UU-nnkr $B 7EM 20M 1) C.L., portrait, 8vo, morocco, extra . ao a ('* anaMati . DEDICATi: Tills VOLUME. The JUthor. 514515 PREFACE. "YT O canvass of the country baa been made fur opinions to put -*-' in this Look. We have approached our subject in cold blood, banishing sympathy from our heart ; neither have we rienoed the slightest tinge of remorse for the pain thai we moat liavr frequently occasioned through these pages. The historian or the surgeon with a soft heart is not of much bene- fit to his race. This book may seem to have taken s party trend. IVihaps it has. But the trend was with the Reformer till he turned Tory, and then with the < 'on^ervative who bad turned Liberal. We most unhesitatingly give our preference to the Conservatives now because of their more vigorous and liberal policy ; though we should have for thai political body a vastly increased admiration, did it accept Mr. Blake's doc- trine concerning treaty-making and commit itself to an ex- tinction of that legislative scare-emw, the Senate. This volume has been written hastily, so that several clerical errors have * jpt in ; but the opinion of the book must be taken exactly I »und on the page. Let us here express our gratitude to Mr. G. Mercer Adam for information, guidance and numer- ous hints while at our work, and for his revision of the sheets as they went through the press ; but this assistance, it is proper viii PREFACE. iv, was purely of a literary nature, and he is in no way responsible for the opinions in the book. Mr. Adam, with the modesty which is only equalled by his courtesy and merit, de- sired, in consequence of his connection with the sheets, that no mention should be made of him, save casually, in our chapter upon Canadian literature ; but we have not allowed this to interfere with a sense of duty. We are under obligations t<> Mr. J. Watson, of the legislative library, for attention and courtesy while making research among the very limited collec- tion of documents in that institution. We have no apology whatever to offer for the book. It must now fight its own way. THE AUTHOR. Toronto, 24th May, 1883. CONTENTS OHAPTEB I. MM Parentage of Sir J..hti A. Ml vh 1 and Bchool Dayi Choice of a Profession— Defence of Shoultz His Law Otto 4 Stat-. in* n" Incidents and charaoterittios of hi> F.ariv Kit'.- 'I '!:•■ hattl. -at Wind mill Point - - • - • - ... 17 ( H M'l'Kl; II. Political Dpi at !'• ' «-f Popular frtdOM in England TTw Family Oompi ;„'gle between Liberalism and Toryism The BabolMoa in L ower Ca nada lattowi Hil. Er Francis Sond Head -Lords ban S> 1-n ham— Bagot— Metcalfe. • OHAPTBB III. darity " If I wviv only prepared now I should try for the Le^i Yes, fOttdat 09 that stormy sky, I see my star Political Tumult playa the Hindoo Macdonald Um Council < 'ailed oul Manahan -Addreas- f the Time. 50 OB kPTXB iv. I m -Macdonald'a Early Toryism -The Character of 1. • Blood ami Whiskey low at the Election— The Fountain • f Honour a tainted Well, the Mirror of Justice a Mirage — Mr. Macdonald's A] parance in the 1/egialature— Historical Sketch of the Time. - 02 CHAPTER V. untaina— Macdonald'a First Spaech in the House, and its Efftot t'er^onal Sketches - H A : irance and Address— Supports the Law of Primogeniture -Put for thi8 Law Pitt and Fox would have ii "mere country squires" Apparent inconsistencies — Explanation — 11 A man is not bom zag early careers of Disraeli and Gladstone — Metcalfe's GonaeJaiMM begin • r drags him to the Epitaph Franklin sails] away to his Doom in the North. - . 72 x ' CONTENTS. CHAPTER VI. NM The Lights of '44— William Henry Draper Robert Baldwin— Louis Hypolite Lafontaine— Sir Allan Mac Nab— Dominick Daly— Robert Baldwin Sulli- van- Mi.n. 1>. B. Vigor- John Sandfield Macdonald. - - - - 8G CHAPTKB VII. The Last Days ..f Toryism The Traotarian Movement at Oxford Kehle and Newman- The Repot] Movement in Irolmrt The Greet (y( 'onnell — Rise and ( ioUofNM of his Movement Hm diant O'Connell totters and falls — The Irish Famine— I mini-ration to Canada The Oregon -boundary Dis- pute— Macd-nald's Star ( 'limbing— He " can atf«.rd to wait" Toryism's Last Appeal— Lord ld-in- Maedonald enters the Cabinet. - - - 99 CHAPTER VIII. Ruling in Storm BfcetoB of lb-hellion Losses Y I •ill provokes a Tory Howl The Storm Bursts Mob tro- and hum- Parliament Buildings — I >i\ . rs Figures seen throu_:h tie of the Troubles John A. Macdonald seen through the Tumult "The British North American League"—" Children of the Sun"— Parliament removed from Montreal. - 114 OHAPTSB IX. Fall of the "Great Ministry"— Causes producing the Catastrophe Mac- donald seen through the Situation— The Pope ( J- n\ manders Finland— ( anadian Echo of British Rage— George Brown attempts to overthrow tie- Papacy— He Fails— Brown and Gavazzi and the OloU— William Lyon Mackenzie— Sketch of- Defeats George Brown— Figure of John A. Mac- donald at these Sessions- The Ministry Tumbles—" The Weed had slain Balder"— The Hincks-Morin Ministry. 136 CHAPTER X. Proposal for Secularizing the Clergy Reserves -History of Reserves— History of Feudal Tenure in ada Agitation for Abolition of Tenui Francis Hincks— Augustin Norbert Morin — John Macdonald becomes con- troversial — Character of George Brown's first Speech in Legislature - General Sketch of the Period. 150 CHAPTER XL Birth of Liberal-Conservatism— England declares War against Russia — Con- elusion of Reciprocity Treaty — Hincks-Morin Ministry becomes Honey- combed—Mr. John A. Macdonald's Part in the Strife— " Steeped to the very lips in Infamy" — The " Bond of Common Plunder" — John Sandfield Macdonald's Revenge on Mr. Hincks— George Brown coquets with Con- servatives—He is ignored and flies into violent hostility— MacNab-Morin Ministry- Mr. John A. Macdonald becomes Attorney -General- West — Exit Lord Elgin — Dies in the Himalayas. 101 Al ■i CONTENTS. xi CHAPTER XII. PA6B Sir Edmund W. Head — Tache succeeds Morin -Denominational Schools— Pas- sage between George Brown and Hon. .John A. Maodonald— Tilt between Mr. John A. Maedonald and Col. Rankin — The Conservatives drop Sir Allan MacXah-- Hon. John A. Maolonald succeeds the Knight— Close of the Crimean War General Historic Record of the Time. - - - 18$ CHAPTER XIII. The Double Shuffle— Brown's " Vaulting Ambition overleaps itself, and falls on t'other -Me" Mr. .John A. Maedonald's part through the transaction — Discretion matched againat tapetuoeity going Blindfold Protection to Home Industries- heath of Mwin General Kvents. . \4&*v* OHAFTBB XIV. Transition The hark Hour preceding th» hawn Causes at work producing •ion Knihroiliueiit of Cpi'er with Lower Canada anent Representation by Population P.itP-r Parte Strife, and the chief Alltmi lfl John A. lim n through the Tumult Instability of Ministers — "The Fatal Balance of Parties" Condition of Thing! in N kin and X. ooaaioa of Southern State- Qenatnl lli~ v toiic ( hitlim I n< -iih-uts. 2M OHAPTBB w. >f the American Civil A\ bern Conuninion< • tv from ( 'anadian Frontier — Privateering -Cruise of the AUbaWM anIi— d«t A Murd.-rer in Town— British Columbia in F.rin.iit Mr. Mac- kenzie's Struggle for Dominion Kights— Stagnation in Trade— Proposal of .aional Policy The Political Tornado ; Mackenzie swept from Power ; Sir .John Reinstated: the Pacific Scandal Condoned-The New Tariff Governor Letellier— Recent Developments in New Bi -unswick— The Pacific Railway Syndicate- Sir John again Victorious— Sketch of Hon. A. W. McLelan ; Hon. John Costigan ; Chief Justice Sir W. J. Ritchie ; Hon. Edward Blake. 407 CHAPTER XXIII. Thought and Literature of Canada— The Future of Quebec ; Future of the Do- minion—French Canadian Litterateurs— The English-Canadian Writers- Canadian Prose and Song — Sketch of Work of Leading Writers— Canadian Independence. 435 CHAPTER XXIV. Summing up of Sir John's Work— The Premier seen on the Hustings : in the House of Commons ; in the Domestic Circle ; his Influence upon Public Life— Lady Macdonald in the Social Sphere — A Retrospect. - - - 499 APPENDIX, CHIEF SPEECHES DELIVEBED BY SIB JOHN SINCE HIS ENTBY INTO PUBLIC LIFE. 511 EiTBACTS FBOM LOBD DURHAM'S BEPORT. 621 LIFE AND TIMES OP THE RIGHT HONOURABLE SIR JOHN A. MACDONALD CHAPTER I. PAKKNTACK AND EARLY LIFE. IN tin rammer of 1820, a vessel neared the coast of Canada, and among the many anxious eyes that saw far tin first time the blue, hazy hills of tin- Dew land wherein they were to try their fortunes, was a small family group, one of which was a bright-eyed little boy of five years old, with a merry face and a wealth of dark curly hair. That were a prophet with a keen insight, indeed, into tin- great, dark future who could foretell that the child who clung to his mother's arm and looked glee- fully towards the shore was one day to rise to a place of the highest distinction in this strange land and become the most conspicuous figure in her history. At this time the mother country was full of wondrous stories concerning Canada ; how men going thither without a shilling in their pockets grew rich in half a dozen years ; that land pregnant with all the luxurious things of the earth was to be had for the taking, and that much of what was needed sprang spontaneously out of the soil. If the winter's frosts 18 LIFE OF S7B JOHN A. MACDONALD. an 1 BtU -\\> swy>- mentiu/ied it was but to give an added beauty to the picture; for the listener saw wide blue-glinting lakes and frozen winding streams over which the skater skimmed; and adown the snow-clad slopes came gleeful parties with ringing laughter and merry songs, upon their sleds. Above all, there blew over this fresh, fair land the breeze of liberty ; here every man was equal, and the position of the father was not a ladder by which his son rose to place above worthier men. It was no wonder, then, that the old land where the tyrant Custom had so long oppressed and galled the people, opened her loins and sent out the flow which so rapidly converted our vast wildernesses into thriving agricul- tural districts. Among others came Mr. Hugh Macdonald, who could trace his elan backward through nearly six centuries, till the great figure of Donald, in the thirteenth century, looms up as Lord of South Kintyre and the Island of Islay. He, the old annals tell, had been a powerful chief, and was not sparing of his clay- more when he met the foe. But as years began to tame his fire, he repented of his ways and set out for Rome, where, footsore and weary, he besought absolution of the Pope for his transgressions. He returned from Rome a subdued man, and gave much of his wide lands to Holy Church. He had a son, named Angus, more fierce and strong in the fight than himself, and this son rallied his clan about him, when the Nor- wegians came, to lend assistance to the strangers against the Scottish king. Angus left two sons, one of whom was Alex- ander, a name we trace down through some of the most noted members of the clan, and find borne to-day by the subject of this biography. Alexander was not less bold in war or aggressive in politics than his ancestors, and, as will be re- membered, joined his forces with those of Lord Lorn against Robert Bruce. But the Bruce proved stronger than the united chiefs, and Macdonald was cast into Dundonald Castle, where he died. Angus, the son of Alexander, was the greatest of the PARENTAGE AND EARLY LIFE. 19 clan of which Scottish story, up to this time, tells us ; he had all the military ardour of his ancestors, with more tact and foresight. He was not less respected than feared by Bruce — and we can fancy the calibre of the man whom Bruce would respect and fear — who gave to him the lands of Glencoe ; (fated between three and four centuries afterwards, to be the shambles of so many of his gallant clan) the islands of Mull, Tyree, and many others. The wisdom of these grants to a chief already too powerful, and who boasted through the legend in his anus a power unlimited "per mnr.\ per terras" might have well been doubted. r on, we find this haughty chief meddling in the affairs of tin- king, showing "just the edge of his steel" to the reign ; and then funning an alliance with the house of Stewart, by marrying a daughter of Robert, who became Scotland- next king. The history of this haughty island king and his successors fbrjna exciting reading, and we pause in wonder at the mighty clansmen grappling with the full Strength of the kingdom. Through all the turmoil of the story we see ambition striving at nothing short of a displacement of , power upon the main land, sometimes working itfl way through intrigue with the foreign foe, and again send- ing in tierce warriors, clad in tartans, and wielding thirsty olaymoreft, to grapple with the royal enemy in his own strong- holds. The student of Highland story has read of the treachery of James the First towards the clan. Despairing of subduing the untamable chiefs, the King sent out a message of peace, with words of good-will, to Alexander the island prince, and asked him to come, as a brother, with his most prominent followers and kinsmen, to Inverness, where he with his nobles would hold a parliament. Earl Macdonald came, and with him his mother, the Countess of Ross, Alexander MacGodfrey, of Gar- moran, and others. The great chief soon found that the King wanted him not for parley ; for the royal soldiers seized him- 20 LIFE OF SIR JOHN A. MACDONALD. self and his mother, both of whom were cast into a dungeon; and put MacGodfrey to death. This chieftain has a descend- ant and namesake whom we know of who would not have walked open-eyed into the trap of the Scottish King ! Alex- ander, however, was released upon promise of submission, but he had no sooner reached his sea-girt fastness than he buckled on his " warlike gear." He was overwhelmed, and compelled to beseech the royal clemency. It is told that he went to Edinburgh; and on the occasion of a solemn festival celebrated in the Chapel of Holyrood, on Easter Sunday, 1429, that the unfortunate chief, whose ancestors had treated with the Crown on the footing of independent princes, appeared before the assembled Court in his shirt and drawers, and implored on his knees, with a naked sword held by the point in his hand, the forgiveness of the monarch. The King was partly mollified, and sent Macdonald to Tantallon Castle, but later set him free, and conferred upon him all his old dominions. The direct line of the Lords of the Isles ended with Donald Macdonald, grandson of John Macdonald. This was a powerful chief, and he rallied four thousand men, and a hundred and eighty galleys, in his island dominions. After his death the unity of the family became broken, and its patrimony divided among several sub- families of the original stock. In later generations the Mac- donalds of Garragach and Keppoch became the Clanranald clan, and spelt their name Macdonnell, while the Glengarry Macdonald adopted a similar spelling, taking a new arms, with the motto of the Lord of the Isles — Per mare, per terras. The acknowledged representative of the original Macdonald clan is now the Macdonald of Sleat, though many deny his right to the title, and him Mr. Hugh Macdonald, who came of the same stock, recognised as his chief, as does his son, Sir John Alexander Macdonald, the subject of this book. The legend in the crest of Mr. Hugh Macdonald, as in that of his son, differs not from that of the family progenitor, PA B KXTA GE AND EA EL Y LIFE. 21 the Lord of the Isles, which proudly tells of dominion through land and sea. Mr, Hugh Macdonald was born in the parish of Dornoch, Sutherlandshire, but early in life moved to Glasgow. He mar- ried Helen Shaw, of Badenoch, Inverness-shire, by whom he had five children, of which three were boys, William, John Alexander and James ; and two girls, Margaret and Louisa. The birthplace of Canada's future statesman, as of the other members of the family, was George Street, Glasgow. William. the oldest of the children, died in Glasgow; James, the younger of the boys, died while a lad in Canada ; Margaret, who married professor James Williamson, of Queen's University, Kingston, has been dead for some yean ; and Louisa, who never married, is still Living at Kingston. When the emigration movement began, Mr. Hugh Macdnuald and his family, John Alexander being then in his fifth year, took passage far the inviting land of Canada. The early immigrants settled, whenever possible, convenient to the lakes or great rivers, for bere the inhabitants clustered together ; little .schools sprang up and rude highways connected one village with the other. Mr. Macdonald settled in Kingston, then the most important town in Upper Canada, near the historic fort of De Courceiles and Count Frontenac in suc- »n, and n. \t to Halifax and Quebec, the strongest fortress in British North Am. n i< a. This city ottered many inducements, in the form of excellent schools and churches, besides social ad- vantages not existing in other parts of Upper Canada. After residing here for upwards of four years, the family moved to Quinte* Bay, leaving John Alexander, then in his tenth year, at school in Kingston. The lad was placed at the Royal Grammar School, under the tuition of Dr. Wilson, a fellow of Oxford University, and subsequently under that of Mr. George Baxter. The most important settlement upon the Bay at this time was Adolphustown, and here Mr. Macdonald took up his abode, leasing a saw, grist and fulling mill at the Lake 22 LIFE OF SIR JOHN A. MACDONALD. of the Mountain, about a mile distant. Adolphustown, though only a quiet village now, where the tourist loves to linger in the summer days, is historic ground, and in the early history of the province was a centre of much business activity. Here it was that forty }-ears before the Hagermans, the Ruttans, and Macleans, headed by Capt. Van Alstine in a fleet of seven boats, guarded by the brig Hope carrying thirty guns, settled after their flight from the New England Colonies. From this township, though only three and a half miles square, have gone to the legislatures of Canada no fewer than eleven representatives, every one a Loyalist. The history of the early settlers' struggles in the backwoods would be long to tell, and reveal some strange incongruities. Not the least of these would be the recollection of Captain Van Alstine, Dr. Dougall, and the Macleans in their tight knee- breeches and silver buckles " piling fallow," or dragging home firewood to the shanties. Women reared in the midst of elegance and luxury were soon reduced to the straits of wearing the skins of wild animals for clothing ; and she were a happy maid who could procure a calico dress for her bridal day. Money even among the gentlemen living there was a commodity scarcely ever seen, and many a shabby toiler turned away sor- rowing from the bateau with its load of goods, because he could not buy a shirt or a pair of breeches ; and many a mother sighed as she saw, and could not purchase, a piece'of muslin that would make a dress for baby. All these honest hearts have long since ceased to beat ; and he who travels around the lovely shores of Quinte* Bay in summer sees here and there a group of grassy mounds shaded by cypress trees or the weeping willow, where many of them lie buried. Among the Dutch refugees the custom prevailed of selecting a family burial plot upon the farm, and frequently the spot chosen was that where- on the weary wanderers first rested upon their arrival, or put up their tents. PARENTAGE AND EARLY LIFE. 23 One of the loveliest situations on the bay was the Lake of the Mountain. From the summit you see, and apparently so near that you might toss a stone into it, the clear blue wa- ters of the inlet. About a mile distant are the rich low-lying lands of Adolphustown, with trim cottages and waving fields, ■and to the right over Ernesttown the Upper Gap, where the still waters of the bay commingle with the boisterous waves -of Lake Ontario. It was in these lovely wilds that the future Canadian statesman was often seen with a number of other lads, during his holidays, a fishing-rod in bis hand, at one of the many streams that flowed into Quinte* Bay, but many of which, stripped of the forest that then clothed their hanks, have since run dry. We should have wondered less had tin* music of the rushing streams, and the inspiration which the |ad might have caught when the summer wind blew in from the picturesque Lay, produced a poet instead of a states- man. The lot of the immigrant, even about the time of Mr. Mac- donald's arrival in Canada, as Mrs. Moodie relates in her delightful book, " Roughing it in the Bush," was by no means so charming as the transatlantic pictures showed, with their skaters and sleds in winter, and nought but plenty and wild flowers in rammer; but above all, the hardships were most keen to those who had been bred in easier ways, and who in coming to the wilds of ( Sanada found themselves obliged to adopt rude and hard m eas u res for an existence. Writing of the immigration flow, Mrs. Moodie, who was of gentle birth her- self, and had a highly cultivated and observant mind, remarks: "A large number of the immigrants' were officers of the army and navy, with their families — a class perfectly unfitted by their previous habits and standing in society for contending with the stern realities of emigrant life in the backwoods. A •class formed mainly from the younger scions of great families, naturally proud, and not only accustomed to command but to i ve implicit obedience from the people under them, are not 24 LIFE OF SIR JOHN A. MACDONALD. men adapted to the hard toil of the woodman's life." The Mac- donald family were among this better emigrant class, and had to contend with their full share of the privations that fall to the lot of the immigrant. Like most others, Mr. Hugh Macdonaldwasnot enamoured of the new country or its occupations. But having come to make his dwelling in it, he resolved to do the best he could. He was shrewd and intelligent, but lacked much experience in his new employment. It is not strange that his success was doubtful almost from the first, and that eventually he gave the business up, by no means a gainer. From Quinte* Bay, in 1830, with his family, he moved to Kingston. Here he leased the Kingston mills, situated a few miles outside of the city, and these he operated for a number of years, simul- taneously carrying on business on Princess street. Those who remember young Macdonald in his school-days describe him as having ■ a very intelligent and pleasing face, strange, fuzzy-looking hair, that curled in a dark mass, and a strik- ing nose." From a very early age it seems that his father intend- ed him for the legal profession, remarking to a friend that the province was yet only in its infancy, was rapidly growing, and would soon need a horde of professional men. In preparation for his entry upon legal studies it was that he was sent to the grammar school. In school he displayed a marked talent for mathematics, as did one of the most appalling characters in history fifty years before at the Military College of Biienne. For classics he showed no special talent, though in this study he was up to the average in his class always. There may have been much omen in his marked talent for Euclid. " The uni- verse," says a great thinker, " is run by reason and mathe- matics;" and Napoleon's generals did not fail to remark, after some of the battles had been won that startled the world, " He hasn't all these mathematics in his head for nothing." " When visitors came to the school, Mr. Baxter, in showing his classes off to the best advantage, nearly always," says an old gentleman who was a schoolboy then in Kingston, "called on Macdonald rAKEXTAGE AND EARLY LIFE. 25 to go to the blackboard and demonstrate the propositions." In those days copybook exercises formed a larger portion of the school work than they do now. Mr. Baxter frequently ex- hibited the clean kept books of young Macdonald to some careless student for emulation, and as often selected specimens of the neat penmanship of the boy to put to shame some of the slovenly writers in the class. After he had entered kua sixteenth war. hie father took him away from school and articled him in the office of Mr. George Mackenzie, where he applied himself diligently to a study of the law. Mr. Macdonald was of the opinion th.it the lad might as profitably begin upon his studies at once after leaving the school as go to college. At the present day a young man who has not taken a degree at a college or university is con- sidered indifferently qualified for a study of the law. There ifl a good deal of force in the contention, but not so much as is generally supposed. A degree, it is true, is a very worthy badge, but is not unfrequently a sort of false light — a kind of guinea-stamp put upon a worthless coin. Some writers who know little about Mr. Macdonald's early career, de- scribe his breaking off from school in his sixteenth year as fatal to thoroughness. But what Macdonald did really do, admits of a different deduction. He spent six years studying law, instead of three years in college reading Grecian fables in a dead tongue, and puzzling hifl poor young brain over the in- tegral calculus, and three years at the law. It is hard to under- stand how a wail of Jocasta or a cooing scene between Calypso and Ulysses could have been a better training or more useful knowledge for the young lawyer than the very law itself, since he already had a knowledge of classics and mastered six books of Euclid. At his studies Macdonald was an exemplary lad. More than once did Mr. Mackenzie speak of " that young Macdonald" as "the most diligent student" he had ever seen. Before he was quite twenty-one he came up for admission to the bar, and he afterwards used to tell jocularly how he per- 2G LIFE OF SIR JOHN A. MACDONALD. suaded his father that he was of full age, though he was really some months short of it. He opened an office at Kingston, and at once began to practise his profession. An old resident of the town, who had been a school-mate of his, thus describes the young barrister at this period: "He was an exemplary young man and had the good wishes and respect of everybody. He remained closely at his business ; never went about spreeing or losing his time with the voum? men of his own aire and stand- ing ; did not drive fast horses, hut was always to be found at his office, courteous, obliging and prompt." Through his own natural ability and the influence (.1' friends he secured in a short time all the business to which lie could give attention. Besides obtaining some of the most important local cases, he became solicitor for the Commercial Bank, founded by Mr. John S. ( "a mv right, and also for the Trust and Loan Company ; and on the death of Mr. Geoi^. Mackenzie, received most of the busi- ness of that old practitioner. When he began to practise law there were heard the first mutterings of the storm soon to break over the country: and the year following numbers of disaffected persons in Lower Canada under Papineau, and in Upper Canada under William Lyon Mackenzie, rushed blindly to arms. Every county in Canada had its radicals to take up muskets or pitchforks against their political oppressors ; every county, too, had its loyal men so full of zeal for the welfare of the Crown that they would, and often did, sit in grave and awful state hearing evi- dence against men arraigned for saying that Papineau was " handsome," or that Mackenzie was " sturdy." One day, Mr. Augustus Thibodo,now one of the oldest residents of Kingston, was out in the field with his servant-man ploughing. As they stopped at the end of the furrow, Mr. Thibodo said to the man : " Go fetch me that rifle f and when the man had brought it from where it stood by the fence, he remarked, " I wonder how far it would kill a man ? " Later in the day he observed inci- dentally, " Papineau is a fine fellow ; I believe he will soon PARENTAGE AND EARLY LIFE. 27 be up here." Through the serving man the words reached the ear of Mr. Smith, a zealous magistrate, the next day ; time and circumstances were abolished ; the two observa- tions were put together, and Thibodo was arrested and thrown into prison. There was many a case like this in those 'lays, and John A. Macdonald, though a tory, always felt and expressed deep sympathy for the men who incurred penal- ties by their resistance bo oppression ; and many a one who was a marked man in the eves of loyal zealots came to his office for advice, and received it readily and without pay. " What would you advise me to do ?" said Augustus Thibodo, who was beset by Government spies <>ne day and had received advice which was not satisfactory from several other quarters, " I am held in heavy bonds for appearance and good behaviour, but I cannot escape calumny?" "It is very hard; these times are trying, and from my heart 1 pity you and such as you," said Macdonald, " but my adviee is, get awav from the city as quickly as you can, and never mind the bondsmen. Vmi ire do4 safe here. When the Habeas Cor- pus is restored come back. That can't 1m- long; for affairs are now intolerable." He had yet won no important laurel in his profession, but his opp< >rt unit v was fast approaching. During the autumn of 1838 along the American frontier adjacent to Canadian towns, hong an ominous war-cloud. The autumn previous the militia had scattered the gathering <»n Montgomery's farm under Wil- liam Lyon Mackenzie, and the ill-starred leader and a portion of his broken host had fled for safety into the republic. From these refugees, and tie ii sympathizers in the republic, sprung up the dark associations all along the border which bore the name of Hunters' Lodges. The secrets of this mysterious gathering no outsider could accurately gather, but the lead- ing motive, an invasion of Canada, was surmised by everybody. In the early part of November, 1838, large numbers of the Hunters began to congregate at Ogdensburg, and anxious eyes 28 LIFE OF SIR JOHN A. MACDONALD. were turned thither for many days from the Canadian shore. On the 11th of the month a noted Hunter, named S. Von Shoultz, a Pole by birth, put himself at the head of upwards of two hundred men and crossed over to Prescott. Here he landed his force, taking position at Windmill Point, beyond the range of Fort Wellington's guns and behind the mill, a building with strong stone walls. Here he expected to be joined by large numbers of Canadians and reinforcements from the Lodges. But as the days went by and no reinforcements came, the heart of the Pole began to sink, and he saw that he had fallen into a snare. Retreat he found when too late was impossible, for armed steamers patrolled the outlet from his position ready to sink his boats; and now nothing remained for him but to bide the bitter issue with his little force. On the thirteenth the enemy under Col. Young, about five hundred in number, came against him and opened a brisk fire of mus- ketry. As the stag fights at bay, with a heroism such as de- spair alone begets, so fought the Pole and his followers under the hail of bullets which sang among them. Two of their officers and eleven men had fallen, a large number were wound- ed and thirty-two taken prisoners. Then the doomed band went further into the death toils, entrenching themselves inside the heavy stone walls of the mill. Here they were safe from musket balls, and here they remained three days longer till the enemy brought artillery from Kingston and began to batter down the sides of the building. Then the luckless host, to the number of about a hundred, surrendered and were taken off to Kingston by the enraged soldiers. Fifty of the Hunters, it is estimated, were killed, but this is not certain, as a great many of the dead were burned in the building. The Canadians in the two engagements lost two officers and seven men and had a large number wounded. Courts-martial were now established at London and Kings- ton, and at the latter city Von Shoultz and his accomplices were tried for their crime. For counsel the unfortunate leader PARENTAGE AND EARLY LIFE. 29 had the brilliant young barrister, Mr. John A. Macdonald. This was a time of intense excitement, and crowds thronged to see the prisoners and hear the trials. Every one was struck with the masterly character of young Macdonald's de- fence, and though they knew it lay not in the power of human tongue or brain to save the prisoner, they admired the skill with which he led up his arguments, the tact with which he appealed to the inexorable judges, and above all the soul-felt interest be Beamed to have in his client. But as effectually might the wandering winds make appeal to some stern hill, as the young lawyer sue these grim judges for mercy to the dar- ing stranger. There ia no doubt Mr. Macdonald felt a deep >nal, as well as professional, interest in his elient. He had been closeted with the unfortunate man, and learnt his story. Only tight years before the prisoners own beloved Poland had made a last desperate effort to burst her fetters; only >ix years before she — one of the noblest nations on the face of the earth — had been blotted from the map, and fallen into the grasp of the tyrant At the time the Hunters were planning tin* invasion of Canada, Shoultz was told that the people here eliafed under a yoke more galling than ever Poland wore] that they only wanted to see among them the glint of friendly steel, when the}' would arise and over- throw their oppressors. It needed no further fuel to tire the misguided Shoultz with the devoutest zeal. Here was a cause similar to his own Poland's; and then he remembered that when the American colonies were rising against alike op- pression his illustrious countryman Kosciusko had come over and thrown his fortunes in with the cause of liberty. But no power in man's persuasion, as we have seen, could save Shoultz. He was foredoomed to die, and, with nine others, was executed at Fort Heniy, Kingston, on Saturday morning, Decembar 8, 1838.* The following letter, written by * Mr. Dent and other writers ttate incorrectly that the executions took place late in the year of 1839. 30 LIFE OF SIR JOHN A. MACDONALD. Shoultz to his friend Warren Green, of Salina, New York, the day before his death, shows how he had been duped by Mr. Mackenzie and the others who led him into the enterprise. It shows, too, that he is by no means the ruffian and brigand which our historians flippantly describe him: "When you get this letter I am no more. I have been informed that my execution will take place to-morrow. May God forgive those who brought me to this untimely death. I have made up my mind and I forgive them. * * * * I wrote to you in my former letter about my body. If the British Government per- mit it, I wisli that it may be delivered to you to be buried on your farm. * * * * My last wish to the Americans is that they may not think of avenging my death. Let no fur- ther blood be shed! And believe me, bom what I have seen, the stories told about the Hofferinga of the Canadian people were untrue. * * * * I further beg of you to take care of W. Johnson, that he may find an honourable bread. Fare- well, my dear friend; God bless and protect you ! " Neither does he seem to have been a mere "adventurer," for in another letter, published after his execution, it was found that he had left £400 to the widows of the Canadian militiamen killed in the raid. But though Shoultz died, young Macdonald at a bound placed himself in one of the highest places as a forensic orator. Then it was that careful listeners saw the first evidence of his wonderful grasp of constitutional questions. When the trial was ended he received warm congratulations from the eloquent Mr. Forsythe and all the members of the local bar, as well as from a host of friends. And in an editorial note appended to an account of the trial, the editor of a Montreal journal said that the defender of the unfortunate general would soon be recognized as one of the first men in the country. Shortly after the execution of the invaders, a young man well known in Canada now, Alexander Campbell, then in his eighteeenth year, entered upon the study of law with Mr. John PARENTAGE AND EABLY LIFE. 31 A. Macdonald, who had opened, in the words of an old resident of Kingston, "one of the most wide-awake and business-like law offices then to be found in Canada." In later years there came to the same office one day a chubby little lad with large prominent eyes and a methodical walk and manner of speaking stating that he wanted to study law. His father had been at one time a soldier, had come from Caithness, and was now engaged in business in Kingston. The firm took the lad; he is to-day the premier of Ontario. There was a home in England which produced so many poets that it was called "the nest of nightingales." With much rea- son might this law office of J. A. Macdonald be called the nest of statesmen. It is told that there used to be a good deal of chaffing in the office about the handwriting of members of the firm and the students. Macdonald, daring hifl school- • lay-, wrote a hand of striking beauty and form — and to-day he boasts of being the beet writer in hifl cabinet. Mowat wrote "a tidy, conscientious little list," and in after yean Mac donald would aay jocularly that the one strong point he ad mired about Mowat was his handwriting, In the midst of the law duties, one day it was told in the office that the scat of government would soon he moved to Kingston. John A. Macdonald took the pen from behind his wheeled his chair around, and in deep thought looked out of the window. CHAPTER II. POLITICAL UPHEAVALS. PERHAPS it were weU to pause here and take a back- ward glance at the causes which brought about the troublous times referred to in the foregoing chapter. Half a century before the British Parliament divided the Province of Canada into Canada Upper and Lower, each division corres- ponding with what is to-day Quebec and Ontario. By this partition it was hoped that each province would enjoy consti- tutional peace and bound forward in the paths of progress. Burke, indeed, who had been caught and flung back into the most abject toryism by the influence of the French Revolution, saw a golden peace in the future for the Canadas now, and re- garded as guarantees for the abiding principle of the system the restrictioas upon popular liberty placed in the Constitution. But many statesmen shook their heads, and Fox predicted that these vaunted safeguards of peace and an abiding constitution would prove the seeds of discord and disruption. And so it proved ; though the evil laid in the marrow of the system did not break out into an active sore for many years afterwards. To each province was given a constitution supposed to reflect the virtues and the liberties of the constitution of the mother land. There was an elective chamber where the sturdy yeo- man and simple habitant clad in their homespun came to legis- late upon their allotted questions. There was an upper chamber, supposed to be a reflex of the House of Lords, the members of which were appointed by the Crown for life. To these were given the prerogative of altering or rejecting bills which came up from the lower chamber. The councillors POLITICAL UPHEAVALS. 33 were men of high social standing including even prelates and judges. Then came the executive; a mimic privy council, composed of men elected by the viceroy to advise with him on all matters of public administration. The members of this body were drawn from the legislative council, or from the house of assembly, were not obliged to have a seat in the popular branch, and were responsible only to the head of the government. The governor was a mimic king, and in those days had all the ways of a sovereign. " I am accountable to God only for my actions," said Charles the First, when presented with the Petition of Right. " I am accountable to the King only for my actions " said the little Canadian mock-sovereign, when meekly reminded of what was due to the people. These were not the days of darkness, neither were they the days of light ; rather both kings and commons lived in a sort of twilight where the liberty of the present seemed to merge in the oppression of the past. Since before the time when the barons wrung from John atRunnymrade, the Charter of their liberties, everyone had talked about the " right of the subject " and the " prerogative of the Crown ;" but none seemed to know where the one began or the other ended. Under the reign of the Prince of Orange, men who remembered the tyr- anny of the profligate Stuarts, thought they lived in the noon- day of constitutional liberty. But it remained yet for George the Third to set up a tyrant who did not rival the author of * Thorough," only because he lacked ability for anything but profligate intrigues, and the additional and self-sufficient reason that Englishmen having tasted of a liberty unknown in the days of Charles, would not be driven again into abasement by a cleverer tyrant than Strafford. Truly, for tyranny was the spirit of those Georges, willing, but the flesh was weak. " I will die rather than stoop to opposition," said George the Third ; but opposition was better than revolution, and he stooped. For years he retained ministers in defiance of the House of Com- mons, resisted the entry of good men, of whom Fox was one, 34 LIFE OF SIR JOHN A. MACDONALD. into the Cabinet, and maintained a system of wrong-headed personal government that cost the country a hundred millions of pounds, thirteen provinces, and the lives of a thousand subjects. His son William the Fourth, though called "The People's Friend," still dismissed or retained a minister " when he pleased, and because he pleased ;" bat with him, we may well believe, disappeared from the royal closet forever the last vestige of personal government. A flutter, it is true, went through the breasts of the jealous guardians of constitutional liberty not many years ago when the commons discussed the " Question de jupons ; " when a minister of whom the nation had grown sick, a man who dandled cushions and played with feathers while momentous questions of the state were hanging, resigned the seals and two days later crept back again to power behind the petticoats of the ladies-in-waiting. But if anything were •needed to give assurance of constitutional rule, it surely must have appeared, when, with girlish frankness, the young Queen told Peel, " I liked my old ministers very well, and am very sorry to part with them ; but I bow to constitutional usage." It is not written in the constitution where the power of the sovereign shall begin or end in retaining or dismissing minis- ters ; but he would be a bold ruler indeed who should ever again attempt personal rule in England. Should such an attempt be made, it were not necessary to fear for the people. It would be only the worse for that sovereign. But while the principles of liberty were growing broader and deeper in England, the people of the colonies were chafing under a yoke as intolerable as that felt in England at any time during the reign of the Stuarts. In the provinces of Canada the long heard cry of discontent had grown deeper and more ominous towards the close of the reign of William the Fourth. Wise men looked into the future then as they look ever, but we wonder that they could not have foreseen the consequences POLITICAL UPHEAVALS. 35 of such government as was now imposed upon the Canadian people. Each province, as we have seen, had its mimic king, and this creature generally ruled with the spirit of an autocrat. It mattered little that the man was good when the system by which he governed was so very bad. There existed at this time in every province a combination which bore the hateful name of "Family Compact." This compact was composed of men who were bodies by prof ession, and who came, by virtue of the preference they had bo long held above their fellow colonists, to regard their right to public office as prescriptive. They filled the legislative council, which became the tool of the Grown to thwart or strangle any objectionable measure sent ap from the Chamber of the people. They filled every office of emolument from the Prime Minister to the sergeant- &t-arms; from the chief justice down to the tip-staff "Nor did Israel 'seape tin- infection," for they were found in the church whicfi in turn furnished mitred heads to the council. They looked upon the large bulk of the colonists as interiors, and viewed with alarm the movement in favour of what was called Popular Etighta Every point gained by the people they re^an led as something lost to the Grown; and when a governor came to the colony they generously surrendered themselves to his pleasure. If he were some haughty autocrat, who looked upon the colonists ;is the owner of a plantation in .lam irded his slaves, they seconded his opinions and zealously assisted him to rule as he would. If he happened to be a generous man, and was disposed to listen to the de- mands of th.- people, they poured poison into his ear, and grad- ually led him to reganl the most worthy popular tribunes who asked for reform as dangerous demagogues. It seemed to be the fate of every man who in these days came out to govern us to turn tory the moment he set foot upon our soil. The whigs, who in England set themselves up as the redeemers of our liberty, outdid their opponents when they came to Canada. 36 LIFE OF SIR JOHN A. MACDONALD When the tory came here he outdid himself. But the toryism which ground down the people oi this country for so many dark years was not the toryism that was known in England. Had it been, the history of our own times would have formed a more turbulent chapter. From this Family Compact the governor, whether whig or tory, drew a circle of advisers which he called "The Executive;" but he did not feel himself bound to seek the advice of its members, unless for courtesy, or when beyond his depth. But where the council were of the same mind as the governor, re- straints were not needful ; and in the executive for many a year the viceroy found a willing tool to aid him in governing according to his conviction or caprice. In Quebec the wheels of government rolled on with an incessant jar which threatened a disruption. It was hard for the French to forget that they were a conquered people, even under the most liberal foreign rule ; but the intolerable oppressions of the dominant clique brought out all the race prejudice*, tnd, not unnaturally, gave an alarming magnitude, sometimes, to the smallest grievance. But there was enough of weighty grievance. The home government had fostered and kept up a British party, a little clique which threw themselves in with the governor and ruled in defiance of the vast majority. The upper chamber was filled with this clique, and they sat with eagle eyes watching to destroy any measure opposed to their interests coming from the lower chamber. It was a long and fierce wrestle, that, between the two houses, but in every contest the habitant went to the wall. From the ranks of this clique, too, was filled the executive council, puppets of an autocrat governor, and the demoralizers of a man of fair play. Again and again would the house of assembly declare it had no confidence in a minister; but it was coolly recommended to mind its own affairs, and not to meddle with those which were only the governor's. For nearly half a century the French had worn this galling yoke, and now determined to cast it off. Finding POLITICAL UPHEAVALS. 37 how hollow a thing to them was responsible government, in 1832 they suddenly stopped the supplies. Then came about " the officials' famine," and for four years judges walked the land in shabby ermine, while " every description of official be- gan to put his corporosity off." This was a harsh kind of revenge, but surely it was not unprovoked. A people goaded for half a century cannot be much blamed if they, as a last resort, seize a weapon of resistance lawful and constitutional. We know that some of those upon whom the heavy hand fell were not responsible; but they were the servants of an atro- cious system. While the world came to look full of ruin to the official, Louis Joseph Papineau, ■' man of honourable char- acter and much energy, ottered a series of ninety-two resolu- tions to the legislature to present to the imperial parliament. Theee resolutions contained a formulary of grievances against tlir home government and its iigmts in Lower Canada. The counts set forth, in brief: " Arbitrary eonduct on the part of the Government; intolerable composition of the legislative council (which, they insisted, ou^htto be elective); illegal appropriation of the public moneys, and violent prorogation of the provincial parliament." They pointed out, likewise, that the French people had been treated with contumely; that they had been shut out from office by the favoured British ; that their habits, customs and interests were disregarded, and they now demanded that the doors of office and emolument be thrown open to all — or they would rebel, tie- resolutions hinted between the lines. The little British party, alarmed for their beloved flesh-pots, sent to the imperial parliament a set of counter resolutions. The Commons perused both without much emotion, and sent out Lord Gosford and two commissioners to clear up affairs in the confused colony. Lord Gosford came out with a large stock of that material with which it is said the road to a certain place i - } -aved ; but he fell into the hands of the compact, and chose to walk according to tradition rather than to the impulses of tight. 38 LIFE OF SIR JOIIN A. MACDONALD. Meanwhile, Papineau had allowed magnificent visions of a future republic along the banks of the St. Lawrence to lure him awa}' from the path of sober, unambitious reform, in which he had earlier trod. IJe had to deal with a people, too, who have more than once in history become the slaves of a blind enthusiasm ; and in those speeches at which the monster crowds cheered the loudest could be heard the first breathings of re- bellion. The two commissioners who had come out with Lord Gosford presented their report to the imperial parliament, and the outcome of this was Lord John Russell's Ten Resolutions. By one provision of these resolutions the Governor was author- ized to take £142,000 out of the funds in the hands of the Receiver-General to pay the arrearages of civil salaries. In vain Lord John was told that his resolutions would drive the people into rebellion, and perhaps into the arms of the Republic ; but that haughty little statesman did not anticipate any trouble from the Republic, and as for the Canadians, they were very lightly taxed, he said, and had really but little to grumble about. As had been predicted, the resolutions brought the discontent to a head. It is hard now to believe that Papineau did not really rejoice at the coercive spirit of those measures, for they gave him an ample pretext for soaring off towards that new re- public of which he so fondly dreamed. The people became enraged, and from hot reformers changed into flaming patriots. They resolved to use no more goods that came through the custom house, and to smuggle rather than pay duties. Monster meetings were held by Papineau, at which the habitants were told to strike now for liberty. Men who knew anything, of mili- tary tactics began to drill large bodies of the inhabitants, while every man provided himself with some weapon that would kill. Then the outbreak came, and the poor habitants, in wild enthusiasm, rushed upon the cold bayonets of Lord Gosford. It was only the history of political tyranny the world over, again — lashing the people into rebellion by bad laws and worse POLITICAL UPHEAVALS. 39 administrators, and driving them back again into allegiance with cruel steel. We are told that the blood of a man who falls by the violence of his fellow will cry to heaven for ven- geance ; a heavy account, then, must be that of those men by whose oppression these poor habitants were driven away from their humble toil to meet death at the hands of the soldiers. The flame having burst forth in Lower Canada, it was soon communicated to the ready materia] in the upper province. There, too, did the Family Compact furnish an irresponsible executive to an autocrat governor. The people dreamed of constitutional freedom, for the light which now was shining across the Atlantic was dawning here. Great men are usually the offspring of an important crisis; and new ■ party of superior men, all of high character, and many of good social standing, had grown up; and they demanded that the government of the province should be taken out of the hands of the favoured, ir- responsible few, and handed over to the majority of the people through responsible ministers. This change would purge away the long train of evils of which the people had so long complained, in those days there was no popular eheck upon bad administration, or even opon corruption. Many a minister grew rich upon his peculations, because the eye of the public could not reach him. But some journalists now boldly intruded upon the sacred privacy of the ministry, ami revealed to the public many instances of official mismanagement and corruption. Then it was that the history, in which we read of the disgraceful per* secutinn of Wilkes by a tyrannical sovereign, was repeated in Upper Canada. Then came prominently upon the stage the iU-starred Lyon Mackenzie, a man whose name in his day served to hash the babes of loyal mothers to sleep. We perse- cuted him then in every conceivable way. We sent the most loyal and respectable of our young men to scatter his types and wreck his printing press, s . We five times expelled him from the legislature, after he had been five times elected. Finally we drove him into rebellion, and set a price of £1,000 40 LIFE OF SIR JOHN A. MACDONALD. upon his head. Now, we are about erecting a column to his memory. It was galling enough to see a mimic king come over here to govern us, as if God had made us only to be governed ; but it was unbearable that the political adventurer, besides be- ing an autocrat, should be also a blockhead. To quell the fast-increasing tumult in Upper Canada, the British govern- ment set about to select a man. They found one in a poor commissioner's office in Kent, surrounded with prayers for relief and heroic poems. This was an extraordinary man, and had done things in his day which, in the eyes of the gov- ernment, qualified him well to rule a colony. He had writ- ten several pamphlets, extraordinary for their style, and in- stinct with "fine frenzy." Twice he had dashed across the South American pampas, from Buenos Ayres to the Andes, on the back of a mustang. Upon this man the home govern- ment let the mantle of authority fall, and dispatched him to Upper Canada. He came amongst us with the pomp of an Alexander, and the attitudes of a Garrick. The band of perse- cuted men who had fought so long for popular rights be- seeched him to redress their grievances, but after a few dramatic revolutions on his own responsibility, poor Sir Francis Bond Head fell into the fatal circles of the Compact maelstrom. Naturally, with a colony in the incipient throes of revolt, we might have expected the home government to send a man with some fitness, natural or acquired, to govern and make smooth, but at this day we are unable to see what special training in this direction could have been conferred upon an enthusiastic tragedy-reader by galloping about the pampas on a wild pony. It is not necessary to add that the action of the new gov- ernor drove the impatient seekers for reform towards the brink of rebellion. In the house of assembly the Speaker read a letter from Joseph Papineau, urging the Upper Can- ada reformers in covert terms to rebel, and hinting that, in case of need, republicans would come over and help them. Here POLITICAL UPHEAVALS. was an opportunity for the dramatic governor, and he seized it. " In the name of every militia regiment in Canada," he exclaimed, with a tremendous wave of his arms, as he closed the parliament, " I promulgate, let them come if they dare."" There was then nothing for the reformers to expect from Sir Francis. He was threatened with rebellion, but treated the threat with seeming scorn, and sent all the soldiers out of the country. In an evil moment, and without taking counsel of prudence or philosophy, Mackenzie and his followers rushed to arms. Then brother rose against brother, and after a con- flict in which smoke predominated, the government demon- strated its strength, and the cause of the rebels ended in panic* Lord John Rpaooll could not have heard the news from Can- ada with much astonishment, for he had been told that just those things would happen, and he seemed coolly to court the eonaequenoea, In the commons some made light of the rising, and spoke of "a Mr. liackensie," concerned in the rebellion, Mr. Hume replying, cited the declarations of Chatham on the Stamp Act, instancing them as the sayings of " a Mr. Pitt." They had queer opinions in England then about colonies, and equally odd notions about how they should be governed. Some statesmen claimed that the executive should have the confidence of the house of assembly, but Lord John Russell and other whigs held that to make the executive responsible to the popular branch would be to reduce the governor to a cipher, and to virtually proclaim the independence of the colo- • In this emergency Lord Durham was sent out to Canada with extraordinary powers. He proclaimed his Ordinances from Quebec, but had scarcely begun to carry out his pro- * All our histories make the inexcusable blunder of stating that a large number of persons were killed and wounded at this battle ; even Mr. Lindsey, son-in-law of Mr. Mackenzie, repeats the fiction in his book many years after the battle. Tc* the Toronto World the public are indebted for ferreting out the blunder. 42 LIFE OF SIR JOHN A. MACDONALD. gramme when many voices began to clamour for his recall. Undoubtedly there was a disposition to judge Lord Durham in England on the scantiest evidence. His emotional nature was not unknown to the public. Men had not forgotten how often he had terrified his father-in-law, Earl Grey, and ap- palled the council by his outbursts at their cabinet meetings. They had heard him in the House of Lords describe the speech of the Bishop of Exeter, against the Reform Bill, as " coarse and virulent invective, malignant and false insinuation, the -est perversion of historical facts, decked out with all the choicest flowers of pamphleteering slang." They did not be- lieve that a man with a head so hot was fitted to grapple with such a problem as was now presented in Canada. But every day added fresh rumours to those already current in England. The famous Ordinances of the Earl seemed to astound every- body. They were sweeping measures, to say the least, and in England were regarded as revolutionary. An amnesty was granted to all political offenders, Papineau, Mackenzie and the other leaders, excepted. These were banished to Bermuda, from which they were not to return under pain of death. The colonists were cordially invited to aid in organizing a libe- ral and enduring plan of government ; and, attended by his suite, the High Commissioner made a progress through the country with all the pomp and splendour of an Eastern king. But Lord Durham was not allowed to put his Ordinances to a trial. His course was assailed in England by a storm of hostile criticism ; it was shown that in nearly every important respect he had transcended his constitutional powers ; that he could not transport to Bermuda, for the reason that he had no author- ity over that island, and that he had no power to order that any one breaking his exile and returning to Canada should suffer death. One of the most fierce of his critics was Lord Brougham, but the whole cause of his bitterness was not the Quebec Ordinances. Five years before, at a dinner given by Earl Grey, he had imprudently provoked Lord Durham and POLITICAL UPHEAVALS. 43 called down upon his head a torrent of wrath. The govern- ment, who first stood like a weak man in a strong current feebly facing the stream, supported their Commissioner for a time, then faltered and gave way. In an American newspaper the Earl read for the first time that the government had for- saken him ; and he tendered his resignation. The resignation and the disallowance of his Ordinances crossed each other on the Atlantic, and a few days later the proud and great Lord Durham learnt that he was a disgraced man. With constitu- tional impulsiveness he issued a proclamation which was sim- ply the justification that a lofty spirit, too noble and too sensi- tive for the rude shocks of party strife, sought before the country he had so earnestly striven to serve. Humiliated beyond the length that a mean mind can imagine, he returned to England, his proud spirit broken. It has been said that he Went beyond his constitutional powers; but Surety he (fid not do so unknowingly. No better justification of his conduet can be given than is afforded in his own wotdf, when In- a^ks with just scorn: " What are the constitutional principlei remaining in force when the whole constitution is suspended I What principle of the Biitish Constitution holds good in a country where the people's money is taken from them without the people's consent ; where rep- resentative government is annihilated; where martial law has been the law of the land, and where trial by jury exists only to defeat the endfl of justice, and to provoke tie' righteous scorn and indignation of the community." But it remained for posterity to do justice to Lord Durham. While he lay gasping away his last breath by the sea shore at Cowes, came the tidings, but all too late, that even his bitterest foes bore tribute to the wisdom and broad statesmanship in his Report. This was the document that first set forth the scheme by which our struggling provinces afterwards became united in one con- federation ; which traced the causes of colonial discontent, and pointed out the cure. Toward the close of July, 1840, the earl 44 LIFE OF SIR JOHN A. MACDONALD. breathed his last. Two days before he died he said : " I would fain hope that I have not lived altogether in vain. Whatever the tories may say, the Canadians will one day do justice to my memory." They have done justice to his memory ; and one of the foremost names in their affections and their history is that of the great, the high-minded John George Lambton, first Earl of Durham. The Government were not satisfied, it appears, with what they had done for Upper Canada in sending over Sir Francis B. Head, but on his being recalled, endeavoured to do better, and sent out Sir George Arthur. He was deemed to possess the very acme of governing powers, for he had already ruled two colonies. He governed 20,000 negroes and several whites in Honduras, and when selected for Canada had just returned covered with glory from Van Die men's Land. This latter was a colon}- to which, about thirty years before, the home government had begun to send the most violent and aban- doned characters. Armed with the experiences of Honduras and Tasmania, Governor Arthur began to rule Upper Can- ada. It took a great deal to fill up his bill of duty. In tu- mult he stamped every rebellion splutter out with the heel of a Claverhouse ; in peace he was busy with the halter. It nigh drove him mad when a reformer approached him to state a grievance, or ask a mercy for the misguided men who had fallen into his hands. Reform, he said, had been too long the cloak of treason — therefore he would talk only of stern justice now. And the governor chose a bloody justice. He hanged Lount and Matthews in Toronto, to the horror even of many tories. It is due, however, to the governor's memory to say, that he was not entirely guilty of the blood of these men ; as it is understood that the deed was strongly recommended by the officials of the Family Compact. We know not to what extent the governor would have used the rope, had not Lord Glenelg aroused himself from his languor to stay the fell work of the hangman. POLITICAL V PEE AVALS. 45 In Lower Canada, affairs were in chaos. The constitution had been suspended, and the affairs of the colony were being administered by a special council. The British population, who now found themselves more than ever estranged from the French, prayed for union with Upper Canada, for freedom from French laws and French dominion ; and beseeched all the legislatures of British North America to assist them in attain- in- these things. The French inhabitants had felt the yoke of a few British sit so heavily upon them that they regarded with horror a proposal which they believed would utterly absorb them into the English system, with its uncongenial customs and political oppressions. In 1839, Sir John Colbome went home, and the British Government, finding that the most unsuitable men did not make the best govern eted a plain merchant, Mr. ( 'harles Poulett Thompson, who was known to have a clear, cool head, much suavity and tact, and an enormous capacity for business. The great drawback to him was that he possessed no title, an inferiority keenly deplored by the tories ; but the government, though partial to titled men themselves, overcame their scruples and sunt him out. His first duty was to act on a suggestion made by Lord Durham, whom the tories had slandered and tin whigs deserted. That duty was to unite Upper and Lower Canada. The new governor-general promptly convened the special council of Lower Canada, and obtained its assent to a draft bill providing for the Union. It was known that the French, who comprised the great bulk of the population, were hostile to the scheme, and they were not consulted. The measure was foreshadowed in the Speech opening the legislature of Upper Canada. Subsequently, a message was sent down to the assem- bly, embodying, among other matters, the chief points of the proposed Union Bill. This message gave some hope to the reform politicians, but one of its most important statements was a lie. " So far," said the governor-general, " as the feeling 46 LIFE OF SIR JOHN A. MACDONALD. of the inhabitants of Lower Canada can be obtained the meas- ure of re-union meets with approbation." The governor very- well knew that nothing could be more hateful to the bulk of the inhabitants than this same measure ; and for this very reason he had refused to consult them. The Bill was intro- duced in due course and was opposed by the Family Compact. But the governor-general was in earnest, and what was better, he was master of the situation. They might pass the bill or submit to worse. So they at e their leek with all the grace they could command. In July, the next year, a measure was introduced into the imperial parliament and passed with slight amendments. The Union Bill provided that there should be one legislative council and one assembly. Each province had equal represen- tation in both branches. The legislative council consisted of twenty members, who held their seats for life ; the Assembly consisted of eighty-four members, who were to be elected every four years. The executive council was to consist of eight members, and any of those who had a seat in the assem- bly had to go back for re-election on taking office. A perma- nent civil list of £75,000 was established, but the control of the revenues was vested in the assembly. In 1841 the Act went into force by proclamation. To the reformers the race was not yet, though the tone of Lord John Russell's despatches had favoured responsible government. Mr. Thompson had all the qualities of an excellent ruler, but he needed more light. Our historians, we believe, have quite overrated him. It is hard to doubt that, had he been spared to the limit of his term, the crisis which came under Metcalfe would have come under him. Though the first ministry after the Union was a coalition, he stubbornly refused to admit deserving French-Canadians to a share in the government, and though the reformers were in a majority in the house, only one of their number, Mr. Robert Baldwin, was called to the executive. And the governor's subsequent refusal to do POLITICAL UPHEAVALS. 47 justice to the reform party forced Mr. Baldwin out of the government and into opposition. On the death of Mr. Thompson, who, while dying, learnt that he had been created Baron Sydenham of Toronto, Sir Charles Bagot was appointed to the governorship. Now, Sir Charles was sent out by a tory government, and was a tory himself. The reformers turned blue when they heard of his appointment, and believed that the evil days of the Heads and the Arthurs had com. again. But the tory proved himself more liberal than the liberal. He was the only governor, Durham pied, who really understood what was due to the colonists under constitutional government. Lord Sydenham would not traffic with pitch lest he might delile himself ; but the old tory understanding that he came to carry on responsible govern- ment, invited leading members of the French party in Lower Canada, and Mr. Baldwin and his followers in Upper Canada, to form a ministry. w The ( brusader lias turned Turk," gasped the Family in horror, as the "Republicans crowded to the cabii Towards the close of the year Sir Charles's health began to fail him, and he asked to be recalled. Then Sir Robert Peel cast about him to find a man to lend to ( 'anada, and his choice fell upon one whose naim- afterwards became hateful to all lovers of constitutional liberty. Sir Charles Metcalfe, Peel's baneful choice, had begun life as a writer in the Indian civil service. By the sheer force of his abilities he had scaled the steepy ways of tame, till in 1834 he found himself acting Governor-General of India. Sir Charles was both astute and cunning; and besides these qualities his bravery was with him a point of honour. In his day the military held in contempt the soldierly prowess of civil servants in India, and Mr. Metcalfe, hearing that among the rest his intrepidity was called in ques- tion, resolved to affirm the valour that was in him. So when the British troops were before Deeg, armed with a walking stick, he headed an attacking party, rushed into the town, and 48 LIFE OF SIR JOHN A. MACDONALD. retrieved his reputation. In 1839, he entered the imperial privy council, and shortly afterwards became governor of Jamaica. Here, it is said, he won golden opinions, but we are told by his biographer, whose aim seems to have been to cover him with glory, that during his rule there "some outbreaks occurred, but they were speedily crushed and their instigators punished, some capitally." This was not, it will be frankly admitted, an indifferent training for a man who looked upon refractory reformers as he did upon rebellious negroes. Added to this, during his long contact with the wiles and treachery of oriental craft, he had grown incurably suspicious, and would trust any man who differed from himself as he would "an adder fanged." He came to Canada, and to his amazement found a system of responsible government which did not need a gov- ernor, and, as some of the advisers of the Crown, men who had given sympathy or aid to rebellion. He was disgusted, too, with the manners of his councillors, who approached him with a brusqueness and familiarity that was revolting to a ruler of nabobs. With the cunning of a Nana Sahib, he sent out his confidential secretary, who wormed out of the ministers over their wine their opinions on the powers of the governor. The truth is, Sir Charles was like a captain who in a storm and amidst the breakers sets himself down for the first time to learn navigation. He knew nothing about the governing of a colony under responsible government: few governors in those days did. It was not the men who had sat in cabinets and saw how people are ruled under constitutional forms, that they sent out, but some one who had ridden n?ustangs great distances, or coerced Hindoos or negroes with the strong arm of the autocrat. When Sir Charles learnt the opinion of ministers about his prerogative, he became incensed. He saw that his prerogative was in danger, and the point of prerogative to him was the point of honour. And how high with him was the point which he regarded the point of honour will appear from his POLITICAL UPHEAVALS. 49 exploit with the walking stick. Then began the system of wily and treacherous diplomacy which he had learned in the East. With utter disregard for constitutional decency, he outraged the privacy of his cabinet, and took the opponents of the ministry into his confidence. Day after day he planned and set snares for his own ministers. A close friend of his, who knew his ways and wrote his biography, thus glories in the governor's shame: "He saw that the feet of the council were on the wire, and he skilfully concealed the gun." Many an appointment was then made that the ministry knew nothing about till they read it in the public prints of their opponents. It was galling to be treated as cyphers by the head of the government — to feel that the position of adviser was only a mockery ; but it was unbearable to hear the sneers of opponents who were the real advisers of the governor. The ministry resigned, and one wonders how they could have lived down contempt so long. For nine months now there was no ministry save Dominick Daly, the " perpetual secretary," who as a poli- tician had been all his life at once "everything and nothing." This political in.rnian assisted the Dictator till a provisional ministry was formed, after which, in a whirlwind both parties rushed to the polls. It was at this orisifl that Mr. John A. Macdonald, with his judgment much ripened, emerged from his law office, and be- gan the stormy career of a politician. CHAPTER IIL FROM THE BAR TO THE HUSTINGS. THOSE who enjoyed the confidence of Mr. Macdonald say- that after his defence of Shoultz, his aim was to win a still more prominent place in his profession. As we have already seen, his defence of the Pole gave him more than a local reputation ; it was, as his friends used to say, " a feather in his cap " of which a veteran member of the bar might have been proud ; and persons coming to Kingston with difficult cases from distant points !thereaf ter inquired for " the young lawyer who defended the Pole, Von Shoultz." These were the days of exclusiveness and snobbery, when it was almost as difficult to approach the august person of a Dodson or a Fogg as the Sleeping Beauty overhung with alarum bells and guarded by fiery dragons. There was a population of over half a million, and the immigration tide poured constantly upon us from the mother countries through the summer, but among this influx came few educated persons, and but rarely a member of the learned professions ; so that the doctor and the lawyer were not in proportion to the population, were much sought after, and hence garrisoned round with importance. But no client, how- ever poor, came out of Mr. Macdonald's office complaining of snobbery ; rather telling of the courteous and gentlemanly young lawyer, " quick as a flash," who understood his case better than the client himself before he had " half told it." In those days, more than at the present time, which produces law- yers and stump orators " not singly but in battalions," when a young man discovered brilliant talents, or the power, by his eloquence, to carry his hearers, his friends invariably said, 50 FROM THE BAR TO TEE HUSTINGS. 51 " We must send him to the House." We are told that in many a case which Mr. Macdonald pleaded, even strangers in the Courts, not knowing the young lawyer, but observing his ferasp oi principles, the ease with which he led up all his argu- ments, and the power he had of compelling juries to take, by sympathy as well as by reason, his view of the case, were heard to exclaim, " the House is the place for him/' Standing by the ocean as the dark storm-clouds gather over it and the tempest breaks, a man with poetry in his soul feels spirit exalted and impelled to sing as nature in no other mood ■in move him : and so, too. looking upon the political storm- clouds gather, and darken the sky, if a man have a yearning for tie- ways of public life, it must be quickened as it can be at no other time. At the date of which we write the air was full of the sounds of political strife, and the clouds deepened and grew more ominous. We cannot wonder if the situation quickened the desires of the young barrister, or if we heard him say, as he glanced through his office window out upon the political scene, wlei' ■ men wrestled and many won prizes for whose abilities he could have no feeling but contempt: " Yes, yonder in that stormy sky I see my star of destiny.'' But it wa# not known now, nor for some years afterwards, that he looked to a political career. During the elections for the parliament under the Union the strife was high and confusion general. One day, sitting among friends in fhis other. Mr. Macdonald said, " If I were only prepared now I should try for the Legislature," and then added, " but it does no harm to wait." The removal of the theatre of politics to his own city, in 1841, gave impulse to his yearnings for political lif«' ; and thereafter he began to equip himself for the sphere in which he longed to move. But he did not, like too many empty young men of our own day, go noising through the country to attract the people's notice ; he did not, indeed, woo the con- 62 LIFE OF SIR JOHN A. MACDONALD. stituency at all, but decided to have the constituency woo him. During the time Parliament sat at Kingston he made the acquaintance of leading public men, and long before it was known that his eye was turned to the paths which they them- selves were treading, they prized the friendship and respected the opinions of the young barrister, Macdonald. He attended much to the debates of the House, and many a keen and judicious piece in criticism those who sat with him in the gal- lery heard fall from his lips. Though he devoted much time to his profession, and was always to be found in his office and ready to take up a case, he was profoundly engaged in prepar- ing himself for his ideal sphere. While most of those who knew him thought his ambitions bent towards legal distinc- tions only, he was acquiring that knowledge of constitutional, political and parliamentary history, which so early in his pub- lic career gave weight to his opinions and standing to himself. In 1843, in an evil hour, as we have already seen, came over to Canada Sir Charles Metcalfe. The rebellion clouds had rolled away, and the province set out once more, it was hoped, in the ways of political peace ; but the new governor- general had no sooner begun to make " his growl heard at the council board" than the political heavens began to grow dark again. Rumours of dissension between the governor and his council began to be whispered abroad, and it was not made a secret that Sir Charles despised and distrusted his council, and had thrown himself into the arms of the Family Compact. We can fancy the feeling among the tribes of ani- mals known as the Seven Sleepers when the genial warmth of spring visits them in their icy abodes : with some such thrill the tories, lying politically dormant, must have received the news that Sir Charles had come to an open rupture with his "rebel advisers" and now sought the confidence and advice of "loyal men." At this time Kingston was not enamored of her late mem- ber, and it was plain that an opportunity was arriving for FROM THE BAR TO THE HUSTINGS. 53 some one who had the respect and good-will of the constituency. Mr. Harrison, the representative then, was only a make-shift for Mr. Manahan, who had, in the words of an old Kingston newspaper, " sold his constituency to the enemy for a billet for his son-in-law." Young Macdonald now saw his opportunity coming, and so did his friends, for they waited upon him towards the close of the summer of 1843, and invited him to come out for election to the Kingston council. The city had been lately incorporated, and the divisions differed from those of the pres- ent, but Macdonald stood for that section which now forms the western part of St. Lawrence Ward. An eye-witness of the election, and a friend of Macdonald, says: "The contest was a fierce one. At every tavern you found crowds of persons drunk and fighting. Capt. Jackson was the candidate against Macdonald, and he had all the noisy and drunken Irishmen in the town on his side. I was passing by one of the booths, and I happened to hear a ruffian of a fellow, named Sullivan, plotting with a large crowd of his own description to go in and prevent Macdonald from speaking, and 'go through' his supporters. They knew me well, and I told them I had my eye upon them. This prevented fa great row. I went in, and found everybody inside fairly orderly, for Macdonald had a wonderful way of casting oil on troubled waters." Jackson was overwhelmingly beaten, and a portion of the field, for higher purposes, was won to Macdonald. So in the following year, after the rupture between Metcalfe and his council had come, and the delegation waited upon him and told him they now expected him to take the field against Manahan, Mac- donald did not wonder at receiving the call, for he had been long preparing himself for the occasion, and was now ready. If either did anybody wonder when it was told that he had come into the field, though he had not proclaimed his coming, or talked about it at all, for it was known that there was no one else so capable. 54 LIFE OF SIR JOHN A. MACDONALD. The country was now fairly out of its head, and perhaps it was not strange. A ministry having the confidence of a major- ity of the people had quarrelled with the governor -general on constitutional questions of vital importance, and resigned. It was a battle between prerogative and the power of the people. In prerogative the tories saw the stability of our institutions, and the maintenance of our connection with the empire. In the power of the people they saw a democracy that to-day might rush into republicanism and to-morrow into chaos. In prerogative the reformers saw the most hateful engine of political oppression, the evil which had convulsed the province in rebellion and blood, a something which was not even a prerogative, but a system by which a large major- ity of the people were ruled according to the interests of a favoured and irresponsible few. In the power of the people they saw not a privilege but only a birthright, and went to the polls defending that right. While the story of dissen- sions between the governor and his late ministry was the property of everybody, few seemed to understand the real na- ture of the issue between them. A large portion of the people believed that Mr. Baldwin and his colleagues had been forcing measures upon the governor that would eventually lead to a separation of Canada from the mother country, and that it was in resisting these encroachments the discord arose. It was told at public meetings, too, long before the elections, that Messrs. Baldwin, Lafontaine and Hincks were aiming at Sepa- ration* and all these rumours were susceptible, more or less, of confirmation. The liberal party, while including a vast body of earnest men who aimed only at the establishment of consti- tutional government, comprised all the blatant demagogues and rebels of the time. Men who were in open hostility to British connection, and who loved anarchy better than order, men who were aforetime American citizens and now longed for annexation, were found upon the reform platforms, each faction proclaiming vehemently its own set of doctrines. FROM THE BAR TO THE HUSTINGS. 55 Few, as we have said, at this time really understood what responsible government was, or what had been the issue be- tween the governor and his ministry. But now, as the elec- tions drew near, those before inclined to moderate reform came to think about it, and remembered that some of the men in the late ministry had come thither out of the rebels' camps. They did not wonder that men who six years before were pitted against the soldiers were pitted now against tho governor. And during the many months that the autocrat had ruled with- out a government, ominous mutterings were heard from large bands of the more impatient and radical reformers. They said anarchy had come again, and professed their readiness to take up arms and once more strike for a republic. All this was remembered now, and was yet to be used witli tremendous effect by the governor and his party. The question, therefore, by skilful tory arrangement, came to be, not one between conservatives and reformers, as our histories have it, but be- tween the reform party and the crown, — a party who the tories claiim-d had famished rebels to the rebellion, who had threatened of late to rebel again, who alarmed the governor with measures which would be fatal to the constitution, and who from their hustings even now were calling for separation. The i Yuwn, in the person of governor Metcalfe, had been out- raged by the reformers, and all men who loved peace and British rule were asked to rally round the representative of the Queen, In a country yet in a crude state of civilization, where the reverential and emotional are the strongest sides to the character of men, we need not wonder how talismanic proved the mention of the Crown. " Next to my God, my king," was the rule of men for over a thousand years, when to touch the hem of the royal garment made the sufferer whole. Aye, and More than my God, my king," was often the maxim too, and it is avowed us by the statesman-prelate gasping his 56 LIFE OF SIR JOHN A. MACDONALD. last in the Abbey of Leicester. It is hard to break the bonds which " The Queen of Slaves, The hood-winked angel of the blind, and dead, Custom," has during a thousand years bound about us. The sword of Alex- ander cannot cut that woof; but when the man stands up, full of that better light which is purging the world, the thrall snaps easily as the flaxen withes that bound Sampson. The blind reverence of the province was aroused at this election ; but Sir Charles and the tories said it was the British Lion that was abroad. We fancy they had the lion in the wrong place. The emotional reverence of the people was abroad blind-fold, and not the lion which cowered in his covert. The British lion is not a cruel monster that lives in the closet of a tyrannical king or an autocrat governor, but he Ls the noble beast that goes abroad and vindicates the rights and the manhood of the peo- ple. He was heard at Runnymede, and his roar was louder than the cry of Strafford's butchers. The fury was not alone the property of the hustings during this campaign, but it blew a hurricane through the prints as well. Every editor dipped his pen in gall ; every column reeked with libel. Those who had no newspapers is- sued handbills, that might have fired the fences upon which they were posted. Had poor Mr. Potts been in Canada, in the midst of this ink-cyclone, he would have sighed for the tame- ness of his Eatonswill Gazette. But there was a class of men who considered the poster too low a medium, and the news- paper not high enough for the formal conveyance of their loyalty or the spread of their radicalism, and these flew to the pamphlet. The most noted of the pamphleteers was Rev, Egerton Ryerson, who did not add anything to his reputation for usefulness or integrity by becoming the abject flatterer and slavish defender of Sir Charles Metcalfe. It is pleasing to note, however, one good feature in this questionable transaction. FROM THE BAR TO THE HUSTINGS. 57 The governor was grateful, and the following year the doctor was assured the chief superin tendency of education for Upper Canada. If in this, though, we find no reparation by the governor for his oppression of the people, we do find in it an excuse for the divine in lending himself to the autocrat. Self-interest is the strongest passion among mortals ; and Dr. Ryerson was mortal. His pamphlets are not worth much notice, save for their literary form, 'which is good, although Hon. A. Mackenzie says in his "Life of George Brown" that it is not good. This hardly amounts to a contradiction, how- ever, as Mr. Mackenzie is not a judge of literary style. The doctor was a fiery and terse writer, and generally made the most of his material, though he had a passion for running into bombast. He was not satisfied with defending his master on one or two points, but led up his defences in battalions. It was a crushing reply to the charge of autocracy to be told by the reverend defender that Sir Charles was "not a fortune seeker, but a fortune spender," and that he was " good to the poor." Nevertheless, in the governor's cause these pamphlets were as strong as armies, for they were spread among the dis- senters, a class outside the charmed circle of the aristocracy, and, hence, stoutly given to reform. They transfigured the governor from a monster "mounted on an elephant, the despotic ruler of oriental slaves," as the fiery and terse Francis Hincks styled him, into a " benevolent man," whose whole life was " an un- Eng round of good works." Mr. Sullivan, under the name of "Legion," appeared on the other side with pamphlets which would have been more impressive had they been less flippant. About this time, Mr. George Brown, a young Scotchman for some time resident in New York, came over to Canada, can- vassing for a little weekly newspaper called the British Chronicle, belonging to his father, Peter Brown. He went about among the politicians to see if he could get encourage- ment to establish a political newspaper. It would have been natural to him to have allied himself with the tories, as both 58 LIFE OF SIR JOHN A. MACDONALD. be and his father had been more intensely British and anti- American in New York than Metcalfe had been in Canada. The tories, however, had plenty of organs, and were never over-anxious to share confidence with adventurers. But young Brown was more lucky among the radicals, and the ultimate outcome was the establishment of a new radical organ, the Globe. This paper was launched on the eve of the contest, and at once began the battle with much earnestness. Its style was rous but extremely uncouth, and would be rather rough reading in the light of our present newspaper culture. This, however, was not a grievous fault then, for not a very large bulk of its readers enjoyed much more literary culture than the editor himself. Its more serious fault was the frequent crude and undigested form of its thought which was the result of a spontaneous outpouring of impatient and indiscreet enthu- siasm. There was no manoeuvering in Mr. Brown's advances ; he attacked always in charges. It was on seeing his impatience and impetuosity, his lack of tact and the inability " to wait for the morrow till the morrow came," that men said, " Another William Lyon Mackenzie has come amongst us." Once it is recorded in Holy Writ that in troublous times fierce horsemen were seen riding through the clouds shaking their shields and spears : to those who looked out upon the political sky as the summer of 1844 wore away, and autumn came, the spectacle could have been scarce less full of fore- boding. Chaos virtually had come, for the governor had now unlawfully ruled eight months without a constitutional govern- ment. Mr. Draper had proved the friend and counsellor of the governor all along ; but as August arrived, and yet no progress in forming a ministry had been made, he one day waited upon his excellency and told him he saw grave danger in further delay. Mr. Draper was a tory of a dye almost pre-historic, yet he was a wise man and a patriot. The governor took his sharp and, we may say, imperious advice with wonderful grace for an autocrat, and set himself to work to form a cabinet. Evidently FROM THE BAR TO THE HUSTINGS. 59 Mr. Draper had frightened him, for he went hastily at his work, as if he fancied a tempest were shortly to break, and he feared being caught in the storm. In a few weeks it was known that a cabinet had been patched up as follows : James Smith - Attorney-General, East. Wit. Draper - Attorney-General, West. D. J. Papineau - Com. of Crown Lands. WlLLIAM Morris Receiver General. M. Viger . - . President of the Council- Dominick DALY ... - Provincial Secretary. The capture of Mr. Papineau was the most important move the governor had mad.' ; for he was a brother of the notorious agitator and rebel, and his accession to the cabinet fell like a Manket upon some of the more radical of the reformers. M. Viger was another French Canadian. He had been a bo- som friend of Joseph Papineau, had aided in the rebellion; and for his treason. While lying in the gaol a tory paper had objected to his being "fattened for the gallows.'' The same journal with other tory organs now pointed to him with pride as a leading representative Canadian, and an honour and a strength to the government. But after all M. Viger was not a man of much consequence. He had not constancy enough in his character to be much of anything. He was a weak rebel and an indifferent patriot. He was on the market when Met- began to play the despot, and was speedily bought up. His absorption into the new cabinet had no effect upon any- body but himself and those who profited by his salary and honors. But those who knew the old man were moved to sorrow ra- ther than to anger at his defection. " I assure you that no oc- currence in my political life," says Robert Baldwin, in a private letter to a gentleman in Kingston, " has ever occasioned me a tenth part of the personal pain than the position which our venerable friend thought proper to assume, has inflicted upon 60 LIFE OF SIR JOHN A. MACDONALD. me. ... I honoured him as a patriot, I loved him as a man, and I revered him as a father. ... In fact his course is one of those enigmas that baffle me quite in every attempt to unravel it, and I can still really designate it by no other term than an hallucination." The necessity of appealing to the country went sorely against the governor's grain, but he was assured that there was no hope for the ministry in the existing house. When he found that a dissolution was inevitable, he folded his sleeves for the contest, and stooped to artifices and meanness in forwarding the cause of the tory party to which an average ward politician would hardly descend. He felt however sure of victory. Cir- cumstances stronger than the strength of parties were in his favour ; he lacked not the aid of friends who were influential and unscrupulous, and had the satisfaction, above all, to know that his opponents were alienating sympathy by their excesses. The contest came on in November, in a very hurricane of umult. At more than one hustings blood was shed, and mu- tual massacre on a general scale only prevented by bodies of soldiers and special constables. The worst fiend known to man was loose in those days during the elections, the demon of whiskey. Near every booth were open houses, where the ex- cited mobs drank intoxicants furnished by the candidates till they became mad. For days before polling, ill-favoured look- ng persons poured into Montreal, some carrying dirks and slung-shots, and others pistols. Regiments of soldiers, aided by hundreds of special constables, were on constant duty during the elections in this riotous city, but could not prevent some of the most brutal collisions, and even bloodshed. The suspi- cious strangers with the dirks and pistols did not come into the city for naught ; and in the riots gave many a bloody account of themselves. In Kingston the passions of the mob were scarce less brutal, or party feeling less bitter. Recent sittings of the parliament there had called the staid political principles of the people into FROM THE BAR TO TEE HUSTINGS. 61 activity, and now the crisis which had come fanned that ac- tivity into a fierce flame. Some were extreme radicals, who declared at their gatherings that " the British system ought to be pulled out by the roots," others were uncompromising in their toryisra, and prayed that Metcalfe " might hold fast, and fight the good fight bravely to the end ; " while, perhaps, a party as Large as the two extreme ones, took the middle ground, and was neither so radical as the out-and-out reformer, nor so conservative as the ultra tory. To the moderate conservative party John A Macdonald belonged, though when it was told through the streets of Kingston that he was coming to oppose Manahan, the extrem as well as members of the great middle party approved of the choice, and, with ringing cheers, followed the young Alexander of polities to the hustings. CHAPTER IV. FROM THE HUSTINGS TO THE HOUSE. A TORY, however, Mr. Miu-lonald was, and as a tory he went to the polls. But what he professed was not that slavish toryism which believed that the nation and the people were made only for the sovereign. Neither did he go to the hustings " talking prerogative, the alpha and omega of the compact," but at once came to the political condition of the people. With prerogative, indeed, he did not concern himself at all, unless where it bore on the constitutional status of the province. These were turbulent times in many parts of Upper and Lower Canada, and for several months preceding the elections monster meetings had been held by the party leaders at various parts of the province. It was not unusual to see proceeding to one of these gatherings, a hundred teams, each carrying a dozen stalwart voters to stirring music, with flags flying, and every man armed with a club. Violent collisions often occurred, and the polling places were frequently the scenes of the maddest and most brutal party strife. Of a similar character were the crowds that gathered at Kingston before the elections were held, some cheering for Mr. Manahan, others for Mr. Macdonald. Manahan was an Irish- man, and all the bullies of the city were on his side. The number of these was comparatively small, but they could terrorize over a much larger number of peacably disposed men. But the election had not proceeded far when the repute of Manahan had grown so odious that his followers began to drop away in flocks. The man's past career, the worthlessness of his moral character and his mean abilities had much to do with 62 FROM THE HUSTINGS TO THE HOUSE. 6$ this ; but the chief reason was the happy address, the skill and tact of the young lawyer, who opposed him, and who grew from day to day in the good-will of the voters. Macdonald addressed several meetings in the open air, meet- ings composed of riotous men, inflamed with whiskey and the worst passions of party. At one of these meetings he had much difficulty in getting an opportunity to begin his speech, as several adherents of Manahan came there to obstruct him, "Never," says an eye-witness, "did he lose temper, but good- naturedly waited till there was a lull in the disturbance.'* When silence was restored, lie said he knew most of the elect- ors, and they were all manly fellows — too manly, indeed, to 96 another fair play. Tli opposed to him, he said, and they had a right to be, and he would not give much for them if they would not stand up for their own eandi I; hut if they had a right to their opinions — and he would be glad to listen to them at another tim< — he had also a right to hia He only wished to present his side of the case, and if his ers did not agn-e with him they might afterwards vote for whom they chose. Here was something more than soothing speech; here, in- . was the genius of a Mark Antony, that could by the very force of >ubtle knowledge of character, turn a hostile mob into friends upon the spot. The stroke told, and at v j.»int which appealed to the manliness and fair play of his opponents — for every man, however mean, respects both these qualities — the crowd cheered again and again, and the cheers did not all come from his own friends. It need hardly be said that during his speech there were no more interrup- tions, and tint he had completely conquered his opponents be- charming his friends, A very intelligent Irishman, who had just arrived in Canada, called at Macdonald's office the next day, and said to a student there that he had heard >nnell the year before making a speech in Kerry. " The ch last night," he said, " was not as forcible as O'Connell's, 64 LIFE OF SIR JOHN A. MACDONALD. but it was just as effective." Mr. Macdonald's speeches, how- ever, were far from consisting of sweetness and suavity alone ; he had a tongue that could scourge, but it was rarely an unruly tongue. Manahan received more than one castigatiou before that memorable campaign ended ; but the ex-ministry and their party came in for the lion's share. We have already shown that the crisis was one where party feeling was called into fierce activity ; that in many places the active tory became a firebrand, and the moderate one a zealot — that hosts of re- formers rallied around the governor, and only the most pro- nounced of the party stood by their guns. We do not wonder at Mr. Macdonald being loud in his cry against the ousted ministry. He had been brought up a conservative, and the young men with whom he first mingled were of the same po- litical school. So, indeed, were nearly all, if not all, of his close friends, up to his entry into public life ; and the first chapter of political history he read, in equipping himself for his career, he saw through conservative glasses. It was impossible that he could have been other than a tory, taking into consideration his birth, early training and associations. In and about Kingston everything was on the side of conserv- atism ; — the wealth, the influence, in great measure the intel- ligence, the social standing, and the prospects. Had Macdon- ald been the son of a whig father, and grown up in Toronto, instead of Kingston, he might have struck a different chord when he came upon his first platform. But to condemn him for being a tory, as circumstances were, would be to see " an example and a shining light " in the hero in Pinafore, who " might have been a Roosian, a French, or Turk, or Proosian, or perhaps an Italian," but who " in spite of all temptations to belong to other nations," became " an Englishman." Friendly historians, commenting upon Mr. Macdonald's entry into pub- lic life, speak of his toryism, not as a set of irresistible opin- ions, but as if the young politician were troubled with lame back or a club foot, for they considerately describe it as " his FROM THE HUSTINGS TO THE HOUSE. 65 misfortune rather than his fault." The fact is, he ought, like Richard the Third, to have come into the world a horrible pro- digy, feet first, and bristling with teeth, and instead of crying, as most babies do when first stranded upon this cold and cruel world, begun with a rattling stump speech on Reform. It matters little how John A. Macdonald set out. It is his career in the trying path of public life in which we are interested. If there he did his duty history will be satisfied Macdonald did n« »t lack materia] to incite, from his stand- point, tin- most fwathing speeches, While we all have sympa- thies with the struggles of a just cause, with the excesses of that cause we cannot have any sympathy. Some of the most brazen demagogues had gone about the country for two years befoiv the election pluming themselves on their disloyalty and the aid they bad given to rebellion. They openly declared that henceforth the gov e rnment should consist of men who bad been either rebels in act or in open sympathy. Then many close friends of the ex-government bad gone ranting about the country declaring thai the government intended to proclaim Can- ada a republic, and that we had bad enough of British connexion. The ex-ministers had to bear the brunt of all this mischievous noise ; in d 1. they took no pains to repudiate the wild sayings of their followers. Then, during the closing session of parlia- ment, it is said that cabinet secrets were the property of every knot of reform loafers who gathered in the bar-rooms of Kingston. It is undoubted that there was a painful lack of ministerial dignity, and that scores of persons of indifferent Lai standing enjoyed the confidence of ministers upon coun- cil atl'ai is and government measures past and prospective. It was generally believed, too, that the collision between Metcalfe and the executive was less due to a spirit of constitutional unfairness on the part of the governor than to the factious and intolerable attitude of the council. They were, therefore, to blame that the country had gone nine months without a constitutional government, her peace exposed to the gravest I 66 LIFE OF SIR JOHN A, MACDONALD. dangers. There is no reason why Mr. Macdonald should have believed differently from the large majority of conservatives, and there was no sham scorn, we may be sure, in his denuncia- tions of the lack of ministerial dignity, and the reproaches which ho hurled upon the late government for the disloyalty of themselves and their followers. Taverns were open in Kingston as elsewhere during the contest, and whiskey and blood from cut heads flowed as freely as at Doneybrook Fair. It was impossible for two opposing factions to meet without a collision, and the candidate who escaped violence or gross insult was a man of more than ordin- ary popularity. It was the custom, too, at some of the public halls where meetings were held, for members of the opposing faction to make a sudden rush and extinguish the lights, when the most indescribable confusion ensued, which ended in the break-up of the meeting. Though this was done during this election at many an assemblage in Kingston, Mr. Macdonald scarcely ever had a noisy interruption at his gatherings. His tact and suavity disarmed hostility, and when he was dealing some of his most effective blows to his opponent, he adminis- tered them with such good nature that the listener was remind- ed of the hero in the song, who " met with a friend and for love knocked him down." Instead of provoking hostility his- aim was to disarm it, and this he accomplished while making many a crushing point against his opponents. Every day the contest lasted saw his popularity grow and that of his op- ponent decrease, till, at length, a day before the polls closed, the latter rushed out of the field in despair, while in the midst of the wildest enthusiasm at the close Mr. Macdonald wa& carried through the city on a chair, the victor by an over- whelming majority of votes. There remains little more to be told of the story of poor Manahan. He dropped out of public life a broken man. From stage to stage of the down road to ruin he went; his friends forsook him ; his Church cursed him with candle, bell FROM THE HUSTINGS TO THE HOUSE. 67 and book, and after he had died from cold and misery, i wretched outcast, she refused Christian sepulture to his remains. Perhaps he rested after all, poor fellow, as comfortably in his little unconsecrated plot as in the shadow of the Roman fane. But Manahan was not a good man. His ways were evil, and like bis ways his end. The country was not proof against a united Compact where all was staked upon the issue; against public money scattered broadcast to debauch constituencies, and a govern. >r-"vneral in liis shirt-sleeves pleading for the crown. The result was that the tories were sustained by a majority of three, though the governor-general, in a fit of jubilation, before the returns were all in, wrote a despatch to the colonial secretary, Lord Stanley, setting forth a different result. Forty-six for the i ii ii ient, twenty-eight in opposition, and nine afloat, was his representation. Both the governor and the colonial sec- retary held that drift-wood went with the current, and un- officially counted the nine in with the forty -eight. This would show a sweeping victory for Sir Charles, and plead trumpet- tongned in justification of his pre-election course. That de- spatch, however, was false, but it was important. Jt deceived the home government, and got a peerage for the governor. The session opened with a wrangle over the appointment of a speaker. By a clause of the Union Act, the official use of the French language had been prohibited in the legislature, but with nearly half the members in the house of French origin, it was deemed well by all fair-minded men that the occupant of the chair should know both languages. Two candidates were proposed — Mr. Morin, an ex-Minister, who understood both languages, and Sir Allan MacNab, who understood no language but English, and that not very well. The latter was chosen by a majority of three votes, which showed the strength of parties, and the reckless despatches that governors- general will sometimes write to the colonial office. OS LIFE OF SIR JOHN A. MACDONALD. The Reform party now held a caucus, at which it was decided that Mr. Lafontaine should introduce resolutions later on in the session, praying the home government to remove the em- bargo pat upon the official use of the French language. In those days governor Metealfe did not creep about in person to listen at his opponents 1 doors. He would not be above doing this, however, if fche enterprise were a convenient one; but he main- tained instead a pimp 01 a listener at every window and key- hole when the reformers projected a movement which it was his peculiar interest to thwart. In the proposed resolutions of Mr. Lafontaine he saw danger to the French votes he had pur- chased. Messrs. Viger and Papineau had been bought in the political shambles, it is true, and could be purchased again, but it would be too much even for them to face the storm of ob- loquy that would follow their support to a government which as a body opposed the resolutions of Mr. Lafontaine. On the other hand, did they and the government as a whole support the resolutions, the French people would ask, Can justice come to us only from opposition ? Thus was there a dilemma, one horn not more inviting than the other. The governor, there- fore, once again, decided to play the Hindoo. One day, as reform members sat listlessly at their desks, Mr. Papineau arose and moved a set of resolutions praying for the relaxation of restrictions upon an official use of the French language. " Once more has the subtle Indian," whispered Mr. Baldwin to the member who sat beside him, " delved a yard below our mines." No one was astonished now when the cunning or the meanness of the governor came to the surface. There was only the feeling of mortification that he shouid have been per- mitted to delve below the mines. Parliament had no sooner opened than petitions " thick as leaves that strew the brooks at Vallambrosa," began to pour into the house, some setting forth that one member had ob- tained his seat by the hybrid sin of " bribery and corruption," others that perjured returning officers and partisan magistrates FROM THE HUSTINGS TO THE HOUSE. 69 had turned majorities into minorities, and sent the defeated candidate of the government to the legislature. Some of the ministerial supporters affected to disbelieve these charges ; Others said they were intolerable if true, but not a few coolly maintained that whether they were true or false was of little consequence. The contest had been between rebellious sub- jects and the authority of the Crown, they said, and in main- taining connection with the glorious mother-land, and subor- dinating our colonial functions to the jurisdiction of the Fons // t veteran in that whole house. He assumed no airs when he to speak, and never attempted dramatic or sentimental flights, as did the man to whom he has been likened, in the outset of his career. He never spoke merely for the purpose of talking, but only when that which he had to say threw more tight upon the discussion, added force to an attack, or strength to the defence. It is not uninteresting to note that the beginning of his long executive career was his appointment on the 12th of December, 1844, to the standing orders com- mittee. On the 21st of December there was much turmoil in the assembly. During the elections held at Montreal, owing* to the corrupting facilities in the hands of the govern- ment, Hon. Geo. Moffatt and Mr. C. S. De Bleury had been returned to the legislature. One Peter Dunn, and others, ac- cordingly drew up a petition setting forth the irregularities 74 LIFE OF SIR JOHN A. MACDONALD. of the election, and Mr. Aylwin, a reformer, and a gentleman possessing a most flippant and annoying tongue, moved that the election of the two members be declared void. The soli- citor-general, Mr. Sherwood, held that the petition was insuf- ficient, inasmuch as it was not competent to any person, not an elector at the time of the election, to petition against a mem- ber s return, and that the law in Lower Canada required that ten of the persons signing such a petition should take an oath declaring their right to vote under the Act. But this petition omitted to show these vital points, for which reason it was not ■ valid subject for legislative action. Mr. Aylwin, in a deluge of words, said the government was unnecessarily tied to techni- calities. Mr. Baldwin, the leader of the reformers, said the mere technical question with respect to qualification was en- titled to no weight. The question now was not whether the acts alleged in Dunn's petition were true or false, but whether the legal formalites had been observed which Lower Canada required. " Will any one tell me," quoth Mr. Baldwin, " that if I had only obtained my elective franchise yesterday, I am not interested in the manner in which the town or country -where I reside is represented ? " Then Mr. Baldwin folded his coat and sat down. Up to this time the young Kingston mem- ber had uttered no word in the house save yea or nay. Many members had heard of the clever Kingston lawyer who defend- ed Shoultz, and overwhelmed Manahan, but he had sat there so unobtrusively at his desk that many thought, really, but little about him, regarding him as a quiet, lawyer-like politi- cian, who seemed very industrious — for he was always reading or searching books — and that was all. Now he arose, cool and collected, to put an old member right ; not, indeed, some indif- ferent member, but the renowned Mr. Baldwin, with whom few, save the " know-nothing, fear nothing," members of the government would care to have measured swords. He glanced first at the speaker, then at the leader of the opposition. In * reply to that gentleman's observations he would say that the DBA UGHTS FR OM TOR Y FO I WTA IXS. 75 hon. gentleman was mistaken in supposing that the law did not require parties petitioning to be resident at the place where the elections took place, and that if they afterwards became residents it would be sufficient. The hon. and learned member for Quebec did not adopt that line of argument because he saw that it was an unsound one. The whole of the argument upon the subject used by Sir William Follett, which had been referred to, was sustained, and it was a principle not only of law, but of common lense, that parties not residing at the place of election ran not be aggrieved by the return. It could not be contended that they had sustained a wrong, and it would be out of their power to make the affidavit, required by the statute. The first ground of objection was not answered in any way, because the law of Lower Canada on this point was the same as the law of Eng lan d, and tin' argument* need must apply with equal force in the one case as in the other. The second ground of objection was equally unanswerable. It was true that the magistrate had taken upon himself to state that the oath which had been taken was according to law, but the house was the only com- petent judge as to whether the oath had been so administered. It seemed to him, therefore, upon these grounds that the peti- tion could not be supported; and to settle the precedent he would move that the further consideration of the question be deferred until the 11th day of January next." A writer who draws an amusing picture of the phcenix-like member for Megantic, Mr. Daly, and a not flattering portrait of Mr. Sherwood, was present in the house when Mr. Macdon- ald made his first speech. He tells us that " when Mr. Mac- donald stood up to reply to the contentions of the opposition, he addressed the house with as much ease as if speaking there were nothing new to him. He had an air of confidence, and was as truly naaster of his subject as if he had been prime minister. Every eye was upon the young member as he spoke, and as I saw the respectful attention that was paid to him, I felt proud of Kingston." This gives us an idea of the 76 LIFE OF SIR JOHN A. MACDONALD: manner of Mr. Macdonald on first addressing the house, but the speech itself tells us a much fuller story. It is not often that the beginner in fence courts conflict with a master of the sword. It is not often that a young politician, standing up for the first time in parliament, courts issue with a veteran, the leader of a great party, and a debater against whom none save the reckless would have cared to match himself. But this weight in his opponent was the very incentive that hur- ried Macdonald to the conflict. He had sat since the opening of the house silent, often with scorn upon his lips, while a series of little tempests raged about him, till now, he saw an opportunity to worst the greatest opponent on the other side, to end a wrangle, and establish a precedent. It is not to be wondered at that the austere reformer glanced darkly from under his brows at this young man whom he had not seen till rday, who now stood up coolly rebuking him and expos- ing his errors, as if the ex-minister were the novice, and the novice the veteran. But the speaker spoke on indifferently. For days he had heard the house wrangle about these Mon- treal seats, and now he felt the time had come when the brawling ought to cease. He had looked for some member of the government to end the turmoil, but had looked in vain. The spirit of confusion had taken the bit in its teeth, and the government was completely at its mercy. What old heads had failed to do, at last he did. He made a motion that at once brought the barren strife to an end, and established a prece- dent. His motion ended the disorder, and the house set free, proceeded with its work. It is doubted by no one now that both Messrs. De Bleury and Mo flat t won their seats through fraud and perjured instruments, but it was not Mr. Macdonald's aim or concern to shield them in their ill-got places. To reach them was made impossible by a fatal informality in Dunn's petitions. His speech was a triumph for higher reasons — a different speech from the first flight taken by the gaudy young statesman in the British commons. DBA UGIITS FROM TORY FOUNTAINS. 77 From this time on to the first of February, we meet not his name again in the mass of verbiage that flowed from the House. His silence during this period and the following ses- sion has been much commented on, but we have already seen that during a great portion of his time, while the wrangling went on, hesat will) bent bead at Ins desk, poring over a book, Or was found searching, or making memoranda in the library. But we suspect he was as deeply engaged in another direction; that then began the system of persona] influence upon political hich has been such an important factor in the se- cret of his success as a party leader. With most men noise is one of the necessary accompaniments of advancement, but with him it was different fchen m it has been since. Be did not gain the attention and Admiration of the conservative party by sounding his trumpet; and later on, when he entered the Cabinet, he weiri in, bo to speak, in his stocking-feet. Neither did he accomplish this in the fashion of a Machiavelli, but Jit after upon merits he had manifested without in- trigue or display, and through ■ system of what we must re- gard as something higher than mere tact, as indeed an art born in him with his birth, and a phase of only the rarest genius On the first of February, Mr. Roblin introduced a Bill pro- viding for the proper distribution of intestate property in Upper ('ana. la. He set forth that the law of primogeniture was an evil tree to set growing in our country ; and drew a touching picture of an expiring father dying intestate, whose baby son wondered at all the faces gathered about his papa's bed. Would the house believe, Mr. Roblin asked, that the father was less anxious for the welfare of this infant son thrown upon the cold world, than for the oldest son who might have reached the years of manhood? He therefore believed that what Canada wanted was gavelkind. Such was the law in Kent, and under it the children of the intestate inher- ited in equal proportions. Mr. Baldwin believed that the Bill 78 LIFE OF SIR JOHN A. MACDONALD. was very defective, but as the people of Upper Canada desired it, he would vote for it. Mr. Baldwin bad no sooner sat down, than the provokingly cool young lawyer from Kingston rose again ; once more looked at the Speaker, and from the Speaker to the leader of the opposition ; then told " Mr. Speaker " that he " heard with sur- prise and regie! the hon. member for the fourth riding of York, after <1< glaring that the system now attempted to be in- troduced was open to great objections, state his intention to support it. He had, indeed, always persuaded himself that the hon. gentleman's motto was * Flat justitia mat catlum.' He would vote for a measure which he knew to beidefective and declared to be a bad one, simply because he had taken it into lii^ head that the people of Upper Canada required it. . . . . How did he know they did require it ? There were but two legal and parliamentary ways of ascertaining what were the opinions of the people, petitions and public meetings, and there had been neither of these in its favour. . . „ It was folly to raise a monarchical structure upon a republican foundation The measure ought not to be intro- duced here for the very reason that it was adopted in the United States It violated the laws of political economy, and was calculated to make the poor poorer ; to make that which was a comfortable farm-house in one genera- tion a cottage in the second, and a hovel in the third. They had heard that primogeniture was a son of toryism, but surely they would accept the dicta of Blackwood's Magazine, a jour- nal not much tied to toryism, against the cutting and carving up. ... It was the younger sons of England that had made her great in peace or war. What would have been the younger Pitt and Fox if instead of being sent forth to seek their fortunes, the estates of their fathers had been divided ? They would have been mere country squires. It was fortunate for the Duke of Wellington and for his country that he was left with his sword in his hand, and that sword all he had." DRA UGHTS FR OM TOR Y FO UNTA INS. 79 We do not quote these extracts in admiration of all their doctrines, but to show how deftly the young politician could turn away the point of an opponent's argument, and that oppo- nent in the right ; and how he had yet to escape from his strong tory shell. How ashamed of him his party would now be to hear him from his place in the Dominion parliament defend what Gibbon calls the " insolent prerogative of primogeniture." How ashamed of him his party and the country now would be to hear him oppose a measure here " for the very reason that it was adopted in the United States." But these opinions, held for some years later, were as the vapours that hang about the face of the morning, but which are purged away as the strength of the day advances. We know that Mr. Ifaedonald's public life has been described as " a f contradictions," but in what statesman do we fm narrow bigot. Yet we see not even the bitterest tory organ in England describe his career as " a series of contradictions," though it has been far more contradictory than John A. Mac- donald's. Mr. Disraeli, during all the time he was prominently before the public, was regarded at worst, as a sort of fantastic tory, yet strange and contradictory was his beginning. He began as a visionary radical, and formed one of the joints in O'Connell's tail ; in his earlier books he evoked a clapping of hands from reformers by his advocacy of free trade ; but won 80 LIFE OF SIR JOHN A. MACDONALD. party leadership by becoming the champion of protection. In * l Lothair " he sneered at the aristocracy, and then knelt before its shrine. He denounced it as a " Venetian oligarchy," and then described it as comprising "the dignified pillars upon which order end liberty rest." Y.-t to after years when the man- tle of rule descended upon him, even hisopponents forgot these things, for they had been done and said when there was nei- ther responsibility nor experience. A man is not born wise, but the way to wisdom lies open to every man, and he is tarnished with ■ light to guide him by that way, and that light the understanding. If he falter by the way or turn into the crooked bye-paths, then does he be- e accountable to his fellow men and receive the judgment of history. A man who first sets foot in the bewildering paths of public life is like unto one who has just begun to learn a trade. Experience is his school, and there must be many a de- fective blow dealt, many a wrong step made before the appren- tice comes out a master of his craft. We have no training schools unfortunately where we can send candidates for public life, but are obliged to accept the unfit and unready, and leave them to learn their trade while they are doing our journeymen work! It is not surprising that the "botches" seen in our egislative halls are so many and the handicraft often so very bad. Neither, unfortunately, is it always the ablest and most suitable students in the political trade that we send at the poli- tical journey-work ; but often men of a low intellectual stamp, who never read a suitable book in their lives, who know noth- ing and really care less about great political questions, and whose passport to public favour is joviality in the bar-room or at the billiard table, and the ability to talk blatant vulgarity on the " stump " at election times. Few of the really worthy men, those who watch the trend of events, who read and think, can be induced to enter into a field so degraded, but retire away to their libraries; though probably, if one of these men did come, he would find himself distanced far in the race DRAUGHTS FROM TORY FOUNTAINS, 81 by some demagogue who excelled him in drinking beer, driv- ing fast horses, and "treating" friends in the saloons. We have a legion of reformers in this count rv. but will some of them not come forward and begin to reform here? As well may they wrangle with the winds as many of the questions ■gainst which they have set their lances. If the people, after ing both sides of a plain question, put with clearness and force, decide to have N. P, or N. C, let them have it. It is they alone who are concerned. But the question of the intellectual and moral capacity of the candidate for Legisla- tive uchi - the root of the whole political system. [f you elect to represent yon a man with a low moral char- . depend upon bis turning corruptionist if he get the chance; and it u but too often the case, in all parts of our Dominion, that a man who has no moral or social stand- ing, and who has failed at everything else — in commerce, in law, in medicine, and not (infrequently in divinity — turns politician, sells himself to the highest bidder, and ever after- wards makes it the aim of his life to get all of the public funds he can, welcoming the means, whatever their character, to thai and Well, Gladstone and Disraeli were not exceptions in being "off with the old love." Peel* who began bis career as a tory of the tories, was not struck with the light till two years after Mr. Macdonald had entered public life, and then suddenly an- nounced to the house that he had changed his mind on the whole subject of protection, on the policy that he had advo- cated all his life, and was now converted to a belief in free trade. Yet history relates the change without discredit to his memory, although it came when he was in his fifty-eighth year, the ?ery meridian of his powers. Only a few days ago a- noble lord, whose toryism had been pronounced, and who fought aide by ride with Disraeli in many a pitched battle against Gladstone, entered the great liberal's cabinet as colo- nial secretary, And really the tories whom he deserted had 82 LIFE OF SIR JOHN A. MACDONALD. less to say about the defection of the distinguished peer than some of our critics about the utterances of a student politi- cian delivered doling a reign of political chaos, and in the twi- light of opinion. We are not apologizing for inconsistency here, but justifying a wholesome and honest change of opinion. It would be an evil principle that required a legislator to oppose the adoption of the locomotive because, before the introduction of the steam engine, he had favoured the stage coach. No; tempora mutantur, et nos mutamur in Mis. For the remainder of the session, Mr. Macdonald sat uncon- cernedly at his desk, save when he arose to make a motion or introduce a measure. He had not grown less contemptuous for his opponents or warmer towards his friends ; but sat there waiting, with cool philosophy, for that tide to come, which, " taken at the flood leads on to fortune." Once indeed, on the 20tfa of February, he was aroused from his indifference by a wrangle which seemed to be interminable. Mr. Ay 1 win had persisted in interrupting Mr. Moffat t till he was named from the chair. But beyond the naming, no one on either side seemed to know how to proceed. Sir Allan was nonplussed, ministers looked on bewildered, leading reform members arose only to add to the confusion, while the merry-andrew who had raised the squall, bandied words defiantly with the house and the chair, seeming to say in effect, " I have been named ; here I am; what are you going to do with me ?" While the house sat puzzled and confounded, there was a movement at a quiet desk, and the cool member for Kingston arose. He looked around the confused house, and from the house to the chair. " The member for Quebec has been named," he said ; "he might now explain the cause of his being called to order after which he must withdraw." And he took his seat. The words threw light upon the house but a formality was yet needed. Aylwin still kept the floor, hurled abuse indiscriminately, and defied the chair. Members looked from one to the other, and DRA UGnTS FROM TOR Y FO UNTAINS. 83 many eyes were turned to the desk of the member for King- ston. Again he arose. " As the member for Quebec chooses to continue in the same strain, I move that he withdraw. " This punctured the bubble, and Mr. Aylwin apologized. The incident goes to show the cool prompitude of the young politi- cian, when others who must have understood the formalities, in the confusion, had forgotten them. It was hoped by Sir Charles that the appearance of Mr. Draper in the lower chamber would secure the harmony of the members, but the tendency was to disruption instead of cohesion. With a loud flourish Mr. Draper had stated in the beginning of the session that the government would stand or fall with the University Bill; with cynical faces the opposi- tion saw him bring the measure down; saw his supporters •brink away ; saw him eat the leek, withdraw the Bill upon the second reading, do everything, in short, but keep his word and resign. They remembered, too, that only a few weeks before he had told the people of London that he would not retain office under circumstances that would oblige a British minister to yield up the seals, At this date, it appears, the conscience of Sir Charles Met- calfe began to sting him, in proportion as his government lost ground he exerted himself by art and wile to prop it up, till, eventually, as his biographer tells us, he began to fear that he had lowered his honour, and appeared to himself somewhat of a trickster. But, though ho had degraded his high office, the home government considered he had done his duty well, and wrote to him that he had been ennobled. It is not surprising that when an address was moved in the legislature, felicitating him on his honours, many a member said that he could not congratulate either Baron Metcalfe or the House of Lords ; and that instead of being honoured with gauds and title he ought to have been re- called and tried for high crimes and misdemeanors. If the 84 LIFE OF SIR JOHN A. MACDONALD. denunciation was extravagant, it was certainly not without its excuse. Shortly after the prorogation of parliament a destructive fire broke out in Quebeq, consuming 1,650 dwellings, two churches, a ship-yard and several lumber yards. Nearly 2,000 persons were turned penniless and adrift upon public charity. Assistance rapidly poured in from every quarter, and the governor-general, who took active measures in soliciting subscriptions, generously headed the list with $2,000. The end of poor Metcalfe's mortal career was drawing close to him now. His old malady, cancer in the face, had broken out afresh, and was dragging him down remorselessly to the grave. They sent out a physician from the colonial office with a sovereign wash* for the disease, but the patient was beyond the reach of human skill. During the early winter he crossed the At- lantic to his seat at Basingstoke and died there. It is said that in private life he was kind and courteous, and good to the poor ; and that many a tear was shed to his memory. His epitaph was written by Macaulay, who makes the marble tell posterity that," In Canada, not yet recovered from the calamities of civil war, he reconciled contending factions to each other and to the mother country," and that " costly monuments in Asiatic and American cities attest the gratitude of the nations he ruled." This, however, only lessens our faith in epitaphs. It proves, too, that Byron was not all astray when he toldjis in the " English Bards and Scotch Reviewers," not to " Believe a woman or an epitaph, Or any other thing that's false." It was during the spring of this year that the gallant com- mander Sir John Franklin sailed away with high hopes from England to meet his death among the thunders of ice in the dismal North. Thereafter it was that many a whaling crew * Chloride of Zinc DRA VGIITS FROM TOR Y FO UNTAIKS. 85 at night in Northern bays sang while the tempest howled and icebergs rumbled the touching song, In Bantling Bay while the whale blows, The fate of Franklin no one knows ; * * * and told, how, often in the wierd light of the aurora bore- the brave commander and two of his company, clad in white, were seen gliding swiftly by bound for the frozen pole. CHAPTER VI. THE LIGHTS OF '44. WILLIAM HENRY DRAPER, whose commanding pres- ence and sweet silvery voice would attract anybody who visited the gallery of the legislature, was born in Lon- don, England, in 1801. His father was rector of a High Epis- copal Church there, but the son yearning for adventure left the parsonage when a mere lad and entered as a cadet on board an East Indiaman. Here he had plenty of the adventure that falls to the middy's share, but tiring of the " floating palace," as Marryat describes the East Indiamen of those days, and even the allurement of a tiger hunt in the jungle after the voy- age, the young rover, in his twentieth year, reached Canada, and settled down to the less romantic employment of teaching school in Port Hope. But this new occupation was only a stepping-stone and did not detain him long. He studied law and was called to the bar, taking up his residence in Toronto* or what was then known as Little York. In 1836 Toronto elected him to the legislature of Upper Canada, and the fol- lowing year, at the invitation of Sir Francis Bond Head, he took a seat in the executive without a portfolio. During the battle of smoke at Gallows' Hill he was an aide- de-camp to the governor ; became solicitor-general in 1837, and attorney-general in 1840, succeeding, to the latter office, Hon. Christopher A. Hagerman. Mr. Draper was a tory. He staunchly upheld the union of Church and State, but did not consider that any church, save his own, had the right to an offi- cial existence. Dear to him, above every feature of government, 86 THE LIGHTS OF 'U. 87 was the prerogative of the Crown, which he looked upon as a constitutional safeguard, never indeed regarding it as a tyranni- cal engine, even when it kept the majority under its heel and demitted the governing power to the minority. Yet, ac- cording to the light he had upon political liberty, he wafl i good man, and loved his country well. The fact is, he regarded "popular rights " as a doctrine so full of evil, that, it would, if granted, undermine our stately systems and plunge the whole governmental fabric into ruin. As all good and thoughtful men 1 the doctrines of communism, so did he regard the principles of the reformers. During many a year he was i brake upon the gr oat -rolling wheel of progress, but in his obstruction saw only the duty of the patriot. He possessed a graceful form and a commanding presence; and when lie ad- dressed a jury, in his earlier years, or his fellow legislators in later life, so rich and courtly was his eloquence, so sweet and insinuating were tic tones of his voice, that he won for him- self the* name of "Sweet William." He had a subtle know- ledge of human nature, an inexhaustible fund of tact when beset by difficulties to mollify opponents, and "make the worse appear the better reason " ; yet he never had a large personal following, and could not hold together the incongruous ele- ments of the cabinets he led. It is not as a politician that he endures in our memory now, but as the justice of the dignified -Mid silvery voice that for thirty years adorned the bench with his high character and great judicial insight. He died on the 3rd of November, 1877, being then in his 77th year, regretted for his lofty character and great abilities. Robert Baldwin, the great Reformer, and son of Dr. William Warren Baldwin, of Summer Hill, Cork, Ireland, was born at Toronto in 1804. In 1789 his father and grandfather emigrated to this country and settled in the township of Clarke, Ontario, but removed afterwards to Toronto, where young Dr. Baldwin betook himself to the dual profession of law and medicine, prac- tising both for a time, and the law exclusively in later years, 88 LIFE OF SIR JOHN A. MACDONALD. with marked success. About six months before his death, which occurred id 1844, he was called to the legislative council of Canada. In 1825 Robert, who was now twenty-one years, entered upon the practice of law with his father, and the firm was thereafter known as " Baldwin & Son." In 1829 a va- cancy oc cu rred in the representation of York, by the resignation of Chief Justice Robinson, and Robert Baldwin was called out by the liberals to oppose the candidate of the Family Compact, Mr. Small. Young Baldwin, like his father, was op- 1 to the outrageous system of government which then pre- vailed, and being of a singularly lofty and honourable char- acter, and of marked ability, his entry into the field of politics created much attention. It was a time surely to fire any man who had in him the love of fair play, and could rise above personal or class interests. Of the twelve years from 1824 to 1836, the government was in a minority in the popular branch for eight years, a fact which some of the tories declared at the time to be " annoying, but not of much consequence." Mr. Baldwin was elected despite the array of government strength he found in the field ; and on his entry into the house at once began to assail the odiousness of the existing system. In 1836 he went to England, and w T hile there sought an interview with the colonial secretary, Lord Glenelg; but that languid gentleman, who reminds one of Frederick Fairlie in the " Woman in White," refused to see him, though he was good enough to intimate that he would attend to communications in writing upon the subject. Mr. Baldwin's efforts availed little then, but the prin- ciples for which he strove were soon to triumph. The report of Lord Durham not long afterwards, which set the tory world aghast, was a powerful auxiliary. In 1840 Mr. Baldwin be- came solicitor-general under Mr. Draper, with the approval of the reform party, and the year following the union was ap- pointed attorney-general for Canada West. This position he retained till the meanness and tyranny of governor Metcalfe forced himself and his party to resign office and make way for THE LIGHTS OF '.^. 89 a government by the minority. We may as well anticipate the remainder of his career. He remained in opposition till 1 s k8, when he again became leader of the government, which position he retained till 1851. At this period he bade farewell to public life, retiring full of honours, and surrounded by af- fluence, to his seat at Spadina, Toronto. Here he died on December 9th, 1858. Throngs of people from every surround- ing part streamed in to his funeral, to attest their love and respect for this good and noble-minded statesman. Robert Baldwin married a sister of the late Hon. Edward Sullivan, who bore him several children. One of these enter- ed the church, and another went to sea, while a daugh- ter married Hon. John Ross. Mr. Raid win was somewhat above the middle stature, of stout build, and slightly stooped at the shoulders. As a speaker lie was not captivating, but he was convincing, for every sentence seemed to come from a deep well of conviction ; and though he hesitated as he spoke, and broke and marred his sentences, his aims were so noble and SO good that he always received the profound attention and respect of his auditors. Indisposition he was mild and affable, bnt he could not woo popular favour by the smaller which, in many men, are the passport to popularity. he was neither cold nor formal, and all who came to know him closely were captivated by the sweet sincerity of his character. We have seen a private letter that he wrote to a friend in Kingston, who had decided to enter political life, and from it we gather that he was not enamoured of the public sphere. I confess,'' he says, "was I to put public inter- ut of the question, it would be more the part of a private friend to wish that you might be disappointed, for politics are certainly a most thankless and profitless occupation. Do what one will, sacrifice what one may, and his conduct is misrepre- sented and his motives maligned, and the only consolation left is the consciousness of having done one's duty." Well is it with tatesman who, opening his heart, can say that he has done 90 LIFE OF SIR JOHN A. MACDONALD. his duty. Well has it been with the high-minded, the good Robert Baldwin. One of the most remarkable men in appearance and ability in the house was Mr. Louis Hypolite Lafontaine. He was a son of Antoine Menard Lafontaine, who had been a member of the parliament of Lower Canada from 179G to 1804, and was born at Bouclu-rvillo, in October, 1807. He began life as a bar- rister, an«l applied himself diligently to his profession, accumu- lating a handsome fortune. When the oppressions of the little British clique became intolerable, he was found among the daring young spirits at whose head was Papineau, who met to discuss ways of throwing off the hateful yoke. Later on he became the rival of Papineau, and put himself at the head of la jeune France ; " and the priests shook their heads at his orthodoxy." He was on the search for liberty then and often hinted at throwing off the "ecclesiastical fetters" as well as the yoke of the Compact. In 1837 he fled the country from a warrant for high treason, passed over to England, and thence, in some trepidation, silently slipped across the Channel to France. There was no evidence against him, however, and an ironical letter he had written to Mr. Girouard on the absurdity of rebellion was taken literally, and went far towards removing him even from suspicion. His little tour had a wonderful ef- fect upon him, for he came back, not only a good loyalist, but a pious Christian. He went to mass ostentatiously, frequented the sacraments, and muttered his Ave Marias aloud. The priests killed the fatted calf on his return, and he became a pet and a light of Holy Church. In 1842 he reached the goal of his po- litical ambition, by being called to the cabinet as attorney- general East, but the next year, with his colleagues, fell a victim to the snares of the governor-general, and resigned. In 1848, when the tory fabric tumbled down, he again came in as attorney general East, which position he retained till 1851. Two years later he was appointed Chief Justice to the Queen's Bench of Lower Canada, and in 1854 was created a baronet of THE LIGHTS OF '44. 91 the United Kingdom. He was married twice, first to Adele, only daughter of A Berthelot, advocate, of Lower Canada, and secondly to a widowed lady of Montreal. He left no issue. Mr. Lafontaine was a man of a very commanding appearance. He had a strikingly handsome face and a magnificent forehead which was said to resemble strongly that of Napoleon the First. * He was not," says the writer of Washington Sketches, "an eloquent speaker, his utterances being thick and guttural, and hisEnglish, though good in structure, bad in pronunciation." He was a close and very decided reasoner, never losing his- temper ; but having formed many of his ideas arbitrarily from books he was tied to theories and dogmatical He frequently showed a passion far the impracticable in politics, and was vain of his knowledge of the British constitution, of which one keen critic at least, said he knew nothing. He was an honourable opponent, but Ids resentments were as undying is his attach- ments. In his judicial capacity he SOtCelled, and down to his death added a lustre to the dignity and efficiency of the Bench. The Speaker of the Assembly, the Hon. Sir Allan Napier MacNab was born at Niagara, in 1798. While a lad at school the Americana attacked Toronto, and he was "one of a number of boys selected as able to carry a musket."* The lad then entered the ship of Sir .lames Yeo, where he was rated as a midshipman, and accompanied the ftX] led it ion to Sacket's Harbor and other points. Promotion being slow on ship-board, he joined the 100th Regiment in which he saw some service, and subse- quently entered upon the study of law. In 1825 he was called to the bar, and some months afterwards began to practice his profession in I lamilton. Up to this period he had been a victim to impecnniositv, having l>een "compelled to restrict his peram- bulations within the charmed circles of the blue posts which in these times marked the boundary that must not be passed by a. bailed debtor/'f * Morgan ; " Biographies of Celebrated Canadians." + Dent'i «* Last Forty Years." <>2 LIFE OF SIR JOHN A. MACDONALD. In 1829 he was elected to parliament for Went worth, hav- ing created sympathy far himself among the tories. He was speaker of the last parliament held in Upper Canada, and when the rebellion broke out hastened from Hamilton to Toronto with his men of Gore, and dispersed the deluded band that Mackenzie had gathered about him at Montgomery's tavern. Later in the year, he ordered the cutting out of the which was surrendered to Niagara Falls- We have already seen that he was chosen by the tories as speaker of the see.. ml parliament under the Union. We shall meet his figure again, all important with its gauds of honour, and shall not anticipate his career. He was not of much con- sequence as a politician. He had a good presence and could make a ready speech, but he lacked all the essentials of an or- ator, and the tact that charms one's friends and mollifies his -enemies. Though his speech was jagged and often lumbering, he was always drawn up in the order of battle, ready to level a lance against any opponent, whether he knew his mettle or not, or to rush into the most intricate question that he knew nothing about. Sir Allan would have been a better man had they not spoiled him with their gauds and knighthood. It is not every man who is equal to the carrying of a ribbon or a star, or a C. M. G. to his name. Sir Allan was not. The mo- ment that the title fell upon him, his usefulness departed ; he seemed to feel that he had been absorbed by the Crown, and drawn out of the coarser and unholy atmosphere of com- mon life in which he had formerly lived. Henceforth his duty was to guard faithfully the interests of that Crown of which he felt himself a part. Prosperity and honours are often con- vincing tests of a man. They are what fire is to the metals. From the ordeal only the gold issues unchanged. And, Hearts that the world in vain have tried, And sorrow but more closely tied; That stood the storms when waves were rough, Yet in a sunny hour, fell off, Like ships that have gone down at sea, When heaven was all tranquillity. THE LIGHTS OF %> h 93 Dominick Daly, the son of Dominick Daly, by the sister of the first Lord Wallscourt, was born in Galway, Ireland, in 1798, and married in his twenty-eighth year the second daughter of Colonel Ralph Gore, of Barro w mount, County Kilkenny. He Btodied law, was, in due time, called to the bar; but not caring for the legal profession, came out as secretary with governor Burton to Quebec. Shortly after his arrival he me provincial secretary for Lower Canada; and on the accomplishment of the Union became provincial secretary for Canada, and a member of the board of works, with a seat in the council Be retained the provincial secretaryship till lS4s. when he was driven out of office by the reformers. Be sat in gloomy state three years longer for Megan tic, and then betook himself to Rngland where he petitioned the govern- ment for a substantial recognition of his twenty-fire years 1 faithful Bervice in Canada. In answer to his prayer he was appoint* d successively to the governorship of Tobago, Prince Edward [stand, and Western Australia, and received e knight- hood If ever henchman deserved reward at the hands of the Crown, Dominick Daly did. His idea of political duty was tow unswerving fealty to the Crown, and support every government that came to power. lie was a body upon which the political sun never set. When s government, of which be t member waxed strong, Dominick became full of party sinew and vitality; but as that party waned and the end drew near, the colour faded out of him; he became a sort of political jelly-fish, and calmly awaited the change of parties, when he developed new affections, a new frame, and fresh marrow and muscle. Like Mejnour of the Rosy Cross, he saw rulers come and go, and parties wax and wane, and fall to pieces, and rally and grow great again; but time nor change affected him. In the best of nature he assisted the successor of Burton and his clique to thwart and oppress the French majority ; and he aided Durham in laying the broad foundation of an enduring liberty. He strove with 94 LIFE OF SIR JOHN A. MACDONALD. Sydenham to found the basis of an equitable political sys- tem ; and he aided Metcalfe in strangling popular rights. He was courteous and genial in private life, had strong personal friendships, and was a pious adherent of the Catholic faith. He believed that the king could do no wrong, and that the duty of the subject was to obey the sovereign or the vice-regent, unquestioning! y, under every circumstance. He would be an odd figure upon the scene now, and even in his day was a Cariosity. He was the amarantus of the cabinet, its never- fading flower ; but his enemies used harsher prose, and named him the " Vicar of Bray." His preferments in after days to high place and title, is an eloquent commentary on the wisdom and discrimination of Downing Street. Another noted man of this Parliament was Robert Baldwin Sullivan. He was born in Ireland, but emigrated to Little York when only a lad, and studied law there in the office of his uncle, Doctor Baldwin. While a student he was appointed legislative librarian, and, we are told, made the most of his opportunity among the political records. He was admitted to the bar about 1825, but not thinking himself qualified for citv practice, moved to the county of Middlesex. But his suc- cess in two cases, especially in the libel suit of the demagogue Collins, attracted much attention, and he was invited to remove to Toronto. He accepted the invitation, moving thither in 1828. In 1834 he entered public life, opposing William Lyon Mackenzie for the mayoralty of the newly incorporated town of Toronto. Up to this period, his liberalism in politics had not been doubted. But it appears he now became disgusted with Mackenzie and his most zealous supporters, who, whatever their political virtues, were noisy and coarse, and could easily be mis- taken for demagogues. From this date an estrangement grew up between him and the reform party, and when Sir Francis Bond Head offered him a seat in the council, he readily threw himself in with the Compact. He was a member of Sir George Arthurs council, and lent his strength to putting the rebellion THE LIGHTS CF *4 J. 95 down ; was also in the cabinets of Lord Sydenham, Sir Charles Bagot, and Lord Metcalfe. Strangely enough, under the gall- ing rule of the latter, he returned to his first love, retired from office with his colleagues, and afterwards attacked Metcalfe in a number of slashing letters fugned " Legion." In the Baldwin- Lafontaine cabinet, under Lord Elgin, he was provincial secretary for a time, and was elevated to the bench in Sep- tember, 1848. He died on the 14th April, 1853. Mr. Sullivan's public career would not be a good model to hold up to the aspiring politician. He was a brilliant and powerful speaker, but lie had no convictions, and upon the very subjects, in discussing which, he lashed himself into the whitest heats, he often felt the least. In every man is born a moral in- stinct which reveals the difference between right and wrong, and points out those principles that are the great highways in the moral field ; hut not to all men is given that perception in the same degree. In some indeed the duty path is plain as the lines thai -car the brow, while to others so vague appears the way that they are ever in doubt, and cross and reeross the faint- traced path unconsciously. Mr. Sullivan was one of this latter •class. He had warm and generous impulses that came from his soul, but he would tell you after he had made a speech upon some great principle, that thrilled, if not convinced, every one who heard it, that he did not believe a word of what he had said himself, and that with as good or better reason he could have made a superior speech upon the other side. Not un- like Voltaire, when he said to the young infided, " You say I have made it as clear to you as the sun in heaven, that there is no God ? — then it is by no means so clear to myself !" In his day Mr. Sullivan was the meteor of the political sky. With M. D. B. Viger, at one time a noble patriot, we need not concern ourselves at any length. He was born in Lower Canada, studied law, and at an early age took part in the movement for political freedom. In 1834 he proceeded to Eng- land, and laid the grievances of the French people before the 96 LIFE OF SIR JOHN A. MACDONALD. government ; and in 1837, rose with Papineau into rebellion. He was arrested for treason and thrown into prison; hut on being released was returned again to parliament by a sweep- ing majority. He was also elected to the first parliament un- der the Union, and took his place prominently among the re- formers. Mr. Viger was a mild and venerable man, who no donbt loved his oountry, but it is hard to resist believing that he was somewhat jealous (as old men nearly always are of young rival- of the young French leader. He did not forget that this leader, M. Lafontaine, had been once a lad in his office, and from his lips learned his first political lessons. Now the people had forgotten the master and rendered homage only to the student. When the reformers were forced out of the cabinet, Metcalfe, we need not doubt, had his eye upon the venerable patriot, and, master of cunning that he was, poured into the old man's ear a long tale of flattery, telling him that he was the father of the French people, and their rightful leader ; and that therefore it was he wished him to take a seat in the council. Whatever the wily governor said or did not say, the old man walked into the trap, and covered his lustrous age with no little ignominy. He lived to a very old age, and was serene to the parting moment. The account of his last hours is touching reading, and we linger by the bedside to see the glared eyes brighten for a moment, while the dying man utters, with his parting breath, "Jaime mon Dieu, et faime mon Pays." Looking through the house among the opposition, we see another figure deserving special notice. This was a man of low stature, with a bright eye and an electric movement. John Sandfield Macdonald was born at St. Raphael, in the County of Glengarry, Upper Canada. His grandfather, a Scottish Highlander and Roman Catholic, had emigrated thither from Scotland in 1786. There was a good deal of romance in the youthful days of this politician. He left the paternal roof at the age of eleven, we are told, resolved to do THE LIGHTS OF V,.',. 