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Un des symboles suivants apparahra sur la derniire Image de cheque microfiche, selon le cas: le symbols —► signifie "A SUIVRE ". le symbols V signifie "FIN". Maps, plates, charts, etc., may ba filmed at different reduction ratios. Those too large to be entirely included in one exposure are filmed beginning In the upper left hand corner, left to right and top to bottom, as many frames as required. The following diagrams illustrate the method: Les cartes, planches, tableaux, etc , peuvent dtre filmte d des taux de rMuction diffirents. Lorsque le document est trop grand pour dtre reproduit en un seul clich6. il est fiimi d partir de Tangle sup6rieur gauche, de gauche d droite, et de haut en bas, en prenant le nombre d'images nicessaire. Les diagrammes suivants illustrent la m6thode. 1 2 3 1 2 3 4 S 6 THE CANADIAN QUESTION BY WILLIAM NORRIS LATK CAPTVIN CAXADfAS VOLfXTEKES. Ittontrral : PkIXTKB by the LoVELL PBINTIHa AND PCBLISHINO COMPAXY. 1875. I THE CANADIAN QUESTION. CHAPTER I. The Leading Principle op Modern Government. In the Science of Government, as well as in all otlier sciences^ we find mankind continually at a loss to reconcile tho different theories with the actual experience of the race. To do this many shifts have been resorted to, and the first great fiction, which we find underlying ail others, is what is called the original compact. This is a supposed agreement said to- have been made by the people and their first ruler, by which the people gave up certain rights which they possessed bj'- nature, in consideration of being protected in those which they retained ; and in order to enable the ruler to protect these retained rights he was invested with certain power — the power and force of the whole community. This agreement supposes a time anterior to the period of history, a place not known or heard of, and a degree of knowledge incompatible with the position of the parties to it. To answer its purpose as tho foundation of all government the parties must have known the benefits derivable from that institution, and, if so, this knowledge must have been derived from experience. K they had not this knowledge, then the people received no consideration for the rights they gave up ; for, if the original compact was the foundation of government, th;y had no means of compelling protection, nor no reason to assume benefit from that pro- tection if they had. Tiien if they knew that that protection was to be relied on, and that benefit was to be the result of it, evidently that knowledge must have been ol tained by MMBMnMH THE CANADIAN QUESTION. experience, and hence we have government before tlie ori- ginal compact. Not to speak of this intrinsic objection there are others more forcible. The annals of the human Tace give no sign whatever that any thing of the kind ever happened. The plain where the immense crowd is said to liave collected and elected the first ruler exists only in the imagination of the first logician who found it necessary in order to give symmetry to his theory. If history is to bo •consulted, it will be found net only is there no trace of an •original compact, but every thing directly the contrary, and for the elucidation of a positive science we must be content with what is known. Indeed the original compact in the Science of Government may be aptly likened to the primary Tocks in that of Geolog5^ There may be both a compact and a primary rock, but we know about as much of the one aa the other, and we are indebted for both to those men who think that it is necessary in everything to have a starting point, and, if they cannot find one, manufacture it. History furnishes, no doubt, many instances where this fiction has been used by men belonging to all parties. It has been, in all ages, the fruitful theme of innovators and radicals, and has furnished an excuse for thousands of ambi- tious men, but there is no trace whatsoever of the thing itself. Mankind has never been found ungoverned, there is seemingly no existence for humanity without govern- ment. From the Digger Indian to the Patrician Roman, government seems a necessity. As there are no means, therefore, of ascertaining the state of man without govern- ment, and as we always find him within its influence, we are bound to consider it from the positive materials at our command, and to eschew those theoretical surmises which, however necessary to the airy castles which we build up an our imaginations, have no place in the solid realities of life. The history of mankind is a record of its actions, and from the review and contemplation of these actions, it is said, we derive benefit. This depends a good deal upon I is m i THE LEADING PRINCIPLE OP MODERN GOVERNMENT. 5- )ri- ion lan ver to tho in bo an and cnt tho I -h something else. If man is continually progressive, then' history is of little nse, as the actions of an ignorant age can be no guide for an enlightened one ; if, however, history repeats itself, nothing can be more valuable. Experience goes to prove that man is not continually progressive, but that periodically he traverses, between the extremes of igno- rance and intelligence, an immense area. The same causes which affect the individual man affect also communities. The characteristics of the individual are the characteristics of the nation. Men by thousands arc born, arrive at maturity and become extinct in a period. Perchance some individual trait keeps some alive in tho memory of survivors, or a toml> tells to the stranger, for u little time, that such an one ex- isted, but the common lot is oblivion and extinction. The same may be said of nations : they come into being, arrive at maturity, and become extinct in a period, the only uiffer- ence is the duration of the period. The greatest imagina- ble stretch of time and the shortest are in comparison witb eternity equal, hence there is not much difference. Some- peculiar national characteristic, or a material memento, may^ for a time preserve their memory, but obeying every thing human they become extinct, and new national life sprii>gs-. from their remains. No one believes that the physical! power of the Roman, or the intellectual superiority of the- Greek, will keep them alive for ever, any more than that the Pyramids of Egypt, those monuments of dead und; extinct communities, can endure. The same causes operate upon the lives of nations, jita upon those of individuals. Some die of disease, others ofolill age. Individual man by excess engenders corruption, anell corruption death. Nations, or man in the aggregate, go> through the same course. Want begets industry; industrj-,, wealth ; wealth, luxur}' ; luxury, corruption, and the lattei> extinction ; but out of extinction generally commences a new- life. The whole object of nature seems to be reproduction,, not only in regard to individuals, but to nations. The same may be said of intelligence. Human knowledge THE CANADIAN QUESTION. feemstobe subject to tho same fluctuations a.