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PARLIAMENTARY DEBATES, 
 
 8bd session, 8th PARLIAMENT, CANADA. 
 
 ^ 
 
 SPEECH 
 
 DELIVERED IN THE LEGISLATIVE ASSEMBLY 
 
 BY 
 
 ALEXANDER MORRIS, ESQ., 
 
 MEMBER FOR LANARK, SOUTH RIDING. 
 
 LURING THE DEBATE ON THE SUBJECT OF THE 
 
 MFEDERAIM OF THE BRITISH NORTH AJIERICAX PROVINCES. 
 
 QUEBEC: 
 PRINTED BY HUNTER, ROSE & CO., ST. URSULE STREET. 
 
 1866. 
 
si^eeoh: 
 
 ON TUK 
 
 CONFEDEEIATION OF THE PROVINCES. 
 
 Mr. morris said'-Mr. Spbakir, the 
 member for Lambton has, I thmk, set a good 
 example, and I shall endeavor if it be possible 
 to follow it. I desire to "^ate at the outset 
 that this, as has been well observed by many 
 who have spoken upon the subject, is uo new 
 question ; but that in one phase or another, 
 as was very properly stated in the narrative 
 given to the House by the honorable member 
 for Montreal West, it has been before the 
 people of this country from time to time for 
 many years past. It is not my intention to 
 follow that honorable gentleman in his inter- 
 esting narrative of the history of this question, 
 but I desire to ask the attention of the House 
 to the fact that this is the third time that this 
 
 ?ue8tion has been formally brought before 
 'arlituuent by the Government of this coun- 
 try. The first occasion was, I believe, in 
 1858, when the then Governor General, in 
 closing the session of Parliament for that 
 
 year, 
 
 used in the Soeeoh from the Throne the 
 
 following words : — " I propose, in the course 
 of the recess, to oommunicate with Her Ma- 
 jesty's Government and with the government 
 of the sister colonies, on another matter of 
 very great importance. I am desirous of in- 
 viting them to discuss with us the principles 
 on which a bond of a federal character uniting 
 the provinces of British North America may, 
 perhaps, hereafter be practicable." That 
 formal statement was followed by the despatch 
 which has been referred to frequently in this 
 House and during this debate, and which 
 was made the basis of the motion laid before 
 the House last session by the honorable mem- 
 ber for South Oxford — which motion has had 
 the effect of causing present and, as I believe, 
 fbtuN great results. (Heax, hear.) I be- 
 
 lieve the appointment of the committee moved 
 for by that honorable gentleman will be look 
 ed back to as an era in the history of this 
 country. (Hear, hear.) Now, as to the 
 second occasion on which this question was 
 formally brought before the attention of the 
 House and country, we have heard from those 
 who object to this scheme, that the people of 
 the country have been taken by surprise, that 
 they do not understand it, and that they 
 are not prepared to discuss it. I would ask, 
 sir, in reference to that, if this present Gov- 
 ernment was not formed on the very basis and 
 understanding that it would bring about a 
 settlement of this question, and if the people 
 of the country did not know this to be the 
 fact ? I hold in my hand the basis upon 
 which the Government was formed, in which 
 the following is stated as the result of a long 
 negotiation between the leading members of 
 it:— 
 
 The Government are prepared to pledge them 
 selves to bring Id a measure next session, for the 
 purpose of removing existing difficulties by intio- 
 dueiug the Federal principle into Canada, coupled 
 with su(h provision as will permit the Maritime 
 Provinces and the North-West territory to be 
 incorporated inio the same system of Govern- 
 meat. 
 
 Hon. Mr. HOLTON— Hear, hear ! 
 
 Mr. MORRIS— I trust the honorable 
 gentleman will say " Hear, hear," with the 
 same emphasis when I read the next para- 
 graph : — 
 
 And the Government will seek, by sending re- 
 presentatives to the Lower Provinces, and to 
 Etigluud, tu secure the assent of those interests 
 which are beyond the control of our own legislar 
 tion to s<icb a measure as may enable all British 
 
I 
 
 h 
 
 I 
 
 North America to bo united under n general 
 legislature boned upon the Federal princiiile. 
 
 This, sir, was the pledge given to this House 
 and country by the present Government on 
 its fomiation. It wus pledged to introduce the 
 Federative system into the Government of 
 Canada, with special provisions for tho iucor- 
 porution into this Federation of the Maritime 
 Provinces, and it was also pledged to send 
 delegates to those proviiicoH and invito them 
 to join us in this l<fderation. (Hear, hcnr.) 
 And yet we are told forsooth that these delc- 
 ghtes, who were thus appointed in conformity 
 with the pledge of the Government, wore 
 " u self-constituted junta," — we were told that 
 they had no authority for their action in the 
 face of the distinct obligation resting upon the 
 Government to send delegates to thosj pro- 
 vinces and to England with a view of bring- 
 ing about this Confederation. No self-con- 
 stituted junta were ^.hose delegates who framed 
 these resolutions ; but they met in accordance 
 with a pledge given by this Government, and 
 must be held to have been called together with 
 the sanction of the Parliament of Canada, 
 because Parliament gave the Government, 
 formed to effect the Federation, its confi- 
 dence. Thev met also with the sanction of 
 the Imperial Government, as now appeals 
 from statements and despatches in possession 
 of this House. (Hear, hear.) But coming 
 now to the present aspect of the matter, I feel 
 that this country has reason to bo satisfied 
 with a scheme of so practical a nature us that 
 now under the consideration of tho House 
 I believe that the plan of union projMised will 
 be found to meet the exigencies of our local 
 position, give latitude to local development, 
 and due protection to local interests, and yet 
 Hccure that general control which is essentially 
 necessary lor the proper government of a 
 country placed under the dominion of the 
 British Crown. (Hear, hear.) And while I 
 thus look upon the phm, I desire to state em- 
 phatically and clearly that it is no new prin- 
 ciple that the people of this country and the 
 members of this House are asked to give their 
 sanction to. The (question of colonial union, 
 in one shape or another, is one that has en- 
 gaged the attention of high intellects and able 
 statesmen in England ; und I think I will bu 
 able to show to the House that the very prin- 
 ciple we are now endeavoring to introduce as 
 a principle of government in these British 
 North American Provinces, is one that has 
 received tho sanction of eminent men in 
 England, and more than that, the sanction ol' 
 a lolemn act of the Imperial Parliament. 
 
