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Les diagrammes suivsnts illustrent la mithode. >rrata to pelure, nd 3 32X 1 2 3 1 2 3 4 5 6 SPEECH OF ISAAC BUCHANAN, ESQ., M.P., AT THE DEMONSTRATION GIVEN, AT TORONTO, IN HONOUR OP THE CANA- DIAN PARLIAMENTARY OPPOSITION, 17th DECEMBER, 1863, (AS REPORTED IN THE " HAMILTON " SPECTATOR.) Mr. Buchanan's name was also on the programme to reply to this toast,* although its subject more immediately belonged to Mr. Walter Shanly, M.P., as a professional engineer, the speaker who had preceded him, — to whose able speech on our Past and the subject of our Future Public Improvements, the reader is referred, as the very best recent explanation on this all-important Provincial consideration. At that late hour, said Mr. Buchanan, he must not occupy their attention long. The most appropriate thing he could say in reply to the toast was that the internal improvements of the country would not be encouraged by the present Government. [Cheers and laughter.] If a person did a good thing he was. sure to be criticised, and the Ministry would take care not to do anything so unselfish, even if it were not, as it is, the fact that all their vitality is required to sustain their own corrupt existence. [Renewed laughter.] It appeared to him that nothing practical any more than patriotic could come from the present men. Unable to com- pare views on practical measures, they make our politics questions of the constitution. [Hear, hear.] With regard to the canals he proposed that the tolls should be capitalized, and the amount laid out in enlarging the locks on these same canals. That was a thing on which they would all agree, even Mr. Gait. [Cheers.] He wished to take this opportunity of making an explanation with regard to the report of a speech of his at London. f It was said he * "The Internal Improvements of the Province." t Dinner given to the Pioneers of Western Canada, at London, C. W., ia November 1863. 10 SPEECH AT TORONTO. had claimed credit to himself for originating the idea of the St. Lawrence Canal, not giving his old and much-respected friend, the late Honorable William Hamilton Merritt, that credit which should belong to him. The report was not correct. What he had said was that Mr. Merritt's views were larger than the means of the Province; that Mr, Merritt had asked for more than he could ^et from the Legislature. Mr. Merritt lost his first motion in 1841 from demanding that an extravagant scale should be adopted, and he [Mr. B.] had succeeded in puttmg the views of ParUament into a shape that would carry, and gave it to Mr. Merritt to pro- pose. [Hear, hear.] OUR INCAPABLE GOVERNMENT. But to return to the Ministry, he really did not see how any one <50uld be asked to support a spasmodic galvanized thing, which must speedily pass away. [Cheers.] He failed to discover in it any ground of permanency at all. He had always been most anxious to support any respectable existency in the shape of a Mmistry — he did not care a straw what it was ; but he just wanted to know what it would do for the people. For instance, there was the question of Representation by Population. Now, he didn't quarrel irith them about it, except considering it a very mean course when beaten on practical questions, to raise always the question of the constitution. Mr. Brown is like the flying fish when pursued— when chased out of the depths of low Radical impracticability or pretence, he m this way takes refuge in the higher regions of Revolutionary Liberalism. [Cheers.] It had always been a wonder to him how Mr. Brown could keep his features straight when asking the question, "Don't you want Representation by Population ?" Of course every person in Upper Canada will be in favour of more votes for Upper Canada ; just as every person in Lower Canada will be against giving a greater preponderance to Upper Canada ; just as Scotland would be against giving the city of London as many votes as Scotland, because London has as much population as Scotland. [Hear, hear.] A people may equally starve under a RepubUc and a Monarchy, and of itself Representation by ter.] the St. nd, the should ad said of the Q could ^tion in dopted, 'liament ; to pro- SPEECH AT TORONTO. 