-i every thing else belonging to man, and may bo divided into epochs Epochs of intelligence seem to add little to the sum of their successors. Our epoch has derived little from that, the last glimmering of which shone so brilliantly on Egypt. We cannot conclude that that intelligence was confined to Egypt alone, but probably it died out earlier in other coun- tries. Since then nothing seems fixed, but everj'thing in mo- tion ; since man seems doomed, like Sisypus, to roll his etone to Ihe top of the mountain onl}- to find that he has lo commence at the bottom again, and since, above all, human nature is the same now as it ever was, still governed by tho same passions and influenced by the same fears, history must in all cases be beneficial, not as furnishing particular facts, for as such it is useless, but as presenting those things which accelerated national greatness, and delayed national extinction, and elevated or degraded tho race as a whole. Now, looki.ig at the Science of Government through his- tory in this light, what seems to be the governing influence ? The opinions of historians seem unreliable. This one will say truth and justice, the other corruption. The most im- partial are biased, and given to hero worship. This ono M'orships force, that one tact, the other magnificence. Each one forms an idea or a theorj*, and facts are warped to suit that idea or theory. Historians claim to be indifieront, but ideas and theories in civilized communities grow with tho growth of men, and unconsciously atiect their judgment. Impartial hi.story is an impossibility, so long as religious belief is in its present position. History at present is but the abuse of tho rival sects. As sectarianism is at the present time jjrevented from doing any thing worse than railing by public opinion, it seeks to pei'petuate itself by mutual abuse and rancor. Facts are right and wrong, constitutional a id unconstitutional, as they sujjport or defeat certain pi-inciples. The massacre of St. Bartholomew is the disgracj or the glory of France, as if it were possible t> firm two oi)inion8 I I ■■;a i THE LEADING PRINCIPLE OP MODERN GOVERNMENT. '4 4 it i I -I •A on biich a fact. In the history of Eii^'land more especially JB this ineradicable prejudice to ho found, more, possibly, than in that of any other country. Men of the greatest learning and genius, who have written what they are pleased to call its history, cannot prevent themselves from .showing their bias, and coloring all their statements. Mr. Macaulay writes an imaginative account of the Whig party tmd an oulogium of its great idol William III, and calls it a history of England. Dr. Lingard writes a justification of the Roman Church in England, and calls it the history of Eng- land, and lawyers such as Blackstone and Hallam, men I'rom whom impartiality ought to be had, give us their accounts of the constitution from their respective political standpoints. According to the one there has been no inter- ruption in the legitimate lino of sovereigns, while ilallam has not a word to say derogatory to the conduct of Henry VIII in regard to the chmch property, or his usurping the powers of the House of Commons, while the declaration of indulgence of James II to Roman Catholics and Dissenters respecting penal laws, which would be a disgrace to the Sandwich Islands, is deemed an act so unconstitutional as not to bo atoned for but by the loss of his throne. The governing principle in England in all ages seems to have been expediency. To all those who believe that government is founded upon those great principles, right and justice, which are popularly supposed to bo absolute, this statement will appear surprising; but to those who Imow that these are relative terms so far as governments consider them, it will appear nothing but a truism. If the leading facts of English history be examined, even in the most cursory manner, its truth will be readily discovered. Judging by what is called strict right, half the sovereigns of England were usurpers, and the allegiance of the people was transferred voluntarily, or forcibly secured without the least scruplC; or as expediency required. To prove this, it is not necessary to go back further than the reiga of Henry VIII. There .3 not much English history 1 wmmmmmmmmmm 8 THE CANADIAN QUESTION. f before this roign. The conflicting interests of families nn(r Ihction, may, according to Bomo,'consti(ute materials for history, but the action of the people must, in all eases, bo its chief ingredient. Besides there ^was no constitution- alism before this reign— or rather the constitution grew out of the excesses of this king and his children. It is impos- sible to suppose a constitution and feudalism existing at tho same time in the same country, the one is the opposite of the other, and it is undeniable that it was on feudal princi- ples the wars of the Edwards were carried on, and also tho civil wars between York and Lancaster. Parliaments, no doubt, were summoned by those princes, but it was only for the purpose of giving color to their usurpations and acting as the willing instruments of their tyranny. Tho period be- fore Henry VIII, however, presents move examples of what is contended for than the time since this reign ; but as it may be justly said that it belonged to or closely verged on what are called the dark ages, it would not bo so forcible to adduce arguments from this time, as from those times that are esteemed by all more enlightened. The Reformation was a matter of expediency ; judging it by the rules of justice, it was unjustifiable. For centuries' the Roman Church had occupied the first place in the esti- mation of the people, and in the councils of the sovereign. A large part of the landed property of the kingdom had been in its possession, acquired by means then held more sacred than the acquisition by purchase. Thirty-three mitered Abbots and Bishops sat in the House of Lords, and had sat there beyond legal memory. All the essentials of the right by prescription belonged to the Roman Church, and this kind of title was the one that then obtained most respect. Indeed there is no instance, since the Eeformation, of this kind of right being so well fortified in the possessors as it was in that Church. Besides owning the great part of the land, the tenets and principles of the Roman faith were engrafted in the manners, customs and minds of the King and his people No sovereign w...^ so much against the new religion af* I i h i I I 1. THE LEADING PRINCIPLE OF MODERN OOVERNMENT. (¥ Henry, and the title of Defender of the Faith, still retaino>j similarity was brought about by the same meai.e said with truth to be the source of most of the corrup- tion which is eating into the heart of the United States, and which threatens at no distant day to engulf the whole nation. The chief difference beiween Canadian and American in?! utions is in this : the Canadian franchise is a limited <• restricted to property-holders and house-holders. It may be that the people of Canada might extend the suffrage with advantage. The giving of political rights to all tax- paj'crs might be attended with success, as well as being in accordance with the dictates of Justice. All consumers are taxpayers to a certain extent, but some qualification ought to le exacted as a safeguard for the safety of the State. The receipt of an income, whether as shewing the benefit the State derives from the labor of the individual, or the amount he pays in taxes, might be taken as a qualiticition, and to this Toight be added the ability to read and write and ci'bjection to military duty. The oath of