 (Hear, hear.) I will go back a few years, 
 when the condition of the Australian colonies 
 rendered it necessary for the 8tat<>8men of 
 Great Britain to endeavor to find a practical 
 solution of tho difficulty of governing those 
 great and growing dependencies of the British 
 Crown. What was tho practical mode adopted 
 when events made it necessary that they 
 should form a new Constitution for the 
 more perfect government of those colonics ? 
 Why, tho Imperial Government revived an 
 old committee of the Privy Council, called 
 the " Committee on Trade and Foreign Plan- 
 tations," and referred the question to it, call- 
 ing in to its aid, as new members of the com- 
 mittee. Lord Cajipbell, then Chancellor of 
 the Duchy of Lancaster, Sir James Stephen 
 and Sir Edward Ryan. The result of the 
 deliberations of that committee was a report 
 in which the eminent men who compobed it 
 recommended the formation of a general as- 
 sembly, to which the control of the general 
 affairs of the Australian colonies should be 
 entrusted, with local governments having local 
 jurisdiction and certain defined powers grant- 
 ed to them. I hold in my hands a series of 
 letters on the colonial policy of En^-land, ad- 
 dressed by Earl Grey to Lord John Rus- 
 sell, which contain the report of the com- 
 mittee of the Privy Council that I have re- 
 ferred to, and I find that the plan there sug- 
 gested is analogous to the one we are now 
 asked to give practical cfi'ect to in this coun- 
 try. (Hear, bear.) The proposition of the 
 committee was that there should be a Gover- 
 nor General to administer the affairs of the 
 Australian colonics, and that he should con- 
 vene a body, to be called the General Assem- 
 bly of Australia, on receiving a request to 
 that effect from two or more of the Australian 
 legislatures; and it was recommended that 
 this General Assenibly, so convened, should 
 have the power t^) make laws respecting tho 
 imposition of duties on imports and exports, 
 the post office, the formation of roads, canals 
 and railways, and a variety of other subjects. 
 The advantages of this plan were ho manliest, 
 as uniting those colonies together and secur- 
 ing foi' them a better and more satisfactory 
 form of government than they had belore en- 
 joyed, that the report w: s at once adopted by 
 the Privy Council, embodied in a bill and 
 submitted to Parliament. The bill passed 
 the House of Commons and reached the 
 House of Lords ; but while before that body 
 the two clauses which introduced into the 
 government of the Australian colonies the 
 same system that in effect it is proposed ty 
 
 I 
 
and 
 
 introduce here were dropped, and why ? Not 
 because of any change of opinion on the part 
 of the Qovernment on the question, nor be- 
 cause the HouHO of Lords was opposed to the 
 principle, but because it was found on ezam- 
 iuution that they were liable to practical ob- 
 jections, to obviate which auieudments would 
 have to bo introduced which there were no 
 means of arranging without furtb<)r commu- 
 nications with the colonics. The Imperial 
 Government would not make these changes 
 in the measure without the consent of the 
 colonies, but Earl Grey by no means changed 
 his mind in regard to the ;,d vantages to be 
 derived from the plan propotied, as the follow- 
 ing extract from one of his despatches, writ- 
 ten in 1850, to the Governor of New South 
 Wales, will show : — 
 
 I am not, hoyrevor, the less persuaded that 
 the want of some such central authority to 
 regulate mutten of common importance to 
 the Australian colonies will be felt, and 
 probably at a very eurly period ; but when this 
 want is uo felt, it will of itself 8u<rgest the raeana 
 by which it may be met. The several legislatures 
 will, it is true, be unable at once to give the 
 necessary author ty to a General Assembly, be- 
 cause the legislative power of each is confined of 
 necessity within its territorial limits; but it two 
 or more of those legislatures should find that 
 there are objects of common interest for which it 
 is expedient to create such an authority, they will 
 have it in their power, if they can settle the terms 
 of an arrangement for the purpose, to pass acts 
 for giving effect to it, with clauses suspending 
 their operation until Parliament shall have supplied 
 the authority that is wanting. By such acts the 
 extent and objects of the powers which they are 
 prepared to dilegate to such a body might be 
 defined and limited with precision, and there can 
 be little doubt that Parliament, when applied to 
 in order to give effect to an arrangement so 
 agreed upon, would readily consert to do so. 
 
 Some may say, Mr. Speakea, that this is 
 very true, but that the British Government 
 dropped the plan and did not proceed with it. 
 I think I shall be prepared to meet that argu- 
 ment, and show that it only rested in the plan 
 to learn the wishes of the people of the colo- 
 nies ; for you find it following the very same 
 prinniplo, reported upon favorably by the Com- 
 mitttJC on Trade and Foreign Plantations, in 
 the Constitution which was subsequently 
 granted to the New Zealand provinces. In 
 1852, the plan suggested by that committee, 
 in regard to Australia, was carried into effect 
 in New Zealand, and it must be remembered 
 that at that time the population of New Zea- 
 land was very small, so small indeed that one 
 cannot help contrasting the position of that 
 
 country with that of British North America 
 at the present day; but the statesmen of 
 Great Britain looked into the future of the 
 colony, and thoy decided that it would b« 
 advisable to confer on it powers analogous to 
 those now sought for by us. The New Zea- 
 land Constitutional Act created six provinces, 
 with supermtendents, provincial councils of 
 nine appointed by tli 'j;overnor, and a general 
 government of three estates. In the debate 
 on that bill, Earl Grey said that this was the 
 only form of government which could be con- 
 ferred on a colony situated as that one was. 
 He remarked : — 
 
 It was impracticable and must for many years 
 continue to be so, for any general legislature to 
 meet all the wants of so many separate settle- 
 ments at a great distance from each other ; hence 
 it seemed absolutely necessary to constitute pro- 
 vincial legislatures on which a great portion of 
 the public business must devolve. 
 
 The very difliculty which was met with there is 
 the one wo have to overcome here. It was found 
 absolutely necessary to create in every province 
 a Local Iiegislature, and in addition one cen- 
 tral power, to whom matters common to all 
 might be referred. Earl Grey, in the course 
 of the same debate, speaking of the import- 
 ance of this arrangement, said : — " There 
 were some subjects on which extensive incon- 
 venience would arise, if uniformity of legisla- 
 tion among the several provinces were not in- 
 sured, which could only be accomplished by a 
 General Legislature." And that, sir, is what 
 this Government now asks us to adopt. They 
 aak us to invite the Imperial Parliament to 
 create for us provincial legislatures, to 
 whom shall be referred all local matters, and 
 that we shall have a General Legislature for 
 the care of those subjects of a general charac- 
 ter which could not be so well looked after by 
 the provinci;U legislatures. And I say, sir, that 
 finding as we do that this is no new question, 
 we can, therefore, understand why this measure 
 met with such ready approval from the states- 
 men of Britain and the high commendation of 
 Her Majesty by her advisers. (Hear, hear.) 
 But, Mr. Speaker, I will now p;iss from the 
 consideration of the history of this important 
 movement — and I assure you that I feel the 
 difficulty of addressing the House on this sub- 
 ject, in consequence of the sense I entertain 
 of the gravity of the question itself and the 
 momentous character of the issues it involves. 
 The subject, sir, is one of the very highest 
 importance. The destinies of this great coun- 
 try are bound up in it. (Hear, hear.) Th^ 
 
i 
 
 ti* 
 
 Upp*r HouM hM already sanctioned the 
 soneme, and I would take the opportunity of 
 remarking that I du Q3t think that the uietn- 
 bers of that House can be rightiv uhargod 
 with not having given it that deliberate oon- 
 sideration which its importance duiiinndd. I 
 think that they Ituve shown u very proper ez- 
 auplo in their disouseiou of the question, and 
 one that wo may well follow. They debuted 
 with leisure, deliberation, and a thoiough ap- 
 preciation of its gravity, day by day, during 
 four weeks, and I therefore think that the 
 members of the Upper ilouse ought not to 
 have been charged with " indecout hante." 
 
 Hon. J. S. MACDONALD— Who said so ? 
 
 Ma. MORRIS — The honorable member 
 flx)m Cornwall was one of those who said so. 
 