11 any one Lch must a it any anxious Qistry — to know was the ; quarrel fse when n of the irsued — ihility or 5gions of % wonder m asking lation V* r of more r Canada Canada ; london as opulation ve under iation by Population will not fill the belly ; so that, admitting that it would be an improvenK^nt in our machinery of Legislation, and supposing it attained, his [Mr. Buchanan's] practical question to the Grits is one which tli.jy have not practical talent enough to answer, viz., what practicjfi measures they would carry by this new instru- mentality to subserve the great question of the people's employment. [Great cheering.] Mr. Sandfield McDonald's views on Represent- ation by Population are antipodal to those of Mr. Brown, so they must be a happy family. When the Brown-Dorion Government was formed, he was sent for into a committee room by the leaders to see what the old Reformers would do. He said " give us a more honest and patriotic policy than we have had, and we will cordially support you." They couldn't produce any pohcy whatever, and he told them plainly it was because they were mere fault-finders, and had nothing practical in their composition. [Much laughter.] He and his friends agreed to give them an adjournment of twenty- four hours, or a week, if they wanted it, but it was no go. Out of nothing, nothing cornea. [Roars of laughter.] And as with the Brown-Dorion Administration, so with the Macdonald-Sicotte Cabi- net ; he was well disposed towards them, inasmuch as through Mr. Sicotte and his Lower Canada colleagues there was some pledge that what he [Mr. Buchanan] considered the first question in Ca- nadian politics, our provincial industry, would be conserved by a poUcy of importing the smallest possible quantity of foreign labour and the greatest possible quantity of labourers. He therefore was anxious to support the Government, and as a matter of fair play to them voted against the motion of want of confidence.* Well, they went to the country ; and what was his surprise when they came back to the House, to find they had changed their patriotic policy so soon as they had used it to carry the election. [Laugh- ter.] They had a reversible cloak ; they stole with one side and • Motioa in amendment to the motion of Hon. L. V. Sicotte, " Tliat Mr. Speaker do now leave the Chair for the House to go again into Committee of Supply," moved by the Honorable John A. Macdonald in the Legislative Assem- bly, on May 1st, 1863, " that Mr. Speaker do not now leave the Chair, but that it be resolved, that the Administration, as at present constituted, does not deserve the confidence of this House." Vote taken on the 7th May ; yeas, 64 ; nays, 59. 12 SPEECH AT TORONTO. ran away with the other. [Renewed laughter.] The most objec- tionable thing about them was their entire want of any principle whatever. They were not good enough to be bad. [Loud laugh- ter.] He confessed he would pardon the Ministry for dissolving the House ; although this was perhaps not strictly constitutional ; but their giving advice to His Excellency for a dissolution, and reconstruction simultaneously was adding a crime to a blunder. [Hear, hear.] It was something of this sort ; a culprit had been tried and condemned, and he appealed to a higher Court. Instead of bringing up the old or former culprit, they brought up a fresh washed culprit. [Loud laughter.] He conceived that was at once an unworthy advantage taken of the Crown and of His Ex- cellency, who was new to the country, and a barefaced violation of | Responsible Government, as it was an admission that the Opposi- tion were correct in voting that as constructed the then Ministry were not entitled to confidence. [Cheers.] He conceived they had violated Responsible Government, too, in the case of the In- tercolonial Railroad. He did not say whether he was for or against that great road ; that was not necessary to the argument ; but he did say it was the duty of the Government, after agreeing to it on behalf of Canada, to have staked their existence on it. [Cheers.] In honour they were bound to do so ; and in consequence of their bad faith we were now held up as a dishonourable people in England and the Lower Provinces, whereas it was only the Ministry that was dishonourable. [Applause.] It was also a violation of Res- ponsible Government to throw upon his Excellency or the prero- gative the appointment of Mr. Sicotte. It was by such irrespon- sible stretches of prerogative that the Stuarts lost the crown, and yet the immaculate Globe fought for it. [Hear, hear.] It, appeared to him there was a great and obvious determination among the low radical statesmen, in England, to interfere with our Responsible Government in Tariff matters, and no Ministry had | ever gone so far in the dh-ection of countenancing them as thej present men. [Cheers.] I A PRACTICAL POLICY WANTED FOR CANADA. | I He felt the Government were invading all our great interests. fl ist objec- principle id laugh- lissolving tutional ; tion, and | blunder, had been Instead ip a fresh ,t was at ' His Ex- iolation of le Opposi- i Ministry Lved they f the In- or against t ; but he ig to it on [Cheers.] e of their n England aistry that >n of Res- the prero- li irrespon- jrown, and ^ lear.] It f ermination ?e with our inistry had i lem as thei: SriSEjL.'H AT TOKONTO. 