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WHEN RE-ELECTED BY ACCLAMATION FOR THE SOUTH RIDING OF OXFORD, ON THE OOALITION OF 1864, FORMED SPECIALLY TO SECURE PARLIAMENTARY REFORM. 3814 SPEECH OP THE HON. GEO. BROWN, M.P.P., President of the Executive Council of Canada, WHEN RE-ELECTED rY ACCLAMATION FOR THE SOUTH RIDING OP OXFORD, ON THE COALITION OF i864, FORMED SPECIALLY TO SECURE PARLIAMENTARY REFORM. Woodstock, Wth July, 18G4. Hon GEORGE BKOWN having been declared duly elected by accla- mation member for the County, came forward, amid great cheermg, and ' Electors of Oxford !— I thank you most heartily for the kind manner in which you have acted to-day. But, indeed, it is only what J ventured to expect at vour hands. This is the tenth occasion on which I have presented myself for the suffrages of an Upper Canadian con- stituency—but never at any tune have I been able to come betore the electors with such perfect confidence that I ho,d a just claim to their sup- port—that I was right, clearly right, in the course I was pursuing, and was seeking earnestly and with a single mind the welfare of my countiy . (Loud Cheers.) I confess to you that I dc feel deeply gratified by what lias taken place to-day. When I look over the immense crowd now stretched before me, I see the well-known faces of men of all parties and ereeds— of those who have been bitterly opposed to me in past years, as wf'll as of the long-ti'ied friends who have stood unswervingly by me in every ijolitical vicissitude— (cheers)— and have I not just cause to feel gratified and happv that all are at last agreed— that the bold step recently taken has vour unanimous sanction and approval— and that I may now return to mv seat in Parliament with the assurance that I truly represent the sentiments of ail clas.^es of my constituents. (Cheers.) Once beiore I had the gratification of constructing a Government pledged to the settlement of the constitutional difficulties between Upper and Lower Canada, but on that occasion the i-.iovement proceeded from my owii ijolitical partv, and was resisted by our political opponents. Great ditfi- culties stood"' in our wav— and though I am persuaded those difhcultie.s would have lioen overcome had we been allowed that constitutional appeal to the electors to which, I think, we were entitled— still it is not to be denied that on the present occasion the induences comb d in favour of a just settlement of our troubles give much better secuiity for success than we possessed in 1858. I stand here to-day as a member of an Administration pledged to deal promptly and finiily with the (mestiou —an Administration sustained nearly by the unanimous voice of the 3815 2 Upper Canada Eefom party In the Assembly, by nearly the whole of the Upper Canada Conservative party, and by a large majority of the representatives of Lower Canada. (Cheers.) The position I occupy to- day is, I think, a full and satisfactory answer to the charges ot imprac- ticabilitv, of factiousness, of deniagogueism, and so forth, that have so often and so freely been hurled against me. (Cheers.) I wish not to utter a word to-day calculated in the least degree to revive old feuds. (Hear, hear.) We have all agreed to act heartily together for the remedy of a great national wrong, from which ail of "us ei^ually suffer, and the sooner we completelj banish the past and fasten our thoughts upon the future the more prompt and complete will be the success of our joint efforts. But I am persuaded it will not be thought out of place if once and forever I state Ihe grievances of which we Upper Canadians have complained, the persistent efforts we have made to obtain redress, and the various re- medies suggested for adoption. Gentlemen, the primary eause of aU pur troubles is to be found in the provisions^of ubhc afe had to bow before its mandates—the utter demoralization of I-)orthern poli- ticians was the result— and it is not to be denied that had the general Government of the Republic been, like ours, legislative and not federal, an open rupture of the alliance wou'd have come long before it did m thede- soiatingcivil warnow raging beyond our lines. Wasitin human natUiethat the people of Upper Canada should have patient'y submitted to such in- iustice ( Is it at all surprising that acrimony and discord should have been the result of so deplorable a state of affairs ? Wa^ it not clearly our duty to combine at all hazards, and by every means within our reach, tor the epeedy and complete reform of a system so hurtful and unjust ? (Cheers.) For one, I am free to fay that t look back on the agitation of the last twelve years, with "all its attendant strife and discord, without a shadow of regret. I have all along regarded it— and I see_ it more clearly to-day than I ever did before— that all that agitation and discord was the painful, but the absolutely necessary, ordeal