 Hon. J. S. MACDONALD— I said it was 
 unsuitable haste. 
 
 Mr. MORRIS — I have somewhat of a re- 
 cording memory, and I think the words he 
 unfortunately used were " indecent bustc." 
 However, I have no intention of disputing 
 with my honorable friend as to the particular 
 words he U8e<l. I have only to express ray 
 opinion that the time which has been already 
 spent on this question here and else-vhoro has 
 not been lost. I think it is our duty to con- 
 sider this subject in all its aspects, and be- 
 lieving ns I do that the scheme will be adopt- 
 ed by this House, I feel the importiinuo of u 
 full and free discussion, in order that its nier- 
 its may be put before the country. (Hear, 
 hear.) Mr. Speak£;i, I desire now to state 
 that I support the proposal ut present under 
 our consideration, because in my honest uud 
 deliberate judgment I believe that this union, 
 if accomplished, is calculated in its practical 
 effecta to bind us more closely to Britain thun 
 we could be bound by any other system. 
 (Hear, hear.) 
 
 A VOICE— It would put an end to the 
 connection. 
 
 Ma. MORRIS — An honorable nicuiber 
 says " it would put an end to the connection. " 
 Well, I would say to that honorable gentle- 
 man and this House, that in my opinion there 
 are but two destinies before us. We hiive 
 either to rise into str.:ingth and wealth und 
 power by means of this union, under the shul 
 teriug protection of Britain, or we must be 
 absorbed by the great power beside us. (^Httur, 
 hear.) I believe tuut that is the only eun- 
 clusion we can arrive at. 
 
 A VOICE — But the people are against it. 
 
 Ma. MORRIS — An honorable gentleman 
 says the people are not in favor of a Federal 
 QnioD. But we know on the contrary, that 
 
 the poode aro in favor of the o'lango. When 
 the public mind is excited against any mea- 
 sure, is there not a means cpon to the people 
 to make known their opposition, and how is it 
 that the table of this House is not oovemd 
 with petitions against the soheme, if it is so 
 unpopular as honorable gentlemen would have 
 us believe? 
 
 An Hon. MEMBFR— There are no peti- 
 tions for it. 
 
 Ma. MORRIS — An honorable gentleman 
 says " there aro no petitions for it." And why 
 is it that there are not ? Is it not beeause the 
 Government was constituted on the basis of 
 union? (Hear, hear. ^ The people, through 
 a vast majority of their representatives in this 
 House, are in favor of it. If they are op- 
 posed to it they have the remedy in their own 
 hands, they have the means of opposing, but 
 they do not oppose it becau% they feel that a 
 change of some kind is abw)lutely essential, 
 and they have confidence in the wisdom of 
 th'-se entrusted with the destiny of the country 
 in this crisis of its history. But I say chat 
 the great reason why this scheme has taken 
 the hold that it has done upon the public men 
 of the province, is that they see in it an 
 earnest desire to perpetuate British connec- 
 tion. 
 
 Hon. Mr. HOLTON— It will turn out a 
 delusion. 
 
 Mil. MORRIS — I am not a prophet, nor 
 the son of a prophet, but I am willing to 
 place my prediction against that of the honor- 
 able gentleman who says it will be a delusion. 
 (Hear, hear.) A fear has been expressed 
 that the Confederation will lead to the sever- 
 anc!) of those links which bind us to the 
 Mother Country. But I believe it will be 
 our own fault if the ties between us are 
 broken. With entire freedom and the right 
 of self-government in the fullest sense of the 
 word, together with the great advantage of an 
 improved position, and the strength and 
 power of Great Britian to foster and protect 
 us, why should we seek to change our con- 
 nection, what object could we have to induce 
 us to form other ties? (Hear, hear.) What 
 have wc to envy in the position of the neigh- 
 boring country, burdened as it is with the 
 heavy load of taxation arising from the cruel 
 war raging there, that we should covet that 
 flag ? Why then should our coining together 
 for the purpose of union weaken our position 
 or diminish the tie that links us to Britain ? 
 It will be for honorable gentlemen who do not 
 believe that the union of these scattered colo- 
 nies will give them strength, to prove that, 
 
oontrary to all precedent, union is not strength. 
 (Hear, hear.) But I will state why thiH 
 anion is oaloulated to prolong our connection 
 with Britain. It is well known that there 
 has been an entire Mid radical change of late 
 in the colonial policy of England, That policy 
 haa Eieen to extend to ua the utmost liberty in 
 our relations to the Empire. What is after 
 all the nature of the bond which links us to 
 Great Britain, apart from our allegiance and 
 lovaltv ? What is it but a Federative bond ? 
 That IS what links us to Britain,and I feel quite 
 Batisfied, in the words of an English publicist of 
 some eminence, that " the new oolonikl policy 
 is calculated to prolong the connection of the 
 colonies with the Mother Country." Tbelieve 
 it will raise these nrovinoes a^ part of the 
 British Empire, and so secure to us the per- 
 manency of Britiith institutions, and bind us 
 more closely to the Crown. (Hear, hear.) 
 I believe it will, in the words of that far-seeing 
 statesman, Lord Durham, " raise up to the 
 North American colonist a nationality of his 
 own by elevating those small and unimportant 
 communities into a society having some objeotu 
 of national importance, and give these inhab- 
 itants a country which thoy will be unwilling 
 to see absorbed into that of their powerful 
 neighbor;;." And, sir, our neighbors so see it. 
 Shortly after the visit of the Ihike of New- 
 OASTT'B to this country, attention was directed 
 to the question of the union of the colonics, 
 not only in this country, but in England and 
 in the United States. The New York Courier 
 and Inquirer, in an article published at that 
 time, came to the conclusion "that the union 
 would, in fact, be an argurp'tnt for a continu- 
 ance of the existing relations between the two 
 countries as a matter of policy and gratitude, 
 and that such a change of government could 
 be met with no objection of any weight." 
 (Hear, hear.) I invite the attention of the 
 honorable member f^r Chateauguay to that 
 Statement. But, l>; Speaker, it is a sin- 
 gular study, looking ack over the history of 
 tibe past, to see how this question haa come 
 up in the experience of the various colonies. 
 Before the American revolution, Ben- 
 jamin Franklin suggested a ^an for a 
 Federation of the old colonies of Britain on 
 this continent, which, he afterwards said,would, 
 according to his deliberate opinion, have pre- 
 vented the severance of the connection between 
 the colonies and the Mother Country. I will 
 quote a passage written by him after the 
 revolution, in which he makes allusion to this 
 ^ject. He said : — 
 
 I proposed and drew ap a plan for the union of 
 
 all the colonies under one 'Government, lo far as 
 might be neoeisar) for del. ace and other import- 
 ant general pjrpoHoa. By my plan, the General 
 Ooverniucnt was to be administered by a Presi- 
 dentOeneral, at)pointed and supported by the 
 Crown, und a General Council, to be chosei: by 
 the representatives of the people of the several 
 colonies, nnet in tho respective nsaemhlies. The 
 
 Elan wax agreed to in Congress, but the assem- 
 lies of the provinces did not adopt it, as they 
 thought there was too much prerogative in it, 
 and m England it was jut^ged to have too much 
 of the democratic. The different and contrary 
 reasons of dlalike to my plan made me suspect 
 that it waii really the true medium, and I am still 
 of opinion it would have been happy for both 
 sides if it had been adopted. The colonies so 
 unted woula have been strong enough to have 
 defended themselves; there would then hare 
 been no need of troops from England ; of course 
 the subsequent pretext for tiding America^ and 
 also the bloody contest it occasioned, would have 
 been avoided. 
 