13 i t interests. For instance, his firm had had two ships coming from China and one from Brazil, and he did not know what the duty would be on the tea or the coffee iu them. At the time of the last change, he had had two vessels at sea, and the difference in the duties, sprung sud- denly upon them by the Government, was upwards of $60,000 ! [Sensation.] The whole thing was a troubled dream. All our great interests were in nightmare, the Government sitting on the chest of our prosperity. [Laughter.] He had already alluded to the proposed invasion by Mr. Holton of our manufacturing interest, which was fast becoming entitled to the name of a great interest, «o much so, indeed, that at this moment the manufacturing political influence in Montreal and other large places is more than the com- mercial. [Hear, hear.] And one Minister, at least, Mr. Rowland, (for whom he had a great respect) was aware of the fact that one result of our patriotic legislation since 1858 when Parliament sat in Toronto, was the existence in Canada of over a thousand tanneries. [Hear, hear.] The manufacture of paper, of wool, of wooden ware and agricultural implements has equally increased. [Hear, hear.] By manufacturing the articles mentioned we save the necessity of sending out of the Province at least two millions of dollars in cash per annum, and a fews years hence the money required to be sent abroad for these great articles of necessity, not to talk of the innu- merable other articles now being manufactured in the Province, would have been double that amount. [Hear, hear.] By manufacturing these articles we not only cause an immensely increased employment for our own population that are not fit for other sorts of labour, but we retain in the Province the money for the use of the farming and other interests, thus not only increasing our supply of capital in the Province, but reducing the rate of interest at which it can be bor- rowed. [Cheers.] Free-traders will say, you pay more for the articles you manufacture than if you imported them. Now I deny that this is the case. Every article, I believe without exception, that we now manufacture is furnished to the people at a lower price than it was sold for before 1858. But even supposing that we did pay a higher price by the amount of the customs duty, this would not be injuy- ing'the people. It would only be making them pay the t^x indirectly, instead of du-ectly. It is obvious that the great fact of our bqing in 14 SPEECH AT TORONTO. debt compels us to collect tlio money either in one way or the other. The only policy for northern countries in America is to limit their purchases of foreign labour to the greatest extent, for neither the Northern States nor Canada can produce exports to pay for even the very smallest imports, which the natural " go-a-headitiveness " of our people makes possible. Even with the greatest contraction of im- ports, therefore, these would be miserable countries, except for the money which comes adventitiously into the country in the pockets of immigrants and for investment. [Hear, hear.] To the extent, however, that our imports are over our exports we pay for the balance with the Province's life blood, for although there may not be an open removal of the specie on which all bank circulation and monetary confidence is built, there is the loss of its equivalent. But for being required to pay for profligate importations the money got through immigration and otherwise, would be an increase of the coun- try's life blood — an extension of the basis on which the pyramid of our Provincial prosperity reposes. [Hear, hear.] True political reform, (such as we had before the Q-lohe came to Canada) is, in a progressive state of society such as we have in America, the truest conservatism. We must be economical not only in applying the people's money for their own benefit, but in securing for our own people all the employment we can, in making the articles we re- quire, seeing