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T
LIFE
OF
S. G. W. ARCHIBALD,
BY
ISRi\EL LONGWORTH.
HALIFAX, N.S.,
1881
p?cr
Llo
L6r^G i^6^ry
Entered according to the Act of the Parliament of Can-
addy in the year One Thousand Eight Hundred and Eighty
One, by Israel Longworth, in the Office of the Ministtr of
Agriculture,
PRINTED BY ")
S. F. HUESTIS, >•
HALIFAX, N.S. )
f
i
PREFACE.
The writer of this Memoir had occassion> while rep-
paring a History of the County of Colchester, t riako
some rather minute investigations into the circumstances
connected with the first settlement of Truro — and its pro-
gress as it developed from a straggling hamlet in the
wilderness, to the thriving and bustling town which it is
at this day. In do'ng so, he was struck with the promin-
ent part taken in its affairs by the members of one family,
a family which has been connected with the town from
its earliest history. Four generations of this family in
lineal descent have been members of the Nova Scotian
Assembly. The subject of our memoir, his father, his
grandfather, and his eldest son have sat in the Assembly
as representatives of the people. We doubt if the same
can be said of any other Nova Scotian family.
Other sons of the same gentleman, have occupied
distinguised positions outside the Province. One, who
died in 1876, was, at the time of his death, a Judge in the
High Court of Justice in England. Another, who still
lives, is Consul General for Great Britain in the United
States of America.
Of each of these sons we published some account*
about a year ago. At the time we intended to complete
the series by a memoir of their father, which we hoped
to be able to prepare shortly afterwards. We soon found
VI
PREFACE.
however, thut a biography of the f:\thcr was a very dif-
lorent task from that of cither of the sons. In prepariPi^
the previous slvetches, we had to relate events mainly of
a ])ersoral or professional character — to tell of the i:)ro-
i^ress of two able men on their way to distinction in
different countries till they rose, one in the Metropolis of
the Old World, to be a Judge in the Queen's Bench ; the
other, in the Metropolis of the New World, to fill ono of
the most arduous posts in the Imperial service — and to
till it in a way to elicit the marked approval of tlie Sove-
reign. There was another broad distinction between the
former work and that in which wo have since engaged.
Then, we had to deal with events of com])aratively recent
date, and of which abundant records remained. But u
memoir of the father takes us back to a period, and to
events, comparatively unknown or forgotten. The mater-
ials for such a task are difficult of access. They are
scatteied indifferent places. Living memory rloes not
go back to the early, or even to the middle, period of his
life. Tradition, as is usual, has blended much of fiction
with a small amount of fact. This rendered it all the
more necessary to use care, and to spend time, in search-
ing for the truth. When we first thought of the work,
we had little time at command. Ilowever, by devoting
the spare hours of a not idle year, to this service, wo have
been able to gather a considerable body of materials,
which we have endeavoured to throw into shape. If wo
liad bad more leisure, we should have been able perhaps
PREFACE.
VI I
to make our littlo book more prosontable, but wo would
fondly ]iopo that even in the imperfect whape in which it
now ai)i)earH, it will not bo without interest iu tho eyes
of our fellow countrymen. Should it bo otherwise, the
blame must rest on us. If it Tails to Interest, tho fault is
in the treatment, not in the subject. Whatever be the
reception accorded to our effort, we may say that it has
been our steady aim throughout to deal fairly and im])ar-
tially with the memory of one of Nova Scotia's most
gifted sons.
Trui'O; April 23rd., 1881.
THE AUTHOR.
CONTENTS.
CHAPTER I.
FROM BIRTH IN 1777 TO ELECTION TO ASSEMBLY
IN l&OG,
Description cf '^■'ruro in 1777. First settlement of the Brothers
Archibald, l^avid the Grand-father. Samuel the Father.
Death of Father. Stories of early life. Residtnce with Grand-
father. Letter of introduction from liis sister Elizaleth Elliot
to his cousin Mrs. Lamb. Her kindness. At School at Haver-
hill and Andover. Intended Profession. Change. Study of
lavv'. Marriage. Appointed Judge of Probate. Admitted to
Bar. Elected to Assembly. 1—10
CHAPTER II.
Politics in 1806. Sir. John Wentworth. Williara C( t*TJ»m
Tonge elected Speaker and rejected. Mr. Wilkint bocomti
Speaker. Mr. Archibald's first motion in the Assembly. Take*
charg.:* of Iload Qu ions. Religion in 1806. Kings College.
Ciuke'i Test Clauses. Controrersr between two Bishop». Mr.
McCullochinterTcnes. Ho keeps a school. What followed, il— 20
CHAPTER III.
1817 to 1825.
Mr. Archibald an an Advocate. King vs. Sawers.
land. King vs. Forrester. , - . -
Kingt's. Ilol-
21—38
. CHAPTER iV.
Interest m Agriculture. Manufacturing Operations. Visit to
England. Appointed Chief Justice of F. E. I. Visits the Island.
Address of Grand Inquest. Dinner at Pictou. Dinner and ad-
dress at Truro. Made Solicitor General in place of Mr. Robie
promoted. Chosen Speaker. Election of 1826. Again chosen
Speaker. Non-residence in P. E. I. Aims at Chief Justiceship
of N. S. Claims of different candidates. Changes impending.
Groundii of Blowers' retention of office. Sir Peregrine Mait-
land's perplexities. Correspondence with Sir John Coape Sher-
brooke. The misdirected letter. 89—54
CONTENTS.
CHAPTER V.
The Brandy Question. Death ol George IV. Diseolution of the
Houae. 65—88
CHAPTEPv VI.
President reports to Colonial Minister. Speaker does same.
President writes to Under Secretary of C'^lonies. Reply. Mr.
Archibald declines Judgeship. Council's friends disappointed
with Mr. Archibald's course. Reasons assigned. Curious let-
ter in the Free Press. Conjectures as to its authorship. Dis-
section of letter. Consideration of reasons assigned by letter
writer. 89—97
CHAPTEEYII.
Election of 1830. Candidates. Mr. Archibald's speech at Truro.
Meeting of House. Death of Attorney General Uniacke. Of-
fice kept open. Passage of Revenue Bill. Lord Goderich's
Despatch. Mission of Judge Halliburton to England. Mr.
Archibald appointed acting Attorney General. Visits England.
Judge Halliburton's and Mr. i\rchibald's race in England.
Attentions in England. Marquis of Lansdown's offer. Rejected.
Lord Goderich proposes changes in Judiciary. House refuse.
Lord Goderich to Administrator, Conclusion of question of
Chief Justiceship. Correspondence thereon. Remarks on
mode of day for obtaining promotioi. Reaction after 1830.
State of public opinion in 1835 and '36. Joe Warner's Letters.
General Election of 1836, Mr. Logan's candidacy. Mr.
Archibald's speeches at Truro. Returned to Assembly. IS — 120
CHAPTER VIII.
Curious results of Election. General effect of same. Disappeai -
ance of old members. First appearance of new men afterwards
attaining eminence. Re-elected Spjaker^ Illness. Mr. Smith
appointed Speaker temporarily. F-iilure of crops in 1836. Mr.
Dodd brings a Bill before the House to keep grain and potatoes
in the Province. Mr. Archibald's speech in its favor. Mr.
Young opposes the measure. His death. Resolutions transmit-
ted to England. Reply. Rebellion m Lower Canada. Troops
sent from Halifax to Montreal. Public Meeting at Halifax.
Resolutions for relief of Soldiers' families. Patriotii; speech of
Mr. Archibald. Mr. Howo's vindicatioxi of the loy^ilty of the
Liberals of Nova Scotia. Meeting of House in 1838. Appoint-
ment of Lord Durham as Lord High Commissioner and Gover-
nor General of British North America. , His Report on the ait-
CONTENTS.
XI
nation of the Provincos. An act of his administration attackcl
in the Lords by Lords Brougham and Lyndhurst. The Ministry
disallow the ordinances complained of. Lord Durham's hasty
return to England. Lord John Ilussel becomes Colonial Sec-
retary. Mr. C. Poulett Thompson appointed Governor General.
Resolutions of 1839. Delegates sent by House to England.
Met by Council's Delegates. Lord John Russell's despatch of
IGth October, 1839, as to tenure of Office. Additions to Exe-
cutive Council from Assembly. Vote of want of Confidence in
Government. Resignation of lion. J. B. Uniacke. Subsequent
action of House. Vote against Sir Colin Campbell. Mr. Arch-
ibald' ^ views on that vote. The Governor General at Halifax.
Lord Falkland becomes Governor of Nova Scotia. New ap-
pointments to Council. Election of 1840. Mr. Archibald re-
turned for Colchester without opposition. 121 — 149
CHAPTER IX.
New Speaker. Reasons for Mr. Archibalds disqualification.
Other Candidates equally disqualified. Two members of same
Government contending for Speakership. Mr. Uniacke a mem-
ber of Government moves resolution touching repcvd of Union
with Cape Breton. Resolution complimentary to Mr. Archibald
adopted unanimously. Olfered offices of Master of Rolls and
Judge of Admiralty Court. Accepta. Mr. Archibald as Judge.
Address at Truro. His Country seat. His habits at Truro.
Hospitality. His Humour. 150 — 159
CHAPTER X,
Success as a Judge. Failing health. Death. Meeting of Bar
Society. Speech of Chief Justice. Address of Condolence.
Meeting of Colchester people on his death. Eulogium of Mr.
Howe. Examination of charges against Mr. Archibald as a
public man. Mr. Howes views upon them. Mr Archibald in
his social relations. Death of his first wife. Account of his
second wife. Sir Charles Pollack and Sir T. D. Archibald.
Mr. Archibald's love for the sacred Scriptures. Anecdote relat-
ed by Key. Mr. Morton. Thoughts of writer in concluding
Memoir. 16©— 179
I'f
llli I
i
■■■*■
LIFE OF
S. G. W. ARCHIBALD.
CIIAPTKIJ r.
niOM EIKTII IN 1777 TO ELECTION TO ASSEMBLY
IN 18U(5.
Description of Truro in 1777. First settle lucnt of tlio Brothers
Arcliibald. David tlio Graiui-fiitluT. Saimul the Father.
J)ialh of Father. Stories of early liti-. IJesiilence with Grantl-
tatlier. Letter of introduction from his sister Elizaheth Elliot
to his cousin Mrs. Liiiiil). Her kindness. At School at Ilaver-
liill and Andover. Intended rrofe-^sion. Cliange. Study of
law. ]Marria}j;e. Aiipointed Judge of Probate. Adiuitted to
Bar. Elected to Assembly.
Tlic Town of'Tnii-o, (oi-, as it might be cullctl in refof-
cncc to the time when the.siihject of'our memoir was boni
there, the settlement of Tnii'o,) has iea>on to bo proud
ofhavino; mvcn birth to Samuel Georo-e William Archi-
bald. He was a man who m his day tilled an intinito
variety of })arts, and tilled them all with eredit. lie had
j^reat and versatile talents. In any (.'ountry, he would
liave attained distinction; in his own, ho rose, step by stepj
lill he had tilled in turn almost every olHeo in the Pro<
vince, which could be held by a lawyer or a ])oIiticiai>
He slione in social, as in professional and political life,
He charmed every body l)y the amenity and courtesy o|
Ins manner. His kindness of heart, his vivacity and good
humour, diffused pleasure wherever he appeared. His
keen sense of the ridiculous extracted endless amusement
from the dullest of incidents. In the wittiest and most
S LIFE OF
jljij brilliaDt circles, he was himBelf the wittiest and most
l)rilliaDt of the party.
Surely a man of such accomplishments must have
started in life with many adventitious aids; he must
j have enjoyed a superior education; he must have
formed his manners in high social circles; he must
liave 8hai*pened his wit and refined his taste by
early association with men of culture and ability.
Lot us look at the facts. When Mr. Archibald was
born, Truro was a straggling village on the banks of the
Salmon River. Barely seventeen years had passed since
the first English settler had set foot in it. The original
forest was still standing, except where a few small clear-
ings around the houses showed an inconsiderable en-
croachment on the wilderness. Log fences lined high-
ways, on which stumps of the original trees could be seen,
and, near where the Salmon River is now bridged, the
fiettlors crossed it in a log canoe. The inhabitants, to
be sure, were intelligent and respectable. The race had
come originally from Scotland, and had been since the
reign of William 3rd, settled in the north of Ireland.
The neviT settlers retained and brought with them the
creed and the virtues derived from their Scotch ancestry.
They were fairly instructed in the elementary branches
of learning, and they strove to maintain, in the second
country of their adoption, the principles and habits
which had distinguished them in the first. They were a
pious and God-fearing people,» industrious and honest,
but more noted for force of character than for polish or
refinement. Among such a people, and with such sur-
roundings, the subject of our memoir was born on the
fifth day of February, ITYT.
Four brothers of the name of Archibald were among
8. G. W. ARCJ^ALD.
I
the &,Tfit «ettlex;8 of Trarp. They were the ftnceetcn^ sf
men of that nftme now sc&tterad oyer Novii Sco.tia m^
the neighbouring Provinces and States. The/ arrived in
Tmro in the autumn of 1762. Davicl Archibald, tl^»
eldest of the four, was the leading mind in the naiir
settlement. Immediately on his arrival, he was made ^
Justice of the Peace and Major of Militia. Truro, tjtie©
settled by fifty families, was entitled to eend a Member
to the Assembly. David Archibald wao returned as the
first Eepresontative.
Samuel, the eldest son of David, was born in liondcci'
derry, in Ireland. He accompanied his father and under,
when they came to Truro, and was then twenty years cf
Age. He had received a fair education, was a gocid
speaker and writer, and an active man of business. 7J!e
had many of the peculiarities of appearance and manner
which distinguished his son, the subject of our memoij*.
In ntS, Samuel Archibald was returned as repre-
entative for Truro, and two years aftei-wards again re-
turned for a second term. He was member for Truro at
the time of his death, which took place on the fifteenth
day of February, 1180.
He was engaged in business as a purchaser asd
shipper of lumber. On the 13th December, 1*J*19, be left
Passamaquaddy, in the Schooner Zephion, Jonathan Ing-
ersoll Master, with a cargo of lumber, tho property of
himself, Lis brother Thomas, and Doctor .John Harris of
Truro, on a voyage to Bermuda. This was before the
close of the war with the Old Colonies. On the voyi^ge,
while off Be^-muda, the ship and cargo were seized as
American property by a British Privateer, "The Ad-
miral Barrington," Chai'les Sloane Commander, and c^i»-
ried into Nevis, one of the Xieewai-d Islai^ds. There t&e
(;l
li H
i^
4 . • LIFE OF
ship and cargo wcro libelled in the Admiralty Court.
A defence witS put in. Eventually the Court ordered the
property to be restored to the owners, but so far as Mr..
Archibald was concerned the decree came too late. He
had been seized with fever on his arrival, and diod the
veiy day after the Decree had passed ordering restora-
tign. of the property.
Thomas Arc]iil)!ild, another of the part owners, left
Nova Scotia some time subsequently to look after the
property, but was never heard of again. Nothing was
fever received from ship or cargo.
This sad event left the fanily, which consisted of a
widow and five children, in great difficulties. The eldest
of the children was then under ten years of age.
Samuel George William, the third son, was about
three years old. The family continued to live with their
mother on the old homestead, known as the Town's end
farm on Salmon River, the title of which was in David,
father of deceased. In 1783, the widow married John
McKecn, Esq., and shortly afterwards removed with h'.m
to St. Marys. Thenceforth little Sammy, as he was cal-
led, lived with his grandfather till he was fifteen years
old. During this ])eriod his exuberant spirits and g^;eat
love; of fun and frolic, distinguished him among the boys
of the place, as the merriest and most mischievous of the
lot. . In Ti'uro and the neighborhood, numerous stories
ar? in circulation of pranks played by him in early youth.
Many of these no doubt are fabulous, but like most
Inyths, they have some foundation in fact. It is said
that when he was about twelve years old, his grandfather
gave him, on some special occasion, a new horiespun
jacket as a present, with particular injunctions to be care-
fiil of it, and to keep it clean. Sammy was dolighted
S. G. W. ABC RIBALD.
5
witli the jacket, but hiwing a fancy to see how it woul(J
look on his big dog, he caught the animal and putting
his forcpaws through the sUevos, he buttoned the jacket
over the dog's back, and then stood off to admire him.
The dog however, not liking the operation, made for the
door, and ran into a field froia which potatoes had just
been dug, and which was then very wet. Ho rushed about
trying to get rid of his garment, but without success.
Ai last he was captured, but the jacket was saturated
with mud and dirt, and little Sammy probably received
from his grand-father what ho well deserved for the
pi-ank.
Another story told of him is, that he tried to put a
pig into a mill race, to see whether the animal could swim,
but that, missing his footing, ho went in himself, and
was can-ied down the race, and passed over the wheel
into the stream, below, not very much hurt but a good
deal frightened. There must have been some foundation
for this story. He was often chaffed about it in after
life. He was told that he ought to be better than the
rest of his family, inasmuch as he had been ground over
again. On one occasion on the hustings, he said himself
jokingly in reference to some complaint made against
him, ' You knew, David, I have been through the Mill."
" Yes, Sammy," was the reply, " but there is bran in you
yet."
Ajiother story of his early propensity to mischief
has reference to the profession of which he was after-
wa'ixis to be a distinguished orn.T ent. The Court Eoom
at 7i'ruro waft ceiled with boarUb overhead. There wa«
an old lawyer then in practice there, who was no favorite
with the boys. He was surly in temper and not always
f,ober. When he addressed the Court he stood on a par-
Mt^ OS
^ftrfrnot' in front of the Jndge. Just ov^- his head^
in the loft, om* youth had bored a gimlet hole in the ceil-
ing. This he stopped with a peg, and round the peg piled
iOme very find sand. He had ari-anged with a confede-
rate, to be informed by digns when the lawyer rose to
itpieak. Oh receiving the signal he pulled the peg, and
forthwith a gentle shower of fine sand descended through
iSie hole. So soon es it lighted on the laid head beneath,
the peg was replaced, and there was nothing to show the
source of the descending shower. Again and again, when-
ever the speech was begun, the peg was withdrawn, and
the sand descended from an invisible point. The aston-
ished advocate, when he felt the sand, would look up, but
could see nothing but the mist of the descending shower.
At length the old man could stand it no longer. He left
his client and his cause, and took refuge in a tavern in the
neighborhood. There he resorted to his usual consolation
in time of trouble.
On another occasion little Sammy nearly scared his
grand-mother out of her wits, by setting her spinning-
wheel in motion from the cellar, by a horse hair attach-
ment through a hole in the floor.
We will not vouch for the truth of any or either of
these stories. They are hardly worthy, even if true, of
being inserted in a biography, but they show the irre-
pressible love of fun and merriment which distinguished
the subject of our memoir from his boyhoc;i. A steady
flow of spirits enabled him, all through life, to mingle
work with play. By the different currents^ thus given to
his thoughts, he relieved the cares and anxieties of life,
and was enabled to perform more and bettor work, than
if his mind had always been kept running in the same
gi'oove.
m
S G, W. ARCHIBALD.
It is ft sulyoct ot marvel that a boy, with such a
spirit of mischief, did not get iuto serious scrapes. H©
was saved from such a result by his strong common sense^
a quality which distinguished him through life, a quality
not always combined with great wit and humor. Ho
never carried his mischief beyond a certain point.
The boy's early days, passed under his grandfather's
roof, were probably not altogether wasted. Thare were
schools, such as they were, in those days. The new sett-
lers, fairly instructed in youth in the common branches,
spared no pains to establish such schools as the condition
of the country permitted. As regards religious educa*
tion, they had hardly reached their new homo before the^^
made preparations to secure the sacred privileges enjoyed
by them in the Old World. In six years from the day ol
their arrival, they had erected a Meeting House, the
frame of which was of such dimensions that it could be
raised only by tho united efforts of every grown person
in the jilace, men and women. Two years latei* they for-
warded a call to the Kcv. Daniel Cock, a Presbyterian
Minister, then settled in Greenock. Ho had accepted
the call, and been settled in Truro some live years before
the birth of Mr, Archibald. His influence would be felt
in the schools. The education of youth is a matter which
every Scotch Minister considers of special importance^
Be that as it may, any person who ha.s listened to the
speeches or rcjul the compositions of Mr. Archibald in
after life, cannot fail to perceive evidences of early cul-
ture, in the style and character of his language. Still
the education which could have been procui-ed in Nova
Scotia, a century ago, could not have been of a veiy su-
perior kind. We had then neither Colleges nor High.
Schools.
8
LIFE OF
Elizabeth Elliot, tho oldcwt (laughter of the (leccaHed
Samuel Arehihahl, seoiiis to have boon a woman of much
force of character. She had, aftei* the second marriage
of her mother, constituted lierself in a special manner
tlie guardian of her youngest bi-other. It was by her
advice, and vntli the assistance she was able to ])i'ocuro
from friends and relatives, that he was sent to tho Unite<l
States for his education.
Tho widow of Samuel Archibald had many relatives
in Massachusetts. Her husband had married her there,
and she had loft behind her, when she came to her new
home, several brothers and sistei's. An aftectionate in-
tercourse subsisted between the ditferent branches of tho
family in Massachusetts and Nova Scotia. Eosanna Dun-
can was tho daughter of one of the widows' brothers. She
had recently married Mr. Lamb, tho father of Thomas
Jjamb, tho well known Boston Banker, who is still alive,
at tho venerable ago of 84, and who is a tine specimen,
physically and mentally, of a gentleman of tho olden time.
When the boy was sent to tho States, ho took with
him a letter of introduction, from his sister Elizabeth
Elliot, to his cousin Mrs. Lamb. It bears date the 30th
October, 1*792, and commends the youth to the kind con-
sideration and 2)rotection of his cousin. Tho letter is
before us as wo write, and, alike in language and tone, is
creditable to tho excellent woman who wrote it.
Nothing could bo kinder than the reception the boy
met with, when ho presented himself with his sister's let>
ter. He was taken into the family of his cousin and
treated in all respects as one of themselves.
He attended tho Academy at Haverhill, Massachu-
setts, for several years. From, there he went to Andover,
then, as now, the site of an excellent Academy. It had
S. G. W. AJirniBALD. 9
l)Ocn for many yoai-H in HUCcosKful o])erntion. and wuh in
grout lopute in the Unitod Staten, and in the I'lovinces.
While there, lie diligently improved his time by eloHO
and constant nt'idv. lie returned to his home towards
the cloHe of 17'.><», with a Honnd academical education, well
qualitied to take his ])art, with cre<lit, in the busineHs of life.
On luH return, it was his first intention to ])rocee<i to
Scotland to bo ordained a JVosbyterian Minister. All his
<*Rrly asKOciations were connected with the Presbyterian
i^ody. His grand-father waH the first Elder of the Pres-
byterian Church in this Province, and took a leading part
in religious, as well as secular matters. He it was who
originated the proceedings for bringing the Reverend
Daniel (Jock to Truro. He was the first subscriber to th©
instrument which secured the minister's salary, and up
to the close of his life, he took a leading part in every
movement connected with the Presbyterian Church.
^Brought up under these influences, the young man was
early impressed with religious feelings. He had devoted
some time at Andover to theological studios. Certain it
is that all through life ho displayed great familiarity with
the scriptures. He quoted them with facility and accur-
acy ; occasionally, it was thought, somewhat irreverently.
The bent received hy his mind in these early days will ex-
plain an occurrence which we shall afterwards have occa-
sion to relate, in the language of a venerable Methodist
Minister, still living. He seems however to have soon
changed his mind with regard to a profession. He is
found, shortly after his return home, acting as Prothono-
tary of the Supreme Court, and Clerk of the Peace for tho
District of Colchester. About the year 1800 he becam®
« student in the office of Mr. Robio, then member for
Tiniro, ana afterwards Speaker of the Assembly. Two
(il
II ;
111
10 LIFE OF
yiears later, while still • stadent-at-law, ho married YA\\
beth DickHon, a daughter of Charles Dickson, Esq., then
recently deceased, who hiui been a member for Orislow,
while his own grand-fathor and fathor h'd respectively
represented Truro. Mi*. Dickson had be a HiCchant
and shipbuilder, residing at OnskyW, an() doing business
on a large sralo. Ho had a numerous family of sons and
daughters. Three of his sons were at a later date, at one
and the same time in the AsBerably. With their brother
in-law, they made four members of one family, occupying
seats in that body. His marriage was followed by an
appointment to the office of Judge of Probate for the
Districts of Colchester and Pictou, which was conferred
upon him on the second day of July 1802.
Ho was admitted as Attorney and Barrister on the
6th April 1805, and from that day to the day of his death,
in 184G, his life was one of incessant activity. He sprang
IJjjj into practice very rapidly, and, for over a third of a cen-
tury, wiis a leading member of the profession.
In 1806, the year after his admission, ho was elected
one of the members for the County of Halifax, which then
included, besides the County now known by that name,
the Districts constituting the Counties of Colchester and
Pictou. From 1806, when he entered the Assembly, till
1841, when he left it, he took a leading part in all the
public questions which arose during that long period. A
history of his life for that time is \ery much the history
of the Pi'ovince. There were in the Assembly, during
this period, many able men, many eloquent speakers, and
powerful rcas oners, but no one of them attained the dom-
inant and periAanent influence which Mr. Archibald exer-
cised over thatboily. Ko other man contributed so much
to mould the institutions and shape the destinies of Nova
Scotia.
1
.T
I
CHAPTliR II.
PoliHci in 1806. Sir. John Wentworth. WilHim CotthiTnl
Tonge elected Speaker and rejected. Mr. Wilkint becom«'t
Speaker. Mr. Archibald'* flrit motion in the Aisembly. Takes
charg.- of Road Qucitions. Religion in 1806. Kings College.
Croke's Test Clauses. ControTersr between two Bishops. Mr.
McCuUocb interrenes. Ue keeps a school. What followed.
The spirit in T'hich the country was governed at the^
beginning of this century may be guagod, by a significant
incident which occuiTed at the opening of the Sesbiou in
1806, the very day on which Mr. Archibald took his sc; I in
the Assembly. Mr. John Wentworth was then Lieutenant
Governor. He was a native of New Hampshire and had
held the office of Governor ir that Colony before tho-
Eevolution. IK was also Surveyor General of His
Majesty's Woods and Forests in N'^rth America.
Throughout the war Mr. Wentworth adhered steadi-
ly to the loyal side, and at the peace ho removed to
Nova Scotia, exercising the functions of Surveyor Gen-
eral over that part of the Continent which still remained
subject to the King.
His services and sacrifices entitled him to the favor-
able consideration of the Crown. In 1792, ho was ap-
pointed Lieutenant Governor of Nova Scotia, and some
years afterwards was made a Baronet.
His experiences in the revolutionju-y contest had
strongly tinged his political views. In his mind, liberal
principles were merely a form of sedition or rebellion.
Fourteen years experience in the Government of Nova
Scotia had not moderated his prejudices. He was now
over sixty ibur years of age, and any change, after that
period of life, is not apt to be in the direction of in-
creased liberality.
II I
I
;,';i
12 LIFE OF
Sir John wuh now to meet the new Houi^e. It was
summoned for the l&th November, 180G. On that day
he came down to the Council Chamber, and Hent for the
Assembly. They attended and were, as usual, directed
to retire to their own room, choose a speaker, and present
him for approval. They did jw they were bid, and pre-
sently returned with William Cottnam Tongc at their
head, whom they pi'esented in the usual form. Sir John,
to their amazement, replied " 1 do not approve of the
Sj)eaker whom the House has chosen," and sent them
back to their room with directions to choose some other
member and present him f jr approval.
The gentleman so rejected, was eminently qualified
for the position. He belonged to a family long connected
with the Province. Winckworth Tonge, the father of
Cottnam, was a Lieutenant in the Yth Kegiment, or Eoyal
Pa;^ileer8, and was on the Staff of the Duke of Kent, along
with Bienton Halliburton, then Captain, and afterwards
Chief Justice. For good service to ^>is Sovereign under
Lawrence and Moncton, former Governoi-s, he had been
rewarded hy the position of Naval Officer, bestowed on
him by the Imperial Government in 1*773. lie had owned
a fine estat-j in ihe County of Hants, on which he had ex-
pended £3000, and upwards. He had been a member of
the Assembly for over thirty years, and had been recom-
mended by a late Governor to the Imperial Authorities
as eminently qualified for a seat in the Council. On his
death in 1792, William Cottnam Tonge, his son, succeeded
to the estate. He was also appointed, by special manda-
mus ft'om the Crown, to tlie position of Naval Officei*,
held by his father, and was returned by his father's con-
stituency. William Cottnam was in no respect his
father's inferior. He was well educated, able, eloquent
"1
s. G. w. auciiibald.
J3
and enerjretic, and soon made Ids influence felt in
the AyHcnibly, where he way found on all occayions, the
advocate of liberal principles. His position, as a largo
landed pi'oprietor,combined with his inde])endent opinions,
nuKJe him the natural head of the Country party, and a
prominent opponent of the policy of tho Governor and
Council. Such was the influence, throughout the Pro-
vince, acquired by his course in the Assembly, that when
the election of 1790 took place, he was returned not only
for Newi)orr, where he had particuhir influence, but also
came in rt the head of the Poll for the County (/f Halifax,
bringing with him as colleagues two country gentlemen,
]\Ir. Mortimer of Pictou and Mr. Fulton of Colchester,
who wei'c of the same political sentiments with himself.
This was the tirst breach in the monopoly of the repre-
Hentation of the Metropolitan county, which had hitherto
I>fen held by residents of the town of Halifax. It was
further signalized by the defeat of Mr. Michael Wallace,
u man of great influence and ability, who had he^d the
county for twenty years, but who on this occasion, stood
several hundred below Mr. Tongo on the Poll. Ho little
liad the influence of property to do with the result, that
Mr. Totifce had not real estate in the county enough to
qualify lum as a member, and upon a petition he was un-
seated for Halifax and relegated to his return for Newport.
Mi\ Tonga had, in the last Session of the previous Hour \.
been elected and confirmed as Speaker, Mr. Uniacke
being in England on leave of absence. Such was the
man whom Sir John rejected as unfit for the office of
Speaker. His feelings towai-ds Mr. Tonge are shown
in his oflScial correspondence, with his Sujjeriors in Eng-
land. This is filled with statements and insinuations
prejudicial to Mr. Torjge, and indicates intense dislike
to that gentleman.
Illl 1 1
U LIFE OF
When Mr. Touge was presented a second time iov
for approval «s Speaker it gave an opportunity which
^ir John could not forego, to humiliate him and dismiM
him with a mai*k of disgrace. The Assembly retired to
their chamber, but do not appear to have been in any
hurry to comply with Sir. John's directions. That
•da}"^, and the next pass over,and nothing is done;
but on the third day they proceed to business and
^select, and present, another gentleman who is duly
approved. Thereupon Sir John delivers his spee'^h
which, of course, makes no allusion \ 'he incident
touching , the Speakership. When how. • the House
•came to answer the speech they could not refrain from
-expressing in a short paragraph their feelings on the
subject. They " lament the exercise by the Governor
•of a branch of the prerogative, long unused in Great
Britain, and without precedent in the Province." Well
might they speak of it as they did. The only precedent
for th^ rejection of a Speaker, from the earliest ages, is
older than the Kevolution. There ivas indeed a curious
coincidence between that case and the present. Charles
the 2nd hated Sir Edward Seymoui* for much the same
reason, and with much the same intensity, as Sir John
Wentworth hated Cottnam Tonge, and both the English
precedent, and the Nova Scotia precedent, would seem to
have been prompted by the same motive ; a desire on the
part of the superior to humiliate and mortify a suboixii*
nate.
The temper of the House was probably affected by
Sir John's contemptuous rejection ot their choice. At
all events, a few days afterwards, a curious entry
appears on the Journals. On the ninth ot December
the Clerk informed the House that Mr^ Willi ins, the new
S. G. W. ABGHIBALD. 16
Speaker, hod been sttmmoned to attend a moetiog of tho
Gi\ ernors of Kings College, and would not be able to be
present till after the hour to which the House stood ad-
journed. A House, of course, could not be formed in
the absence of the Speaker. They were de facto adjourn-
ed. Next day at ten o'clock the Speaker was in the
chair. Mr. Archibald rose and offered two resolutions^
the first he had moved since his entry into the Assembly.
One of these resolutions, which was carried unanimously,
asserted, that it was the fiinat duty of the Speaker, and
one to which every other duty should yield, to attend
upon tho House. The second, (on which there was a div-
ision) declared that a summons to tho Speaker to
attend any other duty at a time when the House was
sitting, with notice so short as to prevent his consult-,
ing the House, was highly disrespectful to tho Assem-
bly, and that, if it was done again, it would be tho duty
of the Speaker not to attend, without the direction of
the House. This resolution was carried by 18 to 12,
after a debate of which we have no record. The pro-
position set out in tho second resolution is so much a
coiollary from the first, that it is difficult to see how any
one, not denying the major proposition, could contro-
vert the minor. Be that as it may, the stand taken by
Ml'. Archibald on this occasion, shows his sense of the
dignity of the House, and his determination to resist
awy infringement of its rights.
For the five years of that House, Mr. Archibald took
tt conspicuous part in shaping its business. His name
appears more and more prominent as the time goes by.
He seems early to have assumed, as his own special
department, the division of the money for roads and
bridges. This was probably due, in some measure, to
I I'
l< III
16
LIFE OF
iu
his long reisiclcnco in tlio country, and his ini'matc ac-
quuintanco with municipul bus^incsM, one considerable part
of which is tho inriprovement of the hii;hwa3's. All his
life, ho considered the road service a most important
matter, and it was owing to his vigorous and steady ex-
ertions, that the leading roads from ilalifax eastward
were so much improved. These formerly I'an over the
crest of every hdl, and were almost impassable by wheel-
ed chri-iagcs. Under Mr. Ai'chibald's policy, they were
graduall}' altered to moi-e level lines and jtut into travel-
ling condilion, till, in the times immediately pi'eceding the
railroad era, the main road from Halifax toPictou, which
was the thoroughlarc to the Ea-^t, was a pattern highway.
While a spirit so arbitrary in political matters as
that which distinguished the first act of the session of
180G prevailed, a spirit equally intolerant was found in
matters of religion. The members of the Government,
with scarce an excejjtion, belonged to the Episcopal
Church. That body had succeeded, in the first Session of
the General Assembly held in 1758 inobtaiiung an act of
the Legislature establishing their Church. A College was
afterwards erected at Windsor, and an act obtained in 1789
endowing it with £400, a year, out of the Provincial funds.
If the College had been open to all, this would have been
u praiseworthy appropriation of money; but unhappily
four fifths of the j^eople of Nova vScotia were excluded
from its benefits, and insulted by its statutes. No pupil
was allowed " to attend Mass, or the Meeting Houses of
Presbyterians, Baptists or Methodists, or to be present at
seditious or rebellious meetings." It only wanted the
word " other" before the words " seditious or rebellious
meetings" to express the exact meaning of the framei' of
the Statute, but even without it, the religious meetings of
W
S. G. W. ARCIIIB^iJjD.
Vt
several denominations of Christiana, constituting four-
fifths of the population of Nova Scotia, were in the same
category with meetings for " sedition and rebellion," Is
it to be wondered |at that these bodies did not care to
rally round an Institution, which their sons could not
enter without abandoning the religious obsei'vances in
which they had been trained ? If indeed they could get
over this obstacle, (and the experiment was tried in some
cases) they hud to go a stop furf her before a degree could
be obtained. It was not enough for a candidate to ignore
his own creed. He was obliged to subscribe the thirty-nine
Articles of the Church of England, in addition to three
other articles passed by the Synod of London in 1003.