allegiance to the State, which ought to be exacted from o- ery foreigner, should also be required. These concessions might be made with advantage, and in all probability will be made before long, but even then there will and must be a wide d'fforence between the Canadian Jinstitution and that in the United States; and even if the manhood suffrage be introduced into Canada, the moral power of her people is suflScient to enable them to use it properly and prevent it from becoming the evil it is in the United States. The ballot is now added T S r f T I I T 1 ABSORPTION OF CANADA BY THE UN.'TED STATE>i, 53 to Canadian institutions. Tho utility of this principle, as allowing the free exercise of opinion to the voter, is now unquestionable. It is to be regretted, however, that our dependent position did not allow us to adopt itjj-ears ago, instead of having to wait until it was introduced into the mother country. Another material difference in the institutions of the two countries is the nature of their administrations and governments. The principles upon which Republican governments are based are that all power is derived from the people, that that power returns to the people periodically, and that rulers are continually responsible to the people. The constitution of the United States is supposed to be based on these principles; but in some material particulars it is opposed to some of them. The ruler of the United States or the president is elected for four years, and during this time he is not continually responsible to the people. He is liable to a certain extent by impeachment; but this, as its punishment is only removal from office, after being found guilty by the senate, — which, with the power in the hai ds of the president, is almost impossible — cannot be said to be much of a security. The cabinet of the president being the heads of the great departments are removable only by the president. The susceptibility of the government to the will of the people as expressed by their representatives, which is the main characteristic of the English system of government, is entirely wanting in that of the United States. This want of power over tho Executive is said to be made up by the separation whicii exists betvv'een the Legi^-lature and the Executive — the duty of the president being -^nfined to the execution of the laws only ; the yearly session of Congress, and tho elections to the House of Ilopresentatives being held every second year, togethtr with the power vested in Congress to pass a law over the president's veto by a two-thirds vote, being sufficient control by the people. The experience of *the presidential term before the present one, however, goes 4 / 54 THE CANADIAN QUESTION. to prove that a, president opposed to a majority of the repre»- sentatives may do a great deal of damage to the interests of the nation without committing any of those serious acts which would require the extreme measure of his removal by impeachment ; and that, even when those more serious acts have been committed, removal by impeachment is not easily effected. It consequently happens that laws passed by both Houses of Congress may remain a dead letter for four years. If the immense patronage, and the influence of the i^xecutive over the two Houses, be taken into considera- tion it may easily be supposed how difficult it must be in many instances to obtain the necessary two-thirds vote to override the veto of the president. The commotions and disturbance caused by the conduct of Andrew Johnston during his incumbency of the office of president are a sufficient proof of the irresponsible power wielded by a president, and the damage flowing ^rom the exercise of such power, even in a limited manner. It follows, therefore, that the president of the United States is not continually subject to the will of the people — nay, even more, he may during his term of office oppose that will in such a manner as to render i*: almost non-eflective. The contrast between the Canadian and j^.merican Govern- ments in this respect is striking, and very unfavorable to the latter. Under the Canadian system the Executive is con- tinually under the control of the people, and susceptible to their will. The Gov rnment of Canada is simply a Commit- tee of the House of Commons. The policy of this Committee must always be supported by a majority of the House, and the influence of the people is so paramount that a majority of one of their representatives against the Government is sufficient to cause its resignation. Not only is this the case, but not one member of the Government can possibly retain his jjlace but by first submitting his ac ion in becoming a member of it to the direct vote of his constituents, so that the .nembers of the Government are not only subject to the vote of the people's representati^-es but also to the voice of < i ABSORPTION OP CANADA BY THE UNITED STATES. i)& 'i 4 the people themselves. This is the rule, but there are exceptions. Members of the Upper House or Senate who are appointed by the Crown, may be members of the Government, but the defeat of the Government in the Lower House is as conclusive to them as to the members of the Lower House. As, therefore, the existence of the Govern- ment rests almost exclusively with the Lower House, its strength in that House must be always maintained by having the largest number of its members there. When it is understood that the whole policy of the country initiation, passing, and execution of all laws and in fact the government of the nation, with the exception of a few pre- rogatives belonging to the Crown, well and carefully marked out, are in the hands of the Government, it will easily be seen how entirely the will of the people continually rules the country. It is possible that in the intervals between the sittings of Parliament some acts may be done by the Government not consonant to the will of the people, but intervals can never be more than a year^ while the extreme penalty of death for arbitrary acts lone, even in the name of the Executive, may be inflicted on ministers by impeachment. The veto power, ich in the hands of a president of the United States ma_) Jo euch irreparable damage. i« 'ia the hands of the Canadian Exeon tive entirely innocuou?,. The policy that every Government will pursue must be notorious to the Executive before; they are called to office. The Government must be carried oni by men having a majority of the people's representatives. If the Government fail for attempting to pass an obnoxious measure, or not initiating a required one, the calling to office of the opponents of the defeated Government, which must be done if the Government of the country is to be carried on, is au approval of their policy by the Executive which must alwaj's. dispense with the veto power. The veto, under the systeuTi of responsible government, is nearly impossible with respect to an important measure, otherwise the^Governnient could be carried on by a minority of the House of Commons ; for if a 56 THE CANADIAN QUESTION. measure Las passed both Houses, it must be done by a inajoritj'-, and if such a measure be vetoed it involves the resignation of the Ministry and the calling to office of their opponents, that is the minorit3^ This, as a matter of fact, can be done, but it relegates the question