97 for himself in the world. Discovered many miles from home, lif was taken back against his will, but he soon took an oppor- tunity to start off the second time. On this occasion, as he was bargaining with an Indian at Cornwall to paddle him across the river to the United States, the Indian demanding a half a dollar, and the lad having only a quarter, his father came up and again carried him home. Be Boon broke away a third time, and hired with a store-keeper for three years at a sliding seal<- of salary, £10 for the first year, £12 10s. for the second year, and £15 for the third year. He removed after two; in Cornwall, but abandoned the position in a lew months, and entered upon a Btudy <»t" law with Dr. Orqu- hart <>f the same town. The following occurrence, it is related, turned him from mercantile pursuits to the law: One day, while out in the lie was pelted with snow-halls by urchins, who. at the same time, contemptuously called him a " counter h not for the snow-balls he cared, but he was stung with the thought that the calling he had adopted could be flung reproachfully in his face.* In June, L840, he was called to the bar, having completed his studies in the office of Mr. Draper. He was first elected to parliament after the Union, in March, I M I , and joined himself with the op- position, though he had no love for Sir Allan MacNab, the leader of that party. Up to this time Mr. Maedonald had loose notions about political principles — by the way, he always had — but when Metcalfe developed into a political tyrant he joined the ousted ministry; and it was because political treach- ery was revolting to his mind that we find him now sitting anion- the opposition benches. Though we shall meet him again, we may as well anticipate some of the events in his career. Although a Roman Catholic, he opposed separate ioIs ; and his clergy denounced him from their altars. But he was very dear to the affections of his brother Highlandmen, * Morgan: " Biographies of Celebrated Canadians. " G 08 LIFE OF SIX JO EX A. MACDONALD. whom he could address fluently in Gaelic ; and they voted for him despite the dicta of the priests. At the election of 1844, there were 18,000 inhabitants in his county, Cornwall, and of these nineteen-twvntieths were of Scotch descent; while of I melds tlone then were not fewer than three thousand •WO hundred, all of whom spoke Gaelic. Four years before this date Mr. Maedonald married a lady from Louisiana, the daughter of a United States, senator and owner of a large plantation of negroes. His after career is not uninteresting, * and we shall see this nervous man, with the bright eyes, often, before our story closes. CHAPTER VII. THE LAST DAYS OF TORYISM. 1ITHILE tho struggle for constitutional government was T! going on in this country, three great questions pro- foundly stirred the minds of men in the mother land. One of these began thirteen yean before within the hallowed walls of Oxford, when the conviction dawned upon tin-" sweet and saintly Keble," who baa been likened to Goethe's star, asoul u without haste and without rest," thai the Church of England had wan- 1 fr.nn the apostolic road into the world's by-ways, a n< 1 while the body grew out into fair proportions and decked f in purple and fine linen, the soul within it languished to the very gasp of death. And Keble, sore in spirit that his beloved church should see such an evil time, told his sorrows, and gathered around him some of the most sincere and lofty spirits in England Within the college walls, one evening, as the wind murmured through the classic trees, with Richard Hurrell Froude, Dr. Pu8ey,John II. my Newman and others, he inaugurated the movement that first became manifest by the publication of the series of arguments contained in the " Tracts for the Times," Bold and searching were the arguments in itartling, if not audacious, were their doctrines. As tract after tract appeared, the thinking world became profoundly stirred, and the bishops turned uneasily in their chairs. It would have been easy to hush the voice of the skeptic or the unbeliever within the walls of Oxford, and the church, whether papal or episcopal, has never hesitated to enforce silence by authority, while the nerve remained to her arm ; but here the 99 100 LIFE OF SIR JOHN A. MACDONALD. bench of bishops was met by the thrilling appeal of some of the most pure and lofty spirits in tin* realm, men who neither doubted nor disbelieved, who aimed not to pull down the church, but to build her up. to make her better and not WOEBe, and who had discovered but too many unpleasant truths which tln-y dragged into the light by the aid of a mercilesi and all-penetrating logic. So they calmly bowed their heads before the storm, though their mighty fabric rocked, and braved the rack till " No. 90" catm- rolling from the press. This was the most famous of the series, was written by N<\v- maii, and was the climax to which the whole current of the argument had hitherto been tending. The bishops at once took th<- alarm ; the vice-chancellor and the heads of houses met; they condemned the traet and eensnred the writer. Ths you may still by force, but opinion you cannot stifle. Newman had entered upon a vast field of speculation; and those who saw the trend of his thought, must have known that only one church upon earth for him could be a staying-place. He still taught in the college and in the pulpit, and, in the words of Mr. Gladstone, was " all the while, without ostenta- tion or effort, but by simple excellence continually drawing under-graduates more and more around him." He went to the continent, and wandered through classic cities like a man in a dream. In these wanderings the whole world to him seemed dark, and he, himself, as an infant groping his way to find a home. It was then his spirit breathed, and he wrote, that sweetest of our English hymns, that, pealed now upon ten thousand organs through all Christendom : " Lead, kindly Light, amid the encircling gloom, Lead Thou me on ; The night is dark, and I am far from home ; — Lead Thou me on." He returned to England teaching with all the sweet earnest- ness of his nature; and while he knew not where his haven lay, or whither his footsteps tended, the eyes of observant men saw THE LAST DAYS OF TOUTfcM ]01 that he was travelling fast to Rome. His secession sta£orered C DO 1 1 10 church of which he bad been the most brilliant star; and twenty-five years afterwards Mr. Disraeli describes his separa tinu as having • dealt a blow to the church of England, under which she still reels," While we do not believe that the falling o a way oi anyone man could, to this extent, injure a church with a throne and government forming two of its constant bulwarks, we may suppose that the secession was a serious loss. But Newman, in a simple surplice, preaching in a modest epis- copal chapel, was a Ear greater menace to tie- episcopacy, than man witli a cardinal's hat, or thundering out of the chair of Peter. When he went over to Rome the danger was past, and the wildly agitated heart of the established church at- 1 its normal, sober b While the divines -aw with trepidation the movement in the theological world, politicians were filled with interest in the onell for ;> repeal of the anion. They had heard him say, and fchey knew the tremendous force in- would employ to keep his pledge, M The year 1843 is, and shall be, tie- repeal They saw the whole of Ireland as a man at his call and stream Erom the mountains and out of th-- cities in thousands, headed by their priests, with the regularity of soldiers, to attend his monster open-air meet- Thefaroe of the agitator and his movements were known over the world, and distinguished strainers visited Ireland to the man in whose word, and voice, and gesture there was some witching power, potent to move to tears or laughter, to pity or indignation, the tens of thousands of his countrymen wll,) I in the fields at his call When Lord Metcalfe ii the play the tyrant in Canada, O'Connell was addressing surging crowds among the hills of Kerry, and appealing to " yonder blue mountains where you and I were cradled." The of O'Connell and the hopes of his followers were not un- known in ( an;. da ; and not a little of the zeal in the cause of Metcalfe and the Crown was kindled on the hustings by the 102 / . ' '• £ OX SIR JOIIX A. MACDOKALD. reminder, from some wily tory, that the air was full of the "spirit of this repeal" that they " wanted separation in Ire- land, and less would not satisfy them in Canada." But the great fabric that O'Connell raised was destined to pass away as dissolves the picture in a troubled dream. And almost as sud- den as the tall of the movement, was the fall of its originator. Now we stand spell-bound in the gallery of the commons listen- ing to "the thunder of his eloquence ;" Charles Dickens, while a reporter in the gallery, is so moved by the pathos of one of his Speech*! that he has to lay his pencil by; the discerning critic, Lord Jeffrey, regards all others whom he hears as " talk- ing schoolboy " compared with the agitator. Yet a little, yea»- in three short years, and we see him making his last speech — this giant who so took the fancy of Lord Lytton among his native mountains, that he made him the subject of a poem — tottering feebly by a table. " His appearance was of great de- bility, and the tones of his voice were very still. His words,, indeed, reached only those who were immediately around him, the ministers sitting on the other side of the green table, and listening with that interest and respectful attention which became the occasion. * * It was a strange and touching spectacle to those who remembered the form of colossal energy,, and the clear and thrilling tones that had once startled, disturbed and controlled senates. * * * It was a performance in dumb show ; a feeble old man muttering before a table."* He longed now to get away to Rome, to soothe his spirit in the shadow of her wing and there lie down to rest. He hurried away just as the shadows of famine began to gather over his beloved land, struggled to Genoa, on his way to the holy city, and there died. The most engrossing movement of the three, perhaps, was that which stirred the whole commercial frame of Great Britain — the question of a tax on corn. This movement had * Disraeli. THE LAST DATS OF TORYISM. 103 been set on foot and carried out with a force and a success be- fore unequalled, by those unique and singularly honest and able politicians, Richard Cobden and John Bright. These were the gifted men who could, in the wordfl of Kinglake, " go bravely into the midst of angry opponents, shew them their fallacies one by one, destroy their favourite theories before their very faces, and triumphantly argue them down." This de- scription helps us to understand how a government chosen to maintain the duty on corn should suddenly announce its con- version to the doctrines of* free trade : and how Sir Robert Peel could stand boldly up in the parliament four years alter his election to maintain the duty, and frankly tell the house: "I will not withhold the homage which is due to the progress of in and truth by denying that my opinion on the subject of protection has undergone a change." The sudden revolution in English opinion on this question ereated much surprise and some excitement here, bed though Peel fell in the momeni of victory, and a young rival seized the occasion to raise him- self to eminence, no hand has since lUCCeeded in renewing the life of the corn laws. They are dead] aid, we doubt not, will p now till the sound of the last trumpet. In the autumn of 1845 a period of chilling winds and wet prevailed in [reland, and the potato crop, the mainstay of the great majority of the working people, began to rot in the ground. The extent of this calamity will be understood when it i> learnt that large numbers of the labouring class received no wages, but tilled the fields of the land-owner on the "cot- tier-tenant system" ; that is, giving their labour for the use of a patch of land in which to plant potatoes. Generations, in many districts in Ireland, had grown up and passed away, and never tasted flesh meat, unless fortune sent a rabbit, perhaps once in the year, through the hedge, when it was stealthily dispatched with a pitchfork, conveyed home under the mother's cloak, and eaten in uneasy silence. So when the long-continued, drizzling days set in, and the potatoes began to rot in the 104 LIFE OF SUi JOHN A. MACVOXALD. ground, a feeling of honor crept over the country. Not a county escaped the devastating hand, hut the southern and western districts Eared the worst, and were soon plunged into all the horrors of famine. Hundreds of persons, wandering aimlessly along the roadside, searching in vain for food, tell down and died. To add to the horror of the famine, an epidemic, known M "famine f« in, and with this a terrible form of dysentery. Between these frightful scourges, and hunger, thousands were carried away; their dead bodies lay in the ditches, and the town authorities refused any longer to burtl ten the* living with expense in providing coffins for the dead. In the early stages of the mortality coroners held inquests, and juries often brought in verdicts of wilful murder against Lord John Russell or the lord lieutenant, either of whom, it was believed, could have furnished relief to the starving popula- tion. Crowds of girla and young women, tortured with hun- ger, came from the mountains and the villages, and entering the city, smashed the windows of shops, and committed every possible act of destruction to property, in the hope of being sent to jail, where they could get food to eat. The gloom of this reign of horror was somewhat enlivened by the appearance upon the scene of a fashionable French cook, M. Soyer, who appeared in silver buckles and shining velvet, at the head of a soup kitchen in Dublin under the patronage of the lord lieutenant. The object of the cook's appearance seemed to be less to relieve the hunger of the suf- fering throngs than to demonstrate a nice scientific point over which he had long been brooding ; namely, that the extent to which the inhabitants of the earth up to that time had eaten was an excess and a folly, and that a strikingly sustaining potage could be produced out of the thinnest and cheapest articles of food. A character in one of Scott's novels had an old mare upon which he applied the* same principle, however, long before the day of the dandy French cook. This individual began by lessening the ration of hay to his poor old beast from THE LAST DATS OF TORYISM. 105 day to day, aiming to bring the daily food down to one straw ; and lie would have been successful, we may suppose, had not the " puir naig" died the day before he made the final experi- ment Frightful though this famine was in all its eonse- quences of death, and ri<>t, and crime, we can scarce help regard- ing it as Goldsmith looked upon the French revolution — a "blessing in disguise." From a population of six millions, rcrowded in sties too filthy even for the brutes, the number of Ireland's inhabitants fell to four millions. If that famine did nothing but let in additional air and sunshine upon these re- maining four millions it surely cannot be called a BCOUrge. 1 > u t it did better than this : it taught the peasant that there are i' lands besides his own dreary bogs and sterile mountain- sides, lands where there is bread to be had for honest toil, and where rack-renting and the miseries of an organised pau- 'iM i> not known. Thereafter, the inhabitants, with a new hope, turned their faces to the setting mid, and there saw the land of their deliverance. They poured into Canada dining the dark year following the famine, 70,000 in tic one season alone. On the Atlantic voyage, huddled together in worse plight than the cattle we now ship to British markets, in all the tilth and misery of a load of negroes under a slaver's hatches, they sickened of fever and dysentery and died like sheep. Through tic summer long they poured in upon Grosse Isle, till tie- fever broke out with redoubled violence among the filthy and pent-up hovels, and the very air thai Mew about the island was Loathsome, and instinct with death. « Army after army ck and suffering people," McMullen tells us, " fleeing from famine in their native land to he stricken down by death in the Valley of the St. Lawrence, stopped in rapid succession at and then, leaving numbers of their dead behind them, pushed upwards towards the lakes in overcrowded steam- > burden tie- inhabitants of tic western towns and villages." r lh<- inhabitants, without regard for race, colour, or religion, all the assistance in shelter, food and clothing to the suf- 106 LIFE OF SIR JOHN A. MACDONALD. ferers that they could ; but there was a bitter feeling abroad as ships carried in cargoes of Lord Palmerston's tenants to add to tin- others already living upon public charity. The people could have borne the load of sharing their own scanty store with the sufferers, but it aroused their indignation to think that the British (iovi-rnnirnt should utilize Canada merely to get rid of useless and burdensome subjects. No pen can describe the horrors among the miserable and filthy masses that sweltered in their fever and {>oisonous dirt under the summer sun on Grosse Isle, or the anguish of mothers separated from their babes and children in the wild hurly-burly on board the ships and during debarkation. Scores of children who could not yet lisp their own nanus were thus thrown upon public charity, and at least one of these, a weakly infant, alone in the fumes of the plague, exposed to die, was taken in by kindly people, and is now a leading member in one of our Provincial Cabinets. Like the child of Zanoni that smiled through all the tumultuous horrors of the French revolution, we see this infant deserted 'mid the pestilence of the river isle, and hear the words, " See ! the orphan smiles. The fatherless are the care of God." When Metcalfe left Canada to die, the old dispute about the Oregon boundary took on an alarming face, and our people ex- pected grievous trouble. As early as 1818, an attempt had been made to harmonise the claims of the British and the United States governments to a portion of the territory lying between the Rocky Mountains and the Pacific coast, but the negotiations failed, and the disputed regions were left to a joint occupation. For many years the debatable land seems to have escaped the attention of both countries, till the fertility of the Pacific slope and the value of some of the ports for naval sta- tions came to be known, when the question suddenly assumed a serious prominence. The joint occupation was continued down to 1843, when the president of the United States peremp- torily, if not insolently, called for a prompt settlement of the THE LAST DAYS OF TOBTISM. 10T question. The Monro doctrine must have been strong in the minds of the quarrelsome party in the United States then, and the call of the president in 1843 does not seem unlike a summons to the British nation, to show cause why her subjects should not be swept off the continent, and on what grounds at all they claimed a foothold there. The Canadians had not learned then a^ well as they know now, that it takes a good deal of Ameri- can bluster to make one cannon shot, and that a noisy presi- dent or a party in war paint does not represent the whole spirit of the republic. Bat the Canadians became alarmed at the noise, and looked to their muskets. The British government expected to see the glove thrown down every moment, and appointed a military governor, who had instructions to put the frontiers in a state of defence, and make the country ready for war. The governor choeen, Bad 1 Sathcart, a brave soldier who had seen fire in Holland and the IVninsula, and had three horses shot under him at Waterloo, was an admirable selection at rack a criaia. But the threatening cloud blew away before it broke ; the compromise of Lord Aberdeen, the foreign secretary, was accepted, and the treaty of Oregon made. This provided, among other th ings, that the di vi< 1 ing 1 i ne along t h « • d i *] uited ter- ritory should be " the forty-ninth degree of latitude from the Rocky Mountains, west to the middle of the channel, separating Vancouver'a [aland from the mainland; thence southerly through the middle of the channel, and of Fuca's Straits to the Pacific." By this treaty Vancou v.i > [aland remained to Great Britain, as also the free navigation of the Columbia river. On this basis the question rested for a time, to be disturbed again din- ing the framing of the treaty of Washington. Shiill war's alarms having now subsided, Earl Cathcart was relieved of his civil responsibilities, and a new governor sent out. The day the evil genius of the tory government left Canada to- die, the fate of the Family Compact was sealed. Removed from the subtle charming of the governor's voice, poor old Viger came to see the unlovely place he held, and, smitten with remorse, re- 108 LIFE OF SIR JOHN A. MACDONALD. signed the presidency of the council, and practically disappeared from tlif political scene for ever. Mr. W. B. Robinson, who had resigned the inspector-generalship a year before, became commis- sioner of public works, and Ifr.John BillyardM !ameron,one of the most brilliant legal stars in the horison) then in his thirtieth ycai-, became solicitor-general instead <>f Mr. Sherwood, who earned removal by having shown contempt for the government, and hostility to Mr. Draper. Nearly every day brought a change, or the rumour of a change in the cabinet, and the govern- ment seemed not unlike the dying man, who, racked with pain, now takes one end of his conch and now another in the hope of bettering his condition. Weary of the turmoil of public life, and disgusted with the bitter fruit it brings, Mr. Draper yearned to spend the remainder of his life in the rest and calm of the bench ; but whenever he spoke of moving there was a general rising at the cabinet seats, as if not one, but all, would be the premier, and he was obliged to forego retirement till a successor without a rival appeared. It was during this time that many eyes were turned to the member for Kingston, as a rising hope of the declining party, but he seems not to have been anxious to "go on board a ship that was foundering." Yet the impression went abroad and got into the public prints, that the member for Kingston was about to enter the cabinet. A Toronto paper, violently opposed to the government, but an admirer, evidently, of Mr- Macdonald, heard the rumour, and told its readers rather sadly : " Mr. John A. Macdonald is marked for another victim ; he too will speedily be a flightless bird." A Montreal journal, which has not since ceased to support Mr. Macdonald, told its readers something different. " The appointment of Mr. Macdonald," it said, " if confirmed, will, we believe, give universal satisfac- tion. A liberal, able, and clear-headed man, of sound conserv- ative principles, and unpretending demeanour, he will be an ac- quisition to any ministry, and bring energy and business habits into a department of which there have been for many years, THE LAST DA TS OF TOST ISM. 100 under the present, and still more under preceding manage- ments, many complaints." But this was a time when govern- ment was sustained only for plunder, and some of those who had worn the harness Long in the tory cause — who had i for the good and the had, and lent themselves to every scheme of their masters — threatened rebellion If any more xuits" were taken into office, Ifacdonald took the dis- appointment with philosophical coolness, told hia friends that lie did not suppose the world was ooming to an end very soon that lie could M afford to wait.'' and added : " The condition of our party must b before if is better." During the pre- eedinj M he had sat, as usual, industriously at his desk ■ but in one discussion whieh eame up he took a part which is inter to us now in view of an important act of legis- tatioo of his later lite. On the first of May, Mr. Cayley had a resolution before the ilate a scale of differentia] duties on im- itiona in leather manufactures, which was bitterly oppos- ed by some of the reformers. Among those who warmly de- solution was Mr. Macdonald, and what he said is ©cause we have heard that in adopting the "na- tional policy," as in other matters, he was only "the creature of expediency," and did not believe the principle of protection to be good. But it will interest, if it will not discomfit, those who say this, to Learn that on the 1st day of May, 1840, Mr. on;, Id stood up in his place in the ( 'anadian parliament and told " hon. gentlemen that there was no reason in their opposition to these resolutions;" that " had they studied the question they must have supported them," that " the measure of the hon. gentleman was really a protective one, and as such unanimous support;" for "it would prevent the trade of Canada from being subject to the competition of Ame- rican artisans, and not among the least to the artisans of Ame- rican penitentiaries." 110 LIFE OF SIR JOHN A. MACDOKALD. And now drew on the last days of toryism in Canada. Its sun was low in the >ky, even when Metcalfe put his dignity l raise its head We know the term " tory " is still applied to one of our great parties, and that we are told ■" toiyism still lives;" but surely our informants are those who are not acquainted with the history of public parties in the past, or who understand the genius of political opinion in the present. But after all, it matters really little what we call our parties now, since there is not necessarily a connection at any time between the name and the nature of any thing. It is not so long asjo since a profound and dogmatic thinker would be styled a * duns," because he resembled the over-learned and profound Scotus. Now, that name dunce we apply only to a blockhead — and not more striking has the difference between the Duns of six hundred years ago, and the dunce of now become, than between the tory of 1840, and the tory of 1883. In the autumn of 1846, Lord Elgin, the greatest of Canadian governors up to his day, Durham excepted, arrived in Canada. He was a member of the tory school, and the reformers became sore afraid when they heard of his coming; yet they had already learnt how really little there is in a governor's party name. When Sir Francis B. Head carne they posted proclamations upon the fences, but before the little boys tore down the placards, they began to learn how sorely they had been deceived. When Metcalfe, " the great liberal," came, they had no letter black enough in their type-cases to print their " Welcomes ; " a day came upon them when ink was not dark enough to paint his character. But when Bagot, " the tory," came, they hung down their heads in gloom ; and were wearing mourning faces THE LAST DAYS OF TORYISM. m when he called their Leaden to his cabinet. Lord Elgin was a nobleman in the peerages of Scotland and the United King- dom, and was a Bruce of the illustrious house which had for a member the victor of Bannockburn. In 1842 he had been ap- pointed governor of Jamaica; and upon the change of govern- ment in England in the summer of ]84G,and the establishment actable relations between the imperial and United States rnments, was sent out to Canada. Shortly before departing for his seat of government he married his second wife, Lady Mary Louisa, the eldest surviving daughter of the late Lord Durham, bnt left his bride to follow him when the tempestuous m passed He arrived here in the early winter, and at once threw his whole energies into the work before him. It plain to those who watched his movements with an intel- ligent eye that he had studied the political condition of ( 'anada before be passed the Atlantic; nay, more, he alarmed the apos- nipaet ly telling the inhabitants of Montreal : " I shall best maintain the prerogative of the Crown by manifest- in.: a due regard for the wishes and feelings of the people, and by Seeking the advice and assistance of those who enjoy their confidence." He had studied carefully the doctrines laid down by bis illustrious father-in-law and found they were good. He mastered the condition of affairs in Canada, and saw, so hifl biographer* telk us, that in the ruling party "there was no ival political lit'.-; only that pale and distorted reflection of it which is apt to exist in a colony before it has learnt to look within itself for the centre of power." He frankly and heartily ted the effete and unrepresentative body he found in office, but plainly told them that be should as cheerfully and not less heartily assist their opponents. The governor was doubly tied to his duty. Canada had long been looked upon as a stormy studded with breakers, where administrators were as likely to meet with shipwreck as to win laurels ; and he was deter. Walrond. 112 LIFE OF SIR JOHN A. MACDONALD. mined to avoid the rooks. Then, as dear to him as his own success was tlir reputation of his father-in-law, Lord ])urham, which still trembled in the balance, and must so remain till the principles he laid down had been worked out for weal or woe. He was here to win a reputation for himself in follow- in.; out the principle! laid down by the father of bis absent bride : we may be save most earnestly did he set himself to his duty. Bis manly form was seen at several public meetings, exposed to the tierce winds of our Canadian winters, and he had not appeared upon many platforms before it was learnt that he was the most eloquent speaker in Canada. In the spring following his arrival the dying man of the tory cabinet shifted his place once again. Attorney-general Smith resigned, and Hon. Wm. Badgley took his place. " Your turn has come at last, Macdonald," said Mr. Draper, as he wait- ed on the Kingston member, and told him that the receiver- generalship was at his disposal. Macdonald took the post, and thenceforth the cabinet had the benefit of advice, which, if pos- sessed at an earlier day, might have saved it from a doom that now no human hand could avert. Once again Mr. Draper yearned to be rid of the turmoil of public life, and the com- panionship of faithless friends, and offered the premiership to John Hillyard Cameron; but staid supporters of the dying ministry said the young lawyer had not yet won his spurs - t and Mr. Sherwood, who now appears to have had a small fol- lowing, threatened to secede. Cameron did not press his claims, if it can be said that he had any claims, and Mr. Sherwood saw the ruling aspiration of his life gratified. In the speech opening the session, the governor announced the relinquish- ment of post-office control by the imperial parliament, and the repeal of differential duties, in favour of British manufacturers. The old hull of the Compact ship, the vessel in which they had sailed so long, and enjoyed the privilege of office with all its spoils, was exposed to a merciless, we may say a murderous > fire from the opposition guns, and though division after divi- THE LAST DA YS OF TOR YISM. 113 sion showed that the government was in a sad minority in the house, ministers said nought about resignation. The sun- set of Mr. Draper's political life Beemed to have given him mystical lore, and the speech he made reviewing his own r. and Betting forth his opinion on the duties of ministries, might have been regarded as * valuable death-bed sermon. Like Saul, the scales seemed to have fallen from his eyes of a sudden, and that which he had never Been before, though he must have heard it times without number, was instantly re- vealed to his vision. He told, in no boastful spirit, that he had always tried to serve his country to the full extent of his powers, and dwelt with no little feeling— indeed, shed tears as -on the ingratitude of men at whose hands he had Mugs than conspiracy and calumny. He gave ho uncertain sound when he came to speak of responsible gov- ernment That, he said, was the only method by which the country could be governed justly and well After the close of the session another shuffle was made of in the doomed cabinet, and Mr. John Macdonald, whose administrative ability COmmandi d attention, was re- 1 Iron, the receiver-generalship to the office of crown lands then the most important department in the public ser- that in the past had been most shamefully, if not criminally, mismanaged. Here he established a new and better order of things, reducing confusion and delay to order and promptness, till, during the brief time his place was vouch- to him, the report went abroad that if the government were effete and incompetent they had, at least, among them one master business head. In December a dissolution was granted, and for the last time the cause of toryism appealed for support to the electo- rate of Canada. CHAPTER VIII. RULING IN STORM. THE reformers entered the contest with cheerful faces, and the tories fought sullenly on the deck of their sinking ship. A change had come over the country since the autumn which saw the governor-general the leading spirit in one side of a party contest. The public is sometimes an impulsive and not too just arbiter between men or questions ; but it is possess- ed of a broad generosity, and is certain to show sympathy tually, for that one to whom it discovers, on reflection, it has done injustice. And, as Carlyle expresses it, since it is al- ways " revising its opinion," it is certain sooner or later to dis- cover if it has gone wrong. A demagogue may succeed for a time in leading the public into extravagance, or gross error, but sober, second thought, is sure to come and set its judgment right. Percival Stockdale thought the public always wrong, because as often as he gave them his verses, so often did they cast them aside, after a hasty glance ; the author going back to the country comforting himself on " the verdict of posterity." But Percival lives now only among " The Curiosities of Litera- ture." Whenever you see a man who has had an opportunity of stating his case, whatever it may be, before the people, and see them withhold their approbation, be assured that the pub- lic is not stupid, or unjust, and that the man is another Perci- val Stockdale. By foul means, and through false cries, a verdict had been wrenched from the public against Mr. Baldwin. He bore his defeat with that proud patience which the gods love and men 114 RULING IK STORM, 115 admire ; and now that he came before the people, the same lofty and upright character that they had always known him, his principles unchanged by time, sincere and true, to ask of them, in their sober, second thought, for a verdict again, near- ly all the wholesome sentiment in the country rallied around him. He went to the polls with ringing cries, cries that at the late election were called the voice of treason. Once again he told his hearers, who were now in an impartial mood, that "he was not disloyal, nor were his followers rebels; but this they con- tended for, nothing mor.-. and nothing Less, thai what the Queen would not be permitted to do in England, we should not per- mit the governor to do in Canada. Tories had proclaimed from their hustings that responsible government, at Bought by the reformers, would be insufficient, and unworthy of Canada; but he had unbounded faith in its adequacy." And some writer us. (1 the apt figure that, as in the unfettered working of the ocean, lay the secret of the purity of its waters, so in tho untrammelled operation of colonial government lay the secret of its justice and purity. In Lower Canada, the people, the great bulk of whom were reformers, were loudly jubilant and lit bonfires before the opening of the polls, in anticipation of a sweeping victory. The question that most agitated public gatherings there was that of recompense to persons who had suffered losses, either by the rebels or the soldiers, during the uprising of 1837. The re- bellion of 1837-38 had no sooner been put down than resolu- tions were introduced into the legislature of Upper Canada providing for the appointment of commissioners to investigate the claims set forth by certain loyal inhabitants for damages ained during and by " the late unnatural rebellion." The report of these commissioners was made the basis of further legislation during the following session ; while the special council of Lower Canada had provided by ordinance a recom- pense for loyal persons in that province whose property had been injured or destroyed during the collision between Papi- 116 LIFE OF SIR JOHN A. MACDOXALD. lulu's followers and the soldiers. But neither the act of the one tegislature, dot the ordinance of the other met the demands of a large number who had suffered 1 y the rising, There came from every quarter, demanding compensation, men whose pro- perty had been injure 1 or destroyed, not by the rebels, but by the agents of authority. Xor can we wonder at the nature or the number of supplications, when we take into account the loyalty of the soldiers. Their zeal, we are told in the records of this unfortunate time, did not end when they had left the poor habitant soaking his coarse homespun with his heart's blood on the field where he fell, but they directed their might against property in tainted districts, tiring outbuilding and dwellings, slaughtering cattle, and, it is not hard to believe, only ceasing, like Alexanders, in sorrow, because there was naught else to conquer. But in the most disaffected districts, there were some whose adherence to authority had been un- flinching, who deplored the uprising, and gave no countenance to the rebels ; and these came forward now asking recompense for butchered cattle and demolished dwellings. Accordingly, shortly after the union, an act was passed ex- tending compensation for losses sustained at the hands of persons acting on behalf of Her Majesty in " the suppression of the said rebellion, and, for the prevention of further disturbances," but the operation of the act curiously enough was confined to Upper Canada alone. Lower Canada, where the conflict had been the greater and the more bloody, where the trained sol- diery had been let loose, and scores of the innocent, with the guilty, felt the weight of the arm of authority, was not admitted within the pale of the recompense law. Therefore it was that in 1845 the assembly passed another address praying Sir Charles Metcalfe for a measure which would " insure to the inhabitants of that part of this province, formerly LowerCanada, indemnity for just losses during the rebellion of 1837 and 1838." This change of ministerial attitude is curious reading now, but the wheel had gone round since 1842. Here and there among the RULING IN STORM. 117 remnants of the ancient party was a man who saw the drift of public opinion, and one of these was Mr. Draper. He saw that his party was being every day poshed nearer the brink of the precipice, that French votes and sympathies were on the other : and, as drowning men will eluteli at straws, s.izedupon the faint hope of wining Lower Canadian support by authoris- ing commissioners to enquire into the" losses sustained by loyal subjects in Lower Canada during the rebellion, and the losses arising and growing out of the said rebellion." The com- missioiiers were instructed to distinguish between rebels and loyal subjects, but they soon found that every claimant on his own showing, had always been unswervingly obedient to the law. Men who had fired at soldiers out of flint muskets and hacked at the law officers with scythes, came forward claiming compensation for their losses as the reward of their loyalty. The commissioners were nen-plnased. They wrote on the 11th of Fcburary, 1846, to the governor-in-council, Karl Cathcart, for instructions as to how they might draw a distinction be* tween the loyal and those who had rebelled. The provincial it was not the intention of his excellency that the commissioners .should be guided by " any description of evidei r than that furnished by the evidence of the :' law." It was pointed out that the commissioners not to try cases, but merely to obtain a general estimate of the rebellion losses, and that the particulars of the estimate would form the subject of minute enquiry, subsequently, un- der parliamentary authority. The commissioners presented their report in the same year. This document set forth that Commissioners were entirely at the mercy of the claimants where there was no court sentence before them; and they ex- hibited a list of 2,170 persons who claimed damages amount- In the aggregate to £241,9G5. An opinion was expre that £100,000 would cover all meritorious claims, for it had ■ ascertained that damages for £25,503 were claimed by ins who had actually been condemned by court-martial for 118 LIFE OF SIR JOHN A. MACDONALD. complicity in the rebellion. But the intention of the ministry was not to close the question of these claims, but to temporize and keep it hanging. The report of the commissioners was, therefore, laid by, Mr. Draper, like Micawber, hoping that some- thing would " turn up " by which he might be able to repudiate the claims. Henee it was that another act was immediately passed authorizing the payment of £9,986 to Lower Canada claimants, which sum had been recognised by parliament as due the second session after the union. This £9,986 was not a large amount, Mr. Draper reasoned, but it was a sop to the French party, and a first step, while the larger instalment was impending. But the premier outwitted himself. His instal- ment was received with anger and contempt, and the gulf be- tween him and the support he sought became wider than ever. From one end of Lower Canada to the other, during the election of 1848, went up the cry demanding full compensation for rebellion losses. The reform candidates came into the field pledging themselves to satisfy all just claims. Thus it was that Mr. Lafontaine and his party were returned in overwhelm- ing majority. In Upper Canada the popular tide likewise set with the re- formers, though stubborn was the dying fight made by their opponents. In Kingston John A. Macdonald, who was unspar- ing in his attacks upon the reformers, and not full of eulogy for his own party, whose tactics and ability he must have despised at heart, was returned in triumph. The legislature met on the 25th of February, and the tories proposed Sir Allan Mac- Nab for the speakership. The vote for the speakership is usually a test of the strength of parties, and in this case it re- vealed that fifty-four of those present were in opposition, and nineteen true to the government. Mr. Morin was then chosen unanimously. Some happy exchanges had been made at the polls. Not among the least of these was the return of Francis Hincks for Oxford, and the rejection of the coarse and noisy Ogle R. Gowan for Leeds. Among the new faces seen in the house RULING IN STORM 119 were those of George Etienne Cartier and Alexander Tilloch Gait, both destined to play high and honourable parts in the history of their country. For the first time, William Hume Blake, one of the most remarkable men of his day, took his seat in the house. He was born in 1809, at Kiltegan, County of Wick low, Ireland, where his father was a church of England rector. He received his education at Trinity College, Dublin, and studied surgery under Sir Philip Crampton. Not caring for surgery, he began a course of theology, which seems also to have been unsuited to him, and he subsequently emigrated to Can- ada, taking up his abode in the backwoods. But wilderness life, separated from all the influences of civilization, was no more fascinating to Mr. Blake and his family than to that class generally, whose hardships Mrs. Moodie has described with Bach feeling and vividness, and he moved to Toronto, where he red the legal profession, becoming in a few years one of its brightest ornaments, and eventually adding lustre to the bench of his adopted province. We shall see tliat as an orator he had no rival in that parlia- ment, and that his eloquence was not of that icy, passionless kind which comes from the trained intellect — never from the heart — but was instinct with Celtic fire, now rising to a storm of withering scorn and invective, now launching forth arrows of piercing sarcasm, and air tin mellowing down to unsurpassed depths of pathos and tenderness. On the day following the vote on the speakership, the gov- ernment resigned, and Lord Elgin called on M. Lafontaine to form a cabinet. After a short delay, the new ministiy was announced as follows : — FOR CANADA EAST. Hon. H. L. Lafontaine - - Attorney- General. „ J as. Leslie - Pres. Executive Council. „ R. E. Caron - Speaker of the Legislative Council. 120 LIFE OF SIR JOHN A. MACDONALD. Hon. E. P. Tache - - Chief Com. of Public Works. „ T. ( '. Aylwin - Solicitor-Geita-al „ L. M. Viqeb - - ll>< .',■,,-<;< ,\i" ladies, Many of the disturbers were arrested and tin- galleries cleared; the ladies ring refuge in the body of the house, For twenty minutee chaml>er wa> i>f wild confusion, and remained with The sergeant-at -aiins was sorely tried to prevent a collision between Mr. Blake and Sir Allan. the discussion on the bill drew to a close, Mr. John A. Mac- donald, who had all along preserved a stolid silence, rose in his place and told Mr. Speaker that this measure was uot going to pass without his pr o test, and that while his physical strength endured he would offer it resistance, Mr. Macdonald was one of the few members of the opposition against whom the charge of inconsistency for opposing the hill could not be brought, f or when Mr. Draper introduced the bill which was the parent of the pre- sent measure, Mr. Macdonald had not yet entered the ministry, and was only a passive, if not contemptuous, member of the tory side of the house. Now, however, he became active, and if we can believe the newspaper reports, "fierce." He brought in a petition from his constituents, praying that the moneys of the people of Upper Canada be " withheld from the rebels of Lower Canada." He entreated the government to move slowly and carefully with the bill, and when a minister remarked that they were only waiting for him " to get done speaking to pass it," he launched out fiercely against the promoters of the mea- sure, charging them with utter disregard of the sense of the 126 LIFE OF SIR JOHN A. MACDONALD. country, and wanton discourtesy to members of the opposition. He affirmed that the country was aroused against them, and that they were drawing down grave dangers, not alone upon their own heads, but upon the peace of the province. He de- precated the surrender of the interests of Upper Canada into the hands of the members of Lower Canada for party purposes, and hurled no few epithets against Mr. Baldwin. But despite this last effort to kill time, and his reading a long roll of the Mackenzie letters through the tedious night, the bill passed the lower house by a vote of forty-seven to eighteen. The next day, speaking of the debate, the Pilot, the leading ministerial organ, said : " In vain the hopeful ex-commissioner of crown lands, Mr. J. A. Macdonald, ranted about wanton and disgraceful lack of courtesy, and thundered at Mr. Baldwin, the charge of having sold Upper Canada to Lower Canada. It was all to no purpose. Three-fourths of the house were buried in refreshing slumbers. * * * He made a last faint effort to prolong the discussion by reading some thirty papers of Mr. Mackenzie's published letters — and then the whole house was silent." There only remains the sequel of tory consistency now to be told to complete this chapter of disgrace. The bill had no sooner passed the house than petitions to the governor-general, praying for its disallowance, poured in from every quarter. Lord Elgin received petition after petition in his closet, read each one carefully and thoughtfully pondered the whole question over. He plainly saw that the petitioners, who. were tories, were en- deavouring to force him into conflict with his ministry and to act over again the part of Lord Metcalfe. And the longer the governor pondered the deeper the impression grew that his duty lay in assenting to the bill. His reasons for this conclusion were abundant and irresistible ; and since they were so, he argued that it would be unworthy in him to shift upon the shoulders of the sovereign the onus of assent or disallow- ance. In the first place dissolution appeared to him unwise and uncalled for, as the ministry had been elected but a RULING IX STORM. 127 few months before on writs issued at the request of their op- ponents. Then the measure was carried in the popular branch by a vote of more than two to one ; and an analysis of this vote showed that of the thirty-one representatives from Upper Canada, seventeen voted for the measure and 14 against it ; and of ten members of British origin from Lower Canada six voted for and only four against it. Such logic as this was irresistible, And though the governor saw the dark storm-clouds gathering above his head, he manfully resolved to do the right and give ssent to the bill. On the afternoon of April 25th, he drove into town at the call of the ministry, to assent to a customs bill, which in con- sequence of the opening of navigation, it was imperative should go into instant effect. The rumour having -one abroad that it was to be given to the obnoxious "rebel bill " as it was called, a number of persons opposed to the government, and all of them "gentlemen," packed the galleries of the assembly. They made no stir beyond taking snuff or shaking their cam- bric pocket-kerchiefs till the governor nodded his assent to the rebellion bill, when they arose as one man, and with much pounding of feet went out of the building. His excellency did not heed the interruption, and when his business was ended, followed by his suite, passed out to his carriage. But he had no sooner made his appearance outside than the body of loyal- ist gi ■ntlemen who had left the building set up a storm of groans, hisses and oaths. Some of them likewise seized bricks, stones or pieces of bottles, while others took addled eggs out of their pockets, and with these missiles an attack was begun on the governor and his party. The vice-regal carriage got away, however, before serious injury was done to anybody. But this was only a small outburst of tory loyalty. Upon the Champ de Mars that evening gathered a large and turbulent crowd. The meeting had been called by placard and Mr. Au- gustus Heward, nephew of the chief justice of Upper Canada, and a society beau, was in the chair. This gentleman made an 128 LIFE OF SIR JOHN A. MACDONALD. inflammatory speech, and was followed by Mr. Ersdale; Mr. Ferns, ■ newspaper editor ; Mr. Mack and Mr. Montgomerie, another journalist, all "gentlemen." The chief subject of the harangue was, "Now is the time for action," while frequently above the din could be beard the cry, " To the parliament build* inffS." After the chairman had made the closing remarks he shouted out, "Now boys, three cheers for the Queen; then let us take a walk." The cheers were given and the walk was taken. Up to the parliament buildings surged the crowd of gentlemen loading the names of Lord Elgin and the ministry with blasphemous and obscene epithets. The windows were attacked with stones, after which some hundreds of the mob rushed into the building. The assembly was sitting in com- mittee when the visitors burst through the doors. The members fled in dismay, some taking refuge in the lobbies, and others be- hind the speaker's chair. Then the rioters passed on to their work. Some wrecked furniture, others wrenched the legs off chairs, tables and desks, while some demolished the chan- deliers, lamps and globes. One of the party, in the midst of themette seated himself in the speaker's chair and cried out, "The French parliament is dissolved." He was hurled from his place and the chair thrown over and wrecked. The mace was torn out of the hands of Mr. Chisholm, the sergeant-at-arms, and sub- sequently left as a trophy of victory in the room of Sir Allan MacNab at the Donegani hotel. In the midst of the riot and destruction there was a cry of " fire." Flames were then found in the balcony ; and almost simultaneously the legislative coun- cil chamber was ablaze. The party left the building which in a few minutes was doomed. There was little time to save any of the contents, and out of 20,000 volumes not more than 200 were saved. A full length portrait of her majesty, which cost £2,000 was rescued, but on being brought out of the building one of the loyalists punched his stick through the canvas.* * This picture now hangs in the Senate Chamber, facing the throne. RULING IN STORM. 129 The fire companies promptly turned out on the first alarm, but on their way to the building fell into the hands of the gentlemen in the incendiarism, who detained them till everything had been devoured by the flames. Th rough some misunderstanding the military were not on hand, ami the mob only left after the most brilliant part of the conflagration was over, flowo with victory, and athirst for new Conquest Jt was a direful night In Montreal. Many a blanched face was seen in the gleam of the conflagration, and a deep shudder ran through the community a4 the simultaneous clang- ing of the bells. While the tires of the burning building shone in their windows the ministry held a cabinet and decided to meet the following morning in the Bonsecours Market. There are occasions when feelings lit- too deep for words, and the opening of the next days session seemed one of these. Ifr. Baldwin, who made a motion, spoke in a tow voice, as if under the influence of some painful spell; but the worthy Hamilton knight to whom the mob had brought their choicest spoils was in his primest talking condition. It is not worth while to re- cord here what he said, but it is worth stating that Mr. Blake took occasion to make one last comment upon the quality of the loyalty with which the ears of the house had been so long as- sailed— " a loyalty " he said, " which one day incited a mob to pelt the governor-general, and to destroy the halls of parlia- ment and the public records, and on the next day sought to find excuses for anarchy." It is true indeed that some of the tories had tried to condone the outrages; but Mr. John Wilson, Mr. Badgley and oth rvatives denounced the perpetrators with onmeasured indignity. Mr. John A. Macdonald was one of those who deplored the occurrences, but he censured the Government for lack of pre- caution when they must have known that the outrages were tmplated; and be attributed all the disgraceful proceedings to the bill they had forced upon the people. In the midst of the general debate he rose and moved that Kingston be adopted 130 LIFE OF SIR JOHN A. MACDONALD. henceforth as the seat of government, but his motion was lost by a vote of fifty-one against ten. And others as well as Mr. Macdonald censured the government for not having adopted measures of protection against the lawlessness of the rioters. Ministers, in B timid sort of a way, explained the absence of the soldiers, but read DOW, and in the light of the mob's after deeds, their explanations do not seem satisfactory. It is much to be able to say as we look back upon this turbulent time, that there was no shedding of Mood, but we have no reason to congratulate anybody that for nights the iimb held possession of a great city without being confronted by an available mili- tary, whether bloodshed would or would not have been the re- sult of the collision. When the mob will rise, take the bit in their teeth and trample upon the supreme law of peace and or- der they challenge the worst consequences, and have no right to complain of whatever may follow. Forbearance is a virtue we know, but past a certain limit it becomes poltroonery. A coward indeed Lord Elgin was called for submitting twice to the indignities of the rioters without employing the military, but taking all the circumstances into account, whatever grounds there might have been for such a charge against the government there was none whatever for the charge against the governor. His forbearance was dictated by the highest and most worthy of motives. During the day detachments of the mob appeared where the house was in session uttering hoots and groans, and assaulting any member of the government party who exposed himself. But when night fell over the city the stragglers came together and began again the work of destruction. The houses of Mr. Hincks and of Mr. Holmes, and the lodgings of Dr. Price and Mr. Baldwin were attacked and the windows demolished with stones. Then the mob turned to the beautiful residence of M. Lafontaine, but recently purchased, hacking down fruit trees and burning the outbuildings ; then entered the house itself and demolished the furniture and library. Just as the RULING IN STORM. 1 31 torch was being applied to finish the work the cold but tardy steel of the soldiers was seen glittering in the moonlight and the mob fell back with disappointed howls. Then the loyal- headed off for Dr. Nelson's but were met there again by the bayonets and shrunk back. This too was another night of terror in Montreal, for small detachments of the mob prowled the city through the darkness wreaking their vengeance upon the windows of houses belonging to known supporters of the government Jn the morning placards addressed to " the friends of peace " were post. m1 around the city calling a meeting at the Champ de liars. The chief speakers at this meeting were Hon. George Iftofttt and ( Solonel Gugy. They counselled order and sed an address to the Queen to call Lord Elgin home. On the Saturday following, an address was passed by the house bearing testimony to the justice and impartiality which na<1 cli; " elleney's administration! and express- and indignation at the recent outrages. On Monday, his lordship, accompanied by his suite, and escorted by a troop of volunteers, drove in from Monklands to receive this address. But they had no sooner entered the city than they were assailed with insults and pelted with brickbats and rotten eggs. A stone weighing two pounds crashed through tin coach, while a continuous fusilade of eggs and blasphemy kept up. The address was to be read in "government housed a building so called on Notre Dame Street; and on ar- riving here the governor found his carriage surrounded by a violent mob. A magistrate read the riot act and the soldiers charged, but the mob gave way, cheering for the troops. They were anxious that their loyalty should not be misunderstood ! On the address being read and replied to, the governor set out on his return to Monklands, going by Sherbrooke Street in- stead of Notre Dame, by which he had come. The mob were outwitted, and set up a howl of baffled rage. They imme- diately rallied, however, and, seizing cabs, caleches, and "every- 132 LIFE OF SIR JOHN A. MACDOKALD. thing that would run," started off in pursuit. At Molson's Qorner they overtook the vice regal party, and at once began the attack. The hack of the coach was driven in with stones, ( !ol Brace, the roveriior'e brother, was wounded in the back of the bead, and < fcL Ermatingei and Capt Jones received bodily injuries. The governor himself esea]>ed unluirt. The party eventually distanced the mob and entered the sheltering gates of Ifonklanda. Meanwhile the spirit of riot had elsewhere risen its head. In several Upper ( Canada towns where the ultra loyalists were found in strongest force, hooting mobs paraded and smashed the heads and windows of obnoxious persons. In Toronto a number of gentlemen gathered and lit bonfires with all the Bed of religi'-u- i xecutioners at Smithfield, and there burnt in effigy Messrs. Baldwin, Blake, and Mackenzie. The lodgings of the latter, who had just returned from exile, were attacked and battered, after which the rioters wreaked their vengeance upon the windows of warehouses occupied by Dr. Rolph and George Brown. But this, after all, was only the bad blood of the community. From all parts of Canada addresses poured in upon the governor, commending the fearless attitude he had taken in defence of popular rights. Of all who prized polit- ical freedom the governor was now the darling. But while the masses rejoiced in the better constitutional era which Lord Elgin had inaugurated, a British American league, representing the tory discontent of the time, was formed at Montreal, with branches in Kingston, Toronto and elsewhere. There were many planks in the platform of the new association, one of which was a scheme for the union of the British North American provinces. Mr. Alexander Mac- kenzie, in his " Life of Hon. George Brown," thus drily refers to the organization : " Like King David's famous army at the Cave of Adullam, every one that was in distress, and every one that was in debt, and every one that was discontented, gath- ered themselves to the meeting of the league. * * They RULING IX STORM. 133 were dubbed Children of the Sun. * * They advocated ex- treme toryism, extreme disloyalty, and finally threatened to drive the French into the sea." Towards the end of July, a convention from the league sat at Kingston for several days, and one of the speakers there was Mr. John A. Macdonald. fusion and discord reigned through the gathering. Ogle R. Oowan felt seriously disposed to have Lord Elgin impeached before the house of lords ; some other speaker proposed that the league declare for annexation; another said independence would be better, and each li ad an instant following. Among the ninny disgusted at the riot of proposals was Mr. John A. lonald, who, at an early date, separated himself from the babel Other leading members followed suit, and the mam- moth Family gathering fell to pieces. A few of the fragments ganiaed themselves into associations whose objects were annexation and independence. The news of the outrages created a sensation in England. Mr. Disraeli declared the time to be "a moment of the deepest public interest." Mr. Gladstone, who like the white knight at th cross roads had looked at only one side of the shield, and Said it wafl silver as he set bifl lance in tin- rest, declared that Lord Elgin should have disallowed the bill; but Lord John Russell, Sir Robert Peel and others defended the action of his illency, and paid warm tribute to the unflinching manliness and broad statesmanship he had shown. In view however of all that had happened, and while the approbation of the British parliament was ringing in his ears, Lord Elgin felt it his duty ignify that his office was at the disposal of the colonial secretary; but that official refused to accept the resignation, and took occasion in warm and generous terms to endorse the course of his excellency. The 30th of May was the day fixed for the prorogation of parliament, but Lord Elgin did not deem it well to expose himself for the third time to the passions of the mob without taking means of ample defence ; so the commander of the forces, 134 LIFE OF SIR JOHN A. MACDONALD. Major-General Rowan came down, and the thunder of cannon announced the close of the last parliament ever to sit in Mon- treal. The summer sped away and autumn came, but tumult still lived in Montreal. In August the ringleaders in the spring riots were rearrested and released again on bail, but the mob flew to arms, and after nightfall gathered like fiends around M. Lafontaine's dwelling. The inmates knew the fate in store for them should they fall into the hands of that mob, and after due warning fired, wounding several of the rioters. One of the gang, William Mason, was shot in the thigh, and as he fell his associates cried out, " The blood of a Saxon has been shed by a Frenchman.* Then, and, as it would seem, when the house and its inmates were about being torn to pieces, the military came and the mob went off, bearing with them the insensible Mason who died next morning. Since the burning of the parliament buildings, the question of removing the seat of government from Montreal to some other city had been under the governor s consideration. The protracted and outrageous disposition of the mob, which ap- peared ready to rise to deeds of destruction at any moment out of cold blood, now decided his course. It was therefore fixed that the remaining two sessions of parliament should be held in Toronto, and that henceforth the sittings should be held at that city and Quebec, at each for four years alternately. Thus was the parliament driven out of Montreal, and thus was the reputation of the city once again, as but too often since, smirch- ed by the lawlessness of her mobs. CHAPTER IX. THE GREAT MINISTRY FALLS. AFTER the wild paroxysm of loyalty bad spent itself in storm, many of tin* tones, who by their speeches had stirred their followers Op to the riot point, and afterwards attempted to find excuse for their exooosofl, begin to fee] ashamed of the part they had played and to be anxious about the consequences, A conclave was held at winch it was de- cided to send Sir Allan MacNab and Mr. Cayley to England to avouch in Downing Street the loyalty of the party who had burnt down the parliament buildings, poked sticks through a picture of the queen, and attacked the repre s en tative of the sovereign with addled e^gg. No one to this day knows what reception these t wo got at Downing Street ; but as they have re- mained so reserved upon the subject, it would not be hazardous to say that their silence was probably judicious. Hot upon their heels followed Mr. Francis Hincks, accredited by his rnmeni to make known fully the causes of the disgraceful outbreaks. We are not surprised that the colonial office about this time took a good deal of our provincial business into its own hands ; for if two parties here had a dispute about a jack-knife they ran to Downing Street to have it settled. Why was it necessary for Sir Allan and Mr. Cayley to hurry off to England to apologize, to an indifferent official in the colonial office for the riots in Canada ? — and why was it necessary for Mr. Francis Hincks to follow them there ? We complained then, and murmur still 1 about Downing Street in- terference ; yet it is we who have taught the officials there how 185 130 LIFE OF SIR JOHN A. MACDONALD. to interfere. Even at this day, though we regard the authority of the colonial office only a fiction, and lash ourselves into a rage when it becomes a reality, we take sometimes the most trivial cases from our own supreme court and refer them to the judicial committee of the imperial privy council. The persons who proclaim the loudest that Canadians ought to be (supreme in their own affairs, are among the wry first, when a decision contrary to their views is given in our highest courts, to hasten away to the oracle at Downing Street. If every disputed case, originating in a magistrate's court about the paying of a municipal tax or the right of prosecution under a Dominion act, is to be submitted for a decision to the superior wisdom and higher justice of a conclave of English law officers, why per- petuate the costly mockery here of a " supreme " court ? Mr. Hincks returned from England, elated as a schoolboy who had received the " well done" of his parents. During the autumn the weather-cock in the colonial office described a revolution, and the governor-general was raised to the peerage of the United Kingdom for pursuing a course the precise opposite to that for which, five years before, Lord Metcalfe had been en- nobled. Though perhaps title conferred according to this method of discrimination, does not fill our minds with awe for the " belted knight, the duke and earl and a' that," that a king can make, the honour was highly prized at the time by Lord Elgin, and properly prized, for his conduct had been on trial before the home government. He made an extended tour of the province, and at every place was received with evidence of admiration and gratitude. As he drove through Toronto a party of gentlemen hurled a few eggs and some bottles at him, but they fell short of the mark. In Kingston a few persons came down to the wharf at which lay the vice- regal steamer, and gave some dismal howls, then slunk away again. This trifling exhibition of tory manners was dictated by fear, however, rather than by hate, for the rumour had got abroad in Montreal that the seat of government was to be re- THE GREAT MINISTRY FALLS. 137 moved ; whereupon the instigators of the riots in that city promptly sent out emissaries whose duty it was to see that the governor-general was insulted in any city that was likely to be chosen as the capital. In November the seat of government was changed to Tor- onto, and the offices established in the dreary pile along Front Street, which does duty to the present day. The government met in all its strength, and he were a rash prophet who would predict that it was not impregnable for many years to come. But some shrewd eyes looking through the assemblage of re- formers, saw in this semblance of strength irresistible evidence of weakness. A large majority is to be coveted when parties are divided by Borne well marked line, and each avows a set of well understood opinions; but the government whose party doctrines are yet only in the formative process, is not to be envied of the possession. One day a vote was taken in the 1 >\ver chamber which divided the house upon party issues; and as the reformers Btood dp in all their appalling strength, John A MacdonaM is credited with having observed to a member who sat beside him, " That mighty fabric is soon to go to pieces." 1 1 is companion replied, " I suppose no government has a perennial lease, but if numbers aud apparent harmony count for aught, I think their prospects are good." "Ah, yes," said Maedonald, " irent harmony ! But we shall see." As has been stated already, the reform party composed not only mod3rate seekers for reform, but many who desired radical Changes, and not a few who thought we ought to fashion our political system after the republican model. The advocates of these innovations pressed their views upon the government, but neither Mr. Baldwin nor Mr. Lafontaine seemed disposed to move any further at once in the direction of reform, and inti- mated that the change desired must come thro u#h gradual stages, u the attitude of the leaders became known, a number of the most prominent of tho government followers met, laid down a new political platform, and resolved to withdraw themselves 138 LIFE OF SIR JOHN A. MACDONALD. from the reform party. The chief names in the new combina- tion were David Christie, Dr. John Rolph, James Leslie, and Malcolm Cameron ; and among the concessions they demanded were, abolition of judges' pensions, biennial parliaments, uni- versal suffrage, and election of all public officers. The name given to the new party was the " Clear Grits," a term which first appeared in the Globe. The appellation appears to have origi- nated during a conversation between George Brown and Chris- ti»\ the latter remarking that they wanted in the new move- ment " nun who v w grit? The clear grits had no sooner completed their organization in Upper Canada, than Louis Papineau aroused himself and formed in Lower Canada " Le Pa rti licmge" a combination less radical than revolutionary. \V» ran fancy that member to whom John Macdonald had made the prediction turning aghast as he saw the great fabric which he had regarded as indestructible already split into three parts. And we might fancy the astute observer teliing him to wonder not, that the " greatest was behind." This double defection set the government reeling ; but many of those who stood fast in their allegiance waited upon minis- ters and informed them that the time had now arrived when they expected a settlement of the long-burning question of the clergy reserves upon a new basis. Mr. Baldwin professed himself hostile to a union of Church and State, but gave little assurance of meeting the wishes of his supporters ; while Mr. Lafontaine did not conceal his hostility to what he called a "disturbance of vested rights." "When sorrows come they come not single spies but in battalions " that luckless govern- ment might have exclaimed. From every quarter evil seemed to come upon them now ; every breeze that blew brought them dark tidings. One of the staunchest ministerial organs hitherto had been the Toronto Globe, but it now assumed such an atti- tude that ministers felt themselves obliged to repudiate responsi- bility for its course. In short, the Globe was endeavouring to wipe popery off the face of the earth. THE GREAT MINISTRY FALLS. 139 In the year 1850, as many a nervous Englishman had cause to remember, the conviction entered the breast of the Holy Father that the Episcopal Communion of England were pre- paring to follow Newman over to Rome. So he set about to parcel off the land of protestant Englishmen into ecclesiastical districts, and created Cardinal Wiseman Archbishop of West- minster. The ordinances declaring the districts were written in Rome after the manner of the time when a sovereign pon- tiff set an English king scourging himself before the tomb of a "rebellious priest," shut up the churches and absolved subjects of their allegiance. "Datum apud Roma sub anulo piscato- r'>s." wrote the rash papa in the palace of the Peters; " " Given at Rome under the fisherman's ring!" echoed the people of England, some in scorn and many in dismay. They had less experience of "paper towns' 1 in England then than has fallen to our share in Canada since the inauguration of the "boom," or they might have regarded the employment of the pope in Betting districts off on sheets of vellum, as of no very serious consequence. Y.-t, alarmed thousands of very valiant Englishmen became, and we have it on excellent authority that the "British Lion" stalked through the land. Lord Truro called forth applause that oigfa shook down the building when he quoted, at the Lord Mayor's dinner, the words from the play, " Under my feet I'll stamp thy cardinal's hat in spite of pope or dignities of church;" and thun- ders of applause were evoked by Kean the tragedian, when in the theatre, he quoted the words from King John, "No Italian priest shall tithe or toll in our dominion." In good season, however, the tumult died, and when the hurly-burly was done, it was found that the " country of protestant Englishmen " had sustained no serious damage. After Englishmen had become heartily ashamed of their ex- hibition of fear, the cardinal, the pope and the unfortunate papacy fell into the hands of a wild protestant Canadian. This person was consumed with the idea that the papacy ought to 140 LIFE OF SIR JOHN A. MACDONALD. be rooted out of this country, and without calculating whe- ther the object was a possible one, began the crusade in the columns of his newspaper, the Globe. He published the pronunciamento of Wiseman, replying in his editorial columns in language as rough and intemperate as it was intolerant and illogical. Cardinals may be light or they may be wrong, but it is not in writers of George Brown's stamp that they find conf uters. Bavins begun the discussion. Mr. Brown used every means to lash public feeling into tumult. He pictured the Roman hierarchy in Canada as an odious system that menaced the well-being of our social and political institutions, and the public were informed that it was their duty to resist the common enemy. This indiscreet onslaught upon an un- offending portion of the community was made with as much noise and fervour as " temperance reformers" to-day employ against the vice of drunk. nn.- B, But this was the manner of Mr. Brown. He never moved without noise; and whether it was his entry into the legislature, or that he addressed a meeting in a school-house ; introduced a bill, or presented a medal to a school girl, the fact was announced by a clatter of kettle-drums and a bray of bugles. It has always seemed to us that the prominence he so suddenly attained, from being a mere adventuring raw youth, to the adviser and hustler of the reform party, was more than Mr. Brown could stand. He was ambitious, and had a great deal of honest, worthy ambition too, we may be sure, but under his brusqueness, which was the result of a lack of refined atmosphere during the formative period of his character and manners, he was inordinately vain of his powers and his position. Early in the year 1851 some newspaper writer declared he was seeking the wardenship of the Kingston penitentiary; but he announced, not bluntly but vainly, in his own paper that he was "seeking higher game than that." Yet he had not the foresight to see that his senseless and uncharitable crusade against a law-abiding and inoffensive Christian denomination must prove a barrier be- THE GREAT MINISTRY FALLS. 141 tween him and the "higher game" he sought. And he did not injure his own prospects alone, but drove the already shattered government to the alternative of bearing the responsibility of the Globes fatally reckless course, or repudiating it, and thus alienating its support and following. Every age and country has produced its whitewashes, and we see in a book lying before us now, Hon. Alexander Mac- kenzie, with a brush in his hand, bedaubing the dark spots in this portion of George Brown's career. Mr. Mackenzie, who has evidently not informed himself about a period of which he writes, with some levity admits that harsh things were Baid in this discussion by Mr. Brown, but adds that "no arti- cle ever appeared (in the Globe) which bore the character of intolerance/ 1 Dnscrupulous politicians," he says, "of little or no standing as public men, for years lilled their scrap-books with garbled extracts, torn from their context, and used them lectioneering weapons.* 1 Through all this whitewash the merciless types In the Globe itself will tell the facts. We have made a few "extracts," not " garbled," and not all "torn from their context," and the whitewash cannot hide their intoler- ance. Is it tolerance, whether it be the truth or not, which is not the qnestion we are discussing, to be told that "the ad- vance of education has been the death-knell of popery through* out the w'orld ; " that " its mummeries have failed to stand the of free institutions;" 1 that "civil despotism and the papal delusion hang together ? " — or will it make the statements less offensive to Roman Catholics to join them with the cont. Will the printing of the context make it less offensive to say that "popery binds all men in the most debasing thraldom ; " that "this religion robs man of his noblest privilege, direct communion with God. . . . and debases him to the very level of paganism " ? Or to ask with a note of admiration, " What a frightful weapon of tyranny the confessional is ! " Perhaps we have misunderstood what Mr. Brown's biographer means by intolerance. George Brown was never thejmperial dictator L4I LIFE OF SIR JOHN A. MACDOKALD. of Canada, lidding the life and liberty of the subject in his hand. It may be going too far, then, to say he was not intol- erant, because he did not banish the Roman Catholics out of the country. But the spirit was willing if the flesh was weak. A powerful auxiliary of Brown was one Padre Gavazzi, who had broken out of his Roman cage, and was now abroad through Christendom breathing five and smoke against the pa- pacy. His mission, he said — as reported in the newspapers — was * not to protest against Rome; — it is to destroy, to destroy. It is not protestantism at all. my dear brethren," said the in- flamed padre, 'it is destruction; the destruction of pope and popery. My mission ifl to destroy, to annihilate in my Italy the pope and popery. I am no protestant. Call me destructor, for that is my name." It is hardly too venturesome to say, that, had Mr. Brown not been "settled down" at this time to politics the laudable purpose of the Italian priest might have lured him away into missionary work. Mr. Brown was a warm admirer of Gavazzi, for the Globe of June 10th, 1853, de- scribed him as "the distinguished defender of the Protestant faith." It is seldom two such distinguished defenders of any faith get together and some harm does not come of it. It is hardly necessary to add that the papacy withstood the shock of the cleric and the journalist. Indeed, both the editor and the ex-priest are dead, and Rome still lives, or did, at least, ** up to the hour of going to press." It takes more than a great newspaper and a small padre to destroy an institution that may flourish when the traveller from New Zealand stands upon the ruined arch of London Bridge. The session of 1850 produced a number of important meas- ures, and the most prominent of these referred to an extension of the canal system, which gave to inland shipping an uninter- rupted course of navigation from lakes Erie and Ontario by the St. Lawrence to the ocean ; the control of post offices and postal revenues by the Canadian government ; and a measure THE GREAT MINISTRY FALLS. 143 for the establishment of free trade between the provinces of British North America. Notwithstanding the plenitude of important legislation achieved by the government and the latter's apparent impreg- nableness, it was a house divided against itself, as we have already seen, and soon must fall. Opinion was in a nebulous state among reformers, and just as in the formation of our stellar systems — as some scientists believe — masses of insubor- dinate matter become detached from the main bulk and roll away, each forming a sphere in itself; so the great reform body was dissevered, one portion becoming rouge, another clear grit, still another independent, the balance remaining true to its origins] conditions. ( )nc might suppose that a party made up of so many independent sovereignties as this would be a helpless mass before the skilful attack of the enemy; but the conservative party, which was then in its chrysalis state — between a dead and effete toryism, and the coming conserva- tism was led i,y the indiscreet and offensive Sir Allan Mac- Nab, who did not injure his opponents by his bad temper and •tics and only disgusted his friends. So coarse and so insolent were his attacks on Mr. Lafontaine, and even on Lord Elgin, that Colonel (Jugy, who had been an uncompro- mising tory, arose in his place and disclaimed approval of Ids leader's course. He said he had borne the reproach of such leadership too long, and announced his separation from the party. Several consultations were held among the conservatives, and when the government first began to show evidences of division within its ranks, Mr. Macdonald proposed a course of action, but Sir Allan broke so repeatedly beyond the lines which had been laid down, that Macdonald despaired of suc- cess by attack. He summoned philosophy however ; and at a caucus in Toronto, held by his party to adopt " ways and means," after it was decided that no ways or means could be adopted her emarked, " We need not despair ; their sands of life 144 LIFE OF SIR JOHN A. MACDONALD. arc rapidly running themselves out ; they will die in due time if w. bat l't thriii alone." As early as this date there were seve- ral conservatives of the liberal school who whispered among themselves that so long as Sir Allan was the leader there was little hope for a vigorous conservative party. " MacNab and Sherwood were a pair of weights upon liaodonald'f wings" a conservative of that day ttlls us, "and some of our party, I for one, felt that there \v;h no hope till we got a change of at the head of our party." It is true MacNab had begun to trim his sails to the popular breeze, so far as he could see the direction in which blow that wind, but he belonged to a pa>t e. mury, and was too old and too stubborn to bend to the demands of the time. During the spring of the following }*ear, a vacancy occurred in the representation of Haldimand, and a number of candi- dates, among whom were George Brown and William Lyon Mackenzie, offered themselves for the seat. We have already introduced Brown, but have made only slight mention of Mac- kenzie. William Lyon Mackenzie, whose figure seen down the galleries of the past, seems in these latter years to the careless student of Canadian history to be suffused with glory, was born at Dundee, Scotland, about the year 1795. In 1824 he established a newspaper at Queenston, Upper Canada, and at once began a galling attack upon the Family Compact. Though he was possessed of a sturdy, independent spirit, and might under any circumstances have brought himself into col- lision with the powers of the time, in declaring war against the Compact, he had everything to gain and nothing to lose. After a short journalistic career in Queenston, during which his de- e and uncompromising way of dealing with offences against freedom and public morality brought him to some notice, he removed to York and began to issue flaming denunciations in the very shadow of the enemy's camp. The oligarchs became enraged at his attacks, and bitterly complained before some of the young gentlemen of their own set, like Henry when pro- THE GEE A T MINISTB 7 FALLS. 145 voked by Becket, that they had no one to rid them of M this fellow's annoyance." The genteel young men consulted about the matter, and one June day in 1826, with canes and kid gloves called at Mackenzie's office ; broke open the doors, bat- tered the face off some of the types, and bore away a quantity which they threw in the bay. The persecution only made a martyr of the bitter journalist, who thereafter became a sorer thorn than ever in the side of the Family. Two years later the county of York sent him to the assembly, but here lie violated privilege by publishing lengthy reports of the legis- lative debates; and was expelled. But after the expulsion he was again elected, and again expelled; and the farce was con- tinued till he had been four times elected and as often expelled. In 1834 he was chosen for the second riding of York, and took his seat without molestation. Two years subsequently, parlia- ment was dissolved, and Sir Francis Bond Head and his coun- cil adopted corrupt and unmanly ways to keep their opponents out of the assembly, One Of the victims wa> Mackenzie; and operated beyond all endurance, he turned his thoughts to rebellion. The Btory of tic farce on Gallows Hill lias already been told and need not be repeated. Mackenzie fled away through the wintry woods and found an asylum in the re- public for a time, but was after war- 1> arrested there and thrown into prison. When a pardon was granted to the rebels he made bifl way back to Canada, and living in the remembrance of the people as a brave man, who with all his indiscretion and impatience, had risked the all lie had for popular liberty, he was welcomed to the hustings of Haldimand with vociferous cheers from ■ thousand lusty throats. But although he seemed to be remembered gratefully by some of the people, he was re- ceived coldly enough by Mr. Baldwin and other members of government. The following extract from an unpublished letter, written by him in 1850, to Mr. Aug. Thibodo, of Kingston/will explain his relations to the government, and show also, we believe, why he put himself at the head of a refractory party, 146 LIFE OF SIR JOHN A. MACDONALD. after his entry into the legislature. "Mr. Baldwin and his friends steadily strive to keep me down here in means and influence. I applied for three years assembly wages due — refused. Applied for a year's wages due on the "Welland Canal — refused. Also for the money due Randal's estate, £500 — refused. In every possible way they have striven to render my residence here burthensome tome. Why is this? Are the reformers of '37 the tories of '50 ? Or does office and the fear of losing it convert manly oppositionists into timid and crouching placemen ? If so I trust I'll never be ' led into temp- tation.'" The anti-papacy articles of Brown rose before their author in the Haldimand election like the ghost of Banquo, and Mackenzie was elected by a fair majority. Brown went back to his newspaper to print more indiscreet articles, and kensie went to the legislature where, for the remainder of his public career, he was at best a hasty critic with a narrow \ it w and limited conception of public measures. Another new face was seen at this last session of the third parliament under the union, a man who, could he have cast the horoscope, would have seen, down the years, political degradation — let us not say dishonour — whether his star showed he deserved that fate or not. Perhaps it is needless to say that the new member intro- duced to the house was M. Luc Letellier de St. Just. Parliament met in Toronto in the early spring. The chief measure of legislation was a bill making provision for the construction of railways to supplement the canal system, and put Canada in a position to compete with the carriers of the United States, where railroad building had recently become a mania. A measure introduced during the session by Mr. Hincks authorized the governor-in-council to take steps in concert with the governments of the maritime provinces towards the construction of a railway from Hamilton to Quebec, to make connection there with another line to run along the St. Law- rence and through New Brunswick to Nova Scotia, terminating at Halifax. A meeting of delegates was held in Toronto, and THE GREA T MINISTR Y FALLS. 147 measures were adopted towards the construction of the lines. But when the delegates, Mr. Hincks from Canada and Mr. Chandler from New Brunswick, went to England to ask impe- rial aid, they were astonished to find that Joseph Howe had either been guilty of duplicity in leading them to hope that help would be given, or that Earl Grey had deceived Mr. Howe ; for Sir John Pakington informed them that imperial assistance could not be promised. But out of these projects eventually grew the Intercolonial and Grand Trunk railways. Another important measure of the session was the abolition of the law of primogeniture, in defence of which Mr. Macdonald had aired his early eloquence ; but he had grown wiser now, and sat with supreme unconcern while the politicians swept the ideal law of hisv.mth off the statute books.' Macdonaid'a attitude during the session was not more demon- strative, and less Boornfu], than it was on his first appear- ance in the house, On July 19th he brought in a bill relating to the medical profession in Upper ( 'anada, introducing it to the House in afew terse sentences. The measure met with some opposition, and the chief hostility, though for what reason it is hard to tell, came from the Solicitor-* Jeneral, John Sandneld MacdonaM. The arguments used by this opponent were very paltry, and as some other members took up the same strain, John A. Macdonald at la->t became annoyed. "Mr. Speaker," aid, •• if the Solicitor-* feneraJ is to be Logical and consistent, after he has opposed my bill, in view of what it aims to do — and its scope and aims are not denied — he ought to introduce a bill to legalise murder." How apt, not to say how crushing, was this thrust must be apparent to those who will now try to conceive of our great body of medical practitioners without ob- ligations, organization, or protection. When the simple brother in one of Matthew Arnold's poems plucked the tiny plant to fling at Balder, the gods laughed at his humour, but presently they saw the Father against whom they had hurled their javelins in vain fall, pierc3d by the fragile U* LlFF OF SIX JOIIX A. MACDOKALD. Weed. The country lia and declare that he will resign his place in the eminent The we ed had slain. Balder. The house rejected Mackenzie s measure, but a majority of the Upper Canada mem- voted for it; and though Mr. Baldwin was no advocate double majorities " he was cut beyond endurance at this rebuke to his ideal court. His lofty spirit could not bend. It was a time ol wonders ; for almost immediately afterwards M. Lafmitaine arose at his de>k and announced Ids intention of retiring at an early day. "The two masts are overboard," Macdonald remarked in an undertone to Mr. Sherwood ; " a less hulk there is 1. ft now!" In October, M. Lafontaim- withdrew and the other ministers followed him. Lord Elgin, who was now at his lovely resi- dence, Spencer Wood, upon the cliffs of Sillery, sent for Mr. Hincks to form a government. Perhaps Mr. Hincks could not through the blank wall of the future; perhaps he did get ■ glimpse through it, but made up his mind to follow the path he had traced out. At any rate he did not send for George Brown, who was burning to get into office, but made up his government as follows : FROM CANADA WEST. Hon. Francis Hincks Premier and Insp'r-General. u W. B. Richards Attorney-General West. " Malcolm Cameron President of the Council. " Dr. John Rolph Com'r of Crown Lands. " James Morris Postmaster-General. THE GREA T MINISTR Y FA LLS. U9 FROM CANADA EAST. Hon. A. N. Morin Provincial Secretary. " L. T. Drummond Attorney-General East. " John Young Com'r of Public Works, " R. E. Caron Speak* r of Legislative Coun<[J " E. P. Tache Receiver-General. But there was more than one jealous member when Mr. Hinck- made out his programme. Mr. John Sandfield Macdonald, who aimed to be attorney-general, was offered the commissioner- ship of crown lands, but refused, and went away muttering "curses not loud but deep." George Brown, as was Ins wont, found vent for an angry spirit and disappointed hopes in noise and foamed more indiscreetly than ever through the Globe. He had little denunciation for the tories— indeed, the tone of his paper was complimentary to John A. Macdonald and many other candidates of the party, — but he was unsparing of the Government, he who had lashed the clear grits luefa a brief *time before for their treachery in putting themselves in oppo- sition to the " redeemers of the country." But this all happened before he got into the Legislature, and, more than all, before li<' was ignored in tin- making up of Kindts' cabinet. Once again ( Sanada was in the throes of a general election. CHAPTER X. "burning" questions. THE new government was pledged to the public to provide measures for an elective legislative council, for increased parliamentary representation, the abolition of seigniorial tenure, and the secularization of the clergy reserves. Of all the ques- tions which had agitated the public mind, this latter was the most prominent, the most galling and unjust Among the other evils planted in the constitutional act of 1791, were the provi- sions for granting a seventh of the crown lands in the provinces of Canada, for the support of " the Protestant clergy," and the establishment of rectories in every township or parish, " accord- in- to tli. establishment of the Church of England." In the early history of Upper Canada, the effect of these grants was not felt, but as the population began to spread over the public domain, and it was found that the sanctified hand of the church had aggregated her reserves in large blocks, to aid in the spread of the gospel according to her way of teaching, a general cry of dissatisfaction was raised. Well might the dissenters have cried with Cassius, " Now is it Rome indeed, and Rome enough." It was Rome without the ceremonies and canonical panoply, but it was Rome monopolized. The heads of other protestant deno- minations met to protest against the injustice. The words " a protestant clergy" excluded the dissenters, whom all imperial statutes ignored ; but the presby terians stood boldly up and proved that they came within the meaning of the words. The law officers of the Crown, on pondering the question said the Presbyterians were correct in their view, and that the 150 "BURNING" QUESTIONS. 151 benefit of the act should extend to " these persons, so long as there were any of them in the country." The language of the officers might be taken to refer to moose or bears, but it really did point to " the presbyterians." The sturdiest advocate for the maintenance of the reserves was Dr., afterwards Bishop, Strachan, one of the ablest men that has ever appeared in Canada, and an uncompromising champion of the church of his second love. He resisted the claims of dissenting bodies — " pre- tensions " he called these claims — and hurried away to Eng- land to fortify the colonial office against the importunities of the outraged denominations. In 183G, Sir John Colborne was recalled to England, but before his departure endowed forty- four rectories to the unspeakable amazement and indignation of the province. To each such rectory was allotted about three hundred and eighty-«h acres of land. The law officers in Eng- land promptly declared the endowment to be invalid, but Dr. Strachan got together a bundle of doeumentfl which he packed off to England ; whereupon the oracles ravened their decision. It must certainly have bean annoying to officials of the Bri- tish Government to be pestered about every little colonial mat- out tiny brought the trouble upon thei by arro- gantly, not to say, impertinently, undertaking to deal with matters which rightly belonged to the jurisdiction of the colo- nial Legislatures, in framing our constitutional acts. Nor had they grown more wise, perhaps are should say less meddlesome, in 1840. The Union Act provided that no further reservations were to be made — as if the Canadian government were not the best judge whether more reservations ought to be made or not — and that, of previous Bales of reserves, one-third should go to the oyterian body and two-thirds to the church of England; and that of the future proceeds of sales, one-third should go to the episcopalians, one-sixth to presbyters, and the remainder "for purposes of public worship or religious instruction in Canada." This latter citation was an insinuation in favour of the dissent- ers ; for the framers of the act could not be expected to name 1.VJ LIFE OF SIR JOHN A. MACDOKALD. the Baptists. Wesley a ns, Unitarians, et ea-tera. But this settle- ment of the question, proposed doubtless by the spiritual peers, was made without any regard for the census, and at once caused a cry of anger and dissatisfaction through the country. We know not by what light went the peers when making the ap- propriation. It is their custom when choosing a bishop, we know, to pray to be guided in the choice they are about to make, and then to appoint the person named by the prime min- ister. It is not certain that in apportioning the reserve proceeds among the Canadian religious bodies they gave much time to thought or pray. r. simply setting down double as much to the episcopalians, whether they numbered ten or ten thou- sand, as to any other denomination. Four years afterwards, discontent at the settlement had reached such a head that a complete secularization of the reserves was demanded by the reform party. The question was discussed on the hustings and in the legislature with much passion, and Mr. Henry Price, a congregational ist, at his place in the house, described the rves, with not less justice than force, as "one of the great- est eurses that could have been inflicted upon the land." But the tories showed no inclination to disturb the arrangement. On the contrary, to them, like to the framers of the act of 1791,. establishment was one of the dearest features of our govern- ment. When the reformers came into office in 1848, the champions of secularisation were filled with hope; but as we have seen, Mr. Baldwin, although opposed to the union of church and state, or rather of God and Mammon, had enough of high church prejudice to be content to let the settlement by the union act abide. In Lower Canada the question was never of any consequence, and for this reason M. Lafontaine was op- posed to opening up the matter again. We shall discuss, in its- proper place, the influence it had upon parties, how it split governments, begot coalitions, and changed the whole current of our political history. "BURNING" QUESTIONS. 153 But if the lower province was not concerned about the clergy reserves, it had a grievance scarce less exasperating. In the seventeenth century the feudal system still existed in France, and was transferred, though not in all its rigours, to Canada. Large blocks of land were granted by the West India Company to families of the crown, army officers and religious bodies, who held them en eeigneurie. This condition embraced the pay- ment of fealty and homage to the king. On the day set apart for doing homage, came the seigneur, or holder of the granted lands, to the castle of St. Louis in Quebec, and kneeling before the representative of the king; be there, in token of submission, delivered up hifl sword; which was graciously returned. Nearly all the fertile lands, stretching, for three hundred miles, along the banks of the St. Lawrence were granted to the seigneurs. The latter enjoyed many rights and privileges, but they also had their duties. Within their domains they had jurisdiction overall offences against the laws save treason and minder. When the seigneurie or any portion of it was sold, a fifth of what it brought, called a gttiflf, WIS paid to the crown. Being unable to cultivate his extensive grant, the seigneur divided it into lots having a frontage of three acres on the St. Lawrence, extending backward eight v acres. The holders of these lots which were granted vn ratwre t were called eensitaires. Several annoying condition- were imposed upon the censitaire. He was obliged 4 "to grind 1 ns grain at the seigneur's mill, bake his bread in the seigness/s OVen, work for him one or more days in the year, and give him one fish in every eleven for the priv- ilege of fishing in the river before his farm." He was also obliged to pay a small yearly rental, to do military service, to open up and repair roads, and build bridges. If he sold his lot he was obliged to hand over loda et psntes, that is, the twelfth part of the receipts, to the seigneur. The holding descended to the censitaire 's heir, whose relations to the seigneur remain- * Fran< is Turkman : "The Old Kc'gime in Canada." 154 LIFE OF SIR JOHN A. MACDONALD. ed the same as during the original occupation. Some years after the conquest the censitaires became restive under the in- creased obligations put upon them by the seigneurs, who, in consequence of the system of dividing the seigneurie among all numbers of the family, were driven to sore straits to maintain a living suitable to their rank. At the time reformers in Upper Canada were demanding a secularization of the clergy reserves, the wretched censitaire was praying to be released bom the yoke of his master. Accounts are given of the most dishonest and harassing measures adopted towards the ignor- ant kabitonUj who was not aware that lie was being cheated — only knowing that he was being oppressed — by the seigneurs. Some hot-headed Frenchmen, without any instinct of justice, advocated the totals weeping away of seigniorial claims without compensation ; others advocated a joint commutation of what was called the cens et rentes by the state and the censitaires ; and the legislature in 1849 passed an act providing for optional commutation. This measure, however, did not satisfy the habitant, who demanded that the system should be abolished branch and root. Thus the legislature had upon its hands at the period to which our narrative has reached, two important, or, to use the phrase of the time, two " burning " questions. Mr. Francis Hincks, the leader of the government asked to grapple with these questions, was the youngest son of Dr. Hincks, of Breckenborough, Yorkshire, England, and could trace his ancestry far backward, finding a Hincks as alderman of Chester in 1341. Dr. Hincks obtained a fellowship in Trinity College, Dublin, and subsequently became rector of Killyleagh. He was the author of a number of papers on the transactions of the Royal Irish Academy, and on Assyrian, Persian, and Egyp- tian archaeology. Some of his discoveries proved valuable additions to the knowdedge of Eastern lore, and chief among these may be mentioned his determination of the value and forms of the Assyrian numerals. After spending some years at college, his son Francis entered a large business house, and "BURNING" QUESTIONS. 155 subsequently sailed as supercargo to the West Indies, visiting Jamaica, Trinidad, Demarara, and Barbadoes. In the latter city he met a Canadian gentleman with whom he visited Can- ada, for the purpose of studying her commerce. He went back to Ireland, well pleased with the new country, married the second daughter of Alexander Stewart, a merchant of Belfast, and soon after returned to Canada, taking up hiy residence in Toronto. He rapidly rose in the estimation of all with whom he came in contact for his great abilities and integrity ; and after the arrival of Lord Durham to Canada, established the Examiner newspaper. As a journalist he was seen to possess abilities of the highest order, and while he fearlessly sifted v question to the bottom, his style of writing always main- tained the clue dignity of the prom. In 1841 he was ''called out" for Oxford, and defeated his Opponent by a majority of thirty-one votes; and wis re-elected on going back to his constituency after having accepted the inspector-generalship. Three yean later he was defeated by a son-in-law of Admiral Vansittart for the same oonstitneney, but in ims was again electf'l by a majority of three hundred and thirfcy-flve over his old opponent Oarroli Again he entered the government of his first friend in Canada, taking the same office he had held before. In the autumn of 1851, as ire have seen, on the retirement of Robert Baldwin, lie was called to form a govern- ment. He is to be an interesting figure for some years to come, and we must not anticipate his career. II Angostin Norbert tforin, his " other half," as the second government head used to be called in tho^<- of the purest water, and he was utterly without selfishness and guile. And he was of so sensitive a nature and so confiding a disposition, that it was said of him he was as tender-hearted as a woman, and as simple as a child. A prominent figure in the new cabinet, a man who as yet had no clear notion of what his party leanings were, was Etienne P. Tachd, receiver-general. He was the descendant of an ancient and distinguished French family, and was born at St. Thomas, Lower Canada, in 1795. When the war broke out in 18L2, young Tache* entered the militia of Lower Canada as an ensign in the 5th battalion, and dashed bravely to the front in defence of his country. After the war had closed, he studied medicine and achieved much success in his profession. He was elected to the first parliament under the union, and six yean later was appointed deputy-adjutant-general, which po- sition he retained for two years, when he entered the Lafon- taine-Baldwin ministry as commissioner of public works. On the resignation of L. M. Viger the following year, he became receiver-general, and was allotted to the same office on the for- mation of the Hincks' ministry. Henceforth Mr. Tache* began to evince preferences for the conservative party, and was din- ing his term of office in the reform government a professed admirer of Mr. John A. Macdonald. We shall see that he soon boldly goes to the party whither his sympathies had been "BURNING" QUESTIOXS. 157 leading him, and stands at the head of a government with the member whom it was his wont so warmly to admire. The election was held in the early winter, and resulted in a return of all the new ministers. The position of parties was little changed, save indeed that the only member of the onee mighty compact who took his place in the new house was Sir Allan HacNab, and he only won his seat by repudiating many of the principles which he had been in the habit of defending with much fury. One of the surprises of the election was the rejection of the honoured ex-leader of the reform party by the elector- of North York for a candidate who up to the time had been unknown to the electorate. The fact is that the public mind had been excited during the summer about the question of secularization, and the suspicion got abroad that Mr. Baldwin looked upon the disturbance of the existing set- tlement with no friendly eye, And so when he appeared at the hustings a throng of his friends waited upon him. and bluntly requested him to pledge himself to support secularization. It IS n<> r strange that Robert Baldwin should receive a request like thi.N with scorn. He calmly told his supporters that he •came before them with no claim iijiHii their regards save what a record of his public career had given him: thathehadalwavs i unfettered by pledges, free to do what he believed was right: that he would not fetter himself now, and if they sent him to the legislature he would go there free of pledges. They rejected him, and took the unknown. John A. Maodonaldj whose popularity had flagged not since his first election, was returned again for Kingston, but took his seat not in that listless manner which was his wont, but sat up at his desk, his eye upon every movement that was made. Mr. John Sandfield Macdonald, who was burning for an opportunity to be avenged on Mr. Hincks, was elected iker. The Speech made reference to the proposed intro- duction of decimal currency, to railways, the attitude of the imperial government towards >ecularization of the clergy re- 158 LIFE OF SIR JOHN A. MACDONALD. genres, and the expediency of settling the grievance of seignorial tenure. Some life was introduced into the debate on the address by George Brown, who made his maiden speech — a slashing and effective effort, and perhaps as forcible an array of raw material as had rwr been presented to that parliament. In after years Mr. Drowns style of parliamentary speaking improved, but not wry much. This first speech of his revealed all his strength, and not a few of his defects. He had a prodigious capacity for getting facts together, and these he flung with a tremendous force in the face of his audience. Only the one qualification of an orator had lie, however, and that was this force, a quality which was perhaps made better by having to it a nervous side. It was a homely, blunt speech, strongly made, and that was all. It lacked all the accomplishments and many of the gifts which are essential to oratory. It was devoid of imagination, of sarcasm, of humour, of irony, of pathos, of scorn. We know that facts can be honestly and effectually told without these gifts and graces, but we are merely pointing out that it is a delusion to suppose that Mr. Brown was an orator. He was a man of nmeh honest purpose, of rugged, strong intellect; so ragged as to give room to the supposition that his muscle may have been turned into brain without having undergone any particular change. The true orator understands human nature, the sympathies of audiences, and as he speaks keeps his hand upon the pulse of his hearers. Mark Anthony subdued and turned into zealous friends upon the spot a mob of turbulent Romans, drunk with tumult, by appealing to all the better instincts of their humanity. That oration of his, hidden away in the play, is, in our poor judgment, the greatest speech, the most effective piece of oratory that lives in any language, though he who utters it declares (but in the disclaimer proves the contrary), " I am no orator as Brutus is, but, as you know me all, a plain, blunt man that loves his friends." George Brown was a decidedly plain, blunt man, but it is doubtful if "BUByiNG" QUESTIONS. 159 he always loved his friends ; and if he did he surely had not always tact enough to tell them so. He plunged straight on r without art or grace, believing it to be his duty to drive instead of to lead. Papineau made an erratic attack upon the government, and declared that he wanted annexation and an elective legislative council. Mr. John A. Macdonald, who had informed some of his friends that "at last he was ready for the fray," adminis- tered a long scourging to the government. He affirmed that the ministry had outlived its principles, and that its only bond of union now was that of office. Frequent meetings of the conservatives were held at which it was agreed that the party should act in accord witli Brown's stalwarts when any blow aimed to overthrow t] mment. During the summer Mr. flincka had visited England, and while there mad ttble effort to induce the* imperial government to introduce such legislation as would give the I anadian parliament authority to deal with the question of secularization. Notwithstanding these facts, George Brown charged him with having H sold himself so the enemy," and upon this asseveration ground.-. 1 his opposition to the govern- ment. The truth is, Mr. Hincks' real offence was that he had ignored Brown in forming his cabinet, and now stood in the path of a man who had told the public with a flourish but a few months before that he was "aiming for high game." If this is not the true interpretation, then it remains to be explained why Drown had no censure for Messrs. Baldwin and Lafontaine, one of whom, at least, was known to be hostile to secularization; why he scourged the clear grits in his news- paper for jeopardizing the interests of the party, and saw nothing censurable in the conduct of the government till he found he had not been remembered in the formation of Mr. Hincks' cabinet. The interests of the reform party were always dear to Mr. Brown, but not so dear as his own ambi- tion. In the whole course of his public career, he never hesi- ICO LIFE OF SIR JO EX A. MACDONALD. tated to crush any man who crossed his path. If the interests of hia party happened to be identical with the interests of his rival, then BO much the worse for the party. It was not that he loved his party less, but that he loved George Brown more. ( twing to the prevalence of cholera in Quebec, the legisla- ture vrafl adjourned from November till February. A few days before prorogation, D6WH reached Canada that a measure rela- ting to secularization had passed the imperial parliament. The act authorised the Canadian legislature to repeal or amend the i h^aswas deemed desirable, but prohibited interfer- ence with the annual stipends already allowed to clergymen. Evidently, up to this date, the impression had not got out of the head- of some of the law-makers that our legislature here vnm largely composed of the barbarian element. They could not trust the few clergymen interested in this legislation to our hands for justice ! During the summer, the celebrated Alessandro Gavazzi, of whom we have already made mention, arrived in Canada for the purpose of destroying the papacy. He lectured in Quebec, but a number of lawless ruffians, defenders of the Catholic faith we suppose they styled themselves, broke up the meeting. Thence Gavazzi passed to Montreal, and while addressing an audience in Zion Church there one evening, a mob of Roman Catholic Irishmen, also on the defence of religion, endeavoured to force its way into the building. This was prevented by a force of police outside, but as the mob was drawing back, one of them fired a pistol. This rioter was promptly shot down by a protestant. The lecture was hurriedly brought to a close, but during the progress of the audience through the street it was assaulted by the mob, which was largely composed of murderous and half-drunken navvies. Two women were struck to the ground and trampled over; and a child of nine years had its arm broken. Mayor Wilson now appeared from behind the scenes and ordered the military to fire. The order was "BURNING" QUESTIONS. 161 obeyed, but the balls went only among the procession whose offence had been that they attended Gavazzi's lecture. Five men dropped dead from the volley, and a large number were wounded. In the excitement the mayor evidently lost his head, though his action in ordering the soldiers to fire seems like an appalling murder. Unfortunately for Mr. Hincks he was on terms of great intimacy with Wilson, who was a Catholic. The government was tardy in investigating the occurrence, and its enemies told it on their trumpets through- out Upper Canada that Mr. Hincks was in the hands of the Catholics. The accusation seemed so much like the truth that it contributed in no small degree to the premier's downfall. During the session Mr. John A. Macdonald was the most prominent figure in the debates. Upon the bill to increase the Dumber of representatives, he took strong grounds, contending that the measure was ■ Sacrilegious laying of hands upon the constitution, without the ^auction or desire of the people.* Against the University Bill, he took a iirm stand, f but a perusal of his speech shows that his objections are well taken, and that much of his hostility to the measure was due to a conviction that Dr. Rolph was personally interested in the government bill. During the discussion on a measure to res- train the sale of intoxicating liquors, he took the position that the government could no more legislate a man to be sober than it could to make him religious} The law against duelling, he pointed outdid not prevent " meetings," and the practice of the duel existed till the moral force of the community frowned it out of existence. The bill for indemnity to seigneurs he attacked with fierce scorn, not that he believed compensation should not be made for the confiscation of seigneuries, but that as the measure was one of local interest only, the burthen of indem- nity ought not to be borne by the people of UpperCanada.§ "It ♦ See Appendix "A." f See Appendix " B." J See Appendix "C." § See Appendix " D." ttt LIFE OF SIR JOHN A. MACDONALD. was as much as sa\ ing," he pithily observed, "that Upper Canada should he bribed with her own money." The premier seems to have been the chief object of his care during the ion. Scarce a day passed that there was not a passage of anus between the two. One afternoon Mr. Hineks was asked istribute copies of the bill creating a bureau of agricul- ture, among members, but curtly refuted to do so. Macdonald rose in his place: "Mr. Speaker, the inspector-general, in an- swer to a proper request from this hou.se, says 'we won't.' Sir. it is absolutely indecent." Mr. Hineks who was rather virprised at seeing Macdonald show any trace of peevish- arose and said that there was surely nothing indecent in saying, "we won't*" "Ah, yea," said Mr. Badgley, "but it is the manner." " The manner," returned Macdonald, con- temptuously ; "hehct8 no manners." "Why, is it possible!" -ail several members at once, " that Macdonald has lost his temper." " Nonsense," he replied, " I was never cooler in my life." He seemed to be in his element glancing along the benches of the doomed ministry and taunting its members. From being silent and nonchalant, he had become active and provoking. No joint in the enemy's harness escaped his eye ; the memo- landum books were thrown aside, and he sat there another Attila. Attorney -general Drummond, in defending the charita- ble societies bill, had wandered away from his text, and indulg- ed in some jubilation at the strength of the government. " Ah, yes ; " Macdonald said, when Drummond sat down, " they had much reason to be joyful about their majority. You have a ma- jority of six votes," he went on ; " and you have at least eight ministers. So deduct the votes of these eight gentlemen for themselves, and there is a majority of two against them ! " There was a time, he admitted, when he had some respect for them, " but I have none now. The hon. member for Kent (George Brown), has ungritted you. You are now an unfortu- nate incoherent mass at the mercy of everybody and every- thing." We find the Kingston member attending a meeting held "BURNING ' (J LOTIONS. 163 at Montreal during the summer, by the protestant citizens, in relation to the Gavazzi riots, and observe in his conduct there the caution that has always been part of his character. He was called upon to speak, but said a few words only, assur- ing the meeting of his sympathy with their object, but declin- ing to say anything further, as " the matter was to be brought up in parliament." On the eighteenth of June, in this summer, the Globe winds up a dreary article with the earnest prayer, that " the country may be saved from the darkness of Romanism." Mr. Mackenzie has, however, said in his book that " no article ever appeared in the Globe, that bore the character of intolerance." CHAPTER XI. BIBTB 01 '• LIBERAL-* < >nsi:k\ atism." u 1 F Russia should decline to restrict within purely diploma- JL tic limits the discussion in which she has for sonic time past been engaged with the Sublime Porte, and does not by the return of the messenger, who is the bearer of my present letter, announce her intention of causing the Russian troops under Prince Gortsehakoff to commence their march with a view to recross the Pruth, so that the provinces of Moldavia and Wallachia shall be completely evacuated on April 30, next, the British government must consider the refusal or the silence of the cabinet of St. Petersburg as equivalent to a declaration of war, and will take its measures accordingly." Such was- England's ultimatum to Russia despatched on the 27th April, 1854. The messenger was informed by Count Nesselrode, four days after he delivered his errand, that the Emperor did not think it becoming in him to give any reply to the letter. A few days afterwards, a large assemblage of excited persons con- gregated about the Royal Exchange to witness the most inter- esting ceremony known in any country. The sergeant-at- arms, accompanied by several city officers, ascended the steps of the Exchange, and therefrom read Her Majesty's declaration of war against Russia. Foreign capitals which had so often said with a sneer that " England had joined the peace society and would never be seen in battle any more," stood aghast now listening to the clangor of her arms. But that sentiment sung by our first of Canadian singers, Mr. Roberts, still lived as 164 BIRTH OF "LIBERAL-CONSERVATISM." 1G5 the swords which had lain idly in their scabbards were buckled on, and the great ships were warped out from their moorings : n But let a great wrong cry to heaven, Let a giant necessity come ; Then as of old she can strike, She will strike, and strike home." The Canadian government had been growing weaker day by day, and while the great nations grappled with each other in their murderous conflict at the Crimea, a violent newspaper war was being waged throughout our province. It was in vain that the ministry asked to be judged by their works, and pointed out the valuable legislation they had called into ex- istence. During the previous summer the Grand Trunk rail- way had been opened to Portland, the Great Western from Suspension bridge to Windsor, and the Ontario, Simcoe and Huron, now known as the Northern, from Toronto to Barrie. With the declaration of war the prices for Canadian products bed a fever point, labour was in brisk demand, and com- mercial prosperity at the flood-tide. The fly in .Ksop's fable imagined that it was he who raised the dust-cloud, and not unnaturally ministers believed that their policy was in some measure the author of the extraordinary activity in trade; but it was not. For some time past Lord Elgin and his government had been conducting negotiations towards a treaty of reciprocity be- tween ( Canada and the United States. In May, the governor and Mi. Hindu went to Washington to conclude the terms, hut congress was busy with questions of greater moment, and our representatives were lost sight of for some weeks in the bustle. Opponents of the government ridiculed their mission, and prophesied the return of " our diplomats," as they contem- tuouslv termed them, " with their tails between their legs." It created no little surprise among the prophets, and rejoic- ing through the commercial community, to learn that, on the ICC LIFE 01 SIR JOHN A. MACDONALD. "tli of June, the treaty had been signed by Lord Elgin on be- half of Great Britain, and W. L. Marcy, secretary of state for tlif United States, on behalf of the republic. By the provisions of the treaty, citizens of the United States were permitted to take Rah o£ any kind except shell-fish on the DO S OOastfl and shores, and in the bays, harbours and creeks of British provinces in North America, at any distance from the shore; and to land upon the shores to dry their nets and cure their fifth. In return for these privileges British .subjects were allowed the same concessions in all the waters and upon the land of the eastern sea-coasts and shores of the United States, north of the 86th parallel of north latitude. Grain, flour, breadstuff's animals, meats, poultry, fish, lumber, hides, hemp, ores of metals, manufactured tobacco, and some other articles were admitted into each country duty free. The navigation of the St. Lawrence and the Canadian canals was permitted to American citizens on the same conditions as to British subjects ; and the latter were given similar rights on lake Michigan. No export duty was to he levied on any lumber cut in districts in Maine, watered by tributaries of the St. John river, and floated down the latter to the bay of Fundy for shipment to the United States. The treaty was not to go into effect till it had received the sanction of the imperial and provincial parliaments on the one hand, and of the congress of the United States on the other. It was to continue in force ten years from the date of ratification, and one year after either party had signified a desire to terminate it. In Canada the treaty was received with a good deal of favour, but the people of the maritime provinces perused its terms with disappointment and anger. They charged Lord Elgin with hurrying away to Washington without understand- ing what were their most vital interests, and flippantly sign- ing these away. * The objections raised to the treaty were, * Archer : " A History of Canada." BIRTH OF " LIBERAL-CONSER VA TIS3T." 167 that though the United States had nothing to exchange com- parable in value to the priceless fisheries of British North America, and though their ships were placed on an equality with the ships of Great Britain, they still peremptorily declin- ed to concede the only equivalent they could offer, the admis- sion of colonial vessels to registry in their ports and to their coasting trade. The treaty, it may be added, ran for thirteen years ; and during this time the value of the aggregate of commodities interchanged between the two countries rose from an annual average of $14,290,763, in the eight years previous to the treaty, to $50,339,770, in its thirteenth year. Parliament was called together on the 13th of June, the last day to which convocation could be postponed. It was impossible that the meeting could have been summoned for ;in earlier date, as the governor and the premier had been detained in Washington till the fifth of the month. But the opposition did not care about impossibilities, and declared that mini- were afraid to meet the house, and had put off the evil day to the utmost moment Political felling was once again at fever heat in Canada The opposition press had ourried on a flaming crusade against the ministry , charging it with treachery to the public, and hostility to secularization of the i and the confiscation of seigneuries. The Globe, and all the journals that followed its lead contended that it was the government's duty at the impendiii n to grapple with these questions; and Mr. Brown wound up a very rampant editorial in support of this new by saying that Mr. EEincks " must secularize or go out." What the ministry's intention was had not transpired; and when the governor sat upon the throne to read the address, the house listened in breathless silence to hear what measures were promised. But it indicated only two ; and neither of these referred to the reserves or seigniorial tenure. The house was merely informed that a bill would be prepared to give effect to the Washington treaty, and another to regulate 168 LIFE OF SIR JOHN A. MACDONALD. the franchise and amend the election act, passed the preceding ion, We are unable to see at this day what other measures the ministry could have promised in the speech. During the preceding session provision had been made for an increase in the number of parliamentary representatives from 84 to 130. Clearly, then, from the moment parliament had declared for an increase in the number of representatives, the existing legis- lature was not fairly representative, and for a body, so de- fieienti to enact legislation affecting the interests of the pub- lic would have been a violation of the principle of respon- sible government Mr. Hincks defended the action of the ministry on these grounds, and might have cited the prece- dent set by the imperial parliament in 1832 after the passage of the reform bill. We are unable to recall any instance worth noting of a departure from this doctrine in any country under responsible gove rnmen t It is only a few months ago since Sir John Macdonald dissolved parliament after its fourth session, because the census had shown that its representation was not equitable. History by-and-by, when the party feel- ing of the hour shall have passed away, will not fail to approve his act ; yet had the country rustic who stood aghast at the denunciation of Fox by a scurrilous hireling of the court ar- rived in Canada after Sir John Macdonald had announced this dissolution, he would have asked, as he asked in England, " ' As 'e stole a sheep ? " Even Mr. Edward Blake so far forgot the constitutional usage as to indite an extraordinary epistle to his constituents, in which he told them that the government having been beaten in a fair fight had resorted to " foul play." Now that Mr. Blake's little fit of excitement has blown over, he must bear to be told that it was no more correct to call a desirable and constitutional act " foul play," than to say that the government, against whom he issued his manifesto, had been " beaten " in any fight, fair or foul. It was plain to the house that the intention of the ministry was to hurry through its measures and end the session speed- BIRTH OF < < LIBERAL CONSER VA TISM." 169 ily. But the conservatives, led by Sir Allan MacNab, and in- spired by John A. Macdonald, joined themselves with the clear grits who followed George Brown, and the rouges who were a set of political Mamelukes. The address was stubbornly op- posed inch by inch, and Mr. Hincks had the mortification of seeing men who stood fast to their allegiance all along now desert him on the ground that he had been unfaithful to his pledge. The man who goes through public life without some reproach clinging to his name, is as strange a spectacle as the Hebrew children who passed scathless through the fiery fur- nace. Rumour had a good many scandals upon her lips now, and the conduct of Mr. Hincks in certain transactions were said to be not above reproach. Ministers were therefore charged with infidelity and corruption ; and the explanations they made were Dot sufficient before the house or the country. Beyond any comparison their most powerful opponent was Mr. John A. Macdonald. His hostility was not shown to the constitutional ground the government had taken, but to their hesitancy in dfHwg with tin* questions which had set the country aflame. Se did not take ■ stand either for or against the secularization of reserves and the abolition of tenure, but contended that the duty of the government was to have said yes or no to the publio, and to stand or fall by their action. Apart from the shilly-shallying of the ministry, he formulated against them a number of grave charges of wrong-doing. As he proceeded with his speech he grew warm, and at last lost hifl temper. It was a strange sight to see him who never be- fore had been stirred by discussion grow white with feeling, and gesticulate wildly with his arms. The government he said was now a reproach to the country. They had the con- tempt not alone of the party by which they had always been opposed, but by their own friends. " It was well known," he continued, " that the system pursued by the present govern- ment had been one of rampant corruption, appealing to the most sordid and the basest motives of men * * * * m LIFE OF SIR J01IX A. MACDONALD. Even the postmaster-general had said at Perth, in reference to the purchase of government property by members of the government, that there had been a job perpetrated by his col- leagues, with whom he continued t<> ait. Now, a government should be free from suspicion and feel a stain on their escut- cheon like a wound on their person. Especially should they keep their hands clean of any speculation in the government property.*" All honour, he said, had departed from them, and the only bond by which they were kept together now was the bond of common plunder." Nor were these short-com- ings either confined to one, or two, or three odious transac- tions; " they were steeped to the very lips in infamy; " w. it- tainted with corruption, collectively and individually, both in their public and private characters." During the delivery of this speech the wildest excitement prevailed in the house, and ministers " shivered at their benches." The attack was all the more effective coming from a man whose balance of temper the house never before had seen destroyed, and at an hour when the staunchest supporters of the ministry were dropping off. Fastidious critics censure Mr. Macdonald's " violent language " in his early career, but our impression is that outbursts like these have not been uncommon in debate among the staidest of parliamentarians. The very year before, Mr. Disraeli had suffered his temper to get the mastery, when, in a discussion with Mr. Gladstone, he informed Sir Charles Wood (Lord Halifax) that petulance was not sarcasm, nor insolence invec- tive ; and said that he "viewed Sir James Graham with regard, but not with respect." Some years before, at a public meet- ing, he denounced O'Connell as " a bloody traitor ;" and the latter retaliated by characterizing Disraeli as the " true heir-at- law to the blasphemous thief that died impenitent upon the cross." Among the amendments to the address were two by Messrs. Cauchon and Sicotte — in the drawing of which it is said Mr. See Appendix " E.' BIRTH OF " LIBERAL-CONSER VA T1SM." 171 Macdonald had a hand. Mr. Cauchon's amendment expressed regret that the government had not taken steps for the dis- posal of the seigniorial tenure question tin ring the session, and Mr. Sicotte's very adroitly added, " or one for the immediate settlement of the clergy reserves." Inasmuch as " settlement " might mean a confirmation of the status qua, or an agreement to the demands of the clear grits and rouges, these amend- ments were support ed by the two latter parties, and by the con- - rvatives; and the government found itself beaten by a vote- of 42 to 29. The vote being really one of non-confidence, Mr. Hincks promptly adjourned the house for two days, and the ministry hurried together to discuss a way out of the dilemma- The conservatives and clear grits each held its separate caucus the following day, and at tie- tatter's George Brown wan jubilant as he saw tie- "higher game" now almost within his reach. At tie- other meeting was no exultation; but there sal the eool, shrewd- headed Macdonald, pointing out that now since tin- crisis bad come, their party should move with more prudence and cau- tion than ever. It was clear to him, he said, that no ministry could be formed, even after an appeal to the people, without the coalition of some tWO of the parties. Sir Allan MacNab. as was his wont, became excited and talked extravagantly, but Macdonald reminded kirn, thai they could "afford now to sit and see them flounder in the net." "There is no way for them out of it," he assured his colleagues. Meanwhile no one outside of those who sat at the ministerial conclave knew what the government would do on Thursday next When the day came the house met at the stated hour, and members, some with anxious, others with curious, and not a few with gratified faces took their seats at their desks. But the speaker had hardly taken his place when the house was startled by the booming of cannon; and the conviction flashed upon unin- formed members that the governor was on his way to prorogue parliament. Sir Allan MacNab jumped to his feet and asked the ministry if it was possible that the government had 172 LIFE OF SIR JOHN A. MACDONALD. decided on an immediate prorogation. Mr. Morin said yes, by a simple inclination of his head. " Then," replied the knight trembling with excitement, " 1 protest in the name of the op- positioo against OUT being broken up in this manner. I declare, on behalf of myself and my friends, that we are quite prepared to make a respectful reply to his excellency's speech, that we are rauty to pass a hill bringing the new franchise act into op- eration, and to grant the necessary supplies for the current year." Sir Allan had HO sooner sat down than William Lyon Mackenzie, almost speechless with rage, arose and began •an attack apoo the ministry. After pouring out his wrath upon the government he asked permission to introduce a bill mi the clergy reserves; but while insisting on having his mo- tion put the knocking of black-rod was heard at the door, and the sergeant-at-anns appealed before the bar commu- nicating the fact to Mr. Speaker. Then arose a general con- fusion, a dozen members endeavoured to make themselves heard at once. Some members could be understood through the din to say, that black-rod must wait at the door till the house was prepared to send him his answer. Mr. Mac- kenzie, who had maintained his place on the floor the while, now sat down, and Mr. Macdonald arose, and began to speak with great vehemence. He declared, that of all the disgrace- ful acts of which the government had been guilty, this last was the worst. It was, he affirmed, an unlawful and indecent use of the power in their hands to prevent the public from investigating their corrupt actions before the election. While he was yet speaking, Mr. Mackenzie, taking the motion he had written, from his desk, walked with it to the speaker's chair. Mr. Sherwood arose to a question of order. The messenger, he said, had been admitted without the consent of the house. Mr. Macdonald, who still remained standing said he stood there to protect the liberties of the people of Canada. Here the uproar, in the words of the newspapers of the day, became tremendous ; Macdonald speaking at the top of his voice, but BIRTH OF " LIBERAL- CONSER VA TISM" 175 being quite inaudible, and the speaker standing up also as if to speak. The sense of the house, however, began to return to it, and the " faithful commons " eventually proceeded to the court-house where the legislative council held session and the governor was waiting. While reading the incidents of this memorable morning many will ask, But how could a dissolution be declared, since the pass- age of at least one bill through both branches of the legislature was necessary to constitute a session? So queried, too, the speaker in whose eyes now shone the light of triumph as he nervously fingered a slip of paper he carried in his hand. He had sat in the chair passionless and impartial since his election,. l»ut there always burnt in his breast the desire to be revenged on Mr. Hincks for having refused to him the attorney-generals ship. As Speaker it was his duty to call attention to any infringement of constitutional usage I • v the government Of the house, and he now saw the time at hand when lie eould take revenge on the premier. The governor sat on the vice-regal ehair awaiting the appearance of the commons, and when the Speaker reached the bar put out bis hand to the secretary for hlfl speech. But he hesitated and a look of astonishment came over his face, for the Speaker had unfolded the paper with which his fingers had been nervously toying as he walked over to- the court house, and in a bold tone in which one could catch the feeling of subdued triumph, read: u May it plkase your K\< i.i. LENCY, — ft has been the immemorial custom of the Speaker of the commons house of parliament to communicate to the throne the general result of the deliberations of the assembly upon the principal subjects which have employed the attention of parlia- ment during the period of their labours. It is not now part of my duty to address your excellency, inasmuch as there has been no act passed or judgment of parliament obtained. The passage of an act through its several stages, according to the law or custom of parliament solemnly declared applicable to parliamen- tary proceeeings by a decision of the legislative assembly of 174 LIFT. OF SIR JOJIX A. MACDOXALD. L841, is held to be necessary in order to constitute a session of parliament This we have been unable to accomplish, owing to the command which your excellency has laid upon me to meet you this day for the purpose of prorogation; and at the same time 1 feel called upon to assure your excellency, on the part <>f her majesty's faithful commons, thai it is not from any want of respect to yourself or to the august personage whom you represent in these provinces, that no answer has been returned by the Legislative assembly to your gracious speech from the throne." This address wa>< also read in the French Language, and Mr. Penninga Taylor tells as that ;is his excellency listened to what he regarded as an act of censure upon his ministers and a reprimand to himself,his countenance displayed dee] > displeasure And annoyance. He recovered his calm, cool aspect very soon, however, and read a brief Speech announcing an immediate dis- solution of parliament. Political affairs had now reached a puzzling state. There three parties in the field, the ministerialists, led by Mr. Hinck-. tin- conservatives, by Sir Allan MacNab, and the clear u r i its, by George Brown. No one of these parties could hope to be returned in sufficient strength to form a government ; so that to close observers the only way out of the difficulty was in coalition. The choice of the conservatives was between joining their forces with the ministerialists, whom they were now savagely assailing on the hustings and through the news- papers for corruption and incompetency, and the clear grits. To the government no choice presented itself : they could not seek coalition with men who had told upon trumpets that they were "" steeped to the very lips in infamy," nor could they on the other hand submit themselves to the intolerable tyranny which Mr. Brown had set up in his newspaper ; so they went to the polls in a sort of sullen despair. The most jubilant politician at that election was George Brown, for he believed that the hour of office was at hand. He w T as led away by the delusion that BIRTH OF " LIBERALCONSER VA TISM" 1 75 either one of the other two parties in the field would readily join its forces with his own ; but he did not see himself as others saw him. At the very time that he went about among his followers in a storm of jubilation, telling them that their day was coming, both of the parties, either of whom he thought would coalesce with him on the hint, were pondering how they could get into office without making such a compact. Fanny Squeers supposed Nicholas Nickleby smitten of her because he talked with her over the tea; and she went abroad to announce an "engage- ment," forgetting that it takes two parties to a contract. Much like Fanny Squeers was George Brown at this election. He was doubtful whether Mr. Hincks could be bullied or libelled into submission to his will, and so concluded to ally himself with the conservatives. To the astonishment of the latter party and everybody else he began to coquet with his ancient enemies privately,and to support them in the Glof>e. Like Fanny Squeers, he did not deem two parties to the engagement necessary, use he was willing to form a compact with the conserva- tives he believed they were ready to coalesce with him. Mr. Brown may have been anxious to see a secularization of the re- serves — no doubt he was — but above all other things he desired to get into power. So eager was he for office, and so little did the hereditary evils of toryism countcompared with the capture of his own M higher game," that he gave warm support in (be Globe and on the platform to no less conservatives than MacNab, Macdonald and Cayley, opposing the ministerial candidates. This portion of Mr. Brown's career Mr. Mackenzie finds the most difficult Of all to whitewash over. But it needs only a few extracts from the biographer's book to show how effectually it ted his treatment. "Thai Mr. Brown ever expressed an unqualified wish for the success of the tories," he says on page 32, "is not only without foundation but so palpably absurd as to require no contradiction." On page 52, a contradiction comes, and it is made by himself. He says : " Mr. Brown gave his support in certain cases to candidates of the conservative type 176 LIFE OF SIR JOHN A. MACDOXALD. on the ground that there was nothing to be hoped from the ministry." We have made the italics in the last quoted passage, It would not have accorded with the opinions so strongly put forward by Mr. Mackenzie, to have it stated that Mr. Brown supported such conservatives;^ Maodonald, MacNab and Cayley, so by a tugg&tioj hfoi the writer tries to leave the impression that support wasp van only to some indifferent politicians who really might, — and this was a generous admission on the part of the writer '. — he regarded of the " conservative type." Keep still in mind who were the "candidates of the conservative type," and then turn to the next page of Mr. Mackenzie's book : " The new government was savagely assailed by the Globe. No one could expect that a government in which the names of J. A. Macdonald, Sir Allan MacNab and Mr. Cayley appeared, could be other than hostile to the determined demands of the Upper Canadian people I " We are not dealing with Mr. Mackenzie as an historical writer now : that is out of the question ; but we are merely showing how unskilled he is, after all his attempts, in the use of whitewash. Were we to show the value of his statement* as an impartial historian, we would merely quote from the page preceding that containing the extract just given : " Mr. Hincks was entitled to the discredit of forming a new combination with the tories." In view of Mr. Brown's attempt and failure to form " a new combination with the tories," the discredit of having succeeded in doing so fell to Francis Hincks ? That is it we suppose. Mr. Mackenzie also forgets that Mr. Hincks waived his personal claims, and that Robert Baldwin wrote from his quiet retreat at Spadina strongly endorsing the coalition and the course of Mr. Hincks. Parliament was summoned for the 5th of September. For days before the opening intense excitement in political circles prevailed at the capital ; and several caucuses were held, some by each party alone, and others by the conservatives and clear grits together. The plan agreed on by the latter was, that both should unite to defeat the government. For the speakership BIRTH OF "LIBERAL-CONSERVATISM." 177 there were three candidates, George E. Cartier, put forward by the ministry; John Sandfield Macdonald, by the clear grits, and Mr. Sicotte, by the Lower Canada opposition. When the gover- nor-general had withdrawn, after saluting the new parliament, the clerk of the Assembly took the chair. The three candidates were then named, and after some hot discussion on the merits and claims of each, the clerk put the question, Shall Mr. Cartier be speaker ? In reply, G2 said nay, and 59 yea. Mr. Sicotte was proposed next, when the clerk told the yeas to rise ; but only a comparative few stood up. Jt was plain to the house that the speakership was to fall to John Sandfield Macdonald. But there sat on a ministerial bench a member who, with all his fire and feeling knew how to be cool, and he resolved that tin- man who had read the rebuke to the government at the close of the last parliament should not grace (he Speaker's chair. The clerk counted Mr. Sicotte's supporters, and was about to call for the nays, wlu-n Mr. Hineks, with flashing eye, sprang to his feet. "Put me with the yeas," he said, and immediately the entire body of his followers also stood up. Mr. Sicotte was declared sleeted. When the buzz wafl over, Mr. Macdonald, the defeated candidate, half hissed a "thank you *' across the house to the premier, and the latter answered him with an ironical bow. The vote showed that the ministry did not possess the con- fidence of the house, yet, Mr. Hincks argued, as the vote had not been taken 00 a question of non-confidence, he need not resign till some other sign had been made. On the following day the governor-general came down and delivered his speech from the throne. Several important measures were promised, but nothing that ink and pen could put on paper would have saved the ministry. The latter now saw that there was noth- ing to be gained b}' postponing the evil day, and on Friday, the 8th instant, resigned. From the mass of political timber now afloat, the governor-general set about to select some one to form a ministry, and his choice fell upon Sir Allan MacNab. 178 LIFE OF SIR JOIIN A. MACDONALD. But John A. Macdonald's was the head that planned the course to be pursued. Mr. Brown and one or two of his lieutenants wen almost bursting with anxiety for several hours after it wafi learnt that the governor had called upon MacNab, ex- pecting to be " waited on " and invited to enter the cabinet. But Mr. Brown was soon to find, like Fanny Squeers, that be- tween himself and the conservatives there was no "engage- © © nit iit." A caucus of MacNab's party was held, at which John A. Macdonald was the mod prominent figure. He pointed out that the sentiments of the old tory party had been now out- grown by the province, and that the true course was the medium line between effete toryism and the doctrine of the radicals. Alliance, he said, with the clear grits — which num- bered about forty strong — was not to be dreamt of. Their policy was one of impetuosity and indiscretion, and their leader would tyrannize with his newspaper if he could not rule in the cabinet. With the liberal party, which had become detached from the extravagant members of the reform side, he said, the conservatives could, without any sacrifice of princi- ple, and with much profit to the country, unite. The secular- ization of the clergy reserves, and the abolition of seigniorial tenure were questions, he added, upon which the country had expressed itself unmistakably; and it was the duty of the government to give effect to the popular wish. While the discussions went on, and messages passed between Sir Allan and some of the ex-ministers, Mr. Brown's excite- ment had grown to a very high pitch, and every one who ap- proached him, he fancied, brought a letter from MacNab. At last, to his utter consternation, he learnt that the conservatives were in communication with some of the ex-ministers, and later on, that a government had been formed, as follows FOR CANADA WEST. Hon. Sir Allan MacNab, President of Council and Minister of Agriculture. BIRTH OF "LIBERAL-CONSERVATISM." 