in obscurity. By what tribe or by
whom it was invented will probably always remain a mystery ; but one
thing is certain that from the Creeks, in Alabama, to our own Iroquois,
along the noble St, Lawrence and the Lac la Pluie of the Generic Chippa-
was to the far west of Lake Superior, it was a recognised sport amongst
the original proprietors of this Continent. Lacrosse was their distinctive
pastime, their recreation, but it served as their training school for their
sterner duties of the chase and the war path. In its primitive form it was
a sport well calculated to strengthen their muscles, toughen their sinews,
and develop in them that self-reliance and decision of character so essen-
tial to their very existence,
" The Conspiracy of Pontiac," and the massacre of the British Garrison
at Fort Michillimakinac, effected by treachery under cover of an exhibition
of a game of bagcjataway (as Lacrosse was called in the original), inter-
weaves the National Game of Canada indelibly into the history of the
country, and lends to it an interest which it could not otherwise have
obtained. The present game of Lacrosse differs very materially from the
original game as practised by the aborigines of this country. Their game
had no fixed and definite rules by which it was governed. Each tribe laid
down its own laws, and in every case it was more a test of bodily strength
and endurance than of judgment and skill. Like almost everything else
that the genius of the wliita man has touched the original game has been im-
proved upon, and although it might provoke a smile from the shade of Tul-
lock-chisk-ko (a celebrated Indian Lacrosse player of legendary times) and
his dusky compeers, who might fail to recognise in one of our Championship
Lacrosse matches the sport to which they were so enthusiastically devoted.
APPENDIX. 561
"before being translated to the happy hunting grounds, still it is withoiit
doubt its rightful and lineal descendant. The fact is that Lacrosse as origi-
nally played by the red men simply gave the white players the idea which
has since been developed by them into a game suited to their own physi-
cal condition and surroundings. Lacrosse was first ' .troduced, or rather
adopted by the whites in Canada, by the organization of a club in Mon-
treal some forty years ago. The club was small and uninfluential, and the
game remained almost dormant for nearly twenty years. In the year 1860,
in the City of Montreal, there was an Exhibition Match of the Indian
game of Lacrosse, which was played between picked teams of Indians and
whites, twenty-five playing on each side. This publicity was the making
of the game, so far as Canada was concerned. From that time a mor&
energetic class of young men took it up, and the result was that in Mon-
treal, at least, it became a very popular field game. In the year 1867,
the Montreal Club, which must be accorded the honour of being the pio-
neer white club of Canada, and the " Alma Mater " of the game, framed
the first laws of Lacrosse, and shortly afterward a convention of clubs was
held in Montreal, to organize an association for the government of
clubs and the guidance of the game. The result of this Convention was
the formation of " The National Lacrosse Association ■>/ Canada,'' which
organization has ever since done good work in popularizing the game by
eliminating the rougher elements and encouraging its more scientific
practice.