to the actual decision of the people as the Ministry must goto the countr3\ If the new Ministry be not supported by the country, the Executive must submit or create a revolution. In this respect, consequentlj^ there is a radical difference in the two systems of government — a difference which seems fair to suppose to be irreconcileable to Canadians, Other features of the two governments are antagonistic. The Executiveof the United States is elected every four years by the people indirectlj''. This periodical upheaval of society so frequently, upsets the business of the countiy, affects the stability of the Government, and engenders ani- mosities among the people. It also frequently carries with it a total change in the policy of the country ; and the change in the policy is usually accompanied hy « change in all govern- mental officials. These number 60,000. The loss to the public service by the expulsion of such a number of trained men, and the employment of an equal number unused to the rou- tine of office, must be severely felt. Beside the matcrifd loss^ the moral loss must be much greater. This periodical battle for the spoils of office, which takes place every four years, under the pretei -e of principle, must eventually tend to the extinction of pat/iotism, and the degradation of the nation. As the severity of the contests increa.ses, the men engaged in them become inferior. The step between George Wash- ino-ton and U. S. Grant is immense, and the dii^'eronce between the politics and the politicians of the time of the former and that of the latter is ju^t as great. Under the system of responsible government those evils are avoided. It is a misno- merto call a government a monarchy when only a semblance of power is attached to the ruler as is the case in Canada — it is only a semblance of power, for even his prerogatives are exercised by the ministers. The personal intluence of the ABSORPTION OF CANADA BY* THE UNITED STATES, 57 ruler may be great ; but this is lessening. Personal loyalty is not so much in vogue as when the safety of the state and the security of the people depended on the strength and ability of the ruler. Loyalty now means devotion to the coun- try and its institutions, and in a certain extent to the Sover- eign as personifying thet-e. A king is not necessary to responsible government. The head officer of the Executive might be termed governor just as well, the only thing neces- sary is security that the office shall not become vacant by death, or otherwise; and this could easily be done by having the ruler's successor always ready to fill his place, which suc- cessor might as well be the incumbent of an inferior office as an eldeist son. Indeed, much better, as the person who would be capable of filling the next office to that of ruler would be sure to be a man of ability, while an eldest son might be a fool or a lunatic. The divinity that hedges a king is unknown in Sweden. If ever the system be tried in Canada, independently of any other power, the term gover- nor or chief magistrate is the onlj^ one that can be used. The appointment of judges in the United States is another feature of the government of that countr}'" which presents a strong contrast to the manner in Avhich the sfime thing is done in Canada. The judges of the Supreme Coui't of the United States are appointed by the president with the ap- probation of the Senate, but the judges of all the inferior Courts are elected by the people. This system is more re- pugnant to the people of Canada than any other American institution. The people can be so little acquainted with the qualifications necessary for the office of judge, or whether the person for whom they are asked to vote is possesKed of these qualifications, that it seems monstrous that they should be intrusted with this power. Judges should be entirely independent of popuhir influence. The judge who owes his position to a clique or party, and whose interest it is to keep that position; cannot be disinterested in his decisions. Many judges in the United States spend their first term in creating friends for the next election. The salaries are also 58 THE CANADIAN QUESTION. SO Binall, the temptation to make a corrupt use of the office is very great. The evils arising from an elective judiciary have heen demonstrated in the State of New York in the case of the Tammany frauds and the litigation concerning the^ Erie Railroad. The corruption exposed has been the cause of the removal of two judges fi'om the Bench which they disgraced. In civil matters, bad as elective judges are, they might be tolerated, but in criminal matters the consequences must be fearful. The contest which arises on the election of a judge is just as keen as in the election of other officers ; and it is only reasonable to expect the same scenes of violence and disorder. As humanity is at present constituted, it is impossible to suppose that the man elected is indifferent to the means which are adopted to secure his election. And hence, his power is likely to be used to screen aggressors on his own side, and to punish his opponents. To expect com- plete justice for a prisoner taken up for election rioting from the man against whom he acted indirectly in commit- ting the offence, is a stretch rather too far for cradulity. The days of the old Eomans are long gone by, and the man who calculates on the usual exercise of the passions is most likely to be correct. To make matters worse in the elective system, if that be possible— when the judge has learned enough of his duties to become efficient, his term expires, and he gives place to another man who goes through the same amount of bungling, and who gives rise to increased litigation by incoi-rect judgments. In this respect, the Canadian system is superior. The object of that system is to make the judges as independent as possible. With this object they are all appointed by the Executive, and cannot be removed except on the address of both Houses of Parliament ; and every means is taken to guard them against all corrupting infiuences. The consequences are that very few instances of corruption are recorded of the Canadian Bench, while in the Province of Ontario there i& no instance of it. «. » 4 [ ABSORPTION OP CANADA BY THE UNITED STATES. 