179 Hon. John A. Macdonald - - - Attorney-General. " Wm. Cayley - Inspector-General. " Robert Spence - Postmaster- General. " John Ross - Speaker Legislative Council. FOR CANADA EAST. Hon. A. N. Morin - - Commissioner of Crown Lands. " L. T. Drummond - Attorney-Genera.!. " P. J. O. Chaveau - Provincial Secretary. " E. P. Tache - Receiver-General. " J. Chabot - - Commissioner of Public Works, This was the famous MacNab-Morin government, the first liberal-conservative ministry formed in Canada, the combina- tion in which were fused the staid ami respectable Liberal senti- ment of the province, and the liberalised and broadened form of conservative opinion. With this coalition disappeared from the stage the historic reform party, the apostate reformers or grits, only remaining. Strictly speaking we have no "reformers" now; and those who call themselves such are the descendants of the bat lied grits who set up a cry of rage when liberal and conservative sank a few imaginary dill and blended into a party libera] enough to keep abreast of public opinion and conservative enough not to run into excess. Meanwhile George Brown's excitement had passed away, and as we have it on the authority of Mr. Mackenzie that he was now anxious to see the reserves secularized, it is natural to suppose that he held his peace till he learnt what the policy of the new government was. But he did no such thing. In the words of Mr. Mackenzie himself, " the new ministry was sav- agely assailed by the Globe." After parliament had met Mr. Mac- donald promptly introduced a measure dealing with the clergy- reserves. This act abolished all distinctions between religious denominations by providing that the proceeds arising from all land-sales, after the deduction of expenses, be handed over 180 LIFE OF SIR JOHN A. MACDONALD. to the municipalities in proportion to population, the amount to be applicable for ordinary municipal purposes. Another bill was introduced abolishing feudal rights and duties in Lower Canada, and allowing compensation to seigneurs in cases where* vested rights had grown up under the tenure. Since the object of George Brown, according to the Globe and Mr. Mackenzie, was to have a settlement of the clergy reserves made, and since it was because of alleged dilatoriness on Mr. Hincks' part in settling this question that Mr. Brown seceded from the ministerialists hil support to a government which swept state- church ism away ought to follow as a matter of course. But it did not. On the contrary, the new ministry was still " savagely assailed by the Globe." It was not, after all, state-church ism so much that Mr. Brown cared about, though Mr. Mackenzie does not tell us so, but his failure to capture the " higher game." There was some astonishment among the fossil tories at the stand taken by the new ministry ; and John Hillyard Cameron, John W. Gamble and Edmund Turner were utterly scandalized and withdrew their august support. Some of the newspapers of the conservative side expressed regret, and others wonder. The Belleville Intelligencer said : " Who would have fancied that the knight of Dundurn and the Hon. Mr. Cayley would ever have surrendered their principles on the clergy reserve question. That the Hon. John A. Macdonald should have done so, does not astonish us, because we have long known his views upon this question, and that they had undergone considerable change, so far as its settlement would tend to allay the un- natural excitement which has so long agitated the country. Well, these men are to compose the ministry, with the French members, who were part and parcel of the Hincks' administra- tion. So that the changes are confined to the upper part of the province, exclusively." In the legislature the new ministry were subjected to some scathing criticism, and some of those who had not learnt to appreciate the force of the Duke of Wellington's maxim, that BIRTII OF "LIBERAL-CONSERVATISM." 181 "the Queen's government must go on," loaded conservative ministers with reproach for sitting in the same cabinet with men whom they had so lately denounced. Mr. Macdonald, of Glengarry, said, among other things, in a very long and windy speech : " Well, the house met after an adjournment of a year, and amendments to the address hostile to the administration were adopted. Charges of a very serious nature were brought against the administration. The honourable member for King- ston (Mr. Macdonald), who had now gone over to the other side, and was to be the administration Leader, stood up in his place in this house and declared that the administration then in power were 'steeped in infamy to their very lips,' and that they were 'tainted with corruption collectively and individually, both in their public and private characters.' And yet within three months after, they found the gentleman who made use of that language, almost unparalleled in the annals of parliament, amalgamating with the administration which he had thus de- nounced] Could anything have happened which would have taken tlie people more by surprise?" The Globe in a calm mood mad.' an estimate of the new min- istry, and said of Mr. John A. Macdonald : "Then we have Mr. attorney -general Macdonald, the only man of any working qualities in the government, tho only one who can make a set speech in the house', the man who must be the leader in the assembly. Has Mr. Macdonald ever shown any tendency to reform principles ? Was he not one of the most active mem- '" is of the Metcalfe cabinet, the opponent of responsible government? Is he not known to hold the highest conserva- tive views ? " This was the same " Mr. Macdonald " whom the Globe had supported when it saw hopes of a coalition with the tories. It is needless also to say, that the inference we ought to draw from this statement, namely, that Mr. Macdonald was one of Metcalfe's ministers, is, like many other things published 182 LIFE OF SIR JOHN A. MACDONALD. and spoken by Mr. Brown, incorrect. Mr. Macdonald did not enter the cabinet till after Metcalfe had left the country. In December, Lord Elgin, who had lived to see the system of government advocated by his father-in-law in his masterly report* tried and proved successful, sailed for England. His after career was worthy of the man who so ably and fearlessly performed his duty in Canada in a time of perplexity and turmoil. After performing important services in China and Japan, and sitting for a time in Palmerston's cabinet as post- master-general, he was appointed to the vice-royalty of India. While making a progress through the north-western provinces, he was attacked with serious disease of the heart, and died under the shadow of the Himalayas, where, at his request, and in a spot selected by Lady Elgin, his remains were laid. His successor to the governorship of Canada was Sir Edmund Walker Head. * For extracts from Lord Durham's Report, see Appendix (M). CHAPTER XII. TACHE-MACDONALD. SIR EDMUND W. HEAD, was born, in 1805, near Maid- stone, Kent, England. He came of i distinguished and very ancient family which had for an ancestor Richard Head, baro- net, in 1G7C. Edmund was educated at Oriel college, Oxford, where he took a first-class in classics, subsequently obtaining a fellowship in Mereton. Here he WIS appointed university examiner, and examined Lord Elgin, whom he was afterwards to succeed as governor-general of Canada, for a Mereton fellow- ship. An article of his published by the Foreign Quarterly >ew, brought him to the notice of the marquis of Lands downe — who had the honour of " bringing out" Macauley under almost similar circumstances — and this nobleman prevailed upon him to study ecclesiastical law. He found, however, that theology was not his proper vocation, and, like his giddy-headed kinsman Sir Francis, entered a poor-law office as assistant-com- missioner. In this department he acquitted himself with such excellent discrimination and high ability, that on a change of ministry, though the in-coming party were not of his school of politics, he was appointed chief-commissioner. The poor-law, however, grew into bad odour, though the conduct of the com- missioner was beyond reproach, and the ministry was obliged to reconstruct it. It was felt by the government that a man of Sir Edmund's ability and high character ought to have employ- ment ; and in 1848 they appointed him to the governorship of New Brunswick. This position he retained till 1854, when he was appointed governor- general of Canada. As will be L83 184 LIFE OF SIR JOHN A. MACDOKALD. Been by the record' of Sir Edmund's Canadian administration,. he was a man of a discerning mind and wide experience, who could not be coaxed or driven from the path of duty. Above- all his sense of honour was so keen that no consideration could bring him to follow any course that was not in keeping witli toe dignity and impartiality of the position he held. We shall B66 him, as we proceed* in trying places, and hear him loaded with reproach for doing his duty. But the snake may crawl upon the spotless stone and cover it with slime, still the purity of the marble will outlive the defilement Through all the dander and malignant abuse heaped upon Sir Francis during the years immediately to follow, the character of the man a— ailed stands forth to-day untarnished by any improper act during his administration. The health of Mr. Morin now began to fail him and he longed to be out of the hurly-burly of political life and get upon the bench, a haven where all harassed statesmen believe " the wicked cease from troubling and the weary are at rest." Mr. Marin's resignation disturbed the Lower Canada portion of the cabinet Col. Tache* took the place of the retiring leader, Mr. Drummond retained his old post, Francis Lemienx became com- missioner of public works, Mr. Cauchon assumed charge of the department of crown lands, and, a man destined to play a prominent part in our history, George Etienne Cartier, was chosen provincial secretary. For some time past it appears Mr. Macdouald had strongly admired Mr. Cartier, while the latter was drawn with an irresistible force towards the attorney-gen- eral-west. It was then began that friendship, unique in the history of Canadian public men,between these two distinguished statesmen; a friendship that survived through the trial and the 1 »attle, but which, at least on the side of one, was shattered when both stood in the noonday of their fame, and after their great- est victories had been won. Parliament met in February following in Quebec. In fancy then could be heard through Canada the ringing of sabres and the TACHE-MACDONALD. 185- booming of cannon in the Crimea, and every noise increased the heat of the heightened public pulse. It was announced, too, that Great Britain would need every available soldier, and that a portion of the troops was to be withdrawn from Canada. The instinct of self-defence at once arose and found expression in the government's militia bill. This measure can only be justified in the light of a time when the air was full of the sounds of war. It provided for the formation of two great militia bodies, one to be called the sedentary, the other the active. The former was to include all the male inhabitants of the province between the ages of eighteen and sixty; the latter all those under forty years. They were to muster once a year for drill ; and the cheeks of those who drew the bill flushed as they thought what a force this would be t<> hurl against an invader. Not unreason- ably the opposition inveighed against the' measure, charging the ministry witli endeavouring to establish a standing army which they described as one of tin- greatest curses of a fiv« country. The bill passed, however, and remained in force for about eight years. It may be called the parent of our present militia BVStem. The government were tiercely opposed by the clear grits, and notably by George Brown and Ids iieutenauts, William Lyon Mackenzie and John Sandfield Macdonald. Mr. Hincks rendered Loyal support t<> bis party, a lesson which some of the grit statesmen who have been so ready in their books to criticise the career of that gentleman would do well to- bear in mind. Mr. Hincks had been superseded not more by conservatives than by his own party, but this did not prevent his cordial support of the coalition. It is not a hundred years ago since a certain party in Canada changed their leader, as wo suppose they had a perfect right to do, whereupon a personal hostility grew up between the discarded and the newly chosen head ; and they have since been barely able to maintain decent appearances. If the writers of some of our Canadian books would try to follow Mr. Hincks' example during the time undei discussion, instead of criticising where there is nothing to cen- 186 LIFE OF SIR JOHN A. MACDONALD. BOre, they would appear themselves, when their careers are over, brighter figures to succeeding book-writers. After the session closed Mr. Hincks went to England, and while there was appointed to the governorship of Barbadoes and the Wind- ward Islands. During the summer the question of denominational schools was discussed on the platform and through the press with a great deal of vehemence. Mr. Brown rode the protestant horse with much flourish through the country. The greater portion of Upper Canada was in favour of non-sectarian schools, while the people of the lower province would not hear of " banishing God from the class-rooms," and insisted on separate control. The government decided on maintaining the existing system ; and their opponents said they were bondsmen to Rome. While every other question, after a too long bruiting, lost its potency to stir the multitude up to tumult, the pope and Rome never once felled in its object. The mention of Rome was, at the time of wdiich we are writing, to demagogues of George Brown's stripe — and George Brown, however many Stirling qualities he may have possessed, was the arch type of a demagogue — what dynamite is now to the Russian nihilist and a wing of the Irish agitators. Parliament opened at Toronto in February. During the debate on the address Mr. Brown made a slashing assault upon the government, charging ministers wth infidelity to pledges, and disregard for the will of the people. On the night of Tues- day the 26th of February, some ministerialists remarked that the criticism of Mr. Brown might be correct and proper, but they doubted the judiciousness of such censorship by one who had coquetted with conservatives and supported their leaders at the late election, with a view to forming a coalition with their forces. John A. Macdonald, upon whom Mr. Brown had showered some indiscreet speech, sat at his desk smiling, and when an opportunity occurred arose to add his testimony to the remarks of the preceding speakers. In a half playful, yet TACHE-MACDONALD. 187 half bitter way, he called attention to the difference between George Brown hopeful and George Brown disappointed. But notwithstanding that Mr. Brown had at first supported the re- formers and then deserted them; and that he ridiculed the clear grits for forsaking their party, and afterwards became the leader of the clear grits himself; and though he tried to ally himself with the conservatives, and savagely attacked the reformers for succeeding where he had failed ; yea, though he had, as w r e have already stated, supported MacNab, Macdonald and Cayley before the election, and ferociously assailed them after the elec- tion, because they would not coalesce with him, and after they had abolished state churchism — the thing for which he said he had been chiefly contending — notwithstanding, we say, all this, of all the sins in the political calendar the most hateful in his eyes was inconsistency. He rose trembling with excitement, and poured out a stream of invective on the government, taunting them with corruption, incompetency and dishonour; and with infidelity to their pledges and the people's trust. Once again temper got the better of the cool attorney-general west. He was observed to tremble and gVOW white at his seat, while Mr. Brown went on; and as the latter gentleman took his seat like a subsided volcano, Mr. Macdonald jumped up. It was some time before he could articulate distinctly, but when his voice grew clear and his nerves steady, there was no effort needed to catch his meaning. He accused Mr. Brown of having, while acting as secretary to a commission appointed some years be- fore to investigate abuses said to exist in the management of the provincial penitentiary at Kingston, falsified testimony, suborned convict witnesses, and obtained the pardon of mur- derers in order to induce them to give false evidence. Such appalling charges coming from a minister of the government bewildered several members of the house, but others remem- bered that Mr. Macdonald had made similar charges years before, and believed that he had strong warrant for reiterating them now. In making these charges Mr. Macdonald is open to 188 LIFE OF SIR JOHN A. MACDONALD. c< n-ujv, not indeed for having, as Mr. Mackenzie meanly alleges in his book, pivfenvr any hon. member in the opposition to state what lie pleased, in a political way, to the hon. gentleman <>n the other side, and to do as the hon. member for Essex (Rankin) had fairly done. How had that hon. mem- ber been met I Why in a spirit of ridicule, and with the deter- mination of insulting him. The Speaker said it was not right to increase the pain of the house by such remarks. He himself had not acted very promptly in calling the attorney -general to order when he addressed the house, because he thought that the hon. gentleman did not go beyond what he (the speaker) thought was parliamentary lan- guage. To prevent further difficulty he must beg of the hon. mberfor Essex to retract the words he used. Mr. M urney thought it to have been the desire of the attorney- general to insult the hon. member for Essex personally. He had listened with great pain to the speech of the hon. attorney - general- west, but he claimed for himself the right to say in that house all he wished with respect to the hon. gentlemen oppo- site, as to their political acts, and he dared their right to oppose this. The Speaker said, if the house were to go on with this con- troversy, more trouble would ensue. He would propose a plan which would impute the fault to neither of the hon. gentlemen, namely, that they should both be placed under the custody of the sergeant-at-arms — (hear, hear, and sensation) — when, prob- ably, the house would be in a better position to judge of their conduct, and it could adjudicate upon it. That would be the better way, without now discussing which was in the right and TA CHE-MA CD ON A L D. 193 which was in the wrong. Mr. Macdonald came into the house after the discussion had been some time in progress, and very coolly offered advice to the Speaker as to what he ought to do with respect to the " two hon. gentlemen." Many members shook their heads and said that it would not pass away so quietly as this, and believed that the affair would end in a rencontre at ten paces. But in the words of Burke, " the age of chivalry had gone ; that of sophisters, economists, ami calculators had succeeded," and Messrs. Rankin and Macdonald fired no shots and had no " meeting." It was now generally known that the rumours which Col. Rankin had repeated in the house, in such an offensive manner, were not without some foundation. Members of the cabinet did not try to conceal their desire to be rid of Sir Allan Mac- Nab and to have a "younger and more capable member " of the council in his place. The younger and more capable mem- ber, we need not say, was John A. Macdonald, And though the conspiracy formed for the overthrow of Sir Allan was the spontaneous action of the greater number of ministers, we need not doubt that Mr. Macdonald himself had ambition to become the leader. He had sat calmly in the house through several ions while the conservative party gradually went to pieces through lack of capable leadership, and seldom made a sign of impatience. He sat unbowed while the reform party towered above their opponents in numbers and prestige ; saw that party pass away like the pag« ant in the Tempest isle; bs \v the conser- vatives come again to power, and. now, through inferior leader- ship, show a tendency to a second fall. He met the recalcitrant ministers at one of their "conspiracy gatherings," as Sir Allan passionately described the meetings. He was informed that his colleagues desired that he should become their leader, that doom awaited the government if Sir Allan remained at its head, and that the duty of the party's well-wishers was now to get rid of the premier. Mr. Macdonald is understood to have placed himself in the hands of his colleagues and to promise to assist M MM LIFE OF SIJ? JOHN A. MACDONALD. in doing whatever they believed t<> be for the welfare of the government. Sir Allan at this time was a victim to gout, and was frequently unable to attend the meetings of council. It came to his ears that the ministry had resolved at a caucus to put Mr. Biacdonald in his place, and Ins anger knew no bounds When the paroxysm of his disease was over, he reviewed the condition of atlaii^and found, with some exultation, that he was master of the situation. He was premier he told his friends indeed blurted it out publicly, not by the suffrage of his con- spirator ooUeagaeSybat of that of the governor. He even fancied that lie might he able to dispense with the cabal altogether, and rally around him other men who would have sufficient fol- lowing in the house to sustain the ministry. Presently the newspapers began to open fire upon him, telling him that he was a log in the path of progress, that he had been a good man in his time, but that his day was past ; and urging him not to sully a fairly respectable career by becoming a nuisance at the end of his life. Against such a defection as this the old man was not proof, and he shed hitter tears as he resolved to offer a compromise. It was sufficient humiliation he felt to be forced out of the leadership, but it was intolerable that the man he regarded as the arch conspirator should succeed to his place. H« met the ministers and informed them that he had made up his mind to resign; but on the condition that Mr. John Hillyard Cameron should succeed him. Mr. Cameron was an indifferent figure compared with the gentleman of the cabinet's choice, but he was not at all conscious of inferiority, and pressed himself forward with much earnestness. Although the ministry was now in a critical condition and staggered under the assaults of the opposition, its members resolved not to accept Sir Allan's offer. They could afford to wait till a change came, they said, which would not be long. It came sooner than they expected. On the 17th day of October, the previous year, Kobert Cor- rigan, a protestant, while attending a cattle show in the parish of St. Sylvestre, Quebec, had been attacked and brutally mur- TA CHE-MA CDONALD. 195 dered by a gang of Roman Catholic Irishmen. In the following spring seven of the assailants were tried for the murder in Quebec ; but in spite of the plainest and most overwhelming testimony, they were declared * not guilty." When the verdict became known a cry of indignation was raised through the protestant community of Canada ; and it did not tend to allay thp feeling when it was learnt that the jury trying Kelly and his fellow murderers was virtually packed, being composed exclusively of Roman Catholics, and that judge Duval, who presided, was also a Roman Catholic. When any great public wrong has been done, it eventually cries out from the parlia- ment for redress. On Friday, the 7th of March, Mr. John Hillyard Cameron, who since his rejection by the anti-Mac- Nab ministers was not particular whether he embarrassed the government or not, moved an address to (he governor for the production of a copy of judge Duval's charge to the jury. This address the motion affirmed,— and coming from a criminal lawyer of Mr. Cameron's stan< ling, the asseveration startled the house — "contained statements which could hardly have been made by any man who had anything like a fair acquaintance with the manner in which the criminal law ought to be ad- ministered." The government was in a sore plight. They dared not commit themselves to any measure that cast an imputation on judge Duval's character, for the French Canadians made the judge's cause their own ; while upon the other hand nearly every Upper-Canada member in the assembly demanded that the matter should be sifted tothe bottom On the night of the 10th, after three days stormy debate, the motion was put and carried against the government by a vote of forty-eight to forty. Attorney-general Drummond hurriedly arose and moved an adjournment of the house. On the following day ministers asked permission for a further adjournment of two days, and meanwhile endeavoured to bring together their sundered forces. During the term of grace they decided to present the address to the governor, and to subse- 106 LIFE OF SIR JOHN A. MACDONALD. quently have a friendly member move a want of confidence in the ministry. Though conservatives as well as reformers would have the disgraceful miscarriage of justice in Quebec investi- gated at much public sacrifice, they were not willing that the liberal-conservative ministry should give place to elear-gritism and newspaper tyranny; and when the motion of non-confi- dence was put they sustained the government. It is scarcely >sary to add that the governor did not produce judge Duval's address, for the good reason that it w r as not in his pos- session, and could not even be ieenmed to exist; while, if it did exist, he had not the power to compel its production. Th.' government, however, was shattered by the adverse vote on the Corrigan matter; and while yet engaged in healing the breaches, hon. John Ross resigned the speakership of the legis- lative council. This action was dictated by the attitude of the reform members in the cabinet, who pointed out to him that since the secularization of the clergy reserves had been accom- plished the purposes of the coalition no longer existed, and that they were not willing to form a permanent concordat with a party at whose head was Sir Allan MacNab. Colonel Tache* took Mr. Ross's place, and Mr. J. C. Morrison, through the influence of Mr. Macdonald, was admitted into the cabinet. At a later day the enemy would say the sweet tongued siren lured Mr. Morrison thither. It was hoped that this accession would restore the equilibrium between the reform and conser- vative elements of the minis try. The step was endorsed by Mr. Morrison's constituents in Niagara, but was regarded by no small portion of his party for years afterwards as a betrayal of trust. The accession, however, added little strength to the cabinet. It had no effect indeed save to discredit the new coun- cillor before his party, and to satisfy a friendship. Some days later, Mr. John Sandfield Macdonald, who when a storm was to be raised, was always ready to take the part of Ariel, brought in a motion respecting the seat of government, and providing for the abolition of the perambulating system. TACHE-MACDONALD. 197 u Out of evil Providence sometimes brings good," attorney- general Macdonald said when "John Sandfield" brought in his motion. Quebec was then chosen as the permanent capital, and the house was asked to grant a sum of £50,000 to erect legisla- tive buildings there. To this latter proposal George Brown and his grits offered fierce opposition, but the amendments they offered were declared out of order by the chair. " Make a direct non-confidence vote" said attorney-general Macdonald, "if you are debarred by the rules of the house from getting the sense of parliament." He would be a superficial man who supposed that a fit of generosity to Brown and his followers dictated this advice. The suggestion was adopted, Mr. Holton moving that the course of the ministry on the seat of govern- ment and other important questions disappointed the expecta- tions of a majority of the people. The motion was defeated by a vote of seventy to forty-seven : hut an analysis showed thirty-three Upper ( anada members to he among the minority, and only twenty-seven with the majority. For the first time the " double majority " principle was now adopted. It was contended that on a question affecting each division so dis- tinctly as did this, the Upper Canada section of the ministry would be faithless to their trust did they retain office while supported only by a minority of members from their own part of the province. So the Upper Canada division of the gov- ernment, despite the protestations of Sir Allan, who was "tor- tured at every joint," decided to resign. It now seemed as if Providence were about to bring good to the government out of the evil. While the albatross hung about the neck of the Ancient Mariner, there was naught but woe for the unfor- tunate man, but when the disastrous bird dropped off the curse departed. Sir Allan had long been the albatross about the government's neck, and " worked 'em woe," but on the 21st of May he informed the governor-general from the midst of his flannels, that while " not recognising a sectional majority as a sufficient reason for a change of government," no alternative 108 LIFE OF SIR JOHN A. MACDONALD. bat resignation was open to himself and his colleagues from Upper Canada. Thus the albatross dropped off, and the gov- ernment was saved. A daring way to seek riddance of an incubus; but the man who planned it saw his course far before him. and was not mistaken. Men are sometimes masters of their fate Ctorina tells Brutus, and Mr. Macdonald had steadily climbed the ladder, never failing in his purpose, till, at last, we find him upon the round whither he had aspired. We do not beliew the superstitious dame who tells us that this one who has attained fame and that one fortune are " lucky;" the fault is never with our stars but with ourselves that we do not succeed ; and that " chance,' through which they tell us some gain glory and others power, is not chance at all, but "direction which we cannot see." The governor-general called upon colonel Tachd, president of the legislative council, he being the senior mem- ber of the government, to lead the ministry, but Mr. Macdonald took the reins in the assembly and was virtually the ruling spirit in every department. Mr. Drummond, attorney-general - east, the gentleman whom Mr. Mackenzie brings in judgment against Macdonald, had ambition to Lead in the assembly and pressed his claims with much persistency ; but the cabinet was not likely to turn from indiscreet impetuosity to respectable mediocrity, and therefore did not entertain Mr. Drummond's proposals at all. " Well, then, I shall not sit in the cabinet," he said. " And you may go," they replied. He did go, believ- ing that the fabric would fall when such a pillar as he had withdrawn its support. Mr. Cartier, the late provincial secre- tary, became attorney-general-east in the place of Mr. Drum- mond ; Mr. Philip Vankoughnet, one of the most thriving lawyers at the bar, and a close personal friend of Mr. John A. Macdonald's, took Sir Allan MacNab's place as president of the council, and Mr. Timothy Lee Terrill succeeded Mr. Cartier as provincial secretary. Two days after the resignation Sir Allan was borne into the house, swathed in flannel, by two serving men. The rumour TACIII-: MACDONALD. 199 having gone abroad that the knight's ire against Mr. John A. Macdonald was very strong, curiosity was on tip-toe, and members who appreciate " scenes " looked anxiously for the arrival of Mr. Macdonald and his colleagues, in whose absence they did not suppose the explanations proper to the occasion, with the anticipated extra, would be made. But the attorney- general- west and his colleagues judiciously remained away, and Sir Allan, muffled in flannels, and seated in his invalid •chair, addressed the house. As his colleagues had chosen to absent themselves, he did not deem it proper to make the ex- planations he had to offer. The state of his health, he said, had prevented him from discharging his duty as he would wish, during the session. " I have been a member of this house " he went on, "twenty-six yean, and during all that period I have not been so Ions absent as daring tins session. I think the people of this country will receive that from a man of my age ufticient excuse." He would be ready, he assured the house, to meet the ministers on the following Monday to make cer- tain becoming statements, and he would appeal to the people for a verdict on the course be had taken. "If I am supported by their voice," he added with much emotion, " I shall feel that I am right. If condemned, I am ready to retire into private life, — and perhaps I am now tit for little else." There is some- thing touching in the spectacle of an old man bowed with time and pain, telling those gathered around him, some full of higb hopes as he once had been, that the autumn of his days has come, and that he looks now to the falling of the leaf. At such a moment with the grave dimly seen in the background, we can afford to drop the party questions that divide us during our brief sojourn upon the mortal stage and moralize on the in- stability of human things. There was many a moist eye as this old man, who, with all his defects of character, was frank and generous to a fault, told the assembled members that he had been thrown aside — let us add in the murderous struggle for the survival of the fittest — by younger men, and. that, per- 200 LIFE OF SIR JOHN A. MACDONALD. haps, he was no longer useful and only fit to die. It is not, how- ever, that we believe a catastrophe had come upon Sir Allan which was not meet and just ; indeed we can allow our tears to flow as Macbeth, the fiend and victim of a morbid ambition, paces the stage and we hear him wail, H I have lived long enough : my way of life has fallen into the sear and yellow leaf." There was genuine sorrow as Sir Allan bade a long farewell to the men among whom for 80 many years he had been a prominent figure. But turning aside from the humanity that bids us weep when the tree in the fulness of time falls, and the petal drops that is new to bloom again, we find ourselves in a world where tears and sentiment will not satisfy the demands of duty; where the fittest survive*, and justly so, and the incompetent gives way to the capable. One of the most important acts of the session was the measure respecting the legislative council. It was provide* I that councillors already appointed should hold their seats for life (it is probable their positions were regarded as vested rights, though should a merchant or a railway " boss" believe his staff too large he would not allow scruples about " vested rights " to trouble his conscience when discharging such assist- ance as he did not need) ; but that every future member should be elected by the people, and for a term of eight years. The province, for the purposes of the act, was divided into forty- eight electoral divisions ; and the elections were to be held biennially, twelve members to be chosen at each contest. Two months before a joyful thrill had run through the civi- lized world as it was learnt that a treaty of peace had been signed at Paris by the powers. With all the fame and victory- trophies of the war, it had an appalling summing up. Not less than twenty thousand Englishmen who went out to meet the enemy, returned no more. About a sixth of these fell in battle- or died of their wounds. Cholera and other diseases engendered by a climate against which the British soldier was not proof, ren- dered a grim return of the rest. England and France thought TACHE-MACDONALD. 20J not of the loss of sixty thousand lives, but rang with the fame of the allied armies. Instances of heroism had been shown by- British troops that gave the actors a place beside the heroes in ancient legend whose valour had filled the world with wonder for more than two thousand years. Many a Canadian flushed with pride as he heard of the brilliant and successful daring of our troops at Alma; many a one compared the unflinching bravery of Fenwick Williams at Kars, the noble if fatal courage of the six hundred horsemen who "rode into the valley of death," to the deeds of the Spartan at Thermopylae, and of Horatius at the Bridge. The treaty of peat*' was signed on the •30th of March, One of the articles provided as follows: "The Black Sea is neutralized ; its waters and its ports, thrown open to the mercantile marine oi every nation, are formally and in perpetuity interdicted to tin- flag of war either of the powers possessing its coast or any other power." There was an excep- tion by which each power reserved the right of maintaining a force of small armed vessels in the Black Sea to do the duty of a maritime police, and protect the coasts. The navigation of the Danube was tin-own open, and the rule was confirmed pro- hibiting ships of war from passing the straits while the Porte was at peace, during which the Sultan undertook to refuse- such vessels admission into the Bosphorus or the Dardanelles. Such wen- among the mos1 important stipulations of the treaty- Some hopeful statesmen believed that the settlement would long endure, and the olive branch flourish perhaps for centuries to come. Lord Aberdeen, who had no heart in the war, pre- dicted that the results would maintain peace in Eastern Eu- rope for " probably twenty-five years." It was not a bad fore- cast. Just twenty- two years later the clangour of arms was- heard there again. CHAPTER X 1 1 r. THE DOl'BLE SHUFFLE. AS immigration poured into Canada in an ever-increasing stream some public men began to speculate about a time when population would have spread to the limits of Canada, and the pioneer would venture forth into the vast regions held by the Hudson Bay Company. Some began to dream of a day, not far in the future, when a proud nation would be reared between the republic and the Arctic Ocean ; but there lay as a bar to the realization of the vision the gigantic monopoly by which a private company held vast stretches of British territory in the t, unknown North-west Several wise newspapers and public speakers ridiculed the ardour shown about "desolate n> of -now and muskeg, inhabited by the fox and prairie- wolf, a few bands of indians, and a handful of furriers and half- breeds." The territory was said to be a dismal expanse, set apart by providence for wild beasts, composed of sterile wastes, and of such a climate that grain would not grow there ; while its summer, — a season afflicted with frosts — was too short to mature even a small potato or a cabbage. The government, however, were fully alive to the importance of getting possess- ion of the company's territory, and to this end, at the sugges- tion of attorney-general Macdonald, negotiations were opened with the British government and the company; and chief justice Draper went to England to represent the interests of Canada. The house met in February. George Brown and his grits were drawn up in line, refusing to be comforted by any man- ner of legislation emanating from the ministerial mind. In this 202 THE DOUBLE SHUFFLE. 203 state of feeling, hostility may be predicated of them to all measures whatsoever not originating on their side of the house, and we need not retail special incidents. One question, how- ever, had grown up of late, a not engrossing question it is true when first discussed, yet like the little cloud, that, in the begin- ning appears upon the horizon, in regulation size, but which gradually spreads across the heavens, breaking in storm and wracking thunders. This question had now suffused the public mind and promised a harvest of trouble in the near future to the ministry. Representation by Population was the cry thus agitating the, popular breast. It was debated on the busting, and discussed witli much warmth and bitterness through the press. On the 27th of April, George Brown, who revelled in public tumult as the petrel does in the storm, arose at his d< &k holding a piece of paper in his hands from which he read the following motion : " That, in the opinion of this house, the representation of tin- people in parliament should be based on population without regard to a separating line between Upper and Lower Canada." The motion after a hot debate was lost, but the opinion ex- pressed during the discussion taught that the time was drawing near when such a concession could not be refused. Mr. Brown warmly advocated the measure in his newspaper as well as in the house, though he was not the originator of the question, and his impetuosity now was due rather to a desire to embar- rasa the government than to a belief that the country had yet suffered anything from the state of its representation. Had he been a member of the coalition, as he aimed to be, or had hitherto given it support, we may be sure he would have been able to maintain silence about " Rep. by Pop." as he was about the clergy reserves till his own interests and those of the gov- ernment diverged. This, perhaps, is as proper a place as any- where else to say that the province was no more indebted, if it was as much, to Mr. Brown for a secularization of the reserves, than to any one of a number pf his contemporaries. He con- 204 LIFE OF SIR JOHN A. MACDONALD. tinned his alliance with a government which he knew was not disposed to settle the question when the time was ripe for its settlement : when that government reconstructed, and ignored him, hf went to the hustings declaring that above all things he wanted seenhuuation, and would form any alliance, or sup- port any candidate, to effect that object ; but when the election was done, be ca use his overtures for alliance were rejected, he thwarted in every possible way the administration which ac- oompKshed the legislation for which he had been crying out, a mini-try whieh at a bound placed itself abreast of public opi- nion. The government saw the danger to its own existence in enter- taining Brown's latest proposition, but attorney -general Mac- donald did not hesitate to inform Col. Tactic* that the time was fast coming when it would be the duty of his Upper Cana- dian colleagues to take up the question of representation. Mr. Macdonald did not believe the interests of the province thus far had suffered anything, or was likely for some time to be pre- judiced by maintaining the representation scale fixed by the union ; but he was resolved when " the time was ripe " — an ression he was fond of using — to grapple with the question let his party stand or fall. This waiting for the time to ripen the ready critic may deem a vulnerable spot, but it can only be so on the assumption that it is the duty of the statesman to lead public sentiment, instead of to give expression to it in legislation. A fatal mistake surely. We do not send the statesman to the cabinet to do his will, but to do ours : we do not depend upon his talent to devise out of his own conscious- ness legislation which has not appeared to us as needful ; but to give the right and effectual form to that which we regard as for the general good. Nor do we believe it to be the function of the newspaper to mould, or to lead, public opinion. There seems to us to be no special need for thinking machinery in a man if the " we " in the editorial column, which may represent a needy law-student or a feather-headed Bohemian, is to think THE D UBLE SE UFFL E. 205 for him on every subject from killing potato-bugs to voting on the National Policy. With the spread of the habit of inde- pendent thinking, and the ceaseless activity of the printing press, bringing from the four winds of heaven knowledge of the revelations and products of every day, the reign of dogma has passed. In the middle ages, when a small tallow candle had to si led light for tens of thousands, when the priest thought for the flock on all important matters, cleric and lay, just as one man now grinds grain for another — at such a time as this, we say, when the mind and conscience of the benighted being were always in the pocket of some one else, the dictum of the editorial column would have been a beneficent aid to the race. Now. however, the little editor who became a censor of human action and intelligence because he failed as a schoolmaster or a vet- erinary surgeon, is seen endeavouring to coerce the public with a lead pencil : every day engaged in the experiment of leading the high-spirited horse to the well — seldom indu- cing him to drink. If the statesman have his duty, so we believe has the journalist. That duty La t<> give the public facts, not to give them inference! ; to keep a record of the births of busy time, not to till his pages with distortions. Give the people the facts: trust to their having sutlicient ability to come to proper conclusions. If the lion. Edward Blake gave forty dollars to the Muskoka sufferers, and David M ills gave them thirty dollars, depend upon the public conclud- ing that the joint donation reached just seventy dollars. There is no use in the tory editor saying that the " miserable contri- bution of the two reached a trifle over $20." Give the public the rein, and have no misgivings. If they have an upset they are entitled to it. The upper house having thrown out the item providing for the erection of legislative buildings, the question was again in the status quo and attorney-general Macdonald suggested to his colleagues a reference of the matter to the Queen for arbi- tration. The clear grits raised a howl against submitting " a 20G LIFE OF SIR JOHN A. MACDONALD. question of purely local concern to the decision of her majesty," and contended thai such an act '"outraged the spirit of respon- sible government." Mr. Brown and his grits evidently knew little of propriety or precedents. We believe the custom of submitting questions, great or small, to disinterested parties for arbitration still survives, and that notable cases are on record, such, for example, u the reference of the dispute about the New Brunswick boundary to the king of the Netherlands. Tlf ministry was now, as ministries always are and always will be, held responsible ibr the reaction in trade caused by lavish expenditure during the period of unwholesome business I it y attending the war. and the failure of the crops through- out the country. Some of the ministers began to grow uneasy, but the hand of Macdonald was at the helm, though Mr. Tache* the nominal commander, and he steered the ship steadily through the reefs. Late in the autumn of lo">7 Mr. Terril re- signed to give his attention to private affairs, and his place was tilled by M. Jacques Loranger. On the 25th of November Col. Tache. who had' grown tired of the worries of state-craft, also resigned, and the governor-general at once applied to attorney-general Macdonald to form a government. At last he found himself on " fortune's crowning slope," invested with the semblance as well as the substance of power. The Upper Canada members resumed their places; Mr. George Etienne Cartier took the leadership of the Lower Canada section, still retaining the portfolio of attorney-general-east. On the day following Col. Tache"s resignation, the Macdonald-Cartier gov- ernment took the reins. Two days later parliament was dis- solved, and the parties went to the hustings, the clear grits with two shibboleths, " Non-sectarian Schools," and " Representation by Population." The ministr}- took ground that these ques- tions were not then expedient, and as a result lost in the con- test Messrs. Cayley, Spence and Morrison. But the Lower Canada electors who regarded George Brown as an enemy to their race, institutions and religion — and it is difficult to see THE DOUBLE SHUFFLE. 207 how they could have regarded him in any other light — and who were opposed to non-sectarian schools, and somewhat to repre- sentation by population, though not so zealously as some of our historians state, returned an overwhelming body of minister- ialists. Among the new members elected to parliament, the most conspicuous were Thomas D'Arcy tfcGee, Hector Louis Lang- evin, John Rose, William P. Howland, ( Oliver Mowat and John Carling. The new parliament assembled in February. The opposition was in a more tumultuous state than ever, and this condition was due to the announcement that, on the recommen- dation of hon. John A. MacdonaM and his colleagues, Ottawa, — which in these later years has been stylo. 1 by Bystan* "an Arctic lumber village " — was chosen as the capital. In this selection the government had evidently defeated their oppon- ents, though the result was not to be Been for some tin come, and ended a perpetual source of discontent, by the aid of geography. Several amendments to the address were moved by the opposition, by which it was seen, that, while the min- istry was supported by a considerable majority of the house, it was in a minority in the Upper Canada section. Mr. Joseph Thibaudean, member for Portneuf, brought in a motion affirm- ing the principle of double majorities, but it was met by du- al most entire force of the ministerialists, who were supported by George Brown, Oliver Mowat and many other grit members. Strange to say among those who supported Thibaudeau's mo- tion was Hector Langevin, the member for Dorchester. \\\- say this is strange in view of the great statesmanship Mr. Lang- evin has always displayed through the brilliant and masterly career which has ever since been bis. After the ministry had got this troublesome question off its hands, a resolution and several amendments, disapproving of her majesty's choice of Ottawa as a capital, were moved by Messrs. Brown, Thibaudeau, Dunkin, Pichd and others. After an animated discussion, Mr. Pichd's amendment, setting forth "203 LIFE OF SIR JOJIX 1. MACDONALD. that, " It is the opinion of this house that the city of Ot- tawa ought not to be the permanent seat of government for the province," wu carried by a vote of sixty-four to fifty. Befoiv the word " carried" had left the speaker's lips, George Brown's enthusiasm had passed bounds, and he jumped to his feet The occasion helps us to get the measure of the man. u The house " he said, as soon as the cheering ceased, ' can have no doubt that the motion just carried expressed an emphatic dis app roval of the government policy; and in order to prove that it means just this, I now move an adjournment of the house." Tin- premier arose perfectly cool, and informed mem- ben that he was glad to accept the challenge of the leader of the opposition " Let the vote on adjournment" he said, witli a slightly ironical tone, " test whether or not the ministry possesses the confidence of the house." Mr. Macdonald knew that while a majority in the assembly was opposed to fixing the seat of government at Ottawa, there was by no means a majority disposed to transfer the reini into the hands of George Brown. When the speaker put the motion to adjourn it was clearly understood that the fate of the ministry hung on the issue. Macdonald was not mistaken. Sixty -one said "nay," and only fifty " yea." An analysis of the vote, however, showed that a large majority of the Upper Canada section voted with the yeas. After the house adjourned Mr. Macdonald conferred with his colleagues on the situation. " Brown," he said, "has been really doing our work ; and by his indiscreet motion shows what our duty to ourselves now is." It was then agreed that the government could strike a decisive blow at the oppo- sition by resigning. The motion earned by the grits was equivalent to a censure on her majesty, and the ministry felt that by resigning they would identify themselves with the cause of their sovereign. Mr. Macdonald never believed that Mr. Brown would have a ghost of a chance to form an endur- ing ministry, though some of his colleagues were timid, and feared that he would soon gather a number of the " loose fish " THE DOUBLE SHUFFLE. 209 around him. " My mind is perfectly easy on the point," said Macdonald, " I am absolutely certain that he will not be sus- tained in the house." Now, one would suppose that Mr. Brown, knowing that a majority was opposed to him, would have hesitated before grasping at glory which could only turn to disaster. The apologists of Mr. Brown tell us that he foresaw his reception in parliament but had faith in the governor granting a dissolution. We believe he expected nothing of the kind. The " higher game " for which he had been so long burning he saw within his grasp, and with the same indiscreet impetuosity with which he allowed himself to call for a test vote after the passage of Pichd's resolution, he would now thrust out his hand for the office within his reach. The fact is Mr. Brown was mentally incapable of forecast or restraint where personal interest and ambition were behind urging him on. But let us see what happened. The Macdonald-Cartier government resigned, and Sir Ed- mund Head wrote to George Brown: * * "His excellency feels it right to have recourse to you as the most prominent nun il»cr of the opposition, and he hereby offers you a seat in the council as the leader of a new administration." Mr. Brown was too jubilant to pause long before replying to this note- 4i Buy me the captain's commission, mother," said the son in the beleagured city. " The soldiers will be over the wall to-mor- row my son, and your glory will be short-lived." " I don't care mother, I want to be a captain." And George Brown was not concerned that the enemy would to-morrow break over the wall — that he was in a miserable minority in the house. He wanted to be a prime minister, to grasp the " high game," so he wrote : " Mr. Brown has the honour to inform his excellency that he accepts the duty proposed to him in his excellency's com- munication, and undertakes the formation of a new ministry." Had Macdonald been by when Brown sealed this letter he must have muttered with Antony : N 210 LIFE OF SIR JOHN A. MACDONALD. " Now let it work ; mischief, thou art afoot, Take thou what course thou wilt. " On the following day, Sunday, in the afternoon, an aide-de- camp waited on Mr. Brown and delivered to him a memoran- dum, which the governor-genera] desired him to submit to his proposed colleagues. This memorandum stated that his excel- lency gave "n<> pledge or promise, express or implied, with refer- ence to the dissolving of parliament," a condition for which Mr. Brown strongly pressed the governor at a previous interview, re- ceiving the sain*' answer. The memorandum went on to show that his excellency was willing to consent to a prorogation with the understanding that parliament should meet again, " say in November or December ;" but an intimation was given that a prorogation would not be granted till " the bill for the reg- istration of voters, and that containing the prohibition of fraudulent assignments and gifts by traders" had become law. "Besides this," his excellency wrote, " any item of supply ab- solutely necessary should be provided for by a vote of credit, and the money for the repairs of canals, which cannot be post- poned, should be voted. * * If parliament merely adjourns until after the re-election of the members of the government the case is different and the responsibility is on the house it- self." Mr. Brown, as we have seen, had been requested by his excellency to lay the memorandum before his proposed col- leagues, but the grit chieftain did nothing of the sort. That was not his way. Being dictator, if he pleased himself, why need he to trouble about the wishes of his colleagues. So with hot haste he despatched a note on Monday morning informing the governor that he had selected the members of his proposed ministry, and that the latter could not be in a position to discuss any measures or questions of public policy with his excellency till they had "assumed the functions of constitutional advisers of the crown." Partizan writers like Mr. Mackenzie have com- plained of his excellency's lack of courtesy and frankness to Mr. Brown, but the discourtesy and lack of frankness, as the THE DOUBLE SHUFFLE. 211 extract last made evinces, were begun by Mr. Brown himself. His refusal to discuss certain questions with his excellency at the latter's request, was not alone discourteous, but insulting to the governor-general. It implied that Sir Edmund either did not know the bounds and dignities of his position, or that he was, while putting the latter under foot, trying to entrap the in- coming ministry into his confidence for some sinister purpose. Mr. Brown may not have known the duty of one gentleman to- wards another; but history is bound to take notice of the facts. Mr. Mackenzie, however, describes the churlish discourtesy of Mr. Brown on this occasion in language somewhat different from ours. He calls it a u dignified rebuke to the governor." About half-past ten in the forenoon of the same day, Mr. Brown waited on his excellency, and submitted the names of his colleagues. The latter were sworn in at noon, and wen follows : — FOR CANADA WIST. Hon. George Brown - - Premier and Inep. General. " J. S. MacDOHALD Attorney-General. " J as. Morris - - - Speaker Legislative Council. " Oliver Mowat - - - Provincial Secretary " M. H. Foley ----- Postmaster-General. " S. CONNOR Solicitor-General. PQR CANADA EAST. Hon. A. A. Dorion - - Commissioner of Crown Lands. L. T. Drummond Attorney-General. J. E. Thibaudeau - - - - Pres. of the Council. L. H. Holton - - Commissioner Public Works. F. Lemieux Receiver-General. C. J. Laberge ------ Solicitor-General. Mr. Patrick rose in the house in the afternoon announcing the names of the new ministers, and likewise stating that he had been instructed to say that it was the wish of the government SIS LIFE OF SIB JOIIX A. MACDONALD. that parliament should be prorogued at an early day. Expla- nations as to the policy of the government he hoped to be able to make on the morrow, — but he was indulging in a false hope, if he was not pretending, for the new cabinet was a mass of con- trarieties, and there was not the shadow of a possibility that the administration eould evolve a policy within a day, or a week, or a month. The house was not please. 1 that it should have been aaked to vote for the new ministry blindfold. A state- ment of policy in the most general way would have induced it \tend the ordinary oourteaiee. When Mr. Patrick sat down, Mr. Bureau rose and moved the issue of a writ for the election of a member in Montreal, to replace Mr. Dorion. But on the motion being put, Mr. H. L. Langevin moved the following amendment : " That this house, while ordering the said writ, imi>t, at the same time, state that the administration, the for- mation of which has created this vacancy, does not possess the confidence of this house and of the country." This amend- ment was seconded by Mr. John Beverley Robinson, son of the chief justice of Upper Canada. A fierce debate began and con- tinued till midnight, when the ministry was defeated by a majo- rity ( )t' t*« »rty votes. Thus was the fairf ruit which the reckless pre- mier plucked in the morning, turned to ashes in his hand before the beating of the midnight bell. Mr. Langevin and those who supported his amendment have been accused of violating parlia- mentary courtesy in condemning a ministry without knowing its policy ; — but because it did not disclose its policy was one of the reasons why it was hurled from the eminence upon which it had rashly seated itself. We admit much is due to the cus- toms and courtesies of parliament, but certainly George Brown and his grits who had worried and thwarted the government through the session in every manner but that of courtesy, de- served everything at the hands of the house that could be done within the letter of the constitution. The very vote showed that the assembly was disposed to rebuke Mr. Brown for his arrogance no less than his indiscreet haste in rushing into office THE DOUBLE SHUFFLE. 213 when he knew his opponents had a large majority in the house. " But it reveals a trick," say the Mackenzies. " The trap was set for Mr. Brown." We answer, if Mr. Brown, or any other man who sets himself up as the censor and leader of men, cannot keep out of traps, it is a pity that he should not go into them. Mr. Macdonald had the right, with the attendant risks, of resigning, as any prime minister has at any time, for whatever reason to him seems sufficient; but it did not follow that Mr. Brown should sacrifice himself to his own unforeseeing and impetuous ambition. Mr. Macdonald saw he wanted to be in office, and that the craze for honours had become an over- mas- tering mania with the man. He resigned, and let him go in. The parliament indignantly turned him out again. We pre- sume, without discussing obsolete courtesies, they had the right to do so. An analysis of the vote showed that the callow ministry had been defeated by a majority of votes in both sections of the province. In the Upper house also a no-contidence resolution was introduced by Mr. Paton, aud after a hot discussion in which Mr. Vankoughnet and Col. Prince assailed the ministry in very able speeches, the motion was carried by a vote of two to one. On the following day Mr. Brown waited upon his excellency and urged an immediate prorogation with a view to dissolution. Once again the governor told him, as he had done twice before, that he could not, from his present light upon the subject, give any hopes of a dissolution. It was now the governor's turn to be cautious ; and to guard against misrepresentation he request- ed Mr. Brown to put in writing the grounds upon which he based his request. One can fancy a certain kind of document presented by a newly-fledged county-councillor to the reeve of his municipality, or a protest made to the chair by a spinster at a meeting held to put down the use of tobacco ; but this document sent to Sir Edmund Head by George Brown is uni- que, we venture to say, in constitutional literature. One of 214 LIFE OF SIR JOIIX A. MACDONALD. its strong reasons for asking a dissolution was this: "The house they [the ministry] believe does not possess the confidence of the country ; and the public dissatisfaction has been greatly increased by the numerous and glaring acts of corruption and fraud by which many seats were obtained at the last general election." Not satisfied with this the cabinet gives another reason. As it would be a pity not to reproduce it, here it is : "For BOme yean past strong sectional feelings have arisen in the c ountry , which, especially during the present session, have seriously impeded the carrying on of the administrative and Legislative functions of the government. The late administra- tion made no attempt to meet these difficulties or to suggest a remedy lor them, and thereby the evil has been greatly aggra- vated. His excelleney's present advisers have entered the government w T ith the fixed determination to propose constitu- tional measures for the establishment of that harmony between (Jpperand Lower Canada which is essential to the prosperity of the province. They respectfully submit that they have a right to claim all the support which his excellency can constitu- tionally extend to them in the prosecution of this all import- ant object." One might have supposed that these two reasons were overwhelming, but the main shot still remained in the locker, an appeal to the pity of the governor. It was as fol- lows : "The unprecedented and unparliamentary course pur- sued by the house of assembly — which, immediately after having by their vote compelled the late ministry to retire, pro- ceeded to pass a vote of want of confidence in the present administration, without notice, within a few hours of their appointment, in their absence from the house, and before their policy had been announced — affords the most convincing proof that the affairs of the country cannot be efficiently conducted under the control of the house as now constituted." There is more even than absurdity in this ; there is inaccuracy. It was not true that the assembly had " by their vote compelled the late ministry to retire." The resignation was voluntary ; but THE DOUBLE SHUFFLE. 215 we must be frank enough to admit that it was not done out of deference to any principle or to the sense of the majority of the Upper Canada section of the cabinet. It was simply done to lure Mr. Brown into a pitfall; and into the pitfall he went, eyes and mouth wide open. However, let us see if Sir Edmund's feelings can be wrought upon like the lady-president of the anti-tobacco club. Before touching the grounds on which the dissolution is urged, his llency, among others, gives the following replies: u His •excellency is no doubt bound to deal fairly with all political parties; but he has a duty to perform to the Queen and the people of Canada paramount to that which lie owes to any one party, or to all parties whatsoever. The question for his excellency to decide Lb not, ' what is advantageous or fair for a particular party V but what upon the whole, is the most ad- vantageous and fair for the people of the province. The resig- nation of the late government was tendered in consequence of a vote of the house which did not assert directly any want of confidence in them.'' His excellency then points out that a want of confidence in the government bad been emphatically voted by both branches of the legislature, and adds that he is asked to dissolve parliament by a ministry "who possesses the confidence of neither branch of the legislature/ 1 We do not pretend to have so subtle a knowledge of constitutional mystery as Mr. Mackenzie, but we have no hesitation in saying that we think the simple fact last stated was, alone, sufficient ground on which to refuse a dissolution. This is how the governor an- swered the wail made about the legislature voting the want of confidence, an answer all the more effective., because made in re- ply to a man who boasted of being the advocate of the supre- macy of the people through their legislatures, and who had in his memorandum virtually appealed to the governor against the house of parliament. " It is not the duty of the governor-gen- eral to decide whether the action of the two houses on Monday night was or was not in accordance with the usual courtesy of 216 LIFE OF SIR JOHN A. MACDONALD. parliament towards an incoming administration. The two houses are the judges of the propriety of their own proceedings. II is excellency lias to do with the conclusions at which they arrive, providing only that the forms observed are such as to give legal and constitutional force to their votes." A striking lecture we repeat from a viceroy to a man who had made so much newspaper thunder against the iniquity of governors thwarting, or meddling with, Legislatures. Some of the reasons put forward by Sir Edmund against granting a dissolution are as follows : " An election took place only last winter. This fact is not conclusive against a second election now, but the costs- and inconvenience of such a proceeding are so great, that they ought not to be incurred a second time without very strong grounds. "The business before parliament is not yet finished. It is perhaps true that very little which is absolutely essential for the country remains to be done. A portion, however, of the «->ti mates, and two bills, at least, of great importance, are still before the legislative assembly, irrespective of the private bus- iness. " In addition to this, the resolutions respecting the Hudson Bay territory have not been considered, and no answer on that subject can be given to the British government. "The time of year and state of affairs would make a general election at this moment peculiarly inconvenient and burthen- some, inasmuch as the harvest is now going on in a large por- tion of the country, and the pressure of the late money crisis has not passed away." These, however, were reasons outside of those in answer to Brown's memorandum. The governor's reply to the points in the ministerial paper are worth reproducing. We consider them overwhelming ; but Mr. Mackenzie says they were only " carping criticism." ■ The following considerations are strongly pressed by his excellency's present advisers as reasons why he should author- THE D UBLE SII UFFLE. 217 ize an appeal to the people, and thereby retain their services in the council. " (1.) The corruption and bribery alleged to have been prac- tised at the last election, and the taint which on that account is said to attach to the present legislative assembly. " (2.) The existence of a bitter sectional feeling between Up- per and Lower Canada, and the ultimate danger to the union as at present constituted, which is likely to arise from such feel- ing. " If the first of these points be assumed as true, it must bo asked what assurance can his excellency have that a new elec- tion, under precisely the same laws, held within six or eight months of the last, will differ in its character from that which then took place? If the facts are as they are stated to be they might be urged as a reason why a general election should be avoided as long as possible; at any rate until the laws are made more stringent, and the precautions against such evilfi shall have been increased by the wisdom of parliament. Until this is done, the speedy recurrence of the opportunity of prac- ticing such abuses would be likely to aggravate their character and confirm the habit of resorting to them. "The second consideration, as to the feeling between U])] hi and Lower Canada, and the ultimate danger of such feelings to- the union,is one of a very -rave kind. It would furnish to his excellency the strongest possible motive for a dissolution of parliament, and for the retention of the present government at all hazards, if the two points were only conclusively established, that is to say, if it could be shown that the measures likely to be adopted by Mr. Brown and his colleagues were a specific, and the only specific for these evils, and that the members of the present council were the only men to allay the jealousies so unhappily existing. It may be that both these propo&itions- are true, but, unless they are established to his excellency's complete satisfaction, the mere existence of the mischief is not in itself decisive as to the propriety of resorting to a general 218 LIFE OF SIR JOHN A. MACDONALD. election at the present moment. The certainty, or at any rate the great probability, of the cure by the course proposed, and by that alone, would require to be also proved. Without this, a great present evil would be voluntarily incurred for the chance of a remote good." In conclusion, his excellency de- clined to grant • dissolution. We need not refer to the plea recapitulated under "(1.)" as the governor thoroughly illustrates its absurdity ; but the con- tention of "(2. ," in which dissolution is urged <>n the ground that " bitter sectional feeling exists between Upper and Lower Canada." and that George Brown should be given' an oppor- tunity to establish peace and unity there, can scarcely be n- trarded in a serious li^ht, when we remember that the breach between the two actions was in a great measure the work of Brown himself, and that his great aim through his newspaper and in the legislature seemed to be to create discord between the French and English. And as proof of how strong a sense of his nefarious course rankled in the minds of the French Canadian members, on the non-confidence resolution he received but four Lower Canada votes. There was now only one course open to Mr. Brown. He resigned. Those who understand the purpose and drift of Mr. Macken- zie's book need not be told that the character of Sir Edmund Head, in its pages, appears as black as ink and an unscrupulous malice can make it. Mr. Mackenzie's style is usually clear and incisive — it now and again suggests the filing of a saw — yet it is hard in the pages he devotes to this question to ascertain what he means, other than to say malicious things of Sir Edmund and to cover George Brown with glory — perhaps we ought to say with whitewash. Where page after page reeks with this file-cutting censure of the governor, the reader who does not pre- suppose malice naturally looks for a plain statement of some scandalous and unconstitutional act of the viceroy. But he will find no such thing. The honour of a chief justice, who in private life could no more stoop to the baseness with which he is THE DO UBLE SHUFFLE. 219 charged, than Mr. Mackenzie could say a generous word for an opponent, or do him justice, is aspersed ; while the conduct of the governor, upon the testimony of irresponsible rumour and clever surmises, is pictured to be that of a conspirator, and his whole character sought to be covered with infamy. But we must rule out of court even Mr. Mackenzie's unsupported slander and address ourselves to the facts. The governor, he says — and this is one of his strongest grounds — " was bound as a ruler and as an honest man to see that no VttbpedwMnt should be thrown in the way of his new advisers getting fair play in sub- mitting their policy to the country through the medium of a new election." The " impediment," which we have italicized, meant the non-confidence vote passed by the house, But what would Mr. Mackenzie have the governor do about this vote \ He tells us it was his excellency's duty " to see that no impedi- ment" should be thmwn in the way. Would he have the go- vernor go down like the tyrant Charles, to muzzle the Legisla- ture? If the language does not mean this, it means nothing. His other point, and these are the only two he offers, out- side of the slanders he scatters through his pages, is that the governor should have granted a dissolution to Brown because he had given the latter " to understand, as plainly as if he had said it in so many words, that whatever' he (Mr. Brown) found it necessary to do he should have his support" We suppose the reader is now able to judge of Mr. Mackenzie's tactics. He deliberately ignores the interview held before Brown formed his government, in which the latter was informed by his excel- lency that he was not to count on a dissolution ; and the distinct statement in the memorandum, before the ministry was sworn in, or the governor had any knowledge of Brown's choice, that " the governor-general gives no pledge or promise express or im- plied, with reference to dissolving parliament; " and charges Sir Edmund with having deceived Mr. Brown. He shuts his ears to the governor's distinct and repeated words and elicits a contrary language, instead, from his actions. Brown, however* 220 LIFE OF SIR JOHN A. MACDONALD. understood the governor's language plainly enough, but too elated with the otter of office " rushed to glory " reckless of con- sequences. As ■ party driver he may have depended on his power of tallying the governor, though we cannot give him the credit of such forecast. He fared little better than the excited son in the beleagured city, who wanted to be a captain. He wore the honours for four days, and then was out of office, and Ottt of parliament. As to the governor's conduct throughout the atlair, no impartial man will say that it was not beyond reproach, while we cannot douU with - lev, that "hatred of what might he divined incendiarism, and a sense of the peril which it was bringing on the country, may very likely have prejudiced Sir Edmund against Mr. Brown," though this would not, and did not, influence the act of his excellency. The governor-general next applied to Mr. Gait, a member of marked abilities and high parliamentary standing, but that gi nt leman had occupied soli tary ground, allying himself to neither party, and was without a following. He declined the gover- nor's proposal, — something that George Brown would not have done — and recommended to his excellency Mr. George E. Car- tier the late leader of the Lower Canada section of the cabinet. Sir Edmund took the advice, and called Mr. Cartier, who promptly undertook the task of forming a new ministry. The incoming administration was the same as the Macdonald-Car- tier government, the only exception being that Messrs. Cay ley and Loranger were left out and Messrs. Gait and Sherw r ood taken in their places. The Cartier-Macdonald ministry resumed office eight days after the resignation of the Macdonald-Cartier government. Though Mr. Macdonald had changed places, and, as some who did not like the transposition at the time phrased it, " the car had been put before the horse," Macdonald's was the ruling spirit in the cabinet, although Mr. Cartier was one of the ablest men in Canada. Now during the session of 1857, an act relating to the independence of parliament had been passed, and the seventh section provided that, " whenever any THE DOUBLE SHUFFLE. 221 person holding the office of receiver-general, inspector-general, secretary of the province, commissioner of crown lands, attor- ney-general, solicitor-general, commissioner of public works, speaker of the legislative council, president of committees of the executive council, minister of agriculture or postmaster- general, and being at the same time a member of the legislative assembly, or an elected member of the legislative council, shall resign his office, and within one month after his resignation accept any other of the said offices, he shall not thereby vacate his seat in the said assembly or council." A meeting of pro- posed ministers was held after the personnel of the cabinet had been decided upon, and it was then mooted, that, under the sec- tion just quoted, the incoming ministers, by complying with certain legal formalities, need not go back to their constituencies for re-election, but simply take their seats. The technicality of the law was complied with by M. Cartier, on the O'th instant, becoming inspector-general ; Mr. Macdonald, postmaster-gene- ral : Mr. Alleyn, prov incial -secretary ; Mr. Sicotte, conimi- sioner of public works ; Mr. Rose, receiver-general ; Mr. Sidney Smith, president of the council and minister of agriculture. On the following day another change was made and the new cabinet stood as follows : — FOR CANADA WEST. Hon. John A. Macdonald - - - - Attorney-General " P. M. Vankoughnet - - - Com. Crown Lands. " John Ross President of the Council. " Sidney Smith Postmaster-General. " George Sherwood - - - - Receiver- General. FOR CANADA EAST. Hon. George E. Cartier - Premier and Attorney General A. T. Galt Inspector- General. " L. V. Sicotte - - - - Minister Public Works. N. F. Belleau - - Speaker Legislative Council " Charles Alleyn - - - - Provincial Secretary. LIFE OF SIB JOHN A. MACDONALD. Thus it will be seen that the new ministry evaded the re- sponsibility of going Kiek for election by accepting within a month other offices than those held at the time of resignation. This Wlfl the expedient that has been since known as the "double shuttle." The laws of the land with their technicali- ties, are for cabinet ministers we presume, as well as for shabby clients in inferior courts: and we are unable to see why a plea which would be respected and irresistible in a court of justice should be regarded aa ■ disgraosfol trick in a council chamber. 1 Mice more, technicalities may be the excrescences of law, but if the writer of ■ The Last Forty Years " sued his friend to re- cover a loaned pair of boots and won the same on a technicality, would he have the moral generosity to say to the defendant, ■ Here are the boots ; I recovered them by the mere letter of the law, and not according to its spirit. We do not believe he would. But he is shocked as he writes about ministers retainin- their seats by virtue of a technicality, and, after due condemna- tion, utters a sigh, and "dismisses the subject from his pages." If we are not mistaken two cases, almost similar to this, occurred not so very long ago in England. In 1839 Lord Melbourne intro- duced his Jamaica Bill, but being only able to carry it with a majority of five, resigned. The Queen at once sent for Peel, the leader of the refurbished tory party, and invited him to form a ministry ; but as everyone remembers the " question of the petticoats " stood in his way — he could not rule with Lady Numanby — and he had to fall back into private membership. Her Majesty at the advice of Lord John Russell called on Mel- bourne ajrain, who, with the rest of the cabinet, resumed their offices, without, if we remember aright, appealing to the people. Another case in point happened in 1873 when the liberal govern- ment suddenly found themselves defeated on their Irish Uni- versity Bill. Mr. Gladstone resigned, and, by his advice, the Queen invited Mr. Disraeli to form a ministry. Mr. Disraeli, who did not resemble George Brown, thought the situation over, and concluded not to try his luck in the commons as consti- THE DOUBLE SHUFFLE. 223 toted ; whereupon Her Majesty again sent for Mr. Gladstone, who, with the other ministers, quietly resumed their places. There was no election, if we are not mistaken, in this case either ; } r et there is nothing on record in England about single or double shuffles. The case here differed somewhat, but not so as to change the constitutional principle involved in the English cases. There was a slight legal barrier in the way ill I anada, and it was avoided by taking advantage of the letter of the law. But we have to repeat that the client who would, in one of our courts, take advantage of a technicalitv to .-< gain his suit, is ineligible to cast a stone at the actors in the double shuffle, unless it be assumed that politicians have more honour, or ought to have, than other men ; a contention which we deny. The new government was supported by a good majority and daring the session passed a number of important meas- ures. Since a quietus bad been given bo the question of double majorities, a desire for representation by population bad taken deep root in Upper Panada. The question of " Protection to Home Industries," as a direct issue, came up for the first time during t] a of 1858, being introduced by Mr. Cayley, though, as we have already seen, it had been discussed before in connection with certain tariff changes. During this pear science accomplished one of its wonders, in connecting Europe and America by the Atlantic cable. During the year, likewise, the 100th regiment was organized, and that highminded politi- cian of stainless name, Robert Baldwin, passed to his rest. CHAPTER XIV. TRANSITION. WHILE Canada was struggling for responsible government, reformers were engaged in a similar conflict in the mari- time provinces. There, it is true, the question of races, which lay at the bottom of most of the tumult in Canada, did not exist ; but both in Nova Scotia and New Brunswick the will of the people was threatened by the domination of a Family Compact. The chief cause of discontent in New Brunswick was the con- t r< »1 of crown lands and timber by a commissioner responsible only to the imperial government. This official received a hand- some salary, sold the lands according to his caprice, retained fees and perquisites, and defied the houso of assembly. During the session of 1832 the latter body presented an address to the governor praying that he would cause to be laid before the Tiouse, annually, a detailed statement of the receipts of the crown lands department In their zeal for the welfare of the province the members went too far, however ; for the governor haugh- tily refused to grant the demand, and left the impression that both himself and the executive, especially the commissioner of •crown lands, regarded the request as an insult. Messrs. Charles Simonds and E. B. Chandler were then deputed to go to Eng- land and press upon the colonial secretary the necessity and justice of handing over the crown lands to the control of the legislature. As a result of the mission, Lord Stanley, the fol- lowing year, proposed terms which satisfied the assembly ; but there was a hidden hand at work, and the irresponsible commissioner went on selling lands at choice terms to friends 224 TRANSITION. 225 and wealthy speculators, without making the desired return of receipts. In 1836 the blood of the house of assembly again began to rise. An address was presented once more asking for detailed accounts of the sales of crown lands and tim- 1 >er. but the governor presented a mere general statement, again battling enquiry. An address to the king was then passed praying for redress, and Messrs. Crane and L. A. Wilmot were deputed to lay it at the foot of the throne. King William ap proved of the prayer, and the outcome was that the net amount of casual and territorial revenue was placed at the disposal of the assembly, the latter undertaking to provide a permanent civil list of £14,500, annually, for the payment of public offi- ciate. The decision of the home government went sorely against the grain of the governor, Sir Archibald Campbell, and lie despatched Hon. George F. Street to the colonial office to endeavour to "undo the mischief." The fact is the governor was sincere in believing that public moneys should not be trusted to legislatures for expenditure ; that they were only safe in the hands of some man like the commissioner who was be- yond popular control. The governor was a soldier, and his whole being was pervaded by the military instinct. He re- garded the people much as he looked upon the troops under his command. The duty of the commander was to give orders ; that of the soldier to obey. What could the troops know of expenditure, and the order or economies of campaigns. What did the people or their house of assembly know of how govern- ment should be administered or public moneys expended. The truth is Sir Archibald was like some extinct animal restored, which had broken loose and wandered out of past ages down into a time when a higher order of creatures moved upon the planet — when the dawn-light of liberty had burst upon the world in all its virgin freshness. In the summer of 184?8, as we have seen, toryism made its last appeal to Canada, and then fell never again to raise its head. Its fall was not without an influence on other provinces 22G LIFE OF SIR JOHN A. MACDONALD. than Canada. Lord Falkland, the governor of Nova Scotia found a coalition on his arrival in that province in 1840, similar to that established the following year in Canada under the union ; but as his term of office advanced he learned from Metcalfe, the Canadian scourge, the plan of making ap- pointments, and committing the government to certain acts of policy, without the consent of the reform members of his cabinet. The result was that Joseph Howe, the chief reformer of the administration, and his liberal colleagues, resigned, as Messrs. Baldwin and Lafontaine had done in Canada. After Falkland had succeeded in distracting the province, and several witty, if not scurrilous, reformers had loaded him with abuse and ridicule in prose and rhyme, he was recalled, and Sir John Harvey, the " political pacificator," removed from Newfound- land, and appointed in his place. The new governor at once tried to construct a ministry out of the timber of both parties, but Howe was sick of coalitions, and said that as it was now the eve of a general election he would wait for " a better pro- position than that." The election came in 1848. As Howe had foreseen, the Compact were routed, to use the newspaper phrase of the time, " horse, foot and artillery." They laid down their arms, and Howe's patience, if not patriotism, was rewarded by being called on to form an administration. In the same year the question of responsible government was put to a test in New Brunswick. Mr. Charles Fisher, the member for York, framed a resolution affirming that the terms of Earl Grey's despatch of 1847 were as applicable to New Brunswick as to Nova Scotia. The most important point laid down in this despatch was that no ministry could hold its place unless it commanded a majority of the house of assembly. The resolu- tion was debated with much fervour, and when the ministry saw that it was certain to be carried, like Richard, they turned suddenly around and joined the insurgents. The surprise at this change of attitude was not greater, however, than that occasioned by the entry into the tory cabinet, a few days later, TRANSITION. 227 of Charles Fisher and Lemuel Wilmot. Had these two gentle- men possessed the patience, or the patriotism, of Joseph Howe, they might have reaped the same rewards with a full measure of honour at no distant day, as the province was prepared, when the opportunity came, to cast aside the remnant of what had been so long a galling yoke. But Fisher and Wilmot were Loth weak and vain men. The lure of office, even under circumstances that compromised their political honour, was more than they could resist. The next question of importance that stirred the maritime provinces was the scheme of con- federation. During the session of the Canadian parliament which met early in 1859, the decision of her majesty in selecting Ottawa as the capital, or rather the compromise, of Upper and Lower Canada, was brought before the house, and ratified after a stormy debate by a majority of five. One of the most impor- tant measures of the session was tin* adoption of a "national policy." Mr. Gait, the in general, introduced the reso- lution, the most important feature of which was an increase of from fifteen to twenty per cent, on non-enumerated imports. The duty was so laid on as to give protection to certain classes of Canadian manufactures, and the author of the measure was Mr. Isaac Buchanan, of Hamilton, who had given life-long attention to trade questions, and believed that it lay in the power of legislatures to make or mar commerce. In this same session the term inspector-general was abolished, and "Finance Minister," which, under our budding nationality, has become such an important name, adopted in its stead. The first minister of finance in this country, the reader will hardly wonder at being told, was Mr. (now Sir) Alexander Tilloch Gait. The most important measure the session brought forth was the address which both houses passed, praying that her majesty, accompanied by the prince consort, and such other members of her royal household as she might select would graciously "deign to be present at the opening," in the following year, of the LIFE OF SIR JOHN A. MAC DONALD. Victoria Bridge across the St. Lawrence river at Montreal. Bridie-building was not so common in Canada then as it is now, or the house would not have thought of routing out the whole royal family to come over here on the occasion in question. They sent the speaker of the assembly, Mr. Henry Smith, over with the address and to receive her majesty's reply. W may as well state here the result. Her majesty could not Leave the seat of empire, much m it would have pleased hex to be pr ese nt at the opening of a bridge in Canada, but she rouslv resolved* to send her son, Albert Edward, then in his nineteenth year, and up to this time having a good charac- ter — so far at the public knew — to be present at the event. It i> true it was a sacrifice, greater than any leader of this book can imagine, fox the prince to undertake a journey out to this rouirh countrv. but so mvat was the regard for the welfare of the colonies that lie shut his eyefl to the hardships and came. \\ shall tell in a paragraph in its proper place all that it is ssary for the reader to know about the visit. After the «' of the session, which took place in May, the offices of government, after a strong protest against the expense, by a number of Upper Canada members, were removed to Quebec, where they remained till they were finally established at ( >tta\va. six years later. During the summer following prorogation the feeling rapidly grew in Upper Canada, that, since the abandonment of the double -majority principle, representation by population could alone save the upper province, rtbw making rapid strides for- ward in progress and spread of population, from French dom- ination. During the late autumn a monster reform convention * Rev. Charles Pedley, who wrote a " History of Newfoundland," dwells raptur- ously on the " sentiment of reverent and grateful loyalty," shown by the colonists " towards the royal lady who had entrusted her son to the hospitality of the distant subjects of her realm " (p. 448). The same excellent historian regards the visit of the prince to St. John's, N. F. , as an occurrence of greater moment than the laying of the Atlantic cable, which had been accomplished two years before the date of the royal visitation. TRANSITION. 229 composed of delegates from all parts of the upper province, was held in Toronto to " consider the relations between Upper and Lower Canada, and the financial and political evils that had resulted therefrom, and to devise constitutional changes fitted to remedy the said abuses and to secure good government for the province." A number of speeches aflame with denuncia- tion of the government were made, and before the gathering dispersed a " constitutional reform association" was Organized to press forward a scheme for a repeal of the union, and the establishment of two or more local governments, with a joint authority having control of matters common to both sections of the province. A scheme for a confederation of all the British North American colonies was proposed at the conference, bat the general opinion was that such a measuiv was so beset with difficulties that it could not be accomplished within several years, if at all, and, that, meanwhile, crying evils in Upper Can- ada demanded an immediate remedy. Borne minor reformers sniffed upon the breeze a faint taint of treason, and opposed the resolutions of the convention ; while .I<>lm Sandtield Mac- donald withdrew, expressing his decided disapproval of any measures that aimed to make inroads upon the constitution. In Montreal Messrs. Drummond, Metier, 1 >orion, and others set on foot a similar movement, but the ardour of the scheme was damped by the undying feeling of hostility which existed towards George Brown, who was the hustler of the movement in the upper province. An event of the new year, and one fruitful of evil and an- noyance to the government, was the appointment of Mr. Joseph Curran Morrison to the office of solicitor-general- west, which position he retained from February, 18G0, to March, 18G2, though in the meantime he had no seat in either branch of the legislature. There were men at the time, having the parlia- mentary qualifications, equally as capable to fill the office as Mr. Morrison, but the personal friendship of Mr. John A. Mac- donald overcame all obstacles, and the censure of the opposi- 230 LIFE OF SIR JOHN A. MACDONALD. tion presa We cannot but admire the man who for the sake of satisfying friendship would brave obloquy, and challenge serious dangers ; but we have not much admiration for the man who would accept favours at such a risk to a chivalrous friend. It' Macdonald owed a duty to friendship, so too did Morrison; and the duty of the latter was not to enter the cabinet, or, having enteral it, to have resigned when the enemy began to sound a censure upon their trumpets, The next session opened at Quebec, in February The "abundant harvest,'' such m was tin- custom in the beginning, 18 now. and ever shall be, WM touched upon, and in such a manner that the allusion, like at this day in the documents planned by Mr. Mowat, and by the subject of this biography, read like an insinuation, that, while providence was to be thanked for the said bountiful harvest, the ministry was also i-utitled to a share of the credit. The government was sus- tained by majorities obtained from the Lower Canada mem- bers, and the enemy declared that Macdonald was bound neck and heel to the French. No one in the house more deprecated the necessity of resorting to French-Canadian majorities on all questions which touched the existence of the government than the attorney-general-west, but he believed that a change was coming. The tyranny of George Brown was so galling, that all the members of the grit party who had any spirit were looking for other leadership. Several liberals of standing re- fused any longer to follow Brown's lead ; others became dis- gusted and grew lukewarm about the fate of parties. One day while major Thomas Campbell, the member for Rouville, and a liberal of high standing and much ability, was making a speech, he called upon George Brown to " relinquish the leader- ship of a party with which French-Canadians could never unite so long as he was at its head." The friendship of George Brown had proven to many Lower Canada members what the upas is to him who rests in its shade. Yet it was George Brown, if our readers remember, who put forward as one of TBANSITION. 231 his strong grounds for urging a dissolution upon Sir Edmund Head, that discord existed between the English and French, and that his government had a specific to heal the sores. But although Mr. Brown saw that his followers were dropping off and looking for another leader, he bent himself vigorously to work. He prepared and moved two resolutions, setting forth that the union was a failure, and that the true remedy lay in the establishment of two or more governments having jurisdic- tion over local affairs, and a supreme joint authority, " charged with such matters as are necessarily common to both sections of the province." Resolutions were introduced with tin- ablest speeches, it is said, that Mr. Brown ever delivered, but were defeated, one, by a vote of 66 to 27, and the other by 74 to •'>-. As this was a black-lrttrr year in ( anadian annals, the famous I860, during which a prince of the Feigning house, and the heir apparent to the British throne and dominions, was to visit Canada, the legislature prorogued in May. with the under standing that it was to in d in the summer to give a suitable welcome to the royal visitor. When the chariot of Zeus was seen in the clouds by the armies barling their might against Troy, a flutter went through warriors who showed no emotion before the ruinous spear of the foe ; for now a " god was coming." Harsh thunder, too, grated across the heavens, and the hills shivered at the approach of this great deity. When it was known that the prince of Wales was actually afloat in the Hero hound for Canada, the hearts of colonists began to bound, and a feeling of awe came over them like that which passed through the serried ranks of the Greeks, when Jupiter's wheels were seen in the thunder-smoke. Some of our people could not convince themselves that the visit was a reality and not a myth. Was it possible, they mentally asked, that the prince, in actual flesh and blood, the heir of a king- dom, was actually to be in our cities, to put his foot on our streets, to eat our bread and drink our milk, like an ordinary human being. To do justice to the Greeks, they had an excuse 232 LIFE OF SIR JOHN A. MACDONALD. for their perturbation, for he who filled them with awe was not some frail, earthly creature like themselves, whose corpse would one day make a banquet for the worms, but a god dis- encumbered of flesh; and f vamed of spirit and ether, who held the winds and the lightnings in hifl hands, and who in battle plucked up the hills by their wooded crowns and hurled them at the foe. There was no similarity in lN(iO between Zeus and Albeit Ed ward, nor has any appeared since — unless it be in their morals. In July the Hero, l>earing the prince and his suite, and followed by a fleet of war vessels, arrived off those grim cliffi of Newfoundland, that rise like cold, haughty Titans out of the Dover Tenting sen. The cormorant, and the guillemot, and the tieklace. and the sea-mew, and all the feathered broods that rear their young on the rocky cliff-shelves in the summer time, twisted themselves upon their terraces as the great pro- cession, bearing the body, passed, but gave no other sign. The convoy sail sheer for the steep when, suddenly, the adamant did opens, and the ships steal in between two plumb rock-walls that tower several hundreds of feet into the blue. These rise from the base, clean cut as if from the chisels of the gods, and you hear the waters, as deep at the foot of the cliff as in the channel's centre, lapping against the rock as the ships move in. Cannon look down into the vessels' decks from the forts on the hi 11- tops, and a chain stretches across the narrow water-path — a path so narrow that you listen, as each ship passes in, to hear the grim rocks gride her sides. This was a more glorious sight for the prince, if he was able to appreciate it, than all the arches green bushes could make, all the mottoes that commit- tees could devise, all the addresses that mayors and corporations could grind out upon pink-bordered vellum. We are not aware, however, that the great Architect of the universe fashioned the St. John's Narrows merely to give a pleasant surprise to the prince of Wales in 1860. From Newfoundland the young gen- tleman sailed for Halifax, and thence proceeded to St. John and Fredericton, N. B., in all of which cities he was honoured to* TRANSITION. 23S the fullest extent of the people's ingenuity. From Fredericton the party proceeded to the little, flat meadow-province, with the coy motto, "Parva sub ingente"; and from its capital set out for Canada. At Gaspe, famous lobster-fishing grounds, they were met by the governor-general and the members of his ministry. A grand reception took place on the 18th of August at Quebec, and, on the 21st, both branches of the legis- lature presented addresses to his royal highness expressing their loyalty and devotion to the throne and person of his mother. Before the prince came out they created him vice- king of all the British North American colonies, so that he had the power of turning any inhabitant he chose into a knight on coming here. Messrs.N.F.Belleau and Benry Smith, speakers of both houses of parliament, had the dignity of knighthood conferred upon them — and felt more comfortable for the rest of their lives. On the 25th of the month the prince accom- plished the task for which he came over here. He laid tin keystone of the arch of Victoria Bridge, and fastened the last of a million rivets. Some mothers had babes atHicted with king's evil, which they were going to carry to the prince that he might lay his hand upon and cure them ; but some of the fathers and grandmothers said it would be no use, as be was not yet a king : that only the king or the queen had tie "virtue in the hand.'' A week after it had ended, the prince and his suite leeepted the president's invitation, and the reception met everywhere in the republic was so cordial that the Duke of castle declared that the visit did more to cement a hearty feeling between the two countries than half a century of dip- lomacy. But the duke was not a seer, and could not forecast some threatening clouds soon to cover the face of the bright sky. The calculation of the diplomatist after all is a science as inexact as that of the weather prophet. During the autumn Sir Allan MacNab, like the ghost of Hamlet, appeared again upon the scene, and was elected to the upper house. In 1856 we dropped some tears over the old man as we saw him, swathed in flannel and racked with pain, bidding a long farewell to his companions in the assembly. Shortly after the scene was ended a baronetcy was conferred upon the deposed leader, whereupon he mastered his gout for the nonce, and turned his face toward England, where, near his sovereign, he resolved to spend the remainder of his days. He had not been well settled in England, when, bethinking him of his career and honours, and how dear he must be to the heart of the empire, he persuaded himself that he could defeat Admiral Pechel, who was a parliamentary candidate for the town of Brighton. But the triumph of the admiral helped the poor baronet somewhat to realize that he had probably over- TRANSITION. 235 rated his standing with the empire; and he returned to Can- ada, to be elected, as we have seen, in 1860, to the legislative council. The session of 1861 was interesting to those who had begun to look with alarm upon the ever-increasing strength of the reform party. It is related by those who were intimate friends of Mr. John A. Macdonald, at this time, that he was not less u busy holding his own party together, than keeping his oppo- nents in hot water among themselves." It is not known in what way he succeeded in promoting discord in the ranks of his opponents, but he remarked one day quite early in the ses- sion, while some ministers sat smoking in the council chamber : "John Sandfield is at last in our service; In- is now on Browns track." It must not be understood that there was any collu- sion between the two Macdonalds, nor is it above question that the attorney-general- west was responsible for some of the dis- cords among the reformers attributed to hk " machinations." His readiness in penetrating the situation of his opponents, and his accuracy in breasting their movement*, often Led lees powerful observers to believe that he had originated the discords he foretold. Notwithstanding the tact and finontin of Mr. Cartier, several of his prominent followers began to break away from restraint, and range themselves in opposition. For the past two sessions one man alone maintained the government in power, and that man was George Brown. " If anything should happen to Brown," Macdonald need frequently to say jocosely, though the joke was pregnant of truth, "the government would be done for." The movement to which we have already re- ferred, in the reform ranks, and which John A. Macdonald had predicted, now became apparent to the public. John Sandfield Macdonald and George Brown could no longer disguise their hostility for each other; and the public saw that there was a struggle between the two men for the mantle of leadership. But so long as the rivals stood in the same parliament, which ever succeeded, the government had nothing to fear. Yet Mr. 236 LIFE OF SIR JOHN A. MACDOKALD. Cartier changed colour when he learnt that Messieurs Sicotte add Loranger had forsaken him and leagued themselves with John Sandfield Maodonald. Mr. Dorion, to whom the friend- ship of George Brown was as the upas shade, was removed from tin- leadership of the Lower Canada opposition on no other grounds than that he had been on terms of political intimacy with the man who was an enemy " t<> the religion, the institu- tions, and the very e&istenoe of the French people." Yet Mr. Brown wanted to heal '" sectional differences " hetween the two provisoes ; and Alexan retain favourite ministers against the will of the nation, though, through their <>l»stinacy, their thrones have trembled Meanwhile the country was in a gale of excitement anent the "' election campaign." Several stalwart warriors fell in the battle. John Crawford, a member to "fortune and to fame unknown " vanquished George Brown in east Toronto ; while the whilom friendship of the defunct grit leader proved fatal to the fortunes of Messieurs Dorion, Thibaudeau and Lemieux in Lower Canada. For the first time when the new parliament met the sharp, matter-of-fact face of Mr. Alexander Mackenzie was seen at rted raw, while manufacturing formed but a small factor of trade. On the 20th of December, 1861, a day well remem- beied in American annals, the legislature of South Carolina passed an ordinance of secession. The people of this state had for many years maintained that each state in the confed- eracy was sovereign and independent, and had the right to separate itself from the union whenever it chose. Fired by the example of South Carolina ten other states, Mississippi, Alabama, ida, Georgia, Louisiana.Texas, Tennessee, North Carolina, Arkansas, anil Eastern Virginia, also seceded, and constituted themselves into a separate republic under the presidency of Jeff- erson Davis. The population of the union before the secession was about 31,000,000 ; the population of the Southern Confed- eracy was 9,000,000 of which 3,000,000 were slaves. Within the Southern Confederacy was Fort Sumter, a garrison held by Northern troops, and against this the cannon of Charleston hurled its rebellious thunder. Seeing the whole country around him under hostile arms, the commandant laid down his -word. The North made no delay, but sprang to arms to maintain the integrity of the republic. The booming of the guns before Fort Sumter must have sounded loud in the ears of Great Britain, for a month after the surrender of the fort a royal proclamation was issued calling upon British subjects TRANSITION. 241 everywhere to maintain a neutrality during the war. The British cabinet had fallen into the common delusion of suppos- ing that one swallow makes a summer ; that the triumph of the Charleston guns meant victory and stability for the south- ern confederacy. The proclamation may have only been the ' pas of a stupid minister, though this view is hardly ten- able, but it was regarded by the United States government as a deliberate insult, and a recognition of a cluster of rebellious states as an independent power. President Lincoln called upon every state true to the union to make ready its quota of termed men to send into the field ; and proclaimed a blockade of the southern ports. The war had not progressed very far when it became apparent that the Duke of Newcastle had overestimat- ed the importance of the prince's visit to the United States. The imperial government, in many ways, had unwisely per- mitted the world to see its hostility to the north ami friendship for the south ; while a large portion of the Canadian public, dutifully, though not less rashly and stupidly, inclined the sentiment of the mother-land We presume (here is some code of honour among nations as well as men ; but it is hard to see l.y what code went Great Britain in conniving at the indepen- dence of a body of rebels, and in regarding citizens of a sov- ereign state, in unlawful revolt, as an independent power. If a band of Irishmen, to-morrow, were to fling the lord-lieutenant into the Liffey, pull down the union jack, and set up the green rlag upon the hill of Tara, Englishmen would surely consider that Prussia had outraged the code of national honour, and levelled a gross insult at the British empire, did Frederick William issue a proclamation commanding all his subjects to preserve neutrality during the " war " between England and Ireland. But the United States government had graver grounds for complaint against the British nation : southern privateers, as piratical as partisan, pounced out of British ports, and harassed the merchant shipping of the north. The most noted of these cruisers was the Alabama, of which we shall hear p 242 LIFE 01 SIB JOHN A. MACDONALD. •gain. Notwithstanding, we say, that the prince of Wales had visited the United States a year before, a feeling of hostility was aroused in the north against the British nation for her in- discreet sympathy with the rebellion. Hot-headed republicans Blood for a moment upon their own hotly-fought fields, and turned their eyes towards Canadian territory, muttering that thither lay their duty next ; turned again and faced the rebel. On the 8th of November, 18G1, the British mail-steamer, 7Y< nt, was pursuing her way in the Bahama channel, one morning, with mails and passengers, when an American ship of war, San Ht", cannon M0wHng through her port-holes, bore down, fired a shot across the steamer's bows, and putting out boats > warming with blue jackets, armed to the teeth, took forcible possession of two passengers, Mason and SI id< lei, southern oom- 1 1 1 i ^sioners, on their way to England. This act of national piracy was hailed with enthusiasm by the northern states, and Wilkes, the captain of the piratical man-of-war, became the hero of the hour. When the mail steamer reached England and made known the story of the outrage, the government at once de- manded that the commissioners be rendered up, and intimated that a refusal would be regarded as a declaration of war. While we are among those who glory in British valour, we are not one of those whose blood comes tingling to their cheek as they read of how promptly the British lion arose to his feet when the captain of the Trent told his story. The northern states were already locked in a struggle with the south, and a small foreign force could give a disastrous turn to the scale. That was the secret of the promptitude. While British troops were yet upon the ocean, bound for American territory, Presi- dent Lincoln quietly surrendered the commissioners, who sailed from Boston to England on the first day of the new year. When the Guards and Rifles arrived in St. John, New Bruns- wick, the cloud had blown over, though an intense feeling of hostility existed in the northern states towards Canada. In- vasion had been predicted by the timid ones among us, and at TRANSITION. 243 once our volunteers looked to their arms. Measures for the organization of militia companies were put on foot; every Can- adian youth old enough to carry a rifle exhibited an enthusiasm for drill. To the impartial reader, now, it seemed as if we were anxious in Canada for a little war, just for exercise or recrea- tion. While we were preparing to resist an invasion, we wore nurturing a cause for invasion. While our school boys and their fathers were asking for rifles, to defend the homes of their sisters and wives, we were giving harbourage and hospi- tality to southern rebels, who harassed American settlement- and the government troops from our border territory. The first parliament under Lord Monck met in March, 1862. In the speech from the throne it was stated that Her Majesty recognised the loyalty of her subjects in their conduct through the Trent embroglio, but it is not unlikely that self-preserva- tion rather than extreme solicitation about a sovereign two thousand miles beyond the reach of American bullets, dictated the attitude of Canadians. OoOfi for all, let us say, that should an enemy, be he ever to insigniiieant or ever so great, threaten our homes and our country, we shall be ready to do all that we can to repel him for our own takei ; and after our selfish duty has been done, if there is a ■ man with soul so dead" as to say that it was a * selfish " duty, we shall not consider ourselves entitled to eulogiums for loyalty to a throne and a person that we were not thinking about when fighting the foe, and which were two thousand miles out of harm's way. To satisfy the feeling of uneasiness abroad, the speech recom- mended the reorganization of the Canadian Militia, and attor- ney-general Macdonaldset himself to work to frame a bill. He counted on the support of a majority from his own section of the province, and relied on M. Cartier for the rest. Of late he stood higher in the affections of Upper Canada, than ever before; for during several years he had been believed, by the larger portion of the people, to have had little regard for the inter of his own section, and to have maintained a league with the Jit LIFE OF SIR JOHN A. MACDONALD. French for the sake of office. But previous to the late general election, the conviction came upon a great many of his harsh judges, that there might be another side to the stories told by the Globe, and its folio wers ; that he may have been wrongfully accused, and the victim of an unscrupulous and disappointed ambition. And so deep grew this impression that the traduced attorney-general wa.s invited cordially, nay entreated, to visit their towns and cities. He consented, and made what maybe called, without exaggeration, a triumphal tour through Toronto, Hamilton, London, Simcoe, Brantford, Dunnville, St. Thomas, (iu.lph, St. Catharines, Belleville, and a number of other lesser towns, at each of which he addressed large assemblages. All captivated by the address of the man, and won over by hia defence of himself and the government ; yea, those who had been taught to believe him the ally of the French, and the enemy of his own, cheered him to the echo. Everywhere he was received with cordial and spontaneous welcome, and his tour placed the government in a favourable light before the pi < vince. Nor had his uncompromising and manly attitude of resistance to the agitation for representation by population, the effect of lessening him in the esteem of the people of Upper Canada ; rather, it won for him their hearty respect. One of the ablest speeches he has ever delivered was made in defence of the ministry's attitude in resisting the question of representation by population. We who dream of the day when the reproach of colonialism shall be a thing of the past, and Canada be ranked among the independent nations, read with pleasure an outburst of eloquence touching this fond hope of ours, and firing, while restraining, our ambition. It is impossible not to believe that if the man who uttered the following words were not a minister of the crown, we should have had the hopes without the limitations. Said Mr. Macdonald : " I trust that for ages, for ever, Canada may remain united with the mother country. But we are fast ceasing to be a dependency, and as- suming the position of an ally of Great Britain. England will TRANSITION. 245 be the centre, surrounded and sustained by an alliance not only with Canada, but Australia, and all her other possessions ; and there will thus be formed an immense confederation of free- men, the greatest confederacy of civilized and intelligent men that ever has had an existence on the face of the globe." To the greatness predicted of our future in this thrilling picture, only, however, can we subscribe ; for we cannot conceive of that "alliance," which means equality, on which the speaker in the fervour of the moment dwells, and the connexion which makes ubject and inferior as being the same thing; or, of being sister to imperial greatness, when our highest distinction is to be ruled by a subject. Early in the session some changes were made in the cabinet. Mr. Ross resigned the presidency of the council, and retired from the government ; Mr. Sherwood assumed the commission- erahip of crown lands, ami John darling succeeded him in the receiver- generalship. Mr. John Beverley Robinson, a lawyer With a clear and well-balanced head, took tin- presidency of the council; and James Paton, whose lucky star was John A. Mac- donald's friendship, became solicitor-general. These new mem* bersof the ministry were favourable to representation by popu- lation, but the question was left an open one in the cabinet. Mr. Robinson was re-elected for Toronto AVot, and Mr. ( ailing for London, but Mr. Paton who represented the Saugeen divi- sion in the legislative council was rejected by his constituents. He nevertheless retained his portfolio, as Joseph Morrison, who by this time had escaped to the bench, had done before him ; for Mr. Macdonald, in this case, too, was stronger than the con- stitution. Brown out of the legislature, the opposition was no longer a mere butt for reproach, but a dangerous and rapidly -increasing combination. It resisted the address with stubborn pluck, and fought not as had been its wont under the tyrannous and indis- creet drivership of George Brown, in detached eddies, but, pow- erfully, as a unit. A vote was taken on a resolution virtually LIFE OF SIR JOHN A. MACDONALD. affirming want of confidence, but it was defeated by a majority of 17, and the ministry breathed easy. Nevertheless causes were at work undermining public confidence in the adminis- tration. On the parliament-buildings question a dangerous discussion arose. It was shown that £900,000, appropriated for the construction of the buildings, had been all expended, besides ral large amounts not authorized by parliament, and yet the structure was not half completed. Affairs in the depart- ment of public works, at the head of which was Mr. Rose, w< ore in a scandalous plight, and the minister was charged with incompetency — which was glaring — and corruption. In the letting of contracts, large sums had been lost to the public by dishonest means, or an incompetency that, so far as it related to the country's interests, was as criminal as corruption. Of the two, the dishonest and the incapable minister, we believe the former is the preferable, his competency granted. For a capable minister can be watched into doing the right, be he ever so cor- rupt in intention ; but hope in an incapable minister may be a will-o'-the-wisp to lead to disaster. The ministry, though not onsible, was held accountable for the shortcomings of Mr. Rose, and it soon became known that its tenure of life was maintained by a slim thread. While affairs were in this state, Mr. John A. Macdonald in- troduced his Militia bill, a measure that made ample provision to resist invasion, but which would have required an expendi- ture beyond the convenient ability of the province to meet. Mr. Macdonald could, usually, at a glance, see the dangers in his course, but on this occasion the future was inexorable. He introduced his bill. It was supported warmly by a considerable majority from the Upper Canada section, but Mr. Cartier's fol- lowers, in the hour of trial, pretending to be alarmed at the burthen threatened in the bill, proved faithless, and the measure was rejected by a vote of 61 to 5 k On the following day the government resigned. TRANSITION. 247 In the emergency the governor had recourse to John Sand- field Macdonald, whose eyes lit up when the aide-de-camp handed him a note from the head of the government ; and on the 24th of May, while cannon was thundering its rejoicings proper to the Queen's natal day, the Macdonald-Sicotte minis try was sworn into office. We give the personnel of the new government, and glancing down the names one is reminded of the " Who ? Who ? " administration in England whose member- ship so sorely puzzled the Duke of Wellington. There were FOR CANADA AY EST : Hon. John Sanpfiei.d Ma< d<>nau> Pn mier and Att-Gcv. W. P. Howland - - Minister of Finance. M. II. Foley - - - - Postmaater-Qeneral, Adam Wii.sox ... - SUicUar^O&neral. James Morris ... Receivers-General W. McDouo ai.i. - Can t'Crowu L>i,, rOU CANADA K\- ffoN. v. SicoTTE - AUontey-Qeneral. " A. A. Doiuon - Provincial Secretary. " J. J. C. Abbott - - - Solicitor-General. " T. D'Arcy McGee - Preside ni of the Council. " N. J. Tessier - Commissioner of Public Works. ,c Francois Kvanti \\y.\. - Minister of Agriculture. Two days later, Mr. Wallbridge announced the ministerial programme in the house of assembly. The double-majority principle, so far as related to purely local questions, was admit- ted, and a measure was promised that would provide "a more equitable adjustment of the parliamentary representation." The new government was determined to carry out its every act of policy according to that high standard of purity, efficiency, and proper economy that always guides the actions of incoming administrations. A thorough cleansing was to be given to tho 248 LIFE OF SIR JOHN A. MACDONALD. Augean stables, a complete system of " retrenchment," — that word which has covered more extravagance since the establish- ment of legislatures than any other expression known to our English tongue — was to be inaugurated ; a most searching in- \ '-tiiration of affairs in that " pent-house of corruption," as one young legislator — who had not yet been afforded an opportunity of soiling his own hands by corrupt transactions — called the Board <>f Works office, was to be made; and the government pledged itself to abide by the decision of Her Majesty with re- ference to the seat of government, though the greater portion of the new ministry's timber had signalized themselves particu- larly by opposition to the choice of Ottawa by the sovereign, and had made the question the basis of non-confidence motions Bg&inst the late administration. To all who understood that, while the union was maintained, a scheme for representation by population was incompatible with justice to one section or the • >tli«r of the province, the decision of the new ministry, to allow the question to stand, was learnt without surprise. John A. Macdonald said to his colleagues : " We shall have Brown with us again ; not that he cares so much for Rep. by Pop., but he wants to be at John Sandfield ; " and while he was yet speak- ing, it is related, a copy of the Globe came in, with every battery opened upon the new ministry. After a fierce article had been read aloud, Macdonald asked Cartier : "In what way would Brown have been able to carry off his feelings against John Sandfield had they not providentially repudiated Rep. by Pop V At the formation of the Brown-Dorion administration, a cold- ness had appeared between John Sandfield and George Brown, which grew in course of time into active hostility. Both men were ambitious, the former wanting to live himself, but wil- ling that others also should exist ; the latter determined that no one but himself should live, and ready, with the engine with which he destroyed character, to crush any one who crossed the path of his ambition. He sorely felt that during the two last .sessions of parliament his party had repudiated his leadership TRANSITION. 240 and chosen Macdonald in his stead ; now in his rage and disap- pointment he almost forgot that his constituents had likewise repudiated him, and looked upon the new premier as having usurped a place belonging to himself. John Sandfield solaced- himself by saying, " Let the heathen rage " when he received the first broadside of the Globe's " afflicting thunder ;" but it was not a trivial matter for a prime minister to have arrayed against bim the most powerful newspaper of his party. Meanwhile the ex-ministers offered no obstruction to the new administration at the polls, or in finishing the programme of legislation. The defeat of Mr. John A. Macdonald's militia bill, as he con- jectured himself, was regarded in England as a measure of the practical loyalty of Canadians. The Times which had, on seve- ral previous occasions, displayed its coloniphobia. if we may be permitted to coin that word, led off by a rebuke to Canadian-, which was taken up by a multitude of the minor uewsp&p who declared that we were an assemblage of -reedy self-seek- without gratitude <>r loyalty, or even the instinct, com- mon to the animal, of self-defence. One organ urged the British government to " shake off the unprofitable colonies " and leavi them to the mercy of the first comer; another said we brought neither strength nor profit to the empire, and that any loyalty we had was in our breeches' pocket. Lord Palmerston's face turned purple as he told in his place in the commons that Her Majesty's government had done all for the Canadians in assist- ing them to procure defences that they intended to do, and thai it now rested with the colonists to do the remainder themselves or to " disgrace the stock from which they sprang." At a < I i n n e i in Montreal, Lord Monck feebly reechoed the imperial senti- ment, preferring to trust the impressions of the home ministry and an uninformed press to the facts of the case which were plain to every Canadian. Mr. John A. Macdonald's hill was an admirable measure, but the house weighed the cost of the scheme against the danger of invasion, and rejected it. It not true, though Lord Palmerston and the British press seem t 250 LIFE OF SIR JOHN A. MACDONALD. have been differently informed, that the Canadians were relying upon imperial soldiers to fight for them in the day of trouble: though they rejected a measure which, whether rightly or wrongly, they regarded unwarranted by the expediency of the time, they never once thought of shirking the defence of their •country and homes should the occasion come. As we have, however, seen, the loss of the measure was due to the defection •of th<- Freneh-l anadian members among whom a threat of inva- sion ereated no serious panic, and who, if the truth could be known, eared very little, since their destiny was that of a oon- •tjuered people, whether their PTfltcru were republican English or monarchical English. But in Mr. Macdonald's measure all the British spirit, all the loyalty to Canadian welfare found ex- PTOStioP) as was shown by the considerable majority from the upper province by which the bill was supported.* There was no invasion ; but this fact was not any more foreknown to those who rejected the attorney-gent'ial's means for defence, than it was brought about by disarming resistance at such a critical time. M All's well that ends well," is the maxim of the fatalist, and the prophet ; for the one is the bondsman of the event and the other foresees it: on occasions where stupidity or reckless- ness fail to provoke disaster, it often becomes triumphant jus- tification. The war in the republic was a harvest-time for Canada. The army raised by President Lincoln to subdue the South had been in a large measure, taken away from the field, and the work- shop. Canada was overrun by persons from the United States who bought up everything that we had to sell. For our staple articles of food, for cattle, poultry, eggs and grain they paid al- most fabulous prices. Government agents ran over the country with pockets full of gold purchasing horses for the northern cavalry ; and many a farmer, tempted by a pouch of shining * The bill was supported by a majority of seven of the Upper Canada represen- tatives. TRANSITION. 251 eagles, sold his best team from the plough. Warned by the re- sults of over speculation during the Crimean war, the com- munity launched out into no extravagant enterprises, but, with prudence, made the most of their neighbours' misfortune. During the summer the gout accomplished its victory over Sir Allan MacXab, and the gallant knight, loaded with honours which give little joy to a dying man, passed to that bourne whence no traveller returns. His place, as speaker of the legis- lative council, was filled by Mr., now Sir Alexander, Campbell, a popular and clear-headed Kingston lawyer, who, as we have Been, studied law many years previously in the ofhce of Mr. John A. Macdonald, and had subsequently been in a legal part- lip with that gentleman. Parliament met on the 12th of February. The government now, to use the phrase of the ex-attN Johm a Macdonald - - AUorney-Qeneral, * -Ioiin Simi'sdx - - ' Provincial Secretary, * Isaac Br«iiA\ an - - President of the Council. " Ai.K\A\iu-:ii Camim'.kll - - Com V Crown Lands. " M. II FOLEY - - - t master-General. " JAMES COCKBTTRN - - - Solicitor-General. M. < *au( -h-.n. in French, and John Hillyard Cameron, in Eng- tish, explained to the house the policy of the administration, which, in the most important respects was a determination to pay strict attention to the provincial defences, to organize the militia on an efficient basis, to endeavour to maintain and ex- tend the reciprocity treaty and to establish more intimate com- mercial relations with the maritime provinces. It goes with- out saying that to " departmental reform " and " retrenchment/' — but one wonders, with every incoming party effecting depart- mental reform and retrenching, how anything could remain to be reformed, or how a dollar could exist to be retrenched — above all things, the new government pledged itself, while tin- 256 LIFE OF SIR JOHN A. MACDONALD. -tion of representation by population was allowed to remain open. On the following day the house adjourned to meet again ■ a the 3rd of May. No one who penetrated the situation, and saw that the same causes which, of late, had overthrown minis- tries formed from every side, and of every combination, still remained, believed that the new administration could exist. There was only one other chance, and that was existence by the sufferance of the opposition : but John Sandfield Macdonald, though it were to save the constitution from ruin, was not like- ly to extend mercy t«» the men who had so rudely thrown him- self from power. Meanwhile, public sentiment was, unconsci- ously and by the force of circumstances, being gradually pre- pared to accomplish an event which was to triumph over turmoil, to set the wheels of government rolling afresh, and to give a new and fuller impulse to our political existence, and a lasting direction to the current of our history. While the greatest crisis in our Canadian annals was approaching, Herr von Bis- marck, who had hitherto been regarded by the world as a u fanatical reactionary, a coarse sort of Metternich, a combina- tion of bully and buffoon," suddenly revealed a genius as daring, as crafty, and as competent as Cavour, with a wider field and greater powers for action than the Italian statesman ; at this time, too, came Garibaldi in state to London, whose workshops and stately West-End dwellings sent out their throngs of en- thusiastic artizans, and peers and countesses, to do homage to the soldier of fortune ; at this time it was that England's grand old statesman, in his eightieth year, in the growing morning, re- viewed, as one glances his eye along some panorama, the his- tory of his political administration, made his last great speech before stepping out of the commons and entering the portal which guards the entrance to that realm from which no travel- ler comes back. CHAPTER \\. FKI'lTS OF THK AMKKICAH VI I. WAR. " fjCYLLA is passed; Charybdis appears." The Trent van* ishes; tin* Alabama is in sight On the morning that the Siom Jacinto brought bet prisoners into port, the citiaens of the nortb set ups load hurrah, and cried lustily for the daring commander, whom they would have boms <>»» a chair through their cities. Some of the cooler heads, however, be- gan to consider the. situation, and derived little comfort from their reflections. This valiant deed of the * s '"// Jacinto'* oom- mander, they oow law, was a repetition of the outrage com- mittal 1>\ England against the [Jnited States in 1M)7. During the year oamed, while several Hritisli incn-uf-war wnv lying at anchor in I Ihesapeake Bay, a Dumber of blue-jackets deserted, and enlisted on board tin- United States frigate, Chesapeake. - after the occunvno , some British officers were bore in Norfolk, Virginia, and saw the. deserters parade the streets, protected by the American nag, and under the es- cort of a recruiting officer. They at once asked for the sur- render of the men, and their demand was seconded by the British consul ; but the officer refused to render them up. No- thing more was said at the time, and there was some chuckling on board the American ships of war over the occurrence. The following day, however, a long-boat from the British flag-ship, admiral Berkley, visited each English war-ship in port, leaving a sealed despatch. Each captain was instructed by the admiral to keep a sharp look-out for the American frigate GJiesapeake, when at sea, out of the limits of the United States, and to search tin? Q 257 258 LIFE OF SIR JOHN A. MACDONALD. said vessel for the deserted seamen ; and enjoined that, should any American war-ship insist on Marching a British vessel for a similar purpose, no resistance should be offered. On the morning of the 22nd of June, His Majesty's ship Leopard, captain Humphreys, put out to sea, and about fourteen miles from land met the (7. i , commodore Barren. He hailed. and said he had despatches for the commodore from the com- mander-in-ehief. The Ch>*'ipeake hove to, and was boarded by an officer from the Leopard, who bore Berkley's orders, and a letter from captain Humphreys expressing the wish that he might be able to carry out the admiral's order in an amicable manner. Tie- commodore was surprised, hut firm. He said he could not think of agreeing to the request, that his orders from government forbidding any foreigner to muster his ship's company were most peremptory ; that he had no desert i is on lx>ard, and, finally, that he must refuse, once for all, to allow his ship to be searched. On receiving this answer, the Leopard edged down towards the Chesapeake, captain Humphreys again hailing, and stating that " Commodore Barren must be aware that the orders of the British commander-in-chief must be obe} T ed." To this the answer given from the American ship was, * I do not understand you ;" whereupon there was a quiet movement, with the regularity of clock-work, on board the frigate, who promptly fired a shot across the bows of the Ches- apeake. After a minute another shot was fired ; then there was a pause of two minutes ; and, the American ship giving no answer, a broadside was poured into her. The Chesapeake stood, like a stripling of fifteen, with folded arms, before a burly bully who has already delivered his insignificant adversary a stunning blow, and did not return the fire. But after a few moments' pause, and in that awful silence when the only sound to be heard was the beating of the seamen's hearts, commodore Barren hailed, and said he wished to send a boat on board ; but the Leopard believing that the Chesapeake was preparing to return the fire, regarded the request as only a ruse, and poured FRUITS OF THE AMERICAN CIVIL WAR. 250 in two more murderous broadsides. Barren (hen struck bis colours, and two lieutenants with several midshipmen entered bis ship to make Bearch for the deserters. They captured, after a three hoars' search, four of the delinquents ; two others were identified anion-- the Blain, and one jumped overboard, and perished. Six of the Chesapeake's crew were killed, twenty- four were wounded, and commodore Barren, who acted through- out with tlif utmost coolness, was wounded from a Hying splinter. The search having been accomplished, Barren wrote a note to Bumphreys, saying thai he considered the Chesap<<>l< was dow the Englishman's prize, and that he was ready to de- liver her up; hut the latter replied that he had executed the orders of the commander-in-chief, that he was merely to obtain the deserters, was now to rejoin his squadron, and lamented sincerely the necessity which had compelled him to resort to rioleni measures. When the tfc reached port, battered and l-l I stained, a cry of Indignation was raised throughout tie anion ; the attack by the Leopard was felt to be an out- rage upon the honour of the nation, and an insult that could only he wiped out by war. Promptly President Jefferson is- Bued a proclamation requiring all armed vessels bearing com- missions under the government of Great Britain, then within the harbours or waters of the United States, immediately to depart therefrom, and interdicting the entrance of any British ship armed or mercantile to American ports or waters. The act of the Leopard was disowned by the British government; on Humphreys was recalled, and admiral Berkley super- seded; but all this could not atone for the outrage, and five years later the dreary wrangle culminated in a declaration of war by the United States against Great Britain. If then, American statesmen reasoned, the outrage perpetra- ted by the Leopard was held to be a casus belli by this coun- try, why should not the act of the San Jacinto be similarly regarded by the British government now ? President Lincoln promptly made up his mind that the act of captain Wilkes 200 LIFE OF SIB JOHN A. MACVONALD. could not be -sustained, and tliat the southern commissioners should be given op. ■ This," said be, " is the very thing the Bri- tish captains used to do. They claimed the right of searching American ships, and carrying men out of them. That was the caused the war of 1812. Now, we cannot abandon our prin- ciples. We shall hav. t > -ive these men Up and apologize for what we have d«>ne." In answer, therefore, to one of Lord D Russell's usually Long and sonorous dispatches, demanding the surrender of the commissioners taken from the Tn rtf, Mr. Seward, who also deli- 1 1 ted in writing lengthy and pompous state-documents went on to declare that his government could not find ;i justification for the proceeding of captain Wilkes, and that the only excuse at all that could be offered for his act was that he was strictly following British precedents. " It will be seen," he added, "that this government cannot deny the justice of the claim presented to us, in this respect, upon its merits. We are asked to do to the British nation what we have alwav> insisted all nations ought to do unto us." There- fore, as we have already seen, the prisoners were on the 1st day of January, 18G2, "cheerfully liberated." Thus ended the affair of the Trent ; and now began the dispute about the On the outbreak of the war between the South and the North, Mr. Lincoln proclaimed a blockade of the Southern ports. English authorities point out that this was a breach of constitutional usage. The law, it is true, on the subject of blockades is plain. A government may proclaim a blockade of the ports of an enemy, but it can only, for the general pur- poses of war, order a closure of its own ports. The declaration of President Lincoln was therefore regarded by foreign govern- ments as a recognition, by the North, of the Southern confed- eracy as a belligerent power ; and upon this ground Lord Pal- merston's ministry sought to defend its imprudent and hasty proclamation. The Northern government might have ordered the closure of its ports, but such a decree would be binding only FSJTIT8 OF THE AMERICAN CIVIL WAR. 261 under municipal law. and every port would beat the mercy of adventurous blockade-runners, who need only escape the har- bour defences, as they could not be dealt with by United states war-vessels beyond American waters. The American govern- ment chose the blockade as the most expedient course, regard* of the technical standing it would give to the rebellious states : and it is difficult to understand how the adoption of a new form of war etiquette could change the character of a body -if citizens in revolt against the supreme authority of the state, The truth of the matter is that whoever drew up the interna- tional clause relating to blockades, like the framers of many other laws, tailed to foresee all the cases that might arise to be affected by the ordinance. Tin- < Hit to be met were war is declared between separate nations, no in- spiration-gleam being shed from the future to show that a day might come when thirty-one millions of j pie, scattered over half the N«w World, would separate into two mighty bodies and rise in a fratricidal war. But the attitude of the imperial ministry in issuing its pro- clamation, commanding all British subjects to maintain a neu- trality during the "war "between the Tinted States and her rebellious citisens, was not the only affront at which the repub- licans took offence. Open sympathy was manifested for the South throughout ( Jreat Britain, and when news of the defeat of the raw levies by the discipline of the rebel soldiers at Bull Run reached England, there was much jubilation; and Lord Palmerstoa so far forgot his dignity and his duty as to make ring allusions, during a public speech, to the" unfortunate rapid movements" of northern soldiers during that battle. This contemptuous phrase, coming from the head of the British min- istry, embittered public feeling in the republic, towards Eng- land and all that belonged to her. Not many months elapsed before there arose a cause to intensify that feeling, and lead t Britain and the United States to the verse of war. M LIFE OF SIR JolfX .!. UACDONALD. One June morning, in 1861, the Savannah, a swift-sailing and audacious little vessel, escaped from Charleston, and began to scour the seas in search of northern merchant-vessels. Many a ship deep-laden with merchandise, pursuing her way from port to port, wis net by this tittfe scourge, plundered, and D to destruction. Fired by She example and the succe^ - of the Savannah, other daring spirits in the South rigged out fleet-sailinir rends, armed them with guns, and took up the privateering trad.'. Among these were the Swmter, commanded by Captain Bemmes, whose exploits at a later tine- mad.' him famou> : tie- Na&hvilU and the Petr< 1 , tie- latter skimming, like the bird whence she took her name, over the sea, and • ping down upon her victim But these were small vessels of light armament, and took flight the moment a ship of war was sighted by the sailor in the cross-trees. The first of the privateers that became really formidable was the Oreto, after- ward^ known as the Florida. She had not been longupon tie- seas when a shudder went through the northern merchant marine at the mention of her name. She was a swift sailer, and swooped down like an eagle upon her prey. Before she had been three months cruising, she captured fifteen vessels, thirteen of which she burned ; and many a vessel sailing in northern waters or crossing the Atlantic, shuddered as she saw at night a tower of flame rising from the sea. The Florida was a sturdy ship, heavilj 7 armed, and was not so fleet a sailer as some of her smaller sisters. She was built at Birkenhead, England, nominally for the Italian government ; but the American minister resident at London, learned her destiny, and requested the British government to prevent her putting to sea. While the cabinet was giving * due considera- tion " to the request, the Florida passed out the Mersey upon her career. From the time this vessel departed, England was declared by American writers to be the " naval base of the confederacy." FJU'ITS OF THE AMERICAN CIVIL WAR. 263 But the most noted of all the privateers, the vessel which became the occasion ui' a iu'\v code of laws between nations, and brought the States and Great Britain to the verge of war, the reader need not be told, was the Alabcuma. This craft was built in Birkenhead by the ftiessrs. Laird, one of the most pro- minent building firms in the country. When on the stocks the vessel was called the " 290," and crowds thronged to the dock-yard to see the ship destined for some strange mission. Long before she was built, the mystery was dissipated.: the spapers declared that she was intended as a southern cruiser, that ike would sweep northern commerce from the seas, and be so armed as to i" % able to bold her own against even the heaviest Bhipe of war. Mr. Adams, a descendant of a brilliant family, distinguished for their superior statesmanship and high honour, was then the American representative in Lon- don. Promptly he ami down, on hearing of the character of thi> new ship, and wrote to Lord John Russell, m-ging him to institute enquiries into the allegations concerning the proposed mission Of th< and maintaining that it was the duty of tmi.'iit. on being satisfied that the craft waste mployedas I southern cruiser, to prevent her departure from England. Lord John Russell, in whom more than any r modern Knglish statesman of note, much littleness WSJ mingled with uot a little greatness, sought to parry Adams 1 contentions by asking for proof of the allegations offered in one breath, and in tie- oerl expressing a doubt whether the eminent could fly in the face of a domestic law. Mr. Adams again pressed his request. He only desired that the govern- ment should satisfy itself as to the mission for which " !'!>()" was intended. If the mission were ascertained to he that which he had alleged, then he contended, under the * Foreign Enlistment Act," the vessel ought to be detained. Lengthy cor- respondence passed between the two ministers, in which M i\ Adams always maintained a calm dignity and an overwhelming logic, while Lord John Russell more than once gave way to 264 LIFE OF SIR JOHN A. UACDONALD. petulance, ami sought to defend liis position by feeble and tri- fling analogies which he affected to find in American diplomacy. Meanwhile Mr. Laird went on building the ship, ami as the time of her departure approached, Mr. Adams pressed Lord Russell with mueli ea rnestne ss to interpose his authority. At last Lord John was prevailed upon toask the Queen's advocate* for advice; but when the request was made that official was >ick, and could n«»t return an answer. At last the answer came, expressing the opinion that the vessel ought to be detained. But while the ministers were waiting for the advocate's reply, ( ) " though unfinished, was mad- ready for sea, and, under pretence of a trial trip, sailed down tl y t<> Moelfra Bay where the work remaining was hastily completed. On the 31st of July, orders came from the British ministry to seize the ves- sel, but on the same day the prospective privateer, amid the ringing cheers of her crew, sailed away from the coast of Eng- land. Thence she proceeded to Terceira, one of the Western Islands, where she tarried till the arrival of the Agrippvna from London, with her guns and stores, and the Baluima with captain Semmes, late commander of the Sumtzr, his officers and crew. On the 24th of August, the privateer was equipped and ready for her career of destruction. She was a screw steam sloop of 1,040 tons, built of wood, and for speed rather than strength. She was barque-rigged, had a crew of eighty men, and carried eight 32-pounders. When ready for sea, captain Semmes appeared on deck in Confederate uniform, and read his commission to the men. Henceforth he told them they would know their ship by the name of the Alabama ; after which he delivered a speech predicting that their good fortune in escaping from England was an omen of their success among the shipping of the north. Then under pressure of steam and canvas, the saucy privateer steered for the scene of her future labours. On the 5th of September, when four days at sea, she sighted a * Sir John Harding. FRUITS OF THE AMERICAX CIVIL WAN. 265 brigantine under full canvas, bowling along, bound for a north- em p<»rt. w ( live him the British bunting,* 1 said captain Semmes, and the Union-Jack was thing out from the main-top. The brigantine tarried till the pompous stranger came up, and was making ready to hail, when a deluge of grape-shot came whist- ling across his bowst and looking, he saw the stranger flaunt- ing the Southern flag. An hour later, the stately brig was a mass of flame through the twilight of die autumn sea. For the next eleven days ibama lingered about where she met her first victim, and in that time captured and burnt property the value of which exceeded her own cost. Several last-sailing cruisers, heavily armed, pot out from Northern ports searching for " the pirate Semmes," but when ■ specs appeared upon the horizon that the look-out declared t<> be formidable, the priva* altered hercourse,and skimmed fleetly over the sea, leav- ing her pnrsnen Ear behind A few months later, she hovered along the track of commerce between AspinwaU and New fork and after patient watching, one morning, captured the Ariel mail steamer, with 1 kO marines, i number of United States and about -"''Hi passengers These the captain of the ateer decided to put on shore at Kingston, Jamaica, but the city was a pent-house of yellow fever. On board his own ship was not room for their accommodation; so with much re* he Let the steamer L, r <>, taking a bond for a large sum, pay- able when the war was ended Some days later the look-out saw an American gun-boat, which afterwards proved to bethoHat- kring down. Bemmes smiled grimly as he ordered the decks to be cleared for action, and saw the war-ship approach- sager Eur the fray. It was a short conflict. After a few broadsides the HatU ros went down, and the privateer, Issuing unscathed from the encounter, pursued her way. The name of the Alabama now became one of tenor and hate, and few vessels- ventured from their ports while it was known that she \va near their track. The American government equipped a nuni- •»f heavily-armed and speedy cruisers, which scoured th< LIFE (>F SIR JOHN A. MACDOXALD. in search of the marauder ; and several narrow eaCJfW tokl S.iniiH's tliat Northern w rftfeBM wciv no longer safe. So he set sail fof the Cape of Good Hope, and preyed upon all the Northern merchant vessels (which were not many) that he i nt - 1 there: but BOOB finding tliat the merchant shipping of the enemy was beginning to forsake the seae, lie sailed for Europe, llld put into Cherbourg to repair his vessel, now much battered, and no longer unrivalled for bet Hpeed, Bitter re- rhes followed the captain of the privat»'i\ and he WM burning for an opportunity to distinguish himself by some valorous deed. During hie career he hat! captured sixty-live vessels, and destroyed property valued at over four millions of -dollars; yet hi> lvpute was that of a buccaneer that preyed upon defenceless vessels, but who fled on bei ng confronted with a strength equal to his own. The Hatteras, which he had met and sunk with a half-dozen broadsides, was repre- sented as a crazy old hulk not fit to be at sea, and that must have foundered from the concussion of her own guns. But ines was a daring and brilliant sailor, who knew not fear, as he was soon but to prove too plainly. He writhed under the abuse heaped upon him, and was stung by the palpable truth, that, whether he were coward or courageous, his warfare had been upon defenceless commerce, and that however much he may have harassed his foes, no glory waited on his career. While the Alabama lay in Cherbourg, the American war -vessel Kearsage arrived off the coast of France, and, learning where the privateer lay, made several demonstrations in the offing, which the Alabama regarded as a challenge to battle. Half reckless and half hopeful, Semmes made up his mind to accept the challenge of the haughty man-of-war, and notified the United States consul of his intention. He made ready his ship, and, on a fine Sunday morning, 10th of June, 1864, steamed out of the harbour, to engage in the murderous conflict. The in- habitants of the city crowded upon every height to witness the battle. To the inexperienced eye the two ships, now quietly FBVITS OF THE AMERICAN CIVIL WAR. 267 Hearing each other, were of about equal strength, and even captain Semmes, though at one time one of the most experi- 1 officers of the Northern naval .service, was deceived. He did not know that the ship advancing tor the fray was in all respects superior to the Alabama. It was only when it was all ended he learnt that her armament was superior to his own, her crew larger, and that she was iron-clad amidships. The bat- tle was begun without delay, and soon was over. The Keareage esing greater speed than her adversary, was able to keep up a distance of about 500 yards, at which range she was little :ted by the Alabama's shot; while the latter was suffering terribly. The issue was decided in less than an hour. Captain Semmes, finding his vessel sinking, struck his flag; hut before v could come to the rescue, tin- noted privateer went th of September, 187$, delivered its linal award. For the ITrooy-hea dodD CBi of Lord Russell and the ministry it was deer 1 that England should pay a sum of Id. The only regret that one can feel on reading this record of retributive justice, is, that the statesmen* who, by their obstinate prejudice, instead of the public who were the victims, were not obliged to pay the fine. Some Englishmen, among whom were many of those who clapped their hands and threw slippers laden with rice after the Ala- bama, as she slipped down the Mersey, on her career of pillage, mutfvered "curses not loud but deep" when they were obliged to pay 815,000,000 for their Southern sympathy. Several leading Englishmen, and Sir Alexander Cockburn, an eminent judge — if eminence can afford to ignore such codes as national obligation and national honour — affirmed that the Geneva'deci- sion was unjust, and advised its repudiation. But the amount wafl paid, and the British taxpayer has had an opportunity to realize how dangerous a possession national sympathy may sometimes be, and to lay to heart this costly lesson which Mr. Kingsley ought to have had an opportunity of stating by the mouth of Mrs. Bedonebyasyoudid. It has been already seen that Canada dutifully reflected the Southern sympathy of her mother, and aggravated the feeling of hostility against the British empire in the republic. Sou- thern refugees were received here with open arms, were some- times publicly feted, and all the while given to understand that they were regarded as the noble sufferers in a gloricus cause* During the summer of 1864 a body of the refugees decided to turn Canadian sympathy to account, and, in September, sallied forth from their colonial as) r lum and captured and plundered two American vessels plying on Lakes Erie and Ontario. Ela- FBUITS OF TJIK AMERICAN CIVIL WAS. 968 ted by their success, the filibusters, a few W6ekfl later, headed by an ex-Confederate soldier named Young, hurst into St. Alhan's, a little town in Vermont, and situated near the fron- where they plundered three of the local hanks, shot one of the cashiers, bearing away to Canada $233,000 worth of v. The Canadian government now aroused itself and dis- tributed volunteers along our frontier, to present any further breach of the neutrality law. The filibusters were arrested at the instance "f the United States government, who demanded their extradition. They were tried in Montreal, but discharged by Judge Con rso 1, before whom they were examined, on a tech- nical ground. A sum of $90,000 was found on the raiders when arrested, hut on their discharge the money Was refunded The act fed <»ur prejudice for the time, hut, in due sea- son, we had to repay the amount to tie- American government. There is no one who will say that this did not serve as right. On the 15th of April, 1866, in the evening, president Abraham Lincoln, who had two year- befbfC proclaimed the freedom of slaves in the rebel States, while sitting in his box at the theatre, was shot dead by the hand of an assassin. The civilized world stood aghast at the intelligence of the deed, and Canada showed a heartfelt sympathy for the untimely and of this great friend of liberty. Meetings were held in the cities, at which resolu- tions were passed expressing the sorrow of our people; flags floated at half-mast, and bells tolled from a hundred steeples. The minds of the timorous were disturbed in Canada, during the same year, by the rumours, ever on the wing, of a contem- plated invasion by some of the turbulent spirits who had been taught the trade of war during the American rebellion. Some- where near Union Square, in New York, a band of men known as the "Fenian Brotherhood* 1 met to discuss measures for the liberation of Ireland. The name Fenian had an historic ring; and fired the hearts of those who longed to see the green Sag float again on the hill of Tara. The Fenians, it came to be re- membered, were an old-time Irish militia, burly kerns who _:«» life of sin .mux a. m \ci onald. wriit iii haiv anus. an- ci'-ty. Demagogues who had never figured in any more heroic movement khan ■ drunken row in some bar-room in the Sixth Ward, vapoured against "the bloody Saxon," and thrilled the deluded crowds of their fellow Irishmen by recounting the means they would pursue to overthrow British rule, and wei " darlin ould Ireland free agin." Some of the most useless and vicious loafers found in the agitation a golden trade, and pushed themselves to the front as leaders. " The contributions given by some Irish hack-drivers and servant girls, in the sincere belief that they were helping to man the ranks of an Irish army of independence, enabled some of the self-appointed leaders to wear fine clothes and order expensive dinners." The organi- zation grew, and gigantic projects were developed. One of these was a conquest of Canada as a first step " before takin' Ireland.'' Early in the year 1866, it was resolved, at a meeting of the brotherhood, to celebrate St. Patricks Day by seizing New- Brunswick ; and sure enough when that festival came, with it appeared, on the boundary of the coveted province, a band of Hibernians, armed in grotesque fashion, and bedecked with shamrocks, looking more like a detachment bound for Doney- brook fair than invaders thirsty for conquest. The visitors were met by Colonel Cole and a body of volunteers, and speed- ily took to flight, winding up the day after they had got be- * Any virtue that may have existed in this organization in the beginning has long since departed. The only achievements of the association now are cold-blooded murders; the instruments by which it works terror, the dagger and dynamite. FBUITS OF THE AMERICAN CIVIL WAR, 271 yond the reach of Canadian bullets, with a whisky feast.