that when the manufacturers live in a foreign country they are not consuming the productions of the Canadian farms. Na country can be great without having rotation of crops, and no coun- try can have this without having a manufacturing population to eat the produce which was not exportable. [Cheers.] And so glaringly untrue is the industriously circulated notion that such policy would be injurious to the agricultural class, that my whole object in insist- ing on limiting the Province imports of manufacturers, and raising up factories alongside our farms, is to benefit the Canadian farmer, and through him all other classes, knowing full well, as I do, that it ia the only solid and permanent foundation for the prosperity of the coun-^ try, I was long ago warned,by witnessing the sad fate of Lower Canada, whose soil has been exhausted by over-cropping with wheat. Lower Canada blindly followed the interested or ignorant advice of the British Political Economists, and confined herself to growing wheat HSSSk* SPEECH AT TORONTO. 15 the other, imit their ither the for even eness " of ionof im- )t for the ) pockets e extent, ■ for the may not bion and lent. But oney got :he coun- pyramid political ) is, in a le truest ring the Dur own s we re- country •ms. No 10 coun- n to eat ;laringly y would n insist- raising farmer, hat it ia tie coun-^ Danada, Lower of the g wheat for export, httle dreammg how large a percentage each year it took to represent the deterioration of the soil under such treatment of it. And what I wish for Upper Canada is a system of rotation of crops, to render which possible it is essential for us to have an oppidanic or manufactunng population to eat the vegetables and other perish- able or bulky productions of the Canadian farmer. I may here also mention, that which has long been evident to me, that if production and agricultural improvement are to get justice in Canada, we must onginate a system of large, reliable, non-issuing institutions, which we might call agricultural banks, from which our farmers could get an advance to the extont of one-third, or so, of the value of their real estate-which advance they might pay up at any time, but would not be bound to pay up till the end of a certain period, say thirty years— the borrower making an annual payment to cover mterest of money, a sinking fund to provide for payment of the pnnciple in thirty years, and a life insurance premium to secure hia property being free from debt in case of his death before the loan IS paid off. Such is the Provincial policy which for thirty years I have seen to be the best for Canada, and the views which I have now expressed are thosa which I expect to continue to hold to the end. (Loud cheers.) I hive tha3 shown that the course of the Ministry directly injures the Credit, Trade and Manufacturing and Mechanical interests of Canada, and indirectly through these, tho great agricultural interests. MR. brown's fatal CONNECTION WITH THE MINISTRY. The present Government, like Mr. Brown and the Premier, its. kead, are united, not by any common principle but common aban- donment of principle. They have pollutod our Provincial pros- perity at its source, and there must therefore necessarily be an im- pure stream. Though having respectable names among them, their character as a Ministry could not be lower. [Hear, hear.] They immitate to the hfe, the well-known trick of the turf in England The Jockey J-jcs hu vniju and af j^ears, till found out, the wini ner. £o the Grits Lave let slip every j rincij^le for which they con- tended. Ihey theielore have attained a short but not honourable triumph. [Cheers.] Hateful and hating one another, deceiving 16 Sl'KKCll Ar TORONTO. .ceivcd is the nature of their cat aud dog life. [Laugh- , ^ _ , T i.„.i ^„w»ri i.orri fn think ot aiw dcscriTv- I '"^''''Xt^BuX^n]T>ad'triod hard to think of any doscrip- tcr.] HO L»r • f jh rospccUve positio.m towards each ti„„ that could bo 6we»^^^ ^^^ ^^ g^„,,^,, M,„,,„,,a. Their other ot Mr. ^'»J= ^„,, „f the great rival simulators of nature positions seem not unuwo ^^^^^ ^^ ^^^^^^^^^ ^^^ ^^^^ ^^^^^ of old whom wo read o^ ^^^^^^^ ^ .^^^^ ^^.^^ ^^^^ ^^^^^ . ^j painted h^f '^ .*7 ,^ ' J„„3 that the birds flew at the picture to - -Pl«/l^^;7*; Ir] the strength of his character consist- he was a '!»««'!