69* * » I The laws of the two countries have the same basis — the Common Law of England. This has been altered and added to, to suit the wants and emergencies of new countries. In Canada a spirit of progress in law has been more mani- fest than in some of the States. Both countries, however,^ are very far behind. No codification has ever been attempt- ed in either, (with the exception of the Province of Quebec,) which says very little for their lawyers and legislators. In some of the Western and Southern States, the old English procedure which was abolished in Canada in 1856 is still in existence. The criminal laws of both countries are much the same. Instead, however, of pro- gressing in Canada in this particular, a retrograde move- ment has lately commenced. The abolition of unusual and inhuman punishment for criminal offences was a reforma- tion effected in English law at the close of the last century; but these punishments continued to be inflicted in the United States, and to remain in the law with the rules of the Eng- lish law which the emancipated colonists retained. And even to this day, although the pillory has been abolished, the use of the lash for petty offences is still retained in Dele- ware, Maryland and Virginia. The existence of slavery in those States until a recent date will account for this. In Canada, however, this kind of punishment was scarcely ever known. In the early days of its settlement laws inflict- ing such punishments may have been on the Statute Book ; but they were never enforced, and they were subsequently entirely abolished. On the consolidation of Canadian crimi- nal law, after .confederation, the friends of progress were astonished to find the lash rc-introduced. The offence for which whipping is inflicted is not prevalent, and the re-in- troduction of the pillory or the rack would not have created any more surprise. Assaults on children under twelve years of age with a criminal intent are now punishable by whipping. "When it is considered that in criminal cases the laws of evidence have not yet extended to giving the pi-isoner the right of being examined under oath, it will be seen that i 60 THE CANADIAN QUESTION. this law exposes the best men in the country to the lash without a chance of vindicating himself, while the offence may be proven by a child who may be ignorant of the nature of an oath altogether. In cases, however, where guilt is proven beyond a doubt, experience both in the army and else- where has proven that the punishment of the lash, like all barbarous punishments, defeats its own'end, makes brutes of human beings, and disgraces the country where it is used. Religion in the two countries is much in the same position as respects its relation to the State. There is no establish- ed church in either country, and the voluntary principle is the prevailing one. In the United States all religious bodies are independent except the Roman Catholic — that is, they possess in themselves full authority for their government. Very few of the religious bodies in Canada have this power — the Roman Catholic Church as usual being governed from Rome, and the other denominations being connected with the parent churches in England and Scotland. The English Episcopal Church is said to be independent, but it is only the other day they received a Primate from England. The Me- thodist Church, however, has succeeded in becoming indepen- dent, and will no doubt experience in increased freedom of ac- tion great benefit. Its vitality and efficiency must be vastly increased. It only remains to be seen whether it will, by strongly identilying itself with the country, fulfill the great destiny evidently in store for this Church in Canada. The language and chief literature of the two countries are the same. Among all the means for assimilating two peoples there is none so effective as the using of the same language. Contiguity has very little efi'ect so long as the moral boundary created by a different language has an exis- tence. When this has no existence thought becomes identi- cal ; and, when the thought of two countries is shaped by a common model, separation cannot long continue. English literature is this common model for the United States and ■Oanada. All the leading minds in both countries have been formed by it. Canada has lived exclusively on it, owing to 1 ABSORPTION OF CANADA BY THE UNITED STATES. 61 its backwardness and the impossibility of forming a litera- ture of its own for the want of that wealth which gives its possessors the leisure to write or those institutions of learn- ing which form writers. In the United States English models have been used in all the best of American literature. Washington Irving and Fennimore Cooper have copied Scott ; Saxe is an echo of Tho- mas Hood ; Prescott has adopted as nearly as he could the style of Goldsmith's Histories ; while that universal toady, N. P. Willis, has copied every one. It is true that there iH a new school of American literature springing up ; but it is questionable if it will last during the present generation, and it is certain that it does not deserve to be perpetuated. Wri- ters such as Mark Twain, Bret Ilarte, Artemus Ward, Josh Billings and Colonel John Hay are evidently doomed to ex- tinction during the lives of present living men. When this burlesque on literature is forgotten, the great monuments of English thought will again have their effect, and continue to make the leading minds in Canada and the United States similar and congenial. Add to all these moral forces which are imperceptibly drawing the two countries nearer together, the material bonds which are being forged every year in the shape of railways, bridges, tunnels, and business relations. The real termini of all Canadian railways are American cities. Detroit and Portland are the termini of the Grand Trunk, Detroit and Buffalo of the Western, Southern, and Air Line railways. The Goderich and Brantford railway also ter- minates at Buffalo. There was a chance that in course of time the termini of these roads might be in Canada by the increase of Fort Erie and Windsor ; but this hope is now entirely out of the question, as the International Bridge at Buffalo and a projected bridge at Detroit will always con- l tinue these places as termini of the' railways. Canadian canals also are more used by the Americans than Canadians, and from that people is expected the chief part of the tolls by which they are sustained. And this American business will be doubled by the enlargement of the Welland Canal €2 THE CANADIAN QUESTION. now going on. The investment of American capital is also increasing. The chief part of the lumber operations of the country is carried on by Americans, while the petroleum and mining interests have been entirely developed by them. What with these different connections the smallest fluctua- tion in gold on Wall street, New York, is felt all over the country, while Mr. Seward with a stroke of the pen a few years ago was able to paralyze all Canadian business. The United States markets in a great measure rule Canada ; and a large share of her produce is disposed of there, but the duties imposed on the frontier take the most of the profit out of the Canadian and place it in the American Treasury. Many Canadians cannot be made to understand that a great share of these duties is paid by the consumer, and hence they attribute the pecuniary loss on their products to the national boundary and wish for its elfacemeut. These men say that situated as Ontario is on the groat track between the East and West, and so contiguous to eastern markets, all she Avaiits is free access to these markets to become the wealthiest portion of North America. It is said a Reciprocity Treaty would answer this objection, but if it would it would increase a thousandfold the bonds which, in the shape of business relations, bind Canada to the United States. On the whole the want of natural boundaries between the two countries, the common race, nature, and language of the two peoples, the similarity of their laws and institutions in substance, with some few striking exceptions, and the material connections which are being made every day, lead irresistibly to the inference that, unless something be done to prevent it, the absorption of Canada by the United States is only a question of time. Canada is