AVhat the latter may be, is not very well understood, but
it is no great matter. .Vny Roman Cuthol ic, Presbyterian ,
Baptist, or Methodist who could swallow thirty nine of the
Articles would not likely strain at the other three.
Without due consideration of the political and re-
ligious atmosphere of the day, it would be impossible
correctly to estimate the task that lay before the pro-
fessors of liberal principles at the beginning of the Cen-
tury. To be excluded from the highest social circles, t©
be branded as seditious or disloyal, to bo subject to every
impertinence and oppression which could be inflicted by
men in authority, \pere only a part of the ''^nlignity and
humiliation of those who spoke the words, or breathed
the spirit, of free-born Englishmen. But intolerance^
when extreme, always produces reaction, and reaction, wai
already beginning to show itself both in politics and re*
ligion. There was a small cloud in the horizon, not big-
ger than a mans hand, but it rose and spread till it cover-
ed the whole sky.
Id tracing the history of the subject of our mtmoir
18
LIFE OF
ill
we are following the growth and expansion of liberal
principles in their earlier Ktages. We have already
epoken of the breach of the Halifax monopoly of repre-
sentation made by Cottnam Tonge in 1799. In tho
election of 1806, the ground gained was not lost. Mn
Archibald came in for Colchester, and Mr. Mortimer was
again returned for Pictou. The other two members were
Mr. Eobie, who had represented Truro in the previous
session, and Mr, Lawson a Halifax merchant, a man of
much liberality of sentiment. These four gentlemen
formed the nucleus of a liberal party, which gradually
grew more and more powerful in the Assembly.
At the same time there was another element at work,
•which contributed no small share to the growth of liberal
feeling. About the time Mr. Archibald entered the
Assembly, a controversy was goiiig on between two pre-
lates on the matters in difference betAveen the Iloman
Catholic and the Protestant faith. Bishop Inglis, the first
of that name, had written a treatise which called forth a
reply from Bishop Bourke, who was a man of great ability,
thoroughly conversant with his subject. The Koman
Catholic Prelate was more than a match for his Protestant
antagonist, and was begining to plume himself on vic-
tory, when suddenly there appeared a volume of some four
hundred pages entitled '' Popery Condemned by Scrip-
ture and the Fathers," Avhich fell on the community like
a clap of thunder. It was AVTittcn with great ability, and
displayed a wide knowledge of the writings of the early
fathers. The wonder became greater, when it was dis-
-covered that the author of the volume was a poor Pres-
byterian Minister, preaching to a bod}^ of uneducated
Highlanders, settlers on the shores of Pictou Harbour,
who were just emerging from the bitterness of pov-
^ii!l
S. G. W. ARCHIBALD.
19
orty through which they had been pfvssing since first they
had landed in the wilderncHs there, some twenty years
before The Rev. Mi*. McColloch, afterwards well known
iis Doctor McCulloch, had, some five years before the ap-
pearance of his Book, arrived at Pictou in the Autumn of
the year, on his way to Prince Edward Island, whither
he was travelling, with a view to become Minister of a
Congi'cgation that had given him a call. The season, at
the time of his arrival at Pictou, was so far advanced that
he could not proceed further that fall, and this accidental
detention in Nova Scotia during the winter caused a
change of purjiose, the etfects of which will be long felt
in this Province.
Mr. McCulloch's book was promptly met by a reply
from Bishop Burke. This brought out as a rcjoindei',
^'Popery again condemned", which gave still further
assurance of the learning and ability of the poor Scotch
Minister at Pictou Harbour. If he had not been poor,
as well as learned and able, his detention at Pictou might
not have affected so materially the future of the Province,
but, driven to supplement by his own exertions, out of
the ])ulpit, the scanty salary his people were able to pay
him, he commenced teaching a school at Pictou. Grad-
ually his views expanded, till ho began to conceive the
project of an educational institution for the youth of the
dissenting bodies, and, if legislativeaid could be procured
out of the common fund for the College of one fifth of the
population, surely there could be no objection, ho
thought, to a similar endowment to a College for the
other four fifths.
In the popular branch the api)eal was irresistible.
Not 80 in the Council. There the battle was fought,
year by year, for fifteen long years, and i"^^ was in this
M
r H
it
'^
20 LTFE 01
fight largely that the representative branch learned to
appreciate its rights and privileges. Some members of
the Council, themselves Churchmen, had the liberality
to espouse the side of the people, and the sagacity to
fore-see that the only wa}'^ to calm the rising spirit, was
to yield to it gracefully, before it acquired such violence
and force as would not only attain the immediate object,
but would sweep away in its current the power of tho
political body which obstructed its passage. Some of
the best speeches in the Assembly for this long period,
were on the subject of the Academy, tho legislation on
which was made to assume every variety of form, to meet
the forces arrayed against it. Votes for its support were
over and over again passed by tho House, and rejected
"''' ' by the Council. Sometimes tho vote passed the House
unanimously and was still ignominiously rejected, till
at length the Homo Government had to interfere and
administer a pointe ' rebuke to the Council, who at last
yielded to fear, what they had refused to policy, and
granted an endowment for ten years, under the dread,
that unless they did so, a worse thing might befall them.
From the first appearance of this question before tho
Assembly, to the passage of the Bill which put an end
to the agitation, Mr. Archibald took charge of the matter
in the Assembly, and was the constant and unflinching
friend of the Institution. The speeches he made upon it
are almost innumerable, and, from beginning to end, he
had the satisfactiou of carrying with him on every oc-
casion tlse great body of the representatives of the
people. The discussions on this subject prepared the
publio mind for the stand afterwards taken by the Assem-
bly in 1830, anf*. paved the way for the still further
changes in tho constitution of the Country which follow-
ed th« action of the House in 1837.
I\
CHAPTER III.
1817 to 1825.
Mr. Archibald as an Advocate. King vs Sawers.
land. King va Forrester.
King yg Hoi-
Wo havo treated the suhjoct of the Pictou Academy
without reference to chronological order. The final
settlement of this question did not take place till 1831.
We shall now go back to a much earlier period and
give some account of Mr. Archibald's professional work.
His position in the Assembly seems not to havo interfered,
as it would in our days, with his practice at the Bar. Ho
appears to have leaped at once into an extensive busi-
ness, which he continued to hold, notwithstanding the
demands upon his time exacted by Legislative and other
•duties. Ho had a large amount of office work, a class of
business which a colonial lawyer always aims at, as tho
most lucrative branch of his profession. But his services
were specially in demand on the trial of causes in Court.
His name appears in almost every case of any import-
ance reported, or referred to, in the Journals of tho day.
After twelve years practice of his profession ho was
in 1811 appointed Kings Counsel. That office, at the time
we are speaking of, was a mark of distinction. The Bar
of tho day consisted of thirty two members, while at tho
time of Mr. Archibald's appointment there was not a
single Kings Counsel except the Attorney and Solicitor
General.
In 1818 he acted as Surrogate General in the Admir-
alty, and gave Judgement in several cases then pending.
Some idea of the style of his forensic addresses may
be formed from the reports of contemporaoeous news-
") 1
M
22
LIFE OF
papers. These, to be sure, are meagre and irriperfect;
but fciiough may bo gathered from them to show his skill
in adapting his address to the case in hand, and to ac-
count in some measure for his great success with the
Jurj. We shall select as specimens a few of the cases
in which he was engaged.
In 1819 he was retained for the defence in The King
versus Sawers — an Indictment for assault and Battery.
It was preferred by Dr. Hoffman against W. Q. Sawers,
a well known lawyer, afterwards Judge of the Court of
Common Pleas. The case originated in a quarrel be-
tween two respectable medical men, Avhose families are
Btill represented in Halifax.
Dr. Hoffman was a German by birth, a native of
Trieste. He was regularly educated for the profession,
and had served in the British navy. Ho afterwards came
to Halifax, where he married a Miss Mansfield, and
settled down to the practice of his profession. His
temper was somewhat uncertain, his knowledge of Eng-
lish very limited. It used to be said of him, that he had
forgotten his mother tongue and never learned any other.
His case against Sawers depended largely on his own
testimony, which was given in a mixture of dialects that
afforded much amusement to the bystanders.
Dr. Stirling was also a retired Surgeon of the Navy,
by birth a Scotchman. He was well acquainted with
his profession, a man of good general attainments and of
respectable standing in society.
The quarrel began with a newspaper communication
which was charged on Dr. Hoffman. It seems that on
the day in question, there had been a conflict between the
two Doctors in the streets, but they had been separated,
and the assault by Sawers, now complained of, occurred
ii:j!;i:
S. G. W. ARCHIBALD.
23
later in the day. On Hoffman's examination, the defonco
naturally wJHhed tojiret at the details of the first encount-
er, but the witness would not answer any (juostions on
that point, and his rotusal was sustained by the Court,
The assault complained of was alleged to liavo been made
by the defendant u])on the Prosecutor, while he and Dr.
Stirling were brandishing sticks at each other. The de-
fence was that Mr. Sawers, seeing the two Doctors tight-
ing, interfered to separate them and keep the peace.
When the case had been closed upon the part of tho
Crown, Mr. Archibald went to the Jury. After somo
preliminary observations ho said "The Prosecutor had
declined to give an account of what took place on tho
fifth November. He commmenced his narrative at ono
o'clock, when he states, he was informed ihat the defend-
ant and Dr. Stirling had determined to attack him, but
ho would ask why had they determined to attack him,
or why was Dr. Hoffman apprehensive of it? On this
point the Jury would perceive, he declined to give any
information. They would also perceive that when ques-
tions were pressed more closely, the prosecutor refused
to answer. The reason is obvious, because it would have
disclosed the transactions of the day ; the real cause of all
the evil that hajipened to him."
jjc :}c ^iJ 5fc :}c 5ic Jj; 5}c >;:
" From the evidence it appeared that tlie prosecutor
was endeavouring to commit acts of violence against tho
defendant previous to the occurrence of the circumstances
of which he complained. It was in his opinion necessary
to relieve the minds of the Jury from the difficulty under
which they must labor if no other evidence was offered
them than what they had just heard. Could they imagine
what induced the prosecutor to apprehend a breach of the
4-
11
24
LIFE OF
i
h I
I
t
111, I.
peace on the part of Dr. Stirling? WaH it merely that
ho Haw liiru in tlio .street and was afraid of venturing out?
Were the Jury to fonsider tlie profcHnion in this state of
hostility to each other that one Doctor caiuujt safely ven-
ture upon the street if another is present? "What in the
ahsence of all evidence were they to conclude? Js it
from the general peace of the world, that they weio to
conjecture the death of Mars without issue ; and tliat his
wca])ons and armour had, by some unkr ^wn law of in-
heritance, descended to the children of Esculapiuw? No,
ho would unfold to them the mystery."
The learned (Counsel then proceeded to state the
attack made by Y)v. Holl'man upon Dr. Stirling a few
hours before the present circumstances occurred, and
painted in strong colors the impropriety of the conduct
of the prosecutor, and of one v'aliban, whom he styled his
armour bearer, who had carried the whip with which the
" prosecutor had attenii)tcd to chastise in the i)ublic street,
a man not inferior to him in any jwint, either in education
or respectability, in the community, He however was
prevented, by the interference of persons who were pre-
sent, and prudently retreated to the house of Mr. Mans-
field, where the pi'osecutor stated he was called in his
professional capacity to attend on one of the family. Ho
however was satisfied that the prosecutor had not been
attending in his professional line, as stated by him, but
that he had commenced the day with a disposition to shed
blood, and, having been foiled in his first attempt, he
could not remain contented till he had stuck his lancet
into one of the Mansfields." The Counsel then proceeded
to state that Dr. Stirling had called upon Mr. Sawers in
the meantime, and had informed him of what had taken
place, and asked him to become his second, from which
,il ir
S. a. W, AIlCniBALP.
26
determination Mr. SawcrH had disHua<u»d him.rtnr/ irithout
any absence of honorable feeling, prevailed on him to ^ivo
up his intention. That Mr. Sawers aftenvanls Haw Dr.
Stirling,an(i the proHeeiUor engaged, and interfered to
Heparate them. That in the act of so doing the injury
happened of which the ])i'OHecutor complained. " In what
way," }je asked " were the contending parties to be put
a.sunder? Was the defendant to interfere between them,
by bowing like a young man of fashion, entering a ball-
room ; or by the force of his arms to separate them anu
place them at a distance from each other?"
*^U ^U v^ 'tlf %la Ktf «L« ^^
^^ ^^ ^> ^* *J* *J^ «^ ^^
He next adverted to the words of tlie indictment
which stateil the j)rosecutor to bo in the peace of God
and our Loi-d the King, and after what Imd appeared
" could the jury di"tiw aay conclusion that the prosecutor
was cultivating those dispositions which descend from
above and load to tho peace of mankind ? Did it not
rather seem that ho v as under tho influence of those evil
propensities which 'irino from tho pit of darkness and
overwhelm tho children of disobedience ?"
The piosocuti(m ended in a verdict of not guilty
which would seem to ha\'e boon hardly justified by tho
facts given in evidence.
"When Mr. A)chibald, in the course of this address
alluded to the proposition from which Mr. Sawers had
dissuaded Dr. Stirling, and used the words * without any
absence of honorable feeling', ho gives a glimpse of tho
ton© of sentiment on tho subject of hostile meetings which
prevailed in Halifax sixty years ago. Little did he then
imagine, that before six nionths would pass over his head
ho would bo called upon to vindicate the law of tho land, in
respect of a fatal event produced by the observance of
26
LIFE OF
m
this unwritten Code, — to prosecute a gentleman of
his own profesHion, a friend and companion, a man of
iiigh principle and unimpeachable character, of elevated
rank in society, the Bon of an A.ttorney General, himself
at one time an Attorney General, but who in blind
obedience to this law of Honor had accepted a challenge
from a Mr. Bowie, a merchant of Halifax. The duel took
place in the neighbourhood of what is now Eichmond
Station and Mr. Bowie fell. The surviving combatant
was brought to trial, but fortunately for him, i-egard to
the code of honor extended to every order of society, and
was shared alike by Bench, by Bar and by Jury. Though
acquitted, the accused felt the shadow of the S£id event
resting on him all through life.
We shall not dwell on the speech made by Mr.
Archibald on this painful occasion, but rather hasten
away to speak of another case,which gave an opportunit3'"
for the exercise of the lighter humouv, in which the sub-
ject of our memoir preferred to indulge.
We refer to the case of " Ward versus Holland"
which was a civil action for damages for an assault.
Mr. Kobie ajjpeared for the plaintiflP, Mr. Archibald
for the dc ' ndant.
Mr. Ward was the publisher of the Free-Press ; !Mi".
Holland of the Recorder. Holland was stout and able,
Ward puny and weak. Holland was a man of a reason-
ably good temper, bnt sometimes his Dutch blood got
the better of him. Ward was habitually snarling and
sarcastic. The two papers took opposite sides, and the
publishers exchanged compliments very freely. At last
the war became co hot that Holland threatened to cane
Ward. The latter, hearing of the threat armed himself
with a stick and prepared for defence. One day the
IlilSH.
S. G. W. ARCHIBALD,
27
parties met near the Scotch Church. In an instant "Ward
was down, with Holland's knee on his chest and his hand
clutching his throat. Bystanders interfered, the victor
was removed, and the prostiate man re'jascd. Forth-
with Ward brought an action for the assault. The case
was tried by a special Jury. It was easily proved. In-
deed it would admit of no contradiction, and all that could
be done, was to laugh it out of Coiu't, if possible.
To understand one of the allusions in the Speech, it
is necessary to premise, that Mr. Holland, who was a man
of enterj^riso, had built a mill on the shore of the Basin,
and was in the habit of manufacturing the paper he used
for the Eecorder.*
Mi\ Archibald in addressing the Jury on the defence
stated that he would call attention to the facts testified in
the case, and also to the situation of the parties; when
he was satisfied they would be of opinion with him that
this cause was unworthy of the notice of a special Jury.
" Had this been a contest upon a Bill of Exchange or a
policy of Insurance, the aid of a special jury would have
been requii'ed — but it was neither. It was only a quarrel
between two printers. Had there been any serious trans-
gression of the liberty of the subject, or of the public
peace, unprovoked, he would be as strenuous as any man
to punish the aggressor ; but, gentlemen, there are cases
in which a jury will not visit a party transgressing the
strict injunctions of the law with exemplary damages; if
these are to operate to the > benefit of him who first pro-
voked, and would profit by, the tj*ansaction. Ho would
call their attention to the situation of these parties. It
ii
<fi
'*!
'M
* Those who have to peruse the old files of that Journal will
regret that Mr. Holland ever entered upon the Manufacturing
business. The product is hardly fit for wrapping paper.
hir
28
LIFE OF
i i;
mm-
II
was but too well known they were printers and vendors
of news of all description — true and false — grave and
gay. In former times, two printers were sufficient for
this town; the King's printer informed ua of all that
Wfis to be known in the Government department, and
a chaste "Chronicle" recorded other events. — But the
age of novelty came and tnore arose an increased demand
for news and nonsense, which the coiToct r.ien of the
olden times could by no means furnish. The consequence
was that other printers and other papers took the field.
The " Free Pi'oss" came last in hand, and was ushered into
the world after a learned prospectus which promised
everything that was chaste, learned or critical — in fact
everything except that which the paper had since con-
tained. The very name of the learned Editors struck
terror into the other printers ; and to finish the work,
unhappily for themselves, poor men ! they made choice
of Mr. Edmund Ward as their printer. And from whence,
gentlemen, did he come ? Have you not heard of his
exploits in Bermuda, of his coiTcspondence with the Gov-
ernor of that Island, where he kindled a flame \v hich was
yet burning? They gave him there, gentlemen, a fair
trial — he was the King's printer, no less — but they at last
discovered exactly what he was — and had him shipped
oflt* with all possible despatch. Here then, gentlemen,
he sat himself down, backed by the sagacious Editors of
the ," Free Press" ; and with the raging heat of a West
India climate upon him, he commenced attacking the Ee-
CORDER. All competition in trade, as you know gentlemfsn,
is lawful, and Mr. Ward had a right in this most learned
paper (the like of which, as themselves affirmed, was not
to be found on this side of the Atlantic !" only think of
the range of country 1) to contradict whatever was a£ser«
f
S. G. W. ARCHIBALD. 29
ted by the Eecorder. Finally the learned letters of
Agricola graced the pages of that paper, and the contra-
diction became doubly fierce. Agricola had his friends
who appeared as giants to Mi*. Ward, and he fancied he
Baw his ghost in one signature — his vision in another —
and his spectre in the ghastly grin of Anthony Doodle-
Doo.* Did Agricola assert that the soil and climate of
Nova Scotia were adapted for cultivation : Mr. Ward and
his Editors labored to show that it was the seat of winter
and eternal barrenness. All this Mr. Ward had an un-
doubted right to do if he pleased ; but, gentlemen, the
story ended not here. Mr, Holland, with a view of ben-
efiting the country and himself, erected a mill to grind
his paper ; and while Mr. Ward was, every now and then,
apologizing to his subscribers for the want of that ai'ticle
and sending them a blue or brown sheet in place of a
white one, all that Mr. Holland required was a piece of
old junk, or a ball of spun yarn from the Dock Yard, to
furnish him for the work ; and so well did he succeed,
that, at last, he could provide you with a history of the
coronation on the end of an old cable. This was really
too much for Mr. Ward, and he redoubled his attacks upon
our Agriculture, Anthony Holland, and the REcoaDEB,
At this time, the defendant, Philip Holland, my client,
who L^ the bye, is as quiet a man as ever lived — a sober,
cool-headed Nova Scotian Dutchman, began to be abused
by Mr. Ward. At one time he was represented as a mere
man of sti*aw, a puppet in the hands of others — the wood-
en headed Begobdek man, and various other names equally
as civile until Philip began to wax V7arm ; but he bridled
his wrath, although with difficulty. At last Mr. Ward's
unlucky militant week arrived — ^young Agricola gave
* A writer in the Recorder orer that lignatare, aftwiriirdi m>
certained to b« Mr. Archibald himielf.
jt. V'
so
LIFE OF
m
m
I
t 'I,
him a chastisement in the public square with a horsewhip,
which ho took very quietly, having brought upon himself.
This sport, gentlemen, was of all things what he delighted
in, and now was the time lo bring out Philip Holland.
Philip had already about as much as he could well bear;
he was, in fact, like the cylinder of a steam engine,
charged to tho full height, when out came the last offen-
sive paragraph — and he exploded. All his safety valves
could not save him — and the dreadful explosion, in its full
force, fell ujion the head of joor Mr. Ward. Gentlemen,
this vian of straw raised his magic hand — and the printer
of the " Free Press" fell prostrate before him, and; with
him, all the high blown hopes of his learned Editors."
The learned counsel next jiroceeded to state that ho
was prepared, from the plaintiff's declaration and the
statement of his counsel, to have heard a tremendous rela-
tion ; '' but, gentlemen, so far as proof goes, Mr. Ward
arose again with every drop of blood and every inch of
skin he had when he fell ; whereas had Philip Holland
been so disposed, he might have put his foot upon him
and extinguished him forever ! He was prepared to have
heard that his body was as black as his types ; but such,
gentlemen, has not been shown to have been the case ;
he has not proved that there was either scar or scratch
upon him ; and last of all he has had Mr. Holland fined in
40s. by a Justice, for the breach of the peace ; therefore
all the mischief done to the public peace has been cured
by the fine. Gentlemen, whom has Mr. Ward to blamo
for all this ? Most certainly himself It is the man who
seeks strife that finds it, and he would advise him to read
the writings of Solomon in this particular, who was un-
doubtedly as wise as Mr. Ward and all his Editors togeth-
er, and there ho will find the infallible consequenct^s of
S, a. W. ARCHIBALD. 31
the lino of conduct he has pursued. 'As certainly as tho
<jhurning of milk bringeth f-^ butter, and the wringing
of a nose bringeth forth blood, the forcing of wrath will
bring forth strife.' Nothing but this kind of treatment
would keep Mr. Ward in order. His old master and ben-
efactor, Mr. Minns, as good a man as ever lived, this Mr.
Ward insulted regularly every week in his paper.-r-He
was the man who first taught him to set a type — and ho
was at last obliged to show him a cudgel to keep him
quiet: he shook a stick over his head, and Mr. Ward
has never troubled him since. Tho " Free Press" has
observed ever since a prudent silence as to Mr. Minns
and the " Weekly Chronicle." " Now, gentlemen," ob-
served the learned counsel," " permit me to renuirk up-
on these parties (for I take both their papers) and have
read the remarks of each upon the other ; and very bitter
they have been ; but I have noticed that Mr. Ward has
always begun nnd kept up tho strife, and vvithin the last
three months he has let oft" several sneers at Mr. Holland,
to which the Eecordek has paid no attention whatever.
In their allusions to private character both parties were
to blame, and were otlensive to tho community. Suppose,
for instance, two persons whoso aim was to set the town
on fire, and who had been long attempting it, met by
chance, measured fire brands with each other, and one of
them got singed, should we who enjoy quiet, by reason of
their encounter, complain and make this quarrel our case ?
No, gentlemen, leave them to finish it themselves, as
they begun it. We have benefitted already by this beat-
ing; for both papers are more correct since the affaii',
and will become more guarded in what they publish. If
Mr. Ward has anything to say. to Mr. Holland, why does
he not go to tho office and say it to him manfully, instead
'1
i
32
LIFE OF
m^
lillV
III;;
of blazing it forth in his paper? No man likes to see
his name abused in a public journal ; and, for that very
offence, Mr. Ward has often been threatened in this town,
sometimes to be beat, sometimes to be horse-whipped,
and sometimes to be skinned ; but all would not avail ;
and if in this case you give him as much as will cover
costs and charges, he will keep up the war, and no man
will be safe. But, gentlemen, review his conduct. He
wrote what he knew would bring him into trouble, and
he armed himself with a stick for his defence, knowing
the consequence of his writing, and will you give him
damages such as are here demanded ? No, gentlemen,
give him one of the base copper coins now in circulation,
for his damages, and another for his costs ; and then you
will give him as much as he deserves ; and your verdict
will in all likelihood be the means of restoring quiet to
this community, by imposing a wholesome check on the
language of Mr. Ward."
It appears by the Eeporter's statement that the Court
was convulsed with laughter during the delivery of this
address. Judge Haliburton charged the jury, and as the
assault was not denied, the juiy were obliged to find a
verdict for the plaintiff.
We now proceed to make some mention of a case of
a different character from any we have noticed hitherto.
It was tried in 1825, and it will show that, when occasion
required it, Mr. Archibald could deal with a case in
a very diffei-ent style from that wljich distinguished the
addresses we have quoted.
In April 1824, the ship Aurora left London with a
cargo of goods for Halifax. The goods were worth from
£20,000^ to £3a,000, and were fully insured. Some ten
days after leaving port, the ship met with a terrible storm,
S. G. W. ARCHIBALD. 33
and was so damaged as to be obliged to put back to Ply-
mouth for repairs. The cai'go was found to bo damaged,
but everything was done, that could be done, to prevent
further injury, and the goods were repacked and sent on
to Halifax. The cargo was consigned principally to the
firm of S. Cunai-d & Co., but some portions of it were for
other consignees. On the arrival of the vessel, the goods
were examined, and being found to be damaged, a survey
was held, and Messieurs Liddel, Mitchell and Russel were
called upon to report on the condition of the cargo. B}'"
their advice, the goods were put up at auction and sold
for the benefit of all concerned. DoBlois & Co., were the
auctioneers. Shortly after this a letter signed ' James
Cody' was received by the underwriters in London,
representing that the writer was a person disposed to
befriend those who were not on the spot to look after
their own interests, and going into a variety of details,
to show that the consignees, the auctioneers, and the Sur
veyors, were parties to a gross fraud, the object of which
was, to buy in the goods for a price much below their
value, and thus cheat the Insurance Office, to an extent
sufficient to indemnify the importers for the loss they
had sustained by the delay in the arrival of the ship.
Some gentlemen from Halifax having been in Eng-
land that summer, enquiries wore made of them to ascer-
tain the standing of Mr. James Cody. Nobody knew a
person of that name, and it was clear that there was no
merchant of any standing in Halifax who bore it. This
led to suspicion. The letter was sent out to the consig-
nees for inquiry. They laid a trap to discover the writer,
by mailing a letter addressed to Mi*. James Cody and wait-
ing till it should be calloil for. Eventually, one Little repre-
sented himself as ' James Cody', and asked for the letter,
34
LIFE Of
which was dclivored to him. Next day he was arrested,
and then confessed that ho had been sent for the letter
by a Mr. Forrester, who had opened and read it. There-
upon Forrester, was indicted for libel, and, as a largo
number of respectable men wore assailed in the fictitious
letter, the trial naturally excited great interest.
Mr. Johnstone opened the case. Mr. R. J. Uniacko
conducted the defence. The case for the pi-osecution was
fviWj made out by the evidence. Mi*. Uniacke called some
testimony for the defence, when it became the duty of
Mr. Archibald to close for the Crown.
After commenting on the evidence which had been
jiddiicod on the part of the defence, and showing a com-
plete chain of testimony which proved the publication of
the libel, and traced it« authoi-ship to the defendant, Mr.
Aichibald jiroceeded to deal with the criminality of the
publication. "Upon this point" said he, '• can there be a
doubt that a more base, defamatory, and malicious libel
was ever conceived in the imagination, or written by the
hand, of man ? All countries which bear any marks of
civilization, have a i cgard to character : and, in propor-
portion to the degree of civilization, is the value of
character estimated. In our own hapi)y country, that
reputation which arises fiom a conduct conformable to
the plain rules of common honesty, in our dealings with
man, is esteemed by every person of correct views, of
more importance to him than worldly wealth, inasmuch
as, without it, he cannot live respected, and worldly
wealth cannot purchase it for him ; but in addition to this
plain character of the humble man in society, there are
other characters all resting, it is true, upon the same base
of moral rectitude, but which, taken in connexion with
the standing of the individual, becomes of more import-
S. G. W. ARCmBALD. 85
ancc to him, and to the community of which he is a
membar."
" I might here" said the learned counsel, " enumer-
ate many, but allow mo to mention but one- -that is — the
character of a merchant. You," said ho, " Gentlemen
of the Jury, who are many of you merchants, know how
well defined are all the requisites of such a character:
and where is this character so highly valued as in that
glorious country to which we belong ? Now mark the
conduct of the defendant. To the very metropolis of our
country, the centre of commercial honour and commer-
cial grandeur, was his poisonous slander directed, and
at this very feeling point did it arrive. It was read
among those merchants wl;o conduct, upon the most hon-
orable principles, the mercantile business of the world.
What are the words and what the import of this abomin-
able epistle ? First, that the consignees of the cargo of
the Aurora, themselves merchants, had, one and all, form-
ed the base design, of making up a loss which each had
sustained by the late arrival of this vessel, from the con-
demnation of her cargo, and when a sale should take
place, the property should be purchased fraudulently by
their agent, for their benefit ; that the sale was advertised
at 12, and took place at 10 o'clock, and that DeBlois the
Auctioneer had previously agreed upon a private signal,
by which the affairs of the sale were to be managed for
the benefit of the assured.
I beg you to consider that not only those con-
signees are injured by the slander, but that the commer-
cial credit of the Province is involved in it, and the in-
terests of thousands perhaps aflfected by it. If it could
be believed that these consignees, merchants, whose names
were known as such in England, could lend themselves to
t
ii'il i
36 LIFE OF
such a diabolical plot against the interests of their fellow
subjects and fellow merchants, who had insured their pro-
perty, ought they not to be ranked among the most de-
graded of mankind ? and their crime, for I will call it by
no other name, would reflect disgrace upon the wholo
community of which they were members — yet this was
published and put forth, as true, where the persons injur-
ed had no opportunity of being heard, and where the
known and acknowledged uprightness of their conduct,
as it stands in this community, could not rise against it.
I come now to another part of this slander, aimed against
the persons who surveyed the damaged goods, John
Liddell, G. N. Kussell and G. Mit -ell. These gentlemen,
he states, were selected to answer the unjust views of the
consignees. As respects these gentlemen, would any man
dare, in the community in which they live, to utter an
expression against that irreproachable reputation which
they have so honestly gained, and which they so proudly
maintain ? Yet has Mr. Forrester undertaken to repre-
sent them in no other way than as persons lending them-
selves to aid in one of the basest frauds which could be
practised against the interests of absent persons. But
mark how he has spoken of one of them. I mean Mr.
Liddell whom he has designated by his name of Office —
a magistrate — and you will see the intent of malice.
Among the changes of fortune which have attended the
fate of that gentleman, and which have reduced him, it is
true, from a state of comparative affluence, he has reason
to thank God, that he has maintained unshaken, the
chai'acter of an honest, independent man, one whom the
community intrusts with what concerns its best interests,
one who retains a reputation which the wealth of worlds
could not purchase for the being who has slandered him.
8. Q. W. ARCHIBALD. 31
View therefore the production from begirtning to end,
and you must conclude that the framer of it was moved
by the instigation of the Devil.
I cannot, Gentlemen of the Jury, conclude without
calling youi* attention to one part of this case. It cannot
pass unnoticed by me, and I am sure it cannot be so by
you, or by their Lordships — I mean the assumption of the
name of ' James Cody' by the defendant for the purpose
of this slander. The God of nature, in His infinite wisdom,
has so varied the human countenance that, among all the
generations of men, there are distinguishing features for
every individual, and from the same Author of our being,
have wo derived the authority and the precedent of giving
to every individual his proper name, and this name when
once solemnly assigned to the person cannot be changed,
unless by the supremo authority of the Government — for
no man's property would bo safe, if names could be falsely
usurped, and to personate another, is, by our law, in some
cases, made a capital oifence. The change of name is
therefore considered the basest aot of meanness. If in
the words of the Defendant, ' a disposition to befriend
those, who were not on the spot to see justice done to
them, alone induced him to make the communication,
why did he not come boldly forward in the face of day
and say. " I Thomas Forrester have witnessed these
misdoings and that is my name, and you know my place
of habitation ;" but no, this would not accord with his
intention. He was engaged in the hidden works of dark-
ness and he wished to screen himself behind a shadow.
Little did he suppose, when he was devising this wicked-
ness privately, that it would be proclaimed this day, as
it were, upon the housetops. Gentlemen in this case you
are merely to say, Guilty or not Guilty. Were you called
h'
38
LIFE OF
upon to assess daraagos I would ask you to compute tliora
upon a Hcalo that would leave the defendant like hiw friend
James Cody, but a whadow and a name. Your task how-
ever ends with pronouncing him guilty, and I feel that
you will say he is so, not in a slight degree, not merely
tinged with guilt, but blackened to the core, and in this
1 ight must he ajipear in the eyes of every one who has
any regard for the sacred value of character."
After a charge from J udge Halliburton who presided
the Jury retired for about ton minutes and then returned
with a verdict of guilty.
CIIAPTEH 1\,
IrtercBt in Agriculturo. Manufacturinfr Operations. Visit to
Enjrliind. Appointed Cliief Justice of P. E. I. Visits the Islnml.
Address of Grand Inquest. Dinner at Pictou. Dinner and ad-
dress at TruM. Maile Solicitor General in place of Mr. Kobie
promoted. Chosen Speaker. Election of IKlifi. Anaincno.sen
Speaker. Non-residence in P. E. I. Aims at Chief Justiceship
of N. S. Cla«ni8 of different candidnJes. Changes impendinir.
Grounds of Blowers'. retention of office. Sir Peregrine M;iit-
land's perplexities. Correspondence with Sir John Coape Siier-
brooke. The misdirected letter.
We have grouped together in one connexion, tliceo
epecimens of Mr. Archibald'H forcnssic orator}', with a view
to show the many nided character of his eloquence in
addressing Juries. It will now bo our duty to go back
some years, to bring up our narrative in reference to
matters unconnected with his professional pursuits.
In 1822 he undertook an enterprise, which was hard-
ly ''o bo expected from a person so engrossed as he was
in professional and Parliamentary duties. lie had ever
eivce the appearance of the celebrated letters of John
Young, published under the pseudonym of Agricola, taken
a deep interest in the improvement of Agriculture in the
Province. He was a member of the Halifax Agricultural
Society, of which Mr. Young was Secretary, and was a
regular attendant at its meetings. One of the main objects
of this and kindred societies, established throughout the
Province, was to promote the cultivation of cereal crops,
and thus prevent the drain on our resources, arising
from the importation of bread stuffs. With a view to en-
courage this kind of culture, the Legislature granted
bounties for the erection of oat mills in the new settle-
ments. In the older villages, mills for the grinding of
Pill
40 LIFE OF
■wheat were being erected, and Mr. Archibald showed
practically hia synipr.thy with the movement, by erecting
at his own expense, a stand of mills at Truro. These were
built in 1822, and so happily was the site chosen for
mechanical purposes, that from +,hat day to this, manu-
facturing ojDerations have been conducted on the spot.
In Mai-ch, 1822, the University of Glasgow conferred
on Mr. Archibald, the degree of Doctor of Laws.