 It is singular that nearly a hundred years 
 ago, Benjamin Franklin, looking at tho 
 difficulties then existing between the colonies, 
 should have suggested a plan of union similar 
 to that now proposed to us, and it is a strong 
 proof of the wisdom of the plan now before 
 this House, that seeing the difficuUies under 
 which the other colonies labored for want 
 of a central power, just as we now see 
 them, proposing this Confederation, he should 
 have declared that if such a plan had been 
 adopted then it would have prevented the 
 severance of the British connection. 
 
 Hon. Mr. HOLTON— This scheme is 
 looked upon as equal to independence. 
 
 iVlR. MORBIS— Is that the opinion of the 
 honorable member? I think that far different 
 views prevail in Britain. In 1858, when 
 British Columbia was erected into a colony, 
 it was found then that the Commons of Britain 
 had no intention of surrendering the fair pos- 
 sessions of Britain on this continent, and Her 
 Majesty wiis advised to say : — • 
 
 Her Majosty hopes that the new colony in the 
 Pacific may be but one step in the career of 
 steady progress, by which Her Majesty's dominions 
 in North Amsrica may ultimately he peopled in 
 an unbroken chain from the Atlantic to the Pacific 
 by a loyal, industrious population of subjects of 
 the British Crown. 
 
 (Hear, hear.) I say, sir, that there is no 
 evidence whatever that the statesmen of 
 Britain look upon this great scheme as in- 
 volving the severance of our connection with 
 the Empire ; but these utterances, as read 
 here the other night by the honorable member 
 from Montreal Centre, prove directly the con- 
 trary. If breaking off from the Mother 
 
Couiitiy were its tendency, then I, lor one, 
 would not support it, nor would it be sup- 
 ported by any of thocie honorable gentlemen 
 who so strongly advocate it. I am not 
 afraid to say that any government which 
 dared to bring down such a mcanii^e would be 
 hurled from their places. (Hear, hear.) 
 But, Mr. Spkakeb, I have been led into the 
 disouBiion of this question oi connection with 
 the Mother Country at much greater length 
 than I had intended, by the suggestions of hon . 
 members, and I will take the liberty of call- 
 ing the attention of tho House to a passage 
 from a work I have already referred to^ and 
 in which we find an exposition of the policy 
 which governed the administration of Lord 
 John Russell. I find there an elaborate 
 argument to prove chat the colcnies are an 
 advantage to Britain, and thac Britain of 
 courae is an advantage to the colonies ; and 
 on the mere ground of material interest, if 
 there were no other — if deeper and stronger 
 ties did nob exist as they do — I feel satisfied 
 that this country would not be prepared to 
 take the first step towards the severance of 
 our connection with England, and the iu88 
 of that prestige and power which go with 
 every British subject to every civilized part 
 of the globe, enabling him to say, like the 
 old Romau, " I am a British citizen." Earl 
 Grey states that : — 
 
 The possession of a number of steady and 
 faithful allies, in various quarters of the globe, 
 will surely be admitted to add greatly to the 
 ■trength of any nation; whil'e no alliance be- 
 tween independent states can be so close and 
 intimate as the connection which unites the 
 colonies to the United Kingdom as parts of the 
 Great BritiUi Empire. Nor ought it to be for- 
 
 S often, that the power of a nation does not 
 epend merely on tno amount of physical force it 
 can comramud, but rests, in no small de^r^e, upon 
 opinion and morai influence. In this respect 
 British power would be diminished b; the loss ot 
 our colonics, to a degree which it wpuld be 
 difficult to estimate. 
 
 Passing on a little, we find him saying : — 
 
 To the lav^. .• [i. f- the colonists] it is no doubt 
 of fttr greater importance ihuu to the forirer, 
 because, while still forming comparatively small 
 and weak communities, they enjoy, in return for 
 their allegiance to the British Crown, all the 
 security aud consideration which belongs to them 
 as members of one of the most powerful states in 
 the world. No foreign power vento'-es to attack 
 or interfere with the smallest of them, ^yhile 
 every colonist carries with him to the remotest 
 quarters of the globe which ha may visit, in trad- 
 ing or other pursuits, that protection which the 
 character of a British subject everywhere confers. 
 
 (Hear, hear.) But to view tho subject in 
 another aspect. I believe it will be found 
 that all the conditions are combined in the 
 scheme now before ua, that are considered 
 necessary for the foimation on a permanent 
 basis of a Federative union. I hold in my 
 hand n book of some note on Representa- 
 tive Government, by John Stuart Mill, 
 and I find that he lays down three condi- 
 tions as applicable to the union of in- 
 dependent states, and which, by parity of 
 reasoning, aie applicable to provinces which 
 seek to have a closer alliance with each 
 other, and also, thereby, a closer alliance 
 with the Mother C >untry. The conditions 
 he lays'down are, first, — 
 
 That there should be a sufficient amount of 
 mutual sympathy among the populations. 
 
 And he states that the sympathies which they 
 should have in common should be^— 
 
 Those of race, language, religion, and, above 
 all, of political institutions, as conducing moat to 
 a feeling of identity of political intefest. 
 
 Hon Mr. HOLTON— Hear, hear. 
 
 Mr. morris — We possess that strong 
 tie of mutual sympathy in a high degree. 
 We have the same systems of government, 
 and the same politictU institutions. We are 
 part of the same great Empire, and that is 
 tho real tie which will bind us together in 
 future time. The second condition laid 
 down is : — 
 
 That the sepamie states be not so powerful as 
 to be able to rely for protection against foreign 
 encroachment on their individual strength. 
 
 That is a condition which applies most forci- 
 bly in our case. (Hear, hear.) The third 
 condition is :- — 
 
 That there be not a very marked inequality of 
 strength among the several contracting states. 
 
 Hon. Mr. DORION— Hear, hear. 
 Mr. morris — Allow me to proceed with 
 tho extract : — 
 
 They cannot, indeed, be exactly equal in 
 resources; .'n all federations t^eie will be a 
 gradation of power among the members ; some 
 will be more populous, rich, and civilized than 
 others. There is a wide difference in wealth 
 between New York and Rhode Island. 
 