Shortly after the formation of the National Association the game re-
ceived a further impetus from the generosity of Mr. T. J. Claxton, a pro-
minent merchant of Montreal, who showed a practical appreciation of
healthy athletic sport, by < ffering for compi^vition amongst the clubs of
that city, a challenge trophy consisting of a set of handsomely embroid-
ered silk flags with silver-mounted poles, valued at §250. The prelimin-
ary contests for the " Claxton Flags," as this trophy was called, resulted
in favour of the Montreal Club, who subsecpiently succeeded in holding
them against all comers, until under the conditions of the gift they be-
came their absolute property. ■ ..' . • .. .■:.■■:■ ''..'V
562 A rPENDIX.
These weather-beaten tro])hies that have •witnessed so many exciting
■contests have ever since occupied an honoured place upon the walls of
the gymnasium where the Montreal club has its head quarters. Although
the Montrealers were successful in winning this trophy, it was not accom-
plished without many hard-fought matches between them and their old
rivals, the Shamrocks of Montreal, who in spite of repeated defeats, seera-
ed always willing to renew a contest which ultimately ended for them in
victory. The long-continued rivalry between these clubs, although bitter
and often vindictive, was no amall factor in securing for Lacrosse the posi-
tion of the leading field sport in the City of Montreal, a place which it has
held undisputed ever since. At this period the clubs of Montreal were
far in advance of those of any other city in the Dominion, and the contest
for the "Claxton Flags" therefore virtually involved the " C b ampionship
of Canada," as well as the possession of the trophy. When these flags
were finally awarded to the Moatrealerc, the contests still continued for
the title of " champions of the world." The first match for this title alone
was in the fall of 1870 between the Shamrocks and the then holders, the
Montrealers, which resulted in a decisive victory for the former. This
was but the commencement of a long and almost unbroken series of vic-
tories in defence of this coveted title, the effect of which was to make
friends and opponents alike come to regard them as invincible, and the
name of Shamrock for many years stood in the Lacrosse world as a syno-
nym for unconquerable.
In the meantime, however, the game had taken root in the Province of
O.itario. In the year 1867 two clubs were organized in Toronto, and in
the Toronto and Ontario clubs of this city, new and dangerous rivals for
the coveted title were preparing themselves by means of plenty of hard
local encounters, for the task of wresting the Championship from its pos-
aessors, and bringing it westward. Although defeated time and again,
theso clubs kept persistently at their task ; in 1875 their efforts were
crowned with success, and the Torontos had the honour of defeating the
hitherto invincible Shamrocks, and of bringing the championship for the
£rst time to the Queen City of the West. Since then, with the exception
APPENDIX. 5u3
of a brief period in 187G when it was taken from the Toronto by their old
time local rivals the Ontarios, the honours of world's championship have
been held about equally by the Shamrocks and Torontos, the Ontarios
ceasing to exist, and the formidable old Montrealers apparently having
fallen seemingly oat of the race. The last match for its possession in
September, 1883, was won by the Torontos over the Shamrocks, and the
former now bold the title and trophy given by the National Association,
and are prepared to make their claim good against all comers.
The work of the National Lacrosso Association has done very much to
promote the spread of Lacrosse and make it the popular game all over
Canada. In almost every town and village of Ontario, and in miny in
the Provinces of Quebec and Manitoba, flourishing clubs are to be found,
and it is estimated that at the present time there are at least 20,003 active
Lacrosse players in the Dominion. Two years ago the National Associa-
tion inaugurated what are now known as " District Championships," giv-
ing therefor handsome challenge medals as a tangible evidence of the
prowess of the winners. These championships have evoked a great deal
of enthusiasm and local rivalry, and developed some very excellent
players pmongst clubs whose form was hardly good enough to enable
them to be rated amongst the competitors for the World's Championship.
INDEX.
ABBOTT, J. J. C.,81, 82.
Adams, Michael, 1;W.
Address, congratulation to (iueen, 221,
fh 2*22,
Affirmation instead of an Oath, 241, 242.
Alaska, sale of, 120.
Allan, Sir Hugh, 27(3.
Anglin, T. W., lOi', 110, 117, 120.
Anjjers, M. , 58-100.
Anderson, Thomas, 148.
BEACH, 8ir Michael Hicks, 81, 83, 127.
Bernard, Hewitt, 108.
Bernard, Montague, 120.
Bej,'t,'s, Mr.,137.
Bethune, Kij,'ht Rev. A. N., 138.
Beaven, lioheit, 271.
•' Bees," 30(i.
Beers, Dr., 398-400,
Biddulph murders, 1(55-168.
Blair, Andrew (}., 271.
Blizzard in Manitoba, 272.
Blake, Edward, 144, 15l>-158, 180 181,
185, 200, 201, 219, 231-230.
Bourinot, J. G-., 3G3-3CG.
Booms and paper towns, 258, 2C0.
Boundary award, the, 2^0-295.
Boucherville, M. de, 58-100.
British Columbia, Affairs of, 271, 272,
Brown, Georj^e, 170.
Browning, T. B., 305,306.
British North America Act, Provisions
of, 78, 81, 82, 83, 85, 94.
Bunster, Mr., 148.
Burton, Justice, 191.
CARTWRIGHT, Sir Richard, 102-101,
105, 115, 116, 127, 149, 150, 189, 204,
205.
Canadian Independence, 107, 116-119,
254, 258.
Campbell, Sir Alexander, 127, 221.
Cameron, M. C, 127.
Casey, Mr., 147, 211.
Canada, Extension of to the Nortli Pole,
158-160.