In 1824, Mr. Archibald spent some months in a visit
to England, and the continent of Europe. While in Eng-
land, he received marked attention from the Earl of Dal-
housie, who was then Governor General of British North
America, but who had been, from 1816 to 1820, Governor
of Nova Scotia, and also from Sir James Kempt who was
then Governor, Both these high officials were, like him-
self, on a visit to England on leave. "With Lord Dalhousie
Mr. Archibald had cordially co-opei'ated in the effort
made by him to promote the imj)rovement of agriculture,
and higher education, in the Province, two objects which
most deeply interested that nobleman, while here. With
Sir James Kempt, Mr. Archibald was in entire sympathy
on a subject, which occupied much of the time and atten-
tion of that active and energetic Governor ; the improve-
M I! ment of communications throughout the Province. With
|j j both these Governors, he was on terms of personal inti-
macy, and both had a very high opinion of his ability, and
social qualities.
The seals of the Colonial Office were held at the time
by Lord Bathurst. He had been in office as Colonial
3Iinister ever since 1812, and was necessarily familiar
with the standing of the various Colonial statesmen of the
day. The part which Mi-. Archibald had taken in Provin-
cial politics, naturally brought him into communication
!iiiir
lllli!!.
S. G. TT, ARCHIBALD. 41
with Lord Bathurst, who appreciated his merits and
claims, and showed a desire to recognise them in any
Buicablo wa'\ There was at the time no public office
vacant in Nova Scotia, which could be offered to him, but
circumstances had occurred in Prince Edward Island,
which rendered it desirable in the interests of that Colony,
that some important changes should be made there. The
Government of the Island was then administered by IVIi*. ij
Smith, who had been appointed eleven years previously.
During this long period many difficult questions had
arisen ; some of these springing from the peculiarity of
the tenure of land in that Province. Those questions re-
quired to be dealt with by an administrator of good
temper and gi*cat tact, but unfortunately these were the
precise qualities in which Mr. Smith wa'^ most deficient.
He seems to have been irritable and arbuiury beyond the
usual measu"e of the Governors of the day. He had
succeeded in making bitter enemies of a large majority of
the members of the Assembly, and of the other leading
men throughout the Island. Finally he had given to his
son-in-law, Mr. Lane, the appointment of Eegistrar in the
Court of Chancery, and had incurred the ill will of the
entire bar of the Island, by altering and adding to the
scale of fees for that official. It wassail eged, first, that
the matter was wholly beyond his jurisdiction, and second-
ly, that the scale was so extravagant, that if the jurisdic-
tion had been unquestioned, its exercise was indiscreet
and injudicious. This seems to have been the culmina-
ting point of his misgovernment. The Bar as a body,
memorialised Lord Bathurst on the subject, who had re-
quested Sir James Kempt to name some suitable person
to investigate the complaint. He had suggested Judge
Hallibui'ton for that service, and the Judge had been
42
LIFE OF
charged to proceed to the Island to conduct the inquiry.
Meanwhile Sir James had arrived in London, where on the
sixth of July, he received and handed to the Colonial
Office Judge Halliburton's report. The conclusion at
which the Judge arrived is not within the scope of our
paper, for, without waiting for a Eeport, the Colonial Min-
ister decided that Mr. Smith's administration had already
lasted too long, and accordingly in May, 1824, that officer
was superseded by the ajipointmeLi; of Colonel Eeady to
the Government of the Island. But the Governorship
was not the only office that required a change. The Chief
Justice of the day was a Mr. Tremlet, who had been ap-
pointed about the same time with Mr. Smith. Mi*. Trem-
let was a man of fine social qualities, easy of temper, gen-
erous in manner, but a feeble and inefficient Judge. The
stronger will of the Governor dominated Mi*. Tremlet's
gentler temper, and made the Judge a mere instrument
in the hands of Mr. Smith. The business of the Court
was greatly in arrear — the whole machinery of justice
disorganised. With such a Governor and such a Judge,
in a country where questions so difficult and intricate had
to be dealt with — the aifairs of the Island were constant-
ly disturbing the repose of the Colonial Minister. It was
necessary therefore to get rid, at once, of both Governor
and Judge. Sir James Kempt seems at the time to have
had the ear of the Colonial office on all matters connect-
ed with the Maritime Provinces. It was probably ho
that suggested for the Chief Justiceshij) his friend, Mr.
Archibald, who in his judgment possessed precisely the
social and intellectual qualities, required for the office at
this juncture. The offer of the position was accordingly
made to that gentleman. He appears at first to have
hesitated about accepting it. At all events he would only
,>*3
8. G. W, ARCHIBALD, 48
take it oii the condition of being allowed *.o reside in
Nova Scotia, and follow his professional and political pur-
suits in that Provlrce, going to the Island at such periods
as should be required for the due discharge of the judi-
cial duties of the office. This condition being conceded,
he signified his acceptance, and was appointed Chief Jus-
tice by Eoyal Mandamus dated the 1th of August 1824.
No intimation of the appointment appears to hav,i been
made for several months on either side of the Atlantic.
In the interval, the Colonial Office obtained the resigna-
tion of Mr. Tremlet. About the first of November, a
notice appears in the Halifax papers of a rumour that Mi*.
Archibald had been appointed to the office in question.
On the tenth of November he arrived at Halifax, coming
by way of St. John, N.B. A few days aftei'wards ho pro-
ceeded to the Island. On his way, ho received an address
at Truro, from his old constituents, to which he made a
reply in his happiest vein. He was always on the footing
of warm friendship with the people of Colchester, and
never addressed them without giving expression to his
feelings toward them. On the twenty-first of November,
he reached Charlotte Town, and was duly sworn into office.
Colonel Keady had preceded him by a month. Both ap-
pointments ajDpear to have given great satisfaction in tho
Island, Mr. Archibald spent some three weeks at Char-
lotte Town, putting in order the business of the Court,
and then returned to Halifax. On his way, a public din-
ner was given him at Pictou, and another at Truro, at
both of which the usual number of pleasant things were
said of him, by his friends and constituents assembled to
meet him on these occasions.
The next session of the General Assembly began in
February 1825. Mr. Kobie had been Speaker from tho
44 LIFE Ot
time Mr. Wilkins was appointed to the Bench, eight years
previously, till the second of April 1824, when he was el-
evated to the Council. The House was now therefore
without a head, and when thoy met their choice fell un-
animously on Mr. Archibald. Great changes had occurred
in the Assembly since it was elected in 1820. As a con-
sequence of the legislation of 1823, Mr. Marshall, of the
County of Sydney, had gone to the ofl&ce of First Justice
of the Court of Common Pleas in Cape Breton. As a
consequence of the legislation of 1824, Mr. Eitchie of
Annapolis, and Mr. W. H. O. Haliburton of Hants, had
. . loft the Assembly for similar positions in the Middle and
Western Districts of this Province, and now, the removal
of Mr. Eobie to the Council, took away the fourth leading
member of the Assembly. Any House of thirty eight
members, must have been a remarkable body, if it did not
feel the dej^letion of its ranks by the absence of so many
able men, and by the relegation to the quiet of the chair
of a fifth man of Mr. Archibald's calibre.
The leading lawyers remaining on the floor of the
House were Mr. Fairbanks of Halifax, and Mr. TJniacke
fi^lll of Cape Breton — the leading laymen, Messrs. Young of
Sydney, Lawson of Halifax and Eoach of Digby. Tha
session of 1825 appears consequently not to have been
very prolific in interesting discussions. After the rise of
the House which sat for just two months, Mr. Archibald
first attended to the legal business devolving upon him
in Nova Scotia, and then proceeded to the Island, arriving
in Charlotte Town in June. On the 2nd of July he was
waited upon by the Grand Inquest of the Island, who
presented him with an address of congratulation on his
|i||iii ' appointment, referring in very complimentry terms to
the efficient discharge of his judicial duties which had
ii:,.
t.
S. Q. W, ARCHIBALD. 4'-
already effected so much improvement in the Courts, and
alluding to the charm of manner, which had already made
him so many personal friends in the Island. The address
concluded with the expression of a hope, that before long
such arrangements would be made as would give them
the benefit of his judicial services, and the advantages of
his social influence, all the year round.
This was the first note of dissatisfaction with the
condition of non-residence on which the Chief Justice had
accepted the position.
In his reply he dexterously evaded the question, by
general assurrances of his interest in the Island.
The Chief Justice continued about a fortnight longer,
dischai'ging his duties in the Court, and in the Executive
Council, of which he was President. On the 20th of July
he returned to Halifax. A few months later, he was ap-
pointed Solicitor General in place of Mr. Eobie. That
gentleman had received from the Crown a new office
created on the application of the Governor. Sir James
Kempt had complained to the Colonial Minister that much
of his time was taken up by the duties incident to his
office as Chancellor. That besides the loss of time, he
felt his incompetency for the functions of a Judicial office
without legal advice, and on his recommendation a new
office was created by the Crown, that of the Master of
the EoUs, to which Mr. Eobie was appointed. This caus-
ed a vacancy in the office of Solicitor General to which
Sir James nominated Mi\ Archibald.
A general election took place in 1826. This brought
into the House several new Members, who afterwards
became men of considerable mai*k. Then first appeared
in the Assembly Mr. Stewart of Cumberland, Mi*. T. C.
Halibui'ton of Annapolis, Mr. Murdoch of Halifax — all of
46 LIFE OF
them men of more than average ability. No member ot
any note in the old House, had disappeared from the
floor. The new material compensated in some measure
for the depletion of the previous three years*
When the House met in 182Y, Mr. Archibald was
again unanimously chosen Speaker. The session com-
menced very quietly. The old members took a leading
part in the business, while the new men were becoming
acquainted with the rules of the Hou89,and preparing them-
selves for tho prominent part they "vvere soon to play in
provincial politics. The duties of the chair kept the
Speaker off the floor, except on those occasions when the
House was in committee of the whole. There is conse-
quently little record of speech or a( tion on his part, dur-
ing this and the following two sessiDns.
When next he went to the Ish-nd to do his judicial
work there, he found the feeling a? to his non-residence,
of which the first note had been so inded in the address of
the Grand Inquest, was on the increase. This feeling was
natural under the circumstances. The more the people
valued and appreciated their Chief Justice, the more desir-
ous they were that he should pas j his time in the Island.
Besides it seemed derogatory to their position, that the
principal Judicial office in the Colony should be held by a
nonresident and be treated as an appendage to professional
and political pursuits in another Province. Mr. Archibald,
however, could hardly be expected willingly to confine his
ambition to the rewards offered by the Island. He was
not disposed to withdraw from the wider sphere, and the
brighter prospects, offered by his own country ; besides ho
was bound to Nova Scotia, not only by the ties of interest
but by those of birth, and of strong personal attachment.
Hero his professional practice was very large. He was
S. G. W. ARCHIBALD. 41
the head of the Assembly. Ho was also Solicitor General,
while his superior, the Attorney, was an old man in feeblo
health. His accession to the higher office seemed to be an
event of the immediate future. Ho appears to have early
cherished the ambition to become Chief Justice of Nova
Scotia. In this Province that office has always had a
charm for our leading lawyers. Fifty years ago it was
as eagerly sought after, as it was later on, when a race
was run for many years between two prominent legal
gentlemen, till the chances of politics assigned the prize
to Sir. William Young.
Mr. Archibald held his Island office for over four
years. At last, finding the dissatisfaction at his necessary
absence increasing, and feeling moreover the burden of
his other labors to bo as much as he could well bear, ho
resigned the Chief Justiceship, and was succeeded by Mr.
Jarvis on the 2*7 th of October, 1828.
At this time the contending claimants for the chief
position on the Bench of Nova Scotia were Judge Hali-
bui'ton. Attorney General Uniacke, and Mr. Archibald.
The Chief Justice of the day was Mi*. Blowers, then at a
very advanced age. He had been appointed to the office
in 1797, and had therefore hold the position for over thirty
years. Of late he had not appeared in Court, or at all
events had done so only on special occasions. The senior
Judge was Mr. Brenton Halliburton, who had sat on the
bench since 1807, and therefore had now twenty years of
judicial experience. In the absence of the Chief Justice,
he had presided over the Court, and for several years had
done the duty of the Chief. The Attorney General, who
in the usual course of events would have succeedec) to the
place of Ml*. Blowers was, as we have already stated, an
old man in infii'm health. He had been appointed to his
48 LIFE OF
•
present office on the same day as the Chief Justiceship
had been given to Mr. Blowers, and had therefore been
thirty years Attorney General.
It was clear from this state of things that consider-
able changes were at hand, and Mr. Archibald cannot be
blamed if he usf^d his best exertions to attain the coveted
prize. Mr. TJniacke's age was against him in the competi-
tion. The contest, therefore, lay between the senior Puisne
Judge, and the Solicitor General. Each of these had con-
siderable claims — Mr. Halliburton had now a long experi-
ence on the bench. The infirmities of his Chief had
thrown upon him many of the duties belonging to hia
superior in office. No training could better fit a person
for the position of Chief Justice. Besides, he was an able
If.wyer, and an excellent man, digjiified in manners, plea-
sent and genial in social life, and a favorite in the com-
munity. He was also a Member of the Council, and con-
nected by family ties with other leading members of that
Body, and could control its influence, ko powerful at the
time we are speaking of. But on the other hand it was
said, that if he had had the experience, he had also been
in receipt of the salary, of a Judge during that long
period. He had stepped into office without any of the
toil or sacrifices which generally precede valuable appoint-
ments. He had been in early life in the Army, and while
the Duke of Kent remained in Halifax, he had been
attached to his staff, and had enjoyed all the pleasures of
a Court life, and all the comforts of an officer's pay. When
the Duke left Nova Scotia, Mr. Halliburton resumed the
study of law, which he had abandoned for arms. He was
admitted in July, 1813, and in a little over three years
fi om that date was appointed to the Bench. He had never
represented a constituency, he had had none of the labors
s. o. rr, A nam BALD. 49
or toils by which a public man earns his right to oflficial
appointmentsv True it is, that after the lapse of thirteen
years, ho became a member of His Majesty's Council, but
with the toil of that office, he possessed also its power
and patronage.
On the other haiid, Mr, Archibald had been in the
Assembly almost as long as Mr. Halliburton had been on
the Bench—he had taken an active part in every question
that came before that body since he lirst became a mem*
her. He had run five elections, which were not held on
one day, as now, and which, as then conducted, involved
much toil and expense. He had worked his way by
talent and merit, and without patronage or friends, high up
in his profession. He had exercised the large influence
he possessed in the Assembly, and in the country, in the
interests of good government, and, holding as he did, to the
Attorney General of the day, a relation much like that
of Mr. Halliburton to the Chief Justice, he might fairly
•consider himself entitled to the position always claimed
by the holder of the Attorney GeneraPe office in Nova
-Scotia, on a vacancy occuring during his incumbency.
With such an equality of claim, it was evident that
the struggle i'ov the position would be keen, and, at the
^advanced age of Mr. Blowei-s, it was equally evident that
the crisis was not far off.
It is said that the Chief Justice had long boea willing
to resign, if he could bo sure of Judge Halliburton sue-
Nceeding to his place, but he did not like Mr. Uniacke, the
Attorney General, whose claim he supposed would be
successful. Mr. Blowers was of Colonial, Mr. Uniacke of
Irish, extraction. Blowers was a man of medium stature,
•of refined taste, scholarly in tone of mind, gentle and
Wndly in manner^ Uniacke was of figure, tall and Uiin,
60
LIFE OF
rough and brusque in manner, without much schol. ship,
but possessing considerable parts and great liumour. Ho
affected the brogue on all occasions when it suited hit*
purpose. No two men could be more unlike each other
than Blowers and Uniacke — and, so long as there wa»
dangerof the Chief- Justiceship falling, in case of vacancy,
to Attorney General Uniacke, Mr. Blowers would havo
considerad it his duty to hold on to it. It does not appear
that Mr. Archibald'ti aspirations for the office were known
at the time. Mr. Halliburton even appears not to have
suspected that Mr. Archibald was a competitor. The
Attorney General was evidently the " bete noire"
both with the Chief and the senior Puisne Judge. A
curious despatch of Sir Peregrine Maitland throws some
light on the contest. When Sir James left here in August
1828,to assume the Government of Canada, he was succeed-
ed in Nova Scotia by Sir Peregrine Maitland, who did not
however arrive here till November following. Shortly
afterwai'ds he asked and obtained leave to go to Barbadoes
for his health. On reaching that Island, he found it in a
bad sanitary condition. He then came to Bermuda, from
which he addressed a letter to Sir George Murray, then
Colonial Secretary, which gives some glimpses of the state
of things as between the rival candidates for the falling
Chief Justiceship. It seems that the Attorney General
had previously forwarded to *he Colonial Office a state-
ment of his claims, but since that time a new Chief had
succeeded to that department, and Mr. Uniacke appears
to have been apprehensive that his papers would be over-
looked. He had therefore enclosed a new set to Sir
Peregrine at Bermuda, to be forwarded by him to the
Colonial office. It seems also that Sir Peregrine had
Bometime before this transmitted to the same office a
S. G.'W. ARCHIBALD.
61
Memorial from Mr. Archibiild, the Solieitor General aii«l
Hpeaker, bringing his serv je.s.to the notice of the Crown,
and had accompanied the pajjers by a letter of his own,
"making Huch favorable mention of that gentleman as
luH conduct appeared to merit." lie had alno recently
received a letter from Judge Ilalliburlon, who seems, all
of a sudden, to have discovered that Mi*. Archibald was
on the same track with himself. A flood of correspon-
dence is thus suddenly pourtMl in u|)on Sir Peregrine and
the Cohmial OfHce. In Sir Per »grine's letter to the Min-
ister, after all this had occurred, he says, among other
things, that " when he wrote belore about Mr. Archibald's
services, it did not occur to him that that gentleman was
looking for the Chief Justiceshij), but being informed by
Judge Halliburton that he was certainly aiming at that
office, he had therefore thought it but fair to transmit
Judge Halliburton's Memorial, and at the same time to
make Mr. Uniacke, the Attorney (reneral, a long tried
and faithful servant of the Crown, accpuiinted with the
steps he had taken, as, from the usual course which he
believed the line of prefei'nient had taken in the Colony,
he supposed Mr. Uniacke would feel interested in the
subject." He goes on to apologise for a correspondence
which he could not but considei' piemature, inasmuch as
it related to the tilling of a vacancy, beloi-e there was a
vacancy to fill.
The discovery of Mr. Archibald's aspii-ations, for the
Chief Justiceship, seems to have been made after the
House met in 1829, and steps' were taken to get at the
truth, which savor strongly of the habits of that day.
The incidents connected with the discoveiy, . ^ detailed
ut large in a communication sent sometime afterwards to
the Free Press, wM'itten from the stand j)oint of the Council,
52 LIFE OF
and in oppoHition to the pretcnHionH of the Speaker. It
would 8oom from thiH article that when susj)ieionH arose
ai8 to Mr. Archihald'K candidature, the other parties net
themselvoa in motion. The Judge and the Attorney Gen-
eral were prepared to contest the matter bciween them-
KelveH, but they wore indi^^nant at the presumption of the
third candidate. He was not a member of the Council,
and yet ho ventured to as])iro to such an ofRce. They
called on him and charged him with *' endeavouring to
use undue influence with His Majesty's Ministers to get
himself appointed Chief Justice of the Province, when
they as the Attorney General of the Province, and the
Judge of His Majesty's Supremo Court, were as eligible
from their offices, and as much entitled from their ser-
vices to the situation, when it became vacant, as ho
could possibly bo from any similar ponsidoration," The
writer goes on to say that the interview was not very
satisfactory to the paitics who had sotight it, that Mr.
Archibald ti-eated them both with scant courtesy, and
gave them no explanations. Shortly afterwards the
Judgeand the Attorney GonoJ'al, in conjunction with a
third gentleman (whose name is not given) wrote a letter
to Sir John Coapo Shorbiooke, requesting him to call at
the Colonial Office, and ascertain the facts relative to Mr.
Archibald's correspondence, at the same time requesting
his co-operation in la3Mng their claims before Sir George
Murray, for tho consideration of His Majesty's Ministers."
These incidents are all stated as 'from the best
authority.' They are made the basis of charges against
Mr. Archibald, which we shall have occasion to examine
by-and-by. As to the facts, we may take them as statod.
The charges are entirely matter of inference. We are in
as good a position as the w^'iter to make any deductions
warranted by tho facts.
S 0. W. ARCHIBALD. 63
Poor Sir Poregrino, in Berrmidu, must have felt vory
unc'omfortablo in having to ])lay the part of Hccond to each
of the three candidates, in this curiouH tri-angidar duel.
All parties consulted him, and all partiew distrusted him.
and thenceforth carried on their negotiations directly
with the Colonial Office.
The letter which Sir Peregrine Maitland wrote from
Bermuda, Irom which we have already quoted, was tho
result of a communication he received from Judge Halli-
burton, on tho discovery already referred to being made.
When the Judge and Attorney General despatched
the letter to Sir John Coape Sherbrooke, they had little
anticipation of the curious sequel which was to occur.
Sir John it seems made his application in duo course at
tho Colonial office, and obtained tho inlonnation sought
lor. This ho forwarded, as ho supposed, t) the gentleman
who had written him. But unluckily he had very hazy
recollections of tho Provincial dignitaries with whom he
had been associated while Governor of Nova Scotia. In-
deed Sir John was now veiy ill, and died shortly after-
wards. In his state of health, he blundered in the address
of his letter in reply. He directed it to the Solicitor
instead of the Attorney General, and thus information of
the whole proceedings was given, by tho friend of the
Judge and Attorney General, to the very person from
whom they would have been most anxious to withhold it.
When we come to resume our narrative at this point,
we shall find the scene of action transferred to the other
side of the water. There indeed it will bo found that Mr.
Uniacke, one of the candidates, was unable to appear in
consequence of failing health, which terminated in his
death before the vacancy occurred. This circumstance
reduced the number of the combatants to two, and took
IIP
54
LIFE OF
u
away the triangular feature of the contest. But before
W3 relate the result, we shall have to bring up the thread
of our narrative on other matters to that date.
CIIAPTEH Y.
The Brandy Question.
House.
Death of George IV. Dissolution of the
The year 1830 was a remarkable epoch in the history-
of Nova Scotia. The Assembly comprised a number
of gentlemen who would have done honor to the Legis-
lature of any country. Among the lawyers, to pass by
Mr. Archibald, for the present, there was Fairbanks of
Halifax, a man of great force of character, well versed
in commercial law, and concerned in every important
case before the Courts in which the principles of the " lex
mercatoria" were involved. If not eloquent, he was at
all events, a powerful and persuasive reasoner, and had
taken a prominent part in all the discussions in Parlia-
ment since he succeeded to the seat for the Town of
Halifax, vacated by the death of Mr. Grassie.
There was Stewart of Cumberland, who had entered
the Assembly in 1327, and whose name appears in the
Journals from that time on, as one of the most active
members of the House. He was remarkable for the
torrent of impetuous eloquence which flowed from him,
and for the power of sarcasm with which ho could over-
whelm an adversary. There was Eichard J. Unlacke the
younger, a man of more than average ability, and like all
the TJniackes, possessed of great command of language.
Ho fought the battle of the Council and of his fii*^hor with
great energy and vigor. There was Murdoch, the col-
league of Fairbanks, then comparatively a young man,
who, during the debates of this Session, displayed high
powers of mind, and gave assui-ance of qualities which
56
LIFE OF
would have made him eminent as a politician. For-
tunately for Nova Scotia, if not for himself, a hasty speech^
made at the hustings at the fallowing general election on
nomination day, otiendod some of Ids constituents, and re-
served him for service as an historical pioneer. We need
not mention Thomas Dickson, of Pictou,who represented
Sydney County, or Morse, of Amherst, both of whom
were men of more than ordinary ability.
Among the laymen, were a number of men of sound
judgement and great weight of character ; but towering
far above the ordinary level, was one whose nom de plume
of ' Agricola' was even better known perhaps throughout
Nova Scotia, than that which he bore in ordinary life.
Mr. Young, among the galaxy of professional men who
surrounded him, was always ready to take his part in
any discussion, and to sustain it by clear and lucid ora-
tory, which no other man of his day possessed in equal
perfection.
In fact it may be said with truth, that since the days
when the House drevv its members from the men of cul-
ture and ability, who were educated in older countries,
and who took up their abode here at the close of the Re-
volutionary War, with the single exception of that of
1820, no Assembly possessed so many men of mai'k as the
one of which we are speaking. Any gentleman who
could assume and retain the position of leader in such a
body, must have been a man of no ordinary character.
The speeches which, in the course of our narrative
we shall have occasion to quote cannot well be under-
stood, or the allusions in them appreciated, without some
explanations about the matter in controversy.
The Legislature met on the eleventh of February
1830. Sir Peregrine Maitland was then in Bermuda on
i|iM.|.y
S. G. W. ARCHIBALD. bT
a nine months Icavo of absence. Mr. Wallace the Trea-
surer, as next senior member of Council after the Chief
Justice and Bishop, who were excluded by the Royal in-
structions, administered the Government. The session
began very quietly. There were no exciting questior s
betoro the country. In his opening speech Mr. Wallace
said ho had nothing to communicate to the House from
the Colonial Secretary, lie recommended harmony in
the proceedings, and as much expedition as was consis-
tent with the nature of the business to be brought before
them.
Never had a session opened with loss appearance of
a storm. Mr. Wallace was an old and favorite public
servant. Sir Peiegrine Maitland had last year recom-
mended the Imperial Government as a reward of his long
ai.d faithful public services, to confer the office he held,
upon his son Charles. Nothing however had been done.
Shortly after the Legislature met at this session, an
address to His Mtijesty passed the House, and an thcr
the Council, prajnng that the appointment should be made
as recommended by Sir. Peregrine. The President was
therefore on the best of terms with every branch of the
Legislatuj'c. There was some inconsistency in his ad-
ministering the Government and at the same time ho d-
ing the office of Treasurer. This seems to have struck
Mr. Blowers the Chief Justice, who called attention to it
at a meeting of the council in its executive capacity, held
just after the departure of Sir. Peregrine. Mr. Wallace
then stated that he had appointed his son to do the duty,
and that his own bonds remained still in force. The ex-
planation did not do much to clear up the difficulty, but
it satisfied a friendly Council. All went smoothly till one
of the revenue bills, the one which levied a duty on
58
LIFE OF
Sjoirituous Liquors, came before the Council. One of the
clauses imposed a tax of one shilling and four pence a
gallon on brandy. An act had been passed in 1826, and
every year thereafter, which was supposed to charge
brandy wiili duty to that amount. That sum was col-
lected at first, but afterwards, by some curious construc-
tion of the officials, only one shilling a gallon was exacted.
The extra fourpenco paid for some time was returned to
the imjiorters from whom it had been collected. This
fact did not come to light till after the session opened.
Messrs. E. Collins & Co. (the senior partner being a
member of Council) presented a petition to the House,
claiming compensation for the loss sustained in pay-
ing liquor duties in Doubloons, below their fair value.
The investigation which followed led to the discovery by
the House that the law had been evaded Naturall}^
enough they were indignant. They found the firm, which
should have paid one shilling and fourpcnce and hail
been let olf at one shilling, striving to take still more
out of the Treasury, and the fact that Mr. Collins, a
member of the Council, was a party both to the evasion
and to the petition, increased their disgust. They were
resolved therefore that the new act should express th(Mr
meaning in words that could not be misunderstood, and
they framed their measure accordingly.
The fourpcnce which constituted the ground of differ-
ence was calculated to yield about £700. With such a
revenue as tlie Province had at the time, under its own
Eevenuo Acts, the difference between Is. and Is. 4d. would
bo less than an addition of one eighth of one per cent to a
ten per cent tariff'. It was a matter of perfect insignificance.
When the Bill went up to the Council on the 29th March,
that body demanded a conference. The He use acceded.
ill';: J,
Hi' >
S. G. W. ARCHIBALD. 69
At the conference the Council objected to the extra four-
pence as " a burden upon commerce greater than com-
merce could bear." The members from the Assembly
adhered to their Bill, the members from the Council to
their objection. The conference broke up, and its mem-
berd reported to the reispective Houses. On the Slst
March another conference was demanded by the Council,
which was held, but without effecting any change of opin-
ion in either body. At an early hour of the afternoon of
that day, the Council sent down all the other revenue bills
duly agreed to. Sir Peregrine came down to the Council
Chamber and gave his assent. At a still later hour, about
four o'clock p. M., the Council sent down the Bill in
question, with a message that they did not agree to it.
What was to be done ? As the Eevenue Acts were then
framed, they expired on the 31st March, at midnight. It
was within a few hours of that time. The warehouses
were full of Spirituou* liquors, which could be thrown on
the market without payment of duty immediately after
twelve o'clock p. m. The loss to the Revenue might be
computed at £'0,000. The House never supposed that
the Council Avould take the extreme measure of throwing
away the Eevenue on all spirits, to gain an exemption of
fourpence on brandy. No wonder that there was
great, excitement. No body was prepared to suggest a
course of action. Nothing was done that evening, but
next day, at the opening of the House, Mr. Stewart intro-
duced a new Bill, to revive the Act that had just expired.
It passed the same day through all its stages and on
Tuesday was sent to the Council. There it remained till
Saturday Avhen it was returned to the House disagreed to,
with a memorandum explaining the cause of its rejection.
The old statement that ' the burden was greater than com-
PI I
60
LIFE OF
merce could bear' was still adhered to, but the bill was
rejected on the further ground that the Council had al-
rejuly passed upon a Bill with the same provisions, and
that it was against parliameutary rules, to send up the
second time in the same session, a bill already disposed
of.
In reality the Bill was different, not in title only, but
in its provision, which was to revive a bill that had ex-
pired, and also in the period of time covered by it, which
was necessarily different from that in the former bill.
Thus it was that the true interests of the Province were
sacrificed to a technical objection, which was itself un-
founded. Meanwhile a committee that had just been
appointed to search the Journals of the Council in refer-
ence to the proceedings on the first bill, reported that
at its second reading in Council it had been referred to
a Committee consisting of the two collectors and Mr^
Collins the head of the firm of importers whose petition
had lately been before them, and that it was on the re-
port ef these gentlemen that the bill had been rejected,
and further that the rejection of the Bill took place, be-
fore the last conference was held to which the House had
been invited. The discovery of the evasion of duty by
the importers, and its sanction by the collectors, added
to the indignity of amusing the House with the pretence
of a conference on a matter which the Council had already
disposed of, occasioned much of the bittei-noss which
marks the speeches subsequently made in the Assembly,
Up to this time Mr. A.rchibald had taken little part in
the proceedings. His position in the chair precluded him
from addressing the House except when it was in Com-
mittee of the whole. And hitherto their had been no
occasion for his active interference.
S. G. W, ARCHIBALD, 61
When Ml*. Stewarts bill went into cemmittce of the
whole House, the question as to the amount of tax was
raised. Mr. Lawson proposed that the blank in the bill
for duty on brandy per gallon should be filled up with one
shilling and fourpence. Then began a discussion in which
Mr. Archibald took a prominent part.
Mr. Dill was the first speaker ; after him came one
or two other members, bat the subject was approached
with much hesitation.— Many were uncertain, whether
after all it would not be best to yield the jjoint. Nobody
was anxious to take the floor. Mr. Young, who was
among the first to speak, commenced his address by notic-
ing the hesitation which was prevailing. Mr, Young was
a corpulent man. lie said that he seldom had an oppor-
tunity of speaking early in debates, in consequence of
gontlemen of much lighter bodily weight being sure to
rise before him, but he found no difficulty on this occasion.
lie said that while they were deliberating the merchants
on the outside were acting, and at that hour upwards of
£1100 worth of dutiable articles had been thrown on the
market without paying duty. Ho sustained the tax of
one shilling and fourpence in an able and well reasouod
speech. Several other members followed. Mr. Dili,
member for VVindsri made some observations which
brought him into great prominence a few days afterwards.
He " declared that he did not like to make reflections
but he thought that it was i-ather singular that one gentle-
man connected with His Majesty's Council was himself
interested in a large quantity of brandy, and that availing
himself of the state of affairs that he had assisted to bring
on, he had endeavoured to evade the duty, and notwith-
standing the raging of the elements," (for it appears there
was a frightful storm on that day) " he had caused it all
to be removed fjom the warehouse."
62
LIFE OF
w
n
^I' :i!
■iji'
i^i
iiii
r
1 II
'1
Other mcmbors followed, but the debate langiiiBhed
and the chairman was about to put the vote, when Mr.
Archibald rose and delivered the first of a Heries of splen-
did orations uj)on the subject matter of the dispute be-
tween the two Houses. The debates in the House were
not then reported with much accuracy, but enough is to
be found in the columns of the different newspapers of
the day, to afford the means of judging, somewhat of the
character and style ; and very precisely of the effect of
the addresses delivered.
Mr. Archibald said he hoped the Chairman would
not put the question immediately, it was a subject of too
much importance to be decided hastily, and ho wished
gentlemen to pause and consider well before they came
to a determination. The Houso on a former day had had
the subject of a supply before them, and after mature de-
liberation, came to the conclusion to pass the Revenue
Bills in the shape thoy had been sent to his Majesty's
Council. It was certainly the undoubted privilege of this
House to determine what amount of Eevenue should be
rais 3d from the people of this Province ; and to fix and
establish the rate of duty to be imposed on each parti-
cular article. This right the House had constitutionally
exercised : and upon what ground, he would ask, was it
that His Majesty's Council had rejected the supply, which
they, the representatives of the people, had so liberally
tendered to the representative of His Majesty? Much
had been said about the stand made by the House in the
conference with His Majesty's Council, but ho could not
see how this House could with propriety have conducted
that conference otherwise than they had done. He called
the attention of the House to the Acts which passed in
1826. In that year the revenue laws of this Province
S. G. W. AJRCHIBALD. 63
underwent a thoroiigli revision, and, after much discuK-
sion and mature deliberation, a H3'8tem of finance was
a(ioj)ted, which had been continued without material
alteration to the present time. By the law of that year,
which the House had thin year re-enacted, the article of
foreign brandy was intended to be subjected to a provin-
cial duty of one shiUing and fourpenco a gallon, and the
members of the House had ever believed that that duty
had been regularly collected. Our committee ai)pointcd
to investigate the public accounts, discovered that
there was a 'ficiency in the revenue for the last
three or four years, according to their reading of
the Act, of nearl} £3000., and they w' ere about to report
that the collector of Impost and Excise be sui'charged
with the amount of these duties. The petition of Messrs.
Collins & Co., praying for a return of part of the duties
levied at the Custom House on foreign brandy, drew the
attention of the House particularly to this subject, and
then for the first time it was discovered that the addi-
tional fouvpence which the act of 1826 intended to impose,
had not been collected.
*********
Mr. Chairman, (^continued the learned Speaker.) It is
in vain for us to sit here if it be not to maintain the rights
of the people whom we represent: — and it is in vain for
us to attempt to maintain their rights, if w^e do not pre-
serve the privileges, which belong to their representatives.