 Just as there is between Canada and Prince 
 Edward Island. I trust I have satisfied my 
 hon. friend from Hocheliiga (Hon. Mr, 
 DoRXONj, that Mr. Mill's views are entirely 
 applicable to our position. (Hear, hear.) 
 I now proceed to state my belief that we 
 will find gA.at advantages in the future^ in 
 
 I 
 
9 
 
 some 
 
 IQ 
 
 the poBSession of a otrong Central Govern- 
 ment and looal or municipal parliaments, 
 such as are proposed for our adoption. I 
 believe the scheme will be found in fact and 
 in practice — by its combination of the better 
 features of the American system with those 
 of tic British Constitution — to have very 
 great practical advantages. I shall read an 
 extract from an article in the London 
 Times, written in 1858, bearing on this 
 subject, ard which brings very clearly into 
 view the distinction between the system 
 which has been proposed for our adoption, 
 and that which has been adopted in the 
 States. The great weakness of the American 
 system has lain in the fact that the several 
 states, on entering the union, claimed inde- 
 pendent jurisdiction ; that they demitted to 
 the Central Government certain powers, and 
 that they claimed eaual and sovereign 
 powers with regard to everything not so 
 delegated and demitted. The weaknesses 
 and difficulties of that system have been 
 avoided in the project now before us, and 
 we have the central power with defined and 
 sovereign powers, and the local parliaments 
 with their defined and delegated powers, but 
 subordinated to the central power. The 
 article says : — 
 
 It is quite clear that the Federal Constitution 
 of the United States of America forms a precedent 
 which cannot possibly be followed in its principles 
 or details by the united colonies, so long as tney 
 remain part of the dominions of the Imperial 
 Crown. The principle of the American Feder- 
 ation is, that each is a sovereifTi state, which 
 consents to delegate to a central authority a 
 portion of its sovereign power, leaving the re- 
 mainder which is not so delegated absolute and 
 intact in its own hands. This is not the position 
 of the colonies, each of which, instead of being 
 an isolated sovereign state, is an integral pert of 
 the British Empire. They cannot delegate their 
 sovereign authority to a central government, 
 because they do not possess the sovereign author- 
 ity to delegate. The only altei native as it seems 
 to us would be to adopt a course exactly the 
 contrary of that which the United States adopted, 
 and instead of taking for their motto E Pluribua 
 Unum, to invert it by saying /n Utto Plura. 
 
 (Hear, hear.) 
 
 Hon. Mtt. HOLTON— What arc you 
 reading from ? 
 
 Mr. MORRIS— From the London Times, 
 and I quote the article on account of the 
 force of the remarks themselves, apart from 
 the stajiding of the journal in which they 
 appear : — 
 
 2 
 
 The first steps towards a Federation of t'le 
 American Colonies would thus be to form them 
 all into one state, to give that state a completely 
 organized government, and then to delegate to 
 each of the colon js out of which that great 
 state is formed, such powers of local government 
 as may be thought necessary, reserving to the 
 Central Government all such powers as are not 
 expressly delegated. The Government of New 
 Zealand forms a precedent well worthy the atten- 
 tion of those who are undertaking this arduous 
 negotiation. 
 
 And I oannot doubt that tho framers of this 
 Constitution have studied the precedent as 
 well of the proposed Constitution of Austra- 
 lia, as that of the Constitution of Now Zea< 
 land which has been in use for ten years 
 past. 
 
 Hon. Me. HOLTON— How does it work ? 
 
 Mr. morris — I have not been there — 
 (laughter) —but I know that from a small 
 popmation of 26,000 in all the New Zealand 
 provinces when that Constitution was given 
 them, they have risen in ten years to a po- 
 pulation of 250,000 — indicating certainly 
 growth and progress. 
 
 Hon. Mr. HOLTON — As we have grown 
 in spite of that terribly bad union you wish 
 to <aO away with. 
 
 Mr. MORRIS — True, we have -grown and 
 progressed under the present union. But 
 the hon. gentleman knows the heart-burn- 
 ings we have had in the past. I have not 
 been in Parliament so long as thct honorable 
 gentleman. But I recollect, when I first 
 took a seat in this House, the state of excite- 
 ment which then prevailed, and which con- 
 tinued, making government practically im- 
 possible. For we had governments maintain- 
 ing themselves session after session by 
 majorities of one or two — shewing that it 
 was impossible for any government to con- 
 duct public afiPairs with that dignity and 
 success with which a government ought to 
 conduct them. But, as I have stated, I 
 think the Conference has been exceedingly 
 happy in the plan they have submitted for 
 our adoption. A community of British free- 
 men as we are, deliberately surveying our 
 past as well as our present position, and look- 
 ing forward to our future, we in effect resolve 
 that we will adhere to the protection of the 
 British Crown ; that we will tell the 
 GoLDViN SaiiTE school — these who are 
 orying out for cutting off the colonies — 
 that we will cling to the old Mother Land 
 — (hear, hear) — we desire to maintain our 
 oonneotion ; we have no desire to withdraw 
 
10 
 
 :: 
 
 ounelTes fiom that protection we have so 
 long enjoyed ; but we desire, while remain- 
 ing under that protection, to do all that 
 lies in our power for our self-defence, and 
 for the development of all the great intctesta 
 which Providence has committed to our 
 trust ; and we seek at the hands of the Bri- 
 tish Parliament such legislation as will enable 
 us to accomplish these great ends for the 
 whole of British America. (Heir, hear.) 
 Why, what a domain do we possess ! We 
 have over three milliocs of square miles of 
 territory — large enough, certainly, for the 
 expansion of the races which inhabit this 
 country ; and our desire is, in the language 
 of a late colon' .il minister — language which, 
 I believe, well expresses the views and senti- 
 ments of the people of all these provinces — 
 we would approach the British people, the 
 British Government, and our Sovereign, with 
 this language: "We desire, by your aid, 
 with your sanction and permission, to attempt 
 to add another community of Christian free- 
 men to those by which Great Britain confides 
 the records of her Empire, nut to pyramids 
 and obelisks, but to states and communities, 
 whose history will be written in her lan- 
 guage." That was the language of the 
 Colonial Secretary, Sir Bulwer Lytton, 
 when ho proposed and carried out the setting 
 off of a new colony on the Pacific shore^ 
 language certainly which indicated a firm 
 and sure reliance in the power and efficacy 
 of British institutions — tnat these institu- 
 tions would be found capable of all the 
 expansion requisite to meet the circumstances 
 of a new country, and of any body of British 
 freemen to whom the care of these institu- 
 tions may be entrusted. (Hear, hear.) But 
 I fear I have been teszpted to forget the 
 excellent example of my honorable friend 
 from Lambton. (Cries of " No, no," " go 
 on.") I desire very briefly to notice two or 
 three immediate advantages which, in my 
 judgment, would be derived from the 
 consummation, under one centra! power 
 with local municipal parliaments, of a union 
 of the Canadas with the Maritime Provinces. 
 Let us glance at what is their position, in 
 relation to the great military power which 
 is riling on the other side of the lines. Let 
 us see what they are thinking of tis there. 
 One of their eicinent statesmen suggested 
 some years ago, that they should cultivate 
 our acquaintance, while we were still 
 " incurious of our destiny." But we have 
 pawed that state. Wa have becoma ourious 
 
 6T 
 
 of our destiny, and are seeking, as far as wo 
 can, to place it on a sure and certain basis. 
 (Hear, hear.) Hero is the view taken of 
 our position by an American writer : — 
 
 They have now no comprehensive power 
 that embraces the interests of all — that acts 
 on the prosperity of the aeacoast and interior 
 — of commerce and agnculture where they are 
 seemingly rivals — that gives uniformity in tarifiti 
 and taxes, and the enconra^ement that shall be 
 entrusted to the fishing, mining and other graat 
 interests. 
 