Candian Asiatic telegraph system, 190.
Vhuriibdis, ihe, 283-285.
Church, Mr., 72,74, 91.
Christie, Dr., Ill, 112.
Chapleau, M., 128, 129, 251-253, 297,
Chauveau, M, 129.
Chandler, K. B., 132, 170.
Charlton, Mr., 285-287.
Chapman, I'rot'., 354,
Chandler, ]>r., 357.
Chinese, the, 238-241, 387, 290.
Civil Service Organization, 211-213.
Coal Tax, 150, 151, 205-207.
Costigan, Jolin, 222, 231.
CoL'kburn, 137.
Cow, that one belonging to the Monk.
104.
Cremazie, Joseph, Octave, 141.
Cricket and base ball, 393, 394.
Currency, iuHation of, 151-153.
Cyclone ia New Brunswick, 139, 140.
DAVIS, Mr., 134.
Davin, Nicholas Flood, 365,
Dawson, S., 340, 361, 362.
Dent, John Charles, 352-354.
Denison, Col., 341.
Delorme, Mr., 137,
DeCosmos, A., 120.
Debt, imprisonment for, 135, 136.
Divorce in Ontario, 120-122.
Deceased Wife's Sister Bill, 153-156.
242, 244.
Dixon, Frederick A., 334, 3.35, .336.
Dovvning-street, references to, 78, 81, 82,
85, 96 ; The Scott Act sustained. 272.
274.
Dufferin, Lord, 73-74, 94, 96.
EARTHtiUAKE at Jfiagara, 140.
Edgar, J. D., 234,
Exodus, The, 186-189.
FABRE, Hector, 237.
Fabre, Bishof), jjastoral of, 173-175.
Fisheries Protection and Propagation.
249 252
Flynn"Mr., 129.
Fortune Bay affair, 160-163,
Forest Fires, 197-200.
Forestry in Ontiirio, 301, 302,
Fortin, M., 129.
666
INDEX,
Fraser, J. J.,133.
FraHtT, .r., ;ui.
Frt'cliuttu, Ij. H., 31'),
GAT/r, Sir A. T.. 108, 29(5, 2t)8.
(lartiflil, I'rfsid.-nt, 1110
(jerryniaiKU'r, tlio, 217--'2I.
Genural Election Tiictica, 2H-247, 2,52,
250, 2(i;<-'20'.).
rjiroiiiinl, M., 151, l.-.n.
(liliinor, Mr.,2H'.», L'!»0.
(}lol,e. Tin:, 100, 208, ;{41.
(heat Seal (Jawe, 140, 141.
Grant, Dr., 'MVl.
Granvillf, Ijonl, 162,
(Irittin, Martin J.. 277.
(Jrasett, Dean, 277.
(Julf Telegraph HyMteni, 10 1.
(iunliikla, 244.
HABITANTS harvestin;,', 304, 393.
Harrison, Mrs. .f. W. F., 366.
Kanney, James, ;!48.
Hannan, HiKlit llev. Midiael, 277.
Ha.uiington, Daniel, 270, 271.
Herald, Montreal, 270.
High OonmiiM.sionL'rBhip, Canadian, 144,
14.-), 200-200.
Hincks, Sir Francis, 117 119.
Hooper, Mr., 120, 148.
Howland, Sir W. P., 127.
Huntington, L. S., 140-148, 229, 230.
INDTAXS, management of, 123-126,
213-210.
Independence of Parliament, 209.
International Fisheries Exhibition, Can-
ada at, 300, .301.
Irish Resolutions, 222. 231.
Ireland, Relief for, 150.
JOLY, M. 04, 70, 72, 82, 84, 93, 128,
129, 130-132.
KIMBERLEY, Earl of, 227, 228.
Knighthoods, batch of conferred, 127.
LANSDOWNE, Lord, 336.
Landry, P. A., 12.3.
Lampuian, A., .300.
Langevin, Sir Hector Tj., 81, 82, 111,
122, 104, 189, 200, 235.
Lacrosse, 393, 394, and Appendix Y.
Langelier, M., 128, 129.
Letellier Question, History of the, .56-
100 ; Death of M. Letellier, 191.
LeMay, P., 345.