If when we are asked by His Majesty to grant a supply,
and if when we have liberally provided for the Public
Service, the Revenue Bills are to be thrown back upon us
in this way, and at this time, we may as well resign into
the hands of our constituents the faint semblance of a
power to grant supplies, and apportion their burdens,
64
LIFE Of
i!
i
which in reality we do not possess* When f^ir it is said
that the Kcvcniic bills were not sent to Ilis Majesty's
Council until a late period in the Sension, let me remind
gentlemen of the time the large appropriations for the
road service lay before that Honorable Body ; after the
principal sum htul been agreed to, the specific appi-opria-
tions had remained there for fifteen ov twenty days, and
then came down to us rejected : and it Was not until the
House had to resort to measures to which 1 most unwilling'
ly submitted that this highly important service was sc*
cured. Was it to be expected under these circumstances,
that this House should part with its own main constitu"
tioual check upon the other branch of the Legislature ;
and that Iteveimo bills should be sent to His Majesty's
Council whilst the House i-emaincd in doubt whether any
appropriation Would be made of the money already in the
Treasury ? But Sir, these Bills were sent to the Council
early on Monday last, and there was abundance of time
to consider them. They were in form and substance the
same bills which have been passed for the last four
years : the only alteru^^'on being the .iddition of fourpence
upon British spirits, which fixed +he duty on foreign
brandy at the rate intended by the Legislature When the
original Bill passed in 1825, a duty which it can well
bear. But let us see what was the course pursued by his
Majesty's Council with this bill. The Committee of this
House appointed to search their Journals, have reported
their proceedings* I firid that this Bill was referred to a
Committeeof that Honorable Board, and of whom, let me
ask, did the Committee consist? The Collector of His
Majesty's Customs, the Collector of Lnpost and Excise,
and Mr. Collins, a merchant extensively engaged in that
trade which is most affected by this Bill. Mr. Chairman
i?: !'
S. G. W. AltCHIBALD.
G5
I deal in no pcrHonalitien, nor will I uso disgraceful
language. His Majesty's Council have a right to consti-
tute any part of their Board, a comniitteo for any par-
ticuhir purpose. But what were this Committee to do'/
Were they to report upon Iho regulating clauso of tho
Bill, to see that no foreign matter was introduced, or that
no favorite measure of this House was tacked to it? No,
.Sir ! thoy were to report, it must bo presumed, whcthci*
or not in the opinion of those two officers, tho servants of
the province, and to whom heavy and hurthonsomo
salaries are paid for collecting its revenues and in the
0])inion of the Honorable gentleman so deej)ly interested
in the trade, tho representatives of tho people had
exercised a correct judgement in imposing upon their
constituents the taxes they were to pay for the public
service of the country- and oven for payment of the
salaries of two of the Committee, who were thus to re-
port upon the proceedings of the Assembly. Tho Com-
mittee of this House in conference were distinctly in-
formed, that His Majesty's Council are of opinion that the
duties on all the various articles onumoi-ated in the Bill
arc too high. Not contented with this general declaration
they descend to particulars — the duty on brandy should
1)0 20ct8. on rum lOcts,, on low wines Is. 3d, and so on
upon all tho various articles: and having made this
important communication, they dismiss our Com
mittee with a written taritt' to report to this House tho
sage suggestions of His Majesty's Council. Sir. long as 1
have had a seat in this Assembly, this is the first time His
Majesty's Council have ever presumed to dictate to this
House the principal duty to be imposed upon any article
of consumption. This encroachment upon tho pi ivileges
of the people, this attempt to point out the course v/e are
■ Hi
66 LIFE OF
to pursue in raiwing a revenue, is a new losMon of dogreda-
tion CO bo taught the Representatives of Nova Scotia, and
it is one which 1 trust they will not be apt to learn. Hut
■why was the duty too high ? what reason existed in the
mind of this Honourable Comniittoo and the lioai'd for
reducing the duties at this time? Is it not the period of
all others, when the spirit of improvement is in full exer-
cise ? Are not out roads and bi-idges, our schools and our
public works, our agriculture, our fisheries and our com-
merce all dependent upon the revenue, and have we not
in this session appropriated large sums to those various
services ? Have we not also a heavy debt on which we are
paying interest, and that too to some of the sahiric 1 men
of the Province, who perchance hold a seat in His
Majesty's Council, and now forsooth would diminish our
means? Is this a time then, and are these the circum-
stances, under which His Majesty's Council would dictate
the reduction of our revenue, and compel us to the mea-
sure? Although we feel in no small degree the pressure
of commercial embarrassment, we are able and willing,
I say, iSir, we, the people who are represented in this
House, are all able and willing to raise sufficient sums for
the public services of the country. It is the undoubted
privilege of the House to impose all b'lrthensto be borne
by the people, to originate and .to frame all money bills,
and it is we, and we alone, who are to determine what
article can best bear a duty, and what classes of men are
most able, from the consumption of dutiable articles, to
contribute to the Eevenue of the Country. This privilege
is the most important right which the Commons enjoy.
His Majesty's Council cannot add to or take from the
duties we impose ; and if we should suffer an encroach-
ment upon this prerogative, — if we allow this privilege
liii
S. O. W. ARCHIBALD,
9T
tx) 1)0 wrofltod from us, while wo are thus cxorcisii g it
with (lificrotion, there will bo an end of tho influence of
the people in the LegiHliituro, and wo may quietly resign
to IliH Majesty's Council tho full and uncontrolled power
of raining tho Kevenue, and of appropriating it, if they
800 fit, without the rude interference of the llouso of
AsHombly.
His Honor tho President in behalf of His Majesty
requests this House to grant tho usual supplies for the
public service, and when those supplies are liberally grant-
ed, tho Council standing between His Majesty's ropreson-
tative and the grant made him, throw it back upon the
representatives of the people. And in point of timo when
is this done ? On tho last day of the operation of tho
lornier law, and within eight hours o^ tho midnight which
terminated its existence, Nov ""..i, with all tho confer-
ences that have been had, what conld tho House have
done on that day moro than was done ? I had not an
opportunity of offering an opinion. I was in that chair
and felt mysolf only bound to keep the order of tho House
without any desire to influence its decision, Tho House
camo to tho determination to make no change, and how
could they determine otherwise? The Bill had finally
passed the House, and was before tho council. Surely
they could not expect us to niter or amend a money bilU
and how indeed could this House consider the matter of
a bill which had passed out of their possession, and was
then before another branch of the Legislature ? Was it
expected that the dictation of the Committee of Council,
or tho throat that tlioy would not agree to tho bill unless
the fourpence was relinquished, was to terrify us to
ftubmit to an encroachment upon our privileges or ao«
cede to an unconstitutional proposition, which the Hou9«
68
LIFE OF
of Peers, the ancient hereditary Baronage of England
would never have presumed to make to the Commons ?
Gentlemen have said that the lan'o conference ought not
to have been asked — that the ir structions given to our
Committee had influenced the determination of the Coun-
cil on the bill. But turn to the extract from the Council
Journals, and we find that before this conference was
held, and before the Council had agreed to the last con-
ference with the House, the bill had met its death blow,
I', had been rejected, and the Deputy Cicik had been
ordered to carry it to the House with that message.
The retaining the bill and agreeing to conference, alter
it had been disagreed to, was merely giving color.
The mischiefs of this measure were not easily to be
calculated. In a moment all is thrown into confusion,
and in every part of the Province the same scenes will be
acting.
The warehouses are thrown open, and dutiable articles
are in the act of being transported to every part of the
town and country without payment of duty. But it is
not merely the amount of revenue that is lost, and the
consequent embarrassments of public credit ; but mark
the injury to the merchant who has imported largely,
and paid or secured his duties, and now finds a deluge of
the same article poured into the market without any
charge upon it ! This House, no doubt at a future day,
will be assailed from all quarters with grievances arising
out of this transaction, which thoy cannot redress. Mis-
chiefs will follow in the train of ti 's rejection round the
whole of the Province, }.ublic faith will be injured, the
peace of the country broken, and it will be asked witn
eagerness " "What ;jould have induced His Majesty's
Council to plunge a quivit and well ordered Province into
S. G. W, ARCHIBALD. 6^
such a state ?" and the answer will be received with
wonder and amazement. "To save the consumer of
brandy fourpence a gallon, and to gratify the importers
of that article." Will it not be a difficult matter of belief?
Will it not be said that this is not a matter of pence but
of principle ? That those who wish well to the country
would not destroy its revenue for such a paltry question?
and will it not be said that it is high time the people of
this Province weie turning their attention to the consti-
tution of that body which has brought these evils upon
them ? I maintain it Mr. Chairman, that Brandy is of all
others the fittest subject for taxation. That class of the
community who drink it are able to pay. It is not the
drink of the poor man, and to say that the ^xxiy cramps
the trade is ridiculous. It is the consumer and not the
merchant who pays the duty, and any other doctyi;je at
this day will not be belie\ ed.
^^ ^^ v^ st^ «^ ^t» »^ %^ %^
^n •^ *f^ '!» 'f* •^ *J* ^* ^^
When I find it necessary to review the proceedings
of the other branch of the Legislature, no motives of deli-
cacy shall prevent me from expressing my sentiments.
I am always accustomed to do so in temperate and plain
language. I know and respect the members of that
Honorable Body individually, and some of them claim
my esteem, but it is their public conduct in their legisla-
tive capacity I am now considering. Mr, Chairman we
are guardians of the rights of the people of Nova Scotia.
A high and important trust is. committed to us, and we
must watch with jealousy any step which may trench
further on the few privileges they retain. Sir, I have
ever felt it my duty, as a member of the House and par-
ticularly as its Speaker, to respect the rights of His
Majesty, and the privileges of the Council : I have been
til
TO
LIFE OF
I r,
friendly io the separate consideration of every subject \,y
each branch of the public service, and when each House
resj)ects the views of the other, this mode may be piae-
ticed with advantage, but when I speak of separate
Bervices, I do not mean such a detail us we have been
obliged to submit to during the present session. When
the small sums of money distributed throughout the
country for the roads and bridges have been watched
Tfith a scrutinizing eye; when our subdivision has been
rejected because it did not suit the views of His Majesty's
Council ; when the wants of the country which are best
known to us only are to be supplied with otiier hands ^
when not only the appropriation of the public money is
attempted to be wrested from us, but when the Council
force upon us their suggestions; nay, when they dictate
to us the amount and mode of raising the revenue, is it
not time for us to pause and resume our rights ? 8ir,
when we submit to those encroachments, the rights and
privileges of the people we represent will become a
shadow and a name l when we return to oui* homes wo
should act the part of honest men — we should tell them
not to bo deceived ; that their representatives possess
neither power or influence, to address no more idlb peti-
tions to make known their wants, to inform us of the state
of the country, their roads or their bridges, but to alter
the address and send them to the other end of the build-
ing, if happily the Honorable Council may make provision
for them. Tell them that they are no longer to submit
to a revenue raised by their representatives, but to a scale
of duties imposed by those whose salaries are paid from
the public treasury. This House formerly possessed a
salutary control over those officers of the Government
who had seats in His Majesty's Council, because thoir
11
S. G. W. ARCHIBALD. Tl
salaries depended upon the Eevenue Billa, and anxious
were tiiey indeed to have those bills sent them from the
Assembly. But now I will ask what control has this
House over the Council ? By permanent bills wo have pro-
vided permanent salaries, and since the passing of the
Imperial Act, a Eevenue is raised without the aid of this
House independent of the Province Laws, and independ-
ent of this House. Sufficient sums are collected and paid
into the Treasury for the payment of the officers of Gov-
ernment, and here ariees the indifference on the part of
His Majesty's Council to the ordinary means of raising
money for the public service ; and hence the destruction
of our constitutional control ; it is now reduced to a name,
and the proceedings of the other branch of the Legisla-
ture render this truth everyday more and more api^arent.
When our privileges are fcvv, and our influence reduced,
and on the decline, it is high time for us to exert our-
selves and to watch with care over what remains. If we
are this year to submit to the direction of the Council, as
to the amount of duty upon brandy, we must be prepared
next jear to be told that champaigne stood too high: the
year following Port and Maderia and all other wines,
which now pay a high duty will follow in the order of
exemption until we have nothing left. It is not therefore
the sum but the principle for which I am contending.
If, Sir, we have not the power to grant a supply to His
Majesty, and provide for the great public services of the
country without this humiliating dictation — If the roads
and the bridges, the education, the agricnltui'c, the fish-
eries, and the commerce of the country are of so little
importance in the eyes of His Majesty's Council that they
are to be sold for fourponce upon brandy, and wo are
without redress, let us adjourn our session and return to
72
LIIE OP
ifi
^'^. I
our homes, and not insult the people we pretend to re-
present with the mere mockery and the empty form of
Legislation.
Sir, I have ever been the constant advocate of every
measure which in my opinion was calculated to promote
harmony, so desirable in Logislation; but when peace is
only to be purchased by the abandonment of right, I
will not accept it on such term><. When the question of
the QuitEcnts was before the House I inde|)endently ad-
vocated the side which 1 judged right, and voted with the
minority. That question has been disposed of, and I bow
to the decision of the House ; and althoui»;h I ditfercd with
many members on that occasion, I nevertheless re8j)ect
their opinion. I hope they ma}^ be right, and that I may
be mistaken. It was a subject upon which we might
well differ. It was one *n which the rights of the Crown
were involved, and this is one involvin"; the privileges of
the people, which I will not readily consent to abandon.
Independently of my office in this House, which places
me in the highest rei)i'esentative situation in the Pro-
vince, all that I possess, my property and my friends, are
here. These form the. surest pledge that I will not
willingly allow the country lo bo prejudiced by any act
of mine. I would not willingly impose burdens on my
children or my friends. This is my native land and my
home, and here I expect to spend the remainder of my
days, if it remains a free country, but if its freedom is
lost, or if it is to be governed by a majority of five in His
Majesty's Council, which I regard as the same thing, I
would travel from it as from the city of Destj'uction.
*^t^ tt^ *J^ %i^ vL* *t* ^X' ^t*
'I • ^* vjs *^ 'f^ *j> 'f* 'T*
Mr. Chairman, I came to this question without pre-
meditation. I speak the aentiments which suggest them-
!'■
S. G. W. ARCHIBALD. T3
selves upon the occasion. I have heard the independent
opinion of others, and when I am called upon in com-
mittee, upon the general stale of the Province, I shall be
p-'cpared to deliver my ojiiriion of men and measures more
fully than is at present necessary. 1 have heard a rumour
of dissolution spread within these walls. Whenever the
lieprescMtative of llis Majcbly sees tit to dissolve this
House, with him lies the responsibility, and let it be done,
but let not the sound of it be heard within these walls to
intimidate members. Upon those around me it can pro-
duce no efitct, upon me the sound is lost. I know not the
influence of terror: 1 will take no step here that I can-
not justify to my constituents, whenever the day shall
arrive that I am' to meet them; but unless .this House
possesses greater influence in the Legislature than it does
at present, little honor will attach to a seat within its
walls.
I may venture to say without fear of contradiction,
that no man in this As^e!nbly has exerted himself more
than 1 have done to preserve the peace and order of the
Colony: and no man has been more vsuccessful than my-
self in that particular, indeed so iar have 1 gone, that I
have not escaped censure for my unwearied efforts in this
cause, but those who suppose ihat 1 will not make a stand
when 1 consider the rights of this House invaded, know
me not, and if I con^ider principle involved, 1 will not
yield. The People of this country know my services and
my disposition for peace. The Government on this and
on the other side of the Atlantic know me, and they well
know that i would not complain Avithoul justcaui> . No
man would lament more than myself the interruption of
harmony between the different branches of the Legisla-
ture, and I trust and hope a good uudei'standing may be,
If
■I
r
74
LIFE OF
iflMi
even yet, preserved, but whilnt the ineasureH of the House
in money matters, are opposed and rendered abortive
by a majority of five members of His Majesty's Council,
with little consideration for the feelings of the Represen-
tatives, tell not the inhabitants of Nova Scotia that they
enjoy a free government. The voice of their Representa-
tives is overborn and rendered of no avail when it milita-
tes in the slightest degree with the views of the Council.
Fi'om the course pursued, the minority of this House
liave it in their power frequently to defeat the measures
of the majority. I have been led to say more upon this
subject tJian I intended. The Course pursued by His
Majesty's Council was so unprecedented and so unex-
pected that.it has called forth these observations. Again
I request the House to judge for themselves, to pause
and to d3liberate, and what they determine, it shall be
my endeavour as their Siieaker to carry into etfect."
We have made these copious extracts from this
speech to show its general tenor and drift. Evidently it
was delivered without premeditation. In a subsequent
speech made on the same day, in ]'e2)ly to Mr. Uniacke, he
says he felt it his duty to make soc^e reply to what had
fallen from the Honorable Gentleman from Cape Bi-eton.
" It has been said. Sir, that I have made a jiasssionate ap-
peal to the feelings of this House, but this I take the
liberty to deny. When I came here this morning it was
with a determination to do ray duty to the House, and to
the Country.
I came not to make a speech, and what the Hon.
vxentleman, who has so warmly espoused the side of H.
M. Council, is pleased to call a passionate appeal, is noth-
ing mu'c than the free and temperate expression of my
sentiments upon this important occasion. The Hon.
S, G. W, ARCJIIBjiLD. 15
Gentleman has told us tliat tho rights and privileges of
II. M. Council luivo been denied in this IIouho. I. for
one, Mr. Chairman, am disposed to respect the privileges
of that Branch of the Legislature, but at the same time I will
watch with a jealous eye, that they do not encroach upon
the privileges of this House. JMo one has heard me yet
assert that the Council had not tho right to reject the bill.
It is the expediency of exercising that right — the time
and the manner of j-ejecting tho supply, against which I
comj)lain. I ask was it politic, was it wise, did it evince
a due regard for tho interests of tho country, and the
rights of the people, to destroy by this Act the revormo
upon which our prosperity depends ? Tho learned gentle-
man had talked much about our honor, but what has per-
sonal honor to do with the question ? We are not sent
here to pay compliment>. As a representative of the
people I allow no private interests, and no personal con-
siderations, to dictate a course of conduct prejudicial to
their rights. I am not sent hero to redress my own
grievances, or speak my private sentiments, but to
express the feelings of my constituents, to protect their
interests, and guard their rights.
'tl^ *lf vL( %lf ■. L> %L0 *A^ «±* tjj
*r* "T^ *v* *r* *** *v* ^ "T^ *i*
The power of this House to grant a revenue is sub-
stance and not forjn. The means are ours, and wo alone
are to detci-mino how much we will voluntarily offer to
the Govei'nment and those aids should be accepted when
liberally offered. And is it because we have tendered too
much, that those who stand between us and the representa-
tive of His Majesty, have rejected tho terms and left the
country in dilRculty and distress ?
It is the time, the manner and tho circumstances of
exercising this power, of which I chiefly complain, and
ie
LIFE OF
if wo arc to be driven stop by step to the wall, when
there, at least, I am determine J to make a stand. Con-
sequences most serious to the people of this country will
follow if we are to be used merely as a machine in the
hands of His Majesty's Council, to prepare the Revenue
Billfs in the manner they shall dictate to us."
Tfio effect 2»roduced by these speeches upon those who
heai'd them, may bo estimated by observations of the
other gentlemen who took part in the debate, or listened
to it.
Mr. Stewart said " he had thouujht of some mode of
conciliating matters, but the speech he had listened to,
hal conyinced him that there was but one course before
the House."
Mr. Murdoch " was proud to recognize the talent and
independence displayed on this occasion by the Honor-
able Speaker, he was proud to claim such a man as a
native of the soil."
Mr. Young, who was not usually very partial to the
Speaker was nevertheless obliged to say that he " had
opened the controversy Avith admirable skill, and had
arranged eveiy thing in such perfect and lucid order that
he had left nothing untouched which could either illus-
trate or fortity his argument."
Mr. Uniacke, on whon the work fell of defending the
Council, complimented Mj*. Archibald on '-the splendid
eloquence with which he had enlightened the House."
Mr. Howe, the j^outhful editor of the Nova Scotian,
who had lately begun his editorial career, but wdio
had already show^n the power of terse and vigoroui
expression which afterwards formed so striking a feature
in his writings and speeches, in referrmg to the discuss-
ion which ho had listened to and reported, says that " tbo
S. G. W, ARCEIB^iLD. V
stand which Mr. Archibald had taken, and the two brilli-
ant Hpcechos which he had delivered in defence of the
House, had placed him on an elevation, which in tho
whole course ef his public life he had never before attained j
by his splendid and graceful oratory, his sound reasoning
and manly independence he had vindicated the title ot
first commoner of his country."
While this discuseioE was going on in the Lower
iroiiso the Council wore not uiiconcorned spectators.
The rcpt>>rto of the lipcechos were carefully scanned, and on
the 7th April the Attorney Cieneral Mr. Uniacke, called the
attention of the Council to what pui-ported to be reports
of speeches in tho House. He alluded particularly to
the speech of a Mr. Hill, the substance of which we have
already given, but the great subject of offence was Mr.
Archibalds observation in which he chai'ged the Council
with having invited the House to a mock Conference, the
bill on which it had been held having been already re-
jected. This ho considered a charge of duplicity against
the Council. Doubtless it was, but Mr. Uuiache did not
venture to deny the fact. The Journals of his own House
proved it. The Council notwithstanding agreed unani-
mously to a series of thirteen Eosolutions condemning
the speeches as containing "gross, scandalous, and libell-
ous charges against the Board and against the Members
thereof," and calling on the House to punish the oti'end-
ing members. This unfortunate message reached tho
House while one of the three friends of the Council in
that Body was in tho middle of a long harangue, proving
by extracts from writers on Constitutional Law, that the
Council were quite right in the exercise of the authority
they had asserted. An ordinary Speaker would have
been disconcerted by the interruption, but Mr. Barry had
IS
LIFE OF
ever ninco he had heen oxpcUod from the House in a prc«
viouB BOHnion, been in the habit of dolivoring long and
proHy orations made up of extracts from books and papers.
Some of the speakers cbaracteriz<Hl him as tho man who
carried his brains in his pocket. After the message Mr.
Bari-y went on with his speech. The other members
were thinking only of the mes?ago, and ofwhat was to bo
done with it. Mr. Barry was followed by some other
members who spoke with great force and animation. At
the close of the debate Mr. Archibald spoke again. We
append a few extracts from his Speech.
lie said " I will address the House without any of
that warmth of temper which is so apparent upon the
other side, and notwithstanding the high crimes and mis*
demeanors with which I stand charged by His Majesty's
Council, I shall deliver my opinions as cooly and as
moderately as if the thundering dispatch which we lately
heard read, had never been delivered at our Bar. I am
not to be frightened into silence, or tamed into submis'
sion by such charges as I have listened to this day. I
look but to the rectitude of my intentions, to the good
sense and moderation, the brilliant tallants and manly in-
dependence which I find associated with me on this ques-
tion. I need not particularize where all have been so diB«
tinguished and successful, but I may be permitted to say
that I am proud to find that great occasions are only want-
ing to call forth gi-eat talents and great exertions in Nova
Scotia.
I am proud to see that the minds which are usually
employed upon the common ordinary business of this
Assembly can when great constitutional questions call
them into action, exhibit powers which do honor to this
Houtje and to the Country. I am not a speechmaker,
* S. 0. W. ARCUIBALD, 79
Mr. Chairman, it ha8 never been my habit to commit to
paper or to memory anything which I may find it ne-
cesnary to offer this Honse. I trust to nothing but the
general i^nowlodgo I possess and what mav- arise within
my mind upon the spur of the moment, and as the occa-
BJon may seem to require. I do not, like my Honorable
friend from Shelburne, resort to scraps of paper for my
arguments, nor attempt to weigli dovvn a debate with a
motley array of extracts from all the books, into whic.'h
chance, or the course of my studios, may have led me to
look. When I see myself associated in this cause with
such men as my Honorable friend from the Town of Hali-
fax, tiie Honorable and learned gentleman from Cumber-
land, and the Ilcmorable member from Sydney, and when
I see on all sides around me, men who if not accustomed
to mix in debate, or to clothe their sentiments in langu-
age, are nevertheless possessed of shrewd minds and good
sound sense and judgement: and when I see that they
have taken a stand and come to a decision on a full view
of this question and of the general state of the Province,
I think I require no other answer to my Honorable
friends on the other side who accuse me of leading the
House astray. I would be ashamed of this house if I
thought for one instant that a speech, however brilliant,
could turn the heads of members, I have not the magic
influence which has been ascribed to me. I speak a plain
language, and it is addressed to the reason. Sir, if it ha(^l
been the general wish of this House to yield up its
privileges, if it had been resolved to make a bargain with
His Majesty's Council, and to patch up this unconstitu-
tional infraction, I, as the servant of this House must
have submitted to this decision. But that was not the
feeling of this House. Before I opened my lips in the
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LIFE OB
Committee, a feeling of indignation pervaded the general
mind and many members had given expression to that
feeling.
It has been said that I have overstepped my duty in
standing forward upon this occasion, but. Sir, suppose I
remained silent in the Committee, or retired into my
chamber, and left the House to settle the question as they
could, should 1 have done my duty to this House or to
the Country ? Would it not have been remarked as sin-
gular and unmanly that tlu; Spf.-ikor i^V.ould desert his
jiost in the hour of difficulty and danger, and when the
question was asked "Where is the Speaker?'' it would
be answered, " he has retired to his chamber." How
could mem])ers stand forward with contidenco in this
great constitutional struggle, if they found it oided
by the Speaker, the natural guardian of the rights and
privileges of this House ? Sir, I will nuike my voice
to be licard, till it is acknowledged that we ])osses8 a
right, which to an Englishman and a freeman, is the
dearest of all rights, that of taxing oiirselrcs, icithout the
interventhn or dictation of any j^owcr upon earth.
When in the chair yesterday, I listened with great
attention to my Honorable friend from the County of
Cape Breton, and I thank him for the manner in which
my conduct and arguments were treated. I can easily"
appreciate the feelings which led him to defend his vener-
able father, and let it not be supposed for a moment, that,
wdiile contending against a public Body for principles in
wdiich the public are concerned, I would make any charge
derogatory to the character of its members ; or single out
any gentleman for the purpose of gratuitous or uncalled
for attack. I have never known a father. Unfortunate-
ly for me, mine died in a foreign land w^hen I was an in-
s. G. w. auchibald.
81
fant, but I honor the impulse which leads a son to defend
his parent even from suspicion. In my roniarks on a
former day, I could not have alluded to the ironoral)lo
(Jentleman's father, for this plain reason, that his salary,
like my own, does dcj^end upon the appropriation Bill —
and he will not be paid, nor I either, in consequence of
the failure of the Revenue Bill. The<^enerai strain of mv
argument was, that all the officers of the Government
(»ught to be dependant for their salaries upon the Revenue
granted by the peoj>le — and when they are so, the natu-
ral consequence is, that the}' must all feel an interest iM
securing a Revenue Bill. Will any one tell me that if
the salaries depended entirely upon this Bill, this, nevei--
theless, would have no effect ? If there is anyone mad
enough to make such an assertion, where, I would ask, is
the man to be found, who would be fool enough to be-
lieve it?—
My disposition has ever been for peace, my habits
us a public man have been of the most forf)earing and
quiescent character. I have never failed to advocate, by
the aid of reason and argument the rights both of the
King and of the people, wlienever I found they were
attacked. I have acted upon i\\\^ principle, that the in-
terests and happiness of the people are best suhserred, by pre-
serving the just rights and preroijatives of the Cromi, and that
Ihest diseharge my duty to my King, when £ uphold the rights
and promote the hajtpiness of his people.
It has been my misfortune to have my views and in-
tentions more misrepresented than any other man in the
country, but I have the coiisolation to know that m}-
course has been plain, conscientious, and upi-igbt. Ima^'
have erred, as other men err, — but I am willing to place
i
82
LTFE OF
my puLlic conduct in comparison with tiiat of any other
l>ublic servant, and to be judged by the world.
^^ *f* r^ TT ?fC '^ ^fi *^ ?J^
I will now turn to tlie Journals of the ITouse at the
period when the venen ble Chief Justice was the Speaker.
Ah, on a former day, I drove His Majesty's Council fi-om
the records of the Lor<ls and Commons, 1 will now show
that the Journals of this House will notatford the slii>-ht-
est f^round for their pretensions. I will show that, at that
early day, the spirit of British freedom and constitutional
liberty was engrafted ujion this Assembly. That spiiit
will grow with our growth, and strengthen with our
strength, but never, with my consent, shall it grow into
licentiousness. ]f 1 saw any such tendency, I would op-
pose it. I w< mid say at once to this house ''Stand hei'C, I
will advance no farther." Liberty and light arc whatl
wish and nothing more. It really a]>|icars to n)e that
there is something singular in the atmosjjhere of the
Council Chamber, that men of the most liberal senti-
ments become immediately changed the moment they
take their seats there, (llei-e ihe Hon. Gentleman read
from the Journals the address of the House to the Gover-
nor in 1*790,) of which the following in an extract. "It is
one of the inherent privileges of the House that all money
bills should originate with them, and that no interference
of the Council by attempting to make alteiations in them
should be admitted : this inherent privilege the House
of Assembly ai-e determined to maintain, as essential to
their very existence. They are nevertheless extremely
concerned that tlieir struggle for an undoubted privilege
should be the means of throwing the public into confusion,
and of depriving His Majesty of an annual and efficient
Keveuue of near Ten Thousand Pounds." This is a case
riH
/S. G. \V. AnCIIIBALD,
83
precisely in point. They go with us step by step, Imt
there is the dirt'erence that instead of £10,(X)0, we sustain
a loss of £aO,000, ^rcad-; again) " We trust your Ex-
cellency will (.lo us the justice to ijelieve that every mea~
sure consistent with our <lnty has been taken on our parts
to prevent so great a CTilaniit}': and we have no doubt
when your Excellency shall have [)eruscd the minutes of
our proceedings, Which we now*beg leave to lay b fni-e
your Excellency for that purpose, tJie Nvu-se of Assetid'^'^
Will stand fully acq^uitted of every degree of culpabii.t^
in this respect."
1 will now tiii-n your attention to another case, when
the Attorney fnMioi'al was Speaker of the House (here he
read from the Jiesolutions of the House in 1799) '' Tho
House of Assembly appeal, to the feelings of His
Majesty's Council, very many of whom have heretofoi-c
been membei's of tht3 same House, and j)ray 11. M. ( 'Ouncil,
but for a moment to considei" witli what astonishment
they received from II. M. Council a declaration that it
Was the right of IL M. Council to frame monvy bills
equally with th<e House of Assembly. Conld the House
ot Assembly be base enough to surrender the pi'ivileges
transmitted to them by their ancestors, the exercise of
such a right, could only enibarruss H. M. Council, and
bring IL M. Olovernment into disregaid and <Jisrepute
nmong his subjects.
The House of Assembly unanimously avow that it
is the sole inherent und unalienahle right of the HeprC'
«oi.tatives of the reoi)l'> io frame and originate all money
bills; and that it is the xaw and constitution of Creat
Britain, so established from time immemorial, and that
Nucli r](jht is one of the main oillars of the British con-
«titutioi>j and is a right which British subjects will never
84
LIFE OF
burrcndcr, but with their lives. Were the House of
AyHcmblj to attempt to offer reasons or precedents to
show, that this claim is well founded, it might imply the
possibility of there being a doubt upon the subject. His
3Iajesty'H Council claimin/^ the right, or giving it up, can-
not change that which is already fixed and established.
Tlio wisdom and good understanding of IE. M. Council
will convince them that the declaration of a right will by
no means establish or CTcate such right, and that it can
answer no good purpose but to create uneasiness in the
minds of His Mjijesty's subjects, and to disturb the hai--*
mony of the several branches of the Ligislature, — which
is so essentially necessary for the suj)2>ort and honor of
His Majesty's Government."
Has this language, I would ask, no meaning ? Ave
these mere empty words ? The wisdom and good under-
standing of H. M. Council will teach them that it is the
language of men jealous of their rights, and determined
to uphold them. This then is not the first time tlie peo-
ple of Kova Scotia have boon obliged to step forth and
assert their rights. I read these passages, especially for
the edification of my Hon. and learned friend from Cape
Breton, and let mo ask, with suclr examples before me^
could I pursue a different course, and allaw my name to
go down to posterity in the continuation of the same
Journals with ignominy and disgrace ? I have been accu-
sed, Mr. Chairiman, of using language offensive to H. M.
CounciL Few men can teach me lessons in moderatiuii
m* propriety, and I am anxious not to infringe parliamen-
tary rules. I will keep myself free to remark in such
terms as I consider a^jpropriate, ujpon the acts and con-
duci. of the other branch of the Legislature ; and I hold
myself aceountuble to bo man for the due exercise of my
S. G. W. ARCHIBALD.
85
privileges as a meHibor of tlii.s House. .Freedom of action
is tlie birthright of every freeman, and freedom of speech
is the undoubted right of the representatives of tlie peo-
ple. I am accustomed to express myself in a temperate
and plain manner, and I deny that 1 have used any mijiar-
I'.amentary or improper language. I have not seen the
])aper complained of, but if my remarks are correctly re-
ported I am ready to avow and I will never retract them.
Do II. M. Council think that the extraordinary course
they have pursued is to pass unnoticed and without com-
ment ? It is my privilege to canvass their measures and,
upon an occasion like this, I am not disjwsed to waive it.
My views and conduct have already been misrepresented,
and I doubt not v. 111 be so again. To such charges 1
reply with the ancient Philosopher, " I live every day to
contradict them." I am ready and able to defend myself;
and Sir. there is but one qu'.ater from vhich trouble may
■come when I will be silent. What do T find Mr. Chair-
man that this last uni)recedented message of II. M. Chun-
■cil was unanimously resolved ? Where was my Hon.
friend tho Master of Eolls * on this occasion ? Was he
present, and is he so changed by the atmosphere of the
Council Chamber, that he lias entirely forgotten the
language he was wont to use, and the conduct he jjursued
in this House ? Did I not hear him, Mr. Chairman, from
that seat cooly and deliberately, not warmed as I have
beon in debate, and goaded by an intemj>erate opposition,
proclaim, that 11. M. Council were an ephemeral bod}',
crejilLd by the brenth of the King and destroj'ed at his
pleasure, and is lio now the first to take offence at langu-
.age of a vastly different nature ? Has he forgotten the
time when he presided in this House? and has he joined
♦Mr. Eobie, former Speaker.
86
LIFE OF
tlioery against tho Speaker for standing forth to defend
the rights of the people ? Proud am 1 to say, ^Ii*. Ci)air-
man, that the venerable Ohiel Justice, the IVesident of
that hoard, was not present at these unanin\oiis delibera-
tions."
On the 8th April, tlio Oomnutteo of the whole ro^
portod an address to the President, setting forth tiie case
fi'oni their point of view. This passed in a Hou>e of thiriy
five by a majority of twenty nine, there being thirty two
for and three aiiiainst it.
The minority were Mr. Uniaeke, Mr. Ilartshorne and
Mr, Eariy.
Two days after the close of the debate on the ad-
dress, a Committee of the House rej)ortod an answer to
the memorandum of the Council in reference to the com-
plaints of that Body as to the speeches malle in the
Assembly, asserting, that though thej' were j-cady toup-
hold the dignity of the Council, the opinions expressed
by that Body, aii^ the uncourteous terms in which they
were expre.-sed piecluded the House from noticing them.
This aasvvcv^vas ordered to be sent to the Council by
the usual majority.
In tiicir answer to the memoi'amUim fi'om the Coun-
cil they look no notice of the charge against Mr. Archi-
bald, but on the same day they passed another resolution
v» iih only three dissentients, stating that the House enter-
tainod the highest esteem for tlie talents integrity and
ability of the Honorable Speaker, whose public conduct
had secured him tlio contidence of the house and the
Country.
Nothing was said about " a Mr. Dill" the other
offender. No answer could be given to the sneer con-
veyed by the indefinite article, and the House did nut
attempt it.
"^ G.
n
W. ARCHIBALD.
87
On the 13th April the Administrator came down to
the House and proroi^ued it.