unconsciously sliding down an inclined plane, the end of which is complete ex- tinction as a separate nation. Her adoption of a Federal constitution almost similar to that of the United States proves this ; and this constitution must approximate every year closer to its model, as the influence of the great Eepublic, ■which is felt and respected in the most remote quar' ^r of the globe, must tell with double force on its nearest neighbor. CHAPTER V. Independence. Patriotism is that fooling which promi^ts mon to love their country bettor than any other portion of the world, and which gives the desire to see that land honored and respected among the nations of the earth. It is a feeling that in all ages has boon highly esteemed among men, and has no doubt been mainly instrumental in raising man to his present position of intelligence. The spirit of emula- tion which this feeling creates tends to make each people wish to surpass all others, and to place their particular country above all others, in wai', commerce, glory, and in the useful arts from which mon derive comfort and hajv })iness. In obedience to its dictates, millions of mon have laid down their lives, and no feeling or passion of the race .--cems to be more ineradicable. Ages of oppression have no effect on it, indeed tyranny seems to give it life, and it jiioves and lives by opposition. All the heroes of antiquity were led by its sacred voice, and there is scarcely an action in human annals worthy of commemoration that cannot bo traced to its inspiration. Under its extreme influence death, instead of having its usual dread, is an honor to be sought, tuid all the usual objects which make life desirable have been contemned in its cause. The rack, the dungeon and the gibbet have been tried in vain ; it survives all torture and punishment, and burns brightest in the midst of mis- fortune. History is but the record of its feats, and man in the depths of ignorance has preserved his superiority to the brute creation by its nobleness and disinterestedness. It was this sentiment that raised Home to the summit of earthly power, and the words of one of the greatest poets of that nation, that " it is sweet and glorious to die for one's C4 THE CANADfAN QUESTION. country," be tljcy repoatod novor so often, cannot bo made ridiculous, as they are the expression of the thoughts of thousands to day as tlicy wore in the time when thoy wore utterctl. This is the sentiinotjt that sustained the three hundred at Thermopyho to withstand the Persian host, that nerved the Swiss pikcmen at Mor<^arthcn to with- stand the matchless ncpiadrons of Austria, that preserved Scotlann8ent to this measure, but actually to insist on its completion. How is it that the different provinces of Aus- tralia are not forced or invited into confederation, or why is not the system introduced any where else but in Canada ? No where else is its necessity so manifest. The United States perfectly understood the object of the measure in Canada. Thej saw what an obstacle it must be to their in- fluence and hopes. They might enforce the Munroe doc- trine, but of what effect was it to expel the English from Canada, if Eoglish institutions and English principles re- mained as firm as ever in the country. Hence the counter- stroke of purchasing All" ska. As territory, this cold, bar- ren, unfruitful country is not worth $7,000,000; but, as a flank movement on Canada, and forming a northern base, it is worth to the United States hundreds of millions. At the time they obtained the land included in Minnesota and Washington territory it did not mem any more' valuable than Alaska doe« now, bat this territory at pre- sent is the most fertile in the United States, and Alaska may yet, in some not very remote period, prove by its an- noyance to our country that Seward, as usual, obtained an advantage for his country overlooked by English states- men. England having put her hand to the matter, having started the machinery of confederation in motion, cannot withdraw. Neither is her object attained by confederation. The mere- P 82 THE CANADIAN QUESnON. hanging together of the difTerent Provinces will not save them. Ther : must be complete union, and complete union means nationality. England has done every thing compat- i ble with the position of Canada to endow it with nationality. No sooner was it confederated than she sent a Governor General who made known her wishes. Previous to him, the Governors were not much in the habit of accepting invit- ations to public dinners, and making .-^hes. But he seem- ingly introduced the custom with an o^ect. He spoke frequently and forcibly of the now nationality which had Ibeen started in the world, of its hopes of success, and of the new connection which must exist between it and the mother country, calling it alliance instead of allegiance. The most •obtuse oould not tiail to see the drift of these speeches ; they ■evidently meant to reconstruct the public mind so as to be adapted to the new order of things. Public opinion in England seconded all the eflForts of the Governor ; the lead- ing papers of the Metropolis spoke openly of the object of confederation and of its ultimate result, independence. But these papers did not speak so plainly then as they did after the Washington Treaty. After the completion of that bar- gain the Times, the leading paper in England, came out un- mistakeably. The following extract will show the splvit of its teachings : " When the Canadians turn round on us ^w\\ say you iiavw Kiiiddlod nwny our interests without obliUnlng !i>ir us aught that \vn dealrod, ytm liiivo abandoned our flslieries, you have sacrlHcod our front ior, you liavo /loi given us open trade with the States, you have not secured any satlsthction of oil) claims for wHUlon jiijurins, what answer shall we give ? We must b.>gin by confessing imv faults. It is true we have failed, we di(j our best, but wo had to keep one eye on ourselvoi and (inoihor eye on you, and all the time tt) watch the temper and meaning of the American commissioners, with very little intoliigenco to guide our in l^rprotatloM ol Iheir words; and if the result it not satisfactory to you neither Ji It to ourMolvos 'fhin wo must say if we would be frank; but we may go on to add ' COULD CANADA SUPPORT INDEPENDENCE. 