«'• [:°^?";|trength of his own, but of the weak- ing of nothing innate, ot no strengvu ness of the character ot his dupes. .. Indeed the pleasure seemed as great Of being cheated as to cheat; As lookers on feel most delight, Tatle^'Pe-'^^'S^f't^d" ■ And still the less they "■"»«"*»*' „ The more they admire his slight of hand. [Laugh- descrip- 'da each . Their )f nature it artist, pes ; and icturo to chagrin, himself ] le birds. Dsed him- paw aside •arrhasius jtaken for leived the r and ap- chanan's] [r. Brown landing it nputation. iport arose arliament. g popular idduce the away with e said was y lineal de- that to him sst, and yet ter consist- ■ the weak- 0F&ECU AT TORONTO. Ijf f taugker and cheers.] The reporter alluded to evidently imstook the word adhered, and thought that he [Mr. B.] said feared^ ho whom all mm feared having been a liar from the beginning. [Great laughter.] ENGLISH FREE TRADE SUBVERSIVE OP EMPIRE. He was anxious to use plain language, as every one else in Cana- da seemed afraid to do so, regarding the British Government's position towards her colonies. England herself has succumbed to a faction, holding the doctrine of Robespierre — " Perlssent les Colonies, Plutot qu'un principe." Perish the Colonies rather than our theory. [Hear, hear.] The adoption by England for herself of this transcendental principle has all but lost the Colonies, and her madly attempting to -lake it the principle of the British Empire would entirely alienate the Colonies. Though pretending t» unusual mtelligence, the Manchester Schools (like our Clear Grits), are, as a class, as void of knowledge of the world as of patriotic principle. [Cheers.] They do not know that Free Trade is the contrart/ principle to that of Empire, [Mr. Buch- anan repeated this again and again,] or that if you take every dirty child off the street and treat him like your own child, your own child will very soon come to see that he is only treated like the dirty child, and very soon be unable to feel differently from the diity child. Your own child will soon experience that it is a levelling down, not a levelling up. [Cheers.] To take a practical exam- ple, vital to ourselves of the result of the Free Trade measure of 1846, to which the Manchester School, through inflaming the minds of the people of England, drove Sir Robert Peel— [Hear, hear.] Take the Niagara River, which is the boundary line between the United States and Canada. The lot of 200 acres at the end of the Suspension Bridge on the American sido had the advantages of both the American and British Markets, while the lot of 200 acres on the north side in Canada had only the British Markets ; the Amer- ican farmer, in a word, got a shilling per bushel (from the American's having an immense home demand from their manufacturing popu- 18 Sr-EECH AT TORONTO. lation,) for lus wheat more than the Canada farmer could get. As left by the free trade measures of England, it was the inlerest of Canada to be annexed to the United States. So much for the Legislation of the great Si: flobert Peel. [Hear, hear.] AdRICULTUBE OUA ONE-aREAT INTEREST. But it is well for Canada that she can afford to throw theories to thf. winds, having a certain and unfailing barometer of her great mterests. In her farmers, Canada has a great class, the prosperity of which secures the prosperity of all other classes ; so that the trm economical policy of Canada is to promote the pros- perity of the Canadian farmer. And how is this to be done is the simply political question of the Canadian patriot. [Cheers.] Yet -^to the shame of British statesmen be it said— a question so momentous to Canada was known to have no consideration m England, when she, in 1846, diametrically altered her policy and repealed all the old distinctions between Canadian and American produce in her markets. The direct and immediate effect oi this precipitate introduction of free imports (for it is not Free Trade) iuto the mother country was most disastrous to Canada, and was more likely to prove subversive of her loyalty than any tlung that could have been anticipated ; for it left the Canadian farmer (on the North Bank of the St. Lawrence) only the English market for his produce in which he has to compete (after paying all freights and expenses across the Atlantic,) with wheat of countnes where labour and money are not worth one-third what those are m Canada, while it gave to the American farmer (on the South Bank of the St. Lawrence) this English market of which to avail himself, when ever it suited him, m addition to the American market. THE RECIPROCITY TREATY. HapT)ily the British Government saw in time the error committed in brinrinff about a state of things it would have been impossible to retain, upon British. prmciples, the Canadas—Bntish prmciples always involving the idea that the object of Britain in acquiring m get. As iterest of 1 for the SPFECH AT TORONTO. 