He said that thoui^h ei^^ht weeks had t lapsed sinee
they met, the most iini)ortant nioasures remained in abey-
ance " in consc(iuence of ditlerenees of opinion on ])oints
whicli had long been established, and reeognize(l as ne-
cessary for the satisfactory and elfectual conducting of
the atfairs of ii Government constitut ' as ours is."
Wiiat this means it would be hai'd to sa}'. AVhat
were the points thai were established? and were they es-
tablished as the House or as the Council understood them?
Ml. Wallace was evidently driven to take sliolter under
u vagueness of phraseology which each House might read
in its own way. Had not botli branches united in a prac-
tical assertion of the hereditary right of the family, to
the office of Treasurer ?
But whatever doubt his speech might have left on
the audience, it would have been removed, if they could
liave had a sight of the Despatch which lie sent to Sir
(ieorge Murray, eight days afterwards, in wliich he told
the Colonial Secretary, that he saw nothing could be done
but to prorogue the House till the tirst July, when Sir
Peregrine would be back, and would see the necessity of
u dissolution, since ' from what had passed during the late
Session, it appeared to him no business could be done
satislactorily with it."
Sir Peregrine did return about the mi<ldle of June,
but seems not to have decided upon that course, for he
prorogued the House by a Proclamation is::ued immedi-
ately after his return and dated the twenty first of June.
Five dayb afterwards occurred an event which saved him
from embarrassment. He was not indeed aware of the
fact till the fourth of August following, but Geoi-go IV
i
88
LIFE OF
|!!
Iiad diocJ on the 20th Juno, and tho Aspcnihly was ijm
facto disKolvcd. Writs for a new Election were issued re-
turnalile tiie Sth Novemher. The excitement at this
»'lection exceeded anything that ever before had been
known in tliis Province.
iiki^i
("IIArTER VT.
President reports to Colonial Minister. Speaker does same.
President writes to Undi^r Secretary of Colonies. Iteply. Mr.
Arciiihald deelines Judiijesliip. Council's friend^ji disappointed
witli Mr. Archibald's course. Reasons assigned. C i^rious let-
ter in tlie Free Press. Conjectures as to its authorsl-.ip. T)\s-
eection of letter. Consideration of reasons assigned by letter
writer. «
At the close of the first session of 1830, when the
Iloase rose, it was the duty of Mr. Wiilhice to report the
proeeccIiugH to his superiors in England. The Speaker
felt assured they would be represented in no favora})lo
light to himself anu the majority of the House. Ho ven-
tur.>d therci'ore to give his own version of them in a
communication addressed directly to the Colonial Office.
This did not pass, as such documents should, by the rules
of the Department, through the Lieutenant Governor. In
it ho discloses and defends the grounds on which the
majority had taken their stand in the controversy.
Mr. Wallace seems to have heard of this letter, and
complains of it as an irregular proceeding, in a dispatch
uated the 15th June, 1830, a/ldressed by him to Mr. Ilay,
the Under Secretary at the Colonial Office. That gen-
tlemc'n in his reply evades the complaint, but exi)resse8
the l>0|..c of Lord Bathurst that some plan will bo hit
upon to reconcile the difterenccs between the two
branches of the Legislature.
Mr. Archibald was then Solicitor General. Ho was
subject to dismissal at the pleasure of the Crown. To be
sure, the salary attached to the office was but trifling,
and, moreover, such as it was, it depended on an annual
vote of the Legislature. There could, therefore, be no
great object in depriving him of a position which at best
' 00 • LIFE Ob'
IiJid Imt small emoluinont, and that subject to tho cm-
tin^^Micy oi' an annual vole, ('loarly, then, it was not
any regard lor his Crown olHcc, that induced him to go
out of the usual course in such cases, and open a corros-
])ondence with the Colonial OtUce, but, as Government
was then constituted, tho Council being a unit against
him, he felt that his future largely depended op. his
Htanding in tho Depa: tment, and that he needed to de-
fend himself against tho ^eeret leprescntations of a
Governor under tho control of the Council, and of an
Administrator who was himself a member of Council,
and breathed its spirit. This })aper doubtless had its
ettect, in connexion with similar communications from
New Brunswick, in paving the way for a disj)atch from
Fjord Hathurht on the subject of a re-construction of tho
Council, of which we shall h e occasion hy and by to
speak more at lenglh.
On the 5th of February Mr. Stewart, one of tho
Puisne Judges, dictl. The office was kept open during
the session. At tho close, it wasotfered to Mr. Archibald,
who declined it. He could not honorably, even if dis-
posed, desert his friends by accepting office at a timo
when a coiitroversy, largely due to his exertions, was it
its height, but, independently of this consideration, the
Puisne Judgeship was not tho object of his ambition, and
tho loss so that it was henceforth, by a policy recently
adopted at the Colonial Office, to be dissociated from a
seat in the Council.
On his declining the office, it was offered to and ac-
cepted by Mr. li. J. Uniacke, who had deserved well of
the Government by his able advocacy of their interests
in tho House.
Shortly after came the election of 1830.
s. G. w AiirmnALD.
91
Tho c'oui-so wliic'h ^[r. ArcliilKiId liad for Homo years
purHUod in the Le£i;iHljiture, as regai'ds the Counoil, had
been j^o courteous and coiisi<lerate, that his aelion on tho
hraiidy question was-. tl»e (A'casioii of /jjieat disappointment
and annoyance to that JJody, The friends of th«'(Jonncil
Boon set to work to tind out reasons for this chani^o of
attitude. They asserted that his coui'se was quite incon-
sistent witii the (hxtrines he inid advocated in IMnco
J'klward Island while Pivsident of the Council of that
Colony. JIc had, therefore, it v/as said, not only chan<;ed
his attitude towards the Upper House, but had abjui-ed
his own declared opinions. Wliat could bo the cause of
such a result? The F/rr Press, the organ of the Council,
had no hesitation in givinjj^ it. Mr. Archibald was of-
fended with the Judge and the Attorney General for tho
cifortH they were making to secure for ono of themselves
the oftice at which ho also was aiming. It was his in-
dignation and resentment, when he peiused the contents
of the misdirected lettei' that induced him to break with
tlie Council, and lead on a party against them. Tho
whole story is told with the mo>i minute details, in a
communication to the Free Press, from which wo have
already quoted some ])assages. This letter deserves dis-
section for various reasons, and we shall proceed to ex-
amine it with some particularity. ^J'lie ni-ti(dc is not par-
ticuhu'iy coherent. The writer shifts liis ground in tho
course of his remai ks, not only in his ascription of mo-
tives, but also on another j)oint to whicli we shall allude
further on. lie begins his letter by stating the motive
wliich goveiTieil Mr. Archibald in the course he took.
This he alleges to be '' self-interest which never slumbers
nor sleeps", — ho does not pretend to show in what way
Mr. Archibald's interest was to be promoted by engagin
if
92 LIFE OF
in the couti*over8y. Indeed he has hardly made the afi-
sertion before he abandons it-and then pioceeds to assign
another and totally dillercnt reason, lie relates the par-
ticulars of the interview between the judge and Attorney
General on the one side, and Mr. Archibald on the other, the
details of which we have already noticed, and then goes
on to state that Mr. Archibald left the conference in
temper, and was then " no doubt deeply im pressed that
His Majesty's Council made a direct inroad on the rights
and privileges of the House of Assembly, by questioning
the right of the speaker to the Chief Justiceship of the
Province" — That on the perusal of the ominous letter he
made the wonderful discovery that in His Majesty's
Council, " the chains were forged and the fettei-s prepared
to be thrown round ourneclcs and those of our childien"
and test mere expressions unaccompanied by proof might
Beem, to the discerning, but empty sounds — the chimera
of a disordered imagination, goaded by disappointed am-
bition, the whole Province must be deprived of their re-
venue and appropriation, as proof positive that these
rights and liberties were sacrificed." That they had
been sacrificed who would deny ? Not, howevei", by
His Majesty's Council but by those who had sworn to
protect them, and for what reason ? Because, for-
sooth, the Attorney Gei.eral of the Province would
presume to compete for an office to Avhich, according to
the customs and usages of Great Britain, he had a better
right and claim than Mr, Archibald could possibly have by
any other consideration." This letter purports to be writr-
tenon the " best authority." It states the facts of the in-
terview with Mr. Archibald, the communication to 8ir
JohnCoape Sherbrooke, and tlicfjue of his anb^rer with a
minuteness savoring of personal knowledge, or informa-
S. G. W. ARCHIBALD.
93
tioii derived Ircnn persons having that knmvled<;e , and
the letter, on the face of it, bears the marks of being
written in the interest of Mr. Uniacke. According to it,
he is the person who, by the usage an4 cust')m of Great
Britain, would be entitled to the falling office. Indeed
the statement is made in lani;nai'-e almost identical with
that which Sir Peregi'inc had used in his Bermuda letter,
enclosing the Attorney General's irajicrs to the Colonial
Office. It is language which Sir Peregrine had probably
borrowed from the letter of Mr. Uniacke, forwarding
these papers to Bermuda. All this would lead to the
inference that Mr. Uniacke might fairly have been sus-
pected of being himself the Writer of the letter, if there
were no intcnal cr\'idence in the document, to lead to a
different conclusion. Now, is there any such evidence ?
First, let us enquire as to the nationality of the writer.
He speaks of Mr. Archibald, making the wonderful dis-
covery, that in His Majesty's Council "the fetters were
forged to be thrown round our necks and those of our
children/' Surely there is something peculiarly Irish in
the idea of "fetters " being intended for " necks." An
Englishman might have thought of a yoke for the neck,
l>ut surely would have applied fetters to the feet. Then
there is in the rich exuberance of the j)hrase, " the
chimera of a disordered imagination," something which
Hujacks of a Celtic origin. A nd when the writer goes
further with his imagery, who but an Irishman could
conceive the idea of disappointed amhitlon applying a (joad
to a chimera f We think, therefore, there is stiong in^
ternal evidence to shew that the writer was an Ii-ishman.
It remains to be ascertained what Irishman it was.
As we have already said, the startling resemblance
between the language of the article in the newspaper,
9'
LIFE
OF
and that of Sir Peregrine's letter, not then publi.slicJ>
goes a long way to shew that the woi'ds in both cases
Were derived from the name source. But there is sonie*
thing to strengthen this int'eienfe. The article, com*-
meiiccs as an argument for the .hulge, as well as the
Attorney General. It goes to shew that either of thcni
had a better right than Mr. Archibald, but as the wi'itcr
proceeds! and warms up, he quietly drops the Judge, and
in accounting for Mr. Archibald's temper, says that it
arose from *hc idea " that^ forsooth, the Attorney General
would presume fo eompete for the Chief Justiceship.'' What
has become of the Judge? The nn-itei' no longer recoU
lects that theh) is such a person in the controversy-
Could anyone but an Irislinian make such a blunder/
And could any Irishman make it except one so blinded,
to use the writer's phi-ase, b^- "self interest which nevor
slumbers nor sleeps," as not to recollect how he had com-
menced his argument ? In the beginning of the commu-
nication there were two antagonists to Mr. Archibald's
pretensions. Now there is but one. Mr. Uniacke, in his
mind's eye, sees only himself.
But then it might be said that the Attorney General
could not wi'ite a letter so little coherent as this is. Mr
Uniacke certainly was a manof vei-y considerable ability
— he had grciit force of character— he was an eloquent
speidvcr, but he never was remarkable for the logical ac-
curacy of his reasoning. Mr. Archibald used to tell a
laughable stOry which illustrates this feature of Mr.
Uniacke's niitid. He Juid published an edition of the
permanent Statutes from 1759 to 1804, and hau ])repared
a copious index to the volume. On one occasion in Court
it became necessary to turn up the Statute on the subject
oi^ Administrators. The index was referred to, but in vain.
S, G. W. ARCmBALD,
95
The word administrators was not to bo found. Mr.
Unijickc hiniHclf wiw in Court and was applied to. flo
was asked under what head the hiw was to bo found. Ho
replied under the hea'l of Wills. "Precisely," said
;Mr. Archibald, look under ivills because there is no
will. If you want rain look for it Under smi.s/u'ne
Si '' was the style of Mr. Uniacke's mind. The inco-
herency in the letter, the want of logical sequence, the
shilling of the motive power, from self interest to passion,
the setting out with three aspirants for office and ending
with two, instead of being evidence against, are really
evidence infavor of the c<»njecture, as to the authorship
of this letter. We do not by any means venture to assort
that ^[r. Uniacke wrote it, but what we do say is, that
many a poor fellow has been hanged on circumstantial
evidence much less conclusive.
Now, let us examine both these theories of self
interest and temper, — -and see what there is tosupjxjit
either. Let us take the temper first. This is said to
have arisen on the perusal of the '^ ominom letter'^ from
iSir J. C. Shcrbrooke. Now whv should Mr. Archibald be
angry? He knew as Well before, as he did af.e;-, the le-
ceipt of that letter, that the Judge and the Attorney
General were both seeking the office. It was a mattei'of
certainty that each would use every means in his jjower
to secui-e the coveted prize. The letter could not add ti)
his knowledge of these fact.-^'. It is quite true that it gave
him more specific details of what was being done than he
would otherwise have had, but what then ? 80 far from
being angry about the matter, he must have been exceed*
ingly amused to find that the particular friend of his
antagonists had forwarded a full statement of all they
were doing to the very man from whom they would have
i:ii
96 LIFE OB
been most anxious to withhold the informaticni. The
letter did not mention that an appointment had been de-
cided on. Had tliat been the case, Mr. ArchibaJd might
have felt very much disaj^pointed. But that result was
not reached lor two years to come. But even supposing
Mr. Archibald to have been deeply offended and uiu'ca-
Honablo enough to quarrel with Mr. Iliilliburton and Mr.
Uniacke, it would be absurd in him to visit the offence,
not on the men who he thought had wronged him, but on
the innocent people of Nova Scotia. What need had Mr.
Ilalliburtou to care for the loss of the tariff? lli« salary
was secure. It was charged in the revenue of tbe Crown,
and would be paid if not a shilling was levied under the
Act. And as I'or the Attorney Grcncral, if his salary was
partly, Mr. Archibald's own was wholly, derived from the
vote of ihe Legislature. He could not injure the Judge,
nor could he injui-e the Attorney General without suffer-
ing himself. The assumption, therefore, that Mr.
Archibald was acting from temper, and aiming to avenge
himself on the other men who were competing with him
for office, is too absurd to bear the slightest scrutiny.
Then as to the other assumed motive — that of self
interest — there is still less reason for that view. His
interest was entirely opposed to the course he pursued.
If he had thought of that, his policy would have been
very different. The Colonial Minister would not care to
reward a man who had thrown himself into active oj^po*
hition to the King's llepresentative in the Colony, who
had assailed a body of men on whomth(OIinister mainly
relied for advice in the exercise of his patronage in the
Province, — who had thrown the local finances into con-
fusion, who had cast upon the Crown the necessity of
providing for local officials, out of the territorial revenues,
S. G. W. ARCmBALD.
97
rilready straitened hy the charges borne on them. It
would bo a very odd way of promoting his intci'c^t with
the Minister to thwart and embanass him. But even
then, how could Mr. Archibald ^suppose that these results
would happen by the Assembly carrying out in the Bill
the views they entertained ? That body might be unwise
in their views. Brand}" might have been loft to bear only
the shilling, which the Council were willing to imjwso
upon it, but could the Assembly, could Mr. Archibald
have expected that the Council would be mad enough to
take the course they did ? True, they ha^l declared that
the extr^ f>urpence was a burden too great for commerce
to bear, They had proclaimed it as their aim to make
that article fourpence a gallon cheaper than " it would be
under the Bill," still, could the House, could anybody,
believe that twelve elderly men, experienced in public
affairs, comprising some of the best intellects in the
country, would for such a reason throw away £40,000 of
the public revenue ? They certainly did make up their
minds to do so. But then is there not as much ground
to impute their course to temper, as to charge it upon
Mr. Archibald or on any member of the Lower House ?
Whether it was temper or not, the House, at all events,
were within their privileges, the Council without theirs.
CHAPTER yil.
Election of 1830. Candidates. Mr. Archibald's speech at Truro,
Meeting of Hcuse. Death of Attorney General Uniacke. Of-
fice kept open. Passage of Revenue Bill. Lord Goderich's
Despatch. Mission of Judge Halliburton to England. Mr.
Archibald appointed acting Attorney General. Visits England.
Judge Halliburton's and Mr. Archibald's race in England.
Atteutions in England. Marquis of Lansdown's offer. Rejected.
Lord Goderich proposes changes in Judiciary. House refuse.
Lord Goderich to Administrator. Conclusion of question of
Chief Justiceship. Correspondence thereon. Remarks on
mode of day for obtaining promotion. Reaction after 1830.
State of public opinion in 1835 and '30. Joe Warner's Letters.
General Election of 1837. Mr, Logan's candidacy. Mr.
Archibald's speeches at Truro. Returned to Assembly.
The results of the election might well he open to
doubt. The majority in the Assembly was overwhelming,
but it might not truly represent the popular feeling. The
stand against the Council, whether right or wrong, was
founded on an abstract doctrine. The result of that
stand, the loss of the revenue, was a concrete fact, and
came home to the people. They might be uncertain as
to the political theory, they could have no doubt as to
what they suffered in consequence. Eoads and bridges
would fail into decay, and there was no money to repair
them. Packets and ferries, which could ply only when
aided by bounties from the Legislature, must either stop
or be continued at a sacrifice. The people would be sure
to feel the loss. Would they api^reciate the spirit that
occasioned it ? There were many who thought that a
sense of present evil would outweigh attachment to con-
stitutional doctrine. So the parties went to the country,
the newspapers ranging themselves on one side or the
other, and making their prophesies as newspapers
generally do, in accord with what they wished to come
S. G. W. ARCHIBALD.
99
about. For the County of Halifax the noniinatifjii day
was the 12th September. The eandidateH for that county
were four on each Hide. MewHieurs ArcliiUild, Lawson,
Smith and Bhmchard represented the views which hail
prevailed in the last Assembly. Messieurs Ifartshorne,
Barry, SUirr and Jilackadar those of the Oppositiou. The
various candidates addressed the electors at the hustini^s.
When the poll was removed to Trui'o, after it had been
kept open a week at Halifax, the electors wei'e again i\d-
drcssed by the sevei'al candidates. Mr. Barry was ihc
last to speak on behalf of the views of the Council. That
gentleman, ever since his expulsion from the House, Inid
a grudge against Mr. Archibald who issued the warrant
in his case. He now took occasion to censure rather
sevejcly the conduct of Mr. Archibald on the question at
issue beLW<>!eii the Council and the House. At the close
<if his speech, Mr. Archibald was the only candidate wlio
had ^qi y>ji spoken. We subjoin one or two extracts from
his address on that occ»..sion.
"T would not," said he, ''occupy a moment of your
time, but something has droi)ped from the gentleman
who bust addressed you to which 1 feel it my dut3' to rc-
])lv. I will not attempt to Hatter you, but this I may
with safety say, that the people of this district are an or-
derly and intelligent po(;ple. Tliey read and think for
themselves. They form tlieir own opinions upon such in-
formation as they can acquire, and are not to be influ-
enced in their iniblic conduct by any merely personal
considerations. It is upon principle that myself and my
friends now come > ask your support. I respect the
other candidates who sit beside me, and for some of them
1 have a high regard, but they profess very dirt'erent
principles fr«m mine; principles which, I am satistied.
100
LIFE OF
will pot meet with your approbation. If my own fatlici*,
ur my brother, were to come here. hrMing the principles
wliich those gentlemen hold, I nhould vote against them.
I will sanction no backstair communications with II, M.
Council. I will I'cpiesent freemen and the 8on^ of free-
men, or I will bo no representative at all. We have
heard from one gentleman a history of the constitution,
but I will show you in a very few words that some ma-
terial featui-es have been omitted. As you all know, the
knowledge which I have gained has been drilled into mo
in a school of adversity'. 1 have had to study the consti-
tution closely, that I might apply my knowledge to the
business of the Province. I vvas nursed upon the brink
of the stream which flows beside ns, and I have had to
tight my way through many obstacles, and have raliscd
myself entirely by my own exertions to the disftiigiiished
office which I hold. And is it I who have beon honored
by Ilis Majesty with the office of Solicitor Gei»erai/; am
I the man who would strike at the Governm^^it if the
country ? who would unnecessarily disturb the Pi«pvince,
who Avould inti'oduce anarchy to gratify any personal
feelings ? Mr. Barry has told you that too much has
been said about the rights of the people. Sorry am I
that, with some, they have become a bye word and a
disgrace. But it is f<jr no vague and undefined right that
we have contended. Were I to see any disposition, either
in the Legislature or out of it, to press matters to eX'
tremity, to go beyond the bounds af the constitution, I
would be the first to say, Stop. Let us go no further.. If
you do I will not go w'th ycui. We have been told that
our constitution is like that of England. It is for the
rights and privileges of Englishmen that I contend and
nothing more. You are the sons of Britons, of fathers-
S. G. W. ARCHIBALD,
101
who came Uj this country, when it was a land of pits,
even rs bad as the valle}' of the shadow of death. They
were, as I have often .said, like a handful of corn scattered
upon the tops of the mountains. In those early periods
wo had a little Council, which nat around a tahle and con-
ducted the affairs of the Province, until Jlis ^fajesty gave
us a constitution which secured to the people of this
Colony the full enjoyment of British liberty.
*^U ^U «l^ «i« «J^ y^ «r, aj.
*1* *^ *T* *T* *T* ^n ^^ ^^
" I do not seek to degrade II. M. Council. I give them
a high pedestal. I place them on the same level as the
House of Lords, the hereditary Barorago of England.
But whenever the Council can so use their power as to
deprive us of the right of taxation, they may force us to
impose a land tax' or any other tax, which may be most
agreeable to their wishes. In the full consciousness of
the evils that might be brought upon us, I spake out my
sentiments without fear and without disguise. And what
are the consequences ? Look to the poll book and see
how my name stands there. Scarcely u man in office, or
an expectant of office, had the hardihood to vote for me.
^t|j %^ %^ ^^ \^ xj^ *^ ^> ^u
^^ ^^ ^^ ^p ^p *f^ *j* ^» 'r'
" I do not seek for your support on personal but
upon public grounds. If Iliad sold your rights, and sacri-
ficed your authority, I might then come to yau with a
tone of supplication and plead the kindnesses and the in-
timacies of private life, but I take a higher stimd, and
ask you again to arm mo in your defence, agaia to give
me the power of upholding your interests and the inter-
ests of my native country. I trust that you will give to
myself and ray friends such a support as will enable us
again to take our seats in the Assembly, and show to the
world that the principles, which we laboured to maintain
have met youi* approbation."
102
LIFE OF
yjaW (lid the people of Colchester justify the oxpec-
tiitlons cxj)resKC(l in this speech. Oi) 8atur(hiy, wlien he
left Halifax, Mr. Archihald was 300 helow the hi<^]ieHt
opposition candidate. At the close of the Poll at Truro,
he was SOO above him. Tne Poll was then adjourned to
Pictou and at its close there, Mr. Archihald and liia col-
leagues were returned by triumphant majorities.
The new House met on the 8th November. Mr.
Uniacke, the Attorney General, had died a month before
that date, but no announcement of the death appears to
have been made to the Colonial Secretary till three weeks
alter the opening of the Session.
On the 29th November the Revenue Bill which had
met so disasterous a fate in the previous Assembly was
again brought forward. The old duty of Is 4d. on Brand}-
WHS again proposed. When Sir Peregrine wrote his
letter announcing the vacancy in the Attorney Generals
Office, the bill had not yet come up for its second reading.
It was uncertain by what majority it would pass in the
House, or what might be its iate when it reached the
Upper House. In the meanwhile care was taken that
the great opponent of the Council should not profit by
the vacancy, Sir Peregrine Maitland accordingly, in his
letter to the Colonial Secretary, requested him to make
no appointment to the oifice, and to give no promise of
it, to anyone in the meantime. He added that at the
close of the session he would address the Secretary more
])articularly on the subject. The office accordingly re-
mained ojicn till after the House rose.
The Bill soon past;ed through its several stages below
without a division, and was sent to the Council on the
0th December. That body had watched the proceedings
of the Lower House with care. They soon saw that it
S. G. W. ARCHIBALD.
103
was impOHsiMc to figlit the battle furthor, and prepared
to yield. Within forty-eight hoiirw after the Bill reached
the Council it was sent hack to the Assembly duly agreed
to. The " Buiden on Commerce," which had fiirniHhed
the pretext for its rejection at last session, remained, but
the point was r.o longer urged. The Council felt that
they could not again «>nter on a fight for the four ponce.
It was better that commerce should bear the extra burden.
They shrunk from further disturbing the finances by
usurping a pover which belonged to the Assembly. In-
deedjthe time was fast coming when,even to retain their un-
questioned privileges, would require all the exertions they
could use. Th;t was not ^he time to encroach upon the
privileges of thj other House. While they were hesitat-
ing what courjc they should take when this Bill came
before them, tie Colonial Minister was contemplating
an entire change in the constitution of the Provincial
Councils. On tie 7th December, 1830, he addressed Sir
Peregiine on tht subject. He said his attention ha en
directed to the ccmposition of the Upper Branch i ew
Brunswick and S'ova Scotia, and he proposed to give
them a more inlependent character by introducing a
larger number ofmembers not holding office at the plea-
sure of the Crowi. He wished the Governor to inform
him whether the naterials for a body of that description
were to be found in Nova Scotia, and if so, to report the
names of suitable )erson8. This disj^atch must have arriv-
ed about the time »f the close ot the session, and seems to
have excited greai alarm among the members of H. M.
Council. Accordiniily, shortly after the close of the House,
Judge Halliburtoi proceeded to England to defend the
constitution of thj body of which he was a prominent
member. He is not, indeed, ostensibly commissioned
i
104
LIFE OF
f<»r that son'ico. On tlio contrary, ho iH nccrcditod to the
Minihtor by Sir l^orcgrine, an tho bearor of a joint luldrcMM
of the two II0U8O8 to tho Crown, romon«trating against
tho reduction of tho duticH on foreign timber imported
into Great Britain. Sir Peregrine exph;ins why ho liad
went tho addroijis by tliO Judge, i -ttead of as usual by
mail, by saying tiiat tho Judge wov.i^ be able to furnish
every information on the subject of the timber duties
whic'li tho Government might require. It socms a littlo
odd that, on a question of tmdo, a delegito should hot
have been sele( ted from tho Lower House. It is still
more odd thjit on a matter of that kind, o'on if tho selec-
tion were made from tho Upper House, 11 merchant, or
man of business in that body, should not hive been chosen.
The matter required a special knowledge A trade, yet tho
choice fell on a gentleman wlio had novo: been in busi-
ness, whoso life had boon spent in purmits as alien as
jKwsiblo from tho trade in timber. It s only when wo
come to lo)k at a subsequent letter of Sir Peregino Mait-
land, askirg to have JuJgo llalliburton reimbui-scd for
the expensies of his trip to England, thaj wo find out tho
truth. Kis business was only ostonably tho trade in
timber. As a member of Council, ho \^s really sent to
look after tho interests of that Body, ireatened in tho
dispatch just referred to. There is ancther letter of Sir
Peregrine to the same address, and ])ea*ing date tho samo
day, with tho one introducing Judge Ilillibui'ton and his
timber business, which raises the info'onco, thoc besides
the defence of tho Council's interests, 10 had an interest
of his own to look after, one which probably had more
to do with his being tho delegate, thai either the timber
duties or the constitution of the Couicil. Wo have al-
ready mentioned the death of Attorne; General Uniacko.
S. G. W. AItCinB,\J.D.
105
It took place on tho lOih October. His oflico had re-
niainod vacant until the cloyo of tho sosMion, hut the
courtH wore now coming on, and it was necessaiy to have
Honie poi'Hon to do tho Crown huHinews. Mr Archibald
Avt's therefore made actiwj Attorney (reneral, and the
fact was only reported to England. This produced an
alteration in the state of the question of tho Chief-Justice-
ship. Sir Peregrine, in his letter accomj)anyirig Mr.
Uniackc's application, had stated his belief thit in the
Hentiuiont and usage of the country, the holder of tho
Attorney General's office was entitled to succeed to the
Chief-Justiceship, if it became vacant during his incum-
iKjncy. The new Attorney General was young, active,
vigorous and able, a sound lawyer, and with a i-eputation
for eloquence far exceeding that of any other Provincial
lawyer. He was not only at the head of tln^ Bar, but at
the head of the Assembly, and possesse<l imn "nso influ-
ence in tho country'. Clearly it was necessarj' for tho
Judge to be on the alert, if he did not wish his claims to
bo overborne by the powerful influence wielded by his
competitor. But the Judge had also strong claims. In
character and attainments he was unimj)ea('hable. A
more honest and upright Judge never ])resided over a
court, and ho had the ' lucubrationes viginti nnnorum '
necessary to constitute a great lawyer. Still, with such
a competitor, he could not afford to neglect his suit.
Accordingly wo find him, a few days after the session
closed, on his way across the Atlantic, to press Iiis claims
at Downing Street. But he was not allowed to remain
there long alone. He is followed shortly afterwt'cds by
Mr. Archibald, who presents himself at the Colonial Of-
fice. Whethej- the two gentlemen met each other in the
anti-chamber of the office in DowningStrcet,or, if they did,
106
LIFE OF
whotho.'
■^j
c'Mivcrsod with each other on the subject of
timber datii., or the constitution of Colonial Councils, wo
have no moans of knowing, but wo may rest assured
thatther w;u one subject of which they did not npeak, and
that was A ;^at was to happen when Mr. Blower:^ ceased
to be Chivjf Justice. The contest on the other side of the
Atlantic ajwoars to have excited some amusement here.
A Ilalif:-.:: n^w^spajDer of the third of Februar}^ contains a
dialogue bt^twecn two imaginary persons on the subject
ef the trip io England. One of them says — " I hear a
Puisne Judge and an Attorney General of our Provinfe
are to run r. race from Liverpool to London for heavy
stakes — Th* flag of the former has the following motto.
""When tho place of Chief Justice becomes vacant a
Puisne Jivl.^c, wlio has approved himself deserving should
be jireferro'.l." — Bacon.
Thi fin^ of the latter has this inscription,
" My h lend will move the King, to any shape of pre-
ferment :iucli as I'll desire." — Shakspeare.
In tlio previous year (rcneral Fox and his wife, who
was La ly Mary Fitzclarence, a daughter of King Wil-
liam, ht.l l>::en residing in Halifax and were on very
ijitimato ■eims with Mr. Arch"jald*s family. Thii is
probab^}' what is alluded to as the Court influence on
which J^U-, .\rchibald was supposed to lean. At all events
when he went to England, he was accompanied by his
daughter t'. n a young woman of gi'cat beauty and ac-
complishmoFjts, to whom he was most tenderly attached.
They rocclved the greatest attention from their friends,
the General .'md Lady Mary, and were very much feted
while they remained in London. It seems tiuit at this
time the Marquis of Lansdown, hoard Mr. Archibald
speak Jit a public dinner, a task of which ho always ac-
S. G. W, ABCHIBALD.
107
quitted hinself well. The MarquiH was 80 delighted with
tlie wit and humor of the speech and its polished style,
that ho sought an acquaintance with him which soon
ripened into friendshij). Sometime afterwards the
Marquis urged him to enter Parliament, and offered him
one of the seats of Calno, a Borough which was in his
gift, and urged Mr, Archibald to accept the otfu*. if it
were oni}^ temporarily. The answer was characteristic.
"No my Lord, said Mr. Archibald, lam already the
liead of one House, I do not care to become the tail
of another."
The Colonial Minister appears to have had much
difficulty in making up his ;nind on the subject of the
Chief Justiceship. Both candidates left England with
great uncertainty as to the result. In the end the influ-
ence of the representative of the Crown hero, sustained
by the Members of Council, all of whom were colleagues
and friends and several of them relatives of Judge Halli-
burton, prevailed with the Minister. He did not how-
ever come to a conclusion for a long period. Over a
3'ear had passed, since the candidates had returned to
Nova Scotia. At last on the 4th December 1832, I^ord
Goderich who now held the seals of Office, writes two
dispatches addressed to the Administrator of the Govern-
ment of Nova Scotia. That office was held at the time
by Mr. Jeifrey. In one of these, he proposes a scheme
for remodelling the Judiciary. Instead of five Judges
then constituting the Supreme Court, he thinks four
would be sufficient. The Chief Justice was of an age
that rendered him incapable of active work. The asso-
ciate Judge was not efficient. The three Puisne Judges
were men of vigor and ability. They were Halliburton.
Wilkins and Uniacke. His plan was to get Mi' Blowers
108
LIFE OF
to resign, to pension off Mr. Wiswell, and make a now
Puisne Judge. He proposed a sahuy of £800 to £1000 cur-
rency, for a Judge, and £1000 to £1200 for the Cliicf Jus-
tice. By thus reducing the numbers the expense would bo
little increased, while it would put the Court in a state of
efficiency, and provide a fiiir remuneration for Judicial
services. This scheme however, which he directed Sir.
Peregrine to submit to the House, did not meet with the
favor of that body, and therefore tho Judicial salaries re-
mained as they wore. In the other disp.itch, marked
private. Lord Goderich goes ir*" other matters c<>nnec*
ed with the Judiciary. As i\ ds the Chief Justiceship
he announces the decision he had corao to, and desires
Mr. Jeffrey to converse with Mr. Blowers, Mr. Hallibur-
ton and Mr. Archibald withj^erfect freedom on the whole
subject. He says he would not have proposed Mr. Blowers
retirement, had he not been assured it would be perfectly
agreeable to him. He then goes on to say that Mr,
Hallibm-ton having so long executed the duties of Chief
Justice, he considered he had a claim, impossible to O"' er-
look, to succeed to that office, while his doing so would
open the only means of effecting a reduction of the num-
ber of Judges. Ho desired that Mr Archibald should be
informed of tho reasons by "^V/jich he had been influenced.
" I am anxious " he wroto, '' that he should know that I
appreciate his zealous effovts in His Majesty's service,
and I acknowledge tho strength of his claim on the
Crown." He proceoded to state that until something
more advantageous could be effected for him, he intend-
ed, if, as he anticipated, there should bo the means of do-
ing so, to make an addition to tho salary of the Attorney
General, which he did not at present consider suitable
to the great importance of th< office, more especially
S. G. W. ARCHIBALD.
100
Bincc certain changes in the mode of dipposing of tho
Crown Lands had taken away a hirge amount of fees,
formerly received from that department." No sooner
had tho propositions to tho Assembly contained in the
one Dispatch been rejected by that body, than the power
conferred by the other was promptly acted upon. Mr.
Jeffrey reports to the Colonial Minister that he has con-
versed freely with the Chief Justice with the Judge and
with the Attorney General. He says that Mr. Blowers
proposed to retii'o at once, and that thereupon he had aji-
pointed Mr. Halliburton Chief Justice. He assigns as a
reason for his prompt action that otherwise there would
have been no President of the Council. He forgets to say
that when Mr. Blowers was Chief Justice he did not al-
ways attend tho Council. That of late years he had at-
tended only occasionally, That formerly for a consider-
able period, when Doctor Ci'okc administered tho Gov-
ernment, he abstnined from attendance of set purpose,
and yet ull the while thei'e was no difficulty about holding
a council. There was no need to assign any reason for
acting 01. Loid Goderich's Dispatch. To assign as a rea-
son that which was no reason .A all, creates the susj^icion
that the haste was due to a different cause altogether.
It was evidently the object of the parties interested to
make assurance doubly sure, by effecting a 2)ermanent
arrangement while they had the power.