* On the night of May 31st, following, a bolder attempt was made. An advance guard consisting of about 900 of the brotherhood, under the command of one O'Neil, in the night, oroeBed Nia- gara river, and landed about a mile below the village of Fort Erie, Tiny advanced with much spirit into the village, where they demanded rations, and vainly sought the co-operation ef the inhabitants. Then they tore op a piece of the Grand Trunk railway-track, cut the telegraph wires, set tire to some bridges, and, in all other ways of destruction, endeavoured to deport themselves in the manner of invading warriors. During the forenoon of the following day, the American gun-boat * In connection with tli-- Fenian attempt on Now Brnnawtok, Mr. BdwardJaok, tarnishei the witter with the following fa \. .'. Smith, prior to the Fenian [nvaataa, interview i d Andrew Johnaon. pro* ■ of the Unil who promieed him, that so soon as the Fenians oosnmit* ted an overt act he would attend t<> them. When the maurauders made their ranee at Ka*t{>ort, in the State of Main.-, the I'nited States government des- patched several vessels of win to prevent their making a domanstratioa on Brunswick. Not f:ir horn Kaetport might be seen one of the fleetest war-v.-s-.il> in Mm I farted States ser\ it anohoc with steam up. while not Ear prevent any breaches of the neutrality laws : ami shut her eves whenever a boat with reinforcement or stores for ( >'NYil happened to be crossing from the Ajnerioin shore. When news of the invasion, by this rab- ble, reached the public, than was a general feeling of indigna- tion. There was some chagrin felt that the military defences be country were in a disordered condition, but nol a moment wai loai in taking all poaaible meaaorei t«> hurl back the in- truders. The regulars in the Hamilton and Toronto districts wen at once ordered by Major-General Napier to the Niagara insula* Orders were given to call out the volunteers, who seemed enthusiastic to enter the fray. Lieutenant-Colonel tins mustered six hundred of the Toronto force, which number was, in a large measure, supplied by Major Gillmor, of the Queen's Own. These, with the 13th Battalion, of Hamil- ton, and other volunteer companies, under the command of Lieutenant-Colonel Booker, were despatched to Port Colborne to protect the Welland Canal. Colonel George Peacocke, of the 16th regiment, commanded the entire expedition, and accom- panied the regulars to Chippewa, where he. was joined by the •Governor-General's body guard and other forces. Arrived at •Chippewa Colonel Peacocke dispatched Captain Akers with in- structions to the officer commanding at Port Colborne to effect a junction of his troops with those of Peacocke's, the following forenoon, about ten or eleven o'clock, at Stevensville, a village a short distance to the north-west of Fort Erie. Peacocke was a brave and capable officer, but he was criminally ignorant of the frontier topography, and, under such circumstances, should not have been given (or rather taken) command. Had he put himself entirely in the hands of such of his subordinates as were acquainted with the campaign ground, he might have earned excuse ; but his conduct seems to have been a mixture of self-reliance and dependence, of confessed ignorance, and ■unbending arrogance. He was not able to instruct Akers, who was " as much in the woods " as himself, as to what route of FRUITS OF TEE AMERICA X CIVIL WAR. 273 march the volunteers ought to take, and left Booker to decide that fur himself. Akers reached Port Colborne, at 2 o'clock in the morning, and delivered his orders. Meanwhile information had been received at Port Colborne, which, the volunteer officers, there, believed, altered the complexion of the whole case, and justified a departure from Peacocke's plan. It was learnt that the Fenian force at Fort Brie was much smaller than was at first supposed, that the marauders were in a state of wretched discipline, had done nought bat carouse since landing, and could be expelled by the prompt movements of a moderate It was there! eed that Booker with his troops should start by rail in time to reach Fort Erie by eight o'clock in the morning, and that Li. ut.nant-Colonel Dennis and Akrrs should embark with I company of artillery, at Port Colborne, and proceed to reconnoitre along Niagara river, returning to co-operate with Book Jit o'clock. If Peacocke should agree to this plan, he was informed that he might march by the river road from Chippewa, making a combined attack with Colonel Booker at some point "between Fort Krie and Black Creek, cutting off the enemy's retreat by the river — the tug to be employed in cruising up and down the river, cutting off any boats that might attempt to escape, and communicating between the forces advancing from Chippewa and from Fort Erie." Dennis and Akers did not wait for Peacocke's reply, but started -at four o'clock in the morning on the tug liobb, taking with them the Welland Garrison Battery, and a portion of the 1 hinnville Naval Brigade. Shortly after the departure of the tug, came a telegram, as might have been expected, from ( lolonel Peacocke, saying he disapproved of the modifications proposed and would adhere to his original plan. The question was no longer one of expediency but of etiquette, and Booker resolved to fulfil, as far as possible, the instructions cf the benighted commander. So about an hour after the departure of the Rohb he put his men on board the train and proceeded as far as Ridgeway, whence the troops left the cars and marched 974 LIFE OF SIR JOHN A. MACDONALD. toWAldfl Steveiisville. That same morning O'Xeil had begun a movement westward, with the intention of destroying the looks of thr Welland Canal, and Colonel Booker, about two miles from Ridgeway, came up with the marauders' out-posts. Net expecting such a meeting lie held a hurried consulta- tion with Major (iillmor, of the Queen's Own, when an attack was resolved on, both officers believing Colonel Peacocke and ilars could not he tar away. When the word Ava- il, the volunteers advanced with much spirit, and fairly tamed back, for some distance, the enemy's lines; and on- lookers must have believed, for a time, that the day was to be with these raw levies, composed mostly of clerks and col- legiates. While the brave young volunteers were grappling with O'Xeil's Fenians, an orderly came up and put in Booker's hand a message from Colonel Peacocke. A shade passed over the face of the officer as he read the note. It was directed to him at Port Colborne, instructing him to delay his departure from that point two hours beyond the hour previously specified, as Colonel Peacocke could not be ready to start with his regu- lars from Chippewa as early as had been expected. Booker, it has been seen, had really departed an hour before the prescrib- ed time, which would change Peacocke's calculations by three hours; so that he now saw there was no assistance for the young fellows so far outnumbered by the brawny-armed followers of O'Xeil. While the volunteers struggled with the outnumbering enemy, a report reached Booker that a body of Fenian cavalry was advancing, and was close at hand. At once, and by Booker's orders, Gillmor formed his men in. square to receive the onset ; but the report proved to be a ruse. The manoeuvre was a fatal one for the devoted volunteers, who, in consequence, became a conspicuous mark for the Fenians' bullets. When Gillmor saw the error, he at once endeavoured to extend his men, but the fire was so severe that the rear com- panies fell back and could not be reformed ; and the order was given to retire. In a few minutes the volunteers, who, against FI2UITS OF THE AMERICAN CIVIL WAS. 275 overwhelming odds, had "fought so well," were in full retreat, I fNeil'a wild myrmidons in mad pursuit. The loss of the ( 'anadians was one officer and eight men killed, and six officers and twenty-six men wounded. AY hat was the loss of the Fenians has not since been known, though it is believed not to have been lest than ours. The campaign so far had been a Beries of blunders. Aker and Dennis should not have gone upon the reeoonoitering tour without having heard the reply of the commanding officer \ Peacocke, should, in the first instance, have Been his way clear to be able to start at the hour he fixed lor departure before eoinnmnieat ing the time to his brother of- : and BOO »ndly. should not have trusteh of defeat on their surviving comrades, were a tribute to official etiquette — the price we paid to military incapacity. The remainder may as well be told. Dennis and Aken landed at the appointed time at Fort Erie, and picked up about sixty stragglers, comprising" Liberators" and camp followers. ( I Neil hearing that the regulars were on the march from Chip- pewa, retreated on Fort Erie, reconquering the village ; and when night fell, silently made his way across the river for the sheltering American shore. Before he could disembark he was a i rested, with his followers, by United States authorities. On LIFE OF SIR JOHN A. MACDOXALD. Sunday motuing >r war, Peacocke and his troops arrived at Fort Brie, but nought of the enemy remained save the em- ben of their eamp tires, and a number of broken whiskey boi" ilea A few stragglers who had been carousing around (he neighbourhood while their comrades were embarking, were afterwards captured by the regulars with much alacrity, put on I | tug; taken to Toronto, and lodged in jail. They were BUbeequentij bied under a statute passed during the Cana- dian rebellion. Some were discharged for want of evidence, others were found guilty ami sentenced to death, but the pun- ishment was commuted to imprisonment in the penitentiary. Several other demonstrations of invasion were made, some k - later, by the brotherhood. A large body gathered at < >_ iensburg, their eyes turned to the Dominion capital, but the massing of troops on the Canadian side, and the patrolling of viie St. Lawrence by a British gun-boat, damped their ambition. Another horde gathered opposite Cornwall, but dispersed before the display of a volunteer force. Still another body of the liberators, 1,800 strong, made a dash across the border from St. Albans, Vermont, but were driven back in hot haste by our troops. On reaching Vermont again the ringleaders of the filibusters were arrested for a breach of the neutrality laws, and thrown into prison ; and the president issued a proclama- tion ordering government officials to use every means to re- press further attacks on Canada from American territory. When the excitement was ended, the people of Canada did not forget to pay tribute to the memory of those who fell in resist- ing the invaders. In the Queen's Park, Toronto, a monument was raised which tells the story of the brave young hearts who died in defending their homes. v.rf.«*S& CHAPTER XVI. THE DOMINION OF C \NAI>.\. THE fatal balance of parti. m had at last been reached, and Mr. Macdonald who had always before, in emergency, relied on bis brains, now "trusted to luck." He was like a captain who, in the pitchy darkness, and in the midst of the storm, torn* his nice from the compass and allows his barque to take her own way through the unknown sea. The house mei mi May 3rd, r>»;k The new ministry had found sturdy oppo- ii in the constituencies, and Mr. Foley had fallen in the conflict. Some of Mr. John A. Macdonald's colleagues cheered themselves by the hope that John Sandfield would not oiler serious resistance to the government ; as, they said, the consti- tution was on its trial, and they could not beHeve he would sacrifice the institutions of the country to his ambition. The attorn* \ r-jgp neral-west, however, leaned upon no such reed as this. " If a disruption of the whole fabric," he assured his friends " is to be the price of John Sandfield's opposition, then woe to the constitution. We Bhowed him no mercy; at his hands I do not think we now deserve mercy." Meanwhile the iremier was brooding over his revenge. Some of his col- leagues assured him that it was now a question between duty to his party and duty to his country; that, to overthrow the new administration might lead to a disruption of the whole governmental system. "Did they spare us," retorted John Ifield with flashing eye, " when our overthrow was an equal menace to the constitution ? No ; I shall oppose them now as I have never done before ; it is useless to talk to me of for- rance." 277 278 LIFE OF SIR JOHN A. MACDOKALD. \ t"< in days after the opening of the session a no-confidence motion was introduced, and though the ministry strained every nerve in the conflict, it was sustained by a majority of only two With sueli a support the g o vernment were powerless to • any important legislation, yet, under the circumstances, resolved to maintain their places till actually voted out. Not long were they obi kged to wait, for the ending came on the 14th of June. It had come to light, that, in 1859, Mi A. T. Gait, the finance minister that yea* in the Cartier-Mac- donald gover nm ent, had advanced a sum of S100,000 from the public funds to redeem certain bonds given by the city of Mon- treal to the Atlantic and St. Lawrence Railway Company. The bonds were subsequently made redeemable by the Grand Trunk which company thus became actually the recipient of the ad- vance. The loan had been made quietly in the finance minis- ter's office, and the fact had not transpired, till a member, dis- tended with importance, rose at his desk, and in the low, feigned-sorrowful tones which an honourable member always assumes when digging a grave for his live opponent, announced that he had a painful task to perform, but that, nevertht imperative duty to the country demanded that it should be done ; " and then exposed the $100,000 transaction. Mr. A. A. Dorion following, moved, in amendment to the motion to go into committee of supply, a resolution censuring the advance of the amount without the knowledge of parliament. The resolution though aimed apparently at Mr. Gait, comprehended a censure of the ministry which it was averred was a mere rehabilitation of the Cartier-Macdonald government. This was an unconsti- tutional view, but ministers at once waived the question of propriety, and assumed for the cabinet the full responsibility of Mr. Gait's act. The latter gentleman was not bowed down, but defended himself in a speech that was everything a mere outpour of plausibility could possibly be. But, tottering from the moment of its birth, the ministry could not withstand this last shock. It had to deal not less with the uncompromising THE DOMINION OF CANADA. 279 foeman, whose eyes sparkled with the very fire of hostility, than with over-sensitive consciences. It is not likely that the reader has failed to remark, as well as the writer, that an " honourable " gentleman, who, while his party is on the flood- tide of prosperity, can swallow a camel without a grimace, will strain at a gnat when the same party is found on the ebb-tide, -in rounded by reefs and ruin. Perhaps it is only one more of the many wise provisions of the Great Intelligence whose "hand holds the reins of all things," that ruling parties should sometime* grow r weak, else such men as these would never find an opportunity to reveal that they are possessed of conscienc $&. h would be extremely unwise and unprofitable for a man sud- 1' iily to let virtue get the better of him while his party still held a majority of fifty men ; hut tin- case is reversed when the honesty-impulse ean be exhibited while tin- party ship lies soggy in 1 1 1 • * water, and goes down with the defection of two or three of the virtue-stricken crew. Messrs. Dunkin antill holding the reins, deliberated over their position ; but the silence was like that which falls upon wood and dale before the storm breaks. Happily for the public peace, the figure on tiiis occasion held not good. There was no storm after the death-like stillness ; for, after duly considering the situation, Mr. Macdonald reached the conclusion that of the ways open •lution was the best; and with this view the ministers waited on the governor-general. His excellency, after careful deliberation, granted the request of his advisers. If the writer were one of those who subscribed to predestination, he would affirm here with rigid religious conviction, that " there's a divinity that shapes our ends, rough-hew them how we will ;"" for with such surprise as one feels who sees a thunderbolt flame out of a clear sky, the public saw a figure stalk upon the scene to end the confusion between parties, and assist in the adoption of a new and wholesome course of public policy. We can hardly tear ourselves away from figures, the apparition forces itself so strongly upon our imagination. It was as if the pope had left Rome, appeared suddenly upon one of our platforms, and begun to read a lecture in favour of the right of private judgment in spiritual things ; as if King John had headed a movement that was seeking for popular liberty. The man who came upon the scene, was no other than George THE DOMINION OF CANADA. 281 Brown. We have not laid ourselves open to the charge, so far, of undue admiration for this politician, but have endeavoured, M we shall strive now, to do him simple, naked justice. It might be open to us, were we disposed merely to censure the public career of Mr. Brown, instead of to endeavour to paint his record, the good and the bad, so far as it is concerned with the main thread of our narrative, just as it is, to say that the course he proposed in the political emergency which had come was not begotten of a well-spring of devotion to the country's interest*, and not that he hated John A. Macdonald and hifl party less, but that lie hated John Sandfield Macdonald more. What he did do, we shall, instead, endeavour to regard as a bright spot in a career of noisy and unscrupulous ambition, and peaoe-distarbing demagogisnv On the day after the ministerial defeat Mr. Brown fell into conversation with Messrs. J. H. Pope and Alexander Morris, supporter! <>f the mini-try. and members respectively for Comp- ton and South Lanark. He gave it as his opinion that a crisis had arrived whieh conld not he overcome by an appeal to the people, and that the time was a fitting one to settle " for ever the constitutional difficulties between Upper and Lower Can- ada." He further expressed his willingness to cooperate- with the existing or any other ministry that would deal promptly and firmly with the matter. The two ministerialists, one of whom had been a staunch advocate of federation, lis- tened to Mr. Brown with a good deal of satisfaction, and before parting from him asked if they might repeat the conversation! to the conservative leaders. He readily consented, and the re- sult was that on Friday, the 17th, Messrs. John A. Macdonald and A. T. Gait waited on Mr. Brown at his rooms in the St, Louis Hotel, stating that they were authorized by the minis- try to invite the cooperation of the liberal leader, with a view to the settlement of differences existing between Upper and Lower Canada. When this proposal had been made, Mr. Brown replied that nothing but the extreme urgency of the pre Ml LIFE OF SIR JOHN A. MACDONALD. crisis could justify tliis meeting — with which observation Mr. Macdonald agreed in a tone of bland irony. The grit chief tln-u intimated that ■ it was quite impossible that he could be a member of any administration at pteaon t, and that even had this been otherwise, he would haw oonoeived it highly objec- tionable that partus who had been so long and so strongly op- posed to each other, as he and MMM members of the adminis- tration had been, should enter the same cabinet. He thought the public mind would be shocked by such an arrant -in cut, bet lit' felt wry Btrongty that the present crisis presented an opportunity of dialing with this question that might never oc- cur again. Both political parties had tried in turn to govern the country, but without success ; and repeated elections only arrayed sectional majorities against each other more strongly than before. Another general election at this moment present- ed little hope of a much altered result ; and he believed that both parties were far better prepared than they had ever been before to look the true cause of all the difficulties firmly in the face, and endeavour to settle the representation question on an •equitable and permanent basis." In reply, Mr. Macdonald said he considered it essential that Mr. Brown should be a member of the cabinet, to give gua- rantees to the opposition and the country of the earnestness of the government. To do justice to Mr. Brown, he did not show any hopeless opposition to the proposal that he should enter the ministry, but suggested that all questions of a personal na- ture, and the necessary guarantees, might be waived for the present, " and the discussion conducted with a view of ascer- taining if a satisfactory solution of the sectional difficulty could be agreed upon." He then requested to know what steps the government proposed towards settling sectional troubles. Promptly, Messrs. Macdonald and Gait informed him that their remedy was " a federal union of all the British North- American provinces " — a project, while not in some details the same as that afterwards adopted, all along very dear to Mr. THE DOMINION OF CANADA. 283 Maedonald, though he did not approve of the methods recently proposed to carry out the object, and had voted against the plan I — " local matters being committed to local bodies, and matters common to all to a general legislature, constituted on the well-understood principles of federal government." With this plan Mr. Brown expressed himself dissatisfied, his desire not being to see a confederation of the provinces, a contin- v which he regarded as impracticable then and remote, but rather to haw accomplished a measure to provide more euuit- able parliamentary representation for Upper ( anada. As there >ion among several writers that Mr. Brown was the parent of confederation, and entered the coalition for the purpose of forwarding the scheme it may be is well to dispel the illusion. The testimony of Mr. Mackenzie, Mr. Brown's grapher, on this point, i> conclusive. After Messi dd and (Jalt had stated what their remedy was, "Mr. Brown," Mr. Mackenzie tells us, at page 89 of his book, " <>]> I that this was uncertain and remote (the confederation •■me), as there were so many bodies to be consulted; and stated that the measure acceptable to Upper Canada would be parliamentary reform based on population, without regard to a separating line between Upper and Lower Canada." Messrs. Miedonald and Gait assured Mr. Brown that his proposal in- volved an impossibility, and after some discussion the latter gentleman was persuaded to accept a compromise in the adop- tion of the federal principle for all the provinces as the larger question, or lor Canada alone, with provision for the admis- sion of the maritime provinces and the North- West territory. The ground having been thus cleared, Mr. Brown stated that he was ready to cooperate with the new government. The utmost credit then to which Mr. Brown is entitled is, not that he brought the union into life, but that he permitted its birth. Quite a different parent had the scheme. To use Bystanders apt epigram, " The father of confederation was dead-lock." 284 LIFE OF SIR JOIIX A. UACDONALD. * On the 30th of the month, business having been hurried through, parliament was prorogued. On the same day the ministerial announcement- \\vn- made. ( leorge Brown entered the government as president of the council, Oliver Mowat as postmaster-general, and Win. McDougall as provincial-secretary. The ordinary affairs of Legislation had little charm now for the coalition ministry, so absorbed were they by the scheme which overshadowed every other question. The tongues of implac- able party foemen for the time were stilled, the questions that had kept the two sections of the province so long in an atti- tude of hostility towards each other, passed for the time from the public memory, and one and all began to dream over this new nationality that was to be given to them. But as one hears, in the stilly moments before the rush of the storm, the croak- ing note of the raven on the turret or the tree-top, so, in the midst of the expectancy which held the people mute, here and there was heard the voice of a politician croaking some evil prophecy. Messrs. Dorion and Holton raised their voices and said in effect that we were plucking green fruit, that the union scheme required yet many years to ripen, and predicted a new brood of discord under the expected regime. Mr. Dunkin croaked an unmistakable note of ruin ; solemnly declaring that we would have under " this confederation " a swarm of trou- bles and heart-burnings far more grievous than the discords we aimed to exorcise. A number of the grits who had followed Mr. Brown all along, while approving of the federation princi- ple, declared that he had sold himself to the liberal-conserva- tive party, and, that, what was worse than the sale, he had gone over " too cheap." They pointed out that while the oppo- sition had a majority of two votes in the legislature they were given only three seats ; but it afterwards became clear that Mr. Brown brought all possible pressure to bear for the admis- sion of a greater number of his friends, and that the govern- ment had decided to stop at this point. THE DOMINION OF CANADA. 285 The most energetic spirit in the federation movement now Mr. John A. Macdonald. It was his hand that made smooth many of the rough ways in the negotiations ; and he in- spired his colleagues with the same faith and enthusiasm in the achievement of the union as he felt himself. His interest in dieme, after the coalition had been accomplished, has been ted at by some prejudiced and superficial writers, while others who affect an anxiety to be friendly, say that he de- serves credit for having beni bo readily to the wishes of the Legislature and the public. The truth is, from the moment that a federation of the provinces had been first discussed, the scheme bad been Mr. Ifacdonald^ fondest dream. Efforts, wrongly made, by politicians who were zealous for the union, lie had seen and disapproved ; believing, and affirming his belief, that it was not proper to jeopardize a project of such overshadowing moment, by affixing t;> it the Btigma of that defeat which was sure to come upon the test of its popularity, at a time when the puhlic mind was not prepared to comprehend its import- ant through all those years that the Upper Canada re- formers cried oat for representation by population, and charged him with lending himself to the French Canadians for the sake of office, he dreamt of the time, when through some such system a- was afterwards adopted, the turmoil would be brought to an end. and that which the majority of the people in his own sec- tion sought be granted, without working injustice to the other portion of the province ; and when the census revealed that there were 300,000 persons more in the upper than in the lower division, he promptly told Mr. Cartier that the day of settle- ment was close at hand. We have seen that while the union maintained, such settlement never could be representation 1 >y population ; that Mr. Macdonald had made some of his most powerful speeches in affirming this position : it is not necessary then to say that the expedient in which he saw a cure was this plan for a confederation. Later on, when, among other delegates, he visited Halifax, he stated that this scheme of l 286 LIFE OF SIR JOHN A. MACDONALD. union had been hifl ideal dream, and that since he saw a possi- bility of its accomplishment be felt that a higher future had been Opened for OS, ami a field worthy the ambition of the Canadian iilalammn Fe4 not alone in his attitude towards thii gieal q nesii on, but bo many other important political '-.the birth of his time, in which he has felt the deep- est interest, has he been regarded hostile. "He will not con- sent to be homed," says one writer, " but no one can say that on any given question his finality of to-day may not be his staffing-point at some future time."* The truth is, Mr. Hac- donald had not proten ded to be wiser than his time, or Bought to move faster than the people. He showed then, as e since, that he regards it to be his duty in the governing place, not to create, but to obey public opinion. Many a time when pressed to move this way or that has he assured impulsive col- leagues, " The fruit is green and not fit to pluck," and that the harmless thunder of an unpopular orator, or a newspaper awry, is not public opinion, any more than one swallow is a summer. He mightwrite in living letters in bis political arms as his motto, Carpe diem. Unlike the unthinking plodder who launches his skiti' when the tide sets against him, Mr. (let us say Sir John, for we are anticipating) Macdonald only puts out when the current is with him, and the " furrow follows free." Some men are for ever wrestling with the winds and the tides of public opinion, because they have not been given the gift to see in what direc- tion the currents flow ; but after they have been driven by the adverse elements, which are stronger than they are, and which have always conquered, and will always overcome whoso is reckless enough to battle with them, and see their opponents progressing with flowing sail, they sneer and cry, "He has waited for the wind and the tide. He is only a creature of expedient. We have not regarded the tempest or the waves, but have buffeted them " — and, let us add, had shipwreck. ♦ Charles Lindsey, in Dent's " Portrait Gallery." THE DOMINION OF CANADA, 287 " We do not wait till public opinion is in our favour, but set boldly out, wrestle with it," — and, let us add for them again, get ashore. This has been Mr. John A. Macdonald's pre-emin- ence : and if standing patiently by, and waiting till public opinion is ready for him to secularize clergy reserves, or con- summate a union of the straggling provinces, is to be a creature of expediency, then such a creature, in the superlative degree,, ia he. Brown's proposal of a coalition Macdonald saw was the favourable turn to the tide which had up to that hour set adversely. Because his efforts for union before would only have been energy wasted, and ■ defeat-tarnish on the project he had, up to this hour, held aloof; beoanso ok I xertions now oonld be turned to triumph, lie not alone joined hands with the unionists, but with heart and head became the Leader of the in-iit, baiting not, or flagging not, as we shall Bee, till his ifteal victory had been won. Let us now, briefly as we may. give the story of the various- steps, from tin- first to the last, of the confederation move- ment. The idea of a federation of the colonies was not a new One, and bad been mooted many times before. Indeed BO early as the time when the New England colonies separated from the empire, an article was introduced into the constitution of the new confederacy authorizing the admission of Canada to the union, should the latter seek such alliance. In 1810 an enter- prising colonist put forward the federation scheme, but politi- cal opinion was in a erode state, and nothing more was heard of the proposition till four years later, when chief-justice Se- well, of Quebec, submitted a plan of confederation to the Duke of Kent. The Duke agreed, in a very cordial note, with the suggestions of " my dear Sewell," and then pointed out that the chief-justice was mistaken as to the number of legislatures in the British North American possessions. Although the justice had " quite overlooked " one province, he was satisfied that bis scheme was a masterpiece of grasp and detail. In 1827 the legislative council of Upper Canada originated resolutions aim- 986 LIFE OF SIR JOHN A. MACDONALD. ing at a union of the two Canadian provinces, suggesting like- Wise a union of the whole four provinces of North America under a vice-royalty, with %fae twittfi of that great and glori- tabric, the best monument of human wisdom, the British constitution." This movement exploded in rhetorical thunder, and nothing more was heard of tin* scheme in public places till 1 . 1 Durham had been disgraced, and had presented his report. Prom that hour the question engrossed, more or less, the public mind, and in 184-0 the North American League, a body which bore asomewhat similar relation to the British North American provinces, as those three T<«>lry-stivet tailors did to the city of London, met in Toronto and discussed the question, though the immediate object of the gathering was an application of the federal principle to the two provinces of Canada. In 1854 the legislature of Nova Scotia adopted resolutions recommending a closer union of the British North-American colonies. From Una period the imperial government seem to have set their hearts upon a federation of the provinces. Leading statesmen warmly recommended the measure in the house of commons, and the foremost newspapers took up a similar tone. But the plan approved by the Nova Scotia legislature was not for a federation of all the provinces, but a maritime union, compre- hending under one government, Nova Scotia, New Brunswick and Prince Edward Island. In 1864, the legislatures of these provinces passed resolutions authorizing the appointment of delegates to meet during the autumn, to discuss the project of maritime union. At once it occurred to Mr. Macdonald that the meeting could be turned to account by the government of Canada in promoting the general confederation scheme. The maritime-province delegates were to meet, in September, at Charlottetown, and thither repaired eight members of the Canadian administration. The delegates at this conference were as follows : — From Nova Scotia — The Hon. Charles Tupper, M.P.P., pro- vincial secretary ; the Hon. Wm. A. Henry, M.P.P., attorney- THE DOMINION OF CANADA. 289 general ; the Hon. Robert Barry Dickie, M.L.C. ; the Hon. Jonathan McCully, M.L.C. ; the Hon. Adams G. Archibald, MJP.P. From New Brunswick— The Hon. S. L. Tilley, M.P.P., pro- vincial secretary; the Hon. John M. Johnston, M.P.P., attor- _, r eneral ; the Hon. John Hamilton Gray, M.P.P. ; the Hon. Edward B. Chandler, M.L.C. ; the Hon. W. H. Steeves, M.L.C. Prom Canada — The Bon. John A. Macdonald, M.P.P., at- torney-general, UppeH Sanada ; the Hon. George Brown, M.P.P., president of executive council ; the Hon. Alexander T. Gait, MP. P., minister of finance; the Hon. George E, Cartier, M.P.P., attorney-general, Lower Canada; the Bon. Hector L Lange- viu, M.P.P., solicitor-general of Lower Canada ; the Hon. William licDougall, provincial secretary; the Hon. Thomas 1 > 'Aroy McGee, M.P.P., minister of agriculture. Prince Edward [aland was represented by the Bon. Col. ILPP., president of the executive council; tin- Hon. Ed- ward Palmer, If. L.C., attorney-general j the Bon. W. 11. Pope, M.1\P., colonial secretary ; the Hon. George Coles, M.P.P. ; the Hon. A. A. Macdonald, M.L.C. The Canadian ministers not having been appointed to con- fer respecting legislative union, had no official standing at the Island conference, but they were invited to join in the discus- sion, of which courtesy they vigorously availed themselves. "The Canadians descended upon as," said one of the Islanders afterwards ; " and before they were three days among us we forgot our own scheme and thought only about theirs." No longer did any one speak of maritime union ; all were absorbed by the greater project of a general federation, guaranteeing local and joint control. " This scheme of ours," the attorney- general for Canada West observed to some of his colleagues as they walked home to their hotel after the discussion had been a short time in progress, "like Aaron's serpent, has swal- lowed all the rest." The objections that still exist to maritime union, existed then ; the impossibility of fixing the capital in 290 LIFE OF SIN JoIIX A. MACVOXALD. one province without provoking the animosity of the others. There was a way Jjy which this fatal bar might have been set aside, and thai the adoption of the itinerant plan. When th«' free achool Bystcin was introduced through the provinces, one of the most formidable obstacles to its operation often proved to be the problem, Where ia the teacher to board? and many a district, rather than see one family monopolize the honours of the u master's " board and lodging would con- damn itself t-> the privation of having no school at all. But as a way was found out of this dilemma by the teacher "hoard- ing around the deestrict," a possibility of legislative union for our maritime brethren i^ Mi^gested by the idea that the government might board arounl the union, spending say, four years at Fredericton, as many sessions at Halifax, and a like term in Charlottetown. But, putting levity aside, we believe that the day is coming when the three provinces named, and Quebec with them, must unite in a maritime union, if the}',, one and all, would not be overshadowed, in the coming years, by the provinces developing with such rapid strides in the west. So completely did the general confederation scheme absorb the maritime idea that the convention closed only to reassem- ble at Quebec again, on a date to be fixed by the governor- general of Canada. On a bright September morning, full of high hopes of a future great Canadian nation, in which, doubt- less, each member of the convention on board the steamer Victoria as she ploughed along Northumberland Strait, was fashioning out for himself a high place, the party sailed away for Halifax. Here they were received with enthusiastic wel- come, the city being literally en fete during their stay. A sumptuous banquet was prepared in the dining-room of the Halifax hotel, at which Dr. Tupper, provincial secretary for Nova Scotia, and the second ablest public man in the province, presided. Making due allowance for after-dinner exagger- ation, which is as the bubble on the champagne which gives it THE DOMINION OF CANADA. 291 birth, these speeches showed a careful mastery of the situation ; many of the predictions made have already been fulfilled, while the consummation of others is assured to us by fair promise. If. Cartier, who was the only member that dipped into Virgil for allusion and jewels, glanced into the inexorable future and there saw a great British -American nation with the fair pro- vinces of Nova Scotia and New Brunswick m the arms of the national body to embrace the wealth which the Atlantic's commerce would bring, with Prince Edward Island as the regal head, and for a body the provinces of Canada stretching fn.m the sea in the east to the shadow of the Rocky Moun- tains in the west. It was reserved to later years to complete this national giant, when, to extend M. Cartier's Bgure, British Columbia became the national legs, legs that a cynic might say, -hall take the pains here to forestall him, may day, as they have lately threatened, walk away from the trunk to a destiny of their own. Mr. John A. liaodonald made a telling Speech. 4 While he took a hopeful view of what the confederation would bring, he nowhere allowed his imagin- ation to take flight with his judgment He calmly, though hopefully, examined the prospect, and declared that the con- summation of the union had been for many years his fondest lr. am. From Halifax the delegates passed over to New Brunswick, visiting the pretty little capital Fredericton, where a conference was held with Lieutenant-Governor Gordon. St. John extended its hospitalities to the " confederates," as the visitors were called, and the delegates departed for their homes, the Canadians above all jubilant over the success that had attended their visitation. Mr. John A. Macdonald, curiously enough, is reported to have said, after the Halifax banquet, to one of his colleagues, " I admire this Tupper ver}' much ; it us to me if you get him interested in any movement, he is not likely to falter, or to be hindered by small obstacles." Of * See Appendix " F." LIFE OF SIR JOJIX A. MACDONALD. the New Brunswick d< Mr. Maedonald and his col- leagues talked much, and he and they seemed taken with Mr. B, LTilley, the provincial secretary, for the clear decisiveness of his vi«w. and the sincerity of hifl manners. There is no reason to suppose that, daring the many yean since that political good fortune has thr< vvn Mr. Macdonald in such close contact with those two distinguished maritime-province men, he has changed his mind. ( m the 10th of October, the day named by the governor- general for the meeting of the conference in Quebec, the dele- gates had assembled in that quaint city, looking so antique that it might be regarded as having come to birth at a day as far in the past as saw the origin of those grand old cliffs that sentinel the hi surely flood of the St. Lawrence, which, apparently, is here at pause on its way to the great sea. The number of delegates had been increased by the presence of Hon. (now Sir) Frederick B. T. Carter, speaker of the New- foundland house of assembly, Hon. Ambrose Shea, leader of the opposition in the same chamber, and Sir Etienne P. Tache*, A. Campbell, Oliver Mowat, James Cockburn, and J. C. Chapais, from the Canadian cabinet. The conference was organized by the election of Sir E. P. Tache* to the chair. The provincial secretaries of the several provinces were appointed honorary secretaries to the conference, and Major Hewitt Bernard was chosen executive secretary. Then the doors of the conference- chamber were closed, and the momentous discussion went on, without any one raising his voice to say nay. When the con- clave was ended, though no word had gone abroad to the public of what had been done, it was . surmised that a plan of federal union had been adopted, and would in due time be submitted to the imperial government. A round of hospitalities was in- augurated, and at a sumptuous dinner, given by the Quebec Board of Trade, some members, under the influence of enthu- siasm 4 and champagne, were sore pressed to retain their porten- tous secrets. Dr. Tupper spoke there, dilating, in his own THE DOMINION OF CAXAVA. 293 robustious and impassioned way, on the advantages the pro- posed confederation must derive from union with his little peninsular province. Hon. S. L. Tilley followed in a speech orcible, though equally as convincing. He did not come there, he assured his hearers, M a suppliant praying for Ignition of a pauper province, but as the representative of what would prove one of the richest and most desirable possessions of the confederation Hon. Mr. Carter, of New- foundland, spoke in his usual terse and telling style some good words for his little colony — the most ancient of#them all — standing like a solitary virgin out in those cold Atlantic waters, fringed in the rammer time with fogs, and buffeted by the rude storms of winter. Mr. Carter was an able exponent of his country's Importance, but he was mistaken when he stated that his brother Newfoundlanders would account it ■ "loss to be left out of the union." Perhaps the very ablest speech was that made at the public banquet in Quebec some days later by the brilliant and level-headed island politician, Hon. Ambrose Shea. He assured his hearers that in the event of his colony entering the union compact, the islanders would not be the only gainers. He dwelt at some Length on the riches of tho seas around his island province, and spoke with just pride of the hardy character of the thirty thousand seamen who reaped the harvest from the waters, and of those brave fellows who ranged the ice-fields for the seal treasures. It was a time when military aspeets influenced statesmen. The mightiest civil war the world had ever known had convulsed the continent, and while the delegates were yet in Quebec, rumours of threat- ened invasion were on everybody's lips. Mr. Shea brought forward a telling military consideration, in recommending hiq colony to the union, which elicited ringing cheers from tho auditors. " In considering a union of the provinces," he said, " it becomes necessary to take into account the position of the proposed confederation with regard to the safety and defence. In this view, the position of Newfoundland becomes 294 LIFE OF SIR JOHN A. MACDONALD. one of marked significance, ( tar island, as you know, stretches across the Gulf of St. Lawrence, commanding l>oth passages by which the vasi bade of the Gulf region and the St. Law- rence river finds its way to the ocean. Now, were this colony in the hands «>f a hostile power in war time, the trade of Canada would be hermetically scaled as if perpetual winter reigned here." Mr. Shea, whose Bowing and impressive style of oratory at once captivated his hearers, and caused at least one shrew. 1 delegate to say, " He will be an acquisition to the Canadian parliament, " was not so sanguine <>f the reception the anion scheme would meet with the colonists; and frankly stated that the question had not yet been discussed in the [aland press, and that himself and Mr. Carter had spoken only for themselves. And it so happened that while the two talented Islanders were in Quebec, a colonial " poet," always hurthened with the weight of the people's woes, sat at home brooding much over the union scheme, and finally broke forth into verses, some of the more brilliant of which, as presented some months later on the bastings, were injunctions to the colonists to — " Remimber the day That Carter and Shea Crossed the say- To barter away The rights of Tirra Nova." When the two delegates reached the island they found that many of the inhabitants had taken the alarm. Several ora- tors whose speech revealed their relationship to that land whence a certain saint expelled the frogs and snakes, went noising around the coast, denouncing the " shkeemers " who had been in ■ Canady tryin' to sell their counthry." The in- habitants of Irish birth or extraction showed the greatest hos- tility to the scheme, because the demagogues had led them to believe that it would involve all the hardships and wrongs of the union between England and Ireland. It is not strange that the more rampant u antis " were the thousands who could THE DOMINION OF CANADA. 205 neither read nor write, and who lived huddled away in the little nooks around the coast, fishing for cod in summer, shoot- ing game, and hauling firewood with dogs, in the winter. How- ever, we are somewhat anticipating, and must tell in the proper place how this cold virgin resented the proposal for political wedlock. Before the delegates dispersed, they paid a visit to the capi- tal of this New Dominion, of which, it might be said, they were now wildly dreaming. They set out on their journey by train, accompanied by lady members of their family; but, lured by the beauty which lights and transfigures our scenery in the autumn, they took steamer and journeyed by the Ottawa river. Some of the fair passengers declared they had seen grander scenery, but never anything more lovely. They had; walling their <»wn provinces in, mighty otitis, at whose feet they heard the ocean thunder in storm, and sing songs unspeakably sad and BWeet in the calm. They had bold, airy mountains of their own, sombre forests and rushing ri rars, but never, they said, had they seen anything SO lovely as those groups of mellow islands, robed in the autumn's glory, which at every bend of the river were revealed to view. The sun set before the passage of the river was made, and as the soft twilight came stealing over wood and dale, mingling its gloom with the darkling hues of the hills, the scene became enrapturing. The party sat upon the deck till the shadows deepened into night, and the moon climbed over the hills, listening to the murmur of the river shallows, and the hoarse, warning roar of the rapids, one fair lady looking with rapt glance upon the dim hills and shining river flooded in silvery glory, the while gently murmuring, as only a sweet- voiced woman can, who loves nature and sweet verse for its sake, " Blow, breezes, blow, the stream runs fast, The Rapids are near, and the daylight's past." The party was met at the little wilderness-city by a torch- light procession, and escorted to Russell's hotel, around which 206 LIFE OF SII! JOHN A. MACDONALD. an enthusiastic Mflnmhlsffo had gathered Tlio pet of the mul- titude was Mr. John A. Macdonald, wlio was called for lustily by hundreds of voices. After Borne time he appeared at one of the windows of the hotel, thanking the assemblage, in a few happy sentences, for their welcome, and expressing the hope that at a day not far distant, Ottawa might be the capital city of a great British-American confederation. The citizens were politic enough not to let their visitors depart without seeing the natural beauties which abounded in their neighbourhood- Through the bright, cold November morning, one of Mr. Dick- inson's trim little steamers took the party three miles down the river, and then turning, ran up, further than ever boat had gone before, into the boiling cauldron at the foot of Chaudiere Falls. Leaving Ottawa, which had extended her fullest courtesies, the party proceeded westward through the province, receiving cordial welcome and lavish hospitality at Kingston, Toronto, Hamilton and other cities on the route. The delegates then returned to their respective homes, eager to get before the legislatures, and propose the scheme which had filled them with such high hope. We bid good-bye to our visitors at Quebec, and turn to watch the fate of the union in Canada. Before parliament met, Mr. Mowat had grown weary of politi- cal life, and accepted a vice-chancellorship on the judicial bench of Upper Canada. It is needless, almost, to tell the reader, that in time the chancellor grew weary of the bench, and en- tered public life again. We must take the liberty of stating that we regard the exchange of the judicial seat for party place a decensus averni, and an act bearing a close analogy to a bishop leaving the episcopal chair, and turning railway direc- tor. Mr. Mowat's case is not an exception in Ontario, but a plurality of examples only makes the matter worse. The man who is taken from among his fellows, and elevated to the chair of justice, bears, in the public eye, a solemn stamp and seal, which removes him from the influences and interests which sway other men. He is as one who renounces the world's ways. THE DOMINION OF CANADA. 207 and. entering the sanctuary, devotes himself to the exclusive work of religion. He consecrates himself to justice, is regarded in a different li^ht from other men ; is assumed to have no party prejudices, and to be an unmoved spectator of the strag- gle between individuals and parties, and all things whatsoever that are begotten of difference of opinion. But when this man, so consecrate to justice, stands up before the. public, lays by his sacred robes, and, stepping down Prom the judgment seal enters the world, and plunges Into the mire of politics, a shock la given to our honest faith in the sanctity of the bench ; tin solemn judge, in ermine and judicial insignia, expounding and pronouncing, does not awe us any longer: for \\ e dream of a day yet to cone- when we may find him figuring at some de- grading political intrigue in a city ward, or endeavourin bribe an archbishop. Mr. \V. l\ Howland, who was a gentle- man of ability and integrity, became postmaster- general in Mr. Mowat's place. Parliament met on the 19th of February, and, in the minis- opening speech, which the governor read, the confedera- tion scheme was warmly recommended to the house. The union question absorbed the almost exclusive attention of par- liament. Some of the ablest speeches ever delivered in a Canadian legislature were heard during the session. On the ministerial side, Messrs. (John A.) Macdonald, Brown, Cartier and McGee, supported the question with marked ability, while with scarcely less skill and power Messrs. (John Sandfield) Macdonald, 1 luntington, Dorion, Holton and Dunkin opposed it. All that careful research and skilful manipulation of fact and figures could urge against the scheme, was put forward with impassioned force by these gentlemen. An eastern writer tells a story of a dervish who had the power in form, face and voice, of personating whomsoever he willed. The wizard had a taste for political intrigue, and one day, as grand vizier, learnt momentous .secrets from the pasha, and again in the form of some favoured sheik discovered intrigues, which, in lea *298 L1FK OF BIB JOHN A, MACDOKALD. with a dating an. I ambitious accomplice, he turned to his own advantage. He conk), indeed, the story goes, take the shape of the loveliest occupant of the harem, and once, in the guise of a beautiful houri, with eyes like eight, and heart-entangling hair, made the amorous prince lay hare every wile and secret of his heart. The story, we believe, to be an allegory representing dramatic power. The dramatic quality in the possession of a polititian is not less dangerous than tie- metamorphosing power of the dervish, fof in • stupid, if not in a vicious, cause, the public may become a victim to horror, virtue and awful in- dignation counterfeited. It appears that Mr. Dunkin, at the hand of blind, indiscriminate nature, was the possessor in some measure of the dramatic instinct. It is hardly worth while to talk so much about his powers, or what he did, or to go to East- ern lore for illustration, but nevertheless it may be said that he counterfeited, in a very clever fashion, a vast amount of horror and dread of the confederation scheme. " All that a well-read public man," says Hon. John H. Gray, in his work on " Con- federation," " all that a thorough sophist, a dexterous logician, a timid patriot, or a prophet of evil coidd array against the project, was brought up and pressed against the scheme." It almost appears from reading Mr. Dunkin's utterances, that he was opposed to the union, for at times he breaks away from his art and becomes as impassioned as Cassandra, who sees the swallow's nest fall from the wall of Troy, while the wooden horse of the Greeks seeks admission at the gates. On Fri- day the 10th of March the discussion had ended, and attorney- general Macdonald, rising, offered the following motion, " That an humble address be presented to her Majesty, praying that she may be graciously pleased to cause a measure to be sub- mitted to the imperial parliament for the purpose of uniting the colonies of Canada, Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, Prince Edward Island and Newfoundland in one government, with provisions based on certain resolutions, which were adopted at a conference of delegates from the said colonies, held at the city THE DOMINION OF CAN A DA. 290 of Quebec, on the 10th of October, 1865." This resolution, after some discussion, was carried by a vote of 91 to 33. Of the minority, four were from the up p^r proyin^, and^f t,hp L majority fJ ft y-four T The question might not have fared so well in the lower province, but that M. Cartier was an enthusiastic champion of union, and was supported by the priests almost to a man. A motion similar to that carried in the house of com- mons had been introduced in the legislative council by tin- premier, girJSL P. TacJie, and carried by a y_ote of three .tojanc. Parliament] 1 on the 18 th of March, and during the month following Messrs. (J. A.) Macdonald, Gait, Brown and Cartier, proceeded to England, to confer with the imperial government, and promote tie* scheme of confederation. The most active member in forwarding the measure was Mr. ftiac- donald, who assured his colleagues that it would he impossible to go back again to the old and troublous order. Up to this point, and for some years later, it may be stated, the attorney- • differed from his colleagues as to the details of the confederation plan. He believed that the true system was one parliament having supreme control, and a system of muni- cipal institutions in each province with enlarged functions. To this view his colleagues were determinedly hostile, expressing their preference for provincial legislatures, and a controlling joint authority. " I prefer that system too," argued Mr. Mac- donald, " but what I fear is that it may be found impracticable. I fear there will arise a collision of authority between the pro- vineial legislatures and the general parliament, which would be an evil worse than that which we seek now to remedy." His colleagues were of the opinion that this danger could be averted by assigning to each parliament, at the outset, its spe- cial functions, giving it as M. Cartier expressed it, its "chart of jurisdiction," whence no difficulty could arise. History has vindicated the correctness of Mr. Macdonald's surmises, and weighty opinion does now assert that we ought to have had the system he advocated then, and that we are too much governed. 300 LIFE OF SIR JOHN A. MACDOXALD. • At present we have," Bays the greatest living English writer/ "for a population of four millions, eight kings, one central and n provincial, as many parliaments, and sixty-five ministers <>f the crown; while England is content with a single king, a single parliament— the members of which are not paid — and a !e cabinet, seldom containing so many members as the cabinet at Ottawa. We have also judges and chief-justices as the stars of heaven in number." Leading < anadian minds have begun to ponder these fignrea 1- ->ucha plenitude of governn tent needful they ask themselves ; if not, then why should it abide I Meanwhile the inhabitants of New Brunswick had taken alarm, and a very gale of opposition to the confederation movement swept over the province. Before heavy guns are put to the ordeal of battle, they are tested by tremendous charges; and boilers used for generating steam are subjected to enormous pressure, to guard against ruinous explosion in the day of trial. When the delegates shut themselves uj> in their secret chamber at Quebec, a sacred silence was imposed upon each one present till the result of the deliberations should be made known in the proper way through the legisla- tures. There was no means of testing the secret-bearing capa- city of members, else some explosions might have edified the early stages of the proceedings. Nothing in the way of casu- alty occurred, however, during the tour through the western province, though some of the delegates did look the while so important with their cargo of mystery as to remind one of a heavy August cloud, full of lightning and thunder, that may at any moment burst. But when one of the number reached his home in Prince Edward Island, the secret had grown so oppres- sive that he felt it would be impossible for him to contain himself. When the pressure became intolerable, he went, in a sort of reckless despair, and unburthened to a newspaper editor. Within three hours the terms of the Quebec scheme ♦ Prof. Goldwin Smith, in " The Bystander " for March, 1880. THE DOMINION OF CANADA. 301 were flashed from end to end of British North America. The New Brunswickers took instant alarm. Trifling discrepancies were magnified into frightful proportions. The demagogue cried out against "taxation," and tlic conservative against a sacrilegious meddling with the constitution." In Marc h, Jfifi& . aeraJ election was held, and 80 hitter was the feeling against union. JJia t not one of the Quebec delegates was electe d. An anti-confederate ministry was formed by Hen. now Sir) A. J. Smj£h, and George L Hathaway. The result of the election in New Brunswick told heavily on the fate of the question else- where. The nni<»n enthusiasm of Nova Scotia was instantly chilled; tic legislature seemed disposed to hold aloof from general federation plan* and passed resolutions favouring alone a union of the maritime provinces, j^rjmiii- K J ward Is — ]nm l sn l 'h-nly d-'vl"p"d n turMd^nt Tittfo t i fiinp **! ' of her ow n ; spiri tedly refused to have anything to do with confederation, and re pudiated the action of her delegates at the Quebec con- ferenc e. Newfoundland took no steps, and the ministry waited till the other provinces had set the example of entering the union before submitting the t" August. On the ,'iQt . h of Ju jjf, some excitement was caused in political circles by the death of the pivmier, Kir^Etienne P . Tache *, and as the meeting of the legislature was to take plaee in a few day>, it became iniperative that blfl successor should be appointed as speedily as possible, The senior member of the cabinet, and bej ond any comparison, its mosi able and eligible member, was the attor- ney-general-west, and for this gentleman tlie governor-general promptly sent, requesting him to assume the place of the de- ceased leader. Mr. Macdonald offered no objections, but, on the contrary, believed thai he was entitled by reason of his seniority in the cabinet, to the vacant premiership. He waited on George Brown to whom he stated what had passed between himself and Lord Honck, but the grit chieftain refined to con- to the arrangement, giving as his reason that the govern- ment hitherto had been a coalition of three political parties, each represented by an active party leader, but all acting under one chief, who had ceased to be moved by strong party feelings or personal ambition. Mr. Macdonald, M. Cartier and himself on the contrary, he maintained, were regarded as party leaders, with party feelings ami aspirations; and to place any one of i in an attitude of superiority over the others, with the ad- vantage of the premiership, would, in the public mind, lessen security of good faith, and seriously endanger the existence of the coalition. He refused, therefore, to accept Mr. Macdon- ald as premier, and suggested the appointment of some gentle- 304 UFM <>F SIB JOHN A. MACDONALD. man of good standing in the Legislative council. Tlie grit ler'a motives, the reader can see as well as ourselves, were partly patriotic, but above all they were selfish Jt was natural that he should be jealous of the ascendancy of Mr. Macdonald, hoi it would have been inure creditable bad be frankly said >o, instead of trying t<» bide his real motive behind the tbin d of argument, thai sir Btienne Taehd was a colourless politician, without strong party feeling. Mr. Macdonald, very calmly and clearly, pointed out, in reply t" Mr. Brown's objec- tion, that at the time the coalition was effected, in 18G4, Sir Btienne Taehlheld the }>>sition of premier, with bimself as leader in the lower house, and of the Upper Canada section of tbf government ; thai Sir Btienne was not selected at the time of the coalition to the leadership as a part of the agreement for the coalition, but that be bad been previously, as then, the head of the conservative government, and was accepted by all his Lower-Canada colleagues without change. This it will be seen cut away the ground completely from under Brown's con- tention; after which Mr. Macdonald stated that he had not much personal feeling in the matter, and that if he had he thought it to be his duty to overcome such feeling for the sake of carrying out the great scheme, so happily commenced, to a successful issue. He would, therefore, readily stand aside, and waive his pretensions to the premiership ; and then suggested the name of M. Cartier for the vacancy. Mr. Brown said he could not decide on this proposal without seeing his friends ; and went away to consult Messrs. McDougall and Howland. The result of the conference was that M. Cartier was not acceptable either, after which Mr. Macdonald informed Mr. Brown that he and M. Cartier had decided on offering the premiership to Sir Narcisse Belleau. To this Brown replied that he was still un- satisfied, that his party would not have chosen Sir Narcisse ; but he added : " Since we are equally with you desirous of pre- venting the scheme for the confederation of British America receiving injury from the appearance of disunion among us, we THE DOMINION OF CANADA, 305 shall offer no objection to his appointment." Sir Narcisse was therefore installed, accepting the original policy of the coalition rnineni The last session of the Canadian parliament, held in Quebec, was opened on the 8th of August. The chief work of the ses- sion was a consideration of the report of the delegates to Eng- land. The government carried its measures by overwhelming majorities, and there seemed no disposition to tolerate the ob- struction of the small band of opposition. During tin- session, the result of the labours of the commission, appointed in 1857, ime a civil code for Lower Canada, was presented to the slature, and M. Cartier introduced a hill to carry the same into effect. The late Mr. S. .1. Watson, a peculiarly vigorous writer, in referring t,> tli»> speech delivered l>y M. Cartier on this occasion, remarks: " Be spoke with the feeling of a man who is conscious that he is placing the crowning stone on an odifice which has cost him years of labour and anxiety to buikL" The code went into operation on the Isi of August in th<- foil*. wing year. The hon after a si >ion; and in the autumn the public offices were removed to the new capital in the wilderness, some one hundred and twenty miles up the Ottawa river. During the summer, for the sake of convenience, the cabinet meetings were held in Montreal. Meanwhile, it was faring ill with George Brown in the cabinet. "The giant of the platform," says Bystander, "is apt to shrink into toss imposing dimensions when placed at the council board and pitted mind to mind against shrewd and able men who are not to be swayed by rhetorical thunder. It was always said that the southern slave-owner never was half so happy at Washington, even in the hour of his political ascen- dancy, as on his own plantation where he was absolutely lord and master of all around him. Mr. Brown's position, it may be ily believed, was more pleasant in the sphere where, instead of finding his supremacy always contested, he ruled with des- potic sway, and could visit dissent from his opinion with the 306 LIFE OF SIR JOHN A. MACDONALD. lash." His position began to grow so intolerable, that the vir- tue which prompted him to enter the government^ and give his pledge to support the ministry till the confederation scheme wifl beyond danger, began to fade out of him, and lie only sought a pretext for resignation. It appears, and it is not greatly to- be wondered at, that Sir Narcisse Belleau was only the figure- l of the administration, and that attorney -general Macdon- ald's was the ruling mind. Of Mr. Brown's personal unfriend- liness, we might say his hatred, towards Mr. Macdonald, we liav. already heard, as shown in his refusal to ratify the latter gentleman's appointment to the premiership ; and now that his enemy, d e spite this protest, was the virtual premier, the mind which inspired, and the hand that shaped the policy of the ad- ministration, was a thorn too stinging for him to bear.y One writer says that Mr. Brown should have foreseen all these things before entering the administration, but as we have already shown, Mr. Brown was frequently, when apparently moving according to the dictates of calm calculation, the victim of im- pulse, and always incapable of forecasting probabilities or con- sequences. Duty to some men is as the fixed star that the mariner, sailing over the unknown main, follows with unfalter- ing faith till it leads him to his haven ; but it is clear in the record that with all the robust honesty and sense of right which Mr. Brown possessed, this higher, and finer moral duty was not to him a constant star. Strong and clear appeared his duty when he came to conservative ministers and proposed a coali- tion ; promptly did he follow then what he deemed his duty was ; and that, so far, he did honourably, we might say nobly, is by nothing so strongly proven as in the protests entered by that school of politicians, to which, by his own newspaper, he had given life. But not far did he travel on his way when he lost faith in the virtue of the star, faltered, dropped off, and covered an honourable beginning with an ignominious ending Let us not anticipate, however, but see exactly what he did. THE DOMINION OF CANADA. 307 The termination of the reciprocity treaty, as those who have borne the dates in mind remember, was now at hand, and the commercial interests of the provinces demanded that the gov- ernment should employ all possible means towards securing renewal. Overtures which had been made, were treated with contempt at Washington, so, at the suggestion of the imperial government, a " Confederate Council on Commercial Treaties," and comprising representatives from all the British North American provinces, was held during the autumn of 18G5, at Quebec. This council, among whose members was Mr. George Brown, recommended that a deputation should be sent to Wash- ington, to endeavour to effect a renewal. While Mr. Brown was absent from Ottawa on public business, Mr. Howland and Mr. Gait were sent to Washington to negotiate there with the committee of ways and mean* [nasmnch as Mr. Howland had not been a member of the confederate council, and Mr. Brown had, the latter gentleman regarded the preference of the other as a personal slight, and a snffid use for withdrawing himself from the cabinet. It will be seen that a very filmy ; 1 obscured Mr. Brown's star of duty. A principle that can- not withstand a personal slight, and one of such a nature as this, is surely not worth the having. But in view of Mr. Brown's tuhseqnent attitude towards the treaty question, it will be ob- • i \ed that Mr. Macdonald acted with his usual discretion in refusing to send to negotiate a treaty a man who was hostile to the very proceedings which it would be his duty to carry out. On learning that Howland had been sent to Washington, Brown at once resigned his seat in the ministry, and could not be in- duced by any pressure to alter his decision. It appears that the affront received was not Mr. Browns only ground of com- plaint against the government. Of the ministerial policy witli leet to the Washington treaty, he strongly disapproved. He did not believe that we ought to go to Washington as suitors, but that Washington ought to come to us. In other words he was not willing that Mahomet should go up to the mountain, but 308 LIFE OF SIR JOIJy .!. MACDONALD. contended that the mountain ought do comedown to Mahomet. That this excellent view had taken possession of him is clear from the following extract of a speech which he delivered dur- ing the next session of parliament. " I was," In- said, " as much in favour of a renewal of reciprocity u any member of this house, hut 1 wanted ■ Bair treaty ; and we shou Id not overlook the fact while admitting its benefits, that the treaty was at- tended with some disad vantages to us. I contend that we should n«>t have gone to Washington as suitors, for any terms they were pleased to give as. We were satisfied with the treaty, and the American government should have come to us with a proposition since they, not us, desired a change." Of course nobody believes that Mr. John A. Macdonald sent delegates to Washington begging for " any terms they were pleased to give In a little w T hile Mr. Brown passed from the transition state, and was pouring red-hot broadsides into the government. 11 ss political history ever told of such another man? No impartial writer hesitates to think if there may be found any use for the man's course ; one might almost have fancied Alexander Mackenzie shrinking with his brush. Says Colonel Gray : " Either he (Mr. Brown) ought not to have joined the government or he ought not to have left it at that time. The people sustained him in the first ; they condemned him in the latter. The reason he gave no one accepted as the real reason, and his opponents did not hesitate to say that he left the go- vernment because he was not permitted to be its master." One balm only now could have healed the wounds of Mr. Brown, and that the loyalty of his reform colleagues. But in the dark hour these deserted him. Mr. Howland openly disap- proved of his leader's course, and when Mr. McDougall returned to Canada, from which he had been absent on a mission of trade, he endorsed the course of Mr. Howland. It may be said here that the mission to Washington was a failure, and that no further attempt to secure reciprocity was made till several years after confederation. THE DOMINION OF CANADA. 309 The last session of the provincial parliament met at Ottawa on the 8th of June. The ministry's speech expressed the hope that the union scheme would soon bewnfcdtctocompli, and that the next parliament would embrace an assemblage not only of the federate representatives of Canada, but of every colony in British North America. A shiver had run through the public with the tidings of the invasion by O'Neil's ruffians, and on the assembling of the legislature an act suspending the Habeas Corpus for one year was hurriedly passed ; also a measure pro- viding for the protection ol Lower Canada against invasion. There was brisk discussion upon some of the government measures, but the opposition found themselves In compari- son with their opponents as " tli.it small infantry warred on by i -raies;" and hence, as the session wore on, Learned not to offer opposition where nothing was to be gained but a crown of ridicul 1 ries of resolutions defining the constitution of Upper and Lower < 'anada under the proposed confederation, and which subsequently were, in great measure, incorporated in the imperial act, were passed, and likewise a tariff pro- vision for the admission of such commodities as boots and shoes, ready-made clothing, saddlery and harness, which had hitherto, by virtue of the act of 1859, paid a duty of twenty- five per cent., at a duty of fifteen per cent. ; while, to stimulate native manufacture, a number of raw materials were put upon the free list. To meet the deficiency which must result in the revenue, an increased impost was placed upon whiske}'. Before the house arose a difference, suppressed for some time, between the finance minister, Mr. A. T. Gait, and Mr. EL L. Langevin, on the subject of education in Lower Canada came to a head, and resulted in the resignation of the former gentle- man, who, however, loyally supported the government in its general policy, while feeling obliged to so far differ from it on a particular (pnst'ion. Mr. Howland took Mr. Gait's port- folio, and Mr. solicitor-general Langevin became postmaster- neral in the place of the new finance minister. 310 LIFE OF SIR JOHN A. MACDONALD. Meanwhile, roaooti had resumed her sway in New Brunswick and Nova Scotia. In New Brunswick, shortly after the blind godctofl had scored her victory, opinion began to revolt against thr counsel by winch it had hitherto been guided respecting the great question at issue, and which, in its an ti -progressive and dark-age press had appealed to the condition of Ireland under union for witness against the wisdom of the confederation scheme. The public in a calm and sensible mood pondered the question over, and remembered among other things the story of the bundle of rods, which when fastened together could not be broken, while each rod, tested singly, proved to be a frail and unresisting thing. But they thought beyond the confines of figure and allegory, and were eager for an opportunity to dis- card the progress-brakes which had assumed the government of the province. In I860*, the legislature of New Brunswick met under exciting circumstances. The province had been threatened with invasion by the Fenians, and, not unnaturally, the public mind exaggerated small danger into great propor- tions. There was some reason to suppose, and strong supposi- tion, that the ministry which had assumed power by virtue of opposition to the union, was not composed entirely of members deadly foemen to the ruffians threatening the province. Gover- nor Gordon, in the speech opening the legislature, announced that it was the earnest wish of the Queen that the provinces should unite in one confederacy, and strongly urged the ques- tion upon the legislature. The Smith-Hatheway administra- tion was willing to meet the royal wish half way, provided that New Brunswick obtained better terms in the compact than those offered in the Quebec scheme. But the public were not disposed to abide by the half-way marches of the ministry, or even to tolerate its existence. The legislative council, strange to say, proved that on occasion it may be useful, by passing an address expressing the desire that the imperial government might unite New Brunswick and the other provinces in a fed- erative union. The ministry were obliged to resign, and the TEE DOMINION OF CANADA. 311 governor called on Mr. (now Sir) Leonard Tilley to form an administration. A dissolution followed, and to the same length which the province had before gone in opposing confederation, it now went in supporting the scheme. This election had a marked influence on the fortunes of confederation in other quarters. " The destiny of British North America," indeed, says Mr, Archer, " was decided in New Brunswick." Nova Scotia shook off her torpor, and appointed delegates to proceed to London, to perfect a measure of union. Meanwhile the little province in the ( Julf remained refractory, while her more ragged sister out on the edge of the Atlantic was listless, save for the harrowing "poetry n of her Ssherman-bards, and the metaphys- ical llux of a Hebrew scholar. The little meadow province afterwards fell before the wooer, but the "ancient colony "chose perpetual celibacy. Little Tom the tea haby once found in the middle of the Northern Bea a solitary gair-fowl sitting bob up- right upon the Allalonestone, and iri n g*ng at morn and eve, singin ' And so the poor stone was left all alone, With a fal-lal-la-lady." She was an ancient dame, having no winces, and despising birds who had ; was supremely content with her isolation, and disgusted with the progress of modern times. It seems to us that Newfoundland has attempted to emulate the gair-fowl, preferring that " the poor stone " should be " left all alone," to •casting in her Lot with a young nationality in the spring-bloom of its strength. For the colonists — we are anticipating by a few years — showed their hostility to union, by some unmis- takable signs. When Hon. Ambrose Shea, who had been the island delegate to Quebec, paid a visit to Placentia, the •chief place in his constituency, he was met at the landing by a number of the inhabitants, some bearing pots of hot pitch, and others bags of feathers with which to bedeck "de shkeemer M who tried to "sell his counthry." The writer just remembers tie- 312 LIFE OF SIR JO UN A. MACDONALD. -erne, and never will it Leave his memory. In addition to the zealous" amis " with the tar an. 1 feathers, were about fifty indi- viduals win) s.mnded melancholy insult to the candidate through these large conchs which the fishermen get upon their "hull- tow" trains in summer, and another hand of about thirty, win blew reproaches and derisioii through cow-horns. They heaped y possible insult upon the visitor, raved up and down the landings threatening his life should he attempt to come on shore, till, a% last, pained and disgusted, this man who had been so oftentheir benefactor when famine darkened their homes, who was a statesman of whom any country might have been proud , turned away and never visited the ungrateful spot again. Mr. Shea, however, we may add here, did not drop out of public life, but still, with his brother, the colonial secretary, maintains a leading place in the counsels of his colony, whose interests in him have an able and zealous advocate. In November, 1866, the Canadian delegation, consisting of Messrs. John A. Macdonald, George E. Cartier, A. T. Gait, W. P. Howland, Wm. McDougall and H. L. Langevin, proceeded to England, where they were to meet the Nova Scotia and New Brunswick delegates, to discuss the confederation plan. The Nova Scotia delegates were Messrs. Tupper, Archibald,. Henry, McCully and Ritchie ; those of New Brunswick were Messrs, Tilley, Mitchell, Fisher, Johnson and Robert Duncan AVilmot, the last named gentleman being the present lieu- tenant-governor of the province. The delegates assembled at Westminster palace on the 4th of December, and, by pre- eminence, the chair was given to Hon. John A. Macdonald during the conference. Lord Monck, who had left Canada on a holiday tour, and who was a zealous advocate of union, ren- dered what assistance he could to the delegates and to the im- perial government. The conference sat till the 24th of Decem- ber, after which the assemblage were in a position to proceed with the structure of a constitution. Though some of the ablest men our colonies have ever produced were instrumental in> THE DOMINION OF CANADA. 313 framing the new constitutional charter, Mr. Macdonald, it was readily admitted, was the master-head Many a time during the progress of the negotiations, conflicting interests arose, which, but for careful handling, might have wrecked the scheme ; and here the matchless tact of the attorney-general of Canada West pre-eminently asserted itself. During the conference several modifications were made in the Quebec draft. Several concessions were made to the maritime pro- vinces, and a more uniform and equitable feature given to the whole. The Nova Scotia delegateewere confronted by the colossal tiir ure of Joseph Howe, who poured out a stream of fiery eloquence against the confederation ; but those who were ent say that Dr. Tupper turned the great orator's argu- ments back with BUCh force and clearness that the mind of the imperial government never for a moment wavered in concluding what its duty to Nova Scotia was. Aft< ir the conclusion of the discussion on the general scheme, the conference, in con- junction with the imperial law officers, prepared certain draff bills, which were afterwards fused tato a harmonious whole, and Bubmitted to the imperial parliament on the 5th of Feb- ruary following, On the 2!)th of March the amalgamated bilL ived the royal assent; and on the 12th of April another imperial act was passed authorizing the commissioners of the treasury to guarantee interest on a loan not to exceed £3,0()n - 000 sterling, which sum was to be appropriated to the construc- of an Intercolonial railway between Halifax and the St. Lawrence. The union was not considered perfected by the consti- tutional ceremony ; and needed a firmer linking by the bonds of iron. On the 22nd of May a royal proclamation was issued from Windsor Castle, giving effect to " The British North America Act," and appointing the first day of July following as the dato on which it should come in force. Briefly, the act provided that the provinces of Canada, New Brunswick, and Nova Sco- tia should be one Dominion, under the name of Canada. This Dominion was divided into four provinces, named Ontario 314 LIFE OF SIR JOHN A. MACDONALD. Quebec, New Brunswick and Nova Scotia; the boundaries of the former two to be the same as those of the old provinces of Upper and Lower Canada ; the boundaries of the two maritime province* Ipmiinillg unchanged. The executive authority, and tlie command of tin- naval and military forces, wnv vested in the imperial sovereign, if] 'resented by a governor-general or executive officer for tin- time being. The city of Ottawa was declared the seat of government during the sovereign's pleasure. Ti ti\e machinery was to consist of a viceroy • 'i his deputy, and a ministerial council, to he styled the Queen's privy council for Canada, the members of which body were to be chosen by the governor-general, and to hold office during his pleasure. The legislative power was vested in a parliament, to consist of the Queen, the senate and the house of commons. It was provided that a parliament should be held at least once in each year, so that not more than a twelvemonth might elaj »•■ between session and session. The ridiculous system of election to the political dead-house was abolished, — though the gigantic thing itself was maintained — and it was provided instead that the senate should consist of seventy-two life members, twenty- four for Ontario, twenty-four for Quebec — an apportionment which, in view of the disparity of population and the outlook of increased inequality, would have been a rank injustice, but that the members so distributed are but the shadows in an in- stitution which in practice is a myth — and twelve for each of the maritime provinces, the members to possess certain pro- perty qualifications, to be appointed by the Crown, and to re- tain their seats for life, unless guilty of gross misbehaviour. Becoming swinishly intoxicated, and while in that state vom- iting over Turkey carpets at vice-regal banquets were not fore- seen in framing the constitution, so that senators offending in that way may retain their seats. Provision was made for in- creasing the membership of the body, but the number (as finally arranged) was not to exceed eighty-two, or to reach that limit unless upon the entry of Newfoundland into the confederation. THE DOMINION OF CANADA. 315 The principle of representation by population was established for the house of commons, the basis adopted for the original adjustment being the census of 1861. It was declared, how- ever, that an adjustment should take place eveiy ten years, upon a census of population being obtained The representa- tion of Queb c was permanently fixed at sixty-five members, while that of each of the other provinces was to bear the Bame relation to the population thereof that sixty-five should from time to time bear to the population of Quebec. The repre- sentation for the whole union was fixed at 181 members: eighty-two for Ontario, sixty-five for Quebec, nineteen for >tia, and fifteen for New Brunswick. The duration of the house of commons was not to exceed fire years, ( Sonstitutions were likewise given to the tour pro- vinces embraced in the onion Each comprised a lieutenant^ ernor who was to be appointed l»v the governor-general, paid out of the general t reasury, and to hold office for five years ; an executive council which was to be appointed by the lieu- tenantrgovernor, who had the power of dismissal; a legislative council to be nominated by the lieutenant-governor and to hold their seats for life* ; and the house of assembly. Such legisla- ture was to have control over local affairs, all questions of a cha- racter affecting the dominion at large falling within the juris- diction of the general government. It is hardly necessary to say that the jurisdiction of the federal and the provincial par- liaments in inan\ mind one of those colours on the can- vas which meet and to the eye seem to soften and blend, SO that it passes the keenest skill to say where the one begins or the other ends; and that, therefore, it was impossible by the terms of any constitution to so define respective jurisdiction as to avoid collision of authority in the future. One notable case, ur readers will readily remember, has of late years arisen, namely, the question whether the power to pass certain laws * Ontario had the good sense to dispense with an upper chamber, and her 1< ti'.n lias never been the worue in consequence. 310 LIFE OF SIR JOHN A. MACDOKALD. regulating the liquor traffic rendu in the general or the provincial parliaments, the learned and clear-headed chief justice of New Brunswick affirming that the jurisdiction lies in the province, not in the dominion; the distinguished chief justice of Canada maintaining, on the other hand, that the authority ifl not in the province, but in the dominion ; while other eminent jurist* contend thai the power resides not according to the terms of the act bearing upon such c; either in the one Legislature or the other. Provision was made, likewise, in the British North America Act, for the admisa ion into the confederation, of any colony that had so far refused to be a party to the compact. The royal proclamation announced tlic names of seventy -two senators, thirty-six of whom were conservatives and thirt\->i\ reformers; so that when the date which was to witness the birth of the Dominion came round; the machinery was in readiness to set in motion. When the delegates returned from England, Lord Monck, who had been a zealous worker in promoting union, turned his thought to the choice of an administration to be called to the government of the federated provinces. As to who the leader should be, he doubted not a moment. Many warm and able advocates had had the scheme of union among those who sat at the Westminster Conference, as well as among numbers of others in the parliament and the press ; but above all these towered the figure of Hon. John A. Macdonald. We have seen that he dif- fered at the outset from his colleagues as to the form some details of the scheme ought to take ; but that a union of the scattered colonies was the only solution to the troubles dis- tracting the provinces, he never doubted. From the moment the coalition was formed, his was the head that planned, the hand that shaped, the negotiations. It is not going too far to say, in glancing at his exertions, and the obstacles which were presented at every stage of the proceedings, that had it not been for Mr. John A. Macdonald we might not at this day have a confederation. George Brown sought rep- THE DOMINION OF CANADA. 317 ration by population, and entertained the proposal of con- fed* ration only as a means to that end; Lower Canada was apathetic, and rather interested in resisting Brown's move- ment than anxious to enter a combination which would not increase her prestige. Mr. Macdonald, appearing upon the at this critical time, thus on the one hand appealed to Mr. Brown: You will through federation get represen- tation by population, and, taming to the French party: The time has now come when you must recede from the ground on which I have so Long sustained you ; you must now cli. between a subserviency to a majority in all things, or a mea- tliat will make yon supreme in your domestic concerns, and giVe yon the authority to which your number entitles you on «| btional importance. Mr. Mackenzie naturally enough, perhaps, considering our poor fallen nature, is jealous of position Mr. Ifacdonald takes after the accomplishment of the union. u Having/' says this graceless biographer, "nogreal iwn to boasl about, he bravely plucks the laurel from the brows of the actual combatants, and real victors, and 08 it OH his own head." Who, pray, Mr. Mackenzie, were the "actual combatants?" Who wen- "the real victors?" We know not and we write from the record, seeking not to put laurels on brows that have not won them. Surely the question is a question of fact, not one of malice. Lord Monck, as we have said, who had watched the course of Mr. Macdonald, who remembered how that statesman had turned the Prince Edward Island conference to account, the attitude he had assumed after the conference, and his position at the Westminster meeting, had no difficulty in concluding that far beyond all others was his place in accomplishing the great it, and that for this reason, and by virtue of his first-class abilities as a statesman, to him belonged the honour of leading the first Canadian administration. He wrote a note askin" if o Mr. Macdonald would come and see him, and then told the at- torney-general-west what his intentions were. Mr. Macdonald I 318 LIFE OF SIR JOHN A. MACDONALD. expressed his obligations, and his willingness to take any duty that his excellency igsigned to him. Upon the recommendation of the primeminister, almost entirely,it was that the members of the ministry were chosen. Like the " heretic " who, on receiving baptism and mforing the fold of the Roman church, finds all his past blotted out as if it had newr been — though his sins had been red as >carlet--and begins lit'. <>, so was the past of party in Canada obliterated. Mr. Macdonald and Lord Monck argued — though of course not precisely in our figure — and the new mini-try, drawn from every province, and all parties, would begin its career without a political stain. With confederation arose new problems, new interests, new aspirations ; old ques- t i<>ns were brushed off the stage, and nought remained but hollow names. Lord Monck indeed believed that in the ap- pointment of a compound ministry, a death-blow would be struck at party ; but Mr. Macdonald assured him that party would survive the discarded institutions, and resist all the ex- pedients that ever entered the brain of man. But while regard- ing this evil of responsible government irrepressible he advised, as we shall see, the formation of a ministry from among all parties in the colonies. " The confederation," he said, later on, " is the work of the people of these provinces, irrespective of old-time party opinion. I do not want it to be felt by any section of the country, that they have no representation in the cabinet, and no influence in the government. And as there are now no issues to divide parties, and as all that is required is to have in the government the men who are best adapted to put the new machinery in motion, I desire to ask those to join me who have the confidence of, and represent the majorities in, the various sections, of those who were in favour of the adoption of this system of government and who wish to see it satisfac- torily carried out." In due time the members of the new cabinet were announced, as follows : Hon. John A. Macdonald Premier and Min. of Justice. " A. T. Galt - Minister of Finance. THE DOMINION OF CANADA. 3H> Hon. Alexander Campbell - - Postmaster-General. " A. J. Fergusson-Blair President of the Council. " W. P. Howl and - - Min, Inland Revenue. " George E. Cartier - M in. Militia and Defence. " Wm. McDougall - - Minister Public Works. " S. L. Tilley - - - * Min. of Customs. " Peter Mitchell - Min, Marine and Fisheri " H. L. LANG I v tN - - Sec. of State for Canada. " J. C. Chapais - - - Min* of Agriculture, " A. G. Archibald - - Sec. of State fbrProvw " BDWABD Kknny - Receiver- General. lord Monck was sworn into office as governor -general of the New Dominion by Chief Justice Draper, after which b< announced that Her Majesty had instructed him, through the Colonial Secretary, to confer the order of knighthood upon Hon. John A. Macdonald, and the distinction of Companion- ship of the Bath on Messrs. Tilley, Tupper, Cartier, Gait, Mc- Dougall and I lowland. Messrs. Cartier and Gait refused the favour, and it soon became known that the former gentleman was wounded to tlm quick that, in granting the higher honour of knighthood, lie had been ignored. But what he felt worse than all, with that impulse that rushes sometimes into the rashest consequences with its eyes shut, was that the man with whom he had borne the brunt of so many hardly fought battles should be faithless to the friendship that had so long bound the two together as " with hoops of steel." He believed, in short, that the slight was due to Mr. Macdonald's selfish ambition which coveted the crowning honour for itself alone. The truth all the time was, that never lived a loyaler friend than Hon. John A. Macdonald ; that the knighthood was not obtained at his solicitation or even with his knowledge, but the work of Lord Monck, who conceived the honour to be a fitting one to the first statesman called to lead the government of the new nation. That M. Cartier had borne a noble part in the move- ment for the federation was undoubted, but so had many others LIFE OF SIR JOHX A. MACDONALD. who were visited with no higher token of imperial regard than the worthy Leader of the French Canadians. With the un- bounded chivalry ol hie nature the premier set to work to redeem what, in view of M. Cartier's feelings, was a diplomatic hhmder; and a year later it was announced that the French leader had been erected a baronet of the United Kingdom, a higher dignity than had been conferred upon the prime minis- ter himself M. Cartier was somewhat mollified, but the oriffi- nal hurt rankled in tlif very marrow, and t<> use tin- phrase of one of our writers, the golden bowl once shivered could not be red again. Bach, then, is the history of the confederation movement — from the beginning to the triumphant ending — which, like the river that takes its rise in obscure ground begins its journey with feeble motion, winding on with seeming hesi- tation, through various bends and turns, sometimes entering the dark forest that the thoughtless spectator believes will hide the stream forever, but emerging again with greater speed and sturdier purpose, sweeping on, halting never, and flowing round the mountain that rises to bar its way, till, " at last the longed- for dash of waves is heard," and it joins the broad, bright sea. Though glancing backward, we find that the years have begun to invest events once standing out in such distinctness, with vague outline and shadows, still so long as endures the story of the creation of the Dominion of Canada, one clear form will appear above all the rest, and that the figure of the Right Hon. Sir John Alexander Macdonald. CHAFTER XVII. THE FIRST DOMINION CABINET. GEORGE ETIENNE ( 'ART I EB was born at St. Antoine, in the County of Vercheres, on the Gtli of September, 1814. Tradition, perhaps hazarding a guess, connects him with the t Jacques of the same name, bo prominent a figure in the early history of Canada. After finishing his education in the College of St. Sulpice, Montreal, If. I Sartier Btudied law in the office of M. Edouard Etodier ; and, io 1835, began practice at Montreal Two years later the province was in a flame of rebellion, and like most of hii spirited compatriots at the time, the young barrister shouted his virus for I'apineau and Lu Li- ■'. He fought with much bravery under Dr. Nelson at St. Denis, and when the bloody drama was ended tied to the United States, where he remained till the clouds of revolt at home had rolled away. While still under the ban of the law he returned by stealth to Montreal, and shut himself Up in his rooms during the day. In the evening he quietly left his confinement, seek- ing the suburbs for exercise and fresh air, and as he glided along the lonely roads in the gloaming; he often related after- wards, he fancied that mysterious footsteps dogged him, and that every bush concealed an officer. At last, semi-official in- formation reached him that if he conducted himself with dis- cretion, the law would wink at the past. M. Cartier, we may be sure was as patriotic as most of his countrymen, but the phantom of a hangman dangling a halter had haunted his pil- low so long that the patriotism which had once put on the wings of revolution, was ever afterwards, in his breast, frozen at the u 321 LIFE OF SIR JOHN A. MACDONALD. source. For ten years the young lawyer diligently applied himself to his profession, shrinking from notoriety, but never losing interest in political questions ; and all the while yearning for the political sphere. In 1848, he saw his ambition gratified In being elected for Vercheres, which constituency he repre- sented till 1861, when he overthrew the rouge Goliath, A. A. Dorion, in Montreal, dealing a blow to Lower Canada grit ism from which, it may be said without exaggeration, it has never since recovered. We have seen that, early in 185G, he was chosen provincial-secretary in the MacNab-Tache" administra- tion, and that four months later he beeame attorney-general in the TacheVMacdonald ministry, in the room of Mr. Drummond, who had gone out of the cabinet in dudgeon, because Mr. Mac- donald, instead of himself, was chosen to the leadership in the assembly. The following year the Macdonald-Cartier govern- ment came into existence, but after a few months the wheel went round, and the Cartier-Macdonald ministry appeared upon the scene. Weighed against even many of his contem- poraries, M. Cartier would be light in the scale, unless we con- found his success with his merit. He had a keen perception of every question, but his view was narrow ; and while he prized the interests of his country, party was to him before patriotism, and self before party. A dark picture you draw us surely, says- some one at our elbow, who has seen the French leader upon the wall so long enveloped in a blaze of glory. Yes ; it is a black picture, but we, to whom the tasks falls, however unwor- thy we be, to sum up the work and paint the portrait, must not falter in our duty, though our naked sketch reveal an imper- fect man. M. Cartier had many faults. For some of these he was not responsible, as they were inheritances of his birth. It would be unfair to blame him that his understanding was not broad, and that his judgment frequently was unsound ; or that when he spoke to an audience his voice was harsh and un- sympathetic, and seldom captivated hearts. It is just that we blame him for being selfish, for giving bridle to his temper un- THE FIRST DOMINION CABINET. 323 der small provocation, and for holding, not unfrequently, in con- tempt men the latchet of whose shoes he was not worthy to loose. Yet we have seen that he was successful. He had an unbounded ambition, a profusion of nervous force, an unflagging perseverance, an activity as restless as the winds of heaven ; and, to crown these invincible tools in the hands of a man who sets excelsior for his motto, he had an aggressiveness that pushed aside obstacles and all opposing pretensions, and a ca- pacity for organization that always astonished and sometimes bewildered those who are not given to analysis, but who are charmed by flash. Xo political leader could ignore M. Cartier, for he would prefer being matched against half a dozen strong men, to feeling that they had arrayed against them a tireless sy that never slept, never paused, that drilled on, and would work its way through iron walls till it reached its ends. Alexander Tilloch Gait, the chief of finance in the new min- istry, the son of John Gait, a writer of some note, and the friend and biographer of Lord Byron; was born at Chelsea London, on the 6th of September, 1817. Fired by the suc- cesses of his father, he showed an early taste for literature, and when in his fourteenth year contributed to Fraser'8 Magazine. A writer in the Illustrated London News refers, with much approval, to this early contribution ; but we can only shed compassion backward through the years upon the editor of Fraser' 8 Magazine. It is a sore (ask enough for a magazine editor to have to read, and reject the tomes of manuscript produced by adults, but it is horror opening her flood-gates upon his head when he is not safe from boys of fourteen. Therefore, we must not be regarded as considering that either the spirit which prompted Mr. Gait to write at fourteen, or the matter he wrote, was good ; we do not approve of the parent who permitted him to write ; neither does the judgment of the editor commend itself to us, who published the lad's effusion. Literature after a short stay with young Gait waved her wing ; and the young man fixed his eye upon some other star. The ' 324 LIFE OF SIR JOIIX A. MACD0NAL1). Gait family emigrated to ( ana. la, in 1824, and when Alexander had attained hlfl sixteenth year, be entered the service of the British American Land Company, in the eastern townships, as a junior clerk. His marked abilities brought him to notice, and his rise through the virions stagwi of the department was rapid, till he reaobed tin- post of oommia&wneimhip. "Daring his twelve veal's lnana-'-in.-iit." >ays a reliable authority, " the com- ]).fnv was changed from one of almost hopeless insolvency, to that of a valuable and lvninnrrative undertaking." Mr. Gait first entered parliament when the country was aflame over the rebellion losses bill, but at this period he seemed to be less use* ful as a politician than as a business man. He endeavoured to distinguish himself as a shining { -rotes tan t by opposition to catholicity, though the true way for him to prove the superior- ity of his protestantism, was to worship God in his church in a simple earnest spirit, and when he left the temple to do unto others as he would have others do unto him. Uncharitableness and intolerance are not any more true protestantism, than Catholicism is the drunken zeal of those brutal mobs that stood up in defence of the " church," when Gavazzi lectured in Que- bec and Montreal. In the lapse of time, Mr. Gait outgrew weak prejudice, and he was for many years regarded as being " too judicial " for the warped ways of the politician. He was a valuable member when measures were supported or opposed merely for party's sake, and sat as one alone in the house, now warmly supporting a view of the government, and again ap- pearing the most censorious among the opposition. From the first his opinion on all questions of trade and finance commanded the close attention of the house. Upon the collapse of the Brown-Dorion ministry, he was requested to form an adminis- tration, but having practically alienated himself from party, he had no following in the house, and not being possessed of the blind ambition of George Brown, wisely refused to attempt a task which must have ended in failure. We have already noted other events in his career, and shall see him asrain before we TEE FIRST DOMINION CABINET. 325 close. Mr. Gait, though not born in Canada, is a Canadian, and even with his eccentricities is a credit to his country. His political compass as our readers are aware, has frequently taken fits of wide variation ; to intensify the figure a little his opinion has gone round the compass. He has shown decided leanings to the policy of the reformers ; and at times has sounded notes with the true ring of the conservative. This perhaps Mr. Gait himself would call the swinging of the pendulum, denoting a w.ll-balanced non-party man ; but unfortunately the time came when the pendulum, reaching one sid<\ remained there. For example, Mr. Gait was a zealous champion of confederation, and we write it down, with a hearty feeling, to his credit, At another period of hia life he was something quite different, A band of men gathered together in Canada shortly after the tory mob had burnt the parliament buildings in Montreal, and cir- culated a manifesto recommending "• friendly and peaceful separation from British connexion, and ■ union upon equitable terms with the i, r reat North A mrrican conf<-< lei acy of sovereign A number of gentlemen ofg 1 standing in ( anada, supported the scheme, and one of tln'.se was Mr. A. T. Gait. There would be nothing striking bo this historical morsel but that, s few months ago, while trying to restrain her laughter, Canada stood watching the same Mr. A. T. Gait, as Cana- dian high commissioner to England, endeavouring to set flying no less a kite than s scheme for the federation of the empire. The idea, unfortunately for the fame of Mr. Gait, is not original, and even in the way of seconddiand is only a half-way measure. For, in Locksley Hall. Tennyson has a much better proposal, as we learn when he Binge of the time 11 When the war drum throbs no longer, and the battle-flags are furled In the parliament of man, the federation of the world." Hut as the Canadians are not far enough advanced yet to appre- ciate such an admirable scheme as this, Mr. Gait should have brought the project out in a story-book rather than in a prac-' 326 LIFE OF SIR JOHN A. MACDONALD. tical way. Had Jules Verne proposed all those elaborate ideas of his to the French government, he might not have succeeded either, but he wisely instead put them forth in his " Ten Thou- sand Leagues under the Sea," his voyage through the heavens, and other unusual excursions. Should it ever occur to Mr. Gait that his federation plan might be extended so as to take in the moon, we beseech of him not to make the proposal in the formal way cither to the British or the Canadian government — as so surely as he does they will not take kindly to the scheme — but amply l»ring it out in a novel. If we except this one marvellous idea, SO far as relates to Mr. Gait's public career, his influence upon political lift' in Canada has been for the better, and he deserves well of his countrymen. As his mission at the court of St. James has, by his own desire, been brought to a close, and he is again to become a resident of Canada, we only express the wish, that must be general, that the country may for many years to come have the benefit of his experience, pru- dence and great ability in public matters. We beseech of him* from our own feeling, and on behalf of Canadians, however, to purge his mind of this federation phantasm. Perhaps one of the most prominent men in the new ministry was M. Hector L. Langevin, secretary of state for Canada. M. Langevin is a son of the late Jean Langevin, who was as- sistant civil secretary under Lords Gosford and Sydenham. He was born in the city of Quebec on the 25th of August, 1826. Educated in the city of his birth he began the study of law in the office of Hon. A. N. Morin, concluding his course with the late Sir George E. Cartier. He was called to the bar in 1850. Early in life M. Langevin gave evidence of the first- rate abilities which were to be employed in the service of his country in later years. In connexion with the practice of his profession he was at various periods the editor of three differ- ent newspapers, of the Melanges Religieux, and the Journal d 'Ag iricultwre, in Montreal ; and of the Courrier du Canada, in Quebec. He had the desire common to so many aspiring young THE FIRST DOMINION CABINET. 327 men in this country to enter political life, and began his public CUeer in the capacity of mayor of Quebec, to which office he wafl several times elected. In 1855, he took the first of three prizes for an essay on ( anada, written for circulation in Paris, in which paper as in his other contributions he gave promise of reaching high literary eminence, though, somewhat unfortu- nately for letters, the public charmer, with her siren tongue, won him for her own. He made his first appearance in parlia- ment, the reader remembers, in 1S57, when he was elected for Dorchester. Through the many years that followed till death removed l£ ( 'artier from the scenes, M. Langevin acted the part loyal, and skilful second, in his party, though the eye of Lower Canada lit not with enthusiasm save when it fell upon the imposing figure of the principal. let to us, M. Langevin in the TO cond to M. ('artier, seems like the sun acting satellite to the moon. As a statesman, to M. ('artier we can only accord a second place; to ML Langevin we gives first. M no tempest come, it is impossible for one to " ride the whirl- wind and direct tin- storm.'' Vet, we may from observing the man in the calm judge of his capacity in the hour of tumult. M. Langevin has been described by some critics as a narrow bigot, caring only for the welfare of his own race, and grudging and opposing the progress of his Knglish brethren. We an glad to say that these are the accusations of persons who know not M. Langevin, and who perhaps cared not to know him, since their objed was only to blacken. Most assuredly is the eli leader loyal to the race whence he has sprung: there has never arisen in his province a man to whom the best interests of French < anadians is more dear, or who in advanc- ing those interests has ever displayed more earnestness, wisdom and ability. But, above all tilings, we believe he 18 a Cana- {I'm n. Inde.d, what we want is such public men as M. Lange- vin, to keep our political system from the mire into which it shows a tendency to fall. When the Acadians of New Bruns- wick sent a delegation to him reverting to the time that 328 LIFE OF SIR JOHN A. MACDONALD. their ancestors were expelled from their happy homes in the Basin of Minas and to all the dark years that since have fal- len upon the outcast descendant, M. Langevin pointed out to them that tlic past was now ■ sealed book, that the duty of the Acadian as well as of the French Canadian was not to keep alive the remembrance of these dark hours, but to feel that one and both, while doing well not to forget the language of their fathers, were above all things Canadians, enjoying equal privi- - with other nationalities in the provinces. Of this nature has been his advice timet without number to the people of his own province, and it is only just to say that, owing to his ex- ertions, a more liberal spirit, a feeling of broader citizenship, has grown up among his people. We do not wish here to be understood as thinking that the province of Quebec has held a monopoly of uncharitableness ; for a large portion of the people of Ontario, through the teaching of a press forced into perfidious work by the needs of party, regard Quebec with a feel- ing at once narrow and unworthy. Unfortunately, the Globe newspaper has been foremost in promoting the bad work of es- trangement, though some do now hope, and we are of the num- ber, that the worst of that great journal's work is done ; that, to use the words of 1\ r, " the black flag has been hauled down. Under these circumstances, the duty of Sir Hector Langevin to his province is resistance, but with more than judicious resistance, and a patriotic assertion of his people's rights, he is not to be charged. M. Langevin's ability as a statesman is, as we have said already, of the highest order. To- a comprehensive understanding he brings a calm and unwarped judgment, while so ready is his grasp, and so accurate his view that he has more than once astonished delegations having com- plex propositions before government, by his readiness in un- ravelling and making plain the difficult sides of the question. To all who meet him in his public capacity he is painstaking and affable, and in every walk of life comports himself with- that courtesy which he has acquired from his distinguished an- TEE FIRST DOMiyiON CABINET. 32£> cestors. In this respect we do wish some of his blustering,, pompous colleagues, who endeavour to supply by airs what they lack in escutcheon, would try to emulate him. No one has ever yet proved that he is a gentleman, or "of good family" 1 > y the assumption of swagger ; on the contrary, he thereby shows as plainly as if he had it written upon his front, that he is low born, and not a gentleman. Men have control over most of the events in their lives, bat they have not the remotest in- fluence upon their own birth : so that it would be unjust to think the WOfSe of a man in exalted place that he is not high- bom A large number of our public men have sprung from humble parentage, and these we can readily torsive, when high upon fortune's Steep, fof endeavouring to appeal- as gentlemen ; for they must take their wives and their daughters to Ottawa,, Bud gO to OOUrt, and give and recive calls, and hold I place in social life prop.-r t<» their rank in tie public sphere; and when BUfih men deport themselves with that grace, courtesy and toler- ance belonging to those who are to the manner born, they de- to be ranked among those whose house has never been -'•'•n in the bud hut always in tic tree. But the person who '•ian born, wraps himself in conceit and vulgar pomp, or in that brusque honlimni* which sits well upon some imperial colonel, and that the parvenu counterfeits "uly to travesty, is plebeian -till : all the waters of the St. Lawrence will not make him whitr than the "great unwashed" of whom he is, but whom he despises. In 1881, with the approval of those who auds or title, save as badges of merit, and of duty, in whatever line, well and faithfully done, her Majesty conferred upon M. Langevhi the order of knighthood, which distinction he now worthily wears. One of the moei remarkable men in the council, was the- minister of customs, Mr. S. L. Tilley. For many years he had been the foremost politician in New IJrunswick, and, in the capacity of leader, exhibited talents of more than a common order. I fafortunately, the profession of politics to the popular 330 LIFE OF SIB JOHN A. MACUONALD. mind, when placed in the moral scale, has i; ttle specific gravity; alid the person who enters public life is regarded as having taken a step downward But through all the years that Hon. Leonard Ti n ev had given to public duty, the most unscrupu- lous opponent never even sou-lit to put any tarnish upon his name. So upright were all his acts, so deep and sincere his moral convictions, so able his administration of affairs, and, withal, so zealous was he in the BeWice of his country, that his name was a v.iy tower of strength to his party. Once indeed in the hubbub of political strife, the popular mind lost its balance and rejected the favourite, but when reason returned the people repaired their error, and placed him again in power, He was, as we have seen, a warm advocate of union, and it i- not improbable that the confederation might not to this day have comprehended the maritime provinces, but for his firm and decided course at the critical time when New Brunswick was the pivot ground of the scheme. Mr. Tilley brought to the -enlarged sphere of politics at Ottawa, a mind stored with the fruits of observation and experience, a penetrating and well- contained intellect, and an unerring judgment. / s minister of customs, he was prompt and decisive, but he displayed such clearness of grasp and excellence of judgment upon every ques- tion of trade or finance which came up, that it was apparent he was capable of much higher work than playing the role of chief custom-house officer. An important occasion was soon to arise when the people of Canada demanded a reorganization of the laws bearing upon trade and commerce ; and in Hon. Leo- nard Tilley was found a man equal to the emergency. We need not here do more than refer to the National Policy, and to the laurels that have fallen to Mr. Tilley 's share through the suc- cess of that measure, which is indebted in so great a degree to his financial skill and keen insight. Among modern statesmen^ we need not say the place of Hon. (now Sir) Leonard Tilley is among the first; and to this qualification he adds the other dis- tinction of being an honest man. There are, perhaps, in the THE FIRST DOMINION CABINET. 331 Canadian Parliament more forcible speakers than Sir Leonard Tilley, but there is certainly not one more convincing ; and the way to judge of the merit of a speech is by looking at the results. u The distinguishing characteristic of Sir Leonard Til- lev, says Mr. Nicholas Flood Davin, in his sparkling and capi- tal paper, " Great Speeches," in the Canadian Montlihj, "is sin- eeiity. No man could appear more lost in his subject. This is | great element in persuasiveness. The earnestness is en- hanced by a style »>f pure Saxon and unaffected simplicity. His ease of expression would at once mark him out in the ish house of commons, and the wuc&oritas with which he spot him weight and Bocnr ee a following, He lias the rare power of waking a budget speech interesting, a power which no chancellor of the exchequer I ever heard in the En- glish house of commons had. Mr. Gladstone, of course, always :<■'! In listening to Sir Leonard Tilley, we hear a man who makes no statement that has not received thorough exam- ination from every view, no opinion that does not bear the stamp of deep eonvietion ; few, if any, propositions that those who follow will be able to dis prove. The critic who admires lid and fury would be disappointed in Sir Leonard Tilley for he would find a man discnaaing his question with calm, earnest dignity, never allowing passion to hurry him into ex- travagance, bat firmly maintaining himself upon the ground of common sense. Through such simple, irresistible force, Mr. ' den, whom Sir Leonard as a statesman and as a speaker Strongly resembles, was in his day one of the leading orators in Great Britain, and one of the foremost of her public men. Sir Leonard Tilley 's public career is one that some of our young politicians might study with profit. To no principle in private or political life to which he has pledged himself has he ever been known to prove faithless ; and in, at least, one no- I instance the sincerity of his character is shown in strong contrast to what others placed in circumstances similar to his 332 LIFE OF SIR JOHN A. MACDONALD. own might haw done. When he was appointed to the Govern- orship of New Brunswick, no one was ignorant of the fact that he had been, all his life, a devoted, zealous, and uncompromising advocate of total abstinence. Yet they believed that the new I ernor would be able to reconcile his conscience to fall in with the immemorial custom of dispensing wine at his hospi- talities ; bat daring the Bye years that he occupied the guber- natorial chair, intoxicants were not mice found on his sideboard or table.* In these days when principle so often gives way to expediency, a practical example of this kind is of the highest moment. Sir Leonard is gracious and affable to all with whom his duty brings him in contact, and it would certainly be taxing to the patience of Job himself to have to listen to, expostulate with, and resist the shoals of delegations that visit Ottawa re- presenting this, that, and the other " interest," and with whom Sir Leonard, by virtue of his position as adjuster of the tariff law is brought into contact. Once or twice he has hinted at withdrawal from public life, but his province, and Canada at large, will not willingly let retire from her service, so long as health remains, a son to whom one and both owe so much, and who has been, since his first appearance on the political scenes, down to this hour a credit to the country that has given him birth* A further popularity is added to Sir Leonard in the social sphere, by the grace and charming manners of his accom- plished wife, Lady Tilley. A member whose presence would be felt in any cabinet, was Hon. Peter Mitchell, minister of marine and fisheries, who had also been appointed to the senate. Mr. Mitchell had had a pro- minent political career in his native province, New Brunswick. He was a keen-eyed critic and a powerful assailant out of office, and an Armstrong gun in a ministry. Mr. George Stew- art, jun., in some of his life-like portraits in "Canada under DuJ- * We may be pardoned for having made this reference, seeing that the " enter- prising journalist," has preceded us. THE FIRST DOMINION CABINET. 333 I " has this telling bit of description with reference to Mr. Mitchell. " In popularity he almost rivalled Sir John himself. He WW a hard worker, a redoubtable foe and an unforntwit an opponent by calmly ponder- ing tlif situation over, u the careful chess-player looks many moves into the future of his game, he is not (infrequently termed a trickster ; and Mr. Mitchell who had been guilty of [fence save possessing fche ability to delve ■ yard below the mine me of those pitted against him. received the iquet of " lJi-maivk." For a brief season many were per- iod that the clever politician dealt in naught but "trea- ^tratagems and Spoils;" and they heard without won- that an invertebrate lieutenant-governor and a guileless ministry had fallen a victim to his wiles. As this is not a tion of morals, we have only to say that if a ministry can t the arts and a governor the blandishments of one man, it were a pity the one should not fail and the other be perverted There ia in the record, even taking the distortions Of the outwitted ones, little to bring a blush to Mr. Mitchell, and less that the historian needs to condemn or excuse. It need hardly he said that the department given to the charge of Mr. Mitchell wasatthi time the most important in the public ser- With the energy and ability which are his in such a marked degree, he vigorously set to work to frame laws for the protection of the various fisheries, a task requiring a vast deal 334 LIFE OF SIR JOHN A. MACDONALD. of consideration, prudence and skill ; and he likewise construct- ed a system of regulations, which, with a few modifications only, htfl existed to the present day. Many of the harbour improvements began, the erection of a large number of light- houses, and the adoption of a host of other measures in the in- 3< of the sailor and the fisherman were likewise the work of his hands. It is not uncomplimentary to succeeding officers, or even to the present clear-head, -d and thoroughly able incum- bent to say that since Hon. Peter Mitchell left the department of marine and fisheries, it has not had such another energetic tad capable head. Like most other distinguished public men, though the pet and pride of their constituents, who sometimes become the victim of reason run wrong, Mr. Mitchell was once rejected on appealing to bis constituents in Northumber- land, New Brunswick, being defeated by one of the local millers of that place. His tireless figure has returned again to the commons, however, and he is now, as always, with sleeves rolled up. l>attling for the interests of the constituents who have the good fortune to call him their representative. The country is still to hear a good deal from Mr. Mitchell ; and it would, it will be readily admitted, be a loss to the dominion to have such a splendid ability out of harness. The minister of Inland Revenue, Mr. (now Sir) W. P. How- land, whom we have already seen on several occasions, and whose figure is one the reader of Canadian history will not hesitate to admire, was one of the " commercial magnates " of Toronto when he entered public life. He was bom in New York State, but removing to Toronto in his youth, he never knew sympathy for any other country than the Canada to whom he has since been as much indebted, as she has been to him. We have already seen that Mr. Howland entered public life in 1857, when he was elected, in the reform interest, for the west-riding of York. The good judgment, caution and foresight which had made him foremost among men of busi- ness, soon elevated him to the ranks of the prominent members THE FIRST DOMINION CABINET. 335 of the legislature, and, as has been recorded already, though he -was never unfaithful to his principles, he had true patriotism enough sometimes to shut his ears to the narrow dictates of party, and lend himself heart and hand to his country. That we do not ov e res t imate the patriotism of Mr. Howland, is proven, it' in nothing else, with abundant force by the assaults to which he was from time to time subjected by the Globe. But M r. Howland's sense of duty was always stronger than his dread of newspapers, and he never hesitated to face the thun- der at the call of his country's interests, At i meeting held in Toronto after the formation of the first dominion ministry, Mr. Howland and Hon. Win. McDougall, both of whom made an able defence of their course in entering the coalition, were I out of the reform DArty. At this meeting the grit tyrant was the swaying spirit. A perusal of the ipeeehes shows that both Messrs. Howland and McDougall ably defended them- es; bat they had to reckon not alone with a question of right or wrong, or of duty to party, but with an all-powerful chief burning with revenge towards the two men who had re- fused to follow him f i < >m the coalition cabinet, and an ambition^ that, like a high-blooded horse, which becomes the more un- manageable the longer it is kept confined, had now passed res- traint, and could not be appeased by anything short of office, and the destruction of all that had crossed its path. Mr. How- land received the dicta of excommunication with somewhat of indifference, boi when the time arrived that set him free to thow his party preferences, he hesitated not in returning to his fir&J love. In July, 18G8, he was appointed lieutenant-governor of Ontario ; and in later years received the dignity of knight- hood, an honour, which, if a badge of recognition to merit, he had undoubtedly won. Already have we had occasional glimpses of the postmastcr- tal. We first met him as a student in the law office of Mr. John A. Macdonald, and afterwards, in 1858, as a representa- tive for Kingston in the legislative council. Four years after LIFE OF SIR JOHN A. MACDONALD. this date gout created a place for the talented young lawyer, by carrying off Sir Allan MacNab, speaker of the upper chamber. He became a member of the executive council and •commissioner of crown lands in 18G4, which position he re- tained till the union, when he became postmaster general Mr. Campbell entered public life as a liberal-conservative, and has always remained true to hia faith. He led the government in the legislative council of old Canada from 1858 until 18G7, and in the senate from the latter period till bs7;j. But in the last- named year the Lr<>vernment of the country fell into the hands of Mr. Mackenzie and his party, and Mr. Campbell thereafter, till the return of Sir John A. Macdonald to power, led the op- pceition in the upper house. Under the restored Macdonald ministry he has held different portfolios, and is at present min- ister of justice and leader of the government in the senate. He was created a knight C. M. G. by her Majesty on the 24th •of May, 1879. It is perhaps rather unfortunate for those who are striving for the abolition of the senate, that such men as Sir Alexander Campbell should be found among the membership of that body ; for it defeats the argument that the institution is entirely useless, since its supporters will readily point to some of its able men, and to the legislation which they have accom- plished. Yet there is a way of looking at the question which proves that this contention is hollow. A certain firm erects a huge bakery in which it employs the best skill and labour that can be obtained, having abundance of fuel and unlimited tiers of ovens ; but not content with the unbounded capacity for work in this establishment, it builds another equally as im- posing and costly, and employs a large staff of heavily-paid workmen. A traveller passing the way stands bewildered before the new pile and asks, Why this grand structure ? and the firm answers him, O they now and again bake a loaf in that building. But, still queries the nigh dumbfounded stran- ger, could you not do all your baking in the other establishment? Yes. Then why did you build, and why do you maintain THE FIRST DOMINION CABINET. 337 this second bakery ? That stranger has stood since by the im- posing pile, and received no answer, save that which echo, ever ringing, gives. There are, it is true, other and weightier rea- BOns offered for maintaining the "old feudal estate,"* but a very rude attempt at illustrating the same by figure shows that they are as untenable as the fallacy just pointed out. In such an institution a man with the wide understanding and the calm judicial character of sir Alexander Campbell is as much out of place as would be admiral Drake at sea <>u n jjed barge, without sail or oar. • This is " Bystander' V term far the Upper House. CHAPTER XVI II. TIIK NEW RKCIMK. BIT now the storm was over Mid tlu- ship of state which had been tossed by so many tempests, rode safely at her moor- ings. The country looked hopefbUy into the future for politi- cal peace, and believed thai such would be the fruit of this wider brotherhood, knitted together by the bonds of political and commercial interest. But Mr. George Brown and his sore- heads were not happy, and the untamable chief set himself to work, once more, to foment party discord. A few days before Mr. John A. Macdonald's new ministry was announced, a con- vention of reformers was held at Toronto, at which the proposed coalition was denounced in no charitable language. Messrs. MeDougall and Howland happened to be in Toronto at the time of the meeting, and were considerately invited to attend, on the principle of the magistrate who, though quite clear as to the punishment he is about to inflict, generously resolves to hear what the culprit before the bar " has to say for himself." The two reform sinners appeared without much trepidation before the grit tyrant and his satraps. Mr. Howland said a new era was to be inaugurated ; that the past had been wiped out as if it had never existed ; that it was not the duty now of one party, but of all, to lend its support to the governing body under the new regime. Mr. McDougall's defence was still more telling than that of his fellow culprit, and those who watched the ef- fect of the address upon " the meeting," saw that the underlings had begun to look at the coalition in a different light. But as we have elsewhere said the question was not one between these 338 THE NEW REGIME. 339 two reformers and public duty, or party duty, but between themselves and a thwarted ambition. They could not hope for mercy, though the satraps had shown unmistakable signs of softening; and they got none. The ireful and disappointed t}^- rant sought not the aid of ruses or obscure phrase to* cloak his feelings. Be simply read the two contaminated ones out of the party. It may be said that since that day Mr. McDougall, though deserving a better fate, has been a sort of political Eshmael wandering over the land ; though Mr. Howland, in due tiin. — when tlir period arrived thai Ins secession was not a violation of the original compact — returned to his first love. The genera] election for the house of commons was held dur- ing the summer and early autumn. Quebec and Ontario em- phasized their approval of union and coalition by returning overwhelming majorities of ministerialists ; and George Brown defeated in South Ontario. Coereioo is a wholesome policy when dealing with the dagger and dynamite, but it is not a happy expedient in Canadian polities; as George Brown ascer- tained, but, as we might have rapposed, without reaping any profit from the lesson. Though the dark-age organs, and the " anti " politicians of NTew Brunswick had waged bitter war 11 who had favoured onion, the ministry there carried ve of the fifteen Xova Scotia had been caught by unter breeze and driven back from her late position. Dr. Tupper had worsted Joseph Howe before the imperial minis- hut tie- Latter had the post mortem victory before the province. For one.- the sturdy doctor found that neither his lungs oor bifl eourage were sufficient against the stream of burning eloquence that flowed from the " Great Anti." The le for the confederates was another Flodden, one man only, and he, Dr. Tupper, reaching Ottawa with a tattered flag. : sturdy anti- were -ent up from the distant peninsula to the first dominion parliament. Probably Messrs. Howe and Annand had led the people to think that a majority of anti- cranio men al Ottawa might be able to unseal the fate of the LIFE OF SIR JOIIX A. MACDOXALD. province: but, confiding people, they were soon to see that they might as well have supposed them capable of effect ing the quartering of the moon. Yet it was a triumph for Joseph Howe, a Bort of local treatment for a very sore wound. No one doubts that the great Nova Scotia orator was a sincere patriot, but, like some other clever men he possessed in no little degree i sense of self-importance which sometimes dimmed or distorted bis vision. The question of confedera- tion to him may have, in the beginning, presented itself as a political prohlem to he worked out in its hearings on the public weak hut there can be little doubt that when Dr. Tupper Lined the lead and the great orator found himself in the place of secnd.the question became an n r>j" mentum adhomi- It hecaine, it is hardly unfair to the man's illustrious memory to say, a question not between the good and the bad side of union, but between the champions of confederation and ph Howe: like some of those persons who take the field in the interests of a moral question such as temperance, from the dictates of philanthropy and duty, but who, as the work goes on and they meet rebuffs, gradually become embittered, hating those whom they oppose and from whom they differ, breathing uncharitableness instead of good-will, losing sight of the original motives and making personal what w r as at the out- set only a question of love for their fellowmen. Meanwhile it was necessary to provide each province with a little government of its own. Hon. P. J. O. Chauveau became premier of Quebec, and, through the friendship of Sir John, Hon. John Sandfield Macdonald secured the leadership in On- tario, and formed a coalition which had a useful career for the four years succeeding. The two premiers were also elected to the federal parliament, as were many other prominent politi- cians from the same parliaments ; but following the example of Nova Scotia and New Brunswick, which had passed acts making dual representation impossible, the anomaly was after a time abolished. During the lull between the election and the THE NEW REGIME. 341 meeting of parliament, the chief morsel supplied to gossip was the resignation, by Mr, A. T. Gait, of the portfolio of finance. true cause of the step was the inharmonious relations which existed between the retiring minister and some of his colleagues, and the diversity between his opinions and theirs on certain public questions. While these relations wore their worst feature, the policy of the finance minister was condemn- ed in unmeasured terms by the opposition press, which declared that Mr. Gait, by his Currency Act, had deliberately favoured the bank of Montreal at the expense of other financial institu- tions, that the unfavourable turn which commerce had taken, and the failure of the Commercial Tank was due to his dis- hone8t and unwi-e eour^e. Finding little sympathy and support among his colleagues, and a storm of censure bom the iv, Mr. (Jalt resigned. The necess ity of attending to his private affairs, be stated, induced him to take the step. We supp<>>c lie had the right to make whatever explanation he pleased. Th -w»me things winch are just as well kept from the coarse gaze of the people. The appointment of Hon. J, K. Cauchon to the speakership of the senate was a subject helped to keep the put. lie from going to sleep. M. Cau- chon was a Frenchman with a hitter tongue, who had said many stinging things, and wounded a battalion of public men in hifl time; but he had ak<> written a pamphlet IS union des Britanique du Nord, which proved an important factor in moulding opinion favourably to the union, lending the force of his unruly tongue also to the same end : and Sir John and his French colleagues believed that he Waa entitled, for these and other reasons, to the promotion mentioned. M. Cauchon proved himself an admirable speaker. bringing ability of a high order, and a becoming dignity, to the chair. The new parliament met at Ottawa on the 7th of November. To the Canadian spectator a large number of the faces in the commons were new, the entire thirty-four representatives from ;i_" LIFE OF SIR JOHN A. MACDONALD. the maritime provinces being strangers. Among the latter were Joseph Howe, one of the greatest orators of his day, a man who could cany his audience by his passionate eloquence as the sweeping wind sways the trees of the forest, and who, besides I distinguished public career, had made some creditable contributions to the literature of his province, and written some rlorid poetry, which however will nut add many cubits to his stature ; 1 hr, Tapper, hit opponent, and of whom we shall have something to say in another place; Hon. Albert J. Smith, a competent lawyer with a strong tendency, under provocation, to lose his temper, talk rubbish, tad forget his dignity, yet being capable of making a dashing speech at times, and administer- ing a good deal of judicious annoyance to an opponent ; Charles Fisher, who was an awkward l>ut able lawyer, a comparatively mediocre politician when in otfice, but a very battering-ram, torpedo-boat, and many other things compounded when assail- ing a ministry ; Timothy Warren Anglin, who was to the politics of his time what the stage-coach is in a railway age, and the carrier-) >igeon in the days of electricity — a man with a strong and stubborn intellect, capable of a vast grasp, and en- dowed with an extr aordinary memory — a forcible but diffuse speaker, who made long excursions in the by-ways of his argu- ment, seldom delivering a speech within bounds suitable to the time of those whose temporal span is fixed at three score and ten, and whose patience is only good. The most important " new face " from Ontario was that of Mr. Edward Blake, of whom, in another place, we shall have just a word or two to say. Hon. James Cockburn was elected to the speakership of the commons. The ministerial speech contained the usual con- gratulations and foreshadowed the sessional programme. On the address there was some hot discussion, and when the Demos- thenes from down by the sea rose to state why his province was dissatisfied with the compact, every whisper was stilled, every member sat with head thrust forward. Whether it was that expectation had looked for too much, or that the speaker THE NEW REGIME. 343 failed to attain his usual height, there was no little disappoint- ment, ami Dr. Tupper following, fairly riddled the argument of the great orator by pointing out several inconsistencies in his speech, and proving that the union issue had not been fairly ented to the people of Nova Scotia. The address was car- ried Without a division, and Howe sitting at his desk, the em- bodiment of grim dissatisfaction, reminded the on-looker of a volcano at rest, after a violent eruption. The chief business of the oew parliament was an act reducing the rates of postage and organizing the post office savings hank system; and a rare providing tor the construction of the Intercolonial Railway, the route to he determined hy the imperial govern- ment in accordance with the terms when obtaining the imperial loan. An attempt wa> made to place the telegraph system under government control a^ had been don.' in Great Britain, but some of the grits said, Why not at ones put the newspapers, and the Writing of private letters, and our ledgers, and our man-servants, and our maid-servants, and our oxen, and our and everything that la ours under the control of the gov- erns d for one.', the grits took, probably, a very whole- i correct view of the matte]-. It is not the duty of government to take charge of railways, and telegraph lines, and steamers, in order that these may be run and managed properly ; bat it is their duty to use the powers in their hands ave them BO conducted. If two mail-coach drivers get into th' habit of running into each other as they pass on dark nights, breaking the bones of passengers and destroying pro- perty, it is not the doty of government to mount the box and drive the coaches; but it is then duty to see that one and both carry lights; that each takes his own side of the road ; that in certain places he must not drive at greater speed than may be prescribed ; and that, failing to observe these conditions, he pay a fine or Buffer other punishment at the hands of the law. It is not the function of government, let us repeat, to manage LIFE OF SIR JOHN A. MACDOKALD. railways — unless under some rxceptional condition — but it is it> duty to protect the ]>ul»lie against railway monopolies by so framing its Legislation as to maintain competition and make 'ion and monopoly impossible. The tendency in this of gigantic public enterprise, like in England under the heptarchy, is for the inciter to absorb or swallow the lesser, and half a glance dlOWfl 08 that this centralization is going on in monsl rate affaire, the weaker day by day vanishing from the scene, falling a victim to the coercion or the bribe of the stronger. Watching the Grand Trunk and the Canada Pa- eitie railway > in this country reminds one of nothing so much a^ a pair of whales devouring all the smaller fish that come in their way. and halting on occasion, trying to bolt one another. ( kw -poratinn is rapidly becoming king in Canada as in the re- public, and the duty of our government is to thwart him.* Hon. John Rase assumed charge of the department of finance, vacated by Mr. Gait, and applied himself with diligent zeal to the duties of his office. The reform press said he was only a baby in finance," but censure being the platform of oppo- sition, the statement did not overwhelm the new official, who made a very efficient and clear-sighted administrator. On the 4th of December, Hon. Win. McDougall moved a series of reso- lutions based on the 146th section of the British North Ame- rica Act providing for the incorporation of Rupert's Land and the North-West territory into the Dominion of Canada. After a week's discussion the resolutions were adopted, and an address embodying the same was forwarded to the Queen's government, On the 21st of December, parliament adjourned till the £0th of March, the object of the long interim being to give the local legislatures an opportunity to complete their ses- sions. The close of the year was marked by the death of Mr. Fergusson-Blair, president of the legislative council, a man of * The writer must not be considered as having any feeling tut detestation for the doctrine of the Socialists, one of whose expounders unfortunately is the fine ability of Mr. Ilenry George looking sadly awry. TEE NE W REG1M K. 345 moderate views — with preferences for the liberal party — and genuinely devoted to his country's interests. During the recess, Howe again led the forlorn hope in Nova Scotia, and in full harness thundered around his little province, declaring that the " tie must be broken." The local legislature met on the 30th of January, 18G8, and an address was passed pr&ying for the repeal of so much of "the act for the union of Canada and Nova Scotia and New Brunswick as related to N<.va Scotia.' 1 Four provincial delegates, with Howe at their bead, were deputed to lay the address at the foot of the throne, but the ambassadors of disintegration were confronted at the In »me office by Dr. Tupper, who once again carried away the laurels. When the Dominion parliament met, the opposition ired the government for having sent Dr. Tupper to London, bni in a little ihamed of this contention, and said no more it it. And now, while the commons was in the midst of its duties, an event happened which sent i thrill of horror through the country and brought legialat ion to a stand-still ( me of the t members in the house, and perhaps its most brilliant orator, was Thomas D'Ar. v IfcQee. A short sketch of his ■t must 1"' interesting to all SO familiar with his nam.' and the circumstances of bis untimely end. Be was born of humble nts in the County of Louth, Inland, in 1825. The advan- 3 of higher education, which were open only to the rich man's son, were denied to young McGee; yet, young eagle that he was, h,. aimed to soar, and no circumstance could trammel the yearning spirit within his br e as t. He had the flashing eloquence of his nation, that gift which no Irishman ever acquires by putting pebbles in h is mouth or going down by the shore to declaim above the thunders of the surf; for the kind fairy who still Lingers about the green springs in the wild valleys, or visits the cabin at night, when the peasant sleeps, - liim this grace for naught ; and he appears upon his first platform an orator, though untaught, as the duckling swims who has had no lesson. When young McGee reached his 346 LIFE OF SIR JOHN A. MACDONALD. seventeenth year, he turned his face to the new world, where his ardent fancy painted him a name and high position ; and on reaching New York, plunged like a red-hot cannon-shot into journalism. McGee has been described by those who enjoyed nothing in common with him save the Caucasian relationship as being an impulsive liberator of the loud- mouth description, only somewhat brilliant, and ambitious to help the cause of Ireland Some of this is true as far as- it goes, but it does not penetrate beyond the husk of that splen- did bat rudderless ability. Mr. Mc( lee was an ardent patriot but his patriotism was not a cause but a consequence, the out- come indeed of a wild poetic sentiment, which delighted in no- thing so much as weaving impossible schemes in impracticable spheres. He was more poet than patriot or politician, yet is hi> verse third-rate and disorderly as his early career, giving proof that their owner mistook the merchandise of the muse for a sentiment that it was the duty of its possessor to stifle, but which here and there, and manifestly against the author's will, displayed true notes which indicated the "soul of song/' like the jets which, bursting up, tell of the subterranean waters. This young man, on the New York press, pouring out brilliant and reckless writing to a class that devoured as they wondered, was like a blood colt, unbroken and full of fire, that some ad- mirer deliberately harnesses into regulation work. It is not necessary to chronicle casualties, for they will be predicated of such a procedure. But young McGee became famous, and after his name had grown familiar through Ireland, he re- turned to his native country, in 1845, and became editor of the Dublin Freeman's Journal, But to this young eagle the Journal was an old coach, too slow for the time and his ambi* tion; and he cast in his lot with Charles Gavan Duffy and several other firebrands, w r ho could see everything and every- where under the sun except before them, and became one of the writers on the Nation. Setting off mere harmless fire- works soon lost its charm for him ; eventually he was lured THE NEW REGIME. 34T into the Smith O'Brien chimera — and tied from Ireland dis- guised as a priest. He had gone up like a rocket and come- down like a burnt stick. He then established the New York a weekly journal containing, issue after issue, im- prudence and fire ; and with this minister of his mad spirits he succeeded in convulsing the Irish population of New York till Bishop Hughes interfered, and quietly put his foot on the pub- lication. Out of the ashes of this dead brand arose The At Celt, which was established in Boston. About this time. through what means no one can tell. McGee suddenly paused and asked himself : Have I been on the right road ? Have I Jit I possess in the proper way I Have I any hope of achieving that for which 1 aim, by following out the course I have so long punned To all these queries his mind returned, and hh) career returned, negations. And, struck like Saul with sudden conviction, he was from that hour a changed man. Henceforth he resolved UOi al<»ne to pursue a new way, but to- avour to make amends for the past. He removed to Buf- falo, and there for four years issued the C>f(. no longer a fiery dragon, but the bearer of messages of peace and good- will. The fame of the editor ipread over the continent, snd he made to ( 'anada lecturim: IB the chief towns. At length, in L857, at the earnest request of a large number of Eriah Catholics, lu; removed to Montreal, where he established New Era, in which, with masterly eloquence, and strong a ml searching argument. In- advocated a federation of the British North American colonies. He had now, once admitted into- political fellowship with British colonists, grown an ardent Klpporterof imperial institutions; — and bloodshot eyes in the lodges of the Fenian Brotherhood began to lower ominously upon him. We have already introduced him to the reader on fads entry into parliament for Montreal, and pass onto the perkx I pf the election after the union. Time and residence arnong- British colonists had surely wrought strange changes in thia man. Be was now an impassioned devotee of the Queen, and LIFE OF SIR JOHN A. MACDONALD. bided the invasion of tins country by the Fenians with no feeling short of horror. The Irish in Montreal, in proportion as the man expressed regret for the past, began to fall off from him, and he narrowly escaped defeat at the general election after the union. He was then stricken down by sickness from which he rallied slowly, but eventually took his place in the commons again. He had received many letters making threats upon his life from members of the same bloody brotherhood who are now busy with dynamite ; and the shadow of impend- ing d<»om fell across his path, He who had been once so jovial at the festive board, so lightsome and brilliant in speech, had grown thoughtful and melancholy, and seldom was seen to smile. On the evening of the 6th of April, he delivered one of his most masterly and statesman-like speeches in the commons, •counselling the adoption of pacific measures towards Nova Scotia. The house adjourned about two o'clock in the morn- ing, and the members departed for their homes. McGee accom- panied by several others, who parted with him at the corner of Sparks and Metcalfe streets, proceeded towards his own lodg- ing-house on Sparks street. As he was engaged inserting his in the latch, a tigure which had been crouched by the door awaiting his coming rose and fired a pistol. The ball crashed through McGee's brain, and he fell dead across the threshold. In a few moments a crowd was about the spot, but no trace of the assassin could be found. When the wires flashed-the news abroad, the country was paralyzed with horror. On the follow- ing day, in a voice inarticulate with emotion and sorrow, Sir John Macdonald rose and moved the adjournment of the house, paying tribute in well chosen words to the eminent qualities •of the deceased, the loss the country had sustained, and ex- pressing his sympathy with the bereaved family of the illus- trious dead. A pension of £300 per annum was spontaneously voted to the widow, and provision was made for the education •of the children. Large rewards were offered for the apprehen- sion of the murderer, and before long a Fenian named Whelan THE NEW REGIME. 