 That is a view of the position of these 
 provinces to which I commend to the attention 
 of my hon. friends from Chateaugnay and 
 Hochelaga. I ask, is it not a correct view? 
 Is not that the position in which we have 
 long been ? At .1 1 believe the result of this 
 union will be to do away with that state of 
 things. (Hear, hear.) I believe that when 
 these colonies are combined, acting in 
 concert, and quickened and invigorated by a 
 feeling of mutual dependence and interest, 
 the tendency will be to increase their wealth 
 and manufactures, anu general strength. 
 And, sir, I am satisfied one of the great 
 advantages cf this union will be found in this 
 that we will be raised above our sectionalisms, 
 and come to feel and to act as the citizens 
 of a great country, with destinies committed 
 to us such as may well evoke the energies of 
 a great people. But I desire to point out 
 another practical advantage which, I think, 
 is of no mean or slight moment : and it 
 is this:— Bound as we are to England, 
 by the closest ties, and vet enjoying our owu 
 government, England is still compelled to 
 act for us in all matters of an international 
 nature. But, when we have for all these 
 British provinces one General Government, 
 able to take an oversight of the whole, and 
 to btcend to all their various interests, we 
 will be able to represent to Britain on 
 behalf of the whole, with a force and power 
 we have never before been able to use, what 
 these interests are ; w6 will be able to press 
 them home on the attention of British 
 statesmen in such a manner as will lead them 
 to appreciate, and seek to protect those in* 
 terests in their negotiations with foreign 
 powers. I would allude, as an illustration 
 of what I mean, to the Beciprooity Treaty, 
 and I cannot refrain from reading a very 
 striking extract from a report presented to 
 the United States House of Representatives, 
 in 1862, from the Committee of Commerce on 
 the Reciprocity Treaty. I ask the attention 
 
a 
 
 of the HouM to this extract, as shewing hew 
 the United States have beea able to take 
 advantage of our isolated condition— oar want 
 v^f central power and authority — to gain for 
 themselves advantages in the negotiation of 
 that treaty, suoh as they could not have ob- 
 tained or even sought, bad we been in a 
 poiiition to present all the advantages, in 
 negotiations with the United States, which 
 Canada and the Maritime Provinces as a 
 whole could present. Instead of the Ameri- 
 can statesmen having to negotiate with the 
 separate governments of separate provinces, 
 they would have to negotiate with the com- 
 bined interests of British North America. 
 I read this extract as a very striking one, 
 and as entitled, on account of the source 
 from which it comes, to some weight. In 
 the report I have referred to, the natural 
 results of the treaty and of its abrogation 
 are thus spoken of : — 
 
 A great and mutnally beneficial increase in onr 
 commerce with Canada was the natural and pri- 
 mary result of the treaty. Many oausea of irrita- 
 tion were removed, and a iurge accession to our 
 ti-ada was acquired, tbrough the treaty, with the 
 Maritime Provinces. Argumeits founded upon 
 the results of the treaty as a whole, with the vari- 
 ous provinces, have a valid and incontrovertible 
 application against the unconditional and complete 
 abrogation of the treaty, so far as it refers to 
 provmces against which no complaint is made. 
 The isolated and disconnected condition of the 
 various governments of these provinces to each 
 other, and the absence of their real responsibility 
 to any common centre, are lilUe understood. No 
 fault is found with the acts of Newfoundland, 
 Prince Edward Island, Nova Scotia and New 
 Brunswick. Theie separate provinces and that 
 of Canada have each a separate tariff and legis- 
 lature, and neither of them is accountable to or 
 for any other. An abrogation of the treaty, as a 
 whole, would therefore be a breach of good faith 
 towards the other provinces, even if it were ex- 
 pedient to adopt such a course towards Canada, 
 but no advantages gained by the treaty with the 
 Maritime Provinces can be admitted as offsets in 
 favor of Canada. Each province made its own 
 bargain, and gave and received it" separate equi- 
 valent. 
 
 (Hear, hear.) This is an instance of some 
 moment, and I believe the same principles 
 will be found to apply to all those ques- 
 tions on which, in the future history of 
 this Confederation, it will be found neces- 
 sary to confer with foreign governments, 
 through the Mother Country. No longer 
 detached and isolated from each other, wo 
 will bo able to present a combined front, 
 and to urge the advantages which may 
 
 be derived from the exhaustless fisheries of 
 the Lower Provinces, as well as those 
 afforded by Canada. (Hear, hear.) The 
 defence question has been alluded to very 
 frequeniy- in this debate. I think there 
 really cannot be a question that it would be 
 for the advantage, not only of Britain, but of 
 each one of these provinces, that on such 
 subjects as the militia, and on all kindred 
 questions, such as those relating to aliens, 
 the observance of neutrality and like sub- 
 jects, there should be a general and uniform 
 action ; that, seeing the action of any one of 
 the colonies might involve the parent state 
 in war, there should not be separate and 
 distinct action, but one uniform action, on 
 all that class of national and international 
 subjects, throughout the whole of the 
 British Provinces. I cannot help thinking 
 that in practice an immense advantage would 
 be derived frot the introduction of such a 
 system. It is not my forte, as that of some 
 hon. gentlemen, to speak with regard to the 
 defence question. There are other hon. 
 members who understand that subject 
 thoroughly, and will no doubt doal with it in 
 a satisfactory manner. But I cauuot help 
 thinking that a uniform system of militia 
 and marine for British North America would 
 be powerfully felt in the history of this con- 
 tinent. 
 
 Hon. Ma. HOLTO.V— Are we to have a 
 navy ? 
 
 M.i. MORRIS— The hon. gentleman no 
 doubt listened with interest to the speech of 
 the President of the Council, and he might 
 have learned from that, that we had a navy 
 jf which any country might be proud, de- 
 voted to the pursuits of honest industry, 
 and which causes us to rank even iu 
 our infancy us the third maritime power 
 in the world. And should the time of need 
 come — as I trust it never may — I am satis- 
 fied that iu the Gulf, on tho St. Lawrence, 
 and on the lakes, there would be enough of 
 bold men and brave hearts to man that navy. 
 (Hear, hear.) I would further rem irk, that 
 under the proposed system, local interests 
 would be much better cared for. I am 
 satisfied tho local interests of all the separate 
 
 f)rovincos would be better cared for, it their 
 egislatures were divested of those large sub- 
 jects of general interest which now absorb 
 — ^and necessarily so — so much of our time 
 and attention. (Hear, hear.) I will now 
 only mention briefly one or two incidental 
 advantages which I believe will be found to 
 accrue in the future from our position as 
 
19 
 
 united provinces of the British Empire. I 
 will not at this late hour of the night, as I see 
 the House is wearied — (cries of " No, no," 
 "Goon.") — I will not quote any fixtures to 
 shew the extent of intercolonial trade that will 
 sprinpr up with the Maritime Provinces and 
 with the West India provinces. ?ome years 
 ago there was, as mercantile men well know, 
 a large trade conducted with the West India 
 Islands, which, from various circumstances, 
 has almost entirely ceased. I believe that, 
 when the provinces are united, not only will 
 a large trade spring up in those agricultural 
 and other products which are now supplied 
 to the Lower Provinces from the United 
 States, but a trade will also be established 
 with the West India Islands. Some time 
 ago I took the trouble to look into the figures, 
 and I was surprised to find how large a trade 
 was conducted twenty-five years ago with 
 those islands ; and 1 believe that, by carry- 
 ing out this union, we will have facilities 
 for establishing such commercial relations as 
 will lead to the reopening of that valuable 
 trade. 
 