"We have entered upon these details, we confess with
some reluctance. No two men could probably be found
in this Province at that day with a higher sense of per-
sonal honor, than the candidates for this high office.
Keither would do an act that he considered low or mean,
and yet we find them obliged to dangle about the anti-
chamber of a Minister in Downing Street, like lac(iuey8,
no
LIFE OF
soliciting a i)lace, with certificates of character and prev-
ious good behaviour. And yet such was a necessity of
public life in the Colonies in those daj's. At all events
any one who could not stoop to establish an interest in
the Colonial Office, by being himself the advocate of his
own claims, could not hope to arrive at the higher posi-
tions of official life. He might be returned to the House
as a representative, he might have great weight in the
Assembly and w^ith the people, he might guide the cur-
rent of Legislation, and be looked up to as a man of mark,
but the gates of public office were clo.sed to him. If that
were his aim, ho must forego the pojnilar favoi*, creep
into the Council, and abjure his liberal senUnionts. After
he had done all this, and made his peace wiih the Body
he had joined, and quarrelled with the Body he had left,
he might hope for the favor of the Crown. Few men
had the courage to bravo the Council and the Tiieutenant
Grovernor and go behind them, and establish a posi-
tion with the Colonial Office. Indeed when they did
take that step, they were open to the suspicion aris-
ing from a position so equivocal. When they secured
the favor of the Minister, they were in danger of losing
that of the people. If they retained ])opular supjiort,
and came into compet'tion at the Colonial Office with
those who were sustained by the local Government, the
contest generally ended, as it did in this case, with vic-
tory to the nominee of the Council. On the whole, the
proceeding was a forlorn hope. Few attempted it, and
of these few a very limited number succeeded. Subserv-
iance was a bettor pass-port than independence, to the
favor of the Crown. In the end as a rule the favorite of
the Council was the successful man. His path was easy
and strewed with flowers. To be sure he had to abandon
ii
S. G. W. ARCHIBALD. Ill
tlie iwpular branch, ho had to hide hiin^O'T wilhin tho
closed doors of the Council Chamber. If it w;!.s a living
entombment, at all events the mausoleum wa-^ gilded.
The now convert had to breathe the spirit and cherish
the ideas of an age that was past : he was to b'j a politi-
cal anachronism — an official fossil, amid the changing and
advancing forms of political thought.
The election of 1830 was followed by f great reac-
tion, which began to show itself towards tho eloise of the
tirst session of 'he new House. The member.;, no longer
united by a question appealing to their es^prit de corps,
broke up into parties according to their or liiniry pro-
clivities. Meanwhile the press was active i' «Ii^seminat-
ing the i)rincij)le8 of the liberal party. M- ilowe who
had now acquired experience as an editor was iirging
from day to day his advanced views on poliLlca! subjects.
These were becoming popular in the count ry. rndinturi
were reacting on the House. Towards t^e end of tiio
term in the years 1835 and 1836, this spirit became more
obvious. Mr. Doyle in his witty way said, t^i^vi after six
years of sin they had entered on a year of repentance.
The House was prorogued in April 1837, aTv' prepara
tions were soon entered upon for u general election. Thi^.
would have taken place earlier, but for the del'iy in ob-
taining the assent of the Crown to Bills for tho division
of some of the Counties "alifax among Iho number)
and adding to their representation. This a'- -ont was not
obtained till November. Thereupon tho H ou.ie was at
once dissolved and writs were issued for a now election,
returnable on the 12th of January following.
During the summer appeared a eerie h of remark,
able letters addressed to the freeholders of the Province
over the signature of Joe Warner, in which the proceedings
112
LIFE OF
of the last House were discussed with gi-etit vigor and
ahility, by a writer evidently well versed in public af-
fairs. The letters began in July and continued to iho
very eve of the election* They were thirteen in num-
ber, and were directed largely against the lawyers, but
special attention was given to Mr. Archibald, who was
charged with a great variety of public offences, but pi'in-
cipally with waste and extravagance in the Provincial
expenditure. These letters were extensively read in
every jDart of the Province, and doubtless contributed
largely to the excitement of the subsequent election.
In Mr. Archibald's county, being the one formerly
constituting the District of Colchester, only about fifty
electors out of the twelve hundred had been fouod, in
1830 to record their votes against him, but he vvas now
to find a great change in public opinion in his County.
There can be no question that he rendered great service to
Colchester in the long period of thirty years that ho had
been in the Legislature, and might have looked, if any
public man is ever justified in looking, for the gratitude
of his constituents. But the leaven of the Nova Scotian
and of the Eecorder ha^l begun to permeate the masses
and to affect Mr. Archibalds' supporters. Mr. Isaac Logan
was pitched upon as the candidate to oppose him. Mr.
Logan was a resident of Onslow, having many years be-
fore removed from Cumberland, of which he was a native,
and settled in Colchester, where he married. He was a
man of fair abilities with a good common school education,
but had little knowledge of political matters beyond what
he gathered from the newspapers. He was an occasional
contributor to the Nova Scotian where certain articles
under the signature of L. give a fair, but certainly not
very high, idea of hi« political and educational attainments.
S. G. W. ARCHIBALD.
WW
Mr. Lof^an was an Eldci' of the Presbyterian Church, and,
through Ids marruige, was connected with a large and
influential family in the County. From these various
sources, the gathering in favor of Mr. Logan, though hy
no means formidable, was very much in excess of what
Mr. Archibald could liave anticipated. The election was
held on the 28th Xovember. Mr. Logan was requested
as the Junior candidate to sjieak first, but he declined.
Then Mr. Archibald spoke, ivferring to the charges whicli
had been spread broadcast over the C.)unty, in reference
to his political conduct. Adverting to the commuta-
tion of the Quit Ivents, he said : —
"Little did he expect that any man in the country
who was relieved by that measure, from any claim of the
King upon his land, would have raised his voice against
him. lie was aware that the Joe Warner of the Recorder,
who was a second time discovered, by his eloquence of
ab'ise, and who wtis in a minoi-ity on that occasion,
would make wicked use of it. There were some in that
minority whom he respected, but Joe Warner had advo-
cated the measure of commutation, some five years pre-
vious, quite as strenuously as he,th« AttorneyGeneral had
done, and here he read a speech from the paper of that da}^
*' But suppose when the represeuLatives of the agricul-
tural parts of the Province were desirous of settling the
question, I had interposed and said with him, no, Let the
King collect his own rents, and they had been c(^l-
lectcd, what would have been the complaint against me ?
You sir, well knew that your office would have been en-
riched by the collection, and therefore you opposed the
commutatioD, that yourself and the King's bailitfs, might
come forth like a flight of destroying angels upon the
country. With the disposition to libel me, no course of
114 LIFE OF
polic}^ could have protected nie, I did what I deemed
right and propoi', regai-dlcss of my enemien, and poster-
ity will romemhor mo with gratitude. But it is said my
salaiy as an officer of the Ci'own was dependent on the
measure, and likewise the arrears duo me. I would ask
if there is any man, who is tit to go abroad without a keep-
er, who could suppose that so essential an officer as the
King's Attorney General would be left to seek his own
salary. No, gentleman, when the Government fails to
provide the means for paying such an officer, it will be
near its dissolution. The arrears due me could not bo
]iaid from the casual revenue here, without a grant from
Parliament to relieve it."
^ IT ^f» ^f* ^J* W
The Attorney General then stated the many ties that
bound him to his native counti-y. He had been absent
from it first for his education, and since, he had travrllod
far and seen many countries, luit he ahvays returned to
it with inc 3ased atfection. The constituency migiit
separate him from it, but it would not be without a strug-
gle, and one of no ordinary kind. It would be like the
severance of a limb by violence from the living body.
He had never disgraced them, and if once severed, it
would be once and forever. But ho knew the men of
Colchester, and he confided in them. The best evidence
of his confidence was that he solicited a vote from no
man. Nay, he said that he hoped that if he could have
the meanness to ask any one for his vote, that that man
would have spirit enough to vote against him. I am re.
gArdless, continued the Attorney General, of a paper
character, which like a kite must be kept uji by the un-
certain breeze, and balanced by the length of the train.
I am likewise regardless of paper attacks ujion a well
S. G. W. AUCniBALB.
115
iiarncd rcputntion. I ask those who meet mo *n the
wallvH of every day life to certify for my character. I
ask tlie merchant, the mechanic, the grocer and every
man with whom Ideal; I ask the farmer who ploughs my
field and reaps my harvest, and my domestic servants,
whose wages have never been kept back. I ask those who
are in distress, tribulation and poverty, the living com-
pound maHs of Ho^iiety to certify for me, I am proud to
say that in the metropolis where I reside, I hav'c re-
ceived from all classes evidence of their esteem and kind-
ness, and although I have been long absent from you^
my name I am confident is not forgotten."
On the second day of the polling Mr. Logan, finding
himself some four hundred behind, resigned the contest,
and was about to leave the hustings, when Mr. Archibald
asked him to remain, as he had something to say in which
he was interested. After some preliminarj' remarks ho
proceeded to say :—
" Did the worthy candidate suppose that now the con-
test being ended he was to make his bow and retire.
That he was to enter the field with me, attack my repu-
tation, dearer to me than life, and when foiled and defeat-
ed, notwithstanding all the falsehood and fraud he has
employed against me, that he was to walkaway with, the
mawkish leave he has taken of you, without the least
notice from me.
Speaking of Joe Warner he said^against him he
had advocated the cause of the early settlers of the coun-
try. He had sustained and defended, when they were
slandcr'jd, the characters of the first teachers of relig'on
in this Western World. Here he enumerated the names
of the clcrg^'men, now deceased, who he said had shared
ill.!)!!
116 LIFE OF
the privutlons and poverty of the Fathers of the pi-esont
generation ; men who were held up to Hcorn and derision
by Mr. Logan's friend, Joe Warner, denounced as sectar-
ians, disaft'ected to tlie/Jovernnient and unworthy of con-
fidence. ' Yet these were the men who first preached the
gospel amongst you. These were they who spread a
table in the wilderness and made the weary pilgrim drink
from the ordinances of religion, as from a brook running
in the way. These were tliey who shared the humbly
dwellings of the congregations committed to their charge;
and when the angel of death visited their habitation.s,
gave the cup of consolation to the mourner. These whom
1 have named are departed and gone to their everlasting
reward. While living, I had their confidence, and now
that they are dead, 1 revere their memory. Such men
are not likely again to visit you. I will not enumerate
the living who also claim my esteem, and whom it has
been my pride likewise to defend against the common
enemy, who is now combined with the Presbyterian in-
terest to put me down, and place the pious Deacon in my
stead. One I cannot refrain from mentioning, the Rev-
erend Clerj^yman of this parish, Mr. Waddell. • He is, as
it were, between the living and the dead. It has pleased
the Almighty to afflict him, and deprive^you of his min-
istrations, but as I heard from a nmch respected friend,
Avho occupied his place the last Sunday, you have the
benefit of his prayers for you. His life has been a living
sermon. His example is worthy of your imitation. He
has not laboured for the meat that perisheth, for his
labor did not even procure it for himself and his family.
And if in the evening of his days he has parted with an
earthly dwelling to release himself from embarrassment,
he has secured a bettor inhevitance : he has taken the Al-
S, Q. W. ARCITTBALD.
117
Tni<^hty for hin refuge, and the most High for \iU habita-
tion.
Onco more T must mention the 7lev\ Dr. McCulloch,
the man who first made science familiar to those, who
without his aid must forever have remained in ignorance.
Would that I possessed a tithe of those talents, which
would have given him elevated rank in any other country.
Ho also has been assailed by the man who now joins
hands with the worthy candidate against mo. and this
oj)])osition, strange to say, has risen among the Pi'esby-
tcrians, whom I have defended, and for whom I laboured
to maintain an institution of learning, which their dis-
sentions have destroyed, while my Baptist friends have
been unitsd in their cause and will prevail. They have
had and shall have my support. I have done but my
duty to worthy men whose acquaintance I am proud to
have made, and whose confidence I have enjoyed, and but
for the advice of one of them, whom I shall ever esteem ;
but that he requested me to bridle my tongue on a sub-
ject pregnant of so much feeling, I would chastise the
gentlenuin, and perhaps his associates, with a whij) of
scorpions, which they would remember to tho end of
their days. To him he is indebted for any mercy ho may
receive at my hands.
The worthy candidate has told j'ou of liis labours in
electioneering, because he was not generally known
throughout the country, which I promise shall not be his
case hereafter. He has indeed been industrious. He iias
carried Joe Warner into the lieartof every family. Even
since my arrival in the County he has been favored with
the 13th Epistle. Milton w^as contented to abuse the
devil w ith only twelve books. Upon me, Joe Warner
118 • LIFE OF
has lje8to\vc(l llic baker's dozen. Ho cslaLlihhed a oo-
partnei'shi]) witli his friend, Deacon Lo^an, Joe was tho
manufacturer of slander and libol, arid tho worthy candi-
date became tho hawker, tho peddler, and the jiotty
chapman of his wares. I leave it to tho strong distin-
gui.-^hing mind which lie says he possesses, to establish
any ditleronco in guilt betw(3cn them. But no one could
charge liim with vending without license, and so success-
ful was tho deacon, that he created a demand for misrc-
j)rescntation and falsehood, whicli even tho diabolical
skill, and wicked industry of Joe "Warner himself couid
scarcely supply. Indeed, he was so hard pressed that, on
one occasion, ho forgot his friend, the deacon, and nearly
blasted his hojx)s, by recommending you to return mo.
The worthy candidate, who is an agriculturist, in opposi-
tion to me, wiio have expended more among you, in ono
speculation for tlio benefit of the County, than he ever
expended in his life, did not confine himself to the slow
process of the drill culture with the seeds of Joe Warner.
No, gentlemen, ho scattered them with a liboi'al and dia-
bolical broadcast over the whole face of the County, and
his sowing for a time was not in vain. The abominable
seed took root. The Hellebore and tho Hemlock, tho
Cicuta and tho Nightshade, sprang up in tho footstej^s of
the deacon, and he had the liopes of an abundant harvest,
but tho noxious plants were bhisted and scattered before
their appointed time. "Would you believe it, that a man
reported as pious, would send his messenger befo-'O him
to tho upright, tho honest inhabitants of Earltown. nnd
request them to assemble, as he was coming among thorn
and had good news to bring. Gentlemen, what were
these good news. What was the gospel, according to
Isaac Logan ? It was neither more nor less than a new
S. G. W. ArCJUffALD.
119
Hhcaf of tho niunufuctures of his friond. How beautil'ul
iip(n) thoso HMowy mountuiiH were the feot of tlio deacon,
Mhod with tho prepai-aiion of the Acadian Recorder, and
heol-tappud witli tho lies of Joo Warner ! The good news
was to tell tlieni, that tiie man who had maintained an
unsidlied reputation, the man wlio iiad hitiierto enjoyed
their conftdenee, was a villian. lint he will tin<l with all
Ills outfit of iniquity, that ho has walked witii vanity,
and his feet have hastened after deceit."
In reference to personal solicitation Lo said he de-
nounced it. lie put himself in tl\e true sense of tho c\
prossion upon the Country. lie requested that if in tho
immense Assembly he was addi'ossing, there was a man
he had injured, he would rise and chai'ge him, or if on
the other hand there was one who had a[)plied to him for
relief and been dismissed, that ho would stand up and
accuse him. Those ho said were bold challongcs, but he
made them without fear.
Gentlemen I am proud of your confidence. It has
given the lio to my enemies, it has rivetted an attachment
alroiidy strong, to my native county. I am shortly to
return to the metropolis, to engage once more in
tho important duties of my olHce, but I will re-
member your kindness, and I know I shall not Ijofor-
gotten by you. I shall feel more strongly than ever the
desire which has grown with my labors, and increased
upon me, when I have been in distant countries, of re-
siding among you. And should I be spared to old age,
I shall comfort myself with the hope, of spending a
part at least of the evening of my days, beside that
stream, on the banks of which in adversity my mother
120
LIFE OF
nursed mo, Aly namo shall i-cinain and stand connected
with ColchoHter, when the name of Joe Warner shall bo
rotten a.s his compost, and stink like his dung hill."
Nothing but the heat and passion of the moment
while smarting under a sense of the injustice and male-
volence of the chai'ges brought against him, which had
led so many of his old friends into the arms of the enemy,
and the knowledijc thai Mr. Loij-an lud been the main
instrument in scattering those charges among the people,
and seducing them from their old allegiance, could justify
the fierceness of this invective.
It was perhaps the more inexcusable that Mr. Logan
was no match for him, and there was none of Joo War-
ners letters to suggest the answer to such an address.
We doubt if Joe W'lrner himself could have stood much
better the sLorm of fiery darts that shot with such rapid-
ity from the quiver of the Attorney General. It was
perhaps well that Mr. Logan was unable to answer. As
ho left the hustings after this scathing attack, his cower-
ing form, and melancholy face, excited a commiseration
which he could not have received if he had attempted a
reply.
Mr. Logan returned to his home, if not cured of his
ambition, at all events determined not to enter again on
^0 unequal a contest.
CHAPTER YIII.
Curious results of Election. General effect of same. Disappear-
ance of old members. First appearance of new men afterwards
attaining eminence. Re-elected Speaker. Illness. Mr. Smith
appointed Speaker temporarily. Failure of crops in 1836. Mr.
Dodd brings a Bill before the House to keep grain and potr.toes
in the Province. Mr. Archibald's speech in itsf'vor. Mr.
Young opposes the measure. His death. Resolutions transmit-
ted to England. Reply. Rebellion in Lower Canada. Troops
cent from Halifax to Montreal. Public Meeting at Halifax.
Resolutions for relief of Soldiers' families. Patriotic speech of
Mr. Archibald. Mr. Howe's vindication of the loyalty of the
Liberals of Nova Scotia. Mee'^ing of House in 1838, Appoint-
ment of Lord Durham as Lord High Commissioner and Gover-
nor General of British North America. His Report on the sit-
uation of the Provinces. An act of his administration attacked
in the Lords by Lords Brougham and Lyndhu t. The Ministry
disallow the ordinances complained of. Lord Durham's hasty
return to England, Lord John Russel becomes Colonial Sec-
retary. Mr. C. Poulett Thompson appointed Governor General.
Resolutions of 1839. Delegates sent by House to England.
Met by Council's Delegates. Lord John Russell's despatch of
16th October, 1839, as to tenure of Oflace. Additions to Exe-
cutive Council from Assembly. Vote of want of Confidence in
Government. Rebigi^.ationof Hon. J. B. Uniacke. Subsequent
action of House, A''ote against Sir Colin Campbell. Mr. Arch-
ibald's views on thfitvote. The Governor Greneral at Halifax.
Lord Falkland becomes Governor of Nova Scotia. New ap-
pointments to Council. Election of 1840. Mr. Archibald re-
turned for Colchester without opposition.
"When the battle of the general election wan over,
and tiic smoke had cleared away, some odd results were
observed. Mr. John Young had, in the House, and in
the press, constituted himself in a peculiar manner the
champion of reform. Ho had spoken and written on the
subject with great vehemence, and it might have been ex-
pected tlu. this constituents would have received him with
open arms, as the bold defender of the peoples rights. But
when he went to his election, ho found himself at the
end of the second day's polling at Antigonish, the lowe*jt
122
LIFE OF
on the list. IIo was 300 below Mr. McDougall, and, 100
below Mr. Wilkie ; but Sydnoy was a Catholic County,
and the Bishop was his friend,, On the third morning of
the polling, His Lordship appeared on the hustings and
called on his people to rally 7'ound Mr. Young. The re-
sult, was that that gentleman at the close of the Poll,
though continuing to hold the same relation as before to
Mr. McDougall, had a majority of thirty over Mr. Wilkie.
On the other hand, Mr. Archibald had gone to a
County in which, perhaps as much as in any other part
of the Province, the new doctrines had taken root, — he
had to labor against the prejudices created by changes, —
some unjust, some perhaps not altogether without foun-
dation, and yet such was the fascination of his manner and
such his powers of persuasion, when brought face to face
with the people, that he was returned by a triumphant
majority. It must have been a double mortification to
Mr. Young, first, to see the man who was his principal
object of attack, swept into the Assembly on the very
crest of the popular wave, and secondly, to find himself
the friend of the people, saved from political extinction,
only by a Bishop. Upon the v/hole however, a great
change had swept over the representation of the coun-
try. "When the House met on the 31st of January, many
faces were there which the chamber had never seen be-
fore. Many faces once familiar to it had disappeared
from the scene. Of the old members, Archibald and
Uniacke, Stewart and Doyle,Young and Huntingdon, were
the leading men returned. But where was Lawson who.so
well known form had flitted across the floor for the last
thirty-one years, and was almost a pillar of tho House ?
Where was Roach of Annapolis, the acrid and acid oppon
ent of the legal profession, the authox of cheap Law
S. G. W. ABCHIBALB,
123
Bills, und the most vehement of sticklers for extreme re-
form ? lie had disappeared and was no more seen.
"Where was Dickson of Pictou who for nearly twenty
years had heen a member, whose handsome face and man-
\y figure were familiar to all frequenters of the Assem-
bly, and who had been in his quiet way a power in former
Houses ? The place that erst knew him, now knew him
no more,' at least for a season. Where were DeBlois of
Halifax and Morse of Amherst, Crei^hton of Lunenburgh,
and DeWolf of Windsor, all men of mark in their time?
Gone. Gone. But wo need not pursue our political obit-
uary. Of the men now assembled, over thirty had never
f<at in the House before. Many of them afterwards,
achieved distinction in public life. Mr. Howe at this
Mcssion commenced a Legislative career, which terminat-
ed with the office of Governor, held by him at the time
of his death. Mr. W. Young was afterwards to be Chief
Justice.* 3Ir. DosBarres and Mr. Dodd to be Judges of
the land. Mr. McBougall was to be a Solicitor General.
Mr. DeWolf and Mr. S. P. Fairbanks to hold important dc-
])artmental positions, and Mr. Annand, who is still living
in England, was to be premier of the Province, and for a
number of years to exercise a large amount of political
power. All these came into the Assembly in 1837.
When the House met, Mr. Archibald was again unani-
mously chosen as speaker. But lie hud otdy to look
round the red benches, and notice the faces of the new
men seated there, to be satisfied that the pei-iod of his
ascendency was coming to a close. The work to be done,
if these men were to determine its character, must be
• Mr. i'oung had indeed been returned in 1833 but had sat only
part of a session, being unseated on the petition of Richard Smith
who took his place, and therefore he mav be said to have been
first a member in 1837.
124
LIFE OF
much more thorough and radical than would suit his po-
litical proclivities. He Hcem.s indeed to have taken little
part in the debates of the first session, and hardly any in
the storm\ liscussion connected with the passing of Mr.
Howes' twelve celebrated resolutions. Indeed his health
had begun to yield to the pressure upon energies serious-
ly taxed by the labors of a life time. An entr}' on the
Journals the 3rd April, 1837, after the House had been
two months in session, recalls the memory of an event
which at the +ime excited a great sensation. When the
membei's met on Monday morning Mr. Archibald was
not in the chair. The Clerk rose and informed them
that the Speaker had desired him to say he was unwell
^and unable to attend the House that daj', but that he
ho]ied to do so in a few days. The Members adjoui-ned
till next morning. When they met again a resolution
was adopted, referring to the illness of Mi*. Archibald,
and describing it as dangerous, and declaring the neces-
sity of electing a temporary Speaker. Mr. George Smith,
his old colleague in the representation of Halifax County,
was put in the chair, till Mr. Archibald should recover.
His illness was stated in the newspapers to be an attack
of erysipelas m the face. It was really a severe stroke
of paralysis. He had had a light attack of the kind,
some years before when travelling on the continent of
Europe, but he had recovered i-apidly, and seemed to have
suffered no ill effects from it, but this attack was more
serious. It was some time before he began to rally, and
even when he had recovered sufficiently to appear in
public, it was8e(»n that the blow had left its mark behind.
The usual nervous consequences of this illness wei'o per-
ceptible in his face, and in his utterance. He never en-
tirely recovered from the effects in either respect. How-
*.
I
S. G. \V. ARCHIBALD.
125
ever wLcntho House met again in the beginning of 1838,
after the prorogation, he was able to resume tlie chair,
and to di"'"' ;e with grace and dignity the duties which
long usage had rendered easy. From this period how-
ever, till the close of his life, he was careful to avoid ex-
citement. Indeed from the state of his health, he could
not have longer continued, even if the Asscm]»ly had
been composed of different materials, to take the leading
part he had formerly done in the discussions of the House.
Another matter of local importance occasioned some
discussion in the session of 1837. The previous season
had been a bad one. Wet and cold had prevailed. The
crops of potatoes were deficient in quantity, inferior in
quality, and an early frost had cut off the crop before it
was ripe. Oats, too, had been a failure. Petitions from
every quarter for measures of relief wc- " piesented to
.the House. At length, Mr. Dodd introduced a Bill to
prevent the exportation of grain and potatoes, and when
this Bill went into Committee there were serious differ-
ences of opinion about the policy of passing it. Some
members contended that the matter should be left to the
operation of supply and demand. They thought the Bill
a violation of the principles of political economy, that
it was an imposition on the holders of the articles to
which the prohibition would extend ; that if relief was
given at all, it should be in the shape of money fi-om the
Provincial Treasury. Mr. Archibald took an active part
in the discussion, and we subjoin a few extracts from one
of his speeches, to show the style of his oj)inions.on such
questions. Possibly his expressions may have been a lit.
tie accentuated by the circumstance, that the writer
of Joe AYarner' 8 letters took his stand against the Bill,
on the principles of jiolitical economy. The Speaker
ili'
126
LIFE OF
said : " It was not a now measure, either in this Prov.
ince or in Great Britain, but it Was one Avhich should he
resorted to only in cases of great distress, — whether the
present juncture was of that nature, was the question for
the House now to determine. If gentlemen would un-
dertake to say, — meddle not with the ordinary Course of
things, allow the man who has the articles here to carry
them abroad, because there is distress in the other colo-
nies, he^would ask them what remedy they afforded^
when they turned round to the destitute and gave them
money ? It Was the necessaries of life which were want-
ed, and they only would relieve the wants which were
now felt all over the country.
We had this year the ajipeai-ance of a fiivorablo
spring, and if we could argue anything fr-om the present
weather, we might look forward to a fruitful season, but
what was the state of the country in regard to seed ? It
had none. In vain then v*^re a genial atmosphere, an I
an early season for the labors of the husbandman. The
unfortunate man who had not seed, would be obliged
to look forward to the extinction of all his hopes, to
years of famine and distress. — " And yet," continued the
Speaker, "when I make these statements I am to be met
with doctrines drawn from Adam Smith, my sympathies
are to be stifled, and my energies paralysed by the prin-
ciples of political econom3\ I am to be told that I am
ignorant and understand not the subject. Mr. Chairman,
if I could sit down to a cold blooded speculation of the
misery of my fellow countrymen, if I could answer the
groans wrung from them by the hands of famine, by re-
ferring to the doctrines of philosophical sjjeculators, then
perhaps I might appreciate, the arguments of the Hon.
Gentleman from the County of Sydney, but while I have
S. G. W, ARCHIBALD.
127
eyes to SCO and a heart to feel for the distress of the
country, I shall do all I can to extend the aid of the
Legislature to the relief of that distress, and shall will-
ingly be considered ignorant, if to aftbrd relief to suiTer-
ing humanity, constitutes ignorance. Sir, this is the
country in which I hope to sjjend the remainder of my
days, and all the warmest feelings of my heart are en-
twined with its interests and prosperity. From one ontl
of the land to the other we hear re-echoed the cry of
scarcity, and we are called upon to extend our protection.
If in anticipating advantage from the present measure
we should find ourselves mistaken, it will be a satisfac*
tion to have erred on the side of humanity. Are wo to
be told that we are never to legislate in opposition to
certain laws and rules, which have been established by
political theorists. For what use then are we here ?
Every law we pass is at variance from those principles
b}' which'our conduct would otherwise be governed. If
thei-e are men of minds so amazingly strong, that they
are able to lay down fixed principles, which are to be
a])plied, like the square and the rule, to eveiy variety of
human exigencies, then indeed is a Legislature of no use.
But, Sir, the office and duty which we sustain are of a
higher order, we are to look at the present situation of
the country, and when our ears are saluted on all sides
with the cries of distress, we are to afford such practical
relief as our judgments suggest.
With respect to the oatmeal, I may tell the lion.
gentleman, that while others were writing aboui it and
talking about it, I was spending my money in endeavor-
ing to introduce the use of that article into the country.
I challenge any man to shew an equal amount of expense
128
LIFE OF
incurred in an attempt to encourage the domestic manu-
factures of the country. I am thei'eforc no theoretical
Hpeculator on possibilities. 1 have been practically en-
gaged in trying an experiment in this branch of industry
at my own risk, and asking not the aid of others. It is
true that I have not been repaid my exjienditure, but the
countiy has been benefitted by it, and I reap the satis-
faction of having done all I could for the encouragement
of domestic manufactures.
:i« * * #
*
*
*
Sir, it has been the will of Heaven to visit this coun-
try with a season worse than any we have had for a
series of years, and the hopes and prospects of niany,
were withered by the untimely frost, which cut otf many
of the potatoes last year. Those which remained from
that visitation have been almost unfit for consumption,
and will scarcely answer for the purposes of seed. When
then there is an extraordinary deficiency in every part of
the country, when, from one end of the Province to the
other, the cry of destitution resounds, shall wo allow the
only means of relief to be shipi^ed from our ports with-
out interposing a prohibition ? I hope, however, our
exertions will not stop here. I trust that befoj'e the
House breaks uj), they will put it in the power of the
Government to purchase a sufficiency of seed to supply all
who are unable to purchase for themselves. But, as a
necessary preliminary measure we must take care that
the seed does not go out of the country. It is in vain to
taunt the distressed with a want of industry and applica-
tion, it is not the want of industry as suggested by an
Hon. f^entleman, but the misor}'^ arising from causes over
which the inhabitants of this country had no control, it
was one of those dispensations of Heaven which are be-
,S:. G. W. AllClIIBALD.
12U
yoml the forosii^ht of man. It is not in man to cnsiiro
^*uccc89 by liis industiy. Tlio Hon. <^ontlcinan has no
doubt read, ' that tlio iiiisbandman may nourish bis plant
in the morniniij, and niako his seed to flourish in the*
evening, but the iiarvest notwithstanding becomes a heap
;n the dav of distioss and of bitter sorrow." \Vc are
called upon for relief, Jind shall wotoachthe applicants a
lesson of economy at the expense of tlieir lives. Tlds
very visitation, (and it is the way that Heaven deals wiih
man) will liave tlu> elh't-t of producing moi'e good than
all the lectures that ct)uld be given."
^Ir. Young in his rcjily vindicator, with much force
and eloquence, the views \w li;id thrown out in his pre-
vious speech. Towai ds tlio close of his observatiotis, he
said " that he cx])ccted Ji-oni the tone the Sijcukiii- hid
taken towards the conclusion of his address, that he was
going to depart from the sul>ject strictly befoi-e the House.
He was glad he had not done so, on the present occasion.
AVhen he chooses to make the })ei'sonaI attack he had
threatened, he (Mr. Y.) would be leatly in his jilace to
answei'.
The threat to which Mr, Vonng refer.s is not con-
tained in the reported speech, but il was well kniAvn that
it was Mr. Archibald's intention ever t-inee Joe Wai-ner
bad held him up to public i'e])i'obatio!i to si^uaie t!'e i.c-
count on the floor of the House, when the i).'oper o|»por-
tunity occurred. »Some hint of the kind had i).obably
droj)ped in the speech which Mr. Young was now an-
b.vering, but if so, it seems to have escaped the notice of
the repoi'ter. A fleld day devoted to the j)oints in dif-
ference between these two eminent men, would have en-
riched the debates of the session, but it was never to come
oH'. The speeches above referred to wei'e nuide on the
.ll
1.%
LIFE OF
2nth of ^[jircli. yive days iiftcrwai'ds, an event occur-
red which uo have already narrated, that dinahled }i\v.
Arcliihald from carrying out Ids intention for tiic HCSHion,
and before the House met again, Mr. Young waw no more,
having died an the Stli day of October, 1837, in the G5th
year of bin age.
The Ri'Holutions moved l»y Mr. Howe, and adoj)tc(l
l)y the AHsembiy in 1837, were duly transmitted to Eng-
land, and elicited volumino.is rej)lieH from Lord Gloneig,
who then held the seals of the Colonial Office. Every
disposition was shewn, on the part of the Imperial auth-
orities, to meet the reasonable wishes of the Province, but
Sir Colin Cam])bell. the Lieuteiumt (lovernor, was not u
man to shake himself fcee from the trammels of his poli*-
ieul advisers, and li' je or nothing was done in the way
of concession to the Assembly's demands.
While these things were going on in Nova Sc )tia,
events were occurring in other British American Pro-
vinces, which, in their issue, atfected the affairs of this
country. Lower Canada had a population alien in creed,
in language, and in nationality, to that of the rest ofliri-
tish North America. They were jealous of the rights con-
ferred upon them by the Act, 14 Geo. IIL, commonly
called the (Quebec Act. and were little disposed to support
administrations, largely English in feeling — and comj os-
ed, as they considered, of an undue proportion of .at
nationality. They were also little accustomed to the free
institutions to which Englishmen are trained, and very
natm'ally carried to excess the liberties which, in their
new^ condition, devolved upon them. It is not to be won-
dered at that, under such circumstances, the iulvocates of
reform in Lower Canada soon passed the boundaiy of
Constitutional agitation, and that they were looked upoa
S. a. W. ARCHIBALD.
m
\ J men attached to the Englibh connexion, as little better
than rebels in disguise. They soon took steps which
made them rebels undis^guised. That they labored under
many and serious grievances, nobody now denies, but, the
moment they sought redress by unconstitutional means,
they lost the sympathy of their fellow colonists, suffer-
ing under similar conditions. Warrants were issued
against the more violent agitators, includiiig some mem-
bers of the Assembly. T!io parties concerned resisted
arrest and all of a sudden a rebellion ensued. Troops
were sent for from all quarters. Those at Halifax were
despatched to Montreal. In a few weeks the rebellion
was over, the prominent leaders either in prison, or in
exile. After the troops left Halifax, a public meeting
was called on the 3rd of December, 1837, at which reso-
lutions were passed, deploring the events that had taken
place in Lower Canada, asserting the loyalty of the peo-
ple of Nova Scotia of every class, and providing for the
raising of contributions for the wives and families of the
soldiers called away for the suppression of the rebellion.
This meeting was convened by the Sheriff, on a requisi-
tion signed by people of all classes. High Tories and
extreme Eadicals alike took part in the demonstration.
The resolutions were passed unanimously. Mr. Archi-
bald introduced them in a speech of some length of which
we shall quote a few extracts.