19 sv tlieoriea er of her class, the lasses; so e the pros- lone is the ers.] Yet [uestion so leration in policy and American feet oi thifl ree Trade) 1, and was r tlung that farmer (on lish market ; all freights itries where i in Canada, Bank of the nself, when or committed m impossible ah principles in acquiring or retaimng terntorj, is to bless not to blight it. And Lord Elgm bribed the Americans by sharing with them our Fishery and Navigation rights, to give us the Reciprocity Treaty, which, while It exists removes the Canadian farmer's cause of complaint [Hear, hear.] Now, therefore the preservation of this Reci- procity with the United States is shewn to be not only the inte- rest of the farmers, and through them of all others in Canada, but the British Government, as without it Canadians are left in a posi- tion to be much benefitted by Canada being amiexed to the United fetates I speak plainly, viewing him the most loyal man who speaks most plamly at such a crisis. [Applause.] AN AMERICAN ZOLLVEREIN THE INTEREST OP THE EMPIRE. ALd this Reciprocity Treaty can only eventually be secured and renaered permanent, by the British Government adopting a Pohcv whicn would look without jealousy on the decentralization of the manufacturing power of the Empire-a principle which would aggrandise the British Empire, and be an incalculable benefit to the working classes in England, Ireland, and Scotland. To preserve the Empire, Britain has to yield the selfish principle of centralizing which has ruined Ireland and India, po far as such countries could be rumed, and cost us the old American colonies. (Hear, hear.) The principle of decentralizing the manufactures of the Empire is a principle which would secure for the Umpire an enormous addi- tional trade and influence. Through the instrumentality of some one or other of her dependencies (which might be called En ..land m America^England in Australia^England in India, &c., &c ) she could secure free trade for all her mechanics who chose to go to these favored locaUties, with countries that could never agree to free trade direct with England, without giving a death blow to their comparatively comfortable population. For instance, Eng- land could never get free trade with the Unitod Statos in manufac- tured goods, but no doubt the United Statos would be prepared to extend the Reciprocity Treaty with Canada, thus throwing down aU mtenor Custom Houses between Canada and the Unitod Statos which done, the Englishman, by coming to C lada, and manufac- 20 SPEECH AT TORONTO. turing his goods at our endless water powers will be able to save the 25 per cent, charged on the same goods going direct from Eng- land to the United States, and hundreds of mill-owners now in uneasy circumstances in England, would, under such an arrange- ment, immediately transfer to Canada their machinery and hands to the infinite benefit of the population thus removed, and to the aggrandizement of the empire. (Cheers.) And this is the main thing wanted by the Canadian farmer, permanently, as givmg him a market on the spot for his roots and spring crops, thus rendering rotation of crops possible, while it would give him also that which is so valuable to hun in the present (untU he gets his rotation of crops established), the superior market for his white wheat furnished in the United States by the Reciprocity Treaty. (Hear, hear). To the United States, and more especially to the Western States, as making the St. Lawrence the great highway of America, free trade and navigation with Canada would give great development, would give, m a word, all the commercial advantages of annexation. (Hear, hear.) The natural policy of Canada is seen clearly therefore to be the establishment of an American Zoll- verem, such as exists among the German States. Under this the Umted States and Canada would neither of them levy any customs taxes on their frontiers, but only at the seaports from Labrador to Mexico— the same duties being levied, and each country getting its share in the proportion of its population. Let it be therefore resolved, that for our commercial system, the principle should be adopted by Canada of an American ZoUverein, or in other words, free trade with America, but not with Europe. Why should Eng- land be jealous or oppose this ? Is not Canada just England m America • If Canadians get an advantage, they wish no monoply of it. Every old countryman is welcome to come and share it. (Much cheering). And this will be a very fair compromise be- tween the views of the two classes of friends of the Canadian farmer, one of which holds that our farmer is to be most benefitted by general free trade and direct taxation, and the other by keepmg our money in the country through the restriction of importations and indirect taxation. The Reciprocity Treaty is a temporary relief to us ; but it may be only a temporary one. As our home SPEECH AT TORONTO. 