through which we had to pass to the accomplishment of o- great purpose. (Cheers.) For manv vears before 1 entered Parliament, 1 had been behind the scenes, and pcrJeived all the evils of our political system as plainly a-, we do to-day ; and when I first became a candidate tor a seat in Parliament in 1851, it was with the avowed intention of laboring, in season and out of season, for a reform of the constitutional relations between Upper and Lower Canada. My friend, Mr. Mackenzie, ot Lambton, whom I am glad to see on the hu=^tings to-day— (chcers)—wa3 with nie in that first contest ; his brother, ISIr. Hope Mackenzie, my col- loac'ue in the North Riding, and my friend Sir. McKellar, ot Kent, were also active participants in that contest, and they could tell you how I 3819 completely we then understood the long Btniggle that was betore us, aiid how clearly we foresaw the ordeal we had to pas«. But they could disc l;ell you how well we knew tliat that onleal was needful to Ix- passed, and that through agitation and discord victory w.mld certainly l>e won. (Chcars.) The agitation ^m» speedily carried into the Legislature. V\ e took up the hroad ground that on the just settlenumt of the Representation question rested the futur<^ peace and prosperity of Canadji— that good gov- ernment was not to be hoped for until that was accomplished— and Ironi that day to this we have sought to make every (luestion subservient to that — tomakeeveiy passing event and every political movement conducive to its accomplishnient. ^Cheers.) A very small band was there of us when w»! commenced, but our numbers i^uickly increased. It was nut an easy battle we had to fight— it was never at any time an agreeable one— but the end we sought vas nothing less than a political revolution— and li 8ucc(!8s is won—as on I am satisfied it will shortly be— we who have borne the brunt of the battle may well aftbrd to bear calmly and \yithout retort, taunts as to the weapons with which the fight was won. (Cheers.) From the first day the agitation commenced in Parliament our course was onward. From session to session we increased in strength, mid each new geneml election brougl.t us fresh recruits from the peoj.le. At last, in 1858, the Government of the day having resigned, the Governor- General entrusted to my hands. the formation of a new Administration, and I succeeded in constructing a Government ^^dedged ti. apply a j)er- manent remedy to the sectional difficulties of the Province. The iiro- posed basis of settlement was Representation by Population, with checks and guarantees 'for the local interests of Lower Canada. Untortunately the existing Parliament did not sustain us, and the Governor-Geneial refused us an appeal to the electors — Mr. JAMES LAW— The double-shuttle! Mr. BROWN— Never mind that. We have lorgotleii :tll al'oul double-shuflles now ! (Laughter and cheers.) The formati(Ui i»f the Brown-Dorion Administration had, however, this good effect, that it coerced their opponents into action in the same direction. In October, 1858, several prominent membei-s of the Cartier-Macdouald Govenimeiit were' in England, and they addressed a formal despatch to the Secretary of State for the Colonies, calling attention to the grave evils that had arisen imder the existing Constitution. The document was sigiied by Mr. Cartier, Mr. Gait, and Mr. John Ross. It stated tliat " very gra\e "difticulties now presented themselves in conducting the Government - cether. At a subsequent meeting, that committee presented a^;opovt, re- commending that a remedy for the sectional difficulties of the country should be found in the federative principle. Here are some ot the extracts from it : — ' ' Your Committee are impressed with the conviction that whether we consider " the present needs or the probable future condition of the countiy, the true, " the statesmandike solution is .0 be sought in the substitution of a purely " Federative for the present so-called Legislative Union ; the former it is be- "lieved, would enable us to escape all the evils, and to retain all the advan- " tages, appertaining to the existing Union." « » • ♦ • " The proposition to federalize the Canadian Unior is not new. On the "contrary, it has been frequently mooted in Parliament and m the press, dur- " ing the last few years. It was no doubt suggested by the example of the ' " neighbouring States, where the admirable ac!npt.tion of the f^^era^ .system "to the government of an extensive territo:y, inhabited by Pf Pl%o'/;,^«'^^ " orijnns? creeds, laws and customs, has been amply demonstrated ; buf shape " and consistency were first impar ed to it in 1856, when it was formally sub- "mitted to Parliament by ..I o Lower Canada Opposition, as offerin-, in their "judgment, the true corrective of the abuses generated under the present sys- "tem." * * • • - By this division of power, the General Government would