" I am happy to see so large and respectable a meet-
ing of the inhabitants of the town called for the objects
stated in the requisition. The general scope of that re-
quisition is, that, while deploring the situation of our fel-
low subjects in Lower Canada, it becomes us, who enjoy
the blessings of the British Constitution in ^ e, to de-
clare our firm dcvotedness to that constitution and also
133
LIFE OF
to express u dispOBition to make piovirtion for the wiven
and childien of those soldiers vho have been moved k(»
unexpectedly from among us. Under that rcquiHition
this large meeting of those who feel deeply interested
in the country, is convened ; disposed, no doubt, to sup-
port the objects specified. I have been abseut from town,
ar am therefore loss acquainted than others with late
occurrences. This morning the Committee, which was ap-
pointed to draw up resolutions to be submitted to the
meeting, did me the honor to request me to propose those
resolutions. I come cheerfully to do so without prepar-
ation. Preparation is not requisite on the topic of these
resolutions. I will merely state the various subjects
which they embrace, and will then read them, when they
may either be passed separately or together as the meet-
ing may see fit. Politics need not to be introduced at
this meeting: we have nothing to do with them : we look
round at the state of others, and sympathise with them,
while we ourselves enjoy the comforts of peace and safe-
ty. Although the loyalty of a people is generally to be
taken as a reasonable presumption, yet there are times
when it peculiarly becon ^s the duty of every man to de-
clare his sentiments, that those, who expect anything
else but true loyalty, may bo undeceived, and may be con-
vinced that they have been mistaken. I feel obliged to
the Committee who have placed these resolutions in my
hands. I am not disposed to put myself forward in pub-
lic matters and I believe that this is the first Town
uaeetiog which I have attended. I will make a few re-
marks on these resolutions and hope that they will be
passed without dilficulty. Nothing will be found in them
which will compromise any principle.
The firet resolution is intended to express the regret of
S. G. W, ARCHIBALD.
133
tho mooting on the uiifortunato state of iifTuirs in Cnnada.
AVhiitover cuusos have producoJ those evils, acts of law-
loss agression, which all niUHt regret, have been commit-
ted. Wo ato not hero to try out all tho particiilarH which
have led to thin ntato. Now, we hoo a!i arm raised against
the law, and tho government of tho country, and every
one must lament this, and tho devastation which ensues.
The resolution goes a little farther, and says that at this
time it becomes our 'luty to state our unshaken loyalty to
tho Government under which we live, and that wo are
disposed, one and all, to resist any attempt at severing this
Province from the Crown of Groat Britain. I am proud
to SCO such a resolution as this considered in a meeting
of this kind. We will have no hesitation in declaring tho
severance alluded to ruinous, and that we will do all we
can to prevent such a calamity.
The second resolution has reference to tho removal
of tho military. His Excellency tho Lieutenant Gover-
nor acting with his usual promptness in military matters,
immediately, when circumstances required it, put orders
in rcruisition by which tho troops which have been re-
siding among us, deeming they were settled in their
homos at least for tho winter, have been removed, and
have been sent to a scene of much toil and danger. This
resolution states the regret that is felt at the causes that
led to the removal. AVhile here, the officers and men
made themselves esteemed and respected by the various
classes in the community : this will not be denied. There
are times when a fev/ may express the public feeling,
and such occurs when a regiment is about leaving the
plactj of its temporary abode, but now, at this meeting,
wdiich may be said to represent the Province, to pass a
compliment, such as that intended, would be an expression
134 LIFE OF
of more than usual interest and weii^ht. Tlie resolution
(Icc^aves the highest esteem entertained for the officers
and men who have been removed. This will doubtless
be responded to unanimously. Wo will be proud of an
opportunity of shewing to all, the sense we entertain of
their services, the gratitude we feel, and the i-ogret that
their connexion with us has been so unexpectedly sever-
ed. "We may thus follow them with kind wishes ana our
opinion of their conduct. This is the intent and sub-
stance of the second resolution. (Applause).
The third resolution commends itself to our best feel-
ings — we are subjects of the Crown enjoj'ing peace and
quietness under the constitution, and we look to others
less favorably circumstanced — we see the soldier taken
from his home leaving his wife and family behind, desti-
tute of their wonted support and protection. Altho' the
•pirit which animates the soldier is sufficient to make
him face any hardship; altho' he may think but little of
his journey thro' the winter wilderness, and of the dan-
gers which await him at the end of it ; altho' the call of
duty is enough for tJiese difficulties, has he not the feel-
ings of a father and a husband for those from whom he
is removed ?
The removal of a civilian is different. He has time
for preparation, and his lamily sinks into the ranks of
society and are provided for. But whc n the soldier is
thus removed, the usual support of his family is sudden-
ly taken away, and feelings on such subjects must oper-
ate powerfully on the bravest men. He may think that
he has to leave them in a country of strangers, but lot
us tell him that he leaves them among Englishmen. (Ap-
plause).
The object of this resolution is to state that we will
S. G. W. ARCHIBALD,
135
make provision for those who have been left behind, that
ay we have not been called to leave home under arms, as
the soldiers have been — perhaps for our ultimate safety —
we will assist in making those ( omfortable who remain,
and in relieving the minds of those who have been forced
to leave them comparatively destitute. I hope that i.one
will feel disinclined to come forward in furtherance of
this resolution, to express theii- esteem for those removed
from us, and to assist in alleviating the sufferings of those
whom our humanity can reach, the families which remain.
^P IP *|* *|* •!* *!* -^
Without dwelling on particulars any longer we may
take the general scope of the resolution and see if it is
not wise as regards the Government, the Canadian Pro-
vinces, and New Brunswick, as well as our own character,
to make these declarations. By these, if any say, as has
been said, not here, b 'elsewhere, that we wish to throw
off our allegiance, we deny the imputation and say that
it is grossly untrue. There is not a word of truth in such
a charge. Loyalty is the characteristic of the Province
of Nova Scotia. I am proud that the Committee called
on me this day, not as an oflicer of the Crown, but as one
placed at the head of the Assembly of the Province. I
justly take a pride in having held that post for years,
although an officer of the Crown, and I cannot allow any
man to speak more confidently of the country than my-
self. Many of the inhabitants of the Province are des
cendents of those who took the wilderness as their por-
tion, rather thangivc up the British Constitution — all of
them are proud of theii- descent, and their birth, and if
the sentiments here ex2)ressed could bo responded to,
they would he echoed from every mountain and valley,
and from every hamlet in the land. (Loud applause.)
13C
LIFE OF
The inhabitants of tlio land arc loyal to a man, and no
(litrcronces exist, except those foi'Avhich projicr and legal
niodes of redress are sought. We arc, loyal jieople, and
he who says the reverse, libels the Province, and says that
which is untrue."
Mr. Howe afterwards spoke with much force and
vigor. He said he had been stigmatised as " the Nova
Scotian Papineau," and therefore claimed a right to ex-
plain how far his political sentiments were in accord
with those of the f'rench agitator. He said " I came
here not only to express loyalty to Her Majesty, (and
Heaven knows the Queen has not more loyal subjects in
the same number in any part of her dominions than she
has in Nova Scotia) — I came here not only to express
i^y l<^^yi^lty, but also to vindicate my ])ublic conduct and
that of those with whom I have acted ; to prove that
never for a single moment did wo harbor a thought
which might not be spoken in the jM'esenc of the Queen."
The unanimity and enthusiasm of the meeting shew-
ed that, however much the Nova Scotian Liberals might
differ fiom their Conservative brethren in questions of
Eeform, that both were of one mind as to the limits
within which reform Avas to be sought. As Liberals, they
had no idea of resorting to rebellion to obtain redress of
any grievances they may have labored under.
The General Assembly was summoned for the twen-
ty-fifth day of January, A. D. 1838. When they met it
was at once felt that the time was inopportune for press-
ing their views on the Imperial Government, and accord-
ingly little was dono in the Assembly beyond discussing
the ansv'ors given by the Crown in respact of the ditfer-
ent subjects that had been brought to its notice. But
while cur Legislature was comparatively quiet, discus-
S. G. W. ABCIIIBALD.
137
sions were taking j^lnce in the Imperial Parliament
which affected materially the future of all the Provinces.
The Eebcllion in Canada was too serious a matter to pass
unnoticed. That country, it was admitted, labored under
some real grievances, and the Ministry felt that the time
had come when the facts should be investigated by some
Imperial authority, capable of dealing with the question
in a competent manner. All eyes turned to a statesman
who had already achieved a high reputation in Parlia-
ment, and who seemed parti cula^'ly fitted for the duty of
the moment. Lord Durham was a man of great ab'iity,
he had held a prominent place in the politics of the
Mother Country, from a time anterior to the EeformBill
of 1830. He had himself some share in the framing of
that Bill, and was connected by family and political ties
with Earl Grey, under whose administration that Bill
had passed. Lord Durham was a warm supporter of his
father in law. When Melbourne took the place of Grey,
Lord Durham continued to occupy a proud place in poli-
tics, but his peremjitory temper, and advanced views,
made him anything but an agreeable colleague for the
moderate Whigs, of whom Lord Melbourne was the
chief. He was accordingly sent anay as Ambassador to
Pussia, first in 1833, and again in 1335. He remained at
St. Petersburg till just before the occurrence of the events
in Lower Canada, which we have narrated. On his re-
turn to England he was selected for the work which the
Government had before them in British North America.
He was made Lord High Commissioner and Governor-
General of the Canadas, and armed with the largest pow-
ers the Crown could confer, so as to be able to deal effec-
tually with the Canadian question. He brought with
him as seci'etarics two men of mark in English political
i,.i'
ii"i|.ni
!(;: .
138
LIFE Ot
life. lie arrived at Quebec on the 2'7th May, 1838,
and immediately set himself to the task of investigation,
which lay before him. His labors resulted in a long and
able report, embracing the whole questiou of the Gov-
ernment of the British North American Province8,tracing
to their sources the difficulties that had arisen, and em-
bodying the policy with regard to the future, which he
recommended to the Governm.ent of England. No State
document that exists, has had so powerful an influence in
the administration of the Colonies as this report of Lord
Durham, though it was ushered into the world under
most inauspicious circumstances. Before it was publish-
ed — indeed, almost before it was put into shape — Lord
Durham had petulantly resigned his post, and without
waiting for the leave of the Crown, or communicating his
intentions to the Ministry, was on his way to England
to take his place in the House of Lords. Li that House
the difficulty had arisen which occasioned his sudden re-
turn. Lords Brougham and Lyndhurst had both been
Chancellors, the tirst in a Liberal, the second in a Con-
servative administration. They had long been foes, but
now both were out of office and leagued against the Gov-
ernment. Lord Brougham's exclusion by his own politi-
cal friends, naturally soured him with Lord Melbourne's
administration. He had been left out, though he had
been Lord Chancellor first in Grey's administration and
again in Melbourne's first Cabinet. His exclusion, there-
fore, was a personal indignity, to be repaid when the op-
portunity occurred Brougham and Lyndhurst were the
best speakers in the House of Lords. Both disliked Lord
Durham, whose temper was bad, and who, in his encoun-
ters with these Lords, had infiicted severe wounds that
were still rankling, when the opportunity of revenge
S. G. W. ARCHIBALD.
139
turned np. The}' attacked Lord Durham with great bit-
terness. In truth, there were fair grounds for assault.
Tiie Governcr-Gcnerul had found, when he arrived at
(Quebec, a nuniher ofpoliticul jyri.sjncrs on Ids hands, and
dic^ not know what to do with them. They eould not bo
let loose in the community without danger to the public
peace. They could not he puni;dicd without increasing
the irritation, which it was Lord Durham's pjlicy to al-
lay. At length he decided to banish them to Eerrauda.
Tins was certainly an excess of power, and Lord Dur-
ham's si)ecial foes in the Ilouse of Lords charged the
Ministry with being parties to the act, which they des-
cribed as one of despotism, gross enough for a Russian
autocrat. Unfortunately the Ministry was weak in de-
bating power in the Lards. They defended the Governor-
General feebly. At length, finding the feeling strong
against them, they threw him over altogether. They
sent out a dispatch, disallowing the ordinances to which
objections had been nuule. This document crossed Lord
Durham on his passage homo. He had heard of the dis-
cussion and of the course of Ministers in the Upper
Ilouse, through an American newspaper, an/l iorthwith,
in his impetuous way, threw up his office. Disgusted
and disheartened by the treatment of his friends, and
suflering from the pressure of excessive labor, with fail-
ing health. Lord Durham did not long survive his return
toEnghmd.
His Rei)ort was published in January 1839. It was
felt to be a masterly production. It pointed out the pol-
icy to be pursued in the future with great force aud per-
suasiveness.
In this year Lord John Russel became Colonial Sec-
retary, in place of Lord Normanby who had held tlio
'
140
LIFE OF
I
Kcals of the office for a few months, in succession to Lord
Glenlog, who was in office when the Mini-lrj was foim-
cd. Lord John entered upon the (hities of the Depurt-
ment with groat vigor. One of his first acts was to select
a disciple and fnend of Lord Durham to succeed hi'n in
the office which that nobleman had so snddenly vacated.
Mr. C. Poulott Thompson, aftorwaids Lord Syderdiam, ar-
rived at Quebec on the 19th of Octol)er. Soon after-
wards ho received copious instructions from the new
Colonial Secretary.
In the session of 1839, the subject cmbracel by Mr.
Howe's twelve resolutions was again brought before the
House, and another sei-ies of resolutions adopted by a
largo majority. One of these provided that delegates
should be sent to England to press upon the Imperial
authorities the reform demanded by the House. In these
proceedings Mi*. Archibald, as we have said, had taken no
consj)icuous part. The House was then under the lead-
ership of Mr. Howe, who-o views on the sulyect, wei-o
mucJi in advance of those held b}' the Speaker. Still,
•when the time came for aj^jjointing the delegates, Mr.
Archibald's name was the first mentioned by Mr. Howe
for thai office. The Sjieakcr howevei-, courteously but
firmly declined. He put his refusal on the ground of his
position as head of the House, but it cannot be doubted
that the feeling to which we have alluded, of his not be-
ing able to enter with zeal on the task of promoting views
with which he did not fully sympathize, had much to do
with the determination at which he had arrived. When
the question lay between the Eepi esentatives of the peo-
ple and the nominees of the Grown, when it was disputed
whether taxation should be imposed by men who enjoyed,
or by those who did not enjoy, the confidence of the peo-
S, G. W. ARCHIBALD.
Ul
pie, Mr. Archibald had no doubt or misgivings. But ho
had been bred to great reverence for the constituted au-
thoi'ities of the i'lmpirc — he had a profound respect for
the doctrines on which the constitution of the Province
was based, and finding the country prospering, notwith-
standing the political difficulties, under a kind of govern- •
nicnt, which was now over a century old, ho was hardly
])i-epared for the extreme changes, advocated by the po-
])ular imrt}', and did not care to undertake a mission to
which he could give only a halfhearted support. Be that as
it may, the choice of the House next fell on Mr. W.Young
and Mr. Iluntinglon, who proceeded early in the summer
to England, and entered at once into communication with
the Imperial authorities, on the various subjects embrac-
ed in the resolutions of the House. They were met at
the Colonial Office by two members of the Legislative
Council who had been sent by that body to uphold the
views of the minority in the Assembly. The Ministers of
the Crown had thus the ojjportunity of hearing both
sides of the question. Thoy heard the opinions of the
majority of the Assembly criticised by men of the standing
and ability of Mr. Stewart of Amherst, and Mr. Wilkins
of Windsor. Lord Noi-manby held the seals of the Colo,
nial Office at the time, and in tlie course of the summer
forwarded to the Lieutenant Governor of Ilova Scotia
despatches relative to the subjects embraced in the reso-
lutions. But in September a change took place in the
Bi-itibh Ministry. Lord Normanby wont to the Home
Office, and his jiosition at the head of the Colonial Office,
was filled by Lord John Russell who soon signalized his
advent to the Department by acts of a bolder and more
vigorous character than those of his predecessor.
Mr. Poulett Thompson (aflcrwards Lord Syden-
142
LIFE OJP
ham) had been sent out as Governor General, i . a time
when the affairs of the two Canadas were becoming gx-
tremely critical, and Lord John furnished him with a
letter and copious instructions to guide him in the dis-
charge of his duties. These were dated the I4th October
1839, and two days later the Minister addresnes a circu*
lar to all the Governors of the British North American
Colonies, dated the 16th October 1839. This more than
any other state paper of the century, excoj)t Lord
l)urham's celebi-ated Eeport, has becf'ir.e famous in the
annals of these Provinces. In it Lord Jr hn Eussell lays
down certain ruels, thereafter to be in force, as regards
the tenure of office. Ho declares, in most emphatic
terms, that offices are no longer to held for life— That all
officers will be expected to retire from the public service
as often as any sufficient motives of public policy may
suggest the expediency of that measure — and that a
change in thepers.tn of the Governor, would be consider
ed a sufficient reason for any alterations which his sue*
cessor might deem it exi)edient to make in the list of
piiblic functionaries. Tlie new policy was not to extend
to Ministerial or Judical offices, but was to be aj^plicable in
a special manner to Heads ofDepartmeiits. This despatch
was the first of the two to be mcde public. Some time
afterwards the previous Despatch of the l-lth October, to
the Governor General, was published. This was much
more guarded in its language, and really was njt alto-
gether consistent in tone and expression with the circu»
lar issued two days later. The difference between the
two document was afterwards seized upon as a ground
for not acting on the latter despatch* The difference
in language might reasonably have created some hesi*
taucy on the part of a Governor, not himself a States-
S. G. W, AnCHTBALD
143
man, and surrounfled by astuto ninistors, wlioso intor-
cstH and prejudices were all in the line of opposition to
the concessions which the despatch was supposed to
yield. Sir. Colin it is true, did take some steps t ) in-
troduce new material into his Executive (council. Mr.
James B. Uniacke. Mr. Dodd and Mr. Be Wolf from the
House of Assembly wore added to that body, but unfor-
tunately the selection was not from the pai'ty of tho
majority, but from that of the minority, in the Assembly.
While therefor the p"licy of the Imperial Government
was t»y harmonize the two parties by adtling to tlie exist-
ing members of Council new men, drawn from the Assem-
bly, enjoying tho confidence of the people— the act of Sil*.
Cdin only added to tho Council, persons of tho same
modes of thought, and left tho sentiment of the great
majority of the As>enibly wholly unrepresented. The
result of such a proceeding might easily have been fore-
seen. The great majorit}- of the Assembly who had car-
ried the resolutions, felt themselves insulted by the
studioi's exclusion of every member of their ])arty from
the new additions to the Council. When the ITouse met
in 1840 they soon proceeded to express their feelings,
They passed resolutions by an immense majority stating
their grievances and wound up w*ith the declaration
" that the Council as at present constituted did not pos-
ses the confidence of the House." When this resolution
passed, Mr. James B. Uniacke, a member of the Govei-n-
ment, who had in 1830 succeeded to the seat vacated by
his brother Eichard, on his promotion to the Bench, and
had over since been the Champion of the Legislative
Council in the contest with the Assembly, bowed to the
decision of the House and resigned his seat in the Cabinet.
The House sent their resolution to the Governor and in
U4
LIFE OF
return received a reply, stating that the qnc-ition^ cm-
braced in the resolution had ah'cady been sul)inittc<l to
the Imiicrial authorities, whose decision on the several
Huhjects had been recently cominimicated to the Ifouso
in iX'spiitches he had dii'octed to be laid on thoii' table.
The Dcpatchcs so referred to were those of the ^fai-quis
of Xoimanby, but no allusion was made to the later
Despatches of L)rd John Russcl th(5 then Colonial
Secretary.
The House were naturally incii^^nnnt at being refer-
red to documents of Augusl, emanating from a minister
who had ceased to bo the head of the Department, when
no notice was taken of those of the 14th aiid lC!th Octo-
ber, written and transmitted by the gentleman then hold-
ing the seals of the Colonial Oilice. This irritation was
not lessened by an observation contained in the leply of
Sii' Colin Campbell, that he had no reason to believe the
views of Ministei's had undergone any change. They
accordingly pi'occeded to pass an addi'css calling the
Govei'nor's attention to Lord John's despatches; but their
hopes of obtaining any concession were extinguished by
Sir Colin's rcjjly, *' that if he adopted tiie views of the
Asscmbl3', he would i-ecognize a fundamental change in
the constitution of the Province — a step of too serious a
character to take without first consulting the Imperial
authorities on the subject." There was doubtless some
ground for tho hesitation of Sir Colin — but the Assembly
having been baffled in their views ever since 1837, felt
that the time had come when they must either recede
from their demand, or ask the Sovereign to remove her
representative, and send in his place another who would
cai'ry out tho policy to which the English ministry wero
committed. It was a strong measure to take, it was one
8. G. W. ARCHIBALD.
145
at which many of Iho more moderate members of the
Aysembly revolted. Outside of politieul matters, Sir Colin
-,vaH well likeo. lie was courteous and genial in manner,
a "bravo soldier, and exemplary in all the relations of
private life. Still the majority saw no other way of car-
rying their point. Hitherto they had treated Sir Colin
as a governor, guided by responsible advisers, and hatl
charged on them the shortcomings of which they com-
plained, but, after a warm and heated discussion, they
now passed an address to the Crown, (which however
they hatl the good feeling not to ask him to transmit),
praying for his removal, and for the appointment of some
one who would carry out the policy of the Imperial au-
thorities. This address was to bo transmitted to the
Colonial Office through the head of the House. In this
proceeding Mr. Archibald seems to have taken no part.
His position as Speaker confined him to the chair, and
there is nothing in the Journals, or in the Press of the
day, to indicate the views he held on the final resolution,
bearing on the removal of the Lieutenant Governor. He
must have felt this to be a cruel stigma upon Sir Colin,
and it was one which Mr. Archibald from the natural
kindness of his feelings and his gentle temper, would bo
most unwilling to inflict. His real views we gather from
a letter to Sir Colin, which appeared some time after-
wards among the papers submitted to the Imperial Par-
liament. It seems Sir Colin had asked him for his official
opinion as Attorney General, on the Despatches, and in
reply, after stating, that, as the head of the Assembly,
it would not be proper for him to appose the wishes of
that body, na expressed by their resolution, still ho felt
that Sir Colin had a right to his opinion as principal of-
ficer of the Crown. He admitted there was room for
,r^.'!
14C
LIFE OB
doubt wht'lher tho Despatches would bear the construc-
tion put u})on them by tho Houho. lie considered the
Govei'nor hud acted prudentl}- in awaiting further in-
Htruction bofoj'o taking liniil action. There was one point
in the matter which had an im2)crtant bearing. The Ex-
ecutive Council was a Court of Appeal, and had other
Judicial functions devolving upon it by law. The mem-
bers of this Council had been appointed and still liold
their commissions. It might give rise to doubt in legal
proceedings, how far that Council could be swept away,
and a new one put in its place, without tho express auth-
ority of tho Crown. The lioyal instructions gave power
in certain contingencies to suspend a particular council-
lor, but there was no authority to deal with them as a
body; and, on the whole, with the doubts, that hung over
the construction of the Despatches, ho could not but con*
sider the course adopted by Sir Colin in his proposal to
submit the whole matter to tho Ministers, as a prudent
and proi^er course, so long as any doubt rested on his
mind on the subject.
It is quite obvious from this letter how far tho opin-
ions of the majority of the House, had outrun those of
its Head. It is easy to see also that henceforth a greater
divergency would arise. His increasing age, for he was
now over sixty three yaars old, and his declining health,
pointed out to him that the time had arrived, in which
he was no longer to bo the leading champion of popu-
lar rights, and in which ho might gracefully fold his
cloak about him and retire from a scene, the actors in
which had undergone such changes. A Poetaster of the
day gives the characters and opinions of tho different
members of the House in language, which if not very re-
fined, at all events serves to show the -general notion
S. G. W. ARCHIBALD.
147
•cntertuincd by tlio members of the majority, of the opin-
ions ami characternof tlio dill'croiit uu'inberf*. The vert^es
on the Sp'3aker indicate tiiedoiil)ts whicli were entertain-
of his loyalty to the ])ronouiiced o^jinions of Mr. llowe'.s
party in the Assembly.
The Speaker
** Up ivpibitions Bteep you go
While party strife divides the throng
AiiJ fow protend to giieaa or know,
To whi'jh side you belong.
''You were the people's strong defence
When Councillor 8 their rights 'asaiiiled ;
Your talents, genius, el<)<]uence,
O'er Tory power prevailed. "
The Resolution for Sir Colin's removal was cai'ried
by a large majority, but some members who had voted
for the other resoiut ons, declined to become parties to
what had the appearance of a personal attack. The
address was forwarded to the Colonial anthoi-ities throni;Ii
the Speaker, and a copy handed to the Lieutenant Gover-
nor. In the course of the summer Mr. Thompson, the
Grovernor General, came to Halifax, assumed the reins of
Government, and spent a week di^cussins^ with the
leading men of both j)aitics the dltliculties of the
situation. He appears to have im])rossed those with
whom he communicated with the necessity of making
mutual concessions. In a few months the result of the
address and of the interviews and discussions with
the Governor General appeared. Lord Falkland was
sent out in September, to replace Sir Colin Campbell,
and, on the 3rd October, five of the old members of the
Executive Council sent in their resignations. On the 6th,
three members of the Assembly, selected by the Colonial
Office were ajipointed, under instruction, in their place.
us
LIFE OF
Of these, the first was Mr. Archibald, whose modera-
tion had probably recommci>ded him for the position.
The second was Mr. J. B. Uniacke who though he now
sided with the majority, was connected with the minor
ity by ancient ties, and by the memory of many a well
fought battle in the present Assembly in defence of the
old constitution. Last of all came Mi-. Howe, the head
and front of the party, which bad effected all these changes,
and who could not be denied a post in the Council
opened to other members of his party. This provided
places for three of the majority, but the other six
mouibors of the Council were men who had been in
office since the earliest introducticm of Representatives
from the Assembl}', and who were identified with the re-
sistance made to these changes. The fi\ct of Mr. Howe's
consent to enter a cabinet so constituted, where it was
impossible that his views could be carried out, indi ates
either a want of that clear conception of Responsible
Govei-nment which he afterwards attained, or that he
was impressed with the necessity of accepting any con-
cession that could be wrung from the party of the Coun.
oil. Tiiat the experiment turned out unsuccessful, was no
more than might reasonably have been anticipated, but
its eventual failure only shewed the necessity of adopt-
ing in their entirety the principles of party government
which are the foundation of Responsible Institutions. In
the meantime a general election was at < hand. The
House which had risen in the spring, had been elected for
seven years, but had voluntarily shortened the term of
its existence by a quadrennial Bill, which had been ^ s-
ed, but which was not to come into operation till the
Royal assent was given to it. In June 1840 this assent
was given by order in Council and it was soon afterwards
S. G. W. ARCHIBALD.
149
made public in the newspapers. Forthwith preparations
began for a General Election which came on in Novem-
ber. The elections were fought on the old principles.
There was the party of the Council and the party of the
Assembly, but from the compromise effected by the en-
try of three of the members of the Liberal majority into
the Council, the battle was of a ditforent character from
that of 1830, or that of 1837. Of the old members twenty-
seven were returned. No man of any mark was lost
from those who were in the old House, and scarcely any
man who afterwards rose to eminence appeared in the
fresh material of which the twenty-two new members
was composed
Mr. Archibald was returned for Colchester without
opposition.
Ilii!'
iiii'lll
CIIArTER IX.
New Speaker. Reasons for Mr. Archibalds disqualification.
Other Candidates equally disqualified. Two members of same
Government contending for Speakership. ^Ir. Uniacke a mem-
ber of Government moves resolution touching repeal of Union
with Cape Breton. Kesolution complimentary to Mr. Archibald
adopted unanimously. Offered offices of Master of Rolls and
Judge of Admiralty Court. Accepts. Mr. Archibald as Judge.
Address at Truro. His Country seat. His habits at Truro.
Hospitality. His Humour.
When the new House met on the 3rd February, their
first act was of course to choose a Speaker. Mr. Archi-
bald was no longer eligible for the chair. It had been
made one of the terms of the new arrangement that the
holder of the Crown office was not to be Sjieaker. Mr.
Archibald hud thercfoi"e to make choice between the two
offices, and naturally preferred the Attorney Generalship
which gave him a salary of $2,500, to the Sjieakership
which yielded but $800. The reason assigned for making
the Attorney General ineligible to the chair, was, that
the' holding of the two offices by the same person was
inconsistent with British practice. No Attorney General
in England, for a century past, had presided over the
House of Commons. As the organ of the House, and its
servant, the Speaker should be free from the influence
of the Crown. His duty to the Commons might conflict
with his obligation to the Sovereign. His paramount
duty was the protection of the privileges of the House
over which he presided. It was unsound in principle to
place him in a position towards the Crown which would
hamper him in the discharge of this special duty. The
reasoning was sound, and Mr. Archibald w^as excluded.
But the principle so announced, Avas applicable to all ser-
vants of the Crown, to a Cabinet Minister as well as to
S. G. W. ARCHIBALD.
151
an Attorney General. All such officials owe obligationH
to the Sovereign that may conflict with the duty which
Speaker owes to the Assembly. If to be a ministei'ial
servant of the Crown, was incompatible with the S} cak-
ership, a /orf ion, the position of a Cabinet Minister who i!:i
a higher servant, more liable to the influence of the
Crown, by direct and personal communication with its
representative, ought to disqualify the holder. But Mr.
Archibald was no longer a candidate for the position, and
of the three other gentlemen who aspired to the chair,
one only was not open to this objection. Mr. W. Young
was neither Minister nor Crown Officer, but, though
named at first, he soon found there was no chance of
success and withdrew. The choice then lay between
two other gentlemen who were quite as much disqualified
as Mr. Archibald. They were Mr. Howe and Mr. Uniacke,
both members of the Ministry, both advisers of the Lieu-
tenant Governor. Not only so, but if English practice
was to prevail, the question of the Speakership is always
one of party. The candidate ot' the Government is put
forward as a test of strength in the House. But in this
case the Cabinet had no united i^olicy. The personal
rivalries of two members of the Ministry, threw the
Speakership open to a scramble, which might have re-
sulted in the selection of an opponent of Government.
In the end the House were nearly evenly divided. Twen-
ty five members voted for Mr. Ho\Ve, twenty two for Mr.
Uniacke. Thus, in the very first step taken, under the
new regime, was displayed the gross inconsistency of
excluding from the chair one gentleman who had filled
it to the entire acceptance of the House for sixteen years,
and at the same time making a choice between two others,
both of whom should have been excluded on precfisely sim-
152 LIFE 01
ilar ground)?, and who besides if not eodisqual'ficd, should
not have been found in antagonism on a Government
question. But then it must be remembered, that while
there were many gentlemen who had no official salary,
]VIr. Archibald had two ; and it is not in these latter days
only that the pretext sometimes differs from the reason,
Mr. Archibald's removal to the floor of the House
relieved him from the trammels of the chair. During
the Session of 1841 we find him taking a more prominent
part than of late in the discussions of the House. Several
of the speeches delivered by him during the Session give
abundant evidence of the vigor ot his intellect, and of his
peculiar command of playful and appropriate illustration.
There was a question before the House this Session
which shewed bow little the principles of the British
constitution were appreciated, or at all events acted
upon, when it was convenient to ignore them. Mr.
Uniackc had been returned one of the members for Cape
Breton, which had now, for twenty years, formed a county
of No\a Scotia, He was a leading member of the new
Government, and a sworn adviser of the Crown, and yet
on the 'Zth April, he rose in his place in the House and
moved a resolution for the dismemberment of the
Province. This resolution asserted the illegality of the
annexation of Cape Breton to Nova Scotia by the Crown
in 1820. Imagine a leading member of the Imperial
Ministry rising in the House of Commons to otter a
resolution setting forth that the annexation of Ireland in
1800 was contrary to law. Mr: Uniacke's resolution was
discussed at great length, and with much ability, and yet
not one of the speake)'s appears to have been struck with
the idea of the incongruity of such a proceeding on the
part of Mr. Uniacke, with his position as a member of
I
I
,Sf. G. W. ARCHIBALD.
153
the Cabinet. A question of such magnitude, one touching
the very integrit}- of the Province, was treated as if it
were a matter of ho trivial a moment that every member
of the Cabinet could npeak about it, and vote upon
it, as lie thought fit. The Attorney General made an
able and eloquent 8i:)eech ugainst the resolution ottered
by his colleague, and towards the close of the debate
Mr. Howe gave it the coup de grace, by declaring the
whole proceeding one of the bi'oadest of farces, atid that
too apparoiitlj^ without perceiving that the most absurd
feature of the whole business, was the conduct of the
Government, and particularly the section of it under his
control, who, assuming to be great sticklers for British
practice, were violating in their treatment of this subject
the very fundamental principles of a Eesponsible Ministry.
But the political exigencies of the moment underlay the
whole thing, as they did in the case of the Speakership.
One member of the Ministry wanted a salary, another a
cry. So a Spe:ikership was won by the first movement,
and a constituency secured by the second. Both these
could be done with safet}'. The Attorney General had
io yield to one of the pi-ojects and to light the other,
while the new Speaker put an extinguisher on Mi\
Uniacke's resolution by denouncing it as a screaming
farce. The House appears to have felt some compunction
for having been made parties to the adoption of a principle
in one case, that they did not apj)ly to another. At all
events just before the close of the Session they passed an
unanimous resolution in reference to their old Sjieakor,
in which thoy declared their high sense of the faith-
fulness, ability and urbanity with which he had discharged
for sixteen years the high and onerous duties of the
chair: and Mr. Speaker was directed to announce the
Mii;
154
LIFE Ot
terms of the resolution to Mr. Archibald in his place of
the House.
It was a graceful compliment and well deserved,
and, as it happened, it came at a fitting time. It was
the last act of a Session which Avound up Mr. Archibald's
connexion with political life. Five days after the close
of the House, the death of Mr. Fairbanks caused a
vacancy in the offices of Master of the Eolls and Judge
of the Court of Vice Admiralty. Lord Falkland imme-
diately ottered the offices to Mr. Archibald. They had
both, many years before, been offered to and refused by
him, but times had changed. There was no longer a
Chief Justiceship to aspire to. The occupant of that
office, if older than himself, was at all events in vigorous
health, and would prol)ably, {. he actually did, outlive
him. The Judge had never been obliged to undei-go the
struggles of a political career in the Assembly, and he
bade fair to hold office for many a year to come, Mr.
Archibald, on the contrary, found his constitution seri-
ously impaired by the incessant and harrassing labors
connected with his position, and having now had thirty-
five years' experience of political life, might reasonably
be content with the part he had played, and accept the
case and dignity of the Bench fur the closing years of
his life. His friends urged this course upon him, and
j^ieldiug at last to their suggestion, and to the dictates of
his own judgment, he decided to accept the oftcr. Ac-
cordingly, on the 29th April he was sworn in as Master
of the llolls, and as soon afterwards as communication
could be had with the Imperial authorities, he received
the Admindty commission.
From this time, in the pursuit of our nan-ative, wo
are freed from the necessity of entering into political
>Sf. G. W. ARCHIBALD.
155
details. Hitherto ouv story could not bo understood
without some explanation of the incidents of ourrent
politics. Now, these were just beginning to assume a
most interesting appearance, but our course diverges
from them, and wo must henceforth bid them adieu.
Mr. Archibald entered on the discharge of his judicial
duties, afler a long training at the Bar in the principles
of his profession, and after an experience of four years
in the highest judicial office in Prince Edward Island,
but many members of the Nova Scotia Bar had their
misgivings as to how ho would succeed in his new position.
There were some of the plodding members of that pro-
fession, who believed there could not be much wisdom
where there was so much wit, who thought that the
qualities of mind, and speech, which charmed juries, and
won verdicts, would not be found joined to the solid
judgment ant^ logical faculties which were required in
the judicial seat. But they wore much mistaken. Mr.
Archibald's mind was well stored with legal principles.