349» was arrested, tried and found guilty. He was hanged in Ottawa on the 11th of February, 1869. Parliament re-assembled on the 14th of April, 1868, con- tinuing the sitting till the 22nd of May. The most important work of the session was the passage of the new customs and militia acts, and a measure to secure the independence of par- liament This latter art provided that any person holding an office of profit or emolument under government is ineligible for a seat in parliament, and any person sitting or voting under such circumstances wis made liable to a fine of 82,000 per day, The aet has been the means, to a great extent, of keeping the parliament pure, though a few years later it was ascertained that Mr. Timothy Anglin, while actually sitting as speaker of the house of commons, was the recipient of a large printing con* • from government. This, however, is the only disgraceful breach of the aet on record. In duly two lieutenant-governors were appointed. Hon. \Y 1' I lowland for Ontario, and Hon. A. L. Wilmot, who both in politics and jurisprudence had been brilliant, but in neither and, for New Brunswick Meanwhile the feeling of hostility to union in v tia hid DOt decreased, but rather owing to the clever writing and address of those irrepressible antis, the Annands and others of equal note, had become so isif icd that Sir .John Macdonald suggested to his colleagues propriety of some members of the cabinet attending the conference to be held in Halifax, in August. Accordingly, thither pi I Sir John and several other members of the government. They reasoned , expostulated, offered to investi- any grievance, and as far as possible to remedy the same . but the antis were not to be comforted, and the Canadian delegates returned home, the premier not without the hope that the seed had not fallen entirely on stony ground. Still he did not rest content with hope which he knew very well tells too many flattering tales, but offered to revise the con- dition- of N onnexion with the confederation, and 350 LIFE OF SIR JOHN A. MACDONALD. invited Joseph Howe to a seat in the ministry. Mr. Howe -carefully reviewed the situation, and seeing that his refusal of Sir John's terms would only be the prolongation of a hopeless struggle thai could only bring bitter fruit, gave way, and. in January of the new year, 18G9, entered the government M president of the council. At a cabinet meeting the de- tails of the "Better Terms " sought for Nova Scotia were determined: Canada undertook to assume $9,186,756 of the provincial debt instead of $8,000,000 as originally fixed, and grant an annual subsidy of 182,698 for ten years. Lord Monck having taken such an able and zealous part in forwarding confederation, his term of office had been extended two year*, that the new government might be inaugurated un- der his auspices. The extended period had expired on the 14th of November, and the governor, with some emotion, bade farewell to the country in which he had taken so deep an in- >t. For his services in Canada he was created a peer of the United Kingdom with the title of Baron Monck, of Bally- trammon, in the County of Wexford. His successor was Sir John Young, better known to us as Lord Lisgar, the eldest son of an Irish baronet, a conservative in politics and the repre- sentative of Cavan in the imperial parliament. He had been governor of the Ionian Islands and of New South Wales, and when he reached Canada was in his sixty-second year. The second session of the first parliament of New Canada met on the 15th of April. Mr. Howe introduced a series of resolutions embodying the stipulations of the order-in-council ; but Mr. Blake contended that the measure was ultra vires, in- asmuch as the imperial parliament having settled the basis of union the Canadian government could not change it. Mr. Mackenzie in a speech less eloquent and powerful than Mr. Blake's, but one charged with facts and dissolving argument, supported the contentions of the latter; but Mr. John Hillyard Cameron, Dr. Tupper and others, supported the resolutions with much power and an array of possible and improbable THE NEW REGIME. 351 cases that altered, to the view of the house, the complexion which had been given to the case by the speeches of Messrs. Blake and Mackenzie. There is nothing in the sphere of poli- tics stronger than eloquence, except numbers ; and Howe's resolutions were carried by a large majority. In August, Prince Arthur, one of the Queen's sons, visited Canada, and was received with profuse hospitality. A month or tw<> later in the season Mr. Rose resigned his portfolio and went to London, England, as t member of the well-known banking firm there. Mr. Francis Hincks having returned to ela, though not as Mr. Francis, but as Sir Francis, from the government of LarLadoes and the Windward Islands, was offered by Sir John, and accepted, the vacant portfolio of fin- ance. Tin- country had the fullest confidence in his iinancial skill, remembering his ip&endid record as inspector-general, and he was retained to the house of commons for North Ren- fn-w S ral other change* were aUo made in the cabinet, Mr. J. C. Aiken* becoming secretary of state and registrar- general; Mr. Dnnkin, minister of agriculture; Mr. Alexander Morris, minister of inland revenue, and Mr. Howe, secretary for the provinces. Mr. Mel )ougall, whom we are to !i. was appointed governor of the North-West terri- es, and resigning his seat in the ministry, proceeded with hi> family to that distant wilderness, where, blind to the hitter disappointment the future held in store, a reasonable ambition whispered in hie ear, a vast range of opportunity would l>e opened to his energy and talents, and he would add renown to his name CHAPTER XIX. THE HALF-BREED. riVHE Hudson I greed ler their rights 1 in the North-Wesi territory for £300,000, to be paid by the Dominion government \ but all the existing rights of the company, with certain reservations, Bhould first revert to the imperial government. The reservations included some 500,000 acres of land adjacent to the trading posts of the company, one twentieth of the land in the fertile tract lying to the south of the north branch uf the Saskatchewan, with the stipulation that the rights of the Indians and half-breeds should be re- sted Within a month after the reversion, the territory was e ceded t<» the Dominion; and the Canadian government asure providing for the government of the newly acquired territory. By this act provision was made for the appointment of a lieutenant-governor, and a council to carry on the adminstratiuii, an 1 the lights of the Indians and half- breeds, it was expressly declared, were to be respected ; while all laws in force in the territories not clashing with the British North- America act or the terms of admission were to be held as valid until repealed. For many years Hon. Win. McDougall, on the platform and in the press, had advocated the acquisition of this territory, and at a time when most men regarded the distant wilderness as a dreary region of muskeg and eternal frosts, affording harbourage only to w T ild beasts, he declared that it would prove a source of untold wealth, and could support millions upon millions of people. It was felt now, when the territory was to be added to Canada, that none 352 THE HALF-BREED. 353 other there was so worthy the honour of first governing this fnita as Mr. McDongall, and so on the announcement being made that the company had surrendered the territory to the British government, this gentleman was appointed to the governorship, though the proclamation was not to take effect till the region had passed into the hands of tlir Dominion. Early in September, therefore, and without waiting till the month had elapsed, Mr. McDougall, with his family, set out from I Htawa on the long and tiresome journey to Fort Garry, the seal ol bia future government. Meanwhile a party of surveyors, under Lieutenant-Colonel Dennis, a gentleman swayed largely by the warlike instinct, bad been ai Fort Garry and the districts Bnrrounding, laying off lots and townships. The ignorant half-breeds, naturally, 'looked upon the Dew-comers, with their tapes and chains, with ftOme alarm ; and they MOO became tailed with the fear that the land which they and their ancestors had held at the hands of the company, for generations, was now to be wrested from them by the government, and that for this vary purpose the itrai re here measuring off the territory, The Inhabit- ante >untry consisted of Krench-Canadian half-breeds, endants of tl swr$ and oownurs des bois who had vers.] generations trapped, and traded for furs, throughout these wild regions They were all members of the catholic church, servile in their obedience to the priests, but steeped in ignorance and ready to follow any clever demagogue who could work upon their fear or prejudice. They had been in- formed thai Dennis and his surveyors were to visit their terri- tory to seize their ancestral lands, and they promptly and without any show of grace demanded of the strangers, busy with their chains and levels, to know if what they had been told was true. For, if it is, they said, we shall resist the aggres- sion, and prevent anybody else from settling upon the territory of which you are about to rob us. One might have supposed that Dennis' staff would explain to these deluded people that w 354 LIFE OF SIR JOHN A. MACDONALD. their rights would be respected, and what the object of the survey was ; but they took a different course : they told the poor half-breed that the less he had to say about opposing >. tilers, and thwarting government the better; that there was plenty of soldiers in ( 'anada to enforce obedience. To make the matter worse the English inhabitants scattered through the territory, who owed DO love to their half barbarous neigh- bours, indulged in much injudicious exultation over the pro- poeed change, All these causes combined produced pernicious fruit". The half-breeds became mad with excitement, and only waited for some one to lead them to mischief. Not long were the leaden wanted. In hoi baste rose John Bruce, Louis Riel, and Ambrose Lepine; and with their appearance the country burst into rebellion. Colonel Dennis, who had been on the spot and at first treated the idea of conciliation and explanation with due military contempt, now began to grow alarmed, and wrote to Mr. McDougall that things had taken on an ugly face. Meanwhile the rebels had formed a provisional government with John Bruce at its head; but the ruling spirit was Louis Riel, a daring, young French-Canadian, wily as a savage, bril- liant and energetic. He appealed to the prejudices and the fear of the half-breeds, and in a few days had four hundred men at his back. The new governor, in the meantime, unconscious of what was going on, had been travelling with all possible speed to the seat of government. While on the way from St. Paul, he heard that the half-breeds were in arms ; but undaunted by the intel- ligence he pushed on. At Pembina, however, he was served by a half-breed with a notice from the " National Committee " forbidding him to enter the territory; but still heedless of warnings he proceeded with his councillors to the Hudson Bay Company's post, about two miles beyond the frontier. Here he was apprised by Colonel Dennis of the true state of affairs, and learned that large parties of armed men had been despatched by Riel to various points between Fort Garry THE HALF-BREED. 355 and Pembina, to oppose his progress. Not having a suffi- cient force to tight his way to Fort Garry, Mr. McDougaM had no alternative but to call a halt. He wrote a despatch to Ottawa setting forth the state of matters, and also despatched a messenger to Governor llcTavish, at the Fort ; but his mes- senger was captured by a party of armed men, and sent back under escort, with the warning not to attempt a similar enter- prise again. Some time after this occurrence a party of four- teen armed horsemen drew up before Mr. IfcDougalTs halting- place and demanded an interview. They notified the gover- nor that he must leave the territory before nine o'clock on the following day ; but after boom expostulatioD they rode away " considering the matter/' retaining, however, on the follow- ing morning, showing • desire t«> use violence, Mr. ICcDougall and bis party retired promptly across the border, and took up Lodgings at the honseofs friendly Irishman, in Pembina, where remained till the return t<> Ontario. Since we have lastseen the conspirators, amazing success has waited on their fortunes. ( >nly the few Canadian settlers og them had shown hostility t«» the rising. The officers of Hudson Bay Company sal with folded arms when a would have stamped the rebellion out; for they ik; more than the half-l.r U relished tie- prospect of a new regime, having come, from their long possession in these wilds, as til-- rightful lords and masters of the bory. But tie- bighesi authority in the country was the •catholic ehurch, one of whose priests, in the field, would have been a- powerful as Colonel Dennis and fifty cannon. Un- fortunately tie- resident bishop, the Right Reverend Alexandra Antoine Tache. was at tie.' time in Koine, and the pious priest in charge of the diocese, during the bishop's absence, was too itious to interfere in the Interests of peace, and to pre- vent bloodshed, though bis eatechism had told him, — and he D Tight have read it in the scriptures — that "he that resisteth the power resisteth the ordinance of God, and they that resist 356 LIFE OF SIR JOHN A. MACDONALD. shall purchase to themselves damnation." The good priest mid liis ignorant Hock, however, were not so much awed by the threat of " damnation " M dazzled by the successes of the im- pulsive and shortsighted Riel. On the 24th of November the insurgents, under Riel, took possession of Fort Garry, set tlie authority of Governor McTavish, who was now stricken down with mortal illness, at defiance; and fell to feasting on the stores of the company. The Canadian settlers having taken the alarm, gathered together to tin- number of about fifty and took refoge in the house of Dr. Shultz, but the dwelling was besieged ; the inmates were captured, and inarched off to Fort Garry where they were put in confinement. The proclamation appointing M r. Mel >ougall to the governor- ship of the territory, and annexing the latter to the dominion was not to go into effect till the 1st of December, but for weeks previous to that date the intended governor had been perform- ing the functions of a regular ruler. In this he was guilty of a grave error, and when tidings of his course reached Ottawa the government felt the gravest alarm. But Mr. McDougall was not a solitary blunderer upon the scene. When the first day of December arrived he issued a proclamation command- ing the insurgents peacaUy to disperse to their homes under pain of the rigours of the law. He likewise authorized Colonel Dennis to raise a force to put down the insurrection ; and a few days later that worthy soldier was found among the lodges of the Sioux Indians trying to array the chiefs into hostility ust the insurgents. Whatever some writers, who, when passing judgment, were in a quiet room, in the midst of a peaceful city, may affirm to the contrary, we are unable to see any great lack of judgment in the governor of a territory in re- volt against the supreme authority raising a force to establish order. But it appears that the Canadian government, unwil- ling to accept a province seething with tumult, did not bind itself to the time fixed in its own proclamation, so that the ordinances of Mr. McDougall, who was ignorant of what had THE HALF-BREED. 357 been done, were invalid; and he was held responsible for the blunders of the ministry. Meanwhile Colonel Dennis set him- self to work to raise a force, but Riel and his followers only laughed at the chief of the surveyors, who, disgusted and cha- grined, left the territory; while Mr. McDougall, finding he had made a false step, for which he was only in part to blame, that public opinion was against him, and that the government had, without understanding his difficulties, and dealing with deci- sion themselves, censured his proceeding*, returned disheart- ened and delisted to Ontario, where he published a scries of letters affirming, and with such proof as lent but too much probability to his story, that the Hudson Bay Company and the K<>man Catholic clergy of Red River had to some ex- tent fomented the rebellion, and that his own late colleague, Hon. Joseph Hour, secretary of state, who had visited the re- gion a short time before was, not to a small extent, responsible b»r tie' uprising. On Mr. tfcDougall'a way home, he met upon tie- plains three emissaries, Vicar-general Thibault, < olonel De berry and Donald A. Smith, each hearing, from the Cana- dian government, to the Lnsn a copy of a proclamation ed by Lord Lisgar, containing, in conclusion, the following paragraph: — "And I do lastly inform you that in case of your immediate and peaceable obedience and dispersion, I shall order that no legal proc* -dings be taken against any parties implica- te 1 in these unfortunate breaches of the law." Mr. McDoujrall pursued his way home, and he was not much to be blamed if he offered no prayer for the success of Commissioner Salabei 1 v. Tie <'missaries proceeded on their way, but had no sooner •1 Fort Garry than they were pounced upon, and de- prived of their papers without being given an opportunity to offer a word of «\planation. Riel'fl head had failed him in the trying moment of prosperity, and he was now fairly delirious with success. He came to believe himself lord and master of tie- territory ; he confiscated property, overthrew every ban in to his will, and banishe 1 from the country such as had aroused 358 LIFE OF SIR JOHN A. MACDONALD. his fear or ire. It is difficult to tell what punishment he had in store for Dr. Shultz and the band of Canadians now locked in the fort ; but one night, three weeks after the incarceration, the doctor made his escape, and rallying a number of settlers around him demanded the surrender of the prisoners. The sturdy front of Shultz and his followers, and the entreaties of ral prominent residents induced Riel to yield to the re- quest, but he openly stated that he would recapture Shultz, who might depend upon a sore reckoning. The threatened man silently left the territory, and remained in Ontario till better days, rpon one other person, too, had the insurgent cast a murderous eye. ( >n the night of the loth of February, there was a rising at the Portage, and about a hundred sturdy settlers, who were loyal to the* Canadian government, placed themselves at the disposal of Major Boulton, a Canadian officer of militia. This force marched to Kildonan, where they were joined by three hundred and fifty others, the most of whom were English half-breeds, wretchedly armed, undisciplined, and without food enough for a single meal. The result of such a rising can be readily predicted. Major Boulton, a brave offi- cer, though leading for want of better such a helpless assem- blage, was, with forty others captured, thrown into prison, and sentenced by court martial to be shot. Through the earnest entreaties, however, of Mr. Smith, the Bishop of Rupert's Land, Archdeacon McLean, the Catholic clergy and other influential citizens, he was released ; though it went sorely against the will of Riel to deliver him up. The latter was now dictator and " president " of the " provisional government " formed by the insurgents ; and each day that he enjoyed this power he grew more overbearing and dangerous to those who resented his will. But Riel's worst offence so far was rebellion, and a high- handed use of his unlawful powers ; he was yet to enact the foulest crime that stains the page of Canadian history. It ap- pears that among the besieged at Dr. Shultz's house was one THE HALF-BREED. 359 Thomas Scott, a sturdy and spirited young fellow, who had moved to the territory from Ontario. He did not surrender with the main body of Canadian settlers, but was arrested the same evening anil confined in the Fort. Scott was a fiery y<»uth, loyal to the government, but indiscreet enough to make speeches which brought upon his head the wrath of the dicta- tor. There is now no doubt that for Scott Riel had conceived a personal hatred. Twice had he risen in arms against t lie insurgents, and even under the lock and key of the president made no effort to s up p r ess his turbulent spirit. One morning the story was told that the prisoners had heaped gross insult upon their half-breed guards, that the example had been set by Scott, ami that the latter's conduct was no longer tolerable. Whether the story was true or not it served the bloodthirsty purpose of Kiel, who, with murder in his eye, on the evening of the 3rd of March, within the walls of the fort, improvised a • unit martial, consisting of the u council of seven," to try Scott. Tin- crimea for which lie was to be tried were resistance to the provisional government* and assault upon one Of his keepers. Riel appeared in the character of prosecutor, witness and judge, and refused to allow Scott to be present at the (rial, or to make any defence. Afters brief consultation, the seven sentenced the victim to be shot on the following morning at ten o'clock. When new- of the unheard-of proceedings, and the barbarous Sentence got abroad, there was even in that rebellious fort < nient, and much sympathy was expressed for the condemned man. Kev. Mr. Young. B Methodist minister, Pere Mr. Smith and others, besought with tearful earnest- that the sentence might be commuted, but the president was thirsting for Scott's blood, and, with his barbarous ally ine, peremptorily refused to listen to any plea for mercy. Poor Scott, as may be supposed, could scarcely realize his posi- tion ; and did not at first believe that the bloody sentence would be carried out. But a few minutes past noon on the following day, the executioners, a band of half-breeds, partially 3C0 LIFE OF SIR Jo US A. MACDOKALD. intoxicated, came into his cell, and led him out blind-fold through the chief entrance to the fort to a spot a few yards distant from the wall. "My God, my God," he could only say, in a tremulous voice, " this is cold-blooded murder." Hiscotlin, Covered with white cotton, was carried before him, and laid down at the spot planned for execution, where the firing party of ail half-breeds under ■ Adjotant-genera] " Ambrose Lepine, now dn-w up. Scott tlien, his arms pinioned, knelt on the ground, said farewell, and fell hack pierced by three bullets. Til.- victim it was observed was not dead, and one of the firing party stepping over to whrie he lay bleeding upon the snow, drew a revolver which he discharged into his head. The body was then thrust into the coffin, and there are those that wit- nessed the bloody deed who assert that the cry of the dying man could be heard after the lid had been fastened down. What was aft r wards the fate of the corpse, no one save those engaged in its disposal knows. It was reported that the body had been burned in the fort, but the box, which was alleged to have contained the remain- was found to contain naught hut stones. The genera] opinion is that the corpse was thrust below the ice in Red River. At the first tidings of the outbreak it occurred to Sir John lonald that Bishop Tachd's presence would do more to quel] the disturbances than any other means at the disposal of the government. His lordship, however, as we have seen, was at the time in Rome, attending a session of the famous (Ecumenical council, but the ministers considered the case ur- gent enough to invite the bishop to return and use his endea- vours towards restoring peace. The prelate, at no little sacri- fice, tore himself away from Rome and proceeded to Canada. On arriving at Ottawa, he received special instructions for the guidance of his mission. But unfortunately for the ends of justice, the bishop set out with the mistake of regarding him- self a plenipotentiary with formal powers, whereas his mission was exactly in the character of that of Colonel de Salabery, THE HALF-BREED. 361 Donald A. Smith, and the vicar-general. Dr. Tache* was sen because it was but too apparent that some of the priests in his diocese sympathized largely with the rebels, and that the insurgents, almost to a man, were members of his flock. So, in the dispatching of the three emissaries named, his lord- ship was given a copy of the proclamation, and also some pri- vate Utters for his guidance. For example, among other things, Sir John Maedonald wote : "Should the question as to the consumption of the stores or goods belonging to the Hudson Bay company by the insurgents, you are author- ized to inform the leaders that if the company's government is I'd, not only will there be I general amnesty granted, but in case the company should claim payment for such stores, that Canadian government will stand between the insurgents and all harm." Bis lordship had also private conversations with Sir John and Hmi. Joseph Bowe, and a letter from the governor-general. Bui no member of the government Looked i the bishop's position SS other than that of a peacemaker. ing assurances from the gover n ment on specific points Had he been a plenipotentiary he would have been given a ; d commission With authority to deal, in the name of the with all past and possible offences. As a mere informal emissary and peacemaker, the bounds of his author- ity extended DO further than the specifications in the letters of the ministers ; and it might even be argued that the private letter of Sir John Maedonald, or of Mr. Howe, or even of Sir John Young, was n it a valid authority, and was not so in- tended, and that ministers only wished to have the insurgents made aware of the disposition of the government. That the eminent did blunder to assuming that the mere uprising of the French Metis and the consumption of the Hudson Bay company's stores were the limit of Riel's offences, no one can deny ; but this was not a justification, though it was the occa- i of the bishop's view of the question. It is not necessary LIFE OF SIR JOHN A. MACDONALD. to say that when his lordship set out from Ottawa, the minis- try was ignorant of the murder of Scott. On the 9th of March, five days after the death of Scott, the bishop hearing his credentials arrived at Red River. He pre- sented his papers, remonstrated with the rebels, and in the name of the government of Canada made certain promises if they w<»uld lay down their anus. Among these, was that of a general ampe aly U) Ml implicated in the insurrection ; as like- wise to those concerned in the shooting of Scott. It is almost incredulous that the worthy M>hop should have so far nii^- fcaken his powers as to include in the amnesty, upon his own responsibility, the perpetrators of this foul murder; yet such was Ids view, an opinion which he maintained stoutly to the end. lb- wrote, stating what he had done, to the secretary of -tat.-. Mr. Howe, hut that gentleman promptly informed him that the government was not in a position to interfere with the action of her majesty in the exercise of the royal clemency, though he requested his lordship to persevere in his endeavours t> hring the population to peace and order, acknowledging, as was proper and due to the prelate, the value of his services so far to the cause of peace. For years afterwards the question of amnesty was a subject of discussion, the government affirming that they had never committed themselves to a pledge of par- don beyond what appeared in their published letters. The- news of the murder of Scott filled the" great bulk of the Cana- dian public with horror and indignation, and in a few days it was learnt with much satisfaction that General Sir Garnet Wolseley, who has since distinguished himself in Ashantee, Egypt and elsew T here, was to be sent to Red River with an ample military force. The news reached Fort Garry, and the murderer Riel and his colleague Lepine lost their bravado and shivered for fear. With the same secrecy of movement that the commander of the troops observed in his sortie upon the forces of Arabi Pasha, he was within rifle shot of Fort Garry ere anyone in the murderer's lair knew of the approach. Riel THE HALF-BREED. 363- and Lepine took instant flight out of harm's way, and with lusty British cheers, and amid the thunder of a royal salute,, the Union-Jack was hoisted above the fort. Hon. Adams George Archibald had been, in the meantime,, appointed to the governorship of the Territory, and on the 2nd of November assumed his official functions. In the following May — 1871 — he heard with alarm that a body of Fenians un- der the leadership of one O'Donoghue, who had been an ally of Kiel, threatened an irruption. The governor was alone, sur- round* .1 by difficulties and unprovided with a defensive force;, and being cut off by distance from communication with the central authorities, was thrown upon his own resources. It was- an hour of grave peril, and to save the new province from the consequences of a conquest by inch a filibuster as O'Donoghue and the band of ruffians in his following, Mr. Archibald Leagued himself with the two murderers Ettd and Lepine, who were- still at large, though warrants were out for their apprehension, to resi>t the invaders. Promptly these two persons rallied, once again, tin- subsided Metis, whom they placed at the disposal of Mr. Archibald. The governor, it appears, had little misgivings- in entering into this foul and revolting eompact. He reviewed the murderers' troops, accepted their services, promised Lepine and Riel at least temporary immunity from molestation for their crime, shook hands with them, received a letter signed by them, and through his secretary addressed a written reply after the retreat of the brigand O'Donoghue, complimenting them en the loyalty they had shown and the assistance they had rendered. Indeed, the governor was of the impression that Riel and his followers offered their services in a spirit of genuine loyalty, "though," says Lord Dufferin, in a despatch to the secretary of state, sir .John Macdonald appears to have had misgivings- on this head." The strongest point by the lieutenant-gover- nor, in justification of this sickening alliance, is made when he : "If I had driven the French half-breeds into the hands of the enemy O'Donoghue, they would have been joined by all LIFE OF SIR JOHN A. MACDONALD. the population between the Assiniboine and the frontier; Fort Garry would have passe d into the hands of an armed mob, and the English settlers to the north of the Assiniboine would have goffered horrors that it makes me shudder to contemplate. At this period tn all-pervading sense of etiquette had taken possession of archbishop* Tache, who maintained with a zeal Worthy of a noble erase, that, bj virtue of his commission fr« »m the Canadian government, and his declaration of an am- nesty, Kiel and Lepine had been placed beyond the molestation of the law. It is not necessary to detail incidents of this un- ilv squabble between the bishop and the ministers. The -tion was submitted to the imperial government, and after much correspondence between Lord Dufferin and the colonial tarv, the latter left the subject in the hands of the gover- nor-general. Lepine had been captured, and la} 7 in the Winni- ^aol under sentence of death, but this Lord Dufferin com- muted to two years' imprisonment and a permanent forfeiture of civil rights. This was surely a triumph for murder and the archbishop. Riel, whose punishment would have been the same as Lepine's, escaped the law — because the law shut its oyes — and is now at large among his fellows bearing the stain of his revolting crime. * His lordship about this time was created an archbishop. CHAPTER XX. i THROUGH STORMS TO THE REEF. T is necessary now to take a few paces backward. On the 2nd of May, and while the territory was at the feet of the insurgents, Sir John Macdonald introduced an act to establish and provide for the government of the province of Manitoba,. as this tumultuous region was to be henceforth called. Local aflaira were placed under the control of a lieutenant-gover- nor, who was aided by an executive council, the legislative machinery to comprise i house of assembly, and an upper chamber. Even in this wilderness province, so remote from tlif influences of the aristocracy, it was considered necessary to season the constitution with a pinch of feudalism, by creating a house of prairie-lords. The province having no public debt of which the Dominion should have borne a part, interest at cent per annum on 1472,090 was guaranteed; a yearly subsidy of $80,000, and the usual general allowance of 80 ceni a per head, the population being estimated at 17,000. Ungranted territory was vested in the crown for purposes of the federal and to effect an extinction of the Indian title, 1,400,000 acres of land were set apart for the benefit of resident half-breed families. It was provided that the new province should become a partner in the federation on such date as the Queen in council should fix for the admission of Rupert's Land and the North-west territory into the union. Another impor- tant measure of this session was the banking act of Sir Francis Hincks, which found instant and settled favour with banking institutions and the commercial public. Not so successful was 365 366 LIFE OF SIR JOHN A. MACDONADD. tlu' honourable knight's tariff act, which bore on its face the semblance of protection, but in reality was a declaration of commercial war against the United States, with which recipro- city was desirable bat impossible. From the first the ministry seemed to have little heart in launching this measure. Sir John called it "forcing public opinion," which was not at that e ready for a system of protection, much less a measure that promised the burthens, without the benefits, of such a policy. Nevertheless, something was needed, and Sir Francis came forward with his measure with the timid-courage of a boy, pole in hand, venturing out on the first ice of the season. Unfortunately for the ministry, long pressure of public busi- had told severely on the health of Sir John. He was frequently unable to attend parliament or cabinet meetings ; and as the session drew to a close lie became completely pros- trated. Sir Francis and his colleagues battled bravely against the opposition and the defection in their own ranks, but the nerve had gone for the time from the hand that could alone make the rough smooth, and bring harmony out of disorder; and the measure passed after a severe battering, with a feeble majority. Among the able oppositionists might be counted Messrs. McDougall an 1 Gait, for though they were labelled " Independent," on trying occasions they were found voting with the government. Mr. McDougall regarded himself, as he certainly was, a victim of the government's unenviable North- west policy, and was not in opposition in the public interest, but for the sake of revenge ; while Mr. A. T. Gait also turned a personal grievance into a ground of public policy. The Fenians had their hearts set on capturing a piece of British territory, and when the rebellion broke out in the North- west, O'Neil, whose acquaintance we have already made, nim- bly reassembled his ragged brigade, and on the 25th of May, made a dash across the Missisquoi frontier ; but was driven back, helter-skelter, by a handful of Canadian volunteers. Two days later, another band, made heroic with whiskey, swaggered THROUGH STORMS TO THE REEF. 367 across the border in Huntington county, but on being confront- ed by a few of our militiamen took wild flight again into shel- tering territory. Kven here they were not beyond harm, as their leaders were arrested by United States officials, and their arms, whiskey and other possessions confiscated. In the early autumn the announcement that the imperial government was about to withdraw the troops, called forth an earnest, if a not manly, protest from several quarters. In reply, we were informed from the colonial office, that Great Britain felt that now ought to be relieved of the burthen of our defence ; that we had entered upon an era of peace, and that while the mother considered herself bound t<> defend as from foreum aa- don, that she expected as, henceforth, to provide protec- tion in oar domestic affairs. We somewhat pitiably retorted that we had alway> tarnished force to do our police duty, and did not need assistance now for that purpose: but the colonial e was inexorable, and said that what had been ordered conld not be revoked. The force- were consequently called home from all the stations save Halifax, whose -ociety, tavern- and immorality are at least the gainers, if no boon inferred apon the country. Tin- only anomaly in the seeding was the withdrawal of the troops tVom Newfound- land, which was then, and is to-day, not in the union. The imperial view was surely not lees than rational and politic; though some of those who had talked after the union with so much sound about our magnitude and our future, were among the first to cry out, " O don't take away the soldiers." To boast of nationality in one breath, and to cry for protection in ano- ther, is at once impertinent and unmanly ; and resembles no- thing so much as a hale young man of twenty-one under the guardianship of a dry nurse. Our duty is to rely upon our- es in the day of trouble, and we have spirit, and brain, and patriotism enough in this country, were the attenuated leading string of British connexion cut to-morrow, to resist all-comers as effectually as we could under our present system — which 368 LIFE OF SIR JOHN A. MAC1WXALD. dampens national ardour, and undermines self-confidence — aided by imperial soldiers. The duty to home and kin is a strong incentive, if the duty can always be made to assume that personal farm, bat patriotism can be only predicated of those who pom MM a country, not of those who inhabit an in- Btalmentol territory belonging to somebody else, and who bav- ins fought the battle and overwhelmed the foe, are reminded © © ' that they are serfs by ] infuse thanks for the loyalty and cour- age they showed not to themselves, not to the country whose fields they till, and whose seas they sail, but to a foreign ruler whom they haw never seen, and who lives beyond a dissever- ing ocean. This opinion is not for those enlightened, loyal Canadians, who think that the sovereign can cure their babies of king's evil ; but for the manly, intelligent young fellow with the light of the age in his eyes, who loves his country, and takes wisdom for his guide; who believes that all men came into this world equal, IS they must leave it equal, that gold, and place, and spurs belong alone to those who in honest strife can win them, that the custom which fixes perpetual authority 10 any family among the race of men, and declares that all others shall be subject and inferior, is one of the few relics of a barbarous age, a butt for the future historian, and an institu- tion that he will take to represent the darkness of the century. During the summer an important acquisition to the Do- minion cabinet appears in the appointment of Hon. Charles Tupper, whose robust ability and unfaltering purpose, had all along favourably impressed Sir John, to the presidency of the council, in the room of the Hon. Edward Kenny, who had been appointed to the governorship of Nova Scotia. We have met Dr. Tupper already measuring his strength with Joseph Howe, and seen him return from England twice with the laurels; but this was no test of his prowess, since Howe was pitted not alone against his brother Nova Scotian, but against the imperial cabi- net, which was zealous for union. Where the field was fair and there was no favour, it fared better with the giant, and we THROUGH STORMS TO THE REEF. 369 found Dr. Tupper, like Randolph Murray, returning to Ottawa, out of the fight, alone. But of Sir Charles' abilities, we might say of his genius, there can be no question. He began life, we believe, as ■ medical practitioner; and while enjoying an ex- cellent prospect of eminent success in that profession, entered politics, in which sphere, by the sheer force of his abilities and the possession of a power that literally battered down every obstacle, bad led in forcing his way, as we have seen, to one of the most prominent places in his country. But the Dr. Tapper of that day, was not the Sir Charles of our present ac- quaintance. Never could anybody deny that great energy of character, and almost superhuman force; but for many years after his entry into public life, Dr. Tupper was almost insuf- ferably verbose, and often bombasticaL Language literally poured from the man; but his speeches were not remark- able for the ad more incisive reasoning which runs through bis public Utterances now. Time lias chastened and disciplined that ardent spirit, reduced the blase to a sober ., whil<- nut robbing the lire of its heat; yet without being disposed to unkind criticism, bin speeches still —speeches that may always D6 called Verbal tornadoes — on OOOasiOD may DC rage, thongfe in no instance we can remember of has the prow d ample. Of the question of dignity, and what is due to his position as a leading minister of the crown, Sir Charles Tupper is the best judge; though he must bear the writer to challenge the propriety of a member of the Canadian government d. scendingto a personal attack, ho w- merited, on one who had degraded the press by making a newspaper the vehicle of vulgar spleen. Mr. Nicholas Flood Davin in his pap :ies" in the Canadian Month- ly, from which w have already ex sraoted, has this telling de- scription of Sir Charles as an orator. " Sir Charles Tripper's • distinguishing characteristic .... is force. Though he has not the scholarship nor finish of Mr. Gladstone, it is with Mr. Gladstone —were I searching for a comparison — I should x oTO LIFE OF SIR JOHN A. MACDOXALD. compare him. Yet they are dissimilar in so many ways that the choice does not seem happy. They are alike however in this: extraordinary capacity for work, power of going from place to place, and malrjlffl great speeches with little or no time for rest or study. Different in kind, his command of expres- sion ly and effective as Mr. Gladstone's. He has the faculty of growth; the sure mark of a superior mind when found in a man over forty." The same writer goes on to say, and had he omitted Baying it, we should not have thought so much of his paper : "I am sure that both he and Mr. Blake tk too long. If they could take off about thirty per cent, in time withflnt impairing the texture of thought; if they could pack closer; how much more effective both would be. Sir Charles Tappet is not content while | single wall of the ene- - remains standing." Some of Sir Charles Tupper's it important work is too fre-li in the mind of the reader to detail it here ; and as the news has gone abroad, while these - are passing through the press, that this very able states- man, still in the prime of his manhood, though with health -.in, what shattered, by a too-long overwrought brain, is about to retire from his present office to fill a place of importance in t he mother-country, we may be permitted to refuse paying a " long farewell," chemhing the hope that many days may yet remain to him, after hia mission in the new sphere is ended, and his health restored, in the performance of public duty in Canada. The Reciprocity Treaty having expired, as we have seen, and the overture s of the Canadian government for renewal having proven fruitless, a state of affairs had arisen which provoked a strong feeling of hostility among our people towards the United States. With the expiry of the treaty, of course, all rights and privileges to both parties lapsed, yet American fishermen continued to fish in our coast- waters within prohibited limits. The Canadian government remonstrated with the Washington authorities, and the president of the United States issued a THROUGH STORMS TO THE REEF. 371 proclamation forbidding American citizens to further infringe upon the law. American schooners still appeared within the three-mile limit around our coast, putting out nets and spilliard trains ; and even became so brazen in their disregard for author- it}', as to engage in taking fish during Sunday ; — for which, in one instance, they paid the penalty by the inhabitants of a cove in Fortune Bay. Newfoundland, taking the law in their own hands, destroying the fishing gear of the intruders, and driving the violaters of the sabbath and the civil laws from the shore. The imperial and Canadian governments sent armed vessels along the coasts to prevent this international poaching, and ral crafts caught in their unlawful work were seized and con- ted. Whereupon OUr American friends grew wrathful, and their high-pent feeling rented itself in an unstatesmanlike and intemperate message from Pre s id ent Grant during the autumn. A number <>f irritating questions had now accumulated be- en the United States and Great Britain, and early in the year, 1871, it became known that these would be submitted for settlement to a joint commission appointed by both govern- ments. The chief subjects fur the adjudication of the commis- sion were the fisheries question, t<> which we have alluded; the Alabama claims, the navigation of (he > s t. Lawrence, and of the Canadian canals, and the boundary line between the United tea and British < Columbia. Owin_r t<» some of the hazy defi- nitions in the Oregon treaty, the ownership of the island of Juan, in the strait of Juan de Fuca, which for the past twelve years had been occupied jointly by British and United tee officials, had been open to dispute ; and a settlement of this question was also referred to the commission. On the 10th of February, the United States government appointed as representatives, the Hon. Robert C. Schenck, United States minister to the court of St. James; the Hon. Hamilton Fish, secretary of state ; the Hon. Samuel Nelson, of the supreme court ; the Hon. George H. Williams, of Oregon, and the Hon. aezerR. Hoar, of Massachusetts. On the sixteenth of the 372 LIFE OF SIR JOHN A. MACDONALD. same month, the imperial government appointed as its five representatives the Earl De Gray and Ripon, Sir Edward Thornton, Sir Stafford Northcote, Sir John Macdonald and Montague Bernard, professor of international law in the univer- sity of Oxford. The appointment of a colonist on a commission to conserve imperial interests was an unusual course, but the eminent abilities of Sir John, and the vast Canadian interests at stake, induced the selection. It is an error, however, to BupppM that, in any sense, Sir John was a Dominion represen- tative : lie was merely the interpreter of Canadian interests On this commission, as events afterwards showed, our premeir found himself between the devil and the deep sea, between luty as an imperial representative on the one hand, whose mission was to >upport any plan that would forward the interests of the empire as a whole, even though such measure should bear harshly upon bia own province, and his duty to the interests of the l)-»minion on the other. The first meeting of the commission was held at Washington, on the 27th of Feb- ruary ; and the sittings were continued at irregular intervals till the 8th of May. On this date the Washington treaty was signed, and the commissioners set out for their homes. In brief the treaty — which was ratified by the United States on the 24tf) of May, and by the imperial parliament on the 17th of June — provided for the settlement of the Alabama claims by an arbitration board to meet in Switzerland, and to which refer- ence has already been made ; the San Juan boundary dispute was referred for adjudication to the emperor of Germany, who gave the disputed island to the United States j while, with res- pect to the fisheries, our waters were thrown open to the Ame- rican fishermen for a period of ten years, the compensation to the Canadian government, in lieu of this privilege, to be decided by a special commission.* It was provided that fish and oil should be admitted into the United States and Canada, from each * The commission met in Halifax in 1877, and awarded to Canada $5,500,000, which was paid, but with not a little groaning. THROUGH STORMS TO THE REEF. 373 country, duty free during a like period ; free navigation of the St. Lawrence and the Canadian canals was guaranteed to Ameri- can citizens, a similar privilege being accorded to British sub- jects on Lake Michigan. As an offset to the claim for damages by the Confederate cruisers sailing from British ports, Sir John contended that the Dominion was, in a like measure, entitled to recompense for the ravages of Fenian marauders from American territory. Against an attitude which so much as refused to discuss this question, and with the tepid support of his brother commissioners, to whom imperial questions threw all others in the shade;' Sir John was powerless) and, as in some other points, he was obliged to yield. Some of his opponents afterwards maintained that in the face of this opposition it was his duty to have resigned, but that would have been for the premier to con- that he regarded himself as • colonial, and not an imperial representative; that he hud oonsented to enter the commission under false pretences; for, Rswehave already stated, it wai by the accident of his qualifications and the esteem in which he lield — and in any case only as an interpreter of Canadian interests — that he was appointed among the representatives; had he resigned the imperial will would nevertheless have been carried out, and perhaps without the dampening presence nother colonist. But that Sir John did do all that was tistent with honour and duty as a representative of impe- rial interest, became abundantly clear, and is, if by no other evidence, amply proven in the fact, that, up to a late period — if indeed down to this time he had not been forgiven by imperial smen, for what, between themselves, they had been pleased to call his "colonialism " on the commission; not a colonialism implying anything beyond what they regarded as too much seal in ( 'anadian interests, which clashed with those of the em- pire. It is n >t going too far to assume that, when we hear the i ner's Canadian opponents denounce him for having done little for Canada, and hear imperial earls and knights who were with him whisper behind the door that he did too much, 374 LIFE OF SIR JOHN A. MACDOKALD. he did his onerous and difficult duty, honourably, conscienti- ously, and well. For a year the treaty was misrepresented throughout the country, and the premier and the ministry were loaded with abuse. The assailants were sorely mortified that they could elicit no official response, a silence maintained at the request of Sir John, who said that it would be time enough to explain when the politic period arrived and in the proper place. We shall drfp a \ «• ir to see the issue. In May, 1872, the storm bnka, and Sir John was ready. His defence is given us in one cl the ablest — perhaps the most effectiv. speeches of his life. We need not here attempt an outline of this address, which we in full elsewhere,* or of the telling speeches by Sir Francis Hincks, Hon. Wm. McDougall, Hon. Charles Tupper, Hon. S. L. Tilley, Sir George Cartier, Hon. J. H. Cameron and others All the speakers, understand ing the painfully difficult position Sir John had held, and appreciating the highmindedness and ability with which he conducted himself, came forward in de- fence of their chief. Mr. John Hillyard Cameron said that " be- fore entering into discussion on the various points of the treaty, he might be allowed to say a few words about one upon whom the eyes of all Canada were fixed, in whom the country had the deepest interest, and in whom, he ventured to say, the great mass of the people had the most implicit reliance. He refer- red to the gentleman who was entrusted, not only as a nego- tiator but as a representative of the empire, and of Canada, a& a part of it ; he whom so many had been accustomed to ad- mire, and whom he (Mr. Cameron) had been permitted to follow, as his leader, for so many years. Probably there was no mem- ber of the house better entitled to speak of that gentleman than he. They had been friends for more than half the term of life- allotted to man ; they had been at school together, and had been in the government of Canada in the freshness of their youth, more than a quarter of a century ago ; and from that * For the text of the speech in extenso, see appendix G. THROUGH STORMS TO THE REEF. 375 year to this, although their positions had been very different, he had been always his political follower, and had endeavoured to be his faithful friend ; and he believed there were veiy few among those who had been his friends, and followers during that long period of years who were not his staunch supporters now. There could hardly be a higher compliment paid to any man than that he should have continued to hold the position he had held during the many years past ; and he felt compelled to say this, because heartiest attacks had been made upon his character and honour. They all knew, every one of them, and he Mi. I aim nm recollected well, the time when he first came to prominently before the public. They might have looked through their own party, in and out of politics, and could not hav«- found a single man his superior, and in the opposition party they could not find ■ man either his superior or his equal. During all those years he had carried out those measures which he considered were, for the country's -nod. In many he Mr Cameron did not concur, but in many had a gree d ; and of all met! Competent to deal with the affairs of the people, he had always considered that there was no one so competent as he, Sir John liacdbnald. He (Mr. Cameron) had seen his skill and ability at all times and under all circumstances, and there was no one among them who had not had as opportunity over and ming a judgment upon them. He would ask them to recollect how, when circumstances had withdrawn him, when debates and discussions were going on, they had felt that the chords were jangled and the instrument out of tune, and when he returned again how his master hand evoked a harmony that no other hand was able to produce. They had all known it. They had seen him in his position there using his talents and great ability f<>r the benefit of the country. Had he turned those talents and that ability to his profession, he would have Won both wealth and fame. Whilst other politicians were mak- ing their fortunes, no one ever felt otherwise than that that man was poor, h< -cause he never allowed his political or parliamen- 571 LIFE OF SIR JOHN A. MACV0NAL1). tarv influence to be used in order that he might in the slightest degree make pecuniary capital of his position. Did not they all fee] that one reason why his honourable friends opposite had raged so furiously against him, had been because of what his hon. friend from Lambton had said the other Bight that his (Sir John "^ path was marked by the graves of dead politicians. He (the member for Lambton) had boasted of the purity of in principles, and of the Strength and power of reformers ; and yet he had seen their foremost men, one by one — even the i Anak himself — become the willing captives of his bow and spear, and march to their political death under the eye of r conqueror; while they contended that what their oppo- nents termed " }>olitieal death" was lvally political regenera- tion. That was their position; and their support of his hon. friend had been not merely in reference to his great political ability, but it had been in regard to what he had been to all of them. He had always been generous and easy of access, mingling courtesy with kindness. No man ever had more ud friends and followers. He had grappled them to his heart with hoops of steel, and had kept them there. Over and again he had earned them forward with him to victory, and he believed that now, as ever, his latest and crowning vic- tory would be the response which the parliament of Canada would make to the appeal that they should ratify the treaty. His party were indignant that the charge of treason and the name of * Judas " should be used against him. Notwithstand- ing the taunts and the violence of the opposition — notwith- standing the accusations they made — they would find that, in the opinions not only of a large majority of the members of the house but of an equally large majority of the people of the country, there w T as no man under whose banner they would more gladly advance, either to victory or defeat, than that of the hon. member who led them." At the conclusion the house showed its loyalty to Sir John, and its confidence in his ability and integrity by ratifying so much of the treaty as referred to THROUGH STORMS TO THE REEF. 377 Canada by a vote of 121 to 55. From Ontario there was a majority of 10; from Quebec, 29 ; from Nova Scotia, 11 ; from New Brunswick, 7 ; from Manitoba, 3, and from British Col- umbia, G. It is necessary now to retrace our steps a short way, to take up the thread of our general narrative. Parliament opened on the 15lh of February, 1871. Sir Francis was in high spirits ; commerce felt a fuller life in her veins, the outlook was still more cheering, and the ministers had $200,000 to spare after ting all current expenditure. Several measures of import- ance were introduced during the session, chief among these being roviding for tin- assimilation of the currency, the ljustment of tie- tariff, for the management <>f sayings hank^, and tie- establishment of a new banking system It this s«->M<»n that tie- act was introduced provid- ing for the admission of our distant relative, British Columbia, into the united family. The Pacific province was not enthu- '•forth.- compact, but lik.' the maiden who marries for money instead of for love, made her union conditional upon the traction of a railroad ; and as marriages contracted with ! do not always * turn out well,'' it i> not surpris- ing that before tie- Paeifi a bride, she in the courts for divorce. Tie' < anadian parliament rose on \pril: and on the 16th of May, an imperial order-in- icil was passed authorising the admission of British Colum- bia into the ( anadian fi deration. The provisions of the British ii America Act were extended to the new province; an an- nual subsidy >et apart, and 80 cents granted to each head of the population, which then was estimated at G0,000. The most Important stipulation in the terms of union with the now province was the obligation on the part of the Dominion cure the commencement simultaneously, "within two years after the date of the union, of the construction of a railway from the Pacific towards the Rocky Mountains, and from such point as should be selected east of the Rocky Mountains towards 378 LIFE OF SIR JOHN A. MACDONALD. the Pacific, to connect the seaboard of British Columbia with the railway system of Canada ; and further to secure the com- pletion of such railway within ten years from the date of the union." This line, we need scarce say, is not built yet, though it has had a prodigious catastrophe, resulting in the wreck of a great party, as shall be told further on. The Hon. William Joseph Trutch was appointed lieutenant-governor of the newly acquired province. The prosperity of Ontario was now devel- oping in bounds, and Hon. John Sandfield Macdonald, with the strange daring that had more than once led him upon the rocks, appropriated a large sum of the public funds for railway pur- poses without the consent of the legislature. A st >rm arose, and the premier could not withstand it. His enemies thundered their censure, and his friends dropped off. He resigned in December, and the governor asked Mr. Edward Blake to take hia place. One of the first acts of the new provincial govern- ment was tlie offering of 15,000 reward for the apprehension of the murderers Riel ami L» pine, who, were now living saus /<■ at their homes. Sir George Cartier had made common cause with MoDMOgnevr Tache* in shielding Riel, who was eventu- ally, but not till he had sought parliamentary honours, induced to leave the country. The last session of the first Dominion parliament opened on the 11th of April, 1872. The most important question was the elause of the Washington treaty to which we have reverted, Mr. Blake excelling himself in clever argument, sarcasm, and special pleading in his attack upon the measure. A question of much interest was the New Brunswick " School Bill," which had passed the legislature of that province, in May, of the pre- vious year. The New Brunswick Act, in brief, provided for the establishment of free non-sectarian schools, which were to be taken out of the hand of the Jacks-of-all- trades, administered under government supervision, and supported by municipal tax- ation and a grant from the provincial legislature. A wise measure, however, was marred by blemishes affixed by a bigo- THROVQH STORMS TO THE REEF. 37£ try that made a triumph of reason an engine of injustice, gross- and contemptible. The question, through the local constituen- cies, became not one between the old and barbarous plan of edu- cation, and the new system, but between protestant and catho- lic. The catholic priesthood became alarmed, and saw the hand of Satan guiding the new movement. The free-school people affected to see something nearly as bad on the other side, the Pope resisting the spread of education and thought. The priest was over fearful, the free-school champion was over zealous. The most with which the former is to be charged is extrava- gant dread, and I profusion of evil prophecy that he came for- ward himaelfj in time, to falsity ; but against the latter there ua a mn< xeditable count They studded the new law with provisions] called by souk- one "millinery regulations," deliber- ately intended to insult and harass the Roman catholics, while one politician,* who is now. thanks to the Unfortunate system of party which rul^s everything in this country from the bench to the buck-saw, a judge in New Brunswick, carried his un- manly bigotry bo Car ai to declare on the hustings, that he had no feeling in common with Rinnan catholics, and did not want their votes. Such a spirit was odious enough in the cam- paign, but it was carried into the bill, and provided that no ber should wear crosses, badges or garbs pertaining to any exclusive order; the object being to exclude religious of the Roman church from the work of teaching. It was while the law remained in this intolerable state, that the two prominent Roman catholics from New Brunswick in the Canadian legis- lature SOUghl to have the obnoxious measure set aside. In May, therefore, Mr. ( ostigan moved a set of resolutions praying for the disallowance of the act, in which he was strongly seconded by Mr. Timothy Anglin. The following session he moved> " that the government should advise Ins excellency to disallow the acts passed by the New Brunswick legislature," which was- * Hon. (now Judge) John J. Fraaer. 380 LIFE OF SIR JOHN A. MACDONALD. carried ; though the question remained open for several years afterwards. The next year again he moved for " an address to her Majesty praying her to cause an act to be passed amending the British North America Act, 1867, by providing that every religious denomination in New Brunswick shall continue to possess and enjoy all such rights with regard to their schools as they possessed and enjoyed at the time of the passage of the said Act." This resolution was withdrawn, though Mr. Costi- gan wafl nnrma/ring in hia exertions from session to session, till his desin virtually accomplished by the amendments to the New Brunswick act which expunged the obnoxious regula- tions In the early stages of the agitation, as we have seen, Sir John was in office, and daring this time Mr. Costigan had the heartiest support from Mr. Anglin ; but he stood alone in the struggle when the reformers came to power, when Mr. Anglin wafl rl.-vated to the Chair, and agitation on the measure men- hia salary and perquisites. The New Brunswick legisla- ture \--ry prop e r l y resisted the attempts at Ottawa to set aside Nation which it felt it was competent to enact; and Hon. (now Judge) William Wedderbum, one of the most powerful and brilliant speakers in Canada, moved a series of resolutions in defence of the law, asserting the exclusive authority of the provincial legislature over the question, and resolving that its jurisdiction or powers should not be impaired or abridged with- out an appeal to the electors at the polls ; and that without the -consent of the local body the imperial parliament or the par- liament of Canada ought not to interfere. Meanwhile the priests had refused to permit Catholic children to be taught in the "godless" institutions, and the parents were burthened with the double expense of paying the municipal tax to main- tain the public schools, from which they derived no benefit, and of supporting the separate schools to which no contribution was made from the provincial funds. The bishops and their clergy found themselves obliged by conscience to refuse paying the public school-tax ; but the officer seized a horse and carriage, or THROUGH STORMS TO THE REEF. 381 any chattel that he could lay hands upon, and went his way. It la related that the cow of a certain priest was seized five times for the tax, some pious parishioner as often " bidding in " the animal, and thus satisfying the law and the clerical con- science. But this state of affairs could not continue. The catholics began to groan at the double burthen put upon their shoulders. Then the priests had now and again paid a visit to government schools, and found no pictures of Satan hang- ing upon the wall, nor heard any boy say that the name of our first parent was Protoplasm. The legislature, too, had shown a disposition to fair play by purging the school statute of in- sult and intolerance. Still the clergy remained aloof ; but on their behalf Leading citizens opened negotiations with the free- school authoriti. g, Through the influence of Mr. (now Sena- tor) Boyd and other prominent citiiens in St. John, Bishop capitulated, and in Fredericton, the capital, amalga- mation was accomplished through the tireless exertions of Ifr. Patrick licPeake, the leading Roman catholic in the city. Now while we have denounced the stain that bigotry put upon the school law as at first established, and admired the manly, able and uncompromising way in which Mr. ( ostigan battled for justice to hie ionists, we must not be regarded as hav- ing the remotest sympathy with those who opposed non-secta- rian >chools upon principle. Ten years ago he who visited a parish school, from which God had not been banished, saw an institution seething with disorder, which was ever pouring a am of youth upon the country, many of whom were more vulgar and vicious than if they had never seen the inside of the school walls. But it is different now; and the system of education enjoyed by the people of New Brunswick, would be a boon and a credit to any country. We could wish that of the in in thia noble province we could say as much; though this is more than we dare to hope so long as it maintains the political taint. 382 LIFE OF SIR JOHN A. MACDONALD. Parliament prorogued on the 14th of June, and eight days after wan Is the governor-general bade good bye to Canada. During his administration be hid been raised to the peerage of the united kingdom With the title of Baron Lisgar, of Lisgar and Beiiieboroagh, in the county of Cavan. While amongst us he won our good opinion and respect, though he neither flat- tered the people nor courted popularity, doing his duty with a •courteous quiet dignity that pleased without effort. " His hospi- tality,* says Professor Goldwin Smith, " was simply that of an English noUeman: it had no ulterior object, and as an example could do nothing but good." His successor was Frederick Tem- ple Hamilton Blackwood, Earl of Dutferin, eldest son of Captain Price 1 Hack wood, afterwards fourth Baron Dutferin and Clan- •deboye, in the peerage of Ireland. The new governor was a man of some distinction in diplomacy and literature when he •came amongst us. He had been under-secretary of state for war, and in the same capacity at the Indian office. He went to Syria as commissioner of the crown, where he ended the turmoil between the ChriatnUM and the natives. " He suc- ceed Mr. Stewart, "in mast Ting the details of this deli- cate mission; and not only satisfactorily arranged the Turkish troubles, but also compromised matters between the French and the warlike Druses. He gave a constitution to Lebanon, and we have here the first evidence of his ability as a states- man and diplomatist." If by letters in his own right he was not famous, he was distinguished through his ancestry. His mother was the author of " The Irish Emigrant," and other 1 -allads, which, if not showing a deep poetical vein, contained a wealth of feeling, and many passages of tender, melancholy pathos. For an aunt, he had that pretty song-bird, the Hon. II is. Caroline Norton, whose sweet verse and bright eyes, scandal said, lured Lord Melbourne so often away from the cares of state. And through this siren he was connected with a name of still greater note, of whom a great poet has said: ***** Nature formed but one such man, And broke the die in moulding Sheridan." THROUGH STORMS TO THE REEF. 383 Lord Dufferin was educated at Eton and Oxford, and in 1850 was created an English bartfn. He was not long amongst us when it was found that the proverbial gift of his countrymen sat upon his tongue. In making speeches he could outdo our most confirmed orators ; and in this respect his example was not good. If a governor-general could only, by his example, help to curtail the platform trade, he might well feel that his vice-regal mission had not been fruitless, and that he had not been born in vain. But it is not encouraging in a political country like this, where the tendency is to an epidemic of ch, to have a viceroy appear among us with this run- ning at the mouth* Perhaps, hut lor this never-failing eloquence on every subject from a hoi-water tankard to tin 1 titution, it might he Baid that Karl Dufferin's administra- tion was delightful He possessed a warm sympathetic heart, and took a genuine interest in the welfare and aspirations of our people ; and in return, there sprang op among US for him, a deeper and kindlier feeling of regard, than had over before been entertained for a Canadian governor. Everywhere the viceroy and t-hearted wit*.-, the countess, went, they stirred the feelings of all by the genuine and hearty way in which they pathized with, and entered into the feelings and aspirations of, those they visited When they departed from our shores a ! in the hearts of OUT people that it would be hard to till. The first parliament <>f Canada, having lived out the full term of its constitutional life, was dissolved on the 15th of July. tiona came off through the summer and early autumn, and the government found itself confronted by staunch opposi- tion. The L, r h<>-t of poor Scott, murdered in the North- West, rose against it ; the Wadiington treaty " was shaken in the face of the country ;" the gigantic railway-building, a duty to which the country had been pledged, was declared by the opposition to be a mad and impossible scheme ; and the reform party in Ontario was made sturdy by the strength of Mr. Blake and the 384 LIFE OF SIR JOHN A. MACDONALD. provincial ministry. The government came shattered, though not defeated, out of the contest. Sir Francis Hincks was worsted in South Brant, but Vancouver, British Columbia, offered the worthy kinght her seat, which he accepted. Sir George Carrier was put to flight in Montreal east, but was wel- comed to the arms <>f Provencher, Manitoba. Ontario declared herself hostile chiefly because the government had failed to punish Scott's murderers ; Quebec refused her usual support because a full amnesty had not been granted. The dignity of the archbishop was at stake — though resting upon an absurdity and a misunderstanding — and that was of more importance than the cruel and wicked shedding of a fellow creature's blood. There once was a commandment — but it was under the Jewish dispensation! — though written upon stone by the finger of God, which said, " Thou shalt not kill"; but Sir George Cartier, and his French supporters, and Bishop Tache*, and his priests and the faithful, blotted out that old edict, and put in its stead, "Thou shalt Dot dishonour the promise of a bishop." Notwithstanding the defections, a count of forces after the contest was ended satisfied Sir John that his government had an ample working majority. In October, the Ontario legislature passed a resolution prohibiting dual representation ; so that Messrs. Blake and Mac- kenzie were compelled to choose between the provincial and general parliaments. Naturally, their ambition, patriotism, cu- pidity, and any other quality they may have possessed, found stronger attraction in the wider sphere and larger flesh-pots. Their choice necessitated a reconstruction of the provincial government, and Mr. Blake suggested to the lieutenant-governor that Mr. Mowat ought to be invited to lead the ministry. The lure was too strong for the judge, and he left the bench. What- ever of public immorality there was in this proceeding, Mr. Blake, at all events, was the seducer. From that day to this, Mr. Mowat has held the leadership of the Ontario government, and though his administration has not been brilliant, and is in many impor- tant respects incapable, it has been honest ; if the adjective can THROUGH STORMS TO THE REEF. 385 be applied to a system of rule made subservient to the ends of ] uirty. Towards the close of the year M. Joly, leader of the opposition in the Quebec legislature, moved for a commission of inquiry into certain charges made against M. Cauchon, the local member for Montmorency, and whom we have also met in the Canadian parliament. The inquiry revealed that this member had, while occupying a seat in the local house, been a secret contractor with the provincial government in connexion with the Beauport lunatic asylum. To avoid expulsion Iff, Cauchon resigned; bat the same moral sentiment that had so zealously shielded murder, now condoned corruption; and he straightway elected again. Early in the following year, ral important changes took place in the ( anadian ministry, the most prominent of these being the acceptance of the port- folio of finance by the Hon. S. L. Tillev in place of Sir Francis Hiii'ks, who had grown tired of official worry, and longed for the calm of private life. Dr. Tapper succeeded t<> the office of Mr. Tilleyaa head <»f the department of Customa The new par- liament opened on tie- 5th of March, 1873. Prince Edward Island had got over her little tiff, had reasoned out the ques- tion <>f union, grown sorry over her stubbornness, and asked to be admitted into the federation, A measure was promptly pre- pared t<> give effect to the wish, and was forwarded to the im- perial parent, who, of course, held the right of giving the daugh- away. The debt of the little island was placed at $4,701,- 050 ; and interest at 5 per cent, per annum was to be paid from time to time on the difference between that sum and the ac- tual amount of the provincial debt. An annual subsidy of 000 was granted, and the eighty cents for each head of the population which the census of L871 showed to be 94,021. In the midst of the routine labours of the house, one day, a member arose, with face pale, and flung a bomb upon the floor which convulsed the parliament and the country. CHAPTER XXI. THE GOVERNMENT AND SIR HUGH ALLAN. IT will be remembered that one of the terms under which British Columbia consented to enter confederation was that the oenfcr*] government should construct, within ten years, a railroad from the Atlantic to the Pacific. Two wealthy com- panies com}' uperior business-men were formed, the one the / iiter-( keanic, at the head of which was Mr. D. L. Mac- pherson, the other the Canada Pacific, the president of which was Sir Hugh Allan. As the session of 1872 drew near, the air was full of rumours concerning these two organizations, oppo- nents of the government affirming that Sir Hugh Allan was to get the contract, that his company was largely composed of Americans, that the road would be made tributary to American Commerce, that all this was an outrage upon the country, and that the motto should be " Canada for the Canadians." Parlia- ment met and the legislature granted a charter to both compa- nies, authorizing the government to enter into contract with either, or with an amalgamation of the two, or, if they should see fit, to grant a royal charter to a new and distinct company. We need not repeat that to the construction of the railroad the country was by honour and by stipulation bound ; and for this purpose the legislature had agreed to grant 50,000,000 acres of land and $30,000,000 to any company that would build the line. The project was not alone one of national importance, but was the most gigantic undertaking up to that time, or since, known to Canada. The grant made by parliament appeared enormous and was, therefore, tempting to the eye of 386 THE GOVERNMENT AND SIR HUGH ALLAN. 387 those who may have had but little conception of the vast task of building a road across the rugged breast of a con- tinent ; so that it became the duty of government to give ear only to persons upon whose wisdom, experience and integrity they could rely, and whose commercial standing was such that they would be able to obtain the entree into the money mark- ets of the world for the prosecution of the work. On the 14th of June the session closed. Parliament was dissolved on the 8th of July, and from the loth of the same month till the 1 2th of October the country was plunged into an election contest An engrossing topic with the ministry was the rail- way, which it was felt should be began is early as possible, as skilful engineers hinted that every day of the term allowed would be required to link ocean -with ocean. The cry against "'Sir Hugh and his Americans' 1 had waxed Louder in the meantime, but sir John, from the first, expressed himself hos- tile to outside aid in building the line. Sir George Cart ier, who frequently examined g reat questions through the eyes of Somebody else, followed the lead of his chief and confirmed his opposition to " Yankees* 1 with an oath. It was Sir John's desire now to get the two companies amalgamated, and to this end negotiations were opened ; but the ambitions of the two presidents were irreconcilable, Sir Bugfa claiming that his inter- were of such magnitude that it was proper he should have the presidency, Mr. Macpherson holding that the question in dispute ought to be settled by the shareholders. Union having been found impossible, Sir John announced that the govern- ment would avail itself of the legislation of the past session and endeavour to form a new company. Sir Hugh now dropped his American associates and leagued himself with a number of Canadian .rentlemen of high standing, and large means and rience. On this organization the government looked with favour in consideration of the high integrity, the financial abi- lity, and the credit possessed by its members. The leading- member was Sir Hugh Allan, the owner of the proud fleet of 388 LIFE OF SIR JOHN A. MACDONALD. ocean steamers which bears his name, a gentleman of vast energy and enterprise, and possessing advantages, by the extent of his capital and his credit in the European money-market, not held by any other person that offered to undertake the work. The duty of the government was to close the contract at the earliest moment, to treat with those who were best qualified to do the work ; and so, after some consideration, issued the charter, appointing Sir Hugh president. Parliament met in due course. Ministers announced that a new and powerful company was now ready to commence the great work, and that all Deeded was the sanction of the legisla- ture. So gigantic had seemed the task to which the Dominion had committed itself, that the large bulk of the house, now learning that there was a body of responsible men actually ready to go on with the work, regarded the fact as a brilliant triumph for the government Ministers began to rejoice in the work of their hands, and some of their opponents admitted with grudging grace that, under the circumstances, perhaps as good an agreement had been made as was possible. But then came out of the political sky a whisper that set the heart of opposition bounding, that brought light to its eye. This " small voice " said : " Doom is hanging over the ministry ; soon the bolt shall fall." The work of the session went on, the ministers, with buoyant hearts and sunny faces, dreaming of no evil to come. Their opponents made no unusual sign, save, perhaps, that of late they had appeared less factious and more reserved than usual. Sometimes, indeed, one spectator has re- corded, a prominent reformer would steal an ominous glance across to the treasury benches, and then resume his work in a preoccupied way, as if " there was something in the wind." At last arrived the 2nd day of April. A sort of calm had seemed to have fallen upon the house. Some members were writing at their desks, others lounged in their chairs, or read the news- papers. The treasury benches were full ; the speaker sat in the chair, and pages flitted across the floor with notes. Sir John THE GOVERXMEXT AXD SIR HUGH ALLAN. 389 Maedonald was sitting at his own desk, one leg across the other, and leaning his head against his hand. He gave a " barely perceptible " start — Mr. Lucius Seth Huntington, with pale face, was standing at his place, and had begun to read from a paper the following motion : — "That he, the said Lucius Seth Huntington, is credibly in- formed and believes that he can establish by satisfactory evi- dence, that in anticipation of the legislation of last session, as to the Pacific Railway, an agreement was made between Sir Hugh Allan, acting for himself, and certain other Canadian promoters, and G. W. McMullen, acting for certain United States capitalists, whereby the latter agreed to furnish all the funds necessary for the construction of the contemplated rail- way, aii'l fco give the former a certain percentage of interest, in adoration of their interest and position, tlie scheme agreed upon being ostensibly that of a Canadian company with Sir Hugh Allan at its head, — ■• That the government were aware that these negotiations pending between the said parties. — "That, subsequently , an understanding was come to between government, Sir Hugh Allan and Mr. Abbott, one of the members of the honourable house of commons of Canada, that Sir Hugh Allan, and his friends should advancea large sum of r the purpose of aiding the elections of ministers and their supporters at the ensuing general election, and that he and his friends should receive the contract for the construction of the railway, — That accordingly Sir Hugh Allan did advancea large sum of money for the purpose mentioned, and at the solicitation and under the pressing instances of the ministers, — That part of the moneys expended by Sir Hugh Allan in connection with the obtaining of the act of incorporation and charter were paid to him by the United States capitalists un- der the agreement with him, — 390 LIFE OF SIR JOHN A. MACDONALD. " That a committee of seven members be appointed to enquire- into all the circumstances connected with the negotiations for the construction of the Pacific Railway, with the legislation of last session on the subject, and with the granting of the charter to Sir Hugh Allan and others, with power to send for persons, papers and records, and with instructions to report in full the evidence taken before, and all proceedings of, said committee." Sometimes, as he read, he paused and cast his eye about him to note the effect of his disclosures. Some sat with heads- thrust forward, eagerly drinking every word ; others with a stolid air. and a look of stony indifference. Not a few there were with the light of triumph in their <\ v ; and some felt, or assumed to feel, the most mil mounded horror. But as the mem- ber's eye rested upon one figure, he became abashed, and his voice grew timid. This was the prime minister who sat with a face as inscrutable as the Sphynx, betraying no sign of fear or any show of anger. Once Mr. Huntington caught his eye, and saw there the blaze of scorn ; and contempt was upon his lip. Having read his motion he sat down, amid a "silence deep a* deatli : and the boldest held his breath for a time." It would have given relief to this agony of silence had the accusing member made any explanation, or spoken any word; or had any other member of the house asked a question or offered comment. The accuser was not as one who had performed some deed of wondrous valour. " He had spoken/' says Mr. Stewart, " with some feeling, but it was the feeling of fear. It was as if he had chalked ■ No Popery ' on the wall and had then fled." There is now no doubt that when Mr. Huntington made his charges, his authority was vague rumour ; that he had not in his possession, nor had seen, the telegrams and docu- ments which afterwards came to light ; and that his motion was thrown out as a feeler, with the hope of bringing some member of the government to his feet, and making statements which might serve as a clue to the supposed wrong-doing, or lend colour to the allegations. Every eye was now turned upon the- THE GOVERNMENT AND SIR HUGH ALLAN. 391 prime minister, but he sat at his desk as if he had been a figure one; he uttered no word, and made no sign. The motion was BSOOnded without comment, was put to the house, and, out of that sickening stillness, came one hundred and seven " nays," and seventy -six "yeas." A long breath of relief was drawn ; the silence found its tongue, and a continuous buzz-buzz pre- vailed for many minutes. Then adjournment. A meeting of the cabinet was hastily called, Sir John in- forming his OOllflagnfW that the slander must be promptly and boldly met. Next night, we may be sure, there was little sleep for the premier. He was aware that certain transactions between members of the ministry and Sir Hugh Allan were ptible of being distorted into a form corresponding with made by Mr. Huntington, and that the government would have a serious task to put the case in its true light be- the country; but he was resolved to face the slander firmly and challenge the aocueers, knowing that he had Lees to fear from a thorough i khan from the insinuations of Mr. Enntingtof] basely seasoned with distorted fact. Looking more wearied and anxious than lie had ever appeared in that house before, he took his place the following day and, rising; offered the following resolution, which was carried : — " On mo- tion of the Right Honourable Sir John A. Macdonald, that a •t committee of five members (of which committee the mover -hall not be one) be appointed by this house to enquire into and report upon the several matters contained and stated in a resolution moved on Wednesday, the 2nd of April, in- stant, by the Hon. Mr. Huntington, member for the county of ShefFord, relating to the Canadian Pacific Railway, with power to send for persons, papers and records; to report from time to time, and to report the evidence from time to time, and, if need be, to sit after the prorogation of Parliament" The members named for the committee were Hon. Messrs. Blake, Blanchet, Dorion, Macdonald (Pictou), and Cameron (Cardwell). 392 LIFE OF SIR JOHN A. MACDONALD. To guard against the admission of unreliable testimony, it was provided that the commission be authorized to examine witnesses upon oath ; hut as the committee, as such, had no r to so examine, a measure called the Oaths Bill was promptly introduced and passed, conferring upon the commis- sioner! that authority. In this, however, parliament tran- Led its powers, and the aet was disallowed by her majesty OH the advice of the law officers of the crown. While the fate of the bill was unknown the commission met, and on the 5th of May decided, in view of the absence of Sir George Cartier, and the H<>n J.J. C. Abbott, and the impossibility of the inves- tigation bring carried on in a proper manner without oppor- tunity being afforded these grntlemen of being present and hearing the testimony adduced, tli.it it was advisable that the committee adjourn until Wednesday, the 2nd of July, if parlia- ment should be, on such date, in session. According to the customs of Lynch law. not lung is so absurd as the plea that the accused should be present at his own trial to offer his de- fence ; and the opposition grew wroth at the decision to stay eedinga till the impugned members returned and had an opportunity of defending themselves. Some time after this, Sir John waited on the governor-general, and advised adjourn- ment, with a view to meeting and prorogation, on the 13th of August. Lord Dufferin saw that the suggestion was good ; the spring had well advanced, and it was to the interest of mem- - to be at their homes ; the business of the session had been ended ; the presence of the legislature could not promote the work of the commission which might go on taking the evi- dence ; and he decided to accept the prime minister's advice. Upon this understanding, Sir John proceeded to the house, and from his place announced in distinct terms, that parliament would be prorogued on the 13th of August, " that the re-assem- 1 .ling would be pro forma, that no business would be done beyond receiving the report of the committee, which could then be printed with the evidence, and go before the country ; that the THE GOVERNMENT AND SIR HUGH ALLAN. 393 members would not be required to return, and that only the Speakers of the two houses would need to be in their places." All this the house seemed to clearly understand, and no op- position was offered to the arrangement. Mr. Blake expressed the opinion that the commission might go on taking evidence from the rising of the house till the meeting of the regular on in February, forgetting that the powers of a parlia- mentary commission expire with prorogation. Mr. Holton said he believed a quotum would be necessary to receive the report ; and muttered between his teeth that he and a quorum would be then-. Sir John, in reply, observed that if a quorum were considen d necessary, a sufficient number of members for that purpose could be found in the neighbourhood of the cap- ital. On a distinct understanding of the facts as above related, the houa Adjourned; after which members returned to their homes, and the opposition abandoned themselves to false- I and conspiracy. Instead of a quiet meeting with the two speakers, only, present, or a quorum, with the lttth of August appeared the opposition in full strength, intrigue in their rts, falsehood upon their ton And when asked for what purpose they had mustered si they answered: We didn't understand that the meeting was to be pro forma; we thought a full attendance wa> doirable." The intention -since the ministry, abiding by the terms of adjournment, bus disadvantage in having but a few of its sup- at the capital — to overthrow the government by the of numbers. And, certainly unlike men of honour, they chuckled at the trap into which they believed the government had fallen. During the period between adjournment and the 18th of August, the governor-general was making a tour of the mari- time provinces, and filling public halls and school-houses with his infinite eloquence. During that summer recess many strange tidings fell upon the public ear. First came the announcement that the Oaths Bill had been disallowed, and that the work of 394 LIFE OF SIR JOHN A. MACDONALD. the commission was at a standstill. It is not to be wondered at that some of the opposition screamed out that this was the doings of Sir John ; had Cod sent a bolt from heaven and smit- ten the five commissioners, their inclinations for the moment would have been to believe that the premier was in some mea- reBponaible lor the taking off On receiving notice of the disallowance, the governor put himself in correspondence with the prime minister. The commission would meet in a few days, and it Iran desirable that the public mind should be sat- isfied as to -the truth or falsity of the heinous charges. Sir John said there was one way that the end sought could be at- tained, and that was by inning a royal commission to the com- mittee, which could then go on as had been originally arranged, placing the I -vid.-nce before parliament which might take whatever steps it chose upon receiving the same. This is the only practical way lying open now, wrote the prime minister, to probe the facts of the case. Lord DufFerin grasped at the gestion, and acted upon it without delay. "No one can doubt," he said, ' that for the purpose for which the committee was originally constituted, its conversion into a commission can make no practical difference. As a commission it will take evidence ; and as a committee it will report upon that evidence to the house." Armed with the governor-general's authority, Sir John wrote to each of the five members stating that, as the oaths' bill had been disallowed, it was his intention to issue to the committee a royal commission. The acceptance of the commission, he pointed out, would accomplish the object originally in view, and hasten the work. But Messrs. Blake and Dorion, the two reform members, refused to act, on the ground that they would be under the control of the accused parties. This view, in a constitutional sense, was undoubtedly correct, though it was subsequently affirmed in the house that the crown, not the ministry, had issued the commission, and had control of the enquiry. But this ground at once becomes untenable when we reflect that the viceroy is bound to take THE GOVERNMENT AND SIR HUGH ALLAN 395 the advice of his council, and that during the sitting of the commission some of the impeached ministers were the trusty advisers of the crown, which refused to consider them guilty. or unworthy of confidence, till their guilt had been proven. This objection then might well have been regarded as fatal, 8 the commission possessed of judicial and final powers ; but its functions were only inquisitorial; it was merely to collect evidence and report to the house, which might accept, reject, or ignore the same, as it saw fit. There was, unfortu- nately, no other way, owing to the imbecile tying up of our powers by the act of the foreign state, by which the matter could be probed ; and under such circumstances the duty of Mr. Make was to haveconie OHl of the clouds and surrendered real and the practicable. On the 4th of July, certain information contained in the Montreal Herald fell upon the public ear like a clap of thun- ler. Thia information comprised a number of letters and tele- nt to one C. M. Smith, of Chicago, a banker, and one Geo. McMullen, of Pieton, who seemed at first t I be a speculator or the representative of American capitalists, but who tubse- quently appeared as an adventurer, In this correspondence the hist 3ii Bngh Allan's exertions towards obtaining the railway charter is set forth, the he had incurred in poshing his seh. iit.'. —expenses which he declared exceeded 8300,000 in gold— and certain relations with Sir John Mac- donaid and Sir George Cart ier. A\ once the hostile and the hasty swallowed the statements, and concluded that the enor- mous sum which Sir Bngfa alleged he had paid away had gone into the hands of tie- ministers for corrupt tog the constituencies at the late elections. On the following day, an affidavit deal" ing with these charges, made by Sir Hugh, appeared in the Montreal (l/ un n pedd to the members of I by them or em their behalf, ' n " n ;/ forms for amy •/'/A tit,' Poci/ic railway con- '." So far then, the aceusations against the ministry had fallen to the ground, and Mr. Huntington's allegations were re- garded by a large hulk of the people as reeklett slanders. And BO the opinion would have Stood had not the blaekmailer, Mc- Mullen, come forward with what purported to be a concise and circumstantial statement of the corrupt relations of the gov- ernment with Sir Hugh Allan, in which he put forward in- nces as facts, and assumptions as transactions happening under his own eye-, bringing his disclosures to an end with a number of stolen telegrams, containing requests from Sir John Macdonald and Sir George Cartier, to Sir Hugh, for certain sums of money. There was no indication as to the objects for which the money was intended, or upon what conditions it had been received; but once more the hostile and the rash were assured that it had been obtained from Sir Hugh in considera- tion of the sale of the Pacific mil way charter to him and his American friends ; and that Mr. Huntington had alleged the whole truth and nothing but the truth. And we must leave one and both to nurse their charitable opinion till we reach the stage in our narrative for another explanation. The governor-general had reached Prince Edward Island when newspapers containing the McMullen narrative came to hand. He was considerably startled, Mr. Stewart tells us, at reading the correspondence, and at once sent for Messrs. Tilley THE GOVERNMENT AND SIR HUGH ALLAN. 397 and Tupper who were at the time on the Island on official business ; but both these gentlemen assured him that satisfac- tory explanations would be made in due course ; and his lord- ship accepted the declaration as a confirmation of his hopes. He had before setting out upon his tour provided for pro- rogation on the 13th of August, by commission, but now felt that the case had assumed such a shape as to demand other arrangements. On the morning of the 13th, his excellency was in the capital, and within a few hours after his arrival was waited upon by the premier, who, on behalf of the ministry, tendered the advice that parliament should be prorogued as ori- ginally agreed upon. His lordship went over the grounds put forth by Sir .John, and found they were good; and since he still had confidence in the prime minister and hi* colleagues, nothing remained for him but to be guided by their counsel, as he cheer- fully was. He consented to the arrangement, but upon the litioD that parliament ahould meet again as soon as was consistent with tin* reasonable aOPTenienoe of members, after six or eight make; to which proposal Sir John gave his hearty consent. In the meantime the opposition, or the "party of punishment," as they were not unwilling to be styled, had . ved Qfj a course of their OWH« While his excellency was in the maritime provinces they had adopted the manly and hon- ourable course of endeavouring, by stealth, to prejudice and poison his mind against his ministers. Mr. Huntington who apparently was n«>t in the habit of allowing dignity or a sense of manly pride to stand in the way of his inclinations, collected a number of nev. , containing the charges against the ministry, which he enclosed and directed to his excellency; but they were returned bo him unopened. On the morning of pro- rogation, the governor learnt that a large body of members of parliament was awaiting an audience; and he was at no little loss to guess what could be their mission. His speculation was soon put at an end by Mr. (now Sir) Richard J. Cartwright, who introduced the delegation, and then presented a memorial 39S LIFE OF SIR JOHN A. MACDONALD. signed by ninety-two members praying that his excellency might not prorogue parliament until the house of commons had bad an opportunity " of taking such steps as it may deem ne- cessary with reference to this important matter." Of course this request was an assumption that the governor either did not know, or was unwilling to perform, his duty ; but gross though as the impertinence was, his excellency answered the delegation with his usual courtesy, refusing promptly and firm- ly, h o w e v er, to grant their request. This was an utter collapse for the opposition hope. They had nursed their plot through the hot summer, and now that the hour had come when it was to be put to account, the figure of the governor must rise and thwart them. Only thirty-five ministerialists were at the e good, his excellency chose the honourable judges Day, Polette, and Gowan, who promptly Ik gan the work as- signed them. It would be too much to expect that any inin- : ial arrangement could satisfy the opposition; and it is hardly to be wondered at that before the new commission at all it was loaded with slander by the reform \ and its members, and characterized as the creature of the prime minister. An atmosphere, more poisonous than that wind which "breathed in the face" of Sennacherib's army, floated over the province: the aroma from a corrupt min- istry, and from tainted ermine. Mr. Mackenzie, who some- times himself, does not hesitate at exaggeration, at least when writing political biographies, did not believe that either party would knowingly otter falsehood upon examination, and, th< fore, regard ed tie- terrors of the oath unnecessary ; but even Mr. Blake shuddered, inwardly, as he thought of such men a- McMulleii coming into the box and testifying upon their "honour." Y.-t he, no more than any of his brethren, was satisfied with the judges upon the new commission, though it le lor him to condescend to the allegation that e gentlemen would falter in their duty. But his choice lay between smirching the honour of the commissioners, and accepting their appointment as good, unless, indeed, he was more anxious that formality should be observed, than that the charges against the government should be thoroughly investi- answers Mr. Blake, that is very well, but what if the ministry tied up the hands of the judges, and thwarted en- quiry in fatal directions ? And our answer is this : The com- 400 LIFE OF SIR JOHN A. MACDONALD. mission was held in the light of day; seats were provided for the reporters; Mr. Huntington was requested to furnish a list of his witnesses, and invited to come forward and question these as he would; advertisement^ were put in the paper- calling upon any persons who knew aught of the case to come forward ; a large array of witnessed for and against the ministry was present; they were submitted to the most searching eross- i xamination by members of both political parties, and ques- tions were asked by the reform side, and answers given., which would not have been tolerated in any court of law, without challenge. In what way, then, pi ay, Mr. Blake, were the hands of the judges tied | \\ "henee. pra\ '. reformers of lesser dignity, cam- ■ the taint on the ermine | BcU had the judges been base as Jeffreys himself, the terms of the commission were fatal to par- tiality. Lord Dufferin distinctly, at the beginning, traced out the chart by which the judges were to be guided. " Your duty is not judicial, but inquisitorial," were his instructions ; they were not to pronounce, to condemn, or to exculpate, but to collect evidence and report the same to the commons without comment : to the commons that might accept or reject that testimony it chose. And as instructed, so they did. They furnished the evidence without comment, though they stated, as they had the right to do, that anybody who cared to learn their private opinion, might have it. Many sought that opinion ; it was that there was nothing in the evidence to corroborate tlte charges preferred by Mr. Huntington. Now it might have been sup- posed that in the interests of pure government, the gentleman who made the odious charges against the administration in his place in the house, would have been found among the host of witnesses called ; but he came not — though he furnished the the names of witnesses to the commission. And it might have been supposed that McMullen, who had levied blackmail on Sir Hugh Allan, rifled cabinets, stolen telegrams, and steeped him- self to the lips in dishonour for the sake, also, of pure govern- ment would have come to judgment, but he appeared not ; THE GOVERNMENT AND SIR HUGH ALLAN. 401 neither came the Chicago banker, C. M. Smith, whom it had been alleged Sir Hugh Allan had " fleeced " to buy up the ministry, and seduce the constituencies. These gentlemen re- mained away, and listened from behind the doors to the evi- dence, tossing their caps in glee when any testimony was ad- duced that they believed lent colour to their allegation. But it Is sickening work to wade through this record of dishonour, and we pass on. The commission finished its work, and as the 23rd of Octo- ber XALD A Macdonald • This department had been recently created in lieu of that of secretary of state for the provinces, which, being at once useless and a travesty on the imperial oflke, was abolished. 407 408 LIFE OF SIR JOHN A. MACDOKALD. BON. Thomas Coffin ... - Receiver-General. • William Ross - Min. Militia and Defence. " Edward Blake .... (without portfolio). " Richard W. Scott - - - (without portfolio). Mr. Mackenzie was determined on a thorough cleansing of tin* Andean stables, and asked for a dissolution, which was granted. If the reform newspapers were to be relied upon, a large number of members had bought their way to the legisla- ture with sir Hugh Allan's money; and by a new election, candidates would have an opportunity of judicious bribing with purer cash. There was not a superfluity of brotherly love in tlie cabinet, and Mr. Blake could not hide, or probably did not try to conceal, his scorn for Mr. Mackenzie; while Sir Richard Cartwright, who looked with no friendly eye on responsible < mment, was sadly out of his element among radical states- men grown up from the trades. The chilly relations between Mr. Mackenzie and Mr. Blake then, as now, were due to the leadership which passed the latter because he could not bend to negotiation. If Mr. Blake has ever had a political in- trigue, which we do not believe, then surely must it have been di tie rent from those of other men. We can imagine this sin- gularly icy statesman threading the long winding-stair of a solitary tower, and, having reached the top which looks out into the star-lit night, carrying on an intrigue with his own half mystical ambition. Never can our imagination picture him courting his colleagues or the people for their preferences ; never of him can anybody say : "Off goes Aw bonnet to an oyster wench ; A brace of draymen bid God-speed him well." On the 2nd of July, the old parliament ceased to exist, and the two parties went to the polls. The reformers had no rigidly defined policy to propound, their chief mission being to purify the country. They pledged themselves to keep faith with British Columbia, but gave warning that they considered "A WET SHEET AND A FLOWING SEA." 409 the construction of the Pacific railway within the time specified impossible, and that they would not bind themselves to that portion of the contract. The other measures in the programme were not of more than ordinary significance, the chief being a readjustment of the franchise, and the taking of votes by bal- lot ; a revision of the militia and insolvent laws ; the qualifica- tion of members for the legislature ; the creation of a Court of Appeal for the Dominion ; the promotion of immigration ; an improvement of the canal system, and the development of un- occupied territory. As well might one standing upon the shore reason with the ocean that has been lashed into fury by tli-- storm, as Sir John implore Canada, disturbed and startled by the alarming scandal which the reformers had ridden up and down the land, to listen bQ reason, to hear his defence. She stopped her ears, and turned away. The reformers " swept the country," and Mr. Mackenzie, in the new parliament, found a majority of eighty at his back We differ from Mr. Mackenzie in our view of many public questions, and have no admiration for him as a writer, much less as a biographer painting a por- trait under the coercion of party prejudice, but nevertheless we do not hesitate to say, that his intlumee upon the political life anada has be- that he was faithful to his trust, and ve to do his duty. "We should like to be able to say that he was a popular administrator; but we cannot. He was, and is, "Ut of sympathy with the spirit of our time; and the robust judgment of the young country is against him. Cast-iron theories always hedged him in, and set bounds to his every im- pulse and plan; at last they grew so narrow as to become his coffin. A man who follows a doctrine, of course, has no need i<»r brains; and reminds one of the captain on the lee shore who scorned the advice of his officers, went by the "Navi- gator's Guide," and put his vessel upon the rocks. But it is only ignorance or prejudice that would deny to Mr. Mackenzie a place amongst the foremost statesmen of his time. In and out of office he has exhibited a tireless industry in examining 410 LIFE OF SIR JOHN A. MACDONALD. and mastering every subject belonging to the public sphere ; and those who have seen his inner life declare he has never lived an idle day. Of his policy of stubborn resistance to the popular will, he certainly was the heir rather than the arbiter, and if he ever desired to be free from the yoke of that power which dominated almost every important action of his admin- istration, his escape from the leading strings was made after his opportunity had been lost, and when he never again could breathe the breath of confidence into the people. In later n his head rolled on the block to propitiate the decrepit policy of his master's making. Nor has the deposed leader any loyalty for the hand that cut off his head ; but repays lii< lucky rival with a support as frigid as the latter gave to him when he became prime-minister. Too often the community is the measure of the man, the " village Hampden " seldom at taining to the stature of the giant ; and if our colonial states- men develop smallermindedness in the political sphere, than British statesmen, the fault is perhaps rather the country > than their own. But this much is certain : From 1840 to 1 S ~>'2, Lord John Russell was prime-minister of England, with Palmerston as foreign secretary ; but in 1855, the latter be- came premier, his former leader taking the colonial secretary- ship ; and the mast amicable relations existed between the two statesmen. In 1835, the Duke of Wellington accepted the foreign secretaryship, under Peel, with cordial loyalty, bending to the wishes of his party ; though the bluff old statesman was not without the opinion that his prowess in the council was only equalled by his skill in campaigns. British history abounds with similar instances, the leader of to-day becoming the subor- dinate of to-morrow, not regarding the change as a personal injury by the fortunate rival, but as one of the fortunes of po- litical war. One of Mr. Mackenzie's faults seems to have been a repellent manner which he could no more control than if it had been dyspepsia ; but many a one who had claims upon his courtesy came out of his presence vowing revenge. Such slight "A WET SHEET AND A FLOWING SEA." 411 faults, however, help sometimes to make up a bill of assassina- tion. But the change of heads, surely, did not make the re- form atmosphere warmer. The party lost a leader, whose blood was cold ; and got an iceberg. When Mr. Mackenzie assembled his forces at the capital, he soon discovered that office is a boisterous sea, studded wdth rocks, where shipwreck awaits the helmsman who is given to- napping. The ghost of poor Scott, whom the reformers had conjured at the election, arose in the cabinet, the premier find- ing that the task of conscientious duty was vastly easier out of office than when leading a government. The murderer Riel, for whose apprehension Mr. Blake, with the approbation of Miv Mackenzie, had offered a reward of s.yooo, was elected for Provencher, at the general elections, and actually presented .-elf at Ottawa; was introduced to the clerk of the house, took the oath, and was enrolled a member of the legislature. During the election of 1873," tin blood of pour Scott " had been chief reform battle cry; but a year later Mr. Mackenzie- permits the unpunished murderer to come into the capital, brazenly stalk through the city for days, and then boldly pre- liiniself to the clerk of the house of commons and sign the members' roll. We have not been able so express any feeling but indignation at the conduct of Sir John Macdonald's govern- ment in shielding Riel from the ooneeqnenees of his crime; bat indignation has been succeeded by contempt for the action of Mr. Mackenzie is permitting this felon, red-handed, and pre- Baming,to present himself before an officer of the legislature, and to swear upon the Holy Scriptures the oath of an unbrand- e 1 man. On the 15th of April, Mr. Mackenzie Bowell,the pre- sent minister of customs, moved for the expulsion of the mur- derer from parliament, which was carried by a vote of 124 to- n's; bat sixty-eight members did actually vote that this man- slayer should be permitted to retain his seat. Let some histo- rian who does not care whether or not he soils his page, put irk the pillory the names of this sixty-eight. 412 LIFE OF SIR JOHN A. MACDONALD. Among the other difficulties with which the premier found he had to cope was the agitation on the New Brunswick school Mil, to which we have referred; and complications arising out of the repudiation of the contract to build the Pacific railway within the specified time. The engineers employed upon the surveyi itemed the mimatry by pictures of gigantic difficulties, and 1 1 11 wars was deemed insufficient to complete the work ; though the reader will conclude that even great engineering obstacles disappear in the face of proportionate energy. When British Columbia learnt that we had broken faith, refusing her marriage portion, her indignation knew no bounds ; and to ap- pease the storm of passion in the mountainous colony, Mr. Mac- kenzie despatched thither Mr. J. D. Edgar, a gentleman of much ability, and of good address, to endeavour to pacify, with ex- planation, the excited colonists. Mr. Edgar held several con- ferences with the premier of the colony, Mr. Walkem, but the luctof that gentleman does not seem to have been either politic or dignified, and the envoy, without having accomplish- ed anything, though the fault was not his, returned to Ontario. After some diplomatic wrangling, the " Carnarvon terms " were proposed to the Dominion government, which provided for the -construction of the rairway from Esquimault to Nanaimo with all possible dispatch ; that the surveys on the mainland should be pushed with all possible vigour; that the waggon road and telegraph line should be immediately constructed ; that a sum of not less than $2,000,000 per annum should be expended on the British Columbia portion of the line, and that the railway should be completed and open for traffic from the Pacific sea- board to a point at the western end of Lake Superior, before the 31st of December, 1890. Legislation was introduced to ■carry these terms into effect, though it was reserved to a suc- ceeding ministry to remove the road from the statute book to the prairie and the mountain. We cannot in the space now remaining to us, follow Mr. Mackenzie through his administration, but must content our- "A WET SHEET AND A FLOWING SEA." 413 selves with a hasty glance at his most important work. Dur- ing the vear 1876, the United States demanded of Great Britain the extradition of certain fugitives from justice, under the* terms of the tenth clause of the Ashburton treaty, but the English government refused to grant the request, unless upon the condition that the offenders should not be tried for any offence other than that for which their surrender had been demanded* To thifl wrong-headed stipulation the United States government would not agree, and the operation of the clause named was for the time suspended. Canadian criminals fled across, the boundary, finding protection under the Ameri- can tla;_r. and forgers, murderers and escaped convicts came trooping fr<»in the republic into our cities, where they laughed at the laws they had outraged. Such a state of affairs was, of rse, intolerable j the British government with a grace in which there was do dignity receded from Its position of stupid obstinacy, and the suspended clause assumed its former virtue. A Canadian extradition act was passed by the Dominion par- liament on the following war, but owing to the existence of the imperial law, it has since remained as lumber on the Itatnte book. In 1874, the general election law providing for by ballot, simultaneous elections, and the abolition of property qualification for members was passed; in 1875, was- btHshed the Supreme Court of Canada, having civil and criminal jurisdiction throughout the Dominion, and taking away — though only in nam. — the right of appeal to England, except where imp. rial interests were involved; in the same session passed the Canada temperance, the homestead exemption T the petition of right, the militia, the maritime court, and the public accounts audit acts. By the latter it was provided that the auditor-general should be a detective, his functions being to keep his eyes open for ministerial dishonesty ; and his office was put beyond cabinet control. As the assumption of the act was that governments are given to steal, and that auditors are not incorruptible, persons as suspicious as the framers of the 414 LIFE OF SIR JOHN A. MACDONALD. measure must be in a state of perpetual alarm, lest dishonest ministers may some day league themselves with the temptable auditor for the purpose of plunder. Besides these important measures, it is to the credit of Mr. Mackenzie that he has left to us, though in leges won w ar j p toj a wider range of constitu- tional privilege. That respectable fossil in the colonial office, doling the early years of Lord Dufferin's regime, had through the plural pronoun of the first estate, issued these instructions t q the governor-grnt ml. If, in any case, you see sufficient cause to dissent from tlir Opinion of the major part, or the whole of our (sic) privy council for our (sic) Dominion, it shall be competent for you to exercise the powers and authorities 1 in you by our commission, and by these our instructions, in 9ppiiin,i. " These, of course, are the words of a scribe, and the sentiments of a sovereign, innocent of the trend of modern history, and of the nature of Canadian spirit Mr. Mackenzie, to his credit let it be said, challenged this insolrnt impertinence, opened correspondence with the colonial office, and contended that the governor-general, his council an-1 thr parliament of Canada should bear the same re- lation to the people of the Dominion, with regard to all acts of domestic policy, as the Queen, her privy council, and the im- perial parliament bear to Great Britain. To this firm conten- tion, the home office, after some resistance, with a supercilious shrug, at last consented. It is difficult to read these des- patches, much less to write about them, and 4 keep one's temper. We have only this to say : When we are ready for separation, and the day is not far, it is our desire to part from our mother with feelings of good will ; but this will be impossible if the colonial office is permitted to go on provoking our resentment. An imperial puppet at Ottawa, in the present temper of our people, would be surprised at the suddenness with which Cana- dians would return him to the government whence he came, did he dismiss a ministry in whom the parliament and the people had confidence. Few suppose that the rash attempt will be 11 A WET SHEET AND A FLOWING SEA." 415 made ; we are assured even from imperial quarters that Down- ing street has withdrawn her hand ; yet the wolf we saw yes- terday may not be dead, and we must not be charged with over timidity, if we show anxiety about our folds. In 1848, we thought we had seen the last of the Downing-street wolf ; but as lie appeared again in 1873, there is no sufficient guarantee that we arc not to have still another visitation. We have no faith, we must confess, in frightening away the wolf; we will be able to rest without fear only when we see him fairly de- stroyed. A good deal has been written by light writers and by heavy writers, concerning the functions of a governor-gen- < nil. the agent of the state that appoints him, and holds in his hand a power greater than tin- people, With the latter view, may Bay, we are in acc«»r«l. To talk of the supremacy of the people in a subordinate state, is to utter a paradox, even though the shadow of foreign domination fell across our coun- try but once in a generation. Practically, (though there is at least one important exception) we do now govern ourselves; but we somrtini' Oiat we do so only by the sufferance of the foreign agent at Ottawa. The type of a perfect legisla- tive and governing system is the municipal institution. The warden (or the reeve as he is sometimes called) is not himself the authority, but the executor of the council's will ; the recep- tacle wherein resides the authority of the assemblage. Author- ity is indivisible, and is resident only in unity; and in the municipal institution is begotten of the council — which is an embodiment of the people's will — and is expressed through the person presiding. The warden has no power save that which he derives from those over whom he presides ; but he is at once the executor and the representative of the will of that 416 LIFE OF SIR JOHN A. MACDONALD. body. This is, then, the true type of government by the people. In the Canadian cabinet, the authority of ministers is resident in, and administered by, the president of the council ; but that authority is paraded before the overshadowing authority of the foreign power, as Tested in the agent of the latter, and may be pted or set aside. In our provincial governments the case ia tlif same in form, though differing greatly in nature, the Canadian ministry filling in a large degree the place of the foreign power with respect to the higher cabinet. Our friends in the republic glory in sounding upon their trumpets that they have government by the people; but in the veto, which is an assumption that one man i> wiser than many millions, there is more than the phantom of a king. The governor-gen- eral then, may be a " wooden horse," but like that of the Greeks before the gates of Troy, he has within him a power whereof few of us dream. We have been fortunate in the mild domi- neering of such foreign agents as the Dufferins and the Lornes ; but we may get another Metcalfe before we are all gray, and tl irn we shall probably have — independence. In 1877, it became known to Mr. Mackenzie, that the impe- rial government were about appointing, as the Canadian repre- sentative at the Halifax fishery commission, an English diplo- matist. The premier at once offered a firm protest, and main- tained that it would be an outrage if the Dominion were to be without a local representative in view of the magnitude of her interests at stake. The imperial government, however, did not consider that we were entitled to a domestic commissioner, contending, among themselves, that it was an affair of the em- pire — though the interests of Canada alone were at stake. Yielding, however, to the uncompromising attitude of Mr. Mac- kenzie and the ministry, and " to satisfy the colonists," Sir A. T. Gait was nominated as the Canadian representative. In ad- dition to the higher grounds of manhood, equality and liberty which make the scheme of Canadian independence so dear to all those who scorn to be " subjects " of a foreign state when "A WET SHEET AND A FLOWING SEA." 417 they may be " citizens " of their own, are several questions bearing upon the trade and welfare of our people, by which we sutler from being held in the leading-strings. It is surely more than an imaginary grievance that we are not permitted to make our own commercial treaties, but must be content to accept the altered into on our behalf by the foreign govern- ment. In a speecli of tremendous power, during the session of L882, Mr. Blake contended that the right of making Canadian treaties should be in the Dominion government. Some time in writers in the newspapers declared that Mr. Blake was at beart a staunch friend of Canadian independence; whereupon, at a public gathering in Montreal a few months later, lie repudiated bis utterances at the late session of parlia- ment, by declaring that we noWj practically, had self govern- ment in Canada. Mr. Blake's gteai speeches, unfortunately, but too often resemble railway brains running In different di- ventualiy meeting in disastrous collision. After the defeat of Sir John at the polls, the conservative embled " . Scattered sedge Afloat, when, with Betes winds Orion armed Hath vexed the Red Sea coast," and were many dreary weeks before they had spirit to raise their heads. Two or three members at a caucus, which at last made a desperate effort for life and organization, were of the opinion that Sir .I<»lin had seen bis time and done his work ; 1-ut such counsel only Btirred the deep-seated loyalty of the party to the chief who had led them so often to victory, to a new activity. Once again the well-beloved leader sat at the head of his erstwhile scattered followers, and began to whisper in their ear the words of hope. He had been studying the poli- tical situation, and saw that decay had laid its hand upon the ruling party. The country had fallen into a state of commer- cial ud year after year, during the administration of Mr. Mackenzie, saw the situation grow worse. Enterprise AA. 418 LIFE OF SIR JOHN A. MACDONALD. was without heart, capital shrank timidly away, and confidence had fairly gone out of the country. Each session of parliament showed a large deficiency in receipts in comparison with the expenditure. For some time previous to 1874, the customs duties on unenumerated imports had been 15 per cent., but in the session of the last-named year, to meet the threatened de- ficit, Mr. (now Sir) R. J. Oartwright, minister of finance, intro- duced a measure providing for an increase to 17', per cent. Mr. Oartwright, like all other statesmen, had no hesitation in ad- mitting that taxation was bad ; but he preferred taxation pure and >imple. to taxation with a saving clause. His increase fell into the gaping jaws of deficit, which still hungered for more. Year after year the balanc o the wrong side of the book, till at last trade was languishing BO low that it would have died had that been possible ; commercial houses and financial insti- tutions which had been regarded firm as the hills came toppling down ; our people were fleeing the country in thousands look- ing for work, while the solicitations of the idle for work, and of the hungry for bread, were heard in every Canadian city. The government cannot manipulate the state as it manages a department i nevertheless crises do sometimes arise, when a ju- dicious touch of the hand may give a new direction and a life motionless commercial forces. The people, whether unrea- sonably or not, believed that it lay within the power of legisla- tion to better their condition, and they waited upon Mr. Cart- wright in hundreds, telling their woes and asking his help. But that statesman assured them that in such an emergency as this, and face to face with these problems of trade, that govern- ment was only a fly on the wheel ; and, turning gloomily away, the sufferers heard it whispered abroad that the cure the fin- ance minister had for this deplorable state of things was direct taxation. " Our opportunity has come," said Sir John, to his colleagues, at a caucus held about this time ; " want has over- come the prejudice of a theory, and we will propound a policy that will better this wof ul state of affairs and carry us back to "A WET SHEET AND A FLOWING SEA." 419 office." From that day forth the conservative chief began to •nize and marshal his forces ; to "get his hand upon the pulse of the country," and to breathe into his followers the sinie hope and ardour that filled himself. Sir Richard Cart- wright sneered at the " new-fangled doctrines," and his chief losing a momentary restraint upon his vernacular, affirmed in broad Scotch, "that the scheme was the corn laws again Avith a new face." The question presented to the ministry was one between commercial misery and a favoured theory, " but, in deference to the formula, they chose to l>e stiff-necked, and kicked complaining industry into the camp of their oppo- nents." * In (he house of commons on the 10th of March, 1870, Sir John boldly laid down the "broad national policy" of hifl party, in a speech of much vigour and point, His contention was thai there should be a thorough reorganisation of the tariff, which should be constructed in such a manner that it would, while producing sufficient revenue ^>r the current ex- penses of the country, also afford i stimulus and a protection to home industry, entice capital to the country, and keep our own artisans at home at the employment which must arise under the fostering legislation. Once again the cry went abroad, and thi> time at the dictation of the conservative chief, " ( Canada for the Canadians;" and the heralds appeared through the country giving the -dubboleth a liberal translation, assuring the clamorous workmen it meant that when they e to the liberal-conservative ministry for bread, they would not be offered a stone in the form of direct taxation; that henceforth our raw material would not be sent out of the country to give employment to the artisans of foreign cities; and that no longer would the American "drummer" be found Belling hifl goods upon the thresholds of our crumbling and idle factories. On the 17th of September, 1878, the two parties appeared at the polls, Mr. Cartwright and the ministry bound * Prof. GoMwin Smith, in The Byetemd 420 LIFE OF SIR JOHN A. MACDONALD. neck and heel to their idol; Sir John with the light of hope in» his eve, and " Canada for the Canadians " upon his lips. The change Which he predicted had come. It swept the country in a whirlwind, and the ministry and their god of clay fell in ruin : M Like the leaves of the forest when summer is green, That host with their banners at sunset were seen ; Like the leaves of the forest when autumn hath blown, That host on Que BMCTOW lay withered and strown." Rolls away the cloud again -which had hidden for a brief time the hero of our story, and wo find him at the head of his cabinet, potent still for vast endeavour and g reat national en- terprise. Mr. Mackenzie, who must have cursed idols and phan- toms of every kind, did not wait till the assembling of parlia- ment, but, with the demeanor of an honest man, who had tried to do his duty, quietly gave up the ghost. The new cabinet as follows : The Right Hon. Sir John A. Macdonald Premier and Min. of Interior. Hon. S. L. Tilley - Min. of Finance, " Charles T upper - - - Mr,*, of Public Works. * H. L. Lan<;evin - Postmaster-General. " J. C. A i kins Secretary of State. " J. H. Pope ----- Min. of Agriculture. " James Macdonald - M in. of Justice. * Mackenzie Bowei.i. - Min. of Customs. "J.C.Pope - Min, Marine and Fisheries. " L. F. G. Baby • - Min. Inland Revenue. " L. F. R. Masson - - Min. Militia and Defence, " John O'Connor - Pres. of Council. " R. D. Wilmot - Speaker of Senate (without portfolio). The mxgnum opus of the new administration was the Na- tional Policy, which, less for brevity than ridicule, has come to- 11 A WET SHEET AND A FLOWING SEA." 421 he known as the "N.P." The framing of a tariff striking at the root of our whole financial and mercantile system, was a task of tremendous importance ; but the difficulties disappeared before the masterly ability and skill of Hon. S. L. Tilley. No- thing was done in haste or blindly ; every commercial " inter- est ' ' in the country was carefully considered, and its intelligent opponents consulted before the law was put to paper; and though, as was only to have been expected in any law ever yet framed by the wit of man, for a country possessing more or less a diversify of interests, itfl operation bore harshly here and at first, upon the whole it was a triumph for enlightened statesmanship and commerce. The aim of the new tariff was twofold : to stimulate home industry, and to produce a revenue; and with this end In view, upon all imported goods which we were capable of producing at home, there was levied a heavy tic, and an ad valorem tax; while upon such article* could do! manufacture among ourselves, was put a lower duty. "I'li«- tariff pinched in many places during its early operation, anil many cried out against an overtaxed breakfast- table ; but at last complaint had hex mouth stopped with home-made sugar. It is not necessary to make prediction** when we have at hand an array of facts. The national policy been four years in operation now. Winn submitted by Mr. Tilley to the parliament, Mr. Cartwright loaded it with a n, and declared that it would neither raise revenue nor stimulate industry : that, on the contrary, it would throw a weight upon the shoulders of struggling trade, and make the people more powerless than before to pay the tax. .But the lit is different. It has raised a revenue, and produced a surplus; and has been coincident with, if it has not in great measure occasioned, the appearance of an era of prosperity be- fore not equalled in Canada. We. know that the wevil or the drought La stronger than ministries, and that statutes are powerless to make the corn to spring or the sun to shine, but do not hesitate to record our conviction that Sir John m LIFE OF SIB JOHN A. MACDONALD. Macdonald's ministry came upon the scene at an important time, that its vny cry upon the hustings before it put a line upon the statutes roused the spirits of the country, brought public confidence to itfl feet, and drew capital out of its hiding place. By its legislation it has done, and it is only folly or prejudice that will deny it. an enormous amount of good; it has brought into our lap millions upon millions of dollars of foreign capital, and added to the gross of our national wealth in an amazi: ■■-. The best proof that it has done so is found in the refusal of the people, after its four years' trial, ta give it up. There are portions of the Dominion, particularly in tht- maritime provinces, where the people derive no benefit from, and perhaps are to some extent Imrthened by, the direct operation of the policy; but they are amply repaid for this by the fuller throb, from the general prosperity of the country, which they feel in their veins, The outlook at the present is, that, while we may still expect some grumbling down by the sea, and hear notes of discontent, mollified by the restraining influence of the smuggler in the prairie province, the national policy for many a year, if not for a generation that will know Ofi not, is to be an institution of the country. Uuiing the month that witnessed the re-appearance of Sir John upon the ministerial scene, Lord Dufferin took his de- parture from Canada; and on November following the present Governor-General, Lord Lome, accompanied by his consort the Princess Louise, arrived in Halifax. The fates which seem to have taken so kindly an interest in Lord Dufferin, and de- lighted tp assist him through troublesome places, must have grown afraid for their portege* and kept back the storm which hung ready to break over the vice-regal office when Lord Lome reached the capital. In December, 1876, M. Letellier de St. Just, a Dominion Senator, a pronounced, perhaps we ought to say a rash, reformer,* and a member of Mr. Mackenzie's • Merely for courtesy's sake the writer uses'the word " reformer," which is the name of a party absorbed, as we have seen, many years ago into the Liberal-Conser- "A WET SHEET AND A FLOWING SEA." 4'2'j ministry, was appointed lieutenant-governor of Quebec. M. Le- tellier was undoubtedly an able man, but he was defiant and haughty j and it is doubtful if he could look at any question pt from the standpoint of party. Unfortunately for him, and worse --till for political morality, he carried into the gub- ernatorial chair all his party loves and hates, which he made HO effort to hide, The conservatives were led by the premier, ML 1).- Boucherville, in the legislative council, and by If. Augers in the lower chamber. It is useless to deny that M. Letellier came to the administration with an exaggerated sense of his functions and powers; but what was worse still he believed that he had, and he really did have, the countenance of the Mackenzie ministry in hie feeling and attitude towards his cabinet, while he was egged on to hostilities by the rash coun- i • Brown and many other (Jpper Canada reformers) II well as l.y the lradiir of his own province. I'pon the other hand, the Quebec ministry, at the first, received the new governor with contempt, and L, r ave him plainly to under- stand thai his inclination or prejudice was of no consequence to them; that he had a certain figurative duty to perform ; that he was to sign their documents, and, bo far as administra- tion was concerned, to think only as they thought. There was soon open war between M. Letellier and his advisers, the former disapproving of several acts of the government's public policy; and after his ministers had several times treated his jestions with contempt or scorn, he took the Leader of the opposition, M. Joly, Into his confidence. This state of affairs could not continue, and at last, at the advice of those who had spurred him on to the conflict, the governor dismissed his ministry. Sis justification for this act he based on three mds: first, that he doubted whether his advisers possessed the confidence of the province; secondly, because lii- ministers had introduced measures without laying them retire coalition. Historically speaking the two partiesnow in Dominion politic! are the Liberal'O m and the Grits. 424 LIFE OF SIR JOHN A. MACDONALD. before him and obtaining his sanction ; and thirdly, that although they had known of his determined hostility to the railway and stamp measures they passed them through, nomi- nally with his consent, although he had never sanctioned them, instead of either abandoning them or resigning his office.* Tin- subject was promptly carried to the Canadian Legislature during the session of 1S7S, where it immediately became a party question, and gave rise to a long parliamentary brawl. John Maedonald made a masterly speech in condemnation of tli«' action <>t' M. Letellier, and ofTered a motion affirming that the dismissal of the Quebec ministry was "unwise and subversive of the position accorded to the advisers of the crown since the concession of the principle of responsible government t" the British North American colonies." f This motion was lost by a vote of one hundred and twelve to seventy ; but on the return of Sir John to office, M. Letellier was dismissed. This, thm, was the storm in which the new gubernatorial boat put out, Lord Dufferin getting across the Atlantic before it broke. We have not space here to discuss the merits of tin question, neither have we the desire to say more than this that the whole affair was alike disgraceful to the governor and the ministry, is a stain upon our history, and serves to show how unwise it is to drag the little municipal questions of pro- vincial jurisdiction through the grooves of federal parties. But one by one each province is dropping into the maelstrom of general politics, New Brunswick \ being the last to cast aside her individuality. * Mr. Stewart, in Canada under the Administration of the Earl of Dufferin. Mr. Stewart treats this question at considerable length, and with much vigor and clearness. t See Canada Hansard, Session 1878, Vol II., page 1878. t In New Brunswick, by a system of seduction and compromise, a sort of mosaic administration had been perpetuated from confederation down to the present year, ■when Mr. A. G. Blair appeared upon the scene at the head of a new ministry. Mr. Blair would be an ornament to any legislature, and his chief colleague, Mr. Elder, is a politician who might take rank among our foremost public men. It is the fate of controversy and party questions, in small communities to assume "A WET SHEET AND A FLOWING SEA." 425 In 1879, on the retirement of the former incumbent, Hon. (now Sir) William Johnston Ritchie, one of the puisne judges of the supreme court of the Dominion, was appointed to the chief justiceship. He was the son of the honourable chief jus- tice Ritchie, of Nova Scotia, and was born at Annapolis, in that province, in 1S13. His paternal grandfather came from Scot- land and settled in \<>va Scotia some time before the Ameri- can revolution. His mother was Eliza Wildman Johnston, the des lendant of a distinguished U. E. loyalist family ; hergrand- - 'tchm-in of the Annandale line. He was educat- Btndted law at Halifax with his brother, Hon John William Ritchie, late chief judge in equity for Nova S bia; was called to the bar of New Brunswick in 1838; in the city ol St. John from L836 to 1855, and was a Queen's counsel in 1854. He sat for the city and >f St. John in the New Brunswick assembly from L848 ial aspects, and to be einbued with a hitterness utterly unknown when the eats greater ; end if we in to believe the newspaper nta of the lat- n mi ■ display ol to Bay n< >tlii n_r <«f the vio 1 amenities kn.-wn at leas- oea *hich are weU understood in th« n they are held to be inviolate that did little to thus.- eoncerned for our part we on—ider ■ hgfalitiiu with i ■ueof lords and all the other hollow paraphernalia, for eaoh one of the little let, under the confederation, an expense and a folly ; yet they may ate some right to an existen will sh<»w less of t his petty grabbing 'ee, and give their attention (we refer particularly now to New Brunswick) •■illy source of income they have ise money. They have far many years pursued I ith their timber lands; yet it may not be now too late to mend, DO, nession after session, t<> itnre telling the en destroyed during the year— ami the more cut down, ies, boasting of the enue he has secured never been planted, or of one conserved. The -•. too of • large tracts of timbered lend fa III! who, lllj , more, Ufa monstrous ; like unto a man. who, not content with drawn t, falls upon, and • d. The [umber lands (they are not, generally, ad- apted sre all the capital New r.ru ns wiek has, and these should be : not to much as an acre should be parted with ; for by an •i the Bimple principles of forestry, and the adoption of careful regnla- . these tracts would yield, and reyield, I timber for an in le- a perpetual source of revenue to the m LIFE OF SIB JOHN A. MACDOKALD. to 1851 : in 1854 he entered the executive council of New Brunswick, and the following year was appointed to a puisne judgeship of the supreme court, which position he retained till asion to the chief justiceship,, on the death of justice Parker. In 1875 he was appointed a puisne judge of the Do- minion, and four wars later, as wv have seen, succeeded to the chief justiceship. H<- has been twice married, first, in 1845, to Miss Maitha Strang, of St. Andrew's, who died in 1847, by whom he has a daughter living; second, to his present win- ning and amiable wife, (I race Vernon, daughter of the Kate Thomas L. Nicholson, Bsq M of St. John. New Brunswick, and step-daughter of the late Admiral W. K. W. Owen, R.N., of Oam- pobello, by whom he baa twelve children. As a lawyer, Mr. Ritchie was an ornament to the bar, and Ins various promotion- only the recognition of ■ rare order of merit. To the judicial Beat which he now fills, he has brought an adorning talent, a vast breadth of view, a sober understanding, and a fault- judgment, that have won universal admiration and respect. It is a mistake to suppose that a lotos-eater's calm surrounds the occupants of our benches ; on the contrary, there is now a kind of judicial war. proper and discreet, going on between the Dominion court and the inferior tribunals. Owing to obscure definition of certain provincial powers upon the one hand, and of federal jurisdiction upon the other, in the British North America Act, there is in this quiet way some conflict of opinion among the judges as to " provincial rights," much as there is among the politicians ; but the trying task of holding the balance evenly between the aggregate of the provinces, and each province singly, at once calls for the highest talent and the keenest discrimination. And in this important respect, as in all others belonging to his sphere, Sir W. J. Ritchie gives a lustre and a prestige to our highest Canadian seat of justice. Towards the close of the year 1880, it became known that the government had entered into contract with a powerful svndicate for the construction of the Canadian Pacific railway, "A WET SHEET AND A FLOWING SEA." 427 which had for many years be3n proceeding in a half-hearted and desultory fashion. The entire road, from ocean to ocean, it was specified, was to be completed within ten years from the date of the contract, and that portion known as the prairie sec- tion, and roughly estimated at 1,000 miles, extending from Manitoba to the Rocky Mountains, was to be equipped and run- ning within three yean. In return for this work, the syndi- was granted a cash subsidy of $25,000,000 and 25.000.000> - of prime laud, in alternating sections along the railway route, and was to receive the roads already built under gov- ernment control. During the discussion on the contract in parliament the following Session, one or two opponents of the ministry turned aside from the legitimate debate to indulge in hitter insinuation with respect to the "Pacific scandal." The prime-minister defended the new contract in a speech of much power, and paused for ■ moment, as be glanced at the members who had sought to sting him. " I will not/ 1 he said. "draff into this discussion, as far as \ am concerned, and as far as my remarks are connected with the Bubject, any refer- ence to the political past. Allusions were made to it by those opposed to the government, especially by those who desired to asperse myself; but, sir, there is the record, there ifl the fruit of the appeal to the country— and I am prime minister of I Sanada." Well might the prime-minister be excused for hurl- ing tin- unmanly insinuations back, in a tone of pride, and in these triumphant words. He took occasion, too, to show to what extent the country had been the loser by the miscarriage of the Allan contract of 1872. " Nine precious years have been rince that time which can never be recovered, during the whole of winch that road would have been in successful pro- gress of construction ; the men engaged in that scheme, if they could have got the ear of the European capitalists, were strong enough to push the road across the country, and now instead of there being scarcely the foot-print of the white-man outside tin- province of Manitoba, there would have been hundreds of 428 LIFE OF SIR JOHN A. MACDONALD. thousands of persons who have gone from mere despair to the United States, in our own north-west territories. That coun- trv. instead of having but a small settlement in the eastern end of it, would have been the happy home of hundreds of thousands — to use th smallest figure — of civilized men, of tamest, active, labouring men, working for themselves and their families, and making that region, much sooner than it will be now, a populous and prosperous country." In the summer of 1882, we find the conservative chief once again before the electorate, asking judgment on the acts of his administration. Nor for all the battles he has fought does be ■seem the feebler ; but ifl in the thick of the fray, with the fire of other days in bia eyes, still wielding that subtle and irresis- tible fascination over the crowds who have gathered to hear him. A writer who makes pen-portraits moving with life, saw the chief under the glare of the lamps, in the Toronto "amphi- theatre," addressing a large assemblage, and among other touches has given Dfl this portion of picture.