83 something more. It is this : from this time forth look after your own business yourselves ; you are big enough, you are strong enough, you are intelligent enough, and if there were any deficiency in any of these points, it would be supplied by the education of self-reliance. We are both now in a false position, and the time has arrived when we should be relieved from it. Take up your freedom, your days of ap- prenticeship are over." It is nonsense to say that this is not the language of Eng- land. The Times is the leading English paper, the paper of the governing class. If such sentiments were not con- curred in by its supporters, H would not have dared to express them. But these sentiments are shared by all the leading English newspapevs. There are a few of the ex- treme Tory papers which do not go so far, but all parties in England agree as to what must eventually happen with regard to Canadian connection. An attempt has been mado to get up a feeling antagonistic to Canadian independence in England , but the movement was a failure, and the Federal Empire party there at present scarcely exists. When we come to think that confederation was initiated by an Eng- lish Tory Government, and Nova Scotia forced into the Union by such a government, we must know what the feel- ing is in England. Then, granted that confederation must eventually end inj independence, and that this result is desired by England, the- samei motive which induced England to save the provinces from, annexation by confederation, must also induce her to p\:otect and guai*arttee Canadian indfependence. We havo see^i wlfat that motive was, and it must exist in greater ■ 3'orce every year, inasmuch as Canada and the United States* ore growing more powerful, and their union woukl, there- fore, be more formidable. This guarantee system is not at all new in the coloniat roJfiHons of Great Britain. It was the tie which existed for some time between England and the Ionian Islands. An English commissioner administered the government in these 84 THE CANADIAN QUESTION. lands until they were ceded to Greece. The connection, however, which exists between Belgium and England is a better illustration of what might be desired for Canada. In this instance, we see one country perfectly independent, but whose independence would not have lasted ten years were it not for England. Belgium lies alongside of France ; the language of her people is chiefly French; and the habits and customs of the country are very similar to those of France. These circumstances are exactly similar to those of Canada with respect to the United States, and to make the similarity more complete, the inequality in the populations of Belgium and France is about the same which exists between the populations of Canada and the United States ; but, neverthe- less, England has prevented the absorption of Belgium by France. She is in no better position to be guardian to Bel- gium than she is to fill that position with regard to Canada. She is isolated by the sea from Belgium as she is from Oanada. In either case guardianship would have to be exercised by her Navy with the assistance sho would have from the people of either country in case of attack. Now, what is the result of this kind of connection. Bel- gium is the most prosperous country in Europe, and the most thickly populated. She has 451 people to the square mile, England itself has only 389, and the proportion of paupers in England's population is double that io the popu- lation of Belgium. Belgium has one mile of railway to ■every six miles of territory; England has one mile to every •eight miles of territory. England and Belgium are equal as regards telegraphs ; they have each one mile to every four miles of territory. This is what is to be expected. The expansive powers of the people of Belgium have full vent. Having full confidence in the power of their great protector, independence gives them self-reliance, and they launch out into all manner of enterprise. Their machinery to-dny is vieing with that of England even in her own citios, and the products of Belgian industry compete in all the markets of Europe with the native productions. COULD CANADA SUPPORT INDEPENDENCE. 85 >- Now, who are the Belgians, that they should deserve any favors from England ? Are they of the same race, of the same habits ? do they speak the same language? or perhaps, like Hanover, Belgium was connected with the crown of England. Nothing of the kind. They are simply a mongrel population of French and Dutch, split off from the Nether- lands only a short time ago, and erected into a kingdom from motives of policy. They are aliens to England in everything. If such a people obtain the protection of Eng- land, Canada must be entitled to it, especially when the political inducements to its support are as great as regards England, as they are in the case of Belgium. The rivalry between France and England is not so great as that between America and the latter power ; and the French people never hated England any worse than the Americans. If then, there are the same political reasons, if not greater ones, than exist in the case of Belgium why England should guarantee the independence of Canada, and if the majority of Canadians are bone of her bone and flesh of her flesh, wh.) have stood by her in many a hard-fought battle, and if above all it was England which initiated and encouraged Canadian nation- ality, then England would guarar -ee Canadian independence, otherwise she would be false i that careser which for the last two hundred year8 has maae her resT«cted by the world as the first nation, not only in power, bu". in honor, and the respect with which nhe regards and fulfils all her obl'^a- tions. This guarantee would not cost England much. It is more than probabl'* that Canada would not require her active assistance until such time as she would be nearly able to defend herself alone. If the progress made by the United States be taken as the criterion, twenty years wouiJ enable Canada, under independence, to hold her own agaiubt all enemies. At present Canada !Ould rai.«je an arniv equal to those of the Great Powers of Earope, '>n a war-fo-)nng, Tho only question would be her ability tn maintain them ia the field for any length of time. Canada has at present nearly 86 THE CANADIAN QUESTION. seven hundred and ninety-one thousand male inhabitantB;^ between the ages of fifteen and forty-five, that is over three- quarters of a million of men. Switzerland, in the midst of enemies, maintains her independence with an army of twa hundred thousand men. That country, no doubt, is more inaccessible than Canada some portions of the year, but not more so during winter. It may be said that Canada is safe during the winter months. The expei'ience of the Americans on this point is conclusive. Every expedition of theirs undertaken in the winter season has been a failure. Indeed, it is doubtful if military operations of any consequence could be undertaken at all during the winter months. Sleeping in u canvas tent or a bivouac one night with the thermometer ten or twenty degrees below zero, would paralyze the best army ever got together. The great drawback to Canada in a military point of view is she has no backbone. One hundred miles in on the American frontier and the cuticle is not passed. One hundred miles into Canada and you are clean through on the other side, and in some places half that distar. .' is sufficient. Time and independence are the only remeaies for this, and it is during this time that we need the guarantee. Another element of strength belonging to Canada is her naval power, and her facility for building vessels. The ma- ritime population of Canada used to seafaring is very large. Including the fishermen of Newfoundland,who would be avail- able in case of war, she would have at least fifty thousand hardy trained men to man her vessels or those which she might get from England. This population must in itself be formidable, and of the greatest value to the Dominion. Owing to the great improvements in war vessels and naval gunnery, it is not probable that our present shipping would be of much use in case of war ; but it is certain that we could manufacture as good a fleet out of it as would bo opposed to us. la all crude materials, for warlike purposes, Canada has within herself large supplies. Sulphur, charcoal, iron^ COULD CANADA SUPPORT INDEPENDENCE. 