Je relieved " from those questions of a purely local and sectional character, which, under " our present system, have led to much strife and ill-will. ♦ ' • • • * " Th^ Committee believe that it is clearly demonstrabl 3 that the direct cop,t " of maintaining both the federal and local governments need not exceeu that 3821 "of our present system, while its enormous indirect cost would, in conse- " quence of the additional checks on expenditure involved in the new system, *'and the more direct responsibility of public servants in the province, to the " people immediately affected by such expenditure, bo entirely obviated." " The proposed system could in no way diminish the importance of the " colony, or impair the crc.t, while it i)resents the advantage of being sus- *'ceptible, without any disturbance of the federal economy, of such terri- " torial extension as circumstances may hereafter render desirable. " In the session of 1861, I was prevented by illne.ss from attending Par- liament, and during the session of 1862 I was not a nieinber. Early in the latter session, the Cartier-Macdonald Government was defeated, and Mr. Saudfleld Macdonald was sent for by His Excellency to form a new Administration. Mr. Macdonald sought the assistance of Mr. Sicotte. Mr. Sicotte insisted that Mr. Macdonald should set peremptorily aside tlic whole question of Representative reform, and that the Government should stand pledged to vote it down whenevei' it should be presented. Mr. Sandfield Macdonald consented to this condition, and the Macdonald- Sicotte Administration was formed on that basis. I have always thought that that was a most unfortunate concession, and that no Upper Cana- dian should have been a party to them ;— and when, a few montlisafter, I ac- cepted your invitation to present myself as a candidate for your suffrages, T so declared. Very shoniy after I took my i^eat as your re])resentative, the Macdonald-Sicotte ]\Iinistry was defeated and broken u]), and the Macdonald-Dorion Administration took its placi\ Under this Govern- ment, Parliamentary reform again became an oi)en (|uestion, and its Upper Canada Members and supporters were left at full liberty to agi- tate the question. I eagerly availed myself of the ojiportunity, and shortly after the commencement of the session of 1864 I moved lor a Select ComrAittee of twenty members to consider the whole question of our consti- tutional relations, and to suggest a remedy for existing evils. I placed on the committee the most prominent men, of the House— men ot all shades ol opiuion on this question. Some of them laughed at the proposition, and declared they would not act on such a committee, that the thing was ab- surd, and that it was impossible we could come to an agreement. But my reply was—" never mind the difficulties— let us try— at any rate, let " us come together, and argue the matter out. The Cartier-Macdonald " Administration declared there was a necessity for dealing with our con- " stitutional difficulties— the Brown-Dorion Administration declared the " same, and agreed to deal with them— the Reform Convention of Toronto, " and the Liberal Convention of Lower Canada both declared that the " thing must be met— and surely the diihculty is not iso great, l)ut wc " may succeed in arriving at some satisfactory understanding, if we go " heartily at it." The committee was carried by a majority of deven, and the most prominent members of the House were upon it, whether they liked it or not. I was chairman. At the first meeting, on the ex- cellent suggestion of Mr. John A. Macdonald, we tunied out the public, clevk, reporters and all, that we might the more freely (consider and dis- cuss the whole question in all its bearings. The result wos, that, alter a number of meetings, we actually did agree on a report, wi.ich was signed by 12 out of the 20 members of the committe j ; only three voted against the report; five were absent, but two or three of them, had they been iiresent, would have signed the report. A great step had been gained by the appointment of the committee, but a still greater by the adoption oi the report. The question wixa not, what we Upper Canadians would de- sire— there was no doubt or difficulty as to that— but what woiUd be l) L) C ^ satisfactory to Upper Canada, and acceptable to the Lower Canadians. They aHk,\vhat do vou want ^ Our reply is— Representation by Popu- hition— the sweeping away of the absurd line of demarcation lietween Upper and Lower Canaihi", and ])lacing all ('anadians on the same level. They answt-r—" We cannot grant you ihat.^' "No! why not ?"