* " Always clear- v- >i< « 1 always turning, always watching . . . ; he pours out that succession of argument, of wit, of joke and of story, many of them old, of flashes of thought, many of them new and bright, of political reminiscence and political fact, rambling yet not unconnected, and always bearing straight on the point, all of which have, for many a long year past, among Canadian populace or in Canadian legislature, been more powerful than the voice of other living man. I look on him, facing this way and that, imagining, declaiming, striving, and think of Praed's Sir Nicholas : " ' The gallant knight ia fighting hard, his steel cap clove in twain, His good buff jerkin crimsoned deep with many a gory stain ; And now he wards a roundhead's pike, and now he hums a stave, And now he quotes a stage-play, and now he fells a knave.' " The result of the election is too fresh in the mind of the reader to re-state it here. It is enough to say that the people * R. W. Phipps, in the Toronto World. " A WET SHEET AND A FLOWING SEA." 420 approved of Sir John's administration, and sent him back to office with a powerful majority in his following. Previous to dissolution certain changes had been made in the personnel of the cabinet, the most important of these being the accession of Hon. A. W. McLelan to the department of marine and fisheries,. in the room of Hon. J. C. Pope ; and the assumption by Hon. John Costigan of the portfolio of inland revenue. It is un- fortunate, but unavoidable, that it is necessary to take the minister raw from the constituency and put him in charge of a department which is a complicated organization of special knowledge. It follows that to inferior, or even an ordinary ability, in BUch a position falls completely into the meshes of mbordinate, from which lit- is neyer able to clear himself. An ambition that is above being the pipe whereon the clerk's finger may s«»und what note it please, will struggle out of the bondage, though it cannot do so immediately) and will over- come the mysteries of the labyrinth bit by bit. ( tf (he impor- tant and intricate office of marine and fisheries, Mr. IfcLelan had no more special knowledge than he possessed about making boots or clocks, but his energy and his fine ability stood by him in the hour of Deed \W have, however, this to say: our popu- lation ia rapidly increasing, and our fisheries are speedily dis- appearing. Science has pointed out to us a means by which we may resist the forces of destruction. If the science of fish- breeding by artificial means 18 not a delusion, and we do not then is it entitled to more than a homoeopathic application ; and we consider it to be the duty of the minister to take the matter firmly in hand. An important addition to the cabinet also, as we have said, Mr. John Costigan, the minister of inland revenue. He born at St. Nicholas in the province of Quebec in 1835,. i ducated at St. Anne's College, after which he removed to Victoria, New Brunswick, where he was appointed judge of the supreme court of common pleas. He sat for his present in the New Brunswick assembly from 18GI to 18GC when 430 LIFE OF SIB JOHN A. MACDONALD. he was defeated. He was returned to the house of commons in the general elections of L872, and has not been defeated since. We have already seen Mr. Gostigan through our nar- rative and recorded our admiration of his actions. His ap- pointment to the cabinet was the just recognition of an unfal- tering fidelity to principle and public duty, and of an ability endowed with special (nullifications for administration; an unbiassed judgments and a calm and sound understanding. YV. are inclined t«> aecept the many statements abroad that his hand is already seen in the management of a department which had been, tor but too long before his appointment, a marvel of red tape an 1 inefficiency. One thing there is we would wish to say just here and it is this : that we would there had been less stress laid upon Mr. Costigan's appointment as a Roman Catholic Irishman, than as a gentleman whose talent w. add be a decided gain to any administration. The " Catholic vote," like the " Orange vote," is fast becoming a reproach to Canadian politics, insulting to such Irishmen and Irishmen's sons as do not haunt the shamUes at election times, and above all most degrading to religion. It is notorious that the votes of Roman catholics have come to be regarded as political mer- chandize, to be bought and sold; and that tins monstrous state of affairs is due to a vanity in high ecclesiastical places which imagines it is being invested with an importance and a dignity while really degrading itself to a marketable commodity, be- coming the game of lawyers and political adventurers, for whom all these put out their hooks, and of whom they dis- course in their business letters in such a manner that one might fancy the " he" under discussion- was a horse, but that here and there " His Grace " appears on the page. While an uncompromising advocate of the rights of his co-religionists, Mr. Costigan's influence has never been in the direction of separation and estrangement — being universally esteemed by his protestant fellow-countrymen — much less towards promot- ing the state of affairs to which we have reverted, and which k M WET SHEET AND A FLOWING SEA." 431 must bring the blood surging into the cheek of whomsoever calls himself catholic or Irishman. Mr. Costigan is the type of & true man, who conceives a certain line to be his duty, ami having Bet up that star, unfalteringly follows it to the end. Through the storm and the sun -shine he has ever held on his course, wavering not to the right hand nor to the left. It would not be well that we should close our historical sketch, such as it has been, without devoting a word to the great party Leader who-.' oratory has made the land pregnant through the campaigns, and who readied his present eminence moke had rolled away from the Waterloo of his party. Mr. Edward Blake we need not introduce at any length ader. He is the BOS) a! the Hon. William Hume Blake bom we have spoken in the early pari of our hook, and who was one of the greate s t orators that has ever appeared in a colonial parliament, becoming afterwards a judge whose tal- and judicial insight long adorned the heiieh. Mr. Blake may be said to have come into the political world with a com- pound mill-stone about his neck, a code of party traditions, and a set of private opinions, both diametrically opposed in nature and direction, yet being afraid to disavow the one, or to ilaim the other, Hence, he is to the superficial looker-on the embodiment of a mystery : while his career is a record of indications gone astray. As in our -><>lar system, where, by the union of the two great forces, — the centripetal by which the in. and the centrifugal by which it would fly away,— the planet is restrained and accomplishes only a great circle once in the year, so too does the force of inclination drag Mr. Blake one way, and that of party tradition the other, result- ing in political revolutions that give delight to his enemies. We to this criticism with no little feeling of re- , as there is no writer that ever set pen to paper in this country who has a higher estimate of Mr. Blake's abilities, and his capacity to do good, and to perform great things, than we. Hut nature let him off her hands without backbone, and in 139 LIFE OF SIR JOHN A. MACDONALD. rwi y important step in his political life, he lias hesitated as a man in mortal fear on the brink of some abyss which he fears la about to swallow him up, tortured between the pleading voice of his own opinion and the mercileSfi man late of expedi- ency. The writer has sometimes seen him in public places, and gloried as he taw him, tear himself away from the party idols, and strike that loftier, nobler note which appeals to that in man above the degrading interests of faction and of party. At such times he has seemed to us as one alone upon the mountain-top, the clouds around and the world below him, bing a greater and a purer political gospel ; — but before the morrow we have found him among the throng making gods out of -the dregs of party clay. This fault is a legitimate subject far tie- biographical vivisectioiiistj because its influence i- traceable in the praetical life of the countiy; the other great short-coming of Mr. Blake is more his own affair than ours. We need hardly say that to his manner it is that we He -eems to have inherited the traditional whig cold- ness ; and it may be said of him, as it was of Lord John Russell, that it is impossible to be enthusiastic about him, for if any one were rash enough to be tempted into momentary admiration, the ebullition might be checked with a chilling word, a look or a letter. As a debater who speaks entirely from the head Mr. Blake's place i> undisputed in Canada; he is indeed, intellect- ually, as great an orator* as Gladstone and superior to the * Mr. R. W. Phipps, in the Toronto World, in an admirable portrait of Mr. Blake, says, in shaking of certain other qualities of that gentleman as an orator ; . . " Add to this a voice which seems to reach you just as it left the speaker, though far away ; a power, possessed equally by no other Canadian, of framing and of clearly delivering in long succession impromptu sentences, always grammatical, often magnificent, and always in perfection conveying the idea ; add to this a peculiar assuredness of expression and manner, and you have the leader of the opposition delivering an address." And on the attitude of the opposition leader to the national policy, the same writer says : " But on the great and living sub- ject of the national policy he is lamentably weak. Ready to destroy the sources of independent strength, to play into the hands of the foreign manufacturers, he can be no leader for the young and ardent spirits of the growing north. As I have before said, he appears unable to appreciate the re3ult of the injury he proposes •■A WET SHEET AND A FLOWING SEA." 433 English statesman, who wears his " heart upon his sleeve for • laws to peek at," in showing cold indifference to petty annoy ance. There is a suspicion that he fondles the idea of Cana- dian independence to his heart, though upon the subject he lias beenaa silent as the t »mb. Bat this matters little now. The tide has ebbed past, never again return to him, and his skiff high upon the data This glorious scheme is reserved for warmer hearts, and champions loyal enough to the cause they love, to boldly avow their faith. The other day we beard with a thrill thai a champion had arisen in the chair which inclina- tion would lead Mr. Blake to fill, with "nationality" for his guiding star; but looking, we saw he Was a party slave with chains upon his heelsand wristi Some newspaper represen- tatives attending the session of L882, at Ottawa, waited upon Mr. Blake with ■ modest presentation, which was accompanied hy an address. It was gratifying to the delegation to be ured thai Mr. Blake recognised the press ;e> rendering a " vei ■;. deal of assistance to public men is getting their before the count ion of those winged postilions that are said to drive the chariots of Pluehus through the Esther, were to wait upon the leader of the oppo- sition with a sheet of parchment, he would, we may be sure, treat them with the same measured courtesy and scant effu- to work. Knowingly, I do not believe he w..uld advocate it. But at pi give him command of the good si. a] Poli« y, and he summons the m •uda to leeward, master, art- duties on coarse goods, prime nece>>- and raw material, I see. I do to l" them. Pipe all hands. Cut them away ! ' " ' Why, bleM my eyes, cut awaj < u\s to leeward, sir ! 'says the old salt, 'every mast '11 --'» by tin- board I ' pinion i- inaccurate,' returns Mr. Blake. ' You will observe that the pressn m in no degree affect the safety of the masts, as it comes from . and the masts are supported by the shrouds on that side.' " ' But blow me tight I Your honour ! sir I ' oriel the veteran, the picture of • y, ' what '11 happen when we tacks ?' " * You do not,' »y» Mr. Blake, solidly, 'enjoy the confidence of the reform and cannot, therefore, understand fiscal navigation. Cut away the " Mr. W. B. McMurrich, ex-mayor of Toronto. BB 434 LIFE OF SIR JOHN A. MACDONALD. sion. Without exhibiting our imagination at all, we can fancy liim saying. "<> yes! — thank you gentlemen Fou are here from the boh, That orb 1 recognise to be of considerable im- portance to us in showing light." Mr. Blake entered the field with a sturdy how and an unerring shaft : hie arm was strong and tli.' object biased like a star. The prise and the day have passed; the morrow and the might-have-been have come. Edward Blake is opportunity in rains. We have approached the cud of our Btory ; and the taper barns low. However our narrative way be received we have striven to do what we have helieved to he our duty, and have written by the light that has l»een given to us. If ingoing through oui there should DC anv leader who finds his idols broken, let him !>»• assured that, while our judgment may have been at fault, and an ampler Btudy of the subjects pass- ing in such rapid review along the current of our story might have lent a different colouring to our pictures, what we have put to paper is our deep conviction, and is done with an earnest jlesire to tell the truth. Actors along the ground over which our laboUTfl have Led 08, have here and there arisen, for whom an antipathy has grown up, as one learns to hate in <»n«- short hour, at the theatre, the wicked and detestable Richard ; but while for such our dislike has been hearty, we have striven to giv3 them, grudgingly though we must admit, such credit as has been their due. CHAPTER XXIII. Tllnl'<;HT AND LITERATURE HAYIX<1 kept <>ur readers for forty years in the desert where politicians play their part, we now gladly enter that fairer land where soft winds whisper to the summer leaves and wild flowers grow. We have only a little space at our disposal, and we do not propose to Lumber it up with the good and the bad, like an auctioneer's inventory ; for certain other ( Sanadian writers, from whom we trust we differ on most things, are exceedingly partial to this habit. Neither can we give a li>t of all the luctantly though we leave some of these • flowers of the wild-wood to blush unseen Less than fifty years ago, Lord Durham made a study of tie- social con- dition of our people, concluding that tie- French^ lanadian race must become absorbed by the English population; and one he reasons he adduced was that they had no literature. Manv changes have come sine.' Lord Durham wrote that re- port The proving f Quebec has now not alone seats of learn- ing distinguished by their scholars, and their labours, hut an array of native litterateurs that do an honour to our young Dominion Nay, more, up to a recent period, she has distanced all her English sisters in the field of literature, and notably in the departments of history and belles lettres. In the former sh«' .till maintains the supremacy! but by our own Mr. Roberts her poetic crown has been disputed, though her athlete of the muses has borne the laurel away from the Institute of re- gal Paris. It may not be considered out of place to say here, that Lord Durham was not astray alone in his prediction of a blank of letters for our French sister, but in the belief that 435 436 LIFE OF SIR JOHN A. MACDONALD. the French-Canadian would disappear before a sufficient force of statutes. It is only by a gradual process of absorption that the piece of old France which lies along the banks of the St. Lawrence, will cease to he. The union of the two provinces with a preponderance of English power in the legislature, ss Durham proposed, could in time have crushed the French na- tionality, except thai here and there, in the hack wood villages a barbarous ad some antique custom would still be found to linger, as lie who travels through the less-civilized district- of Ireland finds the emhers of the Celtic tongue How- es o ing brightly in t cluster of Cabins upon which the light of the has yet not dawned. But chiefly to geography and con- federation the people of Quebec are indebted for the prospects of their old-time customs ; and the traveller who, five hundred years from now, visits our great Dominion, will find flourishing on the banks of the St Lawrence, a quaint civilization, instinct with the blood of youth, yet wearing the semblance of old age; a social system that will remind him of a creature with the sturdy limbs of a lad, and the hoary head of an aged man. To our young Canada, developing into robust nationhood, it is a cause for fraternal as well as patriotic regret to see among such an important section of our people, opportunity and thrift wedded to an obsolete civilization ; and it w r ould be false deli- cacy for us, much as we admire the devotion of our Quebec fellow-countrymen to the language and customs of their be- loved France, the ability of their scholars and public men, and the frugality and the industry of peasant and artizan, to hide the regretable but palpable fact, that the ordinary French - Canadian citizen is the social inferior of his fellow in the sister provinces. He who passes on the rail-cars from the English to the French territory, is at once sensible of having passed from a superior to an inferior order of civilization ; he sees not the husbandman employing the skill or resource of the age upon his farm, but finds him still a slave to the customs adopted in France a hundred and fifty years ago. The leaven THOUGHT AND LITERATURE. 437 of modern contrivance through the rest of Canada stops, as if confronted by a wall of iron, when it reaches the French-Can- adian province. Like the island of Calypso, — though the com- parison will not stand " on all-fours," of which Mr. Roberts Bays in his delightful ballad, " The loud, black flight of the storm diverges < h er i spot in the loud-mouthed main, Where, crowned with summer and sun, emerges An i-sle unbeaten of wind or rain" — stands the province of Quebec in the Dominion of Canada. The invigorating galea of our modern civilization Mow over all the rest of the land, hut diverge on reaching this quaint province, which is left to the repose of its old-time ways. One of the litterateurs of the French province is P. J. 0. ivean, who obtained sonic eminence in the sphere of letters. through that merit which finds a warm place in the human heart, than through his prominent place in the political and 1 world. !!<• \vi rlcs Gurrin. a passionless novel •ted to the social customs of the first half of the century. The crudity which its critics took BO much to heart, was per- haps it- least fault. The hook l>y which M. Chauveau will he best known is M ouv&nu re et Intellectuel, though nothing of his that we have seen entitles him to a niche in the temple of fame. Among the French-Canadian writers a prominent place be- longs to J. M. Le Moine. This writer has been subjected to some very stupid criticism, on the ground that his style is too circumstantial, hut it is in this very respect that Mr. Le Moine's contributions are chiefly valuable; and though the painstaking anthor does not reach high flights, or make am- bitioua pictures, some of his narrative is sweet and interesting; and his work is certain to live on its own account, and also to furnish food to an army of literary workmen. A writer of some aote is Monsieur J. C. Tachd who once wrought himself to the pitch of writing that barb&rous moral 438 LIFE OF SIR JOHN A. MACDONALD. drama TVow Ugs Mon Pays in which he endeavoured to portray the religions and soda] history of the aborigines. UN best book is perhaps his / 9 et Vbyagewrs, which, as we may gather from the name, is redolent of the music of the pines and the delightful romance and incident of the wild-wood. M. Tache* has an unerring aim, and sometimes strikes with an iron hand. His style is pure, clear and vigorous; and a spirit of poesy breat hes through his pag [/Abbe* K. EL Casgrain tears himself away from theology to :• / / He loves to write in sonorous phrase, that rings on one's ear like (he music of a mel- low bell; and it is unfortunate that he has not at his command a more inharmonious prose for the conveyance of his murder- tidinga Tin enthusiasm is 80 strong that it frequent ly takes him from "the straight and narrow road"; and his esti- mate of the chanu'trr of some of the early Indian tribes should not be taken without a respectable modicum of suspicion. Prof. Hubert La Rue has written a series of domestic and other sketches, wherein on the humble lot of the habitant after the day's toil is ended, and hears the prattle of the little ones gathered about the parent's knees, as if, indeed, the picture was not in the imagination, but that he had stretched himself as the sun went down, before the cottage door, by the waters of the St. Lawrence. In hi> 76th year M. Philip Aubert de Gaspe* came with st3ady step before the world with his marrowy, warm-blooded book Les Anclens Canadiens, teeming with legends of the chivalrous period ; and M. Faucher has delighted a large Cana- dian circle and not a few readers in France, with the charming, collection of sweet home-portraits of wood and dale, the fire- side, summer evenings, the field and the garden, and the whole round of rural spots hallowed by time, and so dear to the habi- tants, in A la veillee, contes et r^cits. M. Faucher has a riotous, imagination, and would sometimes seem to have an ambition to be regarded as a sort of Munchausen. nan- welve THOUGHT AND LITERATURE. 439 The story of early Canadian history lias a strong charm for If. Joseph Marmette, who tells in Heroisms et Trahiaon the thrilling story of the defence of Fort Yereheres by that modern Boadicea, Mile, de Vercheres, against a band of forty -five In- with no assistance saw her two brothers, boys under me servant, two cowardly soldiers, an old man of eighty and some women and children. M. Marinette has evidently back through the years and let a keen-eyed imagination enter that fort where this brave young girl with flowing hair and resolute dark eyes fronted the lavage foe. This writer 1 1 «• i ^ tli.' gift of the picturesque and a hunger for the horrible, II Benjamin Suite lias caught the attention of a large and admiring circle <»i" readers; and among his contributions to literature, A<> Coin du feu is perhaps the best. He who tpe in the summer-time from the hubbub and glare of the city, and go "nt into the great woods where the calm majesty of nature reigns, will find a fund of delight in reading Un* Chadded Vown t and Le Loup-Qarou, the record "fniic whohas not learnt forest i an- ing out of books. This writer i- sometimes able to com.' away from the grotto and the pine grove, and pencil, with life-like fidelity, an historic scene of the long-buried past of his country. To Canadian letters tic premature death of Louis P. Tuj> was a serious loss. Still, he has left behind him an im- perishahle contribution in Le Canada sous V Union. M. Tur- s opinion i-> that Lord Sydenham, the first governor under the union, was actuated by a narrow view, being Imbued in his dealings with the French-Canadians by an anglicising and protestantizing spirit. When writing our own sketch of this ernor, we were unable to turn up all the documents we. should like to have seen; nevertheless, from what we did see, our conclusion was that Sydenham had a narrow mind, and was capable of becoming a Metcalfe in proper season. But it is al- most impossible to believe, yet is it not the less true, that M. Tur- cotte considers that Metcalfe held the balance fairly between all 440 LIFE OF SIR JOIIX A. MACDOXALD. parties. It might stem almost as if a portion of the same poison which seduced poor old Viger from the path of duty, had in some manner found its way to the ear of the brilliant young historian* ALU' Ferland has put literature likewise in his debt, in the production of his very clever // iaUrirt t" the hooks thai deserve to live in our literature. There have been several histories of Nova Scotia given to the public, and some of them are said to have had not a little merit. Colonel Gray 'a Confederation, so far i -. is a valuable book, but there is not enough of it. Mr. Nicholas Flood Da vin, in the literarv firmament, is a verv bright star: hut lie neeook will not be published here un- it appeal to some section of the community ; which will then buy it whether it is good or bad. Our own poor effort ia a case in point. We have taken the most popular subject in da. Sir John Macdonald, and we appeal to a great public v ; bo that financial s u cc e ss would be assured to the pub- lishers, though we filled every page with garbage] while had Come with a much better book t<> M r, Rose, Or tO any otliei publisher, which appealed to nobody in particular, he or they would have been obliged to send us sorrowing away, with something ai least to light our fires, Mr. Rattray has com* mand of a vigorous style, and lie brings a calm and unbiassed thoughtfulness to every subject he di scus s es . But he is not a pugilisi ; if he had a little more of the fighting instinct — for fight we must, now and again, if we expect to get along through this world — we should like him better. But there hi is, the George Arthur who never fought, but who had his own high sphere as well as Tom Brown who did; and we take pride in him as a member of the guild A little volume lately published in Montreal by Dawson Brothers, entitled A Study of Tennyson's Poem, ■ The Prvnc by Mr, S. K Dawson, we may say is one of the most meritor- ver published in this country. Its tone is cosmo- politan, exhibiting not a trace of provincialism or Philistinism OT any of the stale rehash in which so many of our critics deal. 444 LIFE OF SIR JO UN A. MACDONALD. It is a piece of pure and polished literary workmanship, subtle and pointed in its analysis, ardently appreciative, deeply poetic, and altogether masterly. It quite demolishes a score or more iockhead Quarl&rly L < and other British worthies who have undertaken to set the "erring steps " of Mr. Tenny- son aright. The little hook has been well received in Eng- ; . though, as a role, our Canadian press has been as dumb ittlc and has a long article by Ernest Myers devoted to it in the last number of Maonillan's Magazine. Mr. Charles Lindsey has some literary reputation also, but anted it when writers, like clear land and schoolmasters, >carc.-. Hi- greeted work is Tin L' ami Times of Will I book showing much vigour, but reeking with errors, and written on the bias. He sadly de- serves ■ pltoe, however, in our native literary circle. Dr. ^ Ming wrote a very gossippj and entertaining book called of Old, and he has contributed some very valuable •rs to Mr. G. ! Adam's Carta atlonal Monthly. it. -Colonel Dt unison has had some of the sweets of litera- ture without any of the bitter, lie is not in any sense a lite- man, but his Hirtory o/Oawdryfromthe Earliest Times, I Lessons for the Future (a title which might have been phrased as " The past and future of cavalry," instead of using the proclamation form of expression) was a work of much note in military circles. In 1874, the Grand Duke Nicholas, of Russia, offered three prizes for the three best works on the his- of cavalry. Col. Dennison's essay was translated into Rus- sian ; the author visited St. Petersburg, and bore away, above all competitors, the purse of roubles. Of the many histories of Canada written in English, that by Dr. Archer is incomparably the best, though it is evident that the author, in bringing down his work to the school-house limit, has put it through a vast ordeal of mutilation. Dr. Archer has a style in which there is 3, singular sweetness, and that charm that is only coexistent with a deep poetic instinct ; and unlike the most of our other THOUGHT AND LITERATURE. 445 English historians he has gone to the fountain for the greater portion of his material. The pity is that Dr. Archer has not written more; for he might well contribute that which future generations would not let die. The fame of Dr. Alpheus Todd, C.B., rests upon his writings on constitutional subjects. He has written ParliamefUary ' n EnglandyBind Parlictrn&ntcury Government in tin B If tlic doctors could get the body of Mr Todd when he dies, they would, we will wager our reputation, rind stamped upon his heart tin- words" British North America Mr. Todd haa rendered some valuable assistance, now and then, no doubt, win-re complex constitutional points hav< ii, but the question lias come to be with him now, not was this or tliat right or wrong, for that is of minor conse- quence, but. - What says the British North America Act ?" Th< king in Mr. Todd'a eyes can done wrong, and the British Nortl America Aet must be always right. It' an act of parliament imperial 01 subordinate, |>ineh Ofl in any way, the true course u to have the cramping clause substituted by what we desire, insolation by excursions through constitu- tional graveyards. Mr. Todd'a work is the mildew of literature. One of the mosl assuming of our late historical contributions by Mr. John Charles Dent. The book the chief political events since the union of 1841, in a circumstantial manner, and the writer endeavour^ to lay the various sides of the question, under treatment, open to the view of the reader, in every case, however, closing the exhibition with his own opinion. The book is valuable chiefly because it is a (airly accurate record of the chief events of the time within its purview, faithfully recorded in chronological order. There i- not much party bias in the book, though the writer's head u has at " towards government; and as a rule Mr. Dent's bones are marrowless, and his blood is cold. To enthusiasm he does not once rise from the first cover to the last. One might fancy that he was a fish which had lived under the ice in the 446 LIFE OF SIB JOJiy A. MACDOXALD. tic Sea all his life, till captured by the publisher to write Forty Years, Mr. Dent has fair ability, much pro- ud a mind and impulse under a state of rigid discip- 11 is cleverer than several Canadian writers whom we know, and inferior to many others that we have met. He lias not the faintest seintilla of genius ; he never sinks below common sense, and never rises to superiority. In his whole book there is neither a bad nor a good sentence, BAYS where he vibes Mr. W. II. Blake's eyes as assuming "the lurid glare of forked lightning," and comperes the sparkling of Gavazzi's orbs to the glint of "royal jewels." He is very pedantic here tad then through his book; and has a way of putting quotation marks around poor phrases "i' bis own coining. He is usually correet in his statements, and has no mercy in that cold heart t" his for a brother who makes a slip in recording a date or an incident ; yet there glares out through his own pages, among ie other inaccuracies, the statement that the present chief ice (Sir W.J. Ritchie) was one of the confederate delegates - England, and that Mason and Slideli were taken off the Trent in " mid-ocean." But Mr. Dent's book is a valuable addition to .our literature; as is also hi> ( in Portrait Gallery, which contains sketches of our leading Canadian public men. One of the naost delightful books it has been our good for- tune to read, is Rowjhin'j it In the Bash, a vivid story, told by Mrs. Susanna Moodie, of the hardships to be endured by the emigrant who comes from a home of refined ease, to grapple with life in the wild- woods of Canada. We have all of us our favourite books — those that, read once, leave a clinging remem- brance about the heart that time is unable to efface. So perfect a picture is Mrs. Moodie's book of the struggles, the hopes, the dark days, and the sun-spots of that obscure life that fell to her lot in the forest depths, that its whisperings form a delight- ful music to the memory. The style is limpid as a running brook, picturesque, and abounding with touches that show a keen insight into character, and an accurate observation of TIIO UG11T AND LITER A TUB K. 447 external things. There is no padding or fustian in the book, and no word is squandered, Mrs. Moodie regarding the mission, of language to be to convey thought, not to be put on a useless parade. Here La a description of a whirlwind seen near her cottage, among the stumps, of a sultry summer day : " The ther- mometer, in the shade, ranged from ninety-six to ninety-eight w over my work and retired with the little tn tin- coolest part of the house. The young ereatures stretched themselves upon the floor, unable to jump about or play; log lay panting in the shade; the fowls half buried them- 's in the dust, with open beaks and outstretched wings. . . >k Donald in my arms, and my eldest hoy by the hand, and walked with them to the brow of the hill, thinking that the air WOUld be OOOler in the shad.-. In this 1 was mistaken. The Is o^ er <>ur heads hung bo low, and the heal was so groat, I was soon glad I > my steps. The moment I turned round to face the lake I was surprised at the change that had d place in the appearance of the heavens. The clouds that had before lain bo still were now In rapid motion, hurrying and chasing each other round the horison. It was a strangely ;l sight. Before 1 feh a breath of the mighty blast that had already burst on the other side of the lake, branches of and clouds of dust where whirled across the lake, se waters rose in long, sharp furrows, fringed with foam, F moved in their depths by some unseen but powerful agent. ranting with tenor, I just reached the door of the house as the hurricane swept up the hill, crushing and overturning everything in its course. . . . The hurrying clouds gave to the heavens the appearance of a pointed dome, round which the lightning played in broad ribbons of fire. The roaring of the thunder, the rushing of the blast, the impetuous do wnpouring of the rain and the crash of falling trees were fening." A picture like this becomes framed in the mind, and years will not dim it. Mrs. Moodie, who also wrote other works of much merit, among which maybe mentioned Flora 148 UFA OF Sin JOHN A. MACDONALD. 1. s ' yand Lf the breath of the mountain, the mys- tery of tin- wood, and the perfume of wild (lowers. It is a sort of pastoral \ m, written in prose, containing a wholesome of the practical with the exuberant and the spiritual Among our scientific writers of note may be mentioned pro- i l)awson, whose contributions to geology will be im- ■ liable ; Sir William Logan, who has laid the same science nndei deep obligation; professor Bailey, whose whole life is of scientific research, and who has not confined his splendid talents to the pursuit of geology alone, but to the elucidation of this and its kindred studies in numerous lectures, which, while profound are always delightful, and appreciable even to ordinary understanding; professor Hind, who loves sci- ence well, and has made many valuable contributions to its literature; and professor Macoun, whose explorations in the north-west, and his book on that region, published in connec- ISO LIFE OF SIR JOHN A. MACDONALD. tion with Dr. Grant, have brought his tine abilities into notice. Among our writers on the important subject of forest preserva- tion and reproduction, are Mr. Edward Jack, of New Bruns- wick, whose efforts have been useless bo endeavouring to press the importance of forestry regulations upon the dull ear of an apathetic government ; and professor Brown principal of Guelph agricultural college, has rendered valuable assistance In the Bamc direction in Ontario, though Mr. Mowatandhis colleagues are too much occupied with the affairs of faction to pay much at- tention to what he has written. Several writers have appeared before the public on religious subjects, but none of their fruits are wedded to our memory now, save the inimitable translation of the book of Job, by KshopMedley,the metropolitan of Canada. This distinguished divine is the ablest Hebrew scholar in Can- ada, and his translation of the most difficult and most 'beauti- ful book in the bible is unequalled, in the opinion of competent scholars, by any other translation yet made. The very flavour, and that delightful poetic fervour, running through the religi- ous pathos of the original, seem to have been turned, without diminution or change, into the English equivalent. Then- is another writer who employs a quaint style, of much charm, as if he had drunk deep draughts of the old Saxon wells, who now and again contributes papers on various subjects, trade, litera- ture, and social improvement, to the daily press ; we refer to Mr. R. W. Phipps, whose careful thought on all subjects with which he deals, and felicitous use of imagery fresh from his own mint, give him a literary standing that may well be envied. On the important subject of pisciculture Mr. Samuel Wilmot has contributed much valuable information, and to him and that excellent magazine, Forest and Stream, the only publica- tion that we know of which has a department devoted to fish- culture, the public is under great obligation. Mr. Charles Rumball, now a resident of Canada, may be ranked among our litterateurs, though his sketchy and gossipy book, The Pedlar, was printed before he left England. A THOUGHT A ND LITERATURE. 451 &ti Uional History of Canada, by the late Mr. Samuel flames WatsOn is a valuable addition to our constitutional litera- ture ; and he who reads it must regret that the author was not spared to finish his work. Mr. Watson also wrote some very I verse, which this writer should like to see published, as well as the remainder of the history remaining in manuscript Among those who take a foremost place in our realm of is, it is not necessary to say, is Mr. George Stewart, Jr.. whose various contributions have so long delighted a large cir- cle of readers. Literary honours, upon Mr. Stewart, have fallen thick and fast. In L879, he was elected an associate member of L' Association Litteraiiv Internationale of Europe, Victor ». president; and is the only Canadian that enjoys this dis- tinction. The other members of the association from this side of the Atlantic were Longfellow. Emerson, Col. J. W. Biggin- Francis Parkman, and Edward hong. In 1881 Mr. Stewart elected a member of the Prince Society of Boston; and is one of the original twenty members of the English literature »n of the Royal Society of Canada 1 by Lord Lome. Ee was subsequently elected n eretary of that section, which 'inn he now holds. In 1NS0 he was chosen with Mr. -I. ML Le ftfoine, as a delegate to represent the Literary and Historical Society of Quebec, at the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, held at Boston, Robt. C. Winthrop, presi- likewise a corresponding member of the New Brunswick Historical Society, and first vice-president of the Literary and Historical Society of Quebec. Mr. Stewart's literary career has been one of unceasing activity, crowned with •ess. In Stewart's Quarterly, a magazine with a strong literary sparkle, appeared a number of his earlier contributions; later he was editor of Belford's Magazine in Toronto; and al out this time wrote those entertaining papers of his, known as enings in the Library." Later still, he became editor of the in Monthly, and during his occupation of the editorial chair contributed a number of literary papers. It was then he 159 LIFE OF SIR JOHS A. MACPOXALD. Wrote the book by Which In- is best known. ('<"/'/ Under th< ' rvn t which brought him into in- stent repute. Severing his connection with the Monthly t h& took the editorial chair of the Quebec Chronicle, which position he still holds. I * 1 1 1 journalism during these years have not won the tireless activity of Mr. Stewart away from the pursuit he loves. In bis lectures on Alcott. Thoreao, Cariyle, Emerson, and Longfellow (which by the way we would like to see bound up in one volume) he has made an enduring contribution to Literature, by which alone he would he assured the remem- brance of posterity. Mr. Stewart's style thrills with life, and he frequently succeeds in getting his images down while they are at white-heat The following extract from his delightful lecture on Aleott, the " Concord Mystic," selected at random, exhibits the vitality and the nervousness of Mr. Stewart's Btyle. It is of Alcott he speaks : "For awhile he supported himself during the summer months by tilling the soil, and in th.- winter time he chopped wood. But whether he planted or reaped in the garden, in the field, or felled giant trees in the resounding forest, his fancy still turned to thoughts of high endeavour, and his eloquent imagination pictured the airiest \ i -ions and the most lovely of all lovely things. His] mind was full of quick-coming and beautiful creations, and like Wordsworth, like Bryant, like Thoreau the friend of his youth, he listened to the songs which the brooks seemed to sing, to the lays which the birds chanted in his ear, and to the hymnal sounds and roundelays which echoed from the dark recesses of the wild woods he loved so dearly." And again : " He talks on with the air of one who might be inspired — like a poet who cannot restrain the utterance of the fanciful things which struggle in his mind ; like a romancer who in vain attempts to call back the escaping children of his brain. His tones are like the notes of the sweetest music you ever heard. You find yourself going over them softly to yourself. You seem to beat time, and as one mellow strain, more delightful, perhaps, than THOUGHT AND LITERATURE: 453 its fellows, floats through the air, you resign yourself in reck- less abandon to the intoxicating impulses of the moment ; and the calm and graceful soliloquy of the speaker still goes on." Mr. Stewart has now a number of literary irons in the tire. He is preparing two articles for the Eneycfopasdia Britannico, one on New Brunswick, the other on Nova Scotia; has com- pleted a chapter of forty pages on Frontenao and his times for Justin Winaor'a" History pf America)" a hook to appear in eight volumes and promising to he one of the greatest literary pro- duetions of the age; and he is collecting material for a history of the rebellion of 1887-38, to be published in the spring of L884. In all these subjects there is no doubt that Mr. Stewart will appear at hi- beat, and add more havsto Ins ehaplet. But of all thf names mentioned, nunc there is more deserving <.'t* high and honoured place than that of Mr. TIIO UGJIT A ND LITER A TUBE. 455 and tho formation of national character. . . . Education is spreading, and its refining influence is everywhere operative. Party and sectarian animosities are on the wane ; and the in- fluence of reason in journalism and politics is asserting itself. Lei there be but more patriotic feeling, a fuller national senti- ment, with a more expressive public spirit, and abetter deter- mined civic life, and t lie metropolis of the province will take its proper position among the various communities of the Do- minion." And then we come to a name that we write down in the Canadian list with a thrill of pride. It is do little for us to be able to boast that the brightest living star of literature is ours, is in our midst, one of ourselves, sharing in our hopes and our aspirations, urging as here, restraining us there, all the while pointing out to us the honourable and the true, and stimulating v the elevating influence of bis own example. The ap- I >ea ranee of Professor Qoldwiu Smith in Canada marked the nning of a new era in national aspiration and literan- am- bition; and it also called forth in a certain quarter of our press such an outbreak of jealousy and hate as has never before dis- graced journalism in this country. Professor Goldwin Smith 08 with a great name, with unsurpassed talents; and no sooner had we heard his voice, than we saw, what we had already surmised, that he was at once a liberating and an elevating force among us; that he aimed to break the party rs that hound the people, and to prepare the way for laying the foundation of something higher, nobler, and more enduring. But while to all who longed for the higher and the better he seemed a deliverer, to others he was an intruder and an enemy ; because they saw in his presence a menace to their monopoly of perverted opinion. It is not pleasant work now to recall the campaign of malice that the Globe and its accomplices carried on against this high-minded gentleman. Seldom has a great newspaper, indeed, sunk so low; and those who at the first stood with folded arms while the foul assailants struck, at last grew LIFE OF SIR JOIIX A. WAODONALD. ashamed, and denounced the course of their organ, which they had been led to think eoold do no WTOIlg, with open and un- measured censure. Qf 000186 it was impossible for the gentle- man aspersed to retaliate In kind, though such defence as he found compatible with his own sense of honour, and with the dignity of journalism, was made, and with sueh tremendous effect, that those who had to hear the hrunt will have occasion to remember it to their dying day. But, throughout, the con- test Was as between artillery on the open tield and a crew of assas.sin sharpshooters in amhush. It is pleasing to know that it" the Gl" 1 - is still wedded to some obsolete trade idols, and IS times seen with the mop endeavouring to resist the tide of public opinion, that it tights no longer with a bludgeon, .and that the gentleman whom it once hounded and reviled, now has its respect and admiration: though conviction bounden to party necessity cannot always agree with unbiassed opinion. Mr. Smith's pen, immediately after his arrival, became active in ral influential quarters, striking key notes, and letting floods of light, in the writer'fl unrivalled manner, upon topics never before discussed within colonial hearing, livery chord touched vital, and it is no wonder that this new teacher, inculcating iis of self-reliance, and pointing out that dependence and inferiority need not be our perpetual portions, unless we willed it so, at once became the leader of our manly-spirited young men, who wanted a guiding star, and longed for some way for their footsteps besides the traditional ruts of party. Several of his contributions appeared in the Nation and the OanadAam Monthly, while he maintained, concurrently, his connexion with the leading British and American magazines, in which, on occasion, in his masterly style, he discussed several Canadian questions. But in the beginning of the year 1880, he estab- lished TJie Bystander, a monthly magazine, written entirely by himself, and containing a current review of all leading politi- cal, literary, religious, social and scientific events, foreign and domestic. One of the reasons put forward by the founder for THOUGHT AND LITERATURE. 457 the establishment of his magazine was that "an English peri- odical cannot often deal with colonial affairs, and, if it could, it- reflections would call always for a supplement, and some- times for an antidote. The political press of Europe is under the special influences of its own continent; and among these influences at present are lassitude and disappointment, the of revolution, and the cynical scepticism engendered in all spheres <»f thought and action by the rapid decay of religious belief It is not well that the unwholesome dew of the European reaction should be distilled without correction on the fresh character and nnblighted hopes of a community of th»- new world." Certainly a most wonderful force in the community of ..pinion was this new magazine. It was im- ible to read it> delightful pages from month to month without standing in positive amazement to reflect on the fer- tility of the writer's mind; and to note that while all impor- tant current topic, irere touched, every one was treated with a master hand. There WM DO circumlocution and roundabout svaneies, Kike an explorer poking his way through a thou- sand miles of ami forest or desert bo discover the foun- tain of a river, hut the reviewer, at tie- ftrsi glance, seemed to look into th«- very marrow of his subject, which he dissected and held up to the gaze of tic reader, as if it had cost him hut half an effort. We remember to have read no English author, dead or living, who has exhibited this faculty to such a marvellous degree We have sometimes read a dissertation from a great writer that might, taken as a whole, have compared with one of professor Gold win Smith's, though we have not, in the works of any author that we are aware of, since the days of Tacitus himself, the faculty, in the same degree, of flinging out upon the page terse sentences, made, we do really believe, without effort, pregnant of expression and of subtle suggestion, and forming, at the same time, a living, moving picture, as possessed by professor Qbld win Smith ; but not any one that it lias fallen ; has this instinctive insight into every subject, in 158 LIFE OF SIB JOIIN A. MACDONALD. every department of thought. The dramatic quality that wo sometimes, and not improperly, make a subject of worship in the man who can Band his intelligence out of himself, and make it enter into the heart of that which it seeks to portray anil fashion, from the inside out, not from the outside in, — that method whiuh Oarlyle objurgated — as a rule, only displays itself in conceiving and painting character; but this indefin- able gift professor Goldwin Smith carries beyond thedramati-t a sphere, and into universal service. Perhaps we ought to marvel at the man -<> richly and BO singularly gifted, than at the wondrous power which is always at his >orvice, that is as some ministering intel vhieh comefl from we know not where, and not at his calling, and whose name is <> Genius, whatever that may be, to the very highest degree, and in pro- fusion, has be. We cannot define genius, hut we can show the difference between it and talent. The person who posse talent is seldom troubled with " moods " as he writes or reason- ; but, if his mind be thoroughly disciplined, he is one who can tell exactly, on due consideration, what he is capable of saying on any given subject, and the line his thought will take; and turning in his mind the books he has read, he will, by the same draught-horse force, be able to conjure up cold illustrations, and as he goes on framing his work, pick each allusion out of its own pigeon hole, and set it demurely into its allotted place. When the speech is made, or the essay read, the ear of the list- ener may be tingled, his intelligence may be convinced, his literary sympathies may be delighted, but there is a spot which such ammunition never touches — tlie soul of the man. Let the physiologist not get out his microscope to look at our terms ; we have a certain idea of our own as to what " soul " means, and any one who can sympathise with the feelings we have as we write this, can readily understand us ; and we do not care how many battalions may come out of the dictionaries against us. But the person who possesses genius — and let us not startle the reader by telling him that not probably more than THOUGHT AND LITERATURE. 459* one in every five millions of the sons of men does possess gen ins — sitting down to write his essay, or his critique, or to prepare his speech, is, so far as the higher qualities he is to display in relation to his subject are concerned, in the hands of a power whereof he can predicate nothing. Just how much he has at his hand he knows, and its relation to the subject he well un- derstands ; and he may have, or he may not have, all the quali- ties possessed by him who has only talent; may remember illustrative passages in books, and be able to arrange these in desirable places; but as his work goes on, there flashes out of tin- abyss that surrounds him — not at his conjuring, neither at his desire— -the voice of an intelligence of which he knows no- thing; save that it does come without calling, and darts into his soul like the Lightning out of the womb of night. And for do o irample of Ibis, we take the reader to nearly any page oi Sometimes you read along, charmed with the incisive style, and persuaded by its clean-cut, merciless logic ; but, as in all such work of the brain, it is only the brain that is so far appealed to; but suddenly there gleams across tbepagt a master-stroke that you knew came not to the author for tin asking: there is genius. Sometimes, and oftenest, this flash shoots across the vision, so to speak, in reading the works of professorGoldwin Smith, in the guise of an epigram which you aro at once assured was not elaborated in that shape in the writer's mind, but was born there exactly as you see it. Other writers beat their epigram out of cold material, and make it under the same inspiration, that a blacksmith makes a horseshoe ; but on the page it is in the guise of a corpse, a production as much to be praised as an acrostic, or any other cold-blooded contrivance. Mr. Smith's epigram never stalks like a chilling phantom, save when that guise is deliberately intended for its own purpose, but flashes a living thing beforeyou, as it was first revealed to himself, and appealing at once to the understanding and the soul. It is seldom that the picture and the epigram go together, but in thi writings of this great author they invariably do, and fro- 400 LIFE OF SIR JOHN A. MACDONALD. .piently. that which is rarer still, tin- latter includes the former, Add to this every thought ID the writer's mind seems to ally it-fit* with some figure, by an affinity as strong ami as inevit- able ms that between the mag&et and the iron; so that a page of Bystander is a series of thoughts expressed through pictures, that only Hash, hut do not exhaust, their Significance upon you. Some of Milton's grandest touches have been these vague pic- 3 of grim fires, and God Been hurling hia thunders against the rebellious; and thifl art Mr. Smith DO8S0SB00 to such a de- that he BOmetinMi gives the glimpse of a picture lik< a suddenly Men through a rift of cloud, disappearing i, but which lingers and haunts the memory and the imagi- N ither is there an Bnglish writer, of whom we hare any knowledge living or dead, who possesses in so great a de- t of expression, the aptitude for coin- ing new and telling phrase that at once reveals itself as a mas- nokt. We have all heard of the trade of picking other people's pock its, but we never heard literary theft described I icking other people's brains" till professor Qoldwin Smith • ■barges Bishop WilUrforeo with the practice. But this is only of a piece with hundreds of other phrases not less apt, such as England "keeping a stopper in the Dardanelles," or thedescrib- f slaughter on the battle-field as " heroic surgery." True humour is one of the tests of genius and that quality which puts error in masquerade, making to laugh whomsoever looks upon it. Underlying most of Professor Smith's writings is a humour powerful and unobtrusive, that will not unlikely, in some dissertation on a budget speech, rise to confound and overwhelm with provoking drollery the subject under the vivisectionist's knife. Many writers have confuted the asser- tion that " the British party cabinet is only a committee of the privy council," but none of them, surely, has ever so effec- tually done so as in this piquant and overwhelming stroke of humour. " It is a committee of the privy council in the same sense as a shark is a committee of a negro whom he swallows." THOUGHT AND LITERATURE. 4G1 Or who has ever before seen the effort to combine the Evangeli- cals with the Anglicans in this light ? " At one time the Bishop [Wilberforce] strove to combine the Evangelicals with the An- glicans in resistance to Rome and Dissent, by superposing upon Anglicanism the evangelical doctrine of conversion; and his soul, supposing it to have accepted this combination, would, if disembodied, have appeared like a man with two coats put on opposite ways." Turning again to some other page, we come upon a passage whose lofty grandeur stirs every chard that has connection with the moral nature. See the calm, noble majesty <>f this p; taken from that incomparable English classic '• The Great Due] of tie- Seventeenth Century." Gustavus had. fallen before hi> hour : " T> J h um was 5Ung at Vienna and Ma- drid, and with good reason. For Vienna and Madrid the death of GuetaYUfl wafl better than any victory. For humanity, if th.- intereeti of humanity were not those of Vienna and Madrid, than any defeat 1 » u t for Gustavus himself, wa- it good t<» die glorious, and stainless, hut before his hour Triumph and empire, it is said, might have corrupted the soul which up to that time had been so pure and true. It was perhapa well for him that he was saved from temptation. A deeper morality replies that what was had for Gustavus' cause and for his kind, could not be good for Gustavus; and that whether he were to stand or fall in the hour of temptation, he had better have lived his time and done his work. We, with our small philosophy, can make allowance for the greater dangers of the higher sphere; and shall we arrogate to our- selves a larger judgment and ampler sympathies than we allow to God ? " This, too, is a fair sample of the sweet, mellow cadence of his style; and he always writes in an English afl limpid and pure, to use his own phrase, as "the burn that runs down a heathery hill-side." For some time Bystanl> , was suspended, but it has lately been resumed, though . quarterly instead of a monthly. We still could wish to wel- come it as often as before; but since that is impossible, let m LIFE OF SIX JOJIX A. MACDOKALD. hankful that we haw itfl presence still, four times in the war: its influence always, The teaching of professor Goldwin Smith is permeating the thought of OUT young country j and what a boon is not tho fruit of this ripe and excellent judgment, at the formative period of our national character, when much he habit we acquire will prove enduring. The morality of ■ nhler is robust and wholesome, and a disinfectant of the polluted party air about us. Above all, the unwavering adher- to duty, an 1 the high sense of integrity and honour, which characterize DU course as the expounder of opinion and the ler of our domestic pro as, is. whether unconsciously to our- ; not, a constant star that we have now begun to follow, and whose influence, when the gifted writer u do more, will still be there, to lead us on to the higher and the better. It is hardly a compliment to our chapter on literature to in- troduce upon the scent- the rank and file of Canadian journal- ism. The truth is that at the door of the Canadian press rests, in a great measure, the blame of the failure of domestic liter- try effort. The majority of such of our newspapers as have the greatest control of opinion have regarded native literary ambition either with scorn or hostility ; and where one or other f these enviable qualities has not been present, the good and the bad of our home endeavour have met with indifference. If the press continue in this attitude, then must our literary guild take the matter in hand. It is perhaps not too much to expect neither assistance to Canadian talent, nor competent crit- icism, after the review we read the other day, in the Mail, of Browning's latest volume of verse ; and after being told by one of the barley editors of the Globe in its "Answers to correspon- dents " that " Tennyson has written a great deal of trash." We do not suppose that the really talented editor of the Mail, Mr. Griffin, saw the impertinent and idiotic notice of Browning's volume, or it would not have gone beyond the fire ; yet is it not deplorable that such light store should be set on the literary and critical department of a great newspaper like that in ques- THOUGHT AND LITERATURE. 463 tion ( Assaults by the Globe newspaper have been usually made with a spade on literary strivers, though under its new nian- agement there is room to hope for better things ; and let us say that we do not believe that Mr. Houston, himself a finished scholar, and deeply interested in questions of Canadian edu- cation and literature, would permit an application of the hoof to Tennyson. It would be ungenerous and unfair, however, not to bear tribute to what the Mail has been to literature under the brilliant editorship <>f Mr. Griffin, who has not alone high literary attainments of his own, but is one of the band who have striven t<> create a republic of native Letters, taking every opportunity to forward the cause. Yet is the chain of tradition too strong for the desire even of an able and popular editor; if he gave rein t<> his inclination, we suppose he would : have In his ears the thunders of an irate directorate. As it' it is not zealous in helping letters now, it is neither hostile nor indifferent; though it would need to go long in sackcloth and ashes to atone for tie- past. Under tin' management of the elder Drown, the journal was only the min- C of the ambitions and the animosities of its owner, and that owner having no culture himself, had no sympathy for literature and showed it no kindness. Under the late manage- ment, its policy was one of tradition and personal hate; while literary effort was regarded by it with positive hostility, chiefly because the editor had no education, nor any instinct of culture what lie might have derived from his exchanges. One newspaper we have, which, without impairing its value to the " politician," or the M farmer," loses no opportunity to lend a helping hand to home talent : we refer to the Quebec Chronicle, under the editorship of Mr. George Stewart, Jr. Since party tirade in the editorial columns is no more literature than the broken string of a violin is a hornpipe, we ought not to discuss that topic here ; and shall not, save to remark that party jour- nalism is on the decline, and the star of the independent press in the ascendant. Perhaps that which, in the Mail and Globe, LIFE OF SUi JOHN A. MACDONALD. gusts us most, is the slavish loyalty to the throne and Brit- ish connexion which they pour out, whenever the whisper of ( 'anadian manhood is borne to their ears, Yet we do not be- lieve that the editors of these papers oars three straws for British connexion : at least we know the MaiF* loyalty has its price, and just what the figure i> ? for tor hen somebody cried out, " The N.l\ IS had j it discriminates against Knglish merchan- dize, and menace^ British connexion/ 1 that newspaper very promptly replied. " Then BO much the worse for British con- nexion." And in the very national policy, as in its name, we unconsciously indicated our news with regard to our obliga- tions to the parent National is, at all events," says By* . * the adjective correspond fag to nation; and if the treason axe can eat between the adjective and the substan- tive, its edges must be very keen." Very keen, truly! Jt is a hopeful sign for this can-.- of our hearts, that some journals are springing up amongst us with Canadian independence for their motto. Mr. W. McLean is one of the young men who has cast his energies into the struggle, and his journal, the Toronto World, is a vigorous exponent of the independence view. Of our native Canadian IMUraJU yond any comparison the palm belongs to some of the writers of our song; yet noth- ing of Canadian effort has received so chilling a reception as our home-made verse. Some coarse-minded writer in the Qlob< once said that M. Frechette might have a career, but he would not find it on this continent. Every Saturday the Globe and Mail each gives three or four columns of literature, embracing selections from prose authors, interspersed with snatches of foreign song, a large proportion of which has as much wood as spirit in its composition. They use translations sometimes of the most worthless of fugitive French verse ; but never will print a stanza from the incomparably superior verse of Fre- chette, who is living amongst us, and whose song is redolent of our woods and lakes, and of everything Canadian, while suit- able for all seasons ; and though they cram in sonnets and bits THOUGHT AND LITERA TCUE. 465 that have appeared in the corner of some magazine, into the never will they use a line of our own Roberts, of whom no doubt some of them have never heard, but whose song is the equal of Matthew Arnold's, or of Browning's, or of any other of oar great English poets' verse, world-wide too, in its sym- pathy, and ample enough in its range even for season or festi- val application. It is our intention now to take a brief review of OUT Canadian singers and their important songs, in the order of their merit. Beyond any comparison, our greatest Canadian poet — we have already ranked him with Matthew Arnold, and Browning — is Mr. Charles G.D. Roberta, of Fredericton, New Brunswick. Besides Mr. Roberta' surpassing gift of song, he is one of the most accomplished of our native scholars, and the master of a marrowy delightful prose that La not surpassed by that of any other Canadian writer. Be is a graduate of the university of Brunswick, where he took the classical scholarship in his man year, the alumni gold medal in the junior year, gra- duating, in L879, with honours in mental and moral science, and political economy. The first volume of Mr. Roberts' verse, Orion , and Other Poems, Philadelphia, J. B. Lippincott & Co., and dedi- cated to his father, Rev. G. Goodridgo Roberts, M.A., rector of lericton, New Brunswick, appeared in 1880. Of this volume, says a discriminating critic, in ;i lengthy and almost rapturous review, in the New York / ncU indent: "The author has not rushed before the public with a great bundle of all kinds in his hands, but he has given us a little book of choice things, with the indifferent things well weeded out. Orion is a poem which Morris might not disdain, and which has this advantage over that'poet's treatment of classic themes that it is not dependent for its interest on a sensuous imagination. * * * Fine as this is, there is more as fine in the little book. The ' Ballad of the Poet's Thought ' is an uncommon piece of work, turning on a deep and subtle thought, which nothing not akin to genius could raise so high above the commonplace form in which we are DD 466 LIFE OF SIR JOHN A. MACDOXALD. familiar with it. Very different is the 'Ballad to a Kingfisher.' But how simply and easily in these lines a common theme I unique creation — a thing apart, like itself alone ! " We have read from time U) time a large number of reviews of this volume in the Kurdish and American press, and one and all have hailed in Mr. Roberts the appearance of a poetic star of the first magnitude i we shall of ourselves now give to such of our readers as have not seen Orion, a glance into some of the incomparable beauties of that volume. First let us take hifl invocation of the Spirit of Song. Surely a grander roll of music has never come from pen of English poet : " White as fleeces blown across the hollow heaven, Fold op fold thy garment wraps thy shining limbs; Deep thy gaze as morning's flamed thro' vapours riven, Bright thine hair as days that up the ether swims. Surely I have seen the majesty and wonder, Beauty, might and splendour of the soul of song ; Surely I have felt the spell that lifts asunder Soul from body, when lips faint and thought is strong ; Surely I have heard The ample silence stirred By intensest music from no throat of bird : — Smitten down before thy feet From the paths of heaven sweet, Lowly I await the song upon my lips conferred. " Here we have all the strength, and the richness, and the sen- suous music of Swinburne, — not a3 one picture is painted after another, but as one strong, grand soul resembles another ; — here too, we have confessed to us the faith and the humility of genius. If, then, we find at the threshold such a glorious out- burst of song as this, when we get inside we shall not wonder, while we may be astonished, at what may come. The first and longest poem in the collection is Orion, whence the volume takes its name. In the steep-shored Chios, the same island, shattered with earthquake about three years ago, once lived the king (Enopion, who had a daughter of wondrous beauty, named Merope. Orion, a great hunter, seeing the princess > TUO UGIIT A ND LIT ERA TUBE. 4G7 became smitten of her wondrous charms, and demanded her hand of the king ; but CEnopion, who secretly hated and feared " the son of three gods," refused the request unless upon the condition that the suitor should rid his island of wild beasts. The compact was ratified, and Orion went into the jungle. The poem opens with a description of the island ; and at the f sun ( Knopion " Stood praying westward; in his outstretched hand The griding knife, well whetted, clothed with dread," preparing for a sacrifice. And then came youths, " chosen of ChifW fairest race," bearing the victim. But let the reader hear this description of the intended offering: — * * "A tawny wolf, Blood-stained, fast-hound in pliant withes, fed fat On many a bleating spoil of careliss folds, His red tongue lolling from his faDgod jaws, His i-yrs iniliiiu'd, shrinking with fettXOf and hate, His writhen sinews st ruined convulsively. " The high-water mark is touched in the three last-quoted lines, which, as a piece of description, we have never seen excelled in English song, lint while the kin^ offers sacrifice, the hun- ter, who has been among the mountains destroying the wild •turns; and here is how Mr. Roberts tells of his com- ing through the golden glow of the sunset, and the mien the comer wears : " Meanwhile, from out a neighbouring gorge, which spake Rough torrent thunders through its cloak of pines, Along the shore came one who seemed to wear The grandeur of the mount, ii„ for fl rube, The torrent's ttrmffth f<>r nn>iv With muffled roarings through the cloudy night, And heavy splashings in the misty pools. The echo-peopled crags shall howl no more With hungry yelpings 'mid the hoary firs. The breeding ewe in the thicket will not wake With wolves' teeth at her throat, nor drinking bull Bellow in vain beneath the leopard's paw. Your maidens will not fear to THOUGHT AND LITERATURE. 4G9 And as he lay by the shore in the silent night, stealthily out of the fog appeared the king, accompanied by a torch -bearer, and poured a burning poison into the eyes of the sleepy hun- ter, who knew not his woe till the dawn, when "the maids beloved of Doris," cam.' out of the sea weeping for the w god- begotten" and sinking upon their lyres, while " their yellow hair fell round them." The lyrical interlude here is worthy of quotation in full, but we must tear ourselves away if we would have the reader Bee other phases of this gifted writer's song. Following the command of the sea-maids, 11 Then get thee op bo the hills and thou theft behold the morning," the hunter rise-, and groping his way to where * * "a sound Of hammers rise behind ■ jigged OBp< one comes forth to meet bun, " to be to him for eyes," on the journey to the hills, where the radiance of tin- morning sun would restore his sight. And when he reached the top, what a picture of surpassing loveliness does not the -rand imagination ox author give us: what a scene for the sight of the hun- ter to whose eyes night had clung because of the treacherous poison : • ' " All the morning's majesty And mystery of loveliness lay bare Before htm ; all the limitless blue sea Brightening with laughter many a league around, Wind-wrinkled, keel-uncloven, far below ;' . . . and here Eos awaited him. 11 Now Delos lay a great way off, and thither They two rejoicing went across the sea." And listen to the bridal following that our poet gives them: * * " And every being Of beauty or of mirth left his abode Under the populous flood and journeyed with them. 170 LIFE OF SIR'JOHK^A. MACDOKJLD Out of their deep green caves the Nereids came Again to do him honour, . . . With yellow tre3ses streaming. Triton came And all his goodly company, with shells Pink-whorled and purple, many-formed, and made Tumultous music . . . • * "And so they reached Delos and went together hand in hand Op from the water and their company, And the green wood received them out of sight." So enda the poem, not anything like a just idea of the won* droufl beauty, richness, grace and strength of which we have been able to give by these few en tracts. We noticed in a friendly and appreciative critique of this poet lately by a Can- adian writer the statement that Mr. Roberta is under the influ- ence of the English lyrical poets. This is not correct. Mr. Roberts, who shows not the faintest touch of provincialism, writes as a master and not tentatively, and while his thought is in harmony with the modern poetical school, — of Swinburne, Mattlnw Arnold, Morris, Rossetti, — there is nowhere a trace of imitating the manner of any one of these. Mr. Roberta has a graceful, sustained strength, and a thoroughly classic spirit aflame with the old Greek religious fire, that no other li ving poet surpasses ; he has a wealth of language and happy epithet that is unrivalled, and is in lyrical rush and intensity the equal of Swinburne himself, though he never runs into the riotous- ness of passion and phrase, and never mars a line or a thought with a mannerism, as does Swinburne. There is certainly a striking resemblance between ^Ir. Roberts and the English singers who are masters, and who appeal to the wide world, un- like Cowper who sang only to England. And here comes the opportunity for us to state in opposition to the opinion of a writer for whom we have ftie deepest respect, and who is the friend and benefactor of most of our poets and writers, thatCana- pian poetry should be Canadian wholly in matter, manner, and THOUGHT AND LITERATURE. 471 everything else. And why pray should this be so ? The whole world, surely, is as much open to the Canadian singer as to writers in Great Britain or anywhere else. Tom Moore wrote Lallah Rookh, a poem of the East, though an Irishman, and now Edwin Arnold sings of "The Light of Asia." No one blames Englishmen for ranging heaven, and earth, and hell for subjects; and why should we be required to set a limit to our soaring, to tie our imagination to one country, a country with all its glorious 'dawn of promise, still raw, and unfertilized with the life and death of great names of humanity \ No; we should -orry to see the transcendent genius of Mr. Roberts cage itself within the bounds even of this ample Dominion; and though he may tind in our wondrous forests, and our rushing rivers, ashe has found, inspiration, and harmony as high as has yet been wakened by human hand, yet if he wish to go beyond, and sing to all inee he i> uins, with him we shall share the glory. \j A us take :> Stanza or two from "Ariadne." The classical story is familiar to the reader, and in brief runs thus : This love- ly Cretan, who was the daughter of Minos, and ardent in her pas- sion, fell in love with Theseus, who had come with the offerings of the Athenians for the Minitaur. But the heart of the beau- tiful stranger was false, and, sickening of his 1. ride, he left her on the lonely shore of Naxos, and pursued his way. It so happened that Bacchus, once having occasion to pass along the solitary strand, saw the maiden as " she lay face downward on the sigh- ing shore ;" and went away smitten of her loveliness, resolving to return again to woo her. The maiden saw not her divine suitor, but still lay cast down where her heartless love had hft her, and "clenched the ooze in mute despair." The poem, from which we have taken the two last-made extracts, opens 478 LIFE OF SIB JOHN A. MACDONALD. in the evening, the moon looking '• like a ripe pomegranate o'ei the -fa." Something the maiden hears in the still, silvery air makes her start. Let us hear Mr. Roberts: •• A many-throated din came echoing Over the startled trees confusedry, m th' inmost mountain folds hurled clamoring Along the level shore to droop its wing : She blindly rose and oVr the moon-tracked Toward Athens stretched her hands : — ' With shouts they bring Their OOnquering chieftain home ; ah me ! ah DM And hear too this next not less lovely stanza: " Bid clearer came the music, zephyr-borne, And turned her yearnings from the over-seas, Hurtled unmasked o'er glade and belted bourne, — Of dinning cymbal, covert -r. .using horn, Soft waxen-pipe, shrill-shouted Evoes : Then sat she down unheeding and forlorn, Half dreaming of old Cretan melodies." Anon " The thickets rocked ; the ferns were trampled down ; The shells and pebbles splashed into the waves ; . for god Bacchus with his " hoofed sylvans, fauns, and Batyra had come to woo his love : . . " And straightway by the silver waste of brine They laid them gently down with gesture mute, The while he twindd his persuasions fine And meshed her grief-clipt spirit with his lute. And so with silver-linked melodies, He wooed her till the moon lay pale and low ; And first she lifted up her dreaming eyes And dreamed him her old love in fairer guise ; And then her soul drew outwards, and a glow Woke in her blood of pleasure and surprise, To think it was a god that loved her so." Hear then this stanza impregnate with that soft, delicate sensu- ousness to be found alone in Keats, and in that poet only at his THOUGHT AND LITERATURE. 47S very best, that deep breathing of what may be called the re- finement of intense passion, touched with a master hand. The maiden's heart becomes at last captive to the god, and she toss and " . . Went with him where honey-dew distils Through swimming MI to odorous mists and showers, Where music the attentive stillness fills, And every scent and colour drips and spills From myriad quivering wings of orchid flowers ; And there they dwelt deep in the folded hills Blissfully hunting down the fleet-shod hours." Lei us then go away from classic story with our poet into the Qwood, and hear him sing of the maple. We make nc apology for quoting in full: ■■ Oh, tenderly deepen Um woodland glooms, And merrily sway the PQtohl Breathe delicately the willow blooms, And the pinet iv hearse new speeches ; The high till they brush the sky, ■atkin.s the yellow lurch launches, Bnft the tree I love all the greenwood above, Is the maple of sunny branches. Let who will sing of the hawthorn in spring, Or the late-leaved linden in summer ; There's a word may be for the locust tree, That delicate, strange new-comer ; Bvt thi ui'ij,!. it gtou* with the tint of the rose Whk a />ale are the spriiKj-iiim mjions, And its towers of flame from afar proclaim Tki / H nit, r\ h'jums. And a greener shade there never was mule Than its summer canopy sifted , And many a day, as beneath it I lay, Has my memory backward drifted To a pleasant lane I may walk. not again, Leading over a fresh green hill, Where a maple stood just clear of the wood — And oh, to be near it still ! " We cannot, for our space is growing small, speak the admi- ration here of which we are so full ; and Can call attention to 474 LIFE OF SIR JOHN A. MACDONALD. those tour surpassing lines only by italics. A short quotation OT two must content us from the ode " To Winter," a poem which we would compare to the Allegro in charming vignette, and the rivulet-like hrie-llow. The poet has apostrophized winter in I succession of master touches, but, turning, chal- Ompftrison with the milder season. Hear these verses \ "But what magic melodies As in the bordering realms are throbbing. Hast thou Winter F— liquid sobbing Brooks, and brawling waterfalls, Whose responsive-voiced calls Clothe with harmony the hills, Jing meadow-threading rills, Lakdd»Utfim§ l imttlfti tapfimg fi - f nild ducks nappiiuj, And the rapturous-noted wooings, And the molten- throated cooings, I If the amoffooi multitudes Flashing through the dusky woods, When a veering wind hath blown A glare of sudden daylight down t " -And turning again to Winter: Less the silent sunrise sing Like a vibrant silver string, Whan its prisoned splendours first O'er the crusted snow-fields burst. But thy days the silence keep, Save for grosbeak's feeble cheep, Or for snow-birds busy twitter When thy breath is very bitter. So my spirit often acheth For the melodies it lacketh 'Neath thy sway, or cannot hear For its mortal cloaked'ear. And full thirstily it longeth For the beauty that belongeth To the autumn's ripe fulfilling ; — Heaped orchard baskets spilling THOUGHT AND LITERATURE. 475 'Neath the laughter-shaken trees ; Field* of buckwheat full of hi Girt with ancient groves of fir Shod with berried juniper ; Beech-nuts mid their russet leaves ; Heavy-headed nodding sheaves ; Clumps of luscious blackberries ; l'urple-clustered traceries Of the cottage climbing- vines ; Scarlet-fruited eglantines ; Maple forests all aflame When thy iharp-toogoed legate! came." Here tin- reader is do leas sensible that a master hand is painting nature, and what is more, making so intensely a Cana- dian picture thai be who has ever seen our fields or wilds in the autumn or winter, at once recognises the portrait, than he stands to wonder at this very lyrical rush, and the wealth of phrase that waits upon the warm, rich imagination of the poet. And here also h< in the real of Mr. Roberta 1 work, the wrought art the author brings into the service of his verse highly the com} bnicaJ mastery, and the firm grip of the subject; and al>ove all the contained enthusiasm and the well-regulated flow of the thought We are sure the reader will not be tired, but rather delighted, if we make an extract from "Aleninon," h poem which firsi appeared in Seribm r*s magazine. A traveller, " Weary, forsaken by fair, tickle sleep," and as the moon hangs low over the desert, standing before his tent, is startled to hear an image of stone, * * " Prostrate, half en wound With red, unstable sand- wreaths," utter words of musical anguish. Memnon was the son of Tithonus, and Aurora the goddess of the morning. When he died, the ^Ethiopians or Egyptians over whom he reigned, erected upon the bleak sand a monument to his memory; and this statue, tradition relates, had the wonderful property of M LIFE OF Sri; JOHN A. MACDOSALD. littering a melodious sound every day at the rise of the sun, * like that which is heard at the breaking of the string of a harp when it is wound up." And the figure W*B ^aid to be possessed of all the feeling that belongs to man — to Buffer pain, and heat, and cold, and the tortures of the Band-blast, This is the story which Mr. Roberts' fervid imagination seizes and shapes into a thing of8uch imperishable beauty. And dow •lit streaks quietly creep l*p from the east, into the dusky sky ; iron's yellow hair, that op the itfcep IBM t<> the rear of night full breezily. "' This Is tin- mother of the tortured figure coming. Hear the plaint : " Sweet mother, stay; thy son requireth thee! All day the sun, with massive, maddening glare, Beats on ray weary brow and tortures me. All day the pitiless sand-blasts gnaw and wear Deep furrows in my lidless eyes and bare. All day the palms stand up and mock at me; And drop cool shades over the dead bones there, And voiceless stones that crave no canopy: O beautiful mother, stay; 'tis thy son prayeth thee. Hyenas come ami /.o/ur eyes betray us. — Lo ! the white limbed maids with beckoning arms divine, (.*, ThruaU nth rob with song across the channel brim" And here also Lb a matchless stanza : " Seethe king he hearkens, — hears their song — strains forward, — As some mountain snake attends the shepherd's reed ; Now with urgent hands he bids us turn us shoreward : — Bend the groaning oar now, give the king no heed ! " How admirably does not the movement of the first line pic- tuiv thf action of the mountain snake in the second Ferae on hearing the shepherd's pipe. — moving in jerks. It is the com- munity of thought and feeling among the rowers we receive This, after Mr. Roberts' skilful and harmonious weav- ing, is the song of the hiring charmers on the shore. They h out their " t^eckoning arms divine," as they sing it — and imagine such a song floating across that gorgeous summer sea : ** Much enduring wanderer, honey-tongued come nigher, Wisest ruler, bane of Ilion's lofty walls ; Hear strange wisdom to thine uttermost desire, Whatsoe'r in all the fruitful earth befalls." A siren truly might not have been ashamed of such verses. The song bewilders the poor king, and he struggles to free him- self from the mast. Then the rowers tell us : " So we rise up twain and make his bonds securer : Seethes the startled sea now from the surging blade, Leaps the dark ship forth, as we, with hearts grown surer, Eyes averse and war-worn faces made afraid, THOUGHT AND LITERATURE. 479 O'er the waste and warm reaches drive our prow sea-cleaving Past the luring death, into the folding night : — Home shall hold us yet — and cease our wives from grieving — Safe from storm, and toil, and flame, and clanging fight." Surely now it is plain to all who have followed us that a singer has risen in Canada of whom any nation, or any literature, might be proud. Let us with such glorious verse as this hear no more of " hog wash," or be told again that " native liter- ary fruit is wrapped yet in the future." Space forbade us to show our reader anything of " A Blue Blossom," the " Epistle to Bliss Carman," the "Ode to Drowsihood," the latter perhaps containing a subtler and intenser note than any other poem in the book,"One Night," "A Ballad of Three Mistresses." "Launoe- lot and the Four Queens," "Sappho," " Ballad of the Poet's Thought/ 1 and various other delightful things, We have been student for many yean of our modern English singers, and we now say without fear of refutation that we have in Mr. Roberts a poet who has a note as int- ■ \\< its excellent faculty this adorning star of native talent, this example of Canadian possibility? We may observe that the genius possessed by Mr. Roberts extends t<> his sister Hias Jane E. G. Roberts, and we judge bv contributions of hers we have Been ID the Canadian Monthly and the Illustrated Canadian .v e, verse, though the product of a young lady only sixteen, which is not unworthy of Jean [ngeloWj and equalling lira Hemana at the l&tter's wry best. When the next reviewer of our literature takes up the pen, Miss Roberta, we doubt not, will be a poetic star on which the eves of no small portion of our people will be turned. Next in Older of merit as a Canadian poet we take M. Louis Eonore Frechette to whom the exclusive doors of the Institute of France were opened, and from which he bore away the lau- above all the brilliant writers of the nation for Les Fleurs Boreales, and Les Oiseaux de Keige. M. Frechette's writings al a depth of poetic instinct, a soaring and exuberant ima- gination . while he brings to his aid a style so graceful and ar- tistic that his very excellences in this respect are sometimes accounted a fault. It is certainly true that the thought of this brilliant singer is sometimes frivolous, and decked out in quite too gaudy a dress; but this fault forms but a rare exception to a rule of high excellence. We have chosen La Liberie* as the best representative of M. Frechette's intensity of feeling, his subtle quality, and his gift of luxurious imagery. We give this poem in the original : " Enfant naif, j'ai mis ma levre a vide Aux coupes d'or d'enivrantes amours. Helas ! ma soif n'a trouve' que du vide, Et la tristesse a plane sur mes jours. Quand les mondains promenent a la ronde Le tourbillon de leur folle gaiete', Reveur, je songe a l'avenir du monde ; Je n'ai plus qu'un amour, c'est pour la Liberie' ! THOUGHT AND LITERATURE. 481 •J'ai tout chante ; la jeunesse frivole, L'amitie sainte, et mes reves aime?, Les fleurs des champs et la brise qui vole, L'etoile blonde et les bois parfumes. Mais le cceur change, et notre ame s'emousse Au froid contact de 7 a realite' ; Et maintenant, connne les nids de la mousse, Je n'ai plus aute Rossetti. They combine what are BO difficult well to combine — dramatic fora and lyric fore, Mr. Mulvany is a lyrical arti>t. He is capable of an exquisite and unerring note, though this he does not always attain, by any means. He baa DO rival In Canada SS a writer of kern, witty, polished, yet path- Se has ihori fugitive poems with the flavour and grace of Heine, and finely original. Such a lyric Some on i the master's hand undisputably ; containing as it does deep passion, bitter yearning, music of utterance, and what Matthew Arnold calls " the lyrical cry. Witness I srses: — "lam Love, whom years that vanish Still shall find the same!" Still : as when in Southern sunshine First the phantom came ? With a fond word, long unspoken — rgotten name ! "lain Death, I only offer Peace — the long day done. Follow me into the darkness" — Welcome ! Friend, lead on — Only spare my dog ; let something Grieve when I am gone !" Mr. Mulvany is one of the very few poets who can wield successfully the hexameter line. His translations in hexame- ter verse from the Iliad and the ^Eneid are masterly, both for their faithful rendering cf the original and for the beauty and sweetness of the language. He has done but little in sonnet - writing, but that little is of rare value. " Troy Was " may well stand for perfect sonnet ; and that one commencing, " O weary current of life's languid tide" is only second to it. Mr. THOUGHT AND LITERATURE. 485 Mulvany's Latin verses, by the metrical skill and the fine Latinity displayed, prove not only his broad culture, and his familiarity with that language in its classic purity and ele- gance, but also his intimate acquaintance with the curious monastic poetry of the middle ages. Some of his poems, how- ever, are not up to the mark in polish. He is capable of exquisite finish, but does not always give it us. Sometime, too, he is guilty of very bad rhymes; and in several of his poems both motive and method undergo a complete revolution before the poem reaches its completion. These are faults of carel and cannot be excused. Mrs. Kate Seymour Maclean Lb equal to Mulvanv in original inspiration, perhaps, and also in depth of feeling, and sensitive- ness to rhythm and music. Her poems possess the singing quality, the haunting lilt, more uniformly than do Mulvany's, but she Lb not by any means the Literary artist thai be is. She is far inferior to him in strength and dramatic insight, in accuracy and wealth of culture, and in all technical qualifica- tions. Her work neither calls for nor will heir such close study as Mulvany's It will always be more popular, but never of one-tenth part the value of his to the poet, the stu- dent, or the m m of Letters. Her work does not escape the influence of provincialism as wholly as hi^ verse does. But she possesses the singing voice, and the seeing eye ; her poetry is true to nature and the human heart. She has a vast com- mand of pathos; her feeling is simple, direct and healthy ; and her whole tendency is sweet and natural. She has also at her command a ringing trumpet note, and some of her verse is markedly sonorous and inspiriting. The " Burial of the Scout" i> in all respects a powerful poem, imaginative, touching, and virile in its strength : "Along the reedy marge of the dim lake I hear the gathering horsemen of the North ; The cavalry of night and tempest wake, — Blowing keen bugles as they issue forth To guard his homeward march in frost and cold, a thousand spear- men bold." 486 LIFE OF SIR JOHN A. MACDONALD. This poem calls to mind that of Mrs. Heman's on the "Laud- ing of the Pilgrim Fathers," which it equals for eloquence, while far surpassing it in poetic feeling and reach of Imagina- tion. There have been some very beautiful Easter poems writ- ten in America, by Mrs. Thaxt< t and others, but Mrs. Maclean's ■• Marguerite " stands easily at tin* head of them all. Then what a deep utterance is "The Voice of Many Waters," the music and language of which are great: — u But I bet! thy v>>iee at midnight, uniting the awful silence With the long suspiration of the pain suppressed ; And all the blue lagoons, and all the listening islands Shuddering have heard, and locked thy secret in their breast ! " Mm, ftfaclean'a rolume is entitled TJte Coming of tkt Princes*, from the initial poem, whieh is not one of her best, though con- taining some imaginative passages. The general tone of the atith >ur of half-realiaed republicanism, which peril unts for some lack of inspiration on this subject which should be of such supreme and engrossing importance to every loyal Canadian heart. Mi in's admirable little volume is badly disfigured in ^pots by hopeless rhymes, and a that refuse to be scanned. She makes " chrism " rhyme with "arisen," "sp 1 with ' ; feeds," and has other slips which are hard to account for among so much work that is often artistically and skilfully wrought. Mr. John Reade's work will offend the reader's taste even more rarely than it will carry him away with enthusiastic delight. Mr. Reade's muse is chaste, quiet, discreet, and some- what reserved. Such verse always gives pleasure, but is not likely to compel admiration. It will always command re- spect ; and at times the reader pauses to admire the scholarly taste exercised in the composition of these poems — the wealth of dainty and sweet fancy, and the extent of restrained feelino; lying under the serenely dignified calm of this language. But occasionally the singing impulse gets its way, and a musical and tender lyric such as " Sing me the songs I love," is the THOUGHT AND LITERATURE. 487 result ; — a song whose sweet cadence and tender depth grows upon one while it is as delightful to the artist as to the lay reader. Or we have a graceful little thing, simple, delicate and unstrained, such as " Apollo dropt a seed of song; " or an out- burst of fluent and luxurious melody (reminding us of some of Moore's beet work), in the lines, 11 Thalatta ! Thalatta ! " " In my ear is the moan of the pines — in my heart is the song of the sea,"— in the rock where I stand t.» the sun is ■ pathway of sapphire ami gold, Like a waif of those Patmian visions that rapt the lone Mev oi old, — '' ****** in. Westward ho ' Far away to the East is | OOttage that looks to the si lore — Though each drop in the sea were a tear, as it was I can M6 it do more; F'>r th<- heart of its pride with the flowers of the ' Vale of the Shadow 1 Unci, And — hushed is the song of the sea and hoane Si tin- moan of its pines." The Prophecy of Merlin,* 1 i- a specimen of creditable blank . generally fluenl and musical, and clear in expression; but ibjeci is merely laudation of Prince Arthur, which might have been quite as successfully accomplished without all the elaborate preliminaries \ while there is nothing in the poem to leave a lasting impression upon the mind. One simply feels after perusing it, that he has not been offended by awkward or ungrammatical writing, and is content to refrain from a 9 «ond reading. " Balaam " is a much more meritorious poem, con- taining many strong and vividly imagined passages, carefully wrought out, with an effective and rememberable ending. It is a dignified and stately poem. Mr. Eteade's work, altogether, Lb lacking in originality to some degree, has no strong lyric rush, 188 LIFE OF sin JolIS A. MACVOXAI.P. fails to impress or move <>ne potently ; bat it is earnest, cultured, sweet, dear-cat, contemplative. These qualities show to best advantage in the Bonnets, of which Mr. Reads has given us ral For general evenness ol merit, thoughtfulness, inge- nuity of fancy, and well-balanced expression, these sonnets will stand as Mr. Reade's host work : and they entitle him to the position of our leading sonnetteer. One or two others may have reached higher ground than Mr. Reads in an individual sonnet or so, but the uniform high quality of the hitter's, leaves his title bo superiority unquestioned. M - M. Ifachar, is ■ clever, thoroughly educated, cultured writer, who now and again writes thoughtful and geetive poems in periodicals, she has not published in book form, therefore it would not be fair to judge her work conclusively. But to decide from fragments, her work is quite out of sympathy with the modern school, and with modern feiling. She points most of her poems with a moral, which, however, is always well put and forcible. Her verse is medi- tative and pleasing, rather than strikingly individualistic' But she is a thinker, has something t » say, and her work will always repay perusal. Some time ago, there appeared in Scrib* 'i M agazine, a poem of hers on the Whip-poor-will," which aled a power of lyric speech and a command of haunting cadences hardly to have been expected from her other work. Mis> Maehar writes under the nom dt plume of ■ Fidelis." John Hunter-Duvar is a Prince Edward Island dramatic poet. He has published "The Enamorado," a clever but un- even piece of work founded on a mediaeval Spanish tale of chi- valry. Like Heavysage, Mr. Hunter-Duvar gets his vocabulary largely from Shakespeare. '* The Enamorado," necessarily by its subject, and also by reason of the author's manner of treat- ment, is lighter and more airy than " Saul." It displays less dramatic insight and power of analysis, and less rugged strength than the latter poem, which is distinctly a greater and more notable work. But Mr. Hunter-Duvar is a finer and THOUGHT AND LITERATURE. 480 truer poet than Heavysege; his mind is richer stocked and mellower, his imagination more sensuous, his colouring warmer, hifl music more alluring. This drama contains many brilliant and poetical passages, much sharp dialogue, and a vast deal of wit and Hashing fancy. Some of the repartee is admirable. It abounds with puns and nuaint conceits, after later Elizabethan fashion, and the personages pelt each other with similes unin- termittingly. This has the flavour of the olden days: D'Erdlla. u Is the Queen stirring ? " iv, how should 1 know I I am not the king : But an' thou ask me I should say, ' not so ! ' My lady stirs not lest she shame the sun : Tin daw I see, but not her dewy eyes ; b reat h but ■ephyr'i breath makes balm the air ; I only hear the hir Ts awakening notes ; And, therefore. I should say my lady stirs not." The clown in this play is i witty and discerning fool, and fiends bv quitting his abeiirdity, even when delivering himself of the wisest matter. To bis query : — " Perpend, — what is a queen Sancho replies profoundly — "A queen is —a queen!" And thus the clown : "A imean with - tsill. One th.it with fcheroej nail ol ber Utile fore Pellow l do this, •and whan 'tis done looks blank beyond and sees you a And again — D : -'• I >Ms t ever see a pearl, Master Sancho ?" ho :-- "Aye, and an oyster too. Why our Clara ii called the pearl of " Clown :—" Pur-r-r-r -aroynt the man ! Sir, oyster is ■ (-nature given us for tod, and pearl be but oyster scab. A pearl doth not walk abroad and w.-ai- farthingales. A pearl «loth not say to m* this blessed Mary Dooming : ' Knave, th'iu art fo'.il, avoid me, thou smellest of stables.' From all which it may he observed that Messir Clown is very democratic. At the close of the drama, when the Clown is in the Church afherine where the hero, Mizias, the Enamorado, is 490 LIFE OF SIX JOHN A. MACJJONALD. buried, and where tombs are all about, Nugue, the faithful valet of Manas, says: — •• Tr.;i.l Kv.r.iitlv, good "lowu. There lies my master. A letter, kinder, braver, a-a-pla-ue nii't there must bt onloM in the air." [Weej». ] Whereupon the down remarks sententionsly : — '• In the : :ith we are in life, tad ihoald 1"' thankful for it.'" Mr. IIunter-Duvar van also write a wry exquisite lyric, full of passion and verve, The pity is that he has not given 08 more of bis song; bat let t 1m* following quotations prove that he has tlif brae tire. Mazias, standing at his prison window, tbm breaks out int<> \ • - •' The arthiu.: -ky i- bright, the se«*nt ol BoWHI Steals like an incense through my prison bars, D ■»'. th.- brant, nor know it than Save for a little ■fcaddaral th.- !• Anear, still lift-, hut in the aHdrila tHitanrta Are cattle faaiHnfl umh-rneath tall tr While, like light feathers, in the leaf Are curls of hlue that tell of cottage fires. I brave back-ground of mountains, gran»> quoted a thousand years from now. Of M. Suite we have already made mention, as one of our prose benefactors. • In the literary sphere, this author is a m LIFE OF SIB JOHN A. MACDOXALD. jack-of-all-tnules, an artist in none. He writes some ex- cellent vers.-, bat it is mere poetical raw material, the author being too impulsive and too impatient to give such polish as the thought deserves His phrase, though brilliant, is often uncouth; and his imagination, while rich and darinff. is often an errant star that leads, no man can say whither. Tki Mission of Low, and OUu r Po hm is the name of a vol- ume recently publiahed by Hunter, Rose & Company, Toronto. writer usee the pretty now d\ plume " Caris Sima," but we have penetrated the disguise, and find that the fair author fa Ifiss ( '. Mountcastle, of Clinton, Ontario. We confess that are a good deal interested in this volume, though it is as a garden in which there are several unseemly weeds growing side by aids with a number of delightful flowers. We do not find Hiss kfountoastie devoid of talent, of exceeding cleverness, or of the possession of a genuine note of song ; but her discrimina- tion is not good, or she never would have Let that thing about the oarsman Hanlan, whether written well or ill, — which.would not be here or there, — appear among her verses. It is bad enough that boat-racers and horse-racers are to furnish food to the public through the newspapers, but at all events let US keep them out of our works of literature. r J ne place for the professional " sculler " or the racing horse is the pool, and he i >hould be brought in the sight of anybody except those who trade in his speed. In some other respects, too, but no- where to the extent mentioned, has the author sinned, in using indifferent matter; — having said all of which, we are over our little fit of temper, and gladly point out two or three of Miss Mountcastle's many sweet and delightful verses. In " The Voice of the Waters " is a wild wealth of imagination, a flowing music, a profusion of epithet, and a boundless command of rhyme. Here are three lovely lines, spoken by Strathallan to his love Eleila : " 'Neath the headland, my love, where the white gulls are flocking, My boat on the wave of dark Huron is rocking, And waiting for thee. M THOUGHT AND LITERATURE. 49£ Here is a bit of clever verse : * * " Oh, merciful Heaven, How women deceive, With their dimpling and smiling, and cruel coquetting, The wiles of the enemy, Satan, abetting ; With a heart like a stone in a fair gilded setting. O — fool ! to believe In the shallow affection that women profess, ( >r heed the soft glances or tender caress! Tin sick of believing in mything human, And tender and beautiful; 'specially woman." In " Glimpses of Inner Life" occur her Lest verses, and here are two which no living poet might be ashamed to acknow- ledge : " There lingers around thee, my darling, 3 The perfume tweet of the mignonette; And still, with the faintest of carmine streak, Doth the wild rote blossom upon thy cheek." And what a delightful stanza this is: " M\i /<"•»', mi/ ihifitit'i .' inn paUifairmotm That lights, though distant, my life's dark noon, With memory's brightness my sad heart till, 8weetjloweroft}iewil'l>">>l,l» I'-i'li m<: */ climb up it Without I had vingi to Bj. w Again we have put in italic- those two delightful lines on the last quoted stanza. We should like to sec thifl author less roaring in weeding out the indifferent lines from her poems ; w. should like to see her keep a greater control over the in- fttrument, to hold m t it' that expression may be allowed us, and give BQOre attention to finish, while not permitting any verse to go from her hands that has a weak spot. These are not vital shortcomings, but are essential to her art ; and a less rigid dis- eipline is unworthy of her deeply passionate imagination, and wealth of verse. Miss Mountcastle is an acquisition to our choir ; she sings a genuine note, but must learn to confine her great abilities to subjects worthy of her pen. The arduous duties of journalism prevent Mr. Martin J. Griffin from devoting hjfl talents more to contributions to enduring literature. A daily newspaper is a vast absorbent, sapping out of the most exhaustless mind all its freshness, mellowness, and flavour ; yet the journalist ought not to forget that what he writes from day to day is only an evanescent food, looked at, thrown aside, and seldom remembered again ; while a work of literature, if containing merit, will endure, and instruct, and make better generations yet unborn. This is how, when we are departing, we can " leave behind us Footprints on the sands of time." But Mr. Griffin contributed to the last Christmas number of the Mail a poem addressed to Oliver Wendell Holmes, so THOUGHT AND LITERATURE. 495 swinging, airy and free, that we give one or two of the stanzas : " And so he's taken leave at length Of college grave and students antic, To spend his last remaining days In writing papers for th' ' Atlantic ! " His last \ — his best ! go to ! ye knaves, That say our poet's getting oldish, JJo ,j, find weakness in f/« think the mm a little oolditk.* 1 There is in this the lilt and swing of Gerald Griffin at his while the lines in italics arc altogether masterpieces of cleverness. Here is a reminiscence of the buried past; and Mr, Griffin touches the chord with a Peeling hand: — "Oi Eriendi might read with eyes half dim And hearts with time grown rather mellow, And reading, call, ' A health t<> him, Be wasn't halt a baddish fell We knew htm once — 'twas years ago, Wh.n w. were young and flowers were springing ; We saw hint daily come ;md go, And heard and praised his simple singing.' 11 ' *TwttM, /""'■ the pine ivooils whiskered need Their secrets t<> th> »'•,/„,/. rin And how the surges murmured meet Responses to the deep emotion.' " The music in these lines marked is harp-like and striking, and the sentiment is pleasing. It is not too much to hope that Mr. Griffin will be able to steal away sometimes from the turmoil of journalism, and contribute from the fulness of his fine talents something to our store of native letters. In the Canadian Monthly a number of writers, many of whom deserved encouragement, appeared front time to time. We cannot wait now to refer at length to " Seranus " whom we understand to be Mrs. J. F. Harrison, of Ottawa, who some- LIFE OF SIR JOHN A. MACDONALD. times wrote fragments instinct with intense passion and a depth of melody. Another valued contributor to the Month!;/ was Mr. J. G. Bourinot. B.A.. clerk of the house of commons, Ottawa. Mr. Bourinoto contributions to literature have been valuable in their way. especially his pamphlet on the intellectual develop- ment of the Canadian people. Mr. Davin lately set his lance against Mr. Bourinot'a English, hut Mr. Davin'a English is not any better than Mr. Bourinot s, howeyer many other charming qualities it may possess. Mr. \Y. 1). Le Sueur also contri- buted a number o( subtle and searching papers to the Month!;/ for the publication of which the blockhead editor <>t" a religious paper charged the editor, Mr. Adam, with leanings to agnosti- cism Amnmg our younger writer^ who show decided promise may he mentioned Mr. Archibald Lumpman, B.A., of Toronto ; and Mr. .1. A. Ritchie, of Ottawa. We have seen in Our Con- t. in the Oa Monthly sod elsewhere verses of there young gentlemen that justify as in predicting brilliant things • »t" their future. Mr. Lampman has an exquisite touch, and has already written some lines of the very highest merit. Mi ii«- has awakened from the strings of his instrument, a mellow music, that is large with promise of admirable thin--. In nearly every school-book we find something from Mr. Sangster, which is given as a sample of " good Canadian poetry: but any of this writer's verse that we have read, and we think we have seen it all, was not worth a brass farthing. His name only appears here that he may not be confounded with our Canadian poets. And now wdrile on this subject let us say that as well may we hope for " roses in December, ice in June," as to look for a literature without a nationality. But in the awakening of that national life for which we yearn, we may count on a creative period in our literature ; for the time when our young nation will put on the intellectual blossoms of romance and soncr. Some of those who, while believing that the days of TIIO V GUT AND LITERATURE. 497 subordination and inferiority ought soon to come to an end , still shrink timidly back into their shell, when asked to take- up the question of our disenthralment practically, on the ground that our confederation is yet only a tiny thing, that we would be as a waif among the nations, forget that at the date of confederation the joint population of our provinces was greater than that of any one, of thirty-seven European Sov- - n ign States, and that at this day our population exceeds that of either Portugal, Switzerland, Denmark, Saxony, Greece, or Holland, more than doubling that of Denmark, and more than trebling that of Holland. They have forgotten, too, that the Btar of empire is moving in our direction ; thai we have open doors facing towards tie- emigrant of all quarters of the globe ; that we have to the west of us half a continent of wheat land, <•'//< iliU o that already railroads have thrown this unrivalled territory, open to the husbandman; that every ship thai crosses the ocean is laden with human freight for our new country ; that our western expanding by strides, and that capital, intelligence, and enterprii >ming from all quarters of the civilized world to their lot with as. Neither are we like the [rishman or the Russian unfit t<> take tie- supreme government into our own hands ; for a beneficent »ducational system has been for many years shedding its light among us, that now, the intellectual condition <»t tie- mass of our people is far higher than that of England herself, or of any other European state. That a change must BOOn come in our political status, no one whose opinion is of any value will now deny; and to the spec- ulating mind one of three courses will be open: Federation with the empire, a scheme which is the birth of a disordered poetic Imagination ; annexat ion with the United States — a pro- posal for which we have not the remotest sympathy, and whi^h, we helieve, would be unwelcome to the people, but which is infinitely preferable to that disordered plagiarism of Mr. Justin lid Sarthy "the plan of a general federation" — and Canadian FF 498 LIFE OF SIR JOHN A. MACDONALD. Independence, We need not repeat what we have expressed 90 often, that for this latter scheme are we heart and soul ; that li.) other change will satisfy the manly, yearning spirit of our young Canadians j and that it fcs our duty now to bestir our- selv< ganine, and to tire not nor reel till our Colonial- Ism shall have become a thing of the past, and oar Canada stand robust, and pare, and manly, and intelligent, among the nations of the earth. But we must awake from our sordid ignominy, our cowardly sloth ; unless, indeed, the chains befii us, and we are happy in the bondage. J t we be, then liberty i^ an impertinence upon <>ur lips, and the rights of free-born citizenship a boon of which we are not worthy. If we DC, then i^ it the duty of our p r eS B and our public men to stitle the im- pulse of manhood, till, coiling the chain about us, we lie down in our dishonoured rest u Fiesiiwi he is not, but slave, Who stands not out on my side ; His own hand hollows his grave, toength is in nie to save Where strength is none to abide. Time shall tread on his name That was written for honour of old, Who hath taken a change for fame Dust, and silver, and shame, Aahes, and iron, and gold." CHAPTER XXIV. SIR JOHN AT HOME — LADY MA< DONALD. f |MIK career of a man who figures in high public station i^ J. like unto the passage of a boat down ;i stream whose course Lies through the rough way and the smooth: now lie loiters along through (he rolling prairie, again la- plunges through wild mountain-chasms, where sometimes the frail toy that car- Vim is -wall. .wed up ; or we see him in the boiling surge, his eye bright-calm, his uervee tense and raze, as with steady arm he steers triumphantly through the danger: yet again, looking, we behold his boat enter some low. misty lanermament basis ; the construction of the I nt.nolonial Railway ; the enlargement of the canals ; the enactment of a stringent election law ; the ratification of the Washington Treaty : :if. tl'i.tti'ii o| 1'.. X.A. ; the OTttmion and consolidation of the Dominion ; the adoption of a National Policy, and a measure for the construction of the Canada Pacific Kailway. 499 500 LIFE OF SIR JOHN A. MACDOKALD. Macdenald down the stream, and we believe he has done his duty. On some trivial occasions his course may not have re- commended itself to our judgment; l>ut oven these incidents we have had the disadvantage of viewing from distant ground, and might* on a ck*>e examination, find that it is we who were mistaken. Party being unfortunately the Canadian vehicle of rnment, our statesmen are all, more or less, bondsmen to VStem : and even that writer of history who sits down to his task with the desire of discovering shortcomings in the : 1 of Sir John Bfacdonald will find, when Ids work is done that he i nly to make an array of such transgressions ire sanctioned by party morality, not fewer, neither more heinous, than those to he laid at the threshold of any of his «mh temporaries, domestic or foreign. But if he set himself to follow the record in cold blood, and to dohisduty,he would find that the influence of Sir John Ifacdonald's career upon the political life of the country, and upon puhlic opinion, has been greater and better, and of a nature that will prove more endur- ing, than that of any other Canadian statesman, whether dead or living. That Sir John is a partyist it would be no use to deny : hut there is no man in this country who more abhors ty than lie; and it is only a few days ago since he declared that the usefulness of that journal was gone which had not an independent intelligence of its own, and which became the mere organ of a doctrine or of a party of men. Sir John has always, and to a far greater extent than we could wish, sought to instil a feeling of loyalty among Can- adians to the British empire ; but he has also, more than any other Canadian statesman, taught us the duty of loyalty to ourselves. His doctrine seems to us to have been like this : My great wish is that Canada shall remain an ally of Great Britain, and I desire to see the same sentiment among our people ; but to our own selves we must be true. We should be loyal to Great Britain ; we must be loyal to Canada. Once, indeed, he char- acterized a scheme of Mr. Blake's, of which we do not disap- SIR JOHN AT HOME— LADY MACDONALD. 501 prove, as "veiled treason" — though had it been veiled treason that would not have given it less value — Imt this was only a platform small-arm; he has taught us the adjective national, and he has given us a national policy. Nay, more than this when he believed that policy to be for Canada's best interests — and his opponents cried out that it would endanger British connection, — a newspaper, voicing his sentiments, replied, "Then so much the worse for British connexion" It is notorious that Sir .John is ten times more popular with the young men than either his late or his present rival ; and the explanation of this is : tin- policy of Canadian loyalty to Canadian interests which be lias adopted, Both Messrs. Blake and Mackenzie have shown deep concern in the welfare of their country, but it was a cold- led Interest, an instinct arising from an intellectual scum' of duty, with as much warmth of impulse SS B sheriff might in whipping a malefactor at the post. In a country like this, too, where the tendency Lb to carry political malevolence bom the platform to the tire-id.', the influence of Sir John has been good. He has dealt hard blows to opponents, but he no poison upon his blade ; and some of those who have not been able to agree with the public policy of the right hon. gentleman, and who have given him hard thrusts which have been repaid with "usury thereto" — are his wannest personal friends. Among his own Colleagues, his voice is a pervading harmony; and we have the testimony of those who have sat with him, that sometimes, on his leaving the scene, the instr- ument has become jangled and out of tune, till his hand has in touched the strings and renewed the concord. The keen- -t« nerat the keyhole or the windows of Sir John's council •chamber hears not the faintest note of discord, though some- times we have seen the door open, and a colleague come out who has never gone in again : the very "taking off" has been effected not alone with absolute secrecy, but positive harmony. 'lie- same great newspaper that has likened Sir John's surpass- ing gift of leadership to the feat of the Hindoo juggler in LIFE OF SIR JOHN A. MACDONALD. keeping a half-dozen balls in the air at once,asmuchcomprehends that power of subtle tact by which i mind understanding human nature rules through that knowledge, as its founder knew of any way to lnana^v a party except to drive it. Sir John'fl rule has D driving and the whip, but one of leading and good-will Sir John i> scarcely less effective on the platform than in the council, though he is not a great orator; yet his speeches have a strong appealing note, a flavour and a conquering sym- pathy only found in a man of marked individuality; but this subtle quality does not bear handling, and gives no evidence of it-. -If in his printed add The passionate outbursts of O'Connell, instinct with the tire of personality, and those weirdly fascinating ul i of Shiel, are paraded upon the pag« 08 like c or pses, with no more glow than one of the in>utlerably eloquent, >earchin-\ and philosophical fluxes of Burke. But tli-' underinable quality by which the speaker ua able to gauge the intellectual and emotional capacity of his audience, to keep his hand upon its pulse as he speaks, and to- sway it at his pleasure, Sir John | - in a degree superior to thai of any living statesman. Sometimes, by a familial i or two. you see him levelling distinctions between him- self and the audience, as the clouds scattered when Ariel raised his wand ; yon observe that one and all, the farmer, the labourer, the mechanic, feel that they and the prime-minister are assembled there on a common mission — the prime-minister only happens to be prime minister, and speaking then; any one else, also, might have been — the / is lost in the we ; yet by little stages we observe that the crowd is led to see that the speaker is the man who is doing their work the best. He makes no reservations, and never sets up the barrier of ice between the prime-minister and the crowd. Neither does he pose as a per- fect man and an infallible politician, but as Lord John Russell did in his " Recollections," tells them that in his public course his footsteps here and there have erred, but that he has striven SIR JOIIX AT HOME LADY MACDOXALD. 503 to be shaken by the flashy foibles of a speech. Sheridan usually carried "pickled puns" in his pocket to the house of commons; but at last he found, to his horror, that he had raised a Lfho^t whir! ! 1 not put t<> rest ;— that his audience had refused to consider him in earnest, even in Ids most serious and sententious mooda Sydney Smith was often a paragon of penetrating sense and dignity; yet he had got the repu- : a humourist* and when he sought t<> he most serious had the i bion of finding that his hearers were preparing to laugh, under the Impression that he was elaborating a joke. I mce while he said grace at a very solemn dinner, a young lady burst out laughiii If y<>u .nt- of commons and the premier he there, you will he likely to see him sitting at his desk, one legcro over the other, frequently his head resting on bis hand. He not fall into that clammy torpitude as it' he were a coiled snake, as did Mi'. Disraeli; neither does he sii there his h< upon his sleeve, and a cloud of daws pecking at it, but with i and ears open t<> Bee and hear all going on ; never taking even an unkindly thrust to heart, hut playfully overwhelming some sententious labourer with a flash of repartee, good-natured ly hut decisively and with dignity ('(.riveting some garhler of fact, OT chatting in Open-hearted and jolly friendliness with a knot of his followers. Some members like Darby Griffith, have a faculty for asking troublesome, and sometimes even unper* KM LITE OF Sin JOHN A. MACDONALD. tint'iit questions. Darby one day so provoked the ministers by king for facta which DC had no right bQ know, that Disraeli who sat then at one of the treasury benched, uncoiled and com- ing to his t'ret complimented the hon. member on the possession of w a luminous intellect ; ? then sat down. Mr. Gladstone is kept in a perpetual hot bath by members asking questions; and sometinies delivers himself of a proclamation where yesor no would be sufficient. Sir John'i way of dealing with the smell-fungus members is much like Disraeli's; if he can give the information he either simply gives it, or bells them it will l»e brought down; <>r, if he deem that they ought not to have it. then without any qualms, and with a pregnant brevity tells i so; eventhoUf of his own valued supporters he among the enquirers. Never dues that matchless tact seem to fail him. There is no use in denying that Mr. Blake is a dan- gerous opponent j and that his view of questions of law T and fact are, in the main, almost certain to be riijht ; and this Sir John cheerfully reCOgnise8,though taking the record the opinion of the conservative chief has, on matters of precedence, and on constitutional and other questions, Keen far less often astray than the leader of the opposition. But should Sir John or one of his colleagues or supporters have a bill or a resolution before the house, and Mr. Blake called attention to any had feature, or offered a substitution that Sir John believed to be an im- provement; the latter has invariably adopted the suggestion with cheerfulness, and courteously acknowledged its value. In like manner, too, has he given, the benefit of his best thought to the framing of the supreme court act and other measures, while leader of the opposition. Sir John seldom makes a long .('. L, from Oxford University, and is alsoLL.I). of Queen's University, Kingston, and a D. C. L, of the I ni- ity of Trinity College, Toronto. In July 1867, he sn ted a. E.C.B. civil by Her Majesty; and in ls7^ b knight grand cross of the royal order of Isabel lica of Spain. In the same year h<> was nominated a member of Her Majesty's privy council; and was sworn a privy councillor, in August, 1ST'.). Sir John's residen. dacona Hall. Ot Stadacona Club, Kingston, and the Ri- i and Yacht Clubs, In private life Sir John has his circle of warm admirers as well as at the public board. He is frank and genial by temperament, kind and courteous in his social w;:s KM LIFE OF SIR JO UN A. MACDONALD. relations, "a very prince," says a distinguished guest once at his house, and a warm admirer, "at his own board." That winning grace of manner which those who do not know him think he wears for political purposes in public life, shines out still more brightly in the domestic and social sphere ; that it is really impossible to know Sir John at the fireside or the hoard, and not to love him. The poet is not always right, for thus he sillgfl : 11 He who ascends to mountain-tops shall find The loftiest peaks most wrapt in clouds and snow ; He who surpasses or subdues mankind, Must look down on the hate of those below. Though high above the sun of glory glow And far beneath the earth and ocean spread , Round him are icy rocks, and loudly blow Contending tempests on his naked head, And thus reward the toils to which those summits led." Sir John has reached in this country the utmost round that a Canadian son may elimh, but he does not find this lofty peak " wrapt in clouds and snow," rather warmed by the strong devotion and at lection of a band of friends who admire him no less for those rare abilities which make him the greatest statesman on the American continent,* than for those large- souled and sterling personal qualities which have bound men to him as with hoops of steel. When not receiving friends at dinner or in some other social way, Sir John is to be found in his little library attending to public business, or reading until very late at night. He reads with great rapidity. The range of his reading is very extensive and varied : this may be really said to form his only recreation. In conversa- tion he is brilliant and entertaining, and as several with whom he exchanges hospitalities differ from him in poli- tics, his conversation on public questions is tolerant, airy, and good-natured. Mr. Gold win Smith, once replying in The Bystander to the allegation of having learnt some ministerial trick at " Stadacona Hall " tells us that his * It is admitted, even by leading United States journals, that Sir John is the ablest statesman on the continent. SIX JOHN AT HOME-LADY MACDONALD. 507 impression is " that there is not much to be learnt at Stada- cona Hail beyond the lessons taught by the example of a states- man who knows how to lay politics aside in the social hour and is large-minded enough to bear with opinions differing from his own." But the crown to Sir John's social success is given by the place his very accomplished and popular wife Lady Macdonald tills at the capital. Of the society circle there, is she voted pre-eminently, the queen ; where in every project of social the first and the last, and no less the favourite of the elderly and the demure, than of the young folk. To go to Ottawa and mention the name of Lady Macdonald to any uf the young people there, ia at once to bring forth a peean in her praise. Everything, they tell you that m to be "got up," Lady Macdonald has a hand in, not indeed that she seeks to this place or even cares fox it ; but BO kindly is her nature that Bhe is prodigal both of her time and energy to make able; while it is a fact that nothing seems to d so harmoniously or successfully when she is not at it- head and front. Verily, then she be in the social, what her husband is in the public, sphere, En political questions too this gifted lady takes no little interest, and her judgment is -aid to be scarce less sound than that of Sir John, who, it i< whispered, is in the hahit of consulting her when he is about ie important political step. And while we have no doubt that, like the wives <>t' several distinguished I lish en, what rumour -ays of Lady Macdonald in this respect is true, yet it is the social sphere that she most adorns, where she La no less warmly admired by ladies whose husbands are politically opposed to Sir John than by those of his own friends. In domestic life, Lady Macdonald is a model woman, lavishing her tenderness upon an invalid daughter, keeping a household that might well be the envy of any circle ; attending to Sir John at late sittings of the house, and, as Mrs. Disraeli used to do, and as Mrs. Gladstone does, wrapping up 603 LIFE OF SIR JOHN A. MACDONALD. her husband after he has made a speech, and zealously guarding his health at home or while travelling. And to quote the young people again, who will insist on telling their gratitude, -In- is ready at five minutes warning, no matter how fatigued ^hc maybe, to have lunch for a tired toboggan or snow-shoe party, or t" accompany gatherings of young folks as chaperon. Add to this her genial and kindly manner, her charity to the scores who will press their wants upon a lady in high station, and dally when they find her heart tender and her purse open. r Lady Ifacdonald IS a worthy mate for her thrice thy and distinguished husband. As every labour, whether done in pain or Lingered over fondly must Bomethne end, so too must close this book. The 1 in] making it> first tlight may not M-eni ni graceful on the snug as tie- accomplished veteran of the air — though it may: but no one will elude the ambition that prompted it to test it< pinion-. This is our first book, and we may be reminded : Y - we know it is, for we have seen your flight;" and we ... t that the work may have been adventurous and perhaps be}-ond our calling, Lot, nevertheless, that we are satisfied. And if the C 'ii>eience of a man upbraid him not, whether it be his trade to write books or to rule empires, he need not to fear for the critics who probably can do neither. We have now followed Sir John through the wilderness for y years, have seen him as a little boy with bright eyes and ■curly hair looking upon the land now so full with his name, and so enriched by his work ; and we have seen him with "shining morning face creeping like a snail unwillingly to school ;" have wandered with him fishing-rod in hand around the lovely shores of Quinte* Bay, and seen him carry away the palm from the school-room; and later still, delighted at his talent, we have observed him struggling with all his strength of heart and brain to free from doom a noble but misguided client; and have looked upon him entering the stormy road of politics, and seen him through a long roll of turbulent years Silt JOIIX AT HOME— LADY MACDONALD. 509 till the dawn of a peaceful and higher era glows in the sky, and we hear his voice cheering his followers to prepare for the better order coming; then, too, this transition past, and the dawn bloomed into the full day, finding him crowned — . . " on fortune's slopes, The pillar of the people's hopes, The centre of the state's desire." He has come through sunshine and tempestuous weather, has borne the brunt of more than a hundred battles, yet is he still 11 of spirit, and as full of hope as when, in public harness, saw him first* forty 3 >j still is his arm strong, his blood warm, his glance bright ; and should he now care to resign the place he has so worthily won, and bo honorably fills,— something however which he is not likely to -1". and which his country would mourn to see coin.' to pass -and sit down as some men do by their cottage door as the afternoon advances, glancing hack as one panorama at the record of their lives, well might he feel that to him has come as much of glory as usually falls to the lot of man ; well might a tinge of pride to his check as he thought of the unbounded and Long- continued trust the people have placed in his talents and his honour ; then turning from the past to the present how might he not thrill as he saw the glorious promise given to this young nation, marrowy, gtrong~anned and ambitious, and the goddess with benign Bmile from her abundant store shedding down upon the land over which lie ruled, peace, prosperity and nt. APPENDIX appendix a. This bill gjB!f9 rise to a warm discussion, Messrs. Hincks, Brown and ( ther Lending reformers giving it sturdy championship. Mr. John A. MJftcdonsld resolutely opposed it for several reasons, one of which was that the measure was to remain inoperative for three years. His views in this respect, it will be seen, were the san he holds at this day, on I of a parliament shown to be unrepresentative of the people. nald said : If r he avoided, it is meddling with til tion of tl . wlii.li should not be sltered till it is evident that the people are suffering from t!i I that constitution as it actually I say ' ment have never been called upon to bring forward this meUSUre. The roioc of the country has been silent upon it, and why ? Because the people b SI <\ under the present system, always been fairly and thoroughly i . presented bj those whom they sent to parlia- ment. The representatives, for the time being, have always fairly repre- sented the people by whom they were elected, and there never has been any want of sympathy between the people and their representatives. The people have always been fully represented by their eighty-four members. The best evidence of this is that we have no petitions before us in favour of this measure; no one has asked for it. A sacrilegious hand has been placed upon our constitution. In every question put to the people, clergy I ves, rectories, or what not, the people of Canada have told their representatives what course they wished them to take. Look at all the other great questions of the day that have been put to the people of Can- ada — are not our tables loaded with petitions regarding them ? Where is re a single petition in favour of this measure from Upper Canada or s Lower Canada? It has been said that this has been made a test question at the elections: but if that is the real state of the case, the peo- ple would have made their intentions known by petitions. The inspector- 514 A PPEXDIX. ral introduced a bill which nearly doubled the number of represen- tatives, and yet he says that the government had no intention of putting it into effect. The only reason that can exist for such a course, is that he sees the people are fairly represented by the members now siting here. There is no reason for his proceeding, but this, which is the only one that has ever been assigned : that the government can buy up the members and can exercise more influence over them. The hon. the inspector-general has a most winning way of exercising an influence over the members of this house — a way much more potent than is possessed by any hon. mem- ber on this side of the house. When 1 had the honour of a seat in the cabinet, I found hon. DM tubers on the other side of the house a most impracticable set ; but the hon. inspector-general is a much better hand at that sort of thing. He is carrying this measure just as Lord Castlereagh carried the union in Ireland. He traps a member here and a member there, just picking up votes whenever he can get them ; and yet the strongest reason ever given for this measure was, that it would prevent corruption by the government. I am not afraid of this undue influence of the govern- ment, tecause I believe the people of Upper Canada can take as good care of her interests, even with only eighty-four members, as they could with three times the number. I think also that I could not vote for this mea- sure on account of the injustice of its details. Why, sir, to think that 4)0,000 persons in one place are to have six members, while 60,000 next to them are to have but three members ! — there must be some strong reason for this extraordinary inconsistency. It is evident that the country has been cut and carved in all directions, without any regard to fairness or justice, just to obtain the requisite number of votes to carry the measure. I know that the inspector-general, if left to himself, would have done what is just and right, but he is under the influence of men to whom he dare not say nay. As I had made up my mind to vote against this bill, it is perhaps not fair that I should refer to the details, but there is one great reason why I should v< te against the measure, and that is that it is not now to go into effect. Why should we now pass a bill of this import and nature which is not to come into force for three years ? But I tell the inspector- general that he dare not, according to the constitution of the country, carry this idea into effect. He dare not continue the present house one moment after this bill comes into force. You not only declare that there are not a sufficient number of representatives, but you declare by the Franchise Bill that there are a large number of persons in Upper Canada who are not represented, but who ought to be represented ; and yet you say now, after declaring that their rights exists, that they are not to be granted for three years to come. The inspector-general cannot APPENDIX. 515 give this advice to the representative of the Crown, and if he does he is unworthy of the place that he holds. If he gives it, it will not be received. Look at the Reform Bill in England. That was passed by a parliament that had been elected only one year before, and the moment it was passed Lord John Russell affirmed that the house could not continue after it had declared that the country was not properly represented. How can we legislate on the clergy reserves until another house is assembled, if this bill passes ? A great question like this cannot be left to be decided by an accidental majority. We can legislate upon no great question after we have ourselves declared that we do not represent the country. Do lion, gentlemen opposite mean to say that they will legislate on a question affecting the rights of people yet unborn, with the fag end of a parliament dishonoured by its own confessions of incapacity. ] have only one thing .-ay, and that is, that I would recommend my hon. friend the attorney-general to look carefully into the Inion Act before he Consents to allow this bill to pass. APPENDIX B. THE DNIYKBSm UILL — 1853. Vv the 1st of April, Mr. Macdonald inflicted a memorable castigation on Dr. Rolph, whom he charged, and not without good reason, which was plain at the time, and proved afterwards, with having a personal interest in the object sought by the bill. Mr. Macdonald said : If there ever was a farce in the world it is this proposed university. You exclude all law, all medicine, all religion, and what have you left ? This bill has been prepared to meet the views of certain gentlemen in Toronto; it has been prepared to meet the views of the hon. commissioner of crown lands (hear, hear); it has been prepared for that and for nothing else. A great national school is to be destroyed by this bill— a noble endowment for a great national institution is to be broken up ; and the manner in which the inspector-general spoke, shows that he feels this. If we are to have a great national institution in whic^i the qualifications for every profession are to be obtained, a great national school to which all 516 APPENDIX. the subordinate colleges are to look up, what will be the use of this uni- versity which is to exclude all practical knowledge. By this scheme we must go to Osgoode H ill fat law, to the great institution of the commis- sioner of crown lands for medicine, and to Dr. Charbonnel, or the Chris- tian Brothel* tor religion (Hear, bear-. This is the way in which the endowment is to be frittered away fof DO purpose. For no purpose? Yes, Mi. Chairmen, for I purpose — a very sinister purpi.se. Why, sir, instead of one ureat university a national institute n, we ere to have a lot of little institutions where people can learn a little Latin and less Greek, and nothing well. Why are we to have this ; For. as 1 have said, a sinister purpose ; to gratify the selfish ends and the personal feelings of the hon. commissioner of crown lands. Hon. Mr. Kolph said that the assertions of the hon. member for King- ston were as unfounded as they were unworthy of that hon. member. II is he descended so low as in his place in parliament to make assertions so low as those he had just uttered 1 I ask him what he means by those assertions ? Has he a right to say that I stand up here and give my sup- port to measures for my own personal advantage ? How can he prostitute his talents and his tongue to such calumny ? Such conduct is unparlia- mentary, and it would be bettor for the hon. member to move an amend- ment, establishing a separate medical school with public endowment than to make personal attacks on me. A university teaches nothing— it only confers degrees. Mr. Macdonald continued: — I made those assertions because I thought they were true ; and I repeat them, because I think they are still true ; and because I think them true I cannot retract them. And I believe that my feeling on this matter is the general feeling of Upper Canada. It is known in Upper Canada, it is known in Toronto, that the commissioner of crown lands has coolly and deliberately sacrificed, to gratify his own personal feelings, a great national institution. I apologise to the house for anything that I have said that may have been unparliamentary ; but I said it because it was true. I shall not repeat again what I have said, because the hon. gentleman says it is not parliamentary. The hon. gentle- man seems to say that I do not understand what a university is. Why, sir, if I know anything about it, I understand that the original meaning of the word university is, a seat of learning where all branches of science are taught. They might remember that there was a time when there were thousands of students at the university of Oxford before a single college was established. Colleges are merely places where the students take shelter. The university system means a great institution where students from all parts of the country come together and study under the profes- APFENDIX. 517 sorial system. It is so in Scotland, it is so in Germany, everywhere in fact except in England. Upon this very question what does the recent report of the university commission say ? It recommends the doing away with the colleges, and restoring to the university the power and discretion of regulating the whole curriculum. I know just as well as the hon. mem- ber the difference between a college and a university. This bill proposes to establish what the university commission in England proposes to dises- tablish. This bill proposes to do away with the university and restore the colleges: just the very reverse of what is being done in England. By this bill, law is nothing, medicine is nothing, and religion is a farce. It leaves nothing but mathematics and classics. Is it not known every- where that the English system is a false one, and that they should return to the German free-scholar system ? Is not the report of the commission that hai been published, stn-n^ly in favour of doing away with the colle- giate system and restoring the university I The hon. gentleman says that my remarks were rash; well, they nriy have been so, but that depends on whether they were true. Does not the hon. gentlemen know that he has been charged by every professional brother in Toronto, with destroying a great medical lehool to advance his own seltish porpngei. I do no ^ sav that ' • is true f« r that would he unparliamentary; but does he not know that he has been pointed at with the finger of scorn for doing so / The hon. gentleman may have found that another school protected by the government interfered with his own. I do not mean to disparage the school of the hon. gentleman, hut I mean to say this, that while it Hourished so well under his own immediate patronage, there was no reason why the college school should be destroyed ; there was no reason for it at all. It is since tbat hon. gentleman has not been able to attend to it that the great evil has heen discovered. The hon. gentleman sneers at my remarks about the philosophy of law, but I tell him that law is a science, and the practice and philosophy of law are the same thing, and must be taught together. Is that doctrine not laid down by lilackstone in every line of his immortal Commentaries. Moral law is a moral science, but ■civil law is that which protects one man from another, and one man's pro- perty from another. That is law in the sense in which this bill means, and in that sense the philosophy of law and the practice of the law are the same. I regret that I have been compelled to go into this discussion ; I regret it exceedingly: but I thought, and still think, that this bill was ired solely with the view of doing away with a certain school of medi- cine in Toronto. If I am mistaken, I have done wrong to the commis- sioner of crown lands and his colleagues; and if it be not as I have stated, I can only say that my error is participated in by every educated man in 618 APPENDIX. Upper Canada. There is a strong feeling in Upper Canada that these great branches of learning are excluded from the university, not from any desire for the public good, but from purely personal motives. APPENDIX C. TEMPI BLANCE BILL— L853. As early as 1851, the advocates of virt-ie, whether-yon-like-it-or-no,. induced a certain member t<» introduce a bill into the Canadian legislature, to restrain the sale of intoxicating liquors and promote temperance. Mr. John A. Macdonald, who did not believe that legislation ought to take the place of Christian perseverance, and that a man or a wcman to get to heaven, cannot be helped there by the law of the land, since heaven is the reward only of those who fight the good fight and conquer, and since, if there was no temptation there e<>u!d be no strife, and hence no glory and no heaven, opposed the bill in the following speech, which as will be seen is replete with searching logic, through which there is an undercurrent of stinging sarcasm. Say the newspapers cf the time: Hon. J. A. Macdonald ridiculed the remarks of the hon. member for Lincoln, who looked on ardent spirits as a poison; and although he would not have it here for himself, would send it abroad to pcison hi3 friends, or else would have it all drunk up in the next eighteen months. This bill struck at the very root of the excise altogether ; and the strangest feature was, that the hon. gentleman who had introduced it, and wanted to make it almost a crime to manufacture spirits at all, came down with the budget. Now, the hon. member for Lincoln, a minister responsible for that bud- get, wanted to introduce laws repealing license, except in relation to the duties on distilleries (Hear, hear). How could that hon. gentleman- come forward and propose that all excise duties in Upper Canada should be repealed, except the duty on whiskey ? He preserved those duties where he really advocated their existence, for the most mean purpose, namely, that of augmentation of the revenue ; that appeared palpably from the course which that hon. gentleman had pursued ; but he would APPENDIX. 519 ask, did he not state, when he introduced his bill, that the question was one far above pecuniary considerations I When the hon. member for Simcoe said that it was a revenue question, the hon. inspector-general said that the hon. member ought to be ashamed of himself to bring for- ward such a statement ; for that the welfare of the country depended upon the carrying of the bill ; but he brings forward a measure by which he wishes to wipe away excise duties, and still preserve his distillery duties; and for what purpose ? For the sake of about £16,000. What is the effect of this measure ? To prohibit not only the use of ardent spirits, but the use of any liquors that will intoxicate. Wine was one of those liquors [at least he was told so and he believed it was], and yet that hon. eman according to hU measure wished to make wine cheaper to fbodj, so that the man who formerly paid 3s. for a bottle of Medeira, >hould be enabled to get it now f«-r «> 1.* Now, he would ask the hon. in- spector-general whether the measure for altering the duties on wine was not for the sake <>f n hi i rice in the market I Undoubtedly it was. But there was a contradiction — there had bean ■ total des» rtion ©f the great principles of responsible government by the ministry of the day. It was just like those gentlemen, who declared that they never belonged to hmperanoeaoi only grounds of justice thty brought forward for advocating the measn booae, w-iv, that in their little miser- able mui, 4 man who Joined together upon this question. Those hon. gentlemen were therefore willing to sacrifice their own principles for the sake of winning a support of that kind. He held that the policy of the government was bad. The inspector-general could no more legislate a man to be sober than to be religious ; but with all those resolutions of his, he would say that in order to raise a man, the influence must proceed from the action of man upon man, and not by the operation of a statute. It is only by the force of public opinion, and by the force of the public mind being directed and laid on as it had been in England, Ireland and the United States, against a particular vice, weak- ness and frenzy, that you can succeed. The moment you trust to the law, that moment your exertions cease. He would take one instance to estab- lish the truth of his assertion. When his hon. and gallant friend, Sir Allan MacNab was a young man, and in His Majesty's service, what was the law in relation to duelling? If the one felt his honour injured, or himself insulted, he would send a challenge ; the parties went, out, and they might shoot one another. But what was the consequences, if one party did shoot the other and left him weltering in his blood, leaving a • This is evidently a mistake of the reporter. AFFBUDIX, family behind him: what did the law deel.tre ? It declared that the man should be hanged by the neck until he was dead. Did the existence of that law prevent the crime of duelling / No. How was it now? Duelling is ndand out <>f date; the fashion has gone out; public opinion has declared against it. A man now who has had two atl'airs in his life is considered no longer within the pale of civilized society. The fact of the matter is, that public opinion is strongly againal such wicked contests, and therefore the custom has almost ceased perforce the opinion of society. Read the memoirs of the list l'\s. ye irs about the people in Ireland. They had a duty on spirits which almost rende-ed it prohibitory — they could not gal it legally, and what was t lence ? I would ask whether the bottle of whiskey was not as before present at the wakes night after night I What was the law there ? When Father Haifa went there, he did not go with the Main Liquor Law in his hand ; he prevailed upon them by tlnit moral suasion stronger than all the legislation ever de- vised by human brain, an I wrought into acts of parliament, and pro- duced a moral revolution which all the Kind's laws and all the King's troops for the last hundred of years were unable to obtain. Why endeav- our to make people feel oppressed, injured, and irritated by a measure tried for numberless moral purposes already, and as often proven futile ? I hope this bill will be thrown out, and that the house will not go so far as to admit that there ought to be an absurd law like this, an oppressive law like this, and a futile law like this ; for it has been proved by every gen- tleman who spoke, even by the advocates of it, that so valueless a law as that could not be allowed to exist. The hon. member for Kent (who had made, he thought, the strongest speech against it) said that any law intro- duced at a time when the people were not prepared for it was a futile law, and he said, " put it off till 186 Mr. Brown, — no, the hon. gentleman was mistaken. He said, that for his own part he would like to have heard from the special committee clear evidence as to the state of the public mind upon the question, for he con- sidered that the bill should not be put into operation until public opinion was clearly in favour of it. He was quite willing to vote for the bill now with the proviso that it should come into force upon the first of January, 1855. Mr. Macdonald resumed, in conclusion : Then he saw that the hon. member for Kent was of the same opinion as the hon. member for Lin- coln, to have the stock already in hand drank up first. He thought that it would be doing a great injury to the community to pass this bill, and he should therefore vote against the second reading of it. APPENDIX, 521 APPENDIX D. COMPENSATION TO SEIGNEURS. Mr. Macdonald at this time did not believe that compensation ought to be made to seigneurs out of the funds of Upper Canada. We give the resolutions offered by the government, and the amendments and the speech of Mr. Macdonald; 1. Jiesolved— That it is expedient to appropriate for the payment of the indemnity to be awarded to seigniors, and other expenses to be incurred under the bill 1 define seigniorial rights and to facilitate the redemption thereof.. t sum equal to that OOmiug into the consolidated revenue fund of this from the following Lower Canadian sources of revenue, that is to say: I f , and Other dues which are now or hereafter shall become payable to the crown in Off upon the leigflioiiei in Lower Canada, of which the crown is the seigneur dominant, as well as from all arrears of such dues: inory of LMfl 'ii. and the : A the sale he said seigniory which DO -rbe sold. ;md all arrears of such revenue i moneys arising from auction duties and auction- eers' licenses in Lower Canada: From all m< Dg in Lower Canada from licenses to sell spirituous, vinous Off fermented liquors by retail in place IB places of public entertainment, commonly called shop or 2. Resolal That it is expedient that the sums required to pay the said indemnity and , be raised by debentures to be issued under the authority of the governor-in-council, and chargeable on the consolidated one fund; but that separate accounts be kept of the moneys coming into the said consolidated revenue fund from the several Lower Canadian sources of revenue aforesaid; and that if the sums payable out of the con- solidated revenue fund for the principal and interest of such debentures, shall exceed the amount arising from the several sources of revenue men- tioned in the preceding resolution, it will, in the opinion of this house, be expedient to appropriate a sum equal to such excess for some local purpose or purposes in Upper Canada. To the first resolution, Mr. Macdonald moved in amendment: "I hat it is inexpedient and unjust to the tax-payers of Canada to appropriate any portion of the territorial revenues of this province to the payment of the mnity to be awarded to the seigniors of Lower Canada, inasmuch as 622 APPENDIX. the proposed legislation under the bill as now framed, is of local interest only, and such indemnity should be paid by the parties immediately bene- fited thereby." To the second: "That it is inexpedient and unjust to the people of Canada to charge the consolidated revenue fund of the whole province with the payment of any portion of the said indemnity to seiyniors, and that such indemnity should be paid by that section of the Province im- mediately benefited by the proposed measure." And again, in amendment t«» the same resolution, " That the proposition to pledge the consolidated revenue fund for the payment of the said indem- nity, or any portion thereof, and thereby to increase the provincial debt and taxation to an unknown and unlimited amount, is improper,»unprecedented and dangerous; that it deprives this house of the necessary check over the public expenditure and the public burdens; and that this house will fail m its duty to the people of Canada if it assents to any such proposition." In proposing this amendment, he went on to say that it was a most un- precedented course that was now proposed by the government with regard to this matter. That the legislature of this country, who are the guard- ians of the public purse, should be called on to impose upon the people and their children a burden the amount of which they did not know, was> a most objectionable and as well as inconsistent course of procedure. They had no security whatever that the amount they were now called upon to secure for this purpose might not be one hundred thousand pounds, or that it might not be twice as much as that sum. He would ask the in- spector-general if he could find a precedent for the course he now pro- posed. It was true that a vote of credit had been given on one occasion, but that was under extreme circumstances, and for one year only. Again, they had undertaken great public works to advance the material interests- of the country, and how could they go on with their undertakings with a burden of this kind upon their resources, the amount of which could not be told, which the government themselves did not know, and which they said they could not find out. The hon. gentleman then went on to allude to the slavery question in England, which he contended was analogous ta this. When it was proposed to indemnify the slave-owners for their pro- perty, the government did not ask parliament to pledge the revenues of the country to an unlimited extent, but the secretary of the colonies, Lord Stanley, came down with minute and elaborate calculations as to the value of each slave, and an exact estimate of the sura required. The in- spector-general should have done the same in this case. He should have formed an estimate of the amount required for every seigniory, and then come down with an exact statement of the whole sum that would be re- APPENDIX. 52$ quired. A finance minister in England would be laughed at if he proposed to tax the people for an unlimited amount; and then what a miserable proposition was this that was laid down in these resolutions. Two-third* of the whole taxation of the country is paid by the people of Upper Can- ada, and here they talk of taking a certain amount out of the consolidated fund for the benefit of Lower Canada, and then remunerating Upper Can- ada by paying her a similar sum out of her own resources. The govern- ment have already refused to reduce the customs duties on account of the present burden arising from the publjp works, and yet they ask us to take on ourselves another burden the amount of which they do not know; and as far as the remuneration to Upper Canada is concerned, it justamounta to tolling her to tax herself for her own benefit. He thought it very ex- traordinary that the people of I'pper Canada and the eastern townships- should be taxed to settle the differences between ttigniofl and censitaires in Lower Canada. It was as much as saying that Upper Canada should be brined \vi tli her own money. The proposition was to be laughed at, and he very much questioned whether even the hon. inspector-general could be serious in proposing that the hi -use should consent to these reso- lutions. What in the world had the people of Upper Canada as a whole with this question ? He would ask upon what principle it was that the House could be called upon to vote such resolutions i The hill of the attorney-general-east did not propose to do away with the seigniorial ten- ure, but would only have the effect of perpetuating it, which made the proposition to pay indemnity out of the consolidated revenue the more- absurd. If the tenure were to be done away with, some expediency mighi be urged for these resolutions. APPENDIX E. "STEEPED TO THE LIPS IN INFAMY." During the debate on the address, in 1854, Mr. Macdonald made a scathing attack upon the ministry, and his speech furnishes excerpts, re- presenting some of the most acrid utterances ever delivered by a Canadian* public man. It is not necessary to say here that the occasion gave war- rant to the language employed. $24 APPENDIX. Hon. Mr. Macdonald, say the newspapers, remarked that it was a some- what strange circumstance that Dr. Rolph had not read with that accuracy which might have been expected of one reading from a printed document. The extracts, it appeared, had not been correctly read, and the hon. mem- ber for Kent had happened to detect what was of course an unintentional mistake. Mr. Macdonald then explained the course he had taken last session when the bills for increasing the representation and extending the lve franchise were before the house. When those bills were intro- duced, he had opposed them on the ground that the present parliament fairly represented the people, and that at the commencement of its exist- ence it ought not to pass measures which seemed to invi lve the admission that it did not thus fairly represent the people. The government, how- ever, strenuously maintained that they involved no such admission, and that the house, during the whole period of its existence, retained the right to legislate upon any and every subject. So soon as the represen- n and franchise bills were read a second time, the solemn declaration was thereby made, which was quite as obligatory on the conscience of the house as if the bills had then received the royal assent, that a large num- ber of individuals were excluded from the right of voting who ought to be admitted. But they all knew that after this some of the most important subjects of legislation had been brought before the house and were now the law of the land. This very question which they were now discussing was one of these, and night after night and week after week the attorney- general pressed the seignorial bill on the attention of the house. But now they said this house was incompetent to deal with that and similar ques- tions! He (Mr. Macdonald) took up last session a strong position against the passing of the franchise bill, on the ground that it was premature to ask members of the house at once to divest themselves of all their rights and privileges, but the hon. inspector-general stated over and over again that the passage of the bill involved no such necessity. And the very last act of the government last session was advising his excellency to give the royal assent to that bill, the first clause of which provided that there should be no alteration in the franchise till the 1st of January, 1855. Could they have meant then, on the supposition that the present parlia- ment had declared itself incompetent, that there was to be no real legis- lation to meet the wants of the country till the 1st of January, 1855 ? He {Mr. Macdonald) believed then that this house did represent the feelings of the people of Canada, and hs has believed so still, and he felt quite •competent to vote on any and every question that in any way affected the interests* of the people of Canada. He must say that he was surprised at the announcement made by the hon. inspector-general at the opening of APPENDIX. 