Lesperance, John, 345.
Le Sueur, 350-3,53,
Lewis, Kii,'ht Kev. J. T., 244, 351, 352.
LeMoine, J. M., :i59.
Leprohon, Mrs., 141.
Libel Suit, Boyle i: Tlie Globe, 168, 170.
Literary (xarland, 141.
Literature of the i)eriod, 337-367.
Log-driving, 379-381.
Lome, Lord ; A nival in Canada, 25 55 ;
Sworn in at Halifax, 27 ; (''oniinent on
Governor's Oath, 27-31 ; First Levee
lield in ( 'anada, .32 ; deception ei> route
to Ottawa, 31-55; Visited hy an Ad-
<ln'HsSwarni, 5t-55 ; Attitude in liC-
tellier difficulty. 78-80 ; Changes " Pile
of Bones " to Ri^gina, 274, 275 ; Ad-
dresses from Parliament on the eve of
his departure, 295, 29li ; (ilance at hi:»
attitude towards public ((Uestions, 302-
305 ; Visit to .Montreal on the Queen's
liirthday, 310, 320 ; Visit to the Mari-
time Provinces, 321 ; Causes of early
unpopidarity, 322-321; l?earing the
burthen of his Secretary's oflicious-
nesN, ;{25-;i27 ; Tour through the North
West Territories, .327-3-!9 ; Visits Eng-
land, 329 ; At the Cascapedia Salmon,
fishing, ■3;U-334 ; 'J'ribute of affection,
Mr. Dixon's farewell pi>em, 331, 335 ;
Jjiterary work while in Canada, 300,-*
'MM, and Ai)pendix W ; Founds the
Royal Societv, 3()7-.'{70 ; Encourages
Art, 401, 402; Speeches delivered
while in (Jiinada-.See Appendix.
Louise, Princess, arrived in Canada, 25-
55 ; First Levee, 32 ; Address on Et!u-
cation in Montreal, 45-51 ; Story of
the Miigiis, 17-49 ; Winter Recreations,
30!l 310 ; Visit to Montreal on the
t^ueen's Birthday, 310-320 ; I^iays the
Corner Stone of the Kent Gate, (Que-
bec, 321 ; Visits the Maritime Pro-
vinces, 321 ; (Jauses of earlv unp()))u-
larity, 322-;{24 ; Visits England, .324 ;
Thrown from her sleigh, 32(), 327 ; At
the ('ascapedia Sslinon-fishing, 331-
334 ; Encouraging Art, 401-42.
Lord's Day, observance of. 111 114.
Lynch, Archbishop, 165, 166, 2,53, 250,
2(i0, 209.
Lynch, Mr., 129.
Lyndliurst, Lord, 153, 134.
MACDONALD, Sir John A., 67-70, 78,
79, 84, 97, 109, 110, 127, 14(), 158, 185,
186, 280.
Macdougall, Sir Patrick, 72.
Mackenzie, Hon. Alexander, 76, 87, 88,
89, 97, 110, 117, 118, 1-20, 140, 143, 145,
147, 156, 158, 179, 280, 359.
Macdougall, Wm., 77, 99.
Mail, The Toronto, 118, 268, 277.
Manitoba, 122, 123, 136, 137.
Macdonald, 1). A., 127.
Macdoniiel, Mr., 146, 147, 148.
" Marmion," discussion on, '260-209.
MacLean, Kate Seymour, 354, 355.
Macrmn, Professor, 362, 363.
McWilliams, Father, 177.
McGee, Thomas, D'Arcy, 117.
McCarthy, Mr., 147.
McMilliin, W. B., 137.
McLellan, A. W. 202, '203, 248-251.
INDEX.
5«r
McMurrich, W. B., 2r)0-2(i3.
McColl, Kvftii, \W>.
Metapi!(Uii Valley of, .SO, 40.
Meredith, W. Jl.', 127.
MerutT KHcheat ( 'asc, 1!I21!U.
MillH, David, 120. 1 17, ir.S-lOO.
Mille, rroft'HHor (if, .iil.
Mi)UHneaii, M, 7"), "(I.
Mowat, Hon. ().. 127.
Moss, (;iiief JiiHtice, U)l, 102.