87 saltpetre and all the ingredients for the manufacture of gunpowder are formed in amazing quantities in different parts of her territory. The chief want which would be felt in case of war would be money. The means to sustain an army, from the industry of which army in time of peace the chief revenue of the country is raised, would have to be found elsewhere or bor- rowed. No doubt England would furnish from her almost inexhaustible coffers these means on our credit, or she would subsidize us as she did nearly all Europe except France during the Napoleonic wars. Among all the elements of defense which would be avail- able to Canada none would be so potent as the spirit of her people. In times not distant that spirit proved its strength. Whether French or English Canadian was engaged with the enemy each proved beyond a doubt that the warlike char- acter of the nations from which they sprang had not degener- ated in their persons. The French under DeSalaberry fought as bravely and devotedly as the English under Brock. At this time they fought as British colonists between the position of whom at that time and the free citizen of independent Canada there would be as much difference as that between the Amer- ican citizen and the English peasant. At that time when her inhabitants fought so well and did such service for England, Canada had not even the system of responsible government. The inducements offered to Canadians for their lives were not many ; but nevertheless they acted bravely. With in- dependence they would have a country to love, a future to hope for, and a flag to inspire them. These are great aids. Before now, they have changed the fate of battles against immense odds. Three hundred Greeks who blocked the way of the Persian host at Thermopylte show what patriotism can do. Its effects are seen through all European history ; the bare-legged Swiss pikemen who defeated the cavalry of Austria at Morgarthen, the Scotchmen who defeated the English army at Bannockburn, the ragged Sans Culottes who beat the Austrians at Jemappe were all living walls of patriotism whom no power could conquer. m «6 THE CANADIAN QUESTION. It has become the fashion to decry this feeling in Canada. Colonial patriotism was a thing until lately discouraged in England, and, because so discouraged, was sneered at by many in Canada. Patriotism in Canada was all right, but it must not take in the country itself. The Fenian raids dissipated this idea. It was then found that, without local patriotism, all the forts and defences Canada could build would be useless. Let us then in the present, as a safeguard for the future, foster by every means this feeling of patriotism which has been in all nations and ages the greatest defense of freedom. The anniversary, the patriotic song, the national air, and the national symbols and emblems, should be encouraged in every way. The Americans know the value of these things which to Canadians seem silly. Millions are spent every year in the United States in diffusing patriotic feel- ing, and the whole nation is in a short time to celebrate the centenary of its existence with that object. The Canadian Government should do the same thing. The national anni- versary should be declared a legal holiday, and public ftinds provided for its celebration all over the country. A public reward ought to be offered for the best ^national air. This seems to have an effect among an intelligent people greater than all others. The national symbols appeal to the eye, but it is the national air that strikes the ear and the heart. The success of this means is best illustrated by the French air, the Marseillaise. This air has been described as the French Eevolution set to music, and well it might be ; it swept Europe like a whirlwind, and thousands have walked fearlessly, gladly to the death inspired by its patriotic strains. The Dominion of Canada is large enough to have some separate and distinct symbol even at present. The mercan- tile fleet of the country ought to be designated in foreign parts, and if a Canadian Lloyds be established it will become a necessity. There is no approach to being a distinct people without a flag. In all civilized times it has, as it were, COULD CANADA SUPPORT INDEPENDENCE. 89 personified the people, and now no nation can be insulted so surely as by an indignity to its flag. All these things naay to our hard-working, matter-of-fact people seem silly, but they are the things which build up the sentiment which sustains nations. Napoleon declared that it was by the imagination he conquered Europe, and nations can be saved as well as conquered by the same means. On the whole the prospect is that Canada could sustain independence. She is doing so in reality at present. In all things affecting the country itself, Canada governs itself. The only thing to complete her sovereignty is power to transact her business and intercourse with foreign powers. All the expense necessary to self-government is sustained by Canada with the exception of the expense of a diplomatic body, and that would not cost much. Representation at the capitals of the Great Powers would only be necessary. An ambassador at Washington, London, Paris, Bei'lin, Vienna and St. Petersburg could be supported for $50,000 a year, and we pay that sum now to a Grovernor-General. The labor and trouble which would be saved to Canadian mer- chants by having a man in Washington alone, through whom Canadian business could be done directly with the American Government, would pay for the extra expense. If then so little extra expense is required and such great bene- fits are to be obtained, is not independence to be desired. That independence if obtained would be prized above all earthly considerations by Canadians, and it would only be lost when there would not be left five thousand men in the country to fight for it. The new state might not be at first very formidable — so much the better for its success ; it would not attract the envy or rivalry of any other nation. There are many among us who think and say^^that we are not strong enough to support nationality, but, " What coristitutes a state ? Not higij raised battlement or labored mound, Thick wall or moated gate ; Not cities proud with spires and turrets crowned ; 90 THE CANADIAN QUESTION. Not bays or broad-armed ports, Where, laughing at the storm, rich navies ride; Not starred and spangled courts, Where low-bred baseness wafts perfume to pride: ' No, men, high-minded men. With powers as far above dull brutes endued. In forest, brake or den, Ao beasts excel cold rocks and brambles rude ; Men who their duties know. But know their rights, and, knowing, dare maintain, Prevent the well-aimed blow ; And crush the tyrant as they rend the chain, — These constitute a state, And sovereign law that states collected will. O'er thrones and globes elate Sits Empress crowning good, repressing ill." It is independence and independence alone that will ever enable Canada to fulfil her destiny, to be the asylum for the oppressed and downtrodden-peoples of Europe — an asy- lum whore, under their own vine and fig tree, they can live in the enjoyment of happiness and liberty, perpetuating British institutions down to the most remote generations. nm 1 . -A :