525- the house to-day. It exceeded any flights of daring ever before attempted, even by that hon. gentleman himself. He might as well at once, like Cromwell, have ordered that bauble [pointing to the mace] to be taken away, as to come down and tell them, forsooth, that they, a free parlia- ment, representing a free people, were only to be allowed to pass two or t'iree measures, which he named. Mr. Macdonald then alluded to the charges of corruption which had been brought against the government. Be knew a great many reformers in his part of the country, and they were (.manually saying to him, Any government, any change, anything to get rid of the rampant corruption going on in this country. It was well known that the system of the present government had been that of a most rampant corruption, ami appealing to the most sordid and basest motives of men. art of the eountry their money was tor use, and offioei were offered in return for influence brought to their aid. Even the postmaster-general •h.inntV the purchase of some government pro- perty by members of the government, that there had been a job perpe- ! by his colleagues, with whom lie continued to sit at the same table — that th- • in that matter had been such as he OOtlld BOt approve of. Now a gc, ihonld be free even from suspicion, and should I stain on their escutcheon like a wound on tie : uld make it, and under it the American States greatly prospered until very recently; but being the work of men it had its defects, r u to take advantage by experience, and endeavour to see if we cannot arrive by careful study at such a plan as will avoid the mistakes of our neighbours. In the first place, we know that every individual state was an individual sovereignty — that each had its own army and navy and political organization — and when they formed themselves into a confeder- D they only gave the central authority certain specific powers, reserv- individual states all the other rights appertaining to sovereign powers. The dangers that have arisen from this system we will avoid if we can agree upon forming a strong central government — a great central legislature — a c< institution for a union which will have all the rights of sovereignty except those that are given to the local governments. Then we shall have taken a great step in advance of the American republic. If we can only attain that object — a vigorous general government — we shall not be New Brunswickers, nor Nova Scotians, nor Canadians, but British Americans, under the sway of the British sovereign. In discussing the question of colonial union, we must consider what is desirable and prac- ticable; we must consult local prejudices and aspirations. It is our desire t< > do so. I hope that we will be enabled to work out a constitution that will have a strong central government, able to offer a powerful resistance to fcny foe whatever, and at the same time will preserve for each province 528 APPBKDJX. its own identity- and will protect every local ambition ; and if we cannot do this, we shall not be able to carry out the object we have now in view. Jti the conference we have had, we have been united as one man — there was no difference of feeling — no sectional prejudices or selfishness exhib- ited by any one: — we all approached the subject feeling its importance — feeling that in our hands wvre the destinies of a nation ; and that great would be our sin and shame if any different motives had intervened to prevent us carrying out the noble object of founding a great British mon- archy, in connection with the British empire, and trader the British Q.ieen. (Cheers.) That there are difficulties in the way would be folly for me to deny; that there are important questions to be settled before tho project can be consummated is obvious; but what great subject that has evsr at- tracted the attention of mankind has not been fraught with diMiculties 1 We would ii"t be worthy of the position in which we have been placed by the people, if we did not meet and overcome these obstacles. I will not continue to detain you at this late perk) 1 of the evening, but will merely say that we are desirous of a union with the maritime provinces on a fair and equitable basis: that we desire no advantage of any kind, that we be- lieve the object in view will be as much in favour as against these maritime colonies. We are ready to come at once into the most intimate connection with you. This cannot be fully procured, I admit, by political union sim- ply. I don't hesitate to say that with respect to the Intercolonial railway, it is understood by the people of Canada that it can only be built as a means of political union for the colonies. It cannot be denied that the railway, as a commercial enterprise, would be of comparatively little com- mercial advantage to the people of Canada. Whilst we have the St. Lawrence in summer, and the American ports in time of peace, we have all that is requisite for our purposes. We rocognise, however, the fact that peace may not always exist, and that we must have some other means of outlet if we do not wish to be cut off from the ocean for some months in the year. We wish to feel greater security — to know that we can have as- sistance readily in the hour of danger. In the case of a union, this railway must be a national work, and Canada will cheerfully contribute to the ut- most extent in order to make that important link without which no poli- tical connection can be complete. What will be the consequence to this city, prosperous as it is, from that communication ? Montreal is at this moment competing with New York for the trade of the great West. Build the road and Halifax will soon become one of the great emporiums of the world. All the great resources of the West will come over the immense railways of Canada to the bosom of your«harbour. But there are even greater advantages for us all in view. We will become a great nation, and AFPENDU . 529 God forbid that it should be one separate from the united kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland. (Cheers.) There has been a feeling that be- cause the old colonies were lost by the misrule of the British government, every colony must be lost when it assumes the reins of self-government. 1 believe, however, as stated by the gallant admiral,* that England will hold her position in every colony — she will not enforce an unwilling obe- dience by her arms ; but as long as British Americans shall retain that same allegiance which they feel now, England will spend her last shilling, and spill her best blood like wine in their defence. (Cheers.) In 1812 there was an American war because England impressed American seamen. Canadians had nothing to do with the cause of the quarrel, yet their mil- itia came out bravely and did all they could for the cause of England. Again, we have had the Oregon question, the Trent difficulty — question after question in vhioh the ooloniafl had no interest — yet pa were ready to shoulder the musket and fight for the honour of the mother country. It has been laid that England wishes to throw us off. There may be a few d E it, bat it is not the feeling of the people of iiid. Their feeling is this — that we have not been true to ourselves, thai we have not put ourselves in an attitude of defence, that we have not inada as t! i have done at home. It is a mistake: Can- ada is ready to do h She is organizing a militia; she is expending an enormous amount of money for the purpose of doing her best for self- q>py t<> know that the militia of Nova Scotia occupies : rink; I understand by a judicious administration you have formed a large and efficient volunteer and militia organization. Wo are fol- ig your example and are forming an effective body of militia, so that we shall be able to say to England, that if she should send her arms to our rescue at a time of peril, she would be assisted by a well disciplined body of men. Everything, gentlemen, is to be gained by union, and y thing to be lost by disunion. Everybody admits that union must take place some time. I say now is the time. Here we are now, in a state of peace and prosperity — now we can sit down without any danger threatening us, and consider and frame a scheme advantageous to each of these colonies. If we allow so favourable an opportunity to pass, it may :• come again; but I believe we have arrived at such a conclusion in our deliberations that I may state without any breach of confidence — that we all unitedly agree that such a measure is a matter of the first necessity, and that only a few (imaginary, I believe) obstacles stand in the way of ita consummation. I will feel that I shall not have served in public life with- * Sir James Hope, vice-admiral on the North American station, and then in Halifax. J II 530 APPENDIX. out • reward, if before I enter into private life. I am a subject of a great British American nation, under the government of her majesty, and in connection with the empire of Great Britain and Ireland. (Loud cheers.) APPENDIX G. THE WASHINGTON TKKATY. The following is the full text of Sir John A. Macdonald's speech in de- fence of his own and the government's course in relation to the Washing- ton treaty, as taken from the Toronto daily J/e tf, and delivered in the Cana- dian commons, May 3rd, 1879 M I 9 n, — I move for leave to bring in a bill to carry into effect certain clauses of the treaty negotiated between the United States and A Britain in 1871. The object of the bill is stated in the title. It is to give validity, so far as Canada is concerned, to the treaty which was framed last year in the manner so well known to the house and country. The bill I proposed to introduce the other day was simply a bill to suspend those clauses of the fishery acts which prevent fishermen of the United M from fishing in the in-shore waters of Canada, such suspension to continue during the existence of the treaty. I confined it to that object at that time, because the question really before this house was whether the fishery articles of the treaty should receive the sanction of Parliament or not As, however, a desire was expressed on the other side that I should enter into the subject fully on asking leave to bring in the bill, and as, on examining the cognate act which has been laid before congress at Wash- ington, I find that all the subjects — even those subjects which do not re- quire legislation — have been repeated in that act, in order, one would sup- pose, to make the act of the nature of a contract, and obligatory during the existence of the treaty, so that in good faith it could not be repealed during that time, I propose to follow the same course. The act I ask leave to bring in, provides in the first clause, for the suspension of the fishery laws of Canada, so far as they prevent citizens of the United States from fishing in our in-shore waters. The bill also provides that during the existence of the treaty, fish and fish oil (except fish of the inland lakes APPENDIX. 531 of the Tinted States and of the rivers emptying into those lakes, ami fifth preserved in oil), being the produce of fisheries of the United States, shall he admitted into Canada free <>f duty. The third clause provides for the ^nuance of the bonding system during the twelve years or longer pe- riod provided by the treaty; and the fourth clause provides that the right of transhipment contained in the 30th clause of the treaty shall, in like manner, be secured t<> the citizens of the United States during the exist- ence of the treaty. The last clause of the bill provides that it shall come effect whenever, upon an order-in-coumil, a proclamation of the governor-general is issued giving effect to the act. In submitting the bill in this form, 1 am aware that objection might be taken to some of the clauses, on the ground that having relation to the questions of trade and moi>. ihonld be commenced by resolution adopted in committee ol the whole. That objection d 'IT'y to the whole of the bill — to those clauses which suspend the action of our fishery act. lint it would i] principle, Uu irhich provides that shall be DO duty on fish ;md fish oil, and also the clans, s respecting the bonding system ami transhipment. I do not, however, anticipate that that objection will D4 I ing thebill in this form 1 have followed the pi mi ls.Yl, when t. -the ktjwaeintl D parliament, it \\; is then held that the ,' been introduced as based up . irhich was submitted by Magi froii. of publio and general policy, and oeaeed bo be merely a matter of trade: and although those hon. gen*- tlemen who int unitary and political matters at that date will remember that the act which was introduced by the at- for Lower Panada in L864 Mr. Drnmmond) was simply an act d> irioni articles, being the prodnoe of the Unit should, during the existence o y, be received free into Canada, and that the act repealed the tariff }>ro ktttfo, it Has not introduced by resolution, but after the treaty had been submitted and laid on the table, and a nal message had been brought down by Mr. Moris, the r of the govt rum. nt in the house, to the effect that the bill was in- n -f the governor-general. I do not, there! pate that will bo taken by any hon. member, and 1 sup- pose the precedent so solemnly laid down at that time will be held to be binding now. Should objection, however, be taken, the clauses of the bill respecting the suspension of the fishery actand transhipment are sulli- cient to be proceeded with in this manner; the other portions may be printed in italics, and can be brought up as parts of the bill or separately as resolutions, as may be thought best. The journals of the house state APPENDIX. that on the 21st Sept., 1>.~>4, Mr. Chauveau submitted a copy of the treaty which was set out on the face of the journals. On the same day Mr. Drummond asked leave to bring in a bill t<- give effoot to a certain treaty between her majesty and the United Stat s of America, and on the 22nd, OH the order of the day for the second reading of the bill, Mr. Morin, by command, brought down a meeeage from the governor-general, signifying that it was by his excellency's sanction it had been introduced, whereupon the house proceeded t<> the second reading. That bill was simp 1 )' one de- claring that various articles mentioned in the treaty should, during the of the treaty, be admitted into this c >untry free of duty. The ie now, Mr. Speaker, if they give leave that this bill shall be intro- duced and read a first time, will be in possession of all those portions of the t: A ashington that in any way come within the action of the legislature. Although the debate upon this subject will, as a matter of course, take a wide range, and will properly include all the subjects con- nected with the treaty in which Canada has any interest, yet it must not be forgotten that the treaty as a whole is in force, with the particular ex- ceptions I have mentioned, and the decision of this house will, after all, be simply whether the articles of the treaty extending from the 18th to the shall receive the sanction of Parliament, or whether these portions of the treaty shall be a dead letter. This subject has excited a great deal of interest, as was natural, in Canada ever since the 8th of May, 1871, svhen the treaty was signed at Washington. It has been largely discussed in the public prints, and opinions of various kinds have been expressed upon it — some altogether favourable, some altogether opposed, and many ci of intermediate shades of opinion. And among other parts of the discussion has not been forgotten the personal question — relating to my- self — the position I hold and held as a member of this government, and as one of the high commissioners at Washington. Upon that question I shall have to speak by-and-by ; but it is one that has lost much of its in- terest, from the fact that by the introduction of this bill the house and country will see that the policy of the government of which I am a mem- ber is to carry out, or to try to carry out, the treaty which I signed as a plenipotentiary of her majesty. Under the reservation made in the treaty, this house and the legislature of Prince Edward Island have full power to accept the fishery articles or reject them. In that matter this house and parliament have full and complete control. (Hear, hear.) No matter what may be the consequences of the action of this parliament; no matter what may be the consequences with respect to future relations between Canada and England, or between Canada and the United States, or between England and the United States ; no matter what may be the APPENDIX. 533 consequences as to the existence of the present government of Canada, it must not be forgotten that this house has full power to reject these clauses of the treaty if they please, and maintain the right of Canada to exclude Americans from our in-shore fisheries, as if the treaty had never been made. (Hear, hear.) That reservation was fully provided in the treaty. It was made a portion of it — an essential portion — and if it had not been so Bade, the name of the minister of justice of Canada would not have been attached to it as a plenipotentiary of England. r, hear.) That right has been reserved, and this parliament has full power to deal with the whole question. I will by-and-by speak more at h as to the part I took in the negotiations, but I feel that that reser- vation having been made I only performed a duty — a grave and serious duty, but still my duty — in attaching my signature to the treaty as one of her majesty's representatives and servants. (Hear, hear.) Now, sir, let me enter into a short retrospect of the occurrences which transpired some years before arrangements were entered into for negotiating the treaty. The reciprocity treaty with the United States existed from 1854 to 1" in which \ tioni wnv made l>y the gov- ernment of Canada, and a great desire was expressed by the parliament and ; Canada fof a renewal of that treaty. It was fell to have worked very beneficially I fell to have worked also to the advantage of the In: re was a desire and a feeling that i ■ sts which had been constantly developing and Ming then : ing the existence of the -uld be gtt aided if it were renewed and continued. 1 was a member of the govern- at that time, with some of my ban. fiiendl win* ire still my col- leagues; and we took every step in our | effort, we left D that object. The house will remem- hat for tlie purpose of either effecting a renewal of the treaty, or, if we could not obtain that, of arriving at the same object by means of con- iiend, the inember f or Sherbrooke (Hon. Sir \. 1. Qalt)t at that time iinance minister, and the present lieutenant - governor of Ontario, Washington on behalf of the government of wla. It is a matter of history that all their exertions failed; and aftel their failure, by general consent— a consent in which I believe the people uiada were as one man — we came to the conclusion that it would be humiliating to Canada to make any further exertion* at Washington, or to do anything more n the way of pressing for a renewal of that instru- t ; and the people of this country with great energy addressed them- Bnd other channels of trade, other means of developing and sus- taining our various industries, in which I am happy to say they have been 534 APPENDIX, com; ir, hear.) Immediately on the expiration of the treaty, our right to the exclusive use of the in-shore fisheries returned to us, and it will be in the remembrance of the house that her majt- rumen! denied us not to resume that right, at least for a year, to the exclusion ol American fishermen, and that the prohibition of Americans fishing in those waters should not be put in force either by dl Off the maritime provinces. All the provinces, I believe, declined to accede to the suggestion, and it was pressed strongly on behalf of tho late province of Canada that it would be against OUT interests if for a mo- ment after the treaty ceased we allowed it to be supposed that American fishermen had • right to come into ,,ur waters as before; and it was only because of the pressure of her majesty's government, and our desire to be in accord with that government, as well as because of our desire to } with us the moral support of Qretl Britain, ami the material assist- ance of her fleet, that we assented, with great reluctance, to the introduction of a system of licenses foe one year, at a nominal fee or rate. This was done avowedly by us for the purpose of asserting our right. No greater or stronger mode of asserting a right and obtaining the acknowledgment of it h '8e who desired to enter our waters for the purpose of fishing could be devise 1, thau by exacting payment for the permission, and therefore it was that we assented to the licensing system. (Hear, hear.) Although in 1866 that system was commenced, it did not come immediately into We had not then fitted out a marine police force, for we were not altogether without expectation that the mind of the government of the United States might take a different direction, and that there was a pro- babil: nations being renewed respecting the revival of the reci- procity treaty; and therefore, although the system was established, it was not rigidly put into force, and no great exertion was made to seize tres- passers who had not taken out licenses. In the first year, however, a great number of licenses were taken out ; but when the fee was increased so as to render it a substantial recognition of our rights, the payments became fewer and fewer, until at last it was found that the vessels which took out licenses were the exception, and that the great bulk of the fishermen who entered our waters wore trespassers. In addition to the fact that our fisheries were invaded, that we were receiving no compensation for the liberty, and that our rights were invaded boldly and aggressively, it was now stated by the American government, or members of the American cabinet, that the renewal of the reciprocity treaty was not only inexpedi- ent but unconstitutional, and that no such renewal could or would be made. The government of Canada, then, in 1870, after conference with the imperial governm2nt, and after receiving the promise of the imperial APPENDIX. 533 government that we should have the support of their fleet in the protection of our just rights, a promise which was faithfully carried out, prepared and fitted out a sufficient force of marine police vessels to protect our rights, and I am glad to believe that that policy was perfectly successful. Great firmness was used, but at the same time great discretion. There was no harshness, and no seizures were made of a doubtful character. No desire to harass the foreign fishermen was evidenced, but on the contrary. in any case in which there was doubt, the officers in command of the seiz- ing vessels reported to the head of their department, and when the papers were laid before the government, they, in all cases, gave the offending parties the benefit of the doubt. Still, as it would be remembered, some of the fishermen male complaints, which complaints, although unjust, I am sorry to say were in some instances made and supported on oath, of harshness on the part of the cruisers, and an attempt was made to agitate the DabEe mind of Canada, and there was at that time a feeling 00 the pan of a large portion of the peopl* i. which feeling, I am however happy to say, has s; peered, that the action of Canada was un- friendly. Her majesty's governm -ursc appealed to by the tef on all these subjects, and complaints were the other, and proved a 100106 of : irritation. While this feeling was being raised in the Inn. there was, on the other hand, fflg our fishermen that our right! were, to a very gre a invaded. In order to avoid the possibility of dispute — in order to avid an; appearance of harshness— in order, while we were supporting our fishery rights, to prevent any case of collision be- Q the imperial government and tin >tes, or between the Canadian authorities and the United States, we avoided making seizures within the bays, or in any way bringing up the headland question. This was very unsatisfact use, as it was said by the fishermen, " if we have these rights we should be protected in the exercise of them," and it was t | all that that <|uestion should be settled at once and forever, the question of headlands, a new one had arisen of an exceedingly unpleasant i Bj the wording of the convention -18, foreign fishermen were only allowed to enter our waters for the puipoooi of procuring wood, water and shelter; but they claimed that they had a right, although fishing vessels, to enter our ports for trading pur poses; ami it was alleged by our own fishermen that, under pretence of trading, American fishermen were in the habit of invading our fishing grounds and fishing in our waters. The Canadian government thought it therefore well to press, not only by correspondence, but by a delegate, who was a member of the government, upon her majesty's government, 53C APPENDIX. the propriety of having that question settled with the United States, and r consequently, my friend and colleague, the postmaster-general, went to England to deal with that subject. The results of his mission are before parliament. At the same time that he dealt with the question I have just mentioned] be (breed opon the consideration of her majesty's government the propriety of England making on our behalf a demand on the United i government for repent! >n lor the wrongi known as the "Fenian England agr e ed to preei upon the Tinted States both these matters, and to ask that all dies ttiona relating to the in-sh< . re fisheries, under the convention of 1818, should be settled in some mode to- be agreed upon between the two nations, and also to press upon the United States the wrongs sustained by Canada at the hands of citizens of the d States who had invade tttry. Befi re her majesty's gov- ernment had actually, in OOmptianoa with their promi.se, made any repre- sentation on these two ■abject! mHed States government, England had been engaged on her own behalf in a con t rover sy of a very grave character. The house is aware that what is commonly known as the Alain m was a subject of dispute between the two countries, in- volving the gravest consequences, and that hitherto the results had been most unsatisfactory. An ett« mpt had been made to settle the question by what was known as the Johnson-Clarendon treaty, but that treaty had been rejected by the United States authorities. So long as this question remained unsettled between the two nations there was no possibility of the old friendly relations that had so long existed between them being restored, and England felt that it was of the first importance to her that these amicable relations should be restored. It was not only her desire to be in the most friendly position towards a country which was so closely associated with her by every tie, by common origin, by common interest, by common language, but it was also her interest to have every cloud re- moved between the two nations, because she had reason to feel that her position with respect to the other great powers of the world was greatly affected by the knowledge which those other nations had of the position < f affairs between the United States and herself. The prestige of Great Britain as a great power was affected most seriously by the absence of an cte cordiale between the two nations. Two years ago England was, as a matter of course, greatly interested in the great and serious questions which were then convulsing Europe, and was in danger of being drawn by some complication into the hostile relations of some of the conflicting powers; and she felt — and I speak merely what must be obvious to every hon. member in the house — that she could not press or assert her opinion with the same freedom of action so long as she was aware, and so long a& APPENDIX. o3T other nations were aware, that, in case she should be unfortunately placed in a state of hostility with any nation whatever, the United States govern- ment would be forced by the United States people to press, at the very time when she might be engaged in mortal conflict with another nation, for a settlement of those Alabama claims. Hence, Mr. Speaker, the great desire of England, in my opinion, that thit great question should be set- tled, and hence, also, the intermingling of the particular questions relating nada with the larger imperial question*. And, sir, in my opinion, it was of greater consequence to Canada than to England, at least as great . that the question should be settled. (Cheers.) Sir, England has pr 04, And we have all faith in that promise, that in case of war the whole force of the empire shall be exerted in our defence. (Cheers.) What would have been the position of England, and what would have been the position of ( 'anada, if she had been called upon to use her whole force to defend Q| when engaged in conflict elsewhere ? da would, as i : course, in case of war between England and tie ground. We should be the sufferers. Our country would be devastated, our people slaughtered, and our pro- perty 1; ami, w\ nid would, I believe, under all circum- othfully perform her promise to the utmost (cheers), she would be greatly impeded in parrying onf hex P engaged elsewhere. It was therefore as much the interest of this Dominion as of England that and all other questions that in any way threatened the turbance of th- relations between the two eountries, should bo settled and adjust.- re, although to a considerable extent I agree with the remarks that fell from the minister of finance when he made his budg king at the subject in a commercial better in the interest of ( 'anada t hat hould have been settled free and apart from the imperial question, 1 am pleased, and I was pleased, that the fact of Canada having asked England to make these demands on the United )8 gave an opportunity for re-opening the negotiations with respect to Alabama and other matters. It was fortunate that we made that de- 1, for England could not, with due self-respect, have initiated or re- opened the A icstion. She had concluded a treaty in London with the representative of the EJnited States, and that treaty, having been ted by the supreme executive of the United States, England could not herself have re opened negotiations on the subject. And, therefore, us fortunate, I say, for the peace of the empire, and for the peace of Canada, that we ask- nd to make these demands upon the United tee, as it afforded the opportnnity of all these questions being made 538 APPENDIX. again the subject of negotiation. The correspondence which is before the house between the secretary of state of the United States and the British ambassador, Sir Edward Thornton, has shown how that result was arrived at. As the invitation was made by the British ambassador to consider the fishery question, the United States government, 1 have no doubt, though 1 do not know it as a matter of fact, by a quiet and friendly un- derstanding between the two powers, replied, acceding to the request, on condition that the larger and graver n dispute were also made matters of negotiation. Hence it was. sir. that the arrangements were made under which the I Washington was effected. Sir, 1 have said that it was of the greate- to Canada, and to the future peace and pros; Panada, thai every olond which threatened the peace of England and the United & ild be dispelled. I was struck with an expression that was used tome by a distinguished English states- man, that those powers in 1 re not so friendly to England heard with dismay that the - between the two nations was to be renewed (hear, hear); ai have seen mentioned in the public press the active exertions that were made by one power, or by the repre- sentative of one power, for the purpose of preventing that happy result (hear, hear); and although M. Catacazy has been disavowed by the gov- ernment of Russia in the same way as poor Yicovieh was on a previous occasion, when he was the organ of Russia in the East, I cannot but feel that he was punished only because his zeal outran his discretion. I can vouch for his active exertions for the purpose of preventing this treaty of Washington recti ting the sanction of the senate of the United States. (Hear, hear.) While England was strongly interested in the settlement of these questions, both for herself and for Canada, the United States were also interested, and made overtures in a most friendly spirit. I be- lieve that there was a real desire among the people of the United States to be friendly towards England. I believe that the feeling of irritation which had been caused by the unhappy events of the war, and by the escape of the Alabama, had almost entirely disappeared; and I hope and believe that the people of the United States were then, and are now, strongly in favour of establishing permanently a friendly feeling between the two nations. Then, besides, they had a further interest in settling all matters in dispute ; for so lonj> as the United States and England were not on friendly terms — so long as they were standing aloof from each other — it affected very considerably the credit of the United States securities in Europe. Not only the funds of the United States as a whole, but the securities of every state of the union, and of all American enterprises seeking the markets of the world, were injuriously affected by the unsat- APPENDIX. 539 isfactory relations between the two countries. They were, therefore, prepared to meet each other in this negotiation. To proceed with the history of the circumstances immediately preceding the formation of the joint high commission at Washington, I will state that on the 1st of Feb- ruary. 1871, a communication was made to me by his excellency the governor-general, on behalf of her majesty's government, asking me, in case there was going to be a joint commission to settle all questions be- tween England and the United States, whether I would act as a member of that commi- ive the give oast-iron instructions to their re- ves, because that would do away with every idea of a negotia- The despatch went on to say that her majesty's government con- sidered our right to the in-ahoM fiaheriee beyond dispute; that they also belie. ir claims as to the headlands just, but that those claims might properly be a matter of compromise. It went on further to her majesty's government believed that, as a matter of strict right, . le the American fishermen entering our ports for purposes immeroe, and that they could only enter our waters, in the language of the treaty, " for wood, water and shelter," but that this, in the ii of her m i jesty's government, would be a harsh construction of the treaty, and might properly be a subject for compromise. On reading that despatch I could have no difficulty as a member of the Canadian government in accepting the position to which my colleagues assented, of plenipotentiary to Washington, because, as a matter of law, our view of 540 APPENDIX. those three points was acknowledged to be correct, and the subject wan ther< d of any embarrassment from the fact of Canadians letting up pretensions which her majesty's government could not support. (Hear hear.) When the proposition was first made to me, I felt consider embarrassment and great reluctance to become a member of the eonimis- 1 pointed eat to my colleagues that 1 was to be one of five ; that I •n of being overruled continually in our discussions, and that I could not by any possibility bring due weight from my isolated po- sition. 1 felt also that I would not receive from tllOM « ho weie politically Md to me in Canada that support which an officer going abroad on .f of his o I and had aright to expect. (Hear, Lear. ) I knew fchei 1 would be made a mark of attack, and this house at my anticipations have been verified. 1 knew that I would not get felr play. (Hear, hear.) I knew that tie same policy that had been carried out toward* me fur years and years would continue, ai d toerefote it was ■ matter of grave consideration to myself whether to ac- cept the ft] petition, sir, a sense of duty pre- I cheers), and my colleagues pressed upon me also that I would be treating in my duty to my c untry if 1 declim d the appointment — that if. ii-. .in a fear of the consequences, from a fear that I would sacrifice the po- sition I held in the opinion of the people of Canada, J should shiik the duty, I would be in. I the confidence I had received so long from a large portion of the people of Canada, i Cheers.) " What," said my colleagues, "would be eaid, if, in consequence of your refusal, Canada was not n ':, and her interest in these matters allowed to go by defai gland, after having offered that position to the first minis- ter, and it having been refused by him, would have been quite at liberty to have proceeded with the commission and the settlement of all these questions without Canada being represented on the commission, and those men who attack me now for having been there, and taken a certain course, would have been just as loud in their complaints and just as bitter in their attacks, because I had neglected the interests of Canada, and re- fused the responsibility of asserting the rights of Canada at Washington. •(Cheers.; Sir, knowing, as I said before, what the consequences would be to myself of accepting that office, and foreseeing the attacks that would be made upon me, I addressed a letter to his excellency the governor-genera 1 r informing him of the grave difficulties of my position, and that it was only from a sense of duty that I accepted the position. On proceeding to Wash- ington I found a general desire among the two branches into which the joint high commission divided itself — an equal desire, I should say, on the part of the United States commissioners as well as on that of the British com- APPENDIX. 541 missioners — that all questions in dispute should be settled so far as the two governments could do so. There was a special desire that there should be a settlement of everything. It was very easy for the commissioners or the government through their representatives to make a treaty, but in the United States there is a power above and beyond the government : the :e of the United States, which had to be considered. It was felt that ion of a treaty would be most disastrous for the future of both nations ; that it would be a solemn declaration that there was no peaceable solution of the questions between the two nations. An Ameri- can statesman said to me, "the rejection of the treaty now means war." war to-morrow, or at any given period, but war win-never England happens to be engaged in other troubles and attacked from other sources. r, hear.) You may therefore imagine, Mr. Speaker, and this house may well imagine, the solemn considerations prmsinfl upon my mind, as well as upon the minds of my colleagues in Canada, with whom I was in daily communication, if by any unwise course, or from any rigid or pre- options, we should risk the destruction forever of all hope of a i ile eolation of the difficulties between these kindred n at i ons , (Hear.) Still, sir, I do not forget that I was their chosen representative. 1 oooid . the fact that I was selected as a member of that oommiaaion from my I ' anadian polities. I had continually before ot only the imperial bul the mteream of the Dominion of .vhich I was there specially to represent; and the difficulty of my .u was that if I gave undue prominence to the interests of Canada, 1 might justly be held in England to be taking a purely colonial and sel- regardless of the interests of the empire as a whole, and the iada as a portion of the empire; and, on the other hand, if I kept my eye solely on imperial considerations, I might beheld as pedal duty towards my country of Canada. It was a diffi- cult position, as the house will believe, a position that pressed upon me With great weight and severity at the time, and it has not been diinin- l in any way since I have returned, except by the cordial support of olleagues, and I believe also of my friends in this house. (Cheers.) In order to show thai 1 did not for a moment forget that I was ther sts of Canada, I must ask you to look at the despatch of tie >ruary, 1871, which reached me at Washington, a few days I arrive. 1 there. It will be seen that Lord Kimberley used this ex- lion: As at present advised, her majesty's government are of opinion that the right of Canada to exclude Americans from fishing in the waters within the linn i ne miles of the coast is beyond dispute, and can only be ceded for an adequate consideration. Should this considera- APFRNDIX. tion take the form of a money payment, it appears to her majesty's govern- ment that such an arrangement would be more likely to work well than if any eruditions were annexed to the exercise of the privilege of fisl within the Canadian waters.'' Having read that despatch, and the gestion that an arrangement might be made on the basis of a money payment, and there being an absence of any statement that sneh an ar- rangement oonld only be made with the consent of Canada, I thought it well to communicate with my colleagues at Ottawa; and although we had received again end again aaani m her majesty's government that • rights would not be ati' D au iy Off --eded without our oon- . it was thought advisable, in conse7 1 . .md it was most satisfactory, as it stated that her maje inment had never any intention of advising her majesty to part with those fisheries without the consent of Canada. Armed with this, 1 felt that I was relieved of a considerable amount of embarrass- I felt that, no matter what arrangements might be made, no matter whether I was outvoted by my colleagues on the commission, or what in- structions might be given by her majesty's government, the interests of < anada were safe, because they were in her own hands, and reserved for her own decision. Now, Mr. Speaker, it must not be supposed that this was not a substantial concession on the part of her majesty's government. It is true that Lord Kimberley stated, in his despatch of the 17th March, that, when the reciprocity treaty was concluded, the acts of the Nova Scotia and New Brunswick legislatures relating to the fisheries were sus- pended by acts of those legislatures, and that the fishery rights of Canada were now under the protection of a Canadian act of parliament, the repeal of which would be necessary in case of the cession of those rights to any foreign power. It is true in one sense of the word; but it is also true that if her majesty, in the exercise of her powers, had chosen to make a treaty AFPENDIX. 543 with the United States, ceding not only those rights, but ceding the very land over which those waters flow, the treaty between England and the United States would have been obligatory and binding, and the United States would have held England to it. No matter how unjust to Canada after all her promises, still the treaty would be a valid and obligatory treaty between England and the United States, and the latter would have the right to enforce its provisions, over-ride any provincial laws or ordi- nances, and take possession of our waters and rights. It would have been a great wrong, **ut the consequence would have been the loss practically of OUT rights forever ; and so it was satisfactory that it should be settled, as it has been settle* 1 beyond a doubt, appearing upon tho records of the conference at Washington. Now, the recognition of the proprietory right of Canada in our fisheries forms a portion of the state papers of both coun- tries. Now, the rights of Canada to those fisheries are beyond dispute, and it is finally established that England cannot and will not, under any circumstances whatever, cede those fisheries without the consent of Can- ada ; so that, in any future arrangement between Canada and England, or England and ti 1 States, the rights of Canada will be re- - d, as it is conceded beyond dispute that England has n«>t the power Canada of them ; so that we may rest certain that for all time :ne England will not, without our consent, make any cession of those int. -rests. :, to come to tho mode of treating the various subjects which interest Canada more particularly. I will address myself to them in dftail; and first, I will consider the question of most importance to us, the one on which we are now specially legislate, that which interests Canada as a whole most particularly, and which interests the time provinces especially — I mean the articles of the treaty with re- spect to our fishery rights. I would, in the first place, say that the pro- tocols which accompany the treaty, and which are in the hands of every her, do not give, chronologically, an every day account of the trans- ns of the conference. Although as a general rule, I believe the pro- la of such conferences are kept from day to day, it was thought better to depart from the rule on this occasion, and to record only the conclu- arrived at. While the protocols substantially contain the result of the negotiations ending in the treaty, they must therefore not be looked upon as chronological dates of the facts and incidents as they occurred. 1 say so, because the protocol which relates more especially to the fisheries would lead one to suppose that at the first meeting, and without pre- vious discussion, the British commissioners stated "that they were pre- pared to discuss the question of the fisheries either in detail or generally, so as either to enter into an examiration of the respective rights of the APPENDIX. two countries under the treaty of 1818 and the ganeral law of nations, or to approach at once the settlement of the question on a comprehensive basis the fact is, that it was found by the British commissioners when they arrived at Washington, and had had an opportunity of ascer- taining the fooling that prevailed at that time, not only among the United :s, but among the public men of the United States wh.'in they met there, and from their communication with other sources -of information, that the feeling was universal that all questions should be .settled beyond the possibility of dispute in the future; and more especially that, if by any possibility a solution of the difficulty respecting the fisher- ies could be arrived at, or a satisf letorj arrangement made by which the :y question could be placed in abeyance as in 1854, it would be to the advantage of both nations. It must be remembered that the com- mission sat in 1*71, and that the exclusion of American fishermen from our waters was enforced and kept up during the whole of 1870, and that great and loud, though I believe unfounded, complaints had been made that American fishing vessels had been illegally seized, although they had not trespassed upon our waters. Persons interested had been using every effort to arouse and stimulate &e public mind of the United States and the people of the United States against Canada and the Canadian author- , and it was felt and expressed that it would be a great bar to the chance of the treaty being accepted by the United States if one of the causes of irritation which had been occurring a few months before should be allowed to remain unsettled. Collisions would occur between American fishermen claiming certain rights and Canadians resisting those claims, that thereby feelings would be aroused, and all the good which might be effected by the treaty would be destroyed by quarrels between man and man engaged on the fishing grounds. This feeling prevailed, and I, as a Canadian, knowing that the people of Canada desired, and had always expressed a wish to enter into, the most cordial reciprocal trade arrange- ments with the United States, so stated to the British commissioners; and they had no hesitation, on being invited to do so, in stating that they would desire by all means to remove every cause of discussion respecting these fisheries, by the restoration of the old reciprocity treaty of 1854. An attempt was made in 1865 by the hon. member for Sherbrooke (Sir A. T. Gait) and Mr. Howland, on behalf of Canada, to renew that treaty, but it failed, because the circumstances of the United States in 1805 were very different from what they were in 1854, and it appeared out of the question and impossible for the United States to agree to a treaty *vith exactly the same provisions, and of exactly the same nature, as that of 1854 ; so that the British commissioners, believing that a treaty similar to APPENDIX. 54fr that of 1854 could not be obtained in words and in detail, thought that it might be obtained in spirit, and this view was strongly pressed upon the joint commission. This will appear from the protocol. It *rill also ap- pear from the protocol that the United States commissioners stated that a reciprocity treaty was out of the question; that it could not be accepted without being submitted to both branches of congress; that there was not the slightest possibility of congress passing such an act; that the agree- ment by the two governments to a treaty including provisions similar in spirit to the treaty of IBM would only* insure the rejection of that treaty by the senate; and, therefore, that some other solution must be found. I believe that the United States commissioners were candid and were accu- rate in their view of the situation. I believe that had the treaty contained all the provision? or the essential provisions of the treaty of 1854, they would have ensured its rejection by the senate. When I speak of the conferences that were held on the fisheries, I would state for the informa- tion of those members of the house who may be unacquainted with the usage in such matters, that the c -mmissionersdid not act at the discussion individually. The coi.ftiei.ee was composed of two units—the British commission and the United States commissi, n. [f i question arose in OO nf cr w eeon which either of the two parties, the British or American branch, desired I together, t hoy retired, and on their return ex- pressed their views as a whole, without r ■ the individual opinions of the commissi, iirra. As an individual member of the British commission. and on behalf . when it was found that we could not obtain a renewal - : rocity treaty, I urged up m n.y English colleagues that the should be allowed io retain the exclusive enjoyment of the in s!i iio.ild be used to arrive in some way or r at a settlement of the disputed question in relation to the fisheries, so to sen!' and question, and the other one in relating to trading Bj and 1 would have been woll satisfied, behalf of the Canadian government, if that course had been ted by the imperial government ; but her majesty's government felt, and so instructed tin ir commissioners, and it was so felt by the United >, that the leaving of the chance of collision between the American fishermen and the Canadian authorities a matter of possi- bility, would destroy or greatly prejudice the great object of the negotia- t hat were to restore the amicable relations and the friendly feeling between the two nations; and therefore her majesty's government pressed that these question! should be allowed to remain in abeyance, and that tome other settlement in the way of compensation to Canada should be formed. The protocol shows, Mr. Speaker, that the United States gov- II 546 APPENDIX. eminent, through their commissioners, made a considerable advance, or at least some advance, in the direction of reciprocity, because they offered h;m_v for our inshore fisheries, in the first place, the right to fish IB their waters, whatever that mighl bt wortli; and they offered to admit Canadian coal, salt, tish, and after L874, lumber, free of duty. They offered reciprocity in these articles, On behalf of Canada, the British commissi- that they did not consider that that was a fair e(juiva- lent. i Hear. h»-ar. } It is not necessary that 1 should enter into all the discussions and arguments on that point, but it was pointed out by the lintish commissioners that already a measure had passed one branch of the legislature of the United States, makiug coal and salt free, and stood ready to be passed by the other branch, the senate. It was believed at that time that the American congress, for its own purpose and in the in- terest of American people, was about to take the duty off these articles, and, therefore, the commission coiihl not be fairly considered as in any way granting a compensation, as congress was going to take off the duty whether there was a treaty or not. Then as regards the duty on lumber, which was offered to be taken off after 1874, we pointed out that nearly a third of the whole of the time for which the treaty was proposed to exist would expire before the duty would be taken off our lumber. The British commissioners urged that under those circumstances the offer could not be considered a fair one, and that Canada had a fair right to demand compensation over and above these proposed reciprocal arrangements. Now, Mr. Speaker, before that proposition was made, I was in communi- cation with my colleagues iu the Canadian government, who were exceed- y anxious that the original object should be carried; that, if we could not get reciprocity as it was in 1854, we should be allowed to retain our fisheries, and that the questions in dispute should be settled ; but her majesty's government taking the strong ground that their acceding to our wishes would be equivalent to an abandonment of the treaty, the Canadian government reluctantly said that, from a desire to meet her majesty's government's views as much as possible, and not to allow it to be felt in England that from a selfish desire to obtain all we desired, we had frus- trated the efforts of her majesty's government to secure peace, we con- sented that this proposition should be made. And, sir, that proposition was made to the United States. Although I do not know it as a matter of certainty, I have reason to believe that if it had not been for the action of this legislature last session, we would now be passing an act for the purpose of ratifying a treaty ui which coal and salt and lumber from Can- ada would be received into the United States free of duty. (Hear, hear.) I have reason to believe that had it not been for the interposition of this APPENDIX. 547 legislature — and I speak now of political friends as well as foes — the terms which were offered by the United States would have been the compensa- tion to have been settled by arbitration, and would have constituted a portion of the treaty, instead of as it is now. (Applause.) I will tell the house why I say so. The offer was mule early by the United States gov- ernment. The answer made by the British commissioners was that, under the circumstances, it was not a fair and adequate compensation for the privileges that were asked, and the British commissioners, at the sugges- ti"ii of the Canadian government, referred the question to her majesty's government, whether they ought not, in addition to this offer of the United expect a pecuniary compensation — that pecuniary compensation to be settled in some way or other. That took place on the 25th of March, 1871« ( 'u the 'Stth of March I think the t'mal proposition was made by the United States government, and on the 22nd March, two days before, the resolution was carried in this house, by which the duty was taken off coal and salt and the other articles mentioned. Before that resolution was carried here, no feeling was expressed against the taking oil' of the duty on Canadian coal and salt into the Dnited Sflt— , No one raised any difficulty about it. I am as well satisfied as I I a thing which I did not iee occur, that the Mdmil ftl and salt into the ktet would have been placed in the treaty if it had not been for lotion of this legislature OB the 26th of March. (Hear, hear.) That was made, and it was r.t England. The government stated that they quite agreed in the Opinion that, in addition to that offer, there should be compensation in money; and then, 00 the 17th of April, the commissioners withdrew their oftVr as they had the right to do — altogether. And why did they withdraw the oiler altogether ? One of nversation said to me, "I am quite surprised to iind the opposition that has ■prang up to the admission of Canadian coal and salt into our market ; I was unprepared for the feeling that is exhib- I know right well what the reason was. The monopolizers, having the control of American coal in Pennsylvania and salt in New York, so long as the treaty would open to them the market in Canada for their icts, were quite willing that it should carry, because they would have the advantage of both markets; but when the duty was taken off in Cana- da, when you had opened the market to them, when they had the whole 1 of their own market, and free access to ours, whether for coal or salt, the monopolizers brought down all their energies upon their friends egress, and through them a pressure on the American government, for the purpose of preventing the admission of Canadian coal and salt into the American market, and from that I have no doubt arose the withdrawal Ml APPENDIX. by the American commissioners of their offer. When my hon. friend from Both well (Mr. Mills) said, last session, "There goes the Canadian national policy!" he little was aware of the consequences of the reckless course he had taken. 1 1 IE, hear, and laughter.) Hon. gentlemen may laugh, but they will tind it no laughing matter. The people of Canada, both east and west, will hold to strict account t'lose who acted so unpatriotically in the matter. (Hear, hear.) Under these circumstances, Mr. Speaker, I felt myself powerless, and when the American commissioners made their last offer, which is now in the treaty, < tlVring reciprocity in the fisheries — that Canadians should tish in AmmieftB \\;iurs, ;ii"l thut Amereins should fish in Canadian waters, and that fish and n*h oil should be reciprocally free, and that if there should be an arbitration it were found that the bargain was an unjust one to Canada and that she did not receive sufficient compensation for her fisheries by that arrangement — I agreed that it should be remitted to her majesty's government to say what should be done, aa will be seen by the last sentence of the protocol: l * The subject was fur- ther discussed in the conferences of April 1-mU and 19th, and the British commissioners having referred the last proposal to their government, and received instructions to accept the treaty, articles 18 to 25 were agreed to at the conference on the 22nd April.'' Thus, then, it occurred that these articles, from 18 to 25, are a portion of the treaty. One of these articles reserves for Canada the right of rejection or adoption, and it is for this parliament now to say whether, under all the circumstances, it shall ratify or reject them. The papers that have been laid before the house show what was the opinion of the Canadian government. Under the present circumstances of that question, the Canadian government believe that it is for the interest of Canada to accept the treaty— io ratify it by legisla. tion. (Hear, hear.) They believe it is for the interest of Canada to ac- cept it ; and they are more inclined to believe it from the fact — which I must say has surprised me, and surprised my colleagues, and has surprised the country -that the portion of the treaty which was supposed to be most unpopular and most prejudicial to the interests of the maritime provinces, has proved to be the least unpopular. (Hear, hear.) Sir, I could not have anticipated that the Canadian fishermen, who, to a man, were op- posed to the treaty, as inflicting on them a wrong, would now be recon- ciled to it. 1 could not have anticipated that the fishermen of the mari- time provinces, who at first expressed hostility, would now, with a few exceptions, be anxious for its adoption. (Hear, hear.) In reviewing these articles of the treaty, I would call the consideration o£ the house to the fact that their scope and aim have been greatly misrepresented by that portion of the Canadian press which is opposed to the present government. APPENDIX. 549 It has been alleged to be an ignominious sale of the property of Canada, a bartering away of the tertitorial rights of this country for money. Sir, that allegation could not be more utterly unfounded than it is. (Hear, hear.) It is no more a transfer and sale of the territorial rights of Canada than was the treaty of 1854. The very basis of this treaty is reci- procity. (Hear, hear.) To be sure, it does not go so far and embrace so many articles as the treaty of 1854. I am sorry for it. I fought hard that it should be so; but the terms of this treaty are terms of reciprocity, and the very first clause ought to be sufficient evidence upon that point, for it declares that Canadians shall have the same right to fish in Ameri- can waters that Americans will have under the treaty to fish in Canadian waters. True, it may be said that our fisheries are more valuable than theirs, but that does not affect the principle. The principle is this — that we were trying t<> make I reciprocity arrangement, and going as far in the direction of reciproe sible, endeavouring to carry out a reciprocity law, although not a reciprocity treaty in form. The principle is the same in each case, and as regards the treaty that lias been negotiated, it is not tied to reciprocity in tish. It provides thai the products of the tish- of the two nations— fish oil as well as fish — shall be interchanged free. The only symptom of departure from that principle is that if it were found that Canada had made a l>ad bargain and had not received a fair •usation for what she gave; if it were found that while there was re- ciprocity as to the enjoyment of rights and privileges, there was not true in value, provision was made by which the difference in value should be ascertained ami paid to this country. (Hear, hear.) Now, if is anything approaching to the dishonourable and the degrading in I, I do not know the meaning oi those terms. (Hear, hear.) may not be one that will meet the acceptance of the coun- try, but I say that th maun r in which it has been characterized was a wilful and deliberate use o language which the parties employing it did not beliere at the time to be accurate, and to which they resorted for po- 1 reasons and in order to create misapprehensions in the country. Sir, there wrai d - humiliation. Canada would not tolerate an act of humilia- tion on the part of its government; and England would neither advise nor it one of her faithful colonies to be degraded and cast down. (Cheers.) But it is said that the American fisheries are of no value to us. They are valuable, it is true, but still they have a substantial value for us in this way — that the exclusion of Canadian fishermen from the American coast fisheries would have been a great loss to the fishing interests of the maritime provinces, and I will toll you why. It is quite true that the mackerel fishery, which is the most valuable fishery on theso coasts, be- 600 APPENDIX. longs to Canada, end that the mackerel of the American coast is far infe- rior in every respect to the Canadian; but it is also true that in American waters, the menhadden, the favourite bait to catch the mackerel, is found; and it is so much the favourite bait, that one fifhing vessel having this bait on board will draw away a whole school of mackerel in the very face of vessels having an inferior bail Now, the value of the privilege of en- tering American waters for catching that bait is very great. If Canadian fishermen were excluded from American waters by any combination among American li-hermen, or by any act of congress, they would be deprived of getting a single ounce of the bait. American tishermen might combine for that object, or a law might be passed by congress forbidding the ex- portation of in ; but by the provision made in the treaty, Cana- dian fishermen are allowed to enter into American waters t » procure the bait, and the onsequenee of that is that no such combination can exist, and Canadians can purchase the bait and be able to fish on equal terms with the Americans. (Hear, hear.) It is thus seen, sir, that this reci- procity treaty is not a mere matter of sentiment — it is a most valuable privilege, which is cot to be neglected, or despised, or sneered at. With respect to the language of these articles, some questions have been raised and placed on the paper, and I have asked the hon. gentlemen who were about to put them to postpone doing so; and I now warn hon. members — and I do it with the most sincere desire to protect and vindicate the inter- ests of Canada- -if this treaty becomes a treaty, and we ratify the fishery articles, I warn them not to raise questions which otherwise might not be raised. I think, Mr. Speaker, there is no greater instance in which a wise discretion can be used than in not suggesting any doubt. With respect, however, to the question which was put by the hon. member for the county of Charlotte— and it is a question which might well be put, and which re- quires some answer — I would state to that hon. gentleman, and I think he will be satisfied with the answer, that the treaty of 1871, in the matter his question refers to, is larger and wider in its provisions in favour of Canada than was the treaty of 1854, and that under the treaty of 1854 no question was raised as to the exact locality of the catch, but all fish brought to the United States market by Canadian vessels were free. I say this advisedly, and I will discuss it with the hon. gentleman whenever he may choose so give me the opportunity. The same practice will, I have no doubt, be continued under the treaty of 1871, unless the people of Canada them- selves raise the objection. The warning I have just now expressed I am sure the house will take in the spirit in which it is intended. No hon. member will, of course, be prevented from exercising his own discretion; but I felt it my duty to call the attention of the house to the necessity for AFPEXDIX. 551 great prudence in not raising needless doubts a3 to the terms of the treaty. It will be remembered that we have not given all our fisheries away The treaty only applies to the fisheries of the old British American provinces; and in order that the area should not be widened, it is provided that it shall only apply to the fisheries of Quebec, Neva Scotia, New Brunswick and Prince Edward Island; so th.it the treaty does not allow the Ameri- cans to have access t<. the Pat ; tie coast fisheries, nor yet to the inexhaust- ible and priceless fisheries of the Hudson Hay. These are great sources of revenue yet undeveloped, the treaty is ratified they will de- velop rapidly; and in t is from now, when the two nations sit down to reconsider the CJIOUmstancoS and readjust the treaty, it will be found that other and greater wealth will be at the disposal of the Domin- ion. 1 may he asked though I h SOU that the point has excited any why were not th > of the lake fisheries laid open to both nations 1 and in reply in in say that those fisheries wen- exoepted at my instance. The Canadian fisheries on the north shore of the great rateable. Bj a jodioions system of pr< and pro have greatlj ' 'hat so..rce of wealth. It is also known that from a concurrence of oil buation, the fisheries on tl. > valuable as ours; audit therefoi d that if we once allowed the American fishermen to have admission tors with their various engines of destruction, all the care taken for many years to cultiv. would be disturbed and injui i end of .|uarrels and ii our narrow waters, and no reciprocity ; and, therefore, that Canada would be much better off by preserving her own inland fish- eries to herself. BO right to enter the American markets with the products <>f those fisb was the reason why the lake fisheries were not included in this arrangement. Now, air, under the present cir- M of the case, the Oanadian government has decided to press upon this house the policy of accepting this treaty and ratifying the fish- articles. I may be liable to the charge of injuring our own case in discussing the advantages of the arrangements, because every word used by mo may be quoted and used as evidence against us hereafter. The state i Ween so thrown broadcast that the arrangement is a bad one auada, that in order to show to this house and the country that it is one t e accepted, one is obliged to run the risk of his language being used be! imissioners to settle the amount of compensation, as an evidence of the value of the treaty to us. It seems to me that in looking at the treaty in a commercial point of view, and looking at the ion whether it is right to accept the articles, we have to con Wl APPENDIX. mainly that interest which is most peculiarly affected. Now, unless I am greatly misinformed, the fishery interests in Nova Scotia, with one or two i>tions for local reasons, are altogether in favour of the treaty. (Hear, hear.) They are anxious to get fret-admission for their iish into the American market, that they woald view with great sorrow any action of this house which would exclude them from that market, that they look forward with increasing confidence to a large development of their trade and of that in lusti \ ; and I say that that being the case — if it be to the interest of the fishermen and tor the advantage of that branch of national indus- try, setting aside p other considerations— we ought not wilfully to injure that interest. Why, s'r, what is I of the case as it stands ? The only market for the anadian No. 1 mackerel in the world is the United I, That ii our only B arket, and we are practically excluded from it by the present duty. The cortequence of that duty is that our fishermen are at the mercy of the American fishermen. They are made the hewers of wood ami tl. 1 of Wkter for the Americans. They are obliged to sell their fish at the Americans' own price. The American fishermen purchase their fish at a nominal value, and control the American market. The great profits of tie trade are handed over to the American fishermen or American merchants engiged in the trade, and they profit to the loss of our own industry and our own people. Let any one go down the St. Lawrence on a summer trip, as many of us do, and call from the deck of the steamer to a fisherman in his boat, and see for what a nominal price you can secure the whole of his catch: ind that is from the absence of a market, and from the fact of the Canadian fishermen being completely under the control of the foreigner. With the duty off Canadian fish, the Canadian fisherman may send his fish at the right time, when he can ob- tain the best price, to the American market, and thus be the means of opening a profitable trade with the United States in exchange. If, there- fore, it is for the advantage of the maritime provinces, including that portion of Quebec which is also largely interested in the fisheries, that this treaty should be ratified, and that this great market should be opened to them, on what ground should we deprive them of this right ? Is it not a selfish argument that the fisheries can be used as a lever in order to gain reciprocity in flour, wheat and other cereals ? Are you to shut our fisher- men out of this great market, in order that you may coerce the United States into giving you an extension of the reciprocal principle ? Why, Mr. Speaker, if it were a valid argument it would be a selfish one. What would be said by the people of Ontario if the United States had offered, for their own purposes, to admit Canadian grains free, and Nova Scotia had objected, saying: " No, you shall not have that market; you must be APPENDIX. 663 deprived of that market forever, unless we can take in our fish also. You must lose all that great advantage until we can get a market for our fish." Apply the argument in this way, and you will see how selfish it is. But the argument has no foundation, no basis of fact, aud I will show this house why. In 1854, by a strict and rigid observance of the principle of exclusion, the American fishermen were driven out of those waters. At that time the United States were free from debt, and they had a large capital invested in their fisheries. Our fisheries were then in their infancy. They were a "feeble" people, just beginning as fishermen, with little capital and little skill, aud their operations were very restricted. I do not speak disparagingly, but in comparison with the fishermen of the United States there was an absence of capital and skill. The United Stat* . tluy had this capital and skill, and all they wanted waa our Canadian waters in which to invest that capital and exer- cise that skill. Bnl how is that altered I Now our fisheries are no lever by winch to obtain reciprocity in grain. What do the United states care ur fisheries / The American ti.sh.iinen are opposed to the treaty. d in the tisheiies are sending petition after petition to the United States government ai. raying that the treaty may be They say they do not want to eome into our waters. The United States government have gone into this treaty with every desire to all possible 1 I difficulty. Their fishermen complain that i by it, bat the United States government desire ti> meet us face to face, hand to hand, head to heart, to have an amicable settle- ment of disputes. They know that they are not making political friends tming political strength, because ii i by the fishery les are against the treaty ; but they desire that the ill-feelings which arose dm 1 war. and from the Alab mm case should be forgotten. rows up between the nations, and it can be no other deairc than to foster and encourage that feeling which dictates th«- agreeing to these particular articles. If, then, Canada objects to the I government will simply say : " Well, if you do not like these arrangements, reject them; and the consequence be on your own bead if this friendship so fcoepicioosly eommenced is at any time bro- ken by unhappy collisions in your waters." It being six o'clock, Mr. Speaker left the chair. AFTER RECESS. Bn JOBS Macdonald resumed his speech as follows: — T am afraid I apologise to the house for the uninteresting manner in which I have laid the subject before the house so far. I was showing, as well as I could, APPMNDIX. my opinion, and my reasons for that opinion — that under the circum- stances, the treaty, although it is not what we desire, and although it is not what I pressed for. ought to be accepted. J shall not pursue that branch of the subject to greater length, as during the discussion of the measure I have no doubt that 1 shall have again an opportunity to re-urge and further views OB the same subject, as they may occur to me, or ey may be elicited. I shall, however, call the serious attention of the house, and especially of those members of the house who have given attention to the .juestion in dispute, as regards the validity of the several treaties between the I'm an. I England, to the importance of this treaty in this respect, that it ietl at iv>t BOW and forever the disputed .piestioii as to whether the convention of ISIS was not repealed and ob- literated by t;.- I 1064. This question, Mr. Speaker, is one that has occupied the attention of the bnited States jurists, and has been the subject of serious and elaborate discuss; m my point of view, the pretension of the Tinted States is s, but it has been constantly pressed — and we know the pertinacity with which such views are pressed by the United States; we have an example in the oase of the navigation of the river St. Lawrence, which, while it was discussed from 1S22 to 1828, and was apparently settled then forever between the two nations, was re- vived by the president of the United States in his address of 1870, and the difference between the point of view as pressed in 1828 by the United States and that pressed in 1870, was shown by the result of the treaty. Mr. Blake— Hear, hear. Sir John Mm in up— And, sir, it was of great importance, in my point of view, that this question which has been so pressed by American jurists, and considering also the pertinacity with which such views are urged, should be set at rest forever. The question has been strongly put in the American Law Review of April, 1871, in an article understood to have been written by Judge Pomeroy, a jurist of standing in the United States; and that paper, I believe, expresses the real opinion of the writer, erroneous though I hold it to be — and his candour is shown by this fact, as well as from the known standing of the man — that in one portion of the article he demolishes the claim of the American fishermen to the right to trade in our waters. He proves in an able argument that the claim of the American fishermen to enter our harbours for any purpose other than wood, water and shelter, is without foundation. The view taken by that writer and others, and among them by a writer whose name I do not know, but whose papers are very valuable from their ability — they ap- peared in the New York Nation — is this : the treaty of 1783 was a treaty of p*ace, a settlement of a boundary, and a division of country between APPENDIX. i>55 two nations. The United States contended that that treaty was in force, and is now in force, as it was a treaty respecting the boundary, and was not abrogated or affected by the war of 1812. Under the treaty of 1783, and by the terms of that treaty, the fishermen of the United States had the unrestrained right to enter irito all our waters up to our shores, and to every part of British North America. After 1815, England contended that that permission was abrogated by the war, and wr s not renewed by the treaty of peace of 1814. The two nations were thus at issue on that very grave point, and those who look back to the history of that day will find that the difference 0O that point threatened a renewal of the war, and it was only settled by the compromise known as the convention of ISIS. hich the claims ..f the Americans within three miles of our shores tnoed. The argument if, however, »>f a nature too technical to be of interest to the house, and n be rery arefullj studied be- fore it can be understood. I will not, therefore, trouble the house with thai argument, but I will read one or to ■now the general statement of the case: * "Weahall now inquire* otion of 1818 is in existing oom] and if men under the! iee of '>, the I'.iiti-h government, both at home end in the pro Law official inetructiona, and its .lip 1 that the oonveatioa a :ill its pcovinofl peatmen! ton should by its silence have admitted the correctness of thai aantmption, whioh b equally 1 1<> prinoiple and to authority, i« rein:irk;il>l«\ We shall maintain the pen 3 ; is now In full foroej that all lruit.. v have been and that it i* the only source and foundation .f Am ri. . hto within! i-t.i n territorial waters. Inpnrsning the discussion we will show, first, that the renunciatory oJeuaei of the convention of 1818 have been removed; and secondly, that article III. of the treaty of 17*:?, thus left free from the restrictions of the subsequent compact, was not abrogated by the writer thus conclu.i . the nature of Ml executed grant. ma blow righti <>f property, perfect ia their nature, and as permanent as the dominion ovei aaJ soil. These righti are held by the of the I'uite.l Btatee, and are to !»• exeroiaed in l'.riti>h territorial waters. Unaffected by the war of 1812, they still exist in full force and vigour. Under the ptoviaioni of Uda treaty, American citizens are now entitled to take Bab on -ml i parts of the coast in. Hand as British fishermen use, ami also on all the coast", bay- , of all other his liritannie majesty's dominion! in America, 656 APPENDIX, and to dry tad eart fish i!i anv of the unsettled bays, harbour.-* and creeks of Nova lalea islands ami Labrador. M 1'he tiual conclusion thv.s r t ;ulin! i^ sustained by principle and l>v authority. We submit that it should be adopted by the government of the United States, and made the basis of any further MfotiaAkM with Great Britain** 1 i|iiote this for the purpose of showing that the pretens ; <-n was formally v jurists of DO mean standing or reputation, and therefore it is one of the merits of ihe treaty that it forever sets the dis- pute at rest. The writers on this subject — the very writer? of whom 1 have spoken admit thai under this treaty the claim is gone, because it is a formal admission by the United States government that, under the con- vention of 1M- . < n the 8th of Stay, L871, a proprietary right in these in-shore fisheries; and this was so admitted, after the question had been raised in the United States, that the ratification of the treaty of 1854 was equal in H to an abrogation of the convention of 1818. y agree by this treaty to buy their entry into our waters, and this is ihe strongest possible proof that their argument could be no longer main- tained. Just as the payment of rent by a tenant is the strongest proof of his admission of the right of the landlord, so is the agreement to pay to Canada a fair sum as an equivalent for the use of our fisheries an acknow- ledgement of the permanent continuance of our right. So much, sir, for the portion of the treaty wjiich affects the fisheries. I alluded, a few minutes ago, to the St. Lawrence. The surrender of the free navigation •of the river St. Lawrence in its natural state was resisted by England up to 1828. The claim was renewed by the present government of the United States, and asserted in a message by the president of the United States. Her majesty's government, in the instructions sent to her com- missioners, took the power and responsibility in this matter into their own hands. It was a matter which we would not control Being a matter of boundary between two nations, affecting a river which forms a boundary between the limits of a part of the empire and the limits of the United States, it is solely within the control of her majesty's gov- ernment; and in the instructions to the plenipotentaries, this language was used: " Her majesty's government are now willing to grant the free navi- gation of the St. Lawrence to the citizens of the United States on the same conditions and tolls as are imposed on British subjects." I need not say, sir, that, as a matter of sentiment, I regretted this; but it was a matter of sentiment only. However, there could be no practical good to Canada in resisting the concession; and there was no possible evil inflicted on Canada by the concession of the privilege of navigating that small piece of broken water between St. Regis and Montreal, lu no way could it affect preju- APPENDIX. 557 dicially the interests of Canada, her trade or her commerce. Without the use of our canals the river was useless. Up to Montreal the St. Lawrence is open, not only to the vessels of the United States, but to the vessels of the world. Canada courts the trade and ships of the world, and it would be most absurd to suppose that the ports of Quebec and Montreal should be closed to American shipping. No greater evidence short of actual war can be adduced of unfriendly relations, than the fact of the ports of a country being closed to the commerce of another. It never entered into the minds of any that our ports should be closed to the trade of the world in general, or the United Stetcs In particular, no more than it would enter into the minds of the English to close the ports of London or Liverpool — those ports whither the Hags of e\ ery nation are invited and welcomed. (Cheers.) the source of the St. Lawrence to St. Regis the United States are part owners of the banks oi tin- river, and by a well known principle of int. i national law the water flowing between the two banks is common to both; and not only is that a principle <>f law, but it is a matter of actual y. The only question, then, was whether, SI the American people had set their la-arts upon it, and as it could do no harm to Canada or to England, it would not be well to set this question at rest with the others, and make the concession. This was the line taken by her majesty's gov- md which they had a right to take ; and when lOttM one writes my biography — if I am ever thought worthy of having such an interesting document | end whin, as a matter of history, the questions con- nected with this treaty are upheld, it will be found upon this, as well as upon every other point, I did all I could to protect the rights and claims of the 1 ii. (Cheers.) Now, sir, with respect to the right itself, I would call the attention "f the house to the remarks of a distinguished i ipon the point. 1 have read from tin: work of an Ameri- can jurist, and 1 will now read some remarks of Mr. 1'hillimore, a standard ish writer on international law. What I am about to read was writ- ten under the idea thai Americans were claiming what would be of prac- tical use to them. He was not aware that the difficulties of navigation were such that the concession would be of no practical use. He writes as follows: rest Britain possessed the northern shores of the lakes, and of the river in its whole extent to the sea, and also the southern bank of the river from the latitude forty-tive degrees north to its mouth. The United States possessed the southern shores of the lakes, and of the St. Lawrence to the point where their northern boundary touched the river. These two governments were there- fore placed pretty much in the same attitude towards each other, with respect to the navigation of the St. Lawrence, as the United States and Spain had 558 APPENDIX. been in with respect to the navigation of the Mississippi, before the acquisitions of Louisiana and Florida. 11 The argument on the part of the United States was much the same as that which they had employed w;th respect to the navigation of the Mississippi. They w fc l fl d to the dispute al>out the opening of the Scheldt, in 1784, and . ,,nt< ndr.i that, in the case of that river, the tact of the banks having been the creation of labour Mas a much stronger reason than could be said to exist in the case of the Mississippi lot closing the mouths of the sea adjoining ! 'utch canal I the Swin, and that this peculiarity probably caused the in-ertion of the stipulation in the treaty of Westphalia; that the case of the St. Lawrence differed materially from that of the Scheldt, and fell di- rectly under the principle of free navigation embodied in the treaty of Vienna respecting the Rhine, the Neckar, the Mayne, the Moselle, the Meuse and the 1 it But especially it was urged, and with a force 1 Inch it must have been difficult to parry, that the present claim of the United States with respect to the navigati I was precisely of the same nature as that which Great Britain had put forward with respect to the navigation of the Mississippi, when the mouth and lower shores of that river were in the posses- sion of another state, and of 1 huh claim Great Britain bad procured the recog- nition by the treaty of Paris in I '•The principal argument contained in the reply of Great Britain was, that the liberty of passage by one nation through the dominions of another was, ac- cording to the doctrine of the most eminent writers upon international law, a qualified occasional exception to the paramount rights of property; that it was what these writers called an imjx>rfect and not & perfect right; that the treaty of nadid not sanction this notion of a Mfurafrigjkt to a free passage over the rivers, but, on the contrary, the inference was that, not being a natural right, it required to be established by a convention; that the right of passage once con- ceded, must hold good for other purposes besides those of trade in peace — for hostile purposes in time of war ; that the United States could not consistently urge their claim on principle without being prepared to apply that principle by way of reciprocity, in favour of British subjects, to the navigation of the Mis- sissippi and the Hudson, to which access might be had from Canada by land carriage or by the canals of New York and Ohio. "The United States replied, that practically the St. Lawrence was a strait, and was subject to the same principle of law; and that as straits are accessory to the seas which they unite, and therefore the right of navigating them is common to all nations, so the St. Lawrence connects with the ocean those great inland lakes, on the shores of which the subjects of the United States and Great Britain both dwell ; and on the same principle, the natural link of the river, like the natural link of the strait, must be equally available for the purposes of passage by both. The passage over land, which was always pressing upon the minds of the writers on international law, is intrinsically different from a pas- APPENDIX. 559 sage over water; in the latter instance no detriment or inconvenience can be sus- tained by the country to which it belongs. The track of a ship is effaced as soon as made; the track of an army may leave serious and lasting injury behind. The United States would not ' shrink ' from the application of the analogy with respect to the navigation of the Mississippi, and whenever a connection was effected between it and Upper Canada, similar to that existing between the United States and the St. Lawrence, the same principle should be applied. It was, however, to be recollected, that the case of rivers which both rise and disembogue then thin the limits of the same nation is very distinguish- able, upon principle, from that ol riven which, having their sources and navi- gable portions of their streams in sta; iischarge themselves within the limits of other states below. "Lastly, the fact that the free navigation of rivers had been made a matter of com-. ,,ti,ii, did not disprove that this navigation was a matter ol natural right > its proper position by treaty. "The result of this controversy has hitherto produced BO effect. Great Britain has maintain' lusive right. The United States will remain red from the use of this great highway, and are not permitted to carry il the produce of the vast and rich I which border on the lakes t, to the A* an. '• It seems difficult to deny tl and her refusal upon law; but it is at least equally difficult to deny, first, that so doing she exercises harshly an « ily, that her conduct with I to the na\ igetion afing and discreditable in- consistency with her mduct with respect to the navigation of the Mississippi. On the ground that she possessed a small tract or domain in which the Missis- sippi took its rise, she insisted on her right to navigate the entire volume of its 1 that she possesses both banks of the St. Lawrence where it disembogues itself into the sea, she denies to the United States the right of ation, though about one-half of the waters of Lakes Ontario, Erie, Huron superior, and tie Lake Michigan, through which the river Hows, are the property of the nates. "An English writer upon international law cannot but express a hope that this .im ju*, which in this case approaches to Utnuna injuria, may be vol- untarily abandoned by his country. Since the late revolution in the South American provinces, by which the dominion of Kosas was overthrown, there appears to be good reason to hope that the states of Paraguay, Bolivia, Buenos Ayres, and Brazil, will open the river Parena to the navigation of the world." On reading a report of a speech of my hon. friend the member for Lambton, oa this subject — a very able and interesting speech, if he will allow me so to characterize it — I find that, in speaking of the navigation of Lake Michigan, he stated that that lake was as much a portion of the St. Lawrence as the river itself. I do not know under what principle my 560 APPENDIX, hon. friend made that statement, but those inland seas are seas, as much as the Black sea is a sea and not a river. The lake is enclosed on all sides by United States territory. No portion ftf its shores belongs to Canada, and England lias no right by international law to claim its navigation. Sir. she HVtt has claimed it, for if my hon. friend will look into the matter, he will rind that theet great lakes have ever been treated as in- land seas, and as far as magnitude is concerned, they are worthy of being so treated. Although her majesty's commissioners pressed that the navi- gation of Lake Michigan should be granted as an equivalent for the navi- gation of the St. Lawrence, the argument could not be based on the same footing, and we did not and could not pretend to have the same grounds. It is, however, of little moment whether Canada has a grant by treaty of the free navigation of lake Michigan or not, foff the cities of the shores of that lake would never consent to have tlnir ports closed, and there is no- fear in the world of our vessels being excluded from those ports. The Western states, and . those bordering on the great lakes, would resist this to the death ; and L would like to see a congress that would venture to close the ports of Lake Michigan to the shipping of England, or of Canada, or of the world. The small portion of the St. Lawrence which lies between the two points I have mentioned would be of no use, and there would be no advantage to be obtained therefrom as a lever to obtain reciprocity. Mr. Mackenzie— Hear, hear. Sir John Macdonald— My hon. friend says " hear, hear"; but I will tell him that the only lever for the obtaining of reciprocity is the sole control of our canals. So long as we have the control of these canals we are the masters, and can do just as we please. American vessels on the down trip can run the rapids, if they get a strong Indian to steer them ; but they will never come back again unless Canada chooses. (Hear, hear.) The keel drives through these waters, and then the mark disappears for- ever, and that vessel will be forever absent from the place that once knew it, unless by the consent of Canada. Therefore, as I pointed out before the recess, as we had no lever in our fisheries to get reciprocity, so we had none in the navigation of the St. Lawrence, in its natural course. The real substantial means to obtain reciprocal trade with the United States is in the canals, and is expressly stated in the treaty; and when the treaty, in clause 27, which relates to the canals, uses the words: "The govern- ment of her Britannic majesty engages to urge upon the government of the Dominion of Canada to secure to the citizens of the United States the use of the Welland, St. Lawrence, and other canals, in the dominion, on terms of equality," etc., it contains an admission by the United States — APPENDIX. 561 and it is of some advantage to have that admission — that the canals are our own property, which we can open to the United States as we please. The reason why this admission is important is this : " Article twenty-six provides that the navigation of the river St. Lawrence, ascending and de- scending from the 45th parallel of north latitude, where it ceases to form the boundary between the two counties, from, to, and into the sea, shall forever remain free and open for the purposes of commerce to the citizens of the United States, subject to any laws and regulations of Great Britain or of the Dominion of Canada not inconsistent with such privileges of free navigation." There for e, lest it might be argued that as at the time the maty was made, it was known that for the purpose of ascent the river could not be ovrro MM in its natural course, the provision granting the riu r ht of ascent must be held to include the navigation of canals through which alone the ascent could be made. And so the next clause provides and specifies that these canals are specially within the control of Canada and the Canadian government, and prevents any inference being drawn from the laagnaga ->f the preceding article. I km »w, sir, that there has of the newspapers a sneer cast upon the latter paragraph of thai article, which giws the United States the free use of the St. Law- to that part of the article which gives the Canadians the free navigation of the rivers Yukon, Porcupine and Stikine. Mr. M Hear, hear. •'•UN M \. i n\i.i. My ban. friend again says "hear, hear." 1 hope that he will hear, and perhaps he will heir something he does not know. (Hear, hear.) 1 may tell my hon. friend that the navigation of the river Yukon is a growing trade, and that the Americans are now send- ing vessels, and are fitting out steamers for the navigation of the Yukon. 1 will tell my hon. friend that at this moment Tinted States vessels are i up that river, and are underselling the Hudson Bay people in their own country (hear, hear), and it is a matter of the very greatest import- ance to the westeru o untry that the navigation of these rivers should be open to the commerce of British subjects, and that access should be had cans of these rivers; so that there is no necessity at all for the ironi- cal cheer of my hen. friend. Sir, I am not unaware that under an old treaty entered into between Russia and England, the former granted to the latter the free navigation of these streams, and the free navigation of all the streams in Alaska; but that was a treaty between Russia and Eng- land, and although it may be argued by England that when the United States bought that territory from Russia, it took it with all its obligations, here are two sides to that question. The United States, 1 ure to say, would hang an argument upon it; and I can only tell my JJ 5G2 APPENDIX. hon. friend that the officers of the United States have exercised authority in the way of prohibition or obstruction, and have offered the pretext that the United States now hold that country, and would deal with it as they chose ; and, therefore, as this was a treaty to settle all old questions and not to raise new ones, it was well that the free navigation of the rivers I have mentioned should be settled at once between England rod the United States, as before it had been between England and Russia. Before leav- ing the question of the St. Lawrence, 1 will make one remark, and will then proceed to another topic ; and that is, that the article in question does not in any way hand over or divide any proprietary rights in the river St. Lawrence, or give any sovereignty over it, or confer any right whatever except that oi free navigation. Both banks belong to Canada — the mroagemtnt, the improvement, all belong to Canada. The only stip- ulation made in the treaty is that the United States vessels may use the 1 awrence on as free terms as those of Canadian subjects. It is not a transfer of territorial rights; it is simply a permission to "navigate the river by American vessels, that navigation shall ever remain free and open fat the purpose of commerce," — and for the purpose of commerce only — M to the citizens of the United States, subject to any taxes and regulations of Great Britain or of the Dominion of Canada, not inconsistent with such privilege of free navigation." Now, Mr. Speaker, I shall allude to one subject included in the treaty, which relates to the navigation of our waters, although it was not contemplated in the instructions given to the ih commissioners by her majesty's government — in fact, the subject was scarcely known in England — and that is, what is known as the St. Clair flats question. It is known that the waters of the river St. Clair and the waters of lake St. Clair divide the two countries; that the boun- dary line which divides them is provided by treaty; that the treaty of 1842 provides that all the channels and passages between the islands lying near the junction of the river St. Clair with the lake shall be equally free to both nations, so that all those channels were made common to both na- tions, and are so now. Canada has made appropriations for the purpose of the improvement of these waters. There were also appropriations made I forget whether by the United States, the state of Michigan, or by pri- vate individuals — for the purpose of improving these waters, and the United States made a canal through the St. Clair flats. The question then arose whether this canal was within Canadian territory, or within that of the United States. I have no doubt that the engineering officer appointed by the United States to choose the site of the canal and to con- struct it, acted in good faith in choosing the site, believing that it was in APPENDIX. 503 the United States ; and from all I can learn, subsequent observations proved that to be the case. Mr. Mai kknzie — Hear, hear. Sir John Ma. im.nald— My hon. friend says "hear, hear," and I have no doubt he will give us an argument, and an able one too, as he is quite competent to do, to show that under the treaty this canal is in Canada. An argument might be founded in favour of that view from the language of the report of the international commissioners, appointed to determine tfea boundary between Uu two countries — that is, if we looked at the lan- guage alone, and combined with that language the evidence of those ac- customed of old to navigate those channels. I admit that an argument might be based on the language of the report, when it speaks of the old ship channel, and that from the evidence and statements that have been made as to the position of that channel, might have left it a matter of doubt whether the canal, or a portion of it, was within the boundary of ( I anaiia. The commissioners not only made their report, but they added to it a map to which they placed their signatures; and to any one reading the report with the map, and holding the map as a portion of the report, the canal will appear to he entirely in the I'nit.'d States. It might, but for the tn have been unfortunate that it is so, because :ht perhaps have impeded the navigation of the Hats by Canadian vessei lestion is whether, under the old treaty, ami the re- ding to its provision! (which report and map such treaty >. the canal is within the United she point was raised that the map was rt, her majesty's government — I have no doubt lajesty's legal advisers — said chat it was a point ijunent, that the two explained and denned the »f the report; so that her majesty's government ion so unworthy of being urged as that the map was not binding a^id obligatory upon them. But, sir, "out of the nettle, danger, we pluck the flower safely." The house will see by look- ing at the clause referred to, that it is a matter of no consequence whether anal is in the United States or Canada; because, for all time to come, anal is to be used by the people of Canada on equal terms with the le of the United States. In the speech of my hon. friend, to which I have referred, he says the canal is only secured to Canada during the ten years mentioned with reference to the fishery articles of the treaty. I say it is secured for all time, just as the navigation of the St. Lawrence is given for all time. The United States have gone to the expense of build- ing the canal, and now we have the free use of it. If the United States onl m; form, in fac r not. with t bt rag 4 her ileclii; APPENDIX, have put on a toll there, we pay no greater toll than the United States citizens; and it is of the first and last advantage to the commerce of both nations that the deepening of those channels should be gone on with; and I can tell my hon. friend, moreover, that in this present congress there is a measure to spend a large additional sum of money on this canal out of the revenues of the United States, for that object. So much for the St. Clair tlats. Now, sir, as to some of the advantages to be gained by the treaty. I would call the attention of the house to the 29th article, which ensures for the whole time of the existence o! the treaty, for twelve years at least, the 01 •ntinuaneo of " the bonding system." We know how valu- able that has been to us, how valuable during the winter months when we are deprived of the use of our own ■onpoirti in the St. Lawrence. The fact that the American press has occasionally called for the abolition of this system, is a proof of the boon which they consider it to be. They have said, at times, when they thought an unfriendly feeling existed to- wards them in Canada, that if Canadians would bo so bumptious, they should be deprived of this system, and allowed to remain cooped np in their frozen country. If the United States ever conceived the folly of in- juring their carrying trade by adopting a hostile policy in that respect — and they have occasionally, as we know, adopted a policy towards us adverse to their commercial interests— they could do so before this treaty was rati- fied. They cannot do so now. For twelve years we have a right to the bonding system from the United States, over all their avenues of trade; and long before that time expires, I hope we shall have the Canadian Pacific railway reaching to the Pacific ocean, and with the Intercolonial railway reaching to Halifax, we shall have an uninterrupted line from one seaboard to the other. (Cheers. ) This, sir, is one of the substantial ad- vantages that Canada has obtained by the treaty. Then, sir, the 30th article conveys a most valuable privilege to the railways of Canada, that are run- ning from one part of the country to another; and I must take the occa- sion to say that if this has been pressed upon the consideration of the American government and the American commissioners at Washington, much of the merit is due to the hon. member for Lincoln (Mr. Merritt). He it was who supplied me with the facts; he it was who called attention to the great wrong to our trade by the act of 1866 ; and, impressed by him with the great importance of the subject, I was enabled to urge the adop- tion of this article, and to have it made a portion of the treaty. Now, sir, that this is of importance, you can see by reading the Buffalo papers. Some time ago they were crying out that entrance had been made by this wedge which was to ruin their coasting trade, and that the whole coasting trade of the lakes was being handed over to Canada. Under this clause, APPENDIX. W5 if we choose to accept it, Canadian vessels can go to Chicago, can take American produce from American ports, and carry it to Windsor or Col- lingwood, or the Welland railway. That same American produce can be sent in bond from those and other points along our railways, giving the traffic to our vessels by water, and our railways by the land to lake On- tario, and can then be re-shipped by Canadian vessels to Oswego, Ogdens- burg, or Rochester, or other American ports; so that this clause gives us, in some degree, a relaxation of the extreme — almost harsh — exclusive coasting system of the United States. (Hear, hear.) And I am quite sure that, in this age of railways, and when the Votes and Proceedings show- that so many new railway undertaking! are about to start, this will e a substantial improvement OO the former state of affairs. There is a provision that, if in the exercise of our discretion we choose to put a differential scale of tolls on any vessels passing through our canals, and if New Brunswick should continue her export duties on lumber passing down the river St. John, the United States may withdraw from this ar- rangement; so that it will be hereafter, if the treaty be adopted and tl is mod) I matter for the consideration of the government of Canada in the tirst place, and of the legislature in the ne\t, to determine whether it is expedient for them to take advantage of this boon that is. .Here. I to them. As to the expediency of their doing so, I have DO doubt; and I have no doubt parliament will eagerly seek to gain and establish those right! for our ships and our railways. (Hear, hear.) The only other subject of lar interest to Canada in connection with the treaty — the whole of it urse is int. :iada as a part of the empire,— but speaking of Canada as such, and of tin- interest taken in the treaty locally,— the only other subject is the manner of disponing of the San .luan boundary ion. That is settled iu a way that DO one cau object to. I do not know whether many lion, numbers have ever studied that question. It is a most interesting one, and has long been a cause of controversy between untries. I am bound to uphold, and I do uphold, the British the channel which forms the boundary, as the correct one. i nment were, I believe, as sincerely convinced of tke j heir own case. Both believed they were in the right, both firmly grounded in that opinion; and such being the case, there was ■ nly one way out of it, and that was to leave it to be settled by impartial ar- bitration. I think the house will admit that no more distinguished arbiter could have been selected than the emperor of Germany. In the examina- tion and decision of the question he will have the assistance of as able and eminent jurists as any in the world; for there is nowhere a more distin- guished body than the jurists of Germany, who are especially familiar 566 APPENI'IX. with the principles and practice of international law. Whatever the de- cision may be, whether for England or against it, yon may be satisfied that you will get ■ most learned and careful judgment in the matter, to which we must bow, if it is against us, and to which I am sure the United States will bow if it is against them. (Hear, hear.) I think, sir, I have now gone through all the articles of interest connected with Canada. I shall now allude to one omisssion from it, and then I shall have done, and that is the omission of allusion to the settlement of the Fenian claims. That Canada was deeply wronged by those outrages, known as the Fenian raids, is indisputable. England has admitted it, and we all feel it. We felt deeply grieved when those raids were committed; and the belief was general — in which, I must say, I share — that sufficient vigilance and due diligence were not exercised by tin American government to prevent the organization within their territory of Lands of armed men, openly hostile to a peaceful country, and to put an end to incursions by men who carried war over our border, slew our people, and destroyed our property. It was, therefore, proper for us to press upon England to seek compensation at the hands of the American government for these great wrongs. As a consequence of our position as a colony, we could only do it through Eng- land, we had no means or authority bo do it directly ourselves, and conse- quently we urged our case upon the attention of England, and she con- sented to open negotiations with the United States upon the subject. In the instructions it is stated that Canada had been invited to send in a statement of her claims to England, and that she had not done so; and I dare say it will be charged — indeed, I have seen it stated in some of the newspapers — that it was an instance of Canadian neglect. Now, it is not an instance of Canadian neglect, but an instance of Canadian caution. (Hear, hear.) Canada had a right to press for the payment of those claims, whatever the amount, for all the money spent to repel those in- cursions had been taken out of the public treasury of Canada, and had to be raised by the taxation of the country. Not only had they a right to press for that amount, but every individual Canadian who suffered in per- son or property because of those raids, had right to compensation. It was not for Canada, however, to put a limit to those claims, and to state what amount of money would be considered as a satisfactory liquidation of them. It has never been the case when commissions have been ap- pointed for the settlement of such claims, to hand in those claims in detail before the sitting of the commission. What Canada pressed for was that the principle should be established, that the demand should be made by England upon the United States, that that demand should be acquiesced in, that the question of damages should be referred to a tribunal like that APPENDIX. 567 now sitting at Washington for the investigation of claims connected with the civil war in the South, that time should be given within which the Canadian government as a government, and every individual Canadian who suffered by those outrages, should have an opportunity of filing their claims, of putting in an account, and of offering proof to establish their right to indemnity. The Canadian government carefully avoided, by any statement of their views, the placing of a limit upon those claims in ad- vance of examination by such a commission; and I think the house and country will agree that we acted with due discretion in that respect. r, hear.) Now one of the protocols will show the result of the de- mand for indemnity. The demand was made by the British commission- ers that this question should be discussed and considered by the commis- sion, but the United States commissioners objected, taking the ground that the consideration of these claims was not included in the correspon- « and reference. In doing that, they took the same ground that my hun. friend, the member for Sherbrooke, with his usual acuteness and appreciation of the value of language, took when the matter was discussed in this house before my departure for Washington. He said then, that he greatly doubted whether, under the correspondence which led to the appointment of the high oommiad in, it could be held that the Fenian claims were to be considered; iOd although my hon. friend, the minister Htia, thought it mighl fairly he held that those claims were included, I myself ooflld not help 6 •• strength of the argument advanced by the hon. member for Sherbrooke, and I stated at the time that I thought there was great weight in the objection which he pointed out. The Amer- ce >nimis9ioners, aa the event proved, raised that objection, maintaining that the point was not included in the correspondence in which the sub- ii were stated; and when it was proposed to them by I'.ritish, the American commissioners declined to ask their government for fresh instructions to enlarge the scope of their duty in that respect, we could not help that. There was the correspondence to speak for itself, and it was a matter of considerable doubt whether these claims were included in it. The British ambassador represented that he had always thought that the correspondence did include them; and he was struck with surprise — perhaps I ought not to say surprise, for that wa& not the expression he used, — but he was certainly under the impression that it had been regarded by all parties that they were covered by the correspondence. Still, let any one read these letters and he will find it is very doubtful. As it was doubtful, and the objection was raised on that ground, the British commissioners had no power to compel the American commissioners to determine the doubt in their favour, and force these 568 APPENDIX. claims upon their consideration. The consequence was that they were omitted from the deliberation of the commission. Whose fault was tb >' ' Certainly not ours. It was the fault of her majesty's government, in not demanding in clear language, in terms which could not be misunderstood, that the investigation ol these claims should be one of the matters dealt with by the commission. (Hear, hear.) It was a great disappointment to my colleagues in Canada that the objection was taken, and that all hope of getting redress for the injury done by those Fenian raids was destroyed so far as the commission at Washington was concerned, in consequence of the defective language of the correspondence, and the defective nature of the submission to the commissioners. Now, England was responsible for that error. England had promised to make the demand, and England had failed to make it. Not only that, but her majesty's government took the responsibility of withdrawing the claims altogether, and Mr. Gladstone fully assumed all the responsibility of this step, and relieved the Canadian government from any share in it, when he stilted openly, in the house of commons, that the imperial government had seen tit to withdraw the claims, but that they had done so with great reluctance and sorrow for the manner in which Canada had been treated. Canada, therefore, had every right to look to England for that satisfaction which she failed to receive through the inadequacy of the correspondence to cover the question. England, by taking the responsibility of declining to push the claims, put herself in the position of the United States, and we had a fair and reasonable right to to look to her to assume the responsibility of settling them. She did not decline that responsibility, and the consequence has been that, although we failed to obtain redress from the United States for those wrongs, we have had an opportunity of securing compensation from England which would not have been offered to us if it had not been for the steps taken by this government. (Hear, hear.) But, sir, we are told that it is a great humiliation for Canada to take this money, or rather this money's worth. Why, it is our due, we are entitled to it, and we must have it from some one. England refused to ask it for us from the United States, and she accepted all the responsibility which that refusal involved. She was wise in accepting that responsibility. She must take the consequences, and she is willing to do so. But the Canadian government, on the other hand, were unwilling that the compensation which England thus acknowledged was due to us by her should take a direct pecuniary form. We were un- willing that it should be the payment of a certain amount of money, and there were several strong reasons why we should prefer not to accept re- paration in that shape. In the first place, if a proposal of that kind were made, it would cause a discussion as to the amount to be paid by England, APPENDIX. oW of a most unseemly character. We would have the spectacle of a judge appointed to examine the claims in detail, with Canada pressing her case upon his attention, and England probably resisting in some cases, and putting herself in an antagonistic position which should not be allowed to occur between the mother country and the colony. It was, therefore, in the last degree unadvisable, that the relations between Canada and the mother country, which throughout have been of so friendly and pleasant a character, should be placed in jeopardy in that way; and accordingly a suggestion was made by us which, without causing England to expend a nee, or putting the least additional burden upon her people, would, if acted upon, do us more good, and prove of infinitely greater advan- tage, than any amount of mere money compensation we could reasonably t. This was a mode of disposing of the question in the highest degree satisfactory to both countries, and one which does not in the least compromise our dignity or our self-respect. | Hear, hear.) The credit of Canada, thank God, is well established. Her good faith is known wj ever she has had financial dealings. Her majesty's government can go to the li ;niaoiis ;uid ilk WMf authority to guarantee a Canadian loan, with a well grounded assurance that the people of England will never In- called upon to put their hands in their pockets, or tax themseh es one farthing to pay it. At the Munettme, the imperial government, by giving us tins guarantee, grants us a boon the value of which, in en- abling us to construct the great works of public improvement we have Undertaken, wai explained the oihef day so ably, and in a maimer that I . by my hon. friend, the finance minister. Besides the double advantage to oursei tting the endorsement of and without disadvantage to tin RttgHan people, there is to be con- sidered the great, the enonnom benefit that accrues to Canada from this i avowal on the part of Kngland of the interest she takes in the success of our great public enterprises. (Cheers.) No one can say now, when she is sending out one of her distinguished statesmen to take the place of the nobleman who now bo worthily represents her majesty in the Dominion — no one can say when Kngland is aiding us, endorsing a loan spreading over any years, ami which will not be finally extinguished till most of us rrow here will have been gathered to our fathers — no one can say, under ances, that she has any idea of separating herself from us giving up the colonies. (Cheers.) The solid, substantial advantage of being able to obtain money on better terms than we could on our own credit alone, is not the only benefit this guarantee will confer upon us, for it will put a finish at 0H06 to the hopes of all dreamers or speculators who desire or believe in the alienation and separation of the colonies from APPENDIX. the mother country. That ia a more incalculable benefit than the mere advantage of England's guarantee of our financial stability — great and im- portant as that is. (Loud cheers.) Aye, but it is said that it is a humiliation to make a bargain of that kind; Why, sir, it was no humiliation in 1841 to obtain an imperial guarantee for the loan necessary to construct the canals originally. It was not considered a humiliation to accept a guarantee for i'l .400,000 in 1805, for the purpose of building fortifications; nor was it a humiliation to obtain £4,000,000 upon a similar guarantee to construct the Intercolonial railway. Why is it a humiliation, then, in this case, to accept the guarantee, when England voluntarily comes forward and accepts the responsibility for withdrawing our claims in respect to the Fenian raids ? It waa by no prompting from us that that responsibility was as- sumed, lot Mr I Gladstone rose of his own motion in the house of commons, and by accepting tin 'dity, admitted that it should take a tangible shape. It did take such a shape, and I aay a most satisfactory shape, in the guarantee of £2,500,000 immediately, and we may say of £4,000,000 in all, ultimately. (Cheers.) But I hear it objected that Canada ought not to have made a bargain at all. She should have allowed the Fenian •claims to go, and dealt with the treaty Beparately, accepting or rejecting it on ita merit8. Sir, Canada did not make a bargain of that kind, but she went fairly and openly to her majesty's government, and said, "Here is a treaty that has been negotiated through your influence, and which affects important commercial interests in this country. It is unpopular in Canada in its commercial aspect, but is urged on us for imperial causes, and for Uie Bake of the peace of the empire; but the pecuniary interests of Canada should, in the opinion of the Canadian government, be considered, and the undoubted claim of Canada for compensation for these Fenian outrages haa been set aaide. We may well, therefore, call upon you to strengthen our handa by ahowingthat you are unwilling to aacrifice Canada altogether for imperial purpoaea 8olely." Sir, we asked that for Canada, and the response was immediate and gratifying, except that England did not accept the whole of the proposition to guarantee a loan of £4,000,000. But I am a8 certain aa I am atanding in this house (and I am not speaking without book), that had it not been for the unfortunate cloud that arose between the United States and England, which threatened to interrupt the friendly settlement of all questions between them, but which I am now happy to say is passing away, the difficulty would have been removed by England permitting us to add to the £2,500,000 the £1,400,000 which she guaran- teed some years since to be expended on fortifications and other defensive preparations. That money had not been expended, and there would now have been no object in applying it for the construction of works which APPENDIX. 571 would have been a standing menace to the United States, and which would have been altogether out of place immediately after signing a treaty of peace and amity. I do not hesitate to say, and I repeat, I am not speak- ing without book, that I believe a proposition of that kind would have been acceptable to her majesty's government; but when the cloud arose, when there was a possibility of this treaty being held as a nullity, and when there was danger of the relations between the two countries return- ing to the unfortunate position in which they were before, then was not the time for England to ask, or us to propose, to give up the the idea of fortifying our frontier and defending our territory. Then was not the time, either, for the Canadian government to show an unwillingness to spend money upon these works, or to defend and retain the Dominion a3 endency of the sovereign ol England. (Cheers.) I say, therefore, that, while we are actually receiving a guarantee of £2,500,000, if the re- lations of England and the United States are again brought into harmony, and the lowering cloud which recently sprang up is removed, and removed in such a way as never to appear again, then it may fairly be thought — it may reasonably be calculated upon that we will have a guarantee of the full amount of £4,000,000, in order to carry out the great improvements we have entered upon. The iinam r has shown you the advan- tages which will (low from that arrant intent ; audit would be presumption • to add a word to what he has so well said upon that point, which is in the highest degree satisfactory to this house, and in the highest degree, la of this country. (Cheers.) I now move the tirst reading of this bill, and I shall simply sum up my remarks by g that, with respect to the treaty, 1 consider that every portion of it is unobjectionable to the count i y, unless the articles connected with the fisheries may be considered objectionable. With respect to those articles, I ask the house fully and calmly to consider the circumstances; and I be- . I y consider the situation, that they will say it is for the good of Canada that those articles should be ratified. Reject the treaty, and you do not get reciprocity. Reject the treaty, and you leave the fisher- f the maritime provinces at the mercy of the Americans. Reject the treaty, and } ou will cut the merchants engaged in that trade off from the A merican market. Reject the treaty, and you will have a large annual expenditure in keeping up a marine police force to protect those fisheries, amounting to about $84,000 per annum. Reject the treaty, and you will have to call upon England to send her fleet, and give you both her moral physical support, although you will not adopt her policy. Reject the treaty, and you will find that the bad feeling which formerly, and until lately, existed in the United States against England, will be transferred A rr i:\dix. to Canada; the United States will say, and say justly, " Here, when two great nations like England and the United States have settled all their difficulties, all their quarrels, upon a perpetual basis, these happy results are to be frustrated and endangered by the Canadian people, because they have not gojt the value of their fish for ten years." (Cheers.) It has been said by the hon. gentleman <>n my left (Mr. Howe), in his speech to the young men's christian association, that England had sacrificed the inter- est* of Canada. If England has sacrificed the interests of Canada, what sacrifice has she not made herself in the cause of peace ? Has she not, for the sake of peace betweeu these two great nations, rendered herself liable, lasting out all indirect claims, to pay millions out of her own treasury ? ule all this sacrifice, which only Englishmen and English statesmen can know, lot the sake of peace i And for whose good has she made it i Has she not made it principally for the sake of Canada i (Loud chirrs.) Let Canada be severe- 1 from England — let England not be re- sponsible to us and for us— and what could the I nited States do to England > Let England withdraw herself into her shell, and what could the United • s do I England has got the supremacy of the sea. She is impreg- nable in every point but one, ai:d that point is Canada; and if England does call upon us to make a financial sacrifice — does find it for the good of the empire, that we, England's first colony, should sacrifice something — I say that we would be unworthy of our proud position if we were not prepared to do so. (Cheers.) I hope to live to see the day, and if I do not, that my son may be spared to see Canada the right arm of England — (cheers)— to see Canada a powerful auxiliary to the empire — not, as now, a cause of anxiety and a source of danger; and I think that, if we are worthy to hold that position as the right arm of England, we should not object to a sacrifice of this kind, when so great an object is attained, and the object is a great and lasting one. It is said that amities between na- tions cannot be perpetual. I say that this treaty, which has gone through so many difficulties and dangers, if it is carried into effect, removes almost all possibility of war. If ever there was an irritating cause of war, it was from the occurrences arising out of the escape of those vessels; and when we see the United States people and government forget this irritation, forget those occurrences, and submit such a question to arbitration — to the arbitration of a disinterested tribunal, — they have established a principle which can never be forgotten in this world. No future ques- tion is ever likely to arise that will cause such great irritation as the es- cape of the Alabama did, and if they could be got to agree to leave such a matter to the peaceful arbitrament of a friendly power, what future cause of quarrel can in the imagination of man occur, that will not bear APPENDIX. 573 the same pacific solution that is sought for in this 1 I believe that this treaty is an epoch in the history of civilization; that it will set an example to the wide world that must be followed; and with the growth of this great Anglo-Saxon family, and with the development of that mighty nation to the south of us, I believe that the principle of arbitration will be advo- cated and adopted as the sole principle of the settlement of differences between the English-speaking peoples, and that it will have a moral in- fluence in the world; and although it may be opposed to the antecedents of other nations, that great moral principle which has n< >\v been established among the Anglo-Saxon family, will spread itself over all the civilised world. (Cheers.) It is not much to say that it is a great advance in the history of mankind, and I should be sorry if it were recorded that it was stopped for a moment by a selfish consideration of the interests of Canada. Had the government of Canada taken the course which was quite open t<> them, to recommend parliament to rej »ct these articles, it might have been a matter of some interest as to what my position would have been. 1 am . at all events, advocating the ratification of the treaty; and I may say, ithstanding the taunts of hon. gentlemen opposite, that although 1 Was chosen for the positi mmissioner — certainly because I was a idian, and presumably because I was a member of the Canadian gov- ernment — yet my commission was u subject, as it was b hcote and other members of the commission. I ngton as a plenipotentiary, as her majesty's servant, and was bound by her majesty's instructions, and I would have been guilty of iction <»f duty if I had not carried out those instructions. And, sir, when I readily joined, under the circumstances, in every word of that y, with the exception of the fishery articles, and when I succeeded in having inserted in I tion to the government and people inada of the full right to aooept or refuse that portion of it, I had no difficulty as to my course. (Cheers.) I did not hesitate to state that, if that clause had not been put in. I would have found it necessary to resign my commission. I was perfectly aware, in taking the course I did of signing the treaty, that I should be subject to reproach. I wrote to my friends in Canada, from Washington, that well I knew the storm of oblo- h;it would meet me on my return; and before even I crossed the border I was complimented with the names of "Judas Iscariot," u Bene- dict Arnold, " etc. The whole vocabulary of Billingsgate was opened against me; but here I am, thank God, to-day, with the conviction that what 1 did was for the best interests of Canada; and after all the benefits I have re- ceived at the hands of my countrymen, and after the confidence that has D accorded me for so many years, I would have been unworthy of that I 7 I APPENDIX. position and that confidence if I were not able to mset reproach f >;• thu sake of my country. I have met that reproach, and I have met it in si- lence. I knew that a premature discussion would only exasperate still more the feelings of those who were arrayed against me, and of those who think more of their party than of their country. (Laud cheers. ) I do not speak particularly of thehon. gentlemen opposite, but I say that the policy of the opposition is regulated by "a power behind the throne" which dic- tates what that policy must be. (Loud cheers.) No one ever saw apatri- v emanate from that source, except on one occasion, and that was when that source was induced by myself to forget party struggles and party feeling! fur the OOmmon good of the country. (Loud cheers.) 1 have not said a word for twelve months; I have kept silence to this day, thinking it r that the subject should be discussed on its own merits. How eagerly was 1 watched! If the government should 009M out in favour of the treaty, it was to be taken as being a betraval of the people of Canada. If the government should come out against the treaty, then the first minister was to be charged with opposing the interests of the empire. Whichever :.; take, they were lying in wait, ready with some mode ,.f attack. But silence is golden, Mr. Speaker, and I kept silence. I believe the sober second thought of this country accords with the sober second th> ught of the government; and we come down here and ask the people of Canada, through their representatives, to accept this treaty — to accept it with all its imperfe accept it for the sake of peace, and for the sake of the great empire of which we form a part. I now 'beg leave to introduce the bill, and to state that I h ive the permission of his excellency to do so. The hon. gentleman resumed his seat, amid loud and continued ap- plause from all parts of the house, at 9: -45, having spoken for four hours and a quarter. APPENDIX. 57& APPENDIX H. THE PACIFIC SCANDAL. The following is the speech delivered by Sir John Macdonald, in reply to the allegations concerning the pacific railway charter, in the house of commons, Ottawa, on Monday, Nov. 3rd, 1873. On rising, the honour- able gentleman was greeted with hearty cheers : — Mr. Speaker, I had not intended to address you on the two motions now before the house, and the reason why I did not so intend is that I had al- ready Lnven my testimony on oath, and in that testimony I had endea- voured, notwithstanding the statement of the hon. gentleman who has just taken his seat, to state the whole case as far as I knew it, according to the best of my conscience, concealing nothing and revealing everything. I did not think it well, according to the ordinary rule, that I should attempt in any way to supplement my ittttomenl 00 oath by my •.noath. (Cheers.) II irever I have been taunted, not in the house certainly, but I have heard it elsewhere and have seen it in the n that I have been withholding my statements ; that I have been ng back, and that I dare not meet the hoOM and the country. Sir, I dare meet this house and the country. (Ohoere.) I know too well what the house and the country will do, and what the feeling of the country will be, when they know all the facts. They know many of them now, and those they do m>t know I shall endeavour presently to enter upon. I Jut now I enter up >n tin which is most interesting to this house — the question whether the government or any members of the government were in any way implicated in the giving or granting of a charter, or of a privi- lege of any kind to men for corrupt motives. I shall allude to one or two subjects which a short time ago assumed prominence in the opinion of the try, but which in the course of the present debate have almost rank ice. A short time ago, from the 13th August till now I nothing else but the unconstitutionality of the prorogation ; nothing else but that a great wrong had been committed on the privileges of the house. Although I was here for only a few minutes before the house was prorogued, if I remember aright, this chamber rung with charges that the privileges of the house had been invaded. I not only heard the voice of the hon. member for Chateauguay (Mr. Holton), but I saw his hand oTO Al'VKNDIX, brought down, with the ponderous strength of the hon. gentleman, on his .desk, when he called " privilege ! " M privilege ! " and all because the re- presentative of the sovereign bad exercised a prerogative conferred upon him by law. The hon. gentleman was committing an anachronism. There were days when the prerogative of the crown and the privileges of the peo- ple were in opposition. There were days — but they were days long gone by, and there was no necessity for any attempt to revive them now — days when the prerogative of the crown was br o ug h t in opposition to the will of the people, and the representatives of the people; and then, as was proper, the will of the people was paramount, and when the crown op- posed it, by prerogative or by excess of prerogative, the head of the sov- ereign rolled on the scaffold. But, Mr. Speaker, those days do not exist now, and I am happy to say that at this moment, in this age, the prero- gative of the crown is a portion of the liberty of the people. (Cheers.) If we wish to preserve our liberties, if we wish to preserve our present con- stitution, it we do not wish again to have a long parliament or a rump parliament, if we do not wish again to have a parliament overriding every other constitutional authority, we shall preserve the prerogative of the crown as being a sacred trust, as being a portion of the liberties of the people. (Cheers.) Centuries ago, as I have said, the time was when the sovereign could come down with his strong hands and could seize, or at- tempt at all events to seize, a member of parliament for performing his duty in his place. The day was once when the sovereign could come down and could banish and send to the tower, and even as has been known, could send to the block, members of parliament for defending the privi- leges of the people. But when the sovereign is no longer a despot, when the sovereign is a constitutional monarch, when the sovereign takes his advice from the people, when the sovereign in his act of prerogative takes his advice from a committee selected from the representatives of the peo. pie and from the other Chamber, which other chamber has its power rest- ing upon the basis of the will of the country and the will of the people, then I say there is no danger of the prerogative being used unconstitution- ally ; but the great danger of the country here, as in England, is that the prerogative may not be strong enough to resist the advancing wave of de- mocracy. (Cheers.) And, sir, when in the undoubted exercise of the pre- rogative of the crown the representative of the sovereign came not to this Chamber but to the proper chamber, and announced his will, as the repre- sentative of the sovereign, that parliament be prorogued, he committed no breach of the privileges of this house or the other house of parliament, and made no infringement on the liberties of the people. (Cheers. ) It was charged that a great breach of the constitution had taken place. True it M'PENDIX. 577 is that we heard in a sort of minor key from the Globe, which had some cha- racter to lose, that although it was very inexpedient, it was no breach of the constitution. But every other paper, 1 believe, every organ of hon. gen- tlemen opposite, except the Globe, stated that there had been a great breach of the constitution and of the privileges of the people on the floor of par- liament, and they were countenanced by the voice and clamour of hon. gentlemen opposite. (Cheers.) We might pardon them, perhaps, because we have seen cases of a similar kind in England, and therefore I can quite understand it, and I do not much blame them, as showing the momentary feeling of disappointment at the exercise of the royal prerogative, prevent- ing the extension of the excitement into debates in a subsequent session. In L890, at the time of Queen Caroline's trial, while the bill was pending, when it was resolved to withdraw the bill, and when the motion for the six months' disposal of that measure was carried, there was an outburst Ifhen the knock of the usher of the black rod was made at the door — an m 00 the part of the queen's friends because they hail no opp arte their feelings against the course which had be lament] however, was prorogued, notwithstanding the »n that arose at the time. On a still later occasion, at !brm bill, In remember how the house was in mutiny. and how th.it staid gentleman, the Dike of Richmond, ted h imself in rebellion against hi- :,. Sir Robert • ]'V Hi omeri of the black rod knocked at the door,was • prorogation for the purpose of dis- niton. T:. se when such staid men and men of such high position se, we can perhaps pardon hon. gentlemen opposite for having b itreyed an unseemly warmth on the ISth of August because the own was exercised as the crown had the right to ex- tra to every hon. gentleman who has consid- i, that tii d of constitutionality cannot exist question of privilege set up against prerogative is alt' hi untenable cry, a cry unconstitutional and un- warranted i,\ law. (i Sheers.) The prerogative at present is valuable only as one of the liberties of the people, and it is one of the liberties of the piople because it is guided, as 1 said before, by the advice of ministers naible to the two houses of parliament, not alone to this chamber. The prerogative is not dangerous. There is no hazard that any one of our personal or political, will be endangered, so long as the preroga- is administered on the advice of a minister having the support and requiring support from the two chambers of parliament. (Cheers.) The question then comes, whether the present ministers of his excellency the KK APPENDIX. governor-general were justified in recommending the prorogation on the 13th day of August. Sir, if they had not given that advice they would have the sovereign to break his word ; they would have advised the sov- ;i to commit a breach of faith against every absent member of parlia- ment. 1 can say in the presence of this house, in the presence of the country, and in the presence of the world, if the world were listening to our rather unimportant Bfifcin, that if ever a pledge, if ever a bargain, if ;in agreement or arrangement was made, it was that the house should be prorogued on the IStfa day of August. Some of the gentlemen who have spoken, I won't tax my memory as to which of them, have made the itutional objection that the house never agreed to the prorogation. on the 13th of August. Sir, the house had nothing to do with it. It is not a matter of agreement between the sovereign and the people ; it is a mat- ter of prerogative. Did any educated man, any man who knows what the constitution in Canada or what the constitution in England is, believe that 1, the first minister of the crown, could get up in my place and tell this house that on the 13th of August it would be prorogued, and that on that day there waa no real necessity for members being present, because it was to be merely a formal meeting J that I, a minister of nearly twenty years standing — (hear) —who ought to know by practice, and do know by study, somewhat of the British constitution, should make that announcement un- less I had got the authority of my master; had got the sanction of the i I As a matter of course, as his excellency has stated in the answer he made to the gentlemen who waited upon him, I submitted the propo- sition to his excellency and took his pleasure upon it, just as the first min- ister in England would take the pleasure of her majesty as to the day on which prorogation was to take place. I got the sanction of his excellency the governor-general to make that statement, and if I had not got that sanction I do not believe the house would have agreed to the long ad- journment. We will look back for one moment to see whether I was right, whether the government was right — in speaking of myself I speak of my- self and my colleagues whether we ought to receive the sanction of the the house in giving that advice. Let us look back to the circumstances of the case. 1 invite the careful attention of the house, and especially the attention of those hon. members who were not members of the parliament of Canada at that time, to the circumstances of the case. In February, I think it was, there was a royal charter given for the purpose of building a Pacific railway, to the Pacific railway company. They went home — their president, Sir Hugh Allan and certain other members of the Board for the purpose of attempting to carry out this charter which had been given to them. The charter had been given to them according to the APPENDIX. 579 vote of the Parliament of Canada, with the sanction of the parliament of Canada, and every clause of it was in accordance with the provisions of the law passed by the parliament of Canada. (Cheers.) These gentlemen had gone home to England to lay a great scheme, so great a scheme, Mr. Speaker, that some of the hon. gentlemen opposite said that it was going to overtax our resources and destroy our credit, and that they could not sue • oeed at all with so small a population in such a young country. They had home t«> England to lay the project before the English world and B nr o p oa capitalists. They wire going home to operate, and it depended much on the support they received from this country, from the parliament and press of Canada, whether they could succeed or not. They had gone in February. Parliament met early in March, I think. The hon. mem- ■r Bheflbfd rose in his place and made his charge against the govern- ment on the 2nd of April. The hon. gentleman may have been, I do not say he was not, actuated by principles of fine patriotism in making that charge ; bothflT he was so actuated or not, whether his motives wire parliamen- tary Of unparliamentary, patriotic or unpatriotic, one thing is certain, thai • aim, the direct object, the point at which that motion and that statement ww> I kill the charter in England. (Cheers.) The weapon was aimed with that object, not so much with the desire of de- stroying the administration, not so much with the pnipOM of casting a re- ii upon tb v, m with I destroying that first on the expectation that the ministry would fall afterwards. That was the aim ; there was no doubt about it, and when the hon. gentleman's motion was and when 1 took up tli.- resolution the aim was well intended — of killing was well iutended — but it failed in the execution. k it up I considered the whole position of events. Ulan and those OOnnected with him went to England in March, ament was sitting at hon. gentleman made his motion. 1 not know how long parliament would last, and the chances were irn some time before the end of the session. If they turn th«n, of course I considered that there could be no examin- ation until they did, but I thought they might return. I declare that I never for a moment supposed that the hon. member, when he made nil moot, could be guilty of such great, such palpable, such obvious in- justice, as to press his committee in the absence of Sir Hugh Allan, Mr. Abbott, and Sir George Cartier, when they had no opportunity of defend- ing either themselves or the charter which they had obtained. The house must remember also that the motion made by the hon. gentleman went much farther than my motion. The motion of the hon. member, which he moved on the 2nd of April, was not only to inquire into the facts that 580 ArFENDlX. he mentioned, the statements upon which he based his motion, but to go into the whole of the subject connected with the charter and the granting of the charter to the Pacific railway company. The aim of his motion, I repeat, was to destroy that charter. I will read the motion of the hon. member. After detailing the facts, he moved, " that a committee of seven members be appointed to inquire into all the circumstances connected with the negotiations for the construction of the Pacific railway, with the legis- lation of last session on the subject, and with the granting of the charter to Sir Hugh Allan and others." So that the aim of the hon. gentleman in making that motion wasn<>t simplyto attack the government, not simply that from improper motives or inducements of any kind they had given the char- ter, luit was for the purj>ose of destroying that charter and of attacking all tin- legislation of the previous session on which the charter was based. L M.TWE lot OOf moment supposed that any h-m. member would be guilty of the gross injustice of attempting to attack the whole of the legislation of the previous session and the charter solemnly granted under an act of par- jiament, and of attempting to affect vested interest, on which a million of money had been staked, in the absence of the persons primarily interested. That motion was made, and was intended to be a vote of want of confi- dence. Was that so ! or was it not so 1 Will the hon. gentleman say it was not so ? Mr. H -The motion when made was intended to express precisely what it did express. (Laughter.) Sir John M v i-o.v \i.i>— It is said, sir, that if there had been one hon- est man in the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah they might have been saved • and so the Opposition may be saved in the same way, for they have one honest man in their ranks — the member for South Wentworth — who stated that that motion was intended to be a vote of want of con6dence. Everybody knew that that was its design (hear, hear), and yet at this day, at this late hour, the hon. gentleman (Mr. Huntington) had not the man- liness to get up and say so. (Cheers.) He dare not say it was not a mo- tion of want of confidence. It was meant in that way, and I can prove that it was by my hon. friend the member for South Wentworth. I call him, and I believe him. He said it was so. Will the hon. gentleman not believe him ? Although differing from him in politics, I know he would not say what was not true. If I remember rightly, the hon. member for Shefford said he would make the motion when we went into committee of supply. He gave the necessary notice that is always given in such cases, and I certainly supposed that he intended to make a general mo- tion on our policy connected with the Canadian Pacific railway. He said he was going to make a motion on that subject, and it was by mere APPENDIX. 581 accident that when my friend, the minister of finance, rose to make his budget speech, with you in the chair, instead of a committee of supply, the hon. member said he would take another opportunity of making the statement in connec.ion with the Pacific railway. Had we gone into committee of supply the hon. gentleman would have made, in the ordi- nary parliamentary way, his motion of want of confidence. But he should have given notice of his attack, for a more unmanly attack is un- known. What notice had been given that he was going to make that mo- tion I True, the government of the day are unworthy of their position unless they are ready to meet any charges brought against them. But had we the most remote information respecting that personal matter ? And even when on the second day he announced that he was going to one to a future occasion further action, he did not venture to give the slightest intimation to the men he was going to attack ; the men whose characters he was going to blacken; of what he was going to say ; but he us by surprise and sought by bringing in documents carefully pre- pared to get a committee on those statements for the purpose. Certainly it would have been so if the committee had been granted as he proposed, — of killing, as it was designed to kill, as it was bound to kill, the efforts of the Canadian people to get a body of English capitalists, to build the Pacific railway. (Loud cheering. ) He could not possibly have supposed that he would have got the inquiry through that session, but he supposed if the house had granted the committee on his statement, and it had gone graphed by cable by the associated press, with which some hon. gentlemen opposite seemed to have mysterious connections— (laughter) — it would certainly have been mysterious but it would certainly have ted the construction of the Canadian Pacific railway, throwing for years the building of the railway, casting discredit on Canada, and telling British Columbia what they had told them two years before, that re not going to get the railway. Mr. Speaker, the hon. smaii did not speak, in his remarks on the motion, of facts within his own knowledge, and as the member for Marquette had done in his statements of facts, he only stated that he was credibly informed that the fact existed, and he would be able to prove it, and I venture to say that in the whole range of parliamentary experience in England, and wherever else fair play is known, no man could be expected to have got any other answer than the one he got from the house. . If the hon. member had risen in his place and said of his own knowledge that ho was personally cognizant of certain facts, then the house might have con- sidered those facts as proved, at all events sufficient for a prima facie case for inquiry, but the hon. member for Shefford did not pretend to say so, 582 APPENDIX. but rose in the housa and said he was credibly informed of certain facts, and thereupon asked for a committee to try the government, and not only so, but to try whether the legislation of tile previous session was cor- rupt or non -corrupt ; whether the members of parliament who had voted for the Government were right or wrong, and whether that charter, to which great credit was attached, was fraudulent or valid. And on the nonce, when the hon. gentleman made the proposition, we resolved to leave it to the house to say whether they believed that the facts had oc- curred. When the hon. gentleman stated that he was credibly informed that such was true, the house voted down the motion. On the next day I gave notice that 1 would introduce the resolution which I did introduce. I gave notice of the resolution, and there is a little history with the reso- lution to which I will call the attention of the house. It is reported that at a meeting at New Glasgow the hon. member for Lambton stated that that resolution which I moved was forced upon me by my own followers, and that members on this side of the house had come to me to urge me to introduce that resolution. The hon. gentleman had heard my denial. He heard my speech ; he was in his place when I made that speech, and interrupted me several times, and I then turned round and asked my friends if any of them had come to me to force me by any influence, or language, or anything of the kind, to come down to the house with that motion. I should like to know the names of those eight members, Mr. Mackenzie — I am quite satisfied I never mentioned eight names. (Ministerial cries of "How many /") I said 1 was informed, as 1 was, that it was because of the pressure his supporters had brought to bear that an inquiry had been asked for next day. Hon. Mr. McDonald (Pictou) — I wish to state what did occur at the meeting, and there will, I think, be no difference of opinion between the member for Lambton and myself as to the question of fact. The hon . member during his address stated that the leader of the government was compelled by the pressure of his own friends in the house — I don't re- collect that he stated eight members — to bring down the motion for a committee to the house. I interrupted and said ; " Why, did you not hear Sir John Macdonald declare that he did not introduce that resolution owing to the pressure of his friends or of any friend ? n The hon. gentle- man replied ; " I did not. I now declare he was pressed by his friends."' Mr. Mackenzie — The statement made by the hon. member for Pictou is quite correct. I stated I had no recollection of that statement being made, but as the hon. gentleman had said that it was made, I was bound to believe it ; but I was still prepared to say that the information I had was that the leader of the Government was compelled by the pressure of APPENDIX. 