_ "Be- cause, ii' we grant vou tlial. you will come down witii vour majority, and destroy our language, our religion, our laws, everything which Ave pecu- lialy cherish."' ' " No," we say, " we have no desire that you should not " be at full liberty to manage your local affairs as you like. All we want " is to liavc a like control over our own local alfairs, and also that just infiu- " ence in matters of common concern to both to which our nnml)ers en- " title ns." Well, a report Avas drawn uj) in accordanct; with this, in favour of the federal pi-inciple. (Hear, hear.) The details, of course, were not settled, but it was a very great gain to get Mr. Cartier, Mr. Turcotte, Mr. (Jliapais, and other leading French Canadians, to sigii u report in favour of ai)plving the Federnl iirincijde to Canada, involving as i. did, that, in the p()pular branch of the Feileral Legislature, the re- j)rei- -utation should be based on ])opulation. (Cheers.) Well, gentlemen, ontheverv same day that that reiKirt was presented to the House, the Tacl e-Macdonald Govennnent Avas defeated by a majority oi' two. The (|uestion thev had then to consider Avas Avliat course they should adopt— whether thev slx.uld resign, re-culd liave had, Avith aggrava- lions, a repetition of all the ohl s^orth-west territory to be meorpo- " rated into the same system of Govornnient. " And the Government will seek, by sending representatives to the Lmyer " Provinces, and to England, to secure the assent of those interests which "are beyond the .'ontrol of our own legislath.n to such a ""'astire as may " enabk all British North Ainericato be united under a general Legislature " based upon the Federal princijih'." I was now in a position to submit a definite proposition to my political friends, and without delay I 7\^'^'l IL, "^^'^^^"S/f !.^^,;^,VrFall ' Canada Reformers in the House of Assembly. There are 41 of us ni all, of whom :59 were present. There were but two absentees, and both, 1 believe, go heartily with the new arrangement. ^Joubtless you have al seen the resolutions adopted at that meeting. The result was, that the basis Avhich had been agreed upon was all but unanimously accepted. The Conservative members of Parliament also held a meeting. Mr. John A. Macdonald, 1 understand, explained to them the. conclusion we had arrived at, and they endorsed the scheme almost as ""="""^o"« ^ ^J the Liberal partv had done. Then came the question how the compact was to be carried out. The Government had proposed that three mem- bers of the Opposition should accept seats m the Cabinet ; with a nun - ber of our friends Mr. Mowat and 1 strongly objected to that, and con- 3824 11 tended that it would be much better to support the Government outside until their measure was matured. We were, how?ver, defeated m this. The meetmL' decided by a vote of 26 to 11 that the ofler of the Goveni- meut should be iicccptod, and that one of the three seats m the Cabinet should be lilled by me. I was still most unwilling to consent, but the Government were' as urgent as mv own friends, and finally, not daring to assume the responsibilitv of refusal, I agreed to accept othce. But 1 wish every one fully to understand that nothing but the unspeakable importance oi' the settlement sought to be accomplished by the arrange- ment would have induced me to consent. Had the proposition been to enter the Government Ibr tlie mere purpose of carrying on the ordinary administration of public affairs— n^ hing could have tempted me to listen to it for one moment. (Clieers.) As it was, I had extreme re- nutmance to overcome. I was willing to do anything but take othce. J offered to be sworn in as an Executive Councillor without department and without salarv— or to go to the Lower Provinces as a Commissioner, or i 1 auv other wliv to In- iiiade responsible for the movenu'nt, provided onl-.- that I was excuseil from entering the same Government with those to V horn I had been so long and so strongly opposed. J have always re<'iirded Ministerial Coalitions as vicious in principle, and calculated to l.rTn' the public men who are parties to them ii'to popular contempt. When "-entlemen who have been arrayed against each other lor many vears, on all the great (juesticins of the day, are seen suddenly entering the same Cabinet, acting together und defending each other m all tlieir acts how can it fail to give a shock to the public mind, and cause people to doubt whether thev i-ver were sincere in the course they so persis- tently imrsue.! i For mvself, with reference to the gentlemen with whom 1 am now associate'd, I say I have lu.ver spoken a word nor writ- ten a line which in mv consience I did not believe to be deserved. And, althoU!,di we may adinit that when actuated by strong political ieelings, all men are apt to see things in a different light from that in winch they appeared to tliose who were the actors in them, and that stronger laii- L'ua-e Hum is nec-ssarv is constantly used in tlu> heat ot argument— stilf I was the last man to take any step that might by possil)ility expose me to the imputation of insuicerity in my past ])ublic career. (Clieers.) But who can fail to see that it was only by men of opposite parties tliat th(i great reform we sou-ht to effect c(juld possibly l)e accomplished | (Ileiir, hear.) Tliis was no ordinary question of party politics. W e nu all the sectional and national ])reju(lic('s of the Lower Canadians to deal with, aiul an oiii.ortunitv was presented for approaching the question elhcientlv that might not occur again for twenty years to come. Cnder these circumstances, 1 felt that i would be taking a serious responsi- bilitv on myself, if I did that which might jeopardise the success ot the great movement. Events had so shaped themselves, that we had with us, the ReforniLTs of Upper Canada, the Conservatives of Upper Canada, and the maioritv of Lower Canada— and even a.