21 to save m Eng- now in ,rrange- L hands and to I is the J giving )s, thus lim also gets his is white Treaty, y to the ;hway of ve great vantages mada is san Zoll- this the customs rador to etting its therefore bould he ir words, uld Eng- igland in monoply share it. )mise he- Q farmer, fitted by r keeping portations emporary our home i market increases through the enlargement of our cities and towns, we shall be more independent of the market of the United States. But he (Mr. Buchanan) believed that as a necessary consequence of the free trade legislation of England, Canada will require Eng- land to assent to the establishment of two things, on the subject of which time did not permit him now further to enlarge. 1st, An American ZoUverein. 2nd, Canada to be made neutral territory in time of any war between England and the United States. . Those who can estimate the terrible difficulties, if not impossi- bilities of such arrangements, will begin to form some idea of the crime committed by the statesmen of England in taking so serious a step m the dark as the adoption of the principle of Free Trade, or in other words of the contrary principle to that of Empire ! [Hear, hear.] To return to the more immediate consideration of the Pro- vincial Ministry. THE GRITS — WHO AND WHAT ARE THEY ? His opinion was that it would be far better to have Mr. Brown openly and honestly in office, than, as at present, behind the scenes of Mr. Sandfield McDonald's Ministry, especially (as has been shewn by the illustration of Parrhasius) there is nothing else behind, [laugh- ter.] At the same time he would not be understood as admitting that Mr. Brown has any fitness whatever for the Government. On the contrary it was his opinion that there is not a man in the country with much less fitness, or whose rumble is in much greater proportion to his " gumption." [Much laughter.] For instance no man with any judgment could have gone against Robert Baldwin for a member of our Upper House. Mr. Brown's clief, if not only claim to office, is that his having place and power is the only condition on which he will agree not to enflame the people and make them dan- gerous, even if he himself is not seditious. [Hf-ar, hear.] Gritism is a sort of bastard child of Malcolm Cameron— [Laughter]— which even he afterwards got ashamed of and repudiated. [Great laugh- ter.] It is in a word, a conspiracy of the most uneducated, with some honourable exceptions, of the community, not only to share but to monopolizs> ail offices of trust and employment, both provin- 22 SPEECH] AT TORONTO. cial and local. [Loud and long continued cheering.] Patronage is its life, and patronage will be its death. All its members are not bad, but every man of curious or unsettled views political or religious is of its party. [Cheers.] It is a conspiracy of small and bad men, not an embodiment of large and good principles. [Cheers.] And never was there fmore necessity than at this present time in Canada for the good of all parties to be shoulder to shoulder, and hack to hack ; " their common conviction having at length come to be that they individually are as little justified in refusing, on ac- count of slight political differences, to join in defence of their com- mon country a^ffllst these Grit leaders, [with whom the great bulk of their followers have no interests in common] as one would be to refuse to turnout with the whole people of a neighbourhood against a pack of hungry wolves threatening their farm yards. [Loud cheers.] He [Mr. Buchanan] denied that they were the liberal party of Upper Canada. If they were so, we might say with iVTadame Roland — " Liberty, what crimes are committed in thy name." " But France got drunk with blood to vomit crime, And fatal have her Saturnalia been ; To Freedom's cause, in every age and clime. " When bad men conspire, good men must combine." [Loud and continied cheering.]