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PARLIAMENTARY DEBATES,

8bd session, 8th PARLIAMENT, CANADA.

SPEECH

DELIVERED IN THE LEGISLATIVE ASSEMBLY

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

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

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^

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

some

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 : —

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

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

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

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

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(

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

' J

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

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.)

8:11