-- regards our Kmigc friends of Lower Canada, we know they are fully committed, by then- pledges of -[.ast vears, to the policy of the Government, and so well do 1 know the honour of Mr. Dorion, Mr. Holton and their triends, that, when our Bill comes up for final approval, I have not a doubt that the names of nearlv all of them Avill be recorded among the yeas. (Cheers.) (_,|n- tl emeu, "it mav be that this movianent shall yet eventuate in failure. We all know that"^ there is ma a slip between the cup and the lip ; hut i am thoroughly persuaded . hat the parties to this compact are sincere ancl earnest in the work thev have undertaken, and if the carpers and fault-linders will but keep themselves in patience for the next lew I 38 25 12 months, I have not a (loul>t that we will find a solution for our troubles, that will prove itself ucce])taUe to both sections of the Province. (Cheer?. ) Woe to that Upper Canadian who from ])etty personal motives takes upon him the responsibility of pi'ejudicin<; a movement that twentv vcars might not again present an o])po-tunity ot successtui y compfetm". (Cheers.) I hear it constantly demaiiued— /f lint about the details / Iriiat about the local Governments / JFhat about elective Gover- nors ? What ahoul the jvo(l.. If in a most untenabk' position. Mr. John A. Macdonald and \m friends would have gone to the country saying : " Here is a partv who have been declaring tlial tlii^v wanle.l Kt'inesenta- " tion bv Population above all other measures— we were i)rei)ared to give "it to them, and they llatlv refused to aid us. Here are men who i)ro- "fess to Jiave so much at heart the interests (if I'pper (.'aiiada— we gave " them an opportunity of getting justice to Upper Canada, .luch (is niav " not recur for twentv years to come, and they refused to touch it. Had I taken such a course, I would have deserved to be banished from puljlic life forever. But, I am told, "Oh ! Mr. Bro\ni is spiittmg up the lle- "form partv." And verv funnv it is to observe from what (piarter tins objection comes. Does 'it coihe from those who have always been Re- formers ' Not a bit of it— but mainly from men avIio have cc nie into the ranks within the last few years. (Hear, hear.) 1 am free to say that I look upon i)artv alliances as fcu-med for the good of tlie Avliofe people, aii.l the niomeht they stand in the way of the well-being of tlie country, they become an injury and not a blessing. And did my party or fifty parties'stand in the way of obtaining this great measure ot redress for Upper Canada, I should rend all party tics asunder without a mo- ment's hesitation. (Cheers.) I have faith enough in the llelorm edec- tora of Upper Canada to believe they will thoroughly comprehend that in going into this Coalition, it has been done with a sincere desire to advance the peace and prosperity of our country, and that they will tlunk with nu^ to place this great work of reform in the balance witli a mo- mentary partv advantage, would Vie but paltry statesmanship. (Cheers.) But Ja'ui told that the whole negotiation is a piece ot (leception; tliat Mr John A. Mac.lonald and Mr. Cartier are merely pulling the_ woo over Mr. Brown's eves— (laughter)- without the slightest intention _ ot carrying out Avhat they solemnly agreed to. Now, so liir iromtuere being any truth in this imputation, I am bound to say that all the parties to the negotiations, from first to last, have acted in the most c-aiulid, sincere and honouralde manner. (Hear, hear.) And those sceptical gentlemen, who are so much afraid of being deceived, will plea«e carry tins away with them— that, if the combination had broken down the very day it commenced, or were it to l)reak doAMi to-day, or a week, or a month, or three months hence, more good would have l)eeu already accomplished by it than would be a sufficient compensation for all the loss and evil which could possibly result, were the fears of these sceptical gentlemen realized (Hear, hear.) Bv this inovemeiit the leading public inen in the counlrv have been coimnitted to do justice, immediate lustice, to Upper Canada— all the great political parties have committed theinsel';es to the admission