583 his friends to make that motion. I am borne out in that by what the member for Shelburne stated the other day in the House, He for one was obliged to bring that pressure to bear the next day. (Opposition cheers.) I cannot recollect all the others, but I heard similar matters mentioned by some others. Sir John Macdonald — 1 have got the speech here, and before the de- bate closes I shall refer to it, because I do not like any misapprehension on these matters. I am satisfied the hon. gentleman said so, as he is re- ported, and I can state here that the hon. gentleman had his own repor- ter present. The hon. gentleman was reported to have said : — M I may inform the hon. gentleman there were eight of the Government suppor- ters who put the screw on htm." In other words — Mr. Mai kknzik — I am perfectly certain I did not use the word Sir John MaoDOVALD— Now, I haw occasion to repeat what I stated then, that no member of the party, and not only no member of the party but not one of my own colleagues, spoke to me on the subject until 1 had announced my own determination. (Loud cheers from Ministerial benches.) The motion took us by surprise, and we met it, as I think we OUgllt to have net it by voting it down. Next day I came down late and walked into the Council-room at half-past one. My colleagues were all sit- ting around. I said to them, after consideration: "I have made up my mind that I will move for a Commi fore any one had spoken. I had stated my intention without a single suggestion from any man, that as the charge was of such a nature that I would move for the appointment of a mittee and bring such motion before Parliament on the following day. And that is the way that the characters of men are lied away in this coun- try. I do not mean to say that the hon. member for Lambton has lied down my character because he has denied it. What I do mean to say, it has be«.n lied away by the mistake of a reporter who thought that he was reporting his words. I have now got the report here. It is from the Halifax ('■ iVrhaps the hon. gentleman knows this paper? Per- haps the hn the subject \ Mr. Eton ( Victoria)—! may say that two or three of us wont to see the Ministers next day and stated that unless they promised a committee themselves that was the last VOM they would get from us. Mr. Cl ru< h— I accept that statement. We saw the hon. Mr. Mitchell on the following day and said the charges were very serious affairs, and that a committee must be appointed. Sir -Ions || \. DOV \i.o— Thus we see another exemplification of the old story of the three Black Crows. (Laughter.) The hon. member stated that eight of my followers and supporters came to me and said that I must move that Committee. The hon. gentlemen say that they went to some one else, and I say, in the presence of my colleagues, that I myself went down to the council, and before having met or agn ted with any single member of the council, I said to them on going into the council chamber — " Gentlemen, I have made up my mind that on the first op- portunity that presents itself I will move for a committee to inquire into this matter." (Cheers.) I had had no communication with any member g \ eminent ; no communication with any member of the house ; mmunication with any one in or out of the house, and therefore you can understand how guarded the hon. member for Lambton should be in giving publicity to other men's affairs. He may perhaps have a vacancy in his memory. There is something, Abercrombie says, which leads men not only to forget certain facts, and to state things as facts that never oc- curred. At all events, whether I was waited on by the eight members or not, I shall produce the hon. gentleman the report about the eight mem- bers before the night is over. Mr. Mackenzie — I don't care about it. Sir John Macdonald— I know you don't. I know the hon. gentleman is quite indifferent about the evidence that I can produce. (Laughter. ) At all events I came down to parliament and gave my notice of motion. Now I wish the house carefully to consider the circumstances under which I made my motion. I was of course exceedingly anxious that Sir Hugh Allan should succeed in his mission to England, and that the Pacific railway should be proceeded with without delay. I was anxious that no blow should be struck in this house for party or any other purpose that could injure the prospects of these men in England, and yet I did not de- sire that there should be any undue delay in this inquiry, which affected AVPEXDIX. 585 the honour of hon. gentlemen and of myself. Now it must be remem- bered that my motion having been unanimously adopted by the house, was n<>t only my motion, was not only my vote, but was also the motion and the vote of hon. gentlemen who were then members of this parliament. I ci msidered at that time that the chances were innnitesimally small that these •gentlemen would be back in time to go on with the inquiry before the proro- gation of parliament ; and what did 1 move I I moved " that a select com- mittee of live members be appointed, of which Committee the mover shall not be one," and here, Mr. Speaker, I may perhaps bring in, pbrpafmUhe» , a remark. I moved that resolution as I thought that I being one of the accused should not be a member of that committee, and yet the hon. member for Shefford stated in a speech recently that if he had had his own way he would have been the chairman of that committee ; that he would have been chairman and that he would have guided the deliberations of that Commi tt e e he the accuser. The hon. gentleman may think that I may have committed something like folly in this course, but, at all events. 1 i that "a committee of live members be appointed, of which the mover shall not be one, to impure into and report 00 the special matters men- tioned in the resolution «>f the lion, member for Shell'ord, With power to send for papers and reOOfdf, with power t«» report to the house from time to time, with power to report their evidence to the house from time tO time, and if need ■ r the pro r ogation of parliament." I Jit that by a mere lucky chance, by a mere fortuitous circumstance, Bil II Igfa Allan and his associates might perhaps raise the money, make the necessary arrangements and bo back in time before parliament was pro- • >re, I put in merely ad an alternative that if need be the committee could sit after parliament prorogued. I never thought for a single mom 1 to my mind, that any man having asense of jus- • uld enter upon a trial of a matter, in the absence of those who were chiefly implicated, and perhaps you will say that the government were im - nit at all events Sir Hu^h Allan and Mr. Abbott were not only nally implicated, but their capital, their vested rights, their pledged were all interested in this inquiry, and I never thought any man would attempt such an effort of lynch law as to go on in the absence of Sir Hugh Allan, Bon. .Mr. Abbott, and Sir Geo. Cartier ; in the absence of all the evidence which these gentlemen could give on the subject of these charges. 1 therefore, sir, drew up the motion in the manner I have named, and 1 must confess that I am somewhat ashamed that my know ledge of constitutional law should have been at fault ; but I was anxious that the government should not lie under the charges for a whole year, and I put that in the resolution in order that the commission might sit 586 APPENDIX. from clay today during the recess, and if Sir Hugh Allan, Mr. Abbott and Sir George Cartier arrived in this country that their evidence might be taken. This was my object in placing this clause in the resolution. On consideration we found that this house could not confer the power, and for a very substantial reason, because if this parliament could appoint a committee with power to sit during the recess it could also appoint a e ••mmittee of the whole house to sit during the recess, and thus the prero- gative of the Crown to prorogue would be invaded, and parliament a>- ■ committee of the whole might sit indefinitely. But I m:ule a mistake ; it was accepted by the whole house, and hon. gentlemen who voted for my resolution areas much responsible for it as myself. N< >t only was my DfO- >n considered, but it was weighed by the hon. member for South Bruce. So much did the boo. member consider it as a matter of certainty that the committee must sit during the recess that he used this language : " With regard to giving the committee power to sit after the prorogation, he thought the correct course to pursue would bo to introduce a bill authorizing the committee to sit during the recess, and by a resolution of the house to take evidence under oath." The hon. gentleman saw that it was quite impossible for us to get through the investigation during the session, and I do not see in justice how it was possible to get through without these gentlemen coming. H ive I not then proved my case, Mr. Speaker ? (Cheers.) Have I not proved that this house solemnly re- solved, as far as it could resolve, that this enquiry should be continued after the prorogation ? Now, Mr. Speaker, I shall not elaborate this question any further than to say that believing as I did, believing as I do, that it would have been an injustice to proceed with this enquiry in the absence of the gentlemen whom I have named, the government, of which I am a member, offered the advice to the governor-general that the house should be prorogued on the 13th of August, it having been understood that in the intermediate time the committee might sit. That advice was accepted, that was the advice I brought down and communi- cated to the house, and that advice was acted upon by this house and that act this house cannot now recall. (Hear, hear.) This house is responsible for its own acts and ordinances, and when I announced here that the house would be prorogued on the 13th of August, this house accepted that proposition as it should have done. (Cheers.) But, Sir, I stated to this house for all the purposes of this house that the adjournment should be considered a prorogation. (Cheers.) That was accepted by this house, and more than that, I brought down a bill to pay every member his salary, on the ground that it was a prorogation, and I say further that any member who got this money and wished for more and came back to get it APPENDIX. 587 was guilty of taking money under false pretenses. (Cheers.) We know what has happened in the United States. We know that the Globe, in • Tiler to induce its friends to come — they knew of course that my friends from the Pacific did not care for a thousand dollars — but they thought that the hon. members who were nearer Ottawa would be induced to come by a bribe, and the Globe to the eternal disgrace of that paper, insinuated that if hon. members came they would get their money. (Cheers.) I shall now make a few remarks in respect to the issue of the royal com- mission. I have spoken of the prorogation. I believe that it was consti- constitutional. I believe that it was wise, or whether it was wise, or unwise, it was sanctioned by this parliament, and I know that parlia- ment cannot, without dishonour, reverse their vote ; and I beliov, I know that the house accepted that prorogation on the ground that the irnment was in effect to be a prorogation, and that only the fcwo Speakers should be in the house on the 13th of August. (Cheers.) Aj regards the legality of the royal commission, I believe that I need not speak so long on that subject. Tho motion of the hon. member for Lambton n lifves me from that necessity. 1 will quota the evidence of the royal commission. Mr. Blake— Hear, hear. Sir Jon M H i-'Nald — I hear the member for Booth Bruce say " hoar hear.'' Surely he ought not t<» touch, taste nor handle the unclean thing. (Laughter.) Surely he will not think that any good fruit will come from a vile stalk. Surely he won't qooti any evid» nee of the commission if he believes the evidence of that commission to be illegal. The hon. gentle- man is on tin- botltt of i dilemma. Kither the evidence is legal or illegal. If it is legal, then the house can judge from the evidence, but if it is ille- gal, the house must discard it ; and yet the hon. member for Lambton ■d this evidence, and every man who spoke on tho opposite side of the house used that evidence ; and it cannot be said, if that evidence is to be used against the government, that it is illegal or unconstitutional. (Cheers.) You have your money, and you take your choice. Either ac- cept or discard it, and remain as you were before this evidence was taken. (Cheers.) Now it was alleged in the argument of an hon. gentleman op- posite, with respect to this committee, that the governor-general had been snubbed. 1 tell the hon. gentleman, and I have the permission of the crown to state it, that in addition to the official announcement, there is a formal opinion given by the law officers of the crown. — those authorities whose opinion the hon. member for Both well looked so scornfully upon, but every one else so much respected — that the course taken by the gov- 688 APPENDIX. ornor-general both in respect to the prorogation and the issuance of the royal commission, was legal and constitutional. Mr. Blake. — Hear, hear. sir .1 on M \ ■ .vu».— Well, Mr. Speaker, I cannot help it if thehon. gentleman does not agree with the law officers of the crown. But I have still ■ further statement to make, and I think I may make it in the pre- I of my hon. friend the finance minister— that the course of thegov- i -general in respect to all these transactions had been finally settled and agreed upon by the whole imperial cabinet. (Cheers.) It is said, Mr. Speaker, with Wtpt<< to the commission that by constitutional authority BTOWB cann«.t know what happens in the house of commons. Well, Mr. Speaker, that is <>ne «>f the anachronisms which we see in the quota- tions of the hon. gentlemen opposite. They are two or three centuries behind the times. Did the matter rennin with the house alone, or con- clude with the house ? No, the house itself sent information to the gov- r-general by the member for Shefford. In consequence of the reso- lution passed by the house, the member for Card well introduced a bill for the purpose of giving the committee power to administer oaths. Wt passed that bill through both houses, and it went to the crown, to the first branch of the legislature. Is it to be supposed that when we, the advisers •of the crown, the advisers of the governor-general, asked him to come down here contrary to usual practice, contrary to the general universal practice, to come down before the end of the session to give his sanction to a measure ; is it to be supposed that when we brought him down for that special purpose we were not charged by the legislature to convey to him why we asked him to give his assent i Then why, Mr. Speaker, was it to be supposed that the sovereign would give, as a matter of course, his ■assent to a measure passed by this parliament without a reason. Sir, we gave that reason. The advisers of the crown told the crown what the motion of the member for Shefford was. They told the crown what the proceedings before the house were, and that the culmination of their pro- ceedings was that the act should be passed. That was the reason why the crown came down, that was the reason why the governor-general instead of at the end of the session came down in the middle. He was fully in- formed of the motion of the member for Shefford, and of all the proceed- ings on which the bill was based. But it has been said, sir, that this act was an obstruction of the action of parliament. Why sir, it was intended for the purpose of aiding parliament, but it was disallowed ; but certainly by no act of mine as has been charged. It was even asserted somewhere that I had, or that the governor-general had, attempted in some way to influence the government in England to disallow the act. Well, sir, the APPENDIX. 589 paper before parliament shows with what scorn that statement can pro- perly be met. No suggestion direct or indirect, went from the Canadian to the imperial government with respect to the disallowance or passage of that act. (Cheers.) I did not hesitate in my place in parliament to ex- press my opinion that the passage of that act was beyond the powers of the Canadian parliament. I had formed, I may say, a very strong opinion on the point, but I did not express my opinion so strongly to this house as I really felt it, because I knew from the usual generosity of gentlemen opposite that they would at once have said, "Oh, of course, you throw obstacles in the way because you do not wish the bill to pass," and there- loie, while 1 would have liked to state that we had not the power to pass the act, at the same time I placed great confidence in the opinion of the lion, member for Cardwell. I do not know whether the member for South Bruce expressed any opinion on the point, but if he did not, many other learned members did, and I paid great respect to their opinions. 1 did not therefore oppose, as otherwise I would have opposed, the passage of the bill, which I would certainly have done had 1 not been personally con- cerned. When it went up to the go\ trnor _aner;il, as the papers will show, as I was bound to express my real opinion, I stated my doubt of its legality, but hoped would see his way bo allow it instead of reserving it for the signification of her majesty's pleasure, and 1 gave my « not only as first minister, but as minister of justice, that the act should be passed. The measure was passed and went home to England is fully argued, so far as it could well be argued, and the strong impression of the representative of our sovereign at the time was, that I was wrong in my law, and that the hon. bum m who had supported the hill were right, and that the bill would become law. We know what the result was, and that after the consulta- tions the bill was disallowed. It has been said by the hon. member for B >thwell, that it is out of the question that we should be governed by the law officers of the crown, but let me state to this house, Mr. Speaker, that OH was not the decision merely of the law officers of the crown, but it was the decision of the British government. It was an orderof tin privy council, and there is not an order of the privy council passed in which the lord chain vllor is not consulted before a decision is come to. sir, whether the commission was legal or not, and we will suppose for a moment that it was not, though it is a great stretch of supposition, would • have been well for the hon. member for Shefford to have come be- fore that commission ? Would it not have been well for the hon. member, as a man really anxious to have justice done ? Would it not have been well for the hon. member if desirous of the triumph of his party, not de- APPBNDIJ, sirous of the defeat of a ministry, not desirous of a change of government, but really, truly, anxiously, and, as he said, painfully desirous of having justice done, to have come before the commission and have followed up the investigation from day to day ? I think the house will say that the privileges of parliament were not endangered, and that he might safely have prosecuted the matter and have brought the offenders to justice, and that he could have done so without prejudice to his position as a member of parliament. Why then did the hon. gentleman not come ? It did not suit his plans to come. The hon. gentleman's game was first to destroy the Pacific railway company under the charge of Sir Hugh Allan, and then stroy the government, and not to have a real inquiry into the con- duct of the administration. Besides, sir, and it is a consideration of some importance to the house, and one that ought to have great force in the ry, I myself, and the other members of the government who were in this country, desired to give our explanation under oath. I went there, Mr. Speaker, and you know it was said in the newspapers that the com- mission would be a sham, and there would be no examination at all, and that the members of the government and other witnesses would shelter themselves under the plea that they need not criminate themselves. I would ask you, sir, and every hon member, whether every member of the government, when called before that commission, did not give full, clear and unreserved statements as regards all the transactions connected with the Pacific railway. (Cheers.) As I believe that that commission was issued in accordance with the law, because the crown as such had a perfect rigfcl to enquire into that matter, so at the same time I believe that in no way was it designed, and in no way did it in any way obstruct the action of parliament. Mr. Speaker, this house is not governed by that commis- sion or the evidence, although the member for Lambton has quoted the evidence, and used it, and made it the basis of his motion. I say the house is not in any way bound by that commission. It is in no way checked or obstructed or prevented from instituting the most searching examination into the matter. As a matter of fact, I believe that when the member for Shefford made his charges here, there was a notice given in the senate for an inquiry, and there was no reason in the world why the senate should not have had an inquiry. They might have had a commit- tee, and, as we have often seen it in England, the two branches of the legislature might have had concurrent committees sitting at the same time; and it might happen, as in England, that these committees might come to different conclusions. If a committee had been granted by the senate, would that have been a breach of the privileges of this house ? Certainly not. Well then, sir, if it be not a breach of the privileges of parliament APPENDIX. 591 lie second and third branches of the legislature should have concur- rent examinations into a certain charge, how can it be a breach of the privileges of the second and third chambers for the first branch of the legislature to go into the matter. (Cheers.) If the senate can discuss the matter, cannot the sovereign go into it ? Sir, the answer is too obvious to admit of doubt, and it must be remembered the sovereign holds a two-fold position ; that the sovereign is not only the first branch of the legislature, and is such has a right to inquire into such matters, but is also the head of the executive and is the executive. The crown governs the country ; the crown chooses its own ministers, and this house has no control, and the senate has no control over the crown in this respect, except in deciding whether they have confidence in the ministers chosen. The crown, in : to be a reality and not a myth, must have the full and sole selection of the individual members to form the government, and it is then for par- liament to say whether that selection is such as will command the confi- dence of parliament as well as enable them to carry on the affairs of the • .untry. If that is constitutional law, and I think it is, what is the conse- quence ? It is that the sovereign has the right to inquire into the con- duct of its own officers. If an offence is committed, the crown has a right juire into it. If a charge is made the crown has the right to ascertain whether that chargo is true. I will .suppose the case of a minister charged with a crime amenable to eonunon law. Ooold not the crown make in- quiry into such a matter? The proposition is too absurd a thing to need an answer, for we know of many cases where the crown has made such in- quiry. The case that is most applicable in principle to the present one is that of Lord Melville, and I will refer to that because it lays down certain principles to which I would invite the attention of the house. The case is especially applicable because the matter was first discussed in the house of commons ; and it is said here that because the matter was first discussed in the house of commons it should end there, and no other tribunal should with it, and no other authority should intervene and prevent the eluding its inquiry. But there is no reason in the world why any independent authority should not pursue an independent inquiry, Dg to the house a full, unrestrained and unrestricted right of inquiry, In the case I have I I there had been great abuses in connection with the navy contracts in Kn gland during the Peninsular war, and there were allegations of enormous frauds, and a pledge was given by Mr. Pitt's government, of which Lord Melville was a member, that so soon as a peace was concluded, an inquiry should be entered into, as it was thought im- :ble that in the height of the war a proper inquiry could be made. I ' that it was a different administration that moved for a committee in A PPENDIJT. the matter, but the notion was in consequence of the pledge given by Mr. Pitt, but when Lord Sidmouth asked for the committee it was opposed in the house of commons, on the ground that the crown could prosecute the iu<(uiry. The navy board had full authority, and the admiralty had full authority, and it was urged that the crown m it appointed the judges so it should appoint commissioners to try the particular case. There was the responsibility, and this view was argued strongly. As anyone will see who reads it, the commission was only granted after the government had been asked whether they bad got tli Ut mr.nis-mmers, and after the house had been informed that the navy board and the government of the day asked for the commission, and the act to authorize the administration of oaths was passed because there was no poster in the navy board to ad- minister oaths. The commission was similar t<> this in all respects. On this the minister w;is tried, Hid 00 this a minister was admitted, and the only difference between that case and this was that on that case a com- mission was asked for by the government, and in this the commission was issued by the government under th Mr. Wood. — Win-never there were commissions, special acts were pass- these commissions. Sir John M im». Would the lion, gentleman tell me of any such commissions ? Mr. Wood. — Yes, there was the act of 1843, and tha act of St. Albans, and in 1852 a general act was passed relating to such matters. No tingle case could be found En which a royal commission was appointed to try cor- rupt parties at elections, except under a special act. \u». — The hon. gentleman cites certain acts relating to corrupt practices, but the hon. gentleman must see that his cases had no reference to this one, because those which he cited referred to corrup- tion in boroughs, and the charge here is general carruption on the part of the government. It had been contended by the hon. member for Bothwell, who spoke at some length, that it was very surprising that the witnesses before the royal commission did not know anything, that they came up one after another, telegraph operators and others, and all stated that they did not know anything about the matter. Why were they called ? The reason was plain, and the reason was known to the hon. member. It was because Mr. Huntington handed in the names of these witnesses to the committee. He handed in my name among the rest, and it was alleged that there was an arrangement about this as if the government had any control over that commission. The witnesses were called one after ano- ther and in the order shown on the list handed in by the hon. member for Shefiford. Early in the session he handed in the list of witnesses, and APPENDIX. 593 they were all called in their sequence. I could not help it if a railway operator or a telegraph operator was called up and did not know anything about it. His name was there on the list, and in one case it was shown that If. Coursol, whose name was put on the list, met Mr. Huntington, and when he asked him why it had been done, that hon. gentleman said he did not know. It was the duty of the commissioners to call upon every man that hon. gentleman had placed on the list, whether they knew any- thing Of knew nothing, and therefore the charge of the hon. gentleman that they were called up by arrangement was untrue, and it was altogether unworthy of the hon. gentleman. Witnesses wore called up as they came on the list, and as they came on that list they came up to give their evi- dence. With respect to the composition of the commission, I have not much to say. 1 1 II beneath me to say much. (Cheers.) There is no man in Lower Canada who will not say that .Judge Day, by his legal acquire- rs well fitted for the position, and when 1 tell you that the pro- chief justice of the superior court, Judge Meredith, has said that the greatest loss that the bench of Lower Canada ever had, was in Judge Day. I have said all that can l>e said. (Cheers.) Judge Day is a man above any charge of political bias. He has shown what he was on the bench ; he has shown what he was as a politician ; he has shown in the oodinoa- lion of the laws of Lower Canada what he was as a jurist. The hon. mem- ber f ■• 1 Mid that the other two jadgei were my creatures. He • lid not venture to v 'ice Day, but he attacked the other two. Now, with respect to Mr. .Justice I may say that I have not seen him, n<>r have I had any mimunieation with him for seventeen long years. I sari he had been obliterated out of memory. I knew him in mj early days in parliament as a supporter of the Lafon- ilition. From that time he departed from my vision until he was appointed on that commission. And why, sir, why was he appoint- . mission I I was resolved in consequence of the insult that had been heaped upon the committee in Montreal, that the commissioners must sit in Ottawa, where they could be protected from such insults, and, therefore, there was no chance of the charge being tried by a Lower Can- ada judge, I was anxious that there should be a Lower Canada judge on the commission. It was suggested by the Globe that no superior court judge ought to sit on the commission, as a cause might arise out of it yet which would have to be tried before them. I endeavoured, therefore, to carry out the suggestion. I thought it was a good one, and took Justice Day, who, as a retired judge, could by no possibility try any case which might arise. He said that he would be only too glad to do so, but as ho was on very friendly personal relations with the Hon. Mr. Abbott, per- LL 6M APPENDIX. haps it might be thought not to be proper. He, however, consented to 10& He also stated to me that at least one French Canadian judge should sit, as one of my colleagues, a French Canadian, was implicated. He thought over all the names of the judges of Lower Canada, and suggested to me the name of M. Justice Polette as a man of high standing, a man of great legal power, as worthy in all rospeota to take his seat on the com- mission. And it is said Mr. Justice Gowan was a creature of mine. How Mr. .1 MtiM 1 1 "w;m i \ at came to be considered a creature of mine, I can- not say. He commenced life as a partner of Mr. Small, and was an ex- treme reformer. He was appointed by Mr. Baldwin on the representation of Mr. Small. I never did him a single bwoOf that 1 know of. 1 did not appoint him a judge. He was appointed a judge before I was a member of parliament, his appointment being made in IMS, while I became a member of parliament in 1844, I afterwards became acquainted with Judge Gowan, and 1 found that he was a good lawyer. I may also say that I have received great advantage, and that the country has received great benefits from the services of Mr. Justice Gowan. There is but one judge of the superior court in Upper Canada whom I have not appointed or promoted, and that one judge, I am proud to say, on the best evidence, has declared in the strongest terras that in the evidence produced before mimission there is not one tittle of evidence against me. (Cheers.) It has been said that the commission was a partisan commission ; but sup- posing 1 had committed any crime under the common law of the land, I must have been tried under a judge who war appointed or promoted by myself ; and I believe that not one single month or day less punishment would have been given to me if I had been tried by any one of these judges whom I have been from my position instrumental in placing on the bench. With respect to the charges brought against the judges, they have assumed various phases. First we are told that the government had acted with these American gentlemen and had given up all the rights of Canada to a foreign corporation. We were told that we are recreant to our posi- tion as Canadians, to our position as members of parliament, and guar- dians of the rights of Canada, and that we had handed over the great Pacific railway to the Americans. When that broke down, the next charge was brought up. Hon. gentlemen opposite said, " We know you did not do that, but you have sold it," and then when that broke down they came to the last charge, and said : ■ ' Oh, you are guilty of spending a large sura of money at the elections." There are the three charges, and with your permission I shall deal with them seriatim. It has been attempted to show that the first was not a charge. I would ask the house if it was not so understood in Canada, if it was not so APPENDIX. 595 un Jerstood in England, if it had not rung through the country, that the government of Canada were so devoid of duty, so devoid of patriotism, that they sold the charter to the Americans ? I must say that when this ■charge was first made, it roused me. I had thought that I had thwarted these men in every particular. I had thought that I had excluded them in every particular. I had thought that I had kept Jay Cooke & Co., and & Co., and every company in any way connected with the Northern Pacific railway out of the Canadian Pacific railway. (Cheers.) Mr. Speaker, if I had not done so ; if I had gone into that moderate system; if I had allowed the American railway system to go on and be completed, forever shutting out the opportunity for ours; if I had played the Ameri- can game; if I had played the game of the hon. gentlemen opposite; if I had sold the railway; if 1 had sold the interests of Canada, — I would have the plaudits of hon. gentlemen opposite, instead of now getting their atabs. (Cheers.) But it is because, from the first to the last, I was a true Canadian; beeau.se from the first to the last I stood by Canada; be- HB the first t<> the last, when they attempted to levy blackmail Upon me, 1 put it down with a strong hand.- that is why the attack was made on toe government; that is why the attack was made on me. (Loud •cheers.) 1 tare no hesil tying that thmoouiee, taken by the hon. member lot Bneflbld, is governed behind the scenes by a foreign element. (Cheers.) I do not titlemen by irhom he is surrounded witli being parties to this, 1-ut I do say that the course of the hon. mem- ber t i iverned by a foreign element, and I can prove it. (Cheers.) And if a c anmittes ii granted bo me, I will show that the hon. gentleman sits here by virtue of alien money and influence; and not only by virtue of itten influences, but alien railway influences. (Cheers.) 1 can pr >\e it. I am informed, and verily believe, that I can prove it. (Cheers and laughter.) I have got evidence, and if a committee is given to me I can prove that the hon. gentleman was elected to his seat in this house by alien railway influences; and more than that, I can not only prove that ho was elected by alien railway influences, but by alien railway influ- DOi urn- :th the Northern Pacific railway. (Loud cheers.) Mi. Speaker, I have to speak to the specific charges made against the government. Sir, before the last election took place, I knew what I had to face. 1 had a great, a strong and united opponent. I had showered up..n my dev.ted head all kinds of opposition. I had been one of the high c< •mmissioners, and one of the signers of the treaty of Washington. It was said that I had betrayed the country, and the hon. gentlemen had described me in their speeches as across between Benedict Arnold and Judas Iscariot. But I met parliament, and by a calm explanation of my course I won the 596 APPENDIX. approval of the house. Still the opposition roared. 1 knew that I must meet with a rtrottg opposition in my native province, from gentlemen of the opposite party. That province was the only province in the country that was not a gainer by the treaty, except as it was a gainer by the great gain which. I think, over-balanced everything — that of a lasting peace be- tween England sad the United States. (Cheers.) It gave to our children, and to our children's children, the assurance that we could enjoy our own comfort, that we could enjoy ourown firesides, that we could sit under our own tig tree, without the possibility of the war-cloud hanging over us; and if I was guilty of being ■ party to that treaty, 1 shall be glad to have it recorded on my t o m bs t one. (L<>ud cheers. We yielded much, we gave up many things— 1 admit that. I told this house that we had yielded much — that we had given up many things. But still we see our country proeperom still we see every interest pOWing (cheers), and now we know that : ile hand, by no unfriendly, warlike invasion, can the future be destroyed. (Cheers.) Vet, sir, I went out and submitted my shoulder to the smiter. I knew how much it would be held out that we had not got what we ought to have got ; that we had got no reciprocity — that the wheat of the Western fanner was not exchanged on equal terms with the wheat of the Americans. But 1 had to meet that, and I met it, Mr. Speaker, like a man. (Cheers.) I had to meet much more. I had not only to be told — as I was told at every place that I went to — that T was a traitor and had sold this country. If Canada is never sold in the future by a greater traitor than myself, Canada will be a fortunate country. (Loud cheers.) But I was told also that I had not only sold Canada to the Yan- kees, but that I had sold Ontario to the other provinces. It was said that I had not only committed a great breach of international law, but had also given them more than their rights. On every question of constitutional law I have had the satisfaction of having the courts — well, not perhaps the courts, but of those men who make the courts — in my favour, and I have never made a constitutional or legal proposition in which I have not had the support of the legal advisers of the crown in England, and in which I have not been right, and the hon. gentlemen opposite have been wrong. But with respect to Nova Scotia, we are told, not only that my course was unconstitutional, but that we had given to Nova Scotia more than they had a right to have. Perhaps the hon. gentleman opposite would say they never said so. He had been in the habit of saying so. But the fact could be proved, that the hon. gentleman took the two grounds — first, that our action was unconstitutional, and second, that the action was unjust to Ontario. (Cheers. ) Now I would ask you to speak to every member from Upper Canada, and ask if they did not find in every election that JLPPEND1Z. 597 said of the government of Canada, and that I, as prime minister, had granted to Nova Scotia too much, and had thereby increased the taxation of the people of Ontario ? I have had to tell the people of Ontario, in the first place, that Nova Scotia only got justice, and in the second, that the course taken was perfectly constitutional ; and even if we had given Nova ■ a little more than justice, it was well worth the outlay. (Cheers.) Why, Mr. Speaker, what did we lind at the time of the union I The min- ister of customs was the first man returned to the house in the elections, iictly union principles. Consider the position we were in here. We with a constitution just trembling in the balance, and yet we found t the most important provinces recalcitrant, threatening independence, and opposing in every possible way the carrying out of confederation, under which we now live and flourish. Was I to deal with the question in a hesitating wa\ r\ It we had given bo Nova Scotia a little more than her righto, and even as it were a sop, I say it was a statesmanlike act. But, sir, there were no necessities of that kind. We did them simple justice; and I will venture to say that any member who will now sit down and read the discussions and negotiations between Canada and Nova Scotia, will feel that we did full and ample justice. I am no friend feo doing half justice, I them DO more than justice. What is the OOnaeqOOnOt I We ■66 the people. I party; wre s.-e every man in Nova Scotia ad- miring the legislation of parliament introduced by the government, which has n. ia a part of the Dominion, instead of being a separate provinot, and has converted it into one of tin- most ardent friends of con- federation among tin- whole of the different members of the Dominion. (Cheers.) If it shall happen, sir, as it may happen, that I receive a reverse, i ii of any particular act of mine, 1 may still appeal, and I do appeal, to the members for Nova Scotia, who, when their best interests assailed, and they were brought perforce, fas aut nefax, into confeder- . they still got ment, got full justice, at our hands; and I hope to live in the hearts of the Nova Scotians. (Cheers.) While that was satisfactory to no, I think it was not satisfactory to my friends in On- tari< ». B very man ■ ho supported me was attacked at the polls with respect to ■ouraction on the Washington treaty, and because it was said we had given too m uch t< i help the Nova Scotians. So w ith British Columbia. Let me read some B resolutions with reference to the Pacific railway and British Colum- bia. Do you suppose, does any man suppose, we could have British Columbia within the Dominion without a railway \ There must not only be a union on paper, but a union in fact. Those hon. members of the opposition, by ■every act that they could, in every way that they could, opposed the prac- tical union of British Columbia with Canada. (Cheers.) They voted against 598 APPEVDIX. it, they said it was most outrageous — the plan, the idea of a railway, was outrageous. (Opposition cries of ' ' hear.") That is the language used by hon. gentlemen opposite, and I will presently quote terms used. Now let us look at some of the motions made. The government moved a motion* to carry out a measure which is now the law. It was moved in amendment "that the proposed engagement respecting the Pacific railway would, in the opinion of the house. heavily on the resources of Canada to- carry out.'' That motion was defeated. (Ministerial cheers.) Then it was moved, "that in view of the arrangement entered into with British Columbia at the time of confederation, and the large expenditures neces- sary for canal improvements and other purposes within the Dominion, this house is not justified in imposing on the people the enormous burden of taxation required to construct within ten years a railway to the Pacific, as proposed by the resolution submitted to this house.'' (Ministerial cheers.)" I say I might read you a series of resolutions, all made by hon. gentlemen opposite, and voted for by tin in. showing that in their opinion we had been axing the resources of the people of Canada. I am now told by the hon. gentlemen opposite, that, although they opposed that arrangement with British Columbia, they think they are bound to it now. I am told that they say, "True, we made an arrangement with British Columbia which was improvident, extravagant and ruinous, and which could never be carried out. Y •. I i ing made, we will carry it out." I don't exactly see the logic of that. If it be ruinous, extravagant and impossible, I really don't see how it can be carried out now. (Cheers.) But, Mr. Speaker, I don't believe the policy of the hon. gentlemen opposite is in favour of that. (Loud cheers.) I know it is opposed to that. (Renewed cheers.) I know, if this government goes out of office, and another government comes into power, if it be composed of hon. gentlemen opposite, that it will oppose our policy in this question. (Ministerial cheers.) Hon. gen- tlemen opposite dare not deny that the Globe newspaper announces and directs their policy. We passed a bill the session before last: we granted a charter for the building of the road, and it was settled and determined that the Pacific railway should be built, and we were to build it on our own territory, and not allow the Yankees to come in and assist in building the road, nor even the friends of the hon. member for Vancouver. Yet, what was the announcement of the organ of the hon. gentlemen opposite ? After the legislation of 1872, after we had accepted the arrangement with British Columbia, after we had brought them into the Dominion on the pledge of the faith of the government and the country that there would be a Pacific railway within ten years, after we had made that promise, with the solemn sanction of the country, what were the remarks of the Globe, the APPENDIX. 500 exponent of the opinions of hon. gentlemen opposite 1 The right hon. gen- tleman then read an extract from an article, published in the Globe during 1873, wherein the Pacific railway scheme was declared to be financially ruinous, and politically unpatriotic ; — a scheme which could only be ac- complished within ten years at an outlay which would cripple Canadian resources, and lock up the most valuable part of our public domains. The right hon. gentleman continued: — Now, Mr. Speaker, you see what is to happen if Canada builds this Canadian Pacific railway. All our resources are to be crippled by this, the most ruinous and most unpatriotic scheme ever invented, and this cry I had to meet at the hustings. I have gone on from one stage to another. I have shown you how I met the cries at the hustings — that 1 bartered away Canadian rights in the Washington y; that I had granted too much to Nova Scotia; that I had been guilty of granting a constitution to a few half-breeds in the North- West country, ;ind had -jiven tin in infinitely more than they had a right to expect; that, as regards British Columbia, I would throw away the resources of Canada upon the construction of the Pacific railway, and that I had sold Ontario. 'Ironical cheers from the opposition.) Mind you. Ontario considers itself the richest province— and no doubt it is— and that any additional charge placed in the public treasury presses unfavourably on them, because they pay more in proportion to their wealth than the other provinces of the Dominion. I know they don't do so, but it has been urged upon them that they do do so. Then, again, m had to BMtt the continued opposition of the local government of ( >ntario. I will give the hon. gentlemen proofs n writing, so that they will not be able to deny the fact — proof that though that local government had pic U in the most formal manner to be neutral in thi contest, that they, by every act in their power, and by every inlluence, direct ami indirect, that they possessed, worked against the Canadian government. That is the charge, and I can prove it. (Minis- J cheers.) We know that influences of every kind would be used, and were mod, which can be proved ; or, as the hon. member from Shefford would say. " I am credibly informed, and can prove," (laughter) ; and we believed that the future of Canada much depends upon the continuing in power of a government that has for its one single aim and object the main- tenance of the on between Canada and the British empire, and rotaotion of the development of the Dominion itself. (Cheers.) We have been met at the polls with sectional cries. If the opposition could raise a religious cry, it was done. The New Brunswick school question was brought up, and they got up the cry that we had given too much to Nova Scotia, and those cries were made to ring at the polls in Western Canada. The cry that we had given too much to British Columbia was COO APPENDIX. hammered into 113 at every public meeting in the west, and I say distinctly, and I repeat it again, that we had the power, influence, and the weight of the Ontario government against us, contrary to the distinct pledge that that government would be neutral. (Cheers.) Well, sir, I will state now what occurred with respect to the Pacific railway. I was at Washington, bartering my country, as some of the lum. gentlemen say — (laughter) — at- tending, at all events, to the Washington treaty, when the resolutions were carried which happily I say for Canada brought British Columbia into the union of the British North American provinces. (Cheers.) The propo- sition included the Pacific railway, for British Columbia would not have come in, unless the terms of union had included a railway. Notwithstanding great opposition, the resolutions were carried by my late honoured and lamented colleague, but he only carried them by promising to introduce itions by which the railway would be built, not by the government directly, but by private capital, aided by government grants. I would if 1 had been here, have willingly assented to that proposition, but though I was not here, yet I am responsible for that act, and I do accept it as perhaps the best proposition to be had; otherwise, perhaps, the union would not have been consummated. The resolutions declared that the railway should be built by a railway company, assisted by government grants of land and money. The hon. member for Napierville, however, moved a resolution setting forth that the house did not believe that pri- capital could be obtained sufficient for the purpose. The whole of the resolutions moved by hon. gentlemen opposite were more for the pur- pose of defeating the construction of the Pacific railway ; and when Sir George Cartier produced his resolutions, and was about to carry them as prepared, he had to give way to the desire of the house, because even those who usually supported the government were alarmed by the cry which had been raised by gentlemen opposite. Thus, if the motion of the hon. mem- ber for Napierville had been adopted, and Canada was unable to get a company to build the railway, the bargain with British Columbia would fall to the ground and be only waste paper, and British Columbia would sit out shivering in the cold, forever, without a railway. The policy in- dicated by that resolution of the hon. member for Napierville has been carried out ever since. In March, long after the legislation had taken place, by which parliament declared that there should be a Pacific railway built in some way or other, we find the Globe urging its friends to still further oppose that scheme; and, sir, we have had arraigned against us the opposition of those who usually ally themselves against the govern- ment, supported by those gentlemen of the opposition many of whom owe their election to sectional cries. (Cheers.) We have met them, and it is APPENDIX. 601 said that we have met them with money. 1 believe that the gentlemen -?ite spent two pounds to our one. (Opposition cries of u no, no.") I challenge the hon. gentlemen to have a committee on this subject. Let us have a committee. (Ministerial cheers.) I read the speech of the hon. member for South Bruce at London, and he suggested the appointment of ■ statutory committee. In God's name, let us have it ! Let us have a committee of three, to go from county to county, from constituency to constituency, and lot them sift these matters to the bottom, and I tell you on my honour as a man, that 1 believe I can prove that there are more who owe their elections to money on that side of the house than on this. I ministerial cheers. If I be challenged, I can go into detail. I can sh<>w, and I can prove it, that many members owe their election to money, and to money alone. I challenge the hon. gentlemen to agree to the ap- pointment of a committee, • statutory committee, as suggested by the hon. member for South Bruce. Lot us put the names of the judges of all the provinces into ■ bag, and draw out three nanus, who shall form the committee. (Cheers.) As I stated in my evidence and 1 hope my evi- dence has been carefully read by every member of this house — and I say here, that I tried to be as full and frank as I could well be. I could not help it if I was not subj. rigid cross-examination. I was e.v the hon. number for Sheffield should be there to cross- ,:ue me — (cheers) — and 1 would willingly have answered his questions. 1 have little more to say than 1 said then. Sir, there was no sale to Sir . Allan of any contract M (Cheers.) Consider for one mo- ment, Mr. Speaker, how the OMettOod. rarliament had passed two acts, t Canada and one for Lower Canada, and some two or three subsidiary acts respecting branch lines. But we will leave these out of the question, and will consider that there were two acts passed — one for a company having its centre in Montreal, and the other m Toronto. Now, sir, although there were Ontario gontlemen con- nected with the Canada Pacific company, and although there were Que- bec gentlemen d with the Lntorooetniri company, yet they really acts promoted by men wbo have Ontario and Quebec interests on- very one saw that th< ssentially sectional. Before parlia- ment met, and before either act was passed, the cry was got up that the ic people were desirous of obtaining the control of our rail- way. At the first, Mr. Speaker, whin the tirst interview took place be- tween the government and these gentlemen, 1 was very glad to see them. We had passed in Ik? 1 the act that British Columbia should be a portion cf the Dominion, and we had passed a resolution by which we wore to build railway in ten years. It was understood, then, sir, that the whole C02 APPENDIX, matter should stand over until the ensuing session, and that in the mean- time the government should go on with the survey and be ready in 1872 with the plans. We got through the session of 187- and we commenced, 01 order to keep faith with the British Columbians, the survey, and I think they will admit, and everyone must admit, that the greatest energy and the greatest zeal have been exhibited in the survey, and that within two years there has never been so much work so satisfactorily done as in this railway survey by Mr. Sanford Fleming. (Cheers.) The survey mi ing on, and in niidsmnnu'r and in the fall all the members of the govern- ment were scattered looking after their several affairs, taking their little holidays, and God knows the public men of this country have little enough holiday. They were all scattered except Sir Francis Hincks and myself when Mr. Waddingt<>n called on me. I had known the gentleman before, and I much respected him. He said to me that there were some Ameri- can gi d to see us about the railway. I said to him in my way. " What a fool you were to bring them here. We can do nothing with them." He was very much distressed, and said to me. " But you will not refuse to see them." I said certainly not. The gentlemen then came. and Sir Francis Hincks and 1 met them, and we talked pleasantly, and I said to them that I was glad to see that American capital was looking for investment in Canadian enterprises, but that it was altogether premature as we could not then take any offers or suggestions, or take any action till after we had met parliament. One of them remarked that they had evi- dently been brought on a wild-goose errand, and they then went away. This first brought to my mind very strongly the necessity for Looking oat for our railway. Parliament had tied down our hands, and the railway could only be built by a company, and there were no other means of car- rying out the pledge with British Columbia, and I therefore immediately addressed myself to the matter. And what did I do ? I spoke to all that I could, as I have no doubt my colleagues did, and endeavoured to arouse Canadians in the enterprise. I went to Toronto and saw Messrs. Mac- pherson, Gzowski, Col. Cumberland, Mr. Howland and his son, and Good- erham & Worts, and in fact every one, and endeavoured to induce them to enter into the great enterprise. I told them as Sir Francis Hincks told Sir Hugh Allan, that by law there was no other way of building the road but by a company, and that they ought to get up a grand company, get a char- ter and go to England for any capital they needed. As I went to Toronto, Sir Francis Hincks went accidentally to Montreal, and told Sir Hugh about the American gentlemen who had called on us, and the fault I found with my friend Sir Francis, and which I ventured to tell him when he was a member of the government was, that while merely attempting to stimu- APPENDIX. (SOS late Sir Hugh to go into the work, he had named to him that he had bet- ter put himself in communication with the American capitalists. That was the act of Sir Francis Hincks. That was his concern, and I would not at all object to American capital, or capital from England, or any- where else, but I told Sir Francis on his return that he had been prema- ture in this, that we ought to have kept to a great Canadian company be- fore any offer or intimation that Americans might come in was made. Then Sir Hugh, acting on the hint given by Sir Francis, and it was no more than a hint — it was in no way a government action — communicated with the Americans, and we had a visit from a number of Americans with Sir Hugh ; and Mr. Speaker, I being spokesman on both occasions, gavfl them precisely the same answer that they were premature ; that we were very glad to seo them, but we could make no arrangement until parliament 1 said we would be very glad however to hear any proposition, and asked them whether they had any to make. Sir Hugh asked in return whether we were in a position to entertain a proposition ; and on our re- plying in the negative, he rejoined that he then had no proposition to make. And these were all the communications between the Canadian government and these gentlemen. (Cheers.) This statement cannot be cou- rted, and will not be. In the meantime a sectional jealousy had arisen, instead of, as I hoped, a joint action between the capitalists of tree] and Toronto, and instead of, as I had hoped, there being a rush and anxiety among our moneyed men in tho different parts of Canada to form one great company, for tho work required united exertion, there was a jealousy fanned fr quarter, which we know now, and this jeal- prevented the two great bodies of capitalists, who ought to have built the road, from joining, and all our hopes were scattered ; and ft feeling arose in Toronto first that if the Montreal interest got the preponderance nto trade would get the go-by, and second, that Sir Hugh Allan and Montreal interest were joined with the Americans. That feeling grew and I am not DOW in a position to state, after reading the evidence and ni- ter reading tho letters of Sir Hugh Allan and those published by Mr. Mc- Mullen, I an not now in a position to state that that jealousy in Toronto was ill founded. I am not in a position to state that they had not some ground of which we knew nothing for believing that the Montreal party were in communication with the Americans. I am not now in a position ate that the people of Toronto and the Interoceanic had not greal for suspicion and jealousy, whether that suspicion was well or ill founded ; but before parliament met, as I have sworn, and as Mr. Abbott has sworn, and as every member of the house knows, the feeling against the introduction of American capital was so great that by no APPENDIX. -possibility could it be allowed entrance. We felt, Mr. Speaker, and .•wry member knew it, that it was necessary that every American ele- ment must be eliminated from the acts, or they could not pass — (cheers) — and I appeal to hon. gentlemen who were then in the house if they do not know, as a matter of fact, that it was understood on all sides that the American element was eliminated. I understood it so ; the government understood it so ; and the house understood it so, and Mr. Abbott, who undertook the manau'omont of the bill of the Montreal company through this holism, made it a special understanding with Sir Hugh Allan that it should be so befoiv ho promoted the bill, and so it was by universal con- sout. 1 kn<>\v, Mr. Speaker, that it will be said, and I may as well speak •f it now, that Sir Hugh Allan's letters show that he still kept up his con- nection with the Amorieans. I know it, and I painfully know it, that Sir Hugh Allan behaved badly and acted disingenuously towards the men with whom he was originally connected. I say that when he found that Amer- icans wer. bfl admittod he ought to have written to them, and in- i 'rnie give them the con- • ) 1 told them that he ought to have broken off his eon- u with them long ago, and that if he had kept them in the dark they must take their own remedy against him. We were then asked how could we admit into the oontraet Mr. Speaker, we had already ad- mitted him. I tot was made. Every province had been given its directors. The charter had been drawn, and only awaited the signature of the governor-general ; and more than all this, the correspond* ver may be said of the conduct of Sir Hugh Allan towards the Amer- pro v ed the existence of hostility between them, and showed that if Sir Bngh were one of the company who received the contract we should keep the Americans out altogether. 1 had to get that contract let. I had to get a sufficient number of the capitalists of Canada who would take up this subject, and Sir Hugh Allan was the first. He is our greatest capi- talist. He was the first man who went into it, and these gentlemen, Mr. M Mullen and the rest, proved to me that Sir Hugh Allan had cut the •nnection, had nothing to do with the Americans, or with Jay Cooke & Co., and that they were resolved to follow him to the death as they have done. (Hear, hear.) This, then is the narrative, so far, of our con- OOC AITKXVIA'. net iun with the Pacific railway. My evidence states that shortly before the elections 1 went to Toronto, and Sir George Cartier went to Montreal. 1 do not wish h<»n. gentlemen to suppose for one single instant that I would desire to shelter myself or my living colleagues by throwing the blame on my dead colleague. (Cheers.) Whatever Sir George Cartier has done I will assume the responsibility of. (Hear, hear.) Whatever Sir George Carder has done I must accept as being the honest expression of an individual minister ; but, sir, 1 do not admit, and I will not admit, and it is not safe for hon. gentlemen opposite to admit, that any one minister can bind a ministry. (Cheers.) I went to Toronto in order to descend to the stern contest that was forced upon DM by the course taken by hon. gentlemen opposite, to meet the arguments that were going to be used against me, the sectional questions that wt.iv raised against me, the numerous charges which were made against me, and which I had always found operating against me. When 1 went to Ontario for that purpose, and to meet these charges, it was not for the first time. As long as I have been in parliament I have been charged by hon. gentlemen opposite w it h selling Upper Canada, with sacrificing the best interests of Upper Canada, with selling myself to French domination and Catholic influences and Lower Canadian int f SsU . 1 had refuted these charges repeatedly, and had convinced the majority in Upper Canada that I held then as I do now the principle of union between Upper and Lower Canada, and that the only way by which that union could be firmly established was by ig- noring sectional ipiestioiis and religious differences. (Cheers.) These cries are still raised. You will hear them before many days in this house, and you will hear them throughout the country whenever it pleases hon. gen- tlemen opposite to raise them ; but as my past history has shown, so my future history will prove that whatever party political exigency may be, I have never, and shall never give up the great principle of keeping intact the union of Upper and Lower Canada by a give and take principle, by a reciprocity of feeling and by surrendering our own religious and political prejudices for the sake of union. I went to the West to do what I could during the elections, in fighting the battle of the party and the govern- ment. I had simply said to Sir George Cartier that I should have a very hard fight in Upper Canada, as I had the government of Ontario against me, and I wished him to help me as far as he could. I went to Toronto, and I tried all I could before the elections took place to procure an amal- gamation of the two companies. It was of vital importance, in a party point of view, laying aside the patriotic view, to have a company to build the road, composed of the Montrealers and the Toronto men, so that I could have gone to the country and said, " Here is a great enterprise. We APPENDIX. GOT have formed a great company. We are carrying out a great scheme. "We are forming a great country." I spared no pains to procure an amalgama- tion ; Senator Macpherson, and any one in Toronto connected with the enterprise, will tell you how hard, how earnestly, in season and out of season, I worked to procure that amalgamation. I failed. I thought I had succeeded two or three times. I abandoned my own constituency ; I might have been elected by acclamation, or at all events by a very large majority, but instead of attending to my election, I went up to Toronto to attempt to bring about an amalgamation between the two companies. Then they got up a story about me, according to the habit of the opposi- tion, that I considered my constituency a pocket borough, and thought I could afford to pass it by. I thought at one time I had succeeded in pro- curing an amalgamation, and Mr. Abbott came up to Toronto in response MUD from me. We had an interview with Mr. Macpherson, ami almost succeeded in coming to an agreement. The only (jiiestion was whether there should bt seven and six or five and four directors from On- tnd t, v > 1 1 1 - 1 arrangement was so near that I was satisfied when I left Toronto that the amalgamation was complete J found, however, that that was not the case, and in the middle of mv elect ion, on the 26th, I think, of July, I telegraphed bo Mr. Macpherson to come down, and he came down to Kingston and saw me and then I sent that telegram which has been published in the papers, and which was the only arrangement as regards the granting of the charter so far as the government was concern - . far as I was « hear.) That telegram which was sent on the tttfa .July was aen1 by DM to Sir Hugh Allan, after seeing Mr. hereon, and with the knowledge of Mr. Macpherson. Now what that say ? I \ I reluctantly to give up the hope of having an ..->. These little jealousies, these little and the jostling between seventeen and thirteen mem- bers on the board had come in the way, and I could not carry out the ar- rangement I bed hoped to complete. 1 could not spare the time. 1 was : eat danger of losing my election by throwing myself away on this : > * I '.nine railway. I actually came down to Kingston only on the day . nomination, tru>ting to the kindness of my old friends in Kingston, Well, sir, what was the telegram which I sent ? It said : "I have seen Mr. Macpherson," — he was in the room when I wrote it. " I have seen Mr. Macpherson. lie has no personal ambition, but he cannot give up the rights of Upper Canada. I authorise you to state that any influence the government may have in the event of amalgamation, shall be given to • I ngk Allan. The thing must stand over till after the elections. The two gentlemen, Mr. Macpherson and Sir Hugh Allan, will meet in Ottawa anl form an amalgamation." That was the proposition which I made, and just think, sir, what was involved, think how much I was snubbing, which is a word which has been used by the Qlobt lately, how much I was injur- ing and prejudicing the interest of my colleague in Montreal, Sir George f.irtier. Sir Hugh Allan did not care so much for the Pacific railway, ^ir George Cartier did not care so much for Sir Hugh Allan. It was not Sir Hugh Allan or the Pacific railway that he cared so much about ; but Sir Hugh Allan had made himself the representative man of Lower Canada with respect to the Northern Colonization Road, the North Shore .ainl the Ottawa and Toronto Road, so that the members from Lower Canada would have stood by Sir Hugh Allan even to the risk of ns, because their Montreal interests would be so much affected if Sir Hugh Allan were not sustained with regard to the Pacitic railway. But with respect to the other railways, my hon. friend from So- chelaga and other gentlemen can say that if there had been accord between high Allan and the French membersof Lower Canada from the Mon- treal district, there would have been a great peril of the Lower Canadian m embers from that district deserting Sir George Cartier, and supporting Hugh Allan in carrying out the Northern Colonization road. I was standing by Sir George Cartier, who was most improperly charged with being so much attached to the Grand Trunk railway that he would not do justice to the other roads. I will ask my friends from Lower Canada if ■ eorge Cartier's connection with the railway had anything to do with the results of the elections. His prosp connected with the loed roads alone. In order to prove to you how true a man Sir George Cartier was, how perfectly unselfish he was, I may state that he held back on my account When he said, " I wish to be elected on my own merits, and on my own services, and not on account of the Colonization or any other road," (cheers) and when by a word he could have put an end to th'e cry « 4 interest, he felt that it was a sectional feeling between Upper and Lower Canada, and that if he pronounced in favour of any railway in Lower Canada, he would injure me in Upper Canada, and he sacrificed himself for my sake in Lower Canada, because he thought that any pronounce- ments in favour of Sir Hugh Allan, might injure me and my friends in the western elections. (Cheers.) I had only one thing to do and that was to return to him the confidence and trust he had reposed in me. I said, " Don't mind me. Fight your own battles. You must make your own arrangements with your own friends in respect to the railways," and it was not until he had that communication with me that he said he would help the Northern Colonization road. It was not because Sir George Cartier had any personal objects to gain, it was not because he APPENDIX. 609 -was connected with the Grand Trunk Railway, but it was purely from a desire to save me from any possible difficulty in Upper Canada that he held back, and I have here now, when he is dead, the proud opportunity of stating that even in the last moment he was actuated by no selfish feel- ing, by no desire to promote his own interests, but that he only thought of his colleague, of his comrade of twenty years. He only thought by ap- prmnote a national interest in Lower Canada he might hurt me in Upper Canada, and he threw away all his chances, all his hopes, every thing like a certainty or a reasonable hope of success, for the purpose of standing by me, and I am proud and happy now to pay this tribute to his memory. (Cheers.) Well, sir, on the 26th of July I sent that tele- gram, and that was the only bargain. No man can make a bargain with the government, except by an order in council, or by the action of the recognised and accepted by his colleagues. Any act of a -first minister, until it is disavowed, is considered equal to a minute of council, equal I I the government. That telegram of mine of the 08th of July was an act of the government. Iffy colleagues have not re- pudiated it ; they have aooepted it, and it was a fair arrangement as we could not gel the amalgamation. in going to the country with a perfect scheme for building the Pacific railway, what else* was left to us but to keep the amalgamation of these great capitalists open till after t ns, and then call them together, and the only word of QtO was limply my i i that any intlu. ameni might have in case of amalgamation, in the case of th bung and • board of directors, would be fairly used in h lency. I think that was d h Allan, ami after all it was no great affair. Every - knows that th : any is no mOTC than the junior mem depends altogether upon the per* I the man. Wt have seen boards where the president governed the I president was a mere figure head, in where the junior member governed the company. It !y upon the personal figure and authority of the man. Well, , hut 1 wish the house to remember that at the tune of that telegram, in which 1 simply srated that as we could not form tpany before the el. old form one afterwards out of tie two, and would do what we could to make Sir Hugh Allan president. At that time there had been not one single word said about money — (cheers) — and there never was one said, as far as I was concerned, between Sir i Allan and me. (Hear, hear.) I was righting the battle in Western Canada* I was get4 liptions, as I have no doubt the hon. mem- MM 610 APl'EXDIX. ber for Lambton was getting subscriptions, and if he denies it I will be able to prove it. (Cheers.) I state in my place that I will be able to prove ir. (Cheers.) I was doing what I could for the purpose of getting money to help the flections, and I was met, not only by individual exer- . but by the whole force, power and influence, legitimate and illegiti- mate of the Ontario government. 1 have n«> hesitation in saying that in all expenditure, we were met by two dollars to one. (Hear, hear.) I ha\e read with some amusement the attacks that have been made upon the government, because a member of the government was a party to this fund. If we had had the same means possessed by hon. gentlemen oppo- site : if we had spies ; if we had thieves ; if wo had men who went to your desk, picked} your note books, we would have than hon. gentlemen think they have now. i n. ) We were lighting en uneven battle. We were limply subscrib- ing as gentlemen, while they were stealing as burglars. (Cheers.) We may trace it out as a conspiracy throughout. I use the word c mspiracy advisedly, and I will use the word out of the house as well as in the house. (Oheere. The ham. ■wmbei tot Stafford said that he had ob- tained certain doOJMftl mtfc H* attempted to read them to this house, not much I think to his credit, and certainly contrary to the sense of the . of the country. Now how did he getthe.se documents. W T e had Mr. George W . McMulien, who was the American agent of these gen- ii. He had carried on this correspondence with .Sir Hugh Allan, and when he came to me in December and tried to levy black mail on me (hear, | I told him to go to , well I did not use any improper language, but I told him to step out of my office (laughter and cheers,) and he went to the hon. gentlemen opposite. (Cheers. ) This is no mere hypothesis of mine. Bur Hugh Allan had premised to pay this men $17,000 for these papers, and although he had the money almost in his hand, the hon. gen- tleman gave him something more. (Cheers.) The hon. gentleman cannot deny that he did. Hon. Mr. Hintingtox — L do deny it. (Opposition cheers.) The statement is without foundation. Sir John Macdoxald — If there is one person in the world whom the hon. member for Shefford has a3 a friend, it is the editor and pro- prietor of the Montreal Herald (hear, hear), I think he takes him to his bosom ; I think they sleep together. I think they have but one thought. He is his guide, philosopher, and friend, and when we have the announcement from the Montreal Herald, of May the 22nd, 1873, I think we must accept it. " No one can suppose that such a plot could have been laid bare without great labour and large ex- APPENDIX. 611 penditure" (cheers), again, the Herald says, speaking of Mr. Hunting- ton, — " But for the courage with which he assumed it, as well as for the pains and expenditure which it has cost him to expose the mystery, he is entitled to the warmest gratitude." (Cheers on both sides of the house.) I judge from the cheers of hon. gentlemen opposite that the hon. member Bhefiford has their thanks ; but that is an admission that he made the expenditure. (Oh! oh! and cheers.) This man bought Mr. McMullen. It is admitted by the Montreal J ft rail that he bought him. (No ! no ! and hear, hear.) Hon. Mr. IIintincton — I have already stated in the house that the es were not founded on any information from Mr. McMullen, and that the statements which have appeared were false. I never got any in- formation. 1 m-ver got any information from McMullen till long after I made the charges. I neve* paid UOT promised him a cent, and the state- ment of the hon. gentleman is utterly without foundation. (Opposition re.) The statement also that he made a few minutes ago that 1 have : here by foreign gold, and that foreign gold had been used in my election, is an utterly unfouml i every particular ; and I ehall. age the h-.n. gentleman '. and dare him on his re- libiltty to t (Mr. Huntington was proceeding, when cries of '• I rnment benches, answered by boa. gentleman went on ■peaking in the midst of An uproar which rendered his remarks perfectly inaudible). On order .i"ii\ BCagdohald proceeded. There, sir, is the very evidene I have hi: tit him on a sore point. (Cheeis and > itleman that I am willing to have a committee to inquire into the whole matter, including the case of the man. . Mr. lb Ohl Sou can back out es you will. n ML&OOOVDLD — I am not backing out, but the hon. gen- tiemancannot expect to have it all as ho likes. I'll road another extract. "Mr. Huntington said that the charter was obtained in the session of •r the men who furnished tho money to him (8ir Hugh Allan) were repudiated, and made arranginents with him (Mr. Hunting- ton) to bring the charges against the government." (Cheers.) II ii. Mr. II se to a question of order. The report of my speech is entirely without foundation. (Cries of order, order.) is a question of fact, and the hon. gentleman can correct it after- wards. 6ft Ari'KXl'lX. Sir .loi(\ Mv DOS till — I heard it myself. (Cries from government benches, '' We all heard it.") Perhaps the lion, gentleman will deny that he said Jay Cooke would not have him in his offioa without a witness. Hon. Mr. li n That is another falsehood of the Ottawa That paper, which i.s inspired by hon. gentlemen opposite, delib- \y falsitied my speech fnnn the beginning to the end. I refused to disgrace myself by notieing the malignant statement of the dastard sheet. What I said was that 1 had not seen Jay Cooke for four years ; that 1 went to a prominent promoter of the Northern Pacific railway (hear, hear), with the view of conversing with him. and found that they were the allies of the hon. gentlemen opposit je they would not even talk to me without people being present. (Hear, hear.) The Umill 1 must call the h"ii. member fco order. I hope this interruption will cease. The hon. member knows what the rules of de- bate are as well as any one else in the house, and this plan of interrup- em only lead to unseemly contusion in the house. The hon. gen- ;ii will ask his opportunity bom the house. I am sure it will be given to him, and he can then make his denial on the question of fact. Sir John Macdon'alo— I wish to invite the attention of every hon. member of this house who is an honest and candid man, to the statement I am making. There could be no amalgamation before the elections. In my telegram of the 26th of -Inly I stated tha- I ion must stand o?et until after the elections ; that the two companies would stand on per- lie arrangements which had been made be- Abbott should b ding line. That ida should have seven, Tower Caned* six, and each of the other provinces one director on the board. Not by any chance or possibility com I r_rh Allan by his Urge capital, or the influence created by that capital, give undue intluence OJQ the hoard f jr Lower Canada or for himself over my own province. On the :>()th of July I received a letter from Sir 1 [qgfa Allan. Bir Geo. Cartier being sick, stat- ing that he had made certain arrangements with Sir George, and it was a bad arrangement, for it was something like this, that if there should not be an amalgamation he thought that Sir Hugh Allan's company ought to get the charter. I received that message in the middle of my election congest, and I said to myself it is not of much consequence whether one c >mpany or the other gets the charter if they unite, but it will kill me, it will kill us if the Montreal company without amalgamation receives it. However, I telegraphed back at once that I would not agree to the ar- rangement, and I would go down to Montreal that night. Yes, M •. Speaker, in the midst of a severe election contest, for T was elected only teeth- • ie_r. Jii lid tl tween Mr M lerson ami arrangement was that Ll'l APPENDIX. 613 by 130, whereas at the previous election I had a majority of 300, 1 said I would run down to Montreal on this matter. I telegraphed to Sir Geo. Cartier that I would not consent to the arrangement, and that my tele- gram til the 26th of July, 1872, would be the decision of the government, and the government would be bound thereby, and would be governed by nothing else. 1 wish it to be clearly understood, beyond the possibility of doubt, that the Canadian government had agreed that since it could hoi obtain an amalgamation of the two companies before the elections they would try to get an amalgamation after the elections, and in such an amalgamation they would do what was fair, in order to get Sir Hugh Allan made p resident of the amalgamated company. (Cheers.) I say that that arrangement made by Sir George Cartier was set aside, and why I ue it would have killed mo in Upper Canada. I telegraphed that at the risk of my election I would go down to Montreal and put an end to it, and Sir George Cartier, when he got my message, saw what an absurd proposition it was, and there was an end to it, and Sir Hugh Allan telegraphed back that the bargain was ended. At that time there had not been 0O ITOrd said about money subscriptions. Sir, it may /: .script ioii.s to election funds at all, but is there any 01 nan opposite who will say he liis not expended money him- self, or has been aided in doing BO by his friends. (Several members of ;. position here denied the charge.) Whether those acts had been done by the members themselves Of their friends, money was spent anda! lid be spent OH elections. I don't hesitate to say — and I state this in the face of this house, of the country, and of the world — that 1 am l my '>ne single farthing having been spent illegitimately and i ion laughter and cheers) —by members on !ie house. I can tell of one man on the other side- $26,000 ; another case lean prove of spending $30,000, and I prove cases of spending | ,000, $7,ouo. sad 18,000, and when the I which the hon. member for Bothwell challenged id which I intend to move, is appointed, 1 shall give the iter, in which Mr. I'.lain joined.) I can prove the expendi- •y that gentleman (Mr. Ulain) himself. Mr. I ; i \ i \ If the right hon. gentleman refers to me, I say there is not a particle of truth in the statement. Not one single, solitary cent came out mfairly. (Cheers and laughter.) JOBS M u OOVALD — Perhaps the hon. gentleman has not a pocket. Perhaps his wife has. (Laughter, and cries of "shame" from the opposi- tion.; 014 APPENDIX. Mr. Ulain rose. (Cries of "order.") He said the right hon. gentleman had made a ohm him. He would answer it at another time. Sir John M l< DOB \li<— Before the committee which I propose to urn re, and which will have the power to administer an oath, and which the mem- ber for Both well has invited, I shall be able to prove the fact I stated. The hon. gentlenrm will perhaps reserve himself for that. (Interrup- Mr. Hoi r.'V— I raise the question of order. 1 doubt whether the right hon. gentleman is in order in making statements alleeting the right of hon. gentlemen to sit in this house without formulating charges to be ful- I by i notion. Th. atleman intimates his intention <>f mak- ing a motion at a future time, but he cannot move a motion of the kind indicated in a d 'headdress. T aembers with having ob- tained th- tl there for e ■ violation of the pro- prieties of debate, and I believe of other standing orders of the house. Mr. IIi.akk— In the case of the mem' k the proceeding is doubly irregular, for it is in* ith an actual petition pending be- imittee. The Speaker said a good deal of language had been used during the de- bate which would ha used, but the subject was of such a character that he should not interfere with free discussion. It would be better if the minister of justice refrained from directing charges against individual members. Sir John M -I submit tOJOQI decision, sir, I would not have alluded to the hon. I if it had not been for the offensive way in which he interrupted me, and my knowledge about his case. The hon. gentlemen opposite will find out that I know a great deal more about their elections than they would care that I should know. I shall now proceed with the history I ■ to the house as well as I can under these un- seemly interruptions. Sir, there never was an occasion, there never was a minute, in which the interests of Canada were sacrificed by the govern- ment of Canada for election purposes. (Loud cheers. ) I say that we car- ry out the law as well as the law can be carried out. (Cheers. ) I say that up to the very last moment we tried to obtain an amalgamation of the two companies. I almost went on my knees, which is not my habit, I am sorry to say, to my friends in Toronto, for the purpose of securing an amalgamation, and though I did not secure an amalgamation of the two companies, yet I got an amalgamation of the two interests, and secured the best men in western Canada. I have no hesitation in saying that in the company chartered by the government, we have the very best men in Can- ada, considering all the circumstances. Let us go over the whole board APPEXDIX. 615 from Upper Canada. There is Mr. Donald Mclnnes, of Hamilton. 1 will ask the hon. member for Welland if he is not a merchant of standing and res- pectability, and one of the last men to sell the interests of the Dominion to the Yankees. I asked the Hon. Mr. Carling to come on the board, but when the house came to the conclusion to exclude members of parliament fr<»in that board, I obtained Major Walker, representing one of the Lead- ing industries in the west. Then there is Col. Cumberland, and can we suppose that Col. Cumberland, who is at the head of the great railway in- terests, and is charged with the management of millions of dollars, would sell himself to Sir Hugh Allan or the Yankees. (Cheers.) I asked Mr. Fleming, the engineer, the man whose name will live on this continent for his great ei lt>its, and who was objected to with Col. Cumber- land and Major Walker by Sir Hugh Allan. Then thdafast man 1 asked was Mr. Walter Shanly. To some of you Walter Shanly may be un- known, but in the old provinoea of Canada be ii everywhere known aa be- ing most highly . and as an engineer, the man who formerly man- i Trunk, the man who achieved the great triumph of con- strucing the Hoosac Tunnel. I asked him as a personal friend of mine, as i. as one who was repreaenting a wealthy constituency, to QO that board, and much against his will he came. In the same way look at the lower proviso! member*. We look at Mr. EL it. Burpee. That is a truly honoured name, I am told, in New Brunswick. Do yOU think that BE, II. B t > sell to the Yankees, .lay Cooke, & Co.,- (Laughter and cheers.) Then we i, and is he likely to sell us to the Yankees, the n lord, or .lay Cooke & Co. ? 1 ap- • > all the members for British Columbia, some of whom were oppoe- him in politics, whether the name of Dr. Helmeken did not inspire respect. (Cheers.) pect to Manitoba, I will only ask you to say whet: •, the richest and oldest merchant in Manitoba, a man who was the last who would sell the interest of this great Dominion to i would sell Canada. If ever any government succeeded in accomplishing any particular object, surely this government . and succ< ut foreigners from obtaining influence in, or :r transcontinental railway. (Cheers.) By their line of ac» tion, the gentlemen opposite have postponed for some years the building of that railway, and they have besmirched unjustly, dishonourably, the character of the Canadian government and of the Canadian people. rs.) If there be any delay, any postponement in the completion of 'reat system of railways, I charge it to the hon. gentlemen opposite. (Cheers.) Long after this quarrel is over, it will be recorded in the his- ArPKXJ'LY. tory of this Dominion of Canada that there was one body of men in this •ountry willing to forget self, to forget party, to forget section, to build up a great interest and make a great country, and they will say there was an- other party who fought section against section, province against province, who were unable to rise to the true position of ailairs, and I say the his- tory of the future will be our justification, and their condemnation. (Loud cheers.) But, sir, I have some more to say. I say this government has been treated with foul wrongs. (Cheers.) I say this government has been treated as no government has ever been treated before. It has been met with an opposition the like of which no government in any civilized coum* try was ever met. (Loud cheers.) I say we have been opposed not with fair weapons, not by fair argument, not by fair discussion , as a govern- ment ought to be opposed, but opposed in a manner which will throw shame on hon. gentlemen opposite. (Renewed ohaojl.) When we first met in this house, and we first discussed these Pacific railway measures, I told you, sir, that there was a confirmed plot to kill the Pacific railway company. The attack on the government was a secondary matter. It was a comparatively inferior matter. But those gentlemen opposite went into the attack for the purpose of getting in evidence as quick- ly as possible for the purpose of sending it across the Atlantic by cable and kill Sir Hugh Allan's enterprise, and afterwards leave the proof of the evidence to chance. Then we found that Sir Hugh Allan, by a very natural feeling agreed to pay a certain sum of money to Mr. McMnllen for the return of his correspondence, which was accepted, and the whole matter was arranged. Then blackmail was attempted to be •ut I was not subject to be blackmailed. (Laughter.) They did levy blackmail on Sir Hugh Allan in Montreal, and McMullen for sur- rendering his letters to Sir Hugh, was paid $20,000, and was promised $17)000 more on certain conditions being fulfilled. McMullen got his ex- tra sum from some one. The hon. gentleman (Mr. Huntington) would deny that Mr. McMullen was paid by some one. Everyone will believe that the man who was to be paid that large sum of $17,000 did not accept it because he was offered some larger sums. (Cheers.) I believe that when we have the committee which the member for Bothw ? ell challenged to move for, I shall be able to prove more than the $17,000, and I believe I shall be able to prove there were other parties in the purchase of G. W. McMullen, who over-bid Sir Hugh Allan. (Cheers and an opposition member, " is it not right ? '') It was never right to buy him in the first place, nor in the second place, but if Sir Hugh Allan by paying $17,000 committed a crime, the man who paid him a larger sum must surely have committed a larger crime. (Laughter and cheers.) I say that you must APPENDIX. 6ir have a committee in order to ascertain who are the gentlemen who went and deliberately bought those documents from Sir Hugh Allan. That may be fair war, but some one said it was striking below the belt. The man who goes deliberately and bribes people to hand a man's private letters, is a man who will be marked as a criminal all his life, and the man who goes and deliberately purchases private letters for any purpose, even ;h it may do good to the public, and expose a corrupt government, will be generally condemned. Then we come down to a litcle more in- famy. When I tell you that a letter of mine, addressed to a colleague at Montreal, was deliberately stolen, and when I tell you there is no doubt that it was stolen because it was thought to contain something that could be made politically useful, you can understand what infamy that is. Mr. 1 1 : i i i n n »se to a point of order, and submitted that this question was not before the house. Mr. Sif \ k 1:1; ruled against him stating that it came on the address, which covered all grounds. Sir .John M \. DONALD — When I wrote that letter to my colleague, the Mini.- . I sent, at the same time, three telegrams to three .pram was seen by some one acting in the in- Ippontton, and from it they supposed that the letter would be connected with the Paciti That letter was deliber- ately stoh \y stolen but was stolen by anollieer of the Post Office Department. I say stolen by an officer who was bought by some one, and who will some day, not long distant, for the evidence it being followed up and has not been abandoned, be found out, and it will be shown that he, be- tiering thai tin tainedeomething that would criminate the govern* tnd banded it over to be used in the manner the house was I True it was that the letter contained nothin specting the Pa id. I have got evidence beyond the possibility of legrami were ttoien from Sir Hugh Allan's office, day day ; that a man went to the Office night after night, after six o'clock, and coj.ied those telegrams, and brooghl them down and sold them to tin le safe of tho office was not broken, and that after the 1 were copied and sworn to by tho man, he was paid money for them. I state 1 1 1 i - in presence of the house and of the country ; and there was such a dishonest system of espionage carried on. And I say more than this, I join with the hon. member for Ilothwell in asking for the committee, before which I will prove all that I have said, and will put a crediblo wit- ness in the box, who will swear he saw it with his own eyes. You can •how poorly the governmi at has been treated. In fact no govern- in the world could exist if every drawer is to be searched, if every G18 APPENDIX. confidential servant is to be bribed by money offered to them. I may tell you this one thing, that I had got the evidence of this treachery, parties actually approached a secretary in Mr. Abbott's office, and offered him money to tell how much evidence had been obtained. Mr. Abbott is pre- sent In the house and will attest the truth of what I state. I can prove that from the beginning to the end of this business, there w r as never a more gross system of espionage, of corruption, of bribing men to steal •heir employers; and I would ask how any opposition or party in this country could stand under such an accusation if it be proved. Sir, before 1 sit down 1 will touch \ipon one point to which I havo not yet adverted, and that is how far a government, <>r member of a govern- ment may concern themselves in elections, and tho necessary expenditure ipposed expenditure of elections. I would wish to point hat has taken plao nd. not under the old rfyime, but by the reform party in England. It is of some importance, as showing at all y thing I have got good authority. The house well re- -t amounting to a revolution, which ac- companied the passage of the Ref< >rm bill in England. Well, Mr. Speaker, ge to say, the reform party there, who were going to purify the po- litical atmosphere, those who were going to put down the old borough- mongers, did i lie to spend money at elections. They did not trust to the excellence of their measures, to the justness of their cause, and t : lence was that before the date of the Carlton club and the rm club, of which so much has recently been said, the Reform party had a tret I whom do you think they gave the office to 1 It was ml unmaker of Whiggery, Edward Ellice. Now, Edward Ellice was the man who made the Whig government. He was a member « 'f the government and acted as whipper-in of the party, and was the man ordinarily employed in making arrangements about elections. P.ut Edward Ellice was a man incapable of doing anything which he did not think he was justified in doing. Any man who knew that right hon. gentleman, who knew what a great influence he had on the history of his country., would know that Edward Ellice was perhaps a greater man for pulling the strings and making arrangements for reform than even Lord John Russell himself. Let me tell you a little story about him. In my boyhood, when I knew him, he often told me stories of this sort. In 1834 there happened to be a committee on the inns of court. Mr. Danie[ O'Connell was the chairman, and it came out in that investigation, which involved the seat of a member of parliament, that Lord Westham had got five hundred pounds from Mr. Ellice, the secretary of the treasury, in or- der to carry the Liberal candidate. O'Connell felt it his bounden duty to APPENDIX. 619 report this matter to the house, and there was a motion of censure moved against Mr. Ellice by Mr. O'Connell. Mr. Ellice resigned his place, and I shall read you what he said. At the time he made that speech he was secretary of war ; at the time he expended the money he was secretary of the treasury. He was an important man to the government, and might have been a cabinet minister, had it not been that, as every one who knew the history of those times knew, he would not take that position. He was the man who arranged matters for the whigs, and he was charged with having used the secret service money in elections, as by the way, I was a short time ago. The right lion, gentleman then quoted from Mr. Ellice's speech, volume 87, ** Mirror of Parliament," andnow, said he, I will DO Sir Charles Buller. Sir Charles Buller was the head and front ol the philosophical radicals of England. They fonned a party of their own, and tried to engraft their principles on the politics of England, and, did not succeed, they sowed good seed, the results of which are seen I day. I, who was I boy, remember him, and re- member the kindness with whieh he discussed politics with me, and I am would have sustained the cause of the liberal party by no- thing that was wrong. I llOU. gentleman quoted from the speech red to. The attack was made upon Mr. Ellice that he had spent moiK -e fund ; but when Mr. Ellice rose and said that he had of the secret service fund, and that al- though very large sums of money had passed through his hands for elec- tion purposes, none of it had been improperly procured, the house passed nh"Ut taking any action, though .Mr. O'Connell supported the mo- tion with all his great eloquence and ability. A remark has been made in • on one occasion 1 stated that no money had been ex- pended by the government on elections, and in answer to the charge I asked Mr. Kidd, 09 the hustings it South Perth, whether any money had I at his election, and he said no, no statement could have been truer. Sir, the money that was expended by the conmiittc whieh I was a member, was not with the purpose or object of endangering any man's seat. (Ironical cheers from the opposition, and cheers from the .) 1 state distinctly, so far as 1 know, not one single firthillg that passed through my hands was expended improperly or con- trary to the law. If it is so, the election tribunals of the country will set- tle that question, and, as 1 understand it, no improper expenditure has DM!! proved in any election tribunal. (Cheers.) I say distinctly, say it in my place as a member of parliament, ^that money was distributed for the purpose of fighting moruy against money, fire against fire, influence net influence ; and we were over-matched by the hon. gentlemen op- 186 &PFBNDIX, posite. (Loud cheers.) There is one more remark that I have to make before I sit down. The government never gave Sir Hugh Allan any con- hut I am aware of. (Cheers.) We never gave him any contract in which he had a controlling inlltience. We had formed a committee of thirteen men, chosen carefully and painfully, for the purpose of control- -;r Hugh Allan from having any undue influence. We promised, we provided, that not one of the board should hold more than one hundred thousand dollars of the stock ; that not one single man should have any interest in the contract whatever, which were of course, only the ordinary provisions in a charter of incorporation. (Cheers.) , Mr. RpoafrT. I have only one more thing to say on this point. I put it to V"ur OWB minds. There were thirteen gentlemen — Sir Hugh Allan and others — incorporated by that charter. That charter — study it, take it home with you. Is there any single power, privilege or advantage given h Allan with that contract that has not been given equally to her twelve I (Cheers.) It is not pretended that any of the other twelve paid money for their positions. It is not contended that the gen- tlemen gave anything further than their own personal feelings might dic- tate. (Cheers.) You cannot name a man of these thirteen that has got any advantage over the other, except that Sir Hugh Allan has his name But on the paper. (Cheers.) Can anyone believe that the govern- ment is guilty of the charges made against them ? I call upon any one who does to read that charter. Is there anything in that contract? If there is a word in that charter which derogates from the rights of Canada; if there is any undue privilege, or right, or preponderance, given to any one of these thirteen directors, I say, Mr. Speaker, I am condemned. But, sir, I commit myself, the government commits itself, to the hands of this house; and far beyond the house, it commits itself to the country at large. (Loud cheers.) We have faithfully done our duty. We have hi the battle of confederation. We have fought the battle of union. We have had party strife setting province against province; and more than all, we have had in the greatest province, the preponderating province of the Dominion, every prejudice and sectional feeling that could be arrayed against us. I have been the victim of that conduct to a great extent; but I have fought the battle of confederation, the battle of union, the battle of the Dominion of Canada. I throw myself upon this house; I throw my- self upon this country; I throw myself upon posterity; and I believe that I know, that, notwithstanding the many failings in my life, I shall have the voice of this covntry, and this house, rallying around me. (Cheers.) And, sir, if I am mistaken in that, I can confidently appeal to a higher court — to the court of my own conscience, and to the court of posterity. APPENDIX. 621 (Cheers.) I leave it with this house with every confidence. I am equal to either fortune. I can see past the decision of this house, either for or against me; but whether it be for or against me, I know — and it is no vain boast for me to say so, for even my enemies will admit that I am no boaster — that there does not exist in Canada a man who has given more of his time, more of his heart, more of his wealth, or more of his intellect and power, such as they may be, for the good of this Dominion of Canada. The right hon. gentleman resumed his seat, amid loud and long continued cheering. APPENDIX I. EXTRACTS PROM LORD Durham's REPORT. Tin \i>.\. describes the state of affairs in Lower Canada opmi C British i. till he c;une upon the ..rant of tl inwardness " of the strife in that cli.s- 1 1 e says :— '• I expected t<> find a contest between a government and a people ; 1 tarring in the bosom of a single state. I foun 1 a strng- raees ; and I perceived that it would be idle ion of laws or institutions until we could liisb succeed in terminating the deadly animosity that now separates the inhab- divisions of French and English. . . . . Tli 1 hostility has not assumed its permanent influ- ence until of la* nor has it exhibited itself everywhere at once. While it displayed itself long ago in the cities of Quebec and Montreal, where the leaders and masses of the rival races most specially came into collision, (he inhabitants of the eastern townships, who were removed all personal contact with the French, and those of the district bed »iw Quebec, who experienced little interference from the English, co itiuued very late period to entertain comparatively friendly feelings toward* 4PPENDIX. tli- m of the opposite races. But this is a distinction which has unfortu- nately, year after year, been exhibiting itself more strongly, and diffusing itself mora widely. One by one the ancient English leaders of the assem- bly have fallen off -from the majority, and attached themselves to the party which supported the British government against it. Every election from the townships added to the English minority. On the other hand, year, Lb spite of the various influences which a government can exercise, and of which no people in the world are more susceptible than the 1 .uadians ; in spite of the additional motives of prudence and : which deter timid or calm men from acting with a party, ob- _ering the public tranquillity by the violence of its conduct, French Canadians, on whom the government could rely, has been iiam-wcd by the influence of those associations which have drawn them into the ranks of their kindred. " The insnnv 1837 completed the division. Since the resort to arms, races have been distinctly and completely arrayed against each other. No portion of the English population was backward in tak- ing arms in defence of the government ; with a single exception, no por- tion of the Canadian population was allowed so do so, even where it was asserted by some that their loyalty inclined them thereto. The exaspera- tion thni generated has extended over the whole of each race. The most just and sensible of the English, those whose politics had always been liberal, those who had always advocated the most moderate policy in the provincial disputes, seem from that moment to have taken their part against the French, as resolutely, if not as fiercely, as the rest of their countrymen, and to have joined in the determination never again to sub- mit to a Fench majority. A few exceptions mark the existence, rather than militate against the truth of the general rule of national hostility. A few of the French, distinguished by moderate and enlarged views, still condemn the narrow national prejudices and ruinous violence of their countrymen, while they equally resist what they consider the violent and unjust pretensions of a minority, and endeavour to form a middle party between the two extremes. A large part of the Catholic clergy, a few of the principal proprietors of the seignorial families, and some of those who are influenced by ancient connections of party, support the government against revolutionary violence. A very few persons of English origin (not more, perhaps, than fifty out of the whole number), still continue to act with the party which they originally espoused. Those who affect to form a middle party, exercise no influence on the contending extremes ; and those who side with the nation, from which their birth distinguishes them, are regarded by their countrymen with aggravated hatred, as rene- APPENDIX. 623 gades from their race ; while they obtain but little of the real affection, confidence, or esteem, of those whom they have joined. . . . " The French Canadians have attempted to shroud their hostility to the influence of English emigration, and the introduction of British institu- tions, under the guise of warfare against the government and its support- ers, whom they represented to be a small knot of corrupt and insolent de- pendents ; being a majority, they have invoked the principles of popular control and democracy, and appealed with no little effect to the sympathy of liberal politicians in every quarter of the world. The English, finding their opponents in collision witli the government, have raised the cry of loyalty and attachment to British connection, and denounced the repub- lican designs of the French, whom they designato, or rather used to de- signate, by the appellation of radicals. Thus the French have been view- ed as a democratic party, contending for reform ; and the English as a conservative minority, protecting the menaced connection with the British crown, and the supreme authority of the empire. . . . '• Nor did I find the spirit which animated each party at all more coin- .; wnli th. \itions current in this country, than their objects appeared, when tried l>y English, or rather European ideas of reforming legislation. An utterly uneducated and singularly inert population, im- ho ruled them by the influence of a blind confi- and naR ial prejudices, accorded very little with the resem- m which had 1>< .red to that high-spirited democracy which rotation* Still less could I discover in the Eng- lish population those slavish tools of a narrow official clique ; or a few irhicfa their opponents had described them as be- in-. I hive found thfi main body of the English population, consisting : sand humble mechanics, composing a very independent, manageable, and, sometimes a rather turbulent, democracy. Thou ating a somewhat extravagant loyalty and highly at; I found them very determined on maintaining in own persons a great respect for popular rights, and singularly ready t«. enforce their wishes by the strongest means of constitutional pressure on tl, them and the Canadians I found the strong- est hostility ; and that hostility was, as might be expected, most strongly developed among the humblest and rudest of the body. Between them and the small knot of officials, whose influence has been represented as so formidable, I found no sympathy whatever : and it must be said, in justice dy of oflicials, who have been so much assailed as the enemies of the Canadian people, that however little I can excuse the injurious influ- ence of that system of administration, which they were called upon to APPENDIX. carry into execution, the members of the oldest and most powerful official families were, of all the English in the country, those in whom I generally found most sympathy with, and kindly feeling towards, the French popu- lation. I could not therefore believe that this animosity was only that subsisting between an official oligarchy and a people; and again, I was brought to a conviction that the contest, which had been represented as a st of classes, was, in fact, a contest of races. . . . • ' The two races thus distinct have been brought into the same commu- muler circumstances which rendered their contact inevitably produc- f collision. The difference of language from the first kept them asunder. It is not any where a virtue of the English race to look with i any manners, customs or laws, which appear strange to them ; accustomed to form a high estimate of their own superiority, they no pains to conceal from others their contempt and intolerance of their usages. They found the French Canadians filled with an equal amount of national pride ; a sensitive, but inactive pride, which disposes :e not to resent insult, but rather to keep aloof from those who would keep them under. The Freneh eouhl not but feel the superiority .glish ent< ley could not shut their eyes to their success in undertaking in which they came into contact, and to the constant superiority which they were acquiring. They looked upon their rivals with alarm, with jealousy, and finally with hatred. The English repaid them with a scorn, which soon also assumed the same form of hatred. The French complained of the arrogance and injustice of the English ; the sh accused the French of the vices of a weak and compiered people ; and charged them with meanness and perfidy. The entire mistrust which the two races have thus learned to conceive ir's intentions, in- duces them to put the worst C n on the moat inn luct ; to judge every word, every act, and every intention unfairly ; to attribute the most odious designs, and reject every overture of kindness or fairness. as covering secret designs of treachery and malignity. . . • Xo common education has served to remove and soften the differences of origin and language. The associations of youth, the sports of ch. Id- hood, and the studies by which the character of manhood is modified, are distinct and totally different. In Montreal and Quebec there are English schools and French schools ; the children in these are accustomed to tight nation against nation, and the quarrels that arise among boys in the streets usually exhibit a division into English on one side, and French on the other. . . . •• As they are taught apart, so are their studies different. The literature which each is mo3t conversant, is that of the peculiar language of APPENDIX. 625 each ; and all the ideas which men derive from books come to each of them from perfectly different sources. The difference of language, in this res- pect, produces effects quite apart from those which it has on the mere in- tercourse of the two races. Those who have reflected on the powerful in- fluence of language on thought, will perceive in how different a manner people who speak in different languages are apt to think ; and those who are familiar with the literature of France know that the same opinion will be expressed by an English and French writer of the present day, not y in different words, but in a style so different as to mark utterly different habits of thought. . . . '• I me of the greatest of all the evils arising from this system of irre- sponsible government, was the mystery in which the motives and actual purposes of their rulers were hid from the colonists themselves. The most important business of government was carried on, not in open discussions or public acts, but in a secret correspondence between the governor and the secretary of state. Whenever this mystery was dispelled, it was long ti had been prodaoed by doubt and misapprehension ; qoently the last to learn the things that ahlioation of papers on the order of the and the colonies Inc. rned them, by t >f parlia Oanadi xelusively C do w merits w their nriest stholios, and their church has hich it had at the conquest. protest ant. national mi iio clei and zealous and has bee incomes sut' ui, try inhabit haract pensers of c and LI haritv. and but as it || limited by law a catholic, the priest loses his tithe the . sale or ot into the hands of a h is at variance with the true spirit of igious purposes, has a natural tendency to res >f protestants in the seigniories. of this province have, to a very remarkable will of persons of all creeds; and 1 know of >rld who.se pract ice of all the Christian virtues ir clerical duties, is more universally admitted, more beneficial consequences. Possessed of large, according to the notions entertained in he advantage of education, they have lived ldness with the humblest and least instructed ricts. [ntimatelj acquainted with the wants ibonrS, they have been t he promoters and dis- tal guardians of the morals of the people; »f any permanent institutions of civil govern- iiurch has [»resented almost the only semblance of APPENDIX. stability and organisation, and furnished the only effectual support for eivilization and order. The catholic clergy of Lower Canada are entitled to this expression of my esteem, not only because it is founded on truth, but because ft grateful recognition of their eminent services in resisting the arts of the disafl'ceted, is especially due to them from one who has administered the government of the province In these troubled times. " . . i in '• i vmii.n OOKPAOr." His lordshp with his usual insight, accuracy and precision thus describes the '* Family Compact." •• In the preceding account of the patting of the constitutional system in In da, 1 have described the eihet which the irresponsibility of the real advisers of the governor had in lodging permanent authority in the hands of a powerful party, linked together not only by common party raattj but by personal ties. But in none of the North American pro- - s has this exhibited itself for so long a period or to such an extent, as in Upper Canada, which has long been entirely governed by a party commonly designated throughout the province as the ' Family Compact/ a name not much more appropriate than party designations usually are, inasmuch as there is, in truth, very little oi family connection among the persons thus united. For a long time this body of men, receiving at times accessions to its numbers, possessed almost all the highest public offices, by means of which, and of its influence in the executive council, it wielded all the powers of government ; it maintained influence in the legislature by means of its predominance in the legislative council ; and it disposed of the large number of petty posts which are in the patronage of the government all over the province. Successive governors, as they came in their turn, are said to have either submitted quietly to its influence, or, after a short and unavailing struggle, to have yielded to this well-organized party the real conduct of affairs. The bench, the magistracy, the high offices of the episcopal church, and a great part of the legal profession, are tilled by the adherents of this party : by grant or purchase, they have ac- quired nearly the whole of the waste lands of the province ; they are all- powerful in the chartered banks, and, till lately, shared among themselves almost exclusively, all offices of trust and profit. The bulk of this party consists, for the most part, of native-born inhabitants of the colony, or of emigrants who settled in it before the last war with the United States ; the principal members of it belong to the church of England, and the maintenance of the claims of that church has always been one of its dis- tinguishing characteristics." . . . APPENDIX. 027 sri'KEMAl V Of TI1K LF.i.lSl.ATtRE. When Lord Durham came to Canada, the Imperial mind was not clear as to how much freedom should be extended to colonial parliaments ; and a majority of British statesmen regarded arbitrary authority in the hands of the governor as the only efficient and safe method of government. But Lord Durham had not the film of age and custom upon his eyes, but at once saw what was due to the colonies. He gives his opinion with no un- certain sound : " We arc not DOW to consider the policy of establishing representative government in the North American colonics. That has been irrevocably done ; and the experiment of depriving the people of their present consti- tutional power, is aoi to be thought of. To conduct their government harmoniously, in ROC mlance with its established principles, is now the business of its rulers ; and I know not how it is possible to secure that harmony in any other way, than by administering the government on those principle* which have been found perfectly efficacious in Great Bri- tain. I would not impair a single prerogathre of the crown; on the con- trary, I be] ■ the intereeta of the people of these colonies require the ] I, which have not hitherto been exercised, hut • must, on the other hand, submit to the necessary conse- OOSS of representative institutions ; and if it has to carry on the gov- srnmetri in unison with a representative body, it must consent to carry it on by means of those in whom that representative body has confidence. In England, this principle has been so long considered an indisputable and essential part of our constitution, that it has really hardly ever been found necessary to inquire into the meam by which its observance is enforced. " When a ministry oeasSS to I ••minand a majority in parliament on great its doom is immediately sealed ; and it would appear to US SS Strsnge to attempt, for any time, to carry on a government by means of ministers perpetually in a minority, as it would be to pass laws with a majority of votes against them. The ancient constitutional reme- l a stoppage of the supplios, have never, since the reign of William 111., been brought into operation for the purpose of re- moving a ministry. They have never been called for, because in fact, it has been the habit of ministers rather to anticipate the occurrence of an absolutely hostile vote and to retire, when supported only by a bare and : tain majority. If colonial legislatures have frequently stopped the supplies, if they have harassed public servants by unjust or harsh impeach ments, it was because the removal of an unpopular administration on Id 628 APPENDIX. not be effected in the colonies by those milder indications of a want of confidence, which have always sufficed to attain the end in the mother country. . . . 14 The colonists may not always know what laws are best for them, or which of their country ukii are the fittest for conducting their affairs ; but, at least, they have a greater interest in coming to a right judgment on these points, and will take greater pains to do so than those whose welfare is very remotely and slightly affected by the good or bad legislation of these portions of the empire. " If the colonists make bad laws, and select improper persons to conduct their affairs, they will generally be the only, always the greatest, sufferers; and, like the people of other oouIltriM, they must bear the ills which they bri&g OH themselves, until they choose to apply tin- remedy, lint it surely cannot be the duty or the interest of Great Britain to keep a most expen- sive military possession of these colonies, in order that a governor or tary of state may be able to confer colonial appointments on one ra- ther than another set of persons in the ooloi t this is really the only question at issue. The slightest acquaintance with these colonies proves the fallacy al tin- common notion, that any considerable amount of patronage in them is distributed among strangers from the mother coun- try. Whatever inconvenience a constant frequency of changes among the hold., rs ot oAoe may produce, is a necessary disadvantage of free govern- ment, which will be amply compensated by the perpetual harmony which the system must produce between the people and its rulres. Nor do I fear that the character of the public servants will, in any respect, suffer from a more popular tenure of office." . . . municipal Qoranrmn. One of the cures proposed by his lordship was municipal government, which Lord Dufferin has since described as the basis upon which the en- tire governmental fabric stands. Mr. Gladstone has in recent years, at- tempted to introduce " Home Rule " in agitated Ireland, by applying the municipal system, and the Marquis of Ripon has made a similar effort in India. No man, however superior, can entirely escape bias from the un- enlightened influences of the age in which he lives ; as will be seen from this, that even the great-minded Lord Durham saw as the chief merit of municipal government, that it distributed the political power broadcast, instead of allowing it to preponderate in dangerous unity. Municipal APPENDIX. 629 government, no one now considers a matter of power, but of popular ex- pediency. Says his lordship : 11 The establishment of a good system of municipal institutions through- out these provinces, is a matter of vital importance. A general legislature, which manages the private business of every parish, in addition to the common business of the country, wields a power which no single body, however popular in its constitution, ought to have ; a power which must be destructive of any constitutional balance. The true principle of limit- ing popular power is that apportionment of it in many different deposito- ries which has been adopted in all the most free and stable states of the union. Instead cf confiding the whole collection and distribution of all the 1 • in any country for all general and local purposes to a single representative body, the power of local assessment, and the appli- n of the funds arising from it, should be entrusted to local manage- ment. It is in vain to expect that this sacrifice of power will be volun- tarily made bj any representative body. The establishment of municipal institutions fur the whole oountrj should be made a part of every colonial institution j and the prerogative of the crown should be constantly inter- posed to check any encroachment OH the functions «.f the local bodies, un- til th. alive, .is most assuredly they almost imme- diately would he, to th. ting their local privileges." . . EXTINGUISHING TIN. Ikt.VIl NATIONALITY. It is not generally known that one of Lord Durham's dearest schemes in his report was the mi i . if we may make that expression, of the French Canadian people ; and in view of the utterances of b >me of the leading English Canadian press of late, on the industrial and social infe- riority of U>« French Canadian, and the expediency of Quebec coming out el the shell of her foreign exclusiveness, the views of the high com- missioner may be interesting. " I entertain no doubts as to the national character which must be given to Lower Canada ; it must be that of the British empire ; that of th. majority of the population of British America ; that of the great race which must, in the lapse of no long period of time, be predominant over the whole North American continent. Without effecting the change so rapidly or so roughly as to shock the feelings and trample on the welfare of the existing generation, it must henceforth be the first and steady pur- pose of the British government to establish an English population, with 630 APPENDIX. English laws and language, in this province, ami to trust its government to none but a decidedly English legislature. . . . The French Cana- dians are but the remains of an ancient colonization, and are, and ever must be, isolated in the midst of an Anglo-Saxon world. Whatever may happen, whatever government should be established over them, British or Ann rican, they can see no hope for their nationality. They can only sever themselves from the British empire by waiting till some general cans. i,.n alienates them, together with the surrounding colonics, ;md leaves them part of an English confederacy ; or, if theyare able, by eth-eting ■ separation simply, and so either merging in the Ameri- can union, or keeping up for a few years a wretched semblance of feeble independence, which would expose them mOTC than ever to the intrusion of the surrounding population. I am far Ir.-m wishing to encourage indis- orima e pretensions to superiority on the part of any particular race ; but while the greater part of every portion of the American conti- nent isstil. un 1 unoccupied, and while the English exhibit such constant and marked activity in colonization, so long will it be idle to imagine that there is any portion of that continent into which that race will not penetrate, or in which, when it has t, it will not predo- minate. It is but a question of time and mode ; it is but to determine whether the small numb m inhabit Lower Canada shall be made English, under a government which can protect them, or whether the process shall be delayed until a much larger number shall have to un- dergo, at the rude hands of its Uncontrolled rivals, the extinction of a nationality strengthened and embittered by continua: \ndisthis French Canadian nationality one which, for the good merely of that people, we ought to strive to perpetuate, even if it were possible ? I know of no national distinctions marking and continuing a more hopeless inferiority. The language, the laws, the character of the North American continent are English ; and every race but the English (I apply this to all who speak the English language), appears there in a condition of inferiority. It is to elevate them from that inferiority that I desire to give to the Canadians our English character. I desire it for the sake of the educated classes, whom the distinction of language and manners keeps apart from the great empire to which they belong. " At the best, the fate of the educated and aspiring colonist is, at pre- sent, one of little hope, and little activity ; but the French Canadian is cast still further into the shade, by a language and habit foreign to those of the imperial government. A spirit of exclusion has closed the higher professions on the educated classes of the French Canadians, more, per- haps, than was absolutely necessary ; but it is impossible for the utmost AI'PENDIX. 631 liberality — on the part of the British government — to give an equal posi- tion in the general competion of its vast population to those who speak a foreign language. I desire the amalgamation still more for the sake of the humbler classes. Their present state of rude and equal plenty is fast deteriorating under the pressure of population in the narrow limits to which they are confined. If they attempt to better their condition, by tiding themselves over the neighbouring country, they will necessarily .ore and more mingled with an English population ; if they prefer lining stationary, the greater part of them must be labourers in the employ of English capitalist*, [neither ease it would appear, that the reneh Canadians are doomed, in some measure, to oc- cupy an i:.- tion, and to be dependent on the English for employ- ment Th poverty and dependence would merely be aggravated in a ten-f.>ld degree, by a spirit of Jealous and resentful nationality, which slum! working clan of the community from the possessors of wealth and employers <>i labour. t t t ui hardly be OOnoeived a nationality more destitute of all that .-«■ a people, than that which is exhibited by the descendants of the French of I oada, owing to their retaining their iliac language and manner* They are i people with no history, and DO W Ingland is written in a language which • theirs; and the only literature which their language renders familiar to them, is that of a nation from which they have been separated by eighty years of a foreign ra as which the Revolu- tion and i - >ught in the whole political, moral and a a people whom recent history, man- ners and mode of thought, to entirely separate from them, that the French liana are wholly dependent for almost all the instruction and amuse- ErOBQ books; it is on this essentially foreign literature, which is conversant about events, opinions and habits of life, perfectly strange and unintelligible to thi are compelled to be dependent. Their newspapers are mostly written by natives of France, who have either it nnes in the province, or been brought into it by the f leaders in order to supply the dearth of literary talent available for the political press. In the same way, their nationality operates to deprive them of the enjoyments and civilizing influence of the arts. Though de- scended from the people in the world that most generally love, and have moat successfully cultivated the drama — though living on a continent, in h almost every town, great or small, has an English theatre, the ■ h population of Lower Canada, cut off from every people people that speak its own language, can support no natioral stage. 632 A rVF.XDIX. I'HK l M<>\ S( lll.M K. The following are the suggest ins which gave impulse to the movement which finally resulted in confederation, though the earlier result was the union of Upper and Lower Canada, an unwise and short-sighted piece of legislation: — "Two kinds of union have been proposed — federal and legislative. By the first, the separate legislature of each province would be preserved in its present form, and retain almost all its present attributes of internal legislation: the federal legislature exercising no power, save in those mat- ters of general 00H6MB, which may have been expressly ceded to it by the constituent provinces. A legislative onion would imply a complete incor- poration of the provinces included in it under one legislature, exercising universal and sole legislative authority over all of them, in exactly the same manner as the parliament legislates alone for the whole of the British Isles. On my first arrival in Canada, 1 was strongly inclined to the pro- ject of a federal union, and it was with such a plan in view, that I dis- cussed a general measure for the government of the colonies, with the deputation from the lower provinces, and with various leading individuals and public bodies in both the Canadas. I was fully aware that it might be objected that a federal union would, in many cases, produce a weak and rather cumbrous government ; that a colonial federation must have, in fact, little legitimate authority or business, the greater part of the or- dinary functions of a federation falling within the scope of the imperial legislature and executive ; and that the main inducement to federation, which is the necessity of conciliating the -the pretensions of independent states to the maintenance of their own sovereignty, could not exist in the case of colonial dependencies, liable to be moulded according to the plea- sure of the supreme authority at home. In the course of the discussions which I have mentioned, I became aware also of great practical difficulties in any plan of federal government, particularly those that must arise in the management of the general revenues, which would in such a plan have to be again distributed among the provinces. But 1 had still more strongly impressed on me the great advantages of an united government ; and I was gratified by finding the leading minds of the various colonies strongly and generally inclined to a scheme that would elevate their countries into something like a national existence. I thought it would be the tendency of a federation sanctioned and consolidated by a monarchial government, gradually to become a complete legislative union ; and that thus, while conciliating the French of Lower Canada, by leaving APPENDIX. 633 them the government of their own province and their own internal legis- tion, I might provide for the protection of British interests by the general government, and for the gradual transition of the provinces into an united and homogeneous community. If the population of Upper Canada is rightly estimated at 400,000, the English inhabitants of Lower Canada at 150,000, and the French at 450,- 000, the union of the two provinces would not only give a clear English majority, but one which would be increased every year by the influence of English emigration; and I have little doubt that the French, when once placed, by the legitimate course of events and the working of natural causes, in a minority, would abandon their vain hopes of nationality. I do not mean that they would immediately give up their present animosi- ties, or instantly renounce the hope of attaining their end by violent means. But the experience of the two unions in the British Isles may teach us how effectually the strong arm of a popular legislature would el the obedience of the refractory population; and the hopelessness of success would gradually subdue the existing animosities, and incline the French Canadian population to acquiesce in their new state of political existence. "But while 1 convince myself that such desirable ends would be secured by the legislative union of the two provinces. 1 am inclined to go further, and inquire whether all these objects would not more surely be attained by attending Uui legislative union over all the British provinces in North Aim-rica; and whether the advantages which I anticipated for two of them might not, and should not in justice be extended to all. Such a union would at once decisi\ tin- question of races ; it would enable all th«- provii; operate for all common purposes; and, above all, it ironld form a great and powerful people, possessing the means of securing good and resyonsiUe gO fanunml for itself, and which, under the protec- tion of the British Empire, might in some measure counterbalance the odermnl and increasing influence of the United States on the Amer- ican continent. I do not anticipate that a colonial legislature thus strong and thus * Jng, would desire to abandon the connection with Britain. On the contrary, I believe that the practical relief from undue interferences which would be the result of such a change, would strengthen the present bond of feelings and interests ; and that the con- nection would only become more durable and advantageous by having of e.juality. of freedom, and of local independence." CM APPENDIX. isi'i i iik OObOH [IB. Here, however, it rtateamroihip grand enough t<> be able not alone to stand unawed before that horrible possibility seen lowering behind the urtain of the future, independence, but to say if such a destiny is writ for the colonies, then to let it be J we cannot stay its fulfilment; it is " 1 »n t at our first duty is to secure the well-being of our colo- nial countrymen: lad if, in the hidden decrees of that wisdom by whieh this world is ruled, it is written that these countries are not forever to re- main portions of the empire, we 01 n" honour to take good care that, when they separate from us, they should not be the only countries on th- :.tineiit in which the An^lo-Saxon race shall be found unfit to govern itself." run MES. •he islands of Newfoundland and I'iiikv Kdward, Lord Durham said: — '• W ith respect to the two smaller colonies of Prince Edward Island and Newfoundland, I am of opinion, that not only would most of the rea- sons which I have given for an union of the others, apply to them, but that their smallness makes it absolutely necessary, as the only means of securing any proper attention to local interests, and investing them with that consideration, the d. of which they have so much reason to lament in all the disputes which yearly occur between them and the citi- zens of the United States with regard to the encroachments made by the latter on their coasts and fisheries." . . REPKF-KN ! ATIOX OF PROYI V Strangely enough, the high commissioner favoured an unjust plan of representation for the provinces — unjust, if it be considered that Lower Oanada had political rights, and were entitled to their antique and exclu- sive existence. Says his lordship: — 11 As the mere amalgamation of the houses of assembly of the two pro- inces would not be advisable, or give at all a due share of representation o each, a parliamentary commission should be appointed for the purpose of forming the electoral divisions, and determining the number of mem- bers to be returned on the principle of giving representation, as near as APPENDIX. 635 may be, in proportion to population. I am averse to every plan that has been proposed for giving an equal number of members to the two prov- inces, in order to attain the temporary end of out-numbering the French, because I think the same object will be obtained without any violation of the principles of representation, and without any such appearance of in- justice in the scheme as would set public opinion, both in England and America, strongly against it; and because, when emigration shall have in- creased the English population in the upper province, the adoption of such a principle would operate to defeat the very purpose it is intended to serve. It appears to me that any such electoral arrangement, founded OO the present provincial divisions would tend to defeat the purposes of DXUOD, and perpetuate the idea of disunion. . . . "• The MMM commission should form a plan of local government by elec- tive bodies, subordinate to the general legislature, and exercising a com- plete control over such local affairs as do not oome within the province of latum. The plan so framed should be made an act of the imperial parliament, so M to prevent the general legislature from encroaching on the powers of the local b<>< "" A general executive on an improved principle should be established, together with a supreme court for all North American colonies. The other ;md laws of the two colonial should be left unaltered, until the legislature of the union should think tit to change them; and the se- curity of the Slitting endowment! of the Catholic church in Lower Canada should be guaranteed by the act." ;i.!.k Q01 r.Kwn II' K>U >r note on the necessity of ministerial responsibility to the legislature. His view on the ti<-, David. L88, 107. Chronicle. Brim in. i Chid ... L/9. Chan Chapais, J. I irn. Jamt -. I I .!. 1 , « - _r i - 1 : t *. I ..nada (made Collins, 94. , Sir J 11. 52, urn, James, i i . 211. I ~>, 185, 200. 8 John, 23a iw-. 4'.M. civil War in America, 239-243, DAW Day, .1 Daly, Dominick, 59, 93, 94. Davis. ,940. Davin, Nicholas Flood, 331, 369, -J I John Charles, 29, 91, 236, 2>7 446. Dennis, J^ieut-Colonel, 272. IBS, 2! ilonel, 4 i>. Disraeli. Mr 73, 77, 80, 81, 133, 17 Dickie. K. B., 289. Direct Taxation, 418. Dorion. A. A. I'll, •_'_>•, 236, 238, 247. 279, 284, 297, 321, 407. Dominion of Canada, 313-315. Draper, William, 58, 59, 69, 70, 83, 86, 87, 108, 112, 113, 118, 319. Drnmmond, L. J., 149, 162, 179, 188,195, 198, 211. 229. Dufferin Lord, 363, 364, 382, 383, 392- 126. Durham, Lord, 41-45, 88, 182, 435, 436. Dunn, Peter. 73, 74, 7»;. Duval, Judge, 196, 196. Dunkin. Mr.. 279, 287, 298, 351. Dinar, John Hunh-i'. 488-491. BDGAB, .1. D. 112. Elgin,Lord, 95, 110-112, 193, 127. 12s. i:;i. 182, 133, 136, ik l.;:.. isl>. Klein, I. adv. 182, . W., 424 Ennatinger. < loL, 132. . the. 155. Rredale, Mr.. 128. Bvaatora, araneoie, 217. FALKLAND, Lord, Famine, the [riih, lo.'UOO. Faocher, M otberbood, 209. ::i7. m Raid. •_'< :h1. Abbe\ 440. Florida, the. 232. Blair, A. .1.. 252, 319, 344, Mr. . L2& . 2-.;. 227. 312, 342. Hamilton, 37L M. H., 211, 247, 253, 255. Founder, Telesphore, 407. I Forest a , 15ft Folleti Ifaoade, Richard rTurreH, '.•*.», : . John •'.. Franklin. Sir Jo] / | ./<-///-. [21. Freeh I Bonore, 464. 4S0, 481, 182, SALT. Bfe A. T.. 119. 221, 227, 255,278, 09, 312. 318, 319, . il»i. Gaspe". M. Philip Aubert de, 438. In . 1 12, 160, l'.:. : ■ Gillmor, Major, 272. Girouard, M., 90. [car," 138, 423. bar. Lord, 44, 88. . Carl. 147. 226. . The, 58, 138, 140, 141, 142, 14!'. 163, 167, 172. 176, 179, 180, 240,244, 248, 328, 4(X1. 455, 450, 402, 464, 464. Gladstone, 79, 81, 133, 170, 222, 223, 369, Gosford, Lord, 37, 38. Gordon, Governor, 291. Gowan, Ogle R., 71, 118. 1 Gowan, Judge, 399. Grant, Rev. Principal, 449. Grant, President, 371. Graham, Sir James, 170. Gray, John Hamilton, 289, 298. Gray, Hon. Col., 289, 442. Gray, Earl de, 372. INDEX. G3<> Griffin, Martin J., 484, 496. George, Henry, 344. Gtafry, Colonel, 122, 1SL HALIFAX FISHERY COMMIS- SION, 572. Hannay, James, 441, 442. Half-breed, the, 352 364. Hatheway, Geon,'. F., 301, 310. Halifax, Lord, 170. Habeas Corpiu Act. 27. '. Hi;. 154. man. ( Ihristopher A. . Herding, sir Jobs, 264. , Sir John, 226, n. Mr-. •'. F. (■• Serenas 1 • !. 10, II. 86, '.'t. 1 15. sir Bdmnnd W., 163, 184. 209, 211 illieni A.. £ Hincki . 71. 118, 120,130, l 16, n:. 148. L49, 154, 155, 157, 159, 161, Li t, 174, 17:.. 17tl. 177. 1- Hui.l, I . 1. : Howl a: I Honl Hoard, Augustus, 127. Hunl Hump JACK, Edward, 271, I i, 312. Ire* . 271. 448. I AMI'MW, Mr. Archibald, 496. hoi.l. 107. Langevm, Hector Louis, 207, 212. 255 289, 309. 312, 319, 328-329, 420. Laberge, O.J . 21L Lafontaine, 54, 68, !'<», !)1. 96.119 134 L48, 152, Leprobon, Mrs. 44S. Lepine, Ambrose, .'i-'>4, 362. • /, the. 258-260. Lemienx, Francis, 184, 2U, 288, LeMoine, .1. M.. 487. Leslie, James, 119, L3& Lean 359. Leteltier, M. Lnc, 146, 252, 407 422-424 Legislative Union, 290 LeMay M.. 491. LeSneor, W. IF, 496. Lindsey, Charles, 41. 286, ill. Lincoln, Abraham, 240, 212. 250, 259 260, 269. Libera] Com t 23. Lorne, Lord, 422, 424. Louise, Princess, 422, a, Sir William. (49. ■i< I'Ai/nri'iii, df 341. MACDONALD, EUghi Hon. Sir John rriTet in Canada. 17 J an. ■■ 18, 19, 20 : where born, 21 : put at ■Chool, 21 : holiday haunt-, Z talent at school, 24 : studies law, 2$ ■ defends Shoults, 29-31 : preparing for public life, 60-55 : goes to the husl through his first campaign, ted to Parliament, 66 ; d in the Legislature, 72 7:> ; bii ' cription ox manner in House, 75. 76j method of advancement, 77 : hn silence in the ads primogeniture. 78 : y opinions like month ■ : honest change of .-pinion, ; punctures a wind spout, { a disappointment with philo- sophical ooolaess, 108 L09 : firs! In favor of Protection, L09 ; ' Jfour time has com.- at last ...M.-u-.l. .mil. 1." 1 12. 1 13 : returned second time I »r BZings- , 118 j sttitude through the storm, 19, 125, 126 ; c-ensures government f..r lacking precaution against it, L29, 130; connection with the British Am erican League, L33 ; predict* the down- fall or the Liberals, 137 . holdir Allan in hounds. 1 »:; ; weight* upon oil the legalisation of murder. 1 17 : " the two masts ue over- board,'' 148; growth of friendship be- tween himself and F. F. Tache*. L56 ; gets ready for the En ktitude rdi the University Bill, the mea- sure to restrain sale of liquor, the Representatives Bill, and on tfa providing for the confiscation of g curies, 161, 162 ; -lows peevish I Htncks' doctrine on Insufficient repre INDKA. sentation, 168 : the inspire! of Sir Allan. 1 , '' < .' : his onslaught on tl: form -l to thf lips in in- ■. 17"' ; prol si mi- kitutiona] prorogation, 17-: form* .,f Liberal*Conf overn- in. -nt. 17s ; oeral. 17'.' : , IS . " token by M • "'•■ LSI : friendship between himself an. I M. ip, 184; passage with .wn in tin- Assembly Mtli Colonel Kankin, sires his hand at the helm leader [iiisition of Hudson bypo] t:.it.tl >htm l,j s j.. mpared with Gh through •• promoting di- reasons foi BishopTache, 381 ; doubts EUel'i loy- alty. 963 ; attends Washington Con- vention, :>7--">7l : his ipeeeh on treaty, 374 : personally defended l>y John Hillyard Cameron, 374-370 ; seen through the history of tin- Pacific Bailway "Scandal'', 386*106; ipoooh on Pacific Railway charter, 403 ; after it ami before victory, 417*430 ; to power on the wave's top." 420- !•_".» ; atti- tude on LeteUier Question, 423; an unanswerable aryunent, 4l'7 ; seen at home. 499 509. MaolonaM. I Ma.k. 138 Maodonald, A. A.. 389. Laid, John Sandfield, 96*96, 147, 149, l'-7. 17.;. 177. L83, 196, L97, 311, 247, 248, 251, 252, 254, •J 77 .1 B. Hathews, h. Man.. . 62, ,;.;, ijc. .,;. M tnder, 57« L32, 111. It.::, 175, 176, 17:'. 180, 188, 210, . 350, 351, M i tl.l, Donald A . 407. 120. reasons. Po] makes a tour lnl • 344, 845; militia hill miscari William 1. 132, 1 14, 146, 172, 185. ; -i ;k hill. Jif. J".": o. . 91, 92, lis, 122, 126, U5, 143, 148, 157, 169. 171. L72, 171. 177. 17-. 18* 25L ■ 19. Masson. I..I . K . 120. Mars, Champ df. 137. Macmil at, 444. 193, UN meut with CoL \ now trust- lock, 280; compa 281-283; his part in tl, -ion irauvrinj? public opinion, 286-287 : pro- Mason, William, 134. poses a* J descent "on Prince Edward Ma 194. Uand, - >v ^ : -'.•■■••■•h .a ivin.-.- K.lwanl Maclean, Mrs. Kate lSeymoar t v 485, 486. Island,' 291 : at < ' h the Con- ; Machar, Miss Agnes M., 488. federate delegates, 296 ; hi* advocacy Maroy, W. L., 166. :i federatiou in Parliau proceeds to England in Oonfederation M Mullen, John, 105, 440. interests, 299; fears local and joint MeMurrich, W. J> ., 433. authority will be una* D'Arey, 206, 207,229, attitude towards Confederation sch. : 247, 297, 345-348, 449. in England, 301, 302, 303 ; invited to McDougail, Hon. William, 247, 252, 284, the premiership in room of Sir E. P. 289, 312, 319, 335, 338, 339, 344, 351, Tache 303, 304 ; consents to act under ,374. Sir Xarcisse Belleau, 304, 305; the virtual premier, Sir Nacisse, the nominal head, 306; again visits Lon- don as a confederate delegate, 312; is McCully, Jonathan, 289, 312. chairman of the London conference, Mc lavish, Governor, 355. 312- towers above his confreres - ML -an, Archdeacon, 358. conference, 316, 317 ; invited to form Mcl'herson, Hon. D. L., 386, 387. first Dominion Cabinet, 317, 318 ; re- McPeake, Patrick, 381. ceives the order of knighthood, 319; McLelan, A. W., 429. charged with selfishness, 319, 320; Melbourne, Lord, 222, 382. evidence of his friendship and chivalrv, Metcalfe, Sir Charles, 47-49, 52, 55-61, 320 ; visits Nova Scotia to pacify the \ 67, 70, 83, 84, 88, 96, 101, 110, 120. malcontents, 349, 350 ; instructions to { Medley, Metropolitan, 450. M i. an. Mr. W., 464. dlen, <.. V\. thy, eustin, 4! '7. INDEX. 641 Metis, The French, 364. Metternich, 256. Mickiffon, The, 272. Mitchell, Peter, 312, 319, 332-334. Mills, Tr. Henrv H.. 440, 441. Morin, A. X., 118, 149, 155, 156, 179, 184. Morris, William. 59. lie, Mrs., 23, 119, 446,447,448. Moffatt, Hon. George, 73, 76, 31. Montgomerie, Mr.. L28< Mortis, James. 148,211,247. Morrison. J. <'.. 196, 206, 229, 287, 238. Mowat, Bon. Oliver, 207, 211, 252,284, 150. Moms, Alexander, 281. Monntcastle, Miss <\. 492-494. Monck. Lord, 243, 249, 264, 303,812,316, 317, 319, 380, Mnlvany, Charles PeUtam, 4s:>-485. "NATIONAL i'uMMITTEE," The, National Policy, The, 330, 118-422. The, 262. Napiei neral. 272. Brunswick School Hi: v. Henry John, 99-101, L39. . Dr., L31,321. Newfoundland emulates the I rhe Duke of, 234, 24L inel, STL Nortbcote, Sir Stafford oaths BILL, O'Connell, 101-103. 170. John, 420. ian), 271-2; :i. Boundary, 106, 107. PACIFIC RAILWAY,the Inception of, srithSyndi. Pain* 261, John, 147. Papim ment Buildings burnt by a mob at 128, L29 ; Parliament re- moved f r< 'in Mo n tr e al and established at M four years al- ternal iwa suggested as caj>ital. 1 The, 262. . Admiral, 222. 228. Peacocke, Colonel (I.'nrge, 272-276. Phipps, EL w.. 128, 132, 133,4m. 00 Pilot, The, 71. Piche, M., 207, Pope, J. C.,420. Pope. W. H., 289. Pope, J H., 284, 420. Polette, Judge, 309. Prince, C., 164, 165, 136,437, 465,480,481, 483, 49L Rose, John, 107,266. 344. 351 Rouge, Le 1'arti, 138, L69, 423. Rowai nera), L34. Robinson, .John Beverley, 212, 246. Russell, Lord John, 38.46, 133, 222,260. 264, 266, 267,268, 410, 432. Richards. A. N.. Ritchie, Mr.. 812. Ritchie, Sir v7.J., 436. 426. Ritchie, Lady, 426. Ritchie, J. A., 496. Rumbail, Charles, |0& SAVANNAH, The, 262 . Salaberry, Colon .S60. Sangster, Charles, 496, San Jacinto, 242,267, 269. Schenck, Robert C, 371. Scott, R. W., 108. Scott, Thomas, 369, 360, 362, 383. Srribner's Magazine, I7\ School-, denominational and non-secta- rian, 186, 2()d. Senate, The, 386, 337. Sewell, Chief Justice, 287. Seward, Mr. 260. 642 INDEX. Si-cession of Southern States, 239, 240. Semmes, Capt, 264, 261 Sheridan, R. EL "Shui Shoultz. S. Y,»n.. Strait Shorn L Son. Scone, 108, 122, 172. 22] •'!", ■rose. 292,29 4. 111.312. :i !.. K. I'.. 312. .. L. V., 170. 171, 177, 221, Simnihl-. ( harles, 224. Small, Mr.. ML Smith, GoMwin, 300, 282, 419, 1 1 Smith. Magistrate Smith, (. M.. .;:•:.. mi. Smith, James, 59. Smith. Sir H-i.rv. 112,228,233. 221. Smith, l>..i .ml Kaiuih. Strickland, 1 . 44a Stanly St.-w,-. \V. II.. •_'>'.». Strachan, Bishop, 151. EL B.,57, 94, 95, 1 Stewart, George, jr., ; Street, Hon. George F., 225. 8nmter, Fort Supreme Court of Canada Established, Suite, Benjamin, 439, 491, I SB. V. i\. 120. 149, 15*5, 157, 179, 184, 2, 303. Taylor. Tnebenm. Henry Kkiar, 228. Tache\ Archbishop, 355, 360-364, 378, 384 Tache", J. I L 4 37, 438. Tessier, N. J., I Tenure, Seignorial Thought and Literature, 435. Thibaudeau, Joseph, 207, 211, 238. Thibault, Vicar-General, 357. Thibodo, Augustus, 26, 27, 145. Thomson, Charles Ponthill (Lord Syden- ham), 47. Thornton, sir Bdward, 872. ZYmet, TIk- (London), 249. Tilley, S. L.,289, 292, 293,811,312, 319, - .. 420, 422. Toryism on its Last trial, no. It falls, lis. ii'.'. I, Alpheus, 418, 445. Traotoiian tfovoment, 90-1QL Traill. Mr-.. TretU, The. 212. 243, 257. Trutch, W. J. 37 Tnrootta. L P., 139, 440. Topper, Hon ( hi '2, 293, in, 342, 343, 345, Tuttlo, Charles K.. 440. r.». 7ANK0UGHNET, P. Ed, 218, 221. L. M., 120. Vayaffcurs, WATSON. S. .1 .::..:,, .j:,i. oooof, 22S. 231*234. Wain. n. 1, Mr., i Wallsc.urt. Lotd, Wallbridge, Mr. 247. n Treaty, 372. Wellington, Duke of. 247, 410. •hum. Hon. William. Williams, George EL, 371 Wilson, 0, I'll, 847. Willia.. Wilkes, Cent., 259. ... w. H.. 140. Wilson, John, 129. Wiseman. < 'animal. ! Wilmot, Hon. L. A., 227). 227, Wilmot, Robert Dunean, 312, 420. World, Toronto, 41, 428, 432, 464. ». SIR JAMES, 91. Young, Rev. Mr. 359. Young, Col., 28. Young, Hon. John, 149. Young (Confederate Soldier), 269. Young, Sir John (Lord Lisgar), 350, 357, 361, 382. 14 DAY USE RETURN TO DESK FROM WHICH BORROWED LOAN DEPT. This book is due on the last date stamped below, or on the date to which renewed. Renewed books are subject to immediate recall. 27Apr'59BB ' D LD Mf 9 1959 WWTD in i ^ w\ « SI ,D 21A-50m-9.'58 10)476B General Library University of California Berkeley vl hi ? 1 wmm ■nKsi tVv^VB IfrW w^viKB^mM/^ / '-//^Bi 1 /BP^mISWI 1 ' Ah V\ avH - \ viH Bk i uiii^BK/ /AT ' ^ 314515 UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA LIBRARY ^i &