 Hon. Mr. HOLTON— You should bring 
 in the West India Islands also. 
 
 Mr. MORRIS— Tho hon. gentleman is 
 very anxious to extend the Confederation. 
 (Laughter.) I have known him lor long 
 years as a Federalist, and I believe he is only 
 sorry that we do uot go a little faster. I am 
 satisfied that when Confederation is accom- 
 plished, he will be one of its most hearty 
 supporters. (Hear, hear.) I would now, 
 Mr. Speaker, desire to quote a few words 
 from a leciure delivered some years ago by 
 Principal Dawson, of Montreal, awell-known 
 Nova Scotian, and who is distinguished for 
 his thorough acquaintance with the Maritime 
 Provinces. He says : — 
 
 Their progress in population and wealth is slow, 
 in comparison with that of Western America, 
 though equal to the average of that of the Amer- 
 ican Union, and more rapid than that of the older 
 states. Their agriculture is rapidly improving, 
 maoufacturing and mining enterprises are extend- 
 ing tLemselves, and railways are being built to 
 connect them with the more inland parts of the 
 continent. Like Great Britain, they posaess im- 
 portant minerals in which the neighboring parts 
 of the continent are deficient, and enjoy the ut- 
 most facilities for commerciul pursuits. Ultima- 
 tely, therefore, they must have with the United 
 StateK, Canada and the fur countries, the same 
 commercial relations that Britain maintains with 
 western, central, and northern Europe. Above 
 all, ihej form the great natural oceanic termina- 
 tion of the great valley of the St Lawrence -, and 
 
 although its commerce has hitherto, by the skill 
 and industry of its neighbours, been drawn across 
 the natural barrier which Providence has placed 
 between it and the seaports of the United States, 
 it must ultimatelv take its natural channel ; and 
 then not only will the cities on. the St. Lawrence 
 be united by the strongest common interests, but 
 they will be bound to Acadia by ties mon close 
 than any merely political union. The great 
 thoroughfares to the rich lands and noble scenery 
 of the west, and thence to the sea-breezes and 
 salt-water of the Atlantic, and to the great seats 
 of industry and art in the old world, will pass 
 along the St. Lawrence, and through the Lower 
 Provinces. The surplus agricultural prodnce of 
 Canada will find its nearest consumers among th« 
 miners, shipwrights, mariners, and fishermen of 
 Acadia I and they will send back the treasures of 
 their mines and of their sea. This ultimate fusion 
 of all the populations extending along this great 
 river, valley and estuary, and the establishment 
 throughout its course of one of the principal 
 streams of American commerce, seems in the na- 
 ture of thinc^s inevitable; and there is already a 
 large field for the profitable employment of lab- 
 orers and capital in accelerating this desirable 
 result. 
 
 Such, I believe, Mr. Speaker, will be found 
 to be the results ot the steps now being 
 taken. (Hear, hear.) Id conclusion, I 
 would desire to call attention to the advan- 
 tages we will enjoy in consequence of oar 
 being able to do something to secure the 
 development of the immense tract of country 
 lying beyond us — Central British North 
 America, popularly known as the Great 
 North West. If Canadians are to stand 
 still and allow American energy and enter- 
 prise to press on as it is doing towards that 
 country, the inevitable result mubt be that 
 .that great section of territory will be taken 
 possession of by the citizens of the neighbor- 
 ing states. The question is one of great 
 interest to the people of Canada. Years 
 ago Canadian industry pushed its way up 
 the valley of the Ottawa to the Great North 
 West. In 1798 the North- West Company 
 had in its employment not less than 12,000 
 persons ; and there is no reason in the world 
 why the trade which was then carried on 
 should not be reestablished between the 
 North-West and Canada. No insuperable 
 obstacles stand in the way. A practicable 
 route exists which can be used by land and 
 by water, and there is no reason why the 
 necessary steps should not be taken to secure 
 the development of the resources of that 
 country and making them tributary to 
 Canada. (^Hear, hear.) I think it was a 
 wise foresight on the part of the gentlemen 
 
 is; 
 mi. 
 an( 
 
18 
 
 who prepared the plan now before us, that 
 they laid this down as one of the principal 
 features of the scheme — that they regarded 
 the development of the North-West as 
 necessary for the security and the promotion 
 of the best interests of British North 
 America. (Hear, hear.) If the House will 
 bear with me, Mr. Spsakeh, I would ask 
 hon. members to consider for a moment the 
 extent of the territory there possessed. An 
 American writer, who estimates it at 
 2,600,000 square miles, puts it ia this 
 way : — 
 
 How large is that? It is fifteen and a half 
 times larger than the State of California; about 
 thirty-eight times as large as the State of New 
 York; nearly twice as large as the thirty-one 
 States of the Union ; and, if we omit the territory 
 of Nebraska, as large as all our states and terri- 
 tories combined. 
 
 Between the settled portions of Canada and 
 the Red lliver country, there are areas of 
 arable land, ranging from 200,000 acres 
 downwards, with facilities for opening up 
 communication by land and water; and I 
 do not wonder that the late Sir GEORaE 
 Simpson, while making his celebrated 
 journey round the world, in passing from 
 Montreal to Red River, and thence overland 
 to the Pacific, should be struck with the 
 extraordinary advantages of this country, 
 and that on one occasion, when surveying 
 the magnificent expanse of inland l&ke and 
 river navigation, in the midst of a fertile 
 country, he should exclaim — 
 
 Is it too much for the eye of philanthropy to 
 discern through the vista of futurity this noble 
 stream, connecting, as it does, the fertile shores 
 of two spacious lakes, with crowded steamboats 
 on its bosom, and populous towns on its borders ? 
 
 (Applause.) Sir Georoe Simpson was 
 not a man likely to be carried away 
 by mere impulse ; but viewing the prospect 
 before him, he could not refrain from 
 breskiog forth ia the glowing language I 
 have quoted. Then glance for a moment 
 at the Saskatchewan, the Assiniboine and 
 the Red River country, with the Red River 
 settlement of 10,000 people, forming the 
 nucleus for a future province — a nucleus 
 around which immigration could be drawn 
 so as to build up in that distant region a 
 powerful section of the Confederation. It 
 is a country which eiabraoes 360,000 square 
 miles, and the Red River, Lake Winnipeg, 
 and the Saskatohewan afford a navigable 
 
 water line of 1,400 miles. And what is the 
 character of the country ? On this point I 
 would quote Professor Hind, who describes 
 the valley of the Red River and a 'large 
 portion of the country on its aflluent, the 
 Assiniboine, as <' a paradise of feitility." 
 He could speak of it in no other terms 
 " than of astonishment and admiration." He 
 adds that as an agricultural country the 
 character of the soil could not be surpas&ed, 
 affirming in proof of this assertion : — 
 
 That all kinds of farm produce common in 
 Canada succeed admirably in the District of 
 Assiniboia, and that as an agricultural country 
 it will one day rank amone; the most dislin- 
 g Dished. 
 