Mor>,'au. Ifenry J. [See I'lefacel, 212,
2i;<, ;«iO, :{(il.
Mulvany, Dr., 357, 358.
NEW RRITNSWIC'K, affairs of 132-
l;U, 2(10-271, 200.
NewfoundlaiKl, |)r()H|)ectH of, .'{05, ;?Oli.
North -West Territories, the, ]2:M2(;.
Nova Scotia, Affairs of, 132, 2(;0.
O'BRIEN', L. R., 401, 402.
Onderdoiik Contriict, 207, 211,402.
Orton, Dr., ("oiiiiinttee, 2;i7, 238.
Ottawa, Some refereiice.s thereto, 307-
311.
Ouimet, M., 77, 70,
PAQUET, M.,120.
Phii)i)s, R. W., 301, .302.
Piclurcxiiiie Canailit, 108, 350, 300.
Pic-iiickiiiL,', 30;{.
Pleasure Resorts, 386, ,302.
Pope, J. H., 188.
Privilege, breaches of, 145-140.
Prince Edward Island, Affairs of, 134-
136.
Rattray, W. J., 347, .348.
Railways, ('anada Pacific, IOC, 17C-18G.
Radicet, M., 120.
Reform I^eadership, change in, 15(J-158.
Ritchie, J. A., Mi'>.
Ritchie, Joseph Norinan, 140.
Ritchie, Sir W. J., 137.
Rideaii Hall, 307-315.
Riots, Ship Labourers', 171-173.
RoUand, A., 138130.
Roberts, Charles U. D., ;^5.37, 341, 313,
344, 355-357.
Roberts, Jane E. (r , 360.
Robitaille, M.. 130-132.
Royal, Mr., 137.
Robertson, Mr., 211, 242.
Rase, John E., 246.
Royal Society, the, .367-377.
Ryerson, Rev. Egertou, 277, 278, .347.
SALISBURY, Lord, 160, ICl.
Sca<ldiiig, Dr., .3.50.
Seduction Hill, 285, 287.
She.'i, .Sir .^ndirose, 300.
Shea, Kdward Dalton, 162.
Sitting r.ull, 12t.
Skating, 400, 401.
Smith, (Johhvin {The Ri/stan'/er) .30 00
_ 1.53, 1,55, 1<I5, 106, 107,' 220, 268, .360.
Spirits, at one time in these l'.ritii.|»
Provinces, 40-42.
Stewart, (Jeorge, Jr., 03, .^61.
Stortii on the Cojists, 140.
Stellarton <'o;il Mine iJisaster, 75
Sullivan, \V. VV , 1,34.
Siigar-makini.', 381. 384,
Syndicate, the, 177-18(;.
TASOin<;REATr, Archbishop, 172,173
'i'.aylor, Mr., 137.
Tasst^ Joseph, 346 .347.
Tenterden, Lord, 120.
Thom)>son, Phillips, 348.
Third Party (See preface), 260-26.3.
Tilley, Sir Leonard, 105-108, 114-11(!, 127.
140, 204.
Timen, The, 110, 228-230.
Tooley Street tailors eclipsed, 52.
To(l<l, Dr. Alpheus, 78, 87, 05, 07, 121.
122, 358, .350.
Tobogganing at Rideau Hall, 311-315 ;
in general in Canada, 307 400.
Treaty with France and Spimish West
Indies, 108.
Trade with Can.ada and Brazil, 2.36, 237.
Treaties, the right of Canada to negoti-
ate. 231, 2,36.
Tupper, Sir Ch.arles 1H», 122, 127. 150
151, 183, 185, 203, 205, 211, 206 200.
Tupper C'harles, 281.
Tuttle, Charles, 318, 340.
"VERA," .362.
Victoria, loss of the, 104, 10,5.
Volunteer Discipline— (Jensure of Col.
Ross, 216, 217,
WALLACE, V/m., 152, 1,53.
Westmorland Marshes, 34-38.
Weik, The, 200, 305, 367.
Wilmot, S.ainuel, 251 (at i>age 251, for
R. D. Wilmot read Samuel Wilmot)
300, 301.
Withrow, Mr., ,354.
Wild Coose Haunts, 383, 386.
Wood, Chief .Tnstice, 217.
World, Toronto, 253.