He had read and studied when people were giving \\vXi.
credit only for playing and feasting. Ho was certainly
a man of most decided talent, and yet one of his maxims
was that no talent was so valuable as the talent of
industry. It is true he was very quick in seizing the
strong points of a case. A very slight examination of
his brief and of the law was all that ho required. But
this examination he seldom, if ever, omitted. Thus ho
appeared always thoroughly prepared. On one occasion
ho had fiiilod to make proper research before an argu-
ment came on in which he was the leading counsel. His ■
junior, however, had made up a capital brief, and just as
the cause was about to be called (this story is told by
the junior who now tills a high judicial position in the
i'ij
{III
HIP
15C LIIE OF
Province), Mr. Archibald asked to glance at the brief.
It was handed to him — he ran his eye over it, and, taking
in the whole thing at a glance, he delivered one of the
most able arguments over addressed to the Court, upon
the materials thus suddenly submitted to his notice. The
junior, found his whole argument exhausted by the ad-
dress of the leading counsel, and he says liimself that he
took caro thenceforth to reserve his thunder for his own
use.
Mr. Archibald soon had an opportunity of display-
ing liis judicial qualities in his new position. The sound
common sense which distinguished his judgments, and
which, after all, forms the foundation of law and equity
— the clearness and precision with which the principles
underlying tuo case were announced and applied, gave a
character to his Decrees which was not genomlly expect-
ed on the part of the Bar. Had he ascended the Bench
earlier in life he would undoubtedly have left behind him
a reputation as a jurist not inferior to that of almost any
of the distinguished men who liave held office as Judges
in Nova Scotia. Soon after his promotion he paid his
annual visit to the place with which so many of the asso-
ciations of his life were connected. He owned a beauti-
ful estate at Truro on the north side of Salmon River.
It was partly uj^land, partly intervale. The upland was
separated from the intervale by a steep bank, near the
edge of which stood his house, looking out on the level
plain in front, which was under the highest cultivation,
and studded with gigantic elms — manj^ of them remnants
of the original forest, and all coeval with the first in-
habitants of the Valley. Through these the beautiful
river meandered in graceful curves, which reflected the
western sun of a summer's afternoon in gorgeous hues.
S. G, W. ARCHIBALD.
157
A lovelier sccno than that from the old homestead of Mr.
Archibald, Nova Scotia does not afford. His atfectioiiH
clung to it from his youth upwards. Here every nummcr
he spent the leisure weeks he was able to steal from a
busy life, hero he cultivated the kindly affections of his
neighbors, hei'o ho acquired by genial and unaftectod
familiarity with the country people, that hold U])ori their
hearts which he retained to the end of his life, lloi-o too,
he kept oj:)en house for all comers, who were delighted by
his courtesy, and charmed by his unfailing spirits. Hero
ho entertained the best and the noblest in the land. The
Dalhousies, theKempts, the Foxes, as well as the simpler
inhabitants of the Country, shared his hospitality and
sang his praises. To this dolightful spot he mado his
way soon after his appointment to the Bench; and hero
he found himself surrounded by friends who expressed
their welcome in an aifectioiuito address, They con-
gratulated him upon his recent appointment — they
alluded to the various offices he had tilled at homt3 and
abroad — and in reference to their being sometimes tho
gift of the people, and sometimes the gift of the sovereign,
tliey observed how acceptably lie had discharged his
dutiv^s alike to Queen and subject, and finally they alluded
to the crowning act of his public career, when tho
Assembly no longer permitted to elect him to their
chair, had passed the encomum, to which we have
referred, on his conduct while at their head. They ex-
pressed their hope that his new position would enable him
to spend more of his time among them. His reply is in
the aflectionate strain proper to tho occasion — he con-
cludes it by telling them that the kind welcome they had
given him would cement the attachments which made
the charm of social life. Among the people with whom
158
LIFE OF
or with whose fathers hiB boyhood had been spent he was
always received with delight. Those who did not know
him pei'Honally knew him well by the stories that were
told at the licartlistones of tlieir parents. Wherever ho
went lie was received with the greatest cordiality. It
was his delight to take little excursions in the neighbor-
hood, making up a i)arty and driving to a scquo>?tered
spot, where a pleasant stroll could be had, or a picnic
j)artaken of by a ruutiing stream — or in a shady grove.
On these occasions his whole heart was in the excursion.
He talked, and laughed, and told stories, and made jokes
about anything and everything. The incidents of an
afternoon's drive might be of the tamest and dullest
character, but when he rclurned home, and had occasion
to amuse others, who were not of the party, by a nar-
rative of what had occurred, he would clothe the events
in such a ludicrous garb, and that too without varying
from the strictness of tact, that he convulsed with
laughter, not only his new auditors, but the very persons
who had been witnesses of the events, but who had cer-
iKiinly been unconscious of their absurdity till they heard
him tell the stoiy. It was this marvellous capacity for
extracting fun out of anything and everything which
made him so charming a companion. When he told a
story it was a perfect play-— he looked the character he
personated — he had such a marvellous command of face
that he could in an instant i:»ut on the features and air
of the person he was talking about. He could use the
exact dialect and voice, and the personation was so per-
fect, and the effect so irresisiible, that everybody was
carried away with it. We doubt if ever a better story
teller existed in Nova Scotia. He seldom told the same
anecdote twice, at all events to the same audience. Ho
A'. G. W. ARCHIBALD.
159
Jiad a most murvellous roportoiy of odd things, and
many ol the best of tlieni found their way into the pages
or Mr. Mick, who apj.reciated and appi-opriated them
An mstance occurred at his own table in Halifax, which
Hhewed the wonderful power he had of convulsing his
auditors by his stories. At his dinner table there were
about a dozen gentlemen wJm were his special friends.
^oon the cheor began to bo felt. Joke followed joke
queer story after queer story was told. Mr. Archibald
took his full share, laughed at other people's jokes and
made them laugh i.i return, till at last he Lit upon a
Htory so absurd and ludicrous, and told it in away so
utterly irresistible, that the guests were seized with
convulsions of laughter so uncontrollable, that not one of
them could retain his seat. By a simultaneous
movement, the whole i)arty, host and guests, were on
their leet m a perfect ecstasy of excitement. But this
was in his younger dnys, or at all events before advancing
years and shattered health hu I Bobered his wit to a more
decorous tone,
!lli!
'ill,
CHAPTER X.
Success as r Judge. Failing health. Death. Meeting of Bar
Society. Speech of Chief Justice. Address of Condolencet
Meeting of Colchester people on his death. Eulogiuin of Mr.
Howe. Kxiimlnation of charges against Mr. Archibald as a
public man. Mr. Howes views upon them. Mr Archibald in
his social relations. Deatii of his first wife. Account of his
second wife. Sir Charles Pollack and Sir T. D. Archibald.
Mr. Archibald's love for the sacred Scriptures. Anecdote relat-
ed by Key. Mr. Morton. Thougiits of writer ii concluding
Memoir.
The judicial dntics of the Master oftlio Rolls, unlike
those of a Judge of a Common Law Court, wore not of a
nature to bring him prominently before the public eye.
In the quiet buHiness of the Court of Equity, his public
were mainly the members of tlie profosnion. They ^oon
began to «co that successflil as Mr. Archibald had been
in other walks of life, he was to exhibit qualities not less
high in the discharge of the duties of his new position.
There were some cases involving nice and difficult ques-
tions with which he had soon to deal, but he disposed of
them rapidly. In these ho showed an amount of legal
lore and ot solid judgement for which many members of
the Bar wore unprepared, w*ho foi-meJ their opinion of
him from the lighter qualities which had made so con-
spicuous a feature of his foren>>ic speeches. Tlie series of
decrees pronounced by him during the five yeais he sat
on the Bench, form a record of which no Judge would
need to be ashamed. Had he been made a Judge at an
earlier period and devoted to the duties of the Bench the
energies he had lavished on other pursuits, there cannot
be a doubt that he would have left behind him a name as
a jurist not inferior to that which he has left as an advo-
cate and as a politician. But liia health was much shat-
A.
tored by his previous labors, and when he ascended tho
S. G. W. ARCHIBALD.
101
Bencli ho wsw not able to enter on his new pursuits with
the zeal and cnei'i^y ho \vm\ <lisplayoil at >lio J3ar and in
tho Assembly. Fur some years, with little apparent
cliange in his health, liecoiitinuod todischar'^c, quietly but
regularly, the duties of his ('ourt. His liunily could not
however but l)c apprehensive of tho recurrence of
another attack of the same kind as ho had sutt'ered from
before, which would probably bo fatal. At last tho event
occurred which they had so much reaso-. to fear. On
"Wednesday evening tho 28tli January 184(), he was seated
at table with his wife and one or two members of his
family, and was in tho act of drinking a cup of tea when
the expression of his face suddenly changed. He rested
his head for a moment on bis hand, and tlien fell forward,
but was caught as he full, and gently lowered to the floor.
In a few seconds it ^'•" Ibund that all was over. The
spark of life had become extinct. It was a had, but could
hardly be said to bo an unexpected, close of his life. His
death was deeply felt by all classes. The House of As-
Hombly was then in Session. Mr. Johnstone, who was
Attorney General at the time brought the mournful event
to the notice of tho House In appropriate terms. Other
leading members spoke in a similar strain. It was re-
solved unanimously that the House should adjourn over
Saturday and attend the funeral in a Body. The Bar
Society held a meeting on hearing of the death. The
Chief Justice, the old friend, and the old and successful
rival, of the deceased, presided. He opened tho meeting
in words creditable alike to his heart and his head — he
referred to the "amiable disposition, the amenitj- and
self command which characterized his departed friend,
while at tho Bar, where ho never permitted tho warmth
of aeon tending counsel to wound the feelings of his oppo-
162
LIFE OF
iient, orto transgress those rules which regulate the inter-
course between gentlemen. The j^ounger members of the
Bar who rcmcml^orcd him more as the Judge than as the
Barrister would lOng cherish the recollection of his cour-
teous demeanor, and unwearied patience ; but both the
elder, and the younger members of the profession, would
unite in admiring the talent, and the discrimination lie dis.
])luyed in tiie decrees which he pronounced while he ad-
orned the Bench, on which wo should see him no more."
Suitable resolutions wei'c passed, expressing the esti-
mation of the Bar Society of his high qualities, and offer-
ing their condolence to the family on this melancholy
occasion. The Society decided to attend the funeral in :i
Body, and in deep mourning.
In liis own County, whei-e he was so much loved
there was a meeting of a number of the leading inhabitants
who passed Ilosohitions in reference to the deceased, in
the sense of those of the Halifax Bar.
Now that he was no more, the feeling was universal
that a great man had descended to the grave. Nova
Scotians of every grade and every creed were j^roud
to call the man that had passed away their fellow
wvountryman. His reputation was then fresh. The events
in which he had figured so prominently were \» .thin liv-
ing memory. Everybody knew the deceased, either 2)er-
Bonally, or by reputation. The leading incidents of his
lite were familiar to thousands. The time that had
elapsed since he took an active part in li> was enough to
mellow, not enou^.. to efface, the recollection of the
scenes in >vhich he had mingled. Everj'body had nnec-
dot^s about him- what he had done, what he i id said.
The sto?'ieshc had told, his wit, his humor, his kind deeds,
his courtesy, his polish of manner, oil came back to
/S'. G. W, ARCIIIBALI).
1(53
memory wi'h a freshness which testified hosv dear he had
made himself to the mass of his fellow countrymen.
Wo have had occasion to speak of the divergence
which had taken place before the close of the House
elected in 1830 between himself and Mr. Howe, the new
leader of Young Nova Scotia. This divergence, in senti-
ment, if not always in action, had continued to increafco
up to the time of Mr, Archibald's accession to the Bench;
but, when tin grave had closed over his remains, all this
wa« forgotten. Mr. Howe, in iho columns of his news-
paper, paid a tribute to the memory of the deceaiiKid in
language so forcible and apposite that we cannot forbear
to quote it, as a monument to the generosity and kind
heartedness of the writer, as well as to the ability and
worth of the deceased. Mr. Howe had opportunities of
knowing Mr. Archibald which fjw other men enjoyed.
He had in the Press sustained him when Speaker, iu the
great light of 1830. He had supported him when ho
went to the county on the dissolution of the Houf-e in that
year. He had rejoiced in the triumphant return of tho
men pledged to support Mr. Archibald's cause. He had,
year by year, from his place in thegallery of the Assembly,
where he sat taking notes of the proceedings and debates,
watched the course taken by Mr, Archibald during the
whole 25eriod from 1830 to 1837. In the latter year he
had himself gone into the Assembly, and was in familiar
and daily communication with him uj) to 1841, when Mr,
Arciiibald went on the Bench,
There can t'lerefore be no question as to Mr. Howe's
"Opportunities of knowing thoroughly the character and
qualities of the object of his sketch, and from what wo
have seen of the dittbrences between the two men, it is
impossible to ascribe the opinions he uttered to the pai'-
Uality of unreasoning friendship.
1
164 LIFE OF
" If," says Mr. Howe. "Tf tlie manners the temper
or the intellect of a country were to be judged by a single
specimen culled from the mass of its population, we know
of no man to whom all eyes would have so naturally turn-
ed, to produce ujwn strangers a favorable impression, as
to him who was followed to the grave by his fellow
citizens on Saturday last. We speak not of Mr. Archibald
as he appeared for the last two or three years, stricken
by disease, and laboring under a paralysis of the muscles
which disturbed the expression of his face, and at times
rendered articulation difficult, if not impossible, but wo
speak of him as we kiicw him in the flower of his man-
hood, in the full possession of his faculties, the ornament
of the Bar, the master spirit of the Senate and the felici-
tous humourist of the Social Circle. That " we shall ever
look upon his like again" appears to us very improbable,
for Ave often saw him surrounded by able men, none of
whom presented so rare a combination of intellectual and
agreeable qualities, and we look round upon our own con-
temporaries and do not find his equal.
We need not volunteer a biographical sketch of Judge
Archibald, for the incidents of his early career and of his
brilliant public life are familiar to his countrymen. Born
in an humble sphere, his genius rose above vulgar preju-
dices, and even when elevated to the highest public posi-
tions, his purse was as open to the poor, as his heart was to
all those sympathies from which spring enlarged legisla-
tion, dedicated to the general good. Almost self educated,
and, perhaps, profound upon no single topic, his range of
information was extensive, and his wit often breathed the
spirit disencumbered of the rubbish of classic lore. Bred
among peasants, and trained in his jouth to mechanical
employment, his person was remarkably handsome, and
& G. W. ARCHIBALD. 165
his manners polished and unrestrained. Tried by every
vicissitude of Provincial public life, his buoyant spirits
never forsook him, nor did the crisis which ripened the
judgment harden the heart.
*«i^ *i^ ^1^ %^ >v %^ %^ ^
^ ^ *7* *J* »f> *j^ •!• *j^
" Circumstances made him often a courtier^ and
official employment made him the guardian of the pre- il!
rogative, yet he was for years the darling of a popular
Assembly, and while discharging the onerous duties of
an officer of the Crown, rarely forgot that he was the
Representative of the People. There were more laborious \
men than Mr. Archibald, both at the Bar and in the As-
Hcmbly, but he generally outshone them all, by a tact
that was almost instinctive, a discretion that seldom
erred, a flowery elocution that never offended good taste,
and homeliness, yet brilliancy, of wit, the native growth
of the country, and adapted to its humor, [by which an
opponent, when most in the right, was often driven from i
the field and made to split his sides at his own discom- I
iiture. It may be that we were over partial to our '
countryman, but we often looked around the benches of
Congress, of the British Parliament, and of the Canadian
Xiegislature for a man combining so many of the points
of a brilliant and polished orator, but looked in vain. A
,more dignified and imposing Speaker we never saw in
the chair of any Legislative Assembly.
That Mr. Archibald was not deeply read in law used
to be said by the dull book worms of the profession who
measure the extent of a man's acquirements by the hours
lie pores over a volume, rather than by the ^eas he •
snatches from it in the scanty leisure of a busy life — but
since his elevation to the Bench, his decisions have been
on all hands acknowledged to have been as profound as
I: i.
166 LIFE OF
they were upright aud impartial. He has discharged
since 1841 the duties' of Master of the EoUs and Judge of
the Court of Vice Admiialty with credit to the country
and satisfaction to the Bar.
"But it was chiefly as he stood heforo us on the
floors of the Assembly, as the leader of that great
l)opular movement which convulsed the country in 1829,
and which prepared the way for the final onslaught on
the old system of Government, that we have ever de-
lighted to contemplate the deceased. Then it was that
with all the power and influence of the compact arrayed
to ci'ush him, v/ith a hostile Governor, a determined
Council, a shattered revenue and sheaves of misrepre-
sentations going to Downing Street by every mail, and
sorely tried by domestic sorrows, he took his stand U2)on
the privileges of the People's House, and with aluminous
eloquence and power of sarcasm, which wo have seldom
seen equalled and never surpassed, formed and controlled
the public opinion which sent him back at the head of a
triuumphant majority, the advanced guard of that still
more triumphant majority which was to complete the
work he had so materially advanced.
"We have left ourselve? but little si>aoe to speak of
Judge Archibald as he appeared to his friends in the
social circles where he over shone Those who have
seen him at the head ox' his own table, or shared the
enjoyment of his fireside, need not be reminded of the
ease with which he threw aside the cares and labors of
life, as a knight of old threw ofi:' his armor when tho
battle was over, and indulged in tho merriment of the
hour with the vivacity of a wit, and the playfulness of a
child. His jests were endless, and his stories, nearly all
of them Provincial, inimitable.
S. G. W. ARCHIBALD.
16T
"Though ever so often heard, the variations and tlie
luminous pUiy of feature and expression of eye, made one
fancy that the hist was always the best. There was no
venom or malignity about Judge Archibald — to give
l^leasure, and to share it, was a necessity of his nature, but
it never gave him pleasure to give others pain. Light
be the turf and cheerful the flowers above his head —
we may almost venture to predict that no thorn will
grow upon his grave."
These eloquent and graceful woi'ds bear the mark of
genuine sincerity. Mr. Howe was not given to flattering
cither the living or the dead. The man whose memory
could evoke from him such an eulogium as this, must
have been no ordinary ])erson. We have heaixl Mr.
Howe in later life, express himself in similar language.
Hiffei'cnt as were these two men in many respects,
there were some points of resemblance between them.
Each had an original and creative mind. Each had a
marked and striking individuality. Nobody could mis-
take a speech of Mr. Archibalds', or an editorij.' of Mr.
Howe, as the production of the other oj- of any third
person. In each case the stream bore evidence of the
source from which it flowed. In each, the features of
the olfspring betra3'ed the paternity. Both men were
self made and largely self taught; they had been bred to
diflerent lines of pursuit, but each had his special object
of ambition. The lawyer had hoped to reach the
head of his profession, the layman had set his heart on
tilling the highest position in Xova Scotia open to lay
ambition. They were both, in one sense, disappointed.
The lawyer never sat in the Chief Justice's chair.
The layman became Governoi-, but only to die. Both
had had brilliant and successful careert3 — both had broken-
'I'
1C8
LIFE OF
down from cxccs.sivo toil. For some time before the
close of their lives, both woj'e mere wrecks of their
former selves. They were both able and eloquent men-
It is true they ditt'ered, widely as the i)oles, in manner and
stylo, in appearance and address, and yet they resembled
each other in one striking respect. Of all the men who
have flitted across our political stage, no others ever at-
tained such a hold as did these two, on the hearts and af-
fections of Nova Seotians.
The remains of Mr. Archibald were interred in the
Camp Hill Cemetery at Halifax, where a marble monu.
ment marks the place of sepulture.
In looking back on our memoir we fear that we shall
be charged with the usual vice of biographers. It will
be said that we have composed an eulogium, not written
a life. We shall be asked how it is that w^hen writing
of a man who so long plaj'cd a 2)rominent part in the
politics of this country, of one who was constantly as-
sailing, and being assailed by, political opponents in no
measured terms, how it is we have said so little of the
charges brought against him by his political antagonists.
To this we may answer in the first place, generally, that
compared with those brought against public men, even in
our own day, these charges are of little account. We
gather them from the press of the day, or from speeches
made on the floor of the House, and yet, with all the
exaggerations of passion and party spirit they are not of
a ver}'^ deep dye. It is said that his great vice was am-
bition — that to it he sacrificed everything— but when we
seek for proof to justify the assertion w^e do not find it*
Besides ambition is a vice only when its aims are incon-
sistent with the public good. The desire to occupy a
prominenv, position — the wish for j^ower to iufluencc
political action, is a laudable and useful feeling.
S. G. W. AECHTBALD.
leo
In what then was Mr. Archibald's ambition shewn
that was injurious to his country ? His action as to the
Quit Eents is one of the things most frequently brought
as a charge against him in the press of the day. We have
not entered in our narrative into the history of the Quit
Eent question. All interest in it has long since passed
away. We have, therefore, not felt it necesary to go into
the various details which would have been required to
render the action of the Legislature intelligible. So ftir
as our present object is concerned, it is enough to say
that on the original grants of lands in Nova Scotia a
Quit Ren'^ of 2s. per 100 acres was reserved to the Crown.
For many years after the settlement of the Province no
attempt was made to collect it. Afterwards, from time
to time, instructions came from the Colonial Ministers
directing its enforcement. These were met by remon-
strances from the Assembly which led to various post-
ponements, the collection still always being threatened.
Eventually' a bill was passed commuting the Eents for a
fixed sum given to the Crown in lieu thereof. Year after
year Mr. Archibald spoke and voted in favor of this
commutation. The reasons he gave had great force.
They were sufficient at last to prevail on the Assembly,
which for many years had fought against the settlement,
finally to agree to it, as the best thing that could be done
in the public interests. Mr. Archibald was Attorney
General when the Bill passed. His salary, as such, was
derived from the Crown revenue, and this was hardly
sufficient to meet the charges u])on it. The grant of
£2,000 a year in lieu of Quit Rents went to swell +hat
revenue. It thereby became better able to meet the
bui'dens borne upon it, and the charge against Mr.
Archibald was that his advocacy of the measui'o
iii
no
LIFE OF
ori<,'iiiatcd, not in tho [public intorcst, but in tho pvivato
and personal interest he had in the Crown rovenuo being
made sufficient to meet the salaries borne upon it — his
own among the number — but it was not pretended that
liis salary was too high, or that it ought to have been, or
would otherwise have been, unpaid. It could liai'diy bo
considered for the public good that tho tax gatherers
should be let loose among the people of the Province, to
collect from every owner of 100 acres the 2s. a year due
U2)on his land. The charge amounts to this, that tho
policy advocated by Mr. Archibald, though really tho
best in the public interest, incidentally increased tSe fund
from which his salary was paid. Wo have seen the
answer made by himself to the charge in his speech at
tho hustings, at Truro, in 1836.
The most sei'ious charge brought against him was
the one touching the erection of the Court of Common
Pleas. "VVe have already mentioned tho legislation on
this subject. An Act was passed in tho first instance to
establish a Court of tho kind in the IrJand of Capo Breton.
It was rumored at the time that this Act was intended to
provide a place for Jared I. Chipman, Esq., who had been
a favorite member of tho Assembly, but who had lost his
scat, and was then Sheriff of the County of Halifax. If
this report were well founded, the Act did not effect its
object, for Sir James Kemj)t took the matter into his pwn
hands and appointed Mr. Marshall to the offlco. Next
3'ear, however, another Act was brought in to extend tho
bvstem to Nova Scotia. The Province was divided into
threo districts, and power was given to appoint a Judge
in each. By this means it was supposed that provision
was being made for Mr. Chipman who wis not in the
Iloueo, and for Mr. Ritchie and Mr. Ilaliburtou who were.
S. G. ir, AriCIIIBALD.
Itl
At tljo sninc timo Mr. E<>l)ie, the Speaker, was to be
elevated 1o the Council and made Master of the Rolls.
A (-ahiry iov him as such was provided by another Act.
Ail this k\i(islation took place, so said tiio press of the
daj', to enable Mr. Archibald to step into the cbair as
Speaker when Mr. Robie retired to the Rolls, and Mr-
Ilaliburton and Mr. Ritchie to the Bench. The absurdity
of this story is Lts best refutation. Tlio various offices
were certainly created, and aj)pointments made to them,
but to suppose all this to have been done in furtherance
of the objects and schemes of any one man, is to suppose
what is sim})ly incredible. "Whether the statutes creating
the Courts were wise or not is a ditferent question. We
are disposed to thiidc they were not. Public opinion was
never favorable to the new Courts. It soon became very
adverse, and eventually the Courts wore abolished — but
we must not forget that there is another side to the
question, and that the same Courts, or something very
similar, were long afterwards found to be necessary.
That they were created and now exist, and are doing a
useful woi-k. There wei-o several grounds for the hos-
tility to the first Inferior Courts. A large sum was
thereby thrown upon a Treasury not able to bear it.
With Mr. Robie's salaiy it amounted to $7,000 a year.
This sum all went into the pockets of a profession which
did not stand in the best od(}r at the time. It was an
additional objection that the Bill was carried in the
Assembly by a majority of only one, and would ncA have
been carried but for the votes of the very men who were
to fill the offices their votes created. Whether the Bill
was right or wj'ong, it cannot bo doubted that the mode
in which it was carried gave a great shock to the i)ublic
conscience. This of itself is sufficient to account for the
112
LIFE OF
unpopularity of the CourtH. It docs aot follow by any
means that the policy was unsound, or tlio Courts
unnecessary.
Then, again, it was assorted that Mr. Archi})ald'8
action at the time of the Brandy question in 1830 was
not only due to pique, but was inconsistent with the
opinions he hjul expressed when, as Chief Justice of
Prince Edward Island, the same question came up for the
consideration of the Council over which he then presided.
We have already in the course of our narrative examined
that part of the charge which ascribes his action to
temper. As to the question of consistency, we are dis-
posed to admit that there was a considerable divergency
between the views he entertained on the question at the
different times referred to, but a change of opinion on
such a subject, very natural under the circumstances, is
perfectly consistent with conscientious convictions. All
these matters were discussed in the celebrated letters
which appeared during the summer of I806, over the
signature of Joe Warner, and to which we have already
adverted. The charges were sot forth with gi-eat force of
language, in every form of invective and sarcasm. They
were supported by voluminous quotations from the Public
Records. The letters produced, as we have alreadj'^ had
occasion to say, a povv^erful effect all over the Province.
They operated on public opinion in Mr. Archibald's own
count}^. and that, too, though the author was obliged to
admit that Colchester owed much to its member for the
great benefits which his influence in the Assembly ei>
abled him to confer on it. But, after all, what do these
charges one and all amount to, compared with those
that have been made against every public man of
eminence in our day ? On the whole wo are inclined to
s. G. w. auciiibald.
173
tliink tlmt n, puHsago in the article by ^fr. IIowo from
"whicU we have already made some quotations, a passage
which we purposely omitted at the time with a view to
citing it here, gives a condensed but correct view of the
matter of which we arc now writing.
" lie had," says Mr, Howe, " his faults like othei'
men, but the only one we can remember which in the
eyes of his countrymen seemed to detract from his
merits, and sometimes laid him open to the shafts of po-
litical opponents, was a disregard of economy in public
expenditure. This was about the only point on which
ourselves and others who highly esteemed him wore con-
strained at times to divei-ge from his usual currents of
thought. But, if sometimes too lavish to public servants,
it cannot be doubted that he had confident reliance on
the growing resources of his countr}', the development
of which he endeavored to stimulate by a liberal public
expenditure."
Where is the man at this day who has spent 35
years in the Commons House — all the time, or nearly all.
either moulding or gi'catly influencing the action of the
Assembly — who is open to no charge more serious than
a "disregard of economy in public expenditure" —
qualitied by the admission that by that means " ho en-
deavored to " stimulate the development of the growing
resources of the country?"
As to political charges, therefore, his adversaries
really had few to bring a^^ainst him, and these not very
Borious. As to private or personal charges, none exist.
A more blameless private life is not to be found in our
history. The kindliness of his feelings made him extend
his care for others whose interests were in his hands be-
yond the period of his own life. His will contains a clause
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174
LIFE OF
directing his executors to be indulgent to his debtors, and
not to distress tiiem unnecessarily in enforcing the col*
lection of the amounts due by them. Upon the whole,
therefore, we have no apology to make for presenting the
subject of our Memoir in a favorable light. We should
not have the courage of our convictions if we did not
assert what we believe, afterastudyof his life, embracing
a great many incidents and events which we have not felt
it necessar}^ to relate. We are convinced that no son of
Nova Scotia has j^roved hiniself more worthy of esteem
and respect for all that is good and amiable, or more
worthy of admiration for talents and statesmanship, than
he whose life and career We have endeavored faithfully to
desci'ibe.
In his social relations Mr. Archibald Was eminently
happy. His first wife was amiable, handsome and acconi'
plished. &'he was distinguished for easy an«i geu-io
manners, and was a great favorite in society. 8he liked
to have young people about her, and to see them enjoying
themselves. She was, like her husband, always reatly to
take part in any innocent amusement. She brought him
a large family. Five of her sons grew to manhood, and
were young men about the time their father had become
prominent in public life. TL'3y were able and clever
men. Two of them still survive — the Consul General at
New York, and Blowers Archibald of North Sydney.
Tiiere were three daughters, all of whom are now de-
Of ased. At the time we are speaking of, Mr. Archibald's
own residence was in the corner house opposite the old
Mason Hall, and a pleasant house it was. The family was
large enough to require little addition to make up a party.
They were all cheerful and happy people. One of the
sons played on the flute, another on the violin. A few
s. G. w. auciiibald.
1
iO
young friends formed the circle — the old people entered
into the Hpirit of the moment — -a party was extempo-
rised at any time — the music and the dance went on, and
the most delightful reunions were thus made without
effort and enjoyed without stint. Some persons, still
living recall with enthusiasm scenes of the kind in which
they took ])art over fifty years ago.
Mrs. Archibald died on the 13th Ma}-, 1830, at tho
age of 43. This was the year of tho great light over tho
Brandy question. It was in the very midst of the turmoil
in which her husband was then involved, that this great
blow fell upon him, and the grave closed over tho remains
of the mother of his children, and the beloved wife who
hi ^en his companion for a quarter of » century. Tho
inscription on tho family cenotaph in the Episcopal
Church at Truro, which describes her as " amiable, gen+Ie,
charitable and sincere," and adding that she " 2)assed her
life on earth in the jxercise of the Christian graces,"
gays no more of her than is confirmed by the recollection
of many now living, and by the traditions of Halifax
society.
Mr. Archibald's second wife was Mrs. Brinley, tho
widow of an officer of tho British Commissariat. She
was a woman of high principle — in every respect an ex-
cellent person — but of a type and style entirely different
i'rom the first. She was not fond of society. She pre-
ferred the family circle- -a few intimate friends rather
than a great number of friendly acquaintances. She was
systematic and methodical in her habits — active in
every work of kindness and charity. Of her threo
children, who were all females, one died in infancy,
a second died unmarried, the third became the wife of
Sir Charles Pollock, Baron of the Exchequer in England,
ne
LIFE OF
a man of very considorablo mark as a Judge in llie Iligli
Court of JuHticc. Thus it came to pass that two brotliers-
in-law often went the circuit in England, presiding over
tlie name Courts, and attached to each other by the ten-
derest ties of personal regard, who were, one the son, and
the other the son-in-law, of the subject of our memoir.
As we have already stated, Mr. Archibald was of a race
that had been Presbyterian for many generations. The
family came originally from Scotland, and brought their
religious tenets with them. In early life he was bred a Pres-
byterian, and at one time, as we have said before, he had
some idea of entering the Ministry. His mind from
infancy had been deeply impressed with religious truth.
Like all men bred Presbyterians, he had a great
familiarity with the Bible. The pure Saxon of Holy
Writ was the model of his style, his words wxre plain and
clear, his meaning could never be mistaken — ^^ct his
language was never bald. There was in his speeches a
poetic imagery that raised them above the level of mere
p^'ose. Every speech he made showed his familiarity
with the sacred books. Seldom did he adu -^ss the As-
sembiy, or his constituency, or a jury, without making
some allusion, which showed how his fancy fed on the
beauties of the Holy Scriptui'cs. The Psalms were his
favorite portion of the Bible. In family worship, which
he kept up in the latter years of his life, it was from the
Psalms that he selected his portion of Scripture for the
day — he read it in a tone of voice, which showed how
much he was carried away by the fervor and devotion of
the inspired writer, and when the prayer followed winch
was an extempore effusion, suggested often by the pas-
sages that had just been read, he spoke in a tone so
reverend, in woi*d8 so simple and earnest, that his prayer
S. G. TV. AncmBALB. 177
seemed to breathe the very spirit of the sweet singer of
Israel himself.
Mr. Archibald never took a conspiciioua part in
public religious exercises. We have therefore little to
say of him in that respect. It would, however, hardly bo
right to omit mention of an incident related by the Eev,
Roland Morton, an aged and well known Methodist
Minister of high stnnding in the body to which he belongs.
The incident would seem to have had its origin in the
peculiar susceptibility of Mr. Archibald to religion?
emotion.
About the year 1826 (says Mr. Morton) a meeting
was held on a Sunday morning in the old Presbyterian
Church at Cornwallis. In the abgence of the regular
Minister it was presided over by the father of Mr. Morton
who was an Elder of the Church. Mi*. Archibald, who,
it seems, was in the neighborhood at the time, but was
not known personally, entered the chiu'ch and took his
seat among the audience. His professional dress might
have been the occasion of the mistake, at all events ho
was supposed to be a clergyman, and , as was usual at
that day, under such circumstances, he was invited by the
presiding Elder to deliver an address. He hesitated for
a little, but eventually rose to his feet, and to use Mr.
Morton's language, •' poured out from a heart evidently
roused to its very depths, a gentle, sparkling, moving
and solemn oration " which greatly affected the audience,
who were excited to tears and sobs by his passivin^te
and eloquent appeal," Using, as he always dia, " the sur-
rounding oircumstances " for the illustration of his dis-
course, he pointed to the graves of the dead, seen through
the windows, and made them the subject of some very
interesting and affecting remarks.
178 LIFE OF
The scene is painted in vivid colors by Mi-. Morton
who, after the lapse of fifty-five years, retains a recol-
lection of the incident as lively as if it had occurred only
yesterday. We think this was a singular exception to
the rule laid down for himself in such eases. He was
probably carried away by the excitement of the moment.
There can bo no doubt, however, that he ^v^ould have
achieved a great success in the pulpit, if ho had persisted
in his original idea of entering the Ministry.
We have now followed the subject of our Memoir
from the cradle to the grave. Wo have endeavored to
exhibit him as a lawyer, as a politician, as a judge. We
have furnished some glimpses of his pri\ ate life. We
confess that the man has grown on our affections as we
have proceeded with our narrative. We have sympathized
with him in his early struggles. We ha^e cheered him
as he battled with his opponents. We have enjoyed his
pleasures and shared his triumphs, and now that the time
is come that we are to part with the companion of our
journey who has grown dear to us, with whom we have
acquired an intimacy which fellow travellers with
kindi*ed sympathies form on a long journey together —
we confess to a feeling of regret that the journey is so
near the end. We have found, too, that the materials for
our history have grown under our hands. With the
earlier incidents of the life of Mr. Arcjhibald, we were
little familiar when we began om* narrative, and even as
to later events, those which are within living memory, we
had but a dim and confused recollection. It was only as
they were connected with leading features of Provincial
History that they were known to ui at all. The more
personal details had never been put in readable shape.
They were deeply entombed in the re(iords of the Legis
^- (^' W. AMCMIBALD.
179
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