 Nor are there any difficulties of climate. If 
 any hon. member will take the trouble to 
 examine that exoellant work in our library, 
 Blodgett'a Climatoloffy, he will find it stated 
 as having been '■' demonstrated that the 
 climate of "the North- West coast, and of the 
 interior towards Lake Winnipeg, is quite the 
 reverse of that experienced in the same 
 latitude on the Atlantic, and is highl/ 
 favorable to occupation and settlement." 
 (Hear, hear.) Mr. Speaker, I desire now 
 to place before the House the extent of the 
 territory we possess in the Atlantic and 
 Pacific Provinces. The Atlantic Provinces 
 comprise Canada East, with an area of 
 201,989 square miles ; Canada West, 148,- 
 832 ; New Brunswick, 27,700 ; Nova Scotia, 
 18,746; Prince Edward Island, 2,134; 
 Newfoundland, 35,913— together 435,314 
 square miles, to which add the territory of 
 Labrador, 5,000 miles, making a grand total 
 of 440,314 square miles, embracing a popu- 
 lation of something like 4,000,000 of touls. 
 The Pacific Provinces are British Columbia, 
 containing 200,000 square miles, and Van- 
 couver's Island, with 12,000 square miles; 
 and there is the territory of Hudson's Bay 
 (including Central British North America), 
 with 2,700,000 square miles. (Hear, hear.) 
 I desire now, sir, to thank the House for 
 the patience with which hon. members have 
 listened to my remarks. I rose at a late 
 hour in the evening, and seeing that the 
 House was wearied when I commenced, I 
 did not wish to prolong the debate. I have 
 thus shortened very much the remarks I 
 intended to offer, and have treated only 
 hurriedly and casually on many points which 
 might have engaged further attention under 
 other circumstances. I desire to express 
 my confident opinion, before closing, that 
 
 I 
 
 ' J 
 
14 
 
 this great scheme is not one whioh ought to 
 he faotionily met. For if ever there waa a 
 plan sabmitted to any legislature which 
 desefved to be treated with an avoidance of 
 party feeling, it is this. (Hear, hear.) It 
 is evident that in the House there are a 
 large majority in favor of theplauj and while 
 it is their duty to concede to the minority — 
 what is the right of the minority — the 
 opportunity of stating their objections to it, 
 it is, on the other hand, an evidence of the 
 strongest kind that the majority, in support- 
 ing this measure, believe they are doing the 
 best for their oouniry, and that it is a measure 
 which meets the popular sanction and ap- 
 proval, when they avow by their own ant 
 their readiness to return to the people 
 for their approval of the steps they have 
 thought proper to take. (Hear, hoar.) It 
 is the duty of those who are in favor 
 of the scheme — and I believe there are 
 a very large majority who see in it 
 advantages of the most substantial kind — I 
 am firm^ persuaded that it is a duty they 
 owe to those who sent them to th's House, 
 it is a duty they owe to the country, it is a 
 duty they owe to the great empire of which 
 wo form a part, to bring this scheme to a 
 speedy consummation. I am glad, sir, in 
 taking a retrospect of the three eventful 
 years during which I have had a seat in this 
 House, to reflect that on the first occasion 
 I had the honor of addressing the House, in 
 1861, I declared myaelf in favor of an aimlo- 
 gous scheme to that we are now discu sing ; 
 that I then expressed myself in favor of a 
 general government of the British North 
 American Provinces, with separate local 
 legislatures, in the following terms, when 
 .speaking of the question of representtttion 
 by population : — 
 
 He had confidence that men would be fonnd able 
 to meet the question fairly and to come down 
 with a measure satisfactory to the country. It 
 might be that that measure would be one which 
 would bring tozether the different provinces of 
 British North America into a union, formed on 
 such a basis as would give to the people of each 
 province the right to manage their own internal 
 affairs, while at the same time the whole shou^U 
 provide for the management of matters of common 
 concern, so ns to secure the consolidation of the 
 Britannic power on this continent. 
 
 I hare held this opinion ever since I have 
 had the capacity of thinking of the destiny 
 of this country, and I would beg to be 
 allowed further to quote language I used in 
 1850. Reviewing at that time^ is I have 
 
 done hurriedly to-night, the extent of our 
 possessions, and the groat advantages we 
 would be able to obtain by the union now 
 proposed to be carried iuto eflfeot, I spoke 
 as tollows, in a lecture on the Hudson Bay 
 and Pacific territory, delivered in Montreal : 
 
 With two powerful colonies on the Pacific, with 
 another or more in the region between Canada 
 and the Rocky Monntains, with a railway and a 
 teleg^raph linking the Atlantic with the Pacific, 
 and our inland and ocean channels of trade 
 becoming a ereat thoroughfare of travel and of 
 commerce^ wno can doubt of the reality and the 
 accuracy of the vision which rises distinctly and 
 clearly defined before ns, as the great Britannic 
 Empire of the North stands out in all its gran- 
 deur, and in all the brilliancy of its magnificent 
 future 1 Some hard matter-of-fact thinker, some 
 keen utilitarian, some plodding man of business, 
 may point the finger of scorn at us and deem all 
 this but an empty shadow — but the fleeting fan- 
 tasy of a dreamer. Be it so. Timo is a worker 
 of miracles — ay, and of sober realities, too ; bat 
 when we look east and west and north ; when we 
 cause the goodly band of the north-men from 
 Acadia, and Canada, and the North- West, and the 
 Columbia, and^the Britain of the Pacific, to defile 
 before us, who are the masters of so vast a ter- 
 ritory, of a heritage of such surpassing value ; and 
 when we remember the rapid rise into greatness, 
 as one of the powers of the earth, of the former 
 American colonies, and look back over their 
 
 Srogresa, who can doubt of the future of these 
 iritish Provinces, or of the entire and palpable 
 reality of that vision which rises so grandly before 
 us of this Great British Empire of the North — 
 of that new English-speaking nation which will at 
 one and no distant day people all this northern 
 continent — a Russia, as has been well said, it may 
 be, but yet an English Russia, with free institu- 
 tions, with high civilization, and entire fi-eedom 
 of speech and thought — with its face to the south 
 and its back to the pole, with its right and left 
 resting on the Atlantic and the Pacific, and with 
 the telegraph and the iron road connecting the 
 two oceans 7 
 
 (Applause.) Such, Mr. Speaker, is the 
 vision which is present to myself and to 
 many others who, like myself, whether in 
 Upper or Lowe- Canada, are " to the manor 
 born," and whose all and whose destiny is 
 here. I know and feel, and am assured that 
 if the people of these British Provinces are 
 but true to themselves, and if the statesmen 
 of Britain bow act aright their part in this 
 great crisis of our national history, this vision 
 will be realized. We will have the pride to 
 belong to a great country still attached to 
 the Orown of Great Britain, but in which, 
 notwithstanding, we shall have entire free- 
 dom of aotion and the blessins;^ of responsible 
 
15 
 
 self-goyernmuat ; and I am satisfied we will 
 see as the resulta of this union all that we 
 could possibly imagine as its fruits. ^Hear, 
 hear.) Thanking the House for their kind 
 attention, I have only to say further, that I 
 believe the plan under which we seek to ask 
 the Parliament of Great Britain to legislate 
 
 for us is a wise and judicious one, and which 
 not only deserves, but which I am confident 
 will receive, the hearty support of the repre- 
 sentatives and of the people of this province, 
 and to which I, for one, shall feel it my duty 
 to give my warmest and most cordial sanction. 
 (Load cheers.) 
 
 in 
 
 ^1 
 
 8:11