that a -rreat evil exists, and that a remedy must speechfy be provided,— and more than that, we lun-e now an acknoAvleuged remedy formally placed on record, agreed to by a Conservative Cabinet, endorsed by both political parties, and saucticmed by Her Majesty s re- presentative. (Cheers.) The final accomplishment of this great reform ma^- hi' deferred— but it must go forward— it cannot now go Mck. (Cheers.) But I am told that our scheme is mi-British I have liere some extracts to show you that, if the scheme be un-Bntisli, it lias at all events been assented to bv some of the foremost ol British statesmen. The first person of eminence who declared in favour of a Fedeivil system as regards the two Canadas, was no less a statesman than W. Uiam i itt. VVheTi the Constitutional Act was before the Imperial Parliament in 1791, Mr. Pitt used the following language :— 15 " If the Province were not divided there would be only one House of As- "sembly; and there being two parties, if those parties should be equal or "nearly equal in the Asseniblv, it would be the source of perpetual faction. "If one of the parties should be much s:ronger than the other, the other " mif^ht iu. dy complain that they were oppressed." In another part of the same°8peech, he said,— "He believed there was such a rooted opposition of "interests, that if there was a constitution consisting of a House of Assembly "in which the parties might be nearly balanced, the consequence, at least tor "a long series of years, would be, a great degree of animosity and contusion. He accordingly opposed the scheme for union, and the Provinces were separated under his A,;t. And what did Edmund Burke say ? He used this language : — " An attempt to join people dissimilar in law, language, and manners, ap- "peared to him highly absurd. To join, too, the conquerors and the con- " ouered must give rise to much unpleasant feeling and many invmnus dia- "tinctions. He recommended that system of government which tended to " promote the good of the individual and the public, in opposition to tliat " which attempted to methodize anarchy. " That is just what we lui\-e been attempting to do— to metho,,te control over " subordinate to the &V''™V'^ t /in l imviiic" of general legislation. " such local allairs as do not come NUth n t c 1 J "^ ^""^ J^ >j Parliament, so as Te^r' ; no"rjIrEu«n 'CZcea a Bill, fo„„.l<.l o„ Lo,,. Duv- " The Bill provuies lor me eauiwiio"."- + i,„n v.o carried on, and iiuu iLc ixv-.;, V'^'V 11 „„t Tli^ntbor iiarts of Upper and ol Lower " ,vlicve the Assembly *>'? ^"''f ':, ./'t," vrfg u is , »,»«..l th.t tlm.' " Can.a. aro each to be ^rial ;■'» ''«''';'"'"■ 'J . ,1 ,,,,,, .Ustrict,, " mstriots shoal be ibme.l l" ," ' l^P?;' °, ST'°1^,... Ivitl, rega,.! ,.g.t.«UhatthUBiUw.«,nt,jv^^^^^^^^ sick-ratlon. The ciuost.on ol 'l"» ' \. '.^ f^,," 't ,. « lion. Knt lio.v it is impossiW.. 10 settle intliout the ">""'■?' ,™j t ',, „.• tmstates- ol Lower Canada, l.ut, so tai as am eiirued. Little desirous to deal out to tlK'Ui the ^^^f f/^^;*^ ' ;^Vho a ut 1 apprehend assistance in our struggles ^^^^;;^;:^J^g ^ " "^ev w Ul hi^d tliat le have that wlieu our lueasure c.nae>J^ W m^u i, IM^^ ^^^^^^ ^^^^^^ ^. not been iorgetlul ot the " ttiL^ts cNUi ^^^^^^^ ^^ British origin. (Hear hear f^^J^^ ^'^ ^^^^.^ p,,,i,ees ; that ^L::^ ;L SSS^Lfwiti^ut gathering m the whole of the Pro- :k.;50 17 vinct^s, is a peddling alFiiir whicli ought to be treated with conteiupt. Now, 1 like great s( liemeH as nuich a.s any one, but 1 want to see, before I leap, where i am leaping to, (Hear, hear.) Few of us know much of the Lower Piovinces, and it is full time that we knew more — but if it is found that we can make a union with them on the ground of common interest, and on terms which will be just to us and fair to them, I foi- tme am prejtared to go heartily for it. And in any case it is the purpose of the (lovernment to ]»ut into the coming measuri' such clauses as will entitle the Maritime Piovinces and the North-west to come into the (Canadian Union on suitable terni'^. But that man takes a strange view of our ]>osition who says— because we cannot bring in the other Pro- vinces into the Union, we shall not have any remedy for the evils that Canada labors under. 1 am free to admit that the future of tht; British portion of this continent is a theme titted to arouse the most lively en- thusiasm of every true Canadian. Men talk of Americ^i and the Ameri- can i)eople as if our friends of the United States monopolised the whole continent. But the trutli is that the British territories cover a larger portion of North Anu-rica than the whole United States— (cheers)— and though a portion of it may never be tilled u]>, although v may not for some time stretch our out])osts to the extreme north of > u iomains — still boundless tracts